It is with a heavy heart that we would like to share the news on the passing of John McCallum, at the age of 97.
John was recently at the launch of our new exhibition, ‘For Our Freedom and Yours‘, which includes a video interview with him and his son, Ian, where they discuss the crash of Whitley Bomber Z9362 which crashed into the sea at Saltcoats Harbour in 1943.
On the night of the crash, the 15 year old John was awoken, along with his dad, by cries for help. They lived at Parkend Road in Saltcoats and headed out to find the source of the cries when they ran into an airman at the railway bridge who was looking for the police station. That airman was Sergeant Edward Harold George Dyer, who had remarkably baled out of the stricken Whitley and came down in Saltcoats.
John had a wealth of fascinating stories about North Ayrshire and it was a pleasure to be in his company and hear his memories. The interview with him is now a part of our digital archive and will be permanently preserved. We also plan on adding the Whitley bomber part of the interview to our YouTube channel, for everyone to enjoy.
We would like to thank John’s son, Ian, for bringing the story of the Whitley crash to our attention and for organising us being able to film his dad.
Our deepest condolences go out to the family.