2
25
78
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/753/31388/BCotterJDPCotterJDPv1.2.pdf
51801623ceddc1937a5f993bda2490ef
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cotter, John David Pennington
J D P Cotter
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns Wing Commander John Cotter DFC (b. 1923, Royal Canadian Air Force) and contains an oral history interview, his log book and a memoir. He flew operations as a pilot with 158 and 640 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by John Cotter and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-08-28
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cotter, JDP
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
WING COMMANDER JOHN COTTER DFC
EXTRACTS FROM WAR DIARIES AND INFORMATION ON AIRCRAFT CREWS AND LISTS OF BOMBING RAIDS.
ACCOMPANYING ADDITIONS TO ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW 28th August 2018
[page break]
[underlined] A BOMBER CREW [/underlined]
I arrived at 28 Operational Training Unit, Bomber Command on 23rd February 1943.
The OTU was equipped with Wellington 1c aircraft and located at Wymeswold, near the town of Loughborough in Leicestershire. Most of the aircrew on my course were NCO's – sergeants – all the navigators were Canadian (RCAF). They also all wore the 'O' brevet which indicated that they had been trained as observers, i.e. navigators and bomb-aimers combined. But at this time the Air Force was splitting the duties of navigator and bomb-aimer and we had the new trade of bomb-aimer on our course. Initially most bomb-aimers were commissioned, as it was a new trade, and so most, if not all, the bomb aimers on our course were pilot officers.
There was a great deal of networking among the aircrew to sort themselves out into crews but I let matters take their course and eventually I was allocated a crew. So in my diary for 8th March I have put:
“At teatime in the Mess I met my navigator, a Canadian Called Andy Hicks. He seems a decent sort of chap.”
I think Andy must have been the first person crewed with me as it is not until 17th March that an air gunner, Wally Lomax, a wireless operator, Harry Reid and a bomb-aimer Norman Hawkridge, join the crew. We then started flying together – five of us. On 22nd March I was sent solo in the Wellington and the other 4 seemed quite happy with me. By 30th March we were going out in the evenings together as a crew, all except Norman, the bomb-aimer who lived in the Officers Mess. Anyway that evening we four sergeants went into Loughborough together – to the films (we saw a documentary “Desert Victory” and Alan Curtis in “Remember Pearl Harbour”).
The crew was given its first leave on Sunday 11th April and I invited Andy to come and stay at my home in North West London. Although he came from Calgary he had lost his mother in the Spanish flu epidemic of 1920 and the infant child had been brought over to Truro to be looked after by his grandmother: not returning to Canada until he was 8 years old. I think he had been down to Cornwall on a previous leave so he was glad of a break in London. My younger brother was away in the Air Force so Andy borrowed his civilian clothes for our trips into London. The leave was for 7 days and we packed a lot in during that week as the weather was superb. We met two Canadian friends of Andy who were both in the RCAF but were not aircrew. There is a photograph of the four of us at Hampton Court on a lovely sunny day – Andy and I in civilian clothes and Don and Hal in RCAF uniform. I never saw them again after that leave but Andy knew one of them in Alberta for many years after the War. One night we took my mother to dinner in London and then to the theatre to see Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard in “Watch on the Rhine”. We also saw Kay Hammond in 'Blithe Spirit' and a rather weak musical comedy.
2
After that leave Andy made my parents' flat his home and he used to spend half his leaves in Cornwall and half with us. When we got to the Squadron in July we found that crews were sent on leave for 7 days every six weeks. So Andy and I would go to my place for 3 days, then he would go to Paddington Station to catch the “Cornish Riviera” express down to Truro for 3 days. On the 7th day we would meet back in London and travel north together, back to the Squadron. We would always take my mother out to dinner and a show on every leave. At that time there was a very famous comedian called Sid Field and we would take Mother to one of his shows whenever he was appearing in London. Sid Field's female lead was Zoe Gail who used to appear on stage dressed in top hat and tails, complete with cane, singing “I'm Going to Get Lit up when the Lights Go On in London”. There was still a blackout throughout the country. Just after the War Sid Field died and then, some 10 years later, his leading lady, Zoe Gail, was crippled in a car accident. The two of us frequented the best restaurants (such as were still open – there was not much choice). Quite often we would dine at the Ritz Hotel which we could quite afford as no restaurant in wartime was allowed to charge more than 5 shillings for a meal. Hotels, such as the Ritz, would levy a cover charge of around the meal price to stop the riff-raff getting in. The only other crew member we would meet in London on our leaves was Bill Griffiths, our mid-upper gunner. Bill lived in Luton and we used to meet him in London or sometimes go up and stay at his parents' house. His mother was a very nice, attractive lady and she used to look after us very well.
The Canadian Forces had a club in London, just off Trafalgar Square, called the Beaver Club. Andy and I used to go there frequently on our leaves. We would quite often run out of money and we would go down to the RCAF accounts headquarters in Kensington. I would wait outside while Andy went in and drew some of his deferred pay to keep us going. On every leave we would pay at least one visit to a Turkish bath. The establishment we frequented was in Northumberland Avenue, just off Trafalgar Square. There, for a few shillings, we would endure a severe pummelling from the masseurs after going through hot, cold and steam baths. This would be followed by a two or three hour snooze followed by a call with tea and hot-buttered toast. We found it a wonderful tonic for a hangover. When my brother Paul had leave at the same time he would join us on our London escapades. Fortunately he had two suits so he and Andy would share the clothes.
Our flight commander at Wymeswold was Squadron Leader Penman and he was the first proper operational veteran that most of us had met. Penman was one of the survivors of a raid, in August 1942, on Augsburg. This was the last daylight raid by Bomber Command for nearly 2 years and had resulted in very heavy losses as only 5 aircraft, from an attacking force of 12 Lancasters had returned. The raid leader, Sqn. Ldr Nettleton, was awarded the VC and Penman received the DSO.
[page break]
3
At operational training unit crews finished off their course by undertaking a nickel raid. A nickel raid was a simple thing really although sometimes crews did not return. One's plane was loaded with leaflets and you flew across to France, Belgium or Holland and dropped all the leaflets which, I assume, encouraged all the occupied people to keep their chins up. So a nickel was a crew's operational baptism, although a reasonably mild one. My diary for 4th and 5th May 1943 reads:
“Got up about 11. Then went up and had dinner (lunch). After that went across to the link trainer and did an hour and a half which finishes me off (completes my link trainer programme). Then met Andy and found out that we were on a nickel. I nearly fainted! Bags of briefing and panic! Took off at 2130 and reached the (southern) English coast at 2359 where we wasted about an hour flying up and down trying to find Beachy Head (our departure point). Then crossed over to France. We had to drop leaflets on Rouen and we got caught in searchlights and then flak. Was I on pins! We were holed 5 times. Landed at Cranage (an airfield in North West of England) at 0400. Had no sleep at all. Got up at 0800: that is out of the chair that I occupied in the dump that the boys at this station call a Mess. I am still full of last night. Hung around all morning until at 1230 we got permission to take off. We got back to Wymeswold at about 1400 and after depositing our kit we went to the Intelligence Officer for an interrogation. Then to the Mess to proceed to shoot a line to all the boys. I was dog-tired however so Andy and I went and had a shower and then went to bed. Boy! Our first operation over – the 5 of us are walking around like fairies”.
At this stage our mid-upper gunner (Bill Griffiths) and our flight engineer (Mickey Rooney) had yet to join the crew. Bill Griffiths in fact joined us the next day, 6th May, and flew with us for the first time in place of Wally Lomax. On the Wellington we only had one gunner's turret – the rear – whereas we were obviously destined for Lancasters, Halifaxes or Stirlings all of which had positions for two gunners: a mid-upper and a rear gunner. When we arrived at this OTU we were told it normally supplied the Lancaster bomber squadrons.
On the 14th May 1943 we passed out, as a crew, from 28 OTU Wymeswold and we were off on 14 days leave. My diary stops at this time not to be resumed until September and then only for a short time. Anyway Andy came home with me for half the leave and spent the other half in Cornwall. We were posted to 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit at Marston Moor, just outside York. HCU's served to convert crews on to the heavy bombers to be flown on operations and when you passed the HCU course you went straight to your squadron. Marston Moor had been the site of a famous battle. On 2nd July 1644 the Royalist forces of King Charles I had suffered their first major defeat there and, consequently, lost control of York and so the North of England.
4
1652 HCU was one of three HCU's to feed 4 Group so we were not going on Lancasters but Halifaxes. No 4 Group was one of the two bomber groups stationed in Yorkshire – the other was 6 Group, the Canadian group. The Canadian stations were north of York and 4 Group was south and to the east. 6 Group was run by the RCAF but there were Australians, New Zealanders and British serving in the Group. 4 Group was RAF but many Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and one or two Americans were among our crews.
I was delayed getting to Marston Moor as I was sick at the end of my leave in London so Andy took charge of the crew. And accounts refused to pay them. Andy then went to the Station Warrant Officer to say the crew had no money and was owed 3 weeks pay but he got short thrift from this gnarled old pre-war NCO who probably thought these pip-squeak young sergeant aircrew were a damned nuisance. Just as Andy was protesting the Commanding Officer's door opened and out came the CO – Group Captain Leonard Cheshire, later a VC. He asked Andy the trouble, then turned to the SWO “See that these men are paid at once”. “Yes Sir!” said the SWO standing to attention. Cheshire at that time was 27 and a renowned bomber ace. He had been sent on a public relations tour of the United States and had come back to England with an American bride. This was Constance Binney who was 17 years older than Cheshire and a well-know Broadway actress. Some of the crew, I think Harry, Wally and Bill, were hitch-hiking back from York one day and they were picked up by Miss Binney whom they described as a very fragrant lady.
When I arrived at Marston Moor the crew introduced me to Mickey Rooney our flight engineer who was just joining us and now the crew was complete. I only had two instructors converting me to the Halifax: Sqn. Ldr Hadyn RAAF and Flt Lt Fisher, both very good. Shortly after we started flying the Halifax all the pilots were loaded into a 15cwt truck and driven east across Yorkshire. We were all going on a real operation that night, flying as second pilots. There were about six of us and one of us was dropped off each at a separate squadron base. Eventually I was the only one left on the truck and I was driven to the most easterly airfield – Lisset the home of 158 Squadron. The raid was to Cologne and I was put with Sgt ‘Bluey’ Mottershead and his crew. I had nothing to do, of course, but to sit in the right-hand seat and watch. Thank goodness our flight was uneventful: the weather was clear, the city was on fire long before we reached it and we did not come across any fighters. But Bomber Command lost 27 aircraft that night with 156 aircrew killed. When we turned for home after bombing I was so exhausted with the tension that I started to fall asleep. Bluey told me to go back and sleep on the rest bed and the next thing I knew was when the wheels touched the runway back at Lisset. Returning westwards in the 15cwt I was eventually joined by the others: we had all come through!
[page break]
5
Towards the end of July the course finished and my crew was posted to 158 Squadron where I had just been. Lisset is near the East Yorkshire coast and just south of the seaside resort of Bridlington. We travelled across to Lisset on Thursday 22nd July in another 15cwt truck to start our operational career and it was a nice sunny summer day. I recall we stopped and bought strawberries at a wayside stall on the way over. It was fairly late when we arrived at the Squadron base – I think about 2230. In those days the blackout and the absence of all road signs throughout Britain made road journeys rather long and tedious. Norman went off to the officers’ quarters and we six sergeants were allocated a Nissan hut as our very own. I think all six of us then drifted along to the Mess in search of something to eat. It was quite a sight when we reached it as there had just been a dance. Various chaps were occupying all the mess settees, accompanied by Waafs (Womens Auxiliary Airforce) with greatcoats covering their antics. The floor of the anteroom was covered in debris: cigarettes, glasses and beer spillages. At the far end of the long room a combined snooker and crap game seemed to be in progress with about 20 participants dominated by a tall, blonde flight sergeant dressed in the dark blue of the Australian Air Force. Six weeks later, after the Squadron Commander and one of the 3 Flight Commanders had been lost, that Australian had jumped 5 ranks to Squadron Leader and was our Flight Commander; remaining so nearly until the end of our tour.
Friday 23rd July was spent settling in and flying one of the Squadron aircraft for about 4 hours on a handling flight. Then, the next day, we were off on our first trip for the start of what became known as the Battle of Hamburg. This was the first of 4 successive attacks on the City in 9 days. This operation was notable for a new defensive device carried by the bombers called “Window”. Window consisted of small metallic strips of foil that were thrown out of each aircraft as it approached the target area. Harry, the wireless operator, had the job of throwing out the window strips, thousands came from each of the Wellingtons, Stirlings, Halifaxes and Lancasters taking part in this operation. Window confused the German ground and airborne radar and so we only lost about 12 aircraft that night, including one from our squadron.
We took off around 2200 and Andy expertly navigated us to Hamburg, although once we were within 50 miles of the City the fires on the ground indicated the target. I was the only one of the crew to cause a problem that night on our first proper operation. As we were running in over the target Norman found the bomb release did not work. After we had passed over the City with the bombs still on board Mickey, the engineer, came up to the cockpit to see what was wrong. I had pushed the bomb door lever down instead of pulling it up to open the doors. By now we were well to the north east of Hamburg and heading towards Lubeck. Instead of turning straight for home and safety we turned and completed a large circuit round the burning city and some half hour later we were on our second bombing run and this time I operated the lever correctly. When we bombed everyone else had finished and long since cleared the area. We should have been a
6
sitting duck for the night fighters but all those metallic strips floating in the air must have protected us. We took part in all four raids to Hamburg, although we aborted one operation when we turned back with engine trouble.
Lisset was a typical airfield built during the War with accommodation in well-dispersed Nissan huts. We 6 sergeants were in our own hut some half mile from the Sergeants Mess. The hut was heated by a coke-burning stove and was not too comfortable. We were saved by meeting Company Sergeant-Major Albert Hawkins. CSM Hawkins, known to all as 'Q', was in the Tank Corps and he was in charge of an Army sergeants mess located in a very nice house on the seafront in Bridlington. He persuaded his Mess to adopt our crew and from then on we lived and messed with the Army. Q provided us with transport whenever we were needed at the airfield but most of the time we were in Bridlington. By Christmas Day 1943 both Andy and I, as well as Norman, were commissioned but we spent the day with the Army serving Xmas dinners to all the squaddies.
When we arrived on 158 the Squadron was commanded by Wg. Cdr T.R. Hope, DFC. He was a big, bluff, likeable officer : a pre-war civil pilot. But we hardly knew him as some 3 weeks after our arrival he failed to return from a trip to Nuremburg. And, after another 3 weeks Sqn. Ldr Elliott, one of the flight commanders, also failed to return. The new squadron commander was the highly decorated Wg.Cdr. Jock Calder, DSO, DFC.
The station commander was Group Captain John Whitley, DSO. He had been shot down earlier in the War, evaded, and walked across the Pyrenees to Spain and freedom. He used to regale us with the story of the powerful American footballer in his evading party who had collapsed crossing the mountains – [underlined] because he was not fit [/underlined]. To this end he would have us running around the perimeter track on the occasional non-operational day. Fortunately our crew missed most of these exercises as we were probably lurking with the Army in Bridlington.
One crew who had been with us both at Wymeswoold and at Marston Moor had also arrived at 158. This was Sgt Doug Robinson and crew. Our favourite watering hole in Bridlington was the Brunswick and one night our two crews were there together. Doug's navigator was a Canadian, Dave Rosenthal, and he happened to say to me that if he was shot down he would not stand much chance as he was Jewish. It was the first time I began to think about what was happening to the Jews of Europe and then some weeks later Doug and crew failed to come back from Berlin.
By October 1943 our crew had completed 13 operations. I had now been promoted to flight sergeant and very pleased I was: my pay had gone from 12/6 to 16/6d a day. In the middle of that month David Leicester, our flight commander, asked us to travel to an
[page break]
7
airfield in the South of England to ferry back an aircraft that had been repaired. We jumped at the chance as this meant a night in London on the way down. My diary again:
“Up at 0830 (in the Army sergeants mess in Bridlington). The weather rotten but we had to go back to camp. Leicester asked me to take the crew down and collect a kite from Middle Wallop. We had to go by train from Hull. Norman went home to Leeds but the rest of the boys came with me. We had to stand in the train all the way from Doncaster to London. Got to London at 1930 and went along to the Regent Palace hotel and booked two double rooms. Bill and I had one room and we smuggled Wally into it and Andy and Harry got Mickey into their room.”
The point of this is that, in those days, a single room in the Regent Palace was 12/6d and a double was 19/6d, so we saved ourselves a few pennies. We slept three to a bed in the two rooms and in the middle of the night the air raid sirens went off. I don't know about Andy's room but in our room there was panic with all three of us trying to dive under the bed. Although my diary does not say as much, I have no doubt that our nerves were brittle because we had been out on the town that night and we probably all were a little smashed. My diary for the following day, Monday 18th October 1943, reads:
“Caught a bus for Andover at 0900 and we had to stand all the way for the two hour journey. At Andover had to find another bus to get us to Middle Wallop which turned out to be a night fighter base. After a lunch and messing about all afternoon found we could not take off. So we all had tea and went down to Andover to the movies. Saw Lana Turner in 'Slightly Dangerous'. Harry and I missed the last bus back to camp and we had to stay in the White Hart Hotel for the night which cost me 12/6d, all the money I had.”
What Harry Reid and I were doing to miss the bus I have forgotten but I expect we were up to no good!!
Diary for the 19th October :
“Harry and I caught the 0825 bus to Middle Wallop and heard that we could take off straight away. Got back to Lisset at 1200 to learn we were on ops. So had dinner and went up to the billet (spelt 'billett' throughout my diaries) to get changed. Wally reported sick so we were given a spare gunner. Got briefed and the target was Augsburg. Had ops meal and then went to locker room. Norman had not turned up but luckily the op was scrubbed. Met Norman on the way to Q's (CSM Hawkins our Army friend in Bridlington) So he came down with us. He had only just got back from Leeds.”
8
Another diary entry is for Saturday 30th October 1943. This must have been one of the rare nights the crew slept at the RAF base rather than with the Army in Bridlington:
“Got up at 0610, washed, dressed and had breakfast. Went down to the flights at 0900. Once again there were ops on so went out (to the aircraft) to do my D.I. (inspection). After that went up to the billet and got changed into battledress (obviously when we got up that morning we had dressed in our walking-out uniform expecting to Saturday off and a trip into Bridlington). Then had lunch and went down with Andy to navigation briefing. Once again target was Leverkusen. Went to main briefing at 1400 and then had lunch. Take off was 1630 so we went out to the kite and we were all ready when it was scrubbed. So Any, Wally and I stayed in and lit a fire. Later Andy and I went down to The Bull for a drink. It was more like a brothel than a pub”.
It looks, from the above that we had two lunches that day. In fact the second lunch would have been our take-off meal. Our crew, of course, very rarely used the local pubs in Lisset. The Bull, which I do not remember, must have been packed that Saturday night with Waafs and aircrew.
August 1943 was a bad month for the Squadron with 15 aircraft lost, 9 of these on two raids to Berlin (or the 'Big City' as it was known to the crews). It was an intensive month for Bomber Command with the last of the raids to Hamburg at the start, followed by the attack on the rocket installations at Peenemunde and rounding off with the first Berlin offensive to close. On a beautiful summer evening on 2nd August we were briefed for the 4th successive attack on Hamburg to the announcement that only the brothel and residential areas had not been destroyed and they were our target. Most of us gave a cheer at this news.
I think it is fair to say that most of our crew thoroughly enjoyed squadron life. In wartime Britain operational aircrew lived very well and, provided one could cope with the constant danger, it was a life of Riley. Consider:
Before every operation crews were given a super meal consisting of cholesterol building agents – eggs, bacon, chips etc.
On return from an operation we were greeted in the debriefing room by Waafs with mugs of coffee liberally laced with navy rum. And if you smiled sweetly at the Waafs you might get a second mug at the end of the debriefing.
[page break]
9
If successful in getting the second helping of rum you then tottered out of the briefing room to another meal of eggs, bacon, chips and increased cholesterol.
7 days leave came round ever 6 weeks.
At a time when petrol for pleasure motoring was banned aircrew were an exception as we were allowed enough petrol to run our cars and motor bikes.
Lord Nuffield, the motor magnate, sponsored a scheme whereby aircrew could stay at many of the best hotels in the country at a 50% discount.
In October Andy Hicks was commissioned and my own commission came through a few weeks later. Our final operation for 1943 was an attack on Leipzig on 3rd December (my diary stops in October so I now rely on memory.) Christmas was spent with our Army friends in Bridlington and we were only involved in training flying until the end of the year. Part of this training was to convert to a new Halifax, the Mark 3, which had better engines and an improved performance. 158 squadron consisted of 3 flights and our crew in C Flight was commended by the aforementioned Squadron Leader David Leicester, the blonde Australian flight sergeant we had noticed on our arrival at Lisset the previous July.
At the beginning of 1944 C Flight, together with our new Halifaxes, left 158 Squadron to become A Flight of a new Squadron – 640 – based at Leconfield. We left behind the temporary, wartime airfield at Lisset, with its Nissan huts and winter warmth provided by coke stoves and moved to a pre-war permanent station with brick buildings and central heating. Leconfield is about 30 miles from Lisset near the ancient market town of Beverley with its 10th century minster. At the time of the move our crew was on leave, with Andy and I down in London with my mother. I think we had also spent a night or two of that leave with Bill Griffiths and his parents at Luton, 35 miles north west of London. We came back to our new base, with its creature comforts, where Andy, Norman and I took up residence in one of the pre-war married officers quarters. We had, at this stage, completed 20 operations – more than halfway through our assumed tour of 30. We had to say goodbye to our good friends in the Tank Corps at Bridlington and settle into a new social life centred on Beverley and the North Sea fishing port of Hull a little further away.
Possibly our social life was now more focused on the Officers Mess where there was a lot of activity. Whereas 158 had been the only squadron at Lisset our new base was home to two squadrons: 640 with crew members from the RAF, the RCAF, the RAAF and the RNZAF and even one USAAF officer; and 466 an RAAF squadron with mainly Australian aircrew but a few British, Canadians and New Zealanders thrown in. Our
10
station commander was Group Captain Waterhouse who had been one of the 3 officers sent over to Canada in August 1939 to help start the Empire Air Training Scheme. He had come back home with a lovely Canadian wife who lived on base. Our squadron commander was Wing Commander 'Ruby' Eayrs who had returned from a posting in Australia. With 2 squadrons on the base there was a great deal of rivalry that used to culminate in Mess games on non-flying nights.
Our time with 640 included the second Berlin offensive in February, that also included an attack on Leipzig, and the notorious Nuremberg raid at the end of March when the Command suffered very heavy losses. In early March I was called in to see Ruby Eayrs and questioned about my tour up until then. Some two weeks later I had finished a comfortable lunch and was fast asleep in one of the deep mess armchairs when I was woken by Alan Smart. I had just been awarded an immediate DFC, the first decoration to be awarded on our new squadron. A little later I was called once more to see the squadron commander, to be told that my crew had been awarded a further three decorations and I had to recommend the recipients. This was an extremely hard task but I eventually put forward Andy Hicks, Mickey Rooney and Bill Griffiths. So Andy received the DFC and Mickey and Bill the DFM. In truth all the crew had earned these decorations.
Our crew completed 13 trips at Leconfield, finishing with an operation to Düsseldorf on 22nd April. As it was the period just before D-day we completed slightly more operations than the normal 30, our extra sorties being attacks on French targets – mainly rail junctions. Norman Hawkridge, our bomb-aimer , had left us the previous month when he had been sent on a bombing leader's course. This is why Norman does not appear in the crew photograph, taken that April outside the house at Leconfield where Andy and I lived.
The sad thing about that last operation was that two crews were on their final sortie that night. Colin Penfold, a New Zealander, and his crew had joined 158 Squadron at the same time as us and had moved with us to 640. They were lost over Düsseldorf with all the crew killed except the second pilot who managed to bail out just in time.
Looking back there is no doubt that we were blessed with good fortune during our squadron life. We had no serious combats with German fighters and although occasionally coned in searchlights we had always broken free. Colleagues, such as lan Smart had fought off night fighter attacks and sustained severe aircraft damage whereas we were very lucky. We would fly towards or away from the target watching others of our bombers being shot down either side of us.
Quite early on in our tour we had adopted our own tactics which may have helped. A Bomber Command operation in 1943 and early 1944 would usually consist of about six
[page break]
11
waves following the pathfinders who would be in the lead. Waves would be allocated a specific time and height over the target, they would be separated by around 10 minutes and would have a bombing window of about 5 minutes.
After take off aircraft would climb to bombing height and set course from an assembly point: Goole for the northern bomber groups if flying east, or Reading if going south east. Bombing height was around 22000 feet for the Halifax 3 and crews were briefed to fly out at that altitude. However, we usually flew much lower, at about 8000 feet, on the premise that the German aircraft would sooner hunt in the main stream above us than try to pick off the odd single aircraft. Some ten minutes before the target we would climb up to the correct height, bomb and descend when well clear of the area.
Just before our final trip we attended a briefing by an intelligence officer from Command who told us that only three large German cities remained free from attack: Chemnitz, Breslau and Dresden and that all would be bombed eventually. And during the War I never heard anyone, service or civilian, object to the policy of saturation bombing. We all admired our Commander in Chief. He was known to the bomber crews as Butch Harris, not Bomber Harris.
Our crew was now dispersed: I was sent to Scotland to a training unit and Andy went to a similar station in the West Country. But we arranged our leaves to coincide so that Andy spent half of each leave in North London with us and the other half in Truro. When news came through that my brother had been killed at Boundary Bay in Canada I was in the North of Scotland but Andy went to my home immediately to help my mother handle the shock.
In September 1944 I had to attend an investiture for the award of my DFC and, as I was serving in Scotland, the ceremony took place at Holyrood House in Edinburgh while the King was in residence there. I was allowed to invite two guests and Andy brought my mother up from London.
Our last meeting, before Andy returned to Canada, was on 2nd July 1945 when he was best man at my wedding. Bill Griffiths was the only other crew member to attend that day. Andy had been due to return home earlier in the year but he delayed for the wedding. On our wedding night Margaret and I were staying at a London hotel after leaving the reception. When we went out to eat later that evening we found that Andy, together with another guest, Lois Hammerbeck, had come to the West End and tracked us down to the restaurant where they joined us.
After the War the crew went their separate ways:
[underlined] John Cotter [/underlined] remained in the RAF until 1962. He then flew with an airline until finally retiring in 1983. He now lives in Brighton.
12
[underlined] Andy (Vic) Hicks [/underlined] returned to Canada and worked in accountancy and the hotel industry. He eventually retired to Calgary where he died in 1997.
[underlined]Norman Hawkridge [/underlined] worked in banking and insurance before retiring to Cumbria. Norman died on 20th May 2005.
[underlined]Harry Reid [/underlined] was demobilized in Rhodesia where he was stationed. He worked on the railways but he and his family returned to the UK in 1961. Harry died in 1998.
[underlined]Mickey Rooney [/underlined] stayed in the RAF and was commissioned. He was killed in an aircraft accident c1950.
[underlined]Bill Griffiths [/underlined] emigrated to Australia in 1961. After some years of ill-health Bill died in 2003.
[underlined]Wally Lomax [/underlined] returned to Lancashire and died in 2001.
Other personalities mentioned:
Sqn. Ldr. Penman DSO, DFC remained in the RAF after the War. He died in 2004.
[underlined] David Leicester DFC* [/underlined] completed his tour 3 weeks before I did. He went straight to a Lancaster conversion unit and then to a pathfinder squadron – No. 35. After completing 68 operations, without a break, he returned to Australia in January 1945. On applying to Qantas he was found to be unfit for civil flying and he left aviation. He is now retired and lives in Adelaide.
[underlined] Wg. Cdr. T. Hope DFC [/underlined] was shot down over Belgium on a raid to Nuremburg. Only 3 crew members survived to be taken prisoner: Hope, his flight engineer and mid-upper gunner. After the War Hope resumed his civil flying career as Chief Pilot with Scottish Aviation.
[underlined] Sqn. Ldr. Neil Elliott [/underlined] was shot down on a raid to Berlin on a night when the Squadron losses were 20%. His 2 gunners were lost and the rest of the crew became prisoners. Neil Elliott stayed in the RAF and when I went through Staff College in 1958 he was on the directing staff. He died of a heart attack in the 1960’s.
[underlined] Wg. Cdr. Jock Calder DSO*, DFC [/underlined] completed his second tour as CO of 158. In 1958 he was on the same course as me at Staff College. He died in 1997.
[underlined] Gp. Cpt. John Whitley DSO [/underlined] retired from the RAF in 1962 as an Air Marshal. I met him several times after the War. A very nice man.
[underlined] Gp. Cpt. Leonard Cheshire VC, DSO** DFC [/underlined] became a legend in Bomber Command and received the VC. After the War he founded the Cheshire Homes. He was the Principal Speaker at the first 4 Group Dinner I attended in 1992. He died a few years later.
[page break]
13
[underlined] Douglas Robinson. [/underlined] Just after the War I was a flying instructor at Moreton-in-Marsh and we were refreshing returned ex-pow pilots. Low and behold Doug Robinson appeared on the course and later, when he worked in teaching, he would bring cadets to the RAF for annual camps and we met a couple of times. He published a book in 1997 from which I found that Doug had had a very tough war – in sharp contrast to my own lucky run. On returning from training in South Africa his boat was torpedoed off the West African coast and Doug spent 8 days in an open boat. Midway through his tour his crew was about to go on leave when they were called out for an attack on Berlin. His aircraft was badly damaged by flak and the crew had to bale out over Holland. The flight engineer’s parachute had been destroyed so Doug stayed with the engineer and crash-landed the aircraft in a field. If anyone deserved a gallantry medal he did, but he did not get one. And he did not have a very pleasant time in prison camp.
[underlined] Dave Rosenthal. [/underlined] After prison camp Dave returned to Canada and I met him again at a 158 reunion in the ‘90’s.
[underlined] ‘Bluey’ Mottershead. [/underlined] ‘Bluey’ completed his tour and was awarded the DFC. After the War he formed the 158 Association and ran the squadron reunions for many years.
[underlined] Alan Smart DFC [/underlined] Alan completed his tour and after the War returned to commerce in the Hull area. Alan died on 3rd October 2002.
[underlined] ‘Ruby’ Eayrs DFC. [/underlined] Retired from the RAF as a Group Captain. He merited a long obituary in the Telegraph when he died in 1992.
[underlined] Crew Operations: [/underlined]
1. 28 OTU 4/5/43 Rouen - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Lomax
2. 158 Sqn 28/6/43 Cologne – Cotter (2nd pilot with another crew)
3. 158 Sqn 24/7/43 Hamburg – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/ Reid/Rooney/ Griffiths/Lomax Log book records – Fighters none seen, Flak negligible, Weather good, Large fires, Bomb Load 1 x 2000 lb. 12 Aircraft lost. Landed Eastmoor short of fuel.
4. 158 Sqn 29/7/43 Hamburg – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax Flack negligible, Heavy concentrations of searchlights, Weather clear over target, Large fires south of City. 30 aircraft lost.
14
5. 158 Sqn. 2/8/43 Hamburg – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. 10/10 cloud over target, Heavy thunderclouds up to 20000 feet, AA barrage, No fighters seen, Fires scattered over target area, Bombed heaviest concentration, Bomb load – 2x1000 48x30 630x4lb 31 aircraft lost
6. 158 Sqn. 9/8/43 Mannheim - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. More than half cloud over target, Fighter encountered over Boulogne, Landed Barford St John fuel short, 16 aircraft lost
7. 158 Sqn. 17/8/43 Peenemunde - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Weather clear, Smoke screen over target, Bright Moon, Flak negligible, Searchlights nil, No combats seen, Bombed @ 0013 – 1x2000 1x1000 6x500lb, Landed Wymeswold, 41 aircraft lost
8. 158 Sqn. 22/8/43 Leverkusen - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full cloud over target, AA barrage, 2 fighters & 1 combat seen over target. No pathfinder markers seen, 5 aircraft lost.
9. 158 Sqn. 16/9/43 Modane Italy - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Ran into heavy cloud 30 minutes from target. Forced to turn back owing to severe icing over Alps. 5 aircraft lost.
10. 158 Sqn. 22/9/43 Hannover - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Large concentrations of searchlights ringed round target. Flak heavy in cones, 5 British aircraft seen going down over target, weather good, large fires. 31 aircraft missing.
11. 158 Sqn. 23/9/43 Mannheim - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Searchlights heavy, flak cooperating with them, many fighters over target, heavy fires seen, weather good, 2 engines cut on landing approach, fuel short. 37 aircraft missing.
12. 158 Sqn. 27/9/43 Hannover - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Good weather, searchlights and fighters cooperating effectively over target, 38 aircraft missing, landed at Downham Market.
13. 158 Sqn. 29/9/43 Bochum – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax/plus Sgt Cipriani as 2nd pilot. Good visibility over target, heavy concentrations of searchlights, little flak, no fighters seen, heavy fires in target area, 8 aircraft missing.
[page break]
14. 158 Sqn. 3/10/43 Kassel - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Weather clear, defences weak over target, attack well concentrated, 24 aircraft missing.
15. 158 Sqn. 4/10/43 Frankfurt - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Cloudy over continent, target clear, large numbers of searchlights surrounding target, successful prang, 12 aircraft missing.
16. 158 Sqn. 23/10/43 Kassel - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Flt Sgt Vicary as 2nd pilot. Flying in cloud most of way but target clear, defences moderate, no combats seen, landed Catfoss, 44 aircraft missing.
17. 158 Sqn. 3/11/43 Dusseldorf - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Flt Sgt Edwards as 2nd pilot. Full cloud en route but target clear, no flak, searchlights weak owing to ground mist, many combats sighted, fires well concentrated, 19 aircraft missing.
18. 158 Sqn. 22/11/43 Berlin - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Sqn. Ldr. McCormack as 2nd pilot. Full cloud below us over whole of Germany, heavy flak at defended areas along the route, especially Hannover, bombed on Wanganui flares, 26 aircraft missing.
