514 Squadron]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> MHuttonGR1586017-200128-05]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> Germany--Wiesbaden]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Merseburg]]> France--Normandy]]> France--Caen]]> France--Villers-Bocage (Calvados)]]> France--Falaise]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Lens]]> France--Paris]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Regensburg]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Koblenz]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Dessau (Dessau)]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Friedrichshafen]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Hamm (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> France]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> A E Edwards]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> France]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France--Lille]]> France--Laon]]> France--Paris]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> France--Nantes]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Louvain]]> France]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Aachen]]> France--Dunkerque]]> France--Calais]]> France--Rennes]]> France--Tours]]> France--Lens]]> France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)]]> France--Nucourt]]> France--Abbeville]]> France--Vaires-sur-Marne]]> France--L'Isle-Adam]]> France--Neufchâtel-en-Bray]]> France--Creil]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Brest]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-01-14]]> 1944-01-21]]> 1944-01-27]]> 1944-02-25]]> 1944-03-01]]> 1944-04-11]]> 1944-04-18]]> 1944-04-22]]> 1944-04-24]]> 1944-05-11]]> 1944-05-19]]> 1944-05-21]]> 1944-05-25]]> 1944-05-28]]> 1944-05-31]]> 1944-06-04]]> 1944-06-07]]> 1944-06-10]]> 1944-06-11]]> 1944-06-15]]> 1944-07-02]]> 1944-07-05]]> 1944-07-09]]> 1944-07-10]]> 1944-07-11]]> 1944-07-15]]> 1944-07-16]]> 1944-07-18]]> 1944-07-19]]> 1944-07-23]]> 1944-07-24]]> 1944-07-27]]> 1944-08-03]]> 1944-08-04]]> 1944-08-03]]> 1944-08-07]]> 1944-08-25]]> 1944-08-26]]> 1944-08-29]]> 1944-09-09]]> 1944-09-11]]> 1944-09-19]]> 1945-01-31]]> 1944-04-19]]> 1944-08-08]]> A N Hollis]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Photograph]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Manchester]]> Canada]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> United States]]> Florida]]> New Brunswick]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Rutland]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> France]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Czech Republic]]> Czech Republic--Plzeň]]> Italy]]> Italy--Milan]]> Germany--Friedrichshafen]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> China]]> China--Hong Kong]]> Nova Scotia]]> A R Witty]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> 1944-06-07]]> A R Witty]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> 1944-06-07]]> A R Witty]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Hull]]> England--London]]> England--Devon]]> England--Torquay]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Liverpool]]> South Africa]]> South Africa--Durban]]> South Africa--East London]]> South Africa--Cape Town]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France]]> France--Rennes]]> Germany]]> Germany--Aachen]]> France--Paris]]> France--Normandy]]> France--Evreux]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> France--Le Havre]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> France--Calais]]> France--Dijon]]> France--Tours]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Kortrijk]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France--Orléans]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> France--Domléger-Longvillers]]> 1943-03-29]]> 1943-07-10]]> 1943-07-27]]> 1943-09-08]]> 1943-10-12]]> 1944-02-25]]> 1944-04-26]]> 1944-04-28]]> 1944-06-14]]> 1944-06-14]]> 1944-06-12]]> 1942-06-13]]> 1944-06-22]]> 1944-07-23]]> 1944-07-24]]> 1944-07-25]]> 1944-07-30]]> 1944-08-03]]> 1944-08-31]]> 1944-12-12]]> 1945-07-07]]> 1945-07-17]]>
