IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Baldwin]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Navy]]> Great Britain]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--West Midlands]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Stamford]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Thetford]]> England--Cumbria]]> England--Carlisle]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Theale (West Berkshire)]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Northampton]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--High Wycombe]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Godalming]]> England--Norwich]]> England--Wiltshire]]> Scotland--Moray]]> Scotland--Angus]]> Scotland--Arbroath]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Warrington]]> England--Devon]]> England--Plymouth]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Doncaster]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Gosport]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Bedford]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Cheltenham]]> England--Cirencester]]> England--Chippenham (Wiltshire)]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Shrewsbury]]> Scotland--Ross and Cromarty]]> Scotland--Invergordon]]> England--Andover]]> Wales--Mid Glamorgan]]> Wales--Bridgend]]> Wales--Dyfed]]> Wales--Aberystwyth]]> England--Kent]]> England--Ramsgate]]> Germany]]> New Zealand]]> New Zealand--Dargaville]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--London]]> England--Hounslow]]> England--Cumberland]]> England--Middlesex]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Royal Wootton Bassett]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> 1948]]> 1949]]> 1950]]> 1951]]> 1952]]> 1953]]> 1955]]> 1960]]>
Chapter 1. Under Training.
Having been assessed in Birmingham Geoff sets off to London in August 1942 for training, at Lords. Initial training was at Bridlington then gunnery school at Andreas on the Isle of Man. After a short leave he was posted to an operational training unit at Chipping Warden followed by intensive training at Edge Hill. Finally he went to Feltwell for Escape and Evasion training before joining a Heavy Conversion Unit at Wratting Common then Waterbeach.

Chapter 2. Operations RAF Witchford. After seven days leave he commenced operational flying in a Lancaster. Their first target was Augsburg and he reports being waved off by WAAFs and airmen. On the next operation the navigator had a breakdown and refused to help. He continues with details of several operations.
Chapter 3. Return to Ops RAF Waterbeach. Initially this proved to be a very relaxing posting but after his recovery he was back on operations. After 30 operations he was posted to RAF Brackla, Nairn.

Chapter 4. Grounded. He was unhappy at Brackla which was remote and cold. Next was a transfer south to RAF Weeton where he learned about motor transport and learned to drive. He was then posted to RAF Halfpenny Green, followed by RAF Croughton and South Cerney. He then went to Hornchurch before being sent to Germany where he joined a micro film unit at Frankfurt. On completion of photographing relevant factory installations his unit headed south to Triberg in Bavaria.

Chapter 5. As Time Goes By. He reflects on his letter from the Secretary of State from Air, Bomber Command losses and life after the war. he discusses Labour minister John Strachey, a pre-war fascist then Communist Party , who belittled the work of Bomber Harris. and the refusal to allow a thanksgiving service to honour the ex-Prisoner of War Association at Coventry Cathedral.]]>
Geoff Payne]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Training Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--London]]> England--York]]> England--Halifax]]> England--Loughborough]]> England--Flamborough Head]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Fleetwood]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Douglas (Isle of Man)]]> England--Banbury (Oxfordshire)]]> England--London]]> England--Bognor Regis]]> France--Lille]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Coventry]]> England--Ely]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France--Rouen]]> France--Vaires-sur-Marne]]> France--Normandy]]> France--Creil]]> France--Nucourt]]> France--Caen]]> France--L'Isle-Adam]]> France--Gironde Estuary]]> England--Falmouth]]> France--Somme]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Sweden--Stockholm]]> Germany--Bremen]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Calais]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> Germany--Emmerich]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Scotland--Nairn]]> England--Peterborough]]> England--Walsall]]> England--Hull]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Dudley]]> England--Brackley]]> England--Cirencester]]> Germany--Cuxhaven]]> Germany--Bückeburg]]> Germany--Bremerhaven]]> Germany--Black Forest]]> Germany--Triberg]]> Germany--Rheinberg]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> France--Châlons-en-Champagne]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> Poland]]> France]]> Germany]]> Belgium]]> Netherlands]]> Sweden]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Newmarket (Suffolk)]]>

