Before joining the RAF Arthur Truscott had been an electrician in
Plymouth. He joined the RAF in August 1940, initially serving in a
balloon unit. He volunteered for aircrew after his parents were killed
in a German raid. He was shot down in Lancaster ND595 (V-Victor) on the
Augsburg raid of 24th February 1944, bailing out over Switzerland. After
several months of internment the crew of ND595 were repatriated in an
exchange scheme. The full story of Truscott's crash and repatriation is
documented in Chapter 8 of Roger Anthoine's excellent book "Infringing
Neutrality - The RAF in Switzerland 1940-45". After repatriation
Truscott was reassigned to 206 Squadron flying anti-submarine patrols in
Coastal Command Liberators.