#1 and 2 are of the village sign outside the Skellingthorpe Village Hall.
#3 is a view of the memorial with the wreaths left at the ceremony.
#4 and 5 are the standards and attendees at the unveiling.
#6 and 7 are during the ceremony with an RAF officer and and the Bishop of Lincoln speaking in turn.
#8 is the memorial being unveiled.
#9 is a close up of the 50 squadron crest.
#10 is a close up of the 61 squadron crest.
#11 is a close up of 61 squadron motto and bases.
#12 is a close up of 50 squadron motto and bases.
#13 is taken during the ceremony.
#14 is the text on the memorial obelisk.
#15 is the text on the reverse of the obelisk.

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50 and 61 Squadron Memorial Committee]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lincoln]]> 1989-06-03]]>
The first is a Thanksgiving at Lincoln Minster and the second is a Dedication at Coningsby.]]> 83 Squadron]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lincoln]]> 1978-11-05]]> A C H Sharpe]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> Royalty-free permission to publish]]> Cheshire, Leonard. Correspondence]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1944-06-03]]> A E Koota]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Roger Dunsford]]> Royalty-free permission to publish]]> Cheshire, Leonard. Correspondence]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> A M Laughland]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1943-09-15]]>
This item is available only at the International Bomber Command Centre / University of Lincoln. ]]>
A V Roe & Co Limited]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Training material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1941-11]]>
A.O.C. No 5 Group]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ashley Jacobs]]> David Bloomfield]]> Georgie Donaldson]]> Royalty-free permission to publish]]> Cheshire, Leonard. Bombing of the Samur tunnel (8/9 June 1944)]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> France--Saumur]]> 1944-06-08]]> 1944-06-09]]> Anna Hoyles]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jackie Simpson]]> Terry Holmes]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Anna Hoyles]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Sylt]]> Egypt]]> Egypt--Cairo]]> North Africa]]> Iraq]]> Iraq--Mosul]]> Anna Hoyles]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Brazil]]> Chile]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Peru]]> Chile--Santiago]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> B Pilbeam]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jan Waller]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> Carolyn Pritchard]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France--Paris]]> Great Britain]]> England--Liverpool]]> Wales--Y Felinheli]]> France--Étampes (Essonne)]]> France]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1944-06-09]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> Janet McGreevy]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Congo (Democratic Republic)]]> Zimbabwe]]> Cyprus]]> Cuba]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1945-05]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Second generation]]> Royal Air Force]]> Falkland Islands]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1979]]> Recruited as an engine fitter he trained at St. Athans and then volunteered for flying duties as it was a quick promotion. Because of his engineering background his flight engineering training was reduced to two weeks
He was then posted to RAF Swinderby to fly the Manchester and then to 97 squadron, which became a Pathfinder squadron, at RAF Woodhall Spa alongside 617 Squadron. In May 1943 the squadron moved to RAF Bourne and he was promoted to warrant officer. Henry was happy to stay as an NCO and did not welcome more responsibility.
After his first tour he was rested for six months as a senior instructor at 1661 HCU unit at RAF Winthorpe flying the Stirling. He compares flying the Lancaster and Stirling in some detail.
He returned to operational flying and recalls bombing La Spezia and landing in North Africa where his aircraft went u/s but he repaired it himself in order to return home.
Henry remembers that there were no great celebrations on VE day and he was demobbed in February 1946.
After a period in civilian life, Henry re-enlisted in the RAF in September 1948 as a corporal fitter and was posted to Malaya and Singapore. He left the RAF again in 1952 and then worked for Rolls Royce for 26 years, working on Merlin engines.
]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Terry Holmes]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Italy]]> Italy--La Spezia]]> North Africa]]> Singapore]]> Malaya]]> 1940]]> 1942]]> 1943-05-19]]> 1943-05]]> 1940-04]]> 1946-02]]> 1948-09]]> 1952]]>

Part 1. Bob Panton was a child during the war. One day as his father was coming towards their house Bob saw three Dornier 17 come into view. Then out of the sun came six Spitfires and a battle started in front of him. Bob saw the Dorniers shot down and rushed to the crash site with his friend to see the site. Of the surviving German aircrew one was taken to the local cottage hospital where he spat in the face of the nurse. Bob’s brother was a rear gunner in a Wellington and was traumatised when the Perspex in his turret was shot away around him. Bob joined the ATC at the earliest opportunity before joining the RAF proper and training to be a pilot. He took part in the Berlin Airlift.

