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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/380/7012/LHattersleyCR40699v1.1.pdf
099f001bc26b394fc0440d57cacdb995
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
Hattersley, Peter
Peter Hattersley
C R Hattersley
Charles Raymond Hattersley
Description
An account of the resource
77 items. The collection concerns Wing Commander Charles Raymond Hattersley DFC (1914-1948, 800429, 40699 Royal Air Force). Peter Hattersley served in the Royal Engineers between 1930 and 1935 but enlisted in the RAF in 1936. He trained as a pilot and flew with 106, 44 and 199 Squadrons. He completed 32 operations with 44 Squadron but had to force land his Wellington in France on his first operation with 199 Squadron in December 1942. He became a prisoner of war. He married Miss Kathleen Hattersley nee Croft after the war. The collection contains his logbook, notebooks, service material, his decorations and items of memorabilia in a tin box and 39 photographs.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Charles William Hattersley and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
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.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-05-06
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hattersley, CR
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
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/.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
Bermuda Islands
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Berkshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Kent
England--Gloucestershire
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Middlesex
England--Norfolk
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Rutland
England--Shropshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
Ontario
Scotland--Ross and Cromarty
Wales--Vale of Glamorgan
Belgium--Liège
France--Soissons
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Dessau (Dessau)
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Leuna
Germany--Lingen (Lower Saxony)
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Sylt
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
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
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
Title
A name given to the resource
Peter Hattersley's pilot's flying log book
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
LHattersleyCR40699v1
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1945
1946
1947
1948
1940-05-17
1940-05-18
1940-05-19
1940-05-20
1940-05-23
1940-05-24
1940-05-25
1940-05-26
1940-05-27
1940-05-28
1940-06-01
1940-06-02
1940-06-03
1940-06-04
1940-06-07
1940-06-08
1940-06-09
1940-06-10
1940-06-11
1940-06-12
1940-06-20
1940-06-21
1940-06-25
1940-06-26
1940-07-01
1940-07-02
1940-07-05
1940-07-06
1940-07-09
1940-07-10
1940-07-20
1940-07-21
1940-07-22
1940-07-23
1940-07-25
1940-07-26
1940-07-28
1940-07-29
1940-07-31
1940-08-01
1940-08-03
1940-08-04
1940-08-07
1940-08-08
1940-08-11
1940-08-12
1940-08-13
1940-08-14
1940-08-16
1940-08-17
1940-08-21
1940-08-22
1940-08-25
1940-08-26
1940-08-28
1940-08-29
1940-08-31
1940-09-01
1940-09-03
1940-09-04
1940-09-06
1940-09-07
1940-09-08
1940-09-09
1942-12-09
1942-12-10
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Description
An account of the resource
Pilot's log book for Wing Commander Peter Hattersley, covering the period 10 April 1937 to 24 September 1948. It details his flying training, operations flown and other flying duties. He was stationed at Hanworth Park, RAF Reading, RAF Netheravon, RAF Little Rissington, RAF Catfoss, RAF Manston, RAF Thornaby, RAF Evanton, RAF Cottesmore, RAF Finningley, RAF St. Athan, RAF Waddington, RCAF Port Albert, Darrels Island-Bermuda, RAF Bawtry, RAF Blyton, RAF Upavon, RAF Shawbury, RAF Bircham Newton, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Syerston, RAF Oakington, RAF Cosford, RAF Stanmore and RAF Abingdon. Aircraft Flown in were, Blackburn B2, Hart, Audax, Mile Hawk, Magister, Battle I, Anson, Hampden, Tiger Moth, Lysander, Catalina, Wellington, Oxford II, Hudson, Harvard IIb, Proctor and Dakota. He flew a total of 32 night operations in Hampdens with 44 Squadron from RAF Waddington, and one operation with 199 Squadron. Took part in Berlin Airlift (Operation Plainfare).Targets in Belgium, France, and Germany were Hannover, Hamburg, Lingan, Rhine, Leige, Keil, Frankfurt, Duisberg, Soisson, Rhur, Sylt, Dessau, Leuna, Magdeburg, Berlin and Munster. Some navigation logs and correspondence concerning the award of his Distinguished Flying Cross are included in his log book. He became a POW in late 1942.
106 Squadron
14 OTU
199 Squadron
44 Squadron
aircrew
Anson
Battle
bombing
C-47
Catalina
Distinguished Flying Cross
Flying Training School
George VI, King of Great Britain (1895-1952)
Hampden
Harvard
Hudson
Lysander
Magister
navigator
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
prisoner of war
Proctor
RAF Abingdon
RAF Bawtry
RAF Bircham Newton
RAF Blyton
RAF Catfoss
RAF Cosford
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Evanton
RAF Finningley
RAF Little Rissington
RAF Manston
RAF Netheravon
RAF Oakington
RAF Shawbury
RAF St Athan
RAF Syerston
RAF Thornaby
RAF Upavon
RAF Waddington
RAF Wymeswold
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/524/8758/AAn00202-150907.2.mp3
3a51154e9d6d6fcbea96557bce0d714b
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
A Navigator from 101 Squadron
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
An00202
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with a leader navigator from 101 Squadron.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
CB: So it’s rolling now and my name is Chris Brockbank and I’m conducting an interview with [name redacted] and he wishes to remain anonymous when the recording is lodged, and we are at his home which is near Scunthorpe and we’re going to talk about his career in general but specifically the wartime activities and today is the 7th of September 2015. [redacted] could you start by saying where you come from and what your early life was and how you came to join the RAF, and then your history from there please?
AN: I was born in London and after education I spent a time in the city of London as a clerk cum secretary initially to a Lloyds underwriter, and after that to a shipping company and from there I volunteered for the RAF. Didn’t like the idea of the army or the navy but as a Londoner I wanted to get into the war having experienced the Blitz. I was taken on, on the PNB scheme and went first of all to America for pilot training with the United States Air Force, which I failed as many people did, and I was given the option to re-muster to navigator. I went to Portage La Prairie west of Winnipeg and when we started there we were told the important thing for a navigator was to remain on track and we were also told that one important aim, rather one important aid, was astro-navigation using a sextant. I did the course at Portage La Prairie which I passed, came back to England having done a little astro-navigation in the air but on the ground we were required to take hundreds of shots and plot them out for the instructors to check to make sure we hadn’t cooked them and then after that I came back to England, went to RAF Melham? where I did more flying once again no astro-navigation because as newcomers to this aid we had to be precise and this took time, and if you’re flying around the UK it’s short legs, it’s short legs and you haven’t got time to do astro-navigation and so I had my course at Melham? and then with a lot of other newly qualified aircrew I went to Wymeswold where one important thing we were told was that a good aircrew was a good team and we then went into a big room where we were told ‘crew up’ and so we stood around whilst the pilots picked us out and Rusty picked me and then together we picked our bomb aimer, our wireless operator and a gunner. We did our flying from Wymeswold and Castle Donington and then after that we [loud crackling noise].
CB: Just dropped it, we’re okay.
AN: After this we proceeded to Blyton where we converted from the Wellington which we’d trained on at Wymeswold to the Lancaster, at the same time we also picked up an engineer and a second gunner so we were now a crew of seven. Having done our course, once again including night flying but very little navigation we were then posted to 101 Squadron. We knew nothing about the squadron and we arrived to find that instead of getting H2S, a map reading radar to help with the navigation, instead we’d picked up an eighth crew member who spoke German and so was able to jam the German instructions to their night fighters. Also, once again it was stressed to us about staying on track, there being safety in numbers, also the question of timing. Bomber Harris didn’t want aids to be, the bombing to be in bits he wanted a complete termination of the target if you like and so we had to keep to timing that we were given and at the same time this meant that we had, we were spaced throughout the attack and this gave coverage to every, the whole Bomber Force against the night fighters or so it was thought. The other thing we found was that while we were at Wymeswold and Blyton we were introduced to a lovely aid called Gee, where you counted blips on a screen and converted this on special charts to latitude and longitude, but when we got to 101 Squadron we found the Germans had found Gee equipment on crashed aircraft and they were jamming the signals so our last Gee signal, our last reliable fix, was going to be round about the French coast, so we needed to get to height as soon as possible so we got a chance of getting a reliable wind because when we went to briefing, the navigation briefing for an operation we were given the forecast weather, the forecast winds, but bear in mind the forecast winds were based on what the meteorologists knew about the weather in the UK plus information sent back by Coastal Command from the North Atlantic patrols which [laughs] didn’t give you much. So it meant that once we got flying and got past the Gee stage where we had long legs we had time to practise, to use astro- navigation. If there was cloud cover and we couldn’t use astro then the next fix we were going to get would be when the bomb aimer said ‘Bombs gone’ so we needed if possible to get a fix in between to get some idea most importantly of whether we were on track and secondly that things were, we were also on time. So it meant that when we got into the bombing area and the bomb aimer said ‘Bombs gone’ I had to work quick to reset my equipment to get an accurate wind to use on the way back. Now there is a funny story goes with this. As I say I was kept busy but on our first trip the skipper asked me to come up front to have a look at the target to see, and so I saw all these bomb flashes and the flak and everything and my comment was ‘Bloody hell’ and I went back into my office and I never came out to look at a bombing, as a target, until my last trip. The other job I also had to do was that the captain would report to me when he saw an aircraft being shot down which I recorded, and I think that all these reports were combined after the war to ascertain as far as possible where aircraft were lost. I’ll have to stop and think for a minute, yes, I’ve already said to you I don’t look upon myself as a hero, I was doing a job. These are my thoughts, also why did we survive a tour when other crews didn’t? Well I like to think my navigation helped but in all honesty we got through because of luck. We had an in-flight collision, we survived the other crew didn’t. Also we lost an engine on one occasion and Rusty had to decide whether or not we should go on. This is where we had a bit of a hiccup, at Blyton we picked up an engineer. When we flew round the UK he seemed okay, but he couldn’t cope with operational flying and on the occasion when we lost an engine instead of being able to give Rusty advice on whether we could carry on to the target or not he was lying on the floor and it was a case we had to get rid of him, and in his place we got a very good engineer which also helped. In the same way we survived fighter attacks, we had good gunners, the thing is we were a crew but we were a team. We relied on each other and we trusted each other. In the year that I flew with Rusty never once did he ever query a heading I gave him or a change of speed I gave him, he trusted me implicitly and this is how our crew operated, we relied on each other and this plus luck is why we were able to finish a tour. Right, after I finished my tour I went instructing back at Wymeswold and whilst I was there Wymeswold was taken over by Transport Command and I spent a lot of my years until I retired in Transport Command. I became an A category navigator which meant that I was qualified for up to royalty. I carried, in my capacity as a navigator, various persons like Field Marshal Montgomery, I was part of a back-up crew when the Duke of Edinburgh visited Borneo, this was it, I enjoyed Transport Command, it was hard work you did a lot of flying but you saw a lot of the world in bits. I say in bits because if you went somewhere you were allowed twelve hours on the ground which included sleeping, eating, briefing. Didn’t have time to see anywhere but when on Britannias we slipped crews so therefore you had about a twenty-four hour gap between legs so then if you wanted to you could go into the local area. Apart from my transport work I obviously had ground appointments like adjutants and things like that and also I finished up at Scampton where I was involved in the training of radar navigators for the Vulcan and also for, oh dear, the coastal fighter. Anyway can’t think what it was but we were training radar navigators and that’s where I finished my RAF career.
CB: Did you fly in the Nimrod?
AN: No, no, no it was the Buccaneer.
CB: The Buccaneer yes right, okay, we’ll pause for a moment.
AN: After the air force I spent six months playing golf then I got bored then I became a civil servant for ten years.
CB: Doing what?
AN: Clerical work and then I retired again. I think I’ve covered everything in a nutshell.
CB: You’ve covered it really well thank you. So shall we cover one or two other bits?
AN: Yes certainly.
CB: This business of LMF.
AN: Um hum.
CB: And the navigator, what happened to people, well first of all in the case of the navigator, what happened to him? I didn’t mean the navigator, I meant the flight engineer, your flight engineer what happened to him as a result of that?
AN: We never saw him again. He was off the station very quickly. I mean we don’t think he was LMF we think it was medical.
CB: Right.
AN: Now because if he’d been LMF, now I was, it was after I left the squadron, my wife told me about it the LMF parade where the person concerned is, marches on and his stripes are torn off his uniform and then he’s off the station. LMF, were they LMF? Who can tell? I mean that in all honesty I don’t think I ever worried about what would happen to us until I started going out with my wife. Then I had a reason for wanting to survive but until then, I can’t, I can’t speak for other crew members because that’s something you keep to yourself. We all, well I say all, we had little mascots, I had a little doll I had in my inside pocket of my battledress, you got, you got very, very, very how can I explain it, you, you, you things had to happen, people might fly in a silk scarf, these things went on. Now our Canadian rear gunner he always took two beer bottles with him so he could bomb the target himself. Now one night, the station commander used to come round and wish us all luck and the Canadian rear gunner told him he hadn’t got his beer bottles so the station commander went back to the mess and brought him two beer bottles so he went on the raid happy that he could bomb Germany.
CB: These little snippets are classic aren’t they but people were handling stress in different ways?
AN: Um.
CB: I think that the LMF bit one doesn’t want to overstate at the same time it is important to understand it and some people as you say perhaps had, weren’t feeling very well, and would react in a particular way and it wasn’t actually lacking moral fibre.
AN: Yes. You see, I mean in my case as a navigator, I was busy, I was busy all the time. I mean if I was in the middle of taking, I mean it was three astro sights to a fix. If I was in the middle of that and we hit bumpy weather or we were attacked by a fighter that was wasted time, had to start all over again so I was kept pretty busy, then had, I mean I hoped that when I took my three shots it would meet exactly in the middle, never happened you got a cocked hat. Provided this cocked hat wasn’t too large you could say ‘Right I’ll go for the middle of that cocked hat and I can trust that’ but I mean you had to take each case on its merits.
CB: But occasionally there would be a very high cloud top cover so what did you do then?
AN: Oh yes true, then all you could do was just hope.
CB: Um.
AN: You couldn’t do anything, and because I had no aids.
CB: But you were clearly skilled at using the equipment.
AN: Dead reckoning.
CB: Yes.
AN: But that was based on the winds the met office, the met can’t forecast weather now so. And of course one other thing when we talk about luck we were on the Nuremberg raid, the ninety-three aircraft.
CB: Yes.
AN: Well we lost a quarter of the squadron on that and amongst us the quarter of the squadron we lost was our most senior crew on their twenty-ninth or thirtieth trip. And how were they lost? They were shot down by a gunner in a Halifax aircraft who mistook the Lancaster for a night fighter.
CB: Crikey.
AN: Now the thing is.
CB: Savage irony.
AN: We were taught, right from the word go, that if the night fighter, if you saw a night fighter, if he wasn’t attacking you, ignore him, because if you fire on him you’re giving away your position.
CB: Yes.
AN: This is another bit of luck.
CB: Um, um. What happened to the crew in that case?
AN: They were all, one escaped, one evaded but the rest were killed.
CB: Um. Okay, now as I understand it from Rusty you had a curious experience of an explosion beneath the aircraft?
AN: Oh this was at Mailly-le-Camp.
CB: Yes. So that put you inverted?
AN: Well, I think Rusty is a little bit incorrect there.
CB: Right.
AN: Because if we had been upside down, or doing a slow roll I think he terms it, he tells everybody this, and I keep quiet. If we had inverted my sextant in its box would have been at the side of me. If he’d inverted the box would have gone up in the air and come down and clobbered me. I don’t recall a sextant clobbering me.
CB: Okay.
AN: That’s all I can say.
CB: Yes, okay. Now fighters chase you and the rear gunner says ‘Corkscrew’.
AN: Yes.
CB: How did you manage that situation as a navigator?
AN: Well as navigator I mean i just sat there and waited for all clear. I mean the thing is we had a, we had a number of attacks but only one where it persisted and we felt that the normal night fighter pilot he could have been new and if we took the correct action he’d go and find somebody else who was asleep. This particular one continued the attack and our gunner shot him down. [Chuckling] luck.
CB: Um. So you’re a special ops squadron, what was going on with your German speaker crew member?
AN: In what way?
CB: Well he sitting in the back?
AN: Yes.
CB: What was he actually doing and did you link in with it?
AN: Well the, as I say, our operators, who were ABC operators were spaced throughout the attack and I think they were given certain frequencies each to monitor. We didn’t know much about this because we only saw our special at briefing, he didn’t live with the rest of us, they were kept away from us in case they said if they talked in their sleep.
CB: Yes.
AN: And gave away secrets.
CB: Yes.
AN: So we knew nothing really of what he did, but he like me was lucky when we talk about being afraid. He, like me, was kept busy. The wireless operator was kept busy but all the rest were spending all their time looking out for fighters and seeing people shot down. I didn’t experience that, our special didn’t, the wireless operator didn’t ‘cause we were all kept busy doing our jobs and we were fortunate in that respect.
CB: And what was the wireless operator doing linking in with you?
AN: Well that he couldn’t help me as such but he was, he was listening out for, there were broadcasts at certain times, we had a classic case where it was, well Rusty was in London getting his uniform and we went to Berlin with the squadron commander, and this particular one we were going, we were coming in to Berlin from the north, from Denmark. The forecast wind was something like sixty-five miles an hour. They’d started then, certain aircraft were given the job of giving broadcast winds, which they were giving to us and so we were given something like eighty-five when I got a pinpoint on the Danish coast I reckoned it was a hundred and thirty, and we were coming into Berlin with the wind right behind us, and I had to say to the wing commander, ‘Do an orbit’, he did an orbit, I said ‘Flaps down, undercarriage down’, now normally speaking we had a system, when the bomber aimer said ‘Bombs gone’ the bomb doors were closed, Rusty put the nose down and we got the hell out of there. I had planned, I planned that, I loved that because it was a short run out of the target before you turned west. Too far, too short and you’re off track. In this instance the wing commander he was sitting down in his cockpit on instruments and we’re going through with nothing on the clock and I said to people afterwards, ‘How do I say to a wing commander for Pete’s sake let’s get the hell out of here?’ A bit of, looking back on it funny.
CB: Yes.
AN: But not at the time.
CB: No quite, because there’s a strict hierarchy?
AN: Um.
CB: So bombs have gone, then there’s the delay while you wait for the picture to be taken?
AN: For the picture to be taken yes.
CB: What was that like?
AN: It seemed a lot longer than it was but the thing is we had this short distance to run which took that into account, as I say and then we turned and by then hopefully I would have worked out a wind and the first thing I do, no sooner turned on a course, I’d give Rusty a new one to allow for where we were and what the wind was, or what I thought it was.
CB: So you’re over the target, you’ve dropped the bombs, the flash has gone and you’ve taken the picture. There are lots of planes around you so how do you take a new heading when there are so many, so close, how long before you change heading?
AN: Well, we wouldn’t change, we’d change heading when we got to the end of that particular leg out of the target.
CB: Right.
AN: It was a case in the same way we had our collision, it happened. Who’s to say how many aircraft collided with each other, and why did they? I mean the thing is this, that at night you can’t see much, this is what we relied on for our safety, the fact we were in the dark.
CB: Sure. Now you went on ops to do your thirty?
AN: Um.
CB: But you didn’t fly every night, so what did you do on the nights when you weren’t on operations?
AN: Well.
CB: And in the days?
AN: Well, the thing is first of all I mean we’d flown by night and we’ve come back at dawn, we’re ready for sleeping. It would all depend, I mean it might well be we were down for fighter affiliation or an air test or something, it could vary in the same way we might get back and they’d say ‘You’re on ops again tonight’ because being the special squadron we sometimes flew not with, we were 1 Group, but we might be flying with 5 Group, covering 5 Group from the fighters.
CB: So the attrition rate on your squadron was higher than the average of others?
AN: Yes, because I mean the thing is that we did our first op in November and finished our last op 4th June and in that we did thirty trips.
CB: Um. So in then extending, so when you were flying with the others then you’re doing a higher rate of ops?
AN: Yes.
CB: How did that go down with the aircrew?
AN: I don’t think we ever, we ever talked about it really. I mean we had a spell where the Bomber Command in its wisdom said ‘Oh, getting ready for the invasion we’re doing the French targets’ and because they’re French targets they’ll be a third of an op which would have taken us longer, but after Mailly-le-Camp where we lost a lot of aircraft they changed their minds. So all of a sudden we suddenly found we’d done more ops than we thought.
CB: [Laughter] Right.
AN: But once again my attitude changed when I started going out with my wife. Before then, before then it was the case that if there were no ops then right it was down to the village pub with our ground crew. We were very fortunate with our ground crew, we had a corporal in charge of our aircraft, he’s dead now unfortunately, but he lived in Scotland just near Perth, and if any of us were up in Perth area we’d always pop and see him and his wife, and he was a corporal he stayed a corporal he wouldn’t take promotion ‘cause he would be going away from his aircraft. He had a radio at dispersal and he heard us coming back, he was ready for us, and if we were going on an op I’d get in the aircraft and I’d unpack my stuff ready, my chart, and if one of the ground crew was coming up front he’d say ‘I’m coming up front cover your chart up’. Never asked us until we got back then they’d ask us where we’d been. In the same way that after we’d had our collision and the aircraft was a write off we came in the next day, not only did we have a new aircraft we had a new insignia, the insignia that’s on that picture there, ‘Our Willy’.
CB: So there was, in your case there was a very close liaison with the ground crew, what about other aircrew when their?
AN: Well this is the thing that the loss rate was so high you didn’t get to know people. I mean you knew the odd people for different reasons, I mean I didn’t even know all the navigators because I mean you go into briefing, you see we had a nav briefing then there was the crew briefing when we could see peoples’ faces when they saw what the target was, we’d already had that shock we’d got over it but it was the briefing and then after I’d finished, I’d finished doing my calculations I’m back as a crew member again, I’ve ceased to be an individual.
CB: Yeah.
AN: And so you did, I mean I’ve had people say to me ‘Did you remember so-and-so?’ I’d say ‘No, never heard of him’ whereas on the other, yesterday I was able to say to Rusty ‘Yes the aircraft next to us was x squared and the captain was McKenna’ why I don’t know I remember that but it’s, people change so much.
CB: When you took off you had to form up?
AN: Well.
CB: How place?
AN: Well not, no not necessarily, what we had, we had a beam and we would fly up and down the beam climbing and then once we reached a certain height we would then set off bearing in mind I wanted us to get to operating height so I had time to calculate a wind.
CB: Was the beam radio or was it a searchlight?
AN: No it was a radio.
CB: Right, and anyway you were interspersed in the stream?
AN: Oh yes, yes.
CB: So actually you didn’t go as a squadron?
AN: The ones going, the ones in our area would be from Knutford?
CB: Yeah.
AN: Wickenby would have their own system I assume.
CB: Right, okay. Now in the day time and you’re not sleeping after an op what are you doing?
AN: Well, it might be fighter affiliation.
CB: Could you just describe what fighter affiliation involved?
AN: Well fighter affiliation.
CB: How it works?
AN: It would be arranged that we would go to a certain point somewhere and a fighter would suddenly arrive and our job was to take evasive action the way we would have done if it were a German night fighter. It was just to make sure that the two gunners were on the ball and the reaction by the pilot was okay.
CB: Okay. Going back to crew and operations, the air bomber is up front doing in the run-in, how did you link with him?
AN: Well, the link with him is as we were getting near the coast I’d say to him ‘Can you give me a pin point?’ and I got the same answer every time, ‘I can’t give you a pin point but we’re dead on track.’ That was my link with him. His job before we got to the target was throwing out Window strips but you see the thing is that, as I said to you, we were told ‘A crew is a team.’ Now think of the composition of our crew. Pilot a Geordie, engineer Lancashire, bomb aimer Birmingham, I’m from London, wireless operator from Wales, mid upper gunner from Lancashire, special operator from Norfolk, rear gunner from Canada, there’s a mixture for you, but we clicked as a team in the same way that if we go back that when the squadron association was formed in 1977 for about two or three years we were unique we had eight crew members at the reunion, as time went on some of them didn’t make it but at the moment we still have five out of eight.
CB: Um. Your special ops man was Ted Manners?
AN: Ted Manners yes.
CB: After the war he could meet with you could he and tell you what he was doing? Or did you not get into that conversation?
AN: I met Ted in northern Italy when he was an intelligence officer.
CB: Still in the RAF, he was?
AN: Still in the RAF, yes.
CB: Right.
AN: I met Rusty at Cranwell in 1951 when he had taken some Canadian cadets to the graduation at Cranwell when Princess Elizabeth was the, the⸻
CB: Reviewing?
AN: Reviewing officer.
CB: Yes.
AN: Talking of that incidentally who is coming on the 2nd of October to bless the?
CB: Can I come back to that in a mo?
AN: Yeah.
CB: Yes, thank you, thank you. Now on the, there are some things that are less palatable to discuss but they were, they were the reality of life and it still is today in a different way but with aircrew there was a contentious different approach perhaps and that’s the sexually transmitted diseases challenge, how did you see that?
AN: I, I would say it would depend on the individual. I mean on the book about our crew they talk about Norman Westby, our bomb aimer, being taken to Grimsby by some of our crew where he met Luscious Lil [chuckling]. But, but, but we, apart from the nights when we went drinking to a degree we went our own ways. I mean if you weren’t going to the pub it was the case you got the bus into Louth you could go to the pictures, come out of the pictures, get your fish ‘n’ chips and get the bus back.
CB: Um. I was thinking of other crews and just in the RAF in general because you, it’s the sort of thing that isn’t a secret so.
AN: Well see once again we didn’t mix with other crews.
CB: No?
AN: We were our own little environment.
CB: Right, and I think that’s the point, yeah.
AN: But you see I mean the thing is that, that we have got this, I have got this connection with the rest of the crew. I, after the war I flew with many crews.
CB: Yeah.
AN: With many units but I never went to the associations, to other squadron’s associations meetings, it’s only 101. I spent the least time on 101 but it was the time when we were fighting for our lives.
CB: Um.
AN: And I think it’s a different attitude in the same way as I say that Rusty never once queried a heading. Now I had a case where I was flying with a flight sergeant and I was what’s known as the wing navigator, I was an examiner, and I was flying in the Middle East and I gave him an alteration of heading and he queried it. When eventually the beacon came up and we were dead ahead. Did he apologise? Not bloody likely, and that’s the difference. I mean I don’t know what was going through Rusty’s mind, he may have told you when I gave him an alteration, we had the joke in that I would tell him off for being one degree off, because if you’re going at sixty miles an hour every sixty miles you’re one mile off for a degree, but I mean this was it, it was a joke. Certain things we treated as a joke.
CB: Just going to pause there for a moment.
AN: Yes sure.
CB: Thank you.
AN: Now can I offer you⸻
CB: We’re on again now and just going to recap on one point which was the raid in France on the tank training school so what was the background to that then Jumbo?
AN: Well, the school was in two parts, the accommodation and the technical side. I can’t remember which was which but 5 Group went in first and we were told to orbit until we got permission to bomb and while this was going on aircraft were being shot down while they were orbiting, and Rusty said ‘Oh we’re not having any more of this’ and he moved away from the orbiting until we got permission to bomb, then we went in. But we had this flash and the tail went up in the air, the nose went down, what it was I don’t know but it put us into a steep dive and as far as I recall it was Rusty and the engineer were pulling at the control column to get the aircraft back on an even keel.
CB: Um.
AN: As far as I can recall.
CB: Um.
AN: Because the thing is things were going on but you see the great thing with our crew, Rusty maintained that only people who needed to talk on the intercom talked, and if for example we were being attacked then anybody else talking shuts up. On the bombing run Norman’s in charge.
CB: Um.
AN: And this seemed to work very well, I mean most of the time our intercom was quiet, now compare that with the intercom on the American aircraft.
CB: Um, V17?
AN: Yeah, on the film.
CB: Memphis Belle?
AN: Memphis Belle. The noise on that intercom, the yakking going on.
CB: Um.
AN: I mean you can only listen to one person and that didn’t happen in the Memphis Belle at all.
CB: Um. Now part of the challenge with the raid you’ve just talked about was interference, radio interference so what was that?
AN: Well it was an American forces network, dance music, which seemed to be on the same frequency. I don’t know the technicalities of it at all, how it happened, why it happened, but this was the case that er, and it’s responsible. I mean we lost four or five crews on that which is a lot.
CB: Um.
AN: Not as bad as Nuremberg but still enough.
CB: Um. Was the high attrition rate due to the fact that the Germans were able to lock onto your special ops operator?
AN: Well, well, all I know is what I’ve read is the fact that the Germans developed a new system in that they had pockets where the fighters would patrol and they covered certain areas and that way they cut down the amount of fuel that was being used and so I think to a large degree the ABC became superfluous.
CB: Okay.
AN: Only an opinion.
CB: Yeah. Now what about Scarecrow?
AN: Scarecrow, well you see once again, Scarecrow was a form of flak. I mean in fact on the Mailly one I put in my logbook ‘a scarecrow up the flare shoot.’ I don’t know.
CB: Because the notion is, or was, that Scarecrow was actually a spoof to overcome the fact that the RAF could do nothing about the upward firing guns in the night fighters.
AN: Well do you know?
CB: Causing blow-up.
AN: We never knew about the upward firing guns.
CB: Oh really.
AN: And I mean I read about it somewhere and I said to Rusty ‘Did you know about it?’ and he said ‘No’. So we were flying in blissful ignorance.
CB: Um, ‘cause the notion was that the explosion wasn’t a special type of shell called Scarecrow but was the explosion as a result of the Schrage Musik.
AN: You wouldn’t be able to tell unless you were close to the explosion.
CB: Quite.
AN: Because I mean, the thing is that it was, the flak was going on all around you.
CB: Yeah.
AN: I mean, the thing is that, I remember on one trip we did we went to Aachen two nights running. The first night we did at normal altitude, the second night we descended and dropped the bombs in the descent as I recall and our special said afterwards that he heard the Germans giving our height just as we passed it, so the stuff was going off above us not below us. But that’s only what I was told at the time.
CB: Yeah sure. Now after the war, the war comes, you finish your tour, you then go to instruction. What were you instructing on then?
AN: Well it was navigating, either self-navigation equipment or DR, dead reckoning navigation or flying as a screen with them.
CB: In what type of aeroplane?
AN: Well it was a Wellington.
CB: So this is OTU?
AN: At the OTU at Wymeswold. I went back to Wymeswold.
CB: Um.
AN: And as I say Wymeswold was taken over by Transport Command and I suddenly found myself navigating Dakotas.
CB: Oh right. So when did that start?
AN: Well that would be have been at the end of, at the end of, probably about the end of ’44.
CB: Right.
AN: Then at the end of the war I went overseas on ground appointments and then I came back and eventually I came back onto Transport Command again.
CB: What did you do overseas?
AN: I was a briefing officer or an adjutant. I was an adjutant at Treviso, unit adjutant Treviso, station adjutant at Udine and a wing adjutant at [indistinct]. Then I came home and did the staff navigation course.
CB: Right. What was the OTU number that you were at when you were training at Wymeswold?
AN: I think it was either 93 or 108.
CB: And then when you went back again same people were there were they?
AN: It had a different number then I think. That may be why I’m thinking of two numbers. Well I mean actually what happened was I was there at Wymeswold some people were posted out, new people posted in and I had to do the course that a trainee would do, because it was my first time I learnt about trigonometry.
CB: Which was important for Dakotas?
AN: [Laughter] Well it’s like the same thing that people say you’ve got to be a mathematician to be a navigator, that’s a load of rubbish. As long as you can get two and two makes four.
CB: What was the ACU number at Blyton?
AN: Dear me, now you’re asking something.
CB: Doesn’t matter. Okay so then after the war and you’ve finished your adjt job, what happened then as a sequence until when you gave up flying?
AN: Oh no, I didn’t give up. No, I came back from Austria and then I then went onto a reserve centre, teaching reservists’ navigation and then I went onto Hastings and did a few years at Hastings, then I spent a spell as an examiner of navigators, and then, that included tour in Singapore, then I came home from Singapore, um let me think, oh I did more examining and then after that I went to training command for a spell and then I went out to Borneo with the army, I was at the brigade headquarters. And I came home from that and I was on Britannia’s. After Britannia’s I was station navigation officer at Manby and then I went onto training radar navigators at Lindholme and then at Scampton.
CB: And those two were Vulcans or did you do Victors as well?
AN: No, no I did Vulcans because we were at a Vulcan station. But before then I did the navy, the navy, the Buccaneers.
CB: And why nav radar rather than the navigator?
AN: Well because the, the navigators used nav radar and it was a case that, it’s difficult to explain, if you can imagine that you’re flying along and you’ve got a hill coming towards you, you can get the, you can see that as a hill, but as you get closer to it the picture changes, and I don’t know what instruction they had because what happened was that we would take off in the Hastings with the radar navigator at the back with an instructor and they, the trainee, he would do the navigating but we were the safety crew, and I mean it was very interesting flying at five hundred feet.
CB: In a Hastings?
AN: In a Hastings. [Laughs]. And of course while we were doing that we also had a spell where we used to go round the, fly round the, oil-rigs to make sure they were okay. We then relieved the Nimrods periodically to do the Cold War patrols, so it was very interesting one way and another.
CB: Yeah. In the V Bombers there are three people at the back, so one’s the navigator, the other’s the nav radar and the third one’s the AEO?
AN: Yes.
CB: So how was the division of labour organised?
AN: I don’t know because I never flew in, I never flew in the Vulcan. The Vulcan chap flew with us because we had the equipment.
CB: So it’s purely dealing with the radar aspects of navigation?
AN: Yes, yes.
CB: Because he was also the air bomber?
AN: Yes.
CB: So then you give up doing that, then what?
AN: Well that was when I retired from the RAF in 1977.
CB: Aged 55? Close? Then what did you do? You did your time off?
AN: I played golf for six months.
CB: And how did you then get into a new career?
AN: Well I saw, well when before I retired from the RAF I went on a course and became associate member of the Institute of Administrative Management. I also took the Civil Service entrance exam and after six months of playing golf and getting bored I saw an advertisement in the paper that they were looking for people, civil servants. So I applied and I spent ten years, most of it at Kirton Lindsay.
CB: Oh right. On things we can’t talk about?
AN: Oh no, no. This was the Environment Ministry but we looked after military and public buildings and married quarters. And then after that when that, they then moved me from Kirton Lindsay to Scampton back where I used to be.
CB: And then you retired?
AN: I retired yes completely.
CB: Okay good, thank you very much. [Pause]. So how did, you were shut away in your office as you said how did you feel about the effect of what you were doing with your bombing, the effect on the ground?
AN: Well I mean we were told, no we were given bits of information about trips we’d done, about whether it was a success or not, um but to me bombing in Germany we were bombing the enemy. I was a Londoner, I lost relatives, not close relatives but I lost relatives. As far as I was concerned I, I had no feelings really about the poor Germans, to me at that time the Germans were our enemy. Now as far as I’m concerned that I could meet someone today and he’s a German, so what the war’s over. I mean the price has been paid and this is the way I think it should be but I mean I didn’t have any feelings about poor Germans at all because it’s no different, we were doing the same as two armies fighting each other. This was, we were one army and the civilians were the other army. Unfortunately reading books since the war a lot of the people who got lost achieved nothing, their lives were wasted.
CB: Um, um.
AN: In case of, as in the Nuremberg raid, I mean as Rusty would say ‘On the Nuremberg raid, we lost more people than the whole of the Battle of Britain’.
CB: We did, yeah.
AN: And I’m afraid I for one, I mean they did a wonderful job in the Battle of Britain, but I for one feel it’s about time we had our turn. I mean every time an aircraft was lost it was seven or eight people.
CB: Yeah, absolutely.
AN: But then that’s life.
CB: You’d given up operations by the, towards the end of the war so did the Dresden raid, were you aware of that?
AN: Well as far as I’m concerned the result of the Dresden raid made me have second thoughts about Winston Churchill because I feel that he did the dirty on us, that on what I’ve read about the Dresden raid it was asked for by the Russians because the troops were passing through Dresden. That is what I have read other people say it’s a lie but to me it was spite in particular that Bomber Harris didn’t get the decoration that the other service chiefs got, and that was small minded I feel.
CB: Um.
AN: But once again Dresden was in the war area. It was unfortunate.
CB: As was Chemnitz down the road? Okay thank you very much.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Interview with a navigator from 101 Squadron
Creator
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Chris Brockbank
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
2015-09-07
Type
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Sound
Identifier
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AAn00202-150907
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.
Language
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eng
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Transport Command
Format
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01:00:24 audio recording
Description
An account of the resource
He was born in London and worked for some time as a clerk until joined up the Royal Air Force. He did not like the idea of serving in the Army or in the Navy but - as a Londoner - he was keen to take part in the war having experienced the Blitz. He trained in America as pilot, but failed and re-mustered as a navigator at Portage la Prairie, west of Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) where he learned astro navigation. Back in England, he crewed up RAF Wymeswold, then trained on Lancasters at RAF Blyton before being posted to 101 Squadron. They were joined by an additional crew member who spoke German and could disrupt night fighters radio communication. During his first operation he saw the target with all bomb flashes and exclaimed: 'bloody hell' - he never left his post to see the effects of a bombing until his last trip. One of his tasks was to note every aircraft shot down, as communicated by the pilot: these pieces of intelligence were then combined as to ascertain where the aircraft were lost. He remembered how they survived a mid-air collision, but the other crew did not; and another incident in which they lost an engine and his pilot, had to decide whether or not they should go on. Retells how the Germans salvaged Gee equipment from crashed aircraft and were able to jam it; the last reliable Gee signal was picked up near the French coast. He recollects that a flight engineer couldn’t cope with pressure when they lost the engine: he panicked and laid on the floor for the whole time. They had to replace him with another one. He ascribed survival to both camaraderie and sheer luck, which includes mascots. He had a little doll inside his battledress, and their Canadian rear gunner used to bring two beer bottles so that he could ‘bomb’ the target himself. One time, since he did not have the beer bottles, the station commander himself went back to the mess so that he could have his beer bottles with him, and he was happy that he could bomb Germany. He said that some reacted in different ways to operations: even if the opertions took a heavy toll on them, this did not automatically equate to lack of moral fibre. Their flight engineer wasn’t a case of that, if he was, he would have had his stripes torn off his uniform while being marched away. He himself, the German speaker special operator, and the wireless operator felt less stressed, being busy all the time inside the aircraft. On the contrary, the rest of the crew could see the operation unfold in front of their eyes. He mentioned an operation to Nuremberg in which they lost a quarter of the squadron. They lost the most experienced crews, who were at their twenty-ninth or thirtieth trip, because of friendly fire. He recollects a corporal serving as ground crew: he was very close to him and to the rest of the crew. He never wanted to be promoted as this would have meant being separated from ‘his’ aircraft. Losses were so high that he could not afford the luxury of befriending other crews. He stressed that he was ‘an individual only when he was attending briefings’, then he became part of his crew. While not on operational flights he took part in fighter affiliation exercises in which they simulate combat situations. He points out the sense of belonging despite individual differences: the pilot a ‘Geordie’, the engineer from Lancashire, the bomb aimer from Birmingham, he himself from London, the wireless operator from Wales, the mid upper gunner from Lancashire, the special operator from Norfolk and the rear gunner from Canada. He did not consider himself a hero, but merely did his job in an impersonal way - bombing Germany was bombing the enemy. Despite having lost relatives during the Blitz, he did not have hatred: that was war. In a total war, the distinction between civilians and combatants fades. After the war, he realised how many people achieved nothing and wasted their lives.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
Scotland--Perth and Kinross
England--London
Canada
Manitoba
Manitoba--Portage la Prairie
Germany
Germany--Nuremberg
France
France--Mailly-le-Camp
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Adalberto Di Corato
Carolyn Emery
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944
1945
101 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
briefing
C-47
coping mechanism
flight engineer
Gee
ground crew
ground personnel
lack of moral fibre
Lancaster
mid-air collision
military ethos
navigator
Operational Training Unit
perception of bombing war
pilot
RAF Blyton
RAF Wymeswold
Scarecrow
shot down
superstition
training
Wellington
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/632/8902/PRichardsonF1626.1.jpg
edbc9910d8670345e32dbd2d7c165993
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/632/8902/ARichardsonF160608.1.mp3
82512c612198a756aa05e521ec205c81
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
Richardson, Frederic James
F J Richardson
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Richardson, FJ
Description
An account of the resource
13 items. An oral history interview with Flight Lieutenant Frederic Richardson ( - 2020, 1234575, 146433 Royal Air Force), his log books and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 207 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Frederic Richardson and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-06-08
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.
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
DM: This interview is being conducted for the International Bomber Command Centre, the interviewer is David Meanwell, the interviewee is Fred Richardson. The interview is taking place at Mr. Richardson’s home in Woodham Surrey on the 8th June 2016. Fred if you could tell me a little bit about your, where you were born and growing up and your family?
FR: Born in a place called Glusburn in West Yorkshire, situation is about a hundred yards from the Horsforth, Horsfield Mills, woollen mills. Er my father was a poultry farm manager and I spent the first two or three weeks of my life in the in Clitheroe whilst he was getting rid of the particular farm that we were on. We then came back to Glusburn and he was and we and he was running one in a place called Eastburn which is halfway between Skipton and Keighley. We then moved to Sutton-in-Craven which is next door to Eastburn and eventually to Keltus Avenue in Cross Hills and that’s when things started to improve a bit. And it was from there that I started my movements towards the war time. There were three young pals, one Geoffrey was eight days older than I was, Alvin was a year older, his father was the local dentist who happened to be friendly with the local postmaster, who also incidentally was a lieutenant colonel in the 6th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, and that way Alvin became a territorial. Geoffrey and I decided that we wanted to join the Fleet Air Arm and we got the invitation to go down I think to Gosport but I can’t be sure where. We had the interview and we both were unsuccessful, me because I hadn’t played for the school first fifteen at rugby, and Geoffrey because he was a civil servant, so we decided then and there soon as we get back home we’re going to sign up for the RAF, and that’s exactly what we did. Two weeks later we got our calling up papers and told to report to Cardington and at Cardington they said, ‘What do you want to do?’ So we said, ‘we wanted aircrew, one pilot and one navigator.’ ‘You can’t do that’ they said. So we said, ‘Right, we’ll both go as pilots’, and that’s how the thing started. So this is now March ’41 and the first stop is down to Bournemouth, and funnily enough whilst we were there I happened to meet a young lady, which by circumstances I had no control over, I actually married her four years later. [laughs] So from Cardington, Bournemouth, we then moved on again eventually finished up at the Aircrew Receiving Centre in Monkton. At which point there was a split, Geoffrey was taken off to go and start flying Tiger Moths at Brough, near Hull, and I was left and eventually I got moved up the rest of the country as far as Gourock[?], and then put on board this ship the “Louis Pasteur” taken across to Canada. And we’d been in Canada about two weeks and each morning there would be a roll call and eventually I got in one and and we were told, ‘You’re going down to Texas’, No. 1 BFTN, British Flying Training School, Texas, and that’s where we went, took three days to get down there by train. And er we arrived on the Sunday morning, [unclear] by now we have to wear civilian clothes as well, and so we didn’t have, went to the training course there flying the Stearman biplane, then the Vul Vultee Valiant was a single engine, and the Harvard of course was a single engine one. When all that was done, okay that’s fine you’re now a sergeant and you’re a pilot, I got various signatures that said I could temper dash with discretion, that seemed to be the thing to do. And then, ‘Where do you want to go when you get back to England?’ He said, ‘It’s either Harrogate or Bournemouth.’ I said ‘I want to go to Harrogate don’t I?’ so where did they go Bournemouth. So I thought at least I know somebody in Bournemouth, and I managed to find that she was still there and that’s where it that started. Anyway the first thing after we’d left Bournemouth was going to the Airspeed Oxford Base at Long Newnton near Tetbury, and then once we’d cleared that one we were then transferred to 29 OTU North Luffenham. At which point I get a navigator, and a wireless operator, and one gunner, and the wireless op and the gunner were both Canadians, and he the wireless op was a flying officer and here I’m and here am I a sergeant. [laughs] Anyway that was the way it went and when that finished we were then moved out to Wigsley which was the Conversion Unit for going onto squadrons and we were flying Manchesters and Lancasters there and that’s when I picked up a flight engineer, and a bomb aimer, and another gunner, the gunner being Wallace McIntosh at that point. And eventually I suppose it must have been January we actually transferred from there straight to Langar and stayed there. Oh sorry I should go back and say that during the time that we were at OTU we went and did a leaflet raid over Paris and eventually they allowed me to treat that as my first operation. So I then went and did twenty-nine ops at Langar, all of which are recorded in the, in the book, two of which finished up in Blida in North Africa because it was too far to get back and the first time and the second time fog bound and we couldn’t get back so we went on to there. And virtually that’s, that’s the operation side finished so.
DM: When you and your best friend, I assume he was, wanted to go into the Fleet Air Arm originally.
FR: Yeah.
DM: What made you want the Fleet Air Arm in particular obviously flying was part of it.
FR: Yeah.
DM: But why the Navy rather than the Air Force can you remember?
FR: No, no I can’t remember the reason why I just I suppose.
DM: How old were you then?
FR: Eighteen I suppose just.
DM: So you hadn’t been called up obviously?
FR: No.
DM: The idea was to get in ahead to do something you wanted to do?
