Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany--Mönchengladbach]]> 1939]]> 1942]]> 1944]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]> Ian Archer Wynn]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> In about 2006, Jill made contact with the 153 Squadron Association and through it, with two of Frank’s former crew. She became involved in the running of the Association and remains Honorary Secretary.
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Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Second generation]]> Great Britain]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
Jack was posted to the Second Anti-Aircraft Workshop at Callington and then the 469 Searchlight Battery ‘A’ Troop headquarters at Clovelly. Jack also went to 335 Battery at South Molton. Describes a homing beam system to guide aircraft back to the airfield noting that many pilots came to thank the searchlight crew after the first thousand bomber raid. A searchlight detachment normally comprised 12 men with specific roles, but each could do the other’s job. The searchlights were 90cm or 150cm and the latter were normally mounted and mobile.
Jack was also stationed with the 470 Battery in Norfolk where he believes he was one of the first to see Window’s effect on radar. He was posted to East Walton and one site was on the Sandringham estate.
Jack was then stationed at Hemel Hepmstead, was posted back to Arminghall and subsequently Hucknall. He became part of a new unit, 469 Advanced Base Workshops, and went to India and Singapore. His return home was on the record breaking run on the Andes and was demobilised in 1947.
Jack then worked as a power station chemist in Nottingham. He recalls seeing the first jet propelled engine in 1941 in Hucknall where there was a test centre.]]>
Steve Cooke]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams ]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Burma]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> Singapore]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
Ian Locker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> India--Darjeeling]]> India--Kanpur (District)]]> India--Kolkata]]> 1946]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> Germany]]> Germany--Dresden]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1940-10]]> 1945-02]]> 1946]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> Wales--Pembrokeshire]]> England--Cumbria]]> Mediterranean Sea]]> India]]> Canada]]> Alberta]]> North Africa]]> Morocco]]> Morocco--Rabat]]> Italy]]> Egypt]]> India]]> 1942]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Georgie Donaldson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> 1940]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Second generation]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Manchester]]> Canada]]> Nova Scotia]]> United States]]> Florida]]> Germany]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Italy]]> Italy--Milan]]> Netherlands]]> England--Rutland]]> Germany--Hesse]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Lancashire]]> China--Hong Kong]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> 1942-12]]> 1943-02]]> 1943-03-11]]> 1943-05-12]]> 1944-06-22]]> Margaret was about eleven when an aerodrome was built a couple of fields away. When she heard the Lancasters take off she would run upstairs to watch from the open window and wave to the crew. She would write the aircraft number in a book and lie awake at night listening for them to return. She remembered a German aircraft flying low to take pictures of the station and then being shot down over Lincoln. Margaret’s parents took in an evacuee before the RAF Fiskerton was built. On a Saturday morning the village children would collect salvage in wheelbarrows and take it to a shed where it would be sorted by the adults. She recalled the time when there was an explosion which blew the house door in. When Margaret was fourteen she worked in Cherry Willingham Post Office and shop. Margaret’s father worked at the forge doing war work and was also in the Home Guard. She remembered he had once been shot at by a German plane but wasn’t injured as he dived into a barn. Margaret’s mother helped with the whist drives and dances in the village hall.
]]>
Suzanne Bellhouse]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]>
Hugh Donnelly]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Cyril was chosen to move to 617 Squadron as an armourer when the squadron formed at RAF Scampton. He met Barnes Wallis and knew Guy Gibson, often taking his dog for a walk. Cyril flew in one of the Lancasters as they carried out a test run over the Derwent Water dam. Cyril's memory of the day of Eder, Möhne and Sorpe operation was marred by a tragic event at the base. His friend had a 'dear John' letter from his girlfriend and took his own life in front of Cyril. After the war Cyril moved to Canada and was involved with the destruction of war equipment not longer needed. He was saddened by the fact that along with armaments, they had to destroy clothing which would have been gratefully received by families in England. During his periods of leave he and fellow RAF colleagues went to New York. They were treated in his words like 'Royalty' and put up in hotels for free and were introduced to Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Cyril also remembers going up the Empire State Building when later the same day a B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into it in during thick fog. Cyril return by Ship to England in September 1946.
