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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
Ramsey, Neil
Neil Gordon Creswell Ramsey
N G C Ramsey
Description
An account of the resource
Five items. An oral history interview with Flight Lieutenant Neil Ramsey DFC (b. 1919, Royal Air Force), two cartoons and two memoirs. He flew operations with 105 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Neil and Susan Ramsey and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
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
2016-07-03
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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Ramsey, NGC
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[inserted] [underlined] PETER BOGGIS [/underlined] [/inserted]
[inserted] PLEASE RETURN TO:- [/inserted]
[inserted] Exe. 3. [/inserted]
[underlined] T.F.U DEFFORD. [/underlined]
In January I943 [sic] I was posted to Telecommunications Flying Unit, Defford near Worcester. This was the sharp end of the Telecommunications Research Establishment at Malvern, known briefly as T.R.E., where all the various radar devices for the R.A.F. were thought up in pursuance of the war and tested out by the flying unit at Defford. T.R.E. moved from Swanage on the South coast after the Bruneval raid had captured large chunks of the German Wurtzberg their early warning radar system, and it was thought they might retaliate. Malvern Boys Public School was taken over and T.R.E. moved in with their equipment and scientists, known as Boffins, some well known names among them including Bernard Lovell later Sir Bernard of Joddrell Bank fame.
T.F.U. Defford consisted of two wings, Defensive (Fighters etc) and Offensive (Bombers and Coastal Command), and being a Bomber type I was posted to the latter: THIS ACCOUNT DEALS ONLY WITH this wing.
We had a variety of aircraft including the Lancaster Mks. I, II, III, Halifax Mks. I, II, Stirling Mks. I, III, Wellington Mks. Ic, II, III, Blenheim Mk. IV, Hudson, Mosquito and a few others, and the pilots were expected to fly all of these. We had no dual – just a demonstation [sic] circuit and Pilots Notes – so were a bit vulnerable if anything went wrong. Fortunately emergencies were rather rare and accidents few. The Boffins flew on most of our flights as well as Specialist Navigation Officers and occasionally Signals Officers. A lot of the testing was on H2S and warning devices for air gunners, airborne search radar for Coastal Command. We also did early trials on G.C.A. and equipment for lacating [sic] dinghies – one pilot earning himself a well-merited A.F.C. by volunteering to parachute at night in midwinter into the Irish Sea.
Security at Defford was very tight and R.A.F. Police were everywhere: aircrew needed special passes signed by the Station Commander to enter the aircraft, and aircraft were not permitted to land elsewhere or stay away overnight without his authority. On one occasion I had to fly a Lancaster to Wyton for the A.O.C. 8 Group to carry out some tests on a new stabilised H2S. Air Commodore Bennett, as he then was, flew the aircraft himself with me as a passenger and the Group Navigation Officer working the radar. After an hour’s flying over Nottingham and Leicester (for some reason these two cities were usually the targets for H2S testing – probably a good picture on the screen) Bennett landed and he and the navigator seemed pleased with the project. As there was a party in the Mess that night and I had done a tour of ops previously at Wyton I boldly asked the A.O.C. if he wouln’t [sic] loke [sic] to do further testing the next day. After all if you don’t ask . . . . . He might well have said Yes, bring the aircraft back to-morrow, and that would have served me right. But instead he said “I presume you want to go to the party?” and when I replied Yes I did he went to the nearest telephone and spoke to the C.O. at Defford and told him he was very pleased with the equipment and would like to try it out again the next day, and he would accept responsibility for the aircraft staying overnight. Then he turned to me and said “There you are Boggis, enjoy your evening. 0900 hours take-off, don’t be late.” A pretty reasonable gesture I thought.
While on the subject of security I must mention an incident involing [sic] the U.S.A.A.F. By the end of I943 [sic] we had two Flying Fortresses attached to Defford, equipped with H2S and flown by their own crews. Supposedly they were subject to the same security regulations as we were. When the Americans started up their Pathfinder Force they threw an Inaugaral [sic] party at Alconbury and several of us went from Defford, but not allowed to fly there we went by car. Imagine our surprise on arrival to see both the Defford BI9’s [sic] on the airfield, complete with their radar domes for all to see. Then walking along a corridor in one of the buildings we passed the skipper of one of these BI9’s [sic] with an American nurse on his arm. Someone asked him where his navigator was and he said “Down at the radar section” (few people knew the Americans had radar in those days). The nurse said “Gee, you got radar here,” and he replied “Sure, Honey.” But to his credit he told here he couldn’t show her it.
Later we discovered that the Americans had filled these two aircraft with nurses
[page break]
from their hospital near Malvern and flown them up to Alconbury. Goodness knows how they smuggled them onto the base at Defford, let alone into the aircraft!
One of our pilots had an unfortunate accident: half way down the runway on [inserted] [circled 1] [/inserted] take-off he found he had got ‘George’ in, tried to overpower it but was not successful and ended up going through the fence that surrounded Station Headquarters and came to rest outside the Station Commander’s Office. No one was injured and the aircraft was only slightly damaged, repairable on Unit.
The C.O. rushed out of his office and into the aircraft, grabbed [inserted] [circled 2] [/inserted] the first person he saw, who happened to be a civilian Boffin and shouted at him “What happened?” and this fellow, despite being a bit shaken, replied with commendable sang-froid “I don’t know: why don’t you ask the Pilot?” The outcome was that the pilot in due course was sent to the Brighton Disciplinary Course for two weeks, which we all took a very dim view of, especially as he had been an acting Squadron Leader in Bomber Command with a DSO and DFC. He came back from it none the worse for wear with horrific stories of what went on there, and amazingly without too much bitterness. These Discip courses, I feel, were never intended for this sort of thing and I don’t think would have happened in Bomber Command: but Defford was not in Bommber [sic] Command and these things were viewed differently on non-operational stations. We were always rather apprehensive in case we did something silly like a taxying accident. Sure enough an incident did occur to me: I was taxying a Stirling to the hangar when the brakes failed and although I quickly switched all engines off the aircraft slowly rolled down the gently slope to the hangar doors. Visions of Brighton loomed large before me, particularly as the propellor boss of one engine just touched the hangar door. The dent on the boss was insignificant and luck was on my side as the engineering Officer who saw the incident quickly had the boss replaced and we thought no one would be any the wiser. But people talk of course and several days later the acting C.O. of [inserted] [circled 3] [/inserted] my Wing sent for me and asked why I had not reported this incident and that I should consider myself lucky that I was not up before the Station Commander. However he said he was not going to pursue it further and that was the end of the matter. Sad to say he died heroically a year later when shot down flying a Stirling at Arnhem.
Flying back on one occasion from an experimental sortie I thought I would see how A [sic] Lancaster would cope, firstly on two engines, and then on one engine. I was flying at 20,000 ft and with two fans feathered the aircraft could just maintain height (this was the Merlin engine type): with three feathered I had to put it into a gentle glide path to keep up the airspeed. I was most impressed with the performance. What the Boffins thought of some of our antics I can’t imagine, but I reckon they were pretty long suffering. Here’s how a fellow aircrew member saw my little experiment at the time.
[underlined] Peter Boggis. [/underlined]
[inserted] [underlined] DECEMBER 1992 [/underlined] [/inserted]
[inserted] [circled 1] Brian Smithers.
[circled 2] Group Capt. King.
[circled 3]. Squadron Leader Gilliard. [/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
Telecommunications Flying Unit, Defford
TFU Defford
Description
An account of the resource
Neil Ramsey's account of his time at the Telecommunications Flying Unit, Defford, Worcester. The unit was divided into a defensive and an offensive section and because of his experience he was posted to the bomber section.
Various aircraft were fitted with radar equipment for testing and evaluating. He discusses several incidents and accidents involving his and other aircraft.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Peter Boggis
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1992-12
Format
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Two typewritten sheets
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
MRamseyNGC19191216-170217-020001,
MRamseyNGC19191216-170217-020002
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
United States Army Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Worcester
England--Nottingham
England--Leicester
England--Worcestershire
England--Leicestershire
England--Nottinghamshire
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
B-17
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Blenheim
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Service Order
H2S
Halifax
Halifax Mk 1
Halifax Mk 2
Hudson
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 2
Lancaster Mk 3
military discipline
Mosquito
Pathfinders
radar
RAF Alconbury
RAF Defford
RAF Wyton
Stirling
Wellington
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/106/1564/ABriggsDW170327.1.mp3
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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
Briggs, Donald
Donald W Briggs
D W Briggs
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.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-03-27
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Briggs, DW
Description
An account of the resource
21 items. The collection consists of one oral history interview with flight engineer Donald Ward Briggs (1924 - 2018), his logbook, memoirs and 16 wartime and post war photographs. He completed 62 operations with 156 Squadron Pathfinders flying from RAF Upwood. Post war, Donald Briggs retrained as a pilot flying Meteors and Canberras. He eventually joined the V-Force on Valiants and was the co-pilot for the third British hydrogen bomb test at Malden Island in 1957.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Donald Briggs and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
PJ: My name is Pete Jones. I’m interviewing Flight Lieutenant Donald Briggs DFC. Other people attending are Sandra Jones, Pete Jones and Ann Kershaw. It is Monday the 27th of March 2017 and we are in Mr Briggs’ home in Freeland, Oxfordshire. Thank you Donald for agreeing to be interviewed for the IBCC. Donald, now tell me about your early years before you joined up Bomber Command.
DB: Right. Thank you Peter. Well, I was brought up in a small village called Lealholm which was about ten miles from Whitby on the north east coast and my parents ran the village post office and general stores and I, I used to help out while I was a teenager and that sort of thing and then I went to, I went to Whitby County School, a good grammar school and I did five years there but I decided that having seen some advertising literature for the air force and apprenticeships at RAF Halton, and so I applied and then I sat the entrance exam and got through all right, and this was as things were building up towards World War Two. And so the Royal Air Force were recruiting ground servicing personnel in pretty large numbers. At this time I was a fifteen year old and so I saw my chance to learn all about aircraft and what, how you put them together and so on and so I applied for the examination as I said. And I joined at Halton on two days after the war was declared. And that was on the 5th of September 1939. And so there is little doubt that the harsh discipline at Halton coupled with excellent theoretical lessons in schools, and the schools were known as Kermode Hall after the well-known Kermode, the aerodynamicist and he used to teach there actually, and many hours filing pieces of metal in workshops. And it turned boys into men and later in the course we worked in teams stripping down and re-assembling many types of aero engines and at the end of the training which was reduced a bit because of being wartime, and there was a great demand for fitters out in the units, in the fighting units. So my first posting was at RAF Finningley which is about ten miles from Doncaster. And I worked there on the engines of Wellington bombers and Hampden bombers and the Rolls Royce Vulture engines in the Avro Manchester and they, they gave a lot of trouble and er, which meant there were several engine changes that I assisted in. And the next posting was to RAF Upper Heyford where I was promoted to corporal at the age of eighteen. Now there I worked on the Wellington Mark 3 with more powerful Hercules engines and after carrying out rectification on an aircraft if an air test was necessary I usually asked if I could accompany the pilot. Which I did on several occasions and after approximately two and a half years I decided that more excitement was needed so I volunteered for air crew. The president of the selection board said that I had passed all the tests to become a pilot, but the waiting list for pilots was pretty lengthy and also there was a little demand, this was mid-1943 and the commanding officer of the board interviewing, the selection board er he, he said, ‘Now look you’re already a technician, a fitter 2E,’ he said, ‘And what we need is flight engineers,’ and so he said, ‘You want to, you’ll be on operations within six months. You do want to fight don’t you?’ And of course I had to say, ‘Yes. Of course I do,’ and that’s how I became a flight engineer, by passing the course at Royal Air Force St Athan in Wales. Now, during this crewing up procedure when I finished my training I was sent to Lindholme near Doncaster. I was fortunate in meeting the captain of the crew that I was to fly with. He was Flying Officer Bill Neal with his crew and they had already completed a tour of operations on Wellingtons. Now Bill explained that they had been selected to join the Pathfinder force and what our duties would entail. Our first step was to convert on to the Halifax Mark 1 because these were ex beaten up old war, operational aircraft that had seen better days, and so we had to train on them and during our training sorties, Bill Neal gave me a potted flying lesson so that the very, very first aircraft I flew was the Halifax. And that flew alright and I got the hang of how to fly straight and level and do gentle turns and so on, but we completed the course of thirty hours and went on to convert on to the Lancaster at RAF Hemswell, north of Lincoln. Or nearer to Gainsborough actually. I did the night conversion on to the Lancaster on my twentieth birthday, would you believe? And after attending a short course to learn the Pathfinder procedures we joined number 156 squadron Pathfinders at RAF Upwood near Peterborough. And as a new crew we had two weeks of training to complete during which time I took on the additional role of bomb aimer. I was taught how to run up on the, set the bomb sight up to start with and, and then how to run up and give corrections to the pilot, running up to the dropping point, aiming point. And we dropped practice bombs at a nearby bombing range which I seemed to get the hang of quite, quite well. And also during this time Bill Neal vacated his seat. There were no dual control Lancasters on squadrons you see, just a single set of controls in the left hand seat for the captain, but he allowed me to fly this superb aircraft, the Lancaster. And on completion of this training we were declared operational and on the 11th of June 1944, we saw that our crew was on the battle order. All a bit, a bit terrifying for a new chap like myself. The target was vast marshalling yards at Tours in the south of France. The Germans were routing most of their reinforcements through here to the Normandy battlefront. Now, on this particular trip we had a couple of night fighter sightings and attacks and Bill Neal being a terrific pilot he corkscrewed and got rid of them. The whole secret was if you had a rear gunner with such good night vision and if he saw the night fighter before he saw you, then you stood a fairly decent chance of getting away without, without disaster. Well, firstly I volunteered for aircrew and I was fully committed now. There was no turning back. Anybody that did turn back were, were called lack of moral fibre and they were, they were given the most terrible mucky jobs that you could ever imagine. And so, but anyway I stuck with it and destiny would decide whether or not I survived. And secondly I was fortunate in joining a very experienced crew and they all made me a welcome addition to the crew. They had not flown previously with a flight engineer because the Wellington didn’t need one and so on. I should explain that in Pathfinder crews the reason the flight engineers took on the extra duty of visual bomb aimer was that the primary bomb aimer operated the H2S radar, and a lot of our targets relied on this for identification and running up and so on. Now 156 Squadron were primarily a blind marker squadron which meant that if no target indicator flares were seen by the master bomber, he would call for blind markers to be dropped and they were reds which is where we came in. And they would be seen cascading and so on, and give an initial aiming point for the main force of bombers running in. The master bomber would then know that the markers were dropped blind and the target had not been visually identified. But on the very first operation we were about to fly we were part of the illuminating force, and we carried twelve rather large hooded parachute flares. And you drop all twelve together and that was like turning the target into a daylight. The visually illuminated target so they were able to, to identify the aiming point, the master bomber. We had a master bomber and his deputy and he had a dicey job. He used to go right down to about four thousand feet and circle around and a very dangerous job. Some of them didn’t make it and were shot down. And on the first ten operations mostly dropping flares, and on — I was mentioning earlier about the run in to the Tours marshalling yards we had two night fighter attacks and we thought actually that — we heard later that these were night fighter pilots that were training down in France so they weren’t sort of fully, fully operational like their counterparts in, up in Germany and Holland and so on. And so it was a great feeling to be safely on the ground back at our Upwood base and I often used to say to my colleagues, my — well between us we’ve said we climbed up that ladder of the Lancaster at the back end where you board the aircraft, not knowing whether we’d ever be in the position to come back, climb down it again on to terra firma so — but happily I did that sixty-two times. Gratefully rather, I survived those to, climb down that ladder again. And I, our crew was sent on Allied support for the ground forces on the Normandy battlefront and we dropped sticks of one thousand pounders, fourteen bombs in a rapid stick of bombs from only four thousand feet. And the aircraft shook very badly with the blast as you’d expect at that height, and we could see the blast rings coming up from other people’s bombs as well. And we also attacked the V1 launch sights in the Pas-de-Calais area. And the, we formation, six Lancasters formatted on a Mosquito aircraft which was equipped with this very accurate blind bombing system called Oboe. They, they used that for, some of the Pathfinder squadrons used it for marking targets as well. So that when his bomb doors opened we opened ours and when we saw the bombs leave his bomb bay we hit our bomb release button and, as you can imagine that was a lot of bombs going down, usually finishing up in rendering the buzz bombs site unusable. And that must have saved a lot of lives in the, around London. And my first German target was Hamburg, and that was our thirteenth op. And it was quite a, quite a dicey town. Very heavily defended of course as always was Hamburg, being a major port and ship building and that. But we came through the barrage unscathed. My skipper always used to say, ‘What you see in the sky is what’s been, the flak bursts and they’re not going to do us any harm. It’s the ones you can’t see that er.’ But anyway, night fighters were of course were in the area, and we saw several bombers going down in flames, and erm, it was a sickening sight and we, er, sort of sympathised with our colleagues and comrades. They would meet their end in a fireball from bombs and fuel when they hit the ground. It was a sickening sight but we made a note of its position and we got on with our own job. And there wasn’t much else you could do. [pause] Bill Neal, my skipper, always said to me, ‘Don,’ he said, ‘when we’ve finished our tour of operations,’ not if but when, he said, ‘I’m going to put you up for commissioning and,’ he said, ‘Then you can join the rest of us in the officer’s mess.’ So I said, ‘Oh well that’s good. Pleased to hear that,’ and sure enough that’s what happened. After I’d done forty operations and about the end of my first tour and I had an interview with Air Vice Marshall, Don Bennett up at Pathfinder headquarters and he was satisfied and so I became Pilot Officer Don Briggs. And erm, so the — I carried on with Bill because he was awarded the DFC because he’d already, that completed two tours of operations having done one before I met him. So what one more tour and of course usually, certainly a skipper got the DFC. And, but I’ll just tell you during a daylight operation to a target called Kleve in October ’44, we had a flak burst right on the port wing tip. And it, we thought it was really the end, you know, because it was that close. And it damaged the aileron quite badly on the port side, but we still had, skipper had control of the aircraft well and with his amazing piloting skill brought us back to a safe landing back at Upwood. But there was substantial damage, the aileron was, was in a terrible mess. And I pressed on in to my second tour with Bill apart from one operation with another crew as their flight engineer had completed his tour of operations. And one of which was with the squadron commander, one of these battlefront operations, and I had the gunnery leader, the squadron leader was — I was on the bomb sight at the front, and he was in the front turret with his legs, and one of his legs was in plaster. He’d, he’d broken a leg or done something, and in plaster, and this was rubbing on my ear as I was trying to aim bombs and he was swivelling around the front turret which normally wasn’t manned at all. And so that was about it. I’m happy to say that despite several very close shaves, I came through sixty two operations unscathed. Lady Luck was certainly on my side. Bill Neal pressed on with another flight engineer and notched up just short of a hundred ops and he was awarded the DSO and he’d already got the DFC. And the French awarded him the Croix de Guerre, and I’m eternally grateful to Bill for getting me through the most dangerous period of my life. He made sure that my operational record was recognised resulting in the award of the DFC in July 1945. I’ve got a few statistics here which are, to save boring everybody, the number of French targets that we did was twenty-four but German targets exceeded that. Thirty-eight we did to German targets. Forty-one of those were night operations and we did twenty-one daylight operations some of which were daylight ops on Ruhr targets in the hell’s, what do they call it? Hell’s valley or something? Happy valley. That was it. And forty-one of those operations we had our own Lancaster which was GT J-Johnny. And so we flew that and of course that meant our own ground crew and we got to know them pretty well. Of those ops we did three raids on oil refineries, because the Germans were desperately short of fuel towards the end of the war and you can’t run a war machine without fuel. And the V1 sights we did, five of those attacks I was telling you about and five on the battlefront and, and then four on marshalling yards. Ruhr targets. Yes ten. We did ten of those and four in daylight, and my last thirty operations were all German targets. Now, it was a massive relief as you can imagine to have survived all those ops and great to be able to enjoy end of second tour leave with my parents and four younger brothers. I’m the eldest of five. So that ended my wartime contribution to the, to the war effort and I, after the war I was selected for Transport Command and flew on Yorks as a flight engineer going out to India and the Far East. And did that for a couple of years and then was posted to the Empire Test Pilot School at Farnborough and I got some valuable experience there. Only the very, very best of pilots were selected and of course we had exchange officers from America, from the United States Air Force and also the US navy. They sent a representative to the, representative to the empire test pilots course. And a lot of those test pilots that I flew with under training they became, you know, top test pilots for the different companies. And so a very interesting three years out, flying Lincolns and things mostly. And after that I was posted to Manby in Lincolnshire where I met an ex-Pathfinder wing commander and he advised me if I wanted to take pilot training, re-train as a pilot, I should write him a letter which I did. And he must have found it fairly satisfactory ‘cause he, he had me to London, to Hornchurch for a selection board and I passed everything there, all the aptitude tests and so on. And very soon in the summer of ’51, late summer, I started training as a pilot at RAF Ternhill in Shropshire and that was — I enjoyed every minute, every minute of that. It was wonderful. And so er, I passed out from there, graduated and awarded those prestigious pilot’s wings that, all RAF pilots remember being presented with their wings. And so I’ll lead on later to describe my, what, what the, what my path through the peacetime air force was. Right. Now. In the August of 1951, I was allowed to start my conversion to retrain as a pilot. And so I promptly, having got furnished accommodation for Edith and we had two children then and, in Louth, and I used to travel across to Ternhill in Shropshire. So the first two weeks of the course naturally was ground school and exams and all the rest of it. And then we started flying, and the aircraft then for training was the Percival Prentice which was a lumbering old thing, but you could do, you could do sort of basic aerobatics with it and so I went solo on that. My instructor sent me off on my own after about four or five hours. Something like that. And then I did sixty hours on the jet, Percival Provost and then I went on to Harvards and that was a wonderful machine to fly. A very big powerful five hundred and fifty horsepower engine in front of you and not easy to see when you’re flowing out for landing. The engine gets in the way, you’ve got to sort of look over the side a little bit. Anyway, I loved flying the Harvard and completed the course and did my final handling test and so on and graduated for my pilot’s wings presented by some air vice marshall and so I’ve still got the photograph. I trained with a lot of chaps that were engineering officers and they were sort of doing a seconded tour in the general duties flying branch just before going back on to engineering. And so from there it was a question of advanced training over at Oakington in Cambridgeshire, and the Meteor was the standard trainer for jet conversion. I had a French instructor of the French Armee de L’air, and George Golee [?]sent me on my first solo in a Meteor Mark 7 and that was enjoyable and went very well. And the, then working my way through the course — the one thing that I didn’t enjoy too much was at night climbing above thirty thousand feet unpressurised and I had a pretty bad attack of the bends. And ask anybody what the, what that’s like and all your joints, it’s the nitrogen that comes out in the joints of your, everywhere knees, ankles the whole lot, so you can only spend a few minutes above thirty. However, and down we came, and the one thing about the Meteor was when you’d been up high everything used to mist up on the inside so you’re sort of rubbing frantically to be able to see out for the landing. However, that was ok and I passed my final handling test with the wing commander, chief instructor and he seemed quite pleased with my performance and he, on landing, after landing offered me the chance of going straight back to Central Flying School to become a flying instructor. Like what we would call in the service creamed off. Creamed off CFS. Now I politely declined and said I was flattered and so on, but I would like to proceed to a Canberra squadron. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘Yes, that’s fine just I was giving you the chance, you know.’ So that’s what I did, and I proceeded to Bassingbourn to convert on to Canberras, and in those days there was no dual controlled Canberra. You just had to ride alongside someone on the, what we used to call the rumble seat, and er, see what he did and make a note of the speeds and everything, and then on the second trip he would climb out and look up through the hatch and raise his thumb and say are you happy, and all the rest of it and off I went. Well I think somebody else had control, namely the almighty I think had control of that Canberra on take-off. They er, it was so steep, but anyway. I enjoyed my first, first solo and certainly strange having to fly an aircraft where you’d never handled the controls previously, anyway. And so from there I was posted right up to Lincolnshire to, to join 10 Squadron. We were just forming the first Canberra squadron at Scampton. And we, straightaway I was made a flight commander and in charge of all the servicing and so on, on the eight Canberras. And so we, we got on pretty well and the Canberra’s a wonderful aircraft to fly. Quite light on the controls and plenty of power there and so on. And we did lots of exercises, and I always remember on my first early night flying we were, couldn’t land back at Scampton because of bad weather and we were diverted down in to Cornwall to then St Eval which is just near, just north of Newquay. And the trouble with St Eval is that the runway is up high on the cliffs and you come, you come right in on the approach and this was at night and remember, and I hadn’t flown at night for quite some time and coming in over these cliffs and the runway itself had a great big hump in the middle so you could only see half of it when you touched down. And then happily the final half of the runway came into view as you went over the hump. But I got away with it alright, and so and then of course we spent the night and went back to Scampton the following day. My, my time at Scampton involved quite a lot of diversions. There was once we were diverted up to Kinloss in Scotland. And the Canberra had a fairly good performance for, for the time in the air, endurance as we called it. And so during that time on Canberras my boss was, he was an ex-flight commander over at Binbrook on Canberras, and he was promoted and took over 10 Squadron. And Punch Howard [?] was a great Mosquito night fighter ace and he used to go over these German night fighter airfields and fire off the colours of the day and join in the circuit and shoot down two or three night fighters by doing so. And for this he got the DFC and the DFC and bar as well. And so he set up a formation display team and he gave me a check for my formation flying, and he was happy so I joined his team. And we used to give displays up and down the country and there was one in particular when the National Air Races were on at Coventry airport. And so we gave this display and they gave us a good write up in the flight magazine and also a very congratulatory letter from the president of the Royal Aero Club, which I’ve still got a copy. And so that was, that was my forte if you like on 10 Squadron and from there I, we were actually moved over to East Anglia to, to 3 Group at Honington, RAF Honington near Bury St Edmunds actually. And so I spent about three or four months there before they suddenly came up with a posting and I was to be one of the first pilots to join the new V bomber force on Valiants. The, the courses were starting at RAF Gaydon near Leamington Spa, and so I joined as a co-pilot for Squadron Leader Arthur Steele, who later became air commodore. And so we were posted initially to 138 Squadron at Wittering and Edith was — we actually couldn’t get married quarters, they hadn’t built, they hadn’t finished building them so we lived in an old country hall called Rushington Hall. And so the, it was a wonderful old place, and we had one wing of the place to ourselves and it had a lounge half the size of a hangar. And the boys used to ride around on their tricycles up and down the corridors in this thing, this place. But it was, it was good and then by the time we’d spent three or four months there we were given a married quarter at Wittering and we, there we stayed in that for a good five or six years. Then 138 Squadron was the first squadron to form on Valiants of course but then they were forming a new squadron, 49, 49 Squadron to do the Grapple operation. That was the H bomb trials in the pacific from Christmas Island and our crew, Arthur Steele that is, and myself and the rest of the crew, were selected and in the April, sorry in the March of 1957 we all flew out to Christmas Island via Canada. Goose Bay first and then Edmonton, Alberta and then down to San Francisco where we spent a couple of days, and were able to do some sightseeing and exploring in the good old San Francisco. And then the big leg from there to Honolulu was against headwinds normally and we could work out that providing that the headwinds weren’t greater than sixty knots we were ok. We had enough fuel to get there and a little bit to spare. But and as it happened on the day the winds were lighter than that so we were fine. So it was, Arthur Steele was a good skipper. He used to share the landings with me and if it was my turn come hell or high water I would do it and the one at Honolulu was at Hickam air force base and you come right in over Pearl Harbour on the final approach. So that was, I couldn’t look for very, very long I’m afraid, just a quick glance. And so we had a lovely time and it happened to fall on St Patrick’s Day when we were in and of course there was a big, the Americans celebrate that pretty well and we had, they entertained us very well in the officer’s club. And a couple of days later we flew down the thousand mile leg to the south of Christmas Island. Now, the runway had been built by the army, The Royal Engineers and they’d made a good job of it. It was quite a, not a tremendously long runway, but it was long enough just over two thousand yards. And that’s where we prepared for our H bomb drop. So we saw the first one, Squadron Commander Ken Hubbard he dropped the first and Dave Roberts the flight commander he dropped number two and it was our turn for number three. So we’d all prepared and done the drills and so on, the dropping drills. Now, I want to emphasise that we didn’t drop these H bombs and they went into the sea. They burst at eight thousand feet. So there was no, no fallout like some of the previous tests had done by well, say the Americans perhaps or the Japanese they, well, no the Japanese didn’t have it in those days. However, the, there was no fallout and the, but we took ours, it was on June the 19th ‘57 and the yield wasn’t quite as much as the scientists wanted but it was good enough and they were, the British government were then able to specify, say, Britain now can become the, have the facility of nuclear deterrent. The nuclear fallout, nuclear bomb. And so there was to be a fourth, but that was cancelled and we all came the reverse route and flew home. And flew back to Wittering and so that was, that was Operation Grapple. And so we, we settled down and then I, after that, shortly, short time after that I became a captain on the Valiant and posted back to 138 Squadron. [pause] After completing my tour as a Valiant captain which I enjoyed very much, I used to get trips out to Nairobi and did Salisbury which is now called Harare, I think. And er, Germany. I did several trips there with the Valiant and my co-pilot was an ex-fighter pilot, been stationed in Germany so he was able to show us how to get on there in our leisure time. We then, I was posted to Gaydon, as I said and became a ground school instructor on the Victor mark two. Wonderful aircraft, well built and it had all the then high tech, what was high tech in those days, you wouldn’t call it that now. And I used to teach that, and for doing that they allowed me to do first of all the pressured breathing course, because the Victor two would go up to fifty-two, fifty- three thousand feet and if you had an explosive decompression there you were, you were automatically on pressure breathing to get down to forty thousand as quick as possible. So having completed that which, which, which was a bit rigorous, I was able to do the flight simulator on the Victor two and then fly with the OCU instructors. OCU being Operational Conversion Unit which was at Cottesmore. So I, I enjoyed about six flights from either the captain’s seat or the co-pilot’s seat and enjoyed very much flying the Victor and streaming the great big parachute on landing. And you’d swear that somebody had clamped the brakes hard on when you streamed that, fantastic thing and I was later to come across it of course on the Vulcan. So that was the Victor two. Now, from there I was decided to do the central flying school course at Little Rissington. Near Bourton on the Water that was and so I did the course and qualified and became a flying instructor and was posted to Syerston, which was a flying training school near Newark in Nottinghamshire. And there I, I was checked out by the standards people, and allowed to instruct on the aircraft. And my first bunch of students, there was one of them who was particularly good material and tremendous potential and I could tell the way he was flying I only had to show him something once and he had it off pat, absolutely as good as I could show him. And that gentleman was called Brian Hoskins and he later, in later years joined the Red Arrows. He was a member of the team to start with when they were flying the Gnat and then he became leader, and converted them from the Gnat on to the Hawk which they use now of course. And so he led the Red Arrows for, for a couple of years so I’m rather proud of the fact that I helped train him and taught him his first aerobatics and formation flying, which was pretty essential for being in the Red Arrows as you can imagine. So, anyway I enjoyed my tour and I was promised to have a double tour on instructing on the Jet Provost, and I was just enjoying every minute. However, that was not to be. Because I, because I had previous V bomber experience they posted me up to Finningley, where I was to do the Vulcan course. The Vulcan Mark two and so once, once I was trained and finished the course as a Vulcan captain and I went to, you say, call it solo if you like but strangely enough I had an American colonel for my co-pilot on my first trip in a Vulcan. And first trip as captain anyway and he he’d done a tour in Vietnam had this chap, so a very accomplished pilot. And so after that I had to do a short spell of a year or so in the flight simulator, because having an instructor rating of course you need to establish familiarity and the checklist and emergencies in the flight simulator before they actually did the flying. However, they said, ‘Well don’t get too downhearted about it,’ he said, ‘When you’ve done this short spell in the simulator we’ll groom you for stardom Donald and you’ll be given the flying instructor course on Vulcans.’ And that’s how I became a Vulcan flying instructor initially, and they cut, I had to cut my teeth on some young co-pilots who were converting from the right hand seat to the left hand seat just for, they were from squadrons of course. And it meant that they were fairly flexible and they could, providing their captain could, could fly from the right hand seat they would, they would do that. And so and then I went on to take a whole crew, a full crew. And I trained some fairly senior officers, the odd wing commander that was taking over a squadron or a station, a group captain who would be taking over a Vulcan station and so give them the course and and I had some, I had some nasty experiences at night particularly with training, training co-pilots. And they failed to recognise that in a Vulcan once you allowed the speed to fall the Vulcan was, became a high drag machine and it dropped out of the sky very quickly. And so of course being instructors we could recognise this fairly quickly to take control and save the situation as it were. And I had to do this on more than one occasion. At night particularly. Sorry. [recording paused] After completing my tour on the Vulcan OCU as an instructor, I was given my own crew. And we were posted out to Cyprus on to Number nine squadron and I was to become the squadron QFI and then carry out normal duties of a squadron crew as well. So that was wonderful. Edith and I flew out on a VC10 from Brize Norton and the rest of my crew found their way out there somehow. And one of my crew, his wife played the piano, and I’ll just tell you this. You can have a good laugh. She, they managed to even to fly this piano out to Cyprus on some transport aircraft, a Belfast or something. And so anyway, we settled down and we had a very nice hiring in Limassol itself and that was until a married quarter came up and, which it did. After about three months we moved up on to the base into a very nice married quarter and there I continued my, my tour on the squadron and it was very enjoyable. We were able to — if we weren’t flying in the morning we were free to go at about one o’clock and after lunch we were on the beach taking in the sunshine and the nice, in the lagoons swimming. Swimming by the rocks and so on, in the crystal clear water. It was lovely really. It was like a paid holiday. And so that’s how I finished my air force service. I came out in 1973 and I was given a nice send off in the, in the officers mess, dining in night. And so we, Edith and I we’d bought a Volvo car and I was hoping to get it in duty free, but to get a car in from overseas duty free you’d got to have it over a year and I’d only had this Volvo about six months so I knew I was going to have to pay duty on it. However, we drove home. Got the ferry to Athens and then we drove, various little ferries from a place on the mainland to Corfu. And we spent three nice days in Corfu and then on to Brindisi and we drove up the east coast of Italy to, past Venice and up to almost before you cross the St Bernard’s, St Bernard’s pass. There was no tunnels in those days. And that’s how we got home for a series of ferries and arriving home and we still had our place in Doncaster and we sort of tried to settle down as civilians, which was rather strange because when you become a civilian after thirty-five years of air force service you, you feel you’ve lacked that sort of cushion, that cocoon. You’re cocooned in a, in a sort of safe situation in the services and you’ve got to, you’re out in to the big, big world out there to try and make a living. Well I started off by trying to sell insurance from door to door and I got blown out of many a place and without selling anything. And so that turned out to be a dead loss and we tried looking around for a post office and we found one in York. We actually had bought a property now, a new bungalow in York which was very nice. And we ran this post office for, oh I guess about three or four months, and we were going to buy it from the present owner and he must have fallen foul of the head post master of York because he said that, ‘If you sell that,’ he said, ‘I’ll close it down.’ And so we couldn’t, we couldn’t have that and I settled into an insurance office job which wasn’t very exciting. Now, some member of the family was doing a course at Kidlington Airport near Oxford and he said, ‘Donald, why don’t you get yourself down there and get a commercial licence and they want you as a flying instructor,’ and I did just that. It took me about three months and I finished up as a commercial flying instructor on the Oxford Air Training School. And there I did fourteen years and trained many pilots for the commercial airlines, British Airways included, Aer Lingus, British Midland, Singapore Airlines and many others. And it was very enjoyable and rewarding. The, the ones I didn’t have much joy with were the Algerians. They were a bit of a peculiar lot but, however I retired then after fourteen years and I still went on flying at RAF Halton, where my service life started of course in 1939. So I joined the Microlight Flying Club and they immediately enrolled me as their chief flying instructor so I did a bit more instructing on microlights, and not the weight shift, I wouldn’t fly those. These microlights were proper stick and rudder aircraft and so on. And so I was happy with that, and it just so happened I trained a couple of air marshals. They came through and wanted checking out on microlights so, so I flew with them and a very nice situation. And I went on flying those until I was eighty four and then I thought well I’ve just about had enough. I think I’ll. I’ll give it up now, the flying, and so I haven’t flown since and we are now in 2017. So, so, [laughs] right. However I’ve had a very, very enjoyable flying career and I’ve got a lot, a lot to be thankful for. So that’s the end of my little broadcast. Thank you.
SJ: So did you have any, in all the times you were flying, did you have any lucky mascots or superstitions.
DB: Oh well no, not really. I tend, you tend to sort of get into a habit so that you know if you do something — I can’t give you a quote somehow I can’t sort of think of much that, that would, would do it. But I think you know you make preparations. It doesn’t matter what sort of flight you do you’ve got to prepare for it and otherwise you know if you just go leaping off without checking anything. Now, you see some of the material I could give the people who are coming after this. I’ve got one that the BBC did on me. They came out to Halton and checked. I mean I don’t want to waste time now showing it to you. I could, it only runs for about three minutes anyway but it was on BBC South Today and Geraldine Peers have you, do you remember her?
SJ: Yeah. Know her.
DB: She started, she introduced it and there was Jeremy Stern did the interview.
PJ: You’re quite a celebrity then Donald.
DB: Oh yeah. Well, I was at the time.
PJ: Yeah.
DB: I don’t think many people would remember it but the, and then they edited it and Frank Sinatra, “Come Fly With Me,” you know, it sounds, it sounds quite good and you see me take off in the latest microlight. It was a lovely craft called the Sky Ranger.
PJ: Yeah.
DB: And I mean we, my brother Malcolm helped to build it. He did all the instrument layout of that. You’ve flown in that with me haven’t you?
AK: Yes.
DB: No, you flew in -
AK: I flew with my head down.
DB: I’ve forgotten. That was the Thruster we flew in.
AK: Oh right.
DB: I don’t think you ever flew in that Sky Ranger. No.
AK: And never again.
DB: Oh I taught you. I gave you a potted flying lesson Ann.
AK: Yes. For free.
DB: Yeah. All for free. So -
PJ: When you were in the Pathfinders.
DB: Right.
PJ: To get in to the Pathfinders were you told that you were going in the Pathfinders? Were you transferred or did you volunteer because I’m not sure?
DB: No. The way it worked, Peter is that I, like a bunch of other guys that had passed out from St Athan as flight engineers we all had to obviously go on to bombers or transport. Some of them even went on to Sunderland Flying Boats and Coastal Command and so on. However, I, we all went on parade and there was the crews, crews that were going to do the course were six people. There was the pilot, navigator and bomb aimer, the wireless operator and two gunners. Six people. All we were shirt of, short of was a flight engineer. So Bill Neal strode up and down, and I don’t know what it was but he just caught my attention and I sort of nodded and he said, ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘Tell me about yourself.’ So I said, he said, ‘Have you done any flying?’ I said, ‘Well yeah a few with air tests, you know, flying in Wellingtons and that sort of thing on air tests but not, not all that many hours,’ but so, and he said, ‘Well,’ he said, ‘You’re probably just the chap we’re looking for. Do you want to come and fly with us?’ So I said, ‘Well, yeah. Thank you,’ and he said, ‘We’ve all done a tour of ops so experienced crew and he, ‘cause he’d been instructing down at Harwell. There was an OCU at Harwell and Hampstead Norris was their satellite and so on. Bill Neal this was. So anyway and he said, ‘By the way,’ he said, ‘We’re not going to the main force.’ That would have been 1 Group or 3 Group. He said, ‘We’re going to Pathfinders.’ 8 Group and he said, so I said, ‘I don’t know. I’m not the wiser,’ I said, ‘Tell me about it,’ ‘Well,’ he said, and then he went on to describe, you know we, we will be doing this that and the other and helping to mark, find the targets. Good navigator and we did have a good navigator and find targets first and then mark them or help the master bomber to mark them. But when that first crew had done a tour they all left and we got, not all of them, sorry, the two gunners left and the navigator, that’s the first, what we would call the plotter, not the H2S operator, George Hodges, he stayed with us. Johnny Carrod, the radio, the wireless operator, he stayed, and so we had to find two gunners and a new navigator. Now, the gunners we were lucky, because there was a guy called Eric Chamberlain and he had hawk eyes. He could see in the dark this guy. He could honestly. His night vision was amazing. He could, he would see the night fighter before the night fighter saw us. And then, but the Canadian, the navigator was a Canadian flight sergeant and he was thrown in at the deep end. He had no operational experience at all and the first, he got us lost on the first trip! And I had to get them out, Bill Neal thrust a map in my hands and I said, I said, ‘I’m not,’ it was at night I said, ‘I’m not ruddy good at map reading,’ [laughs] But it so happened that we were running up on the, what they called the Frisian islands, the Dutch islands and there was one in particular that I recognised that was the shape on the map. And I was able to give him a pinpoint on that and actually the target was up in Northern Denmark. Well it was German occupied of course as you know but, and that’s how he, but he improved and he wasn’t bad, you know later on. His name was Archer, and I can never remember his first name but he was a young Canadian. Yeah.
PJ: Did you stay in touch with the crew after the war? Any of your crew members?
DB: Just, just Bill Neal I’m afraid. Johnny Carrod died fairly young and his house was burgled and he lost his DFC. That was stolen. And you know you can buy the odd whatever it is like theatre replica or something.
PJ: Yeah.
DB: But -
PJ: No.
DB: It’s not the same as the original. I was going to get mine to show you.
PJ: Yeah.
DB: And [coughs] excuse me. But George Hodges, he, he, er, I spoke to him on the phone but I never actually saw him because he never attended our reunions did George so, and that was it really. I lost touch with all of them really.
PJ: Did you -
DB: Except Bill Neal.
PJ: Yeah.
DB: Bill Neal and I met at the Hendon museum. At the RAF Museum at Hendon and we had a full day touring around. Pictures taken near that Lancaster which says, “No enemy aircraft -
PJ: Yeah. Yeah.
DB: Shall penetrate German airspace.”
PJ: Yeah.
DB: Old Goering you see.
PJ: Yeah.
DB: And we had our pictures taken with that.
PJ: Yeah.
DB: And all the hundred odd bombs on the side, you know, painted on.
PJ: Is it, is it a fallacy you all, that the whole crew stuck together and when you went out you all went together to the pub? Is that - ?
DB: More or less oh -
PJ: A fallacy? Because -
DB: Somewhere I’ve got a picture of my first car which was a little Austin seven tourer and I bought that from a Canadian who was finished his ops and was off back to Canada. And I bought that car for thirty-five quid and it was a tiny little two seater really but people used to sort of get, we had the whole crew on that [laughs]. Can you imagine the springs [laughs].
PJ: Brilliant.
DB: And to start it all you had was just a blade. You could start it with a screwdriver.
PJ: Yeah.
DB: And I had the keys in my pocket and I parked outside the pub and when I went outside it was gone. Somebody had stolen it and they’d obviously had a blade of some sort, a knife maybe and just turned the thing and started the engine and away and they stole it. But it was found abandoned up near the airfield, near Upwood main gates or somewhere. Rotten devils.
SJ: You said that the red markers were blind markers. They had green markers as well.
DB: Oh yes.
SJ: What were green markers for?
DB: Yeah. The green markers were what we called backers up and we dropped some of those but you dropped them on mixed reds and greens. Mixed reds and greens were dropped by the master bomber and the primary visual marker. And they actually had identified the target visually by this time but TIs didn’t last forever. They needed backing up you see and so we, we were able to back them up by dropping just the greens on their own. Now 156 were basically a blind marker squadron so if that master bomber had got to the target but he wasn’t happy with the actual identifying the aiming point, he would call for blind marking. And this is where George Hodges on his H2S would drop the reds, red TIs. But when I was down the front on the bomb sight if mixed reds and greens were going down then I would go click, click, click, click and deselect the markers and just drop HE. We became really like main force and I would just, just drop the bombs on, on the markers that were already, but that was, that was what the three things and they called this a Parramatta. Bennett had his own various names for the -
PJ: Yeah.
DB: And the, we even had sky markers. Where the, if the, if the target was obscured by a thin layer of cloud or something like that they used to drop what they called sky marker flares. They would go off more or less the same or just a couple of thousand feet below the height of the bomber stream but there was one thing about an air, an air, a sky marker and that is if that’s the target and let’s say this is the blind marker, you had to bomb on an exact heading because if you didn’t, if you came in on a heading like that, and you dropped there you would, you might have this in your sights but the bombs would fall over that side, over there. So you had to be, you had to run in on an actual precise heading when you bombed on sky markers. And that was another thing that, but we only had to drop them a couple of times that I can remember. George Hodges having to drop sky markers. But they had, I know that Bennett, he went around his office and he said something about, he was asking various people what they would call a certain attack you see. I think the Parramatta one that he decided was by a New Zealander. It sounded a little bit New Zealandish that. And there was another one. What was the other one? That — he asked this young WAAF clerk, and she gave him a name and that’s what he called, what was it? That was the overall sort of marking plan. I can’t remember the name. It’s so long ago now but yeah that’s that was what Bennett did. And he used to come around and visit you know after, not every, but he used to get around a lot of the bomber stations and he came to Upwood to the debriefing, he was there for debriefing. And he always used to ask you, you know, ‘Who dropped the bombs?’ And, ‘Did you see the target?’ And did you do this, that and the other? And I used to try and give him the best idea that, that I could. He was always quite approachable you know. Bennett. And then another night he’d be down at Graveley, you see, debriefing them from 35 Squadron and all these other path — Oakington was a Pathfinder station you see. Little Staughton, that was another one, and as I say I’ve got a list of them upstairs. Can you think of anything else?
SJ: No I think you’ve covered it.
DB: Have I?
PJ: Yeah.
DB: Well I hope I haven’t bored you stiff and just before you go come and look at this big picture I was telling you about and you’re welcome to come out.
PJ: Anyway, Donald.
DB: Sorry.
PJ: On behalf of the IBCC -
DB: Yes.
PJ: I’d like to thank you for allowing us to interview you. Thank you.
DB: Alright. Right. Right. Ok. Did you want, have you recorded that?
PJ: Yes.
DB: Oh.
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 Donald Briggs
Description
An account of the resource
Donald Briggs was born in Lealholm near Whitby in Yorkshire. After school, he became an apprentice with the Royal Air Force. He trained at RAF Halton in 1939 and became an engine fitter working on Wellingtons and Manchesters. He volunteered for air crew in 1943, qualified as a flight engineer and completed 62 operations with 156 Squadron Pathfinders at RAF Upwood. After the war he retrained as a pilot and took part in the H bomb tests at Christmas Island. Later he became a flying instructor and trained aircrew to fly Vulcans. After he retired from the Royal Air Force he became a commercial flying instructor. He continued to instruct and fly microlights until he was eighty-four years of age.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Pete Jones
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
01:08:42 audio recording
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
ABriggsDW170327
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. Transport Command
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-03-27
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
France
Germany
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Lincolnshire
Christmas Island
United States
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.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1939
1943
1944
1945
1957-06-19
156 Squadron
8 Group
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
Distinguished Flying Cross
fear
fitter engine
flight engineer
ground crew
ground personnel
H2S
Halifax
Halifax Mk 1
Harvard
Lancaster
Lincoln
Manchester
Master Bomber
Meteor
Mosquito
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Pathfinders
pilot
promotion
RAF Halton
RAF Upwood
target indicator
V-1
V-weapon
Wellington
York
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/231/3604/ASpencerAHG170227.1.mp3
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Title
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Spencer, Arthur
Arthur Humphrey George Spencer
Arthur H G Spencer
A H G Spencer
A Spencer
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. An oral history with Flight Lieutenant Arthur Humphrey George Spencer (b. 1921, 1311996 and 145359 Royal Air Force), a memoir and an essay. Arthur Spencer trained in the United States and flew two tours of operations as a navigator with 97 Squadron at RAF Woodhall spa and RAF Bourn. He later became 205 Group's Navigation Officer. He flew with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) after the war.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Arthur Spencer and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2015-10-02
2017-02-27
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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. 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
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Spencer, AHG
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
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PL: My name’s Pam Locker and I’m in the home of Mr Arthur Humphrey George Spencer *********** on the 27th of February 2017 at 10 o’clock. And if I could just start off by saying a very enormous thank-you on behalf of the Bomber Command Digital Archive for agreeing to talk to us and to share your memories. So if I could start by — Perhaps you could tell me a little bit about your family and how you first became involved with Bomber Command.
AS: Ok, well, I was born in Salisbury, Wilts, but my parents must have moved to Southampton before my memory begins and I was brought up in Southampton. I enjoyed school. I went to a very large Boys’ Grammar School and I was in my first year in the Sixth Form at the time of the Munich crisis and there was obviously going to be a war and as I finished school, the war broke out. In fact the first year of the war was during my last year at school. Obviously the Air Force were recruiting madly at the time of the Battle of Britain and I had grown up on the literature of the First World War. Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen and that sort of thing and realised that warfare in the trenches was pretty horrible. Richard Aldington wrote a very good novel called “Death of a Hero” which I still think is one of the best novels ever written and, so I volunteered for the Air Force and after the usual waiting around period, I found myself in the Air Force. Initially as a, an under training pilot but I didn’t make the grade as a pilot, although I got more than half way through the course. I was very late washing out as the Americans called it. I was in Florida. And so I re-mustered as a navigator and was sent back to Florida, to the United States Naval Air Station Pensacola, to undergo a navigation course. I never failed to be horrified at the inadequacy of the practical training on that course. If I’d had been at an RAF or RCAF Navigation School, I’d have had about a hundred and fifty hours in the air, undertaking navigation exercises. At Pensacola, I had less than thirty hours of flying. All of it over the Gulf of Mexico and never once experienced navigating an aircraft. The American naval way of doing things was to send up about eight people together and two of them would practice taking sun shots with a sextant, two of them would practice using the drift meter, two of them would be firing guns and two of them doing something else which I’ve forgotten, but completely inadequate. However, the theoretical side of the course, the classroom side, was excellent. It was run by an American naval officer, navigator, assisted occasionally by the RAF liaison officer and I did have a very, very good theoretical background. We were told, towards the end of the course, that the top six to, in the final examination, would ferry an aircraft home, so my first flight as a navigator was ferrying a Ventura across the Atlantic. We went to — the top six went to Dorval and then flew, after crewing up with a very experienced American civil pilot and an equally experienced wireless operator and a second pilot, who was, like ourselves, had just finished his course. We were allocated a Ventura. Little two-engined aircraft which we had to deliver to Prestwick. We, all the aircraft being ferried across at that time flew to Gander in Newfoundland and then these little aircraft had to wait for a tail wing component to get across the Atlantic. Now I was stuck there with another navigator who’d been an acquaintance at Pensacola, but not a particular friend, but because we were stuck there for a fortnight together waiting for a tail wing, we became very good friends and by co-incidence, he was sent to the same squadron as myself and when he retired from a very senior position in industry, he came to live in Somerset and so we remained lifelong friends. And, he died a couple of years ago. His family were good enough to ask me to make the eulogy at his funeral and his wife is now in a nursing home near Taunton. We try and see her every third week because her son lives in Australia and her daughter lives in Germany so we are the local contact. His name is George Brantingham and I mention this because he plays a fairly important part in a later stage of the story. Anyway, we got across the Atlantic successfully and after further training, I got to Bomber Command Operational Training Unit at Upper Heyford. Number 16 OTU. And one of the most important things you do at Operational Training Unit is to crew up into a crew. And in the literature, you find horrific stories of people being put into a hanger, twenty pilots, twenty navigators, twenty wireless operators and so on and being told, ‘Sort yourselves out.’ And I read this sort of thing time and time again. It was much more civilised fortunately at Upper Heyford. We were told that the course would be four weeks ground school and then the pilots would go off to a satellite airfield to learn to fly Wellingtons and then they’d come back and we would spend the last six weeks of the course flying cross-countrys and so on together. And we’d only been there two or three days when George, my friend, George Brantingham said to me, ‘I’ve got myself a pilot.’ Well I hadn’t really thought about it at that stage but I said, ‘You were quick off the mark, George. Who is it?’ And he told me it was a Sergeant Tracy, a larger than life American who’d gone north over the border to join the RCAF. And so at the next opportunity, I contacted George and said, ‘I hear you’ve got yourself a navigator. Can you recommend a pilot to me?’ And he thought for a minute and he said, ‘Well I reckon young Jimmy Munro is about the best pilot on our course.’ At the earliest opportunity, I found Jimmy. A very fresh-faced eighteen year old Canadian and I said, ‘Have you got a navigator yet?’ ‘No.’ ‘What about taking me on?’ ‘Ok that’s fine.’ And that conversation is probably why I’m here today. If I’d had a different pilot I might well not have been. But he was, as Bill Tracy had said, an incredibly good pilot. He’d grown up on the Ottawa River in a little hamlet called Fitzroy Harbour and part of his boyhood was canoeing on the Ottawa River and he handled a Lancaster just as well as he handled a canoe. And so we got through our OTU successfully. Went to Swinderby, just outside of Lincoln, to convert to Lancasters and so to 97 Squadron, fairly late in December, before Christmas, but fairly late in December 1942. Can I stop there a minute?
AS: Talk about —
PL: Re-starting, re-starting recording with Mr Spencer.
AS: Right, well, 97 Squadron in fact didn’t unleash us against the enemy right away. They gave us quite a bit more training before they decided to let us fly Lancasters, one of their precious Lancasters, on Operations. 97 by the way, was one of the very first squadrons to be equipped with Lancasters and part of their history was the daylight Augsburg raid of 1942. And some of the crew who took part in that raid were still at Woodhall Spa when we joined the squadron. Our first Operation, like all first Operations was mine-laying down on the Gironde estuary, near Bordeaux, and then we set about operating mainly to the Ruhr, Hamburg, Nuremberg, Munich, Wilhelmshaven. All in my Log Book. And the incident I want to talk about a little bit, is on the 19th of March 1943, when I flew with one of the Dambusters. Co-incidentally, he was also Munro but whereas my pilot was Sergeant Munro, this was Flight Lieutenant Les Munro, which is a name you may possibly have come across before now. Well, the three crews went from our squadron to join 617, but they started intensive low-level flying training before they left, before they left Woodhall Spa. And on one of these occasions, Flight Lieutenant Munro’s navigator was quite badly gashed across the forehead in what we would now call, nowadays call a bird strike. Now these three crews weren’t screened, was the word which we used for Operations, they were still taking part in Operations, and he was scheduled to go on Operations, but he didn’t have a navigator. Jock Rumbles, his navigator was too badly injured to go, so I was allocated to him. And that morning I flew an air test with him. You nearly always did an air test before you flew Operations at night. Twenty-five minutes. But Operations were cancelled before we even got to briefing. So although I flew with him, I didn’t operate with him. At the time I was very glad not to, because it was regarded as a bit dicey operating away from your own crew. You were very much a Unit as a crew but in retrospect it would be nice to be able to say I’d flown an Operation with one of the Dambusters. But I didn’t think that at the time, I was glad not to go. Well we continued flying, building up Operations ‘till we moved down to Bourn in April 1943 to join Pathfinder Force. We had another intensive period of training. Normally when crews joined the Pathfinder Force they went to Upwood, the Pathfinder Training School, but because we moved as a squadron, the Unit’s instructors came to us and we did a lot of intensive training. I remember Bennett. He was frequently with the squadron. He was the AOC at Pathfinder Force, of course. And one of the things he said was, ‘Of course the really important people in the crew are the navigators and bomb aimers. The pilots are only the chauffeurs to get them there.’ Which was very good for our morale, of course, as navigators. And by the time we’d finished our Pathfinder Training, it was May. Nights were very, very short indeed. And so virtually all our early Pathfinder Operations were to the Ruhr and the Ruhr took about three hours, three and half, four hours. Anywhere else in Germany took much longer. You couldn’t get there and back under cover of darkness. So we went to the Ruhr. Can we stop a second again there?
PL: Of course.
PL: Re-starting the tape.
AS: Pathfinder Force had been formed sometime fairly early in 1942. It happened after all Bomber Command had been equipped with cameras which took automatic photos when bombs were released. And when these early pictures were analysed, it was found that something like five percent of the aircraft dropped their bombs within three miles of the target, or something like that. Some infinitely small number of bombs were getting anywhere near the target and one of the measures adopted was to form Pathfinder Force which was then equipped with the, what was then the state of the art radar operation and all the other new instruments that were coming in and our job was to go in and either light up a target or more frequently mark it with bombs which were called target indicators which would burst barometrically at three thousand feet over the target because frequently the target couldn’t be seen once bombs started going down with so much smoke and dust coming up. But these target indicators hung on a parachute at about three thousand feet but they only lasted six minutes so they had to be backed-up fairly frequently. And the main Force coming along behind would bomb on the target indicator, not worry about finding an actual building or railway yard or docks or something like that to — Anyway, as I say, our early Operations in Pathfinder Force were all the Ruhr because the nights were so short. And we expected to be going to the Ruhr on the 16th of June. We’d done an air test in the morning and a bit naughtily we’d been shooting up a train just outside of Cambridge, diving at it, flying alongside it and the passengers were obviously enjoying it, they were waving back to us enthusiastically and the engine-driver was obviously enjoying it too, because he leaned out of his cabin and gave us a sign. [laughs] And er, but when it got a bit close into Cambridge, we decided we’d better go home, so we flew back to base. And when we got back to base, there was the Flight Commander’s van waiting in dispersal and we thought, ‘Oh dear. We’re in trouble,’ because we were flying quite low enough for people to see our identification letters, ‘OF-J Johnny’, and there must have been some senior officer on board, we thought, who’d got on the phone, the blower we would have called it then, as soon as he got into Cambridge and complained about these young idiots who were risking their lives in an expensive aircraft. However the Flight Commander was not there for that reason. The Flight — Jimmy opened the window and the Flight Commander called up, ‘Jimmy. You’re to take a week’s kit and fly up to Scampton after lunch.’ ‘Ok. What for?’ ‘I don’t know. You’ll get all the gen when you get there.’ So we weren’t in trouble. We found, when we got back to the mess, that four crews were going to Scampton. Now Scampton of course was the home of the Dambusters. So our attitude was, a little bit ambivalent. On the one hand, what a compliment to be one of only four crews in Pathfinder Force to be selected to take part in some special Operation. On the other hand, were we really awfully keen to be, take part in some Operation with a squadron which had only done one Operation, but on it, had lost about forty-five percent of it’s aircraft. [laughs] So, as I say, our thoughts were a bit ambivalent but there was nothing we could do about it. So we packed our kit after lunch and flew up to Scampton and when we got there, we were eventually four aircraft as I say. I’ll name the four captains. Jimmy, now a Pilot Officer, Pilot Officer Jones, Pilot Officer Munro, Pilot Officer Jones, who’d been one of the other crews that joined 97 from Swinderby in, at Christmas and two older pilots who were just coming back to 97 for a second tour. Because 97, a two-flight squadron at Bourn, at Woodhall Spa, had grown to a three-flight squadron at Bourn, so a lot of new crews coming in. So four crews were taken along to a briefing room and there, an elderly captain, a Group Captain, told us why we were there. When I say elderly, he was about thirty-five. But, er. [laughs] You know, we were all in our teens and young twenties so he seemed elderly. I’ve researched him since, and actually and I’ve found he was thirty-four at the time. [laughs] Anyway, he told us that we would be assisting Five Group, they were, of course based all round Lincoln, on a special Operation which would take place in the near future and we would be lighting the target and marking it for the aircraft of Five Group who would provide the main Force. Ok. Where? Well he either couldn’t or wouldn’t tell us when. ‘It’ll be in the next few nights, because you need a full moon to reach a pin-point target.’ And he also told us that for the next couple of nights, we would be practising over Wainfleet Sands which was a bombing range on the Wash. And that we weren’t allowed to go into Lincoln, which seemed a pity, but, still, we were confined to camp. Well after a couple of nights practising over Wainfleet Sands, we — going back a little bit, we were told as the Pathfinder crews, we had to decide the plan of attack. And what we decided was that two aircraft, ours and Pilot Officer Jones would go in first and lay a line of flares either side of the target and the other two would come along and mark it behind us. Aft er a couple of days practice, we went to briefing, and I think it was the only time I ever went for a morning briefing, and we were told where the target was, and it was the old airship shed at Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance. And they were manufacturing there some new radar devices which would no doubt improve the defences of the Ruhr and it would be in our own interest to make sure that this attack was well-carried out. But that if it didn’t occur in the next few nights, it wouldn’t take place at all because it needed good weather and a full moon. And then at the end of the briefing, almost off-handedly, we were told, ‘Well. Friedrichshafen is much too far into Germany for you to get there and back under cover of darkness so you’ll fly straight on over the Mediterranean to Algiers. Algiers and Tunisia of course having recently, having been taken by Operation Torch, the attack on the west side of Africa. Mainly French and American but it had given us airfields in North Africa which we could use. And after briefing, we could go to stores and draw some tropical kit. Which we did. None of us of course had badges of rank on this basic tropical kit which caused one or two problems when we were in Algiers, but I’ll come to that later. Well the afternoon was a lovely afternoon and we thought, ‘Ok.’ But we kept in touch with the Met Office and they got increasingly pessimistic as the afternoon went on and very close they said, ‘No. It’s not going to happen tonight.’ So we wasted our time the next day and the Met Office were becoming more optimistic and it looked as though we would go and apparently a Met Flight, Meteorological Flight, a Spitfire, went out over southern Germany and reported that the weather was good, so Operations were on. So we loaded up our kit and we took off that night at twenty to ten. That was Double British Summer Time of course and as we took off from Scampton, which incidentally was an all grass airfield. There were no runways there which surprised us that the Dambusters had been operating from an air— and of course we had a terrifically heavy load, over two thousand two hundred gallons of petrol in order to do the long flight to Algiers, so it was quite a struggle getting the thing into the air but we all got into the air and as we looked round, there were aircraft coming up from all the other Lincolnshire airfields and we set off and flew to Reading which was the first turning point. And from Reading to Selsey Bill, down on the south coast and we got there too early to cross over to France. We would have arrived in daylight and fighters patrolling the south coast came up and flew around us and waggled their wings at us which we took to mean they were wishing us good luck. And as darkness began to fall, one or two more adventurous spirits certainly set course earlier than I intended to let my pilot go but I’d done my calculations very carefully and we would get to the French coast at darkness, not into daylight. I had no wish to be over the French coast in daylight. We crossed the French coast at a little seaside town called Cabourg and I thought perhaps I’m the only person of the, what, five hundred airmen above Cabourg who’s been there before because at one stage of my education, about the third year of Grammar School, the Headmaster had said to my parents, ‘He’s doing very well in most subjects but his French is not very wonderful.’ And that was an understatement. And he recommended an exchange with a French boy and the school being right on the French coast, along the south coast, many exchanges took place every year, of course, and I was lucky enough to go three times to the same little town in Normandy, and the nearest seaside town was Cabourg, so I was taken to Cabourg quite a lot as a fourteen, fifteen, sixteen year old. Anyway we crossed at Cabourg and the Germans fired off light flak at us but light flak burns out at about twelve or thirteen thousand feet and we were up at about twenty thousand so we sneered at it a little bit and put our noses down to, as we’d been ordered to do, to go quickly through the fighter battle on the French coast and the next turning point was Orléans. Very badly blacked-out and then we turned east towards Switzerland and the weather deteriorated a bit but I’d got a drift on and an occasional light and I was pretty certain that whatever the weather, we’d see the Rhine, because even at that far from the mouth of the Rhine, it’s still a very big river. And just about as, on the ETA, Estimated Time of Arrival I’d given the pilot, he and the bomb aimer shouted, simultaneously, ‘Rhine coming up.’ And there was Basle. Basle of course is part of Switzerland. We shouldn’t have been over Switzerland but we briefed to go over Switzerland, so there we were. And we flew along the, roughly along the border between Switzerland and Germany to a point on the south side of the lake. The south side of the lake being in Switzerland and we were to orbit a little headland on the south side of the lake and then we had worked out it would take three minutes to cross the lake and three minutes before Zed, the time at which the Operation was due to begin, we set out and made our way across the lake. As we crossed the lake, the bomb aimer looking down vertically, was able to say, ‘Crossing the coast now.’ And I then counted down twelve seconds and after twelve seconds, start releasing our flares. Well, I couldn’t do any more then and I stood up in the astrodome and looked out and watched the flares bursting underneath us and when the fourth flare went, and there was no sign of other flares, they were on our left-hand side, I thought, ‘Oh goodness, have I committed some dreadful boob?’ Because there was terrific responsibility, of course, upon me and the navigator of the other aircraft. But as our fourth flare went down, a line of steerers [?] started appearing about half a mile away on the left-hand side, on our port side, and there was this enormous aircraft hangar clearly illuminated between the two lines of flares. And we were going to drop twelve flares initially and we continued and as we dropped our last flare, and I still couldn’t tell you which happened first, but two things happened, a green target indicator had burst right over the roof of the factory and we were coned in searchlights. Now, coned in searchlights is not a very nice experience I can assure you. We had been coned three or four times before and it seems to take an eternity to get out of this cone, if you’re lucky enough to get out of it. So, eventually we, Jimmy twisted and turned and twisted and turned but we couldn’t seem to shake it off and he turned about and put the nose right down and we dived out over the lake and shook them off. And we were supposed to go back to the lake after we’d finished our first, but we didn’t expect to go back to it like — that method, but there we were circling over the lake and after a few minutes, the Master of Ceremonies as he was called, master bomber, the Group Captain, had called for us to go in and lay a second line of flares and again we were coned but we got out of the cone fairly quickly that time and we had a couple of bombs, the small bombs we were carrying, we dropped those and back out over the lake and after about twenty minutes, the Master of Ceremonies declared that the raid was over and we should make our way to Algiers. He reminded us that we were very close to the Alps so that we should climb hard through the Alps and, ‘See you in Algiers.’ So we climbed hard through the Alps and, which was a lovely experience, I mean, you may well have crossed the Alps in a modern airliner at thirty thousand feet with the lights on, as I have, and looked down and thought, ‘Well. There are the Alps.’ But when you’re only just above the top and there’s no light in the aircraft and the full moon is shining, absolutely lovely. Wonderful experience. I shall remember all my life. We crossed the Italian coast somewhere close to Genoa and then we got down low, down to the sea, to keep beneath the Italian radar in Sardinia or Corsica and made for Algiers. When we got to Algiers, there was a terrific fog and we thought, ‘Well, the sixty aircraft are going to be directed out to sea and the crews are all going to be baled out,’ because you couldn’t see a thing and people were calling up, ‘I’ve only ten minutes petrol left.’ And there were no modern aids there of course. But there was an American flying control officer with enormous initiative and he got on the end of the runway in a jeep and fired Very cartridges up through the mist. And I shall always remember what he shouted, ‘The first man to make home base wins.’ [laughs] A baseball expression I assume. And the sixty aircraft landed with — one of them, there was a dead bomb aimer on board, who’d been hit by flak over the target, one from Woodhall Spa actually with the squadron that had been formed there when we left. And so we had a couple of days in Algiers. A lot of sunshine. Eating some of the fruit that we hadn’t seen for years in England and then on the way back we bombed Spetzia which was a bit of an anti-climax really because the, only two of the Pathfinder aircraft were serviceable. Two of them had to stay and come home more slowly. Ten of the main Force aircraft had been damaged over the target so we dropped our bombs fairly quickly on Spetzia and back to Scampton. It was an anti-climax really after the — and there we are. We flew back to Bourn that evening after sleeping for the day and Bennett was there to meet us, the AOC, and he was absolutely livid. Relations between him and Cochran were notoriously bad. Cochran was the AOC of the Group, Five Group. And he said, ‘It’s nonsense using four aircraft. If one had been shot down or — you should have used twenty.’ And he felt that the Pathfinders had only been used so that they could be blamed if something went wrong. He was not a happy man. And there we are. That was Operation Bellicose. The raid on — The first shuttle service operation. It was thought at the time that it might be followed by quite a few more but it wasn’t because of the difficulty of serving Lancasters in Algiers. You would have needed a whole force of ground crew out there to — So it wasn’t a one-off, it did happen, I think once more, with a very small group of aircraft but didn’t become a habit. Can we stop there again?
PL: Re-starting tape.
AS: The attack on Spezia, on return from Friedrichshafen, was in fact our thirtieth operation which is the end of a tour. And we expected to go off on our three weeks’ Leave. In Pathfinder Force the arrangements were for a tour of operations were a bit different from those in the rest of Bomber Command. In the main Force, you did thirty operations, then you were given a rest which was said to be at least six months. You were probably an instructor at an OTU and then you could go back for a second tour of twenty operations. But in Pathfinder Force, they didn’t see the point in dispersing a crew after thirty operations. Having got an experienced crew together, hopefully a successful crew together, why not keep them together. So after thirty operations, you got three weeks’ Leave and then you came back and did another fifteen. Not twenty. And to recompense you for going straight through, this was then reckoned to be two tours. Anyway we got back from Spetzia, our thirtieth operation, confidently expecting to go on Leave the next day but the pressure was on and the flight commander, Wing Commander Alabaster said, ‘You’ll have to do two more operations before you can go on Leave.’ So we did two more operations. Both to Cologne. And then we drew our railway warrants and ration cards and went off on three weeks’ glorious Leave and got back in time for the Battle of Hamburg. The first raid on, of the big raids on Hamburg had already taken place while we were still on Leave, on the last night of our Leave. And I’d have liked to have been on that one because as you may know, that was the first night that Window was used. These metallic strips that people dropped. Well they were still very effective when we went the next night and the next night. But I’d have liked to have been able to say I was on the first Windows Operation, but I wasn’t. I was on the second. So at the Battle of Hamburg, and a trip to the Ruhr as well, and then — I’ve lost my place in my Log Book but I shall find it in a moment. [a short pause as he turns pages] It was pretty obvious to us that after Hamburg, Butch Harris, the AOC of Bomber Command, would be looking at Berlin as his next main target. And we got to the middle of August, and you could usually get some idea of targets from the bomb load and the petrol load which was published first thing in the morning on the list of crew, the Order of Battle as it was called. And it looked, for all the world, as though it was a suitable bomb and petrol load for Berlin. And we were a bit astounded because it was full moon and at that time, flying far over Germany in the full moon was not very healthy. The German Fighter Force was becoming increasingly skilful and morale dropped a little bit in the squadron at the thought of going to Berlin in the night of the full moon. But there again, there was nothing we could do about it so we went to briefing and there was a red line — at the end of the briefing room there was a great map across the end wall of course, and there was a red tape attached to the map, going well on the way towards Berlin, but not to Berlin itself. And we were eventually told that the target was Peenemünde. No one had ever heard of Peenemünde of course. So briefing continued and we were told that this was a very important German radar research station. Not a word about rockets of course. And we went through all the usual briefing, the Met Officer, the navigation officer on the route, the bombing leader on the bomb load, the signals officer on the signals to be used, so on and — intelligent officer on defences. But there were a number of additional things. We were told that there would be an attack by seven or eight Mosquitoes on Berlin, which would hopefully keep the Fighter Force away from us. We were told that there would be a massive number of night fighters operating over Germany that night. We were told that we’d be dropping our bombs and target indicators not from twenty thousand feet as we usually did but from eight thousand feet and that there would be a master bomber. And this was the first time a master bomber was being used on a really big Operation. Obviously Guy Gibson kept in touch with his nineteen aircraft on the Dams raid and on that Friedrichshafen raid, we had a master bomber, but it was only sixty aircraft. And this was the first time that a really large force of nearly six hundred aircraft had a master bomber who circled the target and explained to the main force, which were the most accurately placed target indicators to aim for. And also, told when the aiming point was to be changed because the aiming point for the first wave, and we were in the first wave, was the dwelling quarters of the scientists and technicians working at Peenemünde and the second wave was the attack on the factory and the third wave was the attack on the experimental station. So we had our briefing and went and had an operational meal and drew parachutes and escape kit and got dressed and out to the aircraft and a chap with the ground crew as usual and we took off at twenty fifty. Ten to nine. Which was Double British Summer Time, so it was still light when we crossed the coast at Southwold. And out across the North Sea. Again, a lovely night. You know the navigator of course worked behind a black-out curtain over his maps and charts but I couldn’t resist popping out frequently to have a look at the sun and the moon as it came up, shimmering on the sea, silver, and there was hardly any wind and it was absolutely beautiful. And there we were going off to deliver bombs to people. It took about an hour and ten minutes to cross the North Sea and as we approached the Danish coast, there was some activity over on our starboard side and searchlights and flak and the searchlights coned an aircraft and eventually the flak got very close and the aircraft burst into flame and flaming bits started dropping into the sea. And I sometimes give lectures on this to groups like Probus and so on and I always say that I ought really to have felt enormous sympathy for that crew and I probably did but foremost in my mind was the thought, ‘What a rotten bit of navigation.’ Because if they were ahead of us, there must have been another Pathfinder crew. In fact there were other Pathfinder crews and yet their navigator had allowed them to wander over Flensburg, the northern-most town in Germany which was very heavily defended. And they’d paid the price for it. However there was nothing we could do about it so we continued on our way. It took about twelve minutes to cross Denmark and then down over the Baltic Sea. Masses of islands of course. Hundreds of islands, so navigation was a very simple matter. As we got close to Peenemünde, I’d given the bomb aimer and the pilot the ETA and there was a shout from the bomb aimer, ‘There’s a smoke screen ahead.’ And so there was. I’d popped out and had a look and there was a smoke screen over, as we thought, right over the target. And so it was. But a smoke screen blows in line and when you’re like my four fingers, and when you’re looking at it from a distance you can’t see, but as you get increasingly over the top, you can see down, so as we got nearer to the target, we could in fact see the target.
PL: So there were gaps in the smoke screen where you could see down.
AS: Yes, yes. Oh yes, yes. They weren’t — The smoke containers which sent the smoke up were spaced across. They couldn’t have them absolutely close together so there were gaps between these lines of smoke, the wind blew the smoke across, but — So there were some TIs already down. The —
PL: TIs?
AS: The master bomber informed us which were the most accurately placed, so we place our TIs and our bomb, one four thousand pounder there. Hopefully over the living quarters of the scientists and technicians. And there was no defences whatsoever. It was probably the easiest trip we did. And on over the target to take our photo. You had to stay straight and level for twenty-five seconds once your bombs had gone so that the photo could be taken. And then we turned away. We didn’t fly exactly back on the same route because of course we’d have been flying on to the incoming aircraft but just south and once again, out over Denmark I made sure that my pilot stayed well clear of Flensburg. Back across the North Sea, dropped down to — we’d climbed after bombing at eight thousand feet. Back down to where we could take off our oxygen masks and have a cup of coffee and the radio officer had got some light music on the wireless and we had our sandwiches and so back to Bourn. And 97 Squadron had sent eighteen aircraft. One of them had returned early with engine trouble, the other seventeen got back. Not a scratch on them. And so, went to the parachute section first thing to — after a word with the ground crew while we were waiting for transport. Get rid of parachute, back to de-briefing and we were all fairly delighted it looked as if it had been a successful Operation. But one of the things we’d been told at briefing, which I should have said before, the very last thing was that it was essential that this Operation should be successful and if it were not successful, we should have to go again the next night and the next night irrespective of casualties. Now, the first night, you can rely on surprise but if you had to go a second or third time, you couldn’t. So that did concentrate the mind a little bit. So, and so to bed. Operational meal, traditional eggs and bacon and so to bed. Now I’ve always been an early waker-up. Quarter past six this morning. Quarter past six virtually every morning. And I was an early waker-up during the war and even if we were not back ‘till three or four o’clock in the morning. Most of the squadron would sleep through ‘till lunchtime. I never once missed my breakfast. I wouldn’t say I was first up in the morning but I was always in the Mess by nine o’clock. I’d get up about eight and have a shower, because you always felt dirty after a night out in a bomber. They were pretty dirty smelly things, these big bombers. And I would go to breakfast and then I would normally sort of spend the morning hanging around waiting for the crew, the rest of the crew to come round. I’d write up my Log Book, I’d catch up with my correspondence, I’d try the crossword in one of the posh papers and I might practice my snooker skills ‘cause there was no one else in the billiard room. And so on. But that morning, I didn’t do any of those things, I walked up to the Intelligence library to have a look at the photographs, to see how successful, with the thought of that threat still hanging over us. And when I got there, I knew of course from what I’d seen the night before, that it was likely to be successful. And so it proved to be but what absolutely astounded me was that we’d lost over forty aircraft. But I didn’t — Apart from the chap that we’d seen chopped out over Flensburg, we didn’t see any sign of any defences. But what had happened of course, that these German fighters had been circling over Berlin and then the attack was on Peenemünde. It’s only about twenty minutes flying from Berlin to Peenemünde, so those fighters which still had enough petrol and many didn’t, many had to land and refuel, but some of them were able to fly up to Peenemünde and they got in the third wave. And the third wave lost about twenty percent of their aircraft. One in five. The second wave was somewhere in between the two. I think they lost about eight or nine percent of their aircraft, but not as bad as the third wave. So Bomber Command did lose a lot of aircraft that night. And, but at least it was successful. We didn’t have to go again. And that was our fortieth Operation, so we had five more to do to finish our tour. It really was Berlin the next two but by that time, the full moon had gone and we did a couple over to Berlin and we went to, I think, to Nuremberg and once to the Ruhr. And then our last trip was coming up. We did our forty-fourth trip on the 31st of August. Our last trip was coming up and we were briefed to go on the 1st of September to Berlin but Operations were cancelled and the same happened on the 2nd we were briefed to go to Berlin and Operations were cancelled. Now the corporal in charge of our ground crew, a young married man, and the ground crew of course, used to work outside in appalling conditions, not in a warm hangar but out at dispersal. And, they, this corporal was due to go on Leave when we got back on the 2nd after our final Operation, but it was cancelled on the 1st, he wouldn’t go on Leave. When it happened again on the 2nd he wouldn’t go on Leave. He insisted on staying until we had completed our forty-fifth Operation. Well, on September the 3rd, that morning, the invasion of the mainland of Italy started. And we thought, ‘Oh. It would be a nice cushy trip to Milan or Turin for our final Operation,’ because they were really a long way but they were fairly cushy targets. The Italian defences weren’t very wonderful. And. But it wasn’t. We didn’t know of course, but apparently an agreement had already been made with the Italian government that the Italians would surrender and we would stop bombing their major cities. It was Berlin again, by a long route back over Sweden again. Over neutral territory. And we got back and that was our forty-fifth Operation. And most of us decided that, that was enough, but unfortunately Jimmy and two of the gunners stayed with him and it wasn’t. And so there we are. That’s the end of my life in Bomber Command.
PL: That is absolutely wonderful. Thank you very much indeed. Can I just ask you a couple of other things?
AS: Um hum.
PL: The first. So what did you do, so after the war, what did you go on to do then, after you left Bomber Command?
AS: Well, as I said, Bomber Command was equipped with the state of the art radar. And just after I finished Operations, and I mention the fact that Africa had now been cleared of the Germans, and if one listened to the news during ’42, ’43, you heard about a Bomber Force from the Middle East attacking Tobruk, and Benghazi, and it was pretty obvious that when airfields became available, these aircraft would move over to Italy. And, an advert, it wasn’t phrased as an advert, a notice appeared in Daily Routine Orders, asking for someone to instruct in this state of the art radar overseas. Now it didn’t state where overseas, but one didn’t need to be a genius to realise it was going to be the Mediterranean theatre and that these aircraft — so I thought, ‘Well that sounds interesting.’ And I’d only recently been Commissioned. I was a Pilot Officer and it was advertised as a Flight Lieutenant vacancy so I thought, ‘Well, have ago at this.’ And I applied and after the usual air force delay, I found I was accepted and I went home to Southampton on a week’s Embarkation Leave and when I got back, the squadron were kind enough to divert an aircraft, ‘cause I had to go to Blackpool which was the Embarkation Centre, they diverted across country to take me up to Blackpool, which would have saved a nasty train journey. And, I, eventually, we were kitted out for overseas there and had various inoculations and so on, after about a fortnight in Blackpool, up to Liverpool early one morning to get aboard a troop ship which went a long way out into the Atlantic to avoid the — ‘cause the Germans were still in France of course and they had aircraft operating from the south of France against convoys, but we didn’t see any sign of them and back into the Mediterranean and we docked in Algiers and I was in a transit camp there for two or three days and then down to Tunis which was Headquarters of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces. And there, a Wing Commander looked after me and told me what I was going to do. And apart from the six Wellington squadrons they had, they had one Liberator squadron which was a South African squadron and a Halifax squadron and the Halifax squadron was going to be equipped with the same sort of apparatus that we had in Pathfinder Force and act as what they were going to call a Target Marking Force once they’d got across to Italy. Now that squadron was still in, in the desert, so after spending Christmas at, at Tunis, the Wing Commander and a mate of his, they found out that my French was pretty good so they took me down to Bône market, hoping to get some turkeys for Christmas, for the Mess. But, at the government’s expense, we flew this aircraft down to Bône but went to the market but there were no turkeys. We found a bag of fresh carrots. And I suppose fresh vegetables were something of a relief to people who were living on rations. And we took those back. They were gratefully accepted. And I remember on Christmas Day, I went for a swim in the Mediterranean with a WAAF officer. It was pretty cold, but we wanted to say we’d swum on Christmas Day and we also went and found the amphitheatre at Carthage which is very close to Tunis and I knew a little bit about the Punic wars and so on. So we went and explored Carthage, the amphitheatre at Carthage. And a few days after Christmas, before the New Year, I went down to join this Halifax squadron in the desert, at El Adem, just outside of Tobruk and they were merely sort of kicking their heels really because, waiting to go across to Italy. They would occasionally operate against Crete port installations where the Germans were still in Occupation of Crete. But they weren’t doing very much and I couldn’t do very much with them at that stage, ‘cause they didn’t have any equipment of course. I talked to them, but not very much. Eventually the ground crew all went off, back to the Delta, to go by ship across to Italy and we were left for a week. More or less living on our own devices with no ground crew and the CO, the Wing Commander didn’t have a crew so I was crewed up with him as a navigator and flew across to Italy and the night before we went, we even took the tents down and slept under the wing of the Halifax for the night and the Khamsin was blowing at the time so there was sand everywhere and during that week, a dirty old Arab who used to appear on a donkey which was much too small for him, and he’d have a bucket of eggs, tiny little eggs, but he would barter a half a dozen eggs for a cupful of sugar, so at least you could get a few eggs to fry. And. Anyway we flew over to Italy. All the airfields literally were around Foggia, that area which — [pause as he turns pages] This area around here, it’s, in fact, you’ve got the Apennines running up the middle and a few airfields there but there’s a lot of hills that side of Italy, of course but there were masses of airfields round there and we flew to one of those called Celone and eventually the squadron was equipped with the apparatus so that I got on with my work but eventually I was posted away from the squadron, back to the Group Headquarters because my responsibilities were to the whole Group, not to that squadron. And I decided that having read my Siegfried Sassoon about ‘scarlet Majors at the Base’ ‘And when the war was done, and the youth stone dead, he’d toddle safely home and die - in bed’ and you know, the Hotspur’s criticism of a staff officer assented popinjay in Henry 1V and I decided I ought to do a few Operations. Bennett had insisted on his Staff Operations operating occasionally. In fact on one night, two staff officers turned up and went with the same crew. Much to my surprise. And they went with a pilot with whom I’d done a training exercise once and frankly I wouldn’t have wanted to fly with him on Operations and neither of them came back. The whole crew went missing. Anyway, I felt as staff officer, I would set a good example by going occasionally. And a very interesting Op came up. I used to go to the meeting of the — air staff meeting every morning and there was a guard’s officer there who was responsible for liaison with the Resistance. And he came one morning and said that the Resistance in southern France were going to mount an attack on a German airfield and they would welcome a diversion by an attack on the airfield that night and I thought, ‘That sounds interesting. So. I’ll go along.’ And I went along with this Target Marking Force and dropped flares over this and there were obviously things happening on the ground and this was just before the invasion, so, as a result of that, the French gave me a Légion d’Honneur. [laughs] Which I’ll come back to in a moment. And I did two more with the Target Marking Force and two more in the Wellingtons because the Wellingtons increasingly were, as the Germans withdrew, were being used for supply-dropping over Yugoslavia and so I did a daylight with the Wellingtons over Yugoslavia, dropping supplies to what appeared to be a crowd of bandits in the hills above Sarajevo, who waved enthusiastically to us as the parachutes dropped down. And then a night one, dropped on a big cross, up in the hills behind Trieste and so that was quite interesting really. And eventually after about a year, the air force decided my, I’d done enough, that people were now fully trained and so they sent me home and I thought they’d forgotten about me. They sent me on Leave when I got home. I was on Leave for about five or six weeks. And of course the air force never really forget about you. I eventually got a telegraph to report to such and such a Wing Commander at Astral House, London and I went up and he said, ‘Well what do you want to do now?’ Which surprised me a bit because in the forces, they usually tell you what you’re going to do. [laughs] You know, I must have looked a bit perplexed, so he said, ‘How do you fancy going to Transport Command?’ And I said, ‘Alright. It’s a flying job?’ ‘Yes.’ So I went to Transport Command and flew Dakotas from Croydon to the continental capitals of liberated Europe. And during the Transport Command Training, one had been given the opportunity to get a Civil Air Navigator’s Licence. You had to get a certain percentage of the exams and you had to take an extra paper in Civil Aviation in the war but I did that and got mine. So just after Christmas ’46, there was an advert, again not really an advert, a notice in DRO saying that BOAC were again recruiting navigators. Anyone interested give their name to the Adjunct So I thought, ‘Well this is a good opportunity.’ And so I went off to BOAC. Everyone — there were an enormous number of people of course joining BOAC from the air force at the time and we all came to Whitchurch, just outside of Bristol to their Civil Training School and after a few weeks there, I was, a month, six weeks, I was posted to the flying boats at Poole Harbour. So I could live at home in Southampton and flying to Singapore and back. To Singapore and back took eighteen days for the crew in those days. Took five days for the passengers. No, three days to Singapore and five days to Australia. It was a different world. I sometimes, again, lecture to groups like Probus and Rotary about it because Civil Aviation was so different in those days. So there we are. End of story. Any questions? [laughs]
PL: Many, many questions. So, so then once, so that’s, that’s basically what you did then, you were in Civil, Civil Aviation for a few years.
AS: For eighteen months, yes.
PL: For eighteen months. And then — So how did you get into teaching?