FR: Yes. I think I suppose even by the time that we actually signed with the RAF we were still underage so that’s, that’s got that far. But then I suppose once I’d finished the tour we’d I’ll oh yes I’ll tell you one little bit that’s part of all that lot. I was apparently, I was, Bomber Command issued the edict that all captains of aircraft had to be commissioned, so as a sergeant I had to apply, I didn’t want to but I had to apply for it, and my parent company group captain said, ‘Well he’s he’s all right but not really suitable for an officer.’ So I didn’t get anywhere until I got a telegram saying would I go to the AOC’s place in Grantham to meet the Right Honourable Sir R. A. Cochrane, Ralph Cochrane. And he said, ‘How many trips have you done?’ I think at that time I’d done about nineteen, said, ‘Any aiming point photographs?’ I said, ‘No’. ‘Target area?’ ‘Yes, got one target area one. ‘Mmm’, he said, ‘You’ve managed so far, I think the group captain’s a bloody fool you’ve got the commission’. And that was it so that’s got rid of that bit. [laughs] So then having finished we went I went on two or three different stations flying the Wellingtons, Gamston was the only one I can remember for sure. And then we got transferred to Wymeswold, and at Wymeswold they had a Lancaster repair factory on one side of the thing so we could see what was going, going on with all that like, and er we also had a subsidiary place at Castle Donnington, which of course now is the East Midlands Airport. And we’d been flying night, day and night, from either place until they eventually decided that Wymeswold was no longer a Bomber Command OTU it was to be a Transport Command OTU, at which point we got the Dakotas in and so I flew them for a while. Eventually I suppose it got to the point that was war had more or less finished and that’s when I found out that I’d been sent this Class B Release which meant I had a job to go back to which was better than most of them. I think I was actually offered to stay in the RAF or to join what became BOAC, and the stories they said for that one was if as captain if you make a bad landing you get immediately demoted so I thought it’s not worth trying. So I took the B Release went back to the Rustlers Iron Company in Keighley, Yorkshire. And I suppose we’d been there a couple of years by which time I, I was able to produce a family [laughs] and that’s that was when Andrew was born 1950. And we moved from where we were in Keighley to a house in Bingley, and I was then working for one firm in Bradford called Wool Textile Supplies and a bit later on I worked for Metal Box in Shipley, but I couldn’t get on with them because I wasn’t an internal auditor and any promotions you had to be an internal auditor, so in the end I said, ‘Fiddlesticks’. And my wife wanted to go back to London where she’d been born so we did eventually, 1954 I think it was when we moved down, then I joined a firm called The Dominium Rubber Company which I found out shortly was part of the US Rubber Company Group. I’d been there about eighteen months when the company secretary left and I was promoted to company secretary for that particular lot, and I’d been there another year and they said, ‘We want you to go and run the factory up in Dumfries’. So date wise I mean I’m not entirely sure when, let’s see if it says on here, no I haven’t got any dates down. I must have been up there ooh, trying to think, ‘cos Andrew was going to school in Dumfries, but he was going to a Catholic school and his mother didn’t like that so I got him transferred to the Ashville College in Harrogate, which meant he’d got to go over there and we were still left where we were. And then I got transferred to Edinburgh, chief accountant up in Edinburgh, and that lasted until eventually I suppose ’67, yes that’s right ‘cos you’d be you were still at university by then. So we came back down here and I didn’t have a job to go to. Although in fact I had there was supposed to be something going on because he’d, the accountant, the head office man up in Edinburgh decided that he wanted to set up an accounting room team in London, for the whole of the US Rubber Company outfit, and he was called back to the States and his replacement instead of coming to London went to straight to Edinburgh, so I’m now working for a bloke in Edinburgh, so I thought this is ridiculous, so I moved again. And that’s got with a firm called Allcorn Rupp[?], something with Allcorn[?] after it, down at Rochester in Kent, and eventually I suppose about 1972 or so decided that wasn’t going to go out either, so of course I think when I got there they were supposed to be liquidated, so I had to liquidate the thing before anything else. So at home twiddling my thumbs and luckily I found one or two places I could go and apply for a job and eventually I went down to Basingstoke to a firm down there and saw a lot of things and it looked as though I was not too badly off and as the bloke was going out of the office I said to him, ‘Excuse me, you still got Formica?’ So he said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Well Dan Mercede [?] worked for you in Formica.’ ‘Yes’ he said. Well, I said, ‘Dan Mercede[?] was the auditor in charge when I was chief accountant in Edinburgh.’ Two days later I got the job, so now I’m part of the De La Rue Company which I stayed until I retired, officially retired in 1987. At which point I said, ‘Have you got something I can do?’ And they said ‘Yes you can run our two charity shops.’ Which meant I could go sort of a ten till four job rather than anything else, until the end of two years there, the new boss of the unit said, ‘I don’t want any more retired employees working for me.’ So cheerio, and that’s when I finished doing anything really, since then I’ve been as part of the set up of the U3A in this area, and also joined a little firm known as DAIRS [spells it out] Disability Advice and Information for Runnymead, stayed with them for a while and then I think I decided to give it up altogether, and that’s the end of it.
DM: When so looking sort of taking the whole together you were demobbed, you went back to work, did you have any contact with people you had been in the Air Force with after that for some time?
FR: No, no we forgot when we all packed in to pass notes round, some of the crews did, but for some reason I didn’t, I suppose mainly because I didn’t have a full seven crew at the end of the day that I’d been with the whole time there were only four of us who started and finished.
DM: So did you, when did you start exploring that part of your history so to speak, was it after you retired?
FR: Mmm, I don’t quite know, I don’t quite recall how it started, but anyway the the local editor somebody decided to form an association of the RAF at Langar, and I suppose we got some way of finding out, anyway. We started going and it’s during that time that I got contacted by Wallace to say that he wanted to write this book so I had to get in touch with Mel Rothe [?] who was doing the writing for him and send all the information that I could so that he was able to write the book as it is.
DM: So that was done for the airmen was it?
FR: Yes, yes. That was I suppose the end of it, fair enough.
DM: Did you, or do you belong to the Squadron Association or Bomber Command Association, did you join any groups?
FR: Only the, this this one one association which is finished now anyway. No I didn’t belong to any other group.
DM: Take you back to when you went to America?
FR: Mmm.
DM: Did you say it was the “Louis Pasteur” was the vessel?
FR: Yes it was French.
DM: Was it a frightening crossing, or were you sick? [laughs]
FR: No, (a) to the second bit no, er not altogether because luckily we had a battleship and two destroyers accompanied us they were going to Bermuda so they, it’s only the very last day that we had to flout[?] on our own across the water, and I suppose even then there was bloody U-boats can still be out here, anyway we got through it all right.
DM: Did you come back by ship as well when you finished training?
FR: Yes, oh yes, “Duke of York” I think, I think the “Duke of York”, I’m not entirely sure on that one.
DM: You made that okay as well obviously as you wouldn’t be here now.
FR: Yes.
DM: So you first time you flew a plane was Texas was it?
FR: Mmm, yes.
DM: How was it, can you remember that first flight?
FR: No problem, somehow I felt at home in them I think. My, there was a fella sitting in front of me showing me what to do but after that I sat in the front and he sat behind so he could tell me what to do.
DM: I know you said when you went to America you had to wear civvies so this was before Pearl Harbour was it?
FR: Yes, Pearl Harbour was actually happened whilst we were there, we suddenly woke up one morning to hear the story but that particular night when it happened we’d gone to stay with the link trainer instructor, he’d got a large bed and all three of us were in the bed, suddenly he said, ‘Bloody hell’. And that was it. So things got a bit chaotic after that day I don’t think the Americans knew quite what to do.
DM: But were there any changes where you were, I mean did they suddenly bring in Americans to be trained and things like that or was?
FR: No. I think the whole time that I was instructing back here I saw one American, Canadians, New Zealanders, South Africans, anything, but we only had one American. They must have trained them over there.
DM: When you were in Texas you obviously had leave I assume while you were there from time to time?
FR: Not very often really. Certainly not enough to go.
DM: You didn’t go travelling?
FR: We did, I think we, we went down to um the south, Galveston I know, must have been Houston before that, Houston between in Texas, I think so.
DM: Yeah, I think, my geography’s not that good about Texas but I think so.
FR: I’m sure we went there because we, I think we went with this link trainer instructor took us down there the three of us, we went to the cathedral for the Christmas mass, and then we went down to Galveston to see if we could see any British ships down there and that was about it. Used to play ten pin bowling out there, No. 1 BFTS’ Team was doing very well was beating the locals, I never got onto the team so I don’t really know. That’s about it I think.
DM: Do you remember your first flight in a Lancaster, well I suppose a Manchester before a Lancaster?
FR: Well the Manchester was only local training stuff. It was a bit bigger than the Wellington but I wasn’t that entirely impressed with it, at least I was less impressed with it once I got into the Lancaster to do these few trips round, ‘cos I found the Manchester was very heavy to manoeuvre the controls, the Lanc was a lot easier than that, and then as I say, I’m not quite sure how we actually got from there to Langar [coughs], I don’t know whether we flew or we didn’t, I might have done. I don’t see how we could have done ‘cos we’d have had to use a Wigsley plane to do it, no they must have put us some way there, how we got there, don’t ask me. [coughs] I know we arrived there and that was it. Because I’d lost, I’d lost my navigator by then, he er, he took us there, we did a thing on the Wellingtons over the North Sea and we were supposed to come back I think South of the Humber but for some reason we didn’t we came right down the Humber and suddenly at a thousand feet I could see all these barrage balloons, so [unclear] stick and climbed and got round them, so I thought if that’s the only way he can do I don’t want him, it’s the only time I’ve actually sacked anybody I think.
DM: So how did that work, did you just say to the CO I don’t want him anymore?
FR: Yes, yes, I explained why and yes so the bloke that I actually got when I got to Langar was somebody who’d done about five trips already. And that’s the way it seemed to go so I finished with seven crew only four of whom had been there from the start, but that’s life. Others were John Stevens he had seven and he still had seven when he finished and he’s the only one who came back to the association with all seven. I think John McIntosh was he’d got he finished with his seven, his flight engineer flew with me once so you had to do that when you were without and they didn’t have a flight so you grabbed anybody you could lay your hands on. [coughs] That’s life.
DM: So as the captain of a plane what was your approach were you sort of a stickler for discipline or?
FR: Er not too much discipline, but I told them, ‘You do what you’re supposed to do and that’s it.’ And that’s the way they accepted it, and that’s the way we went through the whole lot, nobody, nobody quibbled, just got on with it which is the way it should be.
DM: Of the sorties that you did over enemy territory.
FR: Mmm.
DM: Are there any that particularly stick in your mind as for for you know any particular reason really it could be a good reason or a bad reason?
FR: I think there were probably two which I would class as bad reasons, we were attacked twice by fighters, Wallace claimed one of them anyway and scouted the others away. [coughs] I suppose the one that eventually decided I wanted to enjoy these two to Blida ‘cos it was somewhere else, the first one we’d been to Friedrichshafen and from there it was a long way and going across the Med at about five hundred feet It’s not the best thing to do but we did it. Second time we went was to bomb a power station just outside Milan, there were only seven of us in the raid and we were each given an allocated height to go in to go round [coughs] the end of which one bloke unfortunately caught it. The rest of us we managed to get out of it, but whether we did any damage I wouldn’t know, sometimes you can’t tell we’d seen the bombs go down but that’s about it. So that’s the only, the only two things that I think I liked about that lot. [laughs]
DM: What about when you were off duty what was the social life like?
FR: I suppose I wasn’t used to it and I didn’t do it, honestly can’t remember what I did when we weren’t.
DM: You weren’t a great drinker or?
FR: No, I have an odd one now and again but not to any great extent, and I think that’s probably when I started smoking a bit more than anything. But I don’t, I don’t remember going to the local pub at all, just wasn’t wasn’t in my bringing up and I didn’t see any point in it so ‘cos if I get too tight I wouldn’t know what I’m doing you know, give it up.
DM: Do you have any, or did you after the war, did you have any feelings about how people who’d been in Bomber Command were perceived or treated ‘cos as you know there was a lot of controversy you know about what had happened and then how people were treated after the war, or did you just get back into civvy street and get on with it?
FR: More or less that, I suppose the only time there when Dilys and I went and did a tour sort of around touring Europe [coughs], and we saw Dresden and that was enough.
DM: So was Dresden still hadn’t been rebuilt when you were there?
FR: No.
DM: Right.
FR: No I don’t, I don’t think I was too worried about Bomber Command being bellyached ‘cos some of the things they had done were good, and some of the things that they had to do were not good, that’s it, it wasn’t, you didn’t blame them you blamed the hierarchy.
DM: What about more recently you know there was obviously there’s been some controversy over, controversy might be too strong a word, but over not being a campaign medal for Bomber Command for example but you got the clasp?
FR: I don’t, I didn’t one of those things, I didn’t think it was necessary, we’d had the, we’d had the Aircrew Europe thing, we’d had the Defence Medal, we had another two or three like that, and I’d got the big gong so so what, you know I wasn’t ‘cos did Fighter Command get anything I don’t think so.
DM: I think well the Battle of Britain they got something didn’t they?
FR: Yes, well I mean again that’s something special, I I don’t mind.
DM: Did any of your missions go to Berlin?
FR: Oh yes, two or three times, in fact I don’t know where, where, we went more than, more than once we went to a fair number of places. I suppose the Ruhr Valley was our main target and so was, so was the flak, but touchwood we were we weren’t struck, had this searchlight shot out one night that was it.
DM: So one of your gunners shot the searchlight?
FR: Yes. No we, we got caught by it and we had hell of a job getting out of, we did eventually but I don’t think we did any firing on that particular raid [coughs], no I think that’s about it.
DM: When you went on raids were you sort of nervous, [clock chiming in background], apprehensive or was it you just got on with it?
FR: You just got on with it, I don’t, I don’t think there was there wasn’t any particular place that we were going to that scared me to hell, no. I don’t think even doing it did that I was aware that were others about but nobody came near enough to cause a problem for when you think there must have been a thousand planes flying about at one time just somewhere within the vicinity a bit scary. [laughs]
DM: Yes probably not to think too much about it. Do you know what happened to your friend that you joined up with?
FR: Yes, well he, well he, he wasn’t able to finish the Tiger Moths, and so he was sent to Canada and he did his training in Canada, qualified there and then stayed there as an instructor and spent his entire time in Canada, married a Canadian girl. Actually we’d, he, he brought her back, I met her two or three times, her father was either the mayor or some high ranking bloke in the council and he died out there as well, and I’ve got it a copy of his gravestone it’s in the files.
DM: After you met the lady who became your wife?
FR: Yes Dilys.
DM: Dilys, when you had leave did you go to see Dilys or did you go home?
FR: I think, I didn’t, it was whilst I was instructing after we were from Wymeswold, I was able to put the bicycle on the train and go down to Oxford from there changing at Leicester anyway the trains went then. I would see her then, but it took a while before we got serious enough to actually do it, and somewhere or another I’ve got a cigar case [laughs] that says when we did it, it’s it’s in the service somewhere. No she had decided that she didn’t want to (a) to marry me whilst I was still libel to be shot she didn’t want to be a widow, and when it came to the time to do it, she said, ‘wait until you’re the same age as me and then we do it.’ ‘Cos she didn’t want to look as though she’d been picking up young ones, and I was only, I had only to wait a few months for that, ridiculous isn’t it, so I was still married in my uniform it looked better.
DM: When you said about the medals was it the DFC that you got?
FR: Yeah.
DM: Where, did you go to the Palace for that?
FR: No funnily enough we were at home in this house in Riddlesden, near Keighley, and the postman came and put a packet through the window in the kitchen, when we opened it up that was the DFC that’s how I got it.
DM: So there was no ceremony at all?
FR: No ceremony at all. [blowing nose] I think the note, there was a letter with it that said the King was sorry but he had too many to do, words to that effect anyway. [coughs] I can’t think of anything else that would be of any real use.
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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Interview with Frederic James Richardson
Creator
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David Meanwell
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
2016-06-08
Type
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Sound
Identifier
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ARichardsonF160608, PRichardsonF1626
Conforms To
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Pending review
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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.
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00:47:44 audio recording
Language
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eng
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Description
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Fred signed up for the Royal Air Force as a pilot at Cardington. After Bournemouth, he went to the Aircraft Receiving Centre in London and subsequently to Canada. He trained at the No. 1 British Flying Training School in Texas on Stearmans, Vultee Valiants and Harvards.
Fred was sent back to Bournemouth, then the Airspeed Oxford base at RAF Long Newnton. He was transferred to 29 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at North Luffenham before going to a conversion unit at RAF Wigsley, flying Manchesters and Lancasters. Fred contrasts the two aircraft. He moved to RAF Langar and carried out a total of 30 operations including one leaflet drop over Paris. Fred then went to two or three different stations flying Wellingtons. He transferred to RAF Wymeswold, which became a Transport Command Unit OTU rather than a Bomber Command OTU. Fred then flew C-47s before the war finished. He left the RAF and worked in in a number of different locations. Fred was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Contributor
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Sally Coulter
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
France
France--Paris
29 OTU
aircrew
C-47
Distinguished Flying Cross
Lancaster
Manchester
Operational Training Unit
pilot
propaganda
RAF Langar
RAF North Luffenham
RAF Wigsley
RAF Wymeswold
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/654/8926/PWarnerJ1609.1.jpg
072e24b732f93e294383635919e4300b
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/654/8926/AWarnerJ160401.1.mp3
0b63db78926e05bbe3defaa6fd01fb94
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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Warner, Jack
J Warner
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
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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
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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.
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
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GR: Hello. This is Gary Rushbrooke for the International Bomber Command Centre. I am with Flying Officer Jack Warner DFM, a flight engineer on 428, Royal Canadian Air Force Squadron. We’re at Jack’s home near Huddersfield and it’s the 1st of April 2016. Right then, Jack. Tell me a little bit about yourself.
JW: That’s good.
GR: Was you born in Huddersfield?
JW: Yes. I was born and bred in Huddersfield.
GR: Yeah.
JW: My mother was matron at the local hospital and my father was the village blacksmith at Lindley. And they met at a dance.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Down here at Mill Hill. Got married. And she went to live with the village blacksmith. The life you see. And I was born in 1923.
GR: 1923.
JW: So she would be a matron in the 1920s really.
GR: Yeah.
JW: So that’s how I came to be in Huddersfield.
GR: Yeah. Brothers and sisters?
JW: Yeah. Two brothers. Younger brothers.
GR: Younger brothers.
JW: But we were all quite close. We never had anything wrong with each other. At fifteen I became interested, well earlier than that, I became interested in model aeroplanes. And myself and Brian Wilkinson who is in that book there were interested in making aeroplanes and flying them from Golcar. So we made the most of several years and in that time I joined the Cadets in Huddersfield. The Air Cadets.
GR: Yeah.
JW: When I was about fifteen. From then I was interested in —
GR: Had, had you left school then?
JW: Oh yeah.
GR: Yeah. You’d have left school about thirteen, fourteen. Yeah.
JW: About fourteen then.
GR: And was you working or –?
JW: I should just be working maybe.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And I was interested in flying with the Cadets although we never got to fly. The tuition was very good and interesting. All to do with aeroplanes. Anything to do with aeroplanes I used to like. And I used to read them out of the library in Lindley and I remember the name quite distinctly of the pilots I was interested in in 1914/18. And the most impressive one was a chap called Billy Bishop who got eighty kills flying with the Royal Air Force in 1916 to 18. And from then on I became very interested in it and I joined the Cadets in Huddersfield. And they taught us all sorts of things which you wouldn’t get anywhere else.
GR: Yeah.
JW: So, I became very interested in that as well. And when I got to seventeen I felt well I can register in the Royal Air Force.
GR: You can volunteer at seventeen.
JW: Volunteer. RAF volunteer in the Royal Air Force when I was seventeen. So I joined up and went home. They said, ‘We’ll call you when we need you.’ Mind you the war was going on all this time and I just went home and carried on with my work and my reading and everything about the air force and then when I was eighteen they called me up to serve in the Royal Air Force as air crew.
GR: Right.
JW: I passed as aircrew by the Cadets and I joined as aircrew after going out to Cardington.
GR: Where did you go first of all then? So you got your call up papers.
JW: Yeah. Then they called me up to Cardington which was the aircrew selection board at Cardington. And I went in my Cadet’s uniform which was a mistake because it was right uncomfortable. I went there and I passed as a wireless operator/air gunner. I wanted to be a pilot. Which everybody did.
GR: Everybody wants to be a pilot.
JW: I passed for wireless operator/air gunner and they sent me home. They said, ‘When we’ve got a vacancy we’ll call you.’ So I went home. It was maybe a few months later. Not very long. And they called me over to say that I could train as a wireless operator/air gunner if I reported to a certain place at a certain time. I forget where it was. It might have been — was it Cardington? Where they dispersed aircrew.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Where you picked your uniform up and joined the air force. Simple as that. You’re in when you’ve got your uniform aren’t you?
GR: That’s, yeah.
JW: So I did that and I got in the air force and went to, first of all we went to Filey for what was, I considered to be the best six weeks I had in the Royal Air Force. It was six weeks square bashing. Intense cross country. Shooting. All sorts of things imaginable. But the best part of it which I thoroughly enjoyed was the square bashing. And our instructor were a chap called Flight Sergeant Gamble. He was an all in wrestler and he had us on the, on the parade ground which was the tennis courts at Filey and he really gave us rigid instructions. No messing about with Flight Sergeant Gamble. And it did me a hell of a lot of good being subjected to that type of discipline initially as I went into the air force and I still think it did me good.
GR: Yeah.
JW: All that time since. Everybody said, ‘Well, you shouldn’t do that Jack.’ I said, ‘Well I will do it and that’s it.’ You know. And my daughter said, ‘You can’t do it dad.’ ‘I will do it, Francis.’ And she’s amazed that I talk like that after all this time. The discipline is still there. You tell me to do something and I’ll do it. [unclear] So I was in the air force there.
GR: So six weeks of square bashing.
JW: That was good. I enjoyed that.
GR: Get you in shape.
JW: That was good.
GR: Yeah.
JW: I thoroughly enjoyed that. In the air force at Filey. And we were stationed in the Victoria Hotel, right on the, a massive hotel, right on the seafront at Filey.
GR: I know it.
JW: Yeah.
GR: I’ve stayed in it. Yeah.
JW: I was in a front bedroom, three storeys up for six weeks. You can’t get a lot better than that can you?
GR: You can’t.
JW: And square bashing initially and then rifle shooting. PT on the sands. It was a good six weeks that. I don’t think a lot of blokes enjoyed it but I did. So I was in the air force then at Filey.
GR: So after Filey square — yeah.
JW: And then. Yeah. We went to flight mechanics course. They had us down as wireless operator air gunners.
GR: Yeah.
JW: But I got a note from Cardington saying that there were no vacancies as a flight operator —
GR: Wireless operator.
JW: Wireless operator air gunner but you could immediately come in to the service as a flight engineer.
GR: Right.
JW: If you were so inclined. I said, ‘Yes, I’d like to do that.’ I wanted to get in. Get going, you know. So I went in and took a flight mechanics course which all flight engineers did and then I took a flight engine — that was at St Athan which was a very big station. Packed with people. It’s now making cars there now.
GR: Right.
JW: Jaguar are making cars there now. But it was a very big station and a good station. And I took a flight mechanics course there. And the fitter’s course. And the flight engineer’s course. And the training was excellent. And from there we were able supposedly to fly. So we’d had no flying experience at all. So after that I passed as a flight engineer which is another sort of section in this story.
GR: Yeah. How long did the training take to be a flight engineer? Can you remember how long you was there for?
JW: It was, I was about six weeks at Filey.
GR: Yeah.
JW: I should say the mechanics course was about six or eight weeks. It was a long course but mainly it was the mechanics course was the main course. We took that and passed. Passed them all alright.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And then took a short flight engineer’s course and from there we were classed as aircrew. In other words you were, you were going to fly and that’s it.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And with that knowledge you got enough knowledge to suss anything out out that might go wrong. Supposedly. So I went to, posted then to Croft which was a Conversion Unit. There were three, all in a row. From the A1 there’s Topcliffe, Croft and Leeming. Leeming was the army intake. I went to Topcliffe or Croft because it was a Conversion Unit for people who had flown Wellingtons as a crew.
GR: Yeah.
JW: To pick up a flight engineer on the four-engined aircraft. And they’d never seen one before and I hadn’t seen one before.
GR: And I’m just checking your logbook.
JW: Yeah.
GR: And I think it was 1659 Conversion Unit.
JW: Croft. Croft or Topcliffe.
GR: Yeah. Yeah.
JW: Yeah. One or two. There were two Topcliffe and Croft.
GR: Yeah.
JW: You want one or the other.
GR: Yeah.
JW: So I was then in the air force and then subject to flying. And the five lads which I joined —
GR: Because they were already a crew weren’t they?
JW: They were a crew.
GR: They’d trained on Wellingtons.
JW: That’s right.
GR: And they would have been missing a flight engineer.
JW: That’s right.
GR: And a mid-upper gunner.
JW: That’s right. George.
GR: Yeah. Yeah.
JW: And they picked George and me up and we got on alright. The pilot was a Canadian called John Sinclair. He was a very nice chap. He was twenty four years old and we thought he was an old man. The crew were all nineteen. We did. Honestly. You wouldn’t believe it.
GR: Yeah.
JW: But at the time we picked him up. Twenty four years on. God he’s ancient. Ancient. But he was a nice chap was John Sinclair.
GR: Yeah.
JW: He was a teacher. Canadian. From Vancouver. And I met him in Vancouver since and we got on like a house on fire. He was a teacher. Very down to earth. No shouting or bawling or bossing about like that.
GR: Yeah.
JW: The only thing about him was that he used to insist on carrying a gun in his flying boot. Loaded. In case he was shot down and he had to meet a German. He was going to get the first shot in. [unclear] of a German. But a really nice chap.
GR: Because you were allowed to carry guns weren’t you?
JW: Yes. You were. They were issued.
GR: They were issued.
JW: Yeah.
GR: Yes. Yeah.
JW: Stuffed them in your flying boot.
GR: That’s a bit later on when you joined the squadron so —
JW: Oh that’s later. Yeah.
GR: So you’re still at Conversion Unit at the moment.
JW: Conversion. Yeah.
GR: And I’m just again checking the logbook and I think it’s around about the beginning of August 1943 that you started doing your training with Sergeant Sinclair.
JW: Charles.
GR: Oh yeah.
JW: Charles was first.
GR: Yeah. Your first pilot on training was.
JW: They were instructing John first.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Instructing the pilot first. Then they put the crew in with the pilot after he’d been trained. After —
GR: Yeah.
JW: The pilot had been trained. So he did his training and we then joined him as a crew. We got on alright together. We just stood and sat where we had to do and did what we had to do and did the job we were taught to do as a flight engineer and everything went fine. No problems at all. You’d have thought there might have been but there wasn’t.
GR: No.
JW: They were an experienced crew of five of them and we joined as a flight engineer as an extra. And George was the mid-upper gunner and he was extra as well. So we all got on fine as a crew. I’ve got pictures of them in that.
GR: I will — we’ll come to the pictures in the scrapbook in a bit.
JW: That’s right. Those are good. Yeah.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And I’ve got photographs there.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And we got on fine at Topcliffe. I think we did six weeks about, at Topcliffe or Croft.
GR: Yes.
JW: That was just off the A1 in Yorkshire.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And all of Yorkshire, if you could draw a map, is all 6 Group Royal Canadian Air Force and we were 428 Squadron and joined the 428 Squadron at Middleton St George as a crew of a Halifax.
GR: Yes.
JW: Able to fly and control a Halifax aeroplane.
GR: And I’m just checking again and I think you’re first trip there was on the 8th of September 1943. You did —
JW: [unclear]
GR: You did yeah.
JW: Yeah.
GR: An air test.
JW: A long trip.
GR: An air test.
JW: Yes.
GR: With Pilot Officer Eaton.
JW: Yes.
GR: And then a few days later you did your first air test.
JW: Yeah. As a crew.
GR: As a crew.
JW: Yeah.
GR: So —
JW: We were soon up in the air after that. Flying operations after that.
GR: Yes I can see that you arrived.
JW: No big gap there. We just —
GR: You arrive in squadron at the beginning of September.
JW: Yeah.
GR: 428 Squadron. And so tell me a bit about that first day — 15th of September 1943.
JW: Yeah.
GR: You did your first operation to Montlucon.
JW: Montlucon. It was right down in the south of France. Almost bordering Italy. And really there didn’t seem to be much activity at all to me. Just easy.
GR: But how did it all start? So that day you were told you were on operations.
JW: Yeah. We all got our life jackets and parachutes issued. When you know you’re on ops they tell you to go and get your parachutes and your Mae West which is hung up in a separate place to go. So we picked those up and went down to, the briefing was at a certain time and you had to be there as a team or as a crew of a Halifax. And we went to briefing and they told us where we were going, what we were going to do and what the target was. But it was a hell of a long way. About ten hours I think.
GR: Who was in the briefing? Was it just yourself and the pilot?
JW: Oh no.
GR: The whole crew.
JW: The whole crew. And the squadron.
GR: Right.
JW: Altogether.
GR: Yes.
JW: In a big room. There could be a hundred or two hundred people in there depending on how many aircraft were flying.
GR: Yeah.
JW: But usually it was quite packed with every crew that was flying in an aeroplane that night were at the briefing. So they showed you where we were going, where we were going to do, what the bomb load was, which overall was about twelve thousand pounds depending on whether they were incendiaries or high explosives. Or the really big one. The four tonner.
GR: Yeah. How did you feel when you knew?
JW: Alright.
GR: Yeah.
JW: No problem. I thought it was a nice trip.
GR: Yeah.
JW: John Sinclair, he said, ‘The trouble with you Jack you’re flak happy.’ And that’s it and I was like that all the way through. I used to enjoy getting to briefing and listening to everything they were going to do.
GR: Yeah.
JW: I thought well I can go again and have a really good flight. Not enjoy myself — but it was exciting.
GR: Yeah. So no nerves. You were —
JW: None at all.
GR: Yeah.
JW: None at all and none of the crews was nervous.
GR: Yeah.
JW: We never had any problem in that direction.
GR: And I’m just checking your logbook again and obviously the 15th of September was your first op and you were back up the next night.
JW: Yes. Modane.
GR: Modane.
JW: Which was another long trip.
GR: Nine hours.
JW: That was a long trip you know.
GR: Yeah. Yeah.
JW: Once again it was in France. It was the south of France area. Towards Italy.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And I think they might have been picked as an easy one for us to start with again.
GR: Yeah.
JW: It was so easy. There were no problem. Hardly any flak or searchlights.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Or anything over France.
GR: So at this time you were probably thinking quite easy this job.
JW: Oh yeah. No problem. Just enjoy my flying with I did. I thought it was great. Flying. You know.
GR: Right. But what happened a few days later when you went to Hanover?
JW: Oh that was in the German Ruhr valley which was a string of targets. There was Hanover Castle, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Leipzig all clustered around an area which is called Happy Valley.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Because there was some searchlights.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Flak. General goings on that made it very, very exciting. And once again, I thoroughly enjoyed myself because I was flying. And everybody was quite happy in the crew. We’d no problems with any over-eagerness at all. We just did our job that we were taught to do and we got through all right.
GR: Excepting you’re — I am quoting.
JW: Hanover.
GR: I am quoting from your logbook. Hanover. Coned for five minutes. Nose of aircraft holed by flak.
JW: Yes. It was.
GR: The pilot was very lucky to recover.
JW: He was. We were lucky to recover at all.
GR: Yeah.
JW: That’s Hanover that was. There was two Hanovers. I thought that was in the second one.
GR: No. That was the first one.
JW: In the first.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Hanover Castle, Hanover.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Berlin, Leipzig, Frankfurt.
GR: Yeah.
JW: I can remember them off by heart.
GR: So what happened when the aircraft was hit by flak?
JW: Well it was hit. Normally I think it was a big bang in front of you but it isn’t. Its pieces of iron that’s –
GR: Shrapnel.
JW: Shrapnel coming off the shell.
GR: Yeah.
JW: After the explosion.
GR: Yes.
JW: And the explosion itself doesn’t do much damage because the flak is out and it’s flying all over the place if it was anywhere near you. And a piece of flak went right through the dome and it injured the bomb aimer who was laying flat like that. And I could see most of the things out of my astrodome. And generally I helped John Sinclair, who was the pilot, to keep an eye on everything that was happening outside because he was looking to fly the aircraft all the time. And I thought it was good. We enjoyed that apart from being hit. It didn’t affect us at all. We were just hit and a piece of flak went through the front dome and it shattered the dome.
GR: So was the plane difficult to control?
JW: No.
GR: Or did you just keep on going?
JW: No. No. We just kept on going.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Without the astrodome. It knocked most of it out.
GR: Yeah.
JW: There was a bit there.
GR: Was it before the bombing run or afterwards?
JW: Before.
GR: Before.
JW: Yeah.
GR: And you kept, did you carry on with the bombing run?
JW: Oh yes. Oh yeah. We just carried on.
GR: So even though the bomb aimer was injured.
JW: Yeah.
GR: You all carried on.
JW: You were disciplined to do that.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Which is why I say the first six weeks of my air force career was the best thing that ever happened to me.
GR: Yeah.
JW: It really was.
GR: Yeah. ‘Cause that was only your third operation.
JW: Yeah.
GR: And hit by flak.
JW: Hit over Hanover castle, Hanover.
GR: But you carried on.
JW: Hit by flak.
GR: Yeah.
JW: We just carried on. We’d been trained to do it. We’d been told to do it. We were disciplined into doing it. Not that that mattered anyway. You just did it.
GR: Yeah.
JW: So a lot of people said, ‘It must have been awful Jack.’ I said, ‘No. It wasn’t.’ It was exciting but that was it.
GR: Yeah. And again just taking you through your logbook a little bit. You went through October in to November.
JW: Yeah. Castle we went to.
GR: What about your first Berlin trip?
JW: Yeah. The Berlin trip.
GR: So you went in the briefing in the briefing room.
JW: Yeah. In the briefing room.
GR: And the thin red line was going to Berlin.
JW: Yeah. And a lot of people said there was a shout of, ‘Oh’, but there wasn’t. There was not a word said. On the television they say, ‘You’re going to Berlin, lads,’ And the Americans said, ‘Oh.’ We didn’t. We just sat there and said, ‘Right. We were going to Berlin,’ and that’s it.
GR: Yeah.
JW: We’d no problems going to Berlin and back. It was just a long way. And a hell of a sight because all the lights were, it were all lit up.
GR: Yeah.
JW: With previous raids. The fires were still burning over Berlin for a period of a couple of months.
GR: Because you attacked Berlin right in the middle of Bomber Command’s big push.
JW: That’s right. We happened to be flying in a Halifax aircraft but the English 4 Group were flying Lancasters.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And they took over Hamm of the Berlin raids. I know one chap who was, I know him very well, he was the father of my son in law. He was flying a Lancaster from 4 Group in a well known station and he did twelve operations to Berlin. In Lancasters.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And he got away with it.
GR: Yes.
JW: And I’ve read his scrapbook and he was a beggar.
GR: Yeah.
JW: He was a farmer from Alford in Lincolnshire. And he came from Lincolnshire and Patrick came from Lincolnshire. My daughter married him. That’s him there. That’s his son. And he was renowned for being a risky little beggar, you know. It says, in the book I read, the chunky little farmer from Alford. He was, he was flying Lancasters from —
GR: Yeah.
JW: It was a famous station in 4 Group.
GR: Yeah. It could have been — I think —
JW: I don’t — and the name of the station. They do a lot of specialist work and did a lot of —
GR: Yeah. Could have been Waddington, Scampton.
JW: It wasn’t Scampton.
GR: East Kirkby. Coningsby. There was twenty seven bomber bases in 4 so —
JW: That’s right. Yeah.
GR: But so your first Berlin went ok.
JW: No problem. Yeah.
GR: Yeah.
JW: We just did an ordinary trip to Berlin and came back. No trouble at all.
GR: Yeah.
JW: There was all this talk and there was a lot of action there. Which we hadn’t seen in [Montclus?] or Modane but a lot of anti-aircraft fire going on.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And we had to keep our eyes open all the time. Without fail. For the aircraft. Fighter aircraft.
GR: Yeah.
JW: You had to do. That was your job.
GR: Was you aware of the casualties at the time?
JW: No.
GR: Because sort of November.
JW: No.
GR: December ’43 into early ’44 was bad for bombing.
JW: It were appalling. It were appalling.
GR: Yeah.
JW: I’ve read accounts —
GR: But you didn’t know that at the time.
JW: No. No. You just carried on. It was just another raid. Berlin. It was a pretty picture all lit up with pointy flak. We didn’t see any fighters but the experience was quite illuminating you know.
GR: Yeah. And what about the squadron? Was the squadron suffering casualties at the time?
JW: Yeah. I mean 419 was taking heavier losses than us. That’s 419 Squadron was the other squadron at Middleton St George.
GR: Yes.
JW: And then the same, we’re in the same mess and everything and we just separated at briefing times. But we got together at briefing so we were all going on the same raid. They were just the same land. It was a Canadian squadron. Like all 6 Group were Canadians.
GR: And. Right. So after Berlin.
JW: Yeah.
GR: You were getting ready on the 3rd of December to celebrate your twentieth birthday.
JW: That’s right. I was.
GR: And what happened to you then?
JW: Nothing. I went, I went before we went I went to the mirror where we were stationed at Dinsdale House and I went up in to the bedroom there. We hadn’t gone on to the operations station then. I went up to the washroom and there were a whacking great mirror and I just thought I’m going to look at myself. Now. And when I come back. See if there’s any difference. It’s one of those strange things isn’t it?
GR: Yeah.
JW: I remember looking in this bloody great mirror at myself and seeing, you know, a normal bloke that’s going flying on his twentieth birthday to Leipzig. And we went and we flew it and it was near Berlin.
GR: Yeah.
JW: It isn’t far away but it were a good trip.
GR: To celebrate your twentieth birthday you were flying a Halifax over Leipzig.
JW: Over Leipzig. Yeah.
GR: Happy birthday.
JW: Yeah [laughs] You wouldn’t think it’s possible now but that’s what happened.
GR: Yeah.
JW: You know. But when you reckon up when we looked upon John as being pretty old. He was only twenty four was John Sinclair.
GR: Yeah.
JW: He was a pilot but we thought he was bloody old.
GR: Yeah. The old man.
JW: The old man of the crew.
GR: Yeah. Now then. We’ve got a few so we’re in to January 1944.
JW: Oh yeah.
GR: In January ‘44 was two more to Berlin.
JW: Yeah.
GR: Yeah. And then —
JW: I did two or three Berlin but chaps like Harold Blow they called him he was — I’ll show you on Dusseldorf, Berlin, Leipzig. Harold Blow was in the same, I put a star opposite the operations.
GR: There’s one there.
JW: Berlin and Leipzig.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Harold Blow was —
GR: We’re just looking through the logbook.
JW: It was on the same operation as I was. Flying his Lancaster.
GR: Right.
JW: And I was flying in a Halifax.
GR: Yeah. Right then. So into 1944 and what looks like a very interesting gardening operation to Oslo.
JW: Oh yes. Yeah. I’ll never forget that. Never forget that. Yeah.
GR: Yeah. According to the logbook and you can tell me a bit more about it. Oslo. First run bomb doors stuck.
JW: Yeah.
GR: Pilot decided to go around again. Hit by flak over target.
JW: That’s right.
GR: Port engine put out of action.
JW: Yeah.
GR: Had to return on three engines.
JW: We did.
GR: And as we passed over the dock the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were in dock.
JW: They were. And we had a hell of a big mine. One big mine. One of the electronic mines and we dropped this right in the harbour at the old wharf. And we did it. We went around once and the bomb doors were stuck and John Sinclair said, ‘Come on Mick. Get the bloody thing out.’ He said, ‘I can’t. The bomb doors are stuck.’ And the flak was coming up like God knows what. We were right over it at Oslo. So we went around again but we had to go a big circle to get right around and in to line for a run in onto the target. And the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were down there and we were flying dead above them and that time Mick got the bomb doors open and said, ‘Ok Sinc, get a run now.’ So we did a run on in and dropped it successfully. As soon as we dropped the bloody thing all hell were let loose with the flak. And it was coming up like nobody’s business but the bursts weren’t exactly on us but we weren’t at twenty thousand feet. We were about ten thousand because of the weight of this thing. So we dropped the thing from what’s considered a low level and we dropped it in exactly the place they wanted it which was right in the harbour. And as soon as we dropped it we were hit on the port engine side by a piece of shrapnel on the port inner engine. And I was looking at the gauge, had to look at the guages all the time. If you’re in trouble like that. That’s your job to look at them and I could see the port inner engine temperature was going up and the pressure was going down. The oil pressure. So I could see there was something radically wrong with the port engine. It was still going and I said to John, I says, ‘Feather the port engine Skip. The port inner engine Skip.’ ‘Ok Jack.’ Just like that. No messing about [pause]
GR: So, and it just says here returned on three engines.
JW: We did.
GR: Yeah.
JW: We came back and it was a beautiful night. It was snow covered all over Sweden and Norway. And after we’d feathered the engine, he feathered it ok did John by himself. I’m supposed to help him a bit there but I was looking at my gauges and —
GR: Yeah.
JW: And I said, ‘Feather port engine,’ you see. Just like that. And he did it. Just like that.
GR: Yeah. And not many operations in March.
JW: No.
GR: For some reason. Just did a couple. And then moving on into April 1944 and May 1944 I presume this was the big build up to Normandy.
JW: That’s right.
GR: And the D-day operations.
JW: Yeah. Now, you’ll see from the list of operations.
GR: Yeah.
JW: That this were from the Ruhr Valley which had been battered heavily anyway.
GR: Yeah.
JW: To about here.
GR: Yes.
JW: Where you could see they were going to use Bomber Command as much as they could towards the invasion of Europe. And they did and a lot of people don’t know it but that period there we were bombing and —
GR: This is April and May 1944.
JW: Yeah. We were either bombing or mining. It’ll be listed as gardening.
GR: Yeah.
JW: That was mining but a ruddy great mine on like we did at Oslo.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And we were, Bomber Command were instructed obviously to get the ports mined. Every single port had to be mined from right up Narvik right down the Norway Sweden coast.
Yeah.
Right down France. Germany. Right to Southern France. All those ports had to be either attacked by bombing or by the use of mines.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And beggar the Ruhr and Berlin and all that sort of thing. So that was our job and the job of all 6 Group to mine the whole of the coastline so that no German ship could get out of port.
GR: No.
JW: At all.
GR: Yeah
JW: Not the slightest chance. They hadn’t the chance to get out.
GR: And we’re looking at during that period. Going to Lisle, Le Havre.
JW: Yeah.
GR: Rostock, Cherbourg, Villeneuve, [Morleau?] Morlay, Brest.
JW: All to keep the German.
GR: Yeah. Dunkirk.
JW: Yeah. Otherwise they’d have come out and shot the invasion fleet to bits.
GR: Yeah. Yeah.
JW: The could quite easily.
GR: And again in so one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. So nine operations in April.
JW: To drop mines.
GR: Yeah. And again in May — one, two, three. Another eight in May.
JW: Yeah.
GR: So that was building them up.
JW: During the daytime the 8th Air Force were under Eisenhower. He was in full command of the 8th Air Force and they didn’t half use it as a hammering force of bombers.
GR: And what about the 5th and 6th of June 1944?
JW: Oh yes.
GR: Actual D-day. Because you went to —
JW: Merville.
GR: The Merville Batteries
JW: That’s right. Yeah.
GR: Which had to be taken out.
JW: That’s right. They were covering the whole of the beaches from right up to Pointe du Hoc? Where the other gun placement was.
GR: Yes.
JW: Pointe du Hoc and Merville at this side and there was Merville village or town there. And all the invasion beaches were stretched from Merville right up to Omaha and beyond. Up to Cherbourg. Well towards Cherbourg anyway. Those were all covered with troops and they were all instructions from the navy and army. When to move, how to move and do it. We went in about a quarter or a half an hour before the actual invasion. We were supposed to, oh we did our best to bomb all the beachheads from Merville and our target was a Merville gun emplacement. And I don’t think we hit it. It was mainly a good attempt. As best we could with the stuff. There were no lights at all over Merville. And the beach was just a flat beach. You couldn’t see where you were. But we were only maybe five or ten thousand feet up so we should have got it but if it had been lit up previously we could have hammered that gun right out of action but it wasn’t lit up. Or no indication where it was. I mean they said, ‘Right. You’re going to Merville.’ Oh right. To Merville. Yeah. But to attack a gun emplacement like that you want it lit up and illuminated.
GR: And it wasn’t.
JW: Nothing at all. And I think they missed that part.
GR: And did you see the invasion fleet?
JW: Yeah.
GR: Flying across the channel. What was that like?
JW: Coming back. We came back and it was just fantastic. All the ships. Hundreds of them. And I saw all that because I had nowt else to do. I was looking at it and you could see all the ships down there. It was a blaze behind you. And we saw all the ships coming in and we were just going out. It was quite an experience actually.
GR: It would be. Yeah.
JW: There was very little opposition.
GR: No.
JW: Not much opposition at all. But and we flew back to Middleton St George. Right. We went to sleep. We went to bed after us bacon and eggs. We went to bed and halfway through the day they called us out saying, ‘You’re out tonight.’ We said, ‘Right we’re going tonight as well.’ So we did.
GR: [unclear]
JW: [unclear] which was a railway junction south of the beach head.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And that was a railway junction for German troops enforcements and ammunition. Anything the Germans wanted. Had to go through [unclear] to feed the invasion beaches which stretched for about five or ten miles.
GR: Yeah.
JW: I’ve been there and it’s a wonderful holiday. To see all the beaches and to go up to Omaha. And see the American Cemetery.
GR: Yeah. And obviously that brought back memories.
JW: Yeah.
GR: So —
JW: It did.
GR: It did. And all this time your crew, was it the same crew?
JW: Yeah.
GR: Yeah.
JW: No problems.
GR: So you all got through.
JW: Yeah.
GR: Yeah.
JW: No problems. We all got through. After [unclear] we did a couple, I think it were Brest.
GR: Brest. I’m just looking. Yeah.
JW: But you see you’ve still got to keep the invasion fleet away from the Germans. So we still had to hammer the ports all the way up. We kept bombing the ports to stop the German boats coming out to attack the invasion fleet which would have been easy meat for them really. And it was successful because we didn’t have any reports. Anything bad about it. It was successfully done by Bomber Command.
GR: And how did you feel a couple of days later. The 10th of June, going to Brest was your last operation.
JW: Hammering the docks again to keep the boats —
GR: Yeah.
JW: The German boats away from the invasion fleet which was still pouring across. Eisenhower poured tonnes and tonnes of stuff in to that fleet you know. When it was going over there for weeks and weeks on end.
GR: And talking to you I should think you were disappointed because you weren’t doing any more operations.
JW: No more flying. It’s a damned shame really. I applied for another tour of operations to follow it.
GR: Yeah.
JW: To go on straight away. I would have gone on another tour of operations. But they said, ‘No. You’ve got to take at least three months leave.’ I said, ‘Right then. That’s it.’
GR: You didn’t want to do it.
JW: No.
GR: You’d have gone back flying.
JW: I would have gone back flying straight away.
GR: So was you on three months, was you on three months leave or did you do some training?
JW: No. They just posted me to Training Command.
GR: Yeah.
JW: At Wymeswold which was a bloody awful station. Training Command after being on an operational bomber squadron.
GR: And that was just helping train people basically.
JW: Train people.
GR: Yeah.
JW: On the Douglas Dakota.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And I did that for several months and one of the squadron commanders. I remember him distinctly. He was older than me but he wanted to get back flying like I did. He said — I got a call from him, Flying Officer Warner report to squadron leader so and so I reported to him. ‘Sir.’ ‘Would you like to join me to go back flying, Warner? ’ I said, ‘Yeah. Yeah I would.’ So, ‘Well I’m going to apply for a flying permit to go back on to operations.’ He were fed up with it and all and I was so, you see you have to wait a couple of months to see what they say. And they got a rejection. Both of them. Both rejected. Do you know why? Because they were all flying bloody Lancasters then.
GR: Yeah.
JW: There were no Halifax flight engineers wanted. And I were right disappointed I’ll tell you ‘cause Wymeswold were just dead.
