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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/301/3458/AMcPhersonGM160221.1.mp3
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Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
McPherson, Gerald
Gerald Murray McPherson
Gerald M McPherson
Gerald McPherson
G M McPherson
G McPherson
Description
An account of the resource
Four items An oral history interview with Gerald Murray McPherson (430468 Royal Australian Air Force) and his flying log book and two photographs.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Gerald Murray McPherson and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2016-02-21
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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McPherson, GM
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
AP: This interview for the International Bomber Command centre’s digital archives with Gerald McPherson, a rear gunner with 186 Squadron during World War Two, the interview is taking place at Gerald’s home in Box Hill, in Melbourne. My name’s Adam Purcell and the date is the twenty-first of February twenty sixteen. So, Gerald, we’ll start if you like with er, well at the beginning, erm, tell me something of your early life, where you grew up and early education, and things like that
GM: I was born in Dimboola in Victoria on the fourteenth of November nineteen twenty-four, and er, moved to Horsham when I was five and did all my schooling at Horsham [pause] what else do you want to?
AP: Ok, well, I’m sorry, what were you er?
GM: I was one of er, seven boys and er, one girl in the family, three of us were in the, air force, one was a dive bomber pilot, my eldest brother, another was a rear gunner on a Halifax and myself
AP: What were you doing before the war though, what first job and things like that?
GM: I joined the Bank of Australasia, in nineteen forty, and moved to Neale in nineteen forty-one, and in nineteen forty-two I was called up to the air force [pause] nineteen forty-three, January forty three
AP: Did you have any prior military service, for that?
GM: No, just air training, I was in the Air Training Corp
AP: Ah, what did that involve?
GM: I was just going to lectures on maths and that sort of thing
AP: Ok, um
GM: I also learnt er, [pause] morse code, and er, my brother was a telegraphist, and fortunately he taught me morse code
AP: Excellent, um, why did you enlist in the air force, why did you pick the air force?
GM: Ah, my two elder brothers had already joined the air force, and I felt I’d rather do that then foot slog [laughs]
AP: Sounds, sounds quite reasonable, erm, what about, alright, so, having decided to join the air force then, erm, can you tell me something about the enlistment process, what you had to do, to actually get in?
GM: Well, I had to have permission from the bank to join the air force, for the first place, er, once I did that, being in the Air Training Corps, you just filled in a form for application to join the air force. My father was in the area office for the Army in Horsham, and he, ensured that I wasn’t called up for the Army before I was called up for the air force [laughs]
AP: Was erm, can you remember much about the interview or the medical tests that you had to do?
GM: Ah yes, erm, in late January forty-three, I caught the train from Melbourne, er, from Horsham to Melbourne, we over landed at three thirty in the morning, arrived in Melbourne and went straight to er, Preston Motors in Russell Street, I think it was, for my medical and spent all day there, checked medical, colour blindness and everything else like that, spent the day there, and then er, that night we went down to Somers
A: Oh, so this was after you’d enlisted, and you’d been accepted and essentially called up, the first medical that you actually did, was that day that you were called up?
GM: Hmm
AP: Is that right? Very good
GM: Yeh, I say we because I was with a friend of mine who, I went to school with from when we were both the same age, we both came down together
AP: Right, excellent
GM: Erm, years later, a fighter, fight pilot in the Middle East
AP: So, you got to Somers which is the initial training school, what happened then?
GM: Er, had training and er, had trouble with my teeth, because in those days during the depression we had a lot of decay and er, I went to the dentist at Somers, [pause] and he said ‘I’ll have to take all your top teeth out’, yeh, he took four out and he said ‘how are you feeling’, I said ‘alright’, he said, he took another four out, ‘how you feeling’, ‘alright’, he finished up taking all the teeth out in one sitting, that night I was in hospital, bleeding, and he had to come and stitch me up [laughs] [pause] and I had to go back a course, because I was, thirty seven course, to thirty eight course, to finishing course, because I had to have a couple of weeks sick leave because of the problem with my teeth [laughs]
AP: What’s erm, what’s air force dentistry like, what’s air force dentistry like, I don’t?
GM: Not bad, erm, probably the best set of teeth I’ve ever had, with the first set, I smashed them playing football at Ballarat when I was in the air force [laughs]
AP: Alright, what’s, what sort of things did you cover in ITS, what sort of things did you cover in your initial training school?
GM: Oh, er, morse, mathematics, er, aircraft recognition I think, can’t remember what I did down at, it was mainly like, back at school, and when I was interviewed at the end of the course, er, I, give allotment, and he told me I was to be a wireless air gunner, I wasn’t very happy about that, but er, probably my training in morse, that had er, influenced that, I would have been as probably a better, would have been a better navigator ‘cos my maths was pretty good, anyway, that’s how it fell, probably I’m lucky he did make me, because I’m still here [laughs]
AP: So, you finished at Somers, actually, just before we leave Somers, can you tell me something of what Somers, what the actual camp was like, how it was set out and what a normal day sort of entailed?
GM: Er, the camp was good, you did a lot of drilling, erm, [pause] it was just like school I suppose, back at school, you did your lessons and went to bed, unfortunately I, when I arrived there they, gave us a pallet [unclear] to fill up with hay, usually there’s a pallet, but by the time I got down there, all the hay had gone, so I finished the next two months sleeping virtually on an empty bag on the floor, you can imagine what that’s like [laughs]
AP: Yeh, what time of year was it?
GM: Nineteen forty, January, February
AP: Oh, so at least it wasn’t too cold
GM: Or February and March, it wasn’t cold, but your hips, lying on your side, and then, half an hour later you’re on the other side, it was dreadful, that was the only major inconvenience down at Somers, was er, lack of sleep because of the er, virtually sleeping on a wooden floor [laughs]
AP: What er, was it like then, a barracks sort of building?
GM: Yeh, barracks, a tin, tin hut, er, Nissan huts I suppose they were
AP: How many, how many men might have been in there?
GM: Oh, twenty
AP: Twenty, something
GM: Down both sides
AP: Alright, so, you then left Somers, and I think you went to Ballarat next?
GM: Ballarat, yes
AP: What happened at Ballarat?
GM: I was at air gunner school, er, I could do the morse, but I couldn’t cotton on to the theory [pause] er, my other brother had, had, the same trouble, and he, he, they made him an Australian air gunner, so I said oh, that’ll do me, so I told them then that I didn’t want to finish the course of wireless operator and be a straight air gunner, er, that’s it. It was the coldest place we’d ever lived in, Ballarat, the Nissan huts had doors on either end, there was about twenty in each Nissan hut, we used to put on our flying gear to go to bed, it was that cold, the doors were, weren’t flush on the base at either end, and the wind used to come in one end and right out the other end, and it went right through the huts and er, most of us felt cold there, it’s always a cold place Ballarat anyway
AP: It is, I was just there, last weekend and it was only about twelve degrees in the middle of summer, anyway, erm, alright, the first, can you remember something about the first time you went in an aeroplane, what was it and what were you doing?
GM: Erm, I didn’t do any flying at Ballarat, er, I was only there for about four months, and they sent me to Sale, air gunnery school, and there I did my first trip in a Fairey Battle, I was with another gunner, in a practice air to ground gunnery and er, after the other airman had done his, his exercise, I stood up to put the magazine in the gas operated gun, the round magazine, and we, we’d been told that if we lost it, it would cost us five pound, now five pound was a lot of money in those days, for us, a few, couple months pay, and, I was stood up in the Fairey Battle to put my magazine on the gun, it slipped out of my hand, the plane bumped about a bit, slipped out of my hand, was sliding down by the side of the plane and I reached out and caught it sliding down to the ground, sliding down the side of the plane, and, I then realised that I’d taken off my safety [laughs] and I was half way out of the plane, [laughs] anyway they caught the, caught the magazine and [unclear] I finished my exercise
AP: This is your first ever flight?
GM: Yes
AP: Right
[laughter]
GM: [unclear] fumes in the Fairey Battle were dreadful, I couldn’t stand fighting in them too often, just as well I played cricket, a lot of cricket, because otherwise I would have lost that magazine
AP: Indeed, erm, did you encounter any accidents or anything, did you see any accidents or hear about anything during training?
GM: No, not down at Sale I didn’t hear of any, or see any
AP: Perhaps, later?
GM: [pause] No, I saw a plane shot down
GM: Not so much accidents, but we’ll get on to that shortly, I’m sort of more looking at training at this point. Alright, so, you’ve finished at er, at Sale, you are now a qualified air gunner
GM: Yeh
AP: Then you get shipped overseas
GM: Come out of Sale, then we went to Ascot Vale, showground embarkation depot, we were only there for a couple of weeks and they moved the embarkation depot to Melbourne [unclear] er, there for about a fortnight, sleeping in the old southern stand, underneath the old southern stand, we called it pneumonia alley, and on the seventeenth of November we were, headed off to er, [pause] Port Melbourne to sail to America, on the [unclear] line, we left Melbourne and went down south, New Zealand and up to San Francisco, we were there at Angel Island which was just near Alcatraz, we were at Angel Island for three or four days and then we went across America by train, there was about two hundred and fifty of us, mainly air gunners. [pause]
Arrived New York at two thirty in the morning, calm morning and had to march about a month to Fort Slocum, [pause] walked about a mile, [unclear] to Fort Slocum where we were billeted for the next fortnight, we had a great time in New York, it was Christmas time, Anzac House looked after us, every day, we had somewhere to go, on the weekend we would go to a family, Christmas Day we went to a family, I can’t say enough for Anzac House in New York, the way they looked after us, went to all the major buildings, the Empire State building, the radio station, went for a weekend down in [pause] where was it? A suburb of New York, New Rochelle was it, not sure, I can’t remember now, we had, three of us had a very nice time down there for the weekend, [pause] we left New York on New Year’s Eve, on the er, er, what’s the name of the ship? [pause] some’ at, Samaria, it’s about twenty thousand tonner which used to run on the Odessa line, and, twenty thousand ton ship with fourteen thousand troops on board, American, mostly American, a lot of erm, negroes, and the first night out was very rough and, a lot of the Americans hadn’t been to sea before, and the next morning it was terrible, sewage was all overflowing and it was floating down the gangways, [laughs] you know. We got up to see if we were in a convoy, two of us, a friend of mine, and er, it took us about two hours to get up to the promenade deck, we were down on eighth deck, two hundred and fifty Australians in one room, with one door each, so you can imagine what happened, we were below water line, if it was torpedoed, and the kitchen was in the same area, and there was, three tier bunks, all around this area, counting the two hundred and fifty Australians, and I was just near the exit door.
When we got up to the promenade deck we saw ships everywhere. We were in a convoy of about one hundred and twenty ships I think it was, the oldest battle ship Texas, was right next to us, which was a bit, a bit thankful for that. [pause] Unfortunately, we only had two meals a day and we missed breakfast because it took us another hour to get downstairs, and our meal time was over, so we had to buy some chocolate in the canteen for breakfast. [laughs] [pause] Seven days later we arrived in Liverpool, luckily, we avoided any submarines, although at one stage, the smoke was coming from our funnels and the Texas signalled us, I read this on morse, ‘if you don’t stop the smoke you will have to drop out of the convoy’, that worried us a bit, [laughs] luckily, they stopped the smoke and we were able to stay in the convoy. We arrived in Liverpool on the seventh of January, I think it was, forty-four, and er, caught a train down to Brighton, and er, [pause] we were billeted in the, in the Grand Hotel in Brighton, [pause] we were offered er, leave, at, people’s homes, in, in England, and I, accepted that offer in one case, and went to High Wycombe where I was in a town for a week by a family by the name of Cook, the husband was a, headmaster of a, college in High Wycombe, and they were very nice, treated me very well, there was only four hundred, their house was only four hundred yards from Bomber Command headquarters along the road. [laughs]
After that, we were posted to, in February forty-four, late February forty-four, we were posted to Silverstone, which is now the, the er, you know erm, the car racing, where they had Wellingtons, after a couple of weeks there we were formed into crews, all the, all the airman were assembled in a hangar, and said, right oh, sort yourselves out into queues, crews, well, I’d been a friend of another gunner since we’d arrived and the Melbourne cricket ground he, he, came from Griffiths, in New South Wales, and we decided we were both at Silverstone, we decided that, he’d be a mid-upper gunner and I’d be a rear gunner and try and get in the same crew, and a New Zealand pilot came around and said ‘have you got crew yet,’ ‘no, no’, so we told him we’d be prepared to fly with him as mid upper and rear gunner, he also got an Australian navigator, an English wireless operator and an English bomb aimer, that completed the crew of six at that stage. We then went to Turweston, satellite aerodrome of Silverstone, to do flying after we’d been doing lectures on aircraft recognition, gunnery and guns, etc, etc, and we’d only been there a couple of days and, our wireless operator was asked to fly with another crew on a gunnery exercise near the North Sea, and er, the wireless operator, he came to me and said ‘Gerald’ he said ‘I’ve got to fly with another crew and I haven’t got a watch. and I’ve got to send messages back at certain times, will you lend me a watch?’, and I said ‘yes’, the family had given me a watch as a send-off present a couple of months earlier, that afternoon I heard that the plane had ditched in the North Sea, lost an engine, and er, [pause] the only one that didn’t get out the plane, ‘cos there were about nine on the plane, was the, our wireless operator, he was killed. I asked one of the Australian gunners what happened and he said well he was sitting in my ditching position next to me, and all of a sudden he got up and raced back to his set and he, he must have been knocked out, because he didn’t get back, and I said he went back to pick up my watch, that’s the only reason he’d have gone back, they put them on the desk, the wireless operator, so they could see the, that’s been on my mind ever since. [pause] That night, seven, six people from the same hut as us, there was about three crews in the hut, were all killed in the aircraft accident, they were doing circuits and bumps, and er, obviously something wrong, went wrong, and they crashed near the aerodrome. There were seven killed in our hut, out of about twenty in one day, [unclear] this other crew and Australian pilot, er, [pause]
They finished our training at Turweston, without any further problems, and returned to Silverstone to do er, [pause] er, what do they call them? They used to fly around England, and training?
