Browse Items (35 total)

  • Tags: RAF East Kirkby
  • Type is exactly "Sound"

AYoungF160720.mp3
Fred Young volunteered for the Royal Air Force at seventeen and flew operations as a flight engineer with 57 Squadron from RAF East Kirkby. He recounts his experiences on several operations including Berlin, Magdeburg, Leipzig, Essen, Munich,…

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

PBrewsterDG1602.jpg
David Brewster grew up in Alford, and has memories of watching the Luftwaffe bombing convoys at sea, a dog fight and watching bombers take off from RAF Strubby and RAF East Kirkby.

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

PBullockWEJ1601.jpg
William Bullock was born in Marshfield in Gloucestershire in September 1916 and joined the Royal Air Force as an apprentice in 1932. He was posted to Egypt for training - after serving in the Middle East he joined Bomber Command as an engineer. After…

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

ARudkinK161015.mp3
Ken Rudkin relates the story of his friend Alf “Digger” Dawson of 630 Squadron. Alf, from Cumbria was working as a fireman for the railways when he and his friend answered the call for volunteers for aircrew. Alf trained as a wireless operator.…

Tags: ; ; ; ;

AAbbottsC151015.mp3
Cyril Abbotts volunteered for the Royal Air Force while he was an engineering apprentice with W T Avery at Smethwick. After his reception at Lord’s Cricket Ground and initial training,he trained as a pilot at RAF Bowden and Moose Jaw in Canada. On…

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

APayneAJ150811.mp3
Alan Payne was born in Wendover, Buckinghamshire. He volunteered for aircrew with the Royal Air Force and after initial training was sent to South Africa where he trained as an observer. When he returned to the UK, he was allocated the role of bomb…

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

ABradfordS161031.mp3
Stanley Bradford was working in a Reserved Occupation until he volunteered. The three services were represented but as he approached them in turn the army and navy both rejected him because of his work. The RAF said that since he was in Reserved…

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

AGillRA-JT170930.mp3
Peter Hazeldene joined the RAF from Wales when he saw a poster to see the world from a different perspective. He trained as a wireless operator and during training suspected a couple of incidents of sabotage on the base. Peter was posted to 106…

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

PPackmanDE1601.jpg
Doug grew up in Kent. He joined the Royal Air Force at 18, as a flight engineer for 630 Squadron at RAF East Kirkby in 5 Group Bomber Command, flying Lancasters. He carried out 34 operations, followed by time as an instructor at RAF Syerston,…

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

PCookJH1701.jpg
Completing school and moving on to work at 20th Century Fox Films, he worked as a fire watcher at the beginning of the war before joining the Royal Air Force. He states that he did that because he always wanted to fly and didn’t want to join the…

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

SHarriganD[Ser#-DoB]v090002.mp3
Richard Moore served as ground crew at RAF Locking, RAF Squires Gate and RAF Wickenby.

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

SHarriganD[Ser#-DoB]v340002.mp3
John Langston flew operations as a navigator with 630, 189 and 617 Squadrons.

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: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

AParkinsHW150612.mp3
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 they received 17…

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

AChattertonM160331.mp3
Mike Chatterton grew up on a farm. His father, John Chatterton was a Lancaster pilot during the war, before returning to university and becoming a lecturer, then later becoming a farmer. Mike joined the Royal Air Force from university in the 1970’s…

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

AMcCulloughF210621.mp3
Fred McCullough discusses his series of abstract art works which are an homage to his uncle, Sergeant Harry McCullough, a flight engineer with 61 Squadron. He was killed on his tenth operation and is buried at Durnbach Cemetery.

Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

PStevensS-M1601.jpg
Sidney was inspired to join The Air Force when he was working as an Air Raid Precaution Warden and one night his own home was bombed. The house next door was also destroyed and the lady who had offered him a cup of tea only hours earlier died. He…

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

PStonemanMW1801.jpg
Maurice Stoneman was posted to 57 Squadron at RAF East Kirkby as the flight engineer on Lancasters in 1943. He recalls that on returning from operations they used to fly around the Boston Stump and around Lincoln Cathedral before finally landing. In…

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

AMorrisW170218.mp3
Walter Morris was born in Kettering and started employment in 1939; after a while, older workers disappeared mostly to join the Territorial Army. He enlisted in the Air Training Corps, 101 Squadron, based at RAF Grafton Underwood. Walter reported to…

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

PGanneyK1714.jpg
Keith was called up in February 1942 and after basic training learned to fly in the Tiger Moth and then sent to Davidson in Canada for further training in Cornells and Cranes. He failed a flying test and was remustered as a bomb aimer and sent back…

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

PWoolfAS1701.jpg
Arthur Woolf was working in an office before he volunteered for the RAF. He was keen on flying and would cycle to Castle Bromwich airfield to watch the aircraft. He was accepted for aircrew training and became a wireless operator. After joining a…

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

PSpencerGC1901.jpg
Geoffrey Spencer grew up in Birmingham and worked with his father in tool making, carrying out fire watching as a youngster. He joined the Air Force aged 18 in August 1943. After training he served as a flight mechanic and fitter with 49 Squadron at…

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

PLeedhamA1601.jpg
Alma Leedham grew up in London and worked for Hawker aircraft on the Hurricane at the start of the war . She later trained as a driver in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. She served at RAF Scampton driving tractors taking bombs to the aircraft.…

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

Vera Willis.jpg
Vera Willis nee Tomlinson volunteered for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force because she wanted to be a driver. Her driving career in the RAF involved driving long distances as well as driving aircrew to dispersal. Some crew gave her letters for…

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

POtteyRA2001.jpg
Ralph Ottey was born in Jamaica in 1924. Brought up by his grandparents, he describes his education and family hopes that he would become a teacher. He left school at 16 and a half but was too young to attend teaching college so worked for his uncle…

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

Output Formats

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