GR: Yeah.
JW: It was awful.
GR: You did a bit of flying in January 1945.
JW: Yeah. We took a Halifax over to Maison, not Maison Blanche er Morocco.
GR: Oh right.
JW: A station in Morocco. We took a standard Halifax over. They dropped me. I were having my dinner one day and somebody came up, tapped me on the back, and said, ‘How would you like to go to Morocco, Jack? ’ I said, ‘Flying?’ he said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Oh I’ll go. I’ll go.’ Yeah. I’ll go so we joined a crew down at the big base down in Cornwall. Where the big aeroplanes go from. St Mawgan.
GR: Yes.
JW: We flew from St Mawgan, it’s in my logbook, with a chap called Flying Officer Pearson who was an ex- First World War pilot. And he was old. He must have been sort of sixtyish, you know.
GR: Right.
JW: Well he was studying the aeroplane up and down.
GR: Yeah.
JW: He said, ‘Would you be my flight engineer, Jack? ’ I said, ‘Yeah. That’s what I’m here for.’ So I hopped in this Halifax and we took it to Maison Blanche. I think it was.
GR: Yeah. Which is good. Now then. Obviously you were awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal.
JW: Yeah.
GR: And this was awarded in August 1944. So awarded after your operations.
JW: Yeah.
GR: Yeah.
JW: It was. Yeah. I was at Wymeswold when that came through. It went up on the notice board at Wymeswold.
GR: Yeah. So the war finished. And what happened to yourself?
JW: Well I wanted to stop in the air force. I applied to stop in the air force but they didn’t want me. I was a flight engineer. Halifaxes. Nobody wanted me.
GR: Nobody wanted. No
JW: No.
GR: No.
JW: I was very disappointed. Some of the other crew stopped in. The navigator stopped in. George stopped in and got a second tour of operations. George. The mid-upper gunner. George.
GR: The mid-upper gunner. Yeah.
JW: He applied for a second tour of operations. And he was a mid-upper gunner. He could do a bit of rear gunning as well. He wasn’t bothered. He was quite a nice bloke was George.
GR: Yeah.
JW: Next to me. I was in the same billet as him.
GR: Yeah.
JW: In the same room on the billet on operations as George. And he used to play the trumpet. And he went and he got a second tour of operations. I said, ‘What was it like George? ’ he said, ‘Like bloody hell,’ he said. He said, ‘You know what they did, Jack?’ he said. I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘They put me on Pathfinders as a rear gunner.’ I said, ‘Blimey.’ He said, ‘That was a right bloody easy job that you had.’ I said, ‘We got through George.’ He said, ‘Yeah, but it were — you should see what they’re doing now on Pathfinders.’ He said, ‘It’s like a bloody lunatic asylum. All the flak coming up. Fighters coming up and especially on the run in you know because the Pathfinders were dropping the markers.
GR: Yes.
JW: And if you got the Pathfinders out they buggered the operation up straight away. So he got, he got another tour of operations. But a tour of operations on Pathfinders was only twelve operations. Which you don’t normally get through them anyway. He got through them anyway and he got the DFC. George.
GR: Now, we’ve talked all about action over Germany and France.
JW: Yeah.
GR: Tell me a bit about your love life during the war. Because I know you met your wife during the war didn’t you?
JW: No. Just after.
GR: Just after.
JW: Yeah.
GR: Right.
JW: I had a girlfriend called Dorothy Crossland at the time and she were only eighteen and I was nineteen. I used to write to her all sorts of different ideas and George gave me a lot of what to write. I said, ‘What shall I put next, George?’ Tell her this, tell her that, tell her everything Jack. I said, ‘Right. I will do,’ because there’s nought else to do at night you see.
GR: Yeah.
JW: I used to write to Dorothy Crossland. She were a nice lass. But I were only nineteen. She were eighteen. I got a bit fed up and I packed it in. And her mother went to see my mother to see why Jack had packed Dorothy in. She said, ‘How the devil do I know that? You’ll have to go and see him yourself.’ So she didn’t do. But she were a nice lass were Dorothy.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And I met my wife much later. I made a foursome up at tennis with Margaret. My mate Brian Wilkinson was in there. Rang me up. He said, ‘Can you make a foursome at tennis Jack? ’ I said, ‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘Who with? ’ ‘Oh Barbara and Margaret.’ I said, ‘Aye. That’s alright.’ So I went down to Green Head Courts from Lindley. We all four went down. I knew Margaret. I’d played tennis with her. Watched her play. And Barbara was a cousin. So we took the two girls out to see a film at the Ritz Cinema. And that’s how I first met Margaret.
GR: Right. And Margaret had been a WAAF.
JW: Yeah. She’d been a WAAF. Yeah. She was in the WAAFs abroad. In Algiers.
GR: Oh right.
JW: So she’d been around a bit had Margaret.
GR: Yeah.
JW: She were out there a couple of years. And she showed me photographs.
GR: Were you both still in the RAF then or had you come out?
JW: I came out.
GR: You came out. Yeah.
JW: And she came out about the same time.
GR: Yeah.
JW: So we met actually at a game of tennis. They wanted a foursome so I said, ‘Yeah. I’ll be the foursome.’ And that’s how we met. She’d been in the WAAFs two years. Mainly in Algiers and Morocco. She unfortunately got attacked by the mosquito and got [pause] what do they call it?
GR: Malaria.
JW: Malaria. She got malaria and she were very poorly with malaria which flew back in later years which finished her off. She got malaria but she got through all her jobs alright. She were a bright lass were Margaret. She was.
GR: Yeah.
JW: A really brilliant as a typist. Mainly as a secretary. They all wanted Margaret as a secretary. Well anyway we got married but later on she got very poorly. I mean much later. She were eighty one when she died. And we’d a damned good life together.
GR: Good. What did you do after the war, Jack?
JW: I went straight to Brook Motors. I said, ‘Have you got any jobs?’ I had no job. Just went there and they said, ‘Yeah. You can be a balancer. Balancing rotors.’ I said, ‘Right. Show us what to do and I’ll do it.’ And I was there for about a couple of years. Ten pound a week. That’s what I got then. Ten quid a week.
GR: Ten pound a week.
JW: That’s what I got for being up in the air [laughs] It was the biggest come down really. Not in a lot of respects but I didn’t mind.
GR: Yeah.
JW: I’d do anything just to get going again.
GR: Yeah.
JW: So we both got going. Unfortunately in later years she got, she was a right little worker Margaret, a real good little worker. That’s her there.
GR: Yeah.
JW: We ran this place. A half an acre of ground there. We ran it as a nursery in my spare time and her spare time. Chrysanths, buddy roses, conifers, bedding plants. Everything like that.
GR: Yeah.
JW: And we made quite a bit of brass.
GR: Well done.
JW: And it’s a good old house is this and a good living cellar down below. Used to fill it with tanks of water and put all my flowers in and everybody came on a Friday night for them.
GR: To buy flowers.
JW: It’s down there at the bottom there. The shop at the bottom took most of them but everybody took them.
GR: Wonderful.
JW: I’d sell them for a half a crown a bunch.
GR: Yeah.
JW: When a half a crown were a half a crown.
GR: Yeah. How long have you lived here Jack?
JW: Sixty years.
GR: Sixty years.
JW: Yeah. Two acres at the back and I grabbed it. Nobody else wanted it.
GR: No.
JW: No. This is an old house.
GR: Yeah.
JW: There isn’t a brick in it.
GR: Yes.
JW: It’s a stone built house.
GR: Yes.
JW: The walls are solid like that. It’s cold and it’s all stone all over. Right into the cellar. Which is like a living cellar. You could go — the chap who owned, he used to live in it. And it was three flats. And when I came to buy it he said, ‘Well it’s three flats.’ I said, ‘I don’t mind.’ I didn’t want. I took out all the central heating plant out and threw it away. Now I wish I had central heating put in but nobody had central heating.
GR: No.
JW: But nobody had it in those days.
GR: No.
JW: Sixty years ago nobody had it.
GR: Nobody had central heating.
JW: They put all those semis up. None of them had central heating but they have now.
GR: Right. I will, on that note I will bring this interview to a close. Thank you very much.
JW: Been very interesting. Thank you very much.
GR: No. No. Thank you.
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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Interview with Jack Warner
Creator
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Gary Rushbrooke
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
2016-04-01
Type
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Sound
Identifier
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AWarnerJ160401
PWarnerJ1609
Conforms To
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Pending review
Contributor
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Julie Williams
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.
Language
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eng
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1945
Description
An account of the resource
Jack Warner grew up in Huddersfield. He volunteered for the Royal Air Force and trained at RAF Filey and RAF St Athan. He completed a tour of 37 operations as a flight engineer with 428 Squadron from Middleton St George. On one mine laying operation the bomb doors on his aircraft Halifax stuck and they had to do a second run despite the heavy anti-aircraft fire. His crew were part of the attacks on coastal gun emplacements during the Normandy landings on D-Day. He remembers seeing the invasion fleet moving across the channel. He spent his twentieth birthday on an operation to Leipzig.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
England--Yorkshire
France--Merville (Nord)
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Hamm (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Leipzig
Wales--Vale of Glamorgan
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Pointe-du-Hoc
France--Merville (Nord)
Format
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00:49:02 audio recording
428 Squadron
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bombing
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
C-47
Distinguished Flying Medal
flight engineer
Halifax
mine laying
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
RAF Hunmanby Moor
RAF Middleton St George
RAF St Athan
RAF Wymeswold
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/791/10772/PDaviesRS1801.1.jpg
00f54a2d24961e60d3f61e60a9f314ac
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/791/10772/ADaviesRS180201.2.mp3
800ef8d99ba90c254a8396ffd80dc2df
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
Davies, Ronald
Ronald S Davies
R S Davies
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with Ron Davies (1921 - 2020, 186892 Royal Air Force). He flew operations as a navigator with 101 Squadron.
The collection was 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
2018-02-01
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
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Davies, RS
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
SP: This is-
RD: No just-
SP: So, this is Susanne Pescott and I'm interviewing Ron Davies of 101 Squadron today for the International Bomber Command Centre’s digital archive. We’re at Ron’s home and it’s the 1st of February 2018. Also present at the interview is Ron’s son Peter. So, first of all, thank you Ron for agreeing to talk to me today. So, do you want to tell us what life was like before the RAF for you?
RD: My father was a farmer, and he’d been in the first war and suffered from a lot of damage and, so when the second war [pauses] broke out, I was furious to find I was in a reserved occupation. I felt I wanted to emulate what he’d done. In the event, I did join the air force, which [chuckles] almost came to blows with my father, but it was something I had to do and something which I’ve never regretted. And so, at the age of eighteen in the spring of 1940, I joined the air force as a pilot UT. Went to No 1 ITW in Newquay and then to No 8 EFTS in Anstey near Leicestershire, and I was there when Coventry was bombed and we were just ten miles from Coventry, and Anstey was a small pre-war flying station, and relied on the outside private people to maintain and train the planes. After Coventry of course, the place wasn’t closed down but our course finished, and we were then sent to Manchester, were eventually posted to Canada- Sorry, to America, because we were supposed to be trained as co-pilots onto the Sunderlands, flying boats. Now, are we coping? I spent- First of all, four months in Atlanta and trained on Boeing-Stearmans and from there, the- We went to Jacksonville Academy and we went onto fly the Vultee Valiant, which was greater because America was neutral, their standard of flying was much higher and with less pressure than England. When we finished onto that, we went onto Cessnas, twin-engine planes, and just a month before the end of the season and we had an unfortunate accident and we were- Both the co-pilot and myself were dismissed and we were sent back to Canada. Here we were lost, and suffered because we’d been in an accident, we were sent down to the hospital for check-ups and they kept us there as attendants. So [chuckles] having joined to fly we were now almost slaves in this unfortunate place. Then came Pearl Harbour and we- Suddenly everyone realised that our time was being wasted so we were then re-trained as navigators and I went over to Port Albert, which is just outside Goderich and I spent twenty-six weeks training on navigation and astro and all the things that entailed to it. Eventually we managed to get back to England and by now England was full of aircrew. We’d been away for so long and were sent to an army barracks in Whitley Bay, and we spent nearly three months there and to escape it we managed to get onto a consignment of bomb aimers who were being trained at Millom, and I think I've already told you that twenty-seven of us were posted to 10 OTU in Abingdon to fly Whitleys and then Halifaxes. But to help a colleague I switched to flight- To go to 28 OTU Wymeswold. From there we moved to the satellite which was Castle Donnington, and we completed our OTU on Wellingtons and we did two nickels which were flying over France with leaflets, and then we went from there to Halifaxes on Heavy Conversion Unit at Blyton. We did six weeks on those. From there we went to Hemswell which was No 1 LFS, Lancaster Flying School. We did ten days on that, and then we were rushed to 101 Squadron where we picked up an eighth member who was Keith Gosling and we arrived at 101 the last week in May of 1944, and we remained there until the 6th of November, during which time I completed thirty-one operations and another seven abortions. So altogether it was the equivalent of quite a lot of trips. We- During that time, Keith Gosling was lost and his replacement was a man called Roy Hall, and he stayed with us for the rest of the tour.
SP: So, Ron do you want to tell me a little bit- You had an eighth crew member, so obviously your eighth crew member Keith Gosling, you said was lost, do you want to tell me a little about what happened to Keith?
RD: Ey?
SP: Do you want to tell me a little about what happened to Keith Gosling then, you said he was lost so?
RD: He was lost with Flying Officer Meier[?]. Because, there were more crews than there were special operators, occasionally if the special operators own crew wasn’t flying then had to stand in, so he stood in and it was- Unfortunate thing, it was Meier’s first trip, and then I don’t quite know.
SP: So, Ron obviously there’s some details about Keith which we’re going to cover at the end, so do you want to carry on with where you were up to with your tour?
PD: If we- Can I just-
RD: The eighth member was a German speaking operator of a special equipment called ABC, airborne cigar and this was a jamming device which detected correspondence between the ground and the, and the enemy aircrews and their idea was so that it would give us a little bit of breathing space by jamming this. The unfortunate off-shoot of that was that the transmission itself was a warning device to the aircraft, so 101 Squadron itself suffered much more greater casualties than the average squadron. The invasion assistance that we were giving began to wane and we started going back to Germany again, and flying to many places. I don’t want to say too much about that, but could almost really wrap over and say that we finally finished our tour on the 4th of November and at that point- Ah, just remembered something else, and we were flying F-Fox and the first one was lost on the 12th of June and the second one was lost on the 30th of August, with another crew flying it because we were stood down that night and in the meantime we had to fly other planes until we had a replacement, and we finally had the third Fox, so there were three foxes all together. On the 12th of September and at the same time we finally had a replacement for our mid-upper gunner whom we’d lost on- Well he wasn’t killed, but he just didn’t fly again after Reims and that’s were Flying Officer Ken Gibb DFC with seventy-five operations under his belt came into being. So, can we- A new F-Fox came and that was NF936, and we finished our final trips in that, but- On the 2nd of November. But Paddy the engineer had been ill on one of the trips and he still had a trip to do, and two members of the crew refused to fly anymore operations, and we seemed to think that it was a shame for Paddy to go on his last trip on his own, so I volunteered to go with him and we flew our last trip on the 4th of November, Paddy and I, and at the same time, the crew in our hut, whose captain was Flying Officer Edwards, took over our F-Fox, and we planned to have an extension on the sergeants mess license for when we came back to celebrate. Unfortunately, F-Fox didn’t come back, and the whole of the crew were killed, so we cancelled the extension and it seemed a shame really that on our last day we lost our plane, our hut mates, it was a bit distressing. In the meantime, during July, I'd been on a trip and I had arrived late at the briefing through a fault on the intercom, and I was hauled before the CO and threatened with expulsion from the aircrew and told what an unpleasant character I was, and the final words of the CO when I left the interview was, ‘From now on, you will be under my personal observation’, and I then went home on leave after the completion of our tours and when I arrived I found a telegram addressed to Pilot Officer Davies, so he must’ve forgiven me because he’d recommended the commission. From then on, we went to flying training at a place called Angle in South Wales and we were flying with four crews from 617 Squadron, and they were all- Two had expired from- And we flew for six months on this experimental work and the work was to bomb or- To train the bomb site to cope with eastern conditions and the idea was to bomb the Japanese fleet, and we finished that tour by the end of May. At which time we returned to- We were seconded to coastal command, when I returned to 101 Squadron a character there called Gundry[?] White with whom I'd also blotted my copy book, when he saw me coming back, he made sure that my existence was short and sweet, and I found myself posted to the Far East, and within a month I was at Mauripur which is just outside Karachi, in a transit camp waiting to join the Tiger Force which was the name for Bomber Commad in the Far East. Fortunately for us, before that happened, they dropped to atom bomb and then the hydrogen bomb and at that point I was posted to Dum Dum in Calcutta, and from there, from there I spent seven days on an American liberty ship and ended up in Singapore on my way to Kuala Lumpur. There was so much chaos in Singapore that- And there was no transport available, and so I ended up helping to rehabilitate prisoners to come back home, and when that happened the whole station was posted to Changi- We were at Kallang sorry, and Kallang was to be handed back to the civil authorities and we were all to go to the RAF. But within- I being the youngest of the officers there was left to- With thirty people to tidy everyone up and hand it back to the authorities. But, before that could happen, after four days the runways at Changi were declared unfit and unsafe for four-engine aircraft, and so I stayed for the rest of the war in Kallang with these thirty people and our job was to refuel all the aircraft which were coming through and in particular, we had twenty-five Japanese prisoners of war come every day and it was my job to see that all these people were done. At the, at the end of my time, I was then demobbed in June 1946. I went back to the main base in Singapore and that night there was a NAAFI show with Tommy Trinder and I thought, ‘That’ll be a fitting way to finish’, and when I got in the very first person, I saw was Gwen Lansing-Green[?] who was the daughter of our landlord back home, and I had to go twelve-thousand miles to see my next-door neighbour. You can make as much as that as you wish. We arrived home after six- We went from Colombo which then was Ceylon, Bombay, Aden, Suez, Gibraltar and Liverpool and that was the end of my service, and that was in the book, then everything finishes and it starts again fifty-two years later when I- By this time I’d lost touch with all the crew, and it was fifty-two years later when I was reading a paper and my pilot was writing a story of his accident and from that I wrote to him, we were reunited, and then started all the galivanting to- Back to bomber land. Does that fill in?
SP: That’s great Ron, I think if we just want to go back to a couple of bits you mentioned during your time during the war, you mentioned that obviously you were special operations and Keith Gosling, you said he went on a different flight to you at some time. Do you want to tell us what happened to Keith?
RD: Yes, well now that I can tell you, that I answered the pilot’s letter and then that is where we began to find out all the information about Keith Gosling, and it really goes on- It’s very long winded because it took about twenty years to find all this out. Well, the one word for it is a cover-up. No one wanted to disclose, in fact, I doubt the air force really know, that their only Canadian air force covered everything up, and when you read the stories that we found out, most of this happened because the Canadian government were more concerned with paying a widows pension to someone who wasn’t a widow, and most of the investigations are concerning that, and the fact that a plane, six men were killed, many, many facets of information passed over to the enemy, and if I tell you that the Stasi people were concerned and that’s what- Meier[?] was a member of that.
SP: So, what actually happened? Do you want to tell us what actually happened?
RD: Well, it all started with Keith Gosling’s friend who was called Sam Brookes and they both trained together and they both received their commission together and they both came to 101 Squadron. Now, on the first visit back to Lincoln after I'd met up with the pilot, the- 101 had this mad idea of having two nights for a reunion, and one night would be in Lincoln, or an RAF station on a Saturday with a dinner, and the following would be on the Sunday afternoon when we would go to the church in Ludford and the first night, or the first visit we had and the reunion was being held in Waddington, and we stayed at the Premier Inn or some such, who provided a courtesy coach to take us to Waddington and sitting next to me was Sam Brookes and of course, as you know from your father's experience, whenever two airmen get together it’s always, ‘When were you here? What crew were you with?’, and Sam Brookes case, ‘Who was your special operator?’, and I said, ‘Oh, Keith Gosling’, struggling- ‘That’s strange, we’ve just come back from France where Keith was buried’, he said, ‘And there weren’t seven graves, there were only six graves and Keith Gosling was named as the pilot’, he said, ‘very strange’. But by that time, we’d got to Waddington and we said, ‘We’ll talk about this when we get back’. Unfortunately, for us, we got carried away a bit and that night there were a changeover of chairmen and Air Vice Marshall Eric Macey was handing over to Air Commodore Jim Uprichard, and they start- One was a pianist and the other was a cellist and so you can imagine, half-past one in the morning and the sing songs are going and the drinks are flowing, and we sudden realised we’d missed our bus. So, we never saw Sam Brookes again, in fact, I never did see him because in the shadow of the bus, you don’t really recognise and nothing ever happened from that, and it was three years later before Sam Brookes met our pilot. Now, our pilot had amnesia and he couldn’t remember anything and so, he then wrote to me to tell me all about Sam Brookes and to try and carry on this conversation and from then on that’s how they approached me and not the pilot because, I wouldn’t say my memory’s good, but I can remember a lot of things that happened at the time and I had all the dates in my log book to cover them. And so, that is why I was approached at the last meeting as to what I thought of Keith because Fred, with the best will in the world could remember Keith Gosling but he could never remember that he’d flown with us as a crew member, so it was all these odd- And that is why my- Or I was asked for a second opinion if you like. So-
SP: So, Keith actually went on another operation, what actually happened on the operation when his crew was killed? What actually happened on the operation that Keith was on when his crew was killed?
RD: They flew to Homberg, and- Have to think about how much I can tell you without breaking confidentiality. They flew- And everything I tell you now is conflicted, every evidence is conflicted. When the raid was over, they should’ve come over Holland and the North Sea back to Ludford, but they actually were flying over Belgium, I think it was- I can’t remember the name of the, of the town at the moment. But the bomb aimer bailed out, and when he was interrogated back in this country, they asked him why he bailed out and he said he’d bailed out because he thought the plane was going to crash, but on further interrogation he admitted that all four engines were running and so his explanation didn’t quite fit in. Now, the plane then continued flying away from England and it actually crashed at E-V-R-E-U, Evreu, which if you look on a map is half-way from Belgium to the Alps and at that point, how a pilot could get out of a plane and leave all six members in and how it remained static, but of course, the bomb bays were already- The bomb hatch was already open from the bomb aimer leaving, so all he had to do was get out, and once he got out the plane- He obviously hadn’t put it onto automatic and so it just crashed. Now, that was the first part, and the second part was, the bomb aimer, when he was interrogated, they found he was unfit for further flying activities, and yet he’d been a person, very convivial, until he went on that trip, he was a very natural person. He went back to Canada, and this- Within three years and he disappeared mysteriously in a boating accident, and no one could ever interrogate him again and the pilot, Walter Meier, he was eventually in East Germany and in 1972, he was found in a gas filled room, asphyxiated, and the coroner deemed that there was a fault on the flu system, but again, a mysterious death. The whole thing, and without telling you anymore that’s as far as I can go but, I think it has to be mentioned.
SP: Yeah.
RD: Now, we’ve covered up to fifty-two years after being demobbed, and that started my life back at Ludford, back at Lincoln, back at Coningsby, Brize Norton, covered the whole lot really.
SP: So, what did you do after you were demobbed? What did you do after you were demobbed Ron what did-
RD: I was unemployed for months and months, you see, once you went abroad this country had a year to get itself sorted and they made sure that those who had the good jobs were not going to let anyone in. Eventually, by this time my son had been born and we had a flat in Llangollen and the only job I could get was in Crewe. So, I bought a motorbike and I travelled from Llangollen to Crewe in the worst winter of the war, so I came back from one-hundred-and-twenty in the shade to minus-twenty day after day. In fact, I think, I read somewhere once, where it was forty days of snow, and I rode this stupid motorbike all that way and then eventually I managed to get into the textile industry and managed to keep my head above water, just about. But, during this time, I haven’t told you this but, whilst I was on the observers course my eyesight went and I couldn’t see [emphasis], and they took me off the course and it was only by sheer luck I managed to find a squadron leader who would pass me fit. I wasn’t really, but he did and then half way through my tour, my ears went, and I’ve suffered with both my eyes and my ears ever since. In fact, last month I had two visits in one day at the eye clinic and I had a cold so I had to cancel them both. I still suffer all these- Health problems if you like, maybe I would’ve suffered them anyway but-
SP: So obviously you worked in the textile industry after and did you do that until you finally retired, or?
RD: Yep.
SP: Yeah?
RD: I didn’t retire till seventy-nine. Well, I couldn’t, my first wife died in 1976, and I, I married again and the second wife had vascular dementia, and then my daughter came here- Oh I had a bad fall and I was in a wheelchair and my daughter came to live with me and she was diagnosed with cancer and then that went. So-
SP: How did it make you feel coming back from the war and being unemployed and having to fight for a job really after all you’d done?
RD: Well, it is so difficult to try and explain. One day, I had an interview in- On the East coast for a job and I left Llangollen at quarter-to-eight in the morning when the first bus, and I finally got to Leeds at four o’clock in the afternoon, too late for the interview and so I rang them up and I stayed the night on a station, the Salvation Army, you could stay there for about two shillings and I caught a bus the next morning, the conductor finally showed me where this place was, it was about a miles walk and I was walking along the road and a chap comes back in the opposite direction and we both said, ‘Good Morning’, ‘Morning’, and then about another ten yards and this voice said, ‘You’re not going for the jobbers oil executive are you?’, well, yes I was, he said, ‘Well, I wouldn’t bother if I were you’, he said, ‘I’ve just taken a car back and it’s got bullet holes in’, ‘Bullet holes?’, he said, ‘Well the job is, you go round farms and you sell oil to tractors and it’s rubbish’ he said, ‘And then not only that but you have to go back the following month to try and get the money’, and this farmer had fired his shot gun at him so I turned back. Well, I- Again, I had to stay the night in Manchester and I got back three days later and the first question ‘Did you get the job?’, and I can only tell you that’s how bad this country was, there was just no work, the employment was eleven-million, that’s all and we had thirty-million. So, it gives you some idea. There were at least three million people looking for jobs and you were just one of many. But worse than that of course, the air force had its name tarnished by the Dresden affair which had been bought up by all the political correct people, and that was another reason that- That’s why for fifty-two years I didn’t want to know about the air force or the war or anything else, and it took the whole of one's capabilities to try and keep your head above water, to try and move on. It was a job to stand still, and the first two or three years I bought a house in Crewe and we were so hard up, whilst I'd been in the Far East, we bought rugs and they all went to the auction room, everything we could sell, just to try and pay your bills, and then- It is not something you’re able to communicate to people today, and so, if I don’t talk very much about it, there wasn’t very much to talk about [emphasis].
SP: I think it’s interesting because I think people are- Would be surprised that with such high regard that you’re all held with now in Bomber Command that it was so different at the end of the war and you had to find so much to get jobs.
RD: [Chuckles] Well, Dresden, I make a big thin of Dresden in my book, and I show examples of just what the Americans did ten times worse than what we did, and never any castigation at all. But then, that’s my pet hobby.
SP: And again, you know, for people listening that book ‘From Landsmen to Lancaster’ is the one that explains it in detail isn’t it, by yourself on there.
RD: Yeah.
SP: Just going back to your time with 101 Squadron, tell me about your crew, who you had, I know we’ve talked about one of them but tell me a little bit about your pilot and your- The rest of your crew and your-
RD: Yeah.
SP: Ok, so do you want to talk me through your crew Ron? Yeah?
RD: That’s myself, that’s Paddy Ore[?] the engineer, that’s Titch Taylor the wireless operator, George Williams the rear gunner, Fred James the pilot, Jim Coleman the navigator, Ken Gibb the second mid-upper and that was Roy Hall the second wireless operator-
PD: Special, special.
RD: - and I have all their letters and how they-Oh, he, he also couldn’t get a job after the war and he went back in the air force and he flew five tours of operations on Hastings which was the future of the Halifax.
SP: Yeah, that’s right. And you say a few of them from Canada? You had quite a few Canadians in your crew?
RD: George, he had a tremendous- He never married, and he died in 2009 and he worked on the early warning system in Siberia [chuckles] so none of us really- Fred became a teacher, well that was just about as much as he could do because of his amnesia and-
SP: And how did you crew up? Where did you crew up and how did you crew up?
RD: We crewed up at Wymeswold and really that’s- It’s so involved that- There were four crews who were- We considered ourselves friendly because mostly were Canadians and Australians but in Castle Donnington within two months there the Australians in our crew were burnt to death, the Canadians in the next hut they were also burnt to death. We had two plane crashes in ten nights, and when we were at Blyton, we had another plane crash. So altogether before we ever got to Ludford Magna we’d lost about twenty odd people, and I was reading somewhere that eight-and-a-half-thousand people were killed in training alone. Well, tend not to think of these things, I don’t know- With all the other things going on whether they detract from it really.
SP: So, do you- You crewed up pretty quickly then as a team?
RD: Well, what would you like me to say? Just tell-
SP: Just tell how you crewed up, yeah? Can you remember who spoke to who and-
RD: Well, that was at 28 Wymeswold, 28 OTU Wymeswold, which is just outside Loughborough. There would be about a hundred people and for three or four days we just talked, and I mentioned Walt Reif[?] as the Canadian, he in fact was [chuckles]- The more I talked, the more I bring in complication. Walt Reif[?] was a German, he was born in Germany, emigrated to America, naturalised America, they wouldn’t take him into the air force and so he went over the border to Canada, joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and ended up the same way, and his bomb aimer was also born in Germany and he was naturalised Canadian and ended up, if you like, also- We had an Argentinian, as a pilot and his name was- What as it?
PD: [Unclear]
RD: Peter?
PD: Highland, Highland [emphasis]
RD: Peter Highland, Pancho, and Chris Cockshott who was a trainee pilot with me and he was the co- He and I were flying the Cessna when we crashed and we were both kicked out and we stayed together for a long time and we met up again in Ludford Magna and he was killed on his third op, on the- In a F-Fox which we should’ve been flying. So, the more I talk about these things the more involved it gets and then I told you that on the last night of our flying we had- Flying Officer Edwards crew, well the navigator there, he came from Mauritius and his name was Tedier[?] and he was the one and only person from Mauritius who joined Bomber Command and was killed in action. So, I'd forgotten all these things. Going back to crewing up, well I crewed up with Fred first and then Fred found George Williams and Jim Coleman and a man called Eric Smith, that started our crew and Titch Taylor of course also. But Eric Smith didn’t like Fred, he found he was too authoritative (being Canadian) and so as we finished our term at Castle Donnington, Eric broke his wrist and he was given the option of having a rest and then joining us later or joining another crew, and he said, ‘Don’t take offence Ron, but I can’t stand Fred so I'm going to join a Canadian crew’, and he did, and he was killed on his first op. But- So if you go back then that was actually three crew members who didn’t make it but to try to avoid too much confusion, I haven’t mentioned too much of it, in fact I don’t think I've mentioned that in the book at all. Oh yes, I did, yes, yes.
SP: So obviously you did the crewing up, but you were also involved with D-Day?
RD: Sorry?
SP: You were involved with D-Day, were you? Around D-Day, do you want to talk a little bit about your role within D-Day operations.
RD: Well we didn’t know it was D-Day, we just were sent on a trip and we flew for seven-and-a-half hours and when we were coming back, we could see the English Channel was black with ships and we reported all this at the briefing and it was two hours later when we were in the mess when we finally found out that there had been the invasion, and from then on, we were- All leave was cancelled and for three weeks we weren’t allowed off the station. We were just standing by and it was during that time we went to Reims, and when we crash landed at Thorney Island normally a plane would come and take you back, but because all the planes were on stand-by we had to come back by train, and that was another story. We were in London as the V-1 bombs were dropping because we- It took us two hours to get from Havant to Waterloo, and then- I can’t remember the reason, but we couldn’t get a direct trip to Kings Cross so we went part on the underground and watched all the people getting their beds out and then we got the last train from Kings Cross and that was with difficulty, the whole of London was trying to get out. We got into, where was it? We got into Lincoln, we finally got transport back to Ludford, got back into Ludford at half-past-ten, which is exactly forty-eight hours after we’d taken off, and by lunch time next day, we found our names on the board for an op that night, but then it was cancelled and I went over- I used to keep my pilot training up by going on the link trainer, and I went over to the squadron where the flight were to do this and I was suddenly told I was to fly with an air test, with a pilot and so we flew over Liverpool, checked all the Gee equipment and whatever, and we got back to Ludford at seventeen-fifty, I checked my watch, seventeen-fifty and because it was a scratch crew I was flying as the joint navigator and engineer, and I said to the pilot when we got back, ‘If you fly over the control tower I'll fire off a [unclear] cartridge and they’ll change the runway because it’s a short runway’, ‘Nonsense, nonsense’ he said, ‘We’ll go in’. So, he landed, and he hit the runway bounced thirty feet, shot across the perimeter track in between- Across the main road and we ended up in a haystack, and all the equipment we’d been testing was scanners underneath the aircraft, they were all smashed. He still didn’t speak and we were walking back and this boy came up and said, he was about eighteen I suppose, pimply faced youth and he said, ‘My bicycle was in that hut that you’ve crashed’, and the pilot looked, ‘Go and thank Christ you weren’t on it’, and that was all he said, and for that we were both ordered to write an essay and appear before a court as to our actions on why this accident had happened, and after three days it was all cancelled. I was sent on leave and when I got back this pilot had gone so [chuckles] it’s only when you sit down and work it all out and you realise why I didn’t want to think about it for fifty-two years.
SP: Yeah, and just going back to D-Day, you said you flew, what was your role on D-Day? What was 101 Squadron doing? What was the role?
RD: We weren’t bombing, we were flying with- The special operator was jamming the equipment over the fighter stations so that they couldn’t get the information to- Of what was happening.
SP: That’s great, and then you talked about Reims and you said you had to land- You had to crash land on the way back, do you want to tell me a little bit about the trip to Reims?
RD: Well, we had two engines shot out so we landed with- We landed with just two engines and we did a ground loop because all the port undercarriage was ripped away and, and in my book, I mention that the pilot in his résumé of what happened that night, and he said that we were attacked by three different fighters and we ended up at zero feet flying over the tree tops and that’s how we were saved really, and he heard all the canon fire crashing into the front of the plane and thought I would be a bloody pulp, that was his expression. Fortunately that wasn’t the case. But the whole of the front of the plane where I was, it was almost unrecognisable, and the plane never flew again, it was written off. That was just one, we had about four similar episodes, but that was the first one and the first one is always the worst one, after that you become a bit blasé about it all. But the other thing about many of it was really the weather, we were sent in weather that was really never fit to fly, but needs must. They had to keep the pressure up. It’s easy to understand now, it wasn’t quite so easy then
SP: And then on your crash landing, you had a problem with where you wanted to land wasn’t it? Was there some other planes?
RD: Well, it saved our lives, had we landed on the runway and done that we would probably of done the- Thorney Island has a sea wall and that was where Tony Benn made his mistake, he said his brother crashed into a sea wall, so when I told him Thorney Island, he said, ‘No, you’re wrong’, and I said, ‘Well, you can’t be right on both. If he crashed on Tangmere, Tangmere doesn’t have a sea wall, so he couldn’t of crashed into it, it had to be there’, and he also said that his brother was taken to Chichester hospital, well Chichester’s right next to Thorney Island, so that stood me in good stead.
SP: So you were coming in- You were wanting to land at Thorney Island but two Mosquitos were in front-
RD: They said, ‘You can’t land here’.
SP: Right.
RD: And then the pilot, well, he had no option. We didn’t- We had a fuel leak, we couldn't climb any further and, in any case, there was the- These V-1’s were taking off, they started on the 16th of June and the incident I'm telling you about was the 22nd, so I think I mention in the book, at seven-thirty in the morning when we were starting for breakfast and it was the first of seven raids of the day. So not only did we crash land at Thorney Island but we found ourselves in the centre of the first attacks of these things which was a-
SP: So, from what you were saying to me earlier, the- They’d said you couldn’t land on the runway because the Mosquito was in problem so you landed on the grass but the Mosquito actually crashed.
RD: We landed on the grass, which is level. Thorney Island was a coastal command station and it was quite vast, it was pre-war when space was- Cost nothing. So, it- That helped to save- The fact that we were landing on grass instead of concrete made a big difference.
SP: And the Mosquito that crashed was Tony Benn’s brother?
RD: Yes
SP: Right, so yeah, so that’s the link into the Tony Benn story, it was his brother.
RD: Did Tony Benn have a, a navigator with him?
PD: Yes.
RD: Yeah so-
PD: I think all the Aussies had navigators.
SP: Yeah so they crashed on-
RD: Tony Benn and his navigator were killed.
SP: Tony Benn’s brother, yeah and his navigator.
RD: What they had-
PD: Michael Ben [unclear]
RD: -was a malfunctioning altimeter.
SP: Right.
RD: And he didn’t know his height and so they sent another Mosquito up to bring him in and we listened to all that, that was the part which perhaps I didn’t emphasise. We listened to the whole caboodle and after they crashed, we still had to get down if you like, it doesn’t help.
SP: No, so that was Michael Benn who crashed with his navigator and then you listened to that ok, yeah. Is there anything else, Ron, that stands out that you want to make sure you cover?
RD: Have I missed anything Pete?
SP: Ok Ron, well thank you very much for sharing all of those storis with us today, it’s been a privilege-
RD: Well, thank you for coming.
SP: - to meet you, so thank you on behalf of International Bomber Command.
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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Interview with Ronald Davies
Creator
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Susanne Pescott
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2018-02-01
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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.
Type
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Sound
Identifier
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ADaviesRS180201, PDaviesRS1801
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Pending review
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00:57:47 audio recording
Language
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eng
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
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Canada
Great Britain
Singapore
United States
England--Cumbria
England--Lincolnshire
England--Leicestershire
England--Warwickshire
Description
An account of the resource
In spring 1940, Ronald Davies joined the RAF to train as a pilot. Following initial training, he was posted to America but was dismissed after crashing a Cessna. Following Pearl Harbour, he trained as a navigator in Port Albert, Canada, but upon returning to England he completed a bomb aimer course at RAF Millom. Davies formed a crew at RAF Wymeswold and trained on Wellingtons and Hallifaxes, before converting to Lancasters at RAF Hemswell. He joined 101 Squadron and completed thirty-one operations between May and November 1944. He describes completing operations during D-Day, and crash-landing at RAF Thorney Island when returning from an operation over Reims, then travelling back to RAF Ludford Magna by train as V-1 bombs dropped over London. In May 1945, he was posted to Singapore where he remained until he was demobilised in June 1946.
Contributor
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Tilly Foster
Temporal Coverage
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1940
1944
10 OTU
101 Squadron
28 OTU
aircrew
bomb aimer
bombing
crash
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Ansty
RAF Blyton
RAF Castle Donington
RAF Hemswell
RAF Ludford Magna
RAF Thorney Island
RAF Wymeswold
Stearman
training
V-1
V-weapon
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/851/10847/AHambrookHJ180109.2.mp3
15e7d30c5d0a426e2cfb291679011120
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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Hambrook, Harry
Harold John Hambrook
H J Hambrook
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with Harry Hambrook (1925 - 2021, 1890683 Royal Air Force). He flew operations as a rear gunner with 166 and 153 Squadrons.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2018-01-09
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
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Hambrook, HJ
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
GR: Hang on a second.
Other: Stop a minute.
AM: So, my name’s Annie Moody and I’m working with the International Bomber Command Centre and Lincoln University and it’s Tuesday the 9th of January 2018 and today I’m with Harry Hambrook in Harrogate and I’ve also got Gary Rushbrooke with me and Harry’s daughter with me. And what I’d really like to know Harry to start off is where you were born, you’ve just said you’re a Cockney, and a little bit about your childhood. What your parents did and school and stuff like that. So where were you born first of all?
HH: As far as I can recall I was born in Hackney.
AM: Right.
HH: And I lived in Dalston.
AM: Yeah.
HH: Which is a part of Hackney.
AM: What did you, what did your dad do?
HH: My father was a cabbie. A London cabbie.
AM: Yeah.
HH: He was, I think he had many different types of jobs but I can remember him as a cabbie.
AM: Right.
HH: Driving a cab.
AM: And what sort of house did you live in?
HH: It was two houses, terrace one. Just two houses in a, I mean a long line of houses, but and we lived in a basement, semi-basement and the first floor and the top floor was let.
AM: Right.
GR: Brothers and sisters?
HH: I had one sister, eighteen months younger than me and one brother, five years younger than me.
AM: Right. And what about, can you remember what school you went to? What was school like?
HH: Oh, well I enjoyed school but I couldn’t get away from it quick enough. and I didn’t do very, I didn’t do very well at school at all because I had no intentions of staying. All I wanted to do was to get out to work.
AM: So how old were you when you left? Fourteen?
HH: Fourteen.
AM: Fourteen. So what did you do then to find —
HH: I was an office boy.
AM: Right. How did you find your job?
HH: I think it was through the Labour Exchange.
AM: Right. And what sort of company was it? What sort of things did you do?
HH: Oh just, ‘Do this,’ ‘Do that,’ ‘Do this,’ ‘Do that, Harold.’
AM: Dogsbody.
HH: Yeah.
AM: But that’s at fourteen years old.
HH: We had another office about three or four miles away and I used to cycle back and forward to that four times a day to collect post.
AM: Right.
HH: And inter-office material, you know.
AM: Yeah. Can you remember how much you got paid?
HH: I think it was twelve and sixpence.
AM: A week.
HH: Yeah.
AM: And how much of that did you have to divvy up to your mum?
HH: Ten shillings. Two and six for me.
AM: You kept two and six. What did you spend your two and six on?
HH: Oh, I couldn’t tell you. I couldn’t tell you.
GR: Had war broken out by then?
HH: No.
GR: Right.
HH: No. I was fourteen in March ’39.
AM: Right.
HH: And the war broke out in September. What was it then? ’39.
GR: Yeah.
AM: So at, so at fourteen then, war has started. You were working as an office boy. So at what point did you decide to join the RAF? What made you decide to join the RAF?
HH: Well, I was coming up to when I had to register. Eighteen.
AM: Yeah.
HH: And I didn’t fancy going in the Army so I volunteered for the RAF the week before I had to register.
AM: Right.
HH: And they said, they had an office not far from us and so I went to join the aircrew. So they said, ‘Well, we haven’t got any vacancies for aircrew except gunners. So I said, ‘Well, that’s alright.’ So that’s what I did.
AM: And that’s what you did.
HH: I was, I wasn’t called up until September October the same year. Quite some time.
AM: So what year would that be? ’40?
HH: ’39.
GR: No.
HH: ’43.
GR: ’43.
HH: ‘43.
AM: So you’re coming up to eighteen.
HH: Yeah.
AM: In ’43. So what —
HH: That’s right.
AM: So you went and joined up. You were told you were going to be an air gunner.
GR: Sorry. Going back to 1939/40 and obviously you said you were born in, was you living in Hackney still? What was it like in London during the Battle of Britain, the Blitz and all that?
HH: Well —
GR: You would have been fourteen, fifteen.
HH: Well, as I say we had two air raid shelters in our garden. We had the Nissen one which the government put in.
GR: Yeah.
HH: And also we had quite a big garden and quite near to us there was a local firm of engineers that made these invalid tricycles. You know, the —
GR: Oh, I know, yeah.
HH: Like that.
GR: Yeah.
HH: And my father was very friendly with the people there and they wanted somewhere for their men to go during the day. So they built an underground air raid shelter in our back garden.
GR: Garden.
HH: Which we used to use at night.
GR: Which you used as well.
HH: And they used to use in the day but it slept nine. All through the Blitz that’s where we went every night. We didn’t wait for the air raid to sound. Just went there automatically.
GR: Because in, obviously in the Hackney area —
HH: We never lost a window.
GR: Never because it was bombed a lot, wasn’t it? Yeah.
HH: Yeah. It was all around us but we never lost a window.
GR: Yeah.
HH: Yes.
GR: So you went into that air raid shelter every night.
HH: Every night.
GR: Yeah. Did you ever end up in the Underground?
HH: No.
GR: Because a lot of them did didn’t they when they were bombed out?
HH: Yeah.
GR: And all that.
HH: No.
AM: So were there, were there nine of you in the air raid shelter and did it have, did you have beds or —
HH: Yeah. Well, there was seats to sit on and then, and then another one which was lowered and that was pulled up and hung up so that someone could get up there. A couple at the other end. It wasn’t, wasn’t as big. About half the size of this room.
AM: Right. But nine of you in there.
HH: I think it was either seven or nine slept in there every night. Yeah.
AM: Right.
HH: Yeah.
GR: And do you have any recollections of the —
HH: We had electric down there. Electric light and electric, you know.
GR: Yeah.
HH: And a primus stove.
GR: Any recollections of the Battle of Britain with the fighter boys going on above you at the time? I think you’d be —
HH: Well, not —
GR: No.
HH: No. Not a lot really. I think most of it was down more southeast to us.
GR: Yes. Yeah. And then obviously yeah then they moved in to the Blitz and everything else. But yeah, obviously very interesting also living there during, well, 1941/42. And then you volunteered for air crew in ’43.
HH: Yeah. I passed out in ’44. Was posted to [pause] Oh, I forget what it’s called now.
AM: What was the training like? Where did you do your training?
HH: Well, it’s all in there actually.
GR: Yeah.
AM: Is it in the logbook?
GR: Yeah.
AM: We’ll have a look at the logbook.
GR: But when they called you up you’d been waiting, you’d been waiting a few months and then you got the call up papers to go.
HH: Yeah. St Johns Wood we were sent to to start with.
GR: Yeah.
HH: Initially to report to —
GR: Was that Lord’s Cricket Ground?
HH: The cricket ground. That’s right.
GR: Yeah.
HH: Yeah.
GR: And then —
HH: And then from there I think I went to —
GR: Wymeswold. I’ve got Wymeswold.
HH: Oh that. Yeah. That’s later on.
GR: Yeah. Later on is it?
HH: I went to Bridlington for the six weeks square bashing.
GR: Square bashing. Join the RAF and you’re marching up and down.
HH: Yeah. In the winter and it was quite cold.
AM: I was going to say what did you think of Bridlington then? A southern boy like you?
HH: Didn’t think much of it to be quite honest.
AM: Were you staying in digs like?
HH: Yeah.
AM: A lot of people stayed in the holiday digs, didn’t they?
HH: That’s right.
AM: Yeah.
HH: In houses we were. Yeah.
AM: Yeah.
HH: Going for dinner at night and you got sardines on toast and things like that.
GR: And that would have been the first time you’d been away from home wasn’t it?
HH: Yeah. Apart from holidays, you know.
GR: Yeah.
HH: We had relations in North Wales which we used to go to quite often during the summer as kids.
GR: That’s better.
HH: In fact, my mother and father used to put me and my sister on the train at Euston.
GR: And send you off.