AS: Well, I — in fact I had a place at Southampton University before the war and I didn’t take it up, but I went to a Training College because I wanted to get through fairly quickly. And the Training College in Winchester was giving a shortened course of eighteen months so I didn’t do what they called the Emergency Teacher’s Certificate of a year, but I did eighteen months and I was then qualified a teacher. And the school where I did my final Teaching Practice, the Head offered me a job. So. Which was just outside of Southampton and so I was with him for about seven years and then I came to a more senior post in Bristol. Bristol was one the earliest Authorities to go Comprehensive and then I got a Deputy Headship at the Thornbury. Which is ten miles north of Bristol. Quaint old town. And quite a long time as Deputy Head and I was, someone hinted to me that I ought to apply for this new school at Weston-Super-Mare and —
PL: Which is called —
AS: Priory School. You may have passed it.
PL: And that was a ground-breaking new school.
AS: Oh yeah. You may have passed it, if you came round the Bay, when you turned off the motorway, did you turn right by the Magistrates Court?
PL: I can’t remember.
AS: Almost immediately — or did you come right through — no, you didn’t come right through—
PL: I hugged the — I went on a windy road hugging the, the coast.
AS: Around the coast? Well, you almost certainly passed Priory School. Did you pass Sainsbury’s?
PL: Yes.
AS: Well it’s opposite Sainsbury’s. That’s Priory School, where they’ve just acquired two and a half million pounds to build a new science block and who have they invited to open it? [laughs] And what are they going to call it? The Spencer Science Centre. And the teachers who were trying to teach me science in the 1930s would turn in their graves at the thought of a science centre being named after me.
PL: Well, congratulations. What an accolade.
AS: Well, it’s rather nice isn’t it.
PL: It is. And your — ‘cause I think this is important as part of your story to include. So your school and your experience was used as a case study by the Open University.
AS: Yes. Shall I get the book and show you?
PL: I would love to see the book. Wait one minute though.
AS: Yes.
PL: I just want to, just to sort of wrap up the interview. There’s two questions I want to ask you. The first is, how your family fared during the war. I was interested to hear you say that they were based in Southampton.
AS: Yes.
PL: So did they — everybody stayed in Southampton did they, because —
AS: Yes. I think — The bombing raids on Southampton occurred just after I had left to join the Air Force. Well, there were several daylight raids but the night raids, the big night raids were just after. And after the first one, my father who was working there, continued there but he sent my mother up to Salisbury where we had — which is where I was born. Where we still had relatives. So she was there only during the first one. By the time I was coming home on Leave of course, they were both back in Southampton because the bombing raids were over. One of the things I noticed with my father, who was not a particularly demonstrative person, did come down to the station and see me off each time I went back from Leave and I’ve thought about that quite lot since then.
PL: Very touching.
AS: I didn’t have any brothers or sisters. I was a spoilt only child. [laughs]
PL: They must have been incredibly proud of you. So my last question, which is a question that we’re asked to ask all of our veterans and our volunteers who speak to us is, your feelings about how Bomber Command were treated after the war. Would you like to make any comments about it.
AS: I was a bit surprised that when most of the Great War leaders were made Peers, Harris was not made a Peer. It didn’t worry me a great deal that there wasn’t a memorial. After all, a memorial is only a piece of stone or something with a list of names on. Part of the past. You know that was my only surprise really, that Harris was, didn’t receive the accolade that the other war leaders, Montgomery and so on received. But, Dresden of course, was held against Bomber Command but there was a lot of industry going on in Dresden. There’s a book by an academic at Exeter University, about Dresden, I think it’s out on loan to someone at the moment, but there’s a lot in there about all the industries going on at Dresden at the time. There we are.
PL: Well is there anything else, before we finish, that you’d like to record? About any of your experiences.
AS: No. I probably forgot one or two things on the way through but — [laughs]
PL: I’m sure it doesn’t matter. Well, I’d just like to say again a huge thank-you. That was an absolutely fascinating interview. Thank you very much indeed.
AS: Tell my wife that when she comes. [laughs]
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Interview with Arthur Spencer
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Sound
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Pending review
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ASpencerAHG170227
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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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IBCC Digital Archive
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Pam Locker
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2017-02-27
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01:11:54 audio recording
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eng
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Arthur Spencer joined the Royal Air Force after leaving school. He began pilot training in Florida but then re-mustered as a navigator and trained in Pensacola. He completed two tours of operations as a navigator with 97 Squadron at RAF Woodhall Spa and RAF Bourn. He later became 205 Group's Navigation Officer. He describes dropping target indicators and Window. He was based in Algiers for some time and describes life there. He was awarded the Légion d’Honneur for providing air support for the Resistance in Italy. After the war, he worked for BOAC and then as a teacher.
Spatial Coverage
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Algeria
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
United States
Algeria--Algiers
England--Lincolnshire
Florida--Miami
Florida--Pensacola
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina--Sarajevo
Italy--Trieste
North Africa
Florida
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
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Cathy Brearley
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
16 OTU
97 Squadron
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
C-47
crewing up
ground crew
Master Bomber
military ethos
mine laying
navigator
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
RAF Bourn
RAF Scampton
RAF Swinderby
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Wainfleet
RAF Woodhall Spa
Resistance
searchlight
target indicator
training
Ventura
Wellington
Window
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1996/31990/SHoganPJ436464v20009.1.pdf
ddc8344c92266c46bf52a9d1afb896eb
Dublin Core
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Title
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Hogan, P J
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-12-05
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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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Hogan, PJ
Description
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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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[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
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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
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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
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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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
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P J Hogan
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1980-11-02
Format
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Fifteen page printed document
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
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SHoganPJ436464v20009
Coverage
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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
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Peter Bradbury
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.
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/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
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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
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
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Royal Air Force. Transport Command
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eng
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99 printed sheets
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BLazenbyHJLazenbyHJv1
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Lazenby, Harold Jack
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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
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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
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RAF Elvington
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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/1664/27100/PStreetM2001.2.jpg
fff6293c76379d8f86e7f4061dc99162
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1664/27100/AStreetM200727.2.mp3
ede1ebe552a32226917ae9b0f4199566
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Title
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Street, Gillie
Maude Street
M Street
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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.
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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Transcription
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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.
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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Interview with Gillie Street
Creator
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John Horsburgh
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
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.
Format
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00:37:44 Audio Recording
Type
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Sound
Identifier
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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
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
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
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
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/1297/20292/MBoltonJD67631-170906-01.2.pdf
720ef5ca80dd062d27d51d412648dc93
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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Bolton, J D
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns John Derek Bolton (915543, 67631) and contains two Log books and squadron maintenance log containing a memoir. He flew 80 operations as a pilot with 455, 571, 608 and 162 squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by David Bolton and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-09-06
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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Bolton, JD
Transcribed document
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Front of book]
[Page break]
P. = photo
[Underlined] 162 SQUADRON. [/underlined]
[Underlined] CREW STATE. 23RD MARCH,1945. [/underlined]
[Underlined] PILOTS. [/underlined]
W/Cdr. Bolton. DFC.
[Underlined] “A” FLIGHT. [/underlined]
P S/Ldr. Eddy, DSO.
F/Lt. Lucas.
P F/Lt. Bland.
P F/O. Connor, DFC.
P F/Lt. Whitworth.
F/O. Knights, DFM.
P F/Lt. Marson.
P F/Lt. Haden, AFC.
P W/O. Hanley.
P/O. Jones. E.G.
P F/Lt. Finlay, DFM.
F/O. Philip.
P F/Lt. Skillman.
F/O Rawsthorn. DFC.
[Underlined] NAVIGATORS. [/underlined]
P S/Ldr. Waterkeyn.
P F/Lt. Fawcett.
F/O Barnicoat, DFC.
P F/O Layton.
P P/O Chappell.
P F/O Tulloch.
F/S Robjohns.
F/Lt. Forrest, DFC.
P F/S Nichols.
P F/O. Clark. J.
F/Lt Snelling, DFC.
F/S Walker.
P F/O Allsop. DFM.
F/O Kennedy.
P F/O Tempest.
F/O Grant.
[Underlined] ‘B’ FLIGHT [/underlined]
P S/Ldr. MacDermott. DFM.
F/Lt Marshall.
P/O Jones. B.D.
P/O McGown. DFC.
F/O Lowe, DFM.
P/O Inkpen.
P P/O Richards.
P F/O Watt.
P F/Lt Hopkin.
P F/O Spurr.
P F/Lt. Waller.
P F/Lt Abraham.
F/O. Burgess, DFC.
F/O Smith, DFM.
F/Lt Goodman. AFC.
F/Lt McClelland. DFC.
P F/O Morrow.
P F/O Crabb, DFM.
P F/O Hagues, DFC.
P F/O Fisher.
Sgt. Heggie.
F/O Lawrence.
P F/O McGregor.
P P/O Clark. PF.
P F/S Hanrahan.
P F/O Kilpatrick.
P Sgt Grigg.
P F/S Gannon.
F/O Wallis, DFC.
F/O Booth.
F/O Kerr-Jarrett
F/O Sergeant.
P F/Lt. Alexander.
[Page break]
C.O.
[Underlined] No: 162 Squadron. [/underlined]
[Underlined] Date. 8th. April. 1945. [/underlined]
W/Cdr Bolton. DFC. J.D.
[Underlined] ‘A’ Flight. [/underlined]
S/Ldr Eddy. DSO.,DFC W.E.M.
F/Lt Lucas. W.E.
F/Lt Bland. H.V.
F/O Connor. DFC. B.A. {Aus).
F/L Whitworth. J.L.
F/O Knights. DFM. B.M.
F/O Marson. J.
F/Lt Haden. DFC., AFC. F.A.
W/O Henley. W.J.A. (NZ).
F/O Jones. E.G.
F/L Stewart. C.O.
F/L Finlay. DFM. T.
F/O Philip. R.T.
F/L Skillman. D.W.
F/L Rawsthorn. DFC. R.J. (Aus).
[Underlined] NAVIGATORS [/underlined]
S/Ldr. Waterkyn. DFC. S.R.
F/Lt. Fawcett. DFC I.J. (Aus).
F/O. Barnicoat. DFC. I.H.
F/O. Layton. F.
P/O. Chappell. B.W. (Aus).
F/O. Tulloch. W.A. (CAN).
F/Sgt. Robjohns. J.K. (Aus).
F/Lt. Forrest. DFC. H.L. (Can).
F/Sgt. Nichols. D.T. (Aus)
P/O. Clark. J.
F/Lt. Snelling. DFC. R.G.
P/O. Walker. H.G. (Aus).
F/O. Allsop. DFM. G.
F/O. Kennedy. A.E.
F/O. Tempest. K.
F/O. Grant. D.E. (N.Z.)
[Underlined] ‘B’ Flight. [/underlined]
S/Ldr MacDermott. DFM. P.A.C.
F/L Marshall. A.J.
P/O McGown. DFC. W.L.
F/O Lowe. DFM. M.C.
W/O Inkpen. H.
F/O Richards. J.H.B.
P/O Watt. J. (N.Z.)
F/Lt Hopkin. B.H.B.
F/O Spurr. C.W. (Aus).
F/L Waller. R.R. (Aus).
F/L Abraham. G.C.
F/O Burgess. DFC. E.F.
F/O Smith. DFM. P.A.F.
F/O Goodman. AFC. A.P.
F/L McClelland. DFC. D.
F/O. Morrow. DFC. T.M.V.
F/O. Crabb. DFM. J.L.
F/O. Fisher. A.H. (Can).
Sgt. Heggie. A.
F/O. Lawrence. J. (Can).
F/O. McGregor. D.G. (Can).
P/O. Clark. R.F. (Can).
F/Sgt. Hanrahan. I.T. (Aus).
F/O. Kilpatrick. J.P.P.
Sgt. Grigg. W.K.
F/Lt. Gannon. B.H.
F/O. Wallis. DFC. A.G.
F/O. Booth. C.H.
F/O. Kerr-Jarrett. DFC. I.
F/O. Sergeant. R.A.
[Underlined] Tour Expired. [/underlined]
F/O Jones. B.D. (N.Z.)
F/O. Hagues. DFC. A.
F/Lt. Alexander. DFM. J.
[Underlined] Detached. [/underlined]
Swain. D.H.
F/O. Bayon. M.H.
[Page break]
[Underlined] RECOLLECTIONS OF 455 (AUSTRALIAN) SQUADRON [/underlined]
[Underlined] AUGUST 1941 – APRIL 1942 [/underlined]
After nearly 35 years it is difficult to remember much detail, and incidents that stick in one’s mind tend to be personal ‘line-shoots’. The following notes are mainly such recollections and throw regrettably little light on individuals in the Squadron, - either aircrew or ground crew.
From a pilot’s viewpoint the Hampden, as a medium bomber, handled vastly better than the Wellington whose controls seemed to be connected by elastic, or the Whitley which felt a very heavy bomber indeed. Its only vice was something which few people experienced – a kind of spiral descent with the rudders locked hard over, resembling a spin except that it took place in a fairly flat attitude and above stalling speed. It was apparently induced by heavy-footed application of the rudder with little or no bank, and recovery was said to be difficult once the rudders had locked themselves. On one occasion W/Cdr. Sheen at Upper Heyford set out to investigate the phenomenon; I cannot remember what success he had, but he certainly survived the experiment.
In retrospect and the light of subsequent statistics there seems no doubt that Bomber Command‘s effort up to the middle of 1942 was largely a waste of time, money, aircraft and men. Losses were very heavy and results almost negligible. Most navigators, like the rest of us, had little training or experience and there were virtually no aids. Some had a smattering of astro but were seldom able to use it, and D.F. loop aerials were usually out of effective range of suitable stations or subject to ingenious enemy interference. In conditions of cloud and darkness visual pinpoints were infrequent, and most navigation was unaided D.R. – a process not far removed from wishful thinking. There were, of course, spectacular and successful attacks by bomber forces and by individual aircraft, but these were exceptions to the normal routine. One sortie in which we played an inconspicuous but reasonably successful part was to Lubeck (March 28th./29th. 1942); [inserted] Satur 27 [/inserted] conditions were unusual in providing clear moonlight and a coastal target which was easy to identify and almost undefended, so that careful and accurate bombing runs were possible without the distractions of flak and searchlights. When no ground detail was visible one was apt to suppose that the target lay under the heaviest defences, - an assumption sometimes invalidated by elaborate decoys with flak, searchlights, dummy fires and bomb-bursts. Early in 1942 the introduction on a small scale of radar for navigation and target-marking began to change the picture. The first marking efforts may or may not have been accurate but I am afraid our reaction was sceptical – “They think the target is over there; still, they’re not doing too badly tonight”. When 8 Group really got going, however, the situation improved dramatically.
Individual names and vaguely remembered faces:-
W/Cdr. Gyll Murray, the Squadron’s first C.O.; his successor W/Cdr. Lindeman who took things very seriously; Derek French and “Runt” Reynolds the original flight-commanders; later flight-commanders Jimmy Clift and Dicky Banker (whose pipe and old 3-litre Bentley radiated solid invincibility); P/Os Metcalf and Tony Hibell who, with their crews and ourselves formed the initial English contingent; my first crew Sgt. Redwood (a quietly efficient navigator), Sgt. Baynes (a rather lugubrious but always willing wireless-operator) and P/O ‘Twon’ Symonds (who shared my discovery that the inter-comm. was an excellent medium for imitating Robertson Hare, the phrase “Oh Navigator” coming over particularly well); P/Os Mick Martin (of later fame) and Jimmy
[Page break]
Catanach (an irrepressible character); Flt. Lt. Fleming (a gunnery specialist who seemed old enough to be our uncle); P/O Gordon Lind (a cheerful and determined navigator who took Sgt. Redwood’s place). With some interchange through illness or injury, and the loss-rate then prevalent, crew members tended to come and go but P/O Lind put up with me for 25 trips, Sgt. Baynes for 22 and P/O Symonds for 11 (until he was lost with another crew). One can only admire the navigators, wireless-operators and gunners who blithely entrusted themselves to pilots with as little experience as most of us had.
Line-Shoots, (not, I hope, too coloured by the passage of time) :-
[Underlined] Fuel Shortage [/underlined]
Returning from an expedition to Hamburg in our early days (September 15th./16th. 1941) [inserted] Sortie ③ [/inserted] we aimed to re-cross the coast north of the Wash. In due course the coast appeared with a sizable inlet on the port side, and we continued westwards with no anxieties except the readings of the fuel gauges. Searchlights seemed to be playing a new game which we watched with curiosity; several would point vertically upwards and swing down in unison to concentrate on an area ahead of us, repeating this behaviour again and again. At last the penny dropped when we saw what they were illuminating; our inlet was not the Wash but the Humber, and directly ahead was the Hull balloon barrage. A hasty alteration of course saved this situation, but the fuel readings were now very low indeed. None too soon a Drem system appeared, and without waiting for R/T contact we dropped the wheels in a tight circuit, encouraged by a green Verey light from the flare-path. Turning in for the final approach one engine began cutting in and out intermittently and, at the end of the landing run after a rather snake-like arrival, something roared overhead and disappeared.
The place turned out to be Hibalsdstow, a night-fighter station, and after reporting our night’s doings and asking for a message of thanks to be conveyed to the searchlight crews we repaired to the Mess. Over bacon and eggs someone came up and asked whether Twon and I were in the Hampden that had just landed. He proved to be a Beaufighter pilot who had followed us for some time under the hopeful impression that we were hostile, but had fortunately identified us visually. We, to our shame, had not seen him but Hibaldstow was his base and the green light had been intended for him. Dipping the tanks the following morning revealed almost no detectable fuel.
[Underlined] Unthinking Reaction [/underlined]
Apart from the corkscrew at a later date pilots were not taught evasive action, the official view apparently being that such behaviour was unworthy and that the efforts of ground defences should be ignored. When massive bomber streams developed as a defence against radar the collision risk made it essential to fly straight and level; in 1941/2 however we were operating in comparatively small numbers, and early in this period each crew planned its own route to the target. In such conditions it seemed to me foolhardy to sit still while being shot at, although the theory existed that one was as likely to weave into a shell-burst as out of one. Whether or not it was effective the feeling of doing something was of psychological benefit, and I began to ponder the best form of action to take. Radar-controlled flak and searchlights were just coming into use, though some enemy defences still relied on the old method of sound location. (This was well illustrated by the searchlight belt which stretched, as far as I remember, roughly from Hamburg to the Ruhr. It was often possible to cross this belt undetected provided one did so in a glide; as soon as the throttles were opened the searchlights sprang up behind). Whatever system was in use it was evident that the chap on the ground must assess the aircraft’s height, track and groundspeed to have a hope of hitting it, and had shot his bolt once he had pressed the trigger. Thereafter, the aircraft had the time of flight of the shell, which might be 15 seconds or so depending on height) in which to get out of the way. Until the advent of “Boozer” much later in the War there
[Page break]
Was no sense of telling whether anyone was aiming at you, but gun-flashes were easy to distinguish and those some distance away could be ignored. The requirement therefore seemed to be to spot gun-flashes which might have personal intent and, unless on final approach to the target, to vary immediately one’s height, track or groundspeed. (At one stage the Germans were reputed to be cheating in this game by using flashless powder). If all three factors could be changed simultaneously the effect would obviously be greater, and the simplest way of doing this seemed to be a steep diving turn (as beloved by film-producers of the period), subsequently climbing back on course. The penalty was a small change in E.T.A. but no other appreciable effect on navigation, and time on target was not then critical. For want of anything better the same manoeuvre could be used when caught by searchlights, and I therefore set out to react instinctively with a steep diving turn whenever hostile activity was directed at us from the ground. At first the navigator grumbled, since he often had to grub around the floor for his pencils and instruments, but clusters of shell-bursts on our previous track made his concede that there might be something in it.
Disaster, however, nearly resulted from a ‘gardening’ expedition to the channel between the Friesian Islands and the mainland. The mine-laying process involved searching, at 1000 feet or so, until a prominent feature of the coast could be identified immediately below, and making a short timed run from this landmark to the planting point for the ‘vegetable’ which had to be released at controlled speed and a height of about 500 feet, in order that it should not drift too far on its parachute or break up by hitting the water too fast. On this occasion it was dark below cloud-base at about 1200 feet, and while looking for our pin-point we were suddenly coned by several searchlights. I reacted instinctively, and a few seconds elapsed before something occurred to me; we normally lost about 1500 feet in this manoeuvre, but had only started at 1000. The Hampden staggered out of the dive, the searchlights had lost us, being unable to depress sufficiently, but in their light reflected from the cloud we saw wave tops apparently flashing past the window. There was, perhaps, a second to spare.
[Underlined] A Heaven-Sent Opportunity [/underlined]
Some genius, presumably at Bomber Command, proposed that 5 Group Hampdens should help the rapidly vanishing Blenheims in low-level daylight operations, - an employment with a distinctly limited future. The role was filled very successfully by 2 Group Mosquitoes a year or two later, but the Blenheim and Hampden were far too slow and vulnerable for the job.
By way of a start we were given an exercise one afternoon (December 17th. 1941), which involved coming in over the coast and attempting to reach the ‘target’ represented by a level-crossing in East Anglia, without being intercepted by a squadron of Spitfires. The golden phrase at briefing was that we should ‘make use of natural cover’. East Anglia not being rich in mountains and valleys the cover, such as it was, must surely consist of vegetation. The opportunity was too good to be missed, since low flying without good cause was a serious crime.
At the first attempt we crossed the coast off track, and I remember a lighthouse-keeper looking down on us from his balcony. This seemed to be wrong, and we retreated out to sea for another approach. With the right landmarks all seemed to be going well and I settled down to the process of crossing a field, lifting to clear the far boundary and dipping down into the next field. We found that the Hampden’s tin belly made a most satisfying ‘zip’ as it touched the twiggy bits at the top of a tree, and I was enjoying things immensely; the rest of the crew, to their credit, made no comment though Sgt. Baynes from time to time reported sadly “Hit a tree”. I noticed a milkman, apparently startled by our approach, sprinting down someone’s garden path to catch his horse before it bolted.
Near our intended track was a wireless station with fairly tall masts,
[Page break]
and I was anxious not to come on this unexpectedly. Aiming to clear the trees ahead I glanced aside to look for the masts, but lurking behind the line of trees was another much taller one which seemed to fill the entire view when I again looked where we were going. It was too late to do much, and we passed through the upper part of the tree with a splintering crashing sound.
There seemed to be no serious damage and each of the crew confirmed that he was unhurt, except the navigator. This was worrying, as Gordon Lind had been down in the nose below the pilot’s compartment and was not replying on the inter-comm. A slot in the floor by the pilot’s feet communicated with the bomb-aiming compartment and through this slot, while Sgt. Baynes was going forward to investigate, came two bloodstained fingers in rather a rude gesture. Gordon had seen the tree coming and instinctively recoiled, jerking his inter-comm. plug out of its socket as he did so. The perspex nose was smashed, subjecting him to a good deal of wind and noise, but he was fortunately unhurt apart from a cut on the face. We decided at this stage that it was best to go home but a problem arose on arrival, as the throttle would not close fully and the aircraft persistently drifted off the runway. We finally landed at the third attempt, and on reaching dispersal located the trouble. A control-rod inside the tailplane leading-edge had been severed so that one of the twin rudders was no longer connected, and pieces of wood lodged in the engine cowling were jamming part of the throttle linkage.
Feeling rather foolish, and with visions of charges of hazarding one of His Majesty’s aircraft, I was summoned before the C.O. who said simply the briefing should not be taken so literally. Perhaps my impression that he lacked a sense of humour was unjustified. I still have, or had until recently, a twig and fragment of perspex to illustrate this incident, but the low-level daylight Hampden proposal died a natural death.
J.D. Bolton. June, 1976.
[Page break]
[Underlined] No 162 Squadron. [underlined]
[Underlined] CREW STATE. 22nd January 1945. [/underlined]
[Underlined] PILOTS. [/underlined]
W/Cdr Bolton, DFC.
[Underlined] ‘A’ FLIGHT. [/underlined
+ S/Ldr Eddy. DSO.
F/Lt Lucas.
F/Lt Bland.
F/Lt Hutchinson.
F/O Connor. D.F.C.
F/L Whitworth.
F/O Knights. D.F.M.
+ F/O Marson
F/Lt Haden. AFC.
W/O Henley
F/O E.G. Jones.
F/L Stewart.
[Underlined] NAVIGATORS. [/underlined]
S/Ldr Stanbridge.
F/L Alexander D.F.M.
F/O Barnicoat. D.F.C.
F/L Layton. D.F.C.
P/O Bird. D.F.C.
F/S Chappell.
F/O Tulloch.
F/S Robjohns.
F/L Forrest.
F/S Nicholls.
Sgt. Calrk.
F/L Snelling.
F/S Walker.
[Underlined] ‘B’ FLIGHT. [/underlined]
S/Ldr McDermott. DFM.
F/Lt Owen.
+ F/L Marshall.
F/O B.D. Jones.
F/O McGown. DFC.
F/O Lowe. D.F.M.
P/O Way.
W/O Inkpen.
+ F/O Richards.
P/O Watt.
F/Lt Hopkin.
+ F/O Spurr.
F/O Morrow.
F/O Crumplin. D.F.M.
F/O Crabb. DFM.
F/O Hagues.
F/O Fisher.
Sgt Heggie.
Sgt Fossitt.
F/O Lawrence.
F/O McGregor.
F/S Clark.
F/S Hanrahan.
F/O Kilpatrick.
+ Denotes crews on 7 days leave.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 162 SQUADRON [/underlined]
[Underlined] LIGHT NIGHT STRIKING FORCE [/underlined]
MOSQUITO MK. XXV, XX.
BOURN
DECEMBER 18th 1944
[Underlined] BATTLE ORDERS [/underlined]
[Signature]
[Page break]
1 [Underlined] 19.12.44 [/underlined]
3 aircraft
A S/Ldr Eddy
B F/Lt Owen
G W/O Way
Reserve H
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Nav. S/Ldr Stanbridge
Brief Nav. 1400
Brief Main 1445
Coffee & sandwiches 1500
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
[Underlined] 20.12.44 [/underlined] 2
6 aircraft
A S/Ldr Eddy
B F/O Jones
C F/Lt Bland
F W/O Henley
G W/O Way
H F/Lt Owen
Reserve E
O.C. W/Cdr Bolten
Duty Navs. S/Ldt Stanbridge
F/O Tulloch
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
3 [Underlined] 21.12.44 [/underlined]
6 aircraft (3 early Windowers COLOGNE and 3 BONN)
A S/Ldr Eddy
B W/O Henley
C F/Lt Lucas
F F/O Connor
G F/Lt Bland
E F/O Jones
Reserve H
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Tulloch
Meal 1315
Brief Nav. 1400
Brief Main 1500
A very good show all round. Visibility 800 yards for take-off and 1500 yards for return. All aircraft windowed and bombed successfully. Take-off somewhat straggling but should improve. Bombing-up completed only just in time owing to lack of armourers.
F (F/O Connor) lost top hatch on first attempt to take off, but was fitted with another, got off 10 minutes late and reached target with other aircraft. All slightly late due to wind change.
A (S/Ldr Eddy) landed at FORD.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 22.12.44 [/underlined] 4
6 aircraft (3 early windowers and 3 )
E F/O Jones }
F F/Lt Marshall } E.W. 1844
G F/Lt Bland }
B W/O Henley }
C F/O Whitworth }
D P/O McGown }
Reserve H
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Lawrence
F/O Barnicoat
[Deleted] Brief Nav. 1400
Brief Main 1500
Coffee & sandwiches 1515 [/deleted]
Call 2300
Meal 2330
Brief Nav. 0015
Brief Main 0100
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
7 [Underlined] 25.12.44 [/underlined]
[Drawing of a sprig of holly]
[Page break]
SECRET – NOT/WT
[Station Stamp]
[Circled] 14 [/circled]
EMERGENCY
BOU T. BOURNE
GSD T. GRANSDEN
DOW T. DOWNHAM
LTS T. L/STAUGHTON
UPW T. UPWOOD
WTN T. WYTON
WBS T. WARBOYS
V GPH GPH 66/25 ‘O’ ‘O’
FROM PATHFINDERS 1130A
TO ALL P.F.F. STATIONS
SECRET COY BT
C. [Underlined] XMAS PUD AT 1930 [/underlined] (DURATION T.F.N)
22/105 + 25/109 + 14/139 + 15/128 + 15/142 + 14/571 + 140
+ 14/608 + 14/692 + 8/162 + 16/7 + 16/35 + 16/156
+16/405 + 16/582 + 16/635 + 6/1409 + ANY ODDS AND SODS
OF 1655
D. MXEXXX
[Underlined] METHOD [/underlined] WILL BE UNCONTROLLED MUSICAL CHAIRS.
(1) [Underlined] BLIND (DRUNK) MARKERS [/underlined] WILL FURTIVELY MARK THE A/P WITH LIGHT AND DARK BROWN T.I’S FROM TIME TO TIME.
(2) [Underlined] MASTER AND MISTRESS [/underlined] WILL ATTEMPT TO CONTROL THE PARTY (AND THEM SELVES) BUT IF CONDITIONS MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE, THEY WILL RETIRE FROM THE FESTIVITIES.
(3) [Underlined] LONGSTOP. [/underlined] (THE DRUNKEN ? – )
WILL SEE EVERYONE ELSE OFF AND FINALLY STAGGER INTO THE GLOOM SINGING LOUDLY AND UNMUSICALLY.
(4) [Underlined] BACKERS UP [/underlined] WILL DROP IN AT THEIR OWN DISCRETION.
(5) [Underlined] SUPPORTERS [/underlined] WHO [underlined] MUST [/underlined] BE ON TIME, BUT WILL NOT KEEP SOBER, WILL DROP EVERYTHING AND RUN AT THE FIRST SIGN OF ATTACK.
(6) THERE WILL BE NO EARLY RETURN OR CANCELLATION.
ALL CREWS WILL TURN TO PORT AFTER ATTACKING THE TARGETS
(M) [Underlined] BOMBLOADS [/underlined]
2 X 12 FIRKINS + 6 NOGGINS + 1 LONG DELAY (6 TO 36 HOURS)
ALL T.I’S FUSED VERY LOW.
(N1) [Underlined] ROOT [/underlined] BASE – BAR (A/P = PIG’S EAR) – BASE.
(N2) [Underlined] GEE WHIZ [/underlined] (LAVATORY CHAINS NORMAL)
[Underlined] JAY [/underlined] + JOHNNY WALKER
(N3) THE VILLAGE INN WILL BE OPEN.
BT 1130A
OO
TOD 1155A/K.WILCOCK
(COLD SOBER)
OPS
Stn Cdr
105 CO
162 CO √
AS FOR K WITH R
BOU K WITH R
R1200A FER AH
[Page break]
[Underlined] 26.12.44 [/underlined] 8
6 aircraft ( )
E F/O Whitworth }
G W/O Henley } From GRAVELEY
F F/Lt Hutchinson }
A F/O Marson }
B F/O Lowe } From BASE
C F/O Knights }
Reserve H
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr Eddy (Graveley)
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Hagues
F/Lt Alexander (Graveley)
Meal 1300
Brief Nav. 1345
Brief Main 1430
Transport for Graveley 1200
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
9 [Underlined] 27.12.44 [/underlined]
[Deleted] 7 [/deleted] 4 aircraft (E.W. OPLADEN)
E F/O Whitworth }
G W/O Henley } From GRAVELEY
F F/Lt Hutchinson }
A F/O Marson }
B F/O Lowe } From BASE
C F/O Knights }
H F/S Marshall }
No reserve
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr Eddy (Graveley)
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Sgt Chappell
F/Lt Alexander (Graveley)
Meal [deleted] 1315 2015 [/deleted] 0115 Call 00.45
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1400 2100 [/deleted] 0200
Brief Main [deleted] 1445 2145 [/deleted] 0245
Transport for GRAVELEY 1245
Target changed 3 times and postponed twice. Graveley aircraft finally cancelled owing to ice.
Ground-crew chiefly responsible to very poor take-off. All aircraft very late – one 19 minutes.
H (F/Lt Marshall) and C (F/O Knights) did very well to make up time and arrive punctually on target . Other 2 aircraft late.
A (F/O Marson) had oxygen trouble which may have accounted for poor navigation.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 28.12.44 [/underlined] 10
6 aircraft (FRANKFURT)
E S/Ldr McDermott
A P/O McGown
D F/Lt Lucas
F F/O Connor
G W/O Inkpen
H F/O Jones
No reserve
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Fisher
P/O Bird
Meal 1315
Brief Nav. 1400
Brief Main 1500
G (W/O Inkpen) cancelled. Pitot head u/s and only spare head found also u/s.
A much better take-off and quite a good attack.
E (S/Ldr McDermott) had U.H.F. and generator failure on take-off but bombed target successfully, visually identifying built-up area.
[Page break]
11 [Underlined] 29.12.44 [/underlined]
6 aircraft ( )
A F/Lt Marshall
H F/Lt Owen
B F/O Lowe
F F/Lt Hutchinson
D F/O Knights
E F/O Marson
No reserve
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Nav. S/Ldr Stanbridge
Meal 1315
Brief Nav. 1400
Brief Main 1500
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
[Underlined] 30.12.44 [underlined] 12
10 aircraft (8 HANOVER and 2 spoof DUISBERG)
A S/Ldr Eddy }
H F/Lt Owen } [deleted] 1835 [/deleted] 2050
G F/Lt Marshall }
E F/O Marson }
F F/Lt Hutchinson }
T W/O Inkpen }
B F/O Lowe } 1830
C W/O Way }
U [deleted] R [/deleted] P/O McGwon }
D F/O Knights }
Reserves [deleted U, [/deleted] V
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs, S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Sgt Chappell
[Underlined] E C [/underlined]
Meal 1315
Brief Nav. 1400 1630
Brief Main 1445 1715
A very good effort on the part of aircrews, but ground crews still disorganised. Armourers late with bombing-up, and several aircraft not filled with oxygen. All aircraft took off exactly on time except T which had no oxygen. Nearly all were on target on time. Both attacks quite successful.
D (F/O Knights) had oxygen trouble and engine failure after leaving target. Returned on one engine and landed at WOODBRIDGE.
G (F/Lt Marshall) swung off flare-path on landing and ended up on belly – apparently undercarriage failure. Crew unhurt.
[Page break]
13 [Underlined] 31.12.44 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (2 E.W. OSTERFELD and 10 BERLIN)
C F/Lt Marshall }
X W/O Way } E.W. 1845
V S/Ldr McDermott }
A F/Lt Lucas }
U F/Lt Owen }
F F/Lt Connor }
Y F/O Jones } 1855
H F/Lt Hutchinson } or 1830
T W/O Inkpen }
E F/O Marson }
R P/O McGown }
B F/O Lowe }
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
Reserves Z,S.
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Lt Alexander
Meal 1315
Brief Nav. 1400
Brief Main 1445
C, Y, A, and B cancelled – u/s.
A chaotic start, due to aircraft not being ready; some had not even been refuelled. – N.C.O. i/c on a charge. Several which did get off were late, but crews did well to make up time and both attacks were quite successful.
F (F/O Connor) had stbd. engine fail and catch fire at enemy coast. Port engine would not run smoothly above +3lb boost. Bombed near TERSCHELLING and returned to base on port engine at +3lb. boost, WOODBRIDGE being covered with low cloud. Landing excellent in spite of drift.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 1.1.45 [/underlined] 14
10 aircraft (2 E.W. DORTMUND and 8 HANAU)
E F/O Connor }
V F/Lt Marshall } E.W. 1915
A S/Ldr Eddy }
B F/Lt Lucas }
H F/O Knights }
Y F/O Jones }
X F/O Lowe } 1855
R P/O McGown }
U [deleted] Z [/deleted] W/O Way }
T W/O Inkpen }
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
Reserves G, [deleted] U.
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Lt Forrest
P/O Bird
Brief Nav. 1400
Brief Main 1445
Coffee & sandwiches 1500
A much better take-off, though port engine of Z would not start, apparently due to c/o over-doping as pilot took reserve aircraft, and engine started perfectly immediately afterwards. – Clueless ground crew and pilot. Both attacks successful. Only one Oboe T.I. dropped on HANAU, but all crews saw and bombed it.
H (F/O Knights) early return. Rough running, wavering revs, and loss of power on one engine. Landed WOODBRIDGE.
[Page break]
15 [Underlined] 2.1.45 [/underlined]
10 aircraft (3 E.W. NUREMBURG and 7 BERLIN)
Y F/O Jones }
V F/Lt Owen } E.W. 1930
B F/Lt Lucas }
A S/Ldr Eddy }
S F/Lt Marshall }
C F/Lt Hutchinson }
X F/O Lowe } 1900
G F/O Marson }
R F/O Connor }
Z F/O Knights }
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
Reserves T, U.
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Morris
F/O Lawrence
Brief Nav. 1345
Brief Main 1430
Coffee & sandwiches 1445
Take-off and landing times good – 6 aircraft down in 9 minutes. Both attacks very successful and all aircraft on BERLIN within 2 minutes.
Z (F/O Knights) landed at MANSTON with engine, generator and hydraulic trouble.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 3.1.45 [/underlined] 16
9 aircraft (6 and 3 )
Y F/O Jones } }
B F/Lt Lucas } }
X F/O Lowe } }
V S/Ldr McDermott } }
A F/Lt Hutchinson } } 2200
U F/Lt Owen } }
E F/O Marson } }
T W/O Way } }
R P/O McGown } }
Reserves G, C.
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Lawrence
Meal 1630
Brief Nav. 1715
Brief Main 1800
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break}
17 [Underlined] 4.1.45 [/underlined]
10 aircraft (2 attacks on BERLIN)
V S/Ldr McDermott }
E F/O Marson }
X F/O Owen } 1950
T F/O Connor }
H F/Lt Hutchinson }
Y W/Cdr Bolton }
U F/Lt Marshall }
B F/Lt Lucas } [deleted] 2250 [/deleted] 2350
C F/O Knights }
G W/O Way }
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
Reserves S, Z.
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy
Duuty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/O Hagues
F/O Lawrence
I
Brief Nav. 1500
Brief Main 1545
Coffee & sandwiches 1600
II
Meal 1830
Brief Nav. 1915
Brief Main 2000
B, C, and G cancelled owing to snowstorm at take-off time.
Both attacks ruined by 139 Sqdn’s poor timing and scattered marking.
T (F/O Connor) landed at FOULSHAM due to generator and A.S.I. failure, and icing.
H (F/L Hutchinson) landed at LITTLE SNORING with generator and hydraulic trouble “LARGETYPE” very helpful and ingenious in giving him his fixes.
S/Ldr Stanbridge did trip with oxygen tube in mouth, owing to lack of connecting socket. Passed out near BREMEN when tube fell out, but revived at 14,000’ and navigated successfully to target.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 15.1.45 [/underlined] 18
10 aircraft (4 E.W. HANOVER and 6 BERLIN)
A S/Ldr Eddy }
Y F/O Jones }
B F/Lt Lucas } E.W. 2150
X F/O Lowe }
S F/Lt Marshall }
J F/Lt Bland }
U W/O Way }
C F/O Knights } 2215
V [deleted] Z [/deleted] P/O McGown }
E W/O Henley }
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
Reserves G, [deleted] V [/deleted]
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Morrow
F/O Crumplin
Meal 1615
Brief Nav. 1700
Brief Main 1745
A very successful night. Take-off still slightly straggled, but both attacks went very well.
[Page break]
19 [Underlined] 6.1.45 [/underlined]
9 aircraft (2 E.W. HANAU and 7 )
S S/Ldr McDermott }
A F/O Marson } E.W. 1900
U F/Lt Owen }
C F/O Knights }
Y F/O Jones }
B F/O Connor }
Z W/O Way }
H F/O Whitworth }
E W/O Henley }
Reserves G, R.
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Lawrence
F/Sgt Robjohns
Brief Nav. 1400
Brief Main 1445
Coffee & sandwiches 1500
U, C, Y, B, Z, H & E Cancelled – Weather
Both aircraft off on time and both windowed successfully on time. Only glow of markers visible owing to cloud.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 7.1.45 [/underlined] 20
10 aircraft (3 E.W. MUNICH, and 7 HANOVER)
U F/Lt Owen }
H F/O Connor } E.W. 2230
Y F/O Jones }
A S/Ldr Eddy }
V F/Lt Marshall }
B F/Lt Lucas }
Z W/O Way } 2150
C F/O Whitworth }
R [deleted] D [/deleted] W/O Henley }
W F/O Marson }
[Grid of MINS LATE, START, A/B and S/C times]
Reserve [deleted] R [/deleted]
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Layton
F/O Lawrence
Meal 1600
Brief Nav. 1645
Brief Main 1730
Take-off very poor indeed. Only one aircraft on time – B (F/Lt Lucas). C (F/O Whitworth) 22 minutes late owing to frozen snow on airscrews. Last snow had fallen at 1500 hrs. and no attempt had been made to clean it off since then. ‘D’ not refuelled owing to bowser breakdown. Average time late – 7 minutes. ‘Y’ had not been bombed-up. Several aircraft had no dinghies.
H (F/O Connor) took off with pitot-head cover on. Fault of aircrew & groundcrew; rigger on charge. Completed trip & landed at WOODBRIDGE.
R (W/O Henley) sent V.H.F. message saying trouble with fuel feed from main tanks; preparing to abandon aircraft. Aircraft missing, but crew believed safe in HOLLAND.
[Page break]
21 [Underlined] 8.1.45 [/underlined]
6 aircraft ( )
S F/Lt Owen
D F/O Knights
Y F/O Richards
T W/O Inkpen
G F/Lt Bland
J F/O Whitworth
Reserve W
O.C. S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/O Hagues
Brief Nav. 1415
Brief Main 1500
Coffee & sandwiches 1515
Cancelled – Weather
[Page break]
[Underlined] 9.1.45 [/underlined] 22
8 aircraft ( )
W F/Lt Owen
H F/Lt Whitworth
X F/O Richards
F F/Lt Bland
T W/O Inkpen
C F/O Knights
S P/O Way
E F/O Marson
Reserves A, V.
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Crabb
[Deleted] Brief Nav. 1400
Brief Main 1445
Coffee & sandwiches 1500 [/deleted]
Meal 2030
Brief Nav. 2100
Brief Main 2200.
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
23 [Underlined] 10.1.45 [/underlined]
9 aircraft (HANOVER)
B F/Lt Lucas
V [deleted] U [/deleted] F/Lt Owen
W W/O Inkpen
F F/Lt Whitworth
X F/O Richards
G F/Lt Bland
D F/O Knights
S F/O Jones
E F/O Marson
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
Reserves A, [deleted] V. [/deleted]
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Lt Alexander
F/Sgt Chappell
Brief Nav. 1400
Brief Main 1445
Meal 1515
X Cancelled- weather doubtful and inexperienced crew.
An excellent show all round. All aircraft off on time in spite of difficult conditions of snow on aerodrome. Attack very successful, and all aircraft on target within 1 minute. Weather very poor for return with low cloud and more snow, but all crews coped very well.
B, W, and D diverted to WYTON.
Remainder landed at base.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 13.1.45 [/underlined] 24
12 aircraft (6 and 6 spoof)
V S/Ldr McDermott }
A F/Lt Whitworth }
Y F/O B. Jones }
C F/O Knights }
U P/O Watt }
G F/Lt Bland }
S F/Lt Marshall }
F F/O Connor }
X F/O Richards } Spoof 2245
B F/O E. Jones }
T W/O Inkpen }
E F/Lt Haden }
Reserves D, W.
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Crumplin
F/O Barnicoat
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
25 [Underlined] 14.1.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (4 E.W. MERSEBURG and 8 BERLIN)
V S/Ldr McDermott }
S F/O Spurr }
F F/O Connor }
T F/O Richards }
U P/O Watt } 2100
H [deleted B [/deleted] F/Lt Haden }
Y F/Lt Hopkin }
A F/Lt Stewart }
D F/Lt Whitworth }
B [deleted] C [/deleted] F/O Knights }
X P/O Way } E.W. 0001
G F/Lt Bland }
Reserves [deleted] H, [/deleted] Z
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Crabb
F/O Crumplin
[Underlined] E.W. Others. [/underlined]
Meal 1845 1545
Brief Nav. 1915 1615
Brief Main 2000 1700
A very good effort especially by new crews. Take-off good in spite of being very rushed owing to H hour being brought forward. Marking on BERLIN very scattered and defences mor effective than of late. MERSEBURG aircraft off rather late owing to last-minute change of flare-path. Attack successful.
T (F/O Richards) returned on one engine from BERLIN and landed at FRISTON. – A very good effort for his 1st operation.
4 aircraft hit by flak.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 16.1.45 [/underlined] 26
12 aircraft (3 E.W. and 9 )
F F/O Connor }
C F/O Lowe } E.W. [deleted] 2030 2115 [/deleted] 2215
V F/O Spurr }
A S/Ldr Eddy }
Y F/Lt Hopkin }
B F/Lt Stewart }
W P/O McGown } [Deleted] 2030 2040 2140 [/deleted] 0030
G F/Lt Bland }
S F/Lt Marshall }
H F/Lt Haden }
U F/Lt Owen }
E F/Lt Whitworth }
Reserves D, X
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Lt Forrest
F/O Morrow
Meal [deleted] 1500 [/deleted] 1515 1900
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1530 [/deleted] 1600 1945
Brief Main [deleted] 1615 [/deleted] 1645 2030
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
27 [Underlined] 17.1.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (MAGDEBURG)
A S/Ldr Eddy
U F/Lt Owen
C F/Lt Bland
W P/O McGown
B F/Lt Whitworth
Y F/Lt Hopkin
H F/Lt Haden
Z F/O Richards
D F/Lt Stewart
X F/O Lowe
E F/O Marson
S F/Lt Marshall
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
Reserves F, V
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Morrow
F/Sgt Clark
CALL 2359
MEAL 0030
BRIEF 0115
Brief Nav. 1415
Brief Main 1500
Coffee & sandwiches 1515
Take-off very poor but attack successful. Fires still burning in larger area from attack on previous night by heavies. Nearly all aircraft hampered for speed and height apparently by icing and some were late owing to this.
S (F/Lt Marshall) found incorrect wind and used it, with result that he saw no T.Is and returned 30 minutes early.
C (F/Lt Bland) landed at WOODBRIDGE with electrical trouble, changed batteries, and returned to base.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 18.1.45 [/underlined] 28
12 aircraft (STERKRADE)
F F/O Connor
X F/O Lowe
B F/Lt Haden
V F/O Richards
E F/O Marson
W F/O Spurr
G F/Lt Stewart
U P/O Watt
A F/Lt Hutchinson
Z P/O Way
D F/Lt Whitworth
S F/Lt Marshall
Reserves H, Y
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. F/L Alexander
F/O Morrow
F/Sgt Robjohns
Meal 1930
Brief Nav. 2015
Brief Main 2100
Take-off 2 minutes late. Attack a complete wash-out owing to 10/10 cloud up to 25,000’ A few crews caught glimpses of T.Is which disappeared immediately and all bombed on GEE. Weather very rough for return but all crews coped very well.
[Page break]
29 [Underlined] 19.1.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (2 E.W. and 10 )
S F/O Spurr }
Y P/O Watt } E.W.
A S/Ldr Eddy }
V S/Ldr McDermott }
E F/O Knights }
Z P/O Way }
D F/O Connor }
X F/Lt Marshall }
B F/Lt Hutchinson }
U F/Lt Owen }
G F/Lt Bland }
W P/O McGown }
Reserves C, H
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Lt Forrest
Sgt Heggie
Meal 1515
Brief Nav. 1600
Brief Main 1645
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
[Underlined] 20.1.45 [/underlined] 30
12 aircraft (6 spoof , and 6 )
U F/Lt Owen }
E F/O Marson }
J F/O Spurr }
G F/Lt Bland } Spoof [deleted] 2045 [/deleted] 2345
X P/O Watt }
F F/O Connor }
S P/O Way }
D F/Lt Stewart }
W P/O McGown }
C F/Lt Haden }
Y F/Lt Hopkin }
A F/Lt Hutchinson }
Reserves H, V
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O McGregor
F/Sgt Robjohns
[Underlined] Spoof Remainder [/underlined]
Meal 1830 1430
Brief Nav. 1915 1500
Brief Main 2000 1545
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
31 [Underlined] 21.1.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft ([Deleted] 3 E.W. [/deleted] and [deleted] 9 spoof [/deleted] 12 KASSEL)
D F/Lt Hutchinson } }
J F/O Spurr } } [deleted] E.W. 0015 [/deleted]
H F/Lt Haden } }
B S/Ldr Eddy } }
S F/Lt Marshall } }
E F/O Marson } }
X F/O Richards } } [deleted] Spoof oo25 [/deleted] 2030
F F/O Connor } }
Y F/Lt Hopkin } }
G F/Lt Bland } }
W P/O McGown } }
U F/Lt Owen } }
Reserves C, V
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Tulloch
Sgt Fossitt
Meal [deleted] 1900 [/deleted] Brief Nav 1615
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1945 [/deleted] Brief Main 1700
Brief Main [deleted] 2030 [/deleted] Coffee & sandwiches 1715
Take-off very rushed owing to fooling about with targets, routes, times, winds, etc. Crews had only 10 minutes from end of briefing to get into aircraft, but coped very [inserted] well [/inserted] and only P/O McGown was late off. Attack very successful with marking concentrated at first though becoming a little scattered. Too much backchat on R/T during landing.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 22.1.45 [/underlined] 32
12 aircraft (3 E.W. DUISBURG, 3 E.W. GELSENKIRCHEN, and 6 HANOVER)
V S/Ldr McDermott }
C F/O E. Jones } E.W. 2000
W W/O Inkpen }
A F/Lt Hutchinson }
Y F/O B. Jones } E.W. [deleted] 2015 [/deleted] 2230
H F/O Haden }
G F/Lt Bland }
U P/O Watt }
D F/Lt Whitworth }
S P/O Way } 1915
E F/Lt Stewart }
X F/O Lowe }
Reserves B, J
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Barnicoat
F/Sgt Hanrahan
[Underlined] E.W.1 E.W.2. Remainder. [/underlined]
Meal 1500 1745 1415
Brief Nav. 1545 1830 1445
Brief Main 1630 1915 1530
A very successful night. All 3 take-offs quite good and all attacks successful. 2 excellent ground-detail photographs from S/Ldr McDermott on DUISBURG, and one from W/O Inkpen
V (S/Ldr McDermott) 2 miles 205° from A.P. heading S.W.
W (W/O Inkpen) 3 3/4 miles 310° from A.P. heading S.E.
[Page break]
33 [Underlined] 23/1/45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft ( )
B F/Lt Lucas
J P/O McGown
H F/O Connor
V P/O Watt
D F/Lt Whitworth
X F/Lt Hopkin
A F/O E. Jones
Z P/O Way
E F/Lt Stewart
Y F/O B. Jones
K F/O Knights
U F/Lt Owen
Reserves [deleted] G, [/deleted] S
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Layton
Meal [deleted] 2359 [/deleted] 1400
Brief Nav. [deleted] 0030 [/deleted] 1445
Brief Main [deleted] 0115 [/deleted] 1530
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
[Underlined] 24.1.45 [/deleted] 34
12 aircraft ( )
B F/Lt Lucas
U F/Lt Owen
H F/Lt Haden
J P/O McGown
A F/O E. Jones
V W/O Inkpen
E F/Lt Stewart
X F/O Lowe
F F/O Connor
Z P/O Way
D F/Lt Whitworth
Y F/Lt Hopkin
Reserves G, S
O.C. S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Morrow
Meal 1415
Brief Nav. 1500
Brief Main 1545
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
35 [Underlined] 27.1.45 [/underlined]
8 aircraft ( )
B F/Lt Lucas }
J P/O McGown }
F F/O Connor }
Z P/O Way }
D F/Lt Whitworth } 1910
U W/O Inkpen }
C F/O Knights }
Y F/Lt Hopkin }
Reserves E, V.
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Morrow
Meal 1415
Brief Nav. 1445
Brief Main 1530
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
[Underlined] 28.1.45 [/underlined] 36
12 aircraft (2 spoofs MAINZ and 10 BERLIN)
E F/Lt Stewart }
B F/O Connor } Spoof 2018
S [deleted] V [/deleted] W/Cdr Bolton }
A F/Lt Hutchinson }
Y F/O B. Jones }
C F/O Knights }
W P/O McGown }
D F/Lt Whitworth } 2040
Z F/Lt Hopkin }
J W/O Inkpen }
U [deleted] S X [/deleted] F/O Lowe }
G F/Lt Bland }
Reserves [deleted] S U [/deleted], H
O.C. S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. F/O Morrow
F/O Barnicoat
Meal 1500
Brief Nav. 1545
Brief Main 1630
V cancelled – u/s and all reserves.
Take-off quite good in both cases, and attacks fairly successful. Crews need to estimate their own positions for making calls on circuit to speed up landing procedure. Present average landing interval 2 mins between aircraft.
W (P/O McGown) damaged tailplane through swinging when running up without chocks on dispersal. – His 2nd accident through carelessness. Group suggest course at Sheffield.
[Page break]
37 [Underlined] 29.1.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (8 BERLIN and 4 spoof)
B F/Lt Lucas }
Y F/O B. Jones }
D F/Lt Whitworth } [Deleted] 1945 [/deleted] 2145
V F/Lt Hopkin }
H {deleted] A [/deleted] F/Lt Hutchinson }
X P/O McGown }
G F/O E. Jones }
U P/O Watt } [Deleted] 1935 2005 or 1905 [/deleted] 1935
E F/Lt Stewart }
Z P/O Way }
K {deleted] C [/deleted] F/O Knights }
J W/O Inkpen }
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
Reserves [deleted] H, [/deleted] S, C
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
Sgt Clark
F/Sgt Nicholls
Spoof
Meal 1400 1615
Brief Nav. 1445 1700
Brief Main 1530 1745
Spoof cancelled – Weather
Take-off spoilt by Spitfire making an emergency landing, followed by Stirling landing without permission. Attack quite successful but all aircraft diverted to MANSTON owing to snowstorm at base.
G (F/O E. Jones) landed at BRADWELL BAY.
All others landed at MANSTON.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 31.1.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (4 spoof and 8 )
B F/Lt Lucas }
W F/O Spurr }
C F/Lt Bland } Spoof 0245
A F/Lt Hopkin }
S F/Lt Marshall }
F F/O Marson }
Z P/O Way }
G F/O E. Jones }
V F/O Lowe }
D F/Lt Whitworth }
T F/O Richards }
Y F/O B. Jones }
Reserves
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Sgt Nicholls
Sgt Clark
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
39
[Underlined] SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 1945 [/underlined]
OPERATIONAL NIGHTS 14
NUMBER OF ATTACKS 23
AIRCRAFT CALLED FOR 133
AIRCRAFT DESPATCHED 128
CANCELLED BY UNIT (WEAHTER) 4
CANCELLED BY UNIT (SERVICEABILITY) 1
EARLY RETURNS 1
OTHER ABORTIVE SORTIES 1
ENGINE FAILURES 2
AIRCRAFT DAMAGED BY ENEMY ACTION 5
AIRCRAFT DAMAGED BY ACCIDENTS 4 (minor airframe damage)
AIRCRAFT MISSING 1 {crew safe)
CREWS AIRCRAFT
STRENGTH AT BEGINNING OF MONTH 18 16
STRENGTH AT END OF MONTH 22 18
TARGETS ATTACKED BERLIN 7
HANOVER 4
HANAU 2
DORTMUND 1
DUISBURG 1
GELSENKIRCHEN 1
KASSEL 1
MAGDEBURG 1
MAINZ 1
MERSEBURG 1
MUNICH 1
NUREMBURG 1
STERKRADE 1
PROMOTIONS:- F/O WHITWORTH to F/LT
F/LT OLSEN to A/S/LDR on posting to 163 Squadron.
COMMISSIONS:- W/O WAY
DECORATIONS:- S/LDR STANBRIDGE D.F.C.
F/LT DOWNES (Adjutant) D.F.C.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 1.2.45 [/underlined] 40
⑱ aircraft (2 spoof DUISBURG, 10 BERLIN I, and 6 BERLIN II)
K [deleted] G [/deleted] F/Lt Bland }
W F/O Spurr } Spoof 1905
F S/Ldr Eddy }
Z F/Lt Hopkin }
H [deleted] D [/deleted] F/Lt Whitworth }
Y F/O B. Jones }
A F/O Marson }
V F/O Lowe }
B F/Lt Lucas } [Deleted] 1955 [/deleted] 2025
T F/O Richards }
C F/O E. Jones }
S F/Lt Marshall }
D [deleted] H [/deleted] F/Lt Hutchinson }
J P/O McGown }
K F/O Knights }
U P/O Watt } [Deleted] 0230 [/deleted] 0400
E F/Lt Stewart }
Z P/O Way }
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
No reserves
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
Sgt. Clark
F/O Lawrence
I II
Meal 1415 [deleted] 2045 [/deleted] 2245
Brief Nav. 1500 [deleted] 2130 [/deleted] 2330
Brief Main 1545 [deleted 2215 [/deleted 0015
D cancelled Swung & bogged on take-off. Reserve u/s.
A disastrous night. One aircraft failed to take off, one returned early and 3 were damaged in accidents. Attacks fairly successful.
D (F/Lt Hutchinson) swung on take-off and bogged. Got into reserve aircraft but found petrol cocks jammed.
W (F/O Spurr) taxied into gun-pit – sheer carelessness.
Z (P/O Way) apparently forgot flaps, came in much too fast, overshot and finished up on belly – also carelessness.
K (F/O Knights) early return. Landed WOODBRIDGE where tail-wheel collapsed.
[Page break]
41 [Underlined 2.2.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (2 E.W. WANNE EICKEL, 4 spoof MANNHEIM, and 6 MAGDEBURG)
H F/O Bland }
U F/O Spurr }
F F/Lt Hutchinson }
V F/Lt Marshall } 2000
B F/Lt Lucas }
T F/O Richards }
G F/O B. Jones }
E F/O Marson } E.W. [deleted] 2215 [/deleted] 2345
D F/Lt Witworth }
Y F/Lt Hopkin }
C F/O E. Jones } Spoof [deleted 2224 [/deleted] 2354
S F/O Lowe
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
No reserve
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Lt Alexander
F/O Lawrence
[Underlined] I E.W. & Spoof [/underlined]
Meal 1445 [deleted] 1715 [/deleted] 1830
Brief Nav. 1515 [deleted] 1800 [/deleted] 1915
Brief Main 1600 [deleted] 1845 [/deleted] 2000
A very successful night. Take-off the best so far, and landing times also very good. All crews on MAGDEBURG claim to have bombed within 15 seconds of H hour.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 3.2.45 [/underlined] 42
10 aircraft (4 OSNABRUCK, 2 E.W. BOTTROP, and 4 spoof OSNABRUCK)
Y W/Cdr Bolton }
D [deleted] F [/deleted] F/Lt Stewart }
V P/O McGown } [Deleted] 1940 [/deleted] 1925
C F/O Knights }
A F/Lt Lucas }
T F/O Richards } E.W. [deleted] 1915 [/deleted] 1930
G F/Lt Bland }
U P/O Way }
E F/O Marson } [Deleted] Spoof 1910 [/deleted] 1925
S F/Lt Marshall }
Reserves [deleted] D, J, [/deleted] H Z
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/Lt Snelling
F/O Kilpatrick
Meal [deleted] 1415 1445 [/deleted] 1430
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1445 1530 [/deleted] 1515
Brief Main [deleted] 1530 1615 [/deleted] 1600
A very good take-off and both attacks successful. All aircraft late on target at OSNABRUCK but markers late as well, due to wind change. G, U, E and S dropped green T.Is, well grouped with 139’s yellows. Visibility very poor for return due to smoke haze. Camera serviceability much improved, and only one electrical failure. 8 photographs of T.Is out of 10 attempts.
D (F/Lt Stewart) swung on take-off, but taxied back very quickly and got off on time. This aircraft seems to have a marked tendency to swing.
[Page break]
43 [underlined] 4.2.45 [/underlined]
11 aircraft (3 E.W. BONN, and 8 HANOVER)
A S/Ldr Eddy }
T P/O McGown } E.W. [deleted] 1945 2028 [/deleted] 2045
E F/Lt Stewart }
W [deleted] Z [/deleted] F/Lt Hopkin }
H F/Lt E. Jones }
Y F/Lt B. Jones }
C F/O Knights } [Deleted] 1940 1940 [/deleted] 1940
U P/O Way }
B F/Lt Whitworth }
S F/O Spurr }
V F/O Lowe }
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
Reserves [deleted G [/deleted] F,J
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. [deleted] S/Ldr Stanbridge [/deleted]
F/Lt Alexander
F/O McGregor
F/Sgt Nicholls
Meal 1415
Brief Nav. 1500
Brief Main 1545
Take-off again excellent. Aircraft windowed successfully at BONN, but cloud interfered with heavies’ attack. HANOVER attack spoilt by 139 Sqdn. dropping the first T.I., the only one on time – in the wrong place, apparently on NIENBURG.
T (P/O McGown) steered the wrong course after leaving the target and arrived back 54 minutes late – not a very bright effort.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 5.2.45 [/underlined] 44
12 aircraft (3 spoof, and 9 BERLIN)
Y F/O B. Jones }
F F/Lt Stewart } Spoof
J F/O Spurr }
A F/Lt Lucas }
U F/O Richards }
D F/Lt Whitworth }
V F/O Lowe }
E F/O Marson }
Z F/Lt Hopkin }
[Deleted] S [/deleted] G F/Lt Bland }
S F/Lt Marshall }
H F/O E. Jones }
Reserves C, W
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
P/O Bird
Sgt Fossitt
Meal [deleted] 1830 1845 [/deleted] 1945
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1915 1930 [/deleted] 2030
Brief Main [deleted] 2000 2015 [/deleted] 2115
Spoof cancelled – Weather.
Remainder – Take-off rather ragged and attack spoilt by cloud up to 27,000’. A few crews caught glimpses of Tis and bombed their glow. The others had trouble with Loran and bombed on D.R.
[Page break]
45 [Underlined] 6.2.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (6 and 6 )
B F/Lt Lucas }
W P/O Way }
E F/O Marson }
V F/O Lowe } 0100 to 0200
G F/Lt Bland }
Y F/O B. Jones }
S [deleted] Z [/deleted] F/Lt Marshall }
C F/O Knights }
J F/O Spurr }
H F/Lt Hutchinson } 0100 to 0200
T F/O Richards }
F F/Lt Stewart }
Reserves D, [deleted] S [/deleted] Z
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/O Fisher
F/Sgt Hanrahan
Meal 2030
Brief Nav. 2115
Brief Main 2200
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
[Underlined] 7.2.45 [/underlined] 46
12 aircraft (8 E.W. CLEVE and bomb DUISBURG and 4 MAGDEBURG)
G F/Lt Bland }
[Deleted S [/deleted] W F/Lt Marshall }
C F/O E. Jones }
V F/O Lowe }
A F/O Marson } E.W. [deleted] 2000 [/deleted] 2200
T F/O Richards }
D F/Lt Whitworth }
J F/O Spurr }
B F/Lt Hutchinson }
Y F/O B. Jones } 1950
F F/O Connor }
U [deleted] Z [/deleted] W/O Inkpen }
Reserves H, [deleted] U [/deleted]
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/O Fisher
Sgt Fossitt
Meal 1445
Brief Nav. 1515
Brief Main 1600
Take-off good. Attacks on CLEVE and DUISBURG successful. Nothing visible at MAGDEBURG, owing to 10/10 cloud from 31,000’ to below 19,000’, but all crews bombed on Loran.
[Page break]
47 [Underlined] 8.2.45 [/underlined]
10 aircraft (E.W. [deleted] WNNE EICKEL [/deleted] WANNE EICKEL and [deleted] bomb [/deleted] 6 BERLIN, [deleted] and 6 [/deleted] )
Y F/O B. Jones }
F F/O Connor } E.W. [deleted] 2030 [/deleted] 0400
U W/O Inkpen }
A F/Lt Hutchinson }
V S/Ldr McDermott }
C F/O E. Jones }
T {deleted] S [/deleted] F/O Spurr } 2230.
B F/Lt Lucas }
Z P/O Way }
D [deleted] E [/deleted] F/Lt Whitworth }
Reserves E, G, J.
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. [deleted] S/Ldr Stanbri [/deleted]
F/Lt Alexander
F/Lt Fawcett
F/O McGregor
1st Meal [deleted] 1700 1630 [/deleted] 17.00
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1715 [/deleted] 17.45
Brief Main [deleted] 1800 [/deleted] 18.30
2nd Meal [deleted] 23.00 [/deleted] 00.30
Brief Nav. [deleted] 23.45 [/deleted] 01.45
Brief Main [deleted] 00.30 [/deleted] 02.00
Take off on Berlin spoilt by F/O E. Jones who took off 10 mts early! Rest of 1st take off good. A very good raid on Berlin, all our crews bombed very nearly on time, and reported exceptionally good marking by 139.
On 2nd take off 3 a/c off on time, but W/O Inkpen got boged [sic] leaving dispersal, got off late in Res a/c (25 mts late) & was late on E W run but bombed successfully.
A good raid.
[Page break]
48
12 aircraft (3 EW and bomb, and 9 )
V S/L McDermott. }
F F/O Connor. } E W 22.30
J F/P Spurr. }
B F/L Lucas. }
S F/L Marshall. }
E F/O Marson. }
Z P/O Way. }
C F/O E. Jones. } 20.00
U F/O Lowe. }
D F/L Whitworth. }
T F/O Richards. }
G F/L Bland. }
Reserves H & Y.
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy.
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge.
F/L Fawcett.
Meal 15.00
Brief Nav. 15.45
Brief Main 16.30
E.W. Meal 17.30
Brief Nav. 18.15
Brief Main 19.00
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
49 [Underlined] 10.2.45. [/underlined]
12 aircraft [deleted] 2 E W on HANOVER and 10 [/deleted]
B F/L Lucas }
Z P/O Way } [deleted] E W 19.30 [/deleted] 23.30
A S/L Eddy }
T F/O Richards. }
E F/O Marson. }
W P/O McGowan. }
C F/L Hutchinson } 23.30
U F/L Lowe. }
F F/O Connor }
J W/O Inkpen. }
G F/L Bland. }
S F/L Marshall. }
Reserves D.Y.
O.C. S/Ldr McDermott.
Duty Nav. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/L Alexander .
F/O Morrow.
Meal ① 14.45 ② 23.00
Brief Nav. 15.15 23.45
Brief Main. 16.00 00.30
Take off good and attack very successful. All a/c bombed between -1 & +2 except one with instrument trouble, which bombed at H+5. A good concentration of Red T.Is. All a/c stacked over base [inserted] on return [/inserted] while 105 took off. Landing v. good, but unnecessarily noisy (on VHF)
[Page break]
[Underlined] 11.2.45. [/underlined] 50
12 aircraft. [Deleted] HANOVER [/deleted]
Z [Deleted] P/O Way. [/deleted] F/O B. Jones }
B F/L Lucas } EW [deleted] 22.00 [deleted] 03.00
V S/L McDermott. }
D F/L Whitworth. }
W P/O McGowan }
[Deleted] A [/deleted] E F/O Marson. }
T F/O [deleted] B. Jones. [/deleted] Richards }
G F/L Bland. } 03.50
J F/O Spurr. }
[Deleted] H [/deleted] H F/O E. Jones. }
U P/O Watt. }
A F/L Hutchinson. }
Reserves [deleted] H.C. [/deleted] S.C.
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy.
Duty Nav. S/Ldr Stanbridge.
F/L Alexander.
Sgt. Clark.
Call 22.00
Meal 19.00 22.30
Brief Nav. 19.45 23.15
Brief Main 20.30 24.00
Cancelled.
Weather
[Page break]
51 13.2.45.
12 aircraft 8 on [deleted] Magdeburg [/deleted] MAGDEBURG, 2 EW on [deleted] Bӧhlen [/deleted] BOHLEN, 2 spoof on [deleted] Bonn [/deleted] BONN.
U [deleted] B F/L Lucas. [/deleted] P/O Watt } GQ 1514
J F/O Spurr. } E.W. 22.00
S F/L Marshall. }
H F/O E. Jones. } Spoof. [deleted] 20.45 [/deleted] 00.20
Y F/O B. Jones. }
D F/L Whitworth. }
T. F/O Richards. }
E F/O Marson. }
V W/O Inkpen. } [Deleted] 21.45. [/deleted] 21.55
F F/O Connor. }
B {deleted] U P/O Watt. [/deleted] F/L Lucas }
A F/L Hutchinson. }
Reserves W. (normal) G (Tis)
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy.
Duty Nav. S/Ldr Stanbridge.
F/L Fawcett.
Sgt. Heggie.
F/O Morrow.
Meal [deleted] 16.00 [/deleted] ① & E.W. 16.30 Spoof. 19.15.
Brief Nav. [deleted] 16.45 [/deleted] 17.15 20.00
Brief Main [deleted] 17.30 [/deleted] 18.00 20.45
Off 19.30 22.20
Take off and landing excellent.
A very good attack on Magdeburg, our a/c on time, marking concentrated.
Aircraft windowed successfully at Bonn, but the Spoof at Bӧhlen was spoilt by high cloud. Tis went out of sight at once.
[Page break]
14.2.45. 52
12 aircraft. 6 on [deleted] Berlin [/deleted] BERLIN 6 on [deleted] Dessau [/deleted] DESSAU.
1. V S/L McDermott. }
B [deleted] H [/deleted] F/O E. Jones. }
Y F/O B. Jones. }
D F/L Whitworth. } 21.00
T W/O Inkpen.}
A F/L Hutchinson. }
[Deleted] F F/O Connor. [/deleted]
2. Z F/O Lowe }
G F/L Bland }
U P/O Watt. } [Deleted] 01.50 [/deleted] 00.20
[Deleted] E [/deleted] F F/O Connor. }
[Deleted] F/L Hutchinson. [/deleted] }
C W/O Henley. }
W P/O McGowan. }
Reserves. [Deleted] EB. [/deleted] S or J.
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy.
Duty Nav. S/Ldr Stanbridge.
F/O Kilpatrick.
F/O Barnicoat
Meal (1) 16.00 (2) 19.15
Nav. Brief 16.45 20.00
Main Brief 17.30 20.45
Take off and landing on both attacks excellent. Only two markers dropped on Berlin, our a/c bombed the floaters the Tis were not seen owing to cloud. A fairly good attack.
The attack on Dessau was also fairly good although the Tis rapidly disappeared in cloud.
[Page break]
53 15.2.45.
12 aircraft, 4 on Mannheim, 8 on Berlin.
F F/O Connor. }
Z W/O Inkpen. }
D F/L Stewart. } 19.35.
W P/O McGowan. }
A S/L Eddy }
S F/L Marshall. }
E F/O Marson. }
T F/O Richards. }
B F/L Lucas. } 20.00
Y F/L Hopkin. }
G F/O Knights }
J F/O Spurr. }
Res. H. [deleted] K. [/deleted] V.
O.C. S/Ldr McDermott.
Duty Nav. S/Ldr Stanbridge.
F/S Nichols.
F/S Clark.
Sgt Grigg.
Meal 14.30
Brief Nav. 15.15
Brief Main 16.00
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
16.2.45. 54
12 aircraft.
J F/O Spurr }
F F/L Stewart }
W P/O McGowan. } [Deleted] 19.35 [/deleted] 04.40
A F/L Hutchinson. }
Y F/O B. Jones. }
F F/O Marson. }
T F/O Richards. }
B F/L Lucas. }
Z F/L Hopkin. } [Deleted] 20.05 [/deleted] 04.40
D F/O Knights }
U P/O Watts. }
G F/O E. Jones. }
Reserves H. V.
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy.
S/Ldr McDermott.
Duty Nav. S/Ldr Stanbridge.
F/O Crabb.
F/L Fawcett.
Call 23.00
Meal [deleted] 14.30 [/deleted] 23.30
Brief Nav [deleted] 15.15 [/deleted] 00.00
Brief Main [deleted] 16.00 [/deleted] 00.45
Off 02.10
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
55 17.2.45.
12 aircraft
J F/O Spurr. }
H F/L Stewart }
Y F/L Hopkin. } 19.35
B F/L Hutchinson. }
A S/Ldr Eddy. }
V F/L Marshall. }
E F/O Marson. }
Z W/O Inkpen. }
G F/O Connor. } 20.05
W F/O Watt }
D F/O Knights. }
T F/O Richards. }
Reserves [deleted] X [/deleted] Y. W. X.
O.C. S/Ldr McDermott.
Duty Nav S/Ldr Stanbridge.
F/L Snelling.
F/S Nichols.
Meal 14.30.
Brief Nav 15.15
Brief Main 16.00
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
[Underlined] 18.2.45 [/underlined] 56
8 aircraft ( )
V S/Ldr McDermott
B F/Lt Lucas
Y F/O B. Jones
F F/O Connor
W P/O McGown
C F/O E. Jones
U P/O Watt
H W/O Henley
Reserves A, J
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Sgt Nicholls
Meal 1415
Brief Nav. 1500
Brief Main 1545
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
57 [Underlined] 19.2.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft ([Deleted] 8 [/deleted] 12 ERFURT [deleted] and 4 [/deleted])
A F/Lt Lucas } }
Y F/Lt Hopkin } }
F F/O Connor } }
U P/O Watt } }
C F/O E. Jones } } [Deleted] 1950 [/deleted] 2000
T F/O Richards } }
E F/Lt Stewart } }
J F/O Spurr } }
G W/O Henley } }
W F/Lt Waller } }
D F/O Finlay } } [Deleted] 1950 [/deleted] 2000
S W/O Inkpen } }
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
[Deleted] O [/deleted] Reserves H, V
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. F/O Morrow
F/O Hagues
F/Sgt Robjohns
Meal 1430
Brief Nav. 1515
Brief Main 1600
A very successful night. Take-off excellent, - 12 a/c in 7 minutes, - and landing times also good. All aircraft bombed T.Is, from heights varying between 12,000’ and 6,500’. Bombing very concentrated, with 2 large explosions and 2 fires. Built-up area seen, and also flying debris from bomb bursts.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 20.2.45 [/underlined] 58
12 aircraft ( 9 BERLIN and 3 spoof MANNHEIM)
B S/Ldr Eddy }
S F/Lt Marshall }
C F/O Knights }
V F/Lt Waller }
E F/O Marson }
W P/O McGown } 2130
F F/O Finlay }
Y F/O B. Jones }
A F/Lt Hutchinson }
Z F/Lt Hopkin }
H W/O Henley } Spoof [deleted] 0015 0040 [/deleted] 0050
T F/O Richards }
Reserves D, U
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. F/O Morrow
F/O Lawrence
F/Sgt Nicholls
Main Spoof
Meal 1600 [deleted] 1915 [/deleted] 1945
Brief Nav. 1645 [deleted] 2000 [/deleted] 2030
Brief Main 1730 [deleted] 2045 [/deleted]
A [deleted text] good night. [Deleted text] Both take-offs [deleted text] good, and [deleted text] attacks successful. [Deleted text] Gee release on MANNHEIM seems to have produced a fair concentration of markers.
[Page break]
59 [Underlined] 21.2.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (9 BERLIN and 3 E.W. WORMS)
S [deleted] V [/deleted] S/Ldr Mc Dermott }
A F/Lt Hutchinson } E.W. [deleted] 2045 [/deleted] 2030
X F/O B. Jones. }
B F/Lt Lucas }
J F/O Spurr }
D F/Lt Stewart }
T W/O Inkpen }
F F/O Connor } [Deleted] 2300 2240 [/deleted] 0015
U P/O Watt }
C F/O Knights }
W P/O McGown }
H F/O E. Jones }
Reserves G, [deleted] S [/deleted] Z
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/Lt Forrest
E.W. Main
Meal 1600 [Deleted] 1745 1730 1830 [/deleted] 1900
Brief Nav. [Deleted] 1645 [/deleted] 1630 [deleted] 1830 1815 [/deleted] 1945
Brief Main [Deleted] 1730 [/deleted] 1715 [deleted] 1915 1900 [/deleted] 2030
Both take-offs and landing times good, and attacks successful. Searchlights active on both targets, but not much flak. Decoys very active over BERLIN, especially to the north.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 22.2.45 [/underlined] 60
12 aircraft (BERLIN)
1 Y F/Lt Hopkin
2 E F/O Marson
5 S F/Lt Marshall
11 G F/O Finlay
7 V W/O Inkpen
4 C F/O E. Jones
6 W F/Lt Waller
3 D F/Lt Stewart
9 Z F/O Richards
10 H W/O Henley
8 U P/O Watt
12 F F/O Connor
[Grid of START, A/B and S/C times]
Reserves A, [deleted] X [/deleted] B
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Lt Fawcett
Meal 1500
Brief Nav. 1545
Brief Main 1630
Quite a good attack, though cloud obscured results. Running-up time and taxying time reduced to 9 minutes for runway 252, which seems successful in daylight.
[Page break]
61 [Underlined] 23.3.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (BERLIN)
A W/Cdr Bolton
Y F/Lt Hopkin
H W/O Henley
W P/O Way
C F/O Knights
U F/Lt Waller
G F/Lt Bland
J F/O Spurr
B F/O Finlay
S F/Lt Marshall
E F/O Marson
D F/Lt Whitworth
Reserves T, X
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. F/O Morrow
Sgt Heggie
Meal 1500
Brief Nav. 1545
Brief Main 1630
Attack spoilt by 10/10 cloud from below 14,000’ to above 27,000’. A few crews managed to bomb T.Is, and one, P/O Way, obtained a photograph.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 25.2.45 [/underlined] 62
12 aircraft (ERFURT)
S [deleted] Y[/deleted] F/Lt [deleted] Hopkin [/deleted] Marshall
D F/Lt Whitworth
J W/O Inkpen
B F/Lt Stewart
W P/O Watt
E F/O E. Jones
T F/O Richards
F F/O Connor
X F/O Lowe
G F/Lt Bland
Z [deleted] P/O Way [/deleted] F/Lt Waller
C [deleted] F/O Knights [/deleted] W/O Henley
Reserves H, Y
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Kilpatrick
F/O Allsop
Meal 1500
Brief Nav. 1545
Brief Main 1630
A good attack, though drifting cloud made it difficult to see T.Is. Some crews descended to 5,500’ to bomb, and saw built-up area, fires and flying debris from bomb bursts. Weather very rough for return with cloud @ 700’ A very good show all round.
C (W/O Henley) landed at WOODBRIDGE.
B (F/Lt Stewart) slightly damaged by flak.
[Page break]
63 [Underlined] 26.2.45 [/underlined]
10 aircraft (BERLIN)
V S/Ldr McDermott
B F/O Marson
[Inserted] POSTAGRAM Originator’s Reference Number:- BC/S.23191/P.
TO: X [Underlined] No. 162 Squadron X [/underlined] (Copies R.A.F. Station,
BOURN, H.Q.No. 8(PFF) Group, and Air ministry,
S.10.A., Kingsway.
Date:- 20th March, 1945.
From: Headquarters, Bomber Command. [Initials]
His Majesty, the King, on the recommendation of the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, had approved the Immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Flight Lieutenant F. A. HADEN, AFC., (119529).
[Signature]
[Underlined] Group Captain. [/underlined]
[Stamp] [Signature] 162 Sqad. [/inserted]
Meal 1500
Brief Nav. 1545
Brief Main 1630
An excellent attack. Target area burning well from American attack during the day. Weather clear and ground detail clearly visible; T Is concentrated and plottable visually; timing very good and attack over by H+3.
A (F/Lt Haden) hit by flak on bombing run. Pilot slightly wounded by perspex splinters in face but carried on to bomb.
[Page break]
63 [Underlined] 26.2.45 [/underlined]
10 aircraft (BERLIN)
V S/Ldr McDermott
B F/O Marson
Y F/Lt Hopkin
H [deleted] C [/deleted] F/O E. Jones
W F/O Lowe
A F/Lt Haden
J F/O Spurr
G F/O Finlay
G F/O Richards
D F/Lt Stewart
Reserves [deleted] F [/deleted] Z, U
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
Sgt Fossitt
Sgt Grigg
Meal 1500
Brief Nav. 1545
Brief Main 1630
An excellent attack. Target area burning well from American attack during the day. Weather clear and ground detail clearly visible; T Is concentrated and plottable visually; timing very good and attack over by H+3.
A (F/Lt Haden) hit by flak on bombing run. Pilot slightly wounded by perspex splinters in face but carried on to bomb.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 27.2.45 [/underlined] 64
12 aircraft (BERLIN)
A S/Ldr Eddy
U P/O Watt
H W/O Henley
W F/Lt Waller
G F/Lt Bland
S F/Lt Marshall
F F/O Connor
Z P/O Way
E F/O Marson
Y F/Lt Hopkin
D [deleted] C [/deleted] F/Lt Whitworth
J F/O Spurr
Reserves [deleted] D [/deleted] C, T
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/Sgt Robjohns
Meal 2145
Brief Nav. 2230
Brief Main 2315
A fair attack. Marking somewhat scattered and, owing to cloud, only floaters visible. All crews bombed these, but [deleted word] 50% paid little attention to the correct heading.
[Page break]
65 [Underlined 28.2.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (BERLIN)
U [deleted] S F/Lt Marshall [/deleted] P/O Watt
D F/Lt Stewart
T F/O Richards
E F/O Finlay
J F/O Lowe
C F/O E. Jones
Z P/O Way
B F/Lt Haden
B F/Lt Waller
H W/O Henley
Y W/O Inkpen
F F/O Connor
Reserves [deleted] U [/deleted] S, V.
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Morrow
Meal 1515
Brief Nav. 1600
Brief Main 1645
Good take-off and landing times, with 11 aircraft down in 15 minutes. Attack well timed and successful with 2 large explosions. A good ending to excellent month.
[Page break]
66
[Underlined] SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 1945 [/underlined] (LAST MONTH IN BRACKETS)
OPERATIONAL NIGHTS 19 (14)
NUMBER OF ATTACKS 33 (23)
AIRCRAFT CALLED FOR 224 (133)
AIRCRAFT DESPATCHED 223 (128)
CANCELLED BY UNIT (WEAHTER) – (4)
CANCELLED BY UNIT (SERVICEABILITY) 1 (1)
EARLY RETURNS 1 (1)
OTHER ABORTIVE SORTIES – (1)
ENGINE FAILURES – (2)
AIRCRAFT DAMAGED BY ENEMY ACTION 3 (5)
AIRCRAFT DAMAGED IN ACCIDENTS [deleted] 3 [/deleted] 4 (4)
AIRCRAFT MISSING – (1)
CREWS AIRCRAFT
STRENGTH AT BEGINNING OF MONTH 22 (18) 18 (16)
STRENGTH AT END OF MONTH 25 (22) 18 (18)
TARGETS ATTACKED:- BERLIN 12 (7)
MAGDEBURG 3 (1)
BONN 2 (-)
DUISBURG 2 (1)
ERFURT 2 (-)
HANOVER 2 (4)
MANNHEIM 2 (-)
WANNE EICKEL 2 (-)
BOHLEN 1 (-)
BOTTROP 1 (-)
CLEVE 1 (-)
DESSAU 1 (-)
OSNABRUCK 1 (-)
WORMS 1 (-)
PROMOTIONS:- F/O MARSON to F/LT
P/O BIRD to F/O
COMMISSIONS: SGT CLARK
DECORATIONS F/O HAGUES D.F.C.
[Page break]
67 [Underlined] 1.3.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (BERLIN)
V S/Ldr McDermott
D F/Lt Whitworth
W F/O Spurr
B F/Lt Haden
T W/O Inkpen
G F/Lt Bland
Y F/Lt Hopkin
C [deleted] A [/deleted] F/O Knights
S F/Lt Marshall
F F/O E. Jones
X F/O Lowe
A [deleted] C [/deleted] F/O Marson
Reserves H, U
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. F/Lt Fawcett
F/Sgt Clark
Meal 1515
Brief Nav. 1600
Brief Main 1645
A fair attack with marking rather scattered and poorly timed. 139 failed to adjust H hour and most crews had to waste over 10 minutes.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 2.3.45 [/underlined] 68
12 aircraft (3 BERLIN and 9 KASSEL)
A F/Lt Bland }
Y F/Lt Hopkin }
C F/O Knights } 2000
S F/Lt Marshall }
H W/O Henley }
U P/O Watt }
B F/Lt Stewart } 2030
X [deleted] Z P/O Way [/deleted] F/O Richards }
F F/Lt Whitworth }
Z [deleted] X F/O Richards P/O Way [/deleted] W/O Inkpen }
E F/O Finlay } 2000
W F/Lt Waller }
Reserves G, V
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
F/O Lawrence
Meal 1515
Brief Nav. 1600
Brief Main 1645
Both attacks successful though TIs quickly went into cloud at KASSEL. Cloud was thin however, and most crews, after running up on a glow, could see TIs & bomb. Defences fairly active on both targets.
[Page break]
69 [Underlined] 3.3.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (BERLIN) 3 Y and 9 bombers
L F/Lt Stillman }
M F/Lt Abraham } Y
B F/Lt Lucas
Y F/O B. Jones
A F/Lt Haden
X [deleted W [/deleted] P/O McGown
H W/O Henley
E F/Lt Stewart
S F/Lt Waller
G F/O Finlay
Y P/O Watt
T F/O Richards
Reserves R, Z
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Tulloch
Sgt Heggie
Meal 1515
Brief Nav. 1600
Brief Main 1645
Neither Y aircraft marked owing to poor range, and most 139’s markers were late and scattered, which caused a poor attack.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 4.3.45 [/underlined] 70
[Deleted] ⑮ [/deleted] 12 aircraft (9 BERLIN and 3 siren-tour KIEL, LUBECK, HAMBURG< WILHELMSHAVEN)
V S/Ldr McDermott }
C F/O Knights }
U F/Lt Hopkin }
[Deleted] B F/O Philip [/deleted] }
{Deleted S F/O Burgess [/deleted] }
D F/Lt Whitworth }
[Deleted] T F/O Smith [/deleted] }
G F/O Rhys } 0330
Y F/O B. Jones }
Z P/O Way }
B [deleted A [/deleted] F/Lt Haden }
W P/O McGown }
M S/Ldr Eddy }
R F/Lt Bland } U/T Y
L F/Lt Lucas }
Reserve F, T.
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Stanbridge
S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/Lt Alexander
P/O Clark
F/O McGregor
Y [deleted] Bombers [/deleted] All a/c
Meal [deleted] 1645 1630 1530 [/deleted] 2215
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1730 1715 1615 [/deleted] 2300
Brief Main [deleted] 1815 1715 [/deleted] 2345
139 again late on BERLIN, though quite well concentrate.