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David Geach]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Greenock]]> Scotland--Glasgow]]> Scotland--Edinburgh]]> England--Harrogate]]> England--Whitley Bay]]> England--Bournemouth]]> England--Stourbridge]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Stafford]]> Canada]]> Ontario--Ottawa]]> Atlantic Ocean--Cardigan Bay]]> Wales--Rhyl]]> England--The Wash]]> England--Nottingham]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> England--Cannock]]> Wales--Aberystwyth]]> Scotland--Orkney]]> France--Saint-Malo]]> France--Rennes]]> France--Isigny-sur-Mer]]> France--Cherbourg]]> France--Avranches]]> England--Southampton]]> England--Stamford]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Peterborough]]> England--Bedford]]> England--Portsmouth]]> Netherlands--Friesland]]> England--Cromer]]> France--La Rochelle]]> France--Gironde Estuary]]> France--Nantes]]> England--King's Lynn]]> Italy--Turin]]> North Africa]]> Gibraltar]]> England--Thames River]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Berlin]]> England--Ely]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Norway]]> Netherlands--Texel]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Denmark]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> Germany--Brandenburg]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Hannover]]> England--Sunderland (Tyne and Wear)]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Poland--Wrocław]]> England--Southend-on-Sea]]> Italy]]> Atlantic Ocean--Firth of Clyde]]> Poland]]> France]]> Ontario]]> Germany]]> Netherlands]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Durham (County)]]> England--Essex]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Northumberland]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Selsey (West Sussex)]]> Wales--Caernarfon]]> 1943-03]]> 1943-04]]> 1943-05]]> 1943-06]]> 1943-07]]> 1943-08]]> 1943-09]]> 1943-10]]> 1943-11]]> 1943-12]]> 1944-01]]> 1944-02]]>
Mander Brother Ltd]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> 1941-03-08]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Zimbabwe]]> Zimbabwe--Harare]]> Zimbabwe--Bulawayo]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Bridgnorth]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Devon]]> England--Paignton]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Hull]]> England--Somerset]]> England--Castle Cary]]> 1940-06]]> 1940-07]]> 1940-08]]> 1940-09]]> 1940-10]]> 1940-11]]> 1940-12]]> 1941-01]]> 1941-02]]> 1941-03]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Angela Gaffney]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> 1945-03-20]]> 1945-06-16]]> Ernest Probyn]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Aylesbury]]> England--Lincoln]]> France--Royan]]> England--Oxford]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Hereford]]> France]]> Germany]]> Belgium]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Herefordshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> 1945]]> Lazenby, Harold Jack]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Warrington]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Shifnal (Shropshire)]]> England--London]]> England--Bampton (Oxfordshire)]]> England--Witney]]> England--Oxford]]> England--Cambridge]]> France--Paris]]> England--Portsmouth]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Southrop (Oxfordshire)]]> England--Cirencester]]> England--Skegness]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--Kidderminster]]> England--Gosport]]> England--Fareham]]> England--Southsea]]> Wales--Margam]]> Wales--Port Talbot]]> Wales--Bridgend]]> Wales--Porthcawl]]> England--Urmston]]> England--Stockport]]> Wales--Cardiff]]> Wales--Barry]]> United States]]> New York (State)--Long Island]]> Illinois--Chicago]]> England--Gloucester]]> Scotland--Kilmarnock]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Liverpool]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lincoln]]> Denmark--Anholt]]> Poland--Gdańsk]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Europe--Mont Blanc]]> Denmark]]> England--Hull]]> Czech Republic--Plzeň]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Mablethorpe]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Italy--Turin]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> England--Land's End Peninsula]]> Italy--San Polo d'Enza]]> Italy--Genoa]]> Italy--Milan]]> Algeria]]> Algeria--Blida]]> Algeria--Atlas de Blida Mountains]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Ramsey (Cambridgeshire)]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Munich]]> France--Montluçon]]> Germany--Darmstadt]]> Scotland--Elgin]]> England--York]]> Scotland--Aberdeen]]> England--Grimsby]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Zeitz]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Wanne-Eickel]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Kleve (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> Germany--Heide (Schleswig-Holstein)]]> Germany--Wuppertal]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Netherlands--Westerschelde]]> Germany--Rheine]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> Belgium]]> England--Southend-on-Sea]]> England--Morecambe]]> England--Kineton]]> England--Worcester]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr]]> England--London]]> Italy--La Spezia]]> France--Dunkerque]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Poland]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Recklinghausen (Münster)]]> Netherlands]]> England--Sheringham]]> England--Redbridge]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)]]> Germany]]> At RAF Halton he met fellow Poles from 303 Squadron who were there for three months training. He, however, was there for four years and received training very good on all types of armament and explosives, possibly in the context of weapon research and development.
He was there on VE Day but says the Poles didn't celebrate because of the Yalta agreement. He also recalls how, when some Russians visited, they were locked in a workshop out of the way. He recalls the barrack rooms and how they cheated the midnight bed checks when some were still out dancing in Aylesbury. He also says that the food was cooked by Italian prisoners and was very good.