Covers joining the RAF at age 19 and training at Blackpool, Yatesbury as radio operator and subsequently at Martlesham and Bridgnorth. Crewing up at RAF Upper Heyford while on OTU flying Wellington. This was followed by four engine training on Stirling then Lancaster before posting to 630 Squadron at RAF East Kirkby. Describes operations mentioning types of target, losses, attack by Ju-88. Continues with account of daylight operation to Caen and later Paris. Describes operation to Stuttgart in July 1944 when they were attacked by night fighter and badly damaged as well as he being injured. After aborting the operation fire forced them to bale out. Continues with account of his injuries, capture, transfer to and experiences at POW hospital near Nancy. Describes liberation by American forces and being flown back to England and then to RAF Hospital. Concludes with account of 15 month hospital treatment, discharge from the RAF, membership of the Guinea Pig Club and trying to trace members of his crew in the mid 1980s. At the end photographs of Arthur Woolf, of him in hospital and of the French family who helped him after he was shot down and injured.]]>
A S Woolf]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Babs Nichols]]> eng]]> Text]]> Photograph]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Cologne]]> France]]> France--Caen]]> France--Paris]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France]]> France--Nancy]]> France--Verdun]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Reading]]> France--Meurthe-et-Moselle]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-07-24]]> 1944-07-25]]> 1941]]> 1944-11]]>
Air Marshall Sir Ralph Sorley]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Navy]]> Great Britain]]> England--Felixstowe]]> England--Eastbourne (East Sussex)]]> England--Calshot]]> England--Bembridge]]> Atlantic Ocean--Spithead Channel]]> England--Cowes]]> England--Stroud]]> Scotland--Montrose]]> England--Sunbury]]> England--London]]> Monaco]]> Egypt--Cairo]]> Iraq--Baghdad]]> England--Felixstowe]]> England--Aldeburgh]]> Iraq]]> Middle East--Kurdistan]]> Middle East--Palestine]]> Jordan]]> Iran]]> Middle East--Euphrates River]]> Syria]]> Yemen (Republic)--Aden]]> Singapore]]> Australia]]> Borneo]]> China--Hong Kong]]> England--Kent]]> United States]]> New York (State)--New York]]> France--Paris]]> Nigeria]]> South Africa--Cape Town]]> Yugoslavia]]> Norway]]> Portugal]]> Spain]]> Denmark]]> Japan]]> Belgium]]> Argentina]]> Austria]]> Brazil]]> Canada]]> Chile]]> Greece]]> China]]> Lithuania]]> Estonia]]> England--Weybridge]]> Scotland--Island of Arran]]> England--Kingston upon Thames]]> France--Dunkerque]]> England--Hatfield (Hertfordshire)]]> Newfoundland and Labrador]]> New Brunswick]]> Maine]]> Maine--Presque Isle]]> Washington (D.C.)]]> Massachusetts--Boston]]> Pennsylvania--Philadelphia]]> Maryland--Baltimore]]> Washington (D.C.)--Anacostia]]> Tennessee--Nashville]]> Arkansas--Little Rock]]> Texas--Dallas]]> Texas--Fort Worth]]> Texas--Midland]]> Arizona--Tucson]]> California--Burbank (Los Angeles County)]]> California--Palm Springs]]> California--Los Angeles]]> California--Beverly Hills]]> California--San Diego]]> Arizona--Winslow]]> New Mexico--Albuquerque]]> Kansas--Wichita]]> Missouri--Saint Louis]]> Ohio--Dayton]]> New York (State)--Buffalo]]> Ontario--Toronto]]> Québec--Montréal]]> Newfoundland and Labrador--Gander]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> Germany--Rheine]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> India]]> Switzerland--Zurich]]> Lebanon--Beirut]]> Pakistan--Karachi]]> India--Kolkata]]> Singapore]]> Indonesia--Jakarta]]> Australia]]> Northern Territory--Darwin]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> South Australia--Woomera]]> South Australia--Adelaide]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> Sri Lanka--Colombo]]> Spain--Madrid]]> South Africa--Johannesburg]]> Kenya--Nairobi]]> Sudan--Khartoum]]> Greece--Athens]]> Italy--Rome]]> Zambia--Lusaka]]> Zambia--Ndola]]> Zambia--Mbala]]> Heathrow Airport (London, England)]]> Turkey--Istanbul]]> France--Nice]]> Utah--Salt Lake City]]> Italy--Genoa]]> Atlantic Ocean--Firth of Clyde]]> Italy]]> France]]> Arizona]]> Arkansas]]> California]]> Kansas]]> Maryland]]> Massachusetts]]> Missouri]]> New Mexico]]> New York (State)]]> Ohio]]> Tennessee]]> Texas]]> Utah]]> New South Wales]]> South Australia]]> Victoria]]> Northern Territory]]> Egypt]]> Sudan]]> North Africa]]> Ontario]]> Québec]]> Germany]]> Indonesia]]> Iraq]]> Kenya]]> Lebanon]]> Netherlands]]> South Africa]]> Switzerland]]> Pakistan]]> Sri Lanka]]> Turkey]]> Yemen (Republic)]]> Czech Republic]]> Slovakia]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Herefordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Great