2 25 695 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2192/39098/MWalleyBS1062112-180127-10.1.jpg 36d1e56538b56b679968334228c4caf2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Walley, Brian Stephen Walley, BS Description An account of the resource 69 items. The collection concerns Brian Stephen Walley (b. 1922, 1062112 Royal Air Force) and contains correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 51 Squadron before he was forced to ditch his Whitley in the North Sea and became a prisoner of war. The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Brian Stephen Walley and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018-01-27 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Walley, BS Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document LETTERS HOME. (see article in Sole Survivor) 1) To Mair The girl I first met in 1939 when I went to work for the Vale of Clwyd Creamery, Llandyrnog, Denbighs. She was only 15 then but all turned out well in the end. We married 2/2/46 and lived happily ever after – still married! 2) To my parents and others. Please note that any from Dick Morris are mostly from me, trying to confuse the Germans about the number sent – our allotment being 1 letter and two cards per month. I, not being a smoker, turned my Red Cross allocation of 50 cigarettes per parcel into extra cards and food. I could never understand why anyone would exchange unwanted letters or food from their parcels for cigarettes. Photos had to be stitched on to letters. Notes:- letter 25/1/42 sent after leaving hospital and from Stalag VIIA shows that I had given details of my crew loss to the Red Cross. I later learnt after contacting their relatives from 1994 onwards that no one had ever been notified or heard a word about what had occurred. All through my three and a half years of captivity I kept on saying “Hope to- see you soon” The card 13/11/42 shows that the seeds for emigration were sown but did not germinate until we emigrated to WA in 1967. [inserted] 3 – Various photos. [/inserted] Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letters Home Description An account of the resource Letters to Mair and his parents, plus an explanation about why he signed letter Dick Morris. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brian Walley Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain Wales--Denbighshire Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One printed sheet Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MWalleyBS1062112-180127-10 Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending text-based transcription. Under review Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Tricia Marshall aircrew love and romance prisoner of war Red Cross Stalag 7A https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2215/39609/PBurnsDR2206.1.jpg c6da9dba0490cb19c50b40d6b4787ba1 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2215/39609/AUsherJ220428.2.mp3 526e84be7d98d934079057dd408f9ccd Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Burns, Bob Denis Robert Burns D R Burns Description An account of the resource 23 items. Collection concerns Warrant Officer Bob Burns (1525609 RAFVR) he flew operations as a navigator with 106 Squadron and became a prisoner of war when his aircraft, Lancaster ND853 was shot down 27 April 1944. Collection includes an oral history interview with John Usher about Bob Burns, photographs, documents, various memoirs of his last operation and captivity. It also contains recordings of his saxophone being played. The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by John Usher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-04-07 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Burns, DR Transcribed audio recording A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document BW: This is Brian Wright interviewing John Usher at his home in Morecambe Lancashire. It’s quarter past two in the afternoon on Thursday the 28th of April 2022. We’re here to talk about Bob Burns’ story. Bob was a flight sergeant in the RAF but if you could just start off John, please with giving us a little summary of how you knew Bob. What your relation was to him. JU: Well, I’m John Usher. My, my wife, my wife’s sister was married to Bob so in all the years we went on holidays a lot together most years. So we had quite a close relationship with Bob and his family. BW: And he had quite a story to tell from his experiences in the RAF in the Second World War. Can you elaborate for us a little bit more about Bob’s background before we go on to his RAF service. Do you know when and where he was born? What his family life was like? JU: Well, as I understand Bob was born in Sheffield. Went to Sheffield, well a grammar school in Sheffield and he then worked. He had one or two jobs before volunteering for the RAF. One was in a factory in Sheffield. But following that he had, he played, he was a semi-professional musician and played in a local dance band so I think that was his, one of his main sources of income before joining the RAF. BW: Do you know what instrument he played? JU: He played the saxophone and the clarinet. BW: And you say he would go into the dance halls with the band and earn some money playing. JU: He had, he had a regular, a regular job with one of the local dance bands. BW: And did he ever talk about why he was interested in joining the RAF? What prompted him to join at all? JU: Well, I think like a lot of young people in those days he was very keen to do his bit so to speak so he had always been keen on flying. I think he’d, whilst he hadn’t been a cadet he’d been to various shows and anything to do with flying. He seemed to have got himself involved. BW: So he’d had an interest through his youth and childhood perhaps in aeroplanes and flying and that. JU: He was very much so. Yes. BW: And he went in to training at Padgate in Warrington when he joined the RAF. Did, did he tell you much about the training he went through at all? JU: Not a lot. I just know that part of his training, when he first enlisted the initial aircrew tests were done at Lord’s I think it was. Lord’s Cricket Ground which, he was very interested in cricket. Probably, being a Yorkshireman you have to be interested in cricket I would think. But I don’t know if from a playing point of view. Mainly from a watching point of view but he was, he knew a lot about cricket. Whatever he was interested in he always tended to know a lot about it. He was one of those sort of people. BW: Do you know roughly when he joined up? Would it be ’41? ‘42? JU: It was [pause] just bear with me [pause] 1940 he joined up. BW: So that’s — JU: I don’t know what date in ’40. BW: So that’s quite early on. JU: That, well I say it was called deferred service. He applied to join up and then he had to sit back and wait before they called. They called you. In fact, he didn’t start doing any real training until 1942. BW: Okay. JU: And then it was basic training. Once he’d been accepted for aircrew he did training out in Canada 1942 to ‘43 which a lot of aircrew did of course because you weren’t likely to be shot down by anyone in Canada I don’t think [laughs] and it was a good environment for training. BW: When did he join the squadron because he went on — JU: He came back home for flying training. The full squadron training in 1943. And then he was posted then to Number 5 Group in ’44 which was where his story really begins. BW: And he was by this stage a flight sergeant navigator wasn’t he? And — JU: He was. By [pause] yes. BW: And he joined 106 Squadron based at Metheringham. JU: That’s right. BW: Did he mention any of the guys that he trained with or how he’d come to crew up at all with with the guys he started flying with? JU: Yes. There was. As aircrews did in those days they seemed to appear, go to a station to select. The aircrew selected their own crews basically. The pilot would see someone he liked and, or who he probably met in the mess over one or two days and liked him so they would get together. They would talk about if there was anyone available that could be selected. And through that process they finished up, finished up with between them selecting their bomb aimer, two, a mid-upper and a rear gunner and the radio operator. Two of the crew were Canadians. I’m not sure of their names now. BW: One was Harold Brad. JU: Harold Brad. That’s right. BW: Another, Bill Stevens. JU: Bill. That’s right. The crew themselves had quite mixed experiences. One of them, I’m not sure which one had been a gardener on a royal estate somewhere. I don’t know which one it was. Which was quite interesting. BW: Well, from what I can see Percy Dore was the wireless operator and he was from Sandringham so it’s quite possible. JU: That’s right. I think he was the one who’d been — BW: He was the royal gardener. JU: Who’d been the gardener. BW: Did Bob ever mention what it had been like in the early days before his fateful flight? Did he mention any of the early raids that he’d been on or — JU: Not a lot. Not a lot about them because before he was shot down he’d been on, the invasion had started in France by that I think and there were more or less a lot of the early raids were in France but he did have one or two over Germany. BW: Did he ever say much about those? Did he say how they were? JU: They were pretty well, the raid before he was shot down over Schweinfurt he’d been on a raid to [pause] I’ll look at my notes. No. The ones I’d done I think [pause] Right. On the 25th of April which was just the day before I think he went to Schweinfurt he’d just returned from a ten hour bombing raid over Munich. But to get there he’d gone over, over via Italy and across. That’s why it was such a long raid. And on the return back they were running out of fuel and had to land at an airfield on the south coast having been down the south as well because of fuel and then fly back. Came back to Metheringham the following morning to be told they were on another raid that following evening. The same evening. So there was very little time between the two raids. BW: And 106 Squadron had been Guy Gibson’s former squadron before he left to form the Dambusters. Did Bob mention any influences within the squadron from Gibson’s time? Were any guys still around from that time? JU: Well, he’d made that very very strict was Gibson and so it was. Bob was very surprised how strict it was because Bomber Command was said to be a little bit relaxed because of the of the job they were doing. So they were given a bit more free time but Bob found he was in the first oh forty eight hours he was in the air for nearly thirty of it and when they weren’t flying they were still doing dinghy drill, parachute training, all sorts of flying drills on the ground. And he reckons it was because of these drills that later in life it probably saved his life. His quick reaction to certain, to the circumstances which he met with later. BW: So you mentioned that his fateful trip was to Schweinfurt on the 26th and 27th of April which is almost exactly seventy four years to the day I think. Is that right? Eighty four. Have I got that right? No. We’re very nearly on the, on the anniversary of that particular raid in ’44. JU: Yes. Yeah. BW: Seventy eight. My maths is there now. Seventy eight years. The raid itself was quite disastrous in a way for the, for the squadron. There were a number of losses but just talk us through what Bob’s experiences were. What Bob’s experiences of that was. What he’d, what he’d told you. What, what happened? JU: Well, I got the impression from Bob that it was one of those raids that I wouldn’t say it went wrong but there were problems from the start in that they were taken on a route which supposed, was supposed to be clear which it was clear of ack ack and that sort of thing but it took them, took them very close to German fighter squadrons on the ground. So they had one or two interceptions en route with with fighters. Not that they were hit or anything but that was one aspect. The main aspect I think was that the forecast winds were entirely the opposite direction to the ones that they came across so that they were delayed. They were about an hour late arriving at Schweinfurt which apart from the obvious problems like that are that the, it was quite a large bomber raid. There was quite a lot of bombers on this raid from other squadrons and you were all supposed to be going obviously going on different heights and if you’re not spot on time you run the risk of being bombed from above by other ones who were on time releasing their bombs. So I think that that was one of the main problems. Bob referred to it that when he finally arrived it was like flying in to hell. There was fires down below. There was smoke being released now we know by the Germans as a camouflage. There were flares going off to identify the particular bombing targets and so all in all as I say he referred it to as like flying into hell. It was one of those experiences that it’s hard to imagine in our everyday civilian life now. BW: And this was only his seventh operation wasn’t it? JU: It was, yes. BW: Not long into his tour and you mentioned the night fighter units that they, or the airfields that they flew past to get to the target and it was a night fighter that shot them down wasn’t it? JU: It was. Yes. BW: Did he talk about what had happened in the aircraft at that, at that point? JU: Well, when they, when they released their bombs over Schweinfurt almost instantly after that they were, they were hit by a night fighter and at the same time the rear gunner shouted out, ‘I’ve got the bastard. He’s going down.’ So he, it was a tit for tat or appeared to be a tit for tat situation. So following, following that almost immediately after that because they were hit the pilot told them to, the aircrew all to bale out because they were going down. So they started to make their way to the various exits. Either the front ones for the front crew or the rear door. Now, Bob had always been told by this navigator training although the RAF recommended that the navigator goes out of the front he was advised if he can get over the main spar which is an obstacle in itself. Bob said you had to be a trained athlete to get over the main spar if you got over the main spar. He got over there and he was making his way towards the rear door when the plane went into a spin and the centrifugal force pinned virtually all the aircrew to the floor and I think Bob had resigned himself to, you know how could he possibly get out of this so that’s the end of it when there was sudden enormous an explosion and he was blown up through the roof of the aircraft. The aircraft must have just cut in half. So he went up through the roof which knocked him unconscious but this was he reckoned at three thousand feet and but the cold night air soon brought him around and this is where all the training which you referred to earlier kicked into practice because he was he automatically pushed the ‘chute away from him, pulled the rip cord and he drifted gently down in to a ploughed field in in Germany. BW: And was he alright on landing? Did he injure himself at all or — JU: Well, he’d gone out through the roof of the aircraft which he knew had given him a nasty bang on his, on his thigh. Inside his thigh. But when he felt around when he’d landed in the airfield he didn’t feel any pain but he could feel there was a lot of blood in his thigh. And so what happened really at that stage was he, you’re trained or told you must bury your parachute. Bury it or hide it. Hide the parachute so that the enemy don’t know that you have landed et cetera and were still alive. So that’s what he proceeded to do. He buried his parachute and then took stock of himself. He did make one comment about it. He said he looked up into the air just to see the last of the bombers heading back to England and then he just said out quite loudly, he said, ‘Lucky buggers. They’re going home now and I’m stuck in this bloody ploughed field in Germany.’ So that was his reaction on landing in the ploughed field. BW: Did he know at that stage whether anybody else had got out from the aircraft? JU: No. He’d no idea. He hadn’t a clue at that stage. In fact, he didn’t find out until the end. Until the end when he came back. When he was released from a prisoner of war camp what had happened. BW: So Bob’s on his own in the, in this field in Germany in the middle of the night and he’s bleeding from his leg. What happens then? JU: Well, as I say, he said he didn’t, he didn’t feel any pain and he could hear this, this clanking of engine, railway engines in the nearby well, marshalling yard as we know them as and they were always taught in the, back home that if there was any, if if you want to escape try and get away by train if at all possible. So Bob thought well obviously he is here now to follow the noise and make for this marshalling yard and see if I can find a train and get away from the, from the site as soon as possible. So that was his objectives but it didn’t quite turn out how the training back in England had said it would because he was making his way across the marshalling yard amongst the trains when suddenly all the lights went on and he found himself looking at about I don’t know ten or a dozen rifles pointed at him because in England apparently railway stations weren’t guarded. Certainly not. Whereas in Germany every station and depending on how, what priority it was, depending on how many guards there were so this must have been quite an important one because as I say he was looking down at ten rifles pointing at him. BW: So he’s then obviously captured. Did he go straight to a camp or was he taken to hospital? What? What happened? JU: Well, once the guards realised that it had turned out that his wound was obviously bleeding a lot so it was becoming more obvious and a bit of pain so the guards took him to a local hospital which was run by nuns oddly enough. And they more or less patched him up and he spent a couple of days while they sorted him out and following that he was taken to a military hospital and I don’t think, well it was while he was there or en route that he was then taken for interrogation by the German [pause] the German Army or security people which apparently one member was part of the SSS but asking the usual questions about what were the squadron numbers and one thing and another. BW: So he was interrogated. JU: He was. BW: First. JU: He was for quite a few days. In fact, he was, he was in a solitary cell for quite a few days during his interrogation. BW: Did he say what that sort of experience was like? JU: Well, not very good because he did, he didn’t shave and there was very little facility to wash so at the end of his spell there he was quite dishevelled and in fact some of the photographs we have of him tend to show him as being not the Bob Burns that we know anyway. BW: So, from solitary what happened to him then? Was he presumably he was taken then to his first imprisonment camp. JU: No. He went, after the solitary he went to a major hospital. He was, he was there for a few months really while his leg recovered and when it had recovered sufficiently for him to go to, then to a prisoner of war camp they made the necessary arrangements and he was to go to Stalag Luft 7. The Luft being ones which were run by the German Air Force really where he seemed apparently to get better treatment than the general prisoner of war camps. So he was, along with three other prisoners, three of them were taken by two guards but en route they had to change. Change stations. I’m not sure of the place but where they changed stations was that particular town had been bombed the night before. So the local people on hearing that there was some RAF prisoners of war in the local station being transported to a prisoner of war camp all as you can understand headed for the station to register what they thought about that at all. Now, it was quite an interesting situation here because the station was probably about oh fifty, a hundred feet up in the air from the road and at the back of the station it was quite open dropping down to the road below. Now while they stood on the station with the three guards a lot of the local people suddenly arrived on the scene knowing they were there and they were shuffling along the platform obviously with the objective of trying to force the prisoners of war off, off the platform down on to the road below. And the guards seemed to have no control over this so one of the guards quite quick thinking in a way suddenly handed his rifle to Bob because Bob was about six foot four I think so he was quite a towering bloke. And the German propaganda was that the British flyers were horrendous people really. They would, you know murder their own mothers if they had to. So they had quite a reputation so as soon as Bob was handed the rifle the crowd shuffling down the platform they all, they disappeared. So they could carry on with their journey. Also the guards, what reason you think , why would the guard possibly hand the rifle to Bob. One of the theories was that if, it was obviously frowned upon if guards didn’t deliver their prisoners intact and if not one of the punishments was that they would be sent to the front line. They were sent to fight the Russians which none of the German guards wanted to find themselves in that situation. So you can understand why he did this. And then of course Bob handed him back the rifle and things carried on as normal. BW: So literally a lucky escape for him at that point. JU: Yeah. BW: And his first camp I think was at Stalag Luft 7 as you say in Silesia. Did he talk much about what life was like in the camp there? Did he describe any conditions there? JU: The conditions as I gather were, were quite good. There was a lot of sport. A lot of games played a lot of cards, things like that. But Bob hadn’t been there long when one day there was this delivery. These crates arrived from the Red Cross and amongst them was quite a lot of musical instruments. They were all very good quality musical instruments and going through them Bob found that there was a saxophone and clarinet which were his speciality if you like. They were the instruments he used to play back home in the, in the brass bands. So Bob acquired the saxophone and the clarinet and then there was no sheet music or anything of course but he then trawled around to find out how, what musicians were also in the camp and he set up his own orchestra if you like. I think it was about a ten or twelve piece orchestra I understand. In fact, there is a photograph that will show that. So a lot of Bob’s time was spent writing music for the different musical instruments to play in the dance band. And I don’t think really they hadn’t been there many weeks I don’t think before they had to break camp so to speak. BW: The, the only other member of the crew to survive was Jack Pickstone. Did Bob come across him in the same camp or did he find out what happened to him? JU: He never ever saw Pickstone again. Never came across him even when he, when he was demobbed back into civvy street. Pickstone did survive and, but he never ever came across him even though he tried to find him he never, he never, never met up with him again. And the rest of the crew of course were all killed. There was only Bob and Pickstone. He didn’t and he didn’t discover that until he was demobbed. What had, what had happened. BW: I believe Stalag Luft 7 was quite a large camp for American airmen too. Did Bob mention any interaction with the Americans at the time? Did he — JU: No. No. The only [pause] not that I can — BW: They kept to themselves. JU: No. I don’t think he mentioned anything about the Americans. The only thing he mentioned about the Americans was when, from the camp near Berlin when they were finally released by the Russians. The Russians handed them over to the Americans. That was his main contact with the Americans. BW: So just going back to his time in Stalag Luft 7 he’s got to that stage where he’s I suppose settled to life in the camp and he’s writing and performing music for and with the band and then at the turn of 1945 the camps as you say were broken in that the Germans decided to move prisoners west and north in his case to retreat from the Russians. JU: Yes. Yeah. BW: And this involved a, quite an arduous journey for him. Did, did Bob talk much about that and what did you learn about that? JU: Oh, it was an horrendous journey because on a particular date they were all paraded at about 5 o’clock in the morning because the Russians were advancing and quite quickly. It was decided they would move the prisoners from Stalag Luft 7 to a camp near, near to Berlin which was oh something like a hundred and, about a hundred and fifty miles. Something like that. And because there was no transport all the transport was required to move German troops to the Russian Front it was decided they would have to walk. At this as I understand was the most horrendous journey imaginable. The day they set off was the middle of the hardest winter they’d had on record. So it was hard frost, snowing and around fifteen hundred prisoners were moved out of camp. This the first one started moving out about I think three or 4 o’clock in the morning and the last ones didn’t leave the camp until mid-afternoon so the line of prisoners moving out must have been well, amazing when you think of the time period taken to move them with enough rations for about two weeks which the Germans had on trolleys or trucks, what have you. But the prisoners were just marching with what they could carry and in Bob’s case having acquired this saxophone and clarinet which he said was very good quality, he said better quality then the one he had at home he said he decided he was going to keep this whatever happened. So he carried this through this horrendous weather across [unclear] into Germany. By the time they got to, well they used to sleep in barns or whatever the Germans could acquire during the, during the journey. I suppose they would have an advanced party go ahead and select a farm or buildings where they could accommodate this crowd. One or two prisoners would disappear on the route but they were mainly people like the Pole, ex-Polish aircrew who had been prisoners of war because they were travelling through their own countryside so to speak. So they could disappear and they could find people to talk to and hide them or look after them. That sort of thing. So one interesting anecdote about the journey was there is always a humorous aspect to these sort of things I expect was that on this particular time every now and again they would stop for one or two nights at these farms whatever they’d taken over. They had taken over, and this was on a two night stay and the German commander paraded them the following morning to say that the previous night the farmer reported that half of his chickens had disappeared from the hen house and if anyone was caught they would be shot. No messing. Just couldn’t do things like that. So that was said. So they then stayed on as I say another night and the commander paraded them again the following morning to say that the farmer now reported all of his chickens had disappeared [laughs] and the hen house where they were housed obviously being used for fuel on the fires. So nothing more was said and on they went. But the journey because of the weather conditions and very little food apparently was horrendous and by the time they progressed more and more they had dysentery, frostbite and by the time they moved on things