1
25
106
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2655/46567/SKeelingRV82689v10051.1.jpg
e24eb845f7c2bd341715583f95d27bc8
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2655/46567/SKeelingRV82689v10052.2.jpg
d8acf293866620eab84f85c7bb0e7fe0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Keeling, Robert Victor. Scrapbook
Description
An account of the resource
41 items. A scrapbook of photographs and clippings concerning Robert Keeling's service, as a pilot for aerial photographs, and royal visits.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2023-06-01
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Keeling, RV
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Luton
Description
An account of the resource
Left page: view of Luton with German annotation. Right page: top left, report of rocket development. Top right, Barracuda in flight with tail wheel showing. Middle left, three airmen standing alongside a Barracuda. Middle right, lifeboat alongside the submarine 'Universal. Bottom left, invitation to a dinner dance from the Institution of Gas Engineers. Bottom right, invitation to the wedding of Captain Colin Yeo and Pamela Hussey.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-06
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1948-06-08
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Bedfordshire
England--Luton
England--Hertfordshire
England--Harpenden
Atlantic Ocean--Irish Sea
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Royal Navy
Language
A language of the resource
eng
deu
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three b/w photographs, one newspaper cutting, two cards on two album pages
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SKeelingRV82689v10051; SKeelingRV82689v10052
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
aerial photograph
love and romance
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1875/46461/SHarriganD[Ser -DoB]v280003.mp3
08541f3b83154c41ee84b01a17e24c30
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-19
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire
Description
An account of the resource
34 items. Interviews with veterans recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.<br /><br />Interview with Bertie Salvage <br />Three part interview with Dougie Marsh <br />Interview with Terry Hodson <br />Interview with Stan Waite Interview with John Langston<br />Interview with Nelson Nix <br />Two part interview with Bob Panton <br />Interview with Basil Fish <br />Interview with Ernest Groeger <br />Interview with Wilf Keyte <br />Interview with Reginald John Herring <br />Interview with Kathleen Reid <br />Interview with Allan Holmes <br />Interview with John Tomlinson <br />Interview with Cliff Thorpe and Roy Smith <br />Interview with Peter Scoley <br />Interview with Kenneth Ivan Duddell <br />Interview with Christopher Francis Allison <br />Interview with Bernard Bell <br />Interview with George Arthur Bell <br />Interview with George William Taplin <br />Interview with Richard Moore <br />Interview with Kenneth Edgar Neve <br />Interview with Annie Mary Blood <br />Interview with Dennis Brader <br />Interview with Les Stedman <br />Interview with Anthony Edward Mason <br />Interview with Anne Morgan Rose Harcombe<br />
<p>The following interviews have been moved to the relevant collections.<br /><span>Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46454">Kathleen Reid</a></span><br />Interview with Wing Commander <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46467">Kenneth Cook DFC</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46456">Colin Cole</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/46464">Charles Avey</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46470">John Bell</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46459">Les Rutherford</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46460">James Douglas Hudson</a></p>
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Interviewer: This is an interview with Ernie who was in 97 Squadron, at Tattershall Thorpe Camp, visitor camp on the 17th of April 2011. Off you go Ernie.
EG: Right. I first approached the RAF at Kidbrooke in London to join in the RAF and they said that they didn’t really need anybody at the moment but if I would like to give them some details and that about my address and all the rest of it they would be in touch with me. And this was in 1940. I was working in the City of London in a textile firm and from there I then received a letter one day to report to Kidbrooke which they took all my details and told me that they would call me in due course and let me know where to go and all the rest of it and what to do. I then, this was on the two days before Christmas in 1940. I then received a letter to say to report to Cardington which was as you know one of the big RAF stations where they had the airships there and I can remember that as if it was now because I actually went in. When I went to Cardington I actually went in the airship to have a look around and I was amazed. I really was. But two, two days before Christmas I received this letter and my dear mother she says to me, ‘Look,’ she says, ‘Why don’t you ring the RAF up and tell them that you don’t want to go before Christmas but you will go after Christmas.’ And I then explained to her all about what, what goes on and all the rest of it and I should be there on the due date. So, she said, ‘Well, you can’t do anything about it.’ So I arrived at Cardington two days before Christmas and there I received a Christmas lunch which was entirely new to me because being a civilian having a lunch in London you know with turkey and all the rest of it. We had pork and there was one or two moans and groans but, at the time. But then I was then told about a week afterwards after they had given me all the tests and all the rest of it to go home and wait to hear from them. Well, this went on quite a time and I was wondering what was going on and so I phoned up Cardington and said, ‘You know my name and all the rest of it.’ And by this way I had a number then which was 1239, 1235939 and I put my number down and all the rest of it and they said, ‘Well, don’t worry, we will be in touch with you in due course.’ Lo and behold I was then called up and went to Cardington again and was told that I would be sent to Credenhill in a few days which was right up somewhere near Wales, you know. I can’t remember where it was and that and I went there and I was told that I was going to be an armourer. So, I said, ‘What the devil’s that?’ You know, business. I didn’t know what an armourer was and he said, ‘Well, you actually play about with guns.’ So I said, ‘Oh well, you know. That’s it.’ And so when I got to Cardington I then went on the armourers course which I passed out quite well you know. And from Cardington I was then shifted over to a place called Finningley near Doncaster. During the war this is, you know and I really enjoyed it there because in no time I’d risen from being AC2 which I passed out, I then got my LAC pretty quickly because the arming officer then said that I was quite good with my knowledge of guns and the working of them and all the rest of it. And I then, they shifted me over to a new station that was opened called Balderton which was not very far from Finningley. I think it was about ten miles or nine miles something like that and then from there I went to another new station called Bircotes which is near Doncaster which was fairly new opening and that and I was about the first or second one there because when I got there there was nobody on the station. There was no food being cooked or anything else. And we were then told to go down to Bawtry Hall which was then Group 1 and I used to have my food there for a time. And then everybody started coming there and they had the canteen there and the NAAFI and all the rest of it and we started having our food there and I stayed there. I was then called back to Finningley again and from Finningley I then went to Blackpool on a fitter armourer’s course that they thought that, you know he knows a bit about things now. And I went to there and I was there which I had a very enjoyable time. I won my first dance championship there with a young lady and I came back and I was then posted here.
Interviewer: To Woodhall Spa.
EG: To Woodhall Spa and had a wonderful time.
Interviewer: What would your duties have been?
EG: My duties then I was a corporal then and I used to because the actual squadron didn’t come there until a little while afterwards. This was, it was either in February or March. I’m not quite certain.
Interviewer: Of forty —
EG: 1942.
Interviewer: Right.
EG: You know.
Interviewer: Yes.
EG: And then they started coming here, and which was 97 Squadron. By this time I’d been over to Coningsby and introduced to the people of 97 and that, you know that was there and they all came over here, you know. And within a week, it was around about a week oh sorry we started ops and within a very short time we were the first daylight squadron to fly Lancasters over Germany with 44 Squadron. 44 Squadron put up six aircraft, we put up six aircraft. All our aircraft came back safely but they lost —
Interviewer: Was this, was this the Augsburg raid?
EG: This was the Augsburg raid, yeah. And we, we were quite famous, you know. Let me think some more. Then we went on and I then was sent back to Blackpool on Bofors guns. I had to learn about Bofors guns and the rest of it. The next thing I knew I’d heard that the squadron had gone to down the road. Not very far. In Cambridgeshire. Bourn. They’d gone to Bourn but I didn’t go to Bourn. I went to Wickenby in Lincoln, you know. But what annoyed me most of all I would have gone to the squadron but I was put in the station headquarters. I knew quite a bit about things and they wanted me if anything had happened and that you know I could be available and all the rest of it. And the rest of the war literally I wasted time. You know, it was a waste of good time. But somehow all of a sudden something happened and I got this trembling business come on me and I then went to Rauceby you know.
Interviewer: The hospital there.
EG: The hospital.
Interviewer: Yes.
EG: And saw a chappie there and that and literally I said to them, ‘I’m alright,’ you know. But he may have seen something that I didn’t see and so after about a few months or so they demobbed me and I was amazed.
Interviewer: Ah.
EG: But he must have seen something because after that I went back to London you know, my old job and I then started trembling. I had a period for many months you know and I went to Guy’s Hospital where the, where they used to give me tests and all the rest of it and so that’s the end of the story.
Interviewer: Did you meet Guy Gibson somewhere along the line?
EG: I met Guy Gibson and well really I don’t want to talk about him.
Interviewer: No?
EG: No.
Interviewer: Oh.
EG: It’s something that I want to forget because to me [pause] awful man. Awful man. But, but I don’t want to say anything else there if you don’t mind.
Interviewer: No, that’s quite alright Ernie.
EG: Because you know I, Guy Gibson and myself and I had a rough old bust up and he treated his pilots like dirt you know.
Interviewer: Yes, I know. Yes. So you came out of the RAF.
EG: Yes.
Interviewer: And was that the end then of your, of your war career as it were?
EG: It was the end of my war career. I went back to my old job in the City of London but I was off, on and off at work for a period of maybe two or three years. I even, I was amazed because they sent me in and said they would like to see me and there was about four people and about a month after that I received a pension.
Interviewer: Oh.
EG: I was amazed, you know. But then about three maybe four years afterwards they asked me to go there and they said, ‘We’re going to knock your pension down fifty percent.’ You know. So I thought to myself well that’s fair enough because I was feeling much better but I was still getting these shakes now and again. So the reason was I don’t know or mentally something had happened or something about me you know.
Interviewer: Were you attached to sort of one particular Lancaster that you would take care of guns for or was it –
EG: Yeah.
Interviewer: But you’d look after guns on a lot of the Lancasters.
EG: Well, no. When, when I first came here I went around with a chappie and he showed me, although I knew quite a bit about it he showed me the system. He called it the system. He was looking after three Lancasters. The guns, you know. The Brownings, .303s they were and I learned it all then. And then after a time I took over three Lancasters you know.
Interviewer: Yes.
EG: And then you had somebody else and you teach them what it’s all about you know. But lots of people say they hated the old RAF and they hated the Army and that but I loved it. And I would think, I’m certain that I would have stayed in.
Interviewer: Did you get attached to the crews that you came —
EG: Oh, yeah.
Interviewer: Very. Yeah. And so you were here for how long?
EG: Sorry.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Ernest Groeger
1025,1026-Groeger, Ernest
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SHarriganD[Ser#-DoB]v28
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Claire Bennet
This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011-04-17
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Format
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00:14:41 audio recording
Conforms To
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Pending revision of OH transcription
Pending OH summary
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
Ernie Groeger volunteered for the RAF in 1940 while working at a textile firm. He undertook training to be an armourer and was posted to 97 Squadron at RAF Woodhall Spa. Over time he developed ill health and he was discharged from the RAF on health grounds.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Bedfordshire
England--Lincolnshire
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
97 Squadron
ground personnel
RAF Cardington
RAF Woodhall Spa
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1875/46458/SHarriganD[Ser -DoB]v250002.mp3
8a097d5b21ae450b8b5f698d153762aa
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-19
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire
Description
An account of the resource
34 items. Interviews with veterans recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.<br /><br />Interview with Bertie Salvage <br />Three part interview with Dougie Marsh <br />Interview with Terry Hodson <br />Interview with Stan Waite Interview with John Langston<br />Interview with Nelson Nix <br />Two part interview with Bob Panton <br />Interview with Basil Fish <br />Interview with Ernest Groeger <br />Interview with Wilf Keyte <br />Interview with Reginald John Herring <br />Interview with Kathleen Reid <br />Interview with Allan Holmes <br />Interview with John Tomlinson <br />Interview with Cliff Thorpe and Roy Smith <br />Interview with Peter Scoley <br />Interview with Kenneth Ivan Duddell <br />Interview with Christopher Francis Allison <br />Interview with Bernard Bell <br />Interview with George Arthur Bell <br />Interview with George William Taplin <br />Interview with Richard Moore <br />Interview with Kenneth Edgar Neve <br />Interview with Annie Mary Blood <br />Interview with Dennis Brader <br />Interview with Les Stedman <br />Interview with Anthony Edward Mason <br />Interview with Anne Morgan Rose Harcombe<br />
<p>The following interviews have been moved to the relevant collections.<br /><span>Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46454">Kathleen Reid</a></span><br />Interview with Wing Commander <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46467">Kenneth Cook DFC</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46456">Colin Cole</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/46464">Charles Avey</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46470">John Bell</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46459">Les Rutherford</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46460">James Douglas Hudson</a></p>
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Interviewer: This is an interview with Mr Wilf Keyte on the 15th of November 2010 at his home in Lincoln regarding his experiences in the Second World War.
WK: I joined the RAF in December 1937 and I eventually made my way to RAF Scampton and joined 83 Bomber Squadron and I was working in the stores, in the Maintenance Flights of 83 Squadron. It had recently moved down from Turnhouse in Scotland and I stayed with the squadron until 1940 [pause] 1940, when I was posted down to RAF Henlow in Bedfordshire where I was, I was working on such things as the Queen Bee which was a guided missile aircraft which we had and it was used quite a lot in those days. But I eventually left. Left Henlow and was posted to the Orkney Island to RAF Skeabrae where I was the barracks, in charge of the barrack stores in in the Orkneys. I was only supposed to have stayed there for a maximum of nine months but in fact I was there from January 1942 until November 1943. I was given a home posting so they said to RAF Swinderby in Lincolnshire and I found myself in charge of the barrack stores at Swinderby. We had, it was a heavy bomber Conversion Unit where they were converting crews from twin-engined aircraft to four-engined aircraft. A mixture of Stirlings and and Lancasters they had there. I stayed, I stayed at RAF Swinderby for the best part of two years and I used to live near a village called Burton and the most remarkable thing about living out there that there was the ditches were filled with thousand pound bombs on the roadside. In fact, I had a bungalow which was next, next door to a bomb dump and I used to ride through this bomb dump to get to Swinderby. I stayed at Swinderby until in 1945 and I was, I was posted to RAF Syerston and at RAF Syerston I found myself involved with a force which was called the Tiger Force which was supposed to be to assemble a force of Lancasters, three squadrons I think it was to fly to Okinawa and the intent was to bomb Japan from Okinawa. And I was told that I was due to fly out to Okinawa in a Lancaster on the 15th of September 1945. Events of course took place with the bombing of Japan with atomic bombs which meant that the Tiger Force was was cancelled and they wrote, all the people were being sent here, there and everywhere. That as far as I was concerned it went on for about three months where I was sent down to number 5PDC I think it was. It was based at, in London and the Viceroy Court was the block of flats that we had. And we were repeatedly let go on leave and I finally finished up with amongst us there were six of us that had been there since August waiting to go overseas and the CO saw us. We decided that we’d had enough of messing around with waiting for this movement and we went off to the orderly room to ask if we could go on leave. And the CO came out and saw us and he said, ‘What are you —’ so and sos, ‘Doing here?’ And we said, ‘Oh, we’re waiting to go on leave sir.’ He said, ‘Oh, I’ll fix you.’ Well, the result was that next day we found, we found that we were, we were on orders to move and we went up to Waterbeach in Cambridge and we eventually flew out of Waterbeach in a Liberator and I was down in the bomb bay of this Liberator. We flew to Malta and stayed overnight and then the next day we went on to place called Castel Benito in Libya. It was called Idris Airport afterwards but we flew on from there the next, not the next day because we sat. There was no movement the next day. We flew on to Cairo and we stayed in Cairo for five days and then we flew on to Habbaniya in Iraq. And we eventually the next day we flew on to Karachi which is now in Pakistan of course and there they decided where we were going. Somewhere in India. And I was one of the people who was selected to go. Go down to Puna. What it was that the, we’d been going to the cinema and playing bingo and we started checking on how much was being paid out in prizes because we found out that the sums that were given in prizes didn’t work out how much people were paying. They did. The army were running it and they weren’t very pleased with us and they got rid of us to Puna over Christmas in 1945 and we stayed at, stayed at Puna until after Christmas. Then I went on to where I was scheduled to go and that was Avadi, which was a big base near Madras. And that’s when I came up against the Tiger Force again where I found out that the base had been built for springboard for the attack against Japan and it was for all three services. Fifty miles of rail tracks gives you some idea of the size of the place and we had even three English style pubs there. But before I left England I’d been selected for a commission and I went on from Avadi. I was given a hot weather posting up to a place called Kanpur in the Central Provinces. And it was while I was at Kanpur that a posting came for me to go down to Ceylon to do the officer’s training. And I was down in Ceylon at a place called Kandy which was up in the hills and I then found out why Mountbatten had moved his headquarters from Delhi, actually and the rest of the command had moved it from Delhi because it was beautiful in Kandy. It was like a warm summer’s day. And I completed my course, courses at Kandy and went back to where I came from which was Kanpur in India. But the wing commander I worked for said it was unfair for me to be promoted or commissioned on the same unit as I’d been working as a flight sergeant and he thought I should be posted but the CO said, ‘If he’s any good now’s his chance to prove it.’ But it didn’t last very long because they had a vacancy for an equipment officer at a place called Chakulia which was in the state of [Baha.] That was out towards the east side of the country and I went. I went to Calcutta where the headquarters was and I went in to see the group captain administrator and I was told I’d got to close this unit within a fortnight. And I visited the unit. It was three hundred and twenty miles from Calcutta and said, ‘No. It will take me six weeks to close that station down.’ And there was a door opened in the office and I didn’t take any notice of it but then the AOC walked in and he said, ‘The trouble with you people at Chakulia is that you’re away from all discipline and you’re enjoying yourself out there.’ And the group captain finally got a word in and he said, ‘He’s only been there forty eight hours, sir.’ Anyway, I went back to Chakulia and it did take six weeks because there were, there were several storehouses full of equipment plus a lot of vehicles we had to get rid of and the only place we could get rid of the vehicles was a place called Ranchi which was a two hundred mile trip by road and then you had to wait for the drivers to come back before you could send any more vehicles. But I finally did finish it and went back to Barrackpore near Calcutta and when we got there we were told, ‘Well, you’ve wasted your time because we’re scrapping all this stuff.’ And that’s what happened. It was all put up for sale. Everything that we had there. And I was sent to, to the on another closure job which was at RAF Dum Dum which is now Calcutta Airport and to close that station down and one of the things that we had there was, there was some Spitfires which were being shuffled from England out to Australia and they, we couldn’t get any pilots to fly them and so we were told to put the axe through them and make them unflyable. Well, eventually we moved. We did. We did manage to close the station down and took all the airmen out to Delhi for them to be sent elsewhere and I went up to Delhi and reported into the air headquarters and I was told by two flight lieutenants ‘Oh, you’ll be going to Singapore now but you’ve got to wait to see the wing commander.’ And I waited to see the wing commander and he said, ‘Oh, you’ve been here long enough. Go home.’ So that was the end of my tour in India. And I came home and eventually I was sent up to a unit called RAF Montrose. Eventually I found myself having to close Montrose down. I was, I was made the officer in charge of the marching out and I had to go through all the buildings handing them over to the Works Department to close RAF Montrose. And we moved up to a place called Edzell which was twelve miles inland and they tried to get me posted earlier but the CO said, ‘No. You wait until he’s finished his job,’ and they said, ‘Well, you’re not going to keep him.’ And they sent me down to the Group Headquarters at Hucknall and I left. I left that all behind me. Eventually I got to a place called Kidlington near Oxford. I’d been on an explosives course on handling and sorting explosives and I found myself closing units down all below. They were getting rid of all the bombs from RAF stations and they were being shipped and dumped out to sea. And I finally finished that job and I found myself being posted overseas again. So that’s, that’s the end of the story as it were.
Interviewer: You were, your time in the Orkneys attached to Fighter Command.
WK: Yeah.
Interviewer: Can you tell us what you were doing? Your job more specifically?
WK: Well, I was, I was, I went up there and I was in charge of the barrack stores.
Interviewer: Right.
WK: And I found, found myself getting another job because the RAF was expanding and the Navy were pulling out of a place called Grimsetter just outside Kirkwall and I was sent over, sent across to Grimsetter to go around and check all the barrack equipment. Blankets etcetera. In other words take over the station so that the RAF could move back into Grimsetter and that took me several months of course. Two months when I was working with the Navy.
Interviewer: And you had your family up there.
WK: Yes, we were fortunate enough that my wife and two sons they came up to the Orkneys and we, we lived on a farm in [unclear] and they enjoyed the life there. The one thing they didn’t enjoy was the wind which [laughs] because there was a paper in those days in the Orkneys which was called, “The Orkney Blast,” and it was aptly named, “The Orkney Blast,” because I was blown off my bicycle several times with the strong wind and even our coal lorry was blown off the road with the strong winds. But we lived with the cold wind in the Orkneys. You got used to it but when we left in November 1943 and we got on this ship at Stromness the sea was flat calm. It was just like sailing across a sheet of glass. It was most uncanny because the Pentland Firth is well known for the ferocious seas that you can get up there.
Interviewer: Pathfinders.
WK: Well, not so much the Pathfinders as it was. It was the [pause] I can’t remember the name now. The Tiger Force.
Interviewer: Oh.
WK: Yeah.
[recording paused]
WK: When I was in India I had, I’d been selected for an officer’s training before I left and I arrived, when I arrived in India they knew all about it and they sent me down to Ceylon and there was, there were two squadrons of Dakotas in those days. One was based, well both were based at Karachi and one flew eastabout and the other flew westabout and I went on the eastabout route which we took off at 6 o’clock in the morning because of the weather conditions. The heat was uncomfortable for flying and we landed for breakfast and then we flew on for another two hours and landed for lunch and night stop and it took a week to fly from Delhi down to Ceylon and [pause] sorry. Oh yes. The, when I, my final unit in, in India was in a place called Dum Dum. It was a village which had a reputation for rebels and one the reason it was named Dum Dum was because that was where the Dum Dum bullets were made originally which were well known worldwide for use by terrorists and the, they were flying the people out from Dum Dum when we, when we closed down up to Delhi and the CO decided that we were not going to. He and I were not going to fly in these Dakotas. That he sent the rest of the station and we we were sent aboard a BOAC York flying first class up to Delhi and the pilot was very kind to us. He did a circuit around Calcutta so that we could take a last look of it before we went home. Where they used to get, used to get tea —
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Interview with Wilf Keyte
1018,1019-Keyte, Wilf
Identifier
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SHarriganD[Ser#-DoB]v25
Creator
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Claire Bennett
This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.
Date
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2010-11-15
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Language
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eng
Type
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Sound
Format
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00:20:26 audio recording
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Pending revision of OH transcription
Pending OH summary
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IBCC Digital Archive
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
Wilf Keyte joined the RAF in 1937 and was based with maintenance units. He was posted to Scampton and Henlow where he worked with the Queen Bee missile unit. He was then posted in charge of stores to the Orkneys and then RAF Swinderby. Wilf was then posted to India where again he was in charge of stores and was given the task of closing stations in India before returning to the UK where again he continued this role including working with the Royal Navy to close their station at Grimsetter to return it to the RAF.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940
1942
1943
1945
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
India
England--Bedfordshire
England--Lincolnshire
India--Delhi
Scotland--Orkney
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
ground personnel
RAF Henlow
RAF Swinderby
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1875/46438/SHarriganD[Ser -DoB]v070002-0002.mp3
5fa6f78c70bdc7d65611eb16871b5784
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-19
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire
Description
An account of the resource
34 items. Interviews with veterans recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.<br /><br />Interview with Bertie Salvage <br />Three part interview with Dougie Marsh <br />Interview with Terry Hodson <br />Interview with Stan Waite Interview with John Langston<br />Interview with Nelson Nix <br />Two part interview with Bob Panton <br />Interview with Basil Fish <br />Interview with Ernest Groeger <br />Interview with Wilf Keyte <br />Interview with Reginald John Herring <br />Interview with Kathleen Reid <br />Interview with Allan Holmes <br />Interview with John Tomlinson <br />Interview with Cliff Thorpe and Roy Smith <br />Interview with Peter Scoley <br />Interview with Kenneth Ivan Duddell <br />Interview with Christopher Francis Allison <br />Interview with Bernard Bell <br />Interview with George Arthur Bell <br />Interview with George William Taplin <br />Interview with Richard Moore <br />Interview with Kenneth Edgar Neve <br />Interview with Annie Mary Blood <br />Interview with Dennis Brader <br />Interview with Les Stedman <br />Interview with Anthony Edward Mason <br />Interview with Anne Morgan Rose Harcombe<br />
<p>The following interviews have been moved to the relevant collections.<br /><span>Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46454">Kathleen Reid</a></span><br />Interview with Wing Commander <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46467">Kenneth Cook DFC</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46456">Colin Cole</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/46464">Charles Avey</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46470">John Bell</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46459">Les Rutherford</a><br />Interview with <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/46460">James Douglas Hudson</a></p>
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Interviewer: Ken, good afternoon. I’d like first of all could you please give us your full name and your date of birth.
KN: Kenneth Edgar Neve, and that’s N E V E. I was born on the 30th September 1925.
Interviewer: Ok. Thanks very much. And what I’d like to do to start talking about your military career really we’ll go right back to the very beginning and talk about the time that you were involved with the LDV and you were a runner I believe.
KN: I was a runner for my father who was made captain of the Home Guard. He worked with a big factory making aircraft instruments and when war was declared they said well you have, we’ve got four or five hundred people working in the factory and we’re going to give, the LDV will be that unit there. That was the first one in Basingstoke and so he would, because he retired from the, from the Army in 1936 so when was [pause] war was declared 1939. So, war was declared and they said, ‘Well, crikey you’re the guy to do the job ex-colour sergeant major, you know.’ He was retired. So they employed him as captain of the LDV which became the Home Guard of course. And because I was brought up in the Army obviously and he said, ‘Well, look —’ he said, I said, ‘Can I join dad?’ He said, ‘Well, we’ll have to call you the captain’s runner.’ They gave me little khaki things and I used to be in there throwing grenades and all this stuff [laughs] And so anyway after, after a while I decided to join the Cadet Force so they made me a sergeant believe it or not. And then eventually I thought well it’s time now to decide whether I’m going to wait until eighteen to be called up or should I do it on the, on my seventeenth. So I did that and I don’t know how far you want me to go but when I went to Reading to say yes I’m fourteen and the guy says, ‘Well, what service do you want to go?’ Army, Navy, Air Force whatever. I said, ‘Well, I really wanted something with, with ships. I thought, I thought that would be rather nice.’ He said, ‘Well, do you mean the Royal Navy? I said, ‘No. No.’ I said, ‘It’s to do with aircraft as well.’ ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘You mean the Fleet Air Arm?’ So I said, ‘Yes, that’s fine.’ So anyway, I went to RAF Henlow for six months and qualified as an engineer and I just came back to my first unit which was, which is now the, which is now the first unit of the Fleet Air Arm was where the Southampton Airport is now and we had Walruses and all sorts of things, you know.
Interviewer: That was at HMS Raven.
KN: That was my first one there look.
Interviewer: Ok. Yeah.
KN: And so anyway, so I suppose I’d only, I was not far from Basingstoke you see and so I used to get home every other weekend. That was fine. So all of a sudden I was just going to breakfast one morning and there was a notice board which said I had to go and report and they said, ‘Oh,’ He said, ‘Yes. Well, they’ve got problems with the RAF. They haven’t got enough people with your qualifications and, —' and he said, ‘We’re going to loan you to them.’ The next thing I know 190 Squadron’s Stirlings. Can you imagine looking at Stirlings after one of those bloody things?
Interviewer: Must have been massive. Was it? Yeah.
KN: I mean the main wheels were over six, six foot six high they were.
Interviewer: Yeah.
KN: And so because I used to wander around there and nobody said, ‘Who are you and what are you doing?’ You know. I’ve got a Navy uniform by the way you see. So eventually I joined one of the units there and, and of course then I was there until after D-Day. I stayed with them all that time.
Interviewer: So, what did, what were your duties then on the squadron?
KN: Just aeronautical engineer. That’s all.
Interviewer: Ground or air?
KN: Ground. Ground. Yeah.
Interviewer: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But you just, so it was general servicing and —
KN: Yeah. Well, because I’d done quite a big study and I was, I used to do the electrics, instruments, oxygen all those sorts of things. So that was my job.
Interviewer: Yeah. Did you find it a good aircraft to work on?
KN: Fantastic aeroplane. Yeah. Whenever I could get a ride in it I did you know. I’d had probably dozens of rides. We were testing after major work in the, you know. I’m not saying the right word.
Interviewer: Servicing.
KN: Yeah. Yeah. When they did ground, the servicing up to a certain degree you ought to have a test flight afterwards and I was always on that you see and so any way one, and I enjoyed it. It was wonderful life and, and then of course we painted all the white lines and three whites on each on the fuselage all ready for and there was all these soldiers coming on the day that we left with all the parachutists and —
Interviewer: This was ready for the D-Day invasion.
KN: Gliders and everything like that. Yeah.
Interviewer: Yeah.
KN: On the day it happened and there were people were killing themselves. I don’t know whether you know this but all these Army guys here they couldn’t face it and I think there were two or three committed suicide.
Interviewer: Really?
KN: Waiting to be boarding on to the aircraft which I just couldn’t —
Interviewer: The fear of the unknown.
KN: Couldn’t take it. I was only a young lad really still you know.
Interviewer: Yeah. That’s incredible.
KN: It was.
Interviewer: That’s the first I’ve ever heard of that.
KN: Yeah. Yeah.
Interviewer: That’s amazing. I mean obviously then the Stirling had been employed on bomber duties but obviously when you saw it it was towing the gliders etcetera. Is that –
KN: Well, that was just before D-Day.
Interviewer: Yeah.
KN: Oh no. We were, we were doing normal bombing runs.
Interviewer: Normal bombing runs.
KN: And all sorts of things you know. Yes.
Interviewer: So did the squadron lose a lot of aircraft? Or –
KN: Well, fortunately not. I had two aircraft to look after and, with 190 and we never had any problems at all. We had the odd person who was shot up, the navigator or gunner you see and we used to have, well I didn’t have to do it but it was horrible inside, you know.
Interviewer: Clearing the mess. Yeah.
KN: And my, my job also was on the bomb release down in the front there you see. So I used to make sure everything when it was all loaded that it was ready for dropping you know.
Interviewer: Yeah.
KN: I just loved it.
Interviewer: From what I hear you know I mean you must have had a great affinity with the air crew then. The planes you were on.
KN: Oh yeah. Oh, yes.
Interviewer: Were they a young happy bunch?
KN: Yeah. Well, I was sort of left alone because I was this old man out you know. Who is this guy? You know. He must be something special the job he’s doing here you know. He’s dressed different and, oh yeah.
Interviewer: Did you live in a billet then on the station?
KN: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah.
Interviewer: How was that then? The after hours. What did you do in the NAAFI etcetera?
KN: Not a lot. Generally just a NAAFI you know and then of course the old wagons used to come around with the coffee and tea and —
Interviewer: Yeah.
KN: Various things. Yeah. It was fantastic. And, and of course after that once D-Day took place we carried on. We were dropping people all over left, right and centre. And then eventually the senior, well from Daedalus in Lee on Solent was their headquarters.
Interviewer: Right.
KN: For the Fleet Air Arm. And this guy used to come up every so often. He was a flight lieutenant sort of type you know and he said to me, he said, ‘I think you’ve had enough here haven’t you?’ I said, ‘Well, I’ve enjoyed it.’ If you know what I mean. So he said, ‘I want you, we’ve now got a Technical College.’ The Fleet Air Arm. Which we never had before. That’s why I had to do my initial training at RAF Henlow in Bedfordshire. Six months was the first one I did. So they wanted me so I did extra, a lot of extra study and don’t forget I left school at fourteen.
Interviewer: Yeah.
KN: And so I went to the new college and I did ever so well and so when I, it was time for me to go I joined BOAC which was at Aldermaston. What was an aircraft unit. And so I worked for them and then they sent me to America and Canada to study the new aircraft that was going to come over for London Airport when it was made. It wasn’t even made then you see.
Interviewer: Right. What was the name of this aircraft?
KN: Well, there were, there were two or three kinds but they were all American. All American. Nothing English at all. I’m sorry I can’t remember that now.
Interviewer: That’s ok.
KN: I mean, so after, after that I decided, I went to Montreal for a year to study. When I came back we were at Bristol and our aircraft was in in Bristol and they said I’d done such a good job over there and we were going to do this. Well, it never happened because there were seniors coming in from all over the place to Bristol getting ready to go to London Airport. So I didn’t have quite the seniority that they’d got and eventually, so I said well to heck with this because I said, ‘Look, this guy in Montreal said I’m going to send you a good report. You’ve done ever so well.’ He said, ‘Well we can’t because there’s people been in longer than you have and yet you are expecting me to teach them what to do, you know with these new American aircraft.’ So, one thing led, so I happened to go home at the weekend and I went and got “Flight” magazine and there was a firm wanted somebody like me, aeronautical engineer at Blackbushe near Camberley. And I did about four or five years there. They made me, I was in charge of five units there you know. Radio, electrics, this, that, and the other thing and they said, and all of a sudden somebody said to me, ‘The Canadian Air Force are looking for people you know.’ So it was in West London so I wrote to them and I got an interview and all the rest of it. I mean the thing that we, they couldn’t believe was because I did have all these wonderful things. I’d done it. Studied well and I got. So this, what was it? He was quite a senior officer and he sat down. He said, ‘Right, Mr Neve,’ he said, ‘We’re quite amazed at how much you’ve done in the aeronautical world.’ I said, ‘Well, I’ve had the opportunities and I’ve enjoyed it.’ So he said, ‘Right, let’s just take some, I’ve got to send all this off to Ottawa before to say yes we’d like to have you and, of course [laughs] I’d like to tell you this story if you don’t mind. He said, he said to me, ‘Ok. Right. Now, let’s talk about education, shall we? University?’ I said, ‘No.’ ‘What? Technical College or – ?’ ‘No. No.’ He said, ‘Well, where did you finish up?’ I said, ‘At Fairfield School, Basingstoke. Fourteen.’ He said, ‘You’re having a joke, aren’t you?’ You know. Sort of thing. I said, ‘No. I left 1939 at Basingstoke.’ And so he said, ‘No. I can’t, I can’t send this to Ottawa. It’s ridiculous. They might think oh he’s done ever so well and he left school when he was fourteen.’ That is grade five or something in Canada. You know whatever it was you know. So, he said, so he said to me, he said, ‘Is there any way you can get somebody to write from your school to say that, ‘Yes, you did attend,’ at least, you know. So, Mr Pill, I was in the top grade when I left at fourteen and his name was Mr Pill. He was a Yorkshireman and he was brilliant with bits of chalk. Right between the eyes if you were nodding off you know. So, I wrote a letter to Fairfield School and he’d left there and he’d gone to another big school. But eventually I had a letter to say, “To whom it may concern. Yes, I would like to confirm —” Da da da and all the rest of it. So I sent it off. It went to Ottawa and they accepted it. The next thing I know I’m four years with Sabre aircraft in Germany.
Interviewer: Wow.
KN: Without getting to —
Interviewer: They posted you straight to Germany on a fighter squadron.
KN: Yeah.
Interviewer: Yeah. That must have been marvellous because the Sabre obviously was just for the enemy —
KN: Well, we had more prangs than whatever.
Interviewer: Really? A lot of crashes.
KN: Terrible. Their engines used to suck out you know.
Interviewer: Big problem.
KN: If you went down too low. If you didn’t keep up a certain speed when they, if they went off looking for people or looking for an object or all the rest of it and they used to get and then the engines just used to go, ‘pfft’ like that. And we lost so many.
Interviewer: Really?
KN: Believe me. So after, after four years they sent me to Prince Edward Island, Summerside and had a wonderful time there, you know. I enjoyed every bit. That was my aircraft there.
Interviewer: That’s a, is that some sort of an Electra or [pause] it looks like an Electra.
KN: No. It’s an Argus that one is.
Interviewer: Oh, is it Argus we’re looking at? We’re looking at a photograph now of a Canadian four piston engine —
KN: Yeah.
Interviewer: Obviously, a Maritimes because it’s got a boom tail on it.
KN: Yeah. Yeah.
Interviewer: Yeah.
KN: Well, what, you see this what our job was it was equipped in the front there with looking for submarines which we should have had during the war. We used to fly six foot over the water. I used to go on all the crews because I used to, well there were various reasons I did and because I was crew chief. They made me crew chief you see. So we used to leave, we used to leave Summerside, go right down the east coast of America right down to the bottom then we’d cross over and we were working with the RAF. They had submarines and we had to find them and if the weather was right we were only so many, thirty feet above the water and this was a fantastic machine. Anything within twenty miles it would pick it up. Anything metal. So then we’d go across to South Africa and we would play. We’d do the same thing for other units and we’d go all the way up through Europe and we ended up in Iceland and that sort of thing. It had thirty five flying hours. We had double crews.
Interviewer: Amazing. I mean that, it’s such a story that’s not been told really about what, what fledgling Air Forces after the war did. I mean the Canadian Air Force obviously as you know was quite small at the outbreak of war and was a huge Air Force when they finished.
KN: Yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah.
Interviewer: And yeah. That’s wonderful to recount those stories. I mean I’d just like to think of you, looking back really just to go back to we talked about you ended up working on world breaking machines really but you started off there working on what was affectionately known as the old Stringbags when you first started.
KN: Oh yeah. Yeah.
Interviewer: Did you feel working on that aircraft you had a particular affinity for working with such an old aircraft? Was it something special?
KN: If I tell you something it can be taken off of there? So, I’m working on one of the old Swordfish you see and I’m right down and I’m looking at all the instrument panels behind the flying panel alright. There was something wrong with this one. It wasn’t working. So I worked on that and got it right. So I’m there laying down here and I’m doing all this with just a torch you know. And the next thing I [laughs] a pair of legs come in the cockpit and all I’m looking at is a pair of legs and some knickers. [laughs] So, I said, ‘Who the hell is that?’ You know, and she says, ‘Oh, it’s me.’ Because they were having girls then in the Fleet Air Arm, you know learning instruments and various other things. So I thought that was rather different.
Interviewer: Well, that will always stay with you won’t it forever. Yeah. A lovely little story. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Ken thank you ever so much for just recounting some of the tales there. I mean, I think you can honestly say that your time in the military was certainly and working with the military was certainly varied. To think that you started off before the war really and finished up as part of a NATO operation in Germany.
KN: I’d like you, when you, when you decide you’ve had enough I’ve got something I’d like to show you up behind you. Let me just —
Interviewer: Ok. Alright. Well, you know that’s that done but thank you ever so much as I say and we look forward to putting this on to our Archive and thank you very much, Ken.
KN: I had a wonderful war and you know I, everything just I never worried. I mean the house next door at Beaconsfield Road in Basingstoke you know all those flare bombs they used to drop there? Well, they burned out next door to me. There was a bomber, a bomb, a bomb had dropped, a German bomb had dropped one three hundred mile, three hundred yards away and that was a sort of a hospital thing for women you know I think it was and all. And I used to I mean at fourteen I used to go out at night with all the lads because all the big [pause] you know when there was a, when the siren went we knew there were aircraft coming over from the coast and that and of course we used to have all the big lights, the searchlights and we used to go up by the church if not the school where I went was not far up the road and I’d go and I would be with all the men all the time. It was just something to do you know.
Interviewer: Yeah.
KN: And we’d pick it up. Not we but where they were doing it they’d pick it up and then of course then would drop and they would release sort of bombs going left, right and centre and it didn’t bother me one little bit.
Interviewer: You’ve no fear at that age.
KN: No.
Interviewer: Yeah. It’s amazing.
KN: It was excitement.
Interviewer: Yeah.
KN: It was lovely.
Interviewer: Well, thank you so much for recounting that.
KN: Well —
Interviewer: And I hope you’ve enjoyed telling the story to us.