Yarmouth]]> Alice Omerod]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Alan Pinchbeck]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> France]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Netherlands]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> France--Paris]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Marignane]]> France--Marseille]]> France--Vichy]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> France--Laon Region]]> France--Lyon]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Cologne]]> France--Toulouse]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Belgium]]> Germany--Aachen]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Hameln]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Friedrichshafen]]> Norway]]> Norway--Oslo]]> France--Clermont-Ferrand]]> France--Reims]]> France--Normandy]]> France--Brittany]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> France--Dieppe]]> France--Orléans]]> Germany--Hannover]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944]]> 1944-03-30]]> 1944-03-31]]> 1944-04-05]]> 1944-04-06]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]> 1944-04-18]]> 1944-04-19]]>
This item is available only at the International Bomber Command Centre / University of Lincoln. ]]>
An00509. The author wished to remain anonymous]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Great Britain]]> England--Devon]]> England--Barnstaple]]> England--Bristol]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cambridge]]> United States]]> New York (State)--New York]]> Canada]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> Québec--Montréal]]> Manitoba--Portage la Prairie]]> Manitoba--Winnipeg]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Harrogate]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Northumberland]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> New York (State)]]> Québec]]> New Brunswick]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> Manitoba]]> 1939]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1944]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> England--Leeds]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> Canada]]> Nova Scotia]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> Great Britain]]> He describes individual operations in detail. He and his crew were transferred to Faldingworth where the condition of their aircraft was poor. These were quickly replaced with new aircraft. His crew were successful and survived their 30 operations never to meet up again.
He concludes his memoir with seven tailender tales.]]>
Bill Freeman]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Brighton]]> England--Dewsbury]]> Canada]]> England--Stafford]]> Wales--Tredegar]]> England--Northampton]]> England--Grimsby]]> France--Rouen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Denmark--Frederikshavn]]> France--Maintenon]]> France--Mailly-le-Camp]]> France--Rennes]]> France--Dieppe]]> France--Orléans]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Aachen]]> France--Paris]]> England--Lincoln]]> France--Le Havre]]> Poland]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Caen]]> France--Vierzon]]> France]]> Germany]]> Denmark]]> France--Reims]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Sussex]]> 1943-04-05]]> 1944-03]]> 1944-04-10]]>
Carolyn Pritchard]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France--Paris]]> Great Britain]]> England--Liverpool]]> Wales--Y Felinheli]]> France--Étampes (Essonne)]]> France]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1944-06-09]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> France]]> Gibraltar]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Spain]]> France--Paris]]> 1942-11-01]]> 1943]]> 1946]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> pol]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Polskie Siły Powietrzne]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> Singapore]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France--Paris]]> Poland--Warsaw]]> 1939-08-28]]> 1939-09-01]]> 1940]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1945]]>
The Earliest Years.
Born in Barnoldswick, then in Yorkshire, now in Lancashire in 1922. His father ran a wireless business until 1926. He describes his years at schools and a move to Norwich. The family then moved to London where he started an apprenticeship as an accountant.

