1
25
56
-
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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
Calvert, Roger
R A Calvert
Description
An account of the resource
Seven items. The collection consists of an oral history interview with Flight Lieutenant Roger Alfred Calvert (b. 1923, 1488619; 152814), his logbook, navigators training course class book and 3 photographs. Roger Calvert was a navigator with 141 Squadron at RAF West Raynham flying Mosquitos on night intruder operations. For most of his operational career his pilot was Flight Lieutenant John Thatcher.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Roger Calvert and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-04-24
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
Calvert, R
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Chief Supervisory Officer, WC. W. R. Kingsland; Instructors, F/Lt. W. I. Moore, F/Lt. C. Miall
Name — Home Address
W. D. Birkbeck — “The Pillars,” Surrenden Road, Brighton, Sussex, England.
E. Bouchard — 346 rue Desbiens, La Tuque, Que., Canada.
H. B. Braney — Glenholm, Prestwick Road, Ayr, Scotland.
R. A. Calvert — 14 Lower Camden Place, Bath, Somerset, England.
K. C. Clarke — 3 Portland Place, New Square, Cambridge England.
J. J. Coyne — 41 Rose Street, Garnethill, Glasgow, Scotland.
D. A. Dix — 7 Vandyke Cross, Eltham, London, S.E. 9, London.
G. Dufour — 4 St. Louis St., Thetford Mines, Que., Canada.
F. J. Flattery — 3 Purefoy Road, Yardley Wood, Birmingham, 14, England.
A. J. Jackson — 73 Hallowell Ave., Westmount, Montreal, Que., Canada
A. Jones — Cerrigellgwm, Bettws-Y-Coed, N. Wales.
J. Matthews — 20 Canning St., Belfast, Nth. Ireland.
J. McHugh — 52 Claremont St., Aberdeen, Scotland.
D. Shinton — 208 Marsh Lane, Erdington, Birmingham, 23, England.
B. O. Sibree — 10 Wordsworth Ave., Newport Road, Cardiff, S. Wales.
D. Stoddart — 6 Invertiel Terr., Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland.
H. F. Sykes — 39 Woodleigh Road, Monkseaton, Northumberland, England.
W. Symes — 125 Wolverhampton Road, Walsall, Staffs, England.
J. B. Tait — 72 Duck St., Carronshore, Falkirk, Scotland.
[page break]
[list of signatures]
J Jackson (Jimmie)
W. Symes (Wally)
Fred Flattery (Brummie)
D. A. Dix (Duggie)
Hugh B. Braney (Scottie)
E. Bouchard (Butch)
Aloysius Coyne (Glasgow)
K C Clarke (Casey)
J McHugh (Aee)
Arthur Jones
J B Tait (Jock)
Brian O. Sibree
H F Sykes (Bill)
D. Stoddart
Jimmy Matthews (Orangeman)
Gaston Dufour “Paddy”
Roger Calvert (Groucho)
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
Course 71 navigators
Description
An account of the resource
The class book for 71 Navigators course, March - July 1943. Cover includes course details and photograph of an Anson in flight over the airfield with landing gear down. Contains the list of names of the 19 students who completed the course as well as signatures of 17 of them. A photograph of 19 students and 3 instructors standing and sitting in three rows with an Anson and part of a hanger in the background is repeated on two pages. Contains a written account of course.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One illustrated booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCalvertRA1505
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Ontario--London
Ontario
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Cathie Hewitt
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.
1943-03
1943-04
1943-05
1943-06
1943-07
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
hangar
observer
training
-
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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
Boone, Ronald
Ronnie Boone
R Boone
R H Boone
Description
An account of the resource
The collection concerns Ronald Henry Boone (1331310, Royal Air Force). It includes five photographs, his personnel record and a record of his operations. Ronald Boone was an air gunner and flew operations with 77 Squadron at Royal Air Force Elvington and then 35 Squadron from RAF Graveley. He was killed when his Halifax was shot down by a night fighter on an operation to Münster 11/12 June 1943. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Sandra Jones and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br /><br />Additional information on Ronald Boone is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202629/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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. 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.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-01
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Boone, R
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined] 18 Feb 1943 [/underlined]
Mine laying ops.
Route: [underlined] BASE [/underlined] ===[underlined] HORNSEA [/underlined]===[underlined] BALTRUM [/underlined]. Release point:54.08. N [underlined] FLAMBOROUGH [/underlined]===[underlined] BASE [/underlined]
Bomb Load: 1 MK IV B200 - NIL DELAY
1MK IVB 202 - NIL DELAY
NIL Cameras
NIL Nickels
Halifax 11 DT 685 “C”
F/SGT Goodwin found good visibility and his mines were laid in position as detailed from a height of 800ft. Moderate amount of light and heavy flak. A searchlight was observed at eastern side of [underlined] JUIST [/underlined] Aircraft landed safely.
[underlined] 26/7 Feb 1943 [/underlined]
Halifax DT 643 “A”
Target [underlined] COLOGNE [/underlined]
Route: BASE===SOUTHWOLD===NORDWYKE===TULICH===DUREEN===NORDWYKE===BASE.
Bomb loads 2 x 1000-37 pistol fuse 845
810 x 4lb incendiaries (ord)
32 x 30lb incendiaries (ord)
Nickels - Aircrafts A + J
Cameras - All aircraft.
Primary site located, dropped bombs on green TI Marker from 15000ft, whole area well carpeted from incendiaries, no distinctive fires. Nickels dropped 15 minutes after bombing. Enemy believed to be ME109 passed overhead 10ft above our aircraft and attacked from starboard quarter from 800 yards closing to 600 yards, evasive action taken, M109 [sic]broke away to port. Flak moderate heavy 2 searchlights cones seen. Returned safe.
[page break]
[underlined] 26/27 March 1943 [/underlined]
Halifax 11JB 842 “E”
Left base 19.51
Landed back 00.19.
Bombing [underlined] DUISBERG (SR) [/underlined]
Bombs dropped at 18000ft cloud over target 10/10ths and results of bombing not seen. Large explosion was seen as aircraft left target area, 4 packages of G10 nickels were dropped after bombing. Numerous ineffective searchlights. Landed safe.
[underlined] 27/28 March 1943 [/underlined]
Bombing [underlined] BERLIN [/underlined]
Left base 19.56
Landed back 22.13
Took off but found Constant Speed Unit on Port inner was fluctuating. Bombs jettisoned safely position 53.46 N 02.01 E. also nickels. Returned safe.
[underlined] 29/30 March 1943 [/underlined]
Bombing [underlined] BERLIN [/underlined]
Left base 21.50
Landed back 05.11
Bomb loads: 2 x 1000 GP TD 0 025
5 x SBC (90 x 4)
5 x SBC (8 x 30)
Bombs dropped onto cluster TI markers from 18000ft. Ground haze at target, 2 fires seemed to be developing. 3 G 14 nickels dropped after bombing. Fires were seen when our aircraft was 120 miles away on return journey, flak light and number of searchlights. Return safe.
[page break]
[underlined] 28/29 April 1943 [/underlined]
Halifax 11 JB 846 “L”
[underlined] DUISBO? [/underlined]
Left base 20.24
Landed back 03.12
Mine laying dropping point 56.51 N x 11.09 E
Mines 1 x G 708 IV
1 X B 200 IV
Dropped at 300ft in position. Ordered flak from 2 flak ships, encountered no damage to aircraft and 12 searchlights in operation. Operation completed.
[underlined] 30th April/1st May 1943 [/underlined]
Bombing [underlined] ESSEN [/underlined]
Crew briefed but aircraft didn’t take off.
[underlined] 4/5 May 1943 [/underlined]
Bombing [underlined] DORTMUND [/underlined]
Left base 22.41
Landed back 03.54
Target attacked from 16300ft release point being 3 or 4 red TI markers in bombsite. Whole target covered with fires. Red explosion followed by blue one then big white flash was observed. Heavy flak from 3 or 4 guns observed and appeared to be accurately predicted. Safe return.
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
Ronald Boone operations on 77 Squadron
Description
An account of the resource
Details of nine operations carried out between February and May 1943 from RAF Elvington on 77 Squadron flying Halifax. Targets include Cologne, Berlin and several in the Ruhr.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three page typewritten 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
MBooneRH1331310-150729-020003, MBooneRH1331310-150729-020004, MBooneRH1331310-150729-020005
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.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--York
Germany
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-02
1943-03
1943-04
1943-05
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. 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
Jeremy Patton
77 Squadron
anti-aircraft fire
bombing
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
incendiary device
Me 109
mine laying
propaganda
RAF Elvington
searchlight
target indicator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/102/3572/MBooneRH1331310-150729-02.1.pdf
19b711c429b05f32df60d4969bf515c9
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
Boone, Ronald
Ronnie Boone
R Boone
R H Boone
Description
An account of the resource
The collection concerns Ronald Henry Boone (1331310, Royal Air Force). It includes five photographs, his personnel record and a record of his operations. Ronald Boone was an air gunner and flew operations with 77 Squadron at Royal Air Force Elvington and then 35 Squadron from RAF Graveley. He was killed when his Halifax was shot down by a night fighter on an operation to Münster 11/12 June 1943. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Sandra Jones and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br /><br />Additional information on Ronald Boone is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202629/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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. 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.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-01
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Boone, R
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[inserted] RGS - 1331310 [/inserted]
[underlined] RONNIE BOONES FLYING MISSIONS[/underlined]
NOTES TAKEN FROM NATIONAL RECORDS OFFICE LONDON.
[underlined]FILM - AIR 27. 380-381.
35 SQUADRON.[/underlined]
Posted to 35 Squadron at [underlined] POOLINGTON [/underlined] with effect from 7th May 1943, from 77 Squadron.
[underlined] MAY 1943. [/UNDERLINED]
Left base 0.26
Landed back 4.52
02.37 16000ft height heading 180 N. 15 x 90 X 4lb incendiary devices dropped.
Weather - nil cloud, slight haze on ground. Bombing appeared to be undershooting to North. Lots of fires started near red target - start of good show.
[underlined] 13/14 May 1943. [/underlined]
Raid carried out from [underlined] GRAVELEY [/underlined] against [underlined] BOCHUM [/underlined]
Left base 23.53 hrs
Landed back 04.54 hrs
2.09&1/2hrs 16000ft heading 140 west.
1260 x 4lb incendiary bombs and 90 x 4lb type X incendiaries dropped.
Weather -clear, red target in bomb site, well grouped. Good fires and black smoke seen as aircraft left target.
[page break]
[underlined] 23/24 May [/underlined]
Main Force
left base 23.38hrs
Landed back 0.45 hrs
01.43&1/2 hrs height 16000ft heading 029
11 x 500 MC and 1 x 1000 GP
Dropped on green target, 8/10 cloud up to 16/18000 ft, much haze and smoke below. Many incendiaries seen scattered over wide area mostly undershot to south. 1 x 200HC jettisoned safe in sea at 5210 N, 0200 E at 4.07am, height 4500 ft as hung over target
[underlined] 27/28 May [/underlined]
Main Force. [underlined] GRAVESLY [sic][/underlined] === [underlined] ESSEN [/underlined]
Left base 22.53 hrs
Landed back 03.52 hrs
01.25 hrs height 16000ft heading 190 N
2 x 1000lb GP target, 12 x 500lb MC bombs dropped with red, green and white sky markers, 5-8/10ths cloud with tops, 10/12000ft misty on ground, targets identified by sky markers. 1st sky marker seen ahead at 1.11&1/2hrs, others followed at intervals and made approach to target easy. Many explosions seen at time of bombing. Everything seemed concentrating and spread slightly to N.E. In the middle of area, 1 particular yellow flare at 01.23 hrs - looked like ammo dump going up.
[page break]
[underlined] 29/30 MAY. [/underlined]
Fire Raiser. [underlined] GRAVESLEY [/underlined] === [underlined] WUPPERTAL [/underlined]
Left base 22.35
Landed back 03.22
Time 01.02 hrs, height 17500ft heading 030 N.
1 x 2000lb HC and 1164 x 4lb incendiaries dropped. Ground haze and smoke but no cloud. 00.49.9 hours, 1st red target indicators seen from distance, many explosions and very good fires with smoke coming up in pillar and drifting across town.
[underlined] 11th JUNE [/underlined]
16 aircraft took off to attack [underlined] MUNSTER [/underlined]. 2 failing to return, Captains HOWE and HERBERT. 4 aircraft returned early due to icing conditions but remainder carried on and successful attacks. 3 aircraft set out to attack [underlined] DUSSELDORF, [/underlined] 2 attacked target but 3rd forced to jettison when attacked before reaching objective by 2 fighters, both were gunned down by Rear Gunner
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
Ronald Boone operations on 35 Squadron
Ronnie Boone's flying operations
Description
An account of the resource
Details of six operations carried in Halifax on 35 Squadron at Royal Air Force Graveley in May and early June 1943. Targets include Bochum, Essen, Wuppertal and Munster. States that notes were taken from the National Records Office London.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three page typewritten 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
BSpencerAHGSpencerAHGv1
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.
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Huntingdon
Germany
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Huntingdonshire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05
1943-06
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
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jeremy Patton
35 Squadron
Halifax
incendiary device
RAF Graveley
target indicator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/374/6508/POtterP1603.2.jpg
ee7e312aba3e997e0f0193f0f92645d1
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
Lancaster being bombed up
The first 100 Squadron Lancaster at RAF Waltham in May 1943
Description
An account of the resource
A Lancaster with a 4000 lb bomb on a bomb trolley underneath.
Additional information about this item has been kindly provided by the donor.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-05
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
POtterP1603
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
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05
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.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
100 Squadron
bomb trolley
bombing up
Lancaster
RAF Grimsby
service vehicle
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/319/8277/MRaettigDW1136657-160623-010001.1.jpg
d6c85804d7e4c7e890adb2b92219583a
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1826fb110a7456340248efb7d65aa834
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/319/8277/MRaettigDW1136657-160623-010003.2.pdf
3ce6d853ae8eed88ef9273b550aa1726
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
Raettig, Dennis
Dennis William Raettig
Dennis W Raettig
D W Raettig
D Raettig
Description
An account of the resource
72 items. The collection concerns the wartime service of Leading Aircraftman Dennis William Raettig (b. 1920, 1136657 Royal Air Force). Joining the Royal Air Force reserve in 1941 he trained as a flight mechanic (Engines) before being posted to 104 Squadron (Wellingtons) at RAF Driffield. This squadron number was later changed to 158 Squadron flying Halifax at RAF East Moor, followed by moves to RAF Rufford and Lisset. The collection consists of a memoir, correspondence with family and acquaintances, family history, service and personal documentation, lucky charms,personal items, cap, boots, squadron tie, research on bombing in Hull as well as photographs of air and ground crew and aircraft. It also includes an oral history interview with Joan Raettig (Dennis Raettig's wife).
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Sue Burn 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
2016-06-23
2016-07-08
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.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Raettig, DW
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
AIR RAIDS ON HULL [underline] BOTH WORLD WARS [/underline]
[page break]
[newspaper cutting]
Our Losses.- For the sake of those who have been abroad, and have never seen in print a summary of Hull experiences during the war, I reproduce them:-
Actual raids, during which bombs were dropped - 82, People killed, about - 1,200, Treated for injuries, about - 3,000, Houses destroyed or damaged - 86,722, Total damage incidents - 146,568, People rendered homeless, permanently or temporarily - 152,000, Number of alerts, 815, Only 5,938 houses in the city escaped unscathed.
In the seven raids of May, 1941, 423 people were killed, and 787 injured, 331 of them seriously; there were 845 fires in the city, not including those put out at the start and not reported officially. In that month alone some 30,000 signed on for duty in one branch or other of the Defence or Welfare services.
[/newspaper cutting]
[page break]
[underline] AIR RAIDS. [/underline]
20/6/40. Barnsley, Buckingham, & Mersey Streets. – 20/6/40. Summergangs Road, Kelvin & Lodge Streets. – 30/7/40. Porter & Great Passage Streets. – 25/8/40. Carlton, Rustenburg, Holland and Morrill Streets. – 26/8/40. Alexandra and Victoria Docks. – 28/8/40. Maternity Home Lodge, A.F.S. Station, Hedon Road. – 30/8/40. Williamson, Bellamy Streets, Victoria Dock. – 3/9/40. In River East of King George Dock. – 5/9/40. Dalton and Tower Streets. (Incendiary only) – 6/9/40. James Reckitt Avenue, Chamberlain and Lambwath Roads. (Incendiary only) – 11/9/40. Telford, Kelvin, Steynburg, Margaret Streets, Woodgate Road. (incendiary only) – 24/9/40 Sutton Annex, Maybury Road, Belfield Avenue. (Incendiary only) – 13/10/40. Stoneferry, Kathleen Road, Maxwell and Woodhall Streets. – 22/10/40. Strathmore Avenue, Sutton and Silverdale Roads. – 1/11/40. Carlton Avenue, Delhi, Frodsham Streets, Pancreel Works. – 7/11/40. Flinton Grove, Preston Road, Marfleet Lane. (Incendiary only) – 8/11/40. Salmon Grove, Fairfax, Cranbrook and Ancaster Avenues. – 11/11/40. Marfleet Lane, Balloon Site, Maybury Road. – 12/12/40. Bankside, Air Street. (incendiary only) – 12/12/40. Hedon Road, Alfred Gelder and Paragon Streets. (Incendiary only) – 17/12/40. Greek Street, Woodlands Road. (Incendiary only) – 4/2/41. Goddard Avenue and Rear of. – 11/2/41. Jalldn [sic] Street. – 14/2/41. Glasshouse Row, Central Street. – 16/2/41 King George Dock. – 22/2/41. L.N.E.R. Line, Rowlston & Ellerby Groves. – 23/2/41. De La Pole Avenue, Clough and Hedon Roads. – 25/2/41. Kirby Street. – 26/2/41. Alexandra Dock. – 1/3/41. James Reckitt Avenue, Summergangs Road. – 4/3/41. Wincolmlee. – 13/3/41. Wyndham Street, Cottingham Road, Desmond and Chanterlands Avenue. – 14/3/41. Bean Street. – 18/3/41 Walker, Coltman Streets, Stepney Crossing, Fountain Road, Wincolmlee, etc. – 31/3/41. Ferensway, Prospect Street, Freedhold Street, Boulevard. – 3/4/41. Savery Street, Southcoates Lane, Inglemire Lane. – 8/4/41. 820, Spring Bank West, Kirklands Road. – 10/4/41. Victoria Avenue, Ella Street, Franklin, Abbey and Kent Streets. (Incendiary only) – 15/4/41. Hedon Road, Mainly East Hull. (I. Bombs in other areas) – 23/4/41. Glasgow Street, St. George’s Road. – 26/4/41. Lakeside Grove, Council Avenue & Rokeby – 27/4/41. Lynton Avenue, Anlaby Park Road South. – 3/5/41. “Fenners”, Marfleet – Alexandra Dock, Frodsham Street. – 7/8/5/41. Blitz. – 8/8/5/41. Blitz. – 12/5/41. Freehold Street, Clifton Street, Albert, Trafalger and Lister Streets. – 29/5/41. Hessle Road, Essex and Hampshire Streets (I. Bomb) – 2/6/41. Blenheim, Margaret Streets, Marlborough Avenue, Park Grove. – 23/6/41. Goddard Avenue, Lee Smith Street. – 29/6/41. Barnsley Street, James Reckitt Avenue, Endymion and Ceylon Streets. – [insert] 10/7/41 East Hull (Incendiary only) [/insert] – 11/7/41. Fenchurch, Folkestone, cave and Terry Streets, Francis Askew School. – 15/7/41. Ellerburn Avenue, Sidmouth and De Grey Streets. – 18/7/41. G.P.O. Alfred Gelder Street, George Street, Southcoates Lane, New Bridge Road. Mainly East Hull. – 23/7/41 Mainly East Hull. – 18/8/41. Holborn Mount, Little Great Thornton Street, Beech Avenue. – 31/8/41. Wellington Lane, Harlet, Ella Streets, Goddard Avenue. – [insert] 21/9/41 Priory Sidings, Hessle Road. [/insert] – 13/10/41. Edward’s Place, Humber Dock Street. – 8/11/41. Bean Street, St. Matthew and Queensgate Streets.
22nd November, 1941.
RAW/MKS.2.
[page break]
13/14/4/42 Willerby Rd., Woodlands Road, Springhead Avenue. – 1/5/42 Bank St., Victoria St., Railway South of Botanic Crossing. – 19/20/5/42 Scarborough St., Westbourne Ave., Sutton, Southcoates Lane, Alexandra Dock. – 1/8/42 Grindell Street, Victoria Dock. 9/8/42 Chanterlands Avenue. – 25/10/42 Anlaby Road. 20/12/42 Tunis St., Holderness High Road, Carden Avenue. – 3/1/43 Stoneferry. – 15/16/1/43 Marfleet Lane to Stanhope Avenue. – 24/6/43 Providence Row, Victor Street, Brunswick Ave., Newland Park. – 13/14/7/43 Ceylon Street, Rudston Grove, Trinity St., Leonard St. – 50 am 24/12/44 Flying Bombs
[page break]
[key to list: DAY – MONTH – DATE – CALL – DISMISS – REMARKS]
[underline]1915.[/underline]
Tuesday. May. 11th 8-10. 1-20. – Wednesday. May. 12th. 8-0. 1-45. – Friday. June. 4th. 11-15. 2-15. – Sunday. June. 6th. 11-20. 2-15. Raid. – Tuesday. June. 8th. 9-45. 1-0. – Tuesday. June. 15th. 9-20. 1-45. – Monday June .21st. 11-10. 2-20. – Sunday. July. 4th. 12-10. 3-10. – Tuesday. July. 13th. 11-30. 1-0. – Monday. August. 9th. 8-45. 3-30. – Tuesday. August. 10th. 11-50. 2-40. – Thursday. August. 12th. 8-20. 2-45. – Sunday. August. 15th. 11-45. 1-0. – Tuesday. Wednesd August. 17th. 8-40. 2-0. – Wednesday. September. 8th. 7-40. 2-20. – Saturday. September. 11th. 9-20. 11-35. – Monday. September. 13th. 8-20. 2-30. – Wednesday. October. 13th. 7-30. 4-45. – Wednesday. October. 27th. 8-40. 10-0. – Friday. November. 26th. 12-0. 1-15.
[underline]1916.[/underline]
Monday. January. 31st. 7-55. 2-18. – Thursday. February. 10th. 6-10. 9-0. – Sunday. February. 13th. 7-55. 9-5. – Sunday. March. 5th. 8-30. 2-45. Raid. – Sunday. March. 19th. 6-50. 12-50. – Friday. March. 31st. 8-55. 4-25. – Saturday. April. 1st. 8-15. 1-45. – Sunday. April. 2nd. No Call. [space] Over Hull. – Monday. April. 3rd. 8-0. 2-40. – Tuesday. April. 4th. 8-0. 10-5. – Wednesday. 5th. 8-35. 1-55. Raid. – Monday. April. 24th. 9-40. 4-15. – Tuesday. May. 2nd. 8-40. 3-30. – Friday. July. 28th. 12-0. 2-50. – Monday. July. 31st. 10-10. 3-40. – Wednesday. August. 2nd. 2-0. 3-15. – Tuesday. August. 8th. 10-40. 3-40. Raid. – Saturday. September. 2nd. 10-40. 2-40. Raid. – Saturday. September. 23rd. 8-30. 2-40. – Monday. September. 25th. 8-15. 3-30. Raid. – Sunday. October. 1st. 7-45. 2-40. – Monday. November. 27th. 8-45. 3-20. Reports heard.
[underline]1917.[/underline]
Tuesday. August. 21st. 1035. 3-35. Zepps. [Zeppelins] in vicinity at 1-20 and bombs dropped across the Humber and at Hedon. – Monday. September. 24th. 11-0. 5-10. Raid. – Friday. October. 19th. 6-50. 1-35.
[underline]1918[/underline]
Tuesday March 12th. 7-15 12-45. Raid. – Friday April 12th 9-15 3-30 Raid – Monday Aug. 5th. 9-45 2-0 Firing heard, 1 Zep destroyed.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Research on German bombing of Hull
Air raids on Hull both World Wars
Description
An account of the resource
Four documents. First a title page. Second a newspaper article summarising Hull's bombing experience in number of raids, people killed, houses destroyed or damaged, damage incidents, people rendered homeless and number of alerts. Notes that only 5938 houses escaped unscathed and gives casualties for seven raids in May 1941. Third a list of dates and street or areas where bombs fell from June 1940 to July 1943. Fourth a list of dates from May 1915 until August 1918 with call, dismiss and remarks. Nine remarks state 'Raid' and one states 'Zepps in vicinity and bombs dropped across the Humber and at Heden'.
Format
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One title page, one newspaper cutting, one two page typewritten document and one single page typewritten document.
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Personal research
Identifier
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MRaettigDW1136657-160623-01
Coverage
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Civilian
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1915
1916
1917
1918
1940
1941
1943
1943-05
Rights
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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
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
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Robin Christian
David Bloomfield
bombing
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/770/9384/SDexterKI127249v10011.1.jpg
dc1dfcde1df99ab8b14cadfb4b9cc714
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Title
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Dexter, Keith Inger. Album
Description
An account of the resource
24 items. Contains newspaper articles and information about Keith and Shelia Dexter while at school. Includes a number of photographs of Keith Dexter's mother's home in Stradishall and of a memorial to men of F Division of the Metropolitan Police lost during 1939-45. Followed by documents from Squadron Leader A N Banks concerning the collision between a Halifax and a Mosquito at RAF Foulsham in a April 1944 with photographs as well as information on Foulsham and 192 Squadron. Finally photographs of Keith Dexter's medals, an escape map and compass and a photograph of a model train built by Keith Dexter with a certificate from the Model Engineering Exhibition 1933.
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IBCC Digital Archive
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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.
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Dexter, KI
Date
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2017-08-30
Transcribed document
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[inserted] Annex ‘A’ to MDB 25 1X [/inserted]
ACTION STATIONS 1
House, Gestapo HQ in Copenhagen, on March 21 1945.
After the war squadrons of 2 Group began arriving for armament training, No 180 in June 1945 and Nos 605, 140 and 613 in July. Then, on August 1 1945, No 2 Group Disbandment Centre formed from the GSU and through the unit squadrons of 2 Group passed to wind down. No 2 Group Training Flight was also in residence at this time and when it closed in December 1945 Fersfield ended its active days.
Flixton, Suffolk
[italics] See Bungay [/italics]
Foulsham, Norfolk
[italics] TG029265. E of Foulsham village, off A1067 [/italics]
This was an unconventional operation. Whatever else, the Mitchell was not a low-level strike aircraft, it was too slow and clumsy. Yet when 98 and 180 Squadrons entered battle on January 11 1943, they did so with a roof height attack on Ghent/Terneuzen, from Foulsham. Flak was heavy and, as the bombers and their unusual escort of Mustangs, best at low level, retired, FW 190s raced in. Three Mitchells out of 12 were shot down.
Foulsham opened in May 1942, joining 2 Group the following month. It was far from ready to receive its squadrons and not until October did 98 and 180 Squadrons bring their aircraft in from Massingham. Foulsham would always be remembered as the first Mitchell operational station, for here the squadrons worked up, plagued with gun and turret problems. Indeed, these were so bad that the squadrons had to be withdrawn from a share in the December Philips raid, although 180 Squadron managed ASR patrols on December 8, the first operational sorties by RAF Mitchells.
Turret and gun troubles retarded Mitchell operations until May. Training had been hindered, too, by the poor state of the muddy airfield where accommodation was primitive. This did not prevent Horsa gliders arriving for storage, where No 12 Glider MU was situated for a year.
By May 1943 both Mitchell squadrons were training to fly in box formations and on the 11th six crews of 180 Squadron set off for Boulogne, but were thwarted by bad weather. Next day 98 Squadron successfully raided the same target. On May 15 and 16 they bombed Caen airfield, 180 [inserted][symbol] over [/inserted]
Dublin Core
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Title
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History of RAF Foulsham
Foulsham, Norfolk
Description
An account of the resource
History of RAF Foulsham which opened in May 1942 and received 98 and 180 Squadrons in October 1942 with B-25 aircraft. Describes problems getting B-25 operational and early operations as well as an early low level operation on Ghent/Terncuzen where three of 12 aircraft were shot down.
Format
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One page printed document
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Identifier
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SDexterKI127249v10011
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Norfolk
Belgium
Belgium--Ghent
France
France--Caen
Temporal Coverage
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1942-05
1942-10
1943-01-11
1943-05
Rights
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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
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
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David Bloomfield
Steve Baldwin
Requires
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Workflow A completed
180 Squadron
98 Squadron
B-25
RAF Foulsham
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/624/10563/MPearsonLP1397838-150530-02.1.jpg
7ee8dd8702c99491168fa1c3898f177e
Dublin Core
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Title
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Pearson, Leslie Robert
L R Pearson
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
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Pearson, LP
Description
An account of the resource
Six items. An oral history interview with Leslie Pearson (d. 2018, 1397838 Royal Air Force), a photograph and service material. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 153 Squadron from RAF Scampton.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Leslie Pearson and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Rights
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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.
Date
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2015-05-31
Dublin Core
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Title
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Daily Flying Return
Description
An account of the resource
Leading aircraftsman Leslie Pearson's daily flying log for May 1943. It records the hours flown, exercises undertaken, Instructor and aircraft flown. Training was at No 4 EFTS.
Format
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One printed sheet with handwritten annotations
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
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MPearsonLP1397838-150530-02
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Training Command
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
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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.
1943-05
aircrew
Flying Training School
pilot
Tiger Moth
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/864/11106/PHaytonK1701.1.jpg
ef6b69d8536b3e5ebdb6b4231318428f
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/864/11106/AHaytonK171004.2.mp3
2342cec6176bee1aa281e272dd002da5
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Hayton, Ken
K Hayton
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with Ken Hayton about his father George Stanley 'Stan' Hayton (1912 - 1971). He served as a fitter at RAF Woodhall Spa and RAF Riccall.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-10-17
Rights
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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
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Hayton, K
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
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JS: This interview is being conducted for the International Bomber Command Centre. The interviewer is Joyce Sharland. The interviewee is Ken Hayton. The interview is taking place at Mr Hayton’s home in Andover on the 17th of October 2017.
KH: Yes.
JS: Right. So, Mr Hayton, can you tell me about your father?
KH: My father was George Stanley Hayton. Always known as Stan. And before the war he was employed by Lloyds Bank. He was born in Durham City in two thousand and err now then let me get this right [pause] in 1912, and lived in the city all his life until his death in 1971. In, around about the early time, early days of 1940 he was given permission by the bank to join the Royal Air Force as a volunteer. Which he did. And I know that he did join as a volunteer because initially his uniform had the letters VR under the albatross on his shoulder flashes. It would be 1940 that he joined up because I have recollections as a small boy of going to Durham Station to see him off. I believe his initial training took place at RAF Padgate. And then after that was completed he went on to his trade training as a fitter armourer which I think took place at Lytham St Anne’s. I’m not sure about that but I think that’s where he went. Once that was completed he was posted to Bomber Command into 97 Squadron which was based at RAF Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire. A satellite unit to RAF Coningsby. And he remained there right throughout the war or almost to the end of the war. And towards the end of the war he was posted to RAF Riccall in Yorkshire where he was involved in preparing all the redundant 303 Browning aircraft guns for storage in case they were ever needed to be called back into service. He was demobbed from RAF Waddington in around about the latter part of 1945. I do believe that he was offered a commission if he was prepared to stay in the Royal Air Force but his duty he felt was to the bank who had released him early. So he then was demobbed and joined Lloyds bank where he remained employed until he retired after having served forty years. During his service at Woodhall Spa he was involved in bombing up Lancasters for raids over the occupied territories and when 617 Squadron was due to take, take-off for the Dams raid 97 Squadron was moved back to the parent unit at Coningsby and 617 Squadron came in to Woodhall Spa. I can only think that that was done from a security point of view because it would be much easier to maintain security on a single Squadron station like Woodhall, rather than on the main base of 617 Squadron which was of course RAF Scampton. My father was involved in the bombing up of 617 Squadron for the Dams raid. And I only learned about this when after the war and the production of the film, “The Dambusters,” my father and I went to see it at the cinema in Durham. And on the way home we were discussing various things in the film and it came out that my dad had been involved with 617 Squadron. And when I asked him about the parts of the film which showed the aftermath of the raid on the countryside I said I wondered if that was anything like what had actually had happened and whether the filmers had got it anything accurate. And he said, ‘Yes. It was just like that.’ And immediately after that he said, ‘But don’t tell your mother I said that.’ I can only think that that comment was made because he had been taken over the Dams in one of the Mosquito reconnaissance aircraft which did the photo reconnaissance after the Dams raid. I’ve no proof of that but I can’t see any other reason for the comment which he made except that he was there. He had been very much involved in the bombing up of the aircraft and this I think was why he wanted to go and see the film because neither he nor I were great film goers. When he was at Woodhall there was an incident at a bomb dump near Snaith which is not too far away from Coningsby and Woodhall when a Lancaster came down on the edge of the bomb dump and my dad was involved in the clearing up operations. And I think that had an effect on him because we never ever had chops as a meat meal and he could never stand the smell of lamb being cooked. No other reason that I can think of for that reaction other than the involvement that he’d had in clearing up what obviously must have been carnage with the Lancaster coming down on the, on the edge of the bomb dump. At one time during the war my mother and my sister and myself went down to Woodhall Spa because my dad couldn’t get any leave. It was during a high pressure time I think of bombing raids and he wanted a pushbike. And being the elder of the two children I was given the responsibility of looking after the bike. I can remember feeling quite proud that I’d been given the responsibility of taking care of this bike all the way down from Durham to Woodhall Spa. During that journey we passed through York Station not long after it had been blitzed by the Luftwaffe and it really was in a very bad state on one side of the station. Of course the Luftwaffe went for York because it was a main railway junction during the war and if they could have disrupted the railways it would have had a marked effect on our war effort. The other effect I think that I learned about with on the family was when my father came home on the odd occasion that he could get home on leave he always changed out of uniform into civvies before he saw my sister because my sister was younger than I was and she thought that the RAF was a sort of box that my father was locked up in and the uniform always brought that home to her. But we can only think that that was one of the reasons that dad always got changed as soon as he came home. There was not a lot of other effect on us as a family except that once my father had joined up we moved out of the council house and went to live with my maternal grandparents in the city which overlooked the river and the Cathedral. And just thinking about that period in the early days of the war Durham City is what might be regarded at the centre of a hub of a wheel with the perimeter being on the three main rivers. The Tyne, the Wear and the Tees with the shipyards in Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. And at the beginning of the war we used to get all the air raid warnings if enemy aircraft were coming in for any of those three places. But we never had anything over the city. And eventually we stopped getting air raid warnings unless the aircraft were heading inland. So we were very, very fortunate. Not so my wife who was a Sunderland girl and she lived through the various Blitzes in Sunderland and it had obviously an effect on her as a young girl. Much more so. And I didn’t realise until after we were married and we were talking about things that had happened during the war how fortunate we had been as a family because my maternal grandfather was a great gardener and had allotments which provided vegetables. And we also had an orchard at the back of the, at the back of the house so that we always had fruit. And he kept chickens in the orchard so we always had meat. And it made me realise, talking to my wife just how lucky we had been having all those facilities when I heard of the sort of things that she had had to put up with in Sunderland. So, you know there were many things that happened during the war which folks don’t realise. I mean that was only a distance of twelve miles between Durham City and Sunderland and yet such a difference in the effect on families that lived in, in those two places. My maternal grandfather had been a forge smith in Yorkshire and at the beginning of the First World War he was sent up to Durham to work in the forge there. And they sent him away from Yorkshire because the recruiting officers were fed up with him trying to join the forces and told him he was much more valuable making the armaments for the forces rather than him going out into Europe. So that was how the family from Yorkshire came to be based in Durham city and how my parents met. Because my paternal grandfather was trained as a pharmaceutical chemist and during the First World War he was stationed in Mesopotamia. I think as part of the Northumberland Fusiliers. But I’m not certain about that. He eventually moved into the motor trade and that was how I knew him all my life. The effect, I think on my mother wasn’t anything that I ever knew about or thought about. She had started training as a teacher before the war and of course like all women had to do something and once my sister got to school age she went back to teaching. So as a family we were still a fairly compact unit. Whilst we were living with my grandparents as I say we were in a house that overlooked the river and the Cathedral. And there has been for many many years the knowledge that if ever the Durham Cathedral were to come under attack for any reason whatsoever St Cuthbert who the Cathedral is dedicated to and who is buried in the Cathedral would save it. And of course Von Ribbentrop was determined to obliterate all the main Cathedrals in the United Kingdom if he could. And shortly after the raid which destroyed Coventry Cathedral we had an air raid warning in Durham and that was as I say by this time quite unusual. So we were due to go down into the cellar of the house which was our air raid shelter but looking out of the window there was the mist rising off the river. And of course the river is an ox bow around the central peninsula of the city on which stands the Cathedral and the castle. So this mist rose off the river and it’s always been said that that was St Cuthbert’s way of protecting the Cathedral. And certainly that mist blanketed the whole of the city and we could hear the German aircraft over the top of the city. It was definitely German aircraft because their engines weren’t synchronised like the English or British aircraft engines were. And they were over the, overhead going around and around. Nothing happened and eventually they flew off. The all clear went. And as the all clear went the mist descended back to the river. And I can vouch for that because as a youngster I saw it out of the windows of our house. My grandparent’s house. And it’s made a lasting impression as you can probably gather. I really don’t know that there’s much else that I can say apart from the fact that my own Royal Air Force service which was three years as a regular and two and a half years on the reserve and during that time the one thing that I was very proud to wear was my father’s cap badge. Sadly, I no longer have that. I have my own cap badge but I think my father’s cap badge must have gone back with my uniform when I had to return it to RAF Fenton which was my call up base when my two and a half years reserve service was ended. The only other thing of my father’s which I have apart from his ‘39 ‘45 Star and Defence Medal is a piece of metalwork which I know was part of one of his trade tests in which I think was part of the bomb release mechanism for a Lancaster. I can’t be sure about that but the trade test would be taken after he’d started working on Lancasters so I think it’s a fair assumption that that’s probably what it is. I don’t know that there’s much else that I can say.
JS: You said you recall going to the station to see your father off.
KH: Yeah.
JS: How old were you then?
KH: I’d be about seven.
JS: About seven. And you went with your mother and your sister?
KH: I don’t think my sister went. My sister would only be about three. Three and a half and so I don’t think she went. She would probably stay with my grandparents. But I, I can certainly recall going to the, going to the station in Durham and seeing, seeing dad off on the train. Little bits of things like that they do stick in your memory and you know it’s a bit like the [pause] the memories of the 9 o’clock news during the war. Alright, as a youngster you don’t appreciate everything that is being said but the things that stick in my mind are Big Ben, and my grandparents sitting in the lounge and everybody being quiet and listening to the news. It was a nightly ritual and you know its little things like that which, you know I think need to be kept in mind. And I think future generations need to know how important it was to us at home to know what was going on. And the only way we could get recent, decent reliable news was the BBC. And you know it was important to everyone I think and I’m quite certain that my family weren’t any different from countless other families throughout the country. At 9 o’clock every night the wireless was turned on and we had the news. There wasn’t all the current news from the battlefield and all the rest of it and I think it’s perhaps just as well. I think we get too much of this instantaneous news now and it doesn’t give people time to digest really what’s happening. Yeah. Instant gratification in a different form. Perhaps I’m being old fashioned.
JS: Did, as far as you’re aware did your mother ever receive letters from your father. Was he able? Could he write letters? Could he communicate? Make phone calls perhaps. Do you ever recall him making contact when he was away?
KH: I don’t recall any phone calls. I don’t think, in fact I don’t think we had a phone in the house so that wouldn’t have been possible. Letters I think possibly he did get able, he was able to send. I mean as he was based in this country I don’t think there was any problem in that respect. But it didn’t sort of register on me as a, as a youngster. I mean that’s not something that I would have been aware of I don’t think. The only things that I was aware of were, you know the pleasure of having him come home on leave on the occasions when he could get home. And as I say the occasion when we went down to Woodhall Spa and it would be during my school summer holidays. And the one, the one thing apart from the pushbike being my responsibility the one thing that I can remember of that little holiday from our point of view was seeing a Lancaster loop the loop. Which was totally out of order. And I believe talking to my father afterwards that that particular exercise had such a damaging affect on the airframe of the aircraft that it was written off and I believe the pilot was severely disciplined because obviously you don’t write off expensive aircraft. But it shouldn’t, it shouldn’t have happened but I can remember seeing it and was quite surprised. It was just one of those little things that come back to mind as you, as you think about what, what happened. And another thing that has just come back to my mind thinking about that was at the beginning of the war just after my father had joined up and before we moved in with my grandparents I can remember being taken into the shelter in the garden when there was an air raid warning and looking up into the night sky and seeing searchlights over towards Sunderland and seeing what was obviously an aerial dogfight because you could even at a distance of twelve miles you could see the tracer. And that, that’s something which has just come back to me since talking about seeing the Lancaster. We shouldn’t have been out of the shelter but, you know youngsters do things that they shouldn’t do even, even in wartime. Yeah.
JS: So, did life for you as a young lad, did it more or less go on as normal? You were going to school. You were helping around the house presumably, were you? Were any of your friends lives touched in a bad way by the war? Did any of them lose close relatives.
KH: No. Not that I can say. I mean, as youngsters we didn’t sort of discuss the, we didn’t discuss the war. It was something that was going on and we had the black out and there was no possibility of after school work or sports clubs or anything like that. They were all off limits. When school was over you went. You went home and you stayed at home. You couldn’t go and play out. Which we could once the war was over. But we didn’t [pause] I can’t recall sort of discussing or talking about the war as a youngster at school. Not even when I got to Grammar School just towards the end of the war. The only thing that was noticeable when I got to Grammar School was the fact that there were quite a number of older teachers there who had obviously stayed on beyond retirement because the young teachers had gone into the forces. And I was made well aware of that because both my, my uncle and my father had gone to the same Grammar School and some of the teachers that taught them taught me. Which was sometimes a little embarrassing because on occasions, I can remember one particular occasion in the physics laboratory when I’d been assisting in dealing with some electrical experiment which had a series of plug keys connecting wires up and one thing and another. And that master was one of the masters who had taught my father. And in operating one of these plug keys I’d managed to disconnect some of the, some of the wires. And the master just looked at me and just sort of tut tutted and said, ‘Your father would never have done that.’ Which you know, it was a little embarrassing at the time but you get on with it. But it was only things like that I think which made you realise that the war had had an effect. Then of course towards the end of my Grammar School career a number of the teachers who had been away on war service were coming back and the older ones took well-earned retirement. Not something which you would tend to think about until later on when you look back and you think, oh I wonder why that happened? And then as you get older yourself you realise why these things happened. It’s not, not something that you think about a lot but when you do think about it, it all comes back. Yeah.
JS: Do you have any recollection of the atmosphere on the day the war ended and the immediate aftermath of the war ending? Can you remember, were there were celebrations in your street? Can you remember your family saying anything or general air at school of relief?
KH: Not really. Again, it was something that yes there were celebrations in the city quite clearly. But as a youngster, bearing in mind what, I’d be only ten or eleven when the war ended. It wasn’t the sort of thing that you got involved in very much. It was, you weren’t old enough in those days. A ten year old or an eleven year old was still regarded as a child. Unlike nowadays where they tend to be treated as semi-adults. But so, yes there were celebrations and yes a sense of great relief and the hopes that everybody would come home safe. Which, you know was important but not something which as a youngster really impacted on you. I think obviously it would impact on my mother and my grandparents on both sides because not only was my father in, in the Royal Air Force but one of his younger, his youngest sister was also in in the WAAF. So that you know the family I think were a case of well, great relief when they both came home safe and sound. So yes there was a sense of relief and, but as a youngster it perhaps doesn’t penetrate the consciousness in quite the same way as it does as you’re older. But as a family my, we had sort of my paternal grandfather as I say was in Mesopotamia in the First World War. My uncle, my mother’s older brother had been in the Durham Light Infantry between the wars and strangely enough very much like his father he couldn’t go back in to the Army at the beginning of the Second World War because he’d become an employee of the Ministry of Agriculture which was a Reserved Occupation and although the Durham Light Infantry wanted him back he couldn’t go back. So he took it on himself to get involved with the Army Cadet Corps and he ran the Army Cadet Corps in the city for a number of years. Even after the war. Until I think he got to an age where he was voluntarily retired. But it was something which again we, we just took on board. It was part of parcel of, of what we were doing. In much the same way as my grandfather because he had allotments and whatnot could supply friends and family with, with fresh, fresh veg and so on. And also, I think, I know we used to sell apples from the door and presumably what was raised from those went to, went to charities or went to support the, probably went to support the Army Cadet Force I would think because my uncle was so involved in it. These are odd little things which you think about if, you know if you sit down and put your thinking cap on.
JS: And you said after your father was demobbed he came home in his demob suit.
KH: Oh. Yes. Of course all Service personnel got a demob suit. And the one thing that I do remember was that it was a brown suit which was most odd because going back into the bank I don’t think he would wear a brown suit in the bank. Not in those days. Banking was very much more formal than it is now. In fact, I think if my father was still alive and was still involved in banking he’d be horrified at some of the things that happen. One of those things. But yeah. The, the demob set up is a little bit different then I think from when I came out. I mean I had to sign the Official Secrets Act of course when I, when I signed on, and again I had to sign it again at the time I was demobbed. But I spent my three years at RAF Innsworth as part of the Record Office where I was working in the Stats Section until I was seconded to the Home Command Coronation Unit which in fact happened to be based at Innsworth. And we did all our training on one of the local airfields which I believe is now a civil airfield which was RAF Staverton at that time. And we eventually, having completed our training ended up in Kensington Gardens under canvas for the actual Coronation. And of course Coronation Day was a dreadful day weather wise but we were fortunate. Our section of the route lining force were in the Haymarket. And the Haymarket in London in those days was two way traffic and it had islands down the centre. And I was on the edge of the road in the middle of one of these islands and the royal coach came past my side of the island and the outriders that are normally alongside the coach during the procession because of the narrowness of the road had to go in front and behind. And as the coach passed me Phillip must have said something to Her Majesty and she turned to speak to him and I have a photographic memory of seeing her turn towards Phillip. So I had a full face view of the Queen on the day of her Coronation. Granted, around the barrel of a 303 but still something that one never forgets. And that, that night or that afternoon after we’d got back to Kensington Gardens I think it must be the only time that the Royal Air Force had issued the men with a rum ration. It had been such a dreadful day that we were all taken to the mess tent and dished out with a tot of rum. And that evening three of us went off into, into London because up ‘til that point we hadn’t been allowed out of Kensington gardens. But we went to look at the fireworks and we went down to Buckingham palace to see the royal family and their guests going off to the ball at Hampton court. And because we’d been trained in crowd control as part of our Coronation training we were able to link up with the police to control the crowds outside Buckingham Palace that night. And again something which I didn’t discover until I was married and talking to my wife about the Coronation in London and had discovered that she had been in London with her uncle and aunt and they had been at Buckingham palace on that night. Although obviously neither of us knew the other but we were both there at the same time. Strange coincidence. But we, after we’d seen some of the fireworks on the Embankment we were looking for a drink and all the pubs of course were packed out to the doors as you could imagine. And eventually we looked through the doors of one pub and somebody seeing three RAF uniforms it was like a tidal wave. The crowd opened up to the bar and we were given straight access to the bar and I don’t think we bought a drink for ourselves the rest of that night. One of those things where you know men in uniform in those days were regarded with consideration and there wasn’t any of the problems that sadly we have now where men are told not to wear uniform when they go into towns and so on. Which is, I think very, very sad because the armed forces now and then do a remarkable job in protecting what we have in a democratic country. And it’s sad that men in uniform have got to be told to, not to go in to towns in their, in their uniforms. Although I’ve got to see we do see some uniforms in Andover which we still, it’s not the garrison town that it once was but there are still quite a lot of Service personnel around and we do see some of them in town and nobody ever I’ve never come across anybody making any adverse comment on what I’ve seen in Andover. But I know it does happen in some places. Sad. Very sad.
JS: I expect your parents were hugely proud of you serving in the RAF. Did you ever speak to your father about your time there?
KH: Not, not specifically because the only thing was talking about the Coronation obviously because that was, that was something which you know happens once in a generation. But most of, most of the work that I was doing wasn’t something that you would, you would talk about. Alright you know I mentioned the Official Secrets Act and I was based in a section which dealt with personnel for all the RAF stations throughout the world by command. So you just didn’t talk about it because, well in those days there were so many different commands and obviously a lot more RAF bases throughout the world than there are now that it would have been impossible anyway to keep in mind what happened in any particular RAF camp in the Middle East, or the Far East or in Europe or wherever. But it, it would never have occurred to me to have discussed anything to do with that. It was something which wasn’t to be discussed even, even with my father. Yes. We’d talk about inconsequential things like guard duty and having, you know things like hearing the experiments with the after burners for jet engines which took place at a company called Rotol which was just up the road from RAF Innsworth. And also seeing some of the test flights of the, the RAF Javelin. The Gloster Javelin which was in its test flights was always supported by a Meteor. And seeing those two aircraft together made you realise how big the Javelin was. Because of course it was being built at Gloucester, in the factory on the outskirts of Gloucester which was not far from where the Record Office Unit was. So things like that. Yes. You could remember and you would talk about it. I would talk about with my father, you know because he’d obviously been involved with Lancasters and Manchesters, and I think it gave him a taste for flying because when he came out of the Royal Air Force he joined the Newcastle Aero Club and got his private pilot’s licence which, so that he flew Tiger Moths and Austers. And both my wife and I flew with him in the Tiger Moth. I can remember going to the Aero Club on one of their at home days when there had been all sorts of demonstrations and one thing and another and my dad had said to my wife, ‘Come on. I’ll take you up.’ And they went. They went up and flew out over, over the border country. Over North Northumberland and so on and it was, it was a very nice night.
SH: Very cold.
KH: And it was, yes. As my wife just said, very cold. And it must have been quite light up there but it was getting quite dark on the ground and I can remember the flight engineer who was a very, very good pilot himself standing on the grass outside, outside the hangars striking matches as my dad came down. That was, that was quite amusing. Yeah. So we maintained a contact with flying although I never had the opportunity or the time to get a pilot’s licence myself. But I do remember flying with my dad on several occasions when I was at home from university. Yeah. Yeah. Strange. Strange how things have a knock on effect because although my father’s uncle was one of the early members of the Newcastle Aero Club I don’t think there had been any thought of my dad getting involved until he came out of the Royal Air Force. One of those things. But yeah.
JS: You say you kept up that connection with flying. Did he keep up any connections in terms of any Associations? Did he meet up with people he’d served with? They were quite a fluid bunch as I imagine in various parts of the country.
KH: You see, I think there was only one person that he ever sort of had contact with after he came out of the forces. See the Royal Air Force is rather different from the Army, for example where in the Army you move as a regiment or as a section of a regiment. So that you have that connection with a bunch of chaps or girls who are together as a unit. In the Royal Air Force there’s a subtle difference between the aircrew and the ground crew. The aircrew will move with the Squadron. The ground crew tend to move as individuals between units because they, they are posted. And I know this from my RAF experience myself in the Record Office. They are posted as individuals to, to a unit. To an RAF station. They’re not posted to a Squadron like they were during the war. But even during the war as exemplified by the fact that although my dad was posted to 97 Squadron and was based at Woodhall Spa when 97 Squadron moved out it was only the 97 Squadron aircraft and aircrew that moved out. The ground crew remained there. And that’s how my father came to serve with 617. Because 617s ground crew would remain at Scampton. That’s the difference. So that you don’t have that sort of ongoing connection except as aircrew. I mean, you talk, if you talked to people who have been aircrew and we’ve got a near neighbour who was in the Royal Air Force and he still goes. He was a, he flew helicopters and various things. And he still has Squadron reunions. But I think that’s the difference. Understandable when you know how the, you know sort of how the system works. I don’t know about the Navy although my niece has just retired as a naval officer. I don’t know. They, they are sort of posted to ships more or less. So I think the navy and the Royal Air Force have a similar —
JS: System.
KH: A similar sort of system. Unlike, unlike the Army and probably the Royal Marines.
JS: And he didn’t discuss the war much?
KH: No.
JS: In the years that followed it. He went back to working at the bank as you said.
KH: Yes.
JS: Because he felt he owed them that because they had released him to go.
KH: Yes.
JS: And he stayed working in Durham.
KH: He stayed in Durham. He, he for a short while he was moved to Bishop Auckland which is about twelve, twelve or fifteen miles outside the city. He moved to Lloyds Bank there for a short while but didn’t move out of the city because it was within easy travelling distance. So, yes he remained at Lloyds Bank in Durham until he, until he retired. Yes. He became a sub manager at one of the sub branches of the city but it was a sub-branch in one of the mining villages. So it was not a case of having to move. So we, as a family we remained in the city and I only left the city when I joined the Royal Air Force myself and then when I went to university and then, you know that sort of broke the, broke the connection although after, after we were married because my wife and I were married in the city in our parish church and after having lived in the East Midlands we moved back to the North East but not to the city because I was then working in Newcastle. So it was only my parents who remained in in the city and they both remained there until they died.
JS: And you lost your father at quite a young age, didn’t you?
KH: My father. Yes. He died very very suddenly when he was only fifty nine. Which was a great shock. Particularly as, or within, within the previous fortnight he’d had a full flying medical and passed. Passed his full flying medical and then had a massive heart attack within a fortnight. So it was, that was quite a, quite a shock for all of us.
JS: For all of you. Yeah.
KH: And at that time my sister was in, was living in Australia because her husband was a civil engineer and he was working out there and so, she wasn’t here when he died.
JS: And your sister’s name you told me was Ann.
KH: My sister was Ann.
JS: Ann. Yeah. And your mother’s name for the record.
KH: My mother’s name was Hilda.
JS: Hilda. That’s right.
KH: Her maiden name was Lambeth. L A M B E T H. And that is my middle name.
JS: Ok. And she stayed in the city, did she?
KH: She stayed in the city. She remained in the family home that was bought. That they bought after the war when my father was demobbed and until she eventually went into Sherman House Hospital which was a Church of England Old People’s Home which was where she died after having, having had a series of strokes unfortunately.
JS: And you did give me the address of the family home at the time.
KH: The family home that was bought after the war was 24 Church Street Head. Church Street having been split into two sections, Church Street proper which ended where, just above St Oswald’s Church which was our parish church and the parish church. The infant school which was attached to the parish church that was sort of the dividing line. Up to that point it was Church Street and from there up to the crossroads at the top it was Church Street Head. One of those peculiar things that you get in cities where one street has two sections.
JS: Yeah.
KH: Yeah. It was, in those days it was basically on the outskirts of the city and just beyond the road that ran across at the crossroads there was the university. One of the university science colleges there. But beyond, but that was quite small. And beyond that were woods that, the woods which surround the city and a lot of that land was owned by the university because the majority of the land around Durham City was owned either by the university or the Cathedral, and all that land now is occupied by new colleges. There are one, two, three, four. At least four colleges now on the south side of the city. No five. Because there was a female college opened. That was the first one to be opened just after the war and it was opened by the Queen when she was Princess Elizabeth. So there are all those colleges now are built on what were woods and fields. It’s quite, quite an alteration. And I haven’t lived in the city since 1961, and, and I’m quite certain that there have been a lot more alterations since. Well, I knew the city obviously beyond ’61. I didn’t live in the city after ’61 but obviously my mother and father did. So until we moved south in 2000 I was in and out of, in and out of the city so I know what developments went, went on up to the beginning of the current century but what’s gone on in since then is anybody’s guess from my point of view. Obviously there must have been a lot more development but —
JS: Yeah.
KH: Not that I’m aware of.
JS: Places change don’t they? Yeah. Right. Well, that’s really comprehensive. Thank you very much for all that for your time in, and your patience in talking to me about that. Is there anything else that you can think that you would like us to say for the record given that it is a Digital Archive. Was there anything that you would like to say? Anything you can think of now or any comments that you would like to make?
KH: Not really. Except, the only thing that I would say is that I feel that it is vitally important that what the likes of my parents, my wife’s parents and their generation what they did for this country should never ever be forgotten. And the generations that come up it should be made quite clear to them why we are still a free country. And they should never assume that things will just drop into their lap. Everything that is worth anything has to be fought for and cherished. Those are the things that I think are sometimes lacking in the teachings now of the youngsters coming up like, like our granddaughter. I mean our two children when they were at school were taught a certain amount of history and in fact, it’s quite amusing. They came home on one occasion and we, we discovered that they were being taught the details of the ‘39/45 war as history. So we decided as parents that we weren’t just parents we were history. But you know, that was, that’s the lighter side of it. But I think seriously the current young generation I don’t think they’re taught the history. Not just what happened in two world wars although obviously they’re getting a lot about the First World War just at the moment but I think, you know some of the so called ancient history of this country on which a lot of our civil rights are founded. A lot, a lot of that doesn’t seem to be taught anymore and I think that is very sad. And I think, you know the education system needs to be looked at in that respect because we can’t afford to lose our history because that is part of our identity. Alright. I might be pontificating a bit but I do feel fairly strongly about it and I wouldn’t want to be called a Little Englander but you know I think we need to be proud of Great Britain and ‘great’ being the important part of it.
JS: I don’t think many people will disagree with you. I think that’s absolutely a fair point. Well, again thank you very much. Thank you for your time and your patience and thank you to Sybil as well, your wife who is here with us. And I very much appreciated you taking the time
KH: I’m only too pleased to have been able to do it because I think it’s important that those of us who lived through the war should leave a record of what, what happened so as far as they’re concerned. And you know sadly the people who actually fought the war for us are becoming few and far between now so it’s only the likes of us who are now getting sort of towards the end of our active life as you might say you know we’re the only ones who perhaps have a memory of it. And if those memories disappear a bit like the, some of the memories of the First World War which have just disappeared and only been found by archaeologists and things like that. Because there was no such things as digital recordings.
JS: No. No.
KH: Which is what we’ve got now.
JS: No. We’re fortunate to have the tools now at our disposal and that’s what the Digital Archive is all about.
KH: Yeah.
JS: Which is keeping those memories alive and keeping that message alive
KH: Yeah.
JS: So that, so what you’ve done for us today is really important.
KH: I’m pleased.
JS: So thank you very much both of you.
SH: It’s ok.
KH: Pleased to help.
JS: Thank you.
KH: Really pleased to help. Thanks
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
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Interview with Ken Hayton
Creator
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Joyce Sharland
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-10-04
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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
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Sound
Identifier
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AHaytonK171004, PHaytonK1701
Format
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00:59:30 audio recording
Language
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eng
Coverage
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Civilian
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Second generation
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
England--Gloucestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Tyne and Wear
England--Yorkshire
England--Durham
England--London
England--Newcastle upon Tyne
England--Sunderland (Tyne and Wear)
Description
An account of the resource
Ken Hayton’s father, George Stanley Hayton (Stan), worked worked for Lloyds Bank. In 1940 Stan left his post to join the Royal Air Force; Ken recalled going to Durham station to see his father off, travelling to start basic training at RAF Padgate. Ken believes his father completed his training as a fitter armourer at RAF Lytham before joining 97 Squadron at RAF Woodhall Spa. When 617 Squadron replaced 97 Squadron, Ken remained and was involved in bombing up 617 Squadron aircraft ahead of the Dambuster operation. Stan was sent to help with the clear up of a Lancaster crash on land near a bomb dump and for the rest of his life he could not stand the smell of lamb being cooked. Towards the end of the war Stan was posted to RAF Riccall where he prepared redundant .303 browning aircraft guns for storage, he was finally demobbed from RAF Waddington in 1945 and returned to Lloyds Bank where he remained until retirement. After the war Stan trained for his private pilot license at Newcastle Aero Club and took both Ken and his mother flying in the club’s Tiger Moth.
Ken describes his schoolboy life in Durham, including leaving the Anderson Shelter one evening and watching searchlights scanning the sky over Sunderland. One bombing on Durham was shortly after Coventry had been bombed: the mist rose from the river and shrouded the city, with local folklore being St Cuthbert protecting the Cathedral. During his father’s service at RAF Woodhall Spa, Ken recalled travelling there with his mother from Durham by train and seeing extensive bomb damage to York railway station. Ken served three years in the RAF, posted to RAF Insworth a non-flying RAF station where the RAF Records Section was based, transferring to the Coronation Unit for training ahead of the ceremony in 1953. He recalled route lining in the Haymarket, due to the narrowing of the road he was very close to the Queen’s coach and in the evening went to Buckingham Palace and assisted the police with crowd control. Ken recalls watching The Dambusters film with his father in 1955 and his father commenting on the accuracy of the film.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940
1941
1942
1943
1943-05
1944
1945
1953
1954
1955
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jim Sheach
Julie Williams
Conforms To
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Pending revision of OH transcription
617 Squadron
97 Squadron
bombing
childhood in wartime
crash
Eder Möhne and Sorpe operation (16–17 May 1943)
ground personnel
Lancaster
RAF Innsworth
RAF Padgate
RAF Riccall
RAF Waddington
RAF Woodhall Spa
searchlight
shelter
superstition
Tiger Moth
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1009/11270/YMadgettHR1330340v5.1.pdf
558e03680167391f2df8cbb7484d1338
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
Madgett, Hedley Robert
H R Madgett
Description
An account of the resource
250 items. The collection concerns Pilot Officer Hedley Madgett DFM (1922 - 1943, 147519, 1330340 Royal Air Force), a pilot with 61 Squadron. He was killed 18 August 1943 on the last operation of his tour from RAF Syerston to Peenemünde. The collection consists of letters, postcards and telegrams to his parents while he was training in the United Kingdom and Canada. In addition the collection contains memorabilia, documents from the Air Training Corps, artwork, a railway map, diaries, medals as well as his logbook, photographs of people, places and aircraft. Also contains letters of condolence to parents and a sub collection containing a photograph album with 44 items of his time training in Canada'.<br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Joan Madgett and Carol Gibson, and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br /><br /><span>Additional information on Hedley Madgett is available via the </span><a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/114690/" title="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/madgett-hr/ ">IBCC Losses Database</a><span>.</span>
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
2015-03-17
2019-06-14
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
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Madgett, H
Transcribed document
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
DIARY 1943
[Page Break]
DIARY 1943
If found, please return to
H R Madgett
127 Longlands Road, Sidcup, Kent
[Page Break]
January 1943
1 Fri.
Brevet. Shoe laces, tooth brush
2. Sat.
Soap Flakes
3.Sun.
Blank
4. Mon.
Blank
[Page Break]
13 Wed.
[deleted] 0222 0227 0237 0237 [/deleted]
14 Thurs.
[deleted] T.O. 0010 S.U. 23.50 [/deleted]
15 Fri.
Blank
16. Sat.
Blank
[Page Break]
JANUARY 1943
17 SUN.
Winnie’s picture before come back from leave.
18. Mon.
Blank
19 Tues.
Blank
20 Wed.
Blank
[Page Break]
21 Thurs.
6.21 8.5 Grantham
7.20 9.3 Notts
[inserted] Train [/inserted]
22 Fri. Rauceby Hoop 7.15pm
[underline] Bus [/Underline] Grantham to Newark 8.15pm
23. Sat
Grantham to Notts 8.00pm
24 Sun.
Blank
[Page Break]
JANUARY 1943
25 Mon.
Sweet Eloise HMV.
BD 5779 G Miller
26 Tues.
Blank
27 Wed.
Blank
28 Thurs.
Blank
[Page Break]
29 Fri.
New Brunswick
02950 –A & B
A Man this drum Jimmy Dorsey.
30 Sat.
Anvil Chorus
Glen Miller
BD 5671
31 Sun.
DB 5048 Columbia
Wire Brush Stomp.
Gene Krupa
“Tonight”. G Miller
[Page Break]
May 1943
1 Sat.
Winnie 5.15 p.m.
2 Sun.
Blank
3 Mon.
Winnie 6.30 p.m.
4 Tues.
Blank
[Page Break]
5 Wed.
Blank
6 Thurs.
Blank
7 Fri.
Blank
8 Sat.
Blank
[Page Break]
MAY 1943
9 Sun.
Blank
10 Mon.
Blank
11 Tues.
Blank
12 Wed.
Winnie 5.30 to Newark. Only.
[Page Break]
13 Thurs.
Blank
14 Fri.
5.30 to Newark.
9.00 if ops scrubbed.
15 Sat.
Blank
16 Sun.
Blank
December 1943
27 Mon
Crofton Park
London
28 Tues.
Blank
29 Wed.
Blank
30 Thurs.
Blank
[Page Break]
31 Fri.
Blank
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
Hedley Madgett diary 1943
Description
An account of the resource
Entries for January, February and part of May 1943. Entries include shopping list, reminders, addresses, appointments and train times/journeys.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
H Madgett
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943
Format
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Sixteen page diary with covers
Language
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eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Diary
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
YMadgettHR1330340v5
Coverage
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Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--London
England--Kent
England--Lincolnshire
England--Grantham
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Nottingham
England--London
England--Newark (Nottinghamshire)
England--Sleaford (Lincolnshire)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-01
1943-02
1943-05
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
Claire Monk
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1021/11392/AMartinFJK180309.1.mp3
a7c8b2de21c5a8f6d71d637fd2e397d1
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
Martin, Frederick Joseph Keith
F J K Martin
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview Warrant Officer Keith Martin (b.1921, 1580351 Royal Air Force). He flew operations as a wireless operator with 626 and 300 Squadrons.
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
2018-03-09
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
Martin, FJK
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
DH: Right. Ok. Right. Let’s start off with a serious thing to start off with. This interview is being conducted for the International Bomber Command Centre. The interviewer is Dawn Hughes. The Interviewee is Mr Keith Martin and you like to be known as Keith, don’t you? Yeah. The interview is taking place at Mr Martin’s home in Wem, Shropshire on the 9th of March 2018, and thank you Keith for agreeing to talk to me today. So, the first thing I wanted to ask was thinking about the lead up to joining the RAF how did it come about that you joined the RAF?
FM: Right.
DH: And what influenced you?
FM: I can go back to living and working in Shrewsbury. I was working for quite a big countrywide firm of agricultural machinery merchants with a branch in Shrewsbury. Hence that’s where I was working. My calling up papers came quite quickly. I was eighteen and my boss said to me, ‘You won’t need to go,’ he said, ‘Because you are on a Reserved Occupation.’ Well, I was very immature. Honestly. No, I was very immature and so that suited me. And it happened again a year later when I was nineteen. But when I was approaching twenty and I knew it would happen again I was reaching the stage where you felt guilty really if you were comfortably sitting at home, when even your own friends were going off and so I said to my father, ‘I’m going to volunteer.’ He said, ‘Volunteer for the, for the Royal Army Pay Corps,’ he said, ‘Because they get you, you’re excellent at figures,’ he said, ‘To get you well behind a desk.’ And, I, I thought about that and decided no. I liked the RAF uniform. It’s quite true. I don’t want to go in to the Army in case I land up with a bayonet. And I can’t stand the thought of the water but I can’t swim anyway. And so I went and volunteered for the Air Force which I was accepted straight away, and on the 20th of April 1942 I arrived at Padgate which is North Lancashire for my indoctrination. That’s the right word. I was there for five days only during which time there was a group of about thirty. This squadron leader addressed us and he said, ‘Would any of you like to take an aircrew medical?’ And so, well a damned good idea having a medical so I put my hand up didn’t I? And of course I passed the medical, which mainly funnily enough was, and several other failed through vision. Vision. What I didn’t know, I was innocent at the time, that I had already volunteered for aircrew and about four days, be about the 24th of the month, April I was interviewed by the same squadron leader and he said, ‘Martin, your legs are too short for us to train you to be a pilot.’ And he said, ‘Your educational standard is too poor for us to educate you to, to train you as a navigator.’ I accepted that, because I only went to the Catholic, Catholic ordinary school. So, he said, ‘We’ll train you as a wireless op air gunner.’ ‘Alright, sir.’ The following day I was posted to Blackpool, and I found that Blackpool was the school that taught you two things. One was, the important thing was how to learn the Morse Code and how to handle sending and receiving, and the other thing that was important to them but not to us was how to learn how to march up and down Blackpool streets. Behave ourselves because we were not in billets we were out to houses. Took us in, you know. So they took me. Was it how many? The school for wireless operators was I think three months. May. June. July. That’s right. And I left Blackpool having passed out at the required eighteen words a minute on the 4th of August. Went home for a, once you got a break you know. And then nine days later I received a posting to a place called Yatesbury in Wiltshire, which was the flying part of the learning to be a wireless operator. Doing it in the air. So, in effect that was the first, my first meeting with an aircraft. So, from August to November I was training as a wireless operator air, from which you got your sergeant’s stripes if you passed out. And I passed out, and got my sergeant’s stripes and was then sent for a short, what I call waiting to be properly dispersed. A small, well yeah it was a waiting station and that of all places was Ternhill. And I was at Ternhill for [pause] three weeks from the middle of November to the middle of December, and then I was posted to Calverley in Nantwich. Near Nantwich. And that really was further progress, and I have an idea of what we were flying then. Memory you know. Very good but —
[pause]
FM: I think. ’43. No. That’s right. Calverley as I was saying was again just further progress on generally learning how to fly in the air, you know. Nothing particular. And then I was sent to Aircrew Recruitment Centre in London, and I didn’t really know why but it, it did, how can I put it? It was, in fact to tell me or to tell the person that they had been selected for A — wireless operator, and B — air gunner. And I’d been selected for wireless operator. And then, so then I was sent to 18 ITW, Initial Training Wing, Brignorth for just a month. Initial Training Wing speaks for itself. And from there, from that very station I got married.
[pause]
FM: Then I was posted of all places to a place called West Freugh in Scotland which was Advanced Flying Unit, which you have to be in an aircraft flying over the sea, and you had to go through certain rules and regulations to do what you had to do. Having passed out there in May 1943 [pause] No. No. Sorry, no. No. That’s before, having passed out in August 1943. That’s right, when I finished at Yatesbury, and then to West Freugh. I passed out there in October ’43. Sorry. I was only there about six weeks and I was posted to Hixon, Stafford, which is an Operational Training Unit and we were, I was introduced to Wellingtons, Wimpies. I was also within the first week [pause] I was introduced if I can describe it as the crew. The crewing up procedure need, needs talking about because it’s something that outsiders wouldn’t know. How do you get crewed up? Who does it? The answer is the pilot chooses his own crew. The end of the week that you’re there being introduced as I said to Wellingtons, you’re told to report to the, what was the big room that was used generally for dances and things, and there was thirty wireless operators, thirty navigators, thirty engineers, thirty rear gunners, and thirty pilots. Now, that was a crew of a Wellington. Did not include a mid-upper gunner because a Wellington does not have a mid-upper gunner turret. So the skipper chose his own crew, and I was there in the room and this, seemed to be elderly gentleman he turned out to be six years older than me [laughs] came along to me and he said, ‘You’re Sergeant Martin.’ ‘Yes.’ He was only a sergeant, so I didn’t have to say sir. ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘You’re from Shropshire.’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘So am I, would you like to fly with me?’ I said, ‘Thank you very much.’ And that in effect, I say to this day saved my life because he was a superb pilot, and he got the crew together and instead of us being half a dozen individuals we became a crew. Right. So we then flew Wellingtons as a crew in training from a place called Seighford, which was a depot of Hixon’s’ and we were, I was there from November ’43 to January ’44. I think it was possibly at that time that we flew our first not exactly operation but our first trip over a foreign country [pages turning] Yeah. It was on the 30th of the December during that period that we were sent to do a leaflet raid over Belgium. This was one of the Royal Air Force’s ideas that every crew should taste flying over the sea and flying over what was still dangerous territory, and so that we got back and we hadn’t lost our nerve and we didn’t report anything silly. You know what I mean, and so that was the important thing and that was in a Wellington on the 30th of December. Having [pause] passed that, we then immediately got transferred to a four engine Conversion Unit. Immediately after that. We were not going to fly in Wellingtons in operations. We were going to fly in the new four engine bombers that were coming on line. And the first thing we did when we got there was pick up a mid-upper gunner. The mid-upper gunners had been trained ready, but had been sent straight to Conversion Units as they’re called because it was there that the, the skipper would pick one up and so that’s where we got hold of Jock. And now we were a crew of seven which you need. And so we did Conversion Unit at Sandtoft, and during that time had a crash. We crashed a Halifax [pages turning] We crashed a Halifax on the 6th of April 1944. We had a 5 o’clock take off. Evening take-off. It was only what we called circuits and bumps learning, for the skipper to learn how to take off and land and he had an engine failure on take-off. And because we hadn’t really got any height the skipper, the skipper decided to crash land. The decision he made we just accepted it, and in the subsequent report which I’ve got a copy of it says, “No pilot error. No disciplinary action to be taken.” But we were a bit, we were sent straight to the medical to be checked over, and we were a bit cheeky so in their wisdom they sent us straight up again. Well, in a few hours, 9.15 that night we went up again but this time we were also accompanied by a senior pilot as well as our own to see that there was nothing wrong, and that went on all right. And the amazing thing is we saw that Halifax the other, the next day or the following day and it was, it was a ruin. We’d hit a tree in a forest or in a field, and it had torn the wing off. But how we all got out alive I don’t know but we did. The aircraft was a write off. So, we —
DH: Can I ask what plane that was—
FM: That was a Halifax.
DH: A Halifax, yeah.
FM: An old Halifax. They only sent the old ones to training places. So we had a couple of little trips before we, whilst we were there when we had to go to learn what they called ditching practice and this was up in Lincolnshire. Just a day out. You had to go. They had a big pool with a half a Lancaster in the middle and you were taken out but you had to get the dinghy out and on and get yourself home. You see what I mean.
DH: Yeah.
FM: Right. We were posted from Sandtoft to Hemswell for the month of April to transfer from Halifaxes to Lancasters. A small transfer. Just the difference for the pilot really and on the 1st of May 1944 we were posted to Wickenby.
DH: So can I ask with your job as a wireless operator what was different going from the Halifax in to the Lancaster for you? Was there any difference?
FM: Nothing on those two. Different coming from the Wellington because it was a different radio. But no my job was basically the same. Very little radio, and mainly standing in the astrodome as an extra set of eyes but I’ll come to that when it comes to operational flying. Right. On the 10th of May, on the 11th of May we were on just Lancasters locally. Further training. But on the 19th of May we had our first operation but to the marshalling yards at Orleans. Orleans south of Paris. Total time there and back five hours and fifteen minutes. Right. We then had to prepare for the next one by an air test. The next operation which was on the 24th of May which was the marshalling yards at Aachen right on the border. Five hours and five minutes. Now, I don’t want to go through these individually. I shall want to just pick out those that matter. We went to Aachen again. We went to marshalling yards. These marshalling yards were so important because it was coming up to D-Day. We didn’t know that. But the Germans were, their marshalling yards were bombed ruthlessly. The next one is a marshalling yard as well.
DH: Can you explain what a marshalling yard is please?
FM: Well [laughs] I thought you’d know that.
DH: No. No.
FM: A railway. Well, they’ve got a big railway. When you marshall all your equipment it’s a marshalling yard.
DH: Right.
FM: You know. It’s the same in this country. We got in to early June and we were on such things as heavy gun batteries on the coast. Railway junction again, and marshalling yards again. You can see the picture. We’re averaging the 5th of June, 7th of June, 10th of June, 12th of June. We were averaging one almost every other day and then [pause] that’s right. I’d passed it over without thinking how I got the Legion of Honour because on the 5th of June and the 6th of June was D-Day and in those twenty four hours we did two operations which was a thing unknown. To do two in twenty four hours. One was to the north of the coast, and one was to the south. And I’m talking about the German coastal batteries and we bombed them north and south. The south one we did first. You’ve heard a lot lately of these emigrant towns called, one was called Sangatte. Well, that’s where we, that was a bombing because Sangatte then was a big German coastal battery. So we did Sangatte and within a matter of no time at all we were off again, and this time we did the bottom ones near [pause] near, well I can’t think what the big town is on the corner. Anyway, that doesn’t matter. It was one of the southern ones, and doing those two on D-Day was the reason for the French had fixed that anybody operating on D-Day would get this medal. So, came to the last trip that I did was on the 12th of June. Again, marshalling yards and then I was transferred to the Polish squadron with a week’s leave in between. Got back. Got to the Polish squadron 17th of June. We, they didn’t waste any time. We air tested on the 17th of June morning and went on operations in the evening on the 17th of June. So we then go to several operations with 300 Squadron in June. I’ve got 24th, 25th, 29th and 30th. On the 30th, the last one was a daylight. Marshalling yards in the daylight God knows why. I can’t think of why but in fact the next one, the 12th of July, by now I must have gone on leave then. You had a leave generally every so many months because I have a blank space between the 30th of June and the 12th of July. On the 12th of July we started operations. Now were on longer distance ones. This one is nine hours and eight months. This one which I just wanted to describe is the most dangerous one we did. It was to a marshalling yard in the south of France, almost on the Swiss border at a place called Revigny, and when we got there it was ten tenths cloud. You were flying at about ten thousand feet in beautiful sunshine with a blanket of cloud right over the target. Couldn’t see anything. The Master Bomber, I don’t know whether you understand Master Bombers, the person who is there controlling. The master bomber said, ‘I can’t mark the target.’ And he recommends go home. You know, abandon. Abandon the exercise. And I can remember my skipper saying, only to us, ‘Look lads. We didn’t fly all this way to take our bombs home.’ He said, ‘I’m going to try to go through the clouds and see what happens.’ So then came the most scary time of slowly, slowly descending through cloud, and could see nothing. The navigator had taken the distance. No. Yeah. No, the direction that we were travelling so that we could reverse and go back and kept on going through this cloud to Revigny. Anyway, we came out into sunshine. Or night. It wasn’t sunshine. It was moonlight really. At four thousand feet. The skipper said, ‘Right lads. Now, we can reverse along so that we go back the way we come until we find these marshalling yards.’ And so the bomb aimer was the important one because he was lying in his turret in the bottom and he could see, and he right up, ‘Coming up marshalling yards.’ Right. So skipper said, ‘Right. Prepare for bombing run.’ And we had a very quick bombing run. Not the usual four minutes because he wanted to get the bombs away whilst we were over the marshalling yards, and so we bombed. We luckily we had time to close the bomb doors when a four engined plane which we could only describe as a four engine plane, couldn’t say it was a Lancaster or a Halifax came right underneath the clouds straight down underneath us, all four engines ablaze. An absolute, you know, a roman candle and either it exploded or it crash landed and exploded but it blew us up on our backsides. And I can remember skipper who never swore saying, ‘Oh Christ.’ And we seemed to be all over the place, and he was desperately trying to correct. Anyway, at two thousand feet he corrected, and we were back on an even keel so he said, ‘Lads, I’m going to stick these throttles right through, and we’re going to get home quickly.’ Now, when we got home we had to report to the intelligence. Why? Two things. A — the skipper had disobeyed an order to abandon to go home. B — he pressed on and bombed the target. A — he was going to be court martialled. B — he was going to get a medal. He got the medal. So he got the DFC, quite rightly. Then we carried on several quite long trips. Stuttgart. We went twice to Stuttgart and that wasn’t very nice.