19. 158 Sqn. 25/11/43 Frankfurt - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full cloud over target, flak nil, no fighters seen, fires rather scattered, 13 aircraft missing.
20. 158 Sqn. 26/11/43 Stuttgart - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus F/O Thompson supernumerary. Heavy searchlight defences over Frankfurt, many combats sighted, also combats over Frankfurt, heavy flak over target, flak damage sustained over Saarbruken, landed Tangmere, 32 aircraft missing. (Flying Officer Thompson was a schoolmaster and officer in the Air Training Corps and he had a gammy leg due to a World War I wound. The crew thought he was pretty brave to come on an operation like this as a volunteer).
21. 158 Sqn. 3/12/43 Leipzig - Cotter/Hicks/Portsmouth/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Sgt Wisbey as 2nd pilot. Many combats sighted en route out, full cloud over target, accurate flak over Dessau, 24 aircraft missing.
16
22. 640 Sqn 30/1/44 Berlin – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Wong/Salvoni/Lomax. Full cloud over target and all Europe, many rockets seen over target but no combats, number 5 and 6 tanks froze up, (water in fuel) landed Little Snoring, have lost 247 gallons, 33 aircraft missing.
23. 640 Sqn 15/2/44 Berlin – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus F/O Cameron as 2nd pilot. Full cloud over target, bombed on Wanganui flares, no combats, flak ineffective, very quiet for Berlin, bomb load all incendiaries, 43 aircraft missing.
24. 640 Sqn 19/2/44 Leipzig - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Flt Sgt Burke as 2nd pilot. Full cloud over target, ran into heavy searchlight at Emden, missed markers and hit Berlin, many combats seen, 79 aircraft missing.
25. 640 Sqn 20/2/44 Stuttgart – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Stilliard. Moderate cloud over target, fires well concentrated, flak moderate, quiet trip, 10 aircraft missing.
26. 640 Sqn 24/2/44 Schweinfurt - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Lt Kornegay USAAF as 2nd pilot. Clear over target, fires well concentrated, flak heavy, searchlights weak, combats seen en route, 35 aircraft missing.
27. 640 Sqn 6/3/44 Trappes – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. No opposition at all, Bombed railway lines with 12,000lbs HE, aiming point photograph.
28. 640 Sqn 7/3/44 Le Mans – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. A little heavy flak over target, bombed railways through heavy cloud cover, bomb load 11,500lbs.
29. 640 Sqn 15/3/44 Stuttgart – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Austen plus Flt Lt Cassells as 2nd pilot. Much cloud en route, heavy opposition from fighters, landed at Westcot, 40 aircraft missing.
[page break]
17
30. 640 Sqn Nuremberg – Cotter/Gray/Sproulle/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Half cloud cover en route, fighter opposition heavy in extremes, opposition fierce over target, coned at Calais on home route, 96 aircraft missing. *See note.
31. 640 Sqn Paris – Cotter/Hicks/Sproulle/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full moon, attacked marshalling yard at Villeneuve, souther suburbs, flak moderate, 11 aircraft missing.
32. 640 Sqn Tergnier – Cotter/Hicks/Broadbent/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full moon, clear over target, no fighters seen, rocket flak bursting at 12,000ft on route out. 22Aircraft missing.
33. 640 Sqn Tergnier - Cotter/Hicks/Broadbent/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Marshalling yards bombed, aiming point on photo, rockets seen in bomber stream, 14 aircraft missing.
34. 640 Sqn Dusseldorf - Cotter/Hicks/Sproulle/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus P/O Maxwell as 2 nd pilot. Searchlights numerous but no flak, no combats, weather good, 42 aircraft lost.
[underlined] Aborted Operations [/underlined]
1. 27/7/43 Hamburg - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax
Turned back before enemy coast with one engine surging badly.
2. 24/8/43 Berlin - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax
Turned back before enemy coast with rear gunner's oxygen supply unserviceable.
3. 8/10/43 Hannover - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax
An engine failed just after take-off
The second pilots shown above were new arrivals on the Squadron and the procedure was they were sent out on one trip with an experienced crew before operating on their own. Also, a number of other crew members flew with me during the tour and all non-regular crew members are shown below:
18
Sgt Cipriani RAF - Later killed in action 22/10/43
F/Sgt Vicary RAAF – Later bailed out over UK 16/2/44 and left the Squadron
F/Sgt Bush RAAF – Shot down, POW 31/3/44
P/O Portsmouth RAF – Completed tour
F/Sgt Edwards RAAF – Later killed in action 20/12/43
S/Ldr McCormack RAAF – Shot Down, POW, 29/1/44
F/O Thompson ATC – Schoolmaster
Sgt Wisbey RAF – Killed in action 28/6/44
Sgt Wong RAF – Completed tour
F/O Salvoni RAF – Killed in action
F/O Cameron RCAF Killed in action 17/6/44
F/Sgt Burke RCAF – Killed in action 31/3/44
Sgt Stilliard RAF – Killed in action 31/3/44
Lt Kornegay USAAF - Completed tour
F/Lt Cassels RAF – Completed tour
F/O Austen RAF – Shot down, POW, 31/3/44
W/O Gray RCAF – Completed tour
F/Lt Sproulle RAF – Completed tour
F/Sgt Broadbent RAF - Completed tour
P/O Maxwell – Not known
[underlined] Note. Nuremburg. [/underlined] Once again we had a trip without running into any opposition. Norman had gone off on his bombing leaders' course so Tommy Sproulle, the Squadron Bombing Leader, came with us. Andy was also away and was replaced by a Canadian navigator on his first trip. It was a moonlight night and all the way out and back we saw combats to the east of us with our aircraft invariable going down in flames. Because I had the Bombing Leader on board I flew at the briefed operating height, mixed in with the stream. Shortly before we reached the final turning point for Nuremburg the navigator was unsure of his position. Then I saw target indicators going down ahead and told the crew that I had Nuremburg in sight, even though we were some 15 minutes ahead of ETA. Tommy bombed on the markers and we set course for home for a personally uneventful return. Then as we flew north over Lincolnshire all the airfield lights were out and at Leconfield the Drem flarepath had to be turned on for us. We were 30 minutes ahead of ETA because we had bombed Schweinfurt instead of Nuremburg. Our squadron lost 3 aircraft with 18 killed. All the Captains were RCAF including Jim Laidlaw, married the month before, and F/Sgt Burke who had flown with me only a few weeks earlier. In total the Command had 545 men killed.
JDC/Revision 2/Jun 05
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Extracts from war diaries and information on aircraft crews and lists of bombing operations
Description
An account of the resource
Describes training and crewing up at operational training unit on Wellingtons. Mentions staying in London on leave with RCAF colleague, using the Canadian forces club London and dining at the Ritz. Includes diary entry describing operational baptism. Continues with coverage of training at heavy conversion unit and eventual posting to 158 Squadron. Describes first operations to Hamburg n detail as well as life at RAF Lissett. Relates story of being detailed to ferry an aircraft back from an airfield in the south of England and spending a day in London. Continues recounting other events from diary and mention that squadron lost 15 aircraft in August 1943. Mentions last operation in 1943 and getting his commission, converting to new Halifax and transfer to 640 Squadron at RAF Leconfield. Writes of life on new station and in officers mess. Comments of some of the operations flown and awards of decorations to him and his crew. Mention his last operation to Düsseldorf. Writes about his crew's tactics and dispersal of crew after finishing his tour of operations and their subsequent history. Covers history of other individuals named in the memoir. List crew operations with comments on losses. Follows a list of non-regular crew members he flew with during his tour. Concludes with account of his operation to Nuremburg including mention of aircraft lost.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Cotter
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-08-28
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Nineteen page printed document
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BCotterJDPCotterJDPv1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
United States Army Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--London
England--Truro
England--Leicestershire
France
France--Rouen
England--Yorkshire
Germany
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Leverkusen
Italy
France--Modane
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Schweinfurt
France--Soligny-la-Trappe
France--Le Mans
France--Paris
France--Tergnier (Canton)
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Cornwall (County)
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
2018-08-28
1942-08
1943-02-23
1943-03
1943-05-05
1943-05-14
1943-08
1943-12-03
1943-06-27
1943-07-24
1943-07-29
1943-08-02
1943-08-09
1943-08-17
1943-08-22
1943-09-16
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-27
1943-08-29
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-23
1943-11-03
1943-11-22
1943-11-26
1943-12-03
1944-01-30
1944-02-15
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-24
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-15
1944-03-30
1944-04-09
1944-04-10
1944-04-17
1944-04-22
1943-07-27
1943-08-24
1943-10-08
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jan Waller
158 Squadron
1652 HCU
28 OTU
4 Group
466 Squadron
640 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
crewing up
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
Distinguished Service Order
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
mess
military living conditions
navigator
observer
Operational Training Unit
RAF Leconfield
RAF Lissett
RAF Marston Moor
RAF Wymeswold
searchlight
training
Wellington
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2175/38168/LWilliamsonF1311249v1.2.pdf
3a09616de7fe2f04cf52008062b10526
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Williamson, Frank-249
Description
An account of the resource
24 items. The collection concerns Frank Williamson (b. 1912, 1311249 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents and newspaper clippings. He flew operations as an air gunner with 106 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Lyn Williamson and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Williamson, F
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-01-30
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
F Williamson’s observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LWilliamsonF1311249v1
Description
An account of the resource
Observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book for F Williamson, air gunner. Covering the period from 27 December 1942 to 27 June 1944. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Morpeth, RAF Cottesmore, RAF Fulbeck, RAF Wigsley and RAF Syerston. Aircraft flown in were Botha, Wellington, and Lancaster. He flew a total of 19 operations with 106 Squadron. Targets were Bochum, Oberhausen, Cologne, Hamburg, Essen, Remscheid, Peenemunde, Leverkusen, Nuremberg, Hannover, Mannheim, Gulf of Danzig, Munich, and Kassel. His pilot on operations was Flying Officer Hobken.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943-06-12
1943-06-13
1943-06-14
1943-06-15
1943-06-16
1943-06-17
1943-07-24
1943-07-25
1943-07-26
1943-07-27
1943-07-28
1943-07-29
1943-07-30
1943-07-31
1943-08-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-17
1943-08-18
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-28
1943-08-29
1943-09-22
1943-09-23
1943-09-24
1943-09-27
1943-09-28
1943-09-29
1943-09-30
1943-10-02
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-22
1943-10-23
1944
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
Poland
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Lincolnshire
England--Northumberland
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Rutland
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Essen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Remscheid
Poland--Gdańsk
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
106 Squadron
14 OTU
1654 HCU
85 OTU
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
bomb aimer
Bombing and Gunnery School
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
bombing of Kassel (22/23 October 1943)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
Botha
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
mine laying
Operational Training Unit
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Fulbeck
RAF Morpeth
RAF Syerston
RAF Wigsley
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/455/24508/LNewsome[Ser -DoB]v1.pdf
9cb898d03d24aa0890ed2da1e09d6fcb
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cothliff, Ken
Ken Cothliff
K Cothliff
Description
An account of the resource
486 items in 12 sub-collections. The collection concerns Ken Cothliff's research on 6 Group Bomber Command and contains an interview with Adolf Galland, documents and photographs. Sub-collections include information on 427 Squadron, 429 Squadrons, Gerry Philbin, Jim Moffat, Reg Lane, Robert Mitchell, Steve Puskas and logs from RAF Tholthorpe.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ken Cothliff and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-20
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cothliff, K
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Flight Engineer William Gracie's log book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LNewsome[Ser#-DoB]v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
Flight Sergeant W.B. Gracie’s Flying Log Book, from 6th September 1943 to 5th August 1944, recording training and operations as a Flight Engineer. Based at RAF Croft (1664 Conversion Unit) and 431 RCAF Squadron) and RAF Tholthorpe (425 RCAF Squadron). Aircraft in which flown: Halifax III, Halifax V. Records a total of 23 operations (22 night, 1 day), final entry reads “OPS MISSING”. Targets in Belgium, France, and Germany: Amayé-sur-Seulles (“2000 yards ahead of our lines”), Bamieres, Berlin, Boulogne, Essen, Foret de Nieppe, Hanover, Kassel, Laon, Le Mans, Leipzig, Lens (France), Leverkusen, Louvain, Mannheim, Meulan-Les-Mureaux, Paris Le Bourget, Sautrecourt, St Valery and Stuttgart. His pilots on operations were Squadron Leader Philbin and Wing Commander Newson. Includes numerous comments on operations, including: “FIRST MISTAKE AS F/E. ENGINES CUT ON LANDING NO FUEL”, “PRETTY SHAKY TRIP. PREDICTED FLAK CAME DAMN CLOSE”, “PFF BOOB” and “MET BOOB”. This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
England--Yorkshire
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Belgium--Louvain
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Laon
France--Le Bourget
France--Le Mans
France--Lens
France--Les Mureaux
France--Louvaines
France--Nord-Pas-de-Calais
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Saint-Valery-en-Caux
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Essen
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Calvados
France--Nieppe Forest
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-10-22
1943-10-23
1943-11-03
1943-11-04
1943-11-18
1943-11-19
1943-11-20
1943-11-22
1943-11-23
1943-11-26
1943-11-27
1943-12-03
1943-12-04
1944-01-20
1944-01-21
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-03-02
1944-03-03
1944-03-07
1944-03-08
1944-03-23
1944-03-24
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-05-07
1944-05-08
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-13
1944-06-16
1944-06-17
1944-06-28
1944-06-29
1944-07-30
1944-08-03
1944-08-05
1664 HCU
425 Squadron
431 Squadron
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bombing
bombing of Kassel (22/23 October 1943)
bombing of the Juvisy, Noisy-le-Sec and Le Bourget railways (18/19 April 1944)
flight engineer
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Halifax Mk 5
Heavy Conversion Unit
missing in action
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Pathfinders
RAF Croft
RAF Tholthorpe
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2197/39106/PDydeFW17010003.1.jpg
029818e2becbfcc80217c022dd15ae8b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Dyde, Frederick William. Photo Album
Description
An account of the resource
The album contains documents and photographs.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-09-24
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Dyde, FW
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Fred Dyde's operations
Fred Dyde's Bombing Trips
Description
An account of the resource
A list of 15 operations undertaken by Fred.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France--Limoges
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Krefeld
Italy--Turin
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Italy--Milan
Germany--Mannheim
Italy--Genoa
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Wuppertal
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Germany
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One handwritten list on an album page
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDydeFW17010003
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
aircrew
bombing
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2619/45583/LHubbardGA519989v1.1.pdf
6216cd9fa3ea3da2d6bbf4695811e4e1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hubbard, G A
Description
An account of the resource
One item. The collection concerns Sergeant G A Hubbard (b. 1919, 519989 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 408 Squadron.
The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Robert Bell and catalogued by Nick Cornwell-Smith.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-09-11
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hubbard, GA
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
G A Hubbard’s Royal Canadian Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LHubbardGA519989v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
G A Hubbard’s Flying Log Book as Air Gunner and Wireless Operator from 2 October 1941 until 17 June 1946. Initial training at No. 2 Wireless School, RCAF Calgary and No. 5 Bombing and Gunnery School, RCAF Dafoe. Further training at 24 Operational Training Unit. Posted to 44 Squadron as wireless operator for operations. 1943 saw posting to 14 OTU as an Instructor. Posted to Canada for one month before moving to 1659 HCU as a wireless operator. Second operational posting to 408 Squadron in October 1944. Posted to 242 Squadron (Transport Command) in March 1945. Final posting was with 437 Squadron (Transport Command) which ended in June 1946 when the squadron was disbanded. Served at RCAF Calgary, RCAF Dafoe, RAF Dunholme Lodge, RAF Topcliffe, RAF Linton-on-Ouse, RAF Stoney Cross, RAF Blakehill Farm. Aircraft flown were Noorduyn Norseman, DH Moth, Battle, Whitley, Manchester, Lancaster, Wellington, Anson, Oxford, B-24, Halifax, Stirling, C-47. He flew 31 night operations with 44 Squadron, his pilots being Flight Lieutenant Walker (26 operations), Flying Officer Pilgrim (1 operation) and Warrant Officer Sanderson (4 operations). His targets were Genoa, Hamburg, Turin, Mannheim, Nienburg, Duisburg, Gironde River, Essen, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Lorient, Milan, Wilhelmshaven, Nurnberg, St. Nazaire, Stuttgart, Gdynia, Rostock. With 408 Squadron he flew 20 operations (5 day and 15 night). His pilot was F/O Wylie. His targets were Cologne, Oberhausen, Dusseldorf, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Julich, Munster, Duisburg, Hagen, Karlsruhe, Soest, Osnabruck, Opladen, Troisdorf, Hanover, Saarbrucken, Grevenbroich. Last entry is a log of a flight in Concorde in 1983.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Alberta
Alberta--Calgary
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan--Dafoe
Great Britain
England--Hampshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
Italy
Italy--Genoa
Italy--Milan
Italy--Turin
France
France--Gironde Estuary
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Grevenbroich
Germany--Hagen (Arnsberg)
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Jülich
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Nienburg (Lower Saxony)
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Rostock
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Soest
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Troisdorf
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Poland
Poland--Gdynia
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Transport Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Nick Cornwell-Smith
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-11-06
1942-11-07
1942-11-09
1942-11-13
1942-11-14
1942-11-20
1942-11-21
1942-12-06
1942-12-07
1942-12-08
1942-12-09
1942-12-10
1942-12-17
1942-12-20
1942-12-30
1943-01-08
1943-01-13
1943-01-16
1943-01-17
1943-01-18
1943-01-23
1943-02-04
1943-02-05
1943-02-13
1943-02-14
1943-02-15
1943-02-16
1943-02-17
1943-02-18
1943-02-26
1943-02-27
1943-02-28
1943-03-01
1943-03-02
1943-03-03
1943-03-04
1943-03-05
1943-03-06
1943-03-08
1943-03-09
1943-03-10
1943-03-11
1943-03-12
1943-03-14
1943-03-15
1943-03-22
1943-03-26
1944-10-28
1944-10-30
1944-10-31
1944-11-01
1944-11-02
1944-11-04
1944-11-06
1944-11-16
1944-11-18
1944-11-30
1944-12-02
1944-12-03
1944-12-04
1944-12-05
1944-12-06
1944-12-24
1944-12-28
1944-12-29
1944-12-30
1944-12-31
1945-01-05
1945-01-13
1945-01-14
14 OTU
1659 HCU
24 OTU
242 Squadron
408 Squadron
437 Squadron
44 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
Anson
B-24
Battle
bombing
Bombing and Gunnery School
C-47
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Ju 88
Lancaster
Manchester
mine laying
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
RAF Blakehill Farm
RAF Dunholme Lodge
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Stoney Cross
RAF Topcliffe
Stirling
training
Wellington
Whitley
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/459/8038/LNorthGJ173836v1.1.pdf
158f980ba904ff91970b193456df0034
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
North, Geoffrey John
North, G J
North, Johnny
Description
An account of the resource
31 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey John 'Johnny' North, DFC, (173836, Royal Air Force) who served as a rear gunner on 428, 76 and 35 Squadrons flying Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster. He was called up in 1940 from his job as a tailor in Saville Row where he returned after the war. He was shot down on an operation to Duisburg on 21 February 1945. The collection contains his logbook, an account of his shooting down, capture and time as a prisoner of war, including documentation, forced march to another camp in 1945, liberation and repatriation. The collection includes membership documents for Royal Air Force Association, Pathfinders Association and Caterpillar Club as well as personnel documentation, Pathfinder badge correspondence and photographs of crew and squadron as well as other memorabilia.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Carole Bishopp and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-05-20
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
North, G
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Geoffrey North’s observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LNorthGJ173836v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Belgium--Hasselt
Belgium--Leopoldsburg
England--Berkshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Durham (County)
England--Lincolnshire
England--Yorkshire
Wales--Gwynedd
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Calais
France--Douai
France--Juvisy-sur-Orge
France--Laon
France--Longueau
France--Noyelles
France--Orléans
France--Saint-Nazaire
France--Trouville-sur-Mer
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Bottrop
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Essen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hanau
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Landshut
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Merseburg
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Soest
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wanne-Eickel
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Düren (Cologne)
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Mönchengladbach
Germany--Urft Dam
France--Neufchâtel-en-Bray
France--Laval (Mayenne)
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Juvincourt-et-Damary
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943-01-26
1943-02-06
1943-02-07
1943-02-19
1943-02-28
1943-03-03
1943-03-04
1943-04-14
1943-04-15
1943-04-16
1943-04-17
1943-04-28
1943-04-29
1943-05-04
1943-05-05
1943-05-12
1943-05-13
1943-05-21
1943-05-22
1943-05-28
1943-05-29
1943-07-13
1943-07-14
1943-07-24
1943-07-25
1943-07-26
1943-07-27
1943-07-28
1943-07-29
1943-07-30
1943-08-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-17
1943-08-18
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-24
1943-08-27
1943-08-28
1943-08-30
1943-08-31
1943-09-05
1943-09-06
1943-09-07
1943-09-22
1943-09-23
1943-09-27
1943-09-28
1943-10-04
1943-10-05
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-13
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-05-27
1944-06-07
1944-06-08
1944-06-09
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-14
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-06-19
1944-06-20
1944-06-22
1944-06-23
1944-06-24
1944-06-28
1944-06-29
1944-07-01
1944-07-04
1944-07-09
1944-09-17
1944-09-20
1944-09-25
1944-09-30
1944-10-05
1944-10-06
1944-10-14
1944-10-15
1944-10-19
1944-10-21
1944-10-31
1944-11-02
1944-11-04
1944-11-06
1944-11-16
1944-11-18
1944-11-29
1944-12-04
1944-12-05
1944-12-06
1944-12-07
1944-12-24
1945-01-06
1945-01-07
1945-01-08
1945-01-14
1945-01-15
1945-01-16
1945-01-22
1945-01-23
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-15
1945-02-20
1945-02-21
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Description
An account of the resource
Royal Air Force observer's and air gunner's flying log book for Pilot Officer Geoffrey North, air gunner, covering the period from 17 June 1942 to 29 September 1945. Detailing training, operations, repatriation and post war flying. He was stationed at RAF Llandwrog, RAF Harwell, RAF Dalton, RAF Driffield, RAF Topcliffe, RAF Middleton-St-George, RAF Dishforth, RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor, RAF Catfoss, RAF Warboys, RAF Graveley, RAF Huntingdon. Aircraft flown in were, Whitely, Wellington, Halifax, Lancaster, C-47. He flew 71 operations, 26 Night operations with 428 Squadron, 4 daylight and 12 Night operations with 76 Squadron and 9 daylight and 20 night operations with 35 Squadron. Targets were, Wilhelmshaven, St Nazaire, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Dortmund, Bochum, Aachen, Essen, Peenemunde, Leverkusen, Berlin, Nurenberg, Munchen-Gladbach, Munich, Hannover, Frankfurt, Trouville, Hasselt, Boulogne, Orléans, Bourg-Leopold, Juvisy, Laval, Longueau, Douai, Fouillard, Laon, Noyelle, Bainville, Martin L’Hortier, Chateau Bernapere, Calais, Bottrop, Saarbrucken, Sterkrade, Dusseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Duren, Wanne-Eickel, Urft Dam, Soest, Merseburg, Hanau, Magdeburg, Bohlen and Chemnitz. He failed to return from his 71st operation to Duisberg on 21 February 1945, becoming a prisoner of war. His log book shows him being repatriated on 8 May 1945 from Landshut via Rheims and Juvincourt to RAF Westcott. His pilots on operations were Flying Officer Morgan, Sergeant Williamson, Sergeant Staight, Sergeant Silvester, Warrant Officer Harrison, Pilot Officer Cole, Group Captain Dean, Squadron Leader Hall, and Flight Lieutenant Tropman.
15 OTU
1659 HCU
1664 HCU
35 Squadron
428 Squadron
76 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
C-47
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Halifax Mk 5
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
mine laying
missing in action
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
prisoner of war
RAF Catfoss
RAF Dalton
RAF Dishforth
RAF Driffield
RAF Graveley
RAF Harwell
RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
RAF Llandwrog
RAF Middleton St George
RAF Topcliffe
RAF Warboys
RAF Wyton
shot down
training
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/259/10567/LWhittleGG1397166v1.2.pdf
3a37e26ec6af5f4c6db4347046d1c8c0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Whittle, Geoffrey
G G Whittle
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-26
2016-08-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Whittle, G
Description
An account of the resource
12 items. An oral history interview with Squadron Leader Geoffrey Gordon Whittle DFM (1923 – 2016, 1397166 Royal Air Force), as well as his log books, photographs and memoirs.
Geoffrey Whittle flew operations as a navigator with 101 Squadron from RAF Ludford Magna.
There is a sub-collection of 25 Air Charts, mostly of Great Britain.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Denise Field and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Geoffrey Whittle's observers and air gunners flying log book. One
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
Observers and air gunners flying log book for Geoffrey Whittle, navigator, covering the period from 4 November 1942 to 26 July 1953. Detailing his flying training, instructor duties and post war flying. He was stationed at RAF West Freugh, RAF Lichfield, RAF Lindholme, RAF Ludford Magna, RAF Hemswell, RAF Millom, RAF Portreath, RAF Halfpenny Green, RAF Upavon, RAF Middleton St George, RAF Brize Norton, RAF Leeming, RAF West Malling and RAF Kabrit. Aircraft flown in were, Anson, Wellington, Lancaster, Warwick, Walrus, Proctor, C-47, Auster, Mosquito, Hastings, Valetta, Meteor VII and XI and York. He flew a total of 16 night operations with 101 squadron and following his 15th operation the whole crew were awarded gallantry medals, pilot and flight engineer the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, wireless operator, navigator and air gunners the Distinguished Flying Medal and the bomb aimer the Distinguished Flying Cross. Targets were, La Rochelle, Koln, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Turin, Mannheim, Nurnberg, Peenemunde, Leverkusen, Gladbach, Berlin, Hanover and Dusseldorf. His pilot on operations was Warrant Officer Walker. The log book also contains newspaper clippings and articles relating to the operation on which the awards were made.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LWhittleGG1397166v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Egypt
France
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Egypt--Suez
England--Cumbria
England--Durham (County)
England--Kent
England--Lincolnshire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Staffordshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
France--La Rochelle
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Peenemünde
Italy--Turin
Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway
England--Cornwall (County)
North Africa
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Egypt--Kibrit
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-07-03
1943-07-04
1943-07-06
1943-07-07
1943-07-08
1943-07-09
1943-07-10
1943-08-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-07
1943-08-08
1943-08-09
1943-08-10
1943-08-11
1943-08-17
1943-08-18
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-27
1943-08-28
1943-08-31
1943-09-03
1943-09-04
1943-09-23
1943-09-24
1943-09-27
1943-09-28
1943-11-03
101 Squadron
1656 HCU
27 OTU
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
C-47
Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Meteor
mine laying
Mosquito
navigator
Operational Training Unit
Proctor
RAF Brize Norton
RAF Halfpenny Green
RAF Hemswell
RAF Leeming
RAF Lichfield
RAF Lindholme
RAF Ludford Magna
RAF Middleton St George
RAF Millom
RAF Paignton
RAF Upavon
RAF West Freugh
training
Walrus
Wellington
York
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/939/25665/LMackieGA855966v2.1.pdf
373629f09a105028803c922e214a5645
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Mackie, George
George Alexander Mackie
G A Mackie
Description
An account of the resource
Nine items. An oral history interview with George Mackie (1920 - 2020, 855966 Royal Air Force) with his log books, diary extract, list of operations, battle order and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 15 and 214 Squadrons.
The collection was catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-12-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Mackie, GA
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[photograph]
[photograph]
Gm
[page break]
[assessment form]
([symbol]4690 – 117) Wt. 51983 – 5030 48,500 4/40 T.S. 700 FORM 414 (A)
[underlined] SUMMARY of FLYING and ASSESSMENTS FOR YEAR COMMENCING 1st [/underlined] August [symbol][underlined] 19 [/underlined] 43
([symbol] For Officer, Insert “JUNE” : For Airman Pilot, Insert “AUGUST.”)
S.E. AIRCRAFT Day Night M.E. AIRCRAFT Day Night TOTAL for year GRAND TOTAL All Service Flying
DUAL 81.00
PILOT 1070.00
PASSENGER – – – – 35.00
[underlined] ASSESSMENT of ABILITY [/underlined]
(To be assessed as:– Exceptional, Above the Average, Average, or Below the Average)
(i) AS A HB [symbol] PILOT Above the Average.
(ii) AS PILOT-NAVIGATOR/NAVIGATOR Above the Average.
(iii) IN BOMBING
(iv) IN AIR GUNNERY
[symbol] Insert :– “F.”, “L.B.”, “G.R.”, “F.B.”, etc.
[underlined] ANY POINTS IN FLYING OR AIRMANSHIP WHICH SHOULD BE WATCHED [/underlined]
– NIL –
Date 2nd Oct. 1943
Signature [signature] W/C
Officer Commanding 1651 Con Unit.
[page break]
[photograph]
[photograph]
[page break]
[photograph]
[page break]
[leave pass form]
SO.P. FLYING CONTROL
[underlined] R.A.F. Sub Form 295. [/underlined]
[stamp] Stamp of Station not Unit. [inserted] 35/89 [/inserted]
ROYAL AIR FORCE.
Monthly LEAVE PASS FORM 295
[deleted] This Pass is/is not valid for Northern Ireland and/or Eire [/deleted]
Station WITCHFORD Official No. 2016392
Rank Cpl Name DEAN
Form 1250 No. 1231123 has permission to be
absent from [deleted] his [/deleted][inserted] her [/inserted] quarters from 13.00 hrs on 18.11.43 to 13.00 hrs on 19.11.43 1943. for the purpose of proceeding on [deleted][underlined] leave [/underlined][/deleted] [inserted] SO.P. [/inserted] to NEWMARKET
[deleted] Pass [/deleted]
Date 16.11.43. J.A. Spring A/S/O. for Commanding Officer
[signature] Strike out the words inapplicable.
[continued on duplicate page]
[sick form]
[inserted] Pilot 214 Sqd. Chedburgh Bury St. Edmonds. [/inserted]
[underlined] CONFIDENTIAL [/underlined]
SICK REPORT
MEDICAL INSPECTION REPORT
R.A.F. Form 624.
Unit
Station [indecipherable word] Sands
Date 30/11/ 1943
Official No. G45866
Rank W/O
Name and Initials MACKIE. [inserted] (member of aircrew) [/inserted]
Whether a [missing letters]ulter or if [missing letters]or duty [symbol]
Disease Abrasion and bruising of [symbol] upper arm due to injury by shrapnel. E.A.
Medical Officer’s Remarks [indecipherable words]
Disposal [indecipherable word]
[symbol] Strike out whichever is not applicable.
[symbol] State nature of duty for which warned. In the case of [missing word] for medical inspection the reason, such as “joining the station,” etc. should be stated against their duties.
Orderly N.C.O.’s Signature
Medical Officer’s Signature Dr. Andrews HW
WI. 23194/1307. 205031. 6/42. V.B. 51-2700.
[page break]
[continued on duplicate page]
[newspaper cutting]
[missing letter]LANE KILLS FIVE CHILDREN
CRASHED ON SMALL FARM-HOUSE
Five children, aged from 1 to 9 years, were killed when an aircraft on Wednesday night crashed into Cliffe House, a small farmhouse near Amble, Northumberland. One of the crew was saved. The farmhouse is occupied by Mr. William Robson.
The children were Sylvia Robson (9), Ethel (7), Marjorie (5), William Matthew (3), and Sheila (1). They were in bed at the time following a party, and the father and mother and two friends, Mr. and Mrs. J. Rowall, of Pilston, Amble, were injured but not seriously.
The survivor of the crew said that the plane had been experiencing trouble, but the pilot managed to keep it in the air until he was safely over [missing word] town, but after that was unable to maintain control and crashed into the farmhouse.
The airman saved owed his life to the courage and promptitude of Mr. Rowall, who rushed out and pulled him from the ‘plane though the man’s clothes were on fire. He rolled him on the ground and put the fire out.
With the children’s deaths Mr. and Mrs. Robson have lost the whole of their family.
Mr. James Rowell told a Press Association reporter last night: “We heard a ‘plane flying very low. I shouted, “Look out!” and we all threw ourselves on the floor. The house collapsed above our heads, and, looking upwards we saw the sky. Mrs. Robson shouted “Oh my poor bairns!” and tried to make her way towards the stairs, which had been blown away.” The children’s partly-charred bodies were later recovered.
Mr. and Mrs. Robson would have been in bed when the ‘plane crashed if they had not been visited by the Rowells. Mr. Rowell said: “We are the luckiest people in the world to be alive to-day. The chairs we were sitting on were smashed, and the walls in that part of the house are not more than 3ft. high now.
[page break]
[sketch]
[inserted][missing word] Pontoon [missing word] Marked Dec 1943 [/inserted]
[inserted] Pedro (Honeyman) Downham Mkt December 1943 [/inserted]
[inserted] my Flight engineer South American [/inserted]
[page break]
[photograph]
[photograph]
Dick Gunton
Flight engineer
(died. Atkinson’s disease c. 1995)
[photograph]
? / MG owned by Gm
[page break]
[photograph]
[photograph]
[photograph]
[page break]
F/LT Vern L Scantleton DFC War Experience 2
On the 11th March 1944, I was called to the Wing Commanders office and told that I was to take Flight Lieutenant Cam Lye, a pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and Roy Forbes, my navigator and a skeleton crew and go to Langford Lodge R.A.F. Station in Northern Ireland and fly back a B-17 aircraft. This on the surface looked to be a simple and routine exercise. Pilot Officer George Mackie and crew were to fly us over and wait until we had taken off which was to be the following morning. At this stage it is worth giving a few comments on George Mackie. George was one of the great characters of the Royal Air Force. In 1940, he was studying architecture at Edinburgh University when he joined the R.A.F. and gained his wings as a pilot. George was well read, witty, highly intelligent and one of the few to have had his log book endorsed as an exceptional pilot.
