Douglas Knox's memories
Title
Douglas Knox's memories
Description
He won a competition in 1932, the prize being a flight in Sir Alan Cobbams flying Circus. Interest began in 1938 - made an enquiry to join the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) but was advised they were only taking older men.
At the evacuation of Dunkirk, he volunteered again for flying duties. Called up for training on 19 August 1940, being sent to Torquay for ground drill and other basics before being transferred to Cambridge to the initial training wing.
He was classified leading aircraftsman in December 1940 and posted to RAF flying school Cobham near Woking, learning to fly on Tiger Moth aircraft going solo after just 12.5 hrs. Completed training on 6 December 1940.
Posted to RAF Little Rissington on 9 December 1940, learning to fly Anson sometimes in snowy conditions.
After completing many hours dual night flying and second pilot flying he was considered trained on 19 April 1941, receiving certificate of proficiency with an average of 72.7% and authorised to wear the pilot’s badge. Promoted to pilot officer and posted to RAF Kinloss.
On 15 May 1941 he had the first dual instruction in a Whitley. Finally on 30 June 1942 he completed 26 operations, just four short of his tour. He would seem 76 and 78 Squadrons join forces under the command of Group Captain Tommy Trail.
At the evacuation of Dunkirk, he volunteered again for flying duties. Called up for training on 19 August 1940, being sent to Torquay for ground drill and other basics before being transferred to Cambridge to the initial training wing.
He was classified leading aircraftsman in December 1940 and posted to RAF flying school Cobham near Woking, learning to fly on Tiger Moth aircraft going solo after just 12.5 hrs. Completed training on 6 December 1940.
Posted to RAF Little Rissington on 9 December 1940, learning to fly Anson sometimes in snowy conditions.
After completing many hours dual night flying and second pilot flying he was considered trained on 19 April 1941, receiving certificate of proficiency with an average of 72.7% and authorised to wear the pilot’s badge. Promoted to pilot officer and posted to RAF Kinloss.
On 15 May 1941 he had the first dual instruction in a Whitley. Finally on 30 June 1942 he completed 26 operations, just four short of his tour. He would seem 76 and 78 Squadrons join forces under the command of Group Captain Tommy Trail.
Creator
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Six typed sheets
Conforms To
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
SKnoxVD63842v10036
Collection
Citation
Victor Douglas Knox, “Douglas Knox's memories,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed August 13, 2026, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/53680.