1
25
18
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2519/43774/LBraithwaiteW1293577v1.2.pdf
c570dde17e831e54b65a69c848a0f1db
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
Braithwaite, Walter
W Braithwaite
Description
An account of the resource
21 items. The collection concerns Walter Braithwaite (1293577 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, note book and photographs. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 77 and 171 Squadrons. <br /><br />There is also a photograph <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2562">album</a> with 49 items. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by M Braithwaite and catalogued by Benjamin Turner.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-10-22
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
Braithwaite, W
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
Walter Braithwaite’s Observer’s and Air Gunner’s flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Walter Braithwaite’s Observer’s and Air Gunner’s flying log book which includes a majority of his training, both stationed in Britain and Canada. Flights are recorded from the 2nd July 1942 to 13th July 1945. Walter began operations on 17th September 1943 after training. Braithwaite flew mainly as an air bomber. Braithwaite had numerous postings during training, but operationally, he served at RAF Elvington and RAF Full Sutton with 77 Squadron and at RAF North Creake with 171 Squadron. Aircraft included the Anson, Bolingbroke, Battle and Halifax. Braithwaite was involved in 43 operations (35 at night and 8 in the day). Operations took place over northern France, Normandy, Caen, Palaiseau, Saint-Lô ,Somme, Montreuil, Le Mans ,Amiens, Lille, Laon, Nieppe Forest. In Germany: Cologne, Essen, Bochum, Duisburg, Düren, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hannover, Jülich, Kassel,Krefeld, Neuruppin, Oberhausen,Ruhr, Schleswig-Holstein, Stuttgart, Wanne-Eickel. In Belgium: Brussels and Ottignies. His pilots on operations were Squadron Leader Procter, Flying Officer Hunter and Sergeant Mills. Furthermore, Walter Braithwaite did a number of ‘Gardening’ operations and later in 1945 took part in Special Duties and was “shot up by an intruder.” Braithwaite baled out and landed at USAAF Knettishall.
The last pages of the logbook contain four b/w photographs of Walter Braithwaite, airmen standing in front of an aircraft and a man playing basketball.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943-09-17
1943-09-18
1943-09-21
1943-10-02
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-10-18
1943-10-22
1943-11-26
1943-12-20
1944-01-21
1944-01-27
1944-02-08
1944-02-11
1944-02-15
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-02-22
1944-02-24
1944-02-28
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-08
1944-03-15
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-23
1944-03-29
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-09
1944-04-10
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-05-12
1944-05-13
1944-05-24
1944-05-25
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-11
1944-06-12
1944-06-16
1944-06-17
1944-06-18
1944-06-19
1944-06-24
1944-06-25
1944-06-27
1944-06-28
1944-07-01
1944-07-11
1944-07-12
1944-07-13
1944-07-17
1944-07-19
1944-07-23
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-07-26
1944-07-28
1944-08-08
1944-08-09
1944-09-09
1944-09-12
1944-09-20
1944-09-21
1945-02-27
1945-02-28
1945-03-03
1945-04-08
1945-04-14
1945-04-15
1945-04-19
1945-04-20
1945-04-23
1945-04-24
1945-05-16
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Norfolk
England--Yorkshire
France
France--Normandy
France--Somme
France--Amiens
France--Caen
France--Palaiseau
France--Saint-Lô
France--Montreuil
France--Le Mans
France--Lille
France--Laon
France--Nieppe Forest
Belgium
Belgium--Brussels
Belgium--Ottignies
Germany
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Schleswig-Holstein
Germany--Neuruppin
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düren (Cologne)
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Jülich
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wanne-Eickel
Canada
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
Royal Canadian Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Benjamin Turner
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LBraithwaiteW1293577v1
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.
10 OTU
1652 HCU
171 Squadron
21 OTU
24 OTU
77 Squadron
aircrew
Anson
bale out
Battle
Bolingbroke
bomb aimer
bombing
Bombing and Gunnery School
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Cook’s tour
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Halifax Mk 5
Heavy Conversion Unit
mine laying
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
RAF Elvington
RAF Full Sutton
RAF Honeybourne
RAF Marston Moor
RAF Moreton in the Marsh
RAF North Creake
RAF St Eval
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1847/37688/LGalenP[Ser -DoB]v1.pdf
fd3a8e54907a40fa7df5e641364b5e64
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
Blyth, Thomas Sidley
T S Blyth
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
2017-05-16
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
Blyth, TS
Description
An account of the resource
Twenty-one items. The collection concerns Thomas Sidley Blyth (b. 1913, Royal Air Force) and contains a mascot, documents and pictures as well as Peter Galan's, log book and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 51 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ronald Blyth and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
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
Peter Galan's (Thomas Blyth's navigator) - navigators flying log book
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
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LGalenP[Ser#-DoB]v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Description
An account of the resource
Peter Galan’s Flying Log Book from 2 May 1943 to 26/27 March 1944, detailing training and operations as a navigator. His pilots on operations were Flying Officer Blyth and Flight Sergeant Foster. Based at RAF Abingdon (No. 10 Operational Training Unit), RAF Riccall (1658 Conversion Unit), RAF Snaith (51 Squadron). Aircraft flown: Whitley, Halifax. Records a total of 30 night operations. Targets in France and Germany are: Aachen, Berlin, Bochum, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Kassel, Le Mans, Leipzig, Leverkusen, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Modane, Montbéliard, Montluçon, Remscheid, Schweinfurt, Stuttgart and Trappes.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-07-13
1943-07-14
1943-07-15
1943-07-16
1943-07-24
1943-07-25
1943-07-26
1943-07-27
1943-07-28
1943-07-29
1943-07-30
1943-07-31
1943-08-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-24
1943-09-05
1943-09-06
1943-09-15
1943-09-16
1943-09-17
1943-09-22
1943-09-23
1943-09-24
1943-09-29
1943-09-30
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-05
1943-10-09
1943-10-10
1943-10-22
1943-10-23
1943-11-20
1943-11-21
1943-11-26
1943-11-27
1943-12-04
1943-12-05
1943-12-20
1943-12-21
1944-01-21
1944-01-22
1944-02-21
1944-02-22
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-13
1944-03-14
1944-03-18
1944-03-19
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
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.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
England--Oxfordshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Le Mans
France--Modane
France--Montbéliard
France--Montluçon
France--Yvelines
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Remscheid
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
Cara Walmsley
10 OTU
1658 HCU
51 Squadron
aircrew
bomb struck
bombing
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
bombing of Kassel (22/23 October 1943)
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Heavy Conversion Unit
navigator
Operational Training Unit
RAF Abingdon
RAF Riccall
RAF Snaith
training
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1406/36527/MRosserLV745193-190517-180001.2.jpg
82372fef3751b595ac2cdba5b3119c8a
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
Rosser, Lewis Victor
L V Rosser
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
2019-05-17
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
Rosser, LV
Description
An account of the resource
154 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Lewis Victor Rosser (b. 1919, 745193 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, a diary of his operations, notebooks, documents, correspondence and an album. He flew operations as a pilot with 35, 58, 51 and 115 Squadrons. <br /><br />The collection includes a <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2133">Photograph album</a> with photographs of people and aircraft, artwork cards, newspaper cuttings and documents. <br /><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ann Godard and Joy Shirley and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
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
Pilot's and flight engineers notes for Stirling
A.P 1660 A & D - P.N.
Description
An account of the resource
For Stirling i, III, IV with Hercules X1, V1 or XVI engines. Drawing of aircraft under title.
This item is available only at the International Bomber Command Centre / University of Lincoln.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-03-06
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-03-06
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
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Printed book cover
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MRosserLV745193-190517-18
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
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Air Ministry
aircrew
flight engineer
pilot
Stirling
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1903/36302/PSparkesW17010012.1.jpg
c6b89519ea1f30fc7927853660986247
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
Sparkes, Ned
William Sparkes
W Sparkes
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
2017-07-16
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
Sparkes, W
Description
An account of the resource
56 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant William "Ned" Sparkes (1601722 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book and an album with photographs, newspaper cuttings and documents including descriptions of his operations. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 431 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Clive Sparkes and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
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
Operations, the railway plan
Description
An account of the resource
Top - a note explaining the railway plan in preparation for Operation Overlord, attacks on French railway system.
Top left - extract from Ned Sparkes's logbook from 1 March 1944 to 29 March 1944 with operations to Trappes, Le Mans (twice), Brest, Amiens (twice), Contrai and Vaires (Paris).
Top right - short document entitled The Overlord debate about Harris being directed to carry out attacks on 6 marshalling yards in France instead of pointblank directive targets
Bottom - eight short documents giving details of eight operations including numbers and types of aircraft used, results, civilian casualties, other comments, bomber losses if any and minor operations.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-03-01
1944-03-04
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-09
1944-03-11
1944-03-13
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-26
1944-03-29
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Durham
France
France--Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
France--Le Mans
France--Brest
France--Amiens
Belgium
Belgium--Kortrijk
France--Paris
France--Vaires-sur-Marne
England--Durham (County)
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
Royal Canadian Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One typed document, one extract from log book and nine printed documents mounted on an album page
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PSparkesW17010012
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
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Sparkes, Ned. Album
3 Group
4 Group
431 Squadron
5 Group
6 Group
8 Group
aircrew
bombing
flight engineer
Halifax
Lancaster
mine laying
Mosquito
RAF Croft
Stirling
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1903/36265/LSparkesW1601723v1.2.pdf
25a3efac8fffa42cd5b1a9de735e984e
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
Sparkes, Ned
William Sparkes
W Sparkes
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
2017-07-16
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
Sparkes, W
Description
An account of the resource
56 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant William "Ned" Sparkes (1601722 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book and an album with photographs, newspaper cuttings and documents including descriptions of his operations. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 431 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Clive Sparkes and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
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
W Sparkes’ navigator’s, air bomber’s and air gunner’s flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Navigator’s, air bomber’s and air gunner’s flying log book for W Sparkes, flight engineer, covering the period from 30 August 1943 to 20 April 1952. Detailing his flying training, operations flown, instructor duties and post war flying with number 5 Ferry Pool, 241 Operational Conversion Unit, and 297, 53, 511 Squadrons. He was stationed at RAF St Athan, RAF Topcliffe, RAF Tholthorpe, RAF Croft, RAF Husbands Bosworth, RAF Bruntingthorpe, RAF Cottesmore, RAF Silloth, RAF Edzell, RAF Dishforth, RAF Schleswiglande and RAF Lyneham. Aircraft flown in were Halifax, Wellington, Lancaster, Lincoln, Fairchild, Warwick, Dakota, Anson, Dominie, Mosquito and Hastings. He flew a total of 36 operations with 431 Squadron, 34 night and 2 daylight. Targets were Dusseldorf, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Berlin, Trappes, Le Mans, Brest, Amiens, Courtrai, Vaires, Karlsruhe, Essen, Somain, St Ghislaine, St Valery, Boulogne, Calais, Merville, Conde-sur-Noireau, Arras, Wizernes, Biennais, Bremont, Dognes, Hamburg, Foret de Nieppe and St Leu D’Esserent. His pilot on operations was Flying Officer Badgery.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-11-03
1943-11-04
1943-12-03
1943-12-04
1943-12-20
1943-12-21
1943-12-29
1943-12-30
1944-01-20
1944-01-21
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-08
1944-03-11
1944-03-12
1944-03-13
1944-03-14
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-17
1944-03-26
1944-03-29
1944-03-30
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-05-01
1944-05-02
1944-05-07
1944-05-08
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-06-04
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-09
1944-06-10
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-06-28
1944-06-29
1944-07-01
1944-07-02
1944-07-13
1944-07-14
1944-07-18
1944-07-19
1944-07-23
1944-07-24
1944-07-28
1944-07-29
1944-08-03
1944-08-04
1944-08-05
1944-08-06
1944-08-25
1944-08-26
1945
1946
1949
1950
1951
1952
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Belgium--Kortrijk
Belgium--Saint-Ghislain
England--Cumbria
England--Durham (County)
England--Leicestershire
England--Rutland
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Amiens
France--Amiens Region
France--Arras
France--Brest
France--Calais
France--Condé-sur-Noireau
France--Creil
France--Dieppe (Arrondissement)
France--Donges
France--Le Mans
France--Merville-Franceville-Plage
France--Nieppe Forest
France--Paris Region
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Somain
France--Saint-Valery-en-Caux
France--Vaires-sur-Marne
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Schleswig-Holstein
Scotland--Angus
Wales--Glamorgan
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
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
Royal Air Force. Transport Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LSparkesW1601723v1
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
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
1659 HCU
1668 HCU
29 OTU
297 Squadron
431 Squadron
85 OTU
aircrew
Anson
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
C-47
Dominie
flight engineer
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Halifax Mk 5
Halifax Mk 7
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lincoln
Mosquito
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Bruntingthorpe
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Croft
RAF Dishforth
RAF Husbands Bosworth
RAF Lyneham
RAF Silloth
RAF St Athan
RAF Tholthorpe
RAF Topcliffe
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1970/33701/LWakefieldHE174040v1.1.pdf
6abf5d017113b82dd6d95a604f4f8667
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
Wakefield, Harold Ernest
H E Wakefield
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
2017-10-16
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
Wakefield, HE
Description
An account of the resource
93 items. The collection concerns Harold Ernest Wakefield DFC (1923 - 1986, 1582185 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, training publications, decorations and badges, training notebooks, correspondence, newspaper cuttings, photographs and parachute D ring.
He flew operations as a flight engineer with 51 and 617 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Jeremy Wakefield and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
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
Harrold Wakefield's navigator's, air bombers and air gunner's flying log book
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
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LWakefieldHE174040v1
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.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Description
An account of the resource
Harold Wakefield's RAF Navigator's, Air Bomber’s and Air Gunner's Flying Log Book, from 16th August 1943 to 16th August 1946, recording training, operations, instructional duties and Transport Command duties to India and the Far East as a flight engineer. Based at RAF Marston Moor (1652 Conversion Unit), RAF Snaith (51 Squadron), RAF North Luffenham (Heavy Glider Conversion Unit), RAF Syerston (5 Lancaster Finishing School), RAF Woodhall Spa (617 Squadron), RAF Riccall (1332 Heavy Conversion Unit), RAF Holmsley South (246 Squadron) and RAF Lyneham (511 Squadron). Aircraft in which flown: Halifax, Oxford, Whitley, Lancaster, Horsa Glider, York. Records a total of 59 operations in two tours (23 day, 36 night) including 10 returned early or did not drop bombs. Targets in France, Germany, Netherlands and Norway are: Alencon, Amiens, Arnsburg, Augsburg, Berlin, Bielfeld, Bochum, Bremen, Chateau Dun, Colline Beaumont, Dortmund Ems Canal, Dusseldorf, Essen, Farge, Fouillard, Frankfurt-Main, Hamburg, Hanover, Heligoland, Herquelingue, Ijmuiden, Kassel, Leipzig, Leverkusen, Lille, Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, Mont Fleury, Morsalines, Nienburg, Orleans, Oslo Fiord (German cruisers “Emden” and “Koln”), Politz, Poortershafen, Rotterdam, Stuttgart, Trappes and Urft Dam. His pilots on operations were Squadron Leader Johnson and Squadron Leader Calder. Also includes notes of dates of promotion and award of DFC, lists of crews and a picture of a Halifax Mk III. Some detailed notes on ops with 617 Squadron.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-09-22
1943-09-23
1943-09-24
1943-09-27
1943-09-28
1943-09-29
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-05
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-11-03
1943-11-18
1943-11-19
1943-11-22
1943-11-23
1943-11-25
1943-11-26
1943-12-03
1943-12-04
1943-12-29
1943-12-30
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-01-30
1944-01-31
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-02-25
1944-02-26
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-06
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-18
1944-03-19
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-04-09
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-08
1944-06-09
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-12-08
1944-12-11
1944-12-15
1944-12-15
1944-12-21
1944-12-29
1944-12-30
1944-12-31
1945-01-01
1945-02-03
1945-02-06
1945-02-08
1945-02-14
1945-02-22
1945-02-24
1945-03-13
1945-03-14
1945-03-15
1945-03-19
1945-03-21
1945-03-22
1945-03-23
1945-03-27
1945-04-06
1945-04-07
1945-04-09
1945-04-19
1946
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
France
Germany
Great Britain
India
Middle East
Netherlands
Norway
England--Hampshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Rutland
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Alençon
France--Amiens
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Brittany
France--Châteaudun
France--Lille
France--Normandy
France--Orléans
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Yvelines
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bielefeld
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Helgoland
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Nienburg (Lower Saxony)
Poland--Szczecin
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Urft Dam
Netherlands--Hoek van Holland
Netherlands--Ijmuiden
Netherlands--Rotterdam
Poland
Germany--Herne (Arnsberg)
Germany--Hannover
Atlantic Ocean--Oslofjorden
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Herquelingue
France--Morsalines
France--Ver-Sur-Mer
France--Manche
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
1652 HCU
51 Squadron
617 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Helgoland (18 April 1945)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Distinguished Flying Cross
flight engineer
Grand Slam
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Heavy Conversion Unit
Horsa
Ju 88
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Me 262
mid-air collision
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Oxford
promotion
RAF Lyneham
RAF Marston Moor
RAF North Luffenham
RAF Riccall
RAF Snaith
RAF Syerston
RAF Woodhall Spa
Tallboy
training
Whitley
York
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2047/33336/LBiltonGHA175723v1.1.pdf
16f63e7fb0b27a19684d3564ed2f2c0a
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
Bilton, George Henry Albert
G H A Bilton
Description
An account of the resource
Nineteen items. The collection concerns George Henry Albert Bilton (b. 1923, 175723 Royal Air Force) and contains an oral history interview, his log book, correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 428 and 434 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Anthony Bilton 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
2018-09-14
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
Bilton, GHA
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
George Bilton - observers and air gunners log book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LBiltonGHA175723v1
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
Royal Canadian Air Force
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending temporal coverage. Allocated
Pending review
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.