--
On the debit side, he was very bad tempered, argumentative, sarcastic, “red-ragger” and a true Scot in that he had an intense dislike for the British. He did little to conceal his various dislikes and thus paid a high price as he was only commissioned in 1944. With his ability, he should have won a commission in 1940 and with the passing of time and the loss of pilots, he could have reasonably have expected to have risen to the rank of at least Wing Commander by the end of the war. George apparently has not changed and fifty years later I was to read a humorous letter that he had written to Roy Forbes in New Zealand in which in part, he refers to the fact that his unmarried daughter lives in Spain and collects cats, dogs and men in that order. I well remember the trip across the Irish Sea as it was a beautiful day and as we approached the Isle of Man, George took the aircraft down to zero feet and skimmed across the waves. This is a very dangerous stunt as water is very deceptive and a moment’s inattention can put the aircraft into the drink. As we approached the Isle of Man, George raised the nose of the aircraft and we slid across the Island at tree top height, no doubt frightening the hell out of animals and humans alike.
[page break]
[photograph]
[page break]
[photograph]
[page break]
[underlined] No. 214 (F.M.S.) Squadron. [/underlined]
[underlined] BATTLE ORDER. [/underlined]
[underlined] 21st May, 1944 [/underlined].
Pilot – “N”(386) P/O Mackie & F/S. Hill. – “B”(382) W/O Morrison
Nav. – F/O O’Leary – F/Sgt. Mitchell
Wo/Air – P/O Campbell – F/Sgt. Thompson
A.B. – F/Sgt. Morris – Sgt. Finch
M.U.G. – F/Sgt. Flack – Sgt. Mael
A.G. – Sgt. Foll – Sgt. Wing
F/Eng. – Sgt. Honeyman – Sgt. Carr
Ball Gnr. – W/O Taylor
Spec. Op. – Sgt. Hoffman – Sgt. Lloyd
Pilot – “A”(384) F/O Corke – “H”(388) P/O Gilbert & F/Sgt. Archibald
Nav. – Sgt. Podger – F/O Knight
Wo/Air – Sgt. Bonner – F/O Crossman
A.B. – F/O Foskett – P/O McGilchrist
M.U.G. – Sgt. Roose – Sgt. Boyle
A.G. – F/Sgt. Boanas – F/Lt. Sharpe, AFC.
F/Eng. – Sgt. Barber – Sgt. Pugh
Ball Gnr. – Sgt. Delisle – F/Sgt. West
Sped. [sic] Op. – Sgt. Stelling – Sgt. Haveland
[underlined] CERTIFIED FLIGHT OVER FOUR HOURS DURATION [/underlined].
Briefing . . . . . . . . . . 18.00 hrs.
Meals . . . to be notified.
Officer i/c Operations: W/Cmdr. McGlinn.
[signature] F/Lt.
for Wing Commander, Commanding
No. 214 (F.M.S.) Squadron.
[page break]
From : 169724, P/O G.A. Mackie.
To : Wing Commander, Commanding No. 214 (F.M.S./B.S.) Squadron.
Date : 27th June, 1944.
Sir,
I have the honour to forward this [deleted] my [/deleted] application for your consideration.
My crew, undermentioned, and myself, wish to complete our tour of operations with a 3 Group Lancaster Squadron. The reason for the application is that the crew have been with 214 Squadron for 12 months now, and have done on an average only 16 operations each. I myself have been with 214 Squadron since 2nd October, 1943, and have done only 11 operations. (Second tour.) The navigator has been trained on H2S.
Nav. F/O O’Leary [inserted] .156452. [/inserted]
B/A. F/S. Morris [inserted] 1338960. [/inserted]
F/Eng. F/S. Honeyman [inserted] 1394447. [/inserted]
W/Op. P/O Campbell [inserted] 169395. [/inserted]
R/G. W/O Taylor [inserted] A.410278. [/inserted]
M.U.G. F/S. Fell [inserted] 141058595. [/inserted]
I have the honour to be, Sir, you obedient servant,
P/O
[page break]
[photograph]
SR386
[page break]
[photograph]
[photograph]
? Gunton
[photograph]
[page break]
To : O.C., No. 214 (F.M.S.) (B.S.) Squadron.
From : 169724 F/O G.A. Mackie.
Date : 19th August, 1944.
[underlined] Aerobatics over Moreton-on-Marsh [/underlined].
Sir,
I have the honour to report that on the night of 6/7 August I was diverted to Moreton-on-March while returning from an operational flight in Fortress aircraft Mk.11, HB.763.
I took off for base at mid-day on the 7th. After doing a normal circuit I lost height over the airfield, where the only activity was one Stirling aircraft taxying on the perimeter track. I then pulled up into a climbing turn to port, followed by a climbing turn to starboard. I then continued climbing on course.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient servant,
[page break]
[photograph]
? – Moorby – Fell – Taylor? – F/O Wells
W/O Taylor? NZ – ‘Pedro’ Honeyman Engineer – Gm – O’Leary Navigator – W/O Hoffman?
[photograph]
[page break]
[underlined] No. 214 (F.M[missing letter]) (B.S.) Squadron [/underlined].
[underlined] BATTLE ORDER 22nd AUGUST, 1944 [underlined].
[underlined] “G” (HB.774) [/underlined]
Pilot F/O Wright
Nav F/S Mulligger
WO/Air F/S Bates
A.B. W/O Sherbourne
M.U.G. W/O Robson
A/G F/S Southgate
F/Eng. Sgt. Williams
Wst. G. F/S Williams
Wst. G. Sgt. Barrett
Sp. Op. Sgt. Bayliss.
[underlined] “T” (HB.763) [/underlined]
Pilot W/O Lee
Nav W/O Gibbons
WO/Air Sgt. Smith
A.B. Sgt. Pitchford
M.U.G. Sgt. Barkess
A/G Sgt. Williamson
F/Eng. Sgt. Curtis
Wst. G. F/S Boag, DFM.
Wst. G. Sgt. Caulfield
Sp. Op. Sgt. McNamara.
[underlined] “B” (HB.788) [/underlined]
Pilot F/Lt. Bray
Nav F/O Blyth
WO/Air F/S Roberts
A.B. F/O Murphy
M.U.G. P/O McGarvis
A/G P/O Lyall
F/Eng. P/O Sainsbury
Wst. G. W/O Moore
Wst. G. F/O Bryant
Sp. Op. F/O Lang.
[underlined] “C” (HB.780) [/underlined]
Pilot F/O Bettles
Nav. F/O Evans
WO/Air F/O Kinzett
A.B. F/O McGilchrist
M.U.G. P/O Connolly
A/G F/S Smyth
F/Eng. F/O Cann
Wst. G. Sgt. Chalk
Wst. G. --
Sp. Op. Sgt. Peters.
[underlined] “Q” (HB.772) [/underlined]
Pilot F/O Rix
Nav. F/S Sargeant
WO/Air F/S Irvine
A.B. F/O Lovel-Smith
M.U.G. Sgt. Cuttance
A/G Sgt. Douglas
F/Eng. Sgt. Pond
Wst. G. Sgt. Gamble
Wst. G. Sgt. Burgess
Sp. Op. F/O Darracott.
[underlined] “R” (HB.765) [/underlined]
Pilot F/Lt. Lye
Nav. F/S Stemp
WO/Air F/S Ord-Hume
A.B. F/S Braithwaite
M.U.G. F/S Stokes
A/G Sgt. Knowlton
F/Eng. F/S Currie
Wst. G. F/O Ufton
Wst. G. F/S Lumley
Sp. Op. Sgt. Mackintosh.
[underlined] “D” (SR.378) [/underlined]
Pilot. F/O Mackie
Nav. F/O O’Leary
WO/Air. W/O Mooreby
A.B. F/S Morris
M.U.G. W/O Flack
A.G. F/O Wells, DFM.
F/Eng. F/S Honeyman
Wst. G. W/O Taylor
Wst. G. F/S Fell
Sp. Op. P/O Hoffman.
[underlined] “F” (SR.383) [/underlined]
Pilot. W/O Archibald
Nav. Sgt. Cottrell
WO/Air. F/S Shepherd
A.B. W/O Harriott
M.U.G. F/S Hodgson
A.G. Sgt. Larcombe
F/Eng. F/S Richardson
Wst. G. F/S Phillips
Wst. G. F/S Earle, DFM.
Sp. Op. Sgt. Herbert.
[underlined] CERTIFIED FLIGHT OVER FOUR HOURS DURATION. [/underlined]
Meals 17.45
Transport 18.15
Briefing 18.30
Officer i/c Operations – W/Cdr. D.J. McGlinn.
[underlined] NOTE. [/underlined]
THERE WILL BE NO ALTERATION TO THE BATTLE ORDER WITHOUT AUTHORISATION BY THE SQUADRON [underlined] COMMANDER OR HIS DEPUTY. [/underlined]
Keith EW Evans F/O
For Wing Commander, Commanding,
[underlined] No. 214 (F.M.S.) (B.S.) Squadron [/underlined].
[page break]
[underlined] Return of Operational Aircrew as at 16.00 hrs. on 31st August, 1944 [/underlined].
[underlined] “A” FLIGHT [/underlined].
Pilot F/Lt. Bray 22.
Nav. F/O Blyth 20.
WO/Air F/S. Roberts 19.
A.B. F/O Murphy 20.
M.U.G. P/O McGarvie 20.
R/Gnr. P/O Lyall 19.
F/Eng. P/O Sainsbury 19.
W/Gnr. P/O Moore (30)13.
W/Gnr. F/O Bryant (31) 8.
Pilot F/Lt. [inserted]£[/inserted] Peden 25 1/2.
Nav. Sgt. Mather 23 1/2.
WO/Air F/S. Stanley, DFM. 19 1/2.
A.B. F/O Waters 25 1/2.
M.U.G. F/S. Lester 21 .
R/Gnr. W/O Phillips 22 1/2.
F/Eng. F/S. Bailey 22 1/2.
W/Gnr. F/S. Walker 14 1/2.
W/Gnr. F/S. Hepton 12 1/2.
Pilot F/Lt. Scantleton 19 .
Nav. F/O Forbes 20 .
WO/Air W/O McDonald 20 .
A.B. Sgt. Scott 19 .
M.U.G. F/S Hewitt 14 1/2.
R/Gnr. W/O Connolly (30)12 1/2.
F/Eng. Sgt. Nuttall 18 1/2.
W/Gnr. F/S. Taylor 17 1/2.
W/Gnr. P/O Milton (18)10 1/2.
Pilot F/O Corke 12 .
Nav. F/S. Podger 10 .
WO/Air F/S Bonner 9 .
A.B. F/O Foskett 10 .
M.U.G. F/S. Roose 10 1/2.
R/Gnr. W/O Boanas (24)12 .
F/Eng. F/S. Barber 10 1/2.
W/Gnr. W/O Delisle 9 .
W/Gnr. Sgt. Gregory 5 1/2.
Pilot F/O Lawson 19 1/2.
Nav. P/O Chappell 19 1/2.
WO/Air F/S. Atkinson 17 1/2.
A.B. W/O Halldorson 18 1/2.
M.U.G. P/O Knight 17 .
R/Gnr. W/O McCann 17 .
F/Eng. Sgt. Anstee 16 1/2.
W/Gnr. F/O Hawkins (21)15 .
W/Gnr. W/O Gill (34) 8 1/2.
Pilot F/Lt Gilbert 19 .
Nav. F/O Knight 22 .
WO/Air F/O Crossman 19 1/2.
A.B. P/O Watts (29) 8 1/2.
M.U.G. W/O Boyle 23 .
R/Gnr. F/O Claxton 17 .
F/Eng. F/S. Pugh 20 .
W/Gnr. W/O West 19 1/2.
W/Gnr. P/O Mardell (27)10 .
Pilot F/O [inserted]£[/inserted] Jackson 14 .
Nav. F/S. Harding 14 .
WO/Air F/S. Pollard 14 .
A.B. W/O Picciano 14 .
M.U.G. F/S. Hardie 16 .
R/Gnr. F/S. Bright 14 .
F/Eng. F/S. Bartlett 14 .
W/Gnr. P/O Jones, DFM. (27)10 .
W/Gnr. Sgt. Fletcher 3 1/2.
Pilot F/O Wright 16 .
Nav. F/S. Mullenger 16 .
WO/Air F/S. Bates 16 .
A.B. W/O Sherbourne 15 1/2.
M.U.G. W/O Robson (28) 10
R/Gnr. F/S. Southgate 17 .
F/Eng. Sgt. Williams 17 .
W/Gnr. F/S. Williams 17 .
W/Gnr. Sgt. Barrett 5 1/2.
Pilot W/O [inserted]£[/inserted] Archibald 10 1/2.
Nav F/S. Cottrell 10 1/2.
WO/Air F/S. Shepherd 10 1/2.
A.B. W/O Harriott 12 1/2.
M.U.G. F/S. Hodgson 10 .
R/Gnr. F/S. Larcombe 10 1/2.
F/Eng. F/S. Richardson 4 1/2.
W/Gnr. F/S. Phillips (26) 7 1/2.
W/Gnr. W/O Earle, DFM. (28) 5 1/2.
Pilot F/O Bettles (21) 15 1/2.
Nav. F/O Evans 19 .
WO/Air F/O Kinsett 19 1/2.
A.B. F/O McGilchrist 25 1/2.
M.U.G. P/O Connolly 23 1/2.
R/Gnr. F/S. Smyth 24 1/2.
F/Eng. F/O Cann 19 1/2.
W/Gnr. Sgt. Chalk 5 1/2.
W/Gnr.
Pilot F/Lt. Savage 3 1/2.
Nav. F/S. Pike 1 1/2.
WO/Air Sgt. Rishworth 1 1/2.
A.B. F/O Craven 1 .
M.U.G. Sgt. Astbury 1 1/2.
R/Gnr. Sgt. Kenney 1 1/2.
F/Eng. Sgt. Lee 1 1/2.
W/Gnr. Sgt. Judge 1 1/2.
W/Gnr. Sgt. Hamblett 1 1/2.
[underlined] “B” FLIGHT [/underlined].
Pilot S/L. Miller, DFC. (36)7 .
Nav. F/Lt. Graham, DFC. (34)8 1/2.
WO/Air W/O Lancashire (34)6 1/2.
A.B. F/Lt. Taffs (35)7 .
M.U.G. W/O Burn (29)7 1/2.
R/Gnr.
F/Eng. F/S. Cox 7 .
W/Gnr. W/O Rogers (25)7 .
W/Gnr. Sgt. Finnigan 3 1/2.
Pilot F/Lt. Puterbough 21 .
Nav. F/Lt. Dickson 18 1/2.
WO/Air F/S. Wright 19 .
A.B. W/O Joyce 18 .
M.U.G.
R/Gnr. W/O Bowman 20 .
F/Eng. Sgt. Parkington 19 .
W/Gnr. Sgt. Logan 15 .
W/Gnr. F/S. Brown (25) 7 .
Pilot F/Lt. [inserted]£[/inserted] Lye 14 1/2.
Nav. F/S. Stemp 14 1/2.
WO/Air F/S. Ord-Hume 14 1/2.
A.B. F/S. Braithwaite 14 1/2.
M.U.G. F/S. Stokes 15 .
R/Gnr. F/S. Knowlton 14 1/2.
F/Eng. F/S. Currie 15 .
W/Gnr. F/O Ufton (31) 8 .
W/Gnr. F/S. Lumley (28) 8 .
Pilot F/O Bayliss 16 1/2.
Nav. F/S. Creech 15 1/2
WO/Air F/S. Charlton 15 1/2.
A.B. W/O Crerar 15 1/2.
M.U.G. F/S. Edmonds 15 1/2.
R/Gnr. Sgt. Bailey 14 1/2.
F/Eng. Sgt. Carter 14 1/2.
W/Gnr. F/S. Wilson (13) 7 .
W/Gnr. Sgt. Christie 10 1/2.
Pilot F/O Rawlin 24 1/2.
Nav F/O Owen 20 .
WO/Air F/S. Bonnet 22 1/2.
A.B. F/S. Andrew 21 1/2.
M.U.G. Sgt. Ward 22 1/2.
R/Gnr. F/S. Fothergill 22 1/2.
F/Eng. F/S. Pottle 22 .
W/Gnr. W/O Stewart, DFM (25) 6 .
W/Gnr. W/O Heath (26) 8 .
Pilot F/O Mackie (20)16 1/2.
Nav. F/O O’Leary 21 1/2.
WO/Air W/O Mooreby 14 1/2.
A.B. F/S. Morris 23 1/2.
M.U.G. W/O Flack 21 .
R/Gnr. F/O Wells, DFM. (27) 5 1/2.
F/Eng. F/S. Honeyman 23 1/2.
W/Gnr. W/O Taylor 25 1/2.
W/Gnr. F/S. Fell 22 1/2.
Pilot F/O Morrison 15 .
Nav. F/S. Mitchell 15 .
WO/Air W/O Thompson 15 .
A.B. Sgt. Finch 15 .
M.U.G. W/O Lyon (29) 10 1/2.
R/Gnr. F/S. Wing 16 .
F/Eng. F/Sgt. Carr 12 .
W/Gnr. F/S. Mael 15 .
W/Gnr. F/S. Dutton (25) 7 1/2.
Pilot F/O Hill 15 .
Nav. P/O Honsinger 15 .
WO/Air [inserted]F[/inserted] /Sgt. Goodwin 15 .
A.B. F/O Harrison 14 .
M.U.G. F/S. Ives 15 .
R/Gnr. F/S. Andrews 17 1/2.
F/Eng. F/S. Gregory 15 .
W/Gnr. W/O Clark (28) 7 1/2.
W/Gnr. Sgt. Brown 9 1/2.
Pilot F/O Rix 3.
Nav. F/S. Sargeant 1.
WO/Air W/O. Irvine 1.
A.B. F/O Lovell-Smith 1.
M.U.G. [inserted]F[/inserted] /Sgt. Cuttance 1.
R/Gnr. [inserted]F[/inserted] /Sgt. Douglas 1.
F/Eng. Sgt. Pound 1.
W/Gnr. Sgt. Gamble 1.
W/Gnr. Sgt. Burgess 1.
Pilot F/Lt. Filloul (30) 2.
Nav. P/O Dodds 2.
WO/Air Sgt. Birkby 2.
A.B. F/O Dack 2.
M.U.G. Sgt. Benson 2.
R/Gnr. Sgt. Billington 2.
F/Eng. Sgt. Wilson 2.
W/Gnr. Sgt. Dobson 2.
W/Gnr. Sgt. Cooper 2.
[underlined] SQUADRON H.Q. PERSONNEL [/underlined].
W/Cmdr. D.D. Rogers 9. [underlined] Squadron Commander [/underlined]. F/Lt. D.J. Furner, DFC. (24) 7 1/2. [underlined] Navigation Officer [/underlined]. F/Lt. V.V. Doy (30) 5 1/2. ([indecipherable word]) [underlined] Signals Leader [/underlined].
F/O E.J. Phillips, DFC. (18) 11. [underlined] Gunnery Leader [/underlined]. F/Lt. R. Gunton (28) 9. [underlined] F/Eng. Leader [/underlined].
([underlined] Continued over [/underlined].)
[page break]
[newspaper cutting]
D.F.C. FOR CUPAR OFFICER
Flying Officer George A. Mackie (24), son of Mr and Mrs D.G. Mackie, Monreith, Cupar, who has been awarded the D.F.C., was educated at Bell Baxter School.
Prior to joining up in 1940 he was a student at Dundee College of Art. His father was colonel and O.C. of 1st Fife Home Guard.
Flying Officer Mackie, who has taken part in many operations against the enemy, in the course of which he has displayed the utmost fortitude, courage and devotion to duty, was commissioned in 1943, after service in the ranks.
[page break]
[assessment form]
([symbol]4690 – 117) Wt. 51983 – 5030 48,500 4/40 T.S. 700 FORM 414 (A)
[underlined] SUMMARY of FLYING and ASSESSMENTS FOR [deleted] YEAR [/deleted][inserted] 214 Squadron [/inserted] COMMENCING 1st [/underlined] October 1943 [symbol] 15 Sept [symbol][underlined] 19 [/underlined] 44
([symbol] For Officer, Insert “JUNE” : For Airman Pilot, Insert “AUGUST”)
S.E. AIRCRAFT Day Night M.E. AIRCRAFT Day Night TOTAL for year GRAND TOTAL All Service Flying
DUAL – – 1.30 –
PILOT – – 139.30 111.00 252.30 1409.40
PASSENGER – – – –
[underlined] ASSESSMENT of ABILITY [/underlined]
(To be assessed as:– Exceptional, Above the Average, Average, or Below the Average)
(i) AS A H.B. [symbol] PILOT Above the Average.
(ii) AS PILOT-NAVIGATOR/NAVIGATOR Above the Average.
(iii) IN BOMBING N.A.
(iv) IN AIR GUNNERY N.A.
[symbol] Insert :– “F.”, “L.B.”, “G.R.”, “F.B.”, etc.
[underlined] ANY POINTS IN FLYING OR AIRMANSHIP WHICH SHOULD BE WATCHED [/underlined]
Date 15 September 1944
Signature DD Rogers W/Cmdr.
Officer Commanding No 214 Squadron.
[newspaper cutting]
R.A.F. Awards
The following R.A.F. awards are announced to Scottish officers and airmen who have displayed the utmost fortitude, courage, and devotion to duty.
DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS. – Flying Officer George Alexander Mackie (Cupar), Flying Officer Thomas Newlands [indecipherable word] (Edinburgh), Pilot Officer Thomas Bowley [indecipherable word] Pilot Officer George [indecipherable words], and Warrant Officer John Wright (Glasgow).
[page break]
[stamp] SECRET
[stamp] IMMEDIATE
[inserted] 3310/6/2 [/inserted]
[inserted] 33/510
550
oc214 [/inserted]
RAY – SNO –[inserted] Snoring [/inserted] – FLS [inserted] Foulsham [/inserted] – OUL [inserted] oulton [/inserted] – NCK – MSM – SNG
V EDR NR HBC 140/12 ‘OP’
[stamp]12 SEP 1944 R.A.F. OULTON
FROM HQ BOMBER COMMAND 121840B
TO AIR MINISTRY WHITEHALL NOS 1 3 4 5 6 8 19 92 93 100 GROUPS
AND ALL BOMBER COMMAND BASES AND STATIONS IN THESE GROUPS
1 2 3 BOMBARDMENT DIVISION
INFO ADMIRALTY
SECRET QQY BT
[underlined] BOMBER COMMAND INTELLIGENTCE NARRATIVE OF OPERATIONS NO 901 SECRE[missing letter][/underlined]
[underlined] PART II. [/underlined]
[underlined] NIGHT 11/12TH SEPTEMBER [/underlined].
DARMSTADT. 5/5 LANCASTERS OF 1 GROUP, 204/221 LANCASTERS AND 14/14 MOSQUITOES OF 5 GROUP ATTACKED IN CLEAR WEATHER WITH SLIGHT HAZE. MARKING WAS PUNCTUAL AND WELL PLACED AND BOMBING IS REPORTED AS VERY CONCENTRATED. FIRES QUICKLY GAINING SUCH A HOLD THAT THE ENTIRE TARGET AREA BECAME ENVELOPED IN A MASS OF FLAME, THE GLOW OF WHICH WAS VISIBLE 100 MILES AWAY. SLIGHT TO MODERATE [deleted] HEAC [/deleted] HEAVY FLAK WAS ENCOUNTERED, BUT FIGHTER ACTIVITY WAS EXPERIENCED THROUGHOUT THE ROUTE EAST OF 5 DEGREES EAST. PARTICULARLY IN THE TARGET AREA.
12 LANCASTERS ARE MISSING.
BERLIN. 41/47 MOSQUITOES OF 8 (PF) GROUP BOMBER FOR 21,000 FT. TO 28,000 FT. IN GOOD WEATHER CONDITIONS. T.I’S WERE WELL CONCENTRATED AND BOMBING WAS CARRIED OUT WITHIN THE MARKED AREA. ONE LARGE EXPLOSION AND SEVERAL SMALL FIRES ARE REPORTED. DEFENCES WERE MODERATE TO INTENSE HEAVY FLAK.
1 MOSQUITO IF MISSING.
STEENWIJK/HAVELTE A/F. 3/7 MOSQUITOES OF 8 (PF) GROUP ATTACKED AND BOMBED FROM 30,000 FT IN CLEAR WEATHER. THERE WERE NO DEFENCES.
MINELAYING. 7/8 LANCASTERS OF 1 GROUP 27/30 LANCASTERS OF 3 GROUP 18/20 HALIFAXES OF 4 GROUP AND 17/18 HALIFAXES OF 6 GROUP LAID MINES IN THE ALLOTTED AREAS.
[underlined] BOMBER SUPPORT. 100 GROUP [/underlined]
13/13 A/C PROVIDEDMANDREL SCREEN.
[inserted] GM – [/inserted] 5/5 A/C CARRIED OUT H.F. JAMMING, ACCOMPANYING THE BOMBERS TO DARMSTADT.
17/18 MOSQUITOES COMPLETED SERRATE PATROLS TO THE EAST, NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE DARMSTADT AREA, AND CLAIM 1 ME 110 DESTROYED AND 1 CHASE.
14/14 MOSQUITOES CARRIED OUT INTRUDER PATROLS OVER ENEMY A/F’S AND CLAIM 2 UNIDENTIFIED E/A DAMAGED.
12/12 MOSQUITOES CARRIED OUT HIGH LEVEL INTRUDER PATROLS IN THE DARMSTADT AREA AND IN THE VICINITY OF ENEMY NIGHT FIGHTER BEACONS IN DENMARK. 3 JU188’S ARE CLAIMED AS DESTROYED AND 1 JU 188 DAMAGED.
9/11 A/: COMPLETED SIGNALS INVESTIGATION PATROLS, ESCORTED BY 2 MOSQUITOES WHO CLAIM 5 CHASES.
[underlined] A.D.G.B. [/underlined]
16/17 MOSQUITOES PATROLED A/F’S IN GERMANY AND HOLLAND CLAIM: 1 JU88 DESTROYED
BT 121840B
MP BB+ [inserted] R2030 KQ [/inserted]
[page break]
[vertical][posting notice]
[inserted] 10524 02 214 Sqa [/inserted]
[underlined] POSTGRAM POSTING NOTICE [/underlined] A.M. FORM 1693
COPY “A”
TO: DESPATCHING GROUP
NO. GROUP
100
[cross hatched] COPY “B”
TO: DESPATCHING COMMAND
Bomber
COPY “C”
TO: RECEIVING GROUP
NO. GROUP
44
COPY “D”
TO: RECEIVING COMMAND
Transport
COPY “E”
TO:
[indecipherable]
(ACCOUNTS 2’d)
[indecipherable]
COPY “F”
TO:
[indecipherable words]
COPY “G”
TO:
[indecipherable words]
[/cross hatched]
ORGINATOR’S ADDRESS.
AIR MINISTRY,
LONDON, W.C.2.
TAKE ACTION ON THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTION
NAME AND RANK OF POSTING OFFICER} H.D. Wardle S/L for D.G. of P.
SERIAL REF. DGP/BC/8926/44/17
DATE 25.9.44.
PERSONAL NO. 169724
BASIC RANK. F/O
ACTING RANK –
NAME AND INITIALS Mackie G.A. [symbol]
BRANCH OR AIRCREW CATEGORY Pilot
[symbol] NATIONALITY
[symbol][underlined] POSTING/[deleted][indecipherable][/deleted][/underlined]
FROM: UNIT [circled] 214 Sqdn. [/circled] GROUP 100 DUTIES Flying RANK OF POST – }
TO: UNIT 1332 C.U. Langtown GROUP 44 DUTIES F/I RANK OF POST – } DATE OF EFFECT 2.10.44.
[underlined] ACTING RANK [/underlined] (QUOTING RANK AND DATE OF EFFECT) GRANTED RETAINED RELINQUISHED
[underlined] REMARKS [/underlined]
[underlined] ACTION AND CIRCULATION [/underlined]
1
[underlined] DESPATCHING GROUP [/underlined][inserted] HD [/inserted]
TO NOTE AND PASS TO
[underlined] DESPATCHING UNIT [/underlined]
FOR ACTION
2
[underlined] TO AIR MINISTRY POSTING BRANCH [/underlined]
CERTIFIED INDIVIDUAL HAS BEEN INSTRUCTED ACCORDINGLY AND P.O.R. ACTION TAKEN.
(UNIT) 214 Sqdn (SIGNED) GA Mackie F/Lt DATE 29/9
3
AIR MINISTRY ACTION:
TO [underlined] D.G. of P. (DUPLICATE RECORDS) [/underlined]
TO NOTE AND RETAIN
[symbol] DELETE AS APPROPRIATE. [symbol] PERSONNEL OF DOMINION AND ALLIED FORCES ONLY. [/vertical]
[page break]
[assessment form]
([symbol]6392 – 117) Wt 39210 – 2791 33,000 1/41 T.S. 700 FORM 414 (A)
[underlined] SUMMARY of FLYING and ASSESSMENTS FOR [deleted] YEAR [/deleted][inserted] Period [/inserted] COMMENCING [deleted] 1st [/deleted] 15/11/44 to 25/11/[/underlined]44[underlined]
([symbol] For Officer, Insert “JUNE” : For Airman Pilot, Insert “AUGUST.”)
S.E. AIRCRAFT Day Night M.E. AIRCRAFT Day Night TOTAL [deleted] for year [/deleted] GRAND TOTAL [deleted] All Service Flying [/deleted]
DUAL – – 8.20 – 8.20 8.20
PILOT – – – – LINK 6.00
PASSENGER – – – – – –
[underlined] ASSESSMENT of ABILITY [/underlined]
(To be assessed as:– Exceptional, Above the Average, Average, or Below the Average)
(i) AS A Range [symbol] PILOT PROFICIENT.
(ii) AS PILOT-NAVIGATOR/NAVIGATOR ) –
(iii) IN BOMBING –
(iv) IN AIR GUNNERY –
[symbol] Insert :– “F.”, “L.B.”, “G.R.”, “F.B.”, etc.
[underlined] ANY POINTS IN FLYING OR AIRMANSHIP WHICH SHOULD BE WATCHED [/underlined]
–
Date 25 th November, 1944
Signature [signature] F/Lt
Officer Commanding No.1527 B.A.T. Flight, Prestwick.
[page break]
[photograph]
[photograph]
[page break]
Canadian [symbol]
? name [photograph]
[photograph]
[page break]
[photograph]
[photograph]
[page break]
[sketch]
F/L Buckwell PI 8AM over the Med 10/5/45
[page break]
[sketch]
A boozer
Taff Price
Spring 45
Straight
[page break]
[photograph]
Sterling V
[page break]
[photograph]
[page break]
[photograph]
Peden Gm Gm’s car
Gunton
[page break]
[photograph]
[page break]
[photograph]
Gm with Turbo
[page break]
[photograph]
Feb, 1944 Sculthorpe
Lancashire (Seattle)
[photograph]
Escape photo
for forged papers if shot down
[page break]
[newspaper cutting]
SIR – Once again we get near Remembrance Day, which always brings back memories of one of the best friends I ever met in my life.
We met when serving on 57 Lancaster Sqdn during the last war.
We were friends because we had mutual interests, our love of poetry and cricket.
We were all very young in those days.
He was a ‘Lanc’ pilot who paid tribute to the 55,000 aircrew who were killed in bomber command flying on nightly ‘ops’ into Germany, many of who had also been our friends.
Only two weeks after writing his brief poem to lost friends he himself was shot down and killed flying over Cologne.
Sir, it would give me great pleasure if you would print the above poem he wrote.
I have never forgotten him.
ALF RIPPON,
Lincoln Road,
Stamford. [inserted] 1998 [/inserted]
Lines written by a wartime friend who died over Cologne
My brief sweet life is over
My eyes no longer see
No summer walks, no Christmas trees
No pretty girls for me
I’ve got the chop, I’ve had it
My nightly ‘ops’ are done
But in a hundred years and more
I’ll still be 21
[photograph]
Control-Tower staff Wychford nr Ely
1944
[photograph]
Elsie
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
George Alexander Mackie’s pilots flying log book. Two
Description
An account of the resource
Pilots flying log book two, for George Alexander Mackie, covering the period from 24 September 1943 to 17 February 1946. Detailing his instructor duties, operations flown and post war flying with 46 squadron. He was stationed at RAF Waterbeach, RAF Chedburgh, RAF Downham Market, RAF Tempsford, RAF Sculthorpe, RAF Oulton, RAF Longtown, RAF Nutts Corner, RAF Prestwick and RAF Stoney Cross. Aircraft flown were Stirling, Fortress, Oxford and Liberator. He flew a total of 22 operations with 214 squadron, 23 night and one daylight. Targets were Pertius D’Antioche, Leverkusen, Laeso, St Omer, Cherbourg, Otignies, Tours, Lanveoc-Poulmic, Kiel Bay, Saumer, Sterkrade, Saint Leu D’Esserent, Schouwen Island, Overflakee Island, Brunswick, Frisians, Bremen, Rotterdam, Darmstadt and Eindhoven. The log book also contains photos of himself, aircraft, crews and various sketches.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LMackieGA855966v2
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
Denmark
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--Kiel Bay
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Belgium--Ottignies
Denmark--Læsø
England--Bedfordshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Hampshire
England--Norfolk
England--Suffolk
France--Cherbourg
France--Creil Region
France--Poulmic
France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)
France--Saumur
France--Tours
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Darmstadt
Germany--Leverkusen
Netherlands--Eindhoven
Netherlands--Overflakkee
Netherlands--Rotterdam
Netherlands--Schouwen-Duiveland
Netherlands--West Frisian Islands
Northern Ireland--Antrim (County)
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Great Britain
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1943-10-17
1943-10-18
1943-11-19
1943-11-20
1943-12-01
1943-12-02
1944-01-04
1944-01-05
1944-01-21
1944-01-22
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-05-01
1944-05-02
1944-05-08
1944-05-09
1944-05-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-16
1944-06-17
1944-07-07
1944-07-08
1944-07-23
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-08-06
1944-08-07
1944-08-10
1944-08-11
1944-08-12
1944-08-13
1944-08-17
1944-08-18
1944-08-19
1944-09-11
1944-09-12
1944-09-13
1945
1946
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Steve Baldwin
11 OTU
1651 HCU
214 Squadron
aircrew
animal
arts and crafts
B-17
B-24
bombing
bombing of the Creil/St Leu d’Esserent V-1 storage areas (4/5 July 1944)
C-47
Flying Training School
Heavy Conversion Unit
Initial Training Wing
military living conditions
mine laying
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Chedburgh
RAF Downham Market
RAF Nutts Corner
RAF Oulton
RAF Prestwick
RAF Sculthorpe
RAF Stoney Cross
RAF Tempsford
RAF Waterbeach
Stirling
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/510/22829/LDunnGC149315v1.1.pdf
fcfad9b0b8798eadff914a6413250601
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Dunn, George
George Charles Dunn
G C Dunn
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Dunn, GC
Description
An account of the resource
Six items. Two oral history interviews with George Dunn DFC (1922 1333537, 149315 Royal Air Force), a photograph a document and two log books. He flew operations as a pilot with 10, 76, and 608 Squadrons then transferred to 1409 Meteorological Flight.
