“Only the brave die young” 

Following this, several poignant events unfolded for the young couple. Whilst awaiting the birth of their child, at the end of February 1940 their baby was stillborn. A year later, foreseeing his conscription into the army, Jolliffe volunteered for the Air Force and was enlisted in early August 1941. After basic military training, he was stationed at a flight school in South Africa and qualified as a navigator, bomb aimer/observer, and air gunner. From October 1942, in England, he was assigned to train with the full crew of Australian pilot James Leitch. 

Leitch and Jolliffe performed so well that they were selected together for further training as Pathfinders. This elite unit would fly at the forefront of a bombing raid with the latest radar equipment on board, allowing them to efficiently and accurately locate and mark designated targets with flares suspended from parachutes, guiding other bombers to the right spot. 

On 25 May 1943, the seven-man crew undertook their first operational flight to the industrial Düsseldorf, Germany. In the following months, the pilot and bomb aimer/observer, with varying crew members, flew to targets in Germany, France, and Italy. On the night of 8 to 9 October, they reached a milestone: with a bombing raid on Hannover, they completed their 30th mission. Upon reaching this, they were granted leave and transferred to ground duties, for example instructor roles. 

Jolliffe was relieved, as his wife Greta had informed him that she was expecting another child, and he was looking forward to the opportunity to visit her during the upcoming leave. However, the grim reality caught up with him: the RAF had suffered such heavy losses recently that he and Leitch cannot be spared, and on Saturday 20 October 1943, they set out for Leipzig. Despite heavy anti-aircraft fire, they managed to escape unscathed. 

As was their usual practice, Jolliffe swapped positions above the bomb bay, and switched places with Frank Lashford, the flight engineer, so he could sit next to the navigator. Shortly after, they came under attack from a night fighter, which, on the second attack, hit the starboard wing hard. The aircraft became uncontrollable, and Leitch shouted that they must bail out. The only one who was able to escape through the hatch was Frank Lashford, who was severely injured upon capture. 

Three months later, Greta would give birth to a healthy boy: Trevor Jolliffe.

Text Hugo van den Ende 
Research Jan Sievers