HH: In the guard’s van, in the care of the guard. And my grandmother used to meet us at Chester.
AM: Yeah.
HH: Couldn’t do that today could you?
GR: No. You couldn’t.
AM: With a little label on.
HH: Yeah.
AM: So after Bridlington then have I got it right that you ended up in Stranraer?
HH: Stranraer. That’s where we, I think that’s where we passed out.
GR: That was —
AM: Even further north.
GR: Number 3 Air Gunnery School.
HH: Yeah. I think that’s where we first started flying.
GR: Yes.
AM: So what was that like? First time in a plane.
HH: Well, to be quite honest I was quite scared actually but I wouldn’t show it. Otherwise they wouldn’t let you fly any more.
AM: Right.
GR: Yeah. I think it was Ansons, wasn’t it?
HH: Ansons. Yeah.
GR: Yeah. Which was the original training aircraft. And you’re obviously there for a couple of months and then passed out and then on to 23 OTU at Wymeswold.
HH: Yeah. I think that’s where we went to, to crew up.
GR: Yes.
HH: About three or four hundred airmen all in a hangar and we were just told to crew ourselves up.
GR: Yeah.
HH: We weren’t told, ‘You go there and you go there.’ You had to find your own skipper.
AM: So who found who? Did the skipper find you or did you find the skipper?
HH: I can’t, I can’t remember.
AM: You can’t remember.
HH: No. No. It’s just wandered around blank. ‘Have you got a gunner yet?’ ‘No.’ ‘Alright. I’m here.’
GR: Because that have been a tried and tested way for really the whole of the war.
HH: Yeah.
GR: For some reason they didn’t sort of say, ‘Right,’ you know, ‘You’re with him. You’re with him,’ putting you all together. And in general I think the pilot used to start walking around and then —
HH: Yeah.
GR: Try and find a flight engineer, a navigator, an air gunner.
HH: Well, our pilot at that time was a sergeant.
AM: Right.
HH: Whereas most of the pilots in those days were, I think were commissioned.
GR: They were commissioned. Yeah.
HH: He was only a sergeant.
GR: What would you have been at the time?
HH: Sergeant.
GR: You were a sergeant as well.
HH: Yeah.
GR: Yeah. Yeah.
HH: And that and, then that’s when we first started training as a crew, you know.
GR: Yeah.
HH: Doing cross countries for the navigator and experience for the pilot because he’d never flown two engine aircraft and we were on Wimpies.
GR: Yes.
AM: Right.
GR: So when you said you’d crewed up that would have been a crew of five would it? There wouldn’t have been —
HH: Seven.
GR: There were seven of you on the —
HH: Seven. Pilot, engineer, bomb aimer, wireless operator.
GR: Mid-upper and rear gunner.
HH: Two gunners.
GR: Yeah.
HH: And who have I missed out? No. That’s right. That’s seven.
GR: That’s seven. Yeah. Yeah. That’s seven. Yeah. So, and did you keep the same pilot all the way through once you’d crewed up?
HH: We did. Yes. We had him right until he blacked out on take-off, and he was grounded. They wouldn’t let him fly any more.
AM: During training?
HH: No. During operations. We were actually going down the runway on take-off with a full bomb load and he blacked out.
AM: So what happened?
HH: The engineer managed to pull off all the power because we hadn’t even, we had been, we were going but we hadn’t, hadn’t got to that point. Couldn’t do anything you know.
GR: It wasn’t.
HH: About a minute short of it.
GR: It wasn’t the first operation was it?
HH: Oh, no. No.
GR: No. You’d done a few ops by then.
HH: Oh yeah. We’d done loads.
GR: I know we’re jumping forward but —
HH: We’d done over twenty ops by then.
GR: And did you ever find out what the reason was he blacked out or —
HH: No. No. He was, he was sent somewhere else for tests and all that sort of thing and we never saw him again. They wouldn’t let him fly though.
GR: Well, no. Not if he’d, not if he’d, certainly if he’d blacked out.
HH: The CO came out, ‘Don’t worry chaps,’ he said, ‘I’ll get you another pilot.’ You can imagine what they said to him. So he got another crew instead.
GR: Yeah. So you didn’t fly that night. You —
HH: We didn’t fly but they did.
GR: Yeah.
HH: They took it out. Then came back.
GR: Yeah. I was just going to say, took your aircraft because some of the stories you hear something like that the aircraft doesn’t come back and its fate that you didn’t go.
HH: They came back. Came back. Yeah.
GR: So I notice also then you moved on to Heavy Conversion Unit and you were training on Halifaxes.
HH: That’s right. Yeah. Four engine. Four engine aircraft.
GR: Yeah. With the same pilot. Flight Sergeant Potter.
HH: Yeah. By that time he was a flight sergeant. Yeah.
GR: Yeah. And then a month later they moved you on to Hemswell which was Lancasters.
HH: Lancasters. Lancasters.
GR: Yeah.
AM: Right.
GR: Yeah. Which one did you prefer? Lancaster? Halifax?
HH: I don’t have a preference really.
GR: I suppose being —
HH: Because I mean the rear turret was basically the same in either.
GR: I was just going to say the rear turret was, yeah.
HH: And you got in the same. The same way, you know.
GR: Yes. Yeah. Down the chute.
HH: So —
GR: And then around about —
HH: I think, I think the pilot preferred a Lancaster.
GR: Yeah. I’ve heard some aircrew say that they, certainly aircrew who flew on operations on both aircraft that the Halifax was more roomy and if they ever had to get out of it quickly they preferred to be in the Halifax.
HH: Yeah.
GR: But obviously that never happened to you but, yeah just checking your logbook around about September ’44 you were sent to 166 Squadron at Kirmington.
HH: That’s right. That was our first operational squadron.
GR: Yes.
HH: I don’t think, I don’t think we did. We might have done one trip from there but I’m not sure whether we did any like actual operations.
GR: No. You’re quite right. You did some cross country.
HH: We did cross countries and that.
GR: Yeah.
HH: And then, and then we were sent to Scampton to start an operational squadron again because at that time Scampton was non-operational.
GR: Right.
HH: So, so the skipper said, ‘Come on, gather your things up,’ he said, ‘We’ll get there first so we’ll get the best [laughs] best accommodation.’
GR: Did other people go from 166 go or were you the only crew that went?
HH: No. The, all the chaps that went to Scampton that day to form a new squadron were all from Kirmington.
GR: Oh right. Yeah. And that was 153 Squadron.
HH: 153. Yeah.
GR: Yeah. And then again just checking the logbook you did a couple of cross countries and then October the 31st you went to Cologne. Was that your first operation? Cologne.
HH: If that’s what’s in there —
GR: Yeah.
HH: For our squadron that’s where we went. Yeah.
GR: How did you feel about that?
HH: Well, it was just an operation.
GR: Yeah. Your first time was —
HH: I can’t remember anything about it.
GR: But it was, yeah.
HH: Just —
GR: As a crew you just you just did it.
HH: You just get out and do it.
GR: Yeah. And then over the next few months any, any near misses or anything?
HH: I never pulled the trigger. We were lucky. We never had, you know, we never got attacked by enemy fighters. One or two shells burst quite near. You could feel the vibration, you know.
GR: Yeah.
HH: But apart from that when we got back we would walk around the aircraft to see if there any holes anywhere.
GR: Like you say. Yeah, so as an air gunner and I’m sure the mid-upper gunner was the same you never saw any night fighters or have any —
HH: No. No.
GR: No. And then, yeah just going through your logbook. Cologne, Dusseldorf.
HH: We not only had to keep our eyes open for night fighters but other, other friendly aircraft because I mean when you get three or four hundred aircraft going on a trip.
GR: Yeah.
HH: You know, you’d often see one just floating over the top of you.
GR: It’s when the bomb bay doors open, which I know has happened to a few people.
HH: Yeah.
GR: But again no near misses.
HH: No.
GR: Yeah. So —
AM: A charmed life.
HH: Charmed.
GR: Yeah. And I notice you flew on New Year’s Eve so that was a nice way to see in the new year.
HH: That’s right. Yeah.
GR: But yes. As Annie just said a charmed life. Not to say it was easy but you escaped.
HH: Oh, I escaped. Yeah.
GR: Unharmed most of the time.
HH: Well, that’s it. I mean each trip was a trip. You got in it, did it and then we never gave it another thought really.
GR: Yeah. Which is the best way to do it. And, yeah jumping back to what you said about your pilot that night who was a flying officer by then, Flying Officer Potter. I’m just trying to [pause] here we go so that was around about February. So you were off ops for a little while and then back in.
HH: Yeah. I missed. I was also off ops about that time because I had a lot of sinus trouble. Because you can’t fly —
GR: No.
HH: With sinus trouble. You get terrible pains.
GR: Serious headaches and pain. Yeah.
HH: So I was grounded for about three weeks. I missed three trips. The crew did three trips without me.
GR: Right. And they were flying with a spare bod, were they?
HH: They had a spare bod. Yeah.
GR: Yeah. So that when you came back did you have a new pilot then?
HH: No. I can’t remember. I think we were still flying with Potter at that time. It’s difficult to remember now exactly.
GR: Yeah.
HH: The dates.
GR: I think Potter’s, his last op was around about March the 7th to Dessau.
HH: Yeah. Well, I was back flying by then.
GR: Yeah. You’re back flying and then literally at the beginning of April, Flight Lieutenant Williams.
HH: That’s the chap who took over from our skipper.
GR: And he was taking over a crew that had probably done —
HH: We’d, at that time I think we’d done twenty six.
GR: Twenty six. So you were near the end.
HH: I’d done twenty three and the crew had done twenty six because I missed three.
GR: Yeah.
HH: And I think he needed three trips to —
GR: Complete his.
HH: Thirty.
GR: Ah right. So he was an experienced pilot.
AM: Oh, so yeah.
GR: Yeah. Which is good.
HH: So that brought out the rest of our crew to twenty nine and me twenty six and the war was nearly over so they grounded us.
GR: Yeah.
HH: So then I went home on leave.
GR: Yes. 9th of April. Last operation to Kiel, and back safely.
HH: Yeah.
GR: So, and what, they just grounded you because you were near the end of your tour.
HH: Well, they didn’t need us anymore. You know. They were more or less pack it in.
GR: Yeah.
HH: What they were using them for was to move troops about. Get people home.
GR: Right. Did you do any of that?
HH: No.
GR: No.
HH: No. They didn’t need gunners for that. No. They only needed a pilot.
GR: Oh course not. No.
HH: Navigator and that, so and a flight engineer.
GR: Yeah. Of course, yeah because then they could get more prisoners of war and —
HH: That’s right.
GR: Those type of people in the aircraft couldn’t they? So the last op was the 9th of April. They sent you home.
HH: Sent me home, and I was home until August.
GR: Right. With the family.
HH: With the family. Yeah.
GR: With mum and dad and that. Yeah.
HH: Yeah.
GR: Yeah.
AM: And then what happened? How long was it before you were demobbed?
HH: Oh, I wasn’t demobbed until 1947.
AM: So what did they do with you in those, in those last two years then?
HH: Well, I was eventually posted to a unit in the Midlands. I forget what it was now. And the officer in charge there had all these people that had been posted to him. He said, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do with you lot.’ [laughs] You know. He pulled out a few jobs that might be vacant and he said, ‘Post Office,’ I said, ‘That’ll do me,’ because it was on the domestic site so you’ve got the journey backwards and forwards you see. So, the officer in charge of the Post Office, he said, ‘You don’t want to go into the RAF — ’ [pause] I forget what they call it now. Equivalent to the army.
GR: RAF Volunteer Reserve? No.
HH: No. No. And anyway, so I said, ‘No, I don’t really think I want to do it,’ because I wasn’t really looking forward to all the physical training that would be involved.
GR: RAF regiment.
HH: RAF regiment.
GR: Yeah.
HH: So I said, well he said, ‘Remuster to the Post Office,’ he said, ‘We’re short here,’ he said ‘That’s why you’re here.’ So I said, ‘Yeah, ok. I’ll do that.’ So he signed my remustering form and I was sent to Kirkham on a fortnight’s course. Postal course. And when I got there we were told that everybody when they finished their course goes overseas [laughs] So I was on a boat to India. So I was out there for eighteen months until I got my demob.
GR: Right.
AM: What? What was that?
HH: Working in a Post Office.
GR: Working in a Post Office.
AM: Yeah.
GR: In India.
HH: And on the local RAF station. Yeah.
GR: Yeah.
HH: Kanpur.
AM: Right.
GR: That’s, sorry what rank?
AM: Kanpur.
HH: Kanpur.
GR: Oh, I thought you said corporal.
HH: Kanpur. That was the name of the station. No.
AM: No.
HH: No. And while I was out there, I mean as you probably know the RAF rank was automatic.
GR: Yes.
HH: In aircrew.
GR: Yeah.
HH: Sergeant, flight sergeant, warrant officer and then it finished. I got, I got to the station when I got my WO.
GR: Yeah.
AM: Yeah.
HH: And about three weeks after I got it everybody above the rank of sergeant was reduced to the rank of sergeant.
GR: So you went out to India as a sergeant.
HH: So I went back to being a sergeant again.
GR: Did they pay you as a warrant officer though?
HH: I think. I think they did. Yeah.
GR: They did. Yeah. From speaking to other gentlemen that for some reason yeah they demoted everybody.
HH: Yeah. Because there was too many of us coming along.
GR: Yeah. But you kept the same pay grade.
HH: Yeah.
GR: Which obviously was decent of them.
HH: Yeah.
AM: So you were working in the Post Office in Kanpur. Where were you living? What sort of living quarters were you?
HH: Domestic site on the station because Kanpur was a big, a big RAF unit, you know with loads of huts.
AM: Right.
HH: Yeah.
GR: Yeah.
HH: Yeah.
GR: A lot of ex-aircrew ended up in India.
AM: Yeah.
GR: For a couple of years after the war.
HH: Because they wanted, as soon as the war finished they wanted to get the people who had been out there a long while —
GR: Yeah.
HH: Get them home.
GR: Get them home, yeah.
HH: And they had to have people out there to replace them because they couldn’t just have empty units.
GR: And obviously India at the time there was going towards —
AM: Partition.
GR: Partition and everything else.
HH: That’s right. Yeah. Yeah. We came out in spring of ’47.
GR: Yeah. And was it, was it straight back home and demobbed from India?
HH: Oh, I went straight, I went straight back to the company that I left to go in the RAF to. They had, they had to take you back.
GR: Yes.
HH: So I was there until I retired at fifty, sixty one.
AM: Good heavens.
HH: So I did fifty odd years.
GR: Living down in Hackney or that area.
HH: Well, I lived in Hackney until I got, until I got married.
GR: Right.
AM: So, so what did —
HH: And then, and then we had reps all over the country.
GR: Yeah.
HH: And the chap who was doing Yorkshire was retiring so, and I knew all the reps because I had, when they came in to the office I had a lot to do with being on the sales side you see. So I said to him, ‘I wouldn’t mind doing this. Your job is a bit of cake.’ Anyway, I applied and I got it so that’s what brought me to Yorkshire.
GR: Right.
HH: So I came to Yorkshire in the ‘60s with my family. Susan was about what? Five or six.
Other: I was five.
HH: Five. Yeah.
Other: Yeah. Steven was a few years —
HH: And I’ve been in this area ever since.
GR: Yeah.
AM: Yeah. So you started off in that company as the boy cycling from one to the other delivering mail.
HH: That’s it.
AM: And ended up in Yorkshire.
HH: Finished up as a sales rep. For the last six years I spent back in the office.
AM: Yeah.
HH: They were [pause] things were getting smaller. They weren’t the amount of customers about, you know. They were retiring and, or not, or closing businesses and that sort of thing, so they amalgamated territories and they took me inside to run the sales office.
GR: Yeah. But still forty odd years with the same company.
HH: Oh yeah. Yeah.
GR: Is —
HH: From ’39 to [pause] I forget when it was. Seventy. Seventy something.
AM: Seventy. Yeah.
HH: I think it was about.
Other: It was later than that because you retired after Laura was born. She was born in ’85.
HH: Yeah. Well —
Other: So it was —
HH: It was about ’86 then when I retired.
GR: Yeah.
Other: I was pregnant with Philip so it was ’86/87. Yeah.
HH: Yeah.
Other: When you retired.
HH: I think, I think it was about forty eight years. I think I was about two years short of doing fifty.
AM: Right.
HH: What was it? I forget now.
AM: You know, thinking back now to the war years and the way it’s been portrayed since what, what do you think about what we actually did?
HH: I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it really.
AM: No. Because people have different views. Most, most men actually that were there just say, ‘Well, we did it.’
GR: Yeah.
AM: You know, they started the war, we did it and it helped turn the war.
Other: I think people then were more used to doing what they were told to do, weren’t the?
AM: Yes.
Other: Then they are these days. We question things more.
AM: Yeah.
HH: Well, that’s probably quite true that, you know. You were there to do what you were told.
AM: Yes.
GR: Yeah. I mean, I don’t know if you —
HH: Well, I mean it happened and you had to go with it.
GR: Yeah, because obviously I’ve spoken to a lot of people you’re —
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
Interview with Harry Hambrook
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Annie Moody
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
2018-01-09
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.
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
AHambrookH180109
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Pending revision of OH transcription
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
00:27:57 audio recording
Language
A language of the resource
eng
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
Description
An account of the resource
Harry Hambrook was born in Hackney and when he left school he became an office boy. He volunteered for the RAF and became an air gunner. He was posted to 3 Air Gunnery School in Stranraer for gunnery training flying in Ansons. From there he went to 23 Operational Training Unit at Wymeswold where he crewed up. He joined 166 Squadron at Kirmington, and was posted to Scampton to form 153 Squadron, and at the war’s end had completed 26 operations. At the start of one operation his pilot blacked out and the flight engineer had to take control of the aircraft. His last operation was to Kiel on the 9 April 1945. He remustered to join the RAF Post Office and was posted to India and was demobbed in 1947 on his return to the UK.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Great Britain
India
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
India--Kānpur
Germany--Kiel
Scotland--Stranraer
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-04-09
153 Squadron
166 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
Anson
bombing
crewing up
Operational Training Unit
RAF Kirmington
RAF Scampton
RAF Wymeswold
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/10898/LHudsonJD173116v1.2.pdf
3c81a50e35b74a600f942d515f1e4a4d
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
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
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
2015-06-16
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
Hudson, JD
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
Douglas Hudson's observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book
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
LHudsonJD173116v1
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
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.
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
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
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
Description
An account of the resource
Observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book for Douglas Hudson, navigator, covering the period from 15 May 1943 to 20 July 1945. It states, ‘original log book lost on operations 27 August 1940’. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and instructor duties. He was stationed at RAF Staverton, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Lindholme, RAF Waltham (RAF Grimsby), RAF Blyton and RAF Sandtoft. Aircraft flown in were, Anson, Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster. He completed a total of 29 night operations with 100 Squadron. Targets were, Braunschweig, Berlin, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Schweinfurt, Augsburg, Frankfurt, Essen, Nurnburg, Danzig, Alnoye, Pomermia bay, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Dieppe, Wilhelmshaven, Duisberg, Dortmund, Dunkirk, Merville, Tergnier, Crisbecq and Vire. <span>His pilot on operations was</span><span> </span>Flight Lieutenant Hamilton.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Poland
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
England--Gloucestershire
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Dieppe
France--Dunkerque
France--Merville (Nord)
France--Tergnier (Canton)
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Cologne
Poland--Gdańsk
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Poland--Pomerelia
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1943-07-14
1944-01-20
1944-02-15
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-02-26
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-18
1944-03-19
1944-03-22
1944-03-23
1944-03-24
1944-03-25
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-09
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-13
1944-05-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-05-24
1944-05-25
1944-05-27
1944-05-28
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-02
1944-06-03
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1945-06-16
1945-07-25
100 Squadron
1656 HCU
1662 HCU
1667 HCU
28 OTU
Advanced Flying Unit
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Cook’s tour
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
mine laying
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
RAF Blyton
RAF Grimsby
RAF Lindholme
RAF Sandtoft
RAF Staverton
RAF Wymeswold
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/675/11897/LArrowsmithHL571013v1.2.pdf
9539208f01ecad14d6e070dfeb268511
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
Arrowsmith, Les
H L Arrowsmith
Description
An account of the resource
14 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant Les Arrowsmith (b.1920) who flew operations as a bomb aimer with 576 Squadron from RAF Elsham Wolds until his Lancaster was shot down 21/22 May 1944 and he became a prisoner of war. The collection includes his prisoner of war diary, his log book, photographs, a scrap book and correspondence. After the war he continued to serve with the RAF and remustered to become a navigator.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mike Arrowsmith 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
2016-09-22
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Arrowsmith, HL
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
Les Arrowsmith’s flying log book for navigators, air bombers, air gunners and flight engineers
Description
An account of the resource
Warrant Officer Les Arrowsmith’s flying log book for navigators, air bombers, air gunners and flight engineers, from 28 January 1946 to 18 July 1950. Mainly records his training and various postings in the Far East as navigator within Transport Command, with references to Singapore (Changi), Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Saigon, Hong Kong, and Jakarta. Described as “A very reliable and conscientious navigator”, one of his assessments refers to him as an “Ex POW”, and a note on the first page says “1st Log Book lost by RAF 22/5/44”. His final posting was with Bomber Command, 138 squadron at RAF Wyton. Aircraft flown were Oxford, York, Auster, Anson, Harvard, C-47 and Lincoln.
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
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
LArrowsmithHL571013v1
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. Transport Command
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
China--Hong Kong
Indonesia--Jakarta
Malaysia--Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia--Kuching (Sarawak)
Singapore
Vietnam--Ho Chi Minh City
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
China
Indonesia
Malaysia
Vietnam
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
138 Squadron
aircrew
Anson
C-47
Harvard
Lincoln
navigator
Oxford
prisoner of war
RAF Bishops Court
RAF Bramcote
RAF Netheravon
RAF Snaith
RAF Wymeswold
RAF Wyton
training
York
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1213/16050/EDonaldsonDWMitchellHS441024.1.jpg
4489d8bbf5c962a922a69d934598aa86
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
Donaldson, David
David Donaldson
D Donaldson
Description
An account of the resource
309 Items and a sub-collection of 51 items. Concerns Royal Air Force career of Wing Commander David Donaldson DSO and bar, DFC. A pilot, he joined the Royal Air Force Reserve in 1934. Mobilized in 1939. he undertook tours on 149, 57 and 156 and 192 Squadrons. He was photographed by Cecil Beaton at RAF Mildenhall in 1941. Collection contains a large number of letters to and from family members, friends as well as Royal Air Force personnel. Also included are personal and service documents, and his logbooks. In addition, there are photographs of family, service personnel and aircraft. After the war he became a solicitor. The collection also contains an oral history interview with Frances Grundy, his daughter.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Anna Frances Grundy 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
2015-06-02
2022-10-17
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
Donaldson, D
Grundy, AF
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[inserted] 5A [/Inserted]
R.A.F Station,
Foulsham,
Nr. Dereham,
Norfolk.
Ref:- 192/C.2151/P.2. 24th October, 1944.
Dear
I see by the latest issue of Group Routine Orders that you have been awarded the D.F.C.
Please accept warmest congratulations from all of us for this well merited award.
All members of the Squadron join with me in offering you our congratulations.
Yours
W/Cdr.
1133493 Warrant Officer W.H. Mitchell,
Royal Air Force Station,
WYMESWOLD,
Leicester.
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 David Donaldson to Warrant Officer W H Mitchell
Description
An account of the resource
Congratulates the warrant officer on his award of Distinguished Flying Cross.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-10-24
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
EDonaldsonDWMitchellHS441024
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.
Great Britain
England--Norfolk
England--Leicestershire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-10-24
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.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One-page typewritten letter
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Frances Grundy
Distinguished Flying Cross
RAF Foulsham
RAF Wymeswold
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1236/16913/YThompsonKG1238603v4.2.pdf
3d3d3dba43b863e807812f01362aee5f
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
Thompson, Keith G
K G Thompson
Description
An account of the resource
95 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Keith Thompson DFC (1238603 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, photographs and training material as well as his navigation logs. He flew operations as a navigator with 101 and 199 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mark S Thompson and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
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
2015-09-07
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
Thompson, KG
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[front cover of 1944 diary]
[page break]
H/T
RAF. STN.,
LUDFORD MAGNA,
MKT. RASEN,
[underlined] LINCS. [/underlined]
[page break]
[title page of Charles Letts’s Office Desk Diary 1944 War-Time edition]
[page break]
[Almanac 1944 for January - April]
[page break]
[Almanac 1944 for May - August]
[page break]
[Almanac 1944 for September - December]
[page break]
[bank holidays and significant dates for 1944]
[page break]
[sunset times, moon phases, time differences]
[page break]
[underlined] PRIMARY [/underlined]
230volts. 2,300 turns of 27 S.W.G: d.c.c. 115 turns & 10 layers on both poles.
[underlined] SECONDARY [/underlined]
!00 turns (50 on each pole) of No 12 S.W.G: d.c.c. 2 layers of 25 turns top at [underlined] 20, 40, 60, 80, 85, [/underlined] 90, & 95
[diagram of voltage system]
1 1/4” x [deleted] 24 [/deleted] 3” & 1 1/4” x 4 3/4” Pile of each 2 1/2” thick.
Aluminium & iron or [one indecipherable word] in bicarbonate of soda.
Al to + & Fe to -
Nickel Chrome 22 SWG (.028” dia) about 200 watts.
[page break]
MEMORANDA
[blank page]
[page break]
MEMORANDA
9th. JAN - 101, LUDFORD.
[deleted] 30TH. [/deleted]
31ST. MAY - LAST TRIP OF 1ST. TOUR.
17TH. JUNE - WYMESWOLD - AGAIN.
20TH. JUNE - BIRCOTES (BAWTRY)
14TH. JULY - COMMISSION THROUGH.
24TH. JULY - HIXON.
1ST. DEC - TOPCLIFFE.
[page break]
JANUARY, 1944 2nd Week
9 Sunday
[several deleted sentences]
[underlined] SUN. 9TH [/underlined]
Went to church parade with ATC. Was acting W.O. Had party. Our lads, WAAF’s & Dad’s pianists. Had good time Bill, John & I took WAAF’s home.
10 MONDAY
[underlined] Letter to & from Doris [/underlined]
Up at 10 - 0. Went to O & Ds for dinner. Went round the firm to see everyone. Got wheel, oil & grease ready to start on bike.
[underlined] Letter to Miss French & Mr Ryall [/underlined]
Gen talk with John & Bill. Cards before supper.
[page break]
11 TUESDAY
Up at 10 - 0. Started bike. Put spot of paint on here & there. Had din then set too with grease. Got it finished before tea. Empire with family & John & Bill. “Reveille with Beverley” & “City without Men”.
12 WEDNESDAY
Up at 10 - 15. Fitted bracket on bike had to drill new holes then painted it. Went to S. P & T [inserted] [underlined] shave [/underlined] [/inserted] Brought [sketch of Navigator Brevet] (1/6d) Went up to Gran M’s. Had tea there. Came back & changed trousers. Went to dance with John & Bill (2nd.) Saw Joyce Richardson & Frances Holden. Mum, Dad, P & P came to watch. Pat had a couple of dances with me.
[page break]
13 THURSDAY
Up about 10 - 0. Fitted saddle bag [deleted] carrier [/deleted] on bike & put battle dress blouse in it ready. Packed pack. Read till din time. Had tea & set off to stn. about 5 - 10. Train out at 5 - 28 or so. Left Sheff [underlined] 1 hr [/underlined] late. Retford [underlined] 2 hrs. [/underlined] late. Mkt. Rasen 11 - 0 PM. Ludford 11 - 30. Got to bed about 12 - 30.
14 FRIDAY
Up at 8 - 0. Porr; spuds & bacon DI’d. J - Jig. Battle order but we arn’t [sic] on. Ken due back tomorrow. Charlie & Fred not back. Joe sent bike to Pat (£8-16-5d.) 2 oranges & a lemon - issue. Put amyl-nitrate on ring. Should be OK. Went to Rasen in P.O. van. [one indecipherable word] for boots. Date with Amie. Bus into Louth. Short walk around. “The Man in Grey”. Toast & tea. Bus back. Bed just before 12 - 0. Ken arrived.
Lads went to same place as the [one indecipherable word] went.
[page break]
15 SATURDAY
Up at 9 - 15. Went to Nav. section. Had look at logs (last 3 - 2 x Berlin & 1 Stettin.) No parcels. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Lecture on dinghy drill, oxygen & fighter tactics. No more mail. Nice long CHAT? over phone to Amie. Had TEA??!! Then had a wash. Got Betty to take shoes to be mended. Bus in. 2d of chips each & short walk around Louth. “Clive of India”. Bus back. Amie got photos of me and a few kisses.
[underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined]
16 Sunday
Up at 9 - 45. No ops. FOG all day. Entered astro shots. Called Amie up P.O. no mail being Sun. Set Silvo’s front wheel up & tried to do brakes. Dinghy drill cancelled Charlie flying :- G check. Shave & wash. Had tea & met Amie. Kings head ham & cold chicken Concert in town Hall. Bus back. X’e.
[page break]
17 MONDAY
Up at 10 - 0. No battle order. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Dinghy Drill! Bus into Louth. Had tea & toast in TOC - H. with Silva & [one indecipherable word] chap. Went to see “Casablanca” Tres bon. Place rather full. 2d of chips. Had to stand on bus. Silva had to walk!! back.
18 TUESDAY
Up at 8 - 0. for; beans on toast & bacon. Parade at 9 - 15. No battle order. Dick plotting no mail. Sun ray treatment. Rubbed lube down a little. [underlined] Letter to Ma. P & P. [/underlined] Shave & changed. Log books “in”. Had tea. [underlined] Letter from Violet [/underlined] Bus in to Louth. Walk around the houses “[two indecipherable words] Review of 1943” Tres Bon. Cakes & tea. Bus back. Had couple or so dances. Amie tired & not too well so left before 11.30. Bed 12.30.
[page break]
19 WEDNESDAY
Up at 8 - 15. Parade at 8 - 45. DI’d - J - Jig. then sat in hut with ground crew. No battle order. More Sun Ray. 3 mins each side. No mail. Phoned Amie. Escape & Intel lecture. Radar demonstration. (IFF etc) Had tea then read Sextant [sic] Blake book. Phoned Lynn. RAIN. Had supper, sos, spuds, prunes & cocoa. [underlined] Letter to Dad. [/underlined]
20 THURSDAY
Up about 9 - 0 Shave. OPS! DI on J. Got route & [one indecipherable word] about 12. No din just of meal so pinched a “sweet”. Phoned Amie. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Finished flight plan. Didn’t go to main briefing. Airborne 4 - 30 [indecipherable symbol in brackets] 3 fighters over Berlin. Diverted Lindholme. NO ASI or API. Wizard landing. Port fin & rudder b- - rd! Hole in petrol tank & bomb door (port side.) Inter. Meal & bed. 40 gals left (Ie 10 for each engine.)
[page break]
21 FRIDAY
Up at 10 - 30. No bus. Tea in pub. Transport at 12 - 0!! Row in Sgts mess over dinner. John & I eventually got ours. Jonney S/ldr Marshall came for us in F. (20 mins) Intel on combats. Phoned Amie. Taken off Battle Order!!! No Mail. Wash & shave. Bus in & out. “Dangerous Moonlight” Very, very good.
22 SATURDAY
Didn’t get up till 11 - 0. Dashed down to Nav. Section. Stand down. Swept Nav. Section. Meeting Amie at bus stn in Louth. [underlined] Letter from Ma & Doris. [/underlined] Shower & clean clothes. [underlined] Laundry & photo album, spanners, orange & lemon Home (1/1d) also letter. [/underlined] 21st BD card to David (Amie got same,) tablet of soap (4 1/4d?) FULL HOUSE K’s head (chicken etc. 10/-) Went to dance till 9 - 30. Bus back & bed.
[page break]
23 Sunday
Up at 10 - 00 hrs. Stand down. Back plotting logs. Attempted to do mine (Berlin) Din. No mail. Seeing as Amie written a lot!! Lecture. Sorting kit out of lockers. Wash, shaved & changed after tea HAM!! Met Amie at 5 - 30. Went to K’s Head. Cold chicken & ham (8/6d.) Toc. H. Show in Town Hall. Tea & toast in T.H after. Bus back. Boys in bed & only 10 - 45 PM.
24 MONDAY
Up for breakfast & went up to parade! Should have been on PT. [underlined] Wrote to Ma. [/underlined] Stand down. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Fighter affil cancelled. Louth with Amie. Abbat [sic] & Costello in “Hit the Ice.” Coffee & cakes in Girls TOC. H. Bed about 11 - 30.
[page break]
25 TUESDAY
Up at 8 - 15. [underlined] Wrote to Violet & Doris. [/underlined] Battle order. A. apple. Flight plan. Din & ops meal. Main briefing. Finished flight plan. Crew out at kite. SCRUBBED. Phoned Amie & meeting her in just over 1/2 hrs. Washed & changed. Forgot to go to Intell so went back. Dick got wallet etc. NO TEA. Bette Davis & Les Howard in “Its love I’m after.” Tea & toast. Dance. Bed 12.30
26 WEDNESDAY
Up at 8 - 15. Parade. [underlined] Letter to Tommy. [/underlined] Started one to Norah. Stand down. Fighter affil. (30.) Photo of Joe. [underlined] Letter from Ma & Doris Collins. [/underlined] Lecture on emergency landing field. Leave etc. etc. Went to P.O. out of rain. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined]. Supper. [underlined] Letters to P & P & Dad. [/underlined]
[page break]
27 THURSDAY
Up for bfst. P.T. Battle order! [underlined] Letter from Mary [/underlined]. Went to see Amie in dental office. Meal. Flight Plan. Early take off. Berlin. Quiet trip. Saw a JU 88.
28 Friday
Up at 12 - 0 Battle order. Late take off. Went to see Amie again. One kiss. Jonny called for us (NAVS.) Ops meal. Scrubbed. O not ready. Changed & got on bus with Amie. Fred came for me to FLY. Flight plan finished swept w/v’s. Put on in S. DRC (ADI) U/S, oxygen in mid upper u/s. Stbd outer MAG drop! Didn’t go. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined]
[page break]
29 SATURDAY
Up at 11.30. Nothing doing so tried to contact Amie. Saw Vera & she gave me the gen. Had dinner & changed. Just missed Lincoln bus so went into [deleted] one word [/deleted] Mkt Rasen on P.O. van. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined]. 6/2d for shoe repairs. Bus into Louth. Spam & chips. “Hit Parade of 1943” Bus back.
30 Sunday
Up at 9.45. Battle order in H. How. BERLIN, nice short route! Dinner. Went in to see Amie. X. Briefed. Took off 5.20. Landed 12.05. Very quiet. Dick saw JU. 88. Merton got one & 2 probables.
[page break]
JAN. - FEB., 1944
31 MONDAY
Up at 10 - 0. Wash! & SHAVE!! Stand down. Clean shirt from Home. [underlined] Letter from Mum. [/underlined] Had din then went to see Amie. Oiled 3 speed. Rough house with Charlie. [underlined] Letter to Mum. [/underlined]. Had tea & met Amie. Bus in. Went to see “The Rains came” at the Palace (Myrna Loy etc.) Tea & toast. Bus back.
FEB. 1 TUESDAY
Up at 8. 0. Bfst for a change. [underlined] Letter to Mary & Norah. [/underlined] Made log book up to date. [underlined] Letter from Violet. [/underlined] Went in to see Amie. Tried to hang mirror up but couldn’t get nail in wall. Dinghy drill cancelled! [underlined] Letter to Doris Collins. [/underlined] Bus in. Playhouse “White Captive.” Bus back after tea & toast. Went to dance in NAAFI.
[page break]
2 WEDNESDAY
Up at 9 - 45. Overslept! Put nickel & last op. up on board. Dinghy drill. Had din. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Went to see Amie. Saw old Porter (miserie.) [sic] Went into Mkt. Rasen. 2/6d book of stamps & 12 x 1d; 12 x 1/2d stamps. No mail for me. [underlined] Letter to Ma, P & P & Doris Ryall. [/underlined]
Had supper then went to WVS. Bill, Bet & Amie there. Got rations from mess.
3 THURSDAY
Up at 9 - 0. Natter by & with old Finch. Tom Coder poped [sic] in to see us. No mail. Had din. Went to see Amie. Concentration chart plotting. [underlined] Letter to Miss French. [/underlined] Wash & shave. Read after tea. Met Bill, Bet & Amie in the NAAFI. ENSA presented “Gaslight”. Very good.
[page break]
4 FRIDAY
Up to 8 . 15. Cleaned up & made bed up. Stand down. Plotted [one indecipherable word] for “Rudy’s” template. 6 mins sun ray. Adexolin capsules. [underlined] Letter from Ma & [one indecipherable word] [/underlined] Went in to see Amie. £6. 6s pay. [underlined] clean sheets [/underlined] !!!!! [underlined] Letter to Ma & M.D. for £6. [/underlined] Met Amie. Bus in. Front of picture queue. Eric Portemon [sic] in “Squadron Leader X.” Chips, toast & tea & bus back. Terribly cold wind.
5 SATURDAY
Up about 8. Bfst. & parade. Air test. Told Silva gen for Amie. Fetched Charlie & put best blue on. Take off late so rang Ma up & told her to tell Amie to met [sic] me at bus stop at 1 - 30. Up 1.45hrs. Just made bus but Amie gone down towards mess. [underlined] No mail but laundry arrived. [/underlined] P.O van into Rasen. Bus to Grimsby then to Cleethorpes. Walked on beach. Coffee & cakes at Grimsby bus stn. Toast & tea in Louth TOC H. Bus back to camp. (9/7d in bus fares!) Had good talk over with Amie.
[page break]
6 Sunday
Up at 10 - 30. Nothing doing. Joe & Les. cleaning guns. 48 for us starting Tues. Collected parcel from P.O. Just laundry NO! Cake! Went to see Amie & fetched her bike from Grd. Room. Cleaned it up. Shave & tea. Bus into Louth. Chicken & ham at K’s Head. TOC. H. show. Not so hot. Toast & tea & cake. Bus back.
7 MONDAY
Up at 8. HAM & fried spuds for breakfast. Turned trunk out, all most! [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] Cleaned buttons & had a shave. Bus in. Playhouse “Flying Tigers” AGAIN. Tea & toast. Film made me feel rather miserable. Went for sun ray. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Went in S.S.Q. kitchen after seeing Amie. Took Amie’s bike back.
[page break]
8 TUESDAY
Up at 8 . 30. Kit inspection canceled, [sic] because we weren’t ready, till 5 - 0 PM. Bang! goes the 48. Ticked off by Marshall then told we could go at 3. Sun ray & a few adexolins. Went in to see Amie after I’d changed. Packed. Fred went for passes. Got ‘em about 3.5 or 10. Took iron to Amie. Rode to Mkt. Rasen. Parked bike at stn. Lift to Gainsbro [sic] then to Bawtry then to Wickersly. Home at 6 - 30. Bath & bed about 1 - 30
9 WEDNESDAY
Up at 12 - 30. Had din, then had shave. Went into town & took Sallie. Tried to get 9V battery. None in Woolys. No Pencils either. Got 2 on Effingham street 1/6d each. Got another from Wigfalls for 1/3d. Went in to see Gupa. Gaffer & H. came in. Ma followed. Walked home with Ma. Played cards with P & P, Dad & S. John.
[page break]
10 THURSDAY
Up at 10. Bacon & egg. Coffee. Gran. came. Gas men fitting fire & meter. Went into town with Gran. Took Sallie. Went on trackless. Bought 2 pencils x 5d. & coloured one x 7 1/2d. Got bottle of [one indecipherable word] for Gupa. 2/- for Printator. Went in to see Gupa. Put him on bus. Went across to Dunn’s to phone Dad. Left home at 5 - 5. Arr Rasen 9 - 50 about 3/4 hrs late. Arr camp just after 10.30. Met Amie. None of the lads back. Made bed & cocoa. 12 - 30 AM.
11. FRIDAY
Up at 9 - 0. Rest of lads back. Les took my pass in. Mr Casper back. Had usual natter. 1/4 hrs U.V.R. Made list of astro watches. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Went in to see Amie. LIPSTICK!! Went in one mail van. 4/6d for Amie’s shoes. Changed & had tea. Bus in. Saw “The Crystal Ball” Paulette Goddard. Tea & toast. Sgts. Mess dance. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] S.P’s all over camp.
[page break]
12 SATURDAY
Up at 10.30. 16 mins U.V.R. 8 mins each side. Saw Amie in P.O & told her I couldn’t get for cycle ride. Air test of B. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Had tea then went back to billet & wrote letter to Ma. Phoned Amie & took her for a walk for 1/2 hr. [underlined] Letter to Ma & Violet. [/underlined]
13 Sunday
Up at 10.0. Ops in B. Beer. Tracks & dists. Left wallet etc. with Amie. Porter sick “in dock.” Ops meal. Flight plan. Changed & went out to kite SCRUBBED. Front suspected. Snow & fog with it. Washed, shaved & changed. Met Amie at 5.30. Bus. Cold chicken & ham at K’s Head. (10/-) Tea & toast at T.H. Concert. Pretty good. More tea & toast. Bus back. Thin stratus cloud but no sign of snow or fog!! Bed 11.45.
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
Keith Thompson's diary for 1944
Description
An account of the resource
Keith Thompson was a navigator on operations with 101 Squadron, at RAF Ludford Magna flying Lancasters at the start of 1944. He completed his first tour on 31st May, was at 28 OTU from 17th June to 23 July, then 30 OTU as a staff navigator at RAF Hixon flying the Wellington. On 31st Dec 44 he was posted to 1659 HCU at RAF Topcliffe, flying the Halifax. He was commissioned in July.
Creator
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Keith Thompson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944
Format
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Large format diary
Language
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eng
Type
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Text. Diary
Text
Identifier
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YThompsonKG1238603v4
Coverage
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Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
England--Yorkshire
England--Staffordshire
Germany
Germany--Berlin
Temporal Coverage
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1944
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.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
101 Squadron
1659 HCU
28 OTU
30 OTU
aircrew
entertainment
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
military living conditions
military service conditions
navigator
Operational Training Unit
RAF Hixon
RAF Ludford Magna
RAF Topcliffe
RAF Wymeswold
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1236/16933/YThompsonKG1238603v2.2.pdf
1dcb8516a19e873133be11b133f2f6f7
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
Thompson, Keith G
K G Thompson
Description
An account of the resource
95 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Keith Thompson DFC (1238603 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, photographs and training material as well as his navigation logs. He flew operations as a navigator with 101 and 199 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mark S Thompson and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2015-09-07
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
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Thompson, KG
Access Rights
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Permission granted for commercial projects
Transcribed document
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
FIVE YEAR DIARY
JULY 16 ’42 to JULY 15 1943
16 JULY 1942
TRENTON, ONTARIO
[underlined] to [/underlined]
15 JULY 1943
CASTLE DONINGTON, DERBY
K.G.T.
[page break]
[calendar 1942 & 1943]
[signature]
[page break]
1238603 [deleted] LAC. [/deleted] [inserted] SGT [/inserted] THOMPSON K.G.
TRENTON. NO I “M.” DEPOT
NO. 1 AOS, MALTON.
31PD MONCTON, N.B. CAN.
HMT “QUEEN ELIZABETH”.
7 PDC PANNAL ASH COLLEGE HARROGATE
15 EFTS. KINGSTOWN,
7PPC GRAND HOTEL, HARROGATE
RAF. RGT. WHITLEY BAY. MCH. 20TH
7 PRC MAJESTIC HOTEL, HARR.
4 AOS WEST FREUGH, SCOTLAND.
28 OUT WYMESWOLD, LOUGHBOROUGH.
28 OTU CASTLE DONINGTON.
[underlined] NR. DERBY. [/underlined]
[underlined] FINIS [/underlined]
The Mind
Is a wonderful machine. It need but be just refreshed and incidents can again be revived in their former clarity.
A Line
Each Day, whether it be of the weather or of more important substances, will in time to come bring back those vague memories, worth remembering, to almost actual reality.
[page break]
Gran. M.
“ T.
U. Georg.
Maces.
Watson?
Cabins.
School RGS
Wark SPT
“ OTD
Kilnhurst Sch.
Swinton??
Dunne
A.E. & U.E.
[page break]
JANUARY 1
[underlined] FRI. 43 [/underlined]
No bfst. Parade 8-30 (?) turned out to be 9-0 am in the end & only 1/2 people on parade. Soup; turkey; ham spuds, cabbage; jelly & cust apple & orange; milk. Put on Draft. Working in P.O. [underlined] Letter from Doris & AG from Gran. [/underlined] 30c stamps Wrote AG & Ma. spaghetti & minced meat, bread & jam, tea. [underlined] Letter to Doris Posted AG [/underlined] to Ma. 8c milk 10c hot choc 5c dough nuts 2 x 6c Malted Milk
[page break]
JANUARY 2
SAT 43.
No bfst. Parade 9-0 am £3 pay. English £1 notes. HM, spuds, cabb, pud, sponge & jam, milk [underlined] NO MAIL. [/underlined] Packing. Pork chops; bean soup; tea; bread & jam. [underlined] Letter to Doris & $10 Money Order. Telegram to send watch home [/underlined] ($10.62 total.) 10c. soap; 10c hot choc & 18c. 3 packets peanuts. 15c. shoe polish. Finished packing kit bag, Everything in fine.
[page break]
JANUARY 3
[underlined] SUN 43 [/underlined]
No bfst. Parade 8-45. Just a roll call. No gen. except that we are leaving tomorrow AM Lamb, spuds, cabbage; mince pie & carnation milk; milk. No Parade. Played cards (Slippery Ann) Sleep. [underlined] Letters to Norah & Faiers. [/underlined] Lamb chop & spuds; bread & jam; tea & milk. Parade at 5-0. Assigned to train & coach (2-6) Parade 9-45 AM. Put Holmes shoes in my kit bag. 50c off Tarrant to pack kharki [sic] suit. [underlined] Letters to Doris, Allwyn & P.G. to Gran [/underlined] 20c. hot choc & egg sand 10c peanuts. 10c mints. 80c off Holmes for shoes.
[page break]
JANUARY 4
[underlined] MON 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-0 AM. Porr. Cocoa poached egg; coffee. Collected letters for lads. [underlined] One from Doris Parade at 9-45. March out at 11-15. On train 11-45 Realy [sic] got under weigh [sic] at 1-15. [indecipherable word] haddock, spuds; peas; tea. Sleeping or at least attempted to Jerry & Williams playing chess Rotten meat; spuds & beans; soup; apple pie; coffee. Saw MO. 2 aspirins. Went to see Gwyn.
Crossed border. 9-15 PM
Watch back 1 hour.