There is a sub collection of his photographs from Egypt.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-03-08
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
George C Dunn’s pilot's flying log book. One
Description
An account of the resource
Pilot's flying log book one, for George C Dunn, covering the period from 11 January 1942 to 30 July 1945. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and instructor duties. He was stationed at RCAF Caron, RCAF Weyburn, RAF Chipping Norton, RAF Lossiemouth, RAF Melbourne, RAF Rufforth, RAF Driffield, RAF Linton on Ouse, RAF Finningley, RAF Worksop, RAF Church Broughton, RAF Lulsgate Bottom, RAF Upper Heyford, RAF Barford St John, RAF Downham Market, RAF Wyton and RAF Upwood. Aircraft flown in were Tiger Moth, Anson, Oxford, Wellington, Halifax, Mosquito and Lancaster. He flew a total of 42 night operations, 2 with 10 squadron, 28 with 76 squadron and 12 with 608 Squadron. Targets were Essen, Kiel, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Wuppertal, Krefeld, Mulheim, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Cologne, Aachen, Montbeliard, Hamburg, Remscheid, Manheim, Milan, Peenemunde, Leverkusen, Berlin, Munich, Montlucon, Modane and Kassel. His pilot for his first 'second dickie' operation was Pilot Officer Hellis. The log book also contains two target photographs of Berlin and an aerial photo of an airfield.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDunnGC149315v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Derbyshire
England--Norfolk
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Somerset
England--Yorkshire
France--Modane
France--Montbéliard
France--Montluçon
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Essen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr
Germany--Munich
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Remscheid
Germany--Wuppertal
Italy--Milan
Saskatchewan--Moose Jaw
Saskatchewan--Weyburn
Scotland--Moray
Germany--Mannheim
Saskatchewan
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1945
1943-04-03
1943-04-04
1943-04-05
1943-05-23
1943-05-24
1943-05-25
1943-05-26
1943-05-27
1943-05-28
1943-05-29
1943-05-30
1943-06-11
1943-06-12
1943-06-13
1943-06-21
1943-06-22
1943-06-23
1943-06-24
1943-06-25
1943-06-26
1943-06-28
1943-06-29
1943-07-03
1943-07-04
1943-07-09
1943-07-10
1943-07-13
1943-07-14
1943-07-15
1943-07-16
1943-07-29
1943-07-30
1943-07-31
1943-08-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-09
1943-08-10
1943-08-12
1943-08-13
1943-08-17
1943-08-18
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-24
1943-09-06
1943-09-07
1943-09-15
1943-09-16
1943-09-17
1943-09-29
1943-09-30
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1945-03-01
1945-03-02
1945-03-03
1945-03-04
1945-03-05
1945-03-06
1945-03-07
1945-03-08
1945-03-09
1945-03-10
1945-03-11
1945-03-12
1945-03-13
1945-03-14
1945-03-15
1945-03-16
1945-03-17
1945-03-18
1945-03-29
1945-03-30
1945-04-09
1945-04-10
1945-04-12
1945-04-13
1945-04-14
1945-04-15
1945-04-16
1945-04-17
1945-05-11
1945-05-14
1945-05-23
1945-05-28
1945-05-31
1945-06-16
1945-06-22
10 Squadron
16 OTU
1663 HCU
18 OTU
20 OTU
608 Squadron
76 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aerial photograph
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
Cook’s tour
Flying Training School
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Mosquito
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Barford St John
RAF Chipping Norton
RAF Church Broughton
RAF Downham Market
RAF Driffield
RAF Finningley
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Melbourne
RAF Rufforth
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Upwood
RAF Worksop
RAF Wyton
target photograph
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2072/34205/LBabbageG1613415v1.1.pdf
f14ffb7085b2bf98bec5144b8f54c979
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Babbage, Gordon
Babbage, G
Description
An account of the resource
Five items. The collection concerns Gordon Babbage (b. 1922, 1613415 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, Pathfinder awards and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 100 Squadron from RAF Grimsby and 156 Squadron from RAF Upwood.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Lesley Morley and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021-08-31
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Babbage, G
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Gordon Babbage's navigator's air bomber's and air gunner's flying log book
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LBabbageG1613415v1
Description
An account of the resource
Navigator’s, air gunner’s and air bomber’s flying log book for G Babbage, air gunner, covering the period from 15 December 1942 to 8 April 1945. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Stormey Down, RAF Riccall, RAF Pocklington, RAF Rufforth, RAF Faldingworth, RAF Sandtoft, RAF Driffield, RAF Grimsby, RAF Warboys and RAF Upwood. Aircraft flown in were Defiant, Whitley, Halifax, and Lancaster. He flew a total of 51 operations, 26 with 102 Squadron, 2 with 100 Squadron and 23 with 156 Squadron. Targets were St Nazaire, Essen, Kiel, Frankfurt, Duisburg, Dortmund, Bochum, Dusseldorf, Le Cruseot, Gelsenkirchen, Montbelliard, Hamburg, Nurnberg, Berlin, Kassel, Cannes, Neuss, Bonn, Opladen, Cologne, Osterfeld, Munich, Goch, Politz, Dresden, Pforzheim, Homburg, Misburg, Hanau, Heide and Harburg. His pilots on operations were Flight Lieutenant Carey, Warrant Officer Brooks, Flying Officer Parkinson and Flying Officer Edge.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943-03-28
1943-03-29
1943-04-03
1943-04-04
1943-04-05
1943-04-10
1943-04-11
1943-04-27
1943-04-28
1943-04-29
1943-04-30
1943-05-01
1943-05-04
1943-05-05
1943-05-12
1943-05-13
1943-05-14
1943-05-23
1943-05-24
1943-05-25
1943-05-26
1943-05-27
1943-05-28
1943-06-11
1943-06-12
1943-06-13
1943-06-19
1943-06-20
1943-07-09
1943-07-10
1943-07-15
1943-07-16
1943-07-24
1943-07-25
1943-07-27
1943-07-28
1943-08-10
1943-08-11
1943-08-31
1943-09-01
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-05
1943-11-03
1943-11-04
1943-11-11
1943-11-12
1944-10-23
1944-10-24
1944-10-25
1944-11-27
1944-11-28
1944-11-29
1944-11-30
1944-12-01
1944-12-12
1944-12-13
1944-12-21
1944-12-22
1944-12-27
1944-12-28
1944-12-30
1944-12-31
1945-01-01
1945-01-07
1945-01-08
1945-02-07
1945-02-08
1945-02-09
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-20
1945-02-21
1945-02-23
1945-02-24
1945-03-11
1945-03-14
1945-03-15
1945-03-16
1945-03-17
1945-03-18
1945-03-19
1945-03-20
1945-03-21
1945-03-31
1945-04-04
1945-04-05
1945-04-08
1945-04-09
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Poland
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Cannes
France--Le Creusot
France--Montbéliard
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Bonn
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Goch
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hanau
Germany--Hannover Region
Germany--Harburg (Landkreis)
Germany--Heide (Schleswig-Holstein)
Germany--Homberg (Kassel)
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Munich
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Osterfeld
Germany--Pforzheim
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Wales--Bridgend
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
100 Squadron
102 Squadron
156 Squadron
1658 HCU
1667 HCU
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
Defiant
Halifax
Halifax Mk 1
Halifax Mk 2
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
mine laying
Pathfinders
RAF Driffield
RAF Faldingworth
RAF Grimsby
RAF Pocklington
RAF Riccall
RAF Rufforth
RAF Sandtoft
RAF Stormy Down
RAF Upwood
RAF Warboys
training
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1970/33701/LWakefieldHE174040v1.1.pdf
6abf5d017113b82dd6d95a604f4f8667
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wakefield, Harold Ernest
H E Wakefield
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-10-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Wakefield, HE
Description
An account of the resource
93 items. The collection concerns Harold Ernest Wakefield DFC (1923 - 1986, 1582185 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, training publications, decorations and badges, training notebooks, correspondence, newspaper cuttings, photographs and parachute D ring.
He flew operations as a flight engineer with 51 and 617 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Jeremy Wakefield and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Harrold Wakefield's navigator's, air bombers and air gunner's flying log book
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LWakefieldHE174040v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Description
An account of the resource
Harold Wakefield's RAF Navigator's, Air Bomber’s and Air Gunner's Flying Log Book, from 16th August 1943 to 16th August 1946, recording training, operations, instructional duties and Transport Command duties to India and the Far East as a flight engineer. Based at RAF Marston Moor (1652 Conversion Unit), RAF Snaith (51 Squadron), RAF North Luffenham (Heavy Glider Conversion Unit), RAF Syerston (5 Lancaster Finishing School), RAF Woodhall Spa (617 Squadron), RAF Riccall (1332 Heavy Conversion Unit), RAF Holmsley South (246 Squadron) and RAF Lyneham (511 Squadron). Aircraft in which flown: Halifax, Oxford, Whitley, Lancaster, Horsa Glider, York. Records a total of 59 operations in two tours (23 day, 36 night) including 10 returned early or did not drop bombs. Targets in France, Germany, Netherlands and Norway are: Alencon, Amiens, Arnsburg, Augsburg, Berlin, Bielfeld, Bochum, Bremen, Chateau Dun, Colline Beaumont, Dortmund Ems Canal, Dusseldorf, Essen, Farge, Fouillard, Frankfurt-Main, Hamburg, Hanover, Heligoland, Herquelingue, Ijmuiden, Kassel, Leipzig, Leverkusen, Lille, Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, Mont Fleury, Morsalines, Nienburg, Orleans, Oslo Fiord (German cruisers “Emden” and “Koln”), Politz, Poortershafen, Rotterdam, Stuttgart, Trappes and Urft Dam. His pilots on operations were Squadron Leader Johnson and Squadron Leader Calder. Also includes notes of dates of promotion and award of DFC, lists of crews and a picture of a Halifax Mk III. Some detailed notes on ops with 617 Squadron.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-09-22
1943-09-23
1943-09-24
1943-09-27
1943-09-28
1943-09-29
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-05
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-11-03
1943-11-18
1943-11-19
1943-11-22
1943-11-23
1943-11-25
1943-11-26
1943-12-03
1943-12-04
1943-12-29
1943-12-30
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-01-30
1944-01-31
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-02-25
1944-02-26
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-06
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-18
1944-03-19
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-04-09
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-08
1944-06-09
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-12-08
1944-12-11
1944-12-15
1944-12-15
1944-12-21
1944-12-29
1944-12-30
1944-12-31
1945-01-01
1945-02-03
1945-02-06
1945-02-08
1945-02-14
1945-02-22
1945-02-24
1945-03-13
1945-03-14
1945-03-15
1945-03-19
1945-03-21
1945-03-22
1945-03-23
1945-03-27
1945-04-06
1945-04-07
1945-04-09
1945-04-19
1946
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
France
Germany
Great Britain
India
Middle East
Netherlands
Norway
England--Hampshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Rutland
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Alençon
France--Amiens
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Brittany
France--Châteaudun
France--Lille
France--Normandy
France--Orléans
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Yvelines
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bielefeld
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Helgoland
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Nienburg (Lower Saxony)
Poland--Szczecin
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Urft Dam
Netherlands--Hoek van Holland
Netherlands--Ijmuiden
Netherlands--Rotterdam
Poland
Germany--Herne (Arnsberg)
Germany--Hannover
Atlantic Ocean--Oslofjorden
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Herquelingue
France--Morsalines
France--Ver-Sur-Mer
France--Manche
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
1652 HCU
51 Squadron
617 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Helgoland (18 April 1945)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Distinguished Flying Cross
flight engineer
Grand Slam
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Heavy Conversion Unit
Horsa
Ju 88
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Me 262
mid-air collision
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Oxford
promotion
RAF Lyneham
RAF Marston Moor
RAF North Luffenham
RAF Riccall
RAF Snaith
RAF Syerston
RAF Woodhall Spa
Tallboy
training
Whitley
York
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1523/41467/LLoveAI1815027v1.1.pdf
53167fb804ae061a5ba211680b00d4bc
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Love, Ikey
Albert Ivon Love
A I Love
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-07-10
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Love, AI
Description
An account of the resource
15 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Albert "Ikey" Ivon Love (1922 - 2016, 1815027 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, items, and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 90 and 7 Squadrons before being shot down and becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by G Love and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ikey Love's navigator's, air bomber's and air gunner's flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Navigator’s, air bomber’s and air gunner’s flying log book for A Love, Flight Engineer, covering the period from 17 August 1943 to 22 March 1944, when he was shot down and became a prisoner of War. He was stationed at RAF Stradishall, RAF Wratting Common, RAF Tuddenham, RAF Upwood and RAF Oakington. Aircraft flown in were Stirling and Lancaster. He flew a total of 25 operations, 9 with 90 squadron and 12 with 7 squadron. His pilots on operations were Pilot Officer Hinde and Flying Officer Williams. Targets were Montlucon, Friesians, Mannheim, Kattegat, Bremen, Leverkusen, Bay of Biscay, Brunswick, Berlin, Magdeburg, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Schweinfurt, Augsburg, and Frankfurt.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Suffolk
France--Montluçon
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
Netherlands--Friesland
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LLoveAI1815027v1
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-09-15
1943-09-16
1943-09-21
1943-09-23
1943-09-27
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-11-18
1943-11-19
1943-11-30
1944-01-14
1944-01-20
1944-01-21
1944-01-30
1944-02-15
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-15
1944-03-22
1657 HCU
7 Squadron
90 Squadron
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
flight engineer
Heavy Conversion Unit
killed in action
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 3
mine laying
Pathfinders
prisoner of war
RAF Oakington
RAF Stradishall
RAF Tuddenham
RAF Upwood
RAF Wratting Common
shot down
Stirling
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1081/11539/APragnellJ160526.2.mp3
b1d5d9b341a280f4d84f05cf037014fc
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pragnell, Jack
J Pragnell
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with Jack Pragnell (b. 1921, Royal Air Force). He flew operations as an observer with 51 and 102 Squadron. His twin brother was killed in action 16 December 1943 flying with 432 Squadron.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-05-26
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Pragnell, J
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
DK: So this is David Kavanagh on the 26th of May 2016.
JP: Yeah.
DK: Interviewing Jack Pragnell at his home. Ok. So if I just put that there. So if you just talk normally. If I keep looking over it like this I’m just checking that it’s still working.
JP: Yeah. Ok.
DK: So that’s out there. What, what I wanted to do was really just talk through your experiences before the war maybe.
JP: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
DK: What you were doing then. Why and how you joined the air force and what you did in the air force.
JP: Yeah.
DK: And then later on afterwards. So, to start with perhaps if you could just say what you were doing before the war.
JP: Well, before the war my twin brother and myself we were together all the time by the way. I’d got an identical twin.
DK: Oh right. Ok.
JP: So we worked at, at Manfield Shoe Factory. In the office. Until, well we had, we were quite poor. We had to leave school at fourteen although we were at grammar school. We caught up on night school and everything so we did all that. And then come the sort of seventeen or so when I was a bit of fed up and wanting to move couldn’t do it because I was coming on to eighteen. And nobody had got a job there.
DK: No. No.
JP: And jobs were scarce for people. So we, we did a lot. Played a lot of sport. Enjoyed life thoroughly. We were both pretty good at sport and did very well at school and we were in the Boy’s Brigade and went to camp with them. And it was a lovely time. And then come the time when conscription was being, when none of us — all I knew of conscription was the First World War.
DK: Yeah.
JP: The filth and the degradation and the death in the, in the trenches. And we sort of wanted the glory boys you know. So we said, ‘Let’s go,’ and four of us got together one afternoon. Packed up our work and went off ostensibly to join the Fleet Air Arm because we liked the uniform.
DK: Right.
JP: When we got to the depot at Dover Hall it was the RAF recruiting place. The Fleet Air Arm was at the Naval place. In a different place. So anyway, we were talked into joining the air force. We had a few tests and we were accepted on the pilot navigator thing. Three of us. One was ill and went away. He came twelve months later and was a W/op AG but he was one out. So the three of us then waited as you did. Signed on. Waited. And we went to the place where they — Cardington.
DK: Cardington.
JP: To be signed up. Funny thing there. We go through. People didn’t know the difference. Absolutely identical. So he goes, my brother goes through and I was taken ill. So I was parked in to sick quarters for a week. When I came out he’d already gone through and been accepted on the pilot navigator thing. So I follow through and did the tests and one of the doctors said, ‘Well, we saw you last week.’ I said, ‘That was my brother.’ ‘Your brother?’ I said, ‘My twin brother.’ He said, ‘What did we do?’ ‘Oh you passed him.’ ‘Alright, you’re through.’ [laughs] So then we waited. This waiting time of several months, you know as everybody had to wait. And we were called up to Babington in London there to be — no. It was in the south. To be kitted and equipped. Near Bournemouth. Equipped and marched and inoculated and equipped and marched and inoculated. Incessantly. And then we went to Stratford on Avon at ITW. My brother and myself shared the Venus Adonis Room in the Shakespeare Hotel. Absolutely stripped clean. You know what I mean. I’ve been since and had a look. It’s a different kettle of fish. So then from there, after a few weeks of this, ‘You’re going.’ Didn’t know where. We were equipped with tropical equipment and, a kit bag full of that. And one night we were, well we were then taken to West Kirby near Manchester there. We were there for, I should think maybe a week or so and suddenly one night we were taken out at night and marched into the Glasgow station and climbed on a train outside the station and straightaway to a boat. The Moortown. The tramp steamer converted. And the filthiest, dirtiest old shabby ship you never saw in your life. It was an army boat and of course we were cadets there with a white flash in our hats oh and they took the mickey out of us left, right and centre. And we had the, under the bottom. Five weeks on that boat. Trudging. We didn’t know where we were going. We set out to the middle of the Atlantic we thought. Then suddenly we turned to port. Half of them sheared off. And with that I understand they finished up in America or Canada. We then went, they said, ‘Oh you’re going to Rhodesia.’ Well, we’d heard of Rhodesia but it was a long way away. Well, we went through. We couldn’t get off the boat. We had salt showers. It was purgatory. So, and the food wasn’t great you know, out of a big cauldron. But we got there. We finished up in, we went around the Cape. We thought where the hell are we going now? Sailed around. Finished up in Durban.
DK: Right.
JP: Lovely place Durban. It was lit. The sea was dark there. All the lights and what not. But there on the sea front was a dance hall and fairy lights. It was like heaven. And we were there a couple of weeks or so and the people were marvellous to us. They were queuing at the gates to take us out. And my brother and myself being identical twins we were snapped up, you know.
DK: Yeah.
JP: And they took us all over the place. And we then got on the train. It took three days. One of these slow moving things with the old wagon at the back. We could get off and walk with it. Finished up in Bulawayo. It’s in Southern Rhodesia. Well after a few weeks there at the ITW again we were marched, we were inoculated. But we had a lovely time. People took us out. They queued at the gates to take people out. But then, being the two of us we got special treatment you know. So we had a lovely time. It was hard work. It was hard work but we still relaxed well and played well.
DK: So what sort of work were you doing in Bulawayo then?
JP: Well, that was a holding camp.
DK: Right.
JP: A sort of ITW.
DK: Right.
JP: It was, actually it was the old cattle market and we slept in the, where the cattle slept. With a blind down the front and —
DK: Yeah.
JP: Wooden sort of flooring. It was a bit primitive. And so were the quarters. But we loved it anyway.
DK: So the training you were doing there. Was that for, as a navigator or pilot?
JP: We were then on the pilots navigator.
DK: Pilot navigator.
JP: It was the top course. Yeah.
DK: Right.
JP: And we were doing navigation. We were doing star recognition. We were doing pilot recognition. We were doing aircraft. The whole gamut of night after night day after day.
DK: And did it include training as, flying?
JP: Oh that was all training. It was nothing but training with a bit of time off now and again. It was very hard graft. We loved it. We played a bit of football and a bit of, quite a bit of cricket in the spare time. Then we were picked out. ‘Right. You’re going off to pilot training.’ Went to Gwelo which was in the back woods of East London there. Of south, what’s the name? Southern Rhodesia. Well, I promptly had the bane of my life in the air force. Every so often I got tonsillitis. And it got every course I went on I had to have a few of days in dock with this tonsillitis. And I went in dock in the middle of the pilot training.
DK: Right.
JP: It was on Tiger Moths. I’d soloed but I was a bit ham-fisted. We’d only had a bike up until then. That hadn’t even got a three speed. So we trained and then they came along. The CFI came. I was behind because I’d had this week off and you could not get behind. It was push push push. This CFI, the Chief Flying Instructor came and he looked me up and down and said, ‘Well, come on.’ So I took him up. Landed him. Well, of course the tension of him being there and I was a very raw pilot. But he, he would have gone through the ceiling when we landed, you know. In a Tiger Moth on a grass field it was I thought. So I landed him. He looked me up. He said, ‘Well, what’s your navigation like?’ I said, ‘Well, quite good.’ He said, ‘I think you’ll make a better navigator than a pilot. You’ll be alright on these.’ The next step were Harvards of course. The killers.
DK: Yeah.
JP: He said, ‘You’ll kill yourself I think.’ And they were. A lot of people were. These decrepit Harvards. So, my brother got himself taken off and we were allowed to go together. We sat there and waited, oh two or three weeks until a course came and we were taken down, all the way down to East London. On the Cape.
DK: Yeah.
JP: And there we did the full observer course. Navigator, bomb aimer, air gunner. Again played a lot of sport. Again, taken around a bit. Again went out together. It was a lovely life because we did everything. See whereas if I had gone on my own I’d have had to look for a comrades.
DK: Yeah.
JP: I’d have had to look for a mate. There was two of us. We’d always got a mate.
DK: Yeah.
JP: And we were so much alike. We, well we were a part of each other. Absolutely. Dressed the same. Shared our money. Shared our clothes. Shared our uniforms. And got on ever so well together. Bane of the life of the instructors who didn’t know who they were talking to [laughs]
DK: Yeah.
JP: But anyway, we did well. We passed out from there. And then we had about three weeks at Cape Town waiting to come back. And then we came back alone. Not, we went out in convoy for the five weeks. Very slowly. Very tedious. The Prince of Wales and the other one going up and down. Of course they sailed on to the Far East and that was when they were sunk.
DK: Right.
JP: We were the last lot to see them when they went off.
DK: Yeah.
JP: But we came back alone on the Otranto. Which was a, was a merchantmen. In fact on the way back picked a boat load of survivors from [pause] from a boat from Argentina. Something Star. A meat boat.
DK: Right.
JP: And the women and children. We picked them up and brought them back. Then we got back here and due a bit of leave. And then posted to Yorkshire. To Driffield.
DK: Right.
JP: The main place there. And we were crewed up. Well. No. First of all we go on to a Conversion Unit.
DK: So which? Can you remember which Conversion Unit?
JP: In Lincolnshire somewhere.
DK: Right.
JP: It was Norfolk or Lincolnshire and I forget where it was.
DK: This would have been one —
JP: It’s a well-known one.
DK: Right. But this would have been one of the Heavy Conversion Units.
JP: Yeah. They were flying Harvards and the other things. The other four engine jobs. You know. The first ones.
DK: The Stirlings.
JP: The twin engine job. No. Not the — the two engine.
DK: The Anson.
JP: No. No. We’d done our training in Ansons.
DK: Yeah.
JP: No. Bigger ones.
DK: The Wellington.
JP: No. No. Different from them. Wimpy was there.
DK: Yeah.
JP: But the Wellingtons. They were ones that crashed a lot. They put four engines on them in the end and called them the Halifax.
DK: Right. The Manchester?
JP: Yeah. I think it was that.
DK: Manchester. Yeah.
JP: Yeah. So we as we got there we saw one plough in. Yeah. Now, the next morning they said, ‘Now look. We’re looking for bomb aimers. You’re a qualified bomb aimer and a qualified navigator. It’s equal pay. Equal terms.’ But you see then all the crews then were becoming not six crews but seven crews. And there was a great shortage of bomb aimers to add to the crews. So they asked for volunteers to go straight on ops, perhaps with the odd cross country, without doing a con-unit. So about ten of us stepped forward and within a couple of weeks we were crewed up at Driffield in a squadron. And a couple of cross country’s — ready for ops. Well then my pilot, we were the odd one in the crew then but we were in the crew. I was in the crew as a bomb aimer and in charge of the bombing and that. I didn’t have a bloody clue. So anyway the biggest bomb I’d dropped was the sort of five pounder in practice. Anyway, we soon caught up. They put us through the mill and so unfortunately they, the crew went on some operations. And the pilot went on his expertise, expert, expertise trip. You know, with a crew.
DK: Yeah. Yeah.
JP: And they were missing. So the crew was broken up and I was floating around. I was lucky because looking for a bomb aimer was a crew where four of them were on their second tour. The pilot was a flight lieuy. The navigator was a flying officer. The gunner was warrant officer and a whats-its name. And they were looking for — and there was I, a youngster, shovelled into this lot.
DK: With an experienced crew.
JP: Yeah.
DK: Yeah.
JP: So I was lucky.
DK: Can, can I just check. Which squadron was this with then?
JP: 51 then.
DK: 51. Right.
JP: 51.
DK: Ok.
JP: And my brother, who was with me at the time.
DK: Yeah.
JP: On our, when we got there we had to, we knew we’d got to part. And we got a great pile of kit in the middle of the room and it was one for you, one for me. It broke my heart, you know. The first time we’d been parted or anything like. And we shared it. Now he got into a crew as well but it was a time when the Canadians were breaking away from 4 Group to form 8 Group.
DK: Yeah.
JP: And the rest of his crew were Canadian. Most of them. Four out the six. Or five out the six. And they opted to go Canadian. Well, he went with them. Now, strangely enough they were doing some operations. They were doing minelaying or what have you. And his pilot went on an expertise trip. Was missing. So, they again were crewed up. We stayed in the area and he got most of them together. They still stayed with the Canadian group but he got a bit behind then whereas I was straight on ops. I mean by January I’d done two or three ops to Lorient and places like that.
DK: So which type of aircraft were you on in 51 Squadron then?
JP: A Halifax.
DK: A Halifax. So —
JP: Halifax. It was all Halifax from then on.
DK: So all your operations were Halifax.
JP: And so was he. Yeah.
DK: Yeah.
JP: It was Yorkshire.
DK: Yeah. Yeah.
JP: They were all in Yorkshire. Around about. Well Pocklington actually. Snaith.
DK: Snaith.
JP: Was the one we were at for 51. So we did, I did, we did about half a tour with 51 and we were doing well. We were one of the crack crews and I became, although I say it myself, pretty good. I went to learn. And we did, the farce of, you know observation star sort of things. Astro. Well that was a farce. A complete and utter farce. You couldn’t do it. You know the old joke goes about they were lost and the navigator, the pilot said to the navigator, ‘Go and take an astro fix will you?’ He said. So the pilot comes back, ‘Take off your hats. You’re in St Paul’s Cathedral.’ And it was about like that. That’s the old story that got around, you know. Anyway, half way through the tour we were taken from, our pilot was promoted to squadron leader so we went to Pocklington where he took over a squadron as a squadron leader. And finished my tour there. And I had a very hot tour. We all did in there. I mean I had a very very warm tour in the end of ’42 and ’43. That was the heat of the losses.
DK: Yeah.
JP: And I was one of the lucky ones.
DK: Can you remember the name of your pilot at 51?
JP: Yeah. Squadron Leader Hay.
DK: So he went on to Pocklington then with 102.
JP: Oh yes. And took the crew with him.
DK: And you went with him.
JP: Yeah.
DK: Yeah.
JP: And he then went as an instructor. I understand afterwards he had a bit of a crash and nearly wrote himself off. He was a bit wild. He was a typical, you might say a very early pilot. Mad as a bloody hatter but brilliant pilot. And the navigator then stayed but the chap doing the bomb aiming, no he was doing the navigation. That’s right. And I was then then the bomb aimer. He was a second tour man. He’d done his first flying on single engine stuff in India. He hadn’t got a clue. He had not got a clue. So we got lost on the way back from [unclear] We called Mayday and we were flagged up by searchlights flagging us up to get us home. So after that he was taken out of the crew. They got a pilot, they got an officer who was already a qualified, well-qualified navigator to take over the navigation and I then took over the bomb aiming.
DK: Right.
JP: So, from then on, apart from the fact we had a very very hard tour. And we had the toughest of the tough it was good plain sailing until they finished their, about four of them finished their second tour. I’d still got ten ops on my first tour. So their second tour was twenty, mine was thirty. So I was an odd Joe and I flew with seven different pilots. Sprog pilots, experienced pilots, wing commanders, squadron, to fill the gap. I was lucky. I mean pure luck that that I came through.
DK: So, how many operations did you do all together then?
JP: Well, counting two abortive when we had to go, they counted. And in fact we’d done a bit of operational out in South Africa. Out in South Africa, looking for Jap subs. I did a total of twenty seven full ops but the other two counted and the others patched together so really it counted for the thirty ops. I say it was twenty seven. But it was about, when you take the, what they counted. And I was ill. I’d suffered from the tonsillitis. I’d been in and out of dock. And just until my last op came. My last op was to Berlin. The one before it was Peenemunde. So you can tell it wasn’t easy. So I was taken, I was booked in to go when my tour finished. So I was now, they told me when it would finish and I was ready. Waiting for this last op to come. I was to go in to the hospital the following week to have my tonsils out. They were the bane of my life. So I got to bed. Tannoy. Would I report to sick bay. They’d made a mistake. The hospital was the next day. So I go in and of course I didn’t realise my body was upset. I mean you think the tension and that. You didn’t realise. They nearly killed me. They apologised afterwards. They should not have operated. It wouldn’t stop bleeding and they had to go deep. And afterwards, after a week I was like a wraith. Lost no end of weight and, and I came [laughs] when I went out the doctor said, well he said, would you, I’d been to Berlin the night before. When I got in there it was on the news about the Berlin raid. I said to the bloke, ‘Yeah, it was pretty rough.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Well, I was there.’ ‘He was there. He was there.’ All the nurses gathered around. I was the hero [laughs] So ,so anyway it, I came home on a bit of leave.
DK: So you, so you survived a trip to Berlin and then —
JP: Yeah.
DK: Were in hospital.
JP: The next day I was having my tonsils out.
DK: Oh dear.
JP: Now, my twin brother was on the way and they’d transferred from Halifaxes to Lancs.
DK: Right.
JP: And their first Lanc trip was a Berlin which was the Berlin following the one I went on. The last Berlin in ’43. And I was on the one before when we lost a lot of aircraft. But he was on that one. The first trip in a Lanc. They were shot down and killed over Leeuwarden in Holland.
DK: Oh dear.
JP: So that was it. It broke my heart that did. I didn’t know what to do with myself. And I was shovelled around then.
DK: Can you remember which squadron your brother was with?
JP: It was [pause] an American in the Canadian air force. I did, well names have got me.
DK: Yeah. Ok.
JP: I think it was 425. It was something like that. One of the Canadian squadrons in the north.
DK: Yeah.
JP: Yorkshire. Yeah.
DK: Yeah.
JP: We met from time to time. In fact the Canadian uniform was a bit better than ours and he came down one day with a pilot’s uniform on. I said, ‘What —?’ He said, ‘Well my pilot is staying with us but he’s a Yank so he’s transferred to the Yanks. Still as a pilot.’ Getting double pay sort of thing and more comfort, ‘And this is his uniform.’ So he swapped my old one for this and I had a new uniform.
DK: Oh well.
JP: Well, I said at the last thing when we were in East London we were qualified and we got pinned things on. Our things for South African officers to come around, a general or something, and pin them on and a band played. That sort of thing. So the last, we had a course dinner, the menu’s in there. And this flight lieutenant gets up and, words of wisdom, he said, ‘Now, there’s one thing I’d like to say.’ I’ll never forget this. ‘Before we go out tomorrow on parade you’ve got to look your best,’ and he said, ‘And Pragnells get your bloody hair cut.’ [laughs] See we’d both got double crowns. When you cut that short it stands up like a hedgehog [laughs]. And they didn’t know the difference anyway. We got away with blue murder.
DK: So, what, what was your feelings about flying in the Halifax then? Was it a [unclear]
JP: Well, we worshipped the Halifax. Yeah. See, it’s a lost machine now but it did more. It towed gliders, it did Met, it did bombing, it did transport. It did everything, the Halifax. Whereas the Lanc
DK: Yeah.
JP: Faster, higher, newer, only did bombing. And of course we hadn’t got all the equipment. We had to manage with the old Mark 9 bombsight where we set our own. And it was impossible to take an astrofix because you couldn’t get it steady enough. We set the bombsight ourselves. Well inaccurate because you can’t get the exact speed. Now the Mark 10, the last few I got, the speed, the speed and that was fed in, and the height, was fed in electronically. But we had the, the what’s the name box for a few but they had all the latest equipment. We just had DR and that was it.
