Interview with Dr James Hendrie Burt. Two
Title
Interview with Dr James Hendrie Burt. Two
Description
During his time as medical officer at RAF Waddington, James Burt was responsible for inspecting sanitation and food hygiene as well as general medicine. On one occasion he also had to travel to RAF Tangmere to investigate the death of a member of aircrew.
Creator
Date
2022-06-30
Temporal Coverage
Language
Type
Format
00:15:52 Audio Recording
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
ABurtJH220630, PBurtJH2202
Transcription
NM: Ok. So, following on from our first session last week Jimmy has some further recollections he would like to add so we are going to try and capture these over a speaker phone which is the first time I’ve tried this method. So, we’ll see how it goes. I understand Jimmy that you want to tell us more about your role as a medical officer at RAF Waddington. So over to you.
JB: Yes. Well, maybe I gave you the impression that I did nothing but sit in my office and I’d occasionally see the patients. I also had to do inspections of the catering establishment and sanitation. The establishments in and around RAF Waddington. That meant long walks sometimes around about. Around about the station. And that added to the interest really to make sure everything was clean and there were no dangers in food infections or anything like that. Also, one of the things I had to do was to inspect a small holding unit at RAF Wainfleet on the coast which was the bombing station for Waddington and I used to go there probably twice a month. Sometimes I flew over the top with it with some of the bomber boys. But I always had to inspect that and make sure everything was alright in the air and they were all fit. Fit and healthy. That was the other thing that was of interest which I forgot was that once the wing commander and I were sent down to Tangmere. The reason for that being that one of the aircraft coming back from the Middle East, I think it was from Shallufa but coming over France they hit a bit of a storm and they had to climb up over the clouds and of course everybody was on oxygen then. And when they were coming down to a reasonable level they could take the oxygen masks off. We found that they were carrying some, a few obviously ground crew with them coming back and we found that one of the lads was unconscious so they put out a mayday. A mayday and they were ordered into Tangmere. They landed at Tangmere and the medical officer there certified that the chap was dead so the wing commander and I went down there. We were ordered down there to find out exactly what had happened. So we had to interview the medical officer there and seemingly with some question as to whether the chap had died on the aircraft or died on, after he was on the ground. But we ascertained really that he had taken his mask off or it had slipped off and nobody had noticed and that’s how he died and that. But we interviewed the medical officer and he assured us that the, when he saw the chap he was dead and that was it. But somebody had complained about the smell of the oxygen which was the funny thing. And so the wing commander ordered a cylinder to be put in his car and that and we went up to Farnborough and left it at Farnborough for inspection. The funny thing was when we got near to Farnborough he said to me, he said, ‘Do you have any form of identification on you?’ I said, ‘No. I handed mine in to headquarters to be checked.’ He said, ‘I did the same.’ So, he said, ‘We’ve got no form of identification. We’ve got a great big cylinder in the back of the car and —’ he said, ‘No identification to get on to the station. Oh,’ he said, ‘Anyway,’ he said, ‘I was stationed here at one time.’ And so he just bluffed his way past everybody and we got there and we got it down to the Medical Centre there. So we then had a nice walk around the station, RAF, and we saw this hangar and there was a trident-tailed aircraft there. Neither of us had seen an aircraft like that before. We didn’t know what it was or anything but it just in the hangar and there was no guards or anybody around the back of it so we couldn’t ask any questions. Anyway, we left there and got and got back. Back to Waddington. So that was that. That was the only one. The other thing I have a vague recollection. I’ve been trying to find out more about it but I do remember being in an aircraft and looking out of the window standing between the engineer and the pilot and looking out the window. I could see another plane and a bomber quite close to us and he said, ‘Oh yes. They reckon there’s about a hundred aircraft in the air that were flying down to Farnborough and I haven’t been able to find any anything at all about, about that. We flew down to Farnborough and back again but they said there was about a hundred aircraft in that. That flight. So anyway, that was that.
NM: So what year was that, Jimmy?
JB: That would be ’46.
NM: Ok. So, you didn’t know what the aircraft was you actually saw at Farnborough. The twin tailed aircraft.
JB: No. We never found out what it was.
NM: You never found out. Ok.
JB: No. So —
NM: Can I take you back to one of your earlier statements. You said you had to sort of inspect Waddington occasionally for sanitation.
JB: Yes.
NM: So obviously that takes two forms. One is, is food security at the, in the Mess blocks. Did the catering staff ever give you any trouble or worry about what you were going to find?
JB: No.
NM: When they —
JB: Nothing. I never found any trouble at all. Everything was perfectly clean and the cooking looked alright to me but there wasn’t any complaint about the food or anything. Anything at all and I can’t remember any attacks of illness coming from, coming from the food or that so —
NM: Ok. And are your, did your inspections also cover toilet blocks and showers and things like that?
