HE was young, free and single and, at the age of 24, his personality had already attracted the attention of thousands due to his sporting prowess.

It was his misfortune at having been born in the wrong decade that denied him the status that he barely tasted, but for three weeks in August 1941, he was just another airman who enjoyed the wartime diversions that Bournemouth could offer.

Ross Gregory was still at school when he made his first-class cricket debut playing for Victoria against Western Australia in 1934.

The typical Australian philosophy that says "you are old enough if you are good enough" saw him selected to play for his country against England before he was 21.

After sharing a crucial century stand with the great Don Bradman on his first Test appearance in 1937, Ross enthused: "This cricket is the best of good fun. I wish the game had lasted a month."

International hostilities interrupted the careers of so many sportsmen and women and Ross Gregory is one of five influential cricketers whose stories are featured in an exhibition entitled The Greater Game: Sport, War and Peace at the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester.

He had enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and with keen eyesight that prompted training as an observer, Ross sailed for Britain.

On disembarking at Liverpool, he was told that he would join an air force pool at the RAF Personnel Dispatch and Reception Centre in Bournemouth where military authorities had taken over 25 hotels as billets for men awaiting posting.

Within two hours of his arrival Ross and another airman had found a dance hall but became lost in the 10pm blackout afterwards.

Despite concerns at that time that Bournemouth was some 600 men short of required Civil Defence duties, the pair managed to locate Home Guard sentries to direct them home.

The eight-page Echo advertised double feature films at 17 cinemas, twice-nightly stage shows at the Pavilion, Palace Court and Hippodrome ("Fun and Dames"), quite apart from the popular ballroom dancing that attracted HM Forces in uniform at half-price.

One establishment encouraged patronage with its "Large Air Raid Shelter" and a Dean Court gymkhana offered discounted admission "if carrying respirator". Cinemas were permitted to open between 3pm-9pm on Sundays provided that no Classification "H" (for "Horror") films were shown.

So it is not surprising to learn that Ross, something of a movie fan, should enjoy watching Errol Flynn in Four's a Crowd at West's cinema, Bing Crosby in Road to Zanzibar at the Westover and an Abbot and Costello comedy Rookies at the Odeon - all this before the end of his first week in town.

All of these exploits are recorded in a diary, which forms much of a recently-published book, The Ross Gregory Story.

The three weeks spent in Bournemouth represents a snapshot of a wartime lifestyle as the author David Frith follows his colourful subject across the world from the prodigious sporting talent that was nurtured in Melbourne.

It is recalled that under a system founded in the First World War, Lady Frances Ryder and a Miss MacDonald of the Isles had set up a Dominions Hospitality Scheme whereby servicemen from all parts of the Empire were put in touch with British families willing to give them a taste of home life during weekends and leave periods.

The success of this enterprise had reached Bournemouth and enabled Ross and other airmen to enjoy playing tennis on a grass court at the home of Dr and Mrs Burstal plus daughters Jean and Margaret, and later with a Mr and Mrs Duncan and their daughter Norrie. Lifetime friendships frequently developed from such social arrangements.

Boring days waiting for mail were relieved with convivial meetings at the Norfolk Hotel and dinner dances at Hampshire Court.

There were further visits to local cinemas to see Bette Davis in Jezebel and Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald in Bitter Sweet.

As news of postings was delayed, Ross and others were granted a leave pass, which enabled them to travel to Brockenhurst.

"The Rose and Crown Inn is a grand little pub", he wrote, "providing accommodation for about 20 people. The two bars are well patronised by locals who drink their beer from old brass pots between games of darts."

Clearly impressed with the hospitality and surroundings ("Everything seems so green, fresh and untouched") the party booked in for four days during which they played tennis, golf and squash when they were not cycling or horse-riding.

Pub games in the evenings always included shove-ha'penny to provide a less physical challenge.

The diary emphasises how much they enjoyed having breakfast in bed each day - a luxury that servicemen would particularly appreciate!

On their return to Bournemouth, Ross and his friends discovered that they had been posted to Lossiemouth on the north coast of Scotland where they were scheduled to undertake a seven-week course related to future responsibilities in Wellington bombers.

The long train journey was delayed by air raids and it is an unhappy young man who writes that he "would much rather have been with our companions on the South coast."

Ross Gregory was subsequently posted to 99 Squadron Bomber Command at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, from where he flew many operations.

By May 1942 he had been promoted to Pilot Officer and was based in India with an Australian crew in 215 Squadron.

Tragically, on June 10 1942 he died when his aircraft crashed in a remote part of Bengal. Ross Gregory was the only Australian Test cricketer to lose his life on active service during the Second World War.