Briggs, Donald
Title
Briggs, Donald
Donald W Briggs
D W Briggs
Description
21 items. The collection consists of one oral history interview with flight engineer Donald Ward Briggs (1924 - 2018), his logbook, memoirs and 16 wartime and post war photographs. He completed 62 operations with 156 Squadron Pathfinders flying from RAF Upwood. Post war, Donald Briggs retrained as a pilot flying Meteors and Canberras. He eventually joined the V-Force on Valiants and was the co-pilot for the third British hydrogen bomb test at Malden Island in 1957.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Donald Briggs and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Donald Briggs and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Date
2017-03-27
Publisher
IBCC Digital Archive
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
Briggs, DW
Collection Items
Donald Briggs' log book
Donald Briggs served as a flight engineer with 156 Squadron Pathfinders flying Lancasters from RAF Upwood between 27 May 1944 and 31 March 1945. The incomplete log book includes 62 daylight and night time operations to French, German, Dutch and…
Interview with Donald Briggs
Donald Briggs was born in Lealholm near Whitby in Yorkshire. After school, he became an apprentice with the Royal Air Force. He trained at RAF Halton in 1939 and became an engine fitter working on Wellingtons and Manchesters. He volunteered for air…
Members of 576 squadron
Nine aircrew officers dressed in uniform standing in front of the port wing and part of the fuselage of a Lancaster with cockpit covered. On the reverse ‘No 576 Lanc squadron, Fiskerton 31/10/44 – 13/9/45 with 49 Sqn’ and ‘F/L Namon [?] Radar…
Lancaster
Lancaster 'N' with all engines running on a concrete surface. Nose art shows five rows of operation symbols in two columns.
Donald Briggs
Head and shoulders portrait of Donald Briggs wearing uniform tunic with flight engineer brevet, medal ribbons including the Distinguished Flying Cross and pathfinder wings.
Airman in Lancaster cockpit
A man wearing shirt sleeves and a flying helmet and goggles looking out of the open cockpit window of a Lancaster from the pilot's seat. Below the cockpit are two partial rows of 12 bomb symbols, five of which are of lighter colour.
Donald Briggs with family
Seven members of Donald Briggs family standing in line. Donald Briggs is third from the right dressed in uniform tunic with flight engineer brevet, pathfinder wings and peaked hat. Donald Briggs brother is standing second from the left in uniform…
Donald Briggs in Lancaster cockpit
Donald Briggs in civilian clothes sitting looking back from the pilot’s seat of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster.
Additional information about this item has been kindly provided by the donor.
Additional information about this item has been kindly provided by the donor.
Donald Briggs
Donald Briggs seated at table wearing blazer with name tag and a squadron tie. He is wearing six medals including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the 1939-1945 Star, the War Medal 1939-1945, the Defence Medal and the General Service Medal. He also…
Valiant
Valiant WZ363 coming in to land with landing gear and flaps down. In the background open ground and tree line.
Four Canberras in flight
Air-to air view of four Canberra aircraft in diamond formation taken from above flying from bottom to top. In the background open country.
Donald Briggs and Canberra
Donald Briggs in uniform tunic with pilots brevet and peaked hat. In the background the nose of a Canberra with open access hatch and stylized bird nose art.
Donald Briggs and Austin 7
Flying Officer Donald Briggs standing in uniform with tunic and peaked hat with his left foot resting on the footplate of an open topped Austin 7. The mudguards have been edged in white to aid visibility in the blackout, the headlamps angled in and…
Fourteen servicemen
Fourteen servicemen sitting and standing in two rows of seven, all are dressed in battledress uniform. Seven servicemen have aircrew brevets. Donald Briggs is standing second from the right. In the background part of a Lancaster with open bomb bay.
Seven aircrew
Seven aircrew standing in battledress uniform. Don Briggs is second from the right, pilot, William Neale, is in the centre. In the background a part of a Lancaster with open bomb bay.
Additional information about this item has been kindly provided…
Additional information about this item has been kindly provided…
Airman in Lancaster cockpit
An airman wearing flying helmet and goggles, framed in the open cockpit window of a Lancaster. Three rows of ten operation symbols are visible.
Donald Briggs
Donald Briggs in civilian clothes holding six medals which include the Distinguished Flying Cross, the 1939-1945 Star with Bomber Command Clasp, the War Medal 1939-1945, the Defence Medal and the General Service medal.
A few statistics
Statistics for overall bomber command crew number, casualties and total number of Lancasters built. Breakdown of Don Briggs’s operations by type. Statistics for 156 PFF Squadron including numbers of sorties, casualties and aircraft lost. Concludes…
Tribute to a Pathfinder captain
Tribute to Squadron Leader William G Neal Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross, Croix de Guerre, 1912-2001. Describes how Don Briggs met and was crewed with Bill Neal’s crew who having completed one tour had been selected for a…
Don Briggs, a brief description of wartime service
Describes wartime service from 1939 to 1945. Joined as Halton apprentice in September 1939. Posted as fitter engine to RAF Wittering working on Wellington Hampden and Manchester aircraft. Followed by tour at RAF Upper Heyford working on Wellington…
Collection Tree
- Briggs, Donald