KN: Yeah. Ok.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Kenneth Edgar Neve
1004,1005-Neve, Kenneth Edgar
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SHarriganD[Ser#-DoB]v07
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Navy
Royal Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Format
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00:19:49 audio recording
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending revision of OH transcription
Pending OH summary. Allocated C Campbell
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Dave Harrigan
This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
Ken Neve served as a runner with the Home Guard before joining the Fleet Air Arm. He was posted to RAF Henlow as an engineer.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Bedfordshire
England-Hampshire
Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean--Solent Channel
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
ground personnel
Home Guard
Swordfish
Walrus
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2635/46238/LKeelingRV82689v2.2.pdf
8f109c3bf51bfb8b9c44c793052ce7e1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Keeling, Robert Victor
Description
An account of the resource
48 items. The collection concerns Robert Victor Keeling, DFC (b. 1916, 82689 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, correspondence, decorations and a <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2655">Scrapbook</a>. He flew operations as a pilot with 51 Squadron. Following his retirement from the Royal Air Force with the rank of Squadron leader he became a civilian pilot. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by David Keeling and catalogued by Lynn Corrigan.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2023-06-01
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Keeling, RV
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Robert Keeling's pilot's flying log book. Two
Description
An account of the resource
Pilot's flying log book for Robert 'Bob' Keeling covering the period 1 July 1943 to 23 October 1945 when he was a test pilot with the Royal Aircraft Establishment. In addition it covers the period 14 January 1946 to 26 November 1949 when Bob was a civilian pilot with Hunting Air Travel.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Bedfordshire
England--Luton
England--Hampshire
England--Surrey
England--Gatwick
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Civilian
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LKeelingRV82689v2
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
aircrew
Anson
Ar 232
B-17
B-24
B-25
B-26
Battle
Beaufighter
Boston
C-47
Defiant
Dominie
Fw 190
Halifax
Hampden
Harvard
Hudson
Hurricane
Lancaster
Magister
Martinet
Meteor
Mosquito
Oxford
P-47
P-51
pilot
Proctor
RAF Farnborough
Spitfire
Stirling
training
Typhoon
Ventura
Walrus
Wellington
Whitley
York
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2635/46206/LKeelingRV82689v1.1.pdf
614702122603a1a6bac8c0c911c28346
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Keeling, Robert Victor
Description
An account of the resource
48 items. The collection concerns Robert Victor Keeling, DFC (b. 1916, 82689 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, correspondence, decorations and a <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2655">Scrapbook</a>. He flew operations as a pilot with 51 Squadron. Following his retirement from the Royal Air Force with the rank of Squadron leader he became a civilian pilot. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by David Keeling and catalogued by Lynn Corrigan.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2023-06-01
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Keeling, RV
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Robert Victor Keeling's pilot's flying log book. One
Description
An account of the resource
Pilot's flying log book for Robert 'Bob' Victor Keeling covering the period 15 June 1939 to 30 June 1943. Details his training and operational duties. Bob flew 27 night operations, 15 as second pilot to Pilot Officer Deacon, Sergeant Prior and Squadron Leader Hollrick and 12 as pilot with 51 Squadron. Operations, all flown in Whitley aircraft, were to Antwerp, Berlin, Bordeaux, Boulogne, Bremen, Brest, Chemnitz, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Kiel, Leipzig, Le Havre, Leona, Lorient, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Pilsner, St. Naazare and Turin. The log book continues with details of Bob's time as a flying instructor with the School of Navigation, 7 Squadron and Royal Aircraft Establishment.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940-09-11
1940-09-12
1940-09-14
1940-09-15
1940-09-17
1940-09-18
1940-09-21
1940-09-22
1940-09-23
1940-09-24
1940-09-25
1940-09-26
1940-10-11
1940-11-12
1940-10-15
1940-10-16
1940-10-27
1940-10-28
1940-10-30
1940-10-31
1940-11-01
1940-11-02
1940-11-08
1940-11-09
1040-11-13
1940-11-14
1940-11-15
1940-11-16
1940-11-17
1940-11-18
1940-11-27
1940-11-28
1940-12-08
1940-12-09
1940-12-13
1940-12-14
1940-12-17
1940-12-18
1941-01-09
1941-01-10
1941-02-11
1941-02-12
1941-03-01
1941-03-02
1941-03-10
1941-03-11
1941-03-13
1941-03-14
1941-03-15
1941-03-16
1941-04-10
1941-04-11
1941-04-12
1941-04-13
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
Belgium--Antwerp
Belgium--Zeebrugge
Czech Republic--Plzeň
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Brest
France--Le Havre
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leuna
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Mannheim
England--Bedfordshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Cheshire
England--Derbyshire
England--Gloucestershire
England--Hampshire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Warwickshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Wiltshire
Italy--Turin
Germany--Düsseldorf
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LKeelingRV82689v1
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
10 OTU
21 OTU
22 OTU
51 Squadron
7 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
Battle
Blenheim
Flying Training School
Hampden
Hudson
Hurricane
Lancaster
Magister
pilot
RAF Abingdon
RAF Burnaston
RAF Cranage
RAF Dishforth
RAF Farnborough
RAF Hullavington
RAF Kemble
RAF Moreton in the Marsh
RAF Oakington
RAF Wellesbourne Mountford
Spitfire
Stirling
training
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1433/44668/BYatesRPYatesRPv1.1.pdf
893603c8b8a05658e79498035ad29c2c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Yates, Richard
R P Yates
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-08-18
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Yates, RP
Description
An account of the resource
One item. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Richard "Dick" Yates (Royal Air Force) and contains his memoir. He flew operations as a wireless operator/ air gunner with 35 Squadron and became a prisoner of war
The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by R P Yates and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
My Wartime Memories by Richard Yates
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Richard Yates
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Bedfordshire
England--Wiltshire
France
France--Brest
Germany
Germany--Hamburg
France--Boulogne-Billancourt
Germany--Essen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Lorient
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
86 printed sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BYatesRPYatesRPv1
Description
An account of the resource
Richard 'Dick' Yates was a wireless operator/air gunner on 35 Squadron flying Halifax. He was shot down and became a prisoner of war. Dick did his basic training at Blackpool. While at Cranwell for wireless training he flew in DH 86 and Valentia.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940-10-01
1941-02
1941-04
1941-06
1941-08
1941-08-16
1941-11
1941-11-24
1941-11-30
1942-01-06
1942-02
1942-03-09
1942-03-13
1942-05-08
1942-06-08
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
19 OTU
35 Squadron
Air Observers School
aircrew
bale out
bombing of Cologne (30/31 May 1942)
Dominie
Dulag Luft
forced landing
Gneisenau
Halifax
Halifax Mk 1
Halifax Mk 2
love and romance
Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy
Operational Training Unit
prisoner of war
Proctor
RAF Cardington
RAF Cranwell
RAF Jurby
RAF Kinloss
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Wyton
RAF Yatesbury
recruitment
Scharnhorst
Stalag Luft 3
Stalag Luft 6
the long march
training
Whitley
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2512/44647/LDaviesDC1304355v2.1.pdf
e7444f6cd871fcca68f00c50e4ff7814
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Davies, David Charles
Davies, D C
Description
An account of the resource
36 items. The collection concerns David Charles Davies DFC (b. 1920, 1304355 Royal Air Force) and contains documents, photographs and two log books, one being the copy of the other. The collection also includes <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2584">one album with photos of personnel and aircraft</a>. <br /><br />He flew operations as a gunner, wireless operator and bomb aimer with 61 Squadron. David was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal on 12 March 1943 after completing 33 operations. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by David Michael Davies and catalogued by Lynn Corrigan.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-10-01
2020-02-26
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Davies, DC
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
David Charles Davies' observer's and air gunner's flying log book
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Coastal Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Wiltshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Norfolk
England--Yorkshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Cornwall (County)
France
France--Paris
France--Lorient
France--Toulouse
France--Tours
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Saumur
France--Caen
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Lübeck
Germany--Hamburg
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Munich
Germany--Saarlouis
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Essen
Germany--Wismar
Germany--Aachen
Italy
Italy--Genoa
Italy--Milan
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
France--Châteauroux
Germany--Braunschweig
France--Saint-Médard-en-Jalles
France--Saint-Pierre-du-Mont (Landes)
France--Argentan
France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)
France--Donges
France--Creil
Ireland
Ireland--Waterford
Scotland--Drem
Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Bedfordshire
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Düsseldorf
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Description
An account of the resource
<span>Observer's and air gunner's flying log book for David Charles Davies from November 1940 to 24 March 1948 detailing his training, operational and post conflict duties. Training was with No.5 Air Observer's School at RAF Jurby and Operational Training Units at RAF Finningley and RAF Bircotes. Aircraft flown in were, Dominie, Proctor, Blenhiem, Anson, Wellington, Manchester, Oxford, Lancaster, Halifax and Stirling, He flew a total of 59 operations all with 61 Squadron, 11 daylight and 48 night operations. Pilots flown with were Pilot Officer Clarke, Flight Sergeant Turner, Squadron Leader Deas, Flight Officer Foster and Squadron Leader Beard. David flew as bomb aimer in 52 operations, wireless operator/gunner in five and air gunner in two. The operations were to Paris, Lorient, Essen, Cologne, Lübeck, Hamburg, Saarbrücken, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Kassel, Nuremberg, Saarlouis, Karlsruhe, Bremen, Duisburg, Wismar, Aachen, Genoa, Milan, Berlin, Leipzig, Schweinfurt, Stuttgart, Châteauroux, Toulouse, Tours, Brunswick, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Saumur, Cherbourg, St. Pierre du Mont (Landes), Argentan, Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais), Caen, Donges, Creil, in the Baltic Sea, Atlantic Ocean and North Sea including anti sub patrols, convoy escort and dinghy search.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One log book
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDaviesDC1304355v2
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-02-24
1942-02-25
1942-03-09
1942-03-10
1942-03-11
1942-03-13
1942-03-14
1942-04-28
1942-04-29
1942-04-08
1942-04-09
1942-07-23
1942-07-26
1942-07-29
1942-07-30
1942-07-31
1942-08-01
1942-08-13
1942-08-15
1942-08-18
1942-08-19
1942-08-21
1942-08-24
1942-08-25
1942-08-27
1942-08-28
1942-08-29
1942-09-01
1942-09-02
1942-09-03
1942-09-04
1942-09-05
1942-09-06
1942-09-07
1942-09-08
1942-09-09
1942-09-10
1942-09-11
1942-09-13
1942-09-14
1942-09-16
1942-09-17
1942-10-01
1942-10-02
1942-10-05
1942-10-06
1942-10-12
1942-10-13
1942-10-22
1942-10-23
1942-10-24
1942-11-07
1942-11-08
1942-11-17
1942-11-18
1942-11-20
1942-11-21
1943-05-22
1943-12-20
1943-12-21
1943-12-23
1943-12-24
1944-01-02
1944-01-03
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-19
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-10
1944-03-11
1944-03-24
1944-03-25
1944-04-05
1944-05-06
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-29
1944-04-30
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-03
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-19
1944-06-20
1944-07-18
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-08-03
1943-12-23
1943-12-24
1944-01-02
1944-01-03
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-10
1944-03-11
1944-03-24
1944-03-25
1944-04-05
1944-05-06
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-29
1944-04-30
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-03
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-19
1944-06-20
1944-07-18
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-08-03
105 Squadron
1660 HCU
25 OTU
57 Squadron
61 Squadron
air gunner
Air Observers School
air sea rescue
aircrew
Anson
Blenheim
bomb aimer
bombing
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
bombing of Toulouse (5/6 April 1944)
Bombing of Trossy St Maximin (3 August 1944)
Cook’s tour
Distinguished Flying Medal
Dominie
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
incendiary device
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 2
Lancaster Mk 3
Manchester
mine laying
navigator
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Proctor
RAF Bishops Court
RAF Burn
RAF Compton Bassett
RAF Coningsby
RAF Feltwell
RAF Finningley
RAF Fulbeck
RAF Jurby
RAF Manby
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF St Eval
RAF Swanton Morley
RAF Swinderby
RAF Syerston
RAF Woolfox Lodge
RAF Yatesbury
Stirling
submarine
training
Wellington
wireless operator
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1447/43098/SCosgroveAE968259v10019.1.jpg
c0f487c6b0674dafbf98722da6acb19a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cosgrove, Teddy
Alfred Edward Cosgrove
A E Cosgrove
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-02
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cosgrove, AE
Description
An account of the resource
16 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Alfred Edward "Teddy" Cosgrove (1921 - 1941, 968259 Royal Air Force) and contains a biography and a scrapbook. He flew operations as a navigator with 12 Squadron and was killed 11 October 1941. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Pat Applegarth and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Alfred Edward "Teddy" Cosgrove is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/104960/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Campaign to recognise deaths of bomber airmen
Description
An account of the resource
A newspaper article about a campaign to recognise the loss of Teddy's crew mates.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2013-02-22
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941-10-11
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Ormesby St. Margaret
Germany
Germany--Cologne
England--Barnsley (South Yorkshire)
England--Accrington
England--Manchester
England--Bedfordshire
Scotland--Stevenston
England--Littlehampton
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One newspaper cutting
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SCosgroveAE968259v10019
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Cosgrove, Teddy. Album
12 Squadron
aircrew
killed in action
memorial
RAF Binbrook
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1447/43095/SCosgroveAE968259v10003-8.2.pdf
12f92e143486eaf39f88b6508e0901d1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cosgrove, Teddy
Alfred Edward Cosgrove
A E Cosgrove
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-02
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cosgrove, AE
Description
An account of the resource
16 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Alfred Edward "Teddy" Cosgrove (1921 - 1941, 968259 Royal Air Force) and contains a biography and a scrapbook. He flew operations as a navigator with 12 Squadron and was killed 11 October 1941. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Pat Applegarth and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Alfred Edward "Teddy" Cosgrove is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/104960/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Service history of Sergeant Alfred Edward "Teddy" Cosgrove
Description
An account of the resource
Covering Teddy's short service in the RAF. It covers his training and his ten missions. Details of his fellow crew members are included.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SCosgroveAE968259v10003, SCosgroveAE968259v10004, SCosgroveAE968259v10005, SCosgroveAE968259v10006, SCosgroveAE968259v10007, SCosgroveAE968259v10008
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Gorton (Manchester)
England--Caister-on-Sea
France
France--Cherbourg
Germany
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Essen
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Rostock
Germany--Hamburg
Poland--Szczecin
England--Manchester
England--London
England--Bedfordshire
Scotland--Stevenston
England--Accrington
England--Littlehampton
England--Barnsley (South Yorkshire)
Poland
England--Bexhill
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Six printed sheets
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Cosgrove, Teddy. Album
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
1 Group
11 OTU
12 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bombing
Bombing and Gunnery School
crash
final resting place
ground personnel
Initial Training Wing
killed in action
Lancaster
love and romance
memorial
Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy
navigator
observer
Operational Training Unit
pilot
RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Binbrook
RAF Evanton
RAF Odiham
RAF Padgate
RAF Ringway
RAF Wickenby
sport
training
Wellington
wireless operator
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1447/43092/BApplegarthPCosgroveAEv1.1.pdf
cac3c9060fd8491659d977c963b4a91b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cosgrove, Teddy
Alfred Edward Cosgrove
A E Cosgrove
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-02
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cosgrove, AE
Description
An account of the resource
16 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Alfred Edward "Teddy" Cosgrove (1921 - 1941, 968259 Royal Air Force) and contains a biography and a scrapbook. He flew operations as a navigator with 12 Squadron and was killed 11 October 1941. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Pat Applegarth and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Alfred Edward "Teddy" Cosgrove is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/104960/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Crew of Wellington Z8397
Description
An account of the resource
A biography of Teddy Cosgrove's crew members, pilots Frank Tothill and James Dunlop.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Bedfordshire
Sri Lanka
England--Malvern
England--Devon
France
France--Cherbourg
Germany
Poland--Szczecin
Denmark
Germany--Cologne
England--Caister-on-Sea
Scotland--Stevenston
Canada
North America--Niagara Falls
United States
Illinois--Chicago
England--London
New Brunswick--Fredericton
Poland--Szczecin
New Brunswick
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three printed sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BApplegarthPCosgroveAEv1
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
12 Squadron
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
arts and crafts
crash
final resting place
killed in action
love and romance
navigator
Operational Training Unit
pilot
RAF Binbrook
sport
training
Victoria Cross
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/559/42889/MStephensonS2714206-211112-03.2.jpg
2063027829c30b2498d1ba60ab240dd2
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Stephenson, Stuart
Stuart Stephenson MBE
S Stephenson
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stephenson, S
Description
An account of the resource
20 items. An oral history interview with Stuart Stephenson MBE, Chairman of the Lincs-Lancaster Association, and issues of 5 Group News.
The collection was catalogued by Barry Hunter.
In accordance with the conditions stipulated by the donor, some items are available only at the International Bomber Command Centre / University of Lincoln.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Money Order Payment to Stuart Stephenson
Description
An account of the resource
A payment of six pounds, eight shillings and seven pence for Stuart as final payment on his discharge.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Officer Commanding Central Signals Area
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1956-01-27
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Bedfordshire
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One printed sheet with handwritten annotations
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MStephensonS2714206-211112-03
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1523/41481/BLoveGLoveAIv1.2.pdf
80cbfc6ec80ea829173b9674b152e1d5
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Love, Ikey
Albert Ivon Love
A I Love
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-07-10
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Love, AI
Description
An account of the resource
15 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Albert "Ikey" Ivon Love (1922 - 2016, 1815027 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, items, and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 90 and 7 Squadrons before being shot down and becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by G Love and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Memories of Past Times
Ikey Love 1922-2016
Description
An account of the resource
A biography of Ikey Love. Covers pre and post war life as well as training, operations and time as a prisoner of war during the war.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Bedfordshire
England--Kettering
England--Leicester
England--Sileby
Egypt
England--Ashbourne
England--Coventry
England--Redcar
Wales--Llandudno
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Lithuania
Poland
Poland--Szczecin
Germany--Dresden
England--Thurmaston
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Schweinfurt
England--Cornwall (County)
Germany
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Civilian
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944-03-22
1944-03-23
1945
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Text. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
33 printed sheets
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BLoveGLoveAIv1
90 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
B-17
bale out
bomb aimer
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
C-47
Caterpillar Club
flight engineer
lack of moral fibre
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 3
Me 110
military service conditions
mine laying
missing in action
Pathfinders
prisoner of war
RAF Oakington
RAF Upwood
RAF Warboys
sport
Stalag Luft 1
Stalag Luft 6
Stirling
the long march
Tiger Moth
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/636/40427/SRoyallGL1801494v10077.2.jpg
0b5a78d1c910c9ebce6632cd6f410d18
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/636/40427/SRoyallGL1801494v10078.2.jpg
0bbedc1b0282eb0569507c4d61746af9
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Royall, George
G Royall
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Royall, G
Description
An account of the resource
46 items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer George Royall (1801494 Royal Air Force) his flying log book, photographs, correspondence, course notes, examinations, newspapers and parts of magazines. He served as a bomb aimer on 166 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by George Royall and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-07-20
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lancaster squadrons at peak strength
Description
An account of the resource
List of Lancaster squadrons that were at Bomber Command peak strength on 1 August 1944. Also gives squadron codes, groups and locations. An additional list gives the bomber squadrons that reformed with Lancasters after that date.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two-page printed document
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Royall, George. No 166 Squadron
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SRoyallGL1801494v10077, SRoyallGL1801494v10078
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-08-01
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Bedfordshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Durham (County)
England--Huntingdonshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Rutland
England--Norfolk
England--Suffolk
England--Yorkshire
166 Squadron
Lancaster
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1986/37855/MBurnsideJGB155209-171116-08.1.jpg
18a6a8614c45c5307dee21c0cc594720
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Burnside, James Gordon Bennett
J G B Burnside
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-11-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Burnside, JGB
Description
An account of the resource
44 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant James Gordon Bennett Burnside (b. 1909, 155209 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 619 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Reverend Canon Terence Alan Joyce and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
A.C.H./F.M.R
R.A.F. Form 2150.
ROYAL AIR FORCE VOLUNTEER RESERVE
ENLISTMENT FOR DURATION OF THE PRESENT EMERGENCY
POSTPONEMENT OF CALLING UP FOR SERVICE
[stamped] 1194129 [/stamped]
To
No. . . . Name BURNSIDE, Gordon Bennett
Address "Larchwood" Larch Crescent, Beeston, Notts.
In connection with your enlistment in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve for service during the present emergency, you will be required to report for permanent service in accordance with the instructions contained in a notice to be issued to you by the Officer in Charge Records, Royal Air Force.
In the meantime you will remain on the Reserve and no pay or allowances will be issuable to you for the period during which you are not called up for permanent service. It is important therefore that you should not leave your present civil employment until you are required to report for service. You will be notified at least 14 days before the date on which you will be required to report, but where practicable one month's notice will be given.
The Officer in Charge Records, Royal Air Force, Ruislip, Middlesex, must be informed of any change of address, and any correspondence must quote your R.A.F. No., rank and name.
Station Cardington
Date 24th Sept 1940
Beeston.
[indecipherable stamp]
[italics] For Officer i/c Records,
Royal Air Force. [/italics]
4/40 (51498) (51669) Wt. 11749/333 50M 5/40 Hw. G.371
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve - postponement of calling up for service
Description
An account of the resource
Made out to Gordon Bennet Burnside
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940-09-24
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940-09-24
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Beeston (Nottinghamshire)
England--Bedfordshire
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page printed document with handwritten entries
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MBurnsideJGB155209-171116-08
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
RAF Cardington
recruitment
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1912/36081/MHayhurstJM2073102-170725-57.1.jpg
6adb72916ead126d643540c8f6fc25f7
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hayhurst, Jose Margaret
J M Hayhurst
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-07-25
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hayhurst, JM
Description
An account of the resource
108 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Jose Margaret Hayhurst (2073102 Royal Air Force) and contains decorations, uniform, documents and photographs. She served as a radar operator in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Andrew Whitehouse and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
2073102 ACW/2 HAYHURST, J.M.
HUT 115, NO 1 WING,
NO 2 WAAF DEPOT,
RAF GLOUCESTER.
22.4.42 – 28.4.42
c/o CPL ROWBOTHAM
2 WING, E SQUADRON,
10 FLIGHT,
3 WAAF DEPOT,
MORECAMBE.
28.4.42 – 28.5.42.
HUT 11, 4 WING,
NO 2 RADIO SCHOOL, WAAF,
YATESBURY,
WILTSHIRE.
28.5.42 – 9.7.42
RAF BRIDE
PORT CRANSTAL,
I.O.M.
20.7.42. – 23.10.43.
RAF NEVIN,
CEFNLEISGOG,
NR PWHELLI,
N. WALES.
23.10.43 – 24.4.44
THE WORKHOUSE
LEIGHTON BUZZARD.
24.4.44 – 1.5.44.
RAF THE ROUGHS,
WEST HYTHE,
KENT.
1.5.44 – 6.8.44
RAF VENTNOR.
I.O.W.
6.8.44 – 2.9.44.
RAF WARTLING,
PEVENSEY,
SUSSEX.
11.11.44 – 18.3.45
MOBILE SECTION,
RAF CRANFIELD,
NR. BLETCHLEY,
BUCKS.
18.3.45 – 1.6.45
EVT. SECTION
RAF WARTLING.
1.6. 45 – 4.7.45
COURSE 13,
NO 4 INSTRUCTORS SCHOOL.
RAF BARTON HALL
PRESTON
LANCS.
4.7.45 – 18.4.46
SGTS. MESS.
RAF DUXFORD,
NR. CAMBRIDGE,
CAMBS.
18.4.46 – 30.7.46.
[page break]
Gloucester
Morcombe
Yatesbury
Bride
Preston
[inserted] – Bride [/inserted]
St. Bees
Bride
Levin [inserted] Trade Test? [/inserted]
Leighton Buzzard
Hythe
Ventnor
Hythe
Wartling
Cranfield
[inserted] – Preston, Wartling. [/inserted]
Wartling
Bentwaters
Wythall [inserted][circled] 20 [/circled][/inserted]
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Jose Hayhurst's Postings
Description
An account of the resource
A list of Jose's postings whilst in the RAF.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Jose Hayhurst
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Gloucester
England--Morecambe
Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man
Wales--Pwllheli
England--Leighton Buzzard
England--Hythe (Kent)
England--Ventnor
England--Pevensey
England--Cumbria
England--Wythall
England--Bedfordshire
England--Gloucestershire
England--Hampshire
England--Kent
England--Lancashire
England--Worcestershire
England--Sussex
England--Preston (Lancashire)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two handwritten sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MHayhurstJM2073102-170725-57
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
ground personnel
RAF Bentwaters
RAF Cranfield
RAF Duxford
RAF Yatesbury
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1794/35946/NWilsonRC170113-31.1.jpg
ff28c21e7600900df1b22d6df349d4e2
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wilson, Reginald Charles
R C Wilson
Description
An account of the resource
166 items. The collection concerns Reginald Charles Wilson (b. 1923, 1389401 Royal Air Force) and contains his wartime log, photographs, documents and correspondence. He few operations as a navigator with 102 Squadron. He was shot down on 20 January 1944 and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Janet Hughes and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-01-13
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Wilson, RC
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Airmen Prisoners
According to enemy sources the following were “shot down over German territory,” and are now “safe in German camps”:
Pilot Officer G.W. Kelly, of Cordwallis – road, Maidenhead; Pilot Officer R.R. Last, of Waterloo-road, Winton, Bournemouth; Pilot Officer N.F. Buggey, of Norsey-road, Billericay, Essex.
Other R.A.F. personnel named as “shot down over Germany” include:
Sergeant L.H. Kirkpatrick, of Milman-road, N.W.; Flight-sergeant J.H. Towler, of Wingfield-street, S.E.; Flight-sergeant R.C. Wilson, of Joydon-drive, Chadwell Heath, Essex; and H.J. Bushell of Brookfield-road, Goldington, Bedford.
[inserted] (Evening Standard 12.4.44) [/inserted]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Airmen Prisoners
Description
An account of the resource
A cutting from a newspaper with Reg and John Bushell's names recorded as prisoner of war. Handwritten on it is Evening Standard 12.4.44.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Evening Standard
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-04-12
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Maidenhead
England--Billericay
England--London
England--Romford
England--Bedford
England--Bedfordshire
England--Essex
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One newspaper cutting
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
NWilsonRC170113-31
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription. Under review
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-04-02
aircrew
pilot
prisoner of war
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1794/35943/MWilsonRC1389401-170113-60.1.jpg
952be3a8c02b3831f9825a6f10f13d2d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wilson, Reginald Charles
R C Wilson
Description
An account of the resource
166 items. The collection concerns Reginald Charles Wilson (b. 1923, 1389401 Royal Air Force) and contains his wartime log, photographs, documents and correspondence. He few operations as a navigator with 102 Squadron. He was shot down on 20 January 1944 and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Janet Hughes and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-01-13
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Wilson, RC
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined] 6 [/underlined] Squadron Leader Harvey. (Pilot)
Father’s address.
131. Oldchurch Lane,
Stanmore,
Middlesex.
F/O L.A. Underwood (Bombaimer)
(Laurie)
2, South Durham St.,
Stockton on Tees.
County Durham.
Sgt. J. McArdle (Flight Engineer)
(Jack)
44, Gladville Rd.,
Mossley Hill,
Liverpool 17.
Sgt. Wm. Ross (W/OP. A.G.)
(Bill)
3, Elm Terrace,
Catchgate,
Annfield Plain.
County Durham.
Sgt. J. Bushell (Rear Gunner)
(John)
1, Brookfield Rd.,
Goldington
Beds.
Sgt. A. McCarroll, (Mid upper gunner)
(Alec)
34, Lisburn Rd.,
Belfast, N. Ireland.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Reg Wilson's Crew
Description
An account of the resource
A list of the other six members of Reg's crew...Harvey, Laurie Underwood, Jack McArdle, Bill Ross, John Bushell and Alec McCarroll.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Reg Wilson
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Middlesex
England--Liverpool
England--Bedford
Northern Ireland--Belfast
Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
England--Bedfordshire
England--Lancashire
England--Stockton-on-Tees
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One handwritten sheet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MWilsonRC1389401-170113-60
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription. Under review
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
flight engineer
pilot
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1794/35639/EMcCarrollWilsonWJ-M440225-0001.2.jpg
e1ddc9e3558c86a73021205c94e1ccae
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1794/35639/EMcCarrollWilsonWJ-M440225-0002.2.jpg
d63ed7629aa12b95787106ce544230f5
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wilson, Reginald Charles
R C Wilson
Description
An account of the resource
166 items. The collection concerns Reginald Charles Wilson (b. 1923, 1389401 Royal Air Force) and contains his wartime log, photographs, documents and correspondence. He few operations as a navigator with 102 Squadron. He was shot down on 20 January 1944 and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Janet Hughes and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-01-13
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Wilson, RC
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Royal Air Force crest]
1061389. AC. McCARROLL.
HUT 12, SITE 7,
R.A.F. STATION,
ELVINGTON,
YORKS.
25-2-44.
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Wilson,
Just a few lines from one of Reg’s old crew. I was their mid-upper gunner until getting into some trouble for refusing to fly with another crew. Reg perhaps has told you of my case.
However, since then I’ve got the sad news of them reported missing & I do wish to sympathise with you all at home & his girl-friend Pat. I was very fond of my crew & happy when flying with them – that is why I had no faith in going with others. I thought the world off [sic] the boys & appreciated very much my highly skilled Navigator, because he pulled the old kite through many sticky patches back to base.
I have never yet met a crew with so much harmony as ours had, until
[page break]
[underlined] 2 [/underlined]
the powers that be started to break us up & use us as “spare parts.” I sincerely hope you get good news of Reg. and I think you will because he has the best seat for leaving the kite in an emergency. If you do hear any news would you please let me know at the above address. I can give you two addressed of the crew. Johnny Bushell the rear gunners is:- 1 Brookfield Rd, Goldington, Bedford. & Laurie Underwood the Bomb Aimers is 2 South Durham St, Stockton-on-Tees.
Regards to you all at home & may God Bless you all.
Yours very Sincerely,
[underlined] “Mac” [/underlined]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter to Reg Wilson's Parents from Mac
Description
An account of the resource
The letter is from one of Reg's old crew, Mac. He expresses sadness that he is missing and states he was an excellent flying companion.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Mac Mc Carroll
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-02-25
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Bedford
England--Bedfordshire
England--Durham (County)
England--Stockton-on-Tees
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two handwritten sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EMcCarrollWilsonWJ-M440225-0001, EMcCarrollWilsonWJ-M440225-0002
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription. Under review
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-02-25
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
missing in action
navigator
RAF Elvington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1560/35630/BMillingtonRWestonFv1.2.pdf
8f0a70969cd59c55fef62f5a0d5a383d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Weston, Fred
F Weston
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-11-13
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Weston, F
Description
An account of the resource
20 items. The collection concerns Fred Weston DFC (1916 - 2012, 126909 Royal Air Force) and contains documents and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 101 and 620 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Catherine Millington and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Air Gunner
Based around the WWII service of Fred Weston DFC RAFVR
Description
An account of the resource
A biography of Fred. In addition it includes histories of aircraft and squadrons he served in, Details are included of airfields he served at. Additionally there are biographies of various servicemen associated with Fred's squadrons and service.
At the end there is a biography of the officer in charge of Arnhem, Lt-Gen Sir Frederick Browning and his wife Daphne du Maurier.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Roger Millington
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2005-01
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Cambridge
England--Letchworth
Wales--Bridgend
Wales--Penrhos
Egypt--Heliopolis (Extinct city)
Singapore
France--Cherbourg
Netherlands--Eindhoven
France--Brest
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Dunkerque
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
France--Brest
Netherlands--Rotterdam
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Berlin
Italy--Turin
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
France--L'Isle-Adam
France--Quiberon
France--Boulogne-Billancourt
Germany--Essen
France--Le Creusot
Germany--Leverkusen
France--Caen
Netherlands--Arnhem
Norway
Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Belgium--Brussels
England--Rochester (Kent)
Northern Ireland--Belfast
England--Longbridge
France--Arras
England--Darlington
Italy--Genoa
England--Longbridge
Yemen (Republic)--Aden
Europe--Frisian Islands
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Nuremberg
Italy--Sicily
France--Normandy
Netherlands--Arnhem
Netherlands--Eindhoven
Netherlands--Nijmegen
Wales--Pwllheli
England--Yorkshire
England--Leicester
England--Sunderland (Tyne and Wear)
Scotland--Edinburgh
England--Rochford
England--London
England--Cornwall (County)
Scotland--Ayr
England--Friston (East Sussex)
England--Gravesend (Kent)
England--West Malling
England--Hailsham
England--Yelverton (Devon)
England--Bentwaters NATO Air Base
England--Great Dunmow
England--Heacham
England--Weybridge
Wales--Hawarden
England--Blackpool
England--Old Sarum (Extinct city)
England--Kent
England--Folkestone
England--Hambleton (North Yorkshire)
England--York
Scotland--Scottish Borders
England--Cambridge
England--Thurleigh
England--Darlington
England--Hitchin
England--Lancashire
Italy
France
Egypt
Germany
Belgium
Netherlands
Great Britain
Yemen (Republic)
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Bedfordshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Devon
England--Durham (County)
England--Sussex
England--Essex
England--Herefordshire
England--Norfolk
England--Suffolk
England--Surrey
England--Wiltshire
England--Worcestershire
England--Leicestershire
England--Swindon (Wiltshire)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Coastal Command
Royal Air Force. Fighter Command
British Army
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Free French Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
85 sheets
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BMillingtonRWestonFv1
1 Group
100 Group
101 Squadron
103 Squadron
105 Squadron
114 Squadron
139 Squadron
141 Squadron
148 Squadron
149 Squadron
162 Squadron
1657 HCU
1665 HCU
18 Squadron
180 Squadron
2 Group
208 Squadron
214 Squadron
239 Squadron
3 Group
301 Squadron
304 Squadron
342 Squadron
6 Group
6 Squadron
620 Squadron
7 Squadron
75 Squadron
8 Group
9 Squadron
90 Squadron
97 Squadron
99 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
air gunner
aircrew
B-17
B-24
B-25
bale out
Beaufighter
Blenheim
bombing
Bombing and Gunnery School
Boston
Caterpillar Club
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
crash
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
ditching
evading
final resting place
Gee
Gneisenau
H2S
Halifax
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Harvard
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
Horsa
Hurricane
Ju 87
killed in action
Lancaster
Lysander
Manchester
Me 109
Meteor
mid-air collision
mine laying
Mosquito
navigator
Oboe
Operational Training Unit
P-51
Pathfinders
prisoner of war
propaganda
radar
RAF Bicester
RAF Biggin Hill
RAF Boscombe Down
RAF Bottesford
RAF Bourn
RAF Bradwell Bay
RAF Bramcote
RAF Chedburgh
RAF Chipping Warden
RAF Coltishall
RAF Drem
RAF Driffield
RAF Duxford
RAF Elsham Wolds
RAF Evanton
RAF Fairford
RAF Finningley
RAF Great Massingham
RAF Halfpenny Green
RAF Harwell
RAF Hendon
RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
RAF Honington
RAF Hornchurch
RAF Horsham St Faith
RAF Kenley
RAF Lakenheath
RAF Leconfield
RAF Leuchars
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Little Snoring
RAF Ludford Magna
RAF Manston
RAF Marham
RAF Martlesham Heath
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Newmarket
RAF Newton
RAF North Luffenham
RAF Oakington
RAF Penrhos
RAF Pershore
RAF Ridgewell
RAF Shepherds Grove
RAF Sleap
RAF Stradishall
RAF Tangmere
RAF Tempsford
RAF Tilstock
RAF Tuddenham
RAF Waterbeach
RAF West Raynham
RAF Woodbridge
RAF Wratting Common
RAF Wyton
Resistance
Scharnhorst
Special Operations Executive
Spitfire
Stirling
target indicator
Tiger force
training
Typhoon
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1141/34160/LStapleyVA175092v1.2.pdf
c79c2ec01b14861649f08988e51e3d5f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Stapley, Victor
Victor Arthur Stapley
V A Stapley
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. An oral history interview with Wing Commander Victor Stapley OBE, DFC (b. 1922, 1801888, 175092 Royal Air Force), his log book and a portrait. He served in the RAF from 1941 to 1977. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 166 squadron. Post war he served in Singapore, Malta, and at Christmas Island.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Victor Stapley and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-08-02
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stapley, VA
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victor Stapely's navigator's, air bomber's and air gunner's flying log book
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LStapleyVA175092v1
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
Flying log book for navigator’s air bomber air gunner’s flight engineers for Victor Stapley, flight engineer. Covers two periods; training and operations 18 January 1944 to 2 July 1944 and post-war service in Flying Control from 19 September 1945 to 23 January 1950. He was stationed at RAF St Athan, RAF Lindholme, RAF Kirmington, RAF Watchfield and RAF Henlow. Aircraft flown in were Halifax, Lancaster, Anson, Dominie, Proctor, Beaufighter, Tiger Moth, Mosquito, York and C-47. He flew a total of 28 operations with 166 Squadron, 3 daylight and 25 night. Targets were Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin, Essen, Nuremberg, Aachen, Cologne, Dusseldor, mine laying, Rouen, Lyons, Aubigne, Mardyk, Mailly le Camp, Hasselt, Calais, Boulogne, Crisbicq, Acheres, Gelsenkirchen, Chateau Bernapre, Domleger and Oisemont. His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Wiggins.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-18
1944-03-19
1944-03-22
1944-03-23
1944-03-24
1944-03-25
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-11
1944-04-12
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-24
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-30
1944-05-01
1944-05-02
1944-05-03
1944-05-04
1944-05-06
1944-05-09
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-13
1944-05-24
1944-05-25
1944-06-02
1944-06-03
1944-06-04
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-27
1944-06-28
1944-06-29
1944-07-02
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
Singapore
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Belgium--Hasselt
England--Bedfordshire
England--Essex
England--Lincolnshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Domléger-Longvillers
France--Amiens Region
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Calais
France--Dunkerque
France--Le Havre Region
France--Lyon
France--Mailly-le-Camp
France--Oisemont (Canton)
France--Paris Region
France--Rennes Region
France--Rouen
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Düsseldorf
Europe--Elbe River
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Stuttgart
Wales--Glamorgan
Singapore
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Bermesnil
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Terry Hancock
1656 HCU
166 Squadron
aircrew
Anson
Beaufighter
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
C-47
Dominie
flight engineer
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
mine laying
Mosquito
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Proctor
RAF Henlow
RAF Kirmington
RAF Lindholme
RAF St Athan
RAF Watchfield
Tiger Moth
training
York
-
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abc39d3ad402a0ea1755ae7aa3f862d7
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Jones, J T
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-15
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Jones, JT
Description
An account of the resource
63 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant John Thomas Jones (1800039, Royal Air Force) and contains photographs, correspondence and documents. <br /><br />He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 626 Squadron and was killed on the night of 18/19 February 1945.<br /><br /> It contains a <span>collection of <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2051">38 photographs</a> of his service in the police and the RAF.</span><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Carol Jones and catalogued by Barry Hunter.<br /><br />Additional information on John Thomas Jones is available via the <a href=" https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/112466/ ">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Picture 1]
G.A. [name]
West Bromwich
E Jeffrey
Penrith
Cumberland
V Baker
Newbury
Berks
G.W. Clark
Coundon
Bp Auckland
Co Durham
M.L. [name]
Y Gentle
Clydebank
Dumbartonshire
Scotland
[Picture 2]
C.H. Richardson
Bow London
Tilley
Regents Park
N.W.
K. Angel
Reading
J Walker
Morayshire
Scotland
Peter Gerrard
Fifeshire
Scotland
E. B
Lewisham
E. London
S.P. Burdun
Edgware
Middlesex
[indecipherable]
[Picture 3]
C
I 9SL
The Climax
Made in England
[Picture 4]
SHAPE No 145
15
[Picture 5]
[indecipherable]
[name]
Bedford
Middlesex
[name]
Woodyates
[name]
Guildford
Surrey
R Ramsay
Chepstow
Mon
[name]
Walthamstow
London
[name]
Bishop Stortford
J.E. Arlidge
Birmingham
[Vertical Writing]
[Picture 6]
J.J. Jones
E.L. Griffin
Redcliff
Bristol
[name]
Woodbridge
Suffolk
Shopland
Cardiff
J Lewis
Pontypridd
S. Wales
J Dooney
Wigan
Lancashire
[name]
Richmond
Surrey
[indecipherable]
[name]
Bedford
Middlesex
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Shirt Collar with Names and Addresses
Description
An account of the resource
A white, detached, shirt collar with names and addresses.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Six colour photographs
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Physical object
Physical object. Clothing
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PJonesJT17040001,
PJonesJT17040002,
PJonesJT17040003,
PJonesJT17040004,
PJonesJT17040005,
PJonesJT17040006
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--West Bromwich
England--Penrith
England--Newbury
England--Bishop Auckland
England--Wendover
Scotland--Clydebank
England--London
England--Reading
Scotland--Fife
England--Middlesex
England--Bedford
England--Guildford
Wales--Chepstow
England--Bishop's Stortford
England--Birmingham
Scotland--Moray
England--Bedfordshire
England--Berkshire
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Cumberland
England--Northumberland
England--Staffordshire
England--Surrey
England--Herefordshire
England--Warwickshire
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Verity Garner
aircrew
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1866/33358/MSmithAC1459147-170607-10.2.jpg
efcb6aebe0b986f33a0b6b7b84eacc47
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Smith, A C
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-07
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Smith, AC
Description
An account of the resource
27 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Allan C Smith (1459147 Royal Air Force) and contains documents, correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as a navigator with 166 Squadron and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by C Smith and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Allan Smith's Findings of Medical Board Record
Description
An account of the resource
RAF Form 58 with the findings of the medical board.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Medical Board Cardington
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One printed sheet with handwritten annotations
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MSmithAC1459147-170607-10
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Bedfordshire
aircrew
RAF Cardington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1857/33286/YAdderM170573v2.1.pdf
716fe7532dec4c7427830ca2572059db
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Adder, Mervyn
M Adder
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-05-29
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Adder, M
Description
An account of the resource
88 items. The collection concerns Pilot Officer Mervyn Adder (1922 - 1944, 175073 Royal Air Force) and contains his diaries, correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as a navigator with 44 Squadron and was killed 15 March 1944. <br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Mary Sprakes and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br /><br /><span data-contrast="none" xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB" class="TextRun SCXW207633627 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW207633627 BCX0">Additional information on<span> Mervyn Adder</span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW207633627 BCX0"><span> </span>is available via the</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW207633627 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":200,"335559740":276}"> </span><a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/100101/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
M. Adder.
153, Albert Ave.
Anlaby Rd
Hull.
