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 Pearce]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Christian]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Doncaster]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Northern Ireland--Belfast]]> England--Staffordshire]]> France]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Calais]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Falaise]]> England--Lincoln]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> Germany]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Bonn]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Germany--Soest]]> Germany--Rheine]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Great Britain]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-08-11]]> 1944-08-12]]> 1944-08-25]]> 1944-08-29]]> 1944-09-03]]> 1944-09-05]]> 1944-09-12]]> 1944-09-16]]> 1944-09-20]]> 1944-09-23]]> 1944-09-25]]> 1944-09-26]]> 1944-10-19]]> 1944-10-25]]> 1944-10-22]]> 1944-10-28]]> 1944-10-30]]> 1944-10-31]]> 1944-11-02]]> 1944-11-30]]> 1944-12-21]]> 1944-12-05]]> 1944-02-16]]> A Pearce]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Euskirchen Region]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Rhine River]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Soest]]> Germany--Osterfeld]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Pforzheim]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> Germany--Hanau]]> Germany--Dessau (Dessau)]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Mücheln (Wettin)]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Schwandorf in Bayern]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> France]]> France--Falaise]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Calais]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> Italy]]> Italy--Bari]]> France--Marseille]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Leverkusen]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Wangerooge Island]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1945-01-16]]> 1945-01-22]]> 1945-03-01]]> 1945-03-07]]> 1945-03-15]]> 1945-03-19]]> 1945-04-04]]> 1945-04-08]]> 1945-09]]> 1945-04-15]]> 1945-04-14]]> 1945-04-16]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-03-05]]> 1945-04-25]]> 1945-08-12]]> 1945-08-18]]> A R Witty]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)]]> 1944-08-25]]> A R Witty]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> 1944-08-25]]> A. A. Farr]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Robin Christian]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> France]]> Netherlands]]> Belgium]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Belgium--Kortrijk]]> Germany--Kiel]]> France--Dieppe]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Creil Region]]> France--Bordeaux Region (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> France--Caen Region]]> France--Béthune]]> France--Douai]]> France--La Rochelle]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> France--Falaise]]> France--Falaise Region]]> Netherlands--Uden]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> France--Limoges Region]]> Belgium--Ghent]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Netherlands--Breda]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Osnabrück Region]]> France--Calais]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Poland]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> France--Nieppe Forest]]> 1944-07-20]]> 1944-07-23]]> 1944-07-25]]> 1944-07-28]]> 1944-07-31]]> 1944-08-02]]> 1944-08-03]]> 1944-08-04]]> 1944-08-05]]> 1944-08-07]]> 1944-08-10]]> 1944-08-11]]> 1944-08-12]]> 1944-08-14]]> 1944-08-15]]> 1944-08-16]]> 1944-08-18]]> 1944-08-25]]> 1944-08-26]]> 1944-08-28]]> 1944-08-29]]> 1944-08-31]]> 1944-09-03]]> 1944-09-05]]> 1944-09-06]]> 1944-09-08]]> 1944-09-10]]> 1944-09-12]]> 1944-09-16]]> 1944-09-29]]> 1944-09-23]]> 1944-09-25]]> 1944-09-26]]> 1944-09-27]]> 1944-09-28]]> 1944-10-03]]> 1944-10-04]]> 1944-10-05]]> 1944-08-08]]> ]]> Adam Purcell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Mal Prissick]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Australia]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> France--Chartres]]> France--Gironde Estuary]]> France--Le Havre]]> United States]]> Germany]]> France]]> Poland]]> California--San Francisco]]> California]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Adam Sutch]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> He describes their capture, mistreatment and interrogations at various locations. After interrogations at Dulag Luft they were sent to a transit camp in Frankfurt then on by train to Heydekrug, Stalag Luft VI. Although their camp section was new it was cramped and basic. He describes camp life in detail. As the Russians got closer they were sent by train to an Army camp at Thorn. He read a copy of NCO education in the camp. These courses were extremely popular and supported by text books sent from the UK. Exams were sat and papers sent to the UK for marking. At Thorn they marched to Stammlager 357 but not for long. They then marched back to the railway and were sent to Fallingbostel. He describes the rail journey in detail, then in greater detail he describes camp life.
Later he was moved to an officer's camp at Eichstadt. This turned out to be an Army camp which refused them and they were sent to Sagan. He stayed there for a short time then was moved to Stalag Luft 3, then 111A. As the Russians neared they moved again. After a couple of days waiting in trucks they returned to their camp. The railway system was breaking down as the end of the war neared.
