Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> India]]> Germany]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1945]]> 1947-11]]> Jack carried out 22 operations before his plane was shot down towards the end of the war. They baled out and Jack was captured. He escaped with an American private. They were rescued by some Americans and taken to Paris. He eventually returned to his squadron. Jack flew some troops to and from Paris from Croydon but carried out no further operations.]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> England--London]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> Zimbabwe]]> He joined Bomber Command after seeing the bombing of Coventry.
Robert tells about bailing out and being manhandled by the local inhabitants before escaping and hiding under a train.
He was arrested by the Vichy French and tells of how he was then interviewed by a German Officer.
He escaped on a couple of occasions, linking up with the Polish Resistance on one occasion and hiding from the Gestapo who were searching for him with dogs. He tells of his experiences ‘on the run’.
He then found himself with the 11th Army Division and was flown home from Belguim after the war.
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Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]>
Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Rutland]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> France]]> Gibraltar]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Germany]]> Atlantic Ocean--Kiel Bay]]> 1944]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Gemma Clapton]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Egypt]]> Greece]]> Italy]]> Italy]]> Danube River]]> South Africa]]> Greece--Zakynthos]]> Italy--Foggia]]> Greece--Corinth Canal]]> Danube River]]> 1944-10]]> Sometimes Dennis was on special night duty alone in a hut a mile away from the control tower. His job was to operate the lighting system on receiving an order from the control tower. He referred to a memorable incident when a Lancaster landed safely and some of the crew kissed the ground.
When the invasion of Normandy began Dennis was transferred to a C-47 squadron. At the end of the war he went up in a Halifax to retrace some of the routes the bombers had taken and to witness the devastation. He left the RAF in 1947. In 1981 Dennis was seconded to the City University of New York.
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Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> Egypt]]> Italy]]> Middle East]]> England--Kent]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Somerset]]> New York (State)--New York]]> New York (State)]]>
Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> South Africa]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Essen]]> Wales--Carmarthen]]> Netherlands]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1939]]> 1943-02]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Derbyshire]]> England--Kent]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Folkestone]]> England--Spurn Head]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> 1942]]> He tells of his training at Halton, and describes the different trades and his exams to become an Leading Aircraftsman 1st Class, where he was then transferred to a Repair and Inspection Unit (R&I) working on Spitfire engines.
Charles then went to India via the Suez Canal and then on to Ceylon to 121 Repair and Salvage Unit, looking after 2 squadrons of Beaufighters and 1 squadron of Spitfires, but he says that because he was an apprentice, he could turn his hand to anything.
He was posted to instruct at a Motor Transport Unit, and spent time learning about the maintenance of other equipment including diesel engines.
Charles was posted to 109 Maintenance Unit, repairing Merlin engines, however at this time the V Bombers were coming into service. He trained as a Crew Chief and after passing these exams he was assigned to the Avro Vulcan XA908, at RAF Waddington.
Charles related the stories of the work he did when the Vulcan had hydraulic failure at Goose Green, the bombing competition in Florida where the aircraft suffered broken bomb bay doors and a cracked bomb aimers window, and the trip home from Bermuda with no fuel in one tank and a broken bogie beam.
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Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]>
Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Linda Saunders]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jackie Simpson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Wales]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-10-14]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Heather Hughes]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Cheshire]]>