Those mighty periods of years
Which seem to us so vast,
Appear no more before Thy sight,
Than yesterday that’s past
90 [deleted] Psalmm [/deleted] [inserted] Psalm [/inserted]
[page break]
Friends are the end & reward of life. They keep us worthy of ourselves & when we are alone we are only nearer to the absent
Stevenson
I count myself in nothing else so happy.
As in a soul remembering my good friends.
Shakespeare
Like threads of silver seen through crystal beads.
Let love through good deeds show.
Arnold.
[page break]
Mr J. Heath
38, Oxford St.
East Kirkby
Nottingham
Mr. J. Crowe.
12, Empress Ave.
Ilford.
Essex.
[page break]
A.N.T. C191
Nav. Inst. Manual C4/10
Almanac 24
Met. D9/4
Comp. D9/2
Protractor D9/49
Rule D9/32.
[page break]
[underlined] JANUARY [/underlined]
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
[underlined] 1st:- [/underlined] Stayed in at night as it was snowing – gunfire heard here early in night – 500 people discovered on Pacific island – abandoned by German raider who had sunk their ships – R.A.F raid invasion ports
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
[underlined] 2nd:- [/underlined] Went to see ‘My Two Husbands’ at the Tower by myself – very little action in the film – was not impressed very cold at night – freezing – Bremen attacked & about 20,000 incendiaries dropped – fires seen over 100 mls away
[underlined] FRI. [/underlined]
[underlined] 3rd [/underlined] Bremen again raided – H.M.Sub.
[page break]
Thunderbolt (late ill-fated Thelis) sinks Italian submarine – Aussies launch attack on Bardia & secure positions – went to Rolands at night & listened to his new records – later went for a walk – still freezing.
[underlined] Sat [/underlined]
[underlined] 4th [/underlined] Played R.E’s lost 7-5 good game 5” of snow on top – soft underneath very hard going – went to Newington at night – had a very good time – met Mary Boatyman (very nice – dark & slim very pretty) saw her home – she was staying the night with Mary Glansford – more prisoners taken at Bardia received a Christmas Card from Marian in America
[page break]
Sun.
[underlined] 5th [/underlined] Very nice morning – freezing but fresh – went to Cadets with Don & Gee – paraded on Corp. Field – went a walk in the afternoon with Roland Ken Gee & Wriggy – went to Wriggy’s at night – Gee’s gramophone broke – mended it – took nearly all night –
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
6th Bardia taken – also over 30,000 prisoners – our casualties about 400 Italians show little fight – have a cold stayed in at night
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
7th Went to see ‘The Boys from
[page break]
Syracuse’ with Mary – a very funny picture & very American – Amy Johnson missing over Thames Estuary – acting as ferry pilot
WED.
8TH Stayed in at night & cleaned part of my bicycle – our western forces pushing on to Tobruk Roland receives his papers – is going to Helmsall [sic] – (between Brigg & Scunthorpe) – N.W Germany bombed
THUR
[underlined] 9TH [/underlined] Went to Cadets at night intruction [sic] in Navigation & Theory of Flight –
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
FRI
[underlined] 10TH [/underlined] Daylight raid on invasion ports by our bombers escorted by fighters – a very successful raid – 3 enemy fighters shot down – we suffer no losses – Milan & Naples attacked & a 35,000 ton battleship damaged – our forces are pushing on to the West of Tobruk – stayed in at night
SAT
[underlined] 11TH [/underlined] Played the R.E’s again lost 2-1 played a wrotten [sic] game – went to Newington at night had a good time saw Mary to the bus station
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
[underlined] 12TH [/underlined] Went to Cadets in the morning
[page break]
with Gee & a walk in the afternoon to the Golf Course with Don & Gee & a walk at night with Wriggy & Gee later we went in Wriggy’s house
MON
[underlined] 13TH [/underlined] Channel ports raided by RAF & fighters machine gun German troop emplacements – stayed in at night & cleaned my bicycle – met Mary in the town after work.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
14TH. German & Italian aircraft attack convoy in Med. area 12 shot down. HMS Illustrious damaged & HMS Gallant (Des.) HMS Southampton (Cruiser) was also damaged & later had to be sunk
[page break]
- went to see ‘Andy Hardy Meets Debutante’ with Mary at the Cecil – a very good film & we both enjoyed it.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
[underlined] 15th [/underlined] Stayed in at night – dive bombers dropped 1000’s of bombs in recent attack in Med. – gunfire heard here tonight – wrote to Fred –
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
16TH:- Wilhelmshaven heavily raided by R.A.F as reprisal for Med. attack – very cold today went to Cadets at night
[page break]
FRI.
[underlined] 17TH:- [/underlined] Very cold temp 23 degrees this morning – stayed in at night – wrote to Edith – stated that 40 aircraft were destroyed in raid on Catania (Sicily) – Greeks capture 1000 prisoners & sink two supply ships.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
18TH:- Played at Kilnsea won 5-0 9 degrees below cold piercing wind & blowing snow – went dancing at night & had a moderate time as I was tired – 20 dive bombers brought down in raid on Malta – (several German planes) snowing tonight
[page break]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
19TH:- Over 1’ of snow on the ground large drifts due to wind – another 19 planes brought down in raid on Malta – went for a walk in the afternoon with Don & Gee & also at night with Ken, Wriggy & Gee later went to Wriggy’s – Edith came home for the weekend – Olaf also was here.
[underlined] MON. [/underlined]
20TH Snow melting – very dirty underfoot – our troops have taken Kassala in the Sudan region Abysinnians revolting under the leadership of our military mission
[page break]
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
[underlined] 21ST:- [/underlined] Rained today & also at night – snow has melted & left a dirty mess – went to see Bing Crosby in ‘If I had my way’ at the Tower with Mary – saw Mary & Bob there – enjoyed the picture very much – our forces start the attack on Tobruk
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
22ND:- Tobruk captured – Australians again lead the way – went to the Newington at night with Don & Gee Sirens sounded 3 times today luckily not at night as I was on fire duty.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
23RD:- Stayed in at night as
[page break]
it was a very dark & wet night – fighters piloted by Poles carry out offensive sweep of Channel ports & German occupied territory – they went unchallenged
[underlined] F.RI. [sic] [/underlined]
24TH. Rang Mary she is staying in tonight & so I also stayed in – Tobruk prisoners excede [sic] 14,000 Hailie Selaissie is back in Abyssinia
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
25TH:- Played an Army team at Pocklington lost 2-1 (had to get washed under a tap – no tea – proper Army do) returned 6.30 & went to Newington at night – had a good time with Mary & the gang
[page break]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
26TH. Went to the Cadets in the morning with Gee & went for a walk with Don, Gee Ken & Wriggy in the afternoon Gee came to our house at night – reported rioting in N. Italy – (Germans take over post office, stations etc) – our forces in Africa attack Lybia, [sic] St Som. Eritrea simultaneously – Greeks still do well
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
27TH:- Met Mary from work – somebody rang her up & asked for a date – believe it has something to do with Don or Spillers – went to see ‘Gentlemen of Venture’ with Gee at the West Park –
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
28TH Met Mary from work – rained & snowed all day – went
[page break]
to Cadets at night & had gunnery instruction with the Lewis gun – no raiding again today
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
29TH Stayed in at night – our forces capture Derna Greeks repulse Italian counter attack – Roland goes back after leave
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
30TH. Having a couple of days leave – stayed in bed in the morning & went to see the ‘Dead End Kids’ & ‘La Conga Nights’ at the Tower with Mary in the afternoon – stayed in at night.
FRI
31ST. Stayed in bed again in the morning & took Rollo for a walk in the afternoon – stayed in at night – our forces pushing on to Benghazi
[page break]
[underlined] FEBRUARY [/underlined]
[underlined] SAT [/underlined
1 Feb:- Played army team at the gun position in Costello playing field lost 6-1 – went to the Newington at night & had a very good time Mary was very affectionate & was introduced to Miss Pettman – our force pushing on to Benghazi & also on the other 3 fronts
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
2nd:- Went to Cadets in the morning for a rehearsal – started to snow & continued for our inspection by C.O from Leconfield & presentation of the band – later dedicated at church stayed in at night.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
3rd:- More snow today – met Mary from work & went to collect her photo’s [sic] from Cecil Studios however
[page break]
they weren’t ready – she was going to the dressmakers tonight – so we didn’t go out together.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
4TH Met Mary from work & called for her photograph at the Cecil studios – went to Cadets at night – bombs dropped in Goddard Ave., at night – 4 killed several injured – our forces pushing on in Africa – Cyrene captured
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
5TH Bombers escorted by layers of fighters attack Channel Invasion Ports both at night & during the day 5 German planes shot down – 7 of ours are missing – arranged to meet Mary at night but she didn’t turn up – went to see ‘Crooks Tour’ at the Central (Basil Radford & Naughton Wayne) – snowing heavily
[page break]
tonight – many warnings today
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
6TH: About 8” of snow has fallen which melts very quickly – rang Mary this morning & she is sorry she didn’t come last night – promises me a photograph – [deleted] received letters [/deleted]
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
[underlined] 7TH [/underlined] Met Mary from work – gave me photo, she can’t come out tonight – stayed in Benghazi captured – armoured division leaves coast road at Derna – covers 130 mls in 30 hrs & surprises Italians leaving Benghazi to the south – received letters from Roland & Fred.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
8TH. Played Balloon Barage won 5-1 very muddy – hurt my ancle [sic] – offer to sign for City – went to the Newington at night – saw Mary to the bus
[page break]
& had to walk home – buzzers go on duty for about 20 mins fire-watching – Genoa shelled by Navy
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
9TH. Went to Cadets in the morning & went for a walk with Mary in the afternoon – rained a bit so went to the Art Gallery & the museum – stayed in at night – our forces pushing on on all fronts in Africa.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
10TH:- Went to a dance at the ‘Sacred Heart’ with Mary at night wasn’t thrilled – a bit common & band was not up to scratch – reported over 300 tons of shells were fired into Genoa during recent raid – HMS Renown, Ark Royal & the cruiser Sheffield took
[page break]
part accompanied by light forces.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
11th Stayed in at night – after training at City – met Mary from work earlier – reported German infiltration in Bulgaria our ambassador leaves – our forces in Africa still push on
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
12th Stayed in again at night & wrote to Marian – Greek air force shoot down 8 Italians & we account for 5
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
13TH. Mary rang up today to say that she might be working late on Friday night – met her leaving work to give her her ticket – Miss Pittman also rang up to ask me to get her tickets for
[page break]
the dance – stayed in at night
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
[underlined] 14TH [/underlined] Went to the dance tonight had a very good time – heavy gunfire all the night however – saw Mary home – walked from Preston Rd. – got home 1.50 –
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
[underlined] 15TH [/underlined] Stayed in bed in the morning & went to watch our boys team in the afternoon – could not play myself as I had a bad ankle – went to the Newington at night & later saw Mary to the bus – Parachute troops land in Italy to destroy an important dam – Italians say all captured after doing slight damage we say very little – Germans still filter into Bulgaria – Roland is home – he also went to Newington
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[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
16TH Went to Cadets in the morning on Church parade & later a walk round the town – went to see Roland in the afternoon & went for a walk afterwards with the gang – went to Ken’s at night – played dominoes & listened to gramophone records – Edith is also home this weekend – have a nasty cold coming on
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
17TH. Have a terrible cold – met Mary from work & went with her & Joyce to Jerome’s to collect some photo’s [sic] – 4 German planes shot down today – Turkey signs a friendship alliance with threatened Bulgaria
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[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
18TH. Firewatching tonight had a quiet night & slept nearly all the time – cold very bad today – our troops still advance in Africa
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
19TH. Cold has improved considerably met Mary from work at night
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
20TH Met Mary from work at lunch time & she has a cold so she wasn’t able to come to the pictures with me at night – arranged to meet Don & Gee but they didn’t turn up so I went to see Robert Montgomery in ‘Busmans Honeymoon’ at the Cecil it was a very good film being taken from the novel by Agatha Christie. – snowed during the night but it soon disappeared
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[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
[underlined] 21ST. [/underlined] Rang Mary this morning but she was away ill – stayed in at night – Germans still mass on Bulgarian border – our troops land at Singapore to counter Japanese threats
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
[underlined] 22ND [/underlined] Went into the town to choose the material for a new suit walked through Hammonds but Mary wasn’t at work – went to the Newington at night but did not enjoy it as Mary wasn’t there – heavy gunfire during the night & bombs dropped in Hawthorne Ave (unexploded). Preston Rd & other districts several people killed
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
23rd Went to Cadets but did not stay long – went for a walk in the afternoon with Don & Gee & went in the town at night with Wriggy &
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Gee – met two girls & danced in a shelter as there was heavy gunfire & plenty of shrapnel flying about – bombs dropped in De-La-Pole Ave about 100 yds from home – a few people killed – mothers cold still bad Alex & I cooked our own dinner
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
[underlined] 24TH [/underlined] A quiet night for a change met Mary from work & she didn’t want to come out as she was going to bed early – very tantalising [deleted] stayed [/deleted] went to the pictures with Ken & Gee to the Carlton to see ‘When the Daltons Rode’ which was a typical western –
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
25TH. Rang Mary in the morning but she won’t come out until Friday more gunfire and enemy activity here tonight
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[underlined] WED [/underlined]
[underlined] 26TH. [/underlined] Stayed in at night – Cologne & invasion ports heavily bombed – our forces capture capital of Italian Somaliland & push on on all African fronts
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
[inserted] 27TH [/inserted] Rang Mary this morning & arranged to go to the Regal tomorrow fire watched tonight & had no Air Raid Warnings – wrote to Fred during the night & had a very pleasant time with the other firewatchers
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
28TH Indo China dispute still unsettled – Japan introduce pressure – about 38 Italian planes shot down in the last two days on the Albanian front – Mary rang this morning to say that my Mum was ill & unable to go to the pictures at night
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[underlined] SAT [/underlined] Played the balloon Barrage at Sutton in a strong wind & drew 1-1 my ankle has not quite recovered – went to the Newington at night & had a good time – Mary was there although she had a slight cold – bombs dropped meanwhile & 6 people were killed in James Reckett’s Ave. – Bulgaria signs pact with Germany & becomes a member of the Axis – troops move into Bulgaria HMS. destroyer sunk –
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
[underlined] 2ND MARCH [/underlined] Went for a walk with Don & Gee in the morning as it was such a nice day & with Don Gee Ken & Wriggy in the afternoon – we walked round the golf course & I fell in the drain with my best clothes on – went for a walk at night with Ken Gee & Wriggy who left us later on & went with Audrey Gladstone –
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I was fire watching tonight but we luckily had a quite [sic] night
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
3RD. Met Mary from work & arranged to go to the Regal tomorrow – Roland is home on 7 days leave – went to see ‘Viva the Frisco Kid’ & ‘The Girl in Room 313’ at the West Park with Ken & Gee.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
4TH Went to the Regal with Mary & Elsie & Roland to see Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland in ‘Strike up the Band’ which we enjoyed very much – went to train after work – a very nice day again
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
5TH Met Roland after work & went to see Mary & Elsie at Hammonds – later met them from work went to the Newington at night with them – Don Madge & Gee were there
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had a good time – we break off diplomatic relations with Bulgaria 2 German bombers shot down in night raid on Cardiff – we land troops on Lofaten Isles & capture a few Germans & several Norwegian fishermen – 9 Italian planes shot down – Abyssinian patriots capture important position, our forces push on in Italian Somaliland
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
6TH. Went to Rolands to tea with Elsie Ken & Gee – listened to gramophone records – over 200 Germans captured in Lofaten raid – several Quislingites & 300 loyal Norwegians brought off – oil factories etc destroyed several enemy ships sunk including armed trawler – we suffer no casualties Short Sunderland attacked over Atlantic by two enemy bombers – one was shot down & the other severely damaged
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[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
7TH met Mary from work & stayed in at night – Italian cruiser sunk in Med.
SAT
[underlined] 8TH [/underlined] Played RAFVR in pouring rain & on a very muddy ground won 6-1 had to go to work to firewatch all the night – Mother went to Grantham this morning to see Edith
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
9TH I stayed in until the night when I went to the Regal with Mary to a concert with Billy Scott Coomber & his Grenadiers & a good dance band on the programme – we enjoyed it very much
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
10TH Met Mary from work – stayed in at night & read
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
11TH Mary rang up to say
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that she wasn’t going to the Newington & so we went to see ‘Tom Browns School Days’ at the Cecil & we enjoyed it – 9 German planes brought down today
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
12TH Met Mary from work & talked over the dance arrangements stayed in at night – gunfire heard here nearly all the night – raiders were over Mersey side – 49 of them were brought down – we carry out the largest raid ever on Germany (Berlin & Bremen visited) – 2 more planes destroyed at dawn & 1 ME shot down whilst trying to intercept our bombers – German destroyer put out of action by torpedo from one of our planes – we lose 5 planes in both day & night raids.
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[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
13TH Went for a walk with Don & Gee at night – a very nice sunny day – heavy raid here at night – (incendiaries dropped in the Avenue but soon put out [deleted] [underlined] FRI [/underlined] [/deleted] 13 German planes brought 141 down during raids – Sissons receives a hit & burns for a while many people killed in Hull
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
14TH Another raid tonight bombs dropped down Bean St. – 6 German planes brought down – met Mary from work Blackburn’s dance at the City Hall has been cancelled stayed in at night.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
15TH Played Mersey St. O.B. & lost 2-1 (after leading 1-0 the greater part of the time) very good game & it was an ideal [deleted] game [/deleted]
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day for football – was very tired afterwards – went to the City Hall dancing at night with Mary, Elsie & Gee – had a moderate time – the band was poor –
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
16TH Went to the Cadets in the morning with Gee & went for a walk nearly to Anlaby in the afternoon with the gang – as it was a very nice day – went to the Regal at night with Mary Elsie & Gee to a concert with Issy Bonn & a broadcasting dance band did not enjoy it as much as last week – saw Mary home – Edith came home yesterday for the weekend.
[underlined] MON [/underlined] [inserted] 17TH [/inserted] Firewatched at work tonight & had a short warning at 5.15 AM Berbera retaken in Br Somaliland
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& we push on on all fronts Jugoslavia [sic] is ready to fight if invaded.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
18TH. A very heavy raid here tonight lasting from 9 o’clock until 4.0 o’clock in the morning – gunfire all the time & Jerry over continuously – bombs dropped on Anlaby Rd, Beverley Rd & many more districts – I stayed in at night – rang Mary in the morning – we lost 25 ships approx 98,000 tons last week
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
19TH Went to the Stellag Boxing Club & did a little training – very nice day met Mary from work – London receives a very heavy raid
THUR
20TH Went to see Tommy Trinder – Jack Hulbert
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[underlined] MARCH [/underlined]
in ‘Sailors Three’ at the Central with Don & Gee – a very funny picture – Lorient sub. base raided by R.A.F
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
21ST. Met Mary from work at night & stayed in Lorient sub. base again raided along with other objectives – the Bremen has been severely damaged by either the RAF or sabotage
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
22ND. Played the Queens Reg & lost 4-2 – went to the Cecil with Mary at night to see Ronald Colman & Ginger Rogers in ‘Lucky Partners’ had a good time & went right home with Mary afterwards walked home arrived about 11.30
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[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
23RD. Stayed in bed in the morning & went for a walk in the afternoon with the gang – arranged to meet Mary at night but she didn’t turn up so took a Preston Rd bus & walked down Hedon Rd into the town – YugoSlavia [sic] still resist attempts by Germany to make them sign a pact
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
24TH Met Mary from work – stayed in at night & wrote to Edith & Roland –
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
25TH Stayed in again at night – rained very hard – Yugo-Slavia signs pact with Nazi Russia & Turkey agree to remain neutral if one or the other is attacked
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
26TH Fire-watched at work all the night & luckily had nothing to do – growing unrest
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[underlined] MARCH [/underlined]
in Yugo-Slavia
[underlined] 27TH [/underlined]
[underlined] THUR [/underlined] Stayed in at night – riots in Yugo-Slavia – Prince Paul the Regent flees & King Peter takes over – ministers who signed pact are imprisoned – Keren the well defended strategic town in Abys. captured – raid by German dive bombers on Malta repulsed with heavy losses to the enemy
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
28TH Went to the Cecil at night with Mary to see ‘Hired Wife’ – Dunkirk & other Channel Ports bombed Roland is home
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
29TH Played the Hampshires with a short team – a very nice day & enjoyed the match very much lost 7-0 – went to the Regal at night with Mary – Elsie & Roland
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[underlined] MARCH [/underlined]
to see ‘Tin Pan Alley’ (Alice Faye) at the Regal – enjoyed it very much – it had such tunes in as ‘Katie’ You say the Cutest Things Baby’ ‘On Moonlight Bay’ [symbol] A.R.W & had to leave Mary after the show as I was fire-watching [inserted] (Honeysuckle Rose) [/inserted]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
[underlined] 30TH [/underlined] Went to the Cadets in the morning & did a little Morse – a very nice day but fairly cold out of the sun – went for a walk with the gang in the afternoon Roland went back – stayed in at night.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
31ST Met Mary from work new boy starts at work – blitz here tonight from 8.0 – 11.30 heavy gunfire & many bombs dropped Shell Mex Office Infirmary ARP [indecipherable word]
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in Ferensway down – many places in town (Prospect St) severely damaged bombs in Beverley Rd, Hessle, Liverpool St & many other places – 4 Cruisers 3 Destroyers of the Italians sunk in night Med. action off Cape Palermo – one of our Cruisers acts as decoy when Italian force suspected & allows ‘Warspite’ ‘Formidable’ & other ships to make contact & shatter the ‘Wops’ with their broadsides – F.A.A does well – Italian warship 35000 tons reported torpedoed & unlikely to reach port – 2 of our aircraft lost are the only casualties – 2 German dive bombers shot down – stayed in at night.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
[underlined] 1st APRIL [/underlined] German destroyer sunk by our bombers – Bremen raided – Asmara (capital of
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Eritrea) captured – new type of bomb used on Emden last night smaller but has great destructive force – shipping losses are down this week (10 Br 6 Allied & 1 Neutral lost) 6 Germans brought down during today.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
2ND Rang Mary but she isn’t going dancing tonight – went to the Newington & had a good time an Italian destroyer sunk –
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
3RD 2 more Italian destroyers sunk by our aircraft in the Red Sea – went to the Tower at night with Mary to see Brian Aherne in ‘The Lady in Question’ enjoyed it French family – juror adopts acquitted woman & takes her home – domestic love affairs & squabbles – humorous – half way home with Mary when
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buzzers go – made me leave her & walked home – she promised to go on Sat – gunfire just before I reach home – incendiaries dropped.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
4TH Benghazi again evacuated by our troops as Italo-German force move – Brest with Gneisenau & Scharnhorst raiders in the docks raided by R.A.F – firewatched at work at night warnings & gunfire 9.15-10.0 & 1.0-2.40 – rang Mary this morning arranging to go out with her on Sunday with Edna & possible Wriggy.
[underlined] SAT. [/underlined]
5TH Played an Army team & lost 4-2 went to the Newington at night & had a good time – saw Mary home missed the bus & had to walk home arrived 11.40 – Addis Ababa taken
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
6TH Stayed in bed in the morning went for a walk to
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[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
the golf course in the afternoon with the gang – went with Mary to the Regal to see the concert (Don Carlos – Alf Collins & Manchester Hip band etc) it was very good – met Mary & Bob inside – saw Don & Ken who later went with Joyce & Audrey who were also there – Germany declares war on Yugoslavia & Greece Russia signs no aggression pact with the former –
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
7TH German destroyer torpedoed & sunk by Coastal Command aircraft – Brest & other ports bombed – bombs dropped here at night (Spring Bank Kirklands Rd) – met Mary from work – 5 German planes brought down in widespread raids
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
8TH Firewatched at home & had long warnings 10.0
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[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
2.0 & 2.15-4.00 went to bed at 1.30 – Kiel raided & over 30000 incendiaries dropped – warehouses gutted & destroyed in dock area – 1 sq mile of fire in centre of city – A.A defence gradually worn down & smoke envelopes town – largest raid ever – Yugo-Slavs retreat from Greek-Bulgarian border & Germans are therefore on the Greeks left flank – Slavs take Fiume & other towns in Albania
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
[inserted] [underlined] (9TH) [/underlined] [/inserted] Stayed in at night many more German planes brought down during raids on this country – Coventry & Birmingham raided – Berlin heavily raided – Germans take Salonica Yugo-Slavs advance into Albania
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
10TH Went with Don & Gee to the Criterion to see ‘Sky Murder’ fantastic & did not
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enjoy it – more German planes brought down in raids on this country.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
11TH. Went for a walk with Don & Ken in the morning & went on the Pier with Ken in the afternoon – saw the two Mary’s – met Edith at the station – went with Alex Ken & Gee to the Langham to see ‘Charlie Chan on a Murder Cruise’ & enjoyed it very much
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
12TH. Went to Leconfield with the Cadets to play Rugby won 19-13 – I scored a try & had a good time – went to the Newington at night & had a good time although it was crowded – Edith & Peggy were there introduced them to Mary – 43 German planes have been brought down in recent
[page break]
moonlight raids
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
13TH Met Mary in the town on Sunday afternoon – went for a little walk but it started to rain so we went home – firewatched at work at night & had a clear night.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
14TH Stayed in bed in the morning & was going rowing in the afternoon but it rained all day up to tea time so we tried to get in the pictures but were unlucky – Don Gee & Joyce went dancing & I went to Ken’s – went to the Newington at night but Mary wasn’t there – Germans advancing in Lybia [sic]
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
15TH 27 German planes & 15 tanks 300 killed or wounded – destroyed in attack on Tobruk – went to work but had very little to do – went
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home at 3.30 – saw Mary in the town at lunch time – went to see ‘North West Mounted Police’ at the Cecil by myself as Mary was staying in to wash her hair (a fairly good picture with Gary Cooper Cary Grant & Preston Foster) – Air raid lasting from 9.30 until 5-0 in the morning – bombs dropped
[underlined] 16TH [/underlined]
WED. Rang Mary in the morning but she is staying in – stayed in & cleaned my bike – Don & Gee go to the Newington – Alex off work with cold – nice day – Yugo-Slavs have no unified command – are having to use guerrilla tactics – 165 German planes brought down by Y-S over Belgrade – bombers unescorted over 300 planes destroyed by their air force in 2 days (consists of Hurricanes
[page break]
[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
& other British planes) our forces hold German thrusts – heavy casualties inflicted on enemy on raid on Tobruk
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
[underlined] 17TH [/underlined] Went to see ‘I Want a Divorce’ with Mary to the Cecil & thought it fairly flat – saw Mary home & walked home – London has worst raid yet – Germans attacking strongly in Greece – our forces retreating to form a straighter front –
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
18TH Berlin heavily bombed last night our new bombs & bombers used – stayed in at night
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
19TH Played Boulevard E.I & lost 3-2 went to the Newington at night & had a good time – saw Mary into the town – our forces at Tobruk repulse German attack – a few tanks destroyed & casualties
[page break]
inflicted – Roland is home on leave –
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
20TH Went for a walk with the gang in the morning when was warm & sunny – went for a cycle ride with Don Ken Gee & Wriggy left them & went by myself to Melton – gathered some wild violets went for a walk by myself at night up Hedon Rd, Preston Rd. – as Mary was unable to come out – Germans attacking strongly in Greece & losing many men – Anzacs in rear guard action cut them to pieces 15 German planes shot down in battle over Athens – 7 of ours (3 pilots safe.) more shot down or destroyed in Lybia [sic]
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
21ST Stayed in at night – Mary’s brother was married
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[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
at our church this afternoon – supply ship torpedoed by H.M.S. Tetrarch (Sub) on way to Lybia [sic]
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
22ND. Fire-watched at work at night & had a quiet night wrote to Edith – met Mary from work – our forces in Greece take up defence line from Larissa stretching west to the opp. coast – Tripoli bombarded by the Navy & severe damage inflicted on port installations power station & many ships sunk in the harbour – F.AA planes shoot 4 out of 5 enemy transport planes down
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
23RD Went to the Tower at night with Mary to see Judy Canova in ‘Scatterbrain’ & Jene [sic] Autry in ‘Gaucho Serenade – both were very good flics
[page break]
and we laughed very much over the first – Greek Army in Epinea area of Albania has to surrender being cut off – King of Greece & Gov. go to Crete –
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
24TH Had the afternoon off went to the East Park with Mary Elsie, Joyce & Gee & had a good time – skipped, played a ball game went on the swings – went to the Langham at night with Gee to see ‘The Saint Strikes Back’ and enjoyed it very much.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
25TH Stayed in at night, - bombs dropped here at night
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
26TH Went into the town in the afternoon with Don Wriggy & Gee went in Lyons & had ice cream & coffee & biscuits – later went with Wriggy to get a sports coat & Ken bought some trousers – Alex
[page break]
went to Grantham to see Edith, who rang me up earlier in the morning went to the Newington & had a good time – sirens go as we go into town Athens reported occupied by the Germans
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
27TH Went to Cadets in the morning – went for a walk in the afternoon with Mary, Elsie, Joyce Don & Gee – took a bus to Hessle – walked along the foreshore – across fields to Ferriby & took a bus home – met at night & all went to the Regal to see ’21 Days’ which was not very exciting – had a walk round the town after & then I saw Mary home – missed the last bus & had to walk home – arrived 11.30.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
28TH Cycled to Melton at night & found some primroses
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our troops are evacuated from Greece – Dessie taken along with 2,000 prisoners & material
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
29TH Went to see ‘Argentina Nights’ with Mary Joyce & Gee & enjoyed it (Ritz Bros & the Andrew Sisters starring) – saw Mary home & missed the last bus & had to walk home arrived 11.20
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
30TH Stated that at least 48,000 troops out of 60000 have been safely evacuated from Greece – heavy material left behind Greeks told us to evacuate to avoid needless bloodshed – which was very heroic of them – many Germans have been killed – stayed in at night – went to bed early – Plymouth raided last night – 5 planes shot down by A.A &
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[underlined] MAY [/underlined]
3 by fighters –
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
1 MAY Firewatched at work at night & had a quiet night – have a bad cold – 1 German plane shot down at night – raid on Merseyside –
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
2 MAY Rang Mary but she is going to Edna’s at night – stayed in as cold is a nuisance – evacuation of Greece completed – about 43,000 men escape – 500 lost at sea – Iraquian troops open fire on our men who have entered Iraq under our treaty – 4 German planes shot down in raid on Merseyside at night
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
3 MAY Played for Cadets against Lee. at Rugby lost 26-0 had a good time – went to the Newington at night but only had a fair time – enemy aircraft
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over tonight – dropped a couple of mines on Hedon Rd. – S.W also raided – Merseyside – 14 enemy planes brought down by fighters & 2 by A.A our forces attack Brest & other objectives
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
4TH Went to Cadets in the morning – very warm day – went for a walk round Cottingham in the afternoon with Mary & along Anlaby Rd & Holderness Rd. at night – had a good time – German planes pass over tonight heavy A.A fire – our bombers attack Iraqui troops & cause shelling of RAF aerodrome to cease – fighting continues – led by fanatic who has ceased [sic] power from loyal forces
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
5TH Rang Mary this morning & had a row somebody had been telling her a pack of lies about Sunday – stayed in at
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[underlined] MAY ]/underlined]
night & wrote to Fred 8 German planes brought down during last night & this morning – heavy gun fire here tonight – German Cruisers at Brest bombed 4 hit
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
6TH. Stayed in at night & wrote to Roland – received a letter this morning from Edith – rang Mary but she is staying in & believe that our going out together is all washed up 9 German aircraft brought down last night
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
7TH Blitz here tonight Hammond Thorntons & nearly all large buildings hit in the city – stayed in at night – 24 enemy planes brought down during night
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[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
8TH Another blitz at night & more buildings hit – including Ranks, Reckitts & nearly all the dock area – office damaged went to see Crazy Gang in ‘Gasbags’ at the Cecil – which was later destroyed by bombs 15 enemy aircraft brought down
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
9TH We carry out heaviest raid on Germany yet (Hamburg Emden & [deleted] Ger [/deleted] Berlin as a subsidary [sic] target – went for a cycle ride to Preston Rd. at night & saw 1000’s of refugees leaving the city later went to Wriggys with the gang
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
10TH 33 German planes brought down in heavy raid (on London) by our night fighters (2 by A.A)
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[underlined] MAY [/underlined]
Played tennis in the afternoon with Don & Ken – fire watched at work at night – still blowing buildings up in the town
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
11TH Went for a walk in the afternoon with the gang – took a bus to Cottingham – cut across fields & walked to Willerby – caught bus home – went for a walk by myself at night – gunfire again tonight here
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
12TH Went to see John Garfield & Pat O Brien [sic] in ‘Flowing Gold’ at the Tower & enjoyed it very much
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
13TH Rudolph Hess (Hitler’s Deputy) has landed in Scotland by aeroplane & unaccompanied – stayed in at night – Roland is home on leave
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[underlined] MAY [/underlined]
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
14TH Mary rang up this morning & she was going back to Belton in the afternoon so that I met her in the town & saw her off – went to ‘Fighter Command’ at the Regal with Don & Gee – was not impressed
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
15TH Stayed in at night & wrote to Mary – German forces allowed passage in & through Syria by Vichy Gov. – 7 German fighters brought down today – 2 of ours losts [sic] – 1 pilot safe.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
16TH Wrote to Edith today stayed in at night later went for a walk with Ken & Gee
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
17TH Played tennis at the Park with Ken & Don – went to St Johns to a dance at night.
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with Gee – did not enjoy it (J.F’s band – but a wrotten [sic] floor & rotten crowd) left early went for a walk went to firewatch at work but couldn’t get in – so went home – our troops advance in Gyrenaica [sic] take German prisoners & destroy material – reported surrender of Duke of Aosta from last defended position – terms asked for.
SUN
18TH A very warm day – went to Cadets in the morning – took a bus to Willerby in the afternoon with Wriggy Ken Don & Gee had a nice time – went to church at night – later met Ken Don & Gee coming from pictures – 22 enemy aircraft shot down in Med area since Sat. ([deleted] 1 or 2 [/deleted] Germans over Iraq) etc.
[page break]
[underlined] MAY [/underlined]
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
19TH. Went for a walk with the dog at night – Duke of Aosta surrenders & campaign therefore nearly over – our forces capture important position in Iraq – 5 German fighters brought down without loss many destroyed on ground in Syria
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
20TH Parachute troops land in Crete but are all killed or rounded up – went to Cadets at night – about 18,000 Italians have surrendered
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
21ST. Went for a short walk at night with Ken & Gee & wrote to Mary – [deleted] saw [/deleted] received a letter from her this morning – Germans try to land sea forces on Crete but convoy intercepted – 2 transports & 1 destroyer sunk – more parachutists land & battle continues – more successes round Tobruk
[page break]
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
22ND Went to a Red Cross dance at the Wenlock Barracks with the gang – very crowded & very warm visited the bar – went to Cadets earlier but lessons were too late – we carry out daylight raids on Germany & northern France & destroy Power plant etc. 2 bombers & 6 fighters lost – 5 German fighters shot down
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
23RD Went for a little walk at night – battle in Crete still severe
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
24TH Played tennis with Ken, Don & Wriggy in the afternoon started to rain – went to the Regal at night with Gee to see ‘Arizona’ enjoyed it. – HM.S Hood sunk near Greenland in battle against Nazi cruiser Bismarck which was
[page break]
damaged – but escaped – lucky shot in magazine blew ship up & very few men were saved.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
25TH Went to Cadets in the morning & drilled Cadets for a few minutes – had arms drill & navigation from Capt Beare – played records & darts in Wriggy’s shed in the afternoon – rained at night so stayed in – H.M.S Hood sunk by lucky shot in mag by the Bismarck – blew up & very few saved – B. pursued & reported damaged by torpedoes – wrote to Mary
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
26TH Stayed in at night & wrote to Fred – still after Bismarck heavy fighting in Crete – Germans break through in one area & man drowned in attempts to land by
[page break]
[underlined] MAY [/underlined]
sea
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
[inserted] 27TH [/inserted] Bismarck has been sunk by torpedoes – two cruisers & 5 destroyers sunk during naval fights against Nazis bombers off Crete German patrols reach Egypt in recent action in Libya – went to Cadets at night & learnt morse have about 5 words a min.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
28TH Went for a walk with Wriggy, Ken & Gee – later played darts in W’s shed – wrote to Alex our forces withdraw in Crete & also from Hell fire pass in Libia [sic] – A.R.W from 1.15 – 5.0 at night & was firewatching – gunfire & bombs heard went to bed at 3.15.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
(29TH) Went to navigation lecture at Cadets & later went to Wriggys H.M.S York which was under repair
[page break]
in Suda Bay has been sunk only 3 survivors from the Hood we retreat in Crete in face of reinforced German troops
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
30TH Went to Wriggy’s at night – our forces push on in Iraq & Abysinia [sic] – but retreat in Crete – 100 survivors from the Bismarck landed (2000 on board) – but a destroyer was sunk by aircraft after the battle
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
31ST A very nice day today – played tennis at the Park with D. W & K went to see Fred at night (home for weekend) met Alan his friend & had a walk round the town.
SUN
[underlined] 1ST [/underlined] Up early & went to Sewerby with D.W.K & Gee – went for a walk to Flamborough in the afternoon & played football – called
[page break]
at the Ship Inn on the way & went in café there – went into Brid at night to the amusements – played cards until 3.30 (I went to bed early) – Crete evacuated 15,000 taken off – clothes rationed
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
2ND Went into Brid in the morning & had dinner at the Regal – went for a walk round the shops in the afternoon bought Mary a [deleted] brace [/deleted] necklace – had tea in a café in Sewerby – arrived home 8.0.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
3RD Bombs dropped here early this morning (after OK signal) did not hear them awok [sic] 8.45 too late to go to work – so stayed at home – wrote to Mary Kiel Canal bombed & shipping in daylight raid yesterday & the Ruhr & Berlin visited at night.
