Army Bureau of Current Affairs]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> British Army]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany]]> 1944-01-22]]> ]]> B Clark]]> M Warburton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lincoln]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> 1943-11-30]]> 1943-12-01]]> 1943-12-02]]> 1943-12-03]]> 1943-12-04]]> 1943-12-05]]> 1943-12-06]]> 1943-12-07]]> 1943-12-08]]> 1943-12-09]]> 1943-12-10]]> 1943-12-11]]> 1943-12-12]]> 1943-12-13]]> 1943-12-14]]> 1943-12-15]]> 1943-12-16]]> 1943-12-17]]> 1943-12-18]]> 1943-12-19]]> 1943-12-20]]> 1944-01-01]]> 1944-01-02]]> 1944-01-05]]> 1944-01-14]]> 1944-01-20]]> 1944-01-21]]> 1944-01-27]]> B Clark]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> 1943-12-20]]> 1944-01-01]]> 1944-01-02]]> 1944-01-05]]> 1944-01-14]]> 1944-01-20]]> 1944-01-21]]> 1944-01-27]]> A second article titled 'Norton Camp, Sheffield' is about a punishment camp where the writer was sent after cycling with a WAAF on his crossbar.]]> Bernard Dye]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Sheffield]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Bill Lord]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jan Waller]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> On the reverse are adverts.]]> Birmingham Mail]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Czech Republic--Bohemia]]> Germany--Coesfeld]]> Germany--Dülmen]]> Germany--Ahaus]]> Germany--Bocholt]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Denmark--Copenhagen]]> Germany--Münster in Westfalen]]> Netherlands--IJssel Lake]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany]]> Denmark]]> Czech Republic]]> Netherlands]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1945-03]]> Bomber Command - Chief Intelligence Officer]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Frankfurt (Oder)]]> Germany--Aachen]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Leeuwarden]]> Netherlands--Breda]]> Netherlands--Tilburg]]> Netherlands--Twente]]> Netherlands--Venlo]]> Germany]]> 1944-02-14]]> 1944-02-15]]> 1944-02-16]]> Stephen describes the preparations for missions, the cold and how the pilot would corkscrew as he approached targets. Following two trips to Essen and on his second trip to Berlin, his aircraft crashed. Another three Lancasters went down with no survivors. Upon landing in the snow he was captured by the German home guard and sent to an interrogation camp at Frankfurt. A person, claiming to be from the Red Cross tried to interview him but Stephen had been warned of this ruse and refused to answer any questions.
He and the other crew members were taken to Stalag VIII-B in Lamsdorf, near the Polish border. The conditions were very difficult with very little water and food. They burnt bed boards from their three-tier bunks to make tea and replaced them with string from Red Cross food parcels. The sanitary conditions were poor. Stephen, however, felt they were treated fairly.
He describes in detail the deplorable conditions in the camp. During his stay he escaped three times by exchanging identities with a member of a working party but was recaptured every time and punished by solitary confinement. He knew he had little chance of escaping as he couldn't speak German but wanted to keep the Germans occupied. He discusses some of the amusing incidents which occurred and outlines the entertainment activities in the camp. Stephen’s mother was informed he was missing, and his name read out as a prisoner of war by Lord Haw-Haw [William Joyce].
In 1945, he embarked on a gruelling march to escape from the approaching Russian army, often resorting to eating raw chicken and rabbit. Eventually the guards disappeared and he was picked up and looked after by the Americans and flown back to England for medical treatment. Stephen developed beriberi, weighing only seven stone. He was flown back to RAF Cosford in a C-47. After treatment he was sent to India as there were no flying post available in England. After the war ended, he was sent home to Blackpool for demob and worked in the coal mines, as a coal handler in the mills, a maintenance engineer and finally as a mill manager.
