Browse Items (110 total)

  • Tags: RAF East Kirkby

PPackmanDE1601.jpg
Doug grew up in Kent. He joined the Royal Air Force at 18, as a flight engineer for 630 Squadron at RAF East Kirkby in 5 Group Bomber Command, flying Lancasters. He carried out 34 operations, followed by time as an instructor at RAF Syerston,…

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Arthur Woolf was working in an office before he volunteered for the RAF. He was keen on flying and would cycle to Castle Bromwich airfield to watch the aircraft. He was accepted for aircrew training and became a wireless operator. After joining a…

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ECooperGRHobbsK440321-0001.jpg
Letter from Reverend Squadron Leader G R Cooper RAF East Kirkby to Mrs Hobbs, expressing sympathy that Frank Hobbs was reported missing from air operations over Stuttgart on night 15/16 March 1944. Writes of importance of work a wireless operator and…

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EHobbsFJStorerB[Date]-030001.jpg
Apologising for no letter and a long time since leave. Writes about shows they have seen and those they will see on next leave and asks how things are going at school.

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EHobbsKMHobbsFJ440215-0001.jpg
Starts with discussion about laundry. Mentions she enjoyed reading about his sporting adventures. Catches up with family news and possibility of her coming up to see him, though this would be difficult to arrange. Writes of letters from other…

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ABradfordS161031.mp3
Stanley Bradford was working in a Reserved Occupation until he volunteered. The three services were represented but as he approached them in turn the army and navy both rejected him because of his work. The RAF said that since he was in Reserved…

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EYeatsAFHobbsK440316-0001.jpg
Informs Mrs K Hobbs that her husband Flight Sergeant Frank J Hobbs is missing in action on night of 15/16 March 1944. Offers possibility that crew were able to abandon aircraft. Mentions that the request in previous telegram was included to avoid…

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LHobbsFJ1262633v1.pdf
Observers and air gunners flying log book for Frank Hobbs, wireless operator, covering the period from 15 March 1941 to 16 March 1943 when he was killed in action. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Pembrey,…

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MHobbsFJ1262633-160404-040001.jpg
Inside table for amounts paid. One entry for nine shillings on 24 February 1944. On the reverse RAF East Kirkby stamp.

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PStorerB1616.jpg
Wallet with good luck black cat card and photograph of a young girl inside. In front a driving licence and a sergeants mess subscription book from RAF East Kirkby.

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ATaylorDP181017.mp3
Doug Taylor already had a pilot’s licence when he volunteered as RAF aircrew. However, he considered the prospect of lengthy training ahead to join the RAF as a pilot and thought the war might end before he’d had a chance to join and so he…

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BFraserDKFraserDKv1.pdf
Memoir describing his life and service career in the RAF. He also gives a list of 29 operations he participated in with notes on specific operations, and recounts a brief history of the Lancaster.

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BPayneRPayneRv1.pdf
A detailed account of Reg Payne's service in the RAF. He starts with a list of 18 RAF bases where he served in his 5 years of service. He was 16 when war was declared but volunteered for the RAF at 17. After tests he was selected for training as a…

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BPayneRPayneRv2.pdf
An account by Reg Payne of his wartime experiences. Too young to sign up at the start of the war he spent two years in the Home Guard. Training started at age 18 and lasted for two years. He served at RAF Skellingthorpe and his brother served at RAF…

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PCookJH1701.jpg
Completing school and moving on to work at 20th Century Fox Films, he worked as a fire watcher at the beginning of the war before joining the Royal Air Force. He states that he did that because he always wanted to fly and didn’t want to join the…

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AGillRA-JT170930.mp3
Peter Hazeldene joined the RAF from Wales when he saw a poster to see the world from a different perspective. He trained as a wireless operator and during training suspected a couple of incidents of sabotage on the base. Peter was posted to 106…

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PHanksJ1602.jpg
John Hanks joined the RAF and served as an armourer. Describes his role and his duties. Tells of his posting at Swinderby and East Kirkby. Gives a graphic and vivid account of an aircraft crash at RAF Swinderby. Describes comradeship between ground…

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PHolmanR1801.jpg
Robert Holman was born and brought up in Leeds. He joined the Air Training Corps, enjoying camps at RAF Pocklington. On leaving school at fourteen he went to work in the shoe industry. He then joined the Royal Air Force as an engineer on ground…

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PMaconachieN1601.jpg
Norm Maconachie volunteered for aircrew as soon as he was of age having already been a member of the Air Training Corps. While sailing to the UK he was woken at 3am to the sound of the guns on the Aquitania firing on a Focke Wulf Condor which was on…

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PMarshGT1801.jpg
George’s family lived on a farm at Bassingham Fen. His earliest memory of the war was when he was about two and a half, his father pointing out a Lancaster flying over. On 5 November 1944, EH977 Stirling crash-landed nearby and he saw the massive…

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PStevensS-M1601.jpg
Sidney was inspired to join The Air Force when he was working as an Air Raid Precaution Warden and one night his own home was bombed. The house next door was also destroyed and the lady who had offered him a cup of tea only hours earlier died. He…

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PStonemanMW1801.jpg
Maurice Stoneman was posted to 57 Squadron at RAF East Kirkby as the flight engineer on Lancasters in 1943. He recalls that on returning from operations they used to fly around the Boston Stump and around Lincoln Cathedral before finally landing. In…

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LBeethamMJ[Ser#-DoB]v1.pdf
Pilots flying log book one for Michael James Beetham, covering the period from 2 March 1942 to 17 November 1945. Detailing his flying training. Operations flown, instructor duties and post war squadron duties. He was stationed at RAF Perth, USAAC…

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PSpencerGC1901.jpg
Geoffrey Spencer grew up in Birmingham and worked with his father in tool making, carrying out fire watching as a youngster. He joined the Air Force aged 18 in August 1943. After training he served as a flight mechanic and fitter with 49 Squadron at…

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LPayneAJ1315369v1.pdf
South African Air Force observers or air gunners log book for Alan John Payne, navigator, covering the period from 7 November 1942 to 8 August 1946. Detailing his flying training, operations flown, instructor duties and post war squadron duties. He…

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