Browse Items (1324 total)
- Temporal Coverage is exactly "1944"
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Interview with Emmanuel Alexis Elden
Emmanuel Alexis Elden grew up in Jamaica. He joined the Royal Air Force and trained at RAF Hunmanby Moor. He served as an air traffic controller and, when he was not on duty, he used to enjoy travelling to dances in London. He stayed in the RAF until…
Interview with Mary Ellis
Mary Wilkins Ellis was born in Oxfordshire and became interested in aviation at a very early age. She experienced her first flight with Alan Cobham’s Flying Circus. Mary learned to fly while still at school and obtained her licence in 1938. When…
Interview with John Eppel
John Eppel grew up in Australia and joined the Royal Australian Air Force. After training, he completed 30 operations as a navigator with 550 Squadron. He describes initial training in Australia and the journey by sea via the United States, then…
Interview with David Rayner Fox
David Rayner Fox grew up in New Zealand and joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1942. After training, he flew operations as an air gunner with 75 Squadron from RAF Mepal. During one operation his pilot, Dave Moriarty was terribly injured when a…
Interview with Colin Fraser
Colin joined the British Army in December 1941, and eventually moved to his preferred Royal Air Force in March 1943. He went to Number 2 Initial Training School at RAAF Bradfield Park in Sydney as a navigator, graduating in February 1944. His first…
Interview with Keith Ganney
Keith was called up in February 1942 and, after basic training, learned to fly in the Tiger Moth and was then sent to Davidson in Canada for further training in Cornells and Cranes. He failed a flying test and was re-mustered as a bomb aimer and sent…
Interview with William Geoghegan
William Geoghegan grew up in Australia and after serving in the army, joined the Royal Australian Air Force. He flew operations as a navigator with 61 Squadron from RAF Skellingthorpe.
Interview with Allen Geoffrey Gould
Allen Gould grew up in Bournemouth and worked for the Danish Bacon company, until volunteering for the Royal Air Force. He completed 32 operations as a flight engineer with 620 Squadron from RAF Fairford. Post war, he married his wife, who was…
Interview with Victor Gregg
Victor Gregg joined the army on his 18th birthday. He was stationed in the Middle East when the news came that war had been declared. His first major battle of the war was at Beda Fomm. He later volunteered and was posted to 10 Parachute Battalion…
Interview with David Griffin
David was a navigator in 428 Squadron in Halifax aircraft. He trained in Canada and the UK. He was the only survivor when he baled out of his aircraft over the Netherlands on 28 September 1943. He found a farmhouse and was met with kindness but…
Interview with Dick Heath
Dick Heath was an apprentice boat builder and joined the Royal Air Force in 1943. He began training as an air gunner but was posted to RAF Fiskerton working in the bomb dump. He was on his way to Canada by ship when the war in Europe ended. After he…
Interview with Priscilla Henwood
Priscilla was encouraged by a friend’s father to join the 600 Squadron in anticipation of the war. She was called up and was based at Finsbury Barracks, involved in recruitment. Priscilla also worked on the telephone exchange at Clerkenwell.
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Interview with Harry Irons. Two
Harry was under age when he joined the RAF in 1940 after witnessing bombing in London. He went to Blackpool in August 1941 and became a rear gunner. Gunnery school for six weeks at RAF Manby followed, and Harry joined 9 Squadron at RAF Waddington. He…
Interview with Stanley Ernest Jeffrey. One
Stan Jeffrey was a flight mechanic at RAF Pocklington. He discusses the camaraderie between the ground and air crews. He would stick chewing gum to the undercarriage as a good luck charm. Shortly after the end of the war, the ground crew were taken…
Interview with Alexander Elliott Jenkins
Alex was fostered by the cricketer Bill Woodfull and studied at Melbourne University. He had to go from Somers to defend his decision to join up in 1942. He trained at Benalla and converted onto Wirraways at Deniliquin where he qualified as a pilot.…
Interview with Frederik Kroese
Frederik was born in 1924. He recalls the start of the German occupation. Frederik was asked to report to an office to go and work in Germany but chose instead to go into hiding. He was offered work in the resistance by the son of a secretary to…
Interview with Hugh Lorimer
Hugh Lorimer skipped school to see a flying circus and won a flight in one of the aeroplanes. He later volunteered for the RAF and began training as a wireless operator. He was, initially, posted to Special Duty Flight test flying in India. However,…
Interview with Roy White
Roy White was born in Perth, Scotland but grew up in London. He joined the Air Training Corps, went on as a volunteer reserve and then served as an air gunner in the RAF. He tells of his brother serving in Coastal Command and surviving an aircraft…
Interview with Raymond Moore
Raymond Moore flew 31 operations as a flight engineer with 408 Squadron. He describes initial training at Skegness and then further training at Cosford, Halton and St Athan. He describes the crewing-up procedure at Eastmoor and describes the…
Interview with Les Munro
John Leslie Munro was born in the area of Gisborne, New Zealand. He only completed two years of secondary education because of the economic slump and, in 1936, began work on a sheep ranch and then a mixed farm. On the outbreak of the Second World…
Interview with Sinclair Nutting
Clair was born in Radisson, Canada and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in December 1940. He flew 45 operations. He enlisted at Saskatoon and trained at Brandon. Guard duty in Saskatoon followed before Calgary for wireless training. He was…
Interview with Frederick Parker
Fred Parker was born in Skegness and worked with boats and built pillboxes before the war. He later joined the Royal Air Force and served as ground personnel, where he worked at an air gunnery training unit at RAF Silloth, with target tugs. Fred…
Interview with Lawrence Penn
Lawrence Penn grew up in Australia and worked as a bank clerk before he volunteered for the Air Force. He flew 40 operations as a pilot with 226 Squadron. After the war he had his own air taxi company and also flew for Qantas.
Interview with Sheila Rankine
Sheila Rankine wanted to become a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force but was conscripted to be a munitions factory worker. She worked at Rose's in Gainsborough making the hydro-static fuses for bombs including the Upkeep bouncing bomb. She met…
Interview with Ronald Rodgers
Ronald Rodgers joined the Royal Australian Air Force aged seventeen, having previously been in the Air Training Corps. He trained as an air gunner and was posted to 460 Squadron at RAF Binbrook but did not fly operationally. On discharge in 1946 Roy…