Ian Locker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944-01-30]]> Andrew Panton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Norway]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Norway--Tromsø]]> Scotland--Moray]]> Scotland--Lossiemouth]]> Norway--Narvik]]> 1944-11-12]]> Denise Boneham]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Egypt]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Oman]]> Mediterranean Region]]> Egypt--Alexandria]]> Egypt--Suez]]> Egypt--Cairo]]> Italy--Naples]]> Oman--Masirah Island]]> North Africa]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Shropshire]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Elizabeth has clear memories of attending dances and the cinema at both RAF Feltwell and RAF Methwold, along with her friend Pam. She was employed as a waitress in the local fish and chip shop, which brought her into direct contact with the New Zealand airmen stationed at nearby RAF Methwold. The airmen’s love of egg and chips is a particularly fond memory. She had several boyfriends, but nothing too serious. Open trucks and coaches full of aircrew being transported to and from RAF Methwold is another memory that has stayed with her.
She didn’t meet her husband to be until 1947 after he was posted to RAF Methwold to retrain in air traffic control. They met when she cycled with her friend to Brandon fair. Charlie had been a rear gunner. His crew was made up of a New Zealand pilot, Flight Lieutenant Keen, two Canadians, Flight Lieutenants Brown and King, along with Flight Sergeants Spillsby, Elms and Smith. The crew were a close-knit unit and they carried out 31 operation, and remained in contact long after the war. He spoke fondly about his favourite aircraft, Q for Queenie, but he did not talk about his operations. Elizabeth only discovered his log book after Charlie’s death. His only comment about his experiences came when an item on Germany made the news, and he would indicate that he knew where the location was. She does remember Charlie told her he had his first cigarette after the aircraft crashed at RAF Mepal. Charlie demobbed in 1950 and was then employed by Peal Assurance.
Elizabeth also worked on the land. Planting potatoes by machine, but picking by hand. She also helped at harvest time. Cycling to the fields where all the heavy work was carried out by horses.
Her friend Pam married Ted King. She was quite young, and although Pam and Ted moved around, they remained in contact throughout their lives until Pam passed away. Elizabeth worked at the chip shop throughout her life until her retirement.
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Denise Boneham]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> Germany]]> 1937]]> 1947]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Second generation]]> Burma]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> Bangladesh--Jessore District]]> England--Norfolk]]> France--Brest]]> Bangladesh]]> 1936]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> George remembered an occasion when aircraft had come back damaged with a badly injured crew. He said the aircrews would touch part of the aircraft for luck before flying. He thought crews were inspiring and would have liked to be transferred to the Royal Air Force. The crew gave him the opportunity to have a flight in a Wellington, which he described. At weekends they would occasionally all go to Bury St Edmunds to a dance. After RAF Honington the unit was transferred to RAF Martlesham Heath on guard duty. They then went to Felixstowe as a battalion. After special training the unit joined the Combined Operations Bombardment Unit 4 which was attached to a warship. Next they did airborne training to go to India and Japan. He was demobbed in India, married and then became a policeman at Ayre. Finally he became Chief of Police for British Transport Police.
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Alistair Montgomery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> British Army]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Bury St. Edmunds]]> England--Felixstowe]]> India]]> Japan]]> 1940]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Italy]]> Italy--Bari]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Ian Locker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hull]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Northern Ireland--Down (County)]]> Great Britain]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> Netherlands--Vlissingen]]> 1942]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> She was selected for wireless training and trained at RAF Compton Bassett and Blackpool, where she used to go dancing. As a wireless operator Sylvia was posted to RAF Bottesford and then RAF Waddington, working shifts in the Air Traffic Control tower. She also had to check the aircraft radios.
Sylvia's accommodation hut had ten beds and on many evenings, she was able to get a lift home to Mansfield and back with a contractor. At RAF Waddington, she met and fell in love with Harold, a bomb aimer and says it was hard to watch him depart on operations. But he survived and they married when the war ended and they had two daughters.
In 1947 the family moved to Scotland for three years but Sylvia found it very lonely so Harold transferred to Mansfield.
Harold's flight engineer emigrated to North America after the war and was always suggesting they do the same. Sylvia's daughters both went first and then, when Harold retired, he and Sylvia went to California
Sylvia says they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in New Zealand and then recalls how she had spent her honeymoon on a train to Glasgow with two army men, before travelling all the way down to Portsmouth, where she became absent without leave. Worried that she might be imprisoned, she returned to RAF Waddington where her WAAF commanding officer took sympathy on her.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Andy Fitter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Mansfield]]> Scotland]]> Scotland--Loch Lomond]]> United States]]> California]]> California--San Diego]]> California--Simi Valley]]> 1942]]> 1945-12-04]]> 1946]]> 1947]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Steph Jackson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Second generation]]> Great Britain]]> England--Pilton (Somerset)]]> England--Rutland]]> England--Somerset]]> 1941]]> Gemma Clapton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Steph Jackson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> Italy]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Italy--Pomigliano d'Arco]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Steph Jackson]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Norway]]> Poland]]> South Africa]]> Netherlands]]> Tunisia--Qayrawān]]> Zimbabwe]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> Norway--Bergen]]> Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)]]> North Africa]]> Tunisia]]> 1943]]> 1944-10-28]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Kenya]]> Tanzania]]> Zimbabwe]]> Kenya--Kisumu]]> Kenya--Nairobi]]> Tanzania--Mwanza]]> Uganda--Entebbe]]> Africa]]> 1945]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Michael Cheesbrough ]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1943-11]]> 1945-01-06]]> 1945-01-16]]> 1945-03-20]]> Susanne Pescott]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Eunice Watson]]> Steph Jackson]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Canada]]> Egypt]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Iraq--Ḥabbānīyah]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> 1948]]> John Fisher]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> France--Lyon]]> France--Reims]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1942]]> 1944]]> Andrew Panton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cumbria]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Freiburg im Breisgau]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1944]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Victoria Taylor]]> deu]]> Map]]> Wehrmacht]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Germany]]> Denmark]]> Netherlands]]> Belgium]]> Poland]]> Lithuania]]>