JB: Yes. Just had a look in just to make sure everything was clean and I mean nobody questioned me at all about going. I just, the flight sergeant and I just went around and that was it. So —
NM: Ok. So, at Wainfleet on the bombing range just what’s, what was there a permanent staff there? How big was the permanent staff at Wainfleet?
JB: They were all, I think there were only three of them there.
NM: Ok. So, a very very small —
JB: Very very small, yes.
NM: Compliment and buildings to look at.
JB: That’s all.
NM: Ok. So, anything further you’ve remembered or want to add to the recollections you’ve just added?
JB: No. I can’t. I can’t think of anything. I can’t think of anything else.
NM: Ok. Well, that’s —
JB: I’m wracking my brain to see if I can think of something. I’m trying to make sure that it’s actually happened and not just a figment of my imagination [laughs]
NM: Ok. Well, that’s, that’s very useful addition to the session we had last week. I must appreciate the extra thought that went in behind this and gives an extra dimension to your role as medical officer.
JB: Yes. So that was that.
NM: Ok. Well, thanks again Jimmy and we’ll be in touch, and we’ll finish the interview again now then shall we?
JB: Yeah. Well, before you shut of your machine. I told you I was at the Bomber Command Memorial on Sunday. It was the Memorial Service.
NM: Oh right.
JB: I met some veterans down there. What, about twenty of us that were veterans and —
NM: This was Armed Forces Day was it? This is the Memorial.
JB: This was Armed Forces Day. We all had to lay a wreath.
NM: So, this was at Green Park was it? The —
JB: That’s right.
NM: Ok.
JB: An air chief marshall was there and spoke to all of us. Came around personally. Spoke to all of us. He and his wife were absolutely charming. Anyway, really but I was talking to a chap and he, something was mentioned and he said, ‘Oh yes.’ He said, ‘I was with 57 Squadron.’ And he said, ‘A lot of us transferred to 617. Now, that was ’43 and he had a DFC and next, before his DFC he had a ribbon which was a [bluey] ribbon. I didn’t get a chance to ask him what that ribbon was. He had that in front of the DFC. Would that be for a bar to the DFC or was it a separate, separate ribbon? I don’t know because just when we were sitting talking they came and said, ‘Right we’re getting taxis to take us down to the Memorial.’ We were in the club, the RAF Club at Piccadilly and he was taken away so I didn’t get a chance to ask him and I just don’t know what that ribbon was.
NM: And you didn’t manage to catch his name at all.
JB: No.
NM: Ok.
JB: That’s the trouble. But if he was a DFC and transferred to that it was a certain summer’s eve 57 Squadron did transfer to 617 and I just don’t, I don’t think he could have taken part in the raid actually. If there is —
NM: No. There’s only Johnny Johnson left, I think.
JB: I think so.
NM: Yeah.
JB: He was on the Tirpitz or something like that.
NM: He may have joined later from 57. During the war.
JB: Aye.
NM: So —
JB: I didn’t get his last name so I couldn’t. I’ll try to find out because we’re going up to Coningsby a week on Monday to have afternoon tea at the Battle of Britain place.
NM: That will be good.
JB: There’s something. There’s something on there. I don’t know.
NM: Something to look forward to. Excellent.
JB: Aye. I met another chap and I sort of mentioned to him. I said I had my hundredth birthday a month ago and he just looked at me and said, ‘I had mine in January,’ he said. ‘I’m older than you.’ That was something. So he said he was shot down [pause] well on a raid to Stuttgart on the 22nd of May 1944. He parachuted out and was taken prisoner and that and said he was in a camp south of Berlin and when the Russians advanced he decided to escape from the camp and made his way across through Germany and through France and got to the coast. And he said the Navy were very kind [laughs] They ferried him across to Britain. He was an amusing little chap. That was a very interesting day we went there.
NM: It sounds like it.
JB: Yeah. Well, I must say the RAF have been absolutely first class every time I’ve been, I’ve been down. You know. The air chief marshall when he was making his speech afterward referred to the doctor here today. So pointed to me so [laughs] that brought me into all the rest of them all sitting around with their medals. But he was, he was very kind. We had a long chat with him and his wife came and sat with me and had a long old chat as well so —
NM: Oh good. You were, you were personally mentioned. Excellent.
JB: Oh yeah. That made my day.
NM: I’m sure it did. I’m sure it did.
JB: Yeah. Ok then, well —
NM: Ok. Ok, Jimmy. Well, it’s been a pleasure catching up with you and the additional stories and —
NM: Well —
JB: We’ll add this to the interview now and I’ll send it off to Lincoln and see what they do with it.
JB: Yeah. Ok then.
NM: Alright.
JB: Well, thanks Nigel.
NM: Ok then.
JB: It’s been nice speaking to you. Thank you very much.
