Born in Waratah, New South Wales on 4 February 1924, Raymond Bernard Ollis was the youngest of three sons.
Excited about ideas and experiences, Ray was larger than life to those lucky enough to come into his orbit. He played the piano beautifully, had an excellent singing voice, and was well-read in what his widow Margaret calls 'high-brow' literature. In December 1938, Ray Ollis passed his practical examination in pianoforte and won a scholarship to Sydney's prestigious St Andrews College; his older brothers had gone to college in Newcastle. Ray Ollis's first job was at the Herald Sun as a newspaper copy boy, journalist being the first step in a writer's career.
Ray waited for his eighteenth birthday in February 1942 when he asked his parents for their consent to enlist. Ray was training with an artillery unit when his call-up came several months later. Ray attended Number 2 Air Observer School at Edmonton; it was an intensive three months. After obtaining an average of 75%, Ray qualified as an Air Navigator; the class then travelled by train across Canada to the port of Halifax before sailing to Britain, where he arrived at Gourock, Scotland, in December. It is here that Ray found his first crew.
Robert Brokenmouth is a war historian who has edited books published by Wakefield Press, including They Hosed Them Out and 101 Nights.
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'Editor Robert Brokenmouth has lovingly ìrestoredî this epic story to the shelves, where it certainly deserves a place among the finest of military memoirs. For all its subsequent fictionalisation, Ray's memoir depicts those dramatic times with remarkable accuracy and immediacy. Here's a revealing, informative and entertaining action-thriller which will captivate readers.' - Mary Ann Elliott, The Chronicle, Toowoomba
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'A beautifully written window into the doomed youth of Bomber Command … You won't be able to put it down.' - Andy Wright, Flightpath
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'Ollis cleverly maintains the suspense, and the descriptions of the fighter attacks, flak on bombing raids when the plane is hit, or a crash landing behind German lines are gripping.' - Jen Kershaw, Glam Adelaide
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'The camaraderie and deeds of those days, never to be seen again, deserves to be faithfully recorded and none did a better job than Ray Ollis in his splendid book 101 Nights.' - Mike Garbett