Browse Items · IBCC Digital Archive

Interview with Jeff Mackay

Jeff Mackay was born in 1922 in Ballarat, Australia and was working as a cadet engineer. He joined the Army but decided to join the RAAF when the Japanese entered the war in 1941. After boarding a ship he trained as a navigator in Canada and then…

Tags: 460 Squadron; aircrew; bombing; entertainment; lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; military ethos; navigator; Operation Exodus (1945); Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945); prisoner of war; RAF Binbrook; RAF Hixon; RAF Llandwrog; superstition; training

Interview with Eric William Harrison

Eric William Harrison joined the RAF in 1943 and trained as a flight engineer at RAF Locking, RAF St Athan, and RAF Chedburgh. He flew Stirlings and recollects that they were a terrifying aircraft compared to Lancasters. Harrison formed a crew at the…

Just Another Tailend Charlie

A memoir written by Cliff Watson divided into 20 chapters.

The Earliest Years.
Born in Barnoldswick, then in Yorkshire, now in Lancashire in 1922. His father ran a wireless business until 1926. He describes his years at schools and a move to…

Tags: 109 Squadron; 142 Squadron; 150 Squadron; 1661 HCU; 227 Squadron; 25 OTU; 30 OTU; 5 Group; 617 Squadron; 84 OTU; 9 Squadron; air gunner; Air Gunnery School; aircrew; Albemarle; Anson; anti-aircraft fire; B-17; B-24; Beaufighter; bomb aimer; bombing; bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945); C-47; Defiant; Distinguished Flying Cross; Distinguished Flying Medal; ditching; FIDO; flight engineer; Flying Training School; Gee; ground personnel; Halifax; Harvard; Heavy Conversion Unit; Hudson; Hurricane; Initial Training Wing; Ju 87; Ju 88; lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; mess; military discipline; Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy; Mosquito; navigator; Operational Training Unit; Oxford; Pathfinders; prisoner of war; RAF Balderton; RAF Bardney; RAF Bawtry; RAF Bircotes; RAF Blida; RAF Catfoss; RAF Desborough; RAF Eastleigh; RAF Farnborough; RAF Finningley; RAF Graveley; RAF Greenock; RAF Handforth; RAF Hemswell; RAF Hixon; RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor; RAF Kairouan; RAF Milltown; RAF Norton; RAF Scampton; RAF Seighford; RAF Strubby; RAF Syerston; RAF Waddington; RAF Wick; RAF Winthorpe; RAF Wyton; searchlight; Spitfire; sport; Stirling; Sunderland; Tiger force; Tiger Moth; training; Wellington; wireless operator / air gunner; Women’s Auxiliary Air Force

Interview with John Green

John Green was born on the 22 September 1921 in Penge, South East London. He registered for the Royal Air Force to prevent being called up by the Army and was drafted in 1942. He was posted to the Isle of Man, where he volunteered as a drogue…

G Cruickshank Memoir

Describes life with family from 1918. Joined Army – 4th Queen's Own Hussars on 2nd January 1936. Joined RAF 1938 and trained as balloon operator then applied as air gunner, arriving at RAF Swinderby in December 1941. Took part in 50 Squadron…

They Refused to Fly

An article about a navigator and a bomb aimer who destroyed their maps on two occasions. They were charged with Lack of Moral Fibre.
A second article titled 'Norton Camp, Sheffield' is about a punishment camp where the writer was sent after cycling…

Tags: 15 Squadron; 622 Squadron; 7 Squadron; air gunner; aircrew; bomb aimer; bombing; Distinguished Flying Medal; flight engineer; guard room; lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; military discipline; navigator; Pathfinders; RAF Mildenhall

Interview with Roddy MacKenzie

Roddy MacKenzie’s father, Roland, joined the Canadian Royal Air Force in 1942. He trained as a pilot and worked as an instructor in Canada before being posted to RAF Kirmington, where he joined 166 Squadron and received the Distinguished Flying Cross…

Tags: 166 Squadron; aircrew; bombing; Churchill, Winston (1874-1965); Distinguished Flying Cross; lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; military service conditions; perception of bombing war; pilot; RAF Kirmington; training

Ted Neales' memoir

Memoirs of Ted Neale (written in a non-contemporary diary), recounting his experiences of an air raid on Woolwich, travelling to South Africa for aircrew training and taking part in bombing operations from Italy. Some anecdotes are repeated. This…

Tags: Absent Without Leave; bombing; lack of moral fibre; searchlight; shelter; training; Wellington

Ray Charlton Memoir

A twelve-page type written memoir by Ray Charlton, entitled 'Ramblings of my Memories'. It begins with his acceptance for aircrew in August 1942, continues with his call up in July 1943, and then a training period until joining a crew as Flight…

Tags: 630 Squadron; air sea rescue; aircrew; bombing; control caravan; control tower; flight engineer; lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; military service conditions; RAF East Kirkby; RAF St Athan; RAF Swinderby; RAF Syerston; service vehicle; Stirling; training

If you can't take a joke...

A detailed account of Ken Thomas's life from his early years at school, through his ground crew technical training followed by his aircrew training, operational tour, short post war service and his civilian career, he revised the account in 2005.

