Pete Jones]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> France]]> Germany]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Christmas Island]]> United States]]> 1939]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1957-06-19]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Northern Ireland--Londonderry (County)]]> England--Sussex]]> Great Britain]]> Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hugh Donnelly]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Ian Locker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Rostock]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> During his time as a Leading Aircraftsman, he tells of working with George Stainforth, the last Schneider Trophy Pilot for Britain, and his experiences of meeting Douglas Bader whilst he was training to get his Royal Air Force wings back.
Douglas spent time in the Gold Coast, assembling aircraft such as Maryland Kitty Hawks before moving further inland to Nigeria and tells of his run-in with the Foreign Legion, before contracting Malaria and being sent home.
After recovering from Malaria, Douglas then trained as a Flight Engineer before being posted to the Heavy Conversion Unit on Handley Page Halifaxes, and then on to Avro Lancasters with 12 Squadron.
After his time in 12 Squadron, Douglas volunteered for the Pathfinder Force but was sent overseas to India and Singapore instead where he was involved in the sending home of wives and families from Siam Road, who were interred by the Japanese.
Douglas completed 32 operations, doing 2 extra operations to allow his bomb aimer to completed his tour of duty and he left the Royal Air Force with the rank of Squadron Leader.
]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> Singapore]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> India--Bangalore]]> India--Yelahanka]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Africa]]> Egypt]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Kent]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1948]]> He tells of his training at Halton, and describes the different trades and his exams to become an Leading Aircraftsman 1st Class, where he was then transferred to a Repair and Inspection Unit (R&I) working on Spitfire engines.
Charles then went to India via the Suez Canal and then on to Ceylon to 121 Repair and Salvage Unit, looking after 2 squadrons of Beaufighters and 1 squadron of Spitfires, but he says that because he was an apprentice, he could turn his hand to anything.
He was posted to instruct at a Motor Transport Unit, and spent time learning about the maintenance of other equipment including diesel engines.
Charles was posted to 109 Maintenance Unit, repairing Merlin engines, however at this time the V Bombers were coming into service. He trained as a Crew Chief and after passing these exams he was assigned to the Avro Vulcan XA908, at RAF Waddington.
Charles related the stories of the work he did when the Vulcan had hydraulic failure at Goose Green, the bombing competition in Florida where the aircraft suffered broken bomb bay doors and a cracked bomb aimers window, and the trip home from Bermuda with no fuel in one tank and a broken bogie beam.
]]>
Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]>
Upon his call up, he was trained as a Flight Engineer Air Frames where he passed in the top third of his class. He became a Group One Tradesman, Fitter 2A. He was posted to Calshot and then spent time working at Cowley Motor Works, manufacturing spars for the fuselage of Lancasters before being recalled and sent to Scampton.
He served with 49 Bomber Squadron before taking a Flight Engineers course and working on Merlin engines at Rolls Royce Works in Derby.
Alex was transferred to 9 Squadron at Bardney where he completed 10 operations, including 3 to Hamburg, then helped form 514 Squadron where he flew on missions to Berlin, and completed 14 operations. He became an instructor at No. 31 LFS at Feltwell, before returning to Operations at 149 Squadron in Methwold.
149 Squadron were involved in the Dresden operation and did 2 trips in Operation Manna, dropping supplies to Rotterdam and The Hague.
Alex had various other postings and completed 35 years’ service in the Royal Air Force, retiring at the age of 65.
]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]>
Nigel Moore]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> 1942]]> Andrew Panton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Although he wanted to be a pilot, Ted’s skills were needed as a flight engineer. He was posted to 35 Squadron at Linton-on-Ouse in 1940 where he encountered Flight Lieutenant Leonard Cheshire. Later that year, Ted found a crew and aircraft and started operations over Germany. After only four operations, he went to instruct pilots and flight engineers on Halifaxes at 102 Squadron.
