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Interview with Ronald Gard
After Air Training Corps membership, Ron joined the Royal Air Force. From Oxford, he went to Lord’s Cricket Ground, followed by Bridlington. He was posted to No. 7 Air Gunners School at RAF Stormy Down and passed out as a sergeant air gunner. Ron…
Interview with Ronald George Doble
Ron Doble grew up in London and joined the Air Training Corps and the fire watchers when war was declared. He volunteered for the Air Force when he was 18 and trained as an air gunner. He talks about the conditions in his turret and the mishaps he…
Interview with Ronald Indge
Ronald Indge was a wireless operator on 578 Squadron and became a prisoner of war after his Halifax aircraft was shot down. Upon leaving school, and unable to obtain employment in his chosen career, his father arranged a bound apprenticeship with a…
Interview with Ronald Last
Ronald Last grew up in Dorset and worked as an apprentice for the local Gas and Water company before volunteering for the Air Force. He attended the reception centre at Lord's Cricket Ground and describes the medical tests and inoculations recruits…
Interview with Ronald Marlow
Ronald Marlow went to Middleton Council School, then worked at Forgrove Engineering. He joined the Air Training Corps, volunteered for the Royal Air Force training in London at St Johns Wood. He became an air gunner ad flew Wellingtons, followed by a…
Interview with Ronald Mather
Upon leaving school, Ronald was employed first as a pawnbrokers assistant, followed by butchers assistant. In 1943, upon reaching the age of 18 he followed his brothers footsteps and enlisted in the Royal Air Force. After initial training, he…
Interview with Ronald Needle
Ron Needle, from Birmingham, flew operation as a rear gunner on 106 Squadron Lancasters at Metheringham. Operations included Norway, Dortmund Ems Canal and Munich; he was one of two survivors after his aircraft crashed in France. Ron was aided by…
Interview with Ronald Roffey
Ronald was born in Charlton, south-east London. He went to Charlton Junior School and was nine when war was declared. He remembered being fitted for a gas mask at his school. His aunt who lived in Torquay found a private billet for him and his mother…
Interview with Rosanna Capretta
Rosanna Capretta (b. 1935) reminisces about the frightening sound of the sirens and describes how she and her family tried to cope by hugging each other in a corridor. She recalls food shortages, rationing cards, and black market and describes…
Interview with Rosanna Giungi
Rosanna Giungi (b. 1933) describes how Pippo disrupted daily life in wartime, especially affecting those close to the Modena-Brennero and Modena-Verona railway lines. She reminisces about the sight of Germany-bound trains packed with people…
Interview with Rosemary Dorricott
Rosemary Dorricott is the widow of Leonard William Dorricott DFM. During the war years she was a young child in Skegness. She was six years old when war broke out. She recalls the air raids on the town and the rationing and blackouts that became a…
Interview with Rosetta Gobetti
Rosetta Gobetti (b. 1930) describes the bombing of a marsh near Isola della Scala, describing it as, probably, target mis-identification. She recalls a more severe bombing which destroyed many houses and killed 28 people. She gives a short…
Interview with Roy Berrill
Roy was born in Northampton and was evacuated from Becontree in London to Weston-super-Mare. He gained his degree from Queen Mary College, London, which was evacuated to Cambridge.
After the Air Training Corps, Roy was called up to be a…
After the Air Training Corps, Roy was called up to be a…
Interview with Roy Briggs
Roy Briggs was born in Battersea, London. After leaving school he undertook an engineering apprenticeship with Benham and Sons, producing equipment for the war. He describes his life during the Blitz. When he joined the Royal Air Force he trained as…
Interview with Roy Saunders
Roy Saunders was a schoolboy in London when the war started. He witnessed the bombing of London and was amazed when he saw the smoke from the docks area when he emerged from a shelter. His school friend and family died in the bombing. Roy was…
Interview with Royston Clarke and Diane Clarke
Warrant Officer Robert Royston Clarke joined the Royal Air Force in 1940 and flew in Lancasters.
He joined Bomber Command after seeing the bombing of Coventry.
Robert tells about bailing out and being manhandled by the local inhabitants before…
He joined Bomber Command after seeing the bombing of Coventry.
Robert tells about bailing out and being manhandled by the local inhabitants before…
Interview with Rusty Waughman. One
He discusses a mid-air collision during an operation with 101 Squadron. to Hasselt. He describes what it was like prior to a operation and the feelings experienced by the crew, from seeing the battle orders on the notice board, the pre-flight meal,…
Interview with Rusty Waughman. Two
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…
Interview with Sam Thompson
Sam Thompson grew up in Northern Ireland and volunteered for the Air Force. After training he completed two tours as an air gunner with 103 and 9 Squadrons. He took part in operations against the Tirpitz and served in Germany after the war.
He was…
He was…
Interview with Sandro Boiocchi
Sandro Boiocchi remembers wartime memories at Travacò, in the Pavia area and mentions various episodes: food shortages; the black market; fascist and German roundups; Pippo flying at night; bombing of bridges; giving shelter to evacuees.He tells how…
Interview with Sandy Saunders
Sandy Saunders recalls Liverpool being bombed in 1941 and while on a rescue squad he sustained splinter injuries from a blast requiring hospital treatment. After taking a science degree he served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers as a…
Interview with Santina Colombo
Santina Colombo describes her early life in a family of farmers and says that her father was a fervent socialist. She recalls the start of war being announced on the radio and gives a detailed account of civilian life in wartime Milan: scarce food;…
Interview with Sara Ventriglia
Sara Ventriglia, the daughter of a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, recalls her early life in wartime Milan. She describes the alarm being sounded and she and her family getting quickly dressed to reach a nearby shelter. She recollects moments…
Interview with Seymour Owen Scott
Seymour Owen Scott (usually referred to as Owen) served as a Lancaster pilot during the war. He mentions always having a passion for flying since he was a little boy. Owen remembers training, in Canada and the United States, to become a flying boat…
Interview with Sheena Staves
During the war Sheena lived in Cottingham, a village close to Hull. She lived with her mother and father (who was a fire watcher). He fought in the Far East during the first world war. She had two elder brothers, one in the Navy and one in the Royal…