AP: Navigation flying
GM: Navigation flying
AP: A cross country thing
GM: Cross country, yeh, flights, [pause] one night we were, we’d just taken off towards dark, on a cross country up to Scotland, and back to Wales and then back to base, and er, ran, ran into the edge of an anvil cloud, and er, it ruined all of the electrical circuits in the plane, [pause] er, the navigator had to do all his navigating on his own, wireless operator couldn’t help him, and when we were due back to base, we didn’t know where we were, because there was a lot of fog about, we weren’t sure where we were, and er, I spotted a lantern flashing two letters, and I told the pilot and he said what were the letters and I said, I told him what they were and the navigator, thanks very much, we know where we are now, we were only a few miles from home, [laughs] we arrived home safely, and that was about the only incident, worth noting I think [pause] [unclear] not sure, yeh, that’s right
After finishing at Silverstone, went to [pause] Methwold, were we did some, didn’t do any flying, we just did some er, PT, physical training and getting fit for conversion unit at Shepherds Grove, we were only at Methwold for about a week, left the Shepherds Grove, er, conversion unit [pause] and er, [pause] had a scotch engineer when we arrived there, he, he was brilliant, he was an engineer, although he was only twenty two, he was an engineer in the civil air force before he joined the air force, finished up with a DFM, had er, on one occasion at Shepherds Grove, we were going on a cross country and he went out to inspect the plane we were to fly in, with a small torch, you know, like a pencil like torch, the size of a pencil, inspect seven planes with this pencil before he’d get in one to fly, I said ‘this’ll do me’ [laughs] he’d point out the discrepancies on the plane, to the ground staff and said, ‘I’m not flying in that one’, eventually got one that we flew in and managed to get back. While we were at Shepherds Grove, one night were [pause] there was a Nazi, er, a German fighter came in and shot one of the Sterlings down at the base and crashed into the hangar and cleaned out two more Sterlings, three Sterlings, plus the one night, we didn’t know anything about it until we went down to the flights the next day, and saw the wreckage, it just missed the conning tower, the er, control tower, [pause] Shepherds Grove, we did some cross country, [pause] [background noise] and then we went to [unclear] Con unit, er, LFS, Lanc finishing school at the [unclear] and er, the first time I’d been in a Lancaster, I, was sitting in the rear turret and all of a sudden, the pilot sent the engineer full power, [emphasis] and I just went back [emphasis] and I thought, this’ll do me, I said [unclear] flying and taking off in Wellingtons and, and er, Sterlings before that, I used to say a prayer they’d get up off the ground, but I knew the Lancaster would because you could feel the power. We were only there for about, a week, and then we went to 15 Squadron at Mildenhall, on the twenty-third of July, we went on a loaded climb, er, three hour flight with bombs on board, to give the pilot practice taking off, with bombs in bomb bay, then we returned to base at Mildenhall, we, unfortunately, the skipper forgot he had a heavy load on, tapped the engine before we reached the runway, it landed on the road and bounced over the fence and onto the runway, [laughs] luckily there were no cars on the road [laughs] That was the only problem we had at Mildenhall, until a few days later our pilot was selected to go out with another crew on their last trip, as a second pilot, going to experience before he took his own crew on ops, on the first night, they returned early because the rear gunner got convulsions on over the target, and er, the crew returned to Mildenhall without carrying out their exercise, bombing raid. The next night, they were sent off again on a raid on Stuttgart, towards the end of July, [pause] about two hours before they took off, I could see the pilot was distressed, he really couldn’t find his lucky charm, a little tiki, and I spent an hour going through all his, with him, going through all the gear and everything for his tiki, we never found it, yes a [unclear] and when he left me, I think he had a premonition, because the crew never returned that night, they were shot down over France on the way home, all they were killed. The next day the Wing Commander, asked us if we’d consider being spares, stay at Mildenhall and be spares for other crews, with different er, people unavailable from illness or replacements, we said no, we were a crew, all we needed was another pilot, and he accepted that, after a lot of discussion, and then we then went back to Wratting Common conversion unit to find another pilot. [pause] [background noise] There, we picked up an Australian pilot, [unclear] class and completed a conversion unit course with him, we then returned to Feltwell to do, for a week or so, to do a course on Lancasters, and then we’re posted on 186 Squadron in Tuddenham in Suffolk, on the twenty-sixth of October nineteen forty four, twenty eighth of October forty four, we did our first op, and the Wing Commander took us on our first op, he had a habit of doing that with new crews rather than sending a [unclear] other crews. [pause] Our first target was Flushing, Scheldt estuary, and bombing at eight thousand feet, when we arrived out at the plane to take off, I got into the rear turret and found out there were no guns in the rear turret, so I called up on the intercom to the Wing Commander, to tell him there were no guns in the rear turret, and he said ‘oh well it’s too late, to change planes, we’ll have to go without them’, he said, ‘oh well, keep your eyes open and tell me what you can see’, so I’m probably the only rear gunner that’s ever flew on an operation without any guns in the rear turret, thankfully we were not attacked by any fighters or anything, but I did notice a lot of flak. [pause] The following day we went on another daylight operation to Westkapelle on Walcheren Island, going bombing at eight thousand feet, on er, gun, gun placements I think it was, the target, [pause] a few weeks before that, a couple of friends of ours, was shot down over Westkapelle and were taken prisoners of war, two gunners that I’d met at Melbourne cricket ground when I was, and we became firm, pretty good friends, they were in a different squadron, in 5, er, 5 Group, er, now, and our first night trip was our third trip to Koblenz on the sixth of November, forty four, and on the way home over France, I saw a light miles behind us, and it was following us, I didn’t report it because it was well away from us, couldn’t work out what it was though, then all of a sudden it went straight up in the air, [emphasis] I said, talked about a sight, I didn’t know what it was but I think later on, I think I realised it must have been a, a, er, jet, they called, what’s the name, ME, Messerschmitt 262 was it?
AP: Yep, 262 was a jet, yep
GM: Whether it was or not, I don’t know, but I wasn’t going to mention it in debriefing when we arrived home because they might have thought I was going mad, [laughs] and take me off ops, that wouldn’t have been fair to the crew, so, I said nothing. And then, erm, we, the next er, [background noise] the next date, nine, ten, ten operations were in daylight, mainly to the Ruhr, on er, tagging er, [pause] oil refineries and er, communications, [pause] [background noise] on one of those raids on Gelsenkirchen, I, I saw a crew that slept in the same billet as me, shot down, [pause] er, they were hit on, and they were only about a hundred yards to our port and er, they were hit by flak, caught fire, and I saw three or four of the crew bale out, when the pilot, he must have been very brave because his whole cabin was on fire and he kept it steady for some twenty odd seconds, half a minute or so, and I saw three of the crew bale out, and then all of a sudden the plane went into a steep dive and crashed, a dreadful sight. [pause]
What else can I tell you? [pause] [background noise] Yes, thirteenth of April, there was a night raid on Wurzburg, near Leipzig [inaudible] to tell, there were seven hundred and fifty anti-aircraft guns guarding this, this place, like fireworks that night, looked like them [laughs] I believe them, [laughs] I er, we were hit, on this raid, by flak, and er, lost our air speed indicator and the pilot decided to land at the emergency aerodrome at Woodbridge, which had a very long and wide runway, they got down, did repair and got permission to land, cranes and everything on the side of the runway just in case you crashed, [unclear] for the next plane coming in, they put us up for the night, the next morning I saw all the great area of smashed planes [laughs] fighters, bombers, [laughs] everything, they were parked in an area safe to the aerodrome, er, [pause] at the end of December, forty-four, our squadron was transferred to Stradishall from Tuddenham, er, early in January, our wireless operator was late back from leave, and missed an operation that we, we were put on, so the Wing Commander told him that if there was ever a shortage of a wireless operator through illness or late back from leave, he’d have to replace him, and this happened, a couple of weeks later, the wireless operator, another wireless operator back late from leave, and er, our wireless operator was called up to replace him, he went to briefing, was out in the plane, a night operation it was, and er, he was sitting in a plane waiting to taxi out, when all of a sudden he got a tap on the shoulder, ‘this is my crew you can nick off’, in other words, so he, I, he packed up and went back to bed, [emphasis] meanwhile, we were in the mess area drinking as all the planes were taking off, and all of a sudden, a terrific explosion at the end of the runway, one of the planes had crashed and exploded, enquired what plane it was, it was the plane that our wireless operator was briefed to fly on, so we went back to the bar and had a couple of drinks on him, then went to bed, and now, the rest of the, the pilot he wasn’t with us but er, the rest of the crew were NCO’s at that stage, we all went back to our barracks and went to bed, the wireless operator didn’t sleep in the same barracks as us, as he had a room at the inn, where we used to keep all our parcels from Australia and had a primus stove, and used to cook our meals, and had a good meal now and again because you didn’t get a very good meal in the sergeants mess, and er, next morning, we didn’t know he’d gone to bed, and the next morning he appears at the door of our barracks, ‘where have you been?’, ‘why?’, I said, ‘you were on that plane that crashed and exploded last night’, and he said, ‘oh no’, he said, ‘the other wireless operator turned up and kicked me off the plane’, he went white, later that day, three other Australians in the crew got notices that they got parcels at the post office to be collected, the base post office, and there was nothing for him, our wireless operator, and he usually got as many parcels as anyone, so when I went down to pick my parcels up, he came with me, and he casually said at the WAAF behind the counter, ‘any parcels for Warrant Officer Perry?’, ‘oh yes, we are sending them back to London because he was killed last night’, we then realised that no one else knew that the other wireless operator had turned up, so we raced down to the adjutant, and told him, [laughs] and he was about to send off the telegram [unclear] for our wireless operator [laughs]
Er, what else can I tell you? [pause] Oh, one of our daylight raids, we were badly, hit by anti-aircraft fire, and er, when we were hit, we started to go down, and I called up on the intercom and no one answered me, so I prepared to get me shirt and bale out, and all before, I took me helmet off, hold on we are out of control, what had happened was, as we were hit by anti-aircraft fire, at the same time we ran into the slip stream of another Lanc, and then went into a dive, and the pilot said, had been too busy getting control of the plane to answer me, so, luckily I didn’t bale, hadn’t bailed out by then, we arrived home, found out that [unclear] the aircraft incendiaries shell had burnt itself out in the spars between the petrol tanks
AP: Ooh
GM: I understand it was sent to, to Air Ministry and they didn’t know that the Germans had these, the anti-aircraft shells in the, in the shells that they were firing, we thought we were a bit lucky there. [pause] Erm, thirteenth of February, we went to Dresden, night operation, and we were told that the Russians had asked us to bomb it, said he, and that er, Dresden did produce precision implements for the German forces, like binoculars for the tanks, bomb sights and er, periscopes, so we had no hesitation, in, we believe we had no hesitation in going on that raid, although I have said some [pause] people have had misgivings since then, but [pause] it certainly was a, heavy raid and er, caused a lot of damage, we were told that the Russians, which were about thirty or forty miles away from Dresden, where they were being held up by troops coming through Dresden and that was the reason why they asked us to bomb it. [pause] What else can I tell you?
AP: I’m just letting you go at this point, [laughs] I will have some more questions for you later but I’m seeing if you answer them as you go, so
GM: Ah yes, on the ninth of March forty-five, we were [unclear] on a daylight raid to [unclear] which is a coking plant, daylight raid, and er, after we’d taken off we lost an engine, about ten thousand feet, fly around England and the pilot and the engineer discussed whether we could still complete the raid, on three engines, climbed to twenty thousand feet, and they agreed that they could, provided they cut corners on each dog lick, well, when we arrived over the target, we were about the twelfth plane to bomb, arrived back safely, the er. [pause]
On the raids, daylight raids on Gelsenkirchen on the fourth of march forty-five, we were severely damaged by flak, and er, on the way back the mid upper gunner told me to turn my turret to starboard and had a look at the, er the, power plant, and, which I did, I saw there was a hole about six inches by twelve inches in the elevator, only a couple of yards from where I was sitting, I think the shell must have gone clean through the elevator and exploded above us, all tanks were holed except one on that same trip, [unclear] ever, hit twice, and a big hole near elevator, forty holes in the aircraft, and when we arrived back it was sent to the scrap heap, as far as I know [pause]
Er, one of the other daylight raids, we were [unclear] Munster railway marshalling yards and we were the leading aircraft, in the whole of the hundred and eighty-four planes, hundred and eighty odd planes in the raid, we were leading the raid we were about to bomb, when I saw another squadron directly above us open their bomb doors, so I reported to the skipper, he had er, they opened their bomb doors and started dropping bombs, [laughs] so we had to direct the pilot to dodge the bombs coming down, [laughter] wasn’t very nice. We were on time and I think the planes there, the squadron there was ahead of time [pause] What else can I tell you? Oh, our last raid was on, last operation was my thirty seventh, we went to Kiel on the ninth of April, [unclear] she was, after dropping our bombs we were covered in searchlights, and the, pilot threw the plane around like a fighter, the engineer assured me that at one stage we were upside down, on a ninety degrees bank, and the pilot got us out of that and eventually, we, after about ten minutes, we escaped the searchlights and headed back home. We were briefed, that once we crossed the Danish coast and North Sea, we were to descend to four, seven thousand feet, well we’d lost a lot of height whilst over the target. The pilot was tired and he said, I’m going to put the nose down and go like a bat out of hell to get down to seven thousand feet, well, all of a sudden, I sitting in the rear turret, I felt the tails skin and I instinctively looked over the side, and there were two gunners, the rear gunner and the mid upper gunner looking at me from another Lancaster, well that was about two o’clock in the morning, you get a lot of light, in the northern Europe, I still don’t know how our tails didn’t hit each other and the fins on the, I reckon we couldn’t have missed them by more than a feet, a few feet, the other [unclear] the other plane. After we’d returned from that raid, we were told that we’d finished our tour and we’d already finished it before we went on the raid, because a signal came through from the Air Ministry reducing the tour from forty to thirty-five, and our crew had already done more than thirty-five. They bought the notice of the new Wing Commander who was an Englishman, and he said, ‘oh they are on the battle order now it’s too late to change and let them go’. Nice, virtually could have been our last trip for our crew and another crew if we had hit each other over the North Sea. Anything else?
AP: Always more, erm, always more, right so, you have given me a pretty solid erm, one of my questions was do any of your operations stand out in your memory, and I think you’ve answered that one, [laughs] but erm, some more general questions if you don’t mind, erm, your life on the squadron, can you describe the sergeants mess and the sort of things that happened there?
GM: [laughs] Ah, the sergeants mess, well we were all officers in by January
AP: Ok, well the officers mess, the mess, describe the mess
GM: It was great the officers mess, sergeants mess wasn’t too bad, we used to enjoy a drink together, we were like a family, er, there wasn’t much variety in the food, but we were well looked after by our own parcels we received from Australia, we had a little stove which we used to cook things on, if we felt like a good feed we had one, had plenty of tinned sausages and fruit cake, tinned fruit, soups, we had er, we looked after ourselves if we had to. That was when we were in the sergeant’s mess, in the officer’s mess we didn’t have to, that’s because we were well looked after there
AP: What did it look like, the officers mess, how was it arranged and?
GM: Well it was a, Stradishall was a peace time station and all buildings were brick, [unclear] and brick, yeh, just like a reasonable life
AP: Did er, how did you cope with the stress of flying, you did thirty-seven trips, so presumably you got pretty good at them, but what did you do in your downtime and how did you sort of wind down?
GM: You got leave every six weeks, two of them on the squadron, I used to go to, stay with friends of a brothers, she was, she looked after three hotels for her father, one was in Louth, in Kings Head in Louth, another in Leicester, another in Lincoln, and I was invited down there anytime I was on leave, to any of those places, she was managing the place. I went to the three of them
AP: Did er, did you actually catch up with your brother much at all, in England?
GM: Ah yes, I, after I finished at Silverstone before I went to Methwold, I had seven days leave and I er, he was up at Kinloss, north of Scotland, not far from Inverness, and I went up there by train and I didn’t tell him I was coming, and I reported to the guard house and they tannoyed for him, and he didn’t appear, so they said he must be in town, so I sat in the guard house for a couple of hours, and all of a sudden a bus comes in from town and out staggers my brother. ‘What are you doing here?’ [emphasis] I said, ‘I have come up to see you’, he said ‘you didn’t let me know’, I said, ‘no I didn’t, took me this long to find out where you are, a couple of months.’ Anyway, he organised a bed for me and we had a couple of days together before I went back to base. He completed the tour, he er, his crew had a mid-air collision near Rockford, while they were in training, the crew of the other Wellington were all killed including one of his best mates and his plane was, had a supervising pilot, he bought the plane back down in the paddock, at night, the plane was on fire and my brother couldn’t get out of the rear turret and they chopped him out with an axe. I understand that the pilot got the George Cross for that incident. [pause] He completed, he only did a tour of twenty and his crew had taken off ops to go down to Boscombe Downs to test flight the Avro three, er the Halifax 111, and he was down there several months doing that. Then he was sent up to Kinloss
AP: Were there any superstitions or hoodoos within your squadron or your crew, you told me about the tiki thing, were there any other sort of, lucky charms or [inaudible]
GM: Oh, I had a kangaroo around my neck, a little kangaroo that was given to me, round my neck, I didn’t think it was a lucky charm, I just thought it was something that had been given to me
AP: Fair enough
GM: I used to say a prayer every time we took off, going up, sitting in the rear turret, [laughs] I’m not as religious now as I used to be [laughs]
AP: I guess that it concentrates the mind some what?
GM: Yeh
AP: It would, that’s an interesting question in its self I suppose, was there much in the way of religion or spiritual guidance or support or something during your tour?
GM: No, I didn’t notice any
AP: Nothing in particular?
GM: No, nothing in particular, there
AP: Erm, all right, so er, a general operational question I guess, you as a gunner, you are sitting there in the aeroplane and you see a fighter and you say, ‘corkscrew, port, go’, what happens next?
GM: Oh, I didn’t have to fire me gun
AP: Well, that was lucky because you did one trip without them
GM: No
[laughter]
AP: Ok, theoretically, what happens next, I suppose you would have done fighter affiliation and that sort of thing?