Joining Up.
Cliff left the accountants to work in his father's radio business. Initially he was rejected by the RAF because he wore spectacles. He reapplied and passed various written, oral and medical examinations. Initial training was at Torquay then Newquay. Once training was complete he sailed from Greenock to South Africa.

Southern Rhodesia.
After acclimatisation in South Africa, Cliff and his colleagues were put on a sleeper train to Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. Training commenced on Tiger Moths but he was 'scrubbed' or rejected. He was reselected as an air gunner and completed a course in Moffat, also in South Rhodesia. Hospitality in Rhodesia and South Africa was described as generous and excellent.

Postscript.
Cliff describes a run-in with a training corporal who took a dislike to him. Despite faked evidence he proved his points and emerged with a clean record and passed his exams.

Operational Training.
In August 1942 he sailed back to the UK. He was sent to Bournemouth for assessment, then on to RAF Finningley for training then RAF Bircotes for operations. Next was a move to RAF Hixon and its satellite airfield at Seighford. He married Hilda on 1st March 1943 during a week's leave.

Second Time to Africa.
He was then sent to West Kirby, Liverpool to join a ship sailing to Algiers, for further training. Their destination became Blida where they started operations on Tunis and Monserrato airfield. They then moved to a desert strip to the east by 250 kms. From there they continued operations into Italy. Later they moved to Kairouan and continued operations into Italy, mainly Sardinia and Sicily. Each operation is described in great detail.
He has included a letter in Arabic with instructions to take the bearer to British soldiers for a reward. At the end of his tour they sailed back to Greenock.

Screened.
After some leave Cliff's next posting was at Operational Training Unit Desborough where he helped train new gunners. Due to an argument with an officer he was sent to RAF Norton for correctional training. On his return his case was reviewed and the severe reprimand was removed from his record.

Scampton.
Scampton was Cliff's next operational base then Winthorpe for its Heavy Conversion Unit on Stirlings, followed by Syerston on Lancasters then Bardney.

227 Squadron.
Cliff joined 227 squadron at Bardney. Again he covers in detail each operation. His flight was later transferred to Balderton. During this period he was awarded the DFC.

Final Leg.
His squadron was transferred to Gravely at the end of the war. He did a photography course and was transferred to Handforth. There was little work, some unpleasantness and eventually a period of extended leave, a spell at Poynton looking after prisoners then demob.

Back to Civvy Street.
Cliff returned to Whitehaven to revitalise a radio company. He gives great detail about the improvements made. Later he set up a similar enterprise at Maryport. Wired radio services were set to become less popular and financially worthwhile so seeing the writing on the wall he decided to emigrate.

Kenya.
Cliff and family flew to Nairobi, then bus to Kitale where his father was.

Hoteli King George.
Dissatisfied with life on his father's farm, Cliff took a job as a prison officer. He and his family moved to Nairobi. He relates several stories about prisoners and their better qualities but in the end he gets restless and leaves.

Civil Aviation.
Cliff joined the East African Directorate of Civil Aviation in April 1951 as a radio officer. He and his family were relocated to Mbeya, 900 miles from Nairobi. His skills as a radio engineer were well used in this remote location. After 2.5 years the family returned to UK on leave. On his return he was posted to Mwanza, also in Tanganyika. He describes in great detail a royal visit. They left on leave in June 1957 and collected a VW Beetle for transport to Kenya. Their next move was to Entebbe. This was not a happy posting and led to a transfer to Kisumu in Kenya. After three years they transferred to Nairobi to spend more time with their children, who were at boarding school there.

D.C.A. Headquarters.
His role here was Telecomms superintendent. He describes in detail the operations of his section. This was an unsettled period in Kenya with many Europeans returning home.

Dec' 61 on Leave.
Leave was spent at their house in Wales then in May 1962 Cliff returned alone to Nairobi. His family did return later. By this time his father had abandoned his farm and was building radios.

On Leave June 1964.
He bought another house in Wales and spent his leave restoring it. His wife's mother moved in. In November 1964 Cliff returned alone to Nairobi. he left within a year due to the worsening situation.

Job Hunting.
Several electronics firms were approached offering Cliff's services. He attended an interview with Pye who quickly offered him employment.

At Pye Telecommunications.
He found his colleagues unhelpful. A great deal of time was spent on a Turkish quotation that had been in progress for 10 years. A quotation to the Iranian Directorate of Civil Aviation contained complications leading to Cliff revising the quotation. Later there was a complicated installation job at the London Stock Exchange. Eventually Pye pulled out from the bid but a rival company won it, only to be taken over by Pye. At first the system was troubled but after a simple modification it worked perfectly.

Dresden 13-14 February 1945.
A one page description of the bombing of Dresden.

Curriculum Vitae.
Cliff Watson's CV, dated 1976.