Description
An account of the resource
Observer's and Air Gunner's Flying log book for George Bilton, flight engineer, covering the period from 18 August 1943 to 1 August 1946. Detailing his final flying training, operations flown, instructional postings and flying in transports. He was stationed at RAF Croft, RAF Topcliffe, RAF Middleton St George, RAF Woolfox Lodge, RAF Warboys, RAF Upwood and RAF Wyton. Aircraft flown in were Halifax, Lancaster, Anson, Wellington and C-47. He flew a total of 34 operations with 428 and 434 Squadrons. Targets were Dusseldorf, Ludwigshaven, Stuttgart, Berlin, Kiel, La Rochelle, Copenhagen, minelaying, Trappes, Aulnoye, Lille, Villeneuve, St Ghislian, Le Crepiet, Disemont, Boulogne, Beinnies, Caen, Hamburg, Acquet, Foret de Nieppe, Paris, St Leu d'Esserent, Foret de Chantilly, La Breteque, Brunswick, Falaise and Brest. His pilot on operations was Wing Commander Watkins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Terry Hancock
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-06
1944-07
1944-08
1943-11-03
1943-11-18
1943-11-26
1943-11-27
1944-01-20
1944-01-21
1944-02-03
1944-02-04
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-21
1944-02-22
1944-02-25
1944-02-26
1944-03-03
1944-03-04
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-22
1944-03-23
1944-03-25
1944-03-26
1944-04-09
1944-04-10
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-29
1944-04-30
1944-05-01
1944-05-02
1944-05-07
1944-05-08
1944-05-27
1944-05-28
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-06-21
1944-07-01
1944-07-06
1944-07-18
1944-07-28
1944-07-29
1944-08-01
1944-08-03
1944-08-04
1944-08-05
1944-08-08
1944-08-09
1944-08-10
1944-08-12
1944-08-13
1944-08-14
1944-08-25
1944-08-26
1945-06-05
1945-06-08
1945-06-23
1945-06-29
1945-08-17
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Denmark
France
Germany
Great Britain
Denmark--Copenhagen
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Aulnoye-Aymeries
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Brest
France--Caen
France--Creil
France--Falaise
France--La Rochelle
France--Lille
France--Nieppe
France--Paris
France--Soligny-la-Trappe
France--Villeneuve-lès-Avignon
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
156 Squadron
1651 HCU
1659 HCU
1664 HCU
29 OTU
428 Squadron
434 Squadron
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of the Boulogne E-boats (15/16 June 1944)
C-47
Cook’s tour
flight engineer
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Halifax Mk 5
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
mine laying
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operation Dodge (1945)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Croft
RAF Middleton St George
RAF Topcliffe
RAF Upwood
RAF Warboys
RAF Woolfox Lodge
RAF Wyton
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/753/31389/LCotterJDP168678v1.1.pdf
2e158e31a5b92398f6315ebfee77f5de
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
Cotter, John David Pennington
J D P Cotter
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns Wing Commander John Cotter DFC (b. 1923, Royal Canadian Air Force) and contains an oral history interview, his log book and a memoir. He flew operations as a pilot with 158 and 640 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by John Cotter 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
2018-08-28
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
Cotter, JDP
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
J D Cotter’s Royal Canadian Air Force pilots flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Royal Canadian Air Force pilots flying log book for J D Cotter, covering the period from 11 January 1942 to 22 April 1944. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RCAF Caron, RCAF North Battleford, RAF Swanton Morley, RAF South Cerney, RAF Lulsgate Bottom, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Marston Moor, RAF Lissett and RAF Leconfield. Aircraft flown were, Tiger Moth, Oxford, Wellington and Halifax. He flew a total of 34 operations. One operation with 28 operational training unit, one with 1652 conversion unit 19 with 158 Squadron and 13 with 640 squadron. Targets were, Rouen, Cologne, Hamburg, Mannheim, Peenemunde, Leverkusen, Berlin, Modane, Hannover, Bochum, Kassel, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Schweinfurt, Trappes, Le Mans, Nuremberg, Paris and Tergnier. His first or second pilots on operations were Sergeant Mottershead and Pilot Officer Maxwell.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LCotterJDP168678v1
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 Canadian Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Gloucestershire
England--Leicestershire
England--Norfolk
England--Somerset
England--Yorkshire
France--Le Mans
France--Modane
France--Paris
France--Rouen
France--Tergnier (Canton)
France--Yvelines
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
Saskatchewan--North Battleford
Saskatchewan--Regina
Saskatchewan
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1943-05-04
1943-05-05
1943-06-28
1943-06-29
1943-07-24
1943-07-25
1943-07-27
1943-07-28
1943-07-29
1943-07-30
1943-08-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-09
1943-08-10
1943-08-17
1943-08-18
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-24
1943-08-25
1943-09-16
1943-09-17
1943-09-22
1943-09-23
1943-09-24
1943-09-27
1943-09-28
1943-09-29
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-05
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-10-23
1943-10-24
1943-11-03
1943-11-04
1943-11-22
1943-11-23
1943-11-25
1943-11-26
1943-11-27
1943-12-02
1943-12-03
1944-01-30
1944-01-31
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-08
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-09
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-17
1944-04-18
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
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.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
158 Squadron
1652 HCU
20 OTU
28 OTU
640 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
bombing of Kassel (22/23 October 1943)
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
Flying Training School
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Leconfield
RAF Lissett
RAF Marston Moor
RAF South Cerney
RAF Swanton Morley
RAF Wymeswold
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/753/31388/BCotterJDPCotterJDPv1.2.pdf
51801623ceddc1937a5f993bda2490ef
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
Cotter, John David Pennington
J D P Cotter
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns Wing Commander John Cotter DFC (b. 1923, Royal Canadian Air Force) and contains an oral history interview, his log book and a memoir. He flew operations as a pilot with 158 and 640 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by John Cotter 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
2018-08-28
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
Cotter, JDP
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
WING COMMANDER JOHN COTTER DFC
EXTRACTS FROM WAR DIARIES AND INFORMATION ON AIRCRAFT CREWS AND LISTS OF BOMBING RAIDS.
ACCOMPANYING ADDITIONS TO ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW 28th August 2018
[page break]
[underlined] A BOMBER CREW [/underlined]
I arrived at 28 Operational Training Unit, Bomber Command on 23rd February 1943.
The OTU was equipped with Wellington 1c aircraft and located at Wymeswold, near the town of Loughborough in Leicestershire. Most of the aircrew on my course were NCO's – sergeants – all the navigators were Canadian (RCAF). They also all wore the 'O' brevet which indicated that they had been trained as observers, i.e. navigators and bomb-aimers combined. But at this time the Air Force was splitting the duties of navigator and bomb-aimer and we had the new trade of bomb-aimer on our course. Initially most bomb-aimers were commissioned, as it was a new trade, and so most, if not all, the bomb aimers on our course were pilot officers.
There was a great deal of networking among the aircrew to sort themselves out into crews but I let matters take their course and eventually I was allocated a crew. So in my diary for 8th March I have put:
“At teatime in the Mess I met my navigator, a Canadian Called Andy Hicks. He seems a decent sort of chap.”
I think Andy must have been the first person crewed with me as it is not until 17th March that an air gunner, Wally Lomax, a wireless operator, Harry Reid and a bomb-aimer Norman Hawkridge, join the crew. We then started flying together – five of us. On 22nd March I was sent solo in the Wellington and the other 4 seemed quite happy with me. By 30th March we were going out in the evenings together as a crew, all except Norman, the bomb-aimer who lived in the Officers Mess. Anyway that evening we four sergeants went into Loughborough together – to the films (we saw a documentary “Desert Victory” and Alan Curtis in “Remember Pearl Harbour”).
The crew was given its first leave on Sunday 11th April and I invited Andy to come and stay at my home in North West London. Although he came from Calgary he had lost his mother in the Spanish flu epidemic of 1920 and the infant child had been brought over to Truro to be looked after by his grandmother: not returning to Canada until he was 8 years old. I think he had been down to Cornwall on a previous leave so he was glad of a break in London. My younger brother was away in the Air Force so Andy borrowed his civilian clothes for our trips into London. The leave was for 7 days and we packed a lot in during that week as the weather was superb. We met two Canadian friends of Andy who were both in the RCAF but were not aircrew. There is a photograph of the four of us at Hampton Court on a lovely sunny day – Andy and I in civilian clothes and Don and Hal in RCAF uniform. I never saw them again after that leave but Andy knew one of them in Alberta for many years after the War. One night we took my mother to dinner in London and then to the theatre to see Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard in “Watch on the Rhine”. We also saw Kay Hammond in 'Blithe Spirit' and a rather weak musical comedy.
2
After that leave Andy made my parents' flat his home and he used to spend half his leaves in Cornwall and half with us. When we got to the Squadron in July we found that crews were sent on leave for 7 days every six weeks. So Andy and I would go to my place for 3 days, then he would go to Paddington Station to catch the “Cornish Riviera” express down to Truro for 3 days. On the 7th day we would meet back in London and travel north together, back to the Squadron. We would always take my mother out to dinner and a show on every leave. At that time there was a very famous comedian called Sid Field and we would take Mother to one of his shows whenever he was appearing in London. Sid Field's female lead was Zoe Gail who used to appear on stage dressed in top hat and tails, complete with cane, singing “I'm Going to Get Lit up when the Lights Go On in London”. There was still a blackout throughout the country. Just after the War Sid Field died and then, some 10 years later, his leading lady, Zoe Gail, was crippled in a car accident. The two of us frequented the best restaurants (such as were still open – there was not much choice). Quite often we would dine at the Ritz Hotel which we could quite afford as no restaurant in wartime was allowed to charge more than 5 shillings for a meal. Hotels, such as the Ritz, would levy a cover charge of around the meal price to stop the riff-raff getting in. The only other crew member we would meet in London on our leaves was Bill Griffiths, our mid-upper gunner. Bill lived in Luton and we used to meet him in London or sometimes go up and stay at his parents' house. His mother was a very nice, attractive lady and she used to look after us very well.
The Canadian Forces had a club in London, just off Trafalgar Square, called the Beaver Club. Andy and I used to go there frequently on our leaves. We would quite often run out of money and we would go down to the RCAF accounts headquarters in Kensington. I would wait outside while Andy went in and drew some of his deferred pay to keep us going. On every leave we would pay at least one visit to a Turkish bath. The establishment we frequented was in Northumberland Avenue, just off Trafalgar Square. There, for a few shillings, we would endure a severe pummelling from the masseurs after going through hot, cold and steam baths. This would be followed by a two or three hour snooze followed by a call with tea and hot-buttered toast. We found it a wonderful tonic for a hangover. When my brother Paul had leave at the same time he would join us on our London escapades. Fortunately he had two suits so he and Andy would share the clothes.
Our flight commander at Wymeswold was Squadron Leader Penman and he was the first proper operational veteran that most of us had met. Penman was one of the survivors of a raid, in August 1942, on Augsburg. This was the last daylight raid by Bomber Command for nearly 2 years and had resulted in very heavy losses as only 5 aircraft, from an attacking force of 12 Lancasters had returned. The raid leader, Sqn. Ldr Nettleton, was awarded the VC and Penman received the DSO.
[page break]
3
At operational training unit crews finished off their course by undertaking a nickel raid. A nickel raid was a simple thing really although sometimes crews did not return. One's plane was loaded with leaflets and you flew across to France, Belgium or Holland and dropped all the leaflets which, I assume, encouraged all the occupied people to keep their chins up. So a nickel was a crew's operational baptism, although a reasonably mild one. My diary for 4th and 5th May 1943 reads:
“Got up about 11. Then went up and had dinner (lunch). After that went across to the link trainer and did an hour and a half which finishes me off (completes my link trainer programme). Then met Andy and found out that we were on a nickel. I nearly fainted! Bags of briefing and panic! Took off at 2130 and reached the (southern) English coast at 2359 where we wasted about an hour flying up and down trying to find Beachy Head (our departure point). Then crossed over to France. We had to drop leaflets on Rouen and we got caught in searchlights and then flak. Was I on pins! We were holed 5 times. Landed at Cranage (an airfield in North West of England) at 0400. Had no sleep at all. Got up at 0800: that is out of the chair that I occupied in the dump that the boys at this station call a Mess. I am still full of last night. Hung around all morning until at 1230 we got permission to take off. We got back to Wymeswold at about 1400 and after depositing our kit we went to the Intelligence Officer for an interrogation. Then to the Mess to proceed to shoot a line to all the boys. I was dog-tired however so Andy and I went and had a shower and then went to bed. Boy! Our first operation over – the 5 of us are walking around like fairies”.
At this stage our mid-upper gunner (Bill Griffiths) and our flight engineer (Mickey Rooney) had yet to join the crew. Bill Griffiths in fact joined us the next day, 6th May, and flew with us for the first time in place of Wally Lomax. On the Wellington we only had one gunner's turret – the rear – whereas we were obviously destined for Lancasters, Halifaxes or Stirlings all of which had positions for two gunners: a mid-upper and a rear gunner. When we arrived at this OTU we were told it normally supplied the Lancaster bomber squadrons.
On the 14th May 1943 we passed out, as a crew, from 28 OTU Wymeswold and we were off on 14 days leave. My diary stops at this time not to be resumed until September and then only for a short time. Anyway Andy came home with me for half the leave and spent the other half in Cornwall. We were posted to 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit at Marston Moor, just outside York. HCU's served to convert crews on to the heavy bombers to be flown on operations and when you passed the HCU course you went straight to your squadron. Marston Moor had been the site of a famous battle. On 2nd July 1644 the Royalist forces of King Charles I had suffered their first major defeat there and, consequently, lost control of York and so the North of England.
4
1652 HCU was one of three HCU's to feed 4 Group so we were not going on Lancasters but Halifaxes. No 4 Group was one of the two bomber groups stationed in Yorkshire – the other was 6 Group, the Canadian group. The Canadian stations were north of York and 4 Group was south and to the east. 6 Group was run by the RCAF but there were Australians, New Zealanders and British serving in the Group. 4 Group was RAF but many Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and one or two Americans were among our crews.
I was delayed getting to Marston Moor as I was sick at the end of my leave in London so Andy took charge of the crew. And accounts refused to pay them. Andy then went to the Station Warrant Officer to say the crew had no money and was owed 3 weeks pay but he got short thrift from this gnarled old pre-war NCO who probably thought these pip-squeak young sergeant aircrew were a damned nuisance. Just as Andy was protesting the Commanding Officer's door opened and out came the CO – Group Captain Leonard Cheshire, later a VC. He asked Andy the trouble, then turned to the SWO “See that these men are paid at once”. “Yes Sir!” said the SWO standing to attention. Cheshire at that time was 27 and a renowned bomber ace. He had been sent on a public relations tour of the United States and had come back to England with an American bride. This was Constance Binney who was 17 years older than Cheshire and a well-know Broadway actress. Some of the crew, I think Harry, Wally and Bill, were hitch-hiking back from York one day and they were picked up by Miss Binney whom they described as a very fragrant lady.
When I arrived at Marston Moor the crew introduced me to Mickey Rooney our flight engineer who was just joining us and now the crew was complete. I only had two instructors converting me to the Halifax: Sqn. Ldr Hadyn RAAF and Flt Lt Fisher, both very good. Shortly after we started flying the Halifax all the pilots were loaded into a 15cwt truck and driven east across Yorkshire. We were all going on a real operation that night, flying as second pilots. There were about six of us and one of us was dropped off each at a separate squadron base. Eventually I was the only one left on the truck and I was driven to the most easterly airfield – Lisset the home of 158 Squadron. The raid was to Cologne and I was put with Sgt ‘Bluey’ Mottershead and his crew. I had nothing to do, of course, but to sit in the right-hand seat and watch. Thank goodness our flight was uneventful: the weather was clear, the city was on fire long before we reached it and we did not come across any fighters. But Bomber Command lost 27 aircraft that night with 156 aircrew killed. When we turned for home after bombing I was so exhausted with the tension that I started to fall asleep. Bluey told me to go back and sleep on the rest bed and the next thing I knew was when the wheels touched the runway back at Lisset. Returning westwards in the 15cwt I was eventually joined by the others: we had all come through!
