1
25
62
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1979/45243/PEdmondsonF1703.1.jpg
3baddf6101f706bb5a30d17669d555a4
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Edmondson, Eddie
Fred Edmondson
F Edmondson
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
2017-11-03
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
Edmondson, F
Description
An account of the resource
8 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Fred 'Eddie' Edmondson (Royal Air Force) and contains his log book and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer and bomb aimer with 35 Squadron.
The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Ron and Catherine Eccles and catalogued by Lynn Corrigan.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Receiving the Distinguished Flying Medal
Description
An account of the resource
Eddie being presented with the award in the open from Air Vice Marshall Don Bennett. A third airman is standing to one side close to a free standing microphone. A vehicle is parked to one side.
Additional information relating to this item was kindly provided by the donor.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
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
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
PEdmondsonF1703
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
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Distinguished Flying Medal
service vehicle
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2004/43654/MSharlandRG138832-171215-01.1.jpg
9e80eb28e0a1435bbca096119faa3615
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
Sharland, Robert George
R G 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
2017-12-15
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
Sharland, RG
Description
An account of the resource
20 items. The collection concerns Flying Officer Robert George Sharland DFC (1921 - 1944, 138832 Royal Air Force) and contains documents and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 156 Squadron and was killed 28 April 1944. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Miriam Sharland and catalogued by Benjamin Turner. <br /><br />Additional information on Robert George Sharland is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/225238/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Robert George Sharland Pathfinder Badge Certificate
Description
An account of the resource
A certificate for Robert George Sharland awarding him the Pathfinder Force badge on 1st May 1944. The certificate details Sharland's rank, service number and awards. The certificate is signed by Donald Bennett, the commanding officer of the Pathfinder force.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-05-01
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-05-01
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
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page certificate
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MSharlandRG138832-171215-01
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
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Pathfinders
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1963/41315/BLazenbyHJLazenbyHJv1.2.pdf
35022f62bb4527b9a7da34bd424ec42f
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
Lazenby, Harold Jack
H J Lazenby
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
2017-10-10
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
Lazenby, HJ
Description
An account of the resource
11 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Harold Jack Lazenby DFC (b. 1917, 652033 Royal Air Force) and contains his memoir, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 57, 97 and 7 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Daniel, H Jack Lazenby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
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
H Jack Lazenby DFC
Description
An account of the resource
Harold Jack Lazenby's autobiography.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
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
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
Royal Canadian Air Force
United States Army Air Force
Royal Air Force. Transport Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
99 printed sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BLazenbyHJLazenbyHJv1
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Lazenby, Harold Jack
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
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
1654 HCU
20 OTU
207 Squadron
4 Group
5 Group
57 Squadron
617 Squadron
7 Squadron
97 Squadron
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
B-17
B-24
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bomb aimer
bombing
bombing of Helgoland (18 April 1945)
briefing
Catalina
Chamberlain, Neville (1869-1940)
crewing up
debriefing
demobilisation
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
Distinguished Service Order
Eder Möhne and Sorpe operation (16–17 May 1943)
entertainment
flight engineer
flight mechanic
Flying Training School
George VI, King of Great Britain (1895-1952)
Gibson, Guy Penrose (1918-1944)
ground crew
ground personnel
H2S
Halifax
Hampden
hangar
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Harvard
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hudson
Hurricane
Ju 88
killed in action
Lancaster
love and romance
Manchester
Master Bomber
Me 110
Me 262
mechanics engine
mess
military living conditions
military service conditions
mine laying
Mosquito
navigator
Navy, Army and Air Force Institute
Nissen hut
Oboe
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Pathfinders
pilot
radar
RAF Barkstone Heath
RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Benson
RAF Bourn
RAF Brize Norton
RAF Colerne
RAF Cosford
RAF Cranwell
RAF Dunkeswell
RAF East Kirkby
RAF Elvington
RAF Fairford
RAF Halton
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Melton Mowbray
RAF Mepal
RAF Oakington
RAF Padgate
RAF Pershore
RAF Scampton
RAF Silverstone
RAF St Athan
RAF Stormy Down
RAF Swinderby
RAF Talbenny
RAF Tangmere
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Upwood
RAF Uxbridge
RAF Valley
RAF Warboys
RAF Wigsley
RAF Wing
recruitment
Resistance
Spitfire
sport
Stirling
target indicator
training
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
Victoria Cross
Wellington
Whitley
Window
wireless operator
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2178/38218/PPalmerRAM17010031.1.jpg
494173b7100efbca0b6b6b02feb92731
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Palmer, Robert Anthony Maurice. Photograph album
Description
An account of the resource
Fifty-one items. Contains photographs, documents, telegrams and newspaper cuttings.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-10-30
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.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Palmer, RAM
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[crest]
By the KING'S Order the name of
Acting Flight Lieutenant R.A.M. Palmer,
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve,
was published in the London Gazette on
14 January 1944.
as mentioned in a Despatch for distinguished service,
I am charged to record
His Majesty's high appreciation.
[signature]
Secretary of State for Air
[page break]
[embossed crest]
Headquarters,
Path Finder Force,
Royal Air Force.
22nd. April 1944.
To:
Flight Lieutenant R.A.M. Palmer (115772)
[underlined] AWARD OF PATH FINDER FORCE BADGE. [/underlined]
You have today qualified for the award of the Path Finder Force Badge and are entitled to wear the Badge as long as you remain in the Path Finder Force.
2. You will not be entitled to wear the Badge after you leave the Path Finder Force without a further written authority from me entitling you to do so.
[signature]
Air Vice Marshal, Commanding
[underlined] Path Finder Force. [/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
Robert Palmer mentioned in despatches and award of Pathfinder badge
Description
An account of the resource
Left - certificate from secretary of state for air stating name of Acting Flight Lieutenant R.A.M. Palmer was mentioned in despatches. <br />Right - letter to Robert Palmer stating that he had been awarded his Pathfinder badge.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
A Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air
D C T Bennett
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-04-22
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-01-14
1944-04-22
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
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One printed and one typewritten document on an album page
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PPalmerRAM17010031
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
Sue Smith
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Pathfinders
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/934/36538/MLovattP1821369-190903-74-01.1.pdf
fb8bdc0a3359bad330631a99725ecf91
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/934/36538/MLovattP1821369-190903-74-02.1.2.pdf
518e2b514f18dba39e9302770bce90ba
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Lovatt, Peter
Dr Peter Lovatt
P Lovatt
Description
An account of the resource
117 items. An oral history interview with Peter Lovatt (b.1924, 1821369 Royal Air Force), his log book, documents, and photographs. The collection also contains two photograph albums. He flew 42 operations as an air gunner on 223 Squadron flying B-24s. <br /><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/1338">Album One</a><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2135">Album Two</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Nina and Peter Lovatt 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
2017-09-27
2019-09-03
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
Lovatt, P
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
The Offensive Phase
Volume Two of Two
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Peter Lovatt
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Norway--Trondheim
France--Brest
Russia (Federation)
England--Hartland
England--Beer Head
Europe--Elbe River
England--Dover
England--Folkestone
England--London
France--Bruneval
France--Pas-de-Calais
Germany--Lübeck
Germany--Rostock
England--Norwich
England--Cheadle (Staffordshire)
England--Salcombe
England--Sidmouth
France--Cherbourg
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Dunkerque
France--Cassel
England--Salisbury
Russia (Federation)--Kola Peninsula
Russia (Federation)--Arkhangelʹskai︠a︡ oblastʹ
Germany--Berlin
Poland--Szczecin
France--Desvres
France--Arcachon
France--Nantes
France--Chartres
France--Reims
England--Swanage
England--Malvern
England--Plymouth
France--Lorient
England--Lincoln
Scotland--Edinburgh
England--Hull
England--London
England--Bristol
France--Montdidier (Hauts-de-France)
England--Guildford
France--Poix-du-Nord
Germany--Mannheim
Czech Republic--Pilsen Basin
England--Harpenden
France--Morlaix
Spain--Lugo
Spain--Seville
England--Radlett (Hertfordshire)
Germany--Cologne
France--Boulogne-Billancourt
Germany--Rostock
Germany--Essen
Germany--Schleswig-Holstein
Belgium--Liège
Germany--Bremen
England--High Wycombe
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
England--Sizewell
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Munich
Germany--Kassel
England--Crowborough
England--Huddersfield
Netherlands--Den Helder
England--Mundesley
Germany--Schweinfurt
Europe--Baltic Sea Region
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Wolfenbüttel
Germany--Magdeburg
France--Limoges
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Munich
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Augsburg
France--Yvelines
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Kiel
Poland--Poznań
France--Dieppe
Turkey--Gallipoli
Egypt--Alamayn
Egypt--Cairo
Morocco
Algeria
Italy--Sicily
England--Ventnor
England--Beachy Head
France--Abbeville
France--Somme
France--Seine River
England--Southampton
England--Portsmouth
Scotland--Firth of Forth
Iceland
England--Brighton
France--Normandy
France--Cherbourg
England--Littlehampton
England--Portland Harbour
France--Amiens
Netherlands--Arnhem
France--Normandy
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
France--Le Havre
France--Arromanches-les-Bains
France--Bayeux
Belgium--Wenduine
France--Beauvais
England--Ditchling
England--Henfield (West Sussex)
England--Canterbury
England--Crowborough
England--Dover
England--Chiswick
Netherlands--Hague
Sweden
Belgium--Antwerp
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Trier
Germany--Siegfried Line
Netherlands--New Maas River
Netherlands--Waal River
Russia (Federation)--Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)
Germany--Darmstadt
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Braunschweig
Netherlands--Walcheren
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Europe--Ardennes
Belgium--Bastogne
Germany--Leuna
Germany--Essen
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Ulm
Rhine River Valley
Germany--Mittelland Canal
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Castrop-Rauxel
Germany--Hannover
Belgium--Houffalize
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Grevenbroich
Germany--Dülmen
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Bonn
Germany--Kamen
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Dessau (Dessau)
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Kiel
England--Coventry
Italy
Poland
France
Great Britain
Egypt
North Africa
Germany
Belgium
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Norway
Russia (Federation)
Spain
Turkey
Europe--Frisian Islands
England--Milton Keynes
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Devon
England--Dorset
England--Gloucestershire
England--Hampshire
England--Herefordshire
England--Kent
England--Middlesex
England--Norfolk
England--Staffordshire
England--Suffolk
England--Surrey
England--Sussex
England--Wiltshire
England--Worcestershire
England--Yorkshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Warwickshire
Russia (Federation)--Poli︠a︡rnyĭ (Murmanskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)
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. Coastal Command
Royal Navy
United States Army Air Force
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
178 printed pages
Description
An account of the resource
A continuation of Peter's thesis on electronic warfare during the war.
Language
A language of the resource
eng
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
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MLovattP1821369-190903-74-01
1 Group
100 Group
101 Squadron
109 Squadron
141 Squadron
169 Squadron
171 Squadron
192 Squadron
199 Squadron
214 Squadron
218 Squadron
223 Squadron
239 Squadron
3 Group
4 Group
462 Squadron
5 Group
617 Squadron
8 Group
aircrew
B-17
B-24
Beaufighter
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Chamberlain, Neville (1869-1940)
crash
Defiant
Do 217
Fw 190
Gee
Gneisenau
Goering, Hermann (1893-1946)
H2S
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Hampden
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
He 111
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
Hudson
Ju 88
Lancaster
Me 110
Me 410
mine laying
Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy
Mosquito
navigator
Oboe
Operational Training Unit
P-51
Pathfinders
radar
RAF Defford
RAF Downham Market
RAF Farnborough
RAF Foulsham
RAF Little Snoring
RAF North Creake
RAF Northolt
RAF Oulton
RAF Prestwick
RAF Sculthorpe
RAF St Athan
RAF Swannington
RAF Tempsford
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Uxbridge
RAF West Raynham
RAF Wittering
Scharnhorst
Stalin, Joseph (1878-1953)
Stirling
Tirpitz
training
Typhoon
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
Wellington
Window
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1901/35228/MRobertsEJH[See -DoB]-170712-02.pdf
b6b0445730de3f22759eebd9263e152b
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
Roberts, E J H
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
2017-07-12
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
Roberts, EJH
Description
An account of the resource
50 items. The collection concerns E J H Roberts DFC (408451 Royal Air Force) and contains maps, documents, news clippings and photographs. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 61 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Carole Grant and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
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
Nos Aviations
Description
An account of the resource
Victoires de la RAF en 1943
Air Marshal Sir Richard Peck describes large composition and successes of RAF during 1943 whilst underlining the threat still posed by Germany.
Les machines
Maintains Anglo-American aircraft production is four times better than their opponents; combining skills and resources is highly beneficial.
Les hommes
Through the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, men from different countries trained in Canada, with the training spreading out to other countries.
Bomber Command
Main aim is to weaken the enemy’s war potential and open the way for the liberation armies.
Les barrages de la Ruhr
Describes the dawn operation by Lancasters on 17th May 1943, which destroyed the Möhne and Eder dams in the Ruhr Valley, using mines.
10,000 tonnes Hambourg
11 days of raids put Hamburg and its naval port out of action with 70% of the town destroyed or damaged.
Berlin 30,000 tonnes
As the main industrial hub and centre of Nazism, Berlin was one of the RAF’s main targets with many factories destroyed or damaged.
Les éclaireurs
Pathfinder Force, commanded by Air Vice-Marshal Bennett, was created in August 1942. They marked targets with flares to improve bombing accuracy.
Coastal Command
Important role played by aircraft in the Battle of the Atlantic, finding and attacking German submarines, and protecting allied ships.
Fighter Command
After four years, Fighter Command disbanded and split into defence and tactical aviation.
Transport Command
Created in 1943 to transport equipment from American and British production centres to operational bases and bases on the front.
D’El-Alamein en Italie
Campaigns from Africa to Italy have seen the air force and army leaders thinking and acting as one to maximum effect. Grip tightening on German industry.
Les ailes franco-brittaniques
Air Brigade General Martial Valin, commanding the Free French Air Force in Britain, outlines the positive Franco-British relationships and training provided. The Air Force’s different groups are described and how structures were effectively reformed, including in North Africa.
Normandie en Russie
Runs through the activities of the Normandy group on the Russian front during 1943, from training to successful operations. The Russians have shown friendship and esteem.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Canada
Ontario--Trenton
Germany--Essen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Wuppertal
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Elberfeld
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Berlin
Italy
Egypt--Alamayn
Libya--Tripoli
Tunisia--Tunis
Italy--Sicily
Italy--Pantelleria Island
Russia (Federation)
Russia (Federation)--Smolensk
France--Limoges
Tunisia
Libya
Egypt
North Africa
Ontario
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
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
Royal Air Force. Coastal Command
Royal Air Force. Fighter Command
Royal Navy
British Army
Royal Air Force. Transport Command
Free French Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
fra
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
48 sheet booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MRobertsEJH[See#-DoB]-170712-02
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
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sally Coulter
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription. Other languages than English
aerial photograph
aircrew
B-17
B-24
B-25
B-26
Beaufighter
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
Boston
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
Eder Möhne and Sorpe operation (16–17 May 1943)
Gibson, Guy Penrose (1918-1944)
Halifax
Hudson
Lancaster
Mosquito
P-51
Pathfinders
pilot
propaganda
reconnaissance photograph
Spitfire
Stirling
Sunderland
target indicator
training
Typhoon
York
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1825/33685/SBrennanJ1210913v20004-0003.2.pdf
539ac2675edef1636228157f68d23f5f
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
Brennan, Jack
John Brennan
J Brennan
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
2017-04-05
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
Brennan, J
Description
An account of the resource
Twenty-four items.
The collection concerns Sergeant John Brennan DFM (1210913 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book as well as documents including a Goldfish Club certificate, notes from station and squadron operational record book with details of activities and operations, memoirs, newspaper cuttings and correspondence. In addition, contains operation order and other details for 617 Squadron's attack of German dams on 16/17 May 1943.
He flew operations as a wireless operator with 102 and 35 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by T Noble and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
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
Notes from Squadron and station operational records
Description
An account of the resource
Contains: List of targets from 23 May 1943 up to 31 May 1944. Includes target name, type of aircraft, serial number and letter. Record of 1663 HCU Rufforth from 2 March 1942 to 15 May 1943, includes establishment, personnel, aircraft, strength, postings, crashes. Also some details from RAF Marston Moor and station records from RAF Pocklington mentioning some targets and visit by Sir Arthur Harris. Mentions crew ditching and being rescued next day. List his crew on 102 Squadron. Large number of pages from station and squadron records covering operations from 23 May 1943 up until 21 June 1943. Details include numbers of aircraft and other details, Followed by record of 277 and 198 squadron Squadron RAF Martlesham covering fighter and other air sea rescue operations during recovery of Brennan's crew which had ditched near Dutch coast on 22 June 1943. Continues with station records on operations from 22 June 1943 until 3 July 1943,notes on aircraft failed to return. List crew on 102 Squadron and notes posting to 35 Squadron. Continues with station record form RAF Graveley and covers operations and daily activity from 8 July 1943 as well as squadron records of operations detailing reports from crew including combat reports. Covers operations and daily activity on station and squadron up to 31 May 1944. Followed by summaries of postings, promotions, awards, losses and operational statistics.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Suffolk
Germany
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Wuppertal
France
France--Le Creusot
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Cologne
England--Cambridgeshire
Germany--Aachen
France
France--Montbéliard
Germany--Hamburg
Italy
Italy--Turin
Germany--Solingen
Germany--Remscheid
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Mönchengladbach
Germany--Hannover
France--Montluçon
France--Modane
Poland
Poland--Szczecin
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Leverkusen
France--Cannes
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Munich
Germany--Osnabrück
France--Laon
Germany--Karlsruhe
France--Paris
Germany--Friedrichshafen
Belgium
Belgium--La Louvière
France--Lens
Belgium--Louvain
Belgium--Hasselt
France--Angers
France--Dunkerque
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
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. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One hundred and sixty four page handwritten document
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription. Allocated
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SBrennanJ1210913v20004-0003
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.
102 Squadron
1663 HCU
35 Squadron
51 Squadron
air gunner
air sea rescue
aircrew
B-17
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bomb aimer
bombing
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
crash
ditching
flight engineer
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 3
missing in action
navigator
pilot
RAF Graveley
RAF Marston Moor
RAF Martlesham Heath
RAF Pocklington
RAF Rufforth
Spitfire
training
Typhoon
Walrus
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1825/33677/SBrennanJ1210913v20002-0002.1.jpg
2a672c5838e5a479625d29a1ac21c9e2
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
Brennan, Jack
John Brennan
J Brennan
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
2017-04-05
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
Brennan, J
Description
An account of the resource
Twenty-four items.
The collection concerns Sergeant John Brennan DFM (1210913 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book as well as documents including a Goldfish Club certificate, notes from station and squadron operational record book with details of activities and operations, memoirs, newspaper cuttings and correspondence. In addition, contains operation order and other details for 617 Squadron's attack of German dams on 16/17 May 1943.
He flew operations as a wireless operator with 102 and 35 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by T Noble and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
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
Certificate for award of Pathfinder badge
Description
An account of the resource
Made out for Flight Sergeant J Brennan permanently awarded the Pathfinder badge
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
DC Bennett
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-06-21
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-06-21
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
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page printed document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SBrennanJ1210913v20002-0002
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.
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Pathfinders
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1825/33676/SBrennanJ1210913v20002-0001.1.jpg
ab806805329064609cac82cee7a05082
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
Brennan, Jack
John Brennan
J Brennan
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
2017-04-05
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
Brennan, J
Description
An account of the resource
Twenty-four items.
The collection concerns Sergeant John Brennan DFM (1210913 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book as well as documents including a Goldfish Club certificate, notes from station and squadron operational record book with details of activities and operations, memoirs, newspaper cuttings and correspondence. In addition, contains operation order and other details for 617 Squadron's attack of German dams on 16/17 May 1943.
He flew operations as a wireless operator with 102 and 35 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by T Noble and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Headquarters,
Path Finder Force,
Royal Air Force.
11th October 1943.
To:-
1210913 Sergeant Brennan J.
[underlined] AWARD OF PATH FINDER FORCE BADGE [/underlined]
You have today qualified for the award of the Path Finder Force Badge and are entitled to wear the Badge as long as you remain in the Path Finder Force.
2. You will not be entitled to wear the Badge after you leave the Path Finder Force without a further written authority from me entitling you to do so.
[signature]
Air Commodore, Commanding
[underlined] Path Finder Force. [/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
Award of Pathfinder badge
Description
An account of the resource
Letter to Sergeant Brennan stating that he was now entitled to wear Pathfinder badge.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
D C Bennett
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-10-11
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-10-11
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
ita
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page typewritten letter
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SBrennanJ1210913v20002-0001
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
Sue Smith
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Pathfinders
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2054/33664/PBarnettA2101.2.jpg
0ad8c8274bbf442f0f22fa06619c1755
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2054/33664/ABarnettA210811.2.mp3
4f633204fcd2bf40ed3bc381344fca36
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
Barnett, Alfred
A Barnett
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021-08-11
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.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Barnett, A
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with Flight Lieutenant Alfred 'Barney' Barnett (b. 1922, 1390286 Royal Air Force). He flew operations as an air gunner with 100 and 156 Squadrons.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
RP: This interview is being conducted on behalf of the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln. The interviewer is Rod Pickles. The interviewee is Alfred Barnett. Also present is a friend of Mr Barnetts’, Brian Leveridge. The interview is taking place on the 11th of August 2021 at Mr Barnett’s home near Bodmin in Cornwall. Good afternoon, Mr Barnett. May I call you Barnie?
AB: Certainly.
RP: Right. Our first, our first question is the usual one. Could you just tell me a little bit about your early days, and your childhood and what prompted you to join the RAF?
AB: Well, at the beginning of the war I was in Kent and I got rather annoyed with the Germans bombing London. Bombing. And the only way to hit back was to join the Air Force. That’s how I came. So, I joined. I don’t regret it. I went to Padgate to start with. Then I thought the easiest way, well I hadn’t got a lot of brains, I thought the easiest way would be an air gunner because don’t forget the air gunner, the rear gunner defends the aircraft and so I became and I think within a matter of a few months I went to 100 Squadron at Waltham. That’s Grimsby. I think I did six trips there and then with Len Overton we volunteered to go to Pathfinders under DCT Bennett, and I went to 156 Squadron. And I think I did, we were just coming on my third tour. I got put off because I got involved in low flying at Skegness. We forgot the clock tower. We missed it but only by just. And then I went to, to an OTU. I didn’t care much on some of the fellas there because all they wanted was to keep off operations so I went over to see Air Marshall Bennett at Huntingdon, and before I finished the conversation I was back on the squadron.
RP: What rank were you at this time?
AB: Flight lieutenant.
RP: A flight lieu. Yeah.
AB: I went through the ranks and I got commissioned. Well, it was Bennett that gave me my commission and how he gave that, I was rather keen of looking after my guns because we had a Fraser Nash FN-4 before the Browning 303s and I was out working on them one day and a character came along in an old Irvin jacket and he said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘Cutting the Perspex off the turret.’ He said that’s going to be so and so cold. I said, ‘Yes, but Perspex stops a lot of your vision.’ So, we took out all the Perspex off, and just sit in the open. I know it sounds daft. And also with my guns it had Palmer firing gear which is a stupid ruddy thing because of the hydraulic firing gear and if the temperature was about minus fifteen the hydraulic fluid used to freeze. So I did away with that, and I put bowden cables through so I could push down and get at least two guns working at the same time. And then the next thing I was told to go to Huntingdon, 8 Group Headquarters. When I went there the character sitting there was Air Marshall Bennett. So, he gave me a commission and I was quite happy. I linked up with Len Overton and —
RP: Len Overton was the pilot, yes?
AB: He was the pilot.
RP: He was the pilot.
AB: Funny thing I was flying as well, because Bennett liked all the crews to be able to do the other person’s job and —
RP: So, what aircraft were you flying at this time?
AB: Lancasters.
RP: You were flying Lancasters. Yes.
AB: Yes. I was at Warboys. And so I got put off. I think I’d just done my third tour then. I went on. I went to an OTU and I’ve never met so many bloody stupid people trying to keep off flying and I was ruddy daft wanting to go on it. And I’m afraid I’m a bit more loud-mouthed but I say what I think.
RP: So where was the OTU? What station was this at? The OTU.
AB: At, oh it would be in my book.
RP: Yeah. Ok.
AB: And by the time I finished having a word at 8 Group Headquarters, by the time I got back everybody thought I was I was going to be court martialled but I was posted straight back to the squadron and I was quite happy then.
RP: Because you were actually working on the OTU. You weren’t a trainee. You were actually part of the trainers.
AB: Yes. I was doing the training.
RP: Right. Right.
AB: I’ll tell you one fellow. I went back. You may have heard of him, Ken Letford [pause] He flew F-Freddy when they did that broadcast over Berlin.
RP: Oh right.
AB: We was old school friends together and I always remember that. Meeting him. He’s still on, I think, I think he’s still alive at Wyton, and and that’s where it all came. So, I did my time there. Then I got sent, when the war was ending I got sent out to Germany on the British Bombing Survey at Bad Nenndorf. Then I got mixed up with CSDIC, Combined Services Detailed Interrogations. Messed with Colonel Stevens, Major Warden, Lieutenant Langham. Do you remember that case? They were, they were doing interrogations at CSDIC, and people were saying you know, that they was ill-treated. Well, if someone, you’re doing an interrogation and he throws a hot coffee in you face it kicks you in the crutch you get awfully annoyed. You know that.
RP: You would. Yes.
AB: Yeah. So there. Then I came back and went, was out in Germany on British Bombing, then I got to war crimes Nuremburg in CSDIC. Then I came back. The only funny thing is I had a Boxer dog. I got it for a Group Captain Ford but he couldn’t get it back to this country so I kept it and we landed at Croydon. The Veterinary Unit in Hanover knew all about it. Unfortunately, the bloody dog went and bit the customs officer there [laughs]
RP: Oh dear. That’s not going to get you into the country, is it?
AB: It did. The dog went into quarantine.
RP: Right.
AB: At Hag Bridge. That cost me a lot of money but he became a champion in this country.
RP: Oh right.
AB: [unclear]
RP: Crikey.
AB: It was a lovely dog.
RP: Yeah. So, so going back to your flying was the Lancaster the only aircraft you flew then?
AB: No. I was in, look in my logbook.
RP: Yeah.
AB: Wellingtons. Whitleys.
RP: So, would, would a Whitley be the first one before the Wellington or —
AB: Yes.
RP: Because they were quite an early type.
AB: I think the first ones were the Bothas, I think.
RP: What did, what did you do your training on then? What was the aircraft?
AB: On a Botha.
RP: Oh, it was a Botha. Yeah.
AB: Yeah.
