Second shows an aircraft surrounded by groundcrew being lifted by a crane from the grass in front of some trees next to a row of houses, caption 'Fairey Flycatcher, Leuchars 1928, Lt Edwards undershot'.
Third shows a group of airmen with one of their number sitting on a table hoisted onto their shoulders, caption 'Annual Training Lympne 1933'.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Stuart Cummins]]> Geolocated]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hythe (Kent)]]> Scotland--Fife]]> 1928]]> 1933]]>
In the second part, Reg narrates how a Coles Crane sank in the mud when they tried to retrieve a Spitfire from a railway embankment. On another occasion, an aircraft was stuck in the roof of a village pub. They also had to recover an aircraft from a Welsh hilltop. He missed Christmas one year when their low loader was obstructed near the village pub. One plane they had to extricate had mistaken a chicken farm for a field and caused damage to the farm. They once had to close the tunnel in Liverpool to tow an aircraft. Reg recounts some incidents in which people lost their lives. Reg was transferred to 67 Maintenance Unit in Taunton. He details how they had to chop off part of a B-17 to get it back to the depot. Reg also performed the role of armourer for a time. He was sent to St. Eval in Cornwall where his first job was a Spitfire which had landed on a dry-stone wall. The Germans blew up the hangar where a recently restored Hurricane was located. Reg sought an overseas posting and sailed to South Africa on the SS Mooltan. He portrays life on board ship before he arrived in Bloemfontein at 27 Air School Bloemspruit. Reg carried out daily engine inspections of the Masters aircraft. They also had to make 104 Harvards airworthy, which were in a poor condition. Reg expresses his disquiet over the treatment of the African labourers.

In the third part Reg explains that he volunteered for aircrew, sailing back with The Mauretania and was posted to RAF Lympne. He was then posted to RAF St Athan for flight engineer training. He received instruction on Lancasters before going to a Heavy Conversion Unit. He joined a Canadian crew but with Halifax aircraft and Merlin engines. He was posted to a squadron with Les Lauzon (pilot) and carried out about six operations. He badly injured his hand whilst removing an elevator lock so did not fly on the operation when his crew went missing. Reg subsequently found out that the aircraft was shot down, but the crew escaped and were taken as prisoners of war. Reg subsequently joined 420 Squadron at RAF Tholthorpe and Jimmy Tease (pilot). His job was to stand next to the pilot and operate controls. He saw aircraft shot down, including a B-17 and witnessed V-2s. Reg recounts some of the incidents they had with their aircraft and how they were dealt with. He gives a description of the FIDO aerodromes. Reg describes how the aircraft was struck by lightning in one operation. Reg received his commission and went to RAF Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland, a Transport Command station where he trained to fly Yorks. His final posting was to 242 Squadron at RAF Stoney Cross. Reg discusses his post-RAF life.]]> Miles, R]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Julie Williams]]> Maureen Clarke]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> Northern Ireland]]> Northern Ireland--Antrim (County)]]> England--Broadstairs]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Kent]]> England--Liverpool]]> England--Merseyside]]> England--Shropshire]]> South Africa]]> South Africa--Bloemfontein]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> Review Oct 2024]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Canada]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Netherlands]]> New Zealand]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Devon]]> England--Kent]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Northumberland]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France--Bayonne]]> France--Brest]]> France--Cherbourg]]> France--Dunkerque]]> France--Paris]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Emden (Lower Saxony)]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> Italy--La Spezia]]> Italy--Turin]]> Netherlands--North Brabant]]> New Zealand--Christchurch]]> New Zealand--Marlborough]]> Québec--Montréal]]> Québec]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Sussex]]> 1941-10-31]]> 1941-11-01]]> 1941-11-04]]> 1941-11-05]]> 1941-11-07]]> 1941-11-08]]> 1941-12-16]]> 1941-12-17]]> 1941-12-22]]> 1941-12-23]]> 1942-01-06]]> 1942-01-07]]> 1942-01-15]]> 1942-01-16]]> 1942-01-21]]> 1942-01-22]]> 1942-01-31]]> 1942-02-01]]> 1942-02-12]]> 1942-02-13]]> 1942-02-14]]> 1942-02-15]]> 1942-02-26]]> 1942-02-27]]> 1942-03-03]]> 1942-03-04]]> 1942-03-08]]> 1942-03-09]]> 1942-03-10]]> 1942-03-11]]> 1942-03-26]]> 1942-03-27]]> 1942-04-05]]> 1942-04-06]]> 1942-04-08]]> 1942-04-09]]> 1942-04-10]]> 1942-04-11]]> 1942-04-15]]> 1942-04-16]]> 1942-04-17]]> 1942-04-18]]> 1942-05-30]]> 1942-06-01]]> 1942-06-02]]> 1942-06-06]]> 1942-06-07]]> 1942-06-08]]> 1942-06-09]]> 1942-06-25]]> 1942-06-26]]> 1942-07-02]]> 1942-07-03]]> 1942-07-08]]> 1942-07-09]]> 1942-07-26]]> 1942-07-27]]> 1942-07-31]]> 1942-08-01]]> 1942-08-03]]> 1942-08-06]]> 1942-08-07]]> 1943-01-02]]> 1943-01-03]]> 1943-01-07]]> 1943-01-08]]> 1943-01-12]]> 1943-01-13]]> 1943-01-16]]> 1943-01-17]]> 1943-01-18]]> 1943-01-23]]> 1943-01-24]]> 1943-01-27]]> 1943-01-28]]> 1943-01-30]]> 1943-01-31]]> 1943-02-04]]> 1943-02-05]]> 1943-02-18]]> 1943-02-19]]> 1943-02-21]]> 1943-02-22]]> 1943-02-25]]> 1943-02-26]]> 1943-03-01]]> 1943-03-02]]> 1943-03-03]]> 1943-03-04]]> 1943-03-05]]> 1943-03-06]]> 1943-03-08]]> 1943-03-09]]> 1943-03-11]]> 1943-03-12]]> 1943-03-13]]> 1943-03-22]]> 1943-03-23]]> 1943-03-29]]> 1943-03-30]]> 1943-04-14]]> 1943-04-15]]> 1943-04-18]]> 1943-04-19]]> 1943-05-04]]> 1943-05-05]]> 1943-05-12]]> 1943-05-13]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hythe (Kent)]]> England--Kent]]> 1925]]>