514 Squadron]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> MHuttonGR1586017-200128-05]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> Germany--Wiesbaden]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Merseburg]]> France--Normandy]]> France--Caen]]> France--Villers-Bocage (Calvados)]]> France--Falaise]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Lens]]> France--Paris]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Regensburg]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Koblenz]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Dessau (Dessau)]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Friedrichshafen]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Hamm (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> France]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> A Pearce]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Euskirchen Region]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Rhine River]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Soest]]> Germany--Osterfeld]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Pforzheim]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> Germany--Hanau]]> Germany--Dessau (Dessau)]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Mücheln (Wettin)]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Schwandorf in Bayern]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> France]]> France--Falaise]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Calais]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> Italy]]> Italy--Bari]]> France--Marseille]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Leverkusen]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Wangerooge Island]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1945-01-16]]> 1945-01-22]]> 1945-03-01]]> 1945-03-07]]> 1945-03-15]]> 1945-03-19]]> 1945-04-04]]> 1945-04-08]]> 1945-09]]> 1945-04-15]]> 1945-04-14]]> 1945-04-16]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-03-05]]> 1945-04-25]]> 1945-08-12]]> 1945-08-18]]>
Part 2, "No Problem Sport".Covers Alan Gamble's short flying history over France in 1945 before being shot down, and his experiences as a POW in southern Germany and subsequent liberation. The manuscript of Part 2 appears to be complete except for one or more pages missing about two thirds of the way through. This is at the beginning or the end of a fragment bound by metal clips, and could easily have become detached as the outside pages of some fragments' in Part 3 were also lost. It is therefore possible that only one page is missing.

Part 3. "Nil Desperandum".Covers Alan Gamble's post war experiences up to about 1963. This has not been read.

The manuscript of Part 3 is missing pages 24-86, 120 and 170, the latter two being the outside pages of bound fragments. (Page numbering here has assisted in reconstruction).

Additional information about this item was kindly provided by the donor.





