Browse Items (2621 total)
- Temporal Coverage starts with "1942"
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Interview with Derry Derrington
Dr Arnold Pearce Derrington grew up in Cornwall and joined the University Air Squadron at Exeter. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1942 and completed training at RAF Ansty, South Africa, RAF West Freugh and RAF Moreton in the Marsh, where he trained…
Sinking of the SS Galilea. Part 1
The SS Galilea has been torpedoed on its starboard side. A large explosion has caused flames to engulf the craft and black smoke is billowing upwards. Large waves are evident around the ship. Two other ships are sailing away towards the horizon, one…
Sinking of the SS Galilea. Part 2
Ten Alpini dressed in green and with bare feet are in the water, clinging to the outside of a round, yellow life raft. One figure is wearing a life jacket. To the right of the life raft, a further figure is being swept away and another body is…
Sinking of the SS Galilea. Part 3
On a clear day, two white aircraft with red crosses painted on their wings and fuselage are featured. One is flying on the horizon and the other crashing into the sea. Flames and smoke have engulfed the crashed aircraft. Nearby is a white boat with…
Actions of the destroyer Vivaldi. Part 1
On a clear day, a convoy of seven Regia Marina destroyers is under attack by five Royal Navy vessels on the horizon. Four of the Royal Navy units have been hit and are engulfed in flames while a fifth ship is sailing on the horizon. Explosions are…
Actions of the destroyer Vivaldi. Part 3
Inside the magazine of the Vivaldi, an engineer in dirty blue trousers, a naval shirt and with a helmet on his head is holding a hose pipe and trying to extinguish a raging fire with water.
Label reads “56”; signed by the author; caption…
Label reads “56”; signed by the author; caption…
Actions of the destroyer Vivaldi. Part 6
On a clear day and in turbulent seas, the Vivaldi is engulfed in flames and black smoke. Figures in uniforms are trying to escape in three lifeboats that have been launched. Two figures are on deck trying to put out the flames using a hosepipe and a…
Actions of the destroyer Vivaldi. Part 2
The Italian destroyer "Vivaldi" firing torpedoes in rough seas.
Label reads “55”; signed by the author; caption reads “ 2 Il “Vivaldi” è a 5800 metri dai piroscafi e a 5000 metri dai caccia di scorta il “Malocello” è alla stessa…
Label reads “55”; signed by the author; caption reads “ 2 Il “Vivaldi” è a 5800 metri dai piroscafi e a 5000 metri dai caccia di scorta il “Malocello” è alla stessa…
Actions of the destroyer Vivaldi. Part 4
On calm seas, the destroyers Vivaldi and Malocello exchange salvos with HMS Foresight (H68). The three vessels are engulfed in flames and black smoke is billowing upwards. Shells are exploding in the water near the Italian destroyer on the left of…
Laconia incident. Part 1
At night, the submarine U-156 launches a torpedo at the SS Laconia. A massive explosion causes large flames and black smoke to engulf the centre of the liner. Small flags are flying from the masts of the ship. A postcard with the caption “The New…
Laconia incident. Part 7
Six naked figures are on two makeshift rafts floating in rough seas, surrounded by sharks. Two figures holding sticks are trying to scare the sharks away. Three of the figures are pointing to their left and shouting. Men are also in the water…
Laconia incident. Part 8
A lifeboat from the Laconia floats on rough seas with eleven figures on board, among them two Polish soldiers. The soldier on the left is standing over the others in the boat. He has a pistol in his right hand and is pointing it at the occupants of…
SS Olterra being used as an undercover base for manned torpedoes
Two manned torpedoes are exiting from a hidden hatch in the hull of the Italian auxiliary ship Olterra. Each torpedo has two figures sitting on it wearing diving suits and equipment.
Label reads “74”; signed by the authors; caption reads…
Label reads “74”; signed by the authors; caption reads…
Italian Army in Russia
An "Alpino" has been stabbed in the hand by German soldiers whilst trying to board an open-top lorry which is transporting the Germans. Other Italian soldiers are attempting to escape or are slumped on the ground. In the sky, two aircraft are visible…
Laconia incident. Part 9
On a clear day, a four engined United States Army Air Force aircraft attacks the submarine U-156. Bullets are raining down on the figures on the deck of the submarine. Some of the figures are diving into the water, others are running for cover and…
Interview with Carlo Bertolo
Carlo Bertolo (b. 1939) remembers a bombing of Turin when incendiaries were dropped. Recalls how one of them hit his house, but it was stopped by a trunk full of clothes before it could reach the shelter.
Interview with Gerlinde Keller
Gerlinde Keller (b. 1939) was evacuated in 1942 from Munich to the Altmühltal, where she lived with her aunt in a purpose-built settlement. Explains how the intensifying bombings had made the city unsafe for children and how they managed to cope…
Interview with Romualdo Siccardi
Romualdo Siccardi (b. 1926) remembers the November 1942 bombing of the Borgo San Paolo gas holder in Turin, when he was sixteen. Mentions briefly makeshift shelters in basements deemed tantamount to death traps and gives a detailed account of the…
Interview with Eraldo Bessone
Eraldo Bessone (b. 1925) remembers the 18 November 1942 bombing of Turin , the first intense attack after a series of operations which caused limited alarm and little damage. Gives a vivid and emotional account of the destruction of a nearby military…
Group portrait at Eastbourne Navigation School
William Barfoot is featured among a group portrait of 55 trainees at Eastbourne Navigation School, Eastbourne College, some standing, some sitting; five men in the centre of the seated row wear observer brevets and two of these are officers, one a…
Letter from David Boldy to his father
Letter from sergeant David Boldy to his father about seeing action in day and night operations. Mentions the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst battleship. He had some leave and went out to the Trocadero with Steve and Ajan.
Letter from David Boldy to his father
Letter from sergeant David Boldy to his father about his lack of operations recently. Mentions daily life and pastimes with his crew members in Leicester. He is concerned about how close the Japanese forces are getting to his father’s location.
Letter from David Boldy to his father
Letter from sergeant David Boldy to his father about the excitement of being in action again after a long pause. He saw his Mother in London and hopes his brother Steve completes his finals soon to become a doctor. Mentions daily life and pastimes …
Danzig bombed in daylight. R.A.F.'s great exploit. Attack on submarine yards.
Clipping from an unidentified Indian newspaper regarding a Royal Air Force attack on Danzig (Gdańsk).
The roll of honour. Royal Air Force casualties
Casualties list including listing David Boldy.