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Aircrew and ground crew at RAF Witchford
Top right - 13 men and one woman stood or sitting in front of the tail of a Lancaster, and dressed in a mixture of civilian and military clothing (six of them are in flying gear). Captioned ‘The “Boys” of A&B Witchford 1945’. Centre - Seven…
32 Squadron at Ein Shemer, Palestine
Group of officers and airmen arranged in three rows. The front row is seated, the second row is standing and the third row standing on a bench. Behind are visible two four bladed propellers of Spitfire aircraft. Captioned ‘32 Sqdn Ein Shemer,…
RAF Aqir
Top left - a group of 13 airmen in tropical uniform on the front of a small fabric covered lorry. There is a Nissen hut in the background. Captioned, ’32 Sqdn Boy’s Aqir’.
Top right - three men in tropical uniform. Two have rifles (with…
Top right - three men in tropical uniform. Two have rifles (with…
The Aircraft by Night and The Crew by Day
Photograph 1 is the nose of a Lancaster. Two airmen are on a platform working on the port engine. it is captioned 'The Aircraft by Night (WS-R) EE136 The boys get "R" Roger ready for a trip'.
Photograph 2 is partly obscured. A group of airmen…
Photograph 2 is partly obscured. A group of airmen…
Southern California
Photograph 1 is a motorway, captioned 'Cahuenga Boulevard'.
Photograph 2 is a wooden building, captioned 'Typical Barracks at the Sixth Ferrying Group. Men assigned to the field are quartered in theses two-story structures.'
Photograph 3 is of…
Photograph 2 is a wooden building, captioned 'Typical Barracks at the Sixth Ferrying Group. Men assigned to the field are quartered in theses two-story structures.'
Photograph 3 is of…
Interview with Alice Wrigley
Alice Wrigley was married to James Wrigley, a wireless operator on Lancasters. She talks about her early life after losing her mother, her marriage to Jim and how war work enabled her to become independent by sorting out somewhere to live whilst he…
Certificate of Competence to undertake First Line Servicing
A certificate allowing Richard Vipond to undertake Daily Servicing on Lincolns.
Certificate of Competence to undertake First Line serving
A certificate awarded to Richard Vipond permitting him to service certain parts of Lincolns.
517 Squadron RAF Chivenor June 1946
Top, the left wing and fuselage of Halifax with members of 517 Squadron, in uniform, one row standing on the wing, two rows standing beneath the wing, one row seated and one row sitting on the ground.
Bottom, shows two men in sports kit, running…
Bottom, shows two men in sports kit, running…
Interview with Cyril Bristow Adams
Cyril was born in London in 1921 and lived in Battersea with his relatives; he met his wife in 1940 while working at Harrods. His family were killed by bombing after he joined up. Cyril enlisted at RAF Cardington in 1941 and was trained to be a…
Interview with an Anonymous Interviewee (An00086)
This interviewee was working at Chatham dockyard before he was accepted by the RAF as a mechanic. He then remustered as a flight engineer which fulfilled his hopes to be accepted as aircrew. While waiting for a place on the training course at St…
Interview with Doug Beasley
At the start of the war, Doug Beasley left school at 16 to start work. Initially a member of the Air Training Corps, he was sent for aircrew selection when he became 18. There was a 12-month wait to enlist as a pilot, so he opted to become a flight…
Interview with John Allbon Bonds
John Bonds was brought up in London and remembers bombs dropping near him. He joined the RAF as an engine mechanic and after training worked on Spitfires before being posted to bombers. He was injured in an accident in a hangar and spent some time in…
Interview with Frank Lawrence Boutcher
Frank Boutcher worked as a junior clerk for Southend Borough Council before the war. He wanted to join the Royal Navy but they only required able seamen on a long commission, so he joined the RAF instead to train as an engine fitter. After passing…
Two airmen sitting on a trailer
One ground crew and one aircrew sitting on the side of a trailer. Behind is a second, enclosed trailer with a Royal Air Force roundel.
Interview with John Shipman
John Shipman was born in Stathern, Leicester and as a teenager would cycle to Melton Mowbray to attend ATC meetings. He joined the RAF and started training as a flight mechanic. He joined a troop ship to start his posting and the journey took a very…
WO Donald Keith Fraser
Memoir describing his life and service career in the RAF. He also gives a list of 29 operations he participated in with notes on specific operations, and recounts a brief history of the Lancaster.
Interview with Donald Fraser. Two
Donald Fraser completed a tour of operations as a flight engineer with 101 Squadron. He discusses the importance of ground personnel, his crew, his operations and the conditions at RAF Ludford Magna. He describes having to stop his mid-upper gunner…
Halifax E Easy
Album page with eight black and white photographs various orientations. Captioned 'E Easy - they did 25 Operations in this Halifax'.
Top, Halifax bomber, ladder present against port wing at least two ground crew present.
Upper-mid-left photograph,…
Top, Halifax bomber, ladder present against port wing at least two ground crew present.
Upper-mid-left photograph,…
517 Squadron RAF Chivenor June 1946
Top, the right wing of the Halifax with members of 517 Squadron in uniform, one row standing on the wing, two rows standing beneath the wing, one row seated and one row sitting on the ground.
Bottom, shows two men in sports kit, running across the…
Bottom, shows two men in sports kit, running across the…
Interview with Martin Arthur Catty
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…
Interview with Percival Robert Court
Percival Robert Court joined the Air Training Corps in March 1941, volunteering for the Royal Air Force at the earliest age of seventeen and a half. Training at RAF Cardington, he became a flight mechanic. He then moved to Skegness to continue into…
Interview with Jean Culkin
Jean Culkin grew up in Sunderland and worked as a tea girl and then a typist in a reserved occupation. She discusses her life and her wedding to her husband, John George Mackel Culkin. He was an apprentice at RAF Halton before becoming a fitter…
Interview with Ronald Davis
Ronald Davis grew up in the East End and worked in London as a solicitor’s office boy. He joined the RAF and trained as a fitter airframe. He was saddened when the pilot of the aircraft he services did not return from operation because they had got…