[page break]
[underlined] JUNE [/underlined]
WED
4TH Played tennis with Ken & Wriggy at the Park met 2 nice girls & arranged to play them on Friday – our forces in Iraq occupy Mosul important oil town
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
5TH Went to Nav. lecture at Cadets – we carry daylight raids on Germany – 5 bombers destroyed in last nights fairly intensive raids
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
6TH 2 supply ships & 1 armed trawler connected with the Bismarck were sunk during the action – played tennis with Wriggy at the Park – Don & Gee were also there
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
7TH Went to see the Marx Bros in ‘The M.B. – Go West’ & also the Farmers Daughter, both were very good films, with Don Louis Ken & Roland
[page break]
[underlined] JUNE [/underlined]
at the Regal – stayed in at night.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
8TH Our troops march into Syria – went to Cadets in the morning a very warm sunny day – went for a walk in the afternoon & at night with Wriggy Ken & Gee
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
9TH Stayed in at night – 2 more Bismarck supply ships sunk – our forces in Syria push on – very slight opposition – Derna & Benghazi bombed 15 aircraft destroyed on the ground & explosions reported at various spots.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
10TH Went to Cadets at night for Morse instruction
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
11TH Went to see ‘The Mark of Zoro’ at the Dorchester with Ken, Wriggy & Gee (Tyrone Power, Basil Rathbone & Linda Darnell) enjoyed it very much – had a letter from Mary this morning
[page break]
[underlined] JUNE [/underlined]
our forces push on in Syria
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
12TH Went to Nav. lecture at Cadets – our forces carry out largest raid ever on Ruhr area – 6 aircraft lost. – our forces push on in Syria
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
13TH Stayed in – mended a puncture & cleaned by bike – a German pocket battleship torpedoed by Beaufort off Norway – retire at reduced speed with escort.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
14TH Played the School at cricket (won 124 for 4 – 113) scored 4 took 2 wickets for 14. – went for a walk at night with Gee – 14 enemy aircraft shot down on all fronts – Ruhr district again heavily raided
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
15TH Stayed in bed in the morning & went for a walk in the afternoon & at night when I met Edith at the station
[page break]
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
16TH Played for OH’s against Hull lost 78 to 79 for 7. (scored 2 – caught 1) very warm & sunny today
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
17TH RAF daylight raid on Cologne 11 German fighters shot down & night raid on Ruhr – more enemy shipping sunk by Coastal Command – 14 planes shot down in Med. area – navy helps land forces in Syria – were [sic] there is heavy fighting – we launch new attack in Lybia [sic] – by our armoured divisions – fire watching at home tonight & had to get up – went to Morse at night
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
18TH We have invented a new device – Radio Location for detection of enemy aircraft etc – our troops are now a few miles from Damascus – our forces in Lybia [sic] retire to advance positions & capture many prisoners & destroy enemy tanks etc
[page break]
[underlined] JUNE [/underlined]
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
19TH Went to Nav. lecture at Cadets at night – more daylight raids by our fighters & bombers in daylight – many enemy fighters destroyed Turkey signs pact with Germany but it must in no way interfer [sic] with English Agreements
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
20TH Went to Cadets sports field to practise running.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
21ST Went to Lec. to run & did very well in the Relay race after being cut off – drew with winner of the 100 yards sprint – had to hitch hike home – picked up by Wing Commander - & taken into Beverley caught another car into Hull – wrote to Mary at night – our bombers supported by later fighters carry out daylight sweep – 28 German fighters shot down 5 of ours lost
[page break]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
22ND Went to Cadets in the morning & have transfered [sic] to Grammar School flight – very hot & sunny – played cricket for the officers in the afternoon & lost – played in my trousers – went for a walk with Wriggy & Ken at night into the town – another R.AF. daylight sweep & 30 Germans brought down to 2 of ours (1 Pilot safe) Germany declares war on Russia
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
23RD. Went to Nav lecture at Cadets – very little to report on Russian front – we advance in Syria another R.AF daylight sweep – less opposition encountered 7 planes shot down – 2 of ours lost
[underlined] TUES [/underlined] Went to Morse lecture at Cadets later went to Wriggy’s – Russians inflict losses on Germans both in tanks & men
[page break]
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
25TH Went for a walk with Don Ken, Tony Gowland & Gee – Russia hold Germans & destroy about 200 aeroplanes on the ground also 100 shot down – Russians lose about 300 nearly all on the ground.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
26TH Went to Nav lecture at Cadets – Alex came home this dinner time – another daylight sweep by RAF 9-3 in our favour.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
27TH Went to see ‘Argentine Night’ at the Regal (Don Ameche & Betty Grable) & enjoyed it also the supporting film ‘Private Detective’ – Russians hold Germans & inflict heavy losses – retreat to prepared positions in the North. – Finland is going to fight Russia – Sweden allowing German troops through her territory
[page break]
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
28TH Received a letter from Mary – went to C.C Assoc. meeting at Doncaster with Misses Clayton, Sandham & Geoff – had a moderate time – walked round Doncaster afterwards – more sweeps & bombing raids by RAF.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
29TH Stayed in bed in the morning & sunbathed in the afternoon went to see Ronald Colman in ’Under Two Flags’ at the Carlton with Wriggy later went for a walk
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
30TH Played for O.H’s against Town Clerks lost 128-61 (scored 2 L.B.W. – stumped) Germans push on – Russians claim to be holding a line from Sweden to the Black Sea
[underlined] TUES:- [/underlined]
1ST Went to Morse at night
[page break]
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
2ND R.A.F attack German occupied aerodrome in daylight bomb buildings & dispersed aircraft 7 fighters & 2 bombers lost – 18 enemies shot down – went for a walk to Pickering Park with Gee & Ken at night
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
3RD Went to a Nav. lecture at Cadets stiff fighting on Russo-German front – our forces push on in Syria more daylight raids on Germany
[underlined] FRI. [/underlined]
4TH Essen Bremen bombed in daylight – 7 bombers lost – daylight sweep 16 enemy fighters shot down & 4 of ours lost – played tennis with Ken at night – wrote to Mary yesterday
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
5TH Played cricket for Cadets – went to a dance at night with Edith to Hessle also Sandy
[page break]
Nicky, Les & Clarie met Dick Burrell who was on leave – had to walk home
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
6TH Church parade this morning – boxed & trained in the afternoon at St Mary’s B.C – went for a walk later at night – still very warm –
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
7TH Played R.AMC lost 176 for 4 – 60 (scored 10 not out) – fighting breaks out between Ecuador & Peru Western Germany heavily attacked by RAF both during day & night – Russian peasants carry out Stalin’s order to destroy everything & Russians counter attack & take offensive – 2 German destroyers reported sunk by them in Baltic – our Med Subs. Sink Italian Cruiser – Indian forces push on in Syria – met Elsie as I was leaving work she is on holiday
[page break]
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
8TH Went to Morse lecture Russians are holding the Germans – R.A.F carry out extensive operations both by day & night
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
9TH Went to Wriggy’s at night Russians push German-Rumanian troops back
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
10TH Went to Cadets but there was no lecture – armistice in Syria asked for by Gen Denty – terms given – 16 Germans shot down in day light sweep we lose 9 – (2 Pilots safe) fairly heavy raid here tonight – Russians gain more victories
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
11TH Went to P.T instruction at the Training College – very good Russians obtain another victory over 3000 Germans killed & 2000 captured Naples bombed
[page break]
[underlined] JULY [/underlined]
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
12TH Wrote to Mary in the afternoon went to the pictures at night with Ken & Wriggy to see Bing Crosby in ‘Rhythmn [sic] on the River’ very warm – German thrust halted – fighting has stopped in Syria –
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
13TH Thunderstorm in the morning stayed in bed – went for a walk to the Pier in the afternoon very warm & went with Wriggy & Ken at night for a walk round Anlaby – we sign pact with Russia
MON
14TH Played Driffield lost – out first ball – bombs dropped here at night German attack has not started again more bombing raids by R.A.F
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
15TH Went to Cadets at night to Morse lecture – am improving – rained a lot today
[page break]
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
16TH Went to the Regal with Ken & Gee to see Will Hay & Claude Hulbert in ‘Ghost at St Mich Germans still held on Russian front
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
17TH A heavy raid here at night fires started Ricketts General Post Office, Smith & Stephens & Spillers damaged by fire – daylight raid on Rotterdam by Blenheims – 22 ships (145,000 tons) sunk in harbour & another 5 outside we lose 4 planes – Russians still do well – went to Nav. class at night
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
18TH Went to P.T at night had a good time later played crocquet [sic] at Wriggy’s – heavy fighting on Russian front heavy losses on both sides – battle of 700 tanks Russians do well
[page break]
SAT
19TH Went boxing at Leeds & lost on points – had a good time – went in Mr Smith’s car with his wife & [underlined] daughter [/underlined] – came back with Mr Johnson – boxed at Headingly football ground – Hull won championship
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
20TH Wrote to Mary – stayed in bed in the morning & stayed in in the afternoon & went for a walk with Wriggy at night met Irene & Ada Irene works with Don at Spillers
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
21ST. Played Sutton lost – I did well scored 13 & caught one – Moscow bombed at night – little damage done 22 Germans brought down by AA & night fighters – heavy fighting on Russian front had a letter from Mary.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
22ND Went to see Gene Autrey in ‘Melody Range’ at the Tower
[page break]
with Ken & Gee enjoyed it – saw Mary & Peggy when we were walking home –
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
23RD Went for a walk to Pickering Park with Ken & Gee
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
24TH Went to Nav lecture at night played croquet at Wriggy’s afternoon
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
25TH Daylight attacks on German battleships (Greisenau Scharnhorst) during day & night – by our big bombers Boeing Fortresses, Halifax, Stirling – Boeings operate at fantastic heights & score hits on battleship with armour piercing bombs – during operations since Wed. we lose 15 bombers & 7 fighters (shoot down 33 enemy fighters) H.M.S Fearless destroyer sunk in Med. during attack on convoy which get through unscathed – Russians destroy whole German division
[page break]
[underlined] JULY [/underlined]
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
26TH. Stayed in as it rained all the afternoon & night – read a book ‘Farthing Hall’ by Hugh Walpole E boats tried to raid harbour at Malta all sunk by shore batteries & our aircraft shoot down 3 planes which tried to cover their retreat
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
27TH Went to Cadets in the morning & also in the afternoon to a proficiency exam in morse, drill & P.T. – went to the New Theatre at night with Gee & Ken to see the Lanc Fusiliers Dance Orchestra enjoyed both the military & dance band
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
28TH Stayed in at night & swotted some navigation & maths
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
29TH Stayed in at night poured with rain all the day – later went to Wriggy’s & played
[page break]
cards at Wriggys – our planes carry out daylight sweep on Sicily 34 enemy planes destroyed – none of ours lost – Russians still holding the front & report 106 German planes shot down to 36 of their own.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
30TH Went to Cadets at night but there was no Exam – so I went to see the lads later at night – Roland & Elsie came up later – Roland is on 48 hrs leave
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
31ST Went to a dance at the Wenlock Barracks at night had a moderate time – saw Joan home afterwards – small fair worked at Marcus’s lived top of St Georges Rd., - Don Madge & Gee were also there
[underlined] 1ST AUG [/underlined]
FRI. Went to a lecture on baseball RAF Proficiency Exam was on but
[page break]
AUGUST
did not take it – rained heavily today
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
2ND Went dancing at Hessle with Gee met Dickie Burrell & his girl had a good time met Judy Westoby & also Daphne Wells – walked home – R.A.F carry out heaviest bombing raid ever on Berlin – a flying fortress on reconnaissance bombs Wilhelmshaven from prodigous [sic] height unheard & unseen –
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
3RD Stayed in bed in the morning went for a walk with Ken Gee & Wriggy in the afternoon & to the pictures at night to see ‘Stagecoach’ at the Carlton – gunfire here at night – Russians destroy German 131 division which was rushed up to reinforce attack around Smolensk but was cut to pieces before it could form up to attack
[page break]
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
[underlined] 4TH [/underlined] [deleted] Went [/deleted] Cycled to Withernsea with Ken & Gee had a good time but it rained a lot so after having dinner on the sands we went to the pictures to see James Stewart in ‘No Time for Comedy’
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
5TH Went for a walk with Ken at night – our bombers carry out night raid on Hamburg etc in strong wind – heavy damage & extensive fires reported.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
6TH Japan threatens Thai after occupation of Indo China is nearly complete – stayed in at night & wrote to Fred – had a letter from Roland.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
7TH [deleted] Went for a walk at night with Ken [/deleted] – Gee has gone to Brid for the day – went
[page break]
[deleted] [underlined] FRI [/underlined] [/deleted]
8TH Went to the West Park at night to see ‘Old Bill & Son’
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
8TH Went to the dentist – went to see Wriggy later who is going to Scarborough tomorrow with Ken – Russians claim heavy German losses during the 7 weeks fighting
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
9TH Russians bombed Berlin the other night – Germans reported earlier, raid by RAF but we refute claim – went into the town with Edith in the afternoon to choose Alex’s present went to Hessle at night with Gee – had a moderate time Elsie was there – had to walk home in the pouring rain
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
10TH Stayed in bed in the morning went for a walk with Gee in the afternoon & to see George Formby in ‘No Limit’ at the Criterion at night
[page break]
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
11TH Went for a walk in the morning read in the Park afternoon – at night played Cricket did not bad wrotten [sic] game – R.A.F raid Cologne & Ruhr all return Russians again at Beken – heavy fighting all along the front
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
12TH Wrote to Roland – had a letter from Mary asking me to go over for the weekend – wrote accepting – morning walked into the town & also in the afternoon – went to see ‘The Saints Vacation’ at the West Park with Gee – bombers including flying fortresses at great height & roof top flying Blenheims escorted by fighters raid Western Germany in daylight hits on power plants. [inserted] Ediths [/inserted] Dennis has come for the weekend
[page break]
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
13TH Alex came home at night – is going abroad – went to the Priory with Gee to see ‘Angels with Wings’ met Mary there & we saw her home afterwards – went for a walk in the afternoon in between rain showers
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
14TH Went to Mrs Johnson’s in the morning with Alex – went for a walk with Gee in the afternoon & at night – Churchill has met Roosevelt in the Atlantic & peace aims formed
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
15TH A letter from Fred & postcard from Mary telling me about Sat. arrangements – went to the West Park at night to see Conrad Veidt in ‘The Spy in Black’ – enjoyed it very much Alex had a party at night & Sheila Wilf & his girl & Ron Crew were there
SAT
16TH Caught the 9.20 train with Edith & Alex – I went to Doncaster
[page break]
[underlined] AUG [/underlined]
Edith to Sheffield & Alex to Liverpool on his way to Canada missed the bus at Doncaster but caught one to Haxey & then on to Belton – met Mary who looked very nice – is getting fatter – had dinner & then went to Scunthorpe – looked round the shops & then went to the pictures to see ‘Seven Sinners’ Marlene Dietrich stayed in at night & talked – Mr Boatyman came over for the weekend
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
17TH Stayed in in the morning started to walk along the river but Mary wanted to go back – caught the 4.40 bus from Belton – called to see Mr & Mrs Axe – Mr Boatyman came back with me – air raid at night several people killed including Don Birkbeck’s father & sister Brenda
[page break]
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
18TH Went to the West Park with Ken & Gee to see ‘ A Night at Earl Carrolls’ enjoyed the singing we carry out heavy raids on Germany Germans advance in Ukraine Nickolieu captured (port on Black Sea) but Odessa further East is holding out.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
19TH Went to the dentists at night & stayed in later – R.AF carry out daylight sweeps & night offensive – wrote to Mary at night
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
20TH Stayed in at night & later went for a walk to Springhead I register on Sept 6th – Russians claim that 1 1/2 million Germans have been killed in the fighting up to now
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
21ST Went to the West Park at night to see ‘The Penalty’ a gangster film which I enjoyed
[page break]
[underlined] AUG [/underlined]
[inserted] FRI [/inserted] [underlined] 22ND [/underlined] Went to PT. at night & practised forward rolls, somersault etc. – ARW at night went to see the lads who were on duty – wrote for permission to volunteer.
[underlined] 23RD [/underlined]
SAT Nasty day raining – went to Wriggys in the afternoon & to the Danse de Laxe at night with Gee but did not enjoy it very much as the people were fairly common – although the band was good & also the dance floor.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
24TH Went to Cadets in the morning but did not stay long a nice warm sunny day & a nice change – went for a walk by myself in the afternoon as the lads stayed in – went to the pictures with Wriggy Ken & Gee to see David Niven, Richard Green in ‘Four Men & a Prayer’ at the Carlton
[page break]
I enjoyed it very much it being one of the best I have seen recently Russians have inflicted heavy losses on Germans in counter attacks.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
25TH Went to the dentists at night later went to a Nav. lecture at Cadets 2 AR.W’s during day believed bombs dropped at Hornsea – British & Russian forces cross frontier into Iran – slight resistance offered to our forces.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
26TH Went to Cadets at night later went for a walk with the gang & raided Gee’s orchard at night – I have permission from the Dept. to join up.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
27TH Again went to Cadets at night for reference – went for a walk by myself.
[page break]
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
28TH Volunteered for R.A.F. today – went to the Priory at night to see ‘Freedom Radio’ (Clive Brook) – Laval & Deat shot & wounded
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
29TH Stayed in at night & did some navigation – later went to Wriggys – warning sounded & so had to firewatch – had a letter from Mary this morning Duisburg heavily raided by Sterlings [sic] last night – Russians blow up Dnieper Dam (Took 6 yrs to construct) – went to dentists at night
SAT
30TH Went to bed in the afternoon – tired after last night – went to Hessle at night did not enjoy it as by myself
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
31ST A nice warm sunny day went to Wriggy in the afternoon later went for a walk by myself & met Louis & Jessie – went to
[page break]
Fred’s at night he was home for the weekend – sat in Pickering Park for an hour as he was out – had a talk later & was on my way home when bombs & gunfire started – a few people killed in raid.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
1 SEPT Went to Cadets (Nav.) at night – wrote to Mary today – warnings & gunfire again tonight
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
2ND Went to the Dorchester with Ken & Gee to see Artie Shaw in ‘Second Chorus’ battle of Leningrad expected soon – warnings & gunfire again
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
3RD Stayed in at night – Berlin bombed last night –
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
4TH Stayed in again at night battle still raging on Russian front – heavy fighting near Leningrad
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
5TH Went for a walk with Ken at night – later went
[page break]
to Wriggys – raided Gee’s orchard with Wriggy – U.S.A destroyer attacked by sub. on way to Iceland – depth charges dropped & sub. is now being hunted – passed my medical exam for R.A.F – over 70 German planes shot down over Leningrad & 100 over the Baltic – German sub. sunk in the Baltic – Italian sub. rammed & cut in half by HMS Hermione (Cruiser) in the Med – Italian Cruiser & large liner torpedoed by our sub in Med 10 enemy to 2 of ours shot down in this area
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
6TH I registered today – one more Italianian [sic] liner sunk – went to the Priory at night to see James Cagney in ‘The Fighting 69TH enjoyed the picture.
[page break]
[underlined] SEPT [/underlined]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
[underlined] 7TH [/underlined] Got up late – went to Wriggys in the afternoon & practised with Gee’s air pistol – went to the ‘Rampant Horse’ at night
[underlined MON [/underlined]
8TH Went to see ‘Goodbye Mr Chips at the Carlton with Ken & Gee about 300 planes raided Berlin & did a lot of good – 20 missing – 2 Fortresses lost on reconnaisance [sic] U Boat captured by aeroplane – bomb it – comes to surface – machine gunned surrenders – guarded by Hudson until destroyer arrives – too rough to board – later boarded towed to port – Russians also capture one in Baltic
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
9TH Russians cut up 8 German divisions in counter attack went to dentists at night later
[page break]
[underlined] SEPT [/underlined]
cleaned my bike – received letter from Roland today – Spitsbergen occupied by our forces
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
10TH Stayed in mended my puncture & cleaned my bike – wrote to Fred today – Russians do well in central section counter attacks – kill about 7000 Germans
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
11TH Played football at night in practise match on Ella St. –
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
12TH Went for a cycle ride with Ken at night who went to sign in for night class later went to Wriggys
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
13TH Played Earles & won 4-0 on their ground played on hockey pitch – went dancing to Hessle at night by myself had a fairly decent time
[page break]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
14TH Had to sign on this morning for fire-watching later went for a little walk with Ken & Gee went to Wriggys in the afternoon played cards & listened to gramo. records in their shed – went for a walk into the town together at night – they went drinking but I came home & went to bed early
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
15TH Gee has got his motor bike – we tried it out in the Avenue – Turin bombed by our long distance planes – three German transports sunk in the Baltic – received a letter from Mary
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
16TH Went to see ‘Men are not Gods’ at the Carlton with Gee – enjoyed it – based on the Play Othello (Rex Harrison Sebastian Shaw) attempted German landing
[page break]
[underlined] SEPT [/underlined]
[underlined] 16TH [/underlined] CONT on the island of Qesel – 2 more transports sunk by Russians along with motor launch etc. – Hamburg heavily raided by our planes – Shah of Persia abdicates through the trouble caused by difficulty over rounding up the 5th columnists
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
17TH Went to the dentists & had a couple of teeth out – Karlsruhe heavily raided by our bombers all return – Blenheims escorted by fighters attack power plant at Bethune – 1 Blenheim & 7 fighters IPS lost – 7 enemy fighters shot down 3 Swedish destroyers blow up & sink at moorings –
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
18TH Went to see ‘The Trail of the Vigilantes’ at the West Park with Roland & Gee (Broderick Crawford
[page break]
Franchot Tone Mischa Auer) – a tough western – a change –
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
19TH Wrote to Mary – Germans on the outskirts of Kiev – assaults on Leningrad beaten off – went to see ‘Target for Tonight’ & ‘City for Conquest’ (James Cagney Ann Rutherford) at the Regal with Roland – enjoyed the latter – sentimental – but a good story & good film.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
20TH Should have played the RAF but they didn’t turn up – went to see ‘The Philadelphia Story’ at the Carlton with Roland & Ken enjoyed the film (Cary Grant Kath Hepburn, Ruth Hussey James Stewart later went to the ‘Rampant’ & [deleted] Palais de [/deleted] Danse de Luxe) for 15 mins
[page break]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
21ST Went for a walk in the morning with the gang to see a motor [inserted] bike [/inserted] for Ken – went for a walk in the afternoon went to the pictures at night to see ‘Algiers’ (Hedy Lamar) – met a couple of girls – made a date which Gee is keeping for me – went to Roland’s for supper – gunfire here tonight
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
22ND Went to Cadets at night 2 large Italian transports sunk in Med – Kiev evacuated by Russians – another American ship sunk
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
23RD Firewatched at work at night
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
24TH Went for a short walk at night & then stayed in 5 more Italian ships sunk in
[page break]
the Med. by our subs. or aeroplanes
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
25TH Went for a walk at night & then stayed in & read until bed-time – still fighting hard on Russian front
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
26TH Went for a walk with the dog at night –
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
27TH Played the battery at Costello & won 2-1 – enjoyed the game although it was a bad pitch – went to the pictures with Trevor Russell but could not get in so we went dancing at ‘Chestnut Ave’ enjoyed it – only a radiogram – nice place RAF carry out sweep over N. France
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
28TH Stayed in all the day & did some navigation – another R.A.F sweep all our planes return still heavy fighting on the Russian front
[page break]
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
29TH Went to Cadets at night very interesting – RAF raid Turin, Genoa etc & targets in Sicily also Hamburg – I go for my medical on Friday – wrote to Roland
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
30TH Firewatched at work at night warning & slight gunfire 8.40 – 11.10 – wrote to Mary Stettin & Hamburg again raided – Convoy attack going through Med. 14 enemy planes shot down by fleet fighters (3 lost 2 crews safe) & gunfire H.M.S Nelson struck by torpedo nobody killed only causes reduction in speed – heavy shooting in Czech by new tyrant.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
1 OCT Stayed in at night & more RAF raids – slight gunfire here tonight
[page break]
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
2 OCT Stayed in at night
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
3 OCT Went to Cardington today set off 11-00 arrived 5-20 – had a look round the camp at night
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
4 Oct Up at 6.30 & had small written test, medical etc sworn in photographs taken finished at 5.30 left the camp – went into Bedford with my two friends from Hull Tom Stacey & a boy from Bev. left our cases at the station – had tea at a restaurant – went back to the station & had a pint – caught the 9.30 train to Kettering – waited 30 mins there & caught the Edinburgh express to Leeds arrived 3.0 (We had a good wash & shave on the train) – caught a train to Hull arrived 5.30 & so to bed
[page break]
[underlined] OCT [/underlined]
SUN
[underlined] 5TH [/underlined] Got up at about half past twelve went for a walk in the afternoon & went to the Carlton at night with Ken & Gee to see Rosalind Russell & Cary Grant in ‘That Man Friday’
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
6TH Received a letter from Fred went to Gee’s & Wriggy’s at night exchange of sick prisoners held up by German attitude – heavy new German onslaught on the Russian front
[underlined] 7TH [/underlined]
TUES Received a letter from Mary this morning – firewatched at work at night – Germans launch big offensive – railway between Kharkov & Moscow reported cut
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
8TH Wrote to Mary at night Russians evacuate certain towns but retreat in orderly
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manner.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
9TH Stayed in at night – Hull trawler captures a sub. in Med. – depth charges bring sub to surface – machine guns & large gun make crew surrender – sub sinks 40 survivors picked up (trawler was less heavily armed than the sub) rained all day today
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
10TH Wrote to Don – went to the VR. Class (Nav.) tonight warning & gunfire here tonight – Russian counter attack & are holding the Germans
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
11TH Played North Hull Amateurs won 11-0 with ten men – went to a dance at Chestnut Ave. with Trev & Ali (on leave) had a good time we all got to know somebody – met Jean – warning at night
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[underlined] OCT [/underlined]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
12TH Stayed in bed in the morning – went for a walk in the afternoon with the lads – a very nice day warm, clear & fresh stayed in at night – warnings & gunfire tonight
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
13TH About 300 planes raid places in the Ruhr, Bevariatte & do well – fighters in daylight sweep destroy 20 enemy fighters lose 12 two pilots safe – heavy fighting on Russian front – went to the dentists at night – firewatched at work slept through one warning
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
14TH Took the dog for a walk after tea – stayed in at night – another heavy raid on Germany last night – SW. Germany again visited by our bombers
[page break]
[underlined] OCT [/underlined]
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
15TH Stayed in at night wrote to Alex
[underlined THUR [/underlined]
16TH Went to an RAFVR lecture in Morse & Maths taken by Mr Colbert [deleted] as [/deleted] Germans very near Moscow – heavy fighting
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
17TH Went to the dance at Chestnut Ave with Ali Mason & Trev. had a very good time Jean & Eileen were there – saw them home – given a lift from Willerby to Carew St arrived home 11.15
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
18TH Played East Hull Amts. won 6-0 in a very strong wind walked to Langham at night but could not get in – so walked home & listened to the wireless – Russians slow up German advance on Moscow which is now nearly at a standstill
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[underlined] OCT [/underlined]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
19TH Stayed in bed in the morning – went for a short in the afternoon as it was very wet & it rained a little – improved after tea walked round to town could not get into the pictures so stayed in at night
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
20TH Went to see Judy Canova Bob Crosby & his wild Cats in ‘Sis Hopkins’ with Carbyon – warning & gunfire early tonight – received a letter from Mary
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
21ST Received a letter from Roland – stayed in at night – went with Edith to buy Mary’s birthday present after dinner – bought a powder compact
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
22ND Firewatched at work at night – gunfire but went to bed – wrote to Mary – Naples
[page break]
heavily raided last night - & also targets in Holland etc.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
23RD Went to Morse & Nav. lectures –
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
24TH Went to a dance at Chestnut Ave. & had a very good time danced with Jean nearly all the time – had to walk home – warning at dinner & tea time –
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
25TH Played R.AFVR & won 3-2 went dancing again to Chestnut Ave as I couldn’t get into the pictures had to walk most of the way there & all of the way back – had a moderate time – Jean danced with somebody else most of the time & I would have socked the kid only she appeared to prefer his company or dancing to mine & I did not wish to appear ridiculous although
[page break]
[underlined] OCT [/underlined]
I felt like a fight
[underlined] 26TH [/underlined]
SUN Stayed in bed in the morning & went for a walk in the afternoon – went to see Jack Buchanan in ‘Middle Watch at the Priory at night.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
27TH Went to see James Cagney & Olivia de Haviland in ‘Strawberry Blonde’ at the Tower with Ken & Gee enjoyed it very much – Hamburg was the main target for our bombers reported frontier clash between Russian & Jap soldiers – Germans held near Moscow, but make progress in the Crimea.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
28TH Had a letter from Mary this morning – stayed in at night
[page break]
[underlined] OCT [/underlined]
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
29TH Wrote to Don at the night & stayed in – have a slight cold – Russians hold Moscow front but have to fall back in the Crimea – snowed today & was very cold.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
30TH Stayed in again at night wrote to Roland – Coastal Command Hudsons raid Aalsund sink 4 transport ships – machine gun in oil factory – put out of action defence posts & guns – all return safely.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
31ST Went to Nav. lecture at night also to the dentists for my teeth
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
1 NOV Played Endike Lane OB & won 3.0 in pouring rain & sleet stayed in at night & wrote to Mary firewatching at home & had to go
[page break]
[underlined] NOV [/underlined]
petrol & bad weather
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
9TH Up fairly early today – went for a walk in the afternoon with Ken, Wriggy & Gee – very cold but dry – firewatched at work at night – talked all night in bed about 1.0 & did not get up until 8.0 o’clock.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
1OTH Stayed in at night & wrote to Roland at the Office – Hamburg raided last night – HMS Aurora, Penelope & two destroyers attack convoy in Med & sink 10 ships, 2 destroyers & damage another we suffer no casualties – famous destroyer HM.S Cossack sunk
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
11TH Stayed in at night – do not feel very well still having trouble with – wrote to Mary had a couple of letters from
[page break]
[underlined] NOV [/underlined]
Alex today –
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
12TH Went to the Regal at night with Geoff to see ‘Married but Single’ Rosalind Russell & also a Dr Kildare film
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
13TH Stayed in at night received a letter from Roland.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
14TH Went to VR class at night but Capt. Beere did not turn up so we did morse & Byrne gave us a lecture – HMS Ark Royal sunk
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
15TH Went for a walk round the town in the afternoon as I couldn’t get in at the Dorchester went dancing to the YU at night with Edith – had moderate time band was lousy – 1 casualty in Ark Royal
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
16TH Went to PT (VR) in the morning – played football
[page break]
[underlined] NOV [/underlined]
& did a little drill – went for a short walk in the afternoon but it started to rain so we played ‘Monopoly’ at Wriggys went to see ‘Oh Mr Porter’ at the Carlton with the gang at night.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
17TH Went to Court in the morning & afternoon nice change – stayed in at night – (Ark Royal hit by torpedo & after being towed sunk only 20 miles from Gib.)
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
18TH Went to Court again in the morning – very nice day firewatched at work at night had a quiet night.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
19TH Very foggy tonight went to Sheila’s 21st & Wilf was also married in the afternoon Mary & Bob were at the party
[page break]
[underlined] NOV [/underlined]
arrived home 1.0
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
20TH Went to see ‘Andy Hardy’s Secretary’ with Mickey Rooney etc also ‘The Black Parrot’ at the Regal with Geoff and enjoyed it very much – Russians evacuate Kirsch in the Crimea – went to [deleted] [underlined] FRI [/underlined] [/deleted] Rolands after pictures until 11.30
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
21ST We start an offensive in Libya & are already 50 mls into the country – went to Nav. lecture at VR.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
22ND Stayed in both at night & in the afternoon read most of the time – we do well in Libya – capture Fort Capuzzo.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
23RD Went to P.T & drill in the morning & went for
[page break]
[underlined] NOV [/underlined]
a walk with Wriggy & Gee in the afternoon – played Monopoly at Wriggy’s at night.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
24TH Went to see ‘That Night in Rio’ (Don Ameche Alice Faye & Carmen Miranda) with Gee at the Carlton – tank battle in Libya continues – heavy fighting again near Moscow
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
25TH Stayed in & read at night – later went for a short walk – Russians are holding the Germans near Moscow& counter attacks gain ground.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
26TH Received a letter from Mary this morning – stayed in at night – battle still raging in Libya –
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
27TH N.W Germany raided by RA.F wrote to Mary
[page break]
[underlined] NOV [/underlined]
our forces join up with Tobruk tank battle resumed both forces bringing up reserves went to VR class at night & later firewatched at work.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
28TH [inserted] Received letter from Fred [/inserted] N.W Germany again raided – went dancing with Gee & his friend who was home on leave – had a fair night
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
29TH Rostov retaken by the Russians – Germans retreat still heavy fighting in Libya – played Tarraneans won 3-1 stayed in at night & read.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
30TH Rolled downstairs about 11.0 wrote to Roland went for a walk with Wriggy, Ken & Gee – later went to Wriggy’s to tea (his birthday yesterday) & then went to see ‘Juarez’ Bette
[page break]
Davis, Paul Muni at the Carlton – then played monopoly at Wriggys
[underlined] DEC [/underlined]
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
1ST. Went to the pictures with Ken & Gee to see Barbara Stanwyck & Henry Fonda in ‘Lady Eve’ enjoyed it – later went for a walk.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
2ND Stayed in at night & wrote to Fred & Louis – received a letter from Louis this morning – Germans cut the corridor between Tobruk & our forces – 18 1/2 – 50 men to be called up – boys & girls between 16 – 18 to register for youth organisations A T.C etc. H.M S. Sydney (Cruiser) sunk after sinked [sic] large armed merchantman (HM.S Dorchester sank an armed merchantman but did not
[page break]
pick up survivors as there was a sub. in the vicinity)
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
3RD Went to [deleted] Roland [/deleted] work fire-watching & read all the night [inserted] received a letter from Mary. [/inserted]
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
4TH Russians pushing on to Taganrog - & hold Germans round Moscow went to Morse lecture at night later went to Rolands
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
5TH Went to a party at Rolands all the lads were there Doreen Jarvis, Doreen & Doreen Tadman Mary & Elsie didn’t turn up had a good time – arrived home 2.30
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
6TH Played Reckitts boys with 10 men lost 2-0 cold & started to rain near the end stayed in at night & wrote to Mary
SUN (7TH) Stayed in bed in
[page break]
[underlined] DEC [/underlined]
the morning & went for a walk in the afternoon with Roland, Gee, Ken & Wriggy – stayed in at night AR.W for a few hours – Japan raids Phillipine Isles Hawaii & American Naval Bases – heavy casualties inflicted – invade Thailand & N. Malay.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
8TH Went to Court today – Thailand stops resistance – more raids by Japs on American bases – Hong Kong attacked but our forces repell [sic] invaders. America declares war on Japan we, all our Dominions, Holland etc (we declared war on Finland Rumania & Hungary on Sat. 6TH)
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
9TH Went to Court in the morning – went to see ‘Dogs of the Air’ James Cagney Pat O’Brien
[page break]
[underlined] DEC [/underlined]
etc with Geoff – wrotten [sic] picture. Japs make very little ground in N. Malaya against our forces
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
10TH H.M.S Prince of Wales (new ship 35000 tons) & HMS Repulse sunk off Singapore – Russians retake Tikhvin – our forces in Hong Kong repulse attacks & inflict heavy losses – wrote to the RA.F. went to Maths lecture & later played billiards
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
11TH Stayed in & read – over 2300 men saved from Repulse & Prince of Wales: Admiral Sir Tom Phillips among the missing – the Japanese battleship Hamura 29000 tons has been sunk by aircraft.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
12TH Went to Nav lecture at night – very interesting
[page break]
[underlined] DEC [/underlined]
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
13TH Played City Engineers & won 6-0 with 8 men – rotten game – firewatched at work at night – had a letter from Louis
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
14TH Stayed in bed & listened to the wireless in the morning – arrived home about 12.0 – played Monopoly at Wriggy’s in the afternoon & finished writing to Mary at night our forces in Med – sink Italian cruiser & seriously damage another
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
15TH Went to see Errol Flynn in ‘The Sea Hawk’ at the Carlton & enjoyed it very much Brest & Ostend raided – our forces push on in Libya – stated that 1 battleship & 5 other
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
16TH Stayed in at night Russians retake Kaunin
[page break]
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
17TH Received a letter from Mary – H.MS Dunedin (Cr. sunk in the Atlantic – stayed in at night.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
18TH Stayed in at night – German & Italians in full retreat in Libya – Russians push on –
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
19TH Received a card from Mary this morning & rang her up – Japs make landing in Hong Kong – [deleted] Duchess of Gloucester [/deleted] – went to library & bought Christmas Cards – stayed in at [underlined] night [/underlined]
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
20TH Up early caught 9.20 train to Doncaster & bus to Epworth met Mary from work – arrived cottage 2.15 caught bus to Epworth 5.50 & saw ‘Keeping Company’ Ann Rutherford – enjoyed it – arrived
[page break]
home 9.30 & talked until bed time.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
21ST Went for a walk after breakfast – called to see Mary’s aunt & then called for the milk, - had tea left at 4.0 to catch 5 o’clock bus from Belton – 6.50 train to Hull arrived 8.30 went home – changed & went to work to firewatch.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
22ND Very tired today – wrote to Mary at night – R.AF raid Brest etc Hong Kong still holds out.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
23RD Bought Mary’s present a bracelet – it had to be altered – went to see ‘Cottage to Let’ at the Dorchester & enjoyed it very much – Russians still push on – left off for Christmas
[page break]
[underlined] DEC [/underlined]
tonight
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
24TH Don came for me this morning – he is on embarkation leave – went a short walk – went for my bracelet but wasn’t ready – met Geoff in the town in the afternoon – went on the pier etc – collected our goose from Mrs Johnson – also called again for bracelet still not ready – went back later on my bike – eventually collected at 6.15 on my way to the dance at the Bev. Baths – enjoyed it very much Jean was there also Joyce (Les’s friend) finished at 11.0 – Denis has come for a few days – talked had a drink went to bed about 2.0 o’clock.
[page break]
[underlined] DEC [/underlined]
[deleted] [underlined] THUR [/underlined] [/deleted] [inserted] FRI [/inserted]
26TH [sic] Benghazi captured by 8TH Army stayed in at night – have toothache – posted Mary’s present this morning – went to see ‘Ziegfeld Girl’ at the Carlton in the afternoon – (James Stewart, Hedy Lamarr, [sic] Lana Turner & Judy Garland) Russians probe straightened German line.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
25TH Stayed in bed in the morning – went to see Hull beat York 26-20 in the afternoon – stayed in at night played cards with dad & drank rum.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
27TH Stayed in all day – teeth still bad – received a letter from R.A.F saying that I shall be called up in March
[page break]
[underlined] DEC [/underlined]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
28TH Went for a walk with Wriggy & Ken in the afternoon – very cold but fresh went to see Sonja Henje [sic] at the Carlton with them at night in ‘My Lucky Star’ – later played Monopoly at Wriggy’s
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
29TH Firewatching at work – went to the Tivoli – rotten show – Norman Long etc. (Edna Squire-Brown in ‘Dance of the Doves’ good & also Kusharney) – in action in Libya 22 tanks destroyed & 20 damaged we make a small landing in Norway kill or capture whole German garrison & set fire to Oil stores etc & sink 5 ships – 2 armed trawlers & 1 armed tug – great cooperation by 3 Services Uncle Tom died yesterday
[page break]
[underlined] DEC [/underlined]
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
30TH Received a [inserted] Christmas [/inserted] letter from Marian & also from Alex – stayed in at night & wrote to Louis – our forces withdraw from Sarawak – Americans being pushed back in Phillipines – Russians capture important towns.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
31ST Received a letter from Mary – stayed in at night – Russians make landing in Crimea & our forces push on in Libya –
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
1ST Stayed in at night & wrote to Bert – we make another landing in Norway in Lofoten Isles – destroy communications sink a few ships – capture many Germans & Quislings – take back many Norwegians & destroy
[page break]
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
oil plants etc we suffer no casualties –
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
2ND Went to see ’Sorochintse [sic] Fair’ at the New (Russian Ballet & Opera) & with Geoff & enjoyed it very much – Russians push on.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
3RD Played for Constable St O.B. against R.AFVR & won 13-1 rained most of the time – Frodin is home on leave – went to work at night to firewatch – wrote to Mary – H.M.S. Neptune sunk by mine in Med – survivors taken prisoner – also destroyer HM.S Kandahar sunk when going to assist her – convoy of 30 ships also attacked for 4 days – only 3 ships sunk & our forces destroy 3 subs & a Konder raider
[page break]
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
4TH Russians push on past Kaluga – Japs push on in Malaya & Philippines [sic] – went for a short walk in the afternoon with Ken & Gee it rained slightly – the lads came to our house at night & we played Monopoly.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
5TH Stayed in at night as Frod & Peggy came to supper – very cold today – very bad weather experienced in Libya
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
6TH Went to see ‘The Golden Hour’ at the Carlton with Geoff (James Stuart & Paulette Goddard) enjoyed it very much funny & witty – snowed during the night – very dirty underfoot Japs capture an aerodrome in Malaya – Americans sink destroyer & damage battleship
[page break]
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
in raid on Jap convoy.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
7TH Stayed in at night & read Russians still advance – we retreat in Malaya – still cold
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
8TH Went to Morse lecture at night – our forces in Libya force Rommels men to retreat from Jabanihal? – stated that 7 Jap naval craft were sunk in previous engagement – still cold & freezing
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
9TH Firewatched at work at night went to see ‘Footsteps in the Dark’ at the Tower with Geoff & Lucas (Errol Flynn) enjoyed it very much – Brest raided for the 5th night in succession
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
10TH Have a bad cold – curse it played Army Eleven – lost 8-3 went to the Bev Rd Baths at
[page break]
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
night with Gee – thin time because of cold – freezing & foggy at night – letter from Mary.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
11TH Stayed in all day as I have a cold – still very cold wrote to Marian.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
12TH Went to Court today – cold a little better – still very cold – wrote to Mary at night we retreat further in Malaya – evacuate Kualar [sic] Lumpur – received a letter from Roland.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
13TH We take Sollum – American in Philip. Stop Japs advance wrote to Alex at night – went to Court today – still very cold.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
14TH Snowed hard this morning – wrote to Fred at work – went to the Regal at night with Geoff to see ‘Billy the Kid’ (Robert
[page break]
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
Taylor & Brian Donbery) & ‘Elsie & Doris’s Weekend (Elsie & Doris Waters) Russians push on
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
15TH Hamburg & Emdin raided by the RAF – went to Morse lecture later firewatching at work – still very cold.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
16TH Felt very ill & weak today believe cold – or perhaps the soup consumed other night – Hamburg again raided – stayed in at night
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
17TH Cleaned part of my bike in the afternoon danced at the Bev Rd at night & had a very good time Halfaya surrenders & many prisoners taken
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
18TH Stayed in bed in the morning – short walk in the afternoon with the lads – went
[page break]
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
to Ken’s at night & played Monopoly – his sister also played – snowed a little at night – Von Reichenau – Nazie [sic] General reported dead of a seizure on way back from front after being dismissed – Churchill arrived back from America yesterday by aeroplane.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
19TH Went to George Hotel with Louis for lunch – went for haircut after work with Gee – made us very late – went with Gee & Ken to the Carlton to see ‘The Woman’s Face’ very good picture, - sat next to a very nice girl – wish the lads hadn’t been with me
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
20TH Went to the Tower with Fred who is
[page break]
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
over on leave it was ‘Flight from Destiny’ also ‘The Dog in the Garden’ & was a very good picture – Mozaisk [sic] retaken from Germans – very cold today – received a letter from Mary
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
21ST Had a telegram from Alex this morning – he is back in England – went dancing with Gee to the Bev. Baths Russians push on in the Moscow sector – worst weather experienced for 10 years in Lybia [sic] – still very cold here
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
22ND Stayed in at night & wrote to Mary – very cold today – Japs. land in islands very near to Australia & our forces again retreat in Malaya
[page break]
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
our bombers raid Emden, Hamburg etc & enemy aerodrome in Holland
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
23RD Very cold today – rained & froze when it fell in the morning – later rained heavily – Rommel’s forces take Jedabya – Russians push on stayed in at night
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
24TH Axis convoy attacked in the Med & several transp. sank also a destroyer & Cruiser played Endike Lane OB (4-4) very dirty game in both senses scored from pen. went to Bev Rd at night with Gee – pouring with rain so took an umbrella Joan who works with John was there with a friend Edith away for weekend
[page break]
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
20TH Snowed heavily this morning – stayed in bed – went to Wriggys in the afternoon – pouring with rain also went at night & listened to the gramo. W’s friend Joan was also there
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
26TH Went to the Tower with Ken to see ‘A Night in the Tropics’ – more ships sunk by Americans in raid on Jap Convoy in Macassar Straits
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
27TH R.AF raid Brest – stayed in at night & read – wrote to Bert today – still very cold & more snow Rommels forces push on in Libya
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
28TH Firewatched at work at night – RAF
[page break]
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
again raid Brest & other targets – Rommels push said to be held & slowered [sic] down Russians still advance
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
29TH Went to Morse lecture at night – reported H.M.S Barham (31,000) sunk in November Alex arrived home in the early hours of the morning – received a letter from Mary – rang Mary
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
30TH Received a letter from Roland Japs 18 mls from Singapore we evacuate Benghazi again – Russians push on – went to see Tauber in Schubert’s ‘Blossom Time’ with Geoff & Lucas at the New Theatre – snow gone.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
31ST Stayed in & wrote to Mary in the afternoon danced at Bev Rd at night with
[page break]
[underlined] JAN [/underlined]
Gee – our forces evacuate Malaya & return into Singapore Island.
