1
25
10
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/828/26858/PFreemanRRE1903.1.JPG
34da01d8e3b1c2f4d520426253a136aa
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Freeman, Ralph
R Freeman
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with Sergeant Ralph Reginald Freeman (1923 - 2019, 1523700 Royal Air Force), his log book, photographs and documents. He trained as a pilot and later flew as a flight engineer.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Susan Abbott and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-03-12
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Freeman, R
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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101 Squadron No 1 Group Bomber Command
Description
An account of the resource
A framed photograph of 101 squadron on VJ day 15th August 1945. A large group of squadron personnel are arranged in six rows on front of a Lancaster.
Creator
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Panora Ltd
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-08-15
Format
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One b/w photograph in a wooden frame
Language
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eng
Type
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Photograph
Identifier
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PFreemanRRE1903
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
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-08-15
101 Squadron
aircrew
ground crew
ground personnel
Lancaster
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1998/38064/SOatesJ1489926v10010.1.jpg
0ade847a4bdf92e3997818e5c503bb03
Dublin Core
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Title
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Oates, James
J Oates
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-12-07
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Oates, J
Description
An account of the resource
91 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer James Oates (1489926 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents and photographs. He flew paratrooper drops and glider towing operations as a navigator with 196 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Gina E Welsh and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
THE WILTSHIRE TIMES, SATURDAY
A FIRE ON V-J NIGHT
Allegations Against N.F.S. at Corsham Council Meeting.
Chairman Says “I think it a Disgrace.”
Amazing allegations regarding the way a rick fire at Corsham on V-J night was dealt with were made at the monthly meeting of the Corsham Parish Council on Monday evening.
It will be remembered that five outbreaks of rick fires occurred in the Corsham area on V-J night, and the one referred to at the Council meeting was the outbreak near Jaggards Lane, on Moor Barton Farm.
The Clerk (Mr. H.B. Coates) reported that he had received a letter from Mr. A.G. White, of Moor Barton Farm, telling how the fire had been dealt with, and after the letter had been read it was carried unanimously that the Press be asked to report the matter fully and that the N.F.S. be sent a strong protest.
Mr. White, in his letter, said the fire broke out at 10.30 p.m., and the Chippenham N.F.S. arrived at 11.5. The Corsham fire bells and sirens, he alleged, failed to function. “The Army Fire Service arrived some time earlier than the N.F.S., but neither the N.F.S. nor the Army Fire Service knew where the hydrants and static water tanks were, and on being given instructions failed to locate either, and returned to the scene of the outbreak.
“They were sent off again with a guide, connected the hose to the hydrant and then found no pressure. The static water tank was under lock and key and had to be forced by a local man after he had fetched the necessary tools. The N.F.S. and A.F.S. trailer pumps were by then both out of action, and the Army Fire Service returned to base for a third pump. Meanwhile the N.F.S. driver refused to leave the fire to fetch water in his lorry-tank (400 galls.) until ordered to do so by the Leading Fireman, who, however, could not be found.
“The N.F.S. then discovered they had not enough hose to reach the static water, and Sergt. Axford, of the Police, advised the N.F.S. and A.F.S. to co-operate. Firemen were trying to connect the hose by the wrong ends and had to reverse the lengths after they had been laid.
“Eventually a supply of water was obtained, but this failed after about four minutes owing to burst hose. The A.F.S. then suggested going to Corsham to attend to a fire there, in spite of the fact that four other ricks were near the outbreak.
“Meanwhile the N.F.S. tender moved off to fetch water from a hydrant at Westwells, but its lighting system had failed, and it therefore had to be preceded by a man with a lantern. After making three journeys the water supply arrived, but no N.F.S. or A.F.S. man was near the fire and no nozzle was fitted to the hose, so two sailors and two civilians climbed to the top of the rick – by now well ablaze – and let the water run over it.
“Again, after about five minutes, the supply failed – at least four lengths of hose were faulty. A continuous supply of water was not obtained until approximately 1 a.m.,” concluded Mr. White.
Mr. F.G. Dyke: If that is the N.F.S. it would be better if we had the old brigade back.
In reply to a question, the Clerk said the fire bell had not been working for over a month.
When Mr. A.R. Gough asked why the siren was not used, Mr. Dyke replied that that could not be sounded during the hours of darkness.
Hon. Mrs. Methuen: If my house was on fire I would see that it was sounded. I think we should send a very strong protest and ask why our brigade, who would at least know where the hydrants were, were not called out.
The Chairman (Mr. H.R. James): I think it is a disgrace to find that after all the money and organisation that has been spent a thing like that should be allowed to occur.
Mrs. Methuen: Our old brigade was voluntary and cheap, and we could not always expect things too good, but with these officers who have such great salaries we have the right to expect a high standard.
It was agreed that the letter be forwarded to the N.F.S. authorities.
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Title
A name given to the resource
A Fire on V-J Night
Description
An account of the resource
A cutting about a series of fires at Corsham on V-J night. There is discussion about the ineffectiveness of the fire brigade.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Corsham
England--Wiltshire
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
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Text
Format
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One newspaper cutting
Identifier
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SOatesJ1489926v10010
Conforms To
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Pending text-based transcription. Under review
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Oates, James. Newspaper Cuttings
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-08-15
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/367/5791/PCavalierRG17010014.1.jpg
d0a014c18a794470117a1cd85a24b53b
Dublin Core
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Title
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Cavalier, Reginald George. Album one
Description
An account of the resource
57 items. Photograph album showing pictures taken during Reginald George Cavalier's service as a squadron photographer. It includes material from his photographic course training in 1940, and service with 76 Squadron at RAF Middleton St George, and with 88 Squadron and 226 Squadron with 2 Group and 2nd Tactical Air Force at RAF West Raynham. The album also includes target photographs, images of Christmas parties, visits by VIPs including Eisenhower and the King, as well as captured German ordnance and aircraft in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04-10
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Cavalier, RG
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Cologne 15 August 1945
Description
An account of the resource
Photograph 1 is a low level oblique photograph of the cathedral.
Photograph 2 is a low level oblique photograph of a church, a bridge and the river Rhine.
Photograph 3 and 5 are low level oblique photographs of the main railway station.
Photograph 4 is a low level oblique photograph of a mostly destroyed part of the city,
Photograph 6 is a low level oblique photograph of severely damaged buildings.
Photograph 7 is a low level oblique photograph taken from an aircraft's gun turret. It shows the cathedral, the destroyed railway bridge and the main railway station.
Photograph 8 is of the badly damaged cathedral taken from ground level. Captioned 'Cologne. Germany. 15. Aug 1945.'
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-08-15
Format
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Eight b/w photographs on an album page
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCavalierRG17010014
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
Conforms To
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Geolocated (cumulative polygon)
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-08-15
Publisher
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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.
Language
A language of the resource
eng
aerial photograph
bombing
Cook’s tour
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2255/40602/ADaviesPO221105-AV.2.mp3
24c21d41f52c2fb363f1a02d61a5a2d5
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Davies, Peter Offord
P O Davies
Description
An account of the resource
Two oral history interviews with Captain Peter Orfford Davies (b. 1922). He served with a Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Royal Artillery at various RAF stations. He later retrained as a glider pilot and flew during the Rhine Crossing.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2022-11-06
Publisher
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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
Davies, PO
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
TO: Good morning, good afternoon or good evening whatever the case may be. My name is Thomas Ozel and the gentleman we’re interviewing is Mr Peter Davies and we’re recording this interview on the 5th of November 2022. So, could you tell me a bit about where you were born, please?
PO: My home town is Coventry. The city of Coventry in Warwickshire. I was born in a company house. My father worked for a company and we lived on the company’s estate. I went to a normal sort of school. I was never brilliant as a student. I failed my Eleven Plus but I did manage to get through an art examination and I went to the city’s Art College for two years prior to joining the forces at sixteen.
TO: And when you were growing up were you interested in the Army?
PO: No. Not at all. I mean okay you know we were children. All our fathers invariably of course had been in the First World War and there were First World War relics knocking about. I mean in a garden, one of the back gardens on the company estate one person had the fuselage of an aircraft. Steel helmets were commonplace. We used to fight battles and things like that but as for a military my first brush I suppose with the military would have been I was taken by an aunt of mine who lived in South London and we went to Woolwich on a Sunday morning and on the Parade Ground there there were the horses and all the troops lined up and one thing and another. But I can’t honestly say that the military appealed to me at that time. I suppose like most children I didn’t know really what I wanted to do and I lived in a fantasy world. It really, yeah.
TO: And was your father in the First World War?
PO: Oh, yes. My father was. My father actually joined the volunteers before the Territorial Army was formed before the First World War and he served. He was in the Royal Army Medical Corps in actual fact and he served throughout the war you know. I think he came out of the forces in 1919. But after that there was no [pause] nothing. I mean he didn’t talk a lot about it. He had, you know a normal traumatic experience like most people in the First World War which was absolute carnage you know. I mean he talked about tying people to tree stumps to stop them harming themselves and that sort of thing. You know, it really was a terrible war that the First World War. Oh yes. The Second World War was nothing like the first. Although having said that before the war we were all our training because I joined the Army in ’38 it was second, it was First World War based. You know, we were digging trenches and doing things which were ludicrous really for the age that we were in at that time. There we are.
TO: And when you were at school were you taught about the First World War?
PO: No. No. All that I know is one of my masters at school was, he had been in the forces and I I quite admired him but I mean absolute childish way, you know. He’d been in. He’d been in the war and he was a big man and he was, he was a kind guy and as such I took to him and, yeah. But no. Really the First World War wasn’t talked about. I think it was too raw really.
TO: And were you taught any other military history though?
PO: The usual thing about the Romans and stuff like that but it, it went over our heads you know. It, it was, it was just, I mean my schooling, a lot of my schooling was learned by rote. There was no discussions and things like that. It was this is it and that’s it. You absorb it or you don’t sort of thing, you know. I mean the funny thing is that, you know sort of you look back and you think gosh, you know what a load of rubbish we were being taught at times. I mean the Empire was the great thing you know. We were great believers that Britain was the greatest country on earth and that we were kind to all these people who we ruled over and in actual fact of course we were anything but. We were taskmasters and slave masters. Yeah. Oh gosh, yes. No. Funny old life. Funny old life. Looking back you realise what. what was true and what isn’t true and I don’t know. Life just goes on.
TO: And were you interested in aircraft at all?
PO: We were. In Coventry there was a company called Armstrong Whitworth and we had an aerodrome called Bagington which is now Coventry. I don’t know what they call it now. But there, from there private aircraft flew and when I say private aircraft we used to get lots of, well no, not lots but an Autogyro or helicopter come over and we used to shout to them sort of thing as children you know. And then the first time I flew Alan Cobham’s Air Circus came to town and I emptied my money box and paid five shillings for a flight. So I was, my first flight would be, I’d be ten maybe. So that was my first flight. Okay. Looking back I suppose I sort of boasted about I’d flown as it were because that was unusual and five shillings was a hell of a lot of money in those days. It was to me anyhow. But that was the first time I flew. But after that I can’t say I hankered to fly, you know. It wasn’t, it didn’t grab me as such.
TO: And what do you remember from being in the air?
PO: The thing that I remember actually was that we, the aircraft we flew in would be, we’d got about eight seats in and there were just cane chairs bolted to the floor sort of thing you know and you just got in and I sat on the what I now know as the starboard side. But, and as we flew around the city we banked and the people on the port side could look down at the town and the city and I was on, all I was looking at was sky. So I did get up to have a look and I got screamed at by two old ladies who said I’d turn the plane upside down and made me sit down again. So it was rather disappointing in some ways. But that’s the first time I flew but after that I can’t say I hankered to fly as such you know. I mean we’re talking in the days of the R100 and the R101 airships which of course the R101 I think it was flew over our school one day. That was, that was quite something to see this leviathan of the air floating by almost silently as it were you know. I mean it really was ginormous. Yeah. Oh yeah. But no, flying I can’t say particularly was to the fore of my thinking as a child.
TO: And did you hear about when the R1, was it the R101 had crashed?
PO: Oh gosh, yeah. That, that crashed at Beauvais in France. Yes, oh yes. A friend of ours was an artist and he actually did a painting of it which he sent off to London hoping it would be included in an exhibition. It didn’t make it but it still went to London this. But I remember this painting of the R101 in its crashed state as it were. Oh yeah. Gosh. Yeah. A long time ago that. Everything is a long time ago with me.
TO: Do you remember what kind of plane you were in on your first flight?
PO: All that I know it was a biplane. I mean the, the Air Circus that came had various I presume, it is a presumption that they were Bristol fighters and stuff like that. Maybe the odd Fokker. I don’t remember. I mean all that I know is that it was magnificent. These guys flying around and throwing the things about but you know. It was. It was just exciting. Yeah. But as for type. No. No. The first type I remember is I used to scrounge flights in Whitley bombers and in Wellington aircraft on night flying tests and stuff like this. Although I was in the Army I was, at the time I was stationed on RAF airfields and you know I used to sneak off and go and scrounge flights. Why I did it I don’t know. It was I suppose it was, A it was something different and B, I was fed up anyhow. But yeah, but I can’t say it ever really grabbed me as such. It wasn’t the apogee of my sort of, it wasn’t that important to me. I did it and that was just fun. God knows what would have happened if we’d of crashed because everybody else would have been on the, on the documentation but my, my remains would be a mystery to somebody or other. Oh yeah. Because regularly these aircraft regularly came to the ground in the wrong place. Oh yes. Yeah. I suppose looking back it was dicey but you know, so what?
TO: And when you were, how was it you arranged with the crew to be aboard these bombers?
PO: Sorry?
TO: How, how did you arrange with the crew for them to allow you on the bombers?
PO: Well, I would just go up and say, ‘Hey,’ you know. I was sort of, ‘Could I have a flight with you?’ And so I suppose I did get rejected on occasions and others they said, ‘Yeah. Go on. Get in.’ Sort of. It was I mean it was just so casual. I mean it really was casual but it was, it was good. It was good. Yeah. Yeah, the old Whitley bomber. Gosh. Made in Coventry and there I am flying in the damned thing. Yeah. Oh, it was good. Yeah. That was my first sort of well that was my first war time flying shall I say. Oh yeah.
TO: And can you tell me about when you joined the Army?
PO: I, well I joined the Army. I originally joined the [pause] the county Infantry Regiment, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and when the, we’d just come back actually from annual camp when the war broke out and my battalion went to France. But I was at that time I’d just become a private. I had been a boy soldier up until my birthday, my seventeenth birthday. So at seventeen I became a private but I was still considered too young to go to France so I got put into another battalion and we were doing guarding vulnerable points and things all over the UK. And then that battalion I don’t know quite why but I then got transferred into the Royal Artillery and so I became a gunner and that was considered by the War Office as my parent regiment. God knows why because my parent regiment really was the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. But I, we guarded airfields and power stations and stuff like this. I had twelve guys. I mean I became an NCO in promotion sort of thing and I just had twelve or fourteen guys and a forty millimetre Bofors gun. I was part of the defence of various radar stations and stuff like that from the north of Scotland down to the south of Devon. And one day I saw a thing on Orders about the Army Air Corps and I think the real come on as far as I was concerned was there was flying pay on top of my meagre normal salary as it were as a, as a bombardier which is equal to a corporal. And so I applied to join the Army Air Corps. I went to London and did my aircrew medical and all the educational stuff and whatnot which I duly passed and found myself on Salisbury Plain as part of the Army Air Corps which it was then. My cap badge is an Army Air Corps cap badge. But I was in the glider pilot regiment and so that was the beginning of my sort of wartime flying shall I say such as it was. My wartime flying. I mean I went to EFTS of course and learned to fly powered aircraft first because they’re easier to fly than a glider which flies like a brick and then eventually I found myself in a squadron. We had, they were Horsas. The, you know the one everybody thinks was the wartime glider and then I found myself posted or attached to the 9th US Air Force on liaison work and I was flying, flying in Dakotas and whatnot all over the country one way and another. And then after Arnhem when we lost so many people I went back to squadron and I found myself flying Hamilcars which we had one squadron, C Squadron which was a heavy lift squadron and so I flew a Hamilcar glider. And then when the war finished we found ourselves at Fairford and we were converting on to the American Waco CG-4As to go to the Far East. Then lo and behold they dropped the atomic bomb and we all cheered and knew we were going to live as it were. But it was a very free and easy life in so many ways. Highly disciplined I can tell you but boy it was, it was good. Yeah. We were a happy lot, you know. The Army you know was just sort of an average sort of guy’s experience I suppose. I mean [laughs] and that’s how it went. I’m sorry. It’s not very interesting really is it you know? Yeah.
TO: And in the late 1930s did you hear about Hitler in the papers?
