His first operation was minelaying in the Baltic and he recalls standing in the astrodome to warn of enemy fighters. On other operations he would sit in the front turret and occasionally fire at enemy fighters, without success. Further minelaying operations were carried out and on his eighth, his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and diverted to a US Army Air Force airfield where he stocked up on goodies, unavailable in England from the base exchange store.
On the 22 September 1943 he took part to an operation to Hanover and describes the night fighter tactics in detail. Following lengthy evasive action his aircraft was forced down to 5,000 feet where it was hit by by anti-aircraft fire and he was forced to bail out over Emden where he was caught by a member of the Luftwaffe who was visiting his girlfriend. After initial interrogation he was sent to the interrogation centre at Dalag Luft and after a two day train journey arrived at Stalag 5 prisoner of war camp.
On July 1944 the encroaching Russian army forced the evacuation of the camp and he was moved to the unfinished Luft 4 camp and remembers the bullying guards and poor conditions. Again in February 1945 the camp was evacuated and after crossing the River Oder in barges marched across northern Germany. After two months he arrived at Lübeck and escaped the column, narrowly missing being captured by German soldiers by conversing in French. Finding an allied airfield he was repatriated to England where he was treated as a hero.
After recuperation he attended a code and cipher course and was offered a commission if he would go to the middle-east. Wanting to get married he declined and wangled his way to 24 Squadron at RAF Hendon, were he was eventually demobbed in July 1946. ]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Terry Holmes]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Herefordshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--London]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Emden (Lower Saxony)]]> Germany]]> Europe--Oder River]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> Poland]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> Lithuania]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> 1936]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1943-09-22]]> 1944-07]]> 1945-02]]> 1946-07]]>
Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text. Service material]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Feltwell]]> 1946-07]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Map]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Azores]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> California]]> Colorado]]> Massachusetts]]> Missouri]]> Texas]]> Washington (D.C.)]]> California--Los Angeles]]> Colorado--Denver]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Massachusetts--West Springfield]]> New York (State)]]> Newfoundland and Labrador]]> Texas--San Antonio]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> Illinois--Belleville]]> Illinois]]> 1946-07]]> 1946-08]]> The first advises that Kenneth's final payment of 10/7 has been paid into his bank.
The second advises that £13 and 2 shillings will be paid, dated July 1946.
The third advises that £10 and 4 shillings will be paid, dated August 1946.
]]>
Base Accounts Officer, RAF Innsworth]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Newport (Isle of Wight)]]> England--Hampshire]]> 1946-07]]> 1946-08]]>
RAF Duxford]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> 1946-07]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Artwork]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States]]> Missouri]]> Illinois--Belleville]]> Illinois]]> 1946-07]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Yemen (Republic)--Aden]]> Yemen (Republic)]]> 1946-07]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> MNealeETH1395951-150731-0800002]]> Royal Air Force]]> 1946-07]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> MNealeETH1395951-150731-0810002]]> Royal Air Force]]> 1946-07]]> Mrs Goldby]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Kent]]> England--London]]> 1946-07]]> Photograph 2 is a view of the party captioned 'The Officers Club Drinks all round'.
Photograph 3 is of a parade of USAAF airmen watched by civilians and other airmen and is captioned ' USAAF welcoming' and '[undecipherable] of the BBC.'
Photograph 4 is of a seated audience with an officer at a microphone. Behind is a line of airmen in front of Lancasters and is captioned 'RAF welcomed'.
Photograph 5 is of six airmen and two women leaning at a bar and being served by a barman. It is captioned 'Thorns between two roses L to R Dicky [undecipherable] You Lucky People!'.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Civilian]]> United States]]> New York (State)]]> 1946-07]]>
Item 2 is a newspaper cutting with the weather.
Item 3 is a newspaper cutting 'RAF Planes Here for Fete'. 15 Lancasters arrive at Long Beach.
Item 4 is a newspaper cutting of Air Commodore Frank Whittle and two women.The page is captioned '28th July - 3rd August 1946'.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Roger Dunsford]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> United States]]> California]]> California--Los Angeles]]> 1946-07]]> 1946-08]]>
Item 2 is a newspaper cutting about 5000 spectators viewing the Royal Air Force at Scott Field, St Louis.
Item 3 is a programme for St Louis Municipal Opera. There are several lipstick kiss marks and signatures.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Angela Gaffney]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States]]> Missouri]]> Illinois--Belleville]]> Illinois]]> 1946-07]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Baldwin]]> Georgie Donaldson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States]]> New York (State)]]> 1946-07]]> Item 2 is an Information handbook Lowry Field.
Item 3 is a photo of Denver city.
Item 4 is a map of Denver with an annotation of a woman's address.
]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Angela Gaffney]]> eng]]> Text]]> Photograph]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> United States]]> Colorado]]> Colorado--Denver]]> 1946-07]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Civilian]]> United States]]> New York (State)]]> 1946-07]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Georgie Donaldson]]> Steve Baldwin]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States]]> New York (State)]]> New York (State)--New York]]> 1946-07]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> 1946-07]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> India]]> India--Mumbai]]> 1946-07]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> India]]> India--Mumbai]]> 1946-07]]> The second letter itemises the sums to be paid to Fred's mother and father.]]> Great Britain. Air Ministry]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> 1946-07]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> India]]> India--Yelahanka]]> 1946-07]]> M Usherwood]]> The Daily Telegraph]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Italy]]> Italy--Turin]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France--Le Havre]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Flensburg]]> France--Brest]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> France--Lorient]]> France--Le Creusot]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Munich]]> France--Calais]]> France--Caen]]> France--Falaise]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Bonn]]> Germany--Goch]]> Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)]]> Germany--Potsdam]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1942-08]]> 1940-11-20]]> 1941-03-11]]> 1942-05-30]]> 1943-08]]> 1946-07]]> 1946-08]]> 1943]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Georgie Donaldson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States]]> New York (State)]]> New York (State)--New York]]> 1946-07]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Geolocated]]> eng]]> Text]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States]]> New York (State)--New York]]> New York (State)]]> 1946-07]]>