GM: Well, yeh, you try and focus on the plane, you can’t fire until he gets closer to you, he’s probably firing at you because he’s got cannons, you’ve only got 303 machine guns, and you can’t fire at him when he’s miles away, but er, when he got within four hundred yards, you were entitled to have a shot at him, and, you had to arrange a deflection, and planes, your own plane is going down in a corkscrew and he’s coming across, they got fired at, and you have to allow deflection, and try and hit him, [laughs] but I didn’t have to. We were told that er, if you saw, at night time, you saw a plane, a German fighter, try and avoid them, we did see one coming back from Koblenz on our first trip, he was an 88, a Junkers 88 and he hadn’t seen us, well we didn’t think he had, we told the pilot and the pilot said, ‘well I’ll just change course and see if he follows us’, which he did, and he didn’t follow us, so we, we just kept away from him, and that was our instructions, we weren’t there to fight them, because we were there to bomb and carry out the operation and do our bombing, if we keep away from the fighter was the best thing to do, was to try and avoid them
AP: Can you describe, you’re sitting in your rear turret in a Lancaster, what’s around you, what does it look like, what does it feel like?
GM: Well, in daylight you saw a lot, see the, as you’re leaving the target it would be the bomb going off and you know the
AP: Shockwaves
GM: Shockwaves going out with the four thousand pounders going off, and er, at night time it was just dark, [emphasis] [laughs] below me looking over in the dark, trying to see anything, and er, probably the biggest problem was your own planes, collisions, there were a lot of collisions during the war over Germany
AP: Probably more than we think as well, two aeroplanes just sort of going missing, yeh indeed. Erm, I might back track a little bit, let’s have a look what else. Your, when you first got to England, what did you think of wartime England as an Australian just arriving in war time England, what was your first impressions?
GM: [laughs] Well, I can’t say that any impressions were, I was surprised that the [pause] well there wasn’t that much to worry about in those, forty, early forty-four, some fighters used to come and fly over Brighton and fly over but never caused any trouble while we there
AP: What did you think about the English civilians?
GM: They were brave, they must have had to put up with a lot more, I know that, the big cities. I wouldn’t want to be seeing what I saw in daylight over Germany, I wouldn’t want to be down on the ground there, it would be the same for the English people
AP: Indeed, right we will go back to the very beginning, erm, where were you when you heard the war was declared, and what did you think at the time? You would have been relatively young I imagine?
GM: Yes, I was er, fourteen, fifteen. I came to church and I came out on Sunday night and I heard Mr Menzies [unclear] England’s at war and Australia was there for them
AP: What did that make you think?
GM: It didn’t mean much to me at the time because I thought it would be over by the time I had to go there, be done with it [laughs]
AP: Were you in the Air Training Corps at this point or did that come later?
GM: No, no, oh that didn’t start until, oh a year or two, and after that they started the employee training scheme, they produced that at me
AP: So, alright, and now we’ll jump to the end, you’ve told me how your tour ended, erm, how did you find readjusting to civilian life?
GM: Very difficult, I was drinking too much, smoking too much and luckily, I played cricket, and I think that was what got me through er. [pause] I had work and er, and cricket probably, and then football, I played cricket and football, all the year round so it kept me reasonably fit
AP: Was that amongst servicemen or was that just in a general team?
GM: Err
AP: Were there other servicemen involved in those clubs, or was it?
GM: Ah, just a few, yes, yes, there were a few, a navy man, a navy man in my team, [unclear] first eleven [pause] My brother had a worse, I think he was a bit worse than I was, he became an alcoholic, really, he had a heart attack and died when he was about fifty-six
AP: This was your, the one that was in the air force?
GM: Yeh, the one that had the mid-air collision [pause] My father was, where was he? Oh, at church at Horsham, and superintendent of the Sunday school and he was a bit disgusted in Harry, my brother came home from England, because he was rolling home drunk every night, but er, my oldest brother he was er, a dive bomber pilot, and the same like me and told my father to forget about it because of what we’d been through [cries] [pause] That was pretty difficult as a family [pause] I don’t know that they had er, what they have now the stress problem, they probably did, but they didn’t know anything about it in those days, we didn’t get any counselling when we got home [pause]
AP: So, it took you a number of years to get back to normal, so to speak, you think?
GM: Yeh, I think so, I was a pretty heavy drinker for a long time, which didn’t help when you are working in a bank. I think they understood, I hope it
AP: So, I guess that my, my final question, perhaps the most important one, what do you think is the legacy of Bomber Command, and how do you want to see it remembered?
GM: Well, I think they helped win the war but no, they helped out, the damage they must have caused to the communications and synthetic oil plants and oil plants, and we were on mostly daylight targets, we had GEE-H which was supposed to be more accurate than visual bombing, er we were specifically targeting not, area bombing, we were targeting, targets like marshalling yards, went to Cologne four times, and we bombed the marshalling yards four times in daylight, went over, turned out years later the Cologne Cathedral just needed a, the yards were still there [laughs]
AP: Certainly is
GM: I remember one raid on Cologne, there was so much flak, it was a clear day, by the time we left the target there was a cloud over the, over the city, it was just flak, flak
AP: How do you think Bomber Command is remembered today, how do you think Bomber Command is remembered today?
GM: Well, I think it’s remembered more than it was, than just after the war, I think people have got to realise that they did do something other than bomb Dresden [pause] I’m not one for thinking things like all that, I’m one that remembers things, [laughs] what happened
AP: Fair enough, that works. So, any final thoughts?
GM: No, just glad that I’m home [laughs] still going, [laughs] don’t know whether it will increase my life or not, but I’m ninety-one now, and I still remember all these things
AP: Very good, well, on that note, thank you very much Gerald
GM: It’s been a pleasure.
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AMcPhersonGM160221
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Interview with Gerald McPherson
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
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eng
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01:25:29 audio recording
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Pending review
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Adam Purcell
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2016-02-21
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Gerald McPherson grew up in Australia and was working in banking before he volunteered for the Royal Australian Air Force. He flew operations as a rear gunner with 186 Squadron.
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Australian Air Force
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Australia
Great Britain
England--Suffolk
United States
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Cathie Hewitt
15 Squadron
186 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
Battle
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
crewing up
faith
Gee
Operational Training Unit
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Shepherds Grove
RAF Silverstone
RAF Stradishall
RAF Tuddenham
RAF Turweston
searchlight
Stirling
superstition
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/825/10810/AFosterIWE180221.1.mp3
54d33d809a599918158d50aa31c3512e
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Title
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Foster, Ivor William Ernest
I W E Foster
Description
An account of the resource
Four items. An oral history interview with Flight Sergeant Ivor Foster (b. 1925, 1851250 Royal Air Force) his logbook, a squadron daily order of battle and photographs of operation Exodus in 1945. He flew operations as an air gunner with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ivor Foster and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
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IBCC Digital Archive
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2018-02-21
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
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Foster, IWE
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RP: This interview is taking place on behalf of the International Bomber Command Centre. The Interviewer Is Rod Pickles. The Interviewee is Ivor Foster. Also present in the room is Bill Nicholson. The interview is taking place at Ivor’s home in Plymstock, Plymouth on the 21st of February 2018. Good morning, Ivor and thank you for inviting me to your home. Could we start then by if you could tell us when and where you were born and what made you join the RAF?
IF: I was born in Stonehouse, Plymouth. What was called Edgcumbe Street. Then it became Union Street. And that was the 16th of August 1925. And I went to High Street School in Stonehearst and at the age of eleven I went to Public Central in Corporate Street having passed what is today the 11 Plus and I left there at fifteen and a half and I had various jobs until I was eligible at eighteen to volunteer. And I volunteered for the RAF, and I got called at eighteen and a quarter and I went up, after the medical I went to the Lord’s Cricket Ground and reported to the RAF to start my service. And then I left the, I left the hotel there with a number of others and we were put on the train to Newquay in Cornwall where I did six weeks there ITW and it was all training for pilot, navigator and bomb aimer and I decided that, they would, they would go abroad after, after another six weeks so I decided that I would change over and become an air gunner. So I sent, I was sent to [unclear] at a place called Eastchurch and remustered there as an air gunner. And then I started my training and I ended up after another ITW, on air gunner training. I went to Northern Ireland to a place called Bishop’s Court and after three months there I came home on a week’s leave as a sergeant air gunner. And at the end of that leave I joined, what was it? Five others and we crewed up as a crew in a Wellington. And after our training there we ended up north at a place called Woolfox Lodge and we went on the mighty Lanc and picked up our engineer.
RP: Do you remember the crewing up procedure? The crewing up procedure. Did you, how did you choose each other then? Who chose the people?
IF: That’s a good one because all trades of aircrew were in a big hangar and the commanding officer came in and said, ‘Right. You will talk amongst yourself and crew up amongst yourself. Nobody is going to tell you you’ve got to go to this pilot or that pilot. You pick yourself.’ And he said, ‘I’ll be back at mid-day and the pilot will give me his crew that he’s formed and any of them that are not in a crew in the afternoon will come back and I shall be here and then you will be ordered to go to this crew or that crew.’ And that’s how we crewed up. I first of all picked up a gunner. He turned out to be our rear gunner for the rest of our service. Then we picked up the pilot and from there we carried on picking up the rest of the crew. The bomb aimer, wireless operator, navigator and like I say we say we went then after flying on Wellington to Woolfox Lodge where we picked up the engineer because we went from two engines obviously to four and he had a job to look after those four engines and had to move the petrol around the wings so that we weren’t caught short of petrol. But then finishing all of our training on the Lancaster we ended up at RAF Stradishall, 186 Squadron and that’s where we started our operations bombing Germany.
RP: Can you remember your first sortie?
IF: Yes. I can. I’ve got it in my book here. It was a place Wesel. W E S E L. And it was lovely keeping this logbook. I refer to it time and time again because a lot of it is just like yesterday. Yes. That was on the 18th of February ’45.
RP: So, you did quite a lot of training before then.
IF: Oh yes.
RP: You must have done over a years training at least.
IF: Yes. Yes. I I started my actual training before I went to the Air Gunner’s Training Unit in Ireland, Northern Ireland. And that was the first time I’ve ever flown an aeroplane and it was the Anson and my pilot was called Sergeant Hedges and lo and behold he came from Plymouth.
RP: Oh right.
IF: That was my initiation into flying. And that, it took us, well it took me from that day, right up to when we first went on as a bombing crew and it took me ‘til [pause – pages turning] That’s Woolfox Lodge finish. Here we are, 14th, no, the 18th of February was my first bombing trip to Wesel.
RP: Do you remember much about it?
[pause]
IF: Apart from well, the first one I wondered what I was going into. I know we entered in “Light flak,” but there was puffs of smoke coming up everywhere. But there again I was told by one of the old colleagues of aircrew on the station, ‘Don’t worry about those puffs of smoke. That shell’s gone away from you.’ He said, ‘It’s the ones that you can’t see.’
RP: Yeah.
IF: That’s not a puff of smoke ‘til it hits you.’ But [pause] Yeah. It’s [pause] I don’t remember. You know, I say I don’t remember. It was all new. Everything was new and things were going so fast. Going out to, being driven out to the plane, jumping in, taking off and that and then finding being a day lighter because that’s what our, our station supplied unless they wanted to do a bit more strength at night and we did a couple of nights during my period there. It was everything going on around you and of course as an air gunner you’re looking all the way around and I had the best view of the lot on the top turret because I could see everywhere. I could see everywhere. But then after you’d done the first one they seemed to slot in and each one’s the same until something happens and if it happens close to you and the plane goes down, you know you realise then you’re in with it.
RP: Because you’re not, you know, the people on the plane.
IF: Yeah.
RP: Yeah.
IF: And of course, being on top as well you’re looking for our boys up over you and they would drift over with their bomb doors opened and it’s not a very nice sight looking up at someone else’s bombs ready to come out.
RP: Did you ever have to take avoiding action?
IF: I did that. I said, my pilot wrote a book on it and he thanked me. He said, ‘I’ve got to thank you twice for making me dive to get away from those up above us.
RP: Oh, that was good.
IF: Well, it so happens and yet you see at night you wouldn’t have seen that.
RP: No.
IF: And there was a number of crews lost with bombers over them. But one of the, one of the, well I say the best trips that I ever saw, it was an eye opener, is when I took part in a thousand bomber raid and we were a hundred and fifty from what we called 3 Group which was, like I say day lighters and we were, we were in formation and gaining height on a Sunday afternoon. A beautiful sunny afternoon. Better than what we get today. And we were over Southampton circling and we knew there was going to be a thousand and fifty bombers. We were a hundred and fifty and I can still hear now the bomb aimer sat down in his little cubicle down and under saying, he said, ‘Here they come underneath us.’ And there was nine hundred and they were, the ground was just blackened out with aircraft.
RP: It must have been an impressive sight from where you were then.
IF: Oh, my dear. All going the same way. But then when the last one, this wonderful timing and why a film was never made of a thousand bomber raid I’ll never know. And as the last crew left the shores of England at Southampton we set course as well.
RP: Where were you heading?
IF: We were [pause] we were going to Essen. That was it. Essen, we went. That was on the 11th of March ’45 and we, being day lighters we used to bomb on radar. That’s why we were in formation. But I don’t think there was much else left of Essen for us to bomb by the time we got there and how there wasn’t more accidents I don’t know. But wonderful planning.
RP: Yeah.
IF: Wonderful planning.
RP: But obviously there was a few shot down, I assume. Was there?
IF: Oh, I expect so. I didn’t know of the, you know we —
RP: But you, you returned safely. Yeah.
IF: We were number one.
RP: Yeah.
IF: We, it’s terrible really to say it but you look after yourself.
RP: Yeah.
IF: People then realise that there’s seven in a crew. The number of times people say, ‘Oh, you must have been frightened.’ You’ve got no time to be frightened because the seven of you have ate, slept, drank, worked, played as one. You were like brothers and it was like a chain. You couldn’t afford to be that weak link because if you were you’ve put six others in peril. And that I think sums up most bomber crews. It’s a wonderful feeling to be one of them but there’s a lot of responsibility for each one carrying to think that his work on that plane is saving six others. Not just yourself.
RP: Yeah. Well, it’s the comradeship, isn’t it?
IF: Oh, wonderful.
RP: So, that, you mentioned the first one and the thousand bomber raids. What was your last bombing raid? Where was that too then? Where you were going to?
IF: Oh, now that one —
RP: I know you moved on to other things which we can talk about but can you remember where the last bombing raid was too? And did you know at the time it was your last bombing raid?
IF: No. No. We didn’t. My last bombing raid took place on the 24th of April and we went to a place called Bad Oldeslow, near Lubeck and we went for marshalling yards on that one.
RP: But you were only what, a couple of weeks away from the end of the war by then, weren’t you?
IF: Yes. Oh, yeah.
RP: But did they tell you when you got back you wouldn’t have to go again or what?
IF: No. No.
RP: When did you find out?
IF: Nothing was told. Nothing was told until we heard that the war was over and then that was the 24th of April. Then the 7th of May was my first trip to the Hague in Holland and we were flying five hundred feet dropping food to the Dutch.
RP: This, this is a different kind of sortie now [laughs]
IF: There was a, we always said as a crew that sortie, dropping food to the Dutch people and the four trips we did to Juvencourt in France and brought back twenty four each time of our own boys who had been prisoners of war we were doing something for humanity. We were no longer destroying. We were bringing good to people. The prisoners of war coming back and we, we found out one big lesson. Our first trip bringing them back we were talking to them as they were coming to the plane. Some of them went and kissed the grass. Some of them just knelt down and prayed. We walked away on the next three. That was their life. They’d come back to soil that they had belonged to. That was very very touching —
RP: Yeah.
IF: Believe you me to see a man —
RP: I mean the good thing was to get them back so quickly, wasn’t it?
IF: Oh, oh yes. It was. And I got photographs there where when we landed we lined up all the way up one side of the runway and when we, when we finished taking the prisoners, or ex boys away we, when we flew to Juvencourt we lined up and when we were given the allocation everything was [unclear] who they were coming in whose plane. Obviously, they had to get details of everything in case something did go wrong. And then they’d come to our plane and we seated them then as best we could. And when we got back to Juvencourt and that we’d walk away having brought the plane in to a dispersal or the side of the airfield and they walked away. And later we would go back, pick up our plane and take off and fly back to base. Very very moving. Unless you’ve been there to experience that, to see men, you know not boys but men and some of them old men —
RP: Yeah.