PO: Oh yeah. I I remember as a child hearing my father talking to somebody who said that they thought that war was inevitable. I know my father before the war he was in the ARP. He joined the ARP and he used to go once a week for training as it were and he became an ARP warden. But that’s the only, I mean it meant nothing to us as children you know. That was life I suppose like life out there today is you know. I mean the kids out there today you know they’re all nipping around with their I-pads and one thing and another and their thumbs are going like nobody’s business on their phones. It’s all, all strange to me but it’s their world and that was our world, you know. We were, we were very innocent really. I mean we relied entirely on really as much as anything on newspapers for information whether it was slanted one way and another by the government or political parties just that was it that was life. Yeah. Yeah.
TO: And do you remember the Munich Agreement?
PO: Oh yes. I remember Chamberlain coming back and waving his bit, piece of paper about saying, ‘Peace in our time.’ I mean in 1938 there were I remember them digging trenches and covering them over and making, you know air raid shelters of sorts. I mean in my home town I remember them building a huge shadow factory for producing you know, well aircraft and bits you know sort of thing. It was everything was pointing towards war but I mean it sounds silly but that was just how it was. You know. We were very subservient I think looking back. We didn’t question as the young people today would question the authorities shall I say. Oh yeah. Yeah. As I say to me it’s just how it went.
TO: And what do you think of Chamberlain?
PO: Well really, I looking back I think in some ways he was weak but you know I suppose he did, with the aid of the civil servants who really run this country he did the best he could do to try and placate Hitler and you know keep a peaceful world as it were because the alternative was pretty grim as it turned out. Yeah. He did his best and failed I suppose in some. Well, no. Perhaps he didn’t fail. I don’t know. I really have no great opinion of him one way or another. You know, as I say I just roll over and accept it.[laughs]
TO: And what do you think of Churchill?
PO: The right man at the right time. He could have been full of bluster and everything else but he he came on to the scene. I mean when you look at Churchill’s background I mean gosh there’s a man who changed sides so often one way and another. He was very astute in that respect but as a wartime leader I think he appealed to the populace, the general populace and you know he really sort of put a bit of fire into the belly of the nation and said you know this is it. We’re going to beat these guys and we all fell in line behind him and did what we did. Oh yeah. He was okay. I just wish he hadn’t have put his name forward and got beaten at an election. He should have left when he was at the top of the heap sort of thing. But yeah, I mean some of the things that have come out since I don’t know. They don’t do him any service I think but he was, he was a man of the time without doubt. Oh yeah.
TO: And can you remember the day the war started?
PO: Oh yes. I was blancoing my equipment at the time and polishing my brasses [laughs] yes. I remember that. The sort of, it was I think it was 11 o’clock in the morning on a, I think it was a Sunday morning. I think it was a Sunday morning and yeah I was actually blancoing my equipment. So yeah I remember that but again there was no great panic or anything. It was just, ‘Right. This is it.’ You know, sort of thing. Because we honestly thought when we came back from camp that you know war was inevitable. That all the, all the signs were there you know. You didn’t have to read the runes to a great degree to realise that you know we were going to fight these guys who wouldn’t behave themselves so to speak. Yeah. Oh yes. I remember that Sunday well and truly. Yeah. Yeah.
TO: And were you in the Army already when the Munich Agreement —
PO: Yes.
TO: Happened?
PO: Yeah. The Munich Agreement.
TO: Yeah. When the Munich Agreement was signed were you already in the Army then?
PO: I joined the Army in October 1938. Now, when the Munich Agreement was signed I don’t know.
TO: Around about that time I think.
PO: Yeah. It was. It must have been fairly close. A month either way. September or November so to speak. Yeah. Yeah. Oh yes. But you know it [pause] we just obeyed the rules. I mean I lived in a regimented sort of environment and did as I was told and kept my nose clean. Or did my best to keep my nose clean. Yeah.
TO: And do you remember was the Army making preparations for war when you joined?
PO: Our training basically was for the First World War. Okay, I mean when I think about it they said aircraft would be doing reconnaissance flights and attacking us and things like this and that we were to sort of budge together as if we were shrubbery sort of thing. But what a load of rubbish, you know [laughs] The thing to do as if you were being attacked from the air is to scatter. You stand more chance of living instead of being in one lump as it were. Oh yeah. I mean digging trenches and stuff like that okay they have their place. And scrapes and fox holes and stuff like this you know became the thing but you know looking back we were being taught to fight the last, the First World War and, you know it didn’t work out. I mean when you think of the speed of the Blitzkrieg across France I mean, and Dunkirk I mean we really got our backsides kicked. Well and truly. We weren’t, we weren’t really ready for war I don’t think. I mean okay everybody knew it was coming but nobody sort of we’re not I don’t think as a nation we’re aggressive in that sort of way or we get that worked up about things. I think we, we tend to sort of be very resilient to how things are and just accept them. I could be wrong of course. Well and truly wrong. I so often am.
TO: And did you do any training with tanks?
PO: No. Oh no. Good gracious me. No. We, in my battalion we had two Bren gun carriers. That was our armour. Yeah. That was it. I mean we were chuffed to billy-o when we got two, two Bren carriers. Things with tracks on you know. Oh yeah. This was the latest thing. But yeah, pathetic when you think about it. No. No. Tanks were, well of course the cavalry regiments turned over to tanks and became the Royal Tank Corps or the Armoured Corps but we didn’t see any signs of them. Oh no. Very sort of us and them in a way I suppose. Yeah. There was no sort of cooperation in any. We were in it and they were that and never the twain shall meet sort of thing. No. Looking back I mean what a different world we live in today militarily. Yeah. No. No. Funny old life. As I say it was good. I mean it suited me and you know I was happy and I had an easy war really and here I am an old man.
TO: And did you do, did the Army do any training with aircraft at all?
PO: No. No. None whatsoever. Not prewar. No way. Oh gosh no. Whether the budget wouldn’t allow it or what I don’t know. It was as I say the thinking of the War Office as it would be I suppose and the politicians didn’t sort of, I don’t know. I mean you know you’ve got to remember I was a teenager and as such you know I was malleable and obedient and did what I was told and didn’t do an awful lot of thinking I suppose. We were living day to day and you know today is the important day and tomorrow will look after itself sort of thing. Oh yeah. No.
TO: And what was the process for you joining the Army when you were sixteen?
PO: I saw an advert and I thought hey that’s great. And that was it. Yeah. That just fired me. I thought that sounds good. So, you know as simple simple as that. I remember I had a piece of paper that on it said that the Army won’t make you rich in monetary terms but in terms of friendships and whatnot you’ll be one of the richest people going. And it’s true. It’s true. The Forces, the pay is, it’s different today but in my day I mean I started out on what was it? Eight shillings a week I think it was, you know. But the friendships I’ve got I mean as I say when the turn out that I got on my hundredth birthday from the Army Air Corps really makes you realise that you know you belong to a big family. Yeah. Oh yes.
TO: And did the Army know you were under sixteen?
PO: Oh yes. I had to get permission from my parents to, to join at sixteen. I couldn’t just walk in and say to a recruiting office and say I wanted to join. I had to go home with a piece of paper to get my parent’s permission to join at sixteen as a boy soldier. Yeah. Oh yes. My, my mum I don’t think it was, in retrospect I don’t think she was very happy about it but my father eventually signed my papers for me. So you know but it, I as I say I couldn’t just walk in to a recruiting office and say, ‘I want to join.’ And they say, ‘Right. Welcome. Here’s a shilling. You’re now a member of the Armed Forces.’ Sort of thing. Oh no.
TO: And were you the youngest soldier who was there when you joined?
PO: I would say I was. Yeah. Yeah. I was. I don’t remember any other boy soldiers. I mean I just got thrown into C-Company and was, that was it. I became a runner. In other words, I became a guy who sort of was at the beck and call of the headquarters office sort of thing. Take this message here. Take that message there. Do this. Do that. That was my life originally until such time as when the war broke out of course things changed then. Suddenly as I say I was by then I was a private anyhow. I mean I went on to fourteen shillings a week then. But my life as a boy soldier was very much I mean there was no I wasn’t allowed into the licensed bar shall I say. When we were in camp for example down in Arundel just before the war there was what then knew as a dry canteen and a wet canteen. The wet canteen they sold beer and spirits and stuff. I wasn’t allowed in there. I could drink tea and cocoa or coffee but I couldn’t drink ale as it were. I couldn’t gamble whereas all the others were gambling like billy-o on housey housey and what’s known as bingo today and or poker and all these games they were playing for money. Oh no. But then I hadn’t got any money so [laughs]
TO: How did the other soldiers treat you with you being younger?
PO: Just, just the same as anybody else. Just the same. They obviously in retrospect I mean I’ve written about it but in retrospect I mean when we went to camp for example there were I don’t know how many of us in, in a bell tent. You know a pointed tent with a pole in the middle and you slept with your feet to the pole and there were panels in the making of the bell tent and you got a panel and a half or two panels if you were lucky depending how many were in the tent. But the old soldiers of course got furthest away from the, from the opening of the tent but muggins here [laughs] where was his bedspace? Right where the opening was. So anybody coming in at night or a lot would put their feet on me or if it rained I was the one who was going to get wet sort of thing. But I don’t know. They just treated me as, maybe they treated me [pause] I don’t know. I mean, they were a rough tough old lot. They weren’t, they weren’t sort of how can I put it, parental in any way shape or form or [pause] I don’t think they made any sort of difference to them. I was just another squaddie. Yeah. Yeah. I mean you know I used to get into all sorts of mischief one way and another and they’d say, ‘Oh it’s PO.’ Because my initials were PO and they’d say, ‘It’s young PO’s done that.’ And I, you know I’d get away with murder at times obviously doing daft things but the guys in the platoon just treated me as one of themselves. Oh yeah. Oh, it’s [laughs] it was a happy life as far as I was concerned.
TO: And how did the officers treat you?
PO: Cor that’s a good question. [pause] Well, the officers in the battalion I suppose would treat me just as a private soldier. No demarcation. ‘Oh, he’s young so we’ll make allowances for him.’ There was none of that. But after, when the war was on I mean our officers were mainly people who had been in the Territorial Army or came in from and were created officers for all their Army experience was zilch. And then I mean on one occasion I went to sleep on guard. I should have gone on guard and I said to the, it’s so casual they gave me the rifle because we had one rifle and five rounds of ammunition and nothing else sort of thing. And the guy who came off guard came to me, woke me upon and said, ‘Right. Your turn now.’ So I said, ‘Okay. Put it down there and I’ll get up.’ And I went to sleep and it was 6 o’clock in the morning when I woke up and said, and we were, the whole unit were moving that day and the officers discussed whether they could put me on a charge and they said they couldn’t put me on a charge because it was a Sunday. And you know I knew more about the Army than they did. That they were fielding. I suppose these so-called officers would be grammar school guys and not even university guys. Just guys who had done well at school or got the right connections and they became officers. No. I really had little to do with officers. No. Not until much later on. Then I was instructing officers then. Sandhurst guys and one thing and another. Oh yeah.
TO: And can you tell me about when you first starting working on gliders?
PO: Yeah. I went to a place called Stoke Orchard where there were Hotspur gliders. Now they carried nine guys but they were never used operationally. They were considered a waste of time I suppose and I [pause] our instructors were RAF pilots. Presumably either they’d done a tour of operations and were resting or, but I mean my instructor was a Sergeant McCain. I remember him. He was mad. And we were being towed by, off the ground by a Miles Master aircraft and I don’t know how long it was before I soloed on the gliders. But one day I just couldn’t. I just couldn’t grab it one day and I picked my parachute up because we all wore parachutes when we were flying the Hotspur and I picked my parachute up and got up, left and went and laid down on the grass and told them I wasn’t doing any more. I’d had enough. And I really blotted my copy book there but nothing was ever said. The following day I went back to McCain and we got on with the job as it were. But it that was my first experience of when you come off tow there’s no sound of course and it’s a bit like the Hotspur had got a wingspan big enough that you could use thermals and stuff like this. So it was a bit like being a bird. It was quite something. So that was my introduction and when I left GTS then went to Horsas which were far bigger and being towed off the ground by Dakotas and I mean the Hamilcar of course could only be towed off the ground by a four engine bomber. Halifaxes of 38 Group. They were our towing squadron. But you know the hardest work I suppose of flying a military glider is making certain that you’re in the right position in respect of the towing aircraft because you could get the towing aircraft if you went too high on tow you’d pull the nose of the towing aircraft down you know. And if you went too low you’d stall the, unless they chopped the connection of course. But yeah, it was, well it was just different I suppose. It was, it was just flying and, you know we were doing circuits and bumps day in and day out during the night night flying and stuff like this. Night flying was good because you got a night flying supper which amounted to bacon and eggs and that was great. I’ll tell you there’s a profit in everything if you look for it. Yeah. But yeah. Flying as I say the minute you came off tow there’s only one thing and it’s down. And I mean we never flew a Hamilcar without nine thousand pounds of ballast in it you know because the wingspan was so great that you’d just float and float and float, you know with that. But the Hotspur was as I say was very malleable. The Horsa you could do, put the big flaps down and do dive approaches and things like that but the, the Hamilcar was I mean it was bigger than the towing aircraft so you know they were, they were big. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a picture of a Hamilcar. I’m sure you must have done. But yeah. Yeah. Now, if you’ve got a tank underneath you you know you weigh quite something. I know that we were overloaded on the Rhine crossing that’s for sure. On the Rhine crossing of course like so many others we got we lost all our flying controls as we were being hit by anti-aircraft fire. That was interesting but all that we were left with was the tail trimmer and we were lucky actually because we’d just come off tow and got into sort of our optimum gliding speed and then we lost a great chunk of wing and all our flying controls got severed with the exception of the tail trimmer. So we were already at the right attitude but direction you know we had no control over which way we were going and we were going the wrong way. We weren’t going towards friendly territory. We were going into the enemy territory [laughs] big time but we could do nothing about it. But there you go. When we hit the ground eventually it was, it went to stand on its nose and I got thrown through the Perspex canopy. And I remember I got out, I picked myself up, shouted for a Bren gun which I’d, was my weapon of choice. And one of the gunners I’d got a seventeen pounder gun and truck in the glider and I remember the guy saying, ‘The sergeant’s trapped.’ And I said, ‘Never mind the sergeant being trapped throw me down my Bren gun.’ And I found myself sitting under a dyke with some angry people one side the dyke and me the other trying to eat a Mars bar. [laughs] I mean it’s crazy isn’t it? Talk about adrenaline flowing you know. I just sat there eating a Mars bar. We were getting mortared of course. Oh yeah. It was, I spent the rest of that day running away. How’s that for a big bad soldier [laughs] running away. No. Where was I? It was, it was a good life you know. I was happy in the Army. Yeah.
TO: And what else do you remember about the Rhine crossing?
PO: Well, the first thing I recall we were third in the, in the stream, in the Hamilcar stream and the glider on my port side carried a tank. And to load the tank they would back it in to and shackle it down. And I remember seeing the back end of the glider break open and the tank come out backwards with the guys, the crew a couple or three other crew sitting on the outside of the tank falling off and the tank turning over and going and crashing to the ground or into the Rhine. I don’t know where it went. It made a bloody big hole wherever it went because it was, it was at three thousand feet so you know a tank at three thousand feet wouldn’t bounce. That would really make a good hole when it hit the floor. So that was my first memory of it. Then the smoke which was being generated on the west bank to cover the invasion by, or the incursion by troops on the ground obscured an awful lot of what we were trying to look for to get ourselves, make certain we were landing in the right place and as I say then getting hit. And getting hit was that was funny because I remember looking at the port wing and thinking ‘My God that’s a bloody big hole’ because we lost a great chunk of port wing. We really did. How we kept flying God only knows but you know, we did. As I say we lost all our controls and got hit again well and truly and that was it and then as I say we had no choice in our direction. That was being dictated by where the controls were set and the whims of the wind or what have we. I don’t know. Yeah. I’m sorry but it’s so, you know in retrospect I look back and think how lucky I was but you know I can’t say at the time there was I suppose the adrenalin is flying like the clappers you know. Let’s face it. You know, you don’t think you’re going to die. No way did you think that you were going to die. You just thought, ‘Hell’s bells, that shouldn’t have happened,’ sort of thing. That was it. I’m sorry to disappoint you but you know that was how life went.
TO: And were you badly hurt when the plane landed?
PO: No. Not at all. Not at all. No. No. As I say I got flung. As the aircraft, as the glider tipped up it threw, the cockpit as you know is on the top and it flipped up on to its nose. I thought it was going to turn over and that happened more than once with others where they and the pilots just got crushed. You know, because the load would be on top of them. But it flipped up and I went through the Perspex canopy onto the ground as I say. Then I must have shaken myself and shouted for a Bren gun and then went and scurried very quickly on to the shelter of this dyke and got my Mars bar out [laughs] I’d have given pounds for a drink of water at that stage I can tell you. Oh dear. But oh. I don’t know that I can tell you any more about how I felt you know. I mean I don’t know about your bomber guys but I mean they they thundered on for hours and hours and hours the, on an operation. The real exciting bit if you can call it exciting is when you get there and that lasts what two minutes maybe you know sort of thing maximum you know off tow and you’re going down you know. Oh yeah.