Part 2. Bob Panton was fascinated with aircraft ever since a friend of his brother gave him a taxi ride on his Avro 504k. After his wartime experiences in his childhood Bob joined the RAF and trained as a pilot. He took part in the Berlin Airlift. In later years Bob became a guide showing visitors around the aircraft of the museum and hearing their own stories and experiences. ]]>
Claire Bennett]]> This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany--Berlin]]>
Claire Bennett]]> This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--The Wash]]> Claire Bennett]]> This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending OH transcription. Allocated]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated C Campbell]]> KC: Ok. Hello. This is Wing Commander Ken Cook DFC. I joined the Royal Air Force in October 1941, U/T air crew and after training in Canada I came, returned back to the UK, commissioned as a young pilot officer air bomber and went through various conversion training courses in the UK and eventually joined up with a crew. And our first squadron was Number 9 Squadron at Bardney in Lincolnshire flying Lancasters in Number 5 Group of Bomber Command. After about ten ops with 9 Squadron we were as a crew recruited by the Pathfinder Force which was based in Cambridgeshire and so we were as a crew posted to do additional specialised training as at that time new radar equipment was being brought in and introduced to Bomber Command and in my case it was my job to learn the gadgets known as H2S, Gee and Loran. So, my role changed from being a straightforward air bomber to becoming a radar navigator and air bomber and so it was my job particularly to work the H2S which had a capability for uses in airborne navigation device. And of course, also it’s main role with the Pathfinders was, was identifying German targets and it enabled the Pathfinder crews to find the German targets and to mark them with target indicators so that the main force crews of Bomber Command coming in behind us could identify where the target was and very often bombing on our markers. So we had to be very accurate how we dropped them and where we dropped them and I did this, I ended up doing a total of forty five ops, thirty five of those was as a member of a Pathfinder crew. We eventually having started out with the Pathfinders at Bourn in Cambridgeshire my squadron were then deployed in about April of ’44 to Coningsby in Lincolnshire to join with Number 83 Squadron that had been posted up there from Wyton. And our job was to work with the special force under Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire who was devising a system of finding the targets where the Germans where assembling V weapons on the French coast and in Belgium. And our job was to illuminate the target with parachute flares so that he trained a special force of Mosquito dive bombers that could lay the target markers in these tunnels so that our main force crews from 5 Group and other Groups could come over and do area or intensive accurate bombing as well on these targets. And I completed my forty fifth op in 1944 and was posted to RAF Fiskerton in Lincolnshire as the station radar nav officer. My job was to, we had two squadrons there, 49 and 189 and my job was to fly with these crews and check them out on their ability to use their radar equipment because now the main force were getting the same sort of radar gear that the Pathfinders had had for some time. And so it was my job to make sure the air crew when they, before they went on ops could operate their new radar equipment. And I stayed there for a year or two and eventually was posted to Headquarters, Number 1 Group at Bawtry as the Group radar navigation officer. My job was to oversee all the squadrons, all the Lancaster squadrons in 1 Group to ensure that the crews were properly trained in operating their radar equipment. Can I stop there? Right. Let’s carry on then.
[pause]
On some of the incidents that come to mind one in particular because the Lancaster bomber we all wear warm clothing because the, in the middle of winter the temperatures in the aircraft could become extremely low and in fact if you had to use the elsan at the back of the aircraft it would be extremely low and freezing. And on one occasion I was forced to go back there and use the elsan and I discovered the temperature was minus fifty three degrees Celsius and of course, in having to use the elsan and lower the clothing etcetera I found that my bottom was sticking to the seat to a little bit when I tried to stand up. But I had to stand up because at that time the skipper was calling me, ‘Come on, Ken. We’re only ten miles from the target.’ So I had to hurry up and get back. But in doing so I experienced a little a bit of pain [laughs] in certain lower regions. The other, some of the other aspects of my career was at having completed forty five ops I was then sent off to do jobs as I mentioned with other stations and other squadrons and taking me to the end of the war I applied for a Short Service Commission and this was granted. And after a couple of years the Air Ministry offered me a peacetime Permanent Commission which I accepted and I was down the rank of flight lieutenant and so I then was asked to move out from Bomber Command and become trained with peacetime navigation courses and I thought well, perhaps I’m going to shoot now into somewhere like Transport Command but none of it. Having completed my peacetime navigation course I was then asked by Air Ministry to go through the night fighter OCU at Leeming where I was then trained again to become a navigator radar operator with the AI equipment on night fighters. And so after the appropriate course at Leeming I was then posted to 23 Squadron at Coltishall on Mosquito Mark 36s and I flew with them for about two and a half years until one day I was told that I was to go back to Leeming as a squadron leader to set up the ground school for the introduction of the first jet night fighters. The Meteor NF11 was coming in and I was to head up the ground school with the expansion of the RAFs night fighter force both in the UK and Germany and also the odd squadron in Malta and Cyprus. And so I did that job for about two years and eventually was posted to RAF Newton which was then the headquarters of 12 Fighter Group as the Group navigation officer. And I did the staff duties there but also managed to keep on flying with some of the squadrons in 12 Group, night fighter squadrons until eventually one day the AOC asked me would I like to go back on a squadron as a flight commander. And so the AOC of 12 Group had me posted back to West Malling where I became a flight commander on number 85 Squadron as a navigator which was an unusual post which I enjoyed. And I did that for just over a year and one day the AOC of 11 Group sent for me and said, ‘Cook, do you think you could command a night fighter squadron?’ I said, 'Yes sir.’ He said, ‘Well, you’ve got one tomorrow. ‘You’re going to become a wing commander.’ And so I did that and I became the CO of one of the other squadrons at West Malling called 153 and I was made an acting wing commander and only had that job for about a couple of months when they decided to close the airfield because our flights were getting involved with civil aircraft flying in from the continent, particularly at night. And so they closed the airfield at West Malling and I, and I took 153 Squadron up to Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire and stayed with them for a while and eventually we changed our number to become 25 Squadron. And I completed my two years with the 25 squadron, 153/25 squadron and then one day I was told, ‘You’re going to the staff college.’ And I thought oh I’m going to learn to read and write again. But I did a one year course at the Staff College at Bracknell and after that the Air Ministry in their wisdom said, ‘You’ve done enough flying you’ve got to do an admin job.’ So they posted me and my wife to Aden as a wing commander in the organization branch which was concerned with improving the airfields throughout the Aden Protectorate and then up in the Gulf. So I did that for about two years and then I came back. I’m not quite sure what to do after that but I eventually did a job as the staff officer to the Home Commander, Home Defence Forces which was an organisation which has now been set up to deal with what would happen if there was a nuclear attack on Britain and what would the Air Force be doing to help out. And one of my jobs was to get involved with working out plans on that. And things have gradually moved along until eventually I decided to take early retirement and I left the RAF after twenty six years service in 1947.
