Browse Items (235 total)

  • Tags: H2S

AFittP150519.mp3
Peter was born in Norwich. His father was a head gardener and wanted him to follow that occupation and so refused to let him join the RAF. With the advent of war, the situation changed and Peter volunteered at a recruiting station and, after…

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PParryHP1609.jpg
Hugh Parry was born in Oswestry and joined the Air Force in April 1943 and volunteered to be an air gunner. Knowing that there was a height restriction on air gunners of six feet he hid his height by wearing baggy trousers. After training, he was…

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PRoyallG1501.jpg
George volunteered to be a pilot but settled for Air Observer. He talks about his selection and training in London and then in Stratford-upon-Avon, where enjoyed the theatre and how, at Brighton, illness separated him from the rest of the course. So,…

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MBarkerR[Ser#-DoB]-151001-01.pdf
Opens with mention of Bomber Command memorial in Green Park and 55,573 despite killed, moral was high due to belief that winning was vital. Tells story that he was guest at two weddings in 1943 with three other members of Bomber Command and that all…

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BBaileyJDBaileyJDv1.pdf
Bill Bailey's wartime memoirs, from enlistment, training in UK and Canada and detail of each of 31 operation in Bomber Command. After completion of his tour he was transferred to Lossiemouth to train Free French aircrew. After successful progress he…

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PFalgateD16030111.jpg
Lancaster JO-P taking off. The photograph has been censored where the H2S and Monica aerials are.

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PMossH1801.jpg
Henry grew up in Bradford and left school just before the outbreak of war. He had various jobs like working in the mill, a greengrocer’s shop, the dye works and then garment cutting for the army. At 17 and a half was called up in London where he…

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ACattyMA180822.mp3
Martin Catty grew up in London and was evacuated, with his school, to Westward Ho! at the beginning of the war. He completed a short training course at Cambridge University in 1942 and joined the Royal Air Force. After training, he flew 40…

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PCullingGC1701.jpg
Originally working as a builder merchant, George Charles Culling’s town struggled constantly during the war due to the amount of bombing, which eventually forced his school to close. Finding an interest in navigation equipment, George joined the…

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PEvansD1701.jpg
Darwin Evans volunteered for aircrew in 1940 and began training as a navigator. After an accident while training at RAF Bobbington (later RAF Halfpenny Green) ended his operational flying duties, he retrained as a compass adjuster at RAF Cranage and…

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AGillRA-JT170930.mp3
Peter Hazeldene joined the RAF from Wales when he saw a poster to see the world from a different perspective. He trained as a wireless operator and during training suspected a couple of incidents of sabotage on the base. Peter was posted to 106…

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AHendersonIG171017.mp3
Ian Henderson was born in Lockerbie and studied law at the University of Edinburgh for two years before joining the Royal Air Force. He travelled to Canada onboard the RMS Mauretania to train as a pilot, after two months near Edmonton on Oxford and…

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AHughesJ171102.mp3
Janet Hughes’ father, Reginald Charles Wilson, volunteered for the RAF in August 1941. In January 1942, he was posted to America under the Arnold training scheme and was later re-mustered to train as a navigator in Canada. After forming a crew at…

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AHughesJ171123.mp3
After flying as a spare, Reginald Wilson (Hughes’ father) formed a new crew and completed their first operation to Berlin on the 29th December 1943. During their second operation to Berlin on the 20 January 1944, the aircraft was shot down. Upon…

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ANewhamDF170727.mp3
Douglas Newham enjoyed his career as a navigator. Over his career he saw the development of technology in his chosen field. He and his crew spent some of their time as part of North West African Strategic Air Force. Following time as an instructor at…

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AOttewellJA161230.mp3
John Ottewell was a member of the Air Defence Cadet Corps and volunteered for the RAF when he was eighteen. While undertaking initial training he was present when a Fw 190 attacked the town of Babbacombe. He took part in the clean-up at the church…

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MStavesME203137-160226-350001.jpg
Five 'raid assessments' carried out at RAF Spilsby. Detail of problems encountered in each operation. Final sheet is an extract from Operations Record Book by three different Lancasters.

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BWynnWynn1501-036.jpg
This was the operation on which Ian Wynn's aircraft was lost. Captain was Squadron Leader P R Turgel. Item contains: 1. A list of crews on the operation. 2. Map of routes to target. 3. Luftwaffe night fighter combat claims for 25/26 May 1943. 4.…

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APocklingtonAC171115.mp3
Arthur Pocklington grew up in Hull and was hoping to join the RAF as aircrew but failed the medical. He trained as a mechanic servicing the radar equipment on the aircraft. He served at RAF Scampton, RAF Dunholme Lodge and RAF Strubby before being…

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ASampsonJ150821.mp3
James Sampson volunteered for the RAF, trained as a navigator and became a specialist on H2S. He survived three write-offs of his aircraft, including once when the wheels had been shot away. His bomb aimer had a very near miss when shrapnel hit the…

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PShakesbyFN1801.jpg
Norman Shakesby was a radar mechanic on 405 and 582 Squadrons. Born in 1924, he was studying languages at The City School in Lincoln at the outbreak of the Second World War. His language teachers were quickly called up to act as interpreters, so on…

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PStewerdPD1501.jpg
Peter Steward was born in 1933 and talks of not seeing his father during the war due to his father's service in the RAF. His uncles and cousins also served. After leaving school at 15, Peter worked at the Woolwich Arsenal factory and joined the RAF…

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PStockerEE1601.jpg
Edward Ernest Stocker (Ted) began his service with the RAF as a flight engineer on Halifaxes. He came to the attention of his Commanding Officer on his second operation when, before departure, he warned that they were carrying insufficient fuel to…

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PHorshamES1602.jpg
Eric Horsham was born in East London in 1923. Leaving school at 14 he was a messenger at the Royal Ordnance Factory before working for the railways. In 1937 he joined the Air Training Corps and learned about aircraft maintenance. On his first attempt…

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ATruemanKW150921.mp3
Kenneth William Trueman volunteered for the RAF and was called up in 1941. After training in South Africa, he served as a navigator with 640 Squadron and speaks of his preference for the Gee navigation aid rather than H2S. His operations included…

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