TO: When you were in the cockpit —
PO: Yeah.
TO: When you were coming in to land were you wearing a helmet?
PO: Do you know I don’t know if I’d got a steel helmet on or not. I know I very very quickly put my red beret on. That, that [laughs] sounds daft doesn’t it? But yeah. Yeah. I must have done. I must have done. If I hadn’t had, if I hadn’t had a steel helmet on I’d have really hurt my head. Yeah. So I must have done. Yeah. I’m fairly certain I did thinking about it. But as I say I quickly discarded it and put my red beret on and there I was a big bad airborne soldier so be careful because you’re dealing with the crème de la crème of the British Army so to speak. Yeah.
TO: Did German soldiers attack your glider?
PO: Oh yeah. They mortared it. They obviously they could see the tail of the aircraft sticking up like a signpost so they knew and they’d see it come down. I mean without a doubt they’d know. I mean it’s big enough to see it isn’t it if it’s a little thing and we were getting mortared straightaway. I mean the earth was jumping up and down all around the place like nobody’s business. Of course, we left. We moved from there and joined up with some Irish guys and some of the Ox and Bucks thing and we decided they weren’t the best people to go with. Beauman and I the other pilot in the glider. It was a question of somebody an officer say sergeant so and so sergeant so and so is dead sir. Sergeant so and so. Corporal so and so. Corporal so and so is dead sir. We thought we don’t want to be with this lot. This sounds a bit iffy. So we left them and ran ran away somewhere else and joined up with some others and then eventually we sort of fought our way back to where we should be as it were which was quite some distance actually. We were quite a way from the Hamilcar. Yeah. But oh no. I mean the, I remember the Americans coming in as we were I’ll call it retreating [laughs] and a glider landed twenty or thirty feet from where we were and not a soul got out. The Schmeissers just ripped the glider apart and not not one person got out. So that would be what? Twenty two guys just dead before they’d even had a chance to get out of the glider. I mean it was. It was quite hairy in the initial stages. Then we obviously had total control of the area and that was it. Yeah. Just hid in German foxholes and stuff like that.
TO: Had the Germans installed anti glider obstacles?
PO: I can’t say I saw any. I can’t say. Well, you see we we landed in the wrong place. We landed where we shouldn’t have been so to speak. We, our, the aircraft I was in lost total directional control so we went probably I don’t know probably way past where we should have been as I say. We were out on a limb you know. So, so no, I can’t say I saw any, any anti-aircraft landing posts and stuff like that that they seeded the grounds within some areas because obviously I mean the first German I took prisoner he demanded to know where we’d been. He said to me in good English, ‘Where have you been?’ and I said, ‘What do you mean where have we been?’ He said, ‘They tell us English flying troops come and we hide in the woods and wait for you. You not come. Where have you been?’ [laughs] Yeah. So we weren’t unexpected. But no but that’s it as I said. Very sort of ordinary experience I suppose.
TO: And the I think you said there was a seventeen pounder gun in the Hamilcar.
PO: Yeah.
TO: Did they manage to get it out?
PO: God knows. I never [laughs] I don’t even know what happened to the gun crew. I really don’t. Presumably they’d get their sergeant out who was trapped. How he was trapped I haven’t a clue, you know. It’s, I don’t recall seeing any of the gun detachment that was there. You know, getting out. I mean how many of them would get injured God only knows. You know. Whether the quad truck that was the towing vehicle whether that set forward I mean it would have been chained down but you know when you hit the ground at a fair old rate of knots and you know, the shackles and stuff would probably get pulled out of the strong points anyhow. So, but I mean I never saw any signs of the, as I recall of the gunners or I mean certainly the seventeen pounder no that never as far as I know never came out. Never came out.
TO: And how long was it before you met up with other allied soldiers?
PO: I suppose it would be maybe twenty minutes. Something like that. I mean we were skulking along and trying to keep out of the way of these angry people. I mean two guys [laughs] Two guys and a Bren gun and a rifle I wasn’t going to take on the Wehrmacht.
TO: So was it only mortars landing it at you or soldiers shooting at you as well?
PO: Yes. It was my memory is of mortars. Yeah. Being mortared. Yeah. Yeah. And certainly there was certainly plenty of that. Yeah. And as I say it wasn’t until we got with some other troops that we as I say the guys in the American glider they just got, I mean we were sort of trying to keep out of the way and these guys with their Schmeissers and MG 42s boy they really ripped into these Americans. I mean they were landing all over the place. But the one that really did I remember vividly is this thing came skidding to a halt. Made a beautiful landing he made but nobody got out. Nobody got out. They all got killed before they got out. Yeah.
TO: How far away from you was that glider when it came in to land?
PO: Twenty feet. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That’s all. I mean we were shouting. We shouted at them daft as it sounds, ‘Get out. Get out.’ But it was too late. The Germans were there just the other side of where these Americans were landing. Again obviously in the wrong place really and yeah they just got killed. Yeah. Oh yeah. And my I suppose my other memory is the first night I went to find some tea. Find something to drink and I found a field hospital sort of. Not a posh place by any means. It was just a house that had been taken over as a field hospital and I was outside and a surgeon came out. He was covered in, in blood and one thing and another and there were all these dead guys lying lined up outside and he said to me, ‘Have you ever seen [pause] have you ever seen a man’s brains, sergeant?’ And I said, ‘No.’ And he said, and he lifted the helmet of one soldier and his whole of his cranium was in the helmet and in the bowl of his head was his brains. Yeah. I mean it could have been it looked just like meat to me because I didn’t know the guy or anything you know. But it was there must have been thirty or forty bodies all laid out by this field hospital sort of thing. But yeah, funny old [pause] God. Yeah.
TO: And as a sergeant what were your responsibilities once you were on the ground?
PO: We were supposed, supposed to get to Hamminkeln where the headquarters was. That was our, I mean you know sort of the basically of course we were quite valuable in the time and money that had spent on training us as Special Forces in a way. That’s gilding the lily a bit but you know sort of thing. I mean at D-Day for example. Guys who landed on D-Day they were back in the UK within twelve hours. Glider pilots, you know. Arnhem of course was a very different ball game. They didn’t come back until well the battle was over basically. The guys from Arnhem because we were planned to go to the Far East you know. Oh yeah. So that’s it. I’m sorry. It’s so mundane really. There’s no great heroics or anything like that in it whatsoever. I was just doing a job that I was trained for and you know it was my memories are good. The only thing is all the guys I knew have all fallen off the log. I think I’m one of the last ones. I don’t know of any others at the moment I must admit. There must be the odd one somewhere or other.
TO: What was your unit’s objective for the Rhine crossing?
PO: Basically to get this seventeen pounder gun and whatnot in the, to the right place so they could take part in the battle order or whatever. And we failed miserably because we wrecked it. Yeah. Nothing more that. Nothing more than that. To get it there safely. I mean the hard work really was the tow, you know. It was a long tow and you know if you’re fighting the aircraft all the way. The glider all the way it just doesn’t, it just didn’t sail along on its own. You know, you’re working all the time to keep the thing in the right position and you know talking to the tug crew as it were. Yeah. I mean it’s like your bomber boys. I mean the minute they take off Lancasters haven’t got automatic pilots and stuff like that. They’re working all the time and their objective is to get to the target and get back. As for the bombing and all the rest of the navigation and whatnot that’s not their responsibility. The pilot’s job is to the get the aircraft there safely and get it back safely if they can. And that was, that was it. Yeah. No, there’s some very brave men and I can’t say I’m one of them [laughs] I just knew some very brave men. Believe you me.
TO: Do you remember anything about the briefing for the Rhine crossing?
PO: About the —?
TO: Briefing before you left.
PO: Yes. We were promised total aircover which didn’t appear. We had some air cover because I remember talking to the guys down below. They couldn’t see anything and I remember telling them what I could see. And I could see aircraft either getting shot up or parachuting down and I sort of gave them a bit of a running commentary of what was going on as it were. But other than that the flight was pretty uneventful you know sort of thing. You could see an awful lot of the ground. We were at three thousand feet. Just over three thousand feet and of course at three thousand feet you see an awful lot of the ground so I could tell them, you know, ‘We’re just wide of Calais at the moment.’ Because of course Calais was still in German hands so we sort of went around Calais and whatnot and then like I say I could see four Thunderbolt aircraft on our port side or whatever and sort of its whether whether they listened or not I don’t know.
TO: And did you talk much with the co-pilot?
PO: Oh, well I suppose we must have. Bert and I must have sort of talked to one another but I don’t recall it to be honest with you. I really don’t. We were just flying you know.
TO: And what did you say to the tug crew on the radio?
PO: Well, the thing I do remember is we thanked them for the tow. That was, that was about the size of it sort of. When we got to the other end I mean we probably had a couple of words with them during the tow you know sort of thing because there was a sort of a telephone wire inside the tow rope which was a damned big rope I can tell you [pause] But yeah. No, that’s about it I’m afraid.
TO: Looking back how do you feel about the airborne operation on the Rhine?
PO: Well, it was the biggest operation there was without doubt. I mean I’m glad I was there. As I say it was part of my education [laughs] as it were. No. I was just proud to be a member of a regiment that covered itself in a reasonable amount of glory and my real feeling I suppose is that I felt privileged to have known so many brave men and I really did do you know. And I mean as I say the friendships that resulted from being in I mean I know I knew more people after the war who were in the regiment than the Royal Artillery Regiment I was in or the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, you know. And now as I say the Army Air Corps have, you know taken over the modern Army Air Corps and they’re very shall I say friendly towards me sort of thing. Yeah. Oh yes.
TO: And when did you hear about Operation Market Garden?
PO: I was with the American 9th Troop Carrier Command at the time and my boss was one of the original parachutists that went to Bruneval and he was a sergeant at the time of Bruneval and his name was Luton. And I remember Luton saying to me he was, he was very upset about the losses at Arnhem. He knew there was a battle going on. We knew there was a battle going on but he was very upset because of course he was, they were mainly paras at Arnhem and you know he was sort of, as I say quite upset at the thought of all his mates fighting there and A he wasn’t there or B he was you know sort of feeling sorry for them losing their lives. I don’t know. But that’s my memory of Arnhem. As I say the minute Arnhem was over I found myself very quickly back into a fighting unit as opposed to living high off the hog in the, with the American Air Force. Oh yeah.
TO: And were you worried that the Rhine crossing would end like Arnhem?
PO: No. No. Oh no. No. No. We couldn’t lose. That was the attitude. We couldn’t lose. I don’t know if that’s the time that we were told two of us out of three would probably die but you look at the other two guys either side of you and think oh I’m sorry for you. But no. I don’t recall it. No. I think the briefing probably took an hour. Maybe a bit more than an hour and of course we talked to the tug crews you know and that sort of thing but [pause] funny old life.
TO: And do you think the Rhine crossing could have gone any better or do you think it was that was just how it would have gone regardless?
PO: I, the first thing that happens to any battle plan is it‘s going to go wrong. Now I can’t say that it went really wrong. It went wrong as far as I personally was concerned because of what happened but I think in the main it was to a large degree I think an awful lot of the Germans knew the writing was on the wall. I think, you know they could see that the amount of, of forces against them were totally overwhelming and where we’d got everything I think they’d got very very little. I think it was, yeah. I think you’d put it down as a success. I don’t think the losses were anything as great as they thought they were going to be. I mean I don’t honestly know what the percentage of losses was but yeah I think it was, you know a success. Especially after, after Arnhem. I mean that really was carnage that. Yeah. The battle for the bridge was well it was hopeless wasn’t it?
TO: And what did you think of the airborne generals like Gale or Urquhart?
PO: I actually saw Urquhart at one of the big, as I saw Eisenhower at one of the big demonstrations or practice jumps and stuff like that when I was with the 9th Air Force and they came across as being very very competent guys. I mean Windy Gale and, you know [pause] I think that this sounds silly in a way but I think we had the best officers that you could possibly have. They were. They were really all, they weren’t that gung-ho that they’d walk into the Valley of Death willingly. But they’d make bloody certain that if they had to walk into the Valley of Death you got the impression that they were going to take an awful lot of people with them. Yeah. I mean Gale yeah. Yes. Our leadership was good. Our leadership was. I think we had the crème de la crème of officers without a shadow of a doubt. Very very strict but very human and skilled in what they were doing. They really were. I mean a lot of them of course never went to Sandhurst or anything like that. They were wartime people but boy they were the right guys in the right place. Yeah. I mean when you think when I joined the glider pilot regiment in my intake there were a hundred and thirty of us got through the selection. I mean we lost a hell of a lot in the selection in London on academic or physical capabilities you know and then as I say a hundred successful candidates from that. From the aircrew medical and all the rest of it thirty of us finished up and out of the thirty of us I think probably eighteen, twenty of us actually went flying you know. They couldn’t hack the basic training. You know I mean all that you’d got to do if you didn’t, if you couldn’t do it you could just say, ‘I’m leaving.’ And they’d give you a railway warrant back to your parent regiment. There was you know if you can’t do it we don’t want you. And they made it very very obvious. I mean you’d just got to be very very determined to stay in the regiment and and meet their qualification requirements as it were. So yeah. I mean it was, it was a regiment full of course of people from all regiments in the British Army. I mean I’ve made great friends with a guy who had been a schoolteacher but he was Armoured Corps driver operator and when we were doing exams he’d sit next to me and I’d help him with, with my answers and he’d help me with his answers. So we got through that way sort of thing. But it’s I mean some guys as I say got flying and just couldn’t fly. I mean it sounds silly but they just hadn’t got the aptitude. Others managed to kill themselves. You know, it’s [pause] No, it was a super super regiment. A super regiment. Of course, it got disbanded after the war. No, no requirement. Yeah. So that’s it. I’m sorry but you know it‘s probably not what you wanted but that’s what you’ve got.
TO: This is amazing. Thank you for telling me.
PO: Pardon?
TO: This is amazing. Thank you for telling me.
PO: Oh, I don’t know about that. It’s just that it was just how life was I’m afraid. Yeah. Yeah.
TO: And what did you think of General Montgomery?
PO: Never had anything to do with him. Again, I think when he went to the 8th Army after Auchinleck and those failed miserably in the desert that he was again the right man at the right time. He was, he’d got sufficient common sense that he could despite what he might feel internally he appealed as one of them to the troops under his command and sort of said, ‘Right. This is it. This is what we’re going to do.’ And do it. And I mean good God with the desert Army. I mean they’d been battered by losing Tobruk and even, I mean good God Rommel even got into Egypt and along comes this guy with his old peculiar ways and attitudes and one thing and another but as far as the troops were concerned this guy knows what he’s doing and we’re going to you know we can do this and we’re all together you know. He’s with us and we’re with him. So his PR was extremely good. But I mean I never met the man or he never impinged as far as I know on my, my military life as it were. Oh no. No.
TO: And did you have any popular songs in the Army?
PO: Oh gosh. Yeah. Before the war we used to march and sing songs. One was about a boxing match. “Have you heard of the big strong man who lives in a caravan?” I mean crazy words but not, not popular songs. Not not popular. Very, very much sort of Army songs and of course an awful lot before the war. Of course an awful lot of the soldiers were, had been up on the North-West Frontier you know. In Afghanistan and places like this so they were all hardened. Quite a lot of the real hardened tough thick soul guys you know. What is said in the book was absolute and you didn’t query anything and they were just tough guys. I mean when I think about it at sixteen I got thrown in with guys old enough to be my father and life just, that was I just accepted it you know. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end but I mean I look at some of the young people today at sixteen and good God it would kill him. Whereas with me it just that was my life. Oh yeah.
TO: Did you have any favourite wartime entertainers?
PO: Wartime?
TO: Entertainers.
PO: I only ever once saw an ENSA concert. My biggest regret is that I was at the time at Exeter and Glenn Miller came and I didn’t go. I wish to God I’d gone because he was at, he came to Exeter with the US Air Force Band. Yeah. But other than that I saw one ENSA. No, I did see an American entertainment once. Yeah. So I saw one ENSA concert and one American one but my biggest regret is I should have gone, why I don’t know but Glenn Miller. Yeah. But there you go. What’s past is past. You can’t alter the past.
TO: So what happened after you’d met up with Allied troops at the Rhine? Did you start advancing with them?
PO: No. We got we were, the glider pilots got taken out of the line. We went back to a transit camp and two days or three days later we were flown back from [unclear] to in actual fact we went back to Brize Norton. We landed at Brize Norton and then from there we dissipated to our various squadrons. So, oh no. We didn’t. We didn’t do an awful lot of fighting believe you me. As I say I did more running away than fighting.
TO: Did you ever actually use the Bren gun in combat?
PO: Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A bit. Yeah, it was. I mean on one occasion we were with a group of about eight or nine troops. What regiment they were I haven’t got a clue but they were there were two young officers with them. I remember that and we were there in this wood and lo and behold about forty Germans went across and these guys stood up, put their binoculars up to their, and said, one said to the other, ‘Jeremy, there are some Jerries over here.’ And I thought you don’t need [laughs] I’m on the floor I can tell you keeping my head down. I could see them. Didn’t need to stand up with binoculars to look at these Germans but we we let them go. You know it was over. We knew it was over. You know. No point in killing them. We’d done our fighting. As I say we were on our way back to the transit camp to be flown home. Yeah. So as I say I had a very easy war. I really did.
