Christopher Sommer and a friend with the Labor Service on the parade ground. 61252 Leading ...

Christopher Sommer and a friend with the Labor Service on the parade ground. 61252 Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Ronald Frederick (Ron) Layton, 453 Squadron RAAF befriended Christopher in 1945, when he became Layton's self-appointed guide in Berlin. In the 1960s he contacted the Christopher again and they continued corresponding. No. 453 Squadron RAAF was posted to Wunstorf, Germany, in 1945 following almost three years of service attached to Fighter Command and based in Scotland. On 2 May 1945, the squadron escorted the aircraft that returned Queen Wilhelmina to The Netherlands after three years in exile in Britain. This was 453 Squadron's last mission of the war; Germany surrendered six days later. The squadron remained in Britain for several months before deploying to join the British occupation forces in Wunstorf, Germany, on 29 August 1945. It was planned that 453 Squadron (along with 451 Squadron) would form part of a long-term Australian presence with the occupation forces, but a lack of volunteers for an extra year's service made this impractical and 453 Squadron disbanded at Wunstorf on 21 January 1946.