Ted was posted to Pathfinders 35 Squadron and was the first flight engineer to be commissioned. After 47 operations, he volunteered and was sent for training as a mid-upper gunner to a Pathfinder Training Unit and 7 Squadron, who needed experienced people. He had to learn about Lancasters, which he compares in some detail to Halifaxes.
Ted outlines the work of the Pathfinders and how the system became more sophisticated. He encountered Donald Bennett and once flew with him, as well as flying with Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris to Brazil.
Ted flew 108 operations (47 on Halifaxes and 61 on Lancasters). He was awarded a Distinguished Service Order.
Ted did an engineering officers’ course at RAF St Athan, followed by 24 Squadron, a VIP transport squadron, flying Lancastrians.
After pilot training in 1947, Ted was flight commander on 217 squadron. He flew Neptunes, which he compares favourably to Shackletons. Ted was then posted to Germany for two years as adjutant with an Air Observation Post squadron and flew Austers. He left the RAF because of impaired hearing.]]>
David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany]]> 1938]]> 1940]]>
Initially posted to 527 Squadron, which was Canadian, at RAF Digby and then to 695 squadron at RAF Bircham Newton working on drogue towing aircraft.
Posted overseas, he arrived at RAF Chakeri near Kampur where he worked on servicing B-24 and C-47 aircraft for South East Asia Command. He recalls that as an airframe mechanic he had to sign the Form 700 certifying that all the other trades had carried out their servicing correctly.
The local town was largely off-limits and only certain parts were allowed to be visited. The weather was very hot and in the summer hill parties were sent to the hills to escape the heat. Peter spent his 21st birthday at Darjeeling. When hostilities ceased the spent its time dismantling and scrapping B-24s aircraft. Whilst India was partitioned, Peter's demobilisation was postponed in case of tensions between India and Pakistan.
After two and a half years he was sent home via Liverpool, where he saw his first jet, and was demobilised in July 1947.
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Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Terry Holmes]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> India]]> India--Kānpur]]> India--Darjeeling]]> Pakistan]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> 1947-07]]> 1943-11]]>

In 1948, Barry was posted to RAF St Athan No. 32 Maintenance Unit. He initially serviced a flight simulator, then moved to the Aircraft Electrical Servicing Squadron. After a year, he was posted to RAF Cranwell, servicing generators and was promoted to corporal. He passed his leading aircraftman examination. He spent two years in Malta before being posted to RAF Honington, where he became a sergeant.

Barry wanted to service flight simulators, did a course and was posted for two years to Fighter Command at Bentley Priory. He had a broad role in aircraft engineering at Command Headquarters.

Barry moved to become an education officer and did a course at the School of Education at RAF Uxbridge. He spent two years in the education branch, initially at RAF Melksham. He was then posted to RAF Halton to teach electrics and electrical mechanics before setting up the basic training for the first ground electrician apprenticeships.

Barry undertook an unaccompanied 12-month tour to RAF Muharraq (Bahrain) and was in charge of the battery charging room. A further twelve months were spent at RAF Benson on 90 Group Tactical Communication Wing before returning to RAF Halton to join the Trade Standards and Testing Board. This moved to RAF Brompton where he wrote skills and knowledge specifications for RAF trades. Barry left the RAF in 1975 and continued in teaching and training roles.
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Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Bahrain--Muḥarraq]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--London]]> Bahrain]]> Bahrain--Muḥarraq]]> 1945-02]]> 1948]]> 1975]]>
Donald then trained at Rothesay as a submarine detection (ASDIC) operator before joining HMS Essington. He served on the Arctic convoys and recalls surviving a torpedo attack in the English Channel and being shelled from Guernsey whilst hunting a submarine.
After the war Donald entered the church and became a Royal Air Force Chaplain and he tells amusing stories of his RAF service. His first posting was to RAF Halton, where his wartime medal ribbons earned him respect, despite arriving late on parade with oily hands from a recalcitrant bicycle chain. Then he moved to RAF Innesworth where he arranged a guard of honour for a friend's wedding, which impressed his Air Chief Marshall.