[page break]
5
Towards the end of July the course finished and my crew was posted to 158 Squadron where I had just been. Lisset is near the East Yorkshire coast and just south of the seaside resort of Bridlington. We travelled across to Lisset on Thursday 22nd July in another 15cwt truck to start our operational career and it was a nice sunny summer day. I recall we stopped and bought strawberries at a wayside stall on the way over. It was fairly late when we arrived at the Squadron base – I think about 2230. In those days the blackout and the absence of all road signs throughout Britain made road journeys rather long and tedious. Norman went off to the officers’ quarters and we six sergeants were allocated a Nissan hut as our very own. I think all six of us then drifted along to the Mess in search of something to eat. It was quite a sight when we reached it as there had just been a dance. Various chaps were occupying all the mess settees, accompanied by Waafs (Womens Auxiliary Airforce) with greatcoats covering their antics. The floor of the anteroom was covered in debris: cigarettes, glasses and beer spillages. At the far end of the long room a combined snooker and crap game seemed to be in progress with about 20 participants dominated by a tall, blonde flight sergeant dressed in the dark blue of the Australian Air Force. Six weeks later, after the Squadron Commander and one of the 3 Flight Commanders had been lost, that Australian had jumped 5 ranks to Squadron Leader and was our Flight Commander; remaining so nearly until the end of our tour.
Friday 23rd July was spent settling in and flying one of the Squadron aircraft for about 4 hours on a handling flight. Then, the next day, we were off on our first trip for the start of what became known as the Battle of Hamburg. This was the first of 4 successive attacks on the City in 9 days. This operation was notable for a new defensive device carried by the bombers called “Window”. Window consisted of small metallic strips of foil that were thrown out of each aircraft as it approached the target area. Harry, the wireless operator, had the job of throwing out the window strips, thousands came from each of the Wellingtons, Stirlings, Halifaxes and Lancasters taking part in this operation. Window confused the German ground and airborne radar and so we only lost about 12 aircraft that night, including one from our squadron.
We took off around 2200 and Andy expertly navigated us to Hamburg, although once we were within 50 miles of the City the fires on the ground indicated the target. I was the only one of the crew to cause a problem that night on our first proper operation. As we were running in over the target Norman found the bomb release did not work. After we had passed over the City with the bombs still on board Mickey, the engineer, came up to the cockpit to see what was wrong. I had pushed the bomb door lever down instead of pulling it up to open the doors. By now we were well to the north east of Hamburg and heading towards Lubeck. Instead of turning straight for home and safety we turned and completed a large circuit round the burning city and some half hour later we were on our second bombing run and this time I operated the lever correctly. When we bombed everyone else had finished and long since cleared the area. We should have been a
6
sitting duck for the night fighters but all those metallic strips floating in the air must have protected us. We took part in all four raids to Hamburg, although we aborted one operation when we turned back with engine trouble.
Lisset was a typical airfield built during the War with accommodation in well-dispersed Nissan huts. We 6 sergeants were in our own hut some half mile from the Sergeants Mess. The hut was heated by a coke-burning stove and was not too comfortable. We were saved by meeting Company Sergeant-Major Albert Hawkins. CSM Hawkins, known to all as 'Q', was in the Tank Corps and he was in charge of an Army sergeants mess located in a very nice house on the seafront in Bridlington. He persuaded his Mess to adopt our crew and from then on we lived and messed with the Army. Q provided us with transport whenever we were needed at the airfield but most of the time we were in Bridlington. By Christmas Day 1943 both Andy and I, as well as Norman, were commissioned but we spent the day with the Army serving Xmas dinners to all the squaddies.
When we arrived on 158 the Squadron was commanded by Wg. Cdr T.R. Hope, DFC. He was a big, bluff, likeable officer : a pre-war civil pilot. But we hardly knew him as some 3 weeks after our arrival he failed to return from a trip to Nuremburg. And, after another 3 weeks Sqn. Ldr Elliott, one of the flight commanders, also failed to return. The new squadron commander was the highly decorated Wg.Cdr. Jock Calder, DSO, DFC.
The station commander was Group Captain John Whitley, DSO. He had been shot down earlier in the War, evaded, and walked across the Pyrenees to Spain and freedom. He used to regale us with the story of the powerful American footballer in his evading party who had collapsed crossing the mountains – [underlined] because he was not fit [/underlined]. To this end he would have us running around the perimeter track on the occasional non-operational day. Fortunately our crew missed most of these exercises as we were probably lurking with the Army in Bridlington.
One crew who had been with us both at Wymeswoold and at Marston Moor had also arrived at 158. This was Sgt Doug Robinson and crew. Our favourite watering hole in Bridlington was the Brunswick and one night our two crews were there together. Doug's navigator was a Canadian, Dave Rosenthal, and he happened to say to me that if he was shot down he would not stand much chance as he was Jewish. It was the first time I began to think about what was happening to the Jews of Europe and then some weeks later Doug and crew failed to come back from Berlin.
By October 1943 our crew had completed 13 operations. I had now been promoted to flight sergeant and very pleased I was: my pay had gone from 12/6 to 16/6d a day. In the middle of that month David Leicester, our flight commander, asked us to travel to an
[page break]
7
airfield in the South of England to ferry back an aircraft that had been repaired. We jumped at the chance as this meant a night in London on the way down. My diary again:
“Up at 0830 (in the Army sergeants mess in Bridlington). The weather rotten but we had to go back to camp. Leicester asked me to take the crew down and collect a kite from Middle Wallop. We had to go by train from Hull. Norman went home to Leeds but the rest of the boys came with me. We had to stand in the train all the way from Doncaster to London. Got to London at 1930 and went along to the Regent Palace hotel and booked two double rooms. Bill and I had one room and we smuggled Wally into it and Andy and Harry got Mickey into their room.”
The point of this is that, in those days, a single room in the Regent Palace was 12/6d and a double was 19/6d, so we saved ourselves a few pennies. We slept three to a bed in the two rooms and in the middle of the night the air raid sirens went off. I don't know about Andy's room but in our room there was panic with all three of us trying to dive under the bed. Although my diary does not say as much, I have no doubt that our nerves were brittle because we had been out on the town that night and we probably all were a little smashed. My diary for the following day, Monday 18th October 1943, reads:
“Caught a bus for Andover at 0900 and we had to stand all the way for the two hour journey. At Andover had to find another bus to get us to Middle Wallop which turned out to be a night fighter base. After a lunch and messing about all afternoon found we could not take off. So we all had tea and went down to Andover to the movies. Saw Lana Turner in 'Slightly Dangerous'. Harry and I missed the last bus back to camp and we had to stay in the White Hart Hotel for the night which cost me 12/6d, all the money I had.”
What Harry Reid and I were doing to miss the bus I have forgotten but I expect we were up to no good!!
Diary for the 19th October :
“Harry and I caught the 0825 bus to Middle Wallop and heard that we could take off straight away. Got back to Lisset at 1200 to learn we were on ops. So had dinner and went up to the billet (spelt 'billett' throughout my diaries) to get changed. Wally reported sick so we were given a spare gunner. Got briefed and the target was Augsburg. Had ops meal and then went to locker room. Norman had not turned up but luckily the op was scrubbed. Met Norman on the way to Q's (CSM Hawkins our Army friend in Bridlington) So he came down with us. He had only just got back from Leeds.”
8
Another diary entry is for Saturday 30th October 1943. This must have been one of the rare nights the crew slept at the RAF base rather than with the Army in Bridlington:
“Got up at 0610, washed, dressed and had breakfast. Went down to the flights at 0900. Once again there were ops on so went out (to the aircraft) to do my D.I. (inspection). After that went up to the billet and got changed into battledress (obviously when we got up that morning we had dressed in our walking-out uniform expecting to Saturday off and a trip into Bridlington). Then had lunch and went down with Andy to navigation briefing. Once again target was Leverkusen. Went to main briefing at 1400 and then had lunch. Take off was 1630 so we went out to the kite and we were all ready when it was scrubbed. So Any, Wally and I stayed in and lit a fire. Later Andy and I went down to The Bull for a drink. It was more like a brothel than a pub”.
It looks, from the above that we had two lunches that day. In fact the second lunch would have been our take-off meal. Our crew, of course, very rarely used the local pubs in Lisset. The Bull, which I do not remember, must have been packed that Saturday night with Waafs and aircrew.
August 1943 was a bad month for the Squadron with 15 aircraft lost, 9 of these on two raids to Berlin (or the 'Big City' as it was known to the crews). It was an intensive month for Bomber Command with the last of the raids to Hamburg at the start, followed by the attack on the rocket installations at Peenemunde and rounding off with the first Berlin offensive to close. On a beautiful summer evening on 2nd August we were briefed for the 4th successive attack on Hamburg to the announcement that only the brothel and residential areas had not been destroyed and they were our target. Most of us gave a cheer at this news.
I think it is fair to say that most of our crew thoroughly enjoyed squadron life. In wartime Britain operational aircrew lived very well and, provided one could cope with the constant danger, it was a life of Riley. Consider:
Before every operation crews were given a super meal consisting of cholesterol building agents – eggs, bacon, chips etc.
On return from an operation we were greeted in the debriefing room by Waafs with mugs of coffee liberally laced with navy rum. And if you smiled sweetly at the Waafs you might get a second mug at the end of the debriefing.
[page break]
9
If successful in getting the second helping of rum you then tottered out of the briefing room to another meal of eggs, bacon, chips and increased cholesterol.
7 days leave came round ever 6 weeks.
At a time when petrol for pleasure motoring was banned aircrew were an exception as we were allowed enough petrol to run our cars and motor bikes.
Lord Nuffield, the motor magnate, sponsored a scheme whereby aircrew could stay at many of the best hotels in the country at a 50% discount.
In October Andy Hicks was commissioned and my own commission came through a few weeks later. Our final operation for 1943 was an attack on Leipzig on 3rd December (my diary stops in October so I now rely on memory.) Christmas was spent with our Army friends in Bridlington and we were only involved in training flying until the end of the year. Part of this training was to convert to a new Halifax, the Mark 3, which had better engines and an improved performance. 158 squadron consisted of 3 flights and our crew in C Flight was commended by the aforementioned Squadron Leader David Leicester, the blonde Australian flight sergeant we had noticed on our arrival at Lisset the previous July.
At the beginning of 1944 C Flight, together with our new Halifaxes, left 158 Squadron to become A Flight of a new Squadron – 640 – based at Leconfield. We left behind the temporary, wartime airfield at Lisset, with its Nissan huts and winter warmth provided by coke stoves and moved to a pre-war permanent station with brick buildings and central heating. Leconfield is about 30 miles from Lisset near the ancient market town of Beverley with its 10th century minster. At the time of the move our crew was on leave, with Andy and I down in London with my mother. I think we had also spent a night or two of that leave with Bill Griffiths and his parents at Luton, 35 miles north west of London. We came back to our new base, with its creature comforts, where Andy, Norman and I took up residence in one of the pre-war married officers quarters. We had, at this stage, completed 20 operations – more than halfway through our assumed tour of 30. We had to say goodbye to our good friends in the Tank Corps at Bridlington and settle into a new social life centred on Beverley and the North Sea fishing port of Hull a little further away.
Possibly our social life was now more focused on the Officers Mess where there was a lot of activity. Whereas 158 had been the only squadron at Lisset our new base was home to two squadrons: 640 with crew members from the RAF, the RCAF, the RAAF and the RNZAF and even one USAAF officer; and 466 an RAAF squadron with mainly Australian aircrew but a few British, Canadians and New Zealanders thrown in. Our
10
station commander was Group Captain Waterhouse who had been one of the 3 officers sent over to Canada in August 1939 to help start the Empire Air Training Scheme. He had come back home with a lovely Canadian wife who lived on base. Our squadron commander was Wing Commander 'Ruby' Eayrs who had returned from a posting in Australia. With 2 squadrons on the base there was a great deal of rivalry that used to culminate in Mess games on non-flying nights.
Our time with 640 included the second Berlin offensive in February, that also included an attack on Leipzig, and the notorious Nuremberg raid at the end of March when the Command suffered very heavy losses. In early March I was called in to see Ruby Eayrs and questioned about my tour up until then. Some two weeks later I had finished a comfortable lunch and was fast asleep in one of the deep mess armchairs when I was woken by Alan Smart. I had just been awarded an immediate DFC, the first decoration to be awarded on our new squadron. A little later I was called once more to see the squadron commander, to be told that my crew had been awarded a further three decorations and I had to recommend the recipients. This was an extremely hard task but I eventually put forward Andy Hicks, Mickey Rooney and Bill Griffiths. So Andy received the DFC and Mickey and Bill the DFM. In truth all the crew had earned these decorations.
Our crew completed 13 trips at Leconfield, finishing with an operation to Düsseldorf on 22nd April. As it was the period just before D-day we completed slightly more operations than the normal 30, our extra sorties being attacks on French targets – mainly rail junctions. Norman Hawkridge, our bomb-aimer , had left us the previous month when he had been sent on a bombing leader's course. This is why Norman does not appear in the crew photograph, taken that April outside the house at Leconfield where Andy and I lived.
The sad thing about that last operation was that two crews were on their final sortie that night. Colin Penfold, a New Zealander, and his crew had joined 158 Squadron at the same time as us and had moved with us to 640. They were lost over Düsseldorf with all the crew killed except the second pilot who managed to bail out just in time.
Looking back there is no doubt that we were blessed with good fortune during our squadron life. We had no serious combats with German fighters and although occasionally coned in searchlights we had always broken free. Colleagues, such as lan Smart had fought off night fighter attacks and sustained severe aircraft damage whereas we were very lucky. We would fly towards or away from the target watching others of our bombers being shot down either side of us.
Quite early on in our tour we had adopted our own tactics which may have helped. A Bomber Command operation in 1943 and early 1944 would usually consist of about six
[page break]
11
waves following the pathfinders who would be in the lead. Waves would be allocated a specific time and height over the target, they would be separated by around 10 minutes and would have a bombing window of about 5 minutes.
After take off aircraft would climb to bombing height and set course from an assembly point: Goole for the northern bomber groups if flying east, or Reading if going south east. Bombing height was around 22000 feet for the Halifax 3 and crews were briefed to fly out at that altitude. However, we usually flew much lower, at about 8000 feet, on the premise that the German aircraft would sooner hunt in the main stream above us than try to pick off the odd single aircraft. Some ten minutes before the target we would climb up to the correct height, bomb and descend when well clear of the area.
Just before our final trip we attended a briefing by an intelligence officer from Command who told us that only three large German cities remained free from attack: Chemnitz, Breslau and Dresden and that all would be bombed eventually. And during the War I never heard anyone, service or civilian, object to the policy of saturation bombing. We all admired our Commander in Chief. He was known to the bomber crews as Butch Harris, not Bomber Harris.
Our crew was now dispersed: I was sent to Scotland to a training unit and Andy went to a similar station in the West Country. But we arranged our leaves to coincide so that Andy spent half of each leave in North London with us and the other half in Truro. When news came through that my brother had been killed at Boundary Bay in Canada I was in the North of Scotland but Andy went to my home immediately to help my mother handle the shock.
In September 1944 I had to attend an investiture for the award of my DFC and, as I was serving in Scotland, the ceremony took place at Holyrood House in Edinburgh while the King was in residence there. I was allowed to invite two guests and Andy brought my mother up from London.
Our last meeting, before Andy returned to Canada, was on 2nd July 1945 when he was best man at my wedding. Bill Griffiths was the only other crew member to attend that day. Andy had been due to return home earlier in the year but he delayed for the wedding. On our wedding night Margaret and I were staying at a London hotel after leaving the reception. When we went out to eat later that evening we found that Andy, together with another guest, Lois Hammerbeck, had come to the West End and tracked us down to the restaurant where they joined us.
After the War the crew went their separate ways:
[underlined] John Cotter [/underlined] remained in the RAF until 1962. He then flew with an airline until finally retiring in 1983. He now lives in Brighton.
12
[underlined] Andy (Vic) Hicks [/underlined] returned to Canada and worked in accountancy and the hotel industry. He eventually retired to Calgary where he died in 1997.
[underlined]Norman Hawkridge [/underlined] worked in banking and insurance before retiring to Cumbria. Norman died on 20th May 2005.
[underlined]Harry Reid [/underlined] was demobilized in Rhodesia where he was stationed. He worked on the railways but he and his family returned to the UK in 1961. Harry died in 1998.
[underlined]Mickey Rooney [/underlined] stayed in the RAF and was commissioned. He was killed in an aircraft accident c1950.
[underlined]Bill Griffiths [/underlined] emigrated to Australia in 1961. After some years of ill-health Bill died in 2003.
[underlined]Wally Lomax [/underlined] returned to Lancashire and died in 2001.
Other personalities mentioned:
Sqn. Ldr. Penman DSO, DFC remained in the RAF after the War. He died in 2004.
[underlined] David Leicester DFC* [/underlined] completed his tour 3 weeks before I did. He went straight to a Lancaster conversion unit and then to a pathfinder squadron – No. 35. After completing 68 operations, without a break, he returned to Australia in January 1945. On applying to Qantas he was found to be unfit for civil flying and he left aviation. He is now retired and lives in Adelaide.
