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Interview with Eric Wilkin
Erik Wilkin worked on the railways before he joined the RAF. Initially, he wanted to be a pilot but, as there was a significant wait for training, he trained as an air gunner and was posted to 115 Squadron. On one occasion his aircraft made an…
Interview with Ken Turnham
Ken Turnham was born in St Albans and volunteered for the Air Force on his 18th birthday. After his initial training as a wireless operator he was posted to an Operational Training Unit at RAF Lossiemouth. He and his crew were posted to 115 Squadron…
Interview with Tony Snook
Tony Snook was an air gunner and served on 115 Squadron in the later stages of the Second World War. A member of the school air training corps, he had his first experience of flight when his squadron partook in a summer camp. He describes how an…
Interview with Timothy Sindall
Timothy Sindall is the son of James Herbert Sindall DSO, whose career as a pilot in the Royal Air Force started in the mid-1930s. Following the discovery of all of James logbooks, personal letters and newspaper cutting, Timothy has put together a…
Interview with Harry Rossiter
Harry Rossiter grew up in East London but his family moved to Essex, which gave Harry a “ringside view” of the Battle of Britain. He volunteered as a bicycle messenger and tried to join the Royal Navy as a telegraphist. He was encouraged to join the…
Interview with Geoff Payne
Geoff Payne has his first experience of the Royal Air Force with the Air Training Corps, at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire, where he had one of his first experiences of military humour. He joined in 1943 at the age of 17 and a half hoping to become a…
Interview with Jack Marshall
Jack went to New Zealand in 1937 and became a steward in a gentleman’s club in Napier, where he stayed for two years until the war broke out. He joined the Royal Air Force and went to England where he did train to become an air gunner at RAF…
List of immediate post war operations
Last bombing operation on 24 April 1945, then operation Manna, Exodus, Baedecker and Post Mortem with a brief description of the operations.
Flight Lieutenant J Sutherland and crew
Seven aircrew standing in front of a Lancaster, on the reverse '115 Squadron Witchford, F/L J G Sutherland RAAF and crew. Completed 30 ops. A4-D completed 105 operations.' The crew are listed on a separate note as 'F/O J G Sutherland RAAF pilot, F/S…
Sid Bunce with 115 Squadron ground crew
Eleven ground crew in front of centre section of Lancaster, on the reverse '115 Squadron, RAF Witchford, Sid Bunce second from right standing'. Nose art on aircraft indicating 30 completed operations. Airman on bicycle in background.
Interview with Kenneth Killeen
Ken Kileen was called up and reported to ACRC in London at the beginning of 1942. He started flying as a navigator at 12 Air School, Queenstown in South Africa flying in Oxfords and Ansons. On his return to UK in 1943, he joined 83 OTU at RAF Peplow…
Interview with Harry Hooper
As a child, Harry Hooper enjoyed watching the planes at Heston Airfield. He volunteered for the RAF in 1939 and began training to be a pilot. He flew with 115 Squadron and undertook operations over Northern France and Germany using Gee, including…
Interview with Harry Basil Grant
Harry Grant grew up in Kent but, when his sister was widowed after her husband died at Dunkirk, he went to Nottingham to be company for her in her grief. While there he took a job in the Post Office. When he was of age, he volunteered for the RAF and…
Interview with Charles Flint
Charles Flint was in the Auxiliary Fire Service in London before joining the RAF. He volunteered and began training as a wireless operator. Part of his training took place at RAF Bishops Court in Northern Ireland, where he was advised not to go out…
Interview with Thomas Eric Chad Cushing
Tom Cushing lived alongside the site of what became RAF Little Snoring in Norfolk. He watched the construction of the airfield over time and the daily life of the operational squadrons thereafter. After the war he continued to be interested in the…
Interview with Cyril Henry Bridges
Cyril Henry Bridges was born in Ramsgate and served as a flight engineer in the RAF. He tells of his father, a deep-sea fisherman, who fought in the First World War and later helped evacuate troops from Dunkirk. He recalls his early life, taking on…
Interview with Michael and Ann Akrill
Michael and Ann Akrill talk about their uncle, William Akrill, who grew up in Lincolnshire, and studied art in London and under the tutelage of Robert Kiddey. He considered becoming a contentious objector, but volunteered for the RAF and, after…
Aircrew and ground crew at RAF Witchford
Top right - 13 men and one woman stood or sitting in front of the tail of a Lancaster, and dressed in a mixture of civilian and military clothing (six of them are in flying gear). Captioned ‘The “Boys” of A&B Witchford 1945’. Centre - Seven aircrew…
Sid Bunce with aircrew and ground crew members
14 airmen standing and kneeling in front of a Lancaster with nose art indicating 29 operations completed.
On the reverse: '115 Squadron, RAF Witchford, Sid Bunce' and 'Sid X'.
On the reverse: '115 Squadron, RAF Witchford, Sid Bunce' and 'Sid X'.
Interview with Dick Tinsley
Dick was from a farming background and joined the Royal Air Force in 1944. After going to RAF Bedford, he was sent to Lord’s cricket ground. Those passing as a pilot went to a flying school near Coventry to be assessed for pilot training on a Tiger…
Interview with Frank Leatherdale
Frank was an aircraft spotter for the Local Defence Volunteers and volunteered to join the Royal Air Force as a pilot. He went to Calgary in Canada on the Empire Air Training Scheme, where he few Tiger Moths at the Elementary Training School. He…
Interview with Maurice Kemp
Before joining the Royal Air Force in January 1944, Maurice helped to build Coningsby aerodrome. After attending an Aircrew Reception Centre at Edgbaston, he passed as a wireless operator gunner, finishing as a gunner. He joined up at Lord’s cricket…
Interview with William Arthur Coulton
William Coulton was born in Derbyshire and worked as an errand boy for the Co-Op until he joined the Royal Air Force in 1943, aged 18. He trained as a flight mechanic and was posted to 115 Squadron at RAF Witchford where he worked on Lancasters. He…
Notes on aircraft
Brief notes on history of 35 aircraft (Manchester, Lancaster and Lincoln) including those lost, crashed (one that at Bardney), or scrapped. Includes prototype Lincoln as well as Lancaster aircraft sent to Canada, India and for Tiger Force.
Interview with Sidney Bunce
Sid was working at a garage and a member of the local Air Training Corps when he volunteered for the Royal Air Force. At 18, he was kitted out at Padgate and trained as a flight mechanic on engines at Blackpool. Sid describes his 18-week training…