IF: I know we had twenty four ex-prisoners of war was Indians our second trip. Wonderful. Wonderful to see them putting feet on England.
RP: So how many trips did do to Holland on Operation Manna then?
IF: One.
RP: Just the one.
IF: We did the one and then we got called to do these.
RP: And then you had to go and recover —
IF: Bring our boys back because they they wanted to get them back quick.
RP: Yes.
IF: And of course, they wanted, they had other ones that hadn’t been to Holland dropping food so they went.
RP: Yeah.
IF: And we were shifted then to bringing our boys back which was a —
RP: Yeah. By the 7th of May of course the Allied Army would be moving in to Holland, wouldn’t it?
IF: Oh yeah.
RP: They’d surrendered. So, things would be a little better. So, you mentioned when you crewed up initially. When you actually finished how many of the original crew were, were you together? Were you still the same people?
IF: No. When we, when we crewed up we had unfortunately, he was a nice lad from Canada and he was our first navigator but during training they found he couldn’t navigate properly.
RP: Oh right.
IF: Something went wrong with him and we didn’t know what. He was just taken away and we were given then another navigator.
RP: Oh.
IF: And the navigator we got then, old [Jerry] I was a boy eighteen nineteen. Nineteen I was then and he was thirty two. But he was a wizard at navigation and his flight plans, very very small writing but you could read every letter and every number on it.
RP: So, in reality you got a better navigator because of that.
IF: Yes, we did.
RP: Yeah.
IF: We did. But at the end of the day, and I can still see him now as soon as my pilot, he was the last one to leave the plane when we came back, we would be there having a cigarette. He never smoked. As soon as he put his foot down on the grass, he’d step on the grass on the tarmac and he’d say, ‘Well, boys lady luck’s been with us today.’ And that’s what it was. Luck.
RP: Did you have any, were you ever, suffer any damage on your sorties then?
IF: Well, we had one burst quite near us but I was the only one that caught a bit of that one. But it went right through my turret. A bit of shrapnel.
RP: Oh right.
IF: Come in one side, behind me luckily and went out the other side. Ripped the back of my Mae West. The bolt’s there that keeps your head up when you’re in the water.
RP: That was close.
IF: But I had six slithers of Perspex around this eye because I was facing to the rear and they took me down. You’d think I was a wounded soldier but because of the height and the cold and there was slight trickles of blood from where these splinters went in I had to be protected from frostbite and that. So, yeah. But there, I’m here like.
RP: Oh good [laughs] Yeah.
IF: Still got my eye as well.
RP: That’s the main thing. Did you ever shoot anybody down then from your turret?
IF: No.
RP: Did anyone else? And of the —
IF: I never never fired my gun all the time we were flying. Or the rear, rear gunner
RP: Really.
IF: No. We did see one time on one of our trips there was a flash went beside. Whoof gone. And we thought then that was a jet. They were just bringing in the German jet fighters and we thought it was one of them because we’d never seen anything like it. Just a red flash and it was gone. If you wanted to open your gun you couldn’t —
RP: Yes.
IF: Because it was gone so fast.
RP: So, you’ve come back from the POWs. At what point after that did you disband then? When did it come to an end?
IF: It come to an end, our last trip, I think [pause] Hang on. I’ll soon tell you when we [pause] My pilot’s got all that in his book. He wrote a book about it. It was, “Ghosts of Targets Past,” by Philip Gray. [pause] Our last trip. That’s when we went to 622 Squadron to join them from 186 to train to go to Japan but the war finished. That stopped that. Our last flight was on the 3rd of August.
RP: Oh right.
IF: That was a night cross country and a couple of days after that the seven of us walked in different directions and that was it. I ended up ten months, eleven months in Iraq. RAF Habbaniya. I’ll always remember it. Fifty five miles from Baghdad.
RP: What were you doing out there?
IF: Well, they put so many of us to train as equipment assistants. I was one of them and we had this exam and then you were then an AC1 equipment assistant. And I got sent out there as an equipment assistant and believe it or not I was in charge of a bakery, butchery and slaughterhouse. We used to kill the meat because there was over two thousand of the local population that were like an Army out there. They did all the guard duty around the camp and all that. And there was a terrific number of our lads and women there because they had their own hospital there. It was like a little town really. There were shops there. But the big thing, there was, they had their own electricity works there and it was five civilians manned that twenty four hours a day. Made their own ice and that for the camp. And if, I remember I got my move from there. I had to come back what they called [Medlock]. That was a shaker. I flew from Habbaniya down to the Canal, Suez Canal and put in a camp there all under canvas. Then we were taken and we got on a boat and we went what they called [Medlock] and that boat took us to Piraeus in Greece and then we went to the south of France, got on the train, hopped to Calais and then across to England. That’s how I come home.
RP: That must have taken a few days.
IF: The trains, they were, they were slats to sit on and we were about twenty four hours coming from the south of France off the camp.
RP: Ok.
IF: Yeah.
RP: So, after that, how, how long before you were demobbed then?
IF: Oh [pause] I did, I did a fair time down, down in Honington. Dunkeswell. The station just outside Honington.
RP: Oh yeah.
IF: And I got the, I’ll tell you when I got demobbed because I’ve got my book here. I think it was the [pause – pages turning] I went overseas in August ’45 and come back. [unclear] if that. The 28th of December. Came back the 3rd of November. But I got demobbed. I think that was my last day in the RAF was 6th of the 7th ’47.
RP: Gosh. That was —
IF: Yeah.
RP: That was long after the war.
IF: Yeah. Yeah. It was.
RP: Looking back on the time when you were the, when you were the gunner and going on all these sorties if you had your time again would you do it all again?
IF: If I had the same crew. Yeah.
RP: Did you keep in touch with any of them afterwards?
IF: Yes. Yeah. We kept in touch and unfortunately the first one that passed away was our wireless operator. He was walking. He came from Hayes in Middlesex. Always remember it. “Home of His Master’s Voice,” was the railway station there. And he had a heart attack whilst he was out walking. He went. Our engineer, believe it or not when he joined us and don’t forget we were nineteen and twenty and that, he was forty two. A grandfather. Poor old Frank came from Tiverton. He passed away when he was fifty so he didn’t have much of a retirement. And the last one to go was my pilot. He emigrated with his wife to New Zealand. Was out there thirty years and he lost her. Then he emigrated to Toronto and that’s where my wife and myself used to visit him.
RP: So, you have spoken to him.
IF: Oh yeah. And I lost my wife six year ago. And I, I went out in 2013. I couldn’t go the following year and that was the year that he passed away. And the friends he introduced me to out there I still keep in touch. The last time I went there was 2016.
RP: Oh, that’s good.
IF: Didn’t go last year. But, yeah I’ve got my memories and a lot of it is just like yesterday. I now, I can now tell you about my two gripes.
RP: Go on then.
IF: The worst one affects all aircrew is the fact that we never got our Bomber Command medal. And also our the head of Bomber Command, we always knew him as Bomber Harris and I’ll never forget there was a photograph up over the doorway. There was only one door into the room where we got briefed and it said words under, “If he says you go. You go.” But yes. He never got any recognition and we were never mentioned on Mr Churchill’s victory speech. And only, you know, not getting the Bomber Command medal it’s all them boys that came over and helped us during the war.
RP: Well, yes. Its —
IF: All the Commonwealth lads.
RP: It’s a worldwide thing, isn’t it?
IF: Australia, New Zealand, Canada just to name a few of them.
RP: Well, campaigns are running. Let’s hope we get there.
IF: Yeah.
RP: [unclear]
IF: Yeah. That’s one. And the other big thing was having been promoted warrant officer and two months later demoted to sergeant and if serving twelve months after that be demoted to the rank I joined, I think that was a big downfall of the RAF.
RP: Did anyone ever try to explain that to you?
IF: Nobody ever explained it. It was an Air Ministry order and from the date of that order that’s when that ruling took effect. I held my rank for about two months.
RP: That’s very strange.
IF: Yeah. And really speaking being out, being serving then in Iraq where I was in charge of a number of the natives working in the bakery, and the butchery and the slaughterhouse and one day I’m sir —
RP: Yeah.
IF: And the next day they see me with three stripes, sergeant it was a little bit degrading.
RP: Yeah.
IF: Yeah.
RP: I find that, yeah. Well, I think we’ve, we’ve covered your time in Bomber Command which has been a privilege to listen to and I’d just like to say thank you for talking to me.
IF: Oh, thank you.
RP: It’s been tremendous. Thank you.
[recording paused]
RP: Now, this is an add on to Ivor Foster’s interview. He’s got a couple of events that he’d like to discuss. Ivor.
IF: Yes. The [pause] It’s gone again. My mind’s gone blank.
[recording paused]
IF: On one of our trips we had a bit of airy scary. It was about the third trip I think we were making and we started taking off and unfortunately the old Lanc started to swing to port and the pilot couldn’t, couldn’t correct it. So he got the bomb aimer, the engineer to push the forward throttles through what they called the gate and they could only go through there for so long because the full power went on the engine and you can’t gun them too long before they’ll burn out and we were heading for the biggest hangar that we ever saw and we just managed to scrape over. And when we got the other side the rear gunner said we had sunk down a bit but after that we couldn’t stop the blinking plane from climbing. And when we got back to the station nobody mentioned a word about it.
RP: That’s strange.
IF: Like as if it never happened. But the rear gunner, he said he saw one man on his bike pedalling like hell going through this hangar because the other door was open the other side see. So that was that one.
RP: And you were going to tell us about the D-Day medal, I think.
IF: Oh yes. You see all those that flew from the beginning of the war up to D-Day they were awarded the Aircrew Europe. Unfortunately, it was stopped and after D-Day you got the normal medals that they gave you. The same as they gave the Army and the Navy. But what the powers that be never realised was as our troops were coming up through and taking over France and what have you Hitler was pulling all these anti-aircraft guns and all these fighter stations away from France and other areas and putting them around the big cities in the Ruhr. So, by the time we were there bombing various cities in the Ruhr the defence of the Ruhr instead of what it was before D-Day was doubled. All the, all the guns and that were brought up from France and placed all around so we were hitting targets there which was heavily defended to what it was prior to France capitulating. Or France being captured this time.
RP: Yeah. Yeah.
IF: No.
RP: Ok. Thank you.
IF: Thank you. Now —
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Ivor William Ernest Foster
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Rod Pickles
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-21
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Type
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Sound
Identifier
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AFosterIWE180221
Conforms To
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Pending review
Pending revision of OH transcription
Format
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00:33:09 audio recording
Language
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eng
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Description
An account of the resource
Ivor Foster of Plymouth volunteered for the RAF as soon as he was of age. He was initially accepted for training to become a Pilot, navigator or bomb aimer but decided the length of time for the training was too long and chose to train as a gunner. He was posted to 186 Squadron as a mid-upper gunner and took part in operational flying and Operation Manna and Operation Exodus. On one operation a piece of shrapnel broke through his turret and ripped his Mae West. Pieces of shrapnel were embedded around his eye but he was otherwise unhurt. After every operation the pilot would descend from the Lancaster, stand on the tarmac and say, ‘Well, boys lady luck has been with us today.’ After his tour Ivor was posted to Habbaniya as an equipment assistant.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-03-11
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
Iraq
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Suffolk
Germany--Essen
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
186 Squadron
622 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bombing
military service conditions
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
RAF Stradishall
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1107/11566/PRushtonG1802.1.jpg
8ca740cac81b2bdfdd92b6253423f372
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1107/11566/ARushtonG180212.2.mp3
2eed5a762449699aefc3e5d45be8687c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Rushton, Geoff
Geoffrey Rushton
G Rushton
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with Flight Lieutenant Geoff Rushton (b. 1924). He flew a tour of operations as a navigator with 15 and 186 Squadrons from RAF Mildenhall and RAF Tuddenham.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-12
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Rushton, G
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
JS: Right. This is Joyce Sharland with Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Rushton and his wife Mona at their home [buzzzzzz] and the date is the 12th of February 2018. So, Flight Lieutenant Rushton could you please tell us —
GR: Yeah.
JS: A little bit about you early life.
GR: Yes. I was born in Portchester in 1924 and we lived there for a few years before we went to Portsmouth where I went to school in Portsmouth. When I left school I joined Barclays Bank as a junior clerk at sixteen and during that time I enrolled for the RAF and got my calling up papers in March.
JS: Ok. What year was that?
GR: 1942.
JS: Ok.
GR: And my place of, I had to report to Lord's Cricket Ground which was a great, marvellous thing for a young lad who was terribly keen on football. And we did all our exams and tests in, in the cricket ground and we lived in the flats in St. John's Wood and ate at the zoo restaurant, Regent Park Zoo Restaurant. And the thing that’s always, I always remember is that during our meals some, they’d evacuated all the animals apart from monkeys and the monkeys were still in their cages there and during occasionally they’d start up and they’d take off the siren. All of them made a tremendous siren noise when the siren went and then ten minutes later they’d do the all clear [laughs] Then I did a series of training. I went down to Paignton and did some training there before I eventually went to Canada for my training. And conditions on the troop ship were absolutely appalling but we got there in the end and I did my training in Canada which I thoroughly enjoyed. At Winnipeg. Portage le Prairie just outside Winnipeg. Then I came back to England. Did various courses again. And when we got to Operational Training Unit at Wing we were crewed up and they had a marvellous way of crewing people up. They put the pilots and the navigators and the bomb aimers together and we wandered in a room around all the other people and chatted to them and in the end we crewed up. All seven of us. We kept together all the time.
JS: Right. You trained as a navigator didn't you?
GR: Yes.
JS: Yes.
GR: I was a navigator. Yeah.
JS: How did you find the training?
GR: Training was very good. We were trained by ex-bush pilots in Canada. We couldn't lose them anyway they knew their way around. So they were the pilots and we did our navigational training there with a lot of astro-navigation which we did. Had to get a certain number of star shots. I think two or three hundred of those.
JS: Right. So you came back to England and you crewed up. Where were you when you crewed up. Where were you based?
GR: We were at, I can’t remember which. Which training? I’ve forgotten where it was we crewed up. I think it was at Wing. It was Wing Operational Training Unit. That's right. That's where we crewed up and then we did some training on Wellingtons, Stirlings, and then eventually to, on Lancasters.
JS: And what base were you?
GR: This was at Mildenhall.
JS: Mildenhall.
GR: Yeah.
JS: Were you there for the duration of the war?
GR: No. No. We did twenty trips there and then because we were the senior crew we got moved to 186 Squadron which was at Tuddenham which was just a few miles away.
JS: So in that first posting you did twenty operations.
GR: Yes.
JS: Where did you go?
GR: Several in France. One or two in France. And various —
MR: Well, we’ve got them.
GR: We’ve got them in my logbook.
MR: Got it here.
GR: One interesting trip was a daylight raid where we were allowed to fly as low as we wanted to which was quite unusual. It was down in France and we had to go down to, right down to the tip of England to Lands End.
MR: Geoffrey, here are all the trips.
GR: Yes.
MR: That you did there to France. That’s what you did in France.
GR: And it was interesting to read that when we, in Bomber Command Report the day after, or a few days after the raid Bomber Command said that it was strange that several Lancasters were seen circling a nudist camp [laughs]
MR: Now, that was all there from first ones in France.
JS: Ok. And what was the Lancaster that you were flying? What, do you have a particular —
GR: Well, I think we stuck to one.
JS: One that you stuck to.
GR: One fairly —
MR: It does tell you there Geoffrey.
[pause]
GR: I’ve got one. It was pretty much the same Lancaster we had. We did have various ones though. Our first operation was to Stuttgart and we lost an engine soon after we took off. It packed up and we continued on our journey but of course it made us late getting back and we were about half an hour, three quarters of an hour late. And I think they blanked us off and said, well they’ve gone [laughs] because we were so late. But of course with three engines you can’t go as fast as you can with four and that held us up a lot but anyway we got back alright. So quite safely.
JS: Greeted with relief when you arrived, I assume.
GR: Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think it was noticed [laughs]
JS: Now, you showed me a book just now in which one of those operations was described. Was that this posting we’re talking about?
GR: That, that was, that was when we went to Stettin.
JS: Right.