DH: Can you explain why it wasn’t very nice? What mainly —
FM: Because you’re going to go through the Ruhr first of all. You’re on the chance of night fighters for such a long distance before you even get to the target because it’s an eight hour trip. Four hours each way. Do you see what I mean? You’re under, you’re in a, their well armed area, and to do it twice in oh hell, twice in four days. Yes. 24th and 28th. I can remember one little thing. On the way home on the second trip I said to the, through the, ‘Skipper, permission to speak.’ You weren’t allowed to talk, you know. ‘Permission to speak.’ ‘Yes, wireless operator.’ ‘Will you all wish me a happy birthday? It’s my birthday today.’ Because it was now, we took off on the 28th of July and on the way home it was the 29th of July.
DH: And did they?
FM: We did that night. Then there were several trips, and then came the period at the end of August. We had already now done [pause] we’d now done twenty six. And the skipper, and now the bomb aimer had also been made a [pause] a what do you call it? You know, we were still sergeants and he, yeah. You know what I mean. Anyway, the skipper called us together and he said, ‘I’ve had,’ because he said, ‘I’m a senior crew,’ he said, ‘I’ve got the ears of Bill Misselbrook — ’ our squadron commander that at the end of August the wing is being disbanded because the Poles have now got sufficient trained people to take over the wing completely. Now — ’ he said, ‘We’ve got four trips to do.’ And he said, ‘I would like to think that we could get them done without us being posted again to some other squadron, you know and have to start all over again.’ So, he said, ‘I’ve got to get your agreement that if you agree I’ll see Bill Misselbrook and say, ‘We volunteer for every trip that’s going.’ And he said, he must have agreed and from the 25th of August to the 31st of August we did four operations, and one of those was the biggest we’d ever done and it was at, it was up to a place in the Baltic called Stettin. Or it was called Stettin then and there was a Nazi naval base there and somehow Stalin had asked for us to bomb it. I don’t know how. You can get these funny things that go on. So we did Stettin as our twenty ninth trip and again on the way home he said, break the rules, he said, ‘I’m not going to stooge back under the rules of the speed that you can do safeguarding the engines,’ he said. ‘They can only shoot me.’ So it was boof, and we came home and the funny words, we landed and I can remember the words coming over the, over from the ground radio lady. She said, ‘U-Uncle. U-Uncle have you completed your mission?’ Because we were fifteen minutes before time getting home. Whereas the others took fifteen minutes longer obeying we’d, anyway that was another story. And then we did a daylight raid on the 31st of August and at the end of that I have a note signed by the station commander, and the squadron commander, “You’re tour is completed.” And so that in affect ends the chapter of my time doing bombing raids. Can you —
DH: Do you want to pause?
FM: Well, do you want any further more?
DH: I’ve got some questions if that’s ok.
FM: Because I mean going on, you can go on forever. I’ve got —
DH: Yeah, no, I’ve got some questions if that’s ok.
FM: Otherwise, I can go on so long with —
DH: No. That’s fine. On an op what would your job entail because it took you five hours, eight hours? So what would you do during your time?
FM: Your main job that you are trained to do for the, for the crew is that you take a message in code from Bomber Command Headquarters at oh, they’re active then. Not the headquarters now. They’re active headquarters every fifteen minutes. Every fifteen minutes they send out a message. It may be status quo. It may be they’d got a change of wind direction, change of wind speed, a change of anything, but every fifteen minutes the wireless operator takes a message and passes it on to the navigator.
DH: Right.
FM: In between, each skipper may want to use him in a different way but most want to use him as a lookout, standing up under the astrodome and helping to spy night fighters.
DH: Right.
FM: And the bit, the important thing he does on a bombing run, when you can imagine there’s a mass of aircraft coming through to bomb on the same you suddenly see one appearing above you and immediately you tell the skipper. Because what you don’t want to do is be bombed by one above. So you’re first of all a wireless operator and second of all you’re a lookout.
DH: So you kept busy.
FM: Yes.
DH: You mentioned before we started the interview, you talked about the Polish squadron. You talked about the make up of the Commonwealth crew.
FM: Yes.
DH: Can you explain that please?
FM: No, when a Commonwealth was pure luck and they had to use the name Commonwealth because they didn’t want to insult like for instance our navigator was a Canadian. My friend that I had there who’d trained could still be alive. The last time I heard of him he was in a wheelchair but his navigator was the most unusual thing. He was a Yank. But he was a Yank who had wanted to get into the war, and so he volunteered from America to join the Canadian Air Force, and from the Canadian Air Force he got, so there’s another one. So if you said it’s an English crew, or a British crew you could be offending, so it was called a Commonwealth.
DH: Right near the start of the interview you talked about your training and everything and you were saying that you got married.
FM: Yeah.
DH: Before we started the interview you said briefly about your feelings about getting married and did you do the right thing at the right age and that. Can you, can you talk about that again please?
FM: That came after though, dear. I don’t know whether it’s worth talking about. I mean, I didn’t [pause] how, how can you say that in effect during your period of the war until, until the later time that when she was allowed to come and live close to because I was no longer on operations but in those early days every leave was like a honeymoon. You got, you know you and to be honest with you we, we reached demob without ever realising what married life was, and then by then we got a baby on the way, very difficult to put it in to words. I just felt that she was too young. She never complained, but at eighteen.
DH: Yeah.
FM: But as I said marriage went on for sixty one years and we got a letter from the Queen here so that couldn’t have been too bad.
DH: Oh no.
FM: It was only in my own mind that. Yeah. Yes.
DH: Right at the start you were saying that you got the call up papers but you were in a Reserved Occupation.
FM: That’s right.
DH: So were you allowed to ignore those call up papers if you were in a Reserved Occupation?
FM: Oh yeah. Only, only as a volunteer.
DH: Right.
FM: Only, and if you were accepted you could have been a volunteer in a far more important Reserved Occupation for some reason and be turned down. You could have been in a, some kind of laboratory somewhere and what have you. But the rule was you, if you, if you, you had to volunteer and you had to be accepted.
DH: Right.
FM: And my Reserved Occupation was really only agricultural machinery. I know it was helping to keep the farmers going but it wasn’t of grade one importance.
DH: You said at the, near the start again that you went for your initial training. You said you went for training and the indoctrination. What did you mean by indoctrination?
FM: I think I can explain that. A big word for a little thing.
DH: Yeah.
FM: 16th of June 1943 [pause] That’s right. I hadn’t started. I hadn’t got to the [pause] Yeah. The first introduction to an aeroplane we [pause] now, can you edit this if you —
DH: Yes. Yes. It can be edited.
FM: The important thing was to try and make you sick on the basis that once you’d been sick you were never likely to be sick again. But if you persisted in being sick you would get discharged from aircrew because you couldn’t be sick.
DH: Right.
FM: You just couldn’t be. Now, that was the indoctrination that I, and it, on the 16th of June ’43, I went twice in one hour on a Dominie with seven, six others and we marched to the aircraft and as we marched they gave us each a bucket. Now, that was before we got to the aircraft they gave us a bucket. When we got inside they had purposely not cleaned it up and I think half of them were sick before we got off the ground. But then he was an experienced pilot and he could hedgehop. You were only up and hour but believe me we were all terribly sick. Is that sufficient indoctrination?
DH: Yeah.
FM: If you see what I mean.
DH: Yeah. Yeah.
FM: If you followed on, and I had four but the first two were only experience. The second two I had to do two message taking. That was my initial contact with the wireless.
DH: So I take it you stopped being sick.
FM: I stopped being, I was only sick once. It’s a terrible feeling and you walk out, stagger out of this aircraft and they say, they march you out, two march. ‘You now go and clean your bucket in the toilets.’ It’s not a nice story, but that was the indoctrination. It had, they could not have people who were going to be sick passed as aircrew. It could not be allowed, and so they had that method to making you sick and giving you four chances really.
DH: Yeah.
FM: I can only, I can’t honestly tell you if they all failed. All four. All I know is I was only sick once [pause] The crew, or most of them.
DH: Which one are you?
FM: None, I took it, I took the photograph as it happened. I didn’t know at the time, you know.
DH: Yeah.
FM: That I was going to take a photograph of the others. The skipper of course is in the middle. The one who looks a little bit elderly.
DH: All so young.
FM: Yes, all so young.
DH: So young. Can you tell me when you were actually on an op did you get a chance to get scared? Were you so busy that you couldn’t get scared?
FM: You were scared all the while. But you were a part of a crew and you got your courage from them, and they in turn got their courage from you. You were a crew. To say you weren’t scared would be a lie. Many’s the time I hung tight to the [pause] especially on, when you get a bad take off and you don’t get off the ground at all due to weather conditions but that’s another story. You can’t. You can’t. Some get all the stories you need to get your memory, you know. But scared, yes. We were scared. We were scared. Especially when you were flying over the Ruhr and the ack ack was almost bouncing off the bottom of your aircraft. You could hear the crackle of it. Yes. Yes. Anything else?
DH: I don’t think so.
FM: I think I’ve been pretty thorough.
DH: You have. You have.
FM: I, as I said I had two further RAF lives after that but I don’t want to go into them all.
DH: No. No. After, so after VJ Day how, how did, what affect did the war have on you do you think?
FM: None at all.
DH: No.
FM: We were still going on targets. The fact that they were targets of a different lot, because the one lot was being prepared for VE day and the second lot afterwards. No. The only thing, you know, how can I put it? When we finished we didn’t know that we weren’t going to be called up for a second tour and would have done if it hadn’t been for the Americans dropping the atom bomb. If that hadn’t have happened after six months or more of it we would have been called back again.
DH: So, after you finished your tour how did the RAF occupy you?
FM: Well, that’s another life. I could go on then about a whole year flying down near here, and then a third tour. A third life when I managed to get appointed to the Test Pilot’s School and that’s where I finished.
DH: Are you able to tell me about the Test Pilot’s School?
FM: Yes. It’s very interesting. We’ll forget the next bit. That was a year literally at South Cerney just outside Gloucester where I was flying with advanced, advanced trainee pilots when they sent, and it was a two engined aircraft, an Oxford when they sent them out to do night trips. They were not allowed to go without a wireless operator because the wireless operator could get them home by getting directions. So that was literally a year. And then there was a message on the notice board, “Volunteers wanted for the Number 4 Empire Test Pilot’s School,” which was being transferred from Farnborough to [pause] I can’t think of the name now. Anyway, I’ve got it in here. It begins with a C. Yeah, that appears, Neville Duke. I flew with him once. Empire Test Pilot’s School. What am I trying to tell you?
DH: You transferred from Farnborough to —
FM: Right. No. They were transferred. I was still at the Advanced Flying Unit until the end of October ’45.
DH: Right.
FM: So, I’d been there a little over a year and they wanted volunteers. Wireless operators who would go to just a quick training school to teach them how to help a pilot flying on his own on a four engine aircraft. You’ll appreciate that if being able to handle all the throttles, being able to close down one or more engines, jobs like that we were taught and then we were sent off to this school. And when we got there, there was nothing there and the station commander called. He said, ‘Your warrant officer has just come through Martin so you’re going to be in charge.’ So, he said, ‘You set up this unit. There will be five others,’ he said, ‘We tried to get youngsters who haven’t had the — ’ he called it luck, ‘The luck to have a bombing life because they came in too late.’ So he said, ‘They’re raw youngsters most of them but,’ he said, ‘There is one senior man as well as you.’ And so we set up this. They gave us an office. Oh anyway, we set it up and eventually it was got going but it was months. A long, I don’t, I can’t remember why but anyway it was January’46 before we actually flew when they were ready as well. And we flew from this Empire Test Pilots School. From Cranfield. Couldn’t remember it. Cranfield, which is north of, north of Bedford. Anyway, we started flying there in January ’46 and we did very little flying because they didn’t, they weren’t always flying four engines. They only needed you when they were. But, you know you did some interesting small jobs with them. And then came my moment of, there came a time in May ’46 when I think we’d had a couple of these six taken ill with something, flu or something and suddenly we, we had to do a lot more because I got a book here when I’d flew four times on the 6th of May, five times on the 7th May, twice on the 8th of May, five times on the 9th of May. I don’t want to go on but you can see I was doing a lot then and during that time, you’ve never heard of Duke have you?
DH: No.
FM: Neville Duke.
DH: No. I haven’t.
FM: Well, he became, later on he became a test pilot and he became holder of the speed record and I, and I just flew with him once for forty five minutes. N. Fifty minutes. So that’s my fifty minutes of fame, and carried on there still flying and the last trip I did before I was demobbed, 8th of July ’46. Without this I couldn’t remember all those things.
DH: No.
FM: That was the best and the luckiest posting I ever had. Suddenly going from training pilots in night cross countries often being more scared than I ever was bombing, and suddenly getting pilots good enough to be test pilots, you know. It was an entirely different experience. And the fact that I’d became a warrant officer which helped a lot. Financially it helped a great deal.
DH: Yeah.
FM: Right. Any more questions?
DH: So after, after you were demobbed what were you going to do?
FM: Well, I was lucky you see. One of the reasons that I could safely volunteer was the company, and I’ve got a letter from the boss, what would I call him? Anyway, he was the boss, guaranteeing any member of the staff anywhere in all of the branches around the, that volunteered for the Services, whichever Service and came back were guaranteed a job. And I’ve got the letter from Hubert Burgess himself and he thanked me very much for my service, services, and understood my feeling of, of volunteering. And so when I got back I went down to the branch in Shrewsbury, had an appointment with a man named Richards who I worked for. He’d, he’d been too old, you know to go in. Anyway, he’d be too important to have to go in the Services and he said, ‘Yeah. When do you want to start?’ And I said, ‘Well, can you give me a week? I’ve got to find, I’ve got to find lodgings for the wife and, and my daughter.’ And so I think I started work, I think I started work on the 1st of September.
DH: Wow, that’s, that’s quite good, isn’t it? That’s very good.
FM: It was good.
DH: For them to say that.
FM: Because, because this man Richards and I had a very long working relationship and he, he pushed me up until I was eventually, you know in a very good job. So that’s really the story of how lucky we were that we came back. I mean, I can remember one very good high rating head office boy who went, and he went in the Air Force and he came back and he went back to a job and it happened. He kept his promise. Your job was there, and that was a marvellous thing, you know. You didn’t have to worry about your week’s wages did you?
DH: No. That’s quite something.
FM: Another thing he did. This is, this is only for your information because you had to recognise what money was worth. He instructed the wages people to put ten shillings a week in an envelope in the safe in my name.
DH: What? During the war?
FM: All the way, whole time I was through.
DH: No.
FM: For the whole of the time I was through he paid me ten shillings a week for fighting for me country.
DH: Wow.
FM: Believe me when we came out that money set up the furniture for our first place. Now, how many bosses would do that?
DH: Not many.
FM: But that’s actually absolutely true. They say, ‘Oh, ten shillings a week,’ but ten shillings a week then.
DH: Was a lot.
FM: Was a different kettle of fish. And anyway, he didn’t need to give me anything, did he? Guaranteeing me a job was sufficient without paying me ten shillings a week for five years.
DH: Wow, that’s quite —
FM: So you do get good bosses. You do get good bosses. Yes.
DH: Well, can I say thank you. You’ve been absolutely fascinating to listen to.
FM: No. I, I didn’t want to overdo it as I said. There’s the three lives. The second one I told you about flying trainee pilots around the skies over Gloucestershire were not a happy experience and then the Test Pilot’s School which was quite marvellous. Quite marvellous. Although to get in [laughs] this is not for you, I’m just talking to you, you get in, and this test pilot he says, ‘Well, Martin —’ or, yes. Well, yes. Sometimes they know your Christian name but you know there was, you weren’t together long enough. He’d say, ‘Well, I’m doing single engine flying today.’ So he said, ‘You know how to feather.’ That was what I was taught of course. I said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘Be careful to feather in the order that I tell you because —’ he said, ‘I’ll have to adjust the balance of the aircraft.’ So you get quite happily tootling along and he says, ‘Feather outboard.’ So you press the button for stop the outboard and the engine dies and it’s just running in in the wind and he’s adjusting. And a little later he says, ‘Feather inboard.’ So you press the inboard button and that so he says, ‘We are now flying on two engines.’ That’s alright. And then he said, ‘Feather inboard,’ or whatever. The one he prefers. He may say that he prefers to feather inboard, or feather outboard of the other two and you do it and suddenly you’re flying or trying to fly a four engine bomber on one engine. It has its own moments. It has its moments. Oh yes. But you trusted them you see. They were skilled, and they had to be able to fly this bomber on one engine without losing height. Just keep it and they would, they passed. Anyway, enough about that.
DH: Which aircraft were they?
FM: Lancasters.
DH: They were Lancasters.
FM: Yes. And the latest model too. The latest Rolls twenty two engines I think. They had all the best to train on they did. Yeah. Anyway, thank you for coming. I don’t want to bore you to tears.
DH: You’re not boring me whatsoever.
FM: I mean, I was one of the lucky ones to have lived through it and to some extent to still have an active memory. I do need this because the dates sometimes run into one.
DH: It would be very difficult to remember all those dates.
FM: Oh yeah. Yes.
DH: Very difficult, one last question.
FM: Yeah.
DH: Have you got any you know, lighter moments. Any funny things that you can remember from your time on operations?
FM: You know, it’s hard to remember a funny thing. I think the funniest thing was not what happened on the day but what happened on the day had a remarkable [pause] how can I put it? Resurgence of life many years later. And I’ll tell you this, I can’t remember which daylight raid it was but the Polish squadron, Polish aircraft my pilot had got friendly with their pilot was in, landed in the next bay, and they were getting out and we were getting out and they had, one of the ground crew was a bit snap happy taking pictures and he came along and we grinned at him and he took the picture and that was it. Never thought anything about it. Now, this is one daylight raid towards the end of the, with my life at Faldingworth with the Poles. Now, how many years later? I would be [pause] Phyl had died so it was one of their anniversaries at Faldingworth and I got an invitation and I had a friend, a golfing friend who was very keen on anything to do with, ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I’ll take you. I’d love to.’ He said, ‘I’ll take you willingly.’ I said, ‘Ok.’’ He said, ‘Don’t worry about driving,’ he said. I was still able to drive. I hadn’t reached this stage but it must have been ’87 ’97. Fifteen. It must have been fifteen years ago. An anniversary they had and that we went up and we went first thing and we went in to the village hall which was also now laid out with old photographs and everything to do with the Poles. And the Polish people, or the remnants were there and a lot of them had got tales to tell. And I was walking along here, this lady had got a book and she spoke English. She said, ‘Have a look at my records.’ She said, ‘Do you happen to know my father? He was a Polish pilot in this.’ And I said to her, ‘Apologies,’ I said, ‘We were only there three months. We never got really to know our own lot properly let alone — ’ ‘Oh, I understand.’ She said, ‘Have a look at my pictures.’ And she turned over a page and there was the photograph there that he’d taken what would be the best part of, if he’d taken it in ’44 and this would be in, in ’84. The best part of forty years later. And I squealed. I said, ‘You won’t believe it,’ I said. ‘That’s me.’ ‘Oh,’ she said, reading it. This was the pilot who was a friend. And this ground crew had taken, and it had got to her and she got it and there it was. A photograph of myself and oh, I remember the bomb aimer was there and the rear gunner. Unfortunately, the skipper hadn’t got out of the aircraft because we were only disembarking, you know.
DH: Yeah.
FM: But I can remember squealing. Then I called my friend, ‘Brian. Brian come and have a look at this.’ So he came along and I said, ‘Look at that.’ ‘Bloody hell,’ he said. I said would you believe that you could come to a place and see yourself forty years ago. And that was in effect, you could call that the most happy and unexpected —
DH: Yeah.
FM: Thing to happen. To find that you, your photograph had been taken and been kept in this, her father’s album.
DH: Yeah.
FM: And had got to her. Anyway, yes so that was I think that was a jolly tale. You know what I mean. It was a happy one.
DH: Yeah.
FM: Not a miserable one. A happy one.
DH: Well, thank you so much for talking to me, Keith.
FM: I could tell you one which is dead funny. Unbelievable but still it happened. You wouldn’t know, couldn’t know but during the war only bottled beer was available. There may have been draft beer in small quantities round about Burton on Trent and places like that but I mean normally bottled was the only beer. And the day we finished operations was a daylight raid so like it wasn’t like coming back in the middle of the night and so we all, we were all going to go down to Market Rasen which was only three and a half miles away. The skipper had arranged transport. He’s the boss now. He’s well thought of on the squadron and he arranged transport so we can drink as much as we like. So we go in to this hotel in Market Rasen. I wish I could remember its name but it’s there. We go in to the bar. It’s quite early. Not in to the bar. Went in, oh no we went in to the smoke room. Didn’t mix. We wanted a big room of our own and there’s seven of us sat around this table and the, and the navigator, Frank who came to see me from Canada who, thirty five years later, but he said, ‘The first round’s on me.’ We didn’t argue about a round. But he walked up to the bar and we could hear him. This young girl came and he said, he said, ‘I want fifty six pint bottles of beer please.’ She said [pause], ‘I’m not joking,’ he said, ‘I want fifty six pint bottles of beer.’ And they were all brought around our table. Eight of us, seven of us, supposed to drink eight each. The skipper could drink one. The navigator could manage twelve. I may have managed my eight at a push, but I think that particular order was the biggest individual order for beer I’ve ever heard placed.
DH: Yeah.
FM: Yeah. That was Frank. He was going to buy the first round so he did but there was never a second [laughs] Yes.
DH: Could you tell me the names of the people on that crew?
FM: I can. Very well. Pilot George Davies from Oswestry. Navigator Frank Yate from North Hamilton in, in Ontario. Bomb aimer Freddie [Pittey] from Newbury, trainee, a trainee teacher and went back to become a school teacher. Jock Gilchrist. Jock, obviously mid-upper gunner, Scottish from Ayr. The one, the one we found difficulty keeping in touch with and I don’t know why maybe he got married and moved around was the engineer. I’ll think of his name in a minute. And then the rear gunner was the oldest. Harry [Fay], a cockney from East, East Ham. Harry was the first to die. He had a heart attack and one by one they all dropped off leaving me, yeah. I even kept in touch with the wives. With the widows. The two widows that I mainly, because it was rather amazing when you think of I went to the wedding of the bomb aimer and I went to his silver [pause] Oh, let me think. If he was married in ’46, and I went to his golden wedding, that’s right. That’s right. He was married in ’46. Ninety. Yeah, that’s right. And Phyl was alive of course and at his golden wedding of course we were guests of honour fifty years later. That was one amazing thing. The skipper of course married a New Zealand nurse who then wanted to go home and he didn’t have no interest in his father’s business which was a business that I was in. And when he’d gone and I was living in Oswestry and his mum and dad were still alive in Oswestry, I used to visit them didn’t I? And his dad who used to run this big agricultural, owned it, that George wasn’t interested in because he was a Batchelor of Science in his own right on metallurgy. Anyway, that’s another story. Anyway, his father said to me, ‘Get in touch with your boss and tell him that when I’m ready to retire I want you to buy the business.’ Now, geographically it was perfect. We’d already moved from Oswestry when we bought out a company in Welshpool so one more step to new town was perfect. And it happened. He called me, ‘Come and see me. I want to retire,’ he said, I want to safeguard my staff,’ he said. ‘You get hold of your boss.’ Well I did and of course my boss, the big boss then contacted my boss Ben Richards who’d been with me all the lifetime and we went down and we looked and eventually we bought it. And because of that I was made what you’d call area supervisor, having already taken over Welshpool as well from Oswestry, and the funny thing to think that from that day when George Davis says, ‘You’re from Shropshire.’ ‘Yes.’ ‘I’m a Salopian too. Would you fly with me?’ Comes years later his dad. It’s, you know —
DH: It’s amazing, isn’t it?
FM: It is. You can’t really believe these things happen. Yes. Yes. I’m glad I’ve got a pretty active memory because sometimes I can enjoy going back on a given period. I don’t have to go back on the lot. I can remember doing something that I never thought you’d do in the wartime. Have you heard of mayday?
DH: Of?
FM: Mayday. The word mayday.
DH: I know what the word mayday means. Yeah.
FM: What does it mean?
DH: It’s a call for help.
FM: Right. It’s also something you don’t use unless you’re in —
DH: Trouble.
FM: In trouble. And so I called mayday and I had to explain when we got down why, and this was with these trainee pilots. We were out one night in January and we were in a horrendous snowstorm. He quite rightly had lost his way. I could understand that. We got down to, over a big town at about four thousand feet or was it, sorry four hundred feet, and we could recognise it was Cheltenham. I also knew that we were, had a safe flying height over the Cotswolds of fourteen hundred feet, and we were flying at four hundred feet. So I tapped him on the shoulder and I [pause] ‘Oh yes,’ he said. We climbed up, and then we were lost, you know. We were close to home and yet lost so I called, ‘Mayday. Mayday.’ The answer, ‘Your requirements?’ And I just said, ‘Searchlights.’ And within no time the beams came up. We could see them and we came home. Got home. I got away with them. My reasons for mayday. They accepted it. I don’t know whether he got away with having lost, you know. I don’t know. I can’t remember, but I do remember that. Possibly being the most scary night of the, you don’t call mayday once in a lifetime. Yeah. And then have to say, go in front of the intelligence and tell them why you called mayday. A thing unknown. Mayday. Yes. Yes. A bad thunderstorm in an old fashioned aircraft is pretty terrible you know. I mean you can’t see anything. Not like these modern things where you’re, yes, enough of me. You’ll never get home ‘til tomorrow. You get me on my memories and I’ve got so many. So many.
DH: Well —
FM: I don’t know.
DH: If you wanted to chat another time and give me memories that would be wonderful.
FM: [unclear] Right. My legs get, slowly but surely they’re deteriorating. You’ve seen that medal haven’t you? That’s the —
DH: Let’s have a look.
FM: That’s the Legion d’Honneur.
DH: Oh yes. That’s beautiful isn’t it?
FM: It is.
DH: Beautiful.
FM: Put that there.
DH: Yes.
FM: It’s just something. I don’t know if I’ve got it. It won’t take a second to look. I’ll finish my coffee. So many documents that I’ve got which [pause] Different crew members but I don’t want to show you bits and pieces. I thought I’d got a [pause] There’s the skipper. What you can see of him. Only his head.
DH: Oh, inside the plane.
FM: No. I can’t see there’s anything particular. It’s hard to remember [laughs] I told you we were in civvy billets in Blackpool.
DH: Yes [pause] Ah, which one are you?
FM: Right in the middle, at the back.
DH: Oh right. Oh yes, nuisance.
FM: I’ll get it. I’ll get it.
DH: All right, love. I did get a little one of the two gunners. The rear and the mid-upper together.
FM: Yeah.
DH: I’ve got other photographs somewhere dear but I don’t know where they are.
FM: Ok. What I’ll do is, if we finish —
DH: Yes.
FM: If I finish of the interview now.
DH: Yeah.
FM: And then I’ll explain a few things. Ok. So, thank you very much.
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
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Interview with Frederick Joseph Keith Martin
Creator
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Dawn Hughes
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2018-03-09
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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
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Sound
Identifier
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AMartinFJK180309
Format
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01:41:51 audio recording
Language
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eng
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Description
An account of the resource
Keith Martin was working for an agricultural machinery merchants in Shrewsbury when the war started. This was classed as a reserved occupation but when he was nearly 20, he decided to volunteer for the Royal Air Force in April 1942 and was selected to be a wireless operator/air gunner. Initial training took place in Blackpool, followed by further training at RAF Yatesbury, RAF Ternhill, RAF Calveley. Promoted to sergeant he was then posted to 18 Initial Training Wing at RAF Bridgnorth to complete his wireless operator training. Flying training took place at RAF West Freugh and in October 1943 he was posted to an operational training unit at RAF Hixon flying Wellingtons. It was there that Keith was formed in to an aircrew. In December 1943 Keith’s crew flew their first operation, as part of their training, which was leaflet dropping over Belgium. January 1944 saw a posting to a heavy conversion unit at RAF Sandtoft to fly Halifaxes. In April their aircraft had an engine failure on take-off, resulting in a crash landing which wrote it off but injured no-one. He transferred to Lancasters at RAF Hemswell and was then posted to RAF Wickenby. From May he was in an operational squadron. Keith describes the many operations that he carried out, including an operation during which an aircraft below his exploded, and caused his aircraft to go out of control until the pilot recovered control at 2000 feet. In June 1944 he was posted to 300 Squadron. By August his crew had flown 26 operations. On completing his tour, Keith went on to spend a year at the advanced flying unit at RAF South Cerney before volunteering for the Empire Test Pilots’ School at RAF Cranfield. He was finally demobbed in 1946 returning to his pre-war employer, who had kept his job available.
Contributor
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Nick Cornwell-Smith
Julie Williams
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Great Britain
England--Bedfordshire
England--Cheshire
England--Gloucestershire
England--Lancashire
England--Shropshire
England--Staffordshire
England--Yorkshire
England--Wiltshire
Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway
England--Blackpool
France--Paris
France--Sangatte
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-04-20
1943-05
1943-10
1943-12-30
1944-01
1944-04-06
1944-05-01
1944-06
1944-08-31
1946
1944-07
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending revision of OH transcription
300 Squadron
626 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
bombing
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
crash
crewing up
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Initial Training Wing
Lancaster
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
propaganda
RAF Bridgnorth
RAF Calveley
RAF Cranfield
RAF Hemswell
RAF Hixon
RAF Sandtoft
RAF South Cerney
RAF Ternhill
RAF West Freugh
RAF Wickenby
RAF Yatesbury
take-off crash
training
Wellington
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1165/11730/ATownsleyH180314.1.mp3
24a47333c28c33c487d7aace5982444b
Dublin Core
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Title
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Townsley, Henry
H Townsley
Description
An account of the resource
Four items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Henry Townsley DFM (b. 1920, 994575 Royal Air Force), a memoir, list of operations and artwork. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 97 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Henry Townsley and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2018-03-14
Rights
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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
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Townsley, H
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
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CB: I’ll just do the introduction. My name is Chris Brockbank and today is the 14th of March 2018 and I’m in Diseworth near Derby, talking to Henry Townsley DFM, about his life and times as a flight engineer. So Henry, what are your earliest recollections of life.
HT: Well, I think being born at a place called Harrington, Workington. I was born there in 1920.
CB: And what do you remember about that?
HT: Well, I can remember it being quite depressing in those days, a lot of unemployment.
CB: What was the main local employment?
HT: Well, steel working, place called Moss Bay was a steel plant and It was iron and steel. Of course it was, there was quite a bit of coal mining and the mining of the ore at Egremont, a few mile away and then there was the land so we had all the ingredients for the ore in the area.
CB: Right. And what did your father do?
HT: Well, my father was the, was a chauffeur for quite a long, got the chauffeur uniform, many years, yeah.
CB: SO there was the town, but fairly countrified as well.
HT: A town of twenty six thousand.
CB: Was it? Right.
HT: Yeah, so it was fairly large town.
CB: And where did you go to school?
HT: Ordinary elementary school until I was fourteen. And then of course I left school and I think perhaps I was in the air force before I started other things moving.
CB: And when you left school at fourteen you must have gone to something else. What did you do?
HT: Well, I, at fourteen I left school, went into a local garage as a vehicle fitter, to serve an apprenticeship as a vehicle fitter. Quite a large garage, there were six, employed there, six craftsmen, so it was quite large: Whitehaven.
CB: In Whitehaven.
HT: Whitehaven.
CB: Yeah. And this is 1934.
HT: Yes.
CB: So that’s a long way off the war. What, did you keep working there or did you do something else?
HT: Yes, until I was seventeen. And, until, unitl the war started. I was there until war started, yes.
CB: Okay, and did you do any more education while you were working in the garage?
HT: No, I didn’t do any of that.
CB: Did you do any night school?
HT: No. No, no didn’t do any night school. It was after I left there.
CB: So you, when the war started in ’39 what did you do?
HT: ’39? Well I was actually working in this garage at that time. I just forget now what, yeah, what I just.
CB: I think we’ll stop, just for a mo.
HT: Yes, it’s just a blank there really.
CB: Okay.
HT: I was on the water vessel Chesapeake, a tanker, ten thousand ton and that sailed form Swansea, in South Wales, and I was a junior engineer, there were three. Three juniors, and there was the three senior engineers and I believe there is a chief engineer, on the water vessel Chesapeake.
CB: And that was ten thousand tons.
HT: Ten thousand tonnes, yes.
CB: How did you get into that?
HT: Well, I er, well, I was working in this garage, I think I said, at Whitehaven at that time.
CB: Yes.
HT: And one of the customers, his brother in law was the engineer, chief engineer on the ship. That’s how I started, the customer coming in this garage where I was. [Laugh] He was, he was of course working as a second engineer he was at the time, and of course he was the bloke who pushed me in.
CB: Was he?
HT: Yeah. The Anglo American Oil Company.
CB: Oh yes. And what was real the tipping point that made you want to join the Merchant Navy?
HT: I think perhaps the fact that the, my family were seafaring, before me, so, my mother’s family were all seafaring. And it was, it was that what, it was my mother’s side of the family, not my father’s were seafaring people, and so that’s why I joined the, the Navy.
CB: Before that, when you were working in the garage, then you were studying engineering. At night school.
HT: Well yes.
CB: What was that course?
HT: [Telephone] It was the Workington Technical College. Yeah. On the National Course.
CB: Right.
HT: ONC.
CB: Yup.
HT: The Ordinary National Course.
CB: And did that specialise in a particular type of engineering? Was it marine?
HT: Engineering. Several types of engineering. Several types.
CB: Yes. Was it, any of it in construction or was it all in vehicles and ships?
HT: Well vehicle engineering, yeah.
CB: Yes. So when you joined the Merchant Navy, what did they do about training you, about shipping engineering?
HT: Well, I will have had to sit me tickets for me certificates there, you know. But of course as I say, I didn’t, I wasn’t there long, only a few months, and then, of course, I moved into the air force.
CB: So what prompted you to volunteer to join the RAF?
HT: Well, I wasn’t too keen on the sea: I was sick! [Laugh] So it didn’t agree with me constitution! So that was the main reason. [Laugh] Had I been able to stand the sea sickness I would have stuck it! That’s why I didn’t stick it. Quite obvious!
CB: Well you might have joined the Army, what made you join the RAF?
HT: The air force well, I think it was the chance of flying really, yeah, it was the senior one of the two. Aero engineering was the, seemingly the coming thing, of course naturally I felt okay, seems to be the thing to go for.
CB: Did you get recruited immediately for aircrew, or were you recruited for ground crew to begin with?
HT: Oh, for on the ground, yeah.
CB: So what was the course that you did?
HT: Oh, I don’t know exactly, I did engineering courses, on the ground, yeah. I did several courses on the ground before I moved, yeah.
CB: And where did you go for that?
HT: [Laugh] Locally, it wasn’t too far out of, I just forget now, but it was somewhere local, you know.
CB: Well if you were, if your ship was based in South Wales did you go to St. Athan?
HT: Yes, I did some courses there, at St. Athan, South Wales, yeah, yes, certainly. You know you’ve left it a bit late. Mind is not as quick as it was.
CB: You’re doing okay. So they were training you initially to be on engines was it or - ?
HT: Yes. Yes.
CB: Okay. Engine mechanic.
HT: Engine, yeah. Engine fitter I think.
CB: Right.
HT: Was it? I’m not sure if it was fitter or a mechanic, I think it was fitter. I did a fitters course.
CB: Yep. Okay.
HT: So I may have done both. I have a feeling I did a mechanics course, have you got it, flat mechanic? And then I went back and did a fitters course which was three months, three or four months there were, during the war.
CB: Yup.
HT: So I did both courses. So I was a fitter, a fitter engines.
CB: So we are talking about your joining in April 1940.
HT: Yeah.
CB: And things were warming up then, in the war.
HT: That’s true, that’s true.
CB: So what prompted you to become -
HT: Aircrew.
CB: Aircrew.
HT: [Laughter] Now then. I suppose there, the fact that there was fairly quick promotion really, you know! Was probably one of the things that did it!
CB: And more money.
HT: If it hadn’t been for the promotion and that, I might not have done it! But they were all, you were pushed up to sergeant you see. So of course, naturally, that was the recruiting agent for aircrew.
CB: For flight engineers.
HT: You all had the rank of sergeant, yeah. That’s, yeah, that’s all I think. You got the pay with it, so.
CB: So you were well schooled already in the basics of automotive engineering and then aero engineering.
HT: Well, I’d been, the, in working, yeah, on ordinary car engines for some years.
CB: Yeah, quite.
HT: Five years probably, five or six years.
CB: Six years.
HT: So I was well based in the base of engineering.
CB: Yeah. And when you came to volunteer for flight engineer you had a different training from the ground engineer. What do you remember about that?
HT: Training about the flight engineer. I every, fortnight’s training,
CB: Oh.
HT: [laugh] For me anyway, it was a fortnight’s training for me, and that was it.
CB: Right.
HT: As a, at my particular status, all I had to do was a couple of weeks.
CB: Right.
HT: I passed them and was through. Others had to do three months.
CB: Yes.
HT: Particularly a fitter 2A, if he was only an airframe.
CB: Yes.
HT: Only did the airframes and not the engines. But if he’d been a 2AR just. In those days, yeah, an airframe fitter, he had to do an engine course.
CB: Yeah.
HT: So his course was three or four months you see.
CB: Yes. And you’d already –
HT: But I was already an engine fitter so I only had minute training to do you see.
CB: So on the aircraft that you were, you were being trained to fly in four engine bombers.
HT: Lancaster, yes.
CB: Yes. Stirling, Halifax and Lancaster.
HT: Yes, that’s right, I did a bit on Stirlings, yes.
CB: So -
HT: I may have done one trip on Halifaxes, which I think I did, one. But I did a few on Stirlings, I did a few trips on Stirlings, probably six or eight and then on, moved on to the Lancaster. You know, finish the training.
CB: Yeah. Just going back to this earlier training for flight engineer. You were already proficient on the mechanical side, of engines.
HT: Yes, absolutely.
CB: So what were the other aspects that you needed to focus on for flight engineer?
HT: For flight engineer well, there was the airframe side of the aircraft.
CB: Yup.
HT: Which I had to know a little about.
CB: Hydraulics.
HT: Yes, hydraulics. Well of course, yes the undercarriage, yes. But mainly, well the airframe is part of the airframe you see. So I had to be reasonably, have a reasonable idea about the airframe side of the aircraft as well.
CB: Yep. And then the electrics of course, and electronics.
HT: Yes, electrics, yes. Oh yes. They were part, involved with the engine side as well.
CB: Right. Okay. So from your training at St. Athan, then where did you go after that?
HT: Yes, I was trained at St. Athan, and, I don’t know it’s down -
CB: So then you moved on to Swinderby.
HT: Swinderby, yeah, that’s in Lincolnshire, yes.
CB: And according to your log book, you were flying in the Manchester.
HT: That’s right.
CB: What was that like?
HT: That was a twin engined Lancaster, really.
CB: Right.
HT: The same, the same airframe as a Lanc, but twin engines, that was the Lancaster. That was the Lancaster, yes.
CB: The basis for the Lanc. The Manchester was the basis for the Lancaster.
HT: Basis for the Lanc.
CB: And were the systems the same on that, in both aeroplanes?
HT: Yes, pretty well. yeah. Yes.
CB: So you went on to Swinderby, and then what did you do?
HT: Well I moved from Swinderby on to a squadron. On to 97 Squadron. Is that right there?
CB: Right. Well, it looks as though you went to Winthorpe. You went to Woodhall Spa, on to the Lancaster.
HT: Yeah.
CB: From Swinderby.
HT: Yeah.
CB: We’ll just stop there for a mo.
CB: [Cough] So we’ll take this in bites. So is it, better for you to - do you need your glasses? Is it better for you to have look at this or I’ll just take you through?
HT: Yes, I can go through.
CB: But here, [cough] as you say, [cough] 94 Squadron, at Woodhall Spa.
HT: 97.
CB: 97 squadron I meant to say.
HT: Yes, yes.
CB: And from there you did quite a few ops.
HT: That’s right.
CB: Yeah. So we’ll just go on from there.
HT: So poor old Munro he got killed, yes.
CB: So his name was Munro was it?
HT: Yeah, Munro, the pilot, yeah.
CB: You were going to say, Jessie.
[Other]: I was going to say, yeah. There’s a couple of things that I found interesting, that you said, when we was at the Battle of Britain Anniversary, you spoke about the lights that came up that dazzled you. Do you remember those lights?
CB: Oh, searchlights?
HT: Yeah. That’s right
[Other]: The searchlights that dazzled you. We was, we was all sat round listening how you got out of such, such a situation.
HT: Absolutely, yeah!
[Other]: You was diving, diving to get out of the searchlight. Which was amazing!
CB: Right. Yeah.
CB: Was that the first or second tour?
HT: Well there was a time when we were, coned as it were.
CB: Let’s just cover that. So I’ll just ask you a question, you can tell me. [Pause] Having talked about your activities on the raids, on the ops, what, what would happen, as we talked about you going near the target. What was the most difficult thing about being near the target?
HT: Well, it was just the, the flak, you know, over the target area then you were getting all the flak, that they were shooting up all around, you see.
CB: But how did they identify where you were?
HT: Well, they could see us.
CB: What, with searchlights?
HT: Above, well, yeah.
CB: So what were the searchlights like?
HT: Well they were quite bright, they were quite good, the searchlights.
CB: Hmm. And so.
HT: So what happened, if the, one searchlight caught us, then they put another on, and then another [laugh] so they cone us in searchlights, and then, they would shoot, up in to the searchlights. So he wasn’t very happy, it wasn’t very happy when they did that.
CB: Right.
HT: Yes, that’s what happened, that was.
CB: So, so what did the pilot do about it?
HT: Well all we can do, if we were at reasonable height: we could - down. The only thing we could do. Down! [Laugh]
CB: And how did he go about that?
HT: Well he just did [emphasis] that.
CB: What, vertical?
HT: In effect.
CB: Would he put it –
HT: Down as quick as we could.
CB: Would he put it into a vertical –
HT: Nose down and down as quick as we could! Got out, yeah, it was the only way to do.
CB: And how far would he go down to do that?
HT: Oh, probably a thousand feet, if possible. Maybe not. Maybe.
CB: More than that?
HT: Maybe. No, we wouldn’t go any further than that. But we’d get out of it about, probably have to go down to a thousand to make it out.
CB: To one thousand feet, or by one thousand feet?
HT: One thousand feet.
CB: Down.
HT: Down to one thousand feet.
CB: To [emphasis] one thousand. Having got there, then what did he do? Continue flying at a thousand feet or did he - ?
HT: Oh yes, until we got out of the flak area, till we got out of the area, you know, the flak area and then we would rise.
CB: This is on the way to the target?
HT: Yeah. Yes.
CB: What I’m getting at is did you get coned on the way to the target, or only at [emphasis] the target?
HT: Well, you’re talking about the target, when we’re over the actual target. Dropping the bombs.
CB: Yes.
CB: Well, it wasn’t really often, you know, that we dropped right down to the bottom.
CB: No. Not then.
HT: Not then, no.
CB: No. Because you’d get bombed. So could you see other aeroplanes near you?
HT: Oh yes. Yeah.
CB: In the dark?
HT: Yes.
CB: Because of the fires was it?
HT: Well, er yes. The fires would light it all up. Yeah. Yeah, oh yes, you could see some of the aircraft.
CB: And when the fighters came to attack you, that was outside the target area was it?
HT: Generally, yes. They could attack us in the target area. But generally yes, you were out, outside.
CB: So when you are flying along and you’re not filling in your log book, what are you doing?
HT: Er, not filling in the log book?
CB: Not filling in the log.
HT: Well generally I’d check -
CB: The flight log.
HT: I’d check. Used to check, often, not indiscriminately, often.
CB: Yeah.
HT: Probably every ten minutes or quarter of an hour at least.
CB: And what are you actually checking?
HT: Well, check the oil gauges for pressure and, for temperature, check the gauges for temperature and pressure mainly, you know. Yeah. And then there’s the fuel, the coolant, you know, the coolant system, you got to check that, that. Yeah. Yes.
CB: And to what extent are you helping as a lookout?
HT: I was a lookout, yeah, quite a lot, I would say yes. Definitely.
CB: And what are you, are you looking out for fighters or are you looking out for other bombers getting too close?
HT: Well both. Any aircraft that’s going to get in the way, or a, or a fighter.
CB: Yeah.
HT: Oh yes. You keep a check out for any bother, anything. Make sure you’re clear of it.
CB: So how often did you have to move out of the way of other bombers?
HT: Well, it depended, you know, on circumstances, where you were, where you’re flying. It depends, if you were in a jumble, if you’re in an area where you’re jumbled up, landing, it’s something like that, you’ve got to keep a check.
CB: What would you say was the most vivid experience you had of being on an operation, on a raid?
HT: Well, I’ve got a thought, but I don’t know, it, quite a few. I’ve left it too long you see.
CB: Yes. I’m sure, yeah. We’ll stop there for a mo.
HT: That’s going, isn’t it that, Air Marshal.
CB: Now, 97 Squadron was a standard bombing squadron, but at one stage then it became Pathfinder. What happened there?
HT: That’s right. Pathfinder, yeah.
CB: Yes. What happened there?
HT: Yes, it was a top squadron. 97, alongside 617, we were there together on the same base, 97, on the same [emphasis] base.
CB: At Woodhall Spa.
The Dambusters were at Woodhall Spa on the same base.
CB: And from Woodhall Spa the squadron then moved to Bourne, why did it do that?
HT: Bourne. Move to Bourne.
CB: In Cambridgeshire.
HT: That would be after the war was it?
CB: That was 19, May 1943. This is because the Pathfinder operation was transferred to there.
HT: I can’t say I, I forget a lot you know.
CB: Yeah.
HT: It went on, yeah.
CB: Okay stop there.
HT: I forget, a lot of the things, I’ve forgotten.
CB: Of course.
HT: But generally, some of the, quite a bit I remember you know, after the stint I did.
CB: So in your Pathfinding then, in July ’43, your pilot, Munro, was awarded the DFC.
HT: Yes.
CB: Any other members of the crew awarded a distinction?
HT: I just forget, now let’s see. I think the navigator, I think he got a, an award, navigator. Yeah, the navigator, and the bomb aimer and the pilot all got awards before the rest of us. The bombing team should we say. They’re the bombing team.
CB: Yeah.
HT: The bomb aimer, the navigator and the pilot. Depended entirely on them, when the bomb was dropped, as a team.
CB: Were they officers, or only the pilot?
HT: Well. some were officers, some were pilots. Some were, I think generally on my second crew I was the only one, that was, I was a warrant officer all the rest were officers.
C: Were they.
HT: That’s in the second crew, yeah. And of course the first crew, well I, after about two or three months, three of them were commissioned. So I never bothered, you know, it didn’t worry me. I made it through, I made it through, I didn’t bother.
CB: The pay was all right?
HT: Oh yeah, I was happy. I wasn’t bothered at all. So er, and I wasn’t pushed, I wasn’t pushed to be responsible for anything. So I was happy, and I mean the commission that I may have had would have had some responsibility pushed on to me, you know, but I wasn’t, so, so I didn’t.
CB: So, just keeping on the first tour, and the crew, how did they gel together?
HT: The first crew, that was Munro the pilot, and Hill the rear gunner, Bennett the mid upper gunner, and er, there was -
CB: Signaller?
HT: Watson the bomb aimer.
CB: Watson.
HT: Yeah. Suswain he was the Suswain, the first was the first bomb aimer was Suswain, in me first crew, Watson was the second crew bomb aimer.
CB: What about the flight, the wireless operator?
HT: Yeah. the wireless operator was, just forget now, the er, one of them was only an NCO, was only a flight sergeant. A warrant officer probably.
CB: But when you joined the first crew, that was at the Heavy Conversion Unit.
HT: Munro. All sergeants together.
CB: Yeah. But how did they get on as a crew? ‘Cause you joined when they were already a crew.
HT: Well Munro. When I joined we were all sergeants, and they moved ahead, and Munro undoubtedly got, was commissioned first, whilst we were flying together. Three were commissioned, there was Munro was commissioned, the navigator was commissioned and the bomb aimer was commissioned. And that was it. Three. So they were what they called the bombing team. They were responsible for dropping the bomb, you see. That’s why they commissioned them.
CB: Right.
HT: ‘Cause navigator, pilot, and the bomb aimer. They worked as a team, together.
CB: Yes.
HT: So of course that was an excellent team.
CB: Hmm. And socially, how did the crew get on together?
HT: Quite well, on the, on my crews I can’t remember any, any obstruction in any way. We all hit it off pretty well.
CB: What did you do for relaxation?
HT: Oh well, I, that’s easy, I can tell you, normally we had a drink, you know, occasionally, not tremendously, but occasionally, we would have a drink, as a crew, to get together, be together.
CB: Was that in pubs, or - ?
HT: Eh?
CB: In pubs or on the airfield?
HT: Oh that’s outside. In the evening probably. In a pub, in the local, you know. We rarely bothered, rarely had a drink on the airfield.
CB: Right.
HT: We always used to move out to have a drink.
CB: What was the accommodation like?
HT: The accommodation wasn’t too good at Coningsby, too large a base. But er, wasn’t too good.
CB: So what were you housed in?
HT: I was in the, I was in the sergeants mess, the sergeants part, I was lucky. I had a room of me own! I used to come out of my room, walk along the passage and I’d be in the bar. [laugh] That was a mess, the sergeants mess, so I was lucky at Coningsby. My room was next door, next door to the bar! Well, I came out of me place, then along to the right and there I was in the bar area.
CB: And when you went to Woodhall Spa, what was the accommodation like there?
HT: Well that was, what I was saying, it was a permanent accommodation, you see, permanent mess, you know, everything was peacetime establishment and I was, my room, I had a, there were rooms along, there were passages along you see.
CB: Yes.
HT: Outside the main area and I was in one of the rooms. I was in the nearest to the bar.
CB: This is Coningsby and your second tour.
HT: Coningsby, yeah.
CB: But in your first tour -
HT: Yeah.
CB: You were at Woodhall Spa. So, what accommodation did you have there?
HT: Oh, nissen huts [laugh], nissen huts. Old nissen huts.
CB: The whole crew’s there. How many crews in a nissen hut?
HT: Oh that one.
CB: One each?
HT: One crew would be in a nissen hut, yeah, oh yeah. Sometimes you were split, you know, sometimes you might have, you were spit up. But that was where they was a satellite airfield. Coningsby was permanent, you see, the structure there.
CB: Hmm.
HT: Yeah. Oh yeah, we were split.
CB: What about the food?
HT: Yeah, the food. I would say was reasonable, I can’t complain. The food was reasonable.
CB: Lots of fry ups?
HT: I think the food was fair, fairly good, off hand, yeah, from what I can see, particularly at Coningsby, in the sergeants mess. It was supposedly better than the officers so, there we go, [laugh] so they reckoned anyway. They reckoned so. Some of the lads that were commissioned, you know, and left the sergeants mess, they told us it were bloody rubbish in the officers mess. They were worse off, worse off, they could be, I agree. Yes.
CB: So at the end of your first tour, then you were rested, effectively.
HT: Six month. I decided I’d be off six month and I had six months off.
CB: Yeah. So your six months off was at a Heavy Conversion Unit at Winthorpe.
HT: That’s right. Six months, yeah.
CB: And so, at Winthorpe what were they doing there, and what were you doing?
HT: Winthorpe? Well, it were the same as we were doing anywhere.
CB: You were training people, weren’t you.
HT: Training, yes, same as Coningsby.
CB: Right. And what was your role in the training at the Heavy Conversion Unit?
HT: Me? I was a senior instructor, I suppose. Was responsible for a schedule of people coming through, to see that their training was completed properly and in order. So I was, er, yeah, I think I was fairly responsible really, for the training.
CB: So you had ground school, did you, as well as flying?
HT: Me? Yes. I was a fitter, so I did a mechanics course: four months, and then went back and did a fitters course.
CB: No, I’m, I’m talking about Winthorpe, when you were at, after your first tour.
HT: You have to be first –
CB: You were then training other aircrew at Winthorpe.
HT: Oh, training the aircrew.
CB: What were you doing to them there? You had, gave them tuition on the ground, did you?
HT: Tuition, yeah.
CB: And in the air, as well as in the air?
HT: Yes, we, they were given tuition in the air as well. Yes. On some occasions, not on all, but on some, yeah, they were. That was the part of the job we weren’t very keen on [laugh] to be quite honest. Oh no. So we had er.
CB: ‘Cause the nature of the heavy conversion unit was that the crew would already have been together from the operational training unit.
HT: Yes.
CB: And then [cough] then the flight engineer joined, the crew.
HT: That’s right, at the Conversion Unit. That’s right, yes. And the gunner.
CB: And the extra gunner.
HT: Yeah. They joined the crew at the Conversion Unit. Yeah.
CB: Yeah. So what are you actually doing with the flight engineer who is under training with you? Are you monitoring what he does or are you telling him what, showing him what to do? Or what is happening?
HT: Well he, I suppose instruct him, telling he’s a good idea though. He’s worked there as a flight engineer before he’s reached us, so he’s got some good idea of what he has to do. Any instructions you can give him you do. Yeah.
CB: So after your period, so what we’re talking about at Winthorpe, is, you joined that in October in ’43, and that went on until February ’44.
HT: Yeah.
CB: Then, from there you went to Warboys.
HT: Warboys, yes.
CB: So this was the NTU, so here we’re talking about getting into Pathfinding again. Is that right?
HT: Well, Warboys, an NTU, yeah, Navigational Training Unit.
CB: Yes. So it’s more specific navigation.
HT: Navigation, yeah. Is the -
CB: Is the idea.
HT: Well, that’s the, the main reason for it, navigation, yeah. So you are training the navigators generally.
CB: And this is when you now start, after that, you go to Coningsby, and this is where you are doing your Pathfinding with a new crew, and your pilot is a chap called Baker DFC.
HT: Jeff Baker, yeah.
CB: So what do you remember?
HT: Baker’s an Aussie.
CB: Is he?
HT: Yeah. Australian, yeah. Jeff Baker, yeah. So that was at – Coningsby.
CB: That’s Coningsby.
HT: That’s right, it was.
CB: So what squadron is that?
HT: 97
CB: It’s still 97
HT: I was with 97 all the time.
CB: Right. But it’s the beginning of your second tour.
HT: That’s right. Yeah.
CB: So what stands out in your mind about some of the operations there? ‘Cause we are talking April ’44, before D-Day.
HT: I had quite a, a fair amount of time for Baker. He was, I hit it off pretty well with him, he was quite a decent pilot from what can recollect of him. So, we didn’t have any breaches, we managed to do the tour complete.
CB: You said all the crew was commissioned except you.
HT: Yeah.
CB: How did the crew gel?
HT: How did the?
CB: How did the crew get on, how did they gel?
HT: Well there was, let’s see, there was, I suppose they applied for a commission, most of them.
CB: No, no how did they get on together as a crew, flying as a crew?
HT: Oh absolutely, no trouble, no real trouble anyway, no real trouble.
CB: Were they all second tour people?
HT: Er, they would be, yes, yes, they were.
CB: By definition, for Pathfinder they’re going to be second tour.
HT: Absolutely. Yes.
CB: So you all got your Pathfinder badge.
HT: Yes, you did, had to do so many trips, and you were awarded the Pathfinder badge. I don’t think it was many, one or two. Then of course you had to do a certain number and you were issued the Pathfinder badge permanently.
CB: Right. Now a lot of your flying is daylight as well as doing night time.
HT: That’s right, yeah.
CB: So how did you feel about the daylight raids?
HT: Well, there wasn’t many, there was only three I think, was there?
CB: You’ve got a good, you’ve got quite a few.
HT: Have I? Daylights?
CB: Well actually, a lot of it, I take that back.
HT: I thought I only had about three or four.
CB: Yes. It’s all to do with, yup, okay, a lot of it is actually to do with flying in the UK, daylight.
HT: Oh I see. That’s right, yeah.
CB: What stands out in your mind about the second tour particularly?
HT: I think probably the pilot that I had, he seemed to get on well with, with, Baker. I hit it off pretty well with Baker, Jeff Baker. He was the Aussie, a flight lieutenant.
CB: Did he become a master bomber?
HT: Baker? Yes. He was the flight commander, deputy flight commander.
CB: Right.
HT: He was a flight lieutenant.
CB: Yeah.
HT: The squadron leader was the flight commander you see.
CB: Yup.
HT: And then they’d have a wing commander as the squadron commander
CB: Squadron commander. Well quite a bit of the bombing at that time was of France.
HT: Yeah. Quite so, France mainly, yes.
CB: And the end of the tour was twenty five ops, you said.
HT: Twenty?
CB: You did twenty five ops on your second tour.
HT: Yes. Thirty on the first, twenty five on the second. Fifty five all together.
CB: Yeah.
HT: Yeah. It’s all down there, I think. Yes.
CB: So that takes us to –
HT: You won’t find many like that: two tours.
CB: No. More on Pathfinder.
HT: Absolutely. Oh well, of course. You’d get them, more on Pathfinder, system, yeah.
CB: So this took you through to October, the end of September ’44, didn’t it.
HT: Yes.
CB: Then where did you go after that? You went to somewhere, something different.
HT: Did I? What’s it got on the top there?
CB: It, it’s got you flying with all sorts of different pilots. And that’s when you started flying Stirlings, so.
HT: Oh, I was on a Conversion Unit.
CB: Yes.
HT: Yeah. That’s 16 61, it’ll be down there at the end.
CB: Right. Okay.
HT: 16 61 Conversion Unit.
CB: Where was that?
HT: Winthorpe.
CB: That was also Winthorpe.
HT: Yeah.
CB: Okay.
HT: That’s near Newark.
CB: And the Stirling was used as a, this is October ’44 –
HT: As a substitute. On the Conversion Unit.
CB: Yes. And then they converted to Lancasters, is that right?.
HT: That’s right. Yes, they pushed them into the Stirling initially and then of course they were trained secondly on the, on the Lancaster, yeah.
CB: Hmm. And what was the Stirling like compared with the Lancaster, completely different aeroplane certainly.
HT: Absolutely.
CB: So what was that like?
HT: Well, that was interesting. That was really interesting, I’m pleased I didn’t do my operations on it! It was disgusting. The damned aircraft would only go up to about sixteen thousand feet.
CB: Right.
HT: Seventeen. So it had the, it hadn’t the altitude that it should have had, you know. I wouldn’t have liked to do operations in, no way. Twenty was my, twenty thousand was mine.
CB: You were happier up there.
HT: Lanc. Yeah.
CB: Hmm. What was the work load? How was it different from the Lancaster workload as a flight engineer?
HT: On the, er?
CB: On the Stirling.
HT: Well. On the Lancaster you were sat together with the pilot in front and had all the controls in front of you.
CB: Yes.
HT: On the Stirling you weren’t, you were at the inter part of the fuselage, you had the flying panels there. So you weren’t, the bomb aimer, the pilot sat together, at the front, so you had the control panels in the, seemingly in the centre of the aircraft.
CB: With your own seat.
HT: On the Stirling.
CB: With your own seat.
HT: That was the Stirling.
CB: Because the Lancaster you didn’t have anywhere to sit.
HT: The Lanc you were right, you were at the front, all together you see with the pilot. You had all the controls there, the flight controls were on the left, and [emphasis] you had the throttle controls–
CB: In the middle.
HT: Between you. And you had the, the propeller controls you know, as well, together, four, for the revs, rev counters, and the undercarriage that was between you, between the pilot and you. The flaps, that was between the pilot and engineer, both could operate them. So, er, yeah, so that was that.
CB: But you, but you spent a lot of time standing in the Lancaster.
HT: Absolutely. Yes.
CB: Behind the pilot with your dials on the wall, didn’t you.
HT: Well, no. We, I had a seat and I could let it down, alongside the pilot.
CB: Right. Yeah, but the stuff behind you.
HT: In many cases I did a lot of standing as well. I didn’t sit down on take off, anyway on that rig. I always stood, so er -
CB: Yes. You felt safe enough with that?
HT: Oh yes.
CB: Even on landing.
HT: I was quite safe enough, yes, and ready for the run in…[laugh] Not really, no. I managed quite well there.
CB: But on the Stirling, then you’ve got effectively your own office.
HT: On the stern?
CB: Stirling.
HT: Oh the Stirling!
CB: You’ve got your own office, effectively, haven’t you, your seat and all your controls in front of you.
HT: They’re all in the centre. Yes, the engineer’s got a seat there in the centre as far as I’m aware, yeah. I did a few hours on Stirlings, flying, because we had them on the Conversion Unit.
CB: Yes.
HT: We were using them initially. And then moving them from there on to the Lancaster you see.
CB: Yeah. What was the most difficult thing about the Stirling?
HT: The Stirling. Well, I wasn’t actually involved with the flying of it. But I preferred the controls where they were on the Lanc, half way down the fuselage. And another thing you had about twelve tanks on the Stirling. [Laugh]
CB: Oh did you?
HT: Six on each wing. So that’s bit of trouble. You had the, you know, had the intermediate, you had the fuselage running between the it, between the two fuselages you could move one off for taxi and one on the other side, you were hid. So there was, yeah, so there was quite a lot of juggling going on in the Stirling. [Laugh] Them bloody tanks were disgusting! On that thing there.
CB: In what way?
HT: Well there were about, there must have been a dozen tanks! And both, more probably. There were quite a lot of tanks on Stirling, yeah.
CB: So how did you manage the fuel on the Stirling then, that was different from what you did on a Lancaster?
HT: Well, you had all, had all the, the systems all there just, pretty well, you know. The tanks were all properly joined, they were all joined up, you moved one from into another sort of style, you know, several tanks you could, there was your initial tank, you used for providing the engine with fuel and that was the tank that you moved all the fuel into initially.
CB: Like the Lancaster, it also had wingtip tanks, did it, which you drained early?
HT: The Stirling? Yes, there was tanks in the wings there, I don’t know exactly where, but there were tanks in the wings there. And tanks in the fuselage as well.
CB: Ahead of the bomb bay?
HT: In the Stirling, yeah.
CB: And er, how did the pilots like flying Stirlings?
HT: Well, I don’t think, I wasn’t too keen on them, so I don’t suppose they were, no. I would rather have the Lancaster any time!
CB: What about reliability?
HT: The Lancasters were much easier, you know, to control. They were far easier to control than those things. And you know, you had twelve tanks, twelve, at least twelve tanks, maybe fourteen. You had a lot of tanks, they were all in each wing, and all tied up together. Crossed over.
CB: On the, the Stirling, how reliable were they [emphasis], compared with Lancasters?
HT: Oh, I’ve not time for the Stirling compared, the Lancaster was a much better aircraft, far better. On the Lancaster three tanks in each wing, and you had two tanks linked together. The two inner tanks, the outer tank there was, you could only move it into the inner tank.
CB: Right, yeah. To the main tank.
HT: The main. You couldn’t use the fuel, I think you had to move it.
CB: Into the main tank.
HT: Into the main tank.
CB: But on the, the Stirlings were not used too much on raids later. But what was the condition of the aircraft you were using for the training at Winthorpe? What sort of state were they?
HT: Oh okay, I think, quite good.
CB: Were they.
HT: I was quite happy with the system, the maintenance, yeah. Of course we didn’t use them too much I don’t think, they were, we, just a small amount of the training, you know, initial, you know, initial training before they moved on to the Lanc.
CB: So, your time at Winthorpe, on this Heavy Conversion Unit went past the end of the war.
HT: Yes.
CB: What do you remember about the end of the war in Europe on the 8th of May 1945?
HT: The 8th of May.
CB: That was the end of the, the Germans surrendered.
HT: Yeah, the end of hostilities.
CB:Were there celebrations on the, at Winthorpe, or what happened?
HT: Not to any great extent, no. I think, suppose we probably had a drink [laugh] out of the camp area, you know, to celebrate, but I think it went down normally, you know.
CB: We’ll pause there for a mo.
CB: So you had a considerable time on Stirlings but then you went, at Winthorpe, but then still at Winthorpe you went on 16 61 Heavy Conversion Unit. You went on to Lancasters because they had the Lancaster finishing school there.
HT: Well generally I worked on the Lancs most of the time.
CB: Did you.
HT: I can’t recollect really being involved with the Stirling at all. I may have been slightly, you know, I was slightly but not to any great extent.
CB: But almost each time you flew with a different pilot because of what it was, so how was that?
HT: If I was at Winthorpe, then yes, I’m afraid so.
CB: That was because they were trainee pilots.
HT: That’s right. So I, I wasn’t flying all the time there, of course, but I did fly some of the time. Yes, we all had to do a certain amount of flying.
CB: Right. So it looks as though in August 1945 you gave up being there, at Winthorpe, and then you went to Honiley, in Warwickshire.
HT: Oh. That was after the war.
CB: Yes, September, so we are talking about much later.
HT: Oh yes, much later.
CB: That was when you were in –
HT: I returned to the air force in 19, 1948.
CB: Yes, so we’ll just cover that. It says here, total hours on release of, from the RAF on the 2nd of February 1946 was 734 total, of which 342 were daylight.
HT: Yes.
CB: A lot of that was because you were training other people.
HT: That’s right.
CB: So you left the RAF in ‘46.
HT: Yes. And returned again in 1948.
CB: But what did you when you left the RAF, in 1946? You were demobbed then.
HT: Yeah. What was I doing, yeah.
CB: Because you were an engineer of course, in the air force.
HT: I don’t know what I was.
CB: I’ll just stop there for a mo. What made you go back in the RAF?
HT: Well the job I was doing wasn’t of any real, you know, value.
CB: Right.
HT: So I thought I’d be better, better re-enlist in the mob, in the service.
CB: Yep. In September ’48 you returned, to the RAF.
HT: Well I went as a corporal, you see, I think I was, when I returned to the air force. I wasn’t at the bottom of the ladder like, at least, so I was, and it was a year or two, so of course I, I didn’t drop. I should have had, if I’d been older I wouldn’t have done it, you know.
CB: No.
HT: I was only young you see, early twenties.
CB: Twenty eight.
HT: Now had I been any, you know had I been any younger, any older, I might have had more, more about me, but er, yeah.
CB: So what did you do when you returned to the RAF?
HT: In 1946.
CB: The flying you did you would appear just to have been a passenger.
HT: Oh, I was –
CB: Was that because you were doing air tests.
HT: Oh I was fitting.
CB: Fitter.
HT: Fitter, yeah. I said I’d back, didn’t I, fitting, yeah, I was fitting.
CB: How long did you stay in the RAF after rejoining in 1948?
HT: Well I signed for three years.
CB: Ah.
HT: And of course I was in there fifteen months and then they posted me abroad, after fifteen month.
CB: Right.
HT: They kept me for four years, because I liked it a lot, I had twelve months extra to do, it was one of those things. So I got kept for four years. I got posted abroad, and I was in, where was I? I got posted to, to er, Mirpur is it? Mirpur, that’s part of India. That’s Pakistan I should say, I went to Pakistan.
CB: Which was an independent comp, country by then.
HT: It was independent yeah. India.
CB: What were you doing? Training Pakistani - ?
HT: I don’t think was doing anything there. I just passed through think, maybe there for a week or so.
CB: I’m just going to stop for a mo.
[Other]
CB: So you dropped, stopped off in Pakistan for a week or so you said, and you’re a ground fitter.
HT: Yeah. I was a corporal.
CB: A corporal airframe fitter.
HT: Engine.
CB: Engine fitter. So where were you going?
HT: Well I did a tour, I believe I was out in Malaya.
CB: Oh were you. Right.
CB: So I was at Penang. Have you heard?
CB: Yes I know it.
HT: In the north, on the coast, of Malaya. I was there. That was the, that was the rest centre, I was there on several occasions, in Penang and I was actually on the island, Singapore.
CB: Oh, were you.
HT: Yeah.
CB: Do you, what sort of aircraft were you - ?
HT: I can’t recollect.
CB: So you left the RAF again in 1952.
HT: Yeah.
CB: And what did you do after that?
HT: In 1952, yes.
CB: Because you’d signed on for three years but they made you do four. So that takes you to 1952.
HT: 1952, yeah.
CB: So you went into engineering in civilian life did you?
HT: 1952 I don’t know what I was doing.
CB: Because you’re aged thirty two by now.
HT: Yes, thirty two.
CB: What age did you get married?
HT: Oh, I was only twenty three.
CB: Were you. And where did you meet your wife?
HT: Oh, I met her at the RAF, the RAF at the RAF station. She was working in the NAAFI.
CB: In your, where you were stationed?
HT: Where I was stationed, yeah.
CB: In ’43?
HT: It would be ’42, yeah.
CB: ’42?
HT: Yeah.
CB: Right. So this was before you?
HT: It would be ’42.
CB: At Woodhall Spa, or Swinderby was it?
HT: Er, it was, er -
CB: Anyway, you were chatting her up in the NAAFI were you, and that’s how it started?
HT: In actual fact no, what happened, I, there was a dance going on
CB: Oh!
HT: At the station. So of course, I was in the sergeants mess having a drink and I decided to, that I’d go out and see what was going off in the dance you see. So I came out, and I was on me own, and I came out and there was these girls, come down from the NAAFI would be about four of them, so I tagged on to one of them then she became me wife [laugh].
CB: Never looked back did you.
HT: So she never looked back, she didn’t! So I tagged on to one of them and she was me wife! [laugh]
CB: What was her name?
HT: Iris, she was only on the NAAFI a couple of month.
CB: Oh. That’s in ’42.
HT: That’s in 1942, yes.
CB: And she, was she a WAAF, or was she a civilian?
HT: No. Civilian. Yes.
CB: And what did she do, after you met her? Then where, did she stay on the station or do something else?
HT: No, she was married then, married for life.
CB: When did you marry her?
HT: I think was it 1942 or 3? Yeah.
CB: So it was fairly quick.
HT: Oh yes, she had a family quickly, yes. So we were married, well married. We had one or two before the war finished, so it was, we had one or two kids before the war finished, two probably. Yeah.
CB: How did you manage to keep in touch, with your operational and training flying, with your wife? Did she live nearby?
HT: Yes.
CB: Her parents, what?
HT: For two, I would say that for a couple of month she lived on the unit, she was working in the NAAFI.
CB: Right.
HT: So of course after that, she left, and of course she was home you see, with her parents.
CB: Yes. But where was home for her?
HT: Her home was in Condover. Condover, you’ve heard of Condover. You’ve heard of Hera
CB: Oh yes, Condover. Yeah. I know, in Shropshire.
HT: Yeah. It’s a couple of mile from Hera. Condover. Can you remember where I lived?
[Other]: Not sure. Near Condover.
HT: You can’t?
CB: HT: In Derbyshire
CB: I’ll stop for a bit.
CB: When you left the RAF then where did you go? What did you work for?
HT: Rolls Royce.
CB: How long did you work for Rolls Royce? [Dog bark]
HT: Twenty six years.
CB: Did you.
HT: Yes.
CB: Was that a good job?
HT: Reasonable I think. I was, I was in charge of the job you know. It wasn’t well up but it was, I was in charge.
CB: Were you on Merlins engines still or had you moved on to jet engines?
HT: Merlins. I was on Merlins engines most of the time I was there. Jet engines, I just don’t know, I think I probably moved on to them.
CB: Bit later.
HT: In the end. But I was in charge of the job, yeah.
CB: That’s how you came to live in this area, was it, originally? Did you live in this area when you worked for Rolls Royce?
HT: No, I lived in Poulton.
CB: There was a Rolls Royce plant there was there?
HT: No, Poulton le Fylde. No, I used to travel into Derby.
CB: Oh, in to Derby.
HT: Poulton isn’t far you know, from Derby, so I travelled from there, yeah into Derby.
CB: Okay. We’ll stop there thank you very much.
[Other]: You went to Africa.
HT: That’s right.
CB: Now, on one occasion we missed, so lets pick up on this. You had to fly to Africa.
HT: That’s right.
CB: So what was the situation there? What were you bombing in the first place?
HT: Well we were bombing –
CB: Northern Italy, Spezia.
HT: Spezia, weren’t we. On the way back we bombed Italy.
CB: Yes. But the plane was not in a good state.
HT: Yeah, I can remember we, what was it, we were bombing in Italy, we were bombing somewhere, in Italy. Anyway, I er, we had to land in the, North Africa.
CB: Right.
HT: To refuel and then we could return to Britain.
CB: Okay.
HT: So when we landed there, I found that the aircraft was unserviceable and I left a note for the Chief Engineer to sort it out, and they did bugger all. So I thought well, I’m buggered if I’m stopping this dump here. [Laugh] So I got, the rear gunner says I’ll give you a hand to the bloody cowlings, take ‘em off, so.
CB: The cowling.
HT: The cowling.
CB: Of the engine.
HT: The engine, yeah. So the cowlings were off very quickly and the magneto points were out, and when Henry got the magneto points out they were solid, [emphasis] they were welded. [Loud laugh] You know what I mean, don’t you.
CB: Yeah.
HT: You’ve got a point on the mag. Like.
CB: Yeah. And they’re closed.
HT: You’ve got a pivot here. Have you got it? The pivot. Solid.
CB: Yeah.
HT: Points wouldn’t move. [laugh] Solid. So, what, so we looked at the aircraft next door that was cat AC, that had landed and was damaged.
CB: Right.
HT: So he took the bloody points out of one of the engines there. I didn’t ask. I took the points out. So I took the points out and put them in my aircraft.
CB: Yeah.
HT: And took off, had it not been for that, and had I left it, and I would have been there until the ground crew repaired it, and I would have been there for another three or four days.
CB: Yeah.
HT: So I didn’t want that.
CB: No.
HT: I wanted to get back. So that was the only thing I could do and I did. So you know, how many would do that? How many. [emphasis] Very, very, would do that, very few. I wouldn’t be the only one, I’d be, but there’d very few. I took the bloody points, even the points weren’t there for me to, I had to go to another –
CB: Another aircraft.
HT: I couldn’t use them, I had to go and get them from another aircraft. They were solid.
CB: Yeah. Which was a damaged one.
HT: They were welded, they were solid.
CB: That was the heat, was it?
HT: Oh, the heat, yeah, solid, so I couldn’t do anything.
CB: No. Did the engines overheat occasionally?
HT: Occasionally, yeah. But okay, that, okay that was quite an issue.
CB: Bit of initiative that was.
HT: And I, I left it for the chief engineer. I left the job for the engineering staff. And it reached the point where I had to do it myself or, stop, and remain there for some days.
CB: What was the pilot’s attitude to that? This is Munro is it, or Baker?
HT: It was either one or the other, I think it was probably Munro, so we, it was Jimmy Munro I think, yeah. So of course we were there and I, I did the job got it. Flew back. I got the, didn’t get a pat on the back, didn’t get any thanks. Bugger all. I might just as well have not bothered.
CB: But you got back.
HT: But we got back and that was what I wanted anyway. I wanted to get back.
CB: Now, just going back, further, sorry, go on.
HT: So, you know, I, I, the aircraft didn’t stop me, [emphasis] the aircraft was unserviceable and there was no one to repair it. I did it.
CB: Because you were the engineer.
HT: And I could do most of the things.
CB: Of course.
HT: So of course, naturally I, and if it was possible for a human being to do it, I could do it. And did.
CB: Having been ground crew originally.
HT: On occasions I did, and that was one occasion. In never got any credit for it or anything you know.
CB: What you did get credit for was for doing two tours, when you were awarded the DFM.
HT: Well I didn’t get the award, I didn’t get the DFM until I had completed forty five trips.
CB: Right.
HT: So I was on the way to doing two, I hadn’t completed two.
CB: No, you hadn’t finisheded two.
HT: Before they, before they suggested I should have the award, I had completed forty five.
CB: Yes.
HT: And then of course It came through before I properly finished you see.
CB: Yes. What about the rest of the crew? Were they all DFCs or only your pilot, Baker?
HT: Well I was on. Oh, Baker, Baker was a DFC.
CB: Already, yeah.
HT: And bar.
CB: Oh, and bar. And what about the rest of the crew?
HT: I think probably the navigator would, his navigator would have some, would have had a DFC.
CB: But at that stage you were flight sergeant rather than a warrant officer.
HT: I was a flight sergeant, I was a warrant officer probably, when, when I joined up with them.
CB: And wouldn’t you have got a DFC if you were a warrant officer?
HT: Well, yeah, I was a flight sergeant as you say, initially, but I moved on to warrant officer of course.
CB: But it was actually awarded to you, technically -
HT: That would have been awarded to me before.
CB: - when you were a flight sergeant.
HT: When I received the award.
CB: You were a warrant officer.
HT: Well I was told it was going to be, I had the opportunity of moving it to DFC!
CB: Oh you did!
HT: Yeah, I did, yeah.
CB: And what stopped you?
HT: Me, I said DFCs were ten a penny! There’s more, double DFCs than they had to DFMs. That’s the only reason. [Laugh]
CB: Right. Now you also got -
HT: So there you go. It’s true, what I’m telling you!
CB: Yes.
HT: You know, okay, a DF, they had far less DFMs, so they’re more important in my opinion. For the same, purely the same, one was an airmen’s award and they cut it out initially, they stopped it, it was wrong.
CB: Did they?