NM: Well, I’ve enjoyed it, Jimmy. Thank you very much for your time and your recollections and of course your service.
JB: Well, that’s alright. Thank you.
NM: Ok then, Jimmy.
JB: Ok.
NM: Alright.
JB: Bye bye.
NM: Bye bye, Jimmy. Bye bye.
JB: Thanks.
JB: Yes. Well, maybe I gave you the impression that I did nothing but sit in my office and I’d occasionally see the patients. I also had to do inspections of the catering establishment and sanitation. The establishments in and around RAF Waddington. That meant long walks sometimes around about. Around about the station. And that added to the interest really to make sure everything was clean and there were no dangers in food infections or anything like that. Also, one of the things I had to do was to inspect a small holding unit at RAF Wainfleet on the coast which was the bombing station for Waddington and I used to go there probably twice a month. Sometimes I flew over the top with it with some of the bomber boys. But I always had to inspect that and make sure everything was alright in the air and they were all fit. Fit and healthy. That was the other thing that was of interest which I forgot was that once the wing commander and I were sent down to Tangmere. The reason for that being that one of the aircraft coming back from the Middle East, I think it was from Shallufa but coming over France they hit a bit of a storm and they had to climb up over the clouds and of course everybody was on oxygen then. And when they were coming down to a reasonable level they could take the oxygen masks off. We found that they were carrying some, a few obviously ground crew with them coming back and we found that one of the lads was unconscious so they put out a mayday. A mayday and they were ordered into Tangmere. They landed at Tangmere and the medical officer there certified that the chap was dead so the wing commander and I went down there. We were ordered down there to find out exactly what had happened. So we had to interview the medical officer there and seemingly with some question as to whether the chap had died on the aircraft or died on, after he was on the ground. But we ascertained really that he had taken his mask off or it had slipped off and nobody had noticed and that’s how he died and that. But we interviewed the medical officer and he assured us that the, when he saw the chap he was dead and that was it. But somebody had complained about the smell of the oxygen which was the funny thing. And so the wing commander ordered a cylinder to be put in his car and that and we went up to Farnborough and left it at Farnborough for inspection. The funny thing was when we got near to Farnborough he said to me, he said, ‘Do you have any form of identification on you?’ I said, ‘No. I handed mine in to headquarters to be checked.’ He said, ‘I did the same.’ So, he said, ‘We’ve got no form of identification. We’ve got a great big cylinder in the back of the car and —’ he said, ‘No identification to get on to the station. Oh,’ he said, ‘Anyway,’ he said, ‘I was stationed here at one time.’ And so he just bluffed his way past everybody and we got there and we got it down to the Medical Centre there. So we then had a nice walk around the station, RAF, and we saw this hangar and there was a trident-tailed aircraft there. Neither of us had seen an aircraft like that before. We didn’t know what it was or anything but it just in the hangar and there was no guards or anybody around the back of it so we couldn’t ask any questions. Anyway, we left there and got and got back. Back to Waddington. So that was that. That was the only one. The other thing I have a vague recollection. I’ve been trying to find out more about it but I do remember being in an aircraft and looking out of the window standing between the engineer and the pilot and looking out the window. I could see another plane and a bomber quite close to us and he said, ‘Oh yes. They reckon there’s about a hundred aircraft in the air that were flying down to Farnborough and I haven’t been able to find any anything at all about, about that. We flew down to Farnborough and back again but they said there was about a hundred aircraft in that. That flight. So anyway, that was that.
NM: So what year was that, Jimmy?
JB: That would be ’46.
NM: Ok. So, you didn’t know what the aircraft was you actually saw at Farnborough. The twin tailed aircraft.
JB: No. We never found out what it was.
NM: You never found out. Ok.
JB: No. So —
NM: Can I take you back to one of your earlier statements. You said you had to sort of inspect Waddington occasionally for sanitation.
JB: Yes.
NM: So obviously that takes two forms. One is, is food security at the, in the Mess blocks. Did the catering staff ever give you any trouble or worry about what you were going to find?
JB: No.
NM: When they —
JB: Nothing. I never found any trouble at all. Everything was perfectly clean and the cooking looked alright to me but there wasn’t any complaint about the food or anything. Anything at all and I can’t remember any attacks of illness coming from, coming from the food or that so —
NM: Ok. And are your, did your inspections also cover toilet blocks and showers and things like that?
JB: Yes. Just had a look in just to make sure everything was clean and I mean nobody questioned me at all about going. I just, the flight sergeant and I just went around and that was it. So —
NM: Ok. So, at Wainfleet on the bombing range just what’s, what was there a permanent staff there? How big was the permanent staff at Wainfleet?
JB: They were all, I think there were only three of them there.
NM: Ok. So, a very very small —
JB: Very very small, yes.
NM: Compliment and buildings to look at.
