Desperately seeking soldier Bunny Austin
I’M trying to track down the family of “Bunny” Austin. He was a wireless operator/ air gunner on Libs with 31 Squadron SAAF (SA Air Force).
He was part of the crew led by Jacobus Lodewickus van Eyssen that was shot down in the early hours of August 16,1944 while attempting to resupply the Warsaw Uprising.
Austin later wrote a book about his experiences and named it Urszula after the Polish girl who hid him under her bed and who he later, post-war, managed to spirit away from behind the Iron Curtain.
A Polish publisher is keen to do a Polish language edition of the original 1963 book, but is having no luck finding out who owns the rights.
The original publisher doesn’t know, so it’s assumed that a family member owns them. Austin lived and worked in Pretoria and Pietersburg post-war, but in 1974 moved with his wife, Susan Naude, to Durban where they moved in with their daughter and her family. He passed away in 1977.
Does anyone have any leads or contacts who might be able to help?
I’ve e-mailed the SAAF, but had no reply. I’ve also asked several mates in South Africa, but they’ve come up dry. This is a great chance to get a well-regarded book featuring South African aircrew in front of a few new generations. I also hope to get a new English edition published, but it’s early days.
Any help will be gratefully received. Hubert Kuberski ul. Jana Bytnara ps. “Rudego” 14 m. 15 02-645 Warsaw, Poland Cell: (+48) 668 204 240