DK: Yeah.
JP: So, we, I mean we worshipped the Halifax. It took us there. Got us back. And now mention the Halifax you’re treated with scorn, ‘that bloody thing.’ Yet it did all. It was like the Hurricane and Spitfire. Hurricane did the work. The Spitfire got the credit because of the name.
DK: Yeah.
JP: Hurricane. Lanc got the credit because new aircraft flying higher, faster than anything and got all the credit. But we did a hell of a lot of work. In fact we got to, say about twenty thousand feet. They were above us but below us were the Stirlings and the Wimpies and the Wellingtons. We did our bombing runs on them and they did their bombing runs on us [laughs] yeah.
DK: Could you, could you actually see much at night then? Could you see?
JP: Well, it depended on the cloud.
DK: Yeah.
JP: I mean the Peenemunde raid was a one off. It was absolutely clear moonlight. It was like daylight and we went in at fifteen thousand lower. And it was a must. It frightened the life out of us. They briefed us. They said, they locked the doors and you mustn’t breathe a word. If a word gets out we’re finished. It’s got to be deadly secret to get this place where they’re making the V-2s or V-1s. And so all this. It’s dangerous. And you’re going out at a lower level. And you’ve got to go whatever the weather. If you don’t go tonight you’ve got to go to it and then it will be twice as bad because by then the Germans probably would have known.
DK: Yeah.
JP: And they did a fake run to Berlin. So we got over Denmark and we got to Flensburg and we were coned. Now to get coned was suicide. When you’ve got a bomb load and once they got you in the cone of light you couldn’t see and the only way out was to get down below the angle. So you came down with a loaded bomber and you had a job to pull out. It was almost suicide to get caught. And they either fired up the flak or get the night fighters on you. But of course we were lucky. The night fighters had all gone —
DK: Yeah.
JP: To stop this, what was going to be a trip to Berlin. And they weren’t there. So that was just an incident where I had the luck, you know.
DK: At the briefing for Peenemunde —
JP: Yeah.
DK: Did they tell you what was being made in the factories?
JP: Yes.
DK: They did.
JP: Yes. We knew about this WAAF. WAAF had seen the photograph. And the, and the Poles had already, give them credit, the Poles were the bravest of the brave. They pinched a chunk of wood and they’d got it over through Sweden. So we’d got more idea and also don’t forget our Buckinghamshire team was taking the secret doc, the secret meetings of the Germans.
DK: Yeah. Yeah.
JP: They could learn. So we knew more than they thought we knew. They told us all about it and said what it was and said we’d got to wipe it out because it was the V-1 then and that was creating havoc. It was frightening. You know, putt putt putt and down it came. And it was creating a bit of panic. And when the V-2 came it didn’t even make that sound. Explode half a town you know. So, they told us we’d got to go and we’d got to get it. Now, the Yanks followed a day or two later. But the Yanks got all the credit. They weren’t even there. On that Peenemunde raid where we dropped people in to sort of stifle it and that, the RAF did it. Yeah. When we got there not a sound. It was way way way into Denmark. Past the Kattegat up in the Baltic and we went on in straight line as if we go up to Sweden or turn starboard to Germany. To Berlin. That was up there. And suddenly we were, we knew we’d got to find this place. They stuck out in the water. This sort of bulbous sort of bit of land. No searchlights. No flak. And as we turned to go in, oh then all hell was let loose. We were on the first wave. So we were through and out. Out the other side before too much trouble. But those that followed got hammered.
DK: Yeah. Could you see much of the target as you dropped your bombs at Peenemunde?
JP: No. You could see the, that raid yeah you could see the huts and the buildings.
DK: Yeah.
JP: But normally when you were at twenty five thousand and don’t forget you’re not going to a flat surface. You’re going to a sea of fire. Flames. Kites going down. Green and red, what’s the name of it on the ground and the searchlights and night fighters. So you, you didn’t see much. And it got all smoky if not cloudy. So, on a good night going in you could pick out the rivers and the main road. The [unclear] were light. They were like big white sort of lights. And the, and the woods. Well later on of course when I then went on to glider, glider towing, paratroop dropping at low level a different kettle of fish. We map read everywhere then on the shape of the woods and the rivers. But you only saw the minor ones up there. You could see enough. Well you could say look there’s a load of flak ahead. That’s probably, you look at your map, that’s probably the town of so and so. Go to starboard to avoid it. And then the pilot would say, ‘How far do you think we are Frank from — ’ and I’d sort of, ‘Ten miles.’ Alright. It was a good crew and they relied on everybody.
DK: Can you, can you still name your crew then?
JP: I can. Yeah. Well. Ron Hay was the pilot. Dougie Henderson was the rear gunner. John Garland was the w/op AG. The rear, the mid-upper gunner was a young lad who lost his life in a car, in a coach accident when we’d only had him a week or two. And then an Aussie joined us, Arthur Evans. And we were friends. And the navigator. I hardly spoke to him because he was in his little enclave and he was an officer. We were all NCOs except Doug. Well, when they finished the tour the pilot he had us in. He said, ‘Well, what can I do? Would you like me to recommend you for a commission?’ The rear gunner said yes. I said, he asked me, I said no because I was not going to get beyond my brother. Imagine. Identical twins. One walking down the street with a commission and one not. I couldn’t do it.
DK: No.
JP: So I said no. I was offered it. Only if I’d taken the chance I’d have done probably a lot better but I wouldn’t take it.
DK: Did you find that a bit difficult that your crew, some of the crew were officers?
JP: Yeah.
DK: And yourself NCO. So you wouldn’t mix socially or —
JP: Yeah. You wouldn’t mix socially unless they would. But they weren’t really allowed to. They did up to a point. We’d go out for a drink now and again but then we’d go our own way.
DK: But you didn’t see that as a problem in the crew itself.
JP: No. No. No. We were all mad and all equally sort of wanted to go. And I never saw, I did with a couple of crews I flew with, saw much panic. You see the bravery was not going on ops where you were shot down. Because you didn’t expect to be. You hoped not to be. The bravery was going the next day and the next day. I mean in successive. In there you’ll see I did four ops in five days. Absolutely tired out. It wasn’t just the op. The next day you had to go to get your aircraft ready. If there was not a malfunction you had to go and do a little flight test. Had to get all the equipment ready and be briefed all day. So you never got any sleep.
DK: No.
JP: And of course when you got to bed you were too tired to sleep and too exhilarated. There was a certain exhilaration when you got back.
DK: I was going to say how did you feel as you got out of the aircraft after, after the mission? After the operation.
JP: Happy. You know. Very contented. Very very pleased with life. And we used to, we didn’t feel boastful or anything like that. We’d got to go to be debriefed of course with the old padre there. And he used to hand out the fags and I didn’t smoke so I used to give mine away. And then we had, always looked forward to egg and chips. Egg and chips. And if any crews were missing we ate their eggs. But you wouldn’t know. See, you only knew your own crew basically. You knew the others in passing but everything was, everything was together. You trained together, you flew together and you went out together. Had a drink together. You see you were right out in the country. Not much you could do. So you got the old bike and went to the nearest pub. And if they hadn’t got any beer we’d go to the next one. And then we’d find a little social dance. That sort of thing.
DK: Yeah.
JP: You couldn’t do anything. Occasionally we got in to York. I went to Leeds a couple of times. And I believe, and I can’t remember how but I went to Sheffield once. Didn’t get on there because we hadn’t got time. We’d just go for the evening and wander around and have a drink and —
DK: And then.
JP: That was it.
DK: As you were then told the next day another operation how did you feel then as you were getting in the aircraft?
JP: Well, quite, quite glad really. You were getting through them. I remember I sort of started putting a number by my ops. And, and so they said, ‘We don’t count. We don’t count the ops. We just do them.’ But you did. In your mind. You knocked another one off. And it got more sort of you know the early, oh yeah but when you got in your twenties and people all around you were missing. You didn’t know whether they’d been shot down, whether they’d finish their tour, whether they’d left. And all this. It was come and go all the time. You couldn’t settle anywhere. Only with your own crew.
DK: Yeah.
JP: Because if you made friends because they were missing the next night. That wasn’t to say they were missing. They were posted away to somewhere else. It was a come and go. So there was that community of crew. They were more or less everything. And you got on well with them. Well most of them. Some, some you didn’t. But you were so closely knit together and there was a camaraderie about it. And I met two crews that panicked a bit. One of them supposed to be one of the, actually I flew with them a couple of times. And they’d done well on the thousand bomber raid and the pilot had got his, had got a gong out of it. So they were supposed to be a good crew. But they got behind somehow and the bomb aimer had gone, I reckon he’d gone to LMF. Lack of moral fibre. They used to take them out and strip them, you know. Lack of moral fibre they call it. Nerves didn’t count. None of this psychology or that sort of thing. You were whipped away. If you were an officer, reduced to, well kept your commission but reduced in rank to the menial jobs. If you were an NCO you lost your rank and everything else.
DK: And this crew. Did you think the bomb aimer then was, had had some problems?
JP: The bomb aimer had a lot. You see, I was the one who, well out of them I’d done a bit of flying on the Tiger and the Anson and whatnot. More than they had, some of them. And I was the one who used to help the pilot at his take off because you needed two. One to help push it up.
DK: Yeah.
JP: And I was the one that helped him on landing. And, and I was the one he referred to. Now, you see if you go to Berlin you’ve got over an eight hour trip. Well the pilot can’t get and have a quick wee. There’s nobody there. Now on one occasion he put it into George which was the automatic pilot, ‘Here you are Prag. Have a go at this.’ And I held this, frightened to death while he went and had a quick wee. But they relied on you so much.
DK: So your job also included flying the aircraft then when he needed a break.
JP: Well, it didn’t really but it depended on the pilot. He used to let me have a go now and again but when he was a, I didn’t, I wasn’t good enough to sort of take it on and like it.
DK: So, on, on a typical operation then as, as you as the bomb aimer.
JP: Yeah. Yeah.
DK: What was your role when you got on the aircraft and you took off? Are you helping the navigator?
JP: Well, the navigator. He was in his little sort of hut thing and I, I didn’t want to be a navigator because you couldn’t see what was going on. You could only hear. Whereas a bomb aimer you had the freedom of the aircraft.
DK: Right.
JP: And you were more or less in charge of that part of the aircraft in many ways.
DK: Did, did your job involve anything to do with the bombs before they went on the aircraft? Would you check them?
JP: No. The armourers did that.
DK: Right.
JP: You saw them and watched them winch them on but it was the armourers that did it. You knew how to, if it didn’t go off they’d was a little pannier thing you could undo and pull a toggle and get it, release it.
DK: Yeah.
JP: You’re not supposed to, you couldn’t bring them back because you couldn’t land with them or they’d have gone up and blown you up. And if you’d still got them when you got back you had to drop them in a dropping zone. Ours was in, in the North Sea. And —
DK: Did you have any that didn’t drop? That you, you had to —
JP: I believe, I didn’t know but the flight engineer, he was often, he was a Scotsman and he was often half drunk. He said there’s a couple of, a couple of bombs there. So I went down to look. I pulled the toggle but whether it released the bomb or not I don’t know. But I think once, yes in the North Sea there. See, you got, what’s-it Glenn Miller lost on a place like that when they came back and dropped their bombs. They reckon that’s where, how he lost his life.
DK: Yeah. As you, as you’re approaching the target then.
JP: Yeah.
DK: You’re in the front. You’re looking down.
JP: Yeah.
DK: And then what’s your role there? Do you arm the bombs and then drop them?
JP: Well, you do the map reading in. The pilot, the navigator’s supposed to get you within range and then it was yours and you do the, you see the target where the green and red flares were. And the Pathfinders above were saying bomb on the green flares because there had been an accident and the red had drifted away. Or bomb on the red. Or right between the two. So you directed it in between all the flak and the flame to where you think the target was. And you go on, you know, ‘Left. Left.’ You said, ‘Left. Left.’ And ‘Right,’ So if you said the same so you didn’t get the same tone.
DK: Right.
JP: ‘Left. Left. Steady. Steady.’ And when you were approaching you had the bomb doors open. You had to open them ready and you kept them open ‘til after you’d dropped your bomb for the photograph. As you closed the doors so the photograph was cut off. So you had to, as long as you, the time was how long your bombs would take to drop and each bomb had a different timing because they were different. Smooth or whatever. And they were different weights. So they had the speed they entered so all that had to be entered on your bombsight. So it was done automatically later but we had to enter it on a height bar and, and another knob here, another knob there. And then we got the information as we flew. And then you’d drop it as you said, ‘Bombs gone,’ And then you get the panic. ‘Get rid of them. Go.’ And you’d got you had to be cool, calm and collected until that photograph went off. The flash went off. Because that was taking, you see the bombs didn’t go down like that. They go on an arc with the speed and they were there. They’d say, oh bomb here. They’d land over by you, you see. So we had to wait that time. It seemed like an age. And you couldn’t turn around and come back because you were going in to your own people. You had to fly on over Germany and then so many miles they’d either turn. You didn’t know whether you were going to turn port or starboard to find the way out.
DK: As, as the bombs left the aircraft could you feel the aeroplane.
JP: Yeah. You felt it go. Yeah. Yeah.
DK: And what, what was the crews reaction as they’re waiting for you to drop the bombs?
JP: [laughs] Going mad. ‘Close the f’ing doors,’ [laughs] And I used to, I was the youngster you know. They were all older than I was. I was supposed to be cool, calm and collected. The pilot was good. The pilot would do everything you told him to do and yet he was probably the most experienced pilot in the Group. So we got all the big jobs. The Berlins and the Peenemunde and we got the Hamburg raid when we wiped it out with Window. It’s all in there in that book of mine. Yeah.
DK: Can I have a look at the logbook?
JP: Yeah.
[pause]
JP: Now, that’s precious. If you look in the back there’s all the stations, all stations of it and there’s a picture of myself and my brother there in that envelope.
DK: Can I?
JP: Have a look at that. Yeah.
DK: I’ll be very careful with it.
JP: That’s alright.
DK: You were alike [laughs]
JP: We were nineteen there. That was taken just after we got home from South Africa
DK: I don’t know how people told you —
JP: They didn’t.
DK: Yeah.
JP: They didn’t. You can see. You can see why we were known as, we were known as Prag by the crew.
DK: So are you on the left or the right?
JP: I think on the left.
DK: You think [laughs]
JP: From me it would be the left.
DK: Left. Right.
JP: Yeah. I think so. Yeah.
DK: Yeah. Lovely.
JP: Broke my heart when he was killed. Part of me went. And I had a hell of a time after that. I wasn’t happy.
DK: No. I can understand.
JP: It’s got all my qualifications in there of course.
DK: So I’ll read this out for the recording. So you were on Ansons here. This was in Rhodesia.
JP: Yeah. That was —
DK: East London.
JP: The Navigation.
DK: Yeah. East London.
JP: Yeah. That was South Africa.
DK: South Africa. Yeah. Yeah.
JP: And the Oxfords were bombing.
DK: So you were on Fairey Battles as well.
JP: Pardon?
DK: Battles. Fairey Battles.
JP: Yeah. That was the gunnery.
DK: Yeah.
JP: We used to fire at a drogue being towed by, what have we got here?
DK: And Oxfords.
JP: Oxfords. That was the gunnery.
DK: Yeah.
JP: That was the, you know, the bombing.
DK: That’s South Africa. So it’s 102 Squadron. And then it says 1652 Conversion Unit.
JP: Yeah. That, well we went there for a couple of weeks. That’s all. You see I didn’t get, I didn’t start until late in 1942. Yet I was doing my ops in ’42 and ’43. Yeah.
DK: And then on to 51 Squadron at Snaith.
JP: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
DK: So that’s Halifaxes.
JP: Yeah. See Pocklington was the holding unit then.
DK: Right.
JP: The head of the Group.
DK: So Lorient, so Cologne.
JP: Yeah.
DK: Wilhelmshaven.
JP: Yeah. Wilhelmshaven. Yeah.
DK: It says here Nuremberg. Engine. Engine u/s. Bombs jettisoned.
JP: Yeah. We had to come back. Yeah. We got there and more or less had to drop the bombs and had to come out. That counted as an op because we’d got more than half way I believe.
DK: So this is February 1943. And then there’s Cologne. And then St Nazaire in France.
JP: Yeah.
DK: So Berlin on the 1st of March.
JP: Yeah. I did three Berlins. And you’ll find there were ten Essens as well.
DK: Right.
JP: Three Essens in there.
DK: So the 1st of March was Berlin.
JP: Yeah.
DK: The 5th of March, Essen.
JP: Yeah.
DK: The 9th of March, Munich.
JP: Yeah.
DK: The 12th of March, Essen.
JP: Well, would you get a harder tour than that anywhere? Suicide.
DK: Well, you had a bit of a break here. It’s the 26th was Duisburg. And then 27th of March, Berlin again.
JP: Yeah.
DK: So then April. 3rd of April, Essen.
JP: Yeah.
DK: April the 4th Kiel. The 8th of April, Duisburg. The 14th of April, Stuttgart. And then they’ve given you another rest here [laughs] May 13th Bochum.
JP: Bochum.
DK: And then?
JP: Dortmund. Bochum.
DK: Yeah.
JP: Dortmund. Dusseldorf.
DK: And then 23rd of May, Dortmund.
JP: Yeah. They were all the Ruhr Valley.
DK: 25th of May, Dusseldorf. Sorry. So July the 24th was Hamburg.
JP: Yeah.
DK: So that would have been the big raid on Hamburg.
JP: That would have been the [pause] when we wiped it out with the firestorm yeah.
DK: And then 25th of July, Essen. August the 2nd , Hamburg. August the 8th Nuremberg. Milan.
JP: Yeah.
DK: Milan, Italy.
JP: We didn’t get there. We got, we couldn’t get over the, had engine trouble so we got as far as the Alps. Had to turn around and come back.
DK: So that, it actually says engine u/s. Bombs jettisoned.
JP: Yeah. Yeah.
DK: And then August the 17th Peenemunde.
JP: Yeah.
DK: And it says you landed back at Middleton St George.
JP: Yeah. Yeah. We couldn’t get in. We were fog bound. Our place.
DK: Right. And then August 22nd Leverkusen. 23rd of August, Berlin again. So that, that presumably would have been, oh it says you were then screened from operations.
JP: Yeah.
DK: September 1943.
JP: Yeah.
DK: Wow.
JP: In the further ops you will see, if you turn over, on the, when I re-mustered. I couldn’t stand Training Command after my brother was missing. And I had a row with the wing commander. So I volunteered for another thing and found out it was glider towing.
DK: That was with 298 Squadron.
JP: Yeah.
DK: Tarrant Rushton. So, you were, you were towing the gliders then.
JP: Yeah. Yeah. We took a Hamilcar in the big bugger.
DK: Hamilcars. Yeah.
[pause]
JP: Then I did an instructors course at Number 1 Air Armament School, Manby. Which was, by then, by that time the war was, we weren’t needed after that. They didn’t know what to do with us.
DK: Yeah. So, so, that’s May 1945. You’re on Wellingtons then.
JP: Yeah.
DK: What was that like? Flying Wellingtons after the Halifax.
JP: Wellington was probably the best aircraft of the war. It did everything.
DK: Yeah.
JP: And it was still going strong at the end of the war.
DK: And that was —
JP: Very strong. You know the geodetic construction.
DK: Yeah.
JP: And it stood up to any. It burned because it was fabric. You could reckon if a Wellington crashed it was going to burn. We did crash in it. Is it there we crashed? A ten minute trip.
DK: Was that at Manby?
JP: No. That was later on. During that time. So, when I was in Training Command. On one of the odd trips.
DK: Yeah. So [pause] so when, when did you leave the air force then?
JP: When? It’s in my book. My service book there.
DK: So would it have been about that time?
JP: No. It was —
Other: ’46 I think.
DK: ’46. Ok.
JP: It was a bit later. 1946 I think. Yeah.
Other: Yeah. May. May ’46.
JP: Yeah. I did just over five years.
DK: Yeah. And what did you do after that? When you —
JP: Well, I didn’t know what. I wasn’t going back to my job. I couldn’t stand the thought of a tin pot office job. And I had straight, I had a couple of months leave and about two hundred quid to spend. You know, as the generous air force. And I was walking home one day having told Manfields. They offered me a job. Offered me a good job. I couldn’t go back. Couldn’t go back indoors. So, I was walking home along St George’s Avenue which was by the technical college and out shot one of the teachers who was my old teacher when I was at school. And he’d been an officer in the cadets. So I used to meet him at the odd dance at the Salon and whatnot. And he used to speak. So he said, ‘Hello,’ he said. Well I was demobbed. He said, ‘What are you going to do?’ I said, ‘I don’t know. I’ve got a couple of hundred quid in the bank. I’ve got a couple of months leave and I don’t know what I’m going to do.’ I said, ‘I’m not going back to my old job although they said I could. It’s a waste of time. I’m not going back there.’ He said, ‘Well, why don’t you take up teaching?’ I said, ‘Well can I?’ He said, ‘Well, you’re a qualified instructor to start with.’ Which was better than a teaching diploma. He said, ‘And furthermore you were one of my bright lads,’ he said, ‘Yeah,’ he said. I said, ‘What do you do?’ He said, ‘Well, I’ll get the papers and I’ll sign. I’ll recommend you. You’ll have to get another recommendation and get the papers filled in and then wait.’ Well, I did this. Within about a fortnight I was accepted. And they sat down, ‘You don’t need to be qualified. You can start straight away.’ I was teaching within a month. A class of my own in a school. Well, I had that for about eighteen months. Then I went to college then and then after a few years I got a headship. Then a bigger headship. And that was it. Twenty odd years ahead. I was a magistrate for twenty seven years in addition.
DK: Oh right.
JP: And all sorts of other things.
DK: So how, how do you look back on your time in Bomber Command now? How do you feel about it after seventy odd years?
JP: A bit of a joke. And, you know, the bombastic sort of people there. Well one wing commander. I was introduced. When we went back for my second tour they were crewing up from all over. And I was the one who had done most. I’d done a tour of ops. None of the others had. So, we went through, ‘Now, what have you done?’ I said, ‘Well, you can ask the others. Well, I’ve done a tour of ops.’ ‘You did what?’ I said, ‘A tour of ops.’ ‘On what aircraft?’ ‘Halifaxes.’ I learned afterwards he’d flown Halifaxes. And he tapped his chest, the bombastic bugger and said, ‘And didn’t you get one of these?’ I said, ‘No. My name didn’t come with a NAAFI ration.’ He went mad. ‘These have to be earned,’ he said [laughs] He didn’t like that and I didn’t like him. I had a big row with him later though. You see I missed out through being ill. Immediately afterwards for two to three weeks I wasn’t there and that was when things were being disposed of. I was told I was getting a gong. I didn’t get it.
DK: Oh really.
JP: I was also told, I went up for commission but didn’t get it. I think it had gone before that I’d had a row. When my brother was finally reported killed my mother was suicidal. And we were on then glider towing. Now, that half of England nothing was allowed out. No phone call. No letters. No anything. You were not allowed out if you were in that, in the forces because of the secrecy of it for D-Day. This went on for several weeks. Well, my father sent a pre-paid telegram. And mum, they knew I was back on ops because his friend in the Bournemouth had told him. He’d got a friend there. But didn’t know what ops. And of course she got the wind up. Thought it was like my brother. And then she was suicidal. And I didn’t know what to do. So he wrote and said, ‘Look, you must come home.’ So, I went to the wing commander. This bombastic devil. He didn’t think much of me and I didn’t think much of him anyway. I let it be known. So I sat I’m on my own [laughs] frequently. So anyway, he, he was there in the crew room surrounded by people. I said, ‘Look, it’s important. Could I have a forty eight hour pass?’ ‘Forty eight hour pass. Why?’ I said, ‘Well, my twin brother has finally been reported killed and my mother’s suicidal.’ ‘Well, what good can you do?’ I looked him up and down. I said, ‘I’ll bloody soon show you what good I can do,’ I said, ‘For one thing my MP will know. Another thing the Daily Mirror, which was the forces favourite, that will know. And another thing you will be on the bloody grass.’ He looked at me and I turned around and walked away. I took the forty eight hour pass. And when I was home my mother made me promise not to fly again. I was heartbroken. I didn’t know what to do. I mean I was on my own. I was no longer had to, got a mate. I’d been a loner. When he was missing I became a loner because I couldn’t, couldn’t gel.
DK: No.
JP: So I went back and I said, ‘Look. I’m not flying anymore.’ Well, the crew couldn’t understand it. They could understand but they knew why. The CO, well the CO was the one I’d had the row with. But the one below him, the squadron leader, he was a lovely bloke. He was a bit older and a bit more understanding. And he had a bit more authority really. He was long established. And so I used to have to report to him every day. He said, ‘Will you fly?’ ‘No.’ He said, ‘Now look,’ he said, ‘Normally if they can’t fly they are stripped of their rank and that,’ he said, ‘Because you’ve done a tour of ops we feel we can’t do that to you but,’ he said, ‘Your crew is standing by.’ And D-Day was, turned out to be about a fortnight later. ‘Is waiting. And you’re one of the leading crews. But the crew can’t fly without you. So, at the moment the wing commander realises that he should not have said what he said. He hasn’t reported it. But Group want to know and they’ll have to.’ So anyway I was standing on my own in the navigator’s room just looking around. And nobody wanted to know me. I was a bloody pariah you know. And in comes this wing commander. And he looks me up and down. ‘Pragnell.’ ‘Yeah.’ No sir. I never called him sir again in my life. He said, ‘Well, I want to fly up to Wing.’ We thought he had a lady friend at Wing. Near Leighton Buzzard there. He used to go frequently. Perhaps it was a Group meeting. I don’t know. He says, ‘I want a crew.’ He said, ‘Will you fly?’ I looked him up and down. I said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Right,’ he said , ‘We’ll get a crew together,’ and so and so. So, I had to go round and get a gunner and a what’s the name and we flew him up there. I flew him up there. Got him there. I didn’t bother to navigate. I map read him up because I was good at that by then. I’d map read over France and very good at it. So anyway I got off for the sake of the other lad I got a proper course. Flew him back. We got back to Brize Norton. That was our headquarters. And he said, ‘I know where I am.’ So, ‘Right.’ So he flew back and dropped us off and I then went back in to my crew. And then came D-Day of course. So then very shortly after D-Day, now whether it was because I was more experienced as I was or whether he didn’t like me as I think it was I was taken out of my crew within, with several others. But whole crews. To form a new Conversion Unit up near Nottingham somewhere. To train for the Far East.
DK: Right.
JP: And we, well as soon as we got there the war virtually finished so we weren’t, we were posted all over the place then. So I was taken out. Not, with this other crew and flown up to this place to help form this unit. Well, we got together, did a bit of instructing but then the runways apparently wouldn’t take the weight of the bigger aircraft. So we moved to Saltby, which you probably know. Lincolnshire way.
DK: Yeah.
JP: We went there in convoy and I was given charge of a couple of lorries. A handful of erks and a lorry load of stuff to go down and went through Burton on Trent and through there. And I got relatives in Burton on Trent so, ‘We’ll have an hour here lads.’ So we stayed there and I went and saw my relatives and had a cup of tea with them and we went back in to Saltby. And I got the best billet. Well, that didn’t last long. We moved on again. We went to Marston Moor. We went somewhere else. That’s all in there where we went to. And we weren’t wanted. Because they’d got so many like us that had finished their ops they didn’t know what to do with them.
DK: No.
JP: They made lorry drivers and engine drivers out off of lots of them. And I got a lovely little number myself. I I got in to a department. Only a flight lieutenant and he was in charge of the bombing equipment and the distribution of it. And the bomb dump was absolutely full. Old wings, parts of engines, mechanical stuff. And it was brimming over. And he gave me the job with a lorry and a couple of erks who knew what they were doing, and a driver to go out each day. And they sorted out the pick of the stuff. Expensive metals. And we’d go to York every day. We’d drop this off. And go back there the next day. Marvellous time I had. And I, and there’s all sorts of things going. You know you couldn’t get coat hangers for love or money. Now, there was, hanging all around this room where the gas capes had been there were three coat hangers on each peg. Little did the flight lieutenant know. A bit later there were only two of these coat hangers on each peg. When he came to me one day, he said, ‘Oh, you can have a coat hanger.’ ‘Oh, thank you very much.’ All my mates had got coat hangers. Another time he came and said, ‘Well we’ve got so much stuff.’ They’d got farming equipment, barbed wire, these stakes that went in and the farmers were crying out for stuff. He said, ‘We’ve invited some of the local farmers to come and have some. So,’ he said, ‘Go and see to it.’ So I went up there and there were these farmers with their tractors. ‘Well, what can I have?’ ‘I don’t know. Have what you like.’ They were loading on the barbed wire and I came in for a lot of eggs that day. It was a lovely time. I was completely in charge of myself and nobody bothered me.
DK: But the stuff was being used. It was being used usefully on the farms though wasn’t it?
JP: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
DK: Yeah.
JP: Yeah. They were very friendly actually. The farmers. It was back up in Yorkshire of course see. Where I knew. All my flying. That was Linton on Ouse this was.
DK: Right.
JP: Yeah. Yeah. At the big one up there. But the rest of it was Pocklington and Elvington and Snaith. And my twin brother was Holme on Spalding Moor and Northallerton and around there. Yeah. It was in Northallerton that one of them took my tonsils out. That was a joke. He said, ‘Well, come on. You’ve got to go.’ So I had to get up and get dressed and I got an ambulance to take me. And it was the old ambulances. No sirens. It was ring bells. And everywhere we went for a bit of fun he rang the bell. And the people were lining the street. And when we got there he rang the bell. Pulled up. People were watching. And I climbed out [laughs] I saw life.
DK: Oh dear. Ok. Well that, that —
JP: Sorry to bore you but —
DK: No. That’s, that’s great. I’ll stop it there.
JP: Yeah.
DK: That’s been marvellous. Thanks, thanks very much for your time.
Other: When you’ve stopped it —
DK: Still going.
JP: Well, if you want to —
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Jack Pragnell
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
David Kavanagh
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-05-26
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
APragnellJ160526
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Pending revision of OH transcription
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
01:02:19 audio recording
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Training Command
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
Description
An account of the resource
Jack Pragnell and his twin brother Thomas volunteered together for the RAF and trained together. Jack flew operations as a bomb aimer with 51 Squadron. His brother joined a Canadian crew. Jack was plagued with health problems and was suddenly told his operation to have his tonsils removed would be taking place the next day. It was only during his convalescence that he realised just how the stress of operations had already affected him. His brother and his crew were shot down and killed which devastated Jack. After his tour he joined Training Command before joining 298 Squadron towing gliders.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
South Africa
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Dorset
England--Yorkshire
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Munich
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Italy--Milan
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
102 Squadron
298 Squadron
51 Squadron
aircrew
bomb aimer
bombing
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
fear
Halifax
Hamilcar
lack of moral fibre
RAF Pocklington
RAF Snaith
RAF Tarrant Rushton
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1894/34893/MColeFIG1817994-180214-04.1.pdf
8d68ba1d0ba222572ff278105041d538
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cole, Ivor
Frederick Ivor Geoffrey Cole
F I G Cole
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-07-09
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cole, FIG
Description
An account of the resource
42 items.
The collection concerns Sergeant Frederick Ivor Geoffrey "Ivor" Cole (1817994 Royal Air Force) his log book, documents and photographs, and a photograph album of his post war service in Singapore. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 103 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Frederick Cole and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ivor Cole's Wireless Course Notes
Description
An account of the resource
A notebook completed by Ivor during his training. At the end are eight pages of newspaper cuttings of operations that Ivor took part in.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Ivor Cole
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Essen
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Monheim (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Homberg (Kassel)
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Wiesbaden
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Training material
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
A book with 60 handwritten sheets plus eight pages of newspaper cuttings
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription. Allocated
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MColeFIG1817994-180214-04
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
aerial photograph
aircrew
B-17
B-24
bombing
Halifax
Lancaster
Me 262
Mosquito
P-51
Spitfire
target indicator
training
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/753/31389/LCotterJDP168678v1.1.pdf
2e158e31a5b92398f6315ebfee77f5de
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cotter, John David Pennington
J D P Cotter
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns Wing Commander John Cotter DFC (b. 1923, Royal Canadian Air Force) and contains an oral history interview, his log book and a memoir. He flew operations as a pilot with 158 and 640 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by John Cotter and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-08-28
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cotter, JDP
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
J D Cotter’s Royal Canadian Air Force pilots flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Royal Canadian Air Force pilots flying log book for J D Cotter, covering the period from 11 January 1942 to 22 April 1944. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RCAF Caron, RCAF North Battleford, RAF Swanton Morley, RAF South Cerney, RAF Lulsgate Bottom, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Marston Moor, RAF Lissett and RAF Leconfield. Aircraft flown were, Tiger Moth, Oxford, Wellington and Halifax. He flew a total of 34 operations. One operation with 28 operational training unit, one with 1652 conversion unit 19 with 158 Squadron and 13 with 640 squadron. Targets were, Rouen, Cologne, Hamburg, Mannheim, Peenemunde, Leverkusen, Berlin, Modane, Hannover, Bochum, Kassel, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Schweinfurt, Trappes, Le Mans, Nuremberg, Paris and Tergnier. His first or second pilots on operations were Sergeant Mottershead and Pilot Officer Maxwell.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LCotterJDP168678v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Gloucestershire
England--Leicestershire
England--Norfolk
England--Somerset
England--Yorkshire
France--Le Mans
France--Modane
France--Paris
France--Rouen
France--Tergnier (Canton)
France--Yvelines
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
Saskatchewan--North Battleford
Saskatchewan--Regina
Saskatchewan
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1943-05-04
1943-05-05
1943-06-28
1943-06-29
1943-07-24
1943-07-25
1943-07-27
1943-07-28
1943-07-29
1943-07-30
1943-08-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-09
1943-08-10
1943-08-17
1943-08-18
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-24
1943-08-25
1943-09-16
1943-09-17
1943-09-22
1943-09-23
1943-09-24
1943-09-27
1943-09-28
1943-09-29
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-05
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-10-23
1943-10-24
1943-11-03
1943-11-04
1943-11-22
1943-11-23
1943-11-25
1943-11-26
1943-11-27
1943-12-02
1943-12-03
1944-01-30
1944-01-31
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-08
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-09
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-17
1944-04-18
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
158 Squadron
1652 HCU
20 OTU
28 OTU
640 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
bombing of Kassel (22/23 October 1943)
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
Flying Training School
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Leconfield
RAF Lissett
RAF Marston Moor
RAF South Cerney
RAF Swanton Morley
RAF Wymeswold
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/555/32351/LPennyJA1345892v1.1.pdf
e2c7c76df86f1a75c3fa94e8dfa90ce5
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Penny, Jim
James Alfred Penny
J A Penny
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Penny, J
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. Two oral history interviews with Flight Lieutenant Jim Penny (b. 1922, 1345892 Royal Air Force) and his log book.