TO: Was the Bren gun a good weapon?
PO: Yes. I was happy with it for all it [pause] I mean when we were running away around my waist I had got a lanyard and the barrel catch would occasionally catch on to this and the guts of the Bren gun would fall out and I’d have to stop. Now, I was in a, there were about I don’t know about fifteen or twenty of us sort of sneaking away and I’d stop and put the Bren gun together again very quickly. But every time I stopped somebody would pass me and I think I nearly finished up at the tail end of this little, little group who were running away. Yeah. Talk about, but it was, it was a good weapon. It was a good weapon. Very slow rate of fire when you consider that like the Germans I mean their weapons, automatic weapons were, were like sewing machines you know. Zzzz zzzz zzzzz where as ours went bang bang bang sort of thing. Yeah. Oh yes. Very. I mean, I forget what the rate of fire of a Bren is at the moment. Something like a hundred and twenty a minute or something. But yeah, it‘s, it was a good, a good weapon. It lasted throughout well. Lasted well throughout the war and beyond. Yeah. Yeah.
TO: And can you tell me about the training you did in gliders? Like when you were practicing landings.
PO: Well, yeah. I mean the skill in flying basically is landing. Taking off is pretty straightforward and easy really as long as you obeyed the rules. Landing is, is always the problem but you know the more you do I mean we would do maybe with a Hamilcar for example we would do if we were flying we’d probably fly for ten minutes on a circuit and then land and roll to a stop. The tug wagon would come out and pull us back to the start and we would, and we just did circuits and landings. I mean the clever bit is landing it in one piece and well that was it, that was it you know. I mean landing a Tiger Moth is far harder. I found far harder because you basically do a three point landing you know. You’re virtually at a stall whereas with the glider you flew in at whatever the airspeed was and plonked it on the floor and it was a very, very forgiving aircraft really. I mean okay you could have some hard landings but in the main you know you just fly them straight on to the floor.
TO: When you were heading towards the landing site —
PO: Yeah.
TO: Did you have to be on the look out for things like tall trees or power lines?
PO: On transit no because we were flying above any possible obstructions. Our landing sites were usually I mean operationally our landing sites were fairly open land. I don’t honestly recall being warned of any. The only obstructions I think we were ever talk about was sort of hedges or barbed wire fences type of thing. Other than that pylons and stuff where we were I don’t think anything like that existed to be honest with you. No. No. Oh no. If there were I don’t recall it I must admit. I can’t even recall seeing a pylon. Okay. You’d get the telephone wires and poles like that but you know they were on, on the road as it were as opposed to being in the fields. Yeah. I mean there were some big fields in Germany believe you me.
TO: And was it a field you landed in in Germany then?
PO: Well, it was we actually landed in a very small field I can tell you [laughs] yeah. It was without doubt we were running out of space big time but once it dug into the ground you know as I say we had no control so once we hit the ground the ground was very soft and we pulled up a bit smartly and as I say then it stood on its nose. Yeah. Yeah. But [pause] yeah.
TO: And before the Hamilcar crash landed in Germany did you, were you telling the, everybody on board to brace for impact or —
PO: No. I didn’t. I doubt, once we were hit I think we were a bit too busy to talk to anybody down below. I mean we were already in in free flight when we were hit so we were you know looking for where we ought to be and then we were hit and it was just a question of fighting the aircraft. I mean when you think the tail trimmer was only about that size on a Hamilcar. That’s the only control we’d got and that only altered attitude. Directional. We were just sitting tight and you know our buttocks were very tight together [laughs] and hold on. We’re going to hit the ground boys. What they thought down below I haven’t got a clue. In fact, I don’t honestly know whether the actual fuselage where the load was I don’t even know if that was ever hit with ack ack fire or small arms fire or anything. I really don’t. I just know that we lost this great big chunk of port wing and then all our controls. We got hit in the fuselage and all our controls went out the window. And that was it.
TO: And do you know which, what kind of guns were shooting at you?
PO: Just about everything. I mean when we got on the ground there was an immediate resupply by a Liberator aircraft and they came over at about two hundred and fifty feet. That was all. With their bomb doors wide open dropping all the resupply kit and near us there was, must have been an anti-aircraft battery. They were good. They shot down about four of these Liberators just like that. Bang bang bang you know. Lots of noise and whatnot but whether they were eighty eights or forty mil or thirty mil Oerlikons or what I haven’t got a clue. But lots, there was lots of ack ack fire believe you me. Oh yes. I mean, you know what a lovely target. A great big glider flying along slowly. I mean if you can’t hit that you shouldn’t be in the shooting game. Oh dear.
TO: And did the, you, did you or any of your men manage to pick up any of those resupplies?
PO: I didn’t personally. No. No. In fact, I lost quite a bit of kit. I mean I came out of that with my Bren gun and one magazine. That was all I’d got. A Bren gun and a magazine and that was all I came away from that aircraft and as I say as for the gunners I don’t know what they did. I mean whether they, whether they got mortared and you know were sort of damaged or what I don’t know. I really don’t know. I should have. Not that I say I should. I know an armoured regiment spoke to me about this tank falling out of the glider but as for the seventeen pounder guys I don’t know what happened to those gunners. I really don’t know. Yeah.
TO: So did you only have one clip of ammunition when you took the gun away.
PO: Yeah, I just I just had one. One magazine in the Bren gun and believe you me if the rabbit had have popped it’s head up near me it would have got the lot I can tell you [laughs] yeah.
TO: So did you use the ammunition at all or did you not?
PO: I used some of it. Not all of it because you know targets don’t stand still sort of thing. You know what I mean. I mean it’s so easy. You see some of these things on television these days where they’re letting off their AK47s and they seem to rattle it out and its cost is no no consequence to them. They’re not bothered. No. There was no resupply as far as I was concerned at the time. Oh no. I mean we went to clear a wood and as I say it’s [pause] I don’t know.
TO: So did you join up with a group of other soldiers and eventually met up with other allied soldiers?
PO: Yes. Eventually yeah. We, yeah we, we met. Now, again I don’t know if they were Irish Fusiliers or whether they were Ox and Bucks. I know that we were, we were told or asked to go and clear a path to a wood across these open fields and all the way across. Beauman and I joined these guys and I I think they must have been Irish guys because all the way across these other guys were saying, you know, the effing Ox and Bucks. We’ve got two effing glider pilots here but none of the effing Ox and Bucks want to come with us so to speak. But we hared across these fields and got to the wood as luckily there was nothing in the wood which was just as well. But all, and I just remember going across a barbed wire fence and dashing across this field in the open and I thought this is a bit dicey but, you know. Oh yeah. All part of life’s gay pattern.
TO: Did you feel relieved though when you met up with the allies who’d crossed the Rhine?
PO: I must have done. Must have done. Yeah. The first troops I think I met that I can recall were a Canadian armoured regiment and they, they were quite happy. And then we met some troops that had come over the Rhine and they couldn’t believe that we’d left the UK only the day before and that we’d be back in the UK within a week because they’d been there since D-Day. Yeah. I mean some guys had a really rough war. They really did. I mean you know gosh just as well I didn’t stay in an infantry regiment.
TO: Do you happen to hear, be familiar with the name Koppenhof Farm at all?
PO: No.
TO: Okay. Just asking because there was a soldier I interviewed ten years ago who had been in the Royal Ulster Rifles. He landed in the Rhine crossing.
PO: Yeah.
TO: In a place called Koppenhof Farm and because he well it must have been relatively close to Hamminkeln.
PO: Yeah.
TO: Because he said his commanding officer died when his glider, when their glider crashed near there but I just wondered if maybe you had been in a similar area but —
PO: Well, I might have been. I mean I know we crossed the railway line a couple of times to get where we wanted. Well we got back to Hamminkeln. That’s where we, I finished up. In Hamminkeln.
TO: Yeah.
PO: But of course on the railway station there there was two wrecked gliders. They’d landed right on the blooming railway line. Right on Hamminkeln itself.
TO: That was one of the gliders though that this man was talking about because he said his commanding officer was a chap called Major Vickery who was in one of the gliders that crashed into the railway station and he was killed.
PO: Ah well there you go. Yeah. Yeah. I mean I remember seeing that glider. Yeah. Equally I saw a Horsa fly in to a tree and just break up like a box of matches being thrown everywhere. Yeah. Yeah. Exciting times at the time. Yeah.
TO: And did you happen to see any German civilians when you were there?
PO: Oh yes. Yeah. Actually, I met children rather than adults because one lad he was part of the Todt [?] Labour Association and he said that the Germans had lined them all up and more or less said, ‘What are you?’ And if you said German Jew they shot them. Terrible as it sounds this is what he said to me. But I remember we, I’d got some soap. Don’t ask where it came from. I really don’t know. I must have looted it out of somebody else’s stuff and I gave him this soap. Well, you’d think I’d given him a bar of gold. I mean he put it to his nose and of course the smell of Lux soap as it were. Yeah. I don’t know what happened to that kid. He stayed with us for quite a few hours and then disappeared. Whether he was being street wise or what I don’t know. No. I didn’t of course there was a non-fraternisation ban on so you weren’t supposed to talk to any German civilians but where we were there was only the odd farmhouse and stuff like that you know outside of Hamminkeln itself there was nothing. I mean I went to Goch to look at Goch. By jingo that was, that had been fought over a couple of times. That was a total wreck that town. But no. Yeah. So then we got on. I’m sorry, that’s, that’s me such as it is.
TO: Did you get to talk with any other German prisoners?
PO: No. No. I, I was sent to guard some prisoners. There must have been I don’t know a couple of hundred of them and all I’d got at the time was a fighting knife. That’s all I’d got. My fighting knife. And they were all standing there and sitting there and one thing and another and one of our officers came up or an officer came up. I don’t know if he was one of our officers and spoke to one of the German officers and this German officer spit at him. And I thought he’s going to kill him. I really did. But believe you me there I was with all these prisoners so called all very happy I think to be prisoners but just as well because if they’d have raised up and started to make any trouble I’d have, I’d have been off like a rocket I can tell you on my own with all these guys. Yeah. No. Yeah. That’s it. All little sort of vignettes of memory coming up here one way or the other.
TO: And what happened when you got back to Britain? What were your responsibilities then?
PO: Well, the first thing was when we got to Brize Norton the Customs and Excise people wanted to know what, what we’d brought back with us and of course we’d got nothing basically. We were just us. And then I went back to to Tarrant Rushton which was down near Bournemouth. It was, that’s where my squadron was based so I went back there in the hut. Got in the hut and I think there were only two of us left out of the hut who came back. So we lost, out of, out of the hut we must have lost I don’t know about ten guys I suppose. Yeah. Because we then sorted out all their kit. I remember sorting out their kit. Yeah. I had enough handkerchiefs to see me through the rest of my service career I think out of these guys kits. I wasn’t, wasn’t sending those home to their wives and daughters. Handkerchiefs. They were like gold. Yeah.
TO: And did your co-pilot come back with you?
PO: Yeah. Oh yes. Bert and I came. Yeah. Yeah. Oh yes. Yeah. And, and also Bert wasn’t in my, wasn’t in my hut funnily enough. Who was with me? Was it Geoff Higgins? There were two of us in our hut. That was all out of the ones that left only a week before sort of thing. Yeah. Yeah.
TO: And do you remember the day the war ended?
PO: Oh, very much so. I was at Fairford the actual day the war ended when, because we were converting then onto Wacos to go to the Far East. Being lectured about Bushido and all the rest of it. What a load of rubbish. How to behave if we were taken prisoner by the Japanese. Good God. The Japanese would have just killed us the way it seemed they were inclined to treat their prisoners. But yeah, that was it. We all cheered. We really did and then of course we started getting parties you know. The Australians would be going home so we’d have a party in the mess for them and then the Canadians were going home. You know. And these were RAF people not glider pilots. RAF people out of 38 Group towing. Halifax pilots and stuff like that, you know. Tow pilots. Yeah. Yes. Happy days that was. Yeah.
TO: Do you remember what you did to celebrate?
PO: Yes. Now, let me think. VE Day. VE Day what I’ve just been saying was VJ Day thinking about it. VE Day I was on leave. I was in London with my, my future wife. Yeah. We had a great day. That was a great day dancing like idiots around Trafalgar Square and one thing and another. That was really a super day that. But the whole world was you know celebrating. The fact that there was still fighting going on in the Far East didn’t mean anything. It was, you know the European war had finished. Great. We were going to have a great time and it was [pause] It was. Yeah. Yeah. Oh God. Yeah. Yeah. Then I got married and was married for seventy two years. That’s a long time.
TO: And what are your thoughts on how warfare has changed in the time since?
PO: Oh, it has totalled. I mean the first war if you like was in Northern Ireland and that was terrible. You know. You didn’t know who, who your enemy was. I mean, I was still in the Forces but I wasn’t involved in any way, shape or form in Northern Ireland. I’d have hated to go to Northern Ireland from what I’ve been told by Royal Marines as much as anything. But I mean the war in Afghanistan that was a waste of time and money in so many ways. If the Russians couldn’t do them I mean the Russians had a go at Afghanistan and failed miserably and the Americans and ourselves what have we achieved? Nothing. It’s as far as I’m concerned I might be very uneducated in that sort of respect but I I think that the shape of warfare is so different. I mean I got a letter from a lieutenant general the other day saying that his daughter was currently in the Royal Artillery but she was just flying drones. Now, I mean you know drones. Good God in my day something like a drone would have been [pause] just imagine a drone being over the battlefield in the Second World War. But here now of course young people are sitting in a hut in Lincolnshire flying drones out over the Far East. Warfare has changed just so much. In many ways its frightening. As long as we, these little wars I mean the war that’s taking place at the moment in, you know with Russia and with, what’s the [pause] come on what’s the name of the country? I’ve lost it.
TO: Ukraine.
PO: Ukraine. I mean we’re supplying them with weapons and what are we doing? I wouldn’t mind betting it’s just a proving ground for our latest technologies to see how well it works you know. As long as we keep away from the atomic business. That’s the frightener. That really is the frightener. I mean I remember after the war when I was at a conference and they said the Russians are only two hours flying time away and we were on about going nuclear after, after forty eight hours. We would have gone nuclear and stuff like this. That was frightening at the time. I mean since then, I’m now talking of 1950s and now, now things have got even worse. No. As long as Putin doesn’t go over the top because that could be, really could be terrible. Terrible. What do you think about it?
TO: I just think it’s probably the most as it were filmed, media televised war we’ve seen. It’s almost every action is being filmed on either a phone, a drone or a camera somewhere. It’s probably the first war where you’re almost watching it in real time if you like.
PO: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. True. Very true. Yeah. I hadn’t thought of it quite like that. Yes. It’s so immediate isn’t it today? Yeah.
TO: Have you watched any of the things like the footage that’s been almost live from the front line?
PO: Oh yeah. I, I’ve seen what everybody else sees on on the box you know. Some of these war reporters I mean good God. Talk about putting themselves in to danger but of course it’s such a big country isn’t it? It’s huge. I mean it’s the size of France and Germany I understand. Well, France is a damned big country on its own let alone tack Germany on to it. And here you’ve got to so I don’t know. I mean I can’t see the Russians winning that war. The West won’t let them win it. But the ramifications of it affect everybody. I mean like these grain convoys and stuff like this and taking out power supplies for the civilians and terrible you know. It’s diplomacy failed totally. You know. We can’t talk to you so we’ll fight you. No good.
TO: I’m afraid I’m out of battery on my camera at the moment. Would you mind if we stop there?
PO: Yeah. [unclear] yeah.
TO: Thank you very much for speaking to us. It’s been wonderful.
PO: No, well, I as I say when I think when you, when you screen through that you’ll be very disappointed that my war was a totally different war to almost everybody else’s I think. It doesn’t, there was no great heroics in it. It was just the way it was. Yeah. Well great. Well, that’s very kind of you to be so generous with your comment and I wish you well with your project.
TO: Thank you. Thank you.
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Title
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Interview with Peter Offord Davies. Part One
Creator
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Tom Ozel
Date
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2022-11-05
Type
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Sound
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01:57:18 audio recording
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IBCC Digital Archive
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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ADaviesPO221105-AV
Coverage
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British Army
Royal Air Force
Language
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eng
Description
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Peter was born in Coventry. Although in the army, Peter was stationed on RAF airfields and joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in October 1938, aged 16, transferring to the Royal Artillery. He then joined the Army Air Corps (AAC) and was part of the Glider Pilot Regiment.
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.
