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]]> 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]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 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]]> 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)]]> 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]]> 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]]> 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]]> 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]]> 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]]> 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]]> 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]]>
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]]> 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]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steph Jackson]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> South Africa]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Devon]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Torquay]]> England--Brighton]]> England--Harrogate]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> England--Eastbourne (East Sussex)]]> Between leaving school and joining the Royal Air Force, Kenneth worked as a bank clerk, before signing up as aircrew when he was 18 years of age.
Kenneth tells of his time as a Leading Aircraftsman in Morecambe, training as an aircraft mechanic, before being posted to 97 Squadron in Bourn in 1943, and his first involvement with the Lancasters of the Pathfinder Squadron.
He tells of Black Thursday, a day of heavy losses for Bomber Command and how it affected him and his fellow ground crew.
Kenneth was then posted to 635 Squadron in March 1944, which was based at Downham Market in Norfolk where they conducted operations to assist the D-Day landings, and then was interviewed to become part of a Meteorological Air Corp team, to gather information about the weather over the Atlantic.
Kenneth was promoted to Flight Sergeant at the end of his service with the Royal Air Force
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Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1943]]> 1944]]>
He tells of ‘crewing up’ in September 1943 as a 21 year old, his near miss with a Mosquito from 1409 Met Flight, and an emergency landing near Beachy Head when his Mosquito nearly ran out of fuel when returning from Germany. Charles flew several operations to Berlin from RAF Wyton in Mosquitos and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal.]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> 1943]]> Finally, she talks about Joseph Bassani, a family friend who was an Italian spy, the American supply ship Ohio, and the Victory in Europe celebrations that took place on Malta.]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> British Army]]> Malta]]> Malta--Gozo Island]]> 1948-05-08]]> 1948-05-09]]> He had a spell at the Operational Training Unit, flying Short Stirlings and Avro Lancasters before joining 61 Squadron at Skellingthorpe.
He tells of an incident on his 10th operation, when he was on a daylight trip near Versailles at the V1 bomb installations when his aircraft was directly below a Lancaster which opened it’s bomb doors. The Lancaster above dropped its bombs, which damaged Kenneth’s aircraft, including carrying away the rear gunner.
Kenneth completed 34 operations on his first tour, and then went straight onto another tour, being posted to 9 Squadron at Bardney.
After VE Day, Kenneth was posted to Egypt in charge of lorries returning from Cairo.
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Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]>
Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tracy Johnson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France--Modane]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943-11-24]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Norman went to 101 Squadron and learnt to fly Lancasters, serving as a bomb aimer. He describes his first operation to Mailly-Le-Camp where over 40 Lancasters, out of 350, were lost.
Norman’s aircraft was shot down over Dortmund with the death of five crew members. He was captured, as were the pilot and navigator. After the Frankfurt Interrogation Centre, they went to a camp in Wetzlar. Norman then went to Stalag Luft 7 at Bankau in Silesia, followed by four months in another camp. The Germans evacuated prisoner of war camps in January 1945 following Russian attacks. Norman marched on a “death march” for three weeks in snow to Luckenwalde, a camp with 20-25,000 men.
Norman escaped with the Americans via Hildesheim and Le Havre before returning to Britain. He was posted to RAF Cosford but could only leave when he had regained weight, which took six months. He finished in February 1946 with the rank of warrant officer.]]>
Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Canada]]> Nova Scotia]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> France]]> France--Mailly-le-Camp]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-01]]> 1946]]> 1946-02]]>
Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Carron Moss]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> Germany--Barth]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Asked to volunteer for Number 1 Group Special Duties Flight based at RAF Binbrook he completed a full tour of operations specialising in precision bombing. On one operation they attacked a marshalling yard in Saintes but demolished a wall of an adjacent prison.
After the war Larry visited the French mayor who placated his concern at killing French civilians. His crew were one of the very few who were all decorated. He retired from the RAF as a flight lieutenant with a DFC.]]>
Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Terry Holmes]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Sound]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> France--Saintes]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>