Lander, John Mervyn

Collection relating to 89078 Wing Commander John Mervyn Lander DFC, who served with 22 Squadron, Royal Air Force (RAF), during the Second World War. Primarily comprises original letters written by John Lander to his brother Geoff, and typed copies of letters written by John Lander to his father and brother Hartwell, spanning the period December 1939 to October 1943. Also includes a small number of original and typed copies of condolence letters sent to George Lander, father of John Lander, after his death by accident in India on 20 January 1945, as well as a carbon copy of a six page typed document outlining the history of the 22 Squadron. Ditigal and typed transcripts of all the letters, the squadron history, an introduction, and biographical information relating to the Lander family, compiled by his nephew, Russell Lander, is also included.

Wing Commander Lander was born in Melbourne, Australia and educated at Melbourne Grammer School. As a Victorian State hurdler, Lander had been pre-selected to train for the 1940 Olympic Games before they were cancelled due to the war. In 1939, keen to enlist in the RAF, he worked his passage to England as a gunlayer on a cargo vessel. Accepted into a RAF training programme, he become a pilot in the Coastal Command.