Middle left, Winston Churchill acknowledging the crowds.
Middle right, crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace.
Bottom, the King, Queen, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret with Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Right page: top, Winston Churchill surrounded by people.
Bottom, Field Marshall Keitel signing the terms of surrender.]]>
The Times]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> 1945-05-08]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> 1945-05-08]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Benjamin Turner ]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Navy]]> Malta]]> 1939]]> 1939-09]]> 1945-05-08]]> 1945-06-21]]> 1945-08-30]]>
Served at RAF Halton, RAF Wittering, RAF Hornchurch, RAF Eastchurch, RAF Harrogate, RAF Little Rissington, RAF Market Harborough, RAF Scampton, RAF Wiglsey, RAF Syerston, RAF Skellingthorpe, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Castle Donington,

Aircraft flown were DH 82 Tiger Moth, Stearman, Valiant, Harvard, Commodore, Catalina, Anson, Oxford, Wellington X, Stirling III, Norseman (C64), Lancaster, Dakota, Sea Otter, Auster, York, Sunderland.

Carried out 5 day and 27 night operations with 50 Squadron to Darmstadt, Bremerhaven, Rheydt, Kaiserslautern, Munster, Wilhelmshaven, Bremen, Nuremberg, Flushing docks, Bergen, Dusseldorf, the Dortmund-Ems Canal, the Mitteland Canal, Harburg, Duren, Heilbronn, the Urft Dam, Heimbach, Munich, Politz, Houffalize, Leuna, Brux, Siegen, the Rositz Oil Refinery, the Bohlen Synthetic Oil Plant, Wurzburg. He also carried out two Operation Exodus flights.

Awarded the DFC after an operation during which his aircraft was hit by bombs from another aircraft above him. He successfully flew his aircraft back to England. Includes various newspaper clippings.]]>
Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Nick Cornwell-Smith]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> New Brunswick]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> Prince Edward Island]]> Prince Edward Island--Charlottetown]]> United States]]> Michigan]]> Michigan--Grosse Ile]]> Florida]]> Florida--Pensacola]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Essex]]> England--Kent]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Düren (Cologne)]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Altenburg (Thuringia)]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Bremerhaven]]> Germany--Darmstadt]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Heilbronn]]> Germany--Kaiserslautern]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Leuna]]> Germany--Mittelland Canal]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Münster in Westfalen]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Rheydt]]> Germany--Siegen]]> Germany--Urft Dam]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> Germany--Würzburg]]> Poland]]> Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Houffalize]]> Czech Republic]]> Czech Republic--Most]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Vlissingen]]> Norway]]> Norway--Bergen]]> 1944-09-11]]> 1944-09-12]]> 1944-09-18]]> 1944-09-19]]> 1944-09-20]]> 1944-09-23]]> 1944-09-24]]> 1944-09-26]]> 1944-09-27]]> 1944-10-05]]> 1944-10-06]]> 1944-10-19]]> 1944-10-20]]> 1944-10-23]]> 1944-10-28]]> 1944-10-29]]> 1944-11-02]]> 1944-11-04]]> 1944-11-06]]> 1944-11-11]]> 1944-11-16]]> 1944-12-04]]> 1944-12-09]]> 1944-12-11]]> 1944-12-17]]> 1944-12-18]]> 1944-12-21]]> 1944-12-22]]> 1944-12-30]]> 1944-12-31]]> 1945-01-01]]> 1945-01-13]]> 1945-01-14]]> 1945-01-15]]> 1945-01-16]]> 1945-02-01]]> 1945-02-07]]> 1945-02-08]]> 1945-02-09]]> 1945-02-14]]> 1945-02-15]]> 1945-03-05]]> 1945-03-06]]> 1945-03-07]]> 1945-03-08]]> 1945-03-16]]> 1945-03-17]]> 1945-04-23]]> 1945-05-08]]>