R (F/Lt Bland) attacked 4 targets but mistook WESERMUNDE for WILHELMSHAVEN.
M (S/Ldr Eddy) spent an hour looking for HAMBURG, and dropped 2 bombs on WILHELMSRAUSAS.
L (F/Lt Lucas) dropped all bombs on WILHELMSHAVEN.
[Page break]
71 [Underlined] 5.3.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (9 BERLIN and 3 siren tour KIEL, LUBECK, HAMBURG, HANOVER.)
M F/Lt Stewart }
R F/Lt Bland } U/T Y
L F/O Knights }
W F/Lt Waller
B W/O Henley
U P/O Watt
A F/O Philip
V F/O Smith
Z F/O Lowe
C F/O Rhys
S F/O Burgess
T F/O Richards
Reserve G
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Hagues
[Deleted] F/Sgt Nichols [/deleted] F/O Tulloch
Meal 1515
Brief Nav. 1600
Brief Main 1645
R cancelled. Spinner could not be fitted.
Attack on BERLIN scattered. M (F/Lt Stewart) and L (F/O Knights) both failed, apparently owing to inexperienced set-operators, and dropped full load on KIEL.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 6.3.45 [/underlined] 72
6 aircraft (Formation on WESEL) Daylights.
U S/Ldr McDermott
G F/Lt Bland
[Deleted] A [/deleted] Y F/O B. Jones
A F/Lt Whitworth
S P/O Way
R F/O Rhys
Reserve T
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
Brief Nav 1300
Brief Main 1330
A very fine effort by all concerned. Attack laid on at 2 3/4 hours notice when some of the crews were still airborne on N.F.Ts. Aircraft got ready and bombed up on time but briefing very rushed and crews had only 15 minutes from end of briefing to start up. Aircraft started up in the correct order and took off very rapidly in pairs behind 105’s leaders. Only 2 crews had previous experience of this type of operation, but formation was excellent and attack completely successful. Very slight opposition – no fighters.
[Page break]
73 [Underlined] 6.3.45 [/underlined]
4 aircraft (BERLIN)
M F/L Skillman }
R F/L Abraham } Y
A F/L Hopkin
B F/O Finlay
Reserves L, X
O.C. S/ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Barnicoat
Meal 1515
Brief Nav. 1600
Brief Main 1645
A very successful attack. Both ‘Y’ aircraft marked after excellent runs, within 60 seconds of correct time.
L (F/Lt Skillman) obtained photograph showing ground detail of TEMPELHOF aerodrome.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 7.3.45 [/underlined] 74
12 aircraft (10 BERLIN and 2 siren tour HANOVER, BERLIN, DESSAU)
D F/Lt Whitworth
Y F/O B. Jones
G W/O Henley
X F/O Smith
G F/Lt Haden
Z F/O Burgess
A F/O Philip
W P/O McGown
E F/O Knights
U P/O Watt
M S/Ldr Eddy }
R F/Lt Lucas } U/T Y
Reserves L, T
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/O Layton
Main Y
Meal 1645 1945
Brief Nav. 1730 2030
Brief Main 1815 2115
A cancelled – swung twice when attempting to take off, and finally went across main road into ploughed field.
Attack on BERLIN quite good, though 3 aircraft – W (P/O McGown) Z (F/O Burgess) and U (P/O Watt) bombed DESSAU owing to poor navigation while time-wasting.
M (S/Ldr Eddy) and R (F/Lt Lucas) had a very successful siren tour.
[Page break]
75 [Underlined] 8.3.45 [/underlined]
11 aircraft (6 BERLIN, 3 spoof HANOVER, and 2 siren tour OSNABRUCK, HANOVER, BREMEN)
R F/Lt Bland }
M F/O Connor } U/T Y
B F/Lt Haden }
T F/O Richards } Spoof
E F/O Rhys }
Y F/Lt Hopkin
Z F/O Lowe
W P/O McGown
G F/O Finlay
S F/O Burgess
U F/Lt Waller
Reserves L, J
O.C. S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Morrow
F/O Kennedy
[Underlined] Spoof and Main U/T Y [/underlined]
Meal 1530 1730
Brief Nav. 1615 1815
Brief Main 1700 1900
A concentrated and successful attack on BERLIN, and a good spoof on HANOVER.
M (F/O Connor) had a successful siren tour.
R (F/Lt Bland) had Y U/S and bombed BREMEN on GEE.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 9.3.45 [/underlined] 76
12 aircraft (11 BERLIN and 1 siren tour OSNABRUCK)
M F/Lt Skillman }
R F/Lt Abraham } Y
L F/Lt Lucas U/T Y
Y F/O B. Jones
B F/Lt Stewart
T F/O Richards
D F/Lt Whitworth
W F/Lt Waller
A F/O Philip
V F/O Smith
E W/O Henley
U P/O Watt
Reserves F, Z
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/Sgt Chappell
F/Sgt Hanrahan
[Deleted] Y Main [/deleted]
Meal [deleted] 1700 1645 [/deleted] 1530 [deleted] 1845 [/deleted]
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1745 1730 [/deleted] 1615 [deleted] 1730 [/deleted]
Brief Main [deleted] 1830 1815 [/deleted] 1700 [deleted] 1815 [/deleted]
A good attack on BERLIN with concentrated marking. T.Is disappeared quickly into cloud but all crews bombed either glow or floaters above. Both Y aircraft marked.
L (F/Lt Lucas) had Y U/S on siren tour and bombed OSNABRUCK on GEE.
[Page break]
77 [Underlined] 10.3.45 [/underlined]
9 aircraft (BERLIN)
M W/Cdr Bolton }
R F/Lt Abraham } Y
A F/Lt Haden
Z F/O Lowe
G F/O Finlay
T F/O Burgess
S F/Lt Goodman
C F/O Knights
E R/O Rhys
Reserves L, B
O.C. S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
P/O Clark (Can.)
Meal 1530
Brief Navs. 1615
Brief Main 1700
Quite a concentrated attack though even floaters showed only as a glow in cloud at 20,000’. Occasional glimpses of TIs were obtained when vertically overhead. One ‘Y’ aircraft marked,
R (F/Lt Abraham). The other had ‘Y’ U/S and dropped bomb only.
C (F/O Knights) hit by flak which fractured fuel pipe. Landed at COLTISHALL.
T (F/O Burgess) had engine trouble, bombed estimated position of HAMBURG, and landed at CARNABY.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 11.3.45 [/underlined] 78
12 aircraft (9 BERLIN and 3 siren tour HANOVER, BRUNSWICK< MAGDEBURG)
M F/O E. Jones }
L F/O Spurr } U/T Y
R F/Lt Goodman }
V S/Ldr McDermott
G W/O Henley
U P/O Watt
J F/Lt Whitworth
Z F/O Smith
E F/O Marson
W P/O McGown
Y F/O B. Jones
A F/O Philip
Reserves C, F
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Hopkin
Duty Nav. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/Sgt [deleted] Hanrahan [/deleted] Walker
F/O Crabb
Meal 1530
Brief Nav. 1615
Brief Main 1700
A good attack on BERLIN with markers very concentrated and well timed. All 3 ‘Y’ aircraft successfully completed siren-tour.
[Page break]
79 [Underlined] 13.3.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (6 BERLIN, 4 spoof BREMEN, and 2 E.W. HERNE)
L F/Lt Lucas }
R F/Lt Bland } U/T Y
Y F/Lt Hopkin }
W [Deleted] P/O McGown [/deleted] F/O Rhys } E.W. [deleted] Spoof [/deleted]
A F/O Philip }
U P/O Watt } Spoof
S F/Lt Marshall
G F/O Knights
Z W/O Inkpen
E F/Lt Marson
[Deleted] T [/deleted] V F/O Burgess
B F/Lt Haden
[Table of times for some aircraft]
Reserves D, F
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Stewart
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Booth
P/O Clark (Scot.)
Meal 1545
Brief Nav. 1630
Brief Main 1715
Planning chaotic, largely owing to Group’s failure to provide details in time for briefing. All 3 attacks nevertheless successful with large explosion on each target.
L (F/Lt Lucas) marked BREMEN
R (F/Lt Bland) had Y U/S and dropped bombs only.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 14.3.45 [/underlined] 80
12 aircraft (10 BERLIN and 2 siren tour BREMEN, HANOVER. BERLIN)
L F/O Jones }
R F/O Spurr } U/T Y
F F/Lt Stewart
Z P/O Way
B F/Lt Haden
T W/O Inkpen
D F/Lt Whitworth
U F/O Burgess
A F/O Philip
S F/Lt Marshall
C F/O Knights
Y F/O B. Jones
Reserves G, W
O.C. S/Ldr McDermott
F/Lt Lucas
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/O Fisher
F/O Tempest
Meal 1600
Brief Nav. 1645
Brief Main 1730
A very successful attack on BERLIN, with marking again well timed and concentrated. Both Y aircraft had equipment U/S. R (F/Lt Spurr) bombed BREMEN only; L (F/O Jones) bombed BREMEN and HANOVER.
F (F/Lt Stewart and S (F/Lt Marshall) plotted 2100x and 3000x respectively from A.P. Centre of marked area about 2300x from A.P.
[Page break]
81 [Underlined] 15.3.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (10 BERLIN and 2 siren tour ERFURT, WEIMAR, JENA)
L F/Lt Bland }
R F/Lt Goodman } U/U Y
B F/Lt Lucas
U P/O Watt
G F/O Rhys
Z F/O Smith
E F/Lt Marson
Y F/O B. Jones
D F/Lt Whitworth
W P/O McGown
F F/Lt Stewart
S F/Lt Hopkin
Reserves A, U.
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/Lt Gannon
F/Lt Snelling
Meal 1600
Brief Nav. 1645
Brief Main 1730
A good attack on BERLIN, marking well timed though not so concentrated as of late. Aircraft still early on target, in spite of time in hand being cut from 5 to 3 mins. (Average 1.85 mins.)
Bot ‘Y’ aircraft attacked all 3 targets, though only one, L (F/Lt Bland), marked ERFURT.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 16.3.45 [/underlined] 82
12 aircraft (4 BERLIN, 6 spoof HANAU, and 2 siren tour OSNABRUCK, BERLIN, BRUNSWICK)
L F/O E. Jones }
R P/O Way } U/T Y
V S/Ldr McDermott
A F/O Philip
T W/O Inkpen
U P/O Watt
B F/Lt Haden }
W P/O McGown }
C F/O Knights }
S F/O Burgess } Spoof
E F/Lt Marson }
Y F/O Smith }
Reserves F, G
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Skillman
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Kilpatrick
P/O Clark (Scot.)
Meal 1600
Brief Nav. 1645
Brief Main 1730
Fair attacks on BERLIN and HANAU with cloud obscuring T.Is from time to time on both targets. Both ‘Y’ aircraft attacked OSNABRUCK and BERLIN, but had equipment U/S before reaching BRUNSWICK.
[Page break]
83 [Underlined] 17.3.45 [/underlined]
8 aircraft (2 Y BERLIN and 6 spoof NUREMBURG)
L F/Lt Skillman }
R F/Lt Abraham } Y
W F/Lt Hopkin
D F/Lt Whitworth
Y F/O B. Jones
A F/O Philip
T F/Lt Marshall
G W/O Henley
Reserves F, V
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Lucas
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/Lt Forrest
F/O Jarrett
Meal 1600
Brief Nav. 1645
Brief Main 1730
Spoof attack good, though 1 oboe T.I. went wide, apparently a hang-up.
R (F/Lt Abraham) marked BERLIN, 3 minutes late owing to U/S R/T and uncertainty of adjusted H hour.
L (F/Lt Skillman) had equipment U/S and, with TIs only, had to return. Oil-and-water trap exploded on way home damaging much equipment. Eventually undercarriage collapsed after swing while attempting to land with no brakes at WOODBRIDGE.
[Page break]
[Stamp] 32
BOU K WITH R
R 1523 ACG AR
STAND BY FOR B/CAST
B/CAST V GPH GPH101/17 OP OP
OAK
GRY
GSD
WTN
WBS
DOW
BOU
LTS
UPW
HBC
EDR
FROM GPH
TO ALL P.F.F. STATIONS
INFO [deleted word] HBC EDR
SECRET QWM BT
GPH 93/17 171355A FORM B 573. CORRECT IN PARA (C) 1. WHITEBAIT
6Y/139 + 2Y/162 + 5/128 ETC
NOT 27/162 AS SENT
BT 171535A
TOD 171535A BRINDLEY/AS FOR K WITH R
105 CO 162 CO
THANKS [initials]
[Page break]
[Underlined] 18.3.45 [/underlined] 84
10 aircraft (8 BERLIN and 2 E.W. WITTEN)
R W/Cdr Bolton Y
D F/Lt Stewart
Y F/O Smith
C F/O Knights
V F/O Burgess
E F/O Rhys
W P/O McGown
B F/Lt Haden
U P/O Watt }
T P/O Inkpen } E.W.
Reserves A, G
O.C. S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/O Tulloch
Sgt Fossitt
[Underlined] E.W. Main [/underlined]
Meal 2330 1600
Brief Nav. 0015 1645
Brief Main 0100 1730
Both attacks very successful. T.Is disappeared fairly quickly into cloud at BERLIN but floaters remained clearly visible and were well concentrated. ‘Y’ aircraft marked 25 seconds late.
Good photographs of widespread fires from the 2 early windowers at WITTEN.
[Page break]
85 [Underlined] 19.3.45 [/underlined]
[Deleted] 10 [/deleted] 6 aircraft (BERLIN)
R F/Lt Skillman Y
[Deleted] W F/Lt Waller [/deleted]
[Deleted] G F F/O Connor [/deleted]
Y R/O B. Jones
[Deleted] E F/O Rawsthorn [/deleted]
[Deleted] F/Lt Goodman [/deleted]
A F/O E. Jones
U [deleted] F/O Richards [/deleted] F/Lt Marshall
D F/Lt Whitworth
Z F/O Lowe
Reserves [deleted] B, Z, J [/deleted] G
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Hopkin
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Kennelly
Meal [Deleted] 1600 1615 10 [/deleted] 2245
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1645 1700 [/deleted] 2330
Brief Main [deleted] 1730 1745 [/deleted] 0015
A good attack with T.Is well concentrated. Y aircraft marked on time. Effort reduced by 4 owing to doubtful weather.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 20.3.45 [/underlined] 86
10 aircraft (1 U/T Y BREMEN, and 9 KASSEL)
R F/Lt Lucas U/T Y
W F/Lt Waller
C F/O Connor
U P/O Watt
E F/O Rhys
V F/Lt McClelland
G F/O Rawthorn
T F/Lt Goodman
A F/Lt Bland
Z P/O Way
Reserves B, J
O.C. [Deleted] W/Cdr Bolton [/deleted] S/Ldr McDermott
F/Lt Stewart
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Wallis
F/Sgt Nichols
[Underlined] Y Remainder [/underlined]
Meal 2330 2230
Brief Nav. 0015 2315
Brief Main 0100 2359
Z (P/O Way) cancelled. Engine failed to start. 1st reserve had mag. drop and 2nd also failed to start. Query P/O Way’s system of starting. (Same trouble on 1.1.45)
Attack on KASSEL quite successful. R (F/Lt Lucas) had H2S failure on turn at BREMEN, and dropped bombs only.
[Page break]
39
WTN 251 OAK 544 GRY 375 DOW 366 GSD 562 BOU 226 UPW 989
V GPH GPH8/22
FROM AOC. PFF. 221245A
TO OFFICERS COMMANDING R.A.F. STATION, UPWOOD WYTON OAKINGTON GRAVELEY BOURN GRANSDEN LODGE AND DOWNHAM MARKET
QWM BT
A.195 22/MAR THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE HAS BEEN RECEIVED FROM THE A.O.C.-IN-C. BOMBER COMMAND. BEGINS. CONGRATUALTIONS TO ALL CONCERNED IN THE UNBROKEN SERIES OF THIRTY CONSECUTIVE NIGHT ATTACKS ON BERLIN. A MAGNIFICENT EFFORT. END. I HAVE REPLIED. BEGINS. YOUR MESSAGE OF CONGRATULATIONS WILL BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED BY ALL CONCERNED. I KCAN [sic] ASSURE YOU WE SHALL KEEP ON PRESSING UNTIL THE END. ENDS.
BT 221245A
CC LINE 6 CWQ I CAN ASSURE
TOD 1334 HATFIELD
SHQ –
162 CO
195 CO
162 CO. √
Stn. C.O
[Page break]
[Stamp] 34
B/CAST V GPH GPH3/22
247 WTN T 128 SQDN 163 SQDN
985 UPW T 139 SQDN
558 GSD T 142 SQDN
540 OAK T 571 SQDN
362 DOW T 608 SQDN
371 GRY T 692 SQDN
223 BOU T 162 SQDN
FROM A/V/M BENNETT 221030A
TO ALL RANKS NOS 128= 139 = 142 = 571 = 608 = 692 = 163 = 162 SQUADNS BT
P. 140 22/MAR YOUR MAGNIFICENT EFFORTS LAST NIGHT MADE A CONTRIBUTION IN THE RISING CRESCENDO OF ATTACK ON THE GERMAN CRIMINAL. IT WAS A NIGHT WHICH THE BERLINERS WILL REMEMBER TO THEIR SORROW. THE HEAT HAS BEEN TURNED ON AND YOU ARE KEEPING IT ON MAGNIFICENTLY. CONGRATUALTIONS.
= DONALD BENNETT.
BT 221030A
AS
TOD 221129A BRINDLEY/AR+
162 CO. √
Stn. C.O
[Page break]
87 [Underlined] 21.3.45 [/underlined]
⑳ aircraft (2 attacks BERLIN)
R F/Lt Skillman Y
Y F/Lt Hopkin
F F/O Connor
Z P/O Way
G F/Lt Bland
U F/O Lowe
A F/O Rawthorn
S F/Lt Marshall
B F/O Rhys
V F/Lt McClelland
C F/O Finlay
D F/Lt Goodman
W P/O McGown
T F/Lt Waller
E F/Lt Haden
Z P/O Inkpen
F [deleted] R D [/deleted] F/Lt Whitworth
W [deleted] V [/deleted] F/O Burgess
B [deleted] J [/deleted] F/O E. Jones
U F/O Smith
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/Lt Fawcett
F/O McGregor
[Underlined] I II [/underlined]
Meal 1600 2230
Brief Nav. 1645 2315
Brief Main 1730 2359
A very successful night except for indifferent marking by 139. Ground crews and armourers coped very well in getting aircraft off again within 1 3/4 hours of landing.
R (F/Lt Skillman) had H2S failure and with TIs only, had to return.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 22.3.45 [/underlined] 88
8 aircraft (BERLIN)
R F/Lt Skillman Y
Y F/O B. Jones
B F/Lt Lucas
U P/O Watt
G F/O Finlay
Z P/O Way
C F/Lt Whitworth
S P/O Inkpen
Reserves A, J
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
Sgt Grigg
Meal 1630
Brief Nav. 1715
Brief Main 1800
A very good attack, with clear weather and marking well times and concentrated.
R (F/Lt Skillman) successfully marked 30 seconds early, and obtained an excellent photograph showing ground detail. Plotted A.P. 183° 2100 yards.
Y (F/O B. Jones) on last trip had undercarriage trouble and tail-wheel collapsed on landing.
[Page break]
89 [Underlined] 23.3.45 [/underlined]
10 aircraft (BERLIN)
C [deleted R [/deleted] F/O Lowe [deleted] U/T Y [/deleted]
D F/Lt Stewart
W F/O Burgess
G F/Lt Bland
S F/O Smith
B F/Lt Haden
Z P/O Inkpen
A F/O Rawsthorn
V F/Lt Hopkin
F F/O Connor
Reserves J, T
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Marshall
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Barnicoat
Meal 1830
Brief Nav. 1915
Brief Main 2000
‘A’ cancelled – Dinghy unserviceable and reserve aircraft had mag. drop.
A good concentrated attack both accurate bombing. Built-up area seen in light of bomb-flashes.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 24.3.45 [/underlined] 90
10 aircraft (BERLIN)
R S/Ldr Eddy U/T Y
B F/Lt Goodman
D F/Lt Whitworth
T F/O Richards
C F/O Finlay
U P/O Watt
F F/O Rawsthorn
V F/Lt McClelland
G F/O Jones
Z F/Lt Waller
Reserves J, S
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Lucas
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/Sgt Hanrahan
Meal 1615
Brief Nav. 1700
Brief Main 1745
‘R’ cancelled – Brakes U/S and tyre burst at taxying point.
A good attack with marking and bombing concentrated.
V {F/Lt McClelland) arrived 3 minutes early and complained of a scarcity of marking. This was hardly surprising as T.Is were due to go down at -3 and -2. The point was repeatedly stressed at briefing.
[Page break]
91 [Underlined] 25.3.45 [/underlined]
10 aircraft (BERLIN)
R F/Lt Skillman Y
S F/Lt Marshall
F F/O Connor
T P/O McGown
B F/Lt Haden
Z F/O Lowe
A F/Lt Bland
U F/O Smith
D F/Lt Stewart
V F/O Burgess
Reserves C, J
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Hopkin
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/Sgt Hanrahan
Meal 1615
Brief Nav. 1700
Brief Main 1745
All cancelled (weather) except:-
R F/O Lowe U/T Y
Crew reported quite a good run, but photograph plot shows them to have been 13 miles south of A.P., heading WNW.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 27.3.45 [/underlined] 92
10 aircraft ([Deleted] BERLIN [/deleted]) (9 BERLIN and 1 siren tour BREMEN, MAGDEBURG, HANOVER)
R F/Lt Abraham Y
M F/O Connor U/T Y
F F/Lt Haden
Z P/O Inkpen
A F/Lt Whitworth
T F/Lt Waller
G F/O Finlay
Y F/O Burgess
B F/Lt Lucas
W P/O McGown
Reserves C, V
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Kennedy
F/Sgt Robjohns
Meal 1615
Brief Nav. 1700
Brief Main 1745
Quite a good attack on BERLIN. ‘Y’ aircraft marked 4 mins late as ‘H’ hour was brought forward 10 minutes and he could not make it. Photo-flash failed to ignite, and some mixed green/yellow TIs also seemed to fail. Built-up area seen in light of bomb flashes.
M (F/O Connor) had generator failure before take-off. Bombed BREMEN on D.R., assisted by visual pin-point.
[Page break]
93 [Underlined] 28.3.45 [/underlined]
10 aircraft ( )
R W/Cdr Bolton Y
M F/Lt Marson U/T Y
C F/O Knights
T F/O Spurr
D F/O Rawsthorn
V F/Lt McClelland
A F/O Philip
Y P/O Inkpen
B W/O Henley
S F/Lt Marshall
Reserves G, W
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy
F/Lt Abraham
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/O Layton
F/O Alsop
Meal 1615
Brief Nav. 1700
Brief Main 1745
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
[Underlined] 29.3.45 [/underlined] 94
6 aircraft (3 BERLIN and 3 siren tour BREMEN, HANOVER)
L S/Ldr Eddy }
R F/O Lowe } U/T Y
M F/Lt Marson }
S F/Lt Marshall
B F/O Knights
W P/O Inkpen
Reserve G
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Lucas
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Morrow
P/O Chappell
Meal 1630
Brief Nav. 1715
Brief Main 1800
Marking on BERLIN somewhat scattered, and TIs obscured at times by cloud in various layers.
All 3 aircraft successfully completed siren tour, though M (F/Lt Marson) was very late on target.
[Page break]
95 [Underlined] 30.3.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (5 BERLIN, 5 ERFURT, and 2 siren tour HAMBURG, KIEL)
M W/Cdr Bolton Y
J F/Lt Waller
G F/Lt Bland
U F/Lt McClelland
E F/O Rawsthorn
B W/O Henley
T F/O Richards
A F/O Philip
W P/O McGown
F F/O Finlay
L F/O Connor }
R F/O Spurr } U/T Y
Reserves D, V
O.C. S/Ldr [deleted] Eddy [/deleted] McDermott
[Deleted] F/Lt Abraham [/deleted]
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/Lt Snelling
F/O Lawrence
F/O Crabb
[Underlined] M,U,J,G,E,L,R, T,W,B,A,F
Meal [deleted] 1615 [/deleted] 1630 1845
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1700 [/deleted] 1715 1930
Brief Main [deleted] 1745 [/deleted] 1800 2015
‘R’ (F/O Spurr) cancelled – Mag. drop and V.H.F. u/s
Good attacks on BERLIN and ERFURT, with large explosions and columns of smoke at ERFURT. River clearly visible at BERLIN. ‘Y’ aircraft marked – plotted AP 120° 1.6 miles. Siren tour successful
E (F/O Rawsthorn) had navigator pass out from oxygen failure. Made second run over BERLIN at 12,500’ to ensure release of bomb.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 31.3.45 [/underlined] 96
10 aircraft ( )
L F/Lt Lucas }
R F/O Spurr } U/T Y
M F/O Jones }
T S/Ldr McDermott
F F/Lt Whitworth
W P/O Inkpen
B [deleted] A [/deleted] F/Lt Haden
S F/O Burgess
C F/O Knights
U F/O Smith
Reserves [deleted] B [/deleted] A, Y
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Marshall
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/Lt Gannon
F/O Fisher
Meal [deleted] 1630 [/deleted] 2130
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1715 [/deleted] 2215
Brief Main [deleted] 1800 [/deleted] 2300
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
97
[Underlined] SUMMARY FOR MARCH 1945 [/underlined] (LAST MONTH IN BRACKETS)
OPERATIONAL NIGHTS 27 (19)
NUMBER OF ATTACKS 64 (33)
AIRCRAFT CALLED FOR 285 (224)
AIRCRAFT DESPATCHED [deleted] 285 [/deleted] 279 (223)
NUMBER OF MARKER SORTIES 16 (-)
PERCENTAGE SUCCESSFUL 69% (-)
CANCELLED BY UNIT (WEATHER) – (-)
CANCELLED BY UNIT (SEVICEABILITY) 6 (1)
EARLY RETURNS 1 (1)
OTHER ABORTIVE SORTIES 2 – “Y” U/S (-)
ENGINE FAILURES 1 (-)
AIRCRAFT DAMAGED BY ENEMY ACTION 2 (3)
AIRCRAFT DAMAGED IN ACCIDENTS 3 (4)
AIRCRAFT MISSING – (-)
CREWS AIRCRAFT
STRENGTH AT BEGINNING OF MONTH 25 + 0 (22 + 0) 18 + 0 (18 + 0)
STRENGTH AT END OF MONTH 28 + 2 (25 +0) 16 + 3 (18 + 0)
TARGETS ATTACKED:- BERLIN 29 (12)
BREMEN 6 (-)
HANOVER 6 (2)
OSNABRUCK 3 (1)
ERFURT 2 (2)
HAMBURG 2 (-)
KASSEL 2 (-)
KIEL 2 (-)
BRUNSWICK 1 (-)
DESSAU 1 (1)
HANAU 1 (-)
HERNE 1 (-)
JENA 1 (-)
LUBECK 1 (-)
MAGDEBURG 1 (3)
NUREMBURG 1 (-)
WEIMAR 1 (-)
WESEL 1 (-)
WESERMUNDE 1 (-)
WILHEMSHAVEN 1 (-)
WITTEN 1 (-)
PROMOTIONS:- NIL
COMMISSIONS:- W/O INKPEN, F/SGT CHAPPELL, F/SGT CLARK, F/SGT ROBJOHNS, F/SGT WALKER.
DECORATIONS:- S/LDR EDDY, S/LDR WATERKEYN, F/LT ALEXANDER, F/LT FAWCETT, F/LT HADEN. F/O MORROW. (ALL D.F.C.)
[Page break]
[Underlined] 1.4.45 [/underlined] 98
12 aircraft
L F/Lt Abraham Y
T F/O Richards
C F/O Knights
J F/O Burgess
F F/O Connor
Y S/Ldr McDermott
B F/Lt Lucas
U F/O Smith
E F/Lt Whitworth
A F/Lt Haden
M F/O Jones }
R F/O Spurr } U/T Y
Reserves G, W
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/O Layton
P/O Clark
Sgt Grigg
Meal 1615
Brief Nav. 1700
Brief Main 1745
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
99 [Underlined] 2.4.45 [/underlined]
14 aircraft (12 BERLIN and 2 siren tour HAMBURG, LUBECK)
L F/Lt Abraham Y
C F/O Knights
S F/Lt Marshall
A F/O Finlay
V F/Lt McClelland
E F/O Rawsthorn
W P/O McGown
F F/Lt Whitworth
Y P/O Inkpen
B W/O Henley
J F/Lt Waller
G F/Lt Bland
R F/O Lowe }
M F/O Connor } U/T Y
Reserves T, U
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy
F/Lt Haden
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/Lt Fawcett
F/Sgt Nicholls
Meal 1900
Brief Nav. 1945
Brief Main 2030
A very good attack on Berlin with marking and bombing concentrated. Two large explosions seen. ‘Y’ aircraft marked but photo flash as usual failed to ignite.
‘R’ and ‘M’ had successful siren-tour.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 3.4.45 [/underlined] 100
12 aircraft (10 BERLIN and 2 siren tour MAGDEBURG, BERLIN)
L F/Lt Lucas }
F F/O Spurr } U/T Y
M F/O Jones }
S F/Lt McClelland
G F/O Rawsthorn
J F/O Burgess
Y F/O Smith
W F/O Spurr
V S/Ldr McDermott
E F/Lt Marson
T F/Lt Richards
B W/O Henley
C F/O Finlay
Reserves F, W
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Tulloch
Sgt Heggie
[Underlined] S,G,J,Y Remainder [/underlined]
Meal [deleted] 2045 [/deleted] 1915 [deleted] 1730 [/deleted] 1915
Brief Nav. [deleted] 2130 [/deleted] 2000 [deleted] 1815 [/deleted] 2000
Brief Main [deleted] 2215 [/deleted] 2045 [deleted] 1900 [/deleted] 2045
‘R’ cancelled – Hydraulics U/S. Crew took ‘W’ on main attack.
A very concentrated and successful attack on BERLIN, with good marking.
L (F/Lt Lucas) had successful siren-tour.
M (F/O Jones) had Y U/S and dropped bombs only on MAGDEBURG.
[Page break]
101 [Underlined] 4.4.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (5 BERLIN, 6 E.W. MERSEBURG, and 1 MAGDEBURG)
M F/Lt Abraham }
L F/O Jones } Y
Y F/Lt Hopkin
F F/O Connor
U P/O Watt
A F/Lt Stewart
V P/O Inkpen
C F/Lt Marson
S F/Lt Marshall
B F/Lt Lucas
J F/Lt Waller
R F/Lt Goodman U/T Y
Reserves G, T, Q
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Nav. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Booth
F/O Kilpatrick
F/O Grant
Meal 1730
Brief Nav. 1815
Brief Main 1900
All attack successful. Weather clear at BERLIN but thin cloud at MERSEBURG. U/T Y aircraft marked MAGDEBURG. Excellent ground detail photographs.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 5.4.45 [/underlined] 102
12 aircraft ( )
M W.Cdr Bolton Y
C F/O Knights
V F/Lt McClelland
A F/O Philip
W F/O Richards
L F/O Connor }
Q F/O Spurr } U/T Y
B P/O Henley
S P/O Watt
E F/O Rawsthorn
Y F/O Smith
G F/O Finlay
Reserves F, S
O/C S/Ldr McDermott
Duty Navs. F/O Kerr-Jarrett
P/O Walker
Meal
Brief Nav
Brief Main
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
103 [Underlined] 6.4.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (
R F/Lt Abraham }
M F/O Jones } Y
S F/Lt Marshall
B P/O Henley
T F/O Richards
F F/Lt [deleted] Stewart [/deleted] Marson
Y F/O Smith
E F/O Rawsthorn
V F/Lt McClelland
C F/O Knights
L S/Ldr Eddy }
Q F/O Spurr } U/T Y
Reserves A, W
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
P/O Clark (Can)
F/Sgt Hanrahan
Meal 1730
Brief Nav. 1815
Brief Main 1900
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
[Underlined] 7.4.45 [/underlined] 104
[Deleted] 14 [/deleted] 10 aircraft (
Q F/Lt Abraham }
M F/P Jones } Y
[Deleted] R [/deleted] K F/O Spurr }
L F/O Connor } U/T Y
[Deleted] Y F/Lt Hopkin
B P/O Henley
J V F/Lt Waller
G F/O Finlay
U P/O Watt
E F/O Rawsthorn
W P/O Inkpen
C F/O Knights
T F/Lt Goodman
F F/Lt Stewart [/deleted]
Y F/Lt Hopkin
G F/O Finlay
J F/Lt Waller
F F/Lt Stewart
U P/O Watt
T F/Lt Goodman
Reserves A, S
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
P/O McGregor
F/O Sargeant
Meal 1730
Brief Nav. 1815
Brief Main 1900
Cancelled
Weather
[Page break]
105 [Underlined] 8.4.45 [/underlined]
14 aircraft (2 Y and 2 U/T Y BERLIN and 10 DESSAU)
Q F/Lt Abraham }
M F/O Jones } Y
L S/Dr Eddy }
K F/O Spurr } U/T Y
J F/Lt Waller
B [deleted letter] P/O Henley
T F/O Richards
G [deleted] letter] F/O Finlay
Y F/O Smith
A F/O Philip
U P/O Watt
F [deleted] B [/deleted] F/Lt Stewart
V F/Lt McClelland
E [deleted letter] F/O Knights
Reserves [deleted] E [/deleted] W, S, R
O.C W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Marshall
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Morrow
F/O Barnicoat
Meal 1745
Brief Nav. 1830
Brief Main 1915
BERLIN attack fair; all Y aircraft [inserted] dropped [/inserted] but both U/Ts were a long way from A.P. Oboe attempted this target for the first time, and were also some distance from A.P., according to photographic plot. DESSAU attack a complete failure owing to total absence of markers from 139. Issue further complicated by 100 Group fooling about with TIs in the area. Some aircraft bombed these, others used GEE, & remainder joined heavy attack on LUTZKENDORF.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 9.4.45 [/underlined] 106
12 aircraft (5 BERLIN, 3 HAMBURG, and 4 E.W. KIEL)
Q F/Lt Abraham }
M F/O Jones } Y
T F/O Richards
B F/Lt Lucas
W W/O Inkpen
E F/O Rawsthorn }
Y F/Lt Hopkin }
A F/O Philip } E.W.
S F/Lt Marshall }
K F/Lt Marson }
R F/Lt Goodman } U/T Y
L F/O Connor }
Reserves J, F
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Stewart
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Hagues
P/O Robjohns
Sgt Grigg
Meal 1730
Brief Nav. 1815
Brief Main 1950
All attacks very successful. Both Y aircraft marked BERLIN, and 2 U/T Y marked HAMBURG. K (F/Lt Marson) had H2S U/S and dropped bombs only. Heavies going very well on KIEL with some opposition.
[Page break]
107 [Underlined] 10.4.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (7 BERLIN and 5 CHEMNITZ)
M S/Ldr Eddy }
Q F/O Spurr }
L F/O Connor } U/T Y
R F/Lt Goodman }
K F/Lt Marson }
U P/O Watt
C F/O Knights
V F/Lt McClelland
G F/O Finlay
W F/O Smith
B P/O Henley
J F/Lt Waller
Reserves E, T
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt [deleted] Hopkin [/deleted] Lucas
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/O Crabb
F/O Kennedy
Meal 1730
Brief Nav. 1815
Brief Main 1900
BERLIN raid very successful with fires close to A.P. from previous attack. All U/T Y aircraft marked CHEMNITZ, but marking was scattered and generally undershot by 2 1/2 miles owing to Group having worked out the method incorrectly.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 11.4.45 [/underlined] 108
12 aircraft (7 BERLIN and 5 U/T Y singly BERLIN)
[Deleted] L W/Cdr Bolton } [deleted]
[Deleted] F/Lt Abraham } Y [/deleted]
L S/Ldr Eddy } H+12
M F/Lt Lucas } H+38
R F/O Spurr } U/T Y H+18
K F/O Finlay } H+5
Q F/Lt Marson } H+30
Y [deleted letter] F/Lt Marshall
F F/Lt Stewart
W [deleted letter] P/O Inkpen
A F/O Philip
T F/O Richards
E F/O Rawsthorn
U P/O Watt
Reserves B, V
O.C. [deleted] W [/deleted] S/Ldr Eddy
F/Lt [deleted] Hopkin [/deleted] Skillman
Duty Navs. F/O Hagues
F/O Tempest
F/Lt Fawcett
Y,F,W,A,T,E,U. L,Q,M,R,K.
Meal 1730 1945
Brief Nav. 1816 1815
Brief Main 1900 1900
All attacks successful in clear weather with good marking by Oboe. Fires seen burning close to A.P. Ground-details photographs from L (S/Ldr Eddy), M (F/Lt Lucas) and Q (|F/Lt Marson)
S/Ldr Eddy nearest – plotted A.P. 360° 1550 yards.
[Page break]
109 [Underlined] 13.4.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (2 Y STRALSUND, 8 HAMBURG, and 2 U/T Y HAMBURG)
Q W/Cdr Bolton }
L F/Lt Skillman } Y
M F/O Connor }
K F/O Lowe } U/T Y
V F/Lt Hopkin
A F/Lt Bland
T F/O Richards
F F/Lt Whitworth
W P/O McGown
B F/Lt Haden
J F/O Burgess
C F/O Knights
Reserves U, S
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy
F/Lt Abraham
Duty Navs. F/Lt [deleted] Fawcett [/deleted] Alexander
F/O Allsop
F/O Lawrence
Q,L,M,K Remainder
Meal 1830 2000
Brief Nav. 1915 2045
Brief Main 2000 2100
TI’s [inserted] glow [/inserted] visible through 10/10 cloud at HAMBURG though no results seen. Good spoof at STRALSUND but ‘L’ had H2S U/S and ‘Q’ had bombing gear U/S.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 14.4.45 [/underlined] 110
[Deleted] 12 [/deleted] 7 aircraft (BERLIN)
G F/Lt Bland
W [deleted letter] P/O McGown
B F/Lt Haden
J F/Lt Waller
C F/O Philip
S F/Lt Marshall
F P/O Henley
P F/O Spurr }
K F/Lt Marson }
Q F/Lt Goodman } U/T Y
L F/O Lowe }
M F/O Finlay }
Reserves E, V
O.C. [deleted] S/Ldr [/deleted] W/Cdr Bolton
S/Ldr Eddy
Duty Nav. F/Lt Gannon
F/O Wallis
Meal 1815
Brief Nav. 1900
Brief Main 1945
U/T Y aircraft cancelled – Weather
A very successful attack. Weather clear and Oboe marking good. Several large explosions with black smoke. Large fires seen at POTSDAM.
[Page break]
111 {underlined] 15.4.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (BERLIN)
M S/Ldr Eddy }
[Deleted] R F/O Finlay [/deleted]
K F/Lt Marson }
P F/O Spurr } U/T Y
L F/O Connor }
Q F/Lt Goodman }
Y F/Lt Hopkin
B F/O Knights
J F/O Burgess
E F/O [deleted] Whitworth [/deleted] Finlay
T F/Lt Richards
[Deleted] F/Lt Stewart [/deleted]
Reserves G, S
O.C. W/Cdr Bolton
F/Lt Abraham
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
P/O Clark (Scot)
P/O Clark (Can)
Meal 1730
Brief Nav. 1815
Brief Main 1900
F cancelled – Tyre burst and reserve a/c u/s
A bad start. F/O Tulloch went sick at briefing and the crews’ place was taken by F/O Finlay & F/O Allsop who returned U/S from 1st attack but got going again very quickly. F (F/Lt Stewart) had tyre burst at caravan & got into reserve a/c but found it U/S.
[Page break]
[Underlined] 16.4.45 [/underlined] 112
12 aircraft ([deleted] 4 [/deleted] 3 Y + 7 MUNICH)
Q F/Lt Abraham Y
L F/O Connor }
[Deleted] F/Lt Goodman [/deleted] }
[Deleted] F/O Finlay [/deleted] } U/T Y
P F/O Lowe }
K F/Lt Bland }
C F/O Finlay
W P/O McGown
G P/O Henley
J F/Lt Waller
A F/O Philip
S F/Lt Marshall
E F/Lt Haden
Y F/Lt Goodman
Reserves [deleted] C, Y [/deleted] T
O.C W/Cdr Bolton F/Lt Stewart
Duty Navs. S/Ldr Waterkeyn
F/Sgt Hanrahan
Meal [deleted 1730 2200 [/deleted] 2230
Brief Nav. [deleted] 1815 2245 [/deleted] 2315
Brief Main [deleted] 1900 2330 [/deleted] 2359
T (F/Lt Bland) had engine cut on take-off. A/C swung and finished by running 50 yards backwards into dispersal.
Attack very successful in clear weather. 5 good ground-detail photographs all of same area.
E (F/Lt Haden) plotted on A.P.
[Page break]
113 [Underlined 17.4.45 [/underlined]
12 aircraft (4 Y BERLIN and 8 INGOLSTADT)
Q W/Cdr Bolton }
L F/Lt Skillman } Y
P F/O Spurr }
K F/Lt Marson } U/T Y
W F/Lt Richards
E F/Lt Stewart
S F/Lt Waller
G F/Lt Bland
J F/O Burgess
A F/Lt Whitworth
Y F/Lt Hopkin
C F/O Knights
Reserves U, V, M/R
O.C. S/Ldr Eddy
F/Lt Marshall
Duty Navs. F/Lt Alexander
F/O Morrow
F/O Fisher
Meal 1730
Brief Nav. 1815
Brief Main 1900
Severe Cu. Nim with lightning, icing thermals etc. on way to Berlin. 3 of the 4 Y aircraft last ASIs on going through. 3 also had Y U/S but bombed on GEE. Attack on INGOLDSTADT airfield very successful. Airfield afterwards estimated 75% u/s.
Dublin Core
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Title
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162 Squadron Light Night Striking Force Battle Orders
Recollections of 455 (Australian) Squadron August 1941 - April 1942
Description
An account of the resource
162 Squadron crew lists and record of operations from 19 December 1944 to 17 April 1945 and John Bolton's memoir.
Creator
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John Derek Bolton
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.
Format
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Handwritten booklet and seven typewritten sheets
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Text. Service material
Identifier
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MBoltonJD67631-170906-01
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Conforms To
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Pending review
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Suffolk
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bonn
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dessau (Dessau)
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Erfurt
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hanau
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Lübeck
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Wanne-Eickel
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Germany--Ingolstadt
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-12
1945-01
1945-02
1945-03
1945-04
Contributor
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Anne-Marie Watson
162 Squadron
455 Squadron
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
Distinguished Flying Cross
Hampden
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
mine laying
Mosquito
navigator
Pathfinders
pilot
RAF Bourn
RAF Woodbridge
searchlight
Wellington
Whitley
Window
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/322/3478/AReedD151015.1.mp3
3a2e4cbfe06a01d1f1b16fe159e1d6ac
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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Reed, Douglas
D Reed
Description
An account of the resource
One oral history interview with Douglas Reed (1620813 Royal Air Force). He flew operations with 166 Squadron from RAF Kirmington and with 156 Squadron, Pathfinders, from RAF Upwood.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
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
2015-10-15
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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Reed, D
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
HD: This is an interview being conducted for the International Bomber Command Centre. The interviewer is Hugh Donnelly and the interviewee is, is Doug Reed. The interview is taking place at his home at [deleted] Wolverhampton on the 15th of October. Interview commenced.
DR: Yes. When I left school, like many of my school mates I was going to be apprenticed in Goole Shipyard. Because apprentices from the shipyard would go on to Trinity House in Hull to be trained as Merchant Navy officers. So, if you were apprenticed in the joinery shop in the shipyard you went off to Trinity House to be trained as a Merchant Navy deck officer. If you went in to the coppersmith’s shop as an apprentice in the shipyard you went off to Trinity House to be trained as an engineering Merchant Navy officer. And so that was my planned movement until, out of the blue my history master sent, ‘Would you please come and see me?’ So I trotted off to see the history master and he said, ‘There’s a vacancy in the Town Clerk’s Department at Goole and I want you to apply for it.’ So I’m saying to him, ‘Sorry. No can do. I’m going to be apprenticed in the shipyard to be a deck officer in the Merchant Navy,’ and so on. ‘Just to please me,’ he said, ‘Go and apply for it.’ So all nonchalantly and uncaring I go in to the Town Clerk’s department and say to them, ‘I understand you’ve got a vacancy. I’ve come along to apply for it,’ in a couldn’t care less attitude. And so they sit me down and they give me a few maths to work on and write, write a letter applying for the job. Being fresh from school that didn’t take very long. And they saw me sitting there and said, ‘Are you stuck?’ I said, ‘No. I’ve finished.’ So they gathered up the papers and the next thing I know I’m ushered into a large room with a big bay window and walls lined with all kinds of books. A big open fire. And, to me, was an old gentleman wearing pince nez spectacles sitting behind this desk who I later found out was the town clerk. He looked at the papers and said, ‘Very pleased with these. I want you to start in my office.’ So I said, ‘No can do I’m afraid.’ And told him the story. All about being apprenticed etcetera. And he says, ‘Well, I understand what you say but I want you to start in my office on Monday. So go home and speak to your parents about it.’ So, I did that and my parents listened to me and didn’t say anything and said, ‘Well, it’s up to you. You want to go into the shipyard or do you want to go into the Town Hall?’ Neither of them offered anything. But I looked closely at my mum and I thought I could detect a sort of a look that she didn’t fancy the idea of her son eventually going off to sea. And she didn’t, couldn’t look into the future of course because this was about ’37, ’38 and of course the war broke out in ‘39. And a lot of my school friends who had been apprenticed and gone off into the Merchant Navy they were killed and lost through enemy action. But she wasn’t to know that. And I thought I detected she didn’t like the idea of her son going to sea. So in the end my father said, ‘Look, if you want to take up the Town Hall job I will square the apprentice thing with the shipyard.’ So, in the end I decided yes, that’s what I would do. And therefore I started working in the Town Clerk’s Department at Goole. And so time wore on and war was declared in September ’39 . And I just carried on working but I realised I was of the age when I would have to go into one of the services as soon as I was old enough. And I worked it out in my mind that I didn’t fancy the army. I’d taken my father as an example of that. He’d been badly wounded in the First World War through his army service. I wasn’t too keen on the navy. And by process of elimination I decided that yes I would like to go into the air force. Particularly if I was flying at least I would get a parachute to look after myself with. So, off I went to the Hull Recruiting Office in Jameson Street in Hull. And there a rather beefy flight sergeant says to me, ‘So you want to join the air force.’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ And he said, ‘Hmmn hmmn. So you want to fly do you?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Right. You want to fly and fight in the air.’ I said, ‘Oh I don’t know so much about that.’ [laughs] He didn’t say much but in the fullness of time I was called up to go to the, the, not the Aircrew Reception Centre but where they give you a three day examination and so on and so forth before you’re accepted for the aircrew training. And after the three days yes, I was. I was going to be aircrew. And that’s how come I, I started. Eventually I was called up and went off to Initial Training Wing etcetera like most air crew had to do. And that’s how eventually I finished up as aircrew doing flying duties. But in, in those days it all seemed to be very adventurous and perhaps even satisfying but it’s because people like me were naïve really. Just had a vague idea that flying, especially the operational flying something might happen to you. You might get killed. But that’s all it meant really. You didn’t know any details. We had no experience. And so it transpired that having been through all my training and finished up with a good pal of mine Pete le Guard and one or two others. We were all in the same crew and off we went doing our bits and pieces. We went to Operational Training Unit at RAF Peplow in Shropshire. And after OTU we went off and converted off twin-engine Wellingtons on to four-engined Halifaxes. And then having converted we went off to Lancaster Finishing School at RAF Hemswell. And having completed that we were ready to be assigned to a squadron. And I looked at my RAF records afterwards, at the end of the war and I saw that we were being posted to 12 Squadron, and I’d no idea where 12 Squadron was. I knew it was in Lincolnshire somewhere. But then they said, ‘Sorry. Not 12 Squadron. You’re going to 166 Squadron at RAF Kirmington.’ So, off we went and we arrived at Kirmington on the 30th of March 1944. And we’d hardly booked ourselves in when they said to Pete, who was my pilot, that he was going to go as second dickie on a, on an operation that night. That operation proved to be Nuremberg where we lost eighty or ninety aircraft. And unfortunately Pete, as second dickie with a so-called experienced crew who had done at least five ops — they never came back. And so the first day on a squadron I needed another crew. And eventually yes, I was. I joined another crew skippered by Bill Biddell who was a bit of a character himself. Having been in the Kings Royal Rifles and been evacuated from Dunkirk he’d remustered in to the Air Force and become a pilot. So I was to fly with Bill. By the time I’d done three ops with Bill he’d done about seven. And it was quite, quite an educational, if that’s the right word, experience. He began to fill in some of the details that you hadn’t been aware of when you were glorifying what it would be like to be aircrew. I, in my first op from Kirmington, which I think from memory was [unclear] somewhere in Germany there I bombed my first target Turned for home and away on the starboard side there was a sudden explosion which drilled into my mind what it was like seeing an aircraft explode. But just accepted it as one of those things that happens. And that was my first op. The, the second op was on my twenty first birthday. And I spent the evening of my twenty first birthday bombing Essen in the Ruhr. Which I found out subsequently was the most heavily defended place in the Ruhr. So, and then my third op from 166 Squadron was to Frederikshavn on Lake Constance. And as we were, I think we were the fourth to take off and as we took off the fifth one behind us blew up on the runway. It swerved off the runway and blew up. Anyway, we carried on with our task and went to the target which was on the shore of Lake Constance. And having got there it was ablaze. But one had to be careful to locate the target because half of the blaze was reflected in the water of the lake and it would have been so easy to bomb the edge of the lake. And so we, we did that target and when we came back to Kirmington a WAAF — we called up, we were flying L-Love as, as it was called then. We were flying that and we called up to land and this female voice said. ‘Hello Love. Land left.’ And we’d never had an instruction like that before. We said, ‘What does land left mean?’ Do they want us to land left of the runway? Could be a bit dodgy on a grassy airfield in a Lancaster. But if that’s what they want us to do we will do. Perhaps the runway got damaged in that aircraft that blew up as we took off. Anyway, we lined up to land left of the runway which triggered off all kinds of sort of red verey lights from the caravan and from the control tower. So we realised that wasn’t correct. So we called them up again. We said, ‘What’s this land left?’ And she said, ‘I want you to land on the runway and turn left at the end.’ And we thought to ourselves why the hell didn’t she say so? And, however, having gone around again and landed safely we turned left at the end and said, ‘L-Love clear.’ And this female voice said, ‘Goodnight Love.’ And all the crew in chorus, not, not wireless protocol at all, in chorus we said sarcastically, ‘Good night, darling.’ And that was that. And that proved to be my last op at Kirmington. And I was rather sorry because the funny thing about Kirmington it was such a spread out large aerodrome that everybody but everybody was issued with a bicycle so you could get from A to B quicker than walking. That’s an outstanding memory I have. Anyway, Bill, having done seven trips by then, the squadron commander called us into his office and sort of invited us to think that we might like to go on Pathfinders. And sort of, if you know what those invitations were like [laughs] they were coupled with the idea of — pick up your travel warrant as you go out of the door. And that’s how we came to be eventually on 156 Pathfinder Squadron at 8 Group. Having attended the Pathfinder Training Unit in the first instance. And it was with 156 Squadron that I did the rest of, of my operational flying duties and which I, I’d completed and I was still twenty one. But having done my tours with the Pathfinder force I was, I was quite unceremoniously [pause] well, stood down I suppose. But nobody ever said that to me. I was just getting on with the job as usual and someone said, ‘I think you’re posted.’ So I said, ‘What?’ And they said, ‘Yes. We think you are.’ So I thought I’d better go and find out. So I go up to station headquarters at Upwood and I say, ‘Am I posted?’ And they looked it up and said, ‘Yes. I’m afraid you are.’ Which was the unceremonious way of saying you’ve been stood down. And I said, ‘What’s the posting?’ And they said, ‘Oh, it’s an Air Ministry posting.’ Which shattered me because if it was a squadron or a station posting it left room for you to negotiate a little bit but with an Air Ministry posting no negotiation. You just had to do it. And that’s how my operational flying came to an end. As I say you couldn’t argue with an Air Ministry posting. But during that time the initial experience that I’d picked up at Kirmington developed with the Pathfinder squadron. And if people didn’t know about what we did at Pathfinders it’s because Air Vice Marshall Don Bennett who was the CO of 8 Group — he didn’t like publicity. In fact, he refused to appoint a public relations officer. So we just used to get on with the job. It’s only afterwards when you’d finished operational flying that the realisation of what might have happened to you through the experience you’ve gained on the way more than suggested that you had been very lucky indeed to get through a couple of tours with the Pathfinders. We did some very long trips. When I first started flying with 156 I didn’t do many German trips before it was D-Day. That was kept very secret. We as aircrew had no idea it was D-Day but we were out at the dispersal point. We’d already been briefed to bomb a coastal battery and we thought this was an unusual target but ok if that was what they wanted us to do we’d do it. And we were out there at the dispersal point long before midnight. Time went by and it got around to 3 am in the morning. We’d never taken off so late for a night operation. Anyway, we, they let us go at about 3 am. And we located Fougeres where the coastal battery was and did our stuff. And as we climbed to come away, flying home, through a break in the clouds I saw dozens of ships heading in the direction from which we were coming. And it suddenly dawned on me this is, this is the invasion of Europe. It, it’s D-Day. But that’s the first indication we had of D-Day. And then after that we got several trips backing up the army. Strategic bombing trips. If the army had got bogged down somewhere we had to go and, I think they used to be called totalised targets. And on one of the occasions because the Germany forces and our forces were so close together and they wanted the German forces loosened up a bit we asked them to fire from their Bofors guns red star shells over the position that they wanted us to bomb. And this they did. We were able to pick out these red star shells bursting and we bombed accordingly. I hope we did a bit of good but that was a, an unusual Pathfinder job. And it brought home to you that although in the briefing you were given a route to follow sometimes a deviation route to throw off the enemy defences and leaving until the last minute almost for you to line up on your target. To fool the enemy defences. Oh incidentally that’s one of the things that didn’t happen on the Nuremberg raid. I learned afterwards that AVM Bennett argued with the people who’d set the course, which was direct to Nuremberg. He wanted a variation but he was overruled and hence I’m afraid we paid the price. But anyway, we used to follow the route that we’d asked to. But it was up to you how you got to the target and indeed how you got back because you might be diverted because of the enemy defences or you might be chased by a fighter or the, you might meet headwind which was slowing you down. You might have a wind up your tail which was making you early. So you had to alter course to suit your own navigation. That’s what I mean by saying it was up to you how you got there. And as long as you got there on time to do the Pathfinder job you’d been given to do because there were several different jobs you could do with the Pathfinder force. You started with the easiest and you worked your way through to finish up as master bomber. You probably start off as an, as an illuminator. Dropping about twenty, twenty odd flares straight and level every eight seconds. And you’d work your way through the more advanced jobs until you finished up as the top job which, which involved supervising. Staying in the target area all the time and supervising how the raid was going. And principally we were, you could either be a visual marker or a blind marker. Blind marker was on radar but if you got to the target and it was visual ok the visual markers marked it and you backed them up. If it was obscured you, as blind marker marked it and the visual boys backed you up. And then somewhere halfway during the raid you could pick up a job as a visual centre where you would go and see how the raid was going and perhaps in conjunction with the master bomber you decided that the, the target needed centering which you would mark and then tell main force or VHF for example to ignore reds and bomb greens. And as I say you did these different jobs and you picked up some, some long targets. And eventually, well in no time at all, perhaps cheekily we were doing more daylight bombing then night bombing and that’s on German targets too. Cheekily going into the Ruhr in daylight. And one time we did this, I think the target again was Essen and main force, we were there on time, main force was late. There was no sign of them. So there was about five, five Pathfinder aircraft circling in daylight over the Ruhr. And I think all the towns in the Ruhr were saying, ‘We’ll pick him. You pick him. You pick up.’ And we were getting flak all around us. Right, left and centre. And then on the distance main force came into view. Straggling along towards us. And when they were near enough we marked the target. It’s no good doing it too early because the flares would probably wear away before they got there. Anyway, we marked correctly. By which time our aeroplane was in a bit of a sorry state. We’d had one right close to the nose which had blown the front off the aeroplane and made it extremely cool with a two hundred plus knot wind whistling through, apart from other damage. We used to pick up quite a bit of damage. Flying home on three engines instead of four. One time when we limped home that way our ground crew, God bless them it was their aeroplane really. They only lent us the aeroplane so we could do the operation. But we used to return it them to them sometimes in a very sorry state. But God bless those aircrew they did us, those ground crew, they did us a good job. But one time we got back there and they told us afterwards they’d had to patch up forty four holes in the aeroplane and that there was a piece of shrapnel about the size of half a beaker if you know what a beaker is. A mug. About a half split down the middle. A piece of flak about half that size lodged in the petrol tank. On the, on the starboard wing. And they’d said if that had come loose we would have lost all the fuel out of the tank. But it acted as a cork for which I was duly thankful. Another time was unusual. We were ordered, a daylight job as well, way down ooh in sight of the Pyrenees. Well, this was an oil refinery. So we were ordered, as I say it was daylight, we had to be down at five hundred feet and we flew out over Looe in Cornwall. You could see people on the beach enjoying themselves at five hundred feet. And we were down there crossing Biscay at five hundred feet and lo and behold we came across a German mine sweeping flotilla doing its stuff. So lat and long was radio’d back to base and afterwards when we got back we, we were told that they’d notified Coastal Command and Coastal Command had gone out and, and dealt with the mine sweeping flotilla. Anyway, at five hundred feet we were over Biscay and then we had to climb to bombing height. Up to about eighteen thousand. And it were pretty cold after that. Most of us were just in shirt sleeves and it was a bit cool. Anyway, we did our stuff on the oil refinery and just in the bargain there had been a tanker alongside the refinery at the time. And as we cleared the target and looked back through the smoke and what not I don’t know what we’d done to the oil refinery but we couldn’t see the tanker any more. And so that’s how we, we came back. But we got quite a few, quite a few jobs of a different kind of nature as I say. Most cheekily in Germany in daylight. And, as I say, we, we copped it once or twice. I do remember an early morning daylight on Duisburg. The same night, Duisburg again. And we lost an engine to come home. And then again Willhelmshaven. We did three German trips in thirty six hours. So we got very little time for a kip but we made sure that the aeroplane was serviceable and so on to do it’s stuff and we managed even to get something to eat in between times as well. Oh incidentally I do remember that when you were going off on an operation the mess always dished up egg and chips. This was your aircrew meal before you went off. But egg and chips was a godsend in those days. It was another manna from heaven job because eggs were scarce, if not rationed. But to us that was a good meal. And also for a sweet [laughs] we had, week after week, day in day out stewed prunes. And oh dear. You got so tired of stewed prunes. So we said we’ll alter this. So we go in to the kitchen. We said, ‘Have you got some bread? A slice of bread?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Have you got some jam?’ ‘Yes.’ Put the jam on the bread. ‘Now, have you got some batter that you use when you’re doing the chips?’ They’d got some batter. So you dipped your jammed bread in the batter, put it in the, in to the deep fryer and lo and behold you’ve got another sweet. A lot, a lot better than the stewed prunes [laughs]
MR: Apricots. Were they apricots? Not prunes.
DR: Oh, I beg your pardon. Yeah. Apricots. Stewed apricots. Yes. Yes. Stewed apricots. Yeah. Yes. And as I say Bennett appeared to be a hard man. And indeed he was only hard because he’d got a job to do and he was to make sure that you helped him to do that job. And I’m sure that when he was losing his crews he was as heartfelt as anybody else. But as I say he had a job to do and he gave all the appearance of being strict. Which of course he was. If you couldn’t do your job there were examples where people had been told, ‘You’re not Pathfinders,’ and sent back to wherever they’d came from. So he used to make sure that we knew what we were doing. But there was one incident where a German target, we must have been going in mid-way in the raid because the target was well ablaze. Lots of fires, lots of smoke, lots of flak. And on the, our bombing run I always used to make sure that there was none of our boys up above us dropping his load. And so it was that in the target area I was searching up above as well as below and there was a Junkers 88 about a couple of thousand feet below us flying on a reciprocal. But it wasn’t bothering us so didn’t bother the rest of the crew. Just let them get on with the job. However, when we got back to Upwood, whenever we came back from an op on the table waiting for us in the debriefing room there used to be Walters’ cigarettes, navy rum and hot coffee. So you sat back there with hot coffee and rum to thaw the chill out of your bones and, and a Walters’ fag. And there was a delay in debriefing during which time leisurely we’d consumed three rum and coffees. Sank back and enjoyed them. So, anyway, when we were called in for the debriefing we told the intelligence officer all he wanted to know. And as we finished he said, ‘Was there enemy fighter activity in the target area?’ And I said, ‘Yeah. I saw a Junkers 88.’ And a voice behind me, over my shoulder said, ‘How do you know it was a Junkers 88?’ And the rum answered, ‘I know a bloody Junkers 88 when I see one.’ And looking over my shoulder there’s the two steely eyes of Air Vice Marshall Bennett looking at me. Oh dear. I thought that’s it. And he looked at me and he said, ‘That’s alright lad,’ he said, ‘But we had Mosquitoes on that target tonight.’ And the rum wanted to say, ‘I know a bloody Mosquito when I see one.’ But I restrained. But as I say AVM Bennett often used to be around in, in the debriefing. Many a time. But I thought I was going to get the chop then for being rude [laughs] Anyway, as I say probably if I flicked through my logbook I could see other, other things that had happened to us. But it was quite a full, a full time because in addition to operational flying you were airborne every day without fail. Sometimes two or three times a day. If not operational you were on air tests or practice bombing raids. Fighter affiliation. Navigation cross country trip. You were kept on tip toe all the time. So that you were, you were aware of course that you were part of Bomber Command but not impressively so. You were more impressed with the fact that you were on 156 Squadron. But moreso with your own crew because you, you slept, you ate, you flew, you went on leave with the same people. The crew. So that you built up this strong bond and you hoped that they relied on you as much as you relied on them. And you were vaguely aware that there were other crews on the squadron doing the same job more or less as you were doing. But life was so busy that — and sometimes unfortunately because crews went missing you didn’t get any time to make friends or acquaintances. As I say you just, you just knew one or two here and there. Possibly because you’d been at OTU with one or two of them. But otherwise you were so busy. But there were two other, two gunners who had been at Operational Training Unit with me and they’d both, they’d both [pause] Barclay Felgate was a Rhodesian and he was in my first crew. And he appeared at 156 Squadron, Pathfinder Squadron with another crew. And Bob Heatrick, an Irishman, he also flew with me and he was on 156 Squadron Pathfinders. And I’d known them previously from OTUs so you did pick these up. But you did get a giggle from time to time. It depends how things struck you. Sometimes and seriously some people were stricken religiously almost. And there was one pilot who was like that but he was conscientious. And the guys used to call him Dinghy Dan because sometimes when it was reasonable he used to have the crew practicing dinghy ditching positions. Which of course was, was a good idea in case you needed it for real. But on one particular occasion they had a chap, another Irishman with a hell of a sense of humour and they were getting knocked about a bit in the target area and this Irishman said, ‘Come on skip. Let’s get out of here.’ And Dinghy Dan said, ‘It’s alright. The stick is in the hands of the Lord.’ And quick as a flash the Irishman says, ‘Well give him a hand then. He can’t do it all by himself.’ [laughs] As I say we used to pick up the odd, the odd giggle now and again. And my flight engineer Baz, Baz Butterfield, bless him. We were twenty, twenty one as I say. I’d finished operational flying and I was still twenty one. He’d got a son twelve years of age and we used to look at Baz as Uncle Baz and we used to go out to the aeroplane ready for an op and climbing on board Baz, usually he used to say, ‘We’re going to have a good trip tonight.’ ‘Oh do you reckon so Baz?’ ‘Yeah. I’ve got a feeling in my water,’ he used to say. He was a good lad was Baz. Nearly lost him as I say when we, when we lost the nose of the aeroplane that time. He was very close. Yes. As I say if I was to going to fish out my logbook I’d probably think of other incidents. But mostly the German trips. But as you got experience you were trained to do, do your job in the air. You were given an aeroplane that was the best that could be provided. You were trained but they couldn’t give you operational experience. You had to earn that the hard way. And it was a hard way. Sometimes it was quite devastating. It brought home reality. Not only what could happen to you in a flash but what might happen to you. For example if you baled out. You only had what you stood up in. If you’d landed in a German urban area God knows what might happen to you. There were stories of aircrew being lynched. And certainly you wouldn’t have been received very kindly once they found out you were RAF aircrew. You could have landed by parachute in the water, in the sea and hope to God you could rescue yourself. Or the aeroplane itself might have to ditch. All these realities came home to you through realisation after. Afterwards. It was afterthoughts really. And made, made you realise as good as your training had been and as good as your equipment had been you had been very lucky. Because people of the same experience of you and higher rank than you, rank didn’t count for anything. The chopper chopped when it needed to be. That’s at RAF Kirmington. There was a pub there called the Hand and Cleaver and to the aircrew it was called The Chopper. Hence a crew that didn’t come back had got the chop. Yes. Yes, they, you didn’t write off the German defences. The urban targets were well defended. Flak and fighters. You’d got to watch out for fighters. They knew what they were doing. They got very wise. Operating in pairs at times. One would fly on a beam and deliberately show a light and hoped you would focus on him so the other one could come in from the blind side and knock spots of you. But fortunately we were wise to that little trick. Sometimes they would follow you home to your home aerodrome and as you were coming in to land, in the most vulnerable situation, flaps and undercarriage down they would nip in behind you and shoot you down over your own airfield. So you didn’t write them off lightly. Indeed I remember coming back one evening. Well, it was still dark coming back. And as we came across the English coast there was a light. And I thought it was an aircraft showing a light. And we immediately thought it was the German fighters trying the old duo trick. But this light seemed in a steady position and I watched it go astern of us. Anyway, in the debriefing I mentioned this. That it was an apparent fighter showing. And the intelligence officer was highly interested in this. Wanted to know all about it. Where, where we’d seen it first of all and that. How we’d lost sight of it and was it a steady light? Yeah. And in no time at all, within a day or two we’d seen one of the first of the buzz bombs coming across. And that, that was the flames from its tail that we’d seen. And, and then afterwards they were coming over frequently and everybody knew about the buzz bombs. But we therefore got the job of trying to put paid to some of the buzz bomb sites. And later on the V-2 rocket sights. We got the job of trying to put paid to them. And the job was twelve Lancasters flying in pairs. Two, two — six pairs flying astern with the wing, tucked in wing. As close as we could. And we had a Mosquito who was on the Oboe beam or supposed to be on the Oboe beam flying ahead of us and when he picked up the beam and picked the target up he would open his bomb doors and drop a red, a red flare and then we twelve would open our bomb doors and twelve lots of bomb loads used to go down. Hopefully in the one position. But more often than not the Oboe beam wasn’t working so the Mossie was no good. So we had to do it ourselves and as I said drop twelve bomb loads all together. And we did this several times on the buzz bomb or rocket sites. So some of our daylight flying at home was tucking a wing in to the wing space of another Lancaster. So, we got some pretty interesting jobs to do. I’m running out of things to tell you. As I say without picking up a logbook [laughs]
HD: Lovely. Thank you Doug. We’ll call that an end to the interview. Thank you very much.
[recording paused]
HD: Doug’s wife Margaret would like to tell you a little story of what happened in Goole. Here you are Margaret.
[pause]
MR: [unclear] This is Margaret Reed. I have known Doug since we were three and a half. We went right through school together. And he went away in to the air force. I went away to college. And we got married when we were both free. I don’t mean, mean free. When we were both able to get together and be in the same part of the country. I was sitting with my parents on the outskirts of Goole. In the bungalow that we had there with my two brothers and my mother and father. And we were sitting in the evening, a beautiful evening. It was April. And just one of those evenings you get sometimes. And we had deckchairs. The old striped deckchairs. And in the back garden we had chickens. I had white doves. One of my brothers had guinea pigs and my mother had chinchilla rabbits which we ate. One a week. So we kept having, on having young ones to make sure we had enough for one rabbit a week and they are fairly big. So she, after the war she had the most beautiful chinchilla coat made.
DR: Say Goole was surrounded by airfields.
MR: Goole was surrounded by airfields. And as we sat there we watched the planes going out on a raid. All the same way. And quite close together. And suddenly my father said, ‘Oh. One’s touched wings with another.’ And we said, ‘Where?’ And we stood up and in the distance there were like two very very small aeroplanes circling down. One coming towards Goole and us and the other going in the opposite direction. And we watched and we watched as it circled around. And we counted out seven crew so we knew there was nobody in it but it was coming in our direction. And suddenly my father said, ‘It’s getting too close. Run in the house.’ We all ran in the house and dropped under the kitchen table. We all scrambled in there. And then there was the most terrific bang and everything shuddered and peculiar noises. And we rushed around into the back garden again and there was a hole where the lawn had been and water filling up in this massive hole. It was the width of the garden. And there wasn’t a feather from the chickens, my doves had gone. Everything had gone. The chinchillas. And we, we then wondered what would happen next. And an RAF kind of lorry with men in it were there within ten minutes and told us to get out of the house. The bungalow. The bungalow at the back was covered with mud out of this hole. There was about six inches of mud over the brickwork. The roof. Really it was just a grand mess at the back. And these men came and shoved us out of the way. They said they didn’t know whether there would be any other bombs that had gone off. And the one near the back, towards the back door was the tail fin, was just across the door. We had to step over it. And I went back in to the bungalow because I knew in my bedroom I’d got a bag of those tiny little silver threepenny bits and I’d got a bit of jewellery. I mean at that age you don’t have jewellery but an aunt had left me a pair of diamond earrings and they were in the, in the paper bag with the threepenny bits. And as I climbed over this bomb, the tail of the bomb near the back door so of course the bag, the paper bag burst and they were all over the drive. And they wouldn’t give me any time to pick them up. They just said, ‘Get out. Get out.’ And we went down to our grandmas. And instead of her little two bedroomed, well not a town house even, a small house. We had to live with her for a week. You can imagine what it was like. Five of us going to live with her. Anyway, the funny story about it was my mother had had new false teeth that, that she’d collected them the day before and of course they were on the, what was the bathroom window ledge. But the glass had blown out and the teeth, the new teeth, top and bottom were on the floor. But the next day we retrieved them. So her Yorkshire instinct of not having to pay a penny more than she should and collecting them well she won in the end.
HD: Lovely. Thank you Margaret.
MR: Well that was that.
HD: That was super. Thank you very much.
Dublin Core
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AReedD151015
Title
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Interview with Douglas Reed
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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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IBCC Digital Archive
Type
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Sound
Language
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eng
Format
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01:08:23 audio recording
Creator
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Hugh Donnelly
Date
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2015-10-15
Description
An account of the resource
Flight Lieutenant Douglas Reed worked for the council before he joined the Royal Air Force. He flew operations with 166 Squadron from RAF Kirmington and with 156 Squadron, Pathfinders, from RAF Upwood. His aircraft often suffered damage. On one occasion the ground crew reported they had patched forty four holes in the aircraft and a piece of shrapnel had been lodged in the fuel tank.
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
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Germany
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Yorkshire
Germany--Nuremberg
Temporal Coverage
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1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
Conforms To
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Pending review
Pending revision of OH transcription
Pending OH summary
Contributor
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Julie Williams
156 Squadron
166 Squadron
8 Group
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
crash
ground crew
Halifax
Ju 88
Lancaster Finishing School
Master Bomber
mess
military ethos
Mosquito
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Oboe
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
RAF Hemswell
RAF Kirmington
RAF Peplow
RAF Upwood
take-off crash
target indicator
training
Wellington
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1015/11304/ALeedhamHJL181212.1.mp3
eca92a44a63ba05981df7098454718ac
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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Leedham, Bob
Herbert John Lewis Leedham
H J L Leedham
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with Squadron Leader Bob Leedham (b. 1922, 1183577, 160986 Royal Air Force). He flew operations as a pilot with 90 and 57 Squadrons.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2018-12-12
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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Leedham, HJL
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
HB: This is an interview between International Bomber Command Centre volunteer Harry Bartlett with Mr Herbert, Bob, Leedham, who lives at Ashbourne in Warwickshire. He joined the RAF in 1940, but we’ll no doubt will come to that shortly. Bob, if I can just ask you what were you doing on, in the few years before the war?
BL: My family, my father was a skilled carpenter, but on my mother’s side, she had three brothers all of which were very keen engineers and one of which was exceptionally keen and he worked for a local motor company and he was involved in motor bike racing at Donnington, mainly, and it was him that inspired me with a heavy engineering interest, and consequently when I left school, I was educated in Burton on Trent, the dear old brewing place, I finished up there, I was, won a scholarship to be educated at the main system, which was the central system and the grammar school and so on in Burton and I survived that. And on leaving I decided my real choice was to follow my uncles as it were, into the motor trade, which I did. And I was trained fairly quickly as an apprentice in the motor trade and of course when the war started most of them were already on the reserve and they were the first people to be called up. So myself and a couple of my colleagues of my age, and at that time we are talking about an age of seventeen, sixteen to seventeen, I had already passed my driving test and was driving of course and we were left to run the very large garage very quickly after all the others had been called up, and so it was hands on experience with a vengeance. We were left to run the garage and carry on operations and consequently even a relatively short time I had a good engineering background. However, when I got to seventeen and a half, all my mates that I knew and went to school with and so on had all got into the air force, they’d volunteered in some way or other. In fact some of them were actually called up and I knew that sooner or later I would be called up as soon as I got to the age of I think it was eighteen or nineteen and the chances were that I would maybe put in to the Army. Well I had no interest whatsoever of going into the Army. My first choice was always the air force. Unknown to my parents, at seventeen and a half, I went over to the Assembly Rooms in Derby to the recruiting centre and signed up to join, but I had to give my age as eighteen. They probably accepted this with tongue in cheek knowing that I’d lied a little bit about my age. However, I was accepted and instructed to come for a medical a couple of days later. Very amusing and perhaps interesting thing was, that bearing in mind I had been brought up in a relatively conservative sort of area in Burton on Trent as opposed to big cities and so on, so we were living in a relatively closed environment, despite the fact we were all qualified, and highly qualified tradesmen then. So I went over to have the medical. There was about twenty of us lined up. The doctor came in, he says, ‘right, take your shirts off boys, I’m going to check your hearts.’ So he went along, checking everyone, all the way along, and when he got to the end he says, ‘Right, put your shirts on boys,’ then waited a few minutes, said, ‘drop your trousers then.’ I thought ‘drop my trousers!’, bloody hell! I’d never been exposed to anyone in my life before, you know! And I feel that at that moment I changed from being a boy to a man. That’s the way I felt about it, I couldn’t believe, having to drop my trousers and expose myself even to a doctor. That was the sort of background we were brought up in of course, in those days. It’s totally different now of course. So really from then on the next few days I was down at Cardington for the, attestation and so forth and then I was allocated for training. So initially because of my engineering background the RAF at that time were quite short of experienced engineering people, and they’d set up training units and so on but, they were very good from a theory point of view but nothing in the way of hands on. So I was immediately shuffled into training as a fitter 2E. But I wasn’t happy that, I wanted to fly. So it didn’t last long, and I managed to wiggle my way in to ITW at Blackpool, and found myself on a pilot’s course.
HB: ITW?
BL: ITW: Initial Training Wing.
HB: Right.
BL: Which was at Blackpool in those days and that’s where they carried out the tests as to whether you were suitable to fly in an aircrew capacity. So I was accepted to fly an aircrew capacity to be decided specifically by the selection board’s requirements. And the next thing was, at that time the pilot training was being geared up dramatically. The original pilots in the air force at the start of the war and going right up to probably about the end of 1941, were pre-war pilots, mostly people who’d come from quite wealthy backgrounds who could afford to train them as pilots and by the end of 1941, these were the people that the air force had to rely on in the early days. When I look back historically on some of the situations, bombing raids and that sort of thing using obsolete aircraft like Lysanders and stuff like that, it was dreadful really and by the end of ’41 most of these boys had disappeared: they’d either been shot down, been killed, they crashed or were POWs. Result was that there was a colossal demand for fully trained new aircrew. This was done from a pilot’s point of view in Canada, or America, or Southern Rhodesia as it was then, which is now Zimbabwe, of course. Those were the three, main three areas where the pilots would train from about 1941 onwards. And they set up very, very good systems. But there was a difference between Rhodesia trained and particularly American trained. The American instructors were extremely, quite different to us: they were very hard, very dedicated and they set up a system for training pilots, that if you didn’t go solo in twelve hours, you were thrown off the course. You were downgraded to either a navigator or a bomb aimer or anyone else that had any sort of background which would be useful to the air force, in my case an engineering background. And when you consider, you know, people, ex bank managers if you like, and people from a whole variety of trades in civilian life, there they were, shipped over to America to train as pilots and expected to go solo in twelve hours. Just dreadful really. However, that was the way the system worked. It wasn’t quite so severe in Canada, but nevertheless it was similar to the American system but the ones trained in Southern Rhodesia of course, it was very much more realistic, and they didn’t stick to any specific hours to go solo and things like that you see. So the result was when finely trained aircrew of any category then came back to the UK, the usual routine was Initial Training Wing and then on to type training unit and so on and find a way into things like Wellingtons and Hampdens and Lemingtons, er Wellingtons and things like that.
HB: Can I just take you back a little bit Bob? [Cough] excuse me. When you joined up, you started your initial training as a fitter.
BL: Yup.
HB: But you then went for aircrew training.
BL: Yes.
HB: Did you go to train as a flight engineer, or did you go to train as a pilot?
BL: No, I went to train as a pilot initially.
HB: Right. And where did, which you, where did you actually go train as a pilot?
BL: I went to 32 SFTS in Carbery Manitoba, Canada.
HB: Canada, right.
BL: But I didn’t make the twelve hours solo so I was downgraded, the same as three quarters of them. There were very few, at that time anyway, who were competent enough after twelve hours to go solo. So it was a very hard path really. I came back to the UK, together with many others, who’d been diverted then in to training as a navigator or a bomb aimer or a gunner – I’d forgotten that one – and, but in my particular case the fact that I had the engineering background, which they wanted, they downgraded me to co-pilot and flight engineer. So predominantly I was trained as a full flight engineer, despite the fact I was accepted that on aircraft for instance like the Stirling I had to act as co-pilot as well. So I had to take link training and all that. I was never allowed to take off and land, but I was there to relieve the main pilot and to act as co-pilot duties. And that applied pretty well throughout: Stirlings, Lancasters, Halifaxes and so on. So we were always virtually the number two so far as the mechanical operation of the aircraft was concerned. As opposed to the gunners who had their job to do, bomb aimer had his job to do and the navigator. A number of the early bomb aimers of course were also trained as type of navigators but very few of them flew as navigators, they flew mainly as usually as bomb aimer come front gunner. There was always a front turret, gun turret on the Lancs and the Stirlings and Halifaxes, so the bomb aimers were expected to man the front turret and also act as the bomb aimer so far as the targets were concerned. And the navigators of course, they did the actual navigation guidance to the pilots.
HB: So you came back to England and you went to do your flight engineer training for aircrew.
BL: Yes. At St. Athan.
HB: At, St Athan, right. So at the end of that training, where did you sort of stand in the scheme of things?
BL: I was at training, already I’d had my link training as a co-pilot as well, before I went to St Athan, when I left St Athan, fully qualified, the next thing then was to join a crew on either Lancs, Stirlings or Halifaxes. In fact in my particular case I was posted to Stradishall which was a main training base for Stirlings and then the crew of seven were created. There was nothing directed, they put us all in hangar and between ourselves we had to get to know each other and put ourselves together as a seven man crew, which is how it happened. Once that’s established as a crew then your flight training started, which we did at Stradishall of course, on the Stirlings in our particular case.
HB: Where did your, is it all in this hangar, did somebody come to you or did you think oh I like the look of him, I’ll go with him? Or? How did it work? What were the mechanics of it?
BL: It’s a variety really. Our captain, our skipper, was an ex Birmingham policeman and personally, personality was absolutely first class, but he was a strict disciplinarian being ex-police, of course, and so he was highly respected despite the fact he was definitely one of us, but very highly respected. And we got to know him, chatting away and he said well, he says ‘I’ve just come from OTU from Wellingtons,’ he says, ‘I’ve got a navigator and I probably have a bomb aimer.’ He says, ‘I’m looking for a couple of gunners and a flight engineer co-pilot to get the seven man crew together,’ and so from then on it was a question of who you knew and whether you thought they were capable, and see whether they were already in a crew or not that was how we all created seven together. It was done quite amicably, in various reasons, various forms, whether you knew each other or you say well I know old so-and-so, he’s a bloody good navigator, try and get him on our crew, you know, and that sort of thing. So we finished up as a very tight crew and it so happened, subsequently, that when we were doing our ops on the squadron, the camaraderie within the seven man crew was very tight indeed. The result was we found that we had seven first class crew members. Everyone worked together, helped each other and that was the way it went on the Stirlings. Unfortunately the Stirlings of course had a very bad reputation subsequently. The reason for this was because in its early days, [cough] it was built pre-war of course, a long way pre-war, and was a very good four engined heavy bomber when it was produced, extremely good, but unfortunately it came under the influence of the political decisions, the politicians came along and said that aircraft’s got a wingspan of a hundred and sixteen feet! We won’t get it in to the hangars at Cardington, they’re only a hundred feet, you’ll have to take sixteen feet off the wings. So, reluctantly, they put pressure on the manufacturers and the Stirling was modified to have sixteen feet, either, eight feet either side taken off the wings. Not only that by doing that they had to alter the structure quite considerably and raise the undercarriage very high in order to cope with this. Disaster so far as performance’s concerned, the result was the Stirling was always very, very much – what shall I say - the underdog as far as the heavy bombers were concerned. Result was the highest we could ever get to bomb was about twelve thousand feet. The Lancs and the Halifaxes were up above at twenty two thousand and frequently if your time was slightly out we were bombed by their bombs from above us. Frequently happened, there was a lot of aircraft were lost that way. Just one of those things. So really, although at that stage, when you think that the Lanc didn’t come in to service till towards the end of ’42, so in the early days the Stirling was the only heavy bomber and he was restricted in its performance by this political intervention and consequently it had a reputation of being something of a, I won’t use, I want to use the words death traps, but Bomber Harris had his own ideas on this and he was fully aware of it. In fact as ‘43 went on we were doing the Ruhr bombing and then of course Hamburg and then the start of the Berlin offensive which was in the autumn of ’43, and at that stage our losses were running on average seven, eight percent, we had one occasion when our losses were seventeen [emphasis] percent. And it got to the stage where Bomber Harris, he couldn’t stand it any longer, he was at war with a lot of the politicians himself of course by his insistence that Germany had to be bombed in order to minimise their war effort, and consequently it’s on record in one of, I think it was Max Hastings’ book Bomber Command I think he mentioned it in there, the extract of a meeting that Harris had with Churchill in round about October, I think, or maybe November ’43, and he was thumping the table and he said to Churchill, he says, ‘if I send my boys out [thumping] to get lost any longer in these bloody death trips, death traps called Stirlings they’ll call me a murderer.’ He says, ‘what I want is Lancasters, Lancasters and more Lancasters.’ there was a hell of a row went on and Churchill didn’t say a word. But finally he leaned across and said you’ll have your Lancasters. And it was then that the production on Lancasters was even, set up considerably higher than what it was already.
H: So when [cough] -
BL: So really, just interrupting,
HB: No, no.
BL: so going back from our training at Stradishall as a crew were posted to 90 Squadron to a little place called Ridgewell which was in Cambridgeshire, and not terribly well known and we were the first people in. A couple of farms that had been demolished and replaced with an impromptu quickly built runway. There was no, shall we say buildings, which were you might say were suitable for an operational squadron. There was mud everywhere, conditions were foul. They put a series of nissen huts up for us to live in and also for headquarters and the conditions there were not terribly good at all. However, there we were in the spring of ’41, er ’43, expected to use that as a base to operate, operationally against the various targets which were set out. We were at Ridgewell I think for no longer than about three months, four months, something like that and we moved then to a place called, it was West Wickham when we moved there but it was renamed Wratting Common, and consequently conditions there were far better. Again, it wasn’t a wartime, it wasn’t a peacetime airfield, but it was a good airfield and conditions there were far better airfield than Ridgewell. I don’t quite know what happened to Ridgewell in the end, whether it survived or not. I shouldn’t think it did: it was foul. But nevertheless we went to Wratting Common and we continued to fly our ops from Wratting Common on 90 Squadron, until, as I say, the autumn when the squadron was destined to change from Stirlings into Lancs and consequently they were moved to just outside Mildenhall at Tuddenham.
HB: How many ops did you actually fly in Stirlings for your tour?
BL: On Stirlings alone I think we did about twenty one I think it was, on the Stirlings, before we went on Lancs. As I say during that particular time conditions using the Stirling were very difficult, to make an understatement. Our losses were constant and it was amazing really, I mean for instance there was a Canadian pilot called Geordie Young. He was the senior pilot on the squadron, he’d got a lot of experience, and they went off on their last trip, their thirtieth trip, and they got blown up over Dusseldorf on their very last trip and that was, had a very, what shall I say effect on morale on the squadron, because they were regarded you know, the top boys on the squadron. One of the problems, in those days throughout Bomber Command, not just 3 Group which was a Stirling Group, but all the other groups as well, is that when Don Bennett set up the 8 Group, Pathfinder Group, he got old Hamish Mahaddie who he took on as his recruitment boss to collect all the very best crews off the different squadrons he could get hold of, to go into Pathfinders, and of course there was a colossal amount of opposition to this from all the squadrons. No squadron commander wants to lose their best crews, and consequently there was a war going on particularly on 5 Group, with Cochrane was the AOC on 5 Group in those days, based at Swinderby and he was very, very strongly opposed to it. There was open warfare going on the whole time, and despite the fact that 5 Group at that time of course, was the elite group which contained all the 617 boys and various other specialist crews for specialist bombing trips and he obviously didn’t want to lose any of those. And consequently he managed to get some political background particularly from Arthur Harris two of the Pathfinder squadrons in 8 Group would be transferred back to 5 Group. So he eventually had his own Pathfinder boys. Of course then when Gibson set up 617, that was also again from selecting top quality experienced crews. In the early days that was, but before the Dambuster raid, but not so much later on when they were really struggling to get replacement crews from the various crews they’d lost. So really Bomber Harris, Arthur Harris, he was very much supporting the 5 Group people, it was his elite group in Bomber Command and he always gave it sort of first preference on everything. There’s one, a very amusing aspect came at a conference they were having at Swinderby when at the time Princess Margaret was having this affair with Fighter Command Townsend and there was all speculation in the press about whether she’d marry him or whether she’d marry somebody else, and so on, and at this particular meeting, this conference of crews at Swinderby, it was a bit of a hilarious topic and someone was saying, ‘well it’s unknown who she’s going to marry, but it won’t have any effect on us here in 5 Group.’ And somebody stood up and said, ‘well there’s one thing for certain, whoever she marries, it’s bound to be somebody from 5 Group!’ [Laughter]
HB: Yeah. Can I just take you back a little bit Bob.