were getting worse and worse. And finally they ground to a halt after roughly about a hundred miles and still about forty or fifty miles from their destination and were then taken the rest. Those who were still able to stand while they were taken by train to Luckenwalde I think it was. A prisoner of war camp near to the edge of Berlin. Any of the prisoners that obviously a lot were taken ill en route and it would appear that they were dropped off at local hospitals or somewhere where they could be taken to a local hospital if their injuries were considered serious enough. But very few, I haven’t seen a record of how many died but how many did die en route but they were in a terrible condition by the time they arrived at the other end. But Bob was still hanging on to this saxophone and clarinet which apparently had dropped from his fingers many times on the route because of the cold and but good for him he finally brought his saxophone and clarinet back home to the UK and he used it again. Well for the rest of his, for the rest of his life really. BW: And it’s testament to his resilience really because going back to his experience in the Lancaster. He’d been shot down and the aircraft had exploded. He ended up with a bad wound to his right leg. JU: He did. BW: And then although he’s recovered it was still giving him pain wasn’t it so he — JU: Well, right ‘til, right ‘til he died he still had problems with his leg. BW: And he’d undertaken that walk while still in effect in recovery. JU: Oh yes. It hadn’t healed. It still reared a bit. Reared a little bit occasionally, I think. BW: So when they get to Luckenwalde what happened then? This was the camp you mentioned near Berlin. How long were they there do you think? JU: I think two or three weeks because it was, the conditions there as Bob said, he said, they weren’t much better than on the walk. There was very, there was hardly any food and it was grossly overcrowded because there were prisoners coming in from all over the place. So the Russians finally arrived when they were in there and well the German guards had disappeared overnight and the Russians moved in. Took over. And then the Russians finally handed them over to the Americans and arrangements were made to send them back home to the UK. BW: That seems fairly straightforward. Did [pause] did Bob have any issues returning to this country. Was it a quite a straightforward process when he got with the Americans? JU: I think the process of getting out of Germany as far as I know seemed to be reasonably straightforward. It was a case of getting on planes and getting them to where the different prisoners of war were wanting to head for. BW: So he would have arrived back in England in probably mid-1945 then. Presumably just as the war is about to end or possibly had ended. What happened to him from there? Did he talk about, you mentioned that he had gone on to any [pause] work again in the UK. JU: I think he was sent on two, they were all sent on two weeks leave and then I don’t think they did a lot of serious, well serious flying after that. At the end of the 1946 Bob and I had been promoted to warrant officer and at the end of 1946 he returned home. He returned back to his musical career. But it wasn’t what he wanted to do long term I don’t think so he then retrained as a civil engineer. A job that he continued to do until his final retirement in South Devon along with his wife Ann and two sons Peter and Tim. He carried on playing his treasured saxophone. Not so much the clarinet but certainly the saxophone with all its memories. He used to play for families and friends and on special occasions really until he died aged ninety-five in 2015. But — BW: But he'd been back to Germany hadn’t he? And he’d had a couple of meetings at least with people involved with his, with his own personal experience because he I think he met the pilot who shot him down didn’t he? JU: No, not the pilot. What happened in 1990 I think it was Bob returned to the site at Arnstein. Arnstein, where he’d been shot down and he met with the residents who had been children at the time of his crash so could tell him a bit about it. And strangely enough he received a very warm welcome and was treated to official lunches by the mayors of Arnstein and Schweinfurt which he found quite embarrassing. Now when the Lancaster crashed the local pastor arranged for the dead crew to be buried in the local church which was very brave of the pastor because Hitler’s decree oh Hitler said that Allied airmen should not have a Christian burial and yet we have photographs showing the flowers and everything on his grave in the German town that he’d just been bombing so to speak. After the war the graves, the crew were reburied in a military cemetery at Durnbach. Now on this same visit to meet with the families who’d been bombed so to speak he met with a German researcher who was seeking information about a German Junkers or a JU88 night fighter pilot called Hauptman Walter Bernschein who had been shot down over Arnhem, over Arnstein sorry during the raid and he thought was probably the pilot who had shot down Bob’s Lancaster. Now, this pilot of course was also killed so it’s supposition but he seems reasonably certain from the fighter pilots that were shot down that he was the one that had shot down Bob’s Lancaster. But that’s meeting with the family who had been witness to the event. BW: Yeah. As you say the other crew members were all, were all killed with the exception of Jack Pickstone. Did Bob ever get to meet any of the family related to any of the other crew members? Did he get to know them at all or was it just those return trips that he’d made to Germany where he’d met the people from the — JU: No, he met with [pause] he met up with Bishop the pilot quite a lot. And later, later on when they started to form squadron reunions and what have you but I think Bishop was the only one that I can recall. He might have met up with others that I don’t know about but he was a big man in going to the squadron reunions and he went on to one big reunion in Canada in one year and it was very well organised. Almost a national reunion of for such a lot of aircrew were trained in Canada of course weren’t they? BW: And he was, he was surprised to have been met by the mayors of this, of the towns that he’d actually been attacking or well Arnstein where he’d crashed but also — JU: Yeah. BW: Schweinfurt. That must have been quite a surprise to be received favourably let’s say in those terms. JU: Yeah. I think we’ve got to appreciate that a lot of people and also Germans had lost their families hadn’t they on bombing raids over England and I think that to one extent is probably why the Luftwaffe set up their own prisoner of war camps. As a, to reciprocate what was going on with their crew hopefully over in England. So I think, I don’t know I can only assume that the feeling wasn’t so much against the aircrew as by then as against Hitler and the, and the Nazis so there probably was a little a little bit of sympathy towards the Allies. BW: I think that’s, that’s all the questions I have. You’ve summarised Bob’s career and experiences very well. I don’t think there are any other questions unless there’s anything else that you may have recalled during the [pause] our discussion that you wanted to add about. JU: No. BW: No. JU: I think that’s pretty well, well covered it. No. I think in Bob’s case it was almost out of the frying pan into the fire wasn’t it? Having been shot down he then after a few months he finds he has to do a hundred mile walk in the middle of the worst winter on record which — BW: I guess, I guess he must have been pleased that although it took a number of years for the Bomber Command servicemen to be remembered did he mention anything about the Memorial or the plans to commemorate Bomber Command veterans? JU: Well, I think, I think he was like most Bomber Command. He felt that Churchill and Bomber Harris, more Bomber Harris I think seemed to abandon them in a way. I think what I find is disappointing is that I’ve been to the Memorial in London to Bomber Command which shows the crew and the inscription of Churchill’s speech which fair enough speaks about how the fighter pilots saved the country but nobody goes on to the rest of the speech which says that it was the bomber crew who enabled us to win the war. And that, that bit of it seems to have disappeared from a lot of with all that goes on now I know people talk about you know how especially with the Ukraine business and the civilians being killed and the number that we killed when we were bombing German cities but I think you’ll agree that was a completely different situation. But no I think like the bomber crews I think they were disappointed in what recognition that they got after the war and I think it’s still there that really. I think it’s still felt whatever. You know there was no war medal for people and that sort of thing as I understand it. BW: Yeah. It was just a clasp. JU: Just a Memorial was put up. BW: Great. Thank you very much. JU: Okay. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with John Usher about Bob Burns Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brian Wright Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-04-28 Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 00:48:26 Audio Recording Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AUsherJ220428, PBurnsDR1806 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Second generation Description An account of the resource Bob Burns trained as a navigator and was posted to 106 Squadron at RAF Metheringham. His aircraft came under attack from a night fighter and the centrifugal force pinned the crew down and making an escape impossible. Suddenly the aircraft broke in to two and Bob was blown out. He managed to activate his parachute and land but had injured his leg. He was caught and became a prisoner of war. He narrowly avoided losing his life to an angry crowd of locals at a train station but the German guard gave him his rifle and he was able to hold the crowd at bay, until they were able to catch the train, at which point he gave the rifle back to the guard. Bob was a musician and played the saxophone and clarinet. One day the Red Cross delivered a selection of musical instruments to Stalag Luft 7 where he was being held, and amongst them there was a saxophone and clarinet, both of which he played. He wrote arrangements for the camp bands and orchestra playing both instruments. He took part in the long march taking his saxophone with him. After the war he worked as a civil engineer and continued to play his saxophone. Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1944 1945 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Germany Great Britain Poland England--Lincolnshire Germany--Luckenwalde Germany--Schweinfurt Poland--Tychowo Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Julie Williams Carolyn Emery Maureen Clarke 106 Squadron bale out bombing entertainment Ju 88 Lancaster lynching perception of bombing war prisoner of war RAF Metheringham Red Cross shot down Stalag Luft 7 the long march https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1953/36947/MHitchcockJS740899-170926-34.2.jpg d363e34041d473a0d74984577486caed Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Hitchcock, John Samuel J S Hitchcock Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-09-26 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Hitchcock, JS Description An account of the resource 87 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant John Samuel Hitchcock (740899, 106813 Royal Air Force) and contains his decorations, log books, uniform jacket, sunglasses, parachute logbook, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 37, 57 and 78 Squadrons. <br /><br />The collection also contains <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2142">an album</a><span>&nbsp;from his training in North Africa.<br /></span><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by P J Hitchcock and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource First Aid in Chemical Warfare Certificate Description An account of the resource A certificate awarded to John on completion of an examination. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1937-02 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One printed sheet with handwritten annotations Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MHitchcockJS740899-170926-34 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1937-02 Red Cross training https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1492/43435/EAmpthillMClaydonVG440531.jpg 834898d7938ea13988f8289bb5ec6166 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Claydon, Frank Edward F E Claydon Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-03-17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Claydon, FE Description An account of the resource 39 items. The collection concerns Flying Officer Frank Edward Claydon (130537 Royal Air Force) and contains correspondence, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 166 Squadron and was killed 14 January 1944. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Frances Madeley and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Frank Edward Claydon is available via the&nbsp;<a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/104367/">IBCC Losses Database.