Notes by Reg Payne

Notes by Reg Payne

Notes by Reg Payne about his wartime service. The loss of friends and colleagues and the effect on parents and individuals is discussed. There is also a summary of his operations between 22 November 1943 and 01 May 1944. He records the target and the number of aircraft or airmen missing.

Two handwritten sheets

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MPayneR1435510-150903-010001,
MPayneR1435510-150903-010002

My brother missing. My mum thinking of me.
Arthure[sic] Johnson missing
Ron Boydon missing [underlined] visiting his mother. [/underlined]
Mrs Roydon looking in peoples gateways at night for her son
Girl next door to [underlined] Mrs Fatchet Lincoln [/underlined] with small baby. Would be watching Lancasters going off on operations The baby’s father had not returned from his operations
Ena (ATS in Lincoln) I would phone her and say – all being well will see you tomorrow evening. She knew that I was on operations that night All Ena’s ATS friends had lost RAF boy friends and tried to not get attatched[sic] to them enymore
Arthur Johnsons mother calling on my mother to see if she had any news of my brother.
After the war ended both mothers had to be sent to care homes after it was found that both their sons had been killed

[underlined] When my brother was missing my mother asked me to come home My squad C.O. wouldn’t let me go. He said he did’nt[sic] want one of his crews breaking up. I told him whatever my
[/underlined] mother asked of me, I would still fly with my crew. With my promise he let me go home for 48 hrs.

Ena’s ATS friend Joan spent all her spare time with Fred Ball our Rear Gunner. Fred was killed when our aircraft was in flames and he did’nt[sic] bale out

3 Canadians in our hut having them killed allowed us to meet our girlfriends in Lincoln (evenings)

[page break]

[underlined] Pilot. Michael Beetham. [/underlined] Reg Payne W/OP. 50 Sqdn.
[underlined] Operations [/underlined]

22.11.43 Ops Berlin [underlined] 32 missing [/underlined]
23.11.43 Ops Berlin [underlined] 27 missing [/underlined] Landed Wittering flaps u/s
26.11.43 Ops Berlin Diverted Melbourne [underlined] 55 missing [/underlined]
3.12.43 Ops Leipzig Landed Wittering damaged by JO88[?] short of fuel 26 missing
20.12.43 Ops Frankfurt 44 missing
29.12.43 Ops Berlin Incendiary thro petrol tank 20 missing
1.1.44 Ops Berlin 31 missing
5.1.44 Ops Stettin 16 missing
14.1.44 Ops Brunswick 40 missing
20.1.44 Ops Berlin 42 missing
21.1.44 Ops Berlin Spoof attack 16 missing
27.1.44 Ops Berlin 33 missing
28.1.44 Ops Berlin 53 missing
19.2.44 Ops Leipzig 80 missing
25.2.44 Ops Augsborg Returned on 3 engines 23 missing
1.3.44 Ops Stottcart 6 missing
9.3.44 Ops Marseilles Landed Fido Fiskerton 8 hrs 55 mins
24.3.44 Ops Berlin Landed Foulsham 74 missing
26.3.44 Ops Essen 12 missing
30.3.44 Ops Nuremberg 105 missing
5.4.44 Ops Toulouse 1 missing
11.4.44 Ops Aachen 9 missing
18.4.44 Ops Juvisey Paris 2 missing
20.4.44 Ops La Chappelle 7 missing
22.4.44 Ops Brunswich 6 missing
26.4.44 Ops Schweinfurt 22 missing
28.4.44 Ops St Medard Bordeaux
29.4.44 “ “ “ “
1.5.44 Ops Toulouse

[underlined] First tour completed [/underlined]