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Interview with Kenneth Stoker
Kenneth Stoker, (b. 1926), served in the RAF Marine Branch from March 1944. He was demobbed 1948. Ken was posted to Ceylon, India, and Burma, where he joined the Air Sea Rescue. His duties were to be available in the event that any aircrew needed…
Interview with Frank Standen
Frank Standen recounts his service in the RAF from 1941. At the age of 18 he decided to leave his job as a railway clerk and join the RAF for aircrew training. After being accepted, he was informed that he had a lazy eye muscle and decided to…
Interview with Peter Olney
Peter Olney recounts his service in the RAF from October 1942 to November 1946. Due to his previous maritime experience, Peter was accepted as an AC2 for motorboat crew and in December 1942 was posted to RAF Carswell for marine craft training. After…
Interview with Charles Meacock
Charles responded to a newspaper article for motorboat crew and joined the Royal Air Force in July 1941. He was, eventually, called up to RAF Cardington and kitted out at Penarth, with an Initial Training Wing at Weston-super-Mare. From Great…
George Griffiths memoir
George details his training and service with Air Sea Rescue in Great Britain and Malta. The document also includes various photographs of George and crew members.
Interview with Terry Lloyd
Terry Lloyd’s older brother was a wireless operator in Bomber Command and became a prisoner of war. Terry was also determined to join the RAF as aircrew. However, he was rejected due to his eyesight and served on Air Sea Rescue launches. Terry was…
Interview with Ronald Huntley
Ron Huntley recounts his service in the RAF from May 1941, when he joined as a flight mechanic. His path to joining the RAF was unconventional; being given the option between continuing to work nights in his government job or volunteering for the war…
Interview with Eric Haynes
Eric Haynes recalls his service in the RAF as a coxswain in Air Sea Rescue. He enlisted on 4 September 1939 as a photographer; however, when he was mustered in January 1940, he was told there were no photography spaces. He entered service as RAF…
Interview with George Griffiths
George Griffiths recounts his service in the RAF from 1942, when he volunteered as a wireless operator. In June 1942, he was called up and completed his wireless operator training before being posted to Norfolk in February 1943. During this time, he…
Interview with Ken Done
Kenneth Done recalls his service in the RAF as a wireless operator in Air Sea Rescue. At school he joined the Cadet Corps, where he reached the rank of Company Sergeant Major. He applied for the RAF, hoping to be a fighter pilot but after being told…
Interview with Frank Boutcher
Frank Boutcher recounts his time in the RAF from the spring of 1941. After joining up when he was 19, Boutcher trained to be a flight mechanic, with his service taking him to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Holland. During his first posting in…
Interview with Bill Bilton
William (Bill) Bilton recounts his 6 years of service in the RAF Marine Section, from 1940-1946. During his time in Air Sea Rescue, he served in the UK and Europe, assisting RAF operations from the waters. At his first posting in Dover, William was…
Dropping a lifeboat
Left page: top, left and centre views of a lifeboat being dropped from a Warwick with parachutes attached.
Bottom, a lifeboat, with sails erected on the sea.
Right page; views of a lifeboat falling towards the sea with parachutes attached.
Bottom, a lifeboat, with sails erected on the sea.
Right page; views of a lifeboat falling towards the sea with parachutes attached.
Armaments squadron
Left page: top left and right, damage to the undercarriage of an aircraft. Middle right, aerial view of aircraft on the ground.
Bottom left and right, aerial views of an airfield, annotated '4 pages to do with Bob's work as test pilot Armaments…
Bottom left and right, aerial views of an airfield, annotated '4 pages to do with Bob's work as test pilot Armaments…
David Charles Davies' observer's and air gunner's flying log book
Observer's and air gunner's flying log book for David Charles Davies from November 1940 to 24 March 1948 detailing his training, operational and post conflict duties. Training was with No.5 Air Observer's School at RAF Jurby and Operational Training…
David Charles Davies' observer's and air gunner's flying log book
Observer's and air gunner's flying log book for David Charles Davies from November 1940 to 24 March 1948 detailing his training, operational and post conflict duties. Training was with No.5 Air Observer's School at RAF Jurby and Operational Training…
Memories of an Airman by Charles Saunders
An account by Charles Saunders of his service in the RAF during the war. He served as a mid upper gunner flying in the Halifax with No 102 Squadron at RAF Pocklington and carried out 18 operations. VE day ended his flying career and he was retrained…
William Fisher Martin DFC
A biography written by his grandson. It mainly covers the ditching.
Account of Ditching (William Fisher Martin)
A handwritten account of the Lancaster ditching and subsequent rescue.
Save me an Egg (William Fisher Martin)
An operation undertaken to attack Wesseling, near Cologne. The aircraft suffered engine and fuel line damage and ditched in the North Sea. The crew survived the ditching and were rescued by a launch.
Harry William Wickham
Recalls Harry's joining the RAF and describes his initial, then basic and advanced aircrew training. Follows move to operational training unit, and joining 102 Squadron flying Whitley. Mentions operations to Berlin, Stettin and Duisburg. Converted to…
Airmen and newspaper cutting
Top left - full length image of an airman wearing battledress standing in long grass with a single story hut in the background. Captioned 'Mike'.
Bottom left - three-quarter length image of an airman wearing tunic and smoking a cigarette. Trees in…
Bottom left - three-quarter length image of an airman wearing tunic and smoking a cigarette. Trees in…
Patrick Geary's observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book. Two
Observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book for P C Geary, air gunner, covering the period from 24 October 1940 to 17 June 1942. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and instructor duties. He was stationed at RAF Dumfries, RAF Lossiemouth,…
Ditching and Rescue
Two sketches 'taken from T 3 Score Years and Ten'. The first is the Whitley ditching and the second is a biplane floatplane over his dinghy.
Deutscher Seenotrettungsdienst 1939-1945
A copy of a card from the German air sea rescue organisation to remember the meeting with German members of the air-sea rescue in July 1995. It has a drawing of a Do 24 and has four signatures.