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Cliff Watson DFC]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Bradbury]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Huntingdon]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Norwich]]> England--London]]> England--Torquay]]> England--Newquay]]> England--Birkenhead]]> Scotland--Greenock]]> Sierra Leone--Freetown]]> South Africa--Durban]]> Zimbabwe--Bulawayo]]> South Africa--Mahikeng]]> Zimbabwe--Harare]]> Singapore]]> South Africa--Cape Town]]> England--Bournemouth]]> France--Paris]]> Algeria--Algiers]]> Algeria--Blida]]> Tunisia--Tunis]]> Italy--Sardinia]]> Italy--Cagliari]]> Tunisia--Bizerte]]> Italy--Monserrato]]> Italy--Decimomannu]]> Italy--Trapani]]> Italy--Palermo]]> Italy--Naples]]> Italy--Rome]]> Italy--Lido di Roma]]> Italy--Tiber River]]> Italy--Alghero]]> Italy--Castelvetrano]]> Italy--Pantelleria Island]]> Tunisia--Sūsah]]> Italy--Syracuse]]> Italy--Messina]]> Italy--Salerno]]> Italy--Bari]]> Italy--Comiso]]> Italy--Crotone]]> Italy--Pomigliano d'Arco]]> Italy--Paola]]> Italy--Battipaglia]]> England--Desborough]]> Norway--Bergen]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Norway--Oslo]]> Belgium--Houffalize]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Berchtesgaden]]> England--Whitehaven]]> Kenya]]> England--Yeovil]]> Kenya--Nairobi]]> Kenya--Kitale]]> Tanzania--Mbeya]]> Tanzania--Mwanza]]> Uganda--Entebbe]]> Kenya--Kisumu]]> England--Cambridge]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Zimbabwe--Gweru]]> Zimbabwe]]> South Africa]]> Sierra Leone]]> France]]> Algeria]]> Tunisia]]> Italy]]> Netherlands]]> Germany]]> Norway]]> Poland]]> Belgium]]> Tanzania]]> Uganda]]> Iran]]> North Africa]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Iran--Tehran]]> Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)]]> Netherlands--Vlissingen]]> Germany--Homburg (Saarland)]]> Tunisia--Munastīr]]> Tunisia--Qayrawān]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Cumberland]]> England--Devon]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Huntingdonshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Somerset]]> England--Lancashire]]> Italy--Capri Island]]>