BL: Yes of course.
HB: I just noticed in some of your notes, I know this is jumping right back, it says you [cough] were posted to Coastal Command, 86 Squadron and flew on Sunderlands.
BL: Yes. That was when I was on 86. We were, we did a detachment down to Gosport actually.
HB: Oh right.
BL: And then to St, St Athan, when the two battleships Gneisenau and the Scharnhorst were at Brest and they were trying to get up the channel to get away and consequently we went down there with 86 Squadron to carry out operations against the two battleships. But for some reason or other, some of the squadron was detached to, in Coastal Command, to a flying boat squadron, which was 10 Squadron based at Mountbatten, at Plymouth. I don’t quite know why this happened, it was only a very short time, but I was one of the people that went on the flying boats for about three months.
HB: So you were there as a co-pilot engineer?
BL: Yes, on the flying boats. And again, bearing in mind our engineering background was what they wanted more than anything because we had to get involved with the maintenance schedules and so on as well. So I only had three months, I didn’t like it at all. Flying boats was not for me, and that was the main reason I thought that there must be a better way that I enjoy so I volunteered while I was there for Bomber Command. That’s where I started into Bomber Command
HB: Right. It’s all right, I was just trying to get the sequence of events into some sort of order.
BL: That was really how the sequence went through. Of course in Bomber Command, very lucky with our crew to survive a tour on 90 Squadron.
HB: What were the operations, you know, you’re flying operations into the Ruhr in the Stirling, and you’ve very clearly explained the shortcomings of the Stirling. What was it, you know, what was, what were your experiences of those, those individual sort of operations?
BL: Well it varied actually. But the Ruhr targets at that time I can remember them vividly. Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Duisburg, Krefeldt, Essen. And Essen was the one everyone hated [emphasis] because at that time that was the home of Daimler Benz, Krups and all the munitions factories, and they had a ring right the way round Essen, three thousand anti aircraft guns and radar controlled searchlights and when you’re flying towards Essen and you looked ahead, you think, ‘Christ you’ve got to get through that to get to the target point,’ and usually at briefing when the curtain was finally pulled back - we were never told what the target was until the very last minute of course - and when the target was pulled back you see Essen area, ‘oh Christ, not Essen,’ you know. However, going from what I say, first five trips Essen, then we went on to Gelsenkirchen, Wuperthal, Mulein, Bochum, Cologne, Munchen Gladbach. Now in my history of 90 Squadron book, there’s various aspects of the work that we did, and there’s a typical battle order printed there as an example. And that was August the 26th I think it was, on Munchen Gladbach and we were on the battle order for that particular night. I think the squadron was putting up something like thirty two aircraft or something that night. There was eight hundred and fifty on the, the full main force. And at that time the procedure on ops on the squadrons was that you didn’t do, as a pilot or co-pilot or anything like that, you didn’t go out with your own crew until you’d done a familiar flight with an experienced crew as a supernumerary and it just so happens that on that battle order I had one under supervision and there was one other crew with another one under supervision. It was on the 31st of August ’43. And these two chaps, I had one of them under supervision, and another crew had the second one. Out of curiosity, in the back of the book there’s seven pages of casualties on the squadron, and when I looked for the names down, both these boys’ names were down on the casualties, one, bear in mind, was on the 22nd of September bear in mind that was just 22nd, twenty two days after we had taken them on the supervision. One of them went on the 22nd, the next night the second went on the 23rd. So they only survived twenty three days on the squadron. And that was typical, absolutely typical. We used to live in a long nissen hut, seven beds each side, two crews in there. Three times we had a new crew come in, and three times we’d wake up after an op the night before, about midday, be woken up by the military police going through the, collecting the bits and pieces, belongings of the other crew who had got the beds on opposite. Three times we had new crews come in and three times we lost them very quickly, in two cases within the first three ops, and consequently we had, as a crew, we had a reputation of being a Jonah crew and nobody would move in with us. [Laughter] But in all seriousness that was the way it happened, you know and we lost some very quickly and didn’t even get to know them. There we were, soldiering on and finally got to the stage as I say, when the Stirlings were taken out of service and deployed on other work, mainly glider towing and things like that. Then the Lancs took over as the Lancaster production of course, got higher and higher.
HB: What do you put down to, I don’t want to use the word success, your ability to have got through those twenty something operations?
BL: A lot of people would say you must have been one of the lucky ones. Yes, to a point. But we had a very good crew; highly [emphasis] dedicated crew to the individual job they had to do and it was, there were various aspects of the operation that needed high concentration and dedication to execute that. I mean our rear gunner, Eddie, he’s still alive now in New Zealand, and he had eyes like a bloody hawk; he could spot these fighters coming in and he would control the operation immediately if he saw a fighter, to the pilot at the front, saying, ‘corkscrew, corkscrew,’ and instead of flying at straight and level from a to b to a target on our particular crew, we would fly perhaps just for a minute or so, then start weaving like that, so that there was no chance of the fighters beaming on to us in, as if we’d been flying straight and level they had a much easier job of coming in to us, and under from mid or something like that, shoot us down. But by weaving like that, was one of the things which we did continually, it was uncomfortable but it was very safe. But apart from the anti aircraft of course, it certainly kept the fighters at bay from us and I mean I think three times we were attacked by fighters and three times we got away from them. Largely due to Eddie in the rear turret. Who shot one of them down actually.
HB: Did he?
BL: Yup, He opened up, he waited till he got it in his sights, and let fly and it blew up in front of him, or behind him should I say. So really that aspect of it is the thoroughness of the type of flying and the operation which was necessary, but on the other hand of course, where anti aircraft was concerned it’s a different story. We, in the Stirling we were in the middle of it, weaving through it and if you had a direct hit or a hit which say damaged the aircraft severely you could say right you were just bloody unlucky like Geordie Young on his thirtieth trip, and that sort of thing, so. The worst night of for Bomber Command for all losses was the Nuremburg flight, you may or may not have heard of this, but it was on the Nuremburg trip when the met people made a complete balls of the forecast. They were forecasting plenty of cloud so that you could fly comfortably in and out of cloud and the fighters couldn’t detect you quite so easily. But on this occasion the weather didn’t turn out as they predicted and consequently it was a full moon clear, crystal clear night and the result was that the main force – there was eight hundred and fifty aircraft on that particular target. This was in the autumn of ’44, I think it was, and that particular night we lost ninety four aircraft on that night, and when you think there were seven men in each aircraft. Work that one out. That was the worst night ever [emphasis] for Bomber Command.
HB: And your crew were on that.
BL: No. We weren’t on that.
HB: You weren’t on that one.
BL: It just so happened that we were on leave at the time so we weren’t on it. But that was, that’s the hard statistics of it.
HB: Because I was interested in the, in the thing you were saying about the Lancasters and the Halifaxes going at twenty two and you know, the Wellingtons, obviously the Wellingtons were at eighteen thousand and the poor old Stirling’s down at twelve.
BL: Yeah.
HB: I mean that must have, that must have influenced your pilot and your crew at that point, when you were on, when you were on the bigger raids.
BL: Well, yes, to a point, but you had to admit it was one of those things. I don’t think, it was only when we got to grips with the Stirling and training and so on and realised what effect the modifications had had on the performance of the aircraft. It was not easy to get off the ground with a full load on. For one thing the inertia of the engines meant that it was, always had this sort of pull to starboard, to the right, which you had to maintain correction on, and not only that but the fact that the undercarriage had been raised quite considerably, very high up. There’s a picture here will show: that was our aircraft and the one that saw us all the way through our tour, and it was so high up it that when this sort of inertia from the engines, it was very difficult to keep it straight down the runway. In fact there was numerous occasions when the aircraft just couldn’t control it with a full bomb load on and it crashed or something and numerous messy situations like that developed. But this is why as I say, I meant occasionally that when I went from Stirlings up into 5 Group, I was posted up to the elite group. How that happened was, that at that time the Lancs were coming on stream and 5 Group at Swinderby was the training base for the Lancs, but again they needed them on the squadron so rapidly that they were pushing the crews through probably too fast, not quite enough training. And the result was that a lot of the crews had been trained on the twin engined Wellingtons and stuff like that, which didn’t give them any [emphasis] experience on four engined stuff. So in the, when we finished a tour on Stirlings, it was decided then by the powers that be as it were – Harris and co – they’d put a few Stirlings up to be based at Swinderby to get, be engaged on the Lancaster training programme so that we could give them experience on another four engine aircraft which was more difficult to handle than what a Lancaster was, and consequently I was one of the eight crews that were, instructors that went up there and that’s how I got in to 5 Group, posted up there on the Stirlings. And I always remember when we got up there about 7 or 8 o’clock in the evening. So we parked the aircraft went over to the officers mess, went in the bar straight away for a drink of course, and we were standing there and there was another group of the instructors and so on and amongst them was Dave Shannon and Mickey Martin – ex 617 – and quite a number of others who’d survived and they were curious as to who we were. And finally old Dave Shannon, who was a big Australian as you probably know from 617, came across and said, ‘who are you blokes then and what are you doing here?’ ‘Oh we’ve brought some Stirlings up to give you some help in the training programmes here.’ ‘Stirlings!’ he says,’ bloody hell!’ He said, ‘have you done a tour on Stirlings?’ I said, ‘yes’. He rubbed his hand over here, says, ‘Well where are your VCs then boys?’ [Laughter] And that was their attitude towards us.
HB: Yes. That tells the tale.
BL: But there again, life’s about winners and losers isn’t it, you know. And what we had we had went out to do the best you can, and as I say, it’s sad really that our losses were consistently high.
HB: So when you’d done, you did, you know, when was you last operation that you did with the Stirling? Can you remember?
L: It was on, I think it was either Hannover or Stuttgart, it was not the Ruhr, north of the Ruhr, but that was my, our last op. We did two Berlins on the Stirling, surprisingly, and relatively quiet trips too, long trips but relatively quiet, for us anyway.
HB: What was your feeling on, you know, you’re going to do your thirtieth or your last tour on the Stirling? What was going through your mind then?
BL: I don’t really think there was any feeling about it. I mean on our crew there wasn’t any suggestion of any feeling of stress or concern or the fact that you might be, the crew expression was – you might get the chop. No, we were a very good competent crew. We operated very correctly and safely as far as we could and I think that had a, that was the predominant factor in the crew. I mean a lot of people today often say to me well what about all the stress and everything? I said well the simple answer was we couldn’t even spell the word. You know, I mean the stress wasn’t there, it was concern. Admittedly we had one occasion when our mid upper gunner, Mick, suddenly went down with something, tonsilitis or something and he couldn’t, he had to go sick and consequently they stopped him flying that night and we were doing an op that night, on, I’ve forgotten where it was now, somewhere in the Ruhr, so we had to have a mid upper gunner, spare mid upper gunner who apparently for some reason or other he’d lost the rest of his crew, he’d done no ops at all, but he was spare, so they said oh you’re joining Cawley’s crew tonight because the gunner’s gone sick so he came to us and was a dreadful situation. He was absolutely petrified of the thought of going on ops, and halfway towards, over the Dutch coast on the way to the target, he suddenly started firing off indiscriminately at what he thought were fighters but they were clouds. And of course it immediately was bloody dangerous because if fighters around they see tracer bullets going out they home in on us. And Charlie was absolutely crackers, he went mad. What the hell’s going on? Go back and have a look!’ And this bloke was sitting in his turret there, absolutely terrified and it happened again, at a very dangerous point, he suddenly started firing off. Anyway when we, we survived the op, we got back and we landed, the crew bus was there to take us back to the base for intelligence and debriefing and he never said a word, wouldn’t speak, he wouldn’t get on the bus, he walked back and of course when he was interviewed by the Station Commander he said, ‘what’s the problem?’ The medical people there saw the condition of him and the RAF had a very cruel aspect of dealing with situations like that. They immediately used to braid you, used to name you as Lack of Moral Fibre which was dreadful really. You were immediately stripped of your rank back to basic and sent off to a unit which was down at Brighton to deal with these people who were so called Lack of Moral Fibre and that went on your records throughout your, a very cruel way of looking at it really. But that happened to us on this particular flight and as I say amazing really, the bloke was just absolutely petrified. Couldn’t face up to what he was asked to do, despite the fact he’d gone through training and managed to survive to train to become a qualified gunner, but there we are. Just one of those things.
HB: What did you do when you got back from your last op?
BL: [Laughter] Well I normally drink a gin and tonic but I think I had something a bit stronger than that that night! No. we had a, all went down to the pub locally and had a nice evening and then we knew the next day we’d be posted out, we’d all be posted to different directions and it was a question then where everybody went. It just so happened that in my particular case I was posted, for a very short time, to a place called Wilfort Sludge which is on the A1, but from there of course this deal came up to send some Stirlings up to 5 Group, so I was then posted out of 3 Group into 5 Group. And previous to that I’d, before I finished my tour I’d been recommended for a commission so my commission had come through so I was, and that came through six months late, so I went straight in as a commissioned Flying Officer then and went to Swinderby then as an instructor and it was, the rest of the crew: Johnnie went up to, he was the captain, he went up to near High Ercall, which is up near, in Shropshire somewhere, near Whitchurch to start training Stirling crews up there to tow gliders in anticipation, of course, of the Arnhem offensives and so on, so he went up there on towing gliders. The two rear gunner, the two gears, er gunners, the mid upper gunner and the rear gunner, they were posted to somewhere on special duties. Where they thought they were going on rest they suddenly found they were on ops again, on the special duties, doing, dropping these Resistance guys in France and so on. Harry our wireless operator, the navigator by the way, suddenly when I went to Swinderby I found he was already there and I was sharing a room with him in the mess for a while. Unfortunately, he’s the son of a clergyman in Cornwall, highly religious, he used to spend all his time playing the organ in the local church where we were down the pub having a drink, but he had a heart attack right at the end of the war and died straight away. The bomb aimer, little Barry, little short bloke, he went on rest for a short time and then decided he’d go on a second tour, But got shot down on the third trip of his second tour, but he was lucky. He managed to bale out and he was a prisoner of war for about the last six months. But Harry, our wireless op, his previous job in life he was, worked in the Metropolitan Police, on the vice squad and he was absolutely obsessed on flying against the Germans on Bomber Command, absolutely [emphasis] obsessed. His one aim in life was successful bombing Germany and when we were tour expired and they say, sent out as instructors or rested and so on, and what they called screened as they said, screened from operations. He refused point blank he says, ‘No, I’m not going,’ he said, ‘I’m going to carry on.’ There’s a little bit of discussion with the commanding officer about it and the adjutant and so on, but anyway he got his way was posted on to a Special Duties squadron somewhere, and he carried on flying. He did seventy four ops in the end. And in the end he got shot down over Denmark I think, on one these special, highly secret operations on his seventy fourth. If you go back to Lincoln his name is on the, one of the what do they call it, the metal -
HB: The walls.
BL: The walls.
HB: wall 118.
BL: That’s what happened to all of us in the end. And as I say, the two gunners they survived, despite the fact they were amazed to find themselves on this resistance dropping and that sort of thing. So that was where we all finished up.
HB: So you ended up at Swinderby as the instructor on, you know, giving people experience on four engines.
BL: Yes. So, when I went to Swinderby I was instructing on Stirlings and Lancasters at the same time.
HB: Right. So how did you, how would you relate to the engineering side of the ground crew?
BL: Well, very closely indeed, in fact the whole crew did. I mean our ground crew was our survival in many respects and we respected them, we had a very good ground crew. They kept our aircraft serviceable against unprecedented odds at times. I mean there’s numerous occasions we’d come back with shrapnel holes down the fuselage and that sort of thing, and there was one occasion when there was, we had a near hit, this was Dusseldorf again funny enough, the intelligence people used to say well when the anti aircraft batteries are shooting at you, if you can’t hear on, if you can’t hear any noise you know you’re safe, but if you hear a bang you’ll know it’s very close. We heard this bloody great bang over Dusseldorf and that was very close and it finished up with Norm Minchin, the mid upper turret, with the perspex turret round his head, a piece of shrapnel came up and cut right through the back of the perspex and cut the back of his turret off, and he didn’t know it! Without touching him at all! It just cut through this Perspex and the back, and after we had left the target we were flying back home and he came on the intercom and said, ‘Christ it’s bloody cold up here, have you got some heating on?’ Didn’t even know it had happened! Of course when we got back to base not only that but there was a hole in the side of the aircraft you could damn near crawl through. So the maintenance people had a pretty big job, you know, to patch up all the holes on it. And that sort of thing, but the, yeah, the ground crew were very much part of the team, very important and we had a very good ground crew, very good.
HB: And when you got to Swinderby, you would, you would continue that relationship as you do in the training of the crews.
BL: Well not with the ground crew, not at Swinderby.
HB: Right.
BL: No, I mean we were, at Swinderby all we were concerned with was training the new crews coming through, and the ground crew was general ground crew, not to with, nothing to do with individual aircraft whereas on the squadron each aircraft had its own maintenance crew and its own flight crew and that was our particular aircraft which took us all the way through.
HB: Ah right, yeah.
BL: That finished up by the way, when we handed that over to another crew, actually I read historically in one of the books somewhere it was listed, I forget where the, I think it was the Bomber Command Diaries, every aircraft that was lost they gave indications where they were lost and where they were found and so on and our particular aircraft, the other crew that had it and it finished up in the Zuider Zee!
HB: Oh right.
BL: It was recovered eventually, by the Dutch people, who were, the Dutch people were doing the archive details and so on and there was actually some photographs of it being pulled out of the sea, they’re printed in the Daily Mail I think it was actually, so I couldn’t believe it when I saw this, when I saw the number on the side BF524, that was its serial number. WPNN and it was just being pulled out the water and you could just see the name, the number BF524 on the side of it. Couldn’t believe it. Recovered it and there’s a bloke, a very elderly gentleman, he’s a semi historian based at Alconbury and he’s very much a Stirling enthusiast and he’s got a workshop there full of all the bits and pieces of crashed Stirlings and so on and he works hand in glove with the, his counterparts in Holland and one of the major museums in Holland loan him parts of aircraft which he’s, he’s rebuilt a complete cockpit of a Stirling.
HB: Has he!
BL: At this. Yes, Andrew found this out and took me over there and we had a morning with him. I was intrigued and he’s got this bloody old shed there, old hangar I think it is, a small hangar, packed with all these bits and pieces of a Stirling and in the middle he’s got a cockpit he’s already built. And when we went over there he was sorting out an undercarriage and he was showing us that the Dutch archive people were loaning him stuff out of their museum which he photographed and copied and so on and sent it back to them. He said he had a very good rapport with them. Very interesting this guy. I can’t remember his name. Andrew knows it, but it was at Alconbury where he is based.
HB: Well I think, what we might do, Bob, is we might just have a break now because I’ve just gone to check the battery and we’ve now been talking for over an hour! So if we have a quick five minute break. I’m going to have to change the batteries anyway. So we’ll just stop the interview for the time being.
BL: Yeah. Okay, fine.
HB: Well we’ve had a comfort break and we’re just going to, we’ve had a battery change. So we’re just going to resume the interview -
BL: Oh these bloody things! I hate these!
HB: Just having a problem with a hearing aid battery at the moment. [Whistling]
BL: That’s better.
HB: So we should be go, on the run now. So we’re all settled now for our second part of our interview.
BL: Yes. What I was going to say was, when we were talking about the losses on the Stirlings, the turning point I think, was when it was decided, when Goebbels was boasting that the German fighters and defences were quite adequate against the RAF Bomber Command, he made statements saying that they’ll never touch Berlin or our second biggest city, Hamburg, they’re quite safe with our defences and so on, they’ll never touch them. And that was the challenge which Bomber Harris took up, and decided in conjunction with the naval people, who were very concerned because all these u-boats and subs were based at Hamburg and they were going out into the Atlantic to pick off the convoys and so on, and naval people said we’ve got to get rid of these u-boat pens at Hamburg. So Bomber Harris decided we’d obliterate Hamburg; it’s in July ’43. And at that time, as I was saying, particularly on the Stirlings, our losses were very high indeed and morale was very low and they introduced for the first time this metal foil thing called window. That was these patches of metal things which we discharged through the flare hatch at the back of the aircraft every twenty seconds I think it was, or every thirty seconds, something like that, and these packs, when they went out into the slipstream, developed into a big screen of metallic which completely killed the German radar defences and those, radar, the German defences were based, anti aircraft, were based on the radar picking up the aircraft or picking up the target with a blue, bright blue light, searchlight and once it picked you up, it then brought all the other normal searchlights into a cone and you were in the middle of it, and once you were coned like that, it was curtains it just picked you off then because they had you, and the whole secret of their success was this radar control and when we used this window for the first time it killed their radar. The result was, the first time it was used on Hamburg, it could have been used very early in 1943 but the politicians and defence people were so concerned they thought that if we use it early the Germans will follow this, copy it, and use it against us. So they were very reluctant, but it was only that when our losses got so high they had to introduce it. And our losses immediately on Hamburg dropped to one percent: fantastic! I we went to Hamburg, we did the four nights out of six: I did all four of ‘em. The fourth one was a disaster in that the first three were completely successful and I can remember it now, looking down, a whole wave of fire throughout, it just wiped this whole place out, just like that. The fourth night we went of course the met people again, they were predicting storms, but nothing like as severe as we found. The result was I think of, the storms were so bad, we were struck by lightning and St Elmo’s fire which is on the windscreen, and goes down the fuselage, all the compasses were knocked out and our radar and Gee box was knocked out. We hadn’t the faintest idea how we were, how to navigate back again and I think out of seven or eight hundred aircraft there’s only about twelve or fourteen actually reached the target. All the others had turned back because of the weather, and we were icing up very heavily and on the Stirlings the oil coolers were slung underneath the engines and you know what happens to diesel vehicles in cold weather, the fuel starts waxing and clogs up the carburettors, and the engines stop and that’s exactly what used to happen to us. These coolers which start icing in the middle, and what we call coring, and you had to keep hot air flow going through them in order to keep them serviceable. We suddenly found that we’d got two engines with, suffering from this icing and then there was chunks of ice coming off the wings, battering against the side of the fuselage like, dreadful we had to abandon short of the coast. We jettisoned our bombs into the sea and the only way we could navigate back to the UK was star navigation, and Cyril, our navigator, he was particularly good, he could take star shots with his, with his, my blinkin’ names, what my memory’s going.
HB: Sextant.
BL: Sextant, yes, with a sextant. And a combination of that and following the stars he managed to get us going back in the direction of the UK. When we finally hit the coast instead of being, coming over the coast over Essex or somewhere, we were in the north of Scotland, over the Hebrides and that’s where we came in and of course we immediately identified where we were and we were able to fly back down to, in fact we made an emergency landing ‘cause we were running a bit short of fuel, at Wattisham, in Suffolk. That was on the fourth trip, but the first three were so highly successful, we absolutely wiped the place out, and as I say the losses dropped right down to one percent because of using this window. The rise in morale then was just fantastic, you know after that. Of course sooner or later the Germans found that they could, they changed their system and they found that they could nullify this window by using different types of radar and so on, so it didn’t last, obviously, but we were able to use it for some months actually, and it was very good. We’re just having a new kitchen put in at the moment.
HB: Ah right. That explains the banging.
BL: And the other thing about the ops on the Stirling, in ’43 when our losses were so high, when you counted the number of ops you’re doing, the way it was calculated by Group headquarters, it was decided that because when they analysed the losses and how it was happening and so on, they came to a system of doing thirty ops in a tour and the total would depend entirely on the type of ops. For instance when 90 Squadron went to Tuddenham on Lancasters in the end of ’44, or half way through ’44, their main job - they did very, very little main force bombing – but ninety percent of the jobs of their work and I’ve got it all listed in my history book of 90 Squadron, was on either, was mainly on resistance work dropping resistance and equipment for low level intervention into Europe, dropping arms and equipment to the French and the Dutch resistance movements and so on, and consequently this was done individual very low level operations and the result was that the ops compared with ’43 were very easy and the losses were very low and consequently because, and the short ops as well, and because of this to count one trip as an op they had to do four trips to count as one on the tour, and consequently this system which was introduced before we finished, was that because of the severity of a lot of our ops on the Ruhr operation were so incredibly high losses and so very difficult that they allocated that some of the ops, because of their severity, would count, you had to do one op was counted as two on your tour, because of the severity of the operation and the high level of losses. So it wasn’t, it didn’t always follow that you did a straight forward thirty trips, you could have done say twenty five trips but they counted as thirty on your log book and the severity of the targets.
HB: Did you ever do mine-laying, gardening?
LB: Mining? Yes. Gardening as they called it. Yeah. We did two actually. One off Le Creusot and one other, I’ve forgotten what it was now. We did, our particular crew we only did two mining operations, those were, they were easy ones too.
HB: Yeah. So. You got to Swinderby. You’re doing the training there. How did you move forward from there? So that would be 1944.
BL: Well it was the end of, Christmas, yes Christmas time ’43 when I went to Swinderby, and most of ’44 and as I said earlier I was a fully qualified instructor on Lancs and Stirlings then and towards the end of ’44, I think it must have been round about September, October, something like that, some of the Lanc squadrons in 5 Group were having very heavy losses and the analysis of those losses, was in many cases put down to the fact that, to inexperience, training not sufficient for them, because they’d been rushed through very quickly because squadrons, with their losses, need quick replacements and so on. The result was that at East Kirkby 57 Squadron and 630 Squadron were both there at East Kirkby, and 57 particularly although they’d been engaged on very difficult targets their losses were astronomically high and a hell of a lot of them put down to pure inexperience. So myself and Dicky, we were both instructors at Swinderby, we were seconded to 57 Squadron for three months to set up a revised training unit there, which we did, to give the training, give the operational crews quite a bit more familiarisation and training and so on to try and cut these, some of these losses down. So I had that period there. And it was whilst I was at 57 and about to go back to Swinderby, ‘cause I was still on the strength at Swinderby despite the fact I’d been loaned to 57 at East Kirkby to do this training programme, 463 Squadron at Waddington, the Aussie squadron, had been suffering a few losses here and there, and the, one of the leaders of the squadron, the co-pilot and flight engineer leader there had been lost, so I was posted to 463 as his replacement and I was lucky to stay there until the end of the war.
HB: So that was back on to operations.
BL: So, yes, so I went back on to ops. Of course when I was at 463, because I was the boss of A flight, I was the leader, I didn’t have a crew, so I could only put myself on to do ops when there was a, somebody had gone sick or something you see, so I did them with any crew, and by extremely strange coincidence, I said to you about Essen earlier, my very first trip on my second tour here was a low level daylight on Essen. [Laugh] I couldn’t believe it! But I’ll tell you what, it was so bloody easy, it was so different to 1943. But, so I stayed there really, and at the end of the war as I said earlier, I went to Skellingthorpe, just outside Lincoln when Tiger Force was set up. I was posted on to Tiger Force.
HB: And Tiger Force was - ?
BL: That was the equivalent to 617 to go to Japan to do the [cough] vital targets into Japan, very similar to what 617 had been doing, because the adjacent to 617 Squadron was 9 Squadron. They were both based then at Woodhall Spa and Wing Commander Cheshire was the, was one of the commanding officers at 617 at that time, amongst others. But so when I went to 463 as I say, I was there till the end of the war then, and doing ops from there, and because I was the leader there the flight engineer leader on 463, I was posted to Skellingthorpe to join Tiger Force and I was promoted then at Tiger Force to be in charge of that particular section to go to Japan and we were half way through their training when the bomb was dropped of course and it all came to a halt then. Consequently I found myself in civil flying.
HB: Yeah. You did tell me before the interview started, you were, you were made an offer by the RAF before you -
BL: Yes, offered a, I was a substantive flight lieutenant then, and for a very short time I was an acting Squadron Leader but only for four weeks! [Laugh] Because it all ended then. But I was offered a extended seven year flying, extended flying committee, er, commission and given the choice. I didn’t know much about, well I didn’t know anything about civil flying. I didn’t even understand what BOAC meant until I got there.
HB: But you were originally offered Transport Command weren’t you.
BL: Yes.
HB: What was your view on that?
BL: But I turned that down. I turned that down flat. But there’s a very, there’s another, a very ironic twist that I’ll tell you about. So immediately because we were then seconded from the air force to BOAC we had to get civilian licences. We had to get civilian licences and then they decided what they were going to train us on, so we had to go through the basic theory and all that sort of stuff to get civilian licences and we were allocated I think it was about either fifty or a hundred block licence numbers in the very early days. Once we’d done type training on, at that time on Avros produced the very first post-war airliner called the Tudor and the first dozen Tudors were just being built and they were destined to go to BOAC to start up to date pressurised passenger aircraft. They were quite nice aircraft actually, very good. So since we’d just, we were the first people to be trained on the Tudors. So we did our training on the Tudors and when they were just about to start to take, BOAC to take delivery of the Tudors, for some reason there was a political change and instead of coming to BOAC, they went to British South [emphasis] American Airways, and at that time was run by the old 8 Group Pathfinder chief, Air Marshal Don Bennett, who was a real press on type. [Cough] Highly successful with Pathfinders of course and he was the boss at British South American. They’d previously been running some converted Lancasters into what they called Lancastrians before long distance flying in South America and so on, and they hadn’t got a particularly good record they’d lost three or four of them I think, for different reasons and so they took delivery of the Tudors. Tudor 1s these were, Mark 1s. And I did quite a bit of flying with the, on the Tudors on the South American routes, down to Bermuda, and the Caribbean and so on, and I was put in charge of training at BSA as well. And then, as things went on, we got as far as 1948 I think it was, ‘46’ 47’ ’48 I think it was, yes, ’47 ‘48. Suddenly the Berlin Airlift comes up, and from nowhere I suddenly found BSA, because of their Tudors, the air force was already in force on the Berlin Airlift using mainly Dakotas, the old C47s and they couldn’t cope with, couldn’t make it that economical to cope with the heavy loads that was necessary so they asked a lot of the civilian charter companies and so on, if they could provide crews and aircraft to come on to the Berlin airlift to increase the load factors, and British South American got one of the contracts to, with two Tudors, to go on the Berlin Airlift and I was one of them selected to go on the first one. So I found myself flying over to Wunstorf near Hannover where we were based, to fly on the Berlin Airlift these two Tudors between Wunstorf and Gatow, Berlin. And ironically, I think, when I think that three years before, when I did my last operational trip with 463, there we were still bombing and knocking hell out of ‘em; three years later, there I was at Wunstorf flying into Berlin to try and keep the so-and-so’s alive. Ironic really, they were three years the difference. Anyway, I stayed at Wunstorf for nearly a year, I think it was. I did nearly three hundred flights between Wunstorf and, there were only three of us on board.
HB: What sort of things were you taking in?
BL: Well when I first flew out there, we were taking huge packs of canned meat and stuff like spam and all that sort of stuff, corned beef, and all that, which was fairly easy to handle, in big cases and so on. And then the RAF were getting a bit uppity about what they were going to do and what they were carrying and bear in mind that the US air force was also on the operation with their C54s and Skymasters and so on, they were based at Schleswigland I think it is. I’ve got maps showing all the different air bases that we used over there but we always used Wunstorf and because we were larger aircraft, they decided that instead of carrying packs of food and so on, we suddenly found ourselves carrying coal, huge packs of coal, great big sealed bags of coal, about a hundredweight apiece. So we spent some months then, this coal at Berlin. Landing at Berlin was quite something. It was the ground force of people doing all the unloading and so on was predominantly very elderly German ladies, old grandmothers and mothers and so on, and it was sad to see them. They were dressed, whatever they could find to wear, and they used to come on board. They did all the work of loading and unloading, all the heavy work and they used to come on board to us carrying these lovely family heirlooms like Leica cameras and stuff like that to exchange. They were desperate for two things: cigarettes and coffee, and you could get anything for a couple of packs of coffee, in fact I got a lovely Leica camera in exchange for two bags of coffee at one stage. They used to come up, had it all laid out on the nav table there when they were unloading and they’d bring these heirlooms up and do deals with us. Anything we could, anything they wanted we could give it to them, you know. Children we gave cigret – we gave sweets and chocolate to the children. The children loved it. The Americans set up, at one stage, when they flew into Gatow, over the Frohnau beacon flying on to finals for landing, all the children used to sit round the lake underneath waving to the Americans going over and the Yanks were throwing out chocolate and sweets to them. At one stage they set up, got large handkerchiefs which they tied up sort of like a parachute, and tied these bags of sweets to them, were throwing them out and in dropping them out and the kids loved it. Absolutely fantastic.
HB: Amazing.
BL: But anyway, as I say, another aspect came up then, some time after been carrying the coal, which was a very dirty operation, dust and everything in the aircraft and they suddenly decided that what they wanted desperately in Berlin was medicinal, what do you call it? Two things they were short of, one was straight run gasoline and the other one was, oh dear me, some large amount of some sort of medicinal fluids. I’ve forgotten what they were now, what they were called. But these were in great big packs but the hospitals were desperate for them. So when it was decided that they’d fly the stuff in, it meant that the aircraft that were going to do this had to be modified with huge tanks in the back to carry it. And the air force said point blank they wouldn’t do it, they refused absolutely point blank to carry straight run gasoline in bloody great tanks down the back of the aircraft, they said its far too dangerous, so they refused point blank to do it. So the civilian contracts were asked to do it and we had then replaced our two Mark 1 Tudors with two Mark 5s which had been built and never been put into service but they were much larger and so our two Mark 5s were then equipped with these bloody great tanks for straight run gasoline and this medical stuff and so for the last few months we were flying that into Berlin.
BH: How did you feel about that?
BL: Oh dear me. Well it was just a bloody big laugh I thought, we thought. Bear in mind we’ve still got this enthusiasm from Bomber Command which we’d brought from the air force to the civilian and it was such a big change, you know, but to us it was more of a bloody big laugh than anything else. But anyway, we settled down to it and it was a good operation, it worked extremely well. When you are turning on to final approach into Gatow, Berlin, you came in over the lake on the outskirts of the city and the final beacon was at a place called Frohnau, Frohnau Beacon, you had to call over the beacon which was virtually the outer marker for final approach and the timing was so accurately it had to be done. The timing of aircraft over Frohnau was every twenty seconds between aircraft.
HB: Blimey.
BL: When you think there was a variety of aircraft, everything from small Bristol freighters to Dakotas and converted Lancs and Halifaxes and anything the charter people could lay their bloody hands on. They buy them for peanuts and take them out there to take part because the airlift they pay very big money and we were no exception with our Tudors and it’s an amazing operation really.
HB: So you went through the Berlin Airlift. Just one thing just I’m just quite curious about. You started off I think, on particular kinds of aircraft as a fitter.
BL: Yeah.
HB: What was, what was the system for re-training you when you went to different engines and different engine management systems?
BL: Well there were various training stations set up. I think the initial one for fitter 2Es, or 2As, that’s the difference between fitter rigger and fitter engines was at Kirkham, Lancashire and that was the number one training base, apart from Halton of course which is still there and still doing it today! And Halton of course was always the base of the so called Halton Brats as they call them. They go there as small, young apprentices and three year training straight away and they’re still doing that today. Yeah, they’re still churning out young lads from Halton.
HB: Right. So when you were working with the Stirling –
BL: Yeah.
HB: And then you go on Lancasters, obviously you’ve got Merlin engines, you’ve got Hercules engines, you’ve got all sorts, you’ve got air cooled, liquid cooled. You’ve got all these different engines.
BL: Yes.
HB: So was there an element of self training or was it all formalised?
BL: Well it was to us, to a point where we were fully trained and fully experienced with a lot of hours in on Stirlings when we went up to Swinderby, the 5 Group elite Group., but we hadn’t been trained on Lancs. So we had, it was virtually self-training on the Lancs there by virtue of working on them and flying on them and training every day. So that part of it, yes, was to a large extent I think we did, there were short courses laid on for us. I did one at Cosford for instance, and places like that, but generally speaking more than anything you were self taught, and as instructors you were expected to be experienced and knowledgeable on all the different aspects, so that was how it worked. But go back to the Berlin Airlift though, when that finished, I came back, by that time British South American, there was a lot of demands because they had a very poor safety record. We lost Star Tiger and we lost Star Ariel, both in the Caribbean. Those were Tudor 1s, from the first Tudors that we trained on. The first one was lost over the Bermuda Triangle as they call it, up at twenty thousand feet, no idea what happened to him; it just disappeared. And the second one was, had flown out of the Azores which at that time was a very difficult operation, flying over the south Atlantic from the Azores to South America and weather conditions and very poor nav and all rest of it was very prevalent round the Azores; very difficult route to operate.
HB: How many passengers did the Tudor 1 carry then?
BL: It varied, on whether, the Tudor 1s, I’ve just forgotten. I think up to about eighty or ninety passengers, something like that. The Tudor 5s were much larger but they didn’t actually go into passenger service after the Berlin Airlift. I don’t know what happened. They were scrapped I think, in the end. But anyway, as I say, because of the loss of the two Tudors and the BSA had lost quite a few Lancs so Don Bennett was criticised very heavily and finally he was forced to resign. So he was taken over by BSA who was then taken over by one of the old traditional north Atlantic BOAC captains, Gordon Storr his name, and it was Gordon Storr who I was with, on the, we were the first two Tudors at Wunstorf when the Airlift started and then shortly afterwards after Bennett had left, they decided BSA would be would up so what was left of it came back into, it came into BOAC. But that stage I was still being paid as a flight lieutenant substantive from the air force, seconded to BOAC so I was paid by BOAC who in turn seconded me to BSAA so I was paid by three companies, very interesting situation. But then of course, having come back to BOAC then, BOAC were operating Yorks and converted Halifaxes called Haltons, and, oh there was still a few Dakotas being used, but generally they were waiting for the next civil airliner which came from Handley Page called the Hermes and that was a very good aircraft. I liked the Hermes very much. Performance wise it hadn’t quite got good altitude performance as such, but it was a very easy aircraft to fly, very comfortable, it was designed specifically for the comfort of passengers and so on. And it was after then that the Comet 1 came in from De Havillands, the DH106, which was designed and built by DHs and was at least twenty years before its time. And then of course to us anyway, a huge attraction to get on the first jet aircraft into service. So in no time at all I was, I joined the Comet 1 fleet. We were flying, first of all flying down to Johannesburg and then it was extended to the Far East and out to even as far as Tokyo and Hong Kong and so on. Then of course you know the story that Xray Kilo blew up over Elba on its way between Rome and London. They were immediately grounded, no one could understand why it had, how it had happened. There was a huge inquiry and after ninety-odd modifications they decided that one of them must have been the reason so they put it back into service. And in no time at all they lost a second one which blew up over Naples Bay. That was flown by a South African crew who were on loan to BOAC. We’d also got French crews flying them, and it, so it was then decided that because two of them had blown up, they couldn’t leave them into service any longer. Unfortunately a third one went. The third one was out of Calcutta and that had just taken over from Calcutta and was flying through heavy cloud and they put that down to the fact that it flew into a cunim cloud and the stresses were so great the aircraft just broke up. So then they were grounded completely and when Farnborough rigged up the test rig there, and put a whole aircraft on this water test bed, and they found out exactly why it had happened. The general opinion from the public and in aviation generally was that the pressurisation caused the windows to blow out but that wasn’t true at all. The fault arose through bad engineering practice on the design of the hatches in the roof. The hatches which covered the radio communication, adf system and these two hatches were like that square like that. Engineering practice is that if you design something that’s a square and it’s put under pressure, you see that little crack there, where that join is -
HB: Showing me on the photograph frame.
BL: That little crack there.
HB: In the corner. [cough]
BL: If a crack occurs, it will always come from a corner, and find its way across and finally disintegrate and that’s precisely what happened to the Comet. It was bad engineering practice because if you round the corners those cracks wouldn’t occur. Simple [cough]. Again, in fairness to De Havillands, they produced some very fine fighter aircraft, put in their own engine, the Ghost 50 engine in them, Vampires and stuff like that but they had no experience ever of high altitude pressurised aircraft, and so they built them to what they considered would be strong enough and so on. But I’ve got a book upstairs which Andrew’s been reading, of the whole story, the whole official story of the enquiry and the way they found out all the reasons for it at Farnborough. The summing up at the end of it, when they said officially you know, that the initial fault was the adf hatches that disintegrated because of the bad engineering practice, how it was designed. The general feeling was that the aircraft was twenty years before its time but it simply wasn’t strong enough, because De Havillands, or anyone else for that matter, had experience enough to build them strong enough, when you think that at forty two thousand feet the pressurisation equivalent in the cabin was only eight thousand feet. That was the highest the cabin pressure was ever taken up to give passengers comfort without having to go on to oxygen. So the difference between eight thousand and forty two thousand across the structure of the aircraft was eight and a half pounds per square inch which is massive [emphasis] from the outside to the inside, and it has to be extremely strong, the sort of structure, in order to withstand these pressures. So you can imagine that it was not only not built strong enough, but of course the fault occurred on the hatches which caused it to blow up anyway. The first one that went, Xray Kilo, I had flown that on quite a number of occasions, got it in my log book in a number of places prior to it blowing up. I think previously I’d, we operated it from Tokyo to Hong Kong only the day before I think it was, before it blew up at Elba, but that aircraft had only done seventeen hundred hours. The second one that blew up over Naples had done just over two thousand hours and the one that disintegrated at Calcutta had done less than two thousand hours. They were all going at the, virtually the same time. That was another factor that the inquiry of course dug up, when they said that, Tom Butterworth I think it was, that because of lack of experience at DHs on high altitude stuff the aircraft simply wasn’t built strong enough. You’ve got to go back to Con Derry who was the chief test pilot at De Havillands a few years before when he was doing demonstrations at the Farnborough air show in a, I think it was a Vampire, he was doing very, very tight turns demonstrating and on one of those tight turns the bloody wings came off. He crashed into the crowd there and killed a few people, including himself. That was another example that under extreme stress conditions, that DHs aircraft wasn’t strong enough.
HB: Yes.
BL: So all those factors, you know. So result was that going back to the Comet days, I was involved very heavily with the whole Comet story because then it was decided that they’d have to, they’d build the new aircraft much stronger and up to date. The other thing was, by the way, that De Havillands had their own engines, the Ghost 50 which only produced five thousand pounds thrust, which was quite adequate for the fighters, but for a aircraft like the Comet 4 Ghost 50 engines, they insisted on putting their own engines in and all the experts said no, we needed Rolls Royce Merlin engines, or Avon engines they were, but they refused point blank, they said no, its our aircraft, we’ll put our own engines in and they simply weren’t strong enough. We couldn’t even do a safe level cruise at altitude, you had to do a five degree climb the whole time to get to top of descent, largely because by continuing to fly like that you’re reducing your fuel flow and consequently you had adequate fuel to start your descent. It was because of the consumption levels and the lack of real thrust on these DH engines, it was extremely [emphasis] critical on fuel, extremely [emphasis] critical. They devised this method of five degree climb. You had to fly, when you flight plan you fly backwards starting at top of descent instead of top of climb and things like that, you know. So anyway, when it was decided then they’d build the new Comet 4 much stronger and it would have Rolls Royce engines of much higher quality and it had Rolls Royce Conway engines. So, they’d, after the 1s, they built some Comet 2s, which were destined to go to the air force. But of course after the crashes they never even got airborne, never even delivered, they were just stuck there at Hatfield. So they decided that they’d have to carry out a two year test flying programme to make sure that everything that was being put into the Comet 4 had been well proved, correctly and properly using these two Mark 2s which were used as test beds. So they modified these two Mark 2s, strengthened them up and made sure they were adequate to do the work. They put the standard Conway engines on the inboards and then the new big 524 engines on the outboards which were destined to go into the new Comet 4. So they hadn’t got any crews to fly these at De Havilland, so they asked BOAC if BOAC could loan them I think it was six, was six crews to fly a two year test flying for De Havillands on these Comet 2s, 2Es as they called them. So I was one that went on to those, on to test flying. The first year we, every day we flew non-stop to Beirut from London and back, every day for a year. The aircraft hadn’t got a certificate of airworthiness, of course it was experimental, so there was only three of us allowed on board, no one, none of the boffins were allowed on so they got all the, all the usual test equipment and everything was loaded all the way down the fuselage and it was all fed up to the cockpit where we were and we used to have, they used to give us a list of things we had to check and write the results down, the results of this stuff as we flew, and we had to fly at thirty two thousand feet and record all this stuff for them which was really interesting. I loved it actually. It was a bloody good programme and extremely well paid as well! [Laugh]
HB: Right!
BL: So the first year we did London Beirut every day and the second year they decided we’d have to do the Arctic North Atlantic trials to make sure it was adequate for very low temperature conditions so then we started a programme going from London to Keflavik in Iceland and then across to Goose Bay and Gander in to the Maritimes and then back to London. So we did that for six months. That was a very interesting programme, I liked that part of it particularly. And then of course decided to try and get permission to fly into America. So the Americans were very keen on noise abatement and the Comet did make quite a bit of noise on take off of course, and so they said yes you can fly in to America but not land there, and not do take offs and landings. So then we had a period where we were flying out to different places around America using the new VOR navigation systems and so on, and then eventually politically we got permission to do landings over there and it was at that time then when a lot of the American airlines were looking very enviously at the jet Comet to replace traditional old fashioned piston engine aircraft and we did a series, we were doing a series of demonstration flights when, at the time when Pan American, the number one American outfit had just received, they’d just taken delivery of the first of the civilian Boeing 707s and they were pushing out a lot of typical American bullshit that they were going to be the very first pure jet passenger flight on the Atlantic, transatlantic ‘Fly American. Fly pure jet’, and all that, you know. Anyway, at the time we were down in Detroit doing some demonstration flights for United Airlines, they wanted to buy some of these Comets, so we were doing demonstration flights there. And it was there when we suddenly got a call to fly back to New York and, for some reason, and we found we got to New York we were going to do the first transatlantic flight the next day. We beat the Yanks by sixteen days! And when the Yanks had put all this, all the usual stuff in the papers, and they got the big banners out: ‘Fly Pan American the first jet flight across the Atlantic’ and so on. And after we beat them like that they had to change it all and where it said, ‘we are the first,’ they had to put in: ‘we are one of the first.’ They never bloody forgave us for it! Amazing story! [Laughter]
HB: Oh dear.
BL: But anyway, as I say I was very, very strongly involved in -
HB: How many people were on -
BL: - the whole Comet programme from start to finish.
HB: How many people were on that first trans-atlantic flight?
BL: I think we had about sixty, sixty passengers, something like that, yes. You’ve seen the menu of course.
HB: Yes, yes. Got a copy of the menu there [cough]
BL: We got back to London and it was a very historic occasion. They gave us immediate take off at New York and cleared all the flights from London to give us number one priority to land. BBC and everyone were all were there in force to welcome us, and it was headed by Eamon Andrews on BBC.
HB: Oh right. Yes.
BL: They got our wives there and so on waiting. There was two aircraft actually. We did the eastbound New York London and the other one went the other way, London New York and we crossed over at about twenty degrees west I think it was and acknowledged each other, but you know, two of them, one going one the other. And when we went through all the procedure at London old Eamon Andrews said, ‘We’ve got a coach here for you, we’re taking you up to,’ um to, I’ve forgot where the studios were now, I’ll think of it in a minute, ’taking you up to, see we want to put you on TV tonight.’ They’d decided to put us on that programme ‘What’s My Line?’ And old, the panel at that time dear old, oh my bloody memory’s going, bloke who was extremely well known on the BBC, was the chairman of the panel there. Anyway we went on TV and on this programme and all that sort of publicity and so on; it was really interesting. And then of course the following year I was picked to go to, one of the flight crew to go to Ottawa, Canada to pick up Duke of Edinburgh, Philip. We went in the Comet; he was very keen to fly in the Comet, so we went there to pick him up. He’d been there doing a series of talks and so on. The Queen was at Balmoral at the time so we were to pick him up at Ottawa and fly him back to Leuchars in Scotland, which is quite close to Balmoral, drop him off there. But anyway, we picked him up at Ottawa and we were just, hadn’t been airborne very long when a signal came through to say there’d, a big mining disaster had just occurred at Monckton in the Maritimes and would we divert to Monckton and so the Duke could just put in a quick royal visit, two hours royal visit to the disaster area. So we dropped him off at Monckton and then we flew down, further down to Gander and we waited at Gander for him to come, come back and then we brought him from Gander and flew him to Leuchars, dropped him off there. Oh it’s here somewhere I’ve got a picture of it. On board on the way back he was fascinated with the Comet 1, he loved to fly in the Comet, oh the Comet 4 I should say and on the way back he got a lot of individual special pictures of himself and he signed one each for us, and a handshake.
HB: Oh lovely.
BL: I thought she’d got it up here, it’s been on the wall here somewhere. She must have put it away. But it’s personally signed: Philip.
HB: Oh lovely.
BL: Which is, very has, carried a lot of weight, in the years to come. It’ll be worth a few bob I should think!
HB: So when did you actually stop flying Bob?
BL: Well, from then on, after the Comet programme, first BOAC decided to buy the Boeings so they ordered these new Boeing 707s from Boeing of course, from America and in January 1960 the first delivery of, or first Boeing 707 was ready for us to collect. And there was nobody trained on it or anything at that time of course, since we hadn’t got any Boeings. But in America the military version of the Boeing was the KC135 and they’d already built eight hundred of those, they’d all gone to the American air force and the American navy and so on. So having had that number built, all the bugs and problems had all been ironed out, needless to say, unlike so many of our aircraft you see. So it was a well [emphasis] tried and well proven aircraft before it even went into service. So in January ’60 I was, one of the, I was, been an instructor on Comets for some time I’d always been instructing quite a lot and so there’s four instructors, myself and three others were sent out to Seattle to get trained on the 707 and the first Boeing 707 to come off was number hundred and eleven off the line, the production line, so we were still quite a way behind other airlines. Anyway, when we got to Seattle we were trained by the Seattle test flight crew. At that time there’s no civilian aircraft, aerodromes rather, in the UK that could take the 707 except Heathrow and obviously you couldn’t use Heathrow for training but they could use it for service, not for training. Shannon hadn’t got a long enough runway at that time anyway, but they were building a new one. So there was nowhere in the UK where they could train us. So Boeings decided, got permission to use Tucson, Arizona. So Tex Johnson was there, er Tex, not Johnson, Tex Gannard, Tex Gannard was the Boeing Chief Test Pilot at that time and he decided that we’d, he’d take us down to Tucson and we’d set up a training base there and he would train us as instructors and so on, to stay on at Tucson to train the BOAC crews as they were sent out from the UK. So we stayed there to run the training unit [cough] and the crews had come from London, we trained them and they went back and then flew the aircraft in service. So we had a very nice six months so, Tucson and the trainer, super that was. But hard work. I’ll tell you what impressed me more than anything else when I went to Seattle, to Boeings: the difference between the British way of life in [coughing] workload, dedication and that sort of thing in the British aviation industry, was so different to that of the Americans. Soon found the Americans are far ahead of us in their dedication to the work they were doing. It was a bloody eye-opener, believe me. Hard work, but they knew how to do it and it was an absolute revelation to us. For instance when we were doing flight training unit details at London they’re usually about two and a half to three hours at the most, something like that, and then the time we went to Tucson the thing that surprised us was that the minimum flights times were five hours! [emphasis] Bloody long details, oh Christ, but that was typical of the Americans and the hard work they put in. They had three of the test pilots at Tucson with us and a fleet to train us and certify us as being fully trained instructors on Boeing aircraft. And I’ve got a certificate to say that.
HB: Yes. That’s grand.
BL: And anyway, BOAC then got a bit hot under the collar about the cost of running Tucson and all the British bases, so they got permission to use St Mawgan at St Athan, at Newquay. They got permission from the aircraft, from the air force for us to move from Tucson to Newquay and used St Mawgan for training from then on so I then moved, as I say, from Tucson to the Bristol Hotel in Newquay. And being a typical seaside resort, very popular, they didn’t want any weekend flying Saturdays and Sundays, there’s all sorts of objections from the local authority and so on, so it was a bit of a doddle down there.
HB: Good grief!
BL: So it was on the 707 where eventually that was my last flying for BOAC.
HB: I see. There’s a good few years in the air there Bob!
BL: Forty years.
HB: Can I just –
BL: The reason I retired in the end by the way, I was very close to retiring at that time, but I was on training at Shannon at the time on the Boeing fleet. We were doing our winter training at Shannon and one of the details we had to do was to demonstrate the capabilities of the aircraft at high, high speed characteristics of the 707. The normal cruising in the 707 was point eight one mach, but the “never exceed” was about point eight eight, which you should never exceed on a Boeing and we used to have to demonstrate though as you got somewhere near the point eight eight the flight control characteristics changed aerodynamically and you had to be aware of this to happen should you ever stray up there in flight. So we had to demonstrate this and we used to fly at forty odd thousand feet from Shannon across to five degree west in the Atlantic then back again doing these high speed runs and I was doing one of those with two students and we suddenly hit a bloody air pocket – bang! It threw us up in the air and down again, hit it really hard, couldn’t, didn’t even realise it was there just clear air turbulence, and I got thrown up on the ceiling and when I dropped down I dropped right across the arm of the co-pilot’s seat with my hip like that and it buggered up something in my hip and I couldn’t even walk off the aircraft carrying my briefcase. So I had to go sick straight away. I went through all the usual palavers of different Harley Street specialists and lord knows what and all they could tell you, ‘oh you’ve slipped a disc in your back,’ you know and all this. They threatened to send me off for a laminectomy operation, but the BOAC doctor at Heathrow who looked after the flight crews, he was ex-RAF and he was bloody good doctor, Doc civil and liked gossip here with the boys, and he really looked after us, one of us, you know.
HB: Very much so yes.
BL: He says, when finally I got to the end of my tether, I couldn’t clear this up, the bloody pain was there, could virtually, almost couldn’t walk and he says, ‘I tell you what,’ he said, ‘I’ll pull a few strings for you,’ he said, ‘you’re an ex RAF officer’ he says, ‘I’ll get you in to Hedley Court.’ So a couple of days later he says, ‘I’ve managed it, you’re going off to Hedley Court they’ll sort you out there.’ So I went off to Hedley Court which of course is very famous today because all these guys from Afghanistan are going in there for amputainees and that sort of thing you know, so I went into Hedley for three months. Within three days of being there they found out exactly what was wrong with me. What I’d done when I fell down like that over this arm, I’d stretched what they call the sacroiliac joint in my hip, it’d stretched it and bent it and that was the cause of all of the trouble.
HB: Good grief!
BL: And they found that after three days there! All these bloody Harley Street specialists I went to see kept telling me all I’d got was a bloody slipped disc. But the outcome was that I spent three months there and they cured it ninety nine percent. And when I finally got to, they wanted to discharge me I went to see the old Group Captain medical and he says, ‘Well,’ he says, ‘we’ve cleared it up for you,’ he says, ‘you’ll be all right,’ he says, ‘there might be the odd occasions when you get a recurrence but the only thing is,’ he says, ‘I’ll have to put a four hour restriction on your licence,’ and of course BOAC wouldn’t accept that because I was on a world wide contract so they said no we can’t accept that but you’re very close to retirement we’ll give you an immediate retirement on pension. So that’s really how I finished. But it didn’t end there.
HB: Oh right.
BL: Another little facet came. I’d been very interested in act, different aircraft accidents and accident investigation. I was on the accident committee for a few years before that, while I was still flying and somebody at BOAC obviously realised that I’d got experience on them and they said well we’ll keep you on but not in a flying capacity, would you like to become a CAA FIA flight accident investigator. I said yes, so they said right. So they sent me off to the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, to do the full official FIA accident inspector’s course so I had a couple of months over there, and did the course in the university and I qualified, graduated and got my little badge and everything, as an official accident investigator. So I came back to London and I went on two of the accidents actually, one of which was a Boeing which landed with a wing on fire at Heathrow after one of the engines had dropped off into the Staines reservoir. I’ve got a photograph of that landing, with the wing on fire, amongst this lot here somewhere.
HB: Good grief. Yeah.
BL: And anyway after that I found it was a bit boring and of course by that time I’d got a farm in Surrey and I’d got, we were milking a hundred and twenty five Jersey cows, and I’d got thirty thousand chickens, got five vans on the road delivering fresh eggs and cream around London and it was taking up so much time I thought well I haven’t got bloody time to go in so I finally decided I’d quit completely and carry on farming and that really was the end of it.
HB: Yeah, it does bring it to an end, doesn’t it really.
BL: So, quite a lot of various incidents in my career.
HB: Just a few, just a few. Just going back, I meant to actually ask you this ages ago. When you were on 463 Squadron -
BL: Yes.
HB: With the old, the Australians, that would be towards the end of ’45. Did you ever, when you were there on operations did you ever come across the German jet fighters?
BL: Er, no. Not, not the jets, no.
HB: No. All right.
BL: Incidentally, talking about that, of course, when Peenemunde came up, it just so happened, we didn’t, on the Stirlings by the way, the Stirlings from the squadron, I think we put about a dozen Stirlings up on the Peenemunde operation and we’d been briefed from weeks and weeks and weeks that something very special was coming up, no one knew what it was except it was something very special operation but it was tied in very closely to the right weather. It had to be absolutely perfect on weather forecast and of course it turned out it was Peenemunde. And it just so happened that when the Peenemunde trip came up we were on two weeks’ leave. So we missed it.
HB: Yeah. Right.
BL: But it was from then on of course we were very active on bombing these flying bomb sites in France and various parts of Europe. But we never came across any of the jet fighters at all. No definitely not.
HB: Right. Well I think. I think Bob, we’ve come to a natural sort of end, and I just thank you very much. Absolutely fascinating.
BL: Well I hope I haven’t bored you too much.
HB: Oh no! Well I haven’t gone to sleep! [Laughter] No absolutely fascinating, absolutely fascinating.
BL: I’ve been lucky really in a sense, that you know, had all these different variants, military and civilian, I’ve very lucky to be on you know, these special products, projects. Rather like the as I said, the two years I was test flying with De Havilland, that was really interesting.
HB: Yeah. I’m going to, one of the things I forgot to do at the beginning, I didn’t actually say at the beginning: it’s Wednesday the 12th of December 2018. I forgot about that at the beginning, I got a bit excited! So I’m going to terminate the interview Bob and get on with the paperwork. Thank you very much again.
BL: Yeah.
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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Interview with Bob Leedham
Creator
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Harry Bartlett
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2018-12-12
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Type
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Sound
Identifier
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ALeedhamHJL181212, PLeedhamHJL1801
Conforms To
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Pending review
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Format
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02:16:46 audio recording
Language
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eng
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Description
An account of the resource
Bob Leedham was a flight engineer who carried out twenty-one operations on Stirlings. At the outbreak of war Bob was an apprentice motor mechanic, and along with other apprentices, was left to operate the garage when all the engineers were called up. In 1940 he enlisted in the RAF and following initial training, Bob was selected for pilot training but did not achieve the requirement of flying solo within twelve hours. His engineering background meant he was posted to RAF St Athan and trained as a flight engineer. A posting to RAF Stradishall followed, and conversion to Stirling aircraft. Now part of a crew and posted to 90 Squadron at RAF Ridgewell, operational flying commenced. Bob suggests political interference restricted the performance of the aircraft resulting in a higher casualty rate amongst Stirling crews, and explains how the introduction of Window anti-radar equipment improved this. In Spring 1943 the squadron moved to RAF Wratting Common and in Autumn, converted to Lancasters. With more Lancasters coming into service, there was a lack of experience on four-engined aircraft, and some Stirling’s were deployed to RAF Swinderby for crew training. This move coincided with Bob obtaining his commission and he became an instructor on both Stirling and Lancasters. Late in 1944, Bob was back flying operations with 463 Squadron at RAF Waddington, where he was senior co-pilot/flight engineer. Following peace declaration in Europe, Bob joined Tiger Force in preparation for moving to Japan, but the war ended before this materialised. Bob began a post-war career in civil aviation, initially operating the Avro Tudor, and flying approximately three-hundred operations during the Berlin airlift. He also gives an account of the development of the DH 106 Comet and details the faults which resulted in the aircraft being grounded. While undertaking demonstrations in America, Bob was recalled to New York, where his crew discovered they were to operate the first civilian jet flight eastbound across the Atlantic. In 1960, Bob was one of four certified to instruct on the new generation of aircraft, the Boeing 707. An injury sustained from clear-air turbulence curtailed Bob’s flying career, and he progressed into the investigation of aircraft accidents.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Ian Whapplington
Anne-Marie Watson
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Azores
Canada
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
Netherlands
United States
Zimbabwe
Arizona--Tucson
England--Burton upon Trent
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Essex
England--Hampshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Suffolk
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Essen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Peenemünde
India--Kolkata
Italy--Elba
Mediterranean Sea--Bay of Naples
New Brunswick--Moncton
Ontario--Ottawa
Scotland--Leuchars
Wales--Glamorgan
Washington (State)--Seattle
England--Cornwall (County)
Arizona
Ontario
New Brunswick
India
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Staffordshire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940
1941
1943
1944
10 Squadron
463 Squadron
5 Group
57 Squadron
617 Squadron
86 Squadron
90 Squadron
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
C-47
flight engineer
Gneisenau
Halifax
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
lack of moral fibre
Lancaster
Pathfinders
pilot
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021)
radar
RAF Alconbury
RAF Halton
RAF Ridgewell
RAF St Athan
RAF St Mawgan
RAF Stradishall
RAF Swinderby
RAF Tuddenham
RAF Waddington
RAF Woodhall Spa
RAF Wratting Common
Scharnhorst
Stirling
Sunderland
Tiger force
training
Window
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/194/27236/BAdamsHGAdamsHGv3.1.pdf
b629d8156eacb9d34cd9571706ae198a
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Title
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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.
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IBCC Digital Archive
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2017-02-15
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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
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Transcription
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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
A name given to the resource
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
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
H G Adams
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Thirty page handwritten document
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BAdamsHGAdamsHGv3
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 Australian Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
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
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07-03
1942-08-20
1943-10-22
1943-12-22
1944-01-01
1943-10-26
1944-06-21
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
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/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
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 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/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/459/8211/MNorthGJ173836-160523-13.1.jpg
c65f4359be9d59309c6b69fa3e0cd017
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
North, Geoffrey John
North, G J
North, Johnny
Description
An account of the resource
31 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey John 'Johnny' North, DFC, (173836, Royal Air Force) who served as a rear gunner on 428, 76 and 35 Squadrons flying Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster. He was called up in 1940 from his job as a tailor in Saville Row where he returned after the war. He was shot down on an operation to Duisburg on 21 February 1945. The collection contains his logbook, an account of his shooting down, capture and time as a prisoner of war, including documentation, forced march to another camp in 1945, liberation and repatriation. The collection includes membership documents for Royal Air Force Association, Pathfinders Association and Caterpillar Club as well as personnel documentation, Pathfinder badge correspondence and photographs of crew and squadron as well as other memorabilia.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Carole Bishopp 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
2016-05-20
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
North, G
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.
4th December, 1944.
To: Flying Officer G.J.North (173836)
[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.
D C Bennett
Air Vice Marshall, 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
A name given to the resource
Geoffrey North award of path finder force badge
Description
An account of the resource
Letter from Headquarters Pathfinder Force to Flying Officer G J North that he has qualified for the award of the path finder Force badge. Notes that badge can only be worn while he remains in Pathfinder force. Signed by Donald Bennett.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-12-04
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
MNorthGJ173836-160523-13
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.
1944-12-04
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Andy Hamilton
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One-page typewritten letter
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Pathfinders
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/407/6865/LAnsellHT1893553v1.1.pdf
edfc366bd5e7a30081d45f021fab8420
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
Ansell, Henry
Henry Ansell
H T Ansell
Description
An account of the resource
28 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Henry Thomas Ansell, DFM (b. 1925, 1893553 Royal Air Force) and contains his logbook, his release book, a school report, two German language documents and several photographs, his medals and other items. Henry Ansell served as a flight engineer with 61 Squadron and 83 Squadron Pathfinders.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Vicki Ansell and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-07-30
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
Ansell, HT
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
Harry Thomas Ansell's flying log book for flight engineers
Description
An account of the resource
The log book covers the training and operational duties of Flight Engineer Sergeant Harry Thomas Ansell, from 14 April 1944 to 24 May 1945. He trained at RAF Torquay, RAF St Athan, RAF Stockport and was stationed at RAF Wigsley, RAF Syerston, RAF Skellingthorpe and RAF Coningsby. Aircraft flown in were Stirling and Lancaster. He flew 34 operations with 61 Squadron, 15 daylight and 19 night, and 18 night operations with 83 Squadron. Targets in Belgium, France, Germany and Norway were Limoges, Prouville, Vitry, Doullens, Chalindrey, Villeneuve-St-Georges, Caen, Revigny, Courtrai, Kiel, Donges, Saint-Cyr, Lyons, Stuttgart, Cahienes, Joigny-Laroche, Pas de Calais, Bois de Cassan, Saint-Leu-d'Esserent, Secqueville, Châtellerault, Bordeaux, Rüsselsheim, Königsberg, Rollencourt, Brest, Le Havre, Darmstadt, Boulogne, Bremerhaven, Rheydt, Munich, Heilbronn, Glessen, Politz, Merseberg, Brux, Karlsruhe, Ladbergen, Dresden, Rositz, Gravenhorst, Bohlen, Horten Fiord, Molbis and Lutskendorf. His pilot on operations was Flight Lieutenant Inness.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Norway
Great Britain
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Devon
England--Greater Manchester
England--Lancashire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Yorkshire
Wales--Vale of Glamorgan
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Belgium--Kortrijk
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Brest
France--Caen
France--Calais
France--Chalindrey
France--Châtellerault
France--Creil
France--Doullens
France--Joigny
France--Le Havre
France--Limoges
France--L'Isle-Adam
France--Paris
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Bremerhaven
Germany--Darmstadt
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Heilbronn
Germany--Hörstel
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Merseburg
Germany--Munich
Germany--Rheydt
Germany--Rüsselsheim
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wettin
Norway--Horten
Russia (Federation)--Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)
Germany--Böhlen
France--Lyon
Russia (Federation)
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
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.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LAnsellHT1893553v1
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
1945
1944-06-19
1944-06-20
1944-06-23
1944-06-24
1944-06-25
1944-06-27
1944-06-28
1944-06-29
1944-07-12
1944-07-13
1944-07-14
1944-07-15
1944-07-18
1944-07-19
1944-07-20
1944-07-21
1944-07-23
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-07-26
1944-07-27
1944-07-28
1944-07-29
1944-07-30
1944-07-31
1944-08-01
1944-08-02
1944-08-05
1944-08-07
1944-08-08
1944-08-09
1944-08-10
1944-08-11
1944-08-12
1944-08-13
1944-08-14
1944-08-26
1944-08-27
1944-08-31
1944-09-05
1944-09-10
1944-09-11
1944-09-12
1944-09-13
1944-09-14
1944-09-18
1944-09-19
1944-09-20
1944-11-26
1944-11-27
1944-12-04
1944-12-06
1944-12-10
1944-12-21
1944-12-22
1945-01-13
1945-01-14
1945-01-15
1945-01-16
1945-01-17
1945-02-02
1945-02-03
1945-02-06
1945-02-07
1945-02-08
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-15
1945-02-20
1945-02-21
1945-02-23
1945-02-24
1945-03-20
1945-03-21
1945-04-07
1945-02-08
1945-02-09
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
1945
1654 HCU
61 Squadron
83 Squadron
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
bombing of the Pas de Calais V-1 sites (24/25 June 1944)
Distinguished Flying Medal
flight engineer
George VI, King of Great Britain (1895-1952)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Initial Training Wing
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Pathfinders
RAF Coningsby
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF St Athan
RAF Stockport
RAF Syerston
RAF Torquay
RAF Wigsley
Stirling
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/694/22465/MBarrettR1863228-170515-09.2.pdf
5c2f4f2a508deba42d92d8dcc3b5e2df
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
Barrett, Raymond
R Barrett
Description
An account of the resource
30 items. An oral history interview with Leading Aircraftsman Raymond Barrett (1924 -2017, 1863228 Royal Air Force) a memoir, diary, documents and photographs. He served as an engine mechanic in North Africa, Italy and India.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Raymond Barrett and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
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
2017-05-15
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
Barrett, R
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
ROYAL AIR FORCE JOURNAL
Final Number
[Page Break]
Contents
Page
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF – 145
EDITORIAL – 146
THIS MONTH’S JOURNAL – 146
NEWS FROM AIR MINISTRY – 147
SLIPSTREAM – 151
THE “JOURNAL” CLOSES DOWN By Squadron Leader David Langdon – 152
OFFICERS’ NEW PAY CODE AT A GLANCE – 154
I WAS AN EVADER – 155
“SLIPSTREAM” A Royal Air Force Anthology – 159
WANT A JOB? By L.A.C. R. Williams – 160
SO LONG, JOE! By Squadron Leader R.B. Raymond – 162
RELEASE PROBE – 7 – 164
W.A.A.F SPORTS NEWS – 167
THE GOLDEN EAGLE By Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Ames D.F.C. and Bar – 168
A WAAF IN SOVIET RUSSIA By Section Officer J.E. Thomas – 171
PRIZE WINNERS – 173
REPORT FROM GERMANY By Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Lewis – 174
NAAFI NEWS – 176
OUR MESS By Flight Sergeant L.J. Evans – 177
THE HALIFAX – 179
TRADE LIST FOR REMUSTERING - page iii cover
The cover design and the drawings on pages 151, 160, 162, 163 and 176 are by Squadron Leader David Langdon. The drawing on pages 156 and 158 are by LAC H. Seabright and that on page 177 by LAC L. Abrahams. The photographs on pages 168, 170 and 179 are Air Ministry official photographs.
Although the [Italics]Royal Air Force Journal [/Italics] closes down with the present number, contributions should still be submitted to The Editor, P.9, Air Ministry Adastral House, Kingsway, for publication in a new R.A.F magazine. Articles, and stories of from 1500-2000 words, and cartoons and drawings, all with a Service angle, are welcomed. The Prize Competition will be continued each month as usual.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
The information given in the [Italics] Royal Air Force Journal [/Italics] is not to be communicated, either directly or indirectly, to the Press or to any person not holding an official position in His Majesty’s Service.
The circulation of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] is limited. Please do not put this copy in your pocket, but leave it for the use of other readers.
[Page Break]
[crest]
ROYAL AIR FORCE JOURNAL
MAY, 1946 VOLUME 4 NUMBER 5
A Message from the Chief of the Air Staff
As a regular reader of the [Italics] Royal Air Force Journal [/Italics] since its inception in September, 1939, as the [Italics] Air Ministry Weekly Bulletin, [/italics], I am sorry to have to write this note for its closing number.
The [Italics] Journal [/Italics] has always be regarded as the Service’s own magazine, and the bulk of its contents were contributed by all ranks from all parts of the world. It was this communal effort that helped to give the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] its character and enhanced its reading value. It has done a good job.
It is planned to replace the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] with another R.A.F. magazine to be run on similar lines. I hope the Service will give the same support to this new magazine as they gave to the [Italics] Journal [/Italics], so that it may prove a worthy successor.
[Signature]
[Italics] Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Chief of the Air Staff [Italics]
145
[Page Break]
Editorial
Last Words
THIS final Editorial serves the dual purpose of taking leave of readers of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] and inviting them to become readers of the new Service publication which will take the place of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics]. The reason for the closing down of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] are not secret. It was primarily a war-time effort and those who were responsible for its style and character have left, or are in process of leaving the Service on release. Rather than carry on with an imitation of the original it has been thought advisable to change the name and format of the magazine, and adapt it more to suit the needs of the post-war Service.
Elsewhere in this issue we go into the farewell business pretty thoroughly, even to the extent of including a potted history of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] from its infancy up to this final issue. We have sub-titled this ‘powerful piece’ “Editorial Swansong” so that little should be added to it here, apart from reiterating thanks to our many contributors, past and present, who helped to keep the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] going by supplying a steady stream of contributions.
The aim of the new magazine will be the same as that of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics]. It will continue to be run by the Service for the Service and will remain the Service’s own magazine, giving news and information about what is happening in the Service and letting you know what the other man is doing. Hence the responsibility for its success will be enlarge measure continue to remain a collective one. Certain features which ran regularly in the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] will be carried over to the new magazine as having proved their interest value. But articles, stories, cartoons, serious drawings and photographs, or with a Service angle, will be more than ever in demand from contributors, especially as so many of our regular contributors and artists are being released from the Service.
Suggestions of a constructive sort will also be welcome, as the launching of a new magazine is an opportune time to incorporate new ideas.
The success of the new magazine will depend on the continuance of the excellent reader-contributor relationship which was fostered during the lifetime of the [Italics] Royal Air Force Journal [/Italics] and help to maintain its standard to the end.
This Month's Journal
OUR EDITORIAL and NEWS FROM AIR MINISTRY features, familiar to readers over a period of several years, will be carried over into the new Service magazine. [symbol] THE “JOURNAL “CLOSES DOWN is an article by the retiring Editor. Its title, and its sub-title “Editorial Swansong” aptly describe its content. [Symbol] SLIPSTREAM appears in this issue for the last time and is written all in one piece for that reason. It is hoped to replace SLIPSTEAM with a page of humour which will be contributed by readers. Short paragraphs describing humorous incidents in Service life and Service jokes which are neither corny nor risqué are welcomed. So, too, are comic drawings with a R.A.F angle. [Symbol] I WAS AN EVADER is a thrilling story of an R.A.F officer who evaded capture by the Germans after baling out over the Ruhr. Air Vice-Marshal Sir B.E. Embry, Chairman of the R.A.F. Escaping Society, introduces it with a forward [symbol] LAC R. Williams gives an account in WANT A JOB? of how to go about getting a job as a teacher, even if you have had little previous preparation for this sort of career. [symbol] In SO LONG JOE! a previous Editor of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics], Squadron Leader R.B. Raymond, writes a farewell tribute to our strip cartoon character. Joe has tried to entertain readers each month for the past three years in the very limited confine of a four-by-two space at the foot of a page. There is no Joe strip cartoon this month for, but
146
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ROYAL AIR FORCE JOURNAL
he will be found rather prolifically elsewhere, on our cover, for example, and on pages 160, 162, 163 and 176 [Symbol] Our PARLIMENTARYT COMMENTARTY is another regular feature which will be carried over to the new magazine with the aim of keeping readers informed of questions and answers in Parliament on Service matters. [Symbol] In THE GOLDEN EAGLE Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Ames D.F.C and Bar, describes the work of the Pathfinder Force in war and the Pathfinders’ Club in peace. [symbol] An interesting account of Russian servicewomen is given in A WAAF IN SOVIET RUSSIA by Section Officer J.E Thomas, who was selected as a WAAF delegate on the British Youth Delegation which recently toured the Soviet. [symbol] Flight Sergeant L.J. Evans writes nostalgically from Civvy Street of OUR MESS and leaves one wandering whether there is still a lot of truth in the saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder – of places as well as persons. [Symbol] This month our roving reporter Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Lewis went back to Germany after an absence of six months and records his impressions in REPORT FROM GERMANY. [symbol] Our British Aircraft series features the famous HALIFAX. This series, too, will be continued in the new magazine.
NEWS FROM AIR MINISTRY
Redundant Aircrew
THE position of redundant air crew who wish to undertake further service as tradesmen in the R.A.F. is clarified in A.M.O. A.240/46. This states the aircrew with a basic trade who were N.C.O.s or L.A.C.s before their service as aircrew will assume in their trade the temporary rank or classification they would have attained under normal promotion procedure, while those who were A.C.2s or A.C.1s will be trade-tested immediately on remastering to their trade. If they reach L.A.C. standard, the date of reaching that classification will be taken as the date on which they entered aircrew training, and their temporary rank or classification will be determined accordingly.
Those who do not reach L.A.C. standard will be given every facility to do so within six months, and if successful will be granted a similar antedate of seniority and the appropriate rank.
Aircrew who have no basic trade will, after trade training be given the opportunity to reach L.A.C standard within six months, or within six months of acceptance for enlistment under A.M.O. A.605/44 whichever is later; and will also be granted a similar antedate of seniority and the appropriate rank.
The Order also states that these airmen are eligible for the grant of substantive rank in their ground trade as specified in Newpayforms 4 and 5, and that they will retain the special conditions of service at present enjoyed by redundant aircrew, so long as they fulfil the terms on which they are granted and so long as these conditions remain in operation.
Release Medicals: A Warning
CASES have come to light of personal withholding from Medical Officers details of their medical history when the time comes for them to attend for their release medical examination.
This may be due to an understandable desire to avoid possible delay in being released, or an unwillingness to be told that they are suffering from some complaint, and should and are in need of treatment.
Should you fall ill while on release leave, and have to be admitted to hospital, your leave cannot be extended because of this.
It is therefore in your own interest to disclose to the examining M.O. details regarding your health, and to receive any treatment which may be necessary at the earliest opportunity.
It should not be taken for granted that a medical examination will automatically disclose a malady; M.O.s rely to a great extent upon what you are able to tell them in their assessment of the condition of your health.
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ROYAL AIR FORCE JOURNAL
The R.A.F Escaping Society
THE R.A.F, Escaping Society (mentioned in the foreward to the story “I Was An Evader” on page 155) is in process of formation at the present time.
The aim of the Society is to foster the many friendships formed between successful escapers and evaders from former German-occupied territories, and the gallant people of those countries, who, often grave personal risk, helped them to return to this country.
The idea for such as Society was first proposed by the former Chief of the Air Staff, Marshall of the R.A.F Lord Portal of Hungerford, G.B.E., O.M., D.S.O., M.C., who is President of the Society. The Chairman is Air Vice-Marshal Sir Basil E. Embry, K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O., D.F.C., A.F.C., himself a successful escaper.
Membership is open to all members and ex-members of the R.A.F., Dominions Air Forces and Allied Air Forces who served within their framework of the R.A.F. but for the time being it is limited to those who got away from Western Europe. Later on it is hoped to extend membership to include those who returned from Denmark, Norway, and Italy.
Although all known escapers and evaders from Western Europe have been circularized by the Society, there may be some who have not received a communication. All those who are interested in membership should write to the Secretary, R.A.F.E.S., c/o D.P.S., Air Ministry, Room 475, Adastral House, Kingsway, London, W.C.2.
The amount of the annual subscription is left to the discretion of each individual, but the equivalent to one day's pay is suggested on a basis.
A R.A.F Memorial Album
A FEW months ago the [italics] Journal [/italics] received a letter from France, from a young French girl, an admirer of the R.A.F. She explained how all during the German occupation and afterwards she had gathered cuttings about the R.A.F. from the newspapers, listened to stories of the exploits of our Squadrons on the B.B.C., and set it all down in an album.
We were able to complete the album for this French girl by sending her photographs of her special heroes: F/O “Cobber” Kain, G/Capt. Bader, W/Cdr. Guy Gibson, W/Cdr. “Paddy” Finucane, and others.
A few days ago the album arrived for us to look at. The paper is not of fine quality, for there was none in France during the occupation; what is set down in the album is written by hand and because it was begun in 1939 the ink is beginning to fade.
The great thing is that this record of R.A.F. fighter exploits, bomber operations, and evasions after parachute landings in France, will not fade with the ink. In the mind of this French girl, it will remain. Many millions of people in Europe hold in high esteem the work of the R.A.F. If we wanted any further proof of it, this album gives it.
R.A.F. Unit Garden Competition
THE R.A.F. Unit Annual Garden Competition is being repeated this year with a special sense of urgency. The Unit making the best effort to be self-sufficient in vegetable produce throughout the year will be awarded the annual trophy.
Air Ministry horticultural experts will make a selection of the best gardens, and the final judging will be carried out during the first three weeks of August by officials of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Technical efficiency, food production plans and the amount of effort made by Station personnel are some of the factors which points will be awarded in this Competition. Further details about it may be found in A.M.O. N.220/46.
Storage of Mess Trophies
RESPONSIBILLITY for storage and safe custody of mess plate, trophies, picture, etc., belonging to messes, institutes, squadrons and other units, which may close down or be transferred overseas has been transferred from No. 220 Maintenance Unit to No. 14 Maintenance Unit, states A.M.O. A.102/46.
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ROYAL AIR FORCE JOURNAL
WAAF for Fire Force
W.A.A.F. personnel whose release groups have appeared in an advanced promulgation are invited to apply for vacancies which exist in the administrative and operational branches of the National Fire Service.
Administrative vacancies are for uniformed or civilian personnel as shorthand typists, accountants, bookkeepers, storekeepers and clerks. A limited number of senior appointments will be open to women qualified to take charge of administrative sections.
In the operational branch uniformed personnel are required as switchboard operators, wireless operators and telephonists.
Uniform for those required to wear it (it need be worn only when on duty) is issued free. Applicants are offered employment for a year, with the prospect of an extension of service.
Rates of pay vary from a minimum of 62s 6d per week for firewomen to £450 p.a. in the officer class. (Further details in A.M.O. A.245/46).
University Exhibitions
THE Grocers’ Company is re-establishing the award of its Exhibition for the Universities at Oxford and Cambridge, and extends an invitation to all Service Personnel who intend resuming their University studies upon their release to apply for the Grants offered.
The Exhibitions are for £100 per annum and are to aid those with inadequate private means who are considered suitable for University education.
Candidates who hold Exhibitions or scholarships from the State, Local Educational Authorities or other City Companies are not eligible for the Grocers’ Company’s Grants.
Full details of the scheme are and application forms are obtained from the Clerk to the Grocers’ Company, Grocers’ Hall, Princes Street, London, E.C.2.
Aircraft Apprentices’ Exam.
THE qualifying examination for the September, 1946, entry of aircraft apprentices will be held at local centres in the U.K. and Northern Ireland on June 25th, 1946. Sons of personnel who are serving, or who have served in the R.A.F. (including the R.A.F.O.) and the W.A.A.F. are permitted to sit for the examination as “Service” candidates and will be required to reach qualifying standard only.
Personnel still serving who wish to enter their sons for the qualifying examination should apply for a Service candidature through their C.O.s. In addition a nomination is required. The scheme is explained fully in Air Ministry pamphlet 15, and A.M.O. N.265/46 provides information relating to this particular entry.
Books and Articles by Serving Personnel
WRITERS of books, articles, broadcast scripts, essays and lectures on the [italics] Service [/italics] topics should note that in future these must be submitted for approval, to an Air Ministry Branch known as S.D.5, before being offered for publication. The Branch previously responsible for giving approval for matter intended for publication was P.R.4, and personnel will avoid considerable delay by making a careful note of this change.
It should also be noted that only material dealing with Service matters need be submitted for official approval. MSS, should [italics]not [/italics] be submitted direct by the author, but through the “usual channels” – i.e through your C.O. They must be submitted in duplicate.
The postal address of S.D.5 is Air Ministry, 29, Queen Anne’s Gate, London, S.W.1.
Navigation Refresher Course
A REFRESHER course has been instituted at the Empire Air Navigation School for those offices entitled to the specialist symbol “N” who may not have been employed on navigation duties for several years and are now unfamiliar with modern technique and equipment. In future any officer not employed on navigation duties for five years or more who does not take this refresher course will forfeit his right to the symbol “N.”
Application for the course should be made direct to Air Ministry (D.D.T. Nav.)
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ROYAL AIR FORCE JOURNAL
Travel to Eire
PERSONNEL proceeding on leave to Eire are warned in A.M.O. A.246/46 that permission to embark will be refused if they arrive in Holyhead wearing uniform. It should also be noted that there is only one sailing daily (Sundays excepted) from Holyhead, and all travellers to Eire should arrange their departure from units to enable them to connect with the Irish mail train which leaves Euston at 08.15 hours.
There is no sleeping accommodation available at Holyhead for those who arrive too late to catch the boat, which sails at 15.30 hours.
Hostels and Clubs in London
THE Sussex Square Club and Hotel, 8 Sussex Square, London, W.2 has been opened for male other ranks. There is sleeping accommodation for 500, and the cost of bed, bath and breakfast is 1s. 9d.
The Y.M.C.A has opened a new hostel for women officers at David Mews, Portman Mansions, London, W.1. The charge for bed and breakfast is 6s.
The following hostels have been closed: Marylebone Service Club, 191, Marylebone Road, London, W.1; The Gordon Services Club, 126, Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, S.W.1; Victoria League Club, Hopkinson House, 88, Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, S.W.1, and the Victoria League Dominion Officers Club, 4 & 5, Bramham Gardens, London, S.W.5.
Civil Aviation Vacancies
THERE are vacancies in Civil Aviation ford D/F Radio Operators (male) and women Teleprinter Operators who are about to be released.
Applicants from the R.A.F. should have had experience in D/F and maintenance work, and preferably possess the Postmaster-General’s Marine or Civil Aviation Radio Operator’s certificate. They should not be over 40, and must be willing to serve at any civil airport in the United Kingdom.
Qualified Women Teleprinter Operators are wanted at Northolt, Heathrow, Prestwick, and other civil airports, but unqualified applicants will also be considered. Any members of the W.A.A.F. about to be released and who are interested in this type of work are recommended to read A.M.O. A.204/46 which gives details of pay etc.
Applications for both these jobs should be made in writing to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (Establishments Division), 10, Fleet Street, London, E.C.4.
85 Squadron Club
A CLUB has been formed with the object of keeping alive the spirit of 85 squadron and renewing friendships made during the war.
Membership is open to all officers who have served or have had close association with the Squadron, and to N.C.O. air crew.
It is intended to compile a register for circulation and to hold frequent reunions and an annual dinner.
Applicants for membership should include dates of service with the Squadron, names of applicant’s pilots or navigator, and permanent address. They should be sent to the Secretary, H.M. Bradshaw-Jones, Esq., 33, Bedford Street, London, W.C.2.
11 Group Re-union
ARRANGEMENTS are being made to form an association of all offices who have served on the Headquarters Staff of Number 11 (Fighter) Group. It is intended to hold a dinner at an early date, and all offices interested should communicate with F/Lt. P. Houston, 113, George Borrow Road, Norwich.