HT: Well, it wasn’t right, was it?
CB: No. No.
HT: So of course it was stopped. So I, so I got the DFC, DFM.
CB: DFM. You also received the Belgian Croix de Guerre. What prompted that?
HT: Yeah. Hey?
CB: What caused that?
HT: The Belgian Cross of War. I don’t know what happened there, I’m sure. The Belgians.
CB: Gave it to you yeah.
HT: They were the ones.
CB: And then you got Legion of Honour from France, fairly recently.
HT: I got that recently, didn’t I. And it was French, it was the French that -
CB: Yeah. Did that.
CB: Awarded me that. It was the MP what gave it me. He was the MP, he was the Member of Parliament for my area.
CB: Oh was he.
HT: Recently, Cumberland of course, you know, further north.
[Other}: Hope.
CB: Yeah.
HT: And I went there, and he presented it me. I don’t know what, he, he was an important joker, this MP; [laugh] he was an important bugger. What was he? I just forget now.
CB: You can say what you like Henry. [Laugh]
HT: His family and he were of some importance!
CB: If you want to take down MPs that’s fine!
HT: So I chuffed him up. [Laugh] I chuffed him up grand, yeah.
CB: Right. Henry Townsley, DFM, Croix de Guerre, Legion of Honour thank you very much for an interesting time.
HT: [Guffawing] It’s true!
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Henry Townsley
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Chris Brockbank
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-03-14
Rights
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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
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Sound
Identifier
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ATownsleyH180314
Conforms To
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Pending revision of OH transcription
Format
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01:12:56 audio recording
Language
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eng
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Description
An account of the resource
Henry Townsley was born near Workington and left school at fourteen years of age and started work as an apprentice vehicle fitter. After a spell as a junior engineer in the Merchant Navy he volunteered, in April 1940, for the RAF, rather than the Navy as he suffered from sea sickness and fancied the prospects of flying. He also felt that aero engineering was the coming thing.
Recruited as an engine fitter he trained at St. Athans and then volunteered for flying duties as it was a quick promotion. Because of his engineering background his flight engineering training was reduced to two weeks
He was then posted to RAF Swinderby to fly the Manchester and then to 97 squadron, which became a Pathfinder squadron, at RAF Woodhall Spa alongside 617 Squadron. In May 1943 the squadron moved to RAF Bourne and he was promoted to warrant officer. Henry was happy to stay as an NCO and did not welcome more responsibility.
After his first tour he was rested for six months as a senior instructor at 1661 HCU unit at RAF Winthorpe flying the Stirling. He compares flying the Lancaster and Stirling in some detail.
He returned to operational flying and recalls bombing La Spezia and landing in North Africa where his aircraft went u/s but he repaired it himself in order to return home.
Henry remembers that there were no great celebrations on VE day and he was demobbed in February 1946.
After a period in civilian life, Henry re-enlisted in the RAF in September 1948 as a corporal fitter and was posted to Malaya and Singapore. He left the RAF again in 1952 and then worked for Rolls Royce for 26 years, working on Merlin engines.
Contributor
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Anne-Marie Watson
Terry Holmes
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
Wales--Vale of Glamorgan
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Lincolnshire
Italy
Italy--La Spezia
North Africa
Singapore
Malaya
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940
1942
1943-05-19
1943-05
1940-04
1946-02
1948-09
1952
1661 HCU
97 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
Distinguished Flying Medal
fitter engine
flight engineer
ground crew
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Manchester
Navy, Army and Air Force Institute
Pathfinders
promotion
RAF Bourn
RAF Coningsby
RAF St Athan
RAF Swinderby
RAF Winthorpe
RAF Woodhall Spa
searchlight
Stirling
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/675/11899/MArrowsmithHL571013-160929-020001.1.jpg
844c80d88fb009c2b7b72ba2dafe9e27
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/675/11899/MArrowsmithHL571013-160929-020002.1.jpg
8cbe2c63f832db36446317feff72bc3a
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/675/11899/MArrowsmithHL571013-160929-020003.1.jpg
92458214f2f94d4956801606bb885d14
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
Arrowsmith, Les
H L Arrowsmith
Description
An account of the resource
14 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant Les Arrowsmith (b.1920) who flew operations as a bomb aimer with 576 Squadron from RAF Elsham Wolds until his Lancaster was shot down 21/22 May 1944 and he became a prisoner of war. The collection includes his prisoner of war diary, his log book, photographs, a scrap book and correspondence. After the war he continued to serve with the RAF and remustered to become a navigator.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mike Arrowsmith 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
2016-09-22
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Arrowsmith, HL
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
Film processing receipt
Description
An account of the resource
A film processing receipt in the name of Arrowsmith complete with an envelope.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-05-12
Format
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Two printed sheets with handwritten annotations and a printed envelope
Language
A language of the resource
eng
fra
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MArrowsmithHL571013-160929-020001,
MArrowsmithHL571013-160929-020002,
MArrowsmithHL571013-160929-020003
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
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05
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. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1230/16006/EHobbsAHRedgraveJM430909.1.jpg
0381650bc356c05826095161f3a3782b
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
Redgrave, Henry Cecil
H C Redgrave
Description
An account of the resource
187 items. The collection concerns Henry Cecil Redgrave (743047, Royal Air Force) and contains his decorations, letters and photographs. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 207 Squadron from RAF Waddington. He was killed 13/14 March 1941. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Pam Isaac and catalogued by Barry Hunter.<br /><br /><span>Additional information on Henry Cecil Redgrave is available via the </span><a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/119457/">IBCC Losses Database</a><span>.</span>
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-02
Rights
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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
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Redgrave, HC
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Borough Collector’s Office,
39, Alexander Street,
Southend-on-Sea
Mrs. J. M. Redgrave.
32 Clive Avenue.
Boultham Park Road.
Lincoln.
General Rate 37828- re “Redwood”, Oaken Grange Drive.
[underlined] Arrears to 31st March 1941 [/underlined]
Dear Sir or Madam
The Finance Committee has directed me to inform you that no action will be taken with regard to the arrears shown above, and they refer and remission by the Council.
Yours faithfully,
[signature]
Chief Collecting Officer
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
To Jessie Redgrave from Southend-on-Sea Borough Collector's Office
Description
An account of the resource
A letter advising Jessie that no action would be taken on the general rate arrears for the house 'Redwood'.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Borough Collector's Office, Southend
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-05-04
Format
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One typewritten sheet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
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Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHobbsAHRedgraveJM430909
Coverage
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Civilian
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Essex
England--Southend-on-Sea
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.
1943-05
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1236/16933/YThompsonKG1238603v2.2.pdf
1dcb8516a19e873133be11b133f2f6f7
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
Thompson, Keith G
K G Thompson
Description
An account of the resource
95 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Keith Thompson DFC (1238603 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, photographs and training material as well as his navigation logs. He flew operations as a navigator with 101 and 199 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mark S Thompson and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
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
2015-09-07
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
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Thompson, KG
Access Rights
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Permission granted for commercial projects
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
FIVE YEAR DIARY
JULY 16 ’42 to JULY 15 1943
16 JULY 1942
TRENTON, ONTARIO
[underlined] to [/underlined]
15 JULY 1943
CASTLE DONINGTON, DERBY
K.G.T.
[page break]
[calendar 1942 & 1943]
[signature]
[page break]
1238603 [deleted] LAC. [/deleted] [inserted] SGT [/inserted] THOMPSON K.G.
TRENTON. NO I “M.” DEPOT
NO. 1 AOS, MALTON.
31PD MONCTON, N.B. CAN.
HMT “QUEEN ELIZABETH”.
7 PDC PANNAL ASH COLLEGE HARROGATE
15 EFTS. KINGSTOWN,
7PPC GRAND HOTEL, HARROGATE
RAF. RGT. WHITLEY BAY. MCH. 20TH
7 PRC MAJESTIC HOTEL, HARR.
4 AOS WEST FREUGH, SCOTLAND.
28 OUT WYMESWOLD, LOUGHBOROUGH.
28 OTU CASTLE DONINGTON.
[underlined] NR. DERBY. [/underlined]
[underlined] FINIS [/underlined]
The Mind
Is a wonderful machine. It need but be just refreshed and incidents can again be revived in their former clarity.
A Line
Each Day, whether it be of the weather or of more important substances, will in time to come bring back those vague memories, worth remembering, to almost actual reality.
[page break]
Gran. M.
“ T.
U. Georg.
Maces.
Watson?
Cabins.
School RGS
Wark SPT
“ OTD
Kilnhurst Sch.
Swinton??
Dunne
A.E. & U.E.
[page break]
JANUARY 1
[underlined] FRI. 43 [/underlined]
No bfst. Parade 8-30 (?) turned out to be 9-0 am in the end & only 1/2 people on parade. Soup; turkey; ham spuds, cabbage; jelly & cust apple & orange; milk. Put on Draft. Working in P.O. [underlined] Letter from Doris & AG from Gran. [/underlined] 30c stamps Wrote AG & Ma. spaghetti & minced meat, bread & jam, tea. [underlined] Letter to Doris Posted AG [/underlined] to Ma. 8c milk 10c hot choc 5c dough nuts 2 x 6c Malted Milk
[page break]
JANUARY 2
SAT 43.
No bfst. Parade 9-0 am £3 pay. English £1 notes. HM, spuds, cabb, pud, sponge & jam, milk [underlined] NO MAIL. [/underlined] Packing. Pork chops; bean soup; tea; bread & jam. [underlined] Letter to Doris & $10 Money Order. Telegram to send watch home [/underlined] ($10.62 total.) 10c. soap; 10c hot choc & 18c. 3 packets peanuts. 15c. shoe polish. Finished packing kit bag, Everything in fine.
[page break]
JANUARY 3
[underlined] SUN 43 [/underlined]
No bfst. Parade 8-45. Just a roll call. No gen. except that we are leaving tomorrow AM Lamb, spuds, cabbage; mince pie & carnation milk; milk. No Parade. Played cards (Slippery Ann) Sleep. [underlined] Letters to Norah & Faiers. [/underlined] Lamb chop & spuds; bread & jam; tea & milk. Parade at 5-0. Assigned to train & coach (2-6) Parade 9-45 AM. Put Holmes shoes in my kit bag. 50c off Tarrant to pack kharki [sic] suit. [underlined] Letters to Doris, Allwyn & P.G. to Gran [/underlined] 20c. hot choc & egg sand 10c peanuts. 10c mints. 80c off Holmes for shoes.
[page break]
JANUARY 4
[underlined] MON 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-0 AM. Porr. Cocoa poached egg; coffee. Collected letters for lads. [underlined] One from Doris Parade at 9-45. March out at 11-15. On train 11-45 Realy [sic] got under weigh [sic] at 1-15. [indecipherable word] haddock, spuds; peas; tea. Sleeping or at least attempted to Jerry & Williams playing chess Rotten meat; spuds & beans; soup; apple pie; coffee. Saw MO. 2 aspirins. Went to see Gwyn.
Crossed border. 9-15 PM
Watch back 1 hour.
[page break]
JANUARY 5
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos bread & but coffee. Had a wash cold water. Feel OK now. NEW HAVEN about 3 or 4 PM. chicken sand & ham snd. lemon cake (jam) spud, crisps, apple; sweets & milk. Arrived New York about 5-0 PM. (Electric loco pulling us.) Got on ferry boat & pulled out to midstream stopped there till about 6-30 to 7-30 PM landed on jetty. Given Mess & Bunk cards. Pork Chop, spuds, carrots, sago; brd & jam, coffee. Went to bed about 9-30 after good wash in cold water.
[page break]
[underlined] R.M.S. QE. [/underlined]
JANUARY 6
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
S/C about 6-30. Bfst. (8-0) got it at 9-15. bacon & egg, brd & jam; coffee. Walked round & round finaly [sic] saw the sea. MP’s, Yanks, all over the place. Can’t get anywhere. Didn’t have to queue long for our sup. which was OK. meat, spuds, cabbage; rice pud; jam & coffee The coffee is too strong 3d bottle of pop & 2/6d 200 fags. Played drafts with Gwyn for 2 or 3 hrs & only won last game drawed [sic] about [underlined] 4 [/underlined]
[underlined] 1 HOUR FORARD [sic]. [/underlined]
[page break]
[underlined] QE [/underlined]
JANUARY 7
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
No queue at all. Porr sos, figs marmalade, coffee. Made bed up. Went to Sgts. lounge & had read then went up to lifeboat deck. Met another of the DeWinter lads P/O. 50c (10 oranges) Meat spuds peas; peaches; jam & coffee. Ship giving beautiful rolls sliding food all over. 6/- for 12 bars choc 2/6d for 2 lighters. 20c & 1/-for calendar & photo of “Lizzy.” 9d x 4 boxes razor blades.
[underlined] 1 HOUR FORARD [sic]. [/underlined]
[page break]
JANUARY 8
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up for brunch. (bacon & chips; etc.) Went up on deck to stern. Saw the guns. Heard AA set off a few rounds. [underlined] Pushed [/underlined] back to PROM deck (all windows shut & blacked out.) Slept on bunk after SPEECH by W/C in charge of US. BULL about buttons, boots, press & shoes; smoking below decks, etc. etc. etc. Meat spuds, carrots; sago; jam & coffee which tasted like coffee for a change. Ship giving some bad rolls all day sea not heavy. One game chess with Gwyn
1 Hour added
[page break]
JANUARY 9
[underlined] SAT 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up till 8-30 AM or so. Went up to Prom Deck & Sgts canteen 5c bottle pop Sent below for Air Raid Warning. Sleeping & reading. Went for Supper with Gwyn. Lamb chop (cooked in oil.) spuds, beans, pineapple; jam & coffee Ship still gives a few heavy rolls. 2/- & 5c tube toothpaste & 3 packets of chocolat [sic] biscuits.
Time same.
[page break]
JANUARY 10
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
[deleted] Got [/deleted] [inserted] Woke [/inserted] up at 9-0 AM. Got up about 10-0. Wash & shave. Went up on boat deck. Talking to a couple of 2nd Lieuts in US. Army Gwyn not at home so I went for supper alone! (?) half a weiner, stew, spud, rice pud, jam & coffee; orange. In line for hair cut. Left it to go on the guns 8 to 12-0. Blowing like Hell & rain with it! [underlined] Put watches on another hour. [/underlined] Cocoa (weak) cheese & biscuits then bed.
[page break]
JANUARY 11
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-0 AM. went for bfst. Bacon, spuds & corned beef; apple sauce; coffee; marmalade. On .50” gun (mch) rain & wind. Sleep! or at least I tried to sleep. Land sighted 12-30 hrs. [underlined] Put watches on 1 hr. at 14-00 hrs. [/underlined] Supper at 1700 h Cheese; jam; ham; spuds, cabbage; coffee. Dropped anchor 18-10. Lined up for an hour & 1/4 for hair cut. Couldn’t change £1 note or $5 bill & had to borrow 1/- Went up on deck to look round Officer came in with “gen” about leaving ship
[page break]
JANUARY 12
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 5-30 for early bfst. 2 eggs & one in pocket, pears, marmalade; coffee. Back to bed & short sleep interrupted by some noisy B - - S. including his nibs Parade 10-30 in mess Hall. Speech by Mr. Jordan High Commis. for New Zealand. & Air Comm Hawe, “Groupy” & Wing/Co i/c troops on ship. Should have left ship 12-45. Actualy [sic] got on Dutches [sic] of Hamilton at 14-30. Pulled away at 15.30 after 1 hrs. wait. Landed after waiting 1/2 hr. at 16-30. GOUNOC. Pot of tea on stn. S/C at 18.00. WAVERLY 21.30 tea & extras (beans, meat etc. biscuits, sweets, sugar & coffee)
LMS train, nice new or “newish” coach, nice smooth tracks & smooth stops & starts.
[page break]
JANUARY 13
[underlined] WED 43 [/underlined]
NEWCASTLE. 1-15 AM Arr. HARRO. 3-30 AM. Lorry to Camp. bfst bacon, saus, turnip & spuds; jam tart & sauce; coffee. [underlined] Bed [/underlined] 6-0 AM Up 11-30. Beef, spuds, turnip – prunes & cust; Co. & Intel. Offs speeches. Signed & filled in forms for 2 hours. Supper 5-0 PM. Sardines on toast, tea. FFI & Dental (1 tooth) NAAFI & sgts. mess couldn’t change £1 notes.
Had kit out & sorted personal stuff from issue. Made Tigers bed.
[page break]
JANUARY 14
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Up 6-45. Shave (bad one.) Porr; meat roll (hot) fried brd; tea. Parade 9-0. Photo taken. Flying kit issued including rubber boots. New kit bag. Marked some. Lamb, sprouts, spuds (boiled & baked.) boiled sponge pud & cust. Kit inspection put down for 2 collars (664b) Pistol holster & ammo pouch (FI) Cottage pie, bread & jam; scone; tea. Night Vision Test 14/32. Could read ordinary card OK. (Second line up.) Again sorted kit. NAAFI shut 9-309 Went to Sgts. Mess. had 1 pt. br. & 1/2 pt. cider. Sgt. WAAF brought sandwiches in for us too. Bed about 11-0.
[page break]
JANUARY 15
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Scrambled egg, fried bread; porr; tea. Parade 8-45 Done Kit Insp. & Night Vis so was dismissed. Interviews Put down for Bombers & station near Sheffield. Stew, spuds, peas; apple & custard; bread & butter. Pay parade £13. Red line on kit & lable [sic] for flying kit. Fish & spuds; jam & piece of cake; tea. Walked into town. 3/- at [deleted] City [/deleted] Royal Hall “Cinderella” on 4th row centre isle. 2d programme. Walked back. Went to Sgts. Mess. 1/- for a couple of ciders. 2 sandwiches. Darts
[page break]
JANUARY 16
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
up at 7-15. Porr. bacon & sos; brd & but; tea. 1250’s issued; put flying kit in to stores. Issued with tunic & trousers, pistol holster & ammo. pouch; gas cape; tin bot & covers. Draughts with Gwyn 2-1 (lost.) Stew & spuds; rice pud (beautiful.) 664b’s 2 collars. Gave in other kit & bag. Meat pie & spuds; jam; tea 5/- for stamps, 10/- book (SPT4) Tramped around in DRIZZLE 3/6d ”Lover’s Leap” at Opera House 3d programme. 2d. for supper (2 sands. cake, tea.) Walked back (35 mins.) 6d cyder[sic] – No sandwiches Letter [underlined] to Doris [/underlined]
[page break]
JANUARY 17
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Kellog’s; sos & fried spuds; tea; marmalade. Parade 9-30. roll call & nowt else. 3d for bus fare & signed sheet saying I’m fully kitted. Beef, spuds peas; sponge pud; bread. Draughts. Lost all games. Letter to Doris. 1/- cyder. Ham, spuds; cheese; jam; tea. Swept up & help set tables in dining room. Cup of tea & talk after. 10 1/2d. chips, cheese pastie, OXO, 2 bars choc. Letter to Doris (same as previous ones) 3d for grapefruit crush.
[page break]
[symbol]
JANUARY 18
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Woke at 6-45. Went to sleep & dreamt about changes in R’Com. Up at 7-15. Porr; bacon & fried bread; tea. Dismissed to clean rooms. Swept stairs. lecture on security & secrets not to be divulged. Stew, spuds, sweeds [sic]; ground rice & sago etc., pud. Assigned to train to go home in Sgts. Mess. [underlined] Posted letter to Doris AIR. [/underlined]
Spuds & cheese; treacle; cake scone; tea. More packing & discussion on SSC etc. 5d. chips, peas & OXO (NAAFI 6d lemonade in Mess Shaved.
[page break]
[underlined] LEAVE [/underlined]
JANUARY 19
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & fried bread, tea. Up at 6-45. Washed & down to bfst at 7-00. not ready. So stripped bed & made it up. Handed sheets in at 8-30 Paraded at 9-0. Got in bus at 10-0. Arr. stn. 10-10. 2d. coffee & [indecipherable word]. Train out 11-0. Leeds 12-0. S/C 13-00. Arr. Bham. 14-30 6d. tea & pie (2 d’s) Home 3-0 in TAXI Went to office. Saw Granpa; Gaffer; Mr Haigh; Mr Brown & Miss Clayton. Went across to Ivan’s. Went to fetch Dad from Darce. 16-15. Ma across at Dunns.
Cup of [underlined] COCOA. [/underlined]
[page break]
JANUARY 20
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0. Granpa, been to U.E. A. Edie “ill”. Took Pat to school. Fetch Doctor’s note from U.E. Went with Ma. to town bread & office again Dad stayed at home. Looked at photo album. & showed ‘em rest of snaps. Gave P & P watch & Ma [deleted] couchin [/deleted] cushion cover Played cards with P.P. Ma & Dad. Kissed P & P Good Night.
Drizzle all Day
[page break]
JANUARY 21
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Up 10-0. Cleaned bike & mended & cleaned all bells & pushes. Went for short run on bike. Granpa & Mr. Haigh both came to see us. 40 children killed & 50 injured in raid on London. Went into town with P.P. & Ma. Up to No 8 in Car. Had tea there Showed ‘em picture PC’s & Maps. Walked back.
[page break]
JANUARY 22
[underlined] FRI. 43 [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. RAIN!!!!
Went to GPO & sent [underlined] cable to Doris [/underlined] (2/6) also went to library to see about ATC. Granpa & A. Ella to see us. [underlined] Shaved [/underlined]. Looked for lock & chain. Went to school. Saw Arnie & heard tale. Mr. Atkinson wants a buzzer for daughter. Just saw old Freddy. Cards & Stamps.
[page break]
JANUARY 23
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Went up to Greenbro to take key back. Dad home for dinner. Went across to Dunn’s for tea. Played bagatel [sic] with David, Barbara & Mrs. Dunn Babs won. Stayed till 12-0 AM. [deleted] W [/deleted] U. Edgar came for me to shut gas fire off. Policeman there wanting to know details.
[page break]
JANUARY 24
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0. Went to see Maces Saw Mr. & Mrs & Syd. Joan was out with cousin. Dad home for dinner. P & P gone to church just before Bobby came to see Pat. Went for run Saw Mr. Carpenter. Went with P & P. David & Sally to Clifton Park. Barbara David came to tea. Mrs. & Denis came later. black music etc etc.
[page break]
JANUARY 25
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Work about 11-15 to 11-30. Gave fags round. Saw Cyril, Tish, Wilf, Reg. Machin, Mr. Skilicorn, Harry, Ted, Mr. Smith, Syd, Turner, Methley, Mr. Duke, Office Reg, Tom, Peg, Joyce, Jack Lodge Went up to School Saw Freddy, Bob, Aitchy, Johno, Tiffin, Ticker, Perky, Jones, Morris, Simmons, Doc. [underlined] Lovely RAIN all day [/underlined] Dad out. At a wedding playing “sax”. Got away with stamps.
[page break]
JANUARY 26
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0. Went to O & D for dinner. Dad gave me 1/- for same. Beef, spuds beans; treacle pud; tea with Mr. Carpenter & Stapleton. Went round the works to see all the chaps. Handed fags round. Came to [indecipherable word] Gerard with Mr. Mullet Gran, T & Florrie stayed till 4-30 but I wasn’t in! Played cards & sorted (?) Meccano.
[page break]
JANUARY 27
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Set off 11-0 for Kilnhurst Mr. Wilkinson left. Went to Green Lane. Saw Mr. Halifax & Waffenden & Mrs. & old Mrs. Thompson, [deleted] Mable [/deleted] [inserted] Marge Noble [/inserted] Went on to Swinton to Seniors. Saw Mr. & Mrs. Frank & Maureen (2 cups tea, biscuits &pork pie) Went to Gathard’s Mr & Mrs in Billy came in from pit. Saw Walt. Baldwin in town. Had dinn. about 4-0. Went to Gran Thompson Gilbert & kid there Nellie followed me in. Colin & Marg. came afterwards. Florrie gave me two photos of herself Gaile etc. off bell
[page break]
JANUARY 28
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
[underlined] shave. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Hunted out bits belonging to my buzzer. Started one for Atkinson Dinn with P.P. & Ma. Finished buzzer. Took Sally to meet Pam. bread shop shut. Took photo’s to U. George Asked me to stay to tea but returned home. Dad brought covers for rail cards. Babs brought rabbit to be skinned. Dad skinned some & one he brought for me.
[page break]
JANUARY 29
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-15. Babs called for rabbit. Went to Royal then went to work to Dad. Fetched a loaf. Went to town with Ma Tickets from Regent (2/3d) Shoes (Pate) Diary (2/3d) Bread. Snack and down at Regal for 5-5. Dad arr. 5-15. Show “First of the Few” Leslie Howard & David Nivien [sic]. (2/-) A really good picture. Tea. Went to David’s. Bagatelle & a nice supper. Left at 12-0
[page break]
JANUARY 30
[underlined] SAT – 43. [/underlined]
Down at 10-30 P[deleted] at [/deleted] [inserted] am [/inserted] & Ma up. Granpa called. Rain. Went up to school to take buzzer & see Arnie. Gave Acka buzzer & helped him fit it up. Gave me 2/- for buzzer. Arnie gave me 4/- for diary. NO SPUDS P & P wouldn’t fetch ‘em. Went to Timpsons with Ma’s shoes & Boots for Aspirins. Also fetched 3 loaves. Saw Joe & Oscar. Went run round to station. Saw Elsie & her Ma. Went to Darts. Pretty Good!
1/6d Commem. Stamps
Ran up 400 mls. on cyclometer
[page break]
JANUARY 31
[underlined] SUN. 43 [/underlined] SHAVE
Up at [underlined] 12-0 [/underlined]. Went to work with Dad to see Mr. Coleman. He was busy so couldn’t see snaps & photos. [underlined] RAIN in buckets [/underlined] Went up to Gran’s with Dad. Went on to Aunt Minnie’s & Uncle Jack’s. Went back to Gran’s. Ma & P & P only just arrived. Had tea. Aunty Emmaline & U. Laurie came about 9-0. Had a real good laugh. Home about 12-0
[page break]
FEBRUARY 1
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 9-0. Down in Square at 9-25. Bus out at 9-30. Arr. 10-0. Went to Uncle Wilf’s then to Aunt Emma’s. Left Great coat there & went to Uncle Joe’s Got to wrong house at first then when we found it he wasn’t in. 2/6d off Aunt Emma Bus back at 1-0. arr. 1-30 PM. Went to town with Ma & Pa. Regal (2/-) “Who Done It” Abbot & Costello & “Dr. Broadway.” Fish & chips. Went across to Dunn’s. Dog misbehaved by time we returned
BATH!!
[page break]
[underlined] HARROGATE [/underlined]
FEBRUARY 2
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Up at [underlined] 11-0 AM [/underlined] later than I wished. Shaved. Went to SPT to see Joe. Saw Jack Wright too. Gus on after’s so missed him Nos. King at Shef. University. More RAIN. Went about taxi. Took library books back. Hair cut 1/- & more RAIN. Packed kit with struggle. Ma packed me some supper. Phoned for taxi. S/C 5-40 arr Leeds 7-30. S/C 7-55 (10 mins late) arr Harr. 8-30 Walked to Grand Hotel. In room with Arty, Willie & Holmes. Supper which Ma Packed for me. Drew blankets & pillow.
[circled 2/6d taxi]
[page break]
FEBRUARY 3
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-15. Bfst; porr; bacon, cabbage; coffee. Parade in Mess for roll call & lecture (gen talk) Got kit bags “out”. Sos, spuds, cabb.; macaroni coffee. Parade at 2-0 with flying kit. Dumped same after roll call. Back to room at 3-15 Lads playing cards. I read. Stew & spuds; tea; bread & jam. 1/6d at Scala to see “Coastal Command” & “Women arn’t [sic] Angels” Robertson Hare. Walked back & was in for 10-10.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 4
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-20. Porr; toast & scrambled egg. Parade 9-0. Meat; spuds; sponge pud; coffee £7..10 pay after long wait. 6d in red X soap coupon. WO. Came for me at 2-15. POSTED. Going to Carlisle. Lecture on security. Got flying kit & packed rest & turned it all in FFI. Cheese on toast; cake; jam & tea. 3/6d Opera House “Eden’s End”
3d program. 3d MN fund. 3d drink. 2 1/2d. choc.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 5
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined] Up 6-0. blankets 6-30 Porr. sos & mash; tea, rations (dry sandw’s. & bun) Parade 7-30. S/C stn. 7-35. arr. 7-45. S/C Leeds. 8-40 arr 9-25 [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] 4d tea & meat pie at Y. Tommy bought lunch. Loaded kit. Got on train 10-20. Shld S/C 10-30. S/C at 11-15 for Carlisle arr. 2-30. RAIN & WIND all way. Bus to stn. & HUTS. [underlined] Din [/underlined] meat pie & spuds. [underlined] NO DRINK. [/underlined] Short lecture & ditto form. Sheets & pillow case. Got blankets. WASH. Herrings & cocoa. 2 bars choc. OXO. 3 gills. packet of crisps Bed about 11-0.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 6
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up 7-55. WIND & a little rain Too late for bfst. Lectures by C.O. & CGI. Spuds, carrots, spare ribs; tart & cust. VP & First Aid lecture. FFI. Cleaned up. Buttons & shoes. Pie & soup.
ENSA Concert (6d)
Bert Davies & Dave Hunter (comed’s) Joy & Muriel (Brun Blonde) – Margaret Smart (BBC violinist)
Georgina Emmett – soubrette – Jane Arnott vocalist
GORDON RITCHIE – pianist
[underlined] 1 [/underlined] gill
[page break]
FEBRUARY 7
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 9-0. Down to camp (nowt) doing so walked back. Made fire. Went to NAAFI. Shave. Veal, spuds & coffee; rice pud Walked in & around Carlisle. 2/- sos & spuds; buns. Ginger Rodgers 2/- in “Kitty Foyle” pretty good. 2d on bus back. 6d chips & coffee. Letter too [sic] Ma
[page break]
FEBRUARY 8
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Fried spam & spuds; porr; tea. C.O’s parade. Tea & cake (NAAFI) Lectures. Prem, spuds, cab; soup; sponge pud. Lectures. brd & jam, tea. Fiddled with kit.
Film 3d. “Flat Spat.” Betty Grable, [deleted] Carol [/deleted] Coral Lordis & Victor Mature.
1 gill.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 9
[underlined] TUES 43. [/underlined]
Missed bfst Took flying kit down. RAIN. Film show. Meat pie, cab, spuds; plum pud. Took 4 rifles to range. Chips & prem. cake & tea 6d cheese & chips; coffee in NAAFI. Letter [underlined] AIR MAIL [/underlined] to Doris
[page break]
FEBRUARY 10
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; spuds & sos. RAIN. Astro Lecture. Stew, spuds; tart & cust. More RAIN. Bread & jam & cake. 2d bus. 2/- Arthur Askey [inserted] Evelyn Dalle [/inserted] in “King Arthur was a Gentleman” & Penny Singleton in “The Boss said “NO””
2d bus. NO eats.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 11
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
porr, spuds & bacon. P.T. & bit of Drill. Letter from Ma & Dad. spare ribs, spuds carrots rice pud. Brains Trust. letter to Ma. bread & jam & tea. letter. Meat pie & tea.
ENSA concert
Pretty good. A lot of crude jokes.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 12
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; scrambled eggs; tea. Parade at 8-45? roll. Drill. Lectures in Cinema. Aircraft Rec. Veal, spuds, cab; ground rice pud & raisins. Lecture on StenGun then lecture on Russia. Bread & treacle; tea. Made fire & had wash. Chips & sos roll, OXO, tart (in NAAFI). RAIN & MORE RAIN & wind. Had read in Anteroom then went & had a gill. [underlined] Posted letter to Ma [/underlined]
choc ration.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 13
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Went to Aero Café for bfst. 1/4d bacon & toast; coffee. Went back for camera. Bus into Carlisle. 1/2d din sos & chips; brd; tea. Roamed around. Picts full. Couldnt [sic] find bus for Gretna. 1/6d tea. chips & welsh rarebit. 2/- show. “The Devil Pays Off” (DeMott steamliner. Mutiny) & Gene Autry in “Sierra Sue.”
[page break]
FEBRUARY 14
[underlined] SUN. 43 [/underlined]
Porr, sos & spuds. Parade as usual. ROUTE MARCH after Church Parade Meat, spuds; cab; rice & tart Read in anteroom & tried to sleep. Sos & spuds for supper.
“Ride ‘em cowboy” Bud Abbott & Lou Costello.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 15
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
porr & prem, CO’s parade RAIN & WIND. Lectures on Pilot Nav & map reading. Chicken roll, spuds; plum pud & cust. Further lecture on map General bind about the station. Had tea. Made fire & had a wash Scallops & chicken roll. [underlined] NAAFI. [/underlined] 2 shortbreads & coffee. LETTER from MA
LETTER to Doris.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 16
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & spuds. FLYING. bus to KP. 60 mins pin pointing from KP to Kingstown. Ribs, spuds, cab; plum pud. Worked out a cross country & set off. Went to KP first then went round X country. Tommy got last NOT returned. bus back from K.P.
2 welsh rarebits
LETTER TO MA.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 17
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr & sos. Gen talk. Supposed compass swing stew & spuds; jam & cust. Cross country S/C but had to turn back. Low cloud so set course back half way along second leg. Made it OK. Cheese, jam & cake. Went to see “Twin Beds” & “Sunday Punch” AGAIN. Choc.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 18
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Cornflakes; jam; tea. Route march, unarmed combat. Ground Signals. MEAT PIE, spuds, cab. ground rice. Flare paths. Letter to Pat. brd & jam. Took gt. Coat to Mary at din. time. Meat, spuds & cabbage; tea; jam. 2 buns from NAAFI. Show in Mess. “Holiday Inn” Fred Astaire & Bing Crosby. Fetched gt. coat which Mary had finished Bed. 11-0 PM.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 19
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; jam; tea. Roll call. Route March round perimeter track. Cinema at 11-30. Talk on [indecipherable word] by P/O Pilot. Stew, spuds, sweede; [sic] rice pud. Lecture on Mediterranean by War Office chap. Tea, bread & jam Wrote short note to Ma & sent £10 with it. Cheese & spuds for DINNER. 2 biscuits & coffee. 4 bars choc [underlined] SHOWER [/underlined]
[page break]
FEBRUARY 20
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos. Cross country with Fred. Ran into low cloud on high ground. Wind & deviation all over place. Turned back. Letter from Ma. & cable from Doris. Din (stew spuds, cab; & tart.) Flying washed. Messed about on box & bar in crew room doing PT? Had tea then DINNER? ONE HERRING!! Went & had chop & chips & peas in NAAFI. Talk with Fred & Tom. Glass beer in Sgts. Mess
[page break]
FEBRUARY 21
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 9-0 AM. Café shut so went to NAAFI. cake & 2 cups coffee. Went back to camp & cleaned up Set off for town. Got a lift in van. Stopped TWICE by SP’s for ident. card & had name taken for leather gloves. 3/- din (soup; spuds, minced meat & sundae) Set. Bob off back 3d cake & buns 2d bus back. Tea, usual, in camp, Met Mary at 6-30 at bus stop. Went to see (4/-) “China Sea” Darn Good film. Walked back to camp.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 22
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, spam & spuds lectures & Aldis Comp. Sos meat spuds, beans; sponge pud. NAAFI coffee. lecture & quiz (NAV) also quiz regarding welfare on the station. Usual tea Sos meat jam & tea for [underlined] SUPPER [/underlined] NAAFI coffee
Letter to P & P & MA
Made Date.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 23
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/UNDERLINED]
Porr, bacon, spuds. Set out for Hexham & Hawick. Cloud chased us back AGAIN on 2nd leg HOT POT!?! rice pud. Recconnaisance [sic] with Turner. Looking for bridges Changed sheets 2 Registered Parcels from Ma. Tea & Jam Bus 6-30. Went to see “Flying Fortress” 4/- Walked back. One X.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 24
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, sos, spuds, RAIN. Station Flying Orders signed some. NAAFI Lecture on dinghy drill. Stew!! spuds cabbage; tart & cust. Fred & rest returned from Reitz VIA “RAIL”. WAITING IN CINEMA. CO asked for our names (in Ante room) Letter & Valentine (MA & D) Usual tea. 1/- spam & toast RABBIT spuds & sweeds [sic] NAAFI coffee. Date again
[page break]
FEBRUARY 25
[underlined] THURS 43 [/underlined]
Usual type of meals. Supposed to be on lectures but none of the lecturers arrived. Had supper. Went to the City and saw “Dangerously they Live.” & “About Face” X’s & Good Night
[page break]
FEBRUARY 26
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, scrambled egg. X. country HEXHAM & almost to HAWICK WITH Sgt. Stockill Stew, spuds, sweede; [sic] rice pud. Short X. country Penrith to Silloth. Flew back from KP for din. Sgt. Stockill did a few Cities at [underlined] my request. [/underlined] Made log book up to date. Cheese & spud pie, jam, tea. cup coffee Show by neighbouring station. DAMN GOOD!
[page break]
FEBRUARY 27
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
1/4d bfst. bacon & toast. choc biscuits, coffee. Darts in NAAFI. (coffee etc) Din in Mess. Waited in NAAFI for Watson 6d for tea, toast & salmon 2/- to see “Son of Fury” George Sanders & Tyrone Powers ([deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted])
[page break]
FEBRUARY 28
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Porr only. S/C for PERTH with Turner. Got to MOFFAT where clouds closed in. Chop, spuds, cab; jam tart. Flying washed but went with ANNAN with F/LT SMYTHE. Cottage pie, sweede [sic] & cocoa. Chin wag in Ante Room. NAAFI.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 29
[blank page]
[page break]
MARCH 1
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Co’s parade. Porr; spam spuds; jam. Went to KP on the bus but didn’t fly Ribs, spuds, cab; jam & concret [sic] tart. No flying. Sent laundry etc. home. 1/-. 2/6d stamps. Letter from & too [sic] Ma. 12 chips for supper. Coffee & cakes in NAAFI.
STEVE & DICKENS
[page break]
MARCH 2
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Billet Insp. by C.O. George Flying on search. Coffee & biscuits while writing letter to Ma. Paper from Ma. Meat, spuds (stew!) ground rice pud. No flying bread & jam tea. Night flying “Gen.” at 6-15. Supper; - “slice” of potted meat & beet; cocoa. Had coffee in NAAFI. Flew from 9-0 till 10-0. Just round a wide circuit Beaufort! Had cup of tea in NAAFI x 2. Bed about 12-0
[page break]
MARCH 3
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 8-0. Went ‘SICK’ for Turner. No parade. 1/6d for egg, toast & tea breakfast. Kit sorting. Usual type of dinner. Letter & parcel from Ma. Reconnaissance flight with Watson. Tea as per usual. No night flying! “All thro’ the Night” 2/- at Lonsdale. Walked back X’s.
[page break]
MARCH 4
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr for bfst. To [sic] big a queue. Completed log bk. £7/2/- pay. Hand key & inter-com & sheets back. Coffee etc in NAAFI. Stew, spuds, rice. 3 letters from Doris one from Gran & one from Watson. Mary gave me 6 bars choc. X. Packed & [indecipherable word] lorry. 1/- for sos & mash (twice) Train 6-45. Arr. H. 1-30. Bed at Majestic 2-0 after tea & pie
[page break]
MARCH 5
[underlined] FRI. 43 [/underlined]
Up at 8-0. Just had wash. 1/7d welsh rarebit & toast. Film “Next of Kin” Very Good. Beef, carrots, cabb, spuds tea, jam. Moved to Grand. Nowt to do or be done. Kit still at the Majestic Sent letter home (just a short note) Fish cake, spuds, tea & jam. Went with Staff & Tom to see “Date with an Angel.” Darn Good film. 1/6d sos, egg & toast, 2 teas. Chip shop sold out.
[page break]
MARCH 6
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; ham & spuds, Room inspection. OK’d Not wanted on parade so went & had coffee & biscuits. 6d. Cold meat & veg, salad; trifle; coffee. Washed my feet & put clean socks on. £6 money order. (6d) Looked for writing case. None to be got. 10d torch batteries. 10d pie, cake & coffee Sat in park. Meat roll & beet, brd & jam roll; tea. 2/6d at Odeon “Wake Island” & Moon over Havana” 1/6d sos, egg; toast & tea.
[page break]
MARCH 7
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
porr, meat roll, fried spuds, coffee. Went to station. train 10-20 Didn’t go to Leeds. Went to YM. to [sic] early & packed. so went to café Had cheese on toast & coffee, jam 2/- had din at Majestic after darts. Meat, spuds, cab & carrots; rhubarb & cust. [underlined] Letter to Ma & Mary. [/underlined] Tom sleeping Nice tea. Went to see what shows [deleted] are [/deleted] [inserted] were [/inserted] on. Met Hayes & pal. 2/6d. “International Sqdn” & “Strange Alibi.” Went & had supper. Spam & chips (1/9.) 2/9 for beers. Learned one or two puzzles. Bed about 11-15.
[page break]
MARCH 8
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up 7-10. Bfst. Porr, ham & fried spuds treacle & tea. Went to Thirsk café. Had rarebit & coffee & toast 2/1d. Looked round Smiths. [underlined] Letter from Ma. Mr Coleman [/underlined] Meat pie, spuds & sprouts; rice pud; coffee. Parade 2-0. Names taken etc. then buzzed off. 1/- tea & pikelets. [underlined] 2d. parcel to Ma. [/underlined] Fish cake & chips, brd & marmalade. [underlined] Letter to Ma & SPT. [/underlined] Went out & posted same then went to bed 10.15
[page break]
MARCH 9
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
porr, spuds & fish, tea. Set on sorting mail. Letter from Ma & Doris from Canada. Beef, [inserted] cocoa [/inserted] spuds, cab & parsnip; “Mickey Roony” & rhubarb Sat in Park. Had small drink from well. Magnesia & Sulphur. More mail sorting. Took redirected stuff to the Spa. Went round the cinemas. Had tea. 2/6d at Odeon Monty Wooly in “Pied Piper” also “His Neighbour.” [underlined] 3/6d [/underlined] chips & rabbit pie & 2 cups of tea.
[page break]
MARCH 10
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up for bfst. Mail Tea coffee & 3 buns. More Mail. Stew, spuds, cab; peas; apple & cust; coffee. Went to Majestic. No mail & canteen closed. Boys back from Whitley Bay. Went with Gwyn to see White Rose Players in “Gas Light” 3/6d. then went to Maj & had glass sherry
[page break]
MARCH 11
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up for bfst. 9-0 Room Inspection. Sorting Mail Parade at 10-30. Reserve for posting. Beef (boiled) spuds, sweeds; [sic] boiled pud & cust. Registered Parcel from Ma. AG from Joyce. Parade 1-45. Dismissed Shave. Parade again at 3-45. No Gen. Letter from Ma & another reg. parcel. Meat & spuds jam roll. Went to see Victor Mature in “Seven Days Leave” & “Highways by Night,” 2/6d.
[page break]
MARCH 12
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 9-15. Parade 10-45. Went to Maj. for registered parcel (socks etc.) Roast beef, mashed & roast spuds, cab; cust & tart. 13/6d for fags from Mr. Dixon (200) 2-0 parade for FFI. NOT REQUIRED so had tea 11d. Fish spuds, & treacle also collected rations. Parade 4-45 not wanted again. Went walk with Gwyn. Tried to get Pass. Gwyn & lads went at 7-30. Wash. Went out with Tom. 3/9d for beers.
[page break]
MARCH 13
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 8-30. To [sic] late bfst. NO PASS. Mail to & from Spa. Stew, spuds, cab, sweed {sic] & boiled pud; cocoa. Started letters to Ma & Mary sitting in the park. Turned coal [sic] so had a walk round & eventualy [sic] went to see “Seven Sweethearts” & “The Green Cockatoo.” 1/6d. Went & had chips & fish cakes [underlined] 2/10d [/underlined] & cup of tea.
[page break]
MARCH 14
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
egg & sos. Church parade. Walked round the town. Beef, roast spuds, cab, & carrot; maccaroni [sic] pud. Walked round the park & the town till 2-25 when we were given tickets for a concert at the Royal Hall. A pretty good show! Flan, beet & pie (meat) & jam for tea. Went a roaming again & eventualy [sic] went to Regal to see “Three Silent Men” & “Wild Geese Flying” Took ATS girls back to camp. Came back & had coffee & meat pie at Hollywood.
[page break]
MARCH 15
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Usual bfst – lectures after being squaded. Din similar to usual. Lectures again. [underlined] Fried egg [/underlined] & spuds & cocoa for tea. Spear not going. Williams going instead 5/- at Scala to see “My Sister Eileen” Walked back to ATS camp & back to Craven’s Had fish cake chips & carrot steamed pud; tea 3/6d
[page break]
MARCH 16
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, spuds & fried bread; tea. Room insp. Clay pigeon shooting 10/21. Finished letter to Mary in small café 6d for coffee & cake. Beef, spuds, cab & carr, prunes & cust; cocoa. 13-30 parade. Lectures. Arms, intell & navi. Meat pie, chips; treacle & tera. Card for fags (Mr Dix) Sent pyjamas home to be washed Wrote letter to Ma. Posted it & Mary’s.
[page break]
MARCH 17
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Scrambled egg on toast; tea. Kit Inspection & nothing else. Sos & mash, cab & sweed [sic] steamed pud. Sent parcel to Ma. Went on short route march out towards ATS camp. Steak & chips. “Night Mare” & “Mrs Wiggs of the cabbage patch” 2/-. Coffee at Hollywood.
[page break]
MARCH 18
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Bacon & fried spuds. Fetched Battle Dress, helmet, etc. from Majestic. £7 pay at Grand. Beef, spuds, cab & sweed; [sic] lemon curd fritter. Letter from Ma & Gwynn. 664b’s cleared up. Having none Tom & I went & had cup of tea & cakes 1/-. Salmon & beet for tea. Took Tiger with us this time. Saw “If the Lady is Willing” Marlene Deitrich & Fred Mc.Murray. & “Fingers at the Window” 5/- 2/- cigs. Walked back to ATS camp. X’s.
[page break]
MARCH 19
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
kidneys on toast, porr. tea. Lecture on security by S/Ldr. Handed in kit bag containing personal kit. FFI. Stew spuds, cab, sweed, [sic] peas; apple pie; cocoa. 2-10 parade. 1/1 1/2 coffee & cakes. Inspection by S/Ldr on full webbing parade. Letters from Ma & Mary. Sardines on toast. Tiger didn’t turn up so we went to Opera house (3/6d seats) “Old Acquaintance” X in the dark. Put ‘em in taxi another X. Had cottage pie & chips at Craven 3/6d
[page break]
MARCH 20
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Missed bfst. Up at 8-10. Roll call 8-45. 1/1d coffee & toast. Parade again at 10-30 in full kit. Marched to stn. S/C 11-35. Bought newspaper Tom & Willie got sandwiches arr. 2-30 PM. Roast mutton spuds, cab, beans; jam roll & cream. Put into billet & issued with blankets. FFI & foot inspection. Ham & spam & pickles also raw carrot; tea. Had 2 pints. Sent P.C. to Ma.
[page break]
MARCH 21
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Egg on fried bread; porr; tea. Church parade then stores. Issued with rifle bayonet, boots & webbing Roast beef & spuds, cabbage, York. pud; apple pie & cust. Sleep & read. Cheese & potato pie, spam & raw carrot, tea, marmalade Walked back to billet again. Firemaking. Wrote letter to Ma in Mess. Speech by Churchill. cocoa & sandwiches.
[page break]
MARCH 22
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
bacon & spuds; tea. Parade & inspection at 8-30. Lecture by G.C. & Sqdn. Comdr. Fitted webbing together. March to Din. Mutton, spuds, & beans; fruit pud. Marched to Golf course Lecture on camouflage. Golfers!!! Lecture by F/O. on general “gen”. Tea, fried spam & chips. Couldn’t eat spam Felt rather sick. Went for haircut. Barber shut so went to ENSA concert. Russian troupe. Darn good. Cup of coffee in Mess. Sewed buttons on trousers. SIREN. GUNFIRE
one down.
[page break]
MARCH 23
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
fish & spuds. Couldn’t eat it all. Rifle Drill; Bayonet Drill; P.T. on beach; “Load” & “unload!” Marched to Din meat pie, carrots & spuds; rice pud & prunes. Ate all of it. Grenades; cleaning rifle, setting sights for range; Thrust & parrie & a bit of unarmed combat. [underlined] Fish [/underlined] pie & spuds, bread & jam; coffee. 1/- haircut. 1d on bus, cleaned rifle, chopped sticks. Started letter to Mary at dinner time.
[underlined] Finished letter to Mary [/underlined]
[page break]
MARCH 24
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
bacon & spuds; tea. [inserted] range [/inserted] [indecipherable word] Lewis gun; obstacles & carrying (firemans lift.) FISH & SPUDS, fruit pie; water. Route march & exercise on observation P.A.D. Stew & SPUDS NO BREAD! dry biscuits tea. [underlined] 2 letters from MA. [/underlined] P.A.D. parade before tea. Had glass of beer & sos roll. Bed by about 10 but had to get up at 12-0 for PAD. Guns & one or two Bombs. Had cup of tea in SSQ. Bed again by 2-0 AM.
Passive Air Defence.
[page break]
MARCH 25
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up till 8-0 AM consequently missed bfst Lewis loading & unload advance, fire & retire. Grenade throwing. Sten Gun. Beef, spuds, (boiled & baked) cab; sponge pud. Cross country & streams. Swinging across a stream by a tree branch I ended up in the stream!! face down. Spuds, thin thin [sic] stew Bread & JAM!! tea [underlined] Letter from PAM. Letter to Ma [/underlined]
Bed 10- PM.
[page break]
MARCH 26
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get a call so didn’t get up till 8-0. Shave. Anti Tank grenade; run & walk (PT.) Lecture by W.O – F/O Middleton & S/Ldr i/c 1 WING on Sgts. Mess; & charges. Liver & bacon, spuds, & cab; currant sponge; water. Cross country route march to Obalesk. I had to march flight to golf links where we split up into parties. Welsh rarebit; peanut butter & tea. Went to Stn. OXO’s on fire.
[page break]
MARCH 27
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
sos meat; spuds; porr; coffee. rifle inspection, unarmed combat. Gas chamber. 295’s issued. Wash & change. bus into town. 20/4d return ticket. Train to Newcastle just made 1-0 PM at Newcastle. Met AB. Mills train to York & from York to Rotherham arrived 4-25 Walked up home. Ma bad in bed. Cold. Pork pie for tea. Plates, cuts & odds & ends.
[page break]
MARCH 28
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Shave & wash till 11-0. Mucked about with dyno & rear light. Cleaned both & refitted latter. Took P.P. & S to meet Dad at dinner time. Park clap. Dad went to work at 3-0. P & P to S. School. Went to Dunns just before din. Went to Grans just before tea. Saw Elsie. Went 5 mls (1/2 hr. on bike) Stamps. S/C for stn 10-25 arr. 10-50. Train at 11-5 tea & sandwiches at Shef. Train pulled out 1-45 AM
[page break]
MARCH 29
[underlined] MON. 43 [/underlined]
arr Newcastle 6-40. Ebc train 6-50 to Monkseaton. Parade at 8-30. Insp. Drill, Sten Gun, P.T.. Took stens back to armoury. Meat pie, spuds, cab, beans, beet rice & prunes. Went to Cinema to see “Desert Victory” & “Sherlock Holmes in Washington” Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce. Meat pie & jam; tea.
Letter from Mary.
Letter to Mary & Ma.
[page break]
MARCH 30
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & spuds, tea. Insp. 30 mins to clean billets [sic] Cinema (films on all sorts of things.) Beef, spuds, cab; sponge pud; water. WIND & more Wind. Went on to golf course & did charging of the guard & mounting of guards. Challenges, how & how not. Cheese pie (twice) & cake; tea. Letter from Ma. pint of beer. Letter to Ma. Had tea & cakes at Beach café at dinner time.
[page break]
MARCH 31
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
porr; sardine & spuds baked spuds. Gas café respirator & webbing for gas lecture. Then LMG. PT. (unarmed combat.) STEW, spuds, cabbage choc sponge pud minus sugar! coffee! Sten gun on the field. Grenades. Sighting etc. on landscape. Sos meat, spuds, raw carrot & turnip, tea, brd. & jam. Parcel from Mary & Betty containing 5 raw carrots. Night manoeuvres on golf course. 1/2 pint & 2 cups of cocoa. 4 sandwiches.
[page break]
APRIL 1
[underlined] THURS. 43 [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, spuds; MA’s jam. Parade in best blue 9-15 Insp. by cpl. Insp. by flight sgt. Paraded again at 10 to 10. Marched down to Rex. mucked abate by SWO. Insp by groupy WHEN he EVENTUALY [sic] arrived LATE per ardua. Bags of “bull”! Army Band. Marched past Groupy & [deleted] [indecipherable word] Ensign. Dismissed. FISH, spuds, cab; raisin roll; 1/- cakes & tea. 1-30 in khaki with towel & soap. £7.10s pay £1 stamps, 15/- Cert. Shower. Station & walk around. Meat roll & spuds; cake; tea. [underlined] Letter to Doris. [/underlined] Sandwiches & coffee in Mess.
[page break]
APRIL 2
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, sos & spuds, tea. Drill, Assault course. PT. Beef (2” [symbol]) spuds, cab. York Pud; trifle, Cap projector for grenade L.M.G. fire etc. NO PASS. [underlined] Bacon rind mixed with spuds [/underlined] & spuds, a little jam; tea. 1/1 chips & pie; cup tea Letter from Mary. Cleaned rifle. cat. Tom & firemaking.
WATCH going WEST.
[page break]
APRIL 3
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; cold Ham; tea. Rifle Inspection. Cleaned billets. Lecture on “forms”. PT in kit. Cold Beef, spuds, beet, cress; prunes, plums & cust. Cakes & tea 1/- Changed & went to see Parade. Saw PT display. Salmon cress & beet; cake, tea. Walked around the town then went to see “Bambi” & “Moonlight Masquerade” John O’Keefe. Sandwiches & coffee in the Mess. Bill brought dog up with him.
WATCHES ON ONE HOUR
[page break]
APRIL 4
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-45. Kellogs & bacon & egg; marmalade & tea. Started reading “The Man in Grey” laid on bed covered with a blanket. Meat, spuds, cabbage; trifle (kinda sort of) coffee. Continued reading book on golf links beside sea. Cold meat & spam, beet; marmalade. PAD parade. Finished book. [underlined] Wrote & posted letters to Mas, Mary & Gwyn [/underlined] Tea & sandwiches in Mess
[page break]
APRIL 5
[underlined] MON. 43 [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, lard, egg, spuds, Marmalade. Collected Sten guns. PT.. Sten (“load” etc.) Drill, Sten in respirator Meat pie; spuds, cab, beans raw carrot etc, rice & stewed pears. Field exercises. Battle Drill. Rifle cleaning. Went for Reg. Parcel & WAAFS just left. Cottage pie, peas; jam; tea. [underlined] Letter from Ma & Doris [/underlined] HELL of a WIND all day. [underlined] Letter to Ma & Doris Collins [/underlined] Didn’t go out all night.
[page break]
APRIL 6
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & spuds; tea. PT (run) Battle order grenade throwing & field craft. (moving under cover.) Stew meat, spuds cab, beans; cust & ginger pud. No Mail. L.M.G. for two periods then AT mines. Went for parcel & asked about form for S.P.T. Sardines in oil & toast, marmalade & treacle; tea. 1 pint beer. Choc, nuts & sweets (7 1/2d.) Letters to Dennis, Joe & Joyce.
[page break]
APRIL 7
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon, spuds; tea. PT in denems. [sic] Rifle Drill for firing on range. Cleaned grenades. Scoring & sighting. Beef, spuds, cab. ginger pud. Route Mch. about 3-4 miles. Rifle cleaning. Sos & mash jam (knife.) 1/6d at Empire to see “ITMA” with Tommy Handly & gang. also “The Great Impersonation.” Coffee & Sandwiches in mess.
[page break]
APRIL 8
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; fried Spam & fried spuds twice; tea Parade outside Prudloe & collected ammo. Battle order carried ammo to range. Fired 5 grouping. 5 application 5 snap shots & 10 rapid shots got 76/100. Tom 81 Top 84. Had 2 helpings of stew from field kitchen, cocoa to Drink Fired a dummy grenade. Cleaned rifles. Fish cheese & treacle, tea. “RAF on Parade” at Empress 2/6d for program. collection coffee & Horlicks. Tea & a sandwich in Mess. LETTER from Ma.
[page break]
APRIL 9
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon RIND rissoles & spuds; tea. Sten (firing) & Grenade throwing. Rifle Inspection. Liver & bacon, spuds, carrots & parsnips; rice pud with raisins; coffee. Football on the beach. PAD at 4-30. Shower in Prudloe. Supper 6-15. Fish, bread & a little treacle, terra. Changed & went to barbers SHUT. so went on the stn for ticket 20/4d. 1/- at Wonder Bar for coffee & sandws. £1 stamps (savings.) Made fire.
[page break]
APRIL 10
[underlined] SAT 43. [/underlined]
Porr; liver & spuds; tea. Inspection in denims; P.T. (cross country.) Parade in best blue to go through passing out parade. Parade at 10 to 12 for pass Lift on lorry to stn. Train at 12-15. NEW. 12-45. 10 1/2d for pie & 2 sandwiches. Stood up to York & stood up to R’Ham. [indecipherable word] to Coop. Got bike out & went looking for barber. Saw Dad & Ma & P & P in library Stamps
[page break]
APRIL 11
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-30. Shave. Went for 1/2 hr. run around houses. Had dinner & then got stamps & books etc. etc. cut & straightened em up a bit. Went to Grans with P & P. Saw Mrs Dixon. Had tea at home then went for a walk in Boston Park. Saw Geoff & Phil Prinnett. Queen Elizabeth spoke in 9-0 PM news. Ma & Dad packed tin of tuck then I packed kit including stamps. Ma & Dad walked to stn. with me & saw me off. 2 cups of tea, biscuits & cake. at Sheff. YMCA on stn..
[page break]
APRIL 12
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Train out 1-30 & I got a seat Arr. 5-30 AM. Cup of tea at WVS. Train out at 6-5 arr. Monks 6-35. Bfst. bacon & table spoon full of spuds; porr; tea. Parade at 8-20 in best blue Paraded again at 10-10 & marched down to REX insp by CI. GC must have still been in bed. Meat & spud [deleted] pie [indecipherable word] [/deleted] [inserted] soup [/inserted] & cab; raisin pud [indecipherable word] Rifle inspection & sleep. Chips, meat pie; treacle, tea. Letter from Mary & Doris Collins. Parcel from Mayoress’ Fund. 1/2 pint beer. Fun Arcade. Hot Choc, biscuits
KINGSWOODS BUDGET.
MORE TAX ON PICTS..
[page break]
APRIL 13
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t go for bfst. To [sic] tired. Had scone Ma packed. Transfered [sic] to No 1. Sqdn. 4 Flt. Carried kit down in 2 trips. Meat pie, spuds, carrots; rice pud & stewed fruit; tea. Parade at 2-30 for gen & roll call Straightened kit out a bit. Swapped stamps. Fried sos meat, spuds & carrots; bread & jam; tea. Letter from Ma. 1/6d at Empire “Nine Men” & “Rubber Raquetters [sic]”.
[page break]
APRIL 14
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & spuds; tea. Parade in Battle order. Marched to Golf Links where Demonstration Sqd practiced “signals in the field” We then did a tacticle [sic] exercise. 3 blanks Mutton, spuds, cabbage; prunes & cust; water. Demonstration again & exercises (games) on night manoeuvres. [underlined] 1/4d Telegram Home. MA’s watch broken. [/underlined] Sos & spuds & treacle; tea. letter from Watson.
[underlined] Letter to Ma & Doris C. [/underlined]
[page break]
[inserted] Letter from Ma & Doris M.R. [/inserted]
APRIL 15
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos & spuds; tea Went to range to see rifles harmonized & see tracer bullets fired from rifle & L.M.G. Sos & spud pie, spuds, cabbage, sponge pud; water. Wrote letter to Mary. Pay £7.10. 5/- stamps [inserted] savings [/inserted]. Pass & run over LMG procedure. Loaded two mags. Missed tea & went to see “Gone with the Wind” 4/- & well worth it. Had coffee & sardine s’d’chs in Mess. These coupled with film set me thinking what a World it is & wondering about myself compared with Scarlet O’Hara.
[page break]
APRIL 16
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; fried potted meat & spuds, tea. Out on range fired 5 single shots & 15 in 3 or 4 bursts with LMG Loaded magazines. Fired 15 rounds in one long burst. Stew, spuds, beans; jam sponge sandwich & cust Parachute control & landing. Shower. Letter from [underlined] Norah [/underlined] & Joyce. Meat pie & salted spuds, cake & marmalade; tea. 20/4d for ticket. Letters to Norah, Joe, Dennis & Joyce. 1/2 pt. beer. cup tea & sandwich. 3d choc.
[page break]
APRIL 17
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; haddock; tea Parade in Battle Order. Went for route march got back at 12-15!! Rapid change & on my way by 12-30. Caught 12-44 & just made the 1-2 which was late pulling out. York 3-0 Rham 4-15. Ma. Pa. P. & P. met me thought I was home for 2 weeks. Got busy with watches. [underlined] 2/6d B.D. greetings to Denis. [/underlined] 2/6d book of stamps. Mother ironed shirt.
55 planes lost bombing Scoda & another arms plant
[page break]
APRIL 18
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0 had shave. Run around on bike up to Keple [sic] Column. Dad returned from work. Had to alter watch again. Winder too small. Went to see Doris Collins after dinner. Then after tea we all went to see Mr. Carpenter. Train left R’ham at 10-45 PM for Sheff Walked to stn. from terminus Tea & biscuits in YM. only 1 bomber lost over Italy
[page break]
APRIL 19
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Train out at 1-40. arr. 5-45. 6-5 from N’castle. arr. at billets for 7-0. Bfst. Porr; bacon & powdered egg; tea. Small manoeuvre on golf course. Stew spuds, carrot; stewed fruit & sago curr cust; coffee. Handed kit in including rifle. Tea & cakes in café. Drafts. Cheese & spuds, jam, tea. Went to ENSA show.
Swapped stamps with Mess Sgt. till 1-0 AM.
dripping sandwiches
[page break]
APRIL 20
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
NO bfst. up too late. Finished sandwiches & pasty. Parade & roll call. Dismissed. Went to café against [underlined] all [/underlined] orders. Played drafts. Went up to mess & resorted & cleaned stamps. Beef, spuds, leek; jam bakewell & cream cust; soup; water. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Stamps again. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] 4-0 PM FFI at Priory. Meat pie & spuds; [underlined] bun [/underlined] & [underlined] treacle [/underlined] tea. 2/- pics “One Day of War” & “Rose of Tralee. Packing till 1-0 AM
[page break]
APRIL 21
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 5-0 handed blankets into stores. Bfst 6-15. Porr; fried egg & spuds, jam & tea. Rations. Parade 7-15. Marched into town then to station. Train out 8-15. Arr. 8-45 Newcastle. S/C 09-20 arr. 12.00 hrs HARR. Marched to Majestic. Liver, bacon, spuds, carrot & rice pud, Collected kit from Grand. Got room (434) Met Joe after tea. Had a couple of shorties then we had supper. 1/6d chips & spam 2 1/2d bar of choc & 1/2 pt. from mess. [underlined] Letter to Ma [/underlined]
[page break]
APRIL 22
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Shave. porr; bacon & beans. Exchanged Canadian Shirt & collars Liver, sos, spuds & cab; fruit pie & cust. Dismissed for day. Roamed around town. 1/- stamps & 1/- jam [inserted] tart [/inserted] & coffees. Spuds & stewed meat, jam roll, marmalade & tea. 2/6d to see Fred Astaire & Rita Hayworth in “You were never Lovlier [sic]” 6d coffee & bun.
[page break]
APRIL 23
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; fried bread & spuds, egg (dried) tea. Rain Room inspection. Dismissed from Parade. Finished the book “Knight on Wheels.” Beef, spuds, cab, carrot; stewed apple & cust. Watched snooker game. Had tea in camp. Pretty good Went to see “Orchestra Wives” a very good film. Then went & had a pint at the Victoria.
[page break]
APRIL 24
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
All Bran; bacon; tea. Dismissed so went to Knaresbro on bus. Took photo of viaduct & castle. Sos & chips 2/-d. 2d for 1/2 pt. at the Dropping Well. 6d. to see the well & wishing well. Met Violet, Winnie & Mavis took them to see St. Roberts Chapel & house in the rock. Left ‘em & then had the [inserted] sos & [/inserted] chips. Took ‘em to Harrogate on bus. Went walk thro’ gardens. Had tea at “Grog Café” 1/9 each. Got changed & went 7/- to see “The Sport of Kings” White Rose, Bought train tickets 7 1/2d. Supper at Melody. 2/-d. Put the girls on the 10-40 train back
[page break]
APRIL 25
EASTER [underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; egg (fried) on toast, tea. Parade at 9-0. Walk around tea & sandwich in YM. Beef, spuds, carrot & cab; jam roll & cust. 4d on 1-30 bus. 2/- for row (1/- deposit) for boat. Had walk around. Then went round the castle (1/-) Walked back to caravan. Key lost but door opened without. Had tea in relays. RAIN Took Violet to Church. Had a look round it. 1/- for booklets 1/10 1/2d. tickets. Wandered back to caravan. Put blackouts up. X. Looked around for Tom & Bill. X on stn. Train in at 10.15. Another X as train pulled out.
[page break]
APRIL 26
[underlined] EASTER MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & beans; tea. parade 08-40 dismissed till 0940 hrs. Squaded (102 sqd) A/C recc. & PT. 2 letters from Ma. Mutton, spuds, beans & cabbage; rhubarb pie & cust; water. Navigation quiz. Dinghie [sic] drill in the baths. Signals. [underlined] Registered Parcel from Ma Including watch. [/underlined] Had tea with a bit of a [indecipherable word] Met Violet at bus stn. Went to see “Arabian Nights” & “Berlin Correspondent.” at Scala. 3/6d Spam & Chips supper (2). Got tickets to Starbeck because there were no platform tickets. Saw Vi off on 10-40. Coffee in Hollywood.
[page break]
APRIL 27
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos meat & spuds. Nav; Intel; P.T. Stew spuds cold carrot; [deleted] [two indecipherable words] [/deleted] [inserted] black currant [indecipherable word] [/inserted] & cust. [indecipherable word] cake at Smiths. 4 FAST Intelligence. Signals Met films. 2 lots of fish & spuds, jam, tea. Blackout squad. Letter to Ma. bar choc 1/6d sos & chips, coffee. 3d lemonade & 3d choc. Watch 5m. fast at 9-0 PM. Blacked out at 9-30 on 200 floor. Bed 10-30
[page break]
APRIL 28
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; toast, egg (dried) spuds fried. Rifle & Revolver Range. 75/80 & 19/60. 6d coffee & cake at Grog Café Sos, spuds, cab & carrot; apple & cust, water. DR flat (interception) had look in Sun Gen room. Intel talk on Coastal Comd. Meat pie spuds, treacle, scone, tea. 4/- for uniform (old, cleaned & pressed.) [underlined] Letter from Ma LETTER TO DORIS. [/underlined] 3d lime juice. missed choc. 1/2d meat roll & chips at Melodys List of stamps
[page break]
APRIL 29
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos & fried spuds; tea. Signals (lecture.) Pay £7.10/- for stamp catalogue. Beef, spuds, cab, carrot; apricot & cust. Navi sigs (D/Fan loop) Dinghi [sic] drill (turning it over.) Spam, lettuce, beet, pickles; jam & tea. No Mail. Opera House booked up so joined pit queue. Tom & pal didn’t arrive before I got in. 1/6d & 3d programme “The Farmers Wife” very good & funny. 1/6d sos & chips, bread & coffee. Bed 10-30.
[page break]
APRIL 30
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, beans on toast, [underlined] JAM. [symbol] [/underlined] & tea. A/C rec. Sigs (lecture) PT (RAIN.) Stew, spuds, carrot & cab; sponge pud & cust. nav. (reading “op” logs) sigs (loop) A/C, rec. film. Sardines on toast & fried spuds; jam roll; marmalade. Letter to Ma. 16/- & 1/6 stamps. Mounted stamps. 20 lengths at baths (500 yds.) meat savoury, chips & carrot; coffee. 3/4d. bed 10-30. Lemonade & crisps.
[page break]
MAY 1
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & liver; marmalade tea. Intel. (Fighter Commd.) Sigs (buzzer.) D/R compass. Meat pie, spuds, cab & carrot; rice pud. Parceled [sic] laundry, books & watch etc. Sorted kit out a bit. 1/1d for parcel. 12/6d stamp & duplicate book. Bread & treacle, buns (currant) fruit tart, tea. 2/6d. at Odeon “Natasha” Russian Nurse in front line. “Footlight Serenade” John Wayne Vic. Mature & Betty Grable. 1/6d chips, spam & coffee.
[underlined] Letter from MA. [/underlined]
[page break]
MAY 2
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Porr fried egg & bread; tea. Church Parade Went to OD service (2d.) coffee at Hollywood 3d. Went with Tom to St. Peter’s. (6d) Beef spuds, cab & carr; trifle & water. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] 3d choc. From Mess. M.O.I. films in B.R. “Lancaster,” Poland weighs anchor. “Terrence De Marney & 20TH Cent Fox News. [underlined] Ham. [/underlined] lettuce & water cress marmalade & cake. “Messiah” at Church (2d) Walk thro’ wood & gdns. 1/2d chips & spam & coffee. Guns from Grand “pullover”. [indecipherable word] special on 9-0 pm news Going to bed 9-30 PM.
[page break]
MAY 3
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; beans on toast & bacon, tea. Posting Parade Kit Inspection packed some. Stamp Cat no in yet. Stew, spuds, peas, sweeds; [sic] rhubarb pie & cust; coffee. More Packing. [underlined] P.C. to MA [/underlined] FFI & starts. Ran around for mail. Cheese & spuds, & spuds (fried) jam & tea. Mail at Mag. & Spa. NONE at ALL. Pay Accounts. Put allotment up to 3/6d. 1/6d to see “Panama Hatti” again! 1/2d corned beef & chips. 2d lemonade & choc.
2/- subsistence.
[page break]
WESTFREUGH.
MAY 4
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; egg & spuds. Parade 7-30. Train 8-40 from Har Leeds 9-30 leave 10-30. Stafford; 2 Kit bags short. Cheese sandwich & cake at 12 AM. Arr. Carlisle 2 PM. 2d cottage pie & spud Went to EPTS but all girls out. Arr. camp. 22.00. Chips & meat roll & tea for supper. Got bedding & billet. Joined up with the rest of the lads.
[page break]
MAY 5
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-0. Porr; liver & spuds; marmalade & tea – Collected harness & books etc. Beef, spuds, beet & mixed veg; plums & cust. Gen talk. Marking Possns on Maps; PT. Kidney & liver on toast; jam; coffee. Stamps. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] Liver & spuds; tea. Talk with the WAAF’s in Mess. Unpacked kit & sorted it out.
[page break]
MAY 6
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-45 & consequently had no bfst. Marking Flight plans. Ditching drill & parachuting drill. Beef, spuds & cabbage; trifle & biscuits. Gen on radio work as an aid to nav & a bit on requirements of exercises (F2330 etc.) Dinghy drill actual inflation of dinghy with CO2 bottle. Egg & chips; butter & jam; tea. Set watch at 6-0 PM. More [indecipherable word] on maps. Chips, sos & spud pie; tea. Got bed side “TABLE” Got to bed about 11.15 after waiting for bridge players who were using my bed.
[page break]
MAY 7
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & egg (dried) marmalade tea. DR details for logs Pay accounts. Lecture by G.C. of stn. Stew spuds & sweeds; [sic] sponge currant pud. Gunnery Sights & sighting & the 303 Browning Machine Gun. Welsh Rarebit, treacle, tea. Letter to Len. Gill (Stamps) & to Ma. Meat pie & spuds; biscuits; tea. RAIN. Dancing lessons at Education office.
[page break]
MAY 8
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 12-0 for dinner Had shave. Spam, spuds, beet; rhubarb & cust. No mail. 2-30 bus into Stranraer. Went to P.O. book of stamps 2/6. & 10/-, 5/- & 2/6d stamps 2/4d at Kinema to see “Clark Gable & Jean M. Don in “San Fransisco.” 1/- fish & chips & cup tea. bus back 6d (each way.) Meat pie & [deleted] spuds [/deleted] [inserted] [indecipherable word] [/inserted] cake & dry bread, tea. NO MAIL. Blowing like HELL & cold as CHARITY also a spot of rain.
[page break]
MAY 9
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Egg & fried spuds; porr; tea. Browning Mch. Gun & A/C rec. Beef cold, spuds, cabbage; trifle. NO MAIL 5 Sun Shots. Photography revision. “Mickey Rooney.” treacle, cake & tea. Fitting oxygen tank & mike together. Unpacked flying kit. Meat roll & beet for [underlined] SUPPER [/underlined] with coffee.
[page break]
MAY 10
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 6-25. Kellogs; beans & bacon; bread & [indecipherable word]; tea. Flight Canceled [sic] bad weather. Ops. Room & Met Gen. Started Plat. Soup; stew, spuds, carrots; raisin & current pasty; tea. Finished Plot. Soup; stew, spuds, carrots; raisin & current pasty; tea. Finished Plot. £3.10. pay. Fried meat roll & spuds; scone & butter; tea. [underlined] Letter from MA & Dad!!! [/underlined] Spuds & dried egg, tea & dry bread. Plotted my 5 Sun Shots. All OK & no need to “cock” them either. Shave. Wrote letter to Ma.
[page break]
MAY 11
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & dried egg; tea. First flight executed OK. STEW, spuds, carrots; soup; stewed apricot & rice pud. 10 Sun Shots. Worked them out, a bit. Then went into see DRI. [deleted] B [/deleted] Good idea too. Aldis Comp. Sos roll & spuds; cake; marmalade & butter; tea. Reading Gen. book. Flight Cancelled for tonight. THICK SOUP for SUPPER & RATION BISCUITS!! coffee & TEA MIXED!! Continued reading Admin. & Conduct Gen (252) 6d for half pint. Bed 10-30 [underlined] Posted letter to MA. [/underlined]
[page break]
MAY 12
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up for bfst. D.R. Trainer all AM. acted as Navigator Gwyn as pilot. Soup; steak & chips, cabbage; cinnamon pud & cust. A/C recc. Photography. 1/- haircut. Minced meat, spuds; scone jam & tea. [underlined] LETTER FROM MA. [/underlined] 3/10 1/2d rations (7 1/2d charge) Wrote letter to Ma. Potato, - cheese & scone; coffee. Worked out Yesterdays Sun Shots. Bed about 10-0 PM.
[page break]
[underlined] VIOLET & ANNIE [/underlined]
MAY 13
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Rain! Flight washed! Porr; bacon & fried spuds; tea. D.R. Interception, Critical Point. Stamp Catalogue & laundry registered mail. Critical Point (DR.) Cold beef, spuds, cabbage; prunes, rice pud; tea; DR. Gas Mask check. Gas chamber. Getting loops on Marconi. Chips & sos roll; jam, cake & tea. [underlined] Posted letter to MA. Wrote & posted to Violet & Annie [/underlined] Sardines, chips, beet; tea. Glass lime juice.
[page break]
MAY 14
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 6-15 AM. Porr & hadock. [sic] Bus to Turnberry to hospital to do dinghy drill in outer suit & with “Mae West.” Bus back. Meat pie, spuds & peas; stewed apricots & cust. [underlined] NO MAIL. [/underlined] Game of football. Sos & spuds for tea. Read newspaper in Mess. Hadock [sic] alone for supper. Night flight. Not so bad. Landed 00-50 [deleted] E [/deleted] Took 10 star slots. Had [deleted] fr [/deleted] breakfast in Perm. Sgts. Mess. Chips & hadock [sic] prunes & ground rice pud.
[page break]
MAY 15
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Sewed buttons on trousers. Got up 11-30. Cold beef, cold spuds & cold mixed veg; rice pud. 1/- bus into Stranraer. 9d parcel of laundry home. 2/4 at Kinema Sabu in the film “Jungle Book.” 6d chips & pop. bus back. [underlined] Letter to MA. [/underlined] Meat pie; treacle, cake & cocoa. Letter acknowledging receipt of SG. Stamp Catalogue to [underlined] Len. Gill. [/underlined] Harrogate.
[page break]
ELSIE.
MAY 16
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; egg & spuds (real egg) tea. Sighting. [deleted] & [/deleted] Church service. 11-0 Took collection Browning stoppages. Beef, spuds (boiled & baked) cabbage; trifle. Turrets, hydraulic system. A/C rec. Tongue, mixed veg, spuds; cake, butter & jam, tea.
[underlined] Letter to Elsie Storey. [/underlined] “Mickey Rooney” & cocoa. Had a fag with Donbarand. [underlined] Short letter to Ma. [/underlined]
[page break]
MAY 17
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t go for bfst. Astrograph Room; photo taken of course Meat pie, spuds, cabbage; stewed apricots & cust. Flight. Landed at NUTTSCORNER for air for brakes. Towed in big tractor. Valve US. One out of gun circuit substituted. Magic Eye. U.S. Given beds by S.W.O. Ham, onion, beet; butter & cake, tea. Walked around billet. 1/6d egg & sos; bread & butter; tea. Tried to get some eggs but couldn’t make it.
[page break]
MAY 18
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-15. Wash in Mess. Kellogs; bacon & fried spuds; bread & butter; tea. Walked to Flying Control. Ran to kite. Got her started & away we went. Reported to F. Control & then F/Sgt. Warren. Lads flew last night so have day off. Steak, chips, cabbage; cust & rhubarb. Mess Meeting (Cinema) Set out 2-20 to walk to Portpatrick. Arrived 6-0 PM. [underlined] Went to eat. [/underlined] 10d. bus to Stran. 1/8d. chips & fish; bread; tea. 6d cake & pop at WVS 1/6d beers. 6d. bus.
