John Horsburgh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France--Falaise]]> France--Limoges]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> New South Wales--Narrandera]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> Victoria--Point Cook]]> Victoria]]> New South Wales]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1943-06]]> 1944-08]]> 1944-09-11]]> 1944-10-07]]> 1945-12-09]]> Julian Maslin]]> This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1943-06]]>
Geoff was born and lived in the same area of Grimsby all his life, at the date of his interview he was 93. The first part of the interview concentrated on his experience of finding a German butterfly bomb close to his home, Geoff described how after an air raid the local children would explore the local area looking for shrapnel. On this particular day when he was about 13, he and a friend found this device which looked different, he asked a soldier what it might be but he didn’t know. His friends father did not want it in their house and Geoff’s father said the same thing although they did not know what it was. Geoff was standing outside their house when a bomb disposal team came by probably looking for the bomblets. They told Geoff to drop it they then surrounded it with sandbags and detonated it with a small explosive charge which blew out some of the house windows. Geoff considered himself to be lucky as although they had mistreated the device it had not exploded, he also made the point that no one knew what they were as the authorities decided not to issue any information about the bomblets. He could not remember any anti aircraft guns locally but did remembers a large gun nearby.
Geoff described how his father a fisherman had build an Anderson air-raid shelter in their back garden and when the sirens alerted them to a raid the whole family gathered there. He described how one night a German aircraft caught in the searchlight beam dived down and dropped their bomb quite close to the house. He made the point that air raids on Grimsby were not that frequent unlike Hull just across the river, although Grimsby at that time was a major fishing port where literally you could cross the harbour stepping from one trawler to the next. Geoff remembered that early in the war the aircraft they saw were German but later on the large formations of Lancasters were evident.
Having left school at 14 he went to work at the local Rolls Royce dealership as an apprentice but disliked the work. Just post the European war conscription was still in place but Geoff volunteered to join the army for five years as you could choose your job and were paid more. He was trained as a signaller, his initial posting was the army headquarters in Paris which as it was just post war Eisenhour and Montgomery were there. Geoff was then posted to Egypt which was very different to Paris, living in tents awful food. Another lucky escape happened there, with a group of soldiers they were digging trenches by hand to be used as latrines, a fellow corporal told Geoff take your troops and go for a break then come back and relieve me, but the trench collapsed and killed them as Geoff and his group were on break.
Having completed his time in the army Geoff became a lorry driver during the week and a taxi driver at the weekend and he remembered the filming of Memphis Belle at RAF Binbrook.
Almost as a postscript Geoff remembered another lucky escape, early in the war in many towns and cities the school children were evacuated to safer areas to escape the German bombers. He remembers being gathered at school expecting to be told that they were being evacuated to Canada but a ship carrying evacuees had been sunk near the Canadian coast so the plan was abandoned. ]]>
Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Trevor Hardcastle]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Grimsby]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> North Africa]]> Egypt]]> 1943-06]]>
Flying training commenced at RAF Booker on Tiger Moths and he was then sent out of England as part of the Empire Training Scheme. Flying training on Stearman aircraft recommenced at Lakeland in Florida followed by multi-engined training at Macon in Georgia and Valdosta for advanced training. In October 1942 he became a pilot under the American Army Air Force System and declined an offer to stay and become an instructor.
Returning to Britain on an unescorted Queen Elizabeth liner, he trained on Oxfords at RAF Little Rissington. Posted to RAF Harwell to fly, in Bluey's terms "clapped out Wellingtons" he describes the system for forming a crew. They were posted to RAF Riccall to fly the Halifax.
The next posting was to an operational squadron at RAF Lissett where he did his first operational flight to Krefeld in June 1943 and trips to Berlin, Cologne and Mannheim. After his trip to Krefeld, his rear gunner refused to fly and was removed. On his second trip to Mannheim, Bluey's aircraft was struck by a bomb from an aircraft flying above. They had to reduce height and so used Window to disguise their location. The final trip was to Berlin in November 1943 and, having completed his tour, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Bluey never flew again. Sent to Tilly Whim, Bluey was trained to operate Oboe and explains the device. Posted to an Oboe station at RAF Winterton to monitor junior operatives, he met his future wife.
After the war had finished he became an instructor on the Link Trainer and sent to various RAF stations and finally to RAF Marham from where he was demobilised and returned to civilian life. In civilian life, employment in the farm feed industry was followed by time in the lubricant industry until retirement. Bluey compiled a register of all crews that flew with 158 Squadron and formed a Squadron association in 1947, of which he became president, and organised a memorial to the squadron at former RAF Lissett.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Canada]]> United States]]> Florida]]> Florida--Lakeland]]> Georgia]]> Georgia--Macon]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> 1943-06]]> 1943-11]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Bawtry]]> Germany]]> Germany--Cologne]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1942-11]]> 1943-06]]> 1943-06-09]]> 1943-06-16]]> 1943-06-17]]> Mary Gardner]]> Roger Manuel]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Devon]]> England--Torquay]]> Wales--Aberystwyth]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Cirencester]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Ostend]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Worcestershire]]> France]]> France--Calais]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Essen]]> Libya]]> Libya--Tobruk]]> Germany--Wangerooge Island]]> Wales--Treforest]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Czech Republic]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1940-10-17]]> 1940-09-20]]> 1940-11-05]]> 1940-10-28]]> 1941-04-27]]> 1942-04-22]]> 1943-05-15]]> 1943-06]]> 1943-08]]> 1943-09]]> 1943-10]]> 1943-12]]> 1944]]> 1944-02]]> 1944-04]]> 1944-06-10]]> 1944-09]]> 1945-03-18]]> 1945-04-25]]> 1945-10]]> 1954-10]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> New Zealand]]> New Zealand--New Plymouth]]> 1943-06]]> On the reverse 'Taken after passing out at Gunnery School Stormy Down June 43'.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Wales--Bridgend]]> 1943-06]]> AV Roe]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1943-06]]>
This item is available only at the International Bomber Command Centre / University of Lincoln. ]]>
A V Roe & Co Limited]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1943-06]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association. Darch, NJ]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association. Darch, NJ]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hemsworth, Ron collection. Subsection F]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association. Darch, NJ]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hemsworth, Ron collection. Subsection F]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association. Darch, NJ]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hemsworth, Ron collection. Subsection F]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association. Darch, NJ]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hemsworth, Ron collection. Subsection F]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hemsworth, Ron collection. Subsection F]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Darch, NJ]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association. Darch, NJ]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association. Darch, NJ]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1943-06]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hemsworth, Ron collection. Subsection F]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland]]> 1943-06]]>