RP: Of course, they weren’t, they weren’t really any good for warfare but they were good for training.
AB: No. No. No. Polish characters, which don’t forget, the Poles did a lot of good work in this kind of country.
RP: Yes. Yes.
AB: And I met some very nice Polish people. I know a lot of them are condemned but don’t forget if they got shot down in Germany that was their end. Then I got sent out to Germany on British Bombing Survey at Bad Nenndorf, and while I was there I went to War Crimes Nuremberg. To the trials there. And then I had a funny job of picking people up. Now, my German is almost nil but there were so many displaced persons floating around Germany, and if you sit and keep quiet, and you’ve got a job for me I could get away with it.
RP: Right.
AB: And as you were travelling in an old car, our old Hannomag with this Boxer dog picking people up from say Hamburg right down to Munich.
RP: What? These were displaced people.
AB: Yes.
RP: Yeah. Ok.
AB: And it’s amazing. I never realised the Germans were so meticulous in keeping records of people.
RP: Oh yes.
AB: And you say go to one place, and say [unclear] oh that’s so and so. He went to so and so, and I used to travel Germany going from one to another and picking up and I never had any trouble at all. I only had one character who tried to pull out a small automatic. Fortunately, I had one before him, so he was all right.
RP: So —
AB: Then I came back to this country and Air Commodore Wynter-Morgan, Air Marshall Combe. I ended up living with Air Marshall Combe at the Woodpeckers at Brockenhurst. Then I went to the Ordnance. I went to 12 Group Headquarters. Became their group armament officer. Then I went back to the Ordnance Board. That was formed in 1414. That was in Kensington. That was organised the year before the Battle of Agincourt. Then I became secretary to the Pyrotechnic Panel. That’s anything from say a small hand-held signal to a bloody great rocket. Then I went from there. Where did I go from there?
RP: Can you, when, when did, you obviously stopped flying by the time you’d been sent to Germany.
AB: Yes.
RP: So, when, your last flight was a sort of a wartime thing.
AB: Yes at [unclear]
RP: It did. Yeah.
AB: Yeah. But then I used to fly from different places.
RP: Yeah. But your actual career as a flyer ended with the war. Yeah.
AB: Yeah. More or less as a transport from A to B.
RP: Yeah. Just looking at this 1942, you’ve got a Botha here on air to sea exercise and that. So, between the time you left school and joined the RAF what were you doing then as an option?
AB: I was hoping to become a vet.
RP: Oh right.
AB: Slightly different.
RP: Yeah.
AB: And that’s what I was working on then so, but when the war came along I joined up.
RP: Where did you join? Where were you living when you joined then?
AB: I was living in a place called Blackheath.
RP: Yes.
AB: It was Kidbrooke at one time. Then London expanded.
RP: Yes.
AB: There was an airfield there at Kidbrooke. That’s the start of the old M2. Remember it?
RP: Yeah.
AB: Do you know London at all?
RP: Not very. Not that well. I know it.
AB: Oh.
RP: But I never lived there.
AB: They turned there. Then what was it? When I went to 12 Group Headquarters as a Group Armament Officer I met a bloody twit called Donaldson. You may remember him. He flew hundreds of aircraft at six hundred and six miles an hour.
RP: Oh right.
AB: But he had a brother and his brother was a very nice fellow but Donaldson, the one that did that was a complete bloody twit. Excuse me. Now then —
RP: I think you’re allowed to say that.
AB: There was a court martial going on for low flying. So, what does he do? There’s a place called Newton. He was beating the airfield up. He thought that was funny. There’s a poor blighter there losing his, well his rank and everything for doing a bit of —
RP: Doing a bit of that. Yeah.
AB: It was only a bit of low flying.
RP: And he gets, he gets away with it.
AB: Yeah.
RP: Ok. So, so did you finish the war as a flight lieutenant then?
AB: Pardon?
RP: Did you finish the war as a flight lieutenant?
AB: Yes.
RP: Was that your rank when you finished?
AB: Yeah.
RP: Yeah.
AB: So, there it is. I had quite an interesting little job.
AB: Oh yes.
RP: Wandering around the continent picking people up. I’ll tell you something funny. Brian, can you pull that box over there please. That plastic box.
AB: The people you were picking up were they suspicious people then? Were you, were you thinking of —
RP: The plastic box on the floor.
[recording paused]
RP: Ok, Barney. If we could go back to your training days.
AB: Yeah.
RP: In the RAF. What was your first training base and what did you do there?
AB: Padgate was my first base.
RP: And what, what were you doing there?
AB: Well, that was when I joined the Air Force. And I went from there to Blackpool to do more or less the square bashing. And then from there I went to a place called Morpeth.
RP: Oh yeah.
AB: Flying in Bothas to do air gunnery.
RP: So that was the air gunnery training.
AB: It’s the training. Yeah. Then from there I went to 100 Squadron at Grimsby called Waltham. I did six trips there with a fellow called Overton. Len Overton and —
RP: So, what aircraft were you on now?
AB: That was on, started off on Lincolns. Not Lincolns. No. What was the one before?
RP: Manchester was the one before.
AB: Manchester. That’s it.
RP: Yeah.
AB: I got rather put off there because when I went there I looked up at the sky and one was coming down in flames and I didn’t like that.
RP: They were a bit under powered were they?
AB: Yes. Then we got converted on to Halifaxes and went to a Lancaster squadron. That’s typical, isn’t it?
RP: So where did your Halifax, where did you do your Halifax training?
AB: That was a place called Lindholme, I think.
RP: Oh yes. Yeah. Yeah.
AB: It was Lindholme. Then I went to Waltham. Did six trips there. From there we got sent down to Warboys in Huntingdon to more or less NFU training for Pathfinders with Bennett. Rivett-Camac was the CO at the time. He was an excellent fellow. Then they brought this fellow, Collings in which was a complete twit. And I did, I did two tours and we was due —
RP: How long was a tour? How many?
AB: Well, it was supposed to be thirty trips.
RP: Right.
AB: Or if we’d done a double tour it was forty odd.
RP: Right.
AB: But I’d done I think it was getting on for fifty trips, and then we got court martialled for low flying over Skegness. JB921. Everybody saw that bloody number and I still remember it.
RP: So what was the result of the court martial then?
AB: Well, they couldn’t do much with us all because we were all nutty as a fruit cake and I got sent off and I got sent to an OTU, and I rather fell out. Maybe I’ve got a big mouth but I fell out because they, they didn’t want, no they, these people working there they thought they had a safe little job and I wanted to get back on flying.
RP: So, you, this is where you were doing the training.
AB: Yes.
RP: You weren’t a trainee.
AB: No, I was instructing.
RP: You were instructing. So what was the aircraft on the OTU then?
AB: That was Wellingtons. Whitleys and Wellingtons. And so, I took myself off and went to see Air Commodore Ayres. Well, first of all I went to 8 Group Headquarters in Huntingdon and asked could I see the big chief. And it was Air Commodore Ayres said, ‘What the hell are you doing now?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m wasting my time because I’m not going to be instructing.’ So, he said, ‘Right.’ So, I went in to see Bennett. Air Marshall Bennett. He was an Australian. Very much down to earth. He said, ‘You’re wanting to come back?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ So, of course he commissioned me because it was him that saw me cutting the Perspex out of a turret and joining up the guns so they would fire if the hydraulics froze. I could still fire the guns.
RP: So, what rank were you when you got your commission then? What rank?
AB: Flight sergeant.
RP: You were a flight sergeant. Ok.
AB: That was the rate I was on and I was quite happy. Then I was flying away. We dropped food over into Belgium. Holland rather as you saw in the logbook. Then I got sent to London to go to British Bombing Survey Unit at a place Bad Nenndorf.
RP: To come back to the Operation Manna. Were you flying, flying Lancasters then?
AB: Lancasters. Yeah.
RP: So, but that was, this was just dropping food.
AB: Yeah.
RP: So how many sorties did you do on Manna then?
AB: I think [pause] look in my book. I think I —
RP: Yeah.
AB: That little blue book.
RP: Yeah. Yeah. I can do that but —
AB: I did, I think it was eighty. It was either seventy eight or eighty trips.
RP: Crikey.
AB: You were supposed to have done twenty five or I think thirty five. Then there were two tours. You’d no need to fly again.
RP: No.
AB: But I think I’d done eighty. I was trying to do a hundred. For some reason I was a bloody nutcase. I was trying to count, I suppose.
RP: So, how many sorties do you think you flew during the war then? If you —
AB: I think I did eighty.
RP: That’s a lot isn’t it? And you were never, and you were never injured or shot down.
AB: Oh yes. We got, we came back in a bit of a heap a couple of times and up on the Norfolk coast there’s called, a place called Woodbridge.
RP: Oh yes. Yeah. I’ve heard of it.
AB: You may have heard of it.
RP: I’ve heard of Woodbridge.
AB: But it’s a bloody great big concrete slab.
RP: I think. I think, yeah. Yeah —
AB: And if you landed there the bulldozers used to just sweep you off the runway into a big heap.
RP: If you crash landed.
AB: Yes.
RP: Right.
AB: Because you usually, you come back there. I met some very nice people. One of the best characters d ever met was a fellow called Rivett–Carnac. His brother was Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire but he was a wonderful leader but he was as crazy as they come. Then they had Group Captain Collings. Well, we couldn’t create a mutiny but, so actually it was Bennett told us to write a little note saying we wanted to transfer and he came in. I remember he came in. He took his coat off. He said, ‘We’re all equal now.’ He said, ‘What’s the trouble?’ I said, ‘Well, the CO’s a bloody twit.’
RP: This is Bennett you’re talking to.
AB: Yes.
RP: Yeah. Right.
AB: You could talk to him.
RP: Right.
AB: I’m not kidding you.
RP: Yeah. Yeah.
AB: Before we finished our conversation the character Collings was off the station.
RP: And what, what happened to him then? Do you know?
AB: I don’t know. I’ve got a photograph of him somewhere walking along with the queen.
RP: Oh right.
AB: Was. But he was. No. What I found, I found there were some people who like to get themselves the cosy little jobs, shut the window and say, ‘Blow you chap. I’m all right.’
RP: Right. So, they had a comfortable war.
AB: Yes.
RP: Yeah.
AB: Well, the funny thing was I was more of a nervous wreck, you may think I’m a nutcase now, when I wasn’t flying then when I was flying.
RP: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, you mentioned Len Overton. Did you tend to stay with the same crew on your various posts?
AB: Well, part of the time I stayed.
RP: Yeah.
AB: With Len Overton.
RP: Yeah.
AB: The funny thing is for some reason. I don’t know how because I’m not up with the signals to know all this sort of thing. Computers.
RP: Yeah.
AB: But someone sent me a photograph and I’ve got it there because I was his best man but somehow I got this photograph and it’s over on the side there and, but Len Overton, he didn’t want to come back. I think, I think his nerves were a bit shattered. But I always thought it’s a challenge and besides the ruddy Germans knocked my old mums house down.
RP: Oh right.
AB: With two bombs.
RP: Yeah. Which was why, which was what persuaded you to —
AB: Yeah. And I saw what happened to London.
RP: Yeah.
AB: I remember that Saturday seeing all these aircraft when the big fire was in London.
RP: Yeah.
AB: And maybe it’s just me.
RP: Right. Of the, of the aircraft that you were in. The Lancasters. The Wellingtons.
AB: Yeah.
RP: What was your favourite then? Which one did you —
AB: Lancasters.
RP: You liked the Lancaster.
AB: Yes.
RP: Yeah.
AB: You could really throw a Lanc around. You could. It could take a hell of a lot of punishment. I remember we was over Hamburg. If you remember [unclear] history we did, I did I think it was five nights and seven days of bombing Hamburg and one of the funny things is we dropped the marker bombs which was Pathfinders, we dropped the marker bombs, and one of them got hit by one of the German rockets underneath and blew it back through the bomb doors. And a fellow called Tommy Cable got the immediate award of the DFM because he hacked this marker out of the aircraft because it was back inside the aircraft.
RP: Yeah.
AB: It was a little bit uncomfortable.
RP: Crikey.
AB: But he had, Tommy Cable came from Grimsby. But no, I I found it alright. I wasn’t really interested because for some funny reason I was a technical officer. I wasn’t a general duty for flying. I was, do you know the general duties? They do the flying.
RP: Yes.
AB: Technical officers. I was a technical armament officer. How I got in there I don’t know but I was. I went to the Number 1 Air Armaments School at Manby. I did specialist armament.
RP: What year was this then? How far in?
AB: Oh, this would be the beginning of ’44.
RP: Oh right. So, you’d, you’d done a lot of flying before then.
AB: And I went back to, I went back to Manby and I qualified as an armament officer and I was supposed to have gone to Warnborough and Christmas Island. Thanks very much to a horse that broke my arm because I used to ride young horses.
RP: Right.
AB: So I used to go, if you look around here like that over there. The wife had a, ended up about seventy horses. Well, you know that don’t you, Brian?
BL: Ahum.
RP: Crikey.
AB: Fabius was one of the famous horses she had.
RP: I see there’s a few up there.
AB: Oh yes. Now, my little wife she died of actually diabetes. She smashed her skull. She had a mark on her face where a horse stepped on her face. Are you married?
RP: Well, I was. My wife died in January.
AB: Oh. Women are not always easy to live with are they? But what, you know but she was a wonderful little thing.
RP: Yeah.
AB: Brian may have met her. But the big trouble she had bad diabetes.
RP: Oh right.
AB: She was on sixteen injections a day
RP: Oh, my goodness
AB: And they can play hell with them.
RP: Yeah.
AB: It can. It’s not them. It’s their complaint that you had to live with and quite often you fall out being bloody war declared. You would sit down and think where the hell did that start? Some stupid little thing.
RP: So, what year, were you married? During the war or after the war?
AB: After the war.
RP: So, you were single. You were single during the war then so you —
AB: Yes.
RP: You were fancy free during the war.
AB: I didn’t have time for anything else.
RP: Well, that was my next question but obviously you’ve answered it.
AB: Yeah. No. I met little Thelma. Actually, I’ll tell you how I met her. I brought a horse down from Leicester. It was a thoroughbred I brought down, and how I got that horse, it was a Mr Skinner, and I used to buy these horse because when I used to take off I used to fly around and see who had got horses.
RP: Right.
AB: The next job, where’s the nearest pub? So, that night I’d be in the pub, keep chatting. People used to be very suspicious but when they found you’d put old clothes on and were working with the horses, not just for something to sit on I found that I got along fine.
RP: Yeah.
AB: Different parts whether I was Leicester, Lincoln, there, and this here horse, and I was having a meal with them and I was speaking about this horse. Course he had a very good, must have been about three thousand acres. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘You can’t catch that bloody thing.’ I said, ‘Yes you can.’ He said, ‘Well, if you can catch it,’ he said, ‘How much will I give you?’ I said, ‘Ten pound.’ He said, ‘Right.’ He said, ‘I’ve won ten pounds.’ I went out with a bit of string and I learned from an old gypsy how to catch horses. Now, it may sound strange. This old gypsy. I thought, ‘How does he do that?’ What he always used to carry was a little bit of the afterbirth. I know it sounds crude but it was just like a little piece of dried up —
RP: Yeah.
AB: Crinkly paper. Now, if you have that on your hand horses are very inquisitive animal. If you walk and turn your back on a horse he’s saying well, what’s he up to? Walk away. A horse will follow you.
RP: Right.
AB: So, I’ve had a rather odd life.
RP: You have.
AB: Do you think I’m an odd person?
RP: Well, can we go back to your technical officer days then? So, having been a technical officer.
AB: Yeah.
RP: In 1944 but you still went back to flying from that. Yeah.
AB: Yes. Yes.
RP: So you had a dual role basically then.
AB: Right. Because I was a technical officer. I wasn’t a general duties.
RP: Right.
AB: And I went to Newton up near Nottingham.
RP: Yeah. I know where Newton.
AB: To 12 Group Headquarters that was. Donaldson was there. Do you remember Donaldson? He flew at six hundred feet.
RP: Yeah. You said. Yeah.
AB: But he is the biggest stupid show off. His brother was a very nice fellow and I went there, and I went there and as group armament officer for 12 Group. And then I fell out with Donaldson because he, there was another character court martialled, a fellow, a very nice fellow for low flying and Donaldson was beating the airfield up and because I told him about it he made it so I phoned up Air Commodore Wynter Morgan. He was at the Ordnance Board in London. I told him what had happened. He said, ‘Right, pack your bags. You’re down here.’ And I went in and then I joined up with Air Marshall Combe. Now, Combe, Air Marshall Combe he lived at the Woodpeckers at Brockenhurst. He was the Combe out of Watney Combe Brewers. His wife was a Mitchell and Butler Brewery, so money married money and I got on fine. I travelled all over the place with him and we lived, in fact I lived with them. And I, I got on alright, and he got on alright and he put up with me.
RP: So, where were you stationed when the war ended then? Where, where did it all come through —
AB: I was in Germany.
RP: When the war ended.
AB: Yeah. But he was [unclear]
RP: Because you were still. But the war had, had the war ended or was it about to end?
AB: No. It had more or less ended.
RP: Yeah.
AB: It ended when I was out there.
RP: Oh right.
AB: I got suddenly sent out there. I was at [pause] wait a minute. I was at Upwood in Huntingdon.
RP: Because you were still flying up to the —
AB: I was flying but then I more or less stopped flying and I suddenly got sent out to British Bombing Survey.
RP: Did they explain why they’d stopped you flying then? Why did they pick you for that then? Did they explain?
AB: They kept putting me on these other jobs.
RP: Yeah.
AB: So, I found it alright. I used to travel around all over the place. I was my own little boss and I got flying pay and technical pay so I didn’t complain.
RP: Even though you weren’t flying.
AB: Yeah.
RP: Yeah. Because of your qualifications. Yeah. Yeah.
AB: Yes. You see, if I stayed, if I stayed as a flight lieutenant. If I became a squadron leader I’d lose my flying pay.
RP: Oh right. I see.
AB: And my technical pay.
RP: Were you ever offered promotion then?
AB: Yes.
RP: You were.
AB: So, as a flight lieutenant I had all the perks and none of the —
RP: None of the aggro.
AB: Ugly bits.
RP: Ok. Very good. So, what, if you had to pick one then of your of your sorties that you did are there any memorable sorties that were a close run things that you can remember?
AB: Yes, there is one. You look in the book. It’s at Hamburg. I think we’d done about the third night we’d been over Hamburg. The bomb doors opened, bombs away, and we had what they called markers. TI markers. Target Indicator markers, and as they went down we got hit by one of the Prince of Wales feathers they called them. These here big rocket things, and it blew the bomb back in to the nose of the aircraft and it hadn’t exploded which is a bit off putting and we were spinning down because a couple of the engines had been knocked out. We were spinning down. We couldn’t jump out because of the centrifugal force.
RP: This was in a Lancaster. Yeah.
AB: Yes.
RP: Yeah.
AB: Then the aircraft pulled itself out. And after the war I met a character that remembered seeing this aircraft come down because the flare was still burning in the bomb bay.
RP: Goodness me.
AB: It was a bit uncomfortable but he pulled out and we got back to this country.
RP: So, you flew back from Germany in that condition then.
AB: Yes, and we landed at a place called Woodbridge which you know.
RP: Yeah. Yeah. Right.
AB: We put the aircraft down there.
RP: So —
AB: Thought thank God for that one.
RP: So, one, one final question for you then Barney. Would you do it all again?
AB: Not for this country. No. I’m sorry.
RP: No.
AB: Not for this country. They buggered around. I spent five and a half years in hospital. Halton, Wroughton, Headley Court, Ely, Stoke Mandeville.
RP: Crikey.
AB: Thanks to Mr Robbins. He’s dead now.
RP: Why was that?
AB: You may have heard of him in Truro. He took two sections out of my spine. I’ve got the reports in the, in the other room there somewhere.
RP: Was this from an injury? A wartime injury.
AB: Yes.
RP: Oh right.
AB: And some of the bloody twits you met, because let’s face it sometimes you feel you get around, sometimes you can’t, and it’s not for, just for me. How about some of these other poor devils? Sorry.
RP: No. No. You’re entitled to say that and it’s been fascinating. I’d really —
AB: Yes. It is.
RP: I’d like to say thank you for —
AB: But no. This country. Let’s face it. Churchill. Don’t forget Churchill ordered a raid on Nuremburg because, and we lost ninety four, ninety six aircraft, not counting those that were damaged coming back because he dictated beyond. Bennett was against it. Harris, Air Marshall Harris or Air Chief Marshall Harris was against it. He ordered it. It was either ninety four or ninety six. You can look up your records that we lost and that’s not counting those aircraft that came back, ‘cause Churchill was a big blabbermouth. Now, if you follow through Churchill never let the RAF Bomber Command go on any victory parade.
RP: Yes. I know that. Yeah.
AB: You know that don’t you? What I’m saying.
RP: Oh yes. I know.
AB: And we were complete outcasts to him. He was a soapbox orator Churchill. I suppose he did do a good job because he more or less took over from, after Eden wasn’t it? And —
RP: Chamberlain.
AB: Chamberlain, Neville.
RP: Chamberlain. Yeah.
AB: No, Eden —
RP: Eden was he was his foreign secretary.
AB: That’s right. The foreign one.
RP: Yeah. Yeah.
AB: Chamberlain was, “Peace in our time,” at Croydon airfield.
RP: That’s the one.
AB: Yeah.
RP: Ok. Well, I’d just like to say thank you. It’s been fascinating, and I do appreciate your time so thank you very much. That’s lovely.
AB: It’s all over is it?
RP: That’s, thank you. Yes. Thank you very much.
AB: Oh, I’m sorry if I’ve —
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 Alfred Barnett
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Rod Pickles
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021-08-11
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
00:33:21 Audio Recording
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.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
ABarnettA210811, PBarnettA2101
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Lincolnshire
Germany--Bad Nenndorf
Germany--Nuremberg
Description
An account of the resource
When Alfred’s mother’s house was destroyed during Luftwaffe bombing, he was determined to join the RAF and fight back. He trained as a gunner and completed two tours and a spell as an instructor. After his final tour of operations, he joined the British Bombing Survey and CSDIC (Combined Services Detailed Interrogations) based at Bad Nenndorf in Germany. He was also involved in the Nuremberg War Trials.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1944
100 Squadron
156 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
Botha
crash
Lancaster
Manchester
military discipline
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
RAF Grimsby
RAF Warboys
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1828/33474/EAdj35SqnRAFEylesCW441118-0001.1.jpg
770a667bc46118af5b7e8415e3d6a387
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1828/33474/EAdj35SqnRAFEylesCW441118-0002.1.jpg
341fdc429782a8556471db61e477b99a
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
Eyles, Bill
C W Eyles
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
2017-04-10
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
Eyles, CW
Description
An account of the resource
51 items. The collection concerns Bill Eyles DFM (900473 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book. notebooks, correspondence and photographs. He flew a tour as a bomb aimer with 78 Squadron and later a second tour with 35 Squadron Pathfinders.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Hazel King and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Transcribed document
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Transcription
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Royal Ai [censored words]
Gra [censored word]
Ref: 35S/S.1/26/5/Air. 18th November, 1944.
Dear Eyles,
Herewith certificate for the permanent award of the Path Finder Badge awarded to you on completion of your operational tour.
[signature]
Flight Lieutenant, Adjutant,
[underlined] No. 35 Squadron. [/underlined]
W/O C.W. Eyles,
15, Dales View Road,
[underlined] Ipswich, Suffolk. [/underlined]
[page break]
HEADQUARTERS,
PATH FINDER FORCE,
ROYAL AIR FORCE.
30th August, 1944.
To: 900473 Flight Sergeant Eyles, C.W.
[underlined] AWARD OF PATH FINDER FORCE BADGE [/underlined]
You have to-day qualified for the award of the Path Finder Force Badge and are entitled to wear the badge as long as you remain in the Path Finder Force.
2. You will not be entitled to wear the Badge after you leave the Path Finder Force without a further written certificate from me authorising you to do so.
[signature]
Air Vice-Marshal, Commanding
Path Finder Force.
(4159) M13466/M 1453 8/44 1000 BGH Gp57/9.
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
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Letter to Bill Eyles and certificate for award of pathfinder badge
Description
An account of the resource
Letter encloses certificate for permanent award of the pathfinder force badge awarded on completion of his tour. Certificate signed by Air Vice Marshall D C T Bennett.
Creator
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Adjutant 35 Squadron
D C T Bennet
Date
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1944-11-18
1944-08-30
Format
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One page typewritten letter and one page printed document
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Service material
Identifier
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EAdj35SqnRAFEylesCW441118
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Huntingdonshire
England--Suffolk
England--Ipswich
Temporal Coverage
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1944-11-18
1944-08-30
Conforms To
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Pending text-based transcription. Under review
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
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.
Contributor
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Alan Pinchbeck
35 Squadron
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Pathfinders
RAF Graveley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2044/33165/PProbynEA17010047.1.jpg
614f471d32f271ce8cfae934f08fee74
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2044/33165/PProbynEA17010048.1.jpg
1f0655e6fa19a920a0b1d6bda6b062cd
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2044/33165/PProbynEA17010049.1.jpg
650b7290f434d6904fec09a801f0fa45
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
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Probyn, Ernest. Scrapbook
Date
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2017-04-23
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
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.
Identifier
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Probyn, EA
Description
An account of the resource
42 items. Scrapbook containing photographs and clippings.
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Title
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RAF Memorials
Description
An account of the resource
15 photographs from an album. <br />#1 to 6 are of the RAF Memorial at Plymouth Hoe, also the final resting place for the ashes of Donald Bennett, Commander of the Pathfinders.<br />#7 is a memorial at RAF Silverstone. <br />#8 is a memorial at RAF Moreton-in-Marsh <br />#9 and 10 are the memorial at RAF Metheringham. #11 and 12 are of a Lightning tail fin at RAF Binbrook. <br />#13 and 14 are a memorial at RAF Fiskerton. <br />#15 is of a pub sign 'Black Swan' at RAF Skellingthorpe.
Format
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15 colour photographs on three album pages
Language
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eng
Type
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Photograph
Identifier
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PProbynEA17010047, PProbynEA17010048, PProbynEA17010049
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Plymouth
England--Devon
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.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
final resting place
memorial
Pathfinders
RAF Binbrook
RAF Fiskerton
RAF Metheringham
RAF Moreton in the Marsh
RAF Silverstone
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF Turweston
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1996/31990/SHoganPJ436464v20009.1.pdf
ddc8344c92266c46bf52a9d1afb896eb
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Title
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Hogan, P J
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-12-05
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.
Identifier
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Hogan, PJ
Description
An account of the resource
Ninety-six items and a sub-collection with twenty two items..