After the Russians reached them they were allowed out of the camp but still remained billeted there. He writes about his impressions of the Russians.
His journey home was delayed by rain that did not allow aircraft to fly.
His story ends with his retelling of the night his aircraft was shot down, his night in Brussels and his return to England.]]>
Alan McInnes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lichfield]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Stendal]]> Switzerland]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> Poland]]> Italy]]> Canada]]> United States]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Poland--Toruń]]> Greece]]> Greece--Crete]]> Poland--Vistula River]]> England--Staverton (Northamptonshire)]]> Germany--Bad Fallingbostel]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland--Bydgoszcz]]> Poland--Poznań]]> Germany--Pasewalk]]> Germany--Neubrandenburg]]> Germany--Stavenhagen]]> Germany--Malchin (Landkreis)]]> Germany--Güstrow]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> Germany--Eichstätt]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Eisenach]]> Germany--Fürth (Bavaria)]]> Germany--Treuchtlingen]]> Germany--Ingolstadt]]> Germany--Regensburg]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Poland--Wrocław]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> New South Wales]]> India--Jammu and Kashmir]]> China]]> England--London]]> Germany--Elbe]]> Germany--Potsdam]]> Germany--Jüterbog]]> Ukraine--Odesa]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Halle an der Saale]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Brighton]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Ukraine]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland--Poznań]]> Germany]]> Germany--Hof (Hof)]]> 1944-01-21]]>
Alastair Montgomery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Germany--Rastatt]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> 1942]]> 1945]]> Alastair Montgomery]]> 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]]> Poland]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Germany--Rastatt]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 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]]> Andrew Sadler]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jackie Simpson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Wales--Cardiff]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943-10-22]]> 1944]]> 1945-01-19]]> Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hugh Donnelly]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Dawn Studd]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Lithuania]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
Tom Wilson came from an academic family in New Zealand. He studied engineering and worked on radar before volunteering for the Air Force. He flew 13 operations as a navigator before his aircraft was shot down and he became a prisoner of war. He met his wife at a lecture.

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Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Yvonne Walker]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> New Zealand]]> Poland]]> England--London]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1939]]> 1945]]> 1946]]>
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]]> Arthur Hope]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> 1943-12-20]]> Australia. Royal Australian Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Germany]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Victoria]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> 1943-12-20]]> ]]> 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]]> Bill Bailey]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Free French Air Force]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Norway]]> Poland]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--Devon]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France--Domléger-Longvillers]]> France--Ardennes]]> France--Calais]]> France--Cap Gris Nez]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Freiburg im Breisgau]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Manitoba--Carberry]]> Netherlands--Domburg]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> Norway--Oslo]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> Ontario--Hamilton]]> Ontario--Picton]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Netherlands--Hague]]> France]]> Ontario]]> New Brunswick]]> Nova Scotia]]> Netherlands]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Warwickshire]]> Manitoba]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Turkey]]> Turkey--Gallipoli]]> Australia]]> Queensland--Brisbane]]> Queensland--Ipswich]]> Queensland--Maryborough]]> New South Wales--Cootamundra]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> New South Wales--Wagga Wagga]]> New South Wales--Lindfield]]> New South Wales--Blue Mountains]]> New South Wales--Neutral Bay]]> American Samoa]]> American Samoa--Pago Pago]]> United States]]> Hawaii--Honolulu]]> California--San Francisco]]> California--Alcatraz Island]]> California--Oakland]]> Canada]]> British Columbia--Vancouver]]> Oregon]]> Washington (State)--Seattle]]> British Columbia--Vancouver]]> Alberta--Edmonton]]> Alberta--Jasper]]> Alberta--Fort Saskatchewan]]> Germany]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Alberta--Calgary]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Tasmania]]> Italy]]> Italy--Foggia]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Gourock]]> England--Brighton]]> Germany--Hamm (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> France]]> France--Laon]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> Germany--Wesseling]]> France--Montdidier (Picardy)]]> Austria]]> Austria--Vienna]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Queensland--Cairns]]> Saskatchewan--Saskatoon]]> Manitoba--Winnipeg]]> Ontario--Toronto]]> North America--Niagara Falls]]> New York (State)--New York]]> Québec--Montréal]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> Scotland--Greenock]]> Scotland--Aberdeen]]> England--Sidmouth]]> England--Salisbury]]> Scotland--Ailsa Craig]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> Scotland--Gatehouse of Fleet]]> England--Newcastle upon Tyne]]> Wales--Holyhead]]> Scotland--Paisley]]> France]]> France--Beauvoir-sur-Mer]]> Queensland--Bundaberg]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> Ontario--Trenton]]> Ontario--London]]> Saskatchewan]]> Québec]]> Nova Scotia]]> Manitoba]]> Basic training was carried out at Lords Cricket ground in London. One clear memory is helping to carry patients down several flights of stairs from a nearby hospital during an air raid.