254 Squadron Re-union
IT is proposed to hold a re-union dinner for former members of No. 254 Squadron, and all who wish to attend should communicate with Flight Lieutenant A.C. Beevor, 24, Crows Road, Epping, Essex.
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FINAL EDITION
SLIPSTREAM
[Italics]Call us Mister, Sister [/Italics]
THIS is our forty-second and last [Italics] Slipstream. [/Italics] We say “we” and we say “our,” but in reality the use of the plural was and is an editorial affection. Hence any blame attaching to the so-called humorous paragraphs printed for three-and-a-half years on this page attaches to the present writer, and not to a group of writers.
We first brought the idea of [Italics] Slipstream [/Italics] with the then Editor in November, 1942. We gave it a big build-up. We blue-printed it as a [Italics] pot -pourri [/Italics] of comment and opinion on Service life and manners, with a thin but bright thread of humour running through it, like a glistening seam in a coalmine. Mixing our metaphors, we also said it was to be a collection of random thoughts and ideas blown on the wind, from which mental picture we derived to the name [Italics] Slipstream [/Italics].
The then Editor hummed and hawed and eventually said okay but how are you going to fill a page, and not only one page but one page every month. We said we thought somehow we could, and we felt a cold clammy clutch at our hearts as we said so, because even then we had a vague idea what such a commitment would entail.
We were country-bumpkins in those days. Newly-arrived from octane-scented atmosphere of Station life and full of inspiration, we got out our first [Italics] Slipstream [/Italics] in the next to no time. Ideas crowded in one upon the other, and we had only to close one eye to relive the Station life we had just abandoned for the cloistered precincts of Air Ministry. As the months flew by we found we had to pack our grips occasionally and go out into the blue to see what was cooking, and breathe again the free air of the airfield and the mess.
From the beginning we made it a practice never to solicit ideas from readers and this decision, made in the first flesh of confidence, we occasionally regretted afterwards, because our readers took the hint and never bothered to send in any ideas. Soon the ninety-nine per cent, inspiration and the one per cent, perspiration changed in values and we found ourselves more perspiring than inspired. But we plodded gamely on, encouraged by the other people here on the staff saying they wondered how we did it month after month. We ourselves wondered about this probably more than anyone else, heaving a sigh of relief when we sent one month’s [Italics] Slipstream [/Italics] off to the printers and wondering how on earth we were going to write the next.
Well now we've had all that, and we're not sure – unpredictable and perverse creatures that we are – we're not sure whether we're happy or not. The burden that we feel lifted from our minds has been replaced with a dead weight of regret for the passing of [Italics] Slipstream [/Italics] and of the mental exercise which sharpened our wits. But one thing we are sure about – we’re going to grab our blue-grey felt hat and spend our fifty-six days in a deserted seaside village, lying on the beach and tossing pebbles aimlessly into the sea. D.L.
[Cartoon]
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EDITORIAL SWANSONG
The “Journal Closes Down”
By SQUADRON LEADER DAVID LANGDON
THIS is the last issue of the [Italics] Royal Air Force Journal [/Italics] in its present form. Judging by the many letters we have received from readers during the five-and-a-half years of publication in its various formats, we gather that the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] was a good thing. From there it is but a short step to saying that all good things come to an end some time, and in the case of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] that time is now.
It may be said that the growth of a magazine from its modest beginnings is often of little more than mild interest to those we have had no closer association with it than as readers. But I feel that the history of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] is worth recording in this final issue, even if only for the reason that if we do not record it, no one else will. Also, this final issue provides an opportunity of revealing the personalities and the purpose behind what is being for so long the incognito organization which has been responsible for the publication of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics].
The Old “Bulletin”
The [Italics] Journal [/Italics] traces its origin from an [Italics] Air Ministry Weekly Bulletin [/Italics] which was produced for the Director of Intelligence at Air Ministry by Squadron Leader Hector Bolitho, the biographer and novelist. The [Italics] Bulletin [/Italics] printed its first number in September, 1939. It was an unpretentious affair of a few mimeographed sheets, and its purpose was to provide information about the Service and the war generally which was not available to the Service reader in the daily press.
The [Italics] Bulletin [/Italics] was a one-man job, and it came out every week for fifteen months. At the end of this period it was felt that in spite of its limitations it warranted a better type of publication, especially as the information it disseminated was useful and well-presented. So the pocket-sized, blue covered, letterpress [Italics] Royal Air Force Weekly Bulletin [/Italics] made its appearance, and the responsibility for its publication was transferred from the Director of Intelligence to the Director of Personal Services.
Only about 3,500 copies would distributed throughout the Service, but in spite of this small circulation the [Italics] Bulletin [/Italics] slowly built up a sum of good will among contributors for which we were grateful in later years. The Editor managed to secure contributions, without fee, from a number of officers and airmen, and these were judged to be of such excellent standard that in November, 1941, the Editor, was again encouraged to extend the scope of his publication still further.
The Old “Journal”
A new format double the size of the [Italics] Bulletin [/Italics] was designed, more photographs and line blocks were introduced, and the title change to the [Italics] Royal Air Force Journal [/Italics]. It had a plain, grey cover and the title-lettering was specially hand-designed, this design remaining unaltered until this final issue. The [Italics] Journal [/Italics] went to press every fortnight instead of weekly, and the number of copies was increased to 7,000.
Although this number was inadequate as the Service was expanding rapidly week by week, more copies did filter into Stations, and contributions flowed in steadily to the editor. It was not long before a number of professional writers began to send articles to the [italics] Journal [/italics] without asking a fee. Such writers as George Bernard Shaw, H. E. Bates, J.B. Priestly, Terrence Rattigan, Frank Tilsley, John Pudney, Nigel Tangye, and “James Hadley Chase” (S/Ldr. R.B Raymond who was to become Assistant Editor and subsequently Editor), all at one time or other were willing contributors. But the bulk of the material published came from hitherto unknown writers, Service men and women, some writing for publication for the first time, and it was with the regular support of these contributors that the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] managed to keep up its standard.
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The New “Journal”
It became obvious as issue after issue of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] appeared that it was fast becoming an important medium for putting over Service news and information in an interesting way. As well as recording the work of all trades and branches and thus keeping the tradesman informed of what other man was doing, it constituted an important link between Air Ministry and Commands, Groups and Units.
The stage was set to aim at a still wider circulation, but before this could be done it was thought advisable to sound Service opinion in order to see how far the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] could be still further improved and popularized. A survey was therefore made in 1942, and besides confirming the obvious recommendation that the printing figure of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] should be increased, there was a general demand for it to be presented in a much lighter form. The feeling was that it should look and read more like a popular magazine then the rather erudite [Italics] Journal [/Italics] of that day.
It was obvious that the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] would have to change its make-up. The existing Editor having performed his tour of duty and taken up other duties in the Service, the Assistant Editor, Squadron Leader R.B. Raymond, became Editor. The good will handed over to the new Editor with editorial chair made an excellent basis on which to build a more popular magazine. It was at this time that I was invited to join the staff as Assistant Editor, having been an occasional contributor of drawings and articles since the old [Italics] Bulletin [/Italics] days.
With the aid of a more generous grant from the Treasury, we set about redesigning the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] to bring it into line with the best of the commercial magazines, and to be the first in the field with a popular magazine written by the Service for the Service.
The circulation of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] rose in time to 50,000. This was not, however, a world-wide circulation. India had its own “Journal of the Air Forces” to which we sent the bulk of our contents for local reproduction. The Middle East “Air Force News” also carried many of the [Italics] Journal’s [/Italics] features articles, and we instituted a weekly news and feature service for this paper and for other Service papers which were being published successfully in such places as the Bahamas, the Azores, Germany and Italy.
The People behind it
Our establishment, apart from two civilians, Miss D. Berry and Miss P. Bannister, was limited to an Editor and an Assistant Editor, and the third member joined us in April,1945. He was Flight Lieutenant George Simpson, ex-editor of “Air Force News,” and he became the London “end” of overseas R.A.F. newspapers. In October,1945, Squadron Leader Raymond left the Service on release and I took over editorship. Simpson became Assistant Editor in my place, and our third recruit was Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Lewis, a one time occasional contributor, who became our staff reporter.
Producing the [Italics] Royal Air Force Journal [/Italics] has been every respect a happy and unique venture in Service journalism; unique because we were never part of the Public Relations organization (although we are indebted for the photographs and specialized articles with which the P.R. people supplied us), but operated under the Air Member for Personnel, through his Director General and the Director of Personal Services, who was really our Editor-in-Chief. To these Officers we looked for advice and guidance and they were always ready with both. Here, too, we must mention our gratitude to Group Captain F.D. Terdrey, O.B.E. Although he had no official connection with our work, he took on voluntary the task of correcting our proofs each month, and his good advice and encouragement were never lacking.
The success of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] also depended on the humdrum but essential office work which was efficiently performed by our two civilian employees, and on the printers and blockmakers who made such a good job of our production. But without the support of our contributors who ranged from Marshal of the Royal Air Force to AC2 and ACW2, and who provided the bulk of the contents of the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] we could never have turned out more than a very meagre magazine. I hope
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that when I leave the chair and the Service next month, our readers and contributors will continue to give the same unstinting support to whatever new publication takes the place of the [Italics] Royal Air Force Journal [/Italics].
[boxed] Officers’ New Pay Code at a Glance
Daily Pay
Pilot Officer: 16/- (G.D.). 13/- (other branches).
Flying Officer: 18/- (G.D.). 15/- (other branches). After 2 years: 20/- (G.D.), 17/- (other branches). After 3 years: 19/- (tech., equip., sec.).
Flight Lieutenant: 23/-. After 2 years: 25/-, After 4 years: 27/-. After 6 years: 29/-.
Squadron Leader: 35/-. After 2 years: 37/-. After 4 years: 39/- After 6 years: 41/-
Wing Commander: 47/6. After 2 years: 50/-. After 4 years: 52/6. After 6 years: 65/-. After 8 years: 57/6.
Group Captain: 65/-. After 2 years: 68/-. After 4 years: 71/-. After 6 years: 74/-.
Air Commodore: 77/-.
Air Vice-Marshal: 110/-.
Air Marshal: 135/-.
Air Chief Marshal: 160/-.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force: 180/-.
Marriage Allowances
Squadron Leader and below – 12/6 a day.
Wing Commander and Group Captain – 15/- a day.
Air Commodore – 17/6 a day.
Air Vice-Marshal and above – 20/- a day.
“War Excess,” Officers and Airmen
“War Excess” is the name given to the difference in pay between the old rate of pay and war service increments and the new rate now coming into force.
Under the original arrangements “War Excess” was to have been withdrawn by half-yearly instalments from January 1st, 1947. Now it is announced that “War Excess” will continue indefinitely as an addition to the new rate of pay for officers and airmen until it is overtaken by increases of pay on promotion or remustering, etc. If, however, an officer or airmen reverts from his temporary or acting rank to a lower substantive rank, he will still get the “War Excess” due to him in the higher rank he held.
For example, if a Group 1 Flight Sergeant of six years’ service now gets pay of 12/6 a day, badge pay of 3d. a day, and war service increment of 3/- a day, making 15/9 in all, under the new code he gets 14/6 a day plus 6d. a day badge pay, making 15/- a day. To balance up the two rates his “War Excess” is therefore 9d. a day. Suppose he reverts back to Sergeant, his new rate of pay will be 12/- and badge pay of 6d. plus the 9d a day “War Excess” of his old rank, making 13/3 a day in all. If he is again promoted to FLt./ Sgt., the “War Excess” 9d. a day would go. If, however, instead of reverting to Sergeant, he retains his Flight Sergeant’s rank he will keep the “War Excess” until it is offset by increase of pay on promotion, etc. [/boxed]
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Forwarded by Air Vice-Marshal Sir B.E. Embry,
K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O., D.F.C., A.F.C.,
Chairman of the R.A.F Escaping Society
[italics] The following is a grand story written by an evader who remains anonymous. It shows what can be done with a little bluff, determination and common-sense. It also reveals the truly courageous and patriotic part played by the underground movements of Europe in assisting members of the Royal Air Force and United States Air Forces to make their way to freedom. The evader in this story demonstrated fine powers of endurance and an unwavering sense of duty in fighting his way through in spite of many difficulties and hardships, but I think he would be the first to admit that but the help he received from the many brave civilians, his task would have been doubly difficult, if not impossible.
I am happy to think that the R.A.F. Escaping Society will be a means of helping to renew and cement many of these friendships made during the war. [/italics]
I Was an Evader
I WAS a member of the crew of a Halifax which was bombed at target in the Ruhr. We had set course for Base, but one engine was on fire and another had cut and could not be restarted. A few minutes later I heard “Bale out!” shouted over the intercom. I made my way to the forward escape hatch and baled out at about 3,000 feet.
I landed in a small field, and although I was somewhat dazed, I hid my parachute, Mae West and flying boots in a haystack. I put a pair of R.A.F. issues shoes which I had grabbed just before I baled out. I then set off for a corner of the field, but my movements started some dogs barking, and I decided to wait until dawn. I went into a small copse, where I went to sleep.
I awoke shortly after daybreak and ate some of the food tablets which I had with me. I then started to walk southwest through the copse, eating loganberries as I went. It began to rain heavily and I sheltered in a deserted hut, where I stayed for the remainder of the day. At dusk I assumed walking, having filled my water-bottle from puddles I found in cart tracks. I walked through a village until I came to a fork in the road, where there was a signpost with the name Asbach on it. I realized now that I was in Germany and followed the road running south-west.
I passed two small villages and then reached a wood, where I hid and slept until daybreak. When I awoke I cut off the shoulder straps of my battledress blouse. I wore my blue sweater over my uniform. I had already acquired an old cap from a scarecrow.
I then left my hiding place and crossed a main road, continuing through some woods to the other side. Eventually I came to a signpost with the word [Italics] Koblenz [/Italics] written on it. I was able to form some idea of my position and I took shelter for the night in a barley stook. At dawn the following morning I resumed walking along the road and I found some raspberries and birds’ eggs, which I ate.
I made my way to the top of a hill, from where I saw a large river, which I knew to be the Rhine. I think I was somewhere between Honnef and Neuwied.
Later in the day a German soldier asked me for a light. I am under the impression that you asked me in English, but I cannot be certain of this. I replied “Nein, Nein,” and continued walking. Much to my relief he took no further notice of me. As soon as he was out of sight I lay in the bed of nettles, where I remained until dark.
I then resumed walking along the footpath and passed through several small towns during the night. There were no incidents, and when it grew light I hid in some bushes. Later that morning I went into a field and stole some potatoes. As it was misty I lit
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a fire and cooked them. When I had eaten this meal I decided that it would be better policy to walk by day and rest by night, as I was getting little sleep while hiding during the day.
Evasive Tactics
Next morning I reached the outskirts of Neuwied. I lay down for a while in a small park and was seen by two policemen, who ignored me.
After I had rested, I walked through Neuwied and eventually arrived at a bridge over the river which was being used by pedestrians. A German officer went up the steps and I followed him. When he got to the top of the steps he turned right. I was about to follow him when I noticed that he was approaching a sentry. I immediately turned left and found myself in a small park on the same side of the river. After resting there for a short time I decided to risk attempting to walk past the sentry, as I observed that civilians were doing so.
Beside the sentry there was a small booth, where pedestrians crossing the bridge had to pay a toll. I passed the booth and the sentry without stopped and crossed the bridge. When I saw that I was approaching another sentry on the bridge I crossed to the other side of the footway and passed him. I noticed that if anyone loitered on the bridge this sentry moved them on. At the other end of the bridge I had to pass a third sentry, but he took no more notice of me than the others had done.
Now that I had crossed the river, I turned right to get on to the main road which led to Miesenheim. A party of civilian cyclists, armed with rifles, passed me going in the same direction. Two of them turned round and stared at me, but did not stop. That night I slept in a hollow near a stream.
On the following day, I saw a bicycle leaning against a tree. After ensuring that I was unobserved, I made off with it. I cycled south-west, keeping to the main roads, and hoping that I would eventually reach France.
I continued in this fashion until the evening of the following day, when I
[picture]
[Italics] “I had to pass another sentry . . .”[/Italics]
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reached the outskirts of Prum. I was feeling very weak by this time, but was able to steal milk from some milk cans lying by the roadside. I cycled through Prum and on reaching the south-western outskirts, hid my bicycle under a hedge and sheltered in the loft of a cowshed. That night I drank half of the tin of orange juice which I had with me when I baled out.
On the following morning I finished the orange juice and set off once more. I ate anything in the way of fruit I could find by the wayside. After cycling for about 17 kilometres the road forked. I took the road to the north because I realized that I was too weak to reach France, and Belgium was nearer. I think I reached Lunebach and then turned in the direction of St. Vith.
A short while later I rode straight through the Siegfried Line with dug-outs and then a line of anti-tank traps strung across the countryside. The area was completely deserted and I was never challenged.
I cycled through St. Vith, and then went on to Malmedy, swinging left for Trois Ponts. As I was riding along I saw a notice by the side of the road the word [Italics] Wehrmacht [/Italics] on it. I realized that this meant that the road was for the use of the German Army only. I doubled back and managed to strike a road running parallel to the one I had just left.
At the Frontier
Before I reached Stavelot I came to a barrier slung across the road near a hamlet. An armed guard and a police dog were at the barrier. I knew if I got off my bicycle I would be challenged, so I mounted the pavement a road straight on. A short distance along the road I came to another barrier and I adopted the same procedure with equal success. Presumably this was the German-Belgium frontier.
I arrived at Stavelot that afternoon. By this time I felt very weak and was starving. I decided to approach some likely person and ask for assistance. I went through the town until I came to some isolated houses on the outskirts. I saw an old man at one of the cottages, and seizing an opportunity when there was no one about, I went round to the back door to speak to him. I asked if he were a Belgian and he said he was. I then declared myself to him, showing him my identity disk and my flying badge. He kept me outside the cottage for a while, but when the road was clear he whisked me inside, where I met his wife.
At first they were very suspicious, but they gave me some food. Presently the man left the house and returned with a younger man who questioned me very closely in French, which I did not understand very well. Later that evening the young man's wife arrived and they took me to their own home, where I was fed and provided with a bed.
On the following day a woman who spoke perfect English came to see me. She questioned me closely, asking me my Squadron number, Station, route, etc. I refused to answer some of these questions, but she seemed to be satisfied and took from me one of my photographs. Later that day I was supplied with an identity card and civilian clothes.
Next day I was taken to the railway station by two men and given a ticket to Spa. The two men accompanied me about half way when they were relieved by another man. On arrival at Spa I followed this man to a house, where I was given more civilian clothing. I remained there for three days.
On the third day the man of the house took me to a flat in Brussels, where I met several members of his organization. They took me to a house where they had a large amount of wireless equipment.
Two days later my former guide came for me and escorted me to an apartment, where he introduced me to a man and woman. They then took me to Liege, where I remained for nearly three weeks. During this period the Gestapo arrested a member of the organisation, and this was the reason for the delay in getting me away.
Eventually a woman arrived at the house and took me to meet the man who had escorted me to Liege. He in turn took me to the headquarters of an organization, where I met two members of the U.S.A.A.C., also evaders.
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[picture]
[Italics] “She questioned me closely” [/Italics]
Subsequently a woman guide took one of the Americans and myself to Hux, where we stayed at a house for seven weeks, after which a man escorted us back to Brussels, where we were handed over to yet another man who took us to Ghent, where we spent the night.
Into France
The next day we travelled to a frontier town, probably Mouscron, where we walked through the barrier over the frontier into France without being questioned. We then went on to Tourcoing, where we were taken to a house. We stayed there for about a week, and were supplied with new identity cards. By this time, I was in high spirits and felt that I would be back in “Blighty” before long.
An attractive-looking girl then came to the house and escorted us to Paris. On arrival she took us to her own home and then to meet a man. The American and I were then taken to different houses.
[symbol] On the following day the girl arrived and escorted the American and myself to Quimper. There we joined a party of thirty evaders.
It was planned that we should be evacuated by boat, but this miscarried. This news depressed us, and there was a lot of binding. We were taken back to Paris about five days later and we got into training for our proposed crossing of the Pyrenees, we were very enthusiastic about this.
During the next four weeks I changed my address several times. At times I was impatient and suffered from a feeling of frustration, but I consoled myself with the fact that I was still a free man, and efforts were being made to get me away.
But eventually I joined a party of Americans, and, accompanied by two guides, we set off for Toulouse by train. Here we changed trains and went on to Pau, where we stayed for two nights. We then travelled by bus to a small town at the foot of the Pyrenees. We covered the next stage of our journey, a distance of about 25 kilometres, by taxi, then walked to a farm where we stayed overnight. We now felt that at last we were on our way.
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The following day we were joined by our guides for the mountain journey, and we walked for some distance to a farm, where we joined forces with a party of refugees.
Across the Pyrenees
We set off and crossed the French-Spanish frontier several hours later. The guides then left us after giving us directions to the nearest village. We reached the main Uztarroz-Isaba road, where we were picked up by the Spanish police. Our delight at being in a neutral country and beyond the possibility of capture by the Germans can be imagined.
We were taken to the police station at Uztarroz, where we were searched. Our knives were taken from us. We gave our Service numbers, name and stated the Services to which we belonged, but offered no further information and were not pressed.
I was then taken to various towns in Spain and eventually reached Gibraltar exactly eight months after I had baled out over Germany. I arrived back in England a few days later.
I feel that I must pay tribute to the many gallant Belgian and French men and women who risked their lives, and those of their families, in order to enable me and so many others to return to England to continue the fight against oppression and tyranny. No words of mine are adequate to describe their indomitable courage, resourcefulness and kindness. Many of these brave people of the Occupied Countries died, or were cast into foul concentration camps, because they had been detected helping Allied airmen to evade capture after they had baled out.
[boxed] “Slipstream”
A Royal Airforce Anthology
The best articles and stories which have appeared in the [Italics] Royal Air Force Journal [/Italics] during the past four years are being complied in a book form, and entitled [Italics] Slipstream. [/Italics]
The publishers are Eyre and Spottiswoode, who hope to bring the book out as an autumn, 1946, publication, the price to be about 10s. 6d. The book will comprise 260 paged and 9 art plates. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.
As the edition will be a limited one, it is essential to place an order with your bookseller immediately to avoid disappointment.
As a memento of Service life or as a gift to a friend or relative in the Service, [Italics] Slipstream [/Italics] will be much appreciated.
The work of the following contributors appears in the book:-
[italics] W/Cdr E.W. Anderson, O.B.E., D.F.C.
F/Lt. J. Auld.
S/Ldr. S.F. Barnes.
S/Ldr. H.E. Bates.
Corpl. James Bayes.
LAC. F.W. Beasty.
S/Ldr. H.E. Blyth.
S/Ldr. Hector Bolitho.
Air Chief Marshal Sir R. Brooke-Popham, G.C.V.O., K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., A.F.C.
W/Cdr. B.A. Burbridge, D.S.O., D.F.C. and bar.
S/Ldr. G.A. Butler, D.S.O., D.F.C.
F/O. R.F. Clayton D.F.C.
LAC. Sidney Colin.
S/Ldr. F.A. Currey.
Walt Disney.
W/O. A.J. Dixon.
Corpl. E.H. Dodimead.
F/O. A.F. Hailey.
LAC. Leslie Halward.
Corpl. J. Hay.
P/O. Guy Hopkins.
LACW. A.M. Howarth.
W/Cdr. Leslie Kark.
S/Ldr. Lord Kinross.
S/Ldr. David Langdon.
S/Ldr. John Macadam.
F/Lt. P.R. Manning.
S/Ldr. F. Ogilvy.
AC1. Eric H. Partridge.
F/O. B. Perkins.
S/Ldr. John Pudney.
S/Ldr R.B. Raymond.
F/O. E. Roberts.
Sgt. H.W.O. Roy.
F/Lt. A.F. Taylor, D.F.C.
Sgt. G. Thomson.
S/Ldr. Frank Tilsley.
Corpl. R. Urwin.
Sgt. N.A. Varley.
LACW. P. Whitlock.
F/Lt. A.A. Williams.
F/Sgt. Ian Williams.
Corpl. C.R. Woodward. [/italics][/boxed]
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Want a Job?
[cartoon]
By L.A.C. R. WILLIAMS
THERE must be many a man in the Service who is awaiting his release with some trepidation on account of uncertainty about his future in the labour market. Possibly he was very young when he came into the R.A.F. and he has no trade now at an age when he needs a man’s wages. Or, like myself, he many have spent his last few years before donning a uniform on a war job in a shadow factory – a shadow factory which, with the coming of peace, has now closed. With the best will in the world, reinstatement regulations cannot help in such cases.
I thought the matter over carefully, had a chat with the Education Officer, and decided to be a school teacher. Now, before you say, “Not for me,” and turn to the next article let me hasten to add that I have no qualifications whatsoever. I left school – an elementary school – at fourteen without a certificate of any kind. The school discharged me from its portals without even so much as an introduction to the subjects of algebra and geometry.
The only thing in my favour was my age, which was well within the limits! The age limits are 21 years minimum, and 35 maximum.
I sent an application to the Ministry of Education at 14, Lennox Gardens, S.W.1, for consideration as a potential trainee under the Emergency Scheme for Recruitment and Training of Teachers. The Ministry sent me a form of application to complete. Rather a lot of detail was required, such as nationality; place and date of birth; schools attended; whether any subjects studied since leaving school; occupation since leaving school. There is no need to fear the last question. I have had twelve jobs in fifteen years ranging from newspaper boy to aero-engine machining, but that did not debar me.
After the form had been sent away I had to wait rather a long time for the next development. So long, in fact, was the delay that I abandoned all hope, thinking I had been considered ineligible because of my lack of education.
However, in due course a long buff envelope marked O.H.M.S arrived, informing me that I was required to present myself on September 18th at a school in Birmingham for the purpose of an interview in respect of my application. An additional slip of paper furnished thorough and lucid directions as to how to reach the school. Even the price of a ‘bus ticket from Birmingham G.W.R station was not omitted!
At that time I was on a fitters’ course at Cosford, and a day off under such conditions is, of course, a serious business, but my Wing C.O. authorized it without the slightest hesitation – which is in line with the R.A.F.’s policy of backing up airmen who make efforts to enhance their post-Service prospects.
The printed directions to took me to the address without a hitch. A lady receptionist ticked my name off a long list, and took me into a classroom. There were between fifteen and twenty other people in this room. They were all prospective teachers. All except four were girls, and all accept me were civilians.
I confess I was nervous as I waited my turn to be interviewed; so much depended on the outcome of the interview. Success meant lifelong security; security for me, for my wife, and for my kiddies. It meant clean clothes and clean hands, and it was not snobbishness that may made them so desirable. For years my job was such that my hands needed scrubbing before I could sit down to eat, and a complete change of clothing was
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imperative if I wished to go out in the evening.
My turn came and I was ushered into an adjoining room to face four men and a woman. Their attitude was one of friendly interest. They were at pains to dispel my nervousness, and I soon felt completely at ease.
Most of the questions were on various aspects of education. For instance:-
What effect do you think the raising of the school-leaving age will have on the children; on the school; on industry?
What are your views on co-education?
My answers to these and other questions were received without the slightest hint as to whether my views were acceptable or otherwise. However, I gained the impression (for no reason that I could describe) that I was getting a favourable reception, and I left the room well pleased with myself.
Next followed the essay. Again there was no need to fear that lack of knowledge would constitute an obstacle. The subject set – “Describe a recent experience” – ensured that everyone would have something to write about.
Back at Cosford I spent eleven weeks of anxious waiting. A magazine paragraph quoting the Ministry of Education stated that out of 24,000 applicants only 4,000 had been accepted. Of course, it is likely that many of the 24,000 had not yet been interviewed, but the statement did little to restore my confidence.
However, the notifications duly arrived. I had been accepted! Now I am simply waiting for my demobilization, then I shall go to a college for twelve months of intensive training. After that I shall be a teacher, though on two years’ probation. At the end of that time I shall be a fully certified teacher.
During my training I and my family will receive an adequate allowance. As soon as I begin teaching I qualify for rates of pay as laid down by the Burnham scale, which provides that the teacher shall receive a commencing salary of £300 per annum raising by annual increments of £15 to £525 per annum. These rates of pay are a [Italics] minimum. [/Italics] They can be supplemented, by special qualifications of a technical nature. A degree, too, has a hard cash value and I, for one, have every intention of studying for one as soon as I have established myself as a teacher. Then there is the possibility of becoming a headmaster; that, of course, carries correspondingly higher rates of pay.
Let us assume that you have decided to have a crack at it and in response to your application you have been summoned for an interview. Let me give you a few tips on how to conduct yourself.
1. – Direct to your talk to whoever is sitting in the centre of the group opposite you. He will be the Chairman. Apart from its being respectful to do so, the Chairman generally has more to say than anybody else about final decisions and selections.
2. – Be candid and frank in your talk. Replied to the questions promptly and concisely. At the same time do not through nervousness rush your replies if there is any risk of your getting them muddled. Much better to take your time, if the subject-matter is at all complicated. To do so is only reasonable. Seize any chance to expand the reply a little. Bring forward tactfully some particulars about yourself which the appointing people may be glad to have. Don't prattle, but remember that they are actually anxious for you to talk about yourself to help them in making up their minds about you. Needless to say the expanding of your reply must be carefully done – to avoid leaving any impression of boasting or undue forwardness.
3. – The selection board is probably interviewing several applicants and can spare only a short time for each. Hence, it is essential that you should appear (whatever your real feelings may be!) completely calm, and unembarrassed, and confident, but not over-confident. If your attitude is calm, your speech clear and controlled, your talk lucid and relevant, they will decide that whatever may be said about your other qualifications – or lack of them – you are at least not a person easily flustered, and that is a most necessity attribute in a potential teacher.
And there you are. If you have no job to return to, and you fancy a clean, secure, and interesting if exacting job, see your Education Officer. 70,000 teachers are wanted – go in and win!
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[Image] So Long, Joe! [Image]
By SQUADRON LEADER R.B. RAYMOND
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IN this last issue of the [Italics] Royal Air Force Journal, [/Italics] Joe, the moon-faced bespectacled little erk who has appeared in the [Italics] Journal [/Italics] for over three years makes his final bow. He accompanies his artist creator, David Langdon, to the Release Centre and thence to Civvy Street.
During the time Joe has occupied the small space on the bottom of a page in the [Italics] Journal [/Italics], he has made a host of friends. Not only was he popular with members of the Services, but also with their wives and children. Many officers and men, strictly against regulations, took Joe into their homes.
Joe represents the typical “little man” in blue, doomed to a lowly rank (he never got beyond A.C.1), eager to get on with the job, living in awe of Officers and N.C.O.’s, but in spite of all, imbued with a full measure of [italics] esprit de corps [/italics]. Joe was one of the Fitters who, with all the other tradesmen, worked night and day to keep the fighters in the air when we were in our “darkest hour.” One feels that Joe will remember the magnificent reputation that the R.A.F. made for itself during those hectic days, and will be jealous of it for as long as he lives.
Joe did his best to help win the war. He realised that in relatively minor position of an erk, he couldn't do anything as spectacular as a pilot or his C.O., or that legendary figure who appeared from time to time from Group or Command with the broad ring and a row of gongs that reminded Joe of liquorice all-sorts. But he did what he could. First, he did the job he had come into the Service to do. He serviced aircraft. But that, to Joe, wasn't enough. He wanted to help in other ways. He realised that a little thing like turning off electric lights in an empty room was, in its way, a contribution to the war effort. So he turned off lights, and sometimes in his zeal he overlooked the fact that a visiting Air Chief Marshal was using the room at the time. Joe bought War Saving Certificates, he dug for Victory, he used the telephone less and he stopped careless talk; things that did not earn gongs or a mention in dispatches, but which were all very essential to winning the war.
During the last war, Bruce Bairnsfather created “Old Bill,” a loveable grumbler, typifying the foot-slogger of the British Army in Flanders. In this war, the United States Army had its Sad Sack and its Artie Greengroin; the British Army had its “Two Types”; and the R.A.F. – Joe and P/O Percy Prune.
These characters were all, with the exception of Joe, “bad types”. The creators of the “Two Types,” Prune, Sad Sack and Greengroin approached their task along the line of least resistance. To get their interest and laughs they poked fun at discipline and showed how not to win a war by picturing their characters in the acts of virtually sabotaging the war effort, and then enjoining their readers by implication not to follow their bad example. This was, to say the least, a negative form of teaching. But Joe showed his readers how to contribute towards winning a war by doing the right thing, and he succeeded in obtaining his laughs in spite of always being “Mr. Right.”
How is it then that Joe did not degenerate into first-class binder or, if you like – a prig? Look at him and you have half the answer. He is a little fellow. He is likeable at first sight. He stands very much on his own. He gets picked on by the bigger chap, and things don't go smoothly for him in spite of the fact that he tries always to do the right thing. Off-duty, Joe was as human as they come. Witness him showing off on his bicycle before a pretty WAAF and ending up in hospital. But, when on duty, Joe meant business.
The other reason why Joe is popular is because he makes you laugh. To be able to put over a point loaded to the teeth with propaganda, to make the reader laugh and yet remember the point, is a very difficult task – try it yourself sometime if you don’t believe it, and then keep it up for thirty-six months.
And now Joe is going back to Civvy Street. The Service will miss him. He has done a good job. Like his creator he has served his time. Let’s wish him luck.
So long, Joe!
[Italics] The illustrations accompanying the above article have been extracted from “Joe” strip cartoons already published in the “Journal.” ‘Joe’ fans may care to turn them into a memory test and see whether they can recall the full sequence of which these drawing form part. [/Italics]
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PARLIMENTARY COMMENTARY
Release Probe – 7
[Italics] Below is given a selection of replies by Ministers in Parliament on release and other Service questions, extracted from the Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Personnel have already been informed of many of the points dealt with, through “Demobforms” and “Newpayforms” issued by the Air Ministry.
One-Man Businesses
Mr. VANE asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the hardship caused to owners of one-man businesses whose release from the Forces under Class C is now being refused solely because their businesses had to be closed down when they volunteered or were called up; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure these men are not treated less generously than men whose position was exactly similar at the beginning of the war but who were able to find someone nominally to keep their businesses in existence for them and so improve their claim to be released now. [/Italics]
MR. LAWSON: Compassionate cases, of whatever sort, are dealt with on their individual merits. Owners of one-man businesses which were closed down on their entry into the army are not altogether excluded from consideration. An extremely limited number of cases where the opportunity of re-opening is unlikely to recur if the business is not re-opened immediately can be considered. Any further relaxation of the rules would either be at the expense of other types of compassionate cases or would be liable to interfere with releases under Class A.
[Italics] (March 5th, 1946) [/Italics]
[Italics] Signals Officers
SIR E. GRAHAM-LITTLE asked the Under Secretary of State for Air why the release of R.A.F. officers in the sub-branch, Signals, Radar, is delayed relatively to other branches of that service; and whether, in view of the fact that the need for many forms of Radar no longer exists, that officers of this sub-branch are being employed on other non-specialist duties, that many such officers have technical qualifications of use to industry; and that as the rate of release of airmen in allied trades is above the general level, he will expedite the release of these officers. [/Italics]
MR. STRACHEY: The main reason for delay in release of these R.A.F officers is the deficiency caused by the withdrawal of many officers who were members of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The duties of radar officers have not decreased as fast as those of other signals officers owing to the demands made by the air trooping and occupation programme, particularly in relation to the handling of aircraft safety equipment. I am not aware that radar officers are being employed on non-specialist duties but, if the hon. Member has any specific case in mind and will send me particulars, I shall be glad to look into it. The requirements of radar officers are different from those of airmen in allied trades and there are proportionally more officers than airmen in the earlier age and service groups. It is not, therefore, possible to keep the release of officers in step with that of airmen. I appreciate the need to speed up the release of radar officers and we are doing all we can to this end by training and retraining, but it takes over six months to train to the required standard.
[Italics] (March 6th, 1946) [/Italics]
[Italics] Agricultural Workers
MR. PAGET asked the Under Secretary of State for Air what steps have been taken to notify members of the R.A.F. that agricultural workers with a year or more service are entitled to Class B release; and whether commanding officers have been notified that disciplinary action will be taken if this release is delayed. [/Italics]
MR STRACHY: Members of the Royal Air Force who are shown by their records to have been agricultural workers at the time of their enlistment and who have served for at least one year in the R.A.F. are being offered release under the block scheme in Class B. We have instructed commanding officers to accelerate the process of
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Class B release and I am satisfied that officers appreciate the importance of their responsibility in this matter. We have also notified the Service as a whole, through one of our Demob forms, that any man who considers that he has been overlooked for Class B release can make representations to his commanding officer; the fact are then reported to the Record Office and, if confirmed, the man is offered Class B release.
[Italics] (March 19th, 1946) [/Italics]
[Italics] Science Students [/Italics]
MR. SOLLEY [Italics] asked the Minister of Labour what are his plans for retraining scientific personnel whose normal studies were interrupted, or who have been drafted onto work which they would not normally have undertaken and are now in overcrowded professions. [/Italics]
MR ISAACS: Science students of First Class or Second Class Honours standard selected by their Universities as research students or third year students, and other science students selected by their Universities as of high promise or who were called up before the end of their normal deferment and before they had had an opportunity of taking the Honours Degree, are eligible for release from the Forces in Class B if they are in release groups 1 – 49 or from industry, if they have performed work of national importance for not less than three years. Financial assistance is available to such students if they come within the scope of the Further Education and Training Scheme.
[Italics] (March 19th. 1946 [/Italics]
[Italics] Individual Specialists [/Italics]
MR. DE LA BERE [Italics] asked the Minister of Labour whether, in the view of the delay in effecting repairs to railway locomotives, motor vehicles and boots and shoes, special consideration will be given to those categories for release from the Forces in those cases where it can be established that the men serving are skilled and experienced in these trades. [italics]
MR NESS EDWARDS: It is open to an employer in any of the trades mentioned to apply through the appropriate Government Department for the release of a particular man in Class B if he can properly be regarded as an individual specialist whose services are essential for urgent work of national importance.
[Italics] (March 21st. 1946) [/Italics]
[Italics] Equipment Officers [/Italics]
MAJOR N. MACPHERSON [Italics/] asked the Under Secretary of State for Air whether he is now in a position to state whether the rate of release of R.A.F. equipment officers will have caught up with the average rate of release by June; and, if not, how many groups behind it will be on 30th June, 1946, and at what rate the release will be proceeding. [/Italics]
MR. STRACHEY: In our advance promulgation for May and June, equipment assistants will be brought up to the general level of release of airmen, but I regret that equipment officers will then be 10 groups behind. The equipment officers have specially heavy responsibilities at present, and we depend largely on their experience for the proper disposal of large quantities of valuable equipment. Moreover, a very high proportion of our equipment officers are in groups 20 – 29. This means that for the period from February to May we shall have offered release to over a third of the officers who were in this branch on February 1st. We are doing all we can to raise their rate of release by training suitable G.D. officers, and I hope that better progress will be made when they reach the groups from 30 onwards.
[Italics] (March 27th. 1946) [/Italics]
[Italics] Other Topics [/italics]
[italics] Release Clothing [/Italics]
MRS. GANLEY [Italics] asked the Secretary of State for War what is the length of time demobilized men will have to wait for mackintosh or overcoat; and whether supplies can be speeded up in order to allow of outer garments being issued at the same time as suits etc. [/Italics]
MR LAWSON: When a man cannot be fitted with his correct size from stock, it is at present from four to eight weeks before he receives it by post. Every effort has been made to increase production: the position is improving, and I hope that the present difficulties will be overcome by the end of April
[Italics] (March 6th. 1946) [/Italics]
MR. CALLAGHAN [Italics] asked the Under Secretary of State for Air why the system of permitting airmen to purchase their [/italics]
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[italics] greatcoats on demobilisation has been discontinued. [/italics]
MR STRACHEY: At no time have airmen on demobilization been allowed to purchase a greatcoat. The issue of civilian clothing includes a raincoat, and, of a suitable raincoat is not available at the time, an airman is allowed to borrow a greatcoat. His account is debited 38s. which is cancelled on return of the greatcoat.
[Italics] (March 19th, 1946) [/Italics]
[Italics] Pensions and Grants [/Italics]
SIR W. DARLING [Italics] asked the Minister of Pensions if he is prepared to consider reviewing the regulations so that in the event if any member of the fighting Forces being invalided, disabled or dying on service, the illness, disability or death shall be deemed to be attributable to Military Service unless the contrary is proved. [/Italics]
MR. WILFRED PALING: The war pensions instruments already provide that, in determining entitlement in such cases, certain presumptions shall be made in a claimant’s favour, and that the benefit of any reasonable doubt shall be given to him. I am, however, unable to recommend any departure from the long established principle that, where disablement or death was unconnected with war service, an award of pension cannot be made.
[Italics] (March 21st, 1946) [/Italics]
[Italics] Overseas Tour (India) [/Italics]
MR. NAYLOR [Italics] asked the Under Secretary of State for Air if he has any further statement to make concerning the complaints still being received from men in the R.A.F. contingents in India, especially referring to the reduction in the maximum period of the tour; the recalling of men who have spent the major period of their service in England after serving only a short time in India, while others who have served several years abroad are being retained; and the anomaly of the repatriation of time-expired men being given the lowest priority. [/Italics]
MR STRACHEY: In my statement on the Air Estimates on 12th March, I said that from 1st April the overseas tour of duty for single men in the Royal Air Force would be reduced from three years and six months to three years, thus bringing their overseas tour into line with that at present laid down for married men. As I also explained then, it will take until 1st October to complete this reduction, which we are carrying out at a time when we already have a heavy programme of release and repatriation. After then we hope to go farther.
Since the beginning of the release programme, I realize that it has sometimes been necessary, in order to avoid delays in the release of men due for demobilization, to send other airmen overseas who have had only a limited further period to serve before themselves becoming due for release. This has been done solely with the aim of ensuring that release should not vary between members of the R.A.F. serving in this country and those overseas. It is for this reason, too, that those who are overseas and are due for release, have priority in transport, together with those who are posted home on compassionate grounds. Fortunately, this priority has not generally affected the repatriation of tour-expired airmen, very few of whom have been delayed in their return for duty to this country.
[Italics] (March 22nd, 1946) [/Italics]
[Italics] Reserve Command [/Italics]
Reserve Command of the Royal Air Force will be re-established in the immediate future. Its primary function will be to maintain and train adequate reserves of flying and ground personnel. To that end it will recruit to the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve; foster the creation and development of the Auxiliary Air Force; assume responsibility for the Air Training Corps, and, in co-operation with the University authorities, re-create the University Air Squadrons. Group H.Q. of Reserve Command will be set up; they will coincide geographically with Army Commands.
These Group Headquarters will, in turn, set up Town Centres and will provide training facilities, Public announcements will then be made inviting officers and men released from the Royal Air Force to join the Volunteer
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Reserve or the Auxiliary Units. The Territorial Army and Air Force Association will be the main recruiting agency.
The twenty Auxiliary Squadrons which existed before the war will be re-created on their old territorial basis. Commanding officers are now being appointed. Most of these units will be day and night fighter squadrons and, when fully trained, they will form part of the First Line Air Defences of this country. But several light bomber Auxiliary Squadrons will also be formed, probably in such spheres as Operational Control and Radar work.
Discussions have been opened with the University authorities to determine at which Universities it will be possible to maintain University Air Squadrons.
For the present we propose to maintain the A.T.C. at a strength of 75,000.
From a corps of this size we should be able to accept all cadets of a satisfactory standard into the air forces; but it must be realised that not all can become aircrew . . . .We attach the utmost importance to these non-regular forces and it may well be that in the future, it will be desirable, and possible, to develop then to a much greater degree than before the war, Such development will take time, however, and I must warn the House that we shall not immediately be in a position to give intending recruits to the non-regular forces the same facilities as those that existed before the war. But the main thing is to get a firm basis, and we confidently appeal to all those who have the interests of the R.A.F. at heart to help us, in one way or another, in this rebuilding of our non-regular force.
[Italics] March 27th, 1946) [/italics]
[boxed] W.A.A.F. SPORTS NEWS
List of Summer Representation Games
Wednesday, 17 April, 1946. – WAAF v. ATS. Badminton.
Wednesday, 1 May, 1946. – WAAF v. ATS Squash Rackets (team of five players).
Saturday, 15 June, 1946. – WRNS organising Inter-Service Tennis Tournament.
Monday, 17 June, 1946. – ATS v. WAAF. Golf.
Saturday, 29 June, 1946. – ATS v. WAAF. Inter-Command Sports Meeting. (See below).
Saturday, 29 June, 1946. ATS v. WAAF – Netball Match (First Sevens).
Saturday, 20 July, 1946. – ATS v. WAAF. Cricket (all day).
Saturday, 27 July, 1946. – Inter Service Swimming Gala (See below).
Saturday, 7 September, 1946. – WRNS v. WAAF. Tennis.
Saturday, 28 September, 1946. – ATS v. WRNS. Tennis.
Sports Meeting
The WAAF and ATS Inter-Command Sports Meeting will include the following events. It will be run on an Inter-Command basis with the finalists from the ATS competing in the final heat against finalists from the WAAF in each event:-
100 yards flat, 220 yards flat, high jump, long jump, hurdles, skipping race, obstacle race, potato race, flower-pot race, horse and driver race, relay race.
Swimming Gala
The Inter-Services Swimming Gala will include the following events:-
Relay race – free style; Medley relay race – breast, back, side and crawl; style swimming – breast, crawl, back crawl and English back stroke; stunts; diving – low, middle and high boards, free style; plunge; one length race – crawl, back and breast; obstacle race. [/boxed]
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The Golden Eagle
[symbol]
[Italic]The background picture is an actual photograph of a 4,000 lb. incendiary bursting below an attacking aircraft. [/Italic]
[symbol]
By FLIGHT LIEUTENANT KENNETH AMES, D.F.C. and Bar
FROM the heart of Mayfair to the peaceful fields of East Anglia is a fairly long cry; from the heart of Mayfair to the ruined cities of the erstwhile Third Reich is even further. But for the crews of Bomber Command’s Pathfinder Force it was all a question of time.
At the end of Mount Street, just before you turn into Berkley Square, is the inconspicuous entrance to the friendly club rooms of the Pathfinder Association. Here it is that the air crews who earned their golden eagle badges (golden albatross, for those who insist on literal accuracy) lighting the way for Bomber Command’s offensive, now drop in and meet old friends to talk over some of the breath-taking experiences which they had together on their squadrons.
Most emphatic of the numerous objectives of this Association, which is open to all former members of No. 8 Group, is “to foster and encourage the spirit of comradeship which existed in the Pathfinder Force” . . . a spirit which grew from the example set by Air Vice-Marshall D. Bennett when he founded the formidable striking force during the lean months of 1942.
Here one must add that the name of P.F.F. and of its chief will go down in history as for ever inseparable. One of the most versatile figures in aviation, he was called upon to organize the new spearhead for Bomber Command and, at the age of 33 became the youngest Air Vice-Marshal in the Service. Previous to this he had had a long and varied career; flying for the R.A.F., The R.A.A.F. and for Imperial Airways. As an airline pilot, Captain Bennet was the first man to fly a pay-load across the Atlantic; he wrote a standard text-book on air navigation and in 1940 inaugurated the Atlantic Ferry Service to bring aircraft to Britain. Later he rejoined the R.A.F., became commander of a bomber squadron, and was shot down and escaped via Sweden.
Back in England, Air Vice-Marshal Bennett established his Pathfinder H.Q. in the peaceful market town of Huntingdon. There, in August of 1943, he gathered a nucleus of specially trained crews around him and set about the job.
The Fire Raisers
In the spring of that year matters had been going badly for this country and Bomber Command was perhaps the most effective offensive weapon we possessed; but for the bombers there was the difficulty of unfavourable European weather. Thick cloud over the target area often made bomb-aiming difficult and valuable loads fell wide.
The problem was to find an instrument which would tell the navigator where he was on the darkest of nights and direct the weight of bombs on to the objective.
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The first step in the solution of that problem came with the advent of “Gee.” The first Gee-controlled operation was carried out against Essen in March, 1942. A number of trained crews, known then as “fir-raisers” or “illuminators” led the main force against the Krupp works. Guided by the blaze of target-marking incendiaries, a huge force of heavies went in to attack. The results were disappointing. True, there was some improvement, but still only a minute proportion of the total weight was falling within the target area.
So the initial “fire-raisers” became the core around which this new Pathfinder Force was developed. The early history of this force was not, as some have claimed, “immediately and unmistakably successful,“ but as raid followed raid, the skill of the crews increased and more and more bombs found their mark.
Yet, even then, neither Bennett nor the “boffins” who gave us “Gee” were satisfied. Within a matter of weeks, a new type of target indicator has been perfected which cascaded in brilliant colours from a height of 3,000 feet. These markers were visible even through thin cloud and were readily distinguishable amongst the raging fires which consumed one city after another. Then a rapid succession, came of the development of “Oboe” and H2S” which, together with the red, yellow and green T.I.s and the skymarker flares, remained the principal weapons of P.F.F. throughout the war.
“Oboe”-controlled Mosquito aircraft were assigned to the marking of targets in France, Belgium and the Ruhr, whilst Lancasters equipped with “H2S” carried the war from one end of Nazi-controlled Europe to the other, checking every village, town, river and lake on their radar screens as they thundered through the night to pinpoint their objectives.
Virtually, their first outstanding victory came on a return visit to the Number One Hunting Ground – Krupps armament works – in March, 1943. This was the first occasion on which bombing has any appreciable effect on the production of the greatest of Germany’s arsenals.
The “Master Bomber” technique, which was to become an integral part of P.F.F. tactics, was first tried out by Wing Commander Daniels over Frankfurt as early as 1942, but paid its first big dividend in the historic Peenemunde raid of August, 1943.
The Peenemunde Raid
A photographic interpreter studying coverage of the Peenemunde research station first observed a small object resembling an aircraft on a long launching ramp. Word was quickly sent out and a strong force of bombers mustered to attack the station in moonlight. Orbiting the target at low level, Pathfinders’ Masters Bomber assessed the T.I. markers and passed corrections over the R/T. Then the bombs went down to obliterate Germany’s flying bomb research centre and afford a valuable delay in the attacks on London. Now, twelve months after the conclusion of the war, this operation stands out as one of the most epoch-making blows dealt out by Bomber Command in the whole five and a half years of war.
As the winter nights of 1943 lengthened and the weather became worse the Pathfinders continued, with ever-increasing efficiency, to lead huge forces of Halifaxes and Lancasters out over the North Sea and into the heart of Berlin’s defences. Night after night the target was the same; night after night the tactics were the same. The “Wanganui” skymarkers went down over Germany and load after load of destruction followed through a solid banket of cloud.
In March, 1944 – with Invasion in the offing – yet another phase of operations began. The new Mosquito Night Striking Force was left to deal the final blows at Berlin; the heavies were switched to small rail targets in France and Belgium. This necessitated a further modification in technique, for, with a friendly population sleeping only a few hundred yards from their targets, the bomber crews had to make 100 per cent. certain of putting their H.E. loads right on the objective, or else bring them back. The Master Bomber came into full prominence. Operating on
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cloudless nights, hundreds of four-engine bombers flew to attack railway junctions, troop concentrations and gun-sites, directed by the Master aircraft. The targets were small and often cleverly concealed, but the Master Bomber seldom failed to locate them.
Before the Invasion
The crescendo came when more than sixteen hundred bombers battered the coastal defences, rail-communications, ammunition dumps and transport parks in one colossal pre-invasion offensive. That night every bomb-aimer held the same objective in his bomb-sight – the Red Target indicators laid by the marker crews of P.F.F. Cruising home over the Cherbourg Peninsula in the grey light of dawn, every crew saw the huge armada sailing to the Normandy beaches; and they guessed that their work was almost done.
Only a few months after this, a suggestion was put forward to form an association or club to continue in peacetime the spirit and comradeship which has carried the Force forward
[photograph]
[Italics] A Lancaster Master-Bomber on a night raid dropping a photo-flash [/italics]
from one success to another during its great operation career. The vote was unanimous in favour of such a scheme.
New, in a world at peace, operations are but a faint memory for the men who foregather in their Mount Street headquarters.
Numbers of them are by now wearing civilian suits and are back at their city desks; it is an incredible changeover from the life they were living a year ago. Others come in for a drink and a chat wearing the smart blue uniform of airline pilots, for the Force is strongly represented by its crews in civilian aviation.
The majority, however, still in light blue, are scattered throughout the Service, on many and varied duties.
Whatever time of day you choose to step down into the club, there will always be at least a handful of people standing around, talking, signing the visitors book, or sunk deep in the lounge chairs. Although the association has only been established six months the membership already exceeds the twenty-five hundred mark, including a large number of non-flying personnel.
Squadron Leader Edward Brant, the Secretary, has an aptitude for remembering names and understanding other people’s problems, but even he is occasionally a little pushed by the constant stream of callers.
Pathfinders Employment Agency
Principal headache for the Squadron Leader is the career-finding agency which was inaugurated as one of the primary aids for rehabilitation of members. It claims to be one of the most unique employment bureaux in existence.
“If you know what you want – we’ll have a first-class attempt at finding it for you“ seems to be the motto of this agency. Anything from aircraft-designing to veterinary surgery, from cinema art-directing to bridge-building, their files cover almost every conceivable type of occupation for demobilized air crew. Already scores of men have been placed by the Association and the organization is working overtime at the gargantuan task of trying to fit its members into the best niches.
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A W.A.A.F. in Soviet Russia
By SECTION OFFICER J.E. THOMAS
[photograph]
I WONDER how many W.A.A.F. know that they were represented on the British Youth Delegation, recently returned to this country after two months’ stay in the Soviet Union. I was the lucky one who was chosen as the W.A.A.F. representative, so I should like to tell you something about our travels.
There were seventeen of us, led by Mr John Platts-Mills, M.P., and with our Russian hosts we covered about 8,000 miles of the country, mostly by air. Using Moscow as our base, we went as far north as the beautiful city of Leningrad, with the buildings painted yellow, red and green against a background of glistening snow. We went to the Ukraine, over which the Germans advanced so triumphantly in the early part of the war on the eastern front. We saw Stalingrad, or what remains of it, where that advance was turned, and we had the wonderful experience of flying over the Caucasus Mountains and down the coast of the Black Sea, to the little health resort of Sochi. Here, for the first and only time, we could go without our boots and greatcoats, as we wandered among the palm trees and lemon groves, or scrambled down the cliffs to the sea in the early morning to watch the porpoises and gulls.
In Search of Youth
Everywhere we went we were entertained royally, in the true Russian tradition of hospitality, by young people.
In each place we visited we learnt to expect a banquet on our arrival, another one on leaving, and at least one visit to the local ballet or opera during our stay. This was inevitable, and incidentally much appreciated, as was also the time devoted to sight-seeing. But we had gone with a purpose, and it was, in general, to examine the position of youth in the Soviet Union. Therefore, everywhere we went, we were taken as a delegation to kindergartens and children's hospitals, to schools and pioneer houses, where the children spend much of their leisure time. Wherever possible we visited the University or Technical Institute. We talked to young people on the farms and in the factories, and we attended services in the churches. This was of interest to us all, but most of us had our own special interests as well, and we did have some opportunity to follow it up.
I set out with the idea of talking to the girls in uniform wherever I met them, so that I could get some picture of the part that they had played during the war, and of their activities now. But the odd thing was that, for a long time, I could not find a single uniform among the women I met.
During our week’s stay in Leningrad we heard a good deal about the siege, about the constant shelling and the
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fearful hunger and cold. We were told that about 2,500 of the university students had volunteered to join in the fighting, and that the remainder had turned out to build the street blockades, and we understood that every able-bodied man and woman had played their part in the defence of the city. But the Leningraders seem to have put all that behind them. Their repair work has been so rapid that we could find few scars in the main part of the city. This great cultural and scientific centre has resumed its peace-time aspect. I do not think I saw one woman in uniform.
And about ten days later I discovered the reason. I was in Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine, when at last a Red Army girl crossed my path. At least she was wearing uniform, but I soon discovered that she had been demobilized some months before. She had taken down her Lieutenant's epaulettes but otherwise her uniform, including her buttons, was unchanged. I asked her about demobilization, and she told me that as soon as it started, all the women were free to return to their interrupted training, to resume their pre-war occupation or to help with the gigantic task of reconstruction. Already they are back in the Universities or technical schools, where they have resumed their pre-war studies. They are back in the factories and on the farms, which they left when their country was threatened, or they have volunteered to work in the damaged areas on clearance and rebuilding. In fact the majority of the service women are back in civilian life. There were a few who wished to remain in the services, but I met only three. One was a woman doctor, a Lieutenant-Colonel, who was in charge of an Army medical school and clinic, and there were two interpreters of oriental languages, to whom I talked in the theatre one night. To my amazement they both spoke a little English, and one of them said to me: “I expect to be in the service till my death.” But she did not say it gloomily! These last were however the exception rather than the rule. There was no question of not being able to get a job on release. There was plenty of work to be done to get the economy of the country running again, and the ex-service women were doing their share.
No Auxiliary Services
The next thing that I tried to find out from this girl in Kiev was how the women's services were organised. From her and from other people I gathered there was nothing really comparable to our women's auxiliary services. The Russian women volunteered to work in almost every branch of the three fighting forces, and they did so on an equal footing with the men. They came under the same administration they had the same punishments (including if necessary the death sentence). They received the same pay and they trained with them. For instance, this particular girl had been on anti-aircraft guns. She had started off with three months’ preliminary training behind the lines in a detachment with which she later served as a fully-fledged private at the front. Then she was put up for a commission, so she went to Leningrad, and there she studied for a year at the same training centre as the men. This study included general education, as well as military training.
Direct commissions were given to those with previous training such as doctors and nurses. In Sochi, the sanatorium town, I came across a girl who had had three years’ training as a nurse before the war. When the war started she became at once a Lieutenant in the Army. She served at the front, nursing and driving ambulances, and was herself wounded. After demobilization she decided to become a doctor, so she came down to Sochi, though her home was in Moscow nearly 900 miles away, to study at the famous Stalin Institute. It was at a dance at this Institute that I met her. Unfortunately, I got hold of one of her male interpreters to translate for us, and every time the music started he took her off to dance. I did not make that mistake again!
In Sochi we visited a hospital dealing almost entirely with surgical cases arising out of the war, and we also saw the Red Army rest home, which is open to both men and women. It is a great white modern building, with big windows overlooking the Black Sea. It is
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surrounded by attractive gardens, full of the inevitable palm trees, many of which were covered by little wooden shelters in case any snow falls. A steep funicular railway runs right down to the shore, and I must say I almost envied any service people who had to come and rest in that beautiful place, so near to the mountains.
Girls who Fought
As I have told you, our next visit after Sochi was Stalingrad. There the devastation is quite beyond imagination. Even after seeing Berlin, it came as a great shock to drive for miles through a sea of bricks, not one of which is standing upon another. How the defenders survived in their two tiny salients on the bank of the Volga until the encircling army broke the German attack is an epic that is well remembered. But I must tell you the story of Nina, just one of the defenders of that heroic city, whom I met on my last night there. She was training as a medical student when the war broke out, so she joined up as a nurse and was active on many parts of the front. When Stalingrad was threatened she felt that, as she knew her way about so well, she could be of use in the defence. So she volunteered as a sniper and joined the infantry as a junior Sergeant. She was awarded the Order of the Red Star for bravery in the fighting, and soon afterwards she had to be invalided out as she lost her right hand. When I met her she was studying for her entrance exam, to the University, where she hoped to take up law.
Everywhere we went in the later stages of our journey I talked to girls who had been fighting in the front lines, or with the guerilla forces, or who had worked behind the enemy lines as members of the Secret Service. There were women, I was told, who sailed in the ships of the Red Navy, and were not barred from any post except that of captain of the vessel. And there were women pilots who flew alongside the men on operational flights. One of their well-known figures was a woman Lt.-Col. Bershanski, who commanded an air regiment comprising several squadrons.
One evening, towards the end of our stay, with visited a Red Air Force club in Moscow. It was a beautiful building, given over entirely to the use of members of the service, both men and women, and to their families. They have a theatre there where different Moscow companies present plays nearly every night, there is an extensive technology and recreational library, and there are many study circles, run for those who wish to further their education. This club is one of many open to service people in Moscow and elsewhere. We stayed to see part of the play that was being given in the theatre that evening. And once again as I looked round at the audience I noted the lack of women in uniform. But this time I understood, and I could picture some of those who must have thronged this club during the war, each during her appointed job for the reconstruction of her country. One of the most vivid impressions that I have brought home with me is of the spirit and purposefulness of these people. They know to what end they are working and they spare neither themselves not others in the achievement of that end.
[boxed] PRIZE WINNERS
Officers (R.A.F.)
1st Prize: FLIGHT LIEUTENANT KENNETH AMES, D.F.C. and Bar for [Italics] The Golden Eagle (Page 168) [/Italics]
2nd Prize: SQUADRON LEADER R.B. RAYMOND for [Italics] So Long Joe! [/Italics] (page 162)
WAAF (officers and Airwomen)
1st Prize: SECTION OFFICER J.E. THOMAS for [Italics] A W.A.A.F. in Soviet Russia [/Italics] (Page 171)
2nd Prize: No award.
Airmen
1st Prize: LAC R. WILLIAMS for [italics] Want a job? [/Italics] (Page 160)
2nd Prize: FLIGHT SERGEANT L.J. EVANS for [Italics] Our Mess [/Italics] (page 177)
Drawings
1st Prize: LAC H. SEABRIGHT for [Italics] The Evader [/Italics] (Paged 156 and 158)
2nd Prize: LAC L. ABRAHAMS for [Italics] Sergeants’ Mess [/italics] (Page 177) [/boxed]
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Report from Germany
By FLIGHT LIEUTENANT KENNETH LEWIS
SIX months ago I was in Germany. Last month I returned to the same place – to B.A.F.O. H.Q., to the Groups, the Wings and the Squadrons; and to see the final work of the Disarmament Units.
I found that things had changed a great deal since my last visit. Demobilization has meant the return home of many of the old crews; men who came all the way up from Normandy with 2nd T.A.F. had handed in their war service dress. New men and women had taken over, and this new company were doing the old and the new jobs in the towns, villages and airfields of the Reich.
I found it unusual to meet an old associate; and when I did I found that he too was expecting his Release Group to come up any day.
Six months ago W.A.A.F in Germany were as scarce as bananas in England; also like bananas they were arriving in small lots, being carefully guarded and in great demand.
To-day the W.A.A.F. have increased tremendously in numbers, are as popular as ever, and walk out alone, nonchalantly, in German streets. There are W.A.A.F clubs, W.A.A.F. cooks, W.A.A.F. on Signals, W.A.A.F. on M.T., W.A.A.F. in Welfare, in E.V.T., in everything. W.A.A.F. at Groups, at B.A.F.O. – in fact almost everywhere.
Since VE-Day
The men and the equipment which are passing from the German scene can look back upon a tremendous achievement during the months since VE-Day.
The efforts of 2nd T.A.F. which preceded victory were so intense and concentrated that it seemed hardly possible to expect anything like equivalent effort immediately following the end of the war.
There was the natural tendency to relax; all Units found themselves on the move into the new quarters in Germany; and everyone began to think of demob and home and the putting off of uniform. On top of this there was the collection of arms from German civilians to be done and the necessity of keeping a watch for Sabotage. B.A.F.O. was busy.
A great job has been done. Disarmament of the G.A.F. has been almost completed. The R.A.F. has rooted itself in Germany.
And the men and machines, drivers and Jeeps, pilots and aircraft which never stopped hitting the Germens in the sky and on the roads and railways all the way up through Europe and across the Rhine, these men, this equipment and have finished their job.
One group alone has disposed of hundreds of thousands of tons of Luftwaffe equipment since last autumn. Thousands of aircraft have been salvaged from German airfields. Some have been sent to England for use with our airlines and others have been handed over to our Allies. Radar stations have been pulled down; every town, village, factory and garage has been searched for equipment. Underground works and fortifications have been examined and hundreds of secret documents scrutinized. Every experimental and research station in the British zone of Germany has had expert eyes trained on it to pull out secrets and get information.
And then the results have been sent to Farnborough for further investigation, for trial and experiment.
The Big Bang
On top of all of this there have been months of destruction of materials which the Germans meant to send to England. In all over 100,000 tons of Luftwaffe explosives were found in the British zone. The biggest bang of all time – disregarding the Atom Bomb – took place early this year in the heart of the German countryside when 800 tons of bombs were destroyed.
The boys called it “Goering's funeral salvo.”
B.A.F.O. has not only destroyed the material might of the Luftwaffe; it has also dissolved its manpower. Hundreds of thousands of men have been demobilized. I met an ex-Luftwaffe pilot
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driving a Control Commission taxi in Berlin and a waiter in the W.A.A.F. mess at Buckeburg who was the equivalent of an L.A.C. in the Luftwaffe a few weeks ago. Great numbers of these Germans have been put to work on the land; some have gone to the coalmines; some are in factories or busy clearing away the rubble of German towns.
Settling In
While the Luftwaffe has been in process of dissolution, the R.A.F. has been settling into permanent establishments in Germany.
In Berlin and Hamburg, Buckeburg and Celle and on airfields and outpost stations, the R.A.F. has taken root: theatres and cinemas, shops and clubs have been established. In Buckeburg, “Pam's Tea Shop” serves 1,500 cakes a day and it is the exclusive right of the W.A.A.F. who run it to invite whom they will to afternoon refreshments.
[photograph]
[Italics] An S.P. on horseback. An unusual sight, seen in Celle. [/Italics]
In Celle, the only town anywhere where R.A.F. Police ride through the streets on white horses, there are German beer shops turned into typical English “Pubs.” There is a gift shop, a book shop where they sell £2,000 worth of books every month, and a photographic studio which has recently had a rush of people wanting a last snap of the old blue.
At Gatow airfield, just outside Berlin, the R.A.F. has opened up lakeside clubs; there English and American music, played by German orchestras, flows across the moon-lit waters of the Wann Zee. So also at Hamburg where the vast expanse of the Alster water-front echoes with airman’s songs, and where the British Forces Network finds new stars of radio from the ranks of the R.A.F.
Yes, B.A.F.O. has settled into the Reich for a long stay, living in German houses or ex-Luftwaffe barracks, where a measure of comfort has replaced the grim austerity of tent life. Preparations are being made to bring across from U.K. wives and families of officers and airmen.
The once-jackbooted Germans serve the humble airmen who defeated their arrogance. There are German tailors at R.A.F. stations, German hairdressers, German drivers, German waiters – Germans to hew the coal and draw the water.
The Germans have a wholesome respect for the British “Luftwaffe,” as they call us.
Recreation and Work
Week-ends are free from duty for most of the R.A.F. and W.A.A.F. Then there are riding clubs, gliding clubs, yachting clubs, theatres packed to hear concerts of classical music on Sunday afternoons, photographic tours, soccer matches, and the E.V.T. University for those who wish to study. There are also English church bells ringing out across German fields on Sunday mornings.
Some of the R.A.F. Units are away from all these amenities. They are the outposts. The Radar stations near county villages make their own amusement except when the weekly cinema show comes along or the occasional concert party. Life in these places is
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lonely, often uncomfortable and seldom exciting. These men guide our aircraft, which now fly over Germany unmolested, to safe bases. They are doing a job of war severity in peace. A great job.
Some fighters or fighter bombers, bombers or transport aircraft of the R.A.F. are still out somewhere over the Reich when weather permits. Then, these outpost men are busy.
Some of the aircraft carry passengers, some freight, some take mail and some pursue the gigantic task of making a photographic survey of every square inch of German territory. The Radar Units help them on their way.
So Germany has been disarmed in the air; but perhaps the job which lies ahead is the most important of all.
To-day and to-morrow for many to-morrows yet the R.A.F. must keep watch over Germany.
Demobilization will deplete the Armies on the ground. Air vigilance alone will be able effectively to arrest any attempt at insurrection, any outbreak of sabotage, any effort at uprising. The future work of B.A.F.O. is to police the Reich in the sky.
The efficiency of the old crews, on the ground and in the air, and the power of the old planning, brought the enemy low and took away his sword.
The newcomers will win their spurs by ensuring that Germany does not temper a new sword and draw it forth. It is a mighty commitment and the R.A.F. in Germany realize what is involved.
[boxed] [NAAFI Crest] NAFFI NEWS; [italics] COMING SHORTLY: [/italics]
[Italics] A booklet that answers your queries about NAAFI [/Italics]
“An Enquiring Airman Wants to Know”
[Italics] Who runs NAAFI?” . . . “What happens to the profits?” . . . “How are NAAFI prices fixed?” . . . “Why not cut out rebate and reduce the prices?” . . . All these and many more questions frequently asked by R.A.F. personnel are answered in this booklet, which will be distributed free. [/Italics]
WITH the vast expansion of the Royal Air Force during the war, and the changes in personnel since the cessation of hostilities, many thousands of men are now serving who appear to know little of the constitution and the practice of NAAFI. Under the pressure of active service, the wartime airman had scant opportunity to acquaint himself with the principles on which the canteens on air stations at home and overseas were operated. Not unnaturally, he was disposed to ask many pertinent questions and to feel suspicious if a satisfactory answer was not forthcoming.
This pamphlet is being produced in an endeavour to supply him with the information which he has a right to know. The questions are based on actual enquiries which have reached NAAFI Headquarters, passed on from airmen, from canteen committees or from officials of NAAFI who have received them in the course of their duties.
[cartoon]
An enquiring Airman wants to know . .
[Italics] Owing to paper restrictions only a limited number of pamphlets will be available for each R.A.F. Station and all airmen and airwomen are urged to look out for a copy and study its contents. NAAFI is your business, and you should know how it works. [/italics] [boxed]
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[Image]
Our Mess
[Italics] By FLIGHT SERGEANT L.J. Evans. [/Italics]
THERE are messes and messes. Some are good, some are bad, some are indifferent. Description of them all would run the gamut of adjectives. These are messes which are quiet, cosy and intimate; some are large and noisy; some are gaunt, cheerless and draughty; others garish with a spurious modernity.
There are messes which the most expressive derogatory epithets would fail adequately to portray, and a few which are near-perfect.
Ours is a friendly mess. Small, but not too small. Comfortable, but not enervatingly [sic] so. There are twenty or so sergeants, flight sergeants, and warrant officers, among them a sprinkling of airwomen. It is the best mess I have been in, after the wanderings of five and a half years. And now, on the eve of my re-entry to civil life to resume a half-forgotten profession, its characteristics have set me pondering on the qualities that make it so.
Let us first take the amenities. We have two fairly large dining tables, set squarely in the centre of the room, which is just the convenient size for two dozen people. There are dining chairs to suit; and half a dozen armchairs and a settee. There are cards, papers and periodicals, a radiogram and records, a piano and a dartboard. Along one end is a sideboard to hold crockery and food.
The flames of a cheery blaze lick the brick walls of the fireplace and the wistful strains of [Italics] Finlandia [/Italics] float across the room from the radio. Over the fireplace is a notice board, and alongside it a smaller blackboard on which is chalked the menu for every meal. So when you enter the room you can tell immediately what there is to eat, and without ado, tell the waitress what you want and how much.
Such are the external manifestations of comfort. But then these things do not necessarily make a good mess, any more than fine clothes make the man, though they contribute substantially. What makes it a good mess more than anything is the friendly spirit you find in it. Arriving, a newcomer, you are soon made to feel “at home” and within a week or even less you are one of the family. I have been in messes where you are almost as much a stranger after three months as when you arrived. I have been in others where members congregate in cliques and admission is as difficult as if it were a secret society. You are regarded, if not with suspicion then with a faint distaste. Not so our mess. Perhaps the first morning, knowing no one, you will take your cup and saucer, pour out coffee or tea, tell the waitress you'd like some porridge, take a seat and begin your meal – all without a word. All the while others chat sociably, discuss the
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morning’s news or last night’s frivolities. The next day perhaps you will say “Good morning” to your neighbour. A day or two later you know the Christian names of some of the members. Within a week you are saying brightly “Good morning, Bill” or “Good morning, Sally” and your initial shyness, if you had any, has dissolved in the general atmosphere of cordiality and good will. For the speed of your entry into the circle will, of course, depend upon your temperament. There is the person who will feel at home in next to no time and adapt himself immediately to any environment; there are others who take a little time to break the ice. But in our mess the most reserved and detached individual will soon be a “live” member of the mess; sometimes, indeed, almost against his will.
In such a mess personalities become clearer and more distinct; and after a while you begin to realize that you live among a fascinating microcosm of society. Each person becomes more of an individual and less a member of the Service. Superficial veneers, some posed, some acquired, some purposely created, are drawn aside, revealing character and personality. Human relationships take on added interest and there is a gentle excitement in the revelation of minds and the interchange of anecdotes and views.
Here is Robin the worker, the man who is invariably the last in for dinner and tea because he has been working at his desk; Robin for ever cheery and charitable, who will always do you a good turn for purely altruistic motives, who will chuckle at his own and others’ jokes, and whose favourite phrase is “You’ve had your time, chum . . .” Everyone is Robin’s chum and he is everybody’s chum – a man who will pay for the first round in a crowd and disappear quietly back to his desk. Such men, you feel, make the world a pleasanter place to live in.
Then there is Wally, the expert at the [italics] double entendre, [/italics] fresh-faced and bright-eyed, of whom elderly and correct churchgoing ladies might say “What a nice boy” and those who know him will chuckle inwardly.
You have “Liz” and “Sally” who will take any amount of leg pulling – and give it – and the next moment will enjoin silence in the room while a Beethoven symphony is played on the air. Liz is our schoolmistress, looks after the library and will organize gramophone recitals for the music lovers.
There is “Sandy,” immaculate and smiling, presiding without fuss over our meetings, and like “Taff” his fellow countryman, an inveterate follower of rugby. And after tea you will see him immersed in a crossword puzzle, probably with “Taff” before the latter, target of many quips, bustles off to the White City, or for a solitary walk.
There is, too, the inevitable “Doc” to fix our appointments at sick quarters or the dental centre: Doc, who is Wally’s rival at the [italics] risqué [/italics] remark, and captain of darts. The football stalwarts are here as well – Harold, tall and muscular, unintentional breaker of feminine hearts and keeper of sports gear – and Les, non-smoking but not teetotal boss of the much maligned G.D.’s, who will never fail to stand by for a duty for you.
Peter will cheer us with satisfactory reports of the mess accounts, and play bridge, cricket and squash with equal facility.
“Gibby” will take apart a wireless set and put it together again as easily as turning a switch.
Our Mess has them all – the graduate, the student, the wit, the philanderer, the semi-mysoginist, the reserved and the outspoken, the bridge fiends and the outdoor enthusiasts. Few want to leave the mess to go to another Station. If they do they often wish they could return, and indeed some do come back, for a party or a visit.
And so, I suppose, although the comforts and amenities are there, subdued and unobtrusive, it is the people in it more than material things, that make our mess a good mess. Now civilian life, with its unpredictable vicissitudes, beckons. Soon I shall be leaving this company of interesting people. I shall remember them and “Our Mess” with pleasure and affection.
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[Italics] BRITISH AIRCRAFT :7 [/italics]
The Halifax
[Italics] The seventh of a series of articles on British aircraft written specially for the “Royal Air Force Journal” by the Society of British Aircraft Constructor, Ltd. [/italics]
[photograph]
THE name of Handley Page, Ltd., has been synonymous with the big bomber for more than 30 years. The association dates back to 1914 when the founder of the company (now Sir Frederick Handley Page) began to display an interest in the large aircraft which, with the outbreak of war, grew into a conviction that the big bomber was the true medium for bringing Air Power to bear on the enemy.
Few people at the time shared his conviction, and none his enthusiasm, but he was able to catch the ear of Mr. Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, and to secure from him a contract for a twin-engined bomber larger than any previously contemplated by either the military or the naval authorities of this or any other country. Throughout 1915, day and night, work on the new bomber – named the 0/100 – went forward without pause, and in December of that year the first off the line made its maiden flight.
The 0/100 was followed by an improved version; the 0/400, but even this did not give full expression to Handley Page’s conception of the big bomber. Towards the close of the war he produced the four-engined V/1500 which was expressly designed for bombing of Berlin and other cities deep in the heart of Germany. The V/1500 had a wingspan of 126 ft., a length of 62 ft., and stood 23 ft. high. In flight it was aa majestic as it was impressive and little skill in aircraft recognition was needed to identify it. It made a class of its own. Berlin escaped its blows; the Armistice was signed before the long hours of darkness, which were essential for such an operation, came round again.
Twenty-one years later other Handley Page bombers, with increased vigour and power, began again the work of destruction from which the 0/400s had been withdrawn in 1918. The first of the second generation of H.P. bombers to see active service was the [italics] Hampden; [/italics] the second, the [italics] Halifax [/italics].
When the [italics] Halifax [/italics] first went into service, it could carry a heavier bomb load on the longer ranges than any other bomber then in service. Its basic design had been started in January, 1937, when a layout was begun for a new medium bomber to replace the [italics] Hampden [/italics]. This aircraft was to have been powered with two of the new Rolls-Royce [italics] Vulture [/italics] motors, then in course of development.
In August, 1937, the Air Ministry decided that a likely shortage of [italics] Vultures [/italics] might delay the new bomber and it was accordingly modified to take four [italics] Merlin [/italics] motors. The new bomber was given a bigger span and a longer fuselage, but was otherwise unchanged.
Design work occupied the best part of a year, and the first prototype, L.7244, flew on October 2, 1939, only 22 months after the first of the revised drawings were made. It had four 1,145 h.p. Rolls-Royce [italics] Merlin X [/italics] motors, a loaded weight to 55,000 lbs., and a top speed of about 280 m.p.h
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[Page Break]
ROYAL AIR FORCE JOURNAL
From the first, the aircraft was right, and no major modification were needed. Production had begun before the two prototypes were finished, and the first production machine flew on October 11, 1940. Deliveries to Bomber Command started on November 15, 1940, and the first [italics] Halifax [/italics] operational flight was made on March 11, 1941, against Le Harve and Kiel.
Between that date and the end of the war, there was built up around the [italics] Halifax [/italics] a series of operational and engineering triumphs which rank high in the history of the Royal Air Force and the British aircraft industry. In all, no fewer than 26 different “Marks” were built and put into service. Some of the changes which distinguished one version from another were slight, but in accordance with Service custom they merited and received a bestowal of a special Mark number. There were 13 distinct types of [italics] Halifax [/italics] bomber, four distinct types of [italics] Halifax [/italics] Transports, three distinct types of [italics] Halifax [/italics] Glider Tugs and Paratroopers, and six different types for Coastal Command and the Meteorological Service.
The 20 principal [italics] Halifaxes [/italics] were the Mk.B.I (Series I,II and III), Mk.B.II (Series I, I Special and IA), Mk.B.III, Mk. B.IV, Mk. B.V (Series I, I Special and IA), Mk B.VI, Mk.B.VII bombers; Mk.C.III. C.VI, C.VII and C.VIII transports; and the Mk. A.III, Mk. A.VII. Mk. A.IX glider tugs and paratroopers. Mark B.I and B.II had Rolls-Royce [italics] Merlin [/italics] engines, the rest had Bristol [italics] Hercules [/italics].
On December 31st, 1945, no fewer than 6,059 [italics] Halifaxes [/italics] of all categories had been built. This feat of production was shared by five different producing centres; (1) Handley Page Ltd., of Cricklewood; (2) English Electric Co., of Preston; (3) London Aircraft Production Group, (which was formed jointly by the London Transport Passenger Board, Chrysler Motors, Ltd., Duple Bodies & Motors, Ltd., Express Motors & Body Works, Ltd., and Park Royal Coachworks, Ltd.); (4) Rootes Securities, Ltd., Speke; and (5) Fairey Aviation Co., Ltd., Stockport. The [italics] Halifaxes [/italics] built up to June, 1944, represented 40 per cent. of all heavy bomber of production in this country.
At peak production, the Halifax Group turned out one complete aircraft every working hour. This involved the making, fitting and inspection of 254,000 parts an hour, (excluding rivets); the inspection and fitting of 2,000 embodiment loan parts and hour, the cutting, forming and fitting of two to three acres of light alloy sheet per hour; the production of three miles of rolled or drawn sections of sheet metal per hour; the cutting, drilling and fitting of five miles of light alloy special extruded sections, the closing of from 600,000 to 700,000 rivets per hour, the fitting of three to four miles of electric cable per hour; and the fitting of one mile of pipes per hour.
The main different forms which the [italics] Halifax [/italics] took is a guide to its versatility. It bore a heavy part of the mighty offensive waged by Bomber Command against industrial Germany; it lent its powerful aid to the Allied cause in the Mediterranean theatre, and was the first British four-engined bomber to operate regularly from bases outside the United Kingdom. It towed the heaviest gliders in the Allied airborne operations, and took over supply running to the resistance movements in Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia and Romania.
As a bomber, the [italics] Halifax [/italics] could survive heavy punishment from flak and fighter shells; control surfaces and engines, wing and tail units would often reveal astonishing damage when examined after a raid. It could be pulled out of steep dives, and subjected to the most violent evasive manoeuvres. It was not an easy prey for night fighters, and in one month [italics] Halifax [/italics] squadrons shot down 45 enemy fighters and damaged many more.
One of the earliest operations in which [italics] Halifaxes [/italics] took part was an attack on the German warship [Italics] Scharnhorst, [/italics] at La Pallice, on July 24, 1941. One of the last was the paralysing offensive against enemy shipping in the Kattegat and Skaggerak which immediately preceded the end of the war in Europe. One Halifax III (“Friday the Thirteenth”) made 128 operational missions in the course of which members of its crew won a V.C., a D.S.O., a D.F.C., and a D.F.M.
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8014 N545 36,500 4/46 S.C.P. 1/344
[Page Break]
[boxed] TRADE LIST FOR REMUSTERING
BELOW is a list of trades open for remustering, direct, or with training where necessary. The list is up-to-date on going to press (April 1st, 1946), but trade requirements are constantly fluctuating. Record Office memoranda will give the latest position, and will also give details as to eligibility, etc.
PART 1. – AIRMEN
Aircraft Finisher – Group II
Armourer – Group II
Blacksmith and Welder – Group I
Carpenter II – Group II
Chiropodist – Group M
Clerk E.A. – Group IV
Clerk P.A. – Group IV
Clerk G.D. – Group IV
Clerk G.D. Postal – Group IV
Clerk Provisioning – Group IV
Clerk S.D. – Group IV
Cook (a) - Group III
Coppersmith and S.M.W. – Group I
Dental Clerk Orderly – Group M
Dental Mechanic – Group M
Dispenser – Group M
Driver M.T. – Group V
Electrician II (a) – Group II
Equipment Assistant – Group IV
Fire Fighter – Group V
Fabric Worker (a) – Group III
Fitter Marine – Group I
Flight Mechanic A – Group II
Flight Mechanic E – Group II
Flying Control Assistant – Group V
Grinder – Group II
Gunner (a) – Group V
Instrument Repairer II – Group II
Interpreter – Group IV
Laboratory Assistant – Group M
Masseur – Group M
Miller – Group II
Motor Boat Crew – Group III
Musician (a) – Group V
Nursing Orderly (a) – Group M
Optician Orderly – Group M
Photographer (a) – Group II
P.T.I. (a) – Group V
Radiographer – Group M
Radar W/Mechanic – Group I
Radar Operator (b) – Group II
R/T Operator – Group IV
R.A.F. Police (a) – Group V
Safety Equipment Assistant (a) – Group III
Sanitary Assistant – Group M
Telephonist – Group III
Teleprinter Operator – Group IV
Turner – Group II
Vulcaniser (a) – Group V
Wireless Operator – Group II
NOTES: - (a) Open to airmen volunteering for regular engagements.
(b) On completion of training Radar Operators are placed in Group IV, and after 6 months’ satisfactory service are place in Group II.
PART 11. – AIRWOMEN
Administrative – Group IV
Chiropodist – Group M
Clerk G.D. – Group IV
Clerk G.D. (Postal) – Group IV
Clerk E.A. – Group IV
Clerk P.A. – Group IV
Clerk P.S. – Group IV
Clerk Provisioning – Group IV
Cook – Group III
Dispenser – Group M
Equipment Assistant – Group IV
Hairdresser – Group III
Laboratory Assistant – Group M
Masseuse – Group M
Mess Steward – Group V
Nursing Orderly – Group M
Orderly – Group V
Radiographer – Group M
Telephonist – Group III
Teleprinter Operator – Group IV
W.A.A.F. Police – Group V
Waitress – Group V
W.P.T.I. – Group V [/boxed]
[Page Break]
[Image]
Cover printed by Fosh & Cross Ltd., London.
Dublin Core
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Royal Air Force Journal
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Volume 4, number 5, May 1946, the final edition. The Journal contains information from the Air Ministry, stories from around the world and humour.
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Great Britain. Air Ministry
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Printed magazine
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eng
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Text
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MBarrettR1863228-170515-09
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Royal Air Force
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IBCC Digital Archive
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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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Claire Monk
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
demobilisation
evading
Gee
ground personnel
H2S
Halifax
Master Bomber
mess
Oboe
Pathfinders
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1162/11721/ATiptonJ170610.2.mp3
f8912bd49e04249ec7547cc4487572d8
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Tipton, John
John E Tipton
J E Tipton
Description
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An oral history interview with Wing Commander John Tipton DFC (1917 - 2017, 129444 Royal Air Force). He flew operations as a navigator with 40 and 109 Squadrons.
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IBCC Digital Archive
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2017-06-10
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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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Tipton, JE
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Transcription
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GC: Ok. Hello. This is Gary Clarke and I’m interviewing John Tipton today at his home in Tenby for the International Bomber Command Centre’s Digital Archive. Thank you, John for seeing me today. And there’s nobody else present today and Mr Tipton is happy for the interview to carry on on that basis. Is that ok Mr Tipton?
JT: Yeah.
GC: Ok. Ok. We’d like to, could we start with where you were born?
JT: Well, my name is John Tipton. I was born in Penally, near Tenby.
GC: Ok.
JT: In 1917.
GC: Right.
JT: And I spent my youth all around Tenby. My parents, who were hoteliers in Tenby. And I went to university at University College London. And from there the war broke out just before I graduated, and so I joined the Air Force immediately on the outbreak of war.
GC: Right.
JT: Because I was a member of the University Officer Training Corps anyway.
GC: Yeah.
JT: And [pause] but then they left me to graduate until June 1940 and I, then I joined the Air Force proper. I trained at Pershore, which is outside Worcester and various other places. Prestwick and Porthcawl and Pershore. And from there I went to 40 Squadron in Bomber Command. I arrived there in June ’41, I think and we did some operations from our base at Alconbury which was a satellite of Wyton. And then we were turned out to be the mobile squadron of 3 Group and we went to Malta ‘til, and where I carried on until I finished my tour. There’s not much to say about it.