Temporal Coverage
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1938
1945-05-08
1945-08-15
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Dorset
England--Oxfordshire
Germany
Rhine River
Germany--Hamminkeln
Contributor
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Sally Coulter
Julie Williams
Carolyn Emery
38 Squadron
anti-aircraft fire
C-47
Chamberlain, Neville (1869-1940)
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
crash
Halifax
Hamilcar
Horsa
military ethos
RAF Brize Norton
RAF Tarrant Rushton
training
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/694/9282/PBarrettR1703.2.jpg
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/694/9282/ABarrettR170515.2.mp3
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Dublin Core
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Title
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Barrett, Raymond
R Barrett
Description
An account of the resource
30 items. An oral history interview with Leading Aircraftsman Raymond Barrett (1924 -2017, 1863228 Royal Air Force) a memoir, diary, documents and photographs. He served as an engine mechanic in North Africa, Italy and India.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Raymond Barrett and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-05-15
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Barrett, R
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
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CB: My name is Chris Brockbank and today is the 15th of May 2017 and I’m in Little Chalfont with Raymond Barrett who was an engineer. And he’s going to tell us about his life and times in the RAF. What are your original recollections of life, Raymond?
RB: It really goes back to when I was just over three and I had scarlet fever and was put in an isolation hospital at Cippenham near Slough. And my first recollections really is I remember mother and father, because it’s isolated, looking through the window at me. And the second one was sitting on the nurses lap in front of a fire. A roaring fire. And third was after I was first allowed out and we’d had heavy snow and the snow came up to my shoulders. And that [unclear]. I then went on to school at a Church of England School in Slough at the age of five and was there ‘til the age of fourteen. I attended the Church of England church at Slough as a server there. And the first occupation was my brother put me into [pause] there was the question that cream was illegal during the first part of the war and it was only goat’s cream which was around the West End. And his managing director had arranged goat’s milk collection areas in all the different counties and all the massed sold on the open market. And it was there where I remember that I was put in to sort out all the payments etcetera. And I found that on hot days some of the collectioneers had missed them and collected up cream which turned, well completely maggots. A mass of maggots. So, I got out of there. And I then went to another brother’s factory where he worked which was a jam factory. Also on the trading estate. And I was a general runner there. And I always remember my first fright of my life I think was at [pause] there were ten pound, the five pound notes, the big ones and the fifty pound notes. I was sent to do a pay in at the local bank and I thought — oh well, what was it? Eighty pounds short. And what I didn’t realise was that some of the ten pound notes were fifty pound notes. My then third experience in employment was at R&O Processes which was again on the trading estate at Slough. And there I was with a production manager, a hundred and twenty eight girls, or women and I remember them all singing. A new programme. A special programme. What was it called?
CB: Music As You Work.
RB: That’s right. Yeah. All singing as you did your work. We were there making the self-sealing, the neoprene covering of the petrol tanks for fighters. The K-type dingies, the M-type dinghies and the L-type dinghies. Rubber dinghies. And on reaching the age of just over eighteen, having working with, experience with, for the air force I then decided to volunteer at High Wycombe. Was accepted. Reported for duty at Bedford. The airship —
CB: Oh, Cardington.
RB: Cardington. Yeah. Reported for Cardington. And from Cardington I was posted to Skegness where I did all my field training.
CB: At the Initial Training Wing.
RB: The Initial Training Wing. Yes. And from there I was posted to St Athan in South Wales on my Merlin training. Engine training. And at the end of the training we were all asked where we wanted to be posted. And obviously everybody put near home. And those that put the south got posted North. North — south. And twelve of us got posted overseas of which I was one. And was posted up to Morecambe, and Morecambe posted up to Gourock where I got the troopship. The old troopship in that number somewhere. Sorry to be. Could we stop for a moment?
CB: Yeah.
[recording paused]
CB: So, when you, when you left Cardington you went, you said to Skegness.
RB: That’s correct.
CB: What did you do in that training? What were the tasks?
RB: Well, I mean, it was on the rifle range. Marching. Parade. Firing sten guns. Unarmed combat. And well it was mostly marching and training nearly every day. Every day on that.
CB: P.T.
RB: Oh yes [laughs] Certainly, PT [laughs] Over the promenades.
CB: Every day?
RB: Virtually every day. Yes.
CB: So, Skegness is at the seaside. What sort of accommodation did you have?
RB: Well, I was in a, in a boarding house. In fact, it was called Bright Side. And I went back about twenty years ago and couldn’t find it. And then there was a person looking out, sorry came out, he said, ‘Oh, it’s been renamed.’ It was the one next door. So, I went in there and where we slept on the floor boards about. Lovely carpeted rooms.
CB: So, you didn’t get beds.
RB: No. Not there.
CB: What about the food? What was that like?
RB: Reasonable. Most evenings when we used to march down to the cookhouse with our mugs in my fingers. And somebody got it in the wrong one and they crashed thinking they were level [laughs] Half a —
CB: Only had the handle.
RB: Yeah. Only the handle.
CB: Wasn’t much good. So, then you moved to St Athan. What happened at St Athan? What was that site? What did it do?
RB: Well, it was mostly, mostly you know taking apart the Merlin engine and putting it together and working out certain problems which had happened. To readjust and correct them.
CB: At what —
RB: Malfunctions. Yes.
CB: At what stage was your trade selected?
RB: Sorry?
CB: At what stage of your training was your trade as an engine fitter selected?
RB: Well, you didn’t get selected ‘til the end.
CB: No. I meant before you went to St Athan you might have gone somewhere quite different. So, at some stage you must have gone for engineering.
RB: No. No. No. I didn’t. I didn’t. I don’t remember saying I wanted to go in. I think I was detailed by somebody. I must have been detailed. I never. I don’t remember ever wishing to go into the engineering.
CB: And before the war you’d been in the company that made fuel tanks and dinghies and things.
RB: Well, I was. Well, yes.
CB: Well, early in the war.
RB: Yes.
CB: Before you joined up. To what extent do you think that contributed to the direction of your training?
RB: Well, I think that more or less wanting, wanting to go into the, really wanting to go in to the Air Force. But not with any trade in view. I think they selected. They detailed that I went into the engineering.
CB: Right. So, what got you in the Air Force in the first place rather than the Navy or the Air Force err or the Army?
RB: Well I think, you know I think it was the pre-dealing with items for the RAF because I suppose I could have [pause] because the first six days of work was actually in an engineering company making firing pins for incendiary bombs. And that was before the war. That was in, that was, yes fourteen. That’s in ’36. ’36.
CB: So —
RB: But I always remember all covered in oil from the machines each day and mother got fed up with me coming covered in oil every day. So, I gave my notice in after six days [laughs]
CB: All because of the dirt.
RB: All because of the oil.
CB: The oil.
RB: Oil on my clothes which my mother didn’t like that.
CB: Did they not issue you with —
RB: No. Yeah. But it still penetrated.
CB: Protective clothing.
RB: Slightly was but it was very light.
CB: Right. So, fast forward now to St Athan.
RB: Yeah.
CB: You’re firmly on a training programme for engines.
RB: Yeah. Engines. That’s correct.
CB: So, what did that actually entail?
RB: Well, as I say taking apart engines. Apart in sections. Rebuilding. We never did the, never actually put them into aircraft there. That came later. And when we did that we did engines changes and things like that.
CB: Now, with the Merlin it was updated later but how did you get trained on changing the plugs and more importantly the valves?
RB: Well, I mean we were shown. I mean, obviously it was demonstrated and each in turn had to go through certain processes.
CB: But the block and the head were integral to begin with.
RB: That’s right.
CB: And then they were separated.
RB: Separated them, yes. Yeah.
CB: So, it’s quite —
RB: Very complicated. Yes.
CB: And how did they assess your competence?
RB: I don’t know, quite honestly. I’m not sure. You know, there’s no grading here is there? I don’t think there is any grade on training.
CB: So, during this training what rank were you?
RB: I was still LAC then. No. This was only a release isn’t it?
CB: Ok. So, at the end of your training at St Athan.
RB: Yes.
CB: What happened to your rank, what happened to your rank?
RB: Still stayed the same.
CB: Ok.
RB: I don’t —
CB: And what sort of passing out parade did you have?
RB: Well, it’s, well I trained —
CB: Of the training at St Athan.
RB: Oh, I don’t remember actually much of it. We were, we were released home for home leave and then straight reported back.
CB: Did you get a photograph of all the others on the course with you?
RB: Not on the course. No. But on the training which I got with it but not on the St Athan one.
CB: Ok. So, you then went up to Gourock to get on a troop ship. What happened there?
RB: What —
CB: So, you got on a troop ship.
RB: Troop ship.
CB: At Gourock you got on a troop ship.
RB: Troop ship. Yes.
CB: Where was that going? Did you know?
RB: Oh, no. We didn’t know. No.
CB: Right.
RB: We didn’t know much I remember, I think we were supposed to have so many aircraft carriers and there were about seven of them anchored in the Clyde.
CB: Were there? Yeah. So, you got on the ship. Then what?
RB: Well, they more or less, well as I say we had a few days. We actually, where are we? Yes. We sailed on the 19th of July and virtually zigzagged. I’m sure we zigzagged virtually, virtually to America. We came up and went into the Mediterranean because it took us from Gourock to [pause] where are we? Yes. To the sea. Yes. Nine days to get to Algiers.
CB: Via America or via Canada?
RB: Well, I’m sure it was nearer to America where we zigzagged.
CB: And then you went to Algiers.
RB: Went to Algiers.
CB: Ok.
RB: Of course we were escorted with, well it split because some half of the convoy went down to go down to the Far East.
CB: Yeah.
RB: Split and then as we neared.
CB: So, when you got to Algiers then what was your role?
RB: Well, we missed, well [coughs] Well we had to march God knows how many, how many miles. And then we eventually got transport to Fort de l’eau. This MAU. Number one base. Personnel department. And we did various works on escorting prisoners of war and one thing and another while we were there. And clearing military items. And —
[pause]
CB: What about the engineering training you’d had?
RB: It wasn’t put into use at all. No. [pause]
CB: So, what were you doing with the — so you looked after the prisoners of war. And the other tasks were what?
RB: Well, as I say moving, loading and off-loading equipment and transporting.
CB: And how long were you at Algiers?
RB: Well, we — right up until the 23th of November.
[pause]
CB: This is 1943. So, the allies had consolidated their grip on North Africa.
RB: On North Africa.
CB: On that part of North Africa.
RB: Definitely. Definitely. Yeah.
CB: Then what happened?
RB: I was on a lorry across the Atlas Mountains through Constantine to an army transit camp in Setif. S E T I F. That was just one day. The 23rd to the 24th of November. The next day it was an army transit camp in Phillipville. That’s on the 24th of November to the 5th of December.
CB: And where were you heading to?
RB: Well, going on to, on to a ship. A troop ship. SS the Oran. Sailed on the 6th, Passed off Bizerte at sea and the island of Pantelleria. And then sea and dock in Syracuse, Sicily. We ended up in Sicily. That’s the 7th of December.
CB: And what did you do there? Because you’re an engineer so you’re still not —
RB: Yeah. That was rather funny because I went there to join 242 Squadron but when I got to Taranto they were, they were moving out. So, so we were joined to them at, so we went from one boat to another one which was the SS Neuralia. And then we went to sea with the squadron via Port Said. No 247, that’s right.
CB: 247 Squadron.
RB: No. 242 Squadron.
CB: Yeah.
RB: Spitfire squadron.
CB: Yeah. So, Port Said is in Egypt.
RB: Egypt. Yeah.
CB: Yeah. And you caught up with the squadron there did you?
RB: No. I caught at at Taranto.
CB: Oh, you did. Right.
RB: Yeah. As I got in they were moving out [laughs]
[pause]
CB: So, where did you go from there?
RB: Well, then we were on, on cattle trucks. No. Sorry. No. No. We were, what do you call it?
CB: We’re talking about Port Said now, are we?
RB: Yeah. It was train then.
CB: Train. Right.
RB: The old cattle trucks trains.
CB: Yeah.
RB: Went to Kibrit after a sixty mile journey. Palestine and Syria on the train. Cattle truck through Haifa, Beirut, Tripoli and Gaza to [unclear] aerodrome, North Syria. Which is near Aleppo. I mean Aleppo was a wonderful, wonderful city in those days.
CB: Was it? Yeah.
RB: I mean, now it’s absolutely —
CB: Devastated.
RB: Yes.
CB: So you settled in. The squadron settled in Aleppo did it?
RB: Aleppo. Yeah.
CB: Yeah.
RB: Of course, at that time Turkey was coming in to the war.
CB: But it never did.
RB: Well, of course Turkey thought we were going to hand over all the # aircraft and the guns and we wouldn’t.
CB: Oh.
RB: You know we were far out, is it during the day all the guns and transport used to go up towards the border. Come back during the night. And the same lot went up the next day for German recognition. What did you call it? Thinking we were going in there. So we never never were operational from there.
CB: How long did that go on for?
RB: That was the 24th of December ’43 ‘til the 14th of February ’44. The coldest New Year’s Eve I’ve ever spent in my life.
CB: Really.
RB: We ended up on the aerodrome. Just a little compound. Sleeping on the, on the frozen floor.
[pause]
CB: So, from there —
RB: Well, we were on the train again. Homs and Tripoli. Syria, Lebanon, Beirut and Haifa, Palestine and on to the transit camp, El Marsa in Egypt.
CB: Oh, back to Egypt.
RB: Yeah.
CB: This is with the squadron.
RB: Yeah. With the squadron. Yeah. That was the 17th of February to the 20th of March.
CB: Then what?
RB: Well, then rumours had it that we were going up to Port Said. Going on a troopship to Sicily. Transferring on to a larger boat and going home for the Second Front.
CB: Oh.
RB: Oh, right. Port Said after [ninety nine day?] journey. 20th of March. That’s true. Sea on the SS Acacia which again was true. 21st to the 27th of March. Anchored in Augusta Bay, Sicily. Change ships. Which was all coming true. Then at sea on the SS the Oran. And of course didn’t go home. Dumped off in, in Corsica.
[pause]
CB: Ok.
RB: We landed on the beach. Camped in the open air for five days ‘til all the transport up there because at that time I think the front line in, we were a hundred and seventy miles behind the front line in Italy then. And then we went from [pause] where were we? Ajaccio. South of Ajaccio. March the 30th to the 5th of April. Then we went across the mountains to North East Corsica on the 5th of April.
[pause]
RB: To Alto Airport, North East Corsica. Ten miles south of Bastia which is the capital.
CB: And is flying going on all this time?
RB: Well, we’ve only —
CB: Squadron flying.
RB: Well —
CB: This is just moving about.
RB: Just moving about yes. We didn’t, it’s where we, that’s where our flying started. At Poretta airfield.
CB: Right.
[pause]
RB: Yes. Poretta Airfield which was the 19th of April to the 11th of July where most of our [pause] Just there really the Mitchell bombers came up from Sardinia. Rendezvoused at the north of Corsica where we escorted on all our bombing raids down in Italy. Then from the front line in Italy we didn’t want them to come up to the Brenner Pass where there could hold it with a few troops. We kept an eye on there. Across. And then we flew over to the other side of Corsica which was [pause] where are we? I’ve lost myself now [laughs]
[pause]
RB: That’s right. We went to, then we were flung across the other side to Calvi Airport, north west Corsica 11th of July to 23rd of August and that’s where we covered the invasion. We covered the Americans for the invasion of the —
CB: South of France.
RB: South of France.
CB: Yeah. Ok.
RB: Then once they got a runway through the vineyards in south of France our aircraft took off and landed the next day. So, on the 25th we were at sea on the tank landing craft and landed at Frejus Airfield in south of France the 25th of August to September. And there we covered the, up until the meeting for north and south.
CB: So, all this time you’re moving around but the squadron is flying later on.
RB: Yes.
CB: To what extent are you using your mechanical engineering skills in that time?
RB: Well, there, well there’s the daily, there’s a daily service of course.
CB: Ok. So, an aircraft goes on a sortie. It lands back. What do you do with it?
RB: Well, immediately we service it. Yes.
CB: Which means what?
RB: Oh, there’s a daily service. Checking all the, checking all — I’ve got. Somewhere I’ve got details, complete details of a daily service written out.
CB: Ok. That’s good. So, just so that the listeners can understand what’s going on the aircraft lands. What’s the process as soon as it lands?
RB: Well —
CB: Because it’s used its ammunition. It’s hot. What what what has to be done to it?
RB: Well, we, well we used to wait for it at the end of the runway. Sit on the wing. Guide the pilot back into the dispersal point. And then the engine fitters would do their maintenance. The armourers would rearm. And we used to, as I say more or less repeat of the daily check to make sure everything mechanical was complete as far as the engine was concerned.
CB: So, in a car you dip the oil. What do you do with an aero engine?
RB: Well, we checked the oil, the water.
CB: The cooling is with glycol so —
RB: The glycol. Yes.
CB: Was it entirely glycol or was it a mixture?
RB: Oh no. No. Glycol. It was all glycol.
CB: Right.
RB: Yeah.
CB: Ok. And after a flight would you expect it necessary to top up the glycol?
RB: Well, you always checked but occasionally slightly. Yes.
