Bob Burns computer compendium

Bob Burns computer compendium

Draft of memoir with contents page - giving service history. Followed by pages with reference to photographs for name and rank, deferred service, ground training dates and places, training in Canada, back home for service flying, 5 Group, 51 base, 106 Squadron, last operation, Luftwaffe pilot who shot them down, graves of crew members, escape attempt at Arnstein, ministry of defence records, Dulag Luft, Stalag Luft 7, return home and flying after the war.

Eleven-page handwritten document

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[underlined] BOB BURNS COMPUTOR [sic] COMPENDIUM [/underlined]

Sections with photographs

Frontispiece

1 Deferred Service 1940 – 1941
2 Ground Training 1942
3 Canada 1942 – 1943
4 Back Home for serious flying 1943
5 No. 5 Group – 51 Base 1944
6 Return Home 1945 – 1946
7 Demobilization 1946
8 Reunions Post war

[page break]

[circled] Frontispiece [/circled] [squared 1]

WARRANT OFFICER

DENIS ROBERT (BOB) BURNS

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

1525609

[page break]

1. [underlined] DEFERRED SERVICE 1940 to 1941 [/underlined] [squared 1]

1.1 – 1.2 – 1.3 Private soldier. L.D.V. (later Home Guard)
Bassets Factory, Sheffield
Feb 1941 R.A.F. Air career Selection Board.
accepted u/t Pilot – Padgate

[page break]

2. [underlined] GROUND TRAINING [/underlined] – 1942 [squared 2]

[underlined] February 1941. A.C.R.C. (Air Crew Receiving Centre) Regents Park London. [/underlined]

[symbol] 2.1 Entrance flight
2.2 Three brand near u/t Pilots

[underlined] March 1941. A.C.D.W. Brighton [/underlined]

Ten hours a day of Morse, Mathematics, P.T. and Drill.

[symbol] 2.3 Regent Dance Hall where I played saxophone every night, earning enough for a comfortable life until promoted LAC at next station.

[underlined] April – 1941. No 8 ITW Newquay [/underlined]

[symbol] 2.4. 4 Squadron outside headquarters. Trenance Hotel
[symbol] 2.5. Trenance Hotel
[symbol] 2.6 Bob
2.7 Bob in first issue of flying clothing
2.8 Bob with room mates Mac and Tommy

[underlined] June – 1941. No 6 EFTS (Elementary Flying Training School) [/underlined]

[underlined] August 1941. A.C.D.C. Heaton Park Manchester [/underlined]

2.9 Airmen on leave, Les Winter, Bob, Les Cooper
2.10 Tommy Rowlett (first violin with Halle Orchestra before his call-up, Stan Ward and Bob.
2.11 and 2.12 Bob with school friend Les Winter

[page break]

2.13 X [squared 2]

2.14 Boys on leave – Bob and Stan
2.15 RAF Station Band Heaton Park 1942

[underlined] 3.0 CANADA [/underlined] (1942 – 1943) [squared 3]

3.1. Sailing to Canada by RMS Queen Elizabeth 83000 tons serving as troopship throughout the war.

[underlined] 1 Central Navigation School, R.C.A.F. Rivers, Manitoba [/underlined]

3.2 Rivers Town Hall, Manitoba
3.3 Main Street, Rivers
3.4 Aircrew accommodation (Hangar) R.C.A.F. Rivers
3.5 Classroom Course 26 B. Bob second left
3.6 Classroom Course 26. Stars charts
3.7 Navigators station in Anson aircraft
3.8 Aerial View Rivers
3.9 Aerial View Rivers
3.10 River Assinioboyne Manitoba
3.11 Course 26B. Navigators. ICNS Rivers
3.12 Bombing photo. Town of River’s. Taken by Bob (Top target of class 26B)
3.13 ICNS Rivers. station band (Bob is first right)
3.14 Course 26B.
3.15 Course 26B, list after graduation

Winnipeg Graduation leave. On way home

[missing number].16 Bob, happy with brevet and seargents [sic] tapes
[missing number].17 Bob with course colleague Doug Bladon

Monkton, Novo Scutia [sic]

[page break]

4. [underlined] BACK HOME FOR SERIOUS FLYING 1943 [/underlined] [squared 4]

April. 7PPC Harrogate
May Seconded to Panda Division Army Northern Command
June. 3 EFT Shellingford. flying Tiger Moths again after having RAF classified Bob as navigator on training here as a pilot
July. 9. Observers Advanced Flying Unit, Llandwrog
Aug. Aircrew Commando School. Scampton
Sept. 29 OTU Bruntingthorpe. Leicestershire. Formed operational crew on Wellington bombers

5. [underlined] No 5 GROUP – 51 BASE [/underlined] 1944 [squared 5]

Dec ’43 1660 H.C.U (Heavy Conversion Unit) Swinderby. Stirling

[underlined] 1944 [/underlined] No 5 Lancaster Finishing School Syerston

[underlined] 106 Squadron, 5 Group, Metheringham Lincolnshire [/underlined]

5.1 March 1944. Squadron photo
5.2 “Joe” Harold Brad, R.C.A.F. Bobs mid upper gunner
5.3 Lancaster bomber Mark 1

[underlined] All photos below taken on Bobs visit to Germany in 2002 [/underlined]

[underlined] Last operation 26/27 April 1944 to Schweinfurt. [/underlined]
Bobs Lancaster + JU88 nightfighter involved in [underlined] dog fight and [/underlined] shot each other down.

[underlined] Schweinfurt [/underlined]

5.4 Schweinfurt today
5.5 River Maine harbour. Target aiming point a few yards North of this
5.6 Another view of above. Close up
5.7} Ball Bearing works. Some rebuilt during the war and some built post war AS IN 1944
5.8} Ball Bearing works. Some rebuilt during the war and some built post war AS IN 1944
5.9} Ball Bearing works. Some rebuilt during the war and some built post war AS IN 1944

[page break]

[squared 5]

5.10 Nightfighter pilot of JU88 Haufman Walter Bornschein. Commanding Officer of Hitlers own transport squadron
Killed with his crew in combat

[underlined] Schraudenbach – near Schweinfurt [/underlined] and where ND853 crashed

5.11 “Thirteen Gardens” – the crash site
5.12 Grave of crew members killed in village cemetery
P.O Cyril Bishop. RAF.VR Pilot
Sgt H.R Healey RAF Flight Engineer
Sgt. Percy Daw RAF VR Wireless Operator
Sgt Bill Stevens RCAF Rear Gunner
Sgt Harold Brad RCAF Mid upper Gunner

5.12A. After the war all were reinterred in Military Cemetery, Durnbach, Bavaria

5.13 Site of grave in 4.12 above. Photo taken in 2002. Plot left empty by Villagers
5.14 Two ladies who watched Lancaster [inserted] ND853 – ZNJ 106 Sqdn [/inserted] crash in 1944 [inserted] 27 APRIL [/inserted] Frau Zimgard Kress (L) & Frau Josephine Rumpel (R)

5.15 Bob & son Robert with and their families. Photo taken on visit to Schraudenbach 2001
5.16 Pastor Hochw. Herr Oswald Franz who buried five members of the Lancaster and thus defied Hitler’s edict that Allied Aircrew should not have a Christian burial. For this disobedience he was sentenced to Concentration Camp but survived and after the war resumed as Pastor in Schraudenbach. A brave and true Christian.

[page break]

[squared 5]

[underlined] Arnstein [/underlined] where Bob tried escaping by train but captured here

5.17 Station Goods Yard.
5.18 Arnstein Station
5.19 Arnstein Red Cross (Cottage) Hospital (originally an agricultural colledge [sic])
5.20 Room used as a hospital ward where Bobs injuries were treated

[underlined] Ministry of Defence/Air Ministry Records [/underlined]

5.21. 5 Group Operation to Savernfurt 26/27 April 1944 Route taken and crash sites of lost aircraft
5.22 Aircraft Loss Card of Lancaster ND 853
5.23 Notification of Bob Burns survival to his mother.
5.24 Caterpillar Club Membership Certificate. F/Sgt D.R. Burns
5.25 Escape photograph, provided by Squadron to be used in documents if an evader

[underlined] DULAG LUFT [/underlined] – Camp for interregation [sic] of airmen prisoners.

5.26 Typical cell and main cell block.
5.27} Prisoner of War details of Bob Burns
5.28} Prisoner of War details of Bob Burns

[underlined] STALAG LUFT 7. BANKAU. SILESIA [/underlined]

5.29 Bob Burns and his Orchestra
5.30 Poster of Concert December 1944
5.31 Programme given
[underlined] Note. [/underlined] A shortage of paper meant details were on brown paper packing
19 Jan 1945. 1565 Prisoners left Bankau and walked 240 kilometers [sic] in blizzards to Goldberg where on 5 February they were entrained (55 to a cattletruck) and 1493 arrived on 8 Feb at Luckenwalde

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[underlined] RETURN HOME [/underlined] 1945-1946 [squared 6]

[underlined] 1945 [/underlined]

26 May Flown home to Cosford. Now Warrant Officer
1 Oct No P.C. (Personnel Centre)

[underlined] 1946 FLYING AGAIN [/underlined] (and afterwards)

1 January [underlined] 7ANS Bishopscourt Northern Ireland Air Navigation School on Ansons [/underlined]
6.1 Station Band – Bishopscourt. Bob is second on left
6.2} Concert Party
6.3} Concert Party

May [underlined] 10 OT.U ABINGDON Wellingtons again [/underlined]

6.4 Bob Burns
6.5 [symbol] Crewed up with two old friends from Bankau (from left : Bob Navigator, Wally Batt Wireless Operator: Ken Lane DFC, Pilot.
6.6 [symbol] Wally and Bob

Course closed down 10 October 1946. With the RAF’s future in determinate. Bob then decided to take demobilisation.
Moved to Swinderby (again) as Catering Officer in Airmen’s Mess
6.7 Three ex Bankau friends, all pilots and who Bob brought into catering From left Mac, Ralph and Eric
6.8 Bob on Airfield
6.9 Bob on Airfield

[page break]

7. [underlined] DEMOBILIZATION [/underlined] [squared 7]

[underlined] 19 Jan 1946 [/underlined] Padgate – where it started out

7.1 Alastrean House, Tarland Aberdeenshire where Lady MacRoberts, with three sons killed in the RAF opened the house to RAF aircrew
7.2 Lady MacRoberts and her farm bayliff [sic]

7.3 Back to work – surveying – and in civie clothes after 6 years.

[page break]

[underlined] REUNIONS [/underlined] [squared 8]

8.1 Vancouver – Bankau Boys 1992
8.2 Vancouver Keith, Bob, Allen & KE

8.3 Holland. Appeldorn. Anne & Bob 1995 RAF Cemetery

8.4} London RAF St Clement Danes 1995
8.5} London RAF St Clement Danes
8.6 London} Guild Hall Dinner
8.7 London} Guild Hall Dinner

8.8 Okehampton RAF Ex POW lunch 2000

8.9 Arnsteen Germany. Bob & Burgomeister 2001

8.10 Luckenwalde Town Centre 2005
8.11 Luckenwalde Memorial Plaque. Stalag 3A
8.12 Lackenwalde Monument Stalag 3A
8.13 Leipzig Bob in rebuilt Market Square and Town Hall