GR: That was —
JS: Could you talk us through that?
GR: That was a long flight right up in the Baltic. it was a long flight. Over eight hours I think it was we were there and we were shot up on three occasions by three different German night fighters and we hadn’t dropped our bombs and we were shot at again. And that’s when we had the discussion about whether we should all bale out because it’s difficult to tell how badly an aircraft is damaged when you are inside the aircraft. You can't sort of see. See all the aircraft. But you know as I say we got back quite safely.
JS: Can you run me through for the benefit of the recording that discussion that you had about whether to bailout? You were over Sweden at the time. Is that correct?
GR: We were over Sweden at the time and the pilot said. ‘Geoff, what do we do? Do we bail out now or do we stick it?’ And that's when I looked at my maps and said, ‘No. Let's make it. Make a go of it.’ And we got back and we got back safely. We were obviously very late getting back but still we got back.
JS: Right. Do you have any recollections? I'm sure you do have recollections of the feelings you were experiencing during those moments of crisis?
GR: No. I don’t. Being a navigator you had to work very hard and you were working hard all the time which is more than a lot of the crew did. The bomber, the gunners for instance it was a very boring job for them and I think they had a job to keep awake during that time. Because apart from it was very very cold for them I think that kept them awake to a large extent. But we were warm in the aircraft and I was kept busy doing my navigation.
JS: Right.
GR: I don’t think you noticed it too much. Can I tell you one little story? In the, in the aircraft you had on Elson. If you wanted to spend a penny you had to go down the fuselage to spend a penny. And I had to go there one day and Alan was waiting for me and I just started to spend the penny and he flew the aircraft all over the place and I got my trousers were wet. So a few weeks later he wanted to spend a penny and so the bomber aimer took over the aircraft and I waited and when Alan just got his buttons undone and had started I said to Bunny, Throw the aircraft around.’ And we did and Alan got soaked. And I said, ‘You know what it’s bloody well like now.’ [laughs]
JS: What was the, the camaraderie like between your crew? You flew together for the duration of the war.
GR: Yes. We all, we were together all the time. Yes. There was one change I think but that was about all but no, we all stayed together and I, six of us were sergeants and Alan was the only officer. And six of us were in a Nissen hut which we shared with another crew. And that was the thing that was more disturbing than anything else because often in the night you’d wake up and you would know someone was mooching around in this, in the Nissen hut and it would be the military police because they’d come to collect the belongings for the chaps that hadn’t come back for the rest of the crew. And that happened to us about three times. You know, the pals we got in other crews just went missing and they were collecting up all their bits and bobs to send off to their relatives.
JS: Must have been upsetting for you. Did you find it upsetting or did you have to just —
GR: No, I think when —
JS: Focus on what you were doing.
GR: When you’re young you get a bit sort of bravado. Cocky or something like that, I suppose, really. You don’t really, it doesn’t really, you take it in to a certain extent but you don’t let it sort of get you down.
JS: Do you think it was important that you had good relationship with the guys you were flying with?
GR: Yes. I think it is. Well, it was terribly important to have a good relationship and get on well together because you know you spent quite a lot of time together.
JS: And who were your crew? Could you list your crew for us? Who were the men that you were flying with? What were their names and where are they from?
MR: Here you are.
GR: Well, Bunny Rabetz was a farmer from Dorset and he was quite amusing because we were doing like we got, we talked about the master pilot just now and we were doing the run in to the target and Bunny was down in the nose of the aircraft saying, ‘Left a bit. Right a bit. Steady.’ And on one occasion he said, ‘Back a bit.’ [laughs] because we’d overshot. And we all said, ‘Oh God.’ That meant we had to go around again.
JS: And the other, other men you were flying with who were they? Were they Englishmen?
GR: Yes. They were all English. From all parts of the country. Yes. One from Cheshire and one from London who was in the police and went back and he was a detective at the Metropolitan Police. Yes. We all got on very well together. I don’t think we had any real arguments. I mean there was a lot of leg pulling. They got me drunk. I didn’t drink at all and then we went out to Newmarket one evening and they kept plying me with and I thought it was, they were non-alcoholic drinks but they weren’t. Are you still recording this? And, and we had to get out of the train and get on to, get on to another train. As we were doing that we we couldn’t go any further. So we got out of the train and they said that this is the end of the journey and it was late at night. Near midnight. And they said, by then I had passed out and they laid me on the platform and they said to, the porter came along and they said, ‘Well, what are we going to do?’ And he said, ‘Well, you can all go in there.’ And there was a place on the station for the lads to go to run by one of the charities. ‘But,’ they said, ‘They won’t take him.’ So they said, ‘Well, what are we going to do with him?’ So they said, ‘Best take him up to the police station.’ So they took me up to the police station, I can remember all this very vaguely, and saw the sergeant and he said, ‘I’ll give you a cell. We haven’t got any prisoners so there’s no heating on.’ So he put me in a cell, gave me a, wrapped me up in a blanket which was very good really and then about 4 o’clock or 5 o’clock in the morning I came too, staggered out and saw him. He said, ‘You’ve been a stupid boy, haven’t you?’ I said, ‘Yes. I have.’ [laughs]
JS: But that, that sort of camaraderie was important, wasn’t it?
GR: Well, it was important, I think, really. Yes. I think the crew that didn’t get on well together well they didn’t last long. I’m sure it sort of gave you the right spirit for surviving.
JS: Absolutely.
GR: And for being good at your job. Yes.
JS: So, what was life like on the base while you were waiting to be despatched on operations? How did you, obviously you went to Newmarket a couple of times. How did you spend your time? Did you spend your time together as a crew? Or did you spend it independently?
GR: Oh yes, we all went together. We were very good. We all went out together. We went, we used to go to that pub that they mentioned in the article in the paper and although I didn’t drink I had sort of squash or lemonade or something and then we used to stay behind and help wash up the glasses and that.
MR: Bird in the Hand.
GR: Sorry?
MR: Bird in the Hand.
GR: Bird in the Hand. That’s it. Yes, it was.
JS: Right. And can you remember, can you recall when you were told you had an operation you were told that night so you had the day to think about the operation?
GR: Yes. Yes. You were. You were told in the morning or the notice went up with the crews that were on duty. Not telling you anything about where you were going obviously but yes you were on call and then we did an air test. We did a lot of fighter affiliation. Every week almost we had to do fighter affiliation where we took off, circled around the aerodrome and a Spitfire or a Hurricane would come in and they’d attack us from behind so that made us sort of do the, oh, what do you call it now? The deep dive and turning around. Anyway, I’ve forgotten the name of it for the moment. And that sort of, you know was good practice for us to get used to so if we were attacked by the Germans we could take the right evasive action.
JS: And was there, did you feel apprehensive knowing you were going? How was that day spent between knowing that you were rostered?
GR: Well, I think we just went about our normal way. We of course had a special breakfast or meal with eggs which we normally didn’t get. If you were going on an op they gave you a good breakfast. Bacon and egg. That was alright. And then of course for briefing the navigators, pilots and bomb aimers were first of all at the briefing and it was then that we were told which target we were going to go to and they gave us all a weather reports and so forth. And then the rest of the crew joined us. And I had to do, you did every stage, you never went direct to the target you went by various, you had perhaps six or seven changes of course, zigzagged all over the place because they didn’t want the Germans to pick you up on radar and guess where you were going to bomb because then they could assemble the fighters and make it very hot for us.
JS: And what was it like when they made it hot for you? What was it like when the fighters came up to meet you?
GR: Well, I don’t know. You just went about, I mean obviously we took the right evasive action. Corkscrew is the word I was trying to think of. That’s it. You brought that back to me. That was the famous exercise that you did to evade a fighter and it was a deep dive and a turn and a swoop. So all my navigation equipment used to, when we did that my navigation equipment went all over the place and I used to swear at the pilot [laughs]
JS: But when you got back, when you landed there a sense of relief was there? Or was it just waiting for the next one.
GR: Yes. We, you were assembled, you went down to the briefing room and then you had the RAF intelligence officers asking and of course they spoke and spent a lot of time with the navigator to find out what time we got there and what we did and all the rest of it. And yes, yeah that took about twenty minutes I suppose really when you’d landed. And then you went off and had a meal and then went back to your billet for bed.
JS: Back to bed. And you served for the whole duration of the war. Is that correct?
GR: Yes. Yes, until I was demobbed.
JS: Right.
GR: When I was demobbed, when I finished flying I went on to embarkation duties and I worked at Liverpool docks and then Southampton and then I went to Norway. To Norway and I was stationed on, I had [ over there and by then I’d been commissioned and I enjoyed Norway very much indeed.
JS: What date are we talking about now? What date? What date did you leave?
GR: Well, just a few, a month or so after the war finished I was in Norway.
JS: Ok. Yeah.
GR: I enjoyed Norway very much and when I came back I reported to the Air Ministry and they said, ‘Well, you’ve got to go on to usual, you know embarkation duties. Where would you like to go?’ So I said, ‘Well, I’m living in Portsmouth so I’d like to go to Southampton.’ So I was posted to Southampton and enjoyed it there.
JS: Right. How long did you serve in Southampton? How long were you there?
GR: About six months I suppose. Until I was demobbed. And then when I was demobbed I went back to Barclays Bank and by then we’d just got married in May.
MR: ’45.
GR: ’45. So I went back to the bank and when I went back to the bank the local directors interviewed me and said, ‘Well, Rushton you’re young to be married. Is your father going to keep you?’ I said, ‘No, and I wouldn’t like to ask him.’ [laughs]
JS: Where did you meet? Did you meet before the war?
GR: We were at school together.
JS: Oh.
GR: So now we’ve been married for seventy —
MR: Well really in church, wasn’t it? He was a choirboy.
GR: I was a choirboy. Yes.
MR: We used to go to church every Sunday and he had a lovely voice and we used to look at one another. That’s how it started. And then I had to, I used to take the dog for a walk. My grandmother’s dog. My mother died when I was young so I lived with my grandmother.
JS: Yeah.
MR: And my father was in the Navy and I used to take the dog for a walk and go around near the church where the choirboys were.
JS: Yeah. I know what you were doing [laughs] Looking out.
MR: That’s it [laughs]
JS: Was there an opportunity to keep contact with Mona and other family members during the war? Were you writing? Could you make telephone calls to each other?
GR: We wrote letters. Yes. We wrote letters to one another. Yes. We did.
MR: It was when you were in Canada wasn’t it?
GR: Yes.
MR: We met sort of then and then he went off to Canada and I hadn’t hear any more and then all of a sudden I got a letter from him from Canada and that was where it started really. And then, well —
JS: Hard for those waiting at home. It must have been hard for you waiting at home.
MR: I used to hear the aircraft go out at night. I was going to bed and I’d hear this hum. You know. And I thought oh they’re off somewhere, you know. You do think about it.
JS: Absolutely. Absolutely. And what about other family members? Were your parents, did you keep, were your parents still alive?
GR: I lived with my mother and my father was in the Navy.
JS: Yeah.
GR: Away quite a lot. And I’d got two sisters.
JS: Right. Right.
MR: Only one left now.
GR: Only one left now. One died.
MR: There was a big gap. There was just his sister, Molly. And you were sort of —
GR: There was five years difference. She was five years older than me.
MR: And then there were seven years before his sister Jill and then [unclear] came along.
GR: My sister Jill.
JS: Ok.
GR: My other sister is still in Portsmouth. Living in Portsmouth. My young sister. Yes.
JS: So you’re all local.
GR: Yeah.
JS: A local family.
GR: Yes.
JS: Yeah. Good stuff. And you said earlier that you kept in contact with the men that you flew with.
GR: Well, we [pause] well, we did.
JS: More or less.
GR: Not closely. No. We wouldn’t, I wouldn’t say we were regular writers but we used to occasionally phone up or drop a line but it wasn’t a lot really and Alan went to America and he came to England as we said before.
MR: Well, he stayed with us didn’t he? He stayed with us here actually.
GR: He stayed with us there. That was the time when I was made mayor in Gosport.
MR: It says about that.
GR: And so he came to that. That ceremony.
MR: It says in the article about it.
GR: And then we went out to America and we saw him because he remarried. He married an American.
JS: Yeah. It strikes me sometimes as a little bit strange but not having lived through it I’m speaking from no knowledge at all but having lived in such close proximity and served in such close proximity with people that that would forge friendships that you take into later life or did you feel that you wanted to put it behind you and move on?
GR: Yes. I think we did to a certain extent. Yes. We all went our different ways and it was always difficult. I mean, we weren’t sort of very well off in those days to sort of, you know to spend on the phone or do things like that and we didn’t, I don’t think we had a car then ‘til several years after the war finished because, you know bank pay wasn’t terribly good.
MR: Well, it was really Alan, wasn’t it?
GR: Yes.
MR: The Australian pilot.
GR: It was through Alan, yes.
MR: And also wasn’t it the rear gunner?
GR: Yes.
MR: It says here, Rabbetz. He was the one that was the farmer’s son, wasn’t he? Down in —
GR: No. That was Bunny the bomb aimer.
MR: Oh. Well, it was the bomb aimer you kept in touch with.
GR: Yes. No. That was Bunny Rabbetz. Yes.
MR: Yeah. You kept in touch with him and his wife, didn’t you? Those were the only ones then.
GR: Kept in touch with him because he was not too far away.
JS: And you’ve showed me a newspaper cutting of a reunion you went to at Mildenhall.
GR: Yes, that’s right.
JS: In 1987. What was that?
GR: That was the reunion. 15 Squadron had a reunion once a year and we all managed to get, well not all of us but most of us managed to get there so it was quite an occasion. I think we were the only almost complete crew that were there. Yes.
JS: And we were saying earlier on of course that it took some time for the work that the people that you did to be recognised by the government. How do, how do you feel about that? How do you feel about —
GR: Well, I think it was disappointing that we didn’t get a medal because I mean I’ve looked at the medals that they’ve been giving, giving out since they’ve given them out for sort of, you know, what I’d call skirmishes. And I think really that the politicians were a little bit swayed by the church and others who criticised all the carpet bombing that went on in Germany. But the French were very good because I got my Legionnaire medal which the French gave which I think was marvellous really.
MR: It’s a lovely medal.
JS: Yeah. And you’ve had nothing else. Nothing since.
GR: No. No. The pilot got the Distinguished Flying Cross because we’d completed a full tour but no, the rest of us didn’t get anything. I don’t think we really expected anything but —
JS: But it’s wonderful that we’ve got a Memorial about to be unveiled now.
GR: Yes. Yes. I’m looking forward to seeing that. I’m glad they’ve got it at long last.
JS: Yeah.
GR: Was that alright, Joyce?
JS: Absolutely fine.
[recording paused]
GR: In the bank and also in the RAF. He was a pilot and he was on the Pathfinder Squadron and he got shot down on his thirtieth raid, trip and he was unfortunate enough to land in the town where they’d been bombing and the women were all ready to lynch him and it looked very very dangerous. And suddenly, he said, a soldier appeared. A German soldier appeared, got hold of his arm and took him, and took him in to a corner of a shop doorway and put his rifle across his chest and stood in front of him and he said to all the women, ‘He’s my prisoner. You mustn’t touched him.’ And he said it was that German soldier that saved his life. You don’t get many good stories about some of the Germans unfortunately but that was one I thought was a nice true story.
JS: Needs repeating, doesn’t it? We were talking actually earlier on about the, you showed me the photograph which could have passed as a passport photograph if you’d been shot down over enemy territory.
GR: Yes.
JS: And you were saying you had a silk handkerchief.
GR: A handkerchief, yes. With the map on it of the area we were bombing and most of France and Germany so if we did get shot down and were able we’d make our, try and make our way back and try and go in to France and meet some friendly people. And they usually told us who the friendly people were and among them were the church. The French church. And I’ve forgotten one or two other people that they said but generally speaking the French were very good and some people got back. Although I did hear one story of a chap in a prisoner of war camp, and they taught us this in our lectures that they gave and he was in the prison of war camp and he was sick and he made out he was sicker than he really was. And in the end the commandant agreed that he should go in for treatment in the town and see a local doctor which he did and he gave his promise that he’d come back. But he didn’t keep, he didn’t keep his word. He got back and eventually he got back through Sweden, through Switzerland, back to England. And when he was interrogated there about it all they said, ‘You’re going to go back.’ He said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘No.’ And they said, ‘If you don’t go back to Germany and report again you will penalise all your other chaps who really are sick and want some treatment.’ And I’ve never been able to find out if that was true but I’m sure it was because that’s what they told us and they said they put him back again, through Sweden I think, and he ended up back where he was.