The collection concerns Flight Sergeant Pat Hogan (436464 Royal Australian Air Force) and contains letters home to his family, his flying log book, accounts of his aircraft being shot down and him baling out, official documents, certificates and photographs.
He flew operations as a navigator with 466 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Elizabeth Anne Lusby and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Transcribed document
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined] P/O Alan Shelton [/underlined]
On the 12th October 1980 I spoke with Pat Hogan who had been a member of the Air Crew of P/O Alan Shelton, (Moira’s elder brother.) I asked him in particular to tell me something of the events of the fatal night of 3/4 March 1945, over 35 years ago.
Pat had his official Log Book with him and we discussed the matter briefly. He asked for more time to recollect his thoughts, and, true to his promise, on the 2.11.1980 delivered to me his written remembrances of the events, which I reproduce below, word for word.
"As a prelude I will say that I was fortunate to attend the Annual R A A F Air Crew Europe Dinner on Grand-Final Eve in September 1979. The guest speaker had been flown out from England. Air Vice Marshall D.C.T. Bennett, C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O. was of Queensland origins. He joined the RAAF and qualified as a pilot at Pt. Cooke is the early thirties. He transferred to the R.A.F. because of lack of funds (& therefore opportunities) in Australia. He specialised in D.R. Navigation (Direct Reckoning) and wrote the R.A.F. Navigation Training Manuals. Pre-war he broke numerous world records in distance flying without refuelling and became recognised as the world's greatest authority in Air Navigation. Whilst commanding a Bomber Squadron he recognised the need for more accurate and skilful bombing techniques and so conceived the idea of a Pathfinder Force. It took him a long while to get the idea accepted by authorities but eventually became both the founder and Commander-in-Chief of Pathfinder Force. In so doing he became the youngest A.V.M. ever appointed at 34 years of age.
During his speech he repeated his conviction that [underlined] each [/underlined] and [underlined] every [/underlined] operation by a Bomber Command Crew over Enemy Territory was the equivalent, in terms of the danger of death, of any major military or naval battle.
In July I was posted to an RAAF Operational Training Unit (O.T.U.) at Litchfield in the Midlands. Litchfield was a moderately small town but
[page break]
had a large Anglican Cathedral.
All the trainees were addressed after lunch on the day we arrived. We were told we would be there about 10 days and that we were to mingle with trainees of all other categories and by the end of the ten days, the pilots were to form crews with people who were all individually compatable [sic] . Naturally the pilot was to be Crew Captain.
Within an hour or so a pilot approached me and introduced himself as Alan Shelton. We had a chat about our origins, background, families and interests. We soon got on to Aussie Rules and Alan's interest in South Melbourne. He asked whether I would like to join his crew as his navigator as he was sure we would have no worries in getting along together. I readily accepted and Alan took me to meet Roger Johns [deleted] h [/deleted] on [deleted] e [/deleted], whom he had known at Melbourne University. Rover was to be the Bomb Aimer.
We met several Wireless Operators and we all agreed that the diminutive and likeable Greg Dixon from Chatswood, Sydney was the one for us.
Roger Laing from Adelaide was to be the Mid-upper Gunner. Our first tail gunner was not medically fit and we got a real bonus when he was replaced by the big and friendly Bill Bullen. Bill (like myself) was from Bendigo but had been a sergeant in an Infantry Btn with the 9th Div. in North Africa, the only one of us with experience in warfare.
We found that by tea time on that first evening the four or five personnel who were not already in a crew were rushing about to looking for a vacancy.
I think Alan probably commenced learning to fly a twin engined Wellington (Wimpey) at this stage, doing take offs, circuits and landings - 'Circuits & Bumps' until going solo. The rest of us were attending lectures, escape duties etc.
The Catholic Chaplain at Litchfield was Fr. O’Mahoney, formerly of Xavier College and presently Parish Priest of Glenelg, S.A.
We were then posted, as was each alternate course, to the satellite station some distance away at Church Broughton, Derbyshire. When we arrived there was fierce bargaining with the outgoing course to proc-
[page break]
ure bicycles. We were housed in Nissen Huts but the landing field was about 2 miles away on land belonging to Rolls Royce. On the same land was another airfield heavily fortified and strictly out of bounds.
Our flight commander at Church Broughton was, at that time, the highest decorated Australian flying in the RAAF in England, Sqdn Leader Dave Shannon, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar. He was a veteran of over one hundred operations and had reached the ripe old age of 22 years. David, from Adelaide, got the direct hit that broke the wall of the Moehne Dam with the 'skip' bombs of the "Dambusters". His right leg was completely encased in plaster. Our imaginations ran wild on what had happened to him & we were somewhat disappointed to learn it was a result of some frivolity in the Officers' Mess on pay night at Litchfield.
We did intensive courses, lectures and simulated training sessions in our own categories. We came together flying as a crew in all sorts of exercises designed to give each of the crew the facility to improve his particular skills. This boosted the morale and confidence of each member of the crew working as a team and drove home the complete interdependence we had on each other under the quiet but firm leadership of Alan Shelton - hence we blended into a very harmonious unit.
Our relaxation periods, outings and social evenings were also a very important factor in the "getting to know you" process. We were not very interested in the local dances when we found they were alternately "White nights" and “Black nights" with the same girls in attendance. Authorities had learned that it was better to keep the American Negroes segregated. At that time our two favourite female singers on the BBC were Vera Lynn and Anne Shelton. Alan boasted that with such a lovely voice Anne must have some family connection in the distant past. Alan was even more sure when we saw a magazine (head and shoulders) photo with a very pretty face and long, well groomed, blonde hair. When we got a couple of days off we went up to London (Alan, Roger, Greg & I). The gunners had individual interests elsewhere. Anne was co-starring in a concert with one of the large bands – Alan aff-
[page break]
irmed that he would go around to the stage door after the concert to introduce himself. She certainly had a nice voice and a pretty face, but claims to relationship ceased when Alan found she was "like the side of a house", or a "Sherman Tank". At interval he declared he had seen enough (no - too much) and suggested we go to a favourite haunt of Australians wanting a feed "Dirty Dicks" off Fleet Street. We always enjoyed the steak at the sleazy one-eyed Greek's place. The fact that it was horse was not mentioned. The following night we went to a stage play. Just before the lights went out all eyes turned to see an elegantly dressed woman in an evening gown - most unusual in London at that time. Her companion was a large chap in a grubby overcoat, whom we recognized as Robert Newton. We had recently seen him in a film playing the Mad Hatter in "Hatter's Castle".
At first interval we went to the crowded bar and had had one drink when the bell went. The barmaid said to us "a gentleman has just paid for another drink for you". Around came Robert Newton and said: “Thats [sic] a bloody awful play, you might as well stay here and enjoy a few quiet drinks while the audience squirm in their seats". With a dead pan face he told us lots of stories about London, his dark eyes rolling and moving the whole time - just as they did when he later played Bill Sykes in Oliver Twist. He would not let us buy a drink but eventually put down a £1 note and said, "I wish I could show you the real London";"unfortunately I've got to go back and try to make peace. Someone might as well enjoy themselves - cut that out", and back he went.
We were in high spirits when we went down to the underground to make our way back to the Red Cross Club we were staying at. We were horrified to see the whole platform covered with people who had been bombed out that night. They were all so cheerful and making cockney cracks - "'Watch it cock, dont [sic] stand on me, stand on the missus, she's got more padding."
On completion of O.T.U Alan received his commission. Because there was a lot of fog and snow, flying was restricted at all levels from Operations over Germany to Training Units. Hence we were sent to a
[page break]
Commando Training Unit at Acaster Malbis a few miles out of York. Shortly before, this had been vacated by some of the famous "Red Devils" of Arnham [sic] fame. This course had the multipurpose of keeping us fit, tired and thus reasonably happy until we were ready to recommence flying at Heavy Conversion Unit at Riccall (York).
On arrival at Riccall in November 1944, we were introduced to the type of aircraft we would eventually fly on operation - the Halifax Mk 111 ("Halibags"). We were also introduced to much more sophisticated radar equipment, aids and skills. Just as importantly we also welcomed the seventh member of the crew - our new Flight Engineer. Wally Welsh was a tall, thin, shy, gangling, fair haired 18 year old youth from Devonshire. A little apprehensive for a start, he soon integrated very well in the crew of Australians.
Alan got on with the inevitable "Circuits & Bumps" in learning to fly the 4 engined Halifax. We all had long sessions day and night, attending lectures and learning new procedures to master new equipment with simulated exercises to tune our skills. As a crew we all had "circuits & bumps", whilst Alan practiced 3 engine, 2 engine and single engine landings. Then on to bombing practice, gunnery practice and cross country flights of long duration, both day and night.
A couple of incidents are worth recording at this stage. On a daylight exercise we caught up to and passed an "old Wimpey". With youthful exuberance, Alan gave the other pilot the V sign as we went past. To the amazement of Alan, the gunners and Roger, the Wellington flew past us with both engines feathered. Bill Bullen commented "Have a look at where the rear turret should be! It looks like a duck's arse with smoke pouring out". Without knowing it they had just seen their first jet engined aircraft, with Wing Commander Rolls in charge. He was from the high security base [deleted] near [/deleted] [inserted] at [/inserted] Church Broughton. Some of these four crew members could not work out how an old Wimpey could "leave us for dead” with neither engine working.
One night exercise was designed to take us virtually around England and Scotland. As we approached Lands End in heavy cloud we were tossed about in a
[page break]
violent electrical storm. Alan had to fight very hard to maintain control. When we got on top he asked me for a course designed to take us up about N/N/E off the Cornish coast to cross into Wales. When a break came in the clouds, Alan saw the coast coming up at the estimated time. Hence we all got quite a shock when anti aircraft flak started to burst around us for the first time. We realised we were over the small pocket of resistance still holding on to Dunkirk - our compass had gone haywire in the electrical storm. We came down to low level and "unflappable Alan" flew over the heavily fortified Southampton with Alan using the distress call "Mayday" and Wally firing. Red Verey Cartridges and we map-read our way back to Riccall.
On time off (e.g. 48 hours leave pass) Wally would head for home, the gunners had undisclosed plans and the other four of us usually headed for Leeds. On the first occasion we stopped at a large hotel built over the main railway terminal. We were told we could not go near the fourth floor as the whole floor was occupied by an Indian Maharajah and his entourage.
We came home about 1 a.m. to find the doorman asleep at his post and the lifts were out of action. We started up the stairs, and when we got to the 4th could not resist a look. There was no one about and we were intrigued by the variety of shoes and kneeboots, some with ornate silver and brass fittings, and outside the doors for cleaning. We all looked at one another and grinned with the one idea in mind. We spread the Indian boots and shoes on all 12 floors, as also all those of the other guests, including our own.
Alan was up early, dressed and in socks and demanding a frustrated "boots" ([deleted] or [/deleted] [inserted] a [/inserted] poor young bloke of about 75) to immediately find his new officer issue shoes- thence down to reception to join the queue of protesting guests.
On another occasion we went to Edinburgh, and stayed at the Victoria League Club in Princes Street. When we got in one evening, the hostess asked could we please stay in until lunch time the next day as the Royal Family were coming the next day and wished to meet all Dominion Airman staying there. With tongue in cheek Alan told her that would not be possible as we had arranged an escorted
[page break]
trip over the "Bass" brewery next morning. As it was only available once a week , we were sorry we would have to decline the kind invitation to meet the Royal Family. The hostess got on the phone to the manager of the brewery next morning and arranged a "private" tour the following day. Whilst we were waiting Alan introduced me to a Flt/Sgt Groves from Mordialloc. Just then we were asked to form a circle around the room and Alan and I were on either side of this chap. We were wearing name tags and the hostess introduced us all to the King, the Queen, Princess Elizabeth (in A.T.S. uniform) and little Meg, and we shook hands with each. Because of the King's impediment the Queen spoke to each third bod. She asked Ken "Where do you come from Sgt ?" = " Melbourne, Your Majesty" - "Which suburb "? - " Dudley Flats, Your Majesty" - "A lovely area isnt it, Sgt." - "Delightful, your Majesty". It was hard to control our mirth until we were out of earshot. See "Dudley Flats" Photo p.15
The 2 1/2 hours of stooging around the brewery, climbing ladders to look into smelly vats, definitely did not justify the supposed reward of a couple of glasses of free beer.
These stories are inserted to show that whilst we had to take serious risks, work long hours, take enormous responsibilities on young shoulders, we were also [inserted] fun [/inserted] loving boys at heart.
Leeds was a favourite spot for us is was easy to get to on leave at short notice. Also by this time we had found an [underlined] 'old' [/underlined] widow (Mrs Ackeroyd) who lived close into the city and would give us accommodation for a very nominal amount in return for a few food coupons. ‘OLD’ is all in the eye of the beholder. I am probably considerably older now than she was then. Apart from shows, Leeds was the "Black Market" Town of the North. Whilst we did not smoke the four of us always took our weekly ration of a carton of American cigarettes at a nominal fee. On one occasion in Leeds we were able to barter (in a pub) 2 cartons of Camels for a tin of Mushrooms, a tin of tomatoes and 2 Australian peaches (wrapped in cotton wool.) For a couple of days we dreamed of a magnificent feast on these delicacies. Off duty back at Riccall we got on the bikes and toured the
[page break]
farms buying eggs. It was highly illegal and we felt the price was exorbitant at three pence each but we eventually got 14 eggs. We obtained a loaf of bread, but how would we ever get butter. ? Alan said “Leave it to me". Next day he was almost hysterical when he turned up with 1/2 lb of butter. He told us he had got up early, gone to the Officers Mess and sat at a table where he knew a number of R.A.F. Instructors usually sat. He read the morning paper, folding part on his lap. He put the butter from the table in the paper on his lap and put the empty butter plate at the far end of the table. When the English Officers arrived he ordered his breakfast, still reading the paper and not involved in conversation. When his breakfast arrived he politely asked one of the R.A.F. Officers would he mind passing the butter please. As there was no butter the Englishman called the stewardess and ticked her off for not putting butter on the table. She said she had put it there. He said she obviously had not. She burst into tears but eventually produced another 1/2 lb. Whilst the English Officers discussed the dreadful proposition of a stewardess trying to pinch butter, Alan ate his breakfast and departed. The lass stopped him in the passage, apologised for crying and said she was grateful that Australian Officers were so kind and understanding, whilst English Officers were so harsh and cruel.
As a crew together we cooked our meal on the pot-bellied coal heater in the middle of our hut, and further cemented our crew relationship.
By mid-January 1945 we had been deemed a crew fully trained and ready for Operations. The only ingredient lacking was experience. We were sent to fill a vacancy on 466 Sqdn RAAF, Driffield. Driffield had been a pre-war ‘drome and "Bulldust Castle”, the living quarters, and all other buildings looked very imposing compared to any other station we had been on. On arrival we had a great feeling of humility, expectation and awe knowing we were the only crew on the Sqdn which had not yet experienced an operation over enemy territory.
Alan did his first operation as second pilot (2nd Dicki) with an experienced crew under the leadership of F/L Bob Molyneaux. (Bob recently retired from C.B.A. Bank and he and his wife Billie have settled in Anglesea).
Alan did another 9 operations as our Crew captain – the last
[page break]
being on 3/4 March 1945.
On 1st February, we were at last blooded, doing our first operation as a crew. We were checked into the briefing room by armed guards, the C.O. lifted a blind covering a large Map of Europe. We were to attack a railway junction and marshalling yards at Mainz. The Nav. Leader explained the route and how to gain or lose time if necessary - the bombing Leader described the type and quantity of bombs to be carried, the Met. Officer explained the expected weather and cloud conditions - Bill Harrison, the Intelligence Officer, explained the build up of enemy troops, tanks and equipment in the target area, pointed [deleted] our [/deleted] [inserted] out [/inserted] heavily fortified gun emplacements along the route, to be avoided, and finally eased the tension by giving us the address of Cooks in Mainz so that if we were shot down over target we could go to Cooks and book a trip home. Then a hurried couple of hours on flight planning, a meal, collect parachutes, into a truck and out to our aircraft.
Being a new crew we were allocated the worst aircraft on the Sqdn - K for King. The type of target is briefly described in my log book as Communications. We carried 7000 lbs of High Explosive Bombs. On the route in Alan had great difficulty endeavouring to get the required "revs" out of the engines. Consequently we were slightly behind and remembered all the wall poster warnings about the night fighters picking off the stragglers. Sure enough, Bill Bullen spotted a night fighter stalking us from the Port Quarter Beam. He calmly called out the reducing distances holding off his fire and as it got almost to its firing range and Bill gave the sharp instruction "Down Port - Go." Alan dived sharply to the left. The gunners opened fire as the fighter went over us, not being able to follow us with his extra speed We then rolled to starboard and climbed quickly to our operational height as the force of G hit us all in the tummy. I spent the next 5 minutes crawling around the floor retrieving calculator, protractor, ruler, pencils, etc. Again as a straggler we had trouble avoiding search-lights and anti-aircraft flak having to frequently change our altitude.
Over the target area there was a great amount
[page break]
of excited chatter as the gunners and Roger Johns [deleted]t [/deleted] on and Wally described the colourful bombing, the incendiary fires, the aircraft hit by flak and those colliding. I eventually chimed in with "How the bloody hell do you expect me to plot courses out of the target area if you keep gabbling?". Alan demanded quiet and all future reporting was brief and only when necessary. Roger inspected the Bomb Bay and found one bomb had 'hung up'. This necessitated releasing it in an allocated area in the North Sea. Here I had made a 'blue'. It is obvious that the area to drop these bombs would be on our route home and allied shipping would be kept out of that area. I had made an error in writing down the latitude of the bomb disposal area. Over conscientiously I took them 60 miles north of where we should have got rid of it, as Roger went down to release it. With the slow aircraft and me taking us the extra distance we were about 20 minutes late back to base in the old crate.
Neither or these basic errors occurred again and as we went on further operations we kept learning, always asking advice from experienced crews, improving our techniques avoiding the hazards and working better as a team. It was also necessary to develop a good relationship with the mechanics fitters, riggers etc who serviced our aircraft - the cigarettes are handy here.
Our fifth operation (20/2/45) was our most memorable one. Old K for King had oil pressure problems in warm up before take off. We were quickly transferred from the Worst aircraft on the Sqdn to the best. The standby was L for Love - belonging to the C/O, Wing Commander Alan Wharton.
As it turned cut the boffins (planners) goofed on this one. The idea was that the main stream was to bomb a section of the Dortmund- Emms canal. We were in a small group which flew over the main target about 15 minutes before the main stream to give Jerry the impression the target was further East. We flew on past our own target, a synthetic oil refinery at Reisholz with 8000 lb Bomb Load. After about 60 miles we turned back and approached our target. As we came in on our bombing run, from the comments of those looking we were flying into the moon.
We were in a line of four aircraft, almost wing tip to wing tip – two on our left – one on our right – in bright moonlight. We were attacked by ME109 fighters,
[page break]
being beautifully silhouetted for them. The bomber on our left dived to Starboard and the one on our right dived to Port, both underneath us. To avoid collision Alan had no option but to calmly continue, straight and level, and drop our bombs and cop it sweet from the fighter attacking us. An oil line was severed on the Starboard Outer engine and Alan had to feather it. Shortly after the Starboard Inner also gave up the ghost and Alan had to work frantically adjusting trim etc. Bill Bullen reported that a shell had gone right through his turret, front and back, about 1/2" above his head. The turret could not turn hydraulicly but "not to worry" he could turn it manually.
Greg Dixon and I saw out for the first time on an operation as a shell had grazed down the port side of the aircraft taking a 6" strip off the fuselage. Wally went on an inspection tour and reported the Elsom [sic] (Toilet-Can) had been blown to bits and the interior of the aircraft would scarcely pass examination by a Health Inspector.
Roger Johnson reported there was a 1000 lb bomb stuck in the bomb-bay and Alan found the hydraulics would not open the bomb-bay doors.
Wally Welch got busy transferring fuel from the Starboard Tanks to the Port Tanks. Alan kept coaxing L for Love along as we gradually lost altitude. Over the North Sea the Port Inner seized and [inserted] had [/inserted] to be feathered.
There was a crash drome near FLAMBOROUGH Head but not one of us questioned Alan's decision to return to Driffield or his ability to land on one engine with a 1000 lb bomb. He also found the hydraulics would not operate the [deleted] oboe [/deleted] [inserted] oleo [/inserted] legs (landing wheels). Control asked us to circle whilst more ambulances and fire carts were lined up. Keeping Wally to assist him Alan ordered the rest of the crew into the centre of the aircraft and to brace themselves against struts and bulkheads as firmly as possible to avoid breakage of limbs. He put her down beautifully [inserted] on her belly [/inserted] on the tarmac and seeing the sparks flying I
wondered whether the bomb would blow or the fuel ignite and we all made a hasty exit.
At this stage Alan Shelton was regarded around the squadron as a quiet, friendly, likeable young pilot, improving with experience. After this incident his stocks
[page break]
improved considerably and every one on the base became aware of him as they all went to have a look at the wreck. Air crew and ground staff - fitters, cooks, riggers, drivers, armourers, clerks - came and shook us all by the hand. Certainly Alan took a bit of ribbing for "writing off" the C.O's aircraft but the friendliness and admiration were gratifying.
We then then did 3 daylight operations - a different ball game. The second of these was to a synthetic Oil Refinery at Kamen to the North of the Ruhr Valley. The Germans apparently foxed us with camauflage [sic] and we evidently bombed a mocked up [deleted] facemile [/deleted] [inserted] FACSIMILE [/inserted] .
There was another abortive attack on Kamen in which we had no part. On the night of the 3rd March we set off on a more successful raid on this Oil Refinery.
It started with the usual joint crew briefings, explanations of target, hazards that might be encountered, type and weight of bombs to be carried, met. intelligence, etc. Thence to our individual sections for flight planning, off to the Mess for eggs and bacon and our chocolate ration for the trip. (Eggs and chocolate were on strict ration, available only to aircrew on a trip and expectant mothers.)
A rush to collect our parachutes and the cheerful lasses pointing out the large Wall Sketch with the caption: "It wont [sic] mean a thing, if you don’t [sic] pull the string" Near the parachute section was the Chapel and Fr. Baron our chaplain (from Lancashire) always waited in case we had the time to slip in. On this night Alan, Roger, Wilf Tobin (also shot down that night), several others and myself slipped in for less than a minute, received a General Absolution and Holy Communion.
The trip itself was undoubtedly the most uneventful we had encountered to date. We were fairly relaxed as we crossed the coast and were very surprised when the gunners reported a heavy barrage of Anti Aircraft fire from our own Coastal Batteries. We immediately correctly assumed that there were intruders in our midst and I gave Alan a course to take us directly to Driffield. This took us close to the Leconfield Airfield Circuit which we were supposed to give a wide miss.
We were the second aircraft back to Base. As we were on our landing approach, Joe Moss landed. Unfortunately
[page break]
one of his engines caught fire and he went into standard procedures to quell the fire. As we were about to touch down (Joe had not given the 'Runway Clear' call) Control called "Braemar to Rudkin Charlie - Overshoot ". Alan instinctively obeyed the command, gunned the motors to full revs; [deleted] replying [/deleted] “Runway Clear ", called Joe – alas too late for us.
The crew members who occupied the nose, Roger Johnson, Greg Dixon and I, always had to come back to benches in the centre of the aircraft for landing. It was called the "rest position".
Alan had to fly to an allocated height and rejoin the queue for landing. When we were instructed to land we approached once again. As we got down to about 200 feet the lights went out and with it an urgent message from control "Braemar to all Rudkin Aircraft - Scramble - Intr[deleted] e [/deleted] uders".
As Alan climbed again he urgently requested me to return to my navigation table and give him a course to another drome. In my haste I left my parachute in the 'rest position' - a mistake which undoubtedly saved my life.
As we were flying roughly West we went to dromes in that direction and found all three we went to blacked out. With the extra take offs we had used more fuel than normal and Wally warned we were getting very low. We decided to gain height to a safe 4000’, turn to the East, bale out and let the aircraft crash in the sea.
As we turned on to 90 o we were unfortunate enough to fly into the firing line of a Junkers 88 night fighter. The radial engines of a Halifax present a lighted circle from the front at night. It was relatively easy for the Hun to shoot out the four engines, a target rarely presented to him. Alan gave us the order to Bale Out, wishing us good luck very calmly and said he would try to control the kite. Under my chair was the front hatch which those crew members in the forward position were supposed to use to escape. I had to climb over 2 bulkheads to get to my 'chute. When I got to the mid hatch it was already open as Roger Laing had gone out. Wally Welsh was standing there looking at the flames. I pushed him out and followed immediately pulling my rip -cord as I went.
Wally must have waited to ensure he was clear of the tail-plane. His parachute had opened but did not break his fall, indicating he was under the safety limit of 800’ when he pulled it.
After my first headlong rush downwards, it was a
[page break]
relief in the darkness to feel the jolt as the parachute filled with air and I found myself sitting in the harness. I looked up and saw a bomber attacked and blow up. I was counting the parachutes opening when I hit the deck reasonably gently, as I was in a fallowed paddock.
After a fairly eventful night we [deleted] all [/deleted] [inserted] three [/inserted] arrived back at Driffield the next afternoon. We were grounded for some time and flew on one more operation on Anzac Day 1945, with a crew of four other 'odd bods'.
Bill Bullen was killed in the early fifties, after buying a saw mill at Beaufort. He was felling a tree and it crushed him. I saw Roger Laing in 1946 and 1947 but on my last couple of trips to Adelaide some years ago, I was unable to trace him.
Alan Shelton was a very likeable young man who got along with all and sundry. He had a very keen sense of humour - often concealed by asking a seemingly naive question which produced a hasty reply. He loved to make people 'bite'. He was healthy of body and mind, and clean of body and mind.
He was calm in everything he did even in his last moments. It was a pleasure to work with him and under him, as it was to enjoy his companionship. He was always quietly confident in his own ability and let each of his crew feel he had complete confidence in them. Mercifully Alan would have died on impact and would not have suffered.
This has been written on the days of Nov 1 and 2 It raises the thought that All Saints Day honors [sic] all the people who have made the grade into Heaven without being canonised - millions upon millions through history.
On All Souls Day we pray for the repose of the souls of our relatives and friends.
My final tribute to Alan Shelton is to suggest to his family that, instead of praying for him, they might try praying to him.
Pat Hogan
2/11/1980.