JB: That’s all.
NM: Ok. So, anything further you’ve remembered or want to add to the recollections you’ve just added?
JB: No. I can’t. I can’t think of anything. I can’t think of anything else.
NM: Ok. Well, that’s —
JB: I’m wracking my brain to see if I can think of something. I’m trying to make sure that it’s actually happened and not just a figment of my imagination [laughs]
NM: Ok. Well, that’s, that’s very useful addition to the session we had last week. I must appreciate the extra thought that went in behind this and gives an extra dimension to your role as medical officer.
JB: Yes. So that was that.
NM: Ok. Well, thanks again Jimmy and we’ll be in touch, and we’ll finish the interview again now then shall we?
JB: Yeah. Well, before you shut of your machine. I told you I was at the Bomber Command Memorial on Sunday. It was the Memorial Service.
NM: Oh right.
JB: I met some veterans down there. What, about twenty of us that were veterans and —
NM: This was Armed Forces Day was it? This is the Memorial.
JB: This was Armed Forces Day. We all had to lay a wreath.
NM: So, this was at Green Park was it? The —
JB: That’s right.
NM: Ok.
JB: An air chief marshall was there and spoke to all of us. Came around personally. Spoke to all of us. He and his wife were absolutely charming. Anyway, really but I was talking to a chap and he, something was mentioned and he said, ‘Oh yes.’ He said, ‘I was with 57 Squadron.’ And he said, ‘A lot of us transferred to 617. Now, that was ’43 and he had a DFC and next, before his DFC he had a ribbon which was a [bluey] ribbon. I didn’t get a chance to ask him what that ribbon was. He had that in front of the DFC. Would that be for a bar to the DFC or was it a separate, separate ribbon? I don’t know because just when we were sitting talking they came and said, ‘Right we’re getting taxis to take us down to the Memorial.’ We were in the club, the RAF Club at Piccadilly and he was taken away so I didn’t get a chance to ask him and I just don’t know what that ribbon was.
NM: And you didn’t manage to catch his name at all.
JB: No.
NM: Ok.
JB: That’s the trouble. But if he was a DFC and transferred to that it was a certain summer’s eve 57 Squadron did transfer to 617 and I just don’t, I don’t think he could have taken part in the raid actually. If there is —
NM: No. There’s only Johnny Johnson left, I think.
JB: I think so.
NM: Yeah.
JB: He was on the Tirpitz or something like that.
NM: He may have joined later from 57. During the war.
JB: Aye.
NM: So —
JB: I didn’t get his last name so I couldn’t. I’ll try to find out because we’re going up to Coningsby a week on Monday to have afternoon tea at the Battle of Britain place.
NM: That will be good.
JB: There’s something. There’s something on there. I don’t know.
NM: Something to look forward to. Excellent.
JB: Aye. I met another chap and I sort of mentioned to him. I said I had my hundredth birthday a month ago and he just looked at me and said, ‘I had mine in January,’ he said. ‘I’m older than you.’ That was something. So he said he was shot down [pause] well on a raid to Stuttgart on the 22nd of May 1944. He parachuted out and was taken prisoner and that and said he was in a camp south of Berlin and when the Russians advanced he decided to escape from the camp and made his way across through Germany and through France and got to the coast. And he said the Navy were very kind [laughs] They ferried him across to Britain. He was an amusing little chap. That was a very interesting day we went there.
NM: It sounds like it.
JB: Yeah. Well, I must say the RAF have been absolutely first class every time I’ve been, I’ve been down. You know. The air chief marshall when he was making his speech afterward referred to the doctor here today. So pointed to me so [laughs] that brought me into all the rest of them all sitting around with their medals. But he was, he was very kind. We had a long chat with him and his wife came and sat with me and had a long old chat as well so —
NM: Oh good. You were, you were personally mentioned. Excellent.
JB: Oh yeah. That made my day.
NM: I’m sure it did. I’m sure it did.
JB: Yeah. Ok then, well —
NM: Ok. Ok, Jimmy. Well, it’s been a pleasure catching up with you and the additional stories and —
NM: Well —
JB: We’ll add this to the interview now and I’ll send it off to Lincoln and see what they do with it.
JB: Yeah. Ok then.
NM: Alright.
JB: Well, thanks Nigel.
NM: Ok then.
JB: It’s been nice speaking to you. Thank you very much.
NM: Well, I’ve enjoyed it, Jimmy. Thank you very much for your time and your recollections and of course your service.
JB: Well, that’s alright. Thank you.
NM: Ok then, Jimmy.
JB: Ok.
NM: Alright.
JB: Bye bye.
NM: Bye bye, Jimmy. Bye bye.
JB: Thanks.
Collection
Citation
Nigel Moore, “Interview with Dr James Hendrie Burt. Two,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed July 27, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/48100.
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