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LAC John Leslie Pickett

John Lesley Picket or "Jack" as most people knew him is on the left of the picture

He came from Bexleyheath in Kent and his father ran a timber yard.

From reading the pages of the Operations Record Book, on 8th January 1942, 978 Squadron sailed from Liverpool aboard HMT Otranto to Durban, South Africa

Otranto (photo supplied by Joe Barnett)

John Lesley " Jack" Picket disembarked there but he managed to make it back for the trip to Bombay aboard the HMT Strathmore,

 from where they marched to Colaba reinforcement camp.

 

They were then sent by train to Deolali Transit camp

and by April 1942 they had arrived in Calcutta.

John Lesley " Jack" Picket looked after the transport, keeping the lorries going.

. Before joining 978 squadron John Lesley "Jack" Picket served with the 906 in Hampstead. As the women took over raising the balloons at home (14 women replaced 10 men!) the men were sent abroad.

 John Lesley "Jack" Picket was an AC1 in 1941 and a LAC in 1942 just before the squadron moved to India

He served in 978 Squadron under the Leadership of S/Ldr R W Beresford who was a very detailed researcher into Barrage Balloons and how they behaved under real time conditions not simply trusting his luck to Wind Tunnel experiments.

After the war, John Lesley "Jack" Picket started a new timber business with his father in the Broadway, Bexleyheath.

The 978 Operational Record book shows that on the 24/01/43 there was a casualty 619686 L.A.C Carruthers R, a Balloon Operator who died of wounds from an enemy air raid on 23/01/43. See our Roll of Honour page for more info.

The following men from 978 Squadron also died and are buried in Calcutta:
George James Edward Leaver, Pilot Officer, died 29 May 1942 aged 30
George Repton, Aircraftsman 2nd Class, died 5 December 1943, agd 40
Leslie Straughan Aircraftsman 2nd Class, died 7 December 1943, aged 30.
 

 

If anyone can shed more light on Jack Picket please let me know by emailing peter.garwood@bbrclub.org

To see more photographs of members of 978 squadron follow this link:

Pictures of 978 Squadron including Jack Picket and Ron Cozens