[page break]
MAY 19
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up 6-0 AM. Sos & mash. Flight 1st Nav. made a mess of it. Stew, spuds, carrots; plum duff & cust. Log analasis. [sic] Photography. DENTAL PARADE which turned into GARDENING & SNOTTY remarks by PTI Sgt. Minced meat. [underlined] Letter from MA, Violet & Doris [/underlined] Started letter to Doris. Welsh rarebit; tea. letter to Doris cont.. [underlined] Posted letter to Doris. [/underlined] Worked out Grnd. Star Shots. Chips peas & chop; rice pud; tea. Start sleep 12-30 to 1-0.
[page break]
MAY 20
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Got nearly to Boderely Pt. when we were recalled. Spuds, peas & liver; rice pud; tea. Bed! till 12-0. Soup; cold beef, spuds, cabbage; prunes & cust. [underlined] Letter from MA. [/underlined] 1/0 1/3d. coffee biscuits & writing paper [underlined] Wrote letter to MA. [/underlined] Plotted Sun & star shots. [underlined] Letter to P & P & Mary. [/underlined] Sos, beans; bun, cake, marmalade & tea. [underlined] Posted above letters. [/underlined] Took off 10-30. Radio went U.S. landed at VALLEE 11-30. Eventualy [sic] went for supper about 2-30 AM. Chips, bacon & egg; tea. Bed about 3-15 AM. Had to make our beds [deleted] up [/deleted] down. [underlined] Letter to Violet [/underlined]
[page break]
MAY 21
[underlined] FRIDAY. 43. [/underlined]
Got up 11-0 AM. Lift to Sgts Mess. Stew, spuds, cabbage; apricot tart; coffee. Lift to Flying Control. Took off & went to Llandarog. Radio came in OK. but stbd. engine oiling up. Missing on one cylinder. Transport to Mess. Spam, beet, lettuce; tea. Took 10 to 15 min to start stbd. engine. Left at 6 – o’clock. Arrived base 10 past 7. [underlined] Letter from Ma & Elsie. [/underlined] Sardines, tomato, onion; chips & pie; tea & coffee. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] Soup; tongue, spuds, peas; prunes & ground rice pud; coffee Flight washed.
[page break]
MAY 22
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Wrote letter (8 pgs) to Elsie Went to sleep 3-30 AM. Up at 11.15. Tongue, mixed veg, spuds; trifle. No Mail. Bus into town. £8 money order. [underlined] Posted it & letter to Ma & letter to Elsie. [/underlined] 2/6d to see Jack Oakie in “Navy Blues” seen it before but it wasn’t so bad. Bus back. Usual tea. Sorting stamps give me by Willie. Sos roll, chips; tea. Joan plauging [sic] me. Lent ‘em ground sheet. Still sorting stamps. 11-30.
[page break]
MAY 23
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up 6-15 AM. Porr; egg on toast; tea Flight down to Holyhead. Line-overlap & stereo 5. Beef, spuds, cabbage; soup; apple pie & custard. Making astrograph problems. Signals (morse & gen talk.) [underlined] Spam & beet; tea – spoonful of marmalade [/underlined]; scone & tea. Stamp sorting & sticking in. Minced meat & spuds, tea (WHAT A SUPPER!!!) More stamp sticking. Backed Catalogue.
[page break]
MAY 24
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & beans; tea. In flying suits on Turrets BP. & FN. Filling & bleeding system of FN. Soup; stew, spuds, beans, sweede; [sic] bread pudding. 1/- raffle (2 X 6d) for chicken proceeds to POWFd Sighting again & evasion & tactics. PT. Stafford pulled a leg at rugger. [underlined] Parcel (clothes, finger & stamps) from MA. [/underlined] “Mickey Rooney” cake, jam & butter. [underlined] Letter to Ma. Soup & bread for Supper [/underlined] !!!! Finished letter. Wrote logs up as far as possible Put wick in lighter.
[page break]
MAY 25
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & dried egg; tea. Log analasis, [sic] stuck amendments into AP1234. Soup; chips, carrots, peas, steak; lemon curd tart, cup water. Had SPOON LIFTED NO MAIL. Late afternoon flight. Not so bad & not so good. 6-45 chips & treacle; tea. Sat talking to lads & WAAFS [underlined] Couldn’t eat the supper [/underlined] but had 2 cups of coffee [underlined] Letter form Violet. [/underlined] Reading Agony Column again.
[page break]
MAY 26
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up till 4-0. Shave. A/C recco. 4 1/2d coffee & cake at Scotch Hut. Sighting, Browning. etc. Soup; stew, spuds, cab; stewed apricot & ground rice pud. Turret, sighting & Browning exam. 34 for Browning [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Sos meat & spuds; cake & jam, tea. [underlined] Letter from Doris C. & Walker. Letter to Violet & Doris [/underlined] “Mickey Rooney” & coffee. NO 2nd NAVS so wrote letter to MA.
[page break]
MAY 27
[underlined] THURS 43. [/underlined]
[deleted] Porr; bacon & dried egg. Sticking amendments in AP1234 Log analasis [sic] Chips, carrots, peas, beef steak; lemon curd tart; soup. Had SPOON LIFTED NO MAIL. [/deleted] Got up 8-45. Learning WING spare. 3 1/2d coffee & cakes. Devioscope. Photo (line overlap.) Soup; taters, carrot & sweede, [sic] mutton; rhubarb, [underlined] Letter from Mary. [/underlined] DRI. Pilot for Gwyn. A/C rec. exam. Cheese, onion, beet, water cress cake, jam; tea. [underlined] Letter to MA. CHIPS & TEA for Supper. [/underlined] 22-30 take off. Went to Blackpool. Couldn’t see the tower.
[page break]
MAY 28
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Chips, bacon; ground rice pud & raisins; tea for early Bfst. Got to bed 3-0 AM. Up at 11-0 AM Had bath & put clean clothes on. Soup; beef, spuds, cabbage; bread pud. Parceled [sic] laundry. 6d bus into town. 10d laundry. 2/6d stamps & 2/6d envelopes 6d tea, cakes & mints. 2/6d Circus. Set off to walk back. Lift by ATC officer. Filled “doins” for leave. Supper not too bad. [underlined] Wrote letter to MA. [/underlined] amid hulabaloo. USA [indecipherable word] drunk “ON DUTY.”
[page break]
MAY 29
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up 8-15. Porr, sos & bacon breakfast. Working out air shots. Took 6 shots on Sun with IX A Sextant. Tongue, spuds, mixed veg; trifle. 3-0 PM flight. Up to Perth & back. Cheese, onions, lettuce, water cress. Plotted air shots & this mornings 6 sun shots. Started turning kit over ready to pack. Soup; cold beef (NICE) spuds lettuce & onions; trifle; tea. Flight washed out.
[page break]
MAY 30
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up 11-0. Beef, spuds, cab; sponge pud. Sight plotting & loging [sic] & time loging. [sic] Fired several rounds in FN turret at moving tgt. Not so bad. Meat ball, spuds, pancake; treacle & tea. Finished making log book up to date Packed all my kit. Fechini”, Arty & Durrant flat out!! Went to Mess to see how the others were. Sing Song. Bed 1-15 AM
[page break]
WF – TRAIN
MAY 31
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up 7-0 AM. Shave. Porr; fried spuds, HAM (boiled.) Tea, Handed NAV equip in to stores. Handed NAV equip. in to stores. Handed bedding in & parachute harness 4/9 Mess Bill. £6 Pay. FFI. Soup; steak & kidney pud, spuds; semaelena [sic] & WATER Handed books into library. SHORT!! Lecture by C.O. & CI. Cheese & spuds; jam & butter; tea. Sat in Mess talking to ACH/GD & Joan. Welsh Rarebit & tea RAIN. Bus to Harbor Stn. 10-0 PM pulled out.
[page break]
TRAIN – HOME
JUNE 1
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Arr. WIGAN 4:15. 3d tea & sandwich. 6:00 pulled out (5:35 timetable.) Arr. Manchester 7:00 1/- taxi to London Road. cup tea. 2d wash & brush up. 1d in “SLOT.” Pulled out 8:20. Arr. R’HAM 10:00. 2/- taxi home. Bfst. Cleaned bike. 7 1/2d bulb. Short run. Saw V. Geog. Dinner. Unpacked one or two odds & ends. Tea. Took Sallie for a walk in the Caper af seeing Elsie (9:30)
[page break]
JUNE 2
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0 AM. Had a shave. Gran here sewing TENT. Fitted mirror on bike. Went to get hair cut. Barber in hospital so went to see Mace’s (Mr. Mrs. & Joan in.) Barber at top of Far Lane too full. Granpa come for tea. Mrs. Dunn & David called in. Went a run as far as St. Ann’s Road then up Don. Gate and along Bds. Moore Lane Saw Elsie’s brother. Took Gran & Pa home with Sallie Saw Elsie’s brother again. Had a Pint with Granpa in Park Hotel.
[page break]
JUNE 3
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Woke up at 12-0. June still in bed. Drizzle!!! Went to S.P.T. about 3 to 1/2 past. A lot of new lads & girls Went in to see Mr. Duke. Went to Grans. about 8 o’clock. Pat gone for music lesson. Took Sallie with us & let her have a run. Dad gone to dance. Got back about 11-30.
[page break]
JUNE 4
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Up about 10 to 1/2 past. Went up to school. Din at home. Took Sallie to be klipped [sic] then went for a hair cut myself. Went to find Ma at Granpas. then went on to [deleted] Macea [/deleted] Mace’s for tea. Left between 9 & 10 & went to Elsie’s. Left about 11-0.
[page break]
JUNE 5
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0. Went for a WALK round the town Bought stamps (1/6d) in Woolworth’s & Bob Martin’s powders for Sallie. Jackie called to see if I’d heard anything. Went to see if Baths were open & found ‘em shut. Brake chain on bike in process. 4d for new link. 4d, for straps for hubs. Went to Gran M with June. Went to see Annie and found where Watson lived. Decided to go up to see Gran & Granpa. T. Met Baldwin & Baker learning dance.
[page break]
JUNE 6
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 1-0 PM just after news, Telegram from RAF. Went up to Sheffield to get ticket changed. 25 min each way. & 6.3 mls. distance Saw Lanc & Martlet. Come back soaked in sweat. Had cold bath. Went to see Dennis then went on to Granma Machin’s and had tea! there also had supper. Went to Park and had a Pint. Got home about 11-30.
[page break]
JUNE 7
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Down at 10-0. Got to Dad’s about 11-0. Went across to S.P.T. Saw Mrs Skilcarne. Got £7/15 for 5/- a week dependants [sic] allotment. Din. at home. Judy Garland in “For me & my Gal.” RAIN! Time of train (LNE) Walked home in rain. Packing Went across to Dunn’s Back & bed 1-0 AM.
[page break]
JUNE 8
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Rang up for taxi from Dunn’s. Elmores engaged so ordered Moorehouses for 1-0 PM. Finished packing. Taxi 1-2 PM!! Station 1-15 2/- + 6d. Dad arrived just after. Train on time arrived Sheff 1-35. 6d. for kit bags. Met Woodruff. Train out 2-5!!! arr. 4-10. NO TRANSPORT so went to eat 2/2d chips & rarebit & tea. TRANS arr. 6-30 just 2hrs 20 mins out!! Ran around camp a bit & eventualy [sic] ended up at 7 site. Sos & spuds in Mess. Tom & Garry in Ante Room. Walked around. [underlined] Wrote & posted letter to Ma [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 9
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up 7-15. Bfst. 8-0. Porr; bacon & tomato. Went up to G./S then back to Dental & FFI Filled form in re pay, flying clothing etcetra. [sic] Din, soup; meat & spud pie, cabbage & spuds; rice pud. Parade 13-45. Marched! to G/S. Photo in CIVIES. Lectures by WO, CGI, ACGI & CAGI. Collected sheets. Pilchards cheese, marmalade & swiss roll & nice hot tea. [underlined] Wrote letters to Mary & Ralph [/underlined] Meat roll, tomatoe; [sic] cocoa!! Took PT kit & 2nd. suit of blue out of kit bags.
[page break]
JUNE 10
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
PT. at 6-30!! Kellogs; [inserted] lemon [/inserted] curd; sos; tea. Lectures on NAV. Soup; steak, spuds & cabbage; plum pud. More lectures & one on Int & Security. Spam & chips; marmalade; cake; tea. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] Spam, beet, cheese, (egg provided by Willie) cocoa. [underlined] Letter to Doris (R) [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 11
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, spuds & cabbage; tea. Lectures (loop etc.) Soup; fish, spuds, peas; pears & cust. NAV & NAV & NAV. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Cottage pie; marmalade; cake & tea. RAIN Storm. Sewed buttons & darned pocket. Welsh rarebit without toast; cocoa. [underlined] Letter to MA. & Dennis & Elsie [/underlined]
1/2 pint. & writing paper (1/4d)
[page break]
JUNE 12
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
PT at 6-30. Porr; beans on toast tea. 8-0 Parade. DR Plot at double time. as pilot. Soup; stew, spuds, cabbage; sponge pud; water. Crewed up with (Allen & Dick (BA) Lots of sunshine. [underlined] Letter from MA. [/underlined] A/C rec. test. NAV (maps & charts.) Ship rec. with Int. Officer (B. good fun) Cheese savoury; marm; cake & tea. [underlined] Letters form Gwyn, Violet, Doris (2) & A/G from Doris. Letter to Ma. [/underlined] stewed meat, spuds; cocoa. [underlined] letters to Doris & Violet. [/underlined] Pantellaria & Lampedusa FALLEN to our bombers.
[page break]
JUNE 13
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up for bfst & of course it was EGG. Lectures (navi; etc.) Soup; beef, spuds, cabbage; trifle. More lectures (Wimpey fusel, A/C rec. TEST again!! NAV.) [deleted] Ha [/deleted] Tongue, spuds; jam & cake; tea. No mail being Sunday. Sat reading in the mess then fetched writing paper. [underlined] Wrote to P & P. [/underlined] Cheese, trifle; cocoa. More reading. [underlined] Finished P & P’s letters. [/underlined] Started one to Doris. 2 fags & one pint (5/- for beer for 5 of us.) Tom, Art, Stew & Joe. Lent Pat 2 soap coupons.
[page break]
[circled JUNE 14]
[underlined] MON.43. [/underlined]
PT at 6-30 AM. Shave! Kellogs, bacon & fried spuds; tea. lectures (fuel system, turret Int) Soup; meat pie, spuds, cab; bread pud. Met [deleted] Int [/deleted] Med. Officer on Night Vis. O2 & VD. Cross Country. Salmon & cheese; marmalade; swiss roll; tea. [underlined] Finished 4 page letter to Doris [/underlined] Meat roll, spuds; cocoa. [underlined] SHOWERS. [/underlined] Bed at 10-30
[page break]
JUNE 15
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon; [inserted] & dried egg [/inserted] tea. Lectures (NAV (maps) DR Trainer.) Soup; stewed steak, spuds, peas; trifle. [underlined] 2 letters & cards from MA letter from ELSIE & Mary Card from Doris. [/underlined] Lectures (Signals; [inserted] mag [/inserted] compass, map reading [underlined] Rhur. [/underlined]) Cheese; jam; swiss roll, tea. [underlined] Letter to Elsie. (5 pg) [/underlined] Started one to Ma. Dried egg & bacon; cocoa. [underlined] Finished letter to Ma. [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 16
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Shave; Kellogs & sos; tea. W/T aids, DR Trainer. Soup; beef, spuds, cabbage; apple pie; water. Gyro, Signals, Intel. Spuds, fried spam, marmalade & tea. Couldn’t get to change boots so left ‘em in F/Sgt Disips office. [underlined] Letter from MA BD. Cable from Doris. Letter to MARY & Ma. [/underlined] Cold meat; cold veg salad; cocoa [underlined] Letter to Doris (R) [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 17
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
PT. Porr, bacon & spuds; tea. NAV (astro & DR comp.) Soup; spuds, cab; liver & kidney; choc. sponge pud. 6d choc, 6d cider. More lectures. Minced meat & spuds. Taxi 1/2d. Pint (1/2) Picts Robertson Hare “Women Aren’t Angels.” Went to Dance. Danced with ANN (WAAF) and Hilda ATS girl. Took her out to her transport. Waited till 1-15 for taxi [underlined] 5/6d [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 18
[underlined] FRI. 43 [/underlined]
Porr; beans on toast; tea. NAV (astro & general revision) Soup; beef, spuds, peas; rice pud. Signals; [symbols]; Intelligence. RAIN & MORE RAIN. [underlined] Letter from MA & DORIS. M. R’L also 2 from Doris Collins. [/underlined] Spam & spuds. Walked up to Met with Tom, Saltaw & Stev also arrived on bikes. Nattered. Went in HORSA. Liver savoury & cocoa. Swotted! 1/2 pint. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 19
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Drizzle. No PT. Porr; bacon & fried bread; tea. NAV (DR Comp) Signals (loop swing.) Photography. Bombing. Soup; spuds, cab, steak & kidney stew [inserted] sponge pud. [/inserted] NAV exam OK. Fetched Registered parcel & [underlined] asked ADJ. if times couldn’t be altered [/underlined] Potato & cheese, jam, tea. [underlined] Letters from Ma & Violet [deleted] 2 from Doris Collins. [/deleted] [/underlined] Examined kit. Stewed steak & kidney, tea & cocoa. [underlined] Letter to MA. [/underlined] 1/2 pint.
[page break]
JUNE 20
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & tomato; tea. Signals, Gee. Met. ? . Soup; spuds, cab, beef; apple & raisin pie; orange juice. More lectures. Dinghy & Para. Drill. Pyrotechnics Demonstration of Pyros. Gunnery & bombing range orders. Ham & lettuce; cake; tea. Cleaned buttons & boots. Finished “50 Candles.” Cheese, lettuce, pickles; cocoa [underlined] Letter to MA. [/underlined] glass orangeade. NOT juice!! 10-15 PM bed!!
[page break]
JUNE 21
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; beans on toast; tea. Nav plotting a short exercise. Pay accounts 11-0. £1 pay!!!!!!! Intelligence (Targets) Soup; Stew, spuds, peas; trifle; glass orangeade. Course photo P.N & B. Wops & A/Gs separate. More Dinghy; Airgunnery; Aircraft Recco. Sardines; bread & jam; tea. [underlined] Letter from Gwyn. [/underlined] Reading novel (thriller) mystery Meat & potato pie & spuds cocoa. Early Bed
[page break]
JUNE 22
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
PT. Porr; beans on toast. Sigs exam, [symbol] etc. Soup; beef, spuds, mixed veg; prunes [underlined] Letter from MA. [/underlined] [symbol]; M.O.; film, Briefing Room. Cake, sos meat fried & spuds; tea. 2/10d taxi. 2/9d picts. “Moon & Sixpence” Georg [sic] Sanders. 3/- taxi back bed about 12-0.
[deleted] [underlined] Letter from Mary. [/underlined] [/deleted]
[page break]
JUNE 23
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; tea (sos.) Lecture NAV & G. Marks 82% [underlined] New Shoes. Letter from MA. [/underlined] Soup; [inserted] meat & [/inserted] spud pie, cab, spuds; apple & cust MOUSED GAT. Lectures (Sigs 83% Exam, Crew coop, Dinghy Drill. Meat & spud pie; jam; tea. Voluntary Dinghy Drill [underlined] Joe £1. [/underlined] Turned kit over. Cold meat & beet, cocoa. [underlined] Letter to Violet & Doris C [/underlined] Choc & cig. rations. 1/2 pint beer ([symbol]) Shower.
[page break]
JUNE 24
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 8-0. Kellogs; beans on toast; tea. Collected pass. Packed up & cleaned up. Pay parade 12-0. [underlined] £4-5s [/underlined] !!! Ran for taxi. 7/2d train ticket home. 12-46 train. Changed at Trent 2-45 Sheffield. Came on train from there as next train was 3-45. Arr home 3-30. Went for run on bike. Tea at home. Went for another run round. Saw Ken, Elsie’s brother. Saw Elsie & her Dad. Les & H. passed me while I was there. Didn’t know me! Mom, Dad & I went for walk with Sallie.
[page break]
JUNE 25
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Shave. Fetched meat ration. Went to work. Saw Mr. Methley. Had dinner with Reg. in Staff Canteen. Saw Peg & rest. Left about 3-45. 2/- B.D. cards. for Pam & Elsie. Met Ma Went to butchers for potted meat then went with Ma to the office. Tea at home. Went to Grans. Elsie’s at 10-0 till almost midnight (23.59!!)
[page break]
JUNE 26
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Got Pat out of bed. Went shopping with P & P. bought them a book each. Couldn’t find anything for Elsie. Met Dad in Town. Walked back home. Had Din. Went with D.M. P. & P. for a pair of shoes for Pat. Library 2/6d Envelopes. Tom called to see us. Left RHAM 7-35 to 40. arr LOUGHBORO’ 10-0 PM. Went short run round. [underlined] Posted card to PAM [/underlined] 4 miles to camp (20 mins.) Had pint. [underlined] 2 letters from MA & one from Doris [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 27
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-15. Porr; egg on toast. Parade 8-15?? Handed old O2 mask in & drew a new one & 3 sets of underclothes Packed with difficulty. Didn’t have soup; cabbage & spuds, stew; prunes. Chased all over camp with clearance chits. Lettuce, cheese, beef, tomatoe [sic] marmalade; tea. Transport to C.D. on back of lorry. Bike near light bust & bit. Cocoa & lettuce for tea (2nd.) Didn’t like looks of beans for supper. Unpacked Mended lamp. [underlined] Letter to MA [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 28
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; egg (dried) on toast; tea. Gen talks by ACGI, CGI & one or two others. Went over to flights. Talk by Flt. Comdr Drew mike & earphones. Soup; spuds, cabbage, steak; boiled pud. Took flying kit down to flights. Went to see NAV officer & had gen talk. Meat roll, lettuce; fried egg; lemon curd; tea. [underlined] Letter to Mary; Elsie & Doris (CAN). [/underlined] Went to CD. with Charlie on bike 3d of chips. 1/2 pint of beer. Cycled back.
[page break]
JUNE 29
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; fried spuds, smoked bacon. Waited till 10-0 then had “gen” talk by NAV officer. Read orders & signed some. Had sextant checked. Dinner. [underlined] Letter from Violet. [/underlined] Plotted dromes SBA etc onto chart. Had tea, twice chips & corned beef. 2/6 taxi to Lough. 2/- picts “Star Spangled Rythm.” [sic] 6d chips. 2/- taxi back to camp.
[page break]
JUNE 30
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos; tea. Waited for a flight but didn’t go up. Soup; beef, spuds, cauliflower Circuits & bumps. Then did one solo. Late tea. Chips, meat pie and cake; tea. Wash. Lecture on P. & W. at 8-0 PM. 1/2 pint all round crew except Dick. Walked back to billet
[page break]
JULY 1
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; beans on toast; tea & cocoa mixed. Waited for a flight then went and had talk by NAV officer. Soup; beef, spuds, cabbage; plum pud; water. Dual & solo. Dick had a do at flying. Egg on toast; butter & jam; tea. Hurricane concert in Mess. [underlined] Letter from Ma. Letter to Ma. [/underlined]
[page break]
JULY 2
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & tomato; tea Eventualy [sic] went to lectures No actual work done. Soup; spuds, cabbage, meat; custard & [blank space]: water. Flew at about 15.00 after taking about 4 sun shots. Had to come in as the weather closed in. Cold meat & pickles; jam; cake; tea. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] 1/2 pint with the lads. Put turning points on chart.
[page break]
JULY 3
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos; tea. Took 12 sun shots and made out route seven. Didn’t fly. Soup; meat & spud pie, spuds, cabbage; rhubarb & cust; water. [underlined] 2 letters from Ma. One from Elsie & Norah. [/underlined] Went on C’ & L’s but IC was U.S. so came in at 4-0 PM. Cheese on toast jam, tea. Finished working shots out. 2 plates of chicken broth; cocoa. Charlie & I plotted our shots. Went up to see W for William. Started letter to Ma. Had feast in billet.
[page break]
JULY 4
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Continued feast till 12-30. Up at 7-35. Shave. Kellogs egg on toast; tea. X Country Route 7. Briefed, Met Gen. etc. Managed to get round to Ragdale & back to base. A BAD trip Sextant went haywire. Soup; mutton, spuds, peas, cauliflower; corned beef, lettuce, onion, tomato; jam roll, jam & tea. [underlined] Letter to MA. 8 page letter to Doris (R) [/underlined]
[page break]
JULY 5
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, cabbage? & toast; tea. Wet dinghy drill at Loughboro College Baths. Coffee & toasted tea cakes in café. Briefed for X Country. Soup; minced meat, spuds, cabbage; tart & custard. X. Country washed. Set off for bombing trip. I/C US. & recalled by W/T so returned before we left. [underlined] Letter from Ma, Doris (R) & Mary. [/underlined] Sardines on toast, jam; tea. Bike repairs.
[page break]
JULY 6
[underlined] TUES. 43 [/underlined]
Porr; egg (dry) on toast. No flight. Kite US & weather same. Soup; meat pie etc. Eventualy [sic] went & bombed at Ragdale also took photos & sim-bombed. [underlined] haircut. 1 orange [/underlined] & tea (similar to usual.) Joe got teleg. [sic] Took him into Loughbro on Dick’s bike. 3d chips & half pint. Got half way back & a cpl. rode Dick’s bike back to billets. [underlined] Bed 12-0 [/underlined]
[page break]
JULY 7
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon on toast; tea. Went up & did formation flying. Kite U/S. so didn’t go bombing. Soup; beef, spuds, caulif [sic] currant pud. Did low flying then went bombing. Target hard to see. [underlined] Letters from Ma Violet & Doris C. [/underlined] Sardines on toast & cottage pie; cocoa. [underlined] Letter to Doris C & Ma & Elsie [/underlined]
[page break]
JULY 8
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; spuds & fish. Eventualy [sic] went out to bomb. Cld. base 2,500 so couldn’t bomb. Took photos. Went down to Kettering. Soup; minced beef & onion, spuds, peas, cabbage; rotten hard sponge pud. No flight. Finished plotting shots. Sat and studied photos in Intel. Library. [underlined] Collected Reg Parcel Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Meat pie jam, tea. Went to Castle D. had pint then 8d of chips then 1 1/2 pints.
[page break]
JULY 9
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; fried bread & ham No flight. Went to see photo & bombing results then went to Intel. Library. Soup; stew, spuds, broad beans; rhubarb & cust. Helped WO Brown with DR trainer plot. [underlined] £5.5s pay. [/underlined] Cheese on toast; tea. 3/- taxi. 1/9 “Once upon a Honeymoon” Ginger Rogers 2/6d Dance. 3/- taxi.
[page break]
JULY 10
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
All Bran; sos. Early flight cancelled about 9-30 or 10-0. Read “[indecipherable word]” on bed. Soup; mutton, spuds, beans, 2 x pud. Shower. Parcelled laundry. RAIN. Spuds & minced meat; tea. Cycled to Loughboro in rain 7/- for chicken, Worthington etc. cycled back in 35 mins in 35 mins [sic] (7.8 mls.) Went & had 2 pints in mess Had a dance or two Got to bed about 12.30
[page break]
JULY 11
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; egg on toast; Waited for a flight. In the end helped W.O. Brown construct an SHA chart with star altitudes on them. Soup; beef, spuds, cab; york pud (?) bread pud. Sight log book arrived and flying log. Eventualy [sic] went flying. Took off 4-30 back at 9.30. Corned beef, lettuce, tomato; jam; tea. bed about 12-0 PM
[page break]
JULY 12
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
All bran; cocoa & “bubble & squeak. Prepared to do route 6 in reverse. Eventualy [sic] went out to go bombing. This also washed. RAIN. Soup; MEAT (??) spuds, cab; rice pud. Nowt doing! Went into Intel library & read gen on German atrocities in Russia. Welsh rarebit; jam & tea. Started letter to Ma. [underlined] Posted laundry home [/underlined] & Charlie’s Regd. parcel. Minced meat & spuds; cocoa. [underlined] Finished letter to Ma. [/underlined]
[page break]
JULY 13
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porridge (sweet). [underlined] BOILED EGG [/underlined] tea. No flight. Duff gen & lines by F/O Wood. Soup; meat pie, lettuce, spuds, onion; jam tart & cust. Log analyst. Reading in Intel. Library. RAIN. Sos & mash, tea. Bombing trip. [underlined] Letter & papers from Ma. [/underlined] Supper in the Airmen’s Mess Cheese, lettuce, pickles; cocoa.
[page break]
JULY 14
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; beans & bacon. No flight. Weather US. Eventualy [sic] went out to dispersal Started up then detail was cancelled. Soup; meat pie, spuds, peas; cust trifle. RAIN. Nattered in NAV. office then went to Intel. Library. Fish, cake, tea. [underlined] NO MAIL. Letter to Mary & Ma. [/underlined]
ENSA. Concert. pint beer. B – awfull [sic] stuff.
[page break]
[circled 19.43]
JULY 15
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
All Bran; bacon & toast. NO flight – Cloud! Map reading in Bombing teacher then went to [symbol] Room. Afterwards went to Intel. Library. Soup: spuds, cab etc. STILL NO FLIGHT. Made SBA CHART for P/O Simpson. Had tea then cycled to Loughboro with Ken. 2d for bike. Orangeade; coffee & waffers. [sic] 2/- Dance. Got back about 01.00 hrs. nice clear moonlight & starlight night.
[underlined] FINIS [/underlined] !!!!
[page break]
TRENTON – TORONTO
[circled 1942] JULY 16 [underlined] 1942. [/underlined]
[underlined] THURS. [/underlined] Kellogs; sos & tom; coffee Gave bedding in at 8-0. Parade again at 1-30. KTS. Mess. Pork, spuds peas; vanilla pie; cup milk Arr. stn 2-15 on lorry. Arr TOR. 5-30. Stood on stn. till 6-30 then went out to lorries & only just caught ‘em. Drew sheets & pillow Minced meat, spuds, lettuce; bun & tea. 10c. choc ice on stn) 25c. st. car tickets. 15c doughnuts & coffee. None of girls working in White Chef.
[page break]
RCAF MANNING DEPOT TORONTO
JUL 17
’42 [underlined] FRI. [/underlined]
Grape juice; bacon, beans & toast; coffee. FFI. Transfer to 7 sqdn. 7 flt. Beef, spuds, carrots; sponge pud; tea. Found bunks & fitted kit up. Sewed buttons on summer tunic. Meat pie, spuds, lettuce; date pie; milk Met Doris on her way to see “Birth of a Baby” $1.20. & “Calafornia [sic] Junior Symphony.” Glass Milk. Went up to Bloor St. White Chef with D & boss Took her home after giving her photo’s of her & Freida, and me. Got photo of her Kissed her “Good Night” STORM Back in camp 11-35 PM
[page break]
[symbol]
JULY 18
[underlined] SAT. ’42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & boiled egg; toast & coffee. Route march to Sunnyside & PT. Beef, spuds, cabb; cust pud; 2 cups tea Moved chairs in Big Arena. [underlined] Letter No. 7 to Ma. Paper from Ma. [/underlined] (20c for stamps.) Beef, cheesed spuds; jam sq; cup tea & milk. 25c. st. car. 5c. milk. Gave Doris ‘brooch. She had to go to wedding party I went to Imperial (60c.) Jeanette Macdonald & Nelson Eddie in “I married an Angel” and Gary Cooper in “The Real Glory.” STORM. 15c cust. pie and cup coffee.
No. 7 to Ma.
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JULY 19
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs; flat cake & syrup; coffee. Read People & “Tizer. Ham, spuds, carrots; date pie; cup milk. Going out. 12-0. Choc. shake & ice cream. Snarky Lilian (Doris’s pal.) & I went for walk Took several photo’s. Sos, beans, peas, tomato, lettuce & glass of milk. [underlined] 25c. [/underlined] film. 20c total on Wurlitzer. Feeling homesick & far from home and everybody. [underlined] STORM [/underlined] & [underlined] RAIN [/underlined]! [symbol] ? [symbol] Took Doris home she like me is very tired.
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JULY 20
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & fried egg; toast & coffee. Dental Chart Parade. Having one I was dismissed. Hair cut 25c. $1’s Worth of stamps Beef (nice & tender) spuds, cabb; rice pud; cup milk. $1.03 for [underlined] Cable to Ma. [/underlined] Maths exam. SIMPLE. Minced meat, spuds, veg. salad; jam & cake; tea. 25c. st. car. 7c coke. 24c for film. One of lightning turned out. Gave other film in ready. WED. 29c. tooth paste. Remarks re Doris unprintable. Mended top on fountain pen.
[page break]
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JULY 21
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
Scrambled egg, tomato; porr, coffee. Ensign hoisting parade 7-30 AM. Drill & P.T. Ham, spuds, sprouts; pumpkin pud; cup milk. 5c. for 1/2 pt. carton of milk. [underlined] Letter from Ma [/underlined] & [underlined] Norah, card from Joyce R. [/underlined] Astro Chart & Signals. Ham, spud & tom salad; scone & tea. Undecided whether to go out or stop in. Think I’ll go out. 25c. st. car. 5c. glass milk. 25c. film (split $10 bill) 5c. coffee. 7c. soap from YMCA [underlined] IN CAMP [/underlined] (8-30.) Going to write letter to Ma. SOLDIER.
No. 3 from Ma
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JULY 22
[underlined] WED. ’42. [/underlined]
Porr, boiled egg & bacon; toast & coffee. We nearly got fatigues but got PT instead. Beef, spuds, carrots; date & raisin pie; cup milk. Nearly finished letter to Ma. $15 pay. Hamburger, spuds; tomatoes; raisin pud & tea. 10c. stickit. 5c milk. 24c films, 60c at Loes Wallace Beery in “Jackass Mail” with Marjorie Maine, also Will Tracey in “About Face.” 12c. straw. sundae & coke. [underlined] CABLE from MA. [/underlined]
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JULY 23
[underlined] THURS. ’42. [/underlined]
porr; toast, fried egg & tomato; coffee. P.T. Pork, sage & onion, spuds, cabbage; pumpkin sponge; cup milk. 5c. choc. milk. No lecture. Dismissed. Filled in form for pass. Finished letter to Ma. Re bound pen top. Meat, spud salad, beet; almond blancmange & lemon sauce; cheese & tea. [underlined] POSTED letter to Ma. Wrote [deleted] cable [/deleted] airgraph to Joyce. & posted same. [/underlined] 30c stamp. 30c. Warren William in “Secrets of the Lone Wolf.” & Gene Autry in “Cowboy Serenade.” 5c. glass milk, 10c Wurlitzer. Tried to have it out with Doris but she wouldn’t give any reason
Letter No. 8 to Ma.
[page break]
JULY 24
[underlined] FRI. ’42 [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & beans; toast & coffee Squadron route march & PT (HELL) 5c. peanuts & 5c. milk. Finny Haddock, spuds, beet; egg cust. & pumpkin pud; 1 1/2 cup milk. Lectures & suggestions by & to Flt. Sgt. Fish, toast fried spuds, beet; choc, cake & sauce; 3 slices brd & straw. jam; 2 cups tea! Oh! what a tea! Washed 2 prs. socks & kharki [sic] shirt. Helped one of RCAF boys pack his kit bag. Reading magazine on bed.
[page break]
JULY 25
[underlined] SAT. ’42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, boiled egg, toast & coffee. Route march to Sunnyside. 5c ice. 10c choc milk & 2 donuts. Meat pie spuds, cab; caramel cream & cup milk. 36 hrs pass 25c st. car. 50c bed at YM. 2c split rings. 15c glass milk & lemon pie. 42c Uptown theatre “Eagle Squadron” Damn Good. 25c. sos, spuds, peas & coffee. st. car to Sunniside. [sic] Walked back 01.10 hrs 10c mints from “Woolies.” 2 cups coffee. 10c. egg & milk 10c. Bed 12.0 AM.
[page break]
JULY 26
[underlined] SUN. ’42. [/underlined]
Up at 12-0 PM. Sos, spuds, peas tom; egg & milk (35c.) St. Car to High Park. Sleep, a little not much. St. car back to YM. Picked kit bag up. Kellogs; salmon, lettuce, tom, peas; egg & milk (50c) 25c st. car. Camp 7-15 PM. Tired and have not exerted myself. Cut buttons of kharki [sic] tunic ready to have it pressed & cleaned.
[page break]
JULY 27
[underlined] MON. ’42 [/underlined]
Orange; porr; bacon & fried egg; toast & coffee. NO SWIM [underlined] NO P.T. [/underlined]!!! 5c choc. ice. 5c milk. Beef, spuds, carrots caramel cream & apple. Route March with band, to Sunniside. Dismissed for 1/2 hr. Sunbathed. Wish I’d had my costume. Ham & cold beef, spuds & salad; cake, jam & apple. 2 cups tea. Washed 2 pairs socks.
Gave kharki [sic] suit in to be cleaned also put some laundry in (ready WED.)
[page break]
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JULY 28
[underlined] TUES. ’42. [/underlined]
grapefruit juice; poached egg & tom; toast & coffee. Thrown off CO’s parade because we were wearing our blues. Dismissed at “Sally Ann.” Lift down to Sunnyside. Baths didn’t open ‘till 10-0 and it was 45c. so didn’t go in. 5c. choc. ice. Lift back to barracks. 50c for uniform. Meat pie, spuds, cabb: raisin pie; cup milk & coffee. Drill, P.T. 10c. choc. & vanilla ice. Stewed meat, spuds & beet; cake & jam; tea. Just MUCKED ABATE generaly. [sic]
Papers from Ma.
[page break]
JULY 29
[underlined] WED. ’42. [/underlined]
[underlined] RAIN. [/underlined] Porr; bacon & boiled egg; jam, toast & coffee. Parade in Arena. Posting but not for me. LECTURE by corporal. Pork, sage & onion, spuds, cabbage; pumpkin pud; milk. 40c. laundry, gave some more in (ready FRI.) “Sally Anne” 10c. choc. shake. Cold meat, spud salad, lettuce; sponge cake; tea. 10c. egg & milk. 60c. at Loes. Walt. Pidgeon & Greer Garson in “MRS. MINNIVER” A Great film Very touching & realistic.
20c. egg & milk.
[page break]
JULY 30
[underlined] THURS. ’42.
cool. [/underlined]
Grapefruit juice; fried egg, tomato; porr; toast & coffee. P.T. Beef, spuds, carrots; sponge pud; tea. 10c. choc. milk & ice. Cpl bought an ice each for four of us. Minced meat, spuds, lettuce; blancmange; milk, tea. 5c glass milk. 30c. show “Old Bill & Son” & “Sing for your Supper.” 15c. egg & milk. Had word or two with Doris. 25c. st. car tickets.
[page break]
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JULY 31
[underlined] FRI. ’42. [/underlined]
[underlined] MORE RAIN. [/underlined] porr; beans & bacon; toast & coffee. $14.20 pay. $2.40 back off Harding Returned his $2 1/2 gold piece. Fish, spuds, tapioca; date & raisin pie; tea. [underlined] Letter from MA & GRAN [/underlined] both posted together air & sea. WHAT a SERVICE. Took two benches from Arena to Grandstand. 20c (choc. milk shake; choc. ice; carton of milk) 41c. laundry Fish, spuds, salad; cake; milk. 60c. “Daughter of Rosie O’Grady” & Charlies Aunt” Jack Benny. Egg & milk; lemon pie.
Letter NO. 4. From Ma
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AUGUST 1
[underlined] SAT. ’42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, boiled egg; toast & coffee. 25c haircut. [underlined] Letter No. 9 to Ma & to Norah. [/underlined] Beef, spuds, carrots; bread pud; milk. 36 hrs pass. 25c. st. car. 5c shoe laces. 2c. drink. 30c film, (XX) 50c bed at YM. 15c. mints. Enquired about boat to Niagara. 35c. tom, lettuce, spud salad, ham; egg & milk. Walked down to Pier. St car to Sunnyside. 5c ice. St. car back. 24c to see Gene Autry in “Mexacali [sic] Rose” and “Our Russian Front.” 20c. egg & milk and cup coffee. 5c. milk at YM.
[circled 12-30]
Letter No. 9 to Ma
[page break]
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AUGUST 2
[underlined] SUN. ’42. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0 AM. Sos, spuds, peas, toast & marmalade; coffee; cust pie (40c.) $1.65, return, for ferry ticket. Left at 3-0 PM Arr. Niagara, in bus from Queensbury at 6-20 PM. 25c for views. 5c for 3 P.C.’s. 2 “nickles” for 4 x 2c stamps. [underlined] Posted a card to Ma. [/underlined] Roast beef, spuds, kid beans; apple pie; milk. 60c. Address of people from Sheff. Bus to Queen. 10-30. Boat got in ‘bout 12-45. In meantime community singsong. 20c. hot dog & coffee. Arr. Toronto 3-30 AM. St. Car to Jarnies. Picked up kit bag. Arr. barracks 4-45. [underlined] Bed 5-0 AM. [/underlined]
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AUGUST 3
[underlined] MON. 42 [/underlined]
porr; bacon fried egg; toast coffee. Route march. 15c. drink & donuts. [underlined] Letter 6 from Ma. [/underlined] Beef, spuds, carrots; rice pud; milk Soft ball game. Ham, Veg salad, beet; cake, jam; tea. 2 rolls film ready Wed. 5c. Milk. 30c. Chester Morris & Jean Arthur “No Hands on the Clock.” and Alex. Dumas’ “Corsica Brothers” Doug Fairbanks Jnr. Talk with Agnes. 10c. egg & milk (plain.)
[page break]
[circled X]
AUGUST 4
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
Grape, juice; porr; fried egg, tom, coffee & toast. CO’s parade. 12c. Pepsi Cola & tub of icecream, 5c phone call. Stew, spuds, cabbage; raisin pie; milk. [underlined] Letter No. 5!! from Ma & letter from David. [/underlined] Sally Anne! 2 x 5c tickets. choc ice. Talk with SA man. 2 x 5c phone calls. (Doris.) 3-30 PM gave “kharki” [sic] in to be cleaned. 5c. phone call to Eric B. Date for Wed. call him at noon hrs. Meat, cold, spuds, beet; cake, jam & tea. 15c. choc. milk & egg. Took comics for Doris. TIZER & COMICS from Ma. Walked back to camp 5c. Aero. 75c. VR’s & Gt. Britain’s
Letter 5 from Ma. & David
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AUGUST 5
[underlined] WED. 42 [/underlined]
Grapejuice; bacon, 2 boiled eggs, toast & coffee. Service parade. Too late when we got there. Pork, spuds, carrots; choc. blanc. milk [underlined] Letter no. 10 to Ma’s No. 5. Letter to David. [/underlined] 50c. uniform 5c. phone call to Eric. Cold meat, spud & veg salad; sponge cake & jam; tea. Out at gate 5-15. where Eric was waiting. Met his two little girls. Had another “supper. Went to ball game. Fetched beer. Mrs. (Nell) set me on smoking (had 7 fags.) Eric took me back to camp. We picked 6 lads up at King. In for 1-30 AM.
Letter 10 to Ma.
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AUGUST 6
[underlined] THURS. 42 [/underlined]
porr; tom & scrambled egg; toast marmalade & coffee. Sent back to barracks to tidy bed. Clothing parade list. Ice cup at Sally Ann. Pass application £1.00 stamps. Usual type of din. Clothing parade cancelled [underlined] Wrote letter & posted to Gran [/underlined] Started one to Ma. Hamburger meat, spuds, beet; cake & jam tea. 25c st. car. 48c films of Niagara. 15c. egg & milk. 30c. “The Yukon Patrol” & “Blondie in Society.” 7c. pot of tea.
[page break]
AUGUST 7
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
Grape juice; porr; bacon & fried egg; toast, jam & coffee. March to Sunnyside. Choc. milk & donuts. 10c. Meat pie, spuds, carrot; brd pud; milk. Sally Ann. 48 hr. pass. Took tunic to have G. Britain’s fastened on. Beef, spuds, beet, lettuce; cust. tea 15c. choc. egg & milk. 60c. “The Magnificent Ambersons”. 20c 2 cheese sand. hot tea.
[page break]
AUGUST 8
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined]
porr; bacon, boiled egg; toast & coffee. 25c. st. car. 5c. milk. $1.00 st. car tickets and map of Toronto. 25c. candid camera photo. 30c. film (vari.) 10c. mints from “Woolies.” 25c. sos, chips, beans; tea, hot. 42c. Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, George Brent in “In this Our Life” Salmon, lettuce, etc. tea; 35c. George Brent, Joan Bennet “Twin Beds.” “Danger in Pacific” 42c. 12c. tea & donuts. Met RAF lad on st car. Went with him to Sunnyside & back to camp.
[page break]
AUGUST 9
[underlined] SUN. 42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; flat cake; toast & coffee Church parade & communion A very nice service; very nice indeed. Edward Bush took me to his home. Had light lunch. Went walk. His dad took photo’s of us. Dinner about 6 or 7. RAIN. Mr. took me to see their ARP H.Q. and model of his section. Still raining at 10-0. when we set off back. Got back to camp at 11-15 PM.
[page break]
[symbol]
AUGUST 10
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
orange; porr; bacon & egg; toast & coffee. Route March, with band, to Sunnyside. 15c. icecream. Stew, carrots, spuds rice pud, milk. Sally Ann Bought 2 x 5c tickets but didn’t use same. [underlined] Letter from Doris. [/underlined] Cold beef, ham, spud salad, lettuce; cake & jam; tea. [underlined] Letter NO. 11 to Ma [/underlined] & Niagara Snaps. Bed 9-30 PM.
Letter from Doris (.2nd.) Letter 11 to Ma.
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AUGUST 11
[underlined] TUES. 42 [/underlined]
grapefruit juice; tomato, poached egg; toast, jam, coffee. Co’s parade Route March to Sunnyside. Beef spuds, cabbage, raisin tart, cheese & milk. Boot repairs didn’t come off. Hamburger spuds, cheese & cake, tea. 15c. egg, choc. milk; fetched photo’s. Took 3 negs to Liggs’ 35c. 1/2 lb. chocs. 5c. milk Took Muriel to see Jeanette MacDonald in “Smilin’ Thru” 60c. 11-0 when we come out so couldn’t take her home. [underlined] Posted letter to Doris [/underlined] Other film was “Knockout” a boxing show as per name. Took kharki [sic] suit in to be pressed & cleaned.
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AUGUST 12
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & boiled egg; coffee & toast. Swimming Parade to Sunnyside. Sqd Ldr went with us. We sang all the way. 10c to go in the “tank”. Veal spuds, carrots; choc. blanc. milk. Issued with 2nd suit kharki [sic] & fatigue trousers. Cold veal, spud & green salad tomato; tea & cake & jam. Took shirt, blue & kharki [sic] pants towel & collar to be washed [underlined] Card to Joe & Watson. [/underlined] 30c stamps. 15c. choc. egg & milk. 12c. Prints. 42c. Eleanor Powell Red Skelton in “Ship Ahoy” with Tommy Dorsey’s Orchestra. 12c. tea & cake.
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AUGUST 13
[underlined] THURS. 42. [/underlined]
grapefruit juice; porr; tom & egg; toast & coffee. Route march to Sunnyside. 10c. choc ice. [underlined] STOMACH ACHE. Cable from Ma. [/underlined] Received parcel I sent over a month ago. Beef, spuds beet; pumpkin pud; milk. [underlined] 67c cable to Grandpa. [/underlined] 50c. for uniform Marched to West End YMCA. Had a good swim. 6c choc. Hamburg square spuds, beet; cheese; scone; brd & jam; tea. 25c. Dura Glit. 15c choc, milk & egg. $1.20 at Imperial”Syncopation” & ”Mexican Spit sees a Ghost.” Took Muriel home or at least she put me on the Spadina st. car.
[circled Letter 7 from Ma [symbol]]
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AUGUST 14
[underlined] FRI. 42 [/underlined]
grape juice; bacon, scrambled egg, toast coffee. $20 pay. Meat pie, spuds, carrots; raisin & date pie; tea. FFI. handed sheets, etc. in to stores Cleared of station. [underlined] Letter 7 from Ma. [/underlined] 32c. laundry Packed kit. Bottle of beer and fag (given by Ross) Cold meat, spuds, lettuce & salad; cake & jam; milk Bert arrived here. 15c. egg & milk 30c. “Among the Living” & “Sullivan’s Travels.” Pot tea & date sq. 12c. 50c. bed at YMCA.
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[circled X]
AUGUST 15
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined]
Up at 11-30 AM. [underlined] $2.99 parcel to home. [/underlined] 10c mints, 25c sos, chips beans; milk, 10c Coke. 30c “Swamp Woman” & “Duke of the Navy.” 7c coke. 35c salmon salad 10c cake. 25c st. car. 42c “Juke Girl” Ann Sheridan & Ron Regan Went around with Snarky in PM. Gave Agnes two photo’s. Lemon pie, hot tea. 17c. Bought farthing for 2c. and then forgot to give it Muriel. Took her home then went back to [underlined] camp. bed 2.45 AM!!?!! [/underlined]
so I walked her home. Introduced to her Da & stepma. Cup cocoa & biscuits Bus s/c 11.30. arr. 12.10 app.
PARCEL
[circled LETTER TO PHIL]
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[underlined] TORONTO – NO. 1. AOS [/underlined]
AUGUST 16
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
7-30 AM, bfst, Kellogs & flat cake; coffee. Finished packing Took kit down to arena & then out to back of Colesium [sic] Loaded up on lorry. Drizzle Took about 1/2 hr. to get to Malton. Drew sheets & pillows. FFI & general look over. Teeth & throat. RAIN. Ham, spuds, peas; raisin pie; milk. Unpacked & repacked. Pass till tomorrow AM. Gave boots in to be repaired at long last. [underlined] Letter to Phil. [/underlined] $1.20 10 bus tickets. 5c milk. Gave Muriel a farthing. “Tommy” bumped into me on st. car on way to church. She & Doris, her pal, from Gt. Brit. 10c. church 2 choc. shakes; apple juice; veal cuttlet [sic] peas, spuds; cust, rice & raisins 90c Doris took me to “Jane” Only 10 o’clock
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AUGUST 17
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; x; bacon & egg, toast; milk. Given pass by adj. P/O Wood our instructor I/C. Pea soup; [deleted] chicken roll [/deleted] [inserted] beef [/inserted], spuds, cabbage; rice pud; D.R. navi & instruments issued. Did a few problems. Chicken roll lettuce, a tomato; peach & milk Finished navi. [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] problems Ensign lowering. Letter to Ma. Handed kharki [sic] in to be pressed etc. 25c. haircut Bunk inspection at 12.30 & 4.30. F/Lt. found some not made up right on his rounds.
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AUGUST 18
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
tom sauce; porr; sos, toast; coffee. DR. sigs, air recc. test. Veal, spuds, carrots; raisin tart; milk. DF, Maps, Magnetism. Cooked meat, spuds, tomatoes; prunes; milk. [underlined] Letter 12 to Ma. [/underlined] Navi class after [deleted] sp [/deleted] supper. flag & more navi. 12c. drink & spud crisps. 7c Coca Cola.
LETTER 12 TO MA.
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AUGUST 19
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; cream of rice (x); bacon & egg; toast & coffee. Drill; DR signals. Went to hospital but have had injections & tests. Bean Soup; beef, spuds, peas; choc. blancmange; milk. Magnets, reconnais pyrotechnics (fireworks) Boots returned repaired with RUBBER sole & heels 7c. Coca Cola. Sos, spuds, beet, celery; water melon; blancmange (choc); milk. Navi & mag. notes. Flag.
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AUGUST 20
[underlined] THURS. 42 [/underlined]
grape juice; bacon & scrmbled [sic] egg; toast & coffee. DR. & DR test. S.M.O’s lecture. 7c. Coke. Stew, spuds, peas; soup, alphabet; mincemeat pie; milk. Maps, DRILL? Met. Ham, spuds, lettuce; peach; milk. DR. plot 48. “Film show, “Alexanders Rag Time Band” darn good show. 55c. uniform, clean & press. 5
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AUGUST 21
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 grapefruit; bacon & flat cakes, milk; cream of wheat. CO’s Parade. DR. 5c. Coke. Soup; fish spuds, cab. sponge pud & sauce; milk. Met, Reconn, Insts. Soup; meat roll (cooked) spuds, beans; pears; milk. 2 x 5c Coke. Did, or tried to do a bit of DR. Set out back for Aircraft Rec. A number of lads missing off ensign lowering parade. Shower. 5c potato crisps.
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AUGUST 22
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined]
grape juice; toast; bacon & egg; brd, marmalade; coffee. DR. Had look round an Anson. Soup; cooked cold meat, spuds, cabbage; cream fruit pud; cup tea & 1/2 cup milk. 5c. Coke + 5c I owed machine Aircraft recc. Rain storm. 2 snaps of same. Soup, steak spuds, salad; creamed fruit pud; peach; milk. Planned out 2 of the routes we may take tomorrow AM. 7c. coke 3c paper. Sing song in lecture room. Bed 10-30
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AUGUST 23
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
cream of wheat; bacon & boiled egg, toast; coffee. Drew [deleted] shute [/deleted] harness. Briefed in hanger. Airborne 8-45. Landed 12-15. Veal, stuffing, spuds, peas; cream pie; milk. 11c. choc. & crisps Physics book from library. Church parade 1-45 to 2-30 Nice little service in GIS. TARRANT & GWYN forced landed. Ham, spud salad, tomatoe, [sic] cheese; cream pie; milk. Took shirt, pyj’s socks and towel to laundry. TARRANT returned OK at 6-30 PM. One wing of plane completely wrecked. He & GWYN. OK except for a shaking. Engines konked [sic] out at MIDLAND. Bed 9-15 PM
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AUGUST 24
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; bacon & egg; porr; coffee [underlined] COLD [/underlined] freezing during night. DF. signals & met. Soup; spud salad, beef; rice pud; milk. 5c coke; 10c phone call to Mr. Berkimbler. He’d gone to lunch so wasted the 10c. DR. etc. 2 slices brd & butter; rice pud; milk. Lift from Malton in old jalopy to Toronto with Tarrant. 25c. st. car. 15c. choc. milk & egg. 5c. Record. 60c. at Shea’s. Rosalind Russell & Fred McMurray in “Take a letter, Darling.” 10c All Bran. 5c lemon square 5c coffee. Bus back to camp. Arr. 12.00. (23.59)
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AUGUST 25
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
Grapefruit; cream of wheat; bacon & flat cakes; coffee, DR. & Mag Soup; veal & dressing spuds, sweede [sic] mincemeat pie; milk. [underlined] LETTER 8 from Ma. Posted on 11th [/underlined] 7c Coke. Lecture by WO. Abs returned from England off opps in Hampdene. 67c cable to Dad for his BD. YESTERDAY. D/F & DR. Ham & spud salad; prunes; milk. Started letter to Ma. 25c haircut. DR. 7c. coke. 5c Crisps. Duke of Kent killed in air crash. Eclipse of the Moon
[underlined] LETTER 8 from Ma. [/underlined]
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AUGUST 26
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; porr; scrambled egg & toast; coffee. Flag at half mast for H.R.H. the Duke of Kent. Drill; DR; signals. Soup; beef, spuds, beet; choc. b. mange & cake milk. [underlined] LETTER 13 to Ma. [/underlined] Met. Mag, Games. Soup; sos, spuds, peach: milk. 3 x 5c Cokes. Flight plan for tomorrow.
[circled LETTER 13 to MA]
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AUGUST 27
[underlined] THURS. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 grapefruit; bacon & bld egg; toast coffee; cream of wheat. 3 1/4 hr. trip. Heavy ground mist. Soup; boiled bacon, spuds, cabbage pumpkin pie; milk. D.R. drizzle. Soup; cold cooked meat, spuds, corn cob; pears; milk. 5c Coke. Flight Plan for tomorrow. 5c Coke ”Lloyd of London” film in GIS.
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AUGUST 28
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
tomato juice; sos & flat cakes; porr; coffee. Flight washed out. DR & Insts. Soup, fish spuds; cust pud milk. DR. Wings Parade. Sardine spuds, celery; pears, milk. Lift to Cooksville (7 mls TORONTO) then into TORONTO (BLOOR.) Middle aged chap. Gave me address & phone No. 5c. Phone to Doris. 29c toothpaste. $1 bed at YM. 2 x 5c. to Tommy. Not at home. 10c mints. 30c. picts “South of Santa Fe” & “Louisiana Purchase” Bob Hope. 25c. sos, peas, chips; coffee.
$1.05 for old “blues” REPAIR?! [symbol] & clean & press.
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AUGUST 29
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined] 11.30 AM arose & SHONE!?! $1.12 stamps. 25c beef sandwhich [sic] & peas & chips; glass milk. 5c. phone to Tommy. Ring her again at 4-0 PM. 15c BLACK ink. 10c mints 5c darning wool (“woolies”) 25c film. 10c Regd stamp. 7c Coke (YMCA) 5c phone Tommy not back. 7c grape drink. 5c Tommy going away for weekend. May be back Sun. evening. 47c. Bloor St. White Cheff. [sic] Salmon Salad date sq. & Pepsi. 60c. at Uptown “Pacific Rendeyvious” [sic] & “Maisie gets her man” Red Skelton. 20c. glass “Honey Dew” & ice cream. Saw Leslie (on bondiers [inserted] B.A. [/inserted] course) 7c Orange Stubby at Y. 25c. st. car.
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AUGUST 30
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined] 10-0 AM.
10c. Church. no communion. 40c beef, spuds & carrots; custard pie; tea & milk. Chummed up with RCAF lad. Took snap of church & YMCA. Went out to Park. Snaps of Polar Bear, zebra etc. Supper at Chinese place below White Cheff [sic] 30c. liver, chips, peas; boston cream pie; milk. Left film at Liggetts. Went to church 10c. Tommy didn’t turn up. 10c. Doughnuts & milk. Walked up to Bloor & along same. St car to bus stop. Seat OK on bus Arr. in camp 23.59 hrs
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[underlined] LANCASTER [/underlined]
AUGUST 31
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
Cream of wheat; bacon & egg; 1/2 orange; coffee; DR. Went to see [circled LANCHESTER] at aero factory. Speechs [sic] & photo’s etc. etc. All turrets fully armed. Didn’t have soup; cold meat & spuds, milk. Flight. Didn’t do too good. Just managed to get supper. Cold meat, tomato & spuds, milk. & an apple DR 7-0 to 9-30. 2 x 7c cokes! [underlined] Tizer & Cable from Ma. [/underlined]
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SEPTEMBER 1
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
tomato juice; bacon & sc’mbld egg, porr; coffee. DR etc. [underlined] Tizer from Ma. [/underlined]7c coke Veal, dressing, spuds, sweede; [sic] cream caramel pie; milk. AA. (DR.) Photography, games. Photo of flight. Sos, spuds, sweed [sic] choc. cake; milk. DR & flight plan. 7c bottle of lime Bed 10-15 PM.
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SEPTEMBER 2
[underlined] [deleted] TUES [/deleted] [inserted] WED [/inserted] 42 [/underlined]
Cream of wheat; bacon & egg; 1/2 grapefruit. Took off 8-45 app. landed 12-25 app. Not a bad trip on the whole. Arrived at MALTON 1909. my ETA for BRAMPTON. Beef, spuds, beet; rice pud; milk 10c. phone call to Mr. Burkimshort. DR. Sigs, Ham; fried spuds; spud salad; cake; milk. 7c Coke. Lift to Jane Bloor by Manchester man. Been out here since 1910 app. 65c Imperial Cary Macdonald in “Dr. Broadway” & Ray Milland & Betty Field in “Are Husbands Neccessary” [sic] 6c cordy. 15c choc egg & milk shake. 5c glass milk. 25c st car 7c coke back on camp. 8c film prints. Only 2 turned out OK
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SEPTEMBER 3
[deleted] WED [/deleted] [inserted] THURS [/inserted] 42
Porr; bacon, egg & toast; coffee. 3 legged flight to navigate on. Starts with met W/V. Finished it OK. Cold meat roll, spuds, beans; pie; milk. 55c for kharki [sic] uniform & 28c for ordinary laundry. Nothing else out of the regular routine except DF lecture by Sgt WAG on an actual DF loop & Radio receiver. Supper similar to usual. 7c x 2 Coke. Film show “The Rain Game” (?) an old film. Pretty good.
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SEPTEMBER 4
[deleted] THURS [/deleted] [inserted] FRI [/inserted] 42
Cream of wheat; 1/2 orange; bacon & lat [sic] cakes; coffee. Prepared flight for this afternoon. Fish, spuds, carrots; cream fruit pud; milk. Parade of whole station in atempt [sic] to recover stop watches, observe for use of. Radio transmitter NBG. switched planes and WAG had to B - - R about with other one to get it to go. Finaly [sic] got off at 15.00. Trip not too good as far as NAVI went (EX.6) Sardines, lettuce, spuds, tomato; peach milk. [underlined] AIRGRAPH [/underlined] from Ma (sent AUG. 15TH) Wrote letter to Ma.
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SEPTEMBER 5
[deleted] FRI [/deleted] [inserted] SAT [/inserted] 42
Porr. bacon, egg (boiled) toast Tom, juice, coffee. Flight across lake Ont. Hamilton down to Lake Erie & back Pretty nice trip (2nd NAV) Veal, spuds, & salad; choc cream & cake; milk. 10c C. Mr. Berkimisher. Not in but he will write Tuesday. Bus into Toronto. St. car down to Queen. 8c mints; 10c glue (Woolies) 15c. choc milk & egg shake. 3 x 5c phone calls to Tommy (drug store, Y & Red [symbol].) 30c. Rio “Night of Jan 16th) Meeting Tommy at 8-30 PM. Liver onion spuds; coffee. (30c.) $1.20. at Uptown “Private Bukaroo” Harry James’ band. “Invisible Agent” Flora Massey. 12c. coffee 25c st car tickets.
[circled LETTER 14 TO MA]
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SEPTEMBER 6
[deleted] SAT [/deleted] [inserted] SUN [/inserted] 42
Got up 11-30. All Bran; sos, chips peas; tea, pot. 35c. Took film to Liggetts. Got another 25c. Went to Museum. Phoned Tommy but she’d gone to her sisters. Saw John Hodgson. Met chap in AFS, Canadian, for Great Brit. Tea & cookie at Y. Walked down Younge & back. Ham, chips & peas; coffee, 30c. at Cheff [sic] Gave Joe Hannah home address Met Gwyn at car stop. Muriel followed us on st. car. Sat on mudguard [underlined] inside [/underlined] bus, back in camp 12-0.
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SEPTEMBER 7
[deleted] SUN [/deleted] [inserted] MON [/inserted] 42.
Porr; scrambled egg & toast; TEA. DR all morning. Cold meat spuds, cabbage; billberry pie, milk. A.A. Mag. & Air Rec. [deleted] Soup [/deleted] Stew, fried spuds, tomato; apple; milk. 2 x 7c Cokes. Put names on card with photo of flight on it. Damned ink ran too. Pulled flag down at 8-0 PM. Mended, in a fashion, Huddarts alarum [sic] clock.
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X [underlined] CABLE TO MA [/underlined]
SEPTEMBER 8
[deleted] MON [/deleted] [inserted] TUES [/inserted] 42
Tom juice; bacon & hot cakes; cream of wheat; coffee. RAIN. DR & Mag. Veal, spuds, sweeds; [sic] cust rice pud; milk. [underlined] LETTER from PHIL. [/underlined] Photography, signals. Should have been sports but it was raining. [underlined] 67c. Cable to Ma. [/underlined] 7c Coke. Finished photo of flight. Not too good a result, but t’aint bad. Shepps pie, spuds, peas, sweeds; [sic] prunes; choc cake; milk [underlined] LETTER TOO [sic] PHIL. [/underlined] air recc. RAIN! RAIN! RAIN! 2 x 6c choc. 7c drink.
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SEPTEMBER 9
[underlined] [deleted] TUES [/deleted] [inserted] WED [/inserted] 42. [/underlined]
1/2 grapefruit; porr; bacon & egg; toast; coffee. RAIN. Took laundry in. NO PARADE. Rest of day pretty wet. Sos spuds etc. milk for supper. 25c [deleted] fe [/deleted] hair cut. 2 x 7c Cokes. Rained so we didn’t pull flag down. Went into Malton about 10-30 with Flowers to dance. Had a bit of a dance. Cookies & coffee refreshment. Finished at 12.0 AM. Lift back to camp in officers’ car. shower. Bed about 1-30.
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!? [three symbols] ?!
SEPTEMBER 10
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
Cream of wheat; egg & fried balony coffee. Flag hoisting DR & band. Liver, spuds, carrots; sponge & cust; milk. Flight washed out, low clouds, bumpy. So had P.O. Pleuman all afternoon. Cold cooked meat; spuds; beet; sponge & cust; milk. [underlined] Letters from Ma, Norah, Eric Berkinsh & Doris (Toronto.) [/underlined] 7c Coke “Rise & Shine” Jackie Oakie. 7c Coke.
[circled LETTER NO. 1. FROM MA]
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SEPTEMBER 11
[underlined] FRI 42 [/underlined]
Porr. sos & cakes, syrup; coffee. Sunshine. Co’s Parade. Wings Parade rehersal. [sic] DR exam. Fish, spuds, cabbage; mincemeat pie; milk. Wings parade. Cold cooked meat, spuds, cabbage lettuce, celery; apple; milk. Stand by for night flight. Rolled flag down. Took chairs back to GIS. Changed furniture round in lecture room. (desk plotters.) [underlined] Wrote letter to Doris., [/underlined] Posted same. 2 x 7c cakes. [underlined] Airgraph from Ma [/underlined] 25c stamps, 5c. crisps.
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SEPTEMBER 12
[underlined] SAT 42 [/underlined]
Bacon & egg; cream of wheat, coffee. Test on Reconn, Mag & Comp. Maps & Charts, & Insts. Pork, spuds, white sauce; bread pud, milk. [underlined] 2 Airgraphs from Ma & Letter. [/underlined] Photo Clip washed out so we had game of football. Just about knocked me all up but we enjoyed it even so 6c choc. Ham, spuds, celery; jam tart; peach; milk. [underlined] Letter to Eric & Ma [/underlined] 5c choc milk Mitchel, Huddart, & Piper had fly papers & card put in their bed.
[circled LETTER NO. 2. FROM MA 15 TO MA]
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SEPTEMBER 13
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & egg; toast & marmalade; coffee. Went back to bed. Tarrant & I flitted to opposite side of room nearer other lads Chicken, toast, spuds; [inserted] cake & cream [/inserted] fruit salad Church parade. Football game Ham, spuds, sweet pickle, lettuce, celery; 4 plums; choc cake; milk. 7c. coke. 25c. laundry. 7c coke. Prepared for night flight. Air Recc. back too. Filled one or two places in on Mercator chart. 10c. choc milk & crisps. Whittle, 10c for stamp. Flight washed out. Ground Mist. 10c phone call to Doris. Dated her for tomorrow night.
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SEPTEMBER 14
[underlined] MON 42 [/underlined]
Cream of wheat; bacon & egg; coffee. DR photo. & more DR. Veal, apple sauce, spuds; choc, blancmange; milk 27$ pay. Ham, spud salad; peach; cake; milk. Hitched to the end of Younge. Had to street car it to Jane. Arrived finaly [sic] about 7-15. Doris waiting in powder blue outfit gloves and handbag blue. Some colour hat very much like a berrie. 20c. film. $1.20 show Tommy Trinder “First Commando” & “Miss Annie Rooney” Shirley Temple. Walked her half way home then went back to join lads. 50c. taxi.
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SEPTEMBER 15
[underlined] TUES 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & egg: toast & coffee. FOG ??? DR & usual [underlined] Airgraph from Ma. [/underlined] Ham, spuds, cauliflower; raisin pie; milk. 7c Coke. Arms, Drill, Sigs. Meat Pie, Spuds, peas; plums; cake milk. 5c. Coke. Compass swinging, DR. 2 x 5c crisps. 5c milk choc. 10.10 PM cleaned buttons & boots for AM. and now going to bed.
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SEPTEMBER 16
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; cream of wheat; bacon & eggs & toast; Coffee. C.O’s parade for drill. DR & Aldis. Salmon stake; [sic] spuds, turnip: cake & lemon sauce; milk. [underlined] Letter from Joe Cutts. [/underlined] Mag, Insts, Met (test) Sos, spuds, cheese; milk. CO’s parade Marched into Malton & 1/2 way back. REST DISMISSED WE & 56 MARCHED BACK TO CAMP WHILE THEY HAVE BAGS OF FUN. 3 x 5c Cokes, 5c Coke.
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SEPTEMBER 17
[underlined] THURS. 42. [/underlined]
tom. juice; porr; bacon & egg; toast; coffee. Bull – parade in full dress. 5c Coke. DR. Flight Plan, Maps. Beef, spuds carrots; pumpkin pie: milk 8c. Soap, carbolic. [underlined] Letter from Eric. Posted letter to Norah [/underlined] Flight MO. W/V all to H ----- Ran into storm after I’d got a decent wind & was on TS. O.K. Had to return to Base. 7c Coke Cold meat: spuds: pumpkin pie: milk. 10c for coppers I owe Coke machine. [underlined] POSTED LETTER TO JOE. [/underlined] 5c Coke. 2 x 5c. Crisps.
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SEPTEMBER 18
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; cream of wheat; bacon pancakes; coffee, COs parade. DR & DF. [underlined] letter from Pat & June [/underlined] Pork apple, spuds, cauliflower, caramel cream & cake; milk 5c Coke. 28c laundry. Fish, spuds, celery; caramel & cake milk. Sgt. took us, Tarrant & self right to [indecipherable name]. $1.00 for bed at Y. Arrived at Doris’s 7-10 PM. Went to Eglington (48c x 2) “Glass Key”!! Doris wouldn’t let me pay for supper. I had spud salad & choc milk shake. She had a sundae. [circled 50c] 2 x 6c. choc. bars. Took her home Sat on veranda & talked. X 25c. st. car. 12c. tea & date sqr. Slept on settee at Y. Had real good sleep too.
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SEPTEMBER 19
[underlined] SAT. 42 [/underlined]
10-30 AM. Phoned Doris 15c before I connected with her at work [underlined] $2.95 parcel to home. [/underlined] $1.00 stamps 25c. st. car. Fish, spuds, tomatoes; ice cream & pot tea (Doris paid $1.15.) 2 x 30c Dot Lamour “Fleets In” & “Jimmy Valentines Affaires.” 35c. Chocs. Took Doris home. [circled RAIN] She took 2 snaps of me. 9c. mints. 30c. at Spadina “Blossoms in the Dust” Greer Garson & Walt Pidgeon also the “Great Walty” sos, chips, peas; apple pie; coffee & glass milk. Walked to Bathurst with Can. lad, walked back to Y. 7c. grapefruit Stubby.
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SEPTEMBER 20
[underlined] SUN. 42 [/underlined]
10-30 AM. 5c phone to Doris. 70c. Apple sauce, spuds, peas; pineapple. Went with Reid out on the Queen Car to terminus walked across to Bloor Car. Went on Bloor Car to St. Clair. Took Doris for walk in the Park. Went rowing on Grenadier Lake 50c. ($1 deposit on the boat.) Took Doris home. 40c. salmon salad & milk. Went to St. James’ (25c.) 2 x 20c. Malted, Choc Milk Shake. Walked back as far as Christie (St.) St. Car back to Doris’ X. Cup coffee 5c. at “Corner Road House.” Sat on mudguard of front wheel of bus back to camp.
Freezing cold night.
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SEPTEMBER 21
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & egg; toast; tom, juice; coffee. [indecipherable word]. Drill, Morse Photog. Beef, spuds, turnip; fruit & sago; milk; DR & ASTRO GRAPH. [underlined] 2 Newspapers & Airgraph from Ma. Letter from Phil. [/underlined] 2 x 5c. Cokes. Weiners, spuds, turnip; apple; milk. 2 x 6c choc. bars. Lowney’s Caravan Show. Darn good as at Trenton. Had it in the small hanger.
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[symbol]
SEPTEMBER 22
[underlined] TUES. 42 [/underlined]
1/2 orange; cream of wheat; bacon & egg; toast; coffee. [underlined] COLD again [/underlined] DR. Sigs. Reconn. [underlined] Letter from Doris, Miss French, Photo’s from Eddy & Airgraph from Ma. [/underlined] Ham, spuds, cauliflower; bread pud; milk. Photo. flight ROTTEN. Sos, spuds, lettuce & tomatoe; [sic] apple stewed; choc, cake; milk. DR. lads out on night flight May go myself at 12-0 PM. We 4 didn’t go up at all in the end.
[page break]
SEPTEMBER 23
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & egg, toast, coffee. Arms (rifle & revolver.) Sos, spuds, beet: choc blancmange; milk: DR & flight plans for tomorrow AM & PM. Minced beef, spuds, beet; pear & choc cake; milk. Lift to Jane Bloor. Arr. Doris’ 6-10 before she’d had dinner Sat & played with kitten, cup tea. Took Tizers. 28c. for films (reprints.) 60c. “Babes on Broadway” Judy Garland & Mickie Rooney also “Man Made Monster” 25c. St. Car. 50c. taxi. Doris came to corner café with me 10c coffee. RAIN.
[page break]
X
SEPTEMBER 24
[underlined] THURS. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 grapefruit; cream of wheat, bacon & toast; coffee. Reconn flight. Met W/V OK. Dropped bomb on target near Weston. Bumpy & cold 2 to -2o c. Soup; beef, spuds, wheat; mince pie; milk. (Didn’t feel very hungry.) Air Plot on 1:1,000,000 Mercator. Pt. Perry. etc. Met. W/V OK. Bombed target near Milton West. [underlined] Finished letter to Ma. Wrote letter to Doris. [/underlined] Posted both 14c Cokes.
[circled LETTER 16 TO MA]
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SEPTEMBER 25
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & egg; toast coffee. C.O.s parade. Route March. DR. Air Analysis. Reconnaissance. Fish spuds, carrots; bread pud; milk. Flight plan. Air Anal. Liver, spuds, carrots, tomato; cheese & cake: milk. No mail today. 30c. laundry. 7c. Coke. 7c Coke. [underlined] Letter to Eric. [/underlined] 10c phone to Doris. 6c toffee. 5c Crisps. Looked over “letter box” & contents (Films, letters etc.)
[page break]
SEPTEMBER 26
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined]
Bacon & egg; 1/2 orange; coff DR & Compass swing. Stew spuds, cabbage; sago & fruit; milk. Bus into Toronto. 25c. st car. 50c bed at West End Y. 5c. phone to Doris. 84c at Uptown, George Formby in “Keep Fit.” & “Moscow Strikes back.” 70c. (Honey Dew) Chicken á la [deleted] Mache [/deleted] king, milk. Walked down Young to Imperial $1.20 “Cross Roads” Hedy Lamarr & Wilm. Powell. 25c. st car Rain so we poped [sic] into Corner Café at Young & Bloor. 30c. cheese sandwich & coffee. 1,2,3. Kissed her. Good night Bloor & a Carlton car back to Y. More RAIN.
[page break]
SEPTEMBER 27
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
Still more rain. 5c. phone to Doris (11.0 AM) 60c. beef, spuds & spinach; coffee. Another address and word or two with RAF lad. St. car to Museum. Doris there and she’d been waiting 1/2 hr. Had a good look round. Took her home. 40c. egg salad, milk. Met Doris at bottom of street 6-25. Went to St. James’ Cathdll [sic] 10c. collection. Chocolate shake (40c. Doris paid.) Collected kit bag from Y. Walked up Bdway to Bloor. St. car back (10-30) Looked through Star. 2 kisses when I left at 11-5 to catch the bus. Used last ticket, sat on heater. Rain storm just as we got to camp.
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SEPTEMBER 28
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
cream of wheat, bacon & egg, coffee. DR. Insts. Maps. Ham, spuds, peas: rice pud; milk. Met; Football game (fine except for two lakes in middle of pitch.) Cottage pie, spuds, celery; pears & plums; milk. DR & star gazing. Wrote letter to Doris & Miss French Bed about 11-0 PM.
COLD.
[underlined] Letter from Ma also AG. Letter from Norah. [/underlined]
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[symbol]
SEPTEMBER 29
[underlined] TUES 42.
Posted letter to Doris & Norah AG. From Ma. [/underlined] 1/2 grapefruit; porr; bacon & egg; coffee. Photog, Maps, DR. Ham, spuds, turnip; cake & choc. sauce; milk. DR & Drill. Ham spuds; beet; rhubarb & cake milk. 2 x 7c. Coke. [underlined] Letter to Phil. [/underlined] George Formby “Turned out Nice Again.” DR. 5c. crisps. 2 x 6c Lifesavers. 5c [deleted] Ch [/deleted] Coke. Bed 11-0 PM.
$27.50 pay
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SEPTEMBER 30
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; cream of wheat; egg & bacon; coffee. Route march DR; Met; Beef, spuds, cab, pumpkin pie. 12c. lifesavers. 2 x 7c. Coke. D/F; Aldis; Compass Swing. Cold cut, spuds, lettuce, beet; rhubarb & milk. [underlined] Letter by sea from Ma. [/underlined] 7c. Coke. [underlined] Letter to Norah [/underlined] 2 x 5c Coke. 10c. phone to Doris.
[page break]
[symbol]
OCTOBER 1
[underlined] THURS. 42 [/underlined]
porr; bacon & egg; coffee. Recon. Plot. A/C reccog. [deleted] Veal [/deleted] M.O’s lecture on first aid. Veal spuds, carrots: caramel cream milk. 55c. blues. 39c laundry [underlined] Letter from Doris. [/underlined] 2 x 7c. Coke. DR (Sun shooting.) D/F goniometer station. Liver, spuds carrots; bread & jam; cake & jam; milk. [underlined] Letter 15 to Ma. Letter & negs to Doris. [/underlined] No flight tonight. 5c. milk. 12c. toffee bars (2.) 5c. spud crisps. Phone to Doris. Not at home.
