Don Charlwood was born in the Victoria area of Melbourne in Australia, on the 6th of September, 1915. He joined the R.A.A.F. in May 1941 and began basic training as a navigator and bomb aimer, at Number 1 Initial Training School, at Somers in Victoria. He then went on to Sydney. From there, he moved to Canada to continue his training. In Canada, he met his future wife, Nell East, who was a primary school teacher. By the time he was sent to 27 OTU (Operational Training Unit) at RAF Lichfield, he was a well-trained navigator and bomb aimer but needed to learn how to fly as part of a bomber crew. His crew managed to successfully complete their 30 missions without any problems and Don managed to survive the war and returned safely back to Australia in 1945. He stopped off in Canada on his way back home, to marry his girlfriend Nell and took her back to Australia with him. In 1975, he was made a member of the Order of Australia as a reward for his writing. Sadly, he died on the 20th of June 2012, at the age of 96.

Don Charlwood was born in the Victoria area of Melbourne in Australia, on the 6th of September, 1915. He joined the R.A.A.F. in May 1941 and began basic training as a navigator and bomb aimer, at Number 1 Initial Training School, at Somers in Victoria. He then went on to Sydney. From there, he moved to Canada to continue his training. In Canada, he met his future wife, Nell East, who was a primary school teacher. By the time he was sent to 27 OTU (Operational Training Unit) at RAF Lichfield, he was a well-trained navigator and bomb aimer but needed to learn how to fly as part of a bomber crew. His crew managed to successfully complete their 30 missions without any problems and Don managed to survive the war and returned safely back to Australia in 1945. He stopped off in Canada on his way back home, to marry his girlfriend Nell and took her back to Australia with him. In 1975, he was made a member of the Order of Australia as a reward for his writing. Sadly, he died on the 20th of June 2012, at the age of 96.