[underlined] Wg. Cdr. T. Hope DFC [/underlined] was shot down over Belgium on a raid to Nuremburg. Only 3 crew members survived to be taken prisoner: Hope, his flight engineer and mid-upper gunner. After the War Hope resumed his civil flying career as Chief Pilot with Scottish Aviation.
[underlined] Sqn. Ldr. Neil Elliott [/underlined] was shot down on a raid to Berlin on a night when the Squadron losses were 20%. His 2 gunners were lost and the rest of the crew became prisoners. Neil Elliott stayed in the RAF and when I went through Staff College in 1958 he was on the directing staff. He died of a heart attack in the 1960’s.
[underlined] Wg. Cdr. Jock Calder DSO*, DFC [/underlined] completed his second tour as CO of 158. In 1958 he was on the same course as me at Staff College. He died in 1997.
[underlined] Gp. Cpt. John Whitley DSO [/underlined] retired from the RAF in 1962 as an Air Marshal. I met him several times after the War. A very nice man.
[underlined] Gp. Cpt. Leonard Cheshire VC, DSO** DFC [/underlined] became a legend in Bomber Command and received the VC. After the War he founded the Cheshire Homes. He was the Principal Speaker at the first 4 Group Dinner I attended in 1992. He died a few years later.
[page break]
13
[underlined] Douglas Robinson. [/underlined] Just after the War I was a flying instructor at Moreton-in-Marsh and we were refreshing returned ex-pow pilots. Low and behold Doug Robinson appeared on the course and later, when he worked in teaching, he would bring cadets to the RAF for annual camps and we met a couple of times. He published a book in 1997 from which I found that Doug had had a very tough war – in sharp contrast to my own lucky run. On returning from training in South Africa his boat was torpedoed off the West African coast and Doug spent 8 days in an open boat. Midway through his tour his crew was about to go on leave when they were called out for an attack on Berlin. His aircraft was badly damaged by flak and the crew had to bale out over Holland. The flight engineer’s parachute had been destroyed so Doug stayed with the engineer and crash-landed the aircraft in a field. If anyone deserved a gallantry medal he did, but he did not get one. And he did not have a very pleasant time in prison camp.
[underlined] Dave Rosenthal. [/underlined] After prison camp Dave returned to Canada and I met him again at a 158 reunion in the ‘90’s.
[underlined] ‘Bluey’ Mottershead. [/underlined] ‘Bluey’ completed his tour and was awarded the DFC. After the War he formed the 158 Association and ran the squadron reunions for many years.
[underlined] Alan Smart DFC [/underlined] Alan completed his tour and after the War returned to commerce in the Hull area. Alan died on 3rd October 2002.
[underlined] ‘Ruby’ Eayrs DFC. [/underlined] Retired from the RAF as a Group Captain. He merited a long obituary in the Telegraph when he died in 1992.
[underlined] Crew Operations: [/underlined]
1. 28 OTU 4/5/43 Rouen - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Lomax
2. 158 Sqn 28/6/43 Cologne – Cotter (2nd pilot with another crew)
3. 158 Sqn 24/7/43 Hamburg – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/ Reid/Rooney/ Griffiths/Lomax Log book records – Fighters none seen, Flak negligible, Weather good, Large fires, Bomb Load 1 x 2000 lb. 12 Aircraft lost. Landed Eastmoor short of fuel.
4. 158 Sqn 29/7/43 Hamburg – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax Flack negligible, Heavy concentrations of searchlights, Weather clear over target, Large fires south of City. 30 aircraft lost.
14
5. 158 Sqn. 2/8/43 Hamburg – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. 10/10 cloud over target, Heavy thunderclouds up to 20000 feet, AA barrage, No fighters seen, Fires scattered over target area, Bombed heaviest concentration, Bomb load – 2x1000 48x30 630x4lb 31 aircraft lost
6. 158 Sqn. 9/8/43 Mannheim - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. More than half cloud over target, Fighter encountered over Boulogne, Landed Barford St John fuel short, 16 aircraft lost
7. 158 Sqn. 17/8/43 Peenemunde - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Weather clear, Smoke screen over target, Bright Moon, Flak negligible, Searchlights nil, No combats seen, Bombed @ 0013 – 1x2000 1x1000 6x500lb, Landed Wymeswold, 41 aircraft lost
8. 158 Sqn. 22/8/43 Leverkusen - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full cloud over target, AA barrage, 2 fighters & 1 combat seen over target. No pathfinder markers seen, 5 aircraft lost.
9. 158 Sqn. 16/9/43 Modane Italy - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Ran into heavy cloud 30 minutes from target. Forced to turn back owing to severe icing over Alps. 5 aircraft lost.
10. 158 Sqn. 22/9/43 Hannover - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Large concentrations of searchlights ringed round target. Flak heavy in cones, 5 British aircraft seen going down over target, weather good, large fires. 31 aircraft missing.
11. 158 Sqn. 23/9/43 Mannheim - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Searchlights heavy, flak cooperating with them, many fighters over target, heavy fires seen, weather good, 2 engines cut on landing approach, fuel short. 37 aircraft missing.
12. 158 Sqn. 27/9/43 Hannover - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Good weather, searchlights and fighters cooperating effectively over target, 38 aircraft missing, landed at Downham Market.
13. 158 Sqn. 29/9/43 Bochum – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax/plus Sgt Cipriani as 2nd pilot. Good visibility over target, heavy concentrations of searchlights, little flak, no fighters seen, heavy fires in target area, 8 aircraft missing.
[page break]
14. 158 Sqn. 3/10/43 Kassel - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Weather clear, defences weak over target, attack well concentrated, 24 aircraft missing.
15. 158 Sqn. 4/10/43 Frankfurt - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Cloudy over continent, target clear, large numbers of searchlights surrounding target, successful prang, 12 aircraft missing.
16. 158 Sqn. 23/10/43 Kassel - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Flt Sgt Vicary as 2nd pilot. Flying in cloud most of way but target clear, defences moderate, no combats seen, landed Catfoss, 44 aircraft missing.
17. 158 Sqn. 3/11/43 Dusseldorf - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Flt Sgt Edwards as 2nd pilot. Full cloud en route but target clear, no flak, searchlights weak owing to ground mist, many combats sighted, fires well concentrated, 19 aircraft missing.
18. 158 Sqn. 22/11/43 Berlin - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Sqn. Ldr. McCormack as 2nd pilot. Full cloud below us over whole of Germany, heavy flak at defended areas along the route, especially Hannover, bombed on Wanganui flares, 26 aircraft missing.
19. 158 Sqn. 25/11/43 Frankfurt - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full cloud over target, flak nil, no fighters seen, fires rather scattered, 13 aircraft missing.
20. 158 Sqn. 26/11/43 Stuttgart - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus F/O Thompson supernumerary. Heavy searchlight defences over Frankfurt, many combats sighted, also combats over Frankfurt, heavy flak over target, flak damage sustained over Saarbruken, landed Tangmere, 32 aircraft missing. (Flying Officer Thompson was a schoolmaster and officer in the Air Training Corps and he had a gammy leg due to a World War I wound. The crew thought he was pretty brave to come on an operation like this as a volunteer).
21. 158 Sqn. 3/12/43 Leipzig - Cotter/Hicks/Portsmouth/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Sgt Wisbey as 2nd pilot. Many combats sighted en route out, full cloud over target, accurate flak over Dessau, 24 aircraft missing.
16
22. 640 Sqn 30/1/44 Berlin – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Wong/Salvoni/Lomax. Full cloud over target and all Europe, many rockets seen over target but no combats, number 5 and 6 tanks froze up, (water in fuel) landed Little Snoring, have lost 247 gallons, 33 aircraft missing.
23. 640 Sqn 15/2/44 Berlin – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus F/O Cameron as 2nd pilot. Full cloud over target, bombed on Wanganui flares, no combats, flak ineffective, very quiet for Berlin, bomb load all incendiaries, 43 aircraft missing.
24. 640 Sqn 19/2/44 Leipzig - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Flt Sgt Burke as 2nd pilot. Full cloud over target, ran into heavy searchlight at Emden, missed markers and hit Berlin, many combats seen, 79 aircraft missing.
25. 640 Sqn 20/2/44 Stuttgart – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Stilliard. Moderate cloud over target, fires well concentrated, flak moderate, quiet trip, 10 aircraft missing.
26. 640 Sqn 24/2/44 Schweinfurt - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Lt Kornegay USAAF as 2nd pilot. Clear over target, fires well concentrated, flak heavy, searchlights weak, combats seen en route, 35 aircraft missing.
27. 640 Sqn 6/3/44 Trappes – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. No opposition at all, Bombed railway lines with 12,000lbs HE, aiming point photograph.
28. 640 Sqn 7/3/44 Le Mans – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. A little heavy flak over target, bombed railways through heavy cloud cover, bomb load 11,500lbs.
29. 640 Sqn 15/3/44 Stuttgart – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Austen plus Flt Lt Cassells as 2nd pilot. Much cloud en route, heavy opposition from fighters, landed at Westcot, 40 aircraft missing.
[page break]
17
30. 640 Sqn Nuremberg – Cotter/Gray/Sproulle/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Half cloud cover en route, fighter opposition heavy in extremes, opposition fierce over target, coned at Calais on home route, 96 aircraft missing. *See note.
31. 640 Sqn Paris – Cotter/Hicks/Sproulle/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full moon, attacked marshalling yard at Villeneuve, souther suburbs, flak moderate, 11 aircraft missing.
32. 640 Sqn Tergnier – Cotter/Hicks/Broadbent/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full moon, clear over target, no fighters seen, rocket flak bursting at 12,000ft on route out. 22Aircraft missing.
33. 640 Sqn Tergnier - Cotter/Hicks/Broadbent/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Marshalling yards bombed, aiming point on photo, rockets seen in bomber stream, 14 aircraft missing.
34. 640 Sqn Dusseldorf - Cotter/Hicks/Sproulle/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus P/O Maxwell as 2 nd pilot. Searchlights numerous but no flak, no combats, weather good, 42 aircraft lost.
[underlined] Aborted Operations [/underlined]
1. 27/7/43 Hamburg - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax
Turned back before enemy coast with one engine surging badly.
2. 24/8/43 Berlin - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax
Turned back before enemy coast with rear gunner's oxygen supply unserviceable.
3. 8/10/43 Hannover - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax
An engine failed just after take-off
The second pilots shown above were new arrivals on the Squadron and the procedure was they were sent out on one trip with an experienced crew before operating on their own. Also, a number of other crew members flew with me during the tour and all non-regular crew members are shown below:
18
Sgt Cipriani RAF - Later killed in action 22/10/43
F/Sgt Vicary RAAF – Later bailed out over UK 16/2/44 and left the Squadron
F/Sgt Bush RAAF – Shot down, POW 31/3/44
P/O Portsmouth RAF – Completed tour
F/Sgt Edwards RAAF – Later killed in action 20/12/43
S/Ldr McCormack RAAF – Shot Down, POW, 29/1/44
F/O Thompson ATC – Schoolmaster
Sgt Wisbey RAF – Killed in action 28/6/44
Sgt Wong RAF – Completed tour
F/O Salvoni RAF – Killed in action
F/O Cameron RCAF Killed in action 17/6/44
F/Sgt Burke RCAF – Killed in action 31/3/44
Sgt Stilliard RAF – Killed in action 31/3/44
Lt Kornegay USAAF - Completed tour
F/Lt Cassels RAF – Completed tour
F/O Austen RAF – Shot down, POW, 31/3/44
W/O Gray RCAF – Completed tour
F/Lt Sproulle RAF – Completed tour
F/Sgt Broadbent RAF - Completed tour
P/O Maxwell – Not known
[underlined] Note. Nuremburg. [/underlined] Once again we had a trip without running into any opposition. Norman had gone off on his bombing leaders' course so Tommy Sproulle, the Squadron Bombing Leader, came with us. Andy was also away and was replaced by a Canadian navigator on his first trip. It was a moonlight night and all the way out and back we saw combats to the east of us with our aircraft invariable going down in flames. Because I had the Bombing Leader on board I flew at the briefed operating height, mixed in with the stream. Shortly before we reached the final turning point for Nuremburg the navigator was unsure of his position. Then I saw target indicators going down ahead and told the crew that I had Nuremburg in sight, even though we were some 15 minutes ahead of ETA. Tommy bombed on the markers and we set course for home for a personally uneventful return. Then as we flew north over Lincolnshire all the airfield lights were out and at Leconfield the Drem flarepath had to be turned on for us. We were 30 minutes ahead of ETA because we had bombed Schweinfurt instead of Nuremburg. Our squadron lost 3 aircraft with 18 killed. All the Captains were RCAF including Jim Laidlaw, married the month before, and F/Sgt Burke who had flown with me only a few weeks earlier. In total the Command had 545 men killed.
JDC/Revision 2/Jun 05
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
Extracts from war diaries and information on aircraft crews and lists of bombing operations
Description
An account of the resource
Describes training and crewing up at operational training unit on Wellingtons. Mentions staying in London on leave with RCAF colleague, using the Canadian forces club London and dining at the Ritz. Includes diary entry describing operational baptism. Continues with coverage of training at heavy conversion unit and eventual posting to 158 Squadron. Describes first operations to Hamburg n detail as well as life at RAF Lissett. Relates story of being detailed to ferry an aircraft back from an airfield in the south of England and spending a day in London. Continues recounting other events from diary and mention that squadron lost 15 aircraft in August 1943. Mentions last operation in 1943 and getting his commission, converting to new Halifax and transfer to 640 Squadron at RAF Leconfield. Writes of life on new station and in officers mess. Comments of some of the operations flown and awards of decorations to him and his crew. Mention his last operation to Düsseldorf. Writes about his crew's tactics and dispersal of crew after finishing his tour of operations and their subsequent history. Covers history of other individuals named in the memoir. List crew operations with comments on losses. Follows a list of non-regular crew members he flew with during his tour. Concludes with account of his operation to Nuremburg including mention of aircraft lost.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Cotter
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-08-28
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Nineteen page printed 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
BCotterJDPCotterJDPv1
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 Australian Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
United States Army Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--London
England--Truro
England--Leicestershire
France
France--Rouen
England--Yorkshire
Germany
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Leverkusen
Italy
France--Modane
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Schweinfurt
France--Soligny-la-Trappe
France--Le Mans
France--Paris
France--Tergnier (Canton)
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Cornwall (County)
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
2018-08-28
1942-08
1943-02-23
1943-03
1943-05-05
1943-05-14
1943-08
1943-12-03
1943-06-27
1943-07-24
1943-07-29
1943-08-02
1943-08-09
1943-08-17
1943-08-22
1943-09-16
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-27
1943-08-29
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-23
1943-11-03
1943-11-22
1943-11-26
1943-12-03
1944-01-30
1944-02-15
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-24
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-15
1944-03-30
1944-04-09
1944-04-10
1944-04-17
1944-04-22
1943-07-27
1943-08-24
1943-10-08
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
Jan Waller
158 Squadron
1652 HCU
28 OTU
4 Group
466 Squadron
640 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
crewing up
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
Distinguished Service Order
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
mess
military living conditions
navigator
observer
Operational Training Unit
RAF Leconfield
RAF Lissett
RAF Marston Moor
RAF Wymeswold
searchlight
training
Wellington
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/290/25368/LLeicesterLD416687v1.2.pdf
94e7625a6d8a595894dde5f2b14cade7
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
Leicester, David
David Leicester
D Leicester
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with David Leicester DFC (1923 - 2021), and his log book. He flew operations as a pilot with 35, 158 and 640 Squadrons.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by David Leicester and 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
2016-05-01
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
Leicester, D
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
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
David Leicester’s Royal Australian Air Force flying log book for pilots
Description
An account of the resource
Flying log book for L D Leicester covering the period from 11 November 1941 to 12 December 1944. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. It also contains an extract for the award of a bar to his DFC, technical notes, certificates including a green endorsement, photographs of himself, aircraft and targets. He was stationed at RAAF Parafield (1 EFTS), RAAF Pt Cook (1 SFTS), RAF Grantham (12 PAFU), RAF Coningsby (1514 BAT Flt), RAF Honeybourne/RAF Long Marston (24 OTU), RAF Riccall (1658 HCU), RAF Lissett (158 Sqdn), RAF Leconfield (640 Sqdn), RAF Warboys (PFF NTU), RAF Graveley (35 Sqdn). Aircraft flown in were, DH60, DH82, Wirraway, Oxford, Whitley, Halifax, Lancaster. He did two tours and flew a total of 47 night and 20 daytime operations (total 67) with 158, 640 and 35 squadrons. Targets were Stettin, Duisburg, Bochum, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Essen, Wuppertal, Le Creusot, Krefeld, Mulheim, Gelsenkirchen, Cologne, Montelliard, Hamburg, Nuremburg, Leverkusen, Berlin, Modane, Kassel, Cannes, Stuttgart, Augsburg, Trappes, Kiel, Caen, Foret de Nieppe, Bois de Cassan, Trossy St Maximin, La Neuville, Douai, Russelheim, Point Robert, Point les Espagnols, Le Havre, Calais, Cap Griz Nez, Walcheren Islands, and Soest. His first or second pilots on operations were Flying Officer Dawes, Sergeant Wade, Sergeant Farley, Sergeant Line, Sergeant Wildman and Flying Officer Small.