He joined the RAF in 1940 and flew operations as a pilot with 97 Squadron from RAF Bourn. Targets included Nuremberg, München Gladbach, Berlin, Montlucon Dunlop rubber factory in France, and the Modane Tower Tunnel. His aircraft was shot down over Berlin 24 November 1943 and he became a prisoner of war. He was liberated on 3 May 1945 and retired from the RAF on 19 July 1971.
The collection was catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-08-16
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Jim joined the RAF in July 1940 on his 18th birthday. His ‘Flight’ was sent to the US to train under the ‘Arnold scheme’. He went to a variety of bases to learn to fly (detained in 1st interview), flying the PT17 Stearman biplane, BT-13A, AT-6A Harvard, Vultee-13, and then the Armstrong Siddeley, before returning on the Queen Elizabeth as a newly commissioned pilot with the rank of Sergeant.
On returning to the UK, he was posted to RAF Shawbury (Shropshire) Advance Flying Unit. Jim’s next posting was to RAF Tilstock Heath where he ‘crewed up’. Complete with crew he arrived at RAF Sleap (an auxiliary station for RAF Tilstock Heath). On being asking if they would be willing to join the Pathfinder Force all agreed to accept the offer – PFF was elite after all. After HCU training at RAF Blyton je stated, ‘The Lancaster was the finest plane I’ve ever flown’. On 26th July 1943 Jim was promoted to Flight Sergeant.
He remembered the RAF casualties and how their work affected their mental state, particularly the Squadron Casualties. However, the awareness that they were regularly striking at the heart to Nazi Germany left the with an enduring pride in being a ‘Armada’.
Jim and his crew transferred to RAF Upwood – Pathfinder Navigation Training Unit then to RAF Bourne 97.
Jim flew to bomb Nuremberg, München Gladbach, Berlin itself many times, Montlucon Dunlop rubber factory in France, and the Modane Tower Tunnel in France. He was involved in 2 flights that were ‘Boomerang flights’. One of the October operations was to be part of the decoy flight that was to draw fighters away from Kessel onto themselves, and bomb Frankfurt.
In November 1943 they were judged to be a competent part of the PFF and were tasked to be a back-up marker crew – the ones with the GREEN flares.
They flew to Dusseldorf, Manheim and Berlin. On 24 November 1943 they were hit by flak, managed to survive, became a POW until he was liberated on 3rd May 1945.
On 6th October 1945 he reported to No 34 Maintenance Unit at RAF Montford Bridge. A year later he had refresher course at Moreton-in-the-Marsh, as a Warrant Officer.
In 1948 Jim joined the City of Lincoln, Lincoln Squadron Bomber Command at RAF Waddington. He left Waddington to join the RAF Central Flying School as a flying instructor which he found very rewarding when he sent a pupil solo. Jim tried for a permanent commission while posted to RAF Ternhill but failed because he was tone deaf. Jim was offered a branch commission at the age of 37.
He left RAF as Flight Lieutenant on 19th July 71. He had no regrets about serving in the RAF and was a part of the Shrewsbury RAFA and the Shropshire Aircrew.
Claire CampbellClaire Campbell
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
James A Penny’s pilots flying log book
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Jim Penny
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LPennyJA1345892v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
United States
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Shropshire
France--Modane
France--Montluçon
Georgia--Americus
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Mönchengladbach
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Stuttgart
Italy--Milan
Saskatchewan--North Battleford
France
Georgia
Saskatchewan
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941
1942
1943-08-14
1943-08-15
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-24
1943-08-27
1943-08-28
1943-08-30
1943-08-31
1943-09-01
1943-09-03
1943-09-04
1943-09-15
1943-09-16
1943-09-17
1943-10-02
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-05
1943-10-07
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-10-18
1943-10-19
1943-10-22
1943-10-23
1943-11-03
1943-11-04
1943-11-17
1943-11-18
1943-11-19
1943-11-22
1943-11-23
1943-11-24
Description
An account of the resource
Pilots flying log book for James A Penny, covering the period from 10 November 1941 to 23 November 1943 when he was shot down over Berlin. He was stationed at AAC Souther Field, RCAF North Battleford, RAF Shawbury, RAF Sleap, RAF Blyton, RAF Upwood and RAF Bourn. Aircraft flown in were Lancaster, Oxford, Whitley, Halifax, Harvard, Vultee and Stearman. He flew a total of 20 operations with 97 Squadron. Targets were Milan, Leverkusen, Berlin, Nuremberg, Mönchengladbach, Montlucon, Modane, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hannover, Dusseldorf and Ludwigshafen. His first or second pilots on operations were Pilot Officer Fairlie and Squadron Leader Sauvage.
1662 HCU
81 OTU
97 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
arts and crafts
bale out
bombing
Flying Training School
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 5
Harvard
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Blyton
RAF Bourn
RAF Shawbury
RAF Sleap
RAF Upwood
shot down
Stearman
training
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1765/30842/YLayneAJ[Ser -DoB]v1.pdf
431b8287366017324d483a85e57b41ba
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Layne, Wally
Walter Henry Layne
W H Layne
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-07
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Layne, WH
Description
An account of the resource
100 items. The collection concerns Walter 'Wally' Layne (b. 1916, 963012, 40348 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, prisoner of war diary, personal and official correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 97 Squadron and became a prisoner of war after being shot down.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by D Layne and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 9 TH 1943.
My dear husband – Today I received your postcard stating that you are a prisoner of war. I cant tell you just how I do feel – after the agony of the last forty six days I can really begin to live again. God has answered my prayers and He knows how grateful I am.
The news that you were missing came as a dreadful shock. I got the wire at 1.15p.m. At the shop, Friday September 24th. I had listened to the 1-0 pm. news, heard that our 'planes had raided Mannheim and that thirty two were missing, but not for a second did I think that yours could be one of them. Never for a moment even at my blackest hours did I believe that you were gone from me – there were times when I had to fight hard – but thank God my faith remained unbroken.
You would be surprised at the sympathy I was shown, it helped such a lot. I have kept all the letters
[page break]
for you, they will explain themselves.
On Thursday October 21st, the news came via Frank, through the press, that you had been awarded the D.F.C. I was, and of course am terribly proud. I am wondering if I have to go to receive the 'gong', or if it will be left until you can fetch it yourself.
I shall keep a diary day by day for you darling – there will be so much that I shall be unable to tell you in the letters I can send.
I haven't been to the pictures since August, so tomorrow, by way of celebration for my grand news I am going to see your favourite – Betty Grable in 'Springtime in the Rockies'
I have written fifteen letters today – does my arm ache? I know I shan't sleep tonight, but who cares. I think I must be one of the happiest beings in the world.
Wrote my first P.O.W. Letter.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 10th 1943.
I feel awfully sick today dear, I think its re-action. I haven't done much work – Ive had a series of 'phone calls and visitors all day. I didnt realise we had so very many friends. Its just grand.
No particular war news today.
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 11th 43.
Heard from Lois – wrote her and Chalky White, still feeling hilarious. Had a hair set, and saw Betty Grable in 'Springtime in the Rockies'. Have been stopped countless times by people who have heard the good news. Bought a wizard maternity dress.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12th 1943
Awfully cold today. Heard from numerous folk. Wrote to the McGregors. RAF depository wrote regarding your personal effects. Hope to get them before long.
[page break]
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 13th 43.
Received a letter and cheque to the value of £6-2-6 from the club of the Earl of Derby. Cannot tell you how touched I was by this truly grand gesture. One of my customers brought in a cyclamen plant – feel as if I'm married to public hero No 1. Have been feted and congratulated until I feel in a whirl.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 14th 43.
A really dreadful day with snow, wind and rain. Had a celebration at the report centre in thanksgiving for your safety. Mary took a bottle of port – I took jelly, blancmange and cake. Comforted in a sense by peoples good wishes etc. but, my own boy, my heart is so full when I think of you. I miss you terribly – miss your letters 'phone calls – everything. May God help us both to endure the separation until you return.
Wrote to you.
[page break]
MONDAY NOVEMBER 15th 43.
Heard from Betty Caygill. Stan Packard has been repatriated. I am writing this at Stoneleigh, and know that I shall never be happy here again. I think I should have finished altogether – it was a mistake to come back. Its almost more than I can bear when I think of the joy we have known here together. I must think hard tonight, definitely shant stay.
TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 16th 43.
Received a very much less frightening priority telegram confirming that you are a P.O.W. Horribly cold. Feel a little less miserable than yesterday. Packed up a large amount of glass and linen, and tidied drawers in anticipation of leaving here before long. Americans are at Bottesford, St Vincents, and numerous other camps. See more going around than our own boys. No mail today.
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 17th 43
Heard from Air Ministry Casualty Branch confirming telegram of yesterday, also from Bib Brocklesby and Mrs McKinan she is still without news of her husband and I feel reluctant to tell her of my good news. Very little to tell you dear. Shall be so glad when I hear from you again. I do think of you. Came across Tom Pullen’s home address and wrote telling him of your whereabouts.
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 18th 43.
News came from the squadron that you were commissioned to the rank of Pilot Officer with effect from September 13th 43. Feel terribly proud, you have done so well. Heard from Chalky and Mrs Nelson. Wrote to you, also Air Ministry Accounts regarding pay. Our bombers raided Ludwigshafen – lost one. There have been very few large scale raids of late. Finished reading of all books ‘Night life of the Gods’ don’t know whether I liked it or not.
[page break]
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 19th 43.
Heard from the McGregors and Lois. Our planes bombed Berlin and Ludwigshafen – we lost thirty two. According to radio the biggest force ever sent. I am really awfully glad about you having a commission. Have read the letter over and over again.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 20th 43.
Very busy day in the shop, I get tired easily now. Our bombers raided Leverkusen north of Cologne – lost five. Went to the report centre, slept at Harlaxton Road. Romany died.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21st 43.
Spent the day at Harlaxton Road. Did not turn out, horrible fog and rain. Wrote to you, also Mrs McKinna. Am reading ‘Pilots Wife’s Tale’ by Esther Terry Wright. No particular war news.
[page break]
MONDAY NOVEMBER 22nd 43
Have an awful crop of chilblains. No mail today, in fact an altogether very uneventful day. Nothing happened worth recording. Might mention that Mr Apps called to see me and make the usual remarks about my good news.
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23rd 43.
Berlin received its heaviest raid of the war last night – we lost twenty six air craft. No mail. Wrote to Lois, Bib Brocklesby, Miss Elliott and Cecil Franklin. Stuffed the teddy bear nightdress case you gave me for junior. Reading ‘Late and Soon’ by E.M. Delafield.
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 24th 43.
Berlin raided again – twenty aircraft lost. Dreadful windy day, turned to rain. Mrs Ford gone to London to buy. [sic] Had a letter from Bill Bridgewater. Shall be glad to leave Stoneleigh. Wrote to you.
[page break]
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 25th 43
Received a letter from Mrs McKinna to tell me that she and Mrs Foster have received a wire stating that from information received their husbands are believed to have lost their lives. Feel very very sorry. Wrote her and Chalky. Mosquitoes attacked Berlin – one lost.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 26th
Our bombers attacked Frankfort – thirteen lost. Went to the report centre, slept at Harlaxton Road.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 27th
All Lancaster force bombed Berlin – Halifaxes bombed Stuttgart. Thirty two aircraft lost. Dorothy and I went to see Tyrone Power in ‘The Black Swan’.
[page break]
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 28th
Spent a very lazy day. Great fuss going on owing to the release of Mosley. Wrote to you.
MONDAY NOVEMBER 29th
Felling off colour. Nothing of particular importance to relate. Spent the evening at Thorneydene. Very cold and windy.
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 30th
Heard from RAF at Slough who are releasing a parcel of your clothing. Spent the evening and night with Aileen and George Challard, who have been surprisingly kind to me during the past weeks.
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 1st
Told them at Stoneleigh that I am leaving – they were very kind and quite understood my position. Shirley paid me a visit. Still feeling rotten.
[page break]
THURSDAY DECEMBER 2nd 43.
Simply awful news today. Vic was killed in an aircraft accident, on 1st Dec. Went to see poor little Shirley – she is heart broken. Feel absolutely terrible about it.
FRIDAY DECEMBER 2nd 43.
Vic would have been thirty three today. Went along to Shirley again. I’m afraid she will be many years getting over the shock. Our planes raided Berlin forty one lost – more sorrow for someone.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 4th 43.
Packed up a lot of my things at Stoneleigh. I received a parcel of your clothing from the central depository yesterday. Our bombers raided Leipzig – twenty three lost.
[page break]
SUNDAY YOUR BIRTHDAY 1943
Wore a new dress in your honour. Mother and I went to see Shirley. Started packing up at Stoneleigh.
MONDAY 6-12-43
An uneventful day. Did a great deal of packing. Mick visited us.
TUESDAY 7-12-43
Had my first letter from you – did me a lot of good too. Wrote to you, also Robbie, whose mother sent me a letter. Went along to see Shirley. Your letter dated 25th Oct.
WEDNESDAY 8-12-43.
Sent you 200 cigarettes. Preparing a red cross parcel. Received a P.O.W. magazine. Spent my last night at Stoneleigh. Horrible foggy weather. Vic was buried today.
[page break]
THURSDAY 9-12-43
Moved from Stoneleigh. Feel awfully weary – a very tiring business.
FRIDAY 10-12-43.
Despatched your red cross parcel. Faired very well at the red + centre. Not feeling too good.
SATURDAY 11-12-43.
Have to return my allotment book until you make necessary arrangements regarding my allowance. Horribly cold. Still feeling rotten. Purchased a few Christmas gifts.
SUNDAY 12-12-43.
Stayed in all day – wrote to you, and various RAF departments, also Charlie, the McGregors and Percy.
[page break]
MONDAY 13th DEC 43.
Had a letter and postcard from you, dated 14th October. Awful cold weather. Went to report centre.
TUESDAY 14th DEC 43.
Fog all day. Went to bed at 7-45 pm. No mail. Nothing to report.
WEDNESDAY 15th DEC 43.
No mail. Wrote to numerous people – also yourself.
THURSDAY 16th DEC 43.
Heard from Mrs Pugh – Mrs McGregor and Helen, also Lloyds regarding your RAF pay.
FRIDAY 17th DEC 43.
An uneventful day. Nothing worth recording. Very serious ‘flu epidemic sweeping the country. Our planes raided Berlin. Thirty missing.
[page break]
SATURDAY 18th DEC 43.
A very busy day at the shop. Mr Churchill is in Africa suffering from pneumonia, but is recovering.
SUNDAY 19th DEC 43.
Awfully cold. Wrote to you – also Mrs McGregor – Helen and Lois. Made Derek some dungarees.
MONDAY 20th DEC 43.
This is becoming a boring narrative. ‘Fraid I lead a very uneventful life.
TUESDAY 21st DEC 43.
Our bombers raided Frankfurt and Mannheim we lost forty two. Awful Christmas for some poor things.
WEDNESDAY 22nd DEC 43.
Very busy at the shop. Mrs F. not well. Sent you 200 cigarettes.
[page break]
THURSDAY DEC. 23rd 43.
Had a hair set. Open all day at the shop. Not feeling too good. Raided Berlin Seventeen planes lost.
FRIDAY DEC 24th 43.
Queer day. I can’t work up an interest in Christmas. Mrs Howard left after an argument regarding time off with her husband. Phil & Fred came at night – toasted your health and consequently almost finished myself off. Listened to Scrooge on the wireless. Missing you terribly Dorothy and I attended midnight communion.
SATURDAY CHRISTMAS DAY 1943.
The quietest Christmas day I have ever experienced. Didn’t get dressed at all. Lazed around in my housecoat. Still feeling not so good. Dorothy and I went to bed at 9 -30 p.m. Thought of you all day and wondered what you were doing. Very mild weather.
[page break]
SUNDAY 26th DEC. 43.
Wrote to you – Had a most unexpected visit from Chalky white and his girl friend. Thought it grand of them to come. Had a bit of a party. The folks from Newark came also Mr & Mrs Christopher and Shirley.
MONDAY 27th DEC. 43.
Spent the afternoon and evening at Thorneydene, enjoyed it very much. Mr F. suggests chartering a plane to fetch you home after the war. Is also saving some cigars for you.
TUESDAY 28th DEC. 43.
Had a letter from Mrs Silver. Mooched around during the morning. Dorothy and I had a walk during the afternoon. Went to bed early. Very glad Christmas is over. Must report that the home fleet sank the Scharnhorst on Saturday night, sorry Sunday the 26th. Wrote to you.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY DEC 29th. 43.
Went back to work. Wrote to Mrs Pugh and Bib Brocklesby. Coastal command and naval forces sank three axis destroyers and a blockade runner in the Bay of Biscay. Considerably colder.
THURSDAY DEC 30th 43.
Our bombers raided Berlin, we lost twenty aircraft. The staff were guests of Mr & Mrs Forth at a tea given at the Picture House, and afterwards to the cinema show, which was Leslie Howard in ‘Stand In’ and a supporting film ‘The fugitive lady’ which I liked best. Altogether very enjoyable.
FRIDAY DEC 31st 43.
Very cold. Started stock taking. The last day of a very sad year on the whole. Dorothy’s trouble, Shirley’s loss, and my anxiety. As I write this, I wonder dear one if I shall see you in 1944 – pray God that I do.
[page break]
SATURDAY JANUARY 1st 44
Sent your letters and cards to Frank. A mild uneventful day. Reading ‘Polonaise’ by Doris Leslie. Received ‘Captain Moonlight’ by Ethel Mannin from the book club.
SUNDAY JANUARY 2nd 44
Didn’t turn out all day. Our planes raided Berlin and Hamburg, twenty eight lost. Wrote to you, also Chalky.
MONDAY JANUARY 3rd 44.
Not feeling so good. Our planes raided Berlin again, twenty seven lost. Got your personal belongings back from Air Ministry.
TUESDAY JANUARY 4th 44
Came back from work in the middle of the morning. Have a rotten cold, Dorothy too. Heard from Mrs McGregor yesterday.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY JAN 5th 44.
Still off work. Heard from Tom Pullen – he is now a P/O just about to start a second tour.
THURSDAY JAN 6th 44.
Went to see the doctor for an examination. Still feeling rather seedy but went to the shop. Our bombers raided Stettin – fifteen lost. Mr & Mrs Forth gone to Brigg. Mr Hyslop left money for 200 cigarettes for you. Wrote to you.
FRIDAY JAN 7th 44.
Wrote to Mr Hyslop, Tom Pullen and Betty Caygill. Received my second P. of W. magazine. Sent you 200 cigarettes. Russians fighting ten miles inside Poland. Eva Johnson tells me that young Prouten is missing.
[page break]
SATURDAY JAN 8th 44.
Paid income tax totalling £10-6-0. Heard from Ruth.
SUNDAY JAN 9th 44.
A Horrible wet day. Went to tea at Shirley’s.
MONDAY JAN 10th 44.
Still feeling not so good. Went to bed early. Busy taking stock.
TUESDAY JAN 11th 44.
Germans shot Ciano. Bern Twilley called in the shop to see me. Is now F/O. Wrote to Ruth. Feel rotten. Heard from Mrs Bowley.
WEDNESDAY JAN 12th 44.
A very uneventful day. Feel I shall go mad if I don’t soon have news of you. I am missing you terribly - wrote to you.
[page break]
THURSDAY JAN 13th 44.
Feeling simply awful. Went to bed after dinner. Missing you horribly.
FRIDAY JAN 14th 44.
Feel a bit better. Our bombers went out for the first time for ages. Americans doing a lot of day raiding.
SATURDAY JAN 15th 44.
We raided Brunswick – lost thirty eight Bombers. Heard from Chalky. Bill came to spend leave. Shirley brought two of Vic’s friends down. I went to bed at 7.0 P.M.
SUNDAY JAN 16th 44.
Got up at 9.15 AM. A lovely rest – feel much better. Spent a pleasant day. Took D.J. for a walk in the afternoon. Played cards, read, and wrote to you at night. A lovely frosty sunny day.
[page break]
MONDAY JAN 17th 44.
Feeling much more cheerful – received letters from you dated Nov 7th and 20th. Wrote to Lois. Damp, dirty weather.
TUESDAY JAN 18th 44.
Shirley’s birthday – Mum, Dorothy and Bill went along at night. Feeling not so good again. Wrote to Mrs McGregor.
WEDNESDAY JAN 19th 44.
Had the doctor to see me – advised me to give up my work. Had a letter and a pink matinee coat from Bib Brocklesby. Wrote to you.
THURSDAY JAN 20th 44.
A day in bed – feeling weak, fed up, and missing you terribly.
FRIDAY JAN 21st 44.
Our bombers raided Berlin – thirty five missing. Still taking things quietly. Joan McKelvey had a son.
[page break]
SATURDAY JAN 22/44.
Our bombers raided Magdeburg and Berlin – 55 missing. Had a walk to the shop in the afternoon. Mum and I went to see Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour in ‘They got me covered’. A grand film. 9-0 pm news revealed that 52 planes were lost.
SUNDAY JAN 23/44
Wrote to you dear. Four months ago today you went missing. Shirley came at night.
MONDAY JAN 24/44
Finished altogether at the shop – glad of the rest. Miserable day, rain etc. No particular news.
TUESDAY JAN 25/44
Had a good rest. Took Derek out. Bill went back. Beginning to feel very tired.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY JAN 26/44.
Wrote to you. Heard from Effie. Leading an uneventful life.
THURSDAY JAN 27/44.
Took D.J. out morning and afternoon, tired myself out. A rotten nights rest despite that.
FRIDAY JAN 28/44.
Went to Thorneydene to clear out your chest of drawers. Lancaster force raided Berlin – 34 lost. Phil & Fred came.
SATURDAY JAN 29/44.
Berlin again raided – 47 bombers lost. Strong American daylight force raided Frankfurt. Called at the shop.
SUNDAY JAN 30/44
A glorious day. Took D.J. out in the morning. Rested during the afternoon. Wrote to you.
[page break]
MONDAY JAN31/44.
Received a P.C. from you dated Nov 15th. Betty Scothern had a baby boy. Wrote to Robbie. Called at the report centre at night to collect local gossip. Our planes raided Berlin again – 33 lost.
TUESDAY FEB 1st 44.
Took D.J. out during the morning and afternoon – otherwise a very uneventful day. No mail – no particular war news.
WEDNESDAY FEB 2nd 44
Wrote to you. Took D.J. out.
THURSDAY FEB 3rd 44.
A horrible day – rain and wind. Had a hair set.
FRIDAY FEB 4th 44.
Mrs F. ill. Did some shopping. Very rough weather.
[page break]
SATURDAY FEB 5th 44.
Had a P.C. from Dal dated 7th Nov. Spent a few hours at the shop during the afternoon. Bill arrived unexpectedly – his 21st today.
SUNDAY FEB 6th 44.
Wrote to you, also Dal. Feeling not so good. Had tea at Shirley’s.
MONDAY FEB 7th 44.
Heard from Lois – feeling awful, have a bad chill on the stomach – most painful
TUESDAY FEB 8th 44.
Still feeling awful – Little to relate. Wrote to Frank - made out a list for your second red cross parcel.
WEDNESDAY FEB 9th 44.
Mrs F. went to hospital. The Mitchells, Shirley & Reg came at night. Wrote to you. Saw the doctor for final examination.
[page break]
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 10th 44.
A horrible cold day. Did not go out. Very uneventful day.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 11th 44.
Went to the hospital to see Mrs. F.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 12th 44.
Went out during the afternoon. Heard from Pop she had a baby boy on Feb 6th.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 13th 44.
Wrote to you, also Lois. Didn’t go out all day. No particular news.
MONDAY FEBRUARY 14 h 44.
Alice and I went to see Mrs F. She looks much improved. Sent you 200 cigarettes. Wrote to Frank and Pop. Dick Campling’s [inserted] Pa [/inserted] paid us a short visit.
[page break]
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 15th 44.
Our day darling – my thoughts have been all of you. Mrs Silver sent me a cot cover, toy rabbit and 10/- for cigarettes. Heard from Bib Brocklesby. Took D.J. out. A lovely sunny day with a fullness of treasured memories.
WEDNESDY FEBRUARY 16th 44.
Went to see Mrs. F. again with Alice. Large raid on Berlin- 43 planes lost.
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 17th 44.
A horrible wet day, did not turn out at all. Heard from Chalky.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 18th 44.
Went to see Mrs F. again. Bib sent me a copy of ‘The Briggensian’ Wrote to Chalky.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 19th 44.
No particular news. Went to see the doctor. Horribly cold. Reading ‘Bombers fly East’ by Bruce Sanders.
[page break]
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 20th 44.
Our planes raided Leipzig in great strength. 79 missing. A very cold day did not go out. Wrote to you also Bib.
MONDAY FEBRUARY 21st 44.
Received a letter from you dated 5th December. Mr Campling wrote. Dick went missing on last Berlin raid. Our planes raided Stuttgart, lost 10. Went to see Mrs F. Wrote to you.
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 22nd 44.
Frank sent £2 – towards your next parcel. Hopkins moved your chest of drawers.
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 23rd 44.
Cleaned and rearranged my bedroom. Wrote to you.
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24th 44.
No particular news. Took D.J. out in the morning. Reading ‘Rain on her face’ by John Paddy Carstairs.
[page break]
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 25th 44.
Mum and Dorothy went to Nottingham to see Derrick. Prepared your red cross parcel sending vests, trunks, pullover, gloves, sox, tie shaving tackle etc. Our planes raided Sikeinfurt – 35 lost.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26th 44.
Recorded 29th February. Taken to hospital at 8-0 P.M.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27th 44
A terrible day – full of pain.
MONDAY FEBRUARY 28th 44.
Simply awful until baby was born at approx. 5-45 P.M.
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 29th 44
Haven’t been allowed to see our baby yet. Dorothy brought a card from you dated 26th October. Auntie Josie sent David Ian £4.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY MARCH 1st 44
Saw David Ian for the first time at 6-15 P.M. In a sense it was a bitter sweet meeting – he is so ridiculously like you darling. I am missing you more than I dare admit.
THURSDAY MARCH 2nd 44
Saw our son five times today - am trying to feed him. He is cute, looks just like Grand Pa Layne. Miss Johnson gave him a token for 15/- Mum, Alice and Shirley came to see me. Wrote to you.
FRIDAY MARCH 3rd 44
Return of kidney disorder. They are giving me M&B 693 and some medicine.
SATURDAY MARCH 4th 44
Not feeling very good. Mrs F. came in to see me.
[page break]
SUNDAY MARCH 5th 44
Mum and Dorothy came.
MONDAY MARCH 6th 44
Another not so good day.
TUESDAY MARCH 7th 44
Not much change.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 8th
Feeling a little better.
THURSDAY MARCH 9th 44
Heard from Caterpillar Club you are awarded certificate and badge. Red Cross are sending a cable advising you of David Ian’s birth.
FRIDAY MARCH 10th 44
Uneventful day. Feeling rather better. Missing you terribly. David Ian doing well, and getting very pretty.
[page break]
SATURDAY MARCH 11th 44
Usual routine. My leg giving me trouble – very maddening.
SUNDAY MARCH 12th 44
Allowed out of bed. Enjoyed a good hot bath. Mother and Dorothy came to see me. Wrote to you.
MONDAY MARCH 13th 44
Another ‘off’ day, and a dreadful longing for you.
TUESDAY MARCH 14th 44
Feeling much better.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 15th 44
Left hospital at 3.30 P.M. Feel decidedly weak, and wished so much that I was going home to you. Mrs F. left too.
THURSDAY MARCH 16th 44
Not very good. David Ian not feeding very well. Our planes raided Stuttgart – 40 lost.
[page break]
FRIDAY MARCH 17th 44
Things better today. Dr Gray came to see me had a good talk with her and feel less worried.
SATURDAY MARCH 18th 44
Went to St Johns for churching. Sent red cross parcel.
SUNDAY MARCH 19th 44
Took David out. Went as far as Mrs Christopher’s. Felt awfully tired. Bill turned up. Planes raided Frankfurt – 22 lost. The sirens went, but nothing doing.
MONDAY MARCH 20th 44
Feel horribly miserable – missing you terribly. Wrote to you.
TUESDAY MARCH 21st 44
Another not so good day. So wish I could hear from you. Registered David Ian’s birth.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY MARCH 22nd 44
Got a taxi and took David to Thorneydene, spent a most enjoyable afternoon and evening.
THURSDAY MARCH 23rd 44
Our planes raided Frankfurt. 33 lost. Took David to the welfare centre, he weighs 7 lbs – 12 ozs. Wrote to you. Heard from Mrs M Kinna.
FRIDAY MARCH 24th 44
Just six months since you were reported missing my darling. Took our son out in the afternoon Feeling much better.
SATURDAY MARCH 25th 44
Berlin – 73 planes lost. Tony and Paul came for the day. Bill and Jack also here. Went with Shirley to see ‘Dubarry was a lady.’ A shall be so glad when I hear from you. Sent red cross 5/- and have received acknowledgement.
[page break]
SUNDAY MARCH 26th 44
Margaret turned up unexpectedly. Went to Thorneydene. Glorious weather.
MONDAY MARCH 27th 44
Disappointed no letter from you. Took David out in the afternoon. Wrote to you. Essen raided – 9 lost.
TUESDAY MARCH 28th 44
Still no letter. Went to Mrs Christopher’s and stayed tea. Glorious weather.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 29th 44
Much cooler. Stayed in all day.
THURSDAY MARCH 30th 44
David weighs 8 lbs – 7 ozs. Took him for a short walk. Awfully cold.
FRIDAY MARCH 31st 44
Nuremberg – 96 lost. Do wish I could hear from you. Went to the doctor – disappointed at her verdict. Went to see ‘Watch on the Rhine’ with Mum.
[page break]
SATURDAY APRIL 1st 44
Went out with Joan Greetham. Still no word from you darling. Went to bed early. Yesterdays losses corrected on radio to 94.
SUNDAY APRIL 2nd 44
Our baby is adorable. Mum stayed in bed until 6 – 0 P.M. Rained all day. Dorothy and I busy. Wrote to you.
MONDAY APRIL 3rd 44
The Warings came. Went out in the morning and afternoon.
TUESDAY APRIL 4th 44
At last, had a P.C. from you dated January 16th. Heard also from RAF accounts who are making over part of your money to me. Miserable showery day. David just wonderful. Received P.O.W. magazine. Bought from Boots for 3/- each ‘Mad dogs and Englishmen’ by Erick Berry. ‘Escape to fight again’ A.P. Luscombe Whyte.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY APRIL 5th 44
Heard from Betty Caygill. Showery day. Went for a short walk in the afternoon
THURSDAY APRIL 6th 44
Another P.C. dated January 11th. Roger came over. Took David to the Welfare Centre now weights 8 lb
14 ozs. Wrote to you.
FRIDAY APRIL 7th 44
Worked hard all day, didn’t go out.
SATURDAY APRIL 8th 44
A lovely day. Took David out in the afternoon.
EASTER SUNDAY APRIL 9th 44
Chalky White and Margaret visited us, and stayed overnight. Enjoyable days. Had a drink at Macs.
[page break]
MONDAY APRIL 10th 44
Went out in the morning with Chalky, Margaret and David. They went back at 12 – 39 P.M. Dorothy and I went out during the afternoon. Took David to see his Auntie at Miss Ellis’s.
TUESDAY APRIL 11th 44
Paid my hospital bill £7-1-0. Shirley came at night. French rail road targets attacked by strong force. 22 missing.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 12th 44
11 planes missing from attack on targets in France. Dorothy and I had a lovely walk during the afternoon. Wrote to you.
THURSDAY APRIL 13th 44
Heard from Frank – he has made you a member of the old boy’s association. Took David to the welfare centre – he now weighs 9 lbs. 7 ozs.
[page break]
FRIDAY APRIL 14th 44
Heard from Air Ministry they are paying me £3-18-0 a week with effect from March 1st. Took David out. Wrote to Frank.
SATURDAY APRIL 15th 44
A really glorious day. Took David out, accompanied by Joan Greetham.
SUNDAY APRIL 16th 44
Had tea with Aileen and George Challand. Wrote to you.
MONDAY APRIL 17th 44
Much cooler. Mum and I went to see Betty Grable in ‘Coney Island’ it was wizard. Called down the report centre at night.
TUESDAY APRIL 18th 44
Went for a walk with Betty Sprawson. A lovely day again.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY APRIL 19th 44
Received cheque for £10.17.0 from A.M. Awfully rough wind. 13 aircraft lost from raid on rail targets in France.
THURSDAY APRIL 20th 44
Received cheque for £6.8.5 from C. & K’s. Had tea with Mrs Christopher. David weighs 9 lbs 11 ozs. Mrs MKinna sent him two bibs.
FRIDAY APRIL 21st 44
Wrote to Mrs Mkinna and Lois. Took David to the doctor, he has heat rash for which I am giving him medicine and ointment. Miserable weather.
SATURDAY APRIL 22nd 44
Went to Hougham to look at a sewing machine – turned it down. Lovely day. Joan Greetham stayed at night until 10-0 P.m.