This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Artwork]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1945-05-08]]>
Peter first learnt to fly powered aircraft at Elementary Flying Training School and was then attached to the 9th United States Air Force. He flew in C-47s, then went back to C squadron, flying Hamilcars. When the war finished, Peter went to Fairford and converted onto Waco CG-4As to go to the Far East.
Peter discusses the time leading up to the Second World War, his views on Chamberlain and Churchill, and how prepared the country was for war. He describes his training and time as a boy soldier.
He trained at RAF Stoke Orchard on Hotspur gliders, towed off the ground by Master aircraft. When he left Glider Training School he went on Horsas, towed by C-47s. Hamilcars needed four-engined bombers: 38 Squadron Halifaxes. Peter describes flying these different gliders.
Peter recounts in some detail the Rhine crossing in which they were hit by anti aircraft fire and landed nose down before escaping to Hamminkeln and ultimately returning to RAF Brize Norton and then to his squadron at RAF Tarrant Rushton. He talks about his Bren gun.
Peter expresses his pride and the many friendships made. He also praises several generals for their roles in the war.
Peter discusses the VJ and VE Day celebrations and how warfare has since changed.]]>
Tom Ozel]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> British Army]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Dorset]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> Germany]]> Rhine River]]> Germany--Hamminkeln]]> 1938]]> 1945-05-08]]> 1945-08-15]]>
Jack Darby]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Netherlands]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> England--Suffolk]]> 1945-05-08]]> Officer Commanding 104 Squadron]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Italy]]> Italy--Lavariano]]> 1945-05-08]]>
This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available. ]]>
Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Netherlands]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France--Montchanin]]> France--Montluçon]]> Germany--Berchtesgaden]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany--Bottrop]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dessau (Dessau)]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Münster in Westfalen]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> Germany--Potsdam]]> Germany--Wuppertal]]> Germany--Zweibrücken]]> Italy--Bari]]> Italy--Milan]]> Italy--Turin]]> Netherlands--Hague]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> France--Juvincourt-et-Damary]]> 1943-04-28]]> 1943-04-29]]> 1943-04-30]]> 1943-05-01]]> 1943-05-04]]> 1943-05-05]]> 1943-05-23]]> 1943-05-24]]> 1943-05-25]]> 1943-05-26]]> 1943-05-27]]> 1943-05-28]]> 1943-05-29]]> 1943-05-30]]> 1943-06-11]]> 1943-06-12]]> 1943-06-13]]> 1943-06-16]]> 1943-06-17]]> 1943-06-19]]> 1943-06-20]]> 1943-06-21]]> 1943-06-22]]> 1943-06-23]]> 1943-06-24]]> 1943-06-25]]> 1943-07-08]]> 1943-07-09]]> 1943-07-12]]> 1943-07-13]]> 1943-07-24]]> 1943-07-25]]> 1943-07-26]]> 1943-07-27]]> 1943-07-28]]> 1943-07-29]]> 1943-07-30]]> 1943-08-02]]> 1943-08-03]]> 1943-08-15]]> 1943-08-16]]> 1943-08-17]]> 1943-08-18]]> 1943-09-03]]> 1943-09-04]]> 1943-09-05]]> 1943-09-06]]> 1943-09-07]]> 1943-09-15]]> 1943-09-16]]> 1943-09-22]]> 1943-09-23]]> 1943-09-24]]> 1943-10-18]]> 1943-10-20]]> 1943-10-21]]> 1945-02-13]]> 1945-02-14]]> 1945-03-07]]> 1945-03-08]]> 1945-03-09]]> 1945-03-12]]> 1945-03-13]]> 1945-03-14]]> 1945-03-15]]> 1945-03-16]]> 1945-03-17]]> 1945-03-21]]> 1945-03-24]]> 1945-03-26]]> 1945-04-13]]> 1945-04-14]]> 1945-04-15]]> 1945-04-22]]> 1945-04-25]]> 1945-04-30]]> 1945-05-05]]> 1945-05-07]]> 1945-05-08]]> 1945-05-10]]> 1945-05-15]]> 1945-05-23]]> 1945-06-08]]> 1945-06-12]]> 1945-06-14]]> 1945-06-25]]> 1945-07-03]]> 1945-07-09]]> 1945-08-03]]> 1945-08-05]]> 1945-08-22]]> 1945-08-24]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1945-05-08]]> 'Taffy (David) Williams "Sab" Sabourin (RCAF) Dickie Armstrong'.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> 1945-05-08]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Braunschweig Region]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Hattingen]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Kamen]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Münster in Westfalen]]> Germany--Regensburg]]> Germany--Wanne-Eickel]]> Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> France--Juvincourt-et-Damary]]> 1945-03-01]]> 1945-03-04]]> 1945-03-05]]> 1945-03-14]]> 1945-03-21]]> 1945-03-23]]> 1945-03-29]]> 1945-04-14]]> 1945-04-15]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-04-19]]> 1945-04-20]]> 1945-05-02]]> 1945-05-08]]> 1945-05-09]]> 1945-05-11]]> 1945-05-12]]> 1945-05-13]]> 1945-05-14]]> 1945-05-19]]> 1945-05-23]]> 1945-06-08]]> 1945-06-12]]> 1945-07-24]]> At RAF Halton he met fellow Poles from 303 Squadron who were there for three months training. He, however, was there for four years and received training very good on all types of armament and explosives, possibly in the context of weapon research and development.
He was there on VE Day but says the Poles didn't celebrate because of the Yalta agreement. He also recalls how, when some Russians visited, they were locked in a workshop out of the way. He recalls the barrack rooms and how they cheated the midnight bed checks when some were still out dancing in Aylesbury. He also says that the food was cooked by Italian prisoners and was very good.
In 1946 Michael went to RAF Cammeringham pending demobilisation. He was then detached to 48 Maintenance Unit at Wrexham, where he received and checked aircraft guns, before going to RAF Framlingham to await resettlement or repatriation.
Some Polish airmen returned to Poland but Mieczyslaw, by then know as Michael, went to London for resettlement. He claimed that trade unions didn't want the Poles and tried to send them into the mines and foundries but he refused and found a job making spectacles. He met his wife, who is also Polish, in 1960.
In London Michael attended social events and dinners at the Polish Club. He was awarded the Polish Freedom Medal in about 1990 or 1991.
]]>
Geoff Burton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Andy Fitter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Polskie Siły Powietrzne]]> Egypt]]> Gaza Strip]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Lincoln]]> England--London]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> Middle East--Palestine]]> Wales]]> Wales--Wrexham]]> Ukraine]]> Poland]]> Poland--Kraków]]> 1939]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-05-08]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> 1948]]>