GC: Ok. You mentioned you were born in 1917 which is in the First World War. So presumably your mum and dad would have had memories of the First World War as well.
JT: They did indeed. I was born on my mother’s birthday in 1917 and my father was away in the war. He was a member of the Royal Flying Corps which became the RAF. And ground crew of course because he was quite old at the time. Forty seven I think. And that’s all I remember. Remember of my dad.
GC: Right. You were very young.
JT: Yes. And I was brought up in Tenby and went to school in Tenby and I went from there to university in London. UCL in London. And at the end of that time we’d got another war on our hands. And so I joined, I joined the Air Force and the training was, the Canadian training had not started at that time. So as I’d been recruited as a navigator we had to wait some time for navigation training which took me to a place at a civilian school at Prestwick.
GC: Right.
JT: I finally succeeded in getting in and then training, and finished my training and went to Wyton. To 40 Squadron where I operated for a short time. And then the squadron went to Malta and stayed in Malta for the rest of my time there. In fact, Malta although we had originally gone on a six week tour the squadron stayed there and stayed in the Middle East for the rest of the time. We came back. Then I instructed at a Wellington OTU for approximately [pause] and I was very fortunate because I went on holiday to Torquay, I think, with a couple of friends. and we met an Australian there. And he said, when we parted he said, ‘I can’t tell you anything about it but I belong to a very interesting squadron which is flying very interesting aircraft and we’re looking for people like you. Well, that was — I was baited [laughs]. I couldn’t resist. Anyway, and so I, he saw his CO and I saw my CO and I rapidly went to 109 Squadron and I found myself on Oboe Mosquitoes.
GC: Wow.
JT: From where I remained until I’d completed seventy operations altogether. And then I went to, that was supposed to be as many as you could stand but one morning we woke up and listened, turned on the radio and found out it was D-Day. And so we immediately rang our old squadron. I was there with this other Scotsman and we got back and we actually operated on D-Day before that and —
GC: So, was, was that with you say your old squadron? Was that with 40 Squadron then or 109?
JT: No. No. Not 40. In the masters. We were in 109. And so I started a third tour against, we operated from D-Day through to the closing of the Falaise Gap which saw the last of the Germans bundled out of France. And so it was a rather nice finish. Then I was, my pilot who was Australian was posted back to Australia and well, I was willing to carry on and many people did. The group commander navigation officer said no. I’d done enough. And so I, by which time my total operations were a hundred and four. And so, I still wanted to see action so I trained as a controller on Oboe which was what we, what our squadron was using. And I went as an Oboe controller and I went to Holland and saw the rest of the war out in Holland.
GC: So, you spent a lot of time, you know to do, is it a hundred and four. A hundred and four operations and then you still volunteered then to go to Holland to help with the Mosquito directions then was it? Or —
JT: Yeah. Well, 109 Squadron and later 105 they operated as Pathfinders using equipment called Oboe. And this we were called was anti-aircraft ground control. And the, and the ground control stations followed the army up through France, Holland and Belgium. And so, I was in Holland until virtually the end until we crossed the Rhine and went across into Germany and finally came to an end. The end of the war. And we, I returned to Britain and started life in the peacetime Air Force.
GC: Yeah, so —
JT: Having been awarded a permanent commission.
GC: Of course. Yeah. So, in in this time, so you’d done, well being from the time of volunteering and becoming operational was about, was that four years?
JT: About that I suppose.
GC: About four years. And did you get to see your family much in that time?
JT: We had leave every six weeks in Bomber Command. Which was very good because by having a fixed term leave you only had six weeks to look ahead. The Americans on the other hand operated on a different system and people did a tour of thirty operations and they didn’t see anything. They had leave in between but the leave was really according to requirement. And this was very bad, and bad for morale because we only looked six weeks ahead and they looked, had to look ahead to thirty operations and back to America and it was bad for morale. I think we, the Air Force had really studied a book which was written by Lord Moran, I think who was Churchill’s doctor and had been a doctor during the First World War. And he wrote a book called, “The Anatomy Of Courage.” Which really meant that you’d got, each individual had a certain amount of courage to use up. You could either use it at one or you could spin it out. And the I think the Air Force learned this lesson and it was a very good one because by looking only six weeks ahead to the next leave there was always hope of survival in that length of time. And the, so you, you never looked in to a, into infinity as Americans did. And so I think that Bomber Command was an extraordinary organisation, and quite wonderful. And there was really no more of a problem physical anyway at all that you saw and I think it was because they’d followed this principal of rationing the use of a man’s courage. I think it’s a short amount.
GC: They could look after their crews then, were they?
JT: Yes. And they looked after the men much better which was good.
GC: So, do you remember how you originally crewed up together then for 40 Squadron or —
JT: Crewing up. Well, crewing up for 109 Squadron which of course was two, which was very simply done on the squadron but the crewing up for Wellingtons was very odd. They put everybody, because they went, they arrived at OTU and there did a certain amount of ground school. The pilots did taxiing and so on. They were learning to fly the aircraft. And navigators did navigation school. The gunners, the wireless operators did ground school. Then one day they put them all in a bunch and they said, ‘Now sort yourselves out into crews.’ God knows why. It was very odd and, but it worked remarkably well because they didn’t know each other. Perhaps in different training streams up and down at the time. And it completed with room full of strangers and the thing with strangers the pilots found a navigator. Then the two of them found a wireless operator and the rest of them found a rear gunner. It worked. I don’t know why it worked but it did.
GC: Yeah. So, so was your first crew with 40 Squadron, were they all British or were they multi-national?
JT: They were all British. And as I said the pilot was a clerk with the dashboard err with the Gas Board in Windsor. The two wireless operators were schoolboys really. And I was out of university. And the rear gunner was a mature chap, a butcher by trade from Gateshead.
GC: So was he —
JT: A butcher.
GC: Was he the smallest then if he was the tail gunner?
JT: No. He wasn’t. No. Quite a reasonable size. And we carried on then together until one day in Malta we were lined up because in Malta you couldn’t keep the aircraft on the airfield because they wanted to get immediately get a bomb to it because the aircraft, the island was permanently overflown by the Luftwaffe who were only ten minutes away anyway. So the aircraft were taxied out at, by last light from a place called Safi Strip where they had an airstrip. And then they were brought up and operated and they were taxied back again before it got light to keep everybody safe if they could. But this night we were all brought up and they were lined up ready and we were going off first to see because we did a weather check. One aircraft would go and check the weather for the others because you know as soon as we split up and [unclear] very great. And so we were the only crew up there at that time. And a German intruder dropped a bomb. Apparently, apparently right in, in the middle of us. And we were gathered together under the double identifier, the light of the aircraft, in a little circle. Just the aircrew plus one member of the ground crew. And we were all thrown in different directions and I landed under the port wing tip about thirty feet away. And I was alright except for a piece of shrapnel in my leg which wasn’t too difficult at the time and went back to the aircraft which was then burning. And under the aircraft was the pilot and I thought that he was still alive and went and fetched him and dragged him clear. And the ground crew member, he had found the rear gunner who had lost his leg. And the, so we had the four members, the four only near the aircraft. We dragged the two bodies clear until the, and we dug ourselves in more or less while the tanks went up with raw fuel. And then again we dug ourselves in until the bombs went off. And then people approached the aircraft and found us and took us away to sick, to sick quarters. And I was, I wasn’t kept very long but poor Sydney, he lost his leg. There’s a photograph of him after the war because he actually got a false leg and he stayed in the Air Force for some years after. After the war. And he, he continued to fly but not operationally of course. And it was rather amusing because people had all sorts of mascots of their own which they hanged, draped across the navigation table and his mascot happened to be my scarf. I didn’t know. But after he had got a false leg he went flying again and he wrote to me and asked if he could, if I would send him my scarf because it had been his mascot. Which was a perfectly ordinary scarf I used to wear because the aircrew overalls were rough around the neck. Well, it had no sentimental value for me at all. I thought it was rather amusing. That was quite something. And, and as I said before I went to OTU and trained crews for operations. And went from there to Mosquitoes. Which was very fortunate again I landed on Mosquitoes where the loss rate was lower than the main force. And also had the the satisfaction of knowing exactly what you’d done by the time you came back. You had a record of exactly what you’d, what you’d done. So you had knowledge of how you’d, how you’d finished. Oboe was radar control and it was very satisfying work that you knew just what you’d achieved by the end. And I stayed there until I totalled seventy operations. And then I went off test flying with not of my old pals but with another chap. And we woke one morning listening to the news and found it was D-day. So we rang the squadron and we found our way back that day. We operated before D-Day was over and we stayed and we re-joined our original crews and continued until, as I say the Battle of Falaise Gap which the Americans were pushing the Germans down from one end and we were pushing the Germans from another. The Falaise Gap was the gap between the two from which the Germans were escaping from France into Germany. So I did succeed in seeing it all. In seeing France cleared of Germany. Which was very satisfying.
GC: So then, so how was your Mosquito set up? Was it set up for bombing then or —
JT: Well, Mosquitoes came in every shape and size. Well, same shape and size but inside there was various things. Ours were Pathfinder Mosquitoes and they were well equipped with a fairing in the nose. And they were very intriguing to other, to the members of the, of a Lancaster squadron on the same station because we used to go out to the aircraft just carrying a little board with us with a [unclear] map on it and, and nothing else when they were loaded down with maps and sextants and things which we were used to, being on Wellingtons. But we just used to climb on board the two of us. And —
GC: So, as with being in the Mosquito and, let’s say the Pathfinder then — so before the operations who would you be going, who would you be with in discussing the actual operation? How it was going to go ahead.
JT: We had a very careful briefing of course. But once the briefing was over then we operated, as we dropped a marker bomb [unclear]. And although we, we dropped a fresh marker every two minutes throughout the duration of the bombing so we had a fresh marker in case we bombed out or something. And so we put a fresh one down every two minutes. And of course the aircraft, you know the number of aircraft and there it was. We came back and we found out what we’d done. A little chart of our bombing run by that time and we saw our error at the end and the error was nearly always within fifty yards which was nothing really when you were following up a thousand bombers. And so it was very satisfying work because not only was it satisfying from doing a good job in a nice aircraft but you found out how well you’d done when you went home.
GC: So, how far ahead would you be in a Mosquito of the main force? The main attacking force.
JT: We had, we continued during the operation of the main force with two minutes follow up. So that we kept a marker going throughout the whole of the raid. But our original one went out. Then saw two minutes ahead so that the bomber crews flying and searching, flying and when they were two minutes off the target and saw the marker ahead they went to bomb the marker, turned and came home.
GC: Yeah. One thing I was really trying to understand as well is obviously you say all these squadrons came amassed together then, didn’t they?
JT: Yes.
GC: From different airfields in the UK.
JT: Yes.
GC: How long would it take for them to —
JT: Assemble.
GC: To assemble. Yeah.
JT: I don’t know. But less than an hour. But of course they were assembling only because then every, any, every individual aircraft in Bomber Command operated by itself. And it handled its own navigation and it dropped bombs as an individual on the target. Whereas the Americans of course operated in daylight and they operated an entirely different system. They, and they all dropped on a lead navigator. I don’t know. It wasn’t as an effective bombing. Omaha Beach for example which because immediately before the landings off the ships there was a force of Bomber Command hitting the beach defences. So that they’d be stunned by the chaps arrived off the ships and the landing craft. And the British or Canadian beaches were well covered. And one of the American beaches was well covered too. But the, but Omaha Beach the formation missed entirely and they dropped their bombs way behind the beach leaving the Omaha Beach defences almost intact. With the result that Omaha was a terrible battle to gain a foothold and they had awful losses there. But they don’t, the Americans never mentioned why it happened. It happened because of the failure of the Air Force.
[recording paused]
GC: So, what was [pause]
JT: Could have been anywhere. They’re not chronological.
GC: So, let’s say we go back to Malta. What was the airfield like in Malta? What was the base like? Was it mainly British there or —
JT: All British.
GC: Yeah.
JT: Apart from Maltese of course [laughs] And the airfield, as I said you couldn’t leave aircraft on the airfield because the Germans were in strength and were only twelve minutes flying away. So they operated over freely. We had no fighters when we were there. And we’d originally had four old Hurricanes I think and they were all shot down because they, Malta had very poor radar to the north. And so that’s where the Germans came from [laughs] and they frequently missed the top cover entirely. And I think these four old Hurricanes and we, they disappeared all at the same time. Mainly because they didn’t set off [unclear] . The main thing anyway, of course the famous lot were Faith, Hope and Charity. Three Sea Gladiators which were in, stacked up in packing cases and they took them out of the packing case and they were flown by staff officers and the main purpose was to keep safe rather than get shot down. But never the less their purpose was tremendous morale. And Faith, Hope and Charity were famous aircraft at that time. And then we had occasional fighters we mainly got in in ones and twos. But otherwise at that time there was nothing.
GC: So were there, were, the billets were obviously away from the airfield then were they? So you could keep safe? Or not?
JT: Originally the aircrew lived in a place called [pause] it was a hospital anyway and half a nunnery. Because we arrived in Malta at night of course as one obviously would and found a bed for the night and got up in the morning and just wearing a pair of pyjama trousers and a towel around the shoulder I went out and immediately met a couple of nuns [laughs] You know. And that’s how it was. Then they split us up to spread us around the island. And we were in a place called the National Palace. And it was very poor because we were very poorly looked after and we used to live, the only food we had was really Maconochie’s meat and vegetable stew. I don’t know where they got it from but they got piles of it and we had to wait in turn for a spoon because there were only, we were about a hundred I suppose in the sergeant’s part and I think we only had three or four or five spoons between us. We had to wait until, meat and vegetable stew which was horrible. I remember after the war when I was married my wife bought a tin which she managed to buy. A triumph. But it took, the sight of it turned me off. And we, as I say we were very poorly looked after mainly due to this same management who’d didn’t keep records of the flying. Because they, it didn’t matter at all really and so we were fed this way. And you know it was a pity but there we are.
GC: So, were there on, on, were there opportunity to socialise with the local Maltese people or —
JT: No. No opportunities at all because as I say the squadron broke many records. We were operating virtually every night. So you slept in the daytime and operated at night. And we did the whole time. We didn’t know any Maltese. I knew them afterwards of course. I’ve been back and forth to Malta since then. But they’re fine people but we didn’t see much of them.
GC: So, are your operations in Malta, are they in to North Africa or into Europe or a mixture?
JT: Oh, variously. A lot in to Italy. And a lot into Greece and North Africa. We spread ourselves around quite, quite a bit. As well as we could. There were two Wellington squadrons. One Merlin engined Wellington from 4 Group, I think. Or 5 Group. And Wellington 1Cs from 3 Group. So, but we didn’t see much of the other squadrons we had because we were billeted in different parts of the island.
GC: And the engines coped ok with the heat in Malta?
JT: They seemed to. Yes. With all the difficulties the ground crew did a remarkable job I think. As they usually do in keeping them serviced. As I said you taxied off the airfield and hidden away in a place called Safi Strip for the daytime and were only brought out at night.
[pause]
JT: It was an odd place to operate but I think worthwhile. I’m very glad I was there. If only because I’ve since had connections with Malta and feel very close to it.
[pause]
GC: So then you did — was it forty four?
JT: Sorry?
GC: How many operations did you do with 40 Squadron?
JT: Thirty [pause] thirty four I think. And I did seventy with 109.
GC: Did you have a choice to — when you went to 109 was there a choice with whether you became crew of a Mosquito or Pathfinder Lanc or Lancaster then?
JT: 109 was solely Mosquitoes.
GC: It was. Right.
JT: 582 was our sister Lancaster squadron on the same station. And then 105 Squadron which was a low level Mosquito squadron that converted on to Oboe and sent to us. So we had two squadrons going. And after the aircrew were interchangeable between the two squadrons but they didn’t live together. We lived separately because I think the eggs in one basket principle finally split us up because we operated on behalf of the whole of the Command and I think before the invasion they felt slightly vulnerable to do things like parachute raids or something on more vulnerable airfields. And if I’d had all the Pathfinders, all the Oboe Pathfinders which were particularly accurate. You couldn’t have them all on one station. So this was better.
GC: Could the Germans detect Oboe? Were they able to?
JT: Did they detect it? Well, yes because they had to. As well as the fact the Oboe had a very interesting history because it started off with a flight of aircraft, Ansons really trying to find out how the Germans managed to bomb so accurately during their Blitz on England. And from that Oboe developed in a, it was very interesting because Oboe was very much better than the Germans because they could only, oh you know [pause] but it was, it had a strange development but it turned out to be very good. Very good indeed. It could put the marker down within fifty yards. And you usually theoretically zero depending on your, on the aerodynamics of the marker bomb was but they were very carefully looked after to try and ensure that the aerodynamics were right.
[pause]
GC: Did you have any superstitions? Or —
JT: No. Not at all.
GC: Or rituals or anything? No.
JT: None at all. People used to collect in my Wellington days. The people were superstitious. They all had mascots which they used to drape around the table. I remember having a bra on the, hung on the knobs of my astrodome [laughs] and I don’t know whose they were. I had none at all. And quite deliberately. I reckoned it was a bad thing to have mascots which you were likely to lose. But so I had no superstitions of any sort. Which is better I think. Then of course once the war ended I, the peacetime Air Force was rather busy. I rather expected it to be very leisurely and I could continue with my law studies but I didn’t have time. I was kept nose to the grindstone doing courses and things. And I went to New Zealand and I was there for two and a half years. Came back. Went to Staff College which the entrance exam was held while I was in New Zealand so I tried there. And from Staff College I went to command a squadron. 527 Squadron which is, and the distinction of being the largest squadron in the Air Force at the time. Probably not so big as wartime. And from then on I went to a variety of jobs until I sorted the, I went back to the station, the only active station in the Air Force, and found very very paper bound. And so I tried the Civil Service exam and fortunately I passed it. I said entry to the civil service at a rank higher than my, I was leaving the Air Force as a wing commander and entering the civil service as a principal which was a rank up. [unclear] And I went on from there. And, and a way, for a process like that. I think it was a good, a good time to leave the Air Force. And I had the best of it.
GC: So, and where were you living at that time?
JT: We lived at Farnborough. Purely for commuting purposes.
[pause]
JT: And when I left the civil service it was time to retire anyway.
GC: Yeah. And you did some volunteering then as well afterwards.
JT: Sorry I did what?
GC: You did some volunteering then afterwards.
JT: Oh yes. I had to find something to do in Tenby. I was willing to do anything but I was very fortunate in getting hold of the museum and being the curator there for thirteen years was very rewarding. I was very lucky [pause] At which point I retired. I quite enjoyed myself. Very.
GC: So was it easy? Was it easy to get home on your, on your leave? When you had leave?
JT: Oh, perfectly easy. After we’d landed anyway. And we used to [pause] my Australian pilot he would normally come home on leave with me and we used to spend a night in London and then come to Tenby. And he, when he went back to Australia I was posted back. That was when I finished because the group navigation officer, a chap called John Searby said I’d better stop. I thought the war was coming to an end at that time. I mean driven the Germans out of France in some state of confusion. But of course there was a lot of war left. But I saw that in as a controller in Holland which was very miserable and intense but it passed all right. But Holland was very dark. They’d taken the occupation very hard I think. But we used to have a headquarters down in Brussels. And occasionally we used to have to go to Brussels and it was like, going into Belgium I think they’d taken the occupation much more lightly. They’d been in the black market and all sorts of activities I think. And they’d survived very much better. And they really, that was a lot of fun. While Holland had no fun at all. None at all. But they had lots going on in Brussels. And you could buy, I don’t know why, but the Germans had only just left. We followed in after and you could buy anything in Brussels. Things you wouldn’t imagine, you know. Like beautiful notepaper. Lined notepaper. Perfume. I remember standing by a fellow saying I could use a bottle of Chanel Number 5. And unfortunately she, at a mess party she left it for the entire, anyone to take a turn at it and somebody knocked it over. The place must have stank [laughs] But it was amazing how all these things were available.
[pause]
JT: But I said we’d been to New Zealand [unclear] all we did was in Paris so it was never easy. I was at SHAPE headquarters which was Supreme Headquarter Europe which was out of Versailles. And life was very easy. And there I was in air intelligence. I was chief of air, of air intelligence and my deputy was a German. The head of the, of the sort of branch which dealt with a lot of things was an Italian. And although I’d got a Norwegian and somebody else in my group I got on terribly well with the German and the Italian. Which I don’t know whether it was accident or design but the German was great fun and we, not only did we get on well together but we felt great friends with the [pause] and the Italian was remarkable because he’d been a prisoner of war in Kenya. He was taken, and they’d kept on as he was an officer and they’d farmed him out to families and he married the daughter of the family. Then this daughter inherited this great business in Kenya and inherited another big business in South Africa. And then unfortunately she died and so he left. Alberto left the Air Force for some time but obviously he’d got two children and he was looking after them because the children inherited a lot of money from the two sides of his wife’s family. And so he stayed out of the Air Force, out of the army actually for some time and looked after the finances. And he was terribly, he didn’t profit out of it at all. Not at all. He dedicated his life to them. Eventually he married again. A Dutch woman whose husband was the, whose father was the head of medical services to the Italian army, I think. And they had two children. Lovely children. But he made it quite clear that the children, the elder children of his first marriage were looked after and he had all their money sorted away in Switzerland to avoid tax as Italians do. And he, and so dedicated his life really to two children of his first marriage. Which was rather hard on his second wife naturally. But I mean I’ve never known anyone quite as ethical. Alberto.
GC: Did you keep in touch with the German chap you mentioned?
JT: Oh yes. Until he died eventually. Then his wife died. And I was in touch with his daughters after that. He had two daughters. And one was in Singapore at the same time as my daughter was living in Singapore. Both my [unclear] my people in the process and did very well. But one of the German daughters came and lived with us for about six months learning English. The German, he was the second chap in the job. The first one was very laid back, an Austrian who was, he was as laid back as you imagine [unclear] to be. He was a fighter pilot. And it was only after the war he elected to be to take German nationality because he’d had a house which had been destroyed in bombing. And the only way he could get compensation for that was by taking German nationality. But he was a very laid back chap the second one. The one I took which was a friend of mine he was he never met an Englishmen before. And he’d learned English because after the war of course they were left abandoned. So he went to university to do architecture and when they opened the forces again he re-joined the German forces as an architect and he was on airfield building for quite some time. Then he joined and came in to intelligence and but he, he was apparently very serious to start with. He was a Prussian. And he was, he’d never met an Englishman before. But we sort of became great friends.
[pause]
GC: Ok then. Mr Tipton, is there anything else you can think of? Or anything else you want to say?
JT: I don’t think so [pause] So, after the war I went around various things in the Air Force including I think I was the first navigator to command a squadron. So I will leave with that and before staff college I got that and that was quite an interesting job. But there we are.
GC: And so after the war was — what were your feelings about Bomber Command and obviously —
JT: I think Bomber Command was very badly done by. Largely because it was a remarkable organisation. As I said there were twenty one nationalities in the Great Escape who were shot. And they, they carried on the war on for a long time. They were the only people who carried the war to Germany and it was very important that the Germans should feel that they were getting punished for what they were doing. Otherwise there would have been nothing at all. Bomber Command carried the war on its own shoulders really from the time of, from Dunkirk on until the invasion. Solely because otherwise the Germans would have been quite happy and not realised the war was on really. And they were made conscious of it by the bomber offensive. And at the end of the war one of the targets turned out to be Dresden which was not a target which Butch Harris wanted to attack at all.
GC: No.
JT: The Americans didn’t want to attack either but it was forced upon us by the Russians who in their advance wanted Dresden destroyed. And [pause] and so it was. And the orders came to Bomber Command from above really. And it was because it was not on their list of targets. And yet of course there was a great fuss about the destruction of Dresden and what was done which was done by politicians passing it down on behalf of the Russians who wanted it done. And it was the American and British Bomber Commands who were most very reluctant to it. It was done and it was, it gave, it put a bad name. I don’t know why particularly they pick on Dresden but it gave the bomber offensive a bad name. And Churchill, when he spoke after the war he thanked everybody down and including the Cub Scouts and left Bomber Command out. And we carried the war on our own shoulders for years. And yet he had no thanks for them. And yet during the time he’d been a neighbour of Harris and they’d been friends. And they were, you know he was very appreciative of what was done but he completely abandoned them after the war. I felt very sad. Very bad it was. They didn’t deserve that.
GC: Yeah. But things, things have changed now over the last sort of ten, fifteen, twenty years do you think?
JT: In which direction?
GC: In appreciation of what Bomber Command did. You know, by —
JT: I’m not conscious of it.
GC: Which is why it’s important now to have, you know, the Memorial. The Bomber Command Memorial in Lincoln.
JT: Yes. That of course was set up Bomber Command itself, not by — by friends. The Memorial wasn’t set up by the government at all. But why they should turn on it when it had carried the war on its own shoulders for three years, three or four years when nothing was happening at all to the Germans. And it was very important that something should be happening and something pretty bad and so it was. And it was, I think a serious let down.
[pause]
JT: But there you are. You get no thanks for something. But to end on sacrifice because although I went through and did an enormous number of operations the majority of people disappeared on their first tour of operations. Very few people survived their first tour. And then the second tour they became Pathfinders and Master Bombers and they had to face worse things and carried on for another tour. So the final people who finally achieved seventy operations and must have been a very small percentage indeed. Very small. One or two percent. But then of course after D-Day it was a free for all [laughs] Everybody was having fun. But things got confused rather because they were so busy. But I was very happy to carry on. But some people carried on much much, for much longer than I did. But it’s the group navigation officer who said I should stop. There was one character who, I must speak on him because he was, he’d be completely unknown but he was the man who did the most operations in Bomber Command. He did a hundred and forty seven. And these were proper ones. He was on Wellingtons first. And the rest of the time on Mosquitoes and but he was a very odd character. As they were [laughs] but mind you he would be. He unfortunately he finally died living in a flat in Cambridge. Alone. Blind. And deserted by everybody. And that was the end of the hero of a hundred and forty seven operations.
GC: That’s an incredible service. Like yours is. Yeah. Right.
JT: But the reason he did so many operations is another thing to do with his character. But I knew him quite well. But it was sad really because his, you’ve never heard his name or know anything about him but he died in obscurity.
GC: Yeah.
JT: And sad. Very sad. His name was Benson and I’m probably the only person left who knew him.
[pause]
GC: Ok. Well, thank you Mr Tipton. It’s been a pleasure to talk to you.
JT: Well, I haven’t been very good I’m afraid.
GC: It’s been an amazing interview. You know. It’s been a real honour to meet you.
JT: I don’t see why but [pause] The other thing that has always been on mind was that the, unfortunately this organisation is very much Lincolnshire and Yorkshire orientated. But nevertheless it worried me that because the head of the Pathfinder Force was an Australian called Don Bennett who was on a short service commission with the RAF and but he’d written a very first class book on navigation before. He left the Air Force and he was with British Overseas Airways for some years and came back during the war. He was given the job of, eventually of forming the Pathfinder Force. The head of 5 Group, I think it was 5 Group was Sir Ralph Cochrane who was a regular officer and a nobleman to boot and who felt that Bennett was an upstart which he was of course because he’d been, did a first, a short service in the Air Force and then went out to BOAC. What it was called in those days and then he came back in. Still, and, but Cochrane, who was the head of 5 Group was jealous of him, I think. And so he set up 5 Group as a separate command running his own operations and doing his own marking. Well, there was no need. Oboe marking would mark anything anywhere within fifty yards of an aiming point. Cochrane’s method of marking was to flood the area with light, with lots of light and then send someone down at low level to identify the target which had already been marked by Oboe by the way. He took precaution of that. And this was spectacular. You could see a 5 Group operation carried out from a hundred miles away. And we would fly home in perfect peace knowing that all the fighters in Germany would be accumulated by this mass of light. And some of the things, there was an example of I can’t remember the name, [unclear] I think but it was a target. Obviously a German Panzer training ground and it was about five minutes over the coast. Over the French coast. A Bomber Command normal, a normal operation would have had an Oboe marker on it. They’d have bombed it and turned and there would have been probably no losses at all. 5 Group, they took this on. They had an Oboe marker of course which they called a proximity marker. And in order to get, to get their method working well they failed completely. And they had squadrons of 5 Group milling about, getting lost to fighters, collisions and all sorts of things and were over the target for about an hour. And failing to, failing to, they got an Oboe marker stuck there which they were supposedly taking no notice of and yet trying to identify by means of a low level. With this system. They had somebody low level flying around, finding the target area and marking it again and they wouldn’t accept the Oboe marker at all. And they lost a number, a large number of aircraft. I don’t know how many but there was quite large number because they’d got squadrons milling about under no direction because the Master Bomber, whoever he was I don’t know what trouble he was having but they lost hundreds of air crew that night. Well, a normal operation we would have lost none at all. I think that is mad and somebody at 5 Group should have been made to pay for it because it was their only failure but it was awful. Having the aircraft all milling round awaiting for something which wasn’t going to happen anyway and they got a marker stuck anyway, you see. I think it was a crime. This was the only one. Just one example but it was a bad one. And somebody’s head should have rolled but unfortunately the head that rolled should have been Sir Ralph Cochrane because hundreds of people died unnecessarily and it was very very sad. Just one example. And the, also he employed the people who flew down on the target searching for it. He employed people like Cheshire and Guy Gibson. Guy Gibson was killed on it and he should have been retired years before. He only kept going on because he’d gone on using his name. He should have been rested permanently ages before. But I think fortunately Cheshire survived of course but the, the whole thing was a mess due to one man alone. I think that was Ralph Cochrane.
[pause]
GC: But then he accepted the Pathfinder Force set up afterwards then did he?
JT: No. He carried on to the end of the war. It only developed towards the end of the war but it was a damned silly system anyway. But [pause] but he wanted to set up his own Air Force in his own command separate from the Bomber Command which was quite wrong. And he should have been made to pay for it because lots of people were lost unnecessarily on his operations. So, that and bloody Dresden and Mr Churchill at the end of the war thanked everybody including the Boy Scouts but he didn’t Bomber Command at all. Deliberately ignored it. And ignored it because of Dresden which Bomber Command would do to it.
GC: No.
JT: But it was the Russians. The politicians. However, there we are. That’s life.
GC: Ok then, Mr Tipton thank you very much.
JT: That’s alright.
GC: I’ll stop this recording now shall I?
JT: Yeah.
GC: Yeah. Thank you very much.
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Title
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Interview with John Tipton
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Gary Clarke
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IBCC Digital Archive
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2017-06-10
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Type
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Sound
Identifier
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ATiptonJ170610
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Pending review
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01:14:59 audio recording
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Julie Williams
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eng
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Description
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John Tipton grew up in Tenby and studied law at University College London. He volunteered for the RAF and trained as a navigator. He was posted to 40 Squadron where he began operational flying before the squadron were posted to Malta. After his tour of operations he began instructing at an Operational Training Unit but was keen to return to operational flying and joined 109 Squadron Pathfinders. He completed another seventy operations with 109 bringing his tally of operations to one hundred and four. He would have continued with operations but was told he had done enough. He became an Oboe controller in Holland. He had a distinguished post war career including at SHAPE HQ where he was a head of air intelligence.
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France
Germany
Great Britain
Malta
Netherlands
England--Cambridgeshire
France--Falaise
109 Squadron
40 Squadron
5 Group
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
Mosquito
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Oboe
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
perception of bombing war
RAF Wyton
superstition
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1213/11929/[1]DAVID AND THE RAF2 [2].pdf
35b5401702ea96880cafe22e9866fad0
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Title
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Donaldson, David
David Donaldson
D Donaldson
Description
An account of the resource
309 Items and a sub-collection of 51 items. Concerns Royal Air Force career of Wing Commander David Donaldson DSO and bar, DFC. A pilot, he joined the Royal Air Force Reserve in 1934. Mobilized in 1939. he undertook tours on 149, 57 and 156 and 192 Squadrons. He was photographed by Cecil Beaton at RAF Mildenhall in 1941. Collection contains a large number of letters to and from family members, friends as well as Royal Air Force personnel. Also included are personal and service documents, and his logbooks. In addition, there are photographs of family, service personnel and aircraft. After the war he became a solicitor. The collection also contains an oral history interview with Frances Grundy, his daughter.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Anna Frances Grundy and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2015-06-02
2022-10-17
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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Donaldson, D
Grundy, AF
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Transcription
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DAVID AND THE RAF
My brother David’s very distinguished wartime career with the RAF - two DSOs and a DFC, and promotion to Wing Commander at 28 - warrants a separate appendix to these family notes. He has kindly helped me to compile it by giving me the run of his log books, and I have supplemented them from a number of other sources.
He became interested in flying in the early 1930s. I recall him taking his small brother of 9 or 10 to an air show at Eastleigh and abandoning him while he went up as passenger in a Tiger Moth doing aerobatics. That may well have given him the incentive to join the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1934 as a weekend pilot. He did much of his training at Hamble, on the Solent. When war broke out in September 1939 he was called up immediately and had to abandon his legal training. He spent the “phoney war” towing target drogues at a bombing and gunnery school at Evanton in Scotland. His log books show him rated as an “average” pilot.
At the end of April 1940, just before the Germans attacked in the West, he went to Brize Norton for intermediate training (earning an “above-average” rating) and then to Harwell for operational training on Wellingtons, the main twin-engined heavy bomber of the early war years. On 20th September, just as the Battle of Britain was ending, he was posted to his first operational squadron, No 149, part of No 3 Group, at the big pre-war air station at Mildenhall. His first operational sortie was over Calais towards the end of September, no doubt to attack the invasion barges.
Over the following five months he took part in some 31 night raids. The German defence at this time was relatively feeble by comparison with what was to follow, and so the tour was correspondingly tolerable; however bitter experience had shown that day bombing was much too costly, and the night bombing techniques were very inaccurate. His first raid on Berlin, at the end of October, was particularly eventful; they got hopelessly lost on their return, came in over Bristol, and ended up over Clacton as dawn was breaking with very little fuel left. There both the Army and the Navy opened up on them, and even the Home Guard succeeded in putting a bullet through the wing. They eventually made a forced crash landing at St Osyth. The Home Guard commander, a retired general, entertained him generously and he finally got back to Mildenhall where his Group Captain forgave him for the damaged aircraft and advised him to go out and get drunk. He took the advice, and in the pub he met a WAAF whom he married eight months later (maybe that is why he remembers that particular day so well.)
The gauntlet of Friendly Fire seems to have been a not uncommon hazard to be faced. On another occasion, when he had to make three circuits returning to Mildenhall, the airfield machine gunners opened fire on him from ground level; he thought they were higher up and judged his height accordingly, and narrowly missed the radio masts which were not, as he thought, below him.
The longest raids on this tour were trips of over ten hours to Italy: to Venice, which they overflew at low level, and to the Fiat works at Turin. He described the latter raid, and the spectacular views of the Alps it afforded, in a BBC broadcast in December 1940. The commonest targets were the Ruhr and other German cities, and some raids were made at lower level on shipping in French ports. The raid which won him the DFC was on 22nd November, on Merignac aerodrome near Bordeaux, which “difficult target he attacked from a height of 1,500 feet and successfully bombed hangars, causing large fires and explosions. As a result of his efforts the task of following aircraft was made easier ......... He has at all times displayed conspicuous determination and devotion to duty.”
It was at Mildenhall that he featured in a series of propaganda photos by Cecil Beaton,
“A Day in the Life of a Bomber Pilot”; they were given a good deal of publicity and in fact David appears in one of them on the cover of the recently published video of the 1941 propaganda film “Target for Tonight”, also made with the help of 149 Squadron - though he did not take part in the film. Beaton describes the occasion at some length in his published diaries, though he has thoroughly scrambled the names and personalities, and he “demoted“ David from captain to co-pilot in his scenario.
On completion of this tour, early in March 1941, David was detached on secondment to the Air Ministry to assist with buying aircraft in North America, and later to ferry aircraft within North America and across the Atlantic - he flew the Atlantic at least twice in Hudsons, taking 12 hours or more.
The “chop rate” in Bomber Command increased substantially during the first half of 1941. [Footnote: The average sortie life of aircrew in the Command was never higher than 9.2 and at one time was as low as eight, and during the dark days of 1941-1943 the average survival chances of anyone starting a 30-sortie tour was consistently under 40% and sometimes under 30%. In one disastrous raid, on Nuremburg in March 1944, 795 planes set out, 94 were shot down and another 12 crashed in Britain. During the war as a whole, out of some 125,000 aircrew who served with Bomber Command, 55,500 died.] This coupled with increasing doubts about the value of the results obtained led to a serious decline in aircrew morale. During the summer of 1941 the Germans had considerable success with intruders - fighter aircraft attacking the bombers as they took off or landed at their own bases. At the end of September David returned to No 3 Group and joined No 57 Squadron at Feltwell, still with Wellingtons. His third raid, over Dusseldorf on October 13th, was particularly difficult; they were badly shot up and with their hydraulics out of action they crash landed at Marham on their return. After two more raids the strain finally proved too much and he was admitted to hospital just before Christmas 1941; for the next two months he was there or on sick leave. From then until mid-July he was Group Tactical Officer at HQ No 3 Group, and not directly involved in operations. In July 1942 he was posted to No 15 Operational Training Unit, at Harwell and Hampstead Norris, where he spent six months as a flight commander flying Ansons and Wellingtons, though he did participate in one raid on Dusseldorf while he was there.
In spite of the appointment of Harris early in 1942 and the introduction of the Gee radio navigational aid, results were still considered disappointing, particularly over the Ruhr, and serious questions were raised about the future of Bomber Command. To improve matters, in August 1942 the elite Pathfinder Force was set up under Don Bennett, albeit in the face of considerable opposition from most of the group commanders who were reluctant to lose their best crews to it. At least initially, all the crews joining it had to be volunteers, and to be ready to undertake extended tours. Their task was to fly ahead of the Main Force in four waves: the Supporters, mainly less experienced crew carrying HE bombs, who were to saturate the defences and draw the flak; the Illuminators, who lit up the aiming point with flares; and the Primary Markers and Backers Up who marked the aiming point with indicators. Their methods became more and more refined as the war went on. The increased accuracy required of them, and their position at the head of the bomber stream, inevitably exposed them to greater danger and a higher casualty rate than those of the Main Force.
No 156 Squadron was one of the original units in the Force; it operated from the wartime airfield of Warboys with Wellingtons until the end of 1942 and thereafter with 4-engined Lancasters, the very successful heavy bomber which was the mainstay of Bomber Command in the later years. The squadron flew a total of 4,584 sorties with the loss of 143 aircraft - a ratio of 3.12%. David joined it in January 1943, again as a flight commander. In the following four months he carried out a further 23 raids (all but one as a pathfinder) in Lancasters. The log books note occasional problems - “coned”, “shot up on way in”, “slight flak damage”, and so on. [Footnote: "Coned" = caught in a cone of converging searchlights, an experience which he says put him off hunting for life.] Much of the period became known as the Battle of the Ruhr, though other targets were also being attacked. He told me once that the raid he was really proud to have been on was the one where instead of marking the targeted town (I think Dortmund) they marked in error a nearby wood, which the main force behind them duly obliterated; only after the war did the Germans express their admiration for the British Intelligence which had identified the highly secret installation hidden in the wood.........
One of the pages in his log book has a cutting from the Times inserted, evidently dated some years later, recalling how in April 1943 the spring came very early and the hedges were billowing with white hawthorn blossom. This puzzled me until I read in a book on 156 Squadron how that blossom had come to have the same significance for them as the Flanders poppies of the 1914-1918 war.
David was promoted to Wing Commander half way through the tour (pathfinders rated one rank above the comparable level elsewhere), and awarded the DSO towards the end of it. The recommendation for this said that he had “at all times pressed home his attacks with the utmost determination and courage in the face of heavy ground defences and fighters. As a pilot he shows powers of leadership and airmanship which have set an outstanding example to the rest of the squadron” - and Bennett himself added, noting that David had just flown four operational sorties in the last five days, “he has provided an example of determination and devotion to duty which it would be difficult to equal.”
On the end of this tour in June 1943, he was sent to command No 1667 Conversion Unit at Lindholme and later Faldingworth. In December 1943 he transferred to a staff appointment at the headquarters of the newly formed 100 (SD) Group at West Raynham and later Bylaugh Hall. At this stage in the war the methods of attack and defence were growing increasingly complex, and this group was formed as a Bomber Support Group, including nightfighters, deceptive measures, and radio countermeasures (RCM). In June 1944, just after D-Day, he was given command of No 192 (SD) Squadron based at Foulsham, another wartime airfield. This squadron had been formed in January 1943 as a specialist RCM unit, and it pioneered this type of operation in Bomber Command; it flew more sorties and suffered more losses (19 aircraft) than any other RCM squadron. While RCM and electronic intelligence were its primary purpose, its aircraft often carried bombs and dropped them on the Main Force targets. RCM took a number of forms - swamping enemy radar and jamming it with “window” tinfoil, looking for new radar types and gaps in its coverage, deceptive R/T transmissions to nightfighters, and so on - and one of the attractions of the work was the considerable measure of autonomy, and the freedom to plan their own operations. These extended to tasks such as searching for V2 launch sites (recorded as “whizzers” in David’s log book) and trying to identify the radio signals associated with them, and supporting the invasion of Walcheren in September. The squadron was equipped with Wellingtons (phased out at the end of 1944), Halifaxes and Mosquitoes, plus a detachment of USAAF Lightnings.
This role was the climax of his career, and lasted until the end of the war and after. It involved him in 25 operational sorties, all in Halifax IIIs, the much improved version of this initially disappointing 4-engined heavy bomber. They carried special electronic equipment and an extra crew member known as the Special Operator. The record of these sorties in the log books, for the most part so formal and statistical up to this point, becomes a little more anecdotal: “rubber-necking on beach” (when he took two senior officers to see the breaching of the dykes at Walcheren), “Munster shambles”, “Lanc blew up and made small hole in aircraft [but only] 4 lost out of 1200!” The furthest east he went was to Gdynia in Poland; on returning from there he had the privilege of becoming the first heavy aircraft to land at Foulsham using the FIDO fog dispersal system. “Finger Finger Fido” was the cryptic comment in the log book.
A number of these sorties were daytime; on one of them, on September 13th, he was chased home by two ME109s which made six attacks on him. One of them opened fire but thanks to violent evasive action his aircraft was undamaged: his own gunners never got a chance to fire. No doubt it was skill of this sort, as well as his survival record, which gave his crew great faith in David’s ability to get them home safely. An encounter on December 29th 1944, on a Window patrol over the Ruhr, was not quite so satisfying; they claimed to have damaged a Ju88 which subsequently proved to be an unhurt Mosquito X from Swannington - and the Mosquito had identified them as a Lancaster. The log entry concludes “Oh dear. FIDO landing, flew into ground. What a day.”
He was awarded a bar to his DSO in July 1945. The recommendation, made in March, recorded that “since being posted to his present squadron he has carried out every one of his sorties in the same exemplary fashion and has set his crews an extremely high standard of devotion to duty and bravery. This standard has had a direct influence on the whole specialist work of the squadron.
“He has been personally responsible for the planning of all the sorties carried out by his special duty unit and by his brilliant understanding and quick appreciation of the everchanging nature of the investigational role of his squadron, much of the success of the investigations performed by his aircraft can be attributed to him. He has shown himself to be fearless and cool in the face of danger, and towards the end of his tour made a point of putting himself on the most arduous and difficult operations.
“Both on the ground and in the air he has been untiring and has not spared himself in his efforts to get his squadron up to the high standard which it has now reached.”
The squadron was disbanded in September, by which time David had completed 501 hours of operations against the enemy in 86 sorties, the great majority of them as captain of his aircraft. He had no ambition to make a permanent career in the RAF; he has commented to Richard that this fact gave him a degree of independence in his dealing with his superiors that he thinks they appreciated and valued. He was demobilised in November and returned to his interrupted law studies.
* * * * * * * * * *
I showed these notes to David, who thought them well written but suggested that they gave a twisted view of the reality - a reaction that I can understand. Since then, however, I have managed to contact one man who flew with David: H B (Hank) Cooper DSO DFC, who first met David in 149 Squadron which he joined in January 1941 as a wireless operator / air gunner for his first tour, and later did two tours as a Special Operator in 192 Squadron, the second of them under David's command. On two occasions he flew as a member of David's crew.
He has written of David that "he was always completely fearless and outstandingly brave and pressed home his attacks to the uttermost. As the Squadron's CO he generated loyalty and warmth, he was an outstanding model to follow. He spent much trouble and time encouraging his junior air crews as well as helping and seeing to the needs of the ground technicians who serviced the aircraft, generally in cold and difficult conditions. He was completely non-boastful, in fact he belittled his own actions (which were always of the highest order) when discussing air operations. [That rings very true!] He was an outstanding squadron commander in all respects, much liked and completely respected by all his air crews and ground crews."
G N D
March 2002
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Title
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David and the RAF
Description
An account of the resource
Account of Wing Commander David Donaldson's RAF career from his early interest in flying and joining the Royal Air Force volunteer reserve in 1934, call up in 1939 and operational tours on 149 Squadron, 57 Squadron, flight commander 156 Squadron pathfinders and commanding 192 (special duties) squadron. Includes training, descriptions of notable operations and incidents, postings between tours to headquarters and training units, pathfinder techniques, radio countermeasures and award of two Distinguished Service Orders and a Distinguished Flying Cross.
Creator
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G N Donaldson
Date
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2002-03
Format
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Four page printed document
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
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BDonaldsonGNDonaldsonDWv1
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Hampshire
England--Hamble-le-Rice
England--Eastleigh
England--Oxfordshire
England--Norfolk
Scotland--Ross and Cromarty
Scotland--Evanton
England--Suffolk
England--Huntingdonshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Bristol
England--Essex
England--Clacton-on-Sea
Italy
Italy--Venice
Italy--Turin
Germany
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Dortmund
Netherlands
Netherlands--Walcheren
England--Berkshire
France
France--Bordeaux Region (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
Poland
Poland--Gdynia
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
England--Yorkshire
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Gloucestershire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1934
1939
1940-04
1940-09-20
1940-10
1940-12
1941-10-22
1941
1941-04
1942
1942-07
1942-08
1943
1943-01
1943-04
1943-06
1944
1944-06
1944-09-13
1944-12-29
1945
1945-07
Conforms To
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Pending review
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
Contributor
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Frances Grundy
100 Group
149 Squadron
15 OTU
156 Squadron
1667 HCU
192 Squadron
3 Group
57 Squadron
aircrew
Anson
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
crash
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Service Order
FIDO
forced landing
Gee
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hudson
Ju 88
Lancaster
Me 109
Mosquito
Operational Training Unit
P-38
Pathfinders
pilot
propaganda
RAF Brize Norton
RAF Evanton
RAF Faldingworth
RAF Feltwell
RAF Foulsham
RAF Hampstead Norris
RAF Harwell
RAF Lindholme
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Warboys
RAF West Raynham
target indicator
training
Wellington
Window
-
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
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
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
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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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- 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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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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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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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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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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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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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”
- 20 -
[page break]
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
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Title
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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
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G Dunmore
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-09-06
Format
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Twenty-five page typewritten document
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
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BDunmoreGDunmoreGv1
Coverage
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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
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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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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
-
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/986/10499/MWhybrowFHT170690-160926-160004.2.jpg
02a60eacf4973d3cb604642f344d4697
Dublin Core
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Title
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Whybrow, Frederick
F H T Whybrow
Description
An account of the resource
49 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Fred Whybrow DFC (1921 - 2005, 1321870, 170690 Royal Air Force) and consists of service documents, photographs and correspondence. After training in the United States, he completed two tours of operations as a navigator with 156 Squadron Pathfinders. After the war he served in Japan and Southeast Asia. He was demobbed in 1947.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Anne Roberts and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2016-09-26
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. 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
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Whybrow, FHT
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
15th December 2000.
I have received this book, Odd Man Out, this morning, It is very short but obviously, as an intereted [sic] party, I have found it absorbing, There are howver [sic], on two of our operations he has written in some details, some necessary corrections which I feel must be made,
The first, Scheinfurt, on page 51, is very far from an accurate account and contains a very serious libel on the Wireless Operator, Mick Wenham, which I feel must be put right. Briefly:
We had been briefed to Scheinfurt and routed out over the south coast. Just East of Reading we came under intense anti-aircraft fire and immediately the starboard outer engine was damaged seriously and was beyond further use. There was other less serious damage and immediately a descision [sic] was made (Bob, Stu and me) that we could not continue. Consequently we made for the Straits of Dover where we dropped our entire load including the 4000 lb ‘Cookie) It was not retained as alex [sic] writes, we still had some 2000 gallons of fuel aboard and no pilot would have tried to land with that kind of weight. With the load disposed of, Bob M declared his intention of returning to base via Harwich. I immediately told him not to, we were already flying at 3000ft and we knew that the ballons [sic] at Harwich were at 4000ft plus. I warned him several times of the dangers but he would [inserted] not [/inserted] listen, not until we actually struck the ballon [sic] cable over the centre of Harwich anyway.
Alex writes that on our return we were interviewed by A.V.M. Bennett who singled out the Wireless Operator for critisism[sic] because he had not been listening out for ‘squeaky ballons[sic ]’. I have not the slightest recollection of this meeting and, if it had taken place, and any blame was attributed to an innocent member of the crew, I would have spoken out as, I am sure, would Bob McLean have done. Bob McLean was entirely responsible, he was warned repeatedly of the height of the ballons[sic] and the dangers of flying a badly damaged heavy aircraft over and town or city. There was no need to have done so, we still had three engines and were flying relatively safely with plenty of fuel to detour round any populate[sic] area. I have no wiish[sic] to say he was irresponsible, most certainly he wasn’t mormally [sic] and we all had the greatest faith in him. I think, on this occasion, he was rattled by the intensity of the anti-aircraft fire and probably more so because we had to abort the operation, an event never likely to be looked on kindly by the powers that be and often leading to accusations of Lack of Moral Fibre. Stupid of course in this case as no way could we could we [sic] have completed a more that [than] 2000 mile journey on three engines or even made the target by our deadline, quite apart from any enemy activety [sic].
[page break]
//
Bob’s son, Robbie, lived just outside Bristol and often after visiting him, Bob would break his journey home to Glasgow and overnight with us. Obviously such occasions were times for reminiscence over a tot or two. The last time he was here, just a few months before he died, he seemed to be very ill and I had the impression that he knew it and wanted to clear his mind. He brought up the Harwich incident, said he should have listened to me and also that he entirely to blame and was lucky not to have been court martialled.
I gathered that he had been shattered by the intensity and accuracy of the anti-aircraft fire at Reading and shocked, as we all were, that it was coming from artillery allegedly friendly to us and threfore[sic] unexxpected.[sic] He said it had put him into an ‘unreal state’. (I know the feeling, I have experienced it myself on many occasions when on bombing runs). He was also very worried that we had had to abort the operation. As we all knew this was never looked upon kindly and always raised the nightmare of being accused of lack of moral fibre. To be fair, I think he was far more worried about that than by the A.A. fire to which in any case, he was well used to. LMF would not have arisen, I think. No way could we have made a round journey of more than 2000 miles on three engines and still met our time on target. It would have been suicide and if he had raised the matter at the time I would have told him so. Not much use telling him so some 53 years after the event but he still seemed to be worrying about it.
I think that’s it. I am sorry that I have a little difference with your book but I could not let poor Mick be blamed.
My very best wishes for the New Year and best regards to Winnie. I still have very fond memories of the lovely tea sheprovided[sic] for all of us.
[handwritten] Part of a letter to Alec Duke re his book)
‘Odd Man Out’
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Part of a letter to Alex Duke re his book 'Odd Man Out'
Description
An account of the resource
In the letter he refers to an operation to Schweinfurt described in the book. They received damage over Reading from 'friendly' anti-aircraft fire. They jettisoned the bomb load in the Channel then headed home via Harwich at 3000'. Despite warning the pilot he overflew the town and struck a balloon. In the book the wireless operator, Mick Wenham was blamed but the letter explains it was the pilot's decision. It was the author's opinion that the anti-aircraft fire had traumatised the pilot, Bob McLean. He was also concerned that turning back would lead to a charge of Lack Moral Fibre despite the impossibility of continuing for 2000 miles on three engines.
Date
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2000-12-15
Format
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Two typewritten sheets
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
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MWhybrowFHT170690-160926-160003,
MWhybrowFHT170690-160926-160004
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
England--Harwich
Germany--Schweinfurt
England--Essex
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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Sue Smith
David Bloomfield
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fred Whybrow
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
lack of moral fibre
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
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04-05
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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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
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One page printed document
Identifier
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SBrennanJ1210913v20002-0002
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/1052/11430/POatleyK1701.2.jpg
be795ca0b07853007aa77c562bfeb00c
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1052/11430/AOatleyK170321.1.mp3
9f337a41a3840e6e82e8841355f9d0a1
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Oatley, Ken
K Oatley
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with Ken Oatley (b. 1922). He flew operations as a navigator with 627 Squadron.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-05-21
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Oatley, K
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
DK: I’ll just introduce myself, so, this is, this is David Kavanagh introduce, interviewing Ken Oatley at his home [file missing] borne, 21st of March 2017. So, I’ll just put that down there.
KO: Surely.
DK: Hang on, If I keep looking down I’m just making sure it’s still working
KO: Still functioning,
DK: Still functioning, yeah. It’s, it can be a bit temperamental at times, that looks, that looks ok. [unclear] that. I’ll just like to ask so first of all, what were you doing before the war?
KO: I was going to be a professional violinist.
DK: Really?
KO: My father, I won a scholarship to the Royal Academy when I was fifteen,
DK: Right.
KO: But I had no one to live with in London so I had to put it off for another year, then I had to take an examination that year to get the exhibition the year after that which actually brought me up too far close to the war and, even then, I had a year to go before I could get into the Air Force so I joined the Home Guard, did my duties as far as I could from then, and at that time, it was the 13th of September I think of ’39 that I was in headquarters and the phone rang and call out all the home guard, we’re anticipating the invasion immediately, so that passed over of course and October came and I thought, well, really it’s time and I just was old enough then to volunteer so I volunteered for aircrew in October of 1940.
DK: [unclear] back to me, when you were in the Home Guard, what were your sort of roles then? What were you actually doing, were you guarding anything or?
KO: No, I was in headquarters most of the time, but I had to take out messages or anything that required, you know, but I was there nights and so forth.
DK: So were you mostly young men there waiting to be called up or sort of [unclear]?
KO: No, no, they were all a lot much older than me.
DK: Alright. Alright, so you applied then to the Air Force, so
KO: Mh.
DK: It was always your intention then to,
KO: I always wanted to fly.
DK: Alright. Yeah, so did you actually go into pilot training then?
KO: Yes, in, I started flying in April of ’41, it was April so, anyway. And did the usual six weeks at Blackpool and then waiting for a course to come around they sent me to Northern Ireland guarding an auxiliary airfield there against the IRA and then in Maytime they sent me over then to Scone, that Scone, there was at, oh God! This is, my memory is, north of, in Scotland,
DK: Ah, ok.
KO: On the east coast top, anyhow that was the biggest town north. We were there prepared to go down to ITW then at Scarborough, by, by June then I was flying from Sealand on the wirrell
DK: What type of aircraft were you flying?
KO: Tiger Moths.
DK: Ah!
KO: Which I did, I loved flying and I had the aptitude for it and I really thoroughly enjoyed my time there, it was wonderful.
DK: What did you think of the Tiger Moth?
KO: Oh, I liked it very much and I, our last hour or two that we had on the course, my friend and I, we were supposed to be going out for three quarters of an hour flight at night in the evening, come back and report and then go back and do another three quarters of an hour so I said to my mate, well, this is a bit of a waste of time, I’ll meet you over the river Dee and we’ll have a dogfight, which we did. When time came to, to come back to report in, he disappeared and I thought, well, I don’t know where the heck I am [laughs], we wandered about somewhat for three quarters of an hour so I had, eventually I had to give up and I saw a farm with smoke coming out of the chimney and I decided, well, that looks alright so I made a forced landing into this field, knocking out a host of surveyors posts on the way down and a ditch that was half way across which I hadn’t noticed. Anyhow I landed there and a motorcyclist came in and I got out and spread my map on his handle bars and asked him where I was and he gave to, I was in the middle of Lancashire so I flew back and,
DK: You’ve gone that far south?
KO: Yes. So, anyway, I was up for the wing code the next morning,
DK: Were you able to take off out the field then?
KO: Yeah, I did, half the field
DK: Yeah, so that was
KO: It was,
DK: Damaged the aircraft?
KO: No, no, it was a bit dodgy, there was a wood at the end of the field and I just caught the width to the corner of it and I managed to get through, anyway we landed there and the next morning I was up in front of the CO and charged which it was going to be a court martial but he let me go on [unclear] cause I was the first one to solo [unclear] thirties so I thought, you know, I’m made for this and so I was taken off the Spitfight posting and ended up in Canada flying Oxfords. We were on the Oxfords for some while and then there was, Bennett was just do the Pathfinders setup and he had no navigators, only map readers really, observers, don’t tell him I [unclear], but he had no navigators so he took five pilots off of every pilots course in Canada, brought us home to do the Middle course on the navigators, then go onto flying,
DK: So, you were actually on a pilot’s course in Canada.
KO: Yeah, yeah.
DK: Got called off by Bennett,
KO: Yeah,
DK: Because he needed navigators,
KO: Yeah,
DK: How did you feel about that at the time?
KO: Not very happy, I must admit, but anyway.
DK: How were you chosen, was it almost a lottery or?
KO: Well, I don’t know, I think probably I wasn’t landing them very well. I came down [unclear], the approach was hundred percent, I touched down on the wheels, nice and quietly, as soon as the tailwheel had dropped, which off the runway we’d had, my instructor never once told me that I should be doing three point landings, never mentioned, then when the CFI took me up, I did the same thing and he then asked my instructor whether he’d taught me three point landings, of course he said, oh yes, of course he has, and so I was one of the five that got tucked out.
DK: So, it might have been poor training on the trainer’s part, not I suppose, [unclear]
KO: Well, I mean, it seems simple enough, things say you should be doing three-point landings. I landed quietly and smoothly, you know, and,
DK: And this would have been the Oxford, would it?
KO: Yeah, yes. Anyhow I came back home, nearly torpedoed on the way home.
DK: Can you remember which ship you came back on?
KO: [unclear] Dam and just out of Halifax I was on my sway hammock and there was an enormous bang, I thought, my God, we’d been torpedoed, and I bet, I was four flights down and I bet I was, tops of that before anybody else [laughs]. However, there happened to be a torpedo, a destroyer had come alongside and for no apparent reason, and he happened just to take the torpedo and the thing was sunk with all hands and we just carried on, there was fire
DK: You can’t remember the name of the destroyer that was lost?
KO: No, no, no.
DK: No. Did you actually see it go down or?
KO: No,
DK: No.
KO: But we were told.
DK: Yeah.
KO: But you see, we were in two passengers, well, one was obviously a passenger ship and we were in a sort of half and half but there were five hundred aircrew on board ships, then we had several destroyers flying around us all the way back across the Atlantic. It took three weeks coming home cause we went all over the place and got back to England and put me on the navigation course which we did one course at Grand Hotel, oh, Eastbourne,
DK: Right. Yep, yep.
KO: Six weeks and then we were sent off on a ship again, I thought, we are going back to Canada again, which I didn’t like cause I got engaged to a girl in Canada while I was out there. Anyway, we went to South Africa and I was, from start to finish it was nearly eight months, wasted out of my flying time, going down there, doing the course and coming back again and we spent three weeks at Clairwood race course in tents. Then they moved us to East London and we were there for another six weeks and while we were there I met somebody there quite out of the blue, he asked me what we did, what our hobbies were, said well, I played the violin, oh, he said, I know somebody who’d be interested in you so he took me up the road to this gentleman and he said, would you like to play me something? So I played him one of the better class pieces that I used to perform and he said, would you like to play with the municipal orchestra on Sunday? This was Thursday, so I did that and did that the following month, so that was the virtually, the last time I played the violin at all, really.
DK: So you never played it since then?
KO: No, not really, no.
DK: No, no.
KO: So, anyway we got back and messed about for ages and I did,
DK: How did you feel when all this was going on, you were going to South Africa [unclear] was there a certain amount of frustration or?
KO: Yes I, you know, it was very enjoyable,
DK: Yeah.
KO: But it wasn’t what I wanted to do. Anyway we got back and there was so many aircrew trained here messing about Bournemouth was full of them all the time, they didn’t know what to do with us, anyhow we ended up at Harrogate, we were sent off on a commander course to start with at Whitley Bay, six weeks and then they sent me up to Scone to sit in the back seat of a Tiger Moth with a [unclear] recently qualified pilot in front and I was another six weeks messing about there, well, that was barely started the navigation course properly so I don’t think I was gonna get there.
DK: Was navigation something you took to easily, was it?
KO: Oh yes, I was, no worries about that, and then I was onto OTU and from what I understand I was, uhm, was the top of the class in both flying and ground subjects and,
DK: Can you remember which OTU it was you went to?
KO: I can never remember the name of it, was north of Oxford.
DK: Right. Is not in there, in the logbook.
KO: It would be, I suppose. It’s more likely in the back of my pilot’s, pack of pilot’s
DK: That one.
KO: But in the back,
DK: Oh, right, ok. So, what year are we talking about now then? It’s,
KO: That’ll be ’42.
DK: ’42, alright. So that’s the Oxford, so that’s ’41, ’74, you are still flying in ’74.
KO. Oh that’s, that’s flying here.
DK: Right.
KO: It’ll be very, very close to, no, but it wouldn’t be in there, yes, on the back, on the back page, I got all the
DK: Ah, right.
KO: All the,
DK: Ah, right, ok, so ’40,
KO: In, here, up here.
DK: [unclear] ’43.
KO: And here.
DK: 16.
KO: 16.
DK: Ah, right, so, I’ll just say this for the benefit of the tape so it’s 16 OTU Upper Hayford. So you were there from the 10th of August 1943,
KO: Yeah,
DK: Yeah.
KO: Then we went onto Scampton and then to Swinderby.
DK: And that was,
KO: On Stirlings
DK: 16
KO: We did Wellingtons at
DK: 16 OTU
KO: 16 OTU,
DK: Yeah,
KO: And then we went on the Stirlings
DK: And that was at Swinderby
KO: Yes and then the Lancs
DK: Right, so, at 1660 Conversion Unit, Swinderby, that was the Stirlings.
KO: Yes.
DK: Yeah, and then at Syerston,
KO: Yes,
Dk: That was 5 Lancaster finishing school.
KO: Yes.
DK: So, at Upper Hayford was the Wellingtons?
KO: Yes.
DK: Yes, so what was your feeling about the Wellington then as an aircraft?
KO: Oh, fine and my pilot that I had there, although he hadn’t all that many arrows in, he was fine and we got on very well, our crew was first class and everything we did, we were quite well appraised for.
DK: So how did your crew get together then?
KO: Oh, we all, they put us in a hangar and said, I’m sorry, sort yourselves out, so to speak, you know.
DK: You just found yourselves a pilot,
KO: Yes, from
DK: Do you think that worked well?
KO: Yes, it did in our case.
DK: Yeah.
KO: I had an excellent crew and I was very sorry that we went on from there to Metheringham,
DK: Right.
KO: With Gibson squadron.
DK: 106 Squadron.
KO: And my pilot went on a Second Dickey trip with his, with a crew that were on their last operation,
DK: Right.
KO: And failed to return. So, we were sent back to Scampton again in to be recrewed. If they’d given us another pilot, which would have been more sensible, they split the whole crew up as far as I can [unclear] gave us another crew of odd bodies that they had and he wasn’t too bad, he wasn’t as good as my other pilot, you know, they were a little bit lumpy, but see my trouble was, my navigator’s seat was well back from the front and as I remember it seems I had a little office of my own now, the only,
DK: This was the Wellington,
KO: Stirling.
DK: Stirling, right, ok.
KO: And my only chance of talking to the pilot was on the intercom.
DK: Right.
KO: So I never was anywhere near him. It was when we got on to Syerston to the Lancaster, I was sitting right behind him as you realised and he had the most dreadful body odour that you could ever imagine, it really was out of this world,
DK: Oh dear,
KO: And so I took the crew up to the wing commander after we’d just sort of finished the early stages with the Lanc and I said, I can’t fly with this bloke, we all agreed, nearly court martialled, I [unclear] go for, go for a [unclear] you know and anyway we sent back to Scampton again and,
DK: So, you’ve gone back to Scampton for a third time.
KO: Yes, yes.
DK: Alright. When you, just going back to 106, you never met Gibson then, did you?
KO: No.
DK: I, just for the, slightly confusing that for the tape, just for the benefit of the tape, what I’ll say here is where you were, so initially it was Upper Hayford with 16 OTU from the 10th of August 1943, then it was Scampton 15th of December ’43, then 1660 Conversion Unit at Swinderby from the 8th of February ’44 on Stirlings,
KO: Yes.
DK: Then 5 Lancaster finishing school at Syerston,
KO: Yes.
DK: from 28th of March ’44, obviously on Lancasters, then 106 Squadron your pilot went missing as a Second Dickey, so back to Scampton again, then Swinderby,
KO: Yes.
DK: Then 5 Lancaster finishing school, Syerston again,
KO: Yes.
DK: Then back to Scampton because it’s problems with the pilot,
KO: Yes. On 106.
DK: On 106, and then on, I’ve got here, then onto 627, so that was, that’s the next question,
KO: Yes, yeah.
DK: Yeah, ok. So, you’ve complained about your pilot then and what happened then?
KO: Oh, they didn’t do him any harm or anything, I’m just, my memory gets so bad at times, other times I can go with, like, you know, what was the question?
DK: It was, you’re back at Scampton and you complained about the pilot, cause of the body odour,
KO: Yes.
DK: So what happened then?
KO: Well, straight away I was sent to Woodhall Spa from there.
DK: Right, ok. And that’s with 627 Squadron.
KO: 627 Squadron, yes.
DK: Yeah, ok. So, what were you flying at 627 then?
KO: Mosquitoes.
DK: Yeah. What did you think about the Mosquito?
KO: Oh, marvellous.
DK: Yeah.
KO: Yes, I, never complaints about the Mosquito.
DK: Was it a bit of a shock when you’ve gone from four engine bombers?
KO: It was lovely.
DK: Yeah. So you,
KO: Oh. Beautiful.
DK: So you never flew any operations on the four engine bombers?
KO: No, not again, no, no, no. It was all on the Mosquitoes from there on.
DK: Alright.
KO: And then of course the first, the move from Metheringham to Woodhall Spa was like chalk and cheese, you know, [unclear] it, well, every moment we, there we enjoyed the flying and the operational side of it and,
DK: Yeah.
KO: It was just something once in a lifetime, you know.
DK: What was Woodhall Spa like as an airfield then?
KO: It was big enough for what we wanted cause they were flying 617 from there as well so they had to cover the twenty thousand pound bomb weight on runways cause it was just a small camp, on the outside there was no main buildings to it at all, we were very much countryfied.
DK: Did you go to the Petwood Hotel at all?
KO: No, that was 617’s privilege that was,
DK: Ah, right.
KO: We were in the Nissen huts.
DK: [laughs] oh, ok.
KO: Which was a bit of a comedown.
DK: Did you get to know anyone of the 617 crew?
KO: I did but I can’t remember the names now. [laughs] Funnily enough, one of the well known ones that flew with Gibson on the dams, I went into the sergeants mess one day and he was playing cards with a table full of crews there for 617 and he said, can you lend me a pound? So, I lend him the pound, never expecting to get it back again, when I came out of the Air Force about four years after that, I happened to be standing in front of my restaurant in Northampton and who should come in? This chap I’d lent the pound to. So, I caught him and I got me pound back on it [laughs].
DK: [unclear] oh excellent, [laughs], well he did owe it to you.
KO: Yeah, having done the dams raid he was lucky to.
DK: Yeah. So, you can’t remember who that was then now?
KO: I, a flash came into my head, I got an idea whose name, was Monroe, was it?
DK: Les Monroe? Yeah, Les Monroe.
KO: Yeah.
DK: The New Zealander?
KO: Yeah.
DK: Yeah, yeah. He owed you a pound [laughs].
KO: Yeah. He just walked in the shop, not knowing I was there.
DK: Yeah.
KO: I just recognized, I said, hey you.
DK: I actually met Les a couple of times when he came over to UK, last few years. So, you’re now on a Mosquito squadron, so what was your actual role then as 627 Squadron, what were you?
KO: We were at 99 percent for marking, for main force.
DK: Right.
KO: And we were the only squadron that did what we did. We were way ahead of everybody else, and we had to dive, we introduced dive bomb marking which was not heard of before 627 Squadron was formed. But they started off the first two or three months joining in with the, flying backwards and forwards to Berlin in those days and then when we moved up with 617 Squadron, we started doing what we did, that was our thing, and that was flying ahead of main force and being there three minutes before the actual time we needed to be there because that was ten minutes between, let me try to explain it a different way, the flares, the target was illuminated by one or two squadrons of Lancasters from our station to drop thousands of luminating shares over the target area and five of us went out separately to the target and stood off until the first markers went down illuminating, lights went down and on the, dead on the spot, they were there ten minutes before the time for bombing and we went in, in that ten minutes under the flares, dive bombed the marker onto the target for about, well, anything from three, two, three hundred feet, from fifteen hundred feet and it was purely up to the pilot because he dropped the bomb, the had a china graph pencil mark on his windscreen and he, that was his only guide he had to drop his markers, and they used to put that according to how they saw it in height and that sort of thing that needed to be very careful and then we would drop off the markers at about two hundred feet, something like that.
DK: Two hundred feet.
KO: Well, we, we flew round Dresden at three or four hundred feet, probably five hundred feet for nearly ten minutes.
DK: Yeah, yeah. So, the illuminators went in first,
KO: Yes.
DK: They illuminated the target area.
KO: Yes.
DK: So you could then see where to drop your
KO: That’s right.
DK: drop your indicators by
KO: Yes.
DK: [unclear] moving on the target.
KO: Yes.
DK: And then the main force came in.
KO: After that, yes.
DK: Yeah. So, how was that controlled then? Was it?
KO: Just on timing.
DK: Literally on timing, so there’s no one there.
KO: No, no, no, no, we had to be there three minutes before the, ten minutes if you like,
DK: Right, yeah.
KO: Thirteen minutes, three minutes we had to get in our track in to go in and do our dive in.
DK: Right.
KO: That was just for error, for coming from, over from Holland down to Dresden, we had that little margin of difference, so at ten to the target, the Lancasters then came in, they had ten minutes to bomb on the markers that we had laid.
DK: So, can, just stepping back one bit, can you remember where your first operation was to then?
KO: Uhm, Bremen.
DK: Bremen. And how many operations did you actually do then?
KO: I, we did twenty-two operations altogether.
DK: Twenty-two.
KO: They were spread over a little bit but, see we only did, we had enough crews that we only did one every five.
DK: Right.
KO. We had thirty crew, thirty crew men on the, for fifteen aircraft and we only ever sent five aircraft out on an operation, so we had, there was, sort of,
DK: It’s quite a long period between flight then,
KO: Yeah, yes.
DK: So, can you remember when the tour started and when it ended, how long it was for, roughly?
KO: The first tour?
DK: Yeah.
KO: I’m having a particular bad day today, I don’t know why it is, but, oh Jesus! [laughs] I’m lost.
DK: Is it, will it be recorded in here anywhere?
KO: Yes, it was about, the middle, the middle of June-July of forty
DK: ’44.
KO: ’44.
DK: Ok, here we go, yeah, so, that’s 627 Squadron
KO: Yes.
DK: At Woodhall Spa.
KO: Yes.
DK: So, on the 25th of July
KO: Yes.
DK: ’44, so that’s all practice
KO: Yes. Our night operations were in red.
DK: Right.
KO: So, we did, only did one in every three.
DK: Ok, that way we’ll, so, that’s all practice so, uhm, cross country, practice.
KO: We practiced at least five times for every operation we did.
DK: Alright. Ok, so we got off ways to see if we got Gladbach, that’s Monchen Gladbach presumably.
KO: So, that was where Gibson got lost,
DK: Right, alright, ok.
KO: So, that was his own fault.
DK: [laughs] We’ll come back to that in a minute. Ok, [unclear]
KO: Yes, I think we did four in one week, which was an exceptional.
DK: Right.
KO: My first op was a day run to L’Isle-de-Adam, a bomb dump north of Paris. We had a fairly leisurely time as you can see.
DK: I see there is an awful lot of practice between the actual raids, isn’t it?
KO: Yeah, it was about five, one in five. Really, what brought that about was we had to have the aircraft on for that night, and they had to have a morning test before,
DK: Right.
KO: And we used the test to go and do a bombing run on the sands at
DK: [unclear]
KO: [unclear], yeah.
DK: So, navigation then and timing clearly needs to be very accurate.
KO: Yes.
DK: Yeah.
KO: But we didn’t do anything really, we flew, normal thing was that we flew out to Holland and turned from just over the coast of Holland, turned down to the, wherever we were going, from there it was, we had no troubles [unclear], we went more or less our own way, we knew what time we had to be there and that but.
DK: So, I think this is your first operation the 6th of October ’44 to Bremen.
KO: That was the first time when we used our dive bomb technique.
DK: Right, ok.
KO: It was, they didn’t know really what it was gonna be like and they told the CO that he wasn’t to go on that operation.
DK: Oh, alright. So, then you got the Mittelland Canal on the 6th of November ’44.
KO: They were easy.
DK: So, it’s got bolted flares over [unclear]. And then you’ve got, 21st of November the Dortmund-Ems Canal.
KO: Mhm, there were two or three of those.
DK: And then I’ve got here the 13th of December ’44, the Cologne and Emden ships cruisers.
KO: Yes, that was in, that was in the Oslofjord, but they moved them by the time we got up there and it was a wasted trip.
DK: So, this is [unclear] called off by marker one.
KO: Yes, well.
DK: So, it was a
KO: I can, this, as I was saying to my friend today, I’ve worried about that ever since and I cannot understand because I was absolutely dead on track all the way up there, I said the only thing I can excuse myself in is that the pilot was running ten miles an hour, he was on three hundred and twenty instead of three hundred and thirty and he would jump down my throat if I suggested that but I couldn’t find no other reason for being late cause we were dead on course for everything.
DK: Yeah, [unclear] this, that’s [unclear].
KO: That’s, that was stacked down for a purpose. Probably made a mess of it so.
DK: So, then we got 14th of January ’45 and it’s oil refinery at Mersberg. So, that’s and it’s got here two times one thousands, so that’s two one thousand pound bombs.
KO: Yeah.
DK: And the red target indicators. So that’s [unclear] what you’ve dropped and. So, then it’s 2nd of February ’45 Karlsruhe. It says target obscured by cloud. Sky marking only.
KO: Yes.
DK: So then, 2nd of Feb, Dortmund.
KO: Dortmund.
DK: It says one target marked.
KO: I’m doing well, aren’t I? [laughs]
DK: And then, 8th of Feb, Politz-Stettin, oil refinery. Stettin oil refinery, yeah. And then the 13th of Feb ’45, ops Dresden. Marker two. And then backed up, one one thousand pounder, red TI. So, just talking about that then, what actually happened on the Dresden raid? Was..
KO: Well, the, there was a trade wind blowing to start with and normally, starting off from home, we would climb to the operating height, going out and we would take a fix every three minutes and find an average wind which we would calculate to fly us on from there to Dresden. But this MIG wasn’t working particularly well and when we got to the turning point, it was a question of hops and choices to how you carried on from there. So I part guessed well I could [unclear] what I’d got already to choose from and then I realised that the thing that we had installed in the aircraft which I’d never used before, I’d never been instructed on because it was introduced while I was on leave, I thought, well, I’ll give it a go and see if I hadn’t have the charts with me and so, I took him, took him down on that, bearing as it was, there was a line running straight through Dresden that I could put up on the machine, that was terrible cause on a Gee box you had to two stroves running like that, but on this particular case, when I went on to the LORAN, it was like that and right across the thing as you couldn’t tell which was which, you had to take a guess at it and fortunately I guessed right and I didn’t navigate all the way down there. I just kept on one line and then I could, guide him down along this line all the way down to Dresden and then there was a one, there was another line crossing the second line there which went through Dresden and as soon as I kept switching backwards and forwards to that, and when that line came up, I said, right-oh Jock, we’re here now. We were three minutes early and doing the right one turn, another one [unclear] the arrival and then the main force came, we had the, the uhm, the squadrons that were dropping in there, illuminating flares came in at ten to eleven and we were just on the edge of the city, sitting there, waiting for them. We had to put those down and then we went in and dived in and we were just, just about to call out marker two, tally-ho, and number one tally-ho didn’t just in front of us so we had to go round again and
DK: So you, so marker one got his markers in first
KO: He was the flight commander anyway,
DK: Right, ok.
KO: So, couldn’t, he couldn’t
DK: Right. So, your markers then were the second to go.
KO: Yes.
DK: Right.
KO: Btu we were the most accurate.
DK: Right.
KO: On that.
DK: And how low would you’ve been when you dropped the markers?
KO: About three hundred feet.
DK: As low as that.
KO: Well, we were so low, that as we flew away from there, my pilot was looking back to see if he could see where they’d dropped and I had a shout at him because we were just gonna hit the spires of the cathedral, so I had to pull him up on that one. And then we just circled around Dresden for three or four minutes at five hundred feet and then we came home.
DK: And did you see much of the main force bombing then in that five minutes?
KO: They just started to bomb,
DK: Right.
KO: And I think they let a couple of four hundred, four thousand pounders off as we weren’t all that high and we could feel the, [unclear] get out quick now
DK: I just, for the benefit of the tape, I just read what it says here, so, 13th of Feb ’45, you took off at 2000 as, Mosquito F, so your pilot was flying officer Walker and your navigator so it says, ops Dresden, marker two, which you mentioned backed up, so is that meaning you backed up marker one?
KO: Yes.
DK: Yeah.
KO: Well, we got in, it was a football stadium
DK: Right.
KO: We got our marker in the football stadium.
DK: Alright, ok.
KO: And the others were in a bunch, nearly [unclear] a hundred yards,
DK: Yeah.
KO: Way but,
DK: So, your second ones down was actually the more accurate and then it’s got one thousand, so you got a thousand-pound bomb and red
KO: They were a thousand-pound flares.
DK: Oh sorry, so you dropped one-thousand-pound red target indicators
KO: Yeah, yeah.
DK: Sorry, yeah, so one thousand red target indicator. And you
KO: And the others all backed up after that.
DK: Yeah. So, you arrived back at 0540?
KO: I know my, my history today to you doesn’t sound very much but on my claim for a commission, my squadron commander and the camp squadron commander both put down that we were the best crews, one of the best crews of the squadron.
DK: Oh!
KO: We did do well, I mean, we felt that we, if we dropped our markers that was bloody well close on it and of course the last operation we did was at Tonsberg oil refinery at the
DK: Right.
KO: The, first up towards Oslo and
DK: So, were all the operations with Walker?
KO: Yeah.
DK: Yeah. And was he a good pilot?
KO: He was a good pilot and he was good at dropping the bombs too. We were the best on that one as well. But, I know it sounds terrible, our successes and that sort of thing but sometimes they went right and sometimes they didn’t and sometimes if our radar wasn’t working up to scratch, we
DK: So, when you were briefed for Dresden then, it was just an ordinary briefing
KO: Yes.
DK: And an ordinary target.
KO: Yes. When I was allocated onto a new job I’d only been on the squadron about six weeks, two months when I was sent to RAF Wyton 1409 Met Flight
DK: Right.
KO: For a two week crash course on wind reporting then I found myself that we were doing a big operation in south Germany and we had to stop at Manston to refuel and my job then was to decide two hundred miles from the target whether it was gonna be satisfactory for the main force to continue on to attack the target and if I didn’t think it was gonna be satisfactory, my job was to call them out and send them home.
DK: So, you’ve gone out and checked the weather in effect then.
KO: No, that was all we were supposed to be doing,
DK: Yeah.
KO: But fortunately the fog came down and we were, the thing was called off. It was never reinstated again but I think that somebody up a loft had said, well, this is a bloody silly idea in the first place.
DK: That, was that with 1409 Met Flight?
KO: Oh, that was where I was sent for those two-week crash course.
DK: Right, ok. Ok, so you’ve done the training at 1409 Met course.
KO: What there was there of it.
DK: Yeah. So, you, did you get?
KO: I was
DK: Did you get back to Manston then or?
KO: Oh yeah, yes, well we uhm, I think we came in that night, I think we came into, probably into Woodbridge.
DK: Alright. Cause there’s one here you’ve been here the 12th of October ’44, it says from Manston, yeah. You went to Manston the day before. So that idea of going out early and
KO: Cause we used the wing tanks up, you see, we needed all the petrol that we could carry to get there and back so we’d use the wing tanks up going down to Manston until we had to refuel then and while that was being done, we were a little bit early, the fog came down and the whole thing was scrubbed.
DK: Alright. That’s what it’s saying here that you remained at Manston. Yeah. So, just going on here then, 16th of March ’45, Wurzburg, ops to Wurzburg.
KO: Wurzburg.
DK: Yeah, so you’re marker two. So, one thousand [unclear] red target indicator, one one thousand yellow target indicators,
KO: That’s what we carried.
DK: Right. But we carried a red, yellow and a green, as the Germans had a funny act of if the red ones went down they’d light another red one up somewhere away from it, you see, to distract it, so we’d have to go back in again and drop the green beside the red or whatever and
DK: Is this when you’ve got the master bomber’s there then that were telling
KO: Yeah, the master bomber’s up there.
DK: Yeah. So he’s then telling who, the rest of the main force who, which coloured markers to bomb. Has he mentioned you on the same operation that Gibson was lost on
KO: Yeah, yes.
DK: You didn’t know him cause he flew a 627 Mosquito force [unclear], didn’t he?
KO: Yes, yes.
DK: You didn’t meet him there then?
KO: I’ve met him on several occasions but, you know, not sort of personally, we were, [unclear] had social occasion or on one occasion he tried to, he came into our little bar, as you can imagine, we were in Nissen huts and they were all posh in and they came down to our officer’s mess and we, that was an airman’s hut actually, the whole mess, and the kitchen that was all part of it but we had no bar arrangements or that, so we had a builder of one of the boys in the squadron, so he built the bar and built a fire in there for us so we could have an officer’s drinking area. And one night my pilot and three Australians were in there having a drink and the door opened and Gibson appears and nobody sort of moved and he came, don’t you normally stand to attention and when a senior officer comes in? And they looked at each other, said, no, no, no. So, anyway, he created such a fuss, they grabbed hold of him, took him outside, took his trousers off and told him not to come in again. The next morning, there was an officer’s parade which he officiated, went down the line and of course the Australians all six foot something in their dark uniforms and my pilot who was a real dural Scotsman,
DK: This was Walker, was it?
KO: Yeah.
DK: Yeah.
KO: He was standing at the end of the line and he got him and he put him in the glasshouse for three weeks. So, he didn’t remain very popular with our crowd.
DK: Alright.
KO: So I was flying odd bits with anybody who was needing it, the navigator, flew all that three weeks when he was
DK: Well that, I mean, that meant you had another pilot you had to fly with then that. So you, you weren’t too pleased about that then?
KO: Well, we didn’t [unclear]
DK: Alright, ok. They were just
KO: I might have gone on a night flying test.
DK: Alright, so you didn’t do any operations while he was in [unclear]
KO: No, I mean, I had a very, very nice round of it really, I mean, some of the ops we did, we, yeah, you had to have your head on and I was, I was considered to be one of the better navigators although it didn’t sound like it. You know, you don’t know the circumstances of how things go.
DK: So, what was it like then if you were, you know, you are flying the Mosquito there, you’re over enemy territory, what does it feel like, it’s very dark and you’re being shot at?
KO: Well, we weren’t being shot at, that was just the point you see. Everybody else, the main force went out on allocated circuit. We went out, there was only five of us, we went out and more or less did it the way we thought we would, we didn’t stick to any plan as long as we were there sort of three minutes before the flares went down
DK: Right
KO: Thirteen minutes before the bombers came in. So rise up and up and when cross sort of thing on the machine I said right-oh, Jock, we’re here now and three minutes early, do a right one turn, wind off three minutes and that should bring us on time, that moment in time, the flares started to come down and we turned to going to find the thing and the number one saw it just as, we were just, there’s a story in my book there, he pressed the [unclear] just at the same time my pilot was just going to so we had to go off and go round again. And that happened several times and on one, where we had to bomb Wesel, because the commanders had taken over, they crossed the river there and they were outside of Wesel, we had to mark Wesel and we went, there was five of us, we went in and we had to put our markers on the, uhm, the, what’s, I don’t know what you call it, uhm, on the stone part of the pier sort of thing
DK: Alright, ok.
KO: On the river
DK: Yeah.
KO: And both our pilots [unclear] at the same time, both pressed the button, that cut out transmission then we couldn’t hear anything else. We went in, they went in, and we went in, dropped our markers at the same time and they landed in the same, virtually the same place at the same time so how far we were apart where we dived in there, we couldn’t have been more than twenty feet apart, never saw them and they didn’t see us.
DK: I’m just reading there from your logbook, so, that’s the 23rd of March ’45 and it’s ops to Wesel, army support. And you’ve marked with a thousand-pound red target indicator. So, you both dropped at exactly the same time.
KO: And exactly the same spot.
DK: Onto a pier.
KO: Yeah.
DK: On the river.
KO: Yeah. We didn’t realise what had happened until we got back.
DK: So then just going on here, I’m just reading this out for the recorder here, so, you then got the 10 of April ’45 ops the marshalling yard near Leipzig. So, backed up number two, thousand-pound red target indicator, carrying a thousand-pound yellow target indicator.
KO: Yes.
DK: So that probably would have been your last operation then, would it or?
KO: [unclear] read, read.
DK: Oh, ok.
KO: I know that [laughs] I found out that since that my sister married a family in Northampton, they’re apparently of Jewish extraction and they came down to the grandfather had had property in East Germany,
DK: Oh, right.
KO: And nobody knew where it was or anything and it wasn’t until after the war that they set the wheels rolling and apparently there’s two blocks of very luxury apartments and we’d blown one block up and so they only got reparations for the one, who’d been getting the rent for the other one [unclear] up until that time nobody came to the fore.
DK: Oh, hang on, there’s another op here, so, uhm, so Norway, so 25th of April ’45 Tonsberg, Norway.