In 1946 Michael went to RAF Cammeringham pending demobilisation. He was then detached to 48 Maintenance Unit at Wrexham, where he received and checked aircraft guns, before going to RAF Framlingham to await resettlement or repatriation.
Some Polish airmen returned to Poland but Mieczyslaw, by then know as Michael, went to London for resettlement. He claimed that trade unions didn't want the Poles and tried to send them into the mines and foundries but he refused and found a job making spectacles. He met his wife, who is also Polish, in 1960.
In London Michael attended social events and dinners at the Polish Club. He was awarded the Polish Freedom Medal in about 1990 or 1991.
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Geoff Burton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Andy Fitter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Polskie Siły Powietrzne]]> Egypt]]> Gaza Strip]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Lincoln]]> England--London]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> Middle East--Palestine]]> Wales]]> Wales--Wrexham]]> Ukraine]]> Poland]]> Poland--Kraków]]> 1939]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-05-08]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> 1948]]>
Tom Ozel]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> China--Hong Kong]]> China]]> John Martin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal Indian Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> South African Air Force]]> Wehrmacht. Kriegsmarine]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Lincoln]]> England--Huntingdonshire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> France--Caen]]> France--Normandy]]> Poland--Świnoujście]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Poland]]> Poland--Vistula River]]> Poland--Toruń]]> Italy]]> Europe--East Prussia (Poland and Russia)]]> England--Grimsby]]> France]]> Belgium]]> France--Ardennes]]> Netherlands--Arnhem]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Dover]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Europe--Elbe River]]> England--Newark (Nottinghamshire)]]> Netherlands]]> Germany]]> England--Sleaford (Lincolnshire)]]> 1945]]> D A Baker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> Zimbabwe]]> Zimbabwe--Manicaland Province]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Bridgnorth]]> 1940-08-22]]> D A Baker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> 1940-08-26]]> D A Baker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Shropshire]]> 1940-09-16]]> Terry Ford]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Christian]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> EFordTAFord[Fam]440830-0002,
EFordTAFord[Fam]440830-0003]]>
Royal Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> Scotland--Inverness-shire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> 1944-08-30]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Christian]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Zimbabwe]]> Zimbabwe--Bulawayo]]> Great Britain]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Bridgnorth]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Devon]]> England--Paignton]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cranfield]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Hull]]> England--Somerset]]> 1940-06-08]]> 1940-07-13]]> 1940-08-26]]> 1940-09-09]]> 1940-09-16]]> 1940-09-26]]> 1940-10-09]]> 1940-11-15]]> 1940-12-15]]> 1940-12-19]]> 1941-01-05]]> 1941-01-07]]> 1941-01-24]]> 1941-02-02]]> 1941-02-12]]> 1941-02-24]]> 1941-03-09]]> 1941-03-30]]> 1941-05-07]]> 1941-05-10]]> 1941-05-25]]> 1941-06-17]]> 1941-08-07]]> 1941-08-18]]> 1941-09-08]]> 1941-08-29]]> 1941-11-05]]> 1941-07-24]]> Wing Commander Baigent and Flying Officer Rothwell. He also flew Operation Manna to Rotterdam, and Operation Exodus to Lubeck and Juvencourt.]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> Alberta--Edmonton]]> Alberta--Lethbridge]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> France--Aisne]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dessau (Dessau)]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Kamen]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> Germany--Mönchengladbach]]> Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Germany--Potsdam]]> Germany--Salzbergen]]> Germany--Wanne-Eickel]]> Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Wiesbaden]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> Alberta]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Staffordshire]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1945-01-22]]> 1945-01-28]]> 1945-01-29]]> 1945-02-01]]> 1945-02-02]]> 1945-02-03]]> 1945-02-18]]> 1945-02-20]]> 1945-02-21]]> 1945-02-23]]> 1945-02-25]]> 1945-02-27]]> 1945-03-01]]> 1945-03-04]]> 1945-03-06]]> 1945-03-07]]> 1945-03-08]]> 1945-03-10]]> 1945-03-11]]> 1945-04-03]]> 1945-04-04]]> 1945-04-08]]> 1945-04-09]]> 1945-04-10]]> 1945-04-13]]> 1945-04-14]]> 1945-04-15]]> 1945-04-22]]> 1945-05-04]]> 1945-05-09]]> 1945-05-23]]>
Additional information about this item has been kindly provided by the donor.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Australia]]> New South Wales--Parramatta]]> England--Bexley]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Stourbridge]]> Scotland--Aberdeen]]> England--Peacehaven (East Sussex)]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Bolton (Greater Manchester)]]> 1944]]>
England--Wolverhampton]]>