[circled LETTER 17 [deleted] 5 [/deleted] to MA]
[page break]
OCTOBER 2
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
porr; bacon & flat cakes; coffee. Co’s parade; D.R.. Beef, spuds, beet; bread pud; milk. 3-25 hrs flight. Fair[deleted]es[/deleted] keeping track by drift. Fish pie, spuds, beet; cheese & cake; 2 pears; milk. [underlined] Telephone call from Doris. She was worried because there’d been reported a crash here at Malton. [/underlined] Night flight. Took off undercart wouldn’t wind up Landed & “LOST” both props. Took off again I got round OK. No more mishaps. Tomatoe [sic] & meat paste sandwiches, 2 cups coffee. Bed about 12-0 AM
[page break]
OCTOBER 3
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; 1/2 orange: coffee. DR & Air Analasis. [sic] Spare ribs; spuds, beet; blueberry pie; milk. Did a bit of overtime at DR. Drew K land Air. Almanac. Sos, spuds, beet; mincemeat pie; milk. A/G. from Ralph Walker. 3 x 7c Cokes. 5c. crisps; 6c toffee; 5c choc. milk. Late night flight. 10c phone to Doris to let her know I can’t get Mon. Flight washed out. Got cup of coffee from mess. Fitted up earphones & mike.
[page break]
[symbol]
OCTOBER 4
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 grapefruit; porr; bacon & boiled egg; coffee. Went back to bed. Boiled chicken (more skin & bone than meat.) spuds, cauliflower; fruit salad, cake & cream; milk RAIN in large lumps. Church parade. 7c coke. [deleted] Let [/deleted] A.G. to Ralph Walker Ham, spuds, beet; apple; milk. 10c. phone to Doris to tell her first bus from Toronto was at 5-20 & NBG for her. First flight washed so wrote to P & J & Eddy Bush. 7c x 2 Cokes. 2nd flight washed so am going to bed 11-30.
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OCTOBER 5
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & 2 pan cakes; [sic] coffee. DR. Sigs & Maps (Gnomonic Praj.) Beef, spuds, peas; bread pud; milk. [underlined] 2 AG’s from Mum, letter from Doris. [/underlined] Photography exam Met. D.R. Shep-pie, spuds, celery; bread pud & apple sauce; milk. 50c. sports fee, 25c hair cut. 7c Coke. 7c. lime rickey. 3 x 6c toffee & life-savers. 5c x 2 crisps & biscuits. RAIN & more rain. Flight “washed” consequently.
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XX
OCTOBER 6
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & pancakes; 1/2 orange; coffee. Mag & Insts Photography 44/50 for test. Air/C. Rec. Test. Ham, spuds, some sort of spiced sauce; ground rice pud; milk. [underlined] A/G from Gran M [/underlined]!! D.R. Liver, spuds, peas; rice pud; milk. Binding Flight, astro so we didn’t go up. 1 star shot [indecipherable word]. [underlined] Letter to Doris. [/underlined]
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OCTOBER 7
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
porr, bacon & egg. DR & route march. 30 sun shots. Brawn spuds & sauce; blueberry pie, milk. [underlined] Paper from ma. Letter from Doris & Alwyn Crapper [/underlined]!!! Sports ----------. Cold cut, spuds, sweeds, [sic] plums; milk. Star Shots & plotting of. 10c. phone to Doris. 5c Coke. More [deleted] Star [/deleted] Sun Shots. Flight at 12.00 midnight. St. [indecipherable word], Owen Sound & back to Brampton. All others recalled. We got right round OK.
[page break]
[symbol]
OCTOBER 8
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
Peanut butter sandwiches & 2 cups of milk. Bed 4-0 AM. Up at 10-30. Finished Sun Shots and corrected several. [underlined] NO MAIL. 10c Coke [/underlined] Beef, spuds, peas; sago & fruit milk. DR. Flight Plan & Exam. [underlined] Wrote Letter to Alwyn [/underlined] 5 x 3c Stamps. 15c Cokes (2) [underlined] Temp 88o in the lecture Room. [/underlined] Ham, spud salad, celery; 2 apples; milk. D/F 1000 readings. Sun Shots. Gwyn on D/F loop readings
[page break]
OCTOBER 9
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Porr. Bacon & egg. D/F & Astro flight AIR PLOT. FAIERS 1st. NAV. Fish, spuds, beans; milk. Wings parade after Reco. & Maps exam. Lift to West End. Y. 1.25c for bed (50c on key) 25c. St Car. 5c phone call. Tyrone Power & Joan Fontaine in “This Above All.” Very Good. Doris paid she also would not take money for reprints of 14 odd negatives. 50c. Sundae & Cokes. 25c. St. Car. 2 x 2 Got back to Y about 12-1 AM. No Pyjamas. Janitor not around.
[page break]
OCTOBER 10
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Up at 9-45 AM. 35c ham & egg & coffee. Fiddled about and eventualy [sic] got a bed in dormitory 50c. Met Doris at CPR on Younge. Took 2 rolls film to Liggetts & bought 2 more x 35c. 40c milk & sandwiches. 25c. st car tickets. 2 x 6c Aero Choc Ferry to Island. Walked round & sat to watch the lake & the waves. $1.50 for din after D had phoned her Ma. Fish chips, peas; apple pie; tom juice; & coffee. $1.20 “Tales of Manhattan” All star Cast & Very Good. 40c Honey Dew & Dot Cockins. 25c st car Met D’s pop on way up the street. 2 x’s Bed 12-0
[page break]
OCTOBER 11
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Up at 10-30 after a good sleep but not a good rest. 5c. phone lasted about 15 min. 45c. sos chips beans; choc sundae; coffee & glass of milk at White Cheff. Alwyn turned up at 2-15. We went and had a snack. Chewed the “fat” in the meanwhile too. Saw him back to camp (Hamilton) Walked through High Park to Bloor. Salmon Salad & Coffee. 50c. 2 x 6c Doris rushed passed in an atempt [sic] to find some cream. Went to St. James. 25c. 75c. 2 Sundaes Pop, Malted Milk. 3 X’s and hugs innumerable. She said 3 was my record & wouldn’t give me another. Bus 15c. Doris gave me her torch.
[page break]
[symbol]
OCTOBER 12
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
Cream of wheat; bacon & egg; coffee. Signals, FP & AA (84) Ham, spuds, beef; bread pud & maple syrup; milk. W/V finding flight 063 (met 060) Mr. Freeman our pilot. dropped bomb, ie bomber dropped it. Brawn, spuds, veg. salad; plums; milk Wrote Diary up for the week Issued with stop watch. Mr. Wood given me new job. [underlined] P.C. from Joyce Richardson Letter to Ma. AG from Ma. [/underlined] 2 x 7c Cokes 5c tater crisps. 10c apples (3.) 6c. choc. 20c. phone to Doris.
[circled LETTER 18 TO MA]
[page break]
OCTOBER 13
[underlined] TUES/42 [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & pan cakes. DR result. 42 out of 80 In other words, lousy. Sun shots (33.) Total now 72. [underlined] No MAIL. [/underlined] Meat pie, spuds, turnip; cake & lemon sauce; milk. Recon. flight. Bit bumpy. Pilot not too good at keeping courses but we arrived at the places OK. & got SKETCHES. No more camera Only 4 serviceable. Brawn spuds, beet; plums; milk. 5c. crisps; 6c toffee; 6c Beech nut; 5c. cookies. Doris phone me but I wasn’t in I phoned back from YMCA. Sun shots & time sheet.
[page break]
OCTOBER 14
[underlined] WED/42 [/underlined]
Bacon & egg; coffee; [inserted] corn [/inserted] crisps Route march, Insts & Mag exam. Cold meat, spuds, carrot; cream pie; milk. FR. D/F scan. more D/R. & Sun shot plotting [underlined] LETTER from Doris & PAPERS from Ma. [/underlined] Ham, spuds, sponge rhubarb; milk. More D/R & Sun Shots. Have now finished Sun Shots. Finished putting names on Flying Exercise Sheet. Mr. Wood filled several in for me. 10-15 going to phone Doris. 10c. 7c & 5c Cokes.
[page break]
OCTOBER 15
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & egg; toast burned; coffee. DR, Sigs Test. DR. Veal, spuds, beans; rice pud; milk. [underlined] Letter from Doris, photo & $1 stamps. Papers from Ma. [/underlined] D/R. Hitch to Younge in stn waggon. St. Car (25c) back to Jane Bloor. Met Doris 7-10PM. She gave me rest of photos. I paid her $1 for stamps & 64c for photos. $1.20 Loews Clark Gable & Lana Turner in [blank space] 25c. St. car. 35c milk shakes Love & kisses on verandar [sic] at 12-10 AM. 50c. taxi to camp.
[page break]
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OCTOBER 16
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Bacon & egg; jam; coffee Rain. Co’s parade washed out. DR. Met. Spare ribs, spuds, carrot & sweed; [sic] mincemeat pie; milk. FP. [underlined] Letter from Dennis & Paper from Gran. [/underlined] DR. Cold cuts spuds, beet; apple; milk Flight washed out. [underlined] Wrote letter to Dennis. [/underlined] 10c phone to YMCA, & 10c to Doris. She must have called me from down town. Her mother ansd. phone. Had 1 bottle of beer with Mac & lads. Jock & Pat pulled the place down & Tarrant was a bit under the weather. 7c Coke.
[page break]
[inserted] 50c. bed at Red [symbol] Tea 40c Haddock & spuds. [/inserted]
OCTOBER 17
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Rain. Flight cut. Met Insts & D/F results (82% & 80%.) General removals in lecture room. Porr: bacon & Egg: toast & coffee (bfst.) Liver, spuds; cake & lemon sauce: milk. 32c laundry. Piper gave me 30c for packet of fags I got for the relay 15c. standing up seat on the bus. Arr. Y. OK 2-40. (Parade delayed me) $3.07 parcel (Simpsons) Stood to watch Parade. 30c. milk shakes. Doris gave me the 3 snaps she took. Also gave me letter she’d written me & told me the tale 84c. “Fantasia” Walt Disney & George Sanders in “The Wolf” Doris bought sweets 6c & so did I 6c. She bought milk shakes (30c) Kissed her Good night.
[page break]
OCTOBER 18
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Up at 10-30. 38c sos & chips; apple pie & coffee. Phoned from Central Y at 1-45. (5c.) St. Car out to High Park. Walked round the pond & the zoo. Sat down by Grenade Pond. To meet her at 7-45 at Younge & College. 45c. Salmon salad; coffee; pumpkin pie & choc. milk. Had read in Y. Felt tired. Met D. & went to Varsity Stadium to see first of “Commando Dagger” & Walt. Pidgeon. He read the sermon by the vicar in “Mrs. Miniver.” St car from Bay back to Jane. 3 X’s at end of Jane. 15c. standing up seat on bus.
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OCTOBER 19
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & egg; coffee. 72% Maps & Charts & Recons. Met. 87%. Pork & spuds, pickled cucumber; pumpkin pie; milk. Recons. [deleted] Sun shots with Reid. [/deleted] 5c. cookies; 2 x 5c crisps; 2 x 6c Beetch Nut candies. [underlined] Wrote letter to Gran. sea mail. Airgraph to Joyce R [/underlined]
[page break]
OCTOBER 20
[underlined] TUES/42 [/underlined]
Porr; sos & egg; coffee. DR. etc. Brawn, spuds, carrot & peas; milk. Doris interrupted the meal by calling me on the phone. NO MAIL. (Things seem to get worse.) Sun shots with Reid. 61 course lads doing the navigation. Minced meat pie spuds, celery, cheese; bread & jam; milk. Prepaired [sic] for flight tonight.
[page break]
OCTOBER 21
[underlined] WED/42 [/underlined]
Night flight OK. 3-0 AM Bacon & pancakes; milk; Bed ‘till 10-30 AM. Met. Pork, spuds, peas; cake & lemon sauce; milk. Air Analasis [sic] & DR. Preparing for flight to Montreal. Beef stake; [sic] spuds; plums milk. RAIN dark sky like we get back home. NO MAIL except letter from Phil, now at AOS. Sun Shot plotting. 2 x 5c Cokes. 10c. Crisps, 10c apples 12c. Beech nut cough drops. 25c. Phone to Doris.
[page break]
OCTOBER 22
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
Porr; Bacon & egg, coffee. Sq. Search unfinished. Stew, spuds; raisin pie; milk. MH100C & back with Mr Martin. Weiners; spuds, beet, Apple (2) 25c hair cut. 7c. Coke. [underlined] Letter from Doris [/underlined] RAIN. Carried one bench over to hanger & carried 2 back. “How Green Was My Valley” Walter Pidgeon & a Mexican Travel Film as a short. Wrote up a few more shots.
(W. Pig. & Maureen O’Hara, Don Crisp & Roddy MacDowell.)
[page break]
OCTOBER 23
FRI/42
Porr. Bacon & egg; coffee. [deleted] Co’s parade. Nobbed for ragged trousers bottoms. [/deleted]
Night flight & Stereo Pairs (incomplete) Didn’t take off ‘till 5-0 PM & petrol was low. Cold ham, spuds; cake & milk. 1st nav alone on a night flt got round OK. too Fish paste sandwichs [sic] & milk. 11-15 PM. Got right round & found TARGET ie Mt. Plenmore. Took GT. BRITAIN’s off my best tunic.
[page break]
OCTOBER 24
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & egg; coffee. DR. & AN. Sigs. Telephone from Doris after Din. Ham, spuds & carrot; choc cake milk. More DR & Air Recc. then free period. Football. let down by Course 60. Liver, spuds, & “GRASS,” cake, pears & milk. Sun Shots plotting. Star shots 40-50. little sing song with Tarrant & Pat. Bed 11-30 PM. 12c. Choc bar & cough drops.
[page break]
OCTOBER 25
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & egg; coffee. Back to bed. Up at 10-0 Cleaned boots & tunic buttons. Cleaned gt. coat buttons yesterday. Shave. Veal, spuds & peas, fruit salad & cake, milk. Phoned to Doris not at home. Veal, spuds, peas; fruit salad & cake; milk Church Parade & star shots plotting. 10c. phone to Doris. Cold cuts, spuds, pickles; plums & cake; milk Flights washed out. More Stars 46c laundry Started letter to Ma.
[two symbols]
OCTOBER 26
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
Porr. Bacon & egg; coffee. DR. Phot & Maps. Ham, (cuttings), spuds, peas; blue berry pie; milk. F.P. for tonight (1st NAV.) Met. film; Signals. [underlined] AG from Gran. [/underlined] Cold meat, spuds, peas, cheese; Mucking about with sextants. Fitted one up OK in the end. Second Detail up at 0900 PM (0100 quiT.) SEXT 42. Took one shot on the moon. Nearly got last but didn’t. Back 03.30 AM [inserted] GMT [/inserted] Coffee, sandwiches.
[circled LETTER 19 to MA]
[page break]
[two symbols]
OCTOBER 27
[underlined] TUES/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & egg, toast; coffee. Tiger landed up at Muskoka. DR & DR. Sos, spuds; cake & sauce; milk. AA. Morse. Photo, Test. [underlined] letter from Ma & Doris. [/underlined] Beef, spuds; pears & cake; milk. Lift to Jane & Bloor; 5c. phone. 40c clock. 25c st car. $1.20. Barb Stanwyck & George Brent. “The Gay Sisters.” 40c. choc. dip & biscuits. XXXXXX 50c. taxi. 20c coffee & pie, rhubarb
[page break]
OCTOBER 28
[underlined] WED.42 [/underlined]
Porr; sos & egg; coffee. Route March; Reconn. & Map Exam. Tiger Returned from Muskoka. [underlined] Letter from Ma Posted on 24 Sept. AIR RAID WARNING. [/underlined] Veal & spuds; cake & creamed fruit; milk; Astro flight, NBG. Supper at 6.0 PM. Cold Beef, spuds, sweet pickle choc cake; milk. Star shots 25c. phone to Doris. Bed at 10.15 PM.
[page break]
OCTOBER 29
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & egg; coffee. D/R Scan. D/F. [underlined] 2 letters from Faiers. [/underlined] Ham, spuds, cabbage; pumpkin pie, milk. Flight, no AST comp & no WAG. Grand ISLE to Mud lake & back 1st NAV. Air plot. PPS. & W/V from them. Brawn, spuds, sweet pickle Jam; milk. Made log book up to date. $27.75 Started letter to Ma. 10c phone to Doris. Shave.
[page break]
OCTOBER 30
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Porr; sos & pancakes; coffee. Mag. Exam. D/F Cos parade. Salmon stake [sic] spuds, sweede; [sic] bread pud & caramel cream; Milk. Insts Exam. GOOD NEWS. 48 hr instead of 36 hrs Lift into Toronto. 25c St car Chased Down to Adelaide P.O. but Doris wasn’t there. 5c phone. $1.15 stamps. 65c. pork chops & cherry pie; choc milk shake. $2. Bed at West End Y. (Mr. Lee Chinaman.) [underlined] Letter to Ma & Gran [/underlined]
[circled LETTER. 20.]
[page break]
OCTOBER 31
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Up at 10-45. Out at 11-45. 25c St. Car. 15c. Choc milk 8c mints. 15c boot polish Went to Art (Museum) Gallery.) Doris phoned home. Fish & chips; choc pud; tea ([underlined] 55c X 2 paid by Doris [/underlined]) $1.20 “My Sister Eileen.” Ros. Russell Brian O’Herne; Janet Blair 2. Fruit Sundaes (40c) Sat on verandar [sic] 30m waiting for Pa to go to bed. (He saw us back Pictures.)
[page break]
NOVEMBER 1
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Up at 11-45. 5c phone to Doris 55c. Pork chops, peas & spuds; cream walnut pud; coffee Met Doris at bottom of her street. Went to Riverdale Park. Took shot of bear & Don River Couldn’t get one of Doris. 25c egg sandwich & [deleted] Pup [/deleted] Pump Pie; glass milk. Went to St. James. 10c. 50c. jelly & cream, malted milk shake. Walked around the houses. Ver. Dr. too well lit. 50c. on taxi with Cpl Reyland & lads.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 2
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; Bacon & Egg, coffee. [underlined] Letter from Doris Nothing Else. [/underlined] Stew, spuds, carrots; spuds; Queen pud; milk. Apple & other odds & ends for [deleted] breakfast [/deleted] Supper; milk.
Night flight. D/F no good, as per usual, astro compass NBG. Still I got round and hit every place required. Sardine & [2 indecipherable words]. 2 cups milk.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 3
[underlined] TUES/42 [/underlined]
Porr. bacon & egg: coffee. 75% for Maps AA 78% for last nights work. Brawn, spuds, cabbage; blueberry pie & raisin pie; milk. [underlined] 100% [/underlined] for Signals?? 80% Navi. (11TH week.) Sos, spuds, cucumber; pears & cake; milk. Duty Watch & [underlined] Drill. [/underlined] Moved bench from Dining Hall (Mess) [underlined] Wrote & Sent letter to Phil. [/underlined] Binding Photo & Maps. Phone on the free one to Doris.
34c. Candy etc. etc.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 4
[underlined] WED/42
Letter from Doris [/underlined] Bacon & egg; Kellogs coffee. Co’s parade. Maps & Photo Exam. Veal, spuds, turnip; rice pud. Astro Flight at 10,000 fee. Liver Spuds. [underlined] TURNIP [/underlined]!! Prunes milk. Star Shots upstairs. Flew on track with coop. from the Pilot. Sandwhich [sic] & milk Bed 12.00.
[page break]
[inserted] [underlined] CABLE FROM MA [/underlined] [/inserted]
NOVEMBER 5
[underlined] THURS/42.
Letter from Doris & Newspapers from Home [/underlined] Kellogs, coffee, Co’s Parade. Photo exercise which didn’t get done because take off of 1st. detail was late because of “damn” Co’s parade. Brawn, spuds; blueberry pie & milk. Bullshit. Parade at 1-50. Syko machine. Took chair over to hanger. Then Paraded on square. Marched to Hanger & formed “Hollow Sq” Earl of Athlone presented “wings” Supper at 6-0. Ham, spuds; apple & milk WHAT A SUPPER. Shipped chairs back. 10c biscuits 15c (5 x 2 peanuts & 5c Beech Nut.) 7c Pop.
[page break]
[inserted] 92% Map Final [underlined] 61.58.80 D/R [/underlined] [/inserted]
NOVEMBER 6
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; sos & flat cakes coffee. Rec. Exam Fish, spuds, cabbage; creamed fruit; milk. Mag. & result of Maps 92% 61, 58 & 80 Marks for DR. Exams; ie not too good. Working out shots. Cold Meat, spuds, celery, creamed fruit; milk. Night flight. Got round OK Track crawling but it was a bad trip on the whole. 3 sandwiches 2 cups coffee & 1 of milk.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 7
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs & coffee. Plotting shots & D/R review. Mr. Wood gone to hospital With eye infection. Beef spuds, beans; some violet coloured sauce & a “bit” of cake; milk. Map & sun & star shots. Sos, spuds & beans; pears; bread & jam; milk. Map, flag & more star shots. 9-15 going to phone Doris & finish letter to Ma [underlined] Then Bed. [/underlined]
Phoned Doris OK.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 8
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Got up for Kellog’s & coffee. Back to Bed. Up at 11-0. Pork, spuds, corn; cake & violet cream [inserted] sauce [/inserted], milk Astro flight. Damn cold. -14O C. Feet froze. Brawn, spuds & salad, plums & cake; milk. Star Shot plotting. Tired 10 to 10. Phone Doris & letter to Ma. 46/50 D/F.
[page break]
[inserted] 2 LETTERS FROM DORIS A/G from GRAN! [/inserted]
NOVEMBER 9
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
[underlined] 54 [/underlined] Met. Kellogs, coffee. Photo flight “washed” Plotted more Star Shots & worked more out. Beef, spuds, turnip; rice pud; milk. 81 for Yesterdays flight. More Star Shots. Met. P.T. – Prunes & milk. Lift to cross road. Lift to Kingsway. Set off to walk rest. Lift to Liggetts where I left Negs & 29c toothpast. [sic] 25C st. car. $1.20. “Panama hattie” Red Skelton; [blank space] 60c. cheese sand. & milk shake. RAIN in lg. lumps. Doris’s hair wet & so were her eyes but I kissed them away. 50c in taxi yet about 1 or 2 from stn. Got there 1hr. waiting for [indecipherable word]
[page break]
[inserted] 20c. coffee, doughnut’ peanuts. [/inserted]
NOVEMBER 10
[underlined] TUES/42 [/UNDERLINED]
Bed at 2-0 AM. Kellogs; scrambled egg, toast, coffee. D/F. Star [inserted] Met [/inserted] shots Meat loaf, spuds, beans (butter.) Raisin pie; milk. Star Shots, Sigs, Stars again. Brawn, spuds; peaches & cake; milk Finished all shots Have now to take 30 more ground ones. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] Telephoned Doris (tears in her eyes.)
[circled LETTER 21]
[Page break]
NOVEMBER 11
[underlined] WED/42. [/underlined]
Kellogs; 1/2 orange; coffee. Slight fall of snow. D/F Scan. [deleted] Braw [/deleted] Armistice service in hanger. [deleted] Bo [/deleted] Brawn, spuds; choc. blancmange; milk. Mag & Insts. P.T. Liver, spuds, onions; plums; peaches; cake; milk. 25c. hair cut. [deleted] Met [/deleted] Mag. swotting if any. Phone to Doris I hope. Didn’t swot but did phone to Doris (no tears tonight)
[page break]
NOVEMBER 12
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
[deleted] Kellogs [/deleted] 1/2 grapefruit; scrambled egg on toast; coffee; Mag & Comp. Exam, Lecture by P.O. Obs. From England Air/C. pic. Stew, spuds; bread pud. $26 pay. DR. [underlined] Letter from Doris, Eric (Faiers) & AG from Joyce. [/underlined] Sos, spuds; apple; bread & jam; milk SNOW. 21c. (2 x 5c cookies 6c choc. 5c. crisps.) RAIN.
[page break]
NOVEMBER [underlined] 13 [/underlined]
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs, jam, coffee: DR. Air Rec. Sigs. Salmon stake, [sic] spuds, peas; lemon pie; milk. Flight washed Sigs. A/C rec. Met. (35 MPH wind.) Lift into top of Young. 50c st. car. $200 bed & key. $1.20. “Yank at Eaton” Mickey Rooney. 12c sweets. 50c 2 milk shakes & sundaes. Went into house to kiss Doris Goodnight.
Bed between 1 & 2 AM. Darn cold outside.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 14
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Up at 10-30. $1.00 for shoe repair $3.75 for brooche. [sic] Met Doris at 12-15. $1.10 for lunch (my breakfast) liv & onion; miss pie; tea. Doris spilt her milk. [underlined] 62c Cable to Ma. [/underlined] Doris phoned her ma then “dragged” me round Eaton & Simpsons Tried to get a set of buttons 85c stamps (10/-, dollar, & 50c.) Doris bought dinner. Phone Tommy and arranged for Sun. AM. St Car & bus to Eglington. 86c. “Berlin Correspondent”
Left 11-30 home by 12-30. Kissed Doris Goodnight in the house again. 20 AM when I got to bed
[page break]
NOVEMBER 15
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Up at 9-30. Communion with Doris & Tommy. 10c. Went to “Childs” and had milk shake (60c.) Went with the two of ‘em & took D home. Back to Y. “dry shave.” 50c key. 45c. liver & eggs; blueberry pie; coffee. Back at Doris’s by 3-45. Ma, Pa & kids all out!! Went for walk to see the R. Humber. Dinner 5-30. Dried pate with D & Mr. Ryall showed me his stamps & also gave me quite a number Left at 12-15. Kissed D in hall & on the step
15c on the bus.
[underlined] 77c. Photos, enlargements. [/underlined]
[page break]
NOVEMBER 16
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs, jam & coffee. Insts. exam & A/C, rec. Exam. Beef, spuds; bread pud; milk. Met, DR & Met. Mr. Pleuman said “Good Bye” PT. Duty watch. Stew, spuds; bread pud; cake & milk [underlined] WHAT A DINNER!! [/underlined] Comittee [sic] meeting re [indecipherable word] & dinner. F/Lt. Airdale not to be admitted. May write to Joyce & Gran. & MAY? swot Met. Phoned to Doris. Had 2 bottles of beer & [underlined] A CIGAR [/underlined] Denness’ BD. [underlined] A/G. to Gran & Joyce. [/underlined] [indecipherable word]
[page break]
NOVEMBER 17
[underlined] TUES/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs, jam, coffee. 5 DR periods. Sos, spuds; choc. pud; milk. [underlined] LETTER from Norah. [/underlined] DR, Anti Gas, Sigs, PT.
Sos, spuds; peaches; milk. Duty Watch. 10c sweets; 75C Xmas cards 25C stamps. Benches too [sic] & from Hanger, before & after show. Phoned Doris, exchanged greetings with her mother. Wrote several Xmas cards ready to send.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 18
WED/42
Kellogs; jam; coffee. Met. Exam 3 hours, then DR. [underlined] Letter from Doris. [/underlined] Pork, spuds, sweeds; [sic] vanilla pie; milk. [underlined] Phone call from Doris. [/underlined] DR., Sigs., Football. Liver, onion, spuds, sweeds; [sic] ginger cake; milk. Played, or tried to play table tennis with Gwyn. $1.80 stamps. ($2.70 for 9 Xmas cards & letter to Ma.) 6c. sweets. Siren for test blackout.
[circled LETTER 22 (TWO)]
[page break]
NOVEMBER 19
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
Porr; jam; coffee. Stereo pairs, & on second flight line overlap. Camera went wrong on 1st flight. Beef, spuds; cake & sauce; milk. [underlined] Letter from Doris & Alwyn. Papers from Gran & Ma. [/underlined] Sos, spuds, etc.. milk. Duty Watch. Hitch. $1.20. “Forest Rangers.” Paulette Goddard, [blank space]. Doris paid for choc shakes. 26c. st. car. Lots of love & kisses in the hall. 50c. taxi Sgt. picked us up as we came in.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 20
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs & coffee. Co’s parade in gt. coats. Did hollow sq. in tunics DR. [underlined] Letter from Gran & Ma [/underlined] (at long last) Fish, spuds, carrots; creamed fruit; milk. FP. Arms. (sightings etc) Wings Parade of [underlined] 56 [/underlined] Course. Brawn, spuds; apple pie; milk. Raided the remains of the litter left by 56. [underlined] Doris phoned at Dinner Time. [/underlined] Phoned Doris
[page break]
NOVEMBER 21
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; jam; coffee. DR. Mr. Wood came in to see us. Told us a “tale” too (“She could play cards.”) Beef, spuds; bread pud; milk. Took off &. S/C from Brampton. Had to land as aerial went WEST. Took off again & got round OK. eventualy. [sic] [underlined] No. MAIL. [/underlined] Spare ribs, spuds, cheese; peaches; milk Played table tennis with Gwyn. Telephone to Doris.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 22
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Got up about 1100 AM. Beef, spuds, peas; rice pud; tea. Flight to Goose Lake. Drift & Sun Shots. Brawn, spuds, beet; peaches & cake; prunes; 2 cups milk Chased around for Long rule & [indecipherable word]. Found that Combay had borrowed them.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 23
[underlined] MON 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs, bacon & egg, coffee. DR Exam. Dinner in a rush. [underlined] Letter from Doris Paper from Ma & AG from Gran [/underlined] Air plot. D/F & Astro pics to get wind. Then DR ahead & S/C for base. Had supper & lapped it. Lift to Dundas. St. Car to Jane Bloor. 84c. “Yer Cardboard Lover” Bob Taylor & Norma Shearer. “Moontide” Jean Gabin.
20c. coffee & donuts.
Love & kisses.
10c [deleted] coffee [/deleted] choc milk & donuts. 50c taxi.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 24
[underlined] TUES 42 [/underlined]
Kellogs & coffee. RAIN. [underlined] 73 Met. [/underlined] New sight log book. 113/150 for photography. Beef, spuds, turnip; lemon pie twice, milk. Drew J & L Band. Went into bombing teacher. Sos, spuds; cake; prunes; milk. Heavy fog. In HD area. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] (not posted.) [underlined] letter to Eric, Doris & Gran (to post) [/underlined]
[page break]
NOVEMBER 25
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs, coffee, bread & jam. Moon Shots, Sigs AA. Beef spuds, bread pud, milk. FP. etc. Liver, spuds, onion: apple; milk. Drew sextant & Astrographs. Going for chute. 212 out of 250 for DR so I’m OK. Finished letter to Gran & bit more for Ma. Phoned Doris. [underlined] Roll Call in Barracks at 10-15. [/underlined] More Bull. Mr. Wood beat Tiger at Table Tennis. He bought beers all round. Flight washed at last minute.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 26
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs; jam; coffee. Compass swing x 4. Sextant Shots. Pork, spuds, carrots; creamed fruit; milk. Interviewed, almost Tarrant just before me. [underlined] Letter from Ma & Doris. [/underlined] P.T. Minced meat pie, spuds, peas; peaches; milk. Drew sextant & chute. 100 MPH wind at 5000 ft. so washed out flight. 15c. phone to Doris. [underlined] Sent letter to Gran. Air Mail. [/underlined]
[page break]
[inserted] [underlined] $27.50 pay. [/underlined] [/inserted]
NOVEMBER 27
[underlined] FRI. 42 [/underlined]
Kellogs, jam, coffee. Co’s parade up road & back & Bloody frozen by time we got back. Letter from Eric. Salmon, spuds, beet; rice pud; milk. 15 shots on the range 20; 13; & 20. LAUNDRY NOT RETURNED. Lift to Main Highway then to Dundas St. Car. $1.00 bed at YMCA in 203. 25c. st. car. 84c “Eagle Sqaudron” at Eglington & “One Born Every Minute.” 60c sundaes & milk shake. Daddy not gone to bed so we just kissed Good night on the steps.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 28
[underlined] SAT 42. [/underlined]
50c. st car tickets. $2.50 silver wings. $1.10 lunch. 85c button RCAF. Took her home. 40c for supper. 35c chocs. 8c. snaps Went to Ice hockey game. I enjoyed it OK. ($3.50 for tickets.) 20c. Cokes. In the middle of our “Good Night kiss(es)” when Gillie opened the door & walked in.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 29
[underlined] SUN. 42 [/underlined]
5c phone at 11.0 AM. 45c lamb & mint sauce, choc. pie; coffee. Puffed wheat & toffee (in milk) cookies, trés bonne, & cup of coffee. Gave [blank space] 5c. & Marion 10c. SNOW. Went round Museum. 40c. sos, spuds, cream pie; coffee. 15c. gums. Went to a “new” church. 20c. (10c Doris put in collection.) 25c. st. car. Doris paid for sandwiches & Bovril 45c. 50c taxi. 12c. two bars of choc.
[circled LETTER 23 MA]
[page break]
NOVEMBER 30
[underlined] MON 42 [/underlined]
SNOW. Kellogs, egg & toast, jam, coffee. Compass & loop swing. Beef, spuds, carrots; raisin pie; milk. Sweet nothing to do. Stuck a few planes in book. Had PT & then supper. Lift to Bloor by car. Took snap of Mr. Wood to Liggetts, Bay St. (24 PNTS) Royal York, Grad. Dinn 7.30 PM. $1. photo. 10c phone to Doris. 80c extra for Dinner. Lift back in station waggon LETTER & negs to Doris in [indecipherable word] at Royal York.
[page break]
DECEMBER 1
[underlined] TUES 42. [/underlined]
Up at 9-15 PM. Clothing parade at 10 cancelled. Beef, spuds, turnip; cake & sauce; milk. 15 rounds on rifle range. 10c for Tiger. $1.05 stamps other day. Had supper. Both flights washed, rain & snow so slipped a pass in & went out. Eglington “You are always in my heart” & [blank space] 84c. Doris’ Ma may not be able to come to “wings” parade. 20c choc milk. Doris ma still up when we got home at 12.00 Anyway we pinched a few kisses. 50c taxi back to camp.
[page break]
DECEMBER 2
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs, bacon & toast, coffee. Icy wind, so, no parade. DR & Aldis. Sos, spuds; bread pud, milk. Letter from Doris. Still more wind. Lining up drift recorders. Photo with Pat & Jackie, (3 York tykes) with our wing “up.” Meat loaf, spuds, cabbage, 2 pieces pie; milk. 1st flight washed, 2nd. pending. 25c. All Bran & hot chocolate. 10c. phone to Doris, had about 15 min & no overcharge.
[page break]
DECEMBER 3
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & egg: coffee. Stores. Painted a few houses on the snap. [underlined] Letter from Alwyn. [/underlined] [inserted] P.O. [/inserted] Beef, spuds; rice pud; milk. Stores, FFI. Battle Dress for old blue, 4 strips, one wing, gloves, shirt. Liver, spuds; 2 pears; milk; cake. Got pass signed in case we couldn’t [deleted] get out [/deleted] fly. Shave, & button polish. Put battle dress on. Not a bad fit. Standing by [underlined] all night. [/underlined] Started letter to Ma. Phoned Doris. Had FP made out for trip out West. Waited for Snell & Steven E [indecipherable word] in Met Report.
[page break]
[inserted] WINGS PARADE [/inserted]
[underlined] December 4
Fri 42 [/underlined]
Eventualy [sic] took off to fly round & round Malton area. Had 1st flight with GA. Owen. (had 2600 hrs “dead”.) Went up with Tarrant for 1.05. Got to bed at 7.0 AM after bacon & toast breakfast. Up again at 9-30 AM. Made log book up. $22 pay. 6c. meat pie. Made sight log book up. Chicken spuds, pork, beer, fag. Laundry 34c. W.P. practice in hanger. [underlined] Wings Parade [/underlined] Doris there. Bus into town 30c. Had supper at D’s (okay) Sewed strips on Gt. coat & wings on tunic. Liggetts shut. 10c bus to camp Bed by 1 AM.
[page break]
DECEMBER 5
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined] Packed & cleared stn. Mr. Wood shook hands. Ticket etc. from Ordly [sic] Room. 50c. taxi. West End Y full so went to Triangle (50c) $1.20. Moon & Sixpence” George Sanders. Bought Pat & Junes watches $43.50 Razor Sharpener $2. Doris bought ring for me. [deleted] West End Y still full so again went to Triangle. [/deleted]
[page break]
DECEMBER 6
[underlined] SUN 42. [/underlined]
resewed stripe on gt. coat 25c sos at White Cheff Doris arrived & Muriel left Went to Museum again with Doris. Pinched 2 X’s Doris wearing ring. Had Dinner at Doris’. Went to Church. Held hands. 45c. Soup & 2 Bovrils. Sewed stripes on tunic. West End Y still full so went back to Triangle $1.00 for two nights.
[page break]
DECEMBER 7
[underlined] MON 42 [/underlined]
Up at 8.0 AM. Went to stn arr. 8-45. Only 4 of us there. Unloaded all kit. Booked ours onto train & deposited other in Can Legion. Met Dot at 12-15 PM. [underlined] Sent cable home 67c. [/underlined] Bought Dot wing $15. Spoke to Tommy. 50c. fish & choc pie din & bfst. 30c dog biscuits. 15c gums 25c st car. Dot took me to show. 45c Bovril etc. Doris received wing & gave me ring Love & kisses till 1-30 to 2-0.
[page break]
[inserted] [underlined] TORONTO – MONTREAL (FOR MONCTON) [/underlined] N.B. [/inserted]
DECEMBER 8
[underlined] TUES 42 [/underlined] 8.
Up at 7-30. 15c. All Bran & coffee. stn at 9-0. left all checks in Legion. Met Doris on stn. gave her one kiss good bye & no more. Jumped onto train & left [underlined] Toronto [/underlined] 75c ticket. sos, spuds & peaches; coffee. Arr. Montreal 6-0. Checked in Berth ticket & bags $1.00 ticket. chicken spuds, peas; apple pie, coffee. Pat didn’t know his great coat. 7-30 train pulled out. Bed about 10-0 PM.
[page break]
DECEMBER 9
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
Up at 7-30. Tom juice ham & egg, coffee. [underlined] Campbellton put watch ON one hour. [/underlined] arr Moncton 3-15 PM. Walked to camp. Filled in usual cards. Got billet then had supper, minced meat, bread & jam. Saw Steffie & Dough Pitt. [underlined] FIRE [/underlined]
[page break]
DECEMBER 10
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
NO. BFST. Parade at 9-0 AM. FFI. Church Gas Mask. Had Dinner. Saw Steffie again & went to see Phil. Vaccine check at hospital Had supper, finished letter (?) to Ma to give to Phil.) Wet. Disney’s “Dumbo 15c. on stn. with Gwyn. Phil there too. Gave him letter & saw him for last time.
[page break]
DECEMBER 11
[underlined] FRI 42 [/underlined]
Bacon beans & milk Webing [sic] parad [sic] & deficiencies. Bean soup, beef spuds. peas; rice pud & [underlined] WATER!!! [two symbols] [/underlined]
Snow (more) no parade. Cleared more stuff out of kit bag. Sos, spuds bread & jam [underlined] PEE [/underlined]!! NOT tea
[page break]
DECEMBER 12
[underlined] SAT 42. [/underlined]
bacon & egg, PEE. RUSH at stores. Had din in mess Played cards & started letter to [underlined] Doris after receiving 2 from her & one from Tommy. [/underlined] Had supper [inserted] sos & spuds [/inserted] on camp [underlined] Shave. [/underlined] went out with Gwyn. Bowls, Peackock turned up then Bill Squires of all people. 25c cocoa & apple pie. 15c fruit & 15c sos rolls. [underlined] SHOWER [/underlined]
[page break]
DECEMBER 13
[underlined] SUN 42 [/underlined]
2 sos rolls & apple of my own. 9-15 para 10-15 church parade. Cream Tom soup; beef spuds, cabbage; cust & sponge cake; milk. Went out with Gwyn to finish film. Took 2 of frozen stream, one of self & one of landscape. 50c ham egg & chips, apple pie & coffee. 10c. mins 10c biscuits. 5c crisps 12c choc. & 5c milk. Finished letter to [underlined] Doris [/underlined]
[page break]
DECEMBER 14
[underlined] MON 42. [/underlined]
[underlined] Letter from Doris. [/underlined]
Put into classes for lectures.
“I married a Witch.”
[page break]
DECEMBER 15
[underlined] TUES 42. [/underlined]
Bread & cheese, tea. Parade 8-30 AM. Got leave application form & got flight’s sign Cleaned bowls in wash room Beef & spuds; jam tart & cust milk. Pay parade. $25. Finished Jane Gray’s book (2nd time.) Sos & spuds, bread & jam, tea. NO MAIL. 5c on bus. Eatons shut. laundry not ready. 25c. apple & mints. 17c milk & 2 malt! Bars. Went to stn. about trains. ($22.75 to Toronto.)
[page break]
DECEMBER 16
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & beans; tea. Parade 8.30 AM. Went to see adj. (sqdn) forwarded to W. Adj. Stew, puds, carrots; rice pud. Parade 1-30 PM. Sqdn. WO, read note about sgt being hung for murder whilst drunk. Went to Wing Adj given 7 days filled in pass form & left it with SWO. Changed barracks, Packed. Meat ball, spuds, bread & jam, cake & sauce tea $22.75 for ticket to Toronto. 36c laundry 40c meal. [underlined] Letter to Norah & card Letter from Doris [/underlined]
[page break]
[inserted] MONCTON S/C TORONTO. [/inserted]
DECEMBER 17
[underlined] THURS 42 [/underlined]
bacon & egg; terrible porr good tea. Got pass & went to Accounts & got $30. Pay & 50c a day ration allowance. Handed kit into stores. Tried to get ration card. Freezing cold. [underlined] Letter & Xmas card to Norah. AG. From Ma & Elsie. [/underlined] Pork, spuds, cabb stewed apple & custard, milk Taxi to stn. 25c. Train 1 hr late. Halibut stake [sic] parsley sauce, spuds; parsnip milk. (75c) Cards, whist 7’s etc.
[page break]
DECEMBER 18
[underlined] FRI 42 [/underlined]
8-0 AM CAMPBELLTON 7-0 AM watches back 1 hr ETA Montreal 9-0 AM, leg lamb, spuds & peas, milk Cards, reading & sleeping. Arr. Montreal 3-50 ONLY 7 hours late Next train 11-0 PM. Went with Gwyn to his relations Snack & shave & good wash. Arr. stn. 10-45. Train eventualy [sic] S/C at 12-00 AM.
[page break]
DECEMBER 19
[underlined] SAT 42. [/underlined]
Arr. 9-30 2 hours late. 25c. sos, spuds, & peas; coffee. $2 for bed. $1.25 [deleted] cushion [/deleted] [inserted] CUSHION [/inserted] cover. $6 for lighter for William. 20c flints. Tommy & rest of girls at office 12-10 & then Doris Steak & kidney pie, soup & blueberry pie; coffee; $1. Shopping ie shop window gazing. 25c. st. car. Dinner at Doris’ $1.20. “One of Our Bombers failed to Return” Damn good! Only one X. Mr. up trimming the Xmas tree.
[page break]
DECEMBER 20
[underlined] SUN 42. [/underlined]
Up at 10-30. 5c. phone to Doris from Central. All at church. 45c brunch. All Bran; sos, beans; blueberry pie & coffee. Rang Doris up again. Met her at Museum 2-45. Dinner at her home. Went to St. Georges church. Carols & school kids helping us to sing some. One X. Good Night [underlined] again. [/underlined] In bed by 1-0 AM
[page break]
DECEMBER 21
[underlined] MON 42. [/underlined]
Up 10-45 AM. Met Doris at CPR Telegraph office. Walked round. Went & saw Tommy at the office. 15c. polishing Duster. brunch. All Bran liver & coffee. 40c. 60c 2 x 127 films. 70c. 2 x 620 films. 15c [indecipherable word] 5c drawing pins. 40c liver, lemon pie & coffee. St car to Jane. 84c Runnymede “Broadway” George Raft. Cheese Sand & Bovril. Doris paid. Mr. still up so!!
[page break]
DECEMBER 22
[underlined] TUES 42 [/underlined]
Up 10-45. Shave. Met Doris usual place. $21.75 watch for Ma. Saw Tommy again. Kissed me Good Bye & Good Luck. Walked Round & Round & Round. 20c blades. 30c batteries 60c. fish, choc pie & coffee. Tried to find Stringer. Posted photos in end to Piper at NO. 1AOS. 25c. milk shakes & sundaes. Saw Mrs Ryall on st car. Went with D for Meat for my lunch. Loews. “7 Sweethearts” & “Eyes in the Dark” Bovril & cheese sandwich. X X X’s & more X X X’s. Took my lunch. bed by 3-0 AM
[page break]
DECEMBER 23
[underlined] WED 42 [/underlined]
Up 7-40. 15c. coffee & Bran Flakes. 5c phone to Doris from Stn. Met her outside. Tommy said she was on her way. Walked back to office with her. one X outside & then left her. Boarded train 9-45. Pulled out 10-45. [underlined] 1hr. late [/underlined] Arr. Mont. 7-0 PM about 1 or 2 hrs late. 48c fish, lemon pie & coffee. 12c Aero choc. Should S/C 8-10. finaly [sic] set off 8-45. F/Sgt. SP with prisoner on way to Halifax. Posted X Cards to Tommy & Doris at Drumondville (11-0 PM.)
[page break]
DECEMBER 24
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
Had spot of brunch. 10 to 110. AM. Cards with self. Tired so had occasional naps CAMPBELLTON 1-0 PM turned to 2-0 PM. 18c. chips & choc bar. Finished lunch at 4-0. PM Arr. at 8-0 PM. Took film in. Got laundry 29c. Splitting Gwyn’s $10 bill after all. Got kit bag out of stores.
[page break]
[underlined] DECEMBER 25
FRI. 42 [/underlined]
Up at 10-30 to 11-0. Turkey & pork, spuds, peas, apple sauce & stuffing; Cream of tom soup; plum pud; mince pie; bottle of beer; fag; apples, pears & oranges; grapes. [underlined] 4 letters from Doris. Letter from Ma with Elsie’s. Letter from Gran. Letter & 15/- P.O. from S.P.T. [/underlined] Reading book. Pork, beef (cold) pickles & spuds; Xmas cake bread & jam, tea. More reading. Making diary up. Letter to Doris.
[page break]
DECEMBER 26
[underlined] SAT 42 [/underlined]
Pork, cab & spuds; rice pud & jelly. Letter to Doris finished. No Mail. Pork, spuds, celery, pickles, cheese jelly, bread & jam, tea. Gwyn returned [underlined] home. [/underlined] 33c stamps [underlined] posted letter to Doris. [/underlined] 15c. hot choc. & 2 donuts.11c salted & choc peanuts. darn cold out. Wrote AG to Cus & Elsie (Foster.) Letter to Gran.
Bed 12-0 AM..
[page break]
DECEMBER 27
[underlined] SON 42. [/underlined]
Church 11-0 AM. then Communion at 11-45. Celery soup; pork, spuds, choc cake & custard, milk. Reading & nothing else. Short sleep. Ham beef & egg, choc cake & cust tea, bread & jam. Finished book. Wrote letter to Doris. Arty returned Watch still U.S. [underlined] AG to Cus & Elsie [/underlined] & [underlined] letter to Gran. [/underlined] 3 x 3c stamp 4 x 30c. films. 25c. choc hot & Bran Flakes.
[page break]
DECEMBER 28
[underlined] MON 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & tomato, tea. Parade. Dismissed. Parceled [sic] watch. Went to Pay Accounts too [sic] late. [underlined] Posted watch 31c. registered Air Mail. [/underlined] Soup; stew, spuds, carrots; prunes; Tea. [underlined] 2 letters [inserted] Xmas Card [/inserted] from Doris. [/underlined] Dismissed again. Started letter to Pat Went to P.O. to sort letters [underlined] Parcel from Norah Xmas Cakes [/underlined] Sos & spuds; apple pie, milk; tea; jam. Gave cake out. [underlined] Posted letter to Doris. [/underlined] 2 X 30c. 620 films. 2 x 10c blades. 5c. milk.
[page break]
DECEMBER 29
[underlined] TUES 42. [/underlined]
No bfst. Parade 8-30. Film, show (propaganda) “Ditching” procedure, Morse? [underlined] No Mail. [/underlined] Beef, spuds (baked) cabbage; rice pud; milk. Letter sorting again. Bed. Hamburger meat & macaroni; bread & jam; tea. More Bed. 5c. bus. Gwyn posted his letter (s) Went for my film not done. Went to Y. 20c 2 milks & choc cake. Went back for film 38c. 40c sacarin 39c Ginger Rogers in “The Major & the Minor” a scream! Walked back
[page break]
DECEMBER 30
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs & HOT milk; beans & bacon; tea. Bed. Navigation? Signals? [underlined] No MAIL. [/underlined] Bean soup; beef; spuds, cabbage; apple & custard; milk. Parade Post Office [underlined] No Mail. [/underlined] Ran to Mess. Meat pie (Sheppherd) [sic] Macaroni & milk. Bread & jam; tea. [underlined] Letter to Doris. [/underlined] 5c bus. Got Gwyn’s picts, posted letter. Rain turning to hail. 10c hot choc. 75c. chocs. 6c choc. 10c biscuits 10c mints. Walked back. [underlined] Letter to Ma & Tommy [/underlined]
[page break]
DECEMBER 31
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
No bfst. Parade in drill hall. Bed till 10-15 played cards. Navi. Didn’t go to signals. Stew, (bean) pork, stuffing, spuds, carrots & apple sauce, crackling, prunes & cust; milk. Parade. Pay accounts. Pay parade 2-30. $25 pay. Gave Gwyn his $10 back Now have $16. Post Office. [underlined] Letter from Doris. [/underlined] Bean soup; cheese cake, spuds; cheese; brd & jam; tea. [underlined] Letter to Doris [/underlined] Show, walked into town. 10c milk shake. Walked back. Shower. Washed socks. Bed about 11-45
[page break]
Dublin Core
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Title
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Keith Thompson's diary July 1942 to July 1943
Description
An account of the resource
During this period Keith was under training in Canada and then in England from June 1943 on 28 OTU at RAF Wymswold.
Creator
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Keith Thompson
Date
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1942
1943
Format
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Large format diary
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eng
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Text. Diary
Text
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YThompsonKG1238603v2
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
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Canada
Great Britain
England--Leicestershire
Temporal Coverage
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1942-07
1942-08
1942-09
1942-10
1942-11
1942-12
1943-01
1943-02
1943-03
1943-04
1943-05
1943-06
1943-07
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IBCC Digital Archive
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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.
28 OTU
aircrew
entertainment
military living conditions
military service conditions
navigator
Navy, Army and Air Force Institute
Operational Training Unit
RAF Wymeswold
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1259/17144/MWhiteheadT1502391-180307-17.2.pdf
048f2f6458014d1fe38cc7ae7cba7fff
Dublin Core
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Title
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Whitehead, Tom
T Whitehead
Description
An account of the resource
31 items and an album sub collection. Collection concerns Warrant Officer Tom Whitehead (b. 1923) who served as a rear gunner with 428 Squadron operating from RAF Dalton in Yorkshire. He was shot down over Duisburg and became a prisoner of war. Collection includes his prisoner of war logbook, official correspondence to his mother, official documentation, letters from the Caterpillar Club, German prisoner of war propaganda, 14 editions of the Red Cross prisoner of war newspaper and photographs of Royal Air Force personnel including himself.
Album in sub collection consists of 47 pages of prisoner of war related photographs.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Pamela Hyslop and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2018-03-07
Rights
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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
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Whitehead, T
Transcribed document
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
The Prisoner of War
The official journal of the prisoner of war department of the red cross and st. John war organisation, St. James palace, London, S.W.1
Vol. 2. No. 13. Free to Next of Kin May, 1943.
The Editor Writes -
In view of the allegations which have been made in Parliament and elsewhere about conditions in Italian camps, and especially in Campo P.G.5. I am glad to be able to print some reassuring first-hand statements about prison camp life in Italy. The first is from Commander L.M. Brown, R.N., D.S.C., repatriated direct from P.G.5.
Prison Life in Italy
“The Italians,” he says “are always in my experience, kindly and well-disposed, but they are terrified of escapes. Their good intentions are not, however, always carried out in practise. When attempts are made to escape, it is the prison authorities rather than the prisoners who are most severely punished. That is why they limit the exercise space and remove many hobbies which would otherwise keep the prisoners amused. My only complaint is that they do not provide anything by way of recreational facilities – particularly at P.G.5. where everybody who had been punished was sent. Other complaints about this camp are mainly exaggerations.” (See also page 13.)
A Signal from the C.-in-C.
By way of postscript to Commander Brown I may refer to a signal from the Commander-in-Chief Levant to the Admiralty saying that the recently repatriated naval prisoners of war from Italy “unanimously express their sincere gratitude” for the food and comforts parcels sent out by the British Red Cross and distributed through the International Red Cross Committee.
From the Model Camp
Writing to his father in Hull from “the model camp of Italy” a denizen of Campo P.G.52 testifies: “Everything is done for our comfort and convenience. The Camp Commander is a perfect gentleman. We get a Red Cross parcel between two of us twice a week.” A gunner in Campo P.G.54 reports that his camp is situated in quite a pleasant spot not far from Rome, green countryside all around and a range of mountains in the distance. “Our enclosure,” he says, “does not allow much room for exercise but we are allowed out for walks at frequent intervals.”
Fine New Huts
And here is yet further good news from an Italian camp – P.G.73 – contained in a letter to a Reigate reader from her husband. “We are now housed in our new huts,” he writes,
[Picture]
Red Cross parcels arriving at Stalag 383, formerly known as Oflag III C – drawn by an inmate!
“Which are really fine places and 100 per cent. improvement on the tents, really modern and, above all, considerably warmer. There seems nothing to worry about on this side, so please keep smiling.” His wife says that her letters to Italy are getting through much more quickly than replies from there. From P.G.82 comes a message that next-of-kin parcels and cigarette parcels are arriving daily. Red Cross parcels every week. Main items wanted are “books, cigs, chocs, socks and hankies.”
Happy Returns!
This is our Birthday Number. It is a year ago since we appeared for the first time and I am happy to say that we have made friends all over the world. My birthday wish to our readers can only be “Speedy happy returns of your menfolk!” And I should like to quote from two letters that have reached me. One – from Redcar – says: “Keep on editing, editor. You’re doing a grand job and we know it. So do the chaps behind the wire. So keep up the good work till they’re home again.” The other: “I imagine every single copy of your magazine is more widely circulated and shared than any other paper.”
Photostat Journalism
Special arrangements, unique in the history of journalism, have now been made for the publication of [italic] The Prisoner of War [/italic] in Canada within a few days of its appearance in this country. One of the first copies printed in London is sent off by air mail to Ottawa, where some 15,000 copies are reproduced by Photostat with certain modifications and additions conveying suitable information for Canadian readers. I have just seen
[Page break]
2 The Prisoner of War May, 1943
a grateful letter from a lady living in Edmonton, Alberta, expressing appreciation of an article we published about Otlag IVC where her son has been prisoner for nearly two years.
Adventures in Kriegieland
A flying officer thus sets down his fantastic first impressions of Stalag Luft 111:
“An ardent individual clothed in a pair of pyjama trousers and an old scout’s hat, perched on a tree stump in the midday heat, a little way from the wire, diligently executing the chromatic scale on a saxophone. I was amazed at the indifference of the sentry in the box a few yards off and of the ‘Kriegies’ [sic] (prisoners of war), marching round the perimeter track, busily, quickly, in little knots of two or three, as if they had somewhere to go, a train to catch perhaps – or an important meeting to attend.
“Then there were the dozen or so yachtsmen, skilfully navigating homemade sailing boats round the fire squad’s 12 feet square reservoir. Some wore old socks on their heads, cut down R.A.F. trousers served as shorts, pyjama jackets, shawls and other quaint swathings [sic] abounded....
“I’m sure that only the season prevented the March Hare turning up at tea-time. Kriegieland — A land stranger much than fiction.”
Up-to-date Lantern Lectures
Red Cross lantern slides are now obtainable on loan, free of charge by schools, clubs and associations. These are in two sets, (1) “Red Cross and St Johns – Past and Present,” and (2) “Work of Red Cross and St. John for Prisoners of War.” Written lectures are issued with each collection and posters and leaflets can be obtained on request. Apply three weeks in advance of your date fixture to: Lantern Slides, Red Cross and St. John War Organisation, 24, Carlton House Terrace, London, S.W.1.
Examination Success
Since the inception of the scheme for holding examinations in prisoners of war camps, there have been more than 2,000 applications from candidates. Another 2,000 are working for exams, and about 400 have already sat for them in 13 different camps. In the results published up to date, 212 out of 262 passed, some with distinction. Subjects studied range from Banking and Economics to Gasfitting [sic] and there are now more than seventy examining bodies, including universities, professional societies and technical institutions.
Some prisoners are particularly interested in modern languages, and not all confine themselves to the European. Some want certificates in Malay, Swahili and Chinese!
Settling In
When prisoners are moved from one camp to another they are apt to feel a little uprooted. Other parents and friends may have read words like these: “I cannot say too much at present. Like everything else that is new, it seems a bit strange. We are still busy settling in.” But the letter continues cheerfully: “We are all living in a large house, just one big happy family.” And the surroundings strike a familiar note. This P.O.W. in Campo P.G.122 has seen scenery like this before. It is “very similar to the Great West Road round about Osterley.”
A gift from Italy
News has only just reached me of a most remarkable Christmas present. It appears that every man in Campo P.G.82 wrote home to his next of kin with instructions to send to the Red Cross a Christmas contribution on his behalf – “as a token of appreciation of the great work that Red Cross is doing for us.” A major in this camp who writes to inform us of this touching spontaneous tribute says that the total achieved was £1,344 sterling.
Am I downhearted? No
“Twenty-three to-day and my fourth birthday away from Blighty,” writes her brother in a Stalag to Elsie Morris, in Bolton. “Am I downhearted? No, far from it, for during these three years I’ve learnt more than in all the previous ones put together. I realise the real value of things. I get a kick out of doing something I detest, knowing that in doing so I am climbing one rung nearer the top of the ladder and not slipping the entire length to the mud beneath.”
Pain from Over-eating
A Westbury-on-Trym [sic] reader is anxious that I should print an extract from a letter from his brother Jim in Stalag XXB, because it will ease the minds of some who have relatives there. “I am really and truthfully O.K.” writes Jim.
[Picture]
Bathing at Stalag XVIII A.
“At present I have a pain in my stomach through over-eating! Seems funny to you, perhaps, but it’s God’s truth. The Red Cross food I’ve knocked back to-day would last a camel a week.”
So Very Tasty
Some prisoners show considerable ingenuity in the way they use the contents of the Red Cross parcels. Here is a “lovely breakfast” recipe from a Lincolnshire man in Campo P.G.70. “I mixed the Yorkshire pudding powder with grated cheese, and sliced some dates, and had it cooked in the cookhouse.” Rather a queer concoction, but its inventor says it was marvellous. He also says that he is in the pink of condition and has had “quite a lot of mail” from home.
Thanks from overseas.
Malta, Palestine, Trinidad and Southern India — readers in all those countries are represented in my mailbag this month. “In our village (Tel-mond, Palestine) are many families of P/W,” writes Mrs. Glezer, “and all of them are glad to read the journal for which I send the greatest of thanks.” Mrs. Ortensia Stafrace writes to St. James’s Palace from Valetta: “I wish to renew my thanks to you and your staff for what you are doing for me and many others and for keeping me in touch with my dear husband ... and I assure you I will remain obliged to you till death.”
“It Brings Them Nearer”
“In the last issue there is a bit about Ian’s new camp. It seems to bring our boys nearer to us.” Ian is the flying officer son of Mrs Bourne, who writes from Trinidad to express her appreciation of [italic] The Prisoner of War [/italic]. Mrs Barker, writing from Bangalore, is no less enthusiastic, and says that she is justly proud of her husband who, is [sic] spite of his 30 years’ service, seems to bear the ordeal of an exile’s life very well. He had been Camp Sergeant Major at Campo P.G.65 until he was transferred to another camp.
Red Cross Sunday
Sunday, May 2nd, will be celebrated in churches throughout the country as Red Cross and St. John Sunday. Special prayers recommended for the occasion include the prayer for Prisoners of War which was specially written by the Dean of York (Dr. Milner White) and published in our January issue.
The Editor Regrets
To those who have asked whether they can be put in touch with other next of kin I must regretfully announce that it is impossible for this journal to undertake that responsibility. Introductions must be made direct by your men in the camps.
THE EDITOR.
[Page break]
May, 1943, The Prisoner of War, 3.
[Picture]
“...still something to lean on.”
ALL in the DAY’S WORK
Many and Varied are the Jobs Done by Members of Working Parties
[Picture]
“....caught bricks, carried bricks and cursed bricks.”
Prisoners who are members of working parties often write home to say that they are putting on weight. “It’s not fat either, but good hard muscle,” writes one of the men at a German Stalag.
They are the happiest prisoners, for usually work carries with it certain extra privileges and extra rations, and the men get a small rate of pay.
Most of the labour is out-of-doors, which explains the good health which prisoners proudly report to their people at home.
Under International Law it was agreed that P.O.W.s who are physically fit can be employed on work not directly connected with the operations of war. Officers cannot be compelled to work, but may volunteer to do so.
Types of work
The types of labour vary and include plumbing, bricklaying, quarrying and factory work. A few prisoners work in coal and salt mines, some do clerical work, and a considerable number work on the land, and are billeted with the farmer or in one of his cottages. Some, however, live in a special camp near the farm.
The following description of “home conditions” in a farm cottage comes from Germany. The writer has christened his billet “Chez Nous.”
“We have two rooms, one large, one small. The small one we use as a washroom. The larger one is our bedroom, dining-room, ballroom – to suit the occasion.
“The bedsteads are two-tier bunks. The beds are palliasses [sic] filled with straw. WE have two fires – that is, one fireplace which we use for heating water and preparing our little Red Cross dishes, and an oven for heating purposes.
“We have a cupboard with shelves where we keep our belongings, on top of which is a small bookcase, which I made out of Red Cross boxes. Then we have a table and chairs, of course. Various photographs are hung around the room, and, naturally, I consider my collection on the wall above my bed to be the finest on show.”
Prisoners working on farms often get a certain amount of liberty. One of them, describing his working day, says: “’Aufstehen’ is at 5 o’clock. I wash and clean my teeth, and then six of us start our daily walk to the farm. I leave Mervyn and his mate about half a kilometre along the road, then another half-kilometre and we leave the other two ‘gefangeners.’ That leaves Dick Holt and myself to find our way along a canal bank for another kilometre to our farm. Then till 7.30 I help get green fodder for the horses, after which I get the horse and van ready and take the milk to the milk lorry. I come back, have ‘Fruhstuck’ and do a bit of threshing until dinner-time.
Threshing Until Vesper
“In the afternoon I do more threshing until ‘Vesper’ at 4 o’clock, after which we do various odd jobs till 7 o’clock, have a wash, then supper, and a walk back to the billet.”
However they are employed, the men seem to be glad to have the work to do.
One of them writes: “The work I do varies quite often, and at the moment I am working in a machine and blacksmith’s shop. Can you imagine me wielding a hammer on an anvil?”
Another comments: “We have a variety of jobs, such as digging, road-building and work connected with the building trade.”
And from another comes the following:
“This week quite a large gang went out on a working-party – plumbers, bricklayers, carpenters, labourers, and there is hope of plenty of work soon. I should like to get out as it entails extra rations.”
A prisoner who works in a quarry insists, rather surprisingly, that his work is easy. “The best job is running the stones to the station so as to unload it – about twenty minutes’ work and an hour and a half riding about on the lorry. We manage to see a bit of the town this way.”
Here is the wide experience with bricks gained by a prisoner who in other days was a bank clerk, recounted to his sister: ‘I have been putting up blocks of flats. As to my methods – Heath Robinson hasn’t a look in! I’ve handled bricks, stacked bricks, thrown bricks, caught bricks, carried bricks and cursed bricks. In fact, what I haven’t done to a brick has never been done.”
Relegated to a Shovel
Another joker remarks that he has been “sacked from the constructional job and relegated to a shovel . . . still something to lean on!”
A P.O.W. in Stalag VIIIB is quite sure that a regular job is a good means of keeping well. He writes: “I am now with my third working party and feeling very pleased and contented with life in general. We return from work by three in the afternoon with a healthy glow and feeling as fit as we have ever felt.” This prisoner mentions that there are sixty in his present camp and that they are “a grand crowd of fellows.”
In one camp the pay is quoted as “70 pfennig, that is, about 9d. a day. But we can’t spend it on much, so some of us will be millionaires when the war’s over!”
No chance of that, perhaps! Rather let us say that when the war is over, these men will come home in better health and spirits than would have been possible if they had been confined to their camps without any occupation.
[Picture]
Members of a working party attached to Stalag VIII B/E 373. In the background is the cottage in which they live.
[Page break}
4 The Prisoner of War May, 1943
[Underlined] The Far East [/Underlined] [Underlined] A Broadcast from Java [/Underlined]
LIFE IN A JAPANESE PRISON CAMP
[italic] Lieutenant J. Lambert, a young Artillery officer, is a prisoner of war in Java, and on March 6th he was allowed by the Japanese authorities to broadcast on the Batavian Service to Australia. Lieutenant Lambert, who was formerly a journalist in Preston and Nottingham, gave an interesting account of the daily life in the Javanese prison camp, and we reprint some extracts from his account. It should be borne in mind that the script of the broadcast was censored by the Japanese authorities.
LIEUTENANT LAMBERT had been a prisoner for two days short of one year when he spoke. After being captured the men were assembled at a railway head and then, leaving the terminus, they marched at night loaded with all the gear they could carry to the camp itself.
For a week afterwards there was furious activity, “scrubbing, hammering, digging, grading, counting, sorting out mixed units, until the place was roughly organised. It was soon obvious that there was going to be a job of work for everybody in the task of preserving a reasonably healthy and cheerful community in a prison camp within six degrees of the Equator.
“The necessary organisation included just as much administrative work as though we had been living a normal garrison life, plus the establishment of hygiene and sanitation squads, anti-malaria service, engineers’ workshop, central cookhouse, kitchen garden squad, facilities for religious worship, entertainments and, above all, our own medical service.
“Living accommodation in general consists of sound buildings, plentifully ventilated. There is at all times plenty of freedom to move about in the open, within the boundary wife of the camp area. The traditional genius of the British soldier for making himself comfortable was never more obvious than it is here. We brought in a good many tools with us and any sort of available wood soon become primitive furniture.
“Officers have exactly the same type of quarters as the men. Meals are based on the steamed rice which is the staple diet of the Eastern Asiatic races. It is accompanied by soup or stew, made of plentiful green vegetables with a certain amount of meat and there is enough flour for a bread ration once a day. To supplement these rations we have our own shop, buying, under Japanese supervision from local sources, and one can get eggs, fruit, sugar, peanuts, onions, potatoes, cigarettes and native tobacco.
“The Japanese employ large numbers of men on work outside the camps, and for each day’s work the men are paid. In
[Picture]
A group of prisoners at Zentsuji camp, Shikoku Island, Japan.
addition, camp maintenance staffs are paid. A fit man can earn a small but regular income, and we have started contributory schemes of unemployment insurance and sickness benefit.
“It must be remembered, too, that most of us came here completely unacclimatised [sic], but, luckily, we had medical officers with long experience of the tropics. They certainly needed all their experience and all their energies from time to time, especially in the early months. But hospital accommodation and the supply of medical materials has greatly improved during the year. After a year of this life the men have learned a great deal about taking care of themselves in this climate, and the situation has shown steady improvement recently.
“There is any amount of recreation. Soccer and Rugby, limited to fifteen or twenty minutes each way, are played regularly, and inter-unit league games produce ‘needle’ matches with roaring crowds on the touchline. Basketball, deck-tennis and badminton supply milder forms of exercise. Chess and bridge have become absolute favourites among the indoor pastimes. Contract bridge has certainly not been reckoned among the ordinary soldier’s favourite card games as a rule, but it certainly has become one in the prison camps at Java.
“The standard of stage and concert-party entertainment is really amazing. In my own camp we have seen three colourful Shakespearean productions. We have a first-class dance band, and at the moment we are revelling in a series of shows of the light musical comedy type. We even possess a startling pair of synthetic female beauties. Two R.A.F. boys transform themselves into a dazzling blonde and a skittish redhead. At a range of five yards you’d never dream that the blonde’s crowning glory consists of the combed-out fibres of a bleached sandbag, cunningly waved and set.”
Lieutenant Lambert concludes:
“For the time being at least, and maybe until the end, we are out of the fight. We have had a year of captivity and we fully realise that we may have another year or more to face. But my own feeling is that the message to you all from prisoners of war in the Far East is this: “We can take it. Please don’t let any anxiety for us distract you from the job in hand.”
Official Reports on Camps
SIR JAMES GRIGG, secretary of State for War, stated in the House of Commons last month that the Delegate of the International Red Cross Committee in Tokio [sic] had recently visited six camps in the Osaka group and seven in the Fukuoka group. The following reports have been received from Geneva:-
OSAKA GROUP OF CAMPS
Nine camps in the neighbourhood of Osaka and Kobe are administered as one group. The principle camp is in Osaka and another is in Kobe, and two others, Amagasaki and Sakurajima are near these two adjoining cities. These four camps contain British prisoners of war from Hong Kong. The camps are described as clean and tidy.
At Kobe a four-storey brick warehouse is used to accommodate the prisoners. The buildings in the other camps have wooden frames and plastered walls. They are heated during the coldest weather with braziers. The men have five blankets each and sleep in two-tiered bunks. Each officer has a cubicle. There appear to be no recreation rooms.
The toilet arrangements are adequate. As is the custom in Japan, all the men bathe together in a large warm bath.
The rations are said to be satisfactory in quality, and to be superior to those issued to Japanese troops. The Camp Leaders are satisfied with the food.
The camps had all received a share of the Red Cross relief supplies sent on
(Continued on Page 14)
[Page Break]
May, 1943 The Prisoner of War 5
[photograph]
STALAG IX A/H
[photograph]
K.G.F. B.A.B.21
[photograph]
STALAGLUFT I
[photograph]
STALAG XVIIID 2981
[photograph]
STALAG IIID’404
Groups from the Camps
[photograph]
STALAG VIII B
[photograph]
STALAG XXA’5
[photograph]
CAMPO P.G.41
[Page Break]
6 The Prisoner of War May, 1943
Fun And Games
[Picture]
This model of friendly old “Big Ben” was made by a member of Stalag XXA.
Arts and Crafts at Stalag XXA
At a recent Exhibition of Arts and Crafts held at Stalag XXA one of the exhibits was the striking portrait of His Majesty King George VI. The exhibition included other clever portraits, copies of old masters and studies of animals and still life. In the modelling section friendly old “Big Ben” –reproduced on this page – was outstanding. One exhibitor, using materials to hand, arranged regimental medals against a backcloth to form the Union Jack and express the indomitable British spirit of the artists and craftsmen.
Dream Boat at Stalag XXB
“Dear Mum and Dad,” wrote a private from Stalag XXB, “we had a jolly good Christmas here; plenty of grub, thanks to the Red Cross. We also had a play called ‘Crazy Gefangeners,’ and did we enjoy it!
“ One item was a boat we had made pulled on pulleys in the dark with the light on the boat while the band played ‘When my dream boat comes home,’ ‘All ashore,’ ‘We are sailing on the crest of a wave,’ and ‘Red Sails in the Sunset.’”
“London Pride”
The camp commandant and other German officers attended a recent concert at an Oflag. It was a “roaring success,” with the Canadian Art Crighton and his Boys (Including Little Oscar on the Sousaphone) playing all the latest tunes. A New Zealander, Lee Humphries, sang hill-billies in a Canadian Rockie scene, Bruce Organ gave comedy numbers, and a grand pantomime, “Dick Whittington,” formed the finale.
In One stirring scene a cockney figure stood silhouetted against a background of the Embankment and the House of Parliament at night as he sang “London Pride.”
“Night Club” at P.G.21
Officers in the Italian camp P.G.21 (Chieti) have rigged up a large room as a “Little Theatre” where plays and variety shows are held regularly. The camp has a dance orchestra, described by a prisoner as “easily up to professional standards.” Recently the “Little Theatre” was turned into a London night club and cabaret, and a “customer” who dined at the “21 Supper and Grill” described it as “unreal and unbelievable.”
How Many Buttons?
A novel competition formed an added attraction to the ambitious revue. “London Calling,” recently produced at Stalag XXA by “The Cockneys” Concert Party. Included in the programme was a short notice inviting playgoers to guess the number of buttons on the jacket of the Pearly King — a
[Picture]
THE P.O.W’s RETURN
“Excuse me – but does Mrs. Jones live about here?”
“Yes. Er – as a matter of fact, I’m her daughter.”
“Dear me. Very pleased to meet you. I’m your father.”
(From a member of Oflag IX A/H)
member of the cast. Answers were to be written on the removable slip provided and dropped in a special box at the exit when the play was over. Meanwhile a piece of paper showing the true figure was being kept in a sealed envelope to be opened on the third night of the performance.
Valuable prizes, the audience was told, awaited those competitors whose estimates came nearest to the correct number.
Two Stalag Shows
“Tulip Time” is the charming name for a musical fairy tale presented at Stalag XXIA. One of the men at this camp recently sent the artistic printed programme, and a most professional programme it is, too. Songs, lyrics and music were all written by the prisoners themselves.
Another excellent programme has been received from Stalag XXA. This was for a revue called “Come in, Ma,” presented by the “Fort Concert Party.”
Books are Reaching Italy
Good news is reaching the Red Cross Indoor Recreations Section about the arrival of books in Italian camps. So far definite acknowledgments of books have been received from ten officers’ camps, sixteen men’s camps, and from six hospitals, as follows: Officers’ camp: P.G. Nos. 5, 12, 17, 21, 29, 35, 38, 41, and 47. Men’s camps: P.G. Nos. 51, 52, 54, 57, 59, 65, 66, 73, 75, 77, 78, 82, 85, 91, 95 and 129. Hospitals: P.G. Nos. 201 and 202. Military Hospitals: Pari, Parma, Morigi di Piacenza and Caserta.
Next of kin and friends of prisoners of war are asked to continue sending book parcels through permit-holding retailers to individual prisoners, as these books, when read are usually passed on to the Camp Librarian for the general benefit of prisoners.
APRIL SELECTION OF “PENGUIN BOOKS”
Penguin Books have informed us that the following ten books have been chosen as the April selection for prisoners in camps in Germany and Italy:
Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons; William Cook; Antique Dealer, Richard Keverne; Cut Throat, Christopher Bush: The Old Road from Spain, Constance Holme; Selected Modern Short Stories, Vol 1, Ed. By Alan Steele; Farewell Victoria, T.H. White; A life of Shakespeare, Hesketh Pearson; South Latitude, F.D. Ommanney; The Growth of Science, A.P. Rossiter; European Painting and Sculpture, Eric Newton.
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May, 1943 The Prisoner of War 7
The Letters They Write Home
A world in Miniature
Campo P.G.78. 17.2.43.
“THERE is nothing that would indicate that we have been prisoners for two years. We have settled down to it as if it were our normal life and accept things as they are. We are not in the slightest degree crushed, cranky or depressed. It is a world in miniature with normal gossip and joking, with nothing more exciting than heated arguments occasionally about the constitution of the bands, concert party, etc., just as in ‘Civyy’ [sic] Street.”
The Simple Philosophy
Stalag XXID. 23.2.43.
“SATURDAY afternoons and all day Sunday we have to ourselves. The rest of the week we are working from seven in the morning to four in the afternoon. Lights go out at ten. The Red Cross have sent us all kinds of things – musical instruments, books, cards, games and drawing paper. I have taken up sketching. My special line is portraits – gave me a photograph of a man, woman or child and I will turn out a beautiful replica in pencil. It is curious how many of the chaps here have perfectly good photos of their relatives and young ladies and are not content until they have been reproduced in pencil. Conditions are a lot different now than in the early days. We have got our second wind back and settled down to the simple philosophy of ‘There’s a good time coming.’”
To His Daughter
Oflag IXA/H. Undated.
“AFTER the war won’t it be funny to hear the chink of silver money, to go for a walk without a guard, to sit on a chair that isn’t hard, to eat off a plate that isn’t iron, to have a comfortable bed to lie on, to go to a flick, to drive a car, with no one wondering where you are, to talk to people you really like, to sit in a bath or ride a bike, to wear clean clothes, to speak by ‘phone, to have a room of your very own, to send a letter away by post and get a reply In a week at most, to sit by a fire when it’s grey and ‘parky’, to wear a suit that isn’t khaki, to turn from a plate of good plum duff and say ‘No, thank you, I’ve had enough’!
“Won’t it be funny (won’t it be bliss!) to have you and Mum again after this?”
News of Blighty
Stalag IXC. 15.2.43.
“WE have here now some fellows who were recently captured in Africa who were able to give us very cheering news about ‘Blighty.’ As they were home as recently as last November, you can bet they had plenty to tell us. For the past few months I have been working in the mill, where all the salt from the mine has to be crushed to powder.”
Variety Turn
Stalag XXB. 14.2.43.
“I HAVE plenty to write about this week, for you see for the first time in our district we have had a concert, or rather a variety show. Organised by one of our lads, the show was put on in the village assembly hall and the lads taking part were from the surrounding farms, the cheese ‘joint’ and black-
[Picture]
Sports Day at Stalag VIIA – the bookmakers
[inserted] PICTURES AND LETTERS
POSTAL orders for 10s. will be awarded each month to the senders of the first three letters printed. We should be very much obliged if readers would send us COPIES of their prisoners’ letters instead of the original ones and on a separate sheet of paper.
Photographs, preferably of prisoners at work or recreation, will also be welcomed. Payments of 10s. will be made for every photograph reproduced across two columns, and 5s. for every photograph across one column. The name of the subject and also the name and address of sender must be written in block letters on the back. All letters and photographs will be returned as soon as possible.
Address: RED CROSS EDITOR, PRISONERS OF WAR DEPT., ST. JAMES’S PALACE, LONDON, S.W.1.
The cost of these prizes and fees is defrayed by a generation friend of the Red Cross and St. John War Organisation. [/inserted]
smith’s. Our modest band consisted of an ancient piano, guitar, piano accordion, drums and home-made bass, i.e., an old inner tube stretched over a soap box. Nevertheless, it did marvellously well. I composed a humorous monologue concerning a ladies v. gents cricket match, and I was besieged with requests for copies afterwards. In the last act I appeared as one of the Western Brothers in company with a West End garage proprietor. Together we recited my own composition, ‘It Was Agony.’ Our ‘toppers’ were made from our Red Cross parcel boxes and blacked over with tar. Exactly 160 of our lads enjoyed the show. Three German officers attended.”