KO: Yes, that’s the last one I did.
DK: That’s the last one, yes, so [unclear]. So at that point the war’s ended, how did you feel then?
KO: Well, that was about the first or second op I did from commissioning.
DK: Right. So you were commissioned at this point. Yeah.
KO: But I didn’t, I didn’t bother, we didn’t know what was going to happen to us though, where we were going to go, and what happened, what happened then lot of the Ozzies were sent home and we brought in some new people because there was the Far East war and we were going to take part in that and so we were going out there to mark for 5 Group, was only 5 Group that was going out there and we were the Pathfinder Force for 5 Group but we weren’t going to do our dive bomb marking there, somebody got the bright idea of using H2S and we would fly over the target two thousand feet straight and level for two minutes and drop our markers out. You know, that was a ridiculous idea, we wouldn’t even know where the bloody markers had gone and we would’ve much rather continue what we were doing previously and knowing where it was but.
DK: This would’ve been part of Tiger Force then.
KO: Yes, this was Tiger Force and we were supposed to be leading it.
DK: So, the atomic bomb’s dropped then, how did you feel that you weren’t now having to go out to the Far East?
KO: I was a bit disappointed in some respect because I rather looked forward to the exploratory flight out there really but on the other hand, see, there was a five hundred miles from Okinawa to the landfall in Japan,
DK: Yeah.
KO: And we didn’t have that great deal of overlap of petrol to do that, so we were waiting for Mark 40 Mosquitoes to come, which were pressurized and we were flying at forty thousand feet out, taking the trade wind to blow us there, then we go down and do our marking role for drop our markers whatever to do there and then we were gonna come back at sea level because the trade wind would,
DK: Yeah, yeah.
KO: Well that was what the theory was anyway, that would blow us back, blow us there and blow us back. Which we weren’t particularly thrilled with the idea.
DK: Oh, I can imagine.
KO: As you can imagine, sort of being dropped in the sea in the middle of the Pacific there.
DK: [unclear] Get blown back [laughs].
KO: [laughs] No, some people spark ideas, I don’t know.
DK: So the war’s ended then, what were you
KO: Yeah.
DK: You carried on [unclear]
KO: What happened then was, I was supposed to be leaving the [unclear] and they started sending the Ozzies back then because the war was,
DK: Yeah.
KO: Virtually finished then and they started importing a few other crews to come in, to go on the Okinawa job and [unclear] I was gonna say now, I lost the thread or something.
DK: So, the war’s ended, you’re [unclear] not going.
KO: Yes, so a lot of the new boys that they’d brought in were dispersed amongst other stations and so forth and we were just left to [unclear] we were the only crews that were taken out of the squadron and sent firstly to Feltwell and then, I can never remember the other airfield and then ended up at Marham,
DK: Right.
KO: On a bombing development unit. Now we were supposed to think up different ways of attack for future things, well, that was a waste of time really but that was all we were doing. All the rest of the them, down the squadron as it was left, cause they’d imported a lot of aircrew, and sent the Ozzies back, and they were sent to uhm, 19th Squadron, something like that,
DK: Right.
KO: And within months it was, they were all released from it.
DK: And what happened to yourself, then you, did you leave the RAF at that point?
KO: I was still on bombing development unit.
DK: Right.
KO: We just, from there we just five crews of us there.
DK: Yeah.
KO: And I stayed on till June and I was then pat to hand in me notice so to speak.
DK: So that would have been June 1946.
KO: Yeah.
DK: Yeah, yeah, you’re at Marham. So, you’ve left the Air Force in ’46 then. Yeah. So, what did you after that then?
KO: Well, it’s a bit of a long story really, I wanted to, I wanted to get engaged to one of the WAAFs in the squadron who was a parachute packer.
DK: Right.
KO: And I wanted to get engaged, this was at Christmas time, and I went home that weekend, took a photograph and my father said, no, you’re not marrying that girl. So, I sort of, I [unclear] a little bit, he said, no, you’re not going to marry that girl, if you do, he said, we shall sell the business up, we shall go back to America cause my parents were American born.
DK: Alright, ok.
KO: So, I said very briefly, well, that’s what you want to do, that’s what you left to do. Anyhow, they didn’t go back, the father bought a bungalow outside the town and I left myself thinking that this was the route I was going to take, that he changed his mind about being awkward and he bought two limited companies in Northampton and when I came out to take on the businesses which was a great help to me because I only had one other option which was to stay in the Air Force.
DK: Yeah.
KO: But that wasn’t very good because they really didn’t want anybody else in the, in there but that’s. So where I went and I was in Northampton then for five or six years working on the family business and then we divided up from there into the different companies and so forth.
DK: [unclear] The family business actually involve?
KO: A restaurant and bakeries.
DK: Oh, alright, ok. So, so looking back now, after all these years, several years, how do you feel about your time in the Air Force?
KO: I mean, for good or bad?
DK: Both [laughs]
KO: I thoroughly enjoyed it.
DK: Alright.
KO: No, it was a great experience, I learned a lot really from it, you know, and I wouldn’t have missed a day of my experiences there I mean [unclear] fly in the Air Force, when I came home and joined the local flying club and I was flying several hundred hours [unclear].
DK: So you did eventually get your private pilot’s license, then.
KO: I got my private pilot license, yes.
DK: Yeah. And, one other question I’ve got, did you know anything about the controversy of 627 Squadron moving from Bennett’s 8 Group to
KO: Oh, it was a bit of an argy bargy about that.
DK: Yeah.
KO: But, no, that’s what, what came away and that’s what we accepted.
DK: So, when you initially joined 627, you were part of 8 Group, were you, under Bennett.
KO: Yes. And 6
DK: And then moved to 5 Group under Cochrane.
KO: Yes. And 617 Squadron were on the same station with us.
DK: Right.
KO: So, it was quite a nice association really.
DK: Yeah. And you got on well with 617 Squadron.
KO: Oh yes.
DK: Yeah, yeah.
KO: Was a really good arrangement really.
DK: So, that controversy then, you just accepted you were going to another group.
KO: Well, that was all you could do really.
DK: Yeah.
KO: Hadn’t got a great deal of option [laughs].
DK: Ok. Well, absolutely marvelous.
KO: I’m sorry I’ve been so
DJK: You’ve been absolutely wonderful, brilliant, don’t worry, it’s useful having the logbook here cause we’ve gone through the various
KO: My memory seems to be worse at times than others and
DK: You’ve been absolutely marvelous, no, it’s been good
KO: Good. It’s been absolute rubbish from my point of view.
DK: That’s been good. Right, I’ll turn that off now.
KO: Ok.
DK: Ok, thank you very much.
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 Ken Oatley
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
David Kavanagh
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
2017-03-21
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Type
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Sound
Identifier
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AOatleyK170321, POatleyK1701
Format
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01:03:33 audio recording
Language
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eng
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Civilian
Description
An account of the resource
Initially too young to enlist at the outbreak of war, Ken Oatley served in the Home Guard until he was able to enlist in October 1940, when after initial training he undertook pilot training. After basic flying training he went onto Canada training on Oxfords. It was whilst there Donald Bennett was forming the Pathfinder Force. Five pilot trainees were taken from each course to retrain as navigators and Ken was selected for transfer. Eventually posted to 627 Squadron at RAF Woodhall Spa on Mosquito aircraft, Ken flew a total of 22 operations. He describes how 627 Squadron operated within Bomber Command operations, explaining how their role was to arrive and illuminate the designated targets for the following bombers. This included the operation on Dresden in February 1945. At the end of the war, Ken served with the Bomb Development Unit at RAF Marham, before being demobbed in 1946.
Contributor
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Ian Whapplington
Peter Schulze
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940-10
1945-02
1946
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Great Britain
England--Norfolk
Germany
Germany--Dresden
England--Lincolnshire
Conforms To
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Pending revision of OH transcription
106 Squadron
16 OTU
1660 HCU
617 Squadron
627 Squadron
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
civil defence
Gibson, Guy Penrose (1918-1944)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Home Guard
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Master Bomber
Mosquito
navigator
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Pathfinders
RAF Manston
RAF Marham
RAF Metheringham
RAF Scampton
RAF Sealand
RAF Swinderby
RAF Syerston
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Woodhall Spa
Stirling
target indicator
Tiger force
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/560/8828/PStockerEE1601.2.jpg
dc2149cee1df664fefc275fb3f1a16c4
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/560/8828/AStockerEE161013.2.mp3
a6ef8f8aef1748927c2931c8116ebbf3
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
Stocker, Ted
Edward Ernest Stocker DSO DFC
E E Stocker
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stocker, EE
Description
An account of the resource
Three oral history interviews with Flight Lieutenant Ted Stocker DSO DFC (b. 1922, 573288 Royal Air Force). He flew 108 operations as a pilot and navigator with 7, 35, 102 and 582 Squadrons.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-09-23
2016-08-30
2016-10-13
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.
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
DK: So, I’ll just introduce myself. Make sure this is working OK.
ES: OK?
DK: I, I — you’re sometimes beaten by the technology. So, it’s David Kavanagh inter— interviewing Flight Lieutenant Ted Stocker at his home on the 13th of October 2016. I’ll, I’ll just leave that there. If, if I keep looking down, I’m not being rude, I’m just making sure it’s, it’s going.
ES: Er, I’m one of the lucky ones I suppose. If you’ve seen how many trips I’ve done, you’ll know I’m a lucky one.
DK: No, I’ve seen the statistics and they’re terrifying. It’s — they’re covered in your book obviously. What I wanted to ask you was first of all, what were you doing immediately before the war?
ES: I was in the Air Force. I was an apprentice at RAF Halton. I joined the Air Force in 1938, January ‘38, and I — when the war started, they — it should have been a three year apprenticeship but when the war started, they cut it down. They [cough], I did two years and three months I think, so I was a bit short, but they, to make up for the shortcomings, we lost our Wednesday afternoon sports and Thursday afternoon, er, Friday afternoon, um, drill so they stopped the apprenticeship short and gave us accelerated apprenticeship, so I came out. Oh dear, I was still an apprentice — I was an apprentice when the war started because I heard Mr — I was on church parade. We were at church, um, on the 3rd of September and, um, the padre cut his sermon short to say that Chamberlain was talking on, on the BBC and we would go back early so we could actually get in the NAAFI to hear the Chamberlain broadcast. Remember, in those days there wasn’t — radios were expensive but they were all batteries and batteries cost more than you earned in a week, so that’s why we had to use the, the NAAFI to hear the broadcast. Anyway, we heard this broadcast and we’re now at war, which was very good, nice to know [cough] because — as I’d just heard that news, I walked out of the NAAFI to go back to get my irons to go to the cookhouse to get some food and, um, the war had been on for a good ten minutes, maybe a quarter of an hour, and there was a snotty little PTI corporal said, ‘You’re on a charge. You haven’t got your gas mask with you. Don’t you know there’s a war on? You’re supposed to be carrying your gas mask’. I hadn’t — there wasn’t a war on when I left the barrack room and that’s where I left my gas mask [slight laugh], so that was a good start to the war. Anyway, I carried on, er, 1940, in April, March or something, my, er, my apprenticeship was foreshortened and I was passed out as an aircraftman first class. When you’re an apprentice, you can pass out either as an AOC, which there was very few of them (I think in our entry there were two), and an AC1 which was the middle of the road and most of us did, and AC2 which was those who weren’t very bright. And there had — I had a very good posting really, I was posted to Boscombe Down. So, unlike most of the people, when they left their apprenticeship, they went to a squadron and whatever aircraft the squadron had that was the aircraft they worked on but, being lucky, and going to Boscombe I had all sorts of aeroplanes. We had the first prototype Stirling I, I worked on and we had all sorts of funny fighters we were getting. The RAF took over aircraft that the French had ordered but the Germans rather stopped the Americans delivering to them so we took over things like the Mohawk and things and, um, so I, I got into working as a fitter on all sorts of different aeroplanes and then I applied for — I went in to see the flight commander and said, ‘I’d like a pilot’s course’, and he said, ‘No, you can’t do a pilot’s course with AC1. You’ve got to be AOC before you can apply for a pilot’s course’. Anyway, I went back to work and did some — my trade test and became an AOC. I went back into the flight commander and said, ‘I’m an AOC now, can I have a pilot’s course?’ He said, ‘You’ve got to be an AOC for six months at least’. Unfortunately, five months later they made me a corporal, so now I can’t be a pilot because I’m too valuable but then the first of the four engine, as I say all those — I worked on the Stirling, the first of the four engine bombers, and, um, they came with an AMO. They wanted exceptional AOCs, corporals and sergeants and the fitters trades, fitter trades to become flight engineers because before the war, you didn’t have flight engineers because they didn’t have any four engine aircraft, apart from the Stirling, and so I thought — Stirling, Sunderland flying boat, and, um, so I thought well — I didn’t [slight laugh], I didn’t know about this AMO until the flight c—, um, the flight clerk came down — I was working on an aeroplane — with this bit of paper in his hand and said, ‘The flight commander thought you might like to read this’. It was the first, er, call for flight engineers and flight commander had his head in his hand on the right way. He thought that was the [unclear] tell about it so I went back with the flight commander, flight clerk to the flight commander and said, ‘I’d like to be a flight engineer’. Well, I got that, um, sort of got back to barracks, about — it must have been within forty-eight hours, they really were desperate, um, I was called back to the flight commander, given an hour warning, sent off to, off to — where was it in Scotland? Er, oh dear, just north of inverness, north-west from Inverness? I was off on a three week air gunner’s course. I didn’t want to be an air gunner, I wanted to be a flight engineer but, um, I did the three, this three week air gunner’s course, flying in some decrepit old airplanes, and I was then posted to 35 Squadron in Linton as a flight engineer on Halifaxes. I hadn’t done, apart from being a fitter and the three weeks’ air gunner course, I was now a flight engineer. Fortunately, at this, they got the crew but they hadn’t got the airplanes. Point of interest perhaps, my flight commander at that time was a guy called, er, Leonard Cheshire, Flight Lieutenant Leonard Cheshire was my flight commander and —
DK: What were your feelings about Cheshire as a man?
ES: Well as a man [unclear], didn’t have a great understanding of aeroplanes, little or no knowledge of engineering but, um, he had the knack of flying the aeroplane. He could fly it quite well.
DK: Did you, did you fly with him at all?
ES: Only, er, local flying from the thing.
DK: And he was a competent pilot, was he?
ES: He was a — he seemed competent but a little bit slap happy. He talked myself and several other flight engineers, who were new to the squadron, up in the Halifax on a very nasty day in Yorkshire. We sort of took off straight into a cloud and he plugged into the intercom and said, ‘Now I’m running the engines on hot air because of the — to stop them icing up. I’m now going to switch two of them off onto cold air’. Of course, within about three minutes, they’d iced up and the engines had stopped. ‘Now you see what happens when you don’t use hot air’. Yes, I know but we’re flying in cloud at about three thousand feet somewhere over the Yorkshire Moors, no real radio, or any thought. It was a bit stupid. Stating the obvious.
DK: Was he a slightly eccentric man then?
ES: No, not slightly.
DK: No. OK. Completely [laugh].
ES: He was an academic from an academic background. I think he didn’t have a very high regard for engineers or any engineer, and, er, Paddy O’Kane was his flight engineer. He was an Irishman who kept — must have let his temper well under control.
DK: Were you, were you quite pleased to get down then after that flight?
ES: Oh, I wasn’t that — it was interesting. I thought I was too young to be too worried, I just didn’t like it. It knew it wasn’t the right thing to be doing [slight laugh] and, er, I messed about on the squadron there. As I said we were very short of aeroplanes, plenty of crews, there about three flight engineers to every engine, every aeroplane. But I just went back, a lot of us went back to working on the flights as a fitter, ordinary fitter again. And, um, I went there I think Ap— March or April ‘40. It wasn’t until October that I got a crew with an aeroplane, joined a crew and started operating over Germany. I wasn’t very impressed when we did start. We were supposed to be bombing Essen at night, and we — in those days they had very little in the way of range. When they dropped the bombs, I wasn’t that impressed. I said, ‘How –?’ I looked out and I couldn’t see how the hell they knew where they were, and listening to the navigator talking to the pilot, I don’t think he had that much of an idea. It was a very hit and run, well hit and miss, mainly miss, flying in the first few months of the war or the first few months when I started flying. But I, er, what did I do? Oh yes, I know. Early on, with the flight commander, by saying, briefing us for our second trip, ‘We’re going to Nuremberg#. It was rather a long way to Nuremberg from Yorkshire, particularly when we were flying in the early Halifaxes, which did not have as many fuel tanks as the later ones and I, being a sort of awkward bloke, I knew what fuel load we’d got and I had a chat with the navigator, he was another sergeant so I could talk to him, got the air miles and the fuel load and I did some sums. We haven’t got enough money to — enough fuel to get there and back let alone have a reserve and anyway, still being young and cheeky, I said to the flight commander, ‘Sir, I don’t think we’ve got enough fuel for this trip’. To which he replied, ‘Nonsense lad. Group know what they’re doing’. Well, they didn’t. We came back and I was keeping the throttles closed as much as I could, getting the best air miles out of it. We actually could see the airfield and when we crashed, we were almost within walking distance of the airfield [slight laugh].
DK: You just literally ran out of fuel?
ES: Yeah. Well, we ran out on one — because we were low, I was running, um, each side’s engines on all the tanks in that wing and, um, two engines stopped on one side, so I went down the back and put a cross feed on, um, and so I ran four engines off an empty tank but —
DK: So was anybody hurt in the crash or —
ES: Er, no. When we were sort of getting organised I, I‘d dumped the escape hatches over myself, the pilot and myself, and I was actually on — the skipper had started to bail the crew out. There should have been only two of us left in the aeroplane at that stage but the engines finally ran out of fuel and stopped and, er, we went down, hit the ground on a rather nasty bump, bounced over one hedge and landed in the next field and —
DK: So, there was just the pilot, yourself and one other still on board?
ES: Should have been the pilot and myself but we hit the field, the ground and bounced as I said. I was amidships with the hatch open there, the skipper was in his seat but the hatch over his head was missing, so when things grew to a halt, and the engines started burning, um, we decided to leave so the skipper came up on the wing next to me. I’d got onto the wing, which was the back edge of the wing because the undercarriage was up of course (when you’ve got to crash you don’t have the wheels down) and slid off the wing. The cows in the field didn’t like the intrusion. The skipper and I were looking around to find a quick way through and while we were doing so, a voice from behind said, ‘Wait for me’. It was the, um, the air gunner. He should be the first out. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten to take his parachute down the back. He’d left the parachute amidships by the door and he was actually in the fuselage, walking up the fuselage, to get this parachute pack when we hit the ground. Anyway, he got out alright and, um, we were going, er, out of the field and eventually, er, two ambulances arrived. ‘Are you injured?’ ‘No’. ‘OK, go away. This is for injured’. The other ambulance, ‘You’re not dead? This is for bodies’. So, we were still left there by the aeroplane and eventually the CO came over in his little car. As I say, we were within sight of the airfield when we actually hit the ground and the CO had driven over in his Hillman, and he sort of had a few words with the skipper. He kept well away from me. I told him we was short of fuel and I was bloody right [laugh]. But, um, he must have borne that in mind because, having done four operations with 35, um, I’m called in and told I’m going to a new squadron, where they‘re just going to get Halifaxes to instruct the flight engineers and pilots on the Halifax. I’d done four operations and there I am, I’m an instructor on 102 Squadron and obviously the CO at that time was a squadron leader, um, he’d got the message I might know what I’m talking about and there I was, an instructor. Much later on in the war he was the fli— squadron commander of the Pathfinder Squadron, I was the engineer leader and when he wanted to fly, guess who he took as his flight engineer? But, um, anyway I went to this 102 Squadron, had two qualified flying instructors to teach the pilots and things, and I had to explain the workings of the Halifax and things to the pi— new pilots and check up on the en— blokes that were posted in as engineers. And so there I was, twenty years old, telling these people. I said, um, the flight, flight commander who was the flying instructor, like me was an apprentice from Halton, trouble is he was about six years before me [laugh]. However, he thought, he must have thought I was making a good job of it, telling these people, because he suddenly called me into his office. He said, ’What do you think about taking a commission?’ A twenty-year-old sergeant. ‘Ay?’ I said, ‘Well you, you did it. What do you think?’ And he said, ’I think you should’. So, I suddenly found myself twenty years old, commissioned and — being commissioned anyway. I wasn’t actually commissioned at that time. I was put in for it. Later, on the Pathfinders, were starting and they were asking for crews and they asked for volunteers from other squadrons. There was a, a couple of Canadians, a pilot and navigator flew together, and they thought it would be a good idea to go to Pathfinders. Their flight engineer lived locally to New York so he wasn’t keen at all so, er, Hank, the skipper that was, he came to me and said, ‘We want a flight engineer. What do you think?’ I said, ‘OK. Put me down. I’ll go with you’, so I was posted to Pathfinders on 35 Squadron and, um, I was still a sergeant. And suddenly one day, the adjutant called, er, sent for me and I go to the adjutant’s office. The adjutant was sort of absolutely horrified, ‘You’ve been commissioned’, so I was the first flight engineer, one of the first flight — batch of flight engineers to be commissioned. Mind you, I did have to go for an interview at the Air Ministry first. It was quite an interesting one because at — down at Pathfinders at Graveley, which has its own station down the road to get straight into London, about an hour, three quarters of an hour ride to London so I knew, um, when I was told about this interview at the Air Ministry, I was flying that night. So went, you know, did my trip, came back, changed, had a shower, changed into my best blue, down the station and on the train up to Air Ministry for this bloody interview. I didn’t really know what it was all about but, er, they want to see me they can see me. So, I staggered into this interview thing and lots of sen— brass there, mainly group captains or wing commanders but there wasn’t a pilot or anything amongst them. They were all engineers you see, and, um, they didn’t know really know that much about it, they’d got to interview me and that was it. I sort of staggered in and I went asleep in the waiting room outside and they woke me up to go in, and I was sort of wiping the sleeping dust from my eyes as I went in for the interview. And one of these officious men obviously, um, thought I was on, been on the booze up in London that night, ‘Where were you last night?’ I gave them the name of the target [laugh]. Oh dear, atmosphere changed [laugh]. They gave me the wrong answer to the right question and, um, after that the interview went quite well. I ended up them telling them more about what went on than they knew about. Well, so that’s OK, so I’m told I’m commissioned, I go down to London with a bit of — coupons and some money and buy myself a uniform as a pilot officer. I go back to the office, back to the squadron and I get called in again, ‘We haven’t got a, what is it? An establishment for pilot officer flight engineer, only a flight lieutenant. You’re an acting flight lieutenant’. So I went, in about a matter of weeks, I went from a scruffy sergeant to a blown-up flight lieutenant [laugh] and I’ve been all sorts of flight lieutenant ever since. That was pilot officer acting flight lieutenant, flying officer acting flight lieutenant, war [unclear] flight lieutenant, end of the war flying officer acting flight lieutenant, er, proper flight lieutenant. There you go. I’ve been promoted to flight lieutenant so bloody often that I don’t know — but, um, that’s how it goes.
DK: So, so once you’re in the Pathfinder Squadron then, what was your — what did you do there? What were the Pathfinders doing?
ES: Well, it’s, um, the first thing they said was if you go into Pathfinders instead of doing thirty operations and being rested, you’ll do sixty. That didn’t last long. They cut those down to forty-five and —
DK: How did you fell about that, having to do two tours?
ES: Not too worried. I was young and stupid. Anyway, um, having being made a flight lieutenant, I was in charge of all the flight engineers, and when my crew finished their forty-seven, forty-five, they were posted away and I stayed on as flight engineer leader, and then suddenly somebody, something clicked, ‘Oh he shouldn’t be here, he’s done it’. And, um, I did, I did a couple more afterwards with other crews that hadn’t got an engineer at the time. And, um, shows you how stupid I was, I thought I’ve never, never tried — I’d like to try a trip as, um, a gunner so I volunteered to go on a trip as a mid-upper gunner on a flight just for the heck of it and, er, they suddenly realised I shouldn’t be there and I got posted straight away to a Training — a Pathfinder Training Unit. I arrived there just as 7 Squadron had taken a beating. They’d lost a squadron commander, two flight commanders and all the leaders. They had a hell of a time and so they suddenly they needed some experienced people in the Squadron, so they came to NTU to get them and, er, so they gathered — drew a few of us together and posted us to 7 Squadron. The only thing is, I hadn’t been there very long so before I knew where I was, I was back on op— on an operational squadron, on 7 Squadron, but they’d got Lancasters and I didn’t know a bloody thing about the Lancaster. The Halifax — I’d been on propeller courses, engine courses, er, aircraft course, airplane courses, everything and they had the, the Linc— the Lincolns. The Lancaster, I didn’t know anything about really apart from they had four Merlins and they were much the same as the Merlins in the, er, Halifax except they were made in America and had a better, er, better, um, type of — better design cylinder block, didn’t get internal leaks, and, um, I thought, ‘Well I must find out something about this aeroplane’. And I was still sort of feeling my way trying to find some books and things and they suddenly said, ‘You’re on ops tonight. Oh, and you’re a bomb aimer as well’. Because on Pathfinders, on Lancs, they used their flight engineer as a bomb aimer. Well, I don’t know a thing about bomb aiming and so they gave me a quick run through on the ground on how to set the bomb sight up and they said, ‘You better try it. Have a go’. They put, they put eight practice bombs on one of the Lancs then go off to a bombing raid, do my first bombing, eight, eight training ship. Trouble is, I dropped one and then the thing didn’t turn out right, the rest wouldn’t drop, so I had dropped one practice bomb. I was a bomb aimer with one practice and I’m on ops. I dropped four — about 80,000 tons of bombs, bombs that night, just practising [laugh] and that’s how life goes on.
DK: So as, as a flight engineer then, what did you prefer the Halifax or the Lancaster, once you got to know the Lancaster?
ES: If I was going to crash, I’d rather do it in a Lanc, in a Halifax. If I was going to go to war and not get shot at, I’d go in a Lanc. The Lanc was a much less sturdy aeroplane and it had the most diabolical position to bail out from. The, the door is right in front of the tail plane. On the Halifax the escape hatch in the fuselage is on the bottom corner of the fuselage and you dive out there, and the tail plane is way over. The only thing you’ve got to worry about is hitting the tail wheel. But, um, so if I had to bail out, I’d rather bail out of a Halifax and, um, I think I’d rather crash in a Halifax. It’s a much sturdier aeroplane, much — old fashioned pre-war des— design. The Lanc was a, a lash-up, um, it would never, it would never have flown, been allowed before the war because, um, aeroplanes had to fit in a hundred foot hangar. Well, the Manchester, which was the forerunner of the Lanc would go in a Halifax, in a hundred foot hangar, but when they took the Eag— Rolls Royce Eagles out and put a Merlin there, and then a bit of wing with another Merlin, that put an extra bit of wing on and the thing wouldn’t go in the hangar. So, it would, it would never have been allowed pre-war. But it, it gave an extra form of — the later Hali 3, they did have extended wing tips, they extended the wing on the Hali 3s which was a good solid aeroplane. I would like to have seen a Hali 3 with four Merlins, um, I think it would probably have been as good as the Lanc, but it didn’t —because it was built like — I was going to say a brick shit house [laugh]. As it was very well built, it didn’t have the same bomb carrying cap— capabilities and it didn’t have a bomb door, a bomb bay. The Lanc had this enormous long bomb bay which the Americans, the Americans saw that bomb bay and said, ‘Good God’, and so, um, you could you could carry a eight thousand pounder in a Halifax, which was two fours joined together, but it wouldn’t take any of the big things and it was very narrow and it had these extra bomb, er, bomb bays in the inner wing too. It wasn’t as well designed as the Lanc was. The Lanc wasn’t designed that way. It was a bit like Topsy. That was the way it grew. Yeah, I tried them both.
DK: As a flight engineer though, and purely as your role as a flight engineer, you preferred the Lancaster?
ES: Well on the Halifax, you had a much better instrument panel, you could see what’s going on, but you had a very complex fuel system. You started out with four tanks on the Hali 1s, early Hali 1As, that soon went to —from four tanks to — it went up again, and I think we ended up with 7 or 8 tanks in each wing and all little bits where they squeezed a bit in, um, which gave a very complex fuel system. To keep the CG right you had to keep messing about. I say the nose tank, number 2, which was on the leading edge of the wing, er, you couldn’t use that for landing or take off because of the change, sudden changes of altitude. So, the Halifax, you had — needed an engineer or somebody who knew what they were doing to manage the fuel system. The Lancs, with four bloody great tanks, you didn’t. Basically, you didn’t need a flight engineer on a Halifax, it was just another pair of hands, another pair of eyes and somebody else to keep an eye on the gauges —
DK: On the Lancaster, on the Lancaster, you didn’t need a flight engineer?
ES: No, but you did need somebody in the right hand seat.
DK: Right. OK. Yeah.
ES: And the flight engineer was cheaper than a, a co-pilot, a pilot, that’s really what it was, they were a cheap pilot substitute in a way.
DK: On the Lancaster so you didn’t need, really need a flight engineer on the Lancaster?
ES: Not as an engineer. I’ll tell you, the fuel cogs were two little handles but they had very big tanks. The Lanc, the Lanc, the original design of the Lanc was based on the premise that you would have sealed wings and there’d be a filler cap in the wing and you filled the wing up. But that meant that — that was fine until they said all tanks have got to be self-sealing, and you can’t put self-sealing on the outside of the tanks and that’s why they ended up putting little tanks in. But um, it’s a matter of history there. The Lanc arrived just at the right time. The Halifax was before its time and was outdated as soon as it arrived really but it was better than a Stirling.
DK: Yes. Did you fly ever on the Stirling or —
ES: Yes, I had, down at Boscombe.
DK: Not operationally though?
ES: No.
DK: No, no. So can you say a little about what the Pathfinders actually did and their, their role that was different to —
ES: Oh, quite different, um, initially it was a matter of, er, developing the technique. Don Bennett developed the tech— developed the, or developed the technique, I say, initially on Pathfinders, it was a matter — we had people going at H – 4 and dropping flares like mad and then other people following on trying to find the target. Later on, it got much more sophisticated. You still had the supporters and the important people in the H – 4. Supporters were supplied by the squadrons from the new boys in Pathfinders, this was in the opening stages. The crew in Pathfinders, first thing flying as a supporter, going in as H – 4 and, um, then later on getting promoted to being a flare dropper, still going in early, er, usually several rows of flare droppers, H – 4 and H – 2, and then you had the king-pins dropping the target markers, er, target indicators, from — with the light of the flares of the others and then once the master had put, um, put his marker on the target the supporters came along to keep it going. Basically, that’s all there was to it really, but it got a bit more sophisticated.
DK: Did you actually meet Don Bennett at this time?
ES: Oh yes. I knew, I met him.
DK: What did you think of, of Don Bennett?
ES: I — he didn’t need any crew. He knew it all. No, I was a great admirer of Don Bennett.
DK: You actually flew with him, did you?
ES: Yes, I did some — the first time we had a Hali 3 deli— delivered to, um, Graveley as a possible aircraft for Pathfinder Group because at that, at that stage we had Hali 2s, Lancs, Wellingtons, er, all in different squadrons. And Don wanted — was trying to get all his aircraft —
DK: Standardised —
ES: Same aircraft right through the Group, um, but anyway a Hali 3 had been sent to Bos— to Graveley for him to have a try. Well, he’d flown the Hali 2s and 1s, he was an experienced Halifax pilot but there was this Hali 3 he had been sent to try, so just he and I got into the aeroplane, nobody else, and he tried to fly the Hali 3. Well compared to the Hali 1s and 2s with four Merlins, four Hercules were a whole different proposition and one of the flight engineers’ job is following the pilot, as he opens the throttle, keep your hands behind so as if he moves his hands, the throttles won’t go back. And unfortunately, we were on the end of the runway, two of us in the aeroplane, not big fuel, no great fuel load, and he’s sort of half way up and I was following, and suddenly we were airborne. Now that was quite a different experience. Anyway completely opened the throttles, I held them and locked them open or locked them and that was his first experience of the Hali 3 and mine [laugh] but only the two of us in there anyway.
DK: But presumably, he then made the decision not the Hali 3, but go for the Lancaster then, did he?
ES: He flew the Hali 3 and he flew the Lanc.
DK: And he decided on the Lancaster then.
ES: Yeah, he was also — there was some talk of a teed-up Wellington with a pressure cabin.
DK: Oh right.
ES: It was only — I don’t think we even had one with us, I knew it existed and I’d seen pictures of it. They actually put a pressure cabin inside, inside the Wellington. It was quite a high-altitude aeroplane. I think they used it for high altitude research afterwards. Yes, so Don knew what he was doing and wasn’t wor— never worried, it was fine with him. A man than can take a tuner off, the control locks on, flies around Hamburg and land the bloody thing with the stick stuck.
DK: That’s what he did? The control lock was still on?
ES: Yeah.
DK: And he flew to Hamburg and back?
ES: No, he flew, took off from Hamburg. He should have been going to Berlin but he turned round, went round the airfield, and got it back down on the ground again, took off the control locks and flew to berlin on the Berlin shuttle.
DK: On the Berlin airlift.
ES: Yeah.
DK: On the Berlin airlift, yeah.
ES: Yeah. Oh, he knew what he was doing.
DK: So how many operations did you actually fly altogether then?
ES: Hundred and eight. Forty-seven on Wellingtons, on Halifaxes and sixty-one on Lancs. I know they say it isn’t allowed, you shouldn’t last that long. I hadn’t read the statistics [laugh].
DK: Well, if you didn’t know the statistics.
ES: It only happened by chance really. I did my forty-seven on Halifaxes and I was sent to NTU. 7 Squadron had a chop and NTU were asked to supply replacements. I was there, I was one of the replacements. They wanted a replacement, you know, they’d lost a lot of their top end. They wanted experienced people and I — so I was off operations for a few weeks and I was back on the Lancs, um, once I’d got through the — with first with 7 and then, um, 582 was formed, one flight from 7 Squadron and one flight from 156. I went there and, um, I just soldiered on. I was sort of a decoration round the place, I think I was a bit of a show piece. You know, a funny thing, when I did my hundredth operation, I was keeping quiet, I wasn’t making any fuss about it. But I used to help, deal with the crew list for the CO, and there was a young lad coming through as a skipper. He was a bit of a nervous type, he was worried because he was going to do his thirteenth trip. I thought, what the hell, I put myself down as his flight engineer. He came back and, um, we landed back at base and he said, ‘Ah that’s good, I’ve made my — done my thirteenth’, I said, ‘Well done. I’ve done my hundredth’ [laugh].
DK: And that was the first he knew?
ES: That was the first he knew. Nobody had reached three figures before. We’d lost two people at ninety-eight. We never lost one at ninety-nine but we did lose two at ninety-eight.
DK: Was there any recognition for the hundredth operation at all from the squadron or —
ES: Not from the squadron but I think there’s mention, um, in my DSO. I went over my hundredth anyway but, um, that’s really all there was. I got my DSO, I think I was the only flight engineer I think that did.
DK: How do you feel now looking back on that period [unclear] operations?
ES: I was lucky. I don’t know. It was my job. I was in the Air Force for a job and it was part of the job, sort of.
DK: And now if we move to the post war period. I was reading that you went to South America?
ES: Oh, I did the South American trip with Harris, yes.
DK: What was, what was Harris like?
ES: Well, he knew who I was when we got there [laugh]. But it was quite a crazy thing, we didn’t see much of him really. He was the top brass and we were the, we were the tail end. Funny thing is, when we first flew over, we went down to Gambia, went across to Recife, just by the mouth of the Amazon and, um, we had — Harris himself and his, his PA had been in America with the RAF during the war and they had the correct drill for America. They had long — they were in khaki but they had long trousers. We were issued with khaki appropriate to, er, West Africa but we had shorts. Oh dear, when we landed in Brazil, what a kerfuffle, ‘[unclear] get those men back in the aeroplane out of sight’. Anyway, we were pu— pushed back in the aeroplane and, um, the top brass, me, Harris and his little entourage and they were marched off to a decent hotel, and somebody came out to us, ‘Put your trousers on’, and we were allowed to go and get a meal as well [laugh]. It was ridiculous. We didn’t know what was going on.
DK: So, it, so it was three Lancasters you took to Brazil then?
ES: Yeah.
DK: Yeah. And how did they perform going across the —
ES: Oh, no problems there. Um, the fuel was — you had to watch the fuel. We weren’t over dressed for it. We didn’t have long range tanks or anything which are available, were avail— or eventually became available for the Lancs, but there was no problem.
DK: So, what was the purpose of the visit then? Was it just an invite for Harris by the Brazilians?.
ES: Brazil was our allies. They had a division fighting in Italy and we were there. We —the division for me — because Brazil did not declare war on Japan, er, mainly because they had too large a Japanese population. The only thing that the Brazilians did about the Japanese is they all had to live at least a hundred kilometres from the coast. That was the Brazilian, um, result of Japan entering the war, um, and their Army only fought in Europe with the American 5th Army and they came back. We were there when they came back. We were flying over them as they went down the main street in Rio, we were over— overhead.
DK: Oh, I see, so it was a kind of com— celebration for the return of their army, in effect?
ES: Er, you mentioned the three Lancs. Well, when we turned round to come back, one of them had engine trouble. It wasn’t my aircraft but of the flight engineers, I was the only one that could change an engine or knew anything about it so I ended up staying behind waiting for the new engine. And the Brazilians were very good, they gave us a lot of coffee beans and they were tied up in the bomb bay and the aeroplane was flown by the 617 Squadron crew, and 617 Squadron took off from the airport at Brazil, at, er, Rio, which is six hours from the, er, air— from the promenade. Um, being 617 Squadron, they didn’t have bomb bays. They weren’t used to bomb, bomb doors so they took off with the bomb doors open (because you always park with the bomb doors open), so they took off with them open and some of us left behind saw them turn out over the harbour and watched our coffee beans descend into the harbour.
DK: Oh no.
ES: One, er, bag didn’t detach and when we got back instead of getting a whole bag of coffee beans which were of course rationed around, almost unavailable in England, we had a two-pound bag of them. But anyway, yeah.
DK: So, after that, is this when you then went for pilot training?
ES: Not immediately, no. I went — I did an engineering officers course, um, I was already, although I was a fitter and a qualified fitter, um, I went on to — down to St Athan, I think for four months, an accelerated engineering officer’s course, filling in the gaps between what I’d been through, what I knew as an apprentice, what I knew as a flight engineer, just filling in the gaps. I come out as a fully trained flight engineering officer which was quite useful in the end. But I went back to the Squadron and I was then on 20, on 24 Squadron, the VIP Squadron, flying Lancastrians, er, VIPs around the place. I managed to save the life of myself, Sir Robert Watson Watts and Ralph Cochrane all in one go. I — if they’d gone down and I’d been with them. We had Lancasters, Lancastrians sorry, but they had a belly tank to increase the range, because the Lanc couldn’t fly the Atlantic, so the Lancastrian couldn’t unless they put long range tanks in the bomb bay. Since it was a [unclear] thing, it wasn’t a proper — it wasn’t a well thought out plan. The filling was, um, on the side of the bomb bay with the — the flight engineer had an extension which you undid a hatch on the bomb bay, took the cap off the, er, tank, put this extension on and then you could fill the fuel up, fill the long range tank up. Good idea. Well, on going to America we were carrying two flight engineers, so I was filling the port wing and the other guy was filling the starboard wing, and I filled my wing and I look down and this bloke who was filing the bomb bay, belly tank seemed to be having a lot of trouble, seemed to be stopping and starting and whatever. So, I went down to see what, you know, the problem was. We were out in the Azores and I don’t speak Portuguese so I was chattering away, took the thing out. No wonder he was having trouble. What was he putting in the tank? Engine oil.
DK: Oh dear.
ES: I had a quick thought, er, I could see us, another one in the Bermuda Triangle. We’d have been somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle when I switched over to that tank. We wouldn’t have gone much further. Anyway, I got him out of the way, and I go the crew and anyone standing around. I got a pan out from the side of the airfield and pushed the thing back and got the wheel, the bit, the tail wheel and a bit more of the fuselage over the grass, got my tool box out [slight laugh], undid the, this false bomb door that we had, it was only two sheets of metal, opened that up. I could then get to the Pulsometer pump, which was used to transfer the, er, petrol as it should have been to the wing. But fortunately, it wasn’t switched on I don’t think. I quickly disconnected it actually in case anybody did switch it on and, um, took the Pulsometer pump off and, er, of course all the oil flowed out, straight onto the grass, er, put the thing back on again, got the fella with the petrol bowser and put a couple of hundred gallons in the tank. I’m not paying [laugh].
DK: It makes you wonder if that happened in the past if —
ES: Oh yes. I think that’s what happened with MacMillan in the Star Tiger. A very similar installation on the, on the Tudor. The Tudor had the tank in the same position.
DK: Because several went missing, didn’t they?
ES: Yeah, well if you put oil in the bloody thing. The Portuguese people, they come out with the tanker and you can’t see what’s in the tanker. But, um, anyway I did, er, swirled this thing out, pumped this fuel, fuel oil mixture out with the Pulsometer pump, got a bucket with, um, pure petrol in, stripped the Pulsometer pump out down to its essential bits, washed out the inside, swirled it round and, um, pumped some, put some more petrol in the tank, swirled it round and hoped for the best, put the Pulsometer pump on and we got to Washington DC on that fuel. Otherwise, there’d be no me, no Sir Robert Watson Watt, no Sir Ralph Cochrane or anybody but, um, that’s what flight engineers are for, aren’t they?
DK: Exactly. I guess they, they never knew. Never knew how close to disaster they came.
ES: No, they were too busy scoffing. We didn’t get a meal, the other engineers and I didn’t get anything to eat at all until the other — Washington, actually Indianapolis. We didn’t stop long in Washington, then we went on to Indianapolis. It’s all a story.
DK: So, it was then soon after that you took the pilot training then, was it?
ES: Yes, ‘47 or, ‘47 I think I took the pilot training.
DK: And ended up on the Neptunes?
ES: No, I ended up on Lancasters.
DK: Oh right. OK.
ES: At first. As soon as I took the pilots course, I thought, ‘What’s going to happen now?’ Well, I’d been on Transport Command, been on Bomber Command. Oh, put him on Coastal Command. And what do they give him to fly? A Lancaster. And, um, I was flight commander on 217 Squadron and I was off to the States [slight laugh].
DK: And so how did it feel now you were a pilot of a Lancaster, after so many operations as a flight engineer?
ES: It seemed quite natural, though I must admit, when I first went as a pilot for the conversion course, as a pilot up to Kinloss, I had the first instruction for pilot. I’ll teach him all about the Lanc. He can teach me all about the Lanc [laugh], He knew who I was and I knew who he was [laugh].
DK: He couldn’t teach you much then?
ES: Eh?
DK: He couldn’t teach you much?
ES: Well, he didn’t bother. I sat there and listened to it all. You got to show willing and, er, that’s how it went
DK: So, once you converted to the Neptunes then, what were they like?
ES: A dream, a dream. You could do anything with them. They had these spoilers in the wing. When you put the spoilers on, when you put thing on, it went vroom. Of course, when we first got the Neptunes, all the top people wanted to fly them so we had a, a group of MPs come up to Kinloss to see us and find out all about these new aeroplanes. We didn’t, they were not our aeroplanes, the Neptunes, the RAF never owned any Neptunes. They were only on loan waiting, because the Sund— the Shackletons were late on delivery and these were taken as, in a sort of stop gap until we got — Avro got their finger out, started producing Shackletons. I quite enjoyed flying the Neptune. Nicest aeroplane I’d ever flown.
DK: Did you get to fly the Shackleton then, eventually?
ES: No. It was just a heavy Lancaster. The Neptune was a whole different ball game, you could do things with that.
DK: Do you think the Nim— Shack— Neptune should have been used instead of the Shackleton then?
ES: It was — the Neptunes were loaned, loan to us until we could get enough Shackletons delivered. They were only on loan. They went back to the States and went on loan to somebody else no doubt. Other — the Aussies they picked up two Shackletons, two Neptunes at the same time. They weren’t bare backed robbers but they bought theirs.
DK: Do you think we should have bought the Neptune then?
ES: I think they were better. I think it would have been a better deal than the Shackleton ever was. To give you an example, er, Churchill was coming back from America on one of the Queens, and the idea was that the RAF should go out to the mid-Atlantic and beyond to welcome him, and this was the plan and I was sitting in the mess having breakfast and saw the Shackleton taking off to meet Winny. Then I finished my breakfast, went down to flight, did my briefing, got into the aeroplane, flew off and once we got the Queen on radar I, we homed in over the Queen and then I looked on the radar and, oh yes, there’s a Shackleton coming in. We’d guide him in to —
DK: Because they were so much slower.
ES: Slower? They didn’t — they only had one speed. You see, we used to transit at ten thousand feet which gives you a much better air speed, but they did everything at about two thousand, the Shackleton, which gives us about a hundred miles an hour advantage at ten thousand. And, um, so anyway we guided them and we had a fly round the Queen and, um, Churchill could see them and then it was time for them to go. So, they went off there. We watched them go and a little bit later, we flew off and I was back in the mess when the Shackletons landed [laugh]. That’s the difference you see. They were no faster on attack really. I was going to tell you, when we first got the Neptune, a group MPs came up to have a look at it. My squadron commander, he was a hard drinking man, so we, after they arrived so I left, er, I had a dinner with them, and spoke to them and that and left the squadron commander to take care of them. He was quite happy drinking all night. Oh, that car’s — the car’s just driven two houses up and stopped there. Never mind, it’s not in your way. But anyway, they had there thing in the mess and the next morning they were going for a flight. Well, one of the things the Neptune could do which the Shackleton never got round to doing, was rocket attacks, [unclear] sixteen rockets, sort of equivalent of two, um, salvos from a cruiser and for a rocket attack on an aircraft, ship or submarine, your flying indicators about twelve hundred feet, and you put the nose down to about seventy degrees, take aim, fire the rockets. They were very, very accurate too. I say, to practice we had old wrecks of cars out on the range. You expect to hit a car with a rocket. It’s not that big a target but you hit a car with a rocket, a ship will be a big problem because of course the salvos, that car doesn’t fire back at you, but, um, we’d got two 20 mm cannons and a nose sight and they can do some damage. Anyway, so I take these MPs up and they’d had a good night out the night before [laugh], and I was flying at a thousand feet and we’re going into attack, vroom, MPs on the ceiling [laugh] and we go in and attack, fire the rocket, horrible. You got to have fun, you got to have your fun somehow.
DK: Were the MPs impressed by that?
ES: I don’t know [laugh]. They were quite quiet when we came back [laugh].
DK: I can imagine.
ES: Not used to big aeroplanes. They liked fighters. But I had fun.
DK: So, when did you actually leave the RAF then? What year would that have been?
ES: Oh dear. Oh, I just managed to — it was Army, aft— after, um, flight commander at 617. I spent some time doing my stint as a ground eng— ground fitter, a ground officer. I was quite lucky. I got rather a cushy number for my two years. I was posted out to Germany as adjutant with an AOP Squadron with Austers, and, um, it was when I finished my, just finishing my two years out there when the Army MO called me in for the annual medical, and he said, ‘You’re too deaf to fly’, And that was it. Oh yes, a bloody Army bloke, a Pongo got me out. Actually, he didn’t get me out, he said, ‘You’re unfit to fly’. The Air Force said, ‘You can stay in in your current rank until you reach retirement age’. Well, I was thirty-five, I didn’t want to do another twenty bloody years doing bugger all, nothing interesting, so I elected to take an early retirement. Been drawing a pension ever since. I’ve been drawing my RAF pension, this is the first month of my sixty-first year of drawing a pension.
DK: Excellent. Well, I think on that note we’ll —
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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Interview with Ted Stocker. Three
Creator
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David Kavanagh
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2016-10-13
Type
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Sound
Identifier
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AStockerEE161013, PStockerEE1601
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Pending review
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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.
Language
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eng
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Format
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01:11:31 audio recording
Description
An account of the resource
Ted joined the air force in January 1938 as an apprentice at RAF Halton. This was accelerated because of the war, and he was posted to RAF Boscombe Down.
Although he wanted to be a pilot, Ted’s skills were needed as a flight engineer. He was posted to 35 Squadron at Linton-on-Ouse in 1940 where he encountered Flight Lieutenant Leonard Cheshire. Later that year, Ted found a crew and aircraft and started operations over Germany. After only four operations, he went to instruct pilots and flight engineers on Halifaxes at 102 Squadron.
Ted was posted to Pathfinders 35 Squadron and was the first flight engineer to be commissioned. After 47 operations, he volunteered and was sent for training as a mid-upper gunner to a Pathfinder Training Unit and 7 Squadron, who needed experienced people. He had to learn about Lancasters, which he compares in some detail to Halifaxes.
Ted outlines the work of the Pathfinders and how the system became more sophisticated. He encountered Donald Bennett and once flew with him, as well as flying with Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris to Brazil.
Ted flew 108 operations (47 on Halifaxes and 61 on Lancasters). He was awarded a Distinguished Service Order.
Ted did an engineering officers’ course at RAF St Athan, followed by 24 Squadron, a VIP transport squadron, flying Lancastrians.
After pilot training in 1947, Ted was flight commander on 217 squadron. He flew Neptunes, which he compares favourably to Shackletons. Ted was then posted to Germany for two years as adjutant with an Air Observation Post squadron and flew Austers. He left the RAF because of impaired hearing.
Temporal Coverage
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1938
1940
Contributor
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Sally Coulter
Vivienne Tincombe
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
Wales--Vale of Glamorgan
Germany
102 Squadron
35 Squadron
582 Squadron
7 Squadron
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Cheshire, Geoffrey Leonard (1917-1992)
crash
Distinguished Service Order
fitter engine
flight engineer
fuelling
ground crew
Halifax
Halifax Mk 1
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Lancaster
Lancastrian
military service conditions
Pathfinders
promotion
RAF Boscombe Down
RAF Halton
RAF Linton on Ouse
Shackleton
Stirling
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/263/3411/AGrayCJ151017.2.mp3
d77b2a53b586aa10835d976fe3601a19
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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Gray, Jeff
Jeff Gray
J Gray
Description
An account of the resource
One oral history interview with Jeff Gray.
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
2015-10-17
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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Gray, CJ
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
DK: Right. This is David Kavanagh for the International Bomber Command Centre interviewing Jeff Gray at his home on the 17th of October 2015. I’ll just leave that there and if you want to -
JG: Yes.
DK: Go through your pictures.
JG: I -
DK: If I can, one thing. If I keep looking down it’s just to check that the -
JG: Yeah. Yes. Running -
DK: Old machine’s working.
JG: I was very fortunate in my choice when I joined the RAF. I was packed off to Texas. To America. And -
DK: If I just take you back a little bit.
JG: Yes.
DK: What made you want to join the RAF? Did you have any -
JG: I was -
DK: Choice in the matter or –
JG: I was in the Home Guard. LDV which became the Home Guard and I decided that I would like to join up and so I asked the farm manager I was working for if I could have a day off.
DK: So you were working on the farms -
JG: Yes.
DK: At the time then.
JG: I’m a farm boy.
DK: Oh right. Ok.
JG: Still. And he said, ‘You want a day off?’ He said, ‘But you’ve got a day off. You’ve got New Year’s Day.’ So I said, ‘I think, I think I need more than that,’ so he let me go. I went to the recruiting centre, the combined recruiting centre in Aberdeen.
DK: Yeah.
JG: The army and the navy guys weren’t there. The RAF man was and I think he thought it would be fun if he stole the would-be Gordon Highlander away who had come to see if he could get a kilt and joined the RAF. He said, ‘You’d like the RAF better. They sleep between sheets at night.’ ‘Oh,’ I said, ‘I’d love to try that.’ But he didn’t realise that I was, anyway that led to another station in Edinburgh a few weeks later and I went to that two days so I had to say to Jake, the farm grieve, ‘I need a week off.’ He said, ‘You can’t go doing that,’ he said, ‘I’ve signed. You’re producing food and I’ve signed all the documents and you’re exempt from military service.’
DK: Was it considered a reserved occupation?
JG: Yes it was.
DK: What you were doing.
JG: It was reserved.
DK: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
JG: And I said, ‘Well growing food isn’t going to be enough to stop this Hitler guy, I don’t think,’ so I went off. He gave me the week off. What defeated him was he said, he said, ‘I’ll have to take a week’s wages off you.’ My annual wage was ten pounds. I said, ‘Can you do the mathematics of that Jake?’ He said, ‘No. I can’t.’ So, so off I went and once again fortune smiled upon me. I was able to make a reasonable impression on the board but I failed the mathematics. The mathematics were truly, I hadn’t covered at my school. They said, can you retake this if we give you, if we postpone your date of joining till September can you take the, and I said, ‘I can, yes’. And so I came back and thought now how do I do this so I asked the headmaster, a chap I’d always liked, the domini and he said, ‘Well you can’t go into Aberdeen. You can’t do any of that. You’re going to join the classes here, you’re going to sit at the back,’ he said, ‘And I’ll teach you mathematics till it’s coming out of your ears.’ So that’s what I did and when eventually I was up to snuff took the exam and that was it but they had already set my date to go and so I was stuck with that and I had to earn a living for a little while and I found that there were more ways of earning a living as a farm labourer than I’d realised. It was harvest time. If I went south I could go to harvest and they would pay me five pounds. Come back to Aberdeenshire and get another five pounds for the next month and go north into the wilds -
DK: Nice one –
JG: And get another.
DK: Excellent.
JG: So in three months I’d got fifteen pounds and my annual wages was only ten. I said, ‘Jeff. I think you’ve made a discovery.’ I was never able to really put it into practice and when I reported to the Lord’s Cricket Ground they went through the training there and assembled us eventually and decided where we were going to go and they shipped us off across the Atlantic on a ship called the Banfora in a little convoy and although it was a horrible ship and I didn’t care much for it it was very useful because we had a destroyer on each side sending messages to each other so we spent the time taking down their messages, you know, from the Aldiss lamps and when we got there they assembled us in a hangar and told us where we were going. Texas.
DK: Oh.
JG: Well like every school boy of the time I’d read everything I had about you know adventure comics, all that stuff and what a wonderful thing that was. So here we are in Texas.
DK: Oh right.
JG: A photograph, and there’s Jeff Gray there.
DK: Ah.
JG: Yeah.
DK: So at this point, by the time you got to Texas there had been no flying at all. All your basic flying was done -
JG: I had to do a grading course on the Tiger Moth.
DK: Right. And that was in the UK.
JG: And that was in the UK.
DK: Right.
JG: And if you passed the grading course you could go.
DK: And then straight out -
JG: Failed that and -
DK: To America.
JG: You didn’t get anywhere.
DK: Ok.
JG: And so -
DK: So this was your class at the time then.
JG: It is yes. Here’s the full class all fortunately named Number One British Flying Training.
DK: So just, just for the recording so it’s Number One British Flying Training School.
JG: Yes. That’s -
DK: Number nine course.
JG: You will find the G men in a row here.
DK: Right.
JG: Gordon and Gray.
DK: Oh I see.
JG: And Guttridge.
DK: Yes. Yeah.
JG: And -
DK: All alphabetically -
JG: We were the G men. Eventually, they, I was the only one who survived the course.
DK: Really.
JG: Which was, but they all had a career. Gordon for instance had been a policeman. He, I forget what he did in the RAF but he went back to his native Glasgow and became chief of police there.
DK: Really.
JG: Had a splendid career and Guttridge who never got over failing the course went and did something. A replica trip of Shackleton when they sailed across that ocean and across -
DK: Oh.
JG: And so he wasn’t lacking in courage.
DK: No.
JG: So there we are. So there are a number of pictures of aeroplanes. The Wellington.
DK: Wellington.
JG: Which, of course, I spent a lot of time on the Wellington as an instructor and a picture of the -
DK: Manchester.
JG: The Manchester.
DK: Manchester. Yes. Yes.
JG: You will recognise the Manchester was the most deadly of aeroplanes. It had these unreliable engines.
DK: Yes.
JG: It was simply awful.
DK: So how long were actually in America for?
JG: I think it took nearly a year altogether you know as a journey time and what have you.
DK: Ok.
JG: Yes. And when I came back of course they said we’ve got to knock you guys into shape again you know and you’re not allowed to wear shoes because you’re not commissioned and only commissioned officers can wear shoes and these lovely shoes we’d brought back with us from the States had to be scrapped.
DK: Oh no.
JG: Very foolish but anyway this aeroplane, the Manchester, you can see from the tail unit that it became the Lancaster.
DK: Yes.
JG: Just as it was. It is in fact a Lanc with new wings and new engines.
DK: The four, four engines.
JG: And so became a, I’ve got a picture here. I don’t think anyone recognises who she is. She was one of my childhood, school heroines.
DK: Oh it’s not Amy Johnson.
JG: Amy Johnson.
DK: It is Amy Johnson yes. Yeah
JG: Yes. Yeah. And at that -
DK: Did you, did you -
JG: Meeting in Lincoln I passed that around the table and -
DK: Did you ever -
JG: So much for fame. No one recognised her.
DK: Did you ever, did you ever meet her?
JG: I never did get to met her.
DK: You never met her.
JG: No. No.
DK: No.
JG: Our paths did cross at some time when she, I arrived in a Comet, flying a Comet to Australia down to Melbourne and, by chance on the date when she had done her flight.
DK: Right.
JG: Now there’s always this rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne. Melbourne said Sydney doesn’t count. She finished here. And she was carried ashore, down the street by the staff of the Menzies Hotel and when I got there the street was crowded and there was a guy who’d been a nobody on that occasion, now he’s the chief porter and he said, ‘We’re going to make you re-enact this. You’re going to be carried.’
DK: Did, did people like Amy Johnson influence you in to sort of a career in aviation? Is it -
JG: I think it was one of those things that yes you form these impressions.
DK: Yeah.
JG: And yeah. So -
DK: So when you got back from America, from your training there and you, what happened then? Did you join, go straight to a squadron or was there further training?
JG: No. No. There was a lot of training. We’d only flown single-engined aeroplanes. We had to be checked out on, on Ansons and the like to -
DK: Right.
JG: To multi-engined aeroplanes and then we wound up at an Operational Training Unit at Cottesmore. Number 14 OTU and where we flew the Wellington.
DK: Right.
JG: And when we’d done that we had to be converted to the four engine Lancasters and there was a -
DK: Did you, did you have to –
JG: Conversion Unit at Wigsley which we did that.
DK: Wigsley. Yes.
JG: And we flew Halifaxes and Lancasters because they were running low on the Lancasters and they still had a few Halifaxes so -
DK: So that was the Heavy Conversion Unit at Wigsley.
JG: That was the Heavy -
DK: Yeah.
JG: Conversion Unit. Yes.
DK: Did you ever get to fly the Manchester?
JG: No. No.
DK: No.
JG: No. I just, someone sent me some pictures of it and I kept them because it seemed to me to be such an intriguing tale of this very unsuccessful, unreliable aeroplane.
DK: Such a successful -
JG: Which turned into the most successful ever.
DK: Can you, can you remember much about the Wellingtons and Halifaxes? What they were like as aircraft to fly.
JG: I loved the Wellington. Oh yes. A great aeroplane really. It had no vices at all except maybe one thing. It had an automatic trim that when you put down the flap the automatic trim readjusted the attitude.
DK: Yeah.
JG: And if that didn’t work you had to be the automatic trim, [laughs] if it didn’t work and you had to catch on quickly but apart from that as a defect I thought it was a great aeroplane to be able to fly and it was robust, and Barnes Wallis, of course, again. Yeah.
DK: What about the Halifax? Was that -
JG: Well I don’t have much impression of the Halifax except it was very similar and the instructor pretended that it was a Lancaster.
DK: Right.
JG: And you called for the power settings you would call on a Lancaster and he set the power for the Halifax.
DK: Right.
JG: So this was very confusing [laughs] I found.
DK: I can imagine.
JG: I’m not sure I cared a lot for it.
DK: So, so although your training was on the Halifax. They were really preparing you for the Lancaster.
JG: Yes. Yes. It was just they had run out of Lancasters and they’d substituted Halifaxes which at the time they seemed to have plenty of them. Yeah.
DK: So, from, from heavy conversion unit then was it straight to your squadron.
JG: Yes. They said, they took us, they put us in a hangar and we were assembled there and told to choose our crew and we were handed a list. When that had been done that would be your crew and if you couldn’t do it they would make up your mind. They would give you a list.
DK: I’ve often heard about this where you were put in to a hangar. I find it very unusual because -
JG: Absolutely weird. Yeah.
DK: Because the military is normally you do this, you do that.
JG: It was.
DK: And this is very different to sort of the military thinking where you got -
JG: I thought it was a very clever move indeed.
DK: Really.
JG: And I stood there like an idiot. I didn’t know where to start and this scruffy Yorkshireman came up. An aggressive, little, scruffy Yorkshireman come. He said, ‘Have you got a navigator yet?’ ‘No,’ I said. He said, ‘Well you have now. Let’s go and find the rest of them.’ [laughs] So that was my first impression of Jeff Ward the Yorkshireman and we were buddies from then on.
DK: So this, this forming your own crew in a hangar, you think it was a good idea then. It seemed to, it seemed to work.
JG: It was a very smart move. Yes. It meant there was no objection. It was your choice. You’d done the rounds there and you’d picked them all and that was it. If you couldn’t decide they decided for you but mostly people were able to pick guys they liked the look of or whatever. Yeah.
DK: So after that it was then the posting to 61 squadron.
JG: No. I think, I think we did the OTU after that but -
DK: Alright. Ok.
JG: I’m not quite sure. Yes. And the 61 squadron, I don’t know, was the luck of the draw I suppose. Yes. And that’s what brought me into contact with Lincoln and the cathedral.
DK: So where were you based with 61?
JG: We started at Syerston.
DK: Syerston.
JG: In Nottingham and we were very displeased to be moved because we were just getting to know all the pubs there and [laughs] all the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem and all those and suddenly we were shifted off to Lincoln and that seemed, and then and then from Skellingthorpe they sent us to Coningsby and that I liked. Coningsby was a great place to be.
DK: So you went to Coningsby next then.
JG: Yeah.
DK: Right.
JG: And then back to Skellingthorpe.
DK: Skellingthorpe.
JG: And Skelly was a cold and sad place in a way because it was very basic where the others, Syerston and Coningsby were regular accommodation and a good style.
DK: It’s a housing estate now.
JG: Yeah but I think if, if you’re in a group and you’re living in the same nissen hut and you’re eating in the same mess and everything you all become pals.
DK: Sure.
JG: It pulls you all together. Yes. Yes. So and I was interviewed just before I went there for a commission and I was interviewed by a chap called Bonham Carter and I took a very poor, I have a very poor opinion of Bonham Carter because my school in Scotland was [Raine?] North Public School. To his mind I had defrauded someone. It was not a public school. So I had to explain to him that the Scottish educational system was better and greater than the English and when we said it was a public school the public could attend. I said, ‘When you talk about a public school -
DK: Yeah.
JG: The public may not attend.’ And he put down on my documents, “Not officer material.” Quite right too. [laughs]
DK: Oh dear.
JG: He got that right but he did me a great favour in fact in that I went as an NCO and we were a crew of NCOs and were all mucking in together as it were.
DK: Did you find on a squadron a bit difficult though that some of the pilots were obviously officers?
JG: Yes.
DK: And some of them weren’t so you didn’t necessarily mix with all of the pilots.
JG: No.
DK: Was that an issue or –
JG: I don’t think it was really.
DK: No.
JG: People seemed able to cope with that. I think I felt sorry for chaps who were allocated to senior officers because that sort of changed the relationship altogether.
DK: So the dynamics of the crew sort of –
JG: Yes. Yes.
DK: Yeah
JG: But they seemed to be able to bond quite well but I think it took them a little bit longer and we had, I always felt that this Bonham Carter had done me a favour.
DK: Yeah.
JG: Because we bonded straight away and shared everything.
DK: So your crew were all sergeants.
JG: Yeah.
DK: Yeah. Yeah.
JG: As in that -
DK: A picture here. Yeah.
JG: [?] I showed you.
DK: Oh.
JG: Yeah, that one. Yes. There we are. Yes. So – and I’ve kept a number of things that impressed me. There’s a plot of, there’s a bomb plot for Stettin which seemed to me to be self-evident that all this scatter coming in from this direction that what they needed to do was to, instead of picking the target they should have -
DK: Yeah. Yeah.
JG: Moved the target a bit beyond it and then they would have got most of the bombs falling where –
DK: Yeah.
JG: They wanted instead of wasted out here.
DK: It was known as creep back wasn’t it?
JG: Creep back. Yes.
DK: Creep back. Yeah.
JG: And it seemed to me there was a very simple solution to that rather than master bombers and that nonsense but, so I think that was why I kept that because no one paid any attention to it really [laughs].
DK: So you put the aiming point about there.
JG: Yeah. Put the aiming point -
DK: And then that would move –
JG: About a mile further on. Yes.
DK: Yeah.
JG: Yeah. An imaginary point the Pathfinder guys could find the area and identify it but then move the pretend and you would get a lot more of these bombs where you wanted them.
DK: Was it at 61 squadron then the first time that you saw the Lancaster and flew the Lancaster?
JG: Well yes. Yes that’s right. Yes.
DK: So -
JG: We had the Conversion Unit.
DK: Right. Ok. So what were your, after the Wellington and the Halifax what were your feelings about the Lancaster?
JG: I liked it from the beginning. Yeah. I thought it was a great aeroplane. It was a natural aeroplane. It didn’t have any defects that I, except getting in and out of it was a bit of a squeeze but it was a very bad aeroplane to escape from but otherwise it seemed robust and it, yeah I liked it. I thought it was great. And the sad thing is that it’s only recently that it’s sort of come into its own. Up till just recently and perhaps that Memorial it was the fighter boys, the Battle of Britain boys, they were the glamour boys. Bomber Command were nowhere and they’d rather blotted their copy books towards the end with that bombing raid on Dresden but then that Memorial seemed to change something quiet subtly in the minds of the British people and so the Lancaster has now become the aeroplane to have been on [laughs]. So -
DK: Strange that isn’t it?
JG: Yeah. I feel -
DK: So, can, can you recall your, your first mission then? Where that was to?
JG: Modane was the first one we did.
DK: That was the first one, to -
JG: And then the next one was Dusseldorf when Bill Reid got his, his Victoria Cross.
DK: So did you know Bill Reid then?
JG: Oh yes. Yes.
DK: Yeah.
JG: I knew Bill Reid fairly well because we were fellow countrymen, you see.
DK: Sure. Sure.
JG: I met him. He’d just got his medal ribbon up and he was out celebrating with his crew in Boston and we’d been to the Assembly Rooms to a dance and he wasn’t the sort of guy who danced. He was one of the guys who just looked on from the doorway and I was often one of the guys who missed the transport back to camp but I’d found a lady who would give me bed and breakfast so I’m on my way there when I come across [Ellis] and it was his radio officer [both?] looking for somewhere to sleep the night. I said, ‘Come with me to this lodging house,’ and the landlady answered the door, ‘Oh Jeff,’ she said, ‘Come in. Not him,’ she said, ‘He’s drunk. He will make a mess of my beds.’ ‘Oh dear,’ I said, ‘Mrs. You will be the only landlady in Lincolnshire, perhaps in the country who has turned away a man who has just won a Victoria Cross.’
DK: Oh no.
JG: ‘Get off,’ she said, ‘I don’t believe you.’ But it was true and he behaved himself. I said, ‘He’ll pay for any damage anyway.’
DK: She let him in then did she?
JG: So she let him in. So every time I met him I would tease him a little bit about his days when he was dancing and so on and his wife really never quite followed it. He doesn’t dance, he can’t dance, he thinks it’s a route march.
DK: I’ve always heard the story, I don’t know how true it was that when he met his wife it was some years before he mentioned that he’d been awarded the Victoria Cross.
JG: Oh I don’t know about that but quite possible yes. He had quite a career after that. The MacRobert’s family took him up and sent him through university.
DK: Right.
JG: And where he got a degree which and the MacRobert’s family they’d bought a Spitfire and I think they spent money on a Stirling -
DK: Stirling.
JG: Of all things. And he was given employment with them on their fertiliser division.
DK: Right.
JG: And so every time I met him at these get-togethers I said, ‘You’re still are pushing the bull shit then.’ [laughs]. ‘You’re selling horse shit.’ [laughs] I think I’ve kept some -
DK: Yes.
JG: I think I’ve kept. There he is, a piece of information there.
DK: I did meet him actually about fifteen years ago.
JG: Yeah. Yeah that’s -
DK: Because he ended up a prisoner of war didn’t he? I believe he was shot down later on.
JG: Yes. Yes. Yes. There. What else have we got here? I went from Bomber Command to Transport Command and that’s a BOAC York. That’s a York which was a development of the Lancaster.
DK: So you flew, you flew the York as well.
JG: Yeah. I, I flew the guys back from the Far East.
DK: Right.
JG: Who had been prisoners at Changi jail and all that dreadful railway and the guys who couldn’t be shipped back were flown back and I had to sign up to do that. My demob was cancelled until we’d finished this particular project. What I didn’t realise because I was enjoying myself I told the other guys around me pick me up the best of the jobs.] [laughs] So -
DK: So how many, just stepping back a little bit, how many operations did you actually do with Bomber Command?
JG: Thirty.
DK: Thirty.
JG: Yes.
DK: So one tour.
JG: We were, we were pulled off after that dreadful Nuremberg trip.
DK: Right.
JG: And I think Bomber Command decided, I think, at that stage they weren’t going to be able to bomb the Germans into submission and that start the preparation, preparing for the invasion.
DK: Were you actually on the Nuremberg -
JG: Yes. I was.
DK: You was.
JG: Yes. It was, it was a beautiful clear night. It was going to be cloudy all the way until we got to the target when it would be clear but the reverse was true. They’d picked a southerly route. It was moonlight. It was like clear as day and I think we were in real difficulty with the, with the routing and on that occasion we quickly found ourselves with an enemy on each side. Now that is the trap. You can’t beat these two if they’re working together ‘cause you turn towards one and you’ve given the other a non-deflection shot. You’re dead men really if you try and corkscrew your way out of that one and I thought we’ll try and outrun them. I put on full power. Well of course that was useless and I knew it would be ‘cause they had twenty knots faster than we were. They could catch us at any time so they just kept position and kept signalling each other and so I then pulled off the power, put down some flap which was illegal and said, ‘You’re not going to enjoy this bit guys because we are going to see the,’ our stalling speed will be lower than theirs. ‘They’re not going to enjoy following us now,’ and sure as hell they didn’t. Their stalling speed was much higher. They daren’t risk it and I was just on this, but anyway once I’d seen them off we straightened up, put on the power and climbed back up again and, got it, ‘Done it Jeff,’ I said the other Jeff and blow me down, there they were again and I said, ‘Well I’m going to pick this guy on the left. He’s the leader I think. I’m going to ram him so stand by. We’ll hit him with the nose. We might lose a bit of the aeroplane but he will lose his starboard wing.’ ‘Yes,’ they said and we headed for him and I think the guy realised it. He shot off. He disappeared. They both did. And my navigator said, ‘I haven’t been able to follow that,’ he said, ‘I think we’re lost.’ ‘No, no, Jeff we’re never lost. We’re uncertain of our position.’ ‘So what will you do?’ I said, ‘We will add ten minutes to the eta,’ and I goofed. I should have added ten minutes to the end of that route because the last leg was down to the southeast but I added it to the run so I turned on eta and of course we were well short and we were getting to the end of this ten minutes when some searchlights came on looking for us. ‘Davvy.’ I said, ‘We’re going to give them a surprise. Bomb doors open. Let them have it.’ So we bombed that bloody searchlight battery and the lights went out but there were a lot of guys in the same position. I didn’t know until afterwards who saw the incendiaries burning and they started bombing and in fact we’d hit Schweinfurt.
DK: No.
JG: And we didn’t know until it was back plotted the next day but at that stage by the end of it I could see sixty, seventy, eighty miles away in the distance the show was beginning and we’d missed it. They’re going to be, blotted our copy book. We’ve bombed the wrong bloody target. We’ve made a horse. When I got back I was astonished. They greeted us with open arms there were so few coming back [laughs]
DK: So you -
JG: And they were trying to keep the number below the magic hundred. Yeah. They were cheating. They weren’t including the guys who crashed.
DK: Ok.
JG: [who never came back]
DK: ‘Cause it was over a hundred wasn’t it?
JG: It was over a hundred. No doubt about that.
DK: Did you see many of the aircraft go down at –
JG: No. I don’t think I did. No. We, it was only very occasionally that you saw someone being blown up. We had what were known as scarecrews which was something that we’d invented that didn’t bloody exist. We thought it was some German pyrotechnic. No it wasn’t. It was some guy, usually a pathfinder carrying all the coloured flares.
DK: I’ve heard, I’ve heard the stories of the scarecrows.
JG: Yeah.
DK: So you’re saying they were actually -
JG: They were.
DK: Pathfinder aircraft going up.
JG: Yeah. They were but we believed at the time that it was a pyrotechnic that the Germans were using.
DK: Was that a story that was purposefully put around do you think?
JG: I think it was a story that the Bomber Command guys like myself invented and the bosses decided to keep quiet about it. I think they knew but they didn’t deceive us. They just let us go on thinking what we already thought.
DK: So you weren’t in any trouble then for hitting the wrong town.
JG: There was no question, there was no question of it. No. They were just so bloody pleased to see us they didn’t give a monkey about where we’d been -
DK: No.
JG: Or what we’d done.
DK: How did you feel knowing that there was those losses and the way the route had been drawn that you were going in a long straight line for several hundred miles in, in full, it was full moonlight wasn’t it?
JG: Yeah I think the winds were a nonsense, the weather forecast was completely the opposite. When they said it was going to be cloudy all the way, we’d have cloud cover, it was clear all the way except the target was cloudy and so I think the actual attack on the target was not very clever but in a way it’s helped the end of an era. They switched us to the French targets and the French targets were such a piece of duff they were only going to count as a third of a trip but it turned out that that was not correct because to bomb a French target we could not bomb a French target while there were French workers there in the marshalling yard or the factory and we had to wait for some system of someone in the resistance would send a signal to the UK who would send a signal to us to tell us when we could start bombing so we were circling around you know with nothing to do except wait and the Luftwaffe -
DK: While you were being shot at.
JG: Began to take an interest in us and come up and shoot people down and on one of the worst of those Mailly le Camp in Belgium they shot down I think it was forty two aeroplanes.
DK: Were you on that operation?
JG: I was on that one, yes. Yes. I claimed to be the guy who put out the spot fires. I may be mistaken. It was disputed by everybody except I continued to say it and I can still to say it now the others have gone [laughs]
DK: So the spot fire?
JG: It was being marked by Cheshire.
DK: Right.
JG: And he had developed this idea of low level marking and of using these red spot fires and he had everybody waiting with the flares that his colleagues had circled this and I took one look at that and said to Jeff Ward, ‘We are not joining that. We’re heading into the darkest place we can find and then we’ll come back now and again and see what’s happening.’ And just as it happened, as we got back he had it marked and we went in and when we pulled away my rear gunner Jock [Haye] said, ‘We put the bloody red spot fires out.’ I said, ‘Jock, I don’t care we’re on our way home,’ and we could hear these arguments going on. I think it was either a Canadian or an Australian and they were giving him a hard time because he wanted to remark the target, ‘Stop bombing, stop bombing,’ and they wouldn’t because -
DK: Wanted to go.
JG: They could see what we’d done and I think it was forty two aeroplanes lost and we killed one German. They’d left an NCO to guard the camp and that was their only casualty. Our chaps busy with the crosswords and whatever, some of their intelligence was a bit duff. They thought there was a whole army there at this tank training school but they’d left the week before. So -
DK: Yeah.
JG: So it was a sad tale that one and there was nothing happy about it.
DK: What was your opinions of Cheshire at that time was he well known throughout Bomber Command or -
JG: Yes he was and I got to know him after that because when he left and he inherited this property he set up these Cheshire Homes.
DK: Yeah.
JG: Some guy that, you know, had nowhere to go he took with him and he said anyone who came along would be taken in provided they could do something useful. There was no charge. He paid for it. Yeah. And I thought he’s taken leave of his senses but then I realised afterwards that he was the first to come to his senses and I was flying this time in BOAC and on a VC10 and he was a passenger on one occasion and I talked to him at Heathrow in the VIP lounge and he was grumbling about the coffee and I said, ‘Put a shot of this in with it,’ and of course he was teetotal [laughs] Poisonous you see. And I said, ‘Do you remember a place called Mailly le Camp?’ And he said, ‘Shall I ever forget?’ So I chatted to him on this trip and I found, yeah he was the first guy to come to his senses and we became not exactly friends but I got to know him afterwards though I didn’t know him at the time. Yeah.
DK: Interesting. So is he someone you’ve got the respect for of that post war [chain of who was?]?
JG: Oh yes. I think what he did he went around after that every year visiting places where they had been bombed and delivering the cross of nails which I think I’ve got a picture here of one of the German newspaper. There I am with the chairman and that’s the cross of nails. The Coventry.
DK: Ok.
JG: [?] whatever.
DK: Yes.
JG: And every year and he visited Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
DK: Yes. Yes because he was-
JG: Check that they’d got them there.
DK: He was actually on the Nagasaki raid wasn’t he?
JG: Yeah.
DK: He was the British observer.
JG: Yeah so that’s, that’s in Germany that’s the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church that we destroyed.
DK: That’s Berlin isn’t it? I have seen that.
JG: Yes.
DK: Well not that. I’ve seen the church.
JG: Yeah. Yes. [pause] So that’s my favourite aeroplane.
DK: Ah the VC10.
JG: The VC10. I liked that beast. I liked the Comet as well but I like the beast. Yeah.
DK: The first aeroplane I ever flew on was a VC10.
JG: What?
DK: The first aeroplane I ever flew on was a VC10.
JG: Oh was it really? Yes.
DK: 1981. British Airways.
JG: Yeah. Yeah. That’s one. Yes.
DK: So, you, you were in Transport Command then.
JG: I was in Transport Command. Missed this lot.
DK: Right.
JG: You know. I struggled to get a job. When we were on 61 I did have an offer from Bennett to join the Pathfinders.
DK: Right.
JG: And I called a get-together with the crew where we would vote on the issue as to whether we stayed with 61 or if we went to the Pathfinders and it was a bit of a set up because I had got this, with this DFM I’d got twenty five quid and it was the only twenty five quid that I had at the time.
DK: Yeah.
JG: I spent it all in Leagate public house and of course it snowballed on me. Not just my crew but the ground crew and the girls from the parachute, they all came and anyone who came in the pub the bartender was saying, ‘Are you with Jeff Gray’s crew?’ And they said, ‘No. Why?’ ‘Well there’s free beer if you are.’ ‘Oh, yes, good old Jeff.’ [laughs] And so the vote was stay 61.
DK: Ok.
JG: It could hardly have been anything else but I don’t know if he forgave me or, ‘cause I didn’t ever meet him personally but after the war when I came out I missed this lot. The one guy who offered me a job was Bennett and, but he said, ‘You won’t be flying as a pilot. We’re taking off all the navigators on this British/South American route we’re starting and you will be acting as navigator.’ And I said, ‘Oh God. Never. I think it’s a dreadful mistake. A recipe for disaster.’ And it was of course.
DK: He lost a couple of aircraft didn’t he, in South America?
JG: He did and he did try to take the top off the Pyrenees.
DK: Yeah.
JG: And they cancelled the airline. Put him out of business.
DK: And it was at the point you joined BOAC then.
JG: Yes. Yes. That was about all that was left. [laughs] I looked at Quantas and I foolishly turned that down because they were the worst paid in the business but today the top but, and I knew that I couldn’t join any of the continentals because I was hopeless at language but so the BOAC as a very humble first officer was where I got to.
DK: So what did you start flying on with BOAC then at the beginning?
JG: Oh dear. I’m hopeless on dates. I don’t have that.
DK: Or the type of aircraft.
JG: On the, on the Yorks to start with.
DK: Avro Yorks.
JG: And then we moved up to the Comets and the VC10s and then one day I wound up when I didn’t go on the Jumbo which I really should have done as everybody else did but what I had in mind I knew that the Concorde was coming along and I thought that’s for me and, but when it came to it and I was interviewed for that they said you have to have three years clear service before you can repay the cost of the training and you haven’t got three years clear so there I was on this bloody tripwire that they’d set for me. I couldn’t get on the Concorde.
DK: That was a shame.
JG: And, however, as one door shuts another one opens. The Gulf Aviation in Bahrain were buying some of these VC10s and I was offered a job straightaway to train their guys because at this stage I was an instructor, an examiner and all the rest of the stuff so I went to Bahrain for two years and stayed for six.
DK: Ah.
JG: Yeah.
DK: So did you actually fly the Gulf Air VC10s or were you just training?
JG: Yes I flew the Gulf Air VC10s and then when they got the Tristar
DK: Tristars. Yeah.
JG: I flew that. And it was at that stage that I had to, I’d promised myself with the old Atlantic boys that I met on the Atlantic you mustn’t stay too long. There comes a time when you begin to lose it and don’t stay till then. Go just before. Always leave the party when it’s at its height and I thought this aeroplane can do everything I can do except it does it better. It flies, the autopilot flies better than I can. It does the navigation which was always my weak point, it’ll do the communication. What the hell am I doing here? Time to go. So I quit. Yeah.
DK: So what year would that have been?
JG: That was -
DK: That you stopped flying?
JG: ’74. I came back from Bahrain. It was 1980 I think. Yes.
DK: 1980
JG: Yeah. Came back in time for Christmas and I’ve stayed away from aviation ever since. From that time I had staff travel but they then brought me out of that.
DK: Did you ever get to fly on Concorde?
JG: No.
DK: You didn’t. Oh.
JG: No. Sadly. When I was in Bahrain one of the first flights I did was to Bahrain. I was able to see it and talk to some of the guys that were on it but I really didn’t want to know. I was really very, I was still very huffy about it. [laughs]
DK: So what did you think about the VC10? What was, what was that as an aircraft?
JG: Yes the VC10 was a lovely aeroplane, yes. Really. A winner. It was a shame that they didn’t continue the development but they didn’t. They went all American. So, yes. I was involved very briefly in the saga of the material that Rolls invented. This new, what do you call it? The new -
DK: The engine. The alloys. The -
JG: Yes. Yes.
DK: Yeah.
JG: They were making the blades of this new –
DK: Alloys yeah, yeah.
JG: And we had number four engine was fitted with that on the VC10 with these new turbine blades and they were looking for a favourable report on it and we went down to Lagos. The weather was bad and we diverted to Akra. We ran through some thunder storms and heavy rain and we had to shut the engine down. This number four. And as I walked ashore a guy at the aeroplane was shouting at me to come back. It was the engineer. ‘Come and look at this,’ he said, ‘skipper.’ And it was hanging like knitting. It had shredded. The material was no damned good.
DK: Wasn’t any good.
JG: And I did myself no good by sending in a voidance report saying, ‘Any of you guys with Rolls Royce shares, sell today.’ [laughs] The Americans took up the material and perfected it.
DK: It’s the old story isn’t it?
JG: The old story and they’ve been scoring on it ever since. Yes. And now the whole aeroplane’s made in America.
DK: Yes. So looking back on your time in the RAF particularly your time on Bomber Command how do you look back on it now all these years later? Is it -
JG: I regret to say that I have some misgivings. I had at the time, I think it was Lincoln Cathedral did it for me when I first saw that and I thought armies of men came here and built this thing and what do we do? We try and knock them all down.
DK: Destroy them.
JG: It seemed all wrong to me but that’s the business we were in and I think I kept that idea in mind and I got involved with, let me look and see what I’ve got on that. Oh I think that the, that church there is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. My wife and I set about that to see if we could do something about it and I thought I’d go down there what else have I got? Have I got anything on it?
DK: It’s not it there is it?
JG: Oh that’s it. Thanks very much.
DK: Ok.
JG: Yes. I decided that this is the -
DK: Yes I recognise that from my trips to Berlin.
JG: That is the church which we destroyed that but the bell tower is still stood and they kept it as a symbol of defiance. They’d defied the bombing, they’d defied the Russians, they’d defied, defied the partition of the city. Everything. And the bell tower stood and, but it will have to be demolished because bits were falling off it and people were objecting and the council said it would have to be demolished or rebuilt but they had no money so I wrote to them and said why not set up a fund and ask the guys who did the damage to pay for it and I think I’ve got all that here. [London Times?] of your dilemma. You should try to save it. Why not ask the guys who did the damage to make a contribution to a restoration fund and so on and I took part in a number of raids against Berlin starting on the 2nd of December 1943 and on their behalf I would like to make a contribution to the fund of five hundred pounds to start the ball rolling. To my astonishment they took it up. There is the reply from the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and so the fund was successful. We raised quite a lot of money by giving the sole story to the Berlin newspaper chain that, there we are being interviewed for that. That’s the picture -
DK: Yeah.
JG: Being copied here and so they did it and there we are. That’s myself, my wife and my grand-daughter, my son’s wife Gerlinde. And ‘English bomber pilot triggers off fund raising’ and I’ve, there’s the, it stalled for a bit and then the, raising funds. The guys in this country didn’t want to join in I’m afraid.
DK: No.
JG: They were all raising money for the Bomber Command Memorial here and didn’t want to know about this one. Then, but the National Lottery came in with money and then Angela Merkel -
DK: Oh yeah.
JG: Moved in.
DK: Yes. Yes.
JG: Topped the fund out so -
DK: Yeah.
JG: The restoration started and I think it’s complete as far as I know and I would like to think there might be a big ceremony of some kind but nothing has happened.
DK: No.
JG: It should have been ready last year but then they were celebrating the Berlin wall taken, took everything. I should think if they do it it will be the 26th of November when we destroyed it so -
DK: So, how, how do you feel this is the, you obviously do, it might sound a silly question, is this an important part of your, your life and in some ways a response to your time in Bomber Command?
JG: Yes I think it was. Yes. I think it was. These are a number of smaller shots.
DK: Yeah.
JG: I had made if you want to and, yeah I think it was a reaction to that, a guilty conscience I don’t know.
DK: Did you –
JG: But anyway I’m very pleased that it succeeded.
DK: Yeah. Did you manage to get many more, any more RAF -
JG: No.
DK: Guys.
JG: Very few.
DK: Very few.
JG: I was very fortunate in that the ones I knew and I was able to ring up and talk to them or to their widow they would say, ‘Sorry Jeff. I think you’re a bit off your trolley. It’s not going to work.’ And they were quite right so I said, ‘Ok. I’ll have to do it without,’ and we did get, my wife and I did get invited to the, when they got the glockenspiel working and ringing mid-day but she wasn’t well enough to go.
