St. James's Day

I'm not a big fan of commemorating saints, but this one has an extra meaning for me. On this day in 1941 my father was shot down by the Germans, crashing into the sea off France. He was lucky to survive because not everyone on his plane did. He spent the next four years, more or less, in various prison camps, being starved. At the time he thought this was the unluckiest thing in the world, since all his chums were fighting fascism, getting promoted, doing good things, and he was stuck behind ...