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A T Gamble]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Bradbury]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Wehrmacht]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Skegness]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> Wales--Gwynedd]]> Wales--Porthmadog]]> England--Cumbria]]> England--Barrow-in-Furness]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--North Friesland Region]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Italy]]> Italy--Turin]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> Germany--Berlin]]> France]]> France--Modane]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Jordan]]> Jordan--Amman]]> 1943-06-13]]> 1943-06-17]]> 1943-06-22]]> 1943-07-03]]> 1943-07-24]]> 1943-08-10]]> 1943-08-12]]> 1943-08-17]]> 1943-08-27]]> 1943-08-31]]> 1943-10-03]]> 1943-11-03]]> 1945-01]]> 1945-02-03]]> 1945-02-07]]>
Adam Purcell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sam Harper-Coulson]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Australia]]> Queensland--Brisbane]]> Queensland]]> He describes their capture, mistreatment and interrogations at various locations. After interrogations at Dulag Luft they were sent to a transit camp in Frankfurt then on by train to Heydekrug, Stalag Luft VI. Although their camp section was new it was cramped and basic. He describes camp life in detail. As the Russians got closer they were sent by train to an Army camp at Thorn. He read a copy of NCO education in the camp. These courses were extremely popular and supported by text books sent from the UK. Exams were sat and papers sent to the UK for marking. At Thorn they marched to Stammlager 357 but not for long. They then marched back to the railway and were sent to Fallingbostel. He describes the rail journey in detail, then in greater detail he describes camp life.
Later he was moved to an officer's camp at Eichstadt. This turned out to be an Army camp which refused them and they were sent to Sagan. He stayed there for a short time then was moved to Stalag Luft 3, then 111A. As the Russians neared they moved again. After a couple of days waiting in trucks they returned to their camp. The railway system was breaking down as the end of the war neared.
After the Russians reached them they were allowed out of the camp but still remained billeted there. He writes about his impressions of the Russians.
His journey home was delayed by rain that did not allow aircraft to fly.
His story ends with his retelling of the night his aircraft was shot down, his night in Brussels and his return to England.]]>
Alan McInnes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lichfield]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Stendal]]> Switzerland]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> Poland]]> Italy]]> Canada]]> United States]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Poland--Toruń]]> Greece]]> Greece--Crete]]> Poland--Vistula River]]> England--Staverton (Northamptonshire)]]> Germany--Bad Fallingbostel]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland--Bydgoszcz]]> Poland--Poznań]]> Germany--Pasewalk]]> Germany--Neubrandenburg]]> Germany--Stavenhagen]]> Germany--Malchin (Landkreis)]]> Germany--Güstrow]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> Germany--Eichstätt]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Eisenach]]> Germany--Fürth (Bavaria)]]> Germany--Treuchtlingen]]> Germany--Ingolstadt]]> Germany--Regensburg]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Poland--Wrocław]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> New South Wales]]> India--Jammu and Kashmir]]> China]]> England--London]]> Germany--Elbe]]> Germany--Potsdam]]> Germany--Jüterbog]]> Ukraine--Odesa]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Halle an der Saale]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Brighton]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Ukraine]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland--Poznań]]> Germany]]> Germany--Hof (Hof)]]> 1944-01-21]]>
Alice Omerod]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Alan Pinchbeck]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> France]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Netherlands]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> France--Paris]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Marignane]]> France--Marseille]]> France--Vichy]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> France--Laon Region]]> France--Lyon]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Cologne]]> France--Toulouse]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Belgium]]> Germany--Aachen]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Hameln]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Friedrichshafen]]> Norway]]> Norway--Oslo]]> France--Clermont-Ferrand]]> France--Reims]]> France--Normandy]]> France--Brittany]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> France--Dieppe]]> France--Orléans]]> Germany--Hannover]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944]]> 1944-03-30]]> 1944-03-31]]> 1944-04-05]]> 1944-04-06]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]> 1944-04-18]]> 1944-04-19]]>
This item is available only at the International Bomber Command Centre / University of Lincoln. ]]>
An00509. The author wished to remain anonymous]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Great Britain]]> England--Devon]]> England--Barnstaple]]> England--Bristol]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cambridge]]> United States]]> New York (State)--New York]]> Canada]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> Québec--Montréal]]> Manitoba--Portage la Prairie]]> Manitoba--Winnipeg]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Harrogate]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Northumberland]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> New York (State)]]> Québec]]> New Brunswick]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> Manitoba]]> 1939]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1944]]>
Andrew Panton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tracy Johnson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Belgium--Hasselt]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Andy Barff]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> South Africa]]> Great Britain]]> England]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France]]> France--Nantes]]> Germany]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Italy]]> Italy--Milan]]> Poland]]> Poland--Gdynia]]> Tanzania]]> South Africa--Makhanda]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Alun talks of flying on the Anson and Whitley, and of being assigned to a Halifax crew. He describes a training flight accident at Garrowby Hill, Yorkshire in which his crewmates were killed. Alun, who was hospitalised at the time, was not on board the aircraft. He recalls his loneliness at being without a crew, and the unexplained animosity towards him from a senior officer. He talks of joining another aircrew and of adaptability being a part of the role of the bomb aimer, before reflecting on his feelings about the unjust dismissal of the crew’s pilot for lack of moral fibre.
Alun recalls his transfer to RAF Transport Command in 1945 and talks of organising the erection of a memorial to his crew at Garrowby Hill. He mentions his pride at the memorial, and his attendance at annual commemorations there for many years. He goes on to reflect on his preference for the Halifax over other aircraft, his enjoyment of flying, and on the great friendship and comradeship among aircrews, describing a closeness which continued after the war. He also mentions his affection for the animals that he kept in his billet during the war.
Alun relates that he first returned to his pre-war job after the war, but later joined the Welsh Council on Alcoholism to help others and in support of his sister, whom he describes affectionately.
]]>
Anne Roberts]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Leah Warriner-Wood]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> Wales]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Wales--Porthcawl]]> Wales--Newport]]> South Africa]]> South Africa--East London]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Japan]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Penarth]]> 1944]]> 1955]]>

Tom Wilson came from an academic family in New Zealand. He studied engineering and worked on radar before volunteering for the Air Force. He flew 13 operations as a navigator before his aircraft was shot down and he became a prisoner of war. He met his wife at a lecture.

