David Meanwell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hugh Donnelly]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> Alabama]]> Georgia]]> Texas]]> France]]> France--Reims]]> Germany--Troisdorf]]> 1945]]> Herbert O'Hara]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anita Raine]]> Trevor Hardcastle]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Training material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hereford]]> England--Herefordshire]]> Thomas Waller]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Peter Lamprey]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Wiltshire]]> After leaving school at the age of 14, Derek delivered books in and around Doncaster before going down to the Royal Air Force Recruitment Centre in Doncaster and signing up for service after developing a love of aviation after seeing Vimmies and Heyfords.
Derek passed his exams for a pilot, however trained as a wireless operator because of his knowledge of Morse code. When he was crewed up, his team flew in Wellingtons at RAF Finningley, with 18 Operational Training Unit.
Derek then was transferred to a Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Blyton, where he worked on Halifaxes, before being posted to 625 Squadron at RAF Kelstern, flying on Lancasters.
He completed operations to Essen, Dortmund, Cologne and also targeted the oil refineries. Derek also took part in Operation Manna, dropping supplies in Holland.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Essen]]> Netherlands]]> Germany]]>
Ken went to RAF Shawbury, flying Oxfords. He was posted to RAF Lindholme on Wellingtons where he crewed up. He was posted for a very short time on Halifaxes, followed by a Conversion Unit onto Lancasters. He then went to RAF Elsham Wolds and 576 Squadron. From flight sergeant, he quickly became pilot officer.
Ken shares some good advice he received from a fellow pilot and describes some of his operations. Ken was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses. His first operation was to the Bielefeld viaduct and the last was to Berchtesgaden.
Ken flew three different Lancasters for 617 Squadron and they were the only heavy bomber crew to carry out over 100 operations. During his time at RAF Woodhall Spa, he fostered a good relationship with a local farmer.
When the war ended, he went to RAF Waddington and flew back army personnel from Italy.]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Canada]]> Québec]]> Queensland]]> Saskatchewan]]> Québec--Mont-Joli]]> Alberta--Innisfail]]> Saskatchewan--Swift Current]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berchtesgaden]]> Germany--Bielefeld]]> Italy]]> 1945]]>
Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1940]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> Sheila Bibb]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Eastbourne (East Sussex)]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Heathrow Airport (London, England)]]> England--Sussex]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Poland--Łambinowice]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-09]]> 1945-02-20]]> Eric describes his basic training in London and Torbay then recollects his technical training at RAF St. Athan. He then went to 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Marston Moor and joined his Halifax crew. In 1944 they were posted to 102 Squadron at RAF Pocklington where there were told that they wouldn't last three weeks.
Eric and his crew carried out a vast range of strategic bombings including daylight operations on V-1 sites, night operations on The Ruhr and Essen, night and daylight operations to oil targets, minelaying in the Baltic. They also provided tactical support in support of Allied troops near Caen and in the Ardennes, where they were badly damaged by a fighter and the mid-upper gunner received serious injuries. After landing at RAF Woodbridge in fog using FIDO he was hospitalised and did not fly again. The crew also supplied petrol to troops in Belgium, enjoying the low-level flying on these trips
Eric describes the sound of shrapnel hitting the aircraft, recalls a bomber exploding in flight, but dismisses the Scarecrow theory. He describes the use of Schräge Musik against the bombers; how search lights in the Ruhr operated, the use of H2S and how the master bomber controlled the rest of the formation.
At the end of his tour Eric remustered and was posted at RAF Jurby as airfield controller. From there he went to RAF Topcliffe and was demobbed in January 1947. Eric went back to the railways for ten years before working in local government. He retired in 1978, moving to Cornwall. While at RAF Pocklington he dated Cora noting that her parents made feel like a son. But he then ended the relationship because, with his own life in such jeopardy, he thought it was unfair on her. After the war he married Ellen, who he had met when starting his first job with the railways.]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Andy Fitter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Devon]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> Wales]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> France]]> France--Ardennes]]> France--Caen]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Nieppe Forest]]> Germany]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Denmark]]> Denmark--Bornholm]]> 1923]]> 1937]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1944-01]]> 1944-02]]> 1944-07-25]]> 1944-09]]> 1945]]> 1946-05-25]]> 1947-01-02]]> 1957]]> 1974]]> 1975]]> 1976]]> 1977]]> 1978]]> 1981]]>
She was selected for wireless training and trained at RAF Compton Bassett and Blackpool, where she used to go dancing. As a wireless operator Sylvia was posted to RAF Bottesford and then RAF Waddington, working shifts in the Air Traffic Control tower. She also had to check the aircraft radios.
Sylvia's accommodation hut had ten beds and on many evenings, she was able to get a lift home to Mansfield and back with a contractor. At RAF Waddington, she met and fell in love with Harold, a bomb aimer and says it was hard to watch him depart on operations. But he survived and they married when the war ended and they had two daughters.
In 1947 the family moved to Scotland for three years but Sylvia found it very lonely so Harold transferred to Mansfield.
Harold's flight engineer emigrated to North America after the war and was always suggesting they do the same. Sylvia's daughters both went first and then, when Harold retired, he and Sylvia went to California
Sylvia says they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in New Zealand and then recalls how she had spent her honeymoon on a train to Glasgow with two army men, before travelling all the way down to Portsmouth, where she became absent without leave. Worried that she might be imprisoned, she returned to RAF Waddington where her WAAF commanding officer took sympathy on her.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Andy Fitter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Mansfield]]> Scotland]]> Scotland--Loch Lomond]]> United States]]> California]]> California--San Diego]]> California--Simi Valley]]> 1942]]> 1945-12-04]]> 1946]]> 1947]]>
Ted Neale]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frank Batten]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> South Africa]]> England--London]]> 1940-09-07]]> 1942-02]]> 1944-03]]> Ted Neale]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Baldwin]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> MNealeETH1395951-150731-0210002,
MNealeETH1395951-150731-0210003,
MNealeETH1395951-150731-0210004,
MNealeETH1395951-150731-0210005]]>
Royal Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> South African Air Force]]> Italy]]> Italy--Foggia]]> Italy--Rome]]> Italy--Cassino]]> Italy--Portici]]>
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In accordance with the conditions stipulated by the donor, this item is available only at the University of Lincoln.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France--Albert]]> France--Bergerac]]> France--Châteauroux]]> France--Clermont-Ferrand]]> France--La Ricamarie]]> France--Lyon]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-03]]>
There is a second copy with handwritten edits.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> Foskett, William. Biography]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> ]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Oxford]]> England--London]]> England--Newquay]]> United States]]> Georgia--Macon]]> Canada]]> Ontario--Picton]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> The first two chapters used Bill's words but the third is written by an anonymous friend.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> Foskett, William. Biography]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Shellingford]]> United States]]> Georgia--Atlanta]]> Georgia--Macon]]> Georgia--Albany]]> Florida--Arcadia]]> Canada]]> Ontario--Picton]]> Ontario]]> France]]> France--Biarritz]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> France--Gennevilliers]]> Germany--Kiel]]> France--Saumur]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Goes]]> Netherlands--Hoek van Holland]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Ostfriesland]]> Germany--Emden (Lower Saxony)]]> Germany--Darmstadt]]> France--Wissembourg]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Netherlands--Heerenveen]]> Germany--Traben-Trarbach]]> Germany--Fischbach]]> France--Bischwiller]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Koblenz]]> Germany--Gladbeck]]> Germany--Mönchengladbach]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Giessen (Hesse)]]> Italy]]> Italy--Udine]]> England--Newquay]]> England--Great Yarmouth]]> Slovenia--Log pod Mangartom]]> Slovenia]]> Germany]]>