P.S. Alan, Roger and Greg were buried at Harrogate, Yorkshire. Wally was buried at Weymouth, Dorset, where his parents retired.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Pat Hogan's recollection of events on 3/4 March 1945 written to a relative of Flying Officer Alan Shelton
Description
An account of the resource
Recounts his attendance at an annual RAAF Air Crew Europe Dinner in September 1979 where the quest speaker was Donald Bennett. He then recounts his activities and training from July 1944 at Lichfield where he was crewed up and subsequently Church Broughton. He writes about visiting parts of United Kingdom on leave and of his other activities including meeting the royal family. Continues with his eventual posting to 466 Squadron at RAF Driffield and accounts of the crews first operations. There follows a long accent of the crew's last operation where on return the were diverted owing to German intruder aircraft in the area. Their aircraft was attacked by a Ju-88 and he had to bail out. He and another two crew survived. He continues with a tribute to crew member Alan Shelton. Ends with b/w photograph of a man sitting in front of a hut from the Melbourne Heralds Sun newspaper - reference meeting the Royal family on page 7.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
P J Hogan
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1980-11-02
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Fifteen page printed document
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SHoganPJ436464v20009
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
Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Staffordshire
England--Lichfield
England--Derbyshire
England--Yorkshire
Germany
Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
England--Selby
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Kamen
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-11
1980-10-12
1980-11-02
1944-07
1945-01
1945-02-01
1945-02-20
1945-03-03
1945-03-04
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Peter Bradbury
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
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.
466 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bale out
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bomb aimer
bombing
briefing
crewing up
Elizabeth II, Queen of Great Britain (1926 - 2022)
entertainment
faith
final resting place
George VI, King of Great Britain (1895-1952)
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
home front
Ju 88
killed in action
Me 109
military living conditions
military service conditions
navigator
pilot
RAF Acaster Malbis
RAF Church Broughton
RAF Driffield
RAF Lichfield
sanitation
shot down
training
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1773/31204/PFOMetheringhamAF19020016.2.jpg
a90bf2e12a5dce28d00bdf727cb4a316
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
RAF Metheringham collection
Description
An account of the resource
131 items. The collection is from the Royal Air Force Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre and contains photographs of aircraft, aircrew, other RAF personnel and places. Includes some target and reconnaissance photographs. Many items are concerned with 106 Squadron at RAF Metheringham and RAF Syerston.
The collection has been licensed to the IBCC Digital Archive by the RAF Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre 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
2019-01-31
Identifier
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FOMetheringhamAF
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is property of the Royal Air Force Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre which has kindly granted the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive a royalty-free permission to publish it. Please note that it was digitised by a third-party which used technical specifications that may differ from those used by International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive. It has been published here ‘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.
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Title
A name given to the resource
VIPs visit to RAF Gravely
Description
An account of the resource
Title 'Air Vice Marshall D Bennet [sic] and under secretary for air, Geoffrey Lloyd talking to 35 Squadron at Graveley'. Top - on the left an officer wearing tunic and peaked cap standing slightly to the right of a man wearing civilian suit sitting. On the right a group of aircrew wearing Mae West and parachute harnesses sitting on the grass. In the background huts. Bottom - on the left a man wearing civilian suit is talking to a group of aircrew wearing Mae West and parachute harnesses. All are standing. In the background a Lancaster. Both submitted with description 'AVM D. Bennett and Under Secretary for Air Geoffrey Lloyd talking to 35 Sqn Pathfinder aircrew at Gravely'.
Format
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Two b/w photographs mounted on an album page
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PFOMetheringhamAF19020016
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is property of the Royal Air Force Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre which has kindly granted the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive a royalty-free permission to publish it. Please note that it was digitised by a third-party which used technical specifications that may differ from those used by International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive. It has been published here ‘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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
35 Squadron
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Lancaster
Pathfinders
RAF Graveley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/743/31060/BCleggPVVerdonRoeLv1.2.pdf
83bc6da28284a7e751660162e8b591d5
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Clegg, Peter Vernon
P V Clegg
Description
An account of the resource
Eight items and five sub-collections. Main collection contains a log of Pathfinder operations from RAF Wyton 1943 -1944, histories of the Avro repair facility at Bracebridge Heath, and Langar, a biography of Squadron Leader David James Baikie Wilson, biography of Squadron Leader Lighton Verdon-Roe, a book - Test Pilots of A.V. Roe & Co Ltd - S.A. 'Bill' Thorn, and two volumes of book - Roy Chadwick - no finer aircraft designer, Sub-collections contain a total of 29 items concerning the Aldborough Dairy and Cafe as well as biographical material, including log books for Alan Gibson, Peter Isaacson, Alistair Lang and Charles Martin. <br /><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/1772">Aldborough Dairy and Cafe</a><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/1768">Gibson, Alan</a><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/1769">Isaacson, Peter</a><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/1770">Lang, Alastair</a><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/1771">Martin, Charles</a><br /><br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Peter Clegg 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
2015-07-02
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Clegg, PV
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Biography of Squadron Leader Lighton Verdon-Roe DFC RAFVR -156 (PFF) Squadron
The antics of Lighton, Alastair Lang and Peter Isaacson
Description
An account of the resource
Second son of Sir Alliot Verdon-Roe founder of A.V. Roe & Co Ltd to be killed in the RAF Bomber Command in WWII. Starts with b/w photograph of head and shoulders portrait of an RAF officer wearing tunic with pilot's brevet, medal ribbon, pathfinder badge and peaked cap. Continues with early life, joining the Royal Air Force, training and posting to one of the first pathfinder squadrons. Goes on to describe his operations from September 1942 including losses on the squadron. Introduces his friend Alastair Lang and describes various antics and further operations. Gives description of marking, H2S, Oboe and Mosquito aircraft. Writes of Peter Isaacson's arrival on the squadron and of further activities, antics and operations. Continues with account of Pat Day, their intelligence officer and further operations including one to Dortmund where Lang was shot down. Describes Lighton's last operation to Duisburg from which he failed to return. Concludes with round up and stories of Peter Isaacson and Alastair Lang.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
26 b/w photocopied sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Personal research
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BCleggPVVerdonRoeLv1
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
Royal Australian Air Force
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Gloucestershire
England--Shropshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Huntingdonshire
England--Yorkshire
Germany
Germany--Flensburg
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Cologne
Italy
Italy--Genoa
Italy--Turin
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Hamburg
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
France
France--Lorient
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Kiel
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1942-09
1942-09-01
1942-09-02
1942-09-13
1942-09-14
1942-09-16
1942-09-17
1942-09-19
1942-09-20
1942-09-18
1942-09-19
1942-08-18
1942-08-19
1942-08-28
1942-08-29
1942-10-15
1942-11-07
1942-11-08
1942-11-20
1942-11-22
1942-11-23
1942-12-09
1942-12-11
1942-12-20
1943
1943-01-30
1943-02-02
1943-02-03
1943-02-04
1943-02-07
1943-02-13
1943-02-16
1943-02-19
1943-02-24
1943-02-25
1943-02-28
1943-03-01
1943-03-03
1943-03-04
1943-03-08
1943-03-27
1943-03-19
1943-03-21
1943-03-28
1943-03-29
1943-03-30
1943-04-04
1943-04-05
1943-04-12
1943-05-04
1943-05-12
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
PV Clegg
156 Squadron
35 Squadron
460 Squadron
7 Squadron
83 Squadron
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
Flying Training School
H2S
Halifax
killed in action
Lancaster
Mosquito
Oboe
Pathfinders
pilot
prisoner of war
RAF Breighton
RAF Shawbury
RAF South Cerney
RAF Warboys
RAF Wyton
Stalag Luft 3
Stirling
target indicator
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1770/31052/BCleggPVLangAGv10022.1.jpg
bd1b34c463251da793a74f618c4429e0
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
Clegg, Peter Vernon. Lang, Alastair - folder
Description
An account of the resource
Fifteen items. Contains description of the terrible three, a biography of Squadron Leader Alastair Lang DFC, photographs, a portrait, details of his flight engineer, operational diary, correspondence, newspaper cuttings and extracts from his log book.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-07-02
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Clegg, PV
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force Station,
Wyton, Huntingdonshire.
16th July, 1943
Ref: WS/801/458/P2
Dear Mrs. Lang,
I am enclosing herewith a certificate of award of the Path Finder Force badge to your husband, F/Lt. Lang, which has been forwarded to me by his Squadron, and which I think you will like to have.
Yours sincerely,
[signature]
for Group Captain Commanding
[underlined]R.A.F. Station, Wyton, Hunts.[/underlined]
Mrs. B.E.V. Lang,
1 Station Road,
[underlined]Warboys, Huntingdonshire.[/underlined]
[page break]
Headquarters,
Path Finder Force,
Royal Air Force.
7th May, 1943.
[underlined]Acting Flight Lieutenant A. Lang, 114170
AWARD OF PATH FINDER FORCE BADGE[/underlined]
Having previously been temporarily awarded the Path Finder Force Badge, the above named officer who was reported missing on 4th May, 1943, is permanently awarded the Path Finder Force Badge.
[signature]
Air Commodore, Commanding
[underlined]Path Finder Force[/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
Two letters - Award of pathfinder badge
Description
An account of the resource
Top - letter to Mrs Lang enclosing certificate of award of pathfinder badge to her husband.
Bottom - mentions that Lang was reported missing on 4 May 1943 was permanently awarded the path finder badge.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Station Commander RAF Wyton
D Bennett
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-05-07
1943-07-16
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photocopied sheet
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
BCleggPVLangAGv10022
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Huntingdonshire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-07-16
1943-05-07
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
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
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
missing in action
Pathfinders
RAF Wyton
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1770/31049/BCleggPVLangAGv10019.2.jpg
1d0c0944df6a16ec9ee482f2cc95904e
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
Clegg, Peter Vernon. Lang, Alastair - folder
Description
An account of the resource
Fifteen items. Contains description of the terrible three, a biography of Squadron Leader Alastair Lang DFC, photographs, a portrait, details of his flight engineer, operational diary, correspondence, newspaper cuttings and extracts from his log book.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-07-02
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Clegg, PV
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Headquarters,
Path Finder Force,
Royal Air Force.
14th March, 1943.
Dear Lang
I should like to offer you heartiest congratulations on your Distinguished Flying Cross which is well merited, and adds further laurels to No. 156 Squadron.
Yours,
[signature]
Flight Lieutenant A.G. Lang D.F.C.
No. 156 Squadron,
Royal Air Force Station,
[underlined]WARBOYS[/underlined]
[two newspaper cuttings]
On award of the D.F.C. to Fl/Lt. Lang.
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 Donald Bennett to Alastair Lang and two newspaper cuttings
Description
An account of the resource
Top - newspaper cutting mentioning Lang's award of DFC.
Middle - letter congratulates him on award of Distinguished Flying Cross.
Bottom - newspaper cutting announcing award of DFC to Flight Lieutenant Alastair Grant Lang.
Creator
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D Bennett
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-03-14
Format
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One b/w photocopied sheet
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
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BCleggPVLangAGv10019
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--Huntingdonshire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-03-14
Contributor
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David Bloomfield
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
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IBCC Digital Archive
156 Squadron
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Distinguished Flying Cross
RAF Warboys
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1414/28327/MWareingR86325-161005-84.1.jpg
1ac88dd9f5fc6ffb6da90fe1fff10ee1
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
Wareing, Robert
R Wareing
Description
An account of the resource
258 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Robert Wareing DFC* (86325 Royal Air Force) and contains his flying logbooks, prisoner of war log book, memoirs, photographs, extensive personal and official correspondence, official documents, pilots/handling notes, decorations, mementos, uniform badges and buttons. He flew operations as a pilot with 106 Squadron. After a period of instructing he returned to operations on 582 Squadron but was shot down and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Andrew Wareing and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
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
2016-10-05
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
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Wareing, R
Transcribed document
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Transcription
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Headquarters,
Path Finder Force,
Royal Air Force.
19 th June, 1944
To:
Squadron Leader R. Wareing (86325)
[underlined] AWARD OF PATH FINDER FORCE BADGE [/underlined]
You have to-day qualified for the award of the Path Finder Force Badge and are entitled to wear the Badge as long as you remain in the Path Finder Force.
2. You will not be entitled to wear the Badge after you leave the Path Finder Force without a further written certificate from me authorising you to do so.
[signature]
Air Vice-Marshal, Commanding
Path Finder Force.
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
Note to Robert Wareing from Air Vice Marshall D Bennett
Description
An account of the resource
Award of path finder force badge, Qualified and entitled to wear badge.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
D Bennett
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-06-19
Format
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One page printed letter
Language
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eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MWareingR86325-161005-84
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.
1944-06-19
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
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jan Waller
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Pathfinders
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1414/28326/MWareingR86325-161005-83.2.jpg
0d9892be587ff1a64a9f65dd667417ea
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
Wareing, Robert
R Wareing
Description
An account of the resource
258 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Robert Wareing DFC* (86325 Royal Air Force) and contains his flying logbooks, prisoner of war log book, memoirs, photographs, extensive personal and official correspondence, official documents, pilots/handling notes, decorations, mementos, uniform badges and buttons. He flew operations as a pilot with 106 Squadron. After a period of instructing he returned to operations on 582 Squadron but was shot down and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Andrew Wareing 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
2016-10-05
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
Wareing, R
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
Path Finder badge certificate
Description
An account of the resource
Award of path finder badge to Acting Squadron Leader R Wareing DFC
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
D Bennett
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-08-10
Format
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One page printed document
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Identifier
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MWareingR86325-161005-83
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.
1944-08-10
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
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Pathfinders
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1414/27927/MWareingR86325-161005-240001.2.jpg
26609f30631eaa2bfb4fc104f5dce317
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1414/27927/MWareingR86325-161005-240002.2.jpg
be566dd098e171422a526e81b1ce84bd
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
Wareing, Robert
R Wareing
Description
An account of the resource
258 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Robert Wareing DFC* (86325 Royal Air Force) and contains his flying logbooks, prisoner of war log book, memoirs, photographs, extensive personal and official correspondence, official documents, pilots/handling notes, decorations, mementos, uniform badges and buttons. He flew operations as a pilot with 106 Squadron. After a period of instructing he returned to operations on 582 Squadron but was shot down and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Andrew Wareing 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
2016-10-05
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
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Wareing, R
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Notes on Bomber Command
Description
An account of the resource
Mentions formation of Pathfinder force. Gee, pulse phasing radar, new compasses. Continues with short note of H2S, OBOE. Lists locations and RAF stations.
Format
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Two page handwritten document
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MWareingR86325-161005-24
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--Lincolnshire
England--Cheshire
England--Yorkshire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Rutland
England--Grimsby
England--Chester
Scotland--Perth
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941-02-23
1941-09
1941-09-16
1943-08-02
1944-04-01
1941-08-08
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
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IBCC Digital Archive
106 Squadron
582 Squadron
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Gee
H2S
Oboe
Pathfinders
radar
RAF Coningsby
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Finningley
RAF Little Staughton
RAF Upper Heyford
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/194/27236/BAdamsHGAdamsHGv3.1.pdf
b629d8156eacb9d34cd9571706ae198a
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Adams, Herbert
Herbert Adams
H Adams
Herbert G Adams
Description
An account of the resource
88 items. Collection concerns Herbert George Adams DFC, Legion d'Honour (b. 1924, 424509 Royal Australian Air Force). He flew operations as a navigator with 467 Squadron. Collection contains an oral history interview, photographs of people and places, several memoirs about his training and bombing operations, letters to his family, his flying logbook and notes on navigation.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Herbert Adams and catalogued by Nigel Huckins and Trevor Hardcastle.
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
2017-02-15
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.
Identifier
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Adams, HG
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
The War … Training.
Towards the end of 1941, the Air Training Corps was formed. Terry Cooke & I joined at once, and, due to my surname, my number was 10 001, the first in NSW. We trained at Ashfield in Whitehurst’s garage (the showroom floor was devoid of new cars by then), and Whitehurst himself was the Squadron Leader in charge – he was an ex-pilot from WWI. One of the benefits of joining the A.T.C. was that it gave you accelerated position on the waiting list for air-crew … then about 8 months. Air-crew enlistment was very popular, I guess partly due to the Battle of Britain publicity & the realization that air power would play a big part in the war. The Japs had shown at Pearl Harbour that planes could sink battleships (putting them out-of-date forever!)
Our training in the ATC consisted mainly of learning Morse Code, aircraft & ship recognition of both Allied and enemy planes & ships. Terry was already an accomplished plane modeller, & he added several to the growing collection hanging from the ceiling … we studied them, learnt their names & tried to recognise them at a distance and in subdued light.
We also did some P.E. The “old” tubby Squdron [sic] Leader surprised us early in the piece. He got us all to do as many push-ups as we could. No one got beyond 30, several couldn’t do 10. He then proceeded to do 50! He had a table-tennis set up & was quite adept, so we all got a go at that. In the city at that time the world doubles champions had an academy in Pitt St. He invited them to put on an exhibition for us, including a set of singles for some of us against one of them. Two of their ‘stunts’ stood out. Zabados [sic] (the older) would say, “it’s an easy game, see” while returning shots with his back to Keelan (who was good enough to put the ball onto his bat.) Zabados [sic] then turned, faced Keelan & returned several balls using the edge of the bat!
[page break]
I had a set against Keelan, and despite him “setting up” chances for my topspin forehand, he won 21-6.
We were promised uniforms in the spring of 1942. But, although we were then on the waiting list for call-up for aircrew, compulsory national military training had begun. In June, Terry was called up for the Army, & sent to North Sydney for Artillery training. As both our birthdays were in February, I enquired why I wasn’t called up too. We both realized that 6/- a day with everything found made us rich compared with public service wage of about £3 a week … paying board & fares.
I was surprized [sic] to learn they had me “in reserved occupation”! After a lot of phone calls and a consultation, that was scrubbed and I was called up for the Army on 3rd July & sent to Dubbo for basic infantry training .. 54th Company of 5th Infantry Training Brigade, army number 252661. We did the usual rifle, bayonet, machine-gun, anti-tank gun, mortars, grenades, & gas-drills, parade ground drill (not too much), P.E., routemarches ending in the “mad-mile” … obstacle course … a bit like we see at Kapooka on T.V. It was a solid month. Then our corporal invited any of us who could drive a truck to step forward … for a course at Moorebank for a month, likely to have us become a driver on infantry transport. All 30 of us stepped forward! After trying us out in 3 ton Fords, about 20 of us convinced them we could double-shuffle … (one chap never managed to change from low … just grind, grind, grind … so he didn’t go.), & we got on the course.
At Moorebank (next to the big Army camp at Liverpool) we spent most days on practical work, especially on Bren gun carriers, including some driving. The gear linkage was a mirror-reverse of normal gear H pattern …. a bit hard to learn. Gentle curves could be made with the steering wheel which put a bed in the tracks, but for sharper turns, we’d change down 2 gears, hit the accelerator & turn the wheel sharply, which [indecipherable word] one track
[page break]
The carriers were quite heavy (1/4” armour all round) & driven by a Ford V8 Mercury engine, so there was a lot of stalling learning to do sharp turns. Some of the heavier work was repairing broken tracks. We also did a lot of learning how to take-apart carburettors, petrol pumps, mend punctures, change wheels etc. Then, each night we had lectures on all sorts of things to do with transport, including how engines worked, clutches, diffs, steering, electrical etc. I managed to skip a few of these night sessions, but still studied the manual they provided. At the end of the month we had a written exam. A couple of lads hadn’t learnt to read & write very well, and I guess many of the them [sic] hadn’t excelled at school. Anyway, I came top of the class & was invited to do a 6-month course at Sydney Tech College & come out Warrant Officer instructor, age 18! Wartime promotion! I was tempted, since it was well known that the loss rate in Air Crew was high. However, I turned it down, went back to Dubbo for a few more weeks … mostly working on Bren gun carriers, until I got the call-up for air-crew .. on 12th Sept to Bradfield Park, No 2 I.T.S. (Initial Training School).
[black and white photograph of Herbert Adams in Australian Army uniform]
This is my only photo in Army uniform, taken at “Springfield” Mendooran, about the end of August ’42, probably on a short leave after completing the course at Moorebank, on the way back to Dubbo.
[page break]
At Bradfield Park we were 32 course (one a month since the [inserted] Empire [/inserted] Air Training Scheme began early in 1940 to provide aircrew for Britain … training done in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa & Australia.) Each course was divided into several “flights” graded according to our tested speeds at receiving Morse Code. I was one of 25 in 32D flight, … I think there were 7 flights. We all wore “goonskins” & berets.
Photo taken on 6/10/42
[black and white photograph of four rows of men wearing boiler suits and berets at the side of a hut]
Front Row: F. Morgan, J. Chigwidden, R. Roeder, C. Dowie.
Second Row: E. Cunningham, R. McCallister, R. Schneider, P. Rutherford, L. Davies, J. Boatswain, J. Thorne
Third Row: J. O’Brien, J. Weekes, K. Burns, A. Marshall, R. Loton, P. Skerman, B. Adams, D. Nicholls
Back Row: M. Coleman, D. Milliken, G. Lumsdaine, G. Benson, P. Brander, D. Placell, A. Dufty.
[page break]
The course at Bradfield Park lasted about 3 months. There was a lot more Morse Code training, aiming at 20 words/min for us all. There was a lot of introductory training about Theory of Flight, Meteorology, Guns & ammunition, bombs, elementary radio, principles of navigation & bomb aiming. We also got an indication of what further training would occur, & where, for the main categories:- pilots, observors [sic] (combined navigation, bomb-aiming & air gunnery), & WAG (wireless operator/gunner).
All got a dental overhaul. I think there were some ‘trainee’ dentists. I was supposed to get 6 fillings one day. After drilling until only a shell remained on one tooth; in trying to extract it, it broke off & so had to be a cut-job to get the root out. I had that happen 5 more times, about a week apart. No doubt my teeth were chalky. I got a new bigger plate.
Sometime during the course I got a mild case of mumps & was sent to the isolation hospital, Prince Henry, near Malabar.
When I got back I became part of 33 course, but then they decided that part of 33 course would be “rushed” to join 32 course … more places to fill at the various training venues. Those chosen had to be reasonably fast at Morse Code; I qualified & so rejoined 32 course.
We did a lot of P.E. One of our regular tasks was a run down to Fullers Bridge & back (uphill). The P.E. instructors gave us recruits a lot of “get a move on you soft ------- s”. It’s true most of the recruits were soft, straight from civvy street, many from desk jobs. But a couple of us had been toughened up by infantry training & told them not to be so tough. The upshot was a challenge who could get to the top first – us or the P.E. instructors. We won, I guess partly because they could have been at the NCOs canteen after work … we had to be tee-total.
There was a lot of emphasis on marching; we found out why … we we [sic] the main lot to march
[page break]
in Sydney in support of a War Loan Rally. We marched 12-abreast & on some corners collided with onlookers & barricades due to the tendancy [sic] of marchers to push outwards on corners.
The food at Bradfield Park was generally fairly good except for their scrambled egg … it was made from egg-powder & found to be so distasteful that garbage bins were overflowing outside the mess huts with discarded scrambled egg. Yet, later, in England we enjoyed scrambled egg made from egg powder. Better cooks maybe?
Towards the end of the course there was a co-ordination test … perhaps to indicate suitability for pilot training. (The bulk of us young fellows wanted to be pilots.) The test required use of a joystick & rudder pedals to cause a light spot to follow a projected light spot. When our course was briefed to do this I was at the dentist & so had to do it later on my own. I suspect I wasn’t given adequate briefing; but the main drawback was because, as a youngster, I had a flivver … you steered it with your feet just the opposite way that rudder pedals work on a plane; it had a handle worked to & fro joined to a crank to the back wheels, like the old railway fettlers ‘trikes’. Whatever the reason, I knew I’d performed badly on the test. So when it came to ask for Pilot, Observor [sic] or WAG, I said observor. [sic] the reply was …”don’t you want to be a pilot? Why observor?” [sic] So I said that I knew I’d done badly on the coordination test, but I’d done well in Maths & Science at High School so I thought I’d make a good navigator (the main task of the observor) [sic] .. What I didn’t say, if I asked for pilot & they’d said no, you can train as a W.A.G. They agreed for me to train as an Observor [sic] at Air Observors [sic] School (No 1 A.O.S.) at Cootamundra, starting on 10 Dec. ’42 after a few days leave.
[page break]
We arrived by train at Cootamundra in the morning. As I threw my kitbag on top of the truck-load of them, I fainted & woke up in the local hospital. A doctor wanted to operate at once for appenicitis [sic] but needed written parental permission as I was under 21. They’d phoned home but had no way to get written permission in time so he got me to sign it. I think I was dilerious [sic] for 2 or 3 days. Mum & May had arrived & stayed at a hotel for a few more days. I was treated (lucky for me) with penicillin, which was relatively new in hospitals then. A large needle was taped to a buttock & graduated doses squirted in … so many CC’s, wait a few hours, more CCs, wait, etc. … it took 24 hours to complete. I had a rubber tube in my side which oozed out grey pus. After 2 weeks I thought I might go home. But I was kept there for 4 weeks. Then sent home still with an open hole in the centre of the scar which had to be dressed & covered … no swimming. Just as I was leaving they said “You’ll have to go and have your appendix out in about 3 months time … all we’ve done has been to teat your infection .. sort of gangrene.” I had 2 weeks sick leave at Mendooran, & did wade in the dam a few times while Beryl & Meggs swam & dived.
[black and white photograph of Herbert Adams in uniform]
This photo was probably taken during that leave in January ’43 at Springfield.
The white strip on our berets signified “aircrew trainee.”
[page break]
When I returned to Cootamundra, I was put on “Light Duties”, in the Navigation Instruments section where they stored, issued, repaired & received maps, dividers, parallel ruler, & C.S.C.’s (courses speed calculators). One person could easily handle it so I did almost nothing. In our spare time I helped his little money-maker – making brooches etc from moulded plastic (he got that free) … all he bought were the safety pins embedded in the back.
I actually joined 35 Course for a while and attended some of the lessons, but didn’t fly with them. However I did get to attend their passing-out dinner at the Albion Hotel, .. the lads normally drank there or at the Globe, opposite, on Sat. afternoons. Some of them did literally pass-out due to too much beer.
On 30th March ’43, I entered Forest Hill RAAF hospital where a big-name RAAF surgeon from Melbourne took out my appendix, kept me there for 2 weeks then I got 2 weeks leave.
On 29th April I got back to Cootamundra and did a few weeks with 37 Course, actually doing my first plane flight ever with them on 11th May … being airsick twice in 3 hours. I attended their passing-out dinner too, and finally began the Observors [sic] course 38A.
In the classroom we did a lot of dry-swim exercises of plotting air-plots, fixes, wind-finding as well as learning more meterology, [sic] signalling, radio, ship & plane recognition, compasses & map projections, & photography. On any flight over 2 hours I got air sick, as did several others … the inside of the old Anson actually smelt like vomit, which didn’t help. I & a few others got some treatment at sick quarters for motion sickness which entailed sitting (strapped in) in a machine than [sic] combined swinging & rotating. It didn’t seem to help. The Ansons were not heavy planes, but one day we taxied to the far corner, it was only a grass ‘drome in those days), & got bogged as we turned to take off. The 3 trainee navs. & the W.O.P. got out & pushed & we got it out.
