When I contacted Philip Brett to arrange to meet him I knew straight away I was going to enjoy the interview. He was tickled pink by the fact that we were going to meet on April Fool's Day, although I hasten to add that no April Fool tricks were played during the course of the interview. However his great sense of humour must have been a huge asset to him as he accumulated the many and varied experiences of his 92 years, including ditching at sea as a pilot during the war, caring for his paralysed wife and working in special needs education for 32 years.
Philip spent most of his formative years in Sussex, until he left school and immediately headed for war-torn London. After a brief interlude in a 'Dickensian' office where regulations forbade a young man of his status even to answer the phone, he quickly transferred to a residential post in the Hospital for Sick Children in Holborn and consequently found himself working as a stretcher-bearer in the most frequently bombed borough of London. The experience was terrifying and he particularly remembers standing on top of the hospital and looking out over what looked like the whole of London in flames. Yet, undaunted he went on to enrol in the RAF in 1942 as a pilot and after training in Canada, was based in the UK and responsible for attacking enemy shipping along the occupied coasts of Norway and Denmark. He was carrying out his 38th operation when his Bristol Beaufighter was shot down off the Danish coast and he and his navigator drifted for days in a leaking dinghy with barely any food or drink. Just as their situation was beginning to look very bleak they were rescued by a Danish fishing boat and landed in Denmark on VE Day. He was later awarded the DFC for the missions he carried out during the war.
Following the war Philip decided he needed a new direction and completed two years of teacher training as well as marrying a WAAF he had met during the war. Initially he taught in mainstream schools but quickly realised his real calling lay in special education. He took a post in a tough London boarding school working with emotionally disturbed children whose situations were often further complicated by cultural differences. He rose to the challenge and dedicated the next twenty years to teaching at the school, eventually becoming acting headmaster. At the age of 48 he was ready for a change and moved to Devon to head up another school for special needs, where he was able to put his wealth of experience to good use, encouraging his staff to think outside the box and experiment with new working methods.
Philip has now been retired for over 30 years. Initially it was a chance to go gliding at the Dartmoor Gliding Society near Brentor and spend more time writing poetry which has always had a fascination for him. Sadly a few years into his retirement misfortune struck, when a hip operation left his wife paralysed. Philip became her full-time carer and devoted himself to giving her the best quality of life possible in the circumstances.
At 92 his sight is now failing, but despite this difficulty he is still writing beautiful poetry - or 'verse' as he insists is a better description! He also loves spending time with his three children, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
'The Ditching' by Philip Brett DFC is available on Amazon and gives a full and compelling account of the time spent in a dinghy in the North Sea and the subsequent rescue. Also available by Philip Brett on Amazon is 'Vapour Trails' - an anthology of poems.