1 25 7 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/675/11897/LArrowsmithHL571013v1.1.pdf 9539208f01ecad14d6e070dfeb268511 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Arrowsmith, Les H L Arrowsmith Description An account of the resource 14 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant Les Arrowsmith (b.1920) who flew operations as a bomb aimer with 576 Squadron from RAF Elsham Wolds until his Lancaster was shot down 21/22 May 1944 and he became a prisoner of war. The collection includes his prisoner of war diary, his log book, photographs, a scrap book and correspondence. After the war he continued to serve with the RAF and remustered to become a navigator. The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mike Arrowsmith and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-09-22 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Arrowsmith, HL Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Les Arrowsmith’s flying log book for navigators, air bombers, air gunners and flight engineers Description An account of the resource Warrant Officer Les Arrowsmith’s flying log book for navigators, air bombers, air gunners and flight engineers, from 28 January 1946 to 18 July 1950. Mainly records his training and various postings in the Far East as navigator within Transport Command, with references to Singapore (Changi), Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Saigon, Hong Kong, and Jakarta. Described as “A very reliable and conscientious navigator”, one of his assessments refers to him as an “Ex POW”, and a note on the first page says “1st Log Book lost by RAF 22/5/44”. His final posting was with Bomber Command, 138 squadron at RAF Wyton. Aircraft flown were Oxford, York, Auster, Anson, Harvard, C-47 and Lincoln. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Great Britain. Royal Air Force Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One booklet Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Log book and record book Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context LArrowsmithHL571013v1 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Royal Air Force. Transport Command Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending review Review Oct 2024 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. China--Hong Kong Indonesia--Jakarta Malaysia--Kuala Lumpur Malaysia--Kuching (Sarawak) Singapore Vietnam--Ho Chi Minh City Great Britain England--Cambridgeshire China Indonesia Malaysia Vietnam Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource David Leitch 138 Squadron aircrew Anson C-47 Harvard Lincoln navigator Oxford prisoner of war RAF Bishops Court RAF Bramcote RAF Netheravon RAF Snaith RAF Wymeswold RAF Wyton training York https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/738/9289/PChardV1601.2.jpg d87cca8417f30cf179386a6da43a5b72 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/738/9289/AChardV160515.2.mp3 7340691ce5c42d2c7cc25f13cc57fb70 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Chard, Vera Vera Chard nee Wren V Chard Description An account of the resource An oral history interview with Vera Chard (b. 1927, 2121091 Royal Air Force). She served in the Women's Auxilliary AIr Force. The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-05-15 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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 An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Chard, V Transcribed audio recording A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document HH: Ok. So, it’s Sunday the 15th of May 2016 and I am sitting chatting to Vera Chard. My name is Heather Hughes for the International Bomber Command Centre and we’re in Richard and Jane [Leadham’s?] home in Holbury, Southampton. Vera, thank you very much for agreeing to talk to us today. I wonder if we could begin by you just telling us a little bit about your early life before you joined the WAAF? And then, how you came to be in the WAAFs. VC: I see. Yes. Well, actually I was, I was born in the valleys of Wales. My parents came from Birmingham but my father was on the Great Western Railway for forty three years. And he got sent to Wales and having gone to Wales he couldn’t get out. And every time he got promotion he moved from one place to another. So, I was born in the Valleys. Merthyr Tydfil area. After that we moved to near Newport. After which we moved to Severn Tunnel Junction and I went to school at Chepstow. That was the Grammar School. I got transferred there from the Grammar School at Risca. We [pause] we actually, part of the time only went to school half a day because we had evacuees from Dover. I got my school certificate and there was a Royal Naval propellant factory at Caerwent, near Chepstow which came under the Admiralty and I went there in the cashier’s office to work. And this was in the wartime and then we were controlled and even though I was, when I became eighteen I couldn’t join the services because we were controlled anyway. And then the war ended and in ’45 ’46 they brought the exam back for the Civil Service which I did pass but they said that I, when I became — I was joining the Women’s Air Force. I didn’t join the WRNS like my friends because my surname was Wren. I went in the WAAF. They said if there was a vacancy when I became available for civilian employment that they would take me on. And so I went in the WAAF as a pay clerk. Did my training at Wilmslow like everybody else. Got posted to Gloucester, Barnwood and Innsworth and then I [pause] we had very very bad winter there and so when they asked for volunteers to go to Changi, Singapore I volunteered. The Malaya campaign was going on. There was bandit trouble. But anyway I went there and I I went to base accounts in Changi which in some ways was quite pleasant. The heat. HH: Had all the prisoners left by that stage? VC: Oh yes. Yes. But we were in accommodation that they’d been in in the blocks and whereas there were only, it was divided in to four, the floor. And there were about four of us in each quarter they say that when the prisoners were there there were about a hundred on the floor. And of course there was only one row of toilets and things anyway. So, that would have been quite different. It was easy to feel, you know that they’d been there. And anyway, as I say in some ways it was quite pleasant. The heat. It was quite hot. Everybody else seemed to get prickly heat but I didn’t. But I got it when I came home. Around about Christmas time. Sitting by the fire I got the prickly heat. And then I, I did learn to swim out there. A fellow did teach me to swim. That was as a result of a bet between two fellows. Myself and another girl were taught to swim and so I was one. HH: Was that in a swimming pool? VC: Pardon? HH: Was, did you learn in a swimming pool? VC: Yes. It was called a [unclear]. Not in the ocean. In a [unclear] And a lot of people spent a lot of time in there. And then I went — went on leave up to the Cameron Highlands. And we went on the train to Kuala Lumpur and then we had to go in a garrey around the, around and around and around to get up to the Cameron Highlands. Which was mainly golf up there but I wasn’t interested in that. There was a centre, a Women’s Centre and the, even ATS went there from another station as well as us. And then when I came, was due to come home the — they wouldn’t let me come because they didn’t have armed guard to go on the train. And there was no mobile phones in those days. I couldn’t get in touch with my unit. I was the only one from my unit and I went missing for three days. And eventually I got back and they were pleased to see me. And then, as I say that’s that. HH: So how long were you in Singapore, Vera? VC: Thirteen months. HH: Thirteen months. VC: Yes. Funnily enough, when we arrived in Singapore and that was in [pause] coming up to Christmas ’47 there was a boat in the harbour. And that was the Queen on her honeymoon [laughs] Yes. Yeah. Yeah. But you know we had quite a social life. We got garreys sent for us to other stations for dances and things and I’ve always been in to dancing. HH: What kind of dancing? VC: Oh ballroom. Latin. Everything. Yes. My daughter is a dancer. She’s got a dancing school in Tampa, Florida. And all these on Strictly — she grew up dancing against Anton and Ian Waite and Brendan and all those. So, I’ve met most of them. HH: Wonderful. VC: Yeah. Up at, you know up at Blackpool and things like that. They danced up every year. They even came over from America. And now they, they judge and all sorts. Yes. So — HH: So, what happened when you came back from the, from Singapore? VC: When I came back from Singapore I still had three months. I still had a few months to do. About five months. And we all came back to the PDC at RAF Halton. And they wanted, they wanted someone in my rank and trade, a corporal pay clerk there. And so they kept me there which was quite handy because I could nip up and down to London and different things like that. And I — and then after that I came out of the, when I came out of the WAAF in the May I took up the opportunity of the Civil Service that I’d sat for before and I went to work at the Ministry of Health in London. And that was about it really. HH: And how did you come to be in Southampton? VC: Ah. Well, I stayed there for a while but then eventually I went out on hospital order and came to Southampton and we used to travel around. Stay overnight at, stayed four nights at Dorchester, four nights at the Isle of Wight and at [unclear] the same and then we used to have to do Bournemouth and Portsmouth daily for the week. But — and I left there when I got married because I couldn’t do the staying away. Later I went back in the Civil Service. HH: But it was in, while you were in Southampton that you met your husband? VC: Yes. Yes. HH: Tell me how that happened. VC: Well, I went to the RAF Association and he was there and that was it [laughs] He was opposite and I was sitting with some other people which I’d only just met anyway. And one, one was a policeman and he had to go away. There was, they had to do something down the theatre and he had to go away. And I think he would have probably taken me home but anyway I met Doug. He came up to me and asked me to dance and then I was going out of the door with him when this other fellow came back. And as I say that’s how I met him. HH: Was he a dancer as well? VC: Well, he could get around. Yeah. Yeah. And he did. We did go to, to him — we did go on a dancing holiday for him to learn to dance but, and then when we came back a fellow he worked with said to him oh that he went to a place for dancing near there. And I said, ‘Well, why don’t we go?’ And he said, ‘Oh, do you think I’m going to make a fool of myself up against people I know?’ [laughs] So, we didn’t go. But I was in the dancing world because I took my daughter all over the country and it was quite easy because I’d been, I’d lived in London. I’d been to the Hammersmith Palais and the Streatham Locarno and the Royal at Tottenham and I knew all the places and I, so it was quite easy to take her around. You know. I knew them from when I was up there. So, that’s it. HH: Now — VC: And my husband was on shifts as well so, you know when he was on two to ten and nights he couldn’t really go around. But we did do some social dancing but — HH: Now, your husband Douglas Chard had been in Bomber Command. VC: Yes. HH: Hadn’t he? VC: Yeah. HH: So, he must have related some stories to you about his time in Bomber Command and you’ve subsequently — you know, you know quite a lot about his service in Bomber Command. VC: Yes. HH: So, tell me about that. VC: Well, I don’t know a terrible lot but I do know that he flew with the same crew. He started, he started off on Wellingtons. And later he flew on Halifaxes. He was in the same crew and I know that after they’d done quite a few operations they tried to put him with another crew on a mission because the fellow reported sick. And in actual fact he wasn’t happy about the way they were flying and so he actually refused to fly. And he was going to be on a court martial. And he’d done a lot of operations but they said it was a lack of moral fibre and, but luckily the fellow was pronounced fit to fly. And the, he didn’t come back. The plane didn’t come back. So, I wouldn’t have met him in actual fact. That’s, but that story and all of them are in here. He was — HH: What position was he? What was he on the aircraft? Which, which, what position in the crew? VC: Well, he was the rear gunner. HH: Rear gunner. VC: Yeah. Yes. He was the rear gunner. And he did the, he did the full thirty ops and that is why he got the DFM. But they sent him to another station and I, I think it was Morton in the Marsh on training. And he didn’t get on with the person in charge and he volunteered to go back on ops. And he did another eleven. And I think it was 78 Squadron. It was 78. And he did another eleven ops. And I think, from what he said that he only flew once a month because the CO had to fly once a month and he actually wanted an experienced crew. But he did, did the other eleven. And when the war ended they sent him out to India after all this cold. And so they re-mustered them and he was re-mustered. They kept the rank for so long but they re-mustered him as an equipment assistant and that is the reason they sent him to India. And it was so hot was why he came out of the RAF because otherwise he might have stayed in. He reached the rank of WO1. As I say, they did, they did keep the rank for so long and that, that was it. And then he came out. Ironically, I did part of my training at Kirkham near Blackpool and ironically he was near there coming out as I was doing my training. But I didn’t meet him. But he was coming out and it was near Kirkham. I forget the name of the thing. So — HH: And what did he do when he came out of the RAF? VC: He went — well the only thing he was trained for really was storekeeping and he went to a place near Southampton for Vosper Thorneycroft’s. And it was a smaller, a place with smaller craft than they had at Woolston. It was at Northam. And he stayed there for a while and then later on they started the power station at, down at Fawley near Southampton, near where I live now and he managed to get a job there. And that is how we moved to Holbury near Southampton. And we lived there for forty seven years actually. I’ve only recently, in the last eighteen months moved. But yes. So, you know we did manage to get a job. HH: And [pause] did he keep in touch with his fellow squadron veterans? Did he go to reunions? VC: No. HH: How did he, how did he feel about the way in which Bomber Command was remembered after the war? VC: Well, I know that he tried very, very hard to find one fellow who came from Liverpool. And it’s, it’s only since he’s gone that I found out that he’d died actually. Somewhere in the things I’ve kept it does tell you what happened to them. I think one went back to another country and all that. But he was looking for this one particular. Jimmy Beck his name was. But, as I say I found out that he’d died anyway. After Doug had died. HH: What was his name? VC: Jimmy Beck he used to call him. HH: Ok. And, and did, so did he attend reunions and things? VC: Well, not really. Not really. I do. But you see the crew’s list there and Kennedy was the pilot. And they only list the pilot from the book. And [pause] yeah Jimmy Beck. HH: So, just for the tape this is a book that Vera’s looking in which is called, “The East Moor Experience,” by Brian Shields. VC: Yes. And there is another smaller one. It doesn’t, it hasn’t got so much in it, “Life of an Airfield.” HH: Is that also about East Moor? VC: Oh yes. I’ll tell you what. I’ve got to put my glasses on. [recording paused] HH: We just had a pause for Vera to look at her glasses. Vera, in what year did your husband, Douglas die? When? When did he — VC: It was New Year’s Eve between ’97 and ’98. So, they call it ’98 but I call it ’97. Yes. New Year’s Eve it was. Yeah. And he had emphysema and we had oxygen in the house. And it was due to smoking but you can understand that. HH: Had he smoked ever since the war? VC: Yes. Yeah. And I kept putting leaflets in front of him but he took no notice. But anyway, I didn’t say anything about it but he took no notice. HH: And you wrote. In the letter that you wrote me you said that the church — what had happened? Didn’t want to know anything after he had, after he had passed on. VC: No. Not the church. The — HH: Oh, was it the Association? VC: The Association. Yeah. HH: Yes. VC: Yeah. I mean I’m still paying but I hardly exist if you know what I mean. You know. It’s, you see it started off in Southampton and that’s easy to get to and everything. HH: Right. VC: But now they meet for one hour in a pub outside Southampton. Out West End. And it’s, as I say I’ve got two buses to get there and it’s 11 o’clock in the morning. And I’ve either got to go on a bus and get there too soon or I’ve got to, I get there after it’s started. But I have been the odd times lately but as I say they don’t really want to know. But it started in Southampton and then it moved to another pub and I used to go there but no, they don’t want to know. But I think, you see the main thing of it is because people are getting older and you see now it’s more or less run by a lady. And I mean they’re wives. They’re not. They haven’t even been in. Do you know what I mean? Not even been in the WAAF. But I still stay in because I never know if I might move somewhere else where there is one. This has happened to everything. I mean I belonged to the British Legion Women’s Section and that folded up. But I still pay in to that because when I’m away if I want to go in the British Legion I can. And the same — that’s why I stay in the RAF Association. Because like I’m going next Friday to, for a weekend to Weymouth. Well, in Weymouth they’ve got an RAF Association and I can just pop in. That’s all. And on the odd occasion I’ve been to Eastbourne just for the day and they’ve got one there, you know. And other than that, I mean I’ve had nothing. All those years, you know. So, in some ways you know the way they’re always talking about you know to be fit for heroes, and heroes and all that. Well, I think my husband was a hero but what did they ever do for him? HH: Indeed. Vera, thank you very much for talking to me. VC: That’s alright. HH: This morning. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Vera Chard Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Heather Hughes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-05-15 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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. Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AChardV160515, PChardV1601 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 00:24:28 audio recording Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain Singapore Malaysia Malaysia--Kuala Lumpur Description An account of the resource Vera was born in the Myrtha Tydfil area of Wales. Vera went to the grammar school at Chepstow before getting work in the cashier’s office at the Royal Navy Propellant Factory. After joining the Women's Auxilliary Air Force, Vera was posted to various locations until she volunteered to go to Singapore when the Malayan campaign was still in force. Vera and her colleagues stayed in accommodation previously used by the prisoners. She then went to the Cameron Highlands and then on the train to Kuala Lumpur. She was in Singapore for 13 months and she remembers the Britannia being in the harbour for the Queen’s honeymoon in 1947. They had quite a social life and she enjoyed dancing. On her return from Singapore Vera became a corporal pay clerk, then got to work with the Ministry of Health in London. She left the job when she married Douglas, whom she had met at an RAF Association dance. Douglas had been in Bomber Command as a rear gunner. He started on Wellingtons and then Halifax aircraft. He did a total of 41 operations and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. When the war ended Douglas was posted to India as equipment assistant. After leaving he found work near Southampton. Vera occasionally attended reunions but Douglas did not. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Sue Smith Julie Williams Maureen Clarke Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1947 Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending revision of OH transcription air gunner aircrew bombing Distinguished Flying Medal ground personnel Halifax love and romance military living conditions training Wellington Women’s Auxiliary Air Force Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Malaysia--Kuala Lumpur Description An account of the resource This page is an entry point for a place. Please use the links below to see all relevant documents available in the Archive. Title A name given to the resource Kuala Lumpur [entry point] https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1801/31864/PStewartEC17150011.1.jpg 6f16c0361a0a6966aadd38a05d24b4ff https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1801/31864/PStewartEC17150012.1.jpg 73a840673e290c765038187ddb846919 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Stewart, Edward Colston E C Stewart Description An account of the resource 272 items. The collection concerns Edward Colston Stewart DFC (b. 1916, 87436 Royal Air Force) and his wife, <span>Flight Officer&nbsp;</span>Ann Marie Stewart (nee Imming, b. 1922, 5215 Royal Air Force). It contains his log books, documents, bank notes and photographs. He flew 50 operations as a pilot with 1446 Ferry Flight and 104 Squadron. After the war they served in the Far East. <br /><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2013">Ann Marie Stewart collection</a><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2012">Bank notes</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Paula Cooper and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-02-24 2022-06-21 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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 An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stewart, EC Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Kuala Lumpur Railway Station Description An account of the resource A postcard of the railway station at Kuala Lumpur. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One b/w photograph Type The nature or genre of the resource Photograph Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PStewartEC17150010, PStewartEC17150011 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Malaysia--Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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. https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1063/32267/B[Author]ParkerEv1.pdf 0e0d169b9f1fca9213bafb9d9117e82c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Parker, Eric E Parker Description An account of the resource Three items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Eric Parker (b. 1924, 1522919 Royal Air Force), a photograph and a biography. He flew operations as a navigator with 12 and 166 Squadron. The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Eric Parker and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-05-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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 An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Parker, E Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document [underlined]DECEMBER 2014[/underlined] [underlined]"ERIC'S STORY"[/underlined] Eric Parker was born on the 12th of January 1924, in the district of West Derby, Liverpool. The youngest of three brothers he went St Mary's village school. He had an adventurous childhood, since his father Thomas a farm labourer readily gave him access to the open country life on the farm where he worked. The farm was situated in Knowsley and was called Bathers Farm which is now a built up area. As a boy Eric enjoyed many happy hours on the farm, especially during hay making and harvesting time. This closeness with nature meant as he grew up he really enjoyed the outdoors. He became a boy scout when he was twelve years of age and his love of the outdoors meant many years of happy camping and scouting in general. He left school at fourteen years of age and went into immediate employment as a lift attendant working in the seven stories National Bank in Fenwick Street, Liverpool for the magnificent sum of fourteen shillings per week (70 pence in today's money). This was a very good wage at the time for a fourteen year old boy, the average then being about ten to eleven shillings per week. However being a boy with higher ambitions he voluntarily left his job as lift attendant and became aa apprentice electrician for a wage of seven shillings and sixpence per week (an appreciable drop in earnings). This job however didn't last too long, as his love of nature and the outdoors still lingered and he soon left this employment to become a student gardener with Liverpool Parks and Gardens. This meant each year he would be employed at a different park, nursery or farm belonging to the corporation all this whilst studying to become a professional gardener. His first year was at Newsham Park, Liverpool in the greenhouse and nursery site. A year later he was at Harbreck Farm, Aintree. This farm produced vegetables for the hospitals and homes in the corporation's bounds. By this time by attending various technical college courses he obtained his junior Royal Horticultural Societies Certificate in Botany and Practical Gardening. [page break] The year was now June 1941 and we were at war with Germany, at the age of seventeen and a half years he joined the RAF as air crew and awaited call up which came in January 1942 on his eighteenth birthday. After the usual enlistment procedures in London and Brighton, he found himself at the Initial Training Wing in Paignton, Devon. Here with, many others he learned the mysteries of things like navigation, meteorology, electronics etc. as well as physical exercise and drill. Such a course was very exacting and all grew up from callous youths to seriously competent young men, so that by 1943 he was part of a large body of airmen ready to be shipped to Canada as possible pilots having successfully been graded by flying in Tiger Moths at RAF Sywell in the midlands. The troop ship Empress of Scotland safely took him and many others to Halifax, Nova Scotia despite the great U Boat threat of the time. Soon he was on a troop train which took him to Moose Jaw, Satchewan and from there to a nearby RCAF airfield named Caron. Here he settled in to a twenty four week pilot's course, flying Fairchild Cornell Trainers. As a pilot he had a very short career and was soon grounded as unsuitable (The Chief Flying Instructor remarked "Parker as a pilot you would be more use to the enemy") and posted to a holding unit at Brandon in Manitoba, awaiting a thirty two week course as a navigator/bomb aimer (The longest aircrew course at that time). Finally he was posted to number six Bombing and Gunnery School at Mountain View, Ontario, learning all about bombs, bomb sights and machine guns and bomb aiming. Twelve weeks later after flying on Ansons and Blenheim Aircraft he passed this part of the course and was posted to the number nine air observer school at St Johns, Quebec, which was quite close to the provincial capital Quebec City and also near to Montreal, where his uncle John lived having emigrated to Canada after World War 1. With his friend Bill Readhead, they were able to spend weekends at his apartment as he was now a nationalised Canadian and held a Managerial post in the celebrated Mount Royal Hotel. Consequently the pair was in regular attendance as his guests at the exclusive Normandy Roof Club on a Saturday night (All on the house). [page break] By February 1944 Eric qualified as a Sergeant Navigator and received his flying brevet. He sailed for home just before Easter 1944, again on the Empress of Scotland (With very little U Boat threat this, time). Back in UK (He holidayed in a commandeered hotel in Harrogate for a couple of weeks) After a few short postings for familiarisation with UK wartime flying conditions and restrictions he was posted to RAF Husbands Bosworth, Northampton on operational training unit, flying on Wellington Bombers for a twelve week course. Here he along with a mass of various aircrew trades, signallers, gunners, pilots etc. were all assembled en'masse in a big Hangar and told by the Wing Commander Flying to crew themselves up. He left the hangar saying he would be back later. As they all mingled together Eric was approached by a tall gangly New Zealand pilot who introduced himself as Alec Wickes who asked him if he would consider joining his crew as navigator, Eric agreed and soon together they assembled a crew, namely Alec Wickes Flight Sergeant Pilot, Eric Parker as Sergeant Navigator, Trevor Connolly (NZ) Sergeant Wireless Operator, Bob Whyte (NZ) Sergeant Bomb Aimer, Arthur Saunders Sergeant Mid Upper Gunner, Doug Horton Sergeant Rear Gunner and finally Bill McCabe Sergeant Engineer. Later that morning the Wing Commander returned and those who were still uncrewed (Very Few) were told by him without any argument, this was his final decision and he crewed them up. His last act of that morning was to line them all up in two ranks and say "Look at that man next to you" (This they all did) "Gentlemen you have thirty operations ahead of you and I tell you now, one of you will not be coming back from your tour, good luck to you all and if anyone here wishes to opt out take a step forward now." No one stepped forward. So they finished their crew flying and they all went on to the heavy conversation unit at Blyton near Gainsborough to start flying on the famous Lancaster on a course that was to last for six weeks. Eric enjoyed his time at Blyton and he with his new crew soon bonded together becoming almost like brothers, doing everything together on and off duty. They were billeted in a Nissan hut along with another crew and they learned to become a reliable crew who depended totally on each other for their survival. [page break] Finally they finished their course on Lancaster's and in December 1944 just before Christmas they were posted to One Group B Flight Twelve Squadron Bomber Command at RAF Wickenby as a brand new crew. Wickenby is situated twelve miles south east of Lincoln and Lincoln Cathedral was a wonderful land mark for any returning aircraft. Twelve Squadron itself was a very old World War One squadron whose motto is "Foxes lead the field." This and a Foxes head are emblazoned on its crest; it is still in service today. Life on the squadron was fairly easy going apart from when you were on "Ops" and Eric and crew soon fell into the swing of things. A normal day would normally entail going across to the "flights" (A group of Nissan huts on the other side of the airfield). This was quite a long walk, like everyone else Eric signed out a bicycle for himself and most of the crew followed suit later. At "flights" they had a crew room, where crew sat, drank tea and gossiped. By this time "Wickes's" crew had been allocated a brand new Lancaster with Squadron Markings PH-Y painted on its fuselage and soon they took it on its first air test. The air test proved perfect and they were all delighted at having a brand new machine for their tour. At this time during lunch in the Sergeants Mess everyone gathered around the notice board to read the battle order for that particular