Peter Hazeldene's Biography
Title
Peter Hazeldene's Biography
Description
A brief biography of Peter Hazeldene DFC covering his RAF service and subsequent life.
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
One typewritten sheet
Publisher
Rights
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.
Contributor
Identifier
MHazeldenePV553414-170930-05
Transcription
PETER VERE HAZELDENE [Inserted] DFC [/inserted]
Born on Barry Island, the eldest of 7 children.
First worked as a jeweller’s errand boy but joined the RAF as a Boy Entrant’ in 1938.
War broke out and he was selected for air crew (bombers) and underwent gunnery training and wireless operator training.
During training his aircraft crashed on take off and caught fire but all the crew survived.
Later he was based at RAF Finningley and then at RAF East Kirkby with 57 Squadron.
He flew on 60 operations (almost 3 tours) and bailed out twice.
He was awarded the DFC in 1944 and also mentioned in despatches.
He was the only member of his crew to survive the war.
Peter was a loyal member of The Royal Observer Corps for over 35 years (Chief Observer).
He represented the Observers at the Cenotaph in Whitehall one remembrance Sunday.
He married Olive in 1942 and had 3 girls Helen, Rachel and Jane.
He trained as a nurseryman and went into partnership with John at Redmile Nurseries until his retirement 15 years ago.
He enjoyed a ‘pint’ often at the Dun Cow in Cowbit or The Mailcart (especially a Steward & Pattersons) and boasted he could tell which side of the river the barley had been grown from the taste of their beer!
He loved his garden and shared his knowledge of flowers with so many who sought his advice.
He never lost his interest in the RAF, was a member of RAFA and British Legion.
Despite failing health he never complained or expressed any self-pity.
He enjoyed good company and was popular with many friends [deleted] a [/deleted] [Inserted] . A [/inserted] kind and gentle father, an officer and a gentleman, who loved and was loved by all his large family.
Known simply to his grand children and great grandchildren as ‘[deleted] Granddad [/deleted] [inserted] Grandad [/inserted] Pete’
Born on Barry Island, the eldest of 7 children.
First worked as a jeweller’s errand boy but joined the RAF as a Boy Entrant’ in 1938.
War broke out and he was selected for air crew (bombers) and underwent gunnery training and wireless operator training.
During training his aircraft crashed on take off and caught fire but all the crew survived.
Later he was based at RAF Finningley and then at RAF East Kirkby with 57 Squadron.
He flew on 60 operations (almost 3 tours) and bailed out twice.
He was awarded the DFC in 1944 and also mentioned in despatches.
He was the only member of his crew to survive the war.
Peter was a loyal member of The Royal Observer Corps for over 35 years (Chief Observer).
He represented the Observers at the Cenotaph in Whitehall one remembrance Sunday.
He married Olive in 1942 and had 3 girls Helen, Rachel and Jane.
He trained as a nurseryman and went into partnership with John at Redmile Nurseries until his retirement 15 years ago.
He enjoyed a ‘pint’ often at the Dun Cow in Cowbit or The Mailcart (especially a Steward & Pattersons) and boasted he could tell which side of the river the barley had been grown from the taste of their beer!
He loved his garden and shared his knowledge of flowers with so many who sought his advice.
He never lost his interest in the RAF, was a member of RAFA and British Legion.
Despite failing health he never complained or expressed any self-pity.
He enjoyed good company and was popular with many friends [deleted] a [/deleted] [Inserted] . A [/inserted] kind and gentle father, an officer and a gentleman, who loved and was loved by all his large family.
Known simply to his grand children and great grandchildren as ‘[deleted] Granddad [/deleted] [inserted] Grandad [/inserted] Pete’
Collection
Citation
“Peter Hazeldene's Biography,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 20, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/20727.
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