Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Czech Republic]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> Norway]]> Poland]]> Czech Republic--Chomutov]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Harburg (Landkreis)]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Germany--Kaiserslautern]]> Germany--Sassnitz]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> Norway--Tønsberg]]> Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1944-09-27]]> 1944-09-28]]> 1944-10-05]]> 1944-10-06]]> 1944-10-07]]> 1944-10-11]]> 1944-10-14]]> 1944-10-15]]> 1944-10-30]]> 1944-11-01]]> 1944-11-02]]> 1945-02-07]]> 1945-02-08]]> 1945-02-09]]> 1945-02-13]]> 1945-02-14]]> 1945-02-15]]> 1945-03-03]]> 1945-03-04]]> 1945-03-06]]> 1945-03-07]]> 1945-03-08]]> 1945-03-11]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-04-19]]> 1945-04-25]]> 1945-04-26]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Bedford]]> 1946-07-23]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Baldwin]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Bedford]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Derbyshire]]> England--Kent]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Folkestone]]> England--Spurn Head]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> 1942]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Adams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> Bill joined 138 Squadron at RAF Tempsford. He carried out 32 operations in Belgium, France, Germany, Holland and Norway. Flying low, they dropped agents and supplies. He describes the clandestine liaison with resistance groups. On long flights to southern France, they would refuel at RAF Blida in North Africa. He also discusses carrying pigeons for intelligence gathering. Bill recounts how their aircraft was shot down on one occasion, returning from RAF Blida. On his return, Bill changed to Stirling aircraft which he very much liked. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal in July 1944.
Finishing the Second World War as a flight lieutenant, he was sent to RAF Yatesbury working on codes and ciphers. He went to Belgium, Cyprus, Germany and Singapore. He worked at the Missing Research and Enquiry Unit in Belgium and finished at RAF St Mawgan having been served for 37 years.]]>
Rod Pickles]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Northern Ireland--Down (County)]]> Belgium]]> Cyprus]]> France]]> Germany]]> Netherlands]]> North Africa]]> Norway]]> Singapore]]> 1944-07]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Susanne Pescott]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> CC BY-NC 4.0 International license]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Denmark]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Denmark--Copenhagen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Germany--Rostock]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941]]> 1944]]> 1945-02-14]]> Susanne Pescott]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Bahamas]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> Sri Lanka]]> Singapore]]> United States]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> Bahamas--Nassau]]> Bahamas]]> Italy]]> Italy--Mount Etna]]> India--Chennai]]> 1940]]> 1942-02-26]]> 1943-06-24]]> 1944-01-16]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> When Jim was about 18, he was called up to go to RAF Halton for aircraft training, after which he was sent for further training at RAF Abingdon Operational Training Unit on Hampden and Witney aircraft. He was then sent back to RAF Halton to do a fitter course and then posted to 23 Operational Training Unit at RAF Pershore working on Wellingtons. After training Jim became a leading aircraftman. In September 1943 Jim was posted to 206 Squadron on the Wirral for about two weeks. The outfit totalled about 1,000 people from the Air Force, Army and Navy. His unit was then sent to the Liverpool docks to join the troop ship Laconia heading for Bangor and then on to Azores where 8206 Maintenance Unit built an Air Force station and runway. They stayed in tents with eight people for up to a year. Over Christmas Jim was in a Portuguese hospital for about three days with a broken finger. The unit went to Casablanca then to Cornwall just before D-Day. He was put on night shift at RAF St Mawgan with 206 Squadron working on Liberators. Following a trip to Scotland they were posted at Dundee with an air salvaging and servicing unit. Here he was made acting corporal and worked with 31 Dakota Squadron. When the war ended, he was flown to Singapore, got a boat to Southampton and was discharged to complete his apprenticeship as a joiner. Jim re-joined the Air Force and went back to RAF Swinderby for four years working on Wellingtons. There he met his future wife. In 1951 the unit went to Singapore to work on Sunderlands before being posted back home. Jim left in 1966 and worked for AV Roe until joining ICL in a management job. ]]> Martyn Horndern]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Wirral]]> Scotland]]> Scotland--Dundee]]> Azores]]> North Africa]]> Morocco]]> Morocco--Casablanca]]> Singapore]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1943]]> 1943-09]]> 1943-12]]> 1966]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Emily Jennings]]> eng]]> Map]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Emily Jennings]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Devon]]> England--Newton Abbot]]> 1940-10]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> Judy Hodgson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Baldwin]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> Northern Ireland]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Peterborough]]> England--London]]> England--St. Neots]]> Middle East--Palestine]]> Nigeria]]> Great Britain]]> Great Britain]]> England--Huntingdonshire]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1998]]> 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]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sam Harper-Coulson ]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> British Army]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Skegness]]> England--London]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Arnhem]]> 1941-03]]> 1943]]> At the outbreak of war, he left the Post Office and was employed building naval vessels at a boat yard on the Thames in Chertsey. It was here that he first heard about RAF Air Sea Rescue, which he successfully enrolled into. Following training at various establishments he was posted to Newhaven on High Speed Launch 190 as a gunner.
Lawrence describes rescue operations: a Spitfire leading them to an airman in a dinghy; a Wellington aircrew rescued close to Le Havre on 17 July 1943; a German wireless operator who baled out from a downed Ju 88 and his parachute being divided amongst the crew, and finally rescuing the United States serviceman T G Giles who baled out of a P-38.
Occasionally they would come across mines that had broken free. These would be guarded until the Navy arrived and detonated them. This would result in the surface being covered in stunned fish which the crew would be able to scoop up.]]>
David Meanwell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> British Army]]> Royal Navy]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Chertsey]]> England--Great Yarmouth]]> England--Newhaven]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> France]]> France--Le Havre]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Surrey]]> 1943-07-17]]> 1944-03-16]]>
Jennifer Barraclough]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Egypt]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Malta]]> North Africa]]> Egypt--Suez Canal Region]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Libya]]> Libya--Bardiyah]]> 1942-05-30]]> 1942-06-11]]> David Meanwell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Alberta--Calgary]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Brighton]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> 1942-12-19]]> 1945-03-05]]> 1945-03-07]]> 1945-03-27]]> 1946-11-25]]> Susanne Pescott]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Burma]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Denise Boneham]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Cyprus]]> Egypt]]> Great Britain]]> Libya]]> North Africa]]> Cyprus--Nicosia]]> Egypt--Cairo]]> Egypt--Port Said]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Essex]]> England--Hertfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Surrey]]> Libya--Banghāzī]]> 1945]]> 1947]]> B Goodman]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ashley Jacobs]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Peterborough]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Woodley (Wokingham)]]> Canada]]> Ontario--Kingston]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> United States]]> New York (State)--New York]]> Germany]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> France--Brest]]> Germany--Berchtesgaden]]> Russia (Federation)]]> Russia (Federation)--Arkhangelʹskai︠a︡ oblastʹ]]> France]]> New York (State)]]> Ontario]]> Nova Scotia]]> Russia (Federation)]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Tilly Foster]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Second generation]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Pforzheim]]> 1920]]> 1927]]> 1940-06]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944-11-03]]> 1945-02-23]]> 1945-02-24]]> 1945-05]]> Harry Bartlett]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Singapore]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>