Summer’s Coming.
Campo P.G.53. 6.3.43.
“LIFE isn’t too bad. . . . We brew up the tea from our Red Cross parcels several times a day so as not to waste a drop. What I look forward to most is chocolate and cigarettes. Am looking forward to your next of kin parcels. . . . Will you please send in your next parcel khaki shirts and shorts, as the weather in summer is just as hot as in the Middle East.”
Dear Old London.
Oflag VIIB. 9.3.43.
“WE spend hours talking about dear old London. It usually starts after supper with something like this: ‘Have you ever had oysters in one of those bars by the Helvetia – ?’ ‘Oh, yes,’ says someone else ‘and just round the corner, in Rupert Street, is Pinolis,’ and so it goes on.
A week or so ago three American Colonels arrived from Tunisia, so we do get a bit of late news from occasional people. Those things which three years ago one took for granted now seem to be the absolute essence of luxury, such as hot water running from a tap, or even gazing into a shop window. You know at times this seems almost worth it all, just for the unique experience it will be when it comes to an end and we return home.”
Looking Ahead.
Stalag Luft 3. 5.3.43.
“I AM wondering what it will feel like to be free again, just to be able to walk miles and miles out into the country and no barbed wire or guards to stop me. I want to stand on Rivock edge and look out over the valleys as far as the eye can see.
“We are entirely surrounded by woods and I haven’t seen anything except trees for ten months. It doesn’t matter though, my time isn’t entirely wasted and I know the gates
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8 The Prisoner of War May,1943
[Picture]
P.O.W. attached to Stalag XXB 258.
will soon be open, and I hope it will be this year as you and I seem to think.
“I have done a lot of thinking since I have been here, and I think I have got things more or less weighed up now as regards life and the way of it and I hope to get somewhere when I get back. I have been permanently impressed by the work of the International Red Cross,
[Picture]
Parcels Office at Stalag Luft 3.
particularly (in our case) the British Red Cross. I wonder if you at home fully realise how much we owe to them? It is more than we can ever hope to repay.”
Fair Shares
Stalag IXC. 5.2.43
“FOR our parcels we split up into ‘syndicates’ of two, three or four men. These groups share everything – food, cigarettes, money. I’m in a syndicate with B---- M----, an ex-Army cook who, of course, does the cooking. ‘Tommy,’ who acts as the ‘quarter-bloke, is a London Terrier, and a
[Picture]
Boxing bout at Stalag XX A/110.
gardener from Kent is general factotum. I’m scrounger-in-chief, and Chancellor of the Exchequer.”
Bridge Player
Campo P.G.65 24.2.43.
“I KEEP very fit and cheerful and play a lot of bridge. Have so far won four competitions and have taught nearly fifty fellows to play, including four sergeant-majors. To-day for the first time I went on an organised route march, under escort, of course, about three miles or so. It was a real treat to get out of camp.”
Kept Him Awake
Llag VII. 3.2.43.
“TO me in England. ‘Red Cross’ meant mainly ambulance and stretchers: in Jersey it was the message bureau. Here it means parcels! On issuing days you line up by rooms to collect dry goods and whatever tins you want. These are opened and examined for contraband. We had such a parcel yesterday. It raised spirits from zero to such a pitch that sleep was out of the question till 1 a.m.”
Handcuffing
Oflag VIIB. 20.1.43.
“I AM extremely well mentally and physically. I did not happen to get picked for the handcuffing, and even if I had been it is really not the sort of thing which need give rise to any alarm.
“I suppose it is difficult to imagine at home how we live here, but there is one thing that ought to be realised that things which would be intolerably irksome, if one were alone, lose a great deal of their sting when they are shared by two thousand extremely cheerful companions.”
Post-war Bureaux
[italic] From a Camp Leader, Stalag VIIIB. [/italic]
19.2.43.
“WE received a rude shock last week when I was notified that the Post-war Advice Bureau would cease to exist, that being the order of the German High Command. Unfortunately, there appears to be little hope that an appeal against the ruling will be upheld. What a disappointment, and just when the fruits were being borne!”
Exchange on Points
Oflag IX A/Z. 12.2.43.
“WE have an exchange market here which works on points instead of money. If any one has too much of one particular thing, into the market it goes and he is credited with so many points when it is sold. For instance, I wanted two suits of summer underwear, which I got, finest material. This cost me one tin brown polish. 80 points; four pair laces, 120 points; one pair socks, 50 points; one razor blade, 10 points.”
Brown as Berries
Campo P.G. 21. 6.3.43.
“AM enjoying the book [italic] Gone to Earth [/italic] very much and have only just finished [italic] The Sun Is My Undoing. [/italic] The weather is now doing its best to cheer us up, and sunbathing is all the rage. We shall all return as brown as berries ‘even though the belt has been tightened up considerably.”
Monuments to Patience
Oflag IIIC. 23.2.43.
“IF the weather with you is anything like ours, you will be wondering where the winter has gone. We have already started sunbathing, and shorts have begun to make their appearance.
“Recently we held our Arts and Crafts Exhibition, and some of the exhibits were really amazing, particularly when tools are limited to penknives and the material is all plywood. Most of these exhibits could be called ‘Monuments to Patience,’ that great but very necessary virtue acquired in P.O.W. camp.”
Dramatic Talent
Stalag XXA. 7.3.43.
“THERE were fifty men when I came here, now there are ninety. I have worked every day this last two weeks but to-day I have a break. The talent of our club put on a play called ‘The Monkey’s Paw,’ and it was a success and I enjoyed it.”
Stage Properties
Marlag und Milag Nord.
4.3.43.
“WE had three Americans in the cast of ‘On the Spot.’ We are very nice clothes for the shows and make female wigs from string off the Red Cross parcels. You would be surprised if you saw our efforts on the stage! Everything done as you would at home. We use real ‘make-up,’ dresses are made by the camp tailors, shoes are hand-made. The stage is properly equipped with lighting, spot-lights, dimmers.”
Maths Master
Campo P.G.70. 27.2.43.
“I AM starting a class in mathematics. Although I know quite a bit about maths, teaching men is a new experience. I have got over the spell of shortage of Red Cross parcels. They are giving us one a week again now. I am really glad that delay occurred as it makes me appreciate all the more what the Red Cross are doing for us. I shall never grudge helping them when I regain my freedom.”
[inserted] “IF I AM TAKEN PRISONER”
[italic] The letter quoted below was found in the kit-bag of an eighteen-year-old Commando. It was written to his mother the afternoon before he left on the Dieppe raid, in which he was wounded and taken prisoner. [/italic]
“My Own Dearest Mother,
“By now you will probably have heard what has happened to me. I hardly know just what to say to comfort you, but I am sure that you know that I do not want you to fret or worry over me. . . .
“I have only one regret I parting from you from as far back as the day I joined the Army, I wish I could have provided for you, or at least, helped to support you, better than I have done in the past. . . .
“. . . My love to all at home and away, and please tell them all that they were constantly in my mind, and I wish them all happiness and luck.
“Mother dear, I would just like to say that if I should be taken prisoner, please trust and believe in God that some day I will be home to work for you and comfort you. . . So don’t forget, darling, to try and smile and be brave. . . . God bless you.
“With everlasting love,
Your Son,
Ron.”
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May, 1943 The Prisoner of War 9
His Half Day
Campo P.G.54. 5.3.43.
“WE’VE been having some lovely weather with clear blue skies and sunshine, and Sunday was just like a midsummer’s day back home. I had a cold shower, put my clean underwear on and sat reading in the sun all the afternoon. The ‘working man’ enjoys his half day now!”
Hot Showers
Oflag 55 (VD). 1.2.43.
“THE best thing in this camp (built as a Youth Hostel) is the lovely hot shower baths which we enjoy every Thursday. We do not work, except to do what is necessary for the maintenance of the camp, but I find plenty to do. I get up first, at 7 a.m., and get the fire going, and boil hot water and make tea for as many as have it, and prefer it to German tea.”
Jack-of-All-Trades
Stalag IIID. 14.2.43.
“I AM working on the railway with a pick. It is pretty heavy but we get extra rations for it, so the work will not do me any harm. At home I would be called a plate-layer. I will be a Jack-of-all-trades when I get back.”
The “Stooge” Day
Stalag Luft III.
Undated.
“DURING the long evening, broken by brew and biscuits at 9.30, there is a lot of talking, but it is O.K, for working until bedtime just after 10 p.m., lights out at 10.30 p.m. Odd jobs, especially washing, take a lot of time, and the weekly ‘stooge’ day is nothing but preparing meals and washing up. Of course, we do a little talking, too! Our long discussions, the give and take spirit, and the little work I manage to do are doing me a lot of good.”
Special Security Camp
Oflag IVC. 15.3.43.
“THIS is a weird and boring life. This is my seventh camp and is probably my last, as it is a special security camp for people who cause trouble or who have tried to escape. There are Dutch, Poles, Belgians and French here, too, and a wonderful, cheery spirit pervades.
“We do most of our own cooking, but everyone is relieved when my turn is passed! My best dish is a plain raw onion salad! Also discovered it’s remarkable how long a bed will go unmade before becoming a complete cat’s cradle. Our beds are built in tiers and can go up to three, top one is awkward to scale and painful for the bottom two!”
Expert Translation
Marlag und Milag Nord. 3.3.43.
“THE new theatre which we have built was opened the other day by having a film show. We have a 16 mm. projector and hire the films for it. The apparatus is excellent and we put over quite a good performance. I stand behind and yell out the translations.”
His Music
Stalag VIIIB. 14.2.43.
“WE have a lot of musical instruments, too, piano accordions, guitars, etc., but immediately I start to practice about seventeen of the lads descend on me till I promise to stop. I’ve ordered a saxophone, and the fact that I don’t know the first thing about one won’t make the least difference.”
Keeping our Chaps Amused
Campo P.G.73. 23.2.43.
“OUR day starts about 7.30 a.m. when a drink of black coffee is brought round. When the weather was very cold we did not get up till 9 or 10 a.m., but as the weather gets warmer we rise earlier. About 10.30 we are issued with a small loaf and about 2oz. of cheese and an orange every other day. Then Ted and I do drawings or crosswords and sometimes we make up questions and quizzes to ask the hut of an evening.
“A lot of our time is spent in arranging talks and debates, as Ted and I have more or less accepted the responsibility of keeping our chaps amused.”
Talking Italian
Campo P.G.70. 2.2.43.
“WE still continue to get the Red Cross parcels. I am now well set up for external clothing, but await your personal parcel. I am in the Civilian Hospital and doing well. It’s very good in here. The food is fine and we have fun trying to talk Italian. Doctors and nurses are kind and treat us well.”
Weekly Treat
Campo P.G.75. 24.2.43.
“THIS evening I started off with the usual issue of soup, but I only had the liquid and saved the vegetables, i.e., cabbage and onions, and had them with some salmon afterwards. I followed with meat roll and biscuits and finished with dried peaches as a sweet. Of course, a meal like this only comes once a week, but we are very grateful for them and to the [italic] marvellous, stupendous, colossal [/italic] British Red Cross Society.”
[Picture]
Four cheerful faces at Campo P.G.59
Home Comforts
Campo P.G.53. 26.2.43.
“We have sheets and pillow cases and I can tell you it is marvellous to be between sheets again; it reminds me so much of home. . . . There are many kinds of lectures and classes one can attend, and just now we are running an Arts and Crafts exhibition for
[Picture]
Sports day at Stalag Luft 3.
which money prizes are to be given. As for sport, there’s practically every facility for it. There are also P.T. classes, for which they are getting complete equipment such as hobby horses, mattresses, parallel bars and such like. Then, of course, there is a canteen in which we can buy sweets, chocolate, fig bars, onions, oranges, and all kinds of miscellaneous articles such as notebooks, pens, ink, pencil sharpeners.”
[Picture]
Xmas dinner at Stalag VII A/2771.
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10 The Prisoner of War May, 1943
OFFICIAL REPORTS FROM THE CAMPS
[inserted] [italic] In every case where the conditions call for remedy, the Protection Power makes representations to the German or Italian authorities. Where there is any doubt whether the Protecting Power has acted, it is at once requested to do so. When it is reported that food or clothing is required, the necessary action is taken through the International Red Cross Committee. [/italic] [/inserted]
Germany
STALAG IXC
Reserve Lazaret Wasungen. – A lazaret for British patients suffering from infectious diseases. The buildings are of brick, two storeys high, and were once an old factory: a small hut has been added as an isolation room. The three buildings are described as old and in urgent need of repair. The beds have sheets (changed every four-six weeks though more often when necessary) a paillasse filled with wood shavings, and two blankets. There is said to be a scarcity of furniture. Lighting and ventilation are satisfactory. There is central heating, but the issue of coal is scarcely sufficient. The British staff stated that treatment was good, and there was quite a good stock of Red Cross parcels. Dental treatment is given at Reserve Lazaret Obermassfeld (Visited January.)
Reserve Lazaret Stadtroda. – Stadtroda is also in a factory building. Renovations and repairs have been promised, but so far have not been carried out, though one ceiling has been temporarily repaired. The Lazaret is
[Picture]
A scene at Stalag Luft I, an R.A.F. camp which was reopened for British prisoners in October,1942.
less crowded than it was, though it is feared that this is only a temporary state. Bathing and washing facilities have improved somewhat. Taps have been repaired and the water supply increased. Prisoners are now able to have at least one bath every week. Surgical cases are treated at this lazaret. The British doctors have complete freedom in their work. Dental treatment is given by a French dentist. Mail arrives regularly but slowly. Food is prepared by German women. (Visited January.)
Reserve Lazaret Hildburghausen. – Consists of two buildings about 400 yards from each other. The medical section – Karolinenburg – in one, and the surgical section – Frauenhaus – in the other. The buildings were formerly used as a private mental home. Beds and bed linen, light, ventilation and heating are said to be satisfactory. A common-room has been established at the Frauenhaus. Toilet facilities have been improved at Karolinenburg. Food is prepared by German civilian personnel and is normally satisfactory, but diets are only obtained with difficulty. The lazaret is visited monthly by a C. of E. chaplain. Mail has been somewhat irregular during the last few months. (Visited January.)
STALAG VB
Reserve Lazaret Rottenmunster. – This lazaret was once a rest home and is in the centre of a large park near the edge of a river. It is a large stone building of four storeys. The British prisoners of war are on the ground floor. Single beds have mattresses, sheets, pillows, blankets. Electric light, central heating and ventilation are described as entirely satisfactory. There was no complaint as regards food, and a milk diet is available. Clothing is good and parcels arrive regularly. Dental attention is given at a large German lazaret near by.[Sic] (Visited January.)
STALAG LUFT I (BARTHE)
An R.A.F. camp. All British prisoners of war were evacuated from here in April, 1942, but in October, 1942, the camp again opened for British R.A.F. personnel, when 222 prisoners were transferred from Stalag Luft III. At the time of the visit there were four officers and 470 N.C.O.s and men. Three compounds compose the camp, though at present only one is occupied. It is the intention of the authorities to organise the camp into one large compound; consequently, all facilities can at present be considered as of a temporary nature. Heating and lighting are said to be satisfactory, but ventilation is bad at night when the shutters are closed. Each prisoner of war has three blankets. A German doctor, who speaks fluent English, is in charge of the infirmary. He is assisted by a British Army doctor and four orderlies. Dental treatment is given by a German military dentist, who visits the camp twice a week. Urgent cases are treated by a civilian dentist at Barthe. The clothing situation is described as satisfactory. Each prisoner of war does his own laundry. A C. of E. chaplain is in charge of religious activities.
The camp has a very large library and an extensive educational programme, though, unfortunately, the present study room is noisy and the common room rather small. There is a good sports field. (Visited February.)
STALAG IVA AND WORK CAMPS (HOHENSTEIN)
The work camps of Stalag IVA are administered from Hohenstein. Red Cross parcels arrive at a small station near by [Sic] (Prossen), from where they are distributed. All the work camps are brown coal mines and the men work above ground.
Some improvements have been made at Grube Ostfeld. 97 men live in two barracks. There is also a kitchen shed, a special hut for sanitary installations and a wash-barrack. Four ventilation chimneys have been built into each barrack, so that air conditions are now reported to be satisfactory. A day room has also been built on to each barrack. Dirty blankets are to be replaced gradually by the employers. No overalls have been issued for work; the camp tailor was to prepare some that have arrived but needs repairs. The chaplain from Reserve Lazaret Konigswartha visits all the work camps and holds services about once in three weeks. The mail question over the whole area is not satisfactory, being both slow and irregular.
Conditions are much the same at Grube Brigitta, where there are about 103 men. A new shower room is to be
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May, 1943 The Prisoner of War 11
built for the use of the men on their return from work. A considerable amount of coal dust is raised from the coal briquettes. Sick prisoners from all these camps are sent to Krankenrevier Schwarzkollin (minor cases) and Reserve Lazaret Konigswartha (severe cases).
Revier Schwarzkollin is in the charge of a Polish doctor P.O.W. Two-tiered beds are used, with three blankets each. An iron stove heats the ward, which was formerly an operating theatre. Toilet and washing facilities are described as adequate, but ventilation is bad. It is lit by electricity.
Grube Heye III. – New stoves have been put into the barracks and the former sick room is now used as a drying room. Three blankets each are issued. A breakdown in the mine’s electricity has resulted in poor lighting in the camp. Hot water is available in the wash room, but there are no showers. Dental treatment is given by a civilian dentist, who is described as “rough and overworked.” There are no canteens in these camps, but necessary articles are bought in the town.
In this camp some prisoners of war have to work on Sundays, though often not for the whole eight-hour day. The works engineer was consulted in this matter.
Grube Erika. – A new recreation room is being built for the 199 men in this camp. The only complaint from here was the fact that the mine is some distance from the camp. In future, part of the journey will be done by train.
Work Camp Radebeul was visited for the first time. Prisoners of war here are only fit for light work. They live in a modern concrete building in the middle of a factory area. They have central heating, and the large dormitory is well lit and airy, furnished with two-tier beds Sanitary and washing installations are described as satisfactory. Food is brought in from the neighbouring inn and the prisoners are able to cook the food from their parcels in their own small kitchen. The decision whether a man may visit the doctor rests with the German N.C.O. The results are not always satisfactory, and it has been recommended that the medical service in this camp should be reorganised. Up to the time of the visit the chaplain had not visited this camp. The football field has been turned into a vegetable garden. Walks will be organised to take the place of football. Some Sunday work is asked of the prisoners of war. (Visited January.)
[Picture]
Handing out Red Cross parcels at Marlag und Milag Nord.
STALAG IXC (MOLSDORF) and WORK CAMPS
One British P.O.W. is at the main camp in charge of Red Cross supplies. There appears to be some difficulty over the distribution of parcels and clothing. At the time of the visit no parcels had been distributed among the work camps since Christmas, although a consignment was to go out on the following day. The Camp Leader does not appear to have sufficient control over the clothing. A new camp commander had been appointed only a week before the visit. There are about 2,800 prisoners of war in this area, and 34 work camps, dependent on Stalag IXC.
At Camp Molsdorf there are 350 prisoners of war. Lighting and heating are described as satisfactory and each prisoner of war has two blankets. Latrines are now emptied regularly every week. A British medical officer is in charge of the infirmary, and dental treatment is given by a civilian dentist. The clothing situation is not very satisfactory; clothing is to be provided temporarily by the detaining power. Beer is available at the canteen every week. The C. of E. chaplain at this camp is to be allowed to visit the work camps. Mail is reported to be slow and irregular over the whole Stalag, though it is believed that this may be partly due to heavy German Christmas and New Year mails. The general atmosphere at this camp is said to have improved.
Work Camps 26 and 35B – The prisoners of war in these camps work in seed factories. Their work is light (nine hours a day) and Sundays are free. They are well housed and treated. Food is served from civilian canteens, but 35B is to have its own kitchen. Football is played on a field in the town. Each camp has a Medical Orderly in charge of any sick prisoners of war. They are allowed to visit a military doctor and a civilian dentist.
Work Camps 42B, 92 and 16 are smaller camps averaging twenty prisoners in each. They work on car repairs, loading metal and preparing timber for a sawmill. Accommodation at 42B is not altogether satisfactory. The prisoners of war live over the workshops and the smell of paint and acetone is not healthy. It is hoped that the men will be moved to other premises. At 92 there was a complaint of bed bugs, mice and sometimes rats. The bugs had returned after disinfection; other vermin were kept down by the use of traps. It was reported that a new wooden barrack is to be erected for the prisoners of war. There were no complaints from Camp 16. In all these camps football is played at week-ends. Clothing conditions are fairly satisfactory, and overalls are in future to be supplied by the employers.
Work Camps 106 and 137 are both salt factories. There were complaints that many of the prisoners had to work on three Sundays out of four without compensation. Articles for the canteens were very difficult to obtain. At 106 a second stove was to be installed for heating, and at 137 German women cook the food, but the prisoners of war have asked for their own kitchens.
It was reported that the work camps of Stalag IXC give a fairly good impression as a whole, the main difficulty being distribution of Red Cross food and clothing parcels from the main Stalag. – (Visited January.)
STALAG 383 (formerly OFLAG IIIC) (HOHENFELS, S.BAVARIA)
This is a large camp for non-working N.C.O.s. It is a former officers’ camp and is composed of large numbers of small wooden barracks as dormitories, and several larger ones for use as a theatre, recreation room and sports hall. There are good football and rugby fields and ample space for walks. The N.C.O.s have been gathered here from almost every camp in Germany. The first batch arrived in September, 1942. Many of the prisoners of war are hand-
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12 The Prisoner of War May, 1943
cuffed. The handcuffs are made of iron circles linked together by chains about 50 cm long; the prisoners are able to use their hands quite freely to do almost anything.
Twelve to fourteen prisoners of war live in each hut and more seating accommodation is needed. The camp is lit by electricity, but larger bulbs are necessary to make the lighting adequate. Washing and toilet facilities are satisfactory.
A second kitchen will be available for the use of the prisoners of war soon and there were no complaints about food. The Camp Hospital consists of three barracks, and is run by four British medical officers under a German doctor. Dental treatment is given is given by a British dental officer. Dental material and instruments are on order. The hospital is described as adequate and well equipped. Laundry facilities have not yet been settled as a new wash barrack is being built. The prisoners of war exchange things among themselves, and the canteen acts as the “intermediary.” There is a C. of E. clergyman in the camp who holds the rank of corporal. The men would also like to have a Roman Catholic priest. The recreation room is very well equipped. (Visited January.)
MARLAG UND MILAG NORD (WESTERTIMKE)
Marlag-Milag are two entirely separate camps, each having their own administration.
Milag. – Over 3,000 officers and men of the Merchant Navy are interned here. The camp is on sandy ground, surrounded by pine trees. The buildings are well constructed and are divided into several rooms. Two-tier bungs with straw-filled paillasses are used, and each man has two blankets. Officers have one sheet a month issued to them. Ventilation and lighting are adequate though the light cannot be switched on until 6 p.m. Two new kitchens have been added in which are separate dining rooms for officers and men. The internees cook their own food. There are also three small kitchens where special dishes can be prepared, but there is a shortage of cooking utensils. Each man has one good suit.
A new delousing station has been installed for the whole camp, and the prisoners of war at Milag are able to use the shower baths three times a week, which results in each internee having one hot shower per month. Latrines have been modernised. The Camp Infirmary is to be enlarged to the status of a Lazaret with a capacity of 110 beds, and a British medical officer has been brought to the camp to take charge of it. The dental surgery is described as fairly well equipped. Some spectacles have been provided, though many of the men are still on the waiting list.
There are Roman Catholic and C. of E. Chaplains in the camp. Recreational and educational facilities are well organised, though the light in the study room is said to be inadequate. Theoretically these internees do not work, but over 400 of them work on camp maintenance and a few work on farms outside the camp.
Marlag is the Naval camp. It is subdivided into two separate sections, the officers’ camp and the men’s camp. It has been constructed recently of large well-built wooden huts. Ventilation and lighting are adequate and there is no overcrowding. Cast-iron stoves are in every room, but the ration of coal was reported as not enough to give sufficient warmth. Each man has three blankets and one good uniform. There are repair shops for clothing and shoes.
There is plenty of cold water, and hot showers are available once a fortnight. The infirmary and dental surgery are said to be well equipped, and there was a good stock of drugs. A C. of E. chaplain and a Roman Catholic priest are in the camp. There are theatrical groups and orchestras, as well as a good library. Mail at all the camps is reported as very slow and irregular. Parcels arrive by rail at a nearby station and are distributed from there to the three camps. – (Visited November.)
Italy
MILITARY HOSPITAL AL CELIO, ROME
One floor of the hospital has been set aside for British prisoners of war. They are from Campos 68 and 54. There are three rooms. One of these rooms is at the disposal of convalescent patients. Mail service depends on the camps to which the prisoners of war belong. This sometimes causes some delay. Letter forms and parcels are sent in from the camps for the prisoners’ use. Rations are the same as those given to Italian patients and the men are able to prepare food from parcels. There had been no issue of tobacco up to the date of visit. The patients are given hospital clothing.
The Italian doctor and one nurse both speak English and two British patients have remained at the hospital after recovery to act as medical orderlies. Patients are normally returned to camp as soon as they are able to walk about. Eye specialists and dental surgeons are available. Italian Roman Catholic and Protestant priests visit the hospital. The patients are unable to go out of doors as there is very little space and a lack of guards. (Visited January.)
MILITARY HOSPITAL 201 BERGAMO
There are nearly 400 British patients in the hospital and the personnel has been increased by 41 medical orderlies. One hall has been cleared for use as a recreation room and a row of beds has been removed from the dormitories and replaced by tables.
Better furniture has been added to the medical officers’ rooms, which are now less crowded. The orderlies live in a barrack in a hospital yard. Accommodation is said to be very satisfactory and they are to have their own kitchen. All the sick wards are centrally heated. Delays in mail are caused by letters having to be sent on from the camps to which the prisoners of war belong. Tobacco ration has been issued regularly lately. Some clothing is issued by the camp authorities. Hot showers can be had every week. So far, no dental treatment is available.
A C. of E. Chaplain and a Roman Catholic Priest who speaks fluent English hold religious services. Exercise is taken on the terraces and in the courtyard. (Visited January.)
MILITARY HOSPITAL 203, BOLOGNA
Campo 203 was originally planned for a National Military Hospital and has a capacity of about 650 patients. At the time of the visit there were 456 patients (some of them from Caserta Hospital) and 68 medical personnel. Reports on this hospital are exceedingly good. The rooms are, if anything, overheated and all the windows can be opened at night. Mail service was described as slow – particularly the outgoing mail and the distribution of parcels. The tobacco ration has not been regularly received of late, but back issues are to be granted when the next consignment arrives. Clothing is provided by the camp authorities when prisoners of war are discharged from hospital, though some of the uniforms were Italian. There is an Italian dentist, but as yet no surgery. Cold showers are always available. A radio set is being installed. (Visited January.)
CASERTA HOSPITAL
Since this visit information has been received that many patients have been transferred to Military Hospitals 203 and 206, but at the time of the visit there were still nearly 1,300 British patients. The hospital is a large building of four wings, grouped round a large central courtyard. Three two-story houses have been added, each with a verandah [sic] overlooking the gardens. Five more bungalows are in the park. There were 15 British medical officers and several Italian doctors in charge. It is reported that relations between them are unfortunately not very cordial. Caserta is called a “Clearing Hospital,” and many patients remain only a few weeks, though some remain several months. There are no dental facilities at Caserta. Patients are given hospital clothing on arrival, and their own clothing is returned to them when they leave. (Visited November.)
HOSPITAL AT MORIGI DI PIACENZA
There were about 200 prisoners of war in hospital at the time of visit. Three British doctors assist the Italian personnel. The patients are mostly wounded
[Page Break]
May, 1943 The Prisoner Of War 13
prisoners of war. Accommodation, toilet facilities, food and cooking are described as being in first-class order. Hospital clothing is issued to the patients, but some misunderstanding seems to have arisen over the distribution of clothing for discharged patients. It will come in future from the Central Hospital, Piacenza, on which this hospital depends. A C. of E. chaplain looks after the patients here and at Alberoni Hospital. Mail is said to be very slow. There is a recreation room, but, unfortunately, very few games. (Visited January.)
HOSPITAL AT ALBERONI, PIACENZA
This was the first visit to this hospital, which is staffed by an entirely Italian staff. The Hospital is part of an old palace, in very good condition, with good accommodation and sanitary installations. Three Italian nuns help to care for the British patients, of whom there are 64. Food is well cooked, and special diets are available. All the patients are suffering from wounds, which sometimes take a long time to heal. The British chaplain from Morigi Hospital visits the patients regularly. Mail is reported to be very slow. (Visited January.)
TERRITORIAL HOSPITAL AT MODENA
Patients at this hospital come from Campo 73. Five rooms are at their disposal, well furnished, well heated, and well lit by electricity. One doctor and one nurse of the Italian personnel speak English. Mail is regular but slow. Red Cross parcels are distributed regularly. Up to the time of visit no cigarettes had been issued. Dental treatment is given at another camp and patients are conveyed by ambulance for treatment. There is an eye specialist attached to the hospital. Patients who are able to walk are allowed the use of the hospital garden. (Visited January.)
CAMPO P.G.5 SERRAVALLE, GAVI
When the camp was visited there was snow on the ground, though the weather was fine. The walls of the old fortress are reported to have kept quite dry. Twelve kilos of wood are issued per stove per day and the rooms are described as sufficiently warm.
Parcels are distributed regularly and there were no complaints about food. This is an officers’ camp: at the time of the visit there were 165 officers and 54 other ranks. The men have had their cigarette ration regularly. A consignment of clothing was expected shortly. There are three medical officers, a British dental surgeon, and an oculist. As the fortress is built on a hill there
[picture]
Insid: [sic] the cook-house at Reserve Lazaret Rottenmunster.
is some difficulty in finding room for the sports ground. Orders have been given that one shall be made. Walks are arranged occasionally and it has been recommended that they should be organised more frequently. (Visited January.)
CAMPO P.G.17 REZZANELLO
One hundred and fifty-one officers and 42 other ranks are confined in this old castle. Some of these officers are from Campo 66, Capua, and some from Campo 75, Bari. Central heating has been installed and is reported as working satisfactorily. Officers and other ranks have their own messrooms. [sic] Hot showers are available every two weeks. Food is described as sufficient with Red Cross parcels. The Camp Infirmary is in the care of one Italian and five British doctors.
Clothing conditions were bad, particularly underclothes. Laundry is done outside
The Canteen is described as fairly well stocked. The profits are used for the benefit of other ranks. A C. of E. chaplain holds services every Sunday and the Catholic prisoners of war go to Mass in the village. There is sufficient space for exercise and games in the courtyard, and weekly walks are organised. There is a good library. Mail is very slow, though there appeared to be a slight improvement of late. Parcels had apparently not been sent on for the officers from Campo P.G.66. (Visited January.)
CAMPO P.G.21, CHIETI
Over 1,200 British prisoners of war live in one-storey stone buildings which were once army barracks. The camp is considered to be overcrowded, although 400 officers have been transferred to another camp. There are now a few tables and benches in each room. Heating stoves had arrived but were not yet installed. No vermin had been reported for some months. No hot water has been available since August and water is only turned on for 1 1/2 hours a day. It is reported that the camp will have to be moved unless the water supply can be altered. Food was stated to be sufficient with Red Cross parcels. Serious cases of illness are sent to an Army hospital; others are tended by the Italian medical officer and four British doctors. There is a British dentist, but there are at present no instruments. Treatment is given by an Italian dentist. Information was received that a few days after this visit a large consignment of clothing arrived at this camp. Incoming mail is described as regular, but outgoing mail is very slow (Visited January.)
CAMPO P.G.66, CAPUA
Capua is a very large camp used as a quarantine and transit camp and the strength varies from day to day. At the time of the visit there were 127 officers and 5,800 other ranks. It is situated on flat ground in a mild climate.
A new officers’ section is almost complete. It will consist of stone bungalows with washrooms, showers, dining-room and common room. At present the officers are housed in wooden huts. Six out of eight sections for other ranks are complete. The men in the remaining two sections are still under canvas, but they should all be in huts by now. Sanitary installations are well constructed and there is an ample supply of water. Electricity is now satisfactory.
Each section has its own kitchen and the P.O.W.s prepare their own food.
Three Italian doctors and six prisoner of war doctors work in the camp infirmary. There is an excellent delousing plant. There are two C. of. E. chaplains, a Roman Catholic chaplain and an Italian priest in the camp.
Kitchen gardens extend between the barracks, and also outside the camp. Pigs and rabbits are kept in the camp. A football ground and tennis court are being made. Some clothing has been distributed by the detaining Power, but stocks are needed, as prisoners of war arriving at the camp must be fitted out. There is a good stock of Red Cross parcels. (Visited November.)
CAMP LIST
The following additions should be made. – ITALY: P.G.10, P.M.3300; P.G.148, P.M.3200; P.G.204, P.M.3450 (Hospital Camp). Location of above are unknown. Ospedale Militare, Teramo. Montalbano, Firenze (Civilian Internment Camp).
GREETINGS CARDS
We have been asked by the G.P.O to remind relatives that greetings cards cannot be sent to prisoners of war.
[Page Break]
14 The Prisoner of War May, 1943
HOW THE NEXT OF KIN ARE HELPING
In Wolverhampton they have a Prisoners of War Families Club organised by Mr. and Mrs. Dumbell. Here next of kin meet to exchange information, seek advice, and discuss their problems. Last month the Chairman of the Prisoners of War Department of the Red Cross and St. John War Organisation visited the club and addressed the members. Before he left he was presented with a cheque for £100 as a gift to the Duke of Gloucester’s fund.
“Since January, 1942, my husband has collected £300 towwards [sic] prisoners’ parcels,” writes Mrs. Clift, of Rugby. “This is just from workmates and friends.”
Her prisoner son will be glad to hear of this splendid gift. Many P.O.W.s are writing home to next of kin asking that donations should be sent. Private John Dunbar, tells his mother: “If you have any money of mine, give the Red Cross a nice donation out of it.” Mrs. Williams, of Barry, Glamorgan, has had a request from her prisoner son to send £5: Mrs. Andrew, of Camberley, whose son is in an Italian Campo, sent 10s. on his behalf, and Mrs. Gardner, of Brixton Hill, bearing her son in mind, sends 5s., “the price of a seat at a musical show.”
The next of kin of P.O.W., W. Holland has sent £1 by his special request: P.O.W. Edward John Truscott. £2. 2s.
Organises Dances
Meanwhile, the energies of next of kin are unabated. “A year ago I made up my mind to see what I could do.” Writes Mrs Squires, of Emner Green., Reading, whose son is a prisoner in Germany. “I am too old to do other war work, but I try to make people happy by organising dances and whist drives.” She sent £55 15s.
Making and selling is earning its usual welcome sums. Mrs. Bernthal, of Abing-
[Picture]
Study at Stalag XXA. Your help can provide these men with educational material.
don, and her daughter raised £3 10s, by the sale of a cake and of toilet preparations; patchwork quilts, the work of Holy Trinity Mothers’ Meeting, Ipswich, brought in £5. Mrs. Stone, of Weymouth, sold a banana brought home by a soldier friend for £1 12s. 3d. Another banana made 10s. when sold by Selwy Morgan, of Cefn Coed Merthyr Tydfd.
Children Help
Children, too, are entering enthusiastically into the work of raising funds. Nine-year-old Joan Hughes, of Talybont, near Bangor, has contributed 11s., and hopes to send another 5s. soon. Norman Bennett, who is ten, also sent 11s., made by the sale of dishcloths, his own handiwork. Little Doreen Ayley sent 10s., which she earned by making and selling golliwogs. Betty Frosch, an eleven-year-old, of Stoke Newington, made 8s, from the sale of a tulip which she grew.
Mrs. Challinor, of Northfield, Birmingham, collected £7. 5s. for flowers for the funeral of a much-loved neighbour, but the widow, Mrs Hughes, who has a prisoner son “out East,” knew what her husband’s wishes would have been and sent the money to our Fund.
From far Rhodesia came the sum of £2 from Mrs. Rickards, who recently sent £40 raised by a dance.
“I pass round your magazine to my friends and collect 1d. for reading it,” writes Mrs. Shand, of Camberwell. “I hope to be able to send you quite a sum by the end of the year.”
Twenty guineas come from Mr. A Burrows, of Northampton, as the result of a whist drive organised at the suggestion of his son, a P.O.W. in Germany.
The model of a Spitfire, presented to Mrs. Garrett, of Hedge End, Southampton, with other prizes, resulted in a contribution of £30 10s. Mrs. Margaret Hayley, a member of the British Red Cross Society , Wilts. Sold a pair of silk stockings for 30s., and added 5s. collected in threepenny bits. A collection of “odd coppers” made by Miss Joan Lillywhite, Kirkstall, Leeds, among her workmates earned £2.
From Mrs. D. Pryor, of Enfield, comes a cheque for £2 11s, 6d.; the sum included 2s sent with the blessing of an old man of ninety-one. Mrs. Clarke, whose husband is a prisoner in Italy, has started collecting at her works.
Mrs. Edna Wells, whose husband S.Q.M.S Frank Wells, of the 12th Royal Lancers, is in an Italian prison camp, had a young baby to look after, but she could not rest until she had shown appreciation of the Red Cross is some tangible form. So she organised a private raffle among her friends in Roath, Cardiff, and raised £3.
Tribute to Journal
As a thank-offering for The Prisoner of War, Mrs. Bompas, of Broughton, near Stockbridge, sent us 10s., and Mr Clarkson, of Motherwell, who says that the Journal is “a mine of information,” sent 5s.
There is no limit to the ingenuity and generosity of our readers, and I need hardly say that the Red Cross is deeply appreciative of all these tokens of good will and practical recognition of the value of the work that is being done.
OFFICIAL REPORTS
(Continued from page 4)
the diplomatic exchange ships: some of the prisoners had already received these supplies when in Hong Kong.
There is a P.O.W. doctor in each camp, and Japanese doctors also visit regularly. Any serious cases are taken to military hospitals. More medicines are needed.
The Japanese authorities have supplied the prisoners of war with some clothing. More clothing is required as the original garments are wearing out.
The men work in the docks and in factories. The officers, who are scattered among the different camps, are consulted about the work. The hours are reasonable and no complaint is made of work conditions. The workers receive a little pay. Sundays are free.
The canteens are not well stocked, but some sweets and tobacco can be bought. Each man also receives a ration of between 150 and 200 cigarettes monthly.
There are only a few books in the camps; the International Red Cross Committee delegate hopes to supply both books and games. The Japanese have confiscated playing-cards in order to prevent gambling. (Visited March.)
FUKUOKA GROUP OF CAMPS
This group of seven camps is administered from Fukuoka, in Kyushu, the most southerly island of Japan. The names of the camps are Ube, Omine, Ohama, Motoyama, Higashimisone, Mukojima and Innoshima. They contain British prisoners of war from Hong Kong and Java, and some naval prisoners of war. Two of the camps are on Islands in the Inland Sea.
Although fewer details are available about this group of camps, it appears that in many respects they resemble the Osaka group. The Japanese have supplied clothing. The food is based on that given to Japanese troops, modified for European tastes, and includes bread and cereals. The prisoners, when not working, study languages, including Japanese, and read books. Work averages eight hours a day. The canteen supplies are limited. The prisoners get five or six cigarettes a day. No mail has yet been received or sent. The International Red Cross Committee delegate has still got a reserve of relief supplies and will send some to these camps. The morale is said to be good. (Visited March)
Further notes on these camps will appear in our next issue.
[Page Break]
May, 1943 The Prisoner of War 15
MATERIALS: 11 oz. any double knitting wool. Two No. 7 and two No. 9 knitting needles.
ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS: Length, from top of shoulder, 24in. Width all round at under-arm, 36in.
Tension: 5 ½ st. to the inch in width, measured over the plain, smooth fabric.
RECIPE – THE FRONT: Using the No.9 needles, cast on 94 st.
1st row: K. 2, *P.1, K.1, repeat from * to end of row. Repeat this row twenty-three times. Using the No. 7 needles, proceed as follows: –
1st row: Knit Plain.
2nd Row: K.1, purl to last stitch, K.1. Repeat these two rows until work measures 15 1/2in. from the commencement, ending with the 2nd row. Proceed as follows: –
1st row: K.2, (P.1, K.1) five times, knit plain to the last 12 st., (K.1, P.1) five times, K.2.
2nd row: (K, 1, P.1) six times, purl to last 12 st., (P.1, K.1) six times. Repeat 1st and 2nd rows twice.
7th Row: Cast off 6 st., K.2, (P.1, K,1) twice, K.29. (K.1, P.1) five times, increase once in next st., K. 30, (K.1, P.1) five times, K.2.
8th row: Cast off 6 st., (K.1, P.1) three times. P.29 (P.1, K.1) six times. P.30 (P.1, K.1) three times.
9th row: K.2. (P.1, K.1) twice. K.2 tog, K.27. (K.1, P.1) six times, K.28, K.2 tog., (K.1, P.1) twice, K.2.
10th row: (K.1, P.1) three times, P.28, (P.1, K.1) six times, P.29, (P.1, K.1) three times.
11th row: K.2 (P.1, K.1) twice, K.2 tog, K.26, (K. 1, P.1) six times, K. 27, K. 2 tog., (K.1, P.1) twice, K.2.
12th tow: (K.1, P.1) three times, P.27, (P.1, K.1) six times, P.28, (P.1, K.1) three times.
13th row: K. 2, (P.1, K.1) twice, K.2 tog., K.25.(K. 1, P.1) twice, K.2, turn. Work on these 38 st. as follows: –
1st row: (K. 1, P. 1) three times, purl to the last 6 st., (P.1, K.1) three times.
2nd tow: K.2, (P.1, K.1) twice, K.2 tog., K.22, K.2 tog., (K.1, P.1) twice, K. 2.
3rd row: (K.1, P.1) three times, purl to the last 6 st., (P.1, K.1) three times.
4th row: K.2, (P.1, K.1) twice, K.2 tog., knit plain to the last 6 st., (K.1, P.1) twice, K.2.
Repeat the 3rd and 4th rows twice, then the 3rd row once.
10th row: K.2, (P.1, K.1) twice, knit plain to the last 8 st., K. 2 tog., (K.1, P.1) twice, K.2.
Keeping a border of 6 st. in rib at each end of the needle, continue in plain, smooth fabric, decreasing once at the neck edge in every following 8th row until 28 st. remain. Work
[Picture]
11 oz. of any double knitting wool will make this useful garment
Sleeveless Pullover
4 rows without shaping. Proceed as follows: –
1st row: (K.1, P.1) three times, purl to the last 7 st., turn.
2nd and 4th rows: Knit plain to the last 6 st., (K.1, P.1) twice, K.2.
3rd row: (K.1, P.1) three times, purl to the last 14 st., turn.
5th row: (K.1, P.1) three times, turn.
6th row: (K.1, P.1) twice, K.2.
7th row: (K.1, P.1) three times, purl to the last 6 st., (P.1, K.1) thee times.
8th tow: Cast off 22 st., (K.1, P.1) twice, K.2.
Work 2in. in rib on the remaining 6 st. Cast off. Join in the wool at the neck edge and work on the remaining 40 st. as follows: –
1st row: K. 2 tog., (K.1, P.1) twice, knit plain to the last 8 st., K.2 tog., (K.1, P.1) twice, K.2.
2nd row: (K.1, P.1) three times, purl to the last 6 st., (P.1, K.1) three times.
3rd row: K.2 (P.1, K.1) twice, K.2 tog., K.22, K.2 tog., (K. 1, P.1) twice, K.2.
4th row: (K.1, P.1) three times, purl to the last 6 st., (P.1, K.1) three times.
5th row: K.2 (P.1, K.1) twice, knit plain to the last 8 st., K.2 tog., (K.1, P.1) twice, K.2.
Repeat the 4th and 5th rows twice, then the 4th row once.
11th row: K. 2, (P.1, K.1) twice, K.2. tog. Knit plain to the last 6 st., (K.1, P.1.) twice, K.2.
Keeping a border of 6 st. in rib at each end of the needle, continue in plain, smooth fabric, decreasing once at the neck edge in every following 8th row until 28 st. remain.
Work 3 rows without shaping.
Shape for the shoulder as follows: –
1st row: K.2, (P.1, K.1) twice, knit plain to the last 7 st., turn.
2nd and 4th rows: Purl to the last 6 st., (P.1, K.1) three times.
3rd row: K.2, (P.1, K.1) twice, knit plain to the last 14 st., turn.
5th row: K.2, (P.1, K.1) twice, turn.
6th row: (P.1, K.1) three times.
7th row: K.2, (P.1, K.1) twice, knit plain to the last 6 st., (K.1, P.1) twice, K.2.
8th row: Cast off 22 st, (P.1, K.1) three times. Work 2in. in rib on the remaining 6 st. Cast off.
THE BACK: Using the No. 9 needles, cast on 94 st.
Work exactly as given for the Front, until the cast-off st. at the under-arm are reached. Proceed as follows: –
1st row: cast off 6 st., K.2. (P.1, K.1) twice, knit plain to the last 12 st., (K.1, P.1) five times, K.2.
2nd row: Cast off 6 st., (K.1, P.1) three times, purl to the last 6 st., (P.1, K.1) three times.
3rd row: K.2, (P.1, K.1) twice, K.2 tog, knit plain to the last 8 st., K. 2 tog. (K.1, P.1) twice, K.2.
4th row: (K.1, P.1) three times, purl to the last 6 st., (P.1, K.1) three times. Repeat the 3rd and 4th rows six times.
17th row: K.2. (P.1, K.1) twice, knit plain to the last 6 st., (K.1, P.1) twice. K.2.
18th row: (K.1, P.1) three times, purl to the last 6 st., (P.1, K.1) three times. Repeat the 17th and 18th rows seventeen times.
Shape for the shoulders as follows: –
1st row: K.2. (P.1, K.1) twice, knit plain to the last 7 st., turn.
2nd row: Purl to last 7 st., turn.
3rd row: Knit plain to the last 14 st., turn.
4th row: Purl to the last 14 st., turn.
5th row: Knit plain to the last 22 st., turn.
(Continued overleaf)
[Page Break]
[London Post Mark 24 May 1943]
16 The Prisoner of War May, 1943
NEXT OF KIN PARCELS DESPATCH
The Next of Kin Packing Centre has always endeavoured to despatch parcels within two or three days of their receipt. But the number of next of kin parcels being sent has increased since January by a third, and under present conditions it is very difficult to obtain additional staff to handle the very detailed work connected with their examination and despatch from Finsbury Circus.
It is, therefore, regretted that there is a temporary delay of about three weeks in the despatch of parcels, which, however, may be sent as usual by the next of kin. The parcels are being despatched in strict rotation and every effort is being made to reduce the delay. It is hoped that arrangements will shortly be completed to clear the congestion.
Next of kin who have enclosed postcards in their parcels for our acknowledgement of receipt are advised not to expect them back as soon as they would have done under normal circumstances, and are asked not to make enquires until a reasonable time has been allowed for the delay.
The delay in despatch will not affect the date of the next parcel, [Indecipherable word] which labels will be sent as usual directly the current parcel has been despatched.
Very Important
THE new P.1 Instructions Leaflet, issued with the labels for N/K parcels, is now split into two sheets.
P.1B, containing lists of articles that may and may not be sent in parcels, will be issued with every label.
P.1A, which contains general instructions, will be issued only once – with the first label for a newly registered prisoner.
[italic] Be sure, therefore, to keep P.1A in a safe place for future reference. [/italic]
Any alterations to the leaflets will be published from time to time on this page.
Sleeveless Pullover
(continued from previous page)
6th row: Purl to the last 22 st., turn. 7th row: Knit plain to last 6 st., (K. 1, P.1) twice, K.2. Cast off.
TO MAKE UP THE PULL-OVER: With a damp cloth and hot iron press carefully. Sew up the side and shoulder seams. Sew together the first two ridges of the neck opening. Join together the bands from the fronts and sew to back of neck.
[inserted] NUMBER, PLEASE!
PLEASE be sure to mention your Red Cross reference number whenever you write to us [/inserted]
Any Questions?
Dyeing Difficulty
How can I get a permit for dyeing flannel trousers khaki to send in a P.O.W. parcel?
We do not think that you would be able to obtain such a permit.
News of his Brother
May I tell my son, a P.O.W. in Germany, the whereabouts of his brother, serving in the R.A.F.?
No information about the address of a unit of H.M. Forces, whether at home or abroad, may be sent to a prisoner of war; and no mention must be made of the movements of any members of the Forces.
Blue for the Army?
I have some navy blue wool to make a pullover for my son, a P.O.W. in Germany. May soldiers wear navy blue or must their pullovers be khaki?
It would be much safer to send your son a khaki pullover, as one could not be certain that he would be allowed to have a dark blue one. The regulations sometimes vary from camp to camp.
Marlag und Milag
Is Marlag und Milag a convalescent camp?
Marlag und Milag is not a convalescent camp, but is the camp in which the majority of Naval and Merchant Marine prisoners of war are interned, in the “Marlag” and “Milag” respectively. Each section has its own infirmary.
Comfortable Slippers
Can I send my husband, a P.O.W. in Italy, ordinary leather slippers?
Yes.
Metal Clips
May braces and suspenders be sent in a P.O.W. parcel if they contain metal clips?
Yes.
His Garden
How can I send seeds to my brother for his P.O.W. garden?
Seeds may no longer be sent to individual prisoners of war, but supplies are sent to each camp by the Royal Horticultural Society for general use.
Photo by Air Mail
Can I send my husband a photograph by air mail?
An unmounted photograph of a personal nature may be enclosed in an ordinary letter sent by air mail; but enclosures may not be sent in the special prisoner of war air-mail letter-cards.
Location Wanted
Can you tell me the location of Campo P.G.154?
This camp was in North Africa, but its exact location was unknown to us.
Canvas for Embroidery
Can I send a stencilled canvas in my next of kin parcel to my son, who is a prisoner in Germany?
No. Please refer to the leaflet sent each quarter with your label. You will see that only plain linen or canvas may be sent for embroidery.
From Friends and Relatives
May parcels other than next of kin parcels be sent to prisoners?
Tobacco, cigarettes, books and games may be sent direct to prisoners of war through shops which hold permits for this purpose.
Stalag IXC
Where is Stalag IXC situated? What is the meaning of Commando No. X39?
Stalag IXC is located at Bad Sulza. “Commando No.X39” is a working detachment number.
Everything New?
Can you tell me if I must send new articles only to my husband who is a prisoner in Italy? I have been told that this is so. Also, what is the location of P.G.98?
No. Clothes sent in quarterly parcels need not be new. The location of Campo P.G.98 is Ragusa, Sicily. According to our most recent information there are no longer any British prisoners in this camp.
No Food Parcels
Can I send my son who is a prisoner in an Italian camp food parcels through friends in South Africa?
No. Private food parcels may not sent to prisoners of war.
[inserted] FREE TO NEXT OF KIN
THIS journal is sent free of charge to those registered with the Prisoners of War Dept as next of kin. In view of the paper shortage no copies are for sale, and it is hoped that next of kin will share their copy with relatives and others interested. [/inserted]
Printed in Great Britain for the publisher THE RED CROSS AND ST. JON WAR ORGANISATION 14 Grosvenor Crescent, London S.W.1. by THE CORNWALL PRESS, LTD. Paris Garden, Stamford Street, London, S.E.1.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
The prisoner of war, Vol 2, No. 13, May 1943
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-05
Description
An account of the resource
Includes: editorial matters; all in a day's work; life in a Japanese prison camp; fun and games; letters they write home; official reports from the camps; group photographs from the camps; how next of kin are helping (including knitting pattern for sleeveless pullover) and any questions? Includes photographs throughout.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Sixteen page printed document
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
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MWhiteheadT1502391-180307-17
Creator
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Great Britain. Red Cross and St John war organisation
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.
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
British Army
Royal Navy
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Poland
Germany--Barth
Poland--Żagań
Poland--Łambinowice
Germany--Hohenfels (Bavaria)
Germany--Hildburghausen
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Bradley Froggatt
arts and crafts
entertainment
prisoner of war
sanitation
sport
Stalag 8B
Stalag Luft 1
Stalag Luft 3
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/759/17832/PCruickshankG1501-0001.1.jpg
c83f2424dfe2b7b5c75d56f552e325cb
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Cruickshank, Gordon
G Cruickshank
Description
An account of the resource
76 items. Concerns the life and wartime career of Flight Lieutenant Gordon Cruickshank DFM who joined the Royal Air Force in 1938. After training as an air gunner he flew 52 operations on Manchester and Lancaster with 50, 560 and 44 Squadrons. Collection consists of a 1956 memoir with original photographs donated separately, a memoir of his life on squadron from December 1941, his logbooks. a further notebook with memoir, playing cards annotated with his operations, official documents, lucky mascots, medals and badges, dog tags, memorabilia, crew procedures, as well as photographs of aircraft, targets and people.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Linda Hinman and catalogued by Nigel Huckins
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-04-28
Rights
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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
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Cruickshank, G
Access Rights
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Permission granted for commercial projects
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
C, 2550. COLOGNE: Widespread damage is revealed in this picture which shows a section of the modern part of the city. The broad tree-lined street running across the picture from left to right is the Luxemburger-strasse.
CH. 9687. MOEHNE DAM: The breach of about 200 feet width in the Moehne Dam. It can be seen that the lake has been drained of the major part of its contents but the water is still pouring through the breach. The foam and disturbed water visible immediately below the bridge covers the space where before the destruction was situated the Power Station. The water draining from the lake overflowed and destroyed the dam surrounding the Compensating Basin. The Auxiliary Power Station, stands on an island on the remainder of the dam.
CH. 9750. EDER DAM: The south-east end of the storage lake with the Dam breached between the two valve houses at a point about 400 feet from its western end. The breach appears to measure about 180 feet at the crown of the dam, narrowing to about 100 feet at its lowest visible point. Water is still seen pouring through the gap flowing fast downstream towards Kassel.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Damage descriptions for post operation photographs
Description
An account of the resource
Damage descriptions to go with post operation photographs of Cologne, Moehne and Eder Dams. Relates to photographs C.2550, CH.9687 and CH.9750.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page typewritten document
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCruickshankG1501-0001
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.
Germany
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Eder Dam
Germany--Möhne River Dam
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
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
Frank Batten
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05
bombing
Eder Möhne and Sorpe operation (16–17 May 1943)
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1309/18500/PWatsonC17010015.1.jpg
33c01bbeb197a77c047c7fd6151135b0
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, Clifford. Scrapbook
Description
An account of the resource
Clifford Watson's scrapbook containing photographs and documents.
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
Watson, C
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Target Photos, Alghero and Pantelleria
Description
An account of the resource
Photo 1 is Alghero, Italy taken at 3000'. It shows a rectangular compound, fields and roads. Caption: '4.Y2.F-CHAUD.17-18.5.43.NT.F8". P4.SGT.RUTHERFORD.ALGERO.3000'.190→180MPH.7x500.2xSBCS.2x250. F.150.'
Photo 2 is Pantelleria taken from 7000' between Bue Marino e Punta di San Leonardo slightly north east of the town, which is just visible to the right of the image. Caption: '-AI-O-AN.31-1/5-6/43.NT.F8".P4.SGT.RUTHERFORD.PANTELLERIA.7000 --- PN.0126.2x1000.5x500.3x250. G.150'
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-05-18
1943-05-31
1943-06-01
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two b/w photographs on album page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PWatsonC17010015
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.
Italy--Alghero
Italy--Pantelleria Island
Italy
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
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.
1943-05
1943-06
150 Squadron
aerial photograph
target photograph
-
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ddcf2b7135d79963cef3142bcbfc680d
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/834/18756/MGeachDG1394781-160401-140002.1.jpg
d277dc3d02ca2be43e09a9eee9d5164c
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/834/18756/MGeachDG1394781-160401-140003.1.jpg
141e5a2685078d1b4883ed65f90228a1
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/834/18756/MGeachDG1394781-160401-140004.1.jpg
c60e8cb66b45a3b66631dc23dc20f045
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
Geach, David
D Geach
Description
An account of the resource
<a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/218400/"></a>52 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer David Geach (1394781 Royal Air Force) and contains his diaries, correspondence, photographs of his crew, his log book, cuttings and items relating to being a prisoner of war. After training in Canada, he flew operations as a bomb aimer with 623 and 115 Squadrons until he was shot down 24 March 1944 and became a prisoner of war. He was instrumental in erecting a memorial plaque to the Air Crew Reception Centre at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. <br />The collection also contains a scrap book of photographs.<br /><br />Additional information on his crew is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/218400/">IBCC Losses Database.</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Harry Wilkins 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
2016-03-14
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
Geach, DG
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Luftpost 25 September 1943
Description
An account of the resource
The special edition covers Winston Churchill’s statement of 21st September 1943 to parliament on the war.
Churchill describes the war’s progress in North-West Africa, a springboard to further offensive action, following conferences with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in June 1942 in Washington and January 1943 in Casablanca. Erwin Rommel has been repulsed by Generals Alexander and Montgomery and Tunisia conquered. Following a further conference in Washington in May 1943, Sicily was captured in 38 days.
Churchill had also spoken to Stalin in Moscow. Russian armies have advanced 1,600 miles of the front.
Map showing changes to the frontline on the eastern front.
An ever increasing Anglo-American control of the air and expansion of Air Forces. Increased RAF air operations were increasingly accurate with reduced losses. A systemic destruction of German war production was taking place, which was diverting Germany from offensive capabilities.
Germany was likely to retaliate with new methods and weapons and Churchill would keep the House informed of how this would be addressed.
Map showing where German air defence will be forced to defend against offensives from West and South.
Describes how the U-boats have become less of a threat because of success of air operations and new ship building.
Quebec conference discussed the offensive against Japan in the Pacific with General Douglas MacArthur getting good results. Reduction in Japanese ships, air power and supplies.
25th July 1943 memorable date as Benito Mussolini deposed and the Badaglio government was created. Armistice signed in Syracuse on night of 3rd September 1943. Churchill expresses sympathy for the Italian population; they will become a free democracy. The German population have, however, caused three wars and Churchill stresses the need to destroy Nazi tyranny and Prussian militarism.
Photograph of allied troops landing in Salerno.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-09-25
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Four printed sheets
Language
A language of the resource
deu
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MGeachDG1394781-160401-14
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
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.
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Italy
Japan
Russia (Federation)
Russia (Federation)--Leningradskai︠a︡ oblastʹ
Russia (Federation)--Moscow
Italy--Syracuse
Italy--Salerno
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-09
1943-07-25
1943-08-03
1943-05
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
Sally Coulter
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Political Warfare Executive
bombing
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
propaganda
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (1882-1945)
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/834/18899/YGeachDG1394781v5.2.pdf
10162827a32d552c966e4454065fa9f0
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
Geach, David
D Geach
Description
An account of the resource
<a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/218400/"></a>52 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer David Geach (1394781 Royal Air Force) and contains his diaries, correspondence, photographs of his crew, his log book, cuttings and items relating to being a prisoner of war. After training in Canada, he flew operations as a bomb aimer with 623 and 115 Squadrons until he was shot down 24 March 1944 and became a prisoner of war. He was instrumental in erecting a memorial plaque to the Air Crew Reception Centre at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. <br />The collection also contains a scrap book of photographs.<br /><br />Additional information on his crew is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/218400/">IBCC Losses Database.</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Harry Wilkins 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
2016-03-14
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
Geach, DG
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[blank page]
[page break]
GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
NO. 288
[page break]
[underlined] Wednesday 17th March. [/underlined]
Back in England again, gee! its great to be home, I don’t know how fellows must feel being overseas 10 years or so, 8 months was enough to make me feel really thrilled at the sight of old England again. Beg pardon! I should have said Scotland, for it was up the firth of Clyde we slipped and anchored off Greenock. It was a nice morning & the fields & hills looked really pleasant in the sunshine. As we slid along we were shot up by Hurricanes and Martletts from the Auxiliary Aircraft Carriers. There were quite a few of the latter, converted merchant men turned into A.C. Carriers, quite large some of them. Beside this, the usual swarm of naval craft lay around. Destroyers, & corvettes slipped past, & occasionally the sleek black hulk of a submarine would slide along; in the distance. There was a Catalina station, with quite an amount of activity going on. One of the “Cats” landed quite close to us in a flurry of foam, nice looking jobs! We anchored just by three aircraft carriers & the modern battleship Howe, there was quite an amount of Aldis flashing, but far beyond our limited 8’s. I was glad I was on guard as I had a fine view, whilst all the others weren’t allowed up on deck.
[page break]
We docked on the 15th about 3 pm and it was 24 hrs. before we got off her. Being as there were no large docks as at Boston & New York everyone had to be taken off in lighters, & there were a good few thousand to go ashore. The lighters seemed like little toys alongside the Queen Elizabeth, although in reality they were quite large two funnelled vessels. Pumping oil in was a large tanker she really was a size, a smart looking American ship, with the T of the Texaco Oil Coy. on her funnel covered by the grey war paint. We struggled into the boat in full webbing lugging the kit bag, that everyone had crammed with cigarettes, chocolates, cosmetics, & heaven knows how many with stockings, for everyone at home. Quite a delay ensued before the lighter was packed to capacity, then away she went. My God as we passed alongside the Q.E. we could get an idea of her size, she was immense. As we drew further away, & saw the cluster of ships around her, dwarfed to doll size, looking like a duck with a swarm of ducklings we realised what a prize it would make for Jerry U Boats. No wonder they had claimed to have sank her, that made us laugh when we were on it. She really had a rakish cut, though, and as we neared the dockside, gazing back through the [deleted] Deff [/deleted] half mist, I was glad I had had the opportunity of travelling on the two largest ships afloat.
[page break]
On the dockside we had the inevitable hours wait with packs, full webbing on, but being as it was our priviledge [sic] to moan we indulged in it to the full, & were cheered by it. The troop trains were drawing away and at last our turn came. Comfortable seats were taken, our mass of webbing crowded everything out of the way but nobody worried away we [deleted] wend [/deleted] went, into a lovely drizzling evening, it may sound dim, but were we glad to see the rain again, after months of continuous snow without a drop of rain. It must have appeared depressing to the Canadians, raining on their arrival, bearing out tales of the island when it always rains, that they had heard, but to us it was home & heaven. Everyone waved out of windows & from streets as we slid along, everything was so friendly. Some of the fellows tackled the canned rations they had of Beans & Hash etc. but I stuck to the Biscuit & Sweet ones. Into Glasgow we rattled, onto Edinburgh when the NAAFI gave us tea on the platform, & so to Harrogate. Here we were assembled in the [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] dim light & pushed into lorries & away we went to Pannel Ash, three miles out of Harrogate to a large school. Here we whizzed around getting bedding & filling forms and having an eagerly awaited breakfast. However I am getting tired so I’ll continue in my next entry.
[page break]
[underlined] Sunday 21st March [/underlined]
As I said we arrived here at Pannel Ash, about 5.30 AM. on the 17th & they told us to be on parade at 8 A.M. to start the whirl of kitting, form filling and heaven knows what else before we went on leave. It sounded a line of bull to us, but the magical word leave was enough to keep us moving. We rapidly discovered that there were two of the biggest b-s I have seen here, & the two most influential. No 1 the C.O. and No 2 the W.O. I can truthfully say the C.O. or Sqdn/Ldr was the most illiterate fellow I have ever seen holding a commission. They say [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] he was an N.C.O. pre-war & just got a lucky push. The W.O. vies with him for our hatred, he is a fat red faced guy & a real nasty piece, just loves to catch one of us N.C.O’s with something wrong. It is something like a Gestapo purge, they are [deleted] [indecipherable letter] [/deleted] possessed with the idea, that because we have come back from overseas we are no longer fit for aircrew, are a pack of scare-crows, are unruly & undisciplined etc. etc. Admittedly the Guards could give us a few points on smartness but hell! we haven’t had time to get back into the rut of drill again. Our job doesn’t depend on whether we can drill smartly either, a point which they always try to hammer in.
[page break]
We have whizzed about filling in reams of forms, kitting up to the English scale once more, this was a scream Some of the fellows had thrown away nearly all their service kit in order to make room for their presents, & they certainly had some 664B action. When they can’t think of anything for us to do, we drill, with the C.O. binding continually. The latest purge is haircuts, & as mine hasn’t been trimmed for about 6 – 7 weeks I’m right in the line of fire, guess I’ll need a lawn mower on my mop. On the evenings that we can get away we generally walk into town to see a show, the trouble with this town is it is [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] lousy with aircrew. When we first arrived we were so tired that we got some bed hours in, & wrote letters with the old 2 1/2' stamp on again. It was quite good to write a letter, & in a couple of days get a reply come buzzing back. The family & Mary had a surprise as they didn’t think I would be home for a couple of days, Mary is trying to get leave at the same time as myself. We should be going on leave pretty soon now, yippee! will we hit the high spots, & guess I’ll be glad to hand over their presents after lugging them quarter way round the world & guarding them, ah! well it wont [sic] be long now.
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[underlined] Thursday April 8th [/underlined]
Time certainly has flown by, but in a glorious fashion, since I made my last [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] entry. In the last couple of days we got packed, stowed our flying kit, & personal kit in the in the cellars & were all ready to move. The great day was Wednesday the 24th. and the coaches came to take us to the station. All the A.G.’s had gone a couple of days before, but only for 7 days, as they needed them, I felt sorry for them as we were all getting 14. After some waiting the train drew in, & we piled in heartily, it was well organised, all the London fellows were in one train those going South, Portsmouth etc in another, & Midlands & North a third. We got a good seat & old Fred Porce was opposite me so we arranged to travel on the Met to Plaistow together. On the journey we dozed & ate a little of the rations, & thought & made plans of what we would do on leave, then finally we drew into London, bang on! Fred had a monster kit bag crammed with tinned goods, & it certainly was a weight, we both had to drag it along to get on the Met. Sinking into a seat, not daring to remove our packs, for fear we wouldn’t get them on again, we soon became wedged, & I had the devils
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own job to struggle out, when we reached my station. It was really great to get home again, there was a great welcome, everyone saying things together & I know, I forgot lots of the things I wanted to tell them. Mary & my sister certainly were enthusiastic over the cosmetics, most probably be run in for hoarding.
Leave time as usual simply whirled by, shows & films, different people to see, & places to go. I saw Frank Pritchards mother, apparently I just missed him at Greenock, he went back on the Queen Elizabeth, they must have embarked the morning after we disembarked. Life always seems to be like that just missing people, well, I hope he likes Canada, one thing he won’t get the hellish winter conditions I had. I could kick myself missing the mildest winter England had for 17 years, & catching the coldest Canada had for 19 years. Anyway time flew, & yesterday it was time for me to return, they ran a special train for us, good show, & at 5 PM I met Norman & all the boys, & back we travelled swapping stories of leave. Harrogate once more, & in the Grand Hotel, where we were billeted when we arrived from Hastings, & so here I am.
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[underlined] Wednesday 14th April [/underlined]
We are ‘squaddied’ now, (placed in a squad) and waiting for the lectures to commence. Still the memories of our leave keep coming back to torture us, in heaven knows when we will be home again. Won’t be till after O.T.U. I’d wager, some fellows say we get some after AFU but I doubt it. Most of the fellows here whilst they are waiting for a posting are sent to Whitley Bay on a 4 week Commands Course with the RAF Regiment, I don’t quite know whether I relish the idea or not. The first few days we were back we didn’t do anything merely route marches, occasionally if we had a decent fellow in charge we would lay down in a field for the afternoon, but that wasn’t often. That state of affairs rarely lasts long however & we were soon put in a squad and commenced lectures. These are held at the Majestic Hotel, & we parade and march there each morning and afternoon. The lectures themselves are the same as they are anywhere the inevitable Signals, Armaments, Aircraft Rec, & Bombing Theory, they certainly cheese us, & I have a hell of a job to keep awake.
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There is quite a bit of P.T. as well, & we always have to run up to the Crag or thereabouts then turn off, for a general town of Yorkshire, around 5 miles or so. A fellow who was already in our room when we arrived, (a pilot on singles) is on the permanent P.T. squad, this is a hell of a racket. You are put on this when you have finished all the lectures. They parade in the morning in P.T. kit, or more often than not trousers, vest & jacket, then after roll call, go for a run by themselves to the Cing Café & sit there gazing at the view, & eating scones & supping tea till nearly dinner time, then they trot back for their midday meal. In the afternoon they repeat the process, maybe add a game of football, if they feel energetic, always ensuring that they finish in plenty of time for an early tea, & a quick get away to the cinema. Still you can’t blame them, they’ve been here nearly four months & I’d be really fed up.
Looking around at the thousands of aircrew here, & hearing of the thousands of Canadians & Australians at Bournemouth it amazes me. All these aircrew hanging around waiting to get onto operations and they can’t, & it goes right to the
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bottom of the ladder, to the fellow just joining up for aircrew who has to wait nearly a year after he has been accepted, to get into the RAF. If only we could clear the bottlenecks & get all these fellows on ops’ what a mighty bomber fleet we should have. Surely it isn’t the shortage of aircraft, we should be turning out enough by now. It must be a bottleneck at O.T.U. & AFU & not enough to cope with the flow of crews, or the most likely explanation they have been piling up here, owing to there being limited flying during the winter. I daresay there will always be the same situation here, though. As for myself I’m quite content, we have a decent room, Norman, Henry, Jack, & Ron & myself all together. There’s a wash basin in the room & a bath room next door, which is good. The food isn’t bad either, it is a rush for meals now that we are on [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] lectures. There isn’t much to do in town but go to the cinema I have been six nights running, but there’s nothing else available. One thing about coming in at night the lights are switched off at 10.30 PM by a master control, so we always creep in, in the dark, stumbling over things. Rumours of leave here are as prevalent here as at any other posting centre, but after a while we discredit them all.
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[underlined] Wednesday April 21st [/underlined]
Norman, Harry & myself are still here, but Ron & Jack are at Whitley Bay now, getting that cave man complex on the North Sea now. The went off in the traditional RAF style full webbing etc, & kidding us about our getting posted up there when they had nearly finished. Us not to be outdone assuring them, that there was an AFU posting on the way & they were merely clearing the dim ones out. I wouldn’t mind betting we’re “joes” though & get sent up there shortly. In the meantime we are just continuing with lectures, we have had one period of wet dinghy drill. We went in the swimming baths, belonging to a school, now occupied by the Civil Service. Being as the changing accommodation in the boxes is inadequate a lot of fellows changed on the spectators seats at the far end. There are a lot of full length windows, & as the boys changed & stood there in the altogether, quite a lot of the female Civil Servants opposite found a sudden lack of interest in their work. We have to don full flying kit and Mae Wests, & as a crew jump in & swim to the dinghy & climb in. It wasn’t so bad in the water, but when one went to climb into the dinghy, their weight
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soaked, with water, became apparent, & it really was a struggle to get aboard.
I have been with Norman to visit his Aunt & Uncle living here. His Uncle is in the Civil Service & took us to their club they have on the Ground Floor of a Hotel. Its a nice place with refreshment bar, dance hall, games & card rooms, we went to a nice dance there the other day. It is so nice to meet someone like that, because Harrogate is a hell of a place if one knows nobody. Being as it is crammed full of aircrew & soldiers, every place of entertainment is bound to be packed. There is nowhere to go but the cinemas really cos the dances are pretty dear. Most probably with the idea of keeping the services away, because the citizens really resent the troops being here, & hate the war being forced on them. It really is a “Forget the War”, town. The solitary Y.M.C.A. & a couple of small Forces Canteens do sterling service, but are overwhelmed & can’t cater for all their customers This leaves the troops at the mercy of the money grabbing café owners. The Copper Kettle being one, 2 small sausages & a few chips being 3/6’, out of an ordinary soldiers 2/6 a day its not even funny. Yes this town certainly wants re-organising & a few of the rackets squashed.
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[underlined] Tuesday 27th April [/underlined].
We are on the point of recommencing our flying in England we have arrived at our Advanced Flying Unit, at Bobbington near Stourbridge. So we did steal a march on Ron & Jack after all, I bet they are annoyed about it, but still most probably they will be posted soon. They called us all out together all our little clique, & when they said Bobbington we jumped for joy as most of us are Southerners and didn’t fancy going up North again. There was quite a dash around & quite a bit of bull with kit inspections & parades, clothing parades, & Heaven knows what else. Bags of waiting around & queuing as usual, arguing and scrambling for different things. At last all was done & our kit was left downstairs in the lobby ready to go next morning. We went out in the town to have a last night celebration, I am a bit sorry now that I have left there, as it was pretty good there, and I had some decent times with Norman’s Uncle & Aunt. Still there it is the training system doesn’t worry about individuals, & it is the only way I guess. Anyway after that last night we staggered in rather merry & noisy stumbling through the pitch black corridors of the hotel.
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Up the next morning bright and early, early anyway I dunno so much about the bright. With bull to the last we had to parade in full webbing and march to the station. We got fixed up on the train O.K. & commenced our first stage of the journey to Leeds. It was crazy weather, raining like anything, when we arrived at Leeds we were going to have a stroll around but the weather deterred us. The train to Birmingham was crowded & although we had a carriage reserved, bags of civilians crowded in & as there were elderly women & women with babies, we gave them the seats, but boy! was it a squash. At Birmingham we darted around unloading the kit & dashing over to another platform to catch the Wolverhampton train. We were beginning to look like porters after lumping the kit around all the time. The train had to wait a few minutes until we had loaded everything, the guard was a bit peeved but there was nothing he could do. Off we bowled and then found we had left Norman behind, nothing could be done then so on we went. At Wolverhampton there was a lorry waiting so we loaded it all on & climbed on the kit. We were rather shaken by the distance we were from the town through miles of country lanes until we finally arrived here.
They say that first impressions are often misleading, & I hope so, because our first impressions of this place is that it is a bloody awful station. We are in a damp Nissen hut with a concrete floor, that clouds of white dust rise from on the slightest stir of anything. Being ‘pupils’ as we are termed we aren’t allowed to eat in the sergeants mess, they say it isn’t large enough. We may go into there for letter writing etc. after 5.30 P.M Our meals are in the airmen’s mess, and we queue up amongst all the a.c’s and it is no exaggeration that we get less food than them. I have experienced it many a time the WAAF has given the fellow in front a ladle full, & had one ready for the next chap. Then looking up & seeing they are aircrew they tip half of it back. The mess is terrible and so is the food. All this we have found out in our few hours of being here, tomorrow we start the course. Our ablutions is a place not finished, no bowls or mirrors, just a line of taps containing freezing cold water – grim isn’t the word for it. By all accounts aircrew are disliked on this station by all & sundry from the Groupy downwards, we meet him tomorrow. – Norman has just rolled in he followed on the next train, had quite a shock when he found we had gone.
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[underlined] Sunday May 2nd. [/underlined]
We have been here long enough to dislike the place entirely, & the sooner we leave here the better for all of us. On our first day we met the W/O in charge of the school, Alves his name is, & we didn’t take much of a liking to him. He gave us quite a few warnings with a long list of “Donts”, [sic] & impressed upon us how the “Groupy” disliked aircrew and was always ready to catch them out, then he marched us off to see the big noise himself. All the time he was marching us along in threes he was binding “Stop that talking”, and “Swing those arms”, just like the old I.T.W. back again, it gets a bit cheesing at this stage. We had the ‘welcome’ address in the station cinema a rather bare place that is still undergoing completion. The Groupy bore out all the stories we had heard about him, a rather mean faced individual. During the talk he broke off three times to tear a strip off a poor M.T. driver who had the misfortune to be starting his lorry & drowning the old man’s voice, what a type. Quite a lot of his talk was devoted to the subject of WAAF’s we weren’t to go around with them or associate to any given extent, & if he caught anyone near the WAAF site it would be too bad. Anyone would think it was a convent here, still from what I’ve seen of the WAAFs here, I can’t see anyone wanting to associate with them.
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Our day is quite a long one here, we rise & have our icy wash then dash over to the airmen’s mess to queue for our “breakfast”. Back to the hut to dash around making up our beds & sweeping the floors, then on parade at the unearthly hour of 7.45 A.M. Even at I.T.W. we went on parade at 8 A.M. nowhere have I seen it as early as this, a quarter of an hour doesn’t sound very much, but one can pack an awful lot into it in the morning. Lectures are from 8 AM. to 10.15 then a quarter of an hours break, lectures from 1.30 to 5 P.M. a half hour for tea, then back for an hours lecture 5.30 to 6.30. The latter is the worst of all I think, we have to dash from the classroom to the mess, which takes about 6 mins, queue for our meal, bolt it down then dash back to the classroom, all in half an hour, we’ll all be suffering from indigestion before long. Unless the instructor taking us is willing to let us off a little early then we are unable to catch the 6.30 p.m. bus into Stourbridge.
Each day we have an hours P.T. & there is a mad F.O. for the P.T. officer, at least we call him mad, he is one of these very keen types he used to be a champion swimmer before the war. The first
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time we went over the assault course, it was pretty gruelling. Twice round a half a mile track then into a veritable maze of climbing over walls, crawling under wire, balancing along poles ten feet high. One part was swinging along on a single rope across a pond until we were able to wrap our legs around a tree & pull ourselves in. The P.T. instructor a Cpl that was showing us got about three quarters of the way across to the point where the rope sagged the most & there he fell in. He had his long blue P.T. trousers on too, boy! did we laugh, needless to say he didn’t join in. Twice we have been on hellish long cross country the P.T. officer being bang on at running cracks along at a hell of a pace. Then he binds us because we dont [sic] do so well & shoots the bull about being fit for flying etc. We bind him back, & tell him to have a crack at aircrew it is quite a scream. The trouble is we generally arrive back at about 12.45 & have to wash & dress & dash for dinner in three quarters of an hour, so invariably we arrive back late for classes.
