John was a flight engineer with 427 Squadron. He was born at Westcliff-on-Sea and volunteered for the Royal Air Force when he received a letter from Bomber Command. He had joined the Air Training Corps and had an interest in aircraft. After finishing operations, he trained men when they transferred to Lancasters. He also flew Halifaxes. John demobilised in June 1947 and became a refrigeration engineer.
John’s wife describes how the Canadian crew attended their wedding and helped organise their honeymoon nine days before the war ended.
The family observe that John rarely discussed his wartime experiences; he did what had to be done.
John’s grandson recalls John’s love of model aircraft and shares his own research on 427 Squadron. He notes how the station records became more serious as the war progressed and losses grew. He recounts some of the stories John told him and how John was shocked by a photograph in a book, which recorded an incident he had experienced. He comments on the dangers they faced outside and during operations.
The family visited Yorkshire Air Museum for John’s 90th birthday and went in a Halifax, which is described as narrow and uncomfortable.
The family expresses their views about Bomber Command and the role it played.
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Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> Sally Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1945-05-08]]> 1947-06]]>
In 1941 Charles was posted to Canada to complete training at RAF De Winton, learning to fly a Chipmunk and then converted to four engine aircraft: 'I got a pair of Air Force wings which is my pride and joy. Best thing I’ve ever done in my life'. Canada was described as being nice, vast, and cold, inhabited by friendly people, with plenty of fine food that wasn’t available in Britain. Very few details are given about wartime service. After the end of war, he went on to serve in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force as an engineer and representative of Meteor jets, which he also flown. Charles also became an Air Training Corps superintendent. Describes his involvement in one of the 550 Squadron reunions at RAF North Killingholme where they discussed Operation Manna. Talks about PA474 Phantom, a 550 Squadron aircraft.]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jean Massie]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cambridge]]> Canada]]> Alberta--Calgary]]> Alberta--De Winton]]> Alberta]]> 1941]]> Tom was posted to 100 Squadron at RAF Grimsby. He pays tribute to the wing commander and group captain. The former taught them to corkscrew and dive through a searchlight, reassuring them about flak. Shortly after sorting out a problem with the air pressure, Tom became a flying officer. He recounts the crew’s ritual on each flight with a lucky handkerchief.
Tom explains how they were anxious about the Ruhr and how they observed a Lancaster shot down by a Me 109. He also describes the bravery he witnessed. Tom noticed a huge number of ships coming back from a raid on marshalling yards and railway tracks; it was for D-Day. He was involved in Operation Manna, dropping food parcels in Holland.
Towards the end of the war, Tom moved to 626 Squadron at RAF Wickenby. They flew to Ludwigshafen, Dortmund and Cologne.
When war ended, Tom retrained as an air traffic controller in the Air Force. He was sent up to Scottish Command and describes a couple of incidents. He became an author, writing children’s books and about his RAF experiences.
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Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Katie Gilbert]]> Sally Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Netherlands]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hugh Donnelly]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> ]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Carmel Dammes ]]> ]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> 1942]]> 1945]]> John discusses Czechoslovakian and Polish aircrew, Jewish personnel, and German-speaking servicemen tasked to listen to German radio communications and disrupt them. He talks about civilian and service life, military ethos, losses, plus personal recollections of Guy Gibson.]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France]]> Germany]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lincoln]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--St. Eval]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Australia]]> Christmas Island]]> Great Britain]]> Iraq]]> England--Cumbria]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Hampshire]]> Northern Territory--Darwin]]> Scotland--Stranraer]]> Northern Territory]]> 1943]]> 1944-06]]> 1944-09]]> 1950]]> 1956-02-18]]> 1956-07-10]]> 1957-01-19]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Luxembourg]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> France--Ardennes]]> 1944-04-30]]> 1944-04-31]]> 1944-05]]> 1944-06-07]]> 1945]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Second generation]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Oxford]]> Canada]]> Nova Scotia]]> France]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> New Zealand]]> 1917]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> 1951]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Benjamin Turner]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Suffolk]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> France]]> Germany]]> Poland]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> 1942]]> 1942-10]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1944-12]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Second generation]]> 1943]]> 1944-01]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> 1945]]> 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]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Emily Bird]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Second generation]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> North Africa]]> Poland]]> France--Cape Corse]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Poland--Gdańsk]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945-10-04]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tilly Foster]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Merseyside]]> England--Liverpool]]> England--London]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Rutland]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1941]]> 1945-05-08]]> 1946]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Julian Maslin]]> This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Norway]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Norway--Tromsø]]> Scotland--Moray]]> 1942]]> 1944-08]]> 1944-11-12]]> 1945]]> Julian Maslin]]> This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1943-06]]>