night. Wickes's crew were on it and they read out the petrol load required for the operation; it was full tanks (21 .54 gallons). They knew it was to be a very long trip, but where to? That would come later at briefing. Eric's first operation was in fact Chemnitz in Far Eastern Germany a few miles from Dresden which had been fire bombed the day before. A thousand bombers took part, it was very long and exhausting, but the crew came back elated at their success in getting back home safely. This posting to Wickenby now presented Eric with a big problem; he was due to get married on the 6th of January 1945 to his dearly beloved fiance Aimee having become engaged to her prior to leaving for Canada a year earlier. [page break] Eric had first met his wife to be at a dance in St Andrews Church Hall, Clubmoor, Liverpool, one Saturday night. He always remembers this time fondly. He had arrived there with his friend Lenny Hughes and was waiting along with many other young men for a ladies choice dance to begin. He didn't hold much hope of being chosen, but a lovely young sixteen year old girl came confidently across the floor and asked him if he would like to dance. For Eric it was love at first sight and they became engaged six months later. Luckily the CO realised Eric's Marriage problem and granted Eric and all the crew a five day emergency leave and so all the crew attended his wedding. The wedding took place at St Andrews Church, Clubmoor, Liverpool on the 6th of January 1945. After the wedding ceremony Aimee and Eric went to Blackpool for a three day honeymoon. The crew remained on leave in Liverpool until Eric and Aimee returned from Blackpool, they as a crew left Liverpool from Lime Street station on the fifth day of their leave back to their Squadron at Wickenby. [page break] Life went on as usual and soon the crew had a dozen operations under their belts and went on to seven days leave in the month of February. Eric went home to Liverpool and the other members of the crew went elsewhere. On return it was with utter dismay, they found that their aircraft PH-V had been shot down and the crew listed as missing in action. This was a new crew who had borrowed PH-V for their first and only operation. The crew were really dismayed at losing PH-V, but were then given PH-N, this was the oldest kite on the twelve Squadron, but it was a "lucky machine" that had ninety seven operations to its credit, so they didn't mind too much. So life continued much as before, a series of events, such as air test, practical bombing, take-off and landing sessions, air gunnery with Spitfires as enemy and of course night bombing operations over Germany. [page break] During nights off the station emptied out into Lincoln or more usually to the local pub. These were very lively evenings were everyone got a little drunk and sang their heads off. The station also put on dances with WAFF'S and invited ladies from local villages in attendance. While to camp cinema showed numerous films of the time. Eric noticed as their tour progressed that like many other crews they started to get a little "twitchy" as they completed more and more operations. To date Wickes's crew had been lucky for they had survived three night fighter attacks by using a favourite tactic called "cork screwing" The fighter attacks always came from above the port or starboard wing of the bomber. For example if it was the starboard side under attack the air gunner concerned would shout "Fighter Fighter starboard beam, prepare to corkscrew, starboard now" On this command the pilot would partially throttle back the four engines and but the aircraft into a steep diving turn to starboard, this meant that by turning into the attacking aircraft it would have to steepen its turn also to keep on the target. By the time the Lancaster had lost about one thousand feet the pilot would pull it up and go in a steep turn to port and climb up a thousand feet, thus completing the first cycle of a corkscrew. Which would be repeated until the fighter broke off his attack. By the time he got his aircraft back on track the Lancaster had managed to escape out of sight, unlike today the attack planes had no way of re locating their foe. The aircraft suffered little damage from these attacks except during an attack by an ME 109 the tail fin being partially shot away. Navigational tactics during an operation could also endanger the aircraft and many aircraft collided and blew up when navigators took an action which was called "Dog Legging". This happens when the navigator realised he would be too early over the target and would have to take time losing action which couldn't be actioned simply be reducing airspeed (Usually navigators had plus or minus three minutes tolerance over the target). Dog legging meant altering course off the briefed track by sixty degrees for three minutes to starboard or port, this meant that the bomber would be cutting directly across the main bomber stream all virtually unseen at night. Usually the dog leg aimed to lose three minutes of time, so after three minutes the navigator turned the opposite way through one hundred and twenty degrees for a further three minutes, and then the navigator turned the bomber back on track to the target. This would effectively put him back on time by three minutes. He would repeat this action again if he still found it necessary to lose more time. It was an extremely dangerous tactic to undertake as there was a huge risk of collision. [page break] They also successfully survived flying through anti- aircraft flack box barrages, apart from loud explosions from nearby exploding shells and the clatter of shrapnel on the fuselage; they suffered little damage from the running of the gauntlet. Soon Wickes's crew became the senior crew on the Squadron with twenty three operations to their credit and so with a final operation to Heligoland the war came to a close, although an armistice had yet to be agreed upon. By this time PH-N had completed one hundred operations and was awarded by the Squadron members with a DFC and they all celebrated that night in the mess. Things were in a bad state in Europe. The Dutch particularly were all starving, so the Germans agreed on "a safe passage" for a massive air drop on Holland. This was carried out by our bomber command and the USA Eighth Air Force which flew B17 Fortress bombers. This huge Operation was given the code name "MANNA" by the British and "CHOWHOUND" by the Americans and so Eric continued on Ops, but this time instead of bombs Wickes's crew dropped food, and didn't they come down low, zooming across the flat, flooded landscape of Holland at zero feet, with hundreds of Dutch civilians waving to them as they passed over their villages. Eric's crew did four food drop operations, so he completed the Air War with twenty seven operations, three short of his tour of thirty. It had been a successful war for Wickes's crew but the icing on the cake was yet to come, when a few weeks later whilst on end of war leave Eric discovered he had been awarded the DFM (Distinguished Flying Medal) while Alec Wickes (Now and officer) had been awarded the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) and so they all disbanded and took de mob leave. Eric for his part was very unsettled for in January 1945 he had become a married man and now had a wife to consider. He now realised that he enjoyed service life and loved flying and after a long talk with Aimee they decided to continue RAF life together/ come what may. He signed on for a further eight years. later he extended this to twelve years. Finally as time passed by for the full twenty two years which entitled him to a full retirement pension at the age of forty? This also meant that he could live out with Aimee and she would receive a [page break] living out allowance along with her marriage allowance. As a married couple they were financially comfortable compared to many young couples settled in Civvy Street at the time. Eric had left Wickenby and the crew had dispersed while he in turn was at a holding unit on 'an old airfield called Snaith in Yorkshire. Aimee then was living with her sister Lillian while continuing with her post wartime job as a machinist at Lybro Clothiers; they only met at weekends and on leave. This was rather an unsatisfactory arrangement for them both but they accepted it and the short term separation until he got his life on a more permanent station. Unfortunately this was not to be as he was posted in May 1946 to RAF Dishforth in Yorkshire on a heavy conversion unit on York Transport Aircraft. This would ultimately mean that shortly he would be posted on to a Transport Command Squadron and would be spending lots of his time out of the country on route flying to the middle and far-east, at least once a month. Aimee was not happy about this, but accepted the enforced separation philosophically. There was one good piece of news that came out of this new posting. Seemingly his old war time skipper Alec Wickes had not left the service and returned to New Zealand, but had signed on with the RAF. He to had been posted to Dishforth and had asked for his old navigator to join him there on the next available course. This request was granted so they met up once again and flew together for nearly three more years. It is worth mentioning at this point that aircrew on obtaining their wings were promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Some were commissioned as officers. After one year Sergeants were promoted to Flight Sergeant and a year after that they became Warrant Officers. By Easter 1946 Eric had become a Warrant Officer. These ranks were not permanent however and only acting by definition as he explains later in this account. Soon, Eric with his old pilot Alec Wickes (Now a Flight lieutenant) completed their course on the York Transport, this plane is a development of a Lancaster Bomber, but with a large under slung roomy fuselage designed to carry both cargo and passengers or both. [page break] and an air quartermaster and so joined 246 Squadron, Transport Command. They had only been on the Squadron two days when Alec approached Eric and said "get your maps and charts together we are going on a ten day round trip to India tomorrow". This entailed a five days each way flight which was achieved by slipping crews in Egypt (This means one crew rested in Egypt and the other went on and Eric's crew followed with another plane the next day). The route was UK to Castel Benito, Tripoli, from there to Heliopolis in Cairo, then to Shaibah, Iraq, to