Browse Items (108 total)

  • Tags: sanitation

PMabeyBC1605.jpg
Bernard Mabey was born in London and experienced the Blitz at first hand. He was a member of the Air Training Corps in 1941 before volunteering for the RAF. He trained as an air frame mechanic at RAF Locking. His first posting was RAF Marston Moor…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PGoodmanLS1501.jpg
Benny Goodman grew up in London and hoped to become a pilot. He volunteered for the Air Force and was originally posted to RAF Abingdon as a ground gunner before beginning his flying training. After qualifying as a pilot in Canada, he became an…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PCurnockRM1602.jpg
Richard Curnock was born in Grantham and joined the Royal Air Force in 1941.He achieved the rank of warrant officer and served in 425 Squadron. Richard tells of how he followed his two older brothers into the services, and his time serving in the Air…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

ACarringtonJ170207.mp3
Jane Carrington joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force in 1942 at the age of 18. She served as a cook, and volunteered to join the band as a drummer. She discusses her time in the kitchens, the menus and the equipment they used.

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

ABurdinJR170206.mp3
James Burdin went at Hutton Grammar School and worked on radio repair and sales. He volunteered for the Royal Air Force but had to wait and joined the Local Defence Volunteers instead. He did some rifle practice, general infantry training and…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

MHarrisonR[Ser#-DoB]-151208-01.jpg
Two photographs from a scrapbook.
Photograph 1 is two airmen, one a sergeant, standing with their hands in their pocket, the left hand airman is Ron Harrison. Behind is a tent. It is captioned 'The Crew's Gunnners'.
Photograph 2 is a naked airman,…

Tags: ; ; ;

PCavalierRG17010043.jpg
Photograph 1 is of four airmen, including Reginald George Cavalier, standing at the back of the photographic trailer. Captioned: 'Photographic Trailer, 11th March 1944. Harold Pyatt, Frank Watson, R.G.C., Hal Ashley.'

Photograph 2 is of the…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ;

AFirthJB160706.mp3
John was called up at 18 and went to Padgate. He did a flight mechanics course at RAF Locking, followed by a Maintenance Unit at RAF Colerne. He was posted to a flight engineers’ course at RAF St Athan. John joined up with his crew at RAF Wigsley…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

ATolleyF150702.mp3
Frank Tolley was born in 1921 in Tipton and left school at fourteen to work as an errand boy for a grocer. He joined the Royal Air Force at nineteen as a ground gunner, and was in at the inception of the Royal Air Force Regiment. After eighteen…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

Rutherford, Les.2.jpg
Les Rutherford joined the army and was in the 51st Highland Division which formed the rear-guard defence, allowing for the evacuation of Dunkirk. He escaped out to sea on a barn door and was picked up and taken to England by a French trawler. He…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

AWallerT151027.mp3
Thomas Waller volunteered for the Royal Air Force and hoped to be a driver. However, he undertook training as an armourer and was based initially at the Special Operations Executive 138 Squadron. He was posted to RAF Stradishall, RAF Wyton and RAF…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

BSpencerAHGSpencerAHGv1.pdf
Memoir of the life of Arthur Spencer. Includes details of childhood and growing up. Continues with his joining the Royal Air Force and his training in the United States as a pilot and then navigator. Followed by training in England and then posting…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

AWoodsL150428.mp3
Flying Officer Laurie Woods DFC was born in Deloraine, Tasmania, in 1922. He grew up in Tasmania, and at the age of eighteen, despite being in a reserved occupation, he volunteered for Air Crew in the Royal Australian Air Force. Initially training in…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PWaughmanR1501.jpg
Russell (Rusty) Waughman was born in Shotley Bridge, County Durham. Due to serious poor health as a child his education was interrupted. He describes his training with the Empire Training School in Canada. He was posted to 101 Squadron which was a…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PMcCredieJ1501.jpg
John McCredie grew up in Australia and served in the Militia before he volunteered for the Royal Australian Air Force. He flew two operations as a pilot over France during training and was later posted to India. He later returned to Australia to…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PMacdonaldK1703.pdf
Ken has been in the Air Training Corps and enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942. He went to No. 2 Initial Training School at Bradfield Park and then to Marborough where he chose to be a wireless operator/air gunner. They flew on Wackett…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

Johnny Johnson f.jpg
George ‘Johnny’ Johnson was born in rural Lincolnshire. As a child he won a scholarship to Lord Wandsworth’s Agricultural College in Hampshire. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered for the Royal Air Force, and was selected…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PHicktonH1701.jpg
Pat Hickton was born in New Zealand. His mother passed away when he was young and he spent his childhood in a number of foster and children’s homes until he started working on the railway. He volunteered for the RAF and began training as a rear…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PCromartyGE1601.jpg
Mr Cromarty joined the Royal Air Force as an AC2 and served as ground personnel before training as an air gunner. He flew operations as the rear gunner with 630 Squadron from RAF East Kirby. He discusses what operations and life on a station were…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PCookKHH1601.jpg
Wing Commander Kenneth Cook was born in Randwick in Gloucestershire. At Marlings grammar school, he joined the Air Training Corps. On the outbreak of war he joined the Royal Air Force and went to America under the Arnold Scheme for pilot training.…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PBartonER1701.jpg
Flying Officer Eric Barton flew operations with Bomber Command. Eric Barton talks about the various aircraft he flew in, and recalls an incident at Banff in Scotland where following a night exercise his tyre blew out on landing. He gives an account…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PBaconSG1601.jpg
Stephen joined the Royal Air Force in Kingston upon Hull. He wanted to be a pilot but became a mid-air gunner instead. He started at RAF Dalcross where he trained on Boulton Paul Defiant aircraft and went to 12 Squadron at Wickenby on Lancasters.…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PAdamsHG1704.jpg
Herbert Adams grew up in New South Wales Australia and joined the Air Training Corps as soon as it was established. He later joined the Royal Australian Air Force and after training, he completed a tour of operations as a navigator with 467 Squadron.…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

AAndersonG161122.mp3
George Anderson was born in County Durham and worked in a grocery shop before he joined the Royal Air Force in 1943. He flew operations as a wireless operator at the end of the war, with 101 Squadron from RAF Ludford Magna. In 1959 George and his…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

Harry Parkins.jpg
Before the war, Harry Parkins worked in furniture restoration in Hackney, before later selling bomb-damaged goods in Bethnal Green, working for an engineering firm in Islington until it was bombed and finally as an invoice and warehousing clerk…

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

Output Formats

atom, dc-rdf, dcmes-xml, json, omeka-xml, rss2