</a> Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document COPY British Red Cross Society 7 Belgrave Square, London, S.W.1. DJLM/RMB/RAF/C.10618 31st May, 1944 Dear Mrs Claydon We are writing to you again concerning your husband, Flying Officer F.E. Claydon 130537, because we know how anxiously you are waiting for even the smallest piece of news, and having now received an unofficial statement from Wing Commander C. Scragg, the pilot of your husband’s plane who is a Prisoner of War, we hasten to pass it on to you trusting you will forgive us if in doing so we should cause you further suffering. Wing Commander Scragg says that on the night of January 14th he took off to attack a target in Germany. On the outward journey the intercom failed and whilst over the target, the emergency system also failed. They were then attacked and severely damaged, followed by another attack which destroyed the elevator controls. Wing Commander Scragg adds that he was unable to give any orders (owing presumably to the failure of the intercom) and he did not know which members of his crew were hit, for the aircraft went into a spinning dive and he himself was thrown half-way through a hole in the roof. Fortunately he was able to fling himself clear and, after pulling the ripcord, he landed in a ploughed field within a minute. He goes on to say that the attack was so rapid and the aircraft began spinning so quickly that he believes his crew could not possibly have got to their parachutes or their exits in time to escape. The Germany[sic] authorities confirmed this tragic statement by informing him that an aircraft had crashed near Brunswick, and six men had lost their lives in the disaster, only one of them being identified, namely, Flight Sergeant Taylor. This letter comes to you with our deep sympathy, in which Wing Commander Scragg asked to be included, and the assurance that our enquiries on your behalf are continuing and that immediately any further news comes through it will be sent to you either by the Air Ministry or by this Department. Yours sincerely, MARGARET AMPTHILL Chairman Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Frank Claydon's Wife from the British Red Cross Description An account of the resource The letter offers news regarding events when her husband's aircraft was shot down. The German authorities confirm that six airmen had lost their lives. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-05-31 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Germany Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One typewritten sheet Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EAmpthillMClaydonVG440531 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1944-01-14 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Frances Grundy killed in action Red Cross shot down https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1409/44296/EThorntonEMTaplinWJ441012-0001.jpg 6c9dffd5ac38bc751f7fd7a48c7da2aa https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1409/44296/EThorntonEMTaplinWJ441012-0002.jpg 35242f446051b11c8efaf7beaa37325b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Taplin, J A Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-01-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Taplin, JA Description An account of the resource 128 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant John Albert Taplin (b.1919, 1268696 Royal Air Force) and contains correspondence, documents photographs and two audio interviews. He flew operations as an air gunner with 408 Squadron before he was shot down and became a prisoner of war. The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Kevan Taplin and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document BOK/VH [missing letter]AR [missing letters]GANISATION OF [missing letter]HE ORDER OF [missing letters]ED CROSS [missing letters]ETY a[missing letter]d [missing letters]RDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM [Red Cross Society crest] PR[missing letters]ONER [missing letter]F W[missing letters] DEPARTMENT [Order of St John of Jerusalem crest] ST JAMES’S PALACE, LONDON, S.W.1 12th October, 1944. When replying please quote reference:- RAF/M3861 W.J. Taplin, Eq., 12,Whitesmead Road. Stevenage. Herts. Dear Mr. Taplin re: [underlined] 1268696 F[missing letter]ight [missing letter]ergeant J. Taplin [/underlined] [missing letter]hank you for your letter of October 9th in which you enclose[missing letter] two postcards which you have received from y[missing letter]ur son. We see that he has written to you i[missing letter] the name of another Prisoner of War, who we have been able to identify in our records. Your son has apparently made a[missing letter] e[missing letter]change of name and number with this sol[missing letter]ier, who was for a time interned in the [missing letter]ame camp as he was and when you write to him in [missing letter]uture you should address your le[missing letter]ters to him exactly according to what he puts on t[missing letter]ose he sends home. In the card dated [missing letter]une [missing number]th your son gives you this instructi[missing letters]. We would [missing letter]ike to assure you that ther[missing letter] is no need fo[missing letter] you to be [missing letter]nxious about thi[missing letter] [missing words] many similar [missing letter]ases have b[missing letter]en brought to ou[missing letter] notice and w[missing letter] think the r[missing letter]ason for the [page break] exchange is probabl[missing letter] your [missing letter]on’s desire to go on a working par[missing letter]y and be more fully occupied than he wo[missing letters]d [missing letter]e in t[missing letter]e base camp. R.A.F. Prisoners of War, who are N.C.O.s. do not go out as a [missing letter]ule [missing word] working parties. Stalag VIII A [missing letter]s situated at Goerlitz [missing word] in the map of [two indecipherable words] of War camps, a[missing letters] we send you her[missing letter]with it will be found in squ[missing letters] .5. It is not unlikely th[missing letters] this change of identity may come to [missing word] end after some little time and shoul[missing letter] you[missing letter] son’s letters home be written once [missing word] [missing letter]n his own name, will you be good enou[missing letters] [missing letter]o let us know. It is obviou[missing letter] that he will not have been receiving th[missing letter] letter[missing letter] whi[missing letter] you have sent him during t[missing letter]e past [missing letter]onth addressed in his own name, bu[missing letter] he will understand th[missing letters] [missing word] will, of course, not [missing letter]efer to the ma[missing letter]ter when you write to you[missing letter] son. Yours sincerely, p.p. E. [missing letter]. THORNTON [indecipherable letters] Director. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to John Taplin's Father from the British Red Cross Description An account of the resource John has changed names with another prisoner of war. The Letter suggests a reason for this. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-10-12 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One double sided typewritten sheet Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EThorntonEMTaplinWJ441012-0001, EThorntonEMTaplinWJ441012-0002 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1944-10-12 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Germany Germany--Görlitz (Görlitz) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource A C Montgomery aircrew prisoner of war Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1409/44324/STaplinJA1268696v10036-0001.jpg 96a726f6610d6a780d7c4b245c0005e9 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1409/44324/STaplinJA1268696v10036-0002.jpg dba905bfffef7e10a1ff205ea6751840 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Taplin, J A Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-01-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Taplin, JA Description An account of the resource 128 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant John Albert Taplin (b.1919, 1268696 Royal Air Force) and contains correspondence, documents photographs and two audio interviews. He flew operations as an air gunner with 408 Squadron before he was shot down and became a prisoner of war. The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Kevan Taplin and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document EA/EMJ WAR ORGANISATION of the BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY and ORDER OF ST JOHN OF JERUSALEM. [British Red Cross Crest] [St John of Jerusalem Crest] PRISONERS OF WAR DEPARTMENT. When replying please quote reference:- [underlined] RAF/M/3861 [/underlined]. ST. JAMES PLACE LONDON. S.W.1 W.J. Taplin, Esq., 12, Whitesmead Road, Stevenage, HERTS. 18th March 1943. Dear Mr Taplin, [underlined] 1268696 Sgt. J.A. Taplin. [/underlined] We have been officially informed that your son is a prisoner of war in German hands, and that his address is as follows: - Prisoners of War Post [underlined] KRIEGSGEFANGENPOST [/underlined] [inserted] FLT. [/inserted] Sgt. J.A. Taplin, British Prisoner of War No.274[missing numbers] Stalag VIIIB, GERMANY. We are sending you a special label, together with an advance of 40 clothing coupons, in order that you may forward a Next-of-Kin parcel of clothing and other personal requirements to your son. Full instructions as to the contents, [inserted] 200 PLAYERS [/inserted] (over) [page break] and the Board of Trade regulations with regard to the use of the coupons, are contained in the leaflet P.1. The circulars, PW/99B/42 and PW/100A/42, which we also enclose, give you full information about letters, and describe the method by which the Red Cross parcels are distributed in the camps. We trust you will receive letters regularly from your son, and if there is any way in which we can be of help to you, do not hesitate to write to us. Yours sincerely, p.p. E.M. THORNTON [indecipherable initials] Director. Enc: Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to John Taplin's Father from British Red Cross Description An account of the resource The letter advises that the Red Cross has been officially informed that John is a prisoner of war. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-03-18 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One double sided typewritten sheet Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context STaplinJA1268696v10036-0001, STaplinJA1268696v10036-0002 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1943-03-18 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Poland Poland--Łambinowice Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource A C Montgomery aircrew prisoner of war Red Cross Stalag 8B https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1409/44325/STaplinJA1268696v10040-0001.2.jpg 736e8bc949482b40fba31796a4315896 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1409/44325/STaplinJA1268696v10040-0002.2.jpg 70cd0c5c0fe73cda3c53c21c4cf40804 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Taplin, J A Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-01-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Taplin, JA Description An account of the resource 128 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant John Albert Taplin (b.1919, 1268696 Royal Air Force) and contains correspondence, documents photographs and two audio interviews. He flew operations as an air gunner with 408 Squadron before he was shot down and became a prisoner of war. The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Kevan Taplin and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document [THE ORDER OF ST JOHN OF JERUSALEM crest] [PRISONERS OF WAR DEPARTMENT] St. James’s Palace, London, S.W.1 RAF/M 3861 EA/LELJ 8th May, 1944. W.J. Taplin, Esq., 12 Whitesmead Road, Stevenage, Herts. Dear Mr. Taplin, Sergeant J.A. Taplin. [underline] We are sorry to learn from our County of Middlesex Branch that you have had no recent news from your son. The delay in the delivery of mail from prisoners of war has been very general and you will appreciate that the effect on communications of the Allied bombing offensive is considerable. We do not think you need assume that your son is ill or that anything is wrong with him, but we feel sure the enclosed card acknowledging the safe arrival of his No.12 parcel will reassure you. You will note that it is dated January 11th and cards have also been received at this office dated November 22nd and July 22nd respectively, acknowledging the two previous parcels. We realise you are most anxious to [page break] receive a letter from your son and if you do not hear from him by the end of this month, will you write to us again and we will see if a cable message can be sent to him through the International Red Cross Committee at Geneva. Yours sincerely, p.p. E.M. Thornton. Director. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to John Taplin's Father from British Red Cross Description An account of the resource His father has not heard from his son for a while but the letter offers reassurance in that John has received parcels and cards. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-05-08 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One double sided typewritten sheet Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context STaplinJA1268696v10040-0001, STaplinJA1268696v10040-0002 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1944-05-08 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Christine Chapman aircrew prisoner of war Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1409/44343/STaplinJA1268696v10033.jpg 0dfe2e402bc606578e09ceab1cd411e9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Taplin, J A Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-01-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Taplin, JA Description An account of the resource 128 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant John Albert Taplin (b.1919, 1268696 Royal Air Force) and contains correspondence, documents photographs and two audio interviews. He flew operations as an air gunner with 408 Squadron before he was shot down and became a prisoner of war. The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Kevan Taplin and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to John Taplin's Father from the British Red Cross Description An account of the resource They advise that they have had no news about John. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-03-02 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One typewritten sheet Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context STaplinJA1268696v10033 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending text-based transcription. Allocated Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1943-02-27 aircrew missing in action prisoner of war Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2383/45714/EAmpthillMJacobyE421113-0001.1.jpg 86193697adb0ae65adf07c6ea4371bad https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2383/45714/EAmpthillMJacobyE421113-0002.1.jpg b33337ce219d54a1cfa476e92ad410de https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2383/45714/EAmpthillMJacobyE421113-0003.1.jpg 13f029528144887c40dc0d1583aeec9d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jacoby, Maurice Description An account of the resource 70 items. The collection concerns Flying officer Maurice Jacoby (79375 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, correspondence, documents, and photographs. He flew operations as a navigator with 142 Squadron. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Barbara Duncan and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Maurice Jacoby is available via the&nbsp;<a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/111892/">IBCC Losses Database</a>. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-10-06 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Jacoby, M Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Maurice Jacoby's Mother Description An account of the resource The letter from the British Red Cross and Order of St John of Jerusalem gives some brief details of his grave's location at Kiel. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1942-11-13 Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-09-30 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Germany Germany--Kiel Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One double sided type written sheet and envelope Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EAmpthillMJacobyE421113-0001, EAmpthillMJacobyE421113-0002, EAmpthillMJacobyE421113-0003 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending text-based transcription final resting place killed in action Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2754/49888/EAmpthillMLeighGE430601-0001.2.jpg 1a1d36a82b730fe4594b0caa29543ed5 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2754/49888/EAmpthillMLeighGE430601-0002.2.jpg 22100ce2e60d70dc0d4f679edb35d073 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Leigh, John Lewis John Lewis Levy Description An account of the resource 101 items. The collection concerns Pilot Officer John Lewis Leigh (1912 - 1943, 135451 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, correspondence, documents, and photographs in three albums. <br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2817">Album one</a>&nbsp;contains&nbsp;<span>photographs taken during his training.<br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2818">Album two</a>&nbsp;</span>contains p<span>hotographs of his service.<br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2819">Album three</a>&nbsp;contains photographs of his pre war civilian life and his service life.</span><br /><br />He flew operations as a wireless operator / air gunner with 150 and 180 Squadrons and was killed 22 January 1943. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Rosalind Marshall and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on John Lewis Leigh is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/216537/">IBCC Losses Database.</a> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019-03-17 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Leigh, JL Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Mrs JL Leigh from Red Cross Description An account of the resource The letter advises that they have no information about her husband. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-06-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Civilian Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One double sided typewritten sheet Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EAmpthillMLeighGE430601-0001, EAmpthillMLeighGE430601-0002, Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending text-based transcription Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1943-06-01 missing in action Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/3089/58021/EAmpthillMHansonG420202.jpg 910238b79dca132e30aaf11b63b4fa33 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spencer, John Jim Spencer Description An account of the resource Nine items. The collection concerns [rank &amp; John Spencer (b. 1917, 1052466 Royal Air Force) and contains correspondence, documents, and photographs. He flew operations as an observer with 61 Squadron and was killed 28/29 August 1941.<br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by David Spencer and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on John Spencer is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/122012/">IBCC Losses Database.</a> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018-07-31 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Spencer, J Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Jim Spencer's sister from Red Cross Description An account of the resource The writer has had no news about Jim. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1942-02-02 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One typewritten sheet Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EAmpthillMHansonG420202 Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending text-based transcription Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1942-02-02 missing in action Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2492/49697/SClarkeBE18567619v10043.1.jpg d03628d96cf41863e9fdc3e2af49b3ed Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Clarke, Brian Edward Description An account of the resource 165 tems. The collection concerns Sergeant Brian Edward Clarke (1867619 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, correspondence, documents, objects and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 576 Squadron and was killed 14 January 1944. <br /><br />The collection was donated to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by <span>George Henry</span> Clarke and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Brian Clarke is available via the&nbsp;<a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/104293/">IBCC Losses Database.</a> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-08-01 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Clarke, BE Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Brian Clarke's mother from the British Red Cross Description An account of the resource The letter explains that they have had no news about Brian. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-01-22 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One printed sheet with typewritten annotations Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SClarkeBE18567619v10043 Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending text-based transcription Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. missing in action Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1763/30629/SJenkinsonLP1316403v10031.1.jpg e26ae8734844570c526de652caf6b583 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jenkinson, Peter and Leslie. Philip Jenkinson Description An account of the resource 56 items concerning Leslie Philip Jenkinson who served as a mid-upper gunner on 10 Squadron Halifax and was shot down on 6 September 1943 and taken prisoner. Collection contains documents, research, memoirs, maps, correspondence and photographs. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-08-24 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Jenkinson, LP-PR Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document War Organisation of the BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY AND ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM Prisoners of War Department, St. James’s Palace, London S.W.1 1st JANUARY 1942 BRITISH AND DOMINION PRISONERS OF WAR Some Questions Answered (NOTE: Please note that the information contained in this leaflet is subject to change from time to time) FOOD PARCELS 1. How can food be sent? Only by this Organisation, which aims at providing each prisoner and interned civilian in German or Italian hands with one food parcel every week. 2.'What does a food parcel contain? Biscuits, cheese, chocolate, fish, fruit or puddings, jam or other preserves, margarine, 2 meats, milk, sugar, rea, vegetables, soap and a vitaminised food are sent in every parcel. Also selections from other commodities such as Bernax, cocoa, creamed rice, curry powder, custard, Marmite, meat paste, mustard, oatmeal, Ovaltine, pepper, sweets, etc., as space permits. The food is specially planned to supply what is lacking in the German camp rations. 3. What is the cost of the 'weekly parcel? Including tobacco and cigarettes (see paragraph 13) the price to the Red Cross and St. John is approximately 10/0d.This does not include the cost of conveyance by Red Cross ships from Lisbon to Marseilles and cost of insurance against losses due to enemy action. 4. If a donation cannot be given, will a Prisoner of War- be sent a parcel? Yes, food parcels are sent for all Prisoners of War and interned civilians, and are paid for from the general funds of the Red Cross and St. John. 5. How are the parcels addressed? They are sent to the International Red Cross Committee at Geneva, which forwards them to the camps for distribution by the British Camp Leader. 6. Why are parcels not addressed to individual Prisoners? (a) Because prisoners may be moved from camp to camp. (b) If part of a consignment of parcels is lost, the remainder can be divided between camps. . (c) To ensure that new prisoners may receive parcels before their names reach London. (d) As the parcels sent in each consignment contain similar articles, there is no advantage gained by addressing each parcel to a Prisoner of War by name. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Prisoners of war - some questions answered Description An account of the resource Instructions about sending food parcels. How, food, what could be sent, costs, donations, addressing. Concludes with reasons why parcels not addressed to individual prisoners. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Society and Order of St John of Jerusalem Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1942-01-01 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One page printed document Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SJenkinsonLP1316403v10031 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--London Portugal Portugal--Lisbon France France--Marseille Switzerland Switzerland--Geneva Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1942-01-01 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource David Bloomfield Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive prisoner of war Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1763/30630/SJenkinsonLP1316403v10032.2.jpg db20e2dc2bd7b12342c8d5830e8c7998 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jenkinson, Peter and Leslie. Philip Jenkinson Description An account of the resource 56 items concerning Leslie Philip Jenkinson who served as a mid-upper gunner on 10 Squadron Halifax and was shot down on 6 September 1943 and taken prisoner. Collection contains documents, research, memoirs, maps, correspondence and photographs. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-08-24 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Jenkinson, LP-PR Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document WAR ORGANISATION of the BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY and ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM. PRISONERS OF WAR DEPARTMENT St. James's Palace, London, S.W.1. [underlined] List of Typical Contents of Standard Food Parcels despatched from the Packing Centres of the Organisation. [/underlined] These parcels are addressed to the International Red Cross Committee at Geneva, for distribution among the prisoners of war. Donations towards their cost (approximately 10/- each) are most gratefully received by the Prisoners of War Department, St. James's Palace, London, S.W.1. Or by the Scottish Red Cross Society c/o Messrs. Mitchell & Smith, 163, West George St., Glasgow, C.2; but parcels are provided for all prisoners whether contributions are sent on their behalf or not. 1 Packet Biscuits, such as Ryebread, Service Ration, etc. 1 Box Cheese, such as Cheddar, Cheese and Celery, etc. 1 Packet Chocolate. 1 Tin Fish, such as Herrings, Pilchards, Salmon, Sardines, etc. or 1 Tin Fruit, such as Peaches, Pears, etc. or 1 Tin Pudding, such as Apple, Treacle, Creamed Rice, etc. 1 Tin Honey or Jam or Marmalade or Syrup. 1 Tin Margarine or Dripping. 