[page break]
Here’s a bit about the Anson from an old book we used to learn aircraft recognition.
[four drawings of an Anson aircraft]
[black and white photograph of an Anson]
AVRO ANSON
Valuable operations against U-boats stand to the credit of the Avro Anson, a coastal reconnaissance machine readily distinguished by its long windowed “greenhouse” cabin. It carries a crew of three, is driven by two 350 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX air-cooled radial motors and armed with fixed machine-guns in nose and turret. The wooden wings have a span of 56 ft. 6 in.; the fuselage is metal, with fabric covering. The Avro Anson is also used extensively as a training machine. Top speed, 188 m.p.h.
We, later, also flew in Ansons at Parkes doing the Astro-navigation course, and at Llandwrog (North Wales) where we did “Advanced” (not very) Flying … really an introduction to navigating in Britain.
[page break]
At Cootamundra we flew 17 times for a total of 51 1/4 hrs, mostly day-time. Usually 3 trainee nav’s went on each flight, doing 1/3 of the actual navigation each. The other two practised map-reading, drift-taking, bearing taking (with hand-held compass). Our longest trip was to Parafield (S.A.) where we stayed the night. On the way over we flew above cloud nearly all the time, so no map-reading. The W.O.P. tried to get loop bearings on radio stations but these were often difficult to pick up & notoriously inaccurate. We got lucky – below the only break in the clouds appeared the town of Donald (surrounded by many miles of “nothing” for map reading). This gave us a chance to find the wind-velocity, readjust our course for Parafield & our ETA. We had a passing-out dinner, a weeks leave and a posting to Evans Head.
Below is the assessment for the A.C.S. course at Cootamundra … maybe a bit faint for copying from my log-book.
[table from log book between 27.5.43 and 19.9.43]
[page break]
On 20th Aug. ’42 we arrived by train at Casino, then RAAF transport lorry to Evans Head’s site of No 1 B.A.G.S. (Bombing & Gunnery School). We did a lot of classroom work on bombsights, bomb construction, and later on air-to-air & air-to-ground gunnery – the deflection problem, & operation of the Vickers Gas Operated machine gun. Our flying was done in Fairey Battle planes, some of which had survived the retreat from France (many didn’t, as they were no match for Me 109’s.). Although the Observor [sic] lay on the floor with his face just behind the radiator when bombing, getting hot glycol fumes, I was never airsick in them. Others were who hadn’t been sick in Ansons. For a typical bombing exercise we carried up to 8 practice bombs, dropped in separate runs on a patch of sand at the bombing range, where our error could be gauged & recorded. Before bombing, we’d use the drift recorder in 3 directions to find the wind to set on the bomb-sight. If our wind was wrong we’d get a bigger error than otherwise. My average error for 131 bombs was 123 yards although this included 45 from low level where the errors were smaller. I did only one night exercise with 3 bombs averaging 74 yards .. better than day-time. Total flying time for bomb-aiming was 60 1/2 hours for 19 flights.
For air-gunnery we would dip the .303 bullet heads in paint, load them into circular drum magazines and shoot at drogues towed by another Battle. Four different gunners, using different coloured paint, could fire at the same drouge [sic] before it was dropped & the number of hits recorded for each colour. The last of the 4 would often be shouted a mock dog-fight with the drouge [sic]-tower after he’d dropped the drouge. [sic] It usually included a loop the loop. The worst part of gunnery was cleaning the paint out of the magazines. I reckon my deafness may be due to the 1656 rounds fired with left forearm below the barrel, cheek alongside the breech-block of the gun mounted in the open rear cockpit on a spigot. My best result was 22 percent of 200 rounds worst 0 percent of 86 rounds (my first try) & overall average about 4 percent, I didn’t find it easy to allow the proper deflection.
[page break]
This is a bit about the Fairey Battle, from the same old aircraft recognition book.
[seven drawings and one black and white photograph of a Fairey Battle]
FAIREY BATTLE
This well-known medium bomber, which won an early reputation on the Western Front, has a distinctive feature in its long cockpit enclosure, terminating in the rear gunner’s position. A second machine-gun is situated in the starboard wing. Fuselage is slim and oval in section and the sharply tapering wings have a span of 54 feet. Power is provided by a 1,030 h.p. Rolls-Royce Merlin II or III engine giving a top speed of 257 m.p.h. and a range of 1,000 miles.
[page break]
We left Evans Head on 10th Oct, (no leave) and arrived at Parkes on the 11th, for a 1 month astro-nav. course. 1 A.N.S. (Air Nav. School). I think we were all promoted to L.A.C. after Cootamundra, getting (I think) an extra 6d a day. When we pass out at Parkes most of us will become Sergeants, some Officers and we’ll get our big O wing (O for observor [sic]), a sergeants pay goes up to 10/- a day.
Most of our days are spent in a classroom. We only did 6 flights (4 at night) totalling 20 hrs, in Ansons again. There was a lot to learn, including the names of the brightest stars in the Southern skies. The bubble sextants we used had a manual averageing [sic] mechanism. You turned the knob until the sun (or star) filled the bubble, pulled the trigger (back to zero) & did it again & again … I think 10 times, then read the average of your 10 sights … and in the air took the time at start and end, to the second (for most of us the first time we’d used a watch with a second hand). We began taking ground sights (so we knew where we were!) & ended up doing 92 of these on stars, the sun & a few on the moon. Our first “moving” sights were from the back of a truck on the smoothest, straightest part of the road Parkes to Forbes .. nice bitumen for those days. Every 4 sights took 2 pages of graph paper & calculations & for each one a position line drawn and error calculated. To keep the bubble centred & steady there needs to be [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] no acceleration or change of direction, so the back of lorry shots were rather inaccurate … and we had to calculate our position on the road to find our error. I still have 2 science graph books full of the working we did at Parkes as well as a Sight Log Book with all the details recorded, including those we did later in Wellingtons … all signed for & certified correct. During our 6 air flights I took 31 star shots, 7 sun, 3 moon and 1 planet, overall averaging about 5 miles error.
For air shots the plane needs to be kept straight & level with speed constant … later with autopilot in Wellingtons we got better accuracy.
[page break]
All those ground shots had to be done in our “spare” time, yet we were in the classroom all day 6 1/2 days a week except when flying. The peacetime course of 6 months had been compressed into 1 month. We had Saturday afternoon free & our instructor said he expected none of us to be sober by sundown. There was a written exam at the end of the month & I did well. I was made sergeant & we went straight to Bradfield Park again on 11th Nov. ’43 to await embarkation. I think we had a few days leave, then sailed on the SS Mt Vernon on 26th. It was an American troop ship with 600 of us RAAF & a lot of wounded/sick Yank soldiers who’d seen a hard time in the Pacific. We didn’t see much of them. We were all in one hold, 4-tier bunks, [deleted] all [/deleted] only narrow aisles between, portholes covered at night & no lights allowed as well. Luckily, we had a lad who played the saxophone well, so each night we’d have a few hours of songs before sleep-time.
The Pacific Ocean was fairly calm for about 10 days, we got our sea legs I think, because we then ran into 3 days of stormy weather (there were logs from the storms floating in San Francisco harbour when we arrived), but few of us were seasick. It was 10th Dec. ’43.
When we docked all our sea-kit bags were unloaded and the 60 of us observors, [sic] who’d been booked for Canada to do a Reconnaisence [sic] course there, were told they’d changed their plans for us, so we had to load our 60 kit bags onto a truck. Then they asked for volunteers to accompany the truck & load them onto the train there … promising that the volunteers would be into town ahead of the others. We’d heard of the “Top of the Mark” Hopkins hotel & agreed we’d all meet there. We volunteers were an hour later than the rest & when we got there they’d run out of all beer except Mexican, and it was worse apparently than American (which was sweet & fizzy). The real disappointment was missing the trip to Canada with the safe prospect of patrols in long-range Liberators over the Altantic, [sic] but instead destined for Bomber Command.
[page break]
[extract from a log book signed by Chief Instructor of the Air Observers Advanced Navigation Course]
[black and white photograph of two men and one woman. Herbert Adams is in uniform and the other man in a civilian suit]
October, ’43. Bert, Beryl & Meggs, just after completion of course at 1 B.A.G.S. Evans Head … on leave before going to 1 A.N.S. at Parkes.
In San Francisco we spent the night in a Transit Camp called Fort McDowell. The next day I bought a new watch with sweep second-hand, as we were told (before we sailed) that there was not enough issue watches in England for all Navigators. We didn’t have much time for sightseeing, saw the Golden Gate, Alcatraz & crossed the Oakland bridge to board the Southern Pacific train at Oakland on 11th Dec. It was a troop train, but with pullman cars like we’d seen in movies … aisle in the middle & little compartments to seat 4, but only 3 occupants, because at night a Negro porter pulled down an upper bunk for 1, & converted the lower seats & table to a double bed … he put on the sheets & blankets too. We all chipped in at New York & gave him a decent tip. There were steam pipes below the seats which worked well, except for the top bunk where I slept … on most mornings there were icicles hanging from the roof from my condensed breath.
[page break]
Our train rarely stopped for us to get off – it was often shunted on to a side track, to allow passenger &/or freight trains to pass.
[black and white photograph of a train]
This is one such diesel Steamliner express at Denver, about to leave for Chicago.
We were allowed off at Denver for 2 hours. I stopped at a chemist shop which also sold watches and asked if they could fix my new watch which had stopped after 1 day! The man fixed it in a few minutes with a dab of oil I think. He didn’t want any payment, but said he’d like an Australian kangaroo penny. I gave him the 4 I had. He thought that too generous! and came forth with a gift of a leather wallet … generous American.
As a group of us were walking back to the train a civilian noticed our little AUSTRALIA strips on our shoulders and said to us .. “Say, boys, I didnt [sic] know AUSTRIA was on our side in the war.” He was keen then to ask us all where in Australia we were from, a bit about our training & the boat trip.
Americans cooked our meals, which were then brought through the carriages by rotating teams of volunteers. For each meal we got a big stainless steel ”tray” of 5 compartments; if it was lunch we’d likely get a ladle of meat in one, a ladle of vegetables in each of 3 spaces, a ladle of sweets in the last & then a ladle of what we reckoned was plum jam spread over the whole lot! But it was nice food.
At Chicago we stopped for about an hour in a huge marshalling yard several tracks away from a platform. As there was snow on the ground most of us got out to have a snow-fight (I’d never seen snow). We soon got back in the train … it was -30o outside, & a chilly wind!
[page break]
On the train, as on the boat, we spent a lot of the daylight time playing cards, mostly pontoon for money but sometimes 500 for fun. Pontoon is a bit like Blackjack, but fairer to the non-banker players, and, I think allows a lot more judgement & maybe skill. On the train we put the limit bet up to 25C (from 2/-), which meant the maximum win possible after double & redouble, getting 5 under 21, which pays double, for $8 win … although that rarely happened.
At New York we went to a Transit Camp, Fort Slocum on 19th Dec. We had 2 days free in the city. I can’t remember much that I did besides going to the top of the Empire State building, going to an ice hockey match at Madison Square Garden, (I hadn’t realized what a rough game it was) sitting so high & far from the rink that I couldn’t see where the puck flew to when a shot missed the net, and having a leisurly [sic] drinking session – their beer seemed light & fizzy at Jack Dempsey’s Spagetti [sic] Bar. We tried the spagetti [sic] … I’d only ever had it from tins with tomato sauce, but there, it was just a big plateful of boiled spagetti [sic] with hard, dry, grated cheese in a shaker, no ketchup either.
From Fort Slocum we were taken to the harbour & loaded aboard the I’le de France on 22nd Dec. It wasn’t a very big troopship, but was stacked with American Army men going to U.K. ready for the invasion in June. Our lot was crammed into a cramped hold (?) below water-level, near the stern … the sides we [sic] quite sloped; the only access to the showers & toilets on the deck above us was up 2 vertical latters [sic] & through round waterproof doors (if closed) in the roof.
[page break]
And they had a plumbing problem with that bathroom, the toilets had overflowed onto the floor … we had to paddle through a couple of inches of watery muck to up more stairs to another bathroom. We were not happy, especially when they did a Boat Drill next day & it took our lot 2 hours to get up on deck.
Still we sailed on the morning of Xmas Eve, got as far as the Statue of Liberty, where the ship broke down – engine trouble, - and was towed back. Eventually, we were fed sandwiches about 9 p.m. The next morning they said we could wait on board for a meal (sometime) and get paid, or go off to the city without either, where there would, maybe, be American civilians willing to take us home for Xmas Dinner. We did that and a nice man Mr Richie took 3 of us to his home in Mt Vernon.
We got there about 1 pm, found the lounge room beautifully decorated for Xmas, a tree lit up, and drinks offered round. We were hungry & wondered when the dinner would begin. But the talking and sipping continued until about 7 pm when we sat down to a sumptuous meal, he carved the turkey, we had second helpings & they remarked that we had good appetites. He took us back to Fort Slocum & arranged to meet us at his factory on the 27th.
[black and white photograph of the front of a house]
Mr. Richies home in Mt Vernon, N.Y.
[page break]
His factory, among other things, made good quality hankerchiefs. [sic] He presented each of us with 1/2 dozen very nice ones, then took us to a businessmens’ [sic] club where we had a few drinks .. we weren’t allowed to buy … it was all paid by the member himself signing a chit … no cash appeared. He took us back to Fort Slocum for the night and we had 3 more days to wander about New York, spend what little money we had left; I think I went to a cinema or two, but can’t remember the films I saw.
On New Year’s Eve we were loaded aboard the Queen Elizabeth which had been converted to a troop ship earlier in the war … some of the cabins had been finished, other parts not … which allowed for even more bunks for troops. We got a double cabin with bathroom … each 6’ of wall had 3-tier bunks so 18 of us fitted in the cabin. We found that on the 3 (I think) open decks where there was a walkway about 10’ wide all round between the rail & cabins walls that they had 3-tier bunks, bolted to the cabin walls and U.S. Army men used them to sleep in 12 hour double shifts. I heard that they put over 20 000 troops aboard. We went to big dining rooms for a meal, twice a day. It took 4 hours for the first meal, a clean up, then 4 hours for the second meal. When it came to Boat Drill all the decks were crammed, all the big wide staircases & still many in corridors. Big fast ships like the Queens travelled alone relying on their speed for safety, cargo ships went in convoys at the speed of the slowest ship, escorted by the Navy & shephered [sic] by long-range aircrafts. A couple of days out we were told
[page break]
that they thought there was a U-boat pack waiting in Mid-Atlantic & so this ship was going to divert well North … up towards Iceland, at maximum speed. They told us to put on warm clothes as they would turn off the cabin heating to get more heat for the engines! One of the crew told us at Greenock, later, that they got to about 40 knots.
The Atlantic was fairly rough & all the rails seemed to be occupied by seasick Americans, but our 2 weeks on the Pacific apparently cured us. We spent most of the time playing cards – the pontoon games were now lowered to a 2C limit. Anyone who’d managed to retain a few dollars could get into crap games (dice) which the Americans played a lot of.
We actually sailed from New York on the morning of New Years Day, and arrived at Greenock, Scotland, near Glasgow, on 7th Jan. Several of the crew were Australians, and one of them took a few of us for a tour of parts of the ship not normally open to passengers. We climbed up inside the mast on narrow steps to, I guess, the crows-nest … it was so high as to be scary even though it only swayed a little, being anchored. He showed us a big gun near the bow … about 6” I think, and maybe 40’ above the water. He said that on a previous crossing ploughing through big waves that the previous gun had been torn from its mountings (bolts about 2” thick). We saw the kitchens & engines … it was great.
By nightfall we’d been loaded onto a train which arrived next morning at Brighton where the RAAF had taken over 2 of the big hotels on the waterfront the Grand & the Metropole, both about 8 floors high.
[page break]
We stayed at Brighton, No. 11 P.D.R.C, until 21st Jan. There were some lessons, a chance to begin learning the main stars ion the Northern Hemisphere – even on cloudy nights we could make use of a planisphere to learn the names & relative positions of those stars. I guess they consulted our records & maybe our log-books, but here they decided who would be navigator, who bomb-aimer, which pilots would go to Bomber Command & which to Fighter or other smaller planes. Sid Payne who’d trained at Cootamundra with me after earlier doing EFTS at Narromine and being “scrubbed” during SFTS at Uranqunity, became a bomb-aimer & I a navigator.
However, the first thing that happened after we got to Brighton was to be sent on leave for a few days. They had an arrangement called the Lady Ryder Scheme, where new arrivals could go to a private home as a guest for a week. My hostess was Mrs Adams, who had a nice house (modernised internally), called Huntercombe Farmhouse, Huntercombe Lane, Taplow, Buckinghamshire, not very far from Windsor. She made me feel at home but had to be absent almost the whole week – she gave the doorkey & said to help myself & recommended I visit Margaret Vyner, an Australian actress, who lived at Dorney Village, between Taplow & Windsor, & who was reputed to like having an Australian visitor. I did that & also met her husband Hugh Marlowe, a handsome English actor (he played The Saint in a film). They took me to the nearby Pub for a drink & yarn. While there, David Niven turned up in uniform (Army Captain) just back from North Africa on leave, with a case of brandy.
[page break]
I guess I was pretty much ignored as they’d been friends for years, & once they started on the brandy I took my leave. While staying at Mrs Adams’ place I visited Eton College and Windsor Castle.
[black and white photograph of Mrs Adams’ house]
Mrs Adams’ house, Huntercombe Farmhouse, Taplow, Bucks.
[black and white photograph of the pub, The Palmer Arms, with a bicycle leaning against the wall]
The Pub next door to where Margaret Vyner & Hugh Williams lived in Dorney Village, between Taplow & Windsor.
[black and white photograph of Eton College]
Eton College
[black and white photograph of the chapel at Eton College]
The Chapel
[page break]
During my first visit to London, Jan ’44.
[black and white photographs of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben]
Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben
[black and white photographs of the interior and exterior of St Paul’s Cathedral]
St Pauls Cathedral
[black and white photograph of Buckingham Palace]
Buckingham Palace
[page break]
[black and white photograph of Eton College]
Eton College
[black and white photograph of the chapel at Eton College]
The Chapel
[black and white photograph of Windsor Castle]
Windsor Castle
[black and white photograph of Windsor Castle]
From the Railway Station
[black and white photograph of Windsor Castle]
From the Soccer Fields
[page break]
On the short rail trip back to London from Taplow, David Niven was in the same compartment, with 6 other people. We merely said good-day; I think he had a hangover.
Back at Brighton, towards the end of our time there, a few of us navigators were interviewed by Group-Captain (later Air-Vice Marshall) Bennett, in charge of Pathfinders. He told us that when he first formed Pathfinders and asked the squadrons for proficient crews to volunteer, a lot of them got rid of crews who were troublemakers and their navigators not often their best. He offerred [sic] us the opportunity of skipping the other training we’d normally do, to go direct to Pathfinders where they’d train us their way; but of course, we’d have to do a second tour straight after the first tour. The end of the war seemed still a way off, and Pathfinders had to spend extra time at each target, so he got few takers, certainly not I.
I’ve saved a few postcards of Brighton, printed pre-war. In wartime they dismanlted [sic] a section of the 2 piers to prevent enemy landings.
[black and white picture postcard of East Cliff and Palace Pier, Brighton]
[page break]
[three black and white picture postcards of Brighton Pier, Brighton Beach and Preston Park, Brighton]
[page break]
While at Brighton we had a few hit & run air raids at night … it wasn’t far across to France. At first we went down to the basement, but stayed in our rooms for the others. Late on 21st Feb. we got on a train, which after a change or two and a truck ride we arrived at Llandwrog, North Wales, No 9 (O) A.F.U. on the 22nd. It was a war-time dispersed camp, several miles south on the coast from the narrow [inserted] Menai [/inserted] strait next to Angelsea, [sic] where Sid Payne was to do his Bomb-Aimers A.F.U. (Mona airfield)
The sleeping quarters were in Nissen huts below sea-level separated from the beach by a sea-wall. Therefore, there was no running water or sewerage. We had garbage tins between each hut to use as urinals at night … sometimes they ran over. There were hundreds of RAAF bicycles … you could take any you saw and leave it where you liked. To our east were the runways, then the hangars, the messes & toilets, showers & laundry facilities, about 1 1/2 mile ride.
We were to spend just over a month there; the flying in Ansons again. We found map-reading difficult; whereas in the Riverina there was lots of open spaces devoid of railway lines, towns etc, in the U.K. there seemed to be too many roads, rivers, towns … difficult to tell one from another, especially since there was mostly a lot of cloud about.
Our aerodrome was only a few miles from Mt Snowdon, the highest mountain south of Scotland. We were told that 13 Ansons had crashed on it during training flights (not all from Llandwrog). So beware. Our staff pilots, when returning to where the navigator said was (below the clouds) our ‘drome, they’d fly west for 10 minutes to descend over the Irish Sea, … just in case.
[page break]
On each flight, 2 trainee-navigators were on board, one to do the exercise and be assessed on it, the other to do practice map-reading, astro shots, drift reading etc. We did just under 36 hours of flying in 13 flights. In Australia, none of the Ansons had heating for the crew, but here it seemed after 5 flights, that they all did. Until the night of 5th March. We took off at 1910 & flew for almost 3 hours, & the plane was nice & warm, as usual, so we just wore our battle-dress uniform. After de-briefing, we were sent on another similar flight at 0250 (early morning), for 2 3/4 hr flying. But the plane wasn’t heated and it was about -30o at 4000! I was supposed to take sextant shots which required tracking a star, eye to the eyepiece for 2 minutes while the clockwork mechanism averaged a lot of readings (maybe 60). It was hopeless. The tears in my eyes began to freeze and I saw circular rainbows before the 2 min. elapsed. We just had to suffer the cold. The heating worked on our remaining 5 flights. My assessments ranged from 65 percent to 81 percent, with a mean of about 71 percent and a remark (written in log book): “average navigator, works hard and is keen.”
One funny thing happened there. Between the hangars & the mess was a wide expanse of bitumen. We saw two airmen on bicycles riding towards each other (not very quickly, luckily) … both tried turning away on the same side, then both back, until their front tyres met squarely head on catapulting both to fall on the tangled bikes.
We had a day off at weekends and visited Caernavon [sic] & Conway castles.
[page break]
[black and white photograph of Herbert Adams and another airman leaning against a hut]
With Col McLaughlin beside the instruction hut at Llandwrog.
[black and white photograph of Herbert Adams, smoking, standing in front of a Nissen hut]
Beside our Nissen hut, below sea-level at Llandwrog, N. Wales,
[black and white photograph of Herbert Adams standing at the bottom of steps at Caernarvon Castle]
At one of the entrances to Caernarvon Castle.
When Val & I revisited in 1994, Val took a photo of me in the same spot.
[page break]
[cutting with photograph detailing the Tail Drift Sight, Mk. IVA]
We seldom used the tail drift sight, preferring to use the bombsight fitted to the Ansons, (not all) but the Fairey Battle had one something like this (simpler). Once we got on to Wellingtons (& later) we had GEE and no longer bothered to find drifts.
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
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The war - training
Description
An account of the resource
Writes that he joined newly formed Air Training Corps at end of 1941 as this would give an accelerated position on the waiting list for aircrew. Describes training and sports. Called up into army 3 July 1942 and describes training in basic infantry and as a driver. After exam, was offered course at technical college and position as warrant officer instructor but turned it down. Called up into Royal Australian Air Force 12 September 1942 and initial training at RAAF Bradfield Park and writes about training there. Describes coordination test as pilot which he believed he fails and opting for navigator training. Posted to Cootamundra he fell ill which delayed his course but when recovered goes on to describe his early navigator training on Anson. There followed in August 1932 bombing and air gunnery training school at RAAF Evans Head where he flew in Fairy Battle followed by astro-navigation course at Parkes NSW. He then goes on to describe his journey to the United Kingdom(departed 26 November 1943) via the United State (crossed by train) and then by ship from New York to Greenock. Covers activities in England in Brighton and other locations before training in North Wales on Anson which he describes in detail. Memoire also contains photographs of people, aircraft and places as well as a diagram of the tail drift sight MkIVA.
Creator
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H G Adams
Format
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Thirty page handwritten document
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Photograph
Identifier
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BAdamsHGAdamsHGv3
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Spatial Coverage
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Australia
New South Wales--Ashfield
New South Wales--Liverpool
New South Wales--Lindfield
New South Wales--Evans Head
New South Wales--Parkes
United States
California--San Francisco
Illinois--Chicago
New York (State)--New York
Great Britain
Scotland--Greenock
England--Sussex
England--Brighton
England--Berkshire
England--Eton
England--Windsor (Windsor and Maidenhead)
California
Illinois
New York (State)
New South Wales
Temporal Coverage
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1942-07-03
1942-08-20
1943-10-22
1943-12-22
1944-01-01
1943-10-26
1944-06-21
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
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.
Contributor
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Tricia Marshall
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
Battle
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Bombing and Gunnery School
military living conditions
military service conditions
navigator
Nissen hut
Pathfinders
RAF Llandwrog
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1664/27100/PStreetM2001.2.jpg
fff6293c76379d8f86e7f4061dc99162
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1664/27100/AStreetM200727.2.mp3
ede1ebe552a32226917ae9b0f4199566
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
Street, Gillie
Maude Street
M Street
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2020-07-27
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.
Identifier
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Street, M
Description
An account of the resource
One item. An oral history interview with Gillie Street (b.1920), who was stationed at various RAF stations in England as Women’s Auxiliary Air Force member and worked with Donald Bennet.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Transcribed audio recording
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JH: Morning, this is John Horsburgh. I’m in the lovely town of Orange in central New South Wales, Australia, it’s the 27th of July 2020, and today I have the privilege of interviewing Gillie Street, who was a WAAF in World War Two in the UK, and the interview is part of the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln, the Oral History Project. Good Morning Gillie. Can we start right at the beginning, such as, where and when you were born?
GS: Well, I was born in Aglionby, a small village, near Carlisle in Cumberland.
JH: Is that on the, near the border with Scotland?
GS: Er, roughly yes.
JH: Yes, I know it, and tell me, tell me something about your childhood?
GS: Well, my father died when I was only eighteen-months-old, and eventually my mother married again, a gentleman who was twenty years older than she was, and we went to live on Tyneside.
JH: Ok, that was a big move.
GS: Yes, it was a very big move, er, I remember as a four-year-old, roughly, going on a train and that’s all I remember about it, but I spent my early years on Tyneside, and at eleven we went back to Cumberland because my step-father retired.
JH: Yes, and I think you told me before, at some stage, when you were growing up you actually flew, there were some Barnstormers in the area, and your mother arranged a trip?