CB: And what about the engine oil?
RB: Quite often. Yes. Yes.
CB: And how often would you do an engine oil change?
RB: I forget now [pause] No. Because they were all listed for the maintenance checks.
CB: So, there’s —
RB: Some, some were so many flying hours.
CB: Right. So, the particular tasks are based on flying hours for a, for a particular job.
RB: For maintenance.
CB: So —
RB: For the maintenance job.
CB: Right. Apart from reloading the cannon and machine guns then what would be the most frequent task that you’d do on an engine?
RB: Well, most frequent would be the daily check.
CB: Which is?
RB: As I say, it’s checking on what as I say I’ll turn that for you. As I say I’ve got it written down.
CB: Yeah. But it’s oil.
RB: Oil.
CB: Glycol. Plugs.
RB: Plugs. Yes.
CB: Yeah. Did the plugs break?
RB: The magnetos.
CB: Or what would they do? Magnetos.
RB: Check the magnetos. Yes.
CB: Ok.
RB: And starter motor of course as well.
CB: Yeah. So, how did the engines start? Was it assisted by a cartridge or was it straight on the starter motor?
RB: Well, the ones we had were straight on the starter motor. Yes. Because when we were in Aleppo we had to keep it engine readiness so we were going around one in turn. Revving it up to make sure it was available for immediate take off if the occasion arise.
CB: Right. So the pilot isn’t in the cockpit in that case.
RB: No.
CB: Who sits in the cockpit?
RB: Well, one of, one of the, one of the crew. And of course two of us on, two of each on the tail as well to make sure.
CB: It didn’t lift. Yeah.
RB: Yeah. I remember at Aleppo once I got on the back tail with my glasses on not realising. My glasses were whipped off. Found them about a hundred and twenty yards away. Unbroken fortunately.
CB: We’ll stop there temporarily.
RB: Yeah.
[recording paused]
CB: We’re back on again now and we’ve talked about dealing with the basic points and you run up the engines so you have to sit on the tail. What does running up the engine entail exactly?
RB: Oh taking it full revs.
CB: Through the gate.
RB: Yeah.
CB: Do you go through the gate or just up to the gate?
RB: Virtually up to the — well, yes. Yes. Yes. Up to the —
CB: Yeah. And these Spitfires had how many superchargers?
RB: I’m not sure how many. You know, I don’t know.
CB: So, the ones you used in North Africa had sand filters, did they?
RB: Yes. I think they did.
CB: And by the time you get to Corsica you’ve taken those off have you?
RB: Yes.
CB: Right. Giving more power.
RB: Power. Yes.
CB: Apart from the weight. So, you’re, you’re going through the various engine revs when you’re doing the test are you?
RB: Yeah. Yes. Yes. To make sure. Well, well actually it’s up to the temperature. The take-off temperature.
CB: Right.
RB: That was the point.
CB: And then do you close the engine?
RB: Down.
CB: Quickly or just gradually let it down.
RB: Well, not straight —
CB: Don’t close it immediately.
RB: Not immediately. No.
CB: Ok. And then what happens?
RB: Off. And it’s left until the temperature’s gone down again.
CB: Right. So you’re in a group. You’re in a section that looks after — how many aircraft would you look after as a section?
RB: Well, we looked after two actually. Yeah.
CB: And what’s the —
RB: Yes. Mine was LEP and LEQ.
CB: Right.
RB: You see it’s got LEQ on there.
CB: On there. Yeah. I saw that. So, who runs the group? Is it the chief? What rank would he be?
RB: He was —
CB: The crew chief
RB: Corporal. Corporal.
CB: Corporal crew. Ok. And then how many of those units would there be? The next one would be a sergeant running how many of those groups?
RB: There was only one sergeant per wing.
CB: Right. Because the squadron would have how many aircraft in it? Roughly?
RB: Well, sixteen.
CB: Sixteen. Ok. Right. So that’s eight.
RB: Two eights.
CB: Eight crews to deal with two aircraft each.
RB: Two aircraft each.
CB: And one sergeant over that.
RB: That’s correct. Yeah.
CB: And then corporals running those.
RB: Two.
CB: Right. What level of servicing could you do on the flight line?
RB: Oh. Well, we actually done engine changes there.
CB: Out in the open or —
RB: In the open. Yeah.
CB: Right.
RB: Yes. We had no hangars I think at, in Corsica. No. Definitely.
CB: So, with the airfields you were using were they made by the airfield construction people? Or was it —
RB: Yes. Yes. One. Two. I think the one at Calvi was, oh no we were on a satellite of it. No. The main airport was a civil what do you call it? But ours was a satellite. So, it was just —
CB: So if there was a major fault with the aircraft you’d take it.
RB: Well, in, in Corsica it did go to the — we didn’t do the main service. The engine change there. Went back to the airfield.
CB: To Calvi.
RB: Yeah.
CB: Right. So, the Americans have landed in the south of France. What happens next?
RB: Well, as I say we were operational until the link up and of course when the link up came they didn’t want us anymore.
CB: And the link up was between the forces came from Normandy.
RB: That’s right.
CB: And the ones that came from the south.
RB: That’s correct. Yeah.
CB: Right. So had you moved to the mainland of France by then? Or were you —
RB: Oh, yes. Yes. We were in the mainland.
CB: So you flew from Corsica to where? Where did the squadron get based after Corsica?
RB: Well —
CB: In France.
RB: In France. It went to, where are we? Frejus Airfield.
CB: Oh, Frejus.
RB: Yeah.
CB: Right.
RB: Then we eventually went. After the link up we went up to Montelimar which is a hundred and eighty miles by road and horse. Where the old famous nougat is.
CB: Yeah. So, you were converted to eating nougat. Converted to eating nougat then were you?
RB: Yeah. That was the 6th to the 22nd of September. And then of course they decided to disband the squadron.
CB: When?
RB: While we were at Montelimar.
CB: Oh, did they? So was, what date was that?
RB: Well, the, where are we? Well the, yes the 22nd of September it was disbanded. Had to say goodbye to my pilots then.
CB: Yeah. So, what was the relationship between the engineer people, the crew, the ground crew and the pilots?
RB: Well, I mean I, well I mean I spent hours with my pilot bees-waxing the machine to try and get a few more miles per hour out of it. He was very cooperative. Yeah.
CB: So, which part would you beeswax?
RB: Well, the whole of the, the whole of the Spitfire.
CB: And because of the airflow would the front, the leading edge of the wing need it more often?
RB: I don’t think so. It didn’t appear to. It didn’t appear to wear off.
CB: Which, which mark of Spitfire are we talking about here?
RB: Let me see. I’m not sure now. [pause] We got up to 14 didn’t we?
CB: Were they? Yeah.
RB: I’m not sure what the last ones were.
CB: So, we’re at 14th of September ’44 with the disbanding of the squadron.
RB: Disbanding, that’s right. Yeah.
CB: And that’s 242 Squadron. So, what happened next?
RB: Well, there’s a hundred and twenty, a hundred miles by road to Lavone. L A V O N E airfield. Forty miles north of Marseilles. That was the 22nd of September. The 1st of August. But we took no part in active in any flying there. And then it was to Septémes Staging Post. Six miles north of Marseilles.
CB: What happened then?
RB: On leave at Marseilles. Recalled after one day. Marseilles in dock on that United States LST number 210. This is the 6th of October. Anchored the 6th 7th. At sea on the 7th to 8th Leghorn Bay, North Italy 9th 10th. At sea along the Italian coast past the islands of Elbe, Monte Cristo, Pianosa and Capri 10th 11th and slept by the roadside at Naples on the 11th to the 12th of October.
CB: So, when you got to Naples were you waiting for a particular role or? —
RB: Well, no. We were waiting to be re-posted.
CB: Right. Ok. Where did you from Naples?
RB: To a transit camp in Gragnano which is in, near Pompeii. And there I got my next posting.
CB: Which was?
RB: To 267 Squadron.
CB: Right. Where was that?
RB: That’s from Gragnano across the, had to leave from train from Naples. Bar [Bari] in south east Italy.
CB: B A R.
RB: Towards the end there.
CB: Yeah. In southern Italy.
RB: Yeah.
CB: Yeah. And they’d got — what planes did they have?
RB: Dakotas.
CB: Right.
RB: Yeah. We dropped about two thousand tons of supplies over to Tito.
CB: Oh, is that where —
RB: [unclear]
CB: Right.
RB: Yugoslavia.
CB: And were they flying high or low or — how did they transport their arms?
RB: Not, not that high I don’t think.
CB: Were they vulnerable to attack?
RB: They were vulnerable to attack. Yes. But —
CB: Any losses?
RB: When we were, I don’t —not by enemy action [pause] because we were there from —
CB: Now, while you’re looking at that the Spitfire is a straight engine whereas, a V12, whereas the — is a radial.
RB: Yes.
CB: So how did you get adjusted to the radial engine of the Dakota?
RB: I think we just stuck straight in. I never had any training on it.
CB: Didn’t you?
RB: No.
CB: Right.
RB: Yeah. Pratt and Whitney.
CB: Pratt and Whitney radial.
RB: Yeah.
CB: Yeah. Was there anybody there who had been trained beforehand?
RB: Well, I think [pause ] Do you know I don’t believe there was.
CB: But the squadron had been going for a while.
RB: Oh, the squadron had been operational.
CB: So there were people who were experience.
RB: So they were there. Where they’d worked on for —
CB: So, was your corporal with you or did you get a new corporal?
RB: Yes. Yes, I think I was supervised during the first few.
CB: By a new corporal was it? The same one.
RB: Well no. No. A new. It would be a new corporal. Not from the old squadron. No.
CB: No.
RB: He’d gone.
CB: So you got a new corporal —
RB: A new corporal.
CB: Who was experienced in the aircraft.
RB: The engine.
CB: Ok. So here the servicing is different. How did that work?
RB: Well, very much more restricted. I remember trying to change a generator. You had a little tiny vent with the old pins and threading this what do you call it through. You knocked your knuckles and God knows what there. It was much more difficult really than the Pratt and Whitney engine. The restriction for room.
CB: So, how would you rate the reliability of that engine compared with the Merlin?
RB: I think pretty the same. We had very few few, very few engine, double engine changes. More, more when we got to Burma funnily enough.
CB: So, how long did you stay in Bar, southern Italy?
RB: Where are we? We went to the, to the 2nd of February ’45. So, from the 7th of November ’44.
CB: To the 22nd of —
[pause]
RB: To [pause] to the 2nd of February.
CB: 2nd of February.
RB: 1945.
CB: ’45. Ok. So, then what did you do? Embark on a ship or go in the aircraft?
RB: No. We flew from there. Yes. Because it was, you know just before that time [unclear] in the House of Commons no serviceman will go to the Far East without prior leave in England. The next week we were flying to Stockholm err not Stockholm [laughs] To, to India. So, we were, RAF landed near Tobruk in Libya for dinner. Then on to Cairo West Airport the 2nd to the 5th of July where we had to service our aircraft. Shaibah in Iraq the 5th to the 6th. Over the Persian Gulf. Landed on Bahrain Island off the coast of Persia 6th of February. Then Karachi Airport. Mauripur Airport, 6th to the 7th. Then onto Bilaspur in the central provinces of India. We were there from the 7th to the 22nd of February. Then it was on to Imphal, north east India.
CB: Right.
RB: That’s where we started operations.
CB: Because at that stage the war was still going in the East.
RB: Oh yes. Yes.
CB: So, what action were the aircraft experiencing?
RB: Well, we were all, pretty well everything, everything had to be dropped in by supplies over the, over Burma.
CB: Yeah. Because Imphal was the scene of a lot of battles.
RB: Beforehand, yes.
CB: Yes.
RB: Before we got there.
CB: Yeah.
RB: Yes. There was a siege. Siege of Imphal.
CB: And Kohima.
RB: And Kohima. Yeah.
CB: Yeah. Ok.
RB: Yes. I went back there. I’ve been back.
CB: Did you?
RB: Tour history. Yes.
CB: So, you’re now going to Burma from India.
RB: That was Imphal 22nd of February to the 23rd of March.
CB: Ok.
RB: And as, as the front for, then we went down to the Mawnybyin Airfield. Akyab Island.
CB: And all this time you’re following on the ground or are you being flown between airfields?
RB: Being flown. We were flown between airfields.
CB: And what’s your role during that time?
RB: Well, as a, well engine mechanic still. Pegasus. Akyab Island 23rd of March to the 13th of May [pause] And then we moved to Akyab main airfield 13th of May — 23rd of August.
CB: Ok. By which time the war had finished.
RB: That’s it. Then of course we then flew to Mingaladon Airfield which is thirteen miles north east of Rangoon.
CB: Right.
RB: That’s where we —
CB: So, you get to Rangoon.
RB: Yeah.
CB: Then what?
RB: Well, I was there when the, when the Japanese generals came in to surrender.
CB: Did they walk in, or driven in, or did they fly in?
RB: No. They flew in in a top —
CB: In British aircraft?
RB: No. Topsy. Topsy.
CB: What, the Japanese transport?
RB: Yeah. Six, six Spitfires escorting them in.
CB: Oh right.
RB: Because I was about six feet away when they came off the aircraft.
CB: But these were transports were they? Or bombers?
RB: No. No. No. They were a very small aircraft.
CB: Oh.
RB: Oh dear.
CB: Ok. Well, we’ll pick that up in a minute.
RB: Yeah.
CB: So they fly in. Where have they coming from to go to Rangoon?
RB: I’m not sure. I think I’ve got it in the report.
CB: And at Rangoon what’s organised for their reception?
RB: Well, it was the Civic Hall, I think.
CB: So, the generals come out and they’re treated with respect.
RB: Respect. Yes.
CB: Right.
RB: That’s it.
CB: And they’re driven are they? To the village. To the Civic Hall.
RB: Driven in to the —
CB: Right. And there did you see what was going on?
RB: No. No. I was still based on the airfield.
CB: Right. So, at this time what are you doing on the airfield at Rangoon?
RB: Well, we more or less went to civil duties. I mean as the British officials came up to set up the, to because I went up to have a flight with them to [pause] Where are we? Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singapore.
CB: Oh yeah.
RB: And dropping them off. I remember one of the first air hostesses after the war showing them to their seats.
CB: Yeah. But you didn’t change your dress.
RB: No.
CB: Right.
RB: And of course we just, you know still had to service, you know the aircraft to do.
CB: So, you ran a shuttle did you?
RB: Yes.
CB: And how long did that run for?
RB: Oh, quite a few weeks.
CB: And the passengers were who? They were the civilians or —
RB: Actually, mostly well —
CB: British civilians.
RB: There were a few military among them but mostly —
CB: Ok.
RB: Setting up the administrations. And then of course my demob number came up.
CB: Yeah.
RB: And I was hoping to go home.
CB: And then?
RB: Went down to Mingaladon Airfield and of course we had the platform up to each engine top. And of course the servicing then was the, they had the cowlings off. So they said the last thing I had to do in the squadron was put the tarpaulins over the engines. Set them. Coming down the steps my foot slipped, knocked my leg there and that night I thought I had malaria. And the next day they dropped me off in to the local RAF hospital. And then they started pumping Benzalin into my bottom every four hours.
CB: Jeez.
RB: That was because —
CB: Because, what had happened to your leg?
RB: Well it poisoned it. Poisoned something.
CB: It had broken though had it.
RB: Not broken. No.
CB: No. Just gashed.
RB: Just gashed. I was in there for a few weeks and I think I told you when I came back I reported to the orderly room back on duty and I was told that the squadron was disbanding and the aircraft I’d been posted on was to Bombay. So I said, ‘Well, I don’t want to go to Bombay. I should be home now with the family.’ So, he said, ‘Sorry, you’ve got to go.’ So, I said, ‘Well, I’d like to see the CO please.’ He said, ‘Well, you can’t see the CO.’ I said, ‘Well, I want to.’ So he said, ‘Go. Off you go.’ About twenty minutes later I got a call to go back to the orderly room. And he said, well it wasn’t the CO of course, it was him again, ‘I’ve got you on the last troopship leaving Rangoon.’ And of course I came home eventually on the [pause] where are we? We should be the last thing here.
[pause]
RB: The 19th of August ’46, in the English Channel.
CB: That's when, what happened on that date?
RB: Oh, nothing. I just got home.
CB: That’s when you got home. Right.
RB: But no. It was about a month later when, and also somebody else from Slough was on the same squadron, suddenly met him coming along the High Street in Slough. And chatting about old times he ended up saying, ‘Well, you were lucky weren’t you?’ I said, ‘Well, why?’ So, he said, ‘Well, you were posted on the flight to Bombay weren’t you?’ He said, ‘It crashed and there were no survivors.’ So, if I’d have not complained to see the CO we wouldn’t be talking. That is a sign of fate.
CB: Yeah. What was the aircraft?
RB: Oh, it was a Dakota.
CB: A Dakota.
RB: Yeah. One of our one of our own. The Dakota was posted to different stations.
CB: Right. So, do you know what had happened to it?