[page break]
SUNDAY APRIL 23rd 44
Took David up to Thorneydene – called to see the Lee’s and Mrs Kenny. Very enjoyable. 42 aircraft lost after raid on Dusseldorf. Wrote to you.
MONDAY APRIL 24th 44
Received a P.C. from you dated January 22. Bought a blouse.
TUESDAY APRIL 25th 44
29 aircraft lost after raid on Munich and Karlsruhe. Went out during the afternoon with Betty Sprawson. Wrote to Frank.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 26th 44
Essen 29 aircraft lost.
THURSDAY APRIL 27th 44
Received two postcards from you dated Dec 11th & 31st. Windy today. David weighs 10 lbs 6 ozs.
[page break]
FRIDAY APRIL 28th 44
Friedrichshafen – 36 planes lost.
A letter I wrote you returned from censor.
SATURDAY APRIL 29th 44
Went for a walk in the afternoon with Joan Greetham. Received parcel from America.
SUNDAY APRIL 30th 44
Took David out in the evening. No particular news. 10 planes lost from raid on French rail targets.
MONDAY MAY 1st 44
Had David photographed. Saw Mr Hyslop.
TUESDAY MAY 2nd 44
Went for a walk with Betty Sprawson. Another letter returned from censor.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY MAY 3rd 44
Received cheque for £10.10.0. Had tea with Mrs Christopher.
THURSDAY MAY 4th 44
Military target at Mailly attacked 49 aircraft lost. Received cheque for £8.15.7. David weighs 10 lbs 14 ozs.
FRIDAY MAY 5th 44
Went to a Red Cross next of kin meeting. Purchased some things for your next parcel. Braces, pipe, hair brush, tooth brush, comb, 2 pairs sox, hussif shaving brush.
SATURDAY MAY 6th 44
Start of ‘Salute the Soldier’ week. Bought David a 30/- certificate. Went out with Joan Greetham. Wrote to you.
[page break]
SUNDAY MAY 7th 44
Shirley, Dorothy and I took the children down the park. French rail targets attacked, five planes lost.
MONDAY MAY 8th 44
Saw Joan Johnson, she tells me young Prouten is believed killed. Was going to Thorneydene but found Mrs F. at the shop. French rail targets attacked – nine lost.
TUESDAY MAY 9th 44
Went to Thorneydene – a very enjoyable day.
WEDNESDAY MAY 10th 44
Saw a RAF exhibition particularly interested in parachute packing and releasing.
[page break]
THURSDAY MAY 11th 44
David weighs 11 lbs 7 ozs. Mum and Dorothy went to Belvoir. Wrote to Chalky. Lovely weather. French rail targets attacked.
FRIDAY MAY 12th 44
French rail targets attacked – 15 lost. David and I photographed at Walter Lee’s. Mum and I went to see ‘King’s Row’ a very good film.
SATURDAY MAY 13th 44
14 planes missing from attacks on French rail targets. Received a letter from you dated 15th February. Am glad to know mail is reaching you okay. Wrote to you.
SUNDAY MAY 14th 44
Took David out during the afternoon. Wrote to Mrs McGregor and Lois.
[page break]
MONDAY MAY 15th 44
Had a very nice letter from Mrs Kempshall. Awfully dull weather.
TUESDAY MAY 16th 44
Heard from Lois. Another dull day. Feeling rather fed up with myself.
WEDNESDAY MAY 17th 44
Very dull and wet. Did not get out at all.
THURSDAY MAY 18th 44
David weighs 11 lbs 12 ozs.
FRIDAY MAY 19th 44
Went to Carlton Scroop to stay with Joan Franklin.
SATURDAY MAY 20th 44
Very enjoyable day. Went out in the village. A pleasant change.
SUNDAY MAY 21st 44
Rather cold. Spent another pleasant day. Reports that 47 RAF officers were shot during March at Luft 3 announced.
[page break]
MONDAY MAY 22nd 44
Returned home to find 2 letters from you dated February 22nd March 9th and a P.C. dated Feb 1st. Very thrilled. Heard also from Bib Brocklesby and Margaret King. Wrote to you and sent a photograph of David. Dick’s father called still no news, Dick awarded D.S.O. Raid on Duisburg – 30 planes lost.
TUESDAY MAY 23rd 44
Raid on Dortmund – 35 planes lost. Wrote several letters.
WEDNESDAY MAY 24th 44
Lovely weather. Took David out during the afternoon. Called in at the report centre at night. Heard from Mrs McGregor.
THURSDAY MAY 25th 44
Received a P.C. from you dated 10th Feb. 25 planes missing from raid on Aachen. Wrote to you and sent photographs of David and myself. He weighs 12 lbs 3 ozs.
[page break]
FRIDAY MAY 26th 44
Went to Babette Land’s home to fetch David’s smock which is exquisite. Phil & Fred came.
SATURDAY MAY 27th 44
a lovely day. Took David out in the afternoon. Knitting him vests.
SUNDAY MAY 28th 44
Antwerp & French rail targets. 27 planes missing from 1,000 force. Had an enjoyable afternoon & evening at Thorneydene. David is wizard & getting very tanned.
MONDY MAY 29th 44
Very hot. A fair in Wyndham fields. Went out in the morning and evening.
TUESDAY MAY 30th 44
Another hot day. David beautifully tanned. Wrote to you.
WEDNESDAY MAY 31st 44
Much cooler. Strong force raided rail targets in France. 8 lost.
[page break]
THURSDAY JUNE 1st 44
David weighs 12 lbs 10 ozs. Auntie Emmie & Roger came. Had my fortune told.
FRIDAY JUNE 2nd 44
Received cheques for £10.17.0 and £8.0.11 from A.M. Discover you are a F/O.
SATURDAY JUNE 3rd 44
Heard from Lois & Red Cross. Have to send your football things in a next of kin parcel. Went out in the afternoon with Joan G.
SUNDAY JUNE 4th 44
Miserable weather – did not turn out. Wrote to you. Raid on Leverkusen. 17 planes lost. Sent you enlargement of David.
MONDAY JUNE 5th 44
The allies entered Rome. Osnabruck raided without loss. Wrote and sent photographs to your Pa. Frank, Aunt Ida and Mrs McGregor.
[page break]
TUESDAY JUNE 6th 44
[underlined] We invaded Northern France. [/underlined]. News bulletins all day, and everyone on edge. Thinking of you so much. Mum and I went to see ‘The man in Grey’ a very excellent film.
Wednesday June 7th 44
Progressing satisfactorily in France. Preparing your Red Cross parcel.
THURSDAY JUNE 8th 44
Had 3 postcards dated March 17th, 23rd, 30th and a letter April 7th. David weighs 13 lbs. Had tea with Pop Close.
FRIDAY JUNE 9th 44
Had my hair permed. Wrote to you. Miserable weather.
SATURDAY JUNE 10th 44
Doing okay in Normandy. 289 planes lost in air battles and numerous sorties. Had my photograph taken.
[page break]
SUNDAY JUNE 11th 44
20 bombers lost over French rail targets. Called down the report centre at night.
MONDAY JUNE 12th 44
Uneventful day. Took David out.
TUESDAY JUNE 13th 44
Miserable weather, did not go out. Lancasters very busy attacking targets in France.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 14th 44
Weather still very cool. No particular news. Aunt Ida sent David 10/-. Wrote you.
THURSDAY JUNE 15th 44
Your father came. Went to Thorneydene and had a very enjoyable time.
FRIDAY JUNE 16th 44
Took David to the car park to see your father off. Cold wet weather.
[page break]
SATURDAY JUNE 17th 44
Went out in the afternoon with Joan Greetham. Wrote to you.
SUNDAY JUNE 18th 44
Reading a wonderful book by Axel Munthe called ‘The story of San Michele’. Went out in the afternoon.
MONDAY JUNE 19th 44
The papers full of accounts of pilot less planes used on the south coast and London area.
TUESDAY JUNE 20th 44
Went out with Betty Scothern.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 21st 44
Wrote to you and sent a photograph of myself.
THURSDAY JUNE 22nd 44
Went out with Pop Close.
[page break]
FRIDAY JUNE 23rd 44
Phil & Fred came in the evening. Thinking so much of you. 9 months since you went.
SATURDAY JUNE 24th 44
Went to Thorneydene and had a pleasant time. A lovely day. Eva & Joan Johnson, two Americans & Phil & Fred came at night.
SUNDAY JUNE 25th 44
Dull and chilly. Did not go out. Wrote to you.
MONDAY JUNE 26th 44
Went to see Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour in ‘Dixie’. Your father sent David a cheque for £10.
TUESDAY JUNE 27th 44
Received postcards dated April 14th, 29th and am glad to know you know of David’s arrival.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY JUNE 28th 44
Wrote to you – also to Bib, Lois, and your father.
THURSDAY JUNE 29th 44
Had tea with Mrs Christopher. David weighs 14 lbs 2 ozs.
FRIDAY JUN 30th 44
Spent the afternoon and evening at Thorneydene. Phil & Fred came at night.
SATURDAY July 1st 44
A dull day. Wrote to you at night.
SUNDAY JULY 2nd 44
Went to see Aileen Cornish whose brother was posted missing June 23. Poured with rain at night. Went to bed early. Dorothy has taken up voluntary help at the American Red Cross.
MONDY JULY 3rd 44
Rained without ceasing. Went to the pictures to see ‘Candle light in Algeria’. Very enjoyable.
[page break]
TUESDAY JULY 4th 44
Heard from Bib and Ruth. Received word from Lloyds Bank stating that £17.3.7 had been paid to your account. Have written A.M. as there does not appear to be any payment of family allowance. Have been issued with cheque book from Lloyds. Saw Betty Sprawson in the afternoon. Your pay is 18/2 per day, from which P.O.W. deductions income tax etc. is taken. Cashed cheque for £3 paid Mum £5.
WEDNESDAY JULY 5th 44
Nothing unusual to relate. Am watching the Russian news – they are 100 miles from East Prussia.
THRSDAY JULY 6th 44
Went to tea at Stoneleigh and thoroughly enjoyed it. Called at Thorneydene.
FRIDAY JULY 7th 44
Miserable weather. Phil & Fred came.
[page break]
SATURDAY JULY 8th 1944
Miserable weather again. Wrote to you.
SUNDAY JULY 9th 44
Derrick visited us – did not go out. Wet weather.
MONDAY JULY 10th 44
I am getting very interested in the Russian news they are only 60 miles from East Prussia. Did some shopping during the afternoon.
TUESDAY JULY 11th 44
An uneventful day. Knitted at night. Horrible cold showery weather.
WEDNESDAY JULY 12th 44
Bought a set of book shelves for 35/- from Everitt and Barrell’s sale. Took David and Derek out.
THURSDAY JULY 13th 44
David weighs 14 lbs 5 ozs. Horrible weather. Claud Hart missing from raid over France 12 planes lost.
[page break]
FRIDAY JULY 14th 44
Took David out in the Afternoon. Air mail service to P.O.W. resumed. Called to see Mr & Mrs Hart, they are taking it badly.
SATURDAY JULY 15th 44
Hear that P.O.W. in East Prussia have been moved. Went to see Carmen Miranda and Alice Faye in ‘The girls he left behind’. Wrote to you. Weaning David.
SUNDAY JULY 16th 44
A really lovely day. Joan Greetham and I took the boys out.
MONDAY JULY 17th 44
Received two letters dated May and a P.C. dated May. Very happy.
TUESDAY JULY 18th 44
Went to see Noel Coward’s ‘This Happy Breed’ an excellent film. Fully weaning David.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY JULY 19th 44
Nothing outstanding to report. War news very good from all fronts. Wrote to you.
THURSDAY JULY 20th 44
Hear that Frank Catlin has died in Normandy. Feeling rotten did not go out.
FRIDAY JULY 21st 44
Took David out in the afternoon. Phil & Fred came at night. News of revolt in Germany and an attempt on Hitler’s life reported. So long to see you darling.
SATURDAY JULY 22nd 44
Shopped in the morning. stayed home the rest of the day. Played our records and made myself thoroughly miserable. Wrote to you.
SUNDAY JULY 23rd 44
Ten months darling. Went for a walk with Shirley.
[page break]
MONDAY JULY 24th 44
Dorothy friendly with Michael Burn have chummed up with W.O. Workman and his wife Marie. went to Thorneydene. Practically an impossibility to give you reports of air activities as bomber command carries out both day and night offensives. Chief targets at present are the flying bomb sites.
TUESDAY JULY 25th 44
Went for a walk with Betty Scothen and to the pictures at night to see Cary Grant Irenne Dunne in ‘My favourite wife’ with Marie. A rotten film. Heard from Bib.
WEDNESDAY JULY 26th 44
Went to RAF Regiment sports at Belton Park. Heard from Mrs Kemshall. Am hoping to visit her next week.
THURSDAY JULY 27th 44
Did not go out. Wrote to you. Read that East Prussian P.O.W. camps have been moved.
[page break]
FRIDAY JULY 28th 44
Called to see Pop. Paddy, Marie, Larry & Mac came at night. Larry a wonderful pianist. Phil & Fred came.
SATURDAY JULY 29th 44
Went out with Joan Greetham.
SUNDAY JULY 30th 44
Wrote to you. Took David and Derek out. Went to see ‘Bombs over Burma’ and ‘Uncensored’ with Marie & Paddy.
MONDAY JULY 31st 44
Had tea with Mrs Kenny and visited Thorneydene. Had a most interesting letter from Ken Twilley.
TUESDAY AUG 1st 44
David weighs 15 lbs 3 ozs.
WEDNESDAY AUG 2 44
Spent a very enjoyable day at Lincoln with the Kemshalls. Saw the Caygills too.
[page break]
THURSDAY AUG 3rd 44
Went out in the morning also afternoon. Little of interest to tell you.
FRIDAY AUG 4th 44
Nothing worth recording except David vaccinated. Very Hot.
SATURDAY AUG 5th 44
Went out in the afternoon. Lovely weather.
SUNDAY AUG 6th 44
Went for a walk with Shirley in the afternoon. Marie, Paddy, Laurie & Mac came for tea.
MONDAY AUG 7th 44
Received a letter from you dated April 21st. Had tea at Joan Greethams. A glorious day – altogether very pleasant. Wrote to you
[page break]
TUESDAY AUG 8th 44
Nothing of interest to report.
WEDNESDAY AUG 9th 44
Went to see ‘Chinese Bungalow’. Marie went back.
THURSDAY AUG 10th 44
David not well due to vaccination, weighs 15 lbs 6 ozs.
FRIDAY AUG 11th 44
Nothing to say.
SATURDAY AUG 12th 44
Really miserable day. David quite sick.
SUNDAY AUG 13th 44
David’s arm terribly swollen. Took him out in the evening and had a better night. Mum spent the weekend at Newark.
MONDAY AUG 14th 44
David much better. Went to see ‘Now Voyager’ a wizard film, Bette Davis
[page break]
Paul Herreid. Very Hot. (weather)
TUESDAY AUG 15th 44
Wrote to you. Went for a walk in the afternoon. Allied landing at south of France between Nice and Marseille.
WEDNESDAY AUG 16th 44
Air sorties are so numerous I cannot possibly keep an account of losses etc. Lancasters bombing day and night. Pat (Laurie’s wife) came to get a rest from flying bombs.
THURSDAY AUG 17th 44
Shopped in the morning with Pat washed in the afternoon. Wrote to Molly and Frank. Heard from Molly this morning and am going there to stay on Tuesday next. Received a P.C. from you dated June 11th 44.
[page break]
FRIDAY AUG 18th
Went to Thorneydene.
SATURDAY AUG 19/44
Rained all day. Went shopping in the afternoon. Margaret came.
SUNDAY AUG 20/44
More rain. Didn’t go out all day. Wrote to you.
MONDAY AUG 21st 44
Heard from Mr Campling. Dick is buried at Hoppenrad Cemetery 27 miles N.W. of Berlin. Busy Packing.
TUESDAY AUG 22/44
Took the 8.0 am train to St Neots arrived 9.33. Received a terrific welcome.
WEDNESDAY AUG 23/44
A thoroughly enjoyable day. Paris liberated. Wrote to you. Thinking of you darling.
[page break]
THURSDAY AUG 24/44
Went to Sandon with Molly and Helen. Rained - but very enjoyable day.
FRIDAY AUG 25/44
Lazed around. Went to St Neots to send off your gun, and collect box. Bus didn’t pick us up so hitch hiked back
SATURDAY AUG 26/44
Another enjoyable day. Help collect eggs and pick tomatoes. 27 planes missing from 1400 engaged on various sorties.
SUNDAY AUG 27/44
Konigsberg raided. 29 missing. Mrs Bowman and her daughter came. Wrote to you.
MONDAY AUG 28/44
Received a letter from you dated 21st July giving new camp address. Collected box from St Neots.
[page break]
TUESDAY AUG 29th
Went to Cambridge for a few hours. Made myself known to Mrs Pugh – she was awfully pleased to see me. Dorothy wired, Claud Hart alive and well. Mrs Human died about January time.
WEDNESDAY AUG 30/44
41 planes missing from raids on Stettin and Konigsberg. Thorough enjoying my stay here.
THURSDAY AUG 31/44
A year since I lost my watch and it hurts like anything to think of it.
FRIDAY SEP 1st
Went into Cambridge to see the Pughs. Met various customers who made a terrific fuss of David.
SATURDAY SEP 2nd 44
Five years ago I came to Cambridge. Mrs Pugh sold me [indecipherable words] for £1 yesterday. Allies doing very well in France. Rained all day did not go out.
[page break]
SUNDAY SEP 3/44
Allies in Belgium. Awful weather did not turn out all day. Mrs Bowman and Joan came over. Wrote to you.
MONDAY SEP/4/44
Brussels liberated. Received letters from Mr F (Gun arrived safely) and Shirley. Dull weather. Helen and I had a walk after tea.
TUESDY SEP 5th 44
Antwerp reached. Sirens went during the night. Heard a ‘doodle bug’ explode. Still very dull. Didn’t move far.
WEDNESDAY SEP 6th
Helen and I cleaned in the afternoon. Collected eggs and tomatoes at night. Wrote to you.
THURSDAY SEP 7th 44
Rained practically all day. Went for a short walk at night with Helen Read true accounts of murders. Black out to be relaxed.
[page break]
FRIDAY SEP 8/44
Another dull day. Picked pears. Heard from Dorothy. A.B. in trouble.
SATURDAY SEP 9/44
Went into Cambridge in the morning with Helen. A lovely day. Heard from Shirley.
SUNDAY SEP 9/44
Mrs and Miss Bowman came. Glorious weather. Wrote to you.
MONDAY SEP 11/44
Cleaned in the afternoon. Matron came and has invited me to tea tomorrow.
TUESDAY SEP 12/44
A year today you came on what was to be your last leave for a while. Had tea at Girton College with the matron. Thoroughly enjoyed the visit.
WEDNESDAY SEP 13/44
Went for a walk in the afternoon. Wrote to you.
[page break]
THURSDAY SEP 14/44
Went to Sandon. Lovely weather.
FRIDAY SEP 15/44
Did some shopping in Cambridge with Molly and Helen. Allies Nearing Aachen.
SATURDAY SEP 16/44
Spent most of the day out of doors.
SUNDAY SEP 17/44
Mrs Bowman and her daughter came. Packing to leave and feeling very depressed about it. Holland invaded by the allies.
MONDAY SEP 18/44
Left at 5-49 P.M. after a grand holiday.
TUESDAY SEP 19/44
Thoroughly miserable. Missing you badly. Rang Thorneydene.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY SEP 20/44
A year today since you went back from leave. Went to the pictures to see Rita Hayworth in ‘Cover Girl’.
THURSDAY SEP 21/44
David weighs 17 lbs 14 ozs. Shopped in the morning.
FRIDAY SEP 22/44
Spent an enjoyable afternoon at Thorneydene.
SATURDAY SEP 23/44
Shirley took photographs of David and I in the park. A year darling. Shirley had P.C. from Robbie.
SUNDAY SEP 24/44
Thinking of you so much. Tony cycled over. Did not go out. David has a bad cold.
MONDAY SEP 25/44
David quite sick. Feel miserable and unsettled.
[page break]
TUESDAY SEP 26/44
David a little better. Received a letter from you dated 4th June. Feel in the way here – do wish I could get a house. Peter K. came over. Did not go out.
WEDNESDAY SEP 27/44
Went out in the afternoon. Heard from W/O E.L. Morris who was with you at Luft 6.
THURSDAY SEP 28/44
David weighs 18 lb 3 ozs.
FRIDAY SEP 29/44
Took David out.
SATURDAY SEP 30/44
Derek two. Went out with Shirley. Helen came, returning tomorrow.
SUNDAY OCT 1/44
Shirley came for tea. She Helen and I went for a walk. Wrote to you.
[page break]
MONDAY 2nd OCT 44
Stayed in miserable weather.
TUESDAY 3rd OCT 44
Had a tooth out
WEDNESDAY 4th OCT 44
Wrote to you. Had my hair set.
THURSDAY 5 OCT
Went to see Jennifer Jones in ‘Song of Bernadette’ a beautiful film.
FRIDAY 6 OCT 44
Poured my troubles out at Thorneydene.
SATURDAY 7 OCT 44
Miserable weather. Heard from Chalky.
SUNDAY 8 OCT 44
Dull weather did not go out. Reading Angela Thirkells ‘Growing Up’ have now had of hers ‘Northbridge Rectory’ ‘Cheerfulness breaks in’ ‘Marling Hall’
[page break]
MONDAY 9 OCT 44
Went to see ‘For whom the bell tolls’ thought it disappointing. Rotten weather. Wrote Molly re. cottage.
TUESDAY 10 OCT 44
Went out in the afternoon.
WEDNESDAY 11 OCT 44
Wrote to you
THURSDAY 12 OCT 44
Horrible weather David weighs 18 lbs 10 ozs.
FRIDAY 13 OCT 44
Went to the shop and had a talk with Mrs F. Flying bomb at North Witham.
SATURDAY 14 OCT 44
Went out with Joan G.
SUNDAY 15 OCT 44
Had tea with Shirley. Phil & Fred came at night. Wrote to you.
[page break]
MONDAY OCT 16/44
Went for a walk with Betty Sprawson.
TUESDAY OCT 17/44
Went to see ‘The Lodger’ Knitting David a beret. ‘Cop’s’ boyfriend missing.
WEDNESDAY OCT 18/44
Received an invitation to Betty Broughton’s wedding. Shopped in the morning. Rainy day. Wrote to Pop. W/O Morris & Chalky.
THURSDAY OCT 19/44
David weighs 19 lbs. Wrote to you.
FRIDAY OCT 20/44
Wet, horrible day.
SATURDAY OCT 21/44
Betty Broughton married Jack Phillips – USAAF. A pretty wedding. I enjoyed it.
[page break]
SUNDAY OCT 22nd 44
Took David out in the afternoon
MONDAY OCT 23rd
Wrote to you. Am miserable waiting for letter from you. Heard from Ken Twilley.
TUESDAY OCT 24/44
Heard from Molly. Went to Belton with Betty S. to get chestnuts.
WEDNESDAY OCT 25/44
Bought David a new blue cloth coat. Met Percy Kemshall unexpectedly in High Street. Still no news from you.
THURSDAY OCT 26/44
Bill came. Went out in the afternoon with Madge Hales and her baby daughter.
FRIDAY OCT 27/44
David had his first haircut.
[page break]
SATURDAY OCT 28/44
Went to see ‘Four Jills in a Jeep’ with Shirley. Mrs Pacey told me her P.O.W. son has passed his final auctioneer’s exam with honours. Still no news.
SUNDAY OCT 29/44
Stayed in all day. Wrote to you.
MONDAY OCT 30/44
David cut a tooth. Went out with Betty S.
TUESDAY OCT 31/44
Heard from Mrs McKinna. Took David out in the afternoon.
WEDNESDAY NOV 1st 44
Had David photographed at Boaz.
THURSDAY NOV 2nd 44
Had tea with Miss Kitchen and enjoyed myself. Bell went back.
[page break]
FRIDAY NOV 3rd 44
Took David out. Went to B.M.A.R Co. fun fair at night with Dorothy.
SATURDAY NOV 4th 44
Went shopping in the afternoon.
SUNDAY NOV 5th 44
Stayed in all day Wrote to you.
MONDAY NOV 6th 44
Took David out in the afternoon.
TUESDAY NOV 7th 44
Margaret and Derrick came. Stayed up gossiping until the small hours.
WEDNESDAY NOW 8th 44
Dorothy heard from A.M. Andy commissioned.
THURSDAY NOV 9th 44
A year since I received your first P.O.W. card. Wish I could hear again. M. & D. went back. Dorothy went to Whickford.
[page break]
FRIDAY NOV 10th 44
Spent an enjoyable afternoon at Thorneydene.
SATURDAY NOV 11th 44
Went to see ‘Fanny by Gaslight’ and enjoyed it thoroughly. Shirley took David out.
SUNDAY NOW 12th 44
Dorothy and I took the ‘boys’ out in the morning. Wrote to you also Mrs Kemshall and your Pa. Ben Twilley called – has done 11 trips.
MONDAY NOV 13th 44
Still no news of you. Went for a walk with Betty Sprawson.
TUESDAY NOV 14th 44
Took David out. He is teething and consequently rather fretful.
WEDNESDAY NOV 15th 44
Feel I shall go mad if I don’t soon hear from you. Missing you terribly.
[page break]
Bought David a high chair. Heard from Mrs Layne and Molly.
THURSDAY NOV 16th 44
At last, a letter dated August 6th. Wrote to you.
FRIDAY NOV 17th 44
Horrible weather. Did some shopping. Marie came for tea.
SATURDAY NOV 18th 44
Very dull – went out in the afternoon
SUNDAY NOV 19th 44
Finished a suit for David. Wrote to you. Marie came for tea.
MONDAY NOV 20th 44
Horrible wet day – did not go out. David said ‘Teddy’
TUESDAY 21st 44
Received a P.C. in your writing signed R. Colbeck dated September 26th.
[page break]
Took David out. Started second suit.
WEDNESDAY NOV 22nd 44
Wrote to you.
THURSDAY NOV 23rd 44
Received a letter dated 28th July
FRIDAY NOV 24th 44
Went to Thorneydene
SATURDAY NOV 25th 44
Saw Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman in ‘Murder in Thornton Square’
SUNDAY NOV 27th 44
Did not turn out. Miserable day – wrote to you.
MONDAY NOV 27th 44
Did some Christmas shopping with Dorothy.
TUESDAY NOV 29/44
More Christmas shopping.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY NOV 29/44
Busy all day didn’t get out. Wrote to you.
THURSDAY NOV 30/44
Received a letter dated August 20/44. David weighs 20 lbs 9 ozs.
FRIDAY DEC 1/44
Did some shopping. Terribly cold.
SATURDAY DEC 2/44
Went out in the afternoon.
SUNDAY DEC 3/44
Didn’t get out. Miserable day. Fed up. Wrote to you.
MONDAY DEC 4/44
A letter dated August 30th. Feel very miserable and fed up. Do wish I could get a house.
TUESDAY DEC 5/44
Thinking of you. Had my hair permed.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY DEC 6th 44
Received a letter dated 21st September. Visited the Kemshalls at Lincoln and enjoyable day.
THURSDAY DEC 7 TH 44
Bought a folding pram for David. Wrote to you.
FRIDAY DEC 8th 44
Horrible day – foggy.
SATURDAY DEC 9th 44
Another letter dated 23rd September. Saw Joan G. in the afternoon.
SUNDAY DEC 10/44
Did not go out. Wrote to you.
MONDAY DEC 11/44
Went to see Bing Crosby in Sing you sinners.
[page break]
TUESDAY DEC 12/44
Did some shopping.
WEDNESDAY DEC 13/44
Not much to report. Wrote to you.
THURSDAY DEC 14/44
Very cold – Should have visited Hilda Waring but did not go.
FRIDAY DEC 15/44
Went to Thorneydene. David developed a cold.
SATURDAY DEC 16th
Horrible day. No news.
SUNDAY DEC 17/44
Had tea with Aileen Challand. Wrote to you.
MONDAY DEC 18/44
An unexpected visit from Bib Brocklesby. Went out in the afternoon.
[page break]
TUESDAY DEC 19/44
Bernard Twilley reported missing yesterday. Called to see his mother. David’s cold very bad – war news pretty serious.
WEDNESDAY DEC 20/44
Went out in the morning. David quite a lot better. Wrote to you. Missing you.
THURSDAY DEC 21/44
David not very well. Did not go out.
FRIDAY DEC 22nd 44
David only fair.
SATURDAY DEC 23rd 44
Marie came for Christmas. I went to bed at 6.45. Fed up and miserable.
SUNDAY DEC 24th
Derrick came. We stayed in. M&D went to RAF Reg. Party. Wrote to you. Missing you.
[page break]
MONDAY DEC 25th 44
Little David had quite a number of gifts. I am missing you badly. Very glad of Derrick’s company. Awful fog.
TUESDAY DEC 26th 44
Went to Thorneydene for tea. Auntie Emmie, Uncle Harry, Roger came over. Marie went back.
WEDNESDAY DEC 27th 44
David developed sickness etc. Did not go out. Cold.
THURSDAY DEC 28th 44
David still ill, feel worried and miserable. Wrote to you.
FRIDAY DEC 29th
Took David out but his condition is much the same.
SATURDAY DEC 30/44
Took David to the doctor. He has a chill, gave him medicine.
[page break]
SUNDAY DEC 31/44
David quite a lot better. A harassing day. Please let next year bring you home, and find us a house.
MONDAY JAN 1st 45
A letter from you dated October 15th & a parcel from America containing sleeping suits, bath sachets & soap.
TUESDAY JAN 2/45
Awful damp day. David quite better. Did some shopping. Reading ‘Calamity House’ Ellery Queen. Dispatched parcel containing pyjamas, 4 prs sox, plimsolls, blades, soap, choc, toothbrush etc. also H/chiefs.
WEDNESDAY JAN 3/45
Had a hair set. Knitting David a suit. Dirty weather. Had a letter from Margaret Kemshall.
[page break]
THURSDAY JAN 4th 45
Nothing of much interest
FRIDAY JAN 5th 45
Phil & Fred came at night.
SATURDAY JAN 6th 45
I bought a suit at the shop. Bill came.
SUNDAY JAN 7th 45
I wrote to you – busy knitting for David.
MONDAY JAN 8th 45
Quite a fall of snow.
TUESDAY JAN 9th 45
Took David out – awfully cold.
WEDNESDAY JAN 10th 45
Did not go out. Finished a pullover for David.
THURSDAY JAN 11th 45
David attended his first party. Jennifer Deane aged one.
[page break]
FRIDAY JAN 12/45
Saw ‘Adam had four sons’ awfully good . Phil & Fred Came, Bill here.
SATURDAY JAN 13/45
Derrick came – glad to see him.
SUNDAY JAN 14/45
Feeling not so good. Derrick went back.
MONDAY JAN 15/45
Wrote to you, have a rotten cold, and missing you horribly.
TUESDAY JAN 16/45
Feel ghastly. Stayed in all day miserable with self and everyone else.
WEDNESDAY JAN 17/45
Feel only fair.
[page break]
THURSDAY JAN 18/45
Had my hair set. Sent you tobacco. Wrote to you.
FRIDAY JAN 19/45
Phil & Fred came. Rotten day in every way.
SATURDAY JAN 20/45
News came Bernard Twilley killed 18 Dec 44. Saw ‘Love Story’ Margaret Lockwood- Stewart Grainger. Snowed heavily.
SUNDAY JAN 21/45
Feel awful Wrote to you. Took David out in the afternoon.
MONDAY JAN 22/45
Rotten cold. Awful weather. Rang Mrs F. Bought a wardrobe & chair.
[page break]
TUESDAY JAN 23rd 45
Horribly cold – short of coal too. Letter from you dated 9th Oct 44.
WEDNESDAY JAN 24th 45
Wrote to you. Went to Thorneydene but did not take David who has a cold.
THURSDAY JAN 25th 45
Weather simply artic – Saw Bing Crosby in ‘Going my Way’
FRIDAY JAN 26/45
Terribly cold. Worst for years & years. Did some shopping in the morning.
SATURDAY JAN 27/45
Still icy / Tony & his girlfriend called at night. Did not go out.
SUNDAY JAN 28/45
Watched skating on the canal. Wrote to you also Ken Twilley. Not quite so cold.
[page break]
MONDAY JAN 29th 45
Went to look at a house in Dudley Road – Turned it down.
TUESDAY JAN 30/45
Did not go out Awfully cold.
WEDNESDAY JAN 31/45
Had my hair set. Wrote to you.
THURSDAY FEB 1/45
Weather improving. Did some shopping.
FRIDAY FEB 2/45
Phil & Fred came quite an enjoyable evening. Russian news marvellous.
SATURDAY FEB 3/45
A lovely day. Took David out met Betty Scothern – her husband in India.
SUNDAY FEB 4/45
Took Derek and David out. Wrote to you.
[page break]
MONDAY FEB 5/45
Received letter dated 30 October P. C’s October 18, Nov 24th. Went out in the afternoon with Betty S. Lovely day.
TUESDAY FEB 6/45
Took David out, weather lovely.
WEDNESDAY FEB 7/45
P.C. dated 20 Dec. Wrote to you. Saw ‘Hotel Reserve’ James Mason – very good.
THURSDAY FEB 8/45
David weighs 22 lbs 9 ozs.
FRIDAY FEB 9/45
Took David to Thorneydene where he crawled across the room and pulled himself up by the settee. A lovely Day. Phil & Fred came.
[page break]
SATURDAY FEB 10/45
Took David out. Rather cold. Wrote to you.
SUNDAY FEB 11/45
Stayed in all day. Knitted read etc. David lovely.
MONDAY FEB 12/45
Heard today Barbara Parr drowned on Friday last. Heard from Ken Twilley. Horrible weather.
TUESDAY FEB 13/45
Wireless announcement numerous camps including Luft 3 over run by the Russians or moved. Feel rather worried and depressed. Hate this suspense.
WEDNES DAY FEB 14/45
Stayed in all day – wrote to you. Spent an hour with Pop Munson at night.