1 Tin Cold Meat, such as Ham and Beef Roll, Galantine, Pressed Beef, etc. 1 Tin Hot Meat, such as Curried Mutton, Minced Steak, Steak and Kidney Pudding, etc. 1 Tin Milk, Condensed or Dried. Tablet Soap, Unscented. Packet Sugar. Packet Tea. Tin Vegetables, such as Beans, Peas, Spinach, etc. Tin special Food with Ascorbic Acid (Containing Vitamin C), such as Blackcurrant Puree, Fruit Bars, Lemon Curd, etc. [underlined] And one or more of the following: [/underlined] Cocoa, Ovaltine, etc. Ginger Nuts, etc. Marmite, Yeatex, etc. Meat or Fish paste. Salt and other Condiments. Sweets, such as Barley sugar, Butterscotch, Maltesers, etc. And other articles as available. TOBACCO AND CIGARETTES ARE PACKED SEPARATELY EVERY, BUT ARE INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF THE PARCEL. THE FOOD IN THIS PARCEL IS SPECIALLY PLANNED TO SUPPLY WHAT IS LACKING IN THE GERMAN CAMP RATIONS. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource List of typical contents of standard food parcels despatched from the packing centres of the organisation Description An account of the resource List of food items. Gives account of how distributed, donations gratefully received, but parcels are provided for all prisoners whether contributions sent or not. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross society and order of St John of Jerusalem Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One page printed document Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SJenkinsonLP1316403v10032 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--London Switzerland--Geneva Scotland--Glasgow Switzerland Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jan Waller Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive prisoner of war Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1765/30764/EThorntonEMLayneAJ431129-0002.1.jpg 72f8ca0fc8cf9a13087c3218609689a4 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1765/30764/EThorntonEMLayneAJ431129-0003.1.jpg 87ac47e342534fb33b892e8f1a017573 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1765/30764/EThorntonEMLayneAJ431129-0001.1.jpg d615bb4c1d0eeea28b025cc81d92f01e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Layne, Wally Walter Henry Layne W H Layne Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-06-07 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Layne, WH Description An account of the resource 100 items. The collection concerns Walter 'Wally' Layne (b. 1916, 963012, 40348 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, prisoner of war diary, personal and official correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 97 Squadron and became a prisoner of war after being shot down. The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by D Layne and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document [Red Cross Logo] [Order of St. John of Jerusalem logo] [Post Mark] Mrs. A. J. Layne, 97, Harlaxton Road, Grantham, LINCS. [page break] [British Red Cross Society and Order of St. John of Jerusalem logos] PRISONERS OF WAR DEPARTMENT. ST. JAMES’S PALACE, LONDON. S.W.1 29th November, 1943. RAF/0 1904 Mrs. A. Layne, 97, Harlaxton Road, Grantham, Lincs. Dear Mrs. Layne, re: [underlined] 138255 Pilot Officer W. Layne [/underlined] We are glad to know you have heard from your husband and have noted his camp address in our records. Letters and parcels should now be directed as follows:- Prisoners of War Post KRIEGSGEFANGENENPOST 138255 Pilot Officer W. Layne, British Prisoner of War, Dulag Luft, Germany. We have been informed by the Air Ministry that your husband has been promoted to the rank of Pilot Officer and that is why we have quoted a new Service number, which must be included in the address until a Prisoner of War number is known. P.T.O. [page break] We enclose herewith our circulars PW/99c/43 and PW/100a/42, which give full information about letters and parcels for Prisoners of War. The special label which we are sending you, together with an advance of 40 clothing coupons, will enable you to despatch a next of kin parcel of clothing and other personal requirements to your husband. Full instructions as to contents and packing are contained in the leaflets P.1 and the Board of Trade regulations for the use of the coupons are printed on the cover of the coupon book. We should advise you to make as full use as you can of the 40 coupons, as we are permitted to issue only 20 with all subsequent labels. It is not unlikely that after a short stay at Dulag Luft, which is a transit camp, your husband will be moved to a permanent one and when you learn his change of address, we should be glad if you would notify us. We are assured that letters and parcels will be forwarded should he have been transferred before their arrival at Dulag Luft. We hope it will not be long before you hear from your husband again giving you his permanent camp address and Prisoner of War number. Yours sincerely, p.p. E.M. THORNTON [signature] Director. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Mrs Layne from the Red Cross Description An account of the resource Glad to know that she had heard from her husband and noted his camp address. Mentions that they had been informed that her husband has been promoted and has a new service number. Includes information on posting letters and parcels to prisoners of war and includes a book of 40 clothing coupons. Mentions that he should be moved after a short time from Dulag Luft to permanent camp. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Society and Order of St John of Jerusalem E M Thornton Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-11-29 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Two page typewritten letter and envelope Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EThorntonEMLayneAJ431129 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1943-11 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jan Waller Dulag Luft prisoner of war Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1765/30766/EThorntonEMLayneAJ450227-0001.1.jpg 7b511c9761e12a4c0b19039815ecc087 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1765/30766/EThorntonEMLayneAJ450227-0002.1.jpg 47ea21d82edc8e77e062168db0581e0f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Layne, Wally Walter Henry Layne W H Layne Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-06-07 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Layne, WH Description An account of the resource 100 items. The collection concerns Walter 'Wally' Layne (b. 1916, 963012, 40348 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, prisoner of war diary, personal and official correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 97 Squadron and became a prisoner of war after being shot down. The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by D Layne and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document RAF/O.1904. M.MCC/PW. 27th February, 1945. Mrs. A. J. Layne, 97, Harlaxton Rd., Grantham, Lincs. Dear Mrs. Layne, [underlined] Pilot Officer W. Layne. [/underlined] We thank you for your letter of the 23rd of February, and are glad to know that you have had a recent postcard from your husband. We think that the Air Ministry's information that your husband was interned at Stalag 357 was most certainly earlier than the date of the postcard your husband wrote. However, we think that until you hear from your husband again, it would be safer to address your letters to Stalag 357, as it is possible that your husband's move to Stalag Luft 111 did not take place. In any case, letters and parcels [page break] would be forwarded, and as Stalag Luft 111 was in a district which was overrun by the Russians, it is certainly safer to send your letters to Stalag 357. We hope that you will very soon hear from your husband again, and we should be interested to have whatever information he may send you. Yours sincerely, p.p. E.M. Thornton. Director. [signature] Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Mrs Layne from the Red Cross Description An account of the resource Thanks her for her letter. Advises her to continue to address letters to Stalag 357 in case his move to Stalag Luft 3 did not take place. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Society and Order of St John of Jerusalem E M Thornton Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945-02-27 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Two page typewritten letter Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EThorntonEMLayneAJ450227 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1945-02 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Sue Smith prisoner of war Red Cross Stalag 357 Stalag Luft 3 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1702/38954/EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A441016-0001.2.jpg a64b40219bdc9d71f86a3c054e7dcc69 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1702/38954/EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A441016-0002.2.jpg 9b8e338321ab88a576ded05d35c336ae https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1702/38954/EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A441016-0003.2.jpg 3fd22bc5485f238be25405a6803aeb2a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Matthews, Philip Marcus Description An account of the resource 37 items.&nbsp;The collection concerns Flight Sergeant Phillip Marcus Matthews (1920 - 1944, 1204048 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, photographs, service documents and correspondence. <br /><br />He flew operations as a wireless operator with 61 Squadron and was killed 23 September 1944. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Jonathan Taylor and catalogued by Barry Hunter.<br /><br />Additional information on Phillip Marcus Matthews is available via the&nbsp;<a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/115185/">IBCC Losses Database</a>. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-06-09 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Matthews, PM Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document [Red Cross crest] [Order of St John of Jerusalem crest] [postmark] [franked stamp] Mr and Mrs. Matthews 87 Woodland Rd Northfield Birmingham 31 [page break] RAF/A/3. WAR ORGANISATION OF THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY and ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM [Red Cross crest] [Order of St. John of Jerusalem crest] [underlined] WOUNDED, MISSING AND RELATIVES DEPARTMENT [/underlined] Telephone No. SLOANE 9696 7 BELGRAVE SQUARE, LONDON, S.W.1. In replying please quote reference: RaF/L26387 16.10.44 Mr & Mrs. Matthews 87 Woodland Rd. Northfield Birmingham 31 Dear Mr. & Mrs. Matthews: We have received your enquiry in which you ask for news of your son Sgt. Phillip Marcus Matthews, 1204048 Royal Air Force We are sorry to tell you that so far no information has been received about him, but all possible enquiries are being made. Any news coming from the International Red Cross Committee at Geneva or from any other source, will be passed to you immediately. If, however, you are the registered next-of-kin, your first notification will come from the Air Ministry. May we say how much we sympathise with you in your anxiety. Yours sincerely, [signature] Chairman. pp A.C.B. [page break] [underlined] P.S. [/underlined] If you do not hear from us for some considerable time it will mean that no news has been forthcoming and we feel sure you will understand that long delay is now inevitable. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Phillip Mathew's Parents from the Red Cross Description An account of the resource The letter advises that they have no news of their son. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Society and Order of St John of Jerusalem Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-10-16 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Birmingham England--Warwickshire Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Two typewritten sheets and envelope Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A441016-0001, EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A441016-0002, EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A441016-0003 Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending text-based transcription. Under review Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Tricia Marshall Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1944-10 aircrew missing in action Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1702/38955/EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A450405-0001.2.jpg 47dc1a5db9017d9d2c5a8300ec99dfb4 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1702/38955/EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A450405-0002.2.jpg 7188ed78ed79475c4762632721d291f4 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1702/38955/EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A450405-0003.2.jpg 874077b0b91c44e759f3a2ab065fe6fb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Matthews, Philip Marcus Description An account of the resource 37 items.&nbsp;The collection concerns Flight Sergeant Phillip Marcus Matthews (1920 - 1944, 1204048 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, photographs, service documents and correspondence. <br /><br />He flew operations as a wireless operator with 61 Squadron and was killed 23 September 1944. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Jonathan Taylor and catalogued by Barry Hunter.<br /><br />Additional information on Phillip Marcus Matthews is available via the&nbsp;<a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/115185/">IBCC Losses Database</a>. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-06-09 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Matthews, PM Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document [postmark 5 APR 1945] [postage stamp] Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, 87, Woodland Road, Northfield. Birmingham. 