[page break]
JANUARY 5
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos bread & but coffee. Had a wash cold water. Feel OK now. NEW HAVEN about 3 or 4 PM. chicken sand & ham snd. lemon cake (jam) spud, crisps, apple; sweets & milk. Arrived New York about 5-0 PM. (Electric loco pulling us.) Got on ferry boat & pulled out to midstream stopped there till about 6-30 to 7-30 PM landed on jetty. Given Mess & Bunk cards. Pork Chop, spuds, carrots, sago; brd & jam, coffee. Went to bed about 9-30 after good wash in cold water.
[page break]
[underlined] R.M.S. QE. [/underlined]
JANUARY 6
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
S/C about 6-30. Bfst. (8-0) got it at 9-15. bacon & egg, brd & jam; coffee. Walked round & round finaly [sic] saw the sea. MP’s, Yanks, all over the place. Can’t get anywhere. Didn’t have to queue long for our sup. which was OK. meat, spuds, cabbage; rice pud; jam & coffee The coffee is too strong 3d bottle of pop & 2/6d 200 fags. Played drafts with Gwyn for 2 or 3 hrs & only won last game drawed [sic] about [underlined] 4 [/underlined]
[underlined] 1 HOUR FORARD [sic]. [/underlined]
[page break]
[underlined] QE [/underlined]
JANUARY 7
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
No queue at all. Porr sos, figs marmalade, coffee. Made bed up. Went to Sgts. lounge & had read then went up to lifeboat deck. Met another of the DeWinter lads P/O. 50c (10 oranges) Meat spuds peas; peaches; jam & coffee. Ship giving beautiful rolls sliding food all over. 6/- for 12 bars choc 2/6d for 2 lighters. 20c & 1/-for calendar & photo of “Lizzy.” 9d x 4 boxes razor blades.
[underlined] 1 HOUR FORARD [sic]. [/underlined]
[page break]
JANUARY 8
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up for brunch. (bacon & chips; etc.) Went up on deck to stern. Saw the guns. Heard AA set off a few rounds. [underlined] Pushed [/underlined] back to PROM deck (all windows shut & blacked out.) Slept on bunk after SPEECH by W/C in charge of US. BULL about buttons, boots, press & shoes; smoking below decks, etc. etc. etc. Meat spuds, carrots; sago; jam & coffee which tasted like coffee for a change. Ship giving some bad rolls all day sea not heavy. One game chess with Gwyn
1 Hour added
[page break]
JANUARY 9
[underlined] SAT 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up till 8-30 AM or so. Went up to Prom Deck & Sgts canteen 5c bottle pop Sent below for Air Raid Warning. Sleeping & reading. Went for Supper with Gwyn. Lamb chop (cooked in oil.) spuds, beans, pineapple; jam & coffee Ship still gives a few heavy rolls. 2/- & 5c tube toothpaste & 3 packets of chocolat [sic] biscuits.
Time same.
[page break]
JANUARY 10
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
[deleted] Got [/deleted] [inserted] Woke [/inserted] up at 9-0 AM. Got up about 10-0. Wash & shave. Went up on boat deck. Talking to a couple of 2nd Lieuts in US. Army Gwyn not at home so I went for supper alone! (?) half a weiner, stew, spud, rice pud, jam & coffee; orange. In line for hair cut. Left it to go on the guns 8 to 12-0. Blowing like Hell & rain with it! [underlined] Put watches on another hour. [/underlined] Cocoa (weak) cheese & biscuits then bed.
[page break]
JANUARY 11
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-0 AM. went for bfst. Bacon, spuds & corned beef; apple sauce; coffee; marmalade. On .50” gun (mch) rain & wind. Sleep! or at least I tried to sleep. Land sighted 12-30 hrs. [underlined] Put watches on 1 hr. at 14-00 hrs. [/underlined] Supper at 1700 h Cheese; jam; ham; spuds, cabbage; coffee. Dropped anchor 18-10. Lined up for an hour & 1/4 for hair cut. Couldn’t change £1 note or $5 bill & had to borrow 1/- Went up on deck to look round Officer came in with “gen” about leaving ship
[page break]
JANUARY 12
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 5-30 for early bfst. 2 eggs & one in pocket, pears, marmalade; coffee. Back to bed & short sleep interrupted by some noisy B - - S. including his nibs Parade 10-30 in mess Hall. Speech by Mr. Jordan High Commis. for New Zealand. & Air Comm Hawe, “Groupy” & Wing/Co i/c troops on ship. Should have left ship 12-45. Actualy [sic] got on Dutches [sic] of Hamilton at 14-30. Pulled away at 15.30 after 1 hrs. wait. Landed after waiting 1/2 hr. at 16-30. GOUNOC. Pot of tea on stn. S/C at 18.00. WAVERLY 21.30 tea & extras (beans, meat etc. biscuits, sweets, sugar & coffee)
LMS train, nice new or “newish” coach, nice smooth tracks & smooth stops & starts.
[page break]
JANUARY 13
[underlined] WED 43 [/underlined]
NEWCASTLE. 1-15 AM Arr. HARRO. 3-30 AM. Lorry to Camp. bfst bacon, saus, turnip & spuds; jam tart & sauce; coffee. [underlined] Bed [/underlined] 6-0 AM Up 11-30. Beef, spuds, turnip – prunes & cust; Co. & Intel. Offs speeches. Signed & filled in forms for 2 hours. Supper 5-0 PM. Sardines on toast, tea. FFI & Dental (1 tooth) NAAFI & sgts. mess couldn’t change £1 notes.
Had kit out & sorted personal stuff from issue. Made Tigers bed.
[page break]
JANUARY 14
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Up 6-45. Shave (bad one.) Porr; meat roll (hot) fried brd; tea. Parade 9-0. Photo taken. Flying kit issued including rubber boots. New kit bag. Marked some. Lamb, sprouts, spuds (boiled & baked.) boiled sponge pud & cust. Kit inspection put down for 2 collars (664b) Pistol holster & ammo pouch (FI) Cottage pie, bread & jam; scone; tea. Night Vision Test 14/32. Could read ordinary card OK. (Second line up.) Again sorted kit. NAAFI shut 9-309 Went to Sgts. Mess. had 1 pt. br. & 1/2 pt. cider. Sgt. WAAF brought sandwiches in for us too. Bed about 11-0.
[page break]
JANUARY 15
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Scrambled egg, fried bread; porr; tea. Parade 8-45 Done Kit Insp. & Night Vis so was dismissed. Interviews Put down for Bombers & station near Sheffield. Stew, spuds, peas; apple & custard; bread & butter. Pay parade £13. Red line on kit & lable [sic] for flying kit. Fish & spuds; jam & piece of cake; tea. Walked into town. 3/- at [deleted] City [/deleted] Royal Hall “Cinderella” on 4th row centre isle. 2d programme. Walked back. Went to Sgts. Mess. 1/- for a couple of ciders. 2 sandwiches. Darts
[page break]
JANUARY 16
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
up at 7-15. Porr. bacon & sos; brd & but; tea. 1250’s issued; put flying kit in to stores. Issued with tunic & trousers, pistol holster & ammo. pouch; gas cape; tin bot & covers. Draughts with Gwyn 2-1 (lost.) Stew & spuds; rice pud (beautiful.) 664b’s 2 collars. Gave in other kit & bag. Meat pie & spuds; jam; tea 5/- for stamps, 10/- book (SPT4) Tramped around in DRIZZLE 3/6d ”Lover’s Leap” at Opera House 3d programme. 2d. for supper (2 sands. cake, tea.) Walked back (35 mins.) 6d cyder[sic] – No sandwiches Letter [underlined] to Doris [/underlined]
[page break]
JANUARY 17
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Kellog’s; sos & fried spuds; tea; marmalade. Parade 9-30. roll call & nowt else. 3d for bus fare & signed sheet saying I’m fully kitted. Beef, spuds peas; sponge pud; bread. Draughts. Lost all games. Letter to Doris. 1/- cyder. Ham, spuds; cheese; jam; tea. Swept up & help set tables in dining room. Cup of tea & talk after. 10 1/2d. chips, cheese pastie, OXO, 2 bars choc. Letter to Doris (same as previous ones) 3d for grapefruit crush.
[page break]
[symbol]
JANUARY 18
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Woke at 6-45. Went to sleep & dreamt about changes in R’Com. Up at 7-15. Porr; bacon & fried bread; tea. Dismissed to clean rooms. Swept stairs. lecture on security & secrets not to be divulged. Stew, spuds, sweeds [sic]; ground rice & sago etc., pud. Assigned to train to go home in Sgts. Mess. [underlined] Posted letter to Doris AIR. [/underlined]
Spuds & cheese; treacle; cake scone; tea. More packing & discussion on SSC etc. 5d. chips, peas & OXO (NAAFI 6d lemonade in Mess Shaved.
[page break]
[underlined] LEAVE [/underlined]
JANUARY 19
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & fried bread, tea. Up at 6-45. Washed & down to bfst at 7-00. not ready. So stripped bed & made it up. Handed sheets in at 8-30 Paraded at 9-0. Got in bus at 10-0. Arr. stn. 10-10. 2d. coffee & [indecipherable word]. Train out 11-0. Leeds 12-0. S/C 13-00. Arr. Bham. 14-30 6d. tea & pie (2 d’s) Home 3-0 in TAXI Went to office. Saw Granpa; Gaffer; Mr Haigh; Mr Brown & Miss Clayton. Went across to Ivan’s. Went to fetch Dad from Darce. 16-15. Ma across at Dunns.
Cup of [underlined] COCOA. [/underlined]
[page break]
JANUARY 20
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0. Granpa, been to U.E. A. Edie “ill”. Took Pat to school. Fetch Doctor’s note from U.E. Went with Ma. to town bread & office again Dad stayed at home. Looked at photo album. & showed ‘em rest of snaps. Gave P & P watch & Ma [deleted] couchin [/deleted] cushion cover Played cards with P.P. Ma & Dad. Kissed P & P Good Night.
Drizzle all Day
[page break]
JANUARY 21
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Up 10-0. Cleaned bike & mended & cleaned all bells & pushes. Went for short run on bike. Granpa & Mr. Haigh both came to see us. 40 children killed & 50 injured in raid on London. Went into town with P.P. & Ma. Up to No 8 in Car. Had tea there Showed ‘em picture PC’s & Maps. Walked back.
[page break]
JANUARY 22
[underlined] FRI. 43 [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. RAIN!!!!
Went to GPO & sent [underlined] cable to Doris [/underlined] (2/6) also went to library to see about ATC. Granpa & A. Ella to see us. [underlined] Shaved [/underlined]. Looked for lock & chain. Went to school. Saw Arnie & heard tale. Mr. Atkinson wants a buzzer for daughter. Just saw old Freddy. Cards & Stamps.
[page break]
JANUARY 23
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Went up to Greenbro to take key back. Dad home for dinner. Went across to Dunn’s for tea. Played bagatel [sic] with David, Barbara & Mrs. Dunn Babs won. Stayed till 12-0 AM. [deleted] W [/deleted] U. Edgar came for me to shut gas fire off. Policeman there wanting to know details.
[page break]
JANUARY 24
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0. Went to see Maces Saw Mr. & Mrs & Syd. Joan was out with cousin. Dad home for dinner. P & P gone to church just before Bobby came to see Pat. Went for run Saw Mr. Carpenter. Went with P & P. David & Sally to Clifton Park. Barbara David came to tea. Mrs. & Denis came later. black music etc etc.
[page break]
JANUARY 25
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Work about 11-15 to 11-30. Gave fags round. Saw Cyril, Tish, Wilf, Reg. Machin, Mr. Skilicorn, Harry, Ted, Mr. Smith, Syd, Turner, Methley, Mr. Duke, Office Reg, Tom, Peg, Joyce, Jack Lodge Went up to School Saw Freddy, Bob, Aitchy, Johno, Tiffin, Ticker, Perky, Jones, Morris, Simmons, Doc. [underlined] Lovely RAIN all day [/underlined] Dad out. At a wedding playing “sax”. Got away with stamps.
[page break]
JANUARY 26
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0. Went to O & D for dinner. Dad gave me 1/- for same. Beef, spuds beans; treacle pud; tea with Mr. Carpenter & Stapleton. Went round the works to see all the chaps. Handed fags round. Came to [indecipherable word] Gerard with Mr. Mullet Gran, T & Florrie stayed till 4-30 but I wasn’t in! Played cards & sorted (?) Meccano.
[page break]
JANUARY 27
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Set off 11-0 for Kilnhurst Mr. Wilkinson left. Went to Green Lane. Saw Mr. Halifax & Waffenden & Mrs. & old Mrs. Thompson, [deleted] Mable [/deleted] [inserted] Marge Noble [/inserted] Went on to Swinton to Seniors. Saw Mr. & Mrs. Frank & Maureen (2 cups tea, biscuits &pork pie) Went to Gathard’s Mr & Mrs in Billy came in from pit. Saw Walt. Baldwin in town. Had dinn. about 4-0. Went to Gran Thompson Gilbert & kid there Nellie followed me in. Colin & Marg. came afterwards. Florrie gave me two photos of herself Gaile etc. off bell
[page break]
JANUARY 28
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
[underlined] shave. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Hunted out bits belonging to my buzzer. Started one for Atkinson Dinn with P.P. & Ma. Finished buzzer. Took Sally to meet Pam. bread shop shut. Took photo’s to U. George Asked me to stay to tea but returned home. Dad brought covers for rail cards. Babs brought rabbit to be skinned. Dad skinned some & one he brought for me.
[page break]
JANUARY 29
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-15. Babs called for rabbit. Went to Royal then went to work to Dad. Fetched a loaf. Went to town with Ma Tickets from Regent (2/3d) Shoes (Pate) Diary (2/3d) Bread. Snack and down at Regal for 5-5. Dad arr. 5-15. Show “First of the Few” Leslie Howard & David Nivien [sic]. (2/-) A really good picture. Tea. Went to David’s. Bagatelle & a nice supper. Left at 12-0
[page break]
JANUARY 30
[underlined] SAT – 43. [/underlined]
Down at 10-30 P[deleted] at [/deleted] [inserted] am [/inserted] & Ma up. Granpa called. Rain. Went up to school to take buzzer & see Arnie. Gave Acka buzzer & helped him fit it up. Gave me 2/- for buzzer. Arnie gave me 4/- for diary. NO SPUDS P & P wouldn’t fetch ‘em. Went to Timpsons with Ma’s shoes & Boots for Aspirins. Also fetched 3 loaves. Saw Joe & Oscar. Went run round to station. Saw Elsie & her Ma. Went to Darts. Pretty Good!
1/6d Commem. Stamps
Ran up 400 mls. on cyclometer
[page break]
JANUARY 31
[underlined] SUN. 43 [/underlined] SHAVE
Up at [underlined] 12-0 [/underlined]. Went to work with Dad to see Mr. Coleman. He was busy so couldn’t see snaps & photos. [underlined] RAIN in buckets [/underlined] Went up to Gran’s with Dad. Went on to Aunt Minnie’s & Uncle Jack’s. Went back to Gran’s. Ma & P & P only just arrived. Had tea. Aunty Emmaline & U. Laurie came about 9-0. Had a real good laugh. Home about 12-0
[page break]
FEBRUARY 1
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 9-0. Down in Square at 9-25. Bus out at 9-30. Arr. 10-0. Went to Uncle Wilf’s then to Aunt Emma’s. Left Great coat there & went to Uncle Joe’s Got to wrong house at first then when we found it he wasn’t in. 2/6d off Aunt Emma Bus back at 1-0. arr. 1-30 PM. Went to town with Ma & Pa. Regal (2/-) “Who Done It” Abbot & Costello & “Dr. Broadway.” Fish & chips. Went across to Dunn’s. Dog misbehaved by time we returned
BATH!!
[page break]
[underlined] HARROGATE [/underlined]
FEBRUARY 2
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Up at [underlined] 11-0 AM [/underlined] later than I wished. Shaved. Went to SPT to see Joe. Saw Jack Wright too. Gus on after’s so missed him Nos. King at Shef. University. More RAIN. Went about taxi. Took library books back. Hair cut 1/- & more RAIN. Packed kit with struggle. Ma packed me some supper. Phoned for taxi. S/C 5-40 arr Leeds 7-30. S/C 7-55 (10 mins late) arr Harr. 8-30 Walked to Grand Hotel. In room with Arty, Willie & Holmes. Supper which Ma Packed for me. Drew blankets & pillow.
[circled 2/6d taxi]
[page break]
FEBRUARY 3
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-15. Bfst; porr; bacon, cabbage; coffee. Parade in Mess for roll call & lecture (gen talk) Got kit bags “out”. Sos, spuds, cabb.; macaroni coffee. Parade at 2-0 with flying kit. Dumped same after roll call. Back to room at 3-15 Lads playing cards. I read. Stew & spuds; tea; bread & jam. 1/6d at Scala to see “Coastal Command” & “Women arn’t [sic] Angels” Robertson Hare. Walked back & was in for 10-10.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 4
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-20. Porr; toast & scrambled egg. Parade 9-0. Meat; spuds; sponge pud; coffee £7..10 pay after long wait. 6d in red X soap coupon. WO. Came for me at 2-15. POSTED. Going to Carlisle. Lecture on security. Got flying kit & packed rest & turned it all in FFI. Cheese on toast; cake; jam & tea. 3/6d Opera House “Eden’s End”
3d program. 3d MN fund. 3d drink. 2 1/2d. choc.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 5
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined] Up 6-0. blankets 6-30 Porr. sos & mash; tea, rations (dry sandw’s. & bun) Parade 7-30. S/C stn. 7-35. arr. 7-45. S/C Leeds. 8-40 arr 9-25 [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] 4d tea & meat pie at Y. Tommy bought lunch. Loaded kit. Got on train 10-20. Shld S/C 10-30. S/C at 11-15 for Carlisle arr. 2-30. RAIN & WIND all way. Bus to stn. & HUTS. [underlined] Din [/underlined] meat pie & spuds. [underlined] NO DRINK. [/underlined] Short lecture & ditto form. Sheets & pillow case. Got blankets. WASH. Herrings & cocoa. 2 bars choc. OXO. 3 gills. packet of crisps Bed about 11-0.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 6
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up 7-55. WIND & a little rain Too late for bfst. Lectures by C.O. & CGI. Spuds, carrots, spare ribs; tart & cust. VP & First Aid lecture. FFI. Cleaned up. Buttons & shoes. Pie & soup.
ENSA Concert (6d)
Bert Davies & Dave Hunter (comed’s) Joy & Muriel (Brun Blonde) – Margaret Smart (BBC violinist)
Georgina Emmett – soubrette – Jane Arnott vocalist
GORDON RITCHIE – pianist
[underlined] 1 [/underlined] gill
[page break]
FEBRUARY 7
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 9-0. Down to camp (nowt) doing so walked back. Made fire. Went to NAAFI. Shave. Veal, spuds & coffee; rice pud Walked in & around Carlisle. 2/- sos & spuds; buns. Ginger Rodgers 2/- in “Kitty Foyle” pretty good. 2d on bus back. 6d chips & coffee. Letter too [sic] Ma
[page break]
FEBRUARY 8
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Fried spam & spuds; porr; tea. C.O’s parade. Tea & cake (NAAFI) Lectures. Prem, spuds, cab; soup; sponge pud. Lectures. brd & jam, tea. Fiddled with kit.
Film 3d. “Flat Spat.” Betty Grable, [deleted] Carol [/deleted] Coral Lordis & Victor Mature.
1 gill.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 9
[underlined] TUES 43. [/underlined]
Missed bfst Took flying kit down. RAIN. Film show. Meat pie, cab, spuds; plum pud. Took 4 rifles to range. Chips & prem. cake & tea 6d cheese & chips; coffee in NAAFI. Letter [underlined] AIR MAIL [/underlined] to Doris
[page break]
FEBRUARY 10
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; spuds & sos. RAIN. Astro Lecture. Stew, spuds; tart & cust. More RAIN. Bread & jam & cake. 2d bus. 2/- Arthur Askey [inserted] Evelyn Dalle [/inserted] in “King Arthur was a Gentleman” & Penny Singleton in “The Boss said “NO””
2d bus. NO eats.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 11
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
porr, spuds & bacon. P.T. & bit of Drill. Letter from Ma & Dad. spare ribs, spuds carrots rice pud. Brains Trust. letter to Ma. bread & jam & tea. letter. Meat pie & tea.
ENSA concert
Pretty good. A lot of crude jokes.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 12
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; scrambled eggs; tea. Parade at 8-45? roll. Drill. Lectures in Cinema. Aircraft Rec. Veal, spuds, cab; ground rice pud & raisins. Lecture on StenGun then lecture on Russia. Bread & treacle; tea. Made fire & had wash. Chips & sos roll, OXO, tart (in NAAFI). RAIN & MORE RAIN & wind. Had read in Anteroom then went & had a gill. [underlined] Posted letter to Ma [/underlined]
choc ration.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 13
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Went to Aero Café for bfst. 1/4d bacon & toast; coffee. Went back for camera. Bus into Carlisle. 1/2d din sos & chips; brd; tea. Roamed around. Picts full. Couldnt [sic] find bus for Gretna. 1/6d tea. chips & welsh rarebit. 2/- show. “The Devil Pays Off” (DeMott steamliner. Mutiny) & Gene Autry in “Sierra Sue.”
[page break]
FEBRUARY 14
[underlined] SUN. 43 [/underlined]
Porr, sos & spuds. Parade as usual. ROUTE MARCH after Church Parade Meat, spuds; cab; rice & tart Read in anteroom & tried to sleep. Sos & spuds for supper.
“Ride ‘em cowboy” Bud Abbott & Lou Costello.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 15
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
porr & prem, CO’s parade RAIN & WIND. Lectures on Pilot Nav & map reading. Chicken roll, spuds; plum pud & cust. Further lecture on map General bind about the station. Had tea. Made fire & had a wash Scallops & chicken roll. [underlined] NAAFI. [/underlined] 2 shortbreads & coffee. LETTER from MA
LETTER to Doris.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 16
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & spuds. FLYING. bus to KP. 60 mins pin pointing from KP to Kingstown. Ribs, spuds, cab; plum pud. Worked out a cross country & set off. Went to KP first then went round X country. Tommy got last NOT returned. bus back from K.P.
2 welsh rarebits
LETTER TO MA.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 17
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr & sos. Gen talk. Supposed compass swing stew & spuds; jam & cust. Cross country S/C but had to turn back. Low cloud so set course back half way along second leg. Made it OK. Cheese, jam & cake. Went to see “Twin Beds” & “Sunday Punch” AGAIN. Choc.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 18
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Cornflakes; jam; tea. Route march, unarmed combat. Ground Signals. MEAT PIE, spuds, cab. ground rice. Flare paths. Letter to Pat. brd & jam. Took gt. Coat to Mary at din. time. Meat, spuds & cabbage; tea; jam. 2 buns from NAAFI. Show in Mess. “Holiday Inn” Fred Astaire & Bing Crosby. Fetched gt. coat which Mary had finished Bed. 11-0 PM.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 19
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; jam; tea. Roll call. Route March round perimeter track. Cinema at 11-30. Talk on [indecipherable word] by P/O Pilot. Stew, spuds, sweede; [sic] rice pud. Lecture on Mediterranean by War Office chap. Tea, bread & jam Wrote short note to Ma & sent £10 with it. Cheese & spuds for DINNER. 2 biscuits & coffee. 4 bars choc [underlined] SHOWER [/underlined]
[page break]
FEBRUARY 20
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos. Cross country with Fred. Ran into low cloud on high ground. Wind & deviation all over place. Turned back. Letter from Ma. & cable from Doris. Din (stew spuds, cab; & tart.) Flying washed. Messed about on box & bar in crew room doing PT? Had tea then DINNER? ONE HERRING!! Went & had chop & chips & peas in NAAFI. Talk with Fred & Tom. Glass beer in Sgts. Mess
[page break]
FEBRUARY 21
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 9-0 AM. Café shut so went to NAAFI. cake & 2 cups coffee. Went back to camp & cleaned up Set off for town. Got a lift in van. Stopped TWICE by SP’s for ident. card & had name taken for leather gloves. 3/- din (soup; spuds, minced meat & sundae) Set. Bob off back 3d cake & buns 2d bus back. Tea, usual, in camp, Met Mary at 6-30 at bus stop. Went to see (4/-) “China Sea” Darn Good film. Walked back to camp.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 22
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, spam & spuds lectures & Aldis Comp. Sos meat spuds, beans; sponge pud. NAAFI coffee. lecture & quiz (NAV) also quiz regarding welfare on the station. Usual tea Sos meat jam & tea for [underlined] SUPPER [/underlined] NAAFI coffee
Letter to P & P & MA
Made Date.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 23
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/UNDERLINED]
Porr, bacon, spuds. Set out for Hexham & Hawick. Cloud chased us back AGAIN on 2nd leg HOT POT!?! rice pud. Recconnaisance [sic] with Turner. Looking for bridges Changed sheets 2 Registered Parcels from Ma. Tea & Jam Bus 6-30. Went to see “Flying Fortress” 4/- Walked back. One X.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 24
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, sos, spuds, RAIN. Station Flying Orders signed some. NAAFI Lecture on dinghy drill. Stew!! spuds cabbage; tart & cust. Fred & rest returned from Reitz VIA “RAIL”. WAITING IN CINEMA. CO asked for our names (in Ante room) Letter & Valentine (MA & D) Usual tea. 1/- spam & toast RABBIT spuds & sweeds [sic] NAAFI coffee. Date again
[page break]
FEBRUARY 25
[underlined] THURS 43 [/underlined]
Usual type of meals. Supposed to be on lectures but none of the lecturers arrived. Had supper. Went to the City and saw “Dangerously they Live.” & “About Face” X’s & Good Night
[page break]
FEBRUARY 26
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, scrambled egg. X. country HEXHAM & almost to HAWICK WITH Sgt. Stockill Stew, spuds, sweede; [sic] rice pud. Short X. country Penrith to Silloth. Flew back from KP for din. Sgt. Stockill did a few Cities at [underlined] my request. [/underlined] Made log book up to date. Cheese & spud pie, jam, tea. cup coffee Show by neighbouring station. DAMN GOOD!
[page break]
FEBRUARY 27
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
1/4d bfst. bacon & toast. choc biscuits, coffee. Darts in NAAFI. (coffee etc) Din in Mess. Waited in NAAFI for Watson 6d for tea, toast & salmon 2/- to see “Son of Fury” George Sanders & Tyrone Powers ([deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted])
[page break]
FEBRUARY 28
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Porr only. S/C for PERTH with Turner. Got to MOFFAT where clouds closed in. Chop, spuds, cab; jam tart. Flying washed but went with ANNAN with F/LT SMYTHE. Cottage pie, sweede [sic] & cocoa. Chin wag in Ante Room. NAAFI.
[page break]
FEBRUARY 29
[blank page]
[page break]
MARCH 1
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Co’s parade. Porr; spam spuds; jam. Went to KP on the bus but didn’t fly Ribs, spuds, cab; jam & concret [sic] tart. No flying. Sent laundry etc. home. 1/-. 2/6d stamps. Letter from & too [sic] Ma. 12 chips for supper. Coffee & cakes in NAAFI.
STEVE & DICKENS
[page break]
MARCH 2
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Billet Insp. by C.O. George Flying on search. Coffee & biscuits while writing letter to Ma. Paper from Ma. Meat, spuds (stew!) ground rice pud. No flying bread & jam tea. Night flying “Gen.” at 6-15. Supper; - “slice” of potted meat & beet; cocoa. Had coffee in NAAFI. Flew from 9-0 till 10-0. Just round a wide circuit Beaufort! Had cup of tea in NAAFI x 2. Bed about 12-0
[page break]
MARCH 3
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 8-0. Went ‘SICK’ for Turner. No parade. 1/6d for egg, toast & tea breakfast. Kit sorting. Usual type of dinner. Letter & parcel from Ma. Reconnaissance flight with Watson. Tea as per usual. No night flying! “All thro’ the Night” 2/- at Lonsdale. Walked back X’s.
[page break]
MARCH 4
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr for bfst. To [sic] big a queue. Completed log bk. £7/2/- pay. Hand key & inter-com & sheets back. Coffee etc in NAAFI. Stew, spuds, rice. 3 letters from Doris one from Gran & one from Watson. Mary gave me 6 bars choc. X. Packed & [indecipherable word] lorry. 1/- for sos & mash (twice) Train 6-45. Arr. H. 1-30. Bed at Majestic 2-0 after tea & pie
[page break]
MARCH 5
[underlined] FRI. 43 [/underlined]
Up at 8-0. Just had wash. 1/7d welsh rarebit & toast. Film “Next of Kin” Very Good. Beef, carrots, cabb, spuds tea, jam. Moved to Grand. Nowt to do or be done. Kit still at the Majestic Sent letter home (just a short note) Fish cake, spuds, tea & jam. Went with Staff & Tom to see “Date with an Angel.” Darn Good film. 1/6d sos, egg & toast, 2 teas. Chip shop sold out.
[page break]
MARCH 6
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; ham & spuds, Room inspection. OK’d Not wanted on parade so went & had coffee & biscuits. 6d. Cold meat & veg, salad; trifle; coffee. Washed my feet & put clean socks on. £6 money order. (6d) Looked for writing case. None to be got. 10d torch batteries. 10d pie, cake & coffee Sat in park. Meat roll & beet, brd & jam roll; tea. 2/6d at Odeon “Wake Island” & Moon over Havana” 1/6d sos, egg; toast & tea.
[page break]
MARCH 7
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
porr, meat roll, fried spuds, coffee. Went to station. train 10-20 Didn’t go to Leeds. Went to YM. to [sic] early & packed. so went to café Had cheese on toast & coffee, jam 2/- had din at Majestic after darts. Meat, spuds, cab & carrots; rhubarb & cust. [underlined] Letter to Ma & Mary. [/underlined] Tom sleeping Nice tea. Went to see what shows [deleted] are [/deleted] [inserted] were [/inserted] on. Met Hayes & pal. 2/6d. “International Sqdn” & “Strange Alibi.” Went & had supper. Spam & chips (1/9.) 2/9 for beers. Learned one or two puzzles. Bed about 11-15.
[page break]
MARCH 8
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up 7-10. Bfst. Porr, ham & fried spuds treacle & tea. Went to Thirsk café. Had rarebit & coffee & toast 2/1d. Looked round Smiths. [underlined] Letter from Ma. Mr Coleman [/underlined] Meat pie, spuds & sprouts; rice pud; coffee. Parade 2-0. Names taken etc. then buzzed off. 1/- tea & pikelets. [underlined] 2d. parcel to Ma. [/underlined] Fish cake & chips, brd & marmalade. [underlined] Letter to Ma & SPT. [/underlined] Went out & posted same then went to bed 10.15
[page break]
MARCH 9
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
porr, spuds & fish, tea. Set on sorting mail. Letter from Ma & Doris from Canada. Beef, [inserted] cocoa [/inserted] spuds, cab & parsnip; “Mickey Roony” & rhubarb Sat in Park. Had small drink from well. Magnesia & Sulphur. More mail sorting. Took redirected stuff to the Spa. Went round the cinemas. Had tea. 2/6d at Odeon Monty Wooly in “Pied Piper” also “His Neighbour.” [underlined] 3/6d [/underlined] chips & rabbit pie & 2 cups of tea.
[page break]
MARCH 10
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up for bfst. Mail Tea coffee & 3 buns. More Mail. Stew, spuds, cab; peas; apple & cust; coffee. Went to Majestic. No mail & canteen closed. Boys back from Whitley Bay. Went with Gwyn to see White Rose Players in “Gas Light” 3/6d. then went to Maj & had glass sherry
[page break]
MARCH 11
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up for bfst. 9-0 Room Inspection. Sorting Mail Parade at 10-30. Reserve for posting. Beef (boiled) spuds, sweeds; [sic] boiled pud & cust. Registered Parcel from Ma. AG from Joyce. Parade 1-45. Dismissed Shave. Parade again at 3-45. No Gen. Letter from Ma & another reg. parcel. Meat & spuds jam roll. Went to see Victor Mature in “Seven Days Leave” & “Highways by Night,” 2/6d.
[page break]
MARCH 12
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 9-15. Parade 10-45. Went to Maj. for registered parcel (socks etc.) Roast beef, mashed & roast spuds, cab; cust & tart. 13/6d for fags from Mr. Dixon (200) 2-0 parade for FFI. NOT REQUIRED so had tea 11d. Fish spuds, & treacle also collected rations. Parade 4-45 not wanted again. Went walk with Gwyn. Tried to get Pass. Gwyn & lads went at 7-30. Wash. Went out with Tom. 3/9d for beers.
[page break]
MARCH 13
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 8-30. To [sic] late bfst. NO PASS. Mail to & from Spa. Stew, spuds, cab, sweed {sic] & boiled pud; cocoa. Started letters to Ma & Mary sitting in the park. Turned coal [sic] so had a walk round & eventualy [sic] went to see “Seven Sweethearts” & “The Green Cockatoo.” 1/6d. Went & had chips & fish cakes [underlined] 2/10d [/underlined] & cup of tea.
[page break]
MARCH 14
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
egg & sos. Church parade. Walked round the town. Beef, roast spuds, cab, & carrot; maccaroni [sic] pud. Walked round the park & the town till 2-25 when we were given tickets for a concert at the Royal Hall. A pretty good show! Flan, beet & pie (meat) & jam for tea. Went a roaming again & eventualy [sic] went to Regal to see “Three Silent Men” & “Wild Geese Flying” Took ATS girls back to camp. Came back & had coffee & meat pie at Hollywood.
[page break]
MARCH 15
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Usual bfst – lectures after being squaded. Din similar to usual. Lectures again. [underlined] Fried egg [/underlined] & spuds & cocoa for tea. Spear not going. Williams going instead 5/- at Scala to see “My Sister Eileen” Walked back to ATS camp & back to Craven’s Had fish cake chips & carrot steamed pud; tea 3/6d
[page break]
MARCH 16
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, spuds & fried bread; tea. Room insp. Clay pigeon shooting 10/21. Finished letter to Mary in small café 6d for coffee & cake. Beef, spuds, cab & carr, prunes & cust; cocoa. 13-30 parade. Lectures. Arms, intell & navi. Meat pie, chips; treacle & tera. Card for fags (Mr Dix) Sent pyjamas home to be washed Wrote letter to Ma. Posted it & Mary’s.
[page break]
MARCH 17
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Scrambled egg on toast; tea. Kit Inspection & nothing else. Sos & mash, cab & sweed [sic] steamed pud. Sent parcel to Ma. Went on short route march out towards ATS camp. Steak & chips. “Night Mare” & “Mrs Wiggs of the cabbage patch” 2/-. Coffee at Hollywood.
[page break]
MARCH 18
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Bacon & fried spuds. Fetched Battle Dress, helmet, etc. from Majestic. £7 pay at Grand. Beef, spuds, cab & sweed; [sic] lemon curd fritter. Letter from Ma & Gwynn. 664b’s cleared up. Having none Tom & I went & had cup of tea & cakes 1/-. Salmon & beet for tea. Took Tiger with us this time. Saw “If the Lady is Willing” Marlene Deitrich & Fred Mc.Murray. & “Fingers at the Window” 5/- 2/- cigs. Walked back to ATS camp. X’s.
[page break]
MARCH 19
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
kidneys on toast, porr. tea. Lecture on security by S/Ldr. Handed in kit bag containing personal kit. FFI. Stew spuds, cab, sweed, [sic] peas; apple pie; cocoa. 2-10 parade. 1/1 1/2 coffee & cakes. Inspection by S/Ldr on full webbing parade. Letters from Ma & Mary. Sardines on toast. Tiger didn’t turn up so we went to Opera house (3/6d seats) “Old Acquaintance” X in the dark. Put ‘em in taxi another X. Had cottage pie & chips at Craven 3/6d
[page break]
MARCH 20
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Missed bfst. Up at 8-10. Roll call 8-45. 1/1d coffee & toast. Parade again at 10-30 in full kit. Marched to stn. S/C 11-35. Bought newspaper Tom & Willie got sandwiches arr. 2-30 PM. Roast mutton spuds, cab, beans; jam roll & cream. Put into billet & issued with blankets. FFI & foot inspection. Ham & spam & pickles also raw carrot; tea. Had 2 pints. Sent P.C. to Ma.
[page break]
MARCH 21
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Egg on fried bread; porr; tea. Church parade then stores. Issued with rifle bayonet, boots & webbing Roast beef & spuds, cabbage, York. pud; apple pie & cust. Sleep & read. Cheese & potato pie, spam & raw carrot, tea, marmalade Walked back to billet again. Firemaking. Wrote letter to Ma in Mess. Speech by Churchill. cocoa & sandwiches.
[page break]
MARCH 22
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
bacon & spuds; tea. Parade & inspection at 8-30. Lecture by G.C. & Sqdn. Comdr. Fitted webbing together. March to Din. Mutton, spuds, & beans; fruit pud. Marched to Golf course Lecture on camouflage. Golfers!!! Lecture by F/O. on general “gen”. Tea, fried spam & chips. Couldn’t eat spam Felt rather sick. Went for haircut. Barber shut so went to ENSA concert. Russian troupe. Darn good. Cup of coffee in Mess. Sewed buttons on trousers. SIREN. GUNFIRE
one down.
[page break]
MARCH 23
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
fish & spuds. Couldn’t eat it all. Rifle Drill; Bayonet Drill; P.T. on beach; “Load” & “unload!” Marched to Din meat pie, carrots & spuds; rice pud & prunes. Ate all of it. Grenades; cleaning rifle, setting sights for range; Thrust & parrie & a bit of unarmed combat. [underlined] Fish [/underlined] pie & spuds, bread & jam; coffee. 1/- haircut. 1d on bus, cleaned rifle, chopped sticks. Started letter to Mary at dinner time.
[underlined] Finished letter to Mary [/underlined]
[page break]
MARCH 24
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
bacon & spuds; tea. [inserted] range [/inserted] [indecipherable word] Lewis gun; obstacles & carrying (firemans lift.) FISH & SPUDS, fruit pie; water. Route march & exercise on observation P.A.D. Stew & SPUDS NO BREAD! dry biscuits tea. [underlined] 2 letters from MA. [/underlined] P.A.D. parade before tea. Had glass of beer & sos roll. Bed by about 10 but had to get up at 12-0 for PAD. Guns & one or two Bombs. Had cup of tea in SSQ. Bed again by 2-0 AM.
Passive Air Defence.
[page break]
MARCH 25
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up till 8-0 AM consequently missed bfst Lewis loading & unload advance, fire & retire. Grenade throwing. Sten Gun. Beef, spuds, (boiled & baked) cab; sponge pud. Cross country & streams. Swinging across a stream by a tree branch I ended up in the stream!! face down. Spuds, thin thin [sic] stew Bread & JAM!! tea [underlined] Letter from PAM. Letter to Ma [/underlined]
Bed 10- PM.
[page break]
MARCH 26
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get a call so didn’t get up till 8-0. Shave. Anti Tank grenade; run & walk (PT.) Lecture by W.O – F/O Middleton & S/Ldr i/c 1 WING on Sgts. Mess; & charges. Liver & bacon, spuds, & cab; currant sponge; water. Cross country route march to Obalesk. I had to march flight to golf links where we split up into parties. Welsh rarebit; peanut butter & tea. Went to Stn. OXO’s on fire.
[page break]
MARCH 27
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
sos meat; spuds; porr; coffee. rifle inspection, unarmed combat. Gas chamber. 295’s issued. Wash & change. bus into town. 20/4d return ticket. Train to Newcastle just made 1-0 PM at Newcastle. Met AB. Mills train to York & from York to Rotherham arrived 4-25 Walked up home. Ma bad in bed. Cold. Pork pie for tea. Plates, cuts & odds & ends.
[page break]
MARCH 28
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Shave & wash till 11-0. Mucked about with dyno & rear light. Cleaned both & refitted latter. Took P.P. & S to meet Dad at dinner time. Park clap. Dad went to work at 3-0. P & P to S. School. Went to Dunns just before din. Went to Grans just before tea. Saw Elsie. Went 5 mls (1/2 hr. on bike) Stamps. S/C for stn 10-25 arr. 10-50. Train at 11-5 tea & sandwiches at Shef. Train pulled out 1-45 AM
[page break]
MARCH 29
[underlined] MON. 43 [/underlined]
arr Newcastle 6-40. Ebc train 6-50 to Monkseaton. Parade at 8-30. Insp. Drill, Sten Gun, P.T.. Took stens back to armoury. Meat pie, spuds, cab, beans, beet rice & prunes. Went to Cinema to see “Desert Victory” & “Sherlock Holmes in Washington” Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce. Meat pie & jam; tea.
Letter from Mary.
Letter to Mary & Ma.
[page break]
MARCH 30
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & spuds, tea. Insp. 30 mins to clean billets [sic] Cinema (films on all sorts of things.) Beef, spuds, cab; sponge pud; water. WIND & more Wind. Went on to golf course & did charging of the guard & mounting of guards. Challenges, how & how not. Cheese pie (twice) & cake; tea. Letter from Ma. pint of beer. Letter to Ma. Had tea & cakes at Beach café at dinner time.
[page break]
MARCH 31
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
porr; sardine & spuds baked spuds. Gas café respirator & webbing for gas lecture. Then LMG. PT. (unarmed combat.) STEW, spuds, cabbage choc sponge pud minus sugar! coffee! Sten gun on the field. Grenades. Sighting etc. on landscape. Sos meat, spuds, raw carrot & turnip, tea, brd. & jam. Parcel from Mary & Betty containing 5 raw carrots. Night manoeuvres on golf course. 1/2 pint & 2 cups of cocoa. 4 sandwiches.
[page break]
APRIL 1
[underlined] THURS. 43 [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, spuds; MA’s jam. Parade in best blue 9-15 Insp. by cpl. Insp. by flight sgt. Paraded again at 10 to 10. Marched down to Rex. mucked abate by SWO. Insp by groupy WHEN he EVENTUALY [sic] arrived LATE per ardua. Bags of “bull”! Army Band. Marched past Groupy & [deleted] [indecipherable word] Ensign. Dismissed. FISH, spuds, cab; raisin roll; 1/- cakes & tea. 1-30 in khaki with towel & soap. £7.10s pay £1 stamps, 15/- Cert. Shower. Station & walk around. Meat roll & spuds; cake; tea. [underlined] Letter to Doris. [/underlined] Sandwiches & coffee in Mess.
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APRIL 2
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, sos & spuds, tea. Drill, Assault course. PT. Beef (2” [symbol]) spuds, cab. York Pud; trifle, Cap projector for grenade L.M.G. fire etc. NO PASS. [underlined] Bacon rind mixed with spuds [/underlined] & spuds, a little jam; tea. 1/1 chips & pie; cup tea Letter from Mary. Cleaned rifle. cat. Tom & firemaking.
WATCH going WEST.
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APRIL 3
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; cold Ham; tea. Rifle Inspection. Cleaned billets. Lecture on “forms”. PT in kit. Cold Beef, spuds, beet, cress; prunes, plums & cust. Cakes & tea 1/- Changed & went to see Parade. Saw PT display. Salmon cress & beet; cake, tea. Walked around the town then went to see “Bambi” & “Moonlight Masquerade” John O’Keefe. Sandwiches & coffee in the Mess. Bill brought dog up with him.
WATCHES ON ONE HOUR
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APRIL 4
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-45. Kellogs & bacon & egg; marmalade & tea. Started reading “The Man in Grey” laid on bed covered with a blanket. Meat, spuds, cabbage; trifle (kinda sort of) coffee. Continued reading book on golf links beside sea. Cold meat & spam, beet; marmalade. PAD parade. Finished book. [underlined] Wrote & posted letters to Mas, Mary & Gwyn [/underlined] Tea & sandwiches in Mess
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APRIL 5
[underlined] MON. 43 [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, lard, egg, spuds, Marmalade. Collected Sten guns. PT.. Sten (“load” etc.) Drill, Sten in respirator Meat pie; spuds, cab, beans raw carrot etc, rice & stewed pears. Field exercises. Battle Drill. Rifle cleaning. Went for Reg. Parcel & WAAFS just left. Cottage pie, peas; jam; tea. [underlined] Letter from Ma & Doris [/underlined] HELL of a WIND all day. [underlined] Letter to Ma & Doris Collins [/underlined] Didn’t go out all night.
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APRIL 6
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & spuds; tea. PT (run) Battle order grenade throwing & field craft. (moving under cover.) Stew meat, spuds cab, beans; cust & ginger pud. No Mail. L.M.G. for two periods then AT mines. Went for parcel & asked about form for S.P.T. Sardines in oil & toast, marmalade & treacle; tea. 1 pint beer. Choc, nuts & sweets (7 1/2d.) Letters to Dennis, Joe & Joyce.
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APRIL 7
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon, spuds; tea. PT in denems. [sic] Rifle Drill for firing on range. Cleaned grenades. Scoring & sighting. Beef, spuds, cab. ginger pud. Route Mch. about 3-4 miles. Rifle cleaning. Sos & mash jam (knife.) 1/6d at Empire to see “ITMA” with Tommy Handly & gang. also “The Great Impersonation.” Coffee & Sandwiches in mess.
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APRIL 8
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; fried Spam & fried spuds twice; tea Parade outside Prudloe & collected ammo. Battle order carried ammo to range. Fired 5 grouping. 5 application 5 snap shots & 10 rapid shots got 76/100. Tom 81 Top 84. Had 2 helpings of stew from field kitchen, cocoa to Drink Fired a dummy grenade. Cleaned rifles. Fish cheese & treacle, tea. “RAF on Parade” at Empress 2/6d for program. collection coffee & Horlicks. Tea & a sandwich in Mess. LETTER from Ma.
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APRIL 9
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon RIND rissoles & spuds; tea. Sten (firing) & Grenade throwing. Rifle Inspection. Liver & bacon, spuds, carrots & parsnips; rice pud with raisins; coffee. Football on the beach. PAD at 4-30. Shower in Prudloe. Supper 6-15. Fish, bread & a little treacle, terra. Changed & went to barbers SHUT. so went on the stn for ticket 20/4d. 1/- at Wonder Bar for coffee & sandws. £1 stamps (savings.) Made fire.
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APRIL 10
[underlined] SAT 43. [/underlined]
Porr; liver & spuds; tea. Inspection in denims; P.T. (cross country.) Parade in best blue to go through passing out parade. Parade at 10 to 12 for pass Lift on lorry to stn. Train at 12-15. NEW. 12-45. 10 1/2d for pie & 2 sandwiches. Stood up to York & stood up to R’Ham. [indecipherable word] to Coop. Got bike out & went looking for barber. Saw Dad & Ma & P & P in library Stamps
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APRIL 11
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-30. Shave. Went for 1/2 hr. run around houses. Had dinner & then got stamps & books etc. etc. cut & straightened em up a bit. Went to Grans with P & P. Saw Mrs Dixon. Had tea at home then went for a walk in Boston Park. Saw Geoff & Phil Prinnett. Queen Elizabeth spoke in 9-0 PM news. Ma & Dad packed tin of tuck then I packed kit including stamps. Ma & Dad walked to stn. with me & saw me off. 2 cups of tea, biscuits & cake. at Sheff. YMCA on stn..
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APRIL 12
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Train out 1-30 & I got a seat Arr. 5-30 AM. Cup of tea at WVS. Train out at 6-5 arr. Monks 6-35. Bfst. bacon & table spoon full of spuds; porr; tea. Parade at 8-20 in best blue Paraded again at 10-10 & marched down to REX insp by CI. GC must have still been in bed. Meat & spud [deleted] pie [indecipherable word] [/deleted] [inserted] soup [/inserted] & cab; raisin pud [indecipherable word] Rifle inspection & sleep. Chips, meat pie; treacle, tea. Letter from Mary & Doris Collins. Parcel from Mayoress’ Fund. 1/2 pint beer. Fun Arcade. Hot Choc, biscuits
KINGSWOODS BUDGET.
MORE TAX ON PICTS..
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APRIL 13
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t go for bfst. To [sic] tired. Had scone Ma packed. Transfered [sic] to No 1. Sqdn. 4 Flt. Carried kit down in 2 trips. Meat pie, spuds, carrots; rice pud & stewed fruit; tea. Parade at 2-30 for gen & roll call Straightened kit out a bit. Swapped stamps. Fried sos meat, spuds & carrots; bread & jam; tea. Letter from Ma. 1/6d at Empire “Nine Men” & “Rubber Raquetters [sic]”.
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APRIL 14
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & spuds; tea. Parade in Battle order. Marched to Golf Links where Demonstration Sqd practiced “signals in the field” We then did a tacticle [sic] exercise. 3 blanks Mutton, spuds, cabbage; prunes & cust; water. Demonstration again & exercises (games) on night manoeuvres. [underlined] 1/4d Telegram Home. MA’s watch broken. [/underlined] Sos & spuds & treacle; tea. letter from Watson.
[underlined] Letter to Ma & Doris C. [/underlined]
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[inserted] Letter from Ma & Doris M.R. [/inserted]
APRIL 15
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos & spuds; tea Went to range to see rifles harmonized & see tracer bullets fired from rifle & L.M.G. Sos & spud pie, spuds, cabbage, sponge pud; water. Wrote letter to Mary. Pay £7.10. 5/- stamps [inserted] savings [/inserted]. Pass & run over LMG procedure. Loaded two mags. Missed tea & went to see “Gone with the Wind” 4/- & well worth it. Had coffee & sardine s’d’chs in Mess. These coupled with film set me thinking what a World it is & wondering about myself compared with Scarlet O’Hara.
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APRIL 16
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; fried potted meat & spuds, tea. Out on range fired 5 single shots & 15 in 3 or 4 bursts with LMG Loaded magazines. Fired 15 rounds in one long burst. Stew, spuds, beans; jam sponge sandwich & cust Parachute control & landing. Shower. Letter from [underlined] Norah [/underlined] & Joyce. Meat pie & salted spuds, cake & marmalade; tea. 20/4d for ticket. Letters to Norah, Joe, Dennis & Joyce. 1/2 pt. beer. cup tea & sandwich. 3d choc.
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APRIL 17
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; haddock; tea Parade in Battle Order. Went for route march got back at 12-15!! Rapid change & on my way by 12-30. Caught 12-44 & just made the 1-2 which was late pulling out. York 3-0 Rham 4-15. Ma. Pa. P. & P. met me thought I was home for 2 weeks. Got busy with watches. [underlined] 2/6d B.D. greetings to Denis. [/underlined] 2/6d book of stamps. Mother ironed shirt.
55 planes lost bombing Scoda & another arms plant
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APRIL 18
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0 had shave. Run around on bike up to Keple [sic] Column. Dad returned from work. Had to alter watch again. Winder too small. Went to see Doris Collins after dinner. Then after tea we all went to see Mr. Carpenter. Train left R’ham at 10-45 PM for Sheff Walked to stn. from terminus Tea & biscuits in YM. only 1 bomber lost over Italy
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APRIL 19
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Train out at 1-40. arr. 5-45. 6-5 from N’castle. arr. at billets for 7-0. Bfst. Porr; bacon & powdered egg; tea. Small manoeuvre on golf course. Stew spuds, carrot; stewed fruit & sago curr cust; coffee. Handed kit in including rifle. Tea & cakes in café. Drafts. Cheese & spuds, jam, tea. Went to ENSA show.
Swapped stamps with Mess Sgt. till 1-0 AM.
dripping sandwiches
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APRIL 20
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
NO bfst. up too late. Finished sandwiches & pasty. Parade & roll call. Dismissed. Went to café against [underlined] all [/underlined] orders. Played drafts. Went up to mess & resorted & cleaned stamps. Beef, spuds, leek; jam bakewell & cream cust; soup; water. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Stamps again. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] 4-0 PM FFI at Priory. Meat pie & spuds; [underlined] bun [/underlined] & [underlined] treacle [/underlined] tea. 2/- pics “One Day of War” & “Rose of Tralee. Packing till 1-0 AM
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APRIL 21
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 5-0 handed blankets into stores. Bfst 6-15. Porr; fried egg & spuds, jam & tea. Rations. Parade 7-15. Marched into town then to station. Train out 8-15. Arr. 8-45 Newcastle. S/C 09-20 arr. 12.00 hrs HARR. Marched to Majestic. Liver, bacon, spuds, carrot & rice pud, Collected kit from Grand. Got room (434) Met Joe after tea. Had a couple of shorties then we had supper. 1/6d chips & spam 2 1/2d bar of choc & 1/2 pt. from mess. [underlined] Letter to Ma [/underlined]
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APRIL 22
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Shave. porr; bacon & beans. Exchanged Canadian Shirt & collars Liver, sos, spuds & cab; fruit pie & cust. Dismissed for day. Roamed around town. 1/- stamps & 1/- jam [inserted] tart [/inserted] & coffees. Spuds & stewed meat, jam roll, marmalade & tea. 2/6d to see Fred Astaire & Rita Hayworth in “You were never Lovlier [sic]” 6d coffee & bun.
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APRIL 23
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; fried bread & spuds, egg (dried) tea. Rain Room inspection. Dismissed from Parade. Finished the book “Knight on Wheels.” Beef, spuds, cab, carrot; stewed apple & cust. Watched snooker game. Had tea in camp. Pretty good Went to see “Orchestra Wives” a very good film. Then went & had a pint at the Victoria.
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APRIL 24
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
All Bran; bacon; tea. Dismissed so went to Knaresbro on bus. Took photo of viaduct & castle. Sos & chips 2/-d. 2d for 1/2 pt. at the Dropping Well. 6d. to see the well & wishing well. Met Violet, Winnie & Mavis took them to see St. Roberts Chapel & house in the rock. Left ‘em & then had the [inserted] sos & [/inserted] chips. Took ‘em to Harrogate on bus. Went walk thro’ gardens. Had tea at “Grog Café” 1/9 each. Got changed & went 7/- to see “The Sport of Kings” White Rose, Bought train tickets 7 1/2d. Supper at Melody. 2/-d. Put the girls on the 10-40 train back
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APRIL 25
EASTER [underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; egg (fried) on toast, tea. Parade at 9-0. Walk around tea & sandwich in YM. Beef, spuds, carrot & cab; jam roll & cust. 4d on 1-30 bus. 2/- for row (1/- deposit) for boat. Had walk around. Then went round the castle (1/-) Walked back to caravan. Key lost but door opened without. Had tea in relays. RAIN Took Violet to Church. Had a look round it. 1/- for booklets 1/10 1/2d. tickets. Wandered back to caravan. Put blackouts up. X. Looked around for Tom & Bill. X on stn. Train in at 10.15. Another X as train pulled out.
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APRIL 26
[underlined] EASTER MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & beans; tea. parade 08-40 dismissed till 0940 hrs. Squaded (102 sqd) A/C recc. & PT. 2 letters from Ma. Mutton, spuds, beans & cabbage; rhubarb pie & cust; water. Navigation quiz. Dinghie [sic] drill in the baths. Signals. [underlined] Registered Parcel from Ma Including watch. [/underlined] Had tea with a bit of a [indecipherable word] Met Violet at bus stn. Went to see “Arabian Nights” & “Berlin Correspondent.” at Scala. 3/6d Spam & Chips supper (2). Got tickets to Starbeck because there were no platform tickets. Saw Vi off on 10-40. Coffee in Hollywood.
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APRIL 27
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos meat & spuds. Nav; Intel; P.T. Stew spuds cold carrot; [deleted] [two indecipherable words] [/deleted] [inserted] black currant [indecipherable word] [/inserted] & cust. [indecipherable word] cake at Smiths. 4 FAST Intelligence. Signals Met films. 2 lots of fish & spuds, jam, tea. Blackout squad. Letter to Ma. bar choc 1/6d sos & chips, coffee. 3d lemonade & 3d choc. Watch 5m. fast at 9-0 PM. Blacked out at 9-30 on 200 floor. Bed 10-30
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APRIL 28
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; toast, egg (dried) spuds fried. Rifle & Revolver Range. 75/80 & 19/60. 6d coffee & cake at Grog Café Sos, spuds, cab & carrot; apple & cust, water. DR flat (interception) had look in Sun Gen room. Intel talk on Coastal Comd. Meat pie spuds, treacle, scone, tea. 4/- for uniform (old, cleaned & pressed.) [underlined] Letter from Ma LETTER TO DORIS. [/underlined] 3d lime juice. missed choc. 1/2d meat roll & chips at Melodys List of stamps
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APRIL 29
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos & fried spuds; tea. Signals (lecture.) Pay £7.10/- for stamp catalogue. Beef, spuds, cab, carrot; apricot & cust. Navi sigs (D/Fan loop) Dinghi [sic] drill (turning it over.) Spam, lettuce, beet, pickles; jam & tea. No Mail. Opera House booked up so joined pit queue. Tom & pal didn’t arrive before I got in. 1/6d & 3d programme “The Farmers Wife” very good & funny. 1/6d sos & chips, bread & coffee. Bed 10-30.
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APRIL 30
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, beans on toast, [underlined] JAM. [symbol] [/underlined] & tea. A/C rec. Sigs (lecture) PT (RAIN.) Stew, spuds, carrot & cab; sponge pud & cust. nav. (reading “op” logs) sigs (loop) A/C, rec. film. Sardines on toast & fried spuds; jam roll; marmalade. Letter to Ma. 16/- & 1/6 stamps. Mounted stamps. 20 lengths at baths (500 yds.) meat savoury, chips & carrot; coffee. 3/4d. bed 10-30. Lemonade & crisps.
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MAY 1
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & liver; marmalade tea. Intel. (Fighter Commd.) Sigs (buzzer.) D/R compass. Meat pie, spuds, cab & carrot; rice pud. Parceled [sic] laundry, books & watch etc. Sorted kit out a bit. 1/1d for parcel. 12/6d stamp & duplicate book. Bread & treacle, buns (currant) fruit tart, tea. 2/6d. at Odeon “Natasha” Russian Nurse in front line. “Footlight Serenade” John Wayne Vic. Mature & Betty Grable. 1/6d chips, spam & coffee.
[underlined] Letter from MA. [/underlined]
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MAY 2
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Porr fried egg & bread; tea. Church Parade Went to OD service (2d.) coffee at Hollywood 3d. Went with Tom to St. Peter’s. (6d) Beef spuds, cab & carr; trifle & water. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] 3d choc. From Mess. M.O.I. films in B.R. “Lancaster,” Poland weighs anchor. “Terrence De Marney & 20TH Cent Fox News. [underlined] Ham. [/underlined] lettuce & water cress marmalade & cake. “Messiah” at Church (2d) Walk thro’ wood & gdns. 1/2d chips & spam & coffee. Guns from Grand “pullover”. [indecipherable word] special on 9-0 pm news Going to bed 9-30 PM.
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MAY 3
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; beans on toast & bacon, tea. Posting Parade Kit Inspection packed some. Stamp Cat no in yet. Stew, spuds, peas, sweeds; [sic] rhubarb pie & cust; coffee. More Packing. [underlined] P.C. to MA [/underlined] FFI & starts. Ran around for mail. Cheese & spuds, & spuds (fried) jam & tea. Mail at Mag. & Spa. NONE at ALL. Pay Accounts. Put allotment up to 3/6d. 1/6d to see “Panama Hatti” again! 1/2d corned beef & chips. 2d lemonade & choc.
2/- subsistence.
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WESTFREUGH.
MAY 4
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; egg & spuds. Parade 7-30. Train 8-40 from Har Leeds 9-30 leave 10-30. Stafford; 2 Kit bags short. Cheese sandwich & cake at 12 AM. Arr. Carlisle 2 PM. 2d cottage pie & spud Went to EPTS but all girls out. Arr. camp. 22.00. Chips & meat roll & tea for supper. Got bedding & billet. Joined up with the rest of the lads.
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MAY 5
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-0. Porr; liver & spuds; marmalade & tea – Collected harness & books etc. Beef, spuds, beet & mixed veg; plums & cust. Gen talk. Marking Possns on Maps; PT. Kidney & liver on toast; jam; coffee. Stamps. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] Liver & spuds; tea. Talk with the WAAF’s in Mess. Unpacked kit & sorted it out.
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MAY 6
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-45 & consequently had no bfst. Marking Flight plans. Ditching drill & parachuting drill. Beef, spuds & cabbage; trifle & biscuits. Gen on radio work as an aid to nav & a bit on requirements of exercises (F2330 etc.) Dinghy drill actual inflation of dinghy with CO2 bottle. Egg & chips; butter & jam; tea. Set watch at 6-0 PM. More [indecipherable word] on maps. Chips, sos & spud pie; tea. Got bed side “TABLE” Got to bed about 11.15 after waiting for bridge players who were using my bed.
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MAY 7
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & egg (dried) marmalade tea. DR details for logs Pay accounts. Lecture by G.C. of stn. Stew spuds & sweeds; [sic] sponge currant pud. Gunnery Sights & sighting & the 303 Browning Machine Gun. Welsh Rarebit, treacle, tea. Letter to Len. Gill (Stamps) & to Ma. Meat pie & spuds; biscuits; tea. RAIN. Dancing lessons at Education office.
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MAY 8
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 12-0 for dinner Had shave. Spam, spuds, beet; rhubarb & cust. No mail. 2-30 bus into Stranraer. Went to P.O. book of stamps 2/6. & 10/-, 5/- & 2/6d stamps 2/4d at Kinema to see “Clark Gable & Jean M. Don in “San Fransisco.” 1/- fish & chips & cup tea. bus back 6d (each way.) Meat pie & [deleted] spuds [/deleted] [inserted] [indecipherable word] [/inserted] cake & dry bread, tea. NO MAIL. Blowing like HELL & cold as CHARITY also a spot of rain.
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MAY 9
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Egg & fried spuds; porr; tea. Browning Mch. Gun & A/C rec. Beef cold, spuds, cabbage; trifle. NO MAIL 5 Sun Shots. Photography revision. “Mickey Rooney.” treacle, cake & tea. Fitting oxygen tank & mike together. Unpacked flying kit. Meat roll & beet for [underlined] SUPPER [/underlined] with coffee.
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MAY 10
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 6-25. Kellogs; beans & bacon; bread & [indecipherable word]; tea. Flight Canceled [sic] bad weather. Ops. Room & Met Gen. Started Plat. Soup; stew, spuds, carrots; raisin & current pasty; tea. Finished Plot. Soup; stew, spuds, carrots; raisin & current pasty; tea. Finished Plot. £3.10. pay. Fried meat roll & spuds; scone & butter; tea. [underlined] Letter from MA & Dad!!! [/underlined] Spuds & dried egg, tea & dry bread. Plotted my 5 Sun Shots. All OK & no need to “cock” them either. Shave. Wrote letter to Ma.
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MAY 11
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & dried egg; tea. First flight executed OK. STEW, spuds, carrots; soup; stewed apricot & rice pud. 10 Sun Shots. Worked them out, a bit. Then went into see DRI. [deleted] B [/deleted] Good idea too. Aldis Comp. Sos roll & spuds; cake; marmalade & butter; tea. Reading Gen. book. Flight Cancelled for tonight. THICK SOUP for SUPPER & RATION BISCUITS!! coffee & TEA MIXED!! Continued reading Admin. & Conduct Gen (252) 6d for half pint. Bed 10-30 [underlined] Posted letter to MA. [/underlined]
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MAY 12
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up for bfst. D.R. Trainer all AM. acted as Navigator Gwyn as pilot. Soup; steak & chips, cabbage; cinnamon pud & cust. A/C recc. Photography. 1/- haircut. Minced meat, spuds; scone jam & tea. [underlined] LETTER FROM MA. [/underlined] 3/10 1/2d rations (7 1/2d charge) Wrote letter to Ma. Potato, - cheese & scone; coffee. Worked out Yesterdays Sun Shots. Bed about 10-0 PM.
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[underlined] VIOLET & ANNIE [/underlined]
MAY 13
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Rain! Flight washed! Porr; bacon & fried spuds; tea. D.R. Interception, Critical Point. Stamp Catalogue & laundry registered mail. Critical Point (DR.) Cold beef, spuds, cabbage; prunes, rice pud; tea; DR. Gas Mask check. Gas chamber. Getting loops on Marconi. Chips & sos roll; jam, cake & tea. [underlined] Posted letter to MA. Wrote & posted to Violet & Annie [/underlined] Sardines, chips, beet; tea. Glass lime juice.
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MAY 14
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 6-15 AM. Porr & hadock. [sic] Bus to Turnberry to hospital to do dinghy drill in outer suit & with “Mae West.” Bus back. Meat pie, spuds & peas; stewed apricots & cust. [underlined] NO MAIL. [/underlined] Game of football. Sos & spuds for tea. Read newspaper in Mess. Hadock [sic] alone for supper. Night flight. Not so bad. Landed 00-50 [deleted] E [/deleted] Took 10 star slots. Had [deleted] fr [/deleted] breakfast in Perm. Sgts. Mess. Chips & hadock [sic] prunes & ground rice pud.
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MAY 15
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Sewed buttons on trousers. Got up 11-30. Cold beef, cold spuds & cold mixed veg; rice pud. 1/- bus into Stranraer. 9d parcel of laundry home. 2/4 at Kinema Sabu in the film “Jungle Book.” 6d chips & pop. bus back. [underlined] Letter to MA. [/underlined] Meat pie; treacle, cake & cocoa. Letter acknowledging receipt of SG. Stamp Catalogue to [underlined] Len. Gill. [/underlined] Harrogate.
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ELSIE.
MAY 16
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; egg & spuds (real egg) tea. Sighting. [deleted] & [/deleted] Church service. 11-0 Took collection Browning stoppages. Beef, spuds (boiled & baked) cabbage; trifle. Turrets, hydraulic system. A/C rec. Tongue, mixed veg, spuds; cake, butter & jam, tea.
[underlined] Letter to Elsie Storey. [/underlined] “Mickey Rooney” & cocoa. Had a fag with Donbarand. [underlined] Short letter to Ma. [/underlined]
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MAY 17
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t go for bfst. Astrograph Room; photo taken of course Meat pie, spuds, cabbage; stewed apricots & cust. Flight. Landed at NUTTSCORNER for air for brakes. Towed in big tractor. Valve US. One out of gun circuit substituted. Magic Eye. U.S. Given beds by S.W.O. Ham, onion, beet; butter & cake, tea. Walked around billet. 1/6d egg & sos; bread & butter; tea. Tried to get some eggs but couldn’t make it.
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MAY 18
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-15. Wash in Mess. Kellogs; bacon & fried spuds; bread & butter; tea. Walked to Flying Control. Ran to kite. Got her started & away we went. Reported to F. Control & then F/Sgt. Warren. Lads flew last night so have day off. Steak, chips, cabbage; cust & rhubarb. Mess Meeting (Cinema) Set out 2-20 to walk to Portpatrick. Arrived 6-0 PM. [underlined] Went to eat. [/underlined] 10d. bus to Stran. 1/8d. chips & fish; bread; tea. 6d cake & pop at WVS 1/6d beers. 6d. bus.
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MAY 19
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up 6-0 AM. Sos & mash. Flight 1st Nav. made a mess of it. Stew, spuds, carrots; plum duff & cust. Log analasis. [sic] Photography. DENTAL PARADE which turned into GARDENING & SNOTTY remarks by PTI Sgt. Minced meat. [underlined] Letter from MA, Violet & Doris [/underlined] Started letter to Doris. Welsh rarebit; tea. letter to Doris cont.. [underlined] Posted letter to Doris. [/underlined] Worked out Grnd. Star Shots. Chips peas & chop; rice pud; tea. Start sleep 12-30 to 1-0.
[page break]
MAY 20
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Got nearly to Boderely Pt. when we were recalled. Spuds, peas & liver; rice pud; tea. Bed! till 12-0. Soup; cold beef, spuds, cabbage; prunes & cust. [underlined] Letter from MA. [/underlined] 1/0 1/3d. coffee biscuits & writing paper [underlined] Wrote letter to MA. [/underlined] Plotted Sun & star shots. [underlined] Letter to P & P & Mary. [/underlined] Sos, beans; bun, cake, marmalade & tea. [underlined] Posted above letters. [/underlined] Took off 10-30. Radio went U.S. landed at VALLEE 11-30. Eventualy [sic] went for supper about 2-30 AM. Chips, bacon & egg; tea. Bed about 3-15 AM. Had to make our beds [deleted] up [/deleted] down. [underlined] Letter to Violet [/underlined]
[page break]
MAY 21
[underlined] FRIDAY. 43. [/underlined]
Got up 11-0 AM. Lift to Sgts Mess. Stew, spuds, cabbage; apricot tart; coffee. Lift to Flying Control. Took off & went to Llandarog. Radio came in OK. but stbd. engine oiling up. Missing on one cylinder. Transport to Mess. Spam, beet, lettuce; tea. Took 10 to 15 min to start stbd. engine. Left at 6 – o’clock. Arrived base 10 past 7. [underlined] Letter from Ma & Elsie. [/underlined] Sardines, tomato, onion; chips & pie; tea & coffee. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] Soup; tongue, spuds, peas; prunes & ground rice pud; coffee Flight washed.
[page break]
MAY 22
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Wrote letter (8 pgs) to Elsie Went to sleep 3-30 AM. Up at 11.15. Tongue, mixed veg, spuds; trifle. No Mail. Bus into town. £8 money order. [underlined] Posted it & letter to Ma & letter to Elsie. [/underlined] 2/6d to see Jack Oakie in “Navy Blues” seen it before but it wasn’t so bad. Bus back. Usual tea. Sorting stamps give me by Willie. Sos roll, chips; tea. Joan plauging [sic] me. Lent ‘em ground sheet. Still sorting stamps. 11-30.
[page break]
MAY 23
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up 6-15 AM. Porr; egg on toast; tea Flight down to Holyhead. Line-overlap & stereo 5. Beef, spuds, cabbage; soup; apple pie & custard. Making astrograph problems. Signals (morse & gen talk.) [underlined] Spam & beet; tea – spoonful of marmalade [/underlined]; scone & tea. Stamp sorting & sticking in. Minced meat & spuds, tea (WHAT A SUPPER!!!) More stamp sticking. Backed Catalogue.
[page break]
MAY 24
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & beans; tea. In flying suits on Turrets BP. & FN. Filling & bleeding system of FN. Soup; stew, spuds, beans, sweede; [sic] bread pudding. 1/- raffle (2 X 6d) for chicken proceeds to POWFd Sighting again & evasion & tactics. PT. Stafford pulled a leg at rugger. [underlined] Parcel (clothes, finger & stamps) from MA. [/underlined] “Mickey Rooney” cake, jam & butter. [underlined] Letter to Ma. Soup & bread for Supper [/underlined] !!!! Finished letter. Wrote logs up as far as possible Put wick in lighter.
[page break]
MAY 25
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & dried egg; tea. Log analasis, [sic] stuck amendments into AP1234. Soup; chips, carrots, peas, steak; lemon curd tart, cup water. Had SPOON LIFTED NO MAIL. Late afternoon flight. Not so bad & not so good. 6-45 chips & treacle; tea. Sat talking to lads & WAAFS [underlined] Couldn’t eat the supper [/underlined] but had 2 cups of coffee [underlined] Letter form Violet. [/underlined] Reading Agony Column again.
[page break]
MAY 26
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up till 4-0. Shave. A/C recco. 4 1/2d coffee & cake at Scotch Hut. Sighting, Browning. etc. Soup; stew, spuds, cab; stewed apricot & ground rice pud. Turret, sighting & Browning exam. 34 for Browning [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Sos meat & spuds; cake & jam, tea. [underlined] Letter from Doris C. & Walker. Letter to Violet & Doris [/underlined] “Mickey Rooney” & coffee. NO 2nd NAVS so wrote letter to MA.
[page break]
MAY 27
[underlined] THURS 43. [/underlined]
[deleted] Porr; bacon & dried egg. Sticking amendments in AP1234 Log analasis [sic] Chips, carrots, peas, beef steak; lemon curd tart; soup. Had SPOON LIFTED NO MAIL. [/deleted] Got up 8-45. Learning WING spare. 3 1/2d coffee & cakes. Devioscope. Photo (line overlap.) Soup; taters, carrot & sweede, [sic] mutton; rhubarb, [underlined] Letter from Mary. [/underlined] DRI. Pilot for Gwyn. A/C rec. exam. Cheese, onion, beet, water cress cake, jam; tea. [underlined] Letter to MA. CHIPS & TEA for Supper. [/underlined] 22-30 take off. Went to Blackpool. Couldn’t see the tower.
[page break]
MAY 28
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Chips, bacon; ground rice pud & raisins; tea for early Bfst. Got to bed 3-0 AM. Up at 11-0 AM Had bath & put clean clothes on. Soup; beef, spuds, cabbage; bread pud. Parceled [sic] laundry. 6d bus into town. 10d laundry. 2/6d stamps & 2/6d envelopes 6d tea, cakes & mints. 2/6d Circus. Set off to walk back. Lift by ATC officer. Filled “doins” for leave. Supper not too bad. [underlined] Wrote letter to MA. [/underlined] amid hulabaloo. USA [indecipherable word] drunk “ON DUTY.”
[page break]
MAY 29
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up 8-15. Porr, sos & bacon breakfast. Working out air shots. Took 6 shots on Sun with IX A Sextant. Tongue, spuds, mixed veg; trifle. 3-0 PM flight. Up to Perth & back. Cheese, onions, lettuce, water cress. Plotted air shots & this mornings 6 sun shots. Started turning kit over ready to pack. Soup; cold beef (NICE) spuds lettuce & onions; trifle; tea. Flight washed out.
[page break]
MAY 30
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up 11-0. Beef, spuds, cab; sponge pud. Sight plotting & loging [sic] & time loging. [sic] Fired several rounds in FN turret at moving tgt. Not so bad. Meat ball, spuds, pancake; treacle & tea. Finished making log book up to date Packed all my kit. Fechini”, Arty & Durrant flat out!! Went to Mess to see how the others were. Sing Song. Bed 1-15 AM
[page break]
WF – TRAIN
MAY 31
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Up 7-0 AM. Shave. Porr; fried spuds, HAM (boiled.) Tea, Handed NAV equip in to stores. Handed NAV equip. in to stores. Handed bedding in & parachute harness 4/9 Mess Bill. £6 Pay. FFI. Soup; steak & kidney pud, spuds; semaelena [sic] & WATER Handed books into library. SHORT!! Lecture by C.O. & CI. Cheese & spuds; jam & butter; tea. Sat in Mess talking to ACH/GD & Joan. Welsh Rarebit & tea RAIN. Bus to Harbor Stn. 10-0 PM pulled out.
[page break]
TRAIN – HOME
JUNE 1
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Arr. WIGAN 4:15. 3d tea & sandwich. 6:00 pulled out (5:35 timetable.) Arr. Manchester 7:00 1/- taxi to London Road. cup tea. 2d wash & brush up. 1d in “SLOT.” Pulled out 8:20. Arr. R’HAM 10:00. 2/- taxi home. Bfst. Cleaned bike. 7 1/2d bulb. Short run. Saw V. Geog. Dinner. Unpacked one or two odds & ends. Tea. Took Sallie for a walk in the Caper af seeing Elsie (9:30)
[page break]
JUNE 2
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0 AM. Had a shave. Gran here sewing TENT. Fitted mirror on bike. Went to get hair cut. Barber in hospital so went to see Mace’s (Mr. Mrs. & Joan in.) Barber at top of Far Lane too full. Granpa come for tea. Mrs. Dunn & David called in. Went a run as far as St. Ann’s Road then up Don. Gate and along Bds. Moore Lane Saw Elsie’s brother. Took Gran & Pa home with Sallie Saw Elsie’s brother again. Had a Pint with Granpa in Park Hotel.
[page break]
JUNE 3
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Woke up at 12-0. June still in bed. Drizzle!!! Went to S.P.T. about 3 to 1/2 past. A lot of new lads & girls Went in to see Mr. Duke. Went to Grans. about 8 o’clock. Pat gone for music lesson. Took Sallie with us & let her have a run. Dad gone to dance. Got back about 11-30.
[page break]
JUNE 4
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Up about 10 to 1/2 past. Went up to school. Din at home. Took Sallie to be klipped [sic] then went for a hair cut myself. Went to find Ma at Granpas. then went on to [deleted] Macea [/deleted] Mace’s for tea. Left between 9 & 10 & went to Elsie’s. Left about 11-0.
[page break]
JUNE 5
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0. Went for a WALK round the town Bought stamps (1/6d) in Woolworth’s & Bob Martin’s powders for Sallie. Jackie called to see if I’d heard anything. Went to see if Baths were open & found ‘em shut. Brake chain on bike in process. 4d for new link. 4d, for straps for hubs. Went to Gran M with June. Went to see Annie and found where Watson lived. Decided to go up to see Gran & Granpa. T. Met Baldwin & Baker learning dance.
[page break]
JUNE 6
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 1-0 PM just after news, Telegram from RAF. Went up to Sheffield to get ticket changed. 25 min each way. & 6.3 mls. distance Saw Lanc & Martlet. Come back soaked in sweat. Had cold bath. Went to see Dennis then went on to Granma Machin’s and had tea! there also had supper. Went to Park and had a Pint. Got home about 11-30.
[page break]
JUNE 7
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Down at 10-0. Got to Dad’s about 11-0. Went across to S.P.T. Saw Mrs Skilcarne. Got £7/15 for 5/- a week dependants [sic] allotment. Din. at home. Judy Garland in “For me & my Gal.” RAIN! Time of train (LNE) Walked home in rain. Packing Went across to Dunn’s Back & bed 1-0 AM.
[page break]
JUNE 8
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Rang up for taxi from Dunn’s. Elmores engaged so ordered Moorehouses for 1-0 PM. Finished packing. Taxi 1-2 PM!! Station 1-15 2/- + 6d. Dad arrived just after. Train on time arrived Sheff 1-35. 6d. for kit bags. Met Woodruff. Train out 2-5!!! arr. 4-10. NO TRANSPORT so went to eat 2/2d chips & rarebit & tea. TRANS arr. 6-30 just 2hrs 20 mins out!! Ran around camp a bit & eventualy [sic] ended up at 7 site. Sos & spuds in Mess. Tom & Garry in Ante Room. Walked around. [underlined] Wrote & posted letter to Ma [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 9
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Up 7-15. Bfst. 8-0. Porr; bacon & tomato. Went up to G./S then back to Dental & FFI Filled form in re pay, flying clothing etcetra. [sic] Din, soup; meat & spud pie, cabbage & spuds; rice pud. Parade 13-45. Marched! to G/S. Photo in CIVIES. Lectures by WO, CGI, ACGI & CAGI. Collected sheets. Pilchards cheese, marmalade & swiss roll & nice hot tea. [underlined] Wrote letters to Mary & Ralph [/underlined] Meat roll, tomatoe; [sic] cocoa!! Took PT kit & 2nd. suit of blue out of kit bags.
[page break]
JUNE 10
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
PT. at 6-30!! Kellogs; [inserted] lemon [/inserted] curd; sos; tea. Lectures on NAV. Soup; steak, spuds & cabbage; plum pud. More lectures & one on Int & Security. Spam & chips; marmalade; cake; tea. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] Spam, beet, cheese, (egg provided by Willie) cocoa. [underlined] Letter to Doris (R) [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 11
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, spuds & cabbage; tea. Lectures (loop etc.) Soup; fish, spuds, peas; pears & cust. NAV & NAV & NAV. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Cottage pie; marmalade; cake & tea. RAIN Storm. Sewed buttons & darned pocket. Welsh rarebit without toast; cocoa. [underlined] Letter to MA. & Dennis & Elsie [/underlined]
1/2 pint. & writing paper (1/4d)
[page break]
JUNE 12
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
PT at 6-30. Porr; beans on toast tea. 8-0 Parade. DR Plot at double time. as pilot. Soup; stew, spuds, cabbage; sponge pud; water. Crewed up with (Allen & Dick (BA) Lots of sunshine. [underlined] Letter from MA. [/underlined] A/C rec. test. NAV (maps & charts.) Ship rec. with Int. Officer (B. good fun) Cheese savoury; marm; cake & tea. [underlined] Letters form Gwyn, Violet, Doris (2) & A/G from Doris. Letter to Ma. [/underlined] stewed meat, spuds; cocoa. [underlined] letters to Doris & Violet. [/underlined] Pantellaria & Lampedusa FALLEN to our bombers.
[page break]
JUNE 13
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Didn’t get up for bfst & of course it was EGG. Lectures (navi; etc.) Soup; beef, spuds, cabbage; trifle. More lectures (Wimpey fusel, A/C rec. TEST again!! NAV.) [deleted] Ha [/deleted] Tongue, spuds; jam & cake; tea. No mail being Sunday. Sat reading in the mess then fetched writing paper. [underlined] Wrote to P & P. [/underlined] Cheese, trifle; cocoa. More reading. [underlined] Finished P & P’s letters. [/underlined] Started one to Doris. 2 fags & one pint (5/- for beer for 5 of us.) Tom, Art, Stew & Joe. Lent Pat 2 soap coupons.
[page break]
[circled JUNE 14]
[underlined] MON.43. [/underlined]
PT at 6-30 AM. Shave! Kellogs, bacon & fried spuds; tea. lectures (fuel system, turret Int) Soup; meat pie, spuds, cab; bread pud. Met [deleted] Int [/deleted] Med. Officer on Night Vis. O2 & VD. Cross Country. Salmon & cheese; marmalade; swiss roll; tea. [underlined] Finished 4 page letter to Doris [/underlined] Meat roll, spuds; cocoa. [underlined] SHOWERS. [/underlined] Bed at 10-30
[page break]
JUNE 15
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon; [inserted] & dried egg [/inserted] tea. Lectures (NAV (maps) DR Trainer.) Soup; stewed steak, spuds, peas; trifle. [underlined] 2 letters & cards from MA letter from ELSIE & Mary Card from Doris. [/underlined] Lectures (Signals; [inserted] mag [/inserted] compass, map reading [underlined] Rhur. [/underlined]) Cheese; jam; swiss roll, tea. [underlined] Letter to Elsie. (5 pg) [/underlined] Started one to Ma. Dried egg & bacon; cocoa. [underlined] Finished letter to Ma. [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 16
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Shave; Kellogs & sos; tea. W/T aids, DR Trainer. Soup; beef, spuds, cabbage; apple pie; water. Gyro, Signals, Intel. Spuds, fried spam, marmalade & tea. Couldn’t get to change boots so left ‘em in F/Sgt Disips office. [underlined] Letter from MA BD. Cable from Doris. Letter to MARY & Ma. [/underlined] Cold meat; cold veg salad; cocoa [underlined] Letter to Doris (R) [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 17
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
PT. Porr, bacon & spuds; tea. NAV (astro & DR comp.) Soup; spuds, cab; liver & kidney; choc. sponge pud. 6d choc, 6d cider. More lectures. Minced meat & spuds. Taxi 1/2d. Pint (1/2) Picts Robertson Hare “Women Aren’t Angels.” Went to Dance. Danced with ANN (WAAF) and Hilda ATS girl. Took her out to her transport. Waited till 1-15 for taxi [underlined] 5/6d [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 18
[underlined] FRI. 43 [/underlined]
Porr; beans on toast; tea. NAV (astro & general revision) Soup; beef, spuds, peas; rice pud. Signals; [symbols]; Intelligence. RAIN & MORE RAIN. [underlined] Letter from MA & DORIS. M. R’L also 2 from Doris Collins. [/underlined] Spam & spuds. Walked up to Met with Tom, Saltaw & Stev also arrived on bikes. Nattered. Went in HORSA. Liver savoury & cocoa. Swotted! 1/2 pint. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 19
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Drizzle. No PT. Porr; bacon & fried bread; tea. NAV (DR Comp) Signals (loop swing.) Photography. Bombing. Soup; spuds, cab, steak & kidney stew [inserted] sponge pud. [/inserted] NAV exam OK. Fetched Registered parcel & [underlined] asked ADJ. if times couldn’t be altered [/underlined] Potato & cheese, jam, tea. [underlined] Letters from Ma & Violet [deleted] 2 from Doris Collins. [/deleted] [/underlined] Examined kit. Stewed steak & kidney, tea & cocoa. [underlined] Letter to MA. [/underlined] 1/2 pint.
[page break]
JUNE 20
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & tomato; tea. Signals, Gee. Met. ? . Soup; spuds, cab, beef; apple & raisin pie; orange juice. More lectures. Dinghy & Para. Drill. Pyrotechnics Demonstration of Pyros. Gunnery & bombing range orders. Ham & lettuce; cake; tea. Cleaned buttons & boots. Finished “50 Candles.” Cheese, lettuce, pickles; cocoa [underlined] Letter to MA. [/underlined] glass orangeade. NOT juice!! 10-15 PM bed!!
[page break]
JUNE 21
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; beans on toast; tea. Nav plotting a short exercise. Pay accounts 11-0. £1 pay!!!!!!! Intelligence (Targets) Soup; Stew, spuds, peas; trifle; glass orangeade. Course photo P.N & B. Wops & A/Gs separate. More Dinghy; Airgunnery; Aircraft Recco. Sardines; bread & jam; tea. [underlined] Letter from Gwyn. [/underlined] Reading novel (thriller) mystery Meat & potato pie & spuds cocoa. Early Bed
[page break]
JUNE 22
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
PT. Porr; beans on toast. Sigs exam, [symbol] etc. Soup; beef, spuds, mixed veg; prunes [underlined] Letter from MA. [/underlined] [symbol]; M.O.; film, Briefing Room. Cake, sos meat fried & spuds; tea. 2/10d taxi. 2/9d picts. “Moon & Sixpence” Georg [sic] Sanders. 3/- taxi back bed about 12-0.
[deleted] [underlined] Letter from Mary. [/underlined] [/deleted]
[page break]
JUNE 23
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; tea (sos.) Lecture NAV & G. Marks 82% [underlined] New Shoes. Letter from MA. [/underlined] Soup; [inserted] meat & [/inserted] spud pie, cab, spuds; apple & cust MOUSED GAT. Lectures (Sigs 83% Exam, Crew coop, Dinghy Drill. Meat & spud pie; jam; tea. Voluntary Dinghy Drill [underlined] Joe £1. [/underlined] Turned kit over. Cold meat & beet, cocoa. [underlined] Letter to Violet & Doris C [/underlined] Choc & cig. rations. 1/2 pint beer ([symbol]) Shower.
[page break]
JUNE 24
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 8-0. Kellogs; beans on toast; tea. Collected pass. Packed up & cleaned up. Pay parade 12-0. [underlined] £4-5s [/underlined] !!! Ran for taxi. 7/2d train ticket home. 12-46 train. Changed at Trent 2-45 Sheffield. Came on train from there as next train was 3-45. Arr home 3-30. Went for run on bike. Tea at home. Went for another run round. Saw Ken, Elsie’s brother. Saw Elsie & her Dad. Les & H. passed me while I was there. Didn’t know me! Mom, Dad & I went for walk with Sallie.
[page break]
JUNE 25
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Shave. Fetched meat ration. Went to work. Saw Mr. Methley. Had dinner with Reg. in Staff Canteen. Saw Peg & rest. Left about 3-45. 2/- B.D. cards. for Pam & Elsie. Met Ma Went to butchers for potted meat then went with Ma to the office. Tea at home. Went to Grans. Elsie’s at 10-0 till almost midnight (23.59!!)
[page break]
JUNE 26
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 10-0. Got Pat out of bed. Went shopping with P & P. bought them a book each. Couldn’t find anything for Elsie. Met Dad in Town. Walked back home. Had Din. Went with D.M. P. & P. for a pair of shoes for Pat. Library 2/6d Envelopes. Tom called to see us. Left RHAM 7-35 to 40. arr LOUGHBORO’ 10-0 PM. Went short run round. [underlined] Posted card to PAM [/underlined] 4 miles to camp (20 mins.) Had pint. [underlined] 2 letters from MA & one from Doris [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 27
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Up at 7-15. Porr; egg on toast. Parade 8-15?? Handed old O2 mask in & drew a new one & 3 sets of underclothes Packed with difficulty. Didn’t have soup; cabbage & spuds, stew; prunes. Chased all over camp with clearance chits. Lettuce, cheese, beef, tomatoe [sic] marmalade; tea. Transport to C.D. on back of lorry. Bike near light bust & bit. Cocoa & lettuce for tea (2nd.) Didn’t like looks of beans for supper. Unpacked Mended lamp. [underlined] Letter to MA [/underlined]
[page break]
JUNE 28
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; egg (dried) on toast; tea. Gen talks by ACGI, CGI & one or two others. Went over to flights. Talk by Flt. Comdr Drew mike & earphones. Soup; spuds, cabbage, steak; boiled pud. Took flying kit down to flights. Went to see NAV officer & had gen talk. Meat roll, lettuce; fried egg; lemon curd; tea. [underlined] Letter to Mary; Elsie & Doris (CAN). [/underlined] Went to CD. with Charlie on bike 3d of chips. 1/2 pint of beer. Cycled back.
[page break]
JUNE 29
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; fried spuds, smoked bacon. Waited till 10-0 then had “gen” talk by NAV officer. Read orders & signed some. Had sextant checked. Dinner. [underlined] Letter from Violet. [/underlined] Plotted dromes SBA etc onto chart. Had tea, twice chips & corned beef. 2/6 taxi to Lough. 2/- picts “Star Spangled Rythm.” [sic] 6d chips. 2/- taxi back to camp.
[page break]
JUNE 30
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos; tea. Waited for a flight but didn’t go up. Soup; beef, spuds, cauliflower Circuits & bumps. Then did one solo. Late tea. Chips, meat pie and cake; tea. Wash. Lecture on P. & W. at 8-0 PM. 1/2 pint all round crew except Dick. Walked back to billet
[page break]
JULY 1
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; beans on toast; tea & cocoa mixed. Waited for a flight then went and had talk by NAV officer. Soup; beef, spuds, cabbage; plum pud; water. Dual & solo. Dick had a do at flying. Egg on toast; butter & jam; tea. Hurricane concert in Mess. [underlined] Letter from Ma. Letter to Ma. [/underlined]
[page break]
JULY 2
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & tomato; tea Eventualy [sic] went to lectures No actual work done. Soup; spuds, cabbage, meat; custard & [blank space]: water. Flew at about 15.00 after taking about 4 sun shots. Had to come in as the weather closed in. Cold meat & pickles; jam; cake; tea. [underlined] Letter from Ma. [/underlined] 1/2 pint with the lads. Put turning points on chart.
[page break]
JULY 3
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; sos; tea. Took 12 sun shots and made out route seven. Didn’t fly. Soup; meat & spud pie, spuds, cabbage; rhubarb & cust; water. [underlined] 2 letters from Ma. One from Elsie & Norah. [/underlined] Went on C’ & L’s but IC was U.S. so came in at 4-0 PM. Cheese on toast jam, tea. Finished working shots out. 2 plates of chicken broth; cocoa. Charlie & I plotted our shots. Went up to see W for William. Started letter to Ma. Had feast in billet.
[page break]
JULY 4
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Continued feast till 12-30. Up at 7-35. Shave. Kellogs egg on toast; tea. X Country Route 7. Briefed, Met Gen. etc. Managed to get round to Ragdale & back to base. A BAD trip Sextant went haywire. Soup; mutton, spuds, peas, cauliflower; corned beef, lettuce, onion, tomato; jam roll, jam & tea. [underlined] Letter to MA. 8 page letter to Doris (R) [/underlined]
[page break]
JULY 5
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, cabbage? & toast; tea. Wet dinghy drill at Loughboro College Baths. Coffee & toasted tea cakes in café. Briefed for X Country. Soup; minced meat, spuds, cabbage; tart & custard. X. Country washed. Set off for bombing trip. I/C US. & recalled by W/T so returned before we left. [underlined] Letter from Ma, Doris (R) & Mary. [/underlined] Sardines on toast, jam; tea. Bike repairs.
[page break]
JULY 6
[underlined] TUES. 43 [/underlined]
Porr; egg (dry) on toast. No flight. Kite US & weather same. Soup; meat pie etc. Eventualy [sic] went & bombed at Ragdale also took photos & sim-bombed. [underlined] haircut. 1 orange [/underlined] & tea (similar to usual.) Joe got teleg. [sic] Took him into Loughbro on Dick’s bike. 3d chips & half pint. Got half way back & a cpl. rode Dick’s bike back to billets. [underlined] Bed 12-0 [/underlined]
[page break]
JULY 7
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon on toast; tea. Went up & did formation flying. Kite U/S. so didn’t go bombing. Soup; beef, spuds, caulif [sic] currant pud. Did low flying then went bombing. Target hard to see. [underlined] Letters from Ma Violet & Doris C. [/underlined] Sardines on toast & cottage pie; cocoa. [underlined] Letter to Doris C & Ma & Elsie [/underlined]
[page break]
JULY 8
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; spuds & fish. Eventualy [sic] went out to bomb. Cld. base 2,500 so couldn’t bomb. Took photos. Went down to Kettering. Soup; minced beef & onion, spuds, peas, cabbage; rotten hard sponge pud. No flight. Finished plotting shots. Sat and studied photos in Intel. Library. [underlined] Collected Reg Parcel Letter from Ma. [/underlined] Meat pie jam, tea. Went to Castle D. had pint then 8d of chips then 1 1/2 pints.
[page break]
JULY 9
[underlined] FRI. 43. [/underlined]
Kellogs; fried bread & ham No flight. Went to see photo & bombing results then went to Intel. Library. Soup; stew, spuds, broad beans; rhubarb & cust. Helped WO Brown with DR trainer plot. [underlined] £5.5s pay. [/underlined] Cheese on toast; tea. 3/- taxi. 1/9 “Once upon a Honeymoon” Ginger Rogers 2/6d Dance. 3/- taxi.
[page break]
JULY 10
[underlined] SAT. 43. [/underlined]
All Bran; sos. Early flight cancelled about 9-30 or 10-0. Read “[indecipherable word]” on bed. Soup; mutton, spuds, beans, 2 x pud. Shower. Parcelled laundry. RAIN. Spuds & minced meat; tea. Cycled to Loughboro in rain 7/- for chicken, Worthington etc. cycled back in 35 mins in 35 mins [sic] (7.8 mls.) Went & had 2 pints in mess Had a dance or two Got to bed about 12.30
[page break]
JULY 11
[underlined] SUN. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; egg on toast; Waited for a flight. In the end helped W.O. Brown construct an SHA chart with star altitudes on them. Soup; beef, spuds, cab; york pud (?) bread pud. Sight log book arrived and flying log. Eventualy [sic] went flying. Took off 4-30 back at 9.30. Corned beef, lettuce, tomato; jam; tea. bed about 12-0 PM
[page break]
JULY 12
[underlined] MON. 43. [/underlined]
All bran; cocoa & “bubble & squeak. Prepared to do route 6 in reverse. Eventualy [sic] went out to go bombing. This also washed. RAIN. Soup; MEAT (??) spuds, cab; rice pud. Nowt doing! Went into Intel library & read gen on German atrocities in Russia. Welsh rarebit; jam & tea. Started letter to Ma. [underlined] Posted laundry home [/underlined] & Charlie’s Regd. parcel. Minced meat & spuds; cocoa. [underlined] Finished letter to Ma. [/underlined]
[page break]
JULY 13
[underlined] TUES. 43. [/underlined]
Porridge (sweet). [underlined] BOILED EGG [/underlined] tea. No flight. Duff gen & lines by F/O Wood. Soup; meat pie, lettuce, spuds, onion; jam tart & cust. Log analyst. Reading in Intel. Library. RAIN. Sos & mash, tea. Bombing trip. [underlined] Letter & papers from Ma. [/underlined] Supper in the Airmen’s Mess Cheese, lettuce, pickles; cocoa.
[page break]
JULY 14
[underlined] WED. 43. [/underlined]
Porr; beans & bacon. No flight. Weather US. Eventualy [sic] went out to dispersal Started up then detail was cancelled. Soup; meat pie, spuds, peas; cust trifle. RAIN. Nattered in NAV. office then went to Intel. Library. Fish, cake, tea. [underlined] NO MAIL. Letter to Mary & Ma. [/underlined]
ENSA. Concert. pint beer. B – awfull [sic] stuff.
[page break]
[circled 19.43]
JULY 15
[underlined] THURS. 43. [/underlined]
All Bran; bacon & toast. NO flight – Cloud! Map reading in Bombing teacher then went to [symbol] Room. Afterwards went to Intel. Library. Soup: spuds, cab etc. STILL NO FLIGHT. Made SBA CHART for P/O Simpson. Had tea then cycled to Loughboro with Ken. 2d for bike. Orangeade; coffee & waffers. [sic] 2/- Dance. Got back about 01.00 hrs. nice clear moonlight & starlight night.
[underlined] FINIS [/underlined] !!!!
[page break]
TRENTON – TORONTO
[circled 1942] JULY 16 [underlined] 1942. [/underlined]
[underlined] THURS. [/underlined] Kellogs; sos & tom; coffee Gave bedding in at 8-0. Parade again at 1-30. KTS. Mess. Pork, spuds peas; vanilla pie; cup milk Arr. stn 2-15 on lorry. Arr TOR. 5-30. Stood on stn. till 6-30 then went out to lorries & only just caught ‘em. Drew sheets & pillow Minced meat, spuds, lettuce; bun & tea. 10c. choc ice on stn) 25c. st. car tickets. 15c doughnuts & coffee. None of girls working in White Chef.
[page break]
RCAF MANNING DEPOT TORONTO
JUL 17
’42 [underlined] FRI. [/underlined]
Grape juice; bacon, beans & toast; coffee. FFI. Transfer to 7 sqdn. 7 flt. Beef, spuds, carrots; sponge pud; tea. Found bunks & fitted kit up. Sewed buttons on summer tunic. Meat pie, spuds, lettuce; date pie; milk Met Doris on her way to see “Birth of a Baby” $1.20. & “Calafornia [sic] Junior Symphony.” Glass Milk. Went up to Bloor St. White Chef with D & boss Took her home after giving her photo’s of her & Freida, and me. Got photo of her Kissed her “Good Night” STORM Back in camp 11-35 PM
[page break]
[symbol]
JULY 18
[underlined] SAT. ’42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & boiled egg; toast & coffee. Route march to Sunnyside & PT. Beef, spuds, cabb; cust pud; 2 cups tea Moved chairs in Big Arena. [underlined] Letter No. 7 to Ma. Paper from Ma. [/underlined] (20c for stamps.) Beef, cheesed spuds; jam sq; cup tea & milk. 25c. st. car. 5c. milk. Gave Doris ‘brooch. She had to go to wedding party I went to Imperial (60c.) Jeanette Macdonald & Nelson Eddie in “I married an Angel” and Gary Cooper in “The Real Glory.” STORM. 15c cust. pie and cup coffee.
No. 7 to Ma.
[page break]
JULY 19
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs; flat cake & syrup; coffee. Read People & “Tizer. Ham, spuds, carrots; date pie; cup milk. Going out. 12-0. Choc. shake & ice cream. Snarky Lilian (Doris’s pal.) & I went for walk Took several photo’s. Sos, beans, peas, tomato, lettuce & glass of milk. [underlined] 25c. [/underlined] film. 20c total on Wurlitzer. Feeling homesick & far from home and everybody. [underlined] STORM [/underlined] & [underlined] RAIN [/underlined]! [symbol] ? [symbol] Took Doris home she like me is very tired.
[page break]
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JULY 20
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & fried egg; toast & coffee. Dental Chart Parade. Having one I was dismissed. Hair cut 25c. $1’s Worth of stamps Beef (nice & tender) spuds, cabb; rice pud; cup milk. $1.03 for [underlined] Cable to Ma. [/underlined] Maths exam. SIMPLE. Minced meat, spuds, veg. salad; jam & cake; tea. 25c. st. car. 7c coke. 24c for film. One of lightning turned out. Gave other film in ready. WED. 29c. tooth paste. Remarks re Doris unprintable. Mended top on fountain pen.
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JULY 21
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
Scrambled egg, tomato; porr, coffee. Ensign hoisting parade 7-30 AM. Drill & P.T. Ham, spuds, sprouts; pumpkin pud; cup milk. 5c. for 1/2 pt. carton of milk. [underlined] Letter from Ma [/underlined] & [underlined] Norah, card from Joyce R. [/underlined] Astro Chart & Signals. Ham, spud & tom salad; scone & tea. Undecided whether to go out or stop in. Think I’ll go out. 25c. st. car. 5c. glass milk. 25c. film (split $10 bill) 5c. coffee. 7c. soap from YMCA [underlined] IN CAMP [/underlined] (8-30.) Going to write letter to Ma. SOLDIER.
No. 3 from Ma
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JULY 22
[underlined] WED. ’42. [/underlined]
Porr, boiled egg & bacon; toast & coffee. We nearly got fatigues but got PT instead. Beef, spuds, carrots; date & raisin pie; cup milk. Nearly finished letter to Ma. $15 pay. Hamburger, spuds; tomatoes; raisin pud & tea. 10c. stickit. 5c milk. 24c films, 60c at Loes Wallace Beery in “Jackass Mail” with Marjorie Maine, also Will Tracey in “About Face.” 12c. straw. sundae & coke. [underlined] CABLE from MA. [/underlined]
[page break]
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JULY 23
[underlined] THURS. ’42. [/underlined]
porr; toast, fried egg & tomato; coffee. P.T. Pork, sage & onion, spuds, cabbage; pumpkin sponge; cup milk. 5c. choc. milk. No lecture. Dismissed. Filled in form for pass. Finished letter to Ma. Re bound pen top. Meat, spud salad, beet; almond blancmange & lemon sauce; cheese & tea. [underlined] POSTED letter to Ma. Wrote [deleted] cable [/deleted] airgraph to Joyce. & posted same. [/underlined] 30c stamp. 30c. Warren William in “Secrets of the Lone Wolf.” & Gene Autry in “Cowboy Serenade.” 5c. glass milk, 10c Wurlitzer. Tried to have it out with Doris but she wouldn’t give any reason
Letter No. 8 to Ma.
[page break]
JULY 24
[underlined] FRI. ’42 [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & beans; toast & coffee Squadron route march & PT (HELL) 5c. peanuts & 5c. milk. Finny Haddock, spuds, beet; egg cust. & pumpkin pud; 1 1/2 cup milk. Lectures & suggestions by & to Flt. Sgt. Fish, toast fried spuds, beet; choc, cake & sauce; 3 slices brd & straw. jam; 2 cups tea! Oh! what a tea! Washed 2 prs. socks & kharki [sic] shirt. Helped one of RCAF boys pack his kit bag. Reading magazine on bed.
[page break]
JULY 25
[underlined] SAT. ’42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, boiled egg, toast & coffee. Route march to Sunnyside. 5c ice. 10c choc milk & 2 donuts. Meat pie spuds, cab; caramel cream & cup milk. 36 hrs pass 25c st. car. 50c bed at YM. 2c split rings. 15c glass milk & lemon pie. 42c Uptown theatre “Eagle Squadron” Damn Good. 25c. sos, spuds, peas & coffee. st. car to Sunniside. [sic] Walked back 01.10 hrs 10c mints from “Woolies.” 2 cups coffee. 10c. egg & milk 10c. Bed 12.0 AM.
[page break]
JULY 26
[underlined] SUN. ’42. [/underlined]
Up at 12-0 PM. Sos, spuds, peas tom; egg & milk (35c.) St. Car to High Park. Sleep, a little not much. St. car back to YM. Picked kit bag up. Kellogs; salmon, lettuce, tom, peas; egg & milk (50c) 25c st. car. Camp 7-15 PM. Tired and have not exerted myself. Cut buttons of kharki [sic] tunic ready to have it pressed & cleaned.
[page break]
JULY 27
[underlined] MON. ’42 [/underlined]
Orange; porr; bacon & fried egg; toast & coffee. NO SWIM [underlined] NO P.T. [/underlined]!!! 5c choc. ice. 5c milk. Beef, spuds, carrots caramel cream & apple. Route March with band, to Sunniside. Dismissed for 1/2 hr. Sunbathed. Wish I’d had my costume. Ham & cold beef, spuds & salad; cake, jam & apple. 2 cups tea. Washed 2 pairs socks.
Gave kharki [sic] suit in to be cleaned also put some laundry in (ready WED.)
[page break]
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JULY 28
[underlined] TUES. ’42. [/underlined]
grapefruit juice; poached egg & tom; toast & coffee. Thrown off CO’s parade because we were wearing our blues. Dismissed at “Sally Ann.” Lift down to Sunnyside. Baths didn’t open ‘till 10-0 and it was 45c. so didn’t go in. 5c. choc. ice. Lift back to barracks. 50c for uniform. Meat pie, spuds, cabb: raisin pie; cup milk & coffee. Drill, P.T. 10c. choc. & vanilla ice. Stewed meat, spuds & beet; cake & jam; tea. Just MUCKED ABATE generaly. [sic]
Papers from Ma.
[page break]
JULY 29
[underlined] WED. ’42. [/underlined]
[underlined] RAIN. [/underlined] Porr; bacon & boiled egg; jam, toast & coffee. Parade in Arena. Posting but not for me. LECTURE by corporal. Pork, sage & onion, spuds, cabbage; pumpkin pud; milk. 40c. laundry, gave some more in (ready FRI.) “Sally Anne” 10c. choc. shake. Cold meat, spud salad, lettuce; sponge cake; tea. 10c. egg & milk. 60c. at Loes. Walt. Pidgeon & Greer Garson in “MRS. MINNIVER” A Great film Very touching & realistic.
20c. egg & milk.
[page break]
JULY 30
[underlined] THURS. ’42.
cool. [/underlined]
Grapefruit juice; fried egg, tomato; porr; toast & coffee. P.T. Beef, spuds, carrots; sponge pud; tea. 10c. choc. milk & ice. Cpl bought an ice each for four of us. Minced meat, spuds, lettuce; blancmange; milk, tea. 5c glass milk. 30c. show “Old Bill & Son” & “Sing for your Supper.” 15c. egg & milk. Had word or two with Doris. 25c. st. car tickets.
[page break]
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JULY 31
[underlined] FRI. ’42. [/underlined]
[underlined] MORE RAIN. [/underlined] porr; beans & bacon; toast & coffee. $14.20 pay. $2.40 back off Harding Returned his $2 1/2 gold piece. Fish, spuds, tapioca; date & raisin pie; tea. [underlined] Letter from MA & GRAN [/underlined] both posted together air & sea. WHAT a SERVICE. Took two benches from Arena to Grandstand. 20c (choc. milk shake; choc. ice; carton of milk) 41c. laundry Fish, spuds, salad; cake; milk. 60c. “Daughter of Rosie O’Grady” & Charlies Aunt” Jack Benny. Egg & milk; lemon pie.
Letter NO. 4. From Ma
[page break]
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AUGUST 1
[underlined] SAT. ’42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon, boiled egg; toast & coffee. 25c haircut. [underlined] Letter No. 9 to Ma & to Norah. [/underlined] Beef, spuds, carrots; bread pud; milk. 36 hrs pass. 25c. st. car. 5c shoe laces. 2c. drink. 30c film, (XX) 50c bed at YM. 15c. mints. Enquired about boat to Niagara. 35c. tom, lettuce, spud salad, ham; egg & milk. Walked down to Pier. St car to Sunnyside. 5c ice. St. car back. 24c to see Gene Autry in “Mexacali [sic] Rose” and “Our Russian Front.” 20c. egg & milk and cup coffee. 5c. milk at YM.
[circled 12-30]
Letter No. 9 to Ma
[page break]
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AUGUST 2
[underlined] SUN. ’42. [/underlined]
Up at 11-0 AM. Sos, spuds, peas, toast & marmalade; coffee; cust pie (40c.) $1.65, return, for ferry ticket. Left at 3-0 PM Arr. Niagara, in bus from Queensbury at 6-20 PM. 25c for views. 5c for 3 P.C.’s. 2 “nickles” for 4 x 2c stamps. [underlined] Posted a card to Ma. [/underlined] Roast beef, spuds, kid beans; apple pie; milk. 60c. Address of people from Sheff. Bus to Queen. 10-30. Boat got in ‘bout 12-45. In meantime community singsong. 20c. hot dog & coffee. Arr. Toronto 3-30 AM. St. Car to Jarnies. Picked up kit bag. Arr. barracks 4-45. [underlined] Bed 5-0 AM. [/underlined]
[page break]
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AUGUST 3
[underlined] MON. 42 [/underlined]
porr; bacon fried egg; toast coffee. Route march. 15c. drink & donuts. [underlined] Letter 6 from Ma. [/underlined] Beef, spuds, carrots; rice pud; milk Soft ball game. Ham, Veg salad, beet; cake, jam; tea. 2 rolls film ready Wed. 5c. Milk. 30c. Chester Morris & Jean Arthur “No Hands on the Clock.” and Alex. Dumas’ “Corsica Brothers” Doug Fairbanks Jnr. Talk with Agnes. 10c. egg & milk (plain.)
[page break]
[circled X]
AUGUST 4
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
Grape, juice; porr; fried egg, tom, coffee & toast. CO’s parade. 12c. Pepsi Cola & tub of icecream, 5c phone call. Stew, spuds, cabbage; raisin pie; milk. [underlined] Letter No. 5!! from Ma & letter from David. [/underlined] Sally Anne! 2 x 5c tickets. choc ice. Talk with SA man. 2 x 5c phone calls. (Doris.) 3-30 PM gave “kharki” [sic] in to be cleaned. 5c. phone call to Eric B. Date for Wed. call him at noon hrs. Meat, cold, spuds, beet; cake, jam & tea. 15c. choc. milk & egg. Took comics for Doris. TIZER & COMICS from Ma. Walked back to camp 5c. Aero. 75c. VR’s & Gt. Britain’s
Letter 5 from Ma. & David
[page break]
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AUGUST 5
[underlined] WED. 42 [/underlined]
Grapejuice; bacon, 2 boiled eggs, toast & coffee. Service parade. Too late when we got there. Pork, spuds, carrots; choc. blanc. milk [underlined] Letter no. 10 to Ma’s No. 5. Letter to David. [/underlined] 50c. uniform 5c. phone call to Eric. Cold meat, spud & veg salad; sponge cake & jam; tea. Out at gate 5-15. where Eric was waiting. Met his two little girls. Had another “supper. Went to ball game. Fetched beer. Mrs. (Nell) set me on smoking (had 7 fags.) Eric took me back to camp. We picked 6 lads up at King. In for 1-30 AM.
Letter 10 to Ma.
[page break]
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AUGUST 6
[underlined] THURS. 42 [/underlined]
porr; tom & scrambled egg; toast marmalade & coffee. Sent back to barracks to tidy bed. Clothing parade list. Ice cup at Sally Ann. Pass application £1.00 stamps. Usual type of din. Clothing parade cancelled [underlined] Wrote letter & posted to Gran [/underlined] Started one to Ma. Hamburger meat, spuds, beet; cake & jam tea. 25c st. car. 48c films of Niagara. 15c. egg & milk. 30c. “The Yukon Patrol” & “Blondie in Society.” 7c. pot of tea.
[page break]
AUGUST 7
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
Grape juice; porr; bacon & fried egg; toast, jam & coffee. March to Sunnyside. Choc. milk & donuts. 10c. Meat pie, spuds, carrot; brd pud; milk. Sally Ann. 48 hr. pass. Took tunic to have G. Britain’s fastened on. Beef, spuds, beet, lettuce; cust. tea 15c. choc. egg & milk. 60c. “The Magnificent Ambersons”. 20c 2 cheese sand. hot tea.
[page break]
AUGUST 8
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined]
porr; bacon, boiled egg; toast & coffee. 25c. st. car. 5c. milk. $1.00 st. car tickets and map of Toronto. 25c. candid camera photo. 30c. film (vari.) 10c. mints from “Woolies.” 25c. sos, chips, beans; tea, hot. 42c. Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, George Brent in “In this Our Life” Salmon, lettuce, etc. tea; 35c. George Brent, Joan Bennet “Twin Beds.” “Danger in Pacific” 42c. 12c. tea & donuts. Met RAF lad on st car. Went with him to Sunnyside & back to camp.
[page break]
AUGUST 9
[underlined] SUN. 42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; flat cake; toast & coffee Church parade & communion A very nice service; very nice indeed. Edward Bush took me to his home. Had light lunch. Went walk. His dad took photo’s of us. Dinner about 6 or 7. RAIN. Mr. took me to see their ARP H.Q. and model of his section. Still raining at 10-0. when we set off back. Got back to camp at 11-15 PM.
[page break]
[symbol]
AUGUST 10
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
orange; porr; bacon & egg; toast & coffee. Route March, with band, to Sunnyside. 15c. icecream. Stew, carrots, spuds rice pud, milk. Sally Ann Bought 2 x 5c tickets but didn’t use same. [underlined] Letter from Doris. [/underlined] Cold beef, ham, spud salad, lettuce; cake & jam; tea. [underlined] Letter NO. 11 to Ma [/underlined] & Niagara Snaps. Bed 9-30 PM.
Letter from Doris (.2nd.) Letter 11 to Ma.
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AUGUST 11
[underlined] TUES. 42 [/underlined]
grapefruit juice; tomato, poached egg; toast, jam, coffee. Co’s parade Route March to Sunnyside. Beef spuds, cabbage, raisin tart, cheese & milk. Boot repairs didn’t come off. Hamburger spuds, cheese & cake, tea. 15c. egg, choc. milk; fetched photo’s. Took 3 negs to Liggs’ 35c. 1/2 lb. chocs. 5c. milk Took Muriel to see Jeanette MacDonald in “Smilin’ Thru” 60c. 11-0 when we come out so couldn’t take her home. [underlined] Posted letter to Doris [/underlined] Other film was “Knockout” a boxing show as per name. Took kharki [sic] suit in to be pressed & cleaned.
[page break]
AUGUST 12
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & boiled egg; coffee & toast. Swimming Parade to Sunnyside. Sqd Ldr went with us. We sang all the way. 10c to go in the “tank”. Veal spuds, carrots; choc. blanc. milk. Issued with 2nd suit kharki [sic] & fatigue trousers. Cold veal, spud & green salad tomato; tea & cake & jam. Took shirt, blue & kharki [sic] pants towel & collar to be washed [underlined] Card to Joe & Watson. [/underlined] 30c stamps. 15c. choc. egg & milk. 12c. Prints. 42c. Eleanor Powell Red Skelton in “Ship Ahoy” with Tommy Dorsey’s Orchestra. 12c. tea & cake.
[page break]
[symbol]
AUGUST 13
[underlined] THURS. 42. [/underlined]
grapefruit juice; porr; tom & egg; toast & coffee. Route march to Sunnyside. 10c. choc ice. [underlined] STOMACH ACHE. Cable from Ma. [/underlined] Received parcel I sent over a month ago. Beef, spuds beet; pumpkin pud; milk. [underlined] 67c cable to Grandpa. [/underlined] 50c. for uniform Marched to West End YMCA. Had a good swim. 6c choc. Hamburg square spuds, beet; cheese; scone; brd & jam; tea. 25c. Dura Glit. 15c choc, milk & egg. $1.20 at Imperial”Syncopation” & ”Mexican Spit sees a Ghost.” Took Muriel home or at least she put me on the Spadina st. car.
[circled Letter 7 from Ma [symbol]]
[page break]
[symbol]
AUGUST 14
[underlined] FRI. 42 [/underlined]
grape juice; bacon, scrambled egg, toast coffee. $20 pay. Meat pie, spuds, carrots; raisin & date pie; tea. FFI. handed sheets, etc. in to stores Cleared of station. [underlined] Letter 7 from Ma. [/underlined] 32c. laundry Packed kit. Bottle of beer and fag (given by Ross) Cold meat, spuds, lettuce & salad; cake & jam; milk Bert arrived here. 15c. egg & milk 30c. “Among the Living” & “Sullivan’s Travels.” Pot tea & date sq. 12c. 50c. bed at YMCA.
[page break]
[circled X]
AUGUST 15
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined]
Up at 11-30 AM. [underlined] $2.99 parcel to home. [/underlined] 10c mints, 25c sos, chips beans; milk, 10c Coke. 30c “Swamp Woman” & “Duke of the Navy.” 7c coke. 35c salmon salad 10c cake. 25c st. car. 42c “Juke Girl” Ann Sheridan & Ron Regan Went around with Snarky in PM. Gave Agnes two photo’s. Lemon pie, hot tea. 17c. Bought farthing for 2c. and then forgot to give it Muriel. Took her home then went back to [underlined] camp. bed 2.45 AM!!?!! [/underlined]
so I walked her home. Introduced to her Da & stepma. Cup cocoa & biscuits Bus s/c 11.30. arr. 12.10 app.
PARCEL
[circled LETTER TO PHIL]
[page break]
[underlined] TORONTO – NO. 1. AOS [/underlined]
AUGUST 16
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
7-30 AM, bfst, Kellogs & flat cake; coffee. Finished packing Took kit down to arena & then out to back of Colesium [sic] Loaded up on lorry. Drizzle Took about 1/2 hr. to get to Malton. Drew sheets & pillows. FFI & general look over. Teeth & throat. RAIN. Ham, spuds, peas; raisin pie; milk. Unpacked & repacked. Pass till tomorrow AM. Gave boots in to be repaired at long last. [underlined] Letter to Phil. [/underlined] $1.20 10 bus tickets. 5c milk. Gave Muriel a farthing. “Tommy” bumped into me on st. car on way to church. She & Doris, her pal, from Gt. Brit. 10c. church 2 choc. shakes; apple juice; veal cuttlet [sic] peas, spuds; cust, rice & raisins 90c Doris took me to “Jane” Only 10 o’clock
[page break]
AUGUST 17
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; x; bacon & egg, toast; milk. Given pass by adj. P/O Wood our instructor I/C. Pea soup; [deleted] chicken roll [/deleted] [inserted] beef [/inserted], spuds, cabbage; rice pud; D.R. navi & instruments issued. Did a few problems. Chicken roll lettuce, a tomato; peach & milk Finished navi. [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] problems Ensign lowering. Letter to Ma. Handed kharki [sic] in to be pressed etc. 25c. haircut Bunk inspection at 12.30 & 4.30. F/Lt. found some not made up right on his rounds.
[page break]
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AUGUST 18
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
tom sauce; porr; sos, toast; coffee. DR. sigs, air recc. test. Veal, spuds, carrots; raisin tart; milk. DF, Maps, Magnetism. Cooked meat, spuds, tomatoes; prunes; milk. [underlined] Letter 12 to Ma. [/underlined] Navi class after [deleted] sp [/deleted] supper. flag & more navi. 12c. drink & spud crisps. 7c Coca Cola.
LETTER 12 TO MA.
[page break]
AUGUST 19
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; cream of rice (x); bacon & egg; toast & coffee. Drill; DR signals. Went to hospital but have had injections & tests. Bean Soup; beef, spuds, peas; choc. blancmange; milk. Magnets, reconnais pyrotechnics (fireworks) Boots returned repaired with RUBBER sole & heels 7c. Coca Cola. Sos, spuds, beet, celery; water melon; blancmange (choc); milk. Navi & mag. notes. Flag.
[page break]
AUGUST 20
[underlined] THURS. 42 [/underlined]
grape juice; bacon & scrmbled [sic] egg; toast & coffee. DR. & DR test. S.M.O’s lecture. 7c. Coke. Stew, spuds, peas; soup, alphabet; mincemeat pie; milk. Maps, DRILL? Met. Ham, spuds, lettuce; peach; milk. DR. plot 48. “Film show, “Alexanders Rag Time Band” darn good show. 55c. uniform, clean & press. 5
[page break]
AUGUST 21
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 grapefruit; bacon & flat cakes, milk; cream of wheat. CO’s Parade. DR. 5c. Coke. Soup; fish spuds, cab. sponge pud & sauce; milk. Met, Reconn, Insts. Soup; meat roll (cooked) spuds, beans; pears; milk. 2 x 5c Coke. Did, or tried to do a bit of DR. Set out back for Aircraft Rec. A number of lads missing off ensign lowering parade. Shower. 5c potato crisps.
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AUGUST 22
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined]
grape juice; toast; bacon & egg; brd, marmalade; coffee. DR. Had look round an Anson. Soup; cooked cold meat, spuds, cabbage; cream fruit pud; cup tea & 1/2 cup milk. 5c. Coke + 5c I owed machine Aircraft recc. Rain storm. 2 snaps of same. Soup, steak spuds, salad; creamed fruit pud; peach; milk. Planned out 2 of the routes we may take tomorrow AM. 7c. coke 3c paper. Sing song in lecture room. Bed 10-30
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AUGUST 23
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
cream of wheat; bacon & boiled egg, toast; coffee. Drew [deleted] shute [/deleted] harness. Briefed in hanger. Airborne 8-45. Landed 12-15. Veal, stuffing, spuds, peas; cream pie; milk. 11c. choc. & crisps Physics book from library. Church parade 1-45 to 2-30 Nice little service in GIS. TARRANT & GWYN forced landed. Ham, spud salad, tomatoe, [sic] cheese; cream pie; milk. Took shirt, pyj’s socks and towel to laundry. TARRANT returned OK at 6-30 PM. One wing of plane completely wrecked. He & GWYN. OK except for a shaking. Engines konked [sic] out at MIDLAND. Bed 9-15 PM
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AUGUST 24
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; bacon & egg; porr; coffee [underlined] COLD [/underlined] freezing during night. DF. signals & met. Soup; spud salad, beef; rice pud; milk. 5c coke; 10c phone call to Mr. Berkimbler. He’d gone to lunch so wasted the 10c. DR. etc. 2 slices brd & butter; rice pud; milk. Lift from Malton in old jalopy to Toronto with Tarrant. 25c. st. car. 15c. choc. milk & egg. 5c. Record. 60c. at Shea’s. Rosalind Russell & Fred McMurray in “Take a letter, Darling.” 10c All Bran. 5c lemon square 5c coffee. Bus back to camp. Arr. 12.00. (23.59)
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AUGUST 25
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
Grapefruit; cream of wheat; bacon & flat cakes; coffee, DR. & Mag Soup; veal & dressing spuds, sweede [sic] mincemeat pie; milk. [underlined] LETTER 8 from Ma. Posted on 11th [/underlined] 7c Coke. Lecture by WO. Abs returned from England off opps in Hampdene. 67c cable to Dad for his BD. YESTERDAY. D/F & DR. Ham & spud salad; prunes; milk. Started letter to Ma. 25c haircut. DR. 7c. coke. 5c Crisps. Duke of Kent killed in air crash. Eclipse of the Moon
[underlined] LETTER 8 from Ma. [/underlined]
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AUGUST 26
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; porr; scrambled egg & toast; coffee. Flag at half mast for H.R.H. the Duke of Kent. Drill; DR; signals. Soup; beef, spuds, beet; choc. b. mange & cake milk. [underlined] LETTER 13 to Ma. [/underlined] Met. Mag, Games. Soup; sos, spuds, peach: milk. 3 x 5c Cokes. Flight plan for tomorrow.
[circled LETTER 13 to MA]
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AUGUST 27
[underlined] THURS. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 grapefruit; bacon & bld egg; toast coffee; cream of wheat. 3 1/4 hr. trip. Heavy ground mist. Soup; boiled bacon, spuds, cabbage pumpkin pie; milk. D.R. drizzle. Soup; cold cooked meat, spuds, corn cob; pears; milk. 5c Coke. Flight Plan for tomorrow. 5c Coke ”Lloyd of London” film in GIS.
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AUGUST 28
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
tomato juice; sos & flat cakes; porr; coffee. Flight washed out. DR & Insts. Soup, fish spuds; cust pud milk. DR. Wings Parade. Sardine spuds, celery; pears, milk. Lift to Cooksville (7 mls TORONTO) then into TORONTO (BLOOR.) Middle aged chap. Gave me address & phone No. 5c. Phone to Doris. 29c toothpaste. $1 bed at YM. 2 x 5c. to Tommy. Not at home. 10c mints. 30c. picts “South of Santa Fe” & “Louisiana Purchase” Bob Hope. 25c. sos, peas, chips; coffee.
$1.05 for old “blues” REPAIR?! [symbol] & clean & press.
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AUGUST 29
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined] 11.30 AM arose & SHONE!?! $1.12 stamps. 25c beef sandwhich [sic] & peas & chips; glass milk. 5c. phone to Tommy. Ring her again at 4-0 PM. 15c BLACK ink. 10c mints 5c darning wool (“woolies”) 25c film. 10c Regd stamp. 7c Coke (YMCA) 5c phone Tommy not back. 7c grape drink. 5c Tommy going away for weekend. May be back Sun. evening. 47c. Bloor St. White Cheff. [sic] Salmon Salad date sq. & Pepsi. 60c. at Uptown “Pacific Rendeyvious” [sic] & “Maisie gets her man” Red Skelton. 20c. glass “Honey Dew” & ice cream. Saw Leslie (on bondiers [inserted] B.A. [/inserted] course) 7c Orange Stubby at Y. 25c. st. car.
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AUGUST 30
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined] 10-0 AM.
10c. Church. no communion. 40c beef, spuds & carrots; custard pie; tea & milk. Chummed up with RCAF lad. Took snap of church & YMCA. Went out to Park. Snaps of Polar Bear, zebra etc. Supper at Chinese place below White Cheff [sic] 30c. liver, chips, peas; boston cream pie; milk. Left film at Liggetts. Went to church 10c. Tommy didn’t turn up. 10c. Doughnuts & milk. Walked up to Bloor & along same. St car to bus stop. Seat OK on bus Arr. in camp 23.59 hrs
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[underlined] LANCASTER [/underlined]
AUGUST 31
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
Cream of wheat; bacon & egg; 1/2 orange; coffee; DR. Went to see [circled LANCHESTER] at aero factory. Speechs [sic] & photo’s etc. etc. All turrets fully armed. Didn’t have soup; cold meat & spuds, milk. Flight. Didn’t do too good. Just managed to get supper. Cold meat, tomato & spuds, milk. & an apple DR 7-0 to 9-30. 2 x 7c cokes! [underlined] Tizer & Cable from Ma. [/underlined]
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SEPTEMBER 1
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
tomato juice; bacon & sc’mbld egg, porr; coffee. DR etc. [underlined] Tizer from Ma. [/underlined]7c coke Veal, dressing, spuds, sweede; [sic] cream caramel pie; milk. AA. (DR.) Photography, games. Photo of flight. Sos, spuds, sweed [sic] choc. cake; milk. DR & flight plan. 7c bottle of lime Bed 10-15 PM.
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SEPTEMBER 2
[underlined] [deleted] TUES [/deleted] [inserted] WED [/inserted] 42 [/underlined]
Cream of wheat; bacon & egg; 1/2 grapefruit. Took off 8-45 app. landed 12-25 app. Not a bad trip on the whole. Arrived at MALTON 1909. my ETA for BRAMPTON. Beef, spuds, beet; rice pud; milk 10c. phone call to Mr. Burkimshort. DR. Sigs, Ham; fried spuds; spud salad; cake; milk. 7c Coke. Lift to Jane Bloor by Manchester man. Been out here since 1910 app. 65c Imperial Cary Macdonald in “Dr. Broadway” & Ray Milland & Betty Field in “Are Husbands Neccessary” [sic] 6c cordy. 15c choc egg & milk shake. 5c glass milk. 25c st car 7c coke back on camp. 8c film prints. Only 2 turned out OK
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SEPTEMBER 3
[deleted] WED [/deleted] [inserted] THURS [/inserted] 42
Porr; bacon, egg & toast; coffee. 3 legged flight to navigate on. Starts with met W/V. Finished it OK. Cold meat roll, spuds, beans; pie; milk. 55c for kharki [sic] uniform & 28c for ordinary laundry. Nothing else out of the regular routine except DF lecture by Sgt WAG on an actual DF loop & Radio receiver. Supper similar to usual. 7c x 2 Coke. Film show “The Rain Game” (?) an old film. Pretty good.
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SEPTEMBER 4
[deleted] THURS [/deleted] [inserted] FRI [/inserted] 42
Cream of wheat; 1/2 orange; bacon & lat [sic] cakes; coffee. Prepared flight for this afternoon. Fish, spuds, carrots; cream fruit pud; milk. Parade of whole station in atempt [sic] to recover stop watches, observe for use of. Radio transmitter NBG. switched planes and WAG had to B - - R about with other one to get it to go. Finaly [sic] got off at 15.00. Trip not too good as far as NAVI went (EX.6) Sardines, lettuce, spuds, tomato; peach milk. [underlined] AIRGRAPH [/underlined] from Ma (sent AUG. 15TH) Wrote letter to Ma.
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SEPTEMBER 5
[deleted] FRI [/deleted] [inserted] SAT [/inserted] 42
Porr. bacon, egg (boiled) toast Tom, juice, coffee. Flight across lake Ont. Hamilton down to Lake Erie & back Pretty nice trip (2nd NAV) Veal, spuds, & salad; choc cream & cake; milk. 10c C. Mr. Berkimisher. Not in but he will write Tuesday. Bus into Toronto. St. car down to Queen. 8c mints; 10c glue (Woolies) 15c. choc milk & egg shake. 3 x 5c phone calls to Tommy (drug store, Y & Red [symbol].) 30c. Rio “Night of Jan 16th) Meeting Tommy at 8-30 PM. Liver onion spuds; coffee. (30c.) $1.20. at Uptown “Private Bukaroo” Harry James’ band. “Invisible Agent” Flora Massey. 12c. coffee 25c st car tickets.
[circled LETTER 14 TO MA]
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SEPTEMBER 6
[deleted] SAT [/deleted] [inserted] SUN [/inserted] 42
Got up 11-30. All Bran; sos, chips peas; tea, pot. 35c. Took film to Liggetts. Got another 25c. Went to Museum. Phoned Tommy but she’d gone to her sisters. Saw John Hodgson. Met chap in AFS, Canadian, for Great Brit. Tea & cookie at Y. Walked down Younge & back. Ham, chips & peas; coffee, 30c. at Cheff [sic] Gave Joe Hannah home address Met Gwyn at car stop. Muriel followed us on st. car. Sat on mudguard [underlined] inside [/underlined] bus, back in camp 12-0.
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SEPTEMBER 7
[deleted] SUN [/deleted] [inserted] MON [/inserted] 42.
Porr; scrambled egg & toast; TEA. DR all morning. Cold meat spuds, cabbage; billberry pie, milk. A.A. Mag. & Air Rec. [deleted] Soup [/deleted] Stew, fried spuds, tomato; apple; milk. 2 x 7c Cokes. Put names on card with photo of flight on it. Damned ink ran too. Pulled flag down at 8-0 PM. Mended, in a fashion, Huddarts alarum [sic] clock.
[page break]
X [underlined] CABLE TO MA [/underlined]
SEPTEMBER 8
[deleted] MON [/deleted] [inserted] TUES [/inserted] 42
Tom juice; bacon & hot cakes; cream of wheat; coffee. RAIN. DR & Mag. Veal, spuds, sweeds; [sic] cust rice pud; milk. [underlined] LETTER from PHIL. [/underlined] Photography, signals. Should have been sports but it was raining. [underlined] 67c. Cable to Ma. [/underlined] 7c Coke. Finished photo of flight. Not too good a result, but t’aint bad. Shepps pie, spuds, peas, sweeds; [sic] prunes; choc cake; milk [underlined] LETTER TOO [sic] PHIL. [/underlined] air recc. RAIN! RAIN! RAIN! 2 x 6c choc. 7c drink.
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SEPTEMBER 9
[underlined] [deleted] TUES [/deleted] [inserted] WED [/inserted] 42. [/underlined]
1/2 grapefruit; porr; bacon & egg; toast; coffee. RAIN. Took laundry in. NO PARADE. Rest of day pretty wet. Sos spuds etc. milk for supper. 25c [deleted] fe [/deleted] hair cut. 2 x 7c Cokes. Rained so we didn’t pull flag down. Went into Malton about 10-30 with Flowers to dance. Had a bit of a dance. Cookies & coffee refreshment. Finished at 12.0 AM. Lift back to camp in officers’ car. shower. Bed about 1-30.
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!? [three symbols] ?!
SEPTEMBER 10
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
Cream of wheat; egg & fried balony coffee. Flag hoisting DR & band. Liver, spuds, carrots; sponge & cust; milk. Flight washed out, low clouds, bumpy. So had P.O. Pleuman all afternoon. Cold cooked meat; spuds; beet; sponge & cust; milk. [underlined] Letters from Ma, Norah, Eric Berkinsh & Doris (Toronto.) [/underlined] 7c Coke “Rise & Shine” Jackie Oakie. 7c Coke.
[circled LETTER NO. 1. FROM MA]
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SEPTEMBER 11
[underlined] FRI 42 [/underlined]
Porr. sos & cakes, syrup; coffee. Sunshine. Co’s Parade. Wings Parade rehersal. [sic] DR exam. Fish, spuds, cabbage; mincemeat pie; milk. Wings parade. Cold cooked meat, spuds, cabbage lettuce, celery; apple; milk. Stand by for night flight. Rolled flag down. Took chairs back to GIS. Changed furniture round in lecture room. (desk plotters.) [underlined] Wrote letter to Doris., [/underlined] Posted same. 2 x 7c cakes. [underlined] Airgraph from Ma [/underlined] 25c stamps, 5c. crisps.
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[symbol]
SEPTEMBER 12
[underlined] SAT 42 [/underlined]
Bacon & egg; cream of wheat, coffee. Test on Reconn, Mag & Comp. Maps & Charts, & Insts. Pork, spuds, white sauce; bread pud, milk. [underlined] 2 Airgraphs from Ma & Letter. [/underlined] Photo Clip washed out so we had game of football. Just about knocked me all up but we enjoyed it even so 6c choc. Ham, spuds, celery; jam tart; peach; milk. [underlined] Letter to Eric & Ma [/underlined] 5c choc milk Mitchel, Huddart, & Piper had fly papers & card put in their bed.
[circled LETTER NO. 2. FROM MA 15 TO MA]
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SEPTEMBER 13
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & egg; toast & marmalade; coffee. Went back to bed. Tarrant & I flitted to opposite side of room nearer other lads Chicken, toast, spuds; [inserted] cake & cream [/inserted] fruit salad Church parade. Football game Ham, spuds, sweet pickle, lettuce, celery; 4 plums; choc cake; milk. 7c. coke. 25c. laundry. 7c coke. Prepared for night flight. Air Recc. back too. Filled one or two places in on Mercator chart. 10c. choc milk & crisps. Whittle, 10c for stamp. Flight washed out. Ground Mist. 10c phone call to Doris. Dated her for tomorrow night.
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SEPTEMBER 14
[underlined] MON 42 [/underlined]
Cream of wheat; bacon & egg; coffee. DR photo. & more DR. Veal, apple sauce, spuds; choc, blancmange; milk 27$ pay. Ham, spud salad; peach; cake; milk. Hitched to the end of Younge. Had to street car it to Jane. Arrived finaly [sic] about 7-15. Doris waiting in powder blue outfit gloves and handbag blue. Some colour hat very much like a berrie. 20c. film. $1.20 show Tommy Trinder “First Commando” & “Miss Annie Rooney” Shirley Temple. Walked her half way home then went back to join lads. 50c. taxi.
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SEPTEMBER 15
[underlined] TUES 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & egg: toast & coffee. FOG ??? DR & usual [underlined] Airgraph from Ma. [/underlined] Ham, spuds, cauliflower; raisin pie; milk. 7c Coke. Arms, Drill, Sigs. Meat Pie, Spuds, peas; plums; cake milk. 5c. Coke. Compass swinging, DR. 2 x 5c crisps. 5c milk choc. 10.10 PM cleaned buttons & boots for AM. and now going to bed.
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SEPTEMBER 16
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; cream of wheat; bacon & eggs & toast; Coffee. C.O’s parade for drill. DR & Aldis. Salmon stake; [sic] spuds, turnip: cake & lemon sauce; milk. [underlined] Letter from Joe Cutts. [/underlined] Mag, Insts, Met (test) Sos, spuds, cheese; milk. CO’s parade Marched into Malton & 1/2 way back. REST DISMISSED WE & 56 MARCHED BACK TO CAMP WHILE THEY HAVE BAGS OF FUN. 3 x 5c Cokes, 5c Coke.
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SEPTEMBER 17
[underlined] THURS. 42. [/underlined]
tom. juice; porr; bacon & egg; toast; coffee. Bull – parade in full dress. 5c Coke. DR. Flight Plan, Maps. Beef, spuds carrots; pumpkin pie: milk 8c. Soap, carbolic. [underlined] Letter from Eric. Posted letter to Norah [/underlined] Flight MO. W/V all to H ----- Ran into storm after I’d got a decent wind & was on TS. O.K. Had to return to Base. 7c Coke Cold meat: spuds: pumpkin pie: milk. 10c for coppers I owe Coke machine. [underlined] POSTED LETTER TO JOE. [/underlined] 5c Coke. 2 x 5c. Crisps.
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SEPTEMBER 18
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; cream of wheat; bacon pancakes; coffee, COs parade. DR & DF. [underlined] letter from Pat & June [/underlined] Pork apple, spuds, cauliflower, caramel cream & cake; milk 5c Coke. 28c laundry. Fish, spuds, celery; caramel & cake milk. Sgt. took us, Tarrant & self right to [indecipherable name]. $1.00 for bed at Y. Arrived at Doris’s 7-10 PM. Went to Eglington (48c x 2) “Glass Key”!! Doris wouldn’t let me pay for supper. I had spud salad & choc milk shake. She had a sundae. [circled 50c] 2 x 6c. choc. bars. Took her home Sat on veranda & talked. X 25c. st. car. 12c. tea & date sqr. Slept on settee at Y. Had real good sleep too.
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SEPTEMBER 19
[underlined] SAT. 42 [/underlined]
10-30 AM. Phoned Doris 15c before I connected with her at work [underlined] $2.95 parcel to home. [/underlined] $1.00 stamps 25c. st. car. Fish, spuds, tomatoes; ice cream & pot tea (Doris paid $1.15.) 2 x 30c Dot Lamour “Fleets In” & “Jimmy Valentines Affaires.” 35c. Chocs. Took Doris home. [circled RAIN] She took 2 snaps of me. 9c. mints. 30c. at Spadina “Blossoms in the Dust” Greer Garson & Walt Pidgeon also the “Great Walty” sos, chips, peas; apple pie; coffee & glass milk. Walked to Bathurst with Can. lad, walked back to Y. 7c. grapefruit Stubby.
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SEPTEMBER 20
[underlined] SUN. 42 [/underlined]
10-30 AM. 5c phone to Doris. 70c. Apple sauce, spuds, peas; pineapple. Went with Reid out on the Queen Car to terminus walked across to Bloor Car. Went on Bloor Car to St. Clair. Took Doris for walk in the Park. Went rowing on Grenadier Lake 50c. ($1 deposit on the boat.) Took Doris home. 40c. salmon salad & milk. Went to St. James’ (25c.) 2 x 20c. Malted, Choc Milk Shake. Walked back as far as Christie (St.) St. Car back to Doris’ X. Cup coffee 5c. at “Corner Road House.” Sat on mudguard of front wheel of bus back to camp.
Freezing cold night.
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SEPTEMBER 21
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & egg; toast; tom, juice; coffee. [indecipherable word]. Drill, Morse Photog. Beef, spuds, turnip; fruit & sago; milk; DR & ASTRO GRAPH. [underlined] 2 Newspapers & Airgraph from Ma. Letter from Phil. [/underlined] 2 x 5c. Cokes. Weiners, spuds, turnip; apple; milk. 2 x 6c choc. bars. Lowney’s Caravan Show. Darn good as at Trenton. Had it in the small hanger.
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SEPTEMBER 22
[underlined] TUES. 42 [/underlined]
1/2 orange; cream of wheat; bacon & egg; toast; coffee. [underlined] COLD again [/underlined] DR. Sigs. Reconn. [underlined] Letter from Doris, Miss French, Photo’s from Eddy & Airgraph from Ma. [/underlined] Ham, spuds, cauliflower; bread pud; milk. Photo. flight ROTTEN. Sos, spuds, lettuce & tomatoe; [sic] apple stewed; choc, cake; milk. DR. lads out on night flight May go myself at 12-0 PM. We 4 didn’t go up at all in the end.