GS: Yes, that was after we went back to Cumberland.
JH: Back to Cumberland, yes.
GS: Yes, and I went to a grammar school in Brampton, which was a small town, went by bus every day, and it was at Brampton that the Barnstormers came.
JH: So, what, what were they doing?
GS: Just flying and showing off generally, you know, and you could, they’d take you for a flight.
JH: Yes, so what did you think of that?
GS: And my mother, of course my mother was there, my step-father wasn’t but my mother was there, and she said I could have a flight, so I took one, naturally [laughs].
JH: That’s where you got the bug.
GS: Oh yes, I think so, probably, I don’t know.
JH: So, so you left school, left grammar school.
GS: I left grammar school.
JH: And I think you then headed to London at some stage?
GS: Well, when you, in those days, university was practically impossible if you didn’t have money, because you had to do another year at school, to do your entrance exam, and er you know, I wanted to be a vet but there was no chance of that. So, so anyway, you either went to university, you were a nurse, or you were a teacher, anyway, or you were a secretary, you know, and I took the secretarial training.
JH: So, you did some training, locally or in London?
GS: Oh yes, locally in Carlisle, and then you took your exams, your service exams, you know civil service, and I finished up in London with two other girls from Carlisle, and er, we all were in together, and you know, we were all in a hostel in London.
JH: So, this is just before the war?
GS: Just before the war, ‘38, 1938.
JH: Yes, in the civil service. So, tell me how was it that you volunteered for the WAAF’s? I know that you’d had a flight, in the Barnstormer's?
GS: Well, when the war broke out, they sent all the staff of the health department, of the area that we were in, they sent us to Birmingham.
JH: Ah.
GS: And we had to take our typewriters with us, as part of our luggage, and they were heavy [laughs].
JH: Yes, was this evacuating London?
GS: Evacuating, yes.
JH: Because of the blitz?
GS: Yes.
JH: Oh, I see.
JH: Oh, it was before the Blitz started, right at the very beginning, and that first summer, first winter, was the coldest winter in years, the first winter of the war, it was terrible and Birmingham was awful [emphasis].
JH: A bit bleak?
GS: Oh, bleak town yes, and I thought you know, gotta be something better than this.
JH: Yes, yes, so when you, when you volunteered for the, um -
GS: So, I volunteered for the WAAF.
JH: Were, did some of your friends also volunteer?
GS: No, no, they didn’t. The two girls who I was with, one went back to Carlisle because her mother was ill, and the other went back to her family in Keswick -
JH: Yes
GS: Er, afterwards, you know, after some time.
JH: The Lake District.
GS: But no, I joined the WAAF and we went down to somewhere near London, I can’t remember where, and did six weeks training.
JH: Was that square bashing and marching up and down?
GS: Oh yes, yes, the usual things, yes, the usual things. I mean it was all new to us but, you know.
JH: Yes, so presumably you passed, with honours.
GS: Oh yes, well I passed [laughs].
JH: And how, what was the next thing that happened? How were you assigned to a division in the air force? What happened there?
GS: Well, most of my postings were to the, to the station headquarters, which is where the main clerical staff were. So, my first posting, posting was to somewhere on the, somewhere on the North Sea, on the North Coast of Britain.
JH: Durham, would it be?
GS: Somewhere round Durham, somewhere between Durham and Newcastle, I don’t think the aerodrome is there now, but they were coastal command.
JH: Coastal, yeah, operating in the North Sea, obviously.
GS: But I didn’t stay there very long and then I was sent down to um -
JH: Was it Middle Wallop?
GS: Middle Wallop, yes.
JH: Yes, which was a fighter base?
GS: Yes, it was still being built, it wasn’t finished but the aerodrome and the men’s quarters were finished, and the mess was finished, the rest was being built.
JH: Yes, so were you -
GS: We were in married quarters, the WAAF, we took over the married quarters.
JH: Ok, yeah, and erm, of course it featured in the Battle of Britain.
GS: Yes.
JH: And, I believe it was part of the German offensive, they actually attacked Middle Wallop, and you experienced that?
GS: Yes, well first of all they attacked the coastal, just the coastal and all the radar stations along the coast, and then after, maybe a week, or two weeks, or something, they started moving inland to the aerodromes, just in from the coast.
JH: Yes, this would be 1940, we’re talking?
GS: 1940, yes. So, we were sort of part of the second, the second lot of attacks.
JH: Yes, yes, tell me, tell me what happened, there was one day, a fairly violent attack?
GS: Well, well, well, it was totally unexpected, we weren’t expecting to be attacked, and I was with my -
JH: So, you had no warning?
GS: I was working with the adjutant then, you know, the head of the station and I was his clerk, and we heard the commotion going on, and we, both of us rushed out to the front of the headquarters, to see a Jerry coming straight down to attack the guard room, firing as he went of course. Which meant that we retreated hastily back inside, and took cover [chuckles].
JH: So, from what you’re saying, you didn’t have shelters, or?
GS: No, not at that stage.
JH: At that stage.
GS: No, well, any that were, were just, erm, Anderson shelters, which were just covered with dirt, and we weren’t near any of them, the buildings were better positioned.
JH: Yes, so you’re inside, I guess you’re all trying to get under a desk, or two, was there a bit of a squeeze there?
GS: Yes, and I lost to my adjutant, who was rather a portly gentleman [laughs].
JH: Yes [laughs].
GS: He was a sir, somebody or other, I can’t remember now what.
JH: Yes [laughs]. So, I think, you did tell me that they came back, the Germans?
GS: Yes, they came back at the same time, every day, which was just on midday.
JH: Yes.
GS: They never varied.
JH: Very punctual.
GS: Very punctual so all the planes took off before they came, after that, any that were able to, they did a lot of damage the first way round.
JH: Yes, so did you organise your lunch around the German attacks?
GS: So, what we all used to do then, was to make sure we took an early lunch, and got our lunch, and then we went down to the basement of the, of the dining room.
JH: My goodness, and erm -
GS: So, we made sure we were fed [chuckle].
JH: Yes, I believe a couple of your WAAF colleagues weren't so lucky, they in fact were killed in one of the raids?
GS: No, as far as I remember, one of them was - In the first raid the, erm, hanger door was blown off, and I think she was an aircraft woman who was doing maintenance, you know, and she was, she was killed in that, she got the door. I can’t remember her name or anything now, but there were a few casualties.
JH: Yes, and also, I think one of your jobs was to go around with your erm, your commanding officer inspecting the bomb damage craters, and you had to take notes?
GS: That was, that was the, erm, what would he be now, he’d be the engineer wouldn’t he?
JH: Yes.
GS: The engineering officer, who had no help, you see, so he got me to go and take notes for him, to walk round with him, and the last, or the last one we were at, it was at the airman's quarters, just in at the foundation of the quarters, and he climbed down into this hole, and had a look at the bomb, and he literally turned white, and said ‘get out of here, it’s still live’, scrambled out and that was the - [laughs].
JH: You broke the record for a hundred yards probably.
GS: I can’t remember, I can’t remember what happened after that, but obviously they must have dealt with it, but I wasn’t there when it was dealt with.
JH: So, Gillie, did you continue for a while with fighter command at different bases, or, when did you move over to bomber command?
GS: I can’t, look, I can’t remember, I moved around quite a lot.
JH: Yes.
GS: Erm, but I was commissioned in - Unfortunately, I didn’t put a date on that did I?
JH: You were commissioned as a section officer, so you went through the ranks, didn’t you?
GS: ASO, you started as an assistant, ASO.
JH: ASO, yes.
GH: Yes, ASO.
JH: Well, look it doesn’t matter, but I think last time you mentioned you were up in Number 3 Group in Durham at some stage, and also Newmarket?
GS: No, Newmarket that is.
JH: Newmarket?
GS: Yes, that was Bennet.
JH: Ah, yeah tell me a bit about that?
GS: No, you see I went - I was - eventually went right through the ranks and was a sergeant, and when I went to 3 Group, I was a sergeant then.
JH: Ok.
GS: And that was Bennet, Air Vice Marshall Bennet.
JH: And not only that, you were mentioned in despatches, MID?
GS: No, that was the end of the war.
JH: That was the end, yeah, ok. So, tell me about your experience with Bennet?
GS: Well, with Bennet, I remember this civilian coming and, very hush-hush, and it was, I’ve already forgotten his name.
JH: Bennet?
GS: No, no, the bomber, the man who made the bombs?
JH: Oh, Barnes-Wallis?
GS: Barnes-Wallis, yes. He came and, very hush-hush, and I only found out really after the war, well not after the war, very much later, that he was the one who was, and Bennet obviously was going to supply the, the planes to do it.
JH: Yes, so Bennet was involved in that? Yes, so, so Bennet took over, I think it might have been in ‘42, command of the Pathfinders, was that when you were involved with Bennet? Do you remember that, when he was posted to, er?
GS: Well, certainly it was ‘42 when I was there.
JH: Mm, that was in ‘42?
GS: Yes, certainly was ‘42.
JH: Yes, and er -
GS: The end of ‘42 that would’ve been.
JH: Ok, well, what a, what a thing to experience that.
GS: So, look, I just cannot remember, I was at a station in - [pauses] I was sent to a – No, I can’t remember, I know I was stationed near Cambridge.
JH: Yes.
GS: That was a bomber station of course, but what it was called?
JH: Was it Wyton, RAF Wyton?
GS: No, no.
JH: Um, there’s Warboys, Gravely?
GS: I doubt if I'd remember its name even, nothing, nothing rings a bell, you know? And I didn’t keep a record of any of them.
JH: Yes. So, it sounds like you were moving around quite a bit, er, at that stage?
GS: Yes, I think wherever, wherever, they needed somebody, and I always went to the group headquarters, and, usually -
JH: Yes.
GS: Usually to the adjutant because he was the one normally who needed someone, you know?
JH: Yes. Now tell me how you, what was the stage when you ended up in High Wycombe, in the Bomber Command headquarters?
GS: Well, after I, after I – after I was commissioned, that was my first job, so as an officer, that was my only job [chuckles]. I was at High Wycombe.
JH: Right ok, can we backtrack? You were married -
GS: Oh, yes, yes.
JH: - before that, to Morris Gilbert, Royal New Zealand Airforce, I believe he was a navigator?
GS: He was a navigator, yes.
JH: And erm, so how did you meet Morris? Where did you meet Morris?
GS: I met him before the war.
JH: Ok, when you were working in London?
GS: When I was in London, yes, there was a whole lot of them, came over, erm, he was an optician though and he’d come over to do an English exam, you know, but he was with a whole lot of others, who were destined to Canada, to train, so that’s how I met all the New Zealanders, and of course, he went back to New Zealand, and then went back to Canada to train, and finished up as an observer, then came back.
JH: Observer, navigator, yes, yeah same as my father. Ok, so back to High Wycombe, erm you were a PA to the senior, the commanding officers there?
GS: The second, second in command, yes.
JH: Yes.
GS: As far as I remember, Air Vice Marshall Sir Robert Sornby.
JH: Sornby yes. What was it like working there? What sort of, tell me a typical day, at High Wycombe?
GS: Well again, we were in married quarters, or, well of course we were in officers’ married quarters, we weren’t a big, I can’t remember how many there were, but there weren’t a lot of us.
JH: Was that close to the headquarters, or was that in High Wycombe?
GS: It was, oh no, it was separate from High Wycombe.
JH: Yes, it was a little village wasn’t it?
GS: It was - I don’t know what it was used for, whether it had always been an air force base, or?
JH: I’m not sure?
GS: I’m not sure myself, but it was all, the married quarters were there too, and we had married quarters.
JH: Yes, yes.
GS: Erm, and the - Well, the airwomen too, they were in married quarters as well, so -
JH: Yes, so you just used to walk to the headquarters?
GS: You had to walk, yes, walk through the beech trees [chuckles].
JH: Yes, yeah, and so, what would be a typical day?
GS: Er, you had to be there by eight o’clock, I would often see my [pauses] not Sornby, but my third one, who was Walmsley.
JH: Walmsley, yes.
GS: He would be walking through and sometimes we’d walk through together, he was very approachable.
JH: Yes.
GS: Whereas Sornby wasn’t.
JH: He wasn’t?
GS: No, I mean he was your boss, that was it, he wasn’t unpleasant or anything.
JH: Yes, yes, ok.
GS: But he’d drive past you in his Rolls-Royce and he wouldn’t pick you up [laughs]. Oh, I shouldn’t say that, you better rule that, take that out.
JH: [laughs]. Oh, I don’t think it matters now.
GS: No, take it out [both laugh].
JH: And now what about?
GS: Well, you’d do that and you’d have rotation, or whatever was going you know, files, and files to get, and files to take, files to get around. Generally, odd body, you know that’s what -
JH: Yes, so, would there be the reports of the raids the night before coming through? And you’d have to go through those? Like the losses?
GS: They went to, they went higher, they went to Harrison, through his PA, his PA was a flight officer.
JH: Yes, and I believe one morning, terrible morning, you had the news there at the office, you saw your, your husband's name?
GS: Oh no, that was in 3 Group, when I was in Bennet’s.
JH: Oh, that was in Bennet’s, 3 Group?
GS: That was ‘42, yes. That was in ‘42. No, we just went on. It’s just, they were long days, I mean you never knew when you were going to finish.
JH: Yes, like if there was a raid on, they would, well, let's say most raids they’d be leaving, eight, eight p.m., ten p.m., coming back three or four in the morning, did you have to be there at night?
GS: No, no. That was taken care of by the, by the, you know, the station, that they were on, they did all the interviewing, and sent the reports back.
JH: So, did you encounter Harris often? Was he very approachable, or?
GS: I mean, I’ve seen him, you know, but you might see him going to his car, or something like that, I don’t think I ever spoke to him.
JH: Yes, oh I should imagine the security must have been very high there, especially as you would be seeing a lot of information?
GS: Especially on D-Day, especially prior to D-Day, there was very tight security then.
JH: Yes, and ok. Well, I’d like to ask you, still talking about High Wycombe, how you met your second husband?
GS: Ah, well, that was [chuckles]. It really is nothing to do with Bomber Command.
JH: But I think, what I was trying to think of was, I believe on a Sunday the WAAF’s would have a special lunch?
GS: Yes, we had a half a day off a week, which was a Sunday, from Sunday at midday, a half a day off and we, about once a month, had a sherry party at midday on a Sunday, and we’d invite, you could invite people in from outside as long as they were escorted to you and escorted back again, you know. So, we had a WAAF, a New Zealand WAAF, called Bunty Watts, who, I'm not quite sure what she did, but she had, she had lost, or she eventually lost four brothers in the war, the last of whom was lost on D-Day -
JH: That’s astonishing.
GS: - flying a glider into Arnhem, for the landing at Arnhem. Anyway, she invited, some obscure way she knew Australian airmen so she decided to ask, they were somewhere near High Wycombe, Freddie and his mates, because they’d come to get the prisoners of war but of course the war didn’t finish -
JH: So, he was Australian army -
GS: Yes, Australian army.
JH: - and he was over here, I believe he was a doctor in the commandos in New Guinea?
GS: Yes, but he was medically unfit then, so he couldn’t be employed, they were looking for something for him to do, and they were all, this little group of them who were all medically unfit, and they were waiting for the prisoners of war to come out. So, they were, she invited them anyway for this sherry party, and of course I can remember seeing these, there were three or four of them I think, I can’t remember now but I can still see Freddie with his hand like this, saying, ‘Where’s the beer? Where’s the beer?’, which of course there wasn’t any [chuckles], and they wouldn’t have liked it anyway because it would’ve been warm [emphasis].
JH: [Laughs] He wasn’t too keen on the sherry I take it?
GS: No way [emphasis]. So that’s where I first met him.
JH: Yes, oh that’s interesting. So, back at High Wycombe, you know what I’ve read, the Bomber Command tactics were very much area bombing and then the Pathfinders came in, it was more precision bombing, and there’s been this controversy about area bombing ever since, when you were working there, were you aware of these discussions going on, amongst the command?
GS: No, no, I was aware of when the Americans came in, and they had quarters at High Wycombe and, I knew that there was a lot of argument then, about bombing in daylight, they had the fortresses to bomb, but they had no fighter support.
JH: Yes.
GS: And they were warned that they would have horrible losses.
JH: Which they did.
GS: Which they did, and there was a great [emphasis] kerfuffle going on then about whether they would pull out, or whether they would continue on.
JH: They nearly went home, you mean?
GS: Yes, they nearly went home, they nearly pulled out, but they wouldn’t take any notice what anybody else said, they knew better.
JH: Yes, did the Americans have a separate HQ at High Wycombe, or was it all combined?
GS: Oh yes, completely separate.
JH: Completely separate, yeah.
GS: Nothing to do with us at all, just we saw some of the officers, of course, we saw some of the people who were there, they used to come to our sherry parties [laughs].
JH: Yes [chuckles].
GS: A bit more civilised [laughs].
JH: Yes, and, maybe I can ask you if there’s anything else you can recall from High Wycombe, in those days?
GS: Not really. It was pretty routine work, and long, long days, quite long days, it could go on, you know, because I was there when my boss was there, but not overnight, I wasn’t expected to be there at night.
JH: Yes ok. Now I believe you ended up in a DC-3 over Berlin? Can you tell me how that happened?
GS: Erm, that was after the war ended, and they were doing a photographic reconnaissance more or less, over various areas, and my, one of my bosses, er, said I could go, so of course I jumped at the chance, so we flew over Holland and we saw all the areas where the, where they bombed the dykes, you know, and the water had all gone through, we saw that area, and er, we went over Berlin, and we went over, I don’t know.
JH: Was that a non-stop flight? You didn’t land in Holland?
GS: No, we didn’t land - No, we couldn’t have gone over Berlin, that’s too far, but we did Holland and we did all the sort of areas down through the -
JH: The Ruhr, maybe?
GS: Yes, I’m sure we were over Emden, and which was the one that had the firestorm?
JH: Dresden?
GS: Dresden, yes.
JH: But not Berlin?
GS: No, I don’t - I can’t remember now but I don’t think- It wouldn’t have flown, wouldn’t of been -
JH: Um?
GS: DC-3? It might’ve done?
JH: Might’ve done, yeah, anyhow it might come back.
GS: I can’t remember being over Berlin.
JH: Let’s say you did fly over Dresden, can you remember what you thought when you were looking down to see all the damage, the bomb damage? Were you shocked?
GS: I think I thought how efficient the Bomber Command had been [chuckles].
JH: Yes, you weren’t shocked? You thought, well -
GS: No, no because I’d seen the damage in London, you know we - I was in London one night, for something, I can’t remember what, when they were bombing and that was terrible [emphasis], I mean that was scary, really scary [emphasis].
JH: Yes.
GS: But, that was the war.
JH: Yes, I always ask in these interviews, with aircrew, or whoever, what they thought about the area bombing, do they have any misgivings now? Or did they think it was total warfare? Most people I've spoken to, believe it was justified, and total warfare.
GS: Yes.
JH: Yes, and you’d agree with that, that’s how you feel?
GS: I would agree with that, yes. After all they started it [chuckles]. And, you know, if they’d continued on a bit longer at the Battle of Britain, they would have invaded Britain, because we just about got to the end of our aircrews. Not so much planes, but people to fly them, their casualties were so [emphasis] heavy.
JH: Yes, were you, at High Wycombe, were you aware of the high casualty rates in Bomber Command?
GS: Oh yes, yes.
JH: It was um -
GS: You were lucky if you did your thirty ops.
JH: Yes, yes.
GS: You were very lucky if you did your thirty ops, and then a lot of them went on to be Pathfinders, and that was even worse.
JH: Yes, which is even more dangerous, yes.
GS: Yes, more dangerous, but then of course we got our night fighters.
JH: Yes, the Mosquitos, didn’t they do a good job.
GS: They were wonderful [emphasis] planes, oh, they were really wonderful planes. They could take a bomb load the same as a Fortress, and they were fast.
JH: Fast, high, yeah.
GS: Yes, and they could fight, you know, they could staff as well, so, they were really- They made a great, great [emphasis] deal of difference so. We called them the grey ghosts.
JH: Yes. There’s a chap in Sydney, I interviewed, Frank Dell, he was a Mosquito pilot, and was shot down, unfortunately his navigator was killed, and he - The Dutch farmers hid him in a barn, until the British forces came through. So, well let’s talk about, here we are in Orange, before that you were in the UK, how did you end up in Orange?
GS: Well after the war, eventually, I married Freddie, that was 1947 we were married, because he took his discharge in London to do his surgical degree, his English degree. Which he did, and I worked down there as well, I worked in London for a little while.
JH: Yes, so where did Freddie come from in Australia? Was it Orange?
GS: Sydney.
JH: Oh Sydney, he’s from Sydney.
GS: He was Coogee.
JH: Oh [pauses]. The Shire, down there, a Coogee boy.
GS: Yes, he was a surfer, not a surfer, a surf lifesaver.
JH: Yes, so you came out by boat?
GS: Oh yes, six weeks. Yes, the only way to come out, it was the only way you could come.
JH: Yeah, and what were your first impressions, in Australia?
GS: Hot.
JH: [Laughs] Yes, yeah.
GS: Yes, hot.
JH: Were you homesick?
GS: Erm, not really because I’d been wandering around, I hadn't been home for a long time, not since 1938. So, I really had plenty of time not to, you know, except it was a little bit different this time.
JH: Yeah, so you settled down in Sydney?
GS: That’s it, yes, we settled in Sydney.
JH: And started a family, yes.
GS: But I didn’t work after that.
JH: Yes, and erm, so how did you make the move to Orange? What was that story?
GS: Well, we - Freddie had patients from around this area, around Yeoval and that area, of course he was a children’s surgeon, and we more or less became friendly with them, and then he got the idea he’d like to farm [chuckles]. So, they looked around and they saw this little property was for sale, but of course there was no house or anything down there.
JH: Yes, it was all farming down here.
GS: This was well and truly - That was a dairy next door to us, anyway - And this was a dairy too. So he decided that we’d buy this, which we did in 1964, and our neighbour, that way, was a very good stockman, very good horseman, and he agreed to look after it during the week and we came down at weekends. I came down one weekend, he came down the next. So we did that until he retired, and he decided he’d had enough when he was fifty-eight, he thought he’s not going to work anymore in Sydney, he’s fed up with it. So, we, then bought our bigger property, which Ian is on now.
JH: Yes, near Cudal?
GS: Yes, well yeah, Cargo, between the two. And we moved up here. Left the three of them, that was Ian, my daughter and Neil, the youngest one, Anne was then a nurse, he was doing law, which he didn’t like very much [chuckles]. And, erm, we left them in a little semi at Coogee which was good for them, and we came up here and I started to work [emphasis], really hard [chuckles].
JH: What did you do, working on the farm?
GS: I had to do everything. What did Freddie do?
JH: Yes.
GS: He, as soon as he got up here, the base hospital, the old one which is over there, had lost their medical superintendent, so they rang Freddie and said, ‘Do you think you could just fill in for a few months until we get somebody?’, ‘Oh yeah, yeah, but I’ll have to leave every day at three o’clock, because I've got work to do,’ you know? Well, of course, it never happened.
JH: Yes, I bet.
GS: And he stayed for three years. So, I was left to run the fifteen hundred acres out there, and [emphasis] this place [chuckles]. Never having ridden a horse, or done anything.
JH: Tell me Gillie, these days do you keep in touch with, like the RSL, erm, ANZAC Day celebrations and so on?
GS: Oh yes, we had a very strong women’s association here, ex-services association here, and we’ve always, we’ve always marched. We’re down now, there are, what [pauses] really only two active members, the third member is totally blind now so she is - Well I mean we still get her, well we did, get her and go and have lunch once a month or so.
JH: Yes, marvellous.
GS: But there are only two of us left now.
JH: Yes, well Gillie that has been fantastic.
GS: That’s about all isn’t it?
JH: Yeah, we well – First of all I’d like to say this incredible lady, on the 7th of July, celebrated her hundredth birthday [emphasis].
GS: 8th of July.
JH: 8th of July was it?
GS: 8th of July, yes.
JH: Ok, which is fantastic, now it’s been a real pleasure to interview you, and thank you very much for that.
GS: Thank you, for the opportunity.
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Title
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Interview with Gillie Street
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John Horsburgh
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2020-07-27
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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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00:37:44 Audio Recording
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Sound
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AStreetM200727, PStreetM2001
Description
An account of the resource
Gillie Street was born in Aglionby, Carlisle, and spent her early childhood in Tyneside before moving back to Cumberland aged eleven. Street recalls attending grammar school in Brampton and her first flying experience on a Barnstormer. Upon leaving school she undertook secretarial training, completed civil service exams, and found employment in London. Met her future-husband there, Morris Gilbert, a navigator of the Royal New Zealand Airforce. Her department was evacuated to Birmingham where she volunteered for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force following the bleak first winter. After training in London, Street was stationed at RAF Middle Wallop during the Battle of Britain. She describes the shock of the first attack, organising an early lunch for the reoccurring raids, sheltering in the basement, and a close call with a live bomb while surveying damage with the engineering officer. Street recalls being promoted, working with Donald Bennett, and the secretive atmosphere surrounding his involvement with Barnes Wallis. Street also talks about life at RAF High Wycombe and describes observing disagreements regarding the American bombing tactics; having a half-day off on Sundays; and the monthly sherry party where she met her second-husband Freddie, a doctor in the Australian Army. After the war, Street recollects flying on a C-47 over Holland, the Ruhr, Dresden, and Berlin, her reaction upon viewing the devastation, and explains her belief that the Bomber Command operations were justified. Finally, Street talks about her post-war life including marrying Freddie, moving to Australia by boat and living in Sydney, before buying and working on a farm in Orange in the 1960s.
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Birmingham
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Hampshire
England--London
Germany
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Dresden
Australia
New South Wales
New South Wales--Sydney
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Warwickshire
Contributor
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Tilly Foster
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Fighter Command
Temporal Coverage
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1940
1945
Language
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eng
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
C-47
Cook’s tour
ground personnel
love and romance
perception of bombing war
RAF High Wycombe
RAF Middle Wallop
shelter
station headquarters
Wallis, Barnes Neville (1887-1979)
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/530/26000/MShawSR3002545-160211-21.1.jpg
622a5e7f102b17e5ca63cb8690b807db
Dublin Core
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Title
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Shaw, Stanley R
S R Shaw
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
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Shaw, SR
Description
An account of the resource
37 items. An oral history interview with Stanley Shaw (3002545 Royal Air Force) Photographs, documents and his log book. He served with a Repair and Salvage Unit and attended many crashes. He later served in North Africa and the Middle East.
The collection also contains two photograph albums; one of his RAF service and one of his time in a cycle club.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Stanley Shaw and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
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.