RB: No. I didn’t know.
CB: Because pretty hilly and jungly there. Right. Ok. We’ll take a pause there.
[recording paused]
CB: Did you, did you only run a diary when you were coming home?
RB: Oh no. No. No. I wrote.
CB: How many diaries did you have in the end?
RB: August 4th. Oh four or five I think. I don’t know. Well, some were larger. August. Four hundred miles to noon. I’m mess orderly. ENSA concert in the evening.
CB: This is up from your diary.
RB: It’s coming home. Yeah. August the 5th — played Bridge in the evening. Three hundred and fifty seven miles. August 6th raining. Into Galle, three hundred and sixty miles. Bridge in the evening. 7th of August everything looked ready for another big storm. Arrived at 4am in the morning whilst I was asleep. 8th of August passed rock of Aden at 6am in the morning. Entered the Red Sea. So —
CB: It’s a good thing you did set to write all these things down.
RB: Yes. We’d sailed. Sailed for Rangoon on the 29th of July.
CB: 1945.
RB: And didn’t get back ‘til the 19th of August. That was a long return out.
CB: Oh, 1946 this is —
RB: Yeah. Yes. So virtually a month.
CB: Yeah. And when it stopped at ports did it, did the ship tend to stay several days or what happened?
RB: No. No. I think one night was about the most, I think.
CB: Of course these are hot places so what was it like in the ship?
RB: Well, if you were on duty below, pretty hot.
CB: And what duties did they give you on the troop ships?
RB: Well, sometimes getting the food and distributing the food because that was all. We had about twenty to a table. If you dished out too much you’d have not enough for yourself and if you dished too little they complained.
CB: So, you didn’t want to be the table head.
RB: No.
CB: What sort of accommodation did you have for sleeping?
RB: Well, leaving Gourock when I went out we were in hammocks. That’s fun getting in and out.
CB: Soon get the knack of it. But then after the—
RB: Then the toilet for water flushing.
CB: Everything was flushed with seawater. How many people on the ship? Roughly.
RB: Well [pause] well on the one out where are we?
CB: From Gourock.
RB: Gourock. Yeah.
CB: Were they all a mixture of Air Force and Army, or was it just Air Force?
RB: Oh yes. Oh yes. I mean. Where are we?
[pause]
CB: Just looking at the booklet.
RB: Yes. Yes. In the afternoon we arrived at Gourock. Near Gourock, Greenock in Scotland. On descending off the train and on to the platform we were lined up and roll call was given to see if anybody was missing.
CB: Right.
RB: We were then each given a berthing card. That’s a berthing card before we boarded a large steamer which was nearby. Carrying our kit once more so I stepped off pretty sore. In peacetime the steamer did pleasure trips to Ireland and back. I soon wished it had only been a pleasure cruise that I was going on. As soon as were all aboard off we steamed until we were in the centre of the Clyde. We drew up alongside and were transferred to a large troopship named the SS Volendam. It was approximately seventeen thousand tonne. It was a Dutch boat. Most of the crew were made up of Dutchmen. Early in the war the ship had been torpedoed. One torpedo landed on the bows but failed to explode. But unfortunately another one hit and did go off. But the damage was repairable and here she was still doing a useful job. With the aid of my berthing card and after a long search I at last found the correct deck that I was to live on and the correct mess followed by the correct table. Our next move was to, and everyone else’s was to stow away all our kit on the racks that were above the table. Two from each table in the mess went down to the galley to fetch back the meal for the respective tables. And they spilt the lot in to fourteen portions. However many they felt there would have been at our particular table. Two different fellows fetched the meals each day and did the washing up and cleaning and sweeping etcetera. That was the only duty that I got caught during the voyage. Some of the other chaps got caught for many jobs. By the time we finished our first meal on board everybody began to think of sleep as we all had a very tiring day. There were a hundred fellows in the mess and five tables. Some had to sleep in a hammock slung on hooks above the tables. Others on mattresses on tables and on the floor. I had a hammock. What a time I had putting up, putting the blankets in and climbing myself in that first night. After about four attempts I finally managed to get in and stay in. Just like a comedy act. Time everybody got settled there was not much room to spare as the mess was only approximately thirty foot by twenty five foot. As I said before I was feeling very tired and consequently soon fell asleep. After breakfast while the other chaps were cleaning up the mess decks ready for the ship’s daily routine inspections carried out by the captain one of the other fellows had to help out in the cookhouse bakery etcetera. I used to go up on the deck and hide myself along with a book in some obscure corner. And our first thoughts were the first morning whether we’d moved during the night. So after dressing and folding up my blankets I went out and took a stroll along the promenade deck before breakfast. A very pretty sight met my eyes when I reached the open air. We were still anchored in the middle of the Clyde and on both sides the green hills of Scotland dotted with small woods, houses, sheep and the cattle rose up to meet the sky. On the left to the water’s edge was the town of Gourock where we had embarked. Three or four destroyers were tied up alongside the jetty. Anchored in front of us was the giant liner the Aquitania. At the stern were anchored the great mighty battleship Howe, a large cruiser along with two aircraft carriers and six converted ones. All had aircraft on their decks so you could see how crowded it was.
CB: A great target.
RB: Spent the first day watching supplies being taken aboard from small ships drew alongside. Also during the afternoon we had a singsong among the troops made up of RAF men from, men from the Royal Artillery, The Argyll and Sutherland, and the Black Watch regiments. There was also an ENSA concert party on board, a full Royal Artillery band which consisted of sixty players. Then came a music concert every afternoon on the top deck. Every evening prompted either members of the RAF and army officers turned competition and brains thus was also allowed during the voyage. A dance band was formed from among the troops.
CB: So, how long was your journey to America and then across to Algiers?
RB: I did say, didn’t I?
CB: Yes. Well never mind.
RB: I wrote that.
CB: Yes.
RB: What number was that?
[pause]
RB: The 9th of July to the 28th. Yes.
CB: Ten days. Yeah.
RB: The 23rd we changed into our new tropical khaki kit. Fitted as usual. Not very funny at first with our Persil white knees showing. Soon got used to it. It was sunny during the day. I used to sunbathe and go to sleep on the deck. The last time I was attending an evening service out on deck on the 23rd and the convoy split in two. We changed our course eastwards and the rest of the convoy continued steaming southwards. We were left with a cruiser, six destroyers and fifteen ships. A NAAFI canteen on the ship but if we wanted to purchase anything it meant queuing up for at least two hours.
CB: Was the convoy attacked during that period?
RB: Yes. Somewhere it does say [ pause] Where was it?
[pause]
CB: Well, never mind. We can come back to that. What do you remember about it?
RB: Well, I mean, they dropped, they dropped depth charges at one time.
CB: So they detected a submarine.
RB: Yeah.
CB: But it didn’t actually attack.
RB: Didn’t attack. No.
CB: Right. Ok.
RB: In all we put the clock back two hours and then on two hours. At one time we must have gone half way to America. The ship zigzagged continuously during the trip to fox any would be submarine. Completely changed course on two occasions because an enemy U-boat was following us. And at three separate times depth charges were dropped by our escort destroyers. But whether or not they sank any U-boats I do not know. We could see the destroyers circling around with great spurts of water shooting skywards. Also, once the cruiser opened fire at an unidentified aircraft but it soon made off.
CB: Fascinating [pause] Just stopping for a mo.
RB: Yeah.
[recording paused]
CB: So, you’re repatriated. Effectively from Burma. What happened when you got back to the UK?
RB: We went to a staging post and there again we were met with the question, ‘Where would you like to be posted?’ And I thought well dare I, dare they do the nasty on us again? I thought, well no. So I put Buckingham, near Buckinghamshire. And lo and behold I later learned that I was posted to RAF Bomber Command, Naphill, High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.
CB: Now, that’s not an airfield and they had no engines for you to work on.
RB: No.
CB: So, what did you do there?
RB: So, I was a, I was put into the officer’s mess. Showing the new arrivals to their quarters and helping out where, where necessary.
CB: Were there a lot of people in the mess?
RB: Quite. Yes. Quite considerable.
CB: So, there was a flow in and out?
RB: Well, yes. Yes. Yes. It was quite a very palatial mess it is.
CB: So you got back to the UK in August ’46. And when did you start at High Wycombe? A bit of leave and then —
RB: I don t — yes. Yes. I was in — a bit of leave. Yes. The paybook tells me leave. Yes. So I got the take the day I arrived in, I arrived back and then my [pause]
CB: Your service book’s got all these details in. So that’s what you’re looking at now.
RB: Yes. I’m just looking because it’s got my discharge date. I’m just wondering if it’s got the date I went to high Wycombe. I don’t think I recorded it.
CB: There you, and that was where you were demobbed from was it? So that was, you had four months at High Wycombe.
RB: Yes. I was discharged on the 29th of the 1st ’47.
CB: Yeah.
RB: I think I had about at least a months’ [pause] Yes. 19th of August. So, I imagine it would be towards the end of September when I was posted.
CB: They gave you a month.
RB: Yeah.
CB: Leave.
RB: Yeah. Leave. A month.
CB: Yeah. Right. Ok. So, when you were in the officer’s mess did you have the same role all the time or did you do other things?
RB: Well, more or less. Yes. It was.
CB: And what sort of senior people did you meet?
RB: Well, I mean, more or less well I suppose, I don’t think I met any air vice marshals but wing commanders down I think. Mostly.
CB: Ok. Good. So you were discharged in January ’47. What did you do then?
RB: I then [pause] Oh yes. In the building trade then.
CB: This is because of your engineering background.
RB: Well, more or less, because, well after I met my wife I went back to we’d done all the rebuilds of the bombing. The houses that had been bombed.
CB: The bombed houses.
RB: Yeah.
CB: Yeah. For whom?
RB: That was Addiscombe Garden Estates at Croydon. I was more or less costings then. They were not engineering. I looked after the company accounts.
CB: Right. But just going back.
RB: I suppose we’d better go back to where I met my wife.
CB: I was just going to say what about that? Tell me about that.
RB: Well, the booklet, the booklet on the [unclear] yeah. Virtually, virtually says it word for word actually.
CB: Right.
RB: Well, I almost could quote.
CB: On there. But in your own words where did you meet her?
RB: Well, in the WAAF. It’s all in here.
CB: At, yeah I know but if you could just say what it was.
RB: Oh. Yes, I mean.
CB: So, at High Wycombe.
RB: I was, yes, I was having a few drinks with friends at the RAF friends at the Red Lion at the bottom of Bradenham Hill. And on the way, on the way back one of them said, ‘Oh, would you like another drink?’ I said, ‘Why?’ They said, ‘Well, there’s a dance going on in the WAAF mess, the WAAF NAAFI. And on arriving there the dance floor was concrete with chalk on it.
CB: Make it slippery.
RB: Making it slippery. And there was a small dance band playing. And we all had to, all the airmen had to throw one of our boots in the middle of the floor. When the music stopped, all the WAAFs had to pick up one and find its owner.
CB: Yeah.
RB: If Brenda had picked up somebody else again I wouldn’t be here talking with you today.
CB: You hit it off immediately.
RB: Yes. And, well she had no intention of going to the dance but a friend managed to persuade her at the last minute. She was only going to go for the first. Stay for the first dance which happened to be the boot dance so —
CB: It was your lucky day.
RB: Yes.
CB: How old was she then?
RB: Twenty.
CB: And what was she doing in the RAF as a WAAF?
RB: Statistical clerk.
CB: And had she been at Naphill all the time or had she been elsewhere?
RB: No. She was at Sand, she went to Sandtoft and then to Scampton.
CB: What was she doing down there?
RB: General duties, I think.
CB: Yeah. But she’d been posted to High Wycombe, had she?
RB: From Sandtoft she went to high Wycombe.
CB: Yeah. So, what date are we talking about here? This is before Christmas ’46.
RB: ’46. Yeah.
CB: Because you came out in ’46.
RB: We came back in ’46.
CB: Yeah.
RB: That’s right. Yes. That terrible winter. We were snowbound at High Wycombe for four days.
CB: Really?
RB: Yes. Coming. Blood running thin in Burma and then coming back to the cold.
CB: Just right wasn’t it? So, you left the RAF in the January ’47?
RB: That’s correct. Yeah.
CB: When did Brenda leave? Roughly.
RB: Got her discharge in that [pause] where are we? In there.
CB: Ok. I’ll pick it up.
RB: In that book. In there. That book.
CB: Of course being posted to High Wycombe as you came from Slough was quite convenient wasn’t it?
RB: I used to nip home overnight without them knowing sometimes. I was born in a pub in Slough.
CB: Oh right.
RB: Where’s that paybook then? We had it. I’m sure I had it.
CB: It’s probably there. In that pile, isn’t it? Let’s have a look. Get John on it. So, let’s go to the — you left and went into the building trade.
RB: Yes.
CB: And so this was to do with work in Croydon you said.
RB: Well, yes because eventually when we got married which was the 10th of January ’48. Then we went to live with her parents in Croydon.
CB: Yeah. How long did that last? Was it quite difficult to find accommodation?
RB: Yes. That was number one thing. Yes, because then went to work with another builder in Epsom.
CB: So bomb damage repair was brisk business in those days.
RB: It certainly, certainly was. Yeah.
CB: Yes. So, how long did you keep going there?
RB: When would it be? This is, should have been about five. Must have been about seven years I should think.
CB: Was it? Yeah. Then what?
RB: Then we found accommodation with a job with another builder in Epsom.
CB: Oh right.
RB: Well, Hackbridge actually.
CB: So, the job had the accommodation with it.
RB: With it.
CB: And you stayed there how long?
RB: Oh. Then went to [pause] then went to Greenford.
CB: To Greenford next.
RB: Yeah.
CB: Right.
RB: Must have been at least eight years, I think before —
CB: And it’s all, you’ve always been in the building business have you?
RB: Well, building. Yes.
CB: And you were rising up the —
RB: Yes. And then I was, there I was chief buyer and plant manager. I was made a plant manager.
CB: In Greenford.
RB: Well, it was in [pause] where was it? Oh, near, near Wembley. Oh dear, my brain’s gone black.
CB: Was it further out from Wembley?
RB: Yes. It’s not Wembley. Yes.
CB: Park Royal?
RB: Very near Park Royal.
CB: Anyway, in that area.
RB: North Circular. The North Circular Road.
CB: Yes. Yeah. And then you retired from there did you?
RB: No. No. No. No, as chief buyer the company secretary was friends with a builder’s merchant. He used to come in and ask for, go over enquiries. In the end I found out I could buy it cheaper than he could his materials as a builder’s merchant. So the company then bought out the builder’s merchant and I was transferred as managing director to the builder’s merchant trade.
CB: Oh. And that was the end of your working career was it?
RB: No. No.
CB: Oh.
RB: So, then we operated four depots in, four or five depots in London. Then we found that the big boys like Sandell Perkins and one thing and another could buy cheaper materials than we could as a what do you call it? So we sold out to Travis Perkins.
CB: Oh really?
RB: Became a property company then, which we are now.
CB: Yes.
RB: Having been established in 1840.
CB: But you have retired now.
RB: Well, semi-retired. Yes.
CB: Yeah. Brilliant.
RB: My son more or less runs it now.
CB: Does he? Yeah.
RB: We have company meetings every so often.
CB: What’s the company called?
RB: Lawford and Sons Limited.
CB: Northwood.
RB: Lawford.
CB: Oh, Lawford.
RB: L A W.
CB: Yeah. So, its one of your sons runs it. Not the other.
RB: It’s the youngest son. Yeah.
CB: Yeah. Brilliant. Right. I think we’ve done very well.
RB: I was going to say —
CB: Thank you very much.
[recording paused]
CB: Just quickly on the Imphal Rangoon bit there’s a Memorial. What was the Memorial to and what were the numbers?
RB: Well, it’s these, the War Graves Commission Grave.
CB: At —
RB: At, well I mean —
CB: Rangoon.
RB: Yes. At Mingaladon.
CB: Right. And what, what are the numbers of people buried there? Roughly?
RB: Oh I can, now in there I’ve got a map of each of those Rangoon Memorials and the number of dead.
CB: Oh right. Ok. So around Rangoon there are quite a lot of Memorials are there?
RB: Well, no. There’s one. There’s one. A small one in Rangoon.
CB: Right. But the main ones are elsewhere are they?
RB: Elsewhere.
CB: Ok. Right. You mentioned earlier about the pilots, the Spitfire pilots.
RB: Yes, I —
CB: They didn’t all come back. How did you feel about that?
RB: Well, I was going to say we lost two in Corsica. They were both Dutch brothers funnily enough.
CB: Were they?
RB: So whether they hit each other or not I don’t know. Rather coincidental that both brothers were killed at the same time.
CB: And how many other loss, pilot losses were there?
RB: Only two. I think there were two others.
CB: How did the ground crew feel about the loss of a pilot?
RB: Well, I mean especially if they were your own I mean I didn’t lose either of my own pilots at all. But I mean it must, must affect them. I mean, well it would if I’d lost mine. It would certainly.
