? Hicks]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> A E Clark]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Winchester]]> 1945-07-26]]> A E Clark]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Baldwin]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Fife]]> Scotland--St. Andrews]]> 1943-05-19]]> A F Kendrick]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1945-10-08]]> 1939-09-03]]> 1945-10-01]]> Air Ministry]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> 1946-05-09]]> He joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 19 in 1941, but whilst he was waiting to be called up, he was helping to build a bomber station and what is now Teesside Airport, also completing work at the satellite station of Croft.
Ernie trained as a Wireless Operator, where he did well with Morse Code. He did his training in February 1942. He was sent to Evanton in Scotland, where he also trained as an Air Gunner.
He flew Proctors, Whitleys, Dominies, Avro Ansons, Halifaxes, Lancasters, Liberators and had a trip in at Catalina Flying Board. Ernie flew with 635 Squadron, which was part of the Pathfinders Force.
Ernie completed 51 Operations, flying to Stettin, Chemnitz and Hanover. He was part of the Master Bomber Crew to Dorsten, Kiel, Nuremburg, Osnabruck and Heligoland.
After the war, he was in charge of flying control in India, handling the closing of a Flying Boat base and arranging for them to be returned to the UK.
Ernie left the Royal Air Force in 1946 and returned to work as a Joiner, retiring from work at the age of 78.
]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]>
Arthur Harris]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> 1945-01-17]]> B N Wallis]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> Royalty-free permission to publish]]> Cheshire, Leonard. Correspondence]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Weybridge]]> 1944-04-17]]> Covers his operational tour and bombing operations.]]> Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Germany--Heinsberg (Heinsberg)]]> France]]> France--Beauvoir-sur-Mer]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> United States]]> Michigan--Detroit]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> France--Châlons-en-Champagne]]> France--Caen]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Flensburg]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Sylt]]> France--Somme]]> France--Aire-sur-la-Lys]]> France--Amiens]]> France--Gironde Estuary]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> France--Brest]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> France--Falaise Region]]> France--Royan]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Glasgow]]> Russia (Federation)--Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)]]> Sweden]]> Denmark]]> Sweden--Malmö]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> France--Calais]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> Europe--Kattegat Region]]> Norway]]> Norway--Oslo]]> Denmark--Frederikshavn]]> France--Strasbourg]]> Germany--Kleve (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Emmerich]]> Netherlands--Nijmegen]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> Germany--Essen]]> Netherlands--Vlissingen]]> Belgium--Charleroi]]> Germany--Leverkusen]]> Netherlands--Veere]]> Germany--Castrop-Rauxel]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Aachen Region]]> Germany--Düren (Cologne)]]> Germany--Jülich]]> Germany--Fulda]]> Germany--Bottrop]]> Germany--Osterfeld]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Australia]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> Queensland--Brisbane]]> Scotland--Inverness]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Colchester]]> Germany--Merseburg Region]]> 1944]]> Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Aberdeen]]> Scotland--Paisley]]> England--London]]> England--Thetford]]> Norway]]> Norway--Oslo]]> Germany]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Switzerland]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> England--Ely]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> England--Brighton]]> Netherlands]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Liverpool]]> Malta]]> Egypt]]> Egypt--Suez Canal]]> Western Australia--Fremantle]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> Queensland--Ipswich Region]]> Queensland--Maryborough]]> New South Wales--Cootamundra]]> Canada]]> Alberta--Edmonton]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> England--Sidmouth]]> Nova Scotia]]> C W Ashworth]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1945-08-19]]> Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> 1943-02-09]]> Command Officer 103 Squadron]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1943-04-08]]> 1943-08-31]]> Commander in Chief, Bomber Command]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> 1943-05-23]]> D M Clark]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Winchester]]> 1943-05-29]]> D M Clark]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Winchester]]> 1945-07-22]]> Daily Express]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> 1944-07-11]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Baldwin]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Hamble-le-Rice]]> Scotland--Easter Ross]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Exning]]> England--Ely]]> England--Huntingdonshire]]> England--London]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1934]]> 1937]]> 1938]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> David Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 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.]]>
David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany]]> 1938]]> 1940]]>
Dennis Moore]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Germany--Weeze]]> England--London]]> England--Wallington Garden]]> Netherlands--Zandvoort]]> England--Croydon]]> England--Hartland]]> England--Lynton]]> England--Salcombe]]> England--Amersham]]> England--Newquay]]> England--Manchester]]> Scotland--Greenock]]> United States]]> New York (State)--New York]]> Canada]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> Maine--Portland]]> New Brunswick--Shediac]]> New Brunswick--Fredericton]]> Manitoba]]> Manitoba--Brandon]]> Manitoba--Winnipeg]]> Ontario--Toronto]]> Ontario--Hamilton]]> Ontario--London]]> Alberta--Medicine Hat]]> England--Harrogate]]> Scotland--Stranraer]]> France--Angers]]> Germany--Neuss]]> England--Carlisle]]> England--Morecambe]]> Pakistan--Karachi]]> Malta]]> Egypt--Cairo]]> Burma--Rangoon]]> India--Mumbai]]> China--Guangzhou]]> China--Hainan Sheng]]> China--Hong Kong]]> India--Darjeeling]]> England--Liverpool]]> England--Hastings]]> Kenya--Nairobi]]> Italy--Verona]]> Morocco--Marrakech]]> Northern Ireland--Belfast]]> Senegal--Dakar]]> Brazil--Natal]]> Argentina--Buenos Aires]]> Turkey--İzmir]]> Israel]]> Newfoundland and Labrador--Gander]]> Greenland]]> Iceland]]> Cyprus--Nicosia]]> Iraq--Baghdad]]> Bahrain]]> England--Blandford Forum]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> England--Skellow]]> England--Worcester]]> England--Scarborough]]> England--Pershore]]> Arizona--Tucson]]> California--Vandenberg Air Force Base]]> England--Diss]]> England--Chelmsford]]> England--Basildon]]> England--St. Albans]]> England--Slough]]> England--Letchworth]]> England--Stevenage]]> France--Calais]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Essen]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> Germany--Solingen]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Wanne-Eickel]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Bocholt]]> Germany--Salzgitter]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Potsdam]]> England--Coventry]]> England--London]]> Germany--Wuppertal]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Québec--Montréal]]> India--Kolkata]]> Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Vietnam--Ho Chi Minh City]]> England--Southend-on-Sea]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> Italy]]> France]]> Arizona]]> California]]> Maine]]> New York (State)]]> Egypt]]> Ontario]]> Québec]]> New Brunswick]]> Alberta]]> Newfoundland and Labrador]]> Germany]]> Brazil]]> Burma]]> China]]> Cyprus]]> India]]> Iraq]]> Kenya]]> Netherlands]]> Pakistan]]> Turkey]]> Great Britain]]> Vietnam]]> Senegal]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Cumberland]]> England--Devon]]> England--Essex]]> England--Herefordshire]]> England--Kent]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Northumberland]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--London]]> Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)]]> Donald Briggs]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> France--Tours]]> Germany]]> France]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944]]> 1944-06]]> 1944-07]]> 1944-07-18]]> 1944-07-30]]> 1944-08]]> 1944-08-07]]> 1944-08-08]]> 1944-08-15]]> 1945]]> E Donaldson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Reading]]> 1943-05-18]]> E M Edwards]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Oxshott]]> 1943-05-13]]> E P Mackay]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> 1945-08-04]]>