After the Air Training Corps, Roy was called up to be a meteorological officer. Roy trained in Kilburn, and went as a forecaster to RAF Warboys in Cambridge before RAF Wyton and then RAF North Creake.

Roy recounts the death of Canadian “Tiny” Thurlow, brought down by friendly fire in Northern France. There were three meteorological officers at RAF North Creake, working shifts. The information recorded was sent to the regional meteorological office whose forecast could not be amended. He attended the aircrew briefing and de-briefing sessions. The 100 Group dropped Window radar countermeasure. Its aircraft were prone to icing.

Roy contrasts weather forecasting then and now, particularly with reference to the jet stream. He talks about weather balloons and the readings they took. RAF Docking sent up Hurricanes or Spitfires, fitted with new equipment, to take readings.

In 1945 Roy set sail from Tilbury on RMS Strathaird to Bombay, Singapore (RAF Seletar) and then spent nearly two years for the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces at RAF Iwakuni in Japan, passing through Hiroshima. A Japanese man committed Hari-kari and there were three arson attempts by the Japanese.

On his return, Roy was promoted to flight lieutenant. After discharge, Roy taught mathematics, and subsequently became a school inspector and senior further education adviser.]]>
Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--London]]> Singapore]]> Japan]]> Japan--Iwakuni-shi]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
Having completed their training in the spring of 1944 they crossed to Britain on the New Amsterdam. Due to the quantity of chocolate Rex had consumed on the crossing the medical staff thought that he had an appendicitis and he was admitted to a hospital in Glasgow on arrival at Gourock. The hospital was initially empty so Rex was treated very well but shortly after his arrival the wounded from the D Day invasion started to arrive and Rex was found fit enough to join 223 Squadron at RAF Oulton which were flying the B-24. Rex was not too impressed with the aircraft as they were war weary veterans cast off from the 8th US Army Air Force. Although Rex was trained as a Wireless operator / air gunner he flew all his operations as a wireless operator. Rex remembers that his main duties were to listen out for weather diversions he also remembers that there was a piece of equipment that he had that showed aircraft close to them which was very unreliable, probably Fishpond. In August 1944 223 Squadron became part of 100 Group flying radio countermeasures, jamming the German radar and communications frequencies. Rex relates how the squadron aircraft would sometimes leave the main force bomber stream and head for another potential target dropping Window to divide the fighter defences.
Rex flew 20 operations with his crew and related that on one operation to Berlin they were getting short of fuel so diverted to the crash runway at RAF Manston and the groundcrew told them that they only had enough fuel for two minutes of flight. In February 1945 he developed bronchitis and was grounded by the medical staff. On the next operation that crew were shot down over Germany and all the flight deck crew died the navigator and one of the beam gunners managed to bale out. Rex relates that if he had been on the operation he would have died. He was told by the surviving beam gunner that the second beam gunner never wore his parachute harness on operations and was last seen trying to find his harness.
While he was recuperating his late captain’s brother came to visit the squadron he was flying the C47 transporting equipment to Europe and Rex manage to get himself two flights to Brussels. On his return to flying duties Rex only flew two more operations before the European war ended in May. He comments that his captain for those two flights was a Lord Briscoe.
Rex relates that on one of his leave periods he was walking out in the country and a low flying V-1 passed overhead and the engine stopped and it landed and exploded in a field close by.
Rex did not return to Canada until December 1945 crossing in the Queen Elizabeth. He returned to Toronto married the girl that he was writing to during his time in Great Britain. He worked for a small company manufactured high voltage lighting equipment as a salesman until he retired.
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Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Trevor Hardcastle]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Bahamas]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Bahamas--Nassau]]> England--Kent]]> England--Norfolk]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1945]]>
David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Billingford (Breckland)]]> 1945-07-21]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Baldwin]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Hamble-le-Rice]]> Scotland--Easter Ross]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Exning]]> England--Ely]]> England--Huntingdonshire]]> England--London]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1934]]> 1937]]> 1938]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Kent]]> England--Canterbury]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1945-05-19]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1945-05-19]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--London]]> England--London]]> 1945-07-30]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--London]]> 1945-06-27]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--London]]> 1945-07-09]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1945-05-19]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> 1944-11-09]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1945-05-19]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1945-03-12]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> Scotland--Glasgow]]> 1945-01-20]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Durham (County)]]> England--West Hartlepool]]> 1944-10-24]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--London]]> 1945-02-09]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Hackleton]]> 1945-07-21]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Hertfordshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> 1945-03-08]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1945-06-25]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1944-06-23]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> Scotland--Glasgow]]> 1944-10-24]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1944-01-06]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1945-07-11]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--London]]> 1944-10-24]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>