Date
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2016-01-14
2016-02-11
Dublin Core
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Title
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Bomber Command
Description
An account of the resource
A brief description of Bomber Command starting with Air Marshal Harris commanding, types of aircraft used, 1000 Bomber attack on Cologne and losses, the Pathfinder Force, losses, hazards to returning crews and casualties.
Creator
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Stan Shaw
Format
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One handwritten sheet
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Personal research
Identifier
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MShawSR3002545-160211-21
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
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Germany--Cologne
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
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.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
bombing of Cologne (30/31 May 1942)
FIDO
Halifax
Hampden
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
killed in action
Lancaster
Manchester
Mosquito
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
prisoner of war
RAF Manston
RAF Woodbridge
Stirling
training
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1391/24704/MDunmoreG635201-160526-04.2.pdf
be8f8731e52623bfaa876bf196b244ea
Dublin Core
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Title
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Dunmore, George
G Dunmore
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-05-26
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.
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Dunmore, G
Description
An account of the resource
17 Items concerning Flight Lieutenant George Dunmore DFM (5601) who flew 45 operations as a flight engineer on Lancaster with 83 Squadron at RAF Scampton and then as part of the Pathfinder Force at RAF Wyton. Commissioned in 1944 he continued to serve in the general duties branch as flight engineer and then equipment branch until 1967. The collection contains his logbook, an account of a maximum effort operation, official documents and letters, a history of an individual aircraft, pathfinder certificate, recommendation for DFM, career notes as well as photographs and memorabilia. A sub-collection of 58 photographs of aircraft under repair or being manufactured in factories.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Louise Dunmore and catalogued by Nigel Huckins
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Title
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Award of Pathfinder badge
Description
An account of the resource
Certificate for award of pathfinder badge to Acting Warrant Officer G Dunmore DFM.
Date
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1943-10-20
Format
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One page printed document
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Identifier
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MDunmoreG635201-160526-04
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Temporal Coverage
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1943-10-20
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
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.
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Pathfinders
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1391/24698/BDunmoreGDunmoreGv1.2.pdf
4775acffec4e6ee9190c8fe717ffa0cb
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
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Dunmore, George
G Dunmore
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-05-26
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.
Identifier
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Dunmore, G
Description
An account of the resource
17 Items concerning Flight Lieutenant George Dunmore DFM (5601) who flew 45 operations as a flight engineer on Lancaster with 83 Squadron at RAF Scampton and then as part of the Pathfinder Force at RAF Wyton. Commissioned in 1944 he continued to serve in the general duties branch as flight engineer and then equipment branch until 1967. The collection contains his logbook, an account of a maximum effort operation, official documents and letters, a history of an individual aircraft, pathfinder certificate, recommendation for DFM, career notes as well as photographs and memorabilia. A sub-collection of 58 photographs of aircraft under repair or being manufactured in factories.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Louise Dunmore and catalogued by Nigel Huckins
Transcribed document
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Transcription
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[underlined] STRIKE TO DEFEND [/underlined]
[page break]
[underlined] PREFACE [/underlined]
Although it has been the custom over the last thirty years to push memories of our experiences during World War II to the back of our minds, I have specifically been asked recently, by my son who is now studying the period, to talk about those days.
Many recent accounts I have heard or read have, it seems, been written by younger people who have no first hand knowledge of the time, but who have tried to research and give an account of various happenings. Unfortunately, to my mind, this method creates many distortions of facts, and I am therefore endeavouring to give an authentic impression to help young lads like my own son to understand the important part that Bomber Command played in World War II.
In doing so, I would like to dedicate the following work to all aircrew of Bomber Command who did not return, and in particular to my many friends and comrades of ‘83’ Squadron, Pathfinder Force.
- 1 -
[page break]
In January 1942 Air Chief Marshall Harris, Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command was sure enough of the growing strength of R.A.F. Bomber Command to make the following prophetic statement:
“Cologne, Lubeck, Rostock, those are only just the beginning. Let the Nazis take good note of the “Western Horizon”, there they will see a cloud as yet no bigger than a man’s hand, but behind that cloud lies the whole massive power of the United States of America.
When the storm bursts over Germany they will look back to the days of Lubeck and Rostock and Cologne as a man caught in the blasts of a hurricane will look back to the gentle zephyrs of last summer. There are a lot of people who say that bombing can never win a war, well , my answer to that is that it has never been tried yet and we shall see! Germany, clinging ever more and more desperately to her widespread conquests and foolishly striving for more will make a most interesting initial experiment. Japan will provide the confirmation”.
The following gives an account of the preparation for and carrying out of a typical ‘maximum effort’ raid by Bomber Command which was initiated at H.Q. by the selection of a TARGET city:-
Together the planning Air Staffs were advised on weather conditions affecting U.K. Bomber bases, route, and target area. Selection of specific targets and the mass of detail, concerning target photographs, German defences, route out – home, codes, fuel loads, bomb loads – target marking techniques with pyrotechnic colour codes and from this mass of specialist information was evolved an [underlined] OPERATION ORDER [/underlined] sent in code to all concerned Bomber Groups and Squadrons which on receipt at a Squadron was called the ‘B’ (bombing) Form and summarized thus:-
1. Intention
2. Method
3. Execution
On receipt of an Operation Order at R.A.F. station level there was an immediate security clamp placed on Entrances/Exits, also all telephone lines were disconnected, - except for those coded and scrambled ‘tie lines’ to Bomber Group and Command Headquarters.
- 1 -
/The
[page break]
The whole R.A.F. station was alerted, and aircrews detailed to Air Test specific serviceable aircraft. Each aircrew member made a thorough detailed check on the ground against specially prepared Master check lists, i.e.:
[underlined] Pilot: [/underlined] [author indicates and] [underlined] Flt. Engineer: [/underlined] Pitot and Static Vent covers “OFF” Combined check of all aspects of aircraft externally, including Propellars [sic], Airframe, Engines, Tyres, Brakes Control surfaces, Trimmer Tabs, Oil, fuel and hydraulic systems.
[underlined] Navigator: [/underlined] [author indicates and] [underlined] Bomb Aimer: [/underlined] Combined check of all navigation equipment, bomb bay, bomb sight and navigation electronic aids.
[underlined] Wireless Operator: [/underlined] Check Transmitter, Receiver, Trailing aerial gear. Radio jamming equipment, A.I. equipment I.F.F. (Identification Friend or foe), also Verey Cartridge codes and pistol – and finally [underlined] Bomber Code for the day. [/underlined]
[underlined] Gunners [/underlined] Check Mid-upper, Front and Rear Turrets, associated electrical Gun Sights – Machine guns, ammunition and Turrett [sic] heating.
These checks by the individual specialist aircrew members followed intensive work by the skilled ground crew tradesmen who themselves had followed scheduled serviceing [sic] programms [sic] supervised by N.C.O. Master technicians.
On the air-crew ground checks being completed, - control surface locks and Jury struts were removed; Ground Electrical power plugged in, and the Aircraft’s Master Electrical switch switched from FLIGHT to GROUND.
Each crew member took up his respective position in the aircraft, then a further check list carried out embracing in detail all aspects of readiness for the ensuing Night Flying Test (N.F.T.). The check list continued from all positions while switched to “Ground electrical power” – when complete to this point the O.K. to start engines was indicated to waiting ground crew:- e.g.
No.1 (Port Outer)
No.2 (Port Inner)
No3. (Starboard Inner)
No.4 (Starboard Outer)
With all four engines started the order Ground/Flight switch to Flight was given and “disconnect external electrical service”. Still on CHOCKS the “Prior to Flight” checks were continued from the Master Check list. These included:-
(i) All controls – freedom of movements
(ii) Engine temperatures, pressures normal.
(iii) Each engine in turn revved up to Max R.P.M. and Boost e.g. [underlined] Lancaster [/underlined] 3000 R.P.M. 12lbs. sq.in. Boost
- 2 -
/(iv)
[page break]
(iv) All 8 Magnetos checked, in turn.
(v) All engine oil pressures – steady at 90 lbs. sq.in
(vi) All engine temperature [underlined] normal [/underlined]
(vii) All Fuel Pumps ‘ON’ and showing 12 lbs.sq.in
(viii) All superchargers set ‘M’ medium gear.
IX All propellor[sic]pitch controls, controlling – Full coarse to Full Fine – and Set Fine.
X Bomb doors closed
XI Pilot Heater ‘ON’ (Air speed indicator)
XII Brake Pressure 350 lbs. sq. in
XIII Hydraulic Pressure 3000 lbs. sq. in
XIV Master Gyro Compass – check reading (by rear door) and compare with:-
(a) Repeater compasses “on”
(i) Bomb Sight –
(ii) Navigators –
(iii) Wireless Operators –
(iv) Pilots Instrument Panel
XV Check Magnetic P.4 Compass for deviation
XVI Check Altimeter setting for code Q.F.E. airfield at Zero height or code QNH – height above sea level as required.
XVII Check all crew restraint harnesses secure, Oxygen ‘On’ Masks ‘On’
XVIII Flight Engineer checks Fuel Cocks selected for Take Off (No.1 Tanks Inboard)
XIX Pilot signals “CHOCKS AWAY” – when clear, rolls a few feet – checks “Brakes ON” and Pressure maintained.
XX Pilot taxies to Take Off Runway in use by using outboard engines for steering with touches of “differential” braking to either Port or Starboard main wheels as required. The differential was achieved through an air valve connected to the rudder bar – with a single lever on the control column.
When given clear to do so (Green light from runway controller), the pilot turned onto the runway, ran forward a few yards (to straighten the Marstrand Ribbed Tail Wheel) – then applied full brake – opened throttles to gate position, - [underlined] Power noted, [/underlined] Magnetos again checked in turn – for Rev drop. If O.K. Flaps selected 20 degrees down, radiator, shutters auto, Captain called crew – “Take Off – Brace”.
Against brakes, throttles were opened, leading with starboard engines (to counteract Propellar [sic] Torque (which tended to cause a swing on Take-off) – and as the aircraft accelerated and the tail came up – all four throttles to the ‘Gate’ position. At this point the pilot had directional control via the Rudders and then dependant on speed required and wind direction – called for “Full Power” to the Flight Engineer. The Flt. Engineer responded and
3
/called
[page break]
called out “Full power 3000 Plus 14” when indicated.
Once airborne, a further series of checks covering all systems and controls was completed. Any technical defects noted for advice of ground crew on landing. Such N.F.T.’s took from 20 minutes to 40 minutes, and on landing any defects were reported as “snags” to be corrected immediately. The aircrew returned to their respective Flight Commanders to report Serviceability In return this information was passed through Squadron and Group Commanders to H.Q. Bomber Command as the percentage of Squadron strength serviceable and available for operations.
Meantime, the Engineering and Armament Officers would have been advised of
(a) The Fuel load in gallons (Lancaster maximum 2154)
(b) The various bomb loads required, together with photo flash sizes, Barometric bomb fuse settings – delay settings – Target Indicator – Code colours and further varied Bomb release switching permutations over the 15 available [underlined] bomb slips [/underlined] plus 3 Flare Chutes.
Depending on the Operation Order, - Target – alternative target – or other possible variables, the time for Main Briefing of crews was usually released as soon as possible in order to allow rest before the trip. Possibly, due to tactics for spoofing or fooling the German defences systems en route, it could be that Pilots, Navigators and Bomb Aimers were required to attend on initial Pre-briefing where maps and charts were prepared according to detailed instructions for the proposed bomber raid. These crew members were joined by the remaining crew members, i.e. Flight Engineer, Wireless Operator, Mid-upper and Rear Gunners – and all crews seated, - seven men to a table.
At Briefing time screens were removed from the [underlined] large scale [/underlined] map of Europe showing, usually in [underlined] red tape: [/underlined]
(i) Route outbound to Target with turning points
(ii) TARGET – and Alternate if required
(iii) Route Home to mythical ‘Gate’ position in North Sea – (Gate for 83 Sqdn. Was 7 miles east of the Wash and 4 miles wide North to South)
(iv) Route from Gate position in-bound to base at Wyton – usually down the ‘Bedford Rivers to St. Ives – (ground beacon) before joining Wyton airfield circuit – Anti-clockwise.
A typical briefing took place in the Airmans’ Dining Hall under strict security conditions – only aircrew detailed on the OPERATION ORDER – plus only Aircrew Section Leaders and the concerned specialists – i.e. Photographic Armament, Engineering, Electronic, Radio, Intelligence, Weather (Meteorologists) were present; all other personnel who did not need to know were excluded.
- 4 -
/After
[page break]
After an introduction to the Target by the Station Commander, and an outline of the major factors concerning the chosen Target, each Specialist Leader gave detailed information as required, e.g.
[underlined] Met. Officer: {/underlined] – Weather at base for Take-Off, on route, Target forecast, and base on return.
[underlined] Navigation Leader: [/underlined] – Take-off and climb, timing details, route in detail giving turning point co-ordinates. Timing explicitly to the [underlined] second [/underlined] cruise speeds, - final Heading to Target with [underlined] Height to Bomb [/underlined] – exact heading. Also, instructions for ground or air turning points, or ground/Air Markers colour Code changes at specific times as advised by Pathfinder Master Bomber.
[underlined] Bombing Leader [/underlined] : - Covered specific detail of make up of bomb loads – and which Flare Chutes were loaded with requisite coloured flares. Also Bomb sight and Camera settings with emphasis on correct heading on final run-up to target with “minimum Jinking” request to pilots” on run up – and emphatically, speed steady at 143 knots. (This latter always met with a laugh, but was usually adhered to by crews).
Underlined] Flight Engineer Leader: [/underlined] – Covered ‘all up weight’ for Take Off, climb, and cruise, with estimated engine settings required; emphasising, need for economy of fuel, accurate engine instrument checks, also up-keep of Log Sheet every 20 minutes to cross-check fuel consumption. The aim for a Lancaster being to achieve 1.2 miles per gallon.
Total fuel capacity was 2154 gallons in six tanks, (3 in each wing), numbered Port 1, 2, 3 out from centre and starboard 1, 2, 3 out from centre. The final word of warning was not to exceed maximum operational climb revs, boost and time limits, viz. 2850, (revs), + 9 lbs. (boost) and 1 hour (time). A warning to especially watch [underlined] coolant [/underlined] and [underlined] temperatures [/underlined] also [underlined] oil pressures [/underlined] when useing [sic] these operational settings was added.
[underlined] Wireless Leader: [/underlined] – Gave details of frequencies to be used, codes applicable, with changes [underlined] hourly [/underlined] if necessary. Also possible broadcast frequencies over enemy territory that may be used for radio direction finding by use of the D.F. Loop System. Stress was also placed on each wireless operator’s [underlined] search [/underlined] frequency band which had to be ‘swept’ continuously to pick up possible interception vector instructions to enemy night fighters, then instantly ‘JAMMING’ those orders by means of our ‘WOBBULATOR DEVICE’ – (The Wobbulator device was a metal plate mounted on a spring, insulated from the PORT side of the fuselage. It acted as a variable tuning capacitor due to vibration resonance and ‘strobed’ either side of the frequency to be ‘JAMMED’)
- 5 -
/This
[page break]
This amplified the sound of one of our exhaust stubs by means of a carbon microphone and re-transmitted on the night fighters’ frequencies – effectively ‘Jamming them’.
[underlined] Gunnery Leader: [/underlined] – General search pattern and dedicated vigilance, especially from directly below, also ensure before pre-trip rest that all guns were sighted correctly, and ‘Harmonized’ to a 400 yard 2 feet diameter cone with a final reminder to switch guns from [underlined] SAFE [/underlined] to [underlined] FIRE [/underlined] – when aircraft engines start – you are ‘ON OPS’. When taxying before take off seek captain’s permission to fire short burst from all guns into target sand pits, and finally, ‘good shooting’.
[underlined] Squadron Commander: [/underlined] – Final detailed instructions to Pilots with particular reference to timing at turning points – keeping the ‘corkscrew’ evenly either side of track – vigilance, particularly overhead, and dead below for collisions and fighters, - minimum of inter-com ‘patter’. Also known enemy ground defence ‘Hot-Spots’, watch out for predicted (radar directed) flak while within an apparent ‘box barrage’. Finally, strict R/T until then! – and Good Luck.
[underlined] Duty Pilot – Air Traffic Controller: [/underlined] – Gave briefing concerning R/T silence and the precise timeing [sic] for each crew, e.g.
1. Time for transport to Aircraft and Dispersal points
2. Individual timeing [sic] for each aircraft to ‘Start UP’ – usually by flashing an Aldis Lamp signal by [underlined] compass vector [/underlined] from the Control Tower.
3. Once started up, a further Aldis Lamp signal to the captains of each aircraft to ‘Taxi’ out to TAKE –OFF point in their turn, as briefed.
4. Runway controllers signal to each aircraft “CLEAR TO TAKE OFF”.
When main briefing was completed, all crews were warned again that the Target and all details were SECRET and then dismissed to:-
(a) Pre-flight meals, and if time permitted –
(b) To rest, prior to assembly at Squadron H.Q. to dress in flying clothing, collect parachutes and flying rations consisting of sweets or chocolate, chewing gum and ‘an orange’.
- 6 –
[page break]
[underlined] OPERATION ORDER FOR OPS – 6th SEPTEMBER, 1942 [/underlined]
The operation order for ‘OPS’ on the night of 6th September, 1942 arrived at Wyton at 10.00 hrs and called for a ‘maximum effort’. Night flying tests were ordered immediately; one of which in LANCASTER MK 1 R5669 ‘E’ (for EDWARD) was carried out by ‘A’ flight Commander, Sqdn. Ldr. Roy Elliott and crew who landed back at Wyton after a 30 min. trip, at 15.10 hours, reporting ‘Fully Serviceable’, - no snags, - to the ground crew. Briefing was detailed for 18.00 hours and the forthcoming trip would make the 15th for the crew since joining the squadron at Scampton earlier in the year.
(As part of Bomber Command’s reorganisation for the increase in offensive action the C in C had ordered the formation of a new Bomber Group – No.8 – to specialise in “pin-point” target marking techniques, to enable the MAIN FORCE aircraft to achieve the concentrated delivery and saturation of the required targets.
Air Commodore Donald Bennett was appointed to form the new No.8 Group – PATHFINDER FORCE – and during the last week of July, 1942 he ordered the assembly of all aircrew of No.83 Squadron in No.5 hangar at R.A.F. Scampton. As the Air Officer Commanding No.8 Group, Don Bennett addressed the whole of 83 Sqdn. (at that time belonging to No.5Group) outlining the proposed Pathfinder Task and Marking Techniques – pointing out that, regardless of trips already completed, crews would be expected to complete 45 trips [underlined] (two tours) [/underlined] with Pathfinder Force, - he then requested volunteers. Virtually to a man, the whole Squadron volunteered and 83 Sqdn. became the first Pathfinder Force Squadron, transferring to R.A.F. Wyton, Huntingdonshire in formation on the afternoon of 15th August, 1942. Squadron ground personnel travelled down by road with all heavy equipment and within a few days the Squadron was again at ‘Operational Readiness’ in it’s new PATHFINDER role).
By 18.00 hours all concerned crews were seated in the briefing room and stood up as the Squadron C.O. entered. Curtains pulled away from the large scale map showing DUISBERG to be the target, and red tapes pinned to the board showed the route out, and home. The C.O., Wing Commander Crighton-Biggie remarked that most of the assembled crew had been to Duisberg about six weeks before on the night of 23rd. July while the squadron was still with No.5 Group. It had been a very heavily FLAK defended target then, and certainly would be a tough one tonight, especially as some of the senior crews would be Marking the Target and make 2 or 3 runs each to replenish special Target Indicator Marker Flares.
- [deleted] 13 [/deleted] [inserted] 7 [/inserted] -
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Detailed briefing by each specialist Aircrew Leader followed as previously outlined. The main points were:-
i. Stick to planned course exactly
ii. Ensure accurate time of arrival at each turning point and [underlined] DO NOT CUT CORNERS [/underlined]
iii. Bombing heading across Target is from the South heading 020˚
iv.. Bombing height 20,000 feet
v. Zero hour on Target 03.00 (7.9.42)
vi. MARKERS – crews detailed separately commence marking Target at [underlined] 2 – 6 minutes [/underlined] with sticks of three [underlined] Green Marker Flares [/underlined] each run.
vii. Estimated total time of trip, 4 hours
viii. Fuel load 1,500 gallons – ample for six hours including 1 1/2 hours at combat revs and boost of 2,850 rpm + 9 lbs. if necessary
ix. Strict R/T silence (radio telephone) until reporting at ‘GATE’ position on return when instruction for a ‘Stream’ landing will be given.
X. First aircraft takes off 01.00 hours
X1. Pre-Flight meal 22.30 hours
The briefing was completed by 18.45 hours and the squadron dismissed to rest.
Sqn.Ldr. Roy Elliott and his crew collected a packet of ‘escape money’ each from the WRAF Flt. Officer (Intelligence) as they left the briefing room. This crew, in Lancaster ‘E’ Edward had been detailed to be first aircraft on Target at [underlined] Zero Minus Six Minutes [/underlined] (02.44 hours) and their bomb load 12 x S.B.C.’s GREEN MARKER FLARES. This meant four separate runs across the target – DUISBERG – which from previous trips the crew had called – “The worst for heavy flak” other than Essen.
After resting, the crew met for the pre-flight meal of eggs and bacon, (a rare delicacy in war-time Britain), and were on the way to the Hangar to dress in flying clothing by 23.10 hours. By midnight, dressed and ready to go the crew were collected by L.A.C.W Nancy Smith (M T driver with her one ton truck, and driven to ‘E’ Edward dispersal at the southern edge of RAF Wyton aerodrome.
It was a warm evening, still an hour to take-off, and the skipper suggested a last smoke and ‘5 minutes’ tactics, before commencing aircraft ground checks. Following crew custom, Flt.Lt. J.H. Dunk (navigator) spread a map
- [deleted] 14 [/deleted] [inserted] 8 [/inserted] -
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out showing pencilled the route out – across Target – and home. The crew saw that their route was WYTON – N east to Cleethorpes, then east to Den Helder (South of Texel Island) then S. east across the Zuider Zee (now Issel Meer) heading directly to ARNHEM in Holland. Beyond Arnhem they turned due east for 20 miles, then sharply due south – short of EMMERICH which would be 6/8 miles on their port beam. Remaining on course 180˚ until the town of WESEL was 10 miles on the Port beam, then again altering course – (as a feint or spoof manoevre [sic]) south east directly towards Dusseldorf, which lay south of Duisberg and to the south east of KREFELD. Finally when [underlined] past [/underlined] Duisberg and six miles south west of the target – turn sharply onto 045˚ (north east) directly for Duisberg – confirm aiming point visually and on ‘GEE’ radar – altering course to Bomb Run heading as briefed on [underlined] 020˚ [/underlined] for aiming point on DOCKS. (The return route was 50 miles north and parallel to the outward route)
The time was now 00.30 hours and the crew quickly ran through the external checks; a final word from ‘Chiefy’ and his ground crew who wished “GOOD LUCK” – skipper Roy Elliott signed the servicing F700 and called, “All aboard”.
Once in crew positions all internal checks were completed by 00.50 hours when the Green Aldis flashed from the Control Tower signalling ‘E’ Edward start-up. The ground crews were given thumbs up, plus 1 finger, and engines started in sequence:-
No.1 Port outer
No.2 Port inner
No.3 Starboard inner
No.4 Starboard outer
When all four were running the wireless operator switched from ‘Ground’ to ‘Flight’ and the flight engineer gave the crossed arms signal to ground crews to:-
a. unplug ground electronics
b. chocks away
Roy Elliott held the aircraft on brakes awaiting the ‘taxi’ signal from the tower; the time 00.57 hours. Meanwhile ground running checks of engine propellors [sic], fuel selection, pumps, instruments and master compasses were completed.
The runway in use was [underlined] 36 [/underlined] (due north) only 300 yds. from ‘E’ Edward’s dispersal
- [deleted] 15 [/deleted] [inserted] 9 [/inserted] -
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and at precisely 01.02 the double green Aldis flashed the ‘taxi’ signal on to ‘E’ Edward’s cockpit, the brakes were released, the skipper pressed his inter-com button ordering, “Check guns on ‘FIRE’, we are on our way!”, and taxied to the runway controllers’ hut on 36, rolling forward to straighten the tail; then BRAKES FULL ON:-
a. CHECK No.1 – OK – Fully Fine
CHECK No.2 – OK – Fully Fine
CHECK No.3 – OK – Fully Fine
b. Fuel Pumps ON – OK
c. Flaps 20˚ - OK
d. Radiators automatic – OK
e. Navigator – give me Gyro and P.4 Compass check – OK
f. Brake pressure 350 lbs. – OK
Precisely at briefed take-off time the runway controller flashed a green torch- (time 01.10 hours). Roy Elliott opened up, released brakes and ‘E’ Edward roared into the night and once airborne in about 2000 yards climbed up steeply heading north for Cleethorpes on the east coast. Once airborne, Roy Elliott called, “Flaps up” – then “Climbing Power” and the flight engineer responded after completing the action: - “Flaps are up” – “Revs 2850 boost + 9 lbs. sq.in – throttles locked, temperatures and pressure normal”.
‘E’ Edward continued to climb at 1200 ft. per minute and the Captain again pressed the inter-com button saying:-
“ATTENTION ALL CREW, DUISBERG IS VERY MUCH A [underlined] HOT SPOT [/underlined] ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE RUHU; IT IS HEAVILY RINGED BY ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS AND HAS NUMEROUS BELTS OF SEARCHLIGHTS. THE RUHR DEFENCES AS YOU ALL KNOW EXTEND INTO E.HOLLAND SO IF WE ARE CAUGHT OR [underlined] CONED [/underlined] WATCH OUT FOR NIGHT FIGHTERS – ESPECIALLY IF THE FLAK EASES UP AT ALL! I WILL BE WEAVING A CORKSCREW PATTERN EITHER SIDE OF OUR MEAN COURSE, ALSO DIVING AND CLIMBING CONTINUOUSLY BETWEEN 18000 ft and 20,000 ft. I WILL BE BANKING ALMOST VERTICALLY ON TURN, [underlined] SO SEARCH BELOW AND ABOVE EACH TIME. [/underlined] EVERYBODY KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED! – OUT’…
This was a little more than usual admonition from the skipper; afterwards the crew wondered if he had had a premonition?
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‘E’ Edward reached Cleethorpes on course – height 12,500 ft and turned onto a new heading, (corrected for drift by the navigator) of 080˚ for DEN HELDER, still climbing. Both gunners reported other heavy aircraft level and to the rear on approximately the same course. At 13,000 ft boost pressure had dropped to 5 1/4 lbs. sq. in. – the flight engineer requested “Change to ‘S’ gear Supercharger”. The skipper indicated O.K. with right thumb; the flight engineer first throttled back switches to ‘S’ gear which was felt as an audible surge, then throttled to the ‘GATE’ position. Operational height of 20,000 ft was reached at 01.45 hours and the skipper announcing this ordered, “Cruise power”; the flight engineer complied, altering propellors [sic] to a coarser pitch and synchronizing engines at 2650 revs boost + 4 lbs. sq. in.