The NAAFI here is a pretty good one, we have our break there, they have a good selection of cakes. In classes we are doing all the old familiar Bombing Theory over again, & using the Bombing Teacher. We do our flying on Ansons, seems we are never free from them, I’m really cheesed of winding that undercart up & down.
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Yesterday, May Day, was our day off, not because the RAF favoured the Labour Party, but it just happened that way. After quite a bit of wangling they finally granted us the priviledge [sic] of getting off an hour earlier [inserted] Friday [/inserted] There was a bus running at 5.30 P.M. & we went into town on that & there caught a bus to Birmingham, we were able to book beds at the Services Club that night. Jimmy Selkirk, Harry & I went out on the beer as Norman had gone by train to Oxford as his fiancé was there spending her leave. We eventually found a pretty low dive & finished the night there. The next day we wandered around for awhile, then went to a cinema, & travelled back on the 9 P.M. bus to catch the 10.30 P.M. from Stourbridge to the camp.
The other day we had our flight photograph taken, we all agreed to look cheesed in it, to register our disappointment of this place, & it came out pretty well. We have been to the station cinema here, they charge us 1/- it isn’t too bad, if only they didn’t have rows of old seats on the same level. Because if one is sitting a fair way back it is impossible to see over all the heads on the same level as yourself. I wonder if we will get leave after this place, I hope so, there are the usual rumours floating around, first we will then we wont, [sic] I guess we wont [sic] know till it arrives.
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[underlined] Sunday 7th May. [/underlined]
I should say roughly half our time has passed here, as most chaps remain here a [deleted] fortnight [/deleted] [inserted] month [/inserted] anyway roll on the next fortnight, & lets get to hell out of here. It is a fairly hum drum existence with the lectures & so forth. On Monday we had a pleasant diversion in the form of wet dinghy drill, in Stourbridge baths, I rather like it as we are able to swim about afterwards – Turning the large bomber dinghy over when one is in the water with full flying kit, will be some job in the North Sea, I reckon. It isn’t too bad in the baths, but then there is no rough sea or wind to contend with.
The F/Sgt in charge of us is a pretty good guy, pretty quiet, & got quite a bit of service in, he is thoroughly cheesed with the station. Beside the famous old Theory of Bombing lectures he takes us on the Bombing Teacher. We were up there the other day & looking from the open window, when old Alves went dashing past. Tom Alan commented “Old Alves is on the warpath”, boy! he must have had keen ears because he called us down & bound us rigid. For the Gunnery lectures there is an F/O A.G with a V.F.M. he is a Welsh chap, shoots a fair amount of lines, but is really a good type, his lectures make a welcome break. For the aircraft rec. there is a nattering little sgt A.G. who absolutely cheeses everybody, nobody likes him. The other chap a tall F/Sgt is a good egg though, livens up the epidiascope slides with an occasional nude woman.
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The map reading periods are O.K. too. the F/O who takes us did his tour out in Abyssinia, I believe it was on Valentine or some obsolete kites. Thinking of it, it must have been a pretty easy tour, but he is a good chap, a Flt/Lt D.F.M. who is also there, shoots bags of lines, but they are worth listening to & at this stage, we are ready to lap up all lines. A chap who ‘nattered’ to us the other day about ‘ops’ in the Middle East, said at the beginning of the campaign, the crack Italian liner Rex was in the harbour at Tobruk. They were briefed to attack & did so, but they were made to bomb with 25 lb H.E. naturally they were like pin pricks, & that night she whipped up steam & was away. An Air Commodore was slung out of the RAF for that. We went out on a lorry the other day for practical map reading, & drove around the lanes, stopped & had to find where we were & make tactical sketches. About three times we did this, & then had to change into our P.T. kit, that we had brought, leap out of the lorry & run the 3 miles back to camp. It rather reminded me of the hunt with the hounds leaping from the van & tearing down the road. We have been on Groupie’s parade, & he certainly is down on aircrew, the parade was a real bully one, bags of shouting & everything. He whizzed through the permanent staff without saying much, & when he came to us, he went really slow & bound practically everyone rigid, & the W.O. almost wore his pencil out, taking names.
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Yesterday was our day off again & once more we spent it in Birmingham. We were unable to get in at the Services Club & had to go to a large house converted into a hostel, it was pretty good. This week saw the commencing of our Flying here, I made three flights all day bombing exercises. The first one was Wednesday, & came off alright, there is a village fairly near the range & that made me twitter. It is a bit more awkward to bomb from the kite than from the Canadian Anson, because there is no perspex panel in the nose. Also the sliding panel is metal, not perspex, this necessitated having it always open, causing quite a draught. On Friday Harry Jamieson & I did two more flights with an ex-operational pilot F/O Ryan. It was pretty grim because he hadn’t the technique of the steady bombing runs, like the regular B.G pilots. The kite would be bouncing around necessitating us giving corrections & sometimes we would be nowhere near the target so we had to call ‘Dummy Run’. He would scream & bind & curse like the clappers, & said “It’s a bloody good job you’re not over a target”. That kind of stuff never gets anybody places though, & only leads to a bad exercise. We do a few of these Day Bombing trips, maybe some Night bombing, & then some Night Combined exercises. These are only cross countries but they give them the high sounding titles. We’re beginning to get really cheesed with all this training, no wonder chaps get stale, & lose all their interest & enthusiasm.
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[underlined] Friday 14th May. [/underlined]
Life still flows in its uninteresting way, we have done some map reading trips. We go on a small cross country of 3 legs, with the pilot & 3 B.A’s each who map reads one leg of the trip. They are O.K. if you get a decent pilot, who puts the Forces programme on the intercom, & is fairly tolerant with the map reading. I was up with ‘Taffy’ Evans & Norman Griffin the other day & we had a binder! Poor old Taffy chopped in the mire, by losing himself completely. The pilot was one of those tricky individuals who would fly the aircraft so a village was directly under the nose, & out of sight, & then ask you suddenly where it was. We coped anyway.
I had a good laugh the other day, whilst standing by in the flight hut for a day bombing exercise. There were a couple of chaps from the previous course there, also detailed for a bombing exercise. Like us all they weren’t very keen on it, but the antics of one of them kept me in fits. He was small with dark wavy hair, & a perfect cherub face, chubby rosy cheeks etc. looking about 17. Every few minutes he would pop to the door & gaze at the sky. Any cloud, no matter however small, was greeted with a beaming smile & the exclamation “Wizard” drawing out the last syllable, as it meant there was a faint hope of the exercise being cancelled.
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Whilst every time the sun burst forth he would scowl & slump disconsolately back in his chair, resigning himself to Fate. In the end they took off & so did we.
The lectures are still as binding & unvarying. Yesterday our “Chiefy” was taking us on Bombing Theory & although he is a good chap, he is a real lousy lecturer. Bombing Theory being one of the driest subjects in itself he succeeded in putting half the class to sleep in a quarter of an hour. Then a Sqdn/Ldr Education Officer from Group slipped into the room, & after listening for 10 mins, took over the lecture. For the next half hour, it even became quite interesting, & some points were cleared up, which I for one had been doubtful over for a long time.
So far rumours that we will not get leave at the end of the course have gained strength, I hope they turn out false. When the last few days arrive W/O Alves gives the Senior Man a list of the O.T.U’s to which we are to be posted & then the course is left to sort them out amongst themselves, I hope we get some decent ones.
Norman has had an old cycle of his sent up, it is quite handy for getting around on, and half the course use it. It might be a good idea to get one if I land on one of there really dispersed drones I hear about. I played a game of football earlier & am just beginning to feel the effects, so I’ll have supper at the NAAFI & turn in.
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[underlined] Thursday May 20th. [/underlined]
We had our day off on Tuesday, & a crowd of us caught the bus outside the camp into Wolverhampton. The morning was spent looking around the town & then after dinner in a nice little café we found a decent park & spent the afternoon. After tea in the Forces Canteen above Surton’s we got down to a steady pub crawl. I have never seen a place like it, for so many girls of 16 – 17 in the pubs. Old Pete Rawlings had quite an amusing encounter with one, but this is not the place to disclose it. Anyway after closing time, four of us wandered around in a happy stupor till we sobered up a little & realised we had better look around for means to return to camp. We finally phoned a taxi who took us right into the camp, & off we bowled to bed.
As far as the flying part goes we are on the last stages, that of day and night cross countries. I don’t know which one the greater bind the latter gets it by a narrow margin, I think. It will be a relief to get to O.T.U. & go on a really organised X country. So far I have been on two day trips & five ‘scrubs’, it is an inoffensive word – ‘scrub’, but conceals a lot. When we are due for a day X country we hand our names into the Guard Room & then at 5.30 or 6 AM an S.P. rudely awakens
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us, to tear off for early briefing, breakfast & take off at 8.30 A.M. – there are afternoon X countries but I haven’t had the luck to get on one yet. It is binding to get up, see the rain, & knowing in advance it will be scrubbed, tramp 10 mins through the rain to the briefing room, & wait until they inform you officially it is cancelled. Now we are getting wise & only two going up, one with Norman’s bike to nip back & arouse the others if by chance, flying is on.
On a night cross country, our main function is winding the undercart. Actually we are supposed to do some infra red bombing, but no-one has been known to see the target, the pilot hates stooging around, & the navigator is chomping to set course. Consequently we sit & shiver in the darkness, maybe once in a while giving a beacon position to the Navigator, or taking over the controls while the pilot dives to the back. We had a little excitement on one trip when the weather was closing in over the airfield when we returned, but we got in O.K. The only good thing about it is we sleep the next day, & it breaks the monotony. A kite crashed the other day killing the occupants, they weren’t on our course. The S.S.Q. backs onto our billets though & the blood wagon was outside with the bodies in while they were getting things ready inside. It was a fairly sobering thought, but I guess we shall see more of it, the closer we get to ‘ops’.
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[underlined] 25th May. [/underlined]
Once more a change of address, I am now at my O.T.U. at Hixon, Staffs, having arrived here today. Most of us came here, some went to Whitehead & four to Lossiemouth. ‘Taffy’ Evans has gone to Whitehead & ‘Buntie’ Rogers, Norman, Jimmy, Harry, & most of our clique are still together. Naturally the Lossiemouth posting wasn’t wanted, there being no Scots on the course, so it was drawn for, I thanked the Lord my name didn’t come out of the hat.
Anyway the usual clearance procedure was got through & we were driven by lorry into Wolverhampton this morning. There was a couple of hours to kill before the train & we spent them in town. Although the distance from Bobbington to Hixon isn’t so great as the crow flies it took us a few hours by train with the changing. Transport came out after we phoned from Stafford station, & I was surprised to find the airfield was 8 miles, out from the town, at least – somebody had told me it was nearer than that.
We are all in the same hut, they are not Nissan huts, but kind of asbestos boarding & wood, on concrete bases, much better & larger than the Nissan hut. Each collection of huts is called a site & given a number, the site with the mess etc. is called Command Site, these sites are dispersed over a wide area, & are a considerable distance from the airfield. Apparently a cycle is a very handy thing, Pete Rawlings has one now.
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A course arrives here every fortnight, & we are No 17 course. After nearly a fortnight of ground training terminating with exams, we commence flying, by this time we have ‘crewed-up’ of course. This is the stage where we crowd of Air Bombers will finally split up, because inevitably after each of us joins a crew we shall go about with them, I shall be sorry, because we have been together a long while, but this breaking up of friendships happens again & again in the RAF as ours is an odd course number (17) we move to the satellite airfield, Seighford, when we have completed our ground training & finish our O.T.U. there. It is situated the other side of Stafford & is more dispersed than this, but there is a lot less discipline, as chaps say who have been there.
As usual on arrival at a new place, we have been pumping all the fellows that we can find on the various aspects of the course, & every conceivable thing attached to it. We haven’t collected much ‘gen’ yet though, beyond the fact that we parade outside the mess, after breakfast tomorrow, with the rest of training wing personnel, & then the S.W.O. will march us to the Training Wing for roll call. Apparently this is an everyday procedure & is fairly strictly adhered to. I have written off the letters to home & Mary as usual on arriving at a new station, with the address & what gen is available, & now I’ll close this entry and get into bed I think, then tomorrow I’ll start one of my last stages towards a squadron.
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[underlined] June 1st. [/underlined]
Things have changed somewhat since I last wrote. I have just returned from a compassionate 48 hr pass, which I went on when I received some very bad news from home. The C.G.I. said that I would have to revert back a course, so I am staying here on 17 course, whilst the boys on 17 go over to Seighford. We would have broken up anyway so maybe it is just as well this way. They finish their ground training this week and then my course commences the following week.
This O.T.U. course lasts approximately 3 months, after the fortnights ground training, it is all flying training with an occasional lecture slipped in. Half of the time, (the first half of the 3 months) is day flying, & the other or second half night flying. The exercises are similar in each case, we commence circuits & bumps with an instructor, then after our pilot has flown solo with us as a crew, we complete our circuits & bumps without the instructor. Then day bombing with a ‘screened’ or instructor pilot & a ‘screened’ Air Bomber after the first exercise, we do the rest alone, there are quite a few of them too. The same procedure is followed for gunnery & fighter affiliation, although most of the actual firing exercises are done with four gunners & a ‘screened’ gunner in one aircraft. Then we do a cross country with a ‘screen’, & afterwards another couple by ourselves, each longer in duration.
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The same procedure is followed for night flying, as far as is practical. Then at the end of the course comes the pièce de resistance – a leaflet [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] or “nickel” raid on France. I hope we are able to do one, as sometimes the weather prevents it & crews do a “bullseye” instead. This is an exercise over England, combining Fighter Command & the ground defences, except ack ack naturally. It isn’t that I am all that keen to see what the other side of the Channel is like, but I think it affords quite good practise, before going to a squadron and the real thing.
From what I have seen of the actual station here it isn’t too bad. The mess is about 8 minutes walk from our site, & the food is pretty good, (a lot better than Bobbington anyway) it is laid out fairly well too, & the waitresses serve us sitting down. The ante room & billiards rooms are quite large, & the station cinema, isn’t too bad, they are improving the latter I believe. Getting in & out of Stafford is rather a snag, there is a liberty bus from the Guard Room of an evening, but we are required to book seats the previous day by dinner-time, & as we rarely know that far ahead if we are going in, it is generally by taxi that we arrive there. At the moment I am acting as runner in the Discip Office until the next course commences, I wonder what sort of chaps they will be. Pete Rawlins has crewed up with the pilot that I originally had, he seemed a decent chap.
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[underlined] 8th June. [/underlined]
Well, I have been on the course nearly two days now. There wasn’t much for me to do last week stooging around in the Discip. Office, so I was given a 48 hr pass over the weekend. So I said goodbye to all the boys as they moved over to Seighford during the week end, though I shall see Norman a couple of times in Stafford if we can arrange it. I was lucky travelling into Stafford, I had just come out of the Guard Room with my pass, when an MT Corporal said “Going into Stafford, Sarge?”. So in I travelled in style, lolling back in the Groupie’s car, the driver was going to meet the Groupie at the station.
When I returned yesterday I had expected to find the billet empty, but I had switched my things to the corner bed, just on the off chance, somebody might roll in. They certainly had – a whole room of Canadians, pilots, navigators, and Air Bombers. On the whole they seem a pretty decent crowd, pretty noisy, but full of life and really generous & anxious to be friendly, I like Canadians quite a lot, anyway. I had to smile, because as soon as they found I had been on the previous course, they kept asking me all sorts of ‘gen’ about the course, in exactly the same manner as I had done a fortnight earlier. It was precious little I could give them. Then today we started the ground work, it was exactly the same as my first few lectures on the last course, they follow a strict pattern here.
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[underlined] June 13th. [/underlined]
I have arrived at a stage which will play a most important part in my immediate future – I am crewed up. In a bomber a man’s life is wholly in the hands of his crew members, and the closer they are together, and the better they are as a team, then the more chance of survival they have. I [deleted] a [/deleted] had always understood that considerably rare, and quite an amount of time was allotted at O.T.U’s for the purpose of selecting crews. Hixon has proved the fallacy of it, everyone starts the course separately as a course of pilots, & course of navigators or Air bombers – W/Ops etc. They remain in their classes for the first lot of lectures and hardly have any chance of meeting the various other categories of air crew, the only chance being in the mess or the billet. Suddenly like a bolt from the blue it is announced that everyone must be crewed up in two days or else they will be allocated by the instructors into a crew. A mad flap then starts, people go wandering about, staring into each others faces, vainly trying to sum up whether a person will be an asset to crew up with – or otherwise. Having experienced this on the previous course, I thought it best to let matters take their own course.
Friday night, I was sitting in the mess, after writing a few letters, having a quiet drink & waiting for the sandwiches to arrive for supper. At the next table to me, were two Canadian
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pilots from my billet, McCann who slept next to me & Cecil Kindt who slept opposite McCann. They had been drinking for a while and were both pretty mellow, as Kindt went out to get some more drinks he [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] leant over me and said, “Mac said would you join him at the next table”, so I moved over to where McCann was sitting.
We chatted for a couple of minutes, then he asked if [deleted] [indecipherable letter] [/deleted] I was crewed up with anyone. When I replied in the negative, he said “Well how would you like to sling in with me, and be my bomb-aimer?” I rather liked him, and so I had found a pilot. Cecil Kindt returned with the beer and we had a drink to it. Well, I think I had better put on record my impressions of Mac, as he is always called, & the other crew members. Len McCann, though I’ve never heard anyone call him Len, is only about 5’ 4”, and almost as broad. He said he has lost a lot of weight over here, & that he weighed 220 lbs in Canada, so he must have been tubby. For his weight & size though he isn’t so very fat, he has some superfluous flesh but is extraordinarily thickset under it. The amusing part of him is his neck which is very short & seems almost as thick as his shoulders are wide, actually he takes an 18 1/2" collar. The other fellows often call him for no reason at all, just to watch him turn around.
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He cannot swivel his neck as we do, but has to lift his shoulder & turn as one would with a stiff neck, yet the action is not a slow one; he takes all the kidding in very good part. In features he strikes me as very similar to the comedian Lou Costello, having the same cheery round face & turned up nose. He had his hair cropped right short in Canada & now stands up in a mass of wiry black bristles. With a short bristly moustache this completed my description of Mac, with whom I shall be for long time – I trust.
I asked Mac if he had a Navigator, & when he said he had one in mind, I told him of another one, who seemed quite a ‘gen’ chap to me. He was a Canadian & Mac knew him & told me he was a real farmer, & that he always ‘nattered’ nineteen to the dozen, so we didn’t ask him. On my advice Mac tackled the navigator he had in mind, just in case somebody else should snap him up. Nobody had, and he became our navigator.
His name is Ken Price, also a Canadian, and I cannot give a better description than say he is the exact image of Gary Cooper. It may seem as though I am rather a film fan, but the resemblance is remarkable. He is tall & lean, very quiet and reserved, and seems a thoroughly decent chap all round. By all accounts, from what the other navigators say he is a darned
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good man at his job.
Then this afternoon Mac introduced me to the wireless/op. he had chosen. Bill Bowery is his name, and he is English coming from Sunderland. He seems quite a keen type and knows his gen, his broad “Geordie” accent tickles us, but it is nowhere near as broad as Jimmy Selkirk’s was, or others I have heard. In appearance, he is about 5’ 8” well set, with straight auburn hair, brushed down, he seems to have an expression as though puzzling or enquiring over something, & that may be a good thing. Anyway there are four of us now, we shall get a rear gunner in a day or so, & the five of us do O.T.U. together.
Mid/Upper Gunners do their Gunnery School somewhere and then join us at the end of the course, generally in time for the “Nickel”. As we are flying Wimpeys there is no accomodation [sic] for them, & it would be a waste of time their coming here all through the course. Also in Fighter-Evasion Tactics the Rear Gunner gives all the instructions, as the co-operation between the pilot & him is the result of their training at O.T.U. The remaining member of the crew, the Flight Engineer we will pick up at our Heavy Conversion Unit, and then we will be a full crew of seven. I hope the other three members will be as good as these, & we should have a rattling good crew.
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[underlined] Thursday 17th June. [/underlined]
On Monday we found ourselves a rear gunner. Mac had noticed a chap who looked pretty keen, but I had heard him ‘nattering’ away and didn’t go much on him. I had another one in mind, fairly similar in appearance to the above mentioned one, and pointed him out to Mac, so he told me to go ahead and contact him.
Nobody has asked him to crew up, and he agreed to pitch in with us. He is a pretty decent kid, he is only 18, I know I’m only 19 myself but he looks very young and he is only about 5’ 5” and slimly built. He is a Londoner and comes from fairly near me, the most important thing, he seems to know his ‘gen’ on gunnery pretty thoroughly. His name is Johnny Watson.
So there we are the five of us, who will do O.T.U. together as a crew and pick up the other two afterwards. Somehow I can’t help wondering sometimes what lies in store for us, and the ability of a crew counts for such a lot in emergencies. Still ours looks pretty good to me, even though it does seem rather early to say it.
At the moment we are completing our ground lectures, and then tomorrow we start our exams. They aren’t actually long ones, or terribly important, although if one makes a pretty poor showing they are liable to be put back a course. The only subject
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I am hazy on is gun turrets, I had hardly any instruction on them at B. & G. School, then here a couple of hours were devoted to it. As it happened I was at the back of a crowded class room, and the diagram being on the wall, well I just couldn’t see a thing.
We have had some lectures together as a crew although for the majority of them we remain in our aircrew categories. There is an old Wellington Mk I in the Airmanship Hangar, & is sitting on supports, so that undercart drill can be carried out. We scramble all over it, learning the positions of various things, petrol cocks, escape hatches, crash positions, oxygen bottles, dinghy releases, & a 101 other things necessary to learn in an aircraft. A couple of times we have scrambled out of it, on dinghy or baling out drill – hope I never have to use either. The Wimpey is a real battered old thing, but it was used for the “1,000 bomber” raid on Cologne. Apparently to make up a 1,000 aircraft they called on all the old kites at O.T.U’s & anything that could get airborne was used. If the public had only known some of the old kites that were used they would have had a shock.
The airmanship instructor, Sgt Peacock, did a tour on Lancs as a mid/upper gunner and saw quite a bit of action apparently. One would think he would at least get a crown at the end of the tour, but his is well overdue.
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[underlined] 21st June [/underlined]
‘Midsummer’s Day’ – it certainly has been glorious weather too, I’m afraid the long daylight evenings mean later day flying for us and consequently less evenings off. We officially started our Flying Course today, though our crew weren’t on today, we commence our circuits and bumps tomorrow.
The results of the exams were posted up today. I had done well in everything but Turrets, on which I made a horrible ‘boob’ – it was as I expected Macgillvray the Canadian pilot opposite me in the billet was cursing because his Bomb Aimer, another Canadian named Dodson, had come bottom in the B/Aimer course. Apparently Dodson is a bit of a woman chaser, & didn’t bother staying in to do any swotting for the exam. Macgillvray was giving forth “He wants to get down to some studying instead of getting on the nest so much”, and so forth. The most amusing part is that Macgillvray is one of the biggest wolves I’ve known. He has a stock of Tangee lipsticks & cosmetics, with a few silk stockings which he uses as bait for the women, - he says. I have never known him to part with anything in the fortnight he has been here & he has been with a couple of women. It is dead funny to hear Mac slang him about them, as Mac has very little time for women. He isn’t a misogynist but he just doesn’t bother. Anyway most of his remarks although screamingly funny are quite unprintable.
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We are all in ‘A’ Flight, a whole course comprises a Flight which goes round in strict rotation, as the courses commence Day or Night Flying. Our Flight Commander Sqdn/Ldr. Ford seems quite O.K. he gave us a welcoming natter, and was very much to the point regarding keeping the crew room tidy, punctuality etc. still he is quite right in stressing these points. This afternoon I squeezed in an hour’s practise on the Bombing Teacher. There is a system here where the various aircrew categories each have to put in so many hours practise on exercises relating to their own particular aircrew duties Bomb Aimers have to do 20 hours in the Bombing Teacher, 10 hours on the Link Trainer, and 6 hours operating a secret navigational instrument. Navigators have to spend quite a few more hours on this instrument than we do, and also take a certain number of astro-shots. W/Ops have to get [deleted] [indecipherable word] a stated number of Q.D.M’s fixes etc. & Gunners get so many hours, spotting turret training, and other exercises, I haven’t found out what the pilots do yet. All the exercises which are carried out on the ground, that is practically everyone’s except the W/Ops have to be fitted into our spare time. That is when we are hanging around the crew room & not flying, then we can nip across & tick off an hour in the Bombing Teacher or the Link. During the rest of the course, although we are flying most of the time, we still have some lectures, as crews on matters of general interest & importance.
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[underlined] 27th June [/underlined]
Sunday again – although it is very similar to all the other days of the week, here. We have a Church Parade, first thing, all the pupils fall in at Training Wing and then march to the airfield, along the perimeter track, to a temporary parade ground outside a hangar, its about 1 1/2 miles from Training Wing. Anyway all the station is on parade there, & we take our place, the Groupie then rolls up for the flag hoisting, inspection and so forth. The flag is flown on a double line & pully attached to the extension of the hangar roof, where the door slides back into. Today the S.P. that was doing the flag hoisting pulled the flag up O.K. then when he gave a pull to unfurl it at the top nothing happened. He pulled & pulled & still no joy, the poor devil got very red in the face as the Groupie was waiting to give the order “General Salute”. However there was nothing else for it, & shamefacedly he hauled it down, & not daring to risk it again, pulled it up already unfurled. After the salute we had to march off in squadrons to another hangar where the pulpit was an RAF lorry covered with the Union Jack and a piano, for hymn singing on. When this was over we were marched off dismissed, and then everything carried on as in a normal day. On all stations when flying is done there is no break for Sundays as they had in the peace time RAF, funny how one almost loses track of the days that way.
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Although we are still on the circuits and bumps stage we are about at the end of it, and will soon be onto some more interesting exercises. All of the crew except the Navigator fly on circuits & landings, & he is lucky not to, it gets pretty binding after the first hour or so. When we first started a ‘screened’ pilot flew with ‘Mac’ giving him the ‘gen’ and everything, and after a little while let him go solo. We were a little apprehensive, in case the short time given, wasn’t enough to let Mac become acquainted with the new cockpit layout. However everything went O.K. and then we continued on our own with circuits & bumps. It hardly seems as though we are off the ground before we are getting ready for the approach & landing. Some of the landings we bump up & down quite a few times & Mac [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] refers to these as the “Grasshopper Blues”. I sit in the collapsible seat, for the second pilot, & it is O.K. seeing everything that goes on, but I wouldn’t like to be in the W/Ops position, feeling the bumps & jarrings, without seeing what was what. For some of our circuits we go over to Seighford and do them there. Actually if we could fly continually we could do them all in a couple of days. However in order to make the aircraft go round, & keep all the crews at the same stage in training, we are allotted the same length of detail. Sometimes a crew does get ahead of the others by luckily striking good weather every time, & never scrubbing an exercise through snags.
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[underlined] July 4th. [/underlined]
American Independence Day – I expect all the Americans around here are making whoopee. There are always a lot in Stafford, they come from the large transit camp at Stone, a small town 6 – 7 miles from here. All American aircrew, I believe, entering or leaving the country pass through there.
We are making steady progress on the course, we have managed to get three bombing exercises done, we are a bit ahead in that respect but behind in Fighter Application & a couple of other things. As I said before it is a matter of luck sometimes the kites are U/S & that puts us behind on that type of exercise for a while, it pretty well evens up at the end though. On the first bombing exercise we went up with a ‘screened’ pilot & a ‘screened’ bomb aimer. Mac had never made bombing runs before, it is only pilots that have been instructors, & staff pilots at B & G schools who have that experience. The ‘screened’ pilot was there to instruct Mac on how to make the corrections of course, that I asked for, & various other little points. There wasn’t very much need for the ‘screened’ bomb aimer, as bombing is very similar on whatever aircraft one flys in. The main point, he was there to point out, was in the method of giving corrections of course. In Ansons the pilots could flat turn them, thus the sighting angle was practically round when you gave “steady”, and a good pilot could hold it practically as it was. However a Wellington has to have banked turns, consequently if the bomb
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aimer waits till the target is in the drift wires of the bomb sight & then gives “Steady” – the pilot flattens out and the target is then way off to one side, so it requires some practise to estimate when to say “Steady” thus making the target come into the drift wires when the pilot flattens out.
Poor old Mac has a hell of a time on run ups, he is so small that he can just see out of the windscreen. He watches the target whilst making his run up, & then when I give a correction, he slides down in his seat to kick the rudder bars, & his head is below the windscreen level, so then he has to pull himself up again to look out. He told us he is actually just under the height standard for a pilot but flannelled his medical.
We did a low level bombing exercise yesterday, & once more took up the two ‘screens’. My first bomb overshot by about 300 yds, & so did the next, I checked every setting on the bombsight, & all were correct, so I called the ‘screened’ bomb aimer & told him, & he could find nothing wrong. So I tried the third one & that was 300 yds overshoot again, then I realised I was taking a line of sight with the back & fore sights as for high level, whereas for low level bombing the back sight, & front beads are used. I told the screen & he told me to carry on & they would make the exercise a grouping one. That is by maths they discount the different sighting & work out where the bombs would have landed, using the front beads. The exercise came out to 47 yards so it ended O.K.
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[underlined] 10th July [/underlined]
The time is slipping past and we are well on the way to finishing our day flying. We had rather an amusing incident the other day, amusing that is to everyone but Mac. He always taxies rather swiftly & as we were passing the control tower, we reached the part where the perimeter track, dips a little. Consequently we gathered speed and started to swing, instead of throttling back & braking, Mac decided to open up the opposite throttle to swing us back. However he over-corrected and we swung back across the perimeter track & onto the grass the other side, in the direction of the runway. Again Mac opened the opposite throttle, and again over-corrected, & we crossed the perry-track once more & raced towards a hangar. Mac clamped on the brakes for all he was worth but it wasn’t enough, the hangar doors were fully open, & we struck the edge of them with our port main plane & sent them thundering across. It must have shaken the people inside to see the hangar doors suddenly move swiftly. From our point of view it was quite amusing, one moment there was hardly a soul [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] in sight, then with the same effect as if someone had kicked an ant-hill, people came pouring out from the hangar, & clustered around the kite. The pièce de resistance was the fact that we had cut clean through the ropes that held the Groupie’s flag & this was now drooped nonchalantly over our astro-dome. – Groupy took a dim view of it. Poor Mac sweated blood, but he only got a strip torn off, but the kite had a mains-plane changed.
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[underlined] 17th July [/underlined]
We had an enjoyable night in Stafford this week, as usual we got set into a regular pub crawl. Old Mac is all against this, he likes to get settled in at one pub and stay there all night drinking steadily. His words of wisdom are “Jeeze, you’re wasting valuable drinking time, going round looking for other pubs, - sit here”. I have never seen anyone drink so much, and affect them so little, it is amusing. He can knock back the pints and I have never seen him, what you might call drunk, merry yes, but inebriated – never. His personality is amazing everyone everywhere gets to know him, & all like him, he will sit and ‘natter’ with people for hours, and tell the most amusing stories of his life in Ottawa, and recount anecdotes of his numerous friends. He certainly is a tonic to have around. While we were in Stafford we saw the Gunnery Leader, he is an Aussie Flt/Lt, and a real lad when he is sober. Now he was out on the beer, evidently, & was strolling down the High St, with his hat on the back of his head, a dingy old battle dress on, & swinging, a gent’s black umbrella, rolled up (where he got [deleted] [indecipherable letter] [/deleted] it from I dont know). On his other arm was a real brassy blonde – he certainly doesn’t give a damn.
All our bombing exercises are finished and two of our three cross country trips, I have one more gunnery trip to do, and so has ‘Nipper’, thats [sic] what we call Johnny now. I rather like the Air Firing trips which are carried out in Cardigan Bay, then
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they generally fly to Rhyl, & fly at about 30 – 50 ft just a little way out from the shore. There are always lots of holiday makers there. Cecil Kindt had a strip torn off the other day, through an Air Firing accident. They were sent out over the Wash to fire so many rounds into the sea, this in itself is pretty boring and the gunners always look round for some sort of a target. His rear gunner spotted some sort of an old hulk and fired at it on a couple of runs. Apparently it was a wreck & their [sic] were a couple of divers, & salvage men working on it, & one leapt into the water, because of the bullets. God knows how the rear gunner didn’t see them, anyway they got the kite’s letter, phoned to the shore, & by the time Cecil landed the pressure had been put on Sqdn/Ldr Ford as he gave it to Kindt hot & strong.
Macgillvray has been providing laughs all round with his amorous adventures. Not so very long ago he met a nurse in Nottingham, a very nice girl by all accounts, a widow, anyway it wasn’t long before Macgillvray was staying at her flat. However he couldn’t get to Nottingham very much so he began associating with a WAAF Sgt here on the camp. One thing about him he admits openly what he is after, anyway she wasn’t that type, but after a little while with Macgillvray she was. Now she is crazy over him, & runs about after him, whilst he is very off handed. At the same time he meets an A.T.S. girl, on leave who lives in a house, a couple of hundred yards from our billet. It didn’t take him very long to string her along
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as well, so there he is with three strings to his bow at the same time – no wonder he looks a wreck. The amusing incident arose the other night when the WAAF Sgt saw him coming out of a corn field with this blonde A.T.S. She was furious & drinking with him the next night she said “Don’t let me see you with that – tart again,” which for her is a very strong word. Jokingly one night she said she was the “Three-hook Wonder”, hook meaning Stripes, Macgillvray, & Mac, who also knows her well, immediately changed it to the “Three-Hook Blunder,” & later cut it down to “The Blunder,” & so it has remained – poor girl.
They are a pretty decent bunch of fellows in this hut, we have had a little reshuffle in order to get crews together. Some of the original Canucks are in other huts, whilst Johnny, & Bill are now in here so we have all our crew. Macgillvray has his Navigator – Lance Weir, & his Bomb Aimer Dodson, both Canadians in here. Weir is a really decent chap, very quiet spoken, some of the boys kid him & call him “Toody-Fruit,” because he has a habit of rubbing talcum powder over his body. Frankie Allen, pilot, Yelland, navigator, & Tom Hughes – bomb aimer, all Canucks form another crew. Hughes is very decent, I have only one pair of pyjamas & when that was at the laundry he saw me dive into bed in the altogether, & asked the reason. When I [deleted] said [/deleted] [inserted] told [/inserted] him he tossed me a Canadian Comforts pair & said “Keep it, I’ve got five other pairs”, it was good of him. Their rear gunner Rose, an English chap is here, a small comical fellow, they call him John L. after the boxer Sullivan, because he wears long pants like him. Cecil Kindt, with Sam Small, navigator, and Macdonald, b/aimer, all Canadians, complete the hut.
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[underlined] 22nd July [/underlined]
We are now the senior course here, and have now moved on to become the ‘night-flying’ flight, tonight we expect to start our night circuits & bumps, some of the chaps commenced last night. They hoped to squeeze us a 48 hr pass in between the end of day flying & the start of night, but we were a little behind as a course through unavoidable incidents, so we had had it! I am sorry the day cross country trips are over, as I really enjoyed them, we generally flew to Rhyl, and I camera-bombed the pier. Then drill was done as if we were on an ‘op’ & that was our coast we were leaving. We then flew across to the Isle of Man which separated the enemy coast, & I would camera-bomb the quay at Ramsey. With a brilliant sun, & flying in our shirt sleeves everything looked lovely. The sea was a sparkling blue and invariably there would be a huge convoy spread about, a never failing source of interest to us. However we had been warned to keep well clear of them, as the naval gunners were very trigger itchy, and one of our crews had been fired on by an aircraft carrier. We would fly across the Isle of Man, head North, then turn in at the English coast once more, & return to Cannock Chase for a bombing exercise of 12 practise bombs on the range, & then return to base. The rations were pretty good, we always saved our tin of orange juice to drink on a morning after the night before it was very good, I suppose we will get the same on night X-countries.
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On the first one we had a ‘screened’ pilot, then the next one did by ourselves, the third & largest, we carried a full bomb load of 250 lb H.E’s filled with sand, except one which was live. This I had to bomb on a sea range with and photograph the splash. We had a ‘screened’ bomb-aimer/navigator on this one, an F/O pretty decent chap. [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] [inserted] He [/inserted] asked Mac if he would let him do some tight turns over his home in Aberystwyth as we were passing over it. Mac agreed but quickly retrieved the controls when he saw we were almost stalling.
For night flying we report to the flight just after 6 P.M. to see what is on, naturally it is broad daylight then. Then if we are not on till late we can go to the Station Cinema, as we did last night. It is the usual effort, it is in the lecture hall, when we first came the cinematograph was mounted on a large table, so if one sat well back, the noise of the machine drownded [sic] the sound track. Now they have built a brick projection box, and have provided a wooden platform for the dearer seats – with the usual front two rows reserved – Officers Only.
Looking back at my last entry, I see I have forgotten to mention ‘Pinky’ Tomlin. He is a Canadian Bomb Aimer, but his pilot, & navigator are commissioned, & his W/Op & R/Gunner are in another hut so he is ‘one alone’. He is pretty tubby & really loves food, he bought himself an electric [deleted] plate [/deleted] [inserted] heater [/inserted] to use as a grill, & cooks things from the numerous parcels he receives from home. He was a scout master back in Canada – not a bad chap, rather hail-fellow-well met.
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[underlined] July 30th. [/underlined]
Night circuits and bumps are almost completed for us – Thank God! – they really are binding. We follow exactly the same procedure as with our day flying, first of all with an instructor, then Mac solo’ed and we carried on by ourselves. The first couple of times were O.K. but then it grew monotonous staring out into the blackness, with just the circuit lights to relieve the unbroken darkness. I suppose an artist gazing at them would murmur “Pearls cast upon a black velvet background”, but to us they mean “Keep me under your port wing, and fly at [symbol] 1,000 ft.” The Dren lighting takes some getting used to, the flarepath lights are only 15 watt bulbs and are hooded and secured to give a 15o vertical, and 40o horizontal spread of light, only in a down wind direction. Consequently one can only see them, immediately facing into them, as soon as we have taken off we can no longer see them. It was funny when Bill first saw this, he is generally working on the radio, then he looked out of the astro-dome for the first time on night take off, and called on the A/T “Hey! they’ve switched off the flare path now we are airborne”. Johnny has the worst job, sitting right at the end of the kite, cramped in his turret, and feeling all the crashes and jars of landing far more than us. Every now & again, I go lurching along the catwalk with coffee for him. Bill was quite eager to sit in the cockpit, so I change places with him sometimes & listen to dance music on the radio.
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We get more time off now than we did on night flying, our day off now becomes a night off. So we have the day off after night flying, then that night off & the following day until 6 P.M. Should night flying be scrubbed the night before, then one can make two nights and two days out of it, providing one hasn’t put in a pass. On a couple of days off we have been into Birmingham and stayed at the Services Club. At least we did the first time, the second time they were full up, so we had to doze in arm chairs & so forth. Mac took me into the American Red Cross, I didn’t think we could go in there, but it was O.K. The food in there is very good indeed, I believe it is sent over from the States. I took Johnny in there on our second visit and he thought it was an excellent place, they are certainly superior to our Services Clubs.
There is another instructor in the Bombing Section now, a Sgt Bomb Aimer, just finished his tour of ‘ops’, Sgt Mason his name is, quite a decent fellow. He gave us a ‘natter’ on what life was like on a squadron at the moment. It certainly cleared up a few points and provided a shock. According to him it is a pretty odds on chance that a crew will get the chop before finishing a tour. On his squadron only about 4 crews finished, as far as he could recollect all the time that he was there. It certainly isn’t a rosy future anyway, still there’s always the chance we will be one of them to come through.
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[underlined] 5th August [/underlined]
We have only about a fortnight left before we finish here, one crew became well advanced so they were sent over to Seighford onto 17 course the previous one to ours. At the moment we are on Night bombing exercises, and somehow we always seem to be ‘joed’ for the very last detail. Consequently we hang about all night waiting to take off, and finally get the exercise in between 6 & 7 A.M. when it is beginning to get light. Then we arrive back in the hut to find all the others are up and have been for hours – they nicknamed us “The Dawn Patrol”.
Our first prang on this course occurred the other night. There have been some major prangs on other courses while we have been here, and a few minor ones [deleted] [indecipherable letter] [/deleted] on our course, this was our first major one though. We were circling the airfield waiting to land, when we saw a kite overshoot, prang and burst into flames, not far off the end of the runway, we couldn’t see much detail at all. So we continued to circle and await instructions, then all lights were extinguished and we were ordered to land at Seighford. Over we went and lobbed in then with three others crews, and naturally were wondering what had happened.
We had a meal in the mess, & then as there was nobody around to fix us up with beds, we had to doze on chairs in the mess. After breakfast, which was quite early,
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we decided to sleep on in the ante-room, as Hixon was going to phone when we were to return. However the C.M.C. had locked the ante-room, & said it was always out of bounds in the morning, and would make no exception for us – nice type. So we had to sit on the grass outside the mess for a couple of hours.
I met Derek Ashton over there, they will be finished in a day or so, & so would I if I had still been on that course. I couldn’t have had a better crew than what I have now, though. Ashton said they liked Seighford better than Hixon as there was no ‘bull’ there and it was a lot easier to get into Stafford. The only snag is, it is far more dispersed than Hixon is.
We didn’t get back to Hixon before 1 P.M. as we were held up for brake pressure. It turned out to be Carr’s crew who had pranged. They were making a flapless landing with an instructor, owing to trouble with the flaps. The instructor was flying it, and he approached too fast, overshot didn’t make it, and crashed on the railway lines, when the kite immediately caught fire. Luckily they were all unhurt except Sgt Mann, the ‘screened’ bomb aimer, he was burnt slightly on the face, and has been admitted to hospital for a short while. It seems Fate that he should get through a tour unscathed and then have this happen at O.T.U.
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[underlined] 12th August [/underlined]
Only a week to go, and then most probably we shall fly over enemy territory for the first time – on a ‘nickel’, I hope we do one anyway. The course is split practically in half with the first half slightly ahead of the others – we are in the latter. I said goodbye to Norman and the boys on 17 course, when they came over here, they have to get cleared here as well as at Seighford. Pete Rawlings was chatting to me about his skipper, he was the one I would have had on 17 course. He said he was a damn good pilot, but he would ‘natter’ such a lot on the inter-com. – I should have hated that.
We certainly get good meals on night flying, they have opened, a place especially for us near the cinema. It is a pukka little cook house, with a Cpl & two WAAFs, just for our flight. The Cpl is a good type & we get steaks & eggs for our flying meals, it is bang on. Although we are not supposed to officially, we go there for supper, if there is no flying detail for us that particular night. There is a real craze for cards now, & Hughes, Mac, Bill, Johnny & myself & various others, often play Blackjack & Pontoon, of a night if we aren’t on. We start in the evening & play till the small hours & then stagger down to see what Flying supper is. The Canadians are fond of playing “Shoot”, & have a school regularly in the locker room.
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If night flying is scrubbed for everyone, most of the boys turn in at 11 P.M. or so, in order to have the next day free. However Mac & a couple of others hate getting to bed at that time, preferring to turn in late, & sleep the following day, as if night flying was on. They generally get Pinky Tomlins, electric heater out, & cook things out of their Canadian food parcels. Mac is really amusing when he gets nattering about “Chicken soup with noodles”, & “weeners” & various other Canadian foods. Naturally they kick up a fair amount of noise, and the boys trying to sleep shout out uncomplimentary remarks to Mac, as he is generally telling an anecdote or a story about back home. Then he immediately bellows back “- this is a night flying hut, get out of that bed, you lazy so & so”. The amusing part is the following day, when they are all up & about, & Mac is trying to sleep through the noise. He will sit up & shout “Quiet, let a guy get some sleep”, & they laugh & generally Hughes will give him a shake & say “Come on McCann this is a night flying hut”, & various cracks until Mac aims a boot. They are a good bunch of boys though.
Another good thing about this night flying is that we don’t bother about the C.O’s billet inspection every week. We just put a notice on the door “Night Flying Hut – Do Not Disturb”, & funnily enough nobody does.
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[underlined] 19th August. [/underlined]
Our O.T.U. Course has now ended, the perk was last night when we did a “Nickel” to Rennes. The first lot of our course left a few days ago, they had to do a ‘bullseye’ exercise to finish as there were no “nickels” laid on. They got 10 days leave, & posted to Lindholme to go on Lancasters, that is where we will go, everyone goes onto Lancs from this O.T.U. We had another cross country to do, the usual long stooge right up to the Orkneys, with airfire and bombing at Caernarvon – what a farce.
Yesterday we were told that all the remaining crews would finish with a ‘Nickel’ that night, & we have to take up the kite we would be flying in and Air-Test it. The tail trim proved to be U/S on ours & another was put on, with another crew air testing it. At evening time we assembled in the intelligence room for briefing, it was a pukka briefing, like they have on a squadron, with the Sqdn/Ldr Intelligence Officer taking it. Then the C.O. & a couple of other officers said a few words, & briefing was over, they even had an S.P. on duty outside the door. We put all our personal belongings in an envelope with our name on it, collected our escape kits & foreign money, then off to the locker room to dress.
Half of the crews were going to St. Malo, and the rest of us to Rennes, we were flying the same track & course to Isigny at the base of the Cherbourg peninsula, & then to Avranches our next pin point, where we would continue our various ways. Soon we were all dressed, then into the crew bus & out to the kites.
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They were lined up together, & as R/T isn’t allowed on any ‘ops’ take-offs, a yellow verey was to be fixed from control for the signal to start up engines, then a green verey, when it was time for the first kite to start taxying out. The photographic vans drove out with the camera magazines, & the LAC, rather a gigolo type, who handed up mine, uttered the famous words “Wish I was coming with you”. Suddenly up went the yellow cartridge & the ground crews leapt into action, and the roar of engines shattered the summer’s evening. Johnny then called up to say none of the lights would work in his turret, & the spare fuses had no effect. This caused quite a flap, ‘bods’ went dashing everywhere, & both an armourer & a fitter came dashing along when it was a job for an electrician. During this time the green verey went up & the first kite taxied out, Macgillvray was next, on our right and he waved to us, as they went out, we were still waiting there as the kites on our left followed Macgillvray out, & soon we were sitting there alone. The Groupy came whizzing over in his car to see what the electrician was doing, but at that time one came along with the fuses that had to be changed inside the fuselage. So everything O.K. at last, we taxied out by ourselves, the others all having taken off. All the officers were on the control tower and they waved as we went past, then onto the runway, a green from the A.C.P. and off we went. The others were circling base to gain height, & there was 10 mins to go before setting course, so we were O.K. for time. We set course with them, & made up our height by the first turning point.
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It was quite dusk as we crossed the coast near Southampton, & it was quite dark when Ken said “We’re getting near the enemy coast”. I strained my eyes to peer through the darkness, & after a little while made out the long narrow neck of land, that I had memorised so well as the Cherbourg peninsula. Then I saw my first flak, the sudden whitish flashes on the ground, & after a brief while, the flashes (like twinkling lights but not so harmless). I felt a sense of false confidence, as it seemed remote from us, but the truth was there wasn’t very much flak, and nobody would have worried much. I told them we were starboard of track, & we altered course & soon crossed the enemy coast. Johnny said there was quite a bit more flak going up at the chaps behind us.
I pinpointed the river at Avranches, & after a while we came to the dropping place, it was 15 miles S.E of Rennes owing to the wind. We had to follow the bombing procedure, & drop them by a distributor in order to space them out. A sudden shout from Johnny caused a flap, & as he said “There’s thousands of them floating everywhere,” I cursed him as I wanted to give the order “Close Bomb Doors”. Eventually we shut him up and returned to base. It was an uneventful return journey, & we landed tired but happy (admittedly mainly because we were going on leave). Carr got quite a bit of flak over St. Malo.
We slept in this morning for a while & then got going on our clearance chits. Mac has met the Mid/Upper who has joined our crew, but the rest of us haven’t seen him yet. Tomorrow morning we will complete our clearance chits, then off on 10 days leave, before going to a Con Unit. So goodbye to Hixon.
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[underlined] 29th August. [/underlined]
Since I last wrote various changes have taken place. On the morning of the 20th, the day we [deleted] went [/deleted] left Hixon, we reported at the Adjutant’s office for our warrants & passes. He came out very apologetically & said a last minute change of posting had occurred, we were to go on Stirlings & report to a Con. Unit at Woolfox Lodge, after [underlined] 6 [/underlined] days leave. Losing four days leave didn’t seem too good to us, also we had heard pretty duff reports of Stirlings on ‘ops’. Still off we went – the orderly room had told us the Con Unit was near Cambridge & the warrants were made out to there.
I caught the evening train back, but when I went to the Cambridge R.T.O. they said Hixon Orderly Room had boobed, & Woolfox Lodge was near Stamford. As there were no more trains that night, I had to spend the night in the Nissen hut there, rather grim. In the morning I met Johnny & Pinky Tomlin, & we travelled to Stamford, we had to change at Peterborough and there met some more of the boys. At Stamford we phoned for transport, but it was a few hours before it arrived and we had [deleted] dinner [/deleted] lunch in the George Hotel. Mac & some of the others arrived here yesterday and are in the hut near to ours, and today we have been tramping around with our arrival chits, but as the course commences for us tomorrow we won’t bother to finish them. This course has already been on a couple of days, they were as unprepared for us, as we were for coming here.
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[underlined] [deleted] August [/deleted] [inserted] September [/inserted] 5th. [/underlined]
First, I had better bring my crew up to date, as we have a full crew now. Don Keeley the Mid-Upper Gunner, who joined us as we left Hixon is tall & very dark, his face has been sunburnt so much it leaves one with the impression almost of an Indian, he is quiet a good looking chap & seems very decent. Our engineer was allotted to us by the Engineering Leader, and is a Welshman, Jack Barker. He is about 5 ft 5” with a cheerful face, & crisp wavy hair, we haven’t had a lot to do with him yet, as quite naturally he still goes around with the engineers who came with him as a course, from St. Athens, I think I can safely say that we have got a very good crew, though.
This station is far more dispersed than Hixon was. It is cut in half by the Great North Road, to the East of the road is the airfield itself, whilst to the West are the living & communal sites. Our billet is a quarter of an hours walk to the mess, then from the mess it is a 20 min walk, to the other side of the airfield where training-wing is. There are no ablutions on the sites, and washing kit is stolen if it is left in the ablutions by the mess, so we wash from an old rain water tub at the back of the hut.
We have a ground course of a week to 10 days here, comparable to that at O.T.U. only bringing newer work into it. At last I have met the MK. XIV Gyro Bombright, the one I shall actually use on ‘ops’ – it certainly is a bag of tricks. In a day or so we will have our exams, & then commence our flying on Stirlings.
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[underlined] 14th [deleted] August [/deleted] [inserted] September [/inserted]. [/underlined]
The exams are over, everyone passed O.K. and we are now underway with our Flying Conversion. For the engineers, this is when they fly for the first time, as they pass out from there [sic] training school, and come straight here to be crewed up, without ever having flown before. It seems pretty hard on them, to have only a few hours air experience before they arrive at a squadron and go on ‘ops’.
Stirlings are the largest 4 engined bomber there is, and the cockpit is certainly a height from the ground. They have a long undercart, & it is quite a common prang, to see an undercart wiped off, as the aircraft have a tendency to swing & if one brakes severely & swerves, the undercart is quite likely to go. I have to fly as second pilot in there, and attend to boost, revs, flaps & undercart, it takes both of us to get the kite off the deck & they take a hell of a long run.
For a lot of our circuits and bumps we flew over to a Yankee airfield, they had Fortresses. We used to fly there for 2 hours or so & then return. Before Mac had soloed, he was taking off there, & the kite swung viciously & shot across the grass straight towards a Fort. There were some mechanics working on it, and they looked up to see a Stirling thundering at them, without pause they leapt off the wing, fell over picked their selves up & dashed off. If it hadn’t been dicey, it would have seemed ludicrous, however, the screened pilot took a hand, pulled at the controls, & we took off right over the Fort. Mac soloed O.K. a little later, & now we are on X-countries.
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[underlined] 22nd [deleted] August [/deleted] [inserted] September [/inserted] [/underlined]
Our Con. Unit is nearly over, & we shall soon be on an operational squadron, different instructors speak in glowing terms of their old squadrons, & advise us to try & get posted there so we don’t know where we are. At the moment we are commencing our night X country period, this is a tricky airfield to taxi on at night.
Macgillvray has been going out with a WAAF M.T. driver here, & at last it seems like the real thing he is talking seriously of marriage. When he left Hixon, “The Blunder”, went into Stafford with him to stay the night, & then spins a 48 hr pass with him at the Strand Palace. Macgillvray was half & half about telling her to go, however when he arrived here he wrote, & told her he didn’t want to see her again. She wrote back & said as soon as she got a pass she was coming to have it out with him. Then a letter arrived yesterday saying she would arrive in the evening, & would he meet her in town. Macgillvray religiously stayed in camp all evening, & every now & again the phone would ring for him, it was her, phoning from Stamford, & it was really funny to see him keep telling chaps he wasn’t in. Suddenly, the boys came in with the news, she had come out on the 10.30 P.M. bus, & fixed up with the WAAF Officer to stay the night. Macgillvray was off to his billet like a shot. [deleted] Next [/deleted] [inserted] This [/inserted] morning, the Blunder, was in the dining hall, early, & waiting behind the servery, when Macgillvray came in, she dashed out, & told him exactly what she thought of him, in a loud voice. Everyone listened interestedly, & the cooks even ceased serving in order to hear clearly, Mac went deadly white, & after a while walked out, with the Blunder behind. Anyway that was exit to the Blunder. We’ve certainly had some laughs here.
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[underlined] Wednesday [deleted] August [/deleted] [inserted] September [/inserted] 29th. [/underlined]
At last the time has arrived, and what a time I have had to wait for it, 2 1/4 years ago I volunteered for aircrew, & right up till now I have been training for the real job, & we have arrived at last on a squadron. It is a new squadron just forming, No 623, and we are stationed at Downham Market with No 218 squadron. We left Woolfox about 8 AM. on Monday, and caught the 9.15 AM. to Peterborough, where we arrived about 10.15 AM. Deciding to spend the day we trooped out and started off with a large meal in the Silver Grill, a very satisfying start. During the afternoon we looked over the Cathedral, and afterwards went to the cinema to see Tyrone Power in “Crash Drive”, pretty good. Another large meal at the Silver Grill then off on the 6.46 PM. to Downham Market. Naturally the trains were late and we reached Downham Station around 10 PM. & phoned for transport. When it arrived we threw the kit on, we were getting rather cheesed with it by now, after lumping it on & off different trains, and out we went.
It was rather a grim reception, they told us we couldn’t have a meal, & then we found out there was no accommodation for us. So we drove round in the dark in a lorry and they found room for us in ones & twos with the erks, it was pretty grim organisation.
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They locked our kit up in a hut, my overcoat & groundsheet amongst them, so of course it poured of rain during the night & the next morning. Being as the station is all clay like most of the Fen country, it was one helluva mess. Like all Bomber Stations it is horribly dispersed, & we tramped around miserably in the wet, with our arrival chits. The mess was large and new, & very bare, & the food just happened to be pretty grim, so I’m afraid we took a rather poor view of the station, things look a little better now though.
There is a rigged up cinema & I believe they have occasional shows there, but there isn’t a lot of entertainment available. The town [deleted] of [/deleted] or village of Downham is only 15 mins walk from the mess, but there isn’t much life in there. They have one rather ancient cinema with old films & a dance hall, that is always over crowded & 21 pubs, the latter is over shadowed by Stamford’s 63. I don’t think we will be going in there very much. There were three crews arrived from Woolfox together, Pete, Macgillvray & ourselves, Carr is travelling down too today, as he hadn’t finished his flying at Woolfox. We are binding for leave as most crews get it on arrival but our efforts haven’t been successful so far. Our first two ‘ops’ here are mining trips & the pilot was a second “dickey” (pilot) trip, before we start we have to do a bullseye though.
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[underlined] Monday 4th October. [/underlined]
Things are looking quiet a bit better now, the mess seems comfortable, & the food really is good. Up till Saturday we didn’t do much, mainly hung around & had a few lectures, & got our kit into the parachute section. This is a new idea, they have a large room, with lockers, & hang our kit up properly, to dry etc, also testing it each time, then when we want something we go & ask for it & they bring it out. If they have found any stuff U/S they tell us what it is so we can change it, it’s a good scheme. The essentials such as chute, harness, helmet, boots, & ‘K’ type dinghy, are laid out already when the crew is on ‘ops’. No waiting or anything its quite a good scheme. We drew our electrical kit & our new flying boots, from stores, there [sic] boots are the new type with leather boots as bottoms, they have a knife in the side to cut the upper off, should we land in enemy territory, & thus leave a fine pair of walking boots.
On Saturday our bullseye arrived and we were briefed in the afternoon for a 7.50 PM take off. We got away a few minutes late but with no mishap & climbed over the drome then set course for Bedford, this was the starting gate of the bullseye. About 15 mins after we left there, we were coned by about 20 beams & passed on to other cones. We were diving all around the sky but we were
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held pretty well for around 10 – 15 minutes, before we got out. At Portsmouth we were held for around 2 minutes, & again at Beachy Head, then we headed for the target – London. We came in over Croydon & Lewisham to run up to our target, Westminster Bridge. There were about four cones in action with about 30 beams in each, and they all had a kite in, jerking like mad. Whilst they were occupied we were able to slip in smoothly on our bombing run without interference. The searchlights blinded me a bit though and I was unable to get a good line of sight on the bridge, but took the photographs. The black out of London was pretty grim, there were bags of lights about, & the docks were clearly lit up along the river & so were the main railway stations. I don’t think I would fancy an attack on London though, the defences seem pretty hot. After London we went to Bedford again where the bullseye finished, so we had no engagements with fighters. From here to base then up to Goole and back on another I.R. stooge. It was pretty nippy & poor Johnny & Don in the turrets were frozen stiff. There were hardly any fighter interceptions I guess the fighter boys didn’t feel like playing. Anyway back to the bacon & egg, the usual natter with the other crews on various points & then off to bed, for a nice lengthy sleep.
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When we got up at dinner time yesterday it was to be told that we were operating that night – mine laying, it rather shook us. Briefing was at 4 PM. & we learned we were going off the Frisian Is. (a fairly short trip) & taking 6 x 1500 mines. Back to the mess in the bus for the operational meal, then over to the billet, where like old men we clamber into our long flying underwear. Even though it is all pure rayon lined it makes me itch, just not used to long legs & sleeves I guess after jockey shorts & singlet. Our next move is back down to the dressing room in the parachute section, where we collect our kit. We never put the stuff on otherwise we would sweat moving around & then it would freeze when we got up & defeat the clothing. Out to the kite in the bus then, dump the kit on the grass & everyone climbs in for their last minute check of their equipment. Whoever D.I’d the first turret did a poor job, because the reflector sight was left on & the guns weren’t loaded, so I got cracking on those & tested the tuner, then climbed down for my initial bombing check. The engines were run up, tested, then shut down again & we climbed out for a smoke and sign our various forms. The Wing Comdr & Sqdn Ldr drove out to give last minute tips & see if there were any snags, then we all climbed aboard again, fully dressed now, all hatches closed, & taxied out.
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The first aircraft was due off at 7.35 and took off dead on time, we were third, got the green from the ACP opened up & away we went. They are a bit of a job to get off with a heavy load & we didn’t miss the trees by much but we made it. We set course for Cromer, where we were leaving the coast, at 1500 ft, we were staying at that height so Jerry couldn’t pick us up, then climbing to 5,000 ft at the last moment to avoid any flak ships. Everything went fine, poor old Ken was sick again, he certainly has guts to keep flying and navigating when he is often queer. We had to climb quickly at the mining area, & the revs wouldn’t increase for the minute, consequently we nearly stalled. At 1500 ft with that bomb load we would [deleted] dive [/deleted] have dived straight into the waves, it was touch & go for a minute but worked out. The mines were dropped, one [deleted] f [/deleted] could feel them drop, & back we went. When we got back to Cromer there were lots of searchlights & they picked us up, but shut off when we flicked our nav lights on & off. They suddenly coned a single engine kite so we watched it like hawks just in case, there have been a lot of intruders around this area. There was a large fire about 50 miles off the port bow, enemy activity maybe. We landed O.K. though were interrogated & off to the mess, when the siren went so we had just dodged it, still we were safe then. A bang on supper then off to bed for another good rest.
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[underlined] Thursday 7th October.. [/underlined]
Life is proceeding along fairly smooth lines, and we are pretty well settled in. The other night when we did our mining trip, the main force went to Kassel. Clarc Carr went with another pilot to get his second ‘dicky’ trip in. The pilot he went with had 23 trips in & was on the point of completing his tour, but they never returned. Poor old Clarc, he was one of the best chaps I have met, he never got in a temper with anyone, yet he was pretty tough, it’s a shame that such fellows have to go. It really shakes us when fellows we have been with for a long while get the chop, brings it home the hard way. They have sent his crew home on 3 days leave, I don’t know what they are doing after that, whether they are returning to ‘Con’ Unit to pick up a new skipper, or stay here as ‘spares’, the former would be better I should think.
Speaking of spares they grabbed Don, our mid upper to go in somebody else’s crew on Monday for the raid on Frankfurt, as their m/u.g had gone sick. It was rather a nerve I thought both asking a crew to fly with a chap they didn’t know, & worse for the gunner to fly with a strange crew. They did the same thing to Smith, Macgillvrays rear gunner, if they keep this thing up they will
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soon be doing away with the crews & just have a pool that they draw on, I always thought that if somebody was sick in a crew the whole lot was declared U/S. there is a word they have when referring to men they call them ‘bodies’ or ‘bods’, & how right it is, you are just merely a figure on paper. Every morning the big noise walks into the flight office & asks the flight commander “How many crews have you, fully operational?”, and then demands those that aren’t be made so in as short a time as possible. That is all they are interested in, is, how many crews have they available for an ‘op’, regardless of how much flying you’ve done, just recently some of the chaps have been on the main force 3 out of 4 nights. Anyway all kites returned from Frankfurt O.K. and Dan gave us a vivid description, it was very interesting but I guess we will be seeing all we want of it very shortly.
Tuesday night we were on ‘stand down’, but Wednesday we were briefed for a long mining trip to La Rochelle, right down near the Spanish border. There was a hell of a front expected at base around 6.30 so they were rushing us off at 5.50 & come back to meet the front over the Channel & battle through it. There was severe icing from 7 – 15,000 so we had to try & climb above it, not an easy job in a Stirling, the extent was possibly
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right up to the London area as well. The briefing & everything was terribly rushed & we tore around in a mad flap to get everything done, and we were all dressed & on the point of going out to the kite when they scrubbed it, what a life, tonight we were in it again but it was scrubbed once more.
Last night I decided I would see what Downham was like so I ambled in with the boys & was I cheesed. I had seen the [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] film on at the little cinema, so all there was to do was sit in a smokey pub, & swill lousy beer. At last the smoke made my eyes ache so much I came home. Macgillvray was on a short mining trip last night, & a Picture Post reporter was going along. They sent down 4 camera & news men, & took photographs of them having an operational meal & were going to take bags more in the kite, but it was scrubbed, what bad luck, a chance like that only comes once in a life time. The traditional RAF bull was in evidence, for the photograph they had a spotless table-cloth, cream crackers on the table, & a Cpl WAAF waiting on them. Actually we queue up for our meals & a long one at times & eat of [sic] bare dirty tables, & the only biscuits we see are hard dog ones. – We did our first day flying, here, today, took two kites up on air tests, we were doing a loaded climb but that was scrubbed, at least we know what the drome looks like in daylight now.
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[underlined] Sunday October 10th. [/underlined]
We look like having our first leave in a few days we are officially due to go at 0700 hrs on Thursday 14th, until the following Tuesday midnight. The chaps generally get away on the Wednesday, & if they are very lucky & they aren’t on ops on Tuesday they get away Tuesday afternoon which is pretty good. I only hope we are that lucky, Mac has to do a second dicky & if he gets that in tomorrow night we may be on ops the following night (Tuesday) & mess things up a bit. Should it be scrubbed tomorrow, Mac will go Tuesday & we can go Tuesday afternoon, I am afraid we are unscrupulous enough to hope that the weather is lousy tomorrow night. He has got his Flight through at last, & is now ‘Chiefy’ McCann, it is well overdue, but the Canadians get back pay on crowns, one of the numerous ways they are better than the RAF, so he has about £16 back pay to come. The comical part is that after all this waiting & binding now it has appeared in P.O.R’s the stores have no crowns so he is unable to wear it – poor Mac.
Friday night we went on our long mining trip, off Bordeaux in the estuary of the Gironde. We took 4 1,500 mines a fair weight, our all up weight was 69,784 lbs. The briefing was at 6.0 P.M. it shook us but they were having a late take off because the room was nearly full & they were waiting for it to die down as the German fighters have an easy time in the bright moonlight. The bus took
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[inserted] [newspaper cutting showing a WAAF with a mine] [/inserted] [duplicate page]
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us back [missing words] as our operation [missing words] wasn’t until 8.45 we had bags of time to fill in. Lots of Forts went over then & we watched them the next day we learned they had been to Bremen. We had our egg & at 10.25 the transport took us back, we didn’t have to struggle with our kit as we had taken it out in the afternoon. The run up & testing commenced, then shut down while we donned our kit & start up once more. We took off bang on time & 5 mins later set course. Old Petch who was the only other one beside us going swung on take off & hit his undercart against some iron rails for fog lighting & they wouldn’t let him take off, consequently we were the only ones from this station that went.
It was practically 10/10ths cloud down to the coast, it cleared there & I was able to get a wizard pin point on Selsey Bill, our crossing point. The moon was like a searchlight & we felt all naked illuminated up there, it set quite a bit after they told us it did, because there was the time of setting as seen by a ground observer, whereas we were at 12,000 ft. The cloud built up more & more over the Channel until it was 10/10ths again on the French Coast and we were unable to pin point. It remained like that most of the way, the least it was, was 7/10ths, approaching the target area it began
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to clear & I got down into the bombing hatch ready. I was determined to get my night vision up to scratch because if we couldn’t pin point we had to bring the mines back. The green indicator target on the VCP was glaring on my vision panel like a searchlight so I piled my long cushion over it. Then I wanted to see my target map so hopped to switch on the light for a brief second, next the cushion fell down & the light glared again, I dove back at that. I was hopping around like a rubber ball, & sweating lest I should miss the coast & be unable to pin point. Suddenly I saw it, it was pretty dark, I could make it out clearly though, then we passed out to sea over the first island & swung out to rear to clear the island defences. Then altering course we swung in for the mainland once more, I was straining my neck, thats [sic] the worst of the Stirling bomb aimers window, the Lancs have a beauty. After a bit I made it out we were heading up the Gironde estuary, so we made a left hand turn & came bang on the corner of the estuary, which was our pin point. Setting course on a D.R run we dropped the eg O.K. & set course home. Just after we left the flak began to open up on the islands & one searchlight probed around, but they weren’t near us.
Stooging along happily with thoughts of home & bed we were shaken by a show of
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flak suddenly thrown up. We had got a little port of track & were too near Nantes, they had some accurate heavy flak down there, because of the Fort raids on the U Boat Bases. Anyway they were too accurate for our liking the first burst exploded with quite a crash underneath us & burned the kite a bit. We did some hectic weaving & finally got clear, it was a sticky moment though that predicted stuff is deadly they reckon to get you on the first burst. Nothing happened on the way back beyond sighting another Stirling, the cloud thickened over England, & when we reached base they diverted us to Tangmere, although we could have got in. So we had to fly back all the way we had come down to the South Coast. Arriving there after 6 hrs 40 mins flying we found 11 other Stirlings there. We had a meal, & the guy told us you can sleep as long as you like they gave us good accommodation, boy! we needed sleep. Hardly had we laid our heads down when they dragged us out saying we had to return right away. Then we had to wait 3 hours before we were re-fuelled & away. Two squadrons of Typhoons scrambled while we were there, straight off down wind a lovely night. Flying back to base I could hardly keep my eyes open we had had no sleep for nearly 36 hours. We certainly slept well on return. Today there hasn’t been anything doing because of the lousy weather. Jack Spackly & Ron Winnitt have arrived here, they were with me from Manchester & all through Canada, I was glad to see them arrive here, they are in 623.
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[underlined] Sunday October 24th [/underlined]
It is a fortnight since I last made an entry but I have been on leave during that time, & following my maxim of never letting work interfere with pleasure I made no entries in here. I had a fine leave, Mary was able to get the time off & that made it just right we saw a couple of shows, popped around to a few friends & had a wizard time. There was one disappointment overshadowing it though, Ken didn’t come on leave with us, it all began a little while before - . A fair number of times through his earlier training, so he tells me, and during the time we were with him at O.T.U. and on Conversion Unit, he was sick during trips. He tried hard, by doing everything he knew to overcome it, but unsuccessfully. Then on our first mining trip to the Frisians he was sick at the target area & we had to rush to drop them & there was a fair flap resulting as I have previously mentioned in the kite nearly stalling in. Poor Ken, he reckons he is to blame but I don’t think he has anything to worry about, out of the lot I think he did his job the best & the smartest. He was sick a lot on the long mining as well so he reported sick a couple of days afterwards to see what the M.O. could do.
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He was given some Anti-Air Sickness capsules, & tried them without effect, so the M.O. grounded him for a little while. Then they took Ken’s case up a little more & the Wing Comdr said he would have an interview with him. This was the position on the day we were going on leave Tuesday 12th, Mac also hadn’t done his second dicky trip. So Ken was hanging around all morning waiting for the Wing Co to say he would see him, & we were worried in case he wouldn’t catch the 3.51 London train with us. We left him waiting at the camp & told him to whizz down on his bike if there was a chance of catching the train, if not, to follow us down on the later train. On the road we got a lift to the railway station in an army lorry & had a cup of tea in the café next door. Waiting on the platform later, the [deleted] [indecipherable letters] [/deleted] train was almost due in, when Ken came dashing up. Everyone was overjoyed because we thought he had just made it, but he told us the Wing Comdr. had cancelled his leave and he had to remain behind to get 15 hrs Fighter Affiliation in, to see how often he was sick & then go before a Medical Board. My God! as if anyone wouldn’t feel lousy after 15 hrs. Fighter Affil. Also with the weather as it had been, a stinking yellow fog, there didn’t
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appear to be much chance of flying. It was a hell of a twist all the way round, and poor Ken was on the receiving end. There was nothing to be done, however, so off we had to go without him. I felt pretty rotten though seeing him standing there watching us go on leave, & having to ride back & spend a week by himself.
As I said previously I had a fine time, the days flew swiftly as they always do, & the last day arrived. I had arranged with Johnny to meet at 5.30 in Liverpool St to catch the 5.40 P.M. However he arrived up from Bristol early & came over to my place, so we travelled up together, & met Jack on the station. The train was very crowded & we had to bunk in the luggage room, at the first stop, Bishops Stortford, lots of people got out & we got a seat easily. At Cambridge there was about a 20 minute wait so the three of us got out for a cup of tea. A porter told us it wouldn’t be going for a while yet & we had plenty of time. We were only in the canteen for about 3 minutes and as we emerged, saw the train about a quarter of the way along the platform. I broke into a sprint with Jack about 10 yds behind and Johnny 10 yds behind him. Down the platform we raced, porters shouted out “Clear the Way”, and people skipped
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nimbly aside, luckily the platform was fairly empty. Some people shouted encouragement, other shouted “You’ll never make it”, but unheedingly we pounded quickly on.
One American soldier told us it was just like the races, first I flashed past, and he turned to watch me when Jack whizzed by. As he swivelled his head to watch him Johnny shot past, so he ran after us to see the result. Down the whole length of Cambridge platform we raced & closed the distance to about two yards, I had already selected the door I was jumping for, when we reached the blacked out part of the platform. There were no lights at all & it was as dark as the pit, I tried to maintain speed but cracked against a pillar and spun around like a top. So the chase was abandoned & we stood watching the tail light disappear into the darkness. We were in rather a fix as all our kit was on the train, none of us had hats & Johnny had no belt either. After hunting around & getting wrong directions from a few people, we contacted a porter, and old sweat from the last war, who was very helpful & took us to a fellow, who sent off a wire to the different stations telling them to take our kit off the train & send it to Downham. That done, with certain misgivings as to whether it would work out we went over to the A.T.O.
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Here we phoned the camp and told them we would be arriving late & fixed things up. That done we adjourned to a nearby pub & treated our helpful porter to a few. After that it degenerated into a regular crawl, hatless & hands in pockets we rolled round Cambridge. Greatly warmed by the beverage, we didn’t notice the hardness of the bunks, & I didn’t suffer as I did on the previous occasion I slept at Cambridge ATO. We travelled on to Downham on the 8.13 AM. next day & arrived about 9.15. As I feared they hadn’t any of our kit there, so I thought “Goodbye to that”. It rather shook the S.P’s in the guard room when we rolled up with no hats or anything, they didn’t say anything, though, I shudder to think what would have happened at a training unit under similar circumstances. Within an hour of arriving back we were flying on an air test, maybe they thought we would forget how.
We haven’t done much since arriving back, the weather has been pretty rough. The situation regarding Ken appears pretty obscure, he didn’t get much flying in as he predicted, now he is just hanging about to see what the score is. I hope they wont [sic] take him out of the crew he is such a decent chap. Its growing late & the other guys are binding for the lights out, so I guess I’ll put more next time.
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[underlined] Thursday 28th October [/underlined]
The weather still remains duff, after days of rain, it has changed into pretty thick fog every day. The last time we flew was over a week ago when we did a loaded climb in “D”, we now have I for Ink, instead of D. For the time being Ken is out of the crew, we are all praying it wont [sic] be for long although we have another decent chap in his place, Les Gray another Canadian. The whole situation is pretty vague, Ken himself feels he would rather not go on in case he should be sick one time & we wandered into a flak area whilst he was sick. As for us, we would put implicit faith in him whatever happened, & I just hate to lose him. So nobody knows what is going to happen, we’re just keeping our fingers crossed.
To keep ourselves amused now quite a bit of our time is spent in seeing films, I have seen a couple of decent ones on the camp recently. The other day they had the power off all day, no electric light, wireless or anything, I certainly think they ought to get there [sic] fingers out with the lighting in the ante room, it is very dim. Last night seeking amusement further afield, Mac, Jack, Don, Johnny & myself went in the liberty bus to Kings Lynn. We had a good meal when we arrived there, & then saw a decent show, coming out from there, Jack, Johnny & myself
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went into a dance, while Mac & Don went to the Duke’s Head for a meal. I think they had the best of the deal, because the dance was pretty corny, & then when it finished at 10 P.M. we were tramping all over the town trying to find a place with something to eat without success, it was pretty grim.
We got back to the bus O.K. & off we went, by this time a thick mist had rolled in, add to this the fact that our driver had a fair number of drinks under his belt, & we went weaving all over the road. It wasn’t long before we went into the ditch, & a fellow raised a laugh by asking “Does this count as an op?” We lifted the thing out of the ditch, then he found he had taken the wrong turning so back we had to go. It took us 1 1/2 hours to travel a 25 minute journey, we heaved a sigh of relief when we arrived back here. It would be that night too that they had an ENSA show at the camp and who should be in it but Pat Kirkwood, I would have liked to have seen it. Our next leave is due on the 24th November & I have written to Mary & told her to book some shows up. It is rather a long chance, that we will be there on time, even providing all goes well. Still I think it is worth trying. Ah! well I’m tired we didn’t get much sleep last night so I’ll turn in.
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[underlined] Monday November 1st. [/underlined]
Friday was just one of those uneventful days, though the mist seemed to have lifted a bit, a few very keen types were speaking eagerly of the prospects of flying, but the main horde, including all of our crew, nearly, retired to the mess early & buried theirselves [sic] in the newspapers, springing up eagerly to get in the dinner queue. That evening we went into town to see an Abbot & Costello film, it wasn’t bad, with a simple meal of fish & chips, we wandered back, what an uneventful life this is. Saturday was no better, but we really put some work in on the kite harmonising all the guns. We made quite a job of it, having Bill & Jack run backwards & forwards with the harmonisation board. The only thing that marred it was the fact that both Johnny & myself broke our lateral levelling screws on the reflector sights, necessitating harmonising them over again. We have been informed that it is nigh on impossible to get any small nuts & bolts of that type, so we are waiting for them, meanwhile the kite is unable to go on ops without the two reflector sights harmonised. So a kite has to stay back because of two nuts & bolts. Just a classic example of the important part played by the small cogs in the big wheel.
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Yesterday the weather seemed to be better, but there was nothing doing in the morning so we put in quite a bit of work on the kite. In the afternoon though there was a sudden flap, to get as many aircraft airborne as possible, so off we went for our air test. We have a new kite now I Ink instead of D Dog that we used to have, yesterday was the first time we had flown in it. She seemed a pretty decent kite, if we can do a loaded climb on it, & see how much height we can get out of it, it will be O.K. In the evening I just remained in the mess & went over to the hut early, I just seem to be in a state of lethargy here, with no inclination to do anything. We tried to get the fire going in the hut, these stoves are grim things at times. All the time we are chopping fences down & scrounging wood & ‘borrowing’ coal from out of the dump opposite. Most times that we light it, huge clouds of smoke belch out in every direction and there is a frantic rush for the doors to breathe some fresh air in. Last night was an exception though, the fire lit right away, & it gradually warmed up until it was giving out a heat like a blast furnace. It isn’t very often that we get it to go like that though, still I am nearest to it, I had that in view when I chose my bed.
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Today we had quite an interesting time, the morning we spent going round the bomb dumps. Practically all the bomb aimers went out, and at the dump we saw how the carriers are fixed on, & then at the firing point how they are flared. It was quite a sight in the dump to see all the rows of bombs laid out in their rows behind the blast walls. The corporal who was giving us the gen set a 4 lb incendiary off for us to show us how they went, boy they certainly burn, they seem better than the ones the Jerries dropped on London in the blitzes. We handled all the equipment & all of it was quite different from the stuff we had been taught throughout training all that was obsolete a good while before. Finally we went out to the kites to watch them bomb up & then try the various ways of releasing hang ups, it was quite a useful morning.
