Browse Items (149 total)
- Contributor is exactly "Peter Schulze"
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Interview with Maria Domanovszky
Maria Domanovszky (b. 1937) tells how she threw herself into a swampy ditch when under fire and how she lay down praying and hoping to get back home safely. She describes German soldiers with torn and dirty uniforms escaping from a burning forest.…
Interview with Marialuigia Buffadossi
Marialuigia Buffadossi remembers her wartime life in the Lombardy region. Born in a low-class neighbourhood with poor-quality housing, she first worked as a shorthand clerk for a solicitor and was then employed by a major bank. She remembers her…
Interview with Marian Hollier
Marion Hollier served as a wireless operator in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force from February 1944 to September 1946. Before the war she worked in a construction firm, The George Wimpey Company, which built aerodromes. She learned the Morse code in…
Interview with Mario Cocco
Mario Cocco (b. 1938) remembers the Tirso dam being torpedoed, emphasising its beauty and meaning as an engineering marvel. He describes how a torpedo net prevented three torpedoes from reaching their target. He gives a detailed account of the…
Interview with Marisa Bianchi
Marisa Bianchi remembers her wartime years at Sesso, a rural hamlet in the Reggio Emilia province. She talks about the abundance of locally farmed food and emphasises how billeted German troops were friendly and supportive, even if she and her family…
Interview with Maurice Bailey
Maurice Bailey left school aged 14 and went to work in an engineering firm. He tells of how he always wanted to become a pilot, since he saw an aeroplane for the first time at school. After being discouraged from becoming a pilot by the RAF…
Interview with Maurice Barrick
Maurice Barrick had always wanted to serve in the Royal Air Force. Upon completion of training, he was posted to Bomber Command 467 Squadron at RAF Waddington. He did four operational flights and two trips flying British prisoners of war from…
Interview with Maurizio Ghiretti
Maurizio Ghiretti describes his early life at Monticelli Terme, a small town near Parma. He remembers various episodes of wartime hardships: food shortages; a tree taken down at night for firewood; men hiding in concealed rooms to avoid roundups; and…
Interview with Max Spence
Max Spence grew up in Australia and worked in a hardware store before volunteering for the Air Force. He recalls his training in Canada and England, and life on an operational station. He flew 18 operations as a navigator with 460 Squadron.
Interview with Megan Edwards
Megan Edwards talks about her husband, Arthur Edwards, who served in the RAF with 102 Squadron. She tells of how they met at school and always kept in touch through the war, until they married on October 7 1944. She remembers working at the Bristol…
Interview with Neil Harris
Neil Harris wanted to join the RAF because he was looking for an exciting life experience and an opportunity for further education. He started as a flight mechanic before training as a pilot. Neil remembers being trained in different locations across…
Interview with Osvaldo Gramegna
Osvaldo Gramegna (b. 1937) remembers the bombings of Turin. He tells of civilians initially fleeing along the railway during alarms and explains how, in hindsight, it was foolish behaviour. He recalls his evacuee life at Casalgrasso: ineffective…
Interview with Paolo Ferroni
Paolo Ferroni (b. 1937) remembers the bombings of Rome, describing the ubiquitous noise of sirens wailing and the psychological distress associated with it. He contrasts night bombings, when civilians dashed to improvised dugouts nearby, and day…
Interview with Paolo Racugno
Paolo Racugno (b. 1917), recollects the February 1943 Cagliari bombing. He mentions scenes of destruction with wounded civilians and describes how he used his coat to protect two girls from falling debris.
Interview with Peter Parker
Peter Parker grew up in Gainsborough. He had hoped to be a pilot but was unsuccessful. However, as he had taught himself Morse code in his shed at home, he trained as a wireless operator and became an instructor. He was posted to RAF Yatesbury and…
Interview with Philip Peel
Mike's son Phillip gives a detailed account of his father's RAF career, using logbook and letters, as well as recalling his father's anecdotes. Mike Peel was a Lancaster pilot and served on two squadrons before becoming a prisoner of war late in…
Interview with Pietro Cosma
Pietro Cosma (b. 1927) remembers the bombings of Milan and recollects two wartime incidents: the execution of a man in front of his home and Benito Mussolini’s corpse on public display in Piazzale Loreto. He describes wartime hardships: losses;…
Interview with Pietro Varesi
Pietro Varesi describes wartime life in Pavia, focussing on the Borgo neighbourhood. He mentions the Ticino bridges as primary targets for bombers; recalls bent shop shutters and debris on the streets; stresses the limited accuracy of bombing and the…
Interview with Raymond Race
Raymond Race was born into a family working in the textile industry and joined the RAF in 1943, serving on the metropolitan communications squadron. He tells of his family’s military service: his father joined the Royal Field Artillery; his eldest…
Interview with Renate Rothaler
Renate Rothaler (b. 1937) recounts her wartime experiences in Gotha, where she lived with her mother and sister, while her father was drafted. She mentions a bombing in spring 1944 when she watched ‘silver birds’ that soon started to drop bombs,…
Interview with Renato Cardarelli
Renato Cardarelli (b. 1923) remembers his youth as an altar boy and then sexton at the church of San Paolo in Rome. He mentions his decision to enter the seminary at 18, where he spent two years, and explains how he was deemed temporarily unfit for…
Interview with Renato Maldarelli
Renato Maldarelli (b. 1937) describes the 1943 bombing of Naples. He remembers being woken up by the alarm, his mother wrapping him in a blanket and going down to a cold shelter. He does not recall the fear of being buried alive under his collapsed…
Interview with Richard Franklin
Richard Franklin served as a wireless operator and flew 34 operations in Bomber Command over Germany. He recalls the only operation on which he risked being killed, when his aircraft was attacked by a German night fighter over Frankfurt. Richard…
Interview with Richard Suchenwirth
Richard Suchenwirth recalls his wartime memories as a Flakhelfer in Pasing, a district of Munich. He tells of his father who was the author of three books on the Luftwaffe, the founder of the Austrian Nazi Party, a political orator and initial…
Interview with Robert Boocock
As a young boy, Robert Boocock had a part-time job delivering ladies’ hats. He was conscripted into the Air Force and, initially, trained to become a wireless operator. After completing his training, he was posted to 242 Squadron on Hurricanes and…