Patricia Selby]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tilly Foster]]> Julie Williams]]> Steph Jackson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Somerset]]> Germany--Wassenberg]]> 1955]]> 1956]]> Patricia Selby]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tilly Foster]]> Julie Williams]]> Steph Jackson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Harrow]]> Canada]]> France]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Rhine River]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941-02]]> 1942-05]]> 1944-01]]> 1944-08]]> 1946]]> 1949]]> On his return, Geoff was posted to RAF Stormy Down on Whitleys and RAF Brize Norton where he trained army pilots to fly Horsa gliders. He was also posted to fly Wellingtons at the RAF Sutton Bridge experimental unit.
Geoff was eventually posted to Bomber Command and trained on Wellingtons at RAF Finningley. They did dummy raids, and dropped leaflets and Window. Geoff went to 550 Squadron at RAF North Killingholme in May 1944. He completed seven operations within 11 days and was shot down on the seventh. The first four operations were over the Normandy coast, starting on 5 June 1944 around D-Day.
Geoff describes how his plane was shot on its way to Sterkrade in the Ruhr. They baled out just over the Dutch border. Geoff landed in a wheat field whilst the aircraft hit a farm, killing seven people. Geoff found the church and was given clothing and a false identity card. He went down the escape line with his mid-upper gunner to Antwerp. They were betrayed by the Flemish collaborator, René van Muylem, who had set up a false escape line.
Geoff was interrogated and taken to Frankfurt. He was then sent to Stalag Luft I prisoner of war camp in Barth for nine months. There was little food but it was otherwise acceptable. His parents learnt he was a prisoner when his letter to them was read out by Lord Haw-Haw. The Germans left before the Russians arrived. Geoff was returned on a B-17.
Geoff was posted to Ely as Assistant Air Traffic Controller and stayed in the RAF volunteer reserve until his commercial pilot licence was granted.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> Alberta--Medicine Hat]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> Alberta]]> Alberta]]> Canada]]> Nova Scotia]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1944-05]]> 1944-06]]> 1945]]>
David Meanwell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Burma]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--London]]> 1941-09]]> He discusses his time in flight engineer training at RAF St Athan and subsequent duties as a flight engineer on Halifax and Lancaster aircraft with 1662 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Blyton. He recalls the operational duties with 550 Squadron, North Killingholme where he took part in four bombing operations - 2 of them at night raids (close to 9 hour round trips), and operations over Heligoland and Bremen.
He reflects on the differences he encountered as a flight engineer between the Halifax and Lancaster, how the Halifax was spacious and comfortable; the Lancaster cramped and only a small tip-up seat for his flight engineer position.
He talks about the main memory of his time in the RAF, Operational Mana, and his later conversations with a lady from Holland who was 8 years old at the time. He retrained as an MT driver when his Squadron was disbanded and was demobilised in October 1947.
Maurice later reaffirmed his affiliation with the RAF. In later years, he moved to Rutland and retired from his last job as a mechanical foreman at RAF Cottesmore in the 1980s.]]>
David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Chris Cann]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]>
Jean Macartney]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Urft Dam]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> In 1941 Charles was posted to Canada to complete training at RAF De Winton, learning to fly a Chipmunk and then converted to four engine aircraft: 'I got a pair of Air Force wings which is my pride and joy. Best thing I’ve ever done in my life'. Canada was described as being nice, vast, and cold, inhabited by friendly people, with plenty of fine food that wasn’t available in Britain. Very few details are given about wartime service. After the end of war, he went on to serve in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force as an engineer and representative of Meteor jets, which he also flown. Charles also became an Air Training Corps superintendent. Describes his involvement in one of the 550 Squadron reunions at RAF North Killingholme where they discussed Operation Manna. Talks about PA474 Phantom, a 550 Squadron aircraft.]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jean Massie]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cambridge]]> Canada]]> Alberta--Calgary]]> Alberta--De Winton]]> Alberta]]> 1941]]> Heather Hughes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Heather Hughes]]> eng]]> Sound]]> France--Paris]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> South Africa]]> France]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> 1944-06-07]]>