Geoff was born and lived in the same area of Grimsby all his life, at the date of his interview he was 93. The first part of the interview concentrated on his experience of finding a German butterfly bomb close to his home, Geoff described how after an air raid the local children would explore the local area looking for shrapnel. On this particular day when he was about 13, he and a friend found this device which looked different, he asked a soldier what it might be but he didn’t know. His friends father did not want it in their house and Geoff’s father said the same thing although they did not know what it was. Geoff was standing outside their house when a bomb disposal team came by probably looking for the bomblets. They told Geoff to drop it they then surrounded it with sandbags and detonated it with a small explosive charge which blew out some of the house windows. Geoff considered himself to be lucky as although they had mistreated the device it had not exploded, he also made the point that no one knew what they were as the authorities decided not to issue any information about the bomblets. He could not remember any anti aircraft guns locally but did remembers a large gun nearby.
Geoff described how his father a fisherman had build an Anderson air-raid shelter in their back garden and when the sirens alerted them to a raid the whole family gathered there. He described how one night a German aircraft caught in the searchlight beam dived down and dropped their bomb quite close to the house. He made the point that air raids on Grimsby were not that frequent unlike Hull just across the river, although Grimsby at that time was a major fishing port where literally you could cross the harbour stepping from one trawler to the next. Geoff remembered that early in the war the aircraft they saw were German but later on the large formations of Lancasters were evident.
Having left school at 14 he went to work at the local Rolls Royce dealership as an apprentice but disliked the work. Just post the European war conscription was still in place but Geoff volunteered to join the army for five years as you could choose your job and were paid more. He was trained as a signaller, his initial posting was the army headquarters in Paris which as it was just post war Eisenhour and Montgomery were there. Geoff was then posted to Egypt which was very different to Paris, living in tents awful food. Another lucky escape happened there, with a group of soldiers they were digging trenches by hand to be used as latrines, a fellow corporal told Geoff take your troops and go for a break then come back and relieve me, but the trench collapsed and killed them as Geoff and his group were on break.
Having completed his time in the army Geoff became a lorry driver during the week and a taxi driver at the weekend and he remembered the filming of Memphis Belle at RAF Binbrook.
Almost as a postscript Geoff remembered another lucky escape, early in the war in many towns and cities the school children were evacuated to safer areas to escape the German bombers. He remembers being gathered at school expecting to be told that they were being evacuated to Canada but a ship carrying evacuees had been sunk near the Canadian coast so the plan was abandoned. ]]>
Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Trevor Hardcastle]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Grimsby]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> North Africa]]> Egypt]]> 1943-06]]>
Fred was sent back to Bournemouth, then the Airspeed Oxford base at RAF Long Newnton. He was transferred to 29 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at North Luffenham before going to a conversion unit at RAF Wigsley, flying Manchesters and Lancasters. Fred contrasts the two aircraft. He moved to RAF Langar and carried out a total of 30 operations including one leaflet drop over Paris. Fred then went to two or three different stations flying Wellingtons. He transferred to RAF Wymeswold, which became a Transport Command Unit OTU rather than a Bomber Command OTU. Fred then flew C-47s before the war finished. He left the RAF and worked in in a number of different locations. Fred was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
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David Meanwell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> France]]> France--Paris]]>
Dawn Hughes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Nick Cornwell-Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway]]> England--Blackpool]]> France--Paris]]> France--Sangatte]]> 1942-04-20]]> 1943-05]]> 1943-10]]> 1943-12-30]]> 1944-01]]> 1944-04-06]]> 1944-05-01]]> 1944-06]]> 1944-08-31]]> 1946]]> 1944-07]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]> Dick Curnock]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Bradbury]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Austria]]> Austria--Villach]]> Canada]]> British Columbia--Abbotsford]]> Québec--Montréal]]> Egypt]]> Egypt--Cairo]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> Gibraltar]]> Germany]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Darmstadt]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bridlington]]> England--Horsham]]> England--Leicester]]> England--London]]> England--Melksham]]> Italy]]> Italy--Bari]]> Italy--Cortina d'Ampezzo]]> Italy--Naples]]> Italy--Padua]]> Italy--Ravenna]]> Italy--Rimini]]> Italy--Rome]]> Italy--Udine]]> Italy--Venice]]> Malta]]> North Africa]]> Poland--Toruń]]> Germany--Lüneburg]]> Poland]]> Lithuania]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> Germany--Bad Fallingbostel]]> England--Christchurch (Dorset)]]> Québec]]> England--Dorset]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Donald Cochrane]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jeremy Patton]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> France--Dunkerque]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> France--Caen]]> France--Calais]]> France--Dieppe]]> France--Evreux]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Mailly-le-Camp]]> France--Maintenon]]> France--Paris]]> France--Rennes]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Friedrichshafen]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> France--Lyon]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Hasselberg (Bavaria)]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-03-30]]> 1944-03-31]]> 1944-05-03]]> 1944-05-04]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]> 1944-06-14]]> 1944-06-15]]> 1944-06-16]]> E R James]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jan Waller]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Creil]]> France--Paris]]> France--Blaye]]> France--Caen]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Russia (Federation)--Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)]]> Germany--Castrop-Rauxel]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Wanne-Eickel]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Jülich]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Essen]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Münster in Westfalen]]> France]]> Germany]]> Poland]]> Netherlands]]> Russia (Federation)]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-07-23]]> 1944-07-24]]> 1944-07-28]]> 1944-07-31]]> 1944-08-03]]> 1944-08-04]]> 1944-08-05]]> 1944-08-07]]> 1944-08-29]]> 1944-09-11]]> 1944-09-13]]> 1944-09-15]]> 1944-10-05]]> 1944-10-06]]> 1944-10-12]]> 1944-10-14]]> 1944-10-17]]> 1944-10-15]]> 1944-10-16]]> 1944-10-25]]> 1944-10-28]]> 1944-10-30]]> 1944-10-31]]> 1944-11-16]]> 1944-11-18]]> 1944-11-21]]> 1944-11-30]]> 1944-12-03]]> 1944-12-06]]> 1944-12-13]]> 1944-12-15]]> 1944-12-18]]> Photo 2 is a postcard looking across seven Seine bridges.]]> Estel]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Civilian]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> France--Seine River]]> Photo 2 is a postcard of the interior of the church.]]> Estel]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Civilian]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> G A Mills]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> France]]> France--Morlaix]]> France--La Rochelle]]> France--Brest]]> France--Blois]]> France--Paris]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Germany]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Mönchengladbach]]> Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Norway]]> Atlantic Ocean--Oslofjorden]]> Germany--Dessau (Dessau)]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-05-25]]> 1944-05-28]]> 1944-05-30]]> 1944-06-02]]> 1944-06-06]]> 1944-08-28]]> 1945-01-28]]> 1945-01-29]]> 1945-02-01]]> 1945-02-16]]> 1945-02-18]]> 1945-02-19]]> 1945-02-23]]> 1945-02-24]]> 1945-03-07]]>