JS: And he went back.
GR: Which I think was probably the right thing to do because it would have penalised other people. It was nice for him to get back but —
JS: That’s the thing isn’t it? You say it’s, it has an effect on anybody else who’s serving.
GR: Yes.
JS: Yeah. Yeah. But you never used your, you were never shot down. You never had to use your silk handkerchief.
GR: No. No. Never jumped. No.
JS: No.
GR: No.
JS: Did it come close at any time?
GR: Yes. One or two occasions. The Stettin one was very close really. That was the nearest I think that we got to.
MR: When they went over Sweden. Yes.
JS: Any others? Was that the most dramatic that you can —
GR: It was the most dramatic. Yes.
JS: Yeah.
GR: It was really. Yes, we got shot at once or twice on other occasions but nothing as bad as it was with three fighters having a go at us on different occasions. It wasn’t the same occasion.
JS: That, that was fairly routine when you went up.
GR: Yes.
JS: Wasn’t it? To be shot at. That’s what it —
GR: Yes. Then when the war was over I went back to the bank and I ended up at, did my bank exams and was assistant manager at a couple of branches including Jersey and then I became a manager at Gosport here and was here for six years. And then we went away and I went to London to [pause] oh God where was it we went to in Essex?
MR: Rayleigh.
GR: Rayleigh, in Essex. I couldn’t think of the name. And then I went up to Head Office. And then from Head Office where I was a general manager’s assistant I then became a local director in Southampton. Back in Southampton looking after about a hundred branches. Then I retired and here we are.
JS: Did you say at one point you were mayor?
GR: Yes.
JS: Of Gosport.
GR: Mayor of Gosport. Yes.
JS: When was that?
GR: 1987.
MR: Well, it says here on this —
GR: ’87. Yes.
MR: It says on this.
GR: Yes.
GR: ’87, I think it was.
MR: ’88, wasn’t it? It says, “Geoff Rushton soon to be made mayor of Gosport in Hampshire.” And this was in May.
GR: ’87.
MR: So —
GR: It was ’87. Yes, it was.
MR: That was ’87 or was that ’88?
GR: Yes. I enjoyed my year as mayor. We like Gosport and we, although we’ve moved around an awful lot we said we wanted to come back.
MR: We were both born in Portsmouth.
JS: Yeah.
MR: And Portsmouth is our home town but —
JS: Yeah.
GR: I like it here.
MR: If you’ve lived in Portsmouth Gosport was known as Turk Town because in the early early days there were a lot of Turks in a ship that was wrecked and the Haslar Hospital had a lot of Turkish. There’s a wall there and a lot of them were buried there sort of —
JS: I didn’t know that.
MR: Near the sea.
JS: Yeah.
MR: All these Turkish people. So, it was known as Turk Town but we loved Turk Town.
JS: Yeah.
MR: And we came to Gosport.
JS: Yeah.
MR: Though we lived in Portsmouth.
JS: Yeah. No, I like Gosport.
GR: There is a poem I could just read to you if you like from downstairs. Shall I go and get it?
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Geoff Rushton
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Joyce Sharland
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-12
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
ARushtonG180212, PRushtonG1802
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Pending revision of OH transcription
Description
An account of the resource
Geoff Rushton worked as a bank clerk before he volunteered for the Air Force. He trained as a navigator in Canada and after crewing up flew 20 operations with 15 Squadron from RAF Mildenhall. He and his crew were then posted to 186 Squadron at RAF Tuddunham, where they completed their tour. He discusses his crew and the events on some of his operations. On their first sortie to Stuttgart they returned on three engines and another operation were attacked by three night fighters and considered baling out. He married Mona, his childhood girlfriend and became the mayor of Gosport after the war.
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain
Poland
England--Suffolk
Germany--Stuttgart
Poland--Szczecin
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1945
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
00:28:18 audio recording
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
15 Squadron
186 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
Lancaster
military living conditions
military service conditions
navigator
perception of bombing war
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Tuddenham
sanitation
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1362/23327/LTurnerCF1042292v1.2.pdf
17f5d7ae9ee7c2a7f2ae4f624babbb38
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Turner, Charlie
C F Turner
Description
An account of the resource
26 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Charles Turner DFM (1042292 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, correspondence, newspaper cuttings and photographs. He flew operations as a rear gunner with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Barbara Turner and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-08-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Turner, CF
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
RAF bomb-aimers were dead on target when Lancasters and Halifaxes gave Cologne its heaviest battering of the war in daylight last Saturday. Some were told to smash the big suspension bridge over the Rhine, and - as the picture shows – they did it. The great steel span has crashed into the river where it will have to be blown to pieces to clear a way for the large-scale traffic along the Rhine.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Charles Turner's flying log book
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
C F Turner’s air gunner’s log book covering the period from 27 December 1943 to 4 April 1945. Detailing his flying training and operations flown as rear air gunner. He was stationed at SAAF Port Alfred (43 Air School), RAF Little Horwood and RAF Wing (26 OTU), RAF Chedburgh (1653 HCU), RAF Feltwell (3 LFS), RAF Tuddenham and RAF Stradishall (186 Squadron). Aircraft flown in were Hampden, Anson, Northrop, Audax, Wellington, Stirling and Lancaster.
He flew a total of 5 night operations and 27 day operations with 186 Squadron, a total of 32 plus one recall. Targets were Essen, Cologne, Homberg, Solingen, Bottrop, Rur Dam Schwammenauel, Duisburg, Osterfeld, Siegen, Trier, Saint-Vith, Mönchengladbach, Juvincourt-et-Damary, Saarbrücken, Wanne Eichel, Gelsenkirchen, Buer, Dortmund, Hattingen, Bocholt, Neuss, Sterkrade, Dessau and Merseburg. His pilot on operations was Flight Lieutenant Field DFC. It also contains a newspaper clipping 'Cologne bridge is out'.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Terry Hancock
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
Germany
Great Britain
South Africa
Belgium--Saint-Vith
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Norfolk
England--Suffolk
Germany--Bocholt
Germany--Bottrop
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dessau (Dessau)
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Essen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hattingen
Germany--Homberg (Kassel)
Germany--Merseburg
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Germany--Osterfeld
Germany--Urft Dam
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Siegen
Germany--Solingen
Germany--Trier
Germany--Wanne-Eickel
South Africa--Port Alfred
Germany--Mönchengladbach
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Juvincourt-et-Damary
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1944-10-25
1944-10-28
1944-10-30
1944-10-31
1944-11-02
1944-11-04
1944-11-05
1944-11-08
1944-11-27
1944-11-29
1944-11-30
1944-12-05
1944-12-08
1944-12-11
1944-12-15
1944-12-17
1944-12-23
1944-12-26
1944-12-27
1945-01-05
1945-01-13
1945-01-15
1945-01-22
1945-02-01
1945-02-03
1945-02-07
1945-03-04
1945-03-05
1945-03-07
1945-03-10
1945-03-12
1945-03-18
1945-03-22
1945-04-04
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LTurnerCF1042292v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
1653 HCU
186 Squadron
26 OTU
air gunner
aircrew
Anson
bombing
Hampden
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Operational Training Unit
RAF Chedburgh
RAF Feltwell
RAF Little Horwood
RAF Stradishall
RAF Tuddenham
RAF Wing
Stirling
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1362/23328/MTurnerCF1042292-160822-010001.2.jpg
622ee91a3d81c691b78f6fe2c06280e1
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1362/23328/MTurnerCF1042292-160822-010002.2.jpg
660cc6dacfc1a6dcdb0a4728f41faefa
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Turner, Charlie
C F Turner
Description
An account of the resource
26 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Charles Turner DFM (1042292 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, correspondence, newspaper cuttings and photographs. He flew operations as a rear gunner with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Barbara Turner and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-08-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Turner, CF
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Commissioning of Air Crew Personnel
Description
An account of the resource
A form filled in for P A Upson, Navigator. It details 26 operations by date, day or night, location and duration.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
186 Squadron
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two typed sheets with handwritten annotations
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MTurnerCF1042292-160822-010001,
MTurnerCF1042292-160822-010002
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany--Essen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Homberg (Kassel)
Germany--Solingen
Germany--Bottrop
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Siegen
Germany--Trier
Germany--Rheydt
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Osterfeld
Germany--Mönchengladbach
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Heinsberg (Heinsberg)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945
186 Squadron
aircrew
navigator
promotion
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1362/23335/EHancockELTurnerF450405.1.jpg
521f75432f94b7a43147b98558219991
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Turner, Charlie
C F Turner
Description
An account of the resource
26 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Charles Turner DFM (1042292 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, correspondence, newspaper cuttings and photographs. He flew operations as a rear gunner with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Barbara Turner and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-08-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Turner, CF
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
No.186 SQUADRON,
ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION,
STRADISHALL,
Nr. Newmarket.
Suffolk.
186S/S.366/18/P.4.
5th April, 1945.
Dear Mrs. Turner,
It is with the greatest regret that I have to inform you that your son, Flight Sergeant Charles Frederick Turner (1042292) has been placed on the seriously ill list as a result of injuries sustained in a flying accident which occurred early this morning, on returning from an operational flight over Germany. I would, however, like to state right away, that no occasion exists for immediate anxiety and that should such occasion arise immediate notification by telegram will be sent to you.
2. Your son is in the R.A.F. Hospital at Ely and his condition is satisfactory. He sustained a broken thigh and a fractured ankle and foot, together with some minor wounds. Although he will probably be in hospital for rather a long time, it is hoped , as indeed it is at present thought, that there will be no after effects from his injuries.
3. I would like to take this opportunity of expressing my very sincere sympathy and further expressing appreciation of your son’s magnificent work with this Squadron coupled with the hope for a very speedy recovery.
Yours very sincerely,
[signature]
(E.L. HANCOCK)
Wing Commander, Commanding,
[underlined] No. 186 Squadron. [/underlined]
Mrs. F. Turner,
47, Crosby Street,
[underlined] DERBY. [/underlined]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter to Charles Turner Mother from his Commanding Officer
Description
An account of the resource
The letter advises Mrs Turner that her son is seriously ill after a flying accident.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Wing Commander 186 Squadron
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-04-05
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One typed letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHancockELTurnerF450405
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Suffolk
England--Ely
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-04-05
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Steve Christian
186 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bombing
crash
RAF Stradishall
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1362/23341/MTurnerCF1042292-160822-08.1.jpg
9cc4b5e0b212740ea7ae595e70b78fab
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Turner, Charlie
C F Turner
Description
An account of the resource
26 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Charles Turner DFM (1042292 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, correspondence, newspaper cuttings and photographs. He flew operations as a rear gunner with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Barbara Turner and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-08-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Turner, CF
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
OPS. GELSENKIRCHEN 5.35 DAYLIGHT
[underlined] NO. 186 SQUADRON BATTLE ORDER – 5TH MARCH1945. Serial No. 25 [/underlined]
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘C’ HK. 694
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
W/O S.F. Cooke
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
F/O C.D. Wale
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
F/O A.E. Dent
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
F/O A. Crispin
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt A. Graham
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt F.G. Victor
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt E.W. McGaw
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘E’ NG 146
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/L G.M. Templeton
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
F/S J. McKey
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
P/O A.J. Beaven
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
F/S W.V. Barker
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
F/S F.A. Mahoney
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt Hargreaves
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt J. Coulton
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘F’ NG. 140
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/O A.P. Gillespie
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
Sgt P. Feasy
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
F/S F.I. Dow
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
W/O D.C. Strickland
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt R. Whitehouse
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt S.A. Bedwell
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt E.J. Roberts
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘G’ NG. 149
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/L A.N. Marshall
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
F/O L.E. Jordon
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
F/O G. Arrand
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
W/O S.J. Spay
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
W/O L.H. Wilson
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
F/O A. Aspin
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt E.J. Roberts
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘J’ HK. 682
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/L E.L. Field DFC
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
F/S P.A. Upson
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
F/O G. Littleboy
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
F/S C.J. Morris
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt W. O’Connell
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
F/S C.F. Turner
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt Enright
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘L’ HK. 802
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/O H.S. Young
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
F/S D. Bone
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
F/S S.J. Reilly
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
F/S F. Holroyd
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
F/S R. Lambert
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt J. Green
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt N. Simpson
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘Q’ HK. 659
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/L R.A. Hanson
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
F/S L. Collins
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
F/S S.F. Mullett
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
W/O Robertson
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt S. Roger
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt R. Thomas
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt D. Say
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘S’
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/L F.H. Mason
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
F/S H. Coleman
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
P/O W.G. Williams
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
F/S W.S. [?]
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt D.J. [?]
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
F/S W.F. Upton
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt A. Heaslet
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘T’ HK. 794
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/O L. Idle
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
F/O A.A. Purkiss
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
F/S J.K. Snell
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
W/O M. Honor
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
[?] MacDonald
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt A.G. Philbey
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt J. Hamilton
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘U’ NG. 293
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/S P. Gray
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
F/S G. Merrick
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
F/O E. Marner
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
Sgt W. Jenkinson
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt I.W. Foster
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt E.C. Booth
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt F. Parkhouse
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘V’ RF. 126
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/L L.A. Green
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
F/S J. Baggott
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
W/O K.E. Pryor
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
F/S N. Robson
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt D. Furguson
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt W. Deards
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt L. Beamish
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘W’ HK. 796
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/O R. Goglier
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
F/S McKendrick
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
F/S R. Hawkins
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
F/S A. Scragg
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
F/S F. Boyle
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
F/S M. Gilmartin
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
W/O F.W. Lemon
[underlined] Aircraft [/underlined]
(XY) ‘Z’ HK. 606
[underlined]Pilot [/underlined]
F/O J.M. Forand
[underlined] Navigator [/underlined]
P/O E.C. Audell
[underlined] Air Bomber [/underlined]
F/S A. Cecotti
[underlined] W/O/Air[/underlined]
Sgt D. Harris
[underlined] Mid Gunner [/underlined]
Sgt J. Degay
[underlined] Rear Gunner [/underlined]
F/S W.F. Trivett
[underlined] F/Engineer [/underlined]
Sgt J.L. Butters
(XY) ‘D’ NG. 137 TO BE PREPARED AS A SPARE AIRCRAFT.
OFFICER i/c FLYING: W/C J.H. Giles DFC BRIEFING TIMES WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER.
LEADERS: F/O RICHARDSON, F/L HOLMAN DFC, F/L BAXTER, F/L BUCKLAND DFC, SGT WALLWORK, F/L MACDONALD, W/O CASEY AND S/L DODWELL.
F/O VERRY, F/O DAVEY, F/S CORKAN, SGT BARWA, SAGT WARD, SGT HASSELL, SGT BROWN are to report to the Station Radar Officer at the time of the Navigators Briefing.
N.B. Alterations to this Order may only be made with the sanction of the Squadron Commander and notification to the Squadron Adjutant.
[signature] F/L
(J. S. Walker)
Flight Lieutenant, for,
Wing Commander, Commanding,
[underlined]No. 186 Squadron[/underlined]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Battle Order 5th March 1945
Description
An account of the resource
A battle order for 186 Squadron for an operation to Gelsenkirchen. It details each aircraft and all seven crew members for each aircraft.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
186 Squadron
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-03-05
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One typed sheet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MTurnerCF1042292-160822-08
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-03-05
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
186 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
bombing
flight engineer
Lancaster
navigator
pilot
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1362/23342/MTurnerCF1042292-160822-10.2.jpg
61ea5c159d7cd85d36528a74b59a1e3a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Turner, Charlie
C F Turner
Description
An account of the resource
26 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Charles Turner DFM (1042292 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, correspondence, newspaper cuttings and photographs. He flew operations as a rear gunner with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Barbara Turner and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-08-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Turner, CF
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined] Award promulgated in the London Gazette dated 26th October, 1945 [/underlined]
[underlined] Distinguished Flying Medal [/underlined]
[underlined] 104229[inserted]2[/inserted]Flight Sergeant Charles Frederick TURNER Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 186 Squadron. [/underlined]
The citation, which was not published relevant to this award, is as follows [inserted] :- [/inserted]
Flight Sergeant Turner has participated in attacks against heavily defended enemy targets. On one occasion his aircraft was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire. Although wounded himself, this airman gave his captain every assistance in completing the mission. On another occasion his aircraft was so severely damaged that it became necessary to make forced landing in France. This the captain able to accomplish successfully largely owing to the excellent directions given him by Flight Sergeant Turner. Despite these trying experiences Flight Sergeant Turner has continued to fly on operations with undiminished enthusiasm.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Award of Distinguished Flying Medal to Charles Turner
Description
An account of the resource
A citation referring to the circumstances of the award of a Distinguished Flying Medal to Charles.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One typed sheet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MTurnerCF1042292-160822-10
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-10-26
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-10-26
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Laura Morgan
Steve Baldwin
186 Squadron
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
Distinguished Flying Medal
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1362/23355/PTurnerCF1606.2.jpg
2a86ee13c63701a9684237482ad4f0e8
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1362/23355/PTurnerCF1607.2.jpg
a963d612c727a816d58960af9ddee90f
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1362/23355/PTurnerCF1608.2.jpg
c23201cd481ebaf97b7af8cd89f15998
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1362/23355/PTurnerCF1609.2.jpg
7d7d4cfea38673b375abe4e6e8a7f30b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Turner, Charlie
C F Turner
Description
An account of the resource
26 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Charles Turner DFM (1042292 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, correspondence, newspaper cuttings and photographs. He flew operations as a rear gunner with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Barbara Turner and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-08-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Turner, CF
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Charles Turner 's crashed Lancaster
Description
An account of the resource
A Lancaster with its fuselage broken into sections in a field. In one photograph a man is sitting in the pilot's seat. The first image is annotated 'Fortune was kind! To me. The day after'.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Four b/w photographs
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PTurnerCF1606,
PTurnerCF1607,
PTurnerCF1608,
PTurnerCF1609
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Suffolk
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-04
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-04
186 Squadron
aircrew
crash
Lancaster
RAF Stradishall
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/825/31400/LFosterIWE1851250v1.1.pdf
6ee13fcfa0faf834aa76c2ad81386ef3
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Foster, Ivor William Ernest
I W E Foster
Description
An account of the resource
Four items. An oral history interview with Flight Sergeant Ivor Foster (b. 1925, 1851250 Royal Air Force) his logbook, a squadron daily order of battle and photographs of operation Exodus in 1945. He flew operations as an air gunner with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ivor Foster and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-21
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Foster, IWE
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ivor William Ernest Foster’s flying log book for air gunner
Description
An account of the resource
Flying log book for air gunner for I W E Foster, covering the period from 27 April 1944 to 3 August 1945. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and post war flying with 622 Squadron. He was stationed at RAF Bishops Court, RAF Husbands Bosworth, RAF Woolfox Lodge, RAF Feltwell, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Stradishall. Aircraft flown in were, Anson, Wellington, Flying Fortress and Lancaster. He flew a total of 21 operations with 186 Squadron, which included 4 Operation Exodus and one Operation Manna. Targets were, Wesel, Gelsenkirchen, Kamen, Cologne, Dortmund-Ems canal, Datteln, Kiel, Heligoland, Ravensburg, Bremen, Bad Oldloe, The Hague and Juvincourt. Two 'Cook's tours' flights are recorded. His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Gray.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LFosterIWE1851250v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
Netherlands
England--Leicestershire
England--Norfolk
England--Rutland
England--Suffolk
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
France--Laon Region
Germany--Bad Oldesloe
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Helgoland
Germany--Kamen
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Ravensburg
Germany--Recklinghausen (Münster)
Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Netherlands--Hague
Northern Ireland--Downpatrick
France
Germany
Great Britain
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Juvincourt-et-Damary
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944
1945
1945-02-18
1945-02-19
1945-02-22
1945-02-25
1945-02-27
1945-02-28
1945-03-02
1945-03-05
1945-03-09
1945-03-11
1945-03-14
1945-04-09
1945-04-10
1945-04-13
1945-04-14
1945-04-18
1945-04-20
1945-04-22
1945-04-24
1945-05-07
1945-05-10
1945-05-12
1945-05-14
1945-05-17
1945-06-18
1945-06-25
1945-06-29
1945-07-05
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
1651 HCU
186 Squadron
622 Squadron
85 OTU
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
B-17
bombing of Helgoland (18 April 1945)
Cook’s tour
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Bishops Court
RAF Feltwell
RAF Husbands Bosworth
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Stradishall
RAF Woolfox Lodge
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/825/31401/MFosterIWE1851250-180615-01.2.jpg
095f802c970349e7b942fa5c113d02f8
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Foster, Ivor William Ernest
I W E Foster
Description
An account of the resource
Four items. An oral history interview with Flight Sergeant Ivor Foster (b. 1925, 1851250 Royal Air Force) his logbook, a squadron daily order of battle and photographs of operation Exodus in 1945. He flew operations as an air gunner with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ivor Foster and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-21
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Foster, IWE
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined]NO. 186 SQUADRON BATTLE ORDER PAGE NO. 1 16TH FEBRUARY 1945[/underlined]
[underlined]AIRCRAFT PILOT[/underlined] (XY) “A” NG174 F/O A. SAUNDERS
[underlined]NAVIGATOR[/underlined] F/S A. GREENHOW
[underlined]AIRBOMBER/underlined] F/S I. TODD
[underlined]WO/AIR[/underlined] SGT. W. CARNEY
[underlined]MID GUNNER[/underlined] W/O ROWE
[underlined]REAR GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. J. DORAN
[underlined]F/ENGINEER[/underlined] SGT. E. NOCKELS
[underlined]AIRCRAFT PILOT[/underlined] (XY) “Y” F/O H.S. YOUNG
[underlined]NAVIGATOR[/underlined] F/S D. BONE
[underlined]AIRBOMBER/underlined] F/S F.J. REILLY
[underlined]WO/AIR[/underlined] F/S F. HOLROYD
[underlined]MID GUNNER[/underlined] F/L E.S. BUCKLAND
[underlined]REAR GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. J. GREEN
[underlined]F/ENGINEER[/underlined] SGT. N. SIMPSON
[underlined]AIRCRAFT PILOT[/underlined] (XY) “D” NG137 F/O J.A. HART
[underlined]NAVIGATOR[/underlined] F/S J.C. ALLAN
[underlined]AIRBOMBER/underlined] F/O D.A. DARBY
[underlined]WO/AIR[/underlined] F/L W.R. LEE
[underlined]MID GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. T. BATH
[underlined]REAR GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. DANGERFIELD
[underlined]F/ENGINEER[/underlined] SGT. F. EVANS
[underlined]AIRCRAFT PILOT[/underlined] (XY) “E” NG146 F/L G.M. TEMPLETON
[underlined]NAVIGATOR[/underlined] F/S J. McKEY
[underlined]AIRBOMBER/underlined] P/O A.J. BEAVEN
[underlined]WO/AIR[/underlined] F/S W.V. BARKER
[underlined]MID GUNNER[/underlined] F/S F. MALONEY
[underlined]REAR GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. H. HARGREAVES
[underlined]F/ENGINEER[/underlined] SGT. J. COULTON
[underlined]AIRCRAFT PILOT[/underlined] (XY) “G” NG149 F/O E.R. BARTON
[underlined]NAVIGATOR[/underlined] F/S G. JAMES
[underlined]AIRBOMBER/underlined] P/O J. MACINTOSH
[underlined]WO/AIR[/underlined] F/S J. GIBB
[underlined]MID GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. R. BENNETT
[underlined]REAR GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. J. COLLINS
[underlined]F/ENGINEER[/underlined] SGT. D. REINER
[underlined]AIRCRAFT PILOT[/underlined] (XY) “K” NN720 F/L N.C. COWLEY
[underlined]NAVIGATOR[/underlined] F/S J. PEACH
[underlined]AIRBOMBER/underlined] F/S J. YOUNG
[underlined]WO/AIR[/underlined] F/S S.H. KIMBER
[underlined]MID GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. J. SNEDDON
[underlined]REAR GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. D. GIBB
[underlined]F/ENGINEER[/underlined] SGT. N. ETHERIDGE
[underlined]AIRCRAFT PILOT[/underlined] (XY) “M” NG354 F/O A. CLARSON
[underlined]NAVIGATOR[/underlined] F/S R. LIVERSIDGE
[underlined]AIRBOMBER/underlined] F/S D. PARRISH
[underlined]WO/AIR[/underlined] W/O W. PERRY
[underlined]MID GUNNER[/underlined] F/S J. MALLINSON
[underlined]REAR GUNNER[/underlined] F/S McPHERSON
[underlined]F/ENGINEER[/underlined] SGT. J. HEPBURN
[underlined]AIRCRAFT PILOT[/underlined] (XY) “P” HK662 F/L R.A. HANSON
[underlined]NAVIGATOR[/underlined] F/S L. COLLINS
[underlined]AIRBOMBER/underlined] F/S F.J. MULLETT
[underlined]WO/AIR[/underlined] W/O ROBERTSON
[underlined]MID GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. S. ROGERS
[underlined]REAR GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. R. THOMAS
[underlined]F/ENGINEER[/underlined]SGT. D. SMY
[underlined]AIRCRAFT PILOT[/underlined] (XY) “R” HK661 F/S W.T. GRAY
[underlined]NAVIGATOR[/underlined] SGT. G. MERRICK
[underlined]AIRBOMBER/underlined] F/O E.J. MARNER
[underlined]WO/AIR[/underlined] SGT. H.W. JENKINSON
[underlined]MID GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. W.E. FOSTER
[underlined]REAR GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. E.C. BOOTH
[underlined]F/ENGINEER[/underlined] SGT. F.E. PARKHOUSE
[underlined]AIRCRAFT PILOT[/underlined] (XY) “U” NG293 F/O L.A. GREEN
[underlined]NAVIGATOR[/underlined] F/S J. BAGGOTT
[underlined]AIRBOMBER/underlined] W/O K.E. PRYOR
[underlined]WO/AIR[/underlined] F/S S.M. ROBSON
[underlined]MID GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. D. FERGUSON
[underlined]REAR GUNNER[/underlined] SGT. W. DEARDS
[underlined]F/ENGINEER[/underlined] SGT. L. BEAMISH
[underlined](XY) “C” To be prepared as a spare aircraft[/underlined]
[underlined]OFFICER i/c FLYING W/C J.H. GILES DFC[/underlined]
[underlined]BRIEFING TIMES TO BE ANNOUNCED LATER[/underlined]
F/L A. MARSHALL, F/O JORDAN, F/O ARRAND, W/O PAY, W/O WILSON, F/O ASPIN, SGT. ROBERTS to report to the Station Radar Officer at the Navigators Briefing.
LEADERS:- F/L BUCKLAND, F/O RICHARDSON, F/L BAXTER, F/L PORTWAY, F/O ELLS, F/L HOIMAN, F/L MACDONALD, W/O CASEY, S/L DODWELL
N.B. Alterations to this order may only be made with the sanction of the Squadron Commander and notification to the Squadron Adjutant.
[signature]
(J.S. WALKER)
Flight Lieutenant, Adjutant,
for Wing Commander, Commanding.
[underlined]NO. 186 SQUADRON[/underlined]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
186 Squadron battle order for 16 February 1945
Description
An account of the resource
List ten crews and aircraft. Sergeant W E Foster is rostered as mid upper gunner in the ninth listed crew. Includes a spare aircraft and details other personnel to various duties.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J S Walker
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-02-16
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page typewritten dosument
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MFosterIWE1851250-180615-01
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-02-16
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
186 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
flight engineer
navigator
pilot
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/301/32123/LMcPhersonGM430468v1.2.pdf
7377dfec63037f231e60eedb4f349f9d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
McPherson, Gerald
Gerald Murray McPherson
Gerald M McPherson
Gerald McPherson
G M McPherson
G McPherson
Description
An account of the resource
Four items An oral history interview with Gerald Murray McPherson (430468 Royal Australian Air Force) and his flying log book and two photographs.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Gerald Murray McPherson and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-02-21
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
McPherson, GM
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Gerald McPherson air gunner's flying log book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LMcPhersonGM430468v1
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Description
An account of the resource
Air gunner’s flying log book for G M McPherson, covering the period from 29 August 1943 to 9 April 1945. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed RCAF McDonald, RAF Turweston, RAF Silverstone, RAF Shepherds Grove, RAF Feltwell, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Wratting Common, RAF Tuddenham and RAF Stradishall. Aircraft flown in were Battle, Oxford, Wellington, Stirling, and Lancaster. He flew a total of 37 operations with 186 squadron, 31 daylight and 6 night. Targets were Flushing, Coblenz, WestKappelle, Ickern, Dortmund, Heinsberg, Homberg, Fulda, Cologne, Schwammanauel, Merseburg, Osterfeld, Witten, Vohwinkel, Castrop Rauxel, Erkenscwick, Hohenbudberg, Dresden, Wesel, Gelsenkirchen, Kamen, Datteln, Hattingen, Munster, Hamm and Kiel. His pilot on operations was Flight Lieutenant Clarson.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Terry Hancock
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Norfolk
England--Northamptonshire
England--Suffolk
Germany--Aachen Region
Germany--Castrop-Rauxel
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Dortmund Region
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Fulda
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamm (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Hattingen
Germany--Homberg (Kassel)
Germany--Kamen
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Koblenz
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Merseburg
Germany--Osterfeld
Germany--Remscheid
Germany--Wesel (Kreis)
Germany--Witten
Manitoba--Portage la Prairie
Netherlands--Vlissingen
Netherlands--Walcheren
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Heinsberg (Heinsberg)
Manitoba
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944-10-28
1944-10-29
1944-11-06
1944-11-11
1944-11-15
1944-11-16
1944-11-20
1944-11-21
1944-11-26
1944-11-27
1944-12-02
1944-12-05
1944-12-06
1944-12-07
1944-12-11
1944-12-12
1944-12-28
1944-12-31
1945-01-03
1945-01-15
1945-01-28
1945-02-09
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-18
1945-02-19
1945-02-22
1945-02-25
1945-02-27
1945-02-28
1945-03-02
1945-03-05
1945-03-06
1945-03-09
1945-03-18
1945-03-21
1945-03-23
1945-03-27
1945-04-09
1945-04-10
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
15 Squadron
1651 HCU
1657 HCU
17 OTU
186 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
Battle
Bombing and Gunnery School
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
RAF Feltwell
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Shepherds Grove
RAF Silverstone
RAF Stradishall
RAF Tuddenham
RAF Turweston
RAF Wratting Common
Stirling
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1780/36177/LDidcoteWG574095v1.1.pdf
cc2d34efdc71c8d457df3d7ff8c4159a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Didcote, William George
W G Didcote
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021-01-20
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Didcote, WG
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader William George Didcote OBE (b. 1922, 574095 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book and two photographs. He flew operations as a navigator with 115 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Timothy Victor Wilks and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
W G Didcote’s South African Air Force observer’s or air gunner’s log book
Description
An account of the resource
South African Air Force observer’s or air gunner’s log book for W G Didcote, covering the period from 15 December 1942 to 9 November 1945. Detailing his flying training, operations flown, instructor duties and duties with 90, 186, 218 and 83 Squadrons. He was stationed at SAAF Oudtshoorn, SAAF Port Alfred, RAF Millom, RAF Silverstone, RAF Wratting Common, RAF Waterbeach, RAF Witchford, RAF Chedburgh, RAF Manby, RAF Tuddenham, RAF Stradishall and RAF Coningsby. Aircraft flown in were Tutor, Botha, Anson, Oxford, Tiger Moth, Wellington, Stirling and Lancaster. He flew a total of 32 operations with 115 Squadron. His pilots on operations were Flight Sergeant Carter, Flight Sergeant Gibson, Pilot Officer Rowe-Evans, and Pilot Officer Atkin. Targets were Berlin, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Laon, Aachen, Rouen, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Essen, Friedrichshafen, Chambly, Cap Gris-Nez, Courtrai, Le Mans, Duisburg, Dortmund, Trappes, Ouistreham, Lisieux, Paris, Dreux, Nantes, Le Havre, Valenciennes, L’Hey, Watten, Vaires and Nucourt. He also flew one Operation Exodus flight and one Operation Dodge flight.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-12
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-28
1944-05-01
1944-05-02
1944-05-09
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
1944-05-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-05-27
1944-05-28
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-08
1944-06-09
1944-06-10
1944-06-11
1944-06-14
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-06-23
1944-06-24
1944-07-05
1944-07-06
1944-07-07
1944-07-08
1944-07-10
1944-07-12
1945
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
South Africa
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Belgium--Kortrijk
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Cumbria
England--Lincolnshire
England--Northamptonshire
England--Suffolk
France--Audinghen
France--Caen Region
France--Dreux
France--Laon
France--Le Havre
France--Le Mans
France--Lisieux
France--Nantes
France--Nucourt
France--Paris
France--Paris Region
France--Rouen
France--Valenciennes
France--Vaires-sur-Marne
France--Versailles Region
France--Watten
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Friedrichshafen
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Stuttgart
South Africa--Oudtshoorn
South Africa--Port Alfred
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Ouistreham
France--Cap Gris Nez
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Cara Walmsley
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDidcoteWG574095v1
115 Squadron
1651 HCU
1653 HCU
1678 HCU
17 OTU
186 Squadron
218 Squadron
83 Squadron
90 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
bombing of the Le Havre E-boat pens (14/15 June 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Botha
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 2
Lancaster Mk 3
Me 110
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operation Dodge (1945)
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
RAF Chedburgh
RAF Coningsby
RAF Manby
RAF Millom
RAF Silverstone
RAF Stradishall
RAF Tuddenham
RAF Waterbeach
RAF Witchford
RAF Wratting Common
Stirling
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39722/PDarbyCAH18010001.1.jpg
2a6eadd0b6d64f8387649ee98b57e378
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39722/PDarbyCAH18010002.1.jpg
1b3f8ceed48c2ea9245b7d99d4110b68
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wesel
Description
An account of the resource
A vertical aerial photograph of Wesel, orientated with south to the top. Wesel is not covered by the photograph but lies below the bottom edge. However, the Wesel-Datteln Kanal is clearly visible, cutting across the middle of the frame, as are the various road and rail bridges that cross it. The first visible bridge on the left carries a straight road between Friedrichfeld and Wesel. Moving right, the next bridge carries a railway track which enters the image at the upper left edge, and runs down towards Wesel. A third bridge, close by, carries another road and at the left end of the upper edge, a railway track enters the image at an angle, turns through 45° and runs straight down to Wesel. This track appears to cross the canal but the bridge is not visible. To the right of this crossing lie the basin and lock gates at Emmelsum. The upper left quadrant of the image contains mainly fields with a small industrial area lying between the first road and railway. The upper right quadrant is mostly obscured by glare. Much of the ground in the lower half of the photograph is covered by patchy smoke and little can be discerned. At this point the photograph is annotated, in red ink, with 'A/P 1775x' and a large arrow.
The photograph is captioned:
'1982 SDL 19/2/45 // 7" 20000 100° 1635 WESEL . U.
1HC 4000 IN: 12 ANM 64 DT: C. 37. F/O HART D.186'.
On the reverse is handwritten '4000yds 158°'.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-02-19
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-02-19
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One B/W photograph
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDarbyCAH18010001,
PDarbyCAH18010002
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Andy Fitter
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill. Aerial Photographs
186 Squadron
aerial photograph
bombing
RAF Stradishall
target photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39723/PDarbyCAH18010003.1.jpg
bd46c81b1e904504c682180a2b578aa7
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39723/PDarbyCAH18010004.1.jpg
005118074b9f5ee5683f8b6c4feb4408
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Rheydt
Description
An account of the resource
A clear, vertical, aerial photograph taken during a bombing operation at Rheydt, a borough of Mönchengladbach, orientated with south-east at the top edge. There are open fields visible in the upper left, upper right and the lower right corners of the image and at the left hand side, Bresges Park shows up as a dark area. A railway track enters the image at upper right and runs down to the bottom edge. Another railway track enters at a third of the way down the right side and also runs to the bottom edge. The streets and houses of Rheydt can be clearly seen as can the oval of the Evangelist Friedhof Rheydt cemetery in the lower left corner. To the left of this is a small industrial area. The central part of Rheydt and some of the rail track is obscured by smoke from explosions and some other explosions can be seen just above this.
The photograph is captioned:
'1706 SDL 27.12.44 // 7" 20000 052 1458 Rheydt E
1HC4000IN 3MC1000DT 8 MC 500 DT F.O. COWLEY F.186'.
On the reverse is handwritten '1500yds 065°
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-12-27
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-12-27
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Rheydt
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDarbyCAH18010003, PDarbyCAH18010004
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Andy Fitter
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill. Aerial Photographs
186 Squadron
aerial photograph
bombing
RAF Stradishall
target photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39724/PDarbyCAH18010005.1.jpg
92f81aee410386b2e1ca7141a1e30acb
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39724/PDarbyCAH18010006.1.jpg
2d0e8fb22b80c7176e26ed8ae7818131
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Trier
Description
An account of the resource
<p>A vertical aerial photograph taken during a bombing operation at Trier. Some industrial buildings can be seen on the left. Details in the central area are obscured by smoke from explosions.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>The photograph is captioned:<br />'1659 SDL 23.12.44 // 7" 17500 105 1428 Trier V<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>1HC 4000 IN 14MC 500 DT C35 PO Green V 186'.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>On the reverse is handwritten: '750x 168°'. </p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-12-23
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-12-23
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Trier
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDarbyCAH18010005,
PDarbyCAH18010006
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill. Aerial Photographs
186 Squadron
aerial photograph
bombing
RAF Stradishall
target photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39725/PDarbyCAH18010007.1.jpg
427483967e008d53202263b125fe7dfb
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39725/PDarbyCAH18010008.1.jpg
e3652bf77a2c3765f5293a4a60d7a185
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39725/PDarbyCAH18010023.1.jpg
280ea3139b44963b84f46ea714a230a7
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39725/PDarbyCAH18010024.1.jpg
91d416725f7cd4d9f1c2538ad0b9ff2d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hangelar
Description
An account of the resource
A vertical aerial photograph of Hangelar (Bonn) airfield taken during a bombing operation. The image is orientated with south-east at the top edge. A large, bright glare obscures most of the ground detail but the River Seig is visible, meandering across the bottom and up the left side of the photo. Also, one-quarter in from the left and one-third up from the bottom, the River Agger can be seen joining the Seig. Emerging from the lower edge of the glare is a railway line, running right to left and crossing the R Seig. At the lower left edge of the glare, part of the residential area of Menden is just visible.
The photograph is captioned:
'679 SDL 24/25.12.44 // NT (C) 7" 20000 050 1834 Bonn Airfield K
10 MC1000DT 2MC 500 DT C31 secs F.O. Hart K 186'.
On the reverse is written '2100 x 12°'.
In this resource there is a second, identical photograph which also has 'One extra pre wind' handwritten and underlined on the reverse.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-12-24
1944-12-25
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-12-24
1944-12-25
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Bonn
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two b/w photographs
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDarbyCAH18010007,
PDarbyCAH18010008,
PDarbyCAH18010023,
PDarbyCAH18010024
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Andy Fitter
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill. Aerial Photographs
186 Squadron
aerial photograph
bombing
RAF Stradishall
target photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39726/PDarbyCAH18010009.1.jpg
68ed1d0a77e574b2c387763a54cce78e
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39726/PDarbyCAH18010010.1.jpg
9fa2280f4f9e12a3e197408d9136f57c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Bocholt
Description
An account of the resource
<p>A vertical aerial photograph of Bocholt. On the left side is the distinctive diamond shape of Friedhof Bocholt cemetery and on the middle left edge is the artificial lake, the Bocholter Aasee. The upper left quarter of the image shows open countryside and fields with several roads radiating outwards from the town. The centre of Bochum is completely obscured by smoke from exploding bombs.<br /><br />The photograph is captioned:<br />2248 SDL. 22/3/45 // 7" 18000. 110° 1406 BOCHOLT Q<br />1 HC 4000 IN: 16x4: 29. sec F/O HART C.186'.<br /><br />On the reverse is written '650 yds 291°'.</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-03-22
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-03-22
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Bocholt
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDarbyCAH18010009, PDarbyCAH18010010
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Andy Fitter
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill. Aerial Photographs
186 Squadron
aerial photograph
bombing
RAF Stradishall
target photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39753/PDarbyCAH18010011.1.jpg
3d3dcbdfff3ffe967ebb8b178d961ca2
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39753/PDarbyCAH18010012.1.jpg
f5c65e28614c89e57d17baaac405f83e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Vohwinkel
Description
An account of the resource
A vertical aerial photograph of Vohwinkel, near Wuppertal, orientated so that the top edge is roughly south. The multi-track railway is obvious and runs from the lower left corner to a large marshalling yard at the mid-right edge. A branch line joins the main line in the lower left corner. The lower right quarter shows open countryside, large swathes of forest and some evidence of open cast mining or quarrying. The town of Vohwinkel is bounded by the railway and a major road that runs from the lower left up towards the top of the photograph. Smoke from exploding bombs can be seen in the upper half of the image.
The photograph is captioned:
'1772 SDL 31.12.44 // 7" 20000 110 1444 VOHWINKEL M
I HC4000IN 14MC500DT C37 F.L. POWELL W186'.
On the reverse is written ‘AP’ in large letters and ‘350x 180°'.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-12-31
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-12-31
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Wuppertal
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDarbyCAH18010011, PDarbyCAH18010012
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Andy Fitter
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill. Aerial Photographs
186 Squadron
aerial photograph
bombing
RAF Stradishall
target photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39754/PDarbyCAH18010013.2.jpg
23ffe7b8eb054d8b9eec32d6a74dd018
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39754/PDarbyCAH18010014.2.jpg
22dfcda3260182fa56085158ef1bac1b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Trier
Description
An account of the resource
A vertical aerial photograph taken during a bombing operation at Trier. Much of the detail is obscured by bomb explosions but in the bottom right corner are fields and roads.
It is captioned :
'1654 SDL 23.12.44 // 7" 17000 097 1433 Trier B
1 HC4000IN 14MC500DT C34 F.O. Hart E. 186'.
On the reverse is handwritten '2050x 235°'.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-12-23
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-12-23
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Trier
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending geolocation
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDarbyCAH18010013,
PDarbyCAH18010014
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill. Aerial Photographs
186 Squadron
aerial photograph
bombing
RAF Stradishall
target photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39755/PDarbyCAH18010015.2.jpg
1f5d8516f99e517ced198937490a6507
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39755/PDarbyCAH18010016.2.jpg
90e527050b1756555fc6053cca2a4f31
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Rheydt
Description
An account of the resource
A vertical aerial photograph of Rheydt, near Mönchengladbach. The railways clearly stand out, one entering the image at lower right, branching out into a marshalling yard and another sweeping in from the upper right corner of the image. The centre of Rheydt lies in the lower left corner, in the shadow of some cloud. In the upper right quarter of the image, in red, the letter 'C' seems to have been written.
The photograph is captioned:
'1714 SDL 27.12.44 // 7" 20000 050 1458 RHEYDT N
6MC1000DT 10MC500DT C37 P.O. Beck X 186'.
On the reverse is written ‘1100yds 146°'
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-12-27
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-12-27
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Rheydt
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDarbyCAH18010015, PDarbyCAH18010016
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Andy Fitter
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill. Aerial Photographs
186 Squadron
aerial photograph
bombing
RAF Stradishall
target photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39756/PDarbyCAH18010017.2.jpg
daf884be878faf499e974a66da29cc4a
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39756/PDarbyCAH18010018.2.jpg
62f6e5243fa4b576297e023e844faa4b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Saarbrucken
Description
An account of the resource
A vertical aerial photograph of the centre of Saarbrücken, orientated with south-east at the top and clearly showing the River Saar. Cloud and/or smoke covers parts of the town but residential areas, the railway and other details can still be seen. The railway enters the image at the left edge and can be seen crossing the river before dividing to run east and west. At the bottom edge, to the left of the river, is a large market area while the central part of the image, to the right of the river, covers large residential areas. There are no easily recognisable buildings though Saarbrücken Castle can be seen to the right of the river, adjacent to the second bridge from the top.
The photograph is captioned:
'847 SDL 13.1.45 // 7" 19000. 057° 1529 SAARBRUCKEN B.
1HC4000IN 10ANM64DN 2MC500DT C36 F.O. HART E.186'.
On the reverse is written '3100 - 221o.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-01-13
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-01-13
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Saarbrücken
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDarbyCAH18010017,
PDarbyCAH18010018
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Andy Fitter
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill. Aerial Photographs
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
186 Squadron
aerial photograph
bombing
RAF Stradishall
target photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39757/PDarbyCAH18010019.2.jpg
385aedd9daccdd267e56fbacb18bb338
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39757/PDarbyCAH18010020.2.jpg
dc1b1a8a4a6050f9f3fad165f0e011dd
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Neuss
Description
An account of the resource
An aerial photograph of cloud-covered Neuss, near Düsseldorf. The cloud obscures all detail and all that can be seen through the cloud is a large glow, probably from the ground, and the wavy trace of a flare.
The photograph is captioned:
'1814 SDL 6/7.1.45 // 7" NT (C) 20000 025 1852 NEUSS J
1HC4000IN 12ANM64DT 4MC500DT 31 secs F.O.Hart J.186'.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-01-06
1945-01-07
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-01-06
1945-01-07
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Neuss
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDarbyCAH18010019, PDarbyCAH18010020
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Andy Fitter
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill. Aerial Photographs
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
186 Squadron
aerial photograph
bombing
RAF Stradishall
target photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39758/PDarbyCAH18010021.2.jpg
df4bb1f4094ba59036656bd4943078df
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/39758/PDarbyCAH18010022.2.jpg
fc57e7c3dc8470f74ef34d0acb832c23
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ludwigshafen
Description
An account of the resource
A vertical target photograph of Ludwigshafen, orientated with the south west at the top. In the lower left corner is a bend in the River Rhine and the entrance to Kaiserworthhafen docks. Just visible at the bottom edge is the end of Luitpoldhafen dock. To the left of the docks is the stadium of the Sudwest Sportspark and then the distinctive railway lines of a large marshalling yard. Above the bend in the river, at the left edge, is an industrial area, which has suffered some bomb damage and there are more industrial areas towards the lower right of the photograph. The upper half of the image shows mainly a mixture of small residential areas separated by open countryside. Bomb craters are visible all over the area, most of them in the lower part. At upper left there are some puffs of cloud or smoke.
The photo is captioned:
'1799 SDL 5.1.45 // 7" 21000 164° 1509 LUDWIGSHAFEN E
1HC4000IN 12ANM64DT C35 sec W.C.Giles D. 186'.
On the reverse is written '1500'.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-01-05
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-01-05
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph with caption on reverse.
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PDarbyCAH18010021, PDarbyCAH18010022
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Stuart Cummins
Andy Fitter
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill. Aerial Photographs
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
186 Squadron
aerial photograph
bombing
RAF Stradishall
target photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2200/40159/EDarbyCAHWellandJ450716.1.pdf
14060c0e13a6c78d34e0b42a5099a3ec
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Darby. Charles Arthur Hill
Darby, CAH
Jack Darby
Johnny Darby
Description
An account of the resource
203 items. The collection concerns Charles Arthur Hill Darby (1915 - 1996, 154676 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, documents and correspondence. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 186 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard John Darby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Darby, CAH
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Jack Darby to Jean
Description
An account of the resource
His squadron is about to disband and his flight will become part of Transport Command. He may be retrained for non-flying duties in Yorkshire. He discusses complications regarding the wedding due to the leave situation.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Jack Darby
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-07-16
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Suffolk
England--Yorkshire
England--Chessington
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three double sided handwritten sheets and envelope
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EDarbyCAHWellandJ450716
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-07
186 Squadron
aircrew
love and romance
RAF Stradishall
Stirling