This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> 1945-05-08]]>
Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> Belgium--Houffalize]]> Belgium--Saint-Vith]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> France--Rheims Region]]> France--Royan]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Düren (Landkreis)]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Giessen (Hesse)]]> Germany--Harburg (Landkreis)]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Germany--Munich]]> Italy--Bari]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> France--Juvincourt-et-Damary]]> 1944-11-01]]> 1944-11-02]]> 1944-11-03]]> 1944-11-06]]> 1944-11-07]]> 1944-11-11]]> 1944-11-12]]> 1944-12-06]]> 1944-12-07]]> 1944-12-08]]> 1944-12-10]]> 1944-12-11]]> 1944-12-12]]> 1944-12-17]]> 1944-12-18]]> 1944-12-26]]> 1944-12-30]]> 1945-01-01]]> 1945-01-05]]> 1945-01-06]]> 1945-01-07]]> 1945-01-08]]> 1945-05-08]]> 1945-05-10]]> 1945-06-16]]> 1945-08-02]]> 1945-08-06]]> 1945-08-11]]> 1945-08-17]]> 1945-08-20]]> 1945-09-05]]> 1945-09-07]]> 1945-09-29]]> 1945-10-01]]> Peter Baxter]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lincoln]]> 1945-05-08]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> Steve Baldwin]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Australia]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> Victoria]]> 1945-05-08]]> There is a title sheet stating 'Original letter from Copenhagen VE Day']]> Colin McDermott]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Denmark]]> Denmark--Copenhagen]]> 1945-05-08]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Civilian]]> Nigeria]]> Nigeria--Lagos]]> 1945-05-08]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Civilian]]> 1945-05-08]]> His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Crawford.]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Terry Hancock]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Potsdam]]> Wales--Carmarthenshire]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1945-04-09]]> 1945-04-10]]> 1945-04-13]]> 1945-04-14]]> 1945-04-15]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-04-22]]> 1945-05-03]]> 1945-05-08]]> 1945-05-29]]> 1945-06-04]]> 1945-06-05]]> 1945-07-08]]> 1945-07-24]]> On the reverse 'Bill Stephen - Front row centre
6 Group Service VE day '45
Gr. Capt Rutledge Leading'.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> PCothliffKB17030004]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--York]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1945-05-08]]>
Des Matthews]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> BAutonJAutonJv10002,
BAutonJAutonJv10003,
BAutonJAutonJv10004,
BAutonJAutonJv10005,
BAutonJAutonJv10006,
BAutonJAutonJv10007,
BAutonJAutonJv10008,
BAutonJAutonJv10009]]>
Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> South African Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Austria--Linz]]> Italy--Foggia]]> Italy--Brindisi]]> Poland--Warsaw]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Germany--Zerbst]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hull]]> Europe--Elbe River]]> Germany]]> Italy]]> Poland]]> Austria]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1945-05-08]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> MCurnockRM1815605-171114-0730002]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Germany--Lüneburg]]> 1945-05-08]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Hanau]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Hannover Region]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Germany--Potsdam]]> Netherlands--Gouda]]> Netherlands--Hague]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> Wales--Bridgend]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-03-15]]> 1945-03-16]]> 1945-03-17]]> 1945-03-18]]> 1945-03-19]]> 1945-03-21]]> 1945-03-22]]> 1945-03-23]]> 1945-03-25]]> 1945-03-31]]> 1945-04-03]]> 1945-04-09]]> 1945-04-10]]> 1945-04-11]]> 1945-04-14]]> 1945-04-15]]> 1945-04-29]]> 1945-04-30]]> 1945-05-03]]> 1945-05-04]]> 1945-05-07]]> 1945-05-08]]>