Karachi, India and then on to Palam near Dell. It was all daytime flying, they night stopped at Tripoli and slipped crews at Heliopolls for one day. They night stopped at Karachi and after Palam they returned to UK on a reverse flight order. These were gruelling flights and they all came back greatly fatigued (Today known as jet lag). Such flights had their compensations and such was the case here in the form of smuggling. This was quite easy in those early days of peace. The British public had been deprived of luxury goods for many years and now had money to spend. There were no customs officers on any of the airfields and strangely, at many places along the routes luxury items like watches, jewellery, nylons, perfumes and ladies shoes were readily available and cheap. One of the most popular items smuggled in by the crews was large Chinese embossed Indian carpets from KarachL They cost about thirty pounds in Karachi and sold for around one [page break] hundred and fifty pounds in the UK. Smuggling became so well known in Cambridge (a later transport station) that at nights in the Criterion Hotel Bar transport crews would be approached by young ladies with a torn out copy of an advert from some American Magazines, this would be pocketed by the would be smuggler along with an outline of the ladies foot and this pattern would be faithfully copied by a back street shoemaker in Karachi for five pounds and later sold in UK to the lady for fifteen pounds. This also applied to all the other short supply goods mentioned. This smuggling continued a" the time Eric was on Transport Command to late 1948. Finally ended when a Customs Airfield was established at RAF Lyneham and all future route Yorks had to call there for customs clearance. From then on all the crew's duty free allowance was restricted to a bottle of whisky and two hundred cigarettes, a" other imports were taxed and so ended smuggling - more or less. Eric and Alec were only at Holmsley South for about four months then they were posted to 242 Squadron at Oakington, ten miles from Cambridge. At Oakington they had a new role flying Yorks with both passengers and freight and their route had now been extended to include Singapore and RAF Changi. Flying basically the same route as before, but now including either Dum Dum near Calcutta or Negombo in Ceylon. The choice of which route depended on the position and activity of the monsoon rains at the time. Most ofthe time on the UCS route so called, was uneventful, except for one incident halfway across the Indian Ocean on enroute from Changi to Negombo. Eric - as navigators do, was taking a merpass of the sun with his sextant, when his astrodome blew off and away went the dome and the sextant. He was rather shaken as were the rest of the cabin crew, but soon they all settled down to a rather noisy and windy flight. luckily there was no rain and at Negombo the ground crew sealed the opening temporarily and so they were able to continue for home next day. Eric and Alec carried on flying Yorks on 242 Squadron until the end of 1947. The Alec was posted to the Empire Air Training School at Shawbury and Eric to 148 Squadron at Upwood near Peterborough and back on Lancaster’s at Bomber Command again. It was whilst on this Squadron that he received the news on 14th January 1948 that his wife Aimee had given birth to a baby girl, later to be christened as Sandra. (So named after the homing searchlight beacons present on Bomber Command during the war). [page break] This period in their married lives meant that for once they could be together even though accommodation was hard to come by. However they struck lucky and Eric was able to hire an eighteen foot caravan situated about half a mile from the RAF Station gates. [page break] They were very happy there, but by February 1948 Eric was on the move once more, being posted to RAF Wyton, (is Squadron Bomber Command) twelve miles away from Upwood towards Huntingdon. Eric would commute by bicycle. luckily they had just started building new married quarters at Wyton and after a few months they moved from the caravan into brand new married quarters on the camp at Wyton itself. These were very settled times for them both and baby Sandra. Eric was now flying Lincoln’s. This was really a stretched version of the Lancaster, but updated in several ways, yet still obsolete, now that Canberra's and V bombers would soon be coming into service. Never the less life was now settled and enjoyable for Eric and Aimee, but for how long? Unfortunately it was not for long at all, by April 1950 he was posted to RAF Marham, near Kings lynn, Norfolk and so they had to vacate their quarters and move on once again. luckily this station was also embarked on a big building scheme, but quarters would not become available for about eighteen months. luck was again on their side and they managed to rent a self-contained flat over a general store in Downham Market. So they all settled down yet again. Aimee and Sandra were very happy there and became lifelong friends with the owners of the flat. However this meant that Eric had to cycle back and forward to work each day which was rather a bind (Twelve miles each way). Once the building started he was able to hitch a lift with the Lorries delivering materials for the building of the new runways. [page break] Marham turned out to be a very special posting; he became part of a team chosen to form a new conversion unit because the RAF had decided to re-equip their Bomber Squadrons with B 29 Bombers from the USAF (United States Air Force). The B29 had proved itself in the Japanese theatre of war and was seen as a perfect stop gap plane until the Squadrons of the RAF were re-equipped with jets. Initially these new crews were all converted on to the B29 by American crews and Eric because he was already familiar with the "Norden" bomb site became a Bombing Instructor when the first of the new RAF B29 Squadrons came into conversion. The B29 was known in the RAF as the Washington and he remembers up to eight Squadrons of RAF air crew that he was involved in training. The conversion unit then finally became a full Squadron in its own right and was given the title 35 Squadron. He now served on the new Squadron as a Navigator/Bomber Aimer. A year later Eric was able to move into a new married quarter on the base, this was a three bedroom semi-detached house with all mod cons of the day. [page break] During his time at Marham Her Majesty the Queen visited the base and the next door married quarter was inspected by her. All the children were lined up to meet her. He remained at Marham until June 1956. Sandra grew up and then at five years old attended a small “hutted" infant school set up by the camp authorities for Eric's part, life settled down to the usual humdrum Squadron life, except now he was a full Flight Sergeant but life was similar to before. Cross country exercises, bombing and gunnery etc. life had become quite boring. Things changed in 1955 when other bomber squadrons in the RAF were now being re equipped with jet bombers and the B 29 crews had the very pleasant task of ferrying a well- used B29 back to the USA. Eric was lucky and made three transatlantic crossings, firstly via Iceland to near New York and then down to Dover in Delaware. They night stopped at Dover and next day flew via Montgomery in Alabama and then on to their destination at Davies Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona, a very successful flight to a huge desert airfield full of thousands of moth balled military aircraft stretching out into the desert as far as the eye could see. It really brought home to him the enormity of the American Air Force and how it now had an Air Force fully equipped with jet planes. [page break] The crews returned to Marham courtesy of American civil and military transport planes as passengers. Later at Marham 35 Squadron converted on to the jet Canberra Bomber. It took Eric quite a while to adjust to the new speeds and altitudes of the Canberra, then gradually as before he settled down to normal Squadron life. He remained at Marham until June 1956, until the whole Squadron was relocated to RAF Upwood and so he completed a full circle in Bomber Command. Shortly after arriving Aimee and Sandra moved into a new quarter on the base and Sandra went on to the village school in Ramsey village. Eric was only at Upwood a week when the Suez Canal crises occurred, this was when the canal was nationalised by Colonel Nassar and closed to shipping. British and French Governments strongly objected to this action and several Squadrons of Canberra's were posted out to Akrotiri in Cyprus, 35 Squadron being one of them. As history shows this campaign to open up and free the blockaded Suez Canal which was aided and abetted by France and Israel became an utter farce and even after successful landing of troops in the zone and one bombing raid by RAF Canberra's on Cairo Radio Station the whole force had to withdraw, like whipped dogs since the United Nations with USA in the lead, insisted that this [page break] action was against International Law and that sanctions would be taken against us all if we disobeyed the UN's orders. Once again Eric was back at RAF Upwood to whatever lay ahead, he didn't have to wait too long, by early July 1957 he was posted to Kuala Lumper in Malaya to the Department of Psychological Warfare (Whatever that was). So by late July 1957 Eric found himself on the troop ship 55 Oxfordshire along with Aimee and 5andra, as he had organised an accompanied passage for them. [page break] The ship had to go via Durban, South Africa, because the Suez Canal was still closed to shipping. When they reached Durban they were on the first troop ship to call there since the end of World War 2. In those days the "troop ships" were always met by the "Lady in White" who sang patriotic songs over a very loud PA system and the citizens welcomed all the troops as they passed through. Now as patriotic as ever, she came out of retirement to welcome them all both in and out of the harbour during their twelve hour stay. As the Oxfordshire left Durban at dusk she was on the quay and sang them away with land of hope and glory. It was a very emotional experience for all on board. A couple of weeks later they arrived early morning at Singapore and they all spent the day sight-seeing in Singapore City, before boarding a sleeper train bound for Kuala Lumpar {KL}. The night trip was uneventful in spite of terrorist activity in certain areas of the route. All servicemen including Eric were issued with