Contains some photographs of aircraft and target photographs.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike French
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.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LLeicesterLD416687v1
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.
Australia
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Yorkshire
England--Huntingdonshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Warwickshire
England--Worcestershire
France--Caen
France--Calais
France--Cannes
France--Douai
France--Le Creusot
France--Le Havre
France--Modane
France--La Neuville-au-Pont
France--Pas-de-Calais
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Essen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Rüsselsheim
Germany--Soest
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wuppertal
Netherlands--Walcheren
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr
Germany--Nuremberg
Poland--Szczecin
England--Yorkshire
Poland
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Nieppe Forest
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941
1942
1943
1944
1943-04-20
1943-04-21
1943-04-25
1943-04-26
1943-05-11
1943-05-12
1943-05-13
1943-05-14
1943-05-23
1943-05-24
1943-05-25
1943-05-26
1943-05-27
1943-05-28
1943-05-29
1943-05-30
1943-06-19
1943-06-20
1943-06-21
1943-06-22
1943-06-23
1943-06-24
1943-06-25
1943-06-26
1943-06-28
1943-06-29
1943-07-09
1943-07-10
1943-07-15
1943-07-16
1943-07-24
1943-07-25
1943-07-26
1943-07-27
1943-07-28
1943-08-10
1943-08-11
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-24
1943-09-16
1943-09-17
1943-10-23
1943-10-24
1943-11-11
1943-11-12
1943-11-18
1943-11-19
1943-11-26
1943-11-27
1944-02-25
1944-02-26
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-07-23
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-07-26
1944-07-28
1944-07-29
1944-07-31
1944-08-01
1944-08-03
1944-08-04
1944-08-07
1944-08-08
1944-08-10
1944-08-11
1944-08-12
1944-08-13
1944-08-25
1944-08-26
1944-09-03
1944-09-08
1944-09-09
1944-09-10
1944-09-11
1944-09-12
1944-09-15
1944-09-16
1944-09-17
1944-09-20
1944-09-25
1944-09-26
1944-09-27
1944-09-28
1944-10-14
1944-10-15
1944-10-19
1944-10-20
1944-10-21
1944-10-22
1944-10-23
1944-10-25
1944-10-28
1944-11-03
1944-11-04
1944-11-06
1944-12-04
1944-12-05
1944-12-06
1944-12-12
1944-12-13
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
158 Squadron
1652 HCU
1658 HCU
24 OTU
35 Squadron
640 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aerial photograph
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
bombing of Kassel (22/23 October 1943)
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
Bombing of Trossy St Maximin (3 August 1944)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Flying Training School
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 3
Master Bomber
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Pathfinders
pilot
RAF Coningsby
RAF Grantham
RAF Graveley
RAF Honeybourne
RAF Leconfield
RAF Lissett
RAF Riccall
RAF Warboys
tactical support for Normandy troops
target photograph
Tiger Moth
training
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1596/25340/LSaundersEJ924532v1.2.pdf
c78158eb8860fddc9d2b39689fa6731e
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
Saunders, Ernest John
E J Saunders
Sam Saunders
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
2020-02-13
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
Saunders, EJ
Description
An account of the resource
Nine items. The collection concerns Ernest John Saunders (924532 Royal Air Force) and consists of his log book, photographs and correspondence as well as two photograph albums of his service and family life. He flew operations as a navigator in North Africa in 1942 with 40 Squadron and with Bomber Command in 1943 - 1944 with 692 and 128 Squadron on Mosquito.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Penelope Thicket and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
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
Sam Saunders's flying log book
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
Description
An account of the resource
Detailing his flying training and operations flown as navigator 16 January 1941 to 9 January 1946. He was stationed at RCAF Winnipeg (6 AOS), RCAF MacDonald (3 B&GS), RCAF Rivers (1 ANS), RAF Harwell (15 OTU), RAF Shallufa (38 and 40 Squadrons), RAF Upper Heyford (16 OTU), RAF Hendon (24 and 512 Squadrons), RAF Doncaster (271 Squadron), RAF Marham (1655 MTU), RAF Oakington (627 Squadron), RAF Graveley (692 Squadron), RAF Wyton (128 Squadron), RAF Crosby-on-Eden (109 TCU), RAF Almaza (216 Squadron).
Aircraft flown in were Anson, Battle, Wellington, Hudson, Tiger Moth, Dakota, Sparrow, Oxford, Proctor and Mosquito.
He flew 3 night operations with 38 Squadron, 42 with 40 Squadron, 8 with 627 Squadron, 45 with 692 squadron and 9 with 128 Squadron, a total of 107. His pilots on operations were Warrant Officer Brodie, Sergeant Le Brog, Squadron Leader Booth, Wing Commander Lockhart, Flight Lieutenant Grainger, Squadron Leader Saunderson, Wing Commander Birkin, Wing Commander Watts, Flying Officer Page, Pilot Officer Burnett, Flying Officer Richardson, Flying Officer Goodwin, Wing Commander Burrough, Flying Officer Boyer and Flight Lieutenant Gallanders.
Targets included Benghazi, mining, Tobruk, El Daba, Alamein, Ras el Manatis, Fuka, Cagliari, Tunis, Bizerte, Duisburg, Cologne, Hamburg, Magdeburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Schweinfurt, Augsburg, Hannover, Dusseldorf, Koln, Osnabruk, Stuttgart, Friedrichshaven, Leverkusen, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen, Bremen, Homberg, Weisbaden, Saarbruchen, Wanne-Eichel, Castrop, Kiel, Kassel, Brunswick and Cochem.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Terry Hancock
Cara Walmsley
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Egypt
Great Britain
Italy
Libya
North Africa
Egypt--Alamayn
Egypt--Cairo
Egypt--Suez
Egypt--Tall al-Ḍabʻah
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Cumbria
England--Doncaster
England--London
England--Norfolk
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Castrop-Rauxel
Germany--Cochem
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Friedrichshafen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Homberg (Kassel)
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wanne-Eickel
Germany--Wiesbaden
Italy--Cagliari
Libya--Tobruk
Manitoba--Winnipeg
Tunisia--Bizerte
Tunisia--Tunis
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Magdeburg
England--Oxfordshire
Libya--Banghāzī
Tunisia
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Yorkshire
Egypt--Fukah
Manitoba
Manitoba--Rivers
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1942-05-24
1942-05-25
1942-05-26
1942-05-27
1942-05-30
1942-06-05
1942-06-06
1942-06-08
1942-07-11
1942-07-12
1942-07-15
1942-07-16
1942-07-18
1942-07-19
1942-07-20
1942-07-21
1942-07-23
1942-07-24
1942-07-25
1942-07-26
1942-07-27
1942-07-29
1942-07-30
1942-08-01
1942-08-02
1942-08-04
1942-08-05
1942-08-18
1942-08-19
1942-08-22
1942-08-23
1942-08-26
1942-08-27
1942-08-28
1942-08-29
1942-08-31
1942-09-01
1942-09-06
1942-09-07
1942-09-13
1942-09-14
1942-09-18
1942-09-19
1942-09-20
1942-09-21
1942-09-24
1942-09-25
1942-10-09
1942-10-10
1942-10-12
1942-10-13
1942-10-18
1942-10-19
1942-10-20
1942-10-21
1942-10-23
1942-10-24
1942-10-25
1942-10-26
1942-10-27
1942-10-29
1942-10-30
1942-11-02
1942-11-03
1942-11-04
1942-11-05
1942-11-06
1942-11-07
1942-11-08
1942-11-09
1942-11-10
1942-11-11
1942-11-14
1942-11-15
1942-11-18
1942-11-19
1942-11-20
1942-11-21
1942-11-24
1942-11-25
1942-11-27
1942-11-28
1943-12-28
1944-01-02
1944-01-06
1944-01-14
1944-01-21
1944-01-22
1944-01-29
1944-02-01
1944-02-07
1944-02-19
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-02-26
1944-03-06
1944-03-11
1944-03-13
1944-03-14
1944-03-23
1944-04-04
1944-04-12
1944-04-13
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-27
1944-04-28
1944-05-08
1944-05-09
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-26
1944-05-27
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-06-17
1944-06-21
1944-06-22
1944-06-23
1944-06-24
1944-06-25
1944-06-26
1944-06-28
1944-06-29
1944-07-04
1944-07-08
1944-07-10
1944-07-11
1944-07-14
1944-07-15
1944-07-16
1944-07-17
1944-07-18
1944-07-19
1944-07-20
1944-08-05
1944-08-06
1944-08-07
1944-08-08
1944-08-09
1944-08-11
1944-08-12
1944-08-13
1944-08-14
1944-08-15
1944-08-25
1944-08-26
1944-08-27
1944-08-30
1944-08-31
1944-09-01
1944-09-02
1944-09-13
1944-09-14
1944-09-27
1944-10-01
1944-10-02
1944-10-19
1944-11-27
1944-12-05
1944-12-06
1944-12-11
1945-01-01
1945-01-18
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LSaundersEJ924532v1
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
128 Squadron
15 OTU
16 OTU
216 Squadron
38 Squadron
40 Squadron
627 Squadron
692 Squadron
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
Battle
bombing
Bombing and Gunnery School
C-47
Hudson
mine laying
Mosquito
navigator
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Proctor
RAF Graveley
RAF Harwell
RAF Hendon
RAF Marham
RAF Oakington
RAF Shallufa
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Wyton
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/921/22837/LLawsonHA19210824v1.2.pdf
0b31cd5f1a7f8dc2383468fbb1e58e6e
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
Lawson, Homer
Harold Lawson
H Lawson
Description
An account of the resource
Ten items. An oral history interview with Susanne Pescott about her father, Flight Lieutenant Harold Lawson DFC (b. 1921, 1544881, 177469 Royal Air Force), his log book, photographs and album. He flew operations as a navigator with 10 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Susanne Pescott 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
2016-11-28
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
Lawson, HA
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
Homer Lawson’s observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book
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.
Description
An account of the resource
Observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book for H A Lawson, navigator, covering the period from 19 January 1943 to 2 November 1945. Detailing his flying training, operations flown, instructor duties and post war duties with 77 squadron. He was stationed at RAF Llandwrog, RAF Penrhos, RAF Forres, RAF Rufforth, RAF Melbourne, RAF Balmageith, RAF Kinloss, RAF Full Sutton, RAF Broadwell, RAF Kargi Road and RAF Mauripur. Aircraft flown in were Anson, Whitley, Halifax, Wellington and Dakota. He flew a total of 38 operations with 10 squadron, 6 daylight and 32 night. His pilot on operations was Flight Sergeant Hewitt. Targets were Berlin, Kiel, Meulan le Meureaux, La Rochelle, Trappes, Le Mans, Tergnier, Ottignes, Dusseldorf, Karlsruhe, Essen, Mantes-Gassicourt, Cherbourg, Berneval, Trouville, Ferme D’Urville, The Hague, Mont Fleurie, St Lo, Lorient, Brest, Douai, Rennes, Noyelle en Chausee, Blaineville, Blainville, St Martin L’Hortier, Croixdalle, Heligoland, Mont Candon, Vaires and Bottrop.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Cara Walmsley
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LLawsonHA19210824v1
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.
Belgium
France
Germany
Netherlands
India
Pakistan
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Belgium--Ottignies
England--Oxfordshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Abbeville Region
France--Bayeux
France--Berneval-le-Grand
France--Brest
France--Cherbourg Region
France--Coutances Region
France--Douai
France--La Rochelle
France--Le Mans
France--Lorient
France--Mantes-la-Jolie
France--Meulan
France--Neufchâtel-en-Bray
France--Normandy
France--Rambouillet
France--Rennes
France--Saint-Lô
France--Tergnier (Canton)
France--Trouville-sur-Mer
France--Vaires-sur-Marne
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bottrop
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Helgoland
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Kiel
India--Kota
Netherlands--Hague
Pakistan--Karachi
Wales--Gwynedd
Scotland--Moray Firth
Great Britain
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Croixdalle
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1943-12-29
1943-12-30
1944-01-29
1944-02-25
1944-03-02
1944-03-03
1944-03-04
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-08
1944-03-11
1944-04-04
1944-04-05
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-05-06
1944-05-08
1944-05-09
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-06-01
1944-06-02
1944-06-03
1944-06-04
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-09
1944-06-10
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-14
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-06-24
1944-06-27
1944-06-28
1944-06-29
1944-07-01
1944-07-04
1944-07-06
1944-07-12
1944-07-13
1944-07-17
1944-07-18
1944-07-20
10 Squadron
1663 HCU
19 OTU
77 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
anti-aircraft fire
bombing
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
C-47
Cook’s tour
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Heavy Conversion Unit
Ju 88
mine laying
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Full Sutton
RAF Kinloss
RAF Llandwrog
Raf Mauripur
RAF Melbourne
RAF Penrhos
RAF Rufforth
training
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/656/15058/LWilsonJ1486634v1.1.pdf
0e9b78e07dd37d9a2ee74a5919353528
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
Wilson, Joseph
J Wilson
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Wilson, J
Description
An account of the resource
Four items. An oral history interview with Flying Officer Joseph Wilson (1923 - 2019), 1486434 Royal Air Force), his log book, identity card and a photograph. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 102 and 76 Squadrons before being posted to 624 Special Duties Squadron where he dropped supplies and agents to the resistance in Southern Europe.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Jenny Wilson and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-12-29
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
Joseph Wilson's observer's and air gunner's flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Observer's and air gunner's flying log book for J Wilson, covering the period from 12 July 1942 to 26 March 1945. Detailing his flying training, Operations flown and instructor duties. He was stationed at RAF Penrhos, RAF Lossiemouth, RAF Pocklington, RAF Rufforth, RAF Linton-on-Ouse, RAF Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, RAF Tempsford, RAF Blida, RAF Sidi Amor, RAF Tocra, RAF Brindisi, RSAAF Youngs Field and RSAAF East London. Aircraft flown in were, Blenheim, Anson, Wellington, Halifax, C-47 and Oxford. He flew 6 night operations with 102 squadron, 9 night operations with 76 squadron and 32 night operations with 624 special duties squadron. Targets were Essen, Nurnberg, Munich, Stuttgart, Krefeld, Mulheim, Wuppertal, Gelsenkirchen, Cologne, Montbeliard, Remscheid, Corsica, Srajevo, Split, Sofia, Salonika, Marseilles and Toulon. His pilots on operations were Sergeant Giffiths, Sergeant Heaton and Flight Sergeant Povey.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
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.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LWilsonJ1486634v1
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.
Algeria
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
France
Germany
Great Britain
Greece
Italy
Libya
South Africa
Algeria--Blida
Bosnia and Herzegovina--Sarajevo
Croatia--Split
England--Bedfordshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Corsica
France--Marseille
France--Montbéliard
France--Toulon
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Essen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Remscheid
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wuppertal
Greece--Thessalonikē
Italy--Brindisi
Libya--Tūkrah
Scotland--Moray
South Africa--Cape Town
Tunisia--Sidi Ameur
Wales--Gwynedd
North Africa
Tunisia
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1945
1943-03-03
1943-03-05
1943-03-06
1943-03-08
1943-03-09
1943-03-10
1943-03-11
1943-03-12
1943-04-03
1943-04-04
1943-06-21
1943-06-22
1943-06-23
1943-06-24
1943-06-25
1943-06-26
1943-06-28
1943-06-29
1943-07-04
1943-07-05
1943-07-09
1943-07-10
1943-07-15
1943-07-16
1943-07-30
1943-07-31
1943-09-17
1943-09-18
1943-09-23
1943-09-24
1943-10-18
1943-10-19
1943-10-20
1943-10-21
1943-10-22
1943-10-23
1943-10-24
1943-11-03
1943-11-04
1943-11-12
1943-11-13
1943-11-16
1943-11-17
1943-12-03
1943-12-04
1943-12-05
1943-12-06
1943-12-10
1943-12-11
1943-12-16
1943-12-17
1943-12-20
1943-12-21
1944-01-08
1944-01-10
1944-01-11
1944-01-12
1944-01-13
1944-01-14
1944-01-19
1944-01-20
1944-01-22
1944-01-23
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-01-30
1944-01-31
1944-02-13
1944-02-14
1944-03-05
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-08
1944-03-10
1944-03-11
102 Squadron
1652 HCU
1663 HCU
20 OTU
624 Squadron
76 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
Blenheim
bomb aimer
bombing
C-47
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Me 109
mine laying
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Penrhos
RAF Pocklington
RAF Rufforth
RAF Tempsford
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1001/11342/LJosephD1576383v1.1.pdf
9b6a3a5a78e9ec246a0983ac5061480c
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
Joseph, David
D Joseph
Description
An account of the resource
22 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant David Joseph (1576383, Royal Air Force) and contains his decorations, log book, memoirs, correspondence and a list of prisoners of war at Stalag Luft 4. He flew operations as a pilot with 76 Squadron from RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor until his aircraft was shot down on 18 March 1944 on an operation to Frankfurt and he became a prisoner of war. The collection also contains a letter to Mrs Ramsay about the loss of her son, Flying Officer Kenneth Ramsay and photographs of his final resting place. <br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Brian Joseph and catalogued by Barry Hunter.<br /><br />Additional information on Kenneth Grant Ramsay is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/223173/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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
2018-05-22
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
Joseph, D
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
David Joseph's Pilot's flying log book
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
Description
An account of the resource
Pilot’s flying log book for Flight Sergeant David Joseph from 20 January 1944 to 18 March 1944, recording squadron-based training and operations flown. Served at RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor. Aircraft flown were Halifax Mk 2, Halifax Mk 1, Halifax Mk 3 and Halifax Mk 5. He carried out a total of six operations with 76 Squadron as a pilot on the following targets in France and Germany: Berlin, Frankfurt, Le Mans, Stuttgart and Trappes. His pilot for his first 'second dickie' operation was Flight Sergeant Cole. He failed to return from an operation to Frankfurt. The list of his crew who failed to return does not include Sergeant Louis Makens who joined the crew as mid under gunner and became a prisoner of war.