[underlined] FEB [/underlined]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
1ST Went to Wriggys in the afternoon & to the Carlton with Ken, Wriggy & Gee at night to see George Formby in ‘Let George do it’ snowed at night – had a snowball fight after pictures
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
2ND Went to see ‘Love Crazy’ (Myrna Loy & Wm Powell) at the Carlton – very funny & amusing US. Navy sinks many ships by means of aircraft etc in raid on Jap occupied base in the Atlantic & 1 ft of snow at night
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
3RD Went to the dance at Bev Rd – had a fairly good time met Miss Clayton (works in Edith’s office – Esther & Mary
[page break]
[underlined] FEB [/underlined]
Vise were there – arrived work 11.50 – firewatching – snow is melting making seas of slush
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
4TH Alex comes back from Leeds & has to return to Bournemouth at night – saw him off at the station
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
5TH On holiday – finished cleaning my bike in morning – helped dad chop wood in the afternoon & also read – went to Morse lecture at night – had a letter from Mary she is coming over for the weekend
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
6TH Cleaned dance shoes, football boots, cycle bag – very busy this morning – went to work near dinner time to receive telephone
[page break]
[underlined] FEB [/underlined]
call from Mary – went to the pictures in the afternoon to the Dorchester to see Walter Pidgeon, Joan Bennett & George Sandys in ‘Man Hunt’ a very good picture – rang Mary again afterwards & stayed in & read at night
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
7TH Went to meet Mary in the afternoon – didn’t arrive telegram to say had missed connection – met 6.31 London train but didn’t arrive until 7.15 – dashed to Marys Uncle’s (Telford St) – then to the dance at the Baths – arrived 8.45 – took taxi home – talked & had supper until 12.10 walked home – arrived 1.15.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
8TH Up early called for Mary later went to Edna’s & then saw Mary off in the
[page break]
[underlined] FEB [/underlined]
afternoon on the 4.25 train went to the pictures at night to see John Garfield & Priscilla Lane in ‘Dust be my Destiny’
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
9TH Firewatched at work at night & wrote to Mary – Japs make landing on Singapore Island – counter measures being taken fighting near Gezala in Libya –
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
10TH Court again this morning – went to see Arthur Askey etc in ‘I Thank you’ at the Dorchester – Japs take aerodrome on Singapore Island – only 10 mls from the town itself – wrote to Roland
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
11TH Stayed in at night – very nice day (for a change) – Japs approach Singapore City believe it is all up there
[page break]
[underlined] FEB [/underlined]
Bert came into the office this morning
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
12TH Bert came back from Scarborough tonight – had tea together went to Morse Exam a V.R. (100 per cent on 6 wp.m) whilst Bert went for Margaret – went to the Regimental Dance at the Bev. Rd Baths – not too crowded had a fair time – arrived home 12.30 still hanging on in Singapore
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
13TH Schamhorst, Prince Eugen & Greisenau move from Brest to Heligoland Bight & up the Channel – our air force (torpedo planes bombers & fighter bombers & escorts) attack supporting E boats, trawlers, destroyers & the 3 ships & also our destroyers & MTB take part – stated several hits
[page break]
[underlined] FEB [/underlined]
made which slowed their speed down to 18 Knots – we lost 6 Swordfish, 20 bombers & 16 fighters in the [deleted] ta [/deleted] attack – destroy 18 of their fighters – Japs capture Singapore’s City reservoir – report of successful American naval raid on Gilbert Isles – 18000 ton aircraft carrier sunk – many Jap planes destroyed & bases very severely damaged
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
14TH Played Hessle Amateurs lost 10-0 with 8 men – went to the Wenlock Barracks at night with Gee – not a very good dance too crowded – not a nice crowd – left early – our American fighters in Libya meet 30 enemy planes destroy 20 & damage the rest.
[page break]
[underlined] FEB [/underlined]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
15TH Stayed in bed in the morning – went to Wriggy’s in the afternoon – firewatched at work at night – short warning – aeroplane over & machine gunned – later shot down – Singapore has surrendered
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
16TH Received a letter from Mary & Roland – stayed in at night & swotted some navigation – warning again tonight
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
17TH Received a letter from Louis – 2 Italian Cruisers & 1 Destroyer torpedoed in Med. stayed in at night & wrote to Mary
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
18TH Had another letter from Mary – finished writing to her at work today went to the Tower at night to see ‘The Tower of Terror’ a terrible film – ridiculous
[page break]
[underlined] FEB [/underlined]
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
19TH Went to Morse lecture at night – RAF raid Bremen etc. Japs raid Port Darwin in Australia
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
20TH Received a letter from Fred stayed at work for tea then went to the Regal with Geoff & Lucas to see ‘International Squadron’ which was a very good flying picture – also Robert Young & Jane Hussey in ‘Bachelors Honeymoon’
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
21ST Japs attack island of ‘Bali’ in preparation for invasion of Jurva – allied naval forces blow up 1 Cruiser sink 2 destroyers for one of our own & also several transports played for Grammar School ATC Squadron in the afternoon
[page break]
[underlined] FEB [/underlined]
in heavy snow – lose 6-0 with only 7 men – later went to work to firewatch & read part of the night – had a roaring fire kettle boiled on the hearth
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
22ND Arrived home 12.0 o’clock went for a walk in the afternoon – snowed a little – went to Wriggy’s at night played cards & dominoes
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
23RD Went to see Tommy Dorsey & his band in ‘The Gay City’ at the Tower with Ken & Gee – fair picture – more snow here today
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
24TH Stayed in at night & wrote to Roland – Japs take aerodrome on isle of Bali
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
25TH On holiday – wrote to Mary in the morning – a walk into town in the afternoon
[page break]
by Navy to effect the withdrawal Rangoon position serious – [inserted] FEB [/inserted] Convoy of troops approaching Java dispersed by allied Naval action.
[underlined] MARCH [/underlined]
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
1ST Took the Nav & Maths Exam at the Cadets in the afternoon – short walk at night with Ken & Gee – later went to Wriggy’s & played Austin’s Rummy – had to leave early as Fred was over on leave
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
2ND Stayed in at night & wrote to Roland – Japs make landings in Java.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
3RD Received a letter from Mary & wrote to her at night – she also rang me up this afternoon to see if I would go over to a dance – Japs held in Java but
[page break]
[underlined] MCH [/underlined]
Dutch Gov. leave Batavia & say they will not be able to hold Java
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
4TH Jap bombers attack U.S fleet in Pacific – 16 out of 18 shot down – no damage to Fleet – RAF raid Renaud works near Paris which is working for the Germans – Vichy say heavy damage & about 600 people killed over 1000 injured – started to snow at night went to the Bev Rd Baths had a moderate time
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
5TH Snowed all today went to V.R class later to work to firewatch – Japs infiltrate throughout Java – Russians push on.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
6TH Stayed in at night have a rotten cold – communications with Java cease – Dutch
[page break]
say will fight to the end.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
7TH Played City Engineers with 9 men lost 6-2 – thick snow enjoyed it really although cold was a nuisance – Trev. Russell home on leave – he played – stayed in at night – Russians push on
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
8TH Very nice day for a change up late – played cards at Wriggys in the afternoon – stayed in again at night – cold still bad wrote to Alex.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
9TH Japs make landings on New Guinea – Rangoon evacuated scorched earth policy taken – stayed in at night cold still bad received a letter from Roland
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
10TH Convoy attacked in Med – 1 Cruiser & 1 destroyer set on fire also a transport
[page break]
[underlined] MAR [/underlined]
details given of Japanese atrocities in Hong Kong – Rangoon evacuated – more landing on New Guinea – RAF again raid Essen
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
11TH Cold still bad went to the Tower at night to see ‘Moon Over Burma’ (Dorothy Lamour, Robert Preston, Preston Foster) enjoyed it – Tirpitz attacked off Norwegian Coast – escapes from our planes under a smoke screen
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
12TH Les & Peggy came round at night – received a letter from Mary & wrote to her at night
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
13TH Stated that 3 Subs were sunk in attack on our convoy last Dec. (in which one of our destroyers was sunk after sinking one of the U boats the day before – this sub was one of those sunk
[page break]
[underlined] MAR [/underlined]
Australian bombers attack Japs in New Guinea & prevent further landings being made – went dancing with Gee to a late dance at the Bev Rd Baths
SAT
14TH Very nice day warm & sunny played Earles lost 7-2 short team but a very good game – Roland is over on leave – went to late dance at Bev Rd Baths – very warm but had a very good time – Allied Naval forces lost in battles near Java – including H.M.S Exeter about 13 ships lost – several Jap ships sunk incl. 2 Cruisers – 10 German planes shot down over Channel area this week none of ours lost
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
15TH Went for a walk with Roland in the morning
[page break]
[underlined] MAR [/underlined]
a very nice day – listened to Roland’s records at Gee’s in the afternoon – went to Wriggy’s at night & played cards Dolcy Rogers was there.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
16TH At Court this morning went to see Errol Flynn in ‘Santa Fe Trail’ at the Tower with Roland Gee & Ken enjoyed it – had a drink after to celebrate my going away –
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
17TH At Court again this morning went to the Monica at night with Gee & Roland to see ‘The Road to Zanzibar’ – E. boats attack North Sea convoy – several accounted for by destroyers – also our aircraft encounter them later & sink or damage more – one of our destroyers lost
[page break]
MAR
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
18TH 25 Jap ships incl 10 battleships sunk or damaged off New Guinea – firewatched at work at night – received a letter from Mary & wrote to her & Fred at night
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
19TH Went to Morse class at night –
20TH
[underlined] FRI [/underlined] Stayed in at night –
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
21ST Stayed in bed in morning met Mary in Doncaster in the afternoon – had a walk round the town went to the Gaumont to see Sonja Henie & Glen Miller in ‘Sun Valley Serenade’ also ‘Badmen from Dakota’ enjoyed it very much – only had time for snack afterwards caught 9.0 o’clock bus to Belton – had a very nice journey.
[page break]
MCH
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
22ND Went out after breakfast called at Mary’s Aunts Eileen & Maisie’s and so back to The Turbay caught the 4.50 bus to Doncaster travelled home with Mary’s uncle.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
23RD Very busy at work today – left late – wrote to Mary at night received a letter from Bert & Fred
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
24TH Firewatched at work at night – wrote to Bert – Italian battleship & Cruisers attack our Med Convoy beaten off by light Cruisers & the battleship hit by torpedo
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
25TH Cleaned my bike – went to Cadets – R.A.F carry out heavy raid on the Ruhr area
THUR 26TH. Went dancing to the Blind with Edith
[page break]
[underlined] MAR [/underlined]
had a moderate time – gunfire here tonight – fighter escorted bombers raid Cologne – 8 enemy fighters destroyed – 2 of ours lost Chinese reported surrounded in area in Burma – fighting back & repulsing Japs.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
26TH Went to the pictures with Geoff and Lucas at night
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
27TH Said goodbye at the Office – gave me 25/- to spend – very good of them – saw Mrs Johnson gave me eggs & oranges – met Mary at the Station in the afternoon – bought her a locket – saw the other Mary at Hammonds – brought Mary home to tea – later went to the YPI to dance – crowded not very nice – caught last bus walked home – our naval
[page break]
land & air forces attack St Nazaire
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
28TH Very nice day – went for Mary in the afternoon – said goodbye – travelled up to Doncaster with Mary – sorry to leave her – arrived London 9.35 – cup of tea at Salvation Army Canteen – directed to their Hostel in Russell Squ, very nice place – modern – many amenities ie billiards etc – nice bedroom
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
29TH Went to Lords – saw Alex – collected kit wrote to Mother & Mary at night Alex came round
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
30TH Had a dental exam & Maths lecture – did a lot of marching rained a little today – wrote to Roland at night – took uniform back to tailors.
[page break]
APRIL
[underlined] 1ST [/underlined]
WED. Morse lecture at Lords – night vision test & radiography – wrote to Mary at night
[underlined] 2ND [/underlined]
THUR Took Morse Exam (100 per cent) another Maths lecture collected uniform – C.O. paraded us at 17.15 & asked if anybody didn’t want to go overseas at the end of the month – looks promising – packed my civvies up and put a letter in
[underlined] 3RD [/underlined]
FRI Went to the Odeon to a lecture by C.O – Maths at the Zoo in the afternoon – wrote to Mary at night
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
4TH Morse in the morning – had a haircut in the afternoon went into town with Eric Bob & Harry – had a look round the Westminster Abbey
[page break]
[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
saw Houses of Parliament – went to the YMCA for tea – went to see ‘Dumbo’ down Edgeware Rd. – went back to the YMCA for supper – back to billet by 23.57 (two mins to spare)
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
5TH Helped in Canteen in the morning – missed Church Parade – had a ball – polished buttons etc. went round the Zoo in the afternoon – on guard at night – wrote to Mother & Fred. (Guard 18.00 – 2000: 2400 – 2.00: 6.00 – 8.00)
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
6TH Late at the Odeon for sea lecture – (very sleepy this morning) also lecture by M.O – drill in afternoon – gas lecture – then P.T. stayed in at night.
[page break]
[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
7TH Had inocculations [sic] & vaccinated today – do not feel too good but better than the rest – had a fairly quiet day – had flight photograph taken – wrote to Mary & the office at night – turned in early
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
8TH Had a quiet day – security lecture – went to London Pavilion at night with Bob & Frank – had a letter from Edith
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
9TH Rained nearly all day – had pay parade – cinema show on Careless Talk – aircraft rec etc – went into gas chamber – had to clean canteen up for the WAAF dance as the whole flight was on fatigue – wrote to Mary
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
10TH Went with Norman to
[page break]
[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
have my photograph taken did very little today – went to another cinema show – had full kit parade on roof.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
11TH Received a letter from Mary – our vaccination was inspected in the morning – later were issued with flying kit – vol. to help clean the Zoo canteen ready for the dance – got a free ticket & late pass – not very good dance – Alex was there
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
12TH Wrote to Mary – Church Parade – went into town with Frank & Bob – had a great time – saw Hyde Park went into Church Army Canteen there – then onto the Beaver Club – caught a lot of buses then went to YM in Tottenham Ct Rd & back to billets
[page break]
[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
13TH Had a full kit parade before the C.O. today – lecture on Organisation in the morning – wrote to mother at night – Alex came round [inserted] (letter from Mary) [/inserted]
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
14TH Another lecture this morning on Law etc – went into centre of London to studio to hear dance [inserted] RAF [/inserted] band recording & also heard Pat Kirkwood & Elizabeth Welsh – wrote to Louis & the lads.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
15TH Did very little today – flat orderly C.O. inspected billets – wrote to Mary at night – went to the Tottenham Ct Rd YW but there wasn’t a dance – went to Baker St for my photo
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
16TH Not posted today although part of our flight was including
[page break]
[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
Bob, Eric, Harry & Norman – very disappointed – went to the Odeon at night with Frank to see ‘You’ll never get Rich’ Fred Astaire
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
17TH Did very little today – some drill & retired to YM in the afternoon for an hour or two – wrote to Mary at night – stayed in, received a letter from mother & Mary
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
18TH Received a letter from Fred Eric, Bob Norman & Harry left us – I was a runner this morning – went into the town in the afternoon also went to Beaver Club to tea later rowed on Regents Park with Frank.
SUN
19TH Church parade in the morning wrote to Mother – went into Regents Park in the afternoon – then Beaver Club for tea – came back to our
[page break]
[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
[underlined] 19TH [/underlined] YM at night & went to bed early.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
20TH Wrote to Mary – did very little today – Alex came round at night – he is going to Blackpool tomorrow.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
21ST Had a letter from Edith & Mother wrote to Roland – then went to see ‘Appointment For Love’ (Charles Boyer) & ‘Paris Calling’ (Basil Rathbone, Eliza Bergner & Randolph Scott) at the Odeon rather late leaving had to run back to billets – did arms drill today
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
22ND Went dental sick in the morning – had one filled – wrote to Mary & Mother – had P.T in the afternoon – very nice – went to the New Victoria Cinema at night to take collection for RAF Benevolent Fund – saw Arthur Askey in
[page break]
‘The Boy from the Back Room’ & also ‘Texas’ – had a decent time went with 7 others from our flight – had a drink after arrived back 11.45.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
23RD Had posting parade in the morning – posted to Scarborough pay parade & did very little in the afternoon – went with Frank & Ron to the London Pavilion at night to see ‘The Foreman went to France’ which was a super picture & also ‘Hay Foot’
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
24TH Had to stay in barracks at night – went for supper, a drink & more to eat – Group Captains inspection in the morning & FFI in the afternoon wrote to Mary
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
25TH Up early caught 10.0 train to York & so on to Scarborough arrived about 5.0 o’clock – went for
[page break]
[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
a look round the town at night
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
26TH Did very little today – had FFI etc. & lecture by C.O. stayed in at night & wrote to Mother, Mary & Bert – food good here & having a good time
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
27TH Wrote to Fred at night stayed in – had aircraft rec. & P.T this morning -, drill & dental in the afternoon – very nice day.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
28TH Had P.T & drill Maths & Hygiene today – wrote to Mary at night very nice day but very windy – A.RW at night
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
29TH Had a letter from Sandy Alex, Mother & Mary – wrote to Mother & Alex – had Maths Morse & kit inspection in the afternoon.
THUR 30TH Had 2 letters from
[page break]
[underlined] APRIL [/underlined]
Mary & one from Mother – wrote to Mary at night – had Maths, Morse, Gas & aircraft rec as well as drill today – another air raid warning at night.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
1ST MAY Went to the dance at the Royal at night – moderate time – had Morse Maths (100 per cent in yesterdays test) Hygiene Gas etc. – Paid today 34/-
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
2ND MAY Had Maths & march past the C.O went to the Odeon in the afternoon with Fred & Mike saw Tyrone Power in ‘Blood & Sand’ later went to the YM & wrote to Mary – received a letter from Louis & parcel from home.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
3RD Went to early communion – sewed buttons on etc in the morning – went for a walk on the cliffs & sands with Mike & Fred in the afternoon
[page break]
[underlined] MAY [/underlined]
climbed cliffs explored wreckage on the shore.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
4TH Had a letter from Edith today wrote to Mary, Mother & Sandy at night – mine washing about under out hotel – went for a 5 ml cross country run in the afternoon came 15th out of 38
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
5TH Wrote up my notes at night played table tennis
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
6TH Wrote to Mary – at night did some aircraft rec. – sports day went to play golf but they hadn’t any balls – took a canoe out on Peasholme Park –
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
7TH Stayed in at night – wrote up some Gas notes – had letters from Fred and Mother
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
8TH Went to look up train & bus times at night – not very good to
[page break]
[underlined] MAY [/underlined]
Hull – wrote home at night received a letter from Mary.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
9TH Acted as marker for cross country run – unable to run – stayed in at night – wrote to Mary.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
10TH Went to Communion in the morning – Mother & Father came over for the day & we had a grand time dinner at the Victoria Hotel & tea at the Odeon – walked round by Olive’s Mount & down the front – had to catch 6.15 bus back.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
11TH Received a letter from Alex & Mary – wrote to Mary at night ran about 4 mls in the pouring rain up Olive’s Mount this afternoon – had Maths afterwards.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
12TH Wrote Louis at night another cross country run today
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
13TH Wrote to Fred at night
[page break]
[underlined] MAY [/underlined]
had our Maths today which was very easy received a letter from Mary & Sandy – wrote to Mary & sent her the photograph – played baseball this afternoon.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
14TH Had Gas Exam today – parcel of food from mother
[deleted] [underlined] FRI [/underlined]
15TH [/deleted] Had a letter from Mary slight cold – paid today wrote to Mother & Mary – stayed in at night.
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
16TH Rained in the morning – nice day later on – did very little today Gas practise – inoculated again – went shopping in the afternoon stayed in at night – wrote to Alex went to bed early didn’t feel too grand
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
17TH Didn’t get up until 12 o’clock felt rotten – went onto the
[page break]
front in the afternoon & felt a little better – bed early.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
18TH Felt very unfit today with cold went sick but put on M & D on guard at night 10.0 – 12.0 wrote to Mary – played tennis in afternoon
[underlined] TUES. [/underlined]
19TH Letter from Edith – stayed in at night.
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
20TH Wrote to Edith – bathed in the sea & played football on sands in the afternoon – stayed in at night felt rotten
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
21ST Received a letter from Mother & Mary – wrote to Mary – had practise invasion parade with full kit & goodness knows what – in the afternoon – called out again for same thing at 10.45 at night
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
[deleted] 21ST [/deleted] Still feel far from fit on guard at night
[page break]
[underlined] MAY [/underlined]
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
23RD Very nice day received a letter from Alex – desk duties in afternoon – walked round town with Mac. – went to Futurist with Hobby & Mike at night to see Meet John Doe.
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
24TH Communion in the morning – wrote to Mary – Edith & Peg came over for the day had a grand time – saw Jean Thorley –
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
25TH [underlined] Whit-Mon [/underlined] – Rained in the afternoon – went ‘skeet’ shooting
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
26TH Wrote to Mary & Sandy at night
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
27TH Had medical in the afternoon navigation 4.0 – 6.0 – received a letter from Geoff
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
28TH Had a letter from Mother & Mary wrote to Mother at night – on
[page break]
[underlined] MAY [/underlined]
guard – had short Nav & Aircraft Rec exams.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
29TH Went to dance at night – had a good time – pay parade
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
30TH Raining this morning only had CO march past – wrote to Mary – went to see ‘Each Dawn I Die’ with Mac at the Odeon – stayed in at night
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
31ST Went to Holy Communion at 7.0 & later wrote to Alex & Geoff – read in the Italian gardens in the afternoon went to the concert at night.
[underlined] MON [/underlined]
JUNE March past in the afternoon – also played tennis stayed in at night wrote to Mary.
[underlined] TUES [/underlined]
2ND Had a letter from Edith & heard that Don has had a serious accident another march past – wrote to
[page break]
Gee at night
[underlined] WED [/underlined]
[underlined] 3 [/underlined] RD Another march past which I missed by spending the afternoon in the NAAFI after dentists – very very [sic] warm today – wrote to Edith & Mary – on Guard at night.
[underlined] THUR [/underlined]
4TH Had march past AOC today & had a letter from Mary very very [sic] warm here today.
[underlined] FRI [/underlined]
5TH Had a letter from Mother went to the dance at night met Doris who worked in the Timber Control at Hull – bathed in the sea this morning – still very hot
[underlined] SAT [/underlined]
6TH Went bathing again this morning – into town in the afternoon – on guard at night
[underlined] SUN [/underlined]
7TH Wrote to Mary – went to bed until dinner after church – went for a walk in the afternoon &
[page break]
[underlined] 4/9 [/underlined]
Bear not false witness
slander not nor lie
Truth is the speech
of inward purity
Edward Arnold
[indecipherable words] MC95275
Letter, 10 Mch 1941 from dept re calling up
JL
19, Estcourt Ave
Headingly
Leeds 6
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
WALKER’S
DIARY
FOR
1942
Summer Time used from April 19 to October 4
[page break]
Give all thou canst: high Heaven rejects the lore
Of nicely calculated less or more.
Wordsworth.
[page break]
[details of memorable dates in 1942]
[page break]
Mr FD Cronin
48 Benhill Wood Rd.
Sutton
Surrey
Don Wakeling:- Home address
‘Windyridge’
Marton Corner
Sewerby
nr Bridlington
[page break]
Maths:- 97 per cent
Armaments 81 per cent
Gas. 83 per cent
Morse Sending 100 per cent Receiving 100 per cent
Aldis “ 90 per cent “ 100 per cent
Aircraft Rec 96 per cent
Law & Hygiene 67 per cent
Navigation 74 per cent
[page break]
JUNE 1942
Sunday 7
met Doris – went with Mac at night to the Odeon to see the Missing Million – poor film
Monday 8
Played tennis in the afternoon had a letter from Mary – did some swot at night
Tuesday 9
Received a parcel from Mother wrote to Mary & Fred Cronin at night
Wednesday 10
Stayed in at night – wrote to Mother & did some Arms revision
Thursday 11
Stayed in at night – did some Arms – bathed etc. – received a letter from Mary.
Friday 12
Went to the dance at night Arms Exam today – farce had own Corporal – letter from Bert & parcel from Mother
Saturday 13
Kit inspection 0730 rained rest of day – wrote to Mary, Roland & Fred
[page break]
Sunday 14
Church in morning – concert at night Doreen Howard & Paddy were also there after meeting in afternoon – wrote to Louis rained all day
XX Monday 15
Still raining hard – played table tennis at Yorks. Club – letter from Edith & Ken D.
Tuesday 16
Went to see ‘The Lady has Plans’ with Mac. – kitting parade
Wednesday 17
Stayed in at night & did some swot – went shooting on the Ranges in the afternoon
Thursday 18
On Guard at Marsden’s – wrote to Mary
Friday 19
Received letters from Mother, Mary & Roland – stayed in at night – prepared by route march.
Saturday 20
Route march from 0800 – 1700 17 mls – very warm with full pack & rifle – up Forge Valley & met Edith & Dennis after tea – sat & talked
[page break]
Sunday 21
Church in morning – wrote to Mother & Mary – saw Edith in the afternoon went to the concert at night with Mac & Mike
Monday 22
Stayed in – did Aldis & revised at night – went sick on 2 days light duties – glorious day today
Tuesday 23
Received a letter from Geoff & Mary – dental in afternoon very warm & sunny – aldis at night
Wednesday 24
Swam in the morning & on guard at night – wrote to Mary received a letter from Mary
Thursday 25
Did aldis & a little swot at night – wrote to Roland – received a letter from Fred Cronin
Friday 26
Received letters from Joan Burton Fred & Louis – saw Edith at night
Saturday 27
Drill pass out practise – round town in the afternoon – listened to wireless in the Bay Room at night – letter from Mother & Alex.
[page break]
Sunday 28
Church twice in morning – took Aldis later – stayed in in afternoon wrote to Mother did some swot with Mike at night
Monday 29
Stayed in at night – CO.’s interview – have a rotten cold
Tuesday 30
Had Morse, Aldis & Drill pass out today – letter from Mary – wrote to her Mrs Wakeling – bathed in the afternoon
Wednesday 1 July
Stayed in at night & swotted – had Flight Photo. taken – cold still bad
Thursday 2
Had Aircraft Rec. & Law & Hygiene in the morning – bathed in the afternoon lovely day – letter from Mary
Friday 3
Nav. Exam – pay, dentist taylor [sic] etc in the afternoon – dance at night plenty of beer – P.O Williams treats D Flight
Saturday 4
Arrived home 10.00 hrs – pictures in afternoon – met Mary at night & went again to the pictures – Alex came home & went for a walk with him
[page break]
Sunday 5
Geoff called early – went for a walk met Mary in the afternoon – came to tea Ron also came saw Mary to bus at night
Monday 6
Called in at the office – later went shopping with Mary – went into town again tin afternoon – pictures at night with Mary [inserted] ‘Weekend in Havana’ [/inserted]
Tuesday 7
Met Mary in the town in the morning – caught the afternoon train to Doncaster –
Wednesday 8
Walked to Epworth in morning [inserted] took short cut [/inserted] lost way stayed in in the afternoon – [symbol] went to see Andy Hardy picture at night – supper with Miss Brown
Thursday 9
Helped Mary with potatoes in the morning went into Doncaster to the pictures after dinner said goodbye & wrote to Mary when I arrived home
Friday 10
Went to Office in morning & to see Mrs Johnson – OB’s dance at night had great time – saw Dorothy – home
Saturday 11
Stayed in bed in the morning back to Scarboro’ in the afternoon letter from Roland
[page break]
Sunday 12
Church parade – walk with Mac Mike to Castle – ice cream hot day wrote to Fred, Don & Fred on guard at night
Monday 13
Played squash in the afternoon stayed in at night & wrote to Mary.
Tuesday 14
Had a letter from Mary – wrote to Louis went to see Gene Tierney in Sundown with Mike
Wednesday 15
Sunbathed & had dinghy drill in morning – good fun – wrote to Mary at night
Thursday 16
Stayed in at night & wrote to Mother
Friday 17
Birthday card from Mary – wrote to Bert & night went to the pictures with Mac – poured with rain
Saturday 18
Still raining – went into town sewed V.R’s on uniform – wrote to Roland.
[page break]
Sunday 19
Went home for day – 10.00 train arrived 12.10 left by bus 5.25 – arrived 8.10 went to church canteen for supper wrote to Mary
Monday 20
On OD’s at night – had to polish floors etc for Air Chief Marshals visit tomorrow
Tuesday 21
Went to see Robertson Hare & Alfred Drayton in Banana Ridge at Londests’ with Mike Wrote to Mother.
Wednesday 22
Stayed in at night & wrote to Mary – rained a lot today
Thursday 23
Went to Church Canteen at night raining again
Friday 24
Took train home on 48 hrs leave – arrived 8.15.
Saturday 25
Library in morning – saw King Solomons Mine at Tower with Ken in the afternoon danced at ‘Good Fellowship Inn’ at night with Ken – very enjoyable
[page break]
Sunday 26
Walk in morning with Ken [inserted] letter from Mary [/inserted] & into the park in the afternoon – went back by bus at night – saw Stan & Mr Noble before I went
Monday 27
Went to Peasholme to the bathing pool in afternoon – warm & sunny grand time Wrote to Mary & went to Pay Accounts at night
Tuesday 28
Went to the Odeon with Mike to see ‘Reap the Wild Wind’ a very fine sea story – wrote to Mother
Wednesday 29
Hamburg again heavily raided 32 missing – letter & photo from Mary on guard at night – wrote to Mary.
Thursday 30
Stayed in at night & wrote to Joan – beach in morning – very warm & sunny slept during Nav. in afternoon
Friday 31
Went gardening all afternoon had binge in town at night with Mac Mike Don, Priest Machin & Baxter
Saturday 1 August
Short run by ourselves in morning had invasion exercise in afternoon very warm Home Guard took part & ambush etc. gas bomb – stayed in at night
[page break]
Sunday 2
[indecipherable word] early morning wrote to Mary Geoff in the Bay Room after – had a walk Don & Mike in afternoon – Church canteen at night with Mike
Monday 3
FIFF etc for posting tomorrow went with Mike to Odeon see Green Eyed Lady [indecipherable word] of £32 wrote to Mary
Tuesday 4
[indecipherable words] Brough – stayed 2 hrs in Hull saw Mother & Edith – wrote to Mary at night
Wednesday 5
[indecipherable word] 75 mins today – grand fun wrote to Father
Thursday 6
[indecipherable word] straight & level in morning [three indecipherable words] in afternoon – wrote to [indecipherable word]
Friday 7
Another 65 mins today – spins & stalls 90 mins on [indecipherable word] training over Goole saw [indecipherable words] – wrote to Fred – Don arrived today
Saturday 8
Wrote to Roland – letter from Mary & Father [indecipherable words] today & raining – went home with [indecipherable words] – went to see ‘Next of Kin’ [indecipherable words]
[page break]
Sunday 9
Home in morning with Don – walk with Ken & Wriggy in the afternoon stayed in at night – Peggy came to tea took 9.00 train back
Monday 10
No flying today afternoon off went to office – haircut – saw Babes on Broadway [indecipherable words] with Geoff – wrote to Father & John – letter from Mary
Tuesday 11
No flying today letter from Mary wrote to Mary – half day went home –
Wednesday 12
No flying again – sports in afternoon – wrote to Mike.
Thursday 13
Did landings & take off today – had a grand time – letter from Mary & Father – wrote to Mary & Alex – saw Firebrand [indecipherable word]
Friday 14
Wrote to Louis – no flying church parade – walked 5 mls through Ellington at night.
Saturday 15
65 mins landing & taking off this morning flying stopped in afternoon – went home – letter from Don
[page break]
Sunday 16
Flying today landings & take offs 65 mins with F.O. Lamont – a very nice chap – wrote to Don & Mary
XX Monday 17
Birthday today – cards from Sandy Mother Dad Edith letter from Roland & Fred – 90 mins today – spins circuits & bumps
Tuesday 18
More circuits & bumps & 7 hrs test – did fairly well – letter from Alex
Wednesday 19
Letter from Louis – circuits & bumps in the afternoon still bad & have done 10 1/2 hrs – went to canteen at night – Dieppe area invaded –
Thursday 20
Went solo today & finished the Course – packed in the afternoon wrote to Mary & went to dance at night
Friday 21
Paid – medical in morning – home in afternoon went to see Wriggy & Gee’s people at night.
Saturday 22
Gee is home – went into the town in the morning & in the afternoon with Ken – went to the Good Fellowship at night – wrote to Don
[page break]
Sunday 23
Walk in morning with Gee & Ken & Wriggy came in the afternoon – Gee went back at night & I went to Communist meeting with Ken & W
Monday 24
Went to the office in morning – wrote to Roland & Mary – saw Bob Hope in Louisiana Purchase at Dorchester with Geoff at night
Tuesday 25
Wrang [sic] Mary today – went with Geoff to see ‘The Lady has Plans’ at Criterion at night
Wednesday 26
Went into town in afternoon called to see Mr Blocker & Margaret – chose a ring – went to dance at YPI at night – Wriggy was there
Thursday 27
Rang Mary & wrote at night – might come over at weekend
Friday 28
Went to see Grasson’s at Preston in afternoon – might go next week – Alex came home tonight
Saturday 29
Went into town in morning & in afternoon with Geoff – went to Good Fellowship at night with Alex – Ken & his girl Phil were there later came round to our place after dance
[page break]
Sunday 30
Stayed in all day – saw Alex off at night – wrote to Fred.
Monday 31
Went to Preston & helped Arthur on the farm all day – stooked & [two indecipherable words] – sulphate from Hedon –
Tuesday 1 SEPTEMBER
Louis home on leave called in morning went into office later – coffee at Miss Thompsons Drink at ‘George’ with Mr W & Phil etc went to Criterion with Geoff at night Bride came COD
Wednesday 2
Louis came home this morning had dinner with Mr Grasson in town later went to Criterion & to the Tivoli at night with Geoff
Thursday 3
Louis came over – played tennis in morning – rang Mary – went to Criterion to see Look how’s [sic] Laughing & Tivoli at night with Geoff
Friday 4
Went into town with Mother – had dinner out & went to Belton later in afternoon went to dance in village with Mary at night
Saturday 5
Up late – went into Doncaster with Mary in afternoon – had grand time saw One of our Aircraft is Missing & Brooklyn Orchid both very good pictures
[page break]
Sunday 6
Stayed in until after tea when Mary & I went for a walk – came back & played cards with Mary’s Mother & Father
Monday 7
Went to Scunthorpe with Mr & Mrs Boatyman & Mary – did some shopping in the morning & went to pictures in the afternoon saw ‘They Died with their [inserted] Boots on’ (Errol Flynn) [/inserted] & at night went to see Briggs Family & ‘Murder in the Air’ with Mary
Tuesday 8
Went for short walk at night with Mary & then spent rest of evening in doors.
Wednesday 9
Spent day in the garden & playing cards with Mary’s Mother & Father – went to see High Sierra with Mary at night – Mary accepts offer of engagement when I return from Canada
Thursday 10
Reached home dinner time – went in town in afternoon to the office
Friday 11
Went to office in morning & to see Miss Johnson – rang Mary – met Louis in town in the afternoon & stayed in at night
Saturday 12
Met Mary & brought her home to lunch – went shopping in the afternoon bought her a watch for her 21st – went to Good Fellowship at night & had a good time – took taxi home then cycled back.
[page break]
Sunday 13
Brought Mary home to dinner & talked etc until it was time to see her off – went to see The Ghost Breakers’ at Regal at night
Monday 14
Wrote to Mary – went to see Mrs Gateman Ken Wriggy & one or two more people – Ken came in at night.
Tuesday 15
Took 9 0 train to Manchester & travelled with 3 Sergeants – arrived dinner time wrote to Mary & Mother at night – letter from Bert
Wednesday 16
Church parade – FFI – CO’s lecture – today went into town at night with Brow Heath & Evan for haircut – didn’t succeed
Thursday 17
Told I am to be a Navigator – disappointed had a haircut in town at night & later wrote to Mary at the Y.M.
Friday 18
Letter from Mother & Fred – went to see Arthur Askey at the Palace with Johnny Jack Stanley & Evan – good show – did a little rowing this afternoon
Saturday 19
Letter from Mary – wrote to Mary & Mother had morning off – went into town with 3 lads had a look round – went to see Jungle Book at the Gaumont after tea
[page break]
Sunday 20
Read my book in the morning after parade on cookhouse duties in afternoon with Johnny & Jed from 2.0 to 6.0 – had shower afterwards.
Monday 21
In Canteen in morning – had afternoon off & went into Manchester – had tea & went to the Gaiety to see Bud Abbott & Lou Costello in ‘Rio Rita’ had a drink & returned early – wrote to Mary.
Tuesday 22
Raining again today – went to a lecture on Music in the morning – letter from Edith & Mary – stayed in at night.
Wednesday 23
Wrote to Mary – rained nearly all the morning [indecipherable word] the afternoon off so I went into Manchester with Jack & Johnny – ate in the Y.M. went to see Du Barry was a Lady at the Palace at night
Thursday 24
Rained again today – stayed in at night & wrote to Edith – had lectures today.
Friday 25
Went to the YM at night – wrote to Mary – letter from Alex – rained again today.
Saturday 26
Went swimming in the morning – went into Manchester after dinner with Johnny & Jack – went to Belle Vue – had chips & pie at a small café – drinks in the Zoo – went to the wrestling – met 3 girls etc. letter from Mary
[page break]
Sunday 27
Stayed in bed in the morning – after parade – went rowing in the afternoon & wrote to Don – went for a walk at night with the lads & met Sylvia, Betty, Doreen & Rona
Monday 28
Went to see ‘Next of Kin’ in morning – wrote to Alex, Fred & Mary – stayed in at night.
Tuesday 29
Had the morning free – on canteen duty in afternoon & until late at night
Wednesday 30
On duty until 2.0 o’clock – off in afternoon had shower – wrote to Mary went to see The Saint in Palm Springs & Dot Lamour in Beyond the Blue Horizon [inserted] with Roy & Jack [/inserted]
Thursday 1 October
had a letter from Mary & Mother Went to the ‘Ostrich Hotel with Jack & Roy played darts & dominoes
Friday 2
Wrang [sic] Mary – unable to come over for weekend left Manchester 6.30 arrived home 11.0 o’clock spent an hour in Leeds – had a letter from Sandy
Saturday 3
Up late – wrote to Mary had a bath – took Mother to a football match (Polish XI v Red Army XI) in the afternoon – went to the Langham at night to see Douglas Fairbanks Jnr in The Corsican Brothers – a very good film
[page break]
Sunday 4
Up late walked to the station to find out the times of trains – wrote to Sandy in the afternoon & caught the 4.25 to Manchester – arrived 8.30 – letters from Mary & Don waiting for me.
Monday 5
Stayed in at night – wrote to Mary & Roland – had P.T today
Tuesday 6
Went to the Odeon at night with Johnny & Jack to see ‘The First of the Few’ dealing with the birth of the Spitfire) – later went to the Long Bow & [indecipherable word] to celebrate Jack’s birthday became quite merry
Wednesday 7
Stayed in at night & wrote to Mary & Geoff – letter from Mary
Thursday 8
Rained a lot today – on assault course in the afternoon – Air Marshal Babbington here – haircut at night – letter from Mary wrote to Mary & Mother
Friday 9
Received parcel from home & letter from Bert & Roland – rained a lot today had talk on Canada & at night went to Long Bow with Jack & Johnny (they are posted) met Joan.
Saturday 10
Went into town & Belle Vue in the afternoon with Johnny & Jack – went to wrestling match in evening – missed the last bus (had to walk to Vic) – rained again
[page break]
Sunday 11
Stayed in bed until 12.0 o’clock – changed etc & wrote to Mary in the afternoon – went to the Ostrich at night with Johnny & Jack – nice warm sunny day.
