Born in January 1942, GERALD SHERWOOD was three months old when his father disappeared during a daylight bombing raid over Augsburg. During his educational years, Gerald met relatives who knew about his father’s wartime exploits. They enabled him to build an informative collection of press cuttings, photographs, letters and book which formed the basis of a lifetime’s research around his father's RAF service and family history. Eventually moving to Cornwall, Gerald worked in catering, civil service and retail. Later, following marriage to his wife Hilary, he settled into the insurance industry for twenty years whilst raising a son and a daughter.