This afternoon we flew again, to level the bomb sight, & then to continue to Goodestone for a bombing exercise. It went off pretty well, but I don’t know how they are going to figure out where bombs are where, because we didn’t have 3073’s and didn’t inform the range as we dropped each one. As there were at least four kites bombing, they seemed to be showering down. Most certainly there will be some news in the morning.
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[underlined] Thursday 4th November. [/underlined]
There has been some flying recently but not a lot we have been up on a couple of air tests but on the whole the weather is still rather grim. We have been putting in quite a bit of work on the kite, Johnny, Don & myself have had our guns out & cleaned them. They were in a hell of a mess as they were packed with grease, then somebody borrowed our kite & the dope of a bomb aimer fired my guns, mucking things up well & truly. We have got them back again now. Tuesday afternoon they gave us a stand down, its funny no sooner do they say stand down & the fellows have started trekking into the different towns, when the old sun comes out & things are fine again, I bet they gnash their teeth.
All of us except Mac caught the 2.3 P.M. into Cambridge, had a look round, & a decent tea then booked our beds in the W.V.S. Afterwards we saw a show, then diving into a pub for a drink we landed in a flight passing out party. They had just finished their exams at Cambridge I.T.W. & were celebrating, when we entered somebody said “Here’s the gen boys”, at which I nearly fell over. Still they plied us with free beer so that was bang on, they also asked quite a bit about their future training & ‘ops’. Maybe quite a few lines were shot, but we had enough shot at us
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during our training so it was our turn. They all had bright blue uniforms, ‘bully’ white belts, close cropped hair, a general sprog appearance altogether. I shudder to think I was like that once, though not to such a degree, but I was & so must everybody who goes in for aircrew, we didn’t notice anything strange then. They had various toasts & I’m afraid I smiled a little cynically when one chap said “Goodbye to all exams and binding”. Still we had a good time, followed by a meal in a nearby café & then to bed. We rose at 7 AM. & went round to another W.V.S. place for our breakfast, then from there to the station to catch the famous 8.13 AM. to Downham.
They were taking a squadron photograph, & naturally Jack & I had to roll up late and miss being in it – such is life. Last night they had an ENSA show to which we went and surprisingly enough it was quite good, we almost got in without paying, but not quite, it would have helped our financial status quite a bit. Today we had to take the Flight Commander’s kite up an [sic] Air Test it, a doubtful priviledge. [sic] The bind was it was 12 midday when they rang the mess and told us & we were already in the dinner queue, so out we had to go & tramp back to the flights. We came down fairly late so didn’t go back again, but phoned into town & booked our seats for the cinema it was a good film, though I’d seen it before.
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[underlined] Sunday November 7th [/underlined]
Friday was quite a busy day, in the morning there was a smashing lecture by a Dutch F/O who had been shot down in a Lanc. & had got back from Holland. We had been listening to him for about 10 mins & lapping every word, when they came in and dragged us up for flights affil. typical RAF. The bind was there were two crews in the same kite, ourself [sic] & Bennett. We stooged around for over an hour but the fighter didn’t show up, so back we had to go, I was pretty cheesed about missing that lecture though. They put us up again in the afternoon, & after a bit of stooging around, boy! that fighter could fly. I sat in the Wops seat all the time, listening to “Music While You Work” poor old Bennets Engineer was sick, he must be quite a lot because he had a paper bag ready with him. I felt a bit grim once or twice, because they were really throwing the kite around. I am O.K. if I can see out to see whats [sic] doing, but if I am in the middle of the kite unable to look out then its rough.
Ken has gone on leave at last, this was the one he missed when we went, he has gone to Iver, Bucks & to London. I have told him to pop in at my house I hope he does. Meanwhile he has let me ride his bike which comes in very handy at this blasted place. Friday
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night it was given out on the radio that F/Sgt Aaron who used to be with 218 had been posthumously awarded the V.C. The citation said his courage had never been surpassed, & by jiminy they were right. In absolute agony & with severest wounds he had diverted the kite on from Turin to N. Africa, where he died 9 hours after, it was a marvellous show! The air bomber who flew it & landed it, belly landing, with 4,000 lb still on received the C.G.M. & most of the crew the D.F.M. They arrived back from Gibralter not long ago, with tins of sugar & heavens knows what else besides.
All our trips recently have been in other kites ours was U/S, when we came down from a flip they found the tail plane was only secured with about 3 nuts & bolts, we nearly had it that time. Yesterday it was put serviceable again & we had to take her up for a couple of hours. It had rained cats & dogs in the morning so there was a stand down & we were the only joe’s flying, & Saturday afternoon too. We were caught in some hellish storms but dodged them, then found parts with clean weather, & played tag with the cloud tops it was good fun. I broke a bigué and then we couldn’t get the undercart down, so poor old Jack & Bill had to set to & wind it down. We all held our breaths when we came in but it didn’t collapse & we were O.K.
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The Wing Cmdr was attacked by a JU88 on a gardening trip to the Baltic the other night, & they claimed it shot down. Who is to dispute them, I bet they went nowhere near the thing, as everyone else thinks & its popular talk that the Wing Cmdr. may get a gong for it whether its true or not I don’t know. There is something funny going on Stirlings haven’t operated against a land target for a month now, & there are all sorts of rumours going around. We are going on Coastal Command, are going out East, are converting onto Lancs, are towing gliders, are only going to do mining trips, these are but a few of the speculations floating around, there certainly seems to be something in the air. The most obvious solution I think is they are waiting until a .5 mid under gun is fitted, we also have to operate this, quite a few jobs we have now.
It has been bitterly cold all day today, whilst harmonising my front guns I gashed two fingers & I didn’t feel it, nor did it start to bleed for a good while, my fingers were so frozen, it’s a real touch of winter. There are two fires in our huge ante room & that is the only method of heating the place. Consequently there is a circle of fellows packed tightly around it, & another circle around them waiting for someone to vacate a chair at which there is a mad rush. The rest of the fellows just have to hover around hoping to catch a glimpse of the fire or of moving into the outer circle.
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[underlined] Thursday 11th November. [/underlined]
The cold weather continues, it takes ones breath away just walking down to the flight, I am glad there are no ‘ops’ on from this station nowadays. I wonder what is happening, it certainly is funny, Stirlings off ‘ops’ all this time, must be something behind it all. The rumours are flying as thick as ever, but nobody has any definite ‘gen’ at the moment. We will find out in due course I daresay. Yesterday we went on rather an interesting trip, an Eric, which is a daylight bullseye. Naturally the only defences we had to combat were fighters, & we didn’t have any engagements, so everything went smoothly. Our route took us across London three times, & pin pointing became very interesting, as I found the various places I know. The balloons were quite a sight, flying at their operational height, there seemed literally hundreds of them. Old Father Thames looked grand in the sun with the boats chugging slowly up & down, there was a fair amount of shipping off Tilbury & Grays & a convoy at Southend. At Chatham there were a fair amount of naval vessels, but nothing like peace-time. We followed the Thames up to attack our target Tower Bridge, there was a certain amount of difficulty in finding this owing to cloud that had rolled across. We eventually made it though.
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Being used to stooging along by ourselves at night it was a novel experience for us to see about another hundred bombers all around, on the same course & height. It was rather tricky at turning points, some kites E.T.A’s would be due slightly before one’s own & they would turn & come cutting across, diving underneath, or lifting above, there must be some close shaves at night, which the darkness hides. When we returned to base the weather had changed down so we had to stooge around for a bit, but we landed quite safely.
Our leave is due on the 24th, and we are beginning to make our arrangements, praying to the Lord, that nothing crops up & we lose it. I had a letter from Bill today, saying that old Bob Blackburn, who was in our room at I.T.W. had got the chop on his 13th over the Ruhr. He always maintained there was nothing in superstition & insisted on third lights, I guess it was just Fate that it should be his 13th, I hope he managed to bale out safely. We lost a crew the other night on a long mining off the Spanish border, Johnston was flying with them as rear gunner, it was his first trip. He was in Carr’s crew that is the second one gone, these mining trips certainly don’t seem to be such a stooge nowadays.
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[underlined] Sunday 14th November. [/underlined]
What a hum drum life this is, & a cold one. Rush for breakfast, fight to get a wash basin then trudge down to the flights. Knock around in the Bombing Office for a while to see the score then out to the kite for a D.I. It’s a hellish cold job polishing the perspex on the first turret, especially the outside I have to mount a rickety iron ladder, & perched up there 25 ft in the air polish away vigorously with frozen hands, each movement causing the ladder to sway. We generally continue to get back to the flights at 11.15 AM. in time for the NAAFI van. Then back to the mess, with more chances than one of being called back for an air test, just as we are about to go into dinner. The afternoon’s procedure is very similar, if we aren’t flying, it is link or Gee, Astro or something, until we scuttle back to tea. Over to the billet, then, to coax a fire into the stove & all huddle round it. Gangs of fellows scour the immediate vicinity of the huts for wood, posts are pulled up & everything of an inflammable nature seized upon. There is a huge coke dump opposite & every evening sees a dozen fellows or more filling buckets & other articles. These stoves are quite our pride & we take an experts delight in raising a large fire in a short while.
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If we aren’t writing letters we are listening to records on a gramophone that Bill managed to ‘borrow’ from the W/T section, I wish we had a wireless here, though. Sometimes we attend an ENSA show, the one this week wasn’t so bad. Friday afternoon we had a stand down so Jack, Johnny & myself bowled into Cambridge again, following the routine of our previous visit, but not having the luck to fall into any flight parties again. So far this month we have gone in quite a few flying hours the weather has been lousy on quite a few trips. Last night we were stooging round in a rain storm trying to find a bombing target before we were recalled, Saturday night, too. The other day Mac, Johnny Don & myself went up with Wiseman’s crew for Air to Air firing over the Wash. After landing & unloading the blasted ammo. when it came to my turn the Martinet ran out of fuel & had to return.
The other day on our Air Test, Mac feathered the starboard outer to test it, but couldn’t unfeather it. After a few unsuccessful attempts we gave up & landed with it feathered, & got down O.K. too. If it isn’t the undercart refusing to come down, its something else. Still old I Item is quite a good kite now, & we can get a fair turn of speed from it.
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[underlined] Thursday November 18th [/underlined]
Quite a lot of things have happened in the few short days since I made my last entry. First like a bolt from the blue came the news that the squadron was being disbanded. It was quite a shock we are supposed to be moving to Chedburgh shortly & there given individual postings. Everyone is thoroughly cheesed about it, we were just getting settled in here too, all the top bags, Bombing, Nav & Gunnery Leaders are fine fellows, one couldn’t wish for a better bunch, I guess that’s typical of the RAF when one gets a piece of cake, they aren’t allowed to eat it. 214 squadron which is at Chedburgh is coming here in our place & we are gradually breaking up. They say we are converting to Lancs & if so it may be time that Stirlings are gradually dieing [sic] out of Bomber Command & the Lancs taking their place. If we are moving in a few days, as the tale says, then it will mess our leave up, after all our arranging, its driving me nuts, we never get a leave that works out smartly. Johnnie Smythe a Nav. from Sierra Leone has had a letter from the people there saying they want to adopt 623 Sqdn. & have collected 100 to £150,000 for our benefit – phew! that’s over £250 per head ground & air crew, of course it would be used for the betterment of the squadron, building a wizard crew room, & various other things.
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The Wing Cmdr. has been up to Group to raise Cain, I don’t know if he has had any satisfication, but I & everyone else hope we stay here together. Monday night we had our Sqdn party, strictly bachelor, the air crew paid for it all, & invited the ground crew to show their appreciation for their maintenance of the kites. There was lots of beer & everyone was happy especially old Mac he was well under, a gang of them started down the mess before the party, then rang Downham for a taxi to take them to the party 200 yds away. There was a championship table tennis match between a couple of top notches in peace-time & then the winner issued a challenge. Ginger Morris who used to play for England, had been waiting for this to just bowl out & beat him. The only fault was Ginger had been imbibing heavily & consequently could hardly see the ball, so lost easily. At 10.30 P.M. it broke up and Mac got in at 5 AM. he had wandered over to the mess to shoot the bull & fell asleep there.
Poor Johnnie has been feeling grim and was very bad the other day & went sick, & they chopped him in dock with flu. Jack was also feeling bad but has recovered, but Don is in bed very queer & I feel it myself, what a crew, but this place is enough to give people all the illnesses under the sun.
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Tuesday night, six Canadians came & gave a concert show, they were a travelling party all [indecipherable word] & they put up quite a performance too. Last night there was an ENSA show which I thought rather good, so we haven’t done too bad for entertainment. Today held a big shock for quite a few people, Group came through to say there was a big do, & 218 & 623 were on the main effort. All crews available were put on, & after 6 weeks they thought it was a laugh & a joke, but realised it was true. Mac was due to go on a second dickie with Sqdn/Ldr. Overton, but it was scrubbed at the last minute as Overton’s Navigator was sick. Petch has gone with Flt/Lt. Willis, & Macgillvray with Flt/Lt. Nesbitt, I hope the morning saw them all back safe & sound. Apparently we are still an operational squadron, but for how long is the question. There is also a fair amount of mining & a new crew is taking our kite, so Don & I were out there this afternoon checking on the turrets.
The other afternoon we had a wizard lecture from a Lieutenant in the Navy. He had quite a few experiences to recount he had been on the Greton in the Graf Spee battle & in the U-Boat War, & seen quite a bit of excitement in the Med., he was very interesting to listen too. [sic] His story showed both sides of the picture too, we weren’t always winning. He said a good word for mining, the results of which were definitely assessed as 1 ship sunk every 11 mins which is good going.
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[underlined] Sunday November 21st. [/underlined]
The squadron definitely is disbanded, though in the meantime it is fully operational. The Wing Co. leaves on Dec 6th to some O.T.U. I believe. Sqdn/Ldr Smith adding his D.F.C. to his D.F.M. is going to an O.T.U. also, - as a flight commander, he has both his tours completed now. The Navigator Leader has already gone, & the Wing Co. has been asking crews what squadrons they would like to be posted to, but nothing is promised. Anyway it appears we are remaining in 3 Group & not going onto Lancs, so that is one theory squashed. Right now we are just praying that nothing will crop up to cheat us of our leave, there are only two days to go. We have arranged to get on the 11 AM pay parade Tuesday & hope to catch the 11.48 AM London train.
Three kites were lost from here on Thursday’s trip to Ludwigshaven – one from 218, & two from 623. Poor old Ray Bennett was one, Johnny Smythe was his Nav. I only hope they baled out, F/Lt Wallis was the other & Petch was with him on a second dicky. That leaves only Macgillvray & us with complete crews from Hixon. P/O Ralph & F/Lt Nesbitt turned back with engine trouble, so it wasn’t too good for 623. It was even grimmer on Friday night, they were going to Leverhulme or something a small place just north of Cologne, & a pretty easy trip it turned out.
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623 only managed to get two kites off the deck, & there was hell to pay, there was quite a bit of finger trouble, though. They said Group sent through the bomb load too late, but then it was the armament officers first experience of bombing up for ‘ops’. Bombs were being sent out to kites that were U/S with engine trouble when others were standing there with engines running merely waiting for bombs, consequently most of them never got off in time. They told one chap to take off 5 mins after time & catch the force up, he told them what to do. Another just got off & set course over the runway in his take off. Wiseman was waiting for one more 1,000 lb H.E. when the Armament Officer said that’s O.K. take off without it, this made the C. of G somewhere in the region of the rear turret – Wiseman’s reply was rather flowery. So poor old Mac didn’t get off again & still has to get his second dicky in. All the kites got back safely but were diverted owing to local fog, one of 218’s was pretty shot up by flak, and pranged at Chedburgh. The kites that were on mining also returned safely. Nesbitt has been told that his tour is completed now, so they are screening him after 24 trips, still that’s enough for anyone, and if I had that number under my belt I would feel very contented.
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Johnny seems a lot better now, we have popped in to see him each day, & he is having a regular rest cure, he intends trying to come out tomorrow as he doesn’t want to miss his leave – nor do any of us – keen types. Ken & I went to the camp cinema the other night, quite a good show but the place is like an ice box. There is a real fiasco here, the water supply is being cut right down, apparently the camps normal consumption is 52,000 gals a day, & the water company will only supply 10,000 gals daily, until their reservoir rises. Consequently all water on the sites is cut off & we cant [sic] have any baths or showers, & now we have been informed we are not supposed to wash or shave in the mess ablutions. This means not washing or showering day in, day out, I wonder what the M.O. thinks of it! There are a couple of water carts that come round the sites & people fill up old cans etc. Even of we hand round all cans we are never on the sites, our whole day is spent down the flights or in the mess. The whole situation is preposterous and it’s a pretty poor show for an RAF camp.
I went into town last night, for the first time for over a week, it was a real pea souper of a night & we muffled right up. The film was quite a decent one, & a drink after made a little break out of the monotony.
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[underlined] Wednesday December 1st. [/underlined]
Another fair interval since I last made an entry, & for the old reason that I have been on leave, we arrived back last night. After all the sweating & heartbreaking we eventually got away on Tuesday, & we did sweat as I will account. On the Sunday, before going on leave, when I last made an entry there had been rumours of something big coming off the following day, as all Ground Crew N.C.O’s had been ordered to have their kites in really tip top condition. Monday dawned a thick misty day, visibility wasn’t more than 50 yds, Jack & I danced for joy as Mac couldn’t possibly do a second dicky that night & we would definitely go on leave on Tuesday, what a fine world it was. Down at the flights a rude shock was awaiting us there was ‘ops’ on that night & Mac was going as second dicky to Sqdn/Ldr. Overton. Everyone thought it must be a farce, it was bound to be scrubbed, the Met reckoned it would clear though. However out we went to the kite & gave it a thorough D.I. because Sgt Ralph was taking it. Gradually the weather cleared, and gradually our hopes sunk, because if Mac got his trip in we would be definitely on “ops” the following night instead of on leave. Every few moments we would gaze at the cloud formations & the fast disappearing mist & try to cheer each other up, although we all felt we had had it.
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We had found out all tanks were to be filled that meant Berlin or Italy & it all pointed to The Big City. Briefing was at 2.30 P.M. & off they went & I went out to the kite again, Johnny was still in dock as his guns had to be checked but Johnny Hyde the Gunnery Leader was out there to do them. At this time the sky clouded over really black, & everyone was certain the Met had boobed. When large drops of rain fell I could have danced for joy, but as though the Met had exercised a superhuman influence the skies miraculously cleared as take off time grew near. The crew came out to I Item & I spoke to the Air Bomber for a bit & happened to see the Nav’s charts, & Berlin it was. I wondered whether Mac was twittering inside, Overton was taking Les Gray, our Nav. who had only done a Nickel before. What a task without even having done a Mining to navigate to Berlin & back. When the actual take off started the weather wasn’t too good but they went, they scrambled at 5 P.M. & set course 5.30 P.M. with our best wishes. During the evening five kites returned early but old Mac wasn’t amongst them, they were mainly 218’s kites too. So off we went to bed, hoping to hear old Mac come banging in at about 2 AM he did. It had been a fairly quiet trip he said, cloud cover all the way, & no fighter sightings. Les’s navigation had been bang on & he was personally congratulated by the Groupie.
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There had been a lot of reporters and photographers there & someone said a B.B.C. chap, lots of lines were shot anyway, we listened to all the story & then sank back asleep. When the morning came it seemed as though our luck was really out, it was clear as a bell. Jack & I grabbed two bikes & dashed down to the Flights to see whether we were on or not. What an anxious half hour that was, the Wing Co. rang for P/O Ralph who was acting Flt/Comdr. then & he came out with lots of papers etc. our hearts sank, but then he said “Nothing on, only mining” we could hardly believe our ears. Back we tore & dressed up for pay parade & a speedy get away. We reckoned without Pay Accounts, with their typical efficiency they paid us at 11.45 AM instead of 11 A.M as it was supposed to be. So we missed the 11.47 train, still nothing mattered then we were off & going home. Scorning the RAF food we had a dinner in Sly’s Café then a drink & homeward bound.
I had a fine leave although the weather wasn’t so hot, that night (Tuesday) it was Berlin dunno if any Stirlings went but we didn’t send any at all. During the leave I saw quite a few shows, among them the new film “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, also read the book, both very good. We arrived back O.K. without any incidents we only stopped 5 mins at Cambridge so couldn’t recreate our previous escapade.
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Johnny was looking very seedy going home, as he had only come out of the dock that day, he wangled round the M.O. He came back looking fit though, we all seemed to have reduced our colds. Ken had been down to Pastow for his Medical Board, & has been taken off flying. So we have definitely lost him, it is goodbye to a fine Navigator & one of the finest fellows it has ever been my priviledge [sic] to meet. We are lucky to have an equally good chap to fill his place they are much alike in many ways. Old Jack Yardley the W/Op who is in our hut & also suffered with air sickness went down with Ken & he is also off of flying.
This morning we did the inevitable Air Test, it always happens the day one returns from leave. I Item is still here, someone buckled a wing tip whilst we were away, there are only four kites left now, they have ferried all the others away. So we should be leaving in a few days, but where to nobody knows yet, rumours are flying as thick as ever. One thing that is definite 214 Sqdn are arriving here on Monday so we will have to leave by then. It is so cold as anything today, there was a frost like snow this morning. If this weather continues & gets worse during the winter I would welcome a posting to Italy or somewhere warm. Talking of warmth, I think I’ll turn in, bed is the best place to warm anyone up.
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[underlined] [missing words] December. [/underlined]
The cat is out of the bag, & there were a few surprises in the bag too, the gen has been dished out as to where we are all going. We all leave tomorrow on the 2 P.M. train, except for those who were due for leave & they went today, (our luck was in we were the last ones to get away, all leave was cancelled after we went). The Wing Co. went a few days ago to 90 Sqdn at Tuddenham, & P/O Ralph, Macgillvray & somebody else are going as well. After all this time then we are parted from Mac, it’s a pity, we two crews have been together a fair while, we are the only ones from Hixon now. By the by. Macgillvray appeared in the newspapers, there was a large photograph of old Wiseman & crew being interrogated upon their return from Berlin, & Macgillvray was in as second pilot quite celebrities now. That B.B.C. chap was here he gave a hell of a ‘bully’ story after the 1 P.M. news the following day.
To resume we and about six other crews are off to Waterbeach to convert onto Lanc IIs. As they have Hercules engines, we wont have Jack, as he won’t have to take another course. Four or so of the crews have gone on leave, today as they are due for it & they arrive there a week after us. It came as quite a surprise we all thought we were set on Stirlings, it will be quite a
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bind, circuits & bumps & screened cross countries all over again, oh hell! There is a squadron there as well 514, I wouldn’t mind being put on that, pray to the Lord we are. Four chaps are being transferred to 218 Sqdn. Overton & Wiseman are amongst them, they say Overton will have to revert to F/O. Nickie Nesbitt went back to P/O & Vickers the Engineering Leader did also, daresay they will have ‘em back again soon though. Some of the postings were to 199 & 149 Sqdns I believe. Last night we were put on the main effort, right in the middle of getting cleared from here, quite a flap. It was only 2, 4 & 6 tanks and 8 x 1,000 lbs & 6, x 5,000 lbs, as it must have been to these rocket gun emplacements they are building to shell London. It was scrubbed though, the minings went & poor old P/O Puch got the chop, his B/A Sutherland was a good guy, they were only an a short mining, too, quite shaking.
The latest Berlin raid where they lost 41 two war correspondents are missing, one got back though, gee! if they were paying that reporter £200 for going on a mining trip, heavens knows what those boys were raking in. One thing is sure from the way the Lancs are operating nearly every night whatever the weather, our tour will be over pretty soon one way or the other. We were paid today & finally cleared from here, last night we went into town to the dance & to the Crown for a farewell ‘do’ before we said goodbye to the hallowed precincts of Downham.
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[underlined] Thursday December 9th. [/underlined]
This entry is being made at Waterbeach, another new station this is my eighteenth station since I have been in the RAF, like Crosby & Hope I certainly get around. We left Downham Monday dinner time, and in the rush I missed saying cheerio to Ken, and was sorry but I have written to him. As usual when they tell you transport will be waiting, there was none, so we walked it was about 15 mins to the billet. The tales of the billets etc. being good inside the camp are quite true, the only snag being we aren’t in the camp. Our quarters are in the inevitable huts “Con Sight” as we call it though it is listed as Conversion Site. The Con Unit (1678) is almost entirely separate from the squadron we have our own mess about 5 mins walk from the hut. The food is good, better than at Downham, but the mess is bare, empty & cold. Not being many crews here either, it is generally isolated, & not very cheering. The squadron have a smashing mess in the camp, with living quarters above, very handy, wish we were in it.
I think the most shaking thing is that breakfast finishes at 7.45 A.M. right on the dot, so we have to be up really early. Then breakfast over we wash & are supposed to be at the flights at 8.15 A.M. It is a 25 min walk too, so we have to start out in time. There is [underlined] P.T [/underlined] 8.15 till 8.30 AM. then lectures.
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The walking is rather a bind as we didn’t expect it here, poor Mac is looking somewhat slimmer, as he lost his bike at a [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] wild party, before leaving Downham. Tuesday was occupied with filling in the arrival chits as usual, then yesterday & today we have had ground lectures, weather permitting we may commence our circuits & bumps tomorrow. There was nothing new in the ground work, the bombing side of the Lanc. is simpler than the Stirling. We carry cookies on there now, there is no second pilot, so I have lost my comfortable seat. This is compensated by the much better bombing compartment, there is a fine huge vision panel in the nose, no more straining one’s neck to get a line on the target. One also enters the turret from the bombing compartment, so there is no chance of being locked in the turret. The performance of these aircraft are pretty good, especially speed & climbing power.
Tuesday afternoon we went into Cambridge, there is a pretty decent bus service to & from there. In the village there isn’t a lot of life but a couple of decent pubs do a good trade. I have just heard from Bill Taylor, & he tells me poor old Jack is missing now, he was on the same squadron as old Bob Blackburn who is now reported killed. Its pretty grim to hear of the old pals getting the chop, wonder if I’ll be alive at the end.
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[underlined] Monday 13th December. [/underlined]
The weather at this place is as bad as at Downham, I didn’t think there could be another place as bad. Mac’s day circuits & bumps are now complete & we are ready for a day cross country which finishes the day flying & then on to night c & b’s. I rather like the lay out of this station, it is very neat and compact, of course that is because it was a peace time station. I wish we were billeted in the camp although I understand the food in the permanent mess isn’t as good as in ours. On Friday the Duke of Gloucester came down to inspect the camp, we knew a full 24 hrs before who it was, the old grape-vine certainly defeats security. On the Thursday morning the Bombing Leader asked us who it was as he wasn’t able to find out. Our six crews were joined for a cheering party we had to line up opposite a line of WAAF’s at the gate & cheer when he left. I haven’t been on P.T. yet I have a hard enough job to get up in the mornings. Mac has managed to scrounge an official bike now, that is one thing he moves fast for. Every Wednesday they have a C.O’s parade and march past, there is a fair amount of bull here considering they have an operational squadron, I guess it is because they have the Con Unit still, yes, the more I think of it, the more easier 623 appears.
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[underlined] Tuesday December 21st. [/underlined]
We are now back on an operational squadron again, 115 Sqdn at Witchford near Ely. Our course finished here last [inserted] Sunday [/inserted] night and yesterday & this morning we were completing our clearance chits. It wasn’t such a bad place, & the work was pretty easy, the ground work was nothing new at all, except a new photo flash fuse. Our first flip was a day cross country at 23,000 ft, a really binding trip, 10/10ths all the way, just sit there and freeze about 25o below. Then after the night circuits and bumps, we were on a Bullseye, Sunday night. Or rather a Flashlight exercise, because the I.R. bombing is abandoned over London, & they have a target of three red lights to simulate T.Is, & at various distances of a couple of miles altogether were white lights flashing various Morse characters, so on the photograph, one could tell in theory how near the bombs would have landed. That trip was a cold one as well but we had a hot time with the defences, a solid belt of searchlights all the way round, & a hell of a cone sight over the target, we were picked up on our bombing run & they sure dazzled me. We rather preferred to remain at Waterbeach with 514 Squadron owing to the compactness of the station. They don’t operate such a lot, the other night they landed at Downham Market, practically all kites were diverted. It was a black night, & the Met boobed badly, all England almost was fog bound, & we have heard from reliable sources that 65 kites either crashed or had to be abandoned owing to weather. With the 30 kites lost that made 95 kites, the public will never know of that.
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The transport brought us by road from Waterbeach it is 13 miles & when we reached Witchford there was a howling gale & the rain was lashing down. Nobody knew where we were supposed to be billeted & we were driving around the place, dashing in & out of huts, until soaked to the skin, we eventually found one. Roger’s crew is in the hut with us, we are on 4 site & it is about two miles from the mess. I have seen some dispersed stations but this is the worst of them all, the mess is a 30 min walk from the flights as well, we certainly use Shanks Pony here, it is killing Mac he hasn’t done so much walking for ages. The usual thick mist is everywhere that is the trouble in East Anglia. Everything about the station & squadron seems to be grim, at one time it was a happy squadron & contented, but this station has got everyone down a lot; they have only been here 3 weeks. To give a typical example of the way the place is run, they moved here via Berlin. The crews were sent off to Berlin from this base & on return had to land here, what a fiasco that must have been, tramping round in the dark trying to find billets etc. Leave here is about every 12 weeks, its incredible, they don’t appear to worry whether you have any or not. There is no operational meal before ops, just tea & a couple of sandwiches & the rations are pretty small, & no coffee. No transport is organised to take us into Ely, & there are hardly ever stand downs, there appears to be a complete lack of interest in air crew, oh! well I’m too cheesed to write any more.
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[underlined] Monday 27th December. [/underlined]
Xmas is over now, & I’m none too sorry really, it wasn’t a lot to shout about. Now we are settled down a bit better, but its hard to shake off the feeling of being cheesed here, everyone is, the old chaps of 115 Sqdn, the fellows on 196 the sqdn that was here before, & ourselves the mix crews from 623. The Bombing & Engineering Sections are in the same room, the Bombing Leader is a decent chap, but I don’t see how you can get to know the other bomb aimers, they don’t make any advances or anything. We flew the second night we were here on another Flashlight exercise, & were getting around O.K. but as we were running in towards London for the target, all the searchlights began homing us away from London, so we realised there was an air raid in progress, & beetled back to base. There they told us over the W/T to continue with our exercise & we had to beetle up North & keep cracking around. The trip took us 6 1/2 hours & they didn’t give us any rations at all, I was absolutely frozen, & had an electric waistcoat on, but that didn’t keep my legs warm, I was glad when we landed. On Thursday night, Mac did his second dicky they have to do them on these kites as well, of all places it was Berlin again. Thats [sic] two second dickeys he has done there now, packing ‘em in alright. I think it is a terrible feeling waiting around for them to come back I would rather go myself, he returned O.K. there was one missing from here.
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On Xmas Eve afternoon Bill & I cycled the 26 mls to Waterbeach & back to collect the Xmas mail for about a dozen fellows, we could have used a truck coming back. That night we all went into Ely to the Lamb Hotel to commence the celebrations. What a night it was, & what a head I had next morning. On Xmas Day the officers mess invited us over in the morning then came over to our mess in the afternoon, it was more of a drunken brawl than anything else. Bags of broken bottles & glasses, it is grim like that, we were supposed to serve Xmas dinner to the airmen, but I felt too grim to go across. Our tea that night was really wizard, it was served buffet form, & there were sausage rolls, cakes, pastries, sandwiches, sardine on toast, spam & chopped egg, trifle & cream cake it was grand! There were two fights, because tempers were rather frayed after drinking. Afterwards we all tramped into town to have our Xmas Dinner for the crew, in the Lamb Hotel, it was pretty good, we were in bed pretty early that night. Boxing Day was very quiet, we had our turkey dinner at 7.30 P.M. it was well served, afterwards there was a dance in the mess. There wasn’t a single decoration in the mess for the Xmas just lovely & bare. Anyway that was the end of the festive season, & this morning we donned battle dress once more & got cracking on the same old grind.
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[underlined] Thursday 30th December. [/underlined]
We have made a start at the squadron now, they don’t waste a lot of time, last night we began ‘ops’ here with a trip to Berlin. The pre-briefing was at 1.30 P.M. & Les & I got cracking on the maps and charts before all the crews arrived at 3 P.M. for the main briefing. Our route was worked out to try to bluff Jerry in believing the attack was being carried out on Leipzig or Magdeburg. We went straight for those places and as Mossies opened the dummy attacks on both towns we suddenly turned north & headed for the “Great City”. Taking it on the whole it wasn’t a bad trip twenty kites lost when over 700 were sent.
The trouble with these early take offs is that we don’t get a meal before we take our kites away & start dicing. At the end of briefing there is a mad rush to grab a cup of tea and a couple of sandwiches at the back of the room; then down to the locker room to change. Out we lumber to the transports, & they take us to the waiting kites. Here we dump all our heavy kit & climb in to check all our equipment & run the kite prop to see everything is bang on. Then we shut her down, & climb out to complete our dressing, a few minutes for a smoke for those that need it, then 20 minutes before we are due to take off we climb aboard again & start up. As the time approaches we taxi out & take our place in the line, then one by one [missing words]
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Round & round we circle, then as the time for setting course arrives we make the last circuit and away we go. By this time we are at about 13,000 ft & generally by the time of crossing the English coast we are a little [deleted] of [/deleted] over 15,000 ft. I carry out all my Bombing checks & put the front guns on Fire, all ready for something, we begin our vigilance here, as the German fighters often operate right across the North Sea. At our turning point we are at our operational height of 20,000 ft, & we set course for the Dutch Coast. Approaching the coast the flak can always be seen coming up from Texel or other equally well defended spots. The cloud was 10/10ths awarding us a natural protection from the searchlights.
Every now & then along the south some place would start throwing up flak, if it came close we weaved but generally didn’t bother. Quite a few times a fighter would drop three flares, lighting up quite an area of sky, if they were too near for safety we corkscrewed quickly, with everybody searching the sky carefully. The searchlights would also shine on the clouds in large concentrations causing us to be silhouetted to any fighter above. Two markers were dropped on the route to guide us away from hot spots, we didn’t see the first, but the second at Leipzig was plainly visible. The dummy attacks had commenced & there were some red & green T.I’s & a few bombs, they were certainly throwing up some flak, we had to nip in between Magdeburg & Leipzig, it was very warm & we got away as soon as possible.
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Just after leaving Leipzig I had a momentary panic when three ME110’s came whizzing past us going the opposite direction to Leipzig, I guess they came haring back later when Berlin opened up. We were running into a head wind coming up to the target & I thought we were never getting there; the T.I’s were burning there, & the cookies exploding, & the flak was pouring up, although it wasn’t too heavy; but we never seemed to be getting any nearer. As we eventually approached I could see the glow of a large fire reflecting on the clouds. Then “Bomb Doors Open” – “Running Up”, “Left Left” “Steady” “Bombs Gone” “Bomb Doors Closed” & away we went. The return journey was much the same as the outward, but we found the W/Op had turned the inter-wing balance cock the wrong way & we had lost 200 galls. So we had the worry of whether we would be able to make it or not. We crossed the English coast O.K. and were trying to make base, when the fuel warning lights started to flicker meaning we were almost out. There we were at 400 ft to [sic] low to bale out & unable to use up petrol to climb, just expecting the motors to cut at any moment. Suddenly a drome appeared & we screamed in there without announcing or anything but we were down & that was the main thing. It was a P.F.F. place Warboys, we didn’t get the egg there & had to sleep in a chair in the mess, so it wasn’t so good, next morning we flew back to base, & had a badly needed sleep. There was one missing from here which wasn’t so bad, however that was our first major ‘op’ over.
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[underlined] Monday January 3rd [/underlined]
Well that’s another year gone and 1944 is here, I wonder if this year will see Germany out of it, somehow I doubt it, though I think she will be well on the way. Last Friday ‘ops’ were on, so we had visions of seeing the New Year in over the other side. Briefing was at 3 P.M. again and the target was Frankfurt, it was an attempt to fool the Jerries and make them think we were going to Berlin, somehow I don’t think it would have been successful, anyway just as briefing it was scrubbed and we didn’t cry over it. There was a New Year’s Dance on in the gym, so we went there and got pretty merry, eventually getting into bed around 4 A.M.
Getting up well the worse for wear in the morning we were shaken to find there were ops on again that night. Pre briefing was 1.30 P.M. but the main briefing wasn’t until 9 P.M. there being an operational meal before we took off. The target was once more Berlin, this time we were going in from the north with a dummy attack on Hamburg though I wasn’t so sure that that would fool them. Take off was at a quarter to one in the morning a hell of a while to wait up till. This time they sent the fighters out to meet us and the fun started right over the Dutch coast. The flak was as eager to greet us as ever.
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About 10 mins after we had crossed the Dutch coast I saw a burst of tracer go streaking across the sky then suddenly flames burst out on a Lanc & she slowly peeled over & went spiralling down through the clouds, then a few seconds later a huge glow shot up – poor devils. It couldn’t have been more that five minutes afterwards when Johnny the rear gunner screamed “Corkscrew Port”, I thought “here it comes” & gripped on. I guess whoever they are they all feel a bit of panic at such moments, I know the flesh on my back crawled as I kept anticipating the feeling of bullets ripping into my back. However we dodged him, it was a JU88 who came screaming down and fired a burst at us, he broke off the attack though. The flak in the target area was quite a bit heavier this time & it was really close, the return journey took us a fair bit longer as we were pushing against the wind. There were quite a lot of fighters lobbing down three flares at a time, it certainly is a hell of a feeling when one is battling along in the dark, & suddenly one is lit up as plain as daylight, & the feeling that every fighter in the sky is leering down at you is no fun. Mac generally swears and corkscrews viciously. We got back to base without mishap, shot the lines at interrogation then trotted off to another bacon & egg meal. There were 28 missing on that raid out of about 450 kites so it was heavier losses, none were missing from here which was good but 3 didn’t take off, and 3 turned back. ‘We got to bed at 10.30 A.M.
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At 2 P.M. we were awakened by the Tannoy blaring for all Navigators to report to the briefing room at 4 P.M. for pre-briefing. My God! there were ops on again & we were feeling nearly dead from lack of sleep already. It certainly set me back when going into briefing the target map showed Berlin again, gee! three times in five nights to the Great City it was pretty rough. Take off was at 12.20 P.M. because we were fighting to avoid the moon, even then it wasn’t set when we took off, but it had set before we reached the enemy coast. Things were pretty lively because there was a ninety mile an hour gale blowing and we had to go straight to Berlin, with no dummy attacks, & boy were they ready for us. For miles around the target it was like day with lanes of flares and kites whizzing around. It certainly was hectic over the target, I was expecting a fighter attack at any moment, & when the bombs had gone I got in the front turret & scared old Mac by flashing the guns backwards & forwards. Altogether we were in the thick of it for nearly 25 minutes it seemed like 25 years. I thought we would never get clear of there. It took us 2 1/2 hours [deleted] for [/deleted] to reach the target & 4 1/2 hours returning, because we were battling almost head on against the gale, it seemed an eternity before we reached the French coast. We reached base O.K. & tumbled in at 10.30 A.M. & boy! did we need the sleep, we lost one from here & I believe 27 on the whole effort.
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[inserted] [newspaper cutting regarding the bombing raid on Brunswick] [/inserted] [duplicate page]
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[underlined] Saturday 12th January [/underlined]
Its quite a while since I wrote here, but as usual I have been on leave in the meantime. There were no ops on the Tuesday after I last wrote, but on Wednesday there were. It was to Stettin & the route was all around Norway & the Baltic, then the stream suddenly headed south to Berlin, where Mossies started a dummy attack & the main force suddenly swung west to Stettin. The trip was terribly long 8 hr. 32 mins at the minimum & it was cutting it fairly fine with a full petrol load. At the last moment the route was lengthened by another three quarters of an hour, so that if we had made the trip we would have landed in the North Sea, consequently all Lanc IIs were scrubbed, the I’s & III’s went though & only lost 15 I wouldn’t have minded going. The next morning at two hours notice we were told we were on 7 days leave & had to rush around to get away that day.
We returned Thursday night, & got to bed about 1 A.M., then as it was the 4th day after the full moon, we were sure there would be no ops. Because 4 days before & 4 days after the full moon is the moon period & there are no ‘ops’. However Chopper Harris shot us up by putting ops on, after the morning air Test we dashed off for dinner then Les & I went back for 1.30 pre-briefing. The target was Brunswick, the place that the Forts went to a couple of days previously. They attacked aircraft factories about 20 miles from Brunswick, & we attacked the town.
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It was a real daylight take off, & when we were approaching the Dutch Coast it was quite light behind us, so I was expecting a head on attack. The weather was quite clear so the searchlights were active, there was quite a cone on Texel, & three large dummy fires as well, they must have quite a faith in the dimness of Air Bombers to bomb there. Our route took us quite close to Bremen, & there was a T.I. marker there cascading yellow. Later as we were getting close to the target we had to come really close to Hanover, & they were pretty active there. She had a hell of a lot of searchlights and if anyone strayed across the old flak would poop up. The attack started when we were a quarter of an hour from there, down went the T.I’s & up came the old flak. At briefing they said it would be pretty quiet, and that the Americans had destroyed 150 fighters for us – lovely it sounded. However there was quite a bit of flak and damned accurate, & more fighters milling around there us & other crews had seen before. I saw four kites go down in flames, [inserted] & burst [/inserted] on the ground, it was really grim. There was a lovely fire burning a huge thing with the green T.I’s in it, then a minute later our load went crashing down to help the conflaguration. The return journey wasn’t so bad there were numerous red flares dropped that burnt for a very short [deleted] [indecipherable letters] [/deleted] while, not like the usual fighter flares. We landed at 10.20 A.M. came butting back to beat the moon rise, we lost Blackwell & Christianson two senior crews, which was pretty grim, 38 [missing words], it certainly was no easy raid.
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[underlined] Tuesday January 18th. [/underlined]
The weather certainly is grim, we haven’t flown since Friday, there has been a thick fog, and these last two days it has rained, but tomorrow promises to be clear so I guess there will be ops on then. According to the Press the Brunswick raid was fairly easy, they certainly harped out some guff, one of them said there were no fighters over the target & the Luftwaffe was fooled. I was looking at the official list of combats & sightings over the target, & there really were some. One chap from here claimed a confirmed & a probable. Three times over the target Bill the W/Op. happened to knock our huge nose light on, it put five years on my life, ‘cos the first time nobody knew who did it, & I was crouched there with my hands over it, & cursing like a madman. F/Sgt Foggarty who was with us put up a damn good show, over the target he was attacked consistently for half an hour by fighters & an engine (stbd inner) hit by cannon shell. He feathered it and it fell right out, he came down from 23,000 ft to 7,100 ft before he could pull out, & had to stay down low all the way. He sent out an SOS because he thought he wouldn’t make it, & the Jerries followed our homing procedure identically. They homed with searchlights to a ‘drome in Holland, lit it up & gave him a green, luckily his Gee operated and he battled off in a hurry. He crash landed with 3 engines, one bust tyre, no flaps or brakes, & nobody hurt. The engineers right arm & leg were rendered useless over the target & he carried on, but they both got a gong. Beside the two we lost we had three kites written off through fighter attacks, Waterbeach lost two. Dimmock was one of them he came back from leave with me the night previously.
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[underlined] Monday January 24th. [/underlined]
Still no more ops, in a week, at least no ops that we have completed. Last Thursday we were on the Berlin trip, it seemed a pretty good route, but there was a terrific long sea leg up to Denmark. I hate that, I don’t mind baling out over land ‘cos you have some chance, but there is no sense in baling out over water as by yourself in a Mae West, a chap wouldn’t last a couple of hours. So the only thing is ditching, then if the kite is out of control & we are unable to ditch, we’ve had it. However soon after taking off we couldn’t see any other kites & Johnny & I were picking up opposite drifts from what they should have been. Suddenly Mac checked his compasses and found they were all haywire, we were well off track, and crossed the coast at Ipswich instead of Cromer. Then trying to steer a straight course we went round in a huge circle. It was impossible for us to go on so we tried to jettison fuel in order to land. Mac & Jack tried to jettison fuel to bring our load down, but were unable to do so. We had to jettison the cookie, and flew sixty five miles out from the coast & let her go. So back we went, & were we cheesed, & hate a turn back, it was our first. Jimmy Rodgers returned earlier with a U/S rear turret & W/O Robbins with a U.S Rev counter, Anderson got lost & bombed Wilhelmshaven & I believe F.O Ogden came back after 4 1/2 hrs we were airborne 2 hrs. We lost P/O Canning, on his 19th trip.
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The following night we were going to Magdeburg, with a dummy attack on Berlin, by 15 Mosquitoes, & 20 Lancs (dont [sic] fancy that). There were 690 kites detailed, quite a few for a place that size, we were taxying out, & were almost at the flare path when the kite in front of us became bogged, it was old Howby in F, Freddie. The dim of an ACP let us get right on top of it, before flashing a red, so there was no room for us to turn & go round the perimeter in time to take off. There were other guys in the same position as us & there we all sat whilst the minutes ticked by & we were scrubbed, did we curse. In all eight kites didn’t take off & we lost one, Waterbeach lost four, which was grim, and they say six returned early, I don’t know if thats [sic] right, if so only six kites got to the target & back, it certainly was a chop raid.
Hardwick the chap who was at OTU with us has 5 weeks more [deleted] week [/deleted] grounded, he is cheesed. He gave us some news of fellows at OTU. Doc & his crew are P.O.W’s poor old Cecil Kindt had the chop, Chiefy Young is a P/O with 15 in & his navigator Shields has his W/O they have [deleted] [indecipherable letters] [/deleted] been doing O.K. Bouchard is O.K. with 9, old Towne is in jail, stripped for beating up a town low level. Mac met, Pat Macguire, who was Petch’s Navigator, in London, he said Petch was killed outright. They have an English chap who was a staff pilot in Canada. Ray Bennett was killed outright, but Johnny Smythe his dark navigator is a P.O.W. I don’t know about the rest of the crew.
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[underlined] Sunday 30th January [/underlined]
Everything was peaceful until Wednesday & then ‘ops’ were on again, bags of twitter, we beetled out to old G George to see everything was bang on. The weather wasn’t too hot & everyone was sure it would be scrubbed. When we found out it was Frankfurt, we were certain we wouldn’t go as before we had been briefed for it & hadn’t gone, sure enough it was scrubbed. The Forts went there the other day though, (yesterday in fact) 800 bombers, they certainly must have wanted to rub that place out. However the following night (Thursday) we were dicing once more & it was the old Faithful Berlin again. It seems strange but I have on obsession for that place, I wouldn’t go so far as to say I like it, that would be plain dumb, but I am less disturbed when we go there than anywhere else. Why I am at a loss to explain as it is the longest & hardest trip we will ever have to do. All I know is I wouldn’t mind doing quite a few there, I hope it isn’t a fateful fascination & we get the chop over there.
We had a strong westerly wind blowing behind us & the outward trip only took 2 1/2 hrs, whilst the return took 5 1/2 hrs. Our journey wasn’t too bad, we had a nasty moment when Les told Mac to turn on a course of 037o & Mac thought he said 137o. We were on it for 2 minutes before I saw a Lanc. cut across us & I queried our course.
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This caused us to stray over, Brandenburg I believe it was & by jimini their predicted flak was damned accurate. It burst at the dead same height about 200 yds in front & another lot off the starboard beam. Another few seconds & we were flying through the black smoke puffs. As we saw the P.F.F. flares go down (they were a couple of minutes early) the first fighter flares dropped. Some of the kites had obviously arrived early & been stooging around, waiting for zero hour, because the flak had been going up for a while already. By the time we arrived, we were in the blasted last wave as usual, there were scores of yellow fighter flares making a lane into the target & another one out of it. There was one fair sized fire going but not so big as I have seen, just after the W/Op watched my cookie go through the clouds he reported a huge explosion. I smile to think it might have been me, but one can never tell what happens in a concentrated attack like that.
Two minutes after the bombs had gone, Don the Mid Upper spotted a fighter, & called to Johnny to watch it. Then we heard Johnny’s excited voice over the inter-com, “Its a JU88, he’s coming in he’s crossing over now, get ready to corkscrew port, - corkscrew port go”. I was scrambling up to the front guns & just reached there in time. Our corkscrew was so violent that neither of the gunners were able to open fire, it also
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must have surprised the Jerry because he overshot above us, & skidded in a stall turn about 200 yds away from our nose. I remember thinking “My God what a bloody size he is”, somehow I had never realised how large a 66ft wing span was for a fighter. Anyway he was in the wing right & a no deflection shot my fingers squeezed & I nearly whooped with joy, when I saw the tracer striking the rear of the port engine & the [deleted] sp [/deleted] mainplane between the engine & the fuselage. Then he dived down to port at a hell of a speed & my little bit of fun was over. It shook me that I was the one to open the attack, as the B/A’s don’t often get a crack. I think it rather shook him to be fired at from the front as he didn’t break away there again.
The battle really started then, & it was a battle too. Up he came from underneath, & Johnny yelled “corkscrew” & opened fire, we could hear his guns shattering, & we were zooming around the sky. Johnny said he hit the port engine again, as I hit it previously & some sparks & flames shot out then subsided to a glow, I think everyone thought we had had it then, though I must hand it to that fighter pilot he really had guts. Round he would come firing right in close & both our gunners would return the compliment. We were corkscrewing violently all the time and my stomach felt as though it was being torn apart & my head smacked against the perspex. Mac & Jack were both thrown against the
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[inserted] [newspaper cutting regarding the 12th major bombing raid on Berlin] [/inserted] [duplicate page]
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roof too. Every now & again a huge stream of tracer would pour across the top of us, & my mouth was dry with fear as I saw the cannon shells exploding at 600 yds. The gunners would be shouting “Corkscrew keep corkscrewing – here he comes again,” then the guns would chatter & we’d roll around. When it came to the break aways I kept praying he would come up to the front & I could get another crack but he never did. I would yell “Where is he?” each time but he would dive right down underneath & they would lose him, it was a separate sighting & attack each time. He made 7 attacks on us, I thought it would never end, on the third he hit us in the elevator trim. Then on the fifth attack a cannon shell exploded in the port wing & bullets ripped through the port inner nacelle. Though we couldn’t tell where the damage was we could only feel the hits. However we gave him quite a bit of punishment, we all hit him, & on the seventh attack, the glow in his engine suddenly became brighter & he dived down & that was the end of the attack, we claimed him as a probable. The whole engagement lasted 18 to 20 minutes it seemed like years, I had one moment of real fright in it. In the middle of a corkscrew with squirts of tracer everywhere I felt a violent blow in the left leg & thought “Hell, I’ve been hit” but it was all the heavy bundles of window that had shaken loose & crashed on my leg.
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We were at 18,500 ft when the attack started & were down to 13,000 ft at the end, the corkscrews were so violent, the Elsan came right out & was all over the floor & the ammo from one of Johnny’s tanks was all out. My God I was really thankful we had seen that through, one doesn’t often get continuous battles like it. Mac had a fair amount of work with no elevator trim but there was nothing vital hit and the kite flew O.K. We managed to get back on track but we were pretty late, everything went pretty well until it came to the part we squeezed between Frankfurt & the Ruhr. Everything was O.K. until some wicked predicted flak shot up about half a mile to the starboard, there were only three bursts then suddenly there was a Lanc. with flame pouring from the nose & three of her engines. She held her course for a short while, then swung round in a huge circle, came behind, assumed course for half a minute or so then plunged down, I hope they got out. I thought the return journey would never end, I hate it as long as that. We came out pretty well south of track, but we were back O.K. a fair few landed away through lack of fuel. The bullets that ripped through the port inner [indecipherable word] punctured the tyre, but we didn’t know, and landed with a flat tyre, swerved off the runway & there we were. The crash wagon & blood wagon tore out, & they insisted on us riding in the blood wagon.
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The M.O. insisted upon giving us some capsules, to make us sleep that night & wouldn’t let us go on ops the next night. He knew his ‘gen’ because when we woke we were pretty dizzy & weak from their effect & couldn’t possibly have operated. It was Berlin again, another 8 hr effort, it was a shambles here. They only got 9 out of the squadron airborne, & 2 of these returned, leaving 7 to go on to the target. Out of these 7 we lost 2 which is pretty grim, F/Lt. Aarvin & P/O Tyn were the ones missing. From the night before we lost F/O Harris & F/Sgt Morris, old Morris had been with us at Downham, they said he was in a dinghy, at least he was going to ditch, but they heard no more. Friday night, the RAF Bomber Command Band gave a performance here & was very good, Saturday there was a stand down we went to a camp dance. G George is U/S for a fortnight or so & we were going to take another kite tonight but they were so short of kites they couldn’t put us on. We are right hard up for kites now, two had a head on crash when taxying, nobody was hurt, but the kites are really ripped up. Another had incendiaries through it, they only sent 11 tonight, it was Berlin again, Chopper is really pushing ‘em in again. Old Foggarty has been awarded the DFM for the show he put up, I thought he would. So 623 has made a start here anyway. I wonder if we will be going to Berlin much more I should think it must be pretty well smashed up, they haven’t been able to get photographs for awhile.
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[underlined] Monday February 7th. [/underlined]
A week has elapsed since I last wrote, a week of doing practically nothing. That Sunday raid on Berlin was the last op there was, we got eight kites off I believe, & lost poor old F/Lt Hicks. He was the Asst. Flight Commander in our flight, a [deleted] [indecipherable letter] [/deleted] ‘Newzie’ & a good chap it was his 24th. There were no ‘ops’ then for a few days & then the moon period commenced. Our kite won’t be serviceable for nearly three weeks so they have given us J Johnny, Hicks’ old kite it was U/S & he took another when he got the chop. Sqdn.Ldr [indecipherable name] the ‘Corkscrew King’ had a real do. They had a contact on the Monica & instead of corkscrewing as they were told he asked the gunners if they could see anything. They were looking down & said “No”, & a fighter sitting about 10o up gave them a long burst while they were straight & level. He raked them right along, the rear turret smashed, the mid upper had about 20 fragments pass between his legs. A couple of cannon shells exploded in the fuselage, the [deleted] [indecipherable letter] [/deleted] D.R. Master Unit was hit, a large hole in the main plane, one prop damaged, Boy! they were really shot up. The only one who was hurt was the A/B who had a small piece of flak in his behind. We have been informed that the old Groupie has detailed us for an hours circuits & bumps for the bad landing we made returning from Berlin. That was with a burst tyre. God knows what he wants, I don’t even believe he knows we were shot up.
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It seems pretty definite that the German [indecipherable word]. is evacuating from Berlin to Breslau, its another 200 miles to the South East, surely they wont go there from here, it would be about a 10 hour trip. There is some talk that the tour is being reduced to 25 ops as they are pretty grim now with the Berlin trips, it seems pukka ‘gen’ I hope it is. During the week we have been doing loaded climbs on J to test her starboard outer now it has to be changed. We have also been trying to get some GH Bombing in but the weather isn’t so good. Yesterday we had the day off, they are giving crews a day off during the moon period. Johnny & I went home catching the 1036 AM. Sunday, & travelling back on the 8.20 AM. Monday, I had a wizard time.
On Saturday night we lost a kite on the Bullseye, it was Bishop who was at Downham with us. Poor old Jack Speechly was the Bomb Aimer, I had known him 18 months ever since Manchester, we did our training in Canada together, he was a rattling good chap. They had an American pilot with them, they were all killed, & they don’t know how it happened yet. The crash was found with them all in it, its really grim. That’s three of the crews that were with us at Downham gone now P/O Whitting Ginger Morris & now old Bishop, boy! I only pray we see the tour out & so do all the others. There’s nothing much happening, consequently there isn’t much to make an entry of, think I’ll snatch an early night.
[underlined] Sunday February 13th. [/underlined]
The moon period has definitely finished now and our period of rest is over. Once more ‘Chopper’ whipped a day off the end of it, we were briefed for Berlin & were out at the kites with about 30 mins to go before take off when it was scrubbed. The reason being the bad weather at base on return, it was pretty grim, & was a [deleted] poo [/deleted] wonder it wasn’t scrubbed before. I wouldn’t have minded the trip, because for a change it was a long trip out, & a short trip home. Last minute scrubbings are worse than some ‘ops’ I think after being keyed up all that time, still it shows there is still some of the Big City left there.
We haven’t done much this week, as the weather has been pretty duff, most of the time we tried some GH Bombing nothing came of it, owing to climate conditions. The other day we were up in a hell of a snow storm, all the time we were running before it & trying to find a way out. All the countryside looked pretty Christmassy with a coating of snow over the fields & villages. As I was in the rear turret all the time I was more interested in keeping warm. Our turrets got in grim condition during the moon period and we had to work like the devil all day to get it in shape. I was late for briefing through it and had a hell of a flap trying to get my tracks & maps all ship shape.
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All Jimmy Rodgers crew went to Cambridge on Friday, as two of [deleted] Jim [/deleted] Bishops crew were being buried there. It is terrible really four of them were married & a couple engaged, old Bishop was only married at O.T.U., I would never get married in war time for that reason. Looking at it soberly with all the chaps getting the chop it seems a hell of a mugs game still there it is.
There has been a fair amount of entertainment this week, we had a night out in Ely with a wizard meal in the KUMIN Café. On Wednesday night there was a dance in the gymnasium, then Thursday night we had a big social in the mess. They even went to the extent of polishing the floor, & in our grim mess that really is something. It went on until 1 AM. & there was bags of beer & eats, the food was very good, marzipan cakes, sausage rolls etc. £25 was allowed for it, so it should have been good. On Saturday there was another dance but I was cheesed with that & don’t think I will bother going again.
The siren is going now & there is some gunfire, be quite comical now, with us refraining from bombing Berlin owing to the met. here, & the Jerries using the same conditions to bomb us. They have left the bombs on the kites & only drained the tanks to 1500 so it looks as though they will be parking us along tomorrow. I guess now they have started again, Chopper will try & really finish Berlin, hope he doesn’t finish us.
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[underlined] Thursday 17th February. [/underlined]
All was quite [sic] until Thursday, when ‘ops’ were on again, & there it loomed on the briefing room chart, the [deleted] G [/deleted] Big City once more. It was another daylight take off, quite a sight to see all the kites streaming over the coast at Cromer. The first leg was a terrific long one up to Denmark, & it was quite light most of the way, but luckily got dark by the time we were crossing the coast. Those Danish islands can certainly poop up some flak, & I was glad when we hit the Baltic Coast. The last leg to the target was a terrific long one, straight to it, I couldn’t see that the Jerry would be fooled regarding the target, even though there was a spoof attack on Frankfurt-on-Oder. The P.F.F. boobed by sending the flares down before zero hour, & the flak certainly opened up. It was the heaviest I have seen there, I think he was relying more on that than his fighters. Running up I could see about six Halifaxes beneath us, they seemed quite happy as the flak was all bursting between 18 & 21,000 ft. We were carrying just one 8,000 lb cookie, which is quite a goodly size, it was handy in the way that immediately I said ‘Bombs Gone’ Mac could whip the Bomb Doors shut.
Bomber Command was trying new tactics this time the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd waves went one way, & we in the 4th & 5th waves went a bit south of them along another route. The idea was to split the fighter forces, & I think it succeeded we only saw two all night, one ME110 just after
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[inserted] [newspaper cutting about obliterating bombing techniques]
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leaving the target flashed across our nose. We ran into some flak though, getting off track a bit we stooged right over Magdeburg. Beside window there were two huge packets of nickels to throw out so I was sweating like anything shovelling it all out. Not much happened on our return journey apart from a few fighter flares & some rockets. We saw a kite go down in flames over the North Sea, I should hate to get the chop right back there. Two were lost from here, F/S Whyte who had 16 trips in & F/S Ralph who was with us at Downham. He had Pinky Tomlin, Petch’s old B/A, who arrived with a new skipper F/O Nice, beside losing his B/A he lost his rear gunner who went as a spare with Whyte. I hate this spare business they always seem to get the chop.
Yesterday we were briefed for Berlin, then scrubbed, then again tonight & were out at the kites before being scrubbed, the weather was terrible both days, yet they wait till the last minute before scrubbing it. We were read a message from Chopper Harris C in C. congratulating us on the progress of the Battle for Berlin. After the usual flowery comments on our ‘courage & steadfast spirit’ he said we were well ahead of schedule in the obliteration of the capital. He also said the Allied Command considered it the most important battle of all land, sea or air battles fought & yet to fight in the war. There was a long list of reasons of its immediate need to be liquidated, & he said he had to rush us to finish the job as the lighter nights and the Northern lights would soon be making their appearance. Well I hope there isn’t many more trips to be done there.
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Title
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Book 5, Return to UK
Description
An account of the resource
Fifth and final diary kept by David Geach chronicling his time training and on operations. He writes about his return from Canada on the Queen Elizabeth then his training in England which began with arriving at the Posting Centre in Pannal Ash, Harrogate. He was then posted to AFU Bobbington, training on Ansons. From there he went to O.T.U. Hixon and satellite station Seighford training on Wellingtons. He then went to Flying Conversion Unit Woolfox Lodge to train on Stirlings. Once training was complete he was posted to RAF Downham Market on 623 Squadron flying Stirlings on operations. When 623 Stirling squadron was disbanded he was transferred on to Lancasters. He was posted to Flying Conversion Unit 1678 at RAF Waterbeach to train on the Lancaster and then on to RAF Witchford where he undertook operations over Germany, including a number on Berlin. Covers the period 17 March 1943 to 17 February 1944.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
David Geach
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One handwritten diary
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
YGeachDG1394781v5
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.
Great Britain
Scotland--Greenock
Scotland--Glasgow
Scotland--Edinburgh
England--Harrogate
England--Whitley Bay
England--Bournemouth
England--Stourbridge
England--Birmingham
England--Wolverhampton
England--Stafford
Canada
Ontario--Ottawa
Atlantic Ocean--Cardigan Bay
Wales--Rhyl
England--The Wash
England--Nottingham
Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man
England--Cannock
Wales--Aberystwyth
Scotland--Orkney
France--Saint-Malo
France--Rennes
France--Isigny-sur-Mer
France--Cherbourg
France--Avranches
England--Southampton
England--Stamford
England--Cambridge
England--Peterborough
England--Bedford
England--Portsmouth
Netherlands--Friesland
England--Cromer
France--La Rochelle
France--Gironde Estuary
France--Nantes
England--King's Lynn
Italy--Turin
North Africa
Gibraltar
England--Thames River
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Berlin
England--Ely
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Hamburg
Norway
Netherlands--Texel
Germany--Bremen
Denmark
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Germany--Brandenburg
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Hannover
England--Sunderland (Tyne and Wear)
Poland--Szczecin
Poland--Wrocław
England--Southend-on-Sea
Italy
Atlantic Ocean--Firth of Clyde
Poland
France
Ontario
Germany
Netherlands
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Bedfordshire
England--Durham (County)
England--Essex
England--Hampshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Norfolk
England--Northumberland
England--Sussex
England--Staffordshire
England--Worcestershire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Warwickshire
England--Selsey (West Sussex)
Wales--Caernarfon
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
David Bloomfield
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-03
1943-04
1943-05
1943-06
1943-07
1943-08
1943-09
1943-10
1943-11
1943-12
1944-01
1944-02
115 Squadron
149 Squadron
1678 HCU
196 Squadron
199 Squadron
214 Squadron
218 Squadron
30 OTU
514 Squadron
623 Squadron
90 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aerial photograph
air gunner
aircrew
Anson
anti-aircraft fire
B-17
bale out
bomb aimer
bombing
Catalina
Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
crewing up
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
entertainment
fear
flight engineer
Gee
ground personnel
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hurricane
incendiary device
Ju 88
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 2
Me 110
military living conditions
military service conditions
mine laying
Mosquito
navigator
Navy, Army and Air Force Institute
Nissen hut
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
pilot
RAF Chedburgh
RAF Downham Market
RAF Halfpenny Green
RAF Hixon
RAF Lindholme
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Seighford
RAF Tangmere
RAF Tuddenham
RAF Warboys
RAF Waterbeach
RAF Witchford
RAF Woolfox Lodge
Red Cross
sanitation
searchlight
Stirling
target indicator
target photograph
training
Typhoon
Victoria Cross
Wellington
wireless operator
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1339/22016/SValentineJRM1251404v10066.1.jpg
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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
Valentine, John. Ursula Valentine's newspaper cutting scrapbook
Description
An account of the resource
131 items contained in a scrapbook. Mainly newspaper cuttings of events from May 1942 to 1945.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
THE TIMES TUESDAY APRIL 27 1943
SOVIET NOTE TO POLES
A DIPLOMATIC RUPTURE
ANNOUNCEMENT BY M. MOLOTOV
A special announcement by the Soviet Government, quoted by Moscow radio, says that the Soviet Government have decided to break off diplomatic relations with the Polish Government.
The text of the declaration was contained in a Note handed by M. Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Commissar, to the Polish Ambassador in Moscow, M. Romer. The statement, which was broadcast from Moscow, was as follows:-
The recent attitude of the Polish Government in respect of the U.S.S.R. is regarded as absolutely abnormal by the Soviet Government and as disregarding all rules and normal procedure governing the relationship of two allied countries.
The campaign, hostile to the Soviet Government, started by the German Fascists concerning the Polish officers murdered by them in the area of Smolensk in the territory occupied by the Germans, was immediately seized upon by the Polish Government and in every way enlarged upon by the Polish official Press. Not only have the Polish Government failed to administer a rebuff to the perfidious Fascist calumny against the U.S.S.R., but they have not even deemed it necessary to address inquiries or requests for explanation to the Soviet Government in that connexion.
The Hitlerite [missing words]
THE TIMES THURSDAY MAY 6 1943
RUSSIA AND POLAND
MARSHAL STALIN’S STATEMENT TO “THE TIMES”
OFFER OF POST-WAR ALLIANCE
The desire of the Soviet Government to see a strong and independent Poland has been expressed by M. Stalin in a letter addressed to “The Times” Correspondent in Moscow. M. Stalin also suggested that a Soviet-Polish alliance might be formed after the war.
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
Soviet note to Poles and Russia and Poland
Description
An account of the resource
Article 1. Headlines: Soviet note to Poles, a diplomatic rupture, announcement by Mr Molotov. Article 2. Headlines: Russia and Poland, Marshal Stalin's statement to "The Times", offer of post war alliance.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Times
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-04-27
1943-05-06
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two newspaper cuttings mounted on a scrapbook page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SValentineJRM1251404v10066
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Poland
Russia (Federation)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-04
1943-05
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. 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
David Bloomfield
Steve Baldwin
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Workflow A completed
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1339/22017/SValentineJRM1251404v10067.2.jpg
d1fc3ec5070b434e1845b10dfd096524
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
Valentine, John. Ursula Valentine's newspaper cutting scrapbook
Description
An account of the resource
131 items contained in a scrapbook. Mainly newspaper cuttings of events from May 1942 to 1945.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
THE TIMES SATURDAY MAY 8 1943
TUNIS AND BIZERTA CAPTURED
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF ALLIED VICTORY
AXIS FORCES OVERWHELMED
RELENTLESS BOMBING BY ALLIED AIRCRAFT
The capture of Tunis and Bizerta was announced late last night by Allied Headquarters in North Africa. The announcement also confirmed the capture of Ferryville by American forces, which was reported earlier yesterday.
During their rapid retreat to Tunis and Bizerta the Axis forces were subjected to intense air attacks by allied aircraft.
The Eighth Army has made a local attack south-east of Saouaf, and there has been much artillery and patrol activity on the southern front.
OBSERVER, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 1943
Fleeing Germans Chased Towards Cape Bon
British Tanks Aim to Cut Line of Retreat
Prisoners’ Total Exceeds 10,000
R.A.F. Sinks 39 Ships, Ends ‘Dunkirk’ Chance
The Allied armies in Tunisia were, last night, aiming to cut off the masses of German troops heading for the Cape Bon peninsula.
EISENHOWER’S PRAISE
‘Full of Admiration for First Army’
ALLIED H.Q., North Africa, May 8
GENERAL EISENHOWER, just back from a visit to the front, stated to-day that he was filled with admiration for the men of the First Army, who had fought over the mountain terrain in Tunisia ever since the Allied landings six months ago.
“What impressed me more than anything also during my visit to the forward areas has been the perfection of co-ordination developed among the Allied,” he stated.
“Many of the little differences that you would expect among Allied forces have disappeared. Everybody is one hundred per cent. for every-[missing words]
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
Tunis and Bizerta captured and fleeing Germans chased towards Cape Bon
Description
An account of the resource
Article 1. The Times headlines: Tunis and Bizerta captured, official announcement of allied victory, relentless bombing by allied aircraft. Article 2. The Observer headlines: Fleeing Germans chased towards Cape Bon, British tanks aim to cut line of retreat, prisoners' totals exceeds 10,000, RAF sinks 39 ships, ends Dunkirk chance. Mentions Eisenhower praise for first army.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Times
The Observer
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-05-08
1943-05-09
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two newspaper cuttings mounted on a scrapbook page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SValentineJRM1251404v10067
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
Wehrmacht
British Army
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Tunisia
Tunisia--Tunis
Tunisia--Bizerte
Tunisia--Sharīk Peninsula
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05
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. 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
David Bloomfield
Steve Baldwin
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Workflow A completed
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1890 - 1969)
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1339/22018/SValentineJRM1251404v10068.2.jpg
fcff13da318bc84fdffc79e9d81d77ce
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
Valentine, John. Ursula Valentine's newspaper cutting scrapbook
Description
An account of the resource
131 items contained in a scrapbook. Mainly newspaper cuttings of events from May 1942 to 1945.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
THE TIMES MONDAY MAY 10 1943
50,000 PRISONERS TAKEN IN TUNISIA
THREE GERMAN DIVISIONAL COMMANDERS
LUFTWAFFE WITHDRAWN FROM THE BATTLE
RESISTANCE BREAKING UP
CAPE BON PENINSULA BLOCKADED
“INTENSE ACTIVITY” BY THE NAVY
AIRCRAFT ATTACK TRAPPED ENEMY WITHOUT RESPITE
HEAVY FIGHTING NEAR TUNIS
THE TIMES TUESDAY MAY 11 1943
GIRAUD AND DE GAULLE
MEETING-PLACES PROPOSED
It was made known yesterday that General Giraud had invited General de Gaulle to meet him either at Marrakesh of Biskra, in Algeria. The invitation was given in a note handed to General Catroux on April 27, in reply to the French National Committee.
In his note General Giraud said:- “After this meeting, with our agreement concluded, we will go together to Algiers and start on our work without any looking back.” He emphasized the necessity of complete agreement on the point that the French people, once they were liberated, would have to form a Provisional Government according to the means provided by law.
In a broadcast yesterday General Giraud announced a new war loan to help to arm the French forces in Africa.
“We need still more arms,” he said. “France is no longer vanquished – she is on the road to victory.”
General Giraud has accepted proposals by General Catroux under which he and General de Gaulle would preside over a French executive committee in turn, Algiers Radio said last night.
The committee itself would have the power to decide all essential matters until France is liberated, and there would then be substituted for it a provisional government selected through the general councils. The assembly of general councillors would, however, set a date for a national election to be held when all war prisoners and workers deported to Germany had returned to France.
Algiers Radio pointed out that the method of selecting a provisional government was laid down in the Constitution of 1872. – [italics] British United Press. [/italics]
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
Two cuttings and an article: 50,000 prisoners taken in Tunisia, Cape Bon peninsula blockaded, article Giraud and de Gaulle
Description
An account of the resource
Cutting 1. Headlines: 50,000 prisoners taken in Tunisia, three German divisional commanders, Luftwaffe withdrawn from battle, resistance breaking up. Cutting 2. Headlines: Cape Bon peninsular blockaded, intense activity by the navy, aircraft attack trapped enemy without respite, heavy fighting near Tunis. Article headlines: Giraud and de Gaulle, meeting places proposed.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Times
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-05-10
1943-05-11
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three newspaper cuttings mounted on a scrapbook page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SValentineJRM1251404v10068
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 Navy
British Army
Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Tunisia
Tunisia--Tunis
Tunisia--Sharīk Peninsula
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05
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. 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
David Bloomfield
Steve Baldwin
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Workflow A completed
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1339/22019/SValentineJRM1251404v10069.2.jpg
e7b2a1e12fe31420aa5565bed03e7142
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
Valentine, John. Ursula Valentine's newspaper cutting scrapbook
Description
An account of the resource
131 items contained in a scrapbook. Mainly newspaper cuttings of events from May 1942 to 1945.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
THE TIMES THURSDAY MAY 13 1943
FINAL AXIS COLLAPSE IN TUNISIA
ALL ORGANIZED RESISTANCE AT AN END
MOUNTING TOTAL OF PRISONERS NOW 150,000
VON ARNIM CAPTURED
A GREAT VICTORY ACCLAIMED
THE KING’S CONGRATULATIONS TO GENERAL EISENHOWER
MARSHAL STALIN’S TRIBUTE
The victory in Tunisia has been widely acclaimed. The King has sent a message of congratulation to General Eisenhower. Mr. Churchill has received messages from Marshal Stalin and General Smuts.
ALLIED CONFERENCES IN AMERICA
PRIME MINISTER AND PRESIDENT
FIELD-MARSHAL WAVELL IN BRITISH PARTY
Mr. Churchill, who, as announced in later editions of “The Times” yesterday, has arrived in the United States for conferences with President Roosevelt, is accompanied not only by the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the First Sea Lord, and the Chief of the Air Staff, but by Field-Marshal Sir Archibald Wavell and the Commanders of the other fighting services in the Indian theatre.
THE AFRICAN VICTORY
PRISONERS EXCEED 200,000
FORCES THANKED BY PARLIAMENT
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, NORTH AFRICA, May 18. – General Eisenhower, allied commander-in-chief in North Africa, announced to-night that the total count of prisoners taken in Tunisia now exceeds 200,000. – [italics] Reuter. [/italics]
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
Four cuttings: final axis collapse in Tunisia, great victory acclaimed, allied conferences in America, the African victory
Description
An account of the resource
Cutting 1. Headlines: final axis collapse in Tunisia, all organised resistance at an end, mounting total of prisoners now 150,000, von Arnim captured. Cutting 2. Headlines: a great victory acclaimed, the King's congratulations to General Eisenhower, Marshall Stalin's tribute. Cuttuing 3. Headlines: allied conferences in America, prime minister and president, Field-Marshall Wavell in British party. Cutting 4. Headlines: the African victory, prisoners exceed 200,000, forces thanked by parliament.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Times
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-05-13
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Four newspaper cuttings mounted on an album page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SValentineJRM1251404v10069
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
British Army
Wehrmacht
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Tunisia
United States
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05
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. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
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David Bloomfield
Steve Baldwin
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Workflow A completed
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1890 - 1969)
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (1882-1945)
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1339/22022/SValentineJRM1251404v10072.2.jpg
7c28aefa9d86dc5ac4013a2607103909
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
Valentine, John. Ursula Valentine's newspaper cutting scrapbook
Description
An account of the resource
131 items contained in a scrapbook. Mainly newspaper cuttings of events from May 1942 to 1945.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
THE OBSERVER, SUNDAY, MAY 23, 1943
The Comintern Dissolved
Goebbel’s “Bolshevic Bogy” Robbed of its Sting
Russia Closer To the Allies
Washington. Hints at Likely Meeting with Stalin
It was announced in Moscow yesterday that the Comintern, the international Communist organisation otherwise known as the Third International, has been dissolved.
The first implication of the dissolution is to rob Goebbels’s “Bolshevik bogy” of its sting, but it has deeper significance. Messages from Washington last night suggested it is the first of a series of Russo-British-U.S. moves preceding a meeting of Mr. Churchill, President Roosevelt, and Mr. Stalin.
“One of the prime motives behind the dissolution,” cables the B.U.P. correspondent in Moscow, “is the desire to facilitate closer co-operation between Russia, Britain, and the United States after the war as well as at present, and perhaps to achieve some form of post-war collective security.”
The resolution bringing the Comintern to an end stressed the necessity of eliminating inter-labour factional strife in the interests of all-out support for the Allied war effort. All national Communist parties were urged to concentrate on the war of liberation from Fascism.
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
The Comintern dissolved
Description
An account of the resource
Article headlines: the comintern dissolved, Goebbel's "Bolshevik Bogy" robbed of its sting, Russia closer to the allies, Washington hints at likely meeting with Stalin.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Observer
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-05-23
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One newspaper cutting mounted on a scrapbook page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SValentineJRM1251404v10072
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
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05
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. 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
David Bloomfield
Steve Baldwin
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Workflow A completed
-
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2124/22083/PCulkinJ17010027.1.jpg
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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
Culkin, Jean. Album
Description
An account of the resource
64 items. An album containing photographs and newspaper cuttings from her husband John George Mackel Culkin's service as ground crew in North Africa and Italy, and Hong Kong post war.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
John George Mackel Culkin
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
Culkin, J
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
Misurata North Africa
Description
An account of the resource
Page captioned 'Misurata N/Africa May 1943, On guard, tented accom, visit to Leptis Magna'.
Five photographs, first is of Jack, rifle slung over shoulder, tin hat on, standing on a rocky outcrop, desert background. Captioned, 'Misurata, North Africa May 1943'.
Second is of Roman ruins with inscription.
Third is of a group of four servicemen outside a tent, with Jack wearing a flying helmet pretending to be a pilot. Captioned 'Missurata North Africa May 1943, Daft aren't we! Graves, self, Wigley & Watson. Graves killed a few days later. Two days in fact.'
Fourth is of five servicemen grouped around a small statue. Captioned 'Leptus Magna, Hommes, North Africa, May 1943, day out trip from Misurata. Graves, ?, self, Wigley, O'Hanlon. Graves was killed a few days later, a/c blown up'.
Fifth is of a group of men in the sea, beach in the background, Captioned 'Self middle front row'.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Five b/w photographs on an album page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCulkinJ17010018, PCulkinJ17010019, PCulkinJ17010020, PCulkinJ17010021, PCulkinJ17010022, PCulkinJ17010023, PCulkinJ17010024, PCulkinJ17010025, PCulkinJ17010026, PCulkinJ17010027
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Libya
North Africa
Libya--Miṣrātah
Libya--Leptis Magna (Extinct city)
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.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-05
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05
ground crew
ground personnel
military living conditions
military service conditions