DK: No.
JG: And so I didn’t get to that.
DK: Ok.
JG: But I have lost touch with them a bit since then. Yes.
DK: Ok.
JG: I’m really hopeful that this crazy Scotswoman who has appeared, Nicola Sturgeon.
DK: Sturgeon. Yes. Yes.
JG: Is moving in everywhere she can. I’ve been in touch with her because I think she’s got some good ideas and she’s one of the people who gets things done. You may not like her or like what she’s doing.
DK: No well. Yeah. Yeah.
JG: As a fellow Scot and she wrote in very sympathetic vein and so I think that I will be in touch with her again to see if there is anything is happening. If there’s going to be a ceremony could she get in touch with Angela Merkel and see if we could arrange a ceremony because having separated Scotland -
DK: Having got that far
JG: She might like to make a fuss of it.
DK: Yeah. Definitely.
JG: So wait and see.
DK: Hope something comes about.
JG: Some of these pictures I’ve got that have been made up are for her attention.
DK: Right.
JG: Because if you hit people with pictures like that they pay attention.
DK: Yeah. Definitely. So how many raids on Berlin did you actually -
JG: Nine.
DK: Actually do. Nine.
JG: Yeah. I met people who did ten and I met people who did dozens more but not of the big sixteen you see. Yeah. And that first one that they did in November which destroyed the church did a lot of damage, you know. It destroyed the zoo and there were wild animals rushing about everywhere and had to be rounded up and that. I think that rather misled the guys in Bomber Command into thinking this was going to be easy but it wasn’t and I think we set off with the wrong kit. The stuff they’d done on the short range, the Cologne and the like, medieval cities, wooden frames, narrow streets.
DK: Burnt.
JG: You set up a fire storm with a bomb that shatters the tiles and the windows and the incendiaries, you know, get into the building and people die in the fire. Lack of, suffocate. But none of us had been to Berlin. It’s not like that. Great wide boulevards and the tall buildings made of stone and brick and steel with sloping roofs and we had the wrong kit. We were never going to set that on fire. Ruined the plane trees in the street, they all burned, you know but the nature of the buildings they were sheltering in they had made passages through from one to the other so if that one caught fire they went -
DK: Yeah.
JG: Into the next one. Yeah. And in the morning they cleared up the rubbish and tidied the street and went back to work and I think the real thing that defeated us was the fact that in the blitz in the UK in Coventry and London it produced a spirit of defiance. And I think if you produce that in people you can’t defeat them.
DK: No. No.
JG: So -
DK: No.
JG: Anyway, so -
DK: And what’s, what’s the German, the Germans you’ve met there, what’s their, been their reaction to this? Has it been favourable?
JG: I think they quite like the idea of their symbol of defiance being turned into a symbol of reconciliation.
DK: Reconciliation.
JG: That’s the theme I pedal. A symbol of reconciliation and I think of late we’ve had programmes showing us Germany and some of the bombing and some of the damage that was done and showing us the places and the people who were affected and being told their stories and, yeah. And I think they’ve been doing a lot on the Dambusters of course who were, became famous because of the wonderful film they made you know and playing with those bombs and it wasn’t until recently that I realised that Churchill was worried about the bombs that hadn’t gone off and that the Germans were able to examine and began making a list of the dams in the -
DK: UK.
JG: In the UK that they could bomb. Yes. Yes. So you learn these things eventually that you didn’t know at the time but I do think that if you get that spirit going among the public that they will not, they will defy you, you’ve lost it. Yeah. You’ve lost it.
DK: Yeah.
JG: Yes.
DK: And did you meet many Germans who were there at the time, when you went out there?
JG: No. I haven’t. No.
DK: Ok.
JG: No. Of course I rely on Gerlinde as my interpreter because I’ve only got a few words -
DK: Oh right.
JG: In German.
DK: So scrape by on -
JG: She can speak German then.
DK: Yes. She’s a Bavarian. Yes.
JG: Oh I see. Right. She’s, right, ok. She’s German.
DK: So -
JG: Or Bavarian I should say.
DK: Yes she would say she’s a Bavarian.
JG: Bavarian.
DK: Yes. Quite right. She’s not German. She’s Bavarian. I’ve made that mistake before.
JG: Yeah. So -
DK: Ok. I think I’ll stop there.
JG: Yes.
DK: It seems a sensible place to stop so thanks very much for that. We’ve been talking for nearly an hour.
JG: It’s been a pleasure anyway. Yes. Yes.
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AGrayCJ151017
Title
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Interview with Jeff Gray
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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
Type
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Sound
Language
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eng
Format
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00:57:16 audio recording
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Pending review
Pending OH summary
Creator
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David Kavanagh
Date
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2015-10-17
Description
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Jeff Gray was a farm labourer in Aberdeenshire when he volunteered for the Royal Air Force. He trained to fly in Texas and completed 30 operations as a pilot with 61 Squadron. After leaving the RAF he worked for BOAC flying Yorks and VC10s.
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
Civilian
Spatial Coverage
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France
Great Britain
United States
France--Mailly-le-Camp
England--Lincolnshire
Contributor
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Julie Williams
61 Squadron
aircrew
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
Cheshire, Geoffrey Leonard (1917-1992)
civil defence
crewing up
Halifax
Home Guard
Lancaster
memorial
pilot
RAF Coningsby
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF Syerston
RAF Wigsley
Scarecrow
searchlight
training
Wellington
York
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/559/8826/PStephensonS1608.1.jpg
52f47ebba3be09356c1defc18313a953
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/559/8826/AStephensonS160315.2.mp3
0b67961bc8438304de61a0d561cc6db6
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Stephenson, Stuart
Stuart Stephenson MBE
S Stephenson
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IBCC Digital Archive
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Stephenson, S
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20 items. An oral history interview with Stuart Stephenson MBE, Chairman of the Lincs-Lancaster Association, and issues of 5 Group News.
The collection was catalogued by Barry Hunter.
In accordance with the conditions stipulated by the donor, some items are available only at the International Bomber Command Centre / University of Lincoln.
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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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DE: So, this is an interview for the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive. My name is Dan Ellin, I am interviewing Stuart Stephenson MBE, it is the 15th of the third 2016, we’re in Lincoln at his home address and it is twenty past one. So Stuart, can you tell me some of your earliest memories to do with —
SS: I was obviously born in 1935, which meant that when war broke out I was five-ish. When I was six-ish, I think it would be — in 1941 I think — my father had gone in the Army, I was at home with my mother and sister. We lived in Boston, it was the middle of the year so it was very light early in the morning and we heard a low-flying aircraft of some sort. We slept downstairs because of the bombing, had black-out curtains, I leapt out of bed, I went to the front window, whipped the blackout curtains. To my amazement, in front of me crossing the road from behind to in front, was a very low flying German twin-engined aircraft with a, with a gun turret that pointed its guns down the road, and they fired down the road across as, as we were coming, as they went over. I later discovered that they was actually shooting at a lorry that was parked up the side of the road, and I seem to remember it belonged to a gentleman called Mr Ingoldmells, who was one of the very few haulage drivers in the area at that time. A month or two later, when there was heavy rain, next door but one — a Mr Parker — he said his spouts were overflowing with water, so he got a ladder and he climbed up, and I was lucky enough to be presented with a whole handful of spent German cannon, ammunition shells, cartridge shells that he’d rescued from his gutters. I don’t know what happened to those but this was at Boston. As the, within a couple, maybe a few months — it was a Saturday morning and there was my mum was talking to the lady next door across the fence, and there was an aircraft up there droning away, and I came out and I was looking up in the sky, and I could just see this dot. Little dot of an aircraft. And I watched it and the women talked on, and suddenly, something fell off it, and I said to the women, I said, ‘Look mum. There’s something fallen off that plane’. ‘Stuart, don’t interrupt, we’re talking. It’s rude to interrupt’. And I’m watching this coming down, and I’m saying, ‘No. Look, it’s coming down. Look’, and I finally got them to stop talking, and I looked and I saw this thing coming down and it was getting closer and closer and closer, and I wonder what’s happened. And it fell behind the house, maybe a quarter of a mile away, near a place, a tower, Rochford Tower Hall it was called. Rochford Tower. There was an enormous explosion, at which point we decided it was a bomb, but to our, to my amazement, as a child I saw a row of very large trees. I saw some of these trees flung up in the air with a massive bang and bits coming down all over the place. The two women — ‘Stuart, get in the house’, and we immediately, I immediately, ‘I don’t want to go in the house. The plane’. ‘No, you’ve got to go in the house. We have to get under the table in the kitchen’. Having been under the table for five minutes and I wanted to go outside again to see what was going on, but the plane had droned away to the east and lo and behold, the air raid warning went, which, which encouraged my interest in aviation. Later we moved away from Boston. My father was in the Army and he was stationed near Bakewell in Derbyshire, so we moved to Bakewell and I went to school at Bakewell for a time, and I well remember, and people that have been to Bakewell who will remember the street. The street sort of divides, the main street divides two as you go towards the bridge over the river, it divides into two, with a sort of building in the middle, which was the main one in front of you was the Post Office. And we were waiting to cross the road, there was little traffic, but there was a lot of women and a lot of kids, and they were all talking and I was that bit older then, and suddenly, there’s a strange whistling noise, and there’s women looking up and I’m looking up, because I’m thinking, ‘Oh this is another aeroplane’, and to everybody’s amazement this plane flew over. Well, they all thought it was going to crash because it’s got no propellers on it and it’s, it’s going to crash. And it didn’t crash, but it flew straight over and the panic was gone, and they was all saying, ‘Shhhh. You’ll hear a bang in a minute when it hits the ground’, or something, but it didn’t and it went away. And again, I’m not sure what year, I have a feeling this would be maybe 1944, but by what I recall, there was only the meteor that was flying at that time, and that was my first introduction to a jet. I went to school of course in Boston, I went to school elsewhere. Eventually, having sort of grown up into my twenties, I was still interested in aircraft and the time came in the 1970s when a Lancaster came back to Waddington, and this was PA474 which is currently with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. This aircraft had been recovered from Henlow by 44 Squadron, who had been given the task to, by their CO to locate a Lancaster to bring to Waddington as a gate guardian. They, they had struggled to find a Lancaster and by chance, one of the officers, who I won’t mention but I know him very well, he spotted this Lancaster through a hole in the hedge at Henlow, and it was sitting in a grass field with a Lincoln standing beside it, which the Lincoln was the later development of the Lancaster. 44 Squadron then having made some enquiries, it was discovered that it belonged to the Air Historical Branch of PA4. Well both aircraft did. They, they sent a working party to go out to have a look at it, to ascertain whether it was — how much it would take to dismantle it to bring it, to road it back to Waddington basically, in bits. The ground crew that went to look at it — they’d all been ex-Lancaster ground crew types during the war, because the gap was comparatively short between the two and they were coming up to retirement age. Anyway, they spent several weekends down there and they would go on a Saturday morning or a Friday night with a tent, sleep in a tent under the aircraft, and work on it on the Sunday, doing whatever checks they had to do. After a time, it was decided that it was better than they thought, it might be. So they, they decided that they would take a bowser and put some petrol in it or fuel in it, and see if they could get it to run. Bearing in mind the engines hadn’t been inhibited or anything, it was just standing there. So anyway, they went and then they got this fuel and put in to it, and within another week or two, they suddenly got four engines running. So at this stage, the commandant of Henlow — a college I believe it was, or air, air base — he came along and he said, ‘What are you doing?’ and they said that there was, they’d got permission to move this back to Waddington. So he said, ‘Well we thought — we had this message but we understood you were going to dismantle it and take it by road’, and they said, ‘Well we’ve checked it over, and we decided that it, it is a runner. So it is going to take an awful long time to dismantle it and we’ve got to bring cranes and fittings up here to do it, so we will come and we will hopefully fly it back’. So he was somewhat upset by this, because he wasn’t expecting them to say this and this meant he’d got to make a decision I suppose, but anyway the decision was made that yes, they could fly it back but on one must-not-do. ‘When you take off, you must not fly over the college buildings. The airfield buildings. You must go away from the airfield and the base, so if the wings fall off it, you’ll not fall on to the —’ So anyway, they duly reached that stage. They found a pilot who I believe was a Polish gentleman, they then began to look at the field itself. Working parties were brought to walk the field to fill in holes and generally check it over. They spent several weekends doing this, and the day came when it was to go, so they — it was crewed up and they did all the engine run ups and all the usual pre-flight checks, and off they went across the grass, gathering speed. Reached the point of tail up, and lo and behold, there was a hole in the ground, which they think it was maybe a fox had dug. But our Lancaster hit this and it, with one jerk, it was airborne. The pilot gathered it and kept it flying and it duly flew back to Waddington. I believe the navigator, it was claimed the navigator made a slight error, because the press were waiting at Waddington, and it didn’t initially go back to Waddington. It made a circle around and flew over Scampton, who’d got R5868, which is now in the RAF museum as their gate guardian, with a sort of two fingers up sign, ‘We’ve got one that flies at Waddington’. Anyway, that was done and he duly came in to land at Waddington. So I was told that the press were there in great numbers, and it was all very exciting. He came in to land, and it was one of those landings where he touched down and then took off again, and he touched down and then he took off again. The camera lenses were seen to be going up and down with the long lenses on the cameras, and it duly came to a standstill. Taxied around and was, the engines were switched off and it was back at Waddington. It was only then that they learned that the pilot, who was Polish, he was a test pilot for, I believe it was English Electric in those days, and he was a test pilot flying Canberras, and he’d basically landed it — done a Canberra landing in a Lancaster, which a Canberra has a nose wheel and it lands on a nose wheel configuration that, it doesn’t sit with its tail up or anything. It goes down, whereas the attitude of a Lanc is completely different. Had they known they wouldn’t have let him fly it but — because there were other pilots who were qualified to fly in that, that format of a tail wheel aircraft. We, we were living at Bracebridge Heath and for a year nothing happened. The Lancaster went in the hangar and it was thought that it was being prepared as the gate guardian, however, it then appeared on the airfield from time to time and were doing engine runs and then it, it occasionally took to the air, and it was very pleasant to sit in one’s front garden and see a Lancaster, or have it fly over, virtually over your head, fairly low. At a time when there wasn’t another one in the world flying, the Canadian one was not flying at that stage, and gradually the flying time that it was putting in was increased, and then it sort of appeared at Biggin Hill or Farnborough, and this was really building into something. The officer commanding RAF Waddington, the group captain, he tended to fly it, I think his name was Stanley, along with several others who were qualified to fly that aircraft type. The time went on, and having extended it then the — it was taken for granted by the population that it would stay at Waddington, and that was it, and we were all quite happy. And then suddenly, it was in the Lincolnshire Echo in 1973 that Waddington’s Lancaster was to be moved to RAF Coltishall in Norfolk. Obviously, there was a great deal of muttering and everything, because the thought was, why take the bomber away from where it was, came into service, because Waddington was the very first Lancaster station where it was introduced in ‘41. Anyway, it was duly — something had to be done. A letter appeared, or a piece appeared, in the Lincolnshire Echo, and it said that there’s a Mrs Buttery who had written a piece and made a statement to the Echo, to say that there should be some effort made to retain this Lancaster in the county. It belonged to the county, it didn’t belong on a fighter station. Anybody interested, would they please contact her. I went and contacted her on the, this was on a Friday, I contacted her on the Monday morning at work, which was the only address she gave which was in Guildhall Street opposite the old Post Office in those days. I was the first one there and I introduced myself, and her name was Hilda and we got on very well. There was various other people turned up as the next week or two went on, and we gradually sort of came together. Alderman and Frank Eccleshare decided that there was public interest in this and he would form a — there would be a meeting held in Lincoln for everybody that was interested to come and have their say. So, needless to say, our little group had got together. We called ourselves the Lincolnshire Lancaster Committee, because we was just a committee, we weren’t thinking of anything else. We, we went to the meeting which was well attended. There was a thing in those days on the radio at lunchtime that — Jimmy Young who was a broadcaster, broadcast every day, and if you’d got a problem, he would, I’ll say fix it, but nothing to do with the fix it that we all hate today. However, I wrote to Jimmy Young, and this was before the meeting, and I said this is a problem, and to explain that the local population didn’t want this aircraft moving and, ‘Go on Jimmy. Fix it’. I received a nice buff pre-printed card from the BBC to say Mr Young will — is looking in to this and he’ll be in touch. It’s now forty-three, forty-four years since I got that card and I’m still waiting for his reply. He didn’t come back to us. However, the meeting was held and various — we stood up and made our piece, and amongst the people in the audience, a gentleman stood up who I, we got to know quite well, his name was Eric, Eric Gledhill. I’m sure anybody that knew Eric will not be upset when I say that Eric, he was a crew chief, he was obviously, I don’t know, flight sergeant I guess in those days, but he had what we called a lavatory brush hairstyle. His hair was spiky and it looked very much like a lavatory brush. Eric stood up. ‘I’m the crew chief that looks after this Lancaster, and I can assure you, it will not fly for another couple of years, then it’s going to be on the ground. It can’t go on, it’s on its last legs and this would be the end. So we’ve got two years to try to do something’. Anyway, the, the meeting ended, and we decided that we’d got to sort of try to put a mark on this aircraft, to try to get it kept in to Lincolnshire. So again. I’d had the idea that the Lincoln City, the mayor and his, his attendants were very often seen in the local newspaper in the, in the ward room of the then HMS Lincoln and having the odd drinkies, and so I thought, well if they, this was Lincoln’s adopted warship and I thought, ‘Well come on, Lincoln shouldn’t be adopting a warship, they should be adopting a bomber’. So, I brought this up at the committee meeting and said, ‘Look, we should be making advances to the council to get the bomber adopted’. Our chair lady, she knew the mayor and the message was passed to the mayor, and the council looked at it and the question, I believe, was asked, ‘What’s it going to cost to do this?’ And the answer came back, ‘Very little’., and they seemed to like that idea, and so it was arranged that the, the aircraft would be adopted. It was duly adopted. I’m sorry, I can’t remember the date exactly but it coincided with a visit from 463, 467 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, their big reunion. They were coming over to, to Waddington for this event and they were duly to be treated with full ceremony, and the adoption would be on the same day as they came to see the Lancaster. I said, again I raised at the committee that if, if we’re going to have it adopted, we should ask that they put the Lincoln City badge on to the nose of the aircraft to illustrate to all and sundry that it was Lincoln City, Lincoln City’s aircraft. This was agreed, that would be done, and the RAF were contacted and they were warm to the idea. I learned later that we’d actually asked just for the badge, but I learned, I learned later that the, this was came in after it’s been moved to Coltishall. But they, they sent somebody from Coltishall, an officer came from Coltishall to Lincoln with a camera, to get a photograph of the Lincoln City badge. Of course, today it would be done by email and it would be in a flash, but he came to Lincoln and he wandered about the city, I’m told, looking for the badge. And in the end, he saw the badge on the side of a Lincoln City Corporation bus, and it had the Fleur de Lys coat of arms. Below it was, in gothic script, “City of Lincoln”, so he took a photograph of this, took it back to Coltishall. It was duly, it was hand painted on to the aircraft by a gentleman who was an expert in this type of work. He had not understood what was asked of him, so he painted the badge very nicely and he’d put City of Lincoln underneath it, which was an idea that we hadn’t have thought of but it was better than we’d thought of, so we got this thrown in as a bonus. So she had a very large badge on her nose in those days, with City of Lincoln in gothic script, and that was put on the nose then. She’s been repainted several times, but it was made, it was officially pronounced that this aircraft was named City of Lincoln, and it would remain that. Whatever paint job they put on it, that would remain on it, and it’s still on it today, although in reduced size on the opposite side to where it was first put on. Coming back to the, the Australian visit, this was a remarkable event, because they, they came to us and they said that — I live in Waddington village — these Australians were coming over and would — when they came to Waddington during the war, there was not enough space for them to live on the camp, so they were billeted out throughout the village. People took them into their homes, the aircrew, which was very traumatic for some because obviously, they didn’t all come back. However, all these years later they’re coming again. ‘Would you like to take a chap and his wife for a week while they’re over here?’ So we said, ‘Yes, we would’, and we were duly allocated, if that’s the right word, the gentleman. Buchan comes to mind. He was the gentleman that flew the Lanc that flew the longest mission ever, when he flew back and he, the BB for the royal aircraft or the Crown Film Unit, to film the Tallboys going down on the Tirpitz, that finally sank the Tirpitz — that’s a famous bit of footage. He was told - they were told they were flying back to Lossiemouth. He said — stuff Lossiemouth or words to that thing, and he would fly back. ‘I didn’t want to go there, I want to come back to Waddington’, so he flew back to Waddington, landed and I don’t — he hardly had enough fuel to get back to his dispersal, it was sucking air. So I was looking forward to, to this visit, because it was obviously somebody that was very interesting to me and I was liking to talk to him, however, at the last minute, unfortunately his lady wife got ill and he couldn’t come, so we had it changed around and lo and behold, I got a fella and his wife called Bill Berry. Bill was a — not a tall man, shall we put it like that, and he was very nice and he talked in a real dinkum Australian accent. That was very good, fitted the Bill Hancock’s Half Hour voice very nicely. They came to stay with us, and of course, we talked. Now, he said to me, he said, ‘Do you know, Stuart’, he said, ‘My best mate ever’, he said, ‘He lived here, he lived in Lincolnshire. He was a farmer’, he said, ‘And we used to go shooting with an old car with the headlights and’, he said, ‘It was a marvellous time between flying’. And he said, ‘I’ve lost touch with him’, and he said, ‘I’ve no idea. I can’t remember where he lived now’. So I said, ‘What was his name then?’ So he said, ‘His name was John Chatterton’. I said, ‘I know John Chatterton’. ‘You don’t’. I said, ‘I do’. So he said, ‘Well blow me down’, or words to that effect, so he said, ‘Can we make contact?’ I said, ‘Well hang on a minute’, so I got up and I dial the number, and he answered, and I said, ‘Hello John. Is that you?’ So he said, ‘Yeah, it is. What do you want Stu?’ I said, ‘Well I’ve got an old mate of yours here’, I said, ‘Who wants to talk to you’, so he said, ‘Have you? Who’s that?’ I said, ‘Does the word Bill Berry mean anything to you?’ ‘Bugger me’, he says, ‘I can’t believe it, put him on’. So they talked, and it was agreed that within the next night or two, they’d, they’d come together in our lounge at Waddington, to meet after all these years, and it was a suitably emotional evening and they brought their logbooks with them. And of course, I’d known John Chatterton for quite a while, his son, Mike Chatterton, was, I believe, at that time currently the Lancaster pilot with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. So, Bill, he said this was fantastic and they compared log books, and I wish I’d had Dan’s recording machine with me because they were going through all these anecdotes and comparing one night. Where did you go on so and so, and so and so? ‘I went to Dusseldorf that night’. ‘How long was you there? How long was you airborne for?’ ‘I was airborne for three hours twenty minutes’. If you like. ‘No, no. What was you messing about at? We did it in three hours and ten minutes’, and there was a lot of verbal going on like that. So they came, after they’d ceased, they’d done their ops and they went to Syerston together as instructors, and they told me a little story. He said they were in the crew room at Syerston, and he said it was, had been a horrible few days and there had been no flying, and there was a lot of blokes hanging about and we were waiting for the weather to lift. The cloud base was still fairly low but it was going up slowly, and he said, ‘We were there’, he said, ‘And we were bored and’, he said, ‘Suddenly, John Chatterton stood up and he said, ‘Right, my lot, we’re going flying’. ‘Are you’re going flying?’ ‘Yes, I’m going flying. I can’t stand this any longer’. So they got up, and they went charging off to their aircraft, and fifteen, twenty minutes later it taxies out on to the runway, comes trundling down the runway, and they all go outside to watch it go past, and it goes past, and it’s — if you look at a map of Syerston, you will see that the River Trent is at the far end of the runway. So he goes, this is Bill telling this story, and he said, ‘He goes down the runway and his tail wheel’s up, but he’s not, his main wheels are still on the ground, and he gets to the end of the runway and he disappears in to the Trent, and we thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s crashed’. So there was bicycles, there was people running, there was vehicles, there was fire engines, they were all, they were all charging down to the end of the runway to see the wreckage in the Trent and hope these fellas are still alive, and he said, ‘We got there expecting to see oil on the water and all sorts of wreckage. Nothing. There’s no marks on anywhere. We can’t — we’re looking around. We can’t believe. Where is he? He’s vanished. It’s magic’. And he said, ‘We just stood there and then we heard a sound, and it was Merlin engines and’, he said, ‘They were, they were behind us and he turned around, and here’s this Lanc coming at ground level and its straight for us, and we all threw ourselves flat, and he comes almost through the middle of us and then climbed up and went away’. And he said, ‘that was John Chatterton, and somehow he’d managed to turn to starboard or port, whichever one it was, and he’d managed to get away without us realising where he’d gone and he’d gone around the back of us, and we was all, we’d all been covered in mud. We’d all thrown ourselves flat on the ground and, and,’ he said, ‘That was a moment I remember’ And I looked at John Chatterton, who’d got, I’m sure if he was here, he would agree with him, Mike would agree with him, that he had a baby face. He looked a rounded baby-faced chap, and I said to John, I said, ‘John, would you do a thing like that?’ And he said, ‘Stu, could you imagine me doing anything like that?’ I said, ‘Yes’. So there was laughter and that was a moment to remember, but I put that, I was lucky to be there with these two guys to hear all these stories, and what a pity. There was a lot more I can’t remember, but there was a lot was forgotten forever I’m afraid because I couldn’t record it.
DE: Sure.
SS: The, the story. I think I’ll have to pause now a minute if you don’t mind.
DE: Ok.
[Recording paused]
DE: Right, so we’re recording again. There we go.
SS: The Lancaster moved to Coltishall but she’s crewed by aircrew from Waddington and Scampton. Jacko Jackson had been allegated to, allegated, is that the right word? Allocated as officer commanding the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in 1972. I believe that’s correct although the thing at the Battle of Britain Flight might tell you wrong. But —
DE: People can find that out. Yeah.
SS: I’ve got it on. They don’t know at Coningsby yet, I’ve not been over since I found out. I’ve a letter from, inviting me to Jacko’s leaving party, and Jacko was, it says in there when he was made officer commanding. I’ve got it in the other room but we can find that out in a minute. Anyway, this was causing them a lot of problems, because they were having to travel by coach to Coltishall and back again at weekends, in all the seaside traffic because it’s a very busy road. This was wrong. We’d been petitioning to the, well the Lancaster Committee we’d, we’d had fun and games. We didn’t realise it but when the Lanc was about to leave Waddington for the very last time, one of our members, who wouldn’t admit doing it but we know he did, he went around all the local pubs where the airmen gather, and he put around these stories that these freaks at Lincoln were going to go to Waddington and they were going to sit on the runway to stop them flying the Lanc out. Well, bearing in mind, Lincoln was, Waddington was a Vulcan base much connected with the Cold War, and the nuclear weapons that were stored thereabouts so the RAF didn’t want a lot of people on the airfield, and the Echo put out statements from the RAF that no public person would be allowed on the, on to the camp while this was taking place. And this was all to be sorted. Come the day, there was police galore in land rovers, patrolling the Sleaford Road. There was more dogs than, than you’ve ever seen. I think they’d brought extra people in from other bases. There was a lot of people on the roadside along there, but there was no trouble and it flew out, and that was the end of the story, but there was a little, little bit of a kink in the tale of it all, that before it went, they’d had a press thing to let the press come on the airfield through the guardroom to take photos and interview the captain and whatever. One of our committee members — he’d got, he’d been driving around the camp, he usually carried about six cameras around his neck, he, he noticed that there was a group of press people gathered in a little group near the guardroom, so he left his car quickly in the officer’s mess car park, walked across to the guardroom and just joined up with these newspapermen. Within minutes a coach appeared, they all gathered on the coach. Nobody checked who they were. They all got on the coach, they were all taken onto the airfield, to the aircraft, and they all took it in turns to get in the aircraft. Well the captain on that day was, we called him Uncle Ken but his name was Squadron Leader Ken Sneller, who was the nicest man you could ever wish to meet, and of course, he knew Trevor, who was the guy that had smuggled himself in, and it came to Trevor’s turn to get in the aircraft to take pictures. And he duly clambered in and came up to the front end, clambered over the main spar to, to see Uncle Ken there. Uncle Ken said, ‘What are you doing here?’ And he said, ‘Don’t tell anybody. I’m a, I’m a spy got on the airfield where nobody’s supposed to be getting’, so he duly took photographs in the cockpit and that was, that was that little moment of when we had the last laugh, but nobody in the RAF knew it had happened. The, the story about the Australians that I repeated a little earlier, that happened a few years later, after the aircraft had been at Coltishall for a time.
DE: Yeah.
SS: So, so it’s not out of context.
DE: That’s fine. Thank you.
SS: The, the time went by and we started collecting signatures to get the aircraft brought back to Waddington, or to Lincolnshire. I think we — but we thought it would be Waddington. We gathered signatures, within a matter of, I think it was fifteen weeks, we got some nineteen — seventeen to nineteen thousand signatures, including every MP except the MP for Grimsby — Mr Crossland who refused to sign. Everybody else would sign for it, signed the petition. From Australia came signatures like Hughie Edwards, who was a VC from Bomber Command’s earlier years. A lot of famous people signed. A meeting was arranged and we met the minister for the Royal Air Force who was — Labour were in power at the time, a little Welsh gentleman called Mr Brynmor John, and an appointment was made for him to meet us at Swinderby, which was a very active RAF station in those days. We were told we would meet at, in the officer’s mess at Swinderby at 2.15 I think it was, and he would have to be leaving by 2.35, so we weren’t given very long to make our point to him. We duly got all the signatures bundled up and tied up with red ribbon, and Mrs Buttery, who was chairman, she came and she made a speech and photographs were taken, and we talked to the minister. It was noticed a little bit later that the group captain in the background who was, I think it was Group Captain Green, I’m not sure, but he seemed very agitated and he kept looking at his watch, and he was pacing up and down, and we were talking to the minister and the minister was talking back to us, and the time schedule that they’d set went completely wrong. I don’t know what happened to his — where he was going after he finished with us, but he ended up about an hour late. Anyway, the bottom line, we got the promise that they would look at it but they couldn’t make any promises and it was wait and see, which we really thought we were just being fobbed off to be honest. Within a few months, Jacko Jackson had taken over. He was then OC of the Battle of Britain flight at Coltishall and Jacko came to me and he said, ‘Stuart, I’ve got some news for you but this is, this is something that is so hush hush that you’re not — you can tell the committee, but you’re not to tell anybody outside the committee, and it’s not to get out because this information will have to be released by the ministry or the Royal Air Force. Not by — not come from outside. So you’ve got to, before I tell, you’ve got to tell me that you’ll make sure that you’ll not pass it on other to those that are sworn to secrecy’. So I said, ‘Yes Jacko, I’ll do what I can. I’m sure they’ll —’ Anyway, we duly had a meeting, I’d made a little bit of a gesture beforehand and we had, I think it was two or three bottles of champagne were put on the table at the meeting, and the rest didn’t know what it was all about, and there was three bottles of champagne or whatever and some glasses and, ‘Well? What have you got? Tell us’. So I said, ‘Well the story is that I’ve been told that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight are going move back lock stock and barrel because we’d lost the Lancaster. We were now going to get the Lancaster complete with Spitfires and Hurricanes returned to the county but unfortunately, it wouldn’t be to Waddington. It would be to Coningsby. The reason why it’s not to Coningsby, we discovered later, er why it’s not at Waddington, we discovered later was the fact that the Waddington, the group that controlled Waddington in those days, were a different group that covered Coningsby. Our group at Waddington had given the Lanc to the other group where the Merlin spares were, and so that other group were not prepared to give the whole of the Battle of Britain Flight back to the group that it had — the Lanc had come from. So, it went to Coningsby. So in due course, all the aircraft came back to Coningsby and of course, this made them within much closer range and LLA — oh we’d gone through the ritual war dance of setting, of A) stopping being a committee any more. Becoming an Association, because people was wanting to, to join up. We had a thing going to raise the money, and have the deflection can made, so that it could put the upper turret on to the Lancaster, because in those days, she was a flat back and it was missing this mid-upper turret which they’d got. It had been sent from Argentina by the Royal Navy, it arrived at Tilbury docks or somewhere, and the phone call was sent to Waddington. ‘We’ve got a big crate here for you Waddington. Do you want to come and fetch it?’ ‘What is it?’ ‘It’s from the Argentine Air Force and it’s a piece of a Lancaster’. So it was fetched but they couldn’t fit it, because it was, they didn’t have the metal work to fix around it, to stop the guns from pointing in to the —shooting the tail fins off or shooting the back of the cockpit, so we — they came to us. And they said, ‘Would you like to — could you get this made?’ So we said, ‘Yeah, well of course. Why not?’ So again, our chairman, she had contacts within the engineering companies in Lincoln, which in those days were very big, and the plans were brought to us. She went off to see them and they’d agreed. ‘Yes, we’ll do that’, but when they saw the plans, because not only is this a strange shape but it tapers as the, as the fuselage narrows, as it goes down towards the tail, they suddenly decided they’d got too much work to do with oil rigs and they couldn’t, they couldn’t do it. So it was eventually came back. She said, ‘Well I’m sorry, I’ve failed with Lincoln completely. Anybody else got any ideas?’ So I said, ‘Well I was’, my task, I was an insurance broker, so I said, ‘Well I’ve got a company that I deal with in Grimsby called Marionette Engineering. I’ll talk to Peter Wild’, who was the boss who I’d known, again, for some years. I went and saw Peter, and I said, ‘Pete, I’ve got these plans. Can you, can your lot make this?’ They, the Marionam Engineering — basically their role was repairing trawlers that came back with damage, which is a bit, slight heavier metal than is used on an aircraft, so he looked at it and he said, ‘Well I don’t know Stu’, and made all sorts of — anyway I seem to have got this ability to keep talking non-stop, and I talked him — eventually he agreed to it, on the basis that it was to shut me up. I took the plans to them which, I’m sorry, which I’d got and he said, ‘Well come back in a month and see how, how we’re going on’, so I said, ‘Alright, but I bet you’ll have forgotten about it as soon as I’ve gone out the door’. ‘No I won’t, I daren’t face another barrage like I’ve had’. So I went back a month later and there, laid on the factory floor, was a large sheet of metal, which must have been measuring about twelve to fifteen foot square. A huge square. And upon it was spot welded various pieces of metal with the tops cut off at funny angles, and it represented something like a thing that you’d expect in one of these Indian type gentlemen who climb ropes and eat fire, that he would lay on a bed of nails. It looked like one of those. So, he, I said, ‘Well, I’m sorry. I think you’ve got that wrong haven’t you? Because it doesn’t make any sense’. ‘Oh we’ll make sense of it to you’, and he whistled up some of the fellas and they brought brown paper out and they draped brown paper around all these things, and suddenly it made the shape of what’s wanted, with the hole in the middle and it was, and suddenly it made sense. And I said, ‘Well that’s marvellous. I don’t know how you’ve done that’. ‘No, I don’t really’, he said, ‘But we’re trying’. Anyway, the, the flight had moved then, had moved back to Coningsby, and it came the day when this, this piece of metal would be transported to Coningsby to be fitted on the aircraft and of course, I went to watch this happen, and the lorry appeared from, from Grimsby. And the fellas that had made it came with it and they drove in the hangar, and they looked at the aircraft and they looked at what they’d done, and they said, ‘Good heavens, isn’t it big?’ And that was the general consensus. Anyway, the RAF had got some, some special platforms at each side of it so that this thing was lifted up by hand. The hole was made in the top of the fuselage where the turret was going to sit, and so the piece that they’d made was then fitted in the exact place where it would be when it was actually screw riveted or whatever they were going to do to the fuselage, and suddenly it looked right. It was — it was — the guys, the guys that had made it couldn’t believe that it was, it was so right. They discovered then that when, after they’d all looked at it and felt duly, duly pleased with what they’d done, the RAF were happy. They couldn’t get it off because they couldn’t get their fingers underneath the edges of it, where it fitted to the fuselage. It was such good a fit. They had to put their hands down the inside and lift it off, up, to get it off and that was duly fitted, and that was a few weeks later, the mid-upper turret that had been in storage for so long was then placed into its position on the bomber and she was no longer a flat back. So she had that on her and she had the City of Lincoln on the nose, which was a good tie to the county. Part of our other project when we’d started was that we wanted to get the Lancaster back to the county, but we realised if we got her back, we should maybe have to do something towards housing her, which would be an horrendous type job requiring a lot of money. So we set to and to raise funds by producing postal covers and appearing at air shows and doing anything we could to raise money, which we were, all in all, quite successful at. The job that we’d done on the Lancaster had made a lot of people say, ‘Can’t anybody join your committee?’ Well, a committee’s a committee, it’s not — it’s not for a lot of people, a huge lot, so we decided to call ourselves Lincolnshire’s Lancaster Association. Hence the LLA which it’s become known as today. We applied for charitable status, which we were granted on an educational. We were classified, as far as I can remember, as an educational charity because we were educating people as to what had gone on, and we was trying to extend the life of this aircraft as long as possible. The flight, the two years that Eric Gledhill have given us four years before, had long expired but she still continued and continues well to this day. The problems that Eric had outlined to us, which were unsurmountable in the, those days when it first started, were not on. Not on at all. But modern technology and the fact that the flight had now become very publicly known, and I think it was thanks to our efforts that it was put so well publicly known, that she had gathered a following of her own people. Initially there was not too many. All the ex-World War Two aircrews were interested, their families were interested, but the grandkids in those days didn’t seem too interested. And there was a lot of, ‘Well, maybe. Is it worth doing it?’ And whatever. We did have exciting moments like a royal visit was coming along, and it was decided that we should have the aircrew who, in those days, wore — they called them “growbags.” They were sort of browny coloured baggy flying suits with zips. Lots of zips in the front for pockets and maps and things. We decided the Red Arrows, who didn’t live in Lincolnshire in those days, they wore these fancy red flying suits, and it would be nice if we could get some for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight bomber. Well we were only thinking about the bomber crews in those days. Get some black ones. I was told that Marks and Sparks were the firm, that was the firm to approach. So bearing in mind that was, it would be nice to think we could maybe, dare I say, scrounge them or persuade them to donate half a dozen flying suits for these Lancaster aircrew chaps to wear, but if need be, we would pay for them. So I duly went and saw the management of M&S to outline to them what we needed. They listened to me waffling on about, about what they did for the Red Arrows and could they do it for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight etcetera, and was greeted with, ‘Well I’m sorry, but everybody’s heard of the Red Arrows, but nobody’s ever heard of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Good day’. So I’m afraid we drew a blank, but the Queen was coming and Philip on a certain day in a month or two’s time, so I managed to get the blue prints for these “growbag” flying suits, and the Bracebridge Heath Ladies Sewing Circle made five flying suits to the measurements. Inside legs were taken for the manufacture of five black flying suits. These were duly worn when the royal visit came, with their badges of rank on their epaulets and the pilot’s brevets or whatever, whatever they were. And this went off very well, and photographs were in the papers of these black suited people standing in front of the Lancaster, and that was the first time anybody at the BBMF had ever had a black flying suit. We were not asked after that to, to repeat the thing, but somebody somewhere must have taken notice because suddenly black flying suits became available. Strange how these things can happen, but we think we maybe lit the touch paper with that one. So all in all, our efforts continue. We, we’d always been on the lookout for spare parts, there’s always an outcry for spare parts, and I remember a chicken farmer, I believe it was, somewhere in the back woods of Woodhall or that area. I got a phone call to say, ‘Is that Mr Stephenson’, and I said, ‘Yes, I was’, and he said, ‘Well, you don’t know me, but my name’s’, and I’ve forgotten his name, but he said, ‘We’ve just been put on the electric over here and’, he said, ‘I have got a Lancaster generator that’s been used since the war, ended for lighting up our chicken huts’. He said, ‘Now this is now surplus. We don’t need it ‘cause we’ve got the electric fitted on from the electric board and would you like it as a spare part for the Lancaster?’ So we said, ‘Yes, we’d be delighted’. So I duly went and collected this from the gentleman and it was handed over to them, and it had been driven by a tractor with a belt from a pulley to light — to make the electric for the chicken huts, but it worked alright and I think it was put into their stock, and it’s maybe still there or maybe not. Exhaust stubs, I was, each engine has got, I think it’s — is it six or eight of these down each side of the engines, so there’s all these exhaust stubs and they are always on the lookout for these things. And a sub aqua, a sub aqua club from up in Humberside contacted me. They had discovered an aircraft in the Humber that had been submerged for a long time, they’d managed to retrieve an engine which, when they’d sprayed all this mud and muck off it, it turned out to be a Merlin and they were going to clean it up to be put on display. Would we like — it looked new — would we like the exhaust stubs in exchange for some burnt out ones from the Lanc? So we said, ‘Yeah. We would be delighted’. So that was arranged, but the strange thing was this particular engine — research was done on it and it turned out to be, from all things, a Wellington that had crashed in the Humber in the very early part of the war. Now, we never discovered why, what it was doing up there but it had, it had crashed and it had sunk and it was recognisable from the serial numbers on the engine what it was from. The strange thing was that there was still oil in the sump and everything, of this engine so oil samples were taken out and sent to Conoco up there, who did some research on this oil and they came back and they said, ‘It’s as good as new. If you’ve got a lot of it, you can use it’. And it had been under water for I don’t know how many years, but I suppose oil doesn’t rot away does it? Anyway, that was another little offshoot that happened about this time. I think I’d like another break Dan, if you don’t mind, while I gather my wits.
DE: Ok. I’ll press pause again.
[Recording paused]
DE: Ok. It’s recording again.
SS: As far as the LLA side of things were concerned, we became a, we stopped from being a committee to the Lincs Lancaster Association. We became a limited company as well because we felt that this was — as we were attracting members, it was a way of not leaving responsibility for things in the hands of a few. It was to spread the thing about and to keep it on a proper company way of dealing with these matters as far as bookkeeping and the like. Charitable status was confirmed, we then had to make reports annually to Company’s House with regards to all the affairs of expenditure and what we’ve been doing. Likewise to the Charities Commission, which had to be approved by both of those. As I said, we continued to raise money, in those days with a great deal of help from the Battle of Britain flight themselves because we were — we were the only people of our type. The Red Arrows didn’t have a following like we had. We gained, we gained steadily a thousand, two thousand, three thousand. I think in my period as chairman which lasted for some, from about thirty six/seven years as chairman. I were chairman all that time mainly because no one else would do it, we gathered up to five and a half to six thousand members and it seems to have stuck at that level-ish, in that area. It’s fallen away, it falls away from time to time. Basically, finding volunteers to do the work that’s needed to be done is difficult. The roles of treasurer, of membership secretary and chairman I suppose. I don’t tend to think of it in my own terms, but these, these are roles that do take a lot of time, and as volunteers you don’t get paid and it’s — particularly the, the membership secretary who has to deal with members paying, members getting behind and dealing with cheques and sending out renewals. It used to be done by hand. We had a lovely lady called Sheila Wright who did it. She had big old fashioned — this was really before computers had got going, big old fashioned manuals that she used to do it all in the old fashioned way. She’d been an accounts lady for one of the local newspapers. Sheila used to do it and she was very reliable. She was retired, she gave her all seemingly all the time. There was never any problems. She decided she would go on holiday and she went. She was going on a bus trip, I remember they told me, she went to Unity Square in Lincoln, got on the coach, sat in the chair with her friend and died. She just sat there and passed away and that was shock. She was Sheila, and she’s dead. I’ve no idea what the cause of death was but this was a disaster for the LLA, because she’d been running this thing and picking it up from the bottom is very difficult when there’s so many things that is day to day running. She’d written to people to say you’ve not paid for so many months and either pay up or you’ll get nothing else. This has been an ongoing problem. With the advent of computers, one would think that this sort of becomes easier but we’ve had, we had, in my day, a series of membership secretaries who tend to find it, for some reason, more difficult to keep up with things when it’s on computer, then when it’s done in the old fashioned way. So I guess adding the columns up is easier when it’s done on a computer in Excel, but to do it as far as all the entering up is concerned and the typing in of names and the details., this is what takes a lot of time and identifying who’s due for renewal. And unlike other organisations, when we started we only had small numbers, and we decided that if somebody joined in January, his renewal would be in January every year, and if he joined, if somebody else joined in February, his renewal would be in February, so that means all the renewals are spread out over twelve months. Which again is very, yes, that’s good, but we find that other — since this and it still operates like this today I’m told, but since then other organisations, we find they’ve got one renewal date which is the day of the financial year ending, or in some cases the end of a year.
DE: Yes.
SS: So that then means you’ve got maybe, have five thousand coming in at once, but if you’ve, if you’ve got to deal with the banking side of five thousand, well that’s, that’s the easy bit in some senses but you can imagine that to handle all these things. This was before Pay Pal and direct debits and things as we know, know them so well today have come out. It, it was difficult then, but I’m told that it’s still difficult and it’s not a job that people want. If there’s anybody out there who is in to accountancy and wants a, one’s has got a volunteer spare time job, then this, their approach to LLA would be very much appreciated. Having said that, there’s recently been a piece in The Times following the lady’s — Childline was it called? The, the children’s charity that broke.
DE: Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
SS: A report on that and the, the, it’s, to me it’s opened my eyes a lot, because the result of that is that there was an official statement made — that for a charity to be successful, it must be run properly, which means that in a case of expecting volunteers to do everything is not acceptable if that doesn’t make, if that is failing to make the thing run below what it should be doing. It needs, if needs be, it must — the people must be paid to do the work on a normal footing, as if it was a proper job. They would be paid and this has to be paid out of the subscriptions or the money that’s raised, because if it’s not the whole thing, the bubble will burst, as it, as it, did in this recent one. So that is something for the future for them to look at now. I keep feeding these bits of advices to them, but whether they take any notice or whether they’ve got time to, because I’m afraid with all committees, you find that you’ve got one or two people that are very active and they can’t really do enough, and you’ve got a lot of people that like to sit back and do very little and throw criticisms and block everything, and generally cause mayhem, when it shouldn’t be like that if you’re all in for the same thing. The excuse that was, is usually given was, ‘Why are you saying this all the time?’ Is — ‘I’m playing devil’s advocate’, is a much used word, but I’m getting off the point. LLA continues today, it seems to be very successful. There was a time, a few years back, when the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight decided that they wanted to take over LLA, but when you’re a charity, you can’t really be taken over because you’re responsible for all that money in the kitty as the charity, and you can’t sort of give that over to something that’s going to be run as a business. A charity is a charity, and so the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, in their wisdom or not wisdom as I see it, have gone into partnership, or, or — is it partnership? They have a firm that produces their club they call it which you may see advertised, which is a, the reason for the club was given to me that, when it was started that the reason that that club was formed was that it was, it was to allow them to give money to other charities that were not necessarily involved with what the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight normally would be. To whit, the things like the Battle of Britain Memorial, sorry the Red Arrows John Egging Trust or whatever you call it. That was started by the widow of the Red Arrows pilot that was killed. They wanted us to give a chunk of money to them and we felt that, as trustees of that money which was raised for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s benefit, it wasn’t right for us to do that. And this, because we wouldn’t do it, this seemed to cause a fracture which is, was completely uncalled for as far as we were concerned. But they, we wouldn’t be taken over and we wouldn’t do those sort of things, and so this caused them to form their own club. We continued to support them and when they want money for various projects that they’ve got which they invariably, if they get a budget for so much in a year, they want something that’s maybe beyond the budget or - at the moment, I’m speaking now today that there is a project next year for the anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. And the Lincs Lancaster Association will be or have been asked if we will pay, pay for the painting of the Dakota, to be painted into the colours used by the, during the Berlin Airlift, which I’ve been told they’ve agreed to pay, which is obviously the sort of things that’s needed which their club A) hasn’t got the money for and B) is not for that purpose. So as a retired chairman of many years, it’s left me feeling somewhat disappointed to find that they’ve made this sort of split. The charitable side of the fence seems to be quite disturbed because the flight seemed to publish as much as they could, “Join our club. Join our club”, there’s never any thought that the charity really needs the same. It’s due the same backing as the other one because over, over the years while I was chairman, I did try to work it out, and we’d donated for various projects, I think it was just over a half a million pounds for various things that would have been done over the years. Some quite expensive. We put all the, all the engineering books manuals which they’ve got — a huge collection of manuals on their airframes and all their aircraft all in wartime issue type books. We had all those put on, digitised, which I’m sure Dan knows all about. We provided them with a very big printer so that, when you’ve got a fold out document within a book that was scanned, so that it could be printed the size of the unrolled thing out, unfolded out of the book so that they could go in the hangar. If they wanted to know about Lancaster tail wheel, all they’d got to do was type in Lancaster tail wheel, it would come up, all the references they wanted. They could go to that page, print it off. Whether it was an A3, whatever. The biggest size you could think of, it would print it. The, I did receive a letter from the chief of the air staff thanking me for this that we’d done for the Flight, and by producing that book and putting it all on to, on to discs, I think it was in those days, that we’d saved them the equivalent of one and a half men a year in time saved looking for things, trying to find things in books. Today’s age, I’m afraid, those years have slipped by and it’s all forgotten, which is very sad I find. I’m sorry. I’m going off on a tangent.
DE: No. No. That’s fine.
SS: Now.
DE: How do you feel about the LLA supporting other aircraft other than the Lancaster?
SS: Well as far as I’m concerned, I’ve learned today that — I’ve been making some enquiries which — I get bees in my bonnet, being eighty years old now and I’m thinking, well I wonder why that is? And so, I sort of went through the very difficult task of googling a question and I find myself on to a website, a government website, which tells me that one charity with similar aims, can support another charity of similar aims so long, so long as the trustees of that charity agree that it can be done. Basically that’s the precis of what it says in a lot of language and it maybe needs somebody with a, with a lawyer’s degree to read that, to make it as easy as I’ve read it, but it does not, it means the door is open. And it means that in the case of, if we’re supporting the Lancaster, we read we’re set up as an educational charity so to my mind that leaves the door open that A) we can support the Bomber Command Memorial, which is educational with its Chadwick Centre, and it also means that if need be, we can support East Kirkby and its Lancaster, even though, in both cases they’re both charities in their own right, and the fact that they’ve got similar aims means what it means. This brought to mind because there was a piece, the Vulcan to the Sky people — there was a piece on their website which said they have come to an agreement, they’re now supporting the Typhoon Restoration Group. Not the RAF type of today but the wartime Typhoon aircraft, to rebuild one to put back in to the skies of Britain, and this has been supported by the Vulcan to the Trust and they’re both charities, and so I thought if they can both do it I will, I will check up on that see if that’s true and that’s what I’ve come out with this very day. So there’s, there’s hope for LLA to be able to help in other fields, but it still just amazes me that when we started, there was nobody doing anything like we’ve done for anybody else. We were one off. We were completely one off and then gradually, one can see that it’s fostered other ideas amongst other people who have come up with similar sort of things to what we’ve been doing. But as per this BBMF club that they’ve got — it’s, it’s been operated by a money-making firm who are producing various booklets and magazines and things for them, but all on a financial basis. Ours is basically all the administration is done, or has been done up till now, has been done by volunteers, and obviously, with what we’re learning now, since this kiddies thing went into bankruptcy and the results of what the enquiries have come up with, it means that maybe there’s a time to come before too long when it should be run on a proper fashion by employed staff. Only time will tell with these things I’m afraid, it’s a developing scene. I must admit that I got, I got poorly and had to retire, it would be four or five years ago now. The time flies by. I’d been doing the job too long I must admit, I was really getting tired with it. But it’s in my blood and I can’t get it out of my blood, and even though I’ve, I’ve got Parkinson’s and I’m still struggling to get about quite a bit, I’m dealing with about four projects that I’ve dreamt up myself, because nobody is, nobody’s thinking about doing these sort of things and by generating things that are home produced by the charity, that’s a lot more from a financial point of view. It’s a much better bet than buying something in for ten pounds and selling it for fifteen. If you can have it printed yourself and sell it for fifteen, you’ve got it a lot cheaper. Somebody else isn’t making a profit out of it before you get it in other words
DE: Sure.
SS: So I still keep doing, doing that and we’ll just have to see how long I last for, and how long it — how the situation develops, but I keep proffering my advice to the present chairman and whether he takes any notice of me, time alone will tell. But I maybe won’t be around to know whether he has or not, so I can’t think of anything else I can say at this stage Dan. Unless you’ve got any questions.
DE: I’ve got, I’ve got a few questions.
SS: Yeah.
DE: If you look at my page. Could you go back again to why it was you that you wanted to get involved in the first place, when you saw the thing in the paper about — ?
SS: It was just a gut reaction. Completely. Basically, my thought was, and I aired this in, I think I wrote a piece for the Lincolnshire Echo, and it was, I can’t remember the wording, but it was saying things like the next thing you know, officialdom will want to move Lincoln Cathedral to London. We felt it was such a, such a — the link between that aircraft and, in particular, in Waddington, which, Waddington — when the Lanc arrived at Waddington, three were delivered on Christmas Eve 1941. Three airframes for 44 Squadron, which was the first squadron to set up and with those three airframes came, I’ll not say a little army, but a group of people from the Avro factory, who were there to do modifications to these aircraft while they were, while they being put in to service almost. It was, it was an absolute — it must be done, and those people that came — a lot of them married local girls and there’s a lot of families in the Waddington area whose ancestors came from Cheshire and Woodford and Stockport and those places around. So the tie is not just — to a certain extent, it is sentimental but not a hundred percent. There is family links there that’s unbreakable. And by chance the same — another one of my projects which I’d better mention, is that we’re doing this booklet, myself and Toucan are producing this booklet to honour Roy Chadwick, who was the chap that designed the Lancaster and the Vulcan and Roy — he worked tirelessly to do it. But this business, the Lancaster was delivered to 44 Squadron and its first operation that it ever did, was mine laying. They divide the area of the sea around the cataract the North Sea in to areas, and all these areas were named after vegetables so these mining sorties were known as, as gardening sorties. Gardening was the first sortie that was undertaken by Lancasters from — well I was going to say from Waddington, but was it Coleby Grange? Because there was some stories that they would possibly had moved to Coleby Grange for some reason. Whether some work was being done at Waddington, but they were done basically from Waddington, because that’s where the headquarters was. Years later, when the Lanc finished, it of course went on past the end of the war, and in the mean — before, I think before it had finished, the Vulcan had been accepted into the RAF. It came into service at Waddington as well, so there’s another link between Avro and Waddington. The first, the first sortie for the Lanc was a gardening sortie. The last one of the war, on the last day of the war, believe it or not, was a gardening sortie. They’d started off gardening, they’d ended up gardening, and it is said that the Bomber Command sank more ships than the Navy during World War Two. I haven’t seen an exact figure to that but it is spoken about quite openly, and I don’t know whether your researchers have found anything to that effect.
DE: I’ve not looked at that. I think we might have to find someone to have a look at that.
SS: I think there’s a certain mythology about it, because if they’d put, put mines in the North Sea they’re not, they wouldn’t be aware that one of these had struck a ship and sunk it on that spot. How would they know? That’s something that doesn’t add up but that’s, that’s often said. And coming back to the Vulcan in service with Waddington, well the Vulcan went out of service and what squadron took it out of service? It was 44 Squadron — Rhodesia Squadron who took it out of service, who brought the Lanc in years before. They flew the last Vulcan bomber practice mission and then a valedictory flypast, which will all be in this new thing that we’re producing and there’s another coincidence that 44 is involved twice with the two different airframes, though 44 didn’t bring the Vulcan into service. Next question?
DE: It’s another one about how do you feel about how the Lancaster and Bomber Command is remembered today?
SS: Yeah. Bomber Command is — has been very badly treated over the years. I was a great believer in Winston Churchill. His speech, his speechifying shall we say, was second to none when it came to the war and keeping the morale of the country high, but the fact that he, he cut himself off from Bomber Command following the Dresden raid, which is infamous, and he fell literally, we fell or our authorities fell for the propaganda that was put out by Dr Goebbels and his people at the Ministry of Propaganda within the Nazi party. They put this out and we swallowed it hook, line and sinker basically and this, this made that, this changed Bomber Command were upset. There was no medal issued, which has been an ongoing thing for all these years and still, still despite what they did, it still there’s still people complaining about it even though I’m afraid the veterans are getting very long in the tooth, and going back to the Dresden thing, Harris was, was vilified almost for allowing it to take place but what they seem to forget is that Churchill had gone off to, I think it was Yalta, on a conference. The command of the Royal Air Force as such was in the hands and the decision making was in the hands of Portal. Portal was the one that decided where they were going to bomb. The Russians wanted Dresden to be bombed because they felt it was being used as a railway junction for supplying arms and men to the Eastern Front. They wanted it wiping out. I’m told, reading, and I forget who wrote the book, there’s a very good book on Dresden, and when it turned out that the, this raid, this day and night attack thing that took place originally there was three choices I believe. And Dresden was the one that was chosen because when they wanted to start it, was best from the weather point of view. The weather was the restricting thing. It was Portal that gave the order, not Harris. Harris did as he was told. He was outranked, and yet the ones that made the decisions at the top have sort of turned their back on it and left the lower ranks to carry the can as you might say. And the can was carried right down to the fellas that flew on those missions, because they was the ones that was made to feel like they were murderers, and there was no medal issued and there was just a pathetic silence from the government. Which to me over the years, the number of these fellas that I’ve met was beyond my dreams, that I would ever meet so many of them and to a man, this was always something that has created a lot of heated expression and the fact that Winston changed — turned his back on Bomber Command has never been forgotten. I can’t really say much more on that one then I can think of at the moment. It’s been a tricky subject I’m afraid, but the strange thing is that the Americans — one would think that they took no part in Dresden. They, they have not been treated the same way as our lads did. One, I think it was day, the RAF went at night and the Americans went by day, which was the way things were run in those days, and the RAF went by night as they did and the first raid took place and it was calamitous. It was fire storms was soon going. The Americans went back the next day, they saw a lot of smoke rising and they bombed, and it was later discovered that they had actually bombed Chemnitz, which was not the target. Dresden. They’d gone to the wrong place. So that, that says it all to a certain extent. Sorry Uncle Sam, you’ve, you’ve — their side of it has been forgotten. One would think it was only an RAF event, it was not a joint services thing. And I’ve never heard any, any words from the American top brass, commanders of the 8th Air Force, if it was the 8th that was involved in that event, that they’ve never had anything really to say about it. It’s just been another day and the RAF seem to have copped for the, to use an old country expression, the sticky end of the stick. Next question Dan.
DE: I think on a happier note, you’ve talked a little bit about the people that you’ve met. Could you go into, you know?
SS: Well yes, I’ve been very lucky that I’ve met, I’ve met so many. I’ve got a book here, I’ll just have to open it up to get my memory. I’ve carried this book with me and if I’ve met people who, who —
DE: So it’s, “The Lancaster at War”.
SS: “Lancaster at War” volume one. The first thing, when I open the pages, I’ve got a letter here from RV Jones at the Department of Natural History, Aberdeen University dated 18th of January 1979. RV Jones doesn’t mean a lot to Dan, I can see he’s wrinkling his eyebrows. Jones was one of the brains of — he was the man that bent the beams. He was, well all I can suggest is he’s so, he’s such a nice fellow and he’s so knowledgeable. Unfortunately, he’s no longer with us like so many of these people aren’t. I’ve got two or three letters here from him, but there are, he’s written. He did write books and I’ve got a copy of his book which he’s duly signed for me, and that is one of my treasured possessions because it’s such a fascinating book. That he flew, he was, he was involved in coming out with these scientific ideas. He was, he was a confident of Churchill and the top. A boffin as they were called in those days and he was — he was a great guy. I’ve got Crumb, Henry. Henry Crumb. Augsburg raid to you. I was lucky. Bert, Bert Doughty. These were the guys that went to Augsburg. I’ve got letters from Henry Crumb, Bert Doughty, David Penman. Where are we? Oh, that’s another one from Henry Crumb. There’s another one. Augsburg raid. The chap, John Nettleton got the VC on the Augsburg raid. When the Lancaster was moved to Coltishall in Norfolk, there was a young WAAF officer who he met and he married, called Betty, and Betty Nettleton was a WAAF at, at Coltishall of all places when I went to, we did a postal cover and I had to try to find these people, and I thought well I’d like to try and find Betty Nettleton. So I made some enquiries and did some detective work, and I discovered — I’ve got a letter here from her. She worked for the National Westminster Bank Company Limited at Lombard Street, London. When I had to contact her, she didn’t know me from Adam so I thought well the best thing, is to ring her up and I got the telephone number from somebody, which was a different number on the letter she wrote to me, because I had a number of communications with her, but I’ve got this letter and the strange thing was, she said that if her husband had still be alive, he’d be turning in his grave if he’d got one to think that the Lanc was moved to Coltishall. To a fighter base from a bomber base. She wouldn’t like that at all and made that point very strongly, and the strange coincidence was that her telephone extension number at this National Westminster Bank was 474, and she didn’t realised the significance of her extension number on her telephone. It was 474 was our Lanc’s PA474 which was a coincidence. So that was Betty Nettleton. What have I got here? Oh, another one of the — Patrick Doorhill, he was another Augsburg raid survivor. There’s two letters from him. Sorry, three letters from him. What have I got one here. Oh, this is one from — “Dear Stuart”. This is very nice green-headed paper from Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Squire KC. Oh, he’s got so many titles after his name, Ministry of Defence, Chief of the Air Staff. “Dear Stuart, I’ve just heard of the magnificent effort of Lincolnshire’s Lancaster Association in scanning the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s servicing manuals on to cd rom. Such a practical initiative is not only a great help to the BBMF but also displays, in a very material fashion, your interest and support for a most important part of our nation’s heritage. I would be most grateful if you would pass on my sincere thanks and congratulations to your members for a job well done. My very best wishes for your continued success. Yours sincerely, Peter Squire”, and that’s addressed to me. So that’s, those are just some letters that are tucked in the first page of the book. Well I turn the page over, I will see some names that will maybe ring a few bells with people. Page one, believe it or not, the one at the top of the page is Bob Stanford Tuck. Bob Stanford Tuck, in case you don’t know, was not a bomber pilot but he was a Battle of Britain ace. He was the original brill cream boy I’m told. He was always a very flashy type. If you, if you google Bob Stanford Tuck, you’ll see what I mean. But looking down the page we’ve got Gus Walker. Now I met Gus at Swinderby. Gus was a famous man. He was, he was a one-armed man, he lost an arm at Syerston when he was — well the story was, one story was that he walked into a propeller that was — and it took his arm off. The other story was that he’d gone to try to rescue someday from a burning aircraft, and it exploded and he’d been thrown out, so I’m not quite certain of that one. Looking down the list is Mr Chandler, 170 Squadron. We’ve got various, various names. We’ve got David Penman, David Brotherick, Bert Doughty of course. We’ve got Mary Chadwick which is — Mary Chadwick was Roy Chadwick’s widow, the mother of Rosemarie Lapham, nee Chadwick, and Margaret Dove who was his other, Roy’s elder daughter. She has been in the forefront of it, well while she was alive, parading her dad’s name around the world. Rosemary was the, some nine years younger and she’s really kept in the background until her sister died and then she’s come a little to the foreground, but they are getting, she’s getting a very old lady now as well of course. I’m sure she wouldn’t be upset if she knew I was saying that. Looking below it, would you believe it or not, I’ve got John Chatterton KMY, 44 Squadron and I’ve got underneath him is Bill Berry and he was, he’s got VNG which is 50 Squadron so they were good friends but obviously on different squadrons at the time when, when they were in operations. Some of these names that I’m struggling to read are the names of some of the chaps that survived the dams raid who are no longer with us. Now looking on the next page, the one at the top of the page is Lord Lilford. Now Lord Lilford won’t mean much to anybody except Mrs lilford, but Lord Lilford was the chap that, that bought NX611 which is now today Just Jane at East Kirkby. He bought it when it was put up for auction at Blackpool, and having left it at Blackpool for a while, he then said to the RAF, ‘You can have it as a gate guardian at Scampton providing you’ll remove it to Scampton and possibly refurbish it before it goes on the gate’. So he was responsible for it being on the gate, until it was eventually he decided to get rid of it, and the Pantons, who’d, who’d bid for it in the early stages and hadn’t bid enough, they then bought it. So it then moved to East Kirkby. Now we come to some dams people. We have Geoff Rice, Basil Fenera, Jack Buckley, they were all people that had survived the dam’s raid. I met them at Scampton and I’m not sure which one, but he had he showed me his car ignition key with a chain, a little bit of chainy stuff on it, and on it was a thing that I could say was something like that you bleed the air out of a radiator. A little key. And when they came back from the dams raid, he walked around under the aircraft and that was dangling on a lanyard and this was the key that was pulled out of the bomb when it fell off, the spinning bomb, when it fell off to make it live and as it fell away from the aircraft, it was only when that was pulled out that it became live, and he’d seen that and he just took it off and put it in his pocket, and he’d now got it on his [unclear]. I often wonder what happened to that. If somebody realised what they’d got and maybe threw it away when it was — [pause]. Underneath that, we have Ken Sneller, who I’ve remarked about before. He was the Lancaster captain when it was at Coltishall before Jacko took over. He’s put Lancaster, he’s put Lancaster captain PA474. November 1974. I’ve got Mary Stopes Roe, daughter of Barnes Wallis signed there. Somebody Smith, that could be anybody couldn’t it? I’m not sure who he is. Somebody Johnson or something. BE Johnson. HI Cousins. There’s a famous name which Dan’s looking as if he’s never heard of. Air Commodore Cousins as he was, part of the Sneider Trophy outfit. But he was, I’m not quite sure of his role, but he made a lot of, he scrounged colour film from the Americans to make a educational, not an educational — a thing to educate the RAF up and coming aircrew as to how to go about things. And the film that was slowly cobbled together, was issued on DVD and is still available today. It’s called, “Night Bombers”. You see all those Lancasters taking off from Hemswell in a row, he was responsible for that film. I did say, I said to him, there was one particular shot if people have seen that film, where they, they’ve got a Lancaster and the camera runs from the navigator, whatever, behind the pilot and it trundles through to the pilot and it moves up and down the fuselage, and I said to him, ‘How did you get that?’ And he said, ‘Oh it’s quite simple Stuart. We just took a Lancaster and carved it in half’. So they cut a Lanc down the middle and then they put, sat the man in his seat as he would be in his half and then they filmed that. And that was, that was something else. The BB — sorry — the BBC — our government didn’t have any colour film in those days, and he had to scrounge it from the Americans he said. But some of the films that were shot by him at that time were quite unique. Like Fido, lighting Fido. At that, Fido was something that hadn’t really been heard of, but Fido was the fog dispersal, whatever it was called. It was the way by burning petrol down the side of the runway to clear fog. That was the theory, but what it cost in miles per gallon I hate to think. Looking down, oh here’s one, Barnes Wallis. Barnes Wallis. Next to him, we’ve got Jacko Jackson had signed it. Below him, we’ve got one of the forces sweethearts of those days, Anne Shelton. Next to Anne Shelton, we’ve got Michael Redgrave, the actor who played Barnes Wallis in the film, so I’ve got Barnes Wallis and Michael Redgrave close together. Below Michael Redgrave, I’ve got Richard Todd who I became very friendly with. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get Guy Gibson because he was wasn’t around to sign. Pat Daniels, he was quite famous. 35 Squadron, 83 Squadron and 97 Squadron. He was — Pat Daniels I think was one of the Augsburg guys, again, I’m not, I can’t remember this. My memory’s fading a little. David Shepherd the artist has signed here, “After a memorable”, let me just get this, “After a memorable day of pure nostalgia in with PA474. Kind regards. November the 4th 1976. Coningsby”. That was the day then, David came and took photographs on which he based the painting that was, was his famous Lancaster painting, which you’ve, you’re people will have seen and I can claim that on that picture, you’ve got a fuel bowser trailer to the right — an oil bowser trailer to the right of the picture which I located for them. Belonged to a farmer, that he used to, he put diesel in it and he used it for tractors that were ploughing well away from roads and everything. And there was, what was it? A bomb trolley with no bombs on it, but the bomb trolley that I’d got collected up from a local scrapyard or some similar thing for that particular painting. But the, it was all done outside the BBMF hangar, which doesn’t appear on the actual painting because it’s, it’s David’s. The way he’s portrayed it. He wanted, I remember on the day, he wanted — he suddenly decided he wanted reflections, so they had to get the fire service. The Coningsby fire section had to attend and they had to pour gallons and gallons of water on the concrete below the Lanc and in front of it, so that he could get the reflection off the concrete of the bomber. That’s the sort of power you’ve got when you can draw out the fire service to do those sort of things. Turning the page again, well I’ve got best wishes from Brian Goulding. Good old Brian. I don’t know. The last time I heard of Brian, he wasn’t very good. Mike Garbutt his co-author has signed as well. We’ve got Johnny Johnson who’s become quite famous these days. “Best wishes Stuart”, that was John Pringle who was the engineering officer who was in charge of the refurbishment of NX611 when it went to Scampton. John Searby is another one, Air commodore, he was a master bomber on amongst the Pathfinders who put himself at risk. He was the master bomber on the raid on Peenemunde for instance, and many other big raids. I met him two or three times. Arthur Harris, Marshall of the Royal Air Force. He did sign for me when I was, when I got to speak with him down in London. Did I mention the meeting with Barnes Wallis? I was introduced to Barnes Wallis down at the RAF Museum and, ‘This is Mr Stephenson’, and he looked at me and bear in mind, he was ninety plus, and he said, ‘Oh I’m pleased to meet you. I’ve heard of you’, he said. And just imagine, how you meet somebody that — I mean Barnes Wallis to me, with his designs of the bombs, going up to the Swallow, his supersonic aircraft —to have him say that was just — took my breath and I couldn’t, I was lost for speech, which is unusual for me as you maybe notice. And I said, ‘Well how on earth could you have heard of me?’ And he followed that up with an even more strange thing. He said, ‘Not only have I heard of you, Mr Stephenson, I owe you a debt of gratitude’, and I thought, I don’t know what this is going to come out as but I shall going to dine out on this one forever, because this is, this is God talking to me in person almost. So I said, ‘Well you’ve got me on two. How on earth can you have heard of me and how on earth do you owe me a debt of gratitude?’ He said, ‘Well’, he said, ‘You’re the fellow who got that deflection can made so they could put the mid-upper turret on the Lancaster, aren’t you?’ I said, ‘Yes. Yes. You’re right’, he said, ‘Well the debt of gratitude is A) that you got it done and B) that if you hadn’t got it done, they told me they were going to ask me to organise it’. I said, ‘I didn’t realise I was in competition Sir Barnes, otherwise I would maybe have surrendered’. He said, ‘Good job you didn’t because all the people that I know in sheet metal work, unfortunately they are no longer any of them with us. I have no contact with anybody at all. So’, he said, ‘I would have been in real trouble if you hadn’t done it’. So that was a good one. Unlike Sir Arthur Harris, who I met on the same day who unfortunately, and I’m not exaggerating when I say he was a very difficult man to talk to, because he appeared to be somewhere else though I was talking to him. It was very difficult to try to make a conversation, a meaningful conversation with somebody when they don’t answer any questions, and they just say yes and no and as little, seems as little as possible. I must admit I was rather overtaken by, he was wearing his best blue, which with his ranks and decorations and things that he’d achieved over the years. I think he maybe had two best blues but this one must have been a spare or something, because I was trying to talk to him and try to keep this conversation going, which wasn’t really a conversation, and I was transfixed by his blue which had an assortment of holes all over it, onto which had his various badges and ribbons and stars and clusters and things were obviously meant to fit through the holes on his coat, and have little pins in the back to hold them in place, so that when he was dressed properly, he would have all this tin work on his chest and down but he didn’t. He hadn’t put them on or he’d put the wrong coat on when he came, and I thought he’s been attacked by a fleet of killer moths. That just came in my head and I’ve remembered that ever since. Sorry. Sorry Sir Arthur, that’s mean of me to say that. Right. We’re on to Searby down. Looking down the page, I’ve got Don Bennet who of course, Don Bennet was the leader of the Pathfinders and the AOC of the Pathfinders. Next to him, just underneath Bomber Harris, we’ve got Hamish Mahaddie, who was a broad Scot of course who was likewise famous in his own right as a Pathfinder I believe, but he was the guy that put all the aircraft together for the famous film The Battle of Britain, which was a major job that. Getting those vintage aircraft together to make that film. Underneath his name is one that I’ve just told you earlier on, the letter heads, Betty Nettleton has signed the book. Now hang on a minute. Hamish Mahaddie, I’ve done Don Bennett, I’ve said him, and the last one that page is Tony Iverson, 617 Squadron. Those are the front cover pages, but I think I should have to go through the book, but some of the pictures inside the book — there’s the odd one or two that’s maybe got the odd autograph on it, because it’s something they were connected with, but I should have to have a good search for that to find it, but I really must get a note made of all these signatures because you’ve had a look at them and you know how difficult it would be to interpret some of them, because I have a struggle to interpret them some of them — who they are — myself. But there’s enough names to keep somebody with google going for quite a while to sort out who they were. These, these are just the ones sometimes I’ve not had the book with me. I’ve met. I’ve met through business, as well as the Lancaster Association, quite a few of the German side of the fence and one of the interesting ones I met was Hajo Hermann or Hajo Hermann, who was the head of German night fighters. He was asked to form a group equivalent to the Kamikaze amongst the German night fighters towards the very end of the war, but that never got going. I guess they weren’t as, quite as fanatical as the Japanese. He was, he was, he told me a good story. Before the war, well before the war started, the 1930s, he was an officer in the Army would you believe, and he, he was with his soldiers and they were trawling through a swamp, he called me, he told me and lo and behold, there was two or three chaps came up on horses and they sat on their horses watching these fellows crawl through the sludge and muck and general mess, and they were covered in it and eventually one of these people on the horse said, ‘Did you enjoy doing that?’ Not in. I’m not going into “Allo. Allo” German but, ‘Do you enjoy doing that?’ And he said, ‘No’. He didn’t really — he could think of better things to do, and this gentleman said, ‘Well why don’t you join my Luftwaffe instead? We’re just reforming’, and it was Goering. So he, he said, ‘Oh yes. I’ll bear that in mind sir’, or something. Anyway, he went back and he thought well he was due for a change, he was fed up of these swamps, so he joined. He sought out Goering and reminded him and he said he’d be pleased to, and they became friends and he joined the Luftwaffe. He was involved in the war in Spain and then later, he bombed Hull would you believe, amongst other places. He was involved in the bombing of Norway, the Blitz in London, he was involved in the Mediterranean war. He told me a story. He was — they were tasked to attack ships in the harbour, a big harbour in Greece, the name’s gone from me at the moment and they were told they’d got to drop mines in the, in the harbour. That was the task and he said he didn’t want to drop mines, he wanted to drop a bomb. So he duly disobeyed orders and he took a bomb with his mine load, and when he came to dropping the bomb, he dropped it and there was a ship moored out in the, in the harbour. I’m sure the name is going to come back to me in a minute but it won’t at the moment. It hit this ship and the resultant explosion was enormous. Apparently, it was an ammunition ship that was waiting to be unloaded, and it was called the Clan Fraser I believe. He told me. It blew the windows out in Athens which was five or six miles away. A long way away anyway. It wiped out the airport, sorry the harbour, it wiped the harbour out, and as a result, it had a dire effect on British resistance, because it was our ammunition that they’d blown up. And his aircraft was very badly damaged and he coaxed it back to his home base, and was immediately got into trouble for disobeying orders, but when it was discovered what had happened, he got a medal. But he was the only officer in the Luftwaffe, he gained equivalent rank to group captain as I understand it, and he was the only one who could walk in to Goering’s office without an appointment. He could knock on the door and walk in and nobody else could do that. He was made the chief of night fighters amongst his other, because he’d been on bombers. He’d been involved with the invasion of, I think it was Salerno, or Anzio, I’m not sure. Anzio or Salerno when they first used the Fritz X wire guided, I think it was wire guided missile which was used to great success there, and he went to Goering and he said that he’d had this idea. They’d built, Blom and Voss had built some massive flying boats, which were already flying, and his idea was that they would use these flying boats, arm them with a whole load of these Fritz X missiles, which at the speed they fly, they could sort of climb out and reattach to the wings. They would fly out in to the Atlantic, find convoys and with these things they could play havoc in a convoy. They would pop ships off left, right and centre and that would, that would be a — these aircraft were comparatively cheap to make in comparison to the cost of a submarine and its crew. The, the expenditures would — for one submarine, they could maybe build a squadron of these flying boats and Goering thought it was a brilliant idea, and he’d go and see Doenitz. So he made an appointment and he went to see Doenitz. Goering made the appointment for him I think, and when he got there, he met Doenitz coming out of his headquarters, walking down the steps and he saluted him and he said who he was. ‘Oh, you’re the gentleman that has got this idea’. And he explained it all to him and he said that he felt that this would save an awful lot of people’s lives, on submarine crews, who were having a bit of a beating by this time, and it could maybe turn the war even, because we were relying so much on these ships bringing food and arms across the Atlantic, plus building up for D-day. And apparently, having listened to it all, Doenitz reaction was, ‘So you want to be my corporal do you?’ Or something, and he said, ‘I’ll think about it’, and he turned away and it never got thought of again, because Doenitz didn’t want to lose his position as commander of U-boats. Well that was Hermann. There was another guy who was shot down, a German pilot, fighter pilot who was shot down in the Battle of Britain, whose name again eludes me, but I think I’ve got a print that he signed for me. He was shot down and he came down unconscious and he landed on a road, and he was laid on a road, when he came to and there was a crowd of people around him, and he didn’t know whether he was in France or in Italy or where he was in the UK. So there was a guy tending to him, and the guy in German said, ‘Don’t move’, and started reassuring him that he was alright and he thought, I’m in Germany or I’m in France at least, and it turned out that the fellow that was looking after him was the son of, was it Gerald Henderson as it, who was the British ambassador in Berlin when war broke out, and the son was a doctor, who was British of course, and lived in this country and a million to one chance he, he looked after this German guy who was shot down. His daddy had been the ambassador in Berlin. So that was, that was a good one. There was Winkle Brown of course, I met him a few times. Cats-eyes Cunningham. Again these, these are not bomber names. There was the guy that flew Boxcar. It doesn’t mean a thing to you does that? This was the American that dropped the bomb, was it Hiroshima the second one? Or Nagasaki?
DE: Nagasaki was the second one.
SS: Yeah. Well Boxcar was the one that dropped the bombs. I met the pilot of that who was a very nice fella, and he told me this story that they’d had, they’d gone to one place and it was covered in mist and they couldn’t see the target, so they’d gone somewhere else and by the time they’d done what they had to do to get into position, dropped the bomb and then fly back they, they was virtually running out of fuel and they literally got back and they didn’t have enough fuel hardly to get off the main runway before it stopped. But that was — his aircraft was Boxcar. Which was, which was a good one. Jimmy Dell, there was another good name that I met several times. Jimmy Dell. Little fella. Jimmy Dell was, he was a test pilot for English Electric as it was. He test flew Lightnings in their early stages. He took over or he joined Roland Beamont who I’d met, to fly a TSR2. And TSR2 Beaumont, he was the lead, he was the chief test pilot. He was, our man was second. He — the promotion occurred and our man moved up to first position. They were, they were flying test flights from Boscombe with it. He — he was involved when it was flown from Boscombe up to Wharton. The TSR2 was flown up there to demonstrate it to the people that made it, to show how good it was, and they decided that he would fly it up over through the Welsh mountains, the TSR2, at low level. Jimmy would follow him in a Lightning as a chase plane, just in case there was anything went wrong because they were taking telemetry from it, which was in its early stages in those days. They set off and he followed. The TSR took off, he followed. He tried to follow him and he couldn’t stay with him. He had to climb up to — I don’t know — some big altitude to get because it was so much buffeting in those mountains that he couldn’t live with that. Apparently the TSR2 flew through it like butter through a knife you might say. It arrived at Wharton and had landed when Jimmy comes over with the Lightning, just caught up with him. That was a good story, but Jimmy again he told me they were, they were doing a test flight and they went in the morning, and the crew chief said, ‘We’ve got a snag. You can’t fly today I’m afraid, but come back after lunch’. So they said, ‘Right’. So him and the navigator guy that he had with him, they went off to a local pub and had a pub lunch and was playing bar billiards, and the landlord said, ‘It’s the budget day today. Do you mind if I put the radio on?’ And they said no, and they were playing, and they was making the announcements, and they announced the TSR2 was cancelled, so they grabbed their flying helmets and everything, got in their car, rushed back to the airfield, ‘Are you ready to go chief? We’re ready’. ‘Sorry. It’s all cancelled’, and they couldn’t believe, he couldn’t believe it was. They’d been told it had, was cancelled immediately apparently, so they went back to his office where he’d got all his records and everything, and his office had been ransacked. They’d took all the, all the, all the records that he’d kept of the test flying and observations, and everything on it had been taken away, leaving very little on the shelves, because that was his job as chief test pilot by that time of course. And he said it was, that was the worst day of his life. And again, he was such a nice fella. They went, they broke all the jigs and everything to make so if there was a change of government, it was Labour because Denis Healey was the man. He’d apparently said it wouldn’t be cancelled before the election to keep the unions on side, and then immediately when they were voted in, it was changed. Never forgive Denis Healey for that. Nor can I forgive Lord Louis Mountbatten, because apparently the Australians were up for buying TSR2, and Lord Louis Mountbatten bad mouthed it like crazy and they backed out, and that really helped its demise. But they’d even got to the stage that they’d got a firm making these big models of TSR2 for recruiting office windows, and they, they broke, they went into the factories where they were making these models and smashed them all up. They destroyed everything on it, and Jimmy was telling me all this and he’d got this big model, and I said, ‘Well hang on. You just told me they smashed them all up’. He said, ‘Years later this was presented to me’. It was, it had been separated from all the rest. It had a dustsheet or something over it and it survived and that was, that was that one. It came to his retirement — Jimmy, and it was his last day and there was a knock on his office door, and this fella came in with a box and some stuff in it, and he said he said Jimmy said, ‘Hello’, you know and the fella introduced himself and he said, ‘Look, I’m one of the guys that had to go in your office and extract all the paperwork on the TSR2’. He said, ‘We were instructed to take it to so and so and it was all to be burned. Shredded. Destroyed’, he said, ‘But I couldn’t do it all, so I’ve brought you this’. This is what — and he had a box full of stuff that he’d kept. Gone against orders. So Jimmy, he hasn’t said what he did with that, but I guess he gave it to some museum somewhere. But he’s not with us anymore unfortunately. He banged out of a Lightning aircraft and there’s a famous picture of a tractor in a field and a Lightning coming down nose down.
DE: I’ve seen it. Yeah.
SS: That’s Jimmy Dell banged out of that. Sorry, I’ve gone on again.
DE: That’s quite alright. That’s some wonderful stories. Been talking for over two hours and that’s two hours on the tape. There was more when it was on pause. So —
SS: Have you got any more?
DE: I’m just looking. I think we’re going to have to, going to have to call it a day there anyway, but I think we’ve covered most of the questions I’ve got written down.
SS: Yeah.
DE: Yeah. No. That’s absolutely wonderful. Thank you very much. Have you anything else that you’d like to add?
SS: Well no. Personally, I’ve done my bit to help Nicki. I’ve given her quite a lot of stuff from my own collections to sell, and I’ve arranged, before we knew that charities couldn’t give to charity, I made an arrangement with the chairman of LLA that I bought stock that was maybe worth a thousand or two for twenty five quid, which I presented then to Nicki. It cost me twenty-five quid but that’s that was my donation again. That went to the LLA to pay for these things, so that it wasn’t — can’t be logged as a gift, but we maybe needn’t have to bothered with that now, if that’s — it’s on the government website if I’ve read that correctly.
DE: Yeah. We’ll have to have a look at that.
SS: But we’ve got, we’ve got this booklet coming out on the Chadwick thing.
DE: Yes.
SS: And I told you about the university and the picture.
DE: Yes.
SS: If you, if you google Roy Chadwick and go on pictures, you’ll find there’s a picture of Roy, the Lanc and the Avro badge on a landscape type painting, which we’ve got permission to put on the, use in this book.
DE: From Manchester University.
SS: Yeah. And I would imagine that’s maybe going to be a good money spinner, because it will be a book that’s only going to cost five or six quid. I sent her an email back, thanking her so much. She’s not mentioned, I asked if there was any charge when I sent the question, if there’s any charge, please let me know. She’s not mentioned that so I sent her a message back, thank you so much for your help and we were just wondering if there was going to be a charge made for us to use this. I don’t suppose there will be though.
DE: Hopefully not. Hopefully not. Well thank you for the interview. Thank you for all you’ve done for the IBCC and the things that you’ve donated, donated for us to scan.
SS: I’m pleased to help Dan, and if I can do anything else to help while I’m mobile, I will.
DE: Smashing. Thank you very much. Right. I shall press stop.
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 Stuart Stephenson MBE
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Dan Ellin
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
2016-03-15
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
AStephensonS160315
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.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Second generation
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
02:16:01 audio recording
Description
An account of the resource
Stuart was five when war broke out and recounts some of his early memories.
In the early 1970s the Lancaster PA474 was flown to RAF Waddington from RAF Henlow ostensibly to be a gate guardian. In 1973 the Lincolnshire Echo announced that it was to be moved to RAF Coltishall. A group gradually formed to oppose the move because of the Lancaster’s connections to Waddington; the Lincolnshire Lancaster Committee. A public meeting was held and the City Council agreed to adopt the Lancaster. The Lancaster moved to RAF Coltishall. The committee collected over 17,000 signatures in 15 weeks and eventually the Lancaster returned to RAF Coningsby.
The committee became Lincolnshire’s Lancaster Association so funds could be raised. While Stuart was Chair for c. 36 years, £½ million was donated to projects, including the digitisation of manuals.
Stuart describes how unfairly he felt Bomber Command and Sir Arthur Harris were treated.
Stuart lists a large number of people he has met, received letters or signatures from.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Norfolk
England--Lincolnshire
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sally Coulter
Vivienne Tincombe
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Chadwick, Roy (1893-1947)
childhood in wartime
Goering, Hermann (1893-1946)
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Lancaster
perception of bombing war
petrol bowser
Portal, Charles (1893-1971)
RAF Coltishall
RAF Coningsby
RAF Waddington
service vehicle
Wallis, Barnes Neville (1887-1979)
-
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