Monday 12
J & J have gone today – I am posted went into town to meet Joan but she didn’t turn up – pleased really & went to see Red Skelton in ‘Ship Ahoy’ – very funny enjoyed it
Tuesday 13
FFI, Pay Parade – etc today – very foggy in morning – later cleared & sun shined wrote to Mary & had a letter from Mother
Wednesday 14
Up early – troop train right to Bridgnorth arrived 2.10 – on guard at night – after F.FI etc. very nice district, hilly wooded with a very pleasant river
Thursday 15
Had afternoon off went into town with Ron – to the Falcon had tea at the Crown & returned early – wrote Mother & Mary
Friday 16
Went for a ramble in the afternoon with Ron & to the camp pictures at night to see Bette Davis in ‘The Three Forces’ – wrote Mary
Saturday 17
Went into town in the afternoon with Jack & Johnny, Beaton & Drewery – ate apples & then went to the Swan & the Crown & then to the dance – didn’t dance – came back with Jubbs
[page break]
Sunday 18
Wrote to Roland, Don & Joan B – went for a walk with Jack in the afternoon – lovely day – were invited out to tea – spent rest of evening in N.A.A.F.I
Monday 19
Warm sunny day – had 3 hrs Navvy – drill & P.T. stayed in at night & wrote to Mary & Ken at night in the NAAFI.
Tuesday 20
Had a letter from Mary & paper from Mother today – wrote to Bert at night – rained heavily after tea – more Navvy drill & P.T. today
Wednesday 21
Letter from Mary – wrote to Alex – went to see ‘Dive Bomber’ at the Station Cinema with Johnny Jack & Ray – not very good true American
Thursday 22
Stayed in at night – wrote to Mother & Mary – Genoa & Turin bombed
Friday 23
Played a scratch game of soccer in afternoon – enjoyed it – [deleted] stayed in at night [/deleted] wrote to Louis – went to Station Cinema at night to see ‘They Met in Bombay’ – Clark Gable
Saturday 24
Went into town after tea with Jack – went to the Majestic to see Robert Young in ‘Meet Mr Jordan’ & Fred McMurray in another film – had fish & chip supper
[page break]
[inserted] [underlined] SAT [/underlined] (CONT) walked home – grand night full moon. [/inserted]
Saturday [circled 25] XXX
Up fairly early – wired Mary (her 21st birthday today) & then went into Bridgnorth to church – rained all afternoon stayed in & wrote to Mary
Monday 26
Offensive started by us in Egypt – parcel from Mother & Joan & Lilian – also letters from Alex, Mary, Sandy Fred Mother – stayed in – wrote home
Tuesday 27
Letter from Edith – wrote to Mary Joan & Miss Clayton – went boxing again and well-hurt my thumb – stayed in at night
Wednesday 28
Letter from Edith – wrote to Sandy at night very misty earlier this morning – went to NAAFI at night & [deleted] wrot [/deleted] letter from Mary
Thursday 29
Went to Camp pictures at night & saw ‘Sergeant York’ – Gary Cooper – very good film – wrote to Mary
Friday 30
Played Soccer today – rained & didn’t play very well won 5-2 – did very little work today letter from Geoff.
Saturday 31
Learned that I was posted – informed Mother & Mary – didn’t do any work & finished at 4 o’clock went into town after tea with Johnny & Jack – saw ‘Hot Spot’ at the Majestic
[page break]
NOVEMBER 1942
Sunday 1
Clothing parade in the morning – rained went for a walk with Bill Kelly in the afternoon collected chestnuts – went into the NAAFI at night after reading in front of the fire
Monday 2
Received letters from Louis, Roland & Don wrote to Fred – didn’t do any work all day – had pay parade & FFI – packed at night went to see Les.
Tuesday 3
Up early left Bridgnorth 8.30 & arrived Manchester 4.30 – thick fog today & had difficulty in finding my Hut – wrote to Mary at night
Wednesday 4
Did nothing but stand about all day – finished writing to Mary at night
Thursday 5
Feel far from well today – headache etc. – went to a lecture in the morning (Dutchman – reporter -) & to a Review Flying High in the afternoon.
Friday 6
On Camp Co-ops in morning & had talk by Padre in the afternoon – had bath at YM at night – wrote to Mary.
Saturday 7
In the Canteen in afternoon after Camp Co-ops in morning – went to Assembly Rooms (Cheatham Hill) with Johnny to a dance there – Rommel beaten
[page break]
Sunday 8
Canteen duty until after midday – went to the YM for tea & wrote to Edith later went to Premier to see ‘Third Finger L. hand’ had seen it – US Army lands in N.W Africa
Monday 9
Posted today – did very little besides hang about – stayed in at night & wrote to Mother & Mary – letter from Edith
Tuesday 10
Letter from Mary – packed etc at night later went to Heaton Park Cinema with Johnny & Roy – saw 3 Smart Girls – had a drink & chips after
Wednesday 11
Travelled to Bridgnorth today – on a Course at last – letter from Mary there – wrote to Mary & Edith
Thursday 12
Wrote to Don – did very little besides be equipped with books etc. – spent night in the NAAFI – met Lucas & Welborn – OH’s
Friday 13
Domestic night – stayed in read Met. notes – bed early – did very little today.
Saturday 14
Lectures all morning – soccer in the afternoon – lost 3-2 enjoyed the game fine day – went to see Bette Davis in The Great Lie at Station Cinema [inserted] (wrote to Mary [/inserted]
[page break]
Sunday 15
Wrote to Mother – church parade in the morning slept during the afternoon & went to the Station Cinema at night with Joe to see ‘Tall Dark & Handsome’ (Cesar Romero) very good
Monday 16
Stayed in at night – later went to boxing match & exhibition in the Gym – very good – enjoyed it.
Tuesday 17
Letter & paper from Mother – compulsory study tonight so wrote to Mary
Wednesday 18
Letter from Mary today – wrote again to her at night after compulsory study. – chose soccer team
Thursday 19
Played soccer in afternoon lost 5-3 we had most of the play – bath, shave collected laundry & wrote to Mother
Friday 20
Compulsory study at night – went to the pictures to see Bing Crosby in ‘Birth of the Blues.
Saturday 21
[deleted] [underlined] XXX [/underlined] [/deleted] Letter from Mary & parcel from home – wrote to Mary & Louis stayed in at night. – very cold today
[page break]
Those mighty periods of years
Which seem to us so vast,
Appear no more before Thy sight,
Than yesterday that’s past.
The Ninetieth Psalm.
[page break]
Sunday 22
Worked all day – compulsory study at night – very cold again today freezing in fact
Monday 23
Wrote home sent parcel – took special bus into Wolves with Johnny & Ron – had photo taken went to see Henry Fonda & Gene Tierney in ‘Rings on her Fingers’ – letter from Mary waiting for me when I came back
Tuesday 24
Stayed in last night & wrote to Mary – paper from Mother – domestic night. –
Wednesday 25
Stayed in at night – compulsory study – very cold
Thursday 26
Soccer this afternoon – drew 3-3 good game – stayed in at night & did nav. – wrote to Sandy
Friday 27
Letter from Edith – stayed in at night compulsory study – had a good game of rugger today for P.T
Saturday 28
Went to Station Cinema to see ‘Tess in a Taxi” later wrote to Mary – letter from Mary today
[page break]
Sunday 29
Went to church in the morning – had dinner at the Swan – came back to Camp & wrote to Fred – went to the pictures after tea saw ‘Hatters Castle’ Robert Newton Deborah Kerr Emlyn Williams – plotted at night
Monday 30
Compulsory study at night
Tuesday 1 December
Letter from Mary – wrote at night rained nearly all night – also letter from Alex.
Wednesday 2
Paid today – letter from Roland – took star sights at night – compulsory study.
Thursday 3
[deleted] Letter [/deleted] Rained this morning – sports in the afternoon & won 3-2 good game stayed in at night sent parcel home
Friday 4
Compulsory study at night – letter from Mary – boxed this afternoon did quite well
Saturday 5
Stayed in at night – worked astro-sights out & wrote to Mary
[page break]
Sunday 6
Working today – also compulsory study at night
Monday 7
Wrote to Alex – hitch hiked to Wolves bought a couple of present & went to see ‘All Through the Night’ – at flicks before coming back.
Tuesday 8
Domestic night wrote to Mary – papers from home & letter from Sandy
Wednesday 9
Compulsory study at night – letter from Mary.
Thursday 10
Stayed in at night – played soccer in pouring rain & icy wind lost 3-0 parcel from home – wrote home
Friday 11
Compulsory study – stayed in & did some revision
Saturday 12
Exam today – letter from Mary & stayed in at night to write to her – plotted a few Star sights etc. – listened to the wireless in the NAAFI
[page break]
Sunday 13
Up early went to Holy Communion – had a bath – wrote to Roland – took Sun sights & went for a walk in the afternoon worked sights out at night
Monday 14
Stayed in at night & swotted boxed in the afternoon – wrote to Mary.
Tuesday 15
Boxing match postponed – swotted Met nearly all the night
Wednesday 16
Met exam today – rained quite a lot – letter from Mary and wrote to her at night – swotted again at night – parcel from home.
Thursday 17
Stayed in at night & swotted – posted Christmas cards & parcel home
Friday 18
Letter from Mary & Don today wrote to Don at night – had Met [indecipherable word] Nav. Theory today.
Saturday 19
Plotting Exam – wrote to Mary at night & went to see HM Pulham Esq with Ernie – very good picture – Johnny & Ron go on the beer – Card from Sandy
[page break]
Sunday 20
Stayed in at night & worked out Astro sights. – went to Communion in the morning
Monday 21
[underlined] XXX [/underlined] Mothers birthday – sent telegram went into Bridgnorth with Jock in the afternoon – stayed in at night – parcel from home
Tuesday 22
Stayed in at night took Astro sights – wrote to Sandy – Christmas Card from Don
Wednesday 23
Went to the flicks at night with Johnny Ron Harry & Harold – saw ‘The Ball of Fire’ Barbara Stanwyck Gary Cooper [inserted] very good [/inserted] – wrote to Mary
Thursday 24
Cross country in the afternoon – 6 mls took it easy – a book photographs & Card from Mary – went to the ‘Ash’ at night with the boys met Pete bad show
Friday 25
Had superb meals all day – wrote to Mary – Card from home – went to see A Gentleman After Dark with Collins and Colm at night – YM afterwards enjoyed it
Saturday 26
Stayed in at night – wrote home – listened to the Music Hall in the NAAFI
[page break]
Sunday 27
Went to Communion this morning – wrote to Fred – did a little swot in the afternoon – on guard at night letter from Mary.
Monday 28
Felt very tired today turned in early – letter from Edith
Tuesday 29
Did more revision at night – wrote to Mary – letter from Mother – very cold today
Wednesday 30
Compulsory study at night – letter from Geoff – wrote to Mother at night – icy North wind.
Thursday 31
Stayed in at night to revise letter from Alex. – listened to wireless in NAAFI for a short time Johnnie comes back with cut nose after revelry
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
Auxiliary Hospital
Aske Hall,
Etwall
nr Derby.
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
For nothing this wide universe I call,
Save thou, my rose: in it thou art my all.
W. Shakespeare.
[page break]
5.8.42
Flying 30 mins morning 11A2 [inserted] ? [/inserted]
“ 45 “ afternoon 2,3
[page break]
Size ‘9 1/2’ stockings
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Mervyn Adder diary 1941 and 1942
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Description
An account of the resource
Day by day description of events and activities for 1941 and 1942. Records films seen, war news including RAF operations, football matches played, weather, going to cadets, air raids, dates with Mary, social events, meeting friends, fire watching duties, playing tennis and cricket, lectures at cadets, presents for Mary, invention of radar, German operations in Russia, medical issues. On 2 October went to Cardington for medical and photographs then returned home. Mentions his work, meting friends and mail from family members and Mary. Covers Japanese operations and war news,. Goes to London for aircrew reception centre 28 March 1942, describes activities and training. Posted to Scarborough 25 April 1942 and goes on to describe activities and training. Continues with daily activities, leaves, medical issues, Carries on to Manchester for more training September 1942. describes daily activities and training. Continued to Bridgnorth for training. Describes activities and training.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
M Adder
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1941
1942
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One hundred and twenty-seven handwritten diary entries
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Diary
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
YAdderM170573v2
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Bedfordshire
England--Hull
England--London
England--Scarborough
England--Manchester
England--Shropshire
England--Lancashire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-02-28
1942-04-25
1942-09
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
bombing
entertainment
military living conditions
military service conditions
RAF Bridgnorth
RAF Cardington
recruitment
sport
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1826/33140/BScottEWScottEWv1.1.pdf
92a9acd045c19578c33cacdec86958b1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Scott, Eric William
E W Scott
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
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2017-04-06
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Scott, EW
Description
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139 items. The collection concerns Flying Officer Eric Scott (1425952, 188329 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, a memoir, correspondence, documents, newspaper cuttings, a flying course handbook and photographs. He flew operations in North Africa as a bomb aimer with 142 Squadron and then after an instructional tour in Palestine started a second tour on 37 Squadron in Italy where he was shot down and finished the war as a prisoner. <br /><br />The collection includes three albums.<br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2040"><span>Album 1</span></a> <span>Photographs of Jerusalem, Bethlehem. Tel Aviv, Haifa and friends.</span><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2041">Album 2</a> <span>Photographs taken during training in the United States and England and during his service in North Africa and Italy.<br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2046">Album 3</a> Correspondence, newspaper cuttings, documents and the last issue of the Prisoner of war Journal.<br /></span><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Jacqui Holman and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
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A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
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The Memoir of
ERIC WILLIAM SCOTT
[Photograph]
Immediately before and during
WORLD WAR II – (1939 to 1946)
[Page break]
ALLIED
EX-PRISONER OF WAR
MEDAL
[Photograph]
Obverse: The prominent feature of the front or obverse side of the medal is the strand of barbed wire which has entrapped a young bird, symbolic of freedom itself. These elements surmount a globe of the world indicative of the international parameters of the medal. The wording “International Prisoners of War” encircles the entire design.
Reverse: The haunting and vicious barb of the ever present wire is used symbolically to divide the reverse side of the medal into four elements, each bearing one of the words in the phrase “Intrepid against all adversity”.
Ribbon: One of the most distinctive medal ribbons yet designed, it is woven 32mm wide with an unusual feature in having a symbolised strand of white barbed wire 2mm wide placed centrally, this is bounded on either side by 4mm black bands representing the despair of the compound. These, in turn, are edged by two further white 2mm bands representative of the second and third fences of the compound, outside of these are 7mm bands of green, reminiscent of the fields of home and finally, both edges are comprised 2mm red bands symbolic of the burning faith of those who were interned.
[Photograph]
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FOREWORD:
From the age of 14 1/2 years old – 1936 – I was employed by Clayton Dewandre Co. Ltd., of Lincoln. Initially my work included machine shop and fitting practices. During the latter part of 1938 I was accepted as a student apprentice and commenced work in the Research and Development Department as a student Technician. I attended evening college, on Monks Road, Lincoln, four nights each week studying for an ONC in Engineering.
When war was declared in September 1939 I was concentrating on the development of a twin piston air compressor, to provide air pressure for a new tank being developed at the Ministry of Defence at Chobham. I was involved in other projects too; new air/oil coolers for the Spitfire and Hurricane, power assisted controls for the same aircraft, radiators/coolers for army vehicles and tanks and new braking systems for vehicles and gun limbers.
In January 1941, having successfully completed my ONC Engineering Course, I decided that I would volunteer for the R.A.F. Because of my reserved occupation my only option was to try and be accepted for aircrew duties, which is what I wanted and would prevent Clayton Dewandre from blocking my acceptance.
R.A.F.V.R. TRAINING
I arrived at the RAF recruiting office in Saltergate, Lincoln, in February 1941. The necessary forms were completed, I was almost 19 years old at the time. Notification was received in March from the RAF to attend Cardington, Bedfordshire, for written, oral and medical examinations over a three-day period. These examinations did not prove difficult except for one oral question of “what route would I take if I flew from England to Turkey, without crossing belligerent countries?” My geography was never a strong point and I had to admit to the four officers of the board that I didn’t know.
However, I was accepted into the RAFVR as a Pilot under training (U/T Pilot) and sworn in along with approx. 50% of those attending at the time. My RAF number was 1425752 and a silver lapel badge showing RAFVR letters, with an eagle, was issued to each person.
The officer in charge of the intake of applicants explained that they had too many aspiring aircrew at the time, and because of the limited training facilities, we would now be on deferred service until notified. I returned to Clayton Dewandre and continued with development projects until call-up papers were received in August 1941. These instructed me to report to St. John’s Wood, London, adjacent to London Zoo! It was always known as A.C.R.C. (Air Crew Reception Centre).
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[Photograph]
AIRCREW RECEPTION CENTRE
12/7 FLIGHT – LONDON – AUGUST 11TH 1941
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We were billeted in large flats – six bunks to a room. I was “closeted” with five Scotsmen and for some days just couldn’t understand a word they were saying. What with shedding ones hair and other “foreign” phrases it was very difficult to communicate. However, they became very staunch friends during our initial training.
During our three weeks at A.C.R.C. we were re-examined medically, given all the necessary injections, inoculations, blood tests, etc., including a smallpox vaccination. Many of the recruits suffered quite a lot of pain from this intensive treatment, particularly from the vaccination. I was fortunate since, having been treated as a child, my reaction was minimal.
“Kitting out” was a major operation – large kit bag stuffed with spare boots, best blues, vest – airmen for the use of – underpants, numerous pairs of socks, four shirts with eight loose collars, two ties, two side caps, shoe cleaning brushes, button cleaning equipment, sewing wallet, gas masks and tin hat. We had to remove our civilian gear to the Wembley Warehouse and don our battledress equipment. Each side hat came complete with a detachable white flash which fitted around the front and was held in place by one of the turned-up peaks. This indicated that the wearer was aircrew under training. Whilst at the warehouse in Wembley we were instructed to pack our civilian attire and wrap it in brown paper, with the address clearly printed on the label provided. These were then dealt with by the RAF stores personnel.
Whilst at the A.C.R.C. we were divided into Flights of approximately fifty recruits and were drilled, drilled and drilled – every day – to “lick us into shape”.
Being a short person i.e. 5ft 6” I was always halfway down the flight rank. Those at the front and the rear were mainly ex-policemen. It meant that we shorties had to almost run to keep up with those in front and, to prevent those at the rear from treading on our heels. The corporal in charge eventually got the stride distance sorted out – R.A.F. Standard - which suited all concerned.
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STRATFORD ON AVON
INTIAL TRAINING WING
[Photograph]
[Photograph]
PROMOTION TO L.A.C. NOVEMBER 3RD 1941
[Postcard]
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INITIAL TRAINING WING, STRATFORD-ON-AVON :
AUGUST 1941 – NOVEMBER 1941
We were billeted in hotels commandeered by the MOD. I was in the Falcon Hotel – a very old building with sloping floors, small windows and creaking stairs and floorboards. Whilst at Stratford we had to do guard duty – two hours on – four off – from 6.0 pm to 6.0 am. During the winter months it was not very pleasant and the creaking/groaning of the swinging hotel signs were, initially, rather daunting particularly when coupled with the church clock chiming and listening for the officer and NCO of the guard watch coming round to try and catch us out.
During our stay at Stratford we were taught Morse code both sending and receiving, including Aldis lamps, navigation and the Dead Reckon Type with Mercators charts, maths, aircraft recognition, theory of flight, aero engine design and, of course, drilling!
Our working day commenced with reveille at 6.0am and breakfast at 7-7.30am and ended at 4.30pm (16.30 hours). Wednesday afternoon was for sport which I spent rowing on the Avon. I also had the opportunity of seeing a few shows at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre.
We sat our exams at the end of October 1941 and I was promoted from AC2 (the lowest Non-commissioned rank to LAC – (Leading Aircraftsman) on the 3rd November 1941. This entailed sewing a cloth badge showing an aircraft propellor onto the sleeves of our uniforms. Pay also increased from two shillings and sixpence per day to five shillings per day. I was suddenly rich beyond my wildest dreams.
FLYING TRAINING
The way was now open to commence flying training. Prior to going home on my first leave, we were issued with an additional kit bag containing an inner and outer flying suit – special flying socks, flying boots, silk, wool and gauntlet gloves and flying helmet with goggles. Taking all this gear home was quite a problem, the total kit comprising one large kit bag, one flying kit bag, upper and lower pack, side pouches, gas mask and tin hat.
One week after completing I.T. Wing training I was posted direct to RAF Watchfield, No. 3 E.F.T.S. The airfield was all grass and was mainly a beam approach training school flying Oxfords and Ansons. Supplementary to this was an Elementary Flying Training School with Tiger Moths and Biplanes made by DeHaviland [sic, and this was my destination. The weather that November was very cold and a few minutes in the air, with the open cockpit aircraft, froze our faces. The bulky fling suits were a necessity and the boots, lined with sheepskin, did manage to keep the circulation going in the feet.
My fling instructor was Lt. Bembridge, a Battle of Britain Pilot. He was very anxious to show me the aerobatic qualities of the Tiger Moth. Often, after landing, my face would be ashen and I felt very sick but I was never actually air sick. The
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WATCHFIELD, NR SWINDON
[Postcard]
GYPSY 7 ENGINE – 200 H.P. MAXIMUM SPEED – 120 MPH
NOVEMBER 21ST – DECEMBER 1ST
Total hours flying 6 3/4 in which time
I passed out Solo
[Page break]
aircraft was very good to fly being light and responsive to control changes. It was, however, quite difficult to land because of its lightness and we rookies often found ourselves trying to “put the wheels down” whilst we were still ten feet or more above ground level. This, with the subsequent bouncing, was known as “walking it in”. Undercarriage repairs were required every day, but on completing the required flying exercises – see pilot’s log book – and after 6 hrs 10mins dual instruction I was allowed to go solo. It was a tremendous feeling and quite frightening to know that I was on my own and a safe take off and landing was my responsibility. There were other RAF men on the ground watching my progress and biting their nails. I cannot remember exactly but I think I completed three take offs and landings during the 00.35 minutes solo.
The time at No. 3 E.F.T.S. Watchfield was apparently an elimination period. Those who had gone solo, 8 hours allowed, were detained to go for further training to either Canada, America, South Africa, Rhodesia, or Australia on what was known as the Empire Air Training Scheme. Those cadets who needed a little extra flying training, but showed promise, were posted to other E.F.T.S. schools in the UK whilst the remainder had to re-muster as navigators, wireless operators or air gunners.
The Empire Air Training Scheme was initiated because of enemy action and weather conditions severely limiting flying training courses in the UK therefore preventing the flow of trained aircrew, with operational service, at the rate required.
Generally, the country providing the training paid for new airfields to be built and a large proportion of the training costs. This included the U.S.A.
THE ARNOLD SCHEME – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Following a brief period of leave from Watchfield in December 1941, I was instructed to report to Heaton Park, Manchester. The weather was atrocious with rain and fog. Approximately 3,000 cadets congregated at that venue and we had to “hang around” until our names and numbers were called when we went to a billeting clerk to be told who we were to stay with and the address.
John Player and myself were given the same billet – a Mrs. Pimlett – the address escapes my memory. On arrival we were met by a middle-aged lady in best “bib and tucker”, complete with carnation. She welcomed us into her home, showed us our room and explained that she was going to a wedding. She then invited us to go to the evening reception and wrote down the address.
After a bath and general “tidy up” and, with best blues donned, buttons shining and boots polished, John and I went to the address given.
We were truly welcomed by the wedding party and enjoyed the evening with them, eventually returning home with Mrs. Pimlott.
We learned that our landlady had an invalid husband and she financed their living by taking in sewing of pre-cut garments and of course now by providing a billet for such
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[Photograph]
Mid-Atlantic on board the ‘Montcalm’
12th January 1942
[Photograph]
Our only company across the Atlantic the ‘Volendam’
[Photograph]
Moncton Railway Station
Canada
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as John and I. The sewing side was almost slave labour and she had to work all day and well into the evening to obtain a meagre income.
John and I departed Manchester for Glasgow on January 6th and embarked on the S.S. Montcalm. This ship had been an armed merchantman before being converted into a troop ship. A 4” naval gun was mounted at the stern and this ship was, we were told, of 13,000 ton capacity. We set sail on January 8th 1942 with a sister ship names Volendam which also had RAF cadets on board, and in convoy with other ships and destroyer escorts. After leaving Glasgow we called at Milford Haven and then nosed out into the Atlantic. The weather, after two days at sea, became very stormy and the ship pitched and rolled to an uncomfortable degree. Many men were sea sick and food was definitely out of order. John and I lived on arrowroot biscuits and lemonade for eight of the fourteen day voyage to Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
During the very story crossing we were called upon to carry out various duties and mine was submarine watch! I couldn’t have recognised a periscope if I had seen one and in any event, the waves and ship movement were such that just staying upright was enough without looking for submarines.
Although I had been allocated a hammock for sleeping purposes, I just could not get into one, and kept falling out the opposite side so swapped for a bunk – even though the ship’s movement was intensified by a fixed bunk.
Because of the atrocious weather conditions our destroyer and convoy of ships disappeared after five days out into the Atlantic. The Volendrum went out of sight after a further two days sailing.
Eleven days after leaving Glasgow the bad weather gradually abated and we started eating Navy food again on the mess deck, but it was necessary to hang on to the plates to prevent them sliding off the end of the table.
After thirteen days at sea we were thrilled to see the bright lights of Moncton appear on the horizon.
The first things I saw after docking were large stalks of bananas – my favourite fruit – which I had not seen since 1939/40. I bought a complete stalk and shared them with John – they were delicious.
The temperature in Moncton was well below zero and a good covering of snow was evident. The cold could easily cause frost bite but it was a dry cold and providing that we were well covered, including ear flaps, a good walk would generate a pleasant glow.
The barrack blocks were well above RAF standards as also was the food.
We were at Moncton for only a few days whilst the “powers that be” allocated the 3,000 cadets from the Montcalm to the various training establishments in the U.S.A. and Canada.
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[Photograph]
Canadian Prairies in January 1942
[Photograph]
Albany, Georgia, USA
Looking down Main Street – January 1942
[Photograph]
Our barrack hut – No 5 – 9th Feb 1942
[Photograph]
British Cadets marching back from Retreat Turner Field, Albany
[Photograph]
Right
Our black waiters at Turner Field Albany, Georgia
[Page break]
Our train journey commenced late January – destination: Turner Field, Albany, Georgia, USA, and lasted for five days. We slept in bunks which hinged down from above the windows. The Canadian prairies and Northern States of the USA were thick with snow – see photographs.
The train stopped for a short time at Grand Central Station, New York and also at the AMTRAC main station of Washington DC. We travelled south through Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia and the weather became warm and pleasant.
TURNER FIELD, ALBANY, GEORGIA
Our stay at Turner Field was only for approximately two weeks during which time we were introduced to the American Army Air Corp disciplines and daily routines.
We were housed in two-storey barrack huts – see photographs – each room housed two cadets and the standard of comfort was very good. The base had its own band and this marched round the camp at 06.30 hours at Reveille, at which time we had to don our shorts and ‘T’ shirts for thirty minutes of P.E., always starting and finishing with press-ups. With this rigorous daily routine we quickly regained our fitness. Each cadet was weighed by a dietician and allocated a “weight” table in the dining room and, by that means, the calorie intake was controlled. I was on an underweight table, weighing in at just eight stone. This table had lots of rich foods and unlimited bottles of milk. Needless to say, my weight remained the same but I did justice to the food!
During our visits to the dining room we were instructed that we must only sit on the first two inches of the chair. Why this stupid rule existed I do not know, also our backs had to be upright at all times, i.e. sat to attention. At 18.00 hours we were marched to the parade ground for the last post and lowering the Stars and Stripes, at which time we had to sing the American National Anthem.
CARLSTROM FIELD, ARCARDIA, FLORIDA
Our stay at Turner Field ended with the transfer of John Player, Stan Gage and myself, along with approximately thirty American and British Cadets, in total, to Carlstrom Field, Arcadia, Florida. Arcadia was only a few miles from Sarasota and Fort Myers. Miami was approximately 200 miles further south.
Carlstrom Field had been a civilian pilot training base operated by Sembery Riddle Co. All staff were civilians except those responsible for discipline and routine flying checks. The civilians were taught on Piper Cubs whereas service personnel were trained on the American Military Primary Trainer, the Boeing PT.17 Stearman. This aircraft, although a biplane, could not be compared with the Tiger Moth. It was much heavier, more powerful, had a Wright Cyclone radial engine and, to our horror, had wheel brakes, the control of these brakes were by treadles attached to the rudder bars. This resulted in numerous ground loops with Cadets landing the aircraft in a tense condition and, inadvertently pressing down on one or more of the rudder bar brake treadles. Consequently, the maintenance staff were kept very busy repairing damaged wings.
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[Picture]
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ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE CADET’S HANDBOOK
LATERAL CONTROL
Ailerons – The ailerons, which are the surfaces used for lateral control of the airplane (wing down or up) are situated on the outer, trailing edge of the wing and are used for rolling the airplane ….
[Pictures]
LONGITUDINAL CONTROL
The Elevators – are horizontal, movable control surfaces located, on conventional aircraft, on the tail group, controlled by forward or back pressure on the stick and are used for obtaining longitudinal control (up and down).
[Pictures]
NB: Handbook still complete and in good condition
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FRONT COVER FROM CADET’S HANDBOOK
[Picture]
[Picture]
CARLSTROM FIELD – 1941
Compared with the photo to the left, Carlstrom Field – 1941, as pictured above, may with all conservatism, be termed the ideal training ground for fledgling pilots.
Constructed at a cost of over a million dollars, the new Carlstrom Field facilities offer the utmost in providing for the student pilot’s health of mind and body. Moreover, every piece of flight equipment is the finest available, insuring insofar as is humanly possible, the student’s rapid advancement as a steady, dependable pilot.
The instructors at RAI have been chosen with extreme care and trained at RAI’s Instructors’ Courses to the end that you may be taught to fly by an aviator who is one of the best in the game.
It is a matter of tradition and record, substantiated by the rosters of Military and Commercial aviation, that pilots trained at Carlstrom Field have gone forth as some of the most capable in aviation’s history.
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My instructor was a Mr. R.L. Priest, a very patient man. We were all issued with a book which gave a detailed account of how to carry out various manoeuvres including aerobatics. I was allowed to fly solo on the 24th March 1942 – see Certificate in Cadets Handbook – after being checked by Mr. Jane. Further checks were made at 20, 40 and 60 hours, and if satisfactory the specified stages of the Primary Training were complete.
During our stay at Arcadia we were allowed off base – “open post” from 4.0pm Saturday until 10.0pm Sunday. After exploring Arcadia – only one day necessary – we ventured further afield to Sarasota and Fort Myers. Before being able to hire a car we had to obtain a licence from the local Sheriff which meant driving him round the block.
Eight of us shared one car. Those who had driven before and held British Licences went first and those, such as myself, hung back. However, after five cadets had taken the Sheriff round he said “Okay boys, let’s give you your licences”, so we all qualified.
John Player, Stan and I generally went into either Sarasota or Fort Myers during “Open Post” staying at the cheapest guest house we could find. Our pay was only five shillings, plus two shillings and six pence flying pay, plus six pence colonial allowance per day, i.e. eight shillings per day. The rate of exchange was 4.50 dollars to the pound. The American cadet pay was 10 dollars per day.
We met many good and generous hosts during our breaks from camp but we were amazed by the number of people (males) who wore Stetson and spurred boots, without a horse in sight!
Sarasota had a very large caravan trailer area, mainly used by Americans going south to escape the winter snows and cold weather in the north. The weather generally was very pleasant during our stay at Carlstrom but the extreme humidity made life rather uncomfortable and it was common practice to shower at least once during the night.
During our training, one of the flying exercises was pylon eighties which taught the cadet to allow for wind drift. This meant selecting a field and flying the aircraft with the wing tip held on one of the intersections, then flying diagonally across the field so the wing tip again intersected with the opposite corner of the rectangular field.
I am certain that almost all cadets were guilty of taking empty Coca Cola bottles up on this exercise and, choosing a field with cows, we would drop one after another of these bottles causing almost a stampede. The bottles gave a loud whistle during their descent. Many farmers waved their fists and tried to get our aircraft number on these occasions.
It was during my stay at Carlstrom that I heard the black staff – generally dining room and similar duties – join together after evening meal and last post, singing blues songs. They were very impressive and this practice among them was experienced by me at all of the other bases to which I was posted.
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[Photograph]
The first batch of mail from home
Carlstrom Field, Florida
[Photograph]
Taken in the air, showing P.T. 17 flying above another aircraft – Carlstrom Field.
[Photograph]
Indian Children of Seminole Tribe, The Everglades, Florida
[Photograph]
Eric (left) & John – relaxing in Florida
[Photograph]
Home of the Stewart Family
[Photograph]
Dexter Ave. Montgomery
(Pop’s Car)
[Photograph]
Cameron Stewart at The Lake
[Page break]
Four day’s leave was granted at the end of our Primary Training. John and I decided to try and hitch to Miami. Our first lift, given by an insurance collector, took us a good 150 miles to Fort Lauderdale, calling in the Everglades at Indian settlements for their premiums. We met and spoke to the Seminole Tribe families and were permitted to take photographs of their children. A second lift took us into Miami where we checked in at a hotel. We didn’t expect to arrive in Miami on the same day as we left Arcadia.
During an evening meal we were approached by a middle-aged man from another table who enquired who we were and what we were doing in the USA. He asked us where we were staying and promptly said he would ring and cancel out room because we could stay in his hotel without any payment and this included all meals. He introduced us to his wife and friends and told us that he had emigrated to America after World War I and was from Sheffield. It was our good fortune to have been in the right place at the right time!
GUNTER FIELD, MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA
We returned to Arcadia after our leave to be posted to Gunter Field, Montgomery, Alabama for our Basic Flying Training.
Gunter Field was approximately six miles from Montgomery – the capital of Alabama and between the two was Kilby prison. During our first few weeks at the base it was noted that the electric lights dipped intermittently on quite a regular basis. We later learned that it was caused by the Electric Chair at the prison – very disconcerting to know that a prisoner was being executed when the voltage dropped.
Our aircraft for basic training was the BT.13 monoplane with fixed undercarriage. The exercises taught were virtually identical to those covered during Primary Training, except that we were not allowed to carry out snap rolls as they tended to twist the plane and fuselage. See Pilot’s log book for details of flying exercises. This part of our training concentrated more on instrument flying and cross-country daylight and night exercises.
My instructor was an ex-British Cadet from an earlier course, P/Officer Rogers. He was a good instructor and I enjoyed flying with him. Formation flying – three aircraft in ‘V’ formation could be somewhat traumatic at times, wing tips had to be placed and maintained between the wing and tail plane of the lead aircraft and not more than one wing length at the side. With air turbulence, particularly during afternoon flying, it was very dodgy. We also had to carry out low-level formation flying, as low as fifty feet. On one occasion, when flying along the Goosa River, the instructor in the lead aircraft was so low that water spray splattered us in the wing planes and a man who was fishing was so startled as we swept up the river, that he jumped in. Landing in formation was also very precarious. The lead aircraft pilot signalled by hand how many rotations of the main flap he was applying – we had to apply a higher number of rotations to ensure that we didn’t over-shoot him. On one occasion, I was rapidly rotating the flap handle when it came off its spindle. I had to make a rapid break from the formation. On another occasion an oil pipe in the engine nacelle fractured, spraying the windscreen and blocking all forward vision. Again it was a
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[Photograph]
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case of breaking formation and a hasty return to base, landing with only side vision! See large photographs of BT.13 – I am flying the nearest aircraft)
My Basic Training concluded on the 2nd July 1942. Durin my stay at Gunter Field, the first anniversary of Pearl Harbour was “celebrated”. The three American services decided to hold a parade in all major cities. The British contingent at Gunter were instructed by the O.C. RAF to take part. A Union Jack Flag was obtained and had to be paraded and escorted at the side of the Stars and Stripes. The first time they brought the British Flag onto the parade ground it was upside down. We were all issued with rifles – many months since we had carried out rifle drill, and even though it was July, with temperatures in the 90 degree F. region, we had to wear RAF Blue uniform. When we took these out of our kit bags the buttons were green and it took quite some time to bring them to parade ground condition.
Following the march through Montgomery, John and I made for the ice warehouse where we could buy a water melon to quench our thirst. It was at this point that an American youth came to us and suggested we should return home with him for lime drinks. He said his parents were across the road and they would drive us home. The youth was Cameron Stewart and his parents, Vannie and Pop. John and I went to the Stewart’s house and into the country on the Goosa river, almost every open post after that day. Very often Pop would pick us up to save us getting the bus into Montgomery. At that time Pop was co-owner of a gents outfitter’s shop. Their house was typical of those in the Southern States with Clapboard outer skin and very much like a plasterboard inner lining. All rooms were air conditioned and the freezer size, huge. All windows and door frames were wire netted to keep out the flies and mosquitoes.
The American hospitality was really rather marvellous, lines of cars would be parked outside the base on “open Post” and cadets were picked up at random and entertained by families for the weekend. Pop and Vannie’s hospitality continued when John and I were posted for Advanced Training to Craig Field, Selma, Alabama – a round trip of 100 miles from Montgomery – which Pop drove every weekend to pick us up.
This was the final stage to our graduation and the Advanced Trainer was the AT.6 Harvard, a high performance aircraft within the 200 mph bracket.
My instructor on this aircraft was P/O Percival and he allowed me to go solo after 2hrs.35 mins dual instruction. My stay at Craig Field was very short. During circuits and landings at an auxiliary airfield I was involved in an accident with another aircraft on the landing strip. The other aircraft was occupied by an American instructor who had disregarded all the ground rules for taxi-ing after landing and had decided to taxi to the take off point along the same route on which he had landed. I had chosen this line of approach to land and as the aircraft had already covered most of the landing length when I approached I did not see him reverse his tracks before I touched down. With a rear wheel it is not possible to see ahead after landing, until zigzagging when taxi-ing. Both aircraft collided.
Although there was a control aircraft on the airfield my instructor advised me that I wouldn’t receive any support from the American controller as he was a good friend of
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EXTRACT FROM PILOT’S FLYING LOG BOOK
[Photograph]
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[Photograph]
Telegram from mum on my 20th birthday – 10th March 1942
Also received telegrams from Jessie Brown, sister Dora Dickerson and sister Ethel Dixon (all telegrams still preserved in their original envelopes)
[Photograph]
PICTON, ONTARIO, CANADA
1942
[Photograph]
Approaching Canada’s Horseshoe Falls
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[Photograph]
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the instructor. Three American Officers checked my ability to fly the aircraft and at no time was my flying criticised. However, there had to be a scapegoat and that was me.
REMUSTERING – CANADA
On leaving Criag Field I was sent to Ottawa, Canada to appear before a board of officers who controlled the training of RAF cadets both in the USA and Canada.
During my interview we discussed the events of my accident and I was asked what I thought my next stage of training should be. I requested that I be considered for posting to an advanced flying school in Canada to complete my pilot training, having now achieved 130 hours in American aircraft.
I was instructed to report to a Group Captain on the board the following day for their decision. On attending this appointment I was told that they would agree to my request but I must also give written agreement that I would convert to twin-engine aircraft and stay in Canada for at least one year as an instructor. After much thought I declined their offer and opted to be retrained as a Navigator/Bomb Aimer at a school in Picton, Ontario. As my navigational training had already been concluded in America it was only a matter of a few night cross-country exercises to complete this part of my course, plus the written exams. The bombing and gunnery aspects were completely new, including theory and practice.
I graduated at the end of November 1942 and during my stay at Picton I had the opportunity of flying over and photographing the Niagara Falls. I was also able to make two visits to the Falls.
Other places visited were Hamilton and Toronto, the latter was visited on a number of occasions. It was at Picton that I met up again with Carl Hurlington and Jimmy Milichip both of whom had been sent back for retraining from pilot courses in Canada. Carl and I stayed together up to squadron allocation in North Africa.
RETURN TO THE U.K.
We embarked at New York, along with 30,000 other servicemen, on the Queen Elizabeth I – two weeks before Christmas 1942. The journey to Greenock (Glasgow) took four days and there were no escorts as it was considered that the ship could out-run the ‘U’ boats.
Only one cooked meal was served each day and every individual was given a ticket which showed which mess and meal time, which was part of the 24 hour serving. Supplementary food could be purchased from the various shops on board [sic] It was an uneventful journey and quite the opposite to the out-going one.
On arrival in Glasgow we were held for three days on board before it was our turn to be ferried ashore, after which we entrained for the RAF centre at Harrogate.
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[Newspaper cutting]
Last week saw the departure of another contingent of British Pilot Officers, lads who had, many of them, passed through stages of their training at Maxwell and Gunter Fields, at Selma’s Craig and Dothan’s Napier, and have since been stationed as instructors at various points in the Southeast. Many of these chaps will remember Montgomery as the site of their “getting acquainted” with America, and many of them have formed ties with our town which will endure long after this present war is history.
When, some twenty months ago, Montgomery was invaded by the British, our capitulation was prompt. We fell before their onslaught like a Sicilian village before our own advancing troops. Into hundreds of Montgomery homes these cadets of the RAF were invited, perhaps a little doubtfully, but most of them quickly established themselves as wholesome lads, a little different in surface mannerisms and speech, but actually very like American boys, and very happy to find a friendly welcome in a strange land.
What began as a gesture of Montgomery’s hospitality developed, often, into fast friendships, and many Montgomery homes became “home from home” for youths from Yorkshire and Wales, Londoners and Scottish lads. RAF blue was a common sight on Montgomery’s streets. And, as the training program progressed, RAF men who had trained here began to take part in the raids over France and Germany and in other theatres of war. Montgomery is represented on these RAF sweeps over enemy territory just as it is represented in the actions of our Flying Fortresses.