CB: But then with the Dakotas. DC3, C47 how many losses did you have on those?
RB: The only one was Anthony, it wasn’t on our squadron but he was at Akyab was Anthony Eden’s son.
CB: Oh.
RB: Touched down in the water on the, I mean, you know you used to get in the, in the monsoon weather they hit in the runway, the water came rolled over. I stood on the end with a verey pistol, on the end of the runway trying to get them in quite often.
CB: Because in the monsoon rain you couldn’t see.
RB: In the rain. They’d never have taken off in this country. They were heroes.
CB: And they were supplying the army.
RB: Virtually. Well, even the beer ration we had to drop.
CB: Yeah. Important run. Right. So how many did you lose there?
RB: As I say I think Anthony Eden’s son was the only one.
CB: Only one. Yeah. So what was the reaction of the crews to that?
RB: Well, I mean you know — so yes I think he was the only one. Yeah.
CB: Yeah. Ok. Good. Right. Thank you very much.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Raymond Barrett
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Chris Brockbank
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
2017-05-15
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
ABarrettR170515, PBarrettR1703
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Pending revision of OH transcription
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
01:30:17 audio recording
Language
A language of the resource
eng
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
Description
An account of the resource
Raymond Barnes worked in factories before he joined the RAF. He trained as an engine fitter. He was posted to the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Far East. He was servicing Spitfires for 242 Squadron and then Dakotas for 267 Squadron. He was present at the arrival of the Japanese delegation to sign the surrender of their forces. When he was expecting to be posted home from Burma he was told he would be flying out to a new posting in India. After protesting he returned home and was told that the flight he would have been on to India had crashed with no survivors.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Burma
Burma--Rangoon
France
France--Corsica
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
England--Skegness
Scotland--Gourock
Wales--Glamorgan
North Africa
Algeria
Algeria--Algiers
Egypt
India
India--Imphāl
Syria
Syria--Aleppo
Italy
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945-02-02
1945-08-15
1946-08-19
242 Squadron
C-47
entertainment
fitter engine
ground crew
ground personnel
military living conditions
military service conditions
RAF St Athan
Spitfire
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1525/27323/EWitmeurEVLangloisRB450815-0001.2.jpg
10603726116e965dc8cf6bf958edd2bd
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1525/27323/EWitmeurEVLangloisRB450815-0002.2.jpg
812ddeade2acfb5cbe7e8d91889e2dda
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
Newton, Jack Lamport
J L Newton
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
2016-07-15
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
Newton, JL
Description
An account of the resource
83 items. Collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Jack Newton (742570 Royal Air Force) who was a Sergeant air gunner on Wellington of 12 Squadron. His aircraft was landed on fire at a German occupied airfield in Antwerp in August 1941. He was the first airman to escape back to England via the Comète escape line. The rest of his crew were captured and made prisoners of war. The collection contains accounts of his escape, letters of research from Belgium helper, other official correspondence from the Red Cross and the Royal Air Force, photographs of places and people, newspaper cuttings propaganda leaflets and maps of airfield and escape route. In addition there is an interview with Jack Newton about his experiences in the wartime RAF.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Jackie Bradford and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Robert B. LANGLOIS
Wittering
Peterborough
August 15th 1945.
My dear Friend,
I am so glad to receive your letter. It took nearly one month to come here. You have had quite an experience during the war and I hope that you will be able to make one trip to Belgium and see calmly the city and some of your friends.
I still do not understand how Newton succeeded and not you. I heard also about the three others of your crew who had gone first in the direction of Ostende and were contacted afterwards by our organisation. What happened to them? Did they succeed?
I shall send you a complete report of what I know but I tell you directly that it is hard to find out your trail. I could trace you because I had kept the paper written by your own hand. I did not know the other links. At that time, the agents I knew were following like this: de BECO – Felix JEANJEAN – myself – Doctor GILLES – PAUL DONEUX – Mr. MONAMI, HUFKENS. Did you know Mr. SCOHIER? Marcel LECLERCQ? HOFMAN?
If you give me a little time, I am sure to give you better information. Unfortunately, four years mean a long time in the life of out-laws and we have had tremendous losses.
Mr HACHA was not an agent. He helped occasionaly. [sic] Mrs. MASSON who told me that you were hiding in the villa of the FRANÇOIS (BEAUFAYS) became one of my best informers. Mr. MARCHAND who helped in your transfer to the villa, entered the service later on. He went to England and was parachuted. He did a good job with the Group “G”.
Doctor Gilles was executed on the 8th of May 1943. He had blown up a big transformer in the heavy industry plant of Ougrée. I send you his photo. I read your letter to his widow and she was also very glad to hear that you were at home again.
I hear that you have been in St. Gilles also. I remained there four months and a half, solitary confinement, with the red spot in the cell 309 Abteilung C in 1942. They released me for lack of evidence.
Of course I have heard of the Luft III. The belgian [sic] fighter pilot Picard one of our young comrades was shot in the tunnel affair. He had already had a narrow escape when he had been brought down over the channel. He was injured and floated in his rubber boat for a week before landing at the French coast. Taken and nursed by the Germans, he was sent to Germany.
[page break]
Now, the war is over and I am glad for you all who did such a magnificent job. No words are able to render our gratitude for what you did and it was but a great honour for us to meet you on our soil during the occupation. I shall never forget you because I had been waiting so long to help a British friend and you were the first. You did not succeed but I thought you had, and when I was in my cell, hearing the RAF passing over, I imagined that you were among the crews and that I was not there for nothing.
I have received big blows during the war, like you have. I have passed through metaphysical fears, but now that it is over, I find that, for me, it has been grand. If you come here, I shall tell you long stories, tragedies also. But never again shall we be pure as we were then. Most of my friends have been shot or did not return. That is why I should like so much to speak to you of their work, because you would certainly understand, after what you have lived, that if we were quickly defeated, we have never been slaves.
I am no more pilot. I was taken on the day of my departure to England. When the liberation came, I had been hiding myself for one year and a half. The Belgian Air Force did not want me, because I was more than 36 and reserve pilot. I worked with an American Air Depot Group and flew a lot pickaback in P. 38 and I had once an opportunity to fly alone in a Cub. I enjoyed it very much. I quitted my job last week because the Group was moving to the States and that the war is over. I do not know yet what I shall do. Before the war I travelled a lot. I was professor in Alexandria (Egypt) but I do not intend to go back, because my parents are old and I prefer to remain in their city. I hope that your wife and children are in good health and that you feel the joys of home.
Do not remain too long before writing to me.
Wishing you all the good
I remain
Yours very sincerely
[signature]
my private address is
E.V. WITMEUR
195 RUE DE CAMPINE
LIÈGE
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
Letter from Emile Witmeur to Robert [sic] Langlois
Description
An account of the resource
Letter to Jack Newton's pilot from a member of the Belgian escape line He says he still does not know why Jack Newton was the only one of the crew to get successfully back to England. He goes on to describe in details his research into the trail of people involved in the escape line. He mentions one member who was executed by the Germans and that he had been held in solitary confinement for over four months. He goes on to describe the effect that the war had had on him.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
E V Witmeur
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-08-15
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EWitmeurEVLangloisRB450815
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
Belgium--Liège
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Peterborough
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-08-15
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
crash
escaping
evading
prisoner of war
Resistance
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/828/26598/LFreemanRRE1523700v1.2.pdf
49430b7b6118a328107992821b1f65ca
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
Freeman, Ralph
R Freeman
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with Sergeant Ralph Reginald Freeman (1923 - 2019, 1523700 Royal Air Force), his log book, photographs and documents. He trained as a pilot and later flew as a flight engineer.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Susan Abbott 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
2018-03-12
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
Freeman, R
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
Ralph Freeman's Royal Canadian Air Force pilot’s log book
Description
An account of the resource
Pilot’s flying log book covering the period from 7 July 1943 to 9 September 1944. Detailing his flying training and operations flown as pilot. He was stationed at RAF Cambridge (22 EFTS), RCAF Assiniboin (34 EFTS), RCAF Swift Current (39 SFTS), RCAF Souris (17 SFTS), RAF Brough (pre-AFU). Detailing his operations flown as Flight Engineer from September (?) 1944 to 9 April 1946. He was stationed at RAF St Athan (4 SoTT), RAF Bottesford (1668 HCU), RAF Ludford Magna and RAF Binbrook (101 Squadron). Aircraft flown in were Tiger Moth, Cornell, Anson and Lancaster. He flew no operations but did fly one long continental cross-country (Cook's Tour?) and four Operation Dodge flights.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Terry Hancock
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
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
LFreemanRRE1523700v1
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Yorkshire
Wales--Glamorgan
Manitoba--Souris
Saskatchewan--Swift Current
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944
1945
1946
1945-07-17
1945-08-15
1945-08-24
1945-09-03
1945-09-15
101 Squadron
1668 HCU
aircrew
Anson
Cook’s tour
Cornell
flight engineer
Flying Training School
Heavy Conversion Unit
Initial Training Wing
Lancaster
Operation Dodge (1945)
pilot
RAF Binbrook
RAF Bottesford
RAF Brough
RAF Ludford Magna
RAF St Athan
Tiger Moth
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/178/5757/LBriggsR1893726v1.1.pdf
d1312b0386b0e78b8ed0110246e7101f
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
Briggs, Roy
R Briggs
Description
An account of the resource
24 items. One oral history interview with Roy Briggs (1893726 Royal Air Force), his logbook, service material, training material, official documents and 12 photographs. Roy Briggs trained as a wireless operator and flew four operations with 576 Squadron from RAF Fiskerton. He also took took part in Operation Manna and Operation Exodus as well as Cook’s tours over Germany.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Roy Briggs 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
2016-01-28
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Briggs, R
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.
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
Roy Briggs' flying log book for navigators, air bombers, air gunners and flight engineers
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
LBriggsR1893726v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Herefordshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Shropshire
England--Staffordshire
England--Suffolk
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Cuxhaven
Germany--Helgoland
Germany--Plauen
Netherlands--Delft
Netherlands--Rotterdam
Netherlands--Valkenburg (South Holland)
Wales--Gwynedd
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1945
1945-04-10
1945-04-11
1945-04-14
1945-04-15
1945-04-18
1945-04-22
1945-04-29
1945-04-30
1945-05-01
1945-05-02
1945-05-03
1945-05-07
1945-05-16
1945-06-05
1945-06-30
1945-07-04
1945-08-15
1945-08-17
1945-08-26
1945-08-28
1945-09-13
1945-09-15
1945-10-01
1945-10-03
1945-11-07
1945-11-09
1945-11-23
1945-11-24
1945-11-26
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Description
An account of the resource
Navigators, air bombers, air gunners and flight engineers flying log book for Roy Briggs. The log book covers the period 30 December 1942 to 17 March 1947. Roy Briggs trained as a wireless operator in Great Britain. He flew four night time and daylight bombing operations and six operation Manna supply drops in April and May 1945 with 576 Squadron from RAF Fiskerton. His targets were Bremen, Cuxhaven, Heligoland and Plauen. His pilot on operations was Flying Officer Roberts. Aircraft flown were Anson, Dominie, Lancaster, Proctor, Stirling and Wellington. He also took part in Cook's tours and the repatriation of troops from Italy as part of Operation Dodge.
138 Squadron
156 Squadron
1660 HCU
30 OTU
35 Squadron
576 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Helgoland (18 April 1945)
Cook’s tour
Dominie
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Operation Dodge (1945)
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
Operational Training Unit
Proctor
RAF Balderton
RAF Bridgnorth
RAF Bruntingthorpe
RAF Catterick
RAF Cranwell
RAF Fiskerton
RAF Graveley
RAF Hixon
RAF Llandwrog
RAF Madley
RAF Seighford
RAF Swinderby
RAF Tuddenham
RAF Upwood
RAF Warboys
RAF Wyton
RAF Yatesbury
Stirling
training
Wellington
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2115/19295/PPaineGH16010022.1.jpg
fb8c697f835e536e35f246ba5b134a10
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
Paine, Geoff. Album
Description
An account of the resource
52 page photograph album of his service in Southern Africa.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-07-20
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
Paine, GH
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
Thornhill
Description
An account of the resource
Thrree small photographs, first shows group of individuals crowding around a wireless set, captioned 'VJ Day Thornhill'.
Second showing Askari bugler, captioned ' 'Lights out' Askari guard Thornhill'.
Third showing Hurricane on the ground captioned 'Thornhill's Hurricane'.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three b/w photographs
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PPaineGH16010022
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe--Gweru
Zimbabwe--Thornhill
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-08-15
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-08-15
Hurricane
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/986/10534/MWhybrowFHT170690-160926-21.1.jpg
d7138ed071275177d09ea88bdd68ceee
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
Whybrow, Frederick
F H T Whybrow
Description
An account of the resource
49 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Fred Whybrow DFC (1921 - 2005, 1321870, 170690 Royal Air Force) and consists of service documents, photographs and correspondence. After training in the United States, he completed two tours of operations as a navigator with 156 Squadron Pathfinders. After the war he served in Japan and Southeast Asia. He was demobbed in 1947.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Anne Roberts and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-09-26
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
Whybrow, FHT
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
UNIT ROUTINE ORDERS
BY
FLIGHT LIEUTENANT F.H. WHYBROW. D.F.C.
[Underlined] COMMANDING NO. 91. A.S.P.(.E.P.)R.A.F. [/underlined]
Serial 107
Page 1
Date 15.8.45
786. [Underlined] DUTIES. 15.8.45 16.8.45 17.8.45. [/underlined]
[Underlined] ORDERLY OFFICER. [/underlined] F/O. JOHNS. F/O. GOLD. F/O. MILLER.
[Underlined] ORDERLY N.C.O. [/underlined] SGT. URQUART. SGT. DUNHAM. F/S. GOODSWEN.
[Underlined] DUTY DRIVER. [/underlined] CPL. BAILEY. AC1. BEVAN. LAC. STOCKHAM.
[Underlined] DUTY FIRE DRIVER. [/underlined] LAC. WHITSON. LAC. BLISSETT. LAC. WHITE.
[Underlined] DUTY FIRE PICQUET. [/underlined] 393. MARSHALL. 378. PINDER. 733. GIRLING.
022. DUCKER. 504. TOUGH. 863. FEATHER.
787. [/Underlined] CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES WITH JAPAN. [/underlined]
The Japanese Imperial Government has accepted the surrender terms laid down by the Allied Governments at Potsdam. In consequence of this the Cease Fire was ordered on all fronts at 00:01 hours this morning
788. [Underlined] V.J. DAY. [/underlined]
Today, Wednesday August 15th. 1945, is to be celebrated as Victory day. The following arrangements have been made:
There will be a Sports Meeting on the Unit Football ground at 14.00 hrs this afternoon. ALL personnel are requested to make an appearance. Prizes to the value of R600, have been donated by the Officers. Following this meeting there will be a concert given by the Unit Concert Party at 17.00 hrs in the Airmens Dining Room. It is regretted that no celebrations have been made for tonight, however it is believed, judging by the results of VE-Day, that personnel will wish to spend the evening quietly.
789. [Underlined] CELEBRATION DAY. [/underlined]
Tomorrow, Thursday. August 16th , will be Celebration day and arrangements made for O.R’s have already been published in U.R.O’s Ser:106 dated 13th Aug: entry No: 784. In addition to these there will be a dinner given to all Airmen by the Officers and S.N.C. O’s. Personnel are asked to be seated by 19.00 hrs sharp. Food will be served by the Officers.
790. [Underlined] THANKSGIVING DAY. SUNDAY, AUGUST 19th 1945. [/underlined]
A special Parade will be held on the above date to mark the end of the war with Japan.
Parade will form up at 08.30 on the Unit parade ground under the command of F/O JOHNS. The Commanding Officer will take over the Parade at 08.45.hrs.
Flights will parade as follows:
No: 1 Flight. F/O. GOLD. SGTDDUNHAM. [sic] F/O. MILLER.
S.H.Q.
No: 2 Flight. F/O. PARISER. SGT. HOLTBY. F/O. COLEMAN.
Further details to be notified later.
[Signature]
W.J.H. GOLD.
FLYING OFFICER ADJUTANT.
[Underlined] 91. A.S.P.(.E.P.). R.A.F. [/underlined]
[Underlined] AFTER ORDER [/underlined]
791. [Underlined] COMMANDING OFFICER’S WEEKLY INSPECTION. [/underlined]
In future, kit laid out for the Commanding Officer’s weekly inspections need not include Water Bottled and Respirators.
792. BEER. SPECIAL VJ ISSUE.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Unit Routine Orders
Description
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The orders refer to the cessation of hostilities with Japan and VJ day. Celebrations include a sports meeting with monetary prizes and a concert.
Creator
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Flight Lieutenant Fred Whybrow
Date
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1945-08-15
Format
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One typewritten sheet
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Service material
Identifier
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MWhybrowFHT170690-160926-21
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
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1945-08-15
Contributor
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Anne-Marie Watson
entertainment
sport