Resulting from a query received via my website from Richard Knight, a letter has come to light, written by the temporary flight commander of 6 Squadron's 'A' Flight a little over 100 years ago. The letter, written by 2nd Lt N W Scoles, informs the father of 2nd Lt James Bissett that his son died in battle on 7th January 1917. Richard, the current owner of the letter, has kindly allowed me to reproduce it on my website. For the story of James Bissett, please look at the 'Six Squadron Pioneers' menu selection.

By sheer good fortune, and thanks to David Weekes who offered me some of his photographic collection from WW1, I have become the custodian of an official document produced by 6 Squadron Royal Flying Corps shortly after the Battle of Messines in June 1917. The document (unique as far as I know and only recently come to light after almost 100 years) comprises some 86 aerial photographs of the area around the Messines ridge, taken between December 1916 and the days immediately prior to the attack on 7th June 1917, as well as of the same areas after the bombardment and detonation of 19 mines beneath the German positions. I have created a summary chart of the areas covered by the photographs (see attached). If anyone would like to see a copy of one or more of the photographs, you can reach me via the 'Contact' page. Update 16/03/17 - Due to lack of interest from the British National Archives re my offer to have the document added to the AIR 1 collection at Kew, I have decided to digitise all 86 images and gradually add them to my website (and also to my Pinterest account) under the menu item 'Messines'.

Statistics show that 15,000 people die each year in Australia of sudden cardiac arrest, with a survival rate for anyone suffering a cardiac arrest of less than 8%. I'm happy to say that Sheila is one of those fortunate enough to have survived with her mind and sense of humour intact. From what we have learned over the past two months, the importance of carrying out CPR immediately after the event and continuing it until the paramedics arrive is paramount in maximising the chance of a positive outcome. Our thanks to the skilled paramedics at the Murwillumbah Ambulance Station (especially Rohan Miller and Peter Browning in the photo below who were first on the scene) for being part of this story.

I would like to thank Natalie Dreha for inviting me to speak at the February meeting of the Murwillumbah ADHD Support Group and also for everyone attending who made me welcome and bombarded me with questions afterwards when I thought I could make a quick getaway! I think we all learned something last Friday and I hope to be able to speak again at one of their future meetings - provided I'm invited that is! Thanks also to the Tweed Daily News for advertising the monthly meetings in the paper on Saturday. As I mentioned at the meeting, if anyone would like to discuss any ADHD-related matter in absolute confidence, feel free to send me a message via the 'Contact' page on this website as the emails will go to my secure and private mailbox that is only read by me.

I have just added another two instalments of 'Wish You Were Here' - one for April 1917 and another for May 1917. 'Wish You Were Here' is a fictional but 100% factual diary of the operations of 6 Squadron when it was based at Abeele on the Belgian/French border during WW1.

My good friend and fellow researcher Annemie Morisse, who lives in Poperinge, Belgium, has unearthed a 1918 map that not only identifies the exact locations of the allied aerodromes at La Lovie, Proven, Abele and Poperinge, but also the area covered by each of the airfields. The sites of the four aerodromes have been the source of much controversy over the past few years, especially as many WW1 enthusiasts have been attempting to visit the locations as part of organised tours of the western front trenches and battlefields. I have reproduced the map below. If anyone has difficulty matching the sites to the current maps, please contact me and I will give you detailed directions.

My ADHD Self Help book, 'A Man of Many Letters' made the papers this morning. Though I have provided the local library with copies, I have already run out of the first batch of books I ordered from the publisher. More should arrive next week for those people in Australia who wish to save $5 on postage.

After two long years in the making, my fourth book (an Autobiography and ADHD Self Help guide) can now be purchased direct from the publisher Feed-a-Read and various on-line book stores, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble and DEALOZ. Refer to the main page on my website for more details and links.

After two long years, I have finally approved the cover design and interior layout with the publisher, as well as receiving a 'Foreword' from a leading child psychologist that will be included in the book, a combination of an autobiography and ADHD Self Help guide. With the final hurdles overcome, 'A Man of Many Letters' is now in the queue, ready to be printed. The provisional release date is mid-November, initially for on-line sales via Feed-a-Read, and then via Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other on-line bookstores towards the end of December. At this stage, it is not intended for my book to be sold at bookstores, but I will be keeping a limited stock for those people who would like a signed copy. The RRP from Feed-a-Read has provisionally been set at AU$15 (plus postage) and from Amazon et al at AU$19 (plus postage). Watch this space for more details as they come to hand. In the meantime, I am happy to answer questions re the subject matter of the book.

I have added the twelfth instalment of 'Wish You Were Here' to this website. The format of the 'work-in-progress' book is the fictional but factual diary of a WW1 air mechanic, writing for the benefit of his future fellow squadron members as the fighting rages over the Western Front.

Nine months in the making (from placing order to arrival in Oz), but well worth the wait!

I have added two new instalments to the '6 Sqn WW1 Diary' menu item, one for January 1917 and the second for February 1917. Using Squadron records, my grandfather's diaries and other recognised historical sources, I am gradually building up a month-by-month diary of the squadron's actvities when it was stationed at Abeele, Belgium, on the Western Front. Eventually, as mentioned elsewhere on this website, I will publish a compilation under the title, 'WISH YOU WERE HERE!'

After more than eight years of service, I closed my old website www.forgodenglandethel.com on the 21st January 2016 so that I could concentrate on the www.stevebusterjohnson.com website. Since 2007 I have sold hundreds of books and made many friends from around the world who have found the information contained on my old site useful as part of their own research or asked me to help them investigate family members who served in the Royal Flying Corps and the early days of 6 Squadron Royal Air Force.

After more than a year of writing, the manuscript of 'A Man of Many Letters' is ready for printing. Rather than self-publish this book as I did with my first three novels, I have decided to first approach a couple of mainstream publishers to see if they are interested. Watch this space . . . . .

As of now you can purchase a copy of 'Leaning on a Lamp Post' from various on-line bookstores including Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Steve-Buster-Johnson/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3ASteve%20Buster%20Johnson), in the same way that you can buy my other novels.

Thanks to the efforts of all of the staff at youi insurance and Aaron Smith of Hinterkand Toyota, based in Robina, Queensland, I am now the proud owner of a brand new Toyota GT 86.

Due to an over-enthusiastic Stability Control System that sent me over the top of an embankment and into two trees after a low speed slide on a wet country road, sadly my little car was written off. Thankfully, I escaped without even so much as a scratch, but only the seats and the spare wheel in the boot were able to be salvaged from my car. . At the moment I am reduced to cycling in order to get inspiration for my writing.