Browse Items (86 total)

  • Tags: strafing

ATylerEA171208.mp3
Elizabeth Anne Tyler talks about her family’s farmland, its history and when it was purchased by the Air Force for the construction of RAF North Luffenham. She mentions various episodes of wartime life around Edith Weston, as reported by family…

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APennyJA170905.mp3
After volunteering for the RAF, Jim Penny began his training which also took him to USA. He was present when the announcement of Pearl Harbour was made and all RAF trainees could openly wear their uniforms as the two countries were officially Allies.…

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AMakensL170117.mp3
Louis Makens worked as a farm worker before the war but volunteered for aircrew. He discusses his training on Wellingtons and operations flying Stirlings with 196 Squadron including a crash landing, and glider towing. His Halifax was shot down 18/19…

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AInstoneTS160407.mp3
Thomas (Stan) Instone was working at a factory making Bristol Hercules engines but volunteered to be aircrew as soon as he was of age. Initially his application was unsuccessful but he persevered and trained as ground crew. He later re-mustered as a…

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AHodgsonH170723.mp3
Harry Hodgson was ground crew during the war. He was based with 10 Squadron, working on Halifax Bombers at RAF Melbourne. Harry said it was a very busy time patching up the holes from both anti-aircraft fire and bullets on the Halifax. He remembers…

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AHodginM170810.mp3
Margaret’s family lived in Fiskerton and her first memory of war time, when she was seven and her brother four, was of her father digging a shelter in the garden. The children would walk or cycle to Reepham school. Margaret was about 11 when an…

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Brenda Gardiner was at primary school in Hull when the war started. After the Blitz she was evacuated to Filey. Only after the war, did she fully realise the scale of damage and suffering the bombings caused to the people living near the…

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AHarrisonRL181101.mp3
Ron Harrison witnessed the bombing of Hull as a child. He describes what it was like to be a child exploring the bombed out areas of the city with his young friends. His father was a fireman and while he was attending fires in the dock area their…

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ABirchallJW170816.mp3
James Burchill was in the ATC before volunteering for aircrew training. He expected to be deferred but was told he had been chosen for immediate service. On one operation he was injured and, by the time he was ready for operational duties again, he…

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AWrightJDFC150608.mp3
James (Jim) was a civil servant before joining the Royal Air Force in May 1941. He carried out two tours on 61, 630 and 97 Squadrons. Although he wanted to be a pilot, there was a shortage of navigators. He was called up to Regents Park and then…

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PWadeR1503.jpg
Ron was born in Stoke-on-Trent. He left school at 14 and tells of his experiences working in a pottery factory doing odd jobs, until he was called up. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1939 at the age of 22 and trained as an air gunner at RAF…

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ARobinsonD160911.mp3
Douglas was in the Local Defence Volunteers before joining the Royal Air Force as a pilot. After RAF Babbacombe, he did initial training at RAF Scarborough and then in Rhodesia. Initial flight training in Harare on Tiger Moths was followed by service…

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AMusgroveJ150812.mp3
Born in York in 1922, Joseph left school at 14 and started work in a chocolate factory, whilst attending two nights of further education per week. In 1936, a fighter aircraft had landed nearby which stimulated his life-long interest in flying. After…

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AHarrisonJ150809.mp3
John Harrison grew up in Yorkshire and worked in the Civil Service before joining the Royal Air Force aged 18. After training, he flew operations as a mid-upper gunner with 106 Squadron from RAF Metheringham before being shot down over Leipzig and…

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AGardR160601.mp3
After Air Training Corps membership, Ron joined the Royal Air Force. From Oxford, he went to Lord’s Cricket Ground, followed by RAF Bridlington. He was posted to No. 7 Air Gunners School at RAF Stormy Down and passed out as a sergeant air gunner. …

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PJohnsonKA1507.jpg
Kenneth Alfred Johnson joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 19, after being in a reserved occupation making barrage balloon cables. He trained as an air gunner, serving as a mid-upper gunner. He spent time at the Operational Training Unit, flying…

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AStuartM150509.mp3
Mary Stuart, nee Atkins, was the youngest of nine children who, during the Second World War, lived on the island of Malta. She tells of her love of aviation and how she spent time on the roof of her house when Spitfires flew over. Mary recollects…

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ACurnockRM160418.mp3
Richard Curnock was born in Grantham and joined the Royal Air Force in 1941.He achieved the rank of warrant officer and served in 425 Squadron. Richard tells of how he followed his two older brothers into the services, and his time serving in the Air…

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BNorthGJNorthGJv2.pdf
A day by day account consisting of three parts. Part one covers his being shot down on 21 February 1945, his capture and journey to prisoner of war camp arriving 15 March 1945 including an mention that his train was bombed by Marauders. Part two…

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BNorthGJNorthGJv1.pdf
A day by day account consisting of three parts. Part one covers his being shot down on 21 February 1945, his capture and journey to prisoner of war camp arriving 15 March 1945 including an mention that his train was bombed by Marauders. Part two…

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ACabriniL170115.mp3
Luigi Cabrini describes his daily life in a rural community, stressing the labour-intensive nature of farming in wartime. He tells of Pippo bombing at night and reminisces about an interrupted schooling history in Pavia and Voghera, due to strafing,…

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AAn00799-161126.mp3
The interviewee recalls wartime episodes in Cordenons and the Pordenone area. She mentions aircraft en route to Austrian targets contrasted by anti-aircraft fire, while she was taking shelter in a ditch, and remembers the bombings of Casarsa and the…

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ASaraniR170325.mp3
Rinaldo Sarani tells of the bombings of Pavia describing widespread damage at Borgo Ticino and people being extricated from rubble. He stresses the importance of bridges: Ponte della Ferrovia, Ponte Vecchio, Ponte dell’Impero, Ponte della Becca, and…

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ABozziF170712.mp3
Francesco Bozzi recalls his military training followed by service in Greece. He describes harsh living conditions while in Germany-occupied Crete after September 1943: hard labour; scarce food; punishment; brutalities; being wounded while digging a…

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AIntropidoC170125.mp3
Carluccio Intropido recalls his early life as an orphan studying in Pavia at the Artigianelli, a boarding school providing technical training. He recalls that children used to watch aircraft enroute to Milan, until Pavia was bombed, due to the…

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