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Susanne Pescott]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Illinois--Chicago]]> New York (State)--New York]]> Illinois]]> New York (State)]]>
Helen Durham]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams ]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Coventry]]> England--Skegness]]> England--Warwickshire]]> 1940]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jim Sheach]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany--Darmstadt]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Northern Ireland--Down (County)]]> Great Britain]]> 1943-09]]> 1944]]> Rob Scott]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sam Harper-Coulson]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> 1943-11-18]]> 1943-11-19]]> Jennifer Barraclough]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Italy--Turin]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943-02-04]]> 1943-06-21]]> Jennifer Barraclough]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> Spain]]> New Zealand]]> Gibraltar]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--London]]> France--Toulouse]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> 1942]]> He met his future wife in the Unity bar in Lincoln.
Reg survived a crash on a fighter training session when four of his aircrew died.
He also survived ten operations to Berlin. On one operation they were shot up and lost a lot of fuel and had to make an emergency landing at RAF Wittering where no one could be found because they were at a party, on base.
Arriving back on another operation they found everywhere fogged in but landed at RAF Melbourne where they had to stay for a few days until the fog cleared. They had no clothes to change into, no money and no toothbrushes.
After one operation they landed safely and on powering down the aircraft a bomb, which should have been dropped over Germany, came free and rattled down the bomb bay without exploding.
Once they came back with a large hole in the wing, made by a bomb.
On another op they shot down a JU-88 night fighter.
Bombing operations were directed by a Master Bomber who set flares.
Reg and Fred were given Lincoln Imps as mascots but the night Fred died he had left his mascot on another tunic.
He describes the landing procedures when 40 Lancasters arrive back at the same time, most low on fuel.
His navigator, Fl Lt Frank Swingerd calculated winds aloft and Reg transmitted these to 5 Group aircraft.
He describes the various operating areas of the crew on board the Lancaster.]]>
Reg Payne]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Rutland]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> Germany]]> 1943]]>
By June 1943 Reg is at RAF Cottesmore, 14 Operational Training Unit.
He details his daily tasks before operations.
Next he is moved to RAF Wigsley Heavy Conversion Unit for conversion to Halifaxes then Lancasters then ended up at RAF Skellingthorpe.
The social life at Skellingthorpe is popular and he met his first wife.
November 1943 his brother is missing over Dusseldorf.
Each operation he was involved in is described in detail.
Later in his memoir he details where and when he trained.
There is a list of prisoners of war from his squadron and a colour photograph of Reg and two colleagues at the tail of Lancaster 'Just Jane'.
There is a list of Reg's paintings.
He details his post war service via Libya, Cairo, Iran, India and Karachi, ending up at 56 Forward Repair Unit in Rangoon.
In June 1946 he returned to the UK by ship.]]>
Reg Payne]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> British Army]]> Belgium]]> Burma]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Burma--Rangoon]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> France--Paris]]> France--Toulouse]]> Germany--Aachen]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> France--Marseille]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> Germany--Wolfenbüttel]]> Poland]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1944-03-30]]> 1944-03-31]]> 1944-04-05]]> 1944-04-06]]> 1944-04-18]]> 1944-04-19]]> 1945]]> 1946]]>
Andrew Cowley]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Sally Coulter]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Egypt]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Middle East--Palestine]]> North Africa]]> Mike Connock]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Nick Cornwell-Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Sheffield]]> Germany]]> 1939]]> 1952]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> 1944-03-15]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> Germany--Merseburg]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Harold Gorton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cumbria]]> 1943-07]]> He discusses his time in flight engineer training at RAF St Athan and subsequent duties as a flight engineer on Halifax and Lancaster aircraft with 1662 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Blyton. He recalls the operational duties with 550 Squadron, North Killingholme where he took part in four bombing operations - 2 of them at night raids (close to 9 hour round trips), and operations over Heligoland and Bremen.
He reflects on the differences he encountered as a flight engineer between the Halifax and Lancaster, how the Halifax was spacious and comfortable; the Lancaster cramped and only a small tip-up seat for his flight engineer position.
He talks about the main memory of his time in the RAF, Operational Mana, and his later conversations with a lady from Holland who was 8 years old at the time. He retrained as an MT driver when his Squadron was disbanded and was demobilised in October 1947.
Maurice later reaffirmed his affiliation with the RAF. In later years, he moved to Rutland and retired from his last job as a mechanical foreman at RAF Cottesmore in the 1980s.]]>
David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Chris Cann]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]>