Now the sight of an RAF uniform has become a rarity. With the exception of those who sleep on the hill above Montgomery, the RAF trainees have taken their wings and gone to the combat areas. They write back to Montgomery as if writing home, and Montgomery has a warm place in their hearts. Almost without exception they want to return in happier times to revisit this heart of the deep south.
“I know you’re glad to be going home’ someone remarked to a departing officer The officer hesitated. “Well yes, of course But I shall be back…definitely”
Written by ‘Pop’ Stewart for the Montgomery Advertiser
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Receipt for diamond engagement ring
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Jessie Brown 1942
Below: Sister Eva outside No. 4 William Street, Lincoln
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I was eventually interviewed by Leslie Ames the cricketer, who decided that because of the extent of my pilot training I should be a better asset to the RAF by being posted to a Wellington Operational Training Unit acting as Bomb Aimer, second pilot and supplementary navigator. I wasn’t sure how I could cope with it all but I agreed to his suggestion. – The following day I was given Christmas leave.
At this point in my memoirs I must introduce Jessie Brown. I met Jessie during the brief time that she worked at Clayton Dewandre and we began to go out together between my attendance at evening college and also at weekends. This was the period between my acceptance for the RAFVR and actually reporting for training.
Before leaving Lincoln we agreed that if either of us met someone else we were quite free to go out with them. However, both Jessie and I corresponded on a regular basis during my stay in this country and also during my time in America and Canada. Also we spent my leaves together. When I returned from Canada we decided that our relationship was very special to us, even though we had not known or been together very long. It was during my Christmas leave that we decided to become engaged. We went to Gravesend to see my sister Eva who was in the ATS and was stationed there. She was a telephonist on a Heavy Ack, Ack Gun Site but managed a short spell off duty so we went for a meal together and shared all our news. We travelled back to London and stayed in a rather cold and drab hotel off Regent Street for the night and went to a jewellers called Hinds to buy an engagement ring. Jessie chose a white gold ring with five diamonds. The assistant in the shop gave her a diary and this diary and the receipt for the ring are together in our memorabilia. At the same time, whilst on leave, we decided that if I was again posted abroad we would marry before I left.
Imagine my surprise when on arrival at Moreton-in-Marsh O.T. Unit we were told that, on completion of our training we would be posted to 205 Group British North Africa Forces. This news meant very hurried preparation for our wedding to take place at the end of March beginning of April. With the very limited facilities available and rationing of food, clothes, etc., the planning of such an event was very difficult and celebrations had to be extremely limited. The flying weather conditions during the first three months of 1943 were atrocious and our wedding date had to be postponed on two occasions but everyone was very understanding about these changes of plan. However, it did make life rather difficult for Jessie and others trying to make final arrangements.
The first and most important stage of OTU training was to “crew up” with other members of aircrew who it was thought could work as a team. I was a member of a crew made up of Pilot – Cyril Pearce – also a 42H class member in the USA but at different air bases – Jock Taylor (Scottish) navigator – Jock had joined straight from college and was the youngest crew member; Jack Morvel – WOP/AG and hailed from Bury – said he dyed to live but now lived to die – very encouraging and jovial character; Ted Peters – London – rear gunner.. [sic] Ted was a bit of a loner but we always encouraged him to join us in our out-of-base activities, mainly in Moreton, which at that time was just packed with airmen. Our crew was all NCO, and we knitted together very well. Most of our training was night flying on long cross-country exercises – Bulls Eyes – going from cities in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, carrying out various laid down routines such as infra-red simulated bombing of docks,
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19th April 1943 – St. Swithin’s Church, Lincoln
Carl Harlington, Enid Scott, Eric Scott, Jessie Brown, Eva Scott, James Brown
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factories etc., which would record on camera for accuracy. On some occasions the cloud base was so thick and low that we never saw the ground from take off to landing and all navigation was done by dead reckoning and Astro-shots. Our accuracy in locating “targets” and turning points were very hit and miss, hence the postponement in completing our training. Some crews were lost during this period, either crashing in the Welsh or Scottish mountains or from the mechanical failure of the aircraft. It was also during this final part of our training we had to “stand to” for participating in a 1,000 bomber raid on Germany. I never found out the intended target because it was cancelled prior to briefing.
Our training completed – not without a few hair-raising experiences, we eventually went home on “embarkation” leave.
Jessie and I were married at St. Swithins Church on 19th April 1943 and our reception was in the ‘Gym’ room of the Rose and Crown Inn at the junction of William and Dale Street, Lincoln. We really appreciated the number of local people who helped us and we didn’t seem to miss out on anything with regard to food. Carl Harlington, who was also at Moreton and who hailed from Thorne, Nr. Doncaster, was my best man, but he was the only RAF person present, though one or two others were invited.
Jessie and I spent our wedding night at my sister Mary’s house in St. Hughe’s Street, Lincoln and the following day we travelled by train to Stratford upon Avon where we stayed in a B & B which we found on arrival – address : Sheep Street. After three days we returned to Lincoln as my leave was completed.
On my return to OTU I found that Cyril Pearce had also married during his leave, to a WAAF – Doreen – who was stationed at Gloucester. They married on the Saturday and we on the Monday.
Our final stage at Moreton was to “pick up” a new Wellington aircraft from a dispersal airfield near Gloucester and fly it on a number of exercises to ensure that everything functioned satisfactorily before taking it out to North Africa. As this exercise usually absorbed three weeks of our time, Cyril and I arranged for Doreen and Jessie to join us at Moreton for a week, I.e. the last week prior to departure. We stayed at the “Wylwyn Café” which also let rooms. One of the events which stays in my mind was our visit to the circus at Moreton. We all went along including Jock Prentice – another pilot who had also been married during his leave and whose wife had joined him at Moreton. The circus acts were extremely poor but what topped the lot was the smell – particularly when they let the lions into the “arena”. One can imagine the shouts and comments which ensued from a few hundred airmen!
We learned during this last week at Moreton that Doreen was AWOL from Gloucester, so Jessie and Jock’s wife loaned her civilian clothes to wear to hide the fact that she was a service woman, bearing in mind that the Service Police were well represented at Moreton and the surrounding area. The final day arrived when we had to say goodbye to our wives and walk to the airfield knowing that we would be flying that day, 27th May 1943 on the first leg of our journey to North Africa – which was from Moreton to Portreath in Cornwall.
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OPERATIONAL TRAINING UNIT
MORETON-IN-MARSH
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We stayed overnight at Portreath and on 28th May at 6.30am took off and set a course to go around the tip of France, across the Bay of Biscay, momentarily seeing the coast of Portugal and Spain and crossed the Moroccan coast at Casablanca. We then corrected course for our overnight destination at Ras-el-ma. On landing, at approximately 3.30pm British time, i.e. a nine hour flight, we were relieved to open the hatch and climb out. The air temperature suddenly hit us as we stepped onto the ground and we were surrounded by black people (local) in strange uniforms and cloaks and even stranger rifles and other firearms. This was the guard for our aircraft. RAF Ground Personnel took us to report in, and then to the “canteen” (tent) for our meal before going to our billet to make our bed for the night. During the late afternoon, Cyril and I changed the engine coolers to the tropical type as instructed at Moreton. We took our tropical khaki uniforms, with the “long shorts” as issued and our Blue kit had also been changed to khaki to “merge” with the desert sand.
On 29th we set course for Blida near Algeria which was the Headquarters of 205 Group. This took us across the Atlas mountain range which was a truly magnificent sight. This flight was only of four hours duration.
My only significant memory at Ras-el-ma was when we started the engines to fly to Blida. It was my job to prime the engines and then give Cyril the “thumbs-up” to crank them and, if they didn’t fire straight away I gave another pump on the primer which was at the Nacelle. Normally three pumps were required to get the engine – a Hercules Radical – to fire. No-one told us that in warmer climates two pumps were adequate and consequently flames poured out of the exhaust and burned my hair, eyebrows and singed my eyelashes. The smell was terrible but luckily I was not injured in any way. The second engine was started with two pumps and yours truly stood well back.
On landing at Blida we were told that we would be staying there the following day. This station’s billets were ex-Foreign Legion and the beds were curved upwards towards the centre from top to bottom. Here we encountered for the first time the French Loo!! We never thought we would manage to cope with it but practice makes perfect!
We went into Algeria the next day and saw oranges growing on the trees in the streets, experienced our first Arab Souk and the way of “hard bargaining” before purchasing anything. We had received some pay in Francs before going into town but, apart from buying “lunch” and coffee I can’t recall paying for anything else.
On 31st May we once again took off and set course for Kairouan, Tunisia. It was a three hour flight and we landed at 3.0 pm, having had to circle for thirty minutes because of exploding oil drums at the “airfield” which had been “touched-off” by the heat of the sun.
Kairouan was a number of white buildings just a mile or so from the airfield. This airfield had previously been a cornfield and the stubble was very much still in evidence. Steel, interlocking tracking – made in USA – had been laid on top of the stubble to form the runway and of course it became very hot and was the main cause
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of tyre bursts, of which there were many. The accommodation was all tented as was the various messes, because the squadrons were a mobile unit. The two Wellington Squadrons – 142 and 150 which had been sent from Waltham, Lincolnshire had been giving tactical night bombing support to the 1st Army which had landed at Bone. The “Desert” Wellington Squadrons who were now also based around were 104, 40, 37 and 70 and further support was provided by a squadron of Liberators, South African manned, and one of Halifax’s. These night bomber squadrons formed 205 Group and could produce between 80 and 100 aircraft for a night’s operation.
FIRST OPERATIONAL TOUR – 142 SQUADRON
I flew my first operation with Sergeant Cox, his B/A was sick. He had completed two thirds of his tour and Jock Taylor and I shared his tent. The target was a small island occupied by the Italians and from which they could attack our shipping. It was only lightly defended from air attacks and it was an “easy” target. This operation was one June 9th and the island, Pantelaria. (see log book).
We didn’t fly again until the 19th June when we flew as a complete crew – the target was Messina. This target was just the opposite to my first trip and we learned very quickly how to shorten the bombing run to a minimum and weave to avoid the AA shells which, on all major targets, proved to be very accurate. Sergeant Cox and his crew failed to return on this trip, which came as quite a shock to Jock and myself, reminding us that we were very vulnerable.
We continued to attack targets in Sicily and the area in Italy near to Sicily, in readiness for the invasion which took place on the night of July 9th when we were told to stay over our targets for at least thirty minutes dropping one bomb at a time and attracting the searchlights which we must then machine gun. Jack Morvel went into the front turret for this time over the target, which for us was Syracuse. Major targets such as Naples, Leghorn, Salerno, Pisa and all the airfields, were heavily defended by both AA guns and fighter cover. We had a few close shaves and there were a number of occasions when the AA shells exploded and splattered our aircraft and the cordite passed through the fuselage. On one particular trip over Naples when we become coned in the searchlights, Cyril had to throw the aircraft around to try and escape because the gun-fire was uncomfortably close. Jack Morvel was hanging onto flares in the tricel shute ready to release them when I warned him what was going to happen. The sudden, almost vertical bank that Cyril made caused Jack to lose balance and he fell into the side of the Elsan toilet which promptly broke loose and emptied its contents all over him. He wasn’t ‘flavour of the month’ for days after and had to replace his uniform battle dress. We did however manage to locate and bomb the target and return home – but had to make a second bombing run.
Our first tour was completed – thirty eight operations – by a visit to the Civitavecchia marshalling yards on October 3rd 1943, i.e. June 9th had started a four month period.
During that time I wrote and received many letters from home and received parcels with a variety of contents. We were entertained by professional artists on make-shift stages in the open air – names such as Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Charlie Chester and others. Members of the War Cabinet made visits to the Group
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142 SQUADRON, NORTH AFRICA – JUNE 1943
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From left to right : Ted Peters, Eric Scott, Jack Morval, Jock Taylor, Cyril Pearce
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from left: Ted Peters and J Prentice with two crew who were killed over Naples July 1943
Our camp near Kairouan, Tunisia
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and told us what was and was not happening and why. We complained about the rations – mainly melted bully beef and biscuits, and the cigarettes that were issued. They changed the cigarette packets from ‘V’ to Woodbines, the contents remained the same, terrible. Fortunately we could purchase various other true brands from the Sergeant’s Mess.
We made several visits to Sousse, Hammamet and other smaller coastal places for a dip in the Mediterranean.
The lovely white walled city of Koirouan was a myth, it smelled to ‘high heaven’ and we couldn’t go to the Souk unless there were five or six of us together. The Arabs were definitely objectionable, probably because we were very tight in our bargaining at “tent level”. They did however win the “top award” when they took a tent whilst five men were asleep inside!! It was quite a shock to the occupants when they awoke.
Water allowances were very limited. The daily ration for a tent of five was a five gallon drum. This had to be for washing ourselves, our clothes and for drinking. The drinking water was kept in a hole just outside the tent, using a brown pot jug which kept the water at an acceptable temperature.
The air temperatures were very high during the day but were pleasantly cool at night after sunset. It was not possible to touch metal exposed to the sun after 10.0am and it was common practice to fry an egg on a metal plate in the sun. Our wash basin was an upturned tin hat with the inside removed and fitted into the tail fin of a bomb. Other improvisations such as making a comfortable bed frame and raising it from the ground away from dung beetles, scorpions, etc. were introduced within days of arrival or were “bought” with cigs, chocolate, etc., from crews who had completed their tour and were leaving.
Flies were a big nuisance, settling on food and spreading disease. Gyppy Tummy and Dysentery were experienced by virtually everyone and ‘having the runs’ was no fun at all.
Jock Taylor went down with yellow jaundice and was in the hospital tent for at least a week. He perspired considerably and every day his shirts were encrusted with salt from the body. His feet were also very odorous – but he did consent to leave his socks off during non-flying hours!
We had to be very careful not to get sunburn as this was a chargeable offence if it prevented anyone from flying.
Our posting to Tunis arrived and we were to stay at the transit camp for further instructions, presumably to await either air or sea transport to the U.K. During our stay in Tunis we met ‘Poni’ (the only name we knew him by). He was Maltese and his mother and sister, together with himself and his horses escaped from Malta because of the siege and came to Tunis where he continued to earn his living as a jockey, with his horses pulling a ‘cart’ on two wheels around the local race tracks. They appeared to be a wealthy family and he took us around Tunis for dinners in local hotels and objected then we insisted on paying for an occasional meal.
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PALESTINE – MAY 1944
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Y.M.C.E. Building – Jerusalem
Right: The British War Cemetery
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‘Mount of Olives’
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‘Garden of Gethsemane’
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We also visited Carthage, the construction of which astounded us, with the running water and drainage system. This ancient city is a must to visit for anyone travelling in the area.
We had a severe shock when our posting came through. Only Jock Taylor was returning to the UK because of his jaundice, the rest of us were to fly to Cairo by Dakota, have leave and then proceed to Palestine where a new Operational Training Unit was being opened to instruct RAF personnel coming through from Rhodesia, South Africa and other Empire Training countries, prior to joining 205 Group.
We flew from Tunis across the Sahara Desert, visiting Tobruk on the way and landed at Cairo airport. We were taken to Heliopolis, a large transit camp about five miles out of Cairo and were incarcerated there for three weeks.
Cairo was visited almost daily. We had lots of back pay to draw upon and we visited a number of shows and night clubs. Jack Morvel blotted our copy book on one occasion when a troop of dancers were caterpillering off stage and he promptly dashed onto the stage and joined the end of the line. We had to leave but we had seen the show at half price. The Arabs in Cairo had to be watched very closely. They would steal anything, even the wealthy merchants from the Souk area couldn’t be trusted.
Eventually we left Cairo by a train which had wooden lattice seats, for two days of journeying to Tel-Aviv. Our bums were numb by the time we arrived! Upholstered seating was out because of the bugs which abounded in the Middle East and all bed legs had to the placed in tins partially filled with paraffin to prevent the bugs getting into bed with you!
Our destination from Tel-Aviv was 77 OTU Qastina. The station was only partially complete when we arrives and we were the first “instructors” to enter the station. The Sergeant’s Mess had not been completed at that stage and our aircraft had not arrived.
We spent Christmas 1943 on the Station. The accommodation was brick built blocks with three persons to a room. We had good beds, good showers new ‘mossie’ nets and plenty of storage room. The temperatures were quite moderate and we had to wear our Blues during the early part of the year.
Most of the construction work was being done by Arabs with RAF supervision. They would only work when they needed money and would arrive on their donkey, hobble the two front legs and report for duty – all very slowly. Occasionally we would unhobble a donkey, slap it on the rump and then at the end of the day watch the face of the owner then he found it was missing. They always dramatised everything that happened to them.
The airfield had been built on a small plain which was also the grazing area for local village animals. This resulted in considerable difficulties controlling aircraft movements because the Arabs would drive their sheep, camels, etc., across the airfield and runways at random. We tried to discourage them by rounding up their animals,
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BETHLEHEM
A Judean Home
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Mother of Pearl Workers
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TEL-AVIV
Boulevard Rothschild
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Habimah Theatre
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HAIFA
The Road to Mount Carmel
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Technicum
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putting them into a compound and then insisting that they pay a ‘fine’ to get them back. The local Mokta (Mayor) visited us frequently and we prevailed upon him to stop the villagers from crossing the airfield. The climax came when a Defiant hit a camel which was crossing the runway. Unfortunately the aircraft was a write-off and we didn’t think much of the camel steaks either!
Eventually we were able to educate the Arabs to keep off the runways and, if they needed to cross, to wait for a green Aldis from the control tower. The Arab women could carry very heavy weights on their heads and this was demonstrated when two of them dropped bales of compressed straw onto the runway – we had to use the 15 cwt Chevrolet to drag them clear.
Whilst in Palestine we took the opportunity to visit the sights mentioned in the Bible. Jerusalem, Gol-Gotha, Haifa, Sea of Galilee, Bethlehem. The Jewish people were not kindly disposed to us. It was the period when ships with European immigrants were being turned away and would-be leaders were conducting terrorist activities. It was necessary to always be on the alert against attack.
Our main entertainment was either visiting Tel-Aviv for the day, being invited to the Polish Armoured Division near Ramalah, or having a dance in the Sergeant’s mess. The ATS and WAAFs were brought in by truck for these occasions.
When a course of ‘pupils’ passed out, one per month, they would invite their instructors to join them in the mess to celebrate the occasion. Many did ‘pass out’ but it was quite an event each month and I never needed rocking off to sleep on such nights.
The only other significant occasion I remember was P/O Izzard who was being taught to fly on one engine. I was also in the aircraft instructing a bomb-aimer. The screen pilot asked his ‘pupil’ to unfeather the port engine and return to normal power but unfortunately he feathered the starboard engine. We were too low to recover any power and the screen pilot had to crash land the Wellington in open country. Luckily no-one was injured but the aircraft was written off.
A week later I went for the weekend to The King David Hotel, Jerusalem. When I woke up the next morning my hair from ear to ear was on the pillow. I thought that someone had played a prank on me but soon discovered that my hair was still falling out. On my return to Qastina I reported to the M.O. who sent me to Tel-Aviv hospital. The Specialist went into raptures because he had not previously seen such a perfectly defined Alopecia profile of hair loss – just in line with the medical book. He brought into his consulting room both junior doctors and nurses but my question was what could he do about it and how quickly would it grow. The response was quite negative, I was told it would re-grow but over a period of months. The cause – delayed shock from the crash landing.
During the early part of my stay at Qastina I was sent to Ballah, down the Red Sea, on a Bombing Leaders and Instructor’s course. We worked fourteen hours every day either in the classroom or flying. We had to cram a three month course into two weeks. Immediately on arrival we were given a smallpox vaccination, apparently it
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had broken out in the area. Fortunately for me it didn’t take. They tried three times but then gave me an exemption certification. The course was very enlightening – our tutor being a Squadron Leader and ex Oxford University Professor. I came second in the course with a 96% pass, beaten by a New Zealand Maori with 98% - a man with considerable retentive abilities.
I continued to teach at 77 O.T. Unit, Qastina, until the end of June 1944 when I agreed to team up with Brian Jeffares a NZ pilot to return for a second tour of operations, based at Foggia, Italy.
My other recollections during the stay in Palestine were the frogs and toads. Thousands of them came out after dark and made such a fearful noise when we walked across the grass verges and tarmac roads they just squelched under our shoes. The other was the cheapness of fruit. We had a plywood tea chest, normal size, which we would half fill on a bi-weekly basis. This would cost around five shillings. Huge grapefruit was stacked at the side of the roads, like sugar beet, and left to rot because of the lack of transportation to send them to other countries.
Jack Morval and I were, on one occasion, invited out to a meal with an Arab family by a Palestinian Policeman. Quite an experience. We sat on mats around a large dish full of mutton portions, including eyes, of which everyone present had to eat at least one. This was not pleasant but I did manage to swallow one with my own eyes closed! The Arab family were upper-class and very good hosts and could speak quite good English. I was under the impression that the Palestinian Policeman dined with them on a regular basis.
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205 GROU – FOGGIA, ITALY 1944
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Our Crew see dots:: Brian Jeffries (NZ) Jack (Canada) Snowy Ayton (NZ) Eric Scott (UK) Jack Nichols (UK)
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SECOND TOUR OF OPERATION – 205 GROUP
Our Crew:
P/O Brian Jeffares New Zealand Pilot
W/O Snowy Ayton New Zealand Rear Gunner
F/Sgt Jock Nicholls Scotland W/O Air gunner
F/O Jack Canada Navigator
F/Sgt Eric Scott England Bomb/Aimer
We left as passengers in a Dakota bound for Capodichino airfield, Naples, on 23rd July 1944. Our first touch down for refuelling was Benghazi, then further stops at Tripoli, Bari and finally Naples. Flying time was 11hrs 50 minutes but the duration of the overall journey was fourteen hours. (See Log book).
We were allocated to 37 Squadron of 205 Group flying MK X Wellingtons but these were now fitted with the MK X1V bomb sights, another Barnes Wallis invention and considerably superior and more accurate than the old MK IX. It worked on a gyroscopic principle so that if the aircraft banked the sight only rotated half the amount, thus keeping the sighting vertical. This enabled short bombing runs to be made with great accuracy and gave profound relief to the crew as this period was the time most likely to be hit by Anti-Aircraft fire and coned by searchlights.
Following two days of air tests to acquaint ourselves with the locality and hazards we were listed for our first operation to an aerodrome in the South of France. A trip of almost nine hours duration. We had two bombs ‘hung up’ and I had to chop out a section of the ‘cat walk’ above the station concerned and then release them manually over the sea.
Over the next twelve days we completed seven operations, two of which were to the Ploesti oil refinery complex near Bucharest. This was the third most heavily defended target in Europe with many searchlights, light and heavy AA guns and, I have since learned, a ratio of two fighters to every bomber.
Our losses were very high in 205 Group, around 10%, but not nearly as much as the Americans who followed us on daylight operations. They lost well over 100 aircraft each day.
Our first operation on Ploesti was quite reasonable and we were not coned, although the gun fire was accurate and the smell of cordite in the plane was quite unmistakeable we came out unscathed. The next attack was quite the opposite. We approached the target at 15,000 feet and were at least three miles away from the aiming point when a master searchlight came straight onto us, followed by at least five others. We corkscrewed, dived and did every manoeuvre possible but could not get rid of them. We were then down to 8,000 feet and being hit by light and heavy AA fire. We did the shortest bombing run ever and then continued to take avoiding action, losing height all the time. We levelled out at 700 feet, at last free of the defences and about seven miles from the target. We saw a number of aircraft being shot down and much air to air firing by observing tracer fire. We knew that some of the fires on the ground were dummies and that some of the ground explosions were to make us think that
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more aircraft were crashing than was the case. However, our losses on that occasion were high.
Following the Ploesti trips two crews in our Group refused to go on any further operations. They were court martialled and accused of ‘lack of moral fibre’, lost their rank and brevet and sent to detention. I often wondered whether the court of officers presiding had ever been to Ploesti or any similar targets. It was a very frightening experience especially with such a small force of aircraft.
We pressed on, operating through August, September and into October. Being an experienced crew we were sometimes called upon to carry out Path-finding, when we had to locate the target using flares, in Chandelier then make a second run to drop target markers of either Red or Green, then a third run to drop our bombs. Not very healthy and also we were not equipped with ‘H2S’ or ‘G’, blind target identification aids, as fitted to all four-engined aircraft operating from the UK.
Some of our operations involved dropping mines on the Danube which prevented, delayed, or damaged barges being towed with German supplies to their front lines in Hungary, it particularly restricted the supply of oil to their forces in Italy and Germany.
Dropping mines was known as ‘Gardening’ and each crew were given a ‘Bed’ or stretch of the river in which the mines must be delivered. Naval officers briefed and de-briefed us on these occasions. We usually carried four mines. When about 100 miles from the target and depending upon the terrain, we would drop to between 600/700 feet to be under the Radar beams. As the river came into view, bearing in mind that it was always a full moon situation, we would drop to 200 feet. On identifying our Bed we would further reduce height, sometimes to 100 feet before releasing the mines. This ensured that the mines would not break up on impact with the water.
Inevitably there was much light gunfire from the banks and also rocket launches on barges in the river. The rockets whistled past the aircraft but we were never hit by either of the defences and we didn’t waste time getting away.
One of our squadron crew was shot down over the river on one mine laying trip but they managed to ditch, swim to the bank and three weeks later arrived back on the squadron. We wanted to know why it took them so long!
With the Russian advance, guns and fighter aircraft became even more concentrated and targets more difficult to attack, consequently our losses also increased because of this.
About the middle of October, Wing Commander Langton, our C/O sent for our crew and told us that the Group was converting to Liberators. He said that our tour of operations would be completed in the next week or so and that we would then return to the UK. It was not worth the expense of us converting for a few operations. The following day I filled in the necessary forms to apply for a commission as I considered that this would be more beneficial to me on my return than a Warrant Officer rank
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[Photograph]
Beside the main road from Bucharest to the famous oil town of Ploiesti, lies the beautifully tended Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery. While British Defence Attaché in Romania (1979-82) the author became curious to know how the 80 British and Commonwealth airmen, who lie in this peaceful place, met their deaths between May and August 1944.
He discovered that they were from the RAF’s 205 Group which, flying from airfields in the Foggia Plain of Italy, was the night bomber component of the Mediterranean Allied Strategic Air Force. They had lost their lives during the sustained day and night offensive against the Romanian oil industry and its distribution network, the transportation system supporting the German front in Moldavia and the mining of the Danube.
The cost to the Group, against these well-defended objectives – rated third after Berlin and the Ruhr - was 254 aircrew. 154 lost their lives, 73 became prisoners, while 27 evaded capture and returned to Allied lines after many adventures. 46 Bombers were lost.
Patrick Macdonald’s account of these operations is based on the contemporary official reports and intelligence assessments fleshed out by the recollections of many of the men who were there from all corners of the Commonwealth.
‘…a riveting story, well organised and well told… Patrick Macdonald’s book convincingly justifies his assertion that this bomber offensive, though little publicised at the time was no side show when set against other events nearer to the main arena of the war and for those who took part in it.’
British Army Review
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which was imminent. I was interviewed the following day by Wing Commander Langton who said that he would forward a recommendation to Group HQ without delay.
On the 17th October we carried out what we thought would be our final operation on a marshalling yard in Yugoslavia. However, on the afternoon of the 21st we were asked to fill in for a crew whose pilot had reported sick. The target was Maribor marshalling yards in Yugoslavia. Everything went wrong on that day. The aircraft was an old MKIII and one engine was ‘playing up’ when we checked it out in the afternoon. When we went to take off the engine was still showing high mag. drop. Further work was carried out but eventually we took off fifteen minutes late and with a slower than normal aircraft. Our arrival on target was at least twenty minutes behind schedule and, of course, we were on our own. After dropping our bombs we turned for home and tried to do a bit more catching up. On approaching the Yugoslavian mountains we were attacked by a German fighter from below. No-one saw it as it was in a blind position. The damage was mainly to the petrol tank on the starboard side, so I switched both engines to that tank to save fuel.
Despite the fact that we dog-legged, changed height and changed our position every few minutes, we were again attacked about fifteen minutes later and on this occasion the aircraft went out of control. Brian gave the order to abandon the aircraft. I opened the front lower entry/escape hatch, saw Jock and Jack the navigator go forward, then picked up Brian’s parachute and gave it to him, meanwhile he was trying to slow the descent of the aircraft which was quite considerable. On trying to clip on my own ‘chute I could only feel a clip on the left side – the right hand clip seemed to be flattened. Being dark I couldn’t see what had happened. There was very little time to ponder the problem because we were over the mountains which I could see from the side window. My only chance of survival was to jump and hope that the canopy shrouds would not entangle so that the ‘chute would open.
I said a very quick prayer asking God to give me a safe landing and then swung out of the forward hatch. I then felt for the rip cord handle and pulled it. Almost immediately there was a very load crack and I was jerked into a floating situation. At the same time I saw our aircraft explode on the ground. Not being sure of my ‘angle of dangle’ I was not ready when I hit the ground with considerable force. My face hit a boulder on the mountain side – I’ve never looked so good since. It was pouring with rain and numerous dogs were barking, presumably because of the exploding aircraft.
HOSTAGE/PRISONER OF WAR
The first thing I did after releasing my parachute was to thank God for my life, and also prayed that somehow Jessie and the family would know that I was safe.
After wrapping myself in my parachute for warmth and protection from the rain I went to sleep.
The tolling of a church clock and the barking of dogs woke me at daybreak. The rain had ceased and looking around I realised that I was about one third of the way up the mountain and it was mainly boulders and scree around and below me. My face was
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[Photograph]
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stiff and sore and coated with dried blood on one side. I collected my parachute into a manageable ball and then examined the harness. The right hand clip was torn away and the remaining metal, near the harness, was very distorted. It was apparent that either a bullet or shell from the fighter had hit the clip and torn it away. The thought of such a ‘close call’ made me shiver and I was thankful for my safe deliverance. I hid my parachute between a boulder and the ground on the face away from the valley.
There was a farmhouse near the bottom of the mountain in a concealed position. I watched the activity at the house for at least three hours. The farmer came out of the house with his dog, followed by a woman who assumed to be his wife. Later, a girl who was probably about twelve years old and a boy 8-10 years started to do tasks around the farmhouse. By this time the chimney was smoking. Looking at my watch I saw it was around 10.0 am when they all returned to the house. At 11.0 am I decided that the family were harmless and that I would approach them for assistance to try and contact Tito’s Partisans.
I didn’t have any problems negotiating the descent and arrived at the farmhouse unseen. The lady opened the door to my knocking and audibly gasped. I explained who I was with gestures and she called her husband. When asking them for help I tried to explain that my parachute could be retrieved and given to them in return. The man came with me and helped to bring my parachute down to the house. I offered him a cigarette and, with the ‘hot end’ I burnt a piece of the canopy as a keepsake. What I didn’t realise was that the farmer had sent his son the alert the military authorities.
On the boy’s return the farmer motioned me to follow his son, giving me the impression that he would guide me to the Partisans.
My freedom was short-lived however, as by evening we were picked up by the Croation Military who were co-operating with the German Army and also fighting the Partisans. They were a very ‘trigger-happy’ bunch of soldiers and I knew that it was useless to make a run for it so, with a number of guns pointing in my direction I was escorted to an ancient truck and driven under guard to Gospic and the Military H.Q. where I met Snowy, Jock and Jack. We were locked in a room and left overnight but were given a meal of what seemed like pasta and jam. It was good and very welcome. I quietly asked the other crew members about Brian, whether anyone had seen him or heard about him. Snowy said he thought he had gone down with the aircraft. Apparently, just before I escaped, Snowy had gone out backwards with the turret rotated at 90° to the fuselage. This was quite a common practice and a much quicker escape route for rear gunners. Unfortunately Snowy had got his feet tangled up with the firing cables and this prevented him getting clear of the turret. He then put his helmet back on and asked Brian to hold the aircraft a little longer so that he could clear the cables. Whether he told Brian when he was clear is not known but there is no doubt that Brian sacrificed his life for his New Zealand cobber – a very generous act of self-sacrifice and discipline. I do not know where Brian is interred or whether he has any known grave.
After sleeping fitfully we were allowed to go one at a time to wash etc. Meanwhile an American-born woman married to a Croation came to see us and provided breakfast
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[Post Office Telegram]
TRANSCRIPT OF OFFICIAL TELEGRAM
Mrs E.W. Scott 4 William St. Great Northern Terrace Lincoln
From Air Ministry 73 Oxford St. PC 23/10/44
Regret to inform you that your husband 1425752 Flight Sergeant E.W. Scott is reported missing as the result of air operations on 21st October.
Enquiries are being made through the International Red Cross Committee and any further information received will be communicated to you immediately.
Should news of him reach you from any other sources please advise this department.
Letter following shortly pending its receipt no information should be given to the press.
1140 A
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and a cup of tea. She also arranged for me to be taken by a guard to the local hospital to have my face treated and accompanied me to translate when necessary. After two days in the Military Headquarter, during which we were relieved of our identity discs – much to my disgust – we were taken to the local prison and locked up in a cell about 12 feet x 8 feet with a stone floor. It was very cold and we couldn’t seem to persuade the guards to give us some blankets.
Eventually the ‘American lady’ came to see us and explained that we were not prisoners of war but hostages. She arranged for blankets to be issued and reassured the guards that we would not harm them. This conversation produced a complete change of attitude from the guards who shared their Schnapps with us and a few days later brought playing cards out. They never won, Snowy was a past master at cheating.
About one-two weeks after capture, the military advised us that they were going to hand us over to the Germans as being only hostages they couldn’t be responsible for our safety with the Russian advance. We objected and asked why they wouldn’t allow us to contact the Partisans, if they showed us their location on a map we would attempt to walk to them. They would not agree to this and the following morning in heavy rain we had to board an open lorry for transit to Zagreb and the Germans. The journey took several hours and we were soaked to the skin when we were taken into the German camp and locked in cells which were constructed of wood. A long passageway linked each cell and we quickly found out that there were American airmen in the next two cells to ours. Apparently they had been shot down a few days previous after returning from a raid on Vienna.
The Feldwebel in charge of us was a very dour, Prussian type of German and shouted at us at every opportunity, and at the same time hitting us with his rifle butt whenever we wanted to visit the toilet. The food provided was very poor, but nevertheless, it helped to fill an empty stomach. The Americans decided enough was enough with the hostility of the Feldwebel and with us in accord started to sing ‘Or would you rather be a mule’. The Germans went berserk, hitting us again with their rifle butts until the Unter Officer intervened.
The following day we were handed over to four Luftwaffe guards and taken to the local railway station where we boarded a train bound apparently for Budapest.
None of us had smoked a cigarette for some time and, on boarding the train, we saw long cardboard-type holder s with what appeared to be tobacco inside. On closer inspection, however, they were only the tubes which had been attached to Turkish cigarettes – disappointment all round. After many hours of train travel with a lot of stops we arrived at Budapest Station around mid-morning the following day. We had not eaten or drunk since leaving Zagreb. The 8 plus 4 of us were taken to the German Military Police office on the platform, given a chunk of black bread and some German sausage. It was then we heard the Russian shells falling on the City and in fact they were hitting part of the station complex. The German guards, who were all in their fifties, herded us quickly back onto the train and with civilians who were cramming into the compartments and on the carriage roofs, the train left the station leading North from whence we had come.
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[Crest] AIR TRAINING CORPS [Crest]
CITY OF LINCOLN SQUADRONS
Nos. 204 & 1237
Lindum Holme, Lindum Terrace, Lincoln Tel: Lincoln 914
From O.C. 1237 Squadron. A.T.C.
Dear Mrs Scott,
It is with very deep regret that we learn that your son, Flt/Sgt. Eric Scott has failed to return from recent operations.
We need not tell you how very proud we are of Eric’s record with us and subsequently with the R.A.F. and how sincerely we hope that you may soon receive brighter and reassuring news of him but in the meantime please remember that all ranks of his old A.T.C Squadron are with you in thought and sympathise with you in these dark times.
Yours in deep sympathy,
[Signature]
Flt. Lieut.
O.C. 1237 Squadron, A.T.C.
AIR MINITRY,
(Casualty Branch),
73-77 OXFORD STREET,
LONDON, W.1
P/424636/3/P.4.A.2.
29 October, 1944.
Madam,
I am commanded by the Air Council to confirm the telegram in which you were notified that your husband, Flight Sergeant Eric William Scott, Royal Air Force, is missing as a result of air operations on 21st October, 1944.
The telegraphic report from Air Force Headquarters, North Africa, states that your husband was air bomber of a Wellington aircraft which set out to attack marshalling yards at Maribor, Yugoslavia and failed to return.
This does not necessarily mean that he is killed or wounded, and if he is a prisoner of war he should be able to communicate with you in due course. Meanwhile enquiries are being made through the International Red Cross Committee, and as soon as any definite news is received you will be at once informed.
If any information regarding your husband is received by you from any source your are requested to be kind enough to communicate it
/immediately
Mrs E.W. Scott,
4, William Street,
Great Northern Terrace,
Lincoln.
immediately to the Air Ministry.
It is desired to explain that the reference to publication in the Press was included in the telegram informing you of the casualty to your husband in order to avoid prejudicing his chance of escape by undue publicity, should he be at large in enemy-occupied territory. This does not mean that any information about him is available but it is a precaution adopted in the case of all personnel reported “missing”.
The Air Council desire me to express their sympathy with you in your present anxiety.
I am, madam,
Your obedient servant,
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The following morning saw us travelling through Yugoslavia again, with a number of stop/starts. Eventually we stopped and, on looking out of the carriage window I saw to my horror two Typhoon fighter/bombers of the RAF, fitted with rockets. They were only 200-300 feet high and I then guessed they were going around to line up with the train. I immediately altered the guards and the Americans. The main carriage window could be pushed down to act as an emergency exit and by this we hurriedly vacated the train, ran up a grassy slope, across a village green and positioned ourselves on the protected side of a stone war memorial. The rockets hit the engine and machine gun bullets ripped through the carriages. Although the train was marked with a Red Cross the majority of passengers were German Army personnel and many were wounded in the attack and some were killed. This caused considerable bitterness and a number of army men man-handled us from the village onto the grass slope and lined us up for execution. Our guards just didn’t do anything to protect us. I bowed my head and said a prayer for all of us, fully expecting to be shot there and then. Was I frightened? very much so. I thought that I had been brought safely through a number of traumas only now to be executed.
In those few seconds, however, a German officer ran in front of the armed squad of soldiers and commanded them to return to the train, which they eventually did with reluctance. He came to us and apologised and explained that he had been a prisoner in England during the First World War and had been very well treated and was not, therefore, allowing German soldiers to ignore the Red Cross and Geneva Conventions for prisoners.
We stayed with our guards on that grassy slope until lunch time the following day when a replacement engine was coupled and the train once again began its journey North. Our destination was Vienna.
On arriving at the outskirts of the City it was apparent that all was not well. The German Officer who had protected us from the firing squad explained to us that there had been an American bombing raid on the City that morning. Many residential areas had been hit and it was too dangerous to go across the City with our guards. However, he arranged for a fit young army man to run with us across the City to the other station and hand us over to their military police – our guards were to follow in a more leisurely and safe manner. Although we were much less than fit and ravenously hungry, we ran for dear life across Vienna. Chunks of stone, brick and other forms of masonry came our way but nothing hit us and we managed with our guide to dodge the people who tried to cut us off.
We all reached the station without injury and were pleased to be handed over to the German military police who once again issued us with the usual rations of black bread and sausage, for which we were very grateful. When our guards eventually arrived we boarded a train and had an uneventful journey to Frankfurt and were incarcerated in the German Dulag Luft, i.e. the interrogation centre for airmen.
We were each locked in a cell with a bed and blanket and a barred window gave light but an electric light burned day and night. There were many bed bugs which made life uncomfortable but it had to be accepted. If the toilet was needed we had to pull a cord
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Dulag-Luft Germany
13TH NOV 1944
I have been taken prisoner of war in Germany. I am in good health – [deleted] slightly wounded [/deleted] (cancel accordingly).
We will be transported from here to another Camp within the next few days. Please don’t write until I give new address.
Kindest regards
Eric Scott
F/Sgt
R.A.F.
[Telegram]
TRANSCRIPT OF TELEGRAM
Priority CC
Mrs. E.W. Scott 4 William St. Gt. Northern Terrace, Lincoln
From 73/Oxford St. PC 966 W1/QW/PP
Information received through International Red Cross Committee states that your husband F/Sgt Eric William Scott is prisoner of war in German hands.
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near the door and this dropped a wooden lever on the outside. When the guards were sufficiently satisfied that a prisoner could go to the toilet without seeing anyone else they opened the cell door and escorted the person to the toilet. Food was put into the cell by the guards three times each day. Breakfast consisted of two thin slices of black bread coasted with erstaz butter and jam. Lunch was a thin ‘watery’ soup and one slice of bread. Evening meal was once again black bread and sausage. I had four interrogation sessions whilst at Frankfurt, all were during the night between midnight and 4.0am. My interrogator was the same officer on each occasion. He offered me a cigarette which I took and, when he turned his back to me to look at a map, I took two more cigarettes from his box and put them into my pocket. Following several threats, because I had no proof of identity, with the absence of my dog tags, he told the guard to return me to my cell. After being locked up again I took a cigarette from my pocket but then realised that I had no means of lighting it – I had fallen for that one very easily.