Additional information about this item has been kindly provided by the donor.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LJosephD1576383v1
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
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
France--Le Mans
France--Paris
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Stuttgart
France
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944
1944-01-20
1944-01-21
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-08
1944-03-13
1944-03-14
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-18
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
76 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
Halifax
Halifax Mk 1
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Halifax Mk 5
missing in action
pilot
prisoner of war
RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/408/7831/SChattertonJ159568v10716.2.jpg
35858206881eb625d1fc612997961973
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/408/7831/SChattertonJ159568v10717.2.jpg
b30db0a85b1a0077bd421ede2442cc35
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
Chatterton, John. 44 Squadron operations order book
Description
An account of the resource
Collection consists of 521 items which are mostly Operations orders, aircraft load and weight tables and bomb aimers briefings for 44 Squadron operations between January 1944 and April 1945. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by M J Chatterton and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. <br /><br />This collection also contains items concerning Dewhurst Graaf and his crew, and Donald Neil McKechnie and his crew. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/109020/">Dewhurst Graaf</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/115642/">Donald Neil McKechnie</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.
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
Chatterton, J
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Underlined] NO.44(RHODESIA)SQUADRON. 5TH MARCH, 1944 [/underlined]
[Underlined] AMENDMENT TO OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME SERIAL NO. 25/44. [/underlined]
[Underlined] OPERATIONSL. [sic] [/underlined] The following crews and aircraft are hereby detailed for operational flying on 5/6th March, 1944.
[Underlined] EE.185.K.(III). [/underlined]
S/Ldr. Hunter.
Sgt. Cooper.
F/O. Greenwood.
F/O. Willis.
Sgt. Salmon.
Sgt. Miles.
Sgt. Alexander.
[Underlined] ME.628.H.(I). [/underlined]
F/Lt. Dorehill. DFC.
Sgt. Turrell
F/S. Wright.
F/S. Deacon.
F/S. Gurr.
Sgt. Woollard.
F/S. Mullett.
[Underlined] ND.578.Y.(III). [/underlined]
P.O. Levy.
Sgt. Groom.
F/O. Fox.
Sgt. Peck.
Sgt. McGuire.
Sgt. McNally.
Sgt. Thomas.
[Underlined] ND.576.M.(III). [/underlined]
P.O. Higgs. DFC.
Sgt. Cowan.
P.O. Black.
P.O. Would.
P.O. Williams.
F/S. Tiller.
Sgt. Chalmers.
[Underlined] ND.565.C.(III). [/underlined]
P.O. Evans.
Sgt. Carter.
F/O. Garland.
F/S. Hatton.
Sgt. Percival.
Sgt. Curtis.
W/O. Dowling.
[Underlined] ND.518.D.(III). [/underlined]
P.O. Porter.
Sgt. Waugh.
F/S. Davies.
Sgt. Lander.
F/S. Barclay.
W/O. Pass.
Sgt. Hamlin.
[Underlined] ND.515.Z.(III). [/underlined]
F/Lt. Wiggin. DFC.
Sgt. Capps.
F/O. Maury.
F/O. Marshall. DFC.
Sgt. Dickin.
F/O. Rimmer.
P/O. Clarke. DFM.
[Underlined] ME.634.P.(III). [/underlined]
P.O. Smith.
Sgt. Bennett.
F/S. Airey.
F/O. Dutton.
Sgt. Hussey.
Sgt. Holmes.
Sgt. Prowse.
[Underlined] ME.629.R.(I). [/underlined]
P.O. Manning.
Sgt. Wren.
Sgt. Woodwards.
F/S. Roberts.
Sgt. Davison.
Sgt. Shaw.
Sgt. Murray.
[Underlined] ND.538.T.(III) [/underlined]
P.O. Butt.
Sgt. Langford.
F/O. Sparrow.
Sgt. Whiter.
Sgt. Donald.
Sgt. Bray.
F/S. Schott.
[Underlined] ND.552.X.(III). [/underlined]
W/O. Barton.
Sgt. Thompson.
F/O. Gourlay.
Sgt. Barnes.
Sgt. Willett.
Sgt. Joy. DFM.
Sgt. Hummell.
[Underlined] STANDBY CREW [/underlined]
P.O. Hayes.
Sgt. Ella.
Sgt. Wellfare.
F/O. Dunn.
Sgt. Walker.
Sgt. Radcliffe.
Sgt. Perrie.
DUTY CREW: F/O. Stephenson. Sgt. Taylor. P.O. Bennett. Sgt. Wilson.
Sgt. Robinson. Sgt. Dooley. F/S. White.
BRIEFING: NAVIGATORS: 16.30 hrs. SPEC: 1700 hrs. MAIN: 17.30 hrs.
Nav. bus will leave Sgts. Mess at 16.10 hrs. & Officers Mess at 16.15 hrs.
1 bus will leave Sgts. Mess at 16.45 hrs. & 1 bus will leave Off. Mess at 16.45 hrs.
Duties: as per programme serial No.25/44.
E.O. COLLCUTT, F/Lt.
for Wing Commander,
Commanding,
[Underlined] No.44(Rhodesia)Squadron. [/underlined]
[Page break]
Live Overlap Camera H.
Colour Film DPX
Relay DPXLY.
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
Operations order 5 March 1944
Amendment to operational programme Serial No 25/44
Description
An account of the resource
Lists crews and aircraft for operations on 5/6 March 1944. The fourth member of each crew is ticked. Includes briefing times and duty crew. On the reverse camera notes.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-03-05
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two sides front typewritten document on the reverse handwritten
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
SChattertonJ159568v10716, SChattertonJ159568v10717
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--Lincolnshire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-03-05
1944-03-06
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
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
E O Collcutt
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Anne-Marie Watson
44 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
briefing
flight engineer
navigator
pilot
RAF Dunholme Lodge
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/408/7828/SChattertonJ159568v10712.1.jpg
2d61590c851260883f25e8df4c4eb123
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
Chatterton, John. 44 Squadron operations order book
Description
An account of the resource
Collection consists of 521 items which are mostly Operations orders, aircraft load and weight tables and bomb aimers briefings for 44 Squadron operations between January 1944 and April 1945. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by M J Chatterton and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. <br /><br />This collection also contains items concerning Dewhurst Graaf and his crew, and Donald Neil McKechnie and his crew. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/109020/">Dewhurst Graaf</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/115642/">Donald Neil McKechnie</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.
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
Chatterton, J
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Underlined] NO.44(RHODESIA)SQUADRON 6TH MARCH, 1944 [/underlined]
[Underlined] OPERATIONAL AND TRAINING DETAIL FOR NIGHT OF 6/7TH MARCH, 1944. SERIAL NO. 26/44. [/underlined]
[Underlined] OPERATIONAL. [/underlined] The following aircraft and crews are hereby detailed to carry out operational flying duties on night of 6/7th March, 1944.
[Underlined] ND.515.Z.(III). [/underlined]
F/Lt. Wiggin.DFC.
Sgt. Capps.
F/O. Maury.
[Underlined] F/O. Marshall. DFC. [/underlined]
Sgt. Dickin.
F/O. Rimmer.
P/O. Clarke.DFM.
[Underlined] ND.578.Y.(III). [/underlined]
W/O. Barton.
Sgt. Thompson.
F/O. Gourlay.
[Underlined] Sgt. Barnes. [/underlined]
Sgt. Willett.
Sgt. Joy.DFM.
Sgt. Hummell.
[Underlined] ME.629.R.(I). [/underlined]
P/O. Manning.
Sgt. Wren.
Sgt. Woodwards.
[Underlined] F/S. Roberts. [/underlined]
Sgt. Davidson.
Sgt. Hedley.
Sgt. Murray.
[Underlined] ME.634.P.(I). [/underlined]
S/Ldr. Hunter.
Sgt. Cooper.
F/O. Greenwood.
[Underlined] F/O. Willis. [/underlined]
Sgt. Salmon.
Sgt. Miles.
Sgt. Alexander.
[Underlined] ME.628.H.(I). [/underlined]
F/Lt. Dorehill.DFC.
Sgt. Turrell.
F/S. Wright.
[Underlined] F/S. Deacon. [/underlined]
F/S. Gurr.
Sgt. Woollard.
F/S. Mullett.
[Underlined] ND.538.T.(III). [/underlined]
P/O. Higgs.DFC.
Sgt. Cowan.
P/O. Black.
[Underlined] P/O. Would. [/underlined]
P/O. Williams.
F/S. Tiller.
Sgt. Chalmers.
DUTY CREW:- P/O. Hayes. Sgt. Ella. Sgt. Wellfare. F/O. Dunn. Sgt. Walker. Sgt. Radcliffe. Sgt. Perrie.
BRIEFING: NAVIGATORS: 1430 SPEC: 1500 Main: 1530
Nav. Bus will leave Sgts. Mess at 1410 & Officers Mess at 1415
1 bus will leave Sgts. Mess at 1445 & 1 bus will leave Off. Mess at 1445
Officer i/c Night Flying : W/Cdr. Thompson. DFC.AFC.
Duty Flight Engineer : Sgt. Plant.
Duty Electricians : As detailed by F/S. Wallin.
Duty Photos : Sgt. White & AC. Taylor.
Duty Sigs : LAC. Moore.
Duty Armr. NCO’s. : Sgt. detailed by W/O. Lowe & Cpl. Lomax.
Duty Flight NCO’s : Sgts. Brock & Lumsden.
Duty Clerk : L.A.C. Hudson.
Duty Gunnery Officer : F/Lt McCurdy.DFC.
Duty Signals Officer : P/O. Roberts.
Duty F/E. Officer : F/Lt. Burrows.DFC.
Duty A/B. Officer : F/Lt. Lowry.
[Signature]
Flight Lieutenant,
For Wing Commander,
Commanding,
[Underlined] No.44(Rhodesia)Squadron. [/underlined]
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
Operations order 6 March 1944
Operational and training detail for night of 6/7 March 1944 Serial No. 26/44
Description
An account of the resource
Lists crews and aircraft for operations on nigh 6/7 March 1944. Fourth member of each crew is underlined. Included briefing times and duty personnel.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-03-06
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
SChattertonJ159568v10712
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--Lincolnshire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
E O Collcutt
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Anne-Marie Watson
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One-page typewritten document
44 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
briefing
flight engineer
navigator
pilot
RAF Dunholme Lodge
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/408/7826/SChattertonJ159568v10711.1.jpg
99910adaf62916c96a9f2d24993141a4
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
Chatterton, John. 44 Squadron operations order book
Description
An account of the resource
Collection consists of 521 items which are mostly Operations orders, aircraft load and weight tables and bomb aimers briefings for 44 Squadron operations between January 1944 and April 1945. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by M J Chatterton and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. <br /><br />This collection also contains items concerning Dewhurst Graaf and his crew, and Donald Neil McKechnie and his crew. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/109020/">Dewhurst Graaf</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/115642/">Donald Neil McKechnie</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.
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
Chatterton, 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
Weight table for squadron aircraft 6 March 1944
Description
An account of the resource
Table with tare, petrol, bomb and all up weights for two configurations for four and three aircraft repectively.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1955-03-06
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten 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
SChattertonJ159568v10711
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.
1944-03-06
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
bombing
bombing up
fuelling
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/244/3389/PCuttsE1514.1.jpg
e7a754fa5b912a34d876d5279e757670
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/244/3389/ACuttsE151001.1.mp3
20478f89b794259528d723e98160f089
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
Cutts, Ernest
Ernest Cutts
Ernie Cutts
E Cutts
Description
An account of the resource
14 Items. One oral history interview with Ernest Cutts. Ernest Cutts enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force, and trained as an air gunner in Australia. He flew on 34 operations as a rear gunner with 466 Squadron from RAF Driffield, flying Halifaxes.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Ernest Cutts 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
2015-10-01
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
Cutts, E
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
AP: This interview for the Bomber Command the International Bomber Command Centre is with Mr. Ern Cutts who is a 466 and 467 Squadron rear gunner, the interview is taking place at Mr. Cutts’s home in Doncaster, Eastern Victoria on 1st October 2015. Ern we might start at the beginning tell me something about your early life growing up, farm, family that sort of thing?
EC: I was born in the Mallee in Victoria I was born in Birchip um very proud of that I’m a Mallee boy and um still very fond of the country up there. Then I went to school in Birchip and at the age of um be about fifteen there was an advertisement in the local paper for the, from the Postmaster General’s Department advertising for staff and for young people to sit for the Commonwealth Public Service Exam which I did. I passed the exam and was then posted um straight from the the Mallee in Birchip which is quite a cultural shock and the next thing I knew I was living in a boarding house in or just off Fitzroy Street, St. Kilda so I don’t know how I actually handled it but I suppose the resilience of youth, um and I had various postings then err military post office as a civilian. I was a junior postal officer, in other words a glorified telegram boy really, um my first posting was the telephone exchange in Lonsdale Street, Melbourne from there I went to the St. Kilda Post Office, from there I went to the Military Post Office in Rowville outside Dandenong and the Military Post Office in Mount Martha outside um Frankston. By this time of course I was starting to become of the age where I could sign up and like all young blokes I couldn’t wait to join one of the services, right from the start I had um I am the youngest or was and am the youngest of seven children um of my mother and father’s and of the seven children five of us all enlisted um and we enlisted across various services. Um two of us enlisted in the Air Force I was aircrew my brother Ron was ground crew or ground staff as they were known then, er one of my sisters was um an RAAF nursing sister, two of my brothers joined the AIF and the remaining two girls of the family were wireless service people so I had a fairly interesting service life. By this time of course I’d have been eighteen as I just mentioned before and I had already decided that I want to be in aircrew and aircrew after a lot of hassle with my father he didn’t want me to go aircrew because he felt that five out of the seven of his children were already occupied in the forces and he thought that I perhaps could go into something less less strenuous or whatever I wanted to join aircrew and I did it.
AP: Did you have any family history in the First World War perhaps, did you know of anyone who was in the First World War and had they?
EC: Well I know one of my uncles er my father’s brothers on my father’s side Aubrey, Aubrey Cutts I know he was in the war and another brother who lived in Sydney I can’t I’m not hundred per cent where Aubrey lived but I think he was um after the First World War I think he was a blockie in other words a farmer a soldier settler allocated a fruit growing block, um the other brother the only other one that I know of that was in the services was employed by the Sydney municipal council and he was um his name was Ray but I I really didn’t know either of them.
AP: So there wasn’t any sort of influencing you all joining up it was more, there’s another war let’s go?
EC: No no.
AP: Okay.
EC: My father was one of eleven or twelve children I think like they all were in those days and um by the time I came on the scene they were all well scattered all over the Commonwealth so I didn’t even know them except that one uncle, Uncle Ray in Sydney and the only reason I knew him was that um we embarked from Sydney on the troop ship New Amsterdam um to go overseas and of course he had me at his house and all that you know all that company and looking after me and all that business.
AP: You specifically chose the Air Force or were you open to any service?
EC: No I think now I can’t remember but looking back I think I wanted to be aircrew.
AP: Specifically aircrew well you got there.
EC: Specifically aircrew and I wanted to be aircrew and, and I was.
AP: Can you remember much of the actual enlistment process you know you go and you put your name down somewhere can you remember that that process where and how did that happen?
EC: I can’t remember, I can’t remember the actual, I can remember going to a big building on the corner of I think it was the Main Road and St. Kilda Road and that was commandeered I think would be the word it was taken over by the Air Force as their recruitment centre and it was called Kellow-Falkiner, any people of my age would know Kellow-Falkiner for it was a very big motor company selling motor cars, servicing motor cars and very big I think it was either on the corner of St. Kilda Road and the Main Road or St. Kilda Road and Commercial Road but I feel pretty sure it was the Main Road in fact I think the building is still there today.
AP: What happened when you went there?