Interview with James Stanley Wilson

James Stanley Wilson remembers serving as a flight engineer on 626 Squadron during the war. He describes his first operation to Berlin as a baptism of fire when his aircraft was targeted by enemy fighters. He mentions marking targets on D-Day, and…

Tags: 1 Group; 626 Squadron; aircrew; anti-aircraft fire; bombing; coping mechanism; fear; flight engineer; Fw 190; lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944); perception of bombing war; RAF Wickenby; training

Interview with John Robert Watson

John Robert Watson joined RAF Bomber Command in 1943, volunteering after he witnessed his next-door neighbour's house being destroyed by a bomb. Against his father's wishes, John joined Bomber Command, initially, as a wireless operator, before…

Interview with Henry Wolfe Wagner. Two

Henry’s aircraft was shot down in Holland when the fuel tank exploded on the starboard wing. Henry was the only member of the crew to bale out. Their target had been the armament works in Duisburg. Henry drifted across the River Maas behind German…

Tags: aircrew; bale out; bombing; Dulag Luft; Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984); lack of moral fibre; navigator; perception of bombing war; prisoner of war; sanitation; Schräge Musik; Stalag 3A; Stalag Luft 7; the long march

Interview with Kenneth William Trueman

Kenneth William Trueman volunteered for the RAF and was called up in 1941. After training in South Africa, he served as a navigator with 640 Squadron and speaks of his preference for the Gee navigation aid rather than H2S. His operations included…

Interview with Ernest Townsend

Ernest was born in Marylebone, London. He tells of his childhood, how he helped his father on his milk round and became a butcher's boy at Shepherd Market before serving in the Air Training Corps. He joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 17 and a…

Tags: 61 Squadron; aircrew; bale out; bomb aimer; bombing; fear; lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; lynching; radar; sport; Tiger Moth; training

Interview with Ernie Tillbrook

Ernest Hector Angelo Pedrazzini was the son of an Italian father and an English mother. After the war he changed his name to Tillbrook. Ernie’s father escaped from a prison camp during the First World War and found his way to Russia and employment…

Tags: 431 Squadron; aircrew; bombing; civil defence; displaced person; fear; flight engineer; Halifax; home front; Home Guard; lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; military living conditions; perception of bombing war; RAF Croft; sanitation; York

Interview with Dennis Swains

In 1936, Dennis went to Dr Challoner’s Grammar School in Amersham, where an Air Training Corps was formed. Aged 17, he got a job with the North British and Mercantile Insurance company. He visited RAF Halton with the Air Training Corps each Sunday,…

Tags: air gunner; Air Gunnery School; aircrew; Anson; crewing up; Initial Training Wing; lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; memorial; RAF Abingdon; RAF Acaster Malbis; RAF Blyton; RAF Bridgnorth; RAF Dalcross; RAF Lindholme; RAF Stanton Harcourt; sanitation; training; Wellington

Interview with Walter Raymond Stevenson

Walter Raymond Stevenson volunteered for the RAF as soon as he was 18 and trained as a wireless operator/air gunner, learning Morse code at RAF Yatesbury. He flew with 'sprog' pilots as they trained and was posted to Number 3 Air Gunnery School at…

Tags: 621 Squadron; 8 Squadron; Air Gunnery School; aircrew; Botha; lack of moral fibre; Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy; RAF Mona; RAF Silloth; RAF Thornaby; RAF Yatesbury; sanitation; submarine; Wellington; wireless operator; wireless operator / air gunner

Interview with Seymour Owen Scott

Seymour Owen Scott (usually referred to as Owen) served as a Lancaster pilot during the war. He mentions always having a passion for flying since he was a little boy. Owen remembers training, in Canada and the United States, to become a flying boat…

Tags: 170 Squadron; aircrew; bombing; bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945); Catalina; Distinguished Flying Cross; fear; Halifax; Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984); lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; Lancaster Finishing School; Master Bomber; military service conditions; pilot; RAF Hemswell; searchlight; training

Interview with Frederick Donovan Say

Frederick Say went to Tottenham County High School and when he left school he went to study agriculture. He joined the RAF and was posted to RAF Tangmere where he worked in the Operations Room as a clerk before being promoted to Leading Aircraftsman…

Tags: 12 OTU; 1678 HCU; 196 Squadron; 466 Squadron; 514 Squadron; aircrew; bomb aimer; ground personnel; Heavy Conversion Unit; lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; Operational Training Unit; RAF Chipping Warden; RAF Tangmere; Stirling; training; Wellington

Interview with Jack Pragnell

Jack Pragnell and his twin brother, Thomas, volunteered together for the RAF and trained together. Jack flew operations as a bomb aimer with 51 Squadron. His brother joined a Canadian crew. Jack was plagued with health problems and was suddenly told…

Tags: 102 Squadron; 298 Squadron; 51 Squadron; aircrew; bomb aimer; bombing; Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943); fear; Halifax; Hamilcar; lack of moral fibre; RAF Pocklington; RAF Snaith; RAF Tarrant Rushton; training; Wellington

Interview with Ronald Needle

Ron Needle, from Birmingham, flew operations as a rear gunner on 106 Squadron Lancasters at Metheringham, including Norway, Dortmund Ems Canal and Munich. He was one of two survivors after his aircraft crashed in France. Ron was aided by local…

Tags: 106 Squadron; air gunner; aircrew; bombing; crash; crewing up; fear; final resting place; heirloom; lack of moral fibre; Lancaster; military living conditions; Operational Training Unit; RAF Metheringham; Stirling; training

Interview with Christopher George McVickers

Christopher ‘Kit’ McVickers was working at the steelworks before he volunteered for aircrew. He trained as a wireless operator and was posted to 218 Squadron, based at RAF Woolfox Lodge. His pilot refused to fly and was replaced with a new pilot.…

Interview with Bob Leedham

Bob Leedham was a flight engineer who carried out 21 operations on Stirlings. At the outbreak of war Bob was an apprentice motor mechanic and, along with other apprentices, was left to operate the garage when all the engineers were called up. In 1940…

Interview with George Mackie

George Mackie served in the RAF as a pilot. He flew 44 operations, 15 as a second pilot. He was posted to 15 Squadron in 1941 and critically examines the state of Bomber Command at the time. He was posted to RAF Waterbeach for 18 months, where he…

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