Derick John Broadbank trained on Course 27 at Falcon Field from 26 June 1945 to 10 September 1945. He preferred flying the Stearman to the Harvard and remarked that the cadets used to play tag when flying! After the war, Derick returned home to London working with his parents and their successful dressmaking business.



Although Derick’s family were from London, they loved the countryside and his parents eventually sold their business in 1953. This enabled them to help Derick’s brother, Brian, buy a dairy farm and Derick to buy a village garage (with two petrol pumps) just two miles apart in rural Berkshire, a business he ran for over 30 years with his wife Jean and their daughters, Wendy and Sally. This allowed him to continue his passion for mechanical engineering e.g. servicing, repairing and renovating cars.