EC: Well the rest is a bit of a blank it was I can’t really remember, I remember we had to go in and I suppose we were interviewed and I think we were given a quick medical and signed this piece of paper and then that was it and I think we went on our various ways home and all that sort of thing and waited to be called up.
AP: How long did it take from that until you were called up?
EC: I can’t remember.
AP: Oh right.
EC: I can’t remember I really can’t remember er um and during that time while I was waiting for my call up I just went back as a junior post office as a junior postal officer at St. Kilda Post Office.
AP: Did you already know Morse code out of interest doing that job?
EC: Yeah well sort but I was never as good at it as I would have liked er and I, I regretted that very very much because I should have been a wireless air gunner which was I wanted to be a wireless air gunner but I wasn’t good enough at Morse code.
AP: Despite the prior experience?
EC: Beg your pardon?
AP: Despite the prior experience?
EC: Yeah but I never, I didn’t really have enough experience.
AP: Fair enough.
EC: Some of those, those in the days of telegraphy some of those telegraphers were absolutely brilliant, brilliant you had to be you had to be brilliant to be a telegraphist.
AP: Fair enough. Your ITS training your initial training where was that and what did you do?
EC: One in that logbook here somewhere.
AP: There it is.
EC: Yeah over there well when I first ITC initial training see that would be initial training centre that won’t be in here.
AP: I don’t think you would have done any flying there.
EC: No, no you don’t that was the [looking through book] initial training ITC [pause] I just saw the photo a minute a go here but which side I was, there it is there. First posting was to Number 1 Recruit Training School at Summers, Victoria for six weeks. From Summers I proceeded to West Sale, Victoria with the 3 BAGS, which is bombing and gunnery school for three weeks, this is a part of the course thirty nine gunners at Sale and yours truly, yours truly is um somewhere there.
AP: Hopefully we will scan this photo later.
EC: Er just trying to see which is me . . . there!
AP: Back there, excellent. So at, at West Sale you were flying in Fairey Battles according to your logbook, what memories of that if any do you have?
EC: I don’t want memories of that.
AP: You don’t want memories of that [laughs].
EC: I don’t memories of that [background noise] that was the most, that was bloody hideous things they were, they were glycol-cooled engines, inline engines, Fairey Battles and I’ve never smelt glycol like that. They, they sort of make you sick before you took off, the smell of the hot glycol which was a cooling agent and um beside that they were old they were rickety there was only you and the pilot in them and to step out on the first day for your first time in your life of ever being airborne to step out of one of those Fairey Battles really was asking really asking too much. But that’s how they did the gunnery schools because they were very reliable aircraft, very reliable aircraft. They had to tow drogues which were really targets like a like an air sock on an airfield the drogue. One Fairey Battle would drag the drogue and then you would be in the other one and you’d practice all that you put into practice all that you’d learned in theory that day, but they were awful, it was awful I hated every minute of it, hated. Beside being violently airsick all the time which you were because the pilot had to do manoeuvring and they were er well we just weren’t prepared for it just not prepared for it. We were young blokes who’d who’d never even seen an aircraft before and um plonked in this awful aircraft the Fairey Battle then and er you just had to cope the best you could.
AP: And so after something like ten hours in your logbook your next step is embarkation depot and a boat presumably to er?
EC: No then.
AP: After BAGS.
EC: 3 BAGS, which is bomber and gunnery school oh and I see it will be initial training was learning to be a discipline, discipline you know that was here initial training and then 3 BAGS bomber, bombers and air gunners school, then I went to now in that one we flew Oxford aircraft which were comparatively luxurious I mean they had two engines for a start off that were pretty hard and clamped down but at least they had two engines and um you weren’t out in the elements like you were in the Fairey Battles I think I might have a photo of one.
AP: So in the Oxford you were bombing training or was that in gunnery?
EC: Gunnery.
AP: Gunnery training as well.
EC: Yes.
AP: How did they do that in an Oxford? Was there a turret or just a hole with a gun? Where did you do your– ?
EC: You had to know how to stand in the turret there it is there 3 BAGS, West Sale gunnery there it is there as I said yeah Oxford that one’s Fairey Battle, Fairey Battle, Fairey Battle [examining photographs].
AP: Ah so you flew both of them?
EC: Yeah Battle, Battle, Battle, but mostly it was um.
AP: Now we’re at Lichfield? So how did you get from West Sale to Lichfield?
EC: From West Sale to Lichfield, I can’t remember a great amount about it except that when we finished 3 BAGS we would have been sent on pre-embarkation leave and I think we perhaps had ten days perhaps three weeks of pre-embarkation leave and we were er towards the end of that we were in Brad I think it was the suburb of Bradfield or Bradfield Park in Sydney and it was there that I contacted the brother of my father’s Ray that’s how I came to know him and um I suppose we did whatever young blokes did while we were sitting in the embarkation you know perhaps went down for a few beers went out perhaps saw all the pretty girls and did all those things and um then that was time say for the embarkation actual embarkation and we were then bussed along with hundreds and hundreds of others down to the troop ship which was um commandeered by the British navy and was a liner, pre-war liner and it was the flagship of the Dutch merchant navy, the Royal Dutch Merchant Navy and it was the New Amsterdam and in those days it was not quite to the standard of the Queen Mary but going that way which to be the flagship of the Dutch merchant navy pre-war well it had to be it had to be a beautiful liner and then from there we went overseas.
AP: Can you remember which direction you went?
EC: Yes we went from um Sydney and one of the most one of the most beautiful sights I ever saw in my life was um we didn’t, we didn’t come down to Melbourne we left Sydney and but we came down in the Bass Strait and then across to Perth. One of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in my life was a late afternoon we passed um Wilsons Promontory and the sun was setting and this it was and I’ve never never, never ever forgot it was the most beautiful thing I ever saw in my life, I was a young eighteen year old bloke very impressionable and um I’ve never forgotten that, then um we went direct then to Cape Town in South Africa. Now we were in Cape Town for a while I distinctly remember going ashore and with all the boys and we used to go down to the canteen and have a few beers and um I remember I remember distinctly Cape Town, and from there we went round to Freetown, which is the capital of Sierra Leone and is still the capital today er I’ve got an idea we went to another place not too sure and all this time of course if there were in the big shipping lanes all over the world and they didn’t like calling in and embarking and disembarking too much because the German submarines were really, really, on the ball and um it was better that you were at sea and under convoy protection and big liners like the New Amsterdam we didn’t we had protection but that was only to keep us with the rest of the convoy didn’t really need the protection because the New Amsterdam could outrun German submarines and so we went from Cape Town round to Freetown the capital of Sierra Leone oh yeah that’s right then we went up to the Gold the Gold Coast could it be called the Gold Coast?
AP: The Ivory Coast?
EC: The Ivory Coast yes that’s the next one up I think from Sierra Leone [pause] and from there we went we must have picked up I remember distinctly remember picking up hundreds of Italian prisoners of war and we learnt later that they were from the Italian cruiser the Bartolliomi Colomanie, Bartolomeo Colleoni, which had just been sunk over Sydney and they had all the prisoners, all the Italian naval prisoners of war and we loaded them they were loaded on pretty quickly and then we set sail and went straight up to um Firth of Forth, which is in Scotland, Grannick is it Grannick [?Greenock], all the Scotch [sic] people that’s all they ever talk about the Firth of Forth so that’s where they’ll know it, beautiful part of the world, from there like all Australians we were um we disembarked and joined the troop train which took us directly to Brighton, um in Sussex?
AP: England, over in England, South of England.
EC: Yes and so that’s my tale of how I got to England.
AP: Can you remember much of Brighton, were you there for long was there much to do did you see any enemy activity or anything like that?
EC: No there was not a lot to do and um it was and still is er where most English people spend some holiday sometime because you haven’t been anywhere as an English person if you hadn’t been to Brighton. Even today it’s, it’s um a mecca for those that come, it’s a beautiful place. We expected to see being on the sea like that we expected the sea and perhaps swim on nice beaches but there is no beaches there, it’s on the sea alright, but no beaches so we were quite disappointed [laughs] they just had all pebbles and they don’t sort of have beaches.
AP: Did you see much um sign of the war when you had just arrived in England?
EC: Yeah, yeah well we um Brighton itself wasn’t bombed much, least I don’t think it was and if it was it wasn’t when I was there it was never bombed while I was there, but London was still being bombed while I was there and um yeah and things were pretty crook, pretty crook um but we were treated like kings you know because the English people were so pleased any, anyone in Bomber Command were treated with the utmost respect, treated like kings because the only people in the war in those days, until D-Day was Bomber Command there was no other um and in the Middle East of course but in Europe there was no war on Europe it was only air war because it was only Bomber Command and going over every night and doing what we had to do it every night [phone ringing], but I remember something stuck in my mind I remember when I was a young a bloke at this time and I was pretty keen on a young English girl and I noticed I’d been invited to her home quite a few times and I noticed that she and I always got fed, Cassandra she was the only daughter so there was no one other than her mother and her and myself and mother said she and I always got fed but the mother never ate anything and I said to her one day and I questioned her about it one day she said ‘no, no, no, no, no’ she got very embarrassed and I said ‘why you know are, are you so embarrassed? Is it illegal food or something?’ she said ‘no it’s actually my mother’s ration she’s giving it to you’.
AP: Wow.
EC: Well that’s, that’s, that’s the English people you know they were really tops.
AP: Wow . . . all right we’ll move on a bit tell me how you met your crew, how did you meet the people that you flew with?
EC: Well that was at 27 OTU and we were all um we’d have been taken there by by rail or road motor, would have been transported there from Brighton to Lichfield anyhow, somehow maybe by train um and then taken out to the station, out to Driffield and I think they gave us a couple of days to acclimatise and [coughs] wander round and see what was what and just sort of filled in to I don’t remember, all I remember is I met a guy his name was Gordon Dalton and he was born and bred in Nilma which is outside of Warragul and I think Gordon’s now dead but I remember he and I got along particularly well and he always looked for a mate so you had someone to talk to and I remember him saying to me one day ‘they’re looking for crews they want a gunner’ I said ‘yeah but we gotta get a pilot’ I said ‘it takes a week to find this’ he said ‘no we’ve got a half-filled now’ I think we only wanted a navigator and two gunners something like that and he said ‘now are you interested?’ I said ‘course I’m interested that’s what we are here for [phone ringing] let’s get into a crew and get this thing [unclear]’ that’s how it happened he said ‘OK I’ve got the pilot‘ Alan McKellem and the rest of the blokes from there on I don’t know, I don’t remember how we all gelled then [unclear].
AP: So it wasn’t like everyone in one big room and pick your room it sort of happened naturally?
EC: Naturally, yeah yeah.
AP: Suddenly you were flying?
EC: I was yes I mentioned that Gordon Dalton actually I made a mistake there, that’s how I was paired up on the second crew the first crew um I think it was the bomb aimer, Brian Seaton from Sydney, I think it was him that mentioned one day he said this ‘Cuttsy we are looking for a gunner if we get two gunners and a navigator’ or it might have been a flight engineer he was looking for but he said ‘we’ve got the crew mate will you be in ours?’ I said ‘yeah gotta be in [unclear] that’s what we are here for’ and that’s how that happened.
AP: What um what sort of things happened at OTU at Lichfield what were you actually doing in the aeroplanes and what were you doing on the ground?
EC: Operational Training Unit 27 OTU now at Lichfield. 27 OTU was at Lichfield Operational Training Unit that was switching over to what you called today medium bombers, in those days they were heavy bombers but they were Wellingtons, two engine radial cooled and we went across and we learnt cross country navigation, we practiced bombing, we practiced gunnery um that was all down there, cine camera gun exercise, a lot of that was gunners doing their training we had cine cameras attached to the um machine guns and when you fired they would sort of um show where you were going so they could check up on you the instructors could check up on you so there I’ve done about one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, nine flights [looking at his logbook] there all of them averaging um an hour and a half er and that was on cine camera gun exercise, now down here still in 27 OTU solo cross country that would have been the first time that our skipper would have flown with his crew at night, solo bombing runs, solo cross country, solo cross country, dual circuits and landing, dual circuits and landing.
AP: You even had gunners for circuits?
EC: So that the aircraft was fully loaded.
AP: Ah of course.
EC: And so that you got used to you know circuits and bumps we you used to call it circuits and landing.
AP: It would have been quite bumpy in rear turret I imagine?
EC: [Laughs] No actually the rear turret was quite okay um um but this was really for the skipper circuits and landing it’s all for the skipper here’s it well here [unclear] air test self-towed drogue in other words the aircraft that I was in had a towed drogue and we towed that, a number of rounds fired fifty two, cross country, all those things, so still still on Operational Training Unit, solo bombing, um simulated fighter attacks using your own fighter aircraft using Mosquitoes no it wouldn’t have been Mosquitoes um Spitfires or Hurricanes and they would come in and attack us no, no firing or anything but they would come in and attack us we would fire at them with the cine cameras and then they’d be taken away by the instructors if you weren’t hitting them they’d put you back to school [laughs].
AP: What sort of ground training was involved at OTU for you guys if any?
EC: Um aircraft recognition er there was never any, except for initial training, there was never any um training like the army those you know army drill and backpacks we didn’t have to be we all were particularly fit young blokes but we didn’t have to be super fit like the young infantry blokes because we never walked anywhere we were driven everywhere.
AP: Having someone say you sat down to go to war?
EC: Yeah well that’s right yeah I mean we were, well the aircraft were always parked out on the aprons of the airfields and they’d always be in those times say three quarters of a mile away well we’d all be bussed out there because you couldn’t go out there with your flying gear on and your and your parachute harness you just couldn’t do it and your Mae West you could hardly walk let alone go out there so we were always picked up and driven driven to the aircraft, we got out and the ground crew had the aircraft all ready for us the ladders would be in the position we’d climb up the ladders and get inside, the ground crews were absolutely fantastic blokes typical Australian servicemen you know really top blokes looked after us like spoiled us they did.
AP: What did you think of the Wellington as an aircraft?
EC: Well it was yeah it was all right but um it fitted the bill it was all right when it was being flown it really wasn’t a heavy bomber you know compared to the Halifax and the Lancaster they were good yeah the blokes that flew them did equally as good or better jobs as we did as we did with four engines the four engine Halifax and the Lancaster were superb aircraft you know so all the good things they learnt about Wellingtons they learned to drop them aside and all the good parts went into the Halifax, Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster.
AP: Beautiful.
EC: It was like it was like using um it was like using a Holden or a Falcon against a Merc or a BMW both all of them beautiful cars but [telephone ringing in and slight disturbance in the background].
AP: What did you do to relax when you were in England when you weren’t on duty?
EC: Er um get on the grog [laughs].
AP: [Laughs]
EC: I hate to say.
AP: You have entered pubs a few times?
EC: I think we I think we drank more than the average young bloke um and I think we smoked more than the average young bloke none of us I’m quite sure none of us have ever touched them since because we realised that there was yeah I know what you mean [laughs].
AP: From my experience of aircrew mmm [laughs].
EC: But the smoking part anyhow we all realised that that that was no good and er I think that’s why when we go before the Appeals Board for the Department of Veterans Affairs and you mention like I did I did thirty four operations and went back as an instructor and what not, I think I knew straight away that that they’d you know that there was no that I was gonna have my appeal carried out and I was subsequently um my appeal was subsequently allowed, I appealed against my pension and then I was because they realised that aircrew was spent most of your life behind the enemy lines and um it was pretty tough going you know pretty tough I think aircrew has the highest per capita of death and injuries I think aircrew has I stand to be corrected but I’m sure that aircrew does have the highest so.
AP: So so dealing with that sort of stress you end up in the pub frequently [laughs]?
EC: More frequently than we should have.
AP: Can you -
EC: Being behind the enemy lines all the time nearly all the time you are behind except flying there and flying home but even then the German night fighters would follow you home all the time in fact at one stage of the game they had this marvellous idea and they were very very successful at it. That they didn’t attack us over the target they waited till we crossed the English Channel coming home as this is, they waited they’d be stationed in France and then take off when we passed overhead they just they wouldn’t take us they’d just wait till we got into England and then we started fanning out our squadrons to wherever you came from I you know we had to go up to Yorkshire, your grand uncle would be going down to Lincoln and that, and they’d attack then because half the aircraft were shot up and limping home I mention and half of them not flying too well and they that’s when they wait and they’d attack when we got home they fixed that up later on the R the RAF fixed that up later on they patrolled the aircraft near the aerodromes and they fixed that up but they took a lot of a hell of a beating before they really did fix it up.
AP: So when you were on squadron at um Driffield where and how did you live like what were your living arrangements?
EC: In those um I forget what they call them they still have them today those.
AP: Nissen huts.
EC: Nissen that’s the word, Nissen huts Nissen huts except on the old former RAF regular squadrons where they had proper administrative buildings you know brick buildings and all that sort of thing um but all the squadrons were Nissen huts.
AP: What was that like in the winter of 1944-45?
EC: [Laughs] Yeah it was pretty cold, bitterly cold I think I honestly can’t remember but a lot of the times we spent a lot of times in the mess or in the sergeants’ mess or the officers’ mess whichever you were in and they were all heated, I guess in those days it would have been heated but um kerosene I suppose or diesel or something I just can’t remember.
