Robert was missing in
at the doorbell and it
And he said, "Chris, I
And I thought oh, is this
And he said, "You're not
"but they've taken away
"and you're just going
And he said, "Are you going to manage?"
And I said, "We've got,
"of Gary's boarding school fees."
We had a house that we were renting out
but we had to pay for, so, right,
so we sat there with all
looking at all this.
Decided yeah, we should
I was careful and I was so angry.
How dare they?
I just thought how dare they.
At 7am on 24 January 1991, Christine Ankerson heard the doorbell ring at her family home and instantly had a feeling that something was wrong. The Squadron Boss delivered the news that her husband, Squadron Leader Bob Ankerson, had been forced to eject during a mission over Basra and it was not then clear if he had died, survived or been captured. Christine experienced one of the difficult sides of being a military family, while awaiting news of her missing husband.
Iraq
| Role RAF Wife | Age 32 |
I spent most of my time in captivity in solitary confinement.
Sqdn. Ldr. Bob AnkersonI found myself hanging under a parachute for the first time in my life.
Bob Ankerson
All of a sudden you're just two bodies lost in the desert
John PetersI spent seven weeks getting the shit kicked out of me
John PetersWe knew we weren't going home.
Bob Ankerson
Unless I tell him something I'm going to die.
Robbie StewartThey beat us with their pistol butts
John Peters
Once you see the missile you have 3.5 seconds until impact.
David WaddingtonThe Red Cross put themselves in great danger, with only a badge for protection.
Sqdn. Ldr. Bob AnkersonThey took my gun and both my watches, but they didn't find the gold.
Robbie Stewart