Interviewer: And to go back to your, your Bomber Command days it’s always very interesting how the crews got together I think. Now, were you, how did you? I know you go into a sort of a hangar sort of thing and you mill around. There’s no organisation. Were you expecting that or, and did you know somebody? How did your crew come together?
KC: Well, when you got in the early stages of training you started to think about crewing up when you were flying on Wellingtons. You went, in my case I went to Cottesmore which was number 14 OTU and there you meet up with pilots, the wireless operator, straight navigator, air gunners. They were all brought in there and you’d chat with them and eventually you agreed to form a crew. And that’s what we did.
Interviewer: And it proved satisfactory.
KC: Yeah.
Interviewer: Didn’t it?
KC: For instance my skipper was an Australian.
Interviewer: Ah.
KC: Yeah. I was a West Country Gloucestershire man. The other navigator was a Yorkshire man. The mid-upper gunner was a Canadian. The wireless operator was a Londoner and the tail gunner was a Scotsman. That was my crew.
Interviewer: League of Nations.
KC: Yeah.
Interviewer: And you obviously all got on and you all gelled.
KC: We gelled. Yes. Yes. We stayed together for forty five trips. Yeah.
Interviewer: And you’ve mentioned Leonard Cheshire. Did you have much to do with him?
KC: Well, now Leonard Cheshire was based at Woodhall Spa but once we started and once my squadron had come up from 8 Group and we were now at Coningsby with alongside 83, the Pathfinder Squadron when we had briefings on a pre-briefing on a raid Cheshire would come in to see, hear to the breifing. But he particularly once we’d done the raid he would come back because often he would go on the raid himself. He would come back and listen to the debriefing and if things were not coming out clear from the debriefing of the crews he would cut in to explain what was going on where he was concerned in the air. To sort out any, so the intelligence people doing the debriefing could get a more accurate story of what was happening over the other side.
Interviewer: Did you form any opinions of him as a —
KC: Oh, he was the top boy really. Yes. He was, he had tremendous respect from all the all the, all the aircrew like myself.
Interviewer: Yes, so —
KC: What he was and what he did and of course he did a hundred ops, didn’t he?
Interviewer: He did.
KC: Yeah. Can I stop now?
Interviewer: Yeah [laughs] That was Wing Commander Kenneth Cook DFC, retired RAF Bomber Command talking at Thorpe Camp on the 24th Of September about his wartime experiences. Thank you, Wing Commander.]]>
eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1941]]> 1944]]>
Claire Monk]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Royalty-free permission to publish]]> Cheshire, Leonard. Correspondence]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1943-11-26]]> D D Christie]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> Royalty-free permission to publish]]> Cheshire, Leonard. Correspondence]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1944-06-02]]> D J Hegarty]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jan Waller]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1944-07-02]]> Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Dawn Studd]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 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.]]>
Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Second generation]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Lincolnshire]]>
Jimmy refers to several operations with 83 Squadron to places in Norway and Germany, including cross country runs across France and Belgium. They experienced being hit by anti-aircraft fire. The final operation was to Tønsberg in Norway. They also jettisoned incendiaries into the North Sea. Jimmy moved from 83 Squadron to RAF Coningsby, followed by RAF Finningley, a Bomber Command instructors’ course, and RAF North Luffenham, a Heavy Conversion Unit. Jimmy did a number of trips to RAF Moreton in the Marsh; to dump aircraft. He was at Cambridge when demobilised.]]> Dave Pilsworth]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Rutland]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Norway--Tønsberg]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> France]]> Belgium]]> Germany]]>