The RAF Tourist
Alan Conrad is my father and this webpage is a photographic record of his travels and experiences during World War II as 1478237 LAC CLK/GD Conrad, A. . He was born in September 1921 and is currently in good health living in a care home in Aylsbury, England. His wife, Connie, died in January 2014.
His wartime experiences were gained during a four year tour overseas in the Middle and Far East in the Orderly Rooms of various RAF squadrons and units. A summary of his travels may be found on the Itinery page.
An Update 58 Years On:
In November 2002 Alan went on a Royal British Legion Pilgrimage back to Sri Lanka and visited familar sights at the Koggala base where he was stationed 58 years earlier. Read about the visit in his words here.
My name is John Conrad, and I live in Crossville, Tennessee where I created this record from a photo album of my father’s and from brief discussions with him when we met from time to time.
I welcome questions or commets. Please send me an e-mail at
Alan's Wartime Itinery
| Arrival Date | Duration | Location | Remarks |
| 15 August 1941 | – | England | Left England on His Majesty’s Troopship, HMT Strathnaver with about 5,000 other troops. |
| September 1941 | 3 days | Capetown, South Africa | Stopped here for three days. |
| 1 October 1941 | – | Port Tewfik, Egypt | Sent an EFM (Expeditionary Force Message) to his mother on her birthday. |
| October 1941 | 3 weeks | Kasfareet | Waited for a posting in the Middle East Pool. He spent three weeks here and had a bout of dysentery. He was assigned to 211 Squadron. |
| 31 October | – | Port Sudan | Arrived here on the SS Ascanius. |
| November 1941 | 3 months | Wadi Gazouza | Spent three months here in the 211 and was then reassigned to the 72 Operational Training Unit, (OTU) and went on leave to Asmara in Eritrea. |
| February 1942 | 4 weeks | Asmara, Eritrea | Arrived by train from Wadi Gazouza and went into hospital with Jaundice followed by Scarlet Fever.While in hospital the 72 OTU was posted to Nanyuki, Kenya. |
| March 1942 | – | Khartoum, Sudan | Travelled by train and lorry from Asmara to Khartoum. |
| April 1942 | – | Nairobi, Kenya | Flew from Khartoum to Nairobi by Junkers 52 freight plane of South African Air Force. |
| April 1942 | 13 months | Nanyuki, Kenya | Arrived by train from Nairobi and stayed until the 72 OTU was disbanded in June 1943.Posted to the 230 Squadron. |
| June 1943 | 8 months | Dar es Salaam, Tanganyka | Travelled here by train from Nanyuki. |
| February 1944 | 14 months | Lake Koggala, Ceylon | Left Dar es Salaam on February 14th and flew here by Sunderland, arriving on February 22nd.. The eight day trip stoped in many places on the way. The stops included Kisumu, Khartoum, Aden, Masira, Bombay and Cochin. Six rolls of film were shot but unfortunately these were later lost by the camp photographer at Lake Koggala. My father is still upset about the photographer’s carelessness. |
| April 1945 | – | Akyab, Burma | The 230 Squadron was posted here. Flew there in a Sunderland. Living in harbour on SS Manela. |
| May 1945 | 2 weeks | Madras, India | A two week detachment here. Flew there in a Sunderland and was station in Madras for two weeks. |
| – | – | Rangoon, Burma | The squadron moved to Rangoon. The SS Manela sailed to Rangoon so that they continued to live on board. |
| 30 July 1945 | – | Calcutta, India | Posted home to England!! Arrived in Calcutta by troopship from Rangoon. |
| – | – | Bombay, India | Travelled here from Calcutta by train. |
| 27 August 1945 | – | Liverpool, England | Travelled on the HMT Scythia when he heard that the atomic bombs had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The War ended on August 15, 1945 as we sailed through the Suez Canal. |
| September 1945 | 4 weeks | Leigh, Lancashire | Four weeks leave for fours years overseas travel. |
| October 1945 | 4 weeks | Ringway, Lancashire | Posted to the 1 PTS, Parachute Training School |
| November 1945 | 7 months | Gloucester | Posted to Records Gloucester |
| 31st. July 1946 | – | DEMOBBED | – |