The remaining interrogations were very similar to the first except that during the last one he told me more about 205 Group than I knew, so he was well informed.
Finally they sent me down to another part of the building for political interrogation. The next cell to me was occupied by an American and it was possible to talk to each other because the cells were open-topped. It was during this interrogation that I learned of the death of President Roosevelt. The following day and about ten-fourteen days after my arrival at Frankfurt, I joined the rest of our crew and entrained for a POW Camp.
We had an uneventful journey to Bankau, Upper Silesia and Stalag Luft VII.
Just prior to leaving Frankfurt we were each given a card to fill in for sending home saying that we were prisoners of war and were well. Also a cardboard suitcase with American-style clothing was handed to us through the Red Cross. This consisted of a great coat, pair of boots, four pairs of socks, woolly hat, two vests, two pairs of pants, two shirts and part of a Red Cross parcel of food.
STALAG LUFT VII
On arrival at the camp, most of the occupants crowded at the entrance to see if there was anyone they knew. It was then that I learned of the Arnhem fiasco and that the Dulag Luft housed many of the Glider Pilots. The entrance to Stalag Luft VII was by two large gates about twenty yards apart and both were well guarded. The compound was rectangular, with accommodation huts down each side. Each hut had at least six rooms off each side of a central corridor. The hut was about eighteen inches above floor level to allow the dogs to go underneath. Each room was equipped with a coal stove mounted onto a steel plate and eight bunks – four upper and four lower.
I was allocated an upper bunk in the first room on the left in the second hut on the right looking from the entrance of the compound. The rest of the inmates of the room were Aussies, a New Zealander, a Scotsman and English. In the same hut were two other Lincoln people, a Glider Pilot taken at Arnhem and a wireless operator shot
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CUTTINGS FROM THE LINCOLNSHIRE ECHO
[Newspaper cuttings]
A letter from ex-Cadet E. W. Scott brings the good news that he has been promoted to Flt.-Sgt. And is at present in Italy, starting on his second tour of operations. Flt.-Sgt. Scott is a bomb-aimer and has seen service in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. On completing his first tour he had a short leave in Egypt and then went to Palestine, where he has for several months been instructing. He is now looking forward to finishing his second tour and then coming home.
LINCOLN FLIGHT-SERGT IS PRISONER OF WAR
Flight Sergt Eric W. Scott, R.A.F.V.R, reported missing in the Adriatic theatre of war two months ago, is a prisoner of war in German hands
His wife, formerly Miss Jessie Brown, of William-street, has received a post-card saying that he is well, but as he was expecting to be moved, told her not to write until she heard from him again.
Flight-Sergt Scott is the second son on Mr. and Mrs F. Scott, of William-street, Lincoln, and before joining the R.A.F. in 1941 he was employed in the research department at Clayton-Dewandre Co. Ltd. He was a member of the 1237 squadron Lincoln Air Training Corps.
Members of the squadron will be very pleased to learn that their old comrade Eric Scott, now a prisoner of war in Germany, has been granted a commission. Apparently this very excellent news came through about a week before he was reported missing, but his relatives have only recently been notified, and it is still doubtful whether Eric himself yet knows he is now a pilot officer. Congratulations, Eric, from your old squadron.
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Goodbye to the Wimpeys
ROME, Monday. – The Wellington bombers with the R.A.F. in Italy, the “Wimpeys,” have been replaced by Liberators for land warfare, it was announced tonight. Only a few remain for anti-submarine and shipping strikes.
Their four-year record began with the famous “mail runs” to Benghazi. Since then they have ranged over all the battlefields, from Iraq through North Africa to the Apls and the Balkans.
But now, said an R.A.F. officer tonight, “the old ladies are just not fast enough.” – Express News Service.
down in a Sterling [sic]. A third Lincoln man, by the name of Dennis Martin, was also in the camp.
The compound was enclosed by (a) danger wire approximately eighteen inches from the ground and fastened to posts driven into the ground at regular intervals. If anyone crossed the wire, for whatever reason without permission, the guards could legitimately open fire. (b) About ten yards further out from the ‘danger wire’ was the inner fencing, strong with barbed wire and with the top angled inwards. (c) A third fence, similar to (b) encircled the compound and was made in a similar fashion. Between (b) and (c) were coils of razor sharp wire about three feet in depth.
Four sentry boxes were positioned down each side of the compound and one at each end – the latter being centrally located. These boxes were approximately twenty feet from the ground and gave each sentry a good vision of his area. All boxes housed a ‘searchlight’ which arc-ed across the compound at regular intervals during darkness or could be manually moved by the sentry. A machine gun was also mounted in each box and each sentry had his own rifle. All were loaded.
When playing ball games, including golf, if a ball went over the ‘danger wire’ limit the guard had to be attracted and his permission obtained to retrieve it. Even then it was a bit dicey and it was advisable to have a number of the prisoners on hand when going beyond the wire to ensure that the sentry knew he was being watched.
The total number of inmates during my short stay there was 2,600. I arrived mid-December, the camp had only been opened the previous July. Some POW’s had, however, been transferred from other camps to ensure a smooth routine and operation. Our camp leader was an Australian, Bill Thompson. I met him again at a POW reunion about twelve-fourteen years ago at Nottingham. He was a good and hard working leader and all complaints from POW’s and German Staff were channelled through him. The escape committee consisted of six POW’s (old hands) who vetted each plan for escape. Many were turned down but, even when accepted, the people concerned had to wait in the queue. Many POW’s helped out with escape details, i.e. false papers, uniforms etc. The camp included a library and school. There was no shortage of teachers, some were tutors from the top Universities in the UK.
The Auditorium was also well used to promote plays, particularly those with satire against the Heronvolk, which usually resulted in the German Officers stamping out before the end. The German guards with or without dogs patrolled the compound and huts every day to try and ensure that prisoners were not engaged in activities which were ‘verboten’. Gardening was a regular task for prisoners, when the opportunity was taken to bury the spare radio. The news from the BBC was circulated to each hut once a day. Only two men knew who held the radio, the one who retained it and the camp leader. It was the duty of the occupants of the camp to keep the Germans occupied to ensure that the maximum number of guards were needed to operate the camp.
Every morning and evening all prisoners had to fall in by hut in the compound and be counted. Because I was relatively short in stature I was asked to be in the rear or middle line of three and, after being counted to move swiftly to a point in the line yet
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[Drawing]
BLOWER/COOKER-POW CAMP-STALAG LUFT V11
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to be counted. This ‘false count’ often meant being ‘on parade’ for at least one hour and, with the weather being extremely cold and with falls of snow it was no joke but had to be done. The senior NCO of the German guards became very hysterical and fired his revolver in the air if, by the third count, the number was one or two out of the official number.
With the two other Lincoln men I went for a one hour walk around the compound each day and then spent time making blower units for sale on the weekly market. A good blower, for high speed cooking was worth three blocks of chocolate from a Red Cross parcel. In the short time I was in Stalag Luft VII I made three blowers. See sketch.
Each prisoner received a Red Cross parcel each month. This meant that there were two parcels to feed the eight men in each room every week. The British parcels contained a tin of skimmed powdered milk, 2 blocks of high calorie chocolate, 100 cigarettes, dried prunes, tins of spam and corned beef, a very unique tin opener, tins of fish, flour, sugar, a pack of margarine, currants or raisins, tea and cocoa, the American parcels also had coffee. These supplemented the loaf of black bread, ersatze [sic] butter made from coal, ersatze [sic] coffee made from acorns and the watery soup plus sauerkraut, which was plentiful and was collected by one room member from the cookhouse each mid-day.
It was on one of these occasions that one of our POW’s was shot and killed by a sentry guard. The camp and Bankau air raid sirens had sounded about one hour previously. When this happened, all POW’s had to return to their rooms. This was quite a frequent occurrence and American Fortresses once again flew over the camp on the way to their target. We had to wait for their return before the all-clear sounded. On this particular day the Bankau all-clear was heard and it was past 12 o’clock – which was the time for collecting food from the cookhouse. Even after a further five minutes we did not hear anymore sirens so one sergeant, thinking that the camp siren must have gone, dashed out from his hut to be the first in the cookhouse queue. Half-way across the compound he was shot and killed.
Pandemonium broke out. POW’s with artistic flair immediately took pencil and paper to draw the facial details of the sentry. German officers tried to disperse the POW’s but there were far too many for them to make any impression. Our camp leader and two assistants came along with the Prussian Camp Commandant when he insisted that the sentry should be photographed and his name and other details should be given to our Camp Leader for action to be taken by the appropriate authorities at the cessation of hostilities. The sentry in question was relieved of his duties and posted without delay.
Sometimes ‘SS’ troops were brought into the camps for guard duties as a rest period and it was necessary to be very wary of these young Nazi enthusiasts.
Bearing in mind that I went into the camp in mid-December 1944, I was soon ‘volunteered’ by the other seven room occupants to try and make a Christmas pudding.
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[Newspaper cutting]
SCATTERED in the path of the Allied armies are many prison camps and internment camps. Some in the east, as the map shows, have already been overrun by the Russians.
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We had the flour, fruit and milk mix, also sugar and it was possible to buy potatoes and carrots from the Germans for a few cigarettes. My biggest problem was knowing what to cook it in even though it could be steamed. One of the room inmates had a spare pyjama jacket so it was unanimously decided that the pudding mix be stuffed down a cut sleeve and tied at both ends. This was done with great ceremony and the pudding steamed in a large gammell with a tube bottom made from tins out of the Red Cross parcels. We were usure regarding timing but decided to steam it on the stove for two hours.
On Christmas Day our mid-day dinner consisted of :
STARTERS
Mixed Stewed Fruit
MAIN COURSE
Fried Spam, Fried Potatoes, beans cooked in a tomato sauce
SWEET
Christmas Pudding
We finally had to steam the pudding for another hour. It was very solid and only a very small amount could be eaten. We shared the rest with other rooms in the hut. To say it tasted like Traditional Christmas Pudding would be an exaggeration but we enjoyed it and slept well during the afternoon on an unusually full stomach.
Although the food at Stalag Luft VII, supplemented by parcels, kept us going we didn’t increase in weight, rather the opposite for most POW’s. However, I remained at about 8 stone. On the Squadron my weight was between 8 1/2 – 9 stone.
The week after Christmas there were strong rumours of the camp having to be vacated because of the rapid Russian advance into upper Silesia. We were advised by our Camp Leader to make preparation for moving. I made a back-pack from my papier-mâché suitcase which measured about 18” x 12” and was waterproof. Four holes, one punched in each corner, allowed me to thread rope through to form shoulder straps for carrying. In this suitcase went spare vests, socks, pants, shirt and the blocks of chocolate I had been hoarding for such an occasion.
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[Postcards]
Postcards written on 10th and 17th December 1944 from Stalag Luft V11 just prior to the forced march
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On the 18th of January, with snow up to 12” deep and temperatures 10-15 degrees C below zero, we were told that we would be leaving Stalag Luft VII by foot at 4.0 pm that day, i.e. at dusk. We were each handed a Red Cross Parcel, the contents of which were distributed around our bodies. The first night of walking and freedom was a welcome experience. Each dawn, or thereabouts, we went into a farm and into the barns or cattle sheds to sleep. Because of the depth of snow my socks were always wet. I wore two pairs at a time to try and keep my feet warm. The pair I took off went into my shirt to dry and a replacement pair of dry socks put on before going to sleep. On one occasion during the first seven days, a pig had been slaughtered and made into soup in a large cauldron. The demand far exceeded the supply so I didn’t get any. The contents of the Red Cross Parcel virtually vanished after the first week. Washing faces and hands was a problem and generally had to be done using snow. My boots were pushed into the hay or at the side of a cow in an attempt to keep them above freezing but, with very little success. Generally it was necessary to hand-manipulate the shoe leather in order to get them on when it was time for moving.
The weather conditions became worse, blizzards as well as icy conditions – it was really appalling. Our breath froze in our beards and it had to be gently warmed by hand to prevent it being a mass of ice.
By this time the novelty of freedom had well worn off and airmen who had been injured during their bombing trip or on baling out and crashing, were very much the worse for wear. Some had to be left behind in houses, the occupants being mainly of Polish origin in Upper Silesia. Our rate of progress was very slow, about 20 miles each night.
The second week of walking was similar to the first except that the men were getting weaker and with little or no food provided our tummies started to shrink and become painful.
By February my chocolate store was exhausted, even though I had used it as a supplement to whatever food I could find, mainly frozen sugar beet, which now became my staple diet. A number of men went to sleep in the barns and didn’t get up again for the next night’s walk. Others collapsed at the roadside in the snow. Whether they were taken care of by the local inhabitants I don’t know. Even the German guards were dropping out because of hunger and cold.
There were occasions when we were urged to cross a bridge over a river and, on reaching the other side, the bridge was dynamited. We were surprised at this because all the rivers were frozen solid and could easily have carried vehicles.
At this stage of our journey we were allowed two nights each week to rest up because we were so close to complete exhaustion. We were told that we were heading for Luckenwalde Stalag IIIA, near Potsdam, Berlin. We were also told that the German High Command had been told to execute prisoners rather than hand them over the advancing British, American and Russian armies. We still managed to get news information so our radio was still with us.
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[Letter]
Letter sent to home – March 1945 – from Stalag IIIA
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There were so many days during the latter part of this forced march that I would have been quite willing to have laid down and died but yet it seemed so futile to give up after having endured so much since October 1944. I prayed very often for help to keep going and for a successful return to Lincoln but my expectations were very much tinged with the prospects of not making it at that stage of the march. The appalling weather continued and I felt very much like a zombie, just putting one foot in front of the other because the man in front of me was doing the same. We came to a point in the journey when the Camp Leader said enough was enough and told the Germans that they either abandon all of us to await the Russian Army or they provided transport for the remainder of the journey.
After three days at a large farm, where we did get a little food and where I saw airmen fighting each other for a piece of meat in a stew because of their hunger, we were walked to a railway embankment and, by helping each other, boarded a train with cattle truck accommodation. This was sheer luxury compared to walking.
A three day stop/start journey with the train halting each night, brought us to Potsdam and a relatively short walk to Stalag IIIA.
It was apparently late February but time didn’t mean anything anymore. The size of this camp was staggering. We were told that it held around 75,000 people, the majority being displaced workers of all nationalities and age ranges. Children were even being born in the camp.
From a military viewpoint there were Russian, Polish, French, Dutch, British and Americans. On arrival at Stalag IIIA we were each given a Red Cross Parcel. The priority however was for a shower and shave. It was apparent that we were covered in body lice and, even after showering and putting on a clean vest, the lice quickly reappeared in all of the vest seams. Boiling the vests and our battle dress tops in tin baths on open fires did not make any difference. When I first went into the shower I was stood next to the C of E Padre. He was at least 6ft 3in. tall and his ribs were really hollow and I just laughed but, when I looked at my own ribs they were identical. The small bar of swan soap – similar in size to that issued in hotels – just disappeared between our ribs. We were a good case of a starvation diet and over exercise. When the German doctors re-X-rayed us they also weighed us, I was just six stones.
With regard to the Red Cross Parcels, Lofty the Glider Pilot, sat in the aircrew compound, opened his tin of Peanut Butter and ate the lot – no bread or anything with it – it gave me a nauseating feeling just watching him. We didn’t know how long it would be before we got another parcel so we made this issue last as long as possible. The shrinkage of our stomachs also meant that we didn’t need much food to feel full.
Three weeks after arriving at the camp there was a full scale battle, with air attacks by both sides across the area. We had to take whatever cover we could as bullets and rockets passed across the compounds. We made a large white cross and laid it on the compound floor between the line of huts. The battle see-sawed back and forth for three days – it seemed more like three weeks. At first light on the third day all the German guards were gone and we were in control of our own compound. I immediately went to the German medical centre to try and pick up a Leika camera, a
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[Photograph]
Badges from a German Uniform
[Photograph]
[Photograph] Issue of RAF Watch – still working today
[Photograph] Right: Prisoner of War identification tag
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[Record Card]
RECORD CARDS RETRIEVED FROM CAMP RECORD OFFICE (see over)
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[Record Card]
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number of which were used for X-raying. I was too late but moving onto the record office I managed to find my own record cards and these I kept.
The Russian army arrived in strength the same day. Tanks just crushed the barbed wire fencing so that one side of every compound was open to free movement of prisoners. The Russian prisoners in the next compound to us went berserk. They were immediately given access and disappeared with the advanced Russian troops who were all of Mongolian extraction. The general appearance of the Russian advance troops was very rag-tag. Lorries had hard tyres, mules were used for towing guns, the soldiers didn’t have tin hats and their rifles and automatic weapons, etc., were of very varied make. Some were weapons captured from the German army.
When the main body of the Russian soldiers arrived they were all uniformed and more disciplined. However they were not well disposed towards us and if we wanted food we had to find it in the locality. Lofty and I went around the area including the outskirts of Potsdam to see if food was available. Many houses had been abandoned in a hurry but the food left behind was very meagre. We went into a Tailor’s shop and it was there that I found and kept a pair of scissors which I have used for decorating ever since. I also thought that the considerable length and very sharp points of the scissors would be a handy weapon if needed for my defence.
The Russians placed large tubs on open fires and made their yoghurt. This was all the nourishment they could offer us but the smell from the sour curds was terrible and despite my hunger I just could not eat any. Lofty however, devoured both portions! Many of the Russian troops had not seen flushed toilets before and continually came into the compound toilet blocks, put their feet into the bowl and pulled the chain several times, grinning all over their faces.
It was at this time ant a Russian took my watch and did his best to steal my wedding ring but he relented eventually and left me. A senior Russian Officer, with many aides, sat at a table in our compound and we had to file past giving our name, number, origin, nationality, etc. This took over a week to complete as many POW camps of British airmen had been sent to Stalag IIIA, including those from Sagan. Hence we now had a Group Captain, demoted by himself to Flt. Lt. in charge of the British aircrew contingent, irrespective of rank.
He advised all the men not to try and make their own way to the West of the Elbe because we would again be taken prisoner or shot by either side. The Russians wanted to arm us and send us into the battle for Berlin but of course this was refused based on the Geneva Convention. The Russians did not acknowledge this. Their next ploy was to send us home via Moscow. We were the first major bunch of British aircrew released and our leaders again refused this, really upsetting the Russians who put a loose guard around our compound.
Some days after the Russians had ‘released’ us numerous American trucks turned up at the side of our compound. All were driven by black soldiers and unarmed. Two white American officers were in charge and they had apparently been sent, with agreement by the Russians, to collect us and take us across the river Elbe to the American sector. The Russians who were responsible for us didn’t want to know and
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[Crest]
CATERPILLAR CLUB
26th April, 1945.
Mrs. Scott.
4, William Street.
LINCOLN.
Dear Mrs. Scott,
[Underlined] F/Sgt. E. W. Scott. [/underlined]
I was very glad to hear from the above that he had saved his life with an Irvin chute, and at his request have pleasure in sending his membership card herewith.
I regret that due to supply restrictions we are not able to order Caterpillar Pins for Prisoners until after the war, but one will be sent as soon as available.
Please excuse the form letter, but this is due to pressure of work.
With best wishes for his early return, I am,
Yours sincerely,
[Signature]
Leslie L. Irvin.
MEL.
Encl. Card.
[Photograph] Cloth Caterpillar Badge
Right: Membership card of the Caterpillar Club [Photograph]
Below:
Two Caterpillar pin badges
[Photograph]
Piece of silk burned from parachute after bailing out
[Photograph]
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put an armed guard around the trucks and flatly refused permission for us to move. This situation continued for three days, then the American lorries were allowed to return – empty to their sector. One or two men managed to get away rolled in a tarpaulin in the trucks. One of these was Dennis Martin who went to 4 William Street and told Jessie that I was alright.
After a further two days we were ushered into Russian lorries and driven to the Elbe and once there we disembarked, crossed the river on foot by pontoon bridge and given a terrific welcome on the other side. We were all still full of body lice and, as we passed through a medical tent, we were checked for T.B., and D.D.T. was pumped from small guns down our vests and shirts.
The Red Cross, bless them, issued us with toilet and shaving gear. It was a very painful, but necessary task to remove my beard of three-and-a-half months, although I had done a rough trimming job with the tailor’s scissors. My battle dress trousers gaped open just above the leg pocket due to the material having rotted, particularly with boiling them in an endeavour to lose the lice. I looked more like a tramp than an airman.
We stayed with the Americans for two days and had some wonderful food, but could only manage small amounts.
Air transport them took us to Brussels airport where we were again given a warm welcome and fed and watered. After a further twenty-four hours it was my turn to board an RAF Lancaster to fly home. It was May and, although I had missed V.E. day, I though with a bit of luck I would make V.J. day. I never did identify the airfield at which we landed but we were bussed to a railway station and boarded a train – normal passenger service – to Cosford. I felt really uneasy being among civilians again and my torn uniform and general appearance in the compartment was cause for comment by the other occupants. The other significant factor was that I had no idea of the current news so couldn’t make any conversation. A lonely journey and one of self-consciousness.
On arrival at RAF Station Cosford I was ushered into a queue, in line with a table, behind which sat a records clerk with a sheaf of papers. These tables extended from one end of a hanger to the other. When it came to my turn the clerk asked me for my RAF number, rank and name but none of these appeared in his papers. He then asked me whether I had received any mail from home and I told him I hadn’t. The question now was, did my wife and other members of my family know that I was alive. I told him that I had sent the usual pre-printed card from Dulag Luft Frankfurt and had written letters home, Even so I had no evidence or knowledge of whether they knew I was a prisoner of war.
This lack of evidence, plus the fact that I was not on the register of returning prisoners caused me considerable concern. I couldn’t telephone anyone because I was not aware of telephone numbers. The clerk gave me papers to get clothing equipment, badges of rank, medal ribbons, shoes, and the many other pieces of equipment we had to have in the RAF. After visiting the ‘tailor’s shop’ where numerous local women were sewing on all the badges of rank etc., I took my equipment to a hut allocated for
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[Newspaper cutting]
In memory of the PoWs of the ‘Long March’
By Peter Davies
[Photograph]
The commemorative statue by the sculptor Pamela Taylor
THE MEMORIAL to RAF prisoners of war who died on the ‘Long March’, unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, yesterday, is a reminder of one of the Second World War’s most extraordinary – yet unsung – feats of endurance amid extreme privation and suffering. This was the enforced march of British, Commonwealth and Allied PoWs to western Germany from camps on the eastern borders of the Third Reich in the winter and spring of 1945.
In the summer of 1944, with the Red Army already on the borders of Germany, there were around 200,000 RAF, army and naval PoWs, besides thousands of Americans, in camps dotted throughout Germany and the occupied territories. Many of these lay in the east of the country and included Stalag Luft III, of Great Escape fame, 100 miles south east of Berlin. Others were more remote still: in East Prussia, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
To prevent their occupants being liberated by the advancing Russians, Hitler ordered that they should be marched westwards, out of harm’s way. Put in charge of this operation was an SS lieutenant-general, Gottllob Berger, a man with a history of brutal suppression of unrest in the occupied territories. However, with the Third Reich collapsing around him he seems to have felt it might be politic to ignore the Führer’s severer orders for the treatment of PoWs.
In the chaotic conditions of Germany in early 1945 when the evacuations began, this scarcely made any difference. Driven from the shelter of their camps, bullied, beaten and hectored by their guards, shot dead if they lagged behind or fell by the wayside, a quarter of a million PoWs stumbled and shuffled their way hundreds of miles to the west, without adequate food, shelter or clothing, in the bitterest winter Germany had experienced for 50 years.
The harrowing tale of the 86-day trek of the inmates of the notoriously brutal Stalag Luft IV at Gross Tychow in Pomerania to Fallingbostel in Lower Saxony, 500 miles distant, may stand as representative of the collective ordeal. A number of these prisoners had already made the 250-mile journey by sea from Stalag Luft VI at Heydekrug on the borders of Lithuania the previous summer, piled below decks in the disease-rife hold of a rusty cargo boat.
The march-out from Stalag Luft IV began on February 6, 1945, with the temperature 20 degrees below zero and with snow falling. Just 11km were covered before nightfall. Blisters on feet were soon bursting, opening them to infection. In the extreme cold resistance to disease was soon eroded. Injuries suffered in baling out or in combat were exacerbated.
Over the following interminable ice-cold days some lucky few might find a barn to lie in at night, but most were compelled to lie in the open. In snow- and waterfilled shell holes men clung to each other for warmth under a shared greatcoat. When guards were not looking the men raided the fields for potatoes, turnips and mangolds.
Raw rat became a delicacy. At times men were reduced to chewing grass. So near to starvation were they that one PoW recalled looking at his arm, suddenly realising it was a piece of meat and wondering, lightheadedly, whether he could bring himself to take a bite out of it.
The men were plagued with lice and the constant battle to rid themselves of them was a losing one. “If you kill one a thousand will come to its funeral” was the grim PoW saying. But the killer was dysentery, robbing men of their vitality – and dignity. In the utterly insanitary conditions it was almost impossible not to catch it. Men often chose to soil themselves as they marched, rather than falling out to risk being shot. Yet no one could afford to discard even the filthiest rags in the intense cold.
The brutality of their guards was compounded by the hostility of a populace who regarded the airmen as Luftgangsters and Terrorflieger as a result of the widespread damage from bombing raids. Friendly fire in one form or another was a constant peril. As the Stalag Luft IV men entered Swinemunde, bombs were falling on the port, while shrapnel from the flak defences fell among them.
In one of the worst incidents another group, ex-inmates of Stalag Luft III, were targeted by RAF Typhoon fighter bombers. In spite of frantic gesticulations by an officer who bravely exposed himself to cannon fire, waving his RAF greatcoat aloft, more than 60 PoWs, including him, were killed by pilots who could have no reason to imagine that a column on the move consisted of other than the enemy.
The figures for those who perished on these marches can only be estimates. Somewhere in the region of 10 per cent did not survive the ordeal. Commissioned by the Royal Air Forces ex-PoW Association, Pamela Taylor’s iconic study of a PoW dragging his remaining possessions on a makeshift sled commemorates those who did not reach the end of their terrible journey.
An extract from The Telegraph Newspaper after a ceremony to commemorate those who died on the ‘Long March’. Summer 2002
‘The marches were long and desperately arduous. Some POW’s walked for more than 500 miles and were on the road for many months. Hundreds died of exhaustion, disease and starvation. Those who survived were awed by their experience. How they escaped with their lives and eventually reached home is a gripping story of endurance and courage.
Extract from ‘The Last Escape’ by John Nichol & Tony Rennell
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us to ‘disrobe’ and shower. Our old uniforms were dumped into large containers but I did remember, however, to keep the piece of my parachute canopy and also my POW’s identity plate, together with the tailor’s scissors – my acquisition from Potsdam.
After donning my new uniform and packing the surplus equipment in a kit bag, I reported to the station orderly to collect a travel warrant, food coupons and some clothing coupons. My train time to Birmingham was given to me and I caught the next ‘lorry’ to leave the camp for Cosford Station. However, I had to stay overnight at Derby Station because of my lateness of departure but caught the early morning train to Lincoln to arrive home around 5.00 -6.00 am.
As I neared Lincoln I began to panic because of not knowing whether Jessie and the family knew of my existence. I walked from the Midland Station and arrived outside the door of No.4 William Street – and knocked.
Jessie came to the door with Dad’s mackintosh over her – we couldn’t believe we were together again. Everyone got up, even Grandma Dowse, to welcome me home. They did know that I was safe and had received my letters. It had been eight weeks however between receiving the ‘missing’ telegram and getting my first card from Dulag Luft, which was much longer than the norm for being advised. This of course was due to being held as a hostage and also travelling unnecessarily to arrive at Frankfurt.
Coming home was a wonderful experience and it was necessary to once again get to know my wife. There were both emotional and mental problems to pass through. I suppose today these would be dealt with by counselling, but such a process was not known in 1945.
Within twenty-four hours of getting home Jessie told me that I had been commissioned and had even received my new RAF number. The commission was backdated to my application in October 1944. It was therefore necessary for me to return to Cosford to obtain the changes of uniform, clothes coupons, shoes, socks, shirts etc. This meant staying two days at Cosford and then returning to Lincoln, but using first class travel. What a difference a day makes!
On my return home I went to Atkinsons the military tailors to be measured for my ‘best blues’, peak cap etc. All of this I had to pay for myself. I had already purchased a Canadian Crombie great coat from an officer who was being demobbed at Cosford before returning home. It was of better quality than could be obtained in the UK and was in excellent condition. I was able to obtain my mackintosh coat straight away so for May was adequately equipped.
After a few days in Lincoln Jessie and I went to Bridlington for a week. We stayed at Maud Gilberts, she had lived in Lincoln on Great Northern Terrace and Jack and Ethel had helped and supported her when she lost her husband at Dunkirk. As she hailed from the North East she had eventually returned to Bridlington.
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[Photograph]
Flying Officer Eric William Scott and Mrs Jessie G Scott
[Photograph]
Identity Disc
[Photograph]
New Wings
[Photograph]
Final entries in Observer’s and Air Gunners Flying Log Book
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I forgot to mention that my leave was for sixteen weeks and if I wanted anything either medically or otherwise I had to report to RAF Wittering, near Peterborough. Jessie gave up her job to be with me. As it happens I did have to go to our local G.P. because a rash of spot appeared on my body. He said it was caused by enrichments of the blood with returning to a normal diet. During my leave I went into town towards mid-day and to the Black Bull in the Hight Street as I had learned that returning military personnel congregated there. On my first visit I was amazed to see my old school friend Frank Curtis. He was a WOP/AG on Halifax’s, flying from Yorkshire. His left leg was missing, apparently having been virtually severed by shell fire whilst attacking flying bomb sights [sic]. He had been in hospital for some months but was now home on indefinite leave and on crutches. He was married to Lillian who unfortunately had contracted TB, but recovery was hopeful. The four of us spent many happy hours together and I travelled with Frank to Ely hospital to try on his new tin leg. After two or three visits he eventually came away with his tin leg on. It was a painful process learning to walk again, but eventually he succeeded in using it permanently with the help of a stick, and handed back his crutches.
During my sixteen-week leave I was visited by Jack our Canadian Navigator and I also saw Jock Nichols at Cosford. Snowy I did not see but learned from other New Zealand Ex POW’s that he was on a draft to return home, so that accounted for the four crew members who had safely returned to the U.K.
Wel all enjoyed V.J. day together – Frank and Lillian, brother-in-law Jim and sisters-in-law Mary and Janet, the latter cartwheeling down the road and also paddling in the beck. My leave came to an end and I reported to RAF Wittering where they fed us on venison and knocked us into shape military fashion. I was volunteered to lead a flight of NCO’s and other ranks on an official parade in Peterborough. I had forgotten all of my drill procedures so had to go ‘cap in hand’ to the Station Warrant Officer for verbal and physical instruction to enable me to carry out this function. So Flying Officer Scott had his first official function to perform since being commissioned.
After two or three weeks at Wittering I was re-musterd as a Flying Control Officer and posted to Pershore, near Evesham. We worked in three eight hour shifts 6.0am-2.0pm being the first. It was interesting work and, with the aid of a batwoman (WAAF) who kept my uniform, shoes, etc. immaculately clean, woke me at the appropriate times for duty, made my bed, changed towels, dealt with the laundry etc., life was quite good. Another officer who had been on flying control at Pershore for some months had rented a house in Cheltenham and his wife and daughter lived there whilst he commuted every second day to stay with them for 36 hours, which was allowed within the shift system.
It transpired that he was going on leave for two weeks and that the house would be vacant for that period. He gave me the opportunity of living there with Jessie for that time, paying rent and fuel costs. We jumped at this opportunity of being together and Jessie travelled down to Cheltenham, Ist Class! to meet the departing wife and family and to get to know the house and its workings before they actually left.
I had already received my cycle from Lincoln so, on my 36 hour break from duty I would pedal into Evesham, catch the Black and White bus to Cheltenham and they
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[Photograph]
Jessie and Eric with Jacqueline - (aged three months)
[Photograph]
Vickers-Armstrong Wellington III
Postcard sent from Jack and Marjorie Morval on 1st August 1994
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would look after my bike. It was a good arrangement and we really enjoyed that time together, even visiting Weston-Super-Mare. On departing Weston-Super-Mare on one particular visit we decided we would purchase a block of ice cream to take home. We put the block on the luggage rack above us as we were on the front seat near the door. Imagine our surprise on seeing runny ice cream dripping off the rack at the back of the bus. It was definitely a case of keeping a ‘low profile’! Cheltenham at that time was a very high class Spa town and we explored it thoroughly.
Following Jessie’s return to Lincoln, I was sent to Watchfield, the place where my flying began, on a Flying Control Officer’s course. This lasted two to three weeks. I then continued my duties at the control tower at Pershore until my demobilisation became imminent in August. The RAF advised me that they would be willing to extend my commission, but would require me to be posted to Hendon as a flying control officer on passenger transport. I pondered this issue and received much advice from both service friends and those at home. I decided eventually that if I stayed in the RAF both Jessie and I would be shunted around both in the UK and overseas and that our times apart would be unacceptable. I advised the RAF that I wished to be demobbed. Towards the end of August I reported to London where I received the necessary discharge papers, sports coat and flannels etc. and a travel warrant to Lincoln.
My life in the RAF was at an end and my leave was given to the end of September. After a week at home, before which Jessie had moved from 4 William Street to her mothers at 61 Great Northern Terrace, I reported to Clayton Dewandre to take up my career again as a technician. Because of my break in apprenticeship I was classified as a Dilutee. My weekly salary was £4.19s.6p, barely a living wage but somehow we managed.
Jacqueline was born on 18th of October 1946 at Great Northern Terrace and was the first baby to be delivered by our ex Royal Navy GP Dr. Leane. He always referred to her as his first demob baby.
That winter of 1946/47 was very cold with hard layers of snow. A quick thaw in April 1947 caused widespread flooding in Lincoln and we had to move out, going uphill to my sister Mary’s in St. Hugh’s Street. It took many days of mopping up, cleaning and disinfecting to make our two rooms habitable again.
In June 1947 we acquired a house to rent at 22 Chelmsford Street, through the good auspices of George James’ mother (sister-in-law Janet’s mother-in-law) who knew the Landlord, a Mr. Dalton.
After six/eight weeks of hard work we moved in and this was really the beginning of our life as a family.
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[Newspaper article]
THE
Prisoner of War
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE PRISONERS OF WAR DEPARTMENT OF THE RED CROSS AND ST. JOHN ORGANISATION, ST. JAMES’S PALACE, LONDON, S.W.1
VOL. 4. No. 39. THE FINAL ISSUE July, 1945
Message from Field-Marshal Lord Chetwode
THIS is the last issue of “The Prisoner of War.” There is no longer any need for the journal since those who were prisoners or internees in Europe are now free and with few exceptions are at home again.
The Red Cross and St. John War Organisation rejoices that this piece of its work has been finished. No Editor, I am sure, ever saw his paper come to an end with such satisfaction as the Editor of “The Prisoner of War.”
The flow of letters that has come from next of kin has told us how eagerly each copy of the journal was looked forward to each month. Time and again, mothers and wives have written to say that it has seemed to bring their dear ones nearer to them. I am certain that all who were prisoners and are now happily restored to their families will remember it as one of the best services which the Organisation has rendered. Their gratitude is a reward which we are proud to have earned.
To every man who has been a prisoner, and to every family now reunited, I wish a future of abiding peace and renewed happiness. They will all be mindful, I know, as are we in the Red Cross and St. John War Organisation, that war still rages in the Far East and that men and women of our race are held captive by the Japanese. There we still have work to do and for their next of kin we shall continue to produce “Far East,” the sister journal of “The Prisoner of War.” I am confident that we shall have the good wishes and the active support of all to whom, directly or indirectly, this journal has been a source of comfort during the three years of its existence.
The Editor Writes –
IT falls to me as Editor to make my final farewell in this last issue of The Prisoner of War. At the beginning of 1944 I wrote in these columns that the best New Year’s wish I could offer to all our readers was that before many months had passed they would no longer be our readers. That wish was fulfilled for some, as the repatriation ships came in during the year, but for many the eagerly awaited day was deferred until victory had been won. To-day there are no more Kriegies, no more letters from German camps and lazarets, no more Red Cross parcels – and no more need for this journal.
I cannot believe that any editor ever owed so much to so many of his readers. It has been on their letters, and those they received from their men in exile, that this journal has been built up. We depended on them for most of the news and all the photographs of life in the camps that we have published.
“Far East” will Continue
Far East, our companion journal, which started on its separate existence near the beginning of last year, will outlive us. It will be published as and when information becomes available about the lot of those in the hands of the Japanese. Unhappily news in the past has been rare, and the services that it has been possible for the United Nations to render have been limited, irregular, and unevenly distributed. But everything that it is humanly possible to do is being done. The Governments, the Red Cross Societies, the Protecting Power, the International Red Cross Committee and their delegates on the spot are leaving no stone unturned to bring succour to the prisoners.
“Not Forgotten”
On other pages of this last issue appear articles by the heads of the various sections of the Prisoners of War Department which have ministered to the many needs of prisoners in Germany and Italy. For all of them and their colleagues their work has been in the nature of a mission cheerfully and lovingly undertaken in the knowledge that they were not only succouring fellow-countrymen and women in exile but were helping them to realise that they were not forgotten by those at home.
F.M. Lord Chetwode, O.M.
On this page appears a message from Field Marshal Lord Chetwode, O.M., the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Red Cross and St. John War Organisation. It is upon him, as its supreme administrator, that the heavy burden falls of directing and inspiring the manifold human activities of the Organisation.
Not the least of the reasons why hundreds of thousands have had cause to be grateful to the Organisation for its work during these war years had been its “personal touch.” Sir Philip Chetwode crowned his brilliant career as a soldier by this great mission for the men in the Forces. Our readers will join us in congratulating him upon the barony which the King had conferred upon him in recognition of his distinguished work for sufferers in this war.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
(See Page 16)
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Title
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The memoir of Eric William Scott
Description
An account of the resource
Text and numerous b/w photographs (some of which are also located in sub-collection albums) covering from immediately before and during World War II - (1939-1946). First page has colour photographs and description of prisoner of war medal. Continues with account of RAFVR training including time at the Air Crew Reception Centre, St John's Wood, London, initial training at Stratford-upon-Avon and elementary flying training at RAF Watchfield. Gives account of journey to the United States to continue training on the Arnold Scheme at Turner Field, Albany, Georgia, Callstrom Field, Arcadia Florida, Gunter Field, Montgomery Alabama and Craig Field, Selma, Alabama flying Stearman, BT-13 and Harvard. At the last location an accident brought an end to his pilot training and he continues as navigator/bomb aimer at Picton in Ontario Canada. Pages contain many photographs, exttracts from the cadet handbook and his logbook. On return to UK he did operational training a RAF Moreton in the Marsh where he crewed up. He got married just before posting to North Africa. Gives account of journey to join 205 Group in North Africa and of first tour on 142 Squadron where he flew 38 operations and of life in North Africa. After this he was posted as an instructor to an operational training unit in Qastina Palestine where he had an opportunity to visit Jerusalem, Haifa, Bethlehem and Tel Aviv. In June 1944 he agreed to do a second tour and was posted to 37 Squadron at Foggia in Italy. Gives account of operations including gardening in the Danube river. Gives account of final operation to Maribor marshalling yard in Yugoslavia where after attack by night fighter he baled out of his aircraft. Follows with account of capture by Croatian military. hand over to the Germans and journey to Stalag Luft 7, Upper Silesia and life in prisoner of war camp. Then underwent the long march back to Germany in the face of Russian advance. Concludes with repatriation and life after return to England.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
E W Scott
Format
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Thirty-seven page printed document with text and photographs
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
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BScottEWScottEWv1
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
England--Lincoln
England--Bedfordshire
England--London
England--Warwickshire
England--Stratford-upon-Avon
England--Wiltshire
England--Manchester
Scotland--Glasgow
Canada
New Brunswick--Moncton
United States
Georgia--Albany
Florida--Arcadia
England--Gloucestershire
England--Cornwall (County)
North Africa
Algeria
Algeria--Blida
Tunisia
Tunisia--Qayrawān
Middle East--Palestine
Middle East--Jerusalem
West Bank--Bethlehem
Israel--Tel Aviv
Israel--Haifa
Italy
Italy--Foggia
Romania
Romania--Ploiești
Slovenia
Slovenia--Maribor
Poland
Poland--Opole (Voivodeship)
Germany
Germany--Potsdam
England--Shropshire
Florida
Georgia
New Brunswick
Israel
West Bank
England--Lancashire
Danube River
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941-02
1941-10
1941-11-03
1941-12
1942-01-06
1942-01
1942-02-09
1942-03-24
1942-05
1942-06
1942-07-02
1942-11
1943-04-19
1943-05-27
1943-06-09
1943-10-03
1944-06
1944-07-23
1944-10-21
1945-03
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Anne-Marie Watson
Conforms To
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Pending text-based transcription. Under review
142 Squadron
37 Squadron
aircrew
bale out
bomb aimer
Caterpillar Club
Dulag Luft
Flying Training School
Harvard
lack of moral fibre
love and romance
mine laying
navigator
Operational Training Unit
pilot
prisoner of war
RAF Cardington
RAF Cosford
RAF Moreton in the Marsh
RAF Watchfield
recruitment
Red Cross
searchlight
shot down
Stalag 3A
Stalag Luft 7
Stearman
the long march
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington