1
25
54
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/367/5867/PCavalierRG17010034.2.jpg
ec71ca8048f6675f72226db5cdea410d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cavalier, Reginald George. Album one
Description
An account of the resource
57 items. Photograph album showing pictures taken during Reginald George Cavalier's service as a squadron photographer. It includes material from his photographic course training in 1940, and service with 76 Squadron at RAF Middleton St George, and with 88 Squadron and 226 Squadron with 2 Group and 2nd Tactical Air Force at RAF West Raynham. The album also includes target photographs, images of Christmas parties, visits by VIPs including Eisenhower and the King, as well as captured German ordnance and aircraft in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04-10
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cavalier, RG
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Whitleys at Middleton St George 1941
Description
An account of the resource
Page caption: 'Middleton St George 1941'
Photograph 1 is of eight airmen under the nose of a Whitley. Captioned 'Pilot Sgt B. Jones with his Ground Crew, Whitley. A/C.'
Photograph 2 is of a sergeant pilot wearing a flying helmet and pointing to the underside of an aircraft. It is is signed 'To Reg, with every best wish Bernard Jones 'Aussie' 29/7/41'.
Photographs 3, 4 and 5 are of a crashed Whitley, largely intact with bent propeller blades. Captioned 'Sgt Jones crashed Whitley A/C on the Yorkshire Moors returning from a night bombing rad on Germany. Aug.1941.'
Photograph 6 is a cartoon of a boomerang with Hitler hanging underneath. Captioned: 'The 'Mascot' on Sgt Jones Whitley A/C painted by Me, July 1941.'
Photographs 7 and 8 are of five airmen in front of a Whitley 'T'. Captioned 'Pilot Sgt B. Jones (Aussie) with his Air Crew, Whitley A/C.'
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1941-07
1941-08
Format
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Seven b/w photographs and one cartoon on an album page
Type
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Photograph
Artwork
Identifier
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PCavalierRG17010034
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Australian Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
England--North York Moors
England--Yorkshire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941-07
1941-08
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Language
A language of the resource
eng
aircrew
crash
forced landing
ground crew
ground personnel
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
nose art
pilot
RAF Middleton St George
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2047/33328/ABiltonGHA960623-0001.1.pdf
68edbe099b5e26f2922404b2fb056c11
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2047/33328/ABiltonGHA960623.1.mp3
3f3f5cac621761fcd3088cee74a5d0fd
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Bilton, George Henry Albert
G H A Bilton
Description
An account of the resource
Nineteen items. The collection concerns George Henry Albert Bilton (b. 1923, 175723 Royal Air Force) and contains an oral history interview, his log book, correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 428 and 434 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Anthony Bilton and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-09-14
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Bilton, GHA
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Music]
I: Were you born in Hull?
GB: Well, outside of Hull at Anlaby.
I: Which year were you born?
GB: 1923. October.
I: And what did your father do for a living?
GB: He was a coach builder for, well it’s now British Railway but first of all Hull and Barnsley. Then it was taken over by the London Northeastern and he built the coaches and the waggons. He was with them all his life.
I: Did you go to school in Anlaby?
GB: Anlaby Church of England School. And then the last two years I was at Hessle School when they closed the Church of England one down. I left school 1938.
I: So you were fourteen.
GB: Fourteen. Yeah.
I: Did you get a job?
GB: Yes. I went and got a job as an apprentice furniture salesman.
I: In Hull.
GB: In Hull. At Harry Jacobs Furniture.
I: Were you doing that when war broke out?
GB: Oh, I was still with them when war broke out. I was with them until I went into the Forces in 1942.
I: What was your reaction when you heard Chamberlain make the declaration that we were at war with Germany?
GB: Well, I think it was a bit too young and didn’t know anything about it but I volunteered for an ARP messenger boy and I was accepted and that kept us busy on a night time. Even with practices.
I: Where did you volunteer for it?
GB: Anlaby House which became the Central Headquarters for the ARP in Haltemprice. It is now the headquarters of Beverley Borough Council. The same house.
I: What kind of work did you have to do as an ARP messenger boy?
GB: Well, if any of the telephone lines were broken in a raid we had to go out and take messages from one post to another.
I: By foot?
GB: No. On our bikes.
I: Did you have a uniform?
GB: No. Just a steel helmet and an extra special gas mask. That’s all.
I: What was extra special about it?
GB: Well, it was more like the Services one. Not like the ordinary civilian gas mask.
I: What was the difference between the two?
GB: Well, it was heavier and, well and you just, you didn’t have the mask at the face. You had a small canister at the side.
I: So you didn’t have the protuberance.
GB: No. That’s right.
I: Did you have an arm band to show who you were?
GB: Yes. ARP messenger, that was all and the steel helmet with M on.
I: What did M mean? For messenger.
GB: For messenger.
I: Did you get paid for it?
GB: No. It was all voluntary. No. Nothing at all. You, you, when the sirens went you reported to Anlaby House and you stayed there until the siren all clear and then you went back home.
I: Whereabouts did you do this work?
GB: In Anlaby. The farthest we ever had to bring a message was from Anlaby to Cottingham when the lines were down.
I: Did you enjoy doing it?
GB: Oh yes. I did.
I: Could you have thrown it up any time you liked?
GB: Any time you wanted you could decide to finish and that was it.
I: Was there competition to get these jobs?
GB: Well, there was about four of us and that’s all they needed. They all went in the Forces and of the four there was one killed.
I: How did that happen?
[pause]
GB: It was a lad called John Harding. He was killed in Italy about a month after the war. He went all through the desert, all through Italy and he was killed about a month after the war moving shells from the artillery.
I: Were there any incidents that happened to you after you had done the messenger work?
GB: Not really.
I: That you can recount.
GB: No, there was, it was very very quiet in the area of Haltemprice. All the damage that was done was done in Hull. I think we had what five bombs dropped in the village of Anlaby and they were unexploded.
I: Whereabouts did they drop?
GB: At the, two or three hundred yards from Anlaby House down Woodlands Drive in a snicket.
I: A snicket being a cut through.
GB: A cut through. Yes. They did no damage. The Army came, found them and exploded them.
I: Was anybody injured?
GB: No. There was no injuries whatsoever.
I: When did the bombs drop on Anlaby? Which year would that have been?
GB: That was in the big raid of 1940. May the 8th 1941.
I: ’41. Any others that you remember that dropped in Anlaby?
GB: None at all. There was only the five.
I: Did you ever see the damage in Hull?
GB: Yes. I used to work in Hull. The place where I was employed in Jameson Street was completely gutted during the 1941 raid.
I: What was the name again?
GB: Harry Jacobs Furniture, Jameson Street.
I: What else did you see of the damage in Hull?
GB: All of Jameson Street were moved. Our offices were down Osbourne Street and that was severely damaged. You could see all of Paragon Square which was Hammonds at the time was gutted. There was a terrific amount of damage done and especially in the Stoneferry District where the oil mills were and the flour mills around it.
I: Did people come out of Hull to Anlaby to get away from the bombing?
GB: Yes, they did. They built a camp down Lowfield Road in Anlaby for displaced personnel from the raids and there was one built on Priory Road just outside Cottingham which was taken up by people who had been bombed out. Those two camps after the war housed the young couples who got married and they had no housing. When I got married in ’51 I finished up in one of those converted accommodations for a year before I got a house.
I: What were they like?
GB: Alright.
I: Just describe them.
GB: Well, they were two little bedroom. You had a small bedroom, small living room and there was a small like kitchen for cooking and doing your washing. In Priory Road where the camp is we spent a year in there didn’t we before we came to Cottingham. There were no housing at all and they were in use for about ten years before they were finally closed down.
I: What was the standard of accommodation like?
GB: Poor. Single bricks. Very damp. Corrugated roof.
I: Wasn’t it later used to house Poles?
GB: That’s correct. Yes.
I: Now, can you tell me how you came to be in the Air Force?
GB: I volunteered for air crew in, when I was eighteen in what we called a Selection Board. And I was accepted as a wireless operator air gunner.
I: When you, which year would this have been?
GB: That was 1941. I was eighteen in October ‘41 and I volunteered then and went down for an interview at Padgate. I went through the examinations. Then my medical and then the Aircrew Selection Board and I was accepted for training as a w/op a g.
I: Why did you volunteer for it?
GB: I was, I should have made a very very poor sailor and my father always said, ‘Don’t go in the Army.’ He’d had enough.
I: So you wanted to exercise a choice before you were directed.
GB: Before I was directed.
I: But you were. Did you become a w/op air gunner?
GB: No. There was, they had a tremendous influx of people wanting to be w/op a g’s and I think I’d been waiting about four months to go in and they were short of flight engineers for training so they asked me if I would like to take a test board and become a flight engineer for training. And I accepted that instead of waiting. So I was called up in August ’42. Went to Blackpool. Did my initial training footslogging and I stayed in Blackpool then for about ten months doing a flight mechanic and a fitter’s course. Passed out AC1 flight mechanic and AC1 fitter and I went down to St Athans for six weeks to do the Halifax course and I waited then in August ’43 and I was posted from St Athans up to Number 6 Group, a Heavy Conversion Unit 1664 which was then at Croft and I crewed up with a Canadian and English mixed crew on August 1943.
I: In that training did you run into any problems?
GB: None at all. The only time I got jankers was for failing to carry a bayonet whilst on duty [laughs] and I got seven days CB for it and I swore never again to do any punishment.
I: What happened to you on the CB?
GB: CB? Well, you reported at 6 o’clock after you’d done all your schoolwork for three hours of square bashing. Fifty five minutes square bashing, five minutes off with full kit. Saturday you scrubbed the NAAFI out at Squire’s Gate and it was a huge one. Sunday you reported after Church Parade on the hour every hour until 10 o’clock at night. That was enough. No more. So I kept my shoes clean after that.
I: Did you resent the punishment?
GB: Not really. It taught you to behave yourself.
I: What did you think of the quality of training that you got?
GB: Very good. The instructors were very good. I had no complaints whatsoever against any of the instructors. They were always fair and they helped you whenever. All the way through the course.
I: Were you taught what you had to know or did they miss any?
GB: Well, I think the original entries for flight engineers were given far too much training on engines. You didn’t have to become a fitter to become a flight engineer as they found out later. They shortened the course to about a twelve week course where it took me nearly a year. You didn’t have to be a qualified flight fitter engine to become a flight engineer.
I: What did a flight engineer have to do in a bomber?
GB: Look after chiefly the control of the engines, the petrol consumption, know the hydraulic systems and all the emergencies. Assist in take-off and landing.
I: If the pilot had been hit would you have been able to pilot it?
GB: It would have been a struggle. As a Halifax flight engineer you didn’t have any pilot training. You were never on the controls whereas in a Lancaster you were. You acted as a second pilot for take-off and landing but on a Halifax bomber the bomb aimer assisted in take-off and landing.
I: Now, you said that you were posted to 6 Group. Can you tell me about what 6 Group was?
GB: 6 Group was the Halifax group financed by the Royal Canadian Government. They provided all the aircraft and the crews were mixed. I had three English and four Canadians in the crew. The pilot was, pilot, navigator and the two gunners Canadians. The wireless operator, the bomb aimer and myself were the English members of the crew.
I: How was the crew formed?
GB: Well, I met the crew. They’d done their Operational Training Unit course and they were posted up to Croft and ten crews and ten flight engineers were told, ‘Sort yourselves out.’ And they picked me and I accepted them and I went with them. You weren’t allocated. You weren’t told, ‘You fly with that man.’ Or, ‘You fly with them.’ You were left to individually sort yourself out which crew you wanted to go with. So if you met a sergeant in the mess, you know you knew him and you had a drink or two before you crewed up you went to him.
I: How did you like serving with Canadians?
GB: Oh, they were very good. Very friendly. They didn’t have the bull. The discipline wasn’t as severe on the Canadian group as it was on the English groups.
I: Can you give an example?
GB: Well, I mean you mixed freely with the, when I was an NCO you mixed freely with the two officers. The Canadian officers. No trouble at all calling you by your Christian names.
I: Now, what was your first operational squadron?
GB: My first operational squadron? Well. I lost my first pilot. We went to 427 squadron and Sergeant Dresser went on his second second dickie trip and never came back.
I: 427 was your first.
GB: First squadron at Leeming. So we were a crew without a captain.
I: When did you join that squadron do you think?
GB: We joined 427 Squadron 4th of September and we left on the 23rd of September. We were posted back to 1659 Conversion Unit Topcliffe where there was another pilot waiting for us.
I: So did you do any operations —
GB: None at all.
I: At that base?
GB: No. None whatsoever there. As I say the pilot never came back from his second, second dickie to Frankfurt.
I: So you were posted to a new squadron.
GB: No. A new Conversion Unit for a new pilot. A new pilot by the name of Watkins, a flying officer who had been instructing in Canada for nearly two years. He’d been, come over and we crewed up with him on the 24th of September with Flying Officer Watkins at 1659 Conversion Unit Topcliffe and we went through our month training with him again until the 7th of October ’43 where we were posted to 428 Squadron, Middleton St George.
I: And it was then you started operations.
GB: Operations. Yes. The first operation we did was the 3rd of November.
I: Can you describe what you remember of it?
GB: Very very little. It was Dusseldorf and everything seemed to be on top of you at the first you know. You didn’t take it all in. All I seem to remember is a little bit of flak and the flares going down for target indicators for bombing. Everything happened so fast on your first two or three trips that you hadn’t adjusted to operational flying. I learned more on my second op. We went to Ludwigshafen on the 18th of November.
I: What happened then?
GB: Well, first of all we got coned over the target. We got the master searchlight on us which was a bluey colour and he followed us and we got out of him after a lot of evasive action and as soon as we got out a fighter opened up on us and we got a good hiding. The rear gunner was severely wounded. The IFF that we had was damaged. Monica, which we had was damaged. All the trimming wires for elevator and rudders were cut. We had petrol tank wires cut from one, two and four tanks. All hydraulic pipes were cut. We couldn’t close the bomb doors. They were fully opened. We were in a mess and we got hit about twenty one thousand feet and by the time the pilot got control we were down to fifteen thousand. We had no navigational aids and the navigator brought us back by straight navigation of the Pole Star. We were off track coming back when we crossed over Ostend at fifteen thousand feet and they hit us with everything.
I: They what?
GB: Hit us with everything. They opened up with everything they had and we couldn’t take any evasive action. We just had to go through it.
I: This was the flak.
GB: Yeah. There was flaming onions coming up in between the tail plane and the main plane. It was rough. And then we crossed the coast and we still didn’t know exactly where we were so the skipper called up. The emergency call sign then was Darkie and Woodbridge accepted the call and we did a full emergency landing there.
I: What was the emergency landing like?
GB: It was very rough. We couldn’t get the undercarriage, it came down but I couldn’t lock it down. We tried everything. Put in to a shallow dive, pulling out to see if we could just pulling into a shallow dive, pulling out to see if we could just jerk it that two or three inches to make it lock and we couldn’t do that. We were all in the emergency positions coming in to land and just as they pulled up to do a belly landing it just threw it that little bit forward, the wheels, and they locked. So we were alright. We came out. The rear gunner we, we’d patched him up. We’d pumped morphine into him and he went to Norwich Hospital. We never saw him again. He was very badly wounded in the head. And we spent the night there and then an aircraft flew us back the next morning to our base at Middleton St George.
I: What was the date of that?
GB: 18th of November.
I: And which Halifax was it? What was it called?
GB: NA O-Oboe. We were just off on a night operation at 16.45 on a trip which lasted seven hours and five minutes.
I: Did that put you off wanting to go on operations after that experience?
GB: Not really. We were in operations again on the 26th of November. We took two spare gunners and we went to Stuttgart and we had a reasonable trip. We had no fighter trouble but when we went to a diversionary raid being done on Frankfurt and the Germans had laid what they called you know the fighter flares, the path the Mosquitoes were taking oh and it looked rough. We bypassed it and Stuttgart was quite you know quite a normal trip. A bit of flak. No fighters. But I think that got the confidence of the crew back.
I: When you went on these trips to Stuttgart and Ludwigshafen could you see other planes being hit?
GB: Not on those two. No. I never saw anything anyone shot down over Ludwigshafen, Stuttgart or the first trip Dusseldorf.
I: How did your next operations go?
GB: Well, the next operation was January the 20th 1944, Berlin and that was a rough one.
I: Can you describe it?
GB: Well, at one part the Germans had laid a flare path for fighter flares and they were among the bomber stream and we were going down. You could see the fire from the German aircraft and a small amount coming from our aircraft. The Allied aircraft and then you’d just see a ball of fire and it would hold steady for a minute or two then it would just go in to a dive. That was quite an experience to see it. When we got to Berlin we were in the first wave and the target indicators were a few seconds late and we got caught in predictive flak because we were the first wave. We had no cover from the metal strips. The tin foil that we threw out. It didn’t affect, it didn’t help you it helped the people behind you and we were a little bit off. [pause]
I: Which was the worse? This Berlin one or the Ludwigshafen?
GB: Ludwigshaven. Ludwigshaven was the worst. I mean we got a lot of shell, a lot of holes, a lot of damage. This Berlin it was just that you were in the predicted flak. We didn’t get hit. We didn’t have any fighter trouble. Berlin, Ludwigshafen I’ll never forget it. Never.
I: Was Berlin a particularly dreaded place to go to?
GB: It was, yes. It was such a long, it was such a long stooge. It took us eight hours fifteen minutes. It was very tiring and it was overpowering on the target area because it was so heavily defended. There were so many searchlights. I think on the first one we lost about forty odd aircraft that night.
I: You said which particular Halifax you had. Did you always have the same one?
GB: No. That was Halifax NA U-Uncle on that Berlin trip.
I: Was there any competition to get the best aircraft?
GB: No. It was just what you were allocated. Our pilot later became a flight commander and he took any aircraft. I mean I think we were nearly always in a B flight when we flew aircraft.
I: What does that mean?
GB: Well, you had A flights and B flights.
I: As part of the squadron. To make up the squadron.
GB: The mark up the squadron. Yes. And the A flights were the first half of the alphabet and so the second B was the second half. We were either V-Victor, Q-Queenie, or O-Oboe later on that we flew in.
I: But was there any, ever any feeling that the more senior people were getting the best aircraft?
GB: No. No.
I: Or the best ground crews?
GB: No. The best ground crews were on operational squadrons. I thought so anyhow.
I: But was there any difference between the different ground crews that you had in your squadron?
GB: No. They were all first class. They all did a first-class job. The aircraft were always in good condition. We never turned back from thirty four trips from any trouble whatsoever.
I: What was the next operations that you had to do?
GB: Well, the next two I did were two mine laying stooges. One was to Kiel which was a quiet trip and the other one was down to la Rochelle which was a very long stooge. Eight hours ten minutes. That was the fourth of February ’44. Then we went to Berlin again on the 15th of February.
I: Was mine laying usually a quiet job?
GB: Yes. Well, it was a very hard job because you were by yourself. There would probably be about twenty aircraft you know to lay mines and you were on your own. You had no cover whatsoever. I mean the tin foil that you threw out didn’t help you. It more or less showed the Germans where you were because you were always ahead of the tin foil you were throwing out. There would be about twenty. Probably twenty two twenty three aircraft would go down to La Rochelle and lay two mines a piece. In between the island of la Rochelle and the mainland.
I: Did you ever call those gardening operations?
GB: They are gardening operations. I did the La Rochelle. I did two La Rochelles in February. One on the 4th and one on the 21st and then on the 25th I did a mine laying stooge to Copenhagen Sound.
I: Well, what was your next Berlin operation like? Was it any different from the first?
GB: It was the same as the first. A lot of flak. A lot of fighter activity but we never had an attack. That day, night we were diverted to Shipdham which was an American base and we were there for three days for bad weather. Our base was closed down and we stayed with the Americans. Had their hospitality.
I: What was the date of your second Berlin raid?
GB: 15th of February. We took off in NA Q-Queenie. We took off at 17.20. We were airborne for six hours fifty minutes.
I: What did you fear most over Berlin? Was it the night fighters or the flak?
GB: The night fighters. The flak no. It was the fighters. We were always looking out for fighters. You didn’t want, you didn’t want to battle with them you wanted to get out of their way because the armaments that we had was four 303s were just like peashooters to their cannons if you could see them and get out of their way. That was the main thing.
I: And then after Berlin? That second Berlin operation.
GB: After Berlin we did as I say two mine laying stooges to la Rochelle and Copenhagen Sound in February. Then March we started with another gardening operation mine laying to the mouth of the Gironde River which was seven hours fifty minutes. Then we started the pre-D-Day marshalling yards in the March of ’44 and it was the marshalling yard at Trappes. Now that one we had an absolute full bomb load, I’ll never forget it of eleven thousand five hundred pounders. We had eleven thousand five hundred and fourteen hundred gallons of petrol and it was made up of seven five hundred pounders and six one thousand pounders. That was the heaviest bomb load we’d ever taken and after the operation the marshalling yard at Trappes was never used again. It was, it was quite an easy trip. There was very very little flak. It was very light. No fighter trouble. We came, we did five hours forty minutes and there was bad weather at the aerodrome and we were diverted to Harwell. And we spent the night at Harwell and we left the next day back to base.
I: Now here you’ve given me a sheet headed “Target Token” relating to this Trappes raid on the 6th of March 1944. Can you tell me what this sheet signifies?
GB: Well, that is the marshalling yards there. Those are early flares, the photograph flares that we dropped to illuminate the target so we could take the photograph. Well, from that they could photograph from the headings that we were on. They could tell you exactly where those bombs straddled the target and the whole load went right across the marshalling yards.
I: So you’ve got the copy of the photograph.
GB: Of the photograph. Every crew member was presented with a copy of the photograph.
I: As a means of congratulating.
GB: Congratulating. More or less that you’d got the whole fifteen bombs right across the marshalling yard.
I: Any other marshalling yard operations that you did?
GB: Well, I know the next one we went to was, the next operation I did was another gardening trip to Kiel. We did the mining to the entrance to Kiel harbour. The next one was on the 25th of March. We went to Aulnoye. That was quite an easy trip. A marshalling yard. No trouble. Then on April our skipper had been promoted to squadron leader and we were posted 434 Squadron where he became B Flight commander.
I: Where was 434 Squadron?
GB: At Croft. It was a satellite aerodrome of Middleton St George. It was one that was built during the wartime use whereas Middleton St George was a peacetime aerodrome. The next marshalling yard we went to was Lisle. That was a quiet trip. That was on the 9th of April. We went on the 26th of April to Villeneuve St Georges. A French target. On the 29th we had a short gardening trip to the Frisian Islands. The mines we were laying were supposed to be for a convoy that was coming through. We laid the mines and the convoy was coming through. There was quite a bit of flak from the flak ships. That was then —
I: Were you hit?
GB: No. It was, we had no trouble. We seemed to be lucky again. There was a lot of flak from the flak ships but we had nothing. No holes whatsoever. Come to May, the 1st of May we went St Ghislian. And then on the 27th we went to Le Crepiet. They were quiet trips. Five hours and four and a half hours we did. On June the 15th we flew in J-Jig on a daylight to Boulogne and you could see the flak there. When we were going in there was one aircraft coming out with the whole of his starboard wing in flames. We never knew what happened to him.
I: Was that the first daylight raid?
GB: That was the first daylight I’d done. Yes.
I: How did you feel about that compared with the night raids?
GB: Well, you’re more confident because you could see what was happening and you knew you had fighter cover. It was just the flak but then flak you got used to. It never really bothered people unless you got hit with it badly.
I: What was the date of that bombing operation?
GB: 15th of June.
I: So this was after D-Day.
GB: After D-Day. I was on leave on D-Day. We were. And the next operation was to Disemont on the 21st of June.
I: What was the target in the Boulogne raid?
GB: On the Boulogne raid we were dropping bombs that exploded as soon as it hit the water to cause waves to go into the fence to destroy their MTB boats and that.
I: Do you think it worked?
GB: By all accounts yes. The reports we received afterwards it had been a successful raid and the docks got a good pasting as well. In July, we started off the 1st of July we went to a place called [Benayes or Beugnies] and when we got there there were no PFF markings so we bombed on Gee. There was quite a bit of flak and we lost all hydraulics and had to, we had to land using emergency undercarriage but I could never close the bomb doors. They were open all the way back and all the way for landing. And we had to use full emergency for getting the undercarriage down and the use of the flaps.
I: When was that?
GB: That was the 1st of June. We went in Q-Queenie that night.
I: 1st of July.
GB: 1st of July, sorry. They sent us back to the same target on the 6th of July. To [Benayes or Beugnies]. We went on G-George that time and it was a quiet trip.
I: Where is [Benayes or Beugnies]?
GB: It’s in France. All I can —
[recording paused]
GB: And after that I went to Caen on a daylight and on a night operation on the 18th of the 7th took off at 3.30 in the morning. That was when they started the big push and their breakthrough at Caen.
I: Was that a particularly big raid? A mass raid.
GB: Yes, it was a mass raid. They practically destroyed Caen that night and the Army moved forwards and they never stopped moving after that.
I: Do you have any memories of that raid?
GB: Yes, all I can remember was it was a dead easy raid. Flak not bothered. No fighters. No nothing. Just like a cross country.
I: Were you aware of all the other planes?
GB: Yes. They were all, they were all so close together. All bombing on one area. You could see them even though it was that time. Just two hours. It would be about 5.30. just dusk coming on.
I: So you didn’t have any opposition.
GB: Nothing at all. Nothing whatsoever. It was just like flying from here to Jersey on your holidays. No opposition whatsoever.
I: Do you think you hit your target?
GB: Well, we must have done because the Army never stopped moving. They took Caen. The next job after that it was a rough one. It was Hamburg. That was the 28th.
I: What happened then?
GB: Well, we were in the second wave and we were a bit late and we were at the scheduled height of bombing at seventeen thousand feet. There was somebody else above us and they dropped their bombs and we had, on our bombing run we just had to dive starboard to get out of the way of his bombs or we should have got the lot because they always had separate heights for bombing and we were late. Two minutes late. We were at seventeen and the next wave was at seventeen five. That was it. There was quite a bit of flak at Hamburg. That was the most terrifying thing. A full bomb load up there. And the skipper just dived starboard and we were on the bombing run. Where our bombs went we don’t know.
I: Was it common for planes to be hit by bombers above them?
GB: I don’t think so. I think it occasionally happened but this was too close.
I: What about collisions between bombers?
GB: I never saw any. Never saw any at all. I think they did happen but they were very few and far between.
I: And then —
GB: And then after that August was a very busy month. Our skipper had been promoted because our original wing commander, Wing Commander Bartlett had been lost. He’d been shot down and killed in action and our skipper was promoted and became wing commander of 434 Squadron. On the 1st of August we took J-Jig to Acquet in France. There was no PFF markings so the full bomb load was brought back. We brought the whole load back. On the 3rd of —
I: How dangerous was it to bring bombs back?
GB: Well, they weren’t fused. I mean they weren’t fused until you were bombing. Didn’t press the selector switches so they would be alright. It was just that we would have a heavy load for landing. After that on the 3rd we took J-Jig again to le Foret de Nieppe which was for fuel dumps. On the 4th of August again in J-Jig again we went to caves that were just outside Paris where the V-2 rockets were assembled and that was heavily defended with a daylight op and we were hit by flak. We got a few holes. We were caught in predictive flak. We were diverted on the 4th to Dalton.
I: Was this a V-2 place or a V-1 place?
GB: No. A V-2 place where they were assembling the, where they assembled where they assembled the rockets.
I: And where was it?
GB: Just outside Paris. Some from what we could understand from the briefing they were more or less mushroom caves and that. And then on the 5th we went to St Leu d’Esserent. On the 8th we went to a fuel dump just outside at Foret de Chantilly and that was hit and there was black smoke when we left up to fifteen thousand feet.
I: What do you think you hit there at Chantilly?
GB: It was a fuel dump. And on the 9th we went to Le Breteque. On the 12th of August we went to Brunswick. To Germany. On that raid according to recent record was a complete failure as everyone bombed on H2S as there were no markers went down so we bombed individually and there was no concentration.
I: Did you feel at the time that it was a failure?
GB: Well, it seemed to be a failure because there was no concentration of fires or anything. Then on the 14th we did the Army coop where the German divisions were trapped at Falaise. Now that was a very easy trip. There was no opposition whatsoever. The only thing wrong was that the Canadian group bombed their own troops. The Canadian Army had advanced past the markers and of course there was a few killed.
I: Was yours one of the bombers that dropped on the Canadians do you think?
GB: Hmmn.
I: Right.
GB: It wasn’t the Air Forces fault. It was the Army had advanced past the markers. And the last trip I did—
I: And that was what? That was the 14th was it?
GB: That was the 14th of August. We took off at 12.40. It was a five hour ten minute job. And the last trip I did was the 25th of August. We went to Brest to soften it up so the Yanks could take it. And that was quite easy. There was no trouble at all. I think they were more or less giving in. And that was on the 25th of August. There was bad weather back at base and we got diverted to Thorney Island. We spent the night at Thorney Island and then came back the next day and we were told that was it. We had finished our tour.
I: Had you done thirty?
GB: We’d done thirty four and one sea sweep. The skipper, the navigator and the bomb aimer were each awarded a DFC and myself, the wireless operator Jackie Bennett from Newcastle and Jimmy Silverman the rear gunner were granted a commission. That was our reward.
I: What happened to you then?
GB: Well, after that I was posted down to Bruntingthorpe which was 29 OTU and I was instructing on engine handling. I did very little flying. And a week at Blackpool on an Air Sea Rescue course which I thoroughly enjoyed. I only flew twice in the six months I was at OTU. I was never keen on Wellingtons.
I: Why not?
GB: Well, the Wellingtons were clapped out [laughs]
[pause]
GB: Then I went, I volunteered to go back on a second tour and I went in April ’45 with a Flight Lieutenant Kennedy. He made a crew up from 29 OTU and we went to 1651 Conversion Unit at Woolfox Lodge.
I: Why did you volunteer for a second tour?
GB: I didn’t like 29 OTU and I didn’t like what bit of flying I did do.
I: Why didn’t you like that OTU?
GB: Well, there was a little bit of too much bull. The group captain in charge was an ex-Cranwell boy and I think he thought it was still 1938 and not 1944.
I: So you preferred to risk your life.
GB: Yes.
I: Than have the bull?
GB: Have the bull. Yes.
I: Did you go back on ops in the end?
GB: Well, we did our conversion unit on to Lancasters and we were picked out unfortunately to go to Warboys for PFF training so by the time we’d finished the PFF training the war had finished. They had special training at Warboys and then we had to go through another course of automatic gun laying turret which was new to the gunners. By the time we’d finished those courses the war had finished. We finished up at 156 Squadron at Upwood and that was quite enjoyable because we did [pause] took ground crew on what was called a Cook’s Tour. We used to fly them over Germany up the Ruhr and show them all the damage that they’d helped to do in maintaining the aircraft. I did two of those Cook’s Tours in in June and we did a little bit of flying. I did an air test for the Royal Aeronautical Establishment. Another Cook’s Tour. We did a postmortem to Denmark where they did an actual like on operation to Denmark to see how the German radar system worked and that was on the 29th of June ’45. That was a five and a half hour.
I: Testing the radar defences.
GB: Yes. Of the, that the Germans had. Then we just did local flying and then for three days we were dumping. The 21st, the 24th and the 27th of July was dumping incendiaries in to the North Sea that were no good. And in the August of ’44 we, the 1st of August we did a passenger trip to Frankfurt and Nuremberg taking crew, ground crew in and bringing ground crew out. And we had a trip which made me want to go back to Italy when I got married but on the 15th of August ’45 we went to Bari in Italy and we had three days. Well, we crammed twenty of the 8th Army boys into a Lancaster fuselage, gave the a sick bag and put their kit in the bomb bays and flew them home. That was thoroughly enjoyable to see Italy.
I: Can I ask you about the difference between Lancasters and the Halifaxes. What did you feel about flying in the two?
GB: Well, on a Lancaster the flight engineer did the work of a second pilot. He did the throttles, looked after the undercarriage controls, flaps and everything. But as regards flying I still like the Halifax. Especially the Halifax Mark 3 with the Hercules Centaurus engines. It was a marvellous aircraft. There was more room in it. It could carry a bombload of twelve thousand pounds but it couldn’t carry the big bombs because they hadn’t the depth of the bomb bays. But I still liked the Halifax. I think it was because I did all my operations in them and I got through a tour with them.
I: Did the Halifax have any disadvantages?
GB: I don’t think so. Not the later ones. The one of the first lots, the first ones had a tendency to stall but they altered that by doing, altering the rudder system.
I: What did you learn in the Pathfinder course?
GB: I took a bomb aimer’s course and learned how to drop bombs [laughs] That’s the only difference.
I: How did you do that?
GB: Well, they give you a concentrated course on dropping practice bombs and that was the only difference.
I: Now, can I ask you some general questions about operations in the war. what was morale like amongst the bomber crews as far as you personally experienced it?
GB: Very good. Very high indeed. I only ever knew one person who went LMF and he was a member of our crew but everyone else that I knew enjoyed the life. It was a good life. I mean admittedly it was very very dangerous but it was a clean life. You came back to a clean bed and you came back to good food and you were treated well. You were given leave every six weeks. You were. You had extra rations when you came home. It was a dangerous job but they looked after you and discipline wasn’t severe on bomber squadrons. That was on the Canadian group anyhow. But aircrew was quite relaxed.
I: Could you see signs of LMF in this chap?
GB: No. No, we couldn’t. It was only the second trip after we got a good hiding and he never said anything on the night when we did the emergency landing at Woodbridge. When we came back the next day I met him in the Sergeant’s Mess in the afternoon and he said what had happened and I never saw him again. He was off the squadron as quick as that.
I: So you couldn’t think of any reason why he should have gone LMF.
GB: No. None at all. He was the mid-upper gunner and that was just it. He just threw the sponge in.
I: What did the rest of the crew think about him going LMF? Did you have sympathy or did you look down on him?
GB: I don’t think they looked down on him. They were just pleased that he’d gone so quick and nobody could dwell on the subject. And when we got two new gunners and as I say we were away within seven days of that operation on Stuttgart 18th to the 26th and we got two spare gunners. And after that we got two permanent gunners.
I: Were the aircrew superstitious? Did they have any lucky charms or anything like that?
GB: Yes, I’ve still got my little St Christopher cross and three us was always emptied our bladder on the starboard wheel before we took off. Myself, the rear gunner and the wireless operator.
I: This was a superstition was it?
GB: Always did it. Always, whether it was a daylight or a night op. Whether the groupie was there or anybody it was always emptied against the starboard wheel.
I: And did other crews do that?
GB: I think other crews always went in in certain order. Pilot first and like that.
I: What were the briefings like? Can you describe the scene when you got the briefings?
GB: Well, when it was the Berlin and you looked up and everyone said, ‘Berlin,’ everyone, ‘Oh.’ That was it. Then you just stepped back in silence and let them all give you the information. The German targets when you saw them when you saw the red lines leading you knew you were in for a warm night. The French targets everyone [clap] was happy.
I: They clapped.
GB: Well, there was that and a cheer when they said Caen or St Leu d’Esserent like that. I mean compared to the German targets they were easy. The only targets that we didn’t really like, the whole crew, was the mine laying duty because they, the majority of them were so long and there were so few of you you felt so exposed. I mean the Germans would probably leave you alone but then the next time they’d probably lose four five aircraft out of twenty odd. They would really come down on you like a tonne of bricks than leave you alone. When they hit you they hit you.
I: What do you feel about the criticism that has been lodged against Bomber Command since the war?
GB: I think its people who have got no idea about a war. They have no idea what the targets were like. Bombing had to be done. It was the only way of offensive against the Germans and I don’t think they take in to fact the amount of damage that we did do. The amount of people that were tied down. There was over a million people tied down in German defence. There was thirty thousand anti-aircraft guns and over, nearly ten thousand of those were eighty eight millimetre. Now if those eighty eight ten thousand millimetres had been used on the beaches of Normandy the Channel would have been blood red. They had, the German defences had all the ammunition they wanted up to within six weeks of the war. They were never short. They rationed the Army but they never rationed the local defence. And after all we did reduce production and if you reduced production by twelve and a half percent of the Tiger tanks it’s a heck of a lot because there was nothing could touch a Tiger. So I think the criticism has been very unfair because the boys went through hell.
I: When you were at these stations how and where did you spend your spare time?
GB: Well, at Middleton St George and Croft we used to go into Darlington and we all had one particular pub. The Fleece. And that’s where we spent our time. At the Fleece. But I was up there about eight or nine years ago and it’s been knocked down. The Old Fleece pub.
I: Did you put any kind of trophies or anything like that up in the bar?
GB: No. No, we just went there to drink and sing and other things.
I: Were there any breaches of security with people telling girlfriends about —
GB: Not to my knowledge.
I: Ops.
GB: No. No. If you were going up there for a night out you didn’t know anything because the station would be closed if there was a full ops on. There would only be probably only a few ground crew but the aircrew wouldn’t go, be allowed out. So most of the telephone lines were shut down. Were closed. You couldn’t make outside calls if there was ops on.
I: Did the German Air Force ever attack these airfields.
GB: No. Not to my knowledge. Not whilst ours.
Now, I think after the war had ended you went out to Burma.
Burma, yes. On 267 Squadron at Mingaladon. The squadron was keeping the airways open taking mail and passengers flying from Mingaladon in Burma up to Dum Dum at Calcutta. And then from, back again and then from Mingaladon to Bangkok. Bangkok, Saigon. Saigon to Kai Tak which is the aerodrome for Hong Kong on the mainland of Kowloon and they used to fly down to Singapore.
I: This is Dakotas.
GB: On Dakotas. Yes. And the flight engineers were all remustered as air quarter masters on those trips looking after the baggage and the passengers and I had about fifteen of the lads under me. We used to take them out on these trips which they thoroughly enjoyed going up to Calcutta. Spending a day in Calcutta and then coming back going down to Hong Kong. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time.
I: What kind of passengers were you moving?
GB: Well, RAF and Burmese and if you were coming from India you used to bring down the Indians who were coming down on business trips or anything like that. Used to bring our own people down to [unclear] and look after the stores. Generally taking mail across to Bangkok, Saigon.
I: So you were a bit like an airline.
GB: A bit like an airline. Yes. A bit rough and ready. I did one or two. I went to Saigon and worked with Saigon. Wanted to look around during the night time but we were informed that all personnel were on curfew and had to be in by 9 o’clock. And the biggest shock I ever had was walking into the hotel where we were billeted to be given a salute by a Jap prisoner of war with a rifle and fixed bayonets.
I: When was this that you were in Saigon?
GB: 12th of February ’46. Then from Saigon we’d go to Kai Tak which was the aerodrome for Hong Kong on the mainland and the people of the mainland which was a British colony I’ve never known people so friendly to see us. We were taken into cafes and restaurants and you could have everything you wanted.
I: In Hong Kong.
GB: In Hong Kong. But what I was surprised about Hong Kong is that they had everything on show and sale and the war had only been over for five months. You could go in and buy a Rolex Oyster watch. You couldn’t see them in Europe but they found them. They could. You could buy anything you wanted.
I: Were these Chinese who were —
GB: Yes. The —
I: You in Hong Kong.
GB: In Hong Kong where they were first class.
I: Coming back to Saigon did the Japanese soldiers do their job well?
GB: Yes, as far as I know they had no complaints. They guarded us well. But the trouble was just beginning to start then. There was just a bit of discontent amongst the Saigon people I think. It was just beginning to start with the Viet Cong. Just beginning to get unruly.
I: What did you see of disorder there?
GB: Nothing at the night time. That’s when it happened. During the day everything was normal. It was on a night time when they used to come and try and interfere on the aerodrome but we were in the town itself so we saw nothing.
I: So they were trying to attack the aerodrome.
GB: Trying to you know disrupt it more or less.
I: Did you see any French military presence there?
GB: Well, last I was there the only French presence was two Corvettes in the harbour. There was no French troops whatsoever. If the French had spent a little more time in French Indo China as it was then instead of parading around Europe they might have been in a bit better position out there.
I: Did you feel in much danger in Saigon?
GB: No. Not really. I wasn’t there long enough and the short time where the trouble was we were in the hotel out of the way.
I: You were telling me about 29 OTU at Bruntingthorpe was it called?
GB: Bruntingthorpe.
I: Where is that?
GB: Just outside Leicester.
I: And you were telling me about the excessive bull there that drove you to apply for a second tour. Can you give any examples of not —
GB: Well —
I: Without mentioning the group captain’s name any examples of the kind of bull that went on there?
GB: Well, we had once a month we had an officer’s dining in night where all the tables were put in the shape of a horseshoe with the group captain in the centre and then going left to right from squadron leader. From wing commander, squadron leader, flight lieutenant, flying officer down to pilot officer which was pre-war bull. Not wartime discipline. And then he would hold a full parade of the whole OTU and every officer and every airman would parade on the main runway and would march past the rostrum as though they were the guards which again goes back to pre-war. It should never have been done in wartime RAF. But the Australians didn’t like it because we had a lot of Australians go through there and they objected strongly. And in the Officer’s Mess we had a very big organ by a very well known organist. The organ, keyboard and the sound box system was flooded with beer. The Mess notice board all the Mess board notices were burned down by the Australians. The group captain had his own hook for his hat and coat with a bolt right through the wall. The peg was pulled out. Also, part of the wall [laughs] In fact they did so much damage the group captain closed the Officer’s Mess bar for a week. All because of bull.
I: Did you approve?
GB: No.
I: Of what the Aussies did?
GB: Yes. I did. But no one was allowed in the Officer’s Mess after 5.30 unless they were in full dress. No battle dress. I came back and I’ll tell you the exact day. We’d, I’d been out a cross country to check the pilot for engine handling on the 19th of February ‘45 and we took off at 12 o’clock and we’d been diverted to Husband Bosworth. And by the time we got back it was 16.35. I was pulled up for entering the Mess in battle dress and not allowed to have a meal, my evening meal until I had changed. And the evening meal finished at 19.00 hours which is 7 o’clock and I didn’t get in as I say until 16 —
I: Twenty five you said.
GB: That’s how bad, that’s how bad the bull was.
I: You also were telling me about another job you had I think in ’46 of having to deal with airmen’s possessions who had been killed.
GB: Yes.
I: In accidents.
GB: That was the, I did that at 29 OTU. The last job I had was on for in the July 1946 was Dakota KN585 was hit by lightning and crashed in to the Irrawaddy Delta at Bassein. The death roll was twenty two. By the time we got the bodies they were four days old and I had to [pause] another flight lieutenant and the local police identified the bodies and arranged burial which was a very distressing thing to do especially as five days later I was on my home.
I: How were the possessions dealt with?
GB: Well, most of the possessions that they had I had to burn because they’d been on the bodies and they had been five days in the swamp and they smelled terribly and there was very very little went home. And of the twenty two they had no identification. They were all just interred with no headstone. No one knew who they were. They were interred at the European Cemetery at that time in Bassein. They would later be moved to the War Graves.
I: But you were telling me about your special problem you had with the possessions of Australians.
GB: When I was at 29 OTU. Yes. With the letters I mean the Aussie boys would have two or three girlfriends and the trouble was sorting out the letters to make sure that the right ones went home and the other ones were destroyed. Of the, we had two crews killed whilst I was there. Eleven men died.
I: Would any of them leave wills?
GB: No. There was no wills. I never found a will in the, any of the airmen who I buried. I went through their personal effects.
[Music]
Dublin Core
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Title
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War Memoir - George Bilton
Description
An account of the resource
Talks of early life at school and work in Hull. Volunteered as ARP messenger and described duties and air raid damage in Hull. Volunteered as aircrew and initially selected for wireless operator/air gunner but later asked to change to air engineer. Trained in Blackpool and RAF St Athan. Crewed up with mixed Canadian British crew on Halifax HCU before being posted to 6 Group 427 Squadron. His pilot did not return from a second dickie orientation sorties so crew went back to conversion unit to crew up and train with new pilot. Then posted to 428 Squadron. Subsequently transferred to 434 Squadron when pilot promoted. Completed tout of 34 operations on Halifax. Gives detailed description of individual operations, experiences and activities. Describes flying in Halifax and discusses moral, discipline issues, operating with Canadians and other general comments. Did instructional tour after completing operational tour, offered commission, did not enjoy it and volunteered for second tour but curtailed by end of war. Comments on tours after war including one in Burma including dealing with casualties in from a Dakota crash in Egypt.
Creator
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G H A Bilton
Format
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Oral history
Language
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eng
Type
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Sound
Identifier
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ABiltonGHA960623
Coverage
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Civilian
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Conforms To
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Pending revision of OH transcription
Pending review
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
England--Lancashire
England--Blackpool
Wales--Vale of Glamorgan
England--Durham (County)
England--Leicestershire
Burma
Germany
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Stuttgart
England--Berkshire
France
France--La Rochelle
France--Lille
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Caen
Germany--Hamburg
France--Paris
France--Creil
France--Falaise
Germany--Braunschweig
France--Brest
England--Sussex
England--Huntingdonshire
Italy
Italy--Bari
Denmark
Denmark--Copenhagen
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Chantilly Forest
Temporal Coverage
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1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
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Julie Williams
427 Squadron
428 Squadron
434 Squadron
6 Group
aerial photograph
Air Raid Precautions
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bomb aimer
bombing
C-47
civil defence
Cook’s tour
crewing up
flight engineer
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
lack of moral fibre
Lancaster
military discipline
military ethos
military living conditions
military service conditions
mine laying
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Pathfinders
RAF Bruntingthorpe
RAF Croft
RAF Harwell
RAF Middleton St George
RAF St Athan
RAF Thorney Island
RAF Topcliffe
RAF Warboys
RAF Woodbridge
target indicator
target photograph
training
V-2
V-weapon
Wellington
Window
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1624/25157/PCothliffKB17030043.1.jpg
aaccabe59e7412ab280f14191a018dff
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Cothliff, Ken. Folder 1703
Description
An account of the resource
27 items. The collection contains photographs and a map.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ken Cothliff and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
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Cothliff, K
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Sodium Flarepath Type F Middleton St George
Description
An account of the resource
A sketch map of the lights on runway 06/24 at RAF Middleton St George.
Format
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One printed sketch map
Language
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eng
Type
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Map
Identifier
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PCothliffKB17030043
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
RAF Middleton St George
runway
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1624/25162/PCothliffKB17030053.2.jpg
43a80c7d601bea4cd58f79ea819a97a7
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1624/25162/PCothliffKB17030054.2.jpg
9278ae129b5ff4ed48b699e3de2645f6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cothliff, Ken. Folder 1703
Description
An account of the resource
27 items. The collection contains photographs and a map.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ken Cothliff and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cothliff, K
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Seven Airmen and Lancaster 'NA-I'
Description
An account of the resource
Seven airmen standing under the nose of Lancaster 'NA-I'. Annotated 'S/Ldr Don Lamont & Crew. "I" Ink 428 Sqd. M.S.G.'
On the reverse -
F/Lt Don Lamont & crew by Lanc KB792
Left to Right
F/S Ken Kehl (WOP)
Sgt Tod MacLelland R/gunner
F/Lt Don Lamont (Pilot)
F/O Jack MacFadden (Nav)
F/O Lorne Harley (B/Aimer)
Sgt Ted MacLeod (mid upper gunner)
Sgt Monty Tegard (Flt Eng)
Photo Don Lamont
* KB 792 failed to return from Wiesbaden 2/3 Feb 1945
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCothliffKB17030053,
PCothliffKB17030054
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
428 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
crash
flight engineer
Lancaster
navigator
pilot
RAF Middleton St George
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1624/25117/PCothliffKB17030001.2.jpg
5640f0c2d3542c77c02337a90f40235f
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1624/25117/PCothliffKB17030002.2.jpg
b529d44195ae9e570e8aa4cc159250d9
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cothliff, Ken. Folder 1703
Description
An account of the resource
27 items. The collection contains photographs and a map.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ken Cothliff and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cothliff, K
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Seven Airmen
Description
An account of the resource
Seven airmen crouched in a group under their Lancaster. Behind are nine or ten more Lancasters. On the reverse '428 Squadron link up prior to take off at Middleton St George County Durham May 31st 1945. Duty controller in the tower F/O "Chuck" [indecipherable] New address S/L[blanked out] 22 Dec 95'.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Northern Echo Photograph
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-05-31
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCothliffKB17030001,
PCothliffKB17030002
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-05-31
428 Squadron
Lancaster
RAF Middleton St George
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1389/31249/LDixonW2206823v1.2.pdf
708eeff6860c5633fc1d6aab98548bb0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Connock, Mike
Michael Connock
M Connock
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-02-24
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Connock, M
Description
An account of the resource
Eight items. The collection concerns (Royal Air Force) and contains people who served with 50 and 61 Squadrons at RAF Skellingthorpe.
They include:
W Dixon
GR Williamson
BV Robinson
GA Walker
L Barber
HJ Whitwell
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Mike Connock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Sergeant W. Dixon’s RAF Navigator’s, Air Bomber’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book
Description
An account of the resource
Sergeant W. Dixon’s RAF Navigator’s, Air Bomber’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book, from 23rd September 1943 to 4th April 1945, detailing his training and operations as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner. He was stationed at RAF Yatesbury (No. 2 Radio School), RAF Evanton (8 Air Gunnery School), RAF Bishopscourt (7(O) AFU), RAF Turweston, RAF Silverstone, (17 OTU), RAF Wigsley (1654 HCU), RAF Syerston (5 LFS) and RAF Skellingthorpe (61 Squadron). Aircraft in which flown: Dominie, Proctor, Anson, Wellington, Stirling and Lancaster.
He flew a total of 32 operations (6 day, 26 night). Targets in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Poland were: Bohlen, Bremen, Brunswick, Dortmund, Dresden, Duren, Dusseldorf, Flushing, Gdynia, Gravenhorst, Houffalize, Ladbergen, Lutzkendorf, Merseburg, Molbis, Munich, Nordhausen, Nurnberg, Politz, Rheydt, Rositz, Siegen, Trondheim and Wurzburg. His pilots on operations were Flight Lieutenant Burns, Flying Officer MacFarlane and Flying Officer Lambert. Includes numerous comments on operations, including “COULDN’T CLIMB OVER ALPS OPENED BOMB DOORS & TOBBOGANED (sic) OVER” and “ATTACKED BY 5 JU88’S 2 SHOT DOWN”.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDixonW2206823v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Belgium--Houffalize
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Northamptonshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Wiltshire
Germany--Altenburg (Landkreis)
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Düren (Cologne)
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Merseburg
Germany--Mittelland Canal
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Rheydt
Germany--Saxony
Germany--Saxony-Anhalt
Germany--Siegen
Germany--Steinfurt (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Würzburg
Netherlands--Vlissingen
Northern Ireland--Down (County)
Norway--Trondheim
Poland--Gdynia
Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)
Scotland--Ross and Cromarty
Great Britain
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1944-10-06
1944-10-07
1944-10-11
1944-10-14
1944-10-15
1944-10-19
1944-10-20
1944-11-02
1944-11-03
1944-11-04
1944-11-05
1944-11-06
1944-11-07
1944-11-16
1944-11-21
1944-11-22
1944-11-23
1944-11-24
1944-12-17
1944-12-18
1944-12-19
1944-12-27
1944-12-31
1945-01-01
1945-01-02
1945-01-07
1945-01-08
1945-01-13
1945-01-14
1945-01-15
1945-02-01
1945-02-02
1945-02-07
1945-02-08
1945-02-09
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-15
1945-02-19
1945-02-20
1945-02-21
1945-02-22
1945-03-06
1945-03-07
1945-03-12
1945-03-14
1945-03-15
1945-03-16
1945-03-17
1945-04-04
1945-04-07
1945-04-08
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
1654 HCU
17 OTU
61 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Dominie
Heavy Conversion Unit
Ju 88
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Operational Training Unit
Proctor
RAF Banff
RAF Bishops Court
RAF Carnaby
RAF Evanton
RAF Gransden Lodge
RAF Middleton St George
RAF Netheravon
RAF Silverstone
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF Stradishall
RAF Syerston
RAF Turweston
RAF Wigsley
RAF Yatesbury
Stirling
training
Wellington
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/757/24498/LKluva[Ser -DoB]v1.pdf
be6f0d1d62bb10504c90cad0de934f0f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cranswick, Alexander Panton
Alexander Panton Cranswick DSO DFC
A P Cranswick
Description
An account of the resource
Nine items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader Alexander Panton Cranswick DSO DFC (42696 Royal Air Force) and contains documents, memorabilia and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 35 Squadron Pathfinders and was killed 5 July 1944. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Alexander Parr Cranswick and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Alexander Panton Cranswick is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/206220/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-05-24
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cranswick, AP
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Sergeant Kluva's log book
Description
An account of the resource
A flying log book created for Kluva, temporary sergeant and assistant wireless operator, flight engineer and navigator, covering the period from 8 December 1942 to 20 June 1944. He was stationed at RAF Middleton St George and RAF Graveley. Aircraft flown in were Halifax, Oxford, Proctor and Lancaster. He flew one operation with 419 squadron and served with 35 squadron. His pilot on operations was Flight Lieutenant Cranswick. Target was Lorient. His log book states that he “is liable to desert from his post as assistant engineer and assume the role of wireless operator”
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LKluva[Ser#-DoB]v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Durham (County)
France--Lorient
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1943-01-29
1943-01-30
35 Squadron
419 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
flight engineer
Halifax
Lancaster
navigator
Oxford
Proctor
RAF Graveley
RAF Middleton St George
training
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/367/5857/PCavalierRG17010032.2.jpg
099a9e817f19e8057452aaf7c5403009
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cavalier, Reginald George. Album one
Description
An account of the resource
57 items. Photograph album showing pictures taken during Reginald George Cavalier's service as a squadron photographer. It includes material from his photographic course training in 1940, and service with 76 Squadron at RAF Middleton St George, and with 88 Squadron and 226 Squadron with 2 Group and 2nd Tactical Air Force at RAF West Raynham. The album also includes target photographs, images of Christmas parties, visits by VIPs including Eisenhower and the King, as well as captured German ordnance and aircraft in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04-10
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cavalier, RG
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Reginald George Cavalier
Description
An account of the resource
Photograph 1 is a group of eight airmen. Reginald George Cavalier is standing far right. Seven of the individuals have signed the photograph.
Photographs 2, 4, and 6 are Reginald George Cavalier in uniform in various poses.
Photograph 3 is Reginald George Cavalier and two airmen.
Photograph 5 is of Reginald George Cavalier painting at a desk.
Captioned:
'R.A.F. Middleton St George. April 1942'
Added note: 'RG Cavalier
Reginald George'.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-04
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Six b/w photographs on an album page
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCavalierRG17010032
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-04
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
Language
A language of the resource
eng
ground personnel
RAF Middleton St George
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/976/16154/LManningR52870v1.1.pdf
247348241574f6d9c13acee159d9d84f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Log Book
Description
An account of the resource
The Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Log Book covering the period 15 June 1941 to the 16 August 1963. Manning qualified first as an Air Gunner on the 4 July 1941 and second as a flight engineer on the 1 September 1941. He was commissioned on the 4 July 1943 as a Pilot Officer and promoted to acting Flight Lieutenant in April 1944, and again to acting Squadron Leader in March 1946. He reverted to Flight Lieutenant in April 1947 but was made substantive Squadron Leader in April 1956 in the Engineering Branch. He retired 16 August 1963. There are very few entries relating to his time as a Gunner. Most entries are as Engineer.
He was stationed at RAF Stormy Down; RAF Middleton St George; RAF Linton-on-Ouse; RAF Leeming, RAF Aqir, RAF Fayid, RAF Marston Moor, RAF Snaith, RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor, RAF Cottesmore, RAF Finingley, RAF Scampton, RAF Binbrook, RAF Henlow, RAF Seletar, RAF LLandow, RAF Swaton Morley, and RAF Medmenham. He flew in the following types manly as Engineer ; Arvo Tutor, Armstrong Whitworth Ensign, Handley Page Hannibal, Hawker Hart, Handley Page Heyford, Douglas DC 4 and 5, Handley Page Harrow, Handley Page Halifax, Miles Magister, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, Avro Lancaster, Fairey Battle, Airspeed Oxford, de Havilland Mosquito, Avro Lincoln, Handley Page Hastings, Gloster Meteor, Avro Anson, Vickers Valletta, Vickers Wellington, Percival Prentice, Bristol Britannia and Handley Page Victor. He flew with 10 Sqaudron, 462 Squadron, 51 Squadron, and 614 Squadron. He was awarded the DFC. Pilots he flew with were Richards, Sobinski, Lewin, Turnbull, Hacking, Godfrey, Trip, Peterson, Lloyd, Bell, O’Driscoll, Allen, Declerk, Gribben, Gibsons, Wyatt, Clarke, Snow, Hardy, Haydon, McDonald, Murray, Jones, Dennis, Fisher, Connolly, Cheshire, Woolnough, Cat, McIntosh, Pope, Alcock, Smythe, Williams, Freeman, McKnight, Gillchrist, Moore, Faulkner, Carr, Espie, Brown, Price, Wiltshire, Spence, Symmons, Kirk, King, Burgess, Wilson, Pugh, Johnson, Reynolds, Roberts, Ringer, Minnis, Lowe, Everett, Renshaw-Dibb, Mathers, Sullings, Flower, Jarvis, Chopping, Widmer, Yates, Day, Spires, Huggins, Watts, Haycock, Owens, Liversidge, George , Banfield, Hunt, Porter, Goodman, Ayres, Shannon, Laytham, Lord, Rhys and Blundy,
War time operations were to Sharnhorst and Gneisenau, Cologne, St Nazaire, Kiel, Paris, Aysen Fjord, Terpitz, Trondheim, Hamburg, Mannheim, Essen, Osnabruck, Tobruk, Heraklion, Maleme, Lens, Colline Beaumont, Bourg-Leopold, Trappes, Mont-Fleury, Abbeville, Nucourt, Le Harve, Boulogne. Post war destinations were to RAF Netheravon, RAF Hemswell, RAF Scampton, RAF Lindholm, RAF Marnham, RAF St Eval, RAF Aldergrove, RAF Wyton, RAF Stradishall, RAF Binbrook, RAF Bagington, RAF Waddington, RAF Topcliffe, RAF Upwood, Kai Tak, Changi, RAF Pembrey, RAF Llandow, RAF Filton, and RAF Bruggen.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Manning, Reg
Reginald Manning
R Manning
Description
An account of the resource
Six items, concerning Pilot Officer Reg Manning DFC (567647 Royal air Force) including his flying log book and photographs. He served as an air gunner and flight engineer with 10 Squadron, 462 Squadron, 51 Squadron, and 614 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Reg Manning.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-06-28
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Manning, R
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Reg Manning's observer's and air gunner's flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
The Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Log Book covering the period 15 June 1941 to the 16 August 1963. Manning qualified first as an Air Gunner on the 4 July 1941 and second as a flight engineer on the 1 September 1941. He was commissioned on the 4 July 1943 as a Pilot Officer and promoted to acting Flight Lieutenant in April 1944, and again to acting Squadron Leader in March 1946. He reverted to Flight Lieutenant in April 1947 but was made substantive Squadron Leader in April 1956 in the Engineering Branch. He retired 16 August 1963. There are very few entries relating to his time as a Gunner. Most entries are as Engineer. He was stationed at RAF Stormy Down; RAF Middleton St George; RAF Linton-on-Ouse, RAF Leeming, RAF Aqir, RAF Fayid, RAF Marston Moor, RAF Snaith, RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor, RAF Cottesmore, RAF Finningley, RAF Scampton, RAF Binbrook, RAF Henlow, RAF Seletar, RAF LLandow, RAF Swanton Morley, and RAF Medmenham. He flew in the following types manly as Engineer; Avro Tutor, Armstrong Whitworth Ensign, Handley Page Hannibal, Hawker Hart, Handley Page Heyford, Douglas DC 4 and 5, Handley Page Harrow, Handley Page Halifax, Miles Magister, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, Avro Lancaster, Fairey Battle, Airspeed Oxford, de Havilland Mosquito, Avro Lincoln, Handley Page Hastings, Gloster Meteor, Avro Anson, Vickers Valletta, Vickers Wellington, Percival Prentice, Bristol Britannia and Handley Page Victor. He flew with 10 Squadron, 462 Squadron, 51 Squadron, and 614 Squadron. He was awarded the DFC. His pilots on operations were Warrant Officer Peterson, Flight sergeant Whyte, Warrant Officer O'Driscoll, Sergeant Declerk, Flight Sergeant Clarke, Sergeant Gibbons, Sergeant Wyatt, Flight Lieutenant Freeman, Flight Sergeant McKnight, Pilot Officer Gillchrist, Flight Sergeant Moore, Warrant Officer Skinner, Warrant Officer Faulkner, Flying Officer Carr and Flight Sergeant Espie. War time operations were to Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, Cologne, St Nazaire, Kiel, Paris, Aasen Fjord, Tirpitz, Trondheim, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Essen, Osnabruck, Tobruk, Heraklion, Maleme, Lens, Colline Beaumont, Bourg-Leopold, Trappes, Mont Fleury, Abbeville, Nucourt, Le Havre, Boulogne, Gibraltar, Kasfereet. Post war destinations were to RAF Netheravon, RAF Hemswell, RAF Scampton, RAF Lindholme, RAF Marnham, RAF St Eval, RAF Aldergrove, RAF Wyton, RAF Stradishall, RAF Binbrook, RAF Baginton, RAF Waddington, RAF Topcliffe, RAF Upwood, Kai Tak, Changi, RAF Pembrey, RAF Llandow, RAF Filton, and RAF Bruggen.
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1942-02-12
1942-02-14
1942-02-15
1942-02-16
1942-02-22
1942-02-23
1942-02-26
1942-02-27
1942-03-03
1942-03-04
1942-03-30
1942-03-31
1942-04-27
1942-04-28
1942-04-29
1942-05-03
1942-05-04
1942-05-06
1942-05-07
1942-05-19
1942-05-20
1942-05-30
1942-05-31
1942-06-01
1942-06-02
1942-06-03
1942-06-04
1942-06-05
1942-06-19
1942-06-20
1942-06-22
1942-07-11
1942-07-12
1942-07-18
1942-07-19
1942-07-20
1942-07-21
1942-07-24
1942-07-25
1942-09-03
1942-09-15
1942-09-16
1942-09-17
1942-09-18
1942-09-29
1942-09-30
1942-10-05
1942-10-06
1942-10-12
1942-10-13
1942-10-18
1942-10-19
1942-10-23
1942-10-24
1942-10-27
1942-10-29
1942-11-05
1942-11-07
1942-11-23
1943-07-24
1943-07-26
1943-07-27
1943-07-29
1943-08-01
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-27
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-06
1944-06-11
1944-06-12
1944-06-23
1944-06-24
1944-07-15
1944-07-17
1944-09-11
1944-09-17
1945-06-19
1944-06-05
1944-07-18
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
Egypt
Middle East--Palestine
Singapore
China--Hong Kong
England--Yorkshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Rutland
England--Norfolk
England--Bedfordshire
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Gloucestershire
England--Cornwall (County)
England--Suffolk
England--Warwickshire
Wales--Carmarthenshire
Belgium
Belgium--Leopoldsburg
Greece--Crete
Greece--Ērakleion
Libya
Libya--Tobruk
Norway
Norway--Trondheim
France
France--Saint-Nazaire
France--Paris
France--Lens
France--Colline-Beaumont
France--Soligny-la-Trappe
France--Abbeville
France--Nucourt
France--Le Havre
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Essen
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Stuttgart
Gibraltar
Norway--Aasen Fjord
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Northern Ireland
North Africa
France--Ver-Sur-Mer
Scotland--Shetland
China
Greece
Great Britain
Great Britain
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Durham (County)
Greece
Greece--Maleme
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LManningR52870v1
10 Squadron
1652 HCU
1668 HCU
462 Squadron
51 Squadron
614 Squadron
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
air sea rescue
aircrew
Anson
Battle
bombing of Cologne (30/31 May 1942)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Cook’s tour
Distinguished Flying Cross
flight engineer
Gneisenau
Halifax
Harrow
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lincoln
Magister
Me 110
Meteor
Mosquito
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Oxford
promotion
RAF Aqir
RAF Binbrook
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Filton
RAF Finningley
RAF Hemswell
RAF Henlow
RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
RAF Honington
RAF Kasfereet
RAF Leeming
RAF Lindholme
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Marham
RAF Marston Moor
RAF Medmenham
RAF Middleton St George
RAF Pembrey
RAF Scampton
RAF Snaith
RAF St Eval
RAF Stormy Down
RAF Stradishall
RAF Swanton Morley
RAF Topcliffe
RAF Upwood
RAF Waddington
RAF Wyton
Scharnhorst
tactical support for Normandy troops
Tirpitz
training
V-1
V-weapon
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/367/5841/PCavalierRG17010030.2.jpg
51c81992d716b9d0bde090e3fb13ecd9
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending geolocation
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cavalier, Reginald George. Album one
Description
An account of the resource
57 items. Photograph album showing pictures taken during Reginald George Cavalier's service as a squadron photographer. It includes material from his photographic course training in 1940, and service with 76 Squadron at RAF Middleton St George, and with 88 Squadron and 226 Squadron with 2 Group and 2nd Tactical Air Force at RAF West Raynham. The album also includes target photographs, images of Christmas parties, visits by VIPs including Eisenhower and the King, as well as captured German ordnance and aircraft in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04-10
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cavalier, RG
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Reconnaissance photographs
Photographic Recognizance of Targets in Enemy territory
Description
An account of the resource
Photograph 1 is a vertical aerial photograph of the city of Aachen. There are numbered and arrowed points of interest on the image plus a north arrow. It is annotated 'R405 B/218.3.PRU 22.14.7.41 28" ' Captioned '14th July 1941 Archen [sic], Germany.'
Photograph 2 is a vertical aerial photograph of the city of Cologne. On the right can be seen the Rhine and a railway bridge. There are numbered and arrowed points of interest on the image plus a north arrow. It is annotated '481 B/131 6 3 PRU 8.4.41 F/20" ' Captioned '8th April 1941, Koln, Germany.'
Photograph 3 is a vertical aerial photograph of Munster Aerodrome. There are numbered and arrowed points of interest on the image plus a north arrow. The marshalling yards and canal are clearly visible. It is annotated '424 B/263 3PRU 3 7.7.41 20" ↓ R'. Captioned 'July 7th 1941 Munster Aerodrome, Germany'.
Photograph 4 is a vertical aerial photograph of the docks at Kiel. Large naval ships and a floating dock are visible. There are numbered and arrowed points of interest on the image plus a north arrow. Captioned 'Docks at Kiel'
Photograph 5 is a vertical aerial photograph of the docks at Hamburg. There are numbered and arrowed points of interest on the image plus a north arrow. It is annotated '411 B/183 3 PRU 11 21.5.41 36" ↑ R' and captioned April 5th 1941 Hamberg [sic], Germany'.
Photograph 6 is a near vertical aerial photograph of RAF Middleton St George. A railway runs top to bottom and the airfield is on the right. Captioned 'R.A.F. Middleton St George. April 1942.'
The page is titled 'Photographic Recognizance [sic] of Targets in Enemy territory.'
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1941-04
1941-07
1942-04
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Six b/w photographs on an album page
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCavalierRG17010030
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kiel
England--Durham (County)
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941-04
1941-07
1942-04
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Geolocated (cumulative polygon)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
aerial photograph
Photographic Reconnaissance Unit
RAF Middleton St George
reconnaissance photograph
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1371/23312/NThomasAF200211-02.2.jpg
de71de9e8b2ad28c14d1877638e1ead4
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Thomas, Arthur Froude. Album 7
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020-02-11
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Thomas, AF
Description
An account of the resource
47 items. An album containing photographs of British and German aircraft, news cuttings and Arthur Thomas' decorations.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
The Yorkshire Post
and Leeds Mercury
LEEDS, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1945
R.A.F. SHOWS THE NORTH ITS SECRETS
Thousands Visit Aerodromes for Anniversary At Home
From “Yorkshire Post” Correspondents
By bus, car, cycle, and on foot, thousands flocked to Northern aerodromes on Saturday to see features of the R.A.F.’s work and equipment which only a month or two ago were closely guarded secrets.
For six years they had watched from a distance these R.A.F. stations spreading their runways like the tentacles of a giant octopus over the county’s broad acres. Often they had speculated on what was going on behind the barbed wire barricades.
On Saturday, the anniversary of the greatest victory in the Battle of Britain, they were allowed for the first time since1939 to pass the sentries, at some of them without challenge, roam at will through the hangers and into control towers, and clamber into bombers to whose roar they had listened when they were setting out not so long ago on missions to occupied France, the Ruhr, and other parts of Europe.
Conducted the Family
The R.A.F. were “At Home,” and they entered into the spirit of the occasion with an enthusiasm which ensured for the visitors every facility in their tour of the stations. For some airmen there was the personal pride and satisfaction of being able to show wives and sweethearts details of their work, the “kites” in which they have flown, and features of the station buildings. Others took pleasure in explaining to attentive audiences the valuable work of Radar, the intricacies of the Lancaster, Halifax and Mosquito, and the hundred and one other technical details that have absorbed their attention during the war years.
Children had the time of their lives. At Driffield R.A.F. station, the huge bombers attracted them like magnets. They crowded into the Halifaxes and Lancasters, spoke to each other over the “inter-com,” sampled the pilot’s and air gunners’ seats, and fired a ceaseless stream of questions about the various instruments at the officers and N.C.O.s.
Among the bombers drawn up for inspection was Rosie, a veteran of many operational flights, whose mascot was gaily painted on the ‘plane’s nose.
Other ‘planes on view included the Dakota, a Stirling, Wellington, Mosquito, a glider and tug and a Spitfire.
88 Heinkels Came
Evidence of the daylight raid on this station on August 15, 1940, when it was becoming one of the most vital bomber bases, was still to be seen in a partly demolished building. A force of 88 Heinkel bombers were detailed to wipe out Driffield as a bomber base, but 33 were shot down into the North Sea and along the Yorkshire coast before they could reach their objective.
The base was not completely saved, for 169 bombs of various calibre were dropped on the airfield, two of the hangars were damaged, and a 1,000-pounder demolished part of the officers’ mess, where pilots were sleeping after a night raid.
The whole station was moved to an airfield near Thirsk while repairs were being carried out, but in May, 1941, Driffield became fully operational again, and bombers from there took part in most of the subsequent major raids on Germany and occupied territory. It has now become a transport station.
This is the present role also of the Holme-on-Spalding Moor station, near Market Weighton, another of the centres open to the public on Saturday. Over 400 cars were parked at this station at one period, and the visitors during the day totalled nearly 2,000. In addition to inspecting varying types of ‘planes and equipment, visitors here had the added attraction of seeing normal training going ahead.
Transport Command aircraft fly more than 50,000,000 miles a year on trunk and feeder services. It has ferried more than 27,000 aircraft across the Atlantic, and over 8,000 through the Mediterranean route to Russia, Malta, Italy and other fronts.
At the Holme station, formerly an important base in turn for Lancasters, Halifaxes and Hurricanes, new crews are being trained to fly the Dakotas used in this Command. Visitors saw the ‘planes taking off and circling the airfield, and in the control tower they heard messages being received from the aircraft and instructions being given about landing.
10,000 at Finningley
It is estimated that 10,000 visited Bomber Command instructors’ school at Finningley, near Doncaster.
One of the finest stations of its kind in the country, Finningley was an operational training school until last Christmas, when the Air Ministry felt the need for a standardised method of “putting over” lines of instruction to flying students. It was decided to set up schools where instructors could be taught fixed lines of instruction.
Finningley, because of its ideal layout and living accommodation, was one of those chosen for conversion, and 2,000 students have passed through the school.
The Coastal Command aerodrome at Thornaby was probably the most popular. There the attendance was 40,000.
Yesterday wreaths were laid on local cenotaphs in memory of airmen killed in the Battle of Britain.
Nearly 7,000 people visited the Middleton St. George aerodrome, near Darlington now an operational training centre for light bomber crews. They subscribed more than £150 for R.A.F. charities.
The aerodrome at Leeming, on the Great North Road, was the only R.C.A.F. station to hold an open day. Three thousand visitors were given a close-up view of ‘planes which during the war they saw merely as specks in the sky. Many lined the runways to see the take-offs when a practical display was given, among them children, who were handed sweets and ices by the Canadians.
[photograph]
Visitors lined up at Driffield R.A.F. Station on Saturday to enter a Lancaster Bomber.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
RAF shows the North its Secrets
Description
An account of the resource
A newspaper cutting with news of the RAF 'At Home' days.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
The Yorkshire Post
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-09-17
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One newspaper cutting
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
NThomasAF200211-02
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Coastal Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-09-17
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
Steve Baldwin
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Workflow A completed
aircrew
C-47
Halifax
Hurricane
Lancaster
Mosquito
Operational Training Unit
RAF Driffield
RAF Finningley
RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
RAF Leeming
RAF Middleton St George
RAF Thornaby
Spitfire
Stirling
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/367/5852/PCavalierRG17010031.1.jpg
a3a07d7776bf1d9baf415f700a35a7a7
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cavalier, Reginald George. Album one
Description
An account of the resource
57 items. Photograph album showing pictures taken during Reginald George Cavalier's service as a squadron photographer. It includes material from his photographic course training in 1940, and service with 76 Squadron at RAF Middleton St George, and with 88 Squadron and 226 Squadron with 2 Group and 2nd Tactical Air Force at RAF West Raynham. The album also includes target photographs, images of Christmas parties, visits by VIPs including Eisenhower and the King, as well as captured German ordnance and aircraft in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04-10
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cavalier, RG
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
RAF Middleton St George Photography Section
Description
An account of the resource
Photograph 1 is of eight airmen in two rows and is signed by seven of the individuals. Captioned 'R.A.F. Middleton St George, S.H.Q. Photo Section. 3rd April 1942.'
Photograph 2 is of an airman in battledress carrying a Thompson machine gun and wearing a helmet and gas mask haversack. The photograph is signed and dated. Captioned: 'Ready for the invasion, 24th [blank] 1942, Bob Gleave'.
Photograph 3 is of five airmen lying on bunks and making 'V' signs with their fingers. Captioned 'Night Ops. S.H.Q. Photographic Section. Bill Maxwell Chris Carruathers [sic] Arthur Carr R.G.C. Bill Welesby. 22 Jan 1942.'
Photograph 4 is of three airmen in an office with a world map and training aids.. One is standing beside a camera, one is sitting in front of a screen with a name plate under his chin and the third is seated with an aerial camera in his lap. Captioned 'Lecture Room, S.H.Q. Photographic Section, Frank Ashworth R.G.C. Bill Welesby.'
Photograph 5 is of two airmen in helmets and haversacks, one with a Thompson machine gun. Reginald George Cavalier is on the left with a pipe in his mouth. Captioned 'On guard. Jack Cuthbert, Me. 24th April 44.'
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-01-22
1942-04-03
1944-04-24
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Five b/w photographs on an album page
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCavalierRG17010031
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-01-22
1942-04-03
1944-04-24
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
Language
A language of the resource
eng
ground personnel
military service conditions
RAF Middleton St George
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/367/5780/PCavalierRG17010007.2.jpg
358b95ffba45824c9947d28cad1edee8
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cavalier, Reginald George. Album one
Description
An account of the resource
57 items. Photograph album showing pictures taken during Reginald George Cavalier's service as a squadron photographer. It includes material from his photographic course training in 1940, and service with 76 Squadron at RAF Middleton St George, and with 88 Squadron and 226 Squadron with 2 Group and 2nd Tactical Air Force at RAF West Raynham. The album also includes target photographs, images of Christmas parties, visits by VIPs including Eisenhower and the King, as well as captured German ordnance and aircraft in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04-10
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cavalier, RG
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Operations boards
Description
An account of the resource
Photograph 1 is of the operations board for 76 Squadron.
Photograph 2 is of the operations board for 78 Squadron 30 May 1942.
They are captioned: 'Operations Board, Target Cologne Germany, June 1942. 76 Squadron, 78 Squadron, Halifax A/C. R.A.F. Middleton St. George, Yorkshire'.
Photograph 3 is of the operations board for 226, 88 and 342 Squadrons. Captioned: 'Operations Board 10/11 June 1943. 226 Squadron, Mitchell A/C. 88 Squadron, Boston A/C . 342 Squadron Lorraine, (Free French) Boston A/C R.A.F. West Raynham, Norfolk.'
Date
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1942-06
1943-06-10
1943-06-11
1942-05-30
Format
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Three b/w photographs on an album page
Language
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eng
Type
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Photograph
Identifier
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PCavalierRG17010007
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Free French Air Force
Spatial Coverage
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Germany
Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
England--Norfolk
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-06
1943-06-10
1943-06-11
1942-05-30
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Creator
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Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
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Darren Sheerin
226 Squadron
342 Squadron
76 Squadron
78 Squadron
88 Squadron
B-25
bombing
Boston
Halifax
operations room
RAF Middleton St George
RAF West Raynham
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1700/27562/BElliotJDElliottJDv1.1.pdf
f02a9ba0a887c33494bfc672fe11814b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Elliott, John Dale
J D Elliott
Description
An account of the resource
Two items. A memoir written by Flight Lieutenant John Elliott (b.1920, J20710 Royal Canadian Air Force) and 'The LOG' . He flew operations as a navigator with 428 Squadron before being shot down and becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Gail Elliott and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-12-10
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Elliott, JD
Transcribed document
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Transcription
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428 Squadron Crest
MY EXPERIENCES AS A PRISONER OF WAR IN GERMANY 1943-1945
John D. Elliott, Flt.Lt. Navigator RCAF J20710
Possibly the story of my POW life begins one month before the official date. We crewed up at Operational Training School – where, unlike the Americans, we picked the people we would fly with. Our crew was very closely knit and this feeling stayed with us through Heavy Conversion Unit (where we changed from Wellington to Halifax bomber) and then a posting to 428 Squadron at Middleton St. George, in the county of Durham, England. With three commissioned officers and 4 sergeants it was an average mix. 428 (Ghost) Squadron was a Canadian squadron in a Canadian (6) Group of Bomber Command. By 1942 the second pilot position had disappeared although we quite often carried pilots with no combat experience to give them an idea what it was actually like Discipline on a Canadian Squadron was somewhat different from that on RAF and US units. Although this was a Canadian squadron the air crews were rarely 100% Canadian as we trained at a RAF unit (OTU) and it depended on who was there at the same time, for example, there were no flight engineers in the RCAF at that time, they were all British. Similarly the other groups had 36% Canadian aircrew members. While on the ground we had to maintain a position of respectability, but in the air everything was on a first name basis. The same thing held when we were in town with our ground crew (all RAF). This would shock army officers in pubs etc. To see a sergeant talking to a wing commander using his first name. – I recall one time an army type said to my pilot – “I'd have that man on a charge if he spoke to me that way” – and “If I'm flying the aircraft and the rear gunner says corkscrew starboard, I don't ask him why - I do it”. Luckily we had enough ground exercises in abandoning aircraft, dinghy drill etc. that when something happened in the air we were trained to act by rote. This eventually saved my life.
In the summer of 1943 we had been busy bombing assorted targets such as Pennamunde, [sic] The Ruhr Complex, Hamburg and Berlin. On Nov. 20, I was in the station hospital with pneumonia when my crew flew to bomb Frankfurt (all up effort) and didn’t return – one killed and three wounded, as I found out later. When I got out of the hospital I decided that the least I could do was to go with the crew whose navigator had gone with mine. This was a largely Australian crew, the only Canadian had been the navigator – and they had only four more trips to go. They were a good bunch and I felt very confident flying with the Aussie sergeant pilot – more so than one trip with our commanding officer. I was able to get him commissioned after two trips together – so that he could share my room, as rooms were scarce in the mess, and I had been sharing with Jack Beggs who was shot down in November. It was one of the best rooms.
[page break]
On the night of Dec.20/43, I somehow did not feel too well but decided to fly, wearing my one piece flying suit for the first time (usually wore battle dress and Irwin jacket). Bearing in mind that the temperature at 20,000 feet was about 52 below, I wore silk and wool underwear (longjohns) and as a navigator I had silk gloves under leather. The target was again Frankfurt where my original crew had gone down, and was winter in Yorkshire in December.
We took off at 1700 hours for what should have been a six hour flight and proceeded across the North Sea, over Belgium and then Germany. The aircraft we were flying was an old Mark 2 and we could not get it into a safety height zone, so we were proceeding at 17,000 feet, well below the main stream at 20,000 plus. This must have made us stand out on a radar screen; incidentally we were carrying a second pilot for the experience. This was to be his first and last Operation. We didn’t fly Missions!!
About 1930 hours I heard loud bangs and the lights went out – simultaneously the aircraft went into a spin. My seat came down from the starboard wall with my desk on the other side (with the forward escape hatch underneath me). I reacted as I was trained and threw back my seat and pulled the hatch door into the cabin and jettisoned it into the nose. We wore parachute harnesses but the chute itself was in a steel case beside my leg, so I grabbed it and holding it with one hand tried to pull myself out the hatch, bearing in mind that the aircraft was spinning out of control. I had difficulty getting out (though I was smaller then), then someone stepped on my back and I went out at about 15,000 feet. Then discipline took hold and I realized I had to attach my chute to my harness, then fall some distance to get into the oxygen area. This all took place on a pitch-black night with no lights of any kind. As I neared the ground I could not make out any objects, and was quite surprised to land in something that was soft and dry – A HAYSTACK! The impact when the chute opened had emptied the outer pockets on my flying suit and I had lost all my cigars – was I ever mad! My sheep skin lined boots were also lost, so I was in stocking feet.
I decided to spend the night in the haystack – burrowing in to keep warm. The next day there were no people around and I heard church bells – which I thought to be a good omen as I might be near the Belgian border. Having spotted a farmhouse near the spot, I proceeded with caution and approached the door. An old farmer (German) opened the door and pointed a shotgun at me, and shaking all the while, he motioned me to come in and keep my hands up while he phoned the local army station. About 10 minutes lager [sic] a Kubelwagen (jeep) arrived with a sergeant and two soldiers who drove me to the town jail. They spoke no English and I at that time no German – but I was treated courteously. The German system was that as an air force officer I must be transported to a Luftwaffe facility, escorted by a German officer, so I spent the whole day in jail until the Luftwaffe personnel arrived to take me to Koblenz. They were Flak personnel (anti aircraft), which was part of the Luftwaffe, but decent types.
One day later I left for Frankfurt (by train) accompanied by four guards and an officer. He spoke some English and explained that the guards were to protect me and I should stay close to them. The officer and I occupied a first class carriage and the guards stood in the hall, outside the door. He told me that no lunch was provided for me so that I would have to share his, which I did.
[page break]
When we got to Frankfurt I saw that the railway station had been bombed and the glass roof was all in pieces on the ground. The guards formed around me and we pushed our way thru [sic] an unruly crowd to another Kubelwagen and drove to Dulag Luft on the outskirts of the city. This was the main holding and interrogation centre for air force POWs. I was then led to a small room (8 ft. By 5 ft.), where I spent the next 10 days. This had in it a bed and one blanket – heat and light were controlled from outside -- which was part of the scheme to make me tired and uncomfortable. Cabbage soup was fed to me (Room Service) and altho [sic] I saw many doors off the halls when I went to the bathroom, I saw only the guard who was conducting me – altho I did see a lot of doors.
For two days I saw no one except the guard. On the third day I was taken upstairs to a well- furnished office where I met my interrogation officer. He was a major in the Luftwaffe who I later found had been a professor of psychology at Heidleburg [sic] university in peace time. He was pleasant and offered me cigarettes and coffee – I noticed that the cigarettes were Camels (U.S.). I got the classic “for you the war is over” and a few questions about my squadron etc. Luckily we had been trained to give only our name, rank and number (Geneva Convention) and he didn’t threaten me or behave in any hostile manner! Spent about 20 minutes with him constantly smoking his cigarettes and then returned to my room. Nothing happened for another two days then this process was repeated. Then another three days past [sic] before I saw him again. This time when I sat down facing him there was a file on the desk in front of me labelled “428 Squadron – RCAF”. This didn’t surprise me as I had been told this could happen. He informed me that all my crew were dead and had been given military funerals by the Luftwaffe They were able to ascertain from the wreckage, apparently, that the aircraft carried two pilots and no navigator, so the assumption was that it was me. Altho this saddened me I still repeated name, rank and number. He talked about what they knew about the squadron – including the name of the station commander and the WAAF officer he was running around with (but I was not surprised and made no comments.) After some bread and butter and, coffee and cigarettes he said I would be released and transferred to a holding unit until I was sent to a permanent camp. He wished me luck and we parted company.
The next day I was transferred another compound (about 50 feet away) and met (about fifty) other like souls including Americans. They had Red Cross food and fed me well. Altho I had spent Xmas in solitary confinement and missed all the joyous time they said that they had experienced at Xmas and New Years.
This was a holding unit with RAF staff, and we saw virtually no Germans around. When it was decided where they were going to send us, we would be formed into groups, as logically it was not possible to send us out one at a time. The American and RAF Officers (including all the various Royal Air forces) would go to one camp and our NCO’s to another. The Yanks were more populous so would be leaving more frequently. Altho our Raid Complement (no of aircraft per trip) was about the same as theirs, they had a better survival rate (not to be construed as cowardice on their part)-- we had a lot of respect for them flying in daylight without fighter escort. Once a B17 lost its place in the formation thru damage it was fair game for the Luftwaffe fighters – so they were more or less prepared to bail out. We later calculated
[page break]
that whereas we were getting one man (no women) out of each plane shot down (out of 8) – they were getting an average of 5 out of 10.
Eventually there were enough of us to make a shipment to our camp, which was on the Polish border – and some distance from Frankfurt. We travelled by box car and frankly I cannot recall anything about the trip except it took about 4 days – with considerable time being spent on sidings as troop trains went up to the Russian front with priority. We finally got to Sagan to find that we were not going to Luft 3 at Sagan, but to a new camp some eight km away. Some of the Kriegies (POW in German is Kriegsgefangenen) from Sagan had already been transferred to this camp to get it going. This included a SBO (Senior British Officer – Group Captain) and his staff, plus a lot of characters such as Bob Stanford - Tuck, Wally Floody, and some Polish types. This was how Floody, who built the Great Escape Tunnel at Sagan, was not still there at the time of the escape.
We were assigned to rooms with 2 of these in each room so that we would learn what it was all about. Our 2 were Polish pilots who had been flying in the RAF so were considered RAF not Polish. The rooms held 10 men in double bunks and 5 were Canadian. Quite an interesting group with varied backgrounds but we got along well together. There were 10 such rooms in each hut with a small pot-bellied stove for warmth in each -- and it was cold. We had each been provided with US army greatcoats and boots (if required – and I had lost mine when my parachute opened), plus one towel and two US army blankets. They must have captured a US supply depot somewhere. The Germans provided us with pillow and sheets and a straw filled mattress. In addition to these rooms there was a small room at one end for a senior officer and a kitchen of sorts, and a nite [sic] bathroom (sans bath) at the other. Each room had one table without chairs.. but the Red Cross parcels came in wooden crates and we were able to make chairs from them. We were provided with toilet articles (soap – toothbrush etc. – by the Red Cross) and the people at the main camp had provided us with cigarettes and newspapers (no toilet paper available).
We quickly learned the rules from the Polish fellows such as appel (rollcall) took place every morning at 8 am and 4 pm in the after noon. “German time “ but we operated an hour later so it was 9 am our time. As I was a navigator my watch had been taken from me as it was government property – a Longines!! Everyone in the room had a job and I elected to become cook. This was a good move because it got me out of a lot of other duties. The system on food was that each person got 1/2 a Red Cross parcel twice a week and as we lived as a commune we drew 10 parcels a week for the room. The parcels mainly were American, but we had some Canadian and some British. The contents varied and schedule A lists the contents of each. I gather that the Canadian Red Cross sent one parcel per week for every Canadian, whereas the Americans sent three parcels a week for everyone. The rationale I gather was that if they sent three, one would be stolen at the docks in the US, and one in Lisbon(Portugal) so we would end up with one each. The only honest people in the chain were the Germans. The British parcels were infrequent but we also periodically got bulk shipments from Argentina (which had a large British population) and Denmark. The Germans supplied us with vegetables, bread and meat. So that we would not hoard food for escape purposes every can was punched so that the contents would not keep.
[page break]
This Camp (Belaria) was operated by the Luftwaffe and contained what would have been similar personnel in the German forces. Hence naval fliers, glider pilot , paratroop and anti-aircraft were considered air force. Some of our NCO aircrews were in army camps and as we were allowed one batman (servant) for x number of officers we had the alternative of taking army privates or our own NCO’s, bearing in mind these were the people we were crewed up with. We requested that some of the earlier shot down NCOs be transferred on a voluntary basis with the understanding that they would not operate in a servant capacity. All camps were covered by The Geneva Convention, which contained a lot of rules and by and large the Luftwaffe kept to them. We were supposed to get the rations equal to garrison troops (non combatants), so with the Red Cross parcels we were probably eating better than our guards.
According to the Geneva Convention, officers were to be paid an amount equal to a Luftwaffe officer of equal rank, but the decision had been made by older Kriegies to take the money and treat it as a camp fund, so that no one in the camp ever saw any money. I don’t think this was a universal rule but it was a wise one because we were able to use the money communally and to assist our NCO camps who had no income. Fortuitously we were not charged by the RCAF for the theoretical amount we were paid by the Luftwaffe. Altho they had been charging us all along – It was reversed when we got back home. We were paid by deposit into our London bank accounts – which was the normal way to pay RAF officers. Unlike the USAAF we were not paid flying pay as such but there were two types of officers namely, “General List” and “Administrative”. Getting wounded, being taken prisoner or temporarily taking a ground job between operational tours, did not alter our status and as the rates of pay were different we were the highest paid POWs. The U.S. were paid flying pay only when flying
Having taken a course in administration at some time, I (later) tried to get a “hard lying allowance” too, but the fact that we were supplied sheets and batman (theoretically) was held against us. We did use the monies to purchase things like newspapers, matches, toilet paper, soap and then the instruments for our band, plus from time to time we would rent clothes from a theatrical company In Berlin for our stage presentations.
We also diverted some of the money to the NCO camps as they were not paid. Altho non-officer prisoners were allowed to work this did not apply to our crews so they had no income – nor could they get a job on a farm which was in most cases a good deal as farmers seldom starve – and they also had some Polish girls employed.
In addition to the actual barracks there were other buildings including a combination wash room and showers (cold), an abort (outhouse), a theatre which we filled with seats made from Red Cross crates and a library. The flagship where the SBO and his staff lived and the hospital were included with living quarters. We had an army doctor who in civilian life had been a Harley Street gynaecologist and I think he had four beds . If anyone got really sick he would be transferred to the local hospital in Sagan. A German dentist visited about once a week but he had portable equipment and was not prepared to do anything complicated. We also had a German doctor visiting periodically. There was also a combined kitchen and warehouse building where our NCO’s would periodically cook some porridge or gruel, but it
[page break]
was mainly used for storing and issuing Red Cross parcels which were opened and had the cans punched. (See appendix A ) of metal tins in parcels.)
Every morning we would parade and be counted (rain or shine), then the process was repeated about 4 pm German time. We were a relatively small camp of about 750 until the USAAF really got into the war and then we went up to 18 to a room. Due to their method of flying they were able to get an average of 5 out 10 out of the aircraft whereas ours was 1 out of 8. Due to their formation system they were considered kaput (lost) once they dropped behind or out. They of course were flying in daytime whereas we always flew at nite as single units. This changed in 1944 when they got fighter protection all the way to the target by the Mustangs with Rolls Royce engines, and their losses fell considerably. They were a different breed compared to the stoic English types but we got along fine with them. They were all spread around the camp and not living as a separate unit.
Our leisure time was used in learning such subjects as German, calculus and many other subjects as with the diverse group of kriegies we had people who could do almost everything, with civilian experience. If one was interested he could join the theater group which was constantly putting on plays – with the help of the Germans who got us all the necessary scripts and stage props, costumes etc. from Berlin-as were our orchestral instruments.
We also had a playing field where soccer, rugby (English) and cricket were played in season, and a hockey rink in the winter. Most games were played by country teams and the competition was fierce at times. I even learned to play cricket, but our Canadian team did not have the experience of the Australians or British. The doctor forced the halt of rugby games as there were too many injuries. (Mostly collarbones and ribs.)
The soil at Belaria was not good for tunnelling, as it was all sand. A few unsuccessful escapes such as hiding in wagons going out were attempted, and there was only one man who got out. This was a navigator from Halifax who for a year sat at the main gate with a suitcase he had made (rain or shine). When the Swiss Red Cross (protecting power) visited us they convinced the Germans that he was ‘Round the bend” (crazy) and he was sent home. He was also the first person I saw when I came home by boat in ’45. The Great Escape (starring Steve McQueen) from the main camp at Sagan sort of took the edge off escaping but there was always somebody with a hair brained scheme which of course had to be approved by the escape committee, but none were acceptable.
We followed the land war efforts starting with the invasion in June 1944, plus the eastern front, which was taking a heavy toll of German lives. Fortunately we got the BBC with our own secret radios and we found that the Germans continuously broadcast news of the Russian front as it actually was – they had the Russians advancing faster than the BBC reported. As we were in Poland near the border with Germany we were concerned, but totally unaware of the Russian mentality. The German guards would shudder when the Ostfront (Eastern Front) was mentioned and we could see the casualties coming back on the railway track that ran by our camp. One could see ambulance trains coming back and ones loaded with SS troops going to the front.
[page break]
As the Russians got closer the rumours around the camp got numerous with every possibility being exploited. We would all be held as hostages...we would all be shipped to the south... we would be left to the mercy of the Russians.. or we would be all shot. On January 19/45 we received notice to be prepared to move, and on the 29th of the month after many false alarms, we finally left the camp with all the food, clothing and belongings that we could carry and started our route westward. I cannot call this a march as unlike the army and navy, aircrew are not good marchers, so we were spread out in a disorganized fashion, which eventually worked to our advantage as our fighter bombers figured we could not be Germans and left us alone. Three of our fellows were not in good shape to march, so they rode in the German commandants car, and he walked at the head of this motley crew – despite the fact that he was a paratrooper who had been badly wounded in the legs at Crete.
Some of the more ambitious kriegies had manufactured toboggans and were transporting things like the copies of ?THE CAMP? (our newspaper) and about a million cigarettes. These toboggans were not strong enough and eventually most of this had to be dropped. Fortunately about half the copies of THE CAMP survived and were bound and printed after the war. Like the others I had given a blank cheque (on toilet paper) to the editor and about one year later received a bound book, which I still have.
The first day was the roughest as it was snowing and the slush made walking difficult over rough roads. We made about 30 km. In all until we reached a big farm – where the commandant exercised his authority and took over two barns. We had no food this day so ate a cold meal from our Red Cross stocks and snuggled up to each other in the straw and hay. For the most part we were in good physical condition as we had been playing hockey the day before and were not carrying any excess fat. The next day it continued to snow and we made about the same distance. About 4 pm the major made a big speech in German which sounded to me like a warning of some kind as I was too far away to pick up the words. He was telling us not to escape, as there was an SS Panzer division nearby – plus if we could keep up for another hour he had arranged for a hot meal which we eventually received. It was cabbage and potato soup with pieces of sausage in it – cooked by the SS troops. This may seem strange to civilians who have heard all the propaganda, but the fact that we were all officer aircrews and obviously combatants made this possible. Spent a nite in an abandoned factory.
We were near Lumberg and after about an hour’s travel in the morning reached a railway siding where a train of box cars awaited us. The American people were leaving us at this point and going south whereas we were going west. This was not the first class accommodation we were accustomed to, as there were about forty of us in each box car, but at least we were warmer and out of the snow. The biggest fear we had at this time was that one of our own fighters would show up and attack us, particularly when we were on one of the many sidings along the way. The one thing that stands out in my memory was the time we were on a siding and allowed out of the cars, and ours being next to the locomotive we were taking advantage of the warmth when one of the fellows discovered the drain tap to the water supply. As we all had cans of Nescafe and as the water was hot we were soon enjoying the first hot drink in some days (and the best cup of coffee I have ever tasted). The engineer finally noticed us and with a lot of screaming this was stopped.
[page break]
We eventually reached a station late at night and we were told to get out and line up – and we did see a lot of strange soldiers with guns in front of us. Eventually we were marched off in groups and after an hour or so reached some old buildings where we were deloused and then put into barracks about 5 in the morning. This camp was Luckenwalde which was located south west of Berlin and we saw in the morning a lot of Norwegian officers in the camp and about 2000 Russian prisoners across the road. The Russians went out to work in the morning and some even came into ours to sweep up and take out garbage. One of the Russians approached me – asking for a cigarette in French, and I found that he was a Ukrainian officer who had got rid of any sign of rank. This was necessary he explained as the Germans at the front had a habit of shooting officers (and probably vice versa). I said looking at the scruffy Russians that it was a shame the way the Germans treated them – and he commented that it was no different from the way they had been treated by the Russians.
About 4 days later we were awakened by a lot of noise and saw big tanks (Russian T40's) taking out all the barbed wire between the compounds – and no Germans in sight (they apparently left during the night). We went over to the Russian compound that could only be described as filthy but did see a chapel they had made which was beautiful. The most powerful Russian was a political officer (Major Medvadov) who was disappointed that we didn’t want to grab a gun and join their army. We said we were only trained to fight in the air so we declined, and found that they had placed guards around the perimeter wires so that technically we were now prisoners of the Russians and they intended to send us home via Sebastopol – as had been agreed on at a conference 2 years previously. We knew that the American army was on the west bank of the Elbe which was no more than 10 miles away so 3 of us decided to take off. The Russian guards were stationed between upright posts and we found that one had taken off. Approaching the one on the next post I tried to talk to him while I was giving him cigarettes (Lucky Strikes), as the other 2 cut the wire. He smiled and turned his back so we got out and hightailed it away. We had covered about a mile when we saw a Russian tank approaching us and they stopped and made motions for us to climb on – which we did. They had a big gun pointing forward but the back was loaded with big bottles of Vodka in wooden crates – which they insisted we drink with them. We kept saying “Americans” so they kindly took us all the way to the river. There was a footbridge at that point so we crossed the river and finally convinced the Yanks we were legitimate and told them there were a lot more like us at Luckenwalde. We later heard that they sent an armed force plus ambulances and took out all the sick and wounded guys. They also informed their superiors and the entire camp was released soon after. Being RCAF we were a novelty to them and they gave us stuff like underwear and socks but we felt it better that we keep our scruffy blue battle dress. We stayed with them for one day and then left in a jeep they gave us, well stocked with food and gasoline. We drove as far as Hanover and then found a DC3 pilot who was going to Brussels – so we went with him.
Brussels had been taken by the Canadian Army who seemed to have taken over the town and after some talks with intelligence people we found that we each had a suite in one of the best hotels, and as much money as we wanted – which we didn’t need as everyone wanted to treat us. There were a number of RCAF fighter squadrons around Brussels and one night in a night club I met a pilot who had been on the same course at ITS, and who was leaving for England the next day. He gave me a little suitcase full of Belgian money and told me to spend
[page break]
all I wanted, then give it to someone else when I was leaving, and not to take it to England. It was probably counterfeit printed by the Germans but we had no trouble spending it in stores.
After a week of the high life we decided to go home as we were seeing pink elephants in our sleep. Some army fellow drove us to the airport where we had offers to fly us to Paris but eventually found someone who was flying to England so we gave the rest of the money and we went home. We stayed one nite at the air station where we had landed, then took the train to Bournemouth which was the big RCAF holding unit. It took a day to get my uniforms and personal stuff back, then we took off on three weeks leave in England. We were given civilian ration cards specially made for pregnant women because of the hardships we had suffered. I weighed 180 pounds when I was shot down – now I was at 120 pounds -- but in the best physical condition (even after Brussels). I came back from leave and left for Canada 5 days later by boat.
. .
J.D.Elliott
January 30, 2000
P.S. In the 55 years since the end of the second Great War I have belonged to many organizations in different locations and for various reasons.
DATA (From war diary)
Halifax V aircraft NA P took off at 1600 hours, Dec.20. 1943 from Middleton St. George, County Durham, to bomb. Frankfurt, Germany. This was part of a force of 650 aircraft – 390 Lancasters, 257 Halifaxes and 3 Mosquitoes. Other targets for the nite were MANNHEIM, an armament factory near LEIGE, France, mining in the FRISIAN Islands and other minor
[page break]
sorties. The total effort for the nite was 802 sorties with the loss of 43 aircraft. (41 of these on the FRANKFURT OPERATION ). Using radar the Luftwaffe was able to plot the bomber force as soon as it left the English coast and track it all the way to the target. Many including P (Peter) were lost before reaching FRANKFURT – including one other from 428 Squadron.
CREW OF NA-P were experienced and nearing the end of the tour of 30 operations.
Name Force Fate
Pilot P/O. W. J. (Joe) Armour DFC Royal Australian Air Force KIA
Navigator: F/O J. D. Elliott Royal Canadian Air Force POW
Flt Engineer: Sgt. S. P. Page Royal Air Force KIA
Wireless Op. Royal Air Force KIA
Bomb Aimer Royal Air Force KIA
Rear Gunner Royal Australian Air Force KIA
Mid Upper Gunner Royal Australian Air Force KIA
Second Pilot Royal Canadian Air Force KIA
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
My experience as a prisoner of war in Germany 1943 - 1945
John Elliott's memoir
Creator
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J D Elliott
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2000-01-30
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
10 typewritten sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BElliotJDElliottJDv1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
Poland
Germany--Oberursel
Poland--Żagań
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-12-20
1944
1945
Description
An account of the resource
Describes life on 428 Squadron, being shot down 20 December 1943, and his life as a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft 3 before his liberation.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Roger Dunsford
428 Squadron
6 Group
aircrew
bale out
bombing
C-47
crewing up
Dulag Luft
entertainment
escaping
flight engineer
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 5
Heavy Conversion Unit
killed in action
navigator
Operational Training Unit
prisoner of war
RAF Middleton St George
Red Cross
shot down
sport
Stalag 3A
Stalag Luft 3
the long march
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/367/5861/PCavalierRG17010033.2.jpg
995110fd7ed36cc46f17faf4cc4bed6e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cavalier, Reginald George. Album one
Description
An account of the resource
57 items. Photograph album showing pictures taken during Reginald George Cavalier's service as a squadron photographer. It includes material from his photographic course training in 1940, and service with 76 Squadron at RAF Middleton St George, and with 88 Squadron and 226 Squadron with 2 Group and 2nd Tactical Air Force at RAF West Raynham. The album also includes target photographs, images of Christmas parties, visits by VIPs including Eisenhower and the King, as well as captured German ordnance and aircraft in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04-10
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cavalier, RG
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Middleton St George
Description
An account of the resource
Photograph 1 is of Reginald George Cavalier amongst several loaded bomb trolleys. In the background are trucks and aircraft.
Photographs 2 and 3 are of a group of airmen watching a 4000 lb bomb being lifted on slings. Captioned '1000 lb bomb.'
Photograph 4 is of four Naval officers looking at the rear gun turret of a Halifax.
Photograph 5 is of three airmen handling bombs on a crane, watched by Naval officers.
Photograph 6 is a discussion between Naval officers and airmen beside bombs stored on the ground.
Captioned 'Visit of the Royal Navy, R.A.F. Middleton St George. 14th July 1942.'
Photograph 7 is of three Halifaxes, one coded 'Z-ZA', another 'T', a hangar, a truck and two trailers. Captioned 'View from Photo Section window.'
Photograph 8 is of four airmen sitting on top of a Halifax.
Photograph 9 is of Reginald George Cavalier in the cockpit of a Halifax. Captioned 'R.G.C. in cockpit of Halifax A/C.'
Photographs 10 and 11 are of a Halifax, one coded 'H-MP'. Captioned 'Halifax A/C. 78 Sqd.' [Squadron code MP is for 76 Squadron.]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-07-14
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
11 b/w photographs on an album page
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCavalierRG17010033
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Navy
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07-14
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Darren Sheerin
10 Squadron
76 Squadron
78 Squadron
bomb dump
bomb trolley
ground personnel
Halifax
hangar
RAF Middleton St George
service vehicle
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/704/11895/LBeethamMJ[Ser -DoB]v2.pdf
e48b84bb1ab4b0ad11464c42bd3238d3
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Title
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Beetham, Michael
Sir Michael Beetham
M Beetham
Description
An account of the resource
Five items. The collection concerns Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham GCB, CBE, DFC, AFC, DL (1923 - 2015) and contains his five flying log books. He flew a tour of operations as a pilot with 50 Squadron. After the war he flew on the goodwill tour of the United States with 35 Squadron. He remained in the RAF and rose in rank until his retirement in the 1980s.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Sir Michael Beetham and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-09-09
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Beetham, MJ
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Michael James Beetham’s pilots flying log book. Two
Description
An account of the resource
Pilots flying log book for Michael James Beetham, covering the period from 5 December 1945 to 18 July 1952. Detailing his post war squadron duties, staff duties, flying training and instructor duties and flew the victory day fly past and good will tour of the United States. He was stationed at RAF Graveley, RAF Hemswell, RAF Finningley, RAF Eastleigh, RAF Middleton St. George, RAF Bassingbourn and RAF Andover. Aircraft flown were, Lancaster, Oxford, Lincoln, C-47, B-17, Expiditor, Anson, Wellington, Devon, Valetta, Meteor, Canberra and Proctor. Flying duties were with 35 Squadron, 82 Squadron, Headquarters Bomber Command and Staff College.
Format
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One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LBeethamMJ19230517v2
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Ghana
Great Britain
Kenya
Nigeria
South Africa
Tanzania
United States
Zambia
California--Mather Air Force Base
Colorado--Colorado Springs
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Durham (County)
England--Hampshire
England--Huntingdonshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Suffolk
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
Ghana--Accra
Ghana--Takoradi
Kenya--Nairobi
Michigan
New York (State)
New York (State)--Mitchel Field
Newfoundland and Labrador--Gander
Ohio
Ontario--Ottawa
Ontario--Trenton
South Africa--Pretoria
Tanzania--Dar es Salaam
Tanzania--Lindi
Tanzania--Mbeya
Tanzania--Tabora
Texas
Washington (D.C.)
Zambia--Ndola
California
Colorado
Ontario
Newfoundland and Labrador
35 Squadron
82 Squadron
aircrew
Anson
B-17
C-47
Goodwill tour of the United States (1946)
Lancaster
Lincoln
Meteor
Oxford
pilot
Proctor
RAF Andover
RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Eastleigh
RAF Finningley
RAF Graveley
RAF Hemswell
RAF Middleton St George
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1122/19948/BSharrockRSharockRv2.1.pdf
1f7f1c8901c36dd903c87e4757a4c783
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Sharrock, Bob
Robert Sharrock
R Sharrock
Description
An account of the resource
Six items. An oral history interview with Flight Sergeant Bob Sharrock (1924 - 2019, 2210141 Royal Air Force), his log book, a photograph and documents. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 428 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Bob Sharrock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-03-19
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Sharrock, R
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Memories and Reminiscences of Bob Sharrock
I was born in 1925 at a small village called Digmoor in Upholland near Wigan. My father, Joshua, known as Jos, was a coal miner working at a coal mine in Bickerstaffe.
Mother, Alice worked hard looking after the house and the children.
I had an older brother called Eric and a younger brother called William or Billy who died when only three years old. I went to school at the age of five.
We lived in a small terraced cottage in Spencers Lane, which had two bedrooms, a parlour (front room), a living kitchen and a back kitchen. It had a back yard in which Daddy had a wooden hut in which he carried out his hobby of fretwork and other woodwork. The living kitchen had a coal-fired range, which had an oven on one side and water heater on the other. Alongside the fireplace was a brick built boiler for washing clothes. The back kitchen had a slopstone and a cold water tap. All hot water came from a kettle, which was permanently on the fire or from the wash boiler, which was only used on washdays.
Daddy would come home from work covered in coal dust and would wash all over in a galvanised bath in front of the fire or, if the weather was warm, in the backyard.
Sundays were spent going to chapel and Sunday school. We had no transport and Daddy went to work on his bike having to go over a fairly large area called the Moss. He fitted a seat on the crossbar of his bike and would take me for rides on it.
Times became hard when the Bickerstaffe pit closed and father was out of work. He and some other miners went to work in Kent but the conditions were so difficult that they came back to Lancashire. In 1935 he got a job at Cronton colliery and the family moved to Whiston, renting an end terrace house in Brook Street.
I went to a primary school in Prescot, in the final year class.
At the age of 11 I went to Whiston Central School until Easter 1939
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when I left school at the age of 14. I then started work as an errand boy at the Rainhill branch of the Whiston Co-op Society. I earned 11 shillings per week and gave my mother 10 of these and had one shilling as spending money. I could get to a cinema show for 9 pence.
War broke out on the 3rd Sept 1939, and we were then living in a small semi-detached house 121 Dragon Lane. Whiston, from there, over ensuing months, we could see the effects of air raids on Liverpool, about 9 miles away. A few stray bombs fell on Rainhill but did no significant damage.
Some communal air raid shelters were built in the streets but as they were brick built and had concrete roofs it was doubtful if they would have been very effective. We were issued with an Anderson shelter, which Dad installed, in our back garden. He dug a pit about 3 feet deep, installed the corrugated shelter in it and covered it with the displaced earth. We only spent time in it when the air raid sirens went off. It was cold, damp and cramped.
Men were getting called up to the forces and as a result I changed to milk delivering. This meant being up at 5-30 a.m. 7 days a week. Loading a handcart with half a ton of milk bottles and pulling it around Rainhill. It was hard work but I think it did me some good physically. Eventually I was equipped with a pony and milk float, which made the job easier.
One day I met an old school acquaintance who was working for the local Gas Company. He told me that they were short-handed and it may be worthwhile making enquiries about a job. I followed this up and called at the office. The Manager interviewed me, asking a few questions on maths and general knowledge and then asked if I would like to start as a laboratory assistant. I accepted willingly and was soon involved in doing routine lab tests on calorific value, flue gas analysis, retort temperatures and other similar jobs. I started night school classes on maths, physics and chemistry, which lasted for two years until it was time to join the armed forces.
With a war going on these early teenage years didn't give much
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opportunity for normal teenage activities. In addition to my three nights a week at nightschool time was taken up by joining, with my friends, the Air Training Corps and the Police Auxiliary Messenger Service and it was the A.T.C. that stimulated my interested in flying.
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The A.T.C. took up one night per week when we did aircraft recognition, elementary navigation and drill. There were two occasions when we went on a week's camp, once to Blackpool airport and once to Crosby on Eden. One day at Crosby I was hanging around aircraft that were being serviced when a pilot told me that he was taking a Beaufighter on a test flight and did I want to join him. I sat in the observer's seat and we flew over the Lake District, I was thrilled.
When it came the time for registering for the armed forces. I made it clear that I wanted to join the RAF as a flier. I was eventually called for interview at the Aircrew Selection Board at Padgate, Burtonwood, near Warrington. I was asked what job did I want to do in aircrew and I said PNB or Flight Engineer.
PNB stood for Pilot, Navigator, Bomb Aimer. They all started their training together, the latter part of this in Canada or Rhodesia. As they went through their training selection was made. The best continued as Pilots, the next Navigators and the rest Bomb aimers.
When I mentioned Flight Engineer there was little further discussion. I was told I could train for this job. Whether it was because of my vaguely engineering background or because they were desperately short I don't know.
I joined the Air Force in June 1943, aged 18, and reported to the Lord's Cricket Ground in London. We were billeted in blocks of flats nearby. Here we were issued with uniform, given numerous inoculation jabs, initiated into drill exercises and introduced to canteen food. Not a bit like home cooking.
About 2 weeks later we were posted to Torquay for Initial Training. Here we endured physical training, some theoretical training into navigation, drill, Morse Code, even skeet shooting on Daddy Hole Plain. When we moved from one site to another it was either running or at a marching pace faster than the army used. This lasted for about six weeks and we were fortunate to have good hot weather Most of the time it was very enjoyable.
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The next posting was to St Athan in South Wales. Here we started our technical training. Most of us were allocated the Halifax bomber, others the Stirling, the Lancaster and a few to Sunderland flying boats. I was disappointed not to be one of the latter. All these were four engined aircraft and it was only these that had a Flight Engineer. Most of the time was spent in lecture groups and my notebooks give an idea of the type of information we were given. We also had drill, P.T. swimming and other recreational activities
It was about this time that, when on leave, I went to a dance at the Parish Rooms at Prescot and met Dorothy Marsden.
The following March (1944) I was posted to 1664 Heavy Conversion Unit at Dishforth. This was where we met up with aircrews that had trained on two-engined aircraft and were moving on to heavy bombers. In this case they were Halifax bombers. We had further practical training and were attached to a crew. They were all Canadian with a pilot by the name of Willard MacKeracher. The unit was in 6 Group, operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force, which occupied the area of North Yorkshire.
We did six exercises of Circuits and Landings. These were a series of take off, fly round the airfield and land. They were mainly to familiarise the pilot and engineer with handling the aircraft. This took about 10 hours. A further hour was spent doing three engined landings. Three further trips were made to give the Gunners and the Bomb Aimer some practice but it was on this third trip that we crashed on landing. It was apparent and subsequently reported that we had suffered an engine failure which slewed us over to miss the runway.
It was a miracle that not one of the crew was killed. All I remember is being knocked about and then opening my eyes to see that I was a few yards in front of the nose of the aircraft.. [sic] The first person to reach me was an Italian prisoner of war who helped me to get out my parachute harness. Help soon arrived and four of us were taken by ambulance to Northallerton hospital.
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Examination showed that I had a compressed fracture of the vertebrae in the lumbar region. A plaster of Paris jacket was applied which extended from the groin to the neck. I had a few days in bed while the jacket hardened and dried and then I was able to walk about fairly normally. The only difficulty was that I could not bend down. I was then given a couple of week's leave, which I spent at home.
I was then posted to a convalescent home in Hoylake on the Wirral. This was called The Leas and was previously a girl's school. It was provided to recuperate injured aircrew and there were a number of chaps wearing plaster jackets similar to mine.
We were made to keep quite active and spent most of the time doing exercises, playing games such as softball, (an easy version of baseball), tug'o war, football, cycling, etc. I was there for just short of three months. I was fortunate in that in weekends off it was quite easy to get home.
Whilst I was there the Normandy invasions took place.
In August 44 I was posted back to Dishforth and joined another crew. The skipper was R. Anderson. We knew him as Andy.
Over a period of about four weeks we did 98 hours of flying time in Halifax Bombers.
Then we were told that future flying would be in Lancasters so, after a few lectures and 10 hours flying time in three days we were considered to be fully trained.
The next posting was in October to 428 Squadron based at Middleton St George, which was where we were to do our operational flying. In the 6 months that we were operational I did 28 ops and was “screened” on the 17th April 45, some three weeks before VE Day.
My flying logbook lists every flight that I made, including training flights and operational trips. The operational flights were mainly at nighttime, bombing German cities. We were fortunate to evade being attacked by night fighters and being hit by flak. Only on one occasion did I find, on
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returning, a piece of shrapnel embedded in the fuselage.
With the war in Europe ending in May 45 and operational flying finished it was apparent that the authorities had to find something for aircrew to do before demob and I was posted, along with other Flight Engineers, To Credenhill, near Hereford and put on a Flight Mechanic’s course. After that I was posted to Kinloss where we spent time inhibiting engines on bombers in case they were needed again.
Whilst I was there the manager of Prescot Gas Company applied for my release from the R A F and I was demobbed on the 1st Feb 46 on a “B”class release. I had served 2years 8months.
Some time later I learned that the Institute of Gas Engineers had arranged some courses for employees who had their technical education interrupted by war service and I made application.
I went to Aston Technical College for 6 months to get my Ordinary Grade Certificate in Gas Engineering (Supply), then to Liverpool Gas Company for 6 months practical training followed by a further 6 months at Birmingham Central Technical College to get my Higher Grade Certificate.
On 19th July 1947 Dorothy and I were married.
Soon after finishing the course and going back to Prescott Gas I got an invitation to apply to Liverpool Gas Co. for a job in their Industrial Sales Department. This I did and started with the company later in 48. The job involved visiting manufacturing firms and getting them to use gas for their heating processes. These included space heating, water heating and various manufacturing processes such as furnaces, tank heating etc.
From getting married we lived in shared accommodation in various places, usually the homes of widows and consisted of a bedroom, a ground room and shared kitchen and bathroom. Whilst working at Liverpool we bought a small semi in Cable Road, Whiston. This cost
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£900 and we lived there for about a year until we moved to Burnley.
The Gas Industry at that time was formed from towns having a gasworks run either as private companies or mainly as Departments of local councils.
In 1951 the Industry was nationalised and these undertakings, apart from bigger towns like Manchester and Liverpool, were formed into small groups. This gave the opportunity to create special departments specialising in a particular activity. One of these was sale of gas to Industrial and Commercial premises. One of the Groups was known as the Burnley / Colne Group and I got the job of Industrial Engineer, starting in June 51. This also coincided with the arrival of Robert, our firstborn.
We bought a house in Sycamore Avenue, Burnley. Finances were tight but we managed. It was here, in 1953, that John was born.
My job involved selling gas to Industrial and Commercial customers and I had to get around in a small van but after a while I got my first car, a Ford Prefect.
In 1954 The North West Gas Board reorganized and larger Groups were formed. One of these was The Northern Group which took in Lancaster, Morecambe, Kendal, Barrow-in Furness and other smaller undertakings in the Lake District and as far away as Millom. Harry Robinson, the Manager of the Burnley/Colne Group was made Manager of the Northern group and I got the job of Industrial Gas Sales Engineer. Among the customers that I had dealings with were Jas. Williamsons and Storey Bros. of Lancaster, K Shoes of Kendal, Vickers Armstrong, Barrow Steel, Barrow Iron works and Millom Iron works.
The Gas Board bought a house, which I rented, in Beaufort Road, Morecambe and I got a decent increase in pay. Life was comfortable.
Whilst living in Morecambe Jeremy and David arrived and I got involved in various activities including the Masons, Round Table and Scouts. Also whilst there I bought a second hand dinghy, a GP 14, called
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William Younger with the sail number 347. I joined the Morecambe and Heysham Yacht Club and took part in races with Dorothy as crew. This lasted some time and the boys also took part. John and I sailed together at the Southport 24hr race as part of the MHYC team a couple of times, one year using our boat as the team boat. One year we took part in the Race Across the Bay to Gibraltar (the one near Jenny Brown's Point) and managed to come last as our launching trolley had broken the previous day so we were loaded down with the canvas cover and all sorts of other heavy gear. John was the keenest sailor and eventually he decided I was too slow to act as his crew so he got various girls to crew for him, including Dorothy's niece, Patricia. His main crew was Rosemary Cole with whom he won many trophies. We did do some work on the boat, when we first got it it had a jib and mainsail in white cotton, this was changed for red terylene sails including a genoa.
I joined the RNLI as crew on the inshore lifeboat and acted as survivor on more than one occasion to give the holidaymakers a thrill.
We spent several holiday [sic] at Fell Foot Park a National Trust site on Lake Windermere. We would travel towing the boat with all the camping gear in it and two canoes perched on top of it. We had a wonderful French six berth frame tent which seemed the size of a small marquee.
I also had a go at gliding with a club near Tebay. This didn't last very long though. Dorothy, Robert and John used to hang around whilst I was doing circuits.
I tried all sorts of activities golf, various musical instruments and even started to build a hovercraft, up to the point where I needed an engine.
The church of the Ascension in Torrisholme had a well-organised rambling club. Every month they had a day in the Lake District, travelling by coach, and splitting into three groups. Hard, Medium and Easy. Dorothy and I enjoyed these outings.
I was very keen on walking and kitted myself up with light weight camping gear and did a few long distance walks.
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After living in the house in Morecambe for 12 years I realised that to be financially secure we ought to own our own property so, in 1963, we bought a house in Bolton-le-Sands. This was an old stone built semi-detached in St. Michael's Lane named Thistlebrake. I spent about 6 months getting it into reasonable shape for living in. I rewired the electrics, and with help installed central heating and got a contractor to install a water closet and drains to a soakaway in the rather big garden. Each bedroom had a sink and there was an upstairs bathroom and a downstairs toilet in the utility room. For a few years we retained the copper under which you could light a fire to do the washing. We put in a solid fuel rayburn which heated the water and did the cooking and it was wonderful producing the most wonderful food, Dorothy helped of course.
Robert went to Lancaster Road Primary School as did John. For John's final year we were living in Bolton-le-sands so he was taken there every day. Jeremy and David both went to Bolton-le-sands Primary School. Unusually John and David went to Lancaster Royal Grammar School whilst Robert and Jeremy went to Morecambe Grammar, no-one can remember why this was the case.
It would be about 1972 that further reorganisation took place and the Northern Group expanded to take in the Blackpool and Preston areas. The headquarters was based at Blackpool and I was put in charge of a sales department dealing with Industrial and Commercial customers. I was given the title of Technical Sales Manager.
I was given the opportunity to be provided with finance for removal expenses but to avoid disruption of the education of the boys I decided to stay ay Bolton-le-Sands and commute. This meant doing about 50 miles a day in the car. It was during this period that Robert, John and Jeremy left to go to university.
It would be about 1975 that Dorothy got a job at Preston Hospital as a phlebotomist so we were both commuting, in two cars. We needed to move nearer to our jobs but it would have upset David's way of life so
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we continued to live there until he went to university.
We moved to Garstang in 1982.
At some time in the eighties some of my colleagues invited me to join them on a sailing holiday on a thirty-five foot sailing yacht owned by the British Gas Sailing Association.
We set sail from a port on the south coast in the evening for an overnight passage to Cherbourg. The weather deteriorated and progressed into a storm. We sailed under heavily reefed sails, secured ourselves with harnesses and tielines and suffered seasickness. We eventually reached France, about a hundred miles east of Cherbourg, and found a sheltered port where we sorted ourselves out. The rest of the week was in good weather and we visited the Channel Islands. There were many more trips. Later we sailed around the Western Isles of Scotland. I was enthusiastic and attended evening classes at the Fleetwood Nautical College to learn navigation. These sailing trips went on until the Sailing Association folded on privatisation of the industry.
In 1986 the Gas Industry was privatised and I was made redundant. I got redundancy pay and could also be paid my pension. Dorothy continued to work for a couple of years.
I was not very involved in politics but had voted for the Liberal party. I got to know a few people in Garstang and learned that there was a particularly active Liberal group so I went to their meetings and in 1987 put my name forward for election in the town and borough elections. Five of us gained seats in the Wyre Borough Council and I was elected to Garstang Town Council. The following year, 1988 I was made Mayor of Garstang. Elections were held every four years and I was re-elected on the next two. In the last year, 1998/99, I was Mayor of the Borough of Wyre and with Dorothy, who was Mayoress, had a wonderful time, being entertained by many organisations and making many friends. May 99 saw the end of my time in local politics and, at the age of 74, just as well.
11
[page break]
In June of that year Dorothy and I celebrated by taking a lovely holiday doing an Alaskan Cruise.
Some three months later I was diagnosed with cancer of the stomach and had a gastrechtomy [sic] at Chorley Hospital. Recovery from this was slow but with great care from my dear wife I made gradual progress.
In August 2005 Dorothy died of cancer of the pancreas.
The commemoratory address given at her funeral by her sons gives a better record of her life than I can give
“Dorothy did many things throughout her life and looking back it seems that nearly all of them carried a sense of public or private duty and that in doing them she gave real pleasure to those around her.
She was, perhaps above all, a mother and a wife. She somehow found time even during the busiest years, when she was raising four sons, to channel her energies into other activities.
But she never lost sight of a belief that her primary responsibility was to her family. I suppose that everybody believes that they have the world's best mum: and I am no different.
Dorothy was born eighty years ago in February 1925, not far from here, in Longridge. She trained as a confectioner – which probably accounts for the fantastic scones which we will all now miss so badly – but with the outbreak of the war she moved into war work.
She used to tell us great stories about those times, some of them involving a dashing Lancaster Bomber flight engineer called Bob. She met this young man at a dance in the Parish hall in Prescot while he was on leave from the RAF.
They married shortly after the end of the war and, with Dad making his way in his new career as a gas engineer, there began a peripatetic
12
[page break]
period during which they lived in Birmingham, Whiston, Burnley, Morecambe and Bolton-le-Sands.
Dorothy gave birth to four sons, the first in 1951 and the last in 1962. It's true to say – because she did and why not, she was proud of the fact – that she taught each of us to read and write BEFORE we started primary school.
I think that says it all about her determination to give her children the very best start in life, in which she succeeded. Thanks mum. She gave us all a well-rounded view of life and the world and she did it with a real enthusiasm, which was truly infectious.
We were all inveterate hillwalkers, often even before we had taken our first steps! Mum must have walked every fell in the Lake District ... and run back down every one of them as well. She was still walking her beloved mountains well into her seventies – and giving her fours [sic] sons, six grandchildren and three great grandchildren a run for their money.
But she was also active in other areas, dinghy sailing and scouts among them as well as working as a volunteer with the Citizens Advice Bureau in Lancaster.
As her boys grew up and learned to fend for themselves, Dorothy decided she wanted to resume her working career. She trained as a phlebotomist and worked in hospitals in Lancaster, Morecambe and Preston. I think that she got a lot of satisfaction out of this valuable service – especially when she was mistaken in the hospital wards and corridors for a doctor because of her white coat!
In the mid-70s Bob and Dorothy moved to Garstang, nearer to Dad's job in Blackpool, and her job in Preston, and a new era began in their lives, now that their sons had all left home for university. David refused to move from Bolton-le-Sands until he went to University so the move to Garstang was delayed. I suppose you might call this their “Golden Age”, because they have had such a wonderful time living here and making such good friends.
13
[page break]
She supported Dad in his political and civic roles, becoming Mayoress for Garstang and Wyre Borough Council. She also threw herself into a host of activities, including support for the Leonard Cheshire Home and the St John's Hospice and Meals on Wheels with Cabus WI.
Dorothy was active in the bowling club, she swam once a week and she continued to walk. She was fit and active right up until the end, her enthusiasm for life undimmed.
As we remember her this morning, the word, which most aptly comes to mind, is “selflessness”, because she always put the needs of others above and before her own needs. She was the least selfish person I know, she was always ready to help in any way that she could. She was – and is – our mum, Dorothy,”
That gives a summarised account of our lives, which, on the whole was a happy one. Good fortune, in many respects, came our way. My career started modestly as a youngster from an elementary education but a series of events led to me having a well-paid job and a comfortable retirement. Family life was pleasant, bringing up four boys who have done well in their careers and kept in close contact with us.
Another part of my life was my association with Scouting.
This started with Robert joining Cubs and me offering to assist with transporting the pack members to their various activities. The Scout Group was attached to Church of the Ascension at Torrisholme and I joined the Parent's Committee.
About 1964 the Senior Scout Unit needed some help so I took the necessary training and became the Senior Scout Leader, my scouting career was as follows.
March 65 Senior Scout Leader 16th Morecambe
Oct 67 Assistant District Commissioner (Venture Scouts)
14
[page break]
May 71 District Commissioner – Morecambe & Heysham District
April 74 District Commissioner – Lonsdale District
June 80 Assistant County Commissioner – West Lancashire
In 1984 and then living in Garstang, I had retired from the Lonsdale District and was appointed Assistant County Commissioner (Personnel) for the West Lancashire County Scout Council. The County had two full time campsite wardens and I made arrangements for improvements to their conditions of employment including salaries and pensions.
June 93 Assistant District Commissioner (Venture Scouts).
I took an active part in training these teenage lads in various outdoor activities such as Rock Climbing, Hill Walking, Orienteering, Sailing and Canoeing, some of them gaining the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
My scouting involvement was for about 28 years and I enjoyed it immensely.
ROBERT SHARROCK C.Eng .. M.I.Gas E.
D.O.B. 12 February 1925
Whiston Central School Left 1939 aged 14 years
Started work as an errand boy Whiston Co-op Society.
1941 Started work at Prescott Gas Co. Jumior [sic] on general duties in the laboratory, works and distribution Dept
June 1943 Joined R.A.F. Trained as Flight Engineer (Aircrew) complted [sic] one tour in Bomber Command. Attained rank of Flight Engineer then Flight Sargeant [sic]
March 1944 Crashed in Halifax Bomber on training flight and ended up with a broken back
Sept 1944 Resumed training
Posted to 428 Squadron (Canadian) Ghost Squadron at Middleton St George. Flew 28 operational flights
Feb 1946 Released from R.A.F. on a B Class Release. Returned to work at Prescot Gas Co. manager of gas works applied for Bob's release
Jan 1947 Started intensive course in Gas Engineering at Aston in Birmingham Technical College sponsored by Institute of Gas Engineers
Nov 1948 Joined Liverpool Gas Co.
15
[page break]
June 1951 Appointed Senior Industrial Engineer – Burnley following Nationalisation
June 1954 Appointed Group Industrial Gas Sales Engineer – NWGB North (Lancaster)
Feb 1971 Appointed Technical Sales Manager, West Lancs (Blackpool)
April 1986 Early Retirement due To impending privatisation of British Gas 42 years' service in Gas Industry
FAMILY
16
[page break]
Married to Dorothy 19th July 1947
Children – Robert Eden 16th June 1951
John James 18th May 1953
Jeremy Mason 1st June 1958
David William 19th Feb 1962
Stomach cancer Aug 1999 stomach removed
Moved to Abbeyfield House 2011
d:\sharrock family\dad bob documents\memories and [inserted] 17 [/inserted] reminiscences\memories and reminiscences of bob sharrock v5 31-8-14.doc
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Memories and Reminiscences of Bob Sharrock
Description
An account of the resource
Bob Sharrock's story. He was born near Wigan, his father a coal miner. He worked locally until old enough to sign up. He trained at Lords cricket ground, Torquay then St Athan. Posted to Dishforth, he suffered a compressed spine during a Halifax crash. On recovery he returned to Dishforth, followed by Middleton St George. He completed 28 operations unscathed. After the war he continued at Credenhill then Kinloss as a flight mechanic.
He got his old job at the gas works back and married Dorothy. They had four boys and he spent a lot of time dinghy sailing.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Bob Sharrock
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
17 typewritten sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BSharrockRSharockRv2
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Wigan
England--Warrington
England--London
England--Torquay
England--Hoylake
England--Hereford
England--Liverpool
England--Burnley
England--Morecambe
England--Bolton-le-Sands
England--Garstang
England--Yorkshire
England--Cheshire
England--Devon
England--Herefordshire
England--Lancashire
England--Preston (Lancashire)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Roger Dunsford
1664 HCU
428 Squadron
6 Group
aircrew
Beaufighter
crash
flight engineer
flight mechanic
ground crew
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Initial Training Wing
Lancaster
RAF Credenhill
RAF Dishforth
RAF Kinloss
RAF Middleton St George
RAF Padgate
RAF St Athan
RAF Torquay
recruitment
shelter
training
-
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2180/38309/S102SqnRAF19170809v10005-0002.1.jpg
d585e4fae9a1bff15f23afe81e51d465
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
102 Squadron Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Thirty-one items.
The collection concerns material from the 102 Squadron Association and contains part of a Tee Emm magazine, documents, photographs, accounts of Ceylonese in the RAF, a biography, poems, a log book, cartoons, intelligence and operational reports, an operations order and an account by a United States Army Air Force officers secret trip to Great Britain to arrange facilities for American forces.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Harry Bartlett and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-05-23
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
102 Squadron Association
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
TOUR OF OPERATIONS CARRIED OUT BY FLYING OFFICER E. EDWARD AMERASEKERA [underlined] 640 SQUADRON [/underlined]
[a] DATE [b] TARGET [c] AIRCRAFT/CODE [d] TAKE OFF [e] LANDED [f] PILOT
[a] 24 AUG 1944 [b] BREST [c] LV 823 'O' [d] 10.9hrs [e] 15.03hrs [f] P/O PAPPLE
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 31 AUG [b] LA POURCHINTE [c] MZ 308 'W' [d] 12.53hrs [e] 16.18hrs [f] P/O PAPPLE
MISSION ABANDONED BY ORDER MASTER BOMBER
[a] 13 SEPT [b] NORDSTERN [c] MZ 544 'Z' [d] 16.16hrs [e] 20.28hrs [f] P/O PAPPLE
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 15/16 SEPT [b] KIEL [c] MZ 731 'I' [d] 22.24hrs [e] 03.42hrs [f] P/O PAPPLE
BOMBS JETTISONED IN THE SEA
[a] 17 SEPT [b] BOULOGNE SUR MER [c] MZ 407 'R' [d] 07.01hrs [e] 10.50hrs [f] P/O PAPPLE
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 23/24 SEPT [b] NEUSS [c] NP 965 'Y' [d] 19.12hrs [e] 23.43hrs [f] F/O PAPPLE
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 25 SEPT [b] CALAIS [c] MZ 544 'Z' [d] 06.40hrs [e] 10.11hrs [f] F/O PAPPLE
MISSION ABANDONED BOMBS BROUGH BACK
[a] 26 SEPT [b] CALAIS (7c) [c] NP 965 'Y' [d] 08.08hrs [e] 12.15hrs [f] F/O PAPPLE
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 29 NOV [b] ESSEN [c] NP 958 'V' [d] 02.37hrs [e] 08.10hrs [f] P/O MILLS
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 5/6 DEC [b] SOEST [c] NP 958 'V' [d] 18.01hrs [e] 00.18hrs [f] P/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 12 DEC [b] ESSEN [c] NR 289 'P' [d] 16.27hrs [e] 21.57hrs [f] P/0 JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 22 DEC [b] BINGEN [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 15.09hrs [e] 21.11hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT LANDED MIDDLETON St GEORGE
[a] 28 DEC [b] OPLADEN [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 03.29hrs [e] 08.46hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 5 JAN 1945 [b] HANNOVER [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 16.51hrs [e] 21.50hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 6 JAN [b] HANAU [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 15.41hrs [e] 22.05hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 14 JAN [b] SAARBRUCKEN 'A' [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 10.46hrs [e] 17.14hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 16/17 JAN [b] MAGDEBURG [c] PN 182 'N' [f] F/O JEEVES
NON STARTER
[a] 22/23 JAN [b] GELSENKIRCHEN [c] PN 182 'N' [d]19.19hrs [e] 00.44hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 28/29 JAN [b] STUTTGART [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 17.05hrs [e] 00.41hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 4/5 FEB [b]GELSENKIRCHEN [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 17.23hrs [e] 22.55hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 20/21 FEB [b] REISHOLZ 'B' [c] NP 997 'Z' [d] 22.02hrs [e] 05.00hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 21 FEB [b] WORMS [c] PN 182 'N' [f] F/O JEEVES
NON STARTER
[page break]
[a] DATE [b] TARGET [c] AIRCRAFT/CODE [d] TAKE OFF [e] LANDED [f] PILOT
[a] 23 FEB 1945 [b] ESSEN [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 11.50hrs [e] 17.28hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 24 FEB [b] KAMEN [c] NP 958 'V' [d] 13.03hrs [e] 18.55hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 27 FEB [b] MAINZ [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 12.50hrs [e] 19.14hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 3/4 MAR [b] KAMEN [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 18.30hrs [e] 03.24hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 5/6 MAR [b] CHEMNITZ [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 17.05hrs [e] 01.14hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT LANDED LYNEHAM
[a] 7/8 MAR [b] HEMMINGSTEDT [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 18.44hrs [e] 00.28hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 11 MAR [b] ESSEN [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 11.48hrs [e] 17.23hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 12 MAR [b] DORTMUND [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 13.09hrs [e] 18.46hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 13 MAR [b] WUPPERTAL [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 12.52hrs [e] 18.13hrs [f] F/O JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 15 MAR [b] MATHIAS STINNES [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 13.12hrs [e] 18.21hrs [f] F/LT JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
[a] 19 MAR [b] WITTEN [c] PN 182 'N' [d] 00.49hrs [e] 07.05hrs [f] F/LT JEEVES
DUTY CARRIED OUT
FLIGHT LIEUTENANT A.J. JEEVES & CREW SCREENED ON COMPLETION OF TOUR WITH 640 SQUADRON.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
List of operations carried out by Flying Officer E. Edward Amerasekera 640 Squadron
Description
An account of the resource
List of thirty-three operations with record of aircraft, take off and landing times and pilot.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-08-24
1944-08-31
1944-09-13
1944-09-15
1944-09-16
1944-09-17
1944-09-23
1944-09-24
1944-09-25
1944-09-26
1944-11-29
1944-12-05
1944-12-06
1944-12-12
1944-12-22
1944-12-28
1945-01-05
1945-01-06
1945-01-14
1945-01-16
1945-01-17
1945-01-22
1945-01-23
1945-01-28
1945-01-29
1945-02-04
1945-02-05
1945-02-20
1945-02-21
1945-02-23
1945-02-24
1945-02-27
1945-03-03
1945-03-04
1945-03-05
1945-03-06
1945-03-07
1945-03-08
1945-03-11
1945-03-12
1945-03-13
1945-03-19
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
France--Brest
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Kiel
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
Germany--Neuss
France--Calais
Germany--Essen
Germany--Bingen (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Hanau
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Worms
Germany--Kamen
Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Dithmarschen Region
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Wuppertal
Germany--Witten
Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page printed document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
S102SqnRAF19170809v10005
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
640 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
Master Bomber
pilot
RAF Middleton St George
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/667/38123/MAlgarHKM1801102-211028-07.1.jpg
b4ffdc54ad7b142d37ef4c87e45f9385
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Algar, Harry
Harold Keith Mael Algar
H K M Algar
Description
An account of the resource
Thirteen items. An oral history interview with Flight Lieutenant Harry Algar (1924 - 2022, 1801102 Royal Air Force) and his log books and documents.
He flew a tour of operations as a bomb aimer with 463 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Greg Algar and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-05-20
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Algar, H
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[a] DESIGNATION [b] TYPE [c] USE [d] WHERE
Dec 1942 [a] TIGER MOTH [b] SINGLE ENGINE 2 SEATER BI PLANE [c] PRIMARY PILOT TRAINING [d] ELEMENTARY FLYING SCHOOL
1943 [a] ANSON [b] TWIN ENGINE LIGHT BOMBER [c] BOMBING, NAVIGATION TRAINING [d] CANADA BOMBING & GUNNERY SCHOOL (31 [indecipherable word]) AIR NAVIGATION SCHOOL 33 A.N.S.
1943 [a] BOLINGBROKE [b] TWIN ENGINE BOMBER (BLENHEIM MK4) [c] BOMBING, NAVIGATION TRAINING [d] CANADA BOMBING & GUNNERY SCHOOL (31 [indecipherable word]) AIR NAVIGATION SCHOOL 33 A.N.S.
1943 [a] ANSON [b] LIGHT BOMBER [c] BOMBING, NAVIGATION TRAINING [d] CANADA BOMBING & GUNNERY SCHOOL (31 [indecipherable word]) AIR NAVIGATION SCHOOL 33 A.N.S.
1943 [a] ANSON [b] LIGHT BOMBER [c] BOMBING, NAVIGATION TRAINING [d] CANADA BOMBING & GUNNERY SCHOOL (31 [indecipherable word]) AIR NAVIGATION SCHOOL 33 A.N.S.
1944 [a] WELLINGTON [b] MEDIUM BOMBER [c] OPERATIONAL TRAINING [d] 29 OTU BRUNTINGTHORPE
1944 [a] STIRLING [b] HEAVY BOMBER [c] HEAVY BOMBER TRAINING [d] 1660 HBC SWINDERBY
1944 [a] LANCASTER [b] HEAVY BOMBER [c] OPERATIONS [d] 4 LFS SYERSTON
1944/45 [a] LANCASTER [b] HEAVY BOMBER [c] OPERATIONS [d] 463 SQDN WADDINGTON
1948 [a] ANSON [b] LIGHT BOMBER [c] TRAINING [d] 2 ANS MIDDLETON-ST-GEORGE
[a] WELLINGTON [b] MEDIUM BOMBER [c] TRAINING [d] 201 AFS SWINDERBY
[a] LANCASTER [b] HEAVY BOMBER [c] OPERATIONS [d] 230 OCU LINDHOLME
1949 [a] LANCASTER [b] HEAVY BOMBER [c] OPERATIONS [d] 149 SQDN MILDENHALL
1950 [a] LINCOLN [b] HEAVY BOMBER [c] OPERATIONS [d] 44 SQDN WYTON
1950 [a] B29 WASHINGTON [b] HEAVY BOMBER [c] OPERATIONS [d] 149 Sq. MARHAM
1951/2/3 [a] B29 WASHINGTON [b] HEAVY BOMBER [c] OPERATIONS [d] 149 SQD CONINGSBY
1953 [a] NEPTUNE [b] MARITIME RECONNAISSANCE [c] OPERATIONS [d] 236 OCU KINLOSS
1953/54 [a] NEPTUNE [c] OPERATIONS [d] 36 SQDN TOPCLIFFE
1955-59 [a] LINCOLN [b] HEAVY BOMER [sic] [c] BOMBING TRIALS [d] R.A.E. WEST FREUGH
1955-59 [a] CANBERRA [b] LIGHT JET BOMBER [c] BOMBING TRIALS [d] MIN. OF SUPPLY
1955-59 [a] VALIANT [b] 'V' FORCE JET HEAVY BOMBER [c] BOMBING TRIALS [d] R.A.E.
1955-59 [a] VULCAN [b] HEAVY BOMBER [c] BOMBING TRIALS [d] R.A.E.
1955-59 [a] JAVELIN [b] TWIN ENGINE JET NIGHT FIGHTER [c] INSTRUMENT TRIALS [d] RAE WEST FREUGH
1955-59 [a] SEA PRINCE [b] COMMUNICATION AIRCRAFT [d] RAE WEST FREUGH
1955-59 [a] OXFORD [b] COMMUNICATION AIRCRAFT [d] RAE WEST FREUGH
1955-59 [a] SUNDERLAND [b] 4 ENGINE FLYING BOAT [c] MARITIME RECONNAISSANCE [d] COASTAL COMMAND MOTV KINLOSS
1959/1968 [a] SHACKLETON [b] MARITIME RECONNAISSANCE [c] MARITIME RECONNAISSANCE [d] COASTAL COMMAND MOTV KINLOSS
1959-1968 [a] SHACKLETON [b] MARITIME RECONNAISSANCE [d] 204 SQDN BALLYKELLY
1959-1968 [a] SHACKLETON [b] MARITIME RECONNAISSANCE [d] 38 SQDN LUQA MALTA
1959 - 1968 [a] SHACKLETON [b] MARITIME RECONNAISSANCE [d] MOTU ST MAWGAN
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
List of aircraft flown
Description
An account of the resource
Gives dates when flown, name, type, use and where flown. Aircraft include Wellington, Stirling, Lancaster, Lincoln, Washington, Shackleton, as well as post war jet aircraft.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1945
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1968
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Great Britain
England--Leicestershire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Norfolk
England--Yorkshire
England--Suffolk
England--Cambridgeshire
Scotland--Moray
Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway
Northern Ireland--Londonderry (County)
Malta
England--Cornwall (County)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Coastal Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MAlgarHKM1801102-211028-07
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
149 Squadron
463 Squadron
Anson
B-29
Bolingbroke
bombing
Lancaster
Lincoln
Operational Training Unit
RAF Bruntingthorpe
RAF Coningsby
RAF Kinloss
RAF Lindholme
RAF Marham
RAF Middleton St George
RAF Mildenhall
RAF St Mawgan
RAF Swinderby
RAF Syerston
RAF Topcliffe
RAF Waddington
RAF West Freugh
RAF Wyton
Shackleton
Stirling
Sunderland
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2047/33330/EBiltonGHABilton[Mo][Date]-010001.jpg
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2047/33330/EBiltonGHABilton[Mo][Date]-010002.jpg
94a0a80b39c11d00bee598805213212f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Bilton, George Henry Albert
G H A Bilton
Description
An account of the resource
Nineteen items. The collection concerns George Henry Albert Bilton (b. 1923, 175723 Royal Air Force) and contains an oral history interview, his log book, correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 428 and 434 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Anthony Bilton and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-09-14
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Bilton, GHA
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
175723 P/O Bilton
Officers Mess
RCAF Croft
Darlington
Sunday
My Dear Mother
Just another lere [sic] to let you that I am OK after yesterdays off on Brunswick 7 more [indecipherable word] then we are finished We had a good trip exsept [sic] for a few odd things, the lads in our hut in our hut came back with 72 holes in the kite, they had a very shacky do.
I saw a good film show to night [sic] The tourch [sic] still burns, all about nursing, it was quiute [sic]
[Page Break]
[underlined] 2 [/underlined]
1 Pair of Pyjams [sic]and 1 Pullover, the Pyjamas cost me £1 so they should be good, I will send my Blue Pullover home, I also had to buy my Battle dress,
I saw a very good film in town Alli [sic] Barba and the forty thieves
The King was at Middleton yesterday he gave the Gongs out Frank was there and shook hands with him
Well I will close now as I have some work to [deleted] you [/deleted] do so I will close with love from your loving son
George
xxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from George Bilton to his mother
Description
An account of the resource
Writes that he was okay after operation to Brunswick and now had only seven left to finish tour. Returned with 72 holes in the aircraft. Relates seeing films and discusses clothing. Mentions a visit by the King to Middleton St George.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
G H A Bilton
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EBiltonGHABilton[Mo][Date]-01
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Durham (County)
Germany
Germany--Braunschweig
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Claire Monk
bombing
entertainment
George VI, King of Great Britain (1895-1952)
RAF Croft
RAF Middleton St George
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1624/25151/PCothliffKB17030029.1.jpg
75162e99c0101046bc5720cb1c7101c8
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1624/25151/PCothliffKB17030030.1.jpg
b96bd68dea05453c5b571198ff89c039
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cothliff, Ken. Folder 1703
Description
An account of the resource
27 items. The collection contains photographs and a map.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ken Cothliff and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cothliff, K
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lancaster 'VR-V'
Description
An account of the resource
A full frame vertical aerial photograph of a Lancaster flying over a heavily bombed V-1 site.
On the reverse 'KB745 VR-V 419 Sqn Middleton St Geo attacking V1 site July 1944.
Lost 5/10/44 crashed into high ground on Op to Norway'
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-07
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCothliffKB17030029,
PCothliffKB17030030
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-07
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Durham (County)
France
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending identification. Places
Pending geolocation
419 Squadron
crash
Lancaster
RAF Middleton St George
V-1
V-weapon
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/837/34465/BMarshCGoldbyJLv10001.2.jpg
f146f8cca2766075acad1b451a03bbf1
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/837/34465/BMarshCGoldbyJLv10002.2.jpg
6d8cac2dc2c8a7dd95d26aaa8c02fba7
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cd7f176ae1972d3e966f2ffc1dab672a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goldby, John Louis
J L Goldby
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with John Goldby (1922 - 2020, 1387511, 139407 Royal Air Force). He was shot down and became a prisoner of war in December 1944.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by John Goldby and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-10-25
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Goldby, JL
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
JOHN LOUIS GOLDBY SERVICE NO. 1387511 and 139407 Version dated 21 July 2020
[inserted] Corrected August 2020 [/inserted]
John joined up on 31 May 1941 at Babbacombe in Devon. He completed ground training at the Initial Training Wing at RAF Kenley. He then went to Air Observer School at Jurby in the Isle of Man from October 1941 – May 1942. For some of his fellow volunteers it was the first time they had been in an aircraft. He completed navigation and gunnery training on Blenheim aircraft and bomb aimer training on Hampdens whilst at Jurby, using air-to-air towed targets. He gained 3 stripes as a Sergeant Observer. He then went to Stanton Harcourt (near Abingdon) to 10 Operational Training Unit in June 1942.
He became part of a crew under pilot Captain Watson RE, seconded onto Whitley aircraft in the role bomb aimer. Captain Watson was a 2nd pilot on the first 1,000 bomber raid on Cologne on 30 May 1942. The second 1,000 bomber raid targeted Essen and John flew on the third 1,000 bomber raid in a Whitley bomber to Bremen on 25 June 1942. This was a 5-hour round trip.
Bomber Command then extended the number of crew needed on 4 engined aircraft from 5 to 7 crew members, adding a bomb aimer and flight engineer.
No. 10 Operational Training Unit Detachment at St Eval was led by Wing Commander Pickard who was portrayed in the film 'F for Freddie' which detailed the raid on Amiens prison, in which Wg. Cmdr. Pickard was killed.
Twin-engined Whitley aircraft of Bomber Command were being used on anti-submarine duties because of the U-boat threat.
The unit was based at St Eval in Cornwall using black-painted Whitleys (Coastal Command aircraft were painted white). Flights involved a 10-hour flight dropping depth charges over the Bay of Biscay. It was a deafening experience as the crew had no hearing protection. The unit completed 6-8 operations.
John then moved in September 1942 to Marston Moor (Yorkshire) and completed a conversion course on to 4 engined aircraft – the Halifax 2. These were notoriously difficult to handle, with original tail fins and Rolls Royce engines.
John took part in a number of mine-laying operations off Heligoland, which counted as a 1/2 operation. These were called 'gardening' trips – planting mines at low level. On 11 December 1943 John was a crew member in a Halifax 2 aircraft of No. 78 Squadron which took off from Linton-on-Ouse with a heavy load of fuel on board, bound for Turin. An engine caught fire on take-off and the aircraft had to ditch in Filey Bay. The crew were rescued by local fishermen. By February 1943 he had completed 8 operations which was very stressful. He received news of his commission and went to London to get his uniform, but he developed a very bad throat infection and ended up in an Army hospital in York with an abscess on the carotid artery, and then had his tonsils removed. He spent his 21st. birthday in June 1943 in hospital at RAF Northallerton.
His commissioned service number was 139407. His mother came up from Sidcup for the commissioning ceremony – a very difficult journey in wartime.
John was posted as a Bombing Instructor to Moreton-in-March (Gloucester) from winter 1943 until late Spring 1944 (???) on Wellington aircraft. He then moved back to Bomber Command Operations and completed a Bombing Leader course at the Armaments School at RAF Manby in January 1944 at the beginning of July 1944 at RAF Riccal (York). He was posted to No. 640 Squadron at RAF Leconfield In Yorkshire on Halifax 3 aircraft as a bomb aimer with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.
In his position as a Bomb Aimer leader, John was supposed to complete only 2 operations per month, but if a crew lacked a bomb aimer then John would go on the operation to complete the crew. For his actions when his aircraft was damaged during a raid over Germany in September 1944 John was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (although he did not receive the actual decoration until June 1945 (see separate piece).
[page break]
On 6 December 1944 John's aircraft – a Halifax III with radial engines – was hit whilst returning from a bombing raid over Osnabruck in Germany. John thinks his aircraft collided with a German night fighter. He was fortunate to escape from the falling aircraft – he still does not know how he got out of the fuselage), and landed by parachute in a field full of water. He sustained various injuries, and recovered in a hospital run by nuns at Neemkirchen in northern Germany until 20th January 1945. He was then sent to the interrogation centre at Dulagluft at Frankfurt-an-der-Oder near Barth near Stettin in Pomerania. The camp had an airfield alongside it. The camp was divided into 2 parts – an American section for USAF personnel and a British RAF Group Captain commanded the British prisoners. You were placed into the appropriate section according to which air force you had flown with. The camp was liberated by Russian forces on May 1st. 1945. Shortly afterwards members of the American Army appeared and took over the camp.
2 Group Captains from the camp managed to get through to the Allied lines at Lubeck and arranged for the camp prisoners (all RAF men?) to be flown back to the UK on B17 Flying Fortresses, 25 men to each aircraft on 13 May 1945. John's aircraft landed at Ford, and he then caught a train to (RAF) Cosford.
He underwent a rehabilitation course in Air Traffic Control at RAF Henlow.
He was demobbed in late 1946.
POST-WAR CAREER
John re-joined the RAF in 1949, and completed a 9 month Navigator and Bombing refresher course at No. 1 Air Navigation School at Topcliffe and RAF Middleton-St-George respectively between 1 June and 15 August 1949 on Anson and Wellington aircraft. This was followed by training at No. 201 Advanced Flying School at RAF Swinderby, flying Wellingtons with pilot Wing Commander Oxley, between 29 September and 30 November.
Wing Commander Oxley (known as Beetle), was quite dangerous as he did not like to use his instruments. On one operation John's aircraft was diverted to Anglesey and Beetle overshot the runway.
John then posted to No 236 Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Kinloss in Scotland, flying Lancaster aircraft, until 5 April 1950. It was a very cold experience as they lived in unheated tin (Nissen) huts. John then was posted to 38 Squadron at RAF Luqa, Malta, flying Lancasters on Maritime Reconnaissance Operations, including exercises with various Navies and Air Sea Rescue duties), until 19 July 1952. During this period he was seconded to RAF Masirah located on the island of Masirah in the Indian Ocean as Commanding Officer of the staging post between Aden and India.
There were frequent visitors, to the RAF base, especially the top people from the Defence College. Back in Malta, on 12th May 1952 John flew with 6 Lancaster aircraft from No. 38 Squadron which set of [sic] on a goodwill visit to Ceylon (Sri Lanka.) They flew via Luqa (Malta), Habbaniya (Iraq), Mauripur (India) to Negombo. They returned leaving Negombo on 31st May via Mauripur, Aden and Khartoum (Sudan) reaching Luqa on 4 June 1952.
On leaving Malta in September 1952 John was posted to No. 1 Maritime Reconnaissance School at St Mawgan in Cornwall as a Navigational Instructor, flying Lancasters until the end of September 1954. During this period John had two breaks, one being in the procession at the Queen's Coronation in 1953, and the second at the Queen's Review at RAF Odiham. In October 1954 until September 1956 John was posted to HQ 64 Group Home Command, at Rufforth in Yorkshire, as PA to the Air Officer Commanding (this was a non-flying role, apart from accompanying the Air Commodore on internal visits).
[page break]
From September 1956 until 23 January 1957 John attended Bomber Command Bombing School at RAF Lindholme, Yorkshire, for navigation training for the V-Bomber Force. In summer of that year he was posted instead to the Air Ministry, London Intelligence Branch. During his term at the Air Ministry he had a spell of 2 weeks at St Mawgan, flying as Navigator on Shackleton aircraft with the Air Sea Warfare Development Unit. This was to qualify him to receive flying pay. From October 1960 until May 1962 he served as Assistant Air Attache at the British Embassy in Paris. John was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander and liaised with the French Air Force for participation in air shows.
John retired from the RAF in May 1962, as there was only a 1 in 4 chance that he would be posted to a flying role, and by then he had 2 small children at home.
In September 1962 he joined Shell-Mex and BP Ltd, soon to become separate companies. He stayed with Shell until his retirement in June 1982.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
John Louis Goldby Biography
Description
An account of the resource
A biography covering John's training and service in the RAF.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020-07-21
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Devon
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Essen
Germany--Bremen
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Germany--Helgoland
Italy--Turin
England--Filey
England--Northallerton
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Barth
Malta
Oman--Masirah Island
India
Yemen (Republic)--Aden
Sri Lanka
Iraq--Ḥabbānīyah
Pakistan--Karachi
Sri Lanka--Negombo
Sudan--Khartoum
Germany--Lübeck
Italy
Sudan
North Africa
Germany
Iraq
Pakistan
Yemen (Republic)
Oman
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Kent
England--Lancashire
England--Yorkshire
England--London
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Coastal Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three printed sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BMarshCGoldbyJLv10001, BMarshCGoldbyJLv10002, BMarshCGoldbyJLv10003
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
10 OTU
38 Squadron
78 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
Anson
B-17
bale out
Blenheim
bomb aimer
bombing of Cologne (30/31 May 1942)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Dulag Luft
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Hampden
Lancaster
mine laying
navigator
Nissen hut
Operational Training Unit
prisoner of war
RAF Cosford
RAF Ford
RAF Henlow
RAF Jurby
RAF Kenley
RAF Kinloss
RAF Leconfield
RAF Lindholme
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Manby
RAF Marston Moor
RAF Middleton St George
RAF Moreton in the Marsh
RAF Odiham
RAF Riccall
RAF Rufforth
RAF St Eval
RAF St Mawgan
RAF Stanton Harcourt
RAF Swinderby
RAF Topcliffe
Shackleton
Stalag Luft 1
training
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2093/34639/SWeirG19660703v090003.2.pdf
cf321337e20b8a659aa3202e02eb91de
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Weir, Greg. Flannigan, J and McManus, JB
Description
An account of the resource
Seventeen items. Collection concerns Flt Sgt James Flannigan who flew as a wireless operator/air gunner on 77 and 76 Squadrons in 1941, he failed to return from operations 31 October 1941 and J B McManus (RAAF), a Halifax pilot who flew operations on 466 Squadron in 1944-45. Collection contains their log books, mementos, parade notes, medals, documents and photographs.
Collection catalogued by Nigel Huckins
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04-26
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Weir, G
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Jas Flannigan - Observer's and air gunners flying log book
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SWeirG19660703v090003
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Description
An account of the resource
Observer's and Air Gunner's Flying Log Book for Jas Flannigan, wireless operator/air gunner. Covers his training and operations 13 January 1940 to 31 October 1941. He was based at RAF Evanton, RAF Bassingbourn, RAF Jurby and RAF Middleton St George. Aircraft flown were Anson, Harrow, Wellington, Whitley and Halifax Mk 1. With 76 Squadron and 77 Squadron he flew 22 operations. Targets were Boulogne, Rotterdam, Kiel, Hamburg, Bremen, Mannheim, Dieppe, Cologne, Magdeberg (but bombed Emden), Frankfurt, Leuna, Hanover, Essen, Brest, Cherbourg and Dunkirk. His pilots on operations were Sergeant Smith, Pilot Officer Ireton, Sergeant Thrower, Sergeant Hutchin, Squadron Leader Bicksord, Group Captain Opert, Sergeant Herbert, Sergeant O'Brien. He failed to return from the operation to Dunkirk and his log book is marked 'Death presumed'.<br /><br /><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW135383485 BCX0">This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No </span><span class="ContextualSpellingAndGrammarError SCXW135383485 BCX0">better quality</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW135383485 BCX0"> copies are available.</span>
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941-04-15
1941-04-16
1941-04-19
1941-04-20
1941-04-24
1941-04-25
1941-04-30
1941-05-01
1941-05-02
1941-05-03
1941-05-06
1941-05-07
1941-05-08
1941-05-09
1941-05-10
1941-05-11
1941-05-12
1941-05-15
1941-05-16
1941-05-19
1941-05-20
1941-07-05
1941-07-06
1941-07-07
1941-07-08
1941-07-09
1941-07-14
1941-07-15
1941-07-19
1941-07-20
1941-07-21
1941-07-22
1941-08-07
1941-08-08
1941-08-29
1941-08-30
1941-09-14
1941-09-10
1941-10-26
1941-10-27
1941-10-31
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
10 OTU
11 OTU
215 Squadron
76 Squadron
77 Squadron
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
bale out
crash
Halifax
Halifax Mk 1
Harrow
killed in action
Operational Training Unit
RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Evanton
RAF Jurby
RAF Middleton St George
training
Wellington
Whitley
wireless operator / air gunner
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Culkin, Jean
J Culkin
Description
An account of the resource
10 items. An oral history interview with Jean Culkin, née Dodds (b.1924), photographs and documents. The collection also contains an album of photographs and newspaper cuttings. Jean Culkin grew up in Sunderland and worked in a reserved occupation. Her husband, John George Mackel Culkin, served as ground crew.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Jean Culkin and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-09-13
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Culkin, J
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
B0574910 Warrant Officer J G M Culkin
Royal Air Force
Born 14th May 1923
John George Mackel Culkin in Sunderland (East End) County Durham
Father – Thomas William Culkin
Mother – Ethel Jane Elizabeth May Culkin Nee Mackel
Schools
Moor Board School, East End Sunderland
Sunderland Technical College (Scholarship)
Royal Air Force
1938
Joined 6th September as an Enlisted Aircraft Apprentice (38th Entry) at R.A.F. Halton, Buckinghamshire.
14th September posted to Apprentice training to R.A.F. Cosford, Shropshire, 1(a) Wing for full R.A.F. Technical Apprenticeship and further technical academic schooling.
1939
3rd September war with Germany was declared.
Posted back to 3(a) wing R.A.F. Halton to finish shortened apprenticeship training.
Passed out as Aircraftman 1st class, but he was under 18 years of age so was not eligible foe “Mans service”.
1940
29th June – posted to No 4 Group H.Q. Hesslington Hall, York. Found to be a non a/c establishment. After a cup of tea was sent to no 4 Group Bomber Command Communication Flight, Rawcliffe Lane, Clifton, York.
Flight manned by Class E reservists and World War 1 personnel.
Aircraft on flight strength;
Avro Tutor 504K, (Lynx engine).
Percival Proctor, cabin with side by side seating.
Miles Mentor, cabin with side by side seating.
Miles Magister, open cockpit tandem seating.
Flight aircraft used by staff officers from No 4 Group (Bomber Command) on visits to No 4 group airfields. Notably R.A.F. Leeming, Topcliffe, Linton – on – Ouse and Dishforth.
Apprentice J G Culkin became a popular airman to take around on site visits to look after aircraft and to do the starting drills. Eventually most staff officers took an interest in showing him how to fly and allowing him to take the controls for most of the flights. He became a very good flyer.
2nd July re-classified as Aircraftsman 1st Class and now qualified to carry out the duties of Fitter 2(Engines) on all R.A.F. aircraft. Working on flight and visiting aircraft including Westland Lysander, Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, de Havilland Albatross (passenger General Sir Alan Brooke), Bristol Blenheim and Botha and Handley Page Hereford.
3rd December posted to No 35 Squadron, R.A.F. Leeming, Yorkshire. First squadron to equip with Handley Page Halifax bomber. Squadron had one prototype aircraft. Shortly after arrival squadron moved to R.A.F. Linton – on – Ouse and received it’s full quota of aircraft. It quickly became operational.
1941
1st March sat and passed trade Test examination and promoted to Leading Aircraftman. Now heading modification team, working on such projects as fitting all squadron aircraft with propeller de-icing systems, modifying air intakes and engine controls.
Station bombed on several occasions – Station commander killed. Aircraft damaged by fire bombs.
14th May, now 18 years of age, commenced mans service.
10th July promoted to corporal. Very proud. Very, very young for the rank, was posted to R.A.F. Middleton St George, co Durham, to new squadron no 76, fine unit good record.
Flew with squadron to Tain in Scotland with full bomb load. Waited several days for weather to clear for the squadron to bomb German pocket battleship Tirpitz in Trondheim Fiord, Norway, hard work long hours.
J G Culkin now in charge of a maintenance crew responsible for one of the Halifax bombers.
1942
Bad time, charge, summary of evidence for Court Marshal – failing to carry duty as N.C.O. I/C anti-paratroops patrol and leaving arms and ammunition unguarded. Proceedings quashed by 4 group H.Q. this was in view of my work record. Not really my fault all due to administrative error which should have excused me being on full time guard duty commitments. Spent 14th May (my birthday) under close arrest. Thankful when it was over.
10th July all squadron aircraft and selected crews and personnel took off in the early hours for a mission in the Middle East. I was on of them. Planned to fly and land at Mersa Matruh in North Africa via Gibraltar.
Took a few days to service the aircraft and load bombs. Fly back to base by flying over Southern Italy and bomb the Italian fleet at Taranto. Over the alps and back to base – total tour 16 days. Result – landed Ismalia, Egypt – all four engines cut out on landing. Not even a smell of fuel in any of the tanks. Refuelled and flew on to Acqui in Palestine. Eventually joined by rest of squadron, two aircraft lost on journey – all aircrew safe.
[account ends]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Jack's life and service up to 1942
Description
An account of the resource
A memoir by Jack of his life before and service in the R.A.F. up to 1942. Has his comments on postings and events up to 1942.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Jack Culkin
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Typewritten account
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text. Memoir
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SCulkinJ19241214v10002-0001, SCulkinJ19241214v10002-0002, SCulkinJ19241214v10002-0003, SCulkinJ19241214v10002-0004
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1938
1939
1940
1942
1942
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Durham (County)
England--Yorkshire
35 Squadron
4 Group
76 Squadron
ground crew
ground personnel
Halifax
military discipline
RAF Halton
RAF Leeming
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Middleton St George
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/654/9902/LWarnerJ1623709v1.1.pdf
91709a60b0ecc39d87beb002ea42b4f3
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Warner, Jack
J Warner
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Warner, J
Description
An account of the resource
Ten items. An oral history interview with Flying Officer Jack Warner DFM (b. 1923, 183090, 1623709 Royal Air Force) his log book, his memoir, a newspaper cutting and photographs. He completed a tour of 37 operations as a flight engineer with 428 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Jack Warner and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-04-01
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Jack Warner’s navigator's, air bomber's and air gunner's flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Navigator's, air bomber's and air gunner's flying log book for Jack Warner, flight engineer. Covering the period from 2 July 1943 to 28 January 1945. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Topcliffe, RAF Leeming, RAF Croft, RAF Middleton St George and RAF St Athan. Aircraft flown in were, Halifax and C-47. He flew a total of 37 night operations with 428 squadron. Targets were, Montlucon, Modane, Hannover, Kassel, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Kiel, Oslo, Brest, Meulan le Mureaux, Lille, le Havre, Rostock, Laon, Cherbourg, Villeneuve, Morlaix, Morlaye, Borcum, Heligoland, Mont Couple, Dunkirk, Merville and Coutances. His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Sinclair. Notes on the last pages of the log book discuss his operations on 5 and 6 June 1944 and the hazards of minelaying.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LWarnerJ1623709v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Norway
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
England--Yorkshire
France--Brest
France--Cherbourg
France--Coutances
France--Dunkerque
France--Laon
France--Le Havre
France--Lille
France--Merville (Nord)
France--Modane
France--Montluçon
France--Morlaix
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Villeneuve-lès-Avignon
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Borkum
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Helgoland
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Rostock
Norway--Oslo
Wales--Glamorgan
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Durham (County)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1943-09-15
1943-09-16
1943-09-17
1943-09-22
1943-09-23
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-11-03
1943-11-04
1943-11-22
1943-11-23
1943-12-03
1943-12-04
1943-12-20
1943-12-21
1944-01-20
1944-01-21
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-02-03
1944-02-05
1944-02-06
1944-02-11
1944-03-02
1944-03-03
1944-03-04
1944-04-09
1944-04-10
1944-04-13
1944-04-14
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-28
1944-04-30
1944-05-01
1944-05-03
1944-05-04
1944-05-05
1944-05-07
1944-05-08
1944-05-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-24
1944-05-25
1944-05-27
1944-05-28
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-02
1944-06-03
1944-06-04
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-08
1944-06-09
1944-06-10
1944-06-11
1659 HCU
1664 HCU
408 Squadron
428 Squadron
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bombing
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
C-47
flight engineer
Gneisenau
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 5
Heavy Conversion Unit
mine laying
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
RAF Croft
RAF Leeming
RAF Middleton St George
RAF St Athan
RAF Topcliffe
Scharnhorst
training
Window