Donald was then posted to Aden, describing accommodation, training, and service anecdotes. From Aden, he was posted to RAF Cranwell where he set up a Sunday School, taught cadets to dive and took them to Cyprus to assist in some marine research. He recalls travelling around the Mediterranean to perform pipeline inspections and to referee boxing matches.
His final post was administering Bomber, Fighter and Coastal Commands, for which he flew around numerous RAF stations.
He also describes flying in a Vulcan and a Victor with his pilot brother and speaks of his emotion on visiting the National Arboretum and reading the names of the dead from HMS Blackwood, which was hit by the torpedo that missed Essington.
In later life he received the Ushakov medal and the Légion d'honneur.]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Navy]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Cyprus]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> Scotland--Rothesay]]>
When Jim was about 18, he was called up to go to RAF Halton for aircraft training, after which he was sent for further training at RAF Abingdon Operational Training Unit on Hampden and Witney aircraft. He was then sent back to RAF Halton to do a fitter course and then posted to 23 Operational Training Unit at RAF Pershore working on Wellingtons. After training Jim became a leading aircraftman. In September 1943 Jim was posted to 206 Squadron on the Wirral for about two weeks. The outfit totalled about 1,000 people from the Air Force, Army and Navy. His unit was then sent to the Liverpool docks to join the troop ship Laconia heading for Bangor and then on to Azores where 8206 Maintenance Unit built an Air Force station and runway. They stayed in tents with eight people for up to a year. Over Christmas Jim was in a Portuguese hospital for about three days with a broken finger. The unit went to Casablanca then to Cornwall just before D-Day. He was put on night shift at RAF St Mawgan with 206 Squadron working on Liberators. Following a trip to Scotland they were posted at Dundee with an air salvaging and servicing unit. Here he was made acting corporal and worked with 31 Dakota Squadron. When the war ended, he was flown to Singapore, got a boat to Southampton and was discharged to complete his apprenticeship as a joiner. Jim re-joined the Air Force and went back to RAF Swinderby for four years working on Wellingtons. There he met his future wife. In 1951 the unit went to Singapore to work on Sunderlands before being posted back home. Jim left in 1966 and worked for AV Roe until joining ICL in a management job. ]]> Martyn Horndern]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Wirral]]> Scotland]]> Scotland--Dundee]]> Azores]]> North Africa]]> Morocco]]> Morocco--Casablanca]]> Singapore]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1943]]> 1943-09]]> 1943-12]]> 1966]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sam Harper-Coulson ]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> British Army]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Skegness]]> England--London]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Arnhem]]> 1941-03]]> 1943]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> China]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> China--Hong Kong]]> England--Somerset]]> England--Sunderland (Tyne and Wear)]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Newcastle upon Tyne]]> England--Weston-super-Mare]]> Germany--Gütersloh]]> England--Durham (County)]]> Tom Ozel]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Scotland--Wick]]> France]]> France--Ver-Sur-Mer]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]> James Sheach]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tilly Foster]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]> 1943-11]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Second generation]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> 1944-04-27]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Second generation]]> Great Britain]]> Kenya]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Rutland]]> Kenya--Nairobi]]> 1945-03-04]]> Bruce Blanche]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Czech Republic]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> Scotland--South Ayrshire]]> Czech Republic--Plzeň]]> Harry Bartlett]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Azores]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Netherlands]]> United States]]> Zimbabwe]]> Arizona--Tucson]]> England--Burton upon Trent]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Essex]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> India--Kolkata]]> Italy--Elba]]> Mediterranean Sea--Bay of Naples]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> Ontario--Ottawa]]> Scotland--Leuchars]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]> Washington (State)--Seattle]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> Arizona]]> Ontario]]> New Brunswick]]> India]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Staffordshire]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Second generation]]> Royal Air Force]]> Falkland Islands]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1979]]>