World War II unites Kenmore pair

BRAVERY took Vic Henderson into the skies over England in World War II, but it was his shy side which immediately ­endeared him to his wife Sheila.

Bravery took Vic Henderson into the skies over England in World War II, but it was his shy side which immediately ­endeared him to his wife Sheila.

Mr Henderson, an Australian, enlisted at 18 and became a wireless operator and gunner in Royal Air Force (RAF) campaigns from 1942. Sheila Henderson was a dental nurse in the RAF. The two met in 1945 as Vic was preparing to return to Australia and Sheila was about to head to Germany to support the post-war occupation.

“They gave us two weeks’ leave where we could go anywhere we liked where the RAF was stationed,” Mrs Henderson said.

“I had been stationed with Canadians, South Africans and Australians and I got on all right with the Australians,” she said with a laugh.

To commemorate 100 years since the Anzac landing at Gallipoli, and recognise the sacrifices of those men and women who have served out country since WWI, Quest Community Newspapers will publish one story each day online in the lead-up to Anzac Day.

“I had a friend in the navy and I said ‘let’s go to Brighton where the Australians were’. We were having a drink at the counter of a pub and all these Australian Lancaster bomber boys were there in a group.

“They all came over except one — that was Vic. He was so shy. We went and brought him over.”

They wrote to each other for six years before Sheila moved to Australia. Mr Henderson, 91, and his wife, 94, live in Kenmore. Mr Henderson experienced the danger of a German air raid soon after his boots hit British soil. “We landed in Scotland. We boarded a train and, when we got about halfway, they stopped us because there was a big air raid ahead of us,” Mr Henderson said.

THIS story is part of Quest Community Newspaper’s 100 Years, 100 Days, 100 Stories project, which will profile Queensland World War I heroes and families as the nation builds up to the centenary of the Allied landing on Gallipoli on April 25, 1915.

If you have the details and war record of a family member who served during World War I, let us know on our Facebook page or email [e-mail]