Within a few minutes the bomb aimer called on intercom, “Enemy coast ahead, I can see Texel and the Zuider Zee!”
The navigator replied, “O.K.: I have a ‘FIX’ – Skipper, we are about two minutes early, can you reduce speed to 180 knots? I know we are No.1 to bomb but we don’t want to be too far ahead or we will be for it!”
“O.K.” the skipper responded, and eased the throttles back until 180 knots was indicated on the A.S.I. (Air speed indicator), in so doing, the boost gauges all dropped to show only 1/2 lb. sq. in. boost and flame from the unsilenced exhaust stubs subsided to a dull red tinged with blue, about 18 inches long.
Using the bomb sight, the bomb aimer gave a precise time, as we crossed into the Zuider Zee altering course to 135˚ for the long leg towards ARNHEM. As we turned the mid-upper gunner reported an M.E. 110 night fighter 5000 ft. up and heading west toward Texel; he had not seen us!
The skipper warned again, “KEEP ALL EYES PEELED – OUT”
When about the middle of the Zuider Zee it was obvious that things were hotting up as searchlights searched behind us from Texel and Den Helder with bursts of flak, and signs of air to air tracer, indicating German night fighters were up to our altitude [inserted] early [/inserted] and also scoring hits on our main force of Bomber Command as yet barely one hour out from base.
- [deleted] 17 [/deleted] [inserted] 11 [/inserted] -
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By 02.15 hours we had passed over the Zuider Zee onto the Dutch mainland still heading 135˚, speed 180 knots for ARNHEM, when at 02.22 hours with Apledoorn on the port beam we were caught by a brilliant ‘Blue’ master searchlight which must have been ‘tracking’ us while ‘shuttered’. Immediately, 20 to 30 other searchlights came on to us and we were ‘CONED’.
Roy Elliott called, “WATCH IT EVERYONE – FULL POWER”, and pushed ‘E’ Edward into a vertical dive – on track; meanwhile the flight engineer adjusted propellor [sic] pitch controls to prevent overspeeding the engines and as the speed rose and altimeter unwound, pulled the anti-glare shield over the skipper’s head and flipped the skipper’s tinted shield down on his goggles. Then:-
SPEED 280 Height 18,000
SPEED 300 “ 17,500
Speed 330 “ 16,000
Flt.Eng. “Watch it skipper, they are firing at us now”
SKIPPER: “Aye, I can see it; pulling up now”
Then the sudden change in ‘G’ forcing us into our seats – still blinded by searchlights – Edward bucking in the shock of flying through grouped shell bursts – the acrid pungent smell of explosive – the altimeter hands winding up like mad as the aircraft regained precious altitude, although the speed slackened gradually. The flight engineer was altering throttles and pitch control lever setting, (akin to a ‘Concert Organist’) except that for ‘E’ Edward and crew it was a cacophany [sic] of OPS against the enemy, and possible death. This the crew knew well, but did not speak of it. Instead, the laconic, terse, inter-com patter, until suddenly Roy pushed the control column hard forward and reached to open the throttles as ‘E’ Edward shuddered level at 19,500 ft but only 110 knots indicated.
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[page break]
- But still held in the searchlight cone, and so it continued. Flak sometimes very very close and rattling down the fuselage like ball bearings in a dust-bin, with a terrible smell. At other times dull ‘crumps’ in a circle ahead and ‘E’ Edward shuddering as we went through the shock waves. Roy Elliott continued to weave, in a random pattern corkscrew, so violent at times that the crew afterwards agreed it was the worst ‘ride’ ever to date, and wondered too how OL (Sqn. Code) ‘E’ Edward ever stayed in one piece.
Despite all the violent evasive action Roy Elliott had maintained his ‘weave’ fairly evenly, fifteen degrees either side of 135˚ true, and as ‘E’ Edward approached the ‘SPOOF’ turning point beyond Arnhem the searchlights petered out one by one. There had been no fighter attacks despite being held ‘naked’ in the searchlights for what seemed an eternity, but evidence of fighter activity abounded aft as following aircraft were similarly ‘coned’.
NAVIGATOR: “Turn LEFT onto 090 due east for 7 minutes if you can hold 180 knots Skipper”
SKIPPER: “O.K. Navigator, how are we for time?”
NAVIGATOR: “I have a ‘GEE’ fix! Looks O.K., perhaps 30 seconds late at this point, but we should make up when we turn due south in a few minutes because we will have a good wind. I will give you a correction later”.
SKIPPER: “Roger – out”.
The flight continued uneventfully as we turned onto 180˚ (South) for the ‘Spoof’ Leg to a point between Duisberg and Krefeld and heading directly for Dusseldorf.
WIRELESS OP: “Have been jamming over my briefed strobe frequencies skipper, there are a hell of a lot of night fighter instructions coming up”.
SKIPPER: “O.K. all crew WATCH IT – out”.
------------Then immediately:-
REAR GUNNER: “Three fighters 1000 yards aft Skipper and UP 2000 ft. Don’t weave, cut your throttles back. Don’t think they have seen us”.
Skipper complied –
SKIPPER: “Roger Bob, watch them”.
Seconds later –
WIRELESS OP: “Skipper, fighters on our course 2000 ft. up, vertically”
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[page break]
SKIPPER: “Roger, Arthur, I see the bandits now, they seem to be scooting to Dusseldorf. Opening up to 180 knots again navigator, let me have a timing check please”.
NAVIGATOR: “Roger, Skipper, in one minute”. – On track but 10 seconds early, I have a good ‘Gee’ fix! In fact this ‘Gee Box’ is working so well I think it would be a good idea to feed in the Gee Plot target co-ordinates!”
SKIPPER: “Have you got them”?
NAVIGATOR: “Yes”
SKIPPER: “O.K. then let’s give it a try!” “Bomb aimer, what does the ground look like to the east?”
BOMB AIMER: “Looks clear skipper, if they don’t start up a smoke screen too early”
SKIPPER: “O.K.” “Navigator, we will run in on ‘Gee’ X-Y co-ordinates and let the bomb aimer do a visual double check on our first run up for about 2 minutes, or, say… 6 miles reasonably level – and I will drop speed to 143 knots for the final run in; take photo on the first run! – Bomb Aimer, make sure you know which 3 switches you are going to select on each RUN, we don’t want to overshoot and go round more often than necessary. O.K.? – OUT”
At 02.37 ‘E’ Edward turned on to the final Dog-leg ‘run in’ to Duisberg heading 025˚ true. The navigator said:-
NAVIGATOR: “I have both blips on ‘Gee’ now, I think we are east of track!”.
SKIPPER: “Bomb aimer, how does it look down there?”
BOMB AIMER: “Yes, we are east of track and drifting, alter course 10˚ port, --- that’s better! Bomb door open – LEFT – STEADY, 143 knots please – STEADY – am clearing the camera now – STEADY – searchlights seeking us now – STEADY. Target 4 miles and tracking down the bomb sight – STEADY NOW – Flak coming up! – watch for the red ‘spots’ – STEADY – RIGHT A LITTLE – STEADY – Flak bursting ahead, below us! – STEADY – Marker flares fused! – STEADY – I can see the aiming point”.
NAVIGATOR: “Yes, Bomb aimer, I have the blips on ‘Gee’ very close together”.
BOMB AIMER: “30 seconds to go Skipper, hold her steady – RIGHT – STEADY – ‘FLARES GONE’ – FLAK! – they are throwing it up! – STEADY for the photo! – STEADY – STEADY – FLASH GONE – O.K. SKIPPER DIVE DIVE – Flak straight for us – TURN RIGHT IN THE DIVE – CRIPES – THAT LOT BURST ABOVE US!”.
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[page break]
SKIPPER: “Quiet now, I can see it! – Navigator, I’m down to 18,000 and will orbit starboard to the east!
Bomb aimer, can you see our MARKERS?”
BOMB AIMER: “Yes Skipper, they are in a tight cluster, smack over the sheds, about 200 yds east of our pin-point target”.
SKIPPER: “Good! – all crew keep a sharp look out as we re-join the stream on 020˚ true!
BOMB AIMER: “Main force must be a little early, they are thumping 4000 pounders onto our markers now.”
SKIPPER: “TIME CHECK PLEASE”
02-58 hrs. – log that navigator. They are two minutes early!.
BOMB AIMER: “Three Green Target Markers backing up on ours!”
SKIPPER: “How long do they burn for?”
BOMB AIMER: “Six minutes”
SKIPPER: “Good! there should be enough light for us on our next run; coming onto 020˚ True now.
BOMB AIMER: “Bomb doors open --- my God, the flak is very heavy now --- solid you could almost land on it!”
SKIPPER: “How are we going, Bomb aimer?”
BOMB AIMER: “Coming up just fine--- about 4 miles to go --- 2 miles --- STEADY, dead on track --- STEADY --- STEADY --- Lancaster caught in searchlights 1 mile ahead --- DOWN --- he’s been hit --- he’s on fire! --- HELL --- he’s gone – ‘Blown up’ --- no chance!”
SKIPPER: “LOG TIME”
BOMB AIMER: “Steady --- steady ---left --- a bit more --- STEADY ---STEADY --- damn! Searchlights got us --- STEADY SKIPPER, - HOLD IT STEADY – 30 seconds – flak a’coming [sic] --- STEADY --- markers fused --- STEADY --- markers gone --- WEAVE SKIPPER – FLAK GOT OUR RANGE ---Hell’s teeth, I can smell it --- FULL POWER!!! --- Speeds the answer now ---
[underlined] ‘THUMP’ --- ‘CRUMP’ --- ‘RATTLE’ [/underlined]
BOMB AIMER: “We’ve been hit aft”
REAR GUNNER: “We’ve been holed by the Elsan”
SKIPPER: “O.K> SPEED 280 – Height 15000 and going down – HELL WE”RE VERTICAL - --- give us a heave engineer”.
ENGINEER: “O.K.”
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[page break]
SKIPPER: “Speed 320 --- 130000 ft. --- Cut power”
ENGINEER: “O.K.”
SKIPPER: “Give me flap 15 degrees – HEAVE --- Speed [underlined] 360 MAXIMUM [/underlined] 11000 --- Trim the tail engineer”.
ENGINEER: “ROGER”
SKIPPER: “Speed 380 plus – OFF THE CLOCK! --- height 8000 --- Navigator, check on position, I’m over to the east on 055 degrees.
NAV: “O.K.”
SKIPPER: “She’s coming out now – speed 360 – height 5000 --- HERE IT COMES!”
The fiery tracer from multiple light flak hosepiped [sic] up at the aircraft, at first seemingly slow, then viciously whipping past.
REAR GUNNER: “Searchlights aft, searching for us”
SKIPPER: “Can you hit them Bob?”
GUNNER: “Will do…”
The the rivetting [sic] hammer of 4 Browning’s fireing [sic] 1200 rounds per minute opened up. – Within seconds:-
GUNNER: “GOT TWO”
SKIPPER: “Good show Bob”. “Navigator, how far east are we?”
NAVIGATOR: “No good skipper, ‘GEE’ won’t pick up this low down, can you climb and circle?”
SKIPPER: “Willco”. – (Order to Flt. Engineer –“2850 revs + 9 lbs. – M Gear”)
BOMB AIMER: “we dropped on the second run at 03.11 and it is now 03.29
SKIPPER: “She’s climbing like a barn-door – 12,000 ft. coming up – watch out for fighters, they must know we’re in trouble!”
FLIGHT ENG: “Skipper, engines are getting hot, I think we over-speeded on the dive, suggest drop R.P.M. to 2650 and ‘S’ Supercharge.”
SKIPPER: “O.K. – I think ‘E’ Edward is feeling the strain and it’s [underlined] asking for it [/underlined] to circle here. Navigator, how far west is Duisberg now?”
NAVIGATOR: “About 17 miles”
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[page break]
SKIPPER: “Right, I’m at 13,500 ft. now and we are only struggling to get higher. I propose to turn onto 270 degrees and go across at about 220 knots, O.K. Navigator?”
NAVIGATOR: “O.K. Skipper, but you need to be about 262 degrees.”
SKIPPER: “Roger! --- (then to crew) – We will be at right angles to the tail-end of the attack, most aircraft will be up around 20,000, but we might be level with the Stirlings or Wellingtons – if we get caught again I shall use some height to speed things up. How are the engine temperatures engineer?”
ENGINEER: “Cooling off now, skipper – I see we’ve lost three of our spinners from numbers 1, 3 and 4”
SKIPPER: “Have we!”
BOMB AIMER: “We’ve lost the bomb-doors too”
SKIPPER: “Hell! No wonder we’re flying like a ‘pregnant duck! – how’s the fuel?”
ENGINEER: “Tanks appear O.K. and check out with computed log”.
SKIPPER: “How much left?”
ENGINEER: “About 900 gallons”
SKIPPER: “Good, should see us home. Bomb aimer, how far to target?”
BOMB AIMER: “About 9 miles on track and heavy bombs and incendiaries still pouring down --- flak doesn’t look so heavy”.
SKIPPER: “O.K> we’re going straight through and drop the remaining six marker flares to the north of Duisberg - - not so many fires there!”
BOMB AIMER: “O.K. Skipper, about 5 miles now, alter course starboard – a little more --- steady now that’s about it”.
SKIPPER: “Heading now 267˚ True
ROGER
“STEADY AS YOU GO”
“BOMB DOORS OPEN”
[underlined] “THEY ARE BLOODY OFF CLOT!” [/underlined]
“SORRY”
“STEADY - - STEADY”
“ALL MARKERS GONE, N.W. CORNER DUISBERG – TIME 03.47
JUST 3 MINUTES BEOFRE [sic] THE LAST AIRCRAFT IS DUE ON TARGET”
SKIPPER: “LOG THAT NAVIGATOR”
NAVIGATOR: “GOT IT SKIPPER”
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[page break]
SKIPPER: “Engineer, pour the [underlined] coal on [/underlined] 2850 revs + 9 lbs. and let’s get out of here before they take more notice!”.
ENGINEER: “Roger”
NAVIGATOR: “I’ve got ‘Gee again, and a course correction to 271˚ true if you reckon to go through those searchlights!
SKIPPER: “O.K., turning onto 271˚ - speed 240 knots and weaving; how are we for time at the first homeward turning point?”
NAVIGATOR: “Just a minute, - we will be about 7 minutes late, but if you hold this speed we will be about right by the time we cross the Frisian Islands”.
SKIPPER: “O.K. we’ll do that”.
The return flight passed uneventfully until 04.16 hours heading west over the Dutch coast. Sporadic air to air firing was reported to Port (south) of track.
BOMB AIMER: “We are crossing one of the Frisian Islands, look like Terschelling!”
NAVIGATOR: “Thank you, yes it is Terschelling, about the centre!”
BOMB AIMER: “Yes, O.K.”
NAVIGATOR: “Skipper, I have a fix! Can you alter course now 8˚ to port onto 263˚ true?”
SKIPPER: O.K. Navigator, how long to the ‘GATE’?”
NAVIGATOR: I’m just working it out – hold on - . We should be at our ‘Gate’ position at 04.55 and in Wyton circuit 15 minutes later at 05.10. We have made up lost time now, in fact, we’re 2 minutes ahead”.
SKIPPER: “O.K. Thanks”
A quarter of an hour passed and then the skipper called again to the crew:
SKIPPER: “I see air to air tracer about 10 miles ahead and down near the sea. Now verey lights – RED, GREEN, RED – there’s an aircraft on fire! Can you see it Bomb aimer?”
BOMB AIMER: “yes skipper, it’s a Halifax and looks like it’s [sic] ‘bought it’ and going in!”.
WIRELESS OP: “I’ve just got a ‘Ditching Distress Mayday ‘ signal’ – they are still transmitting, I’ll try to get a fix! I make it about 2˚ to port on the D/F loop”.
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[page break]
SKIPPER: “That is the one we see just ahead now and very low, plot this position navigator. I’m going to orbit here and let down a bit. Can you send the co-ordinates through to base on W/T wireless operator?
NAVIGATOR: “This position is 2˚ 42 minutes East and 53 3 minutes North - - wireless op, have you got that?
WIRELESS OP: “yes, O.K.”
BOMB AIMER: “That Halifax has gone into the ‘drink’ – didn’t look like a ‘ditching’ from here!”
SKIPPER: “Add that to the co-ordinates wireless operator for Air Sea Rescue [inserted] “ [/inserted] [deleted] Arthur” [/deleted]
WIRELESS OP: “WILCO”
SKIPPER: “All crew, keep your eyes peeled – I’m returning onto course 263˚ true; obviously a German night fighter got that Halifax and there are probably more about. Navigator, it’s now 04.47 and I’m going to let down to 5000 feet for the ‘Gate’ position”.
NAVIGATOR: “O.K. Skipper”
WIRELESS OP: “Skipper, I have just taken an urgent ‘Q’ signal from H.Q. BOMBER COMMAND, will de-code it in a few minutes --- I have the message now, it reads:-
“FROM HEADQUARTERS BOMBER COMMAND TO ALL HOME-BOUND BOMBER FORCE –
Time of Origin: 04.43hr.
[underlined] Message: [/underlined] BANDITS – REPEAT BANDITS ACTIVE MID – NORTH – SEA STOP ALSO EAST ANGLIA AND FENS STOP STRESS VIGILANCE STOP MESSAGE ENDS
SKIPPER: “All crew acknowledge in turn that you got that, starting with you in the rear turret Bob”.
The crew did so.
SKIPPER: “Fair enough, now really ‘WATCH IT’.
[underlined] AT 04.49 hrs. [/underlined]
NAVIGATOR: “Skipper, we lost a couple of minutes orbiting and we are at the ‘Gate’ now”.
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SKIPPER: “Roger, I’ll call Base! Bomber Common Frequency is No.2 button tonight, isn’t it wireless op?”
WIRELESS OP: “Yes Skipper”
SKIPPER: “CAPTAIN TO BASE – OL-‘E’ EDWARD AT GATE POSITION – ANGELS 5000 FEET REQUEST JOINING INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE?”
BASE – to ‘E’ EDWARD: ADVISE BANDITS ACTIVE THIS AREA IN PAST 30 MINUTES KEEP A GOOD LOOK OUT. LET DOWN TO ANGELS 2000 feet and SET COURSE FOR BEACON. THERE ARE 3 – REPEAT 3 – AIRCRAFT AHEAD OF YOU. CALL AGAIN AT BEACON – OUT.
SKIPPER: “CAPTAIN TO BASE – MESSAGE RECEIVED – OUT”
NAVIGATOR: “Skipper, new course 258˚ true – we should be at the Beacon in 15 minutes”
SKIPPER: “Roger!” “CAPTAIN TO BASE: - ‘E’ EDWARD overhead Beacon
BASE to ‘E’ EDWARD: WELCOME HOME – RUNWAY IS 36 – JOIN QFE 1017 – CIRCUIT ANTI-CLOCKWISE. YOU ARE No.2 TO LAND LET DOWN TO ANGELS ONE THOUSAND DOWN WIND LEG – TURN FINALS AT 2 MILES. WATCH OUT FOR APPROACHING AIRCRAFT USEING [sic] WARBOYS CIRCUIT – USE NIL – REPEAT – NIL – IDENTIFICATION LIGHTS – OUT.
SKIPPER: “CAPTAIN TO BASE CONTROL – UNDERSTAND No.2 TO LAND – OUT
Then the skipper’s instructions to Flight Engineer:
SKIPPER: “Wheels down – Props Fine
FLT. ENG. “Wheels going down – Wheels down and locked – 2 GREENS – Props Fully Fine”
SKIPPER: “Flaps 15˚”
FLT. ENG. “15 degrees Flap on – skipper, we may need a little more speed on landing due to no bomb doors and spinners gone!”
SKIPPER: “Yes, I can feel it on the controls – call out speeds from OUTER MARKER to TOUCH DOWN! I.L.S. ON”
FLT. ENG.:“Roger”
SKIPPER: “Flap 25˚ Turning finals now!”
FLT. ENG: “25˚ Flap ON” “OUTER MARKER BEACON – NOW”
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FLT. ENG: “HEIGHT 800 ft. – SPEED 130 knots” “HEIGHT 600 ft – SPEED 130 knots” “HEIGHT 300 ft. – SPEED 120 knots” [underlined] “INNER MARKER NOW” [/underlined]
SKIPPER: “FULL FLAP”
FLT. ENG. “FULL FLAP GOING ON – HEIGHT 150 ft. – SPEED 115 knots”
SKIPPER: “I have GLIDE ANGLE ‘GREEN’”
FLT. ENG: “HEIGHT 100 ft – SPEED 110 knots “HEIGHT 50 ft – SPEED 105 knots”
SKIPPER: “Over the hedge! CUT POWER”
FLT. ENG: “ROGER - - - Wow! A ‘daisy cutter’ – we’re down” There is another aircraft 600 yds ahead of us turning off the run-way to ‘B’ dispersal”
TOWER TO ‘E’ EDWARD: “Turn left at runway intersection and continue to your dispersal. There is another aircraft touching down behind you”
SKIPPER: “ROGER Control, turning off; - flaps up engineer”
The aircraft was beckoned into ‘E’ dispersal by one of the ground crew signalling with ‘dim’ orange coloured torches then turned through 180˚ to be positioned ‘NOSE’ towards the perimeter track after which the signalling ‘wands’ indicated an ‘X’ motion for ‘STOP ENGINES’. The time on arriving at dispersal was 05.20 hours.
After the crew had run through the ‘Shut down’ checks ensuring all switches and circuit breakers were ‘OFF’ the pilot called down:
SKIPPER: “Chocks in position fore and aft of main wheels” (then released the brakes). “O.K. everybody, that is our fifteenth trip completed, let’s have a check for flak damage before we leave dispersal for de-briefing. Be sure to bring your maps navigator”.
Checking externally around ‘E’ Edward the crew found a jagged 4” hole in the floor near the door and also, apart from the missing spinners and bomb doors that had been ripped off during their dive out of the searchlights, there were fifty+ holes peppered by flak fragments.
- 20 -
[page break]
The captain signed the ‘Serviceing [sic] F.700’: “SLIGHT FLAK DAMAGE, AND CHECK ENGINES AND PROPS FOR POSSIBLE SNAGS DUE TO OVER-SPEEDING’.
Dawn was just breaking as the crew boarded the bus for transportation to the hanger-locker rooms to change out of flying clothing prior to de-briefing.
‘E’ Edward’s crew entered the de-briefing room and were greeted by Air Commodore Don Bennett, (A.O.C. 8 Group) – “Had a good trip chaps? Glad to have you back!”
SKIPPER: “Good, but rough Sir, we’re all ready for a rum and coffee”.
Then with a pint sized cup each, the crew were beckoned to a spare de-briefing table where they were awaited by an intelligence officer and his WRAF assistant, together with the squadron navigation leader.
The time and co-ordinates of the suspected ‘ditching’ of an aircraft in the north sea were first given by ‘E’ Edward’s navigator. The Skipper, Roy Elliott then highlighted the night’s work and answered the many questions concerning the route IN/OUT, every searchlight and flak position being pin-pointed on the aircraft’s plotted route. Finally, as details of the ‘Marker’ runs across the target were given, an airman from the photographic section arrived with the developed prints taken on the first bombing run. These showed without doubt that the flares had burst over the pin-point DOCKS TARGET and about 60 yards east.
Air Commodore Bennett, who meantime had joined the group surrounding the crew congratulated them on the aiming point photograph afterwards remarking, “Off to breakfast chaps, it’s gone 06.30 and you could be ‘ON’ again tonight, so get some sleep”.
- 22 -
[page break]
CONCLUSION:- [underlined] WAS IT ALL WORTHWHILE? [/underlined]
Hitler and Nazism were thoroughly evil and the British people had no choice but to oppose this to the best of their ability as the Germans advanced and occupied other nations of Europe.
The Nazis hatred of the Jews and their determination to destroy them was proved when the horrors and atrocities of the concentration camps became known. Millions of people died in gas chambers (including little children) and it can only be concluded that Bomber Command played a vital role by bombing armament works and factories, railways and docks etc. in the slowing down of the German offensive thereby assisting the advance of the allied armies.
Whilst in retrospect it is possible for new generations to feel cynical with regard to damage to great architectural and historic cities, at the time of such a reign of horror and terror their destruction was a small price to pay in return for the freedom of so many people who were once again given the opportunity to live as human beings. Many difficult decisions and tasks had to be carried out by men of great fortitude and integrity; their only aim was to help liberate fellow men in captivity and distress. They themselves had nothing to gain from their terrible tasks in the air except the knowledge that they fought tirelessly for mastery of the air and for the doom of the Hitler tyranny, which in the words of Winston Spencer Churchill, “Would bring about a safe and happy future for tormented mankind”.
In 1939 Hitler’s power was immense when he confidently set out to conquer and subjugate the nations of Europe. The youth of Britain backed up by the faith, hope, determination and co-operation of their parents and grandparents, (which became known as ‘THE WARTIME SPIRIT’), inspired by their great leader Winston Spencer Churchill, had no choice but to accept the challenge, although at that time seemingly weak and helpless. With such a spirit of determination, and everyone [underlined] united [/underlined] in a [underlined] common cause, [/underlined] the wheels were set in motion to fight and win. All were in the frontline all the time and life was not easy, but slowly, it became possible to ‘hit back’, with Bomber Command playing a very essential part during this period of time. Surely then, there can be no question of doubt as to whether or not the work of Bomber Command was worthwhile in the part played. Indeed, were it not for the success in conquering and destroying Hitler and his armies, Britain might also have been occupied with little or no hope of survival.
- [deleted] 35 [/deleted] [inserted] 23 [/inserted] -
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
Strike to defend
Description
An account of the resource
A 25 page account of the preparation for, and carrying out of a maximum effort operation against Duisburg by Lancasters of 83 Squadron at RAF Wyton, part of 8 Group Bomber Command. Account provides detailed description of preparations, briefing and of the work undertaken by each crew member before and throughout the flight, and once back at base.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
G Dunmore
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-09-06
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Twenty-five page typewritten document
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BDunmoreGDunmoreGv1
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
Germany
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-09-06
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
Steve Christian
5 Group
8 Group
83 Squadron
aerial photograph
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bomb aimer
bombing
briefing
debriefing
ditching
flight engineer
Holocaust
Lancaster
navigator
Pathfinders
perception of bombing war
pilot
RAF Wyton
searchlight
target indicator
target photograph
wireless operator