]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Yvonne Walker]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> New Zealand]]> Poland]]> England--London]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1939]]> 1945]]> 1946]]>
B F Hughes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Poland]]> Poland--Łambinowice]]> 1945-04-09]]> George did well at school and he was fascinated by aeroplanes. He enlisted, joined Bomber Command but was shot down over Nuremberg in March 1945. His grave is in Burgoberbach, near Ansbach.
Her mother has added a footnote about the appalling waste of life.]]>
Beryl Warren]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> BWarrenBWarrenGCv10002,
BWarrenBWarrenGCv10003]]>
Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]>
Beth Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Anne-Marie Watson ]]> Steph Jackson]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> England--Wisbech]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Durham (County)]]> 1942-02-04]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated S Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> At the age of 16, Eric had an apprenticeship as an indentured apprentice marine engineer at Liverpool docks, however wanted to serve, however he was classed as being in a reserved occupation, so therefore could only volunteer as aircrew.
Eric flew Avro Ansons, Vickers Wellingtons, before moving on to Short Stirlings with 1654 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Wigsley where he trained as a rear gunner. He then flew Avro Lancasters with 463 RAAF Squadron at Waddington.
He flew missions to France, Nuremburg, Dortmund-Ems canal, Brunswick and targets in the Ruhr. Eric was shot down on 6 November 1944 and was taken prisoner of war, and he tells of his escape from the camp when it was liberated by the Russian forces.
After returning to the United Kingdom, Eric ran the Prisoner of War Camps, before leaving the Royal Air Force and joining the 40th Kings Royal Tank Regiment, and served 6 years as a Troop Commander.
Eric left the Army in 1956 and worked for his father as a salesman in the motor car industry. He started his own business and by the rime he retired, he had built up four businesses which he ran for approximately 30 years.]]>
Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> British Army]]> Great Britain]]> England--Merseyside]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Northern Ireland--Down (County)]]> England--Liverpool]]> France]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]>
Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Scotland--Wick]]> France]]> France--Ver-Sur-Mer]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> South African Air Force]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> South Africa]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Kiel]]> 1944-05-03]]> 1944-05-04]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Adalberto Di Corato]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Scotland--Perth and Kinross]]> England--London]]> Canada]]> Manitoba]]> Manitoba--Portage la Prairie]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> France]]> France--Mailly-le-Camp]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Posted to 49 Squadron, he began his tour with an operation to La Spezia. Thomas describes his various experiences during the tour including bad weather over the Alps, running off the runway at RAF Fiskerton and crew injury. He describes operations to Essen, Dusseldorf, Nuremberg and to Hamburg for the first use of Window. He details his duties during these operations.
Completing his tour, Thomas was commissioned and posted back to RAF St Athan to train flight engineers. After the war he flew in Lincolns and was part of a goodwill tour of Rhodesia. Trained in intelligence, Thomas was posted to No. 3 Group Headquarters and then Bomber Command Headquarters before retraining as an accountant and personnel officer. Then he undertook postings to RAF Bridgnorth, Karachi, and RAF Wildenrath.
Thomas describes touring Europe with his wife before his final posting, to RAF Swinderby as officer commanding personnel. Here he left the RAF to work in a bank in Lincoln. During his service Thomas took up gliding, a hobby he continued in civilian life.]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lincoln]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Wassenberg]]> Alps]]> Italy]]> Italy--La Spezia]]> Zimbabwe]]> 1940-04]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]>
Victor completed 28 operations, including Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Cologne, Essen and Frankfurt, but he missed out on his 30 operations when he contracted rubella. He tells of his experiences on his operations, and supporting the D-Day operations when he and his crew were sent to attack the gun emplacement at Le Havre. He mentions how he saw all the ships heading for the beaches. Victor also recalls being put in charge of training with Lancasters, Halifaxes, Sunderlands and Stirlings, before heading out to Malaya to work on supporting the Army.
He served during the Suez Crisis helping with issues concerning radar. Back home he served at multiple stations before becoming commanding officer at RAF North Luffenham. He mentions an incident at RAF Marham and joining Task Force Grapple which was involved with nuclear testing.
Victor retired in 1977 and then he became a parish councillor for West Norfolk Council, before becoming mayor of West Norfolk from 1990 to 1991. At the local Royal Air Force Association he takes part in events helping to organise the acts of Remembrance every year.
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Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Essex]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Rutland]]> France]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Christmas Island]]> Egypt]]> Malta]]> Singapore]]> Malaysia]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1956]]> 1957]]> 1944-03-30]]> 1944-03-31]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Steph Jackson]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Second generation]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Witten]]> Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Saskatchewan--Dafoe]]> Saskatchewan]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sam Harper-Coulson]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Huntingdonshire]]> England--Northumberland]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> 1943]]> 1944-01-17]]> 1956]]>
In 1942 he attended his RAF medical and was given deferred service. He was called up in March 1943 and attended various training courses to become a rear air gunner. Posted to RAF Lichfield he formed up with his mainly Canadian crew before moving on to an Operational Training Unit flying Whitley’s. At a Heavy Conversion Unit his crew moved to Halifax’s and finally Lancasters. In November 1943 they were posted to RAF Ludford Magna with 101 Squadron. Their first operation took place on 27th January 1944 to Berlin. Peter lists the German towns he was sent to on operations, including Nuremberg in March when the squadron lost seven aircraft. His thirtieth operation was against large guns at Calais. Normally the end of a tour, they were asked to carry out a special duties' operation on the night of 5th June 1944. They flew back and forth between Dover and Paris dropping Window, foil strips, out of the aircraft. It was not until they returned to the station that they were told it was part of the invasion of Europe.

He describes what he did in his spare time and the preparation for operations. Over the thirty-one operations he flew, Peter says that he never had to fire his guns even though he did see some night fighters. Only on one occasion did their aircraft have trouble, when one engine stopped working and there was no power to his rear turret. He describes the various roles he had after completing his tour until he was demobbed in January 1947. ]]>
Chris Johnson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Nick Cornwell-Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943-11]]> 1944-01-27]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]>
Claire Bennet]]> This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Algeria]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Tunisia]]> Algeria--Laghouat (Province)]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Tunisia--El Kef]]> 1941-11]]> 1942-06]]> 1942-11]]>