AP: Gas?
EC: Lot of that well some or most likely we kept pretty warm but we were very much looked after very much spoilt.
AP: [Laughs]. So do any of your operations stand out in your memory?
EC: The first one I ever did in my life was to Sterkrade I think which a day might have been oh there’s when I got to Driffield there’s 46 Squadron [examining logbook] see we even tried it when we got the squadron there’s mine but after Lichfield they all became 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit which was only converting us from two engine Wellingtons to four engine whatever in my case Halifaxes so that was HCU which is Heavy Conversion Unit and even then we practiced, um practiced and trained and trained but not a great amount because all we were doing all we did was change from twin engine to four engine everything else was pretty much the same you know the only person who really got the benefit out of it um Heavy Conversion Unit was the navigator and the pilot the rest of us watching one aircraft and the next except the pilots had four engines and an additional member of the crew because when it went from um two dual engine to four engine you gained an extra crew member you’d have the um flight engineer.
AP: So he had to get used to you guys as well I suppose, was the flight engineer sort of, did you choose him or was he here’s your flight engineer off you go just like that?
EC: Yeah ‘cos he was RAF all flight engineers are RAF I don’t know why that is but it is something I suppose Australia said look we you’ve asked us for say ten thousand men or something will try and train ten thousand gunners, navigators, bomb aimers and pilots and wireless operators but we we’re too small a country we just haven’t got the men to train as flight engineers so all your flight engineers were Poms.
AP: I’ve only ever met one he’s a Scotsman.
EC: Flight engineer?
AP: Yep yep flight engineer he was a Stirling flight engineer of all things he flew Stirlings on ops.
EC: Was he was he what nationality?
AP: Scottish.
EC: RAF?
AP: Yep yeah he came out to Australia in the 1950s.
EC: Stirlings.
AP: Did you ever fly in Stirlings?
EC: No I didn’t . . . thanks [laughs].
AP: Those who did, loved them.
EC: Yes.
AP: Tommy Toy loved them but um but those who didn’t probably way down there [unclear].
EC: I was bloody glad I never ‘cos I never liked the look of them I used to think I did, awful looking things. Here I am [unclear].
AP: Yes I think we were talking about your first operation we were going to get into that.
EC: Yes as soon as you get to the squadron you’re fighter affiliation that’s that would have been settling in, that’s the first thing you ever did.
AP: Number nine that’s further back.
EC: Yes that’s number nine op so we gotta go back oh here we are Sterkrade there you are prior to that we’d done bombing exercise, three bombing exercise, a fighter affiliation exercise, that was at night when they used to attack your own aircraft your own aircraft attack us at night so so that they test your eyes testing how you operate in the darkness you know there you are Sterkrade number one Sterkrade it was in the Ruhr valley synthetic oil and it was a day trip and took flying time was five hours so be two and a half to Sterkrade and two and a half home and I’ve never lived this down [laughs] I saw these black puffs in the air black things you know [background unassociated conversation] and I said to someone I said the crew ‘cos everyone was excited you know our first op and it was a daylight op which was good because they did try and give you a daylight give you a bit of an idea what you were going to do I said ‘what’s all those black things out there skipper what are all the black things?’ and everyone started laughing it was bloody anti-aircraft exploding that’s how raw and I by the time I got to the thirty fourth op I didn’t need to ask [laughs]. So there you are that was my first op Sterkrade and then another daylight Cologne then a night now see still look we’d done eight operations there, I went to Cologne again in the Ruhr valley six hours ten at night then the next day on the 31st we were out practising beam approach that’s the forerunner of um er you know the pilots flew on the beam.
AP: Instrument landing system is what it’s called now.
EC: It’s what?
AP: Instrument landing system ILS.
EC: That’s it yes, yes but–
AP: I see here –
EC: But you are out there doing your operations but it’s still training.
AP: Yes, yes. There’s an early return here can you remember much of that?
EC: Um early recall.
AP: Early return Essen on recall ok?
EC: Recall from Hannover that now because there’d be a few of them through here early recall from Hannover it would either be a fault in the aircraft, a fault with um pathfinders going in and couldn’t operate because it was ten tenths cloud so they’d say recall there’s no good carrying on, or um perhaps it was a wrong meteorological reading and they’ve given us two tenths cloud when we got there was ten tenths so they recalled ‘em you know, no good dropping ten thousand or two thousand tons of bombs on a city.
AP: It might not be there?
EC: Yes you can’t see it you know ‘cos all you do is spray bombs all over the countryside no one gets . . . [unclear]
AP: Um okay cool.
EC: Practice bombing detail there’s another one see in amongst all one minute I’m over Hannover and Essen both prize German things.
AP: Wondering what those black clouds are yeah.
EC: The next thing you’re gonna see one I’ve never really noticed that, number nine.
AP: With another early return as well?
EC: There’s another one there Bochum early return that was three hours forty five minutes which means we’d have been pretty close to Bochum then because Bochum’s in about um you know central Germany so it’s not it had been you know so I don’t know why we’d have been recalled then but a lot of it’s crook aircraft so not a lot of it but some of it is crook aircraft you know they’d say ’well return return’ the boys saying at the second time we’re already trying to turn round [laughs] and go back. I’m thinking [unclear]. See now started to do a lot of night ones here Duisburg, Cologne, and then after you’d done your month’s flying you had to put that in [a logbook monthly summary] and that was Noel Helpmann [?] who was a flight lieutenant um who was commanding the flight in other words that that means that that’s true we had a lot of blokes putting in things that they shouldn’t have put in.
AP: Extra ops? So I saw earlier there there’s a citation for your pilot looks like an immediate DFC?
EC: Yeah.
AP: Tell me about that trip from your perspective what do you remember of that trip?
EC: Oh no it’s not Flying Officer Alan Bircham recall the McKellam, South Lismore, New South Wales this officer [unclear] courage and determination. In November 1944 he was detailed to attack Gelsenkirchen when was that in November ‘44 there it is there the Ruhr valley, ten minutes before reaching the target the aircraft was attacked by heavy anti-aircraft fire target which wait a minute, which caused extensive damage Flying Officer McKellam flew on to the target which was attacked successfully his coolness, devotion to duty were worthy of the highest praise well um.
AP: What can you remember of that they are pretty terse words.
EC: No no a lot of these blokes, a lot of it you know I’m not saying that they the thing with the Distinguished Flying Cross what it says you know Distinguished Flying but it just happened to be on that Gelsenkirchen every pilot by the time he had done thirty four ops got a DFC I shouldn’t say it, a DFM is a different medal altogether you get ten DFCs and one DFM and that was what the DFM is I always thought if I ever get a medal I hope it’s a DFM because I wouldn’t get a DFM anyhow because I was only a sergeant when I say I was only a sergeant, I was a sergeant.
AP: So what you’re saying is there was nothing particularly different about that trip compared to other ones it just happened that they’ve got to put something?
EC: Otherwise I would have had it in.
AP: Yeah that’s a fair point it’s not in the logbook, yeah that’s a fair point it’s not in the logbook.
EC: Not in mine not for Gelsenkirchen, Ruhr valley I wasn’t recalled and I haven’t got up there return to base early um because we were shot up I sound as though I am detracting I’m not I’m just saying if you did thirty four ops doesn’t matter if you were recalled fifty not thirty times um you’d get the DFC.
AP: Fair enough [laughs].
EC: DFM though you’d be lucky if you got one [pause] where shall we go [pause]. Now the last of my flying things for days [looking through logbook] I’ll show you something in a minute still I can’t Cologne, Chemnitz, now there was one perhaps where he should have got a DFC Chemnitz we landed at Benson which was not our, it was an RAF um squadron station and we landed there because we couldn’t get home because the aircraft has because we had had an um been attacked heavily and um we were ordered to go, not ordered but we had to go there because we wouldn’t have made it back to Driffield so if he should have got the DFC that’s where he should have got it.
AP: How how were you attacked there what sort of damage to you remember that?
EC: Anti-aircraft fire.
AP: Was it over the target or on the way in or on the way out?
EC: Over the target, over the target I don’t remember I remember landing at Benson and I remember Chemnitz was a very [unclear] I’ll tell you another reason why we landed at Benson I reckon. Benson to base was only one hour so if we couldn’t have made one hour extra flying must have landed it must have been fuel perhaps we might have got hit in one of the tanks and lost all the fuel and the skipper said ‘claimed from control you’ve got to let me down you’ve got to put me down because I won’t make Driffield’ so they put us down um Benson.
AP: And then the next day you fly home?
EC: Then we flew home the next day on 6th March ‘44 on 7th March ‘44 we flew home.
AP: And your last trip?
EC: Number thirty four was Bottrop the last one thirty four was daylight that was five hours thirty minutes I’ll show you something now that I haven’t mentioned before now when I got to thirty four that was it you know they pulled us off then and we all went our different ways as instructors I think the wireless operator came home but that’s another story I think one of them came home and I went to 27 OTU as a um instructor, now we went, [examines logbook] here we are Berlin now when I told you about the CO at Lichfield at the time happened to be looking for a crew to go to group five [No. 5 Group] to learn to crew Lancasters which were going to be replaced by the super Lancaster which was the Lincoln and we were all picked crews and we were to come to Australia and instruct everyone here in Australia all the all [unclear] Australia on Lincoln aircraft and luckily [laughs] they dropped the atomic bomb so that we didn’t have to come, but whilst there at at um Metheringham which I am now um it’s a place er rear gunner Operation Spasm there’s Berlin there’s Berlin there’s er I don’t know what must have landed somewhere because it’s got returned by air safely.
AP: Operation Dodge?
EC: You’re going to say what were you doing flying over Berlin when the war’s finished.
AP: What was Operation Spasm? That’s what I’m interested in.
EC: Yeah I’m just going to show you where we all I don’t know why this hasn’t got Bari in there the first one we did was um Bari in Italy, [unclear] Spasm, Gatow, Gatow in Germany is equivalent to er er what’s the big one in London the big airport?
AP: Heathrow.
EC: Heathrow, Gatow is to Germany what Heathrow is to London, here we are Operation Dodge and Operation Spasm, Operation Spasm was Germany Gatau [spells it out] and Operation Dodge was Bari [spells it out] in Italy and you’ll notice um three hours it took us to fly to Berlin where in the bombers the actual bombers during the war that was a round trip of eight nine hours because they were loaded to absolutely loaded to the hilts.
AP: And you went the long way to, to try and– ?
EC: And went there and Bari took seven hours um there again both were non-stop I’m not sure what this one um the aircraft was stripped we stripped all the aircraft and we flew the English prisoners of war when they were released from the Middle East they went to Bari in Italy we flew them home and those that were captured in Europe they went to Berlin and we flew them home.
AP: That was Dodge and Spasm?
EC: Pretty marvellous really to fly those poor prisoners of war home and er but people said ‘well how did you do it so quick?’ but we never had we had no guns no ammunition no nothing because the war was over we just flew in in beautiful super aircraft like that how and how the others felt Lancaster picked them up and brought them home and they thought it was the most marvellous thing in the world, I think I’ve got a piece of newspaper, have we got that newspaper cutting there? Just the one about . . . that looks like it.
Other: Coming back in bombers?
EC: That’s right yeah give that to um thank you.
AP: Oh gold, I might scan that later too. Only fully trained crews many with one or two tours of thirty operations were picked for the job.
EC: You had to be experienced crews.
AP: So if they’ve got no guns in the aeroplane why did they have gunners?
EC: No this this now you are talking about going to.
AP: This one coming back when you are doing this operation when you are doing this Operation Dodge there are no guns.
EC: Dodge and Bari well I haven’t told you this [laughs] why did they didn’t have guns everything was stripped out of the aircraft it was filled all up with no seating because it was wartime just hundreds of pillows and blankets and anything sick POWs could use to collapse on you know and [laughs] believe it or not we were just air hostesses [laughs] someone had to, the ground crews would have all the ladders in position the ground crews helped them up when they got up the top there we’d take the poor bloke and say to them ‘well you sit there, you move up mate put someone else there’ and they used to almost fight over who got to sit in the mid upper turret and the rear turret and then there were those who kind of had never been in an aircraft before [laughs] flew like that all the way home to England you know had white knuckles so that’s why yeah.
AP: That’s why gunners were [laughs].
EC: So we came from, from glory to um nursemaid in a way [laughs].
AP: Someone had to do it.
EC: Well someone had do it yeah they were all crook you know and they’d just been taken out of prisoner of war and they’re thrust in one of these things they’d never ever been in an aircraft before they had no idea what was ahead of them.
AP: So after this is that the last flight in your logbook?
EC: Yeah Bari oh no here you are there’s one back to Waddington there.
AP: Waddington base and that’s the end of that so that’s where your logbook finishes on.
EC: Yeah.
AP: 21st September 1945. What happened next?
EC: Oh what?
AP: What happened after that?
EC: Like all RAAF aircrew went back to Brighton, everyone went back to Brighton every Australian whether ground crew, aircrew, whatever, they sail away if only all went through Brighton into England and out of England so Brighton was really an Australian town it was Brighton was just like we walking down the street in Melbourne and there would be a RAAF navy blue uniform of the war and to see any other uniform in Brighton was quite strange so we went back there and I don’t know how long I was in Brighton I can’t remember that clearly and I returned home on the um it was Athlone Castle and I can’t think what–
Other: Castle
EC: Yeah I know Athone Castle I’m just thinking it would be a commandeered liner again the Athlone Castle there was a big a big um oh line during the war and after the war and is still today such as Windsor Castle, the Athlone Castle, the Edinburgh Castle, they were all troop carriers but very top grade troop carriers not old cattle troop carriers like a lot of the poor people had to endure but none of them to the standard of the Athlone Castle very close to the standard of the Athlone Castle very close to the standard not the Athlone the New Amsterdam I mean the New Amsterdam was a beautiful ship as I said getting towards the Queen Mary stage, these Castle Lines were overseas liners but not quite as good so then we came home on the Athlone Castle and um stopped at um pulled in to Melbourne at Port Port Albert I think I might have a bill in there somewhere, so that’s about me talked out.
AP: Excellent. I still have one more question for you.
EC: Right.
AP: How do you think Bomber Command is remembered you know what sort of legacy has it left?
EC: Um I I think the British people um Churchill expressed it perfectly when he said first of all remember he said during the fighters that saved London ‘never have so many done so much for so few’ or whatever it was but then he also said of Bomber Command ‘that was the greatest force ever ever concentrated ever found’ because during all of our days right up till D-Day which was nearly all the war before D-Day um the only people active the only people affected by the enemy and affecting the enemy was Bomber Command there was no one else because all the armies were locked away I’m talking air force when I say all this not talking about the soldiers in the Middle East and all that they were still fighting their wars but when it came to Europe no one ranked with Bomber Command and I think they were respected and treated by the English people with the same admiration that they had for the um freedom fighters that’s not their name but the resistance the French resistance those French resistance behind the lines risking their lives all the time because when they were shot and found that was that was the worst thing that French and Belgian and all those other countries their resistance fighters could do was to rescue aircrew and bring them back through the underground ‘cause when they caught them if the Germans caught them they shot them straight away that was frightful so the freedom fighters so the resistance fighters not freedom fighters and the RAF the RAF call it the RAF because most of it was RAF I don’t think the English have got ever you mention we mention anyone today you know oh I go to RSL and blokes say ‘what did what were you in were you in the navy or army?’ I say ‘No I was in Bomber Command’ and if he was an English person ‘oh were you? Oh were you? Oh you blokes yeah‘, so makes you kind of feel very humble very proud and very humble.
AP: That’s a very nice note to finish on I think thank you very much.
EC: Okay, thanks Adam.
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/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
ACuttsE151001
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Ernest Cutts
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
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
01:16:59 audio recording
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Adam Purcell
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-01
Description
An account of the resource
Ernest Cutts was born in Mallee in Victoria and at the age of fifteen he passed the Commonwealth Public Service Exam, joining the Military Post Office as a civilian junior postal officer. At eighteen he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and went to 1 Recruit Training School at Summers and then to 3 Bombing and Gunnery School at West Sale, training as a rear gunner. He then sailed from Sydney to Great Britain, landing in Scotland and travelling to Brighton. He was posted to 27 Operational Training Unit and then to RAF Driffield, flying Halifax's. He took part in 34 operations over Germany. On one operation, his aircraft was so badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire that it was unable to return to its own station. In September 1945 he took part in Operation Spasm and Operation Dodge, repatriating prisoners of war from Europe and the Middle East. Subsequently he returned to Brighton en route for Australia. He remembers that the British people treated the personnel of Bomber Command very well and he felt proud to have been part of it.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jackie Simpson
Brian May
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
Royal Australian Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Australia
Germany
Great Britain
Scotland
England--Brighton
England--Yorkshire
New South Wales--Sydney
Victoria
Victoria--Mallee
Victoria
Victoria--Mount Martha
Victoria
New South Wales
England--Sussex
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944
1945
1652 HCU
27 OTU
466 Squadron
467 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
Battle
coping mechanism
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Operation Dodge (1945)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
RAF Driffield
RAF Lichfield
training
Wellington