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SEPTEMBER 23
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & egg, toast, coffee. Arms (rifle & revolver.) Sos, spuds, beet: choc blancmange; milk: DR & flight plans for tomorrow AM & PM. Minced beef, spuds, beet; pear & choc cake; milk. Lift to Jane Bloor. Arr. Doris’ 6-10 before she’d had dinner Sat & played with kitten, cup tea. Took Tizers. 28c. for films (reprints.) 60c. “Babes on Broadway” Judy Garland & Mickie Rooney also “Man Made Monster” 25c. St. Car. 50c. taxi. Doris came to corner café with me 10c coffee. RAIN.
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SEPTEMBER 24
[underlined] THURS. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 grapefruit; cream of wheat, bacon & toast; coffee. Reconn flight. Met W/V OK. Dropped bomb on target near Weston. Bumpy & cold 2 to -2o c. Soup; beef, spuds, wheat; mince pie; milk. (Didn’t feel very hungry.) Air Plot on 1:1,000,000 Mercator. Pt. Perry. etc. Met. W/V OK. Bombed target near Milton West. [underlined] Finished letter to Ma. Wrote letter to Doris. [/underlined] Posted both 14c Cokes.
[circled LETTER 16 TO MA]
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SEPTEMBER 25
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & egg; toast coffee. C.O.s parade. Route March. DR. Air Analysis. Reconnaissance. Fish spuds, carrots; bread pud; milk. Flight plan. Air Anal. Liver, spuds, carrots, tomato; cheese & cake: milk. No mail today. 30c. laundry. 7c. Coke. 7c Coke. [underlined] Letter to Eric. [/underlined] 10c phone to Doris. 6c toffee. 5c Crisps. Looked over “letter box” & contents (Films, letters etc.)
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SEPTEMBER 26
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined]
Bacon & egg; 1/2 orange; coff DR & Compass swing. Stew spuds, cabbage; sago & fruit; milk. Bus into Toronto. 25c. st car. 50c bed at West End Y. 5c. phone to Doris. 84c at Uptown, George Formby in “Keep Fit.” & “Moscow Strikes back.” 70c. (Honey Dew) Chicken á la [deleted] Mache [/deleted] king, milk. Walked down Young to Imperial $1.20 “Cross Roads” Hedy Lamarr & Wilm. Powell. 25c. st car Rain so we poped [sic] into Corner Café at Young & Bloor. 30c. cheese sandwich & coffee. 1,2,3. Kissed her. Good night Bloor & a Carlton car back to Y. More RAIN.
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SEPTEMBER 27
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
Still more rain. 5c. phone to Doris (11.0 AM) 60c. beef, spuds & spinach; coffee. Another address and word or two with RAF lad. St. car to Museum. Doris there and she’d been waiting 1/2 hr. Had a good look round. Took her home. 40c. egg salad, milk. Met Doris at bottom of street 6-25. Went to St. James’ Cathdll [sic] 10c. collection. Chocolate shake (40c. Doris paid.) Collected kit bag from Y. Walked up Bdway to Bloor. St. car back (10-30) Looked through Star. 2 kisses when I left at 11-5 to catch the bus. Used last ticket, sat on heater. Rain storm just as we got to camp.
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SEPTEMBER 28
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
cream of wheat, bacon & egg, coffee. DR. Insts. Maps. Ham, spuds, peas: rice pud; milk. Met; Football game (fine except for two lakes in middle of pitch.) Cottage pie, spuds, celery; pears & plums; milk. DR & star gazing. Wrote letter to Doris & Miss French Bed about 11-0 PM.
COLD.
[underlined] Letter from Ma also AG. Letter from Norah. [/underlined]
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SEPTEMBER 29
[underlined] TUES 42.
Posted letter to Doris & Norah AG. From Ma. [/underlined] 1/2 grapefruit; porr; bacon & egg; coffee. Photog, Maps, DR. Ham, spuds, turnip; cake & choc. sauce; milk. DR & Drill. Ham spuds; beet; rhubarb & cake milk. 2 x 7c. Coke. [underlined] Letter to Phil. [/underlined] George Formby “Turned out Nice Again.” DR. 5c. crisps. 2 x 6c Lifesavers. 5c [deleted] Ch [/deleted] Coke. Bed 11-0 PM.
$27.50 pay
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SEPTEMBER 30
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 orange; cream of wheat; egg & bacon; coffee. Route march DR; Met; Beef, spuds, cab, pumpkin pie. 12c. lifesavers. 2 x 7c. Coke. D/F; Aldis; Compass Swing. Cold cut, spuds, lettuce, beet; rhubarb & milk. [underlined] Letter by sea from Ma. [/underlined] 7c. Coke. [underlined] Letter to Norah [/underlined] 2 x 5c Coke. 10c. phone to Doris.
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OCTOBER 1
[underlined] THURS. 42 [/underlined]
porr; bacon & egg; coffee. Recon. Plot. A/C reccog. [deleted] Veal [/deleted] M.O’s lecture on first aid. Veal spuds, carrots: caramel cream milk. 55c. blues. 39c laundry [underlined] Letter from Doris. [/underlined] 2 x 7c. Coke. DR (Sun shooting.) D/F goniometer station. Liver, spuds carrots; bread & jam; cake & jam; milk. [underlined] Letter 15 to Ma. Letter & negs to Doris. [/underlined] No flight tonight. 5c. milk. 12c. toffee bars (2.) 5c. spud crisps. Phone to Doris. Not at home.
[circled LETTER 17 [deleted] 5 [/deleted] to MA]
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OCTOBER 2
[underlined] FRI. 42. [/underlined]
porr; bacon & flat cakes; coffee. Co’s parade; D.R.. Beef, spuds, beet; bread pud; milk. 3-25 hrs flight. Fair[deleted]es[/deleted] keeping track by drift. Fish pie, spuds, beet; cheese & cake; 2 pears; milk. [underlined] Telephone call from Doris. She was worried because there’d been reported a crash here at Malton. [/underlined] Night flight. Took off undercart wouldn’t wind up Landed & “LOST” both props. Took off again I got round OK. No more mishaps. Tomatoe [sic] & meat paste sandwiches, 2 cups coffee. Bed about 12-0 AM
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OCTOBER 3
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; 1/2 orange: coffee. DR & Air Analasis. [sic] Spare ribs; spuds, beet; blueberry pie; milk. Did a bit of overtime at DR. Drew K land Air. Almanac. Sos, spuds, beet; mincemeat pie; milk. A/G. from Ralph Walker. 3 x 7c Cokes. 5c. crisps; 6c toffee; 5c choc. milk. Late night flight. 10c phone to Doris to let her know I can’t get Mon. Flight washed out. Got cup of coffee from mess. Fitted up earphones & mike.
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OCTOBER 4
[underlined] SUN. 42. [/underlined]
1/2 grapefruit; porr; bacon & boiled egg; coffee. Went back to bed. Boiled chicken (more skin & bone than meat.) spuds, cauliflower; fruit salad, cake & cream; milk RAIN in large lumps. Church parade. 7c coke. [deleted] Let [/deleted] A.G. to Ralph Walker Ham, spuds, beet; apple; milk. 10c. phone to Doris to tell her first bus from Toronto was at 5-20 & NBG for her. First flight washed so wrote to P & J & Eddy Bush. 7c x 2 Cokes. 2nd flight washed so am going to bed 11-30.
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X
OCTOBER 5
[underlined] MON. 42. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & 2 pan cakes; [sic] coffee. DR. Sigs & Maps (Gnomonic Praj.) Beef, spuds, peas; bread pud; milk. [underlined] 2 AG’s from Mum, letter from Doris. [/underlined] Photography exam Met. D.R. Shep-pie, spuds, celery; bread pud & apple sauce; milk. 50c. sports fee, 25c hair cut. 7c Coke. 7c. lime rickey. 3 x 6c toffee & life-savers. 5c x 2 crisps & biscuits. RAIN & more rain. Flight “washed” consequently.
[page break]
XX
OCTOBER 6
[underlined] TUES. 42. [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & pancakes; 1/2 orange; coffee. Mag & Insts Photography 44/50 for test. Air/C. Rec. Test. Ham, spuds, some sort of spiced sauce; ground rice pud; milk. [underlined] A/G from Gran M [/underlined]!! D.R. Liver, spuds, peas; rice pud; milk. Binding Flight, astro so we didn’t go up. 1 star shot [indecipherable word]. [underlined] Letter to Doris. [/underlined]
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X
OCTOBER 7
[underlined] WED. 42. [/underlined]
porr, bacon & egg. DR & route march. 30 sun shots. Brawn spuds & sauce; blueberry pie, milk. [underlined] Paper from ma. Letter from Doris & Alwyn Crapper [/underlined]!!! Sports ----------. Cold cut, spuds, sweeds, [sic] plums; milk. Star Shots & plotting of. 10c. phone to Doris. 5c Coke. More [deleted] Star [/deleted] Sun Shots. Flight at 12.00 midnight. St. [indecipherable word], Owen Sound & back to Brampton. All others recalled. We got right round OK.
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OCTOBER 8
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
Peanut butter sandwiches & 2 cups of milk. Bed 4-0 AM. Up at 10-30. Finished Sun Shots and corrected several. [underlined] NO MAIL. 10c Coke [/underlined] Beef, spuds, peas; sago & fruit milk. DR. Flight Plan & Exam. [underlined] Wrote Letter to Alwyn [/underlined] 5 x 3c Stamps. 15c Cokes (2) [underlined] Temp 88o in the lecture Room. [/underlined] Ham, spud salad, celery; 2 apples; milk. D/F 1000 readings. Sun Shots. Gwyn on D/F loop readings
[page break]
OCTOBER 9
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Porr. Bacon & egg. D/F & Astro flight AIR PLOT. FAIERS 1st. NAV. Fish, spuds, beans; milk. Wings parade after Reco. & Maps exam. Lift to West End. Y. 1.25c for bed (50c on key) 25c. St Car. 5c phone call. Tyrone Power & Joan Fontaine in “This Above All.” Very Good. Doris paid she also would not take money for reprints of 14 odd negatives. 50c. Sundae & Cokes. 25c. St. Car. 2 x 2 Got back to Y about 12-1 AM. No Pyjamas. Janitor not around.
[page break]
OCTOBER 10
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Up at 9-45 AM. 35c ham & egg & coffee. Fiddled about and eventualy [sic] got a bed in dormitory 50c. Met Doris at CPR on Younge. Took 2 rolls film to Liggetts & bought 2 more x 35c. 40c milk & sandwiches. 25c. st car tickets. 2 x 6c Aero Choc Ferry to Island. Walked round & sat to watch the lake & the waves. $1.50 for din after D had phoned her Ma. Fish chips, peas; apple pie; tom juice; & coffee. $1.20 “Tales of Manhattan” All star Cast & Very Good. 40c Honey Dew & Dot Cockins. 25c st car Met D’s pop on way up the street. 2 x’s Bed 12-0
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OCTOBER 11
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Up at 10-30 after a good sleep but not a good rest. 5c. phone lasted about 15 min. 45c. sos chips beans; choc sundae; coffee & glass of milk at White Cheff. Alwyn turned up at 2-15. We went and had a snack. Chewed the “fat” in the meanwhile too. Saw him back to camp (Hamilton) Walked through High Park to Bloor. Salmon Salad & Coffee. 50c. 2 x 6c Doris rushed passed in an atempt [sic] to find some cream. Went to St. James. 25c. 75c. 2 Sundaes Pop, Malted Milk. 3 X’s and hugs innumerable. She said 3 was my record & wouldn’t give me another. Bus 15c. Doris gave me her torch.
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[symbol]
OCTOBER 12
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
Cream of wheat; bacon & egg; coffee. Signals, FP & AA (84) Ham, spuds, beef; bread pud & maple syrup; milk. W/V finding flight 063 (met 060) Mr. Freeman our pilot. dropped bomb, ie bomber dropped it. Brawn, spuds, veg. salad; plums; milk Wrote Diary up for the week Issued with stop watch. Mr. Wood given me new job. [underlined] P.C. from Joyce Richardson Letter to Ma. AG from Ma. [/underlined] 2 x 7c Cokes 5c tater crisps. 10c apples (3.) 6c. choc. 20c. phone to Doris.
[circled LETTER 18 TO MA]
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OCTOBER 13
[underlined] TUES/42 [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & pan cakes. DR result. 42 out of 80 In other words, lousy. Sun shots (33.) Total now 72. [underlined] No MAIL. [/underlined] Meat pie, spuds, turnip; cake & lemon sauce; milk. Recon. flight. Bit bumpy. Pilot not too good at keeping courses but we arrived at the places OK. & got SKETCHES. No more camera Only 4 serviceable. Brawn spuds, beet; plums; milk. 5c. crisps; 6c toffee; 6c Beech nut; 5c. cookies. Doris phone me but I wasn’t in I phoned back from YMCA. Sun shots & time sheet.
[page break]
OCTOBER 14
[underlined] WED/42 [/underlined]
Bacon & egg; coffee; [inserted] corn [/inserted] crisps Route march, Insts & Mag exam. Cold meat, spuds, carrot; cream pie; milk. FR. D/F scan. more D/R. & Sun shot plotting [underlined] LETTER from Doris & PAPERS from Ma. [/underlined] Ham, spuds, sponge rhubarb; milk. More D/R & Sun Shots. Have now finished Sun Shots. Finished putting names on Flying Exercise Sheet. Mr. Wood filled several in for me. 10-15 going to phone Doris. 10c. 7c & 5c Cokes.
[page break]
OCTOBER 15
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
Porr; bacon & egg; toast burned; coffee. DR, Sigs Test. DR. Veal, spuds, beans; rice pud; milk. [underlined] Letter from Doris, photo & $1 stamps. Papers from Ma. [/underlined] D/R. Hitch to Younge in stn waggon. St. Car (25c) back to Jane Bloor. Met Doris 7-10PM. She gave me rest of photos. I paid her $1 for stamps & 64c for photos. $1.20 Loews Clark Gable & Lana Turner in [blank space] 25c. St. car. 35c milk shakes Love & kisses on verandar [sic] at 12-10 AM. 50c. taxi to camp.
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X
OCTOBER 16
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Bacon & egg; jam; coffee Rain. Co’s parade washed out. DR. Met. Spare ribs, spuds, carrot & sweed; [sic] mincemeat pie; milk. FP. [underlined] Letter from Dennis & Paper from Gran. [/underlined] DR. Cold cuts spuds, beet; apple; milk Flight washed out. [underlined] Wrote letter to Dennis. [/underlined] 10c phone to YMCA, & 10c to Doris. She must have called me from down town. Her mother ansd. phone. Had 1 bottle of beer with Mac & lads. Jock & Pat pulled the place down & Tarrant was a bit under the weather. 7c Coke.
[page break]
[inserted] 50c. bed at Red [symbol] Tea 40c Haddock & spuds. [/inserted]
OCTOBER 17
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Rain. Flight cut. Met Insts & D/F results (82% & 80%.) General removals in lecture room. Porr: bacon & Egg: toast & coffee (bfst.) Liver, spuds; cake & lemon sauce: milk. 32c laundry. Piper gave me 30c for packet of fags I got for the relay 15c. standing up seat on the bus. Arr. Y. OK 2-40. (Parade delayed me) $3.07 parcel (Simpsons) Stood to watch Parade. 30c. milk shakes. Doris gave me the 3 snaps she took. Also gave me letter she’d written me & told me the tale 84c. “Fantasia” Walt Disney & George Sanders in “The Wolf” Doris bought sweets 6c & so did I 6c. She bought milk shakes (30c) Kissed her Good night.
[page break]
OCTOBER 18
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Up at 10-30. 38c sos & chips; apple pie & coffee. Phoned from Central Y at 1-45. (5c.) St. Car out to High Park. Walked round the pond & the zoo. Sat down by Grenade Pond. To meet her at 7-45 at Younge & College. 45c. Salmon salad; coffee; pumpkin pie & choc. milk. Had read in Y. Felt tired. Met D. & went to Varsity Stadium to see first of “Commando Dagger” & Walt. Pidgeon. He read the sermon by the vicar in “Mrs. Miniver.” St car from Bay back to Jane. 3 X’s at end of Jane. 15c. standing up seat on bus.
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OCTOBER 19
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & egg; coffee. 72% Maps & Charts & Recons. Met. 87%. Pork & spuds, pickled cucumber; pumpkin pie; milk. Recons. [deleted] Sun shots with Reid. [/deleted] 5c. cookies; 2 x 5c crisps; 2 x 6c Beetch Nut candies. [underlined] Wrote letter to Gran. sea mail. Airgraph to Joyce R [/underlined]
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OCTOBER 20
[underlined] TUES/42 [/underlined]
Porr; sos & egg; coffee. DR. etc. Brawn, spuds, carrot & peas; milk. Doris interrupted the meal by calling me on the phone. NO MAIL. (Things seem to get worse.) Sun shots with Reid. 61 course lads doing the navigation. Minced meat pie spuds, celery, cheese; bread & jam; milk. Prepaired [sic] for flight tonight.
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OCTOBER 21
[underlined] WED/42 [/underlined]
Night flight OK. 3-0 AM Bacon & pancakes; milk; Bed ‘till 10-30 AM. Met. Pork, spuds, peas; cake & lemon sauce; milk. Air Analasis [sic] & DR. Preparing for flight to Montreal. Beef stake; [sic] spuds; plums milk. RAIN dark sky like we get back home. NO MAIL except letter from Phil, now at AOS. Sun Shot plotting. 2 x 5c Cokes. 10c. Crisps, 10c apples 12c. Beech nut cough drops. 25c. Phone to Doris.
[page break]
OCTOBER 22
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
Porr; Bacon & egg, coffee. Sq. Search unfinished. Stew, spuds; raisin pie; milk. MH100C & back with Mr Martin. Weiners; spuds, beet, Apple (2) 25c hair cut. 7c. Coke. [underlined] Letter from Doris [/underlined] RAIN. Carried one bench over to hanger & carried 2 back. “How Green Was My Valley” Walter Pidgeon & a Mexican Travel Film as a short. Wrote up a few more shots.
(W. Pig. & Maureen O’Hara, Don Crisp & Roddy MacDowell.)
[page break]
OCTOBER 23
FRI/42
Porr. Bacon & egg; coffee. [deleted] Co’s parade. Nobbed for ragged trousers bottoms. [/deleted]
Night flight & Stereo Pairs (incomplete) Didn’t take off ‘till 5-0 PM & petrol was low. Cold ham, spuds; cake & milk. 1st nav alone on a night flt got round OK. too Fish paste sandwichs [sic] & milk. 11-15 PM. Got right round & found TARGET ie Mt. Plenmore. Took GT. BRITAIN’s off my best tunic.
[page break]
OCTOBER 24
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & egg; coffee. DR. & AN. Sigs. Telephone from Doris after Din. Ham, spuds & carrot; choc cake milk. More DR & Air Recc. then free period. Football. let down by Course 60. Liver, spuds, & “GRASS,” cake, pears & milk. Sun Shots plotting. Star shots 40-50. little sing song with Tarrant & Pat. Bed 11-30 PM. 12c. Choc bar & cough drops.
[page break]
OCTOBER 25
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & egg; coffee. Back to bed. Up at 10-0 Cleaned boots & tunic buttons. Cleaned gt. coat buttons yesterday. Shave. Veal, spuds & peas, fruit salad & cake, milk. Phoned to Doris not at home. Veal, spuds, peas; fruit salad & cake; milk Church Parade & star shots plotting. 10c. phone to Doris. Cold cuts, spuds, pickles; plums & cake; milk Flights washed out. More Stars 46c laundry Started letter to Ma.
[two symbols]
OCTOBER 26
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
Porr. Bacon & egg; coffee. DR. Phot & Maps. Ham, (cuttings), spuds, peas; blue berry pie; milk. F.P. for tonight (1st NAV.) Met. film; Signals. [underlined] AG from Gran. [/underlined] Cold meat, spuds, peas, cheese; Mucking about with sextants. Fitted one up OK in the end. Second Detail up at 0900 PM (0100 quiT.) SEXT 42. Took one shot on the moon. Nearly got last but didn’t. Back 03.30 AM [inserted] GMT [/inserted] Coffee, sandwiches.
[circled LETTER 19 to MA]
[page break]
[two symbols]
OCTOBER 27
[underlined] TUES/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & egg, toast; coffee. Tiger landed up at Muskoka. DR & DR. Sos, spuds; cake & sauce; milk. AA. Morse. Photo, Test. [underlined] letter from Ma & Doris. [/underlined] Beef, spuds; pears & cake; milk. Lift to Jane & Bloor; 5c. phone. 40c clock. 25c st car. $1.20. Barb Stanwyck & George Brent. “The Gay Sisters.” 40c. choc. dip & biscuits. XXXXXX 50c. taxi. 20c coffee & pie, rhubarb
[page break]
OCTOBER 28
[underlined] WED.42 [/underlined]
Porr; sos & egg; coffee. Route March; Reconn. & Map Exam. Tiger Returned from Muskoka. [underlined] Letter from Ma Posted on 24 Sept. AIR RAID WARNING. [/underlined] Veal & spuds; cake & creamed fruit; milk; Astro flight, NBG. Supper at 6.0 PM. Cold Beef, spuds, sweet pickle choc cake; milk. Star shots 25c. phone to Doris. Bed at 10.15 PM.
[page break]
OCTOBER 29
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & egg; coffee. D/R Scan. D/F. [underlined] 2 letters from Faiers. [/underlined] Ham, spuds, cabbage; pumpkin pie, milk. Flight, no AST comp & no WAG. Grand ISLE to Mud lake & back 1st NAV. Air plot. PPS. & W/V from them. Brawn, spuds, sweet pickle Jam; milk. Made log book up to date. $27.75 Started letter to Ma. 10c phone to Doris. Shave.
[page break]
OCTOBER 30
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Porr; sos & pancakes; coffee. Mag. Exam. D/F Cos parade. Salmon stake [sic] spuds, sweede; [sic] bread pud & caramel cream; Milk. Insts Exam. GOOD NEWS. 48 hr instead of 36 hrs Lift into Toronto. 25c St car Chased Down to Adelaide P.O. but Doris wasn’t there. 5c phone. $1.15 stamps. 65c. pork chops & cherry pie; choc milk shake. $2. Bed at West End Y. (Mr. Lee Chinaman.) [underlined] Letter to Ma & Gran [/underlined]
[circled LETTER. 20.]
[page break]
OCTOBER 31
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Up at 10-45. Out at 11-45. 25c St. Car. 15c. Choc milk 8c mints. 15c boot polish Went to Art (Museum) Gallery.) Doris phoned home. Fish & chips; choc pud; tea ([underlined] 55c X 2 paid by Doris [/underlined]) $1.20 “My Sister Eileen.” Ros. Russell Brian O’Herne; Janet Blair 2. Fruit Sundaes (40c) Sat on verandar [sic] 30m waiting for Pa to go to bed. (He saw us back Pictures.)
[page break]
NOVEMBER 1
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Up at 11-45. 5c phone to Doris 55c. Pork chops, peas & spuds; cream walnut pud; coffee Met Doris at bottom of her street. Went to Riverdale Park. Took shot of bear & Don River Couldn’t get one of Doris. 25c egg sandwich & [deleted] Pup [/deleted] Pump Pie; glass milk. Went to St. James. 10c. 50c. jelly & cream, malted milk shake. Walked around the houses. Ver. Dr. too well lit. 50c. on taxi with Cpl Reyland & lads.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 2
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; Bacon & Egg, coffee. [underlined] Letter from Doris Nothing Else. [/underlined] Stew, spuds, carrots; spuds; Queen pud; milk. Apple & other odds & ends for [deleted] breakfast [/deleted] Supper; milk.
Night flight. D/F no good, as per usual, astro compass NBG. Still I got round and hit every place required. Sardine & [2 indecipherable words]. 2 cups milk.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 3
[underlined] TUES/42 [/underlined]
Porr. bacon & egg: coffee. 75% for Maps AA 78% for last nights work. Brawn, spuds, cabbage; blueberry pie & raisin pie; milk. [underlined] 100% [/underlined] for Signals?? 80% Navi. (11TH week.) Sos, spuds, cucumber; pears & cake; milk. Duty Watch & [underlined] Drill. [/underlined] Moved bench from Dining Hall (Mess) [underlined] Wrote & Sent letter to Phil. [/underlined] Binding Photo & Maps. Phone on the free one to Doris.
34c. Candy etc. etc.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 4
[underlined] WED/42
Letter from Doris [/underlined] Bacon & egg; Kellogs coffee. Co’s parade. Maps & Photo Exam. Veal, spuds, turnip; rice pud. Astro Flight at 10,000 fee. Liver Spuds. [underlined] TURNIP [/underlined]!! Prunes milk. Star Shots upstairs. Flew on track with coop. from the Pilot. Sandwhich [sic] & milk Bed 12.00.
[page break]
[inserted] [underlined] CABLE FROM MA [/underlined] [/inserted]
NOVEMBER 5
[underlined] THURS/42.
Letter from Doris & Newspapers from Home [/underlined] Kellogs, coffee, Co’s Parade. Photo exercise which didn’t get done because take off of 1st. detail was late because of “damn” Co’s parade. Brawn, spuds; blueberry pie & milk. Bullshit. Parade at 1-50. Syko machine. Took chair over to hanger. Then Paraded on square. Marched to Hanger & formed “Hollow Sq” Earl of Athlone presented “wings” Supper at 6-0. Ham, spuds; apple & milk WHAT A SUPPER. Shipped chairs back. 10c biscuits 15c (5 x 2 peanuts & 5c Beech Nut.) 7c Pop.
[page break]
[inserted] 92% Map Final [underlined] 61.58.80 D/R [/underlined] [/inserted]
NOVEMBER 6
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; sos & flat cakes coffee. Rec. Exam Fish, spuds, cabbage; creamed fruit; milk. Mag. & result of Maps 92% 61, 58 & 80 Marks for DR. Exams; ie not too good. Working out shots. Cold Meat, spuds, celery, creamed fruit; milk. Night flight. Got round OK Track crawling but it was a bad trip on the whole. 3 sandwiches 2 cups coffee & 1 of milk.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 7
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs & coffee. Plotting shots & D/R review. Mr. Wood gone to hospital With eye infection. Beef spuds, beans; some violet coloured sauce & a “bit” of cake; milk. Map & sun & star shots. Sos, spuds & beans; pears; bread & jam; milk. Map, flag & more star shots. 9-15 going to phone Doris & finish letter to Ma [underlined] Then Bed. [/underlined]
Phoned Doris OK.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 8
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Got up for Kellog’s & coffee. Back to Bed. Up at 11-0. Pork, spuds, corn; cake & violet cream [inserted] sauce [/inserted], milk Astro flight. Damn cold. -14O C. Feet froze. Brawn, spuds & salad, plums & cake; milk. Star Shot plotting. Tired 10 to 10. Phone Doris & letter to Ma. 46/50 D/F.
[page break]
[inserted] 2 LETTERS FROM DORIS A/G from GRAN! [/inserted]
NOVEMBER 9
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
[underlined] 54 [/underlined] Met. Kellogs, coffee. Photo flight “washed” Plotted more Star Shots & worked more out. Beef, spuds, turnip; rice pud; milk. 81 for Yesterdays flight. More Star Shots. Met. P.T. – Prunes & milk. Lift to cross road. Lift to Kingsway. Set off to walk rest. Lift to Liggetts where I left Negs & 29c toothpast. [sic] 25C st. car. $1.20. “Panama hattie” Red Skelton; [blank space] 60c. cheese sand. & milk shake. RAIN in lg. lumps. Doris’s hair wet & so were her eyes but I kissed them away. 50c in taxi yet about 1 or 2 from stn. Got there 1hr. waiting for [indecipherable word]
[page break]
[inserted] 20c. coffee, doughnut’ peanuts. [/inserted]
NOVEMBER 10
[underlined] TUES/42 [/UNDERLINED]
Bed at 2-0 AM. Kellogs; scrambled egg, toast, coffee. D/F. Star [inserted] Met [/inserted] shots Meat loaf, spuds, beans (butter.) Raisin pie; milk. Star Shots, Sigs, Stars again. Brawn, spuds; peaches & cake; milk Finished all shots Have now to take 30 more ground ones. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] Telephoned Doris (tears in her eyes.)
[circled LETTER 21]
[Page break]
NOVEMBER 11
[underlined] WED/42. [/underlined]
Kellogs; 1/2 orange; coffee. Slight fall of snow. D/F Scan. [deleted] Braw [/deleted] Armistice service in hanger. [deleted] Bo [/deleted] Brawn, spuds; choc. blancmange; milk. Mag & Insts. P.T. Liver, spuds, onions; plums; peaches; cake; milk. 25c. hair cut. [deleted] Met [/deleted] Mag. swotting if any. Phone to Doris I hope. Didn’t swot but did phone to Doris (no tears tonight)
[page break]
NOVEMBER 12
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
[deleted] Kellogs [/deleted] 1/2 grapefruit; scrambled egg on toast; coffee; Mag & Comp. Exam, Lecture by P.O. Obs. From England Air/C. pic. Stew, spuds; bread pud. $26 pay. DR. [underlined] Letter from Doris, Eric (Faiers) & AG from Joyce. [/underlined] Sos, spuds; apple; bread & jam; milk SNOW. 21c. (2 x 5c cookies 6c choc. 5c. crisps.) RAIN.
[page break]
NOVEMBER [underlined] 13 [/underlined]
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs, jam, coffee: DR. Air Rec. Sigs. Salmon stake, [sic] spuds, peas; lemon pie; milk. Flight washed Sigs. A/C rec. Met. (35 MPH wind.) Lift into top of Young. 50c st. car. $200 bed & key. $1.20. “Yank at Eaton” Mickey Rooney. 12c sweets. 50c 2 milk shakes & sundaes. Went into house to kiss Doris Goodnight.
Bed between 1 & 2 AM. Darn cold outside.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 14
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Up at 10-30. $1.00 for shoe repair $3.75 for brooche. [sic] Met Doris at 12-15. $1.10 for lunch (my breakfast) liv & onion; miss pie; tea. Doris spilt her milk. [underlined] 62c Cable to Ma. [/underlined] Doris phoned her ma then “dragged” me round Eaton & Simpsons Tried to get a set of buttons 85c stamps (10/-, dollar, & 50c.) Doris bought dinner. Phone Tommy and arranged for Sun. AM. St Car & bus to Eglington. 86c. “Berlin Correspondent”
Left 11-30 home by 12-30. Kissed Doris Goodnight in the house again. 20 AM when I got to bed
[page break]
NOVEMBER 15
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Up at 9-30. Communion with Doris & Tommy. 10c. Went to “Childs” and had milk shake (60c.) Went with the two of ‘em & took D home. Back to Y. “dry shave.” 50c key. 45c. liver & eggs; blueberry pie; coffee. Back at Doris’s by 3-45. Ma, Pa & kids all out!! Went for walk to see the R. Humber. Dinner 5-30. Dried pate with D & Mr. Ryall showed me his stamps & also gave me quite a number Left at 12-15. Kissed D in hall & on the step
15c on the bus.
[underlined] 77c. Photos, enlargements. [/underlined]
[page break]
NOVEMBER 16
[underlined] MON/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs, jam & coffee. Insts. exam & A/C, rec. Exam. Beef, spuds; bread pud; milk. Met, DR & Met. Mr. Pleuman said “Good Bye” PT. Duty watch. Stew, spuds; bread pud; cake & milk [underlined] WHAT A DINNER!! [/underlined] Comittee [sic] meeting re [indecipherable word] & dinner. F/Lt. Airdale not to be admitted. May write to Joyce & Gran. & MAY? swot Met. Phoned to Doris. Had 2 bottles of beer & [underlined] A CIGAR [/underlined] Denness’ BD. [underlined] A/G. to Gran & Joyce. [/underlined] [indecipherable word]
[page break]
NOVEMBER 17
[underlined] TUES/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs, jam, coffee. 5 DR periods. Sos, spuds; choc. pud; milk. [underlined] LETTER from Norah. [/underlined] DR, Anti Gas, Sigs, PT.
Sos, spuds; peaches; milk. Duty Watch. 10c sweets; 75C Xmas cards 25C stamps. Benches too [sic] & from Hanger, before & after show. Phoned Doris, exchanged greetings with her mother. Wrote several Xmas cards ready to send.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 18
WED/42
Kellogs; jam; coffee. Met. Exam 3 hours, then DR. [underlined] Letter from Doris. [/underlined] Pork, spuds, sweeds; [sic] vanilla pie; milk. [underlined] Phone call from Doris. [/underlined] DR., Sigs., Football. Liver, onion, spuds, sweeds; [sic] ginger cake; milk. Played, or tried to play table tennis with Gwyn. $1.80 stamps. ($2.70 for 9 Xmas cards & letter to Ma.) 6c. sweets. Siren for test blackout.
[circled LETTER 22 (TWO)]
[page break]
NOVEMBER 19
[underlined] THURS/42 [/underlined]
Porr; jam; coffee. Stereo pairs, & on second flight line overlap. Camera went wrong on 1st flight. Beef, spuds; cake & sauce; milk. [underlined] Letter from Doris & Alwyn. Papers from Gran & Ma. [/underlined] Sos, spuds, etc.. milk. Duty Watch. Hitch. $1.20. “Forest Rangers.” Paulette Goddard, [blank space]. Doris paid for choc shakes. 26c. st. car. Lots of love & kisses in the hall. 50c. taxi Sgt. picked us up as we came in.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 20
[underlined] FRI/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs & coffee. Co’s parade in gt. coats. Did hollow sq. in tunics DR. [underlined] Letter from Gran & Ma [/underlined] (at long last) Fish, spuds, carrots; creamed fruit; milk. FP. Arms. (sightings etc) Wings Parade of [underlined] 56 [/underlined] Course. Brawn, spuds; apple pie; milk. Raided the remains of the litter left by 56. [underlined] Doris phoned at Dinner Time. [/underlined] Phoned Doris
[page break]
NOVEMBER 21
[underlined] SAT/42 [/underlined]
Kellogs; jam; coffee. DR. Mr. Wood came in to see us. Told us a “tale” too (“She could play cards.”) Beef, spuds; bread pud; milk. Took off &. S/C from Brampton. Had to land as aerial went WEST. Took off again & got round OK. eventualy. [sic] [underlined] No. MAIL. [/underlined] Spare ribs, spuds, cheese; peaches; milk Played table tennis with Gwyn. Telephone to Doris.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 22
[underlined] SUN/42 [/underlined]
Got up about 1100 AM. Beef, spuds, peas; rice pud; tea. Flight to Goose Lake. Drift & Sun Shots. Brawn, spuds, beet; peaches & cake; prunes; 2 cups milk Chased around for Long rule & [indecipherable word]. Found that Combay had borrowed them.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 23
[underlined] MON 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs, bacon & egg, coffee. DR Exam. Dinner in a rush. [underlined] Letter from Doris Paper from Ma & AG from Gran [/underlined] Air plot. D/F & Astro pics to get wind. Then DR ahead & S/C for base. Had supper & lapped it. Lift to Dundas. St. Car to Jane Bloor. 84c. “Yer Cardboard Lover” Bob Taylor & Norma Shearer. “Moontide” Jean Gabin.
20c. coffee & donuts.
Love & kisses.
10c [deleted] coffee [/deleted] choc milk & donuts. 50c taxi.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 24
[underlined] TUES 42 [/underlined]
Kellogs & coffee. RAIN. [underlined] 73 Met. [/underlined] New sight log book. 113/150 for photography. Beef, spuds, turnip; lemon pie twice, milk. Drew J & L Band. Went into bombing teacher. Sos, spuds; cake; prunes; milk. Heavy fog. In HD area. [underlined] Letter to Ma. [/underlined] (not posted.) [underlined] letter to Eric, Doris & Gran (to post) [/underlined]
[page break]
NOVEMBER 25
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs, coffee, bread & jam. Moon Shots, Sigs AA. Beef spuds, bread pud, milk. FP. etc. Liver, spuds, onion: apple; milk. Drew sextant & Astrographs. Going for chute. 212 out of 250 for DR so I’m OK. Finished letter to Gran & bit more for Ma. Phoned Doris. [underlined] Roll Call in Barracks at 10-15. [/underlined] More Bull. Mr. Wood beat Tiger at Table Tennis. He bought beers all round. Flight washed at last minute.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 26
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs; jam; coffee. Compass swing x 4. Sextant Shots. Pork, spuds, carrots; creamed fruit; milk. Interviewed, almost Tarrant just before me. [underlined] Letter from Ma & Doris. [/underlined] P.T. Minced meat pie, spuds, peas; peaches; milk. Drew sextant & chute. 100 MPH wind at 5000 ft. so washed out flight. 15c. phone to Doris. [underlined] Sent letter to Gran. Air Mail. [/underlined]
[page break]
[inserted] [underlined] $27.50 pay. [/underlined] [/inserted]
NOVEMBER 27
[underlined] FRI. 42 [/underlined]
Kellogs, jam, coffee. Co’s parade up road & back & Bloody frozen by time we got back. Letter from Eric. Salmon, spuds, beet; rice pud; milk. 15 shots on the range 20; 13; & 20. LAUNDRY NOT RETURNED. Lift to Main Highway then to Dundas St. Car. $1.00 bed at YMCA in 203. 25c. st. car. 84c “Eagle Sqaudron” at Eglington & “One Born Every Minute.” 60c sundaes & milk shake. Daddy not gone to bed so we just kissed Good night on the steps.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 28
[underlined] SAT 42. [/underlined]
50c. st car tickets. $2.50 silver wings. $1.10 lunch. 85c button RCAF. Took her home. 40c for supper. 35c chocs. 8c. snaps Went to Ice hockey game. I enjoyed it OK. ($3.50 for tickets.) 20c. Cokes. In the middle of our “Good Night kiss(es)” when Gillie opened the door & walked in.
[page break]
NOVEMBER 29
[underlined] SUN. 42 [/underlined]
5c phone at 11.0 AM. 45c lamb & mint sauce, choc. pie; coffee. Puffed wheat & toffee (in milk) cookies, trés bonne, & cup of coffee. Gave [blank space] 5c. & Marion 10c. SNOW. Went round Museum. 40c. sos, spuds, cream pie; coffee. 15c. gums. Went to a “new” church. 20c. (10c Doris put in collection.) 25c. st. car. Doris paid for sandwiches & Bovril 45c. 50c taxi. 12c. two bars of choc.
[circled LETTER 23 MA]
[page break]
NOVEMBER 30
[underlined] MON 42 [/underlined]
SNOW. Kellogs, egg & toast, jam, coffee. Compass & loop swing. Beef, spuds, carrots; raisin pie; milk. Sweet nothing to do. Stuck a few planes in book. Had PT & then supper. Lift to Bloor by car. Took snap of Mr. Wood to Liggetts, Bay St. (24 PNTS) Royal York, Grad. Dinn 7.30 PM. $1. photo. 10c phone to Doris. 80c extra for Dinner. Lift back in station waggon LETTER & negs to Doris in [indecipherable word] at Royal York.
[page break]
DECEMBER 1
[underlined] TUES 42. [/underlined]
Up at 9-15 PM. Clothing parade at 10 cancelled. Beef, spuds, turnip; cake & sauce; milk. 15 rounds on rifle range. 10c for Tiger. $1.05 stamps other day. Had supper. Both flights washed, rain & snow so slipped a pass in & went out. Eglington “You are always in my heart” & [blank space] 84c. Doris’ Ma may not be able to come to “wings” parade. 20c choc milk. Doris ma still up when we got home at 12.00 Anyway we pinched a few kisses. 50c taxi back to camp.
[page break]
DECEMBER 2
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs, bacon & toast, coffee. Icy wind, so, no parade. DR & Aldis. Sos, spuds; bread pud, milk. Letter from Doris. Still more wind. Lining up drift recorders. Photo with Pat & Jackie, (3 York tykes) with our wing “up.” Meat loaf, spuds, cabbage, 2 pieces pie; milk. 1st flight washed, 2nd. pending. 25c. All Bran & hot chocolate. 10c. phone to Doris, had about 15 min & no overcharge.
[page break]
DECEMBER 3
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
Porr, bacon & egg: coffee. Stores. Painted a few houses on the snap. [underlined] Letter from Alwyn. [/underlined] [inserted] P.O. [/inserted] Beef, spuds; rice pud; milk. Stores, FFI. Battle Dress for old blue, 4 strips, one wing, gloves, shirt. Liver, spuds; 2 pears; milk; cake. Got pass signed in case we couldn’t [deleted] get out [/deleted] fly. Shave, & button polish. Put battle dress on. Not a bad fit. Standing by [underlined] all night. [/underlined] Started letter to Ma. Phoned Doris. Had FP made out for trip out West. Waited for Snell & Steven E [indecipherable word] in Met Report.
[page break]
[inserted] WINGS PARADE [/inserted]
[underlined] December 4
Fri 42 [/underlined]
Eventualy [sic] took off to fly round & round Malton area. Had 1st flight with GA. Owen. (had 2600 hrs “dead”.) Went up with Tarrant for 1.05. Got to bed at 7.0 AM after bacon & toast breakfast. Up again at 9-30 AM. Made log book up. $22 pay. 6c. meat pie. Made sight log book up. Chicken spuds, pork, beer, fag. Laundry 34c. W.P. practice in hanger. [underlined] Wings Parade [/underlined] Doris there. Bus into town 30c. Had supper at D’s (okay) Sewed strips on Gt. coat & wings on tunic. Liggetts shut. 10c bus to camp Bed by 1 AM.
[page break]
DECEMBER 5
[underlined] SAT. 42. [/underlined] Packed & cleared stn. Mr. Wood shook hands. Ticket etc. from Ordly [sic] Room. 50c. taxi. West End Y full so went to Triangle (50c) $1.20. Moon & Sixpence” George Sanders. Bought Pat & Junes watches $43.50 Razor Sharpener $2. Doris bought ring for me. [deleted] West End Y still full so again went to Triangle. [/deleted]
[page break]
DECEMBER 6
[underlined] SUN 42. [/underlined]
resewed stripe on gt. coat 25c sos at White Cheff Doris arrived & Muriel left Went to Museum again with Doris. Pinched 2 X’s Doris wearing ring. Had Dinner at Doris’. Went to Church. Held hands. 45c. Soup & 2 Bovrils. Sewed stripes on tunic. West End Y still full so went back to Triangle $1.00 for two nights.
[page break]
DECEMBER 7
[underlined] MON 42 [/underlined]
Up at 8.0 AM. Went to stn arr. 8-45. Only 4 of us there. Unloaded all kit. Booked ours onto train & deposited other in Can Legion. Met Dot at 12-15 PM. [underlined] Sent cable home 67c. [/underlined] Bought Dot wing $15. Spoke to Tommy. 50c. fish & choc pie din & bfst. 30c dog biscuits. 15c gums 25c st car. Dot took me to show. 45c Bovril etc. Doris received wing & gave me ring Love & kisses till 1-30 to 2-0.
[page break]
[inserted] [underlined] TORONTO – MONTREAL (FOR MONCTON) [/underlined] N.B. [/inserted]
DECEMBER 8
[underlined] TUES 42 [/underlined] 8.
Up at 7-30. 15c. All Bran & coffee. stn at 9-0. left all checks in Legion. Met Doris on stn. gave her one kiss good bye & no more. Jumped onto train & left [underlined] Toronto [/underlined] 75c ticket. sos, spuds & peaches; coffee. Arr. Montreal 6-0. Checked in Berth ticket & bags $1.00 ticket. chicken spuds, peas; apple pie, coffee. Pat didn’t know his great coat. 7-30 train pulled out. Bed about 10-0 PM.
[page break]
DECEMBER 9
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
Up at 7-30. Tom juice ham & egg, coffee. [underlined] Campbellton put watch ON one hour. [/underlined] arr Moncton 3-15 PM. Walked to camp. Filled in usual cards. Got billet then had supper, minced meat, bread & jam. Saw Steffie & Dough Pitt. [underlined] FIRE [/underlined]
[page break]
DECEMBER 10
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
NO. BFST. Parade at 9-0 AM. FFI. Church Gas Mask. Had Dinner. Saw Steffie again & went to see Phil. Vaccine check at hospital Had supper, finished letter (?) to Ma to give to Phil.) Wet. Disney’s “Dumbo 15c. on stn. with Gwyn. Phil there too. Gave him letter & saw him for last time.
[page break]
DECEMBER 11
[underlined] FRI 42 [/underlined]
Bacon beans & milk Webing [sic] parad [sic] & deficiencies. Bean soup, beef spuds. peas; rice pud & [underlined] WATER!!! [two symbols] [/underlined]
Snow (more) no parade. Cleared more stuff out of kit bag. Sos, spuds bread & jam [underlined] PEE [/underlined]!! NOT tea
[page break]
DECEMBER 12
[underlined] SAT 42. [/underlined]
bacon & egg, PEE. RUSH at stores. Had din in mess Played cards & started letter to [underlined] Doris after receiving 2 from her & one from Tommy. [/underlined] Had supper [inserted] sos & spuds [/inserted] on camp [underlined] Shave. [/underlined] went out with Gwyn. Bowls, Peackock turned up then Bill Squires of all people. 25c cocoa & apple pie. 15c fruit & 15c sos rolls. [underlined] SHOWER [/underlined]
[page break]
DECEMBER 13
[underlined] SUN 42 [/underlined]
2 sos rolls & apple of my own. 9-15 para 10-15 church parade. Cream Tom soup; beef spuds, cabbage; cust & sponge cake; milk. Went out with Gwyn to finish film. Took 2 of frozen stream, one of self & one of landscape. 50c ham egg & chips, apple pie & coffee. 10c. mins 10c biscuits. 5c crisps 12c choc. & 5c milk. Finished letter to [underlined] Doris [/underlined]
[page break]
DECEMBER 14
[underlined] MON 42. [/underlined]
[underlined] Letter from Doris. [/underlined]
Put into classes for lectures.
“I married a Witch.”
[page break]
DECEMBER 15
[underlined] TUES 42. [/underlined]
Bread & cheese, tea. Parade 8-30 AM. Got leave application form & got flight’s sign Cleaned bowls in wash room Beef & spuds; jam tart & cust milk. Pay parade. $25. Finished Jane Gray’s book (2nd time.) Sos & spuds, bread & jam, tea. NO MAIL. 5c on bus. Eatons shut. laundry not ready. 25c. apple & mints. 17c milk & 2 malt! Bars. Went to stn. about trains. ($22.75 to Toronto.)
[page break]
DECEMBER 16
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & beans; tea. Parade 8.30 AM. Went to see adj. (sqdn) forwarded to W. Adj. Stew, puds, carrots; rice pud. Parade 1-30 PM. Sqdn. WO, read note about sgt being hung for murder whilst drunk. Went to Wing Adj given 7 days filled in pass form & left it with SWO. Changed barracks, Packed. Meat ball, spuds, bread & jam, cake & sauce tea $22.75 for ticket to Toronto. 36c laundry 40c meal. [underlined] Letter to Norah & