Observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book for L Hadfield, wireless operator/air gunner, covering the period from 14 March 1941 to 6 May 1945. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and instructor duties. He was stationed at RAF Yatesbury, RAF Prestwick, RAF Pembrey, RAF Thornaby, RAF North Coates, RAF Thorney Island, RAF St Eval, RAF Chivenor, RAF Aldergrove, RAF ReykJavik. RAF Ballykelly and RAF Nassau. Aircraft flown in were Dominie, Proctor, Botha, Blenheim, Anson, Hudson, Liberator, Fortress, Commando and Dakota. He flew 40 operations with 59 Squadron comprising of anti-submarine patrol and convoy escort duties. His pilot on operations was Flight Lieutenant Moran.

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Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Iceland]]> Great Britain]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> Bahamas--Nassau]]> England--Devon]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Iceland--Reykjavík]]> Northern Ireland--Londonderry (County)]]> Northern Ireland--Belfast]]> Scotland--Ayrshire]]> Wales--Carmarthenshire]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cara Walmsley]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> France]]> Manitoba--Brandon Region]]> Ontario--Ashfield Region]]> Scotland--Wigtownshire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Rutland]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Northern Ireland--Down (County)]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Hampshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> Germany--Celle]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dessau (Dessau)]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Kamen]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Merseburg]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Germany--Recklinghausen (Kreis)]]> Germany--Salzbergen]]> Germany--Wanne-Eickel]]> Manitoba--Dauphin Area]]> Netherlands--Hague]]> Netherlands--Vlissingen]]> Northern Ireland--Down (County)]]> Scotland--Wigtownshire]]> Netherlands]]> France--Juvincourt-et-Damary]]> Manitoba]]> Manitoba--Rivers]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944-09-20]]> 1944-09-23]]> 1944-09-24]]> 1944-09-25]]> 1944-09-26]]> 1944-10-14]]> 1944-10-21]]> 1945-02-03]]> 1945-02-04]]> 1945-02-13]]> 1945-02-14]]> 1945-02-27]]> 1945-02-28]]> 1945-03-01]]> 1945-03-04]]> 1945-03-06]]> 1945-03-07]]> 1945-03-08]]> 1945-03-09]]> 1945-03-11]]> 1945-03-12]]> 1945-04-04]]> 1945-04-05]]> 1945-04-09]]> 1945-04-10]]> 1945-04-13]]> 1945-04-14]]> 1945-05-01]]> 1945-05-04]]> 1945-05-10]]> 1945-05-11]]> 1945-05-16]]> 1945-05-29]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> 1948]]> 1949]]> 1950]]> 1951]]> 1952]]> Served at Picton and Port Albert in Ontario, RAF Millom, RAF Harwell, RAF Sculthorpe.
Aircraft flown were Anson, Bolingbroke, Battle, Wellington, Stirling, B17.

Bill flew a total of 36 operations with 214 Squadron, only one of which was a day operation. The targets included Frisian Islands, Karlsruhe, Gennevilliers, Kiel, Brunswick, Saumur, Aulnoye, Gelsenkirchen, Goes, Stuttgart, Russelsheim, off Denmark, off Emden, Darmstadt, Wissembourg, Heereveen, Traben-Trarbach, Fischbach, Bischwiller, Bochum, Cologne & Mannheim, Essen, Saarbruken, Koblenz & Gladbeck, Mönchengladbach, Krefeld, Dortmund Ems Canal, Giessen.
His pilot for his first operation was Flight Sergeant Gilbert and his second, Squadron Leader Jeffries. For the rest of his operations his pilot was Flying Officer Corke.
During operations he fulfilled the role of bomb aimer, air gunner and second navigator at various times. As well as bombing carried out a number of Window, Mandrel and Big Ben Special Duties operations.
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Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Nick Cornwell-Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Ontario]]> Ontario--Picton]]> Ontario--Port Albert]]> Great Britain]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Cumbria]]> England--Norfolk]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Darmstadt]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Fischbach]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Giessen (Hesse)]]> Germany--Gladbeck]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Koblenz]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Mönchengladbach]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Traben-Trarbach]]> France]]> France--Aulnoye-Aymeries]]> France--Bischwiller]]> France--Gennevilliers]]> France--Saumur]]> France--Wissembourg]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Goes]]> 1943-11-19]]> 1943-11-25]]> 1943-11-26]]> 1944-04-24]]> 1944-04-25]]> 1944-05-09]]> 1944-05-10]]> 1944-05-21]]> 1944-05-22]]> 1944-05-23]]> 1944-05-31]]> 1944-06-01]]> 1944-06-17]]> 1944-06-21]]> 1944-06-22]]> 1944-07-23]]> 1944-07-24]]> 1944-07-25]]> 1944-07-26]]> 1944-07-28]]> 1944-08-12]]> 1944-08-13]]> 1944-08-16]]> 1944-08-17]]> 1944-08-18]]> 1944-09-06]]> 1944-09-11]]> 1944-09-12]]> 1944-09-13]]> 1944-09-14]]> 1944-09-16]]> 1944-09-18]]> 1944-09-23]]> 1944-09-24]]> 1944-09-26]]> 1944-09-29]]> 1944-09-30]]> 1944-10-05]]> 1944-10-06]]> 1944-10-09]]> 1944-10-23]]> 1944-11-02]]> 1944-11-10]]> 1944-12-02]]> 1944-12-04]]> 1944-12-05]]> 1944-12-06]]>

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Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Luton]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Gatwick]]>
H Yeoman]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text. Poetry]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Northampton]]> England--Devon]]> England--Torquay]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Wilmslow]]> Iceland]]> Iceland--Reykjavík]]> Canada]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> Nova Scotia--Cape Breton Island]]> Saskatchewan--Moose Jaw]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--IJssel Lake]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Essen]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Grimsby]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> Germany--Cologne]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Reading]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--IJmuiden]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Sylt]]> Germany]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Bochum]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Burma]]> Burma--Rangoon]]> Malaysia]]> Malaysia--Kampong Sungai Gelugor (Pinang)]]> Malaysia--George Town (Pulau Pinang)]]> Malaysia--Butterworth (Pulau Pinang)]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Saskatchewan]]> Nova Scotia]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1942-09]]> 1942-05]]> Harold Gorton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cumbria]]> 1943-10]]> Harold Gorton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cumbria]]> 1944-01-16]]> Training continued on Whitleys before a transfer to Acaster Malbis for yet more training, followed by the heavy conversion unit at Marston Moor, on Halifaxes.
His first operational posting was 51 Squadron at Snaith. He covers each operation in detail. Interspersed with the details are explanations of electronic systems and tactics used.
During one operation he was shot down and parachuted behind the German lines. Eventually he was taken prisoner, interrogated then transferred to Stalag Luft 7. As the Russians got nearer they were forced to walk west. Later they were transferred by train to Stalag IIIA.
The account then jumps to reunions in the 1980s, then returns to the last few days at the camp as the war ends.
He reached home on 15th May.

This item is available only at the International Bomber Command Centre / University of Lincoln. ]]>
Henry Wagner]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Royal Navy]]> Great Britain]]> England--Henley-on-Thames]]> England--Reading]]> England--London]]> England--Brighton]]> England--Hull]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Liverpool]]> South Africa--Durban]]> South Africa--East London]]> Yemen (Republic)--Aden]]> Egypt--Suez Canal]]> Egypt--Port Said]]> Libya--Tobruk]]> Italy--Sicily]]> Algeria--Algiers]]> England--Harrogate]]> England--Whitley Bay]]> England--Newquay]]> England--Falmouth]]> England--York]]> Northern Ireland--Belfast]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> Germany--Jülich]]> Germany--Essen]]> England--Beachy Head]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> England--Derby]]> Germany--Soest]]> England--Nottingham]]> Germany--Hildesheim]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Münster in Westfalen]]> Alps]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Hagen (Arnsberg)]]> Germany--Düren (Cologne)]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Giessen (Hesse)]]> Libya--Banghāzī]]> Yemen (Republic)]]> Italy]]> Algeria]]> Libya]]> Egypt]]> North Africa]]> Germany]]> Belgium]]> South Africa]]> Great Britain]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Derbyshire]]> England--Northumberland]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Schönebeck (Schönebeck)]]>
Ian Locker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1943-03-08]]> 1944-05-27]]> Ivor Cole]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription. Allocated]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Training material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Germany--Monheim (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Germany--Aachen]]> Germany--Wiesbaden]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Leverkusen]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> J Brennan]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Royal Navy]]> South Africa]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> France]]> Italy]]> Poland]]> Belgium]]> England--Devon]]> England--Sussex]]> England--London]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Bochum]]> France--Le Creusot]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Felixstowe]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Italy--Turin]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Mönchengladbach]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Bremen]]> France--Cannes]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> France--Rouen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Friedrichshafen]]> France--Montdidier (Hauts-de-France)]]> Belgium--Hasselt]]> France--Lens]]> France--Dunkerque]]> France--Paris]]> Belgium--La Louvière]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941-06]]> 1943-05-23]]> 1943-05-25]]> 1943-05-27]]> 1943-06-12]]> 1943-06-19]]> 1943-06-21]]> 1943-07-29]]> 1943-08-02]]> 1943-08-04]]> 1943-08-10]]> 1943-08-12]]> 1943-08-16]]> 1943-08-23]]> 1943-08-27]]> 1943-08-30]]> 1943-08-31]]> 1943-09-05]]> 1943-09-22]]> 1943-09-23]]> 1943-09-27]]> 1943-09-29]]> 1943-10-03]]> 1943-10-04]]> 1943-10-08]]> 1943-11-11]]> 1943-10-22]]> 1943-10-23]]> 1943-12-20]]> 1943-12-23]]> 1944-01-05]]> 1944-01-21]]> 1944-02-15]]> 1944-02-19]]> 1944-02-20]]> 1944-02-24]]> 1944-02-25]]> 1944-03-01]]> 1944-03-08]]> 1944-03-18]]> 1944-03-24]]> 1944-04-18]]> 1944-04-20]]> 1944-04-23]]> 1944-04-24]]> 1944-04-26]]> 1944-04-27]]> 1944-05-03]]> 1944-05-08]]> 1944-05-10]]> 1944-05-11]]> 1944-05-28]]> 1944-05-31]]> 1944-06-02]]> 1944-06-29]]> J Williamson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Manchester]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Southwold]]> England--Frome]]> England--Northampton]]> England--Goole]]> England--Newark (Nottinghamshire)]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Remscheid]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> Germany--Leverkusen]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> England--Bridlington]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Poland--Gdańsk]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Wales--Cardiff]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Southam (Warwickshire)]]> Germany--Berlin]]> England--Skegness]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Germany]]> Jack Pittwood]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Baldwin]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France--Mailly-le-Camp]]> England--Beachy Head]]> France--Paris]]> France--Sens-sur-Yonne]]> France--Montargis]]> France--Lagny]]> France--Toulouse]]> France--Pau]]> France--Tarbes]]> Spain--Pamplona]]> Spain--Madrid]]> Gibraltar]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> Spain]]> 1944-05-03]]> 1944-05-04]]> James Corpus]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Gemma Clapton]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Map]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army]]> Civilian]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Barth]]> England--Kent]]> 1944-03-27]]> Jean Carter]]> Clive Carter]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jean Carter]]> Clive Carter]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Scotland--Moray]]> 1941-01-22]]> 1941-08-14]]> 1941-08-16]]> 1941-09-06]]> 1941-09-26]]> 1941-10-04]]> 1941-10-22]]> 1941-10-31]]> 1941-11-26]]> 1941-12-14]]> 1942-01-02]]> 1942-06-01]]> 1942-10-16]]> 1943-03-27]]> 1943-06-25]]> 1944-09-19]]> 1947]]> Jean Macartney]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Suffolk]]> He joined the Local Defence Volunteers at first then realised he did not want to become infantry. He did mount road blocks and fire watches. He applied to join the RAF and was accepted. Training was at Blackpool, then Bicester, then Fairoaks.
At Heaton Park he was assessed as a future Navigator and was sent to Canada via New York on the Queen Elizabeth.
Then they were sent by train to Three Rivers, Manitoba via Moncton.
On completion of that stage of the training he came back via Liverpool. Further training was at Lossiemouth then operations at Leconfield. His aircraft engines started losing power on the way to Stuttgart and he bailed out. After some time they were captured by Germans.
They were sent by train to Frankfurt for interrogation then onwards to Stalag Luft VII. As the Russians advanced they were marched to Stalag III. They were eventually helped to escape by the Americans and he ended up in Brussels before being flown to the UK. This section ends with photographs taken during his training.
The Long March.
A document written by a Senior British Officer to the Russian authorities. Food supplies were inadequate and the Russians refused to allow the Americans to release the prisoners.
Report of a Forced March made by Occupants of Stalag Luft 7, Germany.
The report describes in detail the miseries endured by the POWs on a daily basis.]]>
JF Neilson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Blackpool]]> Scotland--Gourock]]> United States]]> New York (State)--New York]]> Canada]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> Manitoba]]> England--Liverpool]]> Wales--Anglesey]]> Ireland]]> Atlantic Ocean--Firth of Clyde]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Scotland--Edinburgh]]> France]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Poland]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--London]]> Scotland--Airdrie]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Europe--Elbe River]]> Scotland--Stirling (Stirling)]]> Germany]]> New Brunswick]]>
JH Bird]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Training material]]> Royal Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> John Goldby]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Georgie Donaldson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Germany--Barth]]> Germany--Stralsund]]> Germany--Rostock]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Wismar]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> Germany]]> 1945-04]]> 1945-05]]> K Reid]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1944]]> KJ Brind]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France--Alençon]]> Great Britain]]> England--Aldeburgh]]> Germany--Berlin]]> United States]]> Florida--Pensacola]]> France--Reims]]> England--Gravesend (Kent)]]> England--Hastings]]> France--Dieppe]]> England--Brighton]]> England--Reading]]> France--Domléger-Longvillers]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Calais]]> France--Berck-sur-Mer]]> England--London]]> England--Dungeness]]> France--Vierzon]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Orléans]]> France--Dijon]]> England--Bridport]]> England--Weymouth (Dorset)]]> France--Rennes]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Channel Islands]]> Europe--Mont Blanc]]> France--Tours]]> France--Normandy]]> France--Caen]]> Belgium--Kortrijk]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> Belgium--Ostend]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Kiel]]> England--Mablethorpe]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Munich]]> England--Selsey (West Sussex)]]> France--Falaise]]> England--Old Sarum (Extinct city)]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)]]> Denmark--Copenhagen]]> Sweden]]> Sweden--Malmö]]> Sweden--Falun]]> England--Beachy Head]]> Germany--Rheine]]> Netherlands--Arnhem]]> Netherlands--Hague]]> Netherlands--Vlissingen]]> Norway--Bergen]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Emmerich]]> Netherlands--Nijmegen]]> England--Cromer]]> Germany--Berchtesgaden]]> England--Marlborough]]> Florida]]> Poland]]> France]]> Germany]]> Denmark]]> Belgium]]> Netherlands]]> Norway]]> Europe--Frisian Islands]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Dorset]]> England--Kent]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Wiltshire]]> Lazenby, Harold Jack]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Warrington]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Shifnal (Shropshire)]]> England--London]]> England--Bampton (Oxfordshire)]]> England--Witney]]> England--Oxford]]> England--Cambridge]]> France--Paris]]> England--Portsmouth]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Southrop (Oxfordshire)]]> England--Cirencester]]> England--Skegness]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--Kidderminster]]> England--Gosport]]> England--Fareham]]> England--Southsea]]> Wales--Margam]]> Wales--Port Talbot]]> Wales--Bridgend]]> Wales--Porthcawl]]> England--Urmston]]> England--Stockport]]> Wales--Cardiff]]> Wales--Barry]]> United States]]> New York (State)--Long Island]]> Illinois--Chicago]]> England--Gloucester]]> Scotland--Kilmarnock]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Liverpool]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lincoln]]> Denmark--Anholt]]> Poland--Gdańsk]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Europe--Mont Blanc]]> Denmark]]> England--Hull]]> Czech Republic--Plzeň]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Mablethorpe]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Italy--Turin]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> England--Land's End Peninsula]]> Italy--San Polo d'Enza]]> Italy--Genoa]]> Italy--Milan]]> Algeria]]> Algeria--Blida]]> Algeria--Atlas de Blida Mountains]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Ramsey (Cambridgeshire)]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Munich]]> France--Montluçon]]> Germany--Darmstadt]]> Scotland--Elgin]]> England--York]]> Scotland--Aberdeen]]> England--Grimsby]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Zeitz]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Wanne-Eickel]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Kleve (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> Germany--Heide (Schleswig-Holstein)]]> Germany--Wuppertal]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Netherlands--Westerschelde]]> Germany--Rheine]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> Belgium]]> England--Southend-on-Sea]]> England--Morecambe]]> England--Kineton]]> England--Worcester]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr]]> England--London]]> Italy--La Spezia]]> France--Dunkerque]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Poland]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Recklinghausen (Münster)]]> Netherlands]]> England--Sheringham]]> England--Redbridge]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)]]> Germany]]> When Jim was about 18, he was called up to go to RAF Halton for aircraft training, after which he was sent for further training at RAF Abingdon Operational Training Unit on Hampden and Witney aircraft. He was then sent back to RAF Halton to do a fitter course and then posted to 23 Operational Training Unit at RAF Pershore working on Wellingtons. After training Jim became a leading aircraftman. In September 1943 Jim was posted to 206 Squadron on the Wirral for about two weeks. The outfit totalled about 1,000 people from the Air Force, Army and Navy. His unit was then sent to the Liverpool docks to join the troop ship Laconia heading for Bangor and then on to Azores where 8206 Maintenance Unit built an Air Force station and runway. They stayed in tents with eight people for up to a year. Over Christmas Jim was in a Portuguese hospital for about three days with a broken finger. The unit went to Casablanca then to Cornwall just before D-Day. He was put on night shift at RAF St Mawgan with 206 Squadron working on Liberators. Following a trip to Scotland they were posted at Dundee with an air salvaging and servicing unit. Here he was made acting corporal and worked with 31 Dakota Squadron. When the war ended, he was flown to Singapore, got a boat to Southampton and was discharged to complete his apprenticeship as a joiner. Jim re-joined the Air Force and went back to RAF Swinderby for four years working on Wellingtons. There he met his future wife. In 1951 the unit went to Singapore to work on Sunderlands before being posted back home. Jim left in 1966 and worked for AV Roe until joining ICL in a management job. ]]> Martyn Horndern]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Wirral]]> Scotland]]> Scotland--Dundee]]> Azores]]> North Africa]]> Morocco]]> Morocco--Casablanca]]> Singapore]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1943]]> 1943-09]]> 1943-12]]> 1966]]> Mary Gardner]]> Roger Manuel]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Devon]]> England--Torquay]]> Wales--Aberystwyth]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Cirencester]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Ostend]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Worcestershire]]> France]]> France--Calais]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Essen]]> Libya]]> Libya--Tobruk]]> Germany--Wangerooge Island]]> Wales--Treforest]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Czech Republic]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1940-10-17]]> 1940-09-20]]> 1940-11-05]]> 1940-10-28]]> 1941-04-27]]> 1942-04-22]]> 1943-05-15]]> 1943-06]]> 1943-08]]> 1943-09]]> 1943-10]]> 1943-12]]> 1944]]> 1944-02]]> 1944-04]]> 1944-06-10]]> 1944-09]]> 1945-03-18]]> 1945-04-25]]> 1945-10]]> 1954-10]]> Miles, R]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> Northern Ireland]]> Northern Ireland--Antrim (County)]]> England--Broadstairs]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Kent]]> England--Liverpool]]> England--Merseyside]]> England--Shropshire]]> South Africa]]> South Africa--Bloemfontein]]>