Time was spent at RAF Bridlington on Initial Training Wing before attending Air Gunnery School in the Isle of Man. Further training was undertaken at RAF Banbury where he was crewed up on Wellingtons, before moving to the Heavy Conversion Unit at Wratting Common to convert to Stirlings. During his time here he attended an escape course at RAF Feltwell and was instructed in unarmed combat, which he dismissed as pitiful.
He and his crew were posted to RAF Witchford, Cambridgeshire, where he flew his first operation in February 1944 replacing an ill air gunner. He later discovered this was an inexperienced crew. He remembers the target was around Osnabrück in Germany and it was a melee over the target where they were attacked by two Me 109s, which they successfully shook off. On his return, he remembers being unable to sleep and went for a walk into Ely. There he discovered the Oxford Cambridge boat race was being held and watched it
Target areas of Germany included Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Augsburg. On his 5th operation, the aircraft was attacked, and the aircraft lost its heating and communications. He suffered frostbite and spent several months recovering in Ely hospital.
On regaining fitness, he was transferred to RAF Waterbeach and was allocated to a crew led by Ted Cousins. Waterbeach was a pre-war airfield with comfortable facilities. Time off was spent competing in athletics and football along with drinking at the local public houses.
When time allowed, he went home, but found the experience boring: all his friends were serving away, and there was little to do except drink or go to the cinema. His elder brother was serving as a navigator in the Far East, and he felt it unfair to talk about his experiences with his family.
At RAF Waterbeach there was a greater variety of operations. Targets varied from Germany to Southern France. He also remembers one trip to Poland. This entailed flying over Denmark and they could see the lights from Sweden and anti-aircraft fire.
He has a clear memory of most of his operations but does not wish to dwell on some. On one occasion he spotted a Me 109, he tried to warn the pilot but his intercom had frozen and emergency light was inoperative. He tried to open fire but his guns jammed – the night fighter opened fire and hit the centre of the aircraft. The aircraft began violently manoeuvring and he wasn’t sure if this was deliberate evasive manoeuvres or if they were out of control. He made his way forward and discovered the aircraft door open and the mid upper gunner missing. There were cannon holes all around the centre of the aircraft. He still wasn’t sure if he was the only one on board until he reached the main cabin and found the rest of the crew in position. They made it back home where they realised an incendiary bullet was lodged in the ammunition pannier.
His last operation was one of the thousand-bomber operations in Germany, the air black with anti-aircraft fire. On his return, the air gunners went sent to the bomb dump to assist the armourers in preparing the bombs for the following days attack which was carried out by the United States Army Air Forces.
After completing his tour of operation, he was posted to RAF Brackla, hoping to be retained as physical training instructor, but ended up at RAF Weeton near Blackpool to be trained as a driver.
He served at several locations across Southern England before his final posting which was with a microfilm unit in Frankfurt. Fraternising with locals was not allowed, but he did manage to learn German. He played in a football match against a much better German select team.
After demob, he returned home and was involved in the manufacturing of cars at the Triumph factory. He married, and because of unrest and strikes in the car industry, he moved to Scotland and was employed at the Carron company in Falkirk as a production director manufacturing steel bars, where his ability to speak German became an advantage in his dealings with foreign companies. He met an ex Luftwaffe pilot and experiences were exchanged - there was no animosity whatsoever and it was accepted they both had been carrying out their duty.
Geoff looks back on his time in Bomber Command with great fondness. It was like a big family. He still has contact with surviving crew members, and still attends reunions.
]]>
Brenda Jones]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Ely]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--London]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France]]> Germany]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Denmark]]> Sweden]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> Scotland]]> Scotland--Falkirk]]> Scotland--Nairnshire]]> Scotland--Stirlingshire]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> 1944-02]]>
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]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Carron Moss]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated S Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Flensburg]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Hannover]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]>