31. [page break] WAR ORGANISATION OF THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY AND ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM [British Red Cross crest] [Order of St. John of Jerusalem crest] [underlined] WOUNDED, MISSING AND RELATIVES DEPARTMENT [/underlined] Telephone No. SLOANE 9696 7 BELGRAVE SQUARE, LONDON, S.W.1 In replying please quote reference: S/LR.RAF/C.15425 5th. April. 1945. Dear Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, We very much regret to have to tell you that no information has come through attached to the name of your son, Flight Sergeant P.M. Matthews, No. 1204048 although full enquiries are being made on your behalf. We feel it is only right, however, that you should be informed of the grievous report which has reached us through the International Red Cross Committee at Geneva concerning the crew of which your son was a member, for although the information which this contains can but add most deeply to your already great anxiety, we believe that you would not wish it to be withheld. A telegram from the organisation at Geneva reports that according to the official German authorities five airmen lost their lives on September 23rd. 1944. The name of Flying Officer W. S. Burns was correctly given, and the Air Ministry has, therefore, posted this airman as ‘Missing, believed Killed in Action’. At the time when this report was sent, the names of the other four airmen whose lives are stated to have been lost had not then been ascertained by the enemy. Since the crew consisted of eight men, you will understand that until further information is forthcoming the remaining six members, including your son, must still be classified as ‘Missing’. We think you may already know that one member, Sergeant W. F. Ravenhill was captured. We realise what this report will mean to you. and we wish you to know that every effort is being made in order to clarify this distressing situation. cont'd….. [page break] -2- Please understand that whenever further information comes to light you will be notified immediately, and we ask you to accept, meanwhile, our sympathy in your suspense. Yours sincerely, [signature] Chairman. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, 87, Woodland Road, Northfield. Birmingham. 31. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Phillip Mathew's Parents from the Red Cross Description An account of the resource The letter advises that they have no news of their son but five crewmen had died and one captured. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Society and Order of St John of Jerusalem Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945-04-05 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Birmingham England--Warwickshire Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Two typewritten sheets and one envelope Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A450405-0001, EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A450405-0002, EAmpthillMMatthewsB-A450405-0003 Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending text-based transcription. Under review Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Tricia Marshall Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1945-04 aircrew killed in action missing in action prisoner of war Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1702/39018/EAmpthillMMatthewsA450723.1.pdf 0c7b5f9b08d06d01b7765aa60e06486c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Matthews, Philip Marcus Description An account of the resource 37 items.&nbsp;The collection concerns Flight Sergeant Phillip Marcus Matthews (1920 - 1944, 1204048 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, photographs, service documents and correspondence. <br /><br />He flew operations as a wireless operator with 61 Squadron and was killed 23 September 1944. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Jonathan Taylor and catalogued by Barry Hunter.<br /><br />Additional information on Phillip Marcus Matthews is available via the&nbsp;<a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/115185/">IBCC Losses Database</a>. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-06-09 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Matthews, PM Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document [crest of The British Red Cross Society] [crest of Order of St John of Jerusalem] [postmark London 24 July 1945] Mrs. A. Matthews, 87, Woodland Road, Northfield, Birmingham 31. [page break] WAR ORGANISATION OF THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY and ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM [crest of The British Red Cross Society] [crest of Order of St. John of Jerusalem] [underlined] WOUNDED, MISSING AND RELATIVES DEPARTMENT [/underlined] 7 BELGRAVE SQUARE, LONDON, S.W.1. Telephone No. SLOANE 9696 In replying please quote reference: VC/DA/RAF/C.15425 July 23rd 1945. Dear Mrs. Matthews, We have received your letter of July 20th in which you make an enquiry for your son, Flight Sergeant P.M. Matthews, No. 1204048. We do so well understand the distress caused by lack of definite news in such tragic circumstances as yours, and we regret very deeply that no more exact information has come to us. As you probably know, we have been entirely dependant on reports sent to us by the Germans, through the International Red Cross Committee at Geneva, and we have had no means of enforcing the despatch of more detailed information when these reports were incomplete. We must now explain, however, that with the end of the war in Europe, enquiries connected with the loss of our aircraft have passed out of the hands of the Red Cross and have become the duty of the military and air authorities. P.T.O. [page break] We think you will be glad to hear that the Air Ministry has set up a Missing Research and Enquiry Service on the Continent, in the hope of procuring, through the help of local people, all possible particulars about the circumstances of a disaster, the fate of missing members of the crew, and the last resting places of those who have lost their lives. We would therefore advise you to write to:- The Air Ministry, P.4. Casualty Branch, 73-77, Oxford Street, London W.1. giving all the particulars in your possession, as these may help the officials who are making the investigations. With regard to your suggestion that your son may have lost his memory we fear we have been informed that there are no known cases of airmen suffering from loss of memory who are unidentified, but there again the Air Ministry will be able to give you the latest details. [page break] Please believe how grieved we are that we cannot ourselves do more to help you and accept our deepest sympathy in your distress, with our earnest hope that some further information concerning your son may be obtained before long. Yours sincerely, [signature] Chairman. Mrs. A. Matthews, 87, Woodland Road, Northfield, Birmingham 31. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Phillip Matthews Mother from the British Red Cross Society and Order of St John of Jerusalem Description An account of the resource The letter expresses regret that their has been no news of her son. They explain that since the end of the war in Europe the military will now handle missing person enquiries. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Society and Order of St John of Jerusalem Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945-07-23 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Birmingham England--Warwickshire Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Three typewritten sheets and envelope Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EAmpthillMMatthewsA450723 Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending text-based transcription. Under review Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1945-07 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Tricia Marshall missing in action Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2305/42514/EEddyJMPickfordF410826.1.jpg 678ff02d80057359f76f7922c908b283 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Pickford, Leslie Pickford, L Description An account of the resource 189 items. The collection concerns Leslie Pickford (551653 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, diaries, <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2479">a scrapbook</a>, photographs and correspondence. He flew operations as a wireless operator air gunner with 139 Squadron. He became a prisoner of war in Italy in 1941, detained in camps at Prato all'Isarco, Rieti and Sulmona. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Jayne Bailey and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-08-11 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Pickford, L Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document WAR ORGANISATION OF THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY and ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM BOK/HB [logo] [italics] President: [/italics] HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN [italics] Grand Prior: [/italics] H.R.H. THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, K.G. [logo] PRISONERS OF WAR DEPARTMENT [italics] Chairman: [/italics] THE RT. HON THE EARL OF CLARENDON, K.G., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O. [italics] Managing Director: [/italics] STANLEY ADAMS [italics] General Manager of Packing Centres: [/italics] THE LORD REVELSTOKE TELEPHONE NO. ABBEY 5841 [italics] Deputy Director: [/italics] J.M. EDDY, C.B.E. ST. JAMES'S PALACE LONDON, S.W.1 August 26th, 1941. F, Pickford, Esq., 41, Broadway Road, Kingsway, Manchester. Dear Mr. Pickford, [underlined] RAF/M/1203– Sgt. L. Pickford 551653 [/underlined] We are informed by the Air Ministry that you have heard from your son telling you that he is a prisoner of war in hospital in Tripoli. We hope he has given good news of his progress and that you will soon hear from him again. Neither letters nor parcels should be sent to your son in North Africa, but letters can be sent c/o the Italian Red Cross, by whom they will be forwarded. You will find this address set out in full No 3 on page 2 of the enclosed circular 99/41. Your son will probably be sent to a prisoner of war camp in Italy as soon as he is well enough to leave hospital, but until the camp address is known it will not be possible for you to use the special labels that will be sent to you for a next-of-kin parcel. We will write to you again and give you full information about parcels as soon as we hear your son's address. It is possible that you will hear this from your son himself before we write to you again and we shall be glad if you will inform us if this is the case. We are well aware that this will be an anxious time for you and would like to assure you that reports reaching this office speak very highly of the hospital treatment of prisoners of war in enemy territory. Yours sincerely, p.p. J.M. EDDY BOK Deputy Director. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Les Pickford's Father from the British Red Cross Description An account of the resource The letter acknowledges that Les is a prisoner of war in Tripoli. It advises the procedure of sending mail and parcels to Les. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Society and Order of St John of Jerusalem Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-08-26 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Libya Libya--Tripoli Italy North Africa Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One typewritten sheet Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EEddyJMPickfordF410826 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-08 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Sue Smith aircrew prisoner of war Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2305/42547/EThorntonEMPickfordA431119.jpg 47f298edd5bf0e3c78b2490b31227214 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Pickford, Leslie Pickford, L Description An account of the resource 189 items. The collection concerns Leslie Pickford (551653 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, diaries, <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2479">a scrapbook</a>, photographs and correspondence. He flew operations as a wireless operator air gunner with 139 Squadron. He became a prisoner of war in Italy in 1941, detained in camps at Prato all'Isarco, Rieti and Sulmona. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Jayne Bailey and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-08-11 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Pickford, L Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document WAR ORGANISATION of the [missing letter]ED CROSS SOCIETY and ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM BOK/VH PRISONERS OF WAR DEPARTMENT. [italics] Chairman: [/italics] [emblem] MAJOR-GENERAL SIR RICHARD HOWARD-VYSE. K.C.M.G., D.S.O. [emblem] [italics] Deputy Chairman: [/italics] J. M. EDDY, C.B.E. [italics] General Manager of Packing Centres: [/italics] THE LORD REVELSTOKE [italics] Directors: [/italics] LT.-COL. M. W. BROWN, O.B.E. MISS E. M. THORNTON, O.B.E. TELEPHONE NO.: ABBEY 5841 [italics] When replying please quote reference [/italics]:- RAF/M 1203 ST. JAMES'S PALACE, LONDON, S.W.1 19th November, 1943. Mrs. Pickford, 41, Broadlea Road, Kingsway, Levenshulme, Manchester, 19. Dear Mrs. Pickford, re: [underlined] 551653 Sergeant L. Pickford [//underlined] We are delighted to receive information from the Air Ministry that your son has arrived safe in this country having escaped from a Prisoner of War camp in Italy. We would be glad if you would give him our very hearty congratulations and hope that he is in good health. We can well understand how proud and glad you must be. We know you will not mind us asking you to return the coupons which were issued to you for a next of kin parcel, as we have to account for them to the Board of Trade. If you have already used any of them, will you fill in the Coupon Account in the usual way and return if possible the bills for the articles purchased. Yours sincerely, p.p. E.M. THORNTON BOK Director. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Les Pickford's Mother from Red Cross Description An account of the resource The letter expresses delight that Les has arrived safely in the UK. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Red Cross Society and Order of St John of Jerusalem Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-11-19 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Civilian Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One typewritten sheet Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EThorntonEMPickfordA431119 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1943-11 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Sue Smith aircrew escaping Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1816/32135/EEvansCMonksA440825-0001.1.jpg a90b513b8b78d1a0db48dda01b2ac53e https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1816/32135/EEvansCMonksA440825-0002.1.jpg 312589c3352b6b5d045dd13aac2f3d50 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Monks, Maurice Arnold M A Monks Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-03-23 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Monks, MA Description An account of the resource 39 items and a subcollection of eighty-one items.&nbsp;&nbsp;The collection concerns Flying Officer Maurice Arnold Monks (152996 Royal Air Force) and contains documents and photographs. Sub-collection contains photographs taken while he was training in Canada. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 166 Squadron and was killed 13 June 1944.<br /><br /> <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2023">Monks, Maurice Arnold. Photograph album</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Hilary Megget and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br /><br /> <p><span data-contrast="none">Additional information on&nbsp;Maurice Arnold Monks</span><span data-contrast="none">&nbsp;is available via the</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}">&nbsp;<a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/116453/">IBCC Losses Database.</a></span></p> <p><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}">&nbsp;</span></p> Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document Casualty Branch, 77, Oxford Street, LONDON, W.1. Gerrard 9234 P.418570/3/P.4.A.2. 25 August, 1944. Sir, I am commanded by the Air Council to inform you that they have with great regret to confirm the telegram in which you were notified that, in view of information now received from the International Red Cross Committee, your son, Flying Officer Maurice Arnold Monks, Royal Air Force, is believed to have lost his life as the result of the air operations on the night of 12th/13th June, 1944. The Committee’s telegram, quoting official German information, states that your son was killed on 13th June. It contains no information regarding the place of his burial. Although there is unhappily little reason to doubt the accuracy of this report, the casualty will be recorded as “missing believed killed” until confirmed by further evidence, or until, in the absence of such evidence, it becomes necessary, owing to lapse of time, to presume for official purposes that death has occurred. In the absence of confirmatory evidence death would not be presumed until at least six /months A. Monks, Esq., 27, Dixon Street, Lincoln. [page break] months from the date when your son was reported missing. The Air Council desire me to express their deep sympathy with you in your grave anxiety. I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant. [signature] Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Mr Monks from the Air Ministry Description An account of the resource Informs him that in view of information received from the red cross, his son was now s believed to have lost his life on the night 12/13 June 1944. No information was received about the place of burial and he would be recorded as missing believed killed. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Great Britain. Air Ministry. Casualty Branch C Evans Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-08-25 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Two page typewritten letter Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EEvansCMonksA440825 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--London England--Lincolnshire England--Lincoln Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1944-08-25 1944-06-12 1944-06-13 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Tricia Marshall Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. killed in action Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/3001/55183/SFoxSFN33506v10023.jpg 29eddb94e7e070c44cfde9932809b40c https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/3001/55183/SFoxSFN33506v10022.jpg 03a815a913fd680a71b47c204ec8fe03 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Fox, Sydney Frederick Norman Fox, SFN Description An account of the resource 25 items. The collection concerns Pilot Officer Sydney Frederick Norman Fox (1913 - 1943, 33506, 143802 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 460 Squadron and was killed 30 July 1943.<br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Ann Fox and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br /> <p>Additional information on Sydney Frederick Norman Fox is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/107993/">IBCC Losses Database.</a></p> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018-08-28 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Fox, SFN Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter from the secretary of Australian Air Board with copy of report from missing research and enquiry unit Description An account of the resource Noted that F/O A J Johnson, W/O R M Burcher and W/O C T O'Riordan all RAAF and deceased. Includes copy of casualty enquiry. List crew of Lancaster ED 525 including P/O S F N Fox. Red cross information indicated that two known an three unknown were buried in German cemetery. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource L M Jeffries C W Wright for Director of Personal Services Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1943-08-02 1943-07-29 1943-07-30 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Germany Germany--Hamburg Australia Victoria--Melbourne Victoria Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Royal Australian Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Two page typewritten letter Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending text-based transcription Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SFoxSFN33506v10023, SFoxSFN33506v10022 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1947-02-20 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Letters to Sydney Fox's pilot's father Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive aircrew final resting place killed in action Lancaster Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/17/37072/MBellOH565848-210421-020001.1.jpg 296f5029f529729ad3e11067b5664d56 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/17/37072/MBellOH565848-210421-020002.1.jpg 0c3fb7e163db86c58b5ca20f6dc8b2d9 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/17/37072/MBellOH565848-210421-020003.1.jpg b042ada0f571b50edc887e5dca4f945d https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/17/37072/MBellOH565848-210421-020004.1.jpg 1d0a8d7895118057d2aed5c830e2d91b https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/17/37072/MBellOH565848-210421-020005.1.jpg b9db289bdd03daae8f2bc59c057ccadf https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/17/37072/MBellOH565848-210421-020006.1.jpg c2430e5b78e67b3c2114e8677cb3c935 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/17/37072/MBellOH565848-210421-020007.1.jpg 46df3470ea7afbd4ff53597f7fd3fb5f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bell, Oliver O Bell Description An account of the resource 47 items. The collection concerns Flying Officer Oliver Herbert Bell (1915 - 1997) and consists of photographs and documents. He served as ground personnel at RAF Cranwell and was then posted to Aden and the Middle East with 12(B) and 8(B) Squadrons before the war. He later served at establishments in Canada and at RAF Blyton and married&nbsp;<a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/208">Joyce Bell</a>.<br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by G Sadler and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Achive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-10-02 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Bell, O Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Canadian Red Cross Society Voluntary Blood Donor Service Enrolment Book Description An account of the resource A booklet with records of blood donations and dietary advice when giving blood. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Canadian Red Cross Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-05-09 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Civilian Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One printed booklet with handwritten annotations Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MBellOH565848-210421-020001, MBellOH565848-210421-020002, MBellOH565848-210421-020003, MBellOH565848-210421-020004, MBellOH565848-210421-020005, MBellOH565848-210421-020006, MBellOH565848-210421-020007 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1943-05-09 Red Cross https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/834/18743/EWestGGeachDG440411-0001.2.jpg f33bceae645ed2baa0eb3a3f8bb045f4 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/834/18743/EWestGGeachDG440411-0002.2.jpg 32e71189e4bedf155080bdcd69953fc4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Geach, David D Geach Description An account of the resource <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/218400/"></a>52 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer David Geach (1394781 Royal Air Force) and contains his diaries, correspondence, photographs of his crew, his log book, cuttings and items relating to being a prisoner of war. After training in Canada, he flew operations as a bomb aimer with 623 and 115 Squadrons until he was shot down 24 March 1944 and became a prisoner of war. He was instrumental in erecting a memorial plaque to the Air Crew Reception Centre at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. <br />The collection also contains a scrap book of photographs.<br /><br />Additional information on his crew is available via the&nbsp;<a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/218400/">IBCC Losses Database.</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Harry Wilkins and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-03-14 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Geach, DG Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document Chaplain’s Office, R.A.F. Waterbeach Cambs. [underlined] April 11/44 [/underlined] Dear Mr & Mrs Geach, I regret it has not been possible to write before, but I do so now to express my profound sorrow, that your son, F/Sgt. D. G. Geach, is missing after operations on the night of March 24/25th. I understand the anxiety and uncertainty which you must feel. To those who were waiting up for the crews that night, it was a great grief when your son’s plane failed to return. The trip in which his crew was engaged was a long one, over Germany and it is not unreasonable to hope that they may have escaped disaster by bailing out, and become prisoners of war. But of course there is no certainty of this, and it is not until official information comes through via the Red Cross that your terrible suspense will be ended. You may rest assured that whatever this news it will be sent to you at once. I know that whatever has happened, your son would not have you overcome with sorrow, and you can be sure that his chief thought was less for [page break] his own safety, than for loyalty, and devotion to duty. Like so many other brave men, he has willingly hazarded his life for a great cause and we may be proud and thankful for his example. During these times, I feel we can but commit ourselves and anxieties into the hands of God, who cares and suffers in the grief of His people. I believe we should hold on to the truth that wherever our loved one is there God is, and where God is he is. I do pray that you may find in God your comfort and be made strong to bear your heavy load of suffering. With my renewed sympathy, Yours very sincerely, [underlined] G. West. [/underlined] (Chaplain) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Mr and Mrs Geach from his station Chaplain Description An account of the resource The letter to David Geach's parents expresses sadness that he is missing. The Chaplain offers his sympathy. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Caplain, RAF Waterbeach Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-11 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Two handwritten sheets Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EWestGGeachDG440411-0001, EWestGGeachDG440411-0002 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Cambridge England--London England--Cambridgeshire Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1944-03-24 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Steve Christian David Bloomfield Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. aircrew faith ground personnel missing in action padre prisoner of war RAF Waterbeach Red Cross