Mike Connock]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Carmel Dammes]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Wales]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Somerset]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Wales--Bridgend]]> Ian Price]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Northumberland]]> Wales]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France]]> France--Versailles]]> Germany]]> 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.
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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]]>
George sailed from Liverpool to Freetown, where he enjoyed seeing sailors and WAAFs in their whites, the green landscape and the locals selling their wares. He had some free time in Durban and received great hospitality from expats but felt embarrassed by apartheid. He began flying at No. 48 Air School and here his trade changed from air observer to air bomber, so he describes the navigational support role played by air bombers. He received his brevet and while 20 of his course were sent to North Africa, he and four others returned to England. George says he went to an OCU in North Wales and then describes crewing up, going onto Lancasters and being posted to 166 Squadron at RAF Kirmington.
While at Kirmington George married and his wife would come to visit, staying with a local family and making life-long friends.
George describes two memorable operations: Kiel, where he saw a Lancaster hit by falling bombs and Nuremberg, where his aircraft was coned by searchlights. He recalls how, on returning to Kirmington, the sight of the village church and a field of poppies was a beautiful welcome home and that he used to climb a hill near his billet to relax and look at the view.
At the end of the war George flew several trips on Op. DODGE and says that they flew at 2,000 feet because the passengers had no parachutes and so the aircrew did not carry them either. He also describes a visit to East Kirkby, where he was made to feel very welcome. He was asked what it was like to fly in the Lancaster and how it stood up to corkscrewing.
Sadly, George's lasting emotion of his service is of how quickly the closely-bonded crews were split up and sent back to their home countries at the war's end, often without time to exchange addresses or even say goodbye.]]>
Gemma Clapton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Andy Fitter]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Sound]]> Germany]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Great Britain]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Abingdon]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Grimsby]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Stratford-upon-Avon]]> Sierra Leone]]> Sierra Leone--Freetown]]> South Africa]]> South Africa--Durban]]> South Africa--Port Elizabeth]]> Wales]]> Wales--Anglesey]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> British Army]]> Great Britain]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lancashire]]> Netherlands]]> Poland]]> Germany]]> Lithuania]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Germany--Barth]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> Wales]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1945-05]]> Andrew Sadler]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sam Harper-Coulson]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Netherlands]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Pam Locker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Wales]]> India]]> Eric describes his basic training in London and Torbay then recollects his technical training at RAF St. Athan. He then went to 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Marston Moor and joined his Halifax crew. In 1944 they were posted to 102 Squadron at RAF Pocklington where there were told that they wouldn't last three weeks.
Eric and his crew carried out a vast range of strategic bombings including daylight operations on V-1 sites, night operations on The Ruhr and Essen, night and daylight operations to oil targets, minelaying in the Baltic. They also provided tactical support in support of Allied troops near Caen and in the Ardennes, where they were badly damaged by a fighter and the mid-upper gunner received serious injuries. After landing at RAF Woodbridge in fog using FIDO he was hospitalised and did not fly again. The crew also supplied petrol to troops in Belgium, enjoying the low-level flying on these trips
Eric describes the sound of shrapnel hitting the aircraft, recalls a bomber exploding in flight, but dismisses the Scarecrow theory. He describes the use of Schräge Musik against the bombers; how search lights in the Ruhr operated, the use of H2S and how the master bomber controlled the rest of the formation.
