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After dinner speeches at the Air Gunners' Association - includes speeches by Lord Boothby, Sir Arthur Harris. Air Marshall I Broom, Group Captain Willie Tait, Major General James Stuart and Wing Commander J Skinner.
At dinner held to commemorate 30th anniversary of VE Day on 10 May 1975 at RAF Club, London. Starts with greetings sent and toasts proposed by unidentified men. Present are Lord Boothby, Sir Athur Harris, and Air Marshall Broom. Starts with speech by…
Command routine orders
A communication to the men and women of Bomber Command from Air Chief Marshall A T Harris in which he summarises the impact of Bomber Command. References the disruption of enemy communications, industrial output and submarine training; striking…
Interview with Benny Goodman. One
Benny Goodman discusses some of his operations as a pilot with 617 Squadron. He discusses attacking the Tirpitz and the use of Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs, which required the Lancaster plane to be modified. On a flight against the U-boat pens in…
Interview with Colin Farr
Colin was born in Ilford in 1920 and, at when war was declared, was working in a London warehouse. Seeing the bomb damage around him he wanted to join the RAF and seek revenge, so he volunteered. Unfortunately, following an accident, he had a plaster…
Laconia incident. Part 1
At night, the submarine U-156 launches a torpedo at the SS Laconia. A massive explosion causes large flames and black smoke to engulf the centre of the liner. Small flags are flying from the masts of the ship. A postcard with the caption “The New…
Submariners trapped at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Part 1
A depth charge is exploding near a submarine while the bow of a Royal Navy warship is visible above the water. Three black and white photographs have been pasted onto the painting, depicting submariners in various poses. Some are looking up; one is…
Submariners trapped at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Part 2
Two black and white photographs show submariners looking upwards, their faces showing fear and alarm. A tempera depicting a British or American warship sailing right to left is partially visible in the top left corner.
Label reads “78”; signed by…
Label reads “78”; signed by…
Interview with Alec Stuart Dixon
Alec Stuart Dixon volunteered for the Royal Air Force via the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. After training he flew Beauforts and Ansons, then trained as a Hudson pilot. He flew convoy escort operations and reconnaissance flights looking for…
Interview with Harry Inkpen
Harry Inkpen joined Bomber Command in November 1944 and flew 33 operations on Mosquitos as a pilot on 162 Squadron. Harry tells of how, in his view, his squadron suffered more losses due to bad weather conditions than encounters with the enemy. He…
Interview with Douglas Robinson
Douglas was in the Local Defence Volunteers before joining the Royal Air Force as a pilot. After RAF Babbacombe, he did initial training at RAF Scarborough and then in Rhodesia. Initial flight training in Harare on Tiger Moths was followed by service…
Interview with Harry Harris
Harry ‘Sam’ Harris grew up in Scotland and volunteered for the Air Force. He trained as a navigator in South Africa. On the penultimate day of his training he flew over a multitude of lifeboats bearing the survivors of a torpedoed ship. The next day…
Interview with Norman Neilson
Norman Neilson was an apprentice engineer at St Rollox Locomotive Works when he volunteered. He had originally wanted to join the Navy but joined the RAF because the only way he could be released from his position was to volunteer for aircrew. His…
Interview with James Ferguson Latimer
James Ferguson Latimer was born in Edinburgh. His family emigrated to Canada when he was young but moved back to Scotland in 1939. He recalls witnessing a German U-boat torpedo a ship as they sailed back home. Latimer joined the air force and…
Interview with Peter Greenwood
Peter Greenwood was born February 2, 1926, in Halifax, and grew up in the Yorkshire countryside, where his father ran a dairy business. He studied at Sowerby Bridge Grammar School with a particular interest in physics and chemistry. He was later…
Interview with Alexander Lamb. One
Alexander (known as Alistair) worked in the Civil Service before and after the war. He joined the Royal Air Force in March 1944. After a medical in Edinburgh, he went down to the Air Crew Reception Centre at St John’s Wood. He did his initial…
Interview with Tom Sayer
Tom Sayer was accepted in to the Royal Air Force as an apprentice and began training as a pilot as soon as he was old enough. He trained in the United States and, on his return, he was detached to Coastal Command. He completed eight operations…
interview with Oliver Gomersal
Oliver went for selection to Cardington and joined the RAF in 1941 as an observer (navigator and bomb aimer). He was called up to the Aircrew Receiving Centre at Lord’s Cricket Ground and sent to Aberystwyth. He was posted to the Elementary…
Interview with Benny Goodman. Two
Benny Goodman grew up in London and hoped to become a pilot. He volunteered for the Air Force and was, originally, posted to RAF Abingdon as a ground gunner before beginning his flying training. After qualifying as a pilot in Canada, he became an…
Interview with Harold James Warren. One
Harold joined the Royal Air Force just before war started. After basic training, he went to a technical school to learn about engines and airframes. He spent some time at RAF Boscombe Down. When war started, he was in France as part of 218 Squadron…
Interview with Harold James Warren. Two
When Harold left Canada, where he was testing aircraft, he returned to RAF Bicester in his maintenance role. With his experience of four-engine aircraft, he went as flight engineer to RAF Greenock, flying in Sunderlands to Canada and back. Their role…
Interview with Andrzej Jeziorski
Andrzej Jeziorski was born in Poland and, when the war began he fled to Britain, where he flew as a pilot with 304 Squadron. He specifially recalls being in Warsaw on the 1st of September 1939. He talks about his father, a Navy officer who served in…
Interview with Walter Raymond Stevenson
Walter Raymond Stevenson volunteered for the RAF as soon as he was 18 and trained as a wireless operator/air gunner, learning Morse code at RAF Yatesbury. He flew with 'sprog' pilots as they trained and was posted to Number 3 Air Gunnery School at…
Sea rescue
Left page: top, invitation to cocktails; bottom, lifeboat alongside HMS Universal submarine with P57 on its turret. Right page, top, report of the US steamer Luray Victory, annotated 'Bob was pilot when these photographs were taken; below, report of…
Interview with Taff Owen
Aneurin ‘Taff’ Owen was born neat Dolgellau, near Penmaenpool in Wales, and joined the Royal Air Force in 1942, aged 18. Taff was a farmer’s son and, as such, was put into a reserved occupation, so some of the areas of the Royal Air Force were not…
Letter from Frank Gales to Bob Butler's mother
A letter from Frank Gales (father of Pilot Officer P F W Gales), stating that he has been unable to find a photograph of his son and Bob Butler. The letter also outlines brief details of the operation where his son and Bob Butler were reported…