Browse Items (42 total)

  • Tags: RAF Hemswell
  • Type is exactly "Sound"

PCrawfordJ02-2301.jpg
Jack Crawford volunteered for the RAF in Jamaica. He was posted to the UK in 1944 and began his precision instrument training before being finally posted to work on trainer aircraft. After the war he returned to Jamaica. He married and then returned…

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SBondS-ElliottJv10020.MP3
John describes an operation where all crew of his aircraft had to bale out, after all airfields in England were fog bound as they were running out of fuel. He goes on to describe an incident on an operation when he looked up out of astrodome to see a…

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AClarkM[Date]-01.mp3
Marion Clark grew up in Lincolnshire and served as a driver at RAF Hemswell and RAF Ingham. She discusses her role as a driver and life on a bomber station.
She describes how painfully cold it was in their accommodation but how the atmosphere of the…

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SRAFIngham19410620v060001-Audio.mp3
Marion Clarke served as an mechanical transport driver during the Second World War, her main duties were on Bomber Command stations, primarily driving crew buses. She talks about the conditions she experienced, such as her accommodation, uniform,…

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SRAFIngham19410620v030001-Audio.mp3
Brian Llewellyn was a member of the Air Training Corps during the war and spent time with the RAF as well as the Polish Air Force. He talks about his time in Lincolnshire, including various stations he visited and his first flight. Brian had many…

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PGreenJ1901.jpg
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…

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PHarrisJ1901.jpg
Jack Harris was born in Gillingham, Kent. Aged 16, he undertook employment as a clerk in the intelligence department of the Air Ministry. He describes the brief evacuation of his department to Harrow in 1939 and receiving permission to leave his…

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PWilkinsNE1704.jpg
Norman Wilkins was born in West Norwood. At the age of 14 he joined the Air Training Corps and became a member of Brighton and Hove Air Cadets 176 Squadron. He then joined the University Air Squadron at Oxford, with fees being paid by the Royal Air…

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ASmithA171018.mp3
Albert was born in Aberdeenshire. Before the war he worked as an apprentice in an engineering firm. In 1943 he volunteered for the Royal Air Force, trained at London, RAF Bridlington and RAF Newquay before going for mechanical and engineering…

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AScottSO150904.mp3
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…

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AMcVickersCG171006.mp3
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.…

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AMartinFJK180309.mp3
Keith Martin was working for an agricultural machinery merchants in Shrewsbury when the war started. This was classed as a reserved occupation but when he was nearly 20, he decided to volunteer for the Royal Air Force in April 1942 and was selected…

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PLawrenceJ1701.jpg
Jack ‘Lawrie’ Lawrence planned on making a career in the RAF and joined in 1938. He enjoyed those early days when it felt like he belonged to a flying club. This was interrupted by the start of war and operational flying. He flew in Blenheims and…

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PLambertRW1801.jpg
In 1943, when Richard was 17 and a half, he cycled into Guildford to sign up to volunteer for the Royal Air Force. He reported to Lord's Cricket Ground to collect his uniform and gear and then went for training at RAF Hednesford for a six-month…

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AHarrisH180520.mp3
Please note: The veracity of this interview has been called into question. We advise that corroborative research is undertaken to establish the accuracy of some of the details mentioned and events witnessed.

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AFearnsH170724.mp3
Harry Fearns was born and lived in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. He left school at 16 and joined the Prudential Insurance Company as a door-to-door premiums collector. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1944 as a flight engineer. Following initial…

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PDaviesRS1801.jpg
In spring 1940, Ronald Davies joined the RAF to train as a pilot. Following initial training, he was posted to America but was dismissed after crashing a Cessna. Following Pearl Harbour, he trained as a navigator in Port Albert, Canada, but upon…

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ABaileyCE180424.mp3
Cyril Bailey worked in a garage before he volunteered for the RAF. He considered being a mechanic but was told there were no vacancies and he was encouraged to become a flight engineer. He joined 625 Squadron at RAF Kelstern and became the only…

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AWrigleyA160826.mp3
Alice Wrigley's husband , James Wrigley, was a wireless operator on Lancasters. She talks about her early life after losing her mother, her marriage to Jim and how war work enabled her to become independent by sorting out somewhere to live whilst he…

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ATophamG151018.mp3
Gordon Topham was born in Salisbury, but his family settled in Norwich, Norfolk and he joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 17, qualifying as a flight engineer in July 1944. Gordon’s father used to drive steam wagons and was involved with…

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ARobinsonG150803.mp3
Geoff joined the Royal Air Force as a flight engineer in April 1943. He reported to Lord’s Cricket Ground and went to an Initial Training Wing near Sunderland. He moved to RAF Bridlington, followed by six months’ training as a flight engineer at RAF…

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AQuineJW160805.mp3
John volunteered for the Royal Air Force as a pilot. He went to Lord’s Cricket Ground, followed by the Initial Training Wing at Scarborough. He spent 10 hours on Tiger Moths in Carlisle. After a short time at RAF Heaton Park in Manchester, John went…

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APageF160719.mp3
Frank Page grew up near Teddington Locks and was working for an engineering firm when the war started. His house was bombed and he remembers recovering bodies from the ruins and says he joined the RAF to get his revenge on the Germans. His pilot…

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AGregoryN150724.mp3
Having volunteered for aircrew in 1941 in York, Norman came into active service in 1942. He flew Tiger Moths at RAF Ansty and was recommended for multi-engine aircraft. After RAF Heaton Park, he went to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He spent six months…

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PEvansDC1602.jpg
Derek was born on June 20th 1924 in Edlington near Doncaster, volunteering as aircrew at the age of 17. After leaving school at the age of 14, Derek delivered books in and around Doncaster before going down to the Royal Air Force Recruitment Centre…

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