At the end there is a biography of the officer in charge of Arnhem, Lt-Gen Sir Frederick Browning and his wife Daphne du Maurier.]]> Roger Millington]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> British Army]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Free French Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Letchworth]]> Wales--Bridgend]]> Wales--Penrhos]]> Egypt--Heliopolis (Extinct city)]]> Singapore]]> France--Cherbourg]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> France--Brest]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> France--Dunkerque]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> France--Brest]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Italy--Turin]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> France--L'Isle-Adam]]> France--Quiberon]]> France--Boulogne-Billancourt]]> Germany--Essen]]> France--Le Creusot]]> Germany--Leverkusen]]> France--Caen]]> Netherlands--Arnhem]]> Norway]]> Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Rochester (Kent)]]> Northern Ireland--Belfast]]> England--Longbridge]]> France--Arras]]> England--Darlington]]> Italy--Genoa]]> England--Longbridge]]> Yemen (Republic)--Aden]]> Europe--Frisian Islands]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Italy--Sicily]]> France--Normandy]]> Netherlands--Arnhem]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> Netherlands--Nijmegen]]> Wales--Pwllheli]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Leicester]]> England--Sunderland (Tyne and Wear)]]> Scotland--Edinburgh]]> England--Rochford]]> England--London]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> Scotland--Ayr]]> England--Friston (East Sussex)]]> England--Gravesend (Kent)]]> England--West Malling]]> England--Hailsham]]> England--Yelverton (Devon)]]> England--Bentwaters NATO Air Base]]> England--Great Dunmow]]> England--Heacham]]> England--Weybridge]]> Wales--Hawarden]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Old Sarum (Extinct city)]]> England--Kent]]> England--Folkestone]]> England--Hambleton (North Yorkshire)]]> England--York]]> Scotland--Scottish Borders]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Thurleigh]]> England--Darlington]]> England--Hitchin]]> England--Lancashire]]> Italy]]> France]]> Egypt]]> Germany]]> Belgium]]> Netherlands]]> Great Britain]]> Yemen (Republic)]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Devon]]> England--Durham (County)]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Essex]]> England--Herefordshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Swindon (Wiltshire)]]>
Chapter 1. Under Training.
Having been assessed in Birmingham Geoff sets off to London in August 1942 for training, at Lords. Initial training was at Bridlington then gunnery school at Andreas on the Isle of Man. After a short leave he was posted to an operational training unit at Chipping Warden followed by intensive training at Edge Hill. Finally he went to Feltwell for Escape and Evasion training before joining a Heavy Conversion Unit at Wratting Common then Waterbeach.

Chapter 2. Operations RAF Witchford. After seven days leave he commenced operational flying in a Lancaster. Their first target was Augsburg and he reports being waved off by WAAFs and airmen. On the next operation the navigator had a breakdown and refused to help. He continues with details of several operations.
Chapter 3. Return to Ops RAF Waterbeach. Initially this proved to be a very relaxing posting but after his recovery he was back on operations. After 30 operations he was posted to RAF Brackla, Nairn.

Chapter 4. Grounded. He was unhappy at Brackla which was remote and cold. Next was a transfer south to RAF Weeton where he learned about motor transport and learned to drive. He was then posted to RAF Halfpenny Green, followed by RAF Croughton and South Cerney. He then went to Hornchurch before being sent to Germany where he joined a micro film unit at Frankfurt. On completion of photographing relevant factory installations his unit headed south to Triberg in Bavaria.

Chapter 5. As Time Goes By. He reflects on his letter from the Secretary of State from Air, Bomber Command losses and life after the war. he discusses Labour minister John Strachey, a pre-war fascist then Communist Party , who belittled the work of Bomber Harris. and the refusal to allow a thanksgiving service to honour the ex-Prisoner of War Association at Coventry Cathedral.]]>
Geoff Payne]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Training Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--London]]> England--York]]> England--Halifax]]> England--Loughborough]]> England--Flamborough Head]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Fleetwood]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Douglas (Isle of Man)]]> England--Banbury (Oxfordshire)]]> England--London]]> England--Bognor Regis]]> France--Lille]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Coventry]]> England--Ely]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France--Rouen]]> France--Vaires-sur-Marne]]> France--Normandy]]> France--Creil]]> France--Nucourt]]> France--Caen]]> France--L'Isle-Adam]]> France--Gironde Estuary]]> England--Falmouth]]> France--Somme]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Sweden--Stockholm]]> Germany--Bremen]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Calais]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> Germany--Emmerich]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Scotland--Nairn]]> England--Peterborough]]> England--Walsall]]> England--Hull]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Dudley]]> England--Brackley]]> England--Cirencester]]> Germany--Cuxhaven]]> Germany--Bückeburg]]> Germany--Bremerhaven]]> Germany--Black Forest]]> Germany--Triberg]]> Germany--Rheinberg]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> France--Châlons-en-Champagne]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> Poland]]> France]]> Germany]]> Belgium]]> Netherlands]]> Sweden]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Newmarket (Suffolk)]]>
Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Belgium]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Essex]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Somerset]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France--Abbeville]]> France--Arras]]> France--Boulogne-Sur-Mer]]> France--Brest]]> France--Caen]]> France--Calais]]> France--Cherbourg]]> France--Gosnay]]> France--La Pallice]]> France--Le Touquet-Paris-Plage]]> France--Poix-du-Nord]]> France--Saint-Malo]]> France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)]]> Netherlands--Amsterdam]]> Scotland--Angus]]> Scotland--Orkney]]> Scotland--Stirlingshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> Belgium--Kortrijk]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> England--Essex]]> England--Somerset]]> England--London]]> France--Normandy]]> Scotland--Caithness]]> England--Sussex]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> 1948]]> 1949]]> 1950]]> London News Agency]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Essex]]> 1934-07-24]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Newcastle upon Tyne]]> England--London]]> England--Grantham]]> England--Birkenhead]]> England--Oxford]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> Norway--Stavanger]]> Sudan]]> France]]> North Africa]]> Norway]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> 1939-09]]> 1939-10]]> 1940]]> 1941-05-08]]> Geoff Paine]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jan Waller]]> eng]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1946]]> Adam Sutch]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Durham (County)]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1939]]> 1944]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Wales--Anglesey]]> Zimbabwe]]> Zimbabwe--Gweru]]> Zimbabwe--Bulawayo]]> South Africa--Cape Town]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Essex]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> South Africa--Mahikeng]]> South Africa]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Bishop's Stortford]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Africa]]> Egypt]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Kent]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1948]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Canada]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> England--Essex]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> After RAF Padgate, Peter was selected as pilot/gunner/engineer at RAF Hornchurch. He was posted to Number 4 Initial Training School at RAF Cranwell and then went to RAF Feltwell. He trained on Prentices and Harvards and became a pilot. RAF Driffield followed and Meteors. Afterwards at RAF Chivenor, Peter flew Vampires, which he did not particularly like.
Peter re-trained and received his navigator brevet at RAF Hullavington. He took a holding post at RAF St Mawgan, the Maritime Reconnaissance School. He trained at RAF Lindholme, Bomber Command Bombing School, on Canberras before joining 61 Squadron at RAF Wittering. He was at RAF Wittering for a year before they went to RAF Upwood.
Peter describes his overseas detachments, and outlines and contrasts visual bombing and Gee-H bombing.
For the last 18 months, he was posted to 58 Squadron at RAF Wyton as adjutant. He flew the PR.7 variant of the Canberra for photographic reconnaissance.
Peter then learnt Russian and passed the Foreign Office interpreters’ exam. He went back to fly Victors at RAF Marham as a navigator. Peter talks of Operation Forthright, flying between the UK and Cyprus bringing back Lightnings. In the UK, they practised refuelling.
Peter subsequently went to the British Commanders-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Berlin. He took photographs in East Germany, particularly of airfields. He then went to the Ministry of Defence South American desk and worked for the Security Services before retirement.]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Second generation]]> Great Britain]]> England--Devon]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Germany]]> Russia (Federation)]]> Cyprus]]>
Ken Hicks]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Claire Monk]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Essex]]> England--Romford]]> 1940]]>
This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.]]>
Officer Commanding RAF Central Registry]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Essex]]> Scotland--Edinburgh]]> 1947-07-01]]>
Ray Wells]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> MWellsRG1686349-170403-020002]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Sheffield]]> England--London]]> England--Scarborough]]> England--Torquay]]> England--Liverpool]]> England--Diss]]> England--Hull]]> England--Ely]]> England--Gatwick]]> Germany]]> England--Devon]]> England--Kent]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Kent]]> Reg Wilson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Wehrmacht]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Great Britain]]> England--Craven Arms]]> England--London]]> England--London]]> England--Peterborough]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> England--Runnymede]]> England--Wetherby]]> Scotland--Edinburgh]]> Germany--Mühlberg (Bad Liebenwerda)]]> England--London]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Colditz]]> Germany--Torgau]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland--Gdańsk]]> Sweden--Stockholm]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Denmark--Copenhagen]]> Poland]]> Germany]]> Denmark]]> Sweden]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Bishop's Stortford]]> John Player & Sons]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)]]> Great Britain]]> England--Birmingham]]> Pakistan--Risālpur (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)]]> Germany--Cologne]]> England--Gosport]]> Egypt--Alexandria]]> Jordan--Amman]]> England--Martlesham Heath]]> Pakistan--Peshawar]]> Pakistan--Kohat District]]> Pakistan--Miānwāli District]]> India--Ambāla (District)]]> Pakistan--Karachi]]> Egypt--Ismailia (Province)]]> Belgium--Zeebrugge]]> Belgium--Ostend]]> France--Somme]]> Egypt--Ḥulwān]]> Iraq--Baghdad]]> England--Copmanthorpe]]> Iraq--Baṣrah]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Egypt--Heliopolis (Extinct city)]]> Singapore]]> England--Andover]]> England--Old Sarum (Extinct city)]]> England--Folkestone]]> Scotland--Dalgety Bay]]> Scotland--Montrose]]> England--Thetford]]> England--Winchester]]> England--Hucknall]]> Scotland--Abbotsinch (Air base)]]> France]]> Egypt]]> Germany]]> Belgium]]> India]]> Iraq]]> Pakistan]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Kent]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> Scotland--Stirling (Stirling)]]> #1 and 4 are side views of a Bristol Bulldog.
#2 is a port side view of an Armstrong Whitworth Atlas J-9460.
#3 is a group of nine biplanes.
All captioned RAF Hornchurch.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Essex]]>
The RAF ex-POW Association]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Warwick]]> England--Stafford]]> England--Hampshire]]> New Zealand--Dunedin]]> New Zealand]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]>