[page break]
THURSDAY FEB 15/45
Our day again. Took David out. News still very good.
FRIDAY FEB 16/45
Phil & Fred came down. Busy knitting David a beret.
SATURDAY FEB 17/45
Did some shopping during the morning. Phil & Fred came again.
SUNDAY FEB 18/45
Took David and Derek out. Andy turned up unexpectedly. He is at Ossington. Wrote to you.
MONDAY FEB 19/45
Saw Betty Scothern and had a lovely walk. Parcels are off again.
TUESDAY FEB 20/45
Took David out. He has a cold.
[page break]
WEDNESDAY FEB 21/45
Took David and Derek up the road. Lovely day. Wrote to you. Feel awfully worried and unsettled.
THURSDAY FEB 22/45
Lovely weather. Took David out. Wireless report 2661 P.O.W.s liberated by the Russians.
FRIDAY FEB 23/45
Rained, so did not get to Thorneydene. Phil & Fred came – Andy also.
SATURDAY FEB 24/45
Andy went back. I took David out – he has a cold.
SUNDAY FEB 25/45
Very dull – cycled to Thorneydene in the A.M. Wrote to you. Reading ‘For them that Trespass’ by R. Raymond.
[page break]
MONDAY FEB 26/45
Took David and Derek out. Uneventful day.
TUESDAY FEB 27/45
Received a P.C. dated 25 October – Did some shopping but did not take David.
WEDNESDAY FEB 28/45
David had quite a number of gifts and eleven birthday cards. Had photographs taken. Shirley came round. Wrote to you.
THURSDAY MAR 1st 45
Monchengladbach captured.
FRIDAY MAR 2/45
Took David for a walk.
SATURDAY MAR 3/45
Ada Parker sent a cardigan and helmet for David. Andy came. Reconciliation.
[page break]
SUNDAY MAR 4/45
Dull day – did not go out. Wrote numerous letters.
MONDAY MAR 5/45
Went for a long walk with Betty Sprawson. Knitting myself a pullover.
TUESDAY MAR 6/45
Andy at Ossington – failed B.O.A. awaiting posting.
WEDNESDAY MAR 7/45
Went to see Phyl Mitchell. Wrote to you. Cologne has fallen.
THURSDAY MAR 8/45
Busy day, did not go out.
FRIDAY MAR 9/45
Margaret and Derrick came – Andy here also.
[page break]
SATURDAY MAR 10/45
Went to the doctor, trouble with eye etc. Awful Cold.
SUNDAY MAR 11/45
David has troublesome cough. Did not go out, still feeling ‘not so good’
MONDAY MAR 12/45
M. & D. returned. Went for a walk with Betty Sprawson. Had a letter from Effie. Saw ‘Fantasia’
TUESDAY MAR 13/45
David not well – took him out during the morning.
WEDNESDAY MAR 14/45
Took David to the doctor – got medicine but already he is much better. Had my hair set. Andy still her.
[page break]
THURSDAY MAR 15/45
David greatly improved. Took he and Derek out in the afternoon. Went to see Pop at night.
FRIDAY MAR 16/45
Uneventful day. David fine.
SATURDAY MAR 17/45
Did not go out. Received parcel from Effie. Rompers – building blocks – H/chiefs etc.
SUNDAY MAR 18/45
Same as yesterday.
MONDAY MAR 19/45
Took David out – the fair here.
TUESDAYMAR 20/45
A cold day. Wrote to Effie.
WEDNESDAY MAR 21/45
Heard from Lois & Constance. Saw a wonderful film – Madonna of Seven Moons’ Stewart Grainger, Phyllis Calvert.
[page break]
THURSDAY MAR 22/45
Your father and Mrs L. here. Took David to Thorneydene and spent a very pleasant afternoon.
FRIDAY MAR 23/45
Dorothy, D.J. and I went to Leicester express purpose of buying shoes. Glorious weather.
SATURDAY MAR 24/45
Letter dated 22 Jan 45. Saw your people off on the bus. Big Allied air - bourne landing beyond the Rhine.
SUNDAY MAR 25/45
Lovely day – took David out. Derek and Dorothy came too. Spent the evening with Pop.
MONDAY MAR 26/45
Went for a walk with Betty. A lovely day.
[page break]
TUESDAY MAR 27/45
Our armies well beyond the Rhine. Surely the war must end soon. Do worry about you and wonder where you are. Took David out. Lovely weather.
WEDNESDAY MAR 28th 45
Feeling rather flat. Wish I knew more about you.
THURSDAY MAR 29/45
Took Derek and David to have tea at Pop’s.
FRIDAY MAR 30/45
Wrote to you. Went to see ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’.
Saturday mar 31/45
Saw Joan Johnson married. Horribly windy.
[page break]
EASTER SUNDAY APRIL 1/45
Still cold and windy. Margaret and Derrick came, returning tomorrow.
MONDAY APRIL 2/45
Took David to Thorneydene.
TUESDAY APRIL 3/45
News of liberated P.O.Ws keeps coming through. I feel so unsettled.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 4/45
Took David out. Cold weather.
THURSDAY APRIL 5/45
Went to Madge Broughton’s wedding – she married Pat Arsanault an American.
FRIDAY APRIL 6/45
The allies doing remarkably well. Keeping my fingers crossed.
[page break]
SATURDAY APRIL 7/45
Went out in the afternoon with Dorothy.
SUNDAY APRIL 8/45
Had an enjoyable walk after tea, all of us. Eat a big supper and went to bed early. Sent you photographs.
MONDAY APRIL 9/45
Had a walk with Betty Sprawson. Konigsberg fallen.
TUESDAY APRIL 10/45
Took Derek and David out. Wrote to your Pa and Ada Parker.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 11/45
Vienna, Hanover various other places fallen. Took Derek & David out. Lovely day.
[page break]
THURSDAY APRIL 12/45
60 miles from Berlin. Took David for a walk – lovely day. Wrote to Lois, Constance, Mrs MKinna & Chalky. Wish I could hear from you.
FRIDAY APRIL 13/45
Brunswick, Magdeburg threatened fallen. Lovely day. David had his first injections against diphtheria and whooping cough. Took him to Thorneydene, Aunt Ida sent lovely toys. [underlined] President Roosevelt died last night. [/underlined]
SATURDAY APRIL 14/45
Received toy bear from America. Oflag 79 liberated – so anxious about you. Spent the evening with Pop.
SUNDAY APRIL 15/45
Busy all day did not go out. Gorgeous weather.
[page break]
MONDAY APRIL 16/45
Stalag 357 11B liberated. Cannot rest – no sleep – just wondering. Took David down the park with Betty and John.
TUESDAY APRIL 17/45
Nuremberg entered.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 18/45
A lovely day. Magdeburg fallen. Thinking of you – very worried.
THURSDAY APRIL 19/45
Took Derek and David out in the morning. Leipzig fallen.
FRIDAY APRIL 20/45
My last red cross parcel returned. Took David to Thorneydene. Anxious for news.
SATURDAY APRIL 21/45
Russians shelling Berlin. Feel miserable. Cold today. Nuremberg fallen.
[page break]
SUNDAY 22 APRIL 45
15,000 P.O.Ws liberated, anxious about you. Went over to see Pop at night.
MONDAY 23-4-45
Shirley’s cousin home from 357. Had David photographed. Cold.
TUESDAY 24-4-45
Russians attacking immediate outskirts of Berlin. David not well.
WEDNESDAY 25-4-45
Took David out but he is only fair. Met Ken Twilley home from overseas.
THURSDAY 26-4-45
Took David to Thorneydene. Walter Lee took snaps. Berlin cut off. Bremen fallen.
[page break]
FRIDAY 27-4-45
Ken Twilley came in. I went to see ‘A song to remember’
SATURDAY 28-4-45
Marlag Milag Nord released. Hitler reported ill and Himmler offered unconditional surrender to ourselves and America – not Russia.
SUNDAY 29-4-45
27,000 P.O.Ws liberated at Moosburg. Munich captured. Terribly cold weather – snow etc.
MONDAY 30-4-45
V.E. day expected at any time. Saw ‘Sunday dinner for soldier’
TUESDAY 1-5-45
Hitler reported killed in Berlin. Admiral Doenitz taken his place.
WEDNESDAY 2-5-45
Unconditional surrender of Germans in Italy. Berlin captured by the Russians
[page break]
THURSDAY MAY 3/45
Andy came on leave. Goebbels reported to have committed suicide. Anxiously awaiting news.
FRIDAY MAY 4/45
Unconditional surrender of North Germany, Holland and Denmark signed at 6-20 p.m. With effect from 8-0 am DB summer time tomorrow – Camps 3A and 4B. liberated.
SATURDAY MAY 5/45
I keep wondering about you, do wish I could get some news.
SUNDAY MAY 6/45
V.E. day imminent.
MONDAY MAY 7/45
The prime minister to broadcast tomorrow. 1800 P.O.W’s brought home.
[page break]
TUESDAY MAY 8th 45
[underlined] V. E. Day. [/underlined] Unconditional surrender of Germany to ourselves, America & Russia. Prime Minister (Winston Churchill) spoke at 3.0 p.m. the king at 9.0 p.m. Lancasters landed in Germany – brought back 4,500 P.O.W’s. Everywhere decorated and looking very gay and festive.
WEDNESDAY MAY 9/45
Tonight J & W. came to tell me [underlined] you are in England [/underlined] Won’t attempt to express what it means.
[page break]
[list of finances and recipes]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Joan Layne's diary covering the period her husband Wally was a prisoner of war
Description
An account of the resource
Starts with a letter to him after she finds out he is a prisoner telling how she felt when he was missing and how happy she was with the news that he was a prisoner. After a day by day diary of her feelings, activities, news of friends and acquaintances, correspondence. Dairy goes from 9 November 1943 until 9 May 1945 when she hears that he is in England, Includes some war news and comments on VE day.
Additional information about this item was kindly provided by the donor.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J Layne
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-11-09
1944
1945-01
1945-02
1945-03
1945-04
1945-05
1945-05-09
1943-11
1943-12
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Multipage handwritten document
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Diary
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
YLayneAJ[Ser#-DoB]v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-11-09
1943-11
1943-12
1944
1945-01
1945-02
1945-03
1945-04
1945-05
1945-05-09
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Essen
France
France--Mailly-le-Camp
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jan Waller
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
bombing
Caterpillar Club
Distinguished Flying Cross
home front
Lancaster
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
prisoner of war
promotion
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1812/42028/LMadgeJG1398434v1.2.pdf
95af7ce590d693dde2a6fe0226dd8c08
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Madge, JG
JG Madge
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-03-19
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Madge
Description
An account of the resource
Ten items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer John George Madge (1398434 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 97 Squadron and was killed 11 November 1944. <br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ann Flint and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle. <br /><br />Additional information on John George Madge is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/114688/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
John Madge's Log Book
Description
An account of the resource
J G Madge’s Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book detailing operations and training flown covering the period 18 November 1942 to 10 November 1944. He was stationed at RAF Morpeth (4 AGS), RAF Little Horwood (26 OTU), RAF Marham (1483 (B)G Flight), RAF Stradishall (1657 HCU), RAF Wratting Common (90 Squadron), RAF Barford St John (16 OTU), RAF Swinderby (1654 HCU), RAF Syerston (5 LFS), RAF Coningsby (97 Squadron) and RAF Warboys (NTU) . Aircraft flown in were Botha, Welllngton, Stirling, Martinet and Lancaster. He flew 17 night operations with 90 Squadron and 2 night operations with 97 Squadron. Targets were Mining (4), Hamburg (3), Remscheid, Turin, Peenemunde, Berlin (2), Nuremburg, Monchen Gladbach, Kassel, Mannheim, Leverkusen and with 97 Squadron Ladbergen and Rheine. His pilots on operations were Flight Sergeant Brayshaw and Flight Lieutenant Runnacles. On a training flight on 10th November 1944 his aircraft was posted as ”missing” and he was “ Death presumed” in May 1946.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-06-27
1943-06-28
1943-07-08
1943-07-24
1943-07-29
1943-07-30
1943-08-02
1943-08-15
1943-08-17
1943-08-23
1943-08-27
1943-08-30
1943-08-31
1943-10-02
1943-10-03
1943-11-18
1943-11-19
1944-11-04
1944-11-06
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Northumberland
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Suffolk
Germany--Hamburg
Germany
Germany--Remscheid
Italy
Italy--Turin
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Mönchengladbach
Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Oxfordshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Huntingdonshire
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Rheine
England--Lincolnshire
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LMadgeJG1398434v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Terry Hancock
16 OTU
1654 HCU
1657 HCU
26 OTU
90 Squadron
97 Squadron
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
Botha
Heavy Conversion Unit
killed in action
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Martinet
mine laying
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
RAF Barford St John
RAF Coningsby
RAF Little Horwood
RAF Marham
RAF Morpeth
RAF Stradishall
RAF Syerston
RAF Warboys
RAF Wigsley
RAF Wratting Common
Stirling
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1187/31549/LWatsonJR1605406v1.2.pdf
501f3aa015650de589fa38da68a1c63d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Watson, John Robert
J R Watson
Description
An account of the resource
Seven items. An oral history interview with warrant Officer John 'Jack' Watson DFM (b. 1923 Royal Air Force) his log book and photographs. He flew three turs of operations as a flight engineer with 12 and 156 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by John Watson and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-08-25
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Watson, JR
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
John Robert Watson’s observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LWatsonJR1605406v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Description
An account of the resource
Observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book for J R Watson, flight engineer, covering the period from 2 November 1943 to 30 March 1945. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Faldingworth, RAF Wickenby, RAF Warboys, RAF Upwood and RAF Husbands Bosworth. Aircraft flown in were Halifax, Lancaster. Oxford and Wellington. He flew a total of 77 operations, 12 with 12 Squadron and 66 with 156 Squadron. Targets were Brunswick, Berlin, Magdeburg, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Schweinfurt, Augsburg, Essen, Nuremburg, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Karlsruhe, Friedrichshafen, Somain, Montdidier, Nantes, Boulogne, Duisburg, Dortmund, Aachen, Calais, Longues, Foret-de-Cerisy, Fougeres. Lens, Middlestraete, Oisemont-Neuville, Donges, Hamburg, Cassan, Trossy, Abbeville, Caen, Lille, Russelsheim, Kiel, Connantre, Moerdijk, Saarbrucken, Wilhelmshaven, Heinbach, Opladen, Hannover, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Politz, Bohlen, Wesel, Worms, Chemnitz, Hanau, Hildesheim, Harpenerweg and Munster. His pilots on operations were Flight Lieutenant Cleland and Wing Commander Scott.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Poland
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
France--Abbeville
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Caen
France--Calais
France--Donges
France--Fougères (Ille-et-Vilaine)
France--Lens
France--Lille
France--Longues-sur-Mer
France--Montdidier (Hauts-de-France)
France--Nantes
France--Neuville-aux-Bois
France--Normandy
France--Paris Region
France--Sézanne
France--Somain
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Dortmund Region
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Euskirchen Region
Germany--Friedrichshafen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hanau
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Hildesheim
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leipzig Region
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Rüsselsheim
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Wiesbaden
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Germany--Worms
Netherlands--Rotterdam Region
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
France--Creil
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944-01-14
1944-01-20
1944-01-21
1944-01-22
1944-01-27
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-01-30
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-02-26
1944-03-01
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-28
1944-04-30
1944-05-01
1944-05-03
1944-05-04
1944-05-07
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
1944-05-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-05-24
1944-05-25
1944-06-03
1944-06-05
1944-06-07
1944-06-08
1944-06-09
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-06-17
1944-06-24
1944-06-27
1944-07-02
1944-07-23
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-07-26
1944-07-28
1944-07-29
1944-08-03
1944-08-04
1944-08-05
1944-08-07
1944-08-08
1944-08-09
1944-08-10
1944-08-12
1944-08-13
1944-08-16
1944-08-17
1944-08-18
1944-08-19
1944-08-25
1944-08-26
1944-08-27
1944-09-12
1944-09-13
1944-09-15
1944-09-16
1944-09-17
1944-09-20
1944-10-05
1944-10-06
1944-10-14
1944-10-15
1944-10-16
1944-12-03
1944-12-12
1944-12-17
1944-12-28
1944-12-29
1944-12-30
1945-01-02
1945-01-03
1945-01-05
1945-01-06
1945-01-14
1945-01-16
1945-01-17
1945-01-28
1945-01-29
1945-02-01
1945-02-02
1945-02-03
1945-02-08
1945-02-09
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-17
1945-02-21
1945-02-22
1945-03-02
1945-03-05
1945-03-06
1945-03-18
1945-03-22
1945-03-24
1945-03-25
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
12 Squadron
156 Squadron
1667 HCU
85 OTU
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
flight engineer
Halifax
Halifax Mk 5
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
Me 410
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Pathfinders
RAF Faldingworth
RAF Husbands Bosworth
RAF Upwood
RAF Warboys
RAF Wickenby
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
V-1
V-weapon
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/88/1931/LYoungJ1569980v1.1.pdf
fb760915619d3e45c356c32067e67b27
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Young, John
J Young
Description
An account of the resource
13 items. The collection consists of an oral history interview with Sergeant John Young (1569980, Royal Canadian Air Force), his logbook and 11 photographs of aircrew groups and Halifax aircraft. John Young was a flight engineer on 432 Squadron based at RAF East Moor, part of 6 Group. The collection shows a number of aircrew groups which include him as well as ground and air shots of his Halifax Mk 3 with Ferdinand II nose art.
The collection was donated by John Young and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-02
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Young, J
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
John Youngs’ flying log book for navigators, air bombers, air gunners and flight engineers
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Description
An account of the resource
Royal Air Force flying log book for Sergeant John Young, flight engineer, covering the period 28 June 1944 to 6 January 1945, detailing training, and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF St Athan, RAF Eastmoor. Aircraft flown in were the Halifax III, V & VII. He flew 30 operations, 13 night time and 17 daylight with 432 Squadron. Targets were le Havre, Dortmund, Wanne-Eickel, Osnabruck, Kiel, Boulogne, Calais, Bottrop, Stekrade-Holten, Duisberg, Essen, Homberg, Cologne, Hannover, Oberhausen, Dusseldorf, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Julich, Munster, Opladen, Troisdorf, Hanau, Magdeberg. His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Stedman. The log book has a photo after the last operation which shows seven aircrew under an aircraft. Captioned ‘Back Row: L to R: Self; ‘Cam’ (Mid Upper); Earl Fox (Bomb Aimer); Lloyd Gapes (Navigator) Front Row: L to R: ‘Buzz’ (Tail Gunner); J Hartley) W/Op; Les Steadman (Pilot)’.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LYoungJ1569980v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Great Britain
Germany
Wales
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
England--Yorkshire
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Calais
France--Le Havre
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Bottrop
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Essen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hanau
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Homburg (Saarland)
Germany--Jülich
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Troisdorf
Germany--Wanne-Eickel
Wales--Vale of Glamorgan
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944
1945
1944-09-09
1944-09-10
1944-09-11
1944-09-12
1944-09-13
1944-09-15
1944-09-16
1944-09-17
1944-09-25
1944-09-26
1944-09-27
1944-09-28
1944-09-30
1944-10-14
1944-10-15
1944-10-21
1944-10-23
1944-10-24
1944-10-25
1944-10-28
1944-10-30
1944-10-31
1944-11-01
1944-11-02
1944-11-03
1944-11-04
1944-11-05
1944-11-06
1944-11-16
1944-11-18
1944-12-17
1944-12-18
1944-12-28
1944-12-29
1944-12-30
1944-12-31
1945-01-06
1945-01-07
1945-01-16
1945-01-17
1664 HCU
432 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
flight engineer
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Halifax Mk 5
Halifax Mk 7
Heavy Conversion Unit
RAF Dishforth
RAF East Moor
RAF St Athan
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/699/17882/LBeardKC1061851v1.1.pdf
4ad3e52cdaa59c602532ab68a2b155c3
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Beard, Ken
Ken C Beard
K C Beard
Description
An account of the resource
Five items. An oral history with Ken Beard (b. 1921, 1061851 Royal Air Force), his air gunners log book, and photographs of him, his wedding and his crew. He flew 31 operations as an air gunner on Halifax with 10 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Ken Beard and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-08-07
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Beard, KC
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ken Beard’s flying log book for air gunners
Description
An account of the resource
Flying log book for air gunner’s for Ken Beard, covering the period from 5 March 1943 to 17 June 1945. Detailing his flying training operations flown and instructor duties. He was stationed at RAF Pembrey, RAF Ricall, RAF Melbourne, RAF Lossiemouth, RAF Stanton Harcourt and RAF Manby. Aircraft flown in were, Blenheim, Wellington, Halifax and Whitley. He flew a total of 31 operations with 10 squadron. Targets were, Peenemunde, Leverkusen, Berlin, Nuremberg, Rheydt, Baltic Sea, Meulan-les-Mureaux, Essen, Lille, Karlsruhe, Malines, Mantes Gassincourt, Lens, Aachen, Mont Fleuris and St Lo. His pilot on operations was Squadron Leader Kennedy.
This item was provided, in digital form, by a third-party organisation which used technical specifications and operational protocols that may differ from those used by the IBCC Digital Archive.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LBeardKC1061851v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Belgium--Mechelen
England--Lincolnshire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Lens
France--Les Mureaux
France--Lille
France--Mantes-la-Jolie
France--Paris
France--Saint-Lô
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Essen
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Rheydt
Scotland--Lossiemouth
Wales--Carmarthenshire
England--Northamptonshire
England--Berkshire
Scotland--Moray
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1943-08-17
1943-08-18
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-24
1943-08-27
1943-08-28
1943-08-31
1943-09-01
1944-02-03
1944-02-04
1944-02-05
1944-02-15
1944-02-22
1944-03-03
1944-03-24
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-09
1944-04-10
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-28
1944-05-01
1944-05-02
1944-05-07
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-05-24
1944-05-25
1944-06-03
1944-06-04
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Language
A language of the resource
eng
10 OTU
10 Squadron
1658 HCU
17 OTU
20 OTU
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Blenheim
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
Cook’s tour
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
mine laying
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Abingdon
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Manby
RAF Melbourne
RAF Pembrey
RAF Riccall
RAF Silverstone
RAF Stanton Harcourt
training
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1396/27898/LHookKG195765v1.2.pdf
52e5168619d4dda3e95062adef0bbdbf
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hook, Ken
Kenneth Gordon Hook
K G Hook
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-07-04
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hook, KG
Description
An account of the resource
53 items. The collection concerns Flying Officer Kenneth Hook DFM (b. 1923, 1335989, 195765 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, documents, photographs, objects and correspondence. He flew operations as an air gunner with 75 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Iain Hook and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ken Hook's RAF observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book. One
Description
An account of the resource
K G Hook’s air gunner’s log book covering the period from 6 June 1943 to 30 November 1954. Detailing his flying training and operations flown as air gunner. He was stationed at RAF Penrhos (9 OAFU); RAF Newmarket (1483 [Bombing] Gunnery Flight), RAF Chipping Warden (12 OTU), RAF Bicester (13 OTU), RAF Waterbeach (1651 HCU), RAF Mepal (75 Squadron), RAF Dalcross (2 AGS), RAF Manby (1 EAAS), RAF Scampton (230 OCU), RAF Upwood, RAF Waddington, RAF Wittering, RAF Shallufa and RAF Eastleigh Nairobi (49 Squadron). Aircraft flown in were Anson, Wellington, Martinet, Stirling, Lancaster and Lincoln. He flew a total of 24 night operations with 75 Squadron including four mining and four anti Mau Mau. Targets were Kassel, Frankfurt, Bremen, Leverkusen, Amiens, Cologne, Dortmund, Lisieux, Normandy. His pilots on operations were Sergeant Kerr, Pilot Officer Baker and Pilot Officer Potts.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LHookKG195765v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Egypt
France
Germany
Great Britain
Kenya
North Africa
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Huntingdonshire
England--Lincolnshire
Egypt--Suez
France--Amiens
France--Lisieux
France--Normandy
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Leverkusen
Kenya--Nairobi
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1943-09-24
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-11-19
1943-12-01
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-20
1944-02-25
1944-02-26
1944-03-10
1944-03-11
1944-03-13
1944-03-14
1944-03-16
1944-03-17
1944-03-26
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Terry Hancock
12 OTU
13 OTU
1651 HCU
49 Squadron
75 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
crash
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lincoln
Martinet
mine laying
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Bicester
RAF Chipping Warden
RAF Dalcross
RAF Eastleigh
RAF Manby
RAF Mepal
RAF Newmarket
RAF Penrhos
RAF Scampton
RAF Shallufa
RAF Upwood
RAF Waddington
RAF Waterbeach
RAF Wittering
Stirling
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/247/7275/LDorricottLW1230753v1.2.pdf
0caaa4b6a9f9d25985df7879bb5cccef
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Dorricott, Leonard William
Leonard Dorricott
Len Dorricott
L W Dorricott
Description
An account of the resource
72 items. An oral history interview with Rosemary Dorricott about her husband Flying Officer Leonard William Dorricott DFM (1923-2014, 1230753, 1230708 Royal Air Force). Leonard Dorricott was a navigator with 460 and 576 Squadrons. He flew 34 operations including Operation Manna, Dodge and Exodus. He was one of the crew who flew in Lancaster AR-G -George, now preserved in the Australian War Memorial. He was a keen amateur photographer and the collection contains his photographs, logbook and papers. It also contains A Dorricott’s First World War Diary, and photographs of Leonard Dorricott’s log book being reunited with the Lancaster at the Australian War Memorial.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Rosemary Dorricott and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-07
2015-11-05
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Dorricott, LW
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Leonard Dorricott's observer's and air gunner's flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Royal Canadian Air Force observer's and air gunner's flying log book for Sergeant Leonard Dorricott from 27 November 1942 to 21 January 1946. Detailing training schedule, instructional duties and operations flown. Trained in Miami, Florida and served at RAF Bobbington (aka RAF Halfpenny Green), RAF Whitchurch (aka RAF Tilstock), RAF Lindholme, RAF Breighton, RAF Bottesford, RAF Swinderby, RAF Binbrook and RAF Fiskerton. Aircraft flown were Anson, Commodore, Oxford, Harrow, Whitley, Halifax and Lancaster. He carried out a total of 32 operations on two tours with 460 and 576 Squadrons as a navigator on the following targets in Germany and Italy: Berlin, Bochum, Cologne, Cuxhaven, Dortmund, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Krefeld, Leverkusen, Lutzkendorf, Mulheim, Mönchengladbach, Munich, Nordhausen, Nuremberg, Oberhausen, Plauen, Stuttgart, Turin and Wuppertal. His pilots on operations were Flight Lieutenant Henderson, Flight Lieutenant Strachan, Flying Officer Crofts and Flight Lieutenant Halnan. The operations are annotated and the log book includes maps and newspaper cuttings. It also includes Operation Manna, Exodus, Dodge and Cooks tours.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDorricottLW1230753v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1943-04-27
1943-04-28
1943-04-30
1943-05-01
1943-05-04
1943-05-05
1943-05-12
1943-05-13
1943-05-14
1943-05-23
1943-05-24
1943-06-11
1943-06-12
1943-06-13
1943-06-14
1943-06-15
1943-06-16
1943-06-17
1943-06-21
1943-06-22
1943-06-23
1943-06-24
1943-06-25
1943-06-26
1943-06-28
1943-06-29
1943-07-09
1943-07-10
1943-07-12
1943-07-13
1943-07-29
1943-07-30
1943-08-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-07
1943-08-08
1943-08-10
1943-08-11
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-24
1943-08-27
1943-08-28
1943-08-30
1943-08-31
1943-09-01
1943-09-06
1943-09-07
1943-09-29
1943-10-02
1943-10-03
1943-10-07
1943-10-18
1945-04-03
1945-04-04
1945-04-05
1945-04-10
1945-04-11
1945-04-14
1945-05-02
1945-05-04
1945-05-11
1945-06-18
1945-07-09
1945-08-16
1945-08-20
1945-10-01
1945-10-10
1945-10-25
1945-10-26
1945-11-20
1945-11-26
1945-11-30
1945-12-08
1946-01-04
1946-01-14
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
United States
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Shropshire
England--Staffordshire
England--Yorkshire
Florida--Miami
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Cuxhaven
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Mönchengladbach
Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Germany--Plauen
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wettin
Germany--Wuppertal
Italy--Turin
Italy--Po River Valley
Florida
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
1656 HCU
1660 HCU
1668 HCU
460 Squadron
576 Squadron
61 Squadron
81 OTU
Advanced Flying Unit
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
Commodore
Cook’s tour
Halifax
Harrow
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
mine laying
navigator
Operation Dodge (1945)
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
RAF Binbrook
RAF Bottesford
RAF Breighton
RAF Fiskerton
RAF Halfpenny Green
RAF Lindholme
RAF Sturgate
RAF Swinderby
RAF Tilstock
RAF Waddington
training
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2198/40567/SAnkersonR[Ser -DoB]v20007.jpg
92a5c1c33d06b75244eca2093df57614
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2198/40567/SAnkersonR[Ser -DoB]v20008.jpg
d62fedc33bfc1ad2630028dc8cafe8f4
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2198/40567/SAnkersonR[Ser -DoB]v20009.jpg
8996c8383aaf55f53b5ee24cb808590c
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2198/40567/SAnkersonR[Ser -DoB]v20010.jpg
e1daac9ebeb389e3bb6f0d709412e1e0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association
Description
An account of the resource
97 items. The collection concerns Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association and contains items including drawings by the artist Ley Kenyon.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Robert Ankerson and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-01-29
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RAF ex POW As Collection
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter to Dorothy Wilkinson from Donald Flett
Description
An account of the resource
A letter and transcript to Charlie Warner's sister from Donald Flett. Donald was the sole survivor of the Lancaster crash.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Donald Flett
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-07-08
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Italy
Great Britain
England--Cambridge
Germany--Peenemünde
Poland--Szczecin
Germany--Munich
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Lingen (Lower Saxony)
Poland
Germany
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three handwritten and one printed sheet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SAnkersonR[Ser#-DoB]v20007, SAnkersonR[Ser#-DoB]v20008, SAnkersonR[Ser#-DoB]v20009, SAnkersonR[Ser#-DoB]v20010
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-09-03
1943-09-04
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association. Charlie Warner
air gunner
aircrew
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
final resting place
killed in action
navigator
pilot
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1751/34067/SWarnerC1801861v10006.1.jpg
83a12bde89828aedc1a8768498a02f5b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Warner, Charles Herbert Albert
C H A Warner
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-11-12
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Warner, CHA
Description
An account of the resource
Sixteen items. The collection concerns Sergeant Charles Warner (1801861 Royal Air Force) and and Sergeant J F W Warner (976029 Royal Air Force). <br /><br />Charle Warner's collection contains correspondence, documents and photographs. He flew as a flight engineer on 101 Squadron and was shot down and killed 3 September 1943.<br /><br /> <span class="NormalTextRun SCXW196096160 BCX0">Additional information on </span><span class="SpellingError SCXW196096160 BCX0">Charles Warner</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW196096160 BCX0"> is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/124437/">IBCC Losses Database.</a></span><br /><br />J F W Warner's collection contains his service and release book and his decorations. He served as an engine fitter in North Africa. <br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Geoffrey Warner and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
22 Bangholm Bower Avenue
Edinburgh
8 July 1945
Dear Mrs Wilkinson
Thank you for your kind letter and I hope you will forgive me not replying sooner. I have received a letter from your brother in Italy and have just written to him telling him what I know of the night 3/4 September 1943.
Two days ago I was sent back home, on indefinite leave to await release from the service, and have applied for a job in Cambridge. Should I get this post I will be staying not very far from you and I will be very pleased to see you at any time.
Charlie had done four “ops” and we copped it on the fifth “op”. The first one was to Peenemunde on the Baltic coast, just north of [inserted] Stettin. [/inserted] It was a great raid, maybe you remember reading about it in August 1943. All the newspapers were full of it and the RAF had given them photographs of the actual fighting and the target area to print with the various accounts of the raid. Then more recently, within the last two months actually, there have been various reports praising the work the boys did that night when we ruined Jerrys secret equipment laboratories which were working on what we now know as VI and VII’s. As I said, it was a lovely night and a full moon, no clouds, just like daylight, just the night fighters paradise.
Next we went to Munchen-Gladbach in the Rhur and had a pretty rotten night – heavy cloud all the way but got our target all right. Our next trip was the big city – Berlin and after a fairly hectic night we arrived home safe and sound.
The forth was Leverkusen and the target was some chemical works.
The fifth and last as you know, Berlin again.
I know the boys had been buried at Lingen, the Germans told me, about three weeks after my capture. I don’t think we had any snaps taken of the crew after Charlie joined us at the unit, and as you possibly have never seen any of us, I am enclosing two snaps for your mother. One was taken at ATU in April 1943 and shows “Mac” the rear gunner, Jack Billington the wireless operator, myself, David Carpenter the pilot and Jim Waterman the navigator.
Neither David Browne, the midupper Gunner, nor Charlie, was with us at that time. The other snap is of my wife, son and I after being repatriated. If you could spare me a snap of Charlie, I would be extremely grateful.
Thank you for your good wishes and kind invitiation [sic] and if I get down to your part ot he [sic] counry [sic] I will certainly avail myself of it.
Yours sincerely
Donald Flett
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter to Mrs Wilkinson from Donald Flett
Description
An account of the resource
Transcription of a letter. Writes of events on night 3/4 September 1943. Mentioned 'Charlie had done four ops before they copped it on the fifth. First op was Peenemunde, gives description of target. Mentions targets of other operations and that fifth was Berlin. Mentioned that Germans told him where crew was buried after he was captured. Writes that he was enclosing two photographs, one of the crew, for her mother as she had probably never seen them.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
D Flett
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-07-08
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-07-08
1943-09-03
1943-09-04
1943-08
1943-04
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Mönchengladbach
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Lingen (Lower Saxony)
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page printed letter
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription. Under review
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SWarnerC1801861v10006
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
bombing
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
final resting place
killed in action
prisoner of war