At the end of his tour Eric remustered and was posted at RAF Jurby as airfield controller. From there he went to RAF Topcliffe and was demobbed in January 1947. Eric went back to the railways for ten years before working in local government. He retired in 1978, moving to Cornwall. While at RAF Pocklington he dated Cora noting that her parents made feel like a son. But he then ended the relationship because, with his own life in such jeopardy, he thought it was unfair on her. After the war he married Ellen, who he had met when starting his first job with the railways.]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Andy Fitter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Devon]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> Wales]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> France]]> France--Ardennes]]> France--Caen]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Nieppe Forest]]> Germany]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Denmark]]> Denmark--Bornholm]]> 1923]]> 1937]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1944-01]]> 1944-02]]> 1944-07-25]]> 1944-09]]> 1945]]> 1946-05-25]]> 1947-01-02]]> 1957]]> 1974]]> 1975]]> 1976]]> 1977]]> 1978]]> 1981]]>
Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Map. Navigation chart and navigation log]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Ireland]]> Wales]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Map. Navigation chart and navigation log]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England]]> Wales]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> Great Britain. Ordnance Survey]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Wales]]> Great Britain. Ordnance Survey]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Manchester]]> Wales]]> England--Lancashire]]> Great Britain. Ordnance Survey]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Manchester]]> Wales]]> England--Lancashire]]> John Ross Mckenzie Valentine]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Wales]]> England--Shropshire]]> Wales--Dyfed]]> Wales--Aberystwyth]]> 1940-12-28]]> The RAF ex-POW Association]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Reading]]> Wales]]> England--Leeds]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany]]> Belgium]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> H G Adams]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Map]]> Photograph]]> Technical aid]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Wales]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--London]]> France]]> France--Le Havre]]> 1944-03-27]]> 1944-06-21]]> 1944-08-12]]> 1944-06-14]]> 1944-06-15]]> 1944-06-30]]> 1944-07-18]]> 1944-08-07]]> 1944-08-08]]> Second is of 43 aircrew trainees and four staff, posed in four rows in front of imposing building, captioned No 6 ITW Aberystwyth, Wales May 1942.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> England]]> Wales]]> Canada]]> Saskatchewan]]> Great Britain]]> Great Britain]]> 1942-05]]> 1942-12]]> At RAF Halton he met fellow Poles from 303 Squadron who were there for three months training. He, however, was there for four years and received training very good on all types of armament and explosives, possibly in the context of weapon research and development.
He was there on VE Day but says the Poles didn't celebrate because of the Yalta agreement. He also recalls how, when some Russians visited, they were locked in a workshop out of the way. He recalls the barrack rooms and how they cheated the midnight bed checks when some were still out dancing in Aylesbury. He also says that the food was cooked by Italian prisoners and was very good.
In 1946 Michael went to RAF Cammeringham pending demobilisation. He was then detached to 48 Maintenance Unit at Wrexham, where he received and checked aircraft guns, before going to RAF Framlingham to await resettlement or repatriation.
Some Polish airmen returned to Poland but Mieczyslaw, by then know as Michael, went to London for resettlement. He claimed that trade unions didn't want the Poles and tried to send them into the mines and foundries but he refused and found a job making spectacles. He met his wife, who is also Polish, in 1960.
In London Michael attended social events and dinners at the Polish Club. He was awarded the Polish Freedom Medal in about 1990 or 1991.
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Geoff Burton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Andy Fitter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Polskie Siły Powietrzne]]> Egypt]]> Gaza Strip]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Lincoln]]> England--London]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> Middle East--Palestine]]> Wales]]> Wales--Wrexham]]> Ukraine]]> Poland]]> Poland--Kraków]]> 1939]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-05-08]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> 1948]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Birkenhead]]> England--Leeds]]> England--Oxford]]> New Zealand]]> Wales]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Brighton]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> England--New Brighton (Wirral)]]> Wales]]> England--Sussex]]> Top left - woman sitting in chair in garden.
Top right - woman and a man sitting alongside each other on chairs in garden with trellis behind them.
Bottom left - a man wearing suit and tie and woman wearing dress standing side by side in a doorway.
Caption on spine 'Wimbourne 1976'.
Right page:
Captions on spine from top to bottom 'Central Wales, 1961', '1961', 'Wales 1961'.
Top - woman wearing skirt ad top walking across slope of mountain with valley and other mountain in the distance.
Bottom left - woman standing on mountainside looking over valley at rock outcrops on far side.
Bottom right - half length image of a woman wearing striped top.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> Wales]]> England--Dorset]]> England--Wimborne Minster]]> 1976]]> 1961]]>
ET Wallis]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription. Allocated]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland]]> Wales]]> 1944-09-12]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> Wales]]> Wales--Penarth]]> 1943]]> Dawn Oakley]]> This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated C Campbell]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> Wales]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales]]> Wales--Anglesey]]> Iraq]]> Iraq--Baghdad]]> 1926-01-15]]> 1953-03-23]]>