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Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Terry Holmes]]> Sally Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Poland--Łambinowice]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]>
Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated S Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Norway]]> South Africa]]> Arctic Ocean--North Pole]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Scotland--Montrose]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> James says that a separate briefing was held for wireless operators to inform them of callsigns and code words to be used before the main briefing. James was also the mid-under gun operator when the aircraft required one. James’ crew only flew four operations over Berlin being near the end of the war; he mentions a mis-identified target incident and an attack by a night fighter. James’ account also details being involved in the Operation Dodge and Operation Manna, as well as recalling a time that he was invited to fly in a Mosquito which he described as ‘a terrific aircraft’. James continue to serve until 1947 until he de-mobilised due to his ‘dislike of a lack of flying’. James retired from active service as a warrant officer. He would work as a delivery driver until retiring in 1997. James recalls that he kept in contact with three members of his crew until 2015.]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Alex Joy]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Steph Jackson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Herefordshire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> British Administration of Occupied Germany]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> rus]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Germany]]> Germany--Helmstedt]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1956-08-03]]> ]]> Bryce Cousens]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Claire Monk]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text. Poetry]]> Artwork]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1943]]> 1944-02-14]]> 1944-02-21]]> 1944-03]]> 1944-04]]> 1944-04-01]]> 1944-04-19]]> 1944-05-21]]> 1944-05-22]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-07]]> 1944-06-11]]> 1944-06-12]]> 1944-06-16]]> 1944-06-17]]> 1944-06-19]]> 1944-06-25]]> 1944-07-03]]> 1944-07-08]]> 1944-07-24]]> 1944-08-13]]> 1944-08-21]]> 1944-09-04]]> 1944-09-18]]> 1944-09-28]]> 1944-11-06]]> 1944-11-20]]> 1944-12-04]]> 1944-12-20]]> 1944-12-23]]> 1945-01-30]]> C Dyer]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Kent]]> England--Folkestone]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Croydon]]> England--Durham (County)]]> England--Sunderland (Tyne and Wear)]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Melton Mowbray]]> Germany--Ludwigsfelde Region]]> England--Morecambe]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Sussex]]> 1944-01-02]]> 1943-10-15]]> C Pattison]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Ostend]]> France]]> France--Dunkerque]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Bocholt]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Papenburg]]> Germany--Emden (Lower Saxony)]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> England--Catterick]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> England--Kent]]> England--Ramsgate]]> England--London]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Nijmegen]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Poland--Łambinowice]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--York]]> Germany--Flensburg]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1942-04]]> 1942-05]]> 1942-06]]> 1942-07]]> 1942-08]]> 1942-09]]> 1942-10]]> Charles M Ameresekera]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Sri Lanka]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Wuppertal]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Aachen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Mönchengladbach]]> France]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> Germany--Neuss]]> France--Calais]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> England--Huntingdonshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941-09-30]]> 1941-11-03]]> 1941-12-13]]> 1942-02-20]]> 1942-05-02]]> 1942-09-26]]> 1942-11-30]]> 1943-06-13]]> 1943-07-29]]> 1943-09]]> 1943-10-04]]> 1943-11]]> 1944-01-29]]> 1944-08-16]]> 1944-10]]> 1944-11]]> 1944-12]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1951]]> 1953]]> 1955]]> Charles M Ameresekere]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Sri Lanka]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Wuppertal]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Aachen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Mönchengladbach]]> France]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> Germany--Neuss]]> France--Calais]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> England--Huntingdonshire]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941-09-30]]> 1941-11-03]]> 1941-12-13]]> 1942-02-20]]> 1942-05-02]]> 1942-09-26]]> 1942-11-30]]> 1943-06-13]]> 1943-07-29]]> 1943-09]]> 1943-10-04]]> 1943-11]]> 1944-01-29]]> 1944-08-16]]> 1944-10]]> 1944-11]]> 1944-12]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1951]]> 1953]]> 1955]]> 1962]]> 1970]]> 1974-03-20]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Janet McGreevy]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Germany--Cuxhaven]]> Germany--Berlin]]>
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Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1939]]> 1943]]> 1945]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Second generation]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Northern Ireland--Antrim (County)]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]> England--Warwickshire]]> 1943-09-23]]> 1944-04-04]]> 1944-08-12]]> 1944-08-29]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> South African Air Force]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> South Africa]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Kiel]]> 1944-05-03]]> 1944-05-04]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Africa]]> Egypt]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Kent]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1948]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Singapore]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Sweden]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]>