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Interview with Harry Algar
Harry Algar worked as an office boy at Hay’s Wharf in London before the war. He entered the Air Training Corps before joining the RAF when he was seventeen. Started his training on Tiger Moths but was then sent to Canada to remuster as a bomb…
Interview with Harry Basil Grant
Harry Grant grew up in Kent but when his sister was widowed after her husband died at Dunkirk he went to Nottingham to be company for her in her grief. While there he took a job in the Post Office. When he was of age he volunteered for the RAF and…
Interview with Harry Fearns
Harry Fearns was born and lived in Barnsley South Yorkshire. He left school at 16 and joined the Prudential Insurance Company as a door to door premiums collector before joining the Royal Air Force in 1944 as a flight engineer. Following initial…
Interview with Harry Harris
Harry ‘Sam’ Harris grew up in Scotland and volunteered for the Air Force. He trained as a navigator in South Africa. On the penultimate day of his training he flew over a multitude of lifeboats bearing the survivors of a torpedoed ship. The next…
Interview with Harry Hooper
As a child, Harry Hooper enjoyed watching the planes at Heston Airfield. He volunteered for the RAF in 1939 and began training to be a pilot. He flew with 115 Squadron and undertook operations over Northern France and Germany using Gee, including…
Interview with Harry Irons. One
Harry Irons left a tailoring apprenticeship to join the Royal Air Force and trained as a wireless operator but actually became an air-gunner. He describes the uniform he wore and the unreliability of heated suits. Discusses the invention of…
Interview with Harry Irons. Two
Harry was under age when he joined the RAF in 1940, after witnessing bombing in London. He went to Blackpool in August 1941 and became a rear gunner. Gunnery school for six weeks at RAF Manby followed, and Harry joined 9 Squadron at RAF Waddington.…
Interview with Harry James
Harry James grew up in Berkshire and, after school, began training as a plumber. He joined the RAF and completed 33 operations as a rear gunner with 166 squadron. He discusses his crew, of their different nationalities, of how the majority of their…
Interview with Harry Parkins. One
Before the war, Harry Parkins had a variety of positions; he worked in furniture restoration in Hackney, sold bomb-damaged goods in Bethnal Green; worked for an engineering firm in Islington until it was bombed; and, finally, as an invoice and…
Interview with Harry Parkins. Two
Harry shares several memories of his time as a flight engineer in the Royal Air Force. He describes their initial accommodation in luxury London flats, and dinghy training at the local swimming pool. He recounts how, in June 1944, their aircraft was…
Interview with Harry Rossiter
Harry Rossiter grew up in East London but his family moved to Essex, which gave Harry a “ringside view” of the Battle of Britain. He volunteered as a bicycle messenger and tried to join the Royal Navy as a telegraphist. He was encouraged to join…
Interview with Harvey Hayward Bawden
Harvey Bawden, from Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, volunteered for the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 at the age of 18. After initial training school and assessment as an air gunner, he was shipped to England via the United States. After crewing…
Interview with Henry Leslie Shackleton
Henry Shackleton listened to Chamberlain’s speech on the radio and hoped to be a Spitfire pilot. He began his training and was selected as a flying instructor and was posted to Canada. On his return to the UK he was posted to his operational…
Interview with Henry Moss
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…
Interview with Henry Townsley
Henry Townsley was born near Workington and left school at fourteen years of age and started work as an apprentice vehicle fitter. After a spell as a junior engineer in the Merchant Navy he volunteered, in April 1940, for the RAF, rather than the…
Interview with Herbert Adams
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…
Interview with Herbert James Wylde
Herbert James Wylde was working in local government in Glasgow before he volunteered for aircrew training with the RAF. He started pilot training and had gone solo when he was sent to Canada to continue training. While there he began training as a…
Interview with Hilary Crozier
Hilary’s uncle, William Frederick Burkitt (known as John), was born in North London. He joined up in October 1943 and after training as a flight engineer, was sent to RAF Bardney. During their first operation they were badly hit and the rear…
Interview with Hilda Ledger
Before the war, Hilda Ledger lived in Berkley and worked in a big house. During the war, she registered to work, as required for her age, and was sent to Metrovic, a Lancaster bomber factory in Manchester. She describes working nine-hour shifts, five…
Interview with Horace Robertson
Horace Robertson was working with his father as a shoe repairer in Edinburgh before he joined the RAF. He trained as an electrician and his first posting was at RAF Finningley where he worked on Hampdens. He was then posted to a salvage unit and…
Interview with Hugh Lorimer
Hugh Lorimer skipped school to see a flying circus and won a flight in one of the aeroplanes. He later volunteered for the RAF and began training as a wireless operator. He was, initially, posted to Special Duty Flight test flying in India. However,…
Interview with Hugh Parry. Two
Hugh Parry was a member of his local ATC and was awaiting the time when he would be able to volunteer for the RAF. His slightly older friends had qualified to train as pilots, navigators or bomb aimers, but because of a backlog of trades they were…
Interview with Hugh Rogers
Hugh Rogers was a cameraman during the war and remembers filming the sinking of the Tirpitz in November 1944. Gives a vivid and detailed account of the operation, describing the briefing, the technical modifications to the aircraft and the unfolding…
Interview with Ian Denver
Ian Denver grew up in Australia and joined the Royal Australian Air Force as soon as he was old enough. After training he completed 60 operations with 625 Squadron and 156 Squadron. He met and married his wife, Pat, who was an intelligence officer at…
Interview with Ian Henderson
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…