rifles and revolvers. [page break] They arrived at KL early morning and took up residence for a few days in the Paramount Hotel in Batu Road. It took Eric and family a few days to get settled in but soon they were safely billeted in an RAF civilian hiring at an area called Brickfields. Meanwhile Eric acquired an old Standard 9 saloon car for a small sum and soon was using it to get himself and family to and fro from hiring to airfield and elsewhere. In fact life became very pleasant indeed, Sandra was soon enrolled in the local British Army School and was bussed into lessons every weekday. These lessons finished at lpm every day, Aimee and Sandra taxied to the airfield nearly every day where they met up with Eric at the Naffe Club and swimming pool, since he had usually finished the days flying duties by then. The family [page break] later moved into a small bungalow at Petaling Jaya and new housing estate on the outskirts of KL. Eric discovered that he was now a navigator attached to a flight of three old Dakota Transport Planes of World War Two vintage, but still fully operational. They were known as "The Voice Flight" each was named as "Faith" "Hope" and "Charity" and had been especially adapted to carry out loud hailing operations for the Department of Psychological Warfare. Each Dakota carried four ground tannoy loud speakers securely attached to the underside of the fuselage on a metal girder pointing out to port (Left) (Can be seen in photo just above wheels). Power to these was in the form of a huge emergency AC Ground Generator and was firmly bolted in the centre of the empty fuselage along with four by fifty vault valve operated amplifiers which stood at each corner of the generator. Messages in various local languages such as Chinese, Malayan and Indian were recorded on an endless tape and so messages were sent out to various terrorist groups in their jungle hideouts asking them to surrender. These terrorist groups were determined to break away from the British Empire and form a free Malaya, but not as a democratic government, but as a Communist one which the British Government was not prepared to sanction. Eric soon found out that this was quite a dangerous job since all the flights were done at a very low level and followed a square search pattern at a very low airspeed which meant flying near the aircrafts stalling speed. Most flights were [performed early morning and lasted three to four hours every day seven days a week, but not in bad weather conditions. Paint Your Wagon (Not the film later released starring Clint Eastwood and lee Marvin) was a very popular musical on Broadway and soon the voice flight had adapted one of its songs as a signature tune, namely "l Talk To The Trees" (Clint Eastwood later sang this in the film). It was a very exacting job, but seemed to get results. As the terrorist war progressed so the terrorist groups gave ground more and more towards the Siamese Border. Soon the voice flight was on the move and found themselves at Bayen Nepas a small airfield on Penang Island. Aimee and Sandra soon followed a few days later when Eric had obtained a small Bungalow hiring at a small hamlet on the Island named Buket Glugar. This was also HQ for an RAF Boat Squadron for the region and several high speed launches were birthed there for sea patrols in that region. The voice flights were made very welcome by them and gave them access to their mess and outside film show which the family enjoyed. Eric was also a member of the Army Sergeants Mess at Minden Barracks which allowed them to use the facilities including swimming pool, this was near to their home in Green lane. [page break] During the move to Penang, there was a tragedy the Dakota's were being used to carry freight to their new base in Penang and since the airfield had no night facilities one of the planes fully laden was in a hurry to take off to get there before nightfall and in his haste the pilot Flight lieutenant Kevin Kelleher failed to carry out his ground checks and took off with his elevator locks still inserted in the elevators in the fully up position. On take-off he went straight up in the air and stalled and crashed on the end of the runway. Fortunately no one [page break] was injured but the plane was a write off. (I recently learned in December 2014 that Kevin had died). Now we only had "Hope" and "Charity" left. In August 1959 Eric was promoted to Warrant Officer yet again, but this time he was of substantive rank and now known as a Master Navigator. He remained in this rank until he retired. By the end of December 1959 the terrorist war came to a victorious end to the British and Commonwealth Forces. The terrorists surrendered in droves. The Chinese leader Chin Peng disappeared over the Thai Border and presumably ended up back in Communist China (He lived to a good age and died last year 2013). It was also the end ofthe British Governing in Malaya as the country became an Independent state. At the beginning of January 1960 the Malayans celebrated MERDEKA (Freedom) and became known as Malaysia. On 1st January 1960 Eric and family arrived by air into London's Heathrow. After a visit to Air Ministry Eric was posted (After a month's leave) to Dishforth. It should be mentioned at this point that prior to leaving Malaya Eric had ordered a new Hillman Minx Car from a dealer in George Town, Penang. In those distant days it was almost impossible to buy a new car in the UK as they all went for export and any UK models carried a huge purchase tax burden. However since he was then deemed as overseas he was able to purchase a new model free of taxes which was duly deducted from the export line in the UK and was awaiting his collection for when he had finally arrived home. This collection was duly made by him whilst on leave and so he became the owner of a brand new Hillman Minx At Dishforth instead of York Aircraft he found himself on a twelve week conversion course on the mighty Bristol Beverley a workhorse transport aircraft as navigator. [page break] In early 1960 Eric finished the conversion and was posted to 47 Squadron at Abingdon in Oxfordshire. A lovely area to be posted to. With his seniority he soon moved into married quarter whilst his daughter Sandra who had passed the eleven plus examine in Malaya, moved into the local Grammar School, so the Parkers were settled once more except for the number of detachments he would have to suffer, now that he was back in Transport Command. Whilst stationed on the new base apart from the usual crew training so named as continuation training, they were also involved in para trooping and heavy drop training, but most of the time the crews were out of the country ferrying passengers and freight to all parts of the Med, Middle East and all over Africa north of the equator. For example the Squadron flew out to Eastleigh/Nairobi, Kenya for a month in November 1962 and made numerous food drops to the famine suffering areas of Kenya in the northern frontier district on the Ethiopian border, either air dropping or landing with heavy supplies, on very short air strips carved out of the bush. Short field landings and take offs were a speciality for the Beverley with its four reverse thrust engines and very low landing speeds and robust under carriage. The Squadron spent Christmas in Nairobi and returned to UK in January 1963. Satisfied that they had done a good humanitarian job in Africa. During his time with 47 Squadron he made several interesting trips, one in particular was to a place called Manfe in the British Cameroons; this meant crossing the Sahara Desert with a load of heavy freight for a new airfield being constructed there right in the middle of a dense jungle region. On his first flight, his navigation took him to a couple of miles of the new airstrip, but unfortunately for him all homing devices on the airfield had broken down, making it impossible to find the airfield among the dense canopy of trees. They flew around for about half an hours searching vainly for visual contact, but to no avail. But hope came from an unsuspected source, as one of the passengers, a civilian air engineer, returning to Manfe from UK leave came forward and recognising a nearby river bend was able to direct them to the much concealed airstrip. Relief was expressed all round as fuel was getting critical by this time and they would have had to consider diverting to Kano a big airfield in Nigeria. The second trip was no problem as all the radio waves were fully serviceable, on returning to UK Eric had to report sick as he found out he had contracted amoebic dysentery and spent three weeks in isolation hospital at RAF Ery, Norfolk. He finally got clearance for the disease and was soon back on flying with the Squadron, with a medical restriction which [page break] supposedly was to restrict his flying to Europe only but the squadron ignored this and soon he was back en route to Khormaksa, Aiden. This airfield served the port of Aiden and the Yemen. This was at the time when Britain was withdrawing from the smaller outposts in the middle and Far East. With many others on the squadron he helped in this withdrawal. Evacuating troops and valuable freight back to the UK. Eric remained with 47 Squadron until August 1964, when he applied for a one year home posting which airmen ending long service were entitled to receive under RAF regulations. The parker family packed their bags and bought a brand new semi-detached house at Formby. This house had a large back garden. The house had been purchased and equipped during an earlier leave period. His new posting was to an RAF telephone exchange at Haydock - between Liverpool and Manchester alongside the Haydock Racecourse. This exchange also supported a Radar tracking unit in its grounds. In his last year Eric became a RT controller on the unit. (A very cushy posting). Although the hours could be very irregular depending on when the new V bomber force wanted to practice their radar bombing. As he now still had the Hillman Minx, the journey from Formby was not onerous. [page break] At this time the role of the Plotting Unit should be explained. Its purpose was to allow the V Bomber Force to practice it's blind bombing techniques. Each unit (There were several dotted over the UK) had two radar dishes in cabins, it was the task of the operators to track the V Bombers as they made their bombing run in for the target, which in this case was the dead centre of the plotting table. So that as they came into range information from the dishes was passed to this part of the unit. This triggered off the ink filled tracker arm fixed on the plotting table and this track continued towards the table centre until the bomber pilot called bomb had gone then the plotting arm stopped drawing. The by a series of mathematical tables a controller was able to calculate where the bomb would have struck in relation to the target on the plotting table centre and the results were then passed to the bomber by VHF radio. The V Bomber Force honed its blind bombing skills in this way and became more proficient. The bombers would fly from their various bases situated in other parts ofthe UK and ostensively bomb Haydock and other such units situated elsewhere in the course of the exercise. [page break] Eric quite enjoyed his short time at Haydock and recalls one very special evening which has stayed with him until this day. About 1030pm all RT discipline on the unit was broken when a V Bomber pilot called him up and said "Have you heard the news? President Kennedy has been assassinated." Soon the airwaves were awash with uncontrolled chatter. It seemed so strange as strict radio discipline had always been the rule. Soon Eric's time at Haydock and indeed the RAF ended. He departed in late August 1964, on his last but one day to the de mob centre just outside Blackpool and took a bed there for the night. Next morning he went through all the de mob procedures and finally was kitted out at the clothing store with a full set of civilian gear. This gear was exactly the same as that given to conscripts at the end of the World War 2 -1945-1948 and comprised: Hat, shirt, tie, three piece suit, socks and shoes, and belted raincoat. Eric found them handy for working in, in the garden and other odd jobs. He also received his final wages which surprisingly contained a £12 bonus for winning his DFM. Seemingly officers received £25 for their DFC's, but were expected to forgo this amount and donate it to the RAF Benevolent Fund (Or so he was told). Eric became a civilian once more and he felt quite disconsolate as he made his way home to his new house in Formby and new life with his wife and daughter. He had made plans for his future, during his last few years at RAF Abingdon and he now intended that his new work life would be that of a schoolmaster and so during that period he attended many educational courses provided by the RAF to obtain the necessary GCE's to gain entry to a training college. During this time he obtained good passes of GCE's in Maths, English Language, English literature, Navigation, Chemistry, Geography and General Paper. These were quite sufficient at that time for entry into college. He was finally accepted by Edge Hill Teachers Training College, near Ormskirk, Lancashire, which is situated about twelve miles inland from the coast of Formby, which is now a part of Merseyside (Since 1974) and so he travelled to and fro each day in the comfort of his Hillman Minx (Quite a change from his cycling days in the RAF). Edge Hill was a very stately college in lovely grounds and as a former lowly lad from West Derby, he felt very privileged to be a mature student there. This mature status meant that he only had to complete a two year course and so he joined up with a junior course of students that had just completed their first year's study. He joined this course at the beginning of the Easter Term 1965 along with about six other mature students, both men and women were on the course. [page break] For his main subjects he elected to specialise in Geography and Rural Science as he still maintained his love of the outdoors and the wider world. Rural Science comprised many topics such as general gardening, soil science, botany, chemistry and he found it very interesting especially as his new house in Formby embraced an extra-large garden. (As earlier photographs have shown). The Geography course was equally comprehensive and he found it quite fulfilling as it embraced so many subjects that he had used every day as his role as RAF Navigator. Such topics as map projections, meteorology, geology, astronomy, time and tides, all were relevant to him and so he found the course quite absorbing and easy. During the two years at Edge Hill Eric had to complete a full school term teaching practice for each of the years, for the first year he was lucky and completed his practice at Holy Trinity Junior School in Formby which was very convenient for him. For the second year term of practice he taught at Ormskirk Secondary School. He enjoyed both these postings and learned a lot about handling children and general classroom procedures. Finally he qualified and left college and took up a position at St luke's C of E School in Formby. For his main subjects he elected to specialise in Geography and Rural Science as he still maintained his love of the outdoors and the wider world. Rural Science comprised many topics such as general gardening, soil science, botany, chemistry and he found it very interesting especially as his new house in Formby embraced an extra-large garden. (As earlier photographs have shown). The Geography course was equally comprehensive and he found it quite fulfilling as it embraced so many subjects that he had used every day as his role as RAF Navigator. Such topics as map projections, meteorology, geology, astronomy, time and tides, all were relevant to him and so he found the course quite absorbing and easy. During the two years at Edge Hill Eric had to complete a full school term teaching practice for each of the years, for the first year he was lucky and completed his practice at Holy Trinity Junior School in Formby which was very convenient for him. For the second year term of practice he taught at Ormskirk Secondary School. He enjoyed both these postings and learned a lot about handling children and general classroom procedures. Finally he qualified and left college and took up a position at St luke's C of E School in Formby. [page break] This was a typical small village school still maintaining its links with the church even though this was now the responsibility of the local council. The headmistress at this time was an old fashioned spinster named Miss Cubbons and she ruled the school with a fair but firm hand. Eric remembers his opening week with her when one day she said to him "Remember this Mr Parker, you don't want children to like you, you want them to resoect you and liking you will follow." Eric took this on board and it served him in good stead during his twenty two years of teaching. During his first two years at St Lukes Eric was in charge of second year Juniors and settled in well until Miss Cubbons retired and a new headmaster was appointed, a Mr Brian Waiter Mills who was formerly Deputy Head at St Peters, Formby. Eric and Brian became firm friends almost overnight and when the school reconvened at the end of the summer holidays he move Eric up to fourth year junior class teacher. Eric was delighted with his new post and soon spread his wings, since the new head although quite traditional, was not afraid to accept new challenges. This suited Eric and he spread his wings into all sorts of educational topics of curricular and non-curricular. By and large the boys and girls of the fourth year responded well to his efforts and he gained the respect not only of the children but their parents as well. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eric Parker's Biography Description An account of the resource Titled Eric's Story it details Eric's life from birth in Liverpool. He joined the RAF on his 18th birthday in January 1942. Initial training was at Paignton then he was shipped to Canada. He failed to progress as a pilot and was transferred to a navigator course, returning to UK in February 1944. He flew in Lancasters with 12 Squadron at Wickenby. He and his entire crew were given five days leave so that he could get married in January 1945. His crew dropped food for the starving Dutch as part of Operation Manna. After the war he served with Transport Command on Yorks. He continued moving around and spent time on B-29s then Canberras at Marham. Later he and his family were sent to Kuala Lumpur then Penang on Dakotas. On his return he was posted to Abingdon on Beverleys. This included trips to Nairobi. He transferred to Haydock as a radio controller, after which he left the RAF and became a teacher. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-12 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 32 page typed sheets Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Personal research Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context B[Author]ParkerEv1 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Royal Air Force. Transport Command United States Army Air Force Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Liverpool England--Knowsley (District) England--Liverpool England--Aintree England--Paignton Canada Nova Scotia--Halifax Saskatchewan--Moose Jaw Manitoba--Brandon Ontario England--Harrogate Germany--Chemnitz Germany--Dresden England--Blackpool England--Lincoln England--Bournemouth India Egypt Libya--Tripoli Egypt--Heliopolis (Extinct city) Iraq India--New Delhi Pakistan--Karachi Singapore India--Kolkata Sri Lanka--Negombo England--King's Lynn England--Downham Market Iceland United States Delaware--Dover New York (State)--New York Arizona--Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Egypt--Suez Canal Malaysia--Kuala Lumpur South Africa--Durban Kenya--Nairobi Cameroon Sahara Desert Nigeria--Kano Yemen (Republic)--Aden England--Formby England--Haydock England--Ormskirk Germany--Helgoland Québec Québec--Montréal Arizona Delaware New York (State) Libya Saskatchewan Germany Nova Scotia Kenya Malaysia South Africa Pakistan Sri Lanka Nigeria Yemen (Republic) Malaysia--George Town (Pulau Pinang) England--Devon England--Hampshire England--Lancashire England--Norfolk England--Lincolnshire Manitoba North Africa Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource David Bloomfield Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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. Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1942 1943 1944 1945 12 Squadron 148 Squadron 15 Squadron 242 Squadron 35 Squadron 47 Squadron air gunner aircrew Anson anti-aircraft fire B-29 Blenheim bomb aimer C-47 Cornell crewing up Distinguished Flying Cross Distinguished Flying Medal entertainment flight engineer ground personnel hangar Heavy Conversion Unit Initial Training Wing Lancaster Lincoln love and romance Me 109 navigator Navy, Army and Air Force Institute Nissen hut Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945) Operational Training Unit pilot RAF Abingdon RAF Blyton RAF Dishforth RAF Eastleigh RAF Husbands Bosworth RAF Lyneham RAF Marham RAF Oakington RAF Paignton RAF Shawbury RAF Snaith RAF Sywell RAF Upwood RAF Wickenby RAF Wyton Spitfire Tiger Moth training Wellington wireless operator Women’s Auxiliary Air Force York https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1879/34815/MClarkM[Ser -DoB]-170623-01.pdf f8d0e85663defb4325b86599799358aa Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Clark, Marion Clarke, Marion M Clark Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-06-23 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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 An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Clark, M Description An account of the resource Ten items. The collection concerns Leading Aircraftswoman Marion Clark (Royal Air Force) and contains an audio recording and photographs. She served as a driver in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force at RAF Hemswell and RAF Ingham. The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Dorothy Cole and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document Great Aunt Marion was the eldest of 4 siblings Ken, Pat & Dorothy. She was born in Leeds to Violet & Henry Clark, and, was educated at Burley Church School in Leeds. She was a high achiever academically and physically, being captain of the netball team, she was also taught to play golf. She had the opportunity to go on to higher education, but, due to the ill health of her Father, Marion at the age of 14 returned home to help her Mother run The Royal Oak at Swayfield. Marion had beautiful hand writing and a wonderful way with words, delivered in distinctive melodious voice, with a wonderful laugh and mischievous sense of humour. On his way home from market Great grandfather taught Marion & Ken to drive. He was in the observer core and allowed special fuel rations. She recalled filling a 2 gallon can of petrol for 1/2 a crown. Learning to drive stood Marion in good stead. When the war started she made the decision not to work in the ammunitions factory at Grantham – she didn't want to turn yellow! So, when war broke out in 1939, Marion secretly sent off her application form, under the age of 18! Her Father approved, her mother certainly didn't. Marion wanted to join the MT section. She scored 98% in her test for vehicle maintenance, and would remove the rotor arm to disable her vehicle – in case it fell into enemy hands. Marion drove until she was 90, and then only stopped because of the minor stroke she had. Marion commenced her WRAF duties at Hemswell and various locations around Britain, often working 36 hours and only admitting to falling asleep at the wheel once! She said how bitterly cold it was and how she cried when her hot water bottle burst. Marion drove the length and breadth of Britain, without Sat Nav. or road signs! Delivering supplies and chauffeuring Officers and Generals to meetings, and air crew to and from their planes. It was whilst in the forces Marion became engaged to Peter Ball a B17 bomber pilot, Peter was billeted at Stocking Hall, they met at a dance at Swayfield. Unfortunately, like many other brave young men he failed to return from his mission, along with his crew. Marion was left to deal with the loss of her first love. At the end of the war Marion was recruited into the W.V.S. She had postings in Germany, Singapore, Burma and Kuala Lumpur. Whilst in the Far East, Marion learnt to fly, she went solo in 1951 and gained her [page break] pilots licence in a Tiger Moth, under the tutorage of Don McFail and Freddy Fisk – she said he smoked such a lot his teeth were almost brown. Marion remembered delivering a 21st Birthday cake to a soldier chasing communist bandits. She parachuted the cake over the side of the Auster aircraft. Marion loved all creatures, great or small. She remembered an Orangutan while in the Far East that lifted her skirt and looked at her face through the material, he was fascinated he could see through the material. Her friend Elizabeth used to collect moths, so, she used to make sure they flew off before Elizabeth could stick a pin through them! Marion and her flying instructor Don, also tried to save a baby elephant, when its mother was mistakenly killed. Marion was especially fond of dogs and had many throughout her life, given or rescued. Jumpy Foster, she looked after him in Germany, he was a border terrier. Knick named Jumpy Foster because he used to jump with the parachute regiments whilst training. When Marion left Germany leaving Jumpy Foster broke her heart, she said "he came to me and looked down at my suitcase, then looked up, and he gave me a wet nose kiss goodbye. With a heavy heart, she entrusted him to the house keeper. After the war 1949 – 52 period. Marion had a wonderful time in Fallingbostel, the invites to Balls littered the door mat. There was so much to do, squash courts, Polo ponies to ride and race, skying – Three very happy years there with The 7th armoured division that had fought in Middle East, beside the desert rats, 7th Hussars and the Queen bays. Marion was posted to Berlin but didn't want to go, she was enjoying herself so much at Fallingbostel – Marion said they were 3 of the best years of her life. Marion returned to England in 1955 decorated with The Defence Medal, British War Medal and General Service Medal. She resumed her life, but continued to put others first, working for Lincolnshire County council, where she gained her qualifications as a Social Worker, working with Children Services and still supporting her mother in running the Three Tunns pub at Castle Bytham. She was also an active member for the Parish Council. Marion & her mother had a caravan at Heacham in Norfolk, spending many happy hours walking with their dogs and socialising. The Clark family have always been great believers in the restorative powers of fresh air and a tipple or two. Many reckling pigs, ducks, lambs, birds, cats, [page break] dogs and family members have been restored with a generous dose of Brandy! When Marion retired, she moved to Bourne with her mother. Marion now had the time to pursue her love of art and caring for animals. Marion loved all her dogs the latter being Dachshund's Sarus, Pippa, and Brigg and finally tiny Amber her Jack Russell, her last little love, rescued from the back of a van. Marion looked after her mother at home until she passed on, with only a brief spell in hospital at the very end. Marion was also able to stay in her home, which was her dearest wish. With the help of her carers and good neighbours:- Amber, Richard, Anne & Dave. Marion's final weeks were filled with Christmas and visits from friends and family. Her last little adventure was down to the Nags Head pub, to have lunch with her dearest friend Joan, before spending Christmas day with her family. Marion loved to dance and Dorothy as a little girl remembers Marion frequently dancing around the kitchen, with her in her arms. Both Beverley & Tracey remember being taught to do the twist at the Three Tunns pub, with much laughter and merriment. Life was an adventure and although towards the end of the 2015, Marion's infirmities could have laid her low. She would have none of it, she lived her life on her terms, determined, and with great dignity and strength of character. Marion would not deviate from her chosen path, which was a good, kind one. If she ever took your suggestion, it was because, she had already chosen that route! We say this with great respect for a Gentle Women [sic] of a stoical era. We will always remember her tickling laughter, when relating the recent story of her Knight in shining armour Dave. Who climbed through her upstairs window to rescue her! And Richard guiding her home from town when she was caught in heavy rain and soaked to the skin. Last but not least a big thank you to Amber and Ann for keeping a close eye on Marion, sharing their meals with Aunt, and the most precious gift of all to Marion, their time. [italics] We thank you all – "God Bless" [/italics] Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Marion Clark Biography Description An account of the resource Marion's life detailed, from birth, including her days with the RAF. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Leeds England--Grantham Germany--Fallingbostel (Landkreis) Singapore Burma Malaysia--Kuala Lumpur Germany--Berlin England--Lincolnshire England--Heacham Germany Malaysia England--Norfolk England--Yorkshire Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Personal research Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Three printed sheets Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MClarkM[Ser#-DoB]-170623-01 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Sue Smith animal B-17 entertainment ground personnel killed in action RAF Hemswell sport Tiger Moth Women’s Auxiliary Air Force https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2206/39285/PWainwrightJE22040008.2.jpg 33c10e368ad784af1ce19d3428af5233 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wainwright, John Edgar. Album 1 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-02-21 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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 An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Wainwright, JE Description An account of the resource 16 items. Photographs of his time in Singapore and the Far East after the war. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, Kuaulon, Scocrabon Description An account of the resource 11 photographs from an album. #1 is desks and chairs arranged in front of some buildings. #2 is a head and shoulders portrait of a girl. #3 is a view with some people, a large tree and some buildings. #4 is a river in a park. #5 is a view of trees and two people with buildings in the distance. #6 is some trees . #7 is a quiet street with one rickshaw and two people. #8 is a bridge. #9 is a bullock cart in a quiet street. #10 is two people outside some houses. #11 is a large bungalow. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Malaysia Malaysia--Kuala Lumpur Malaysia--Pulau Pinang (State) Malaysia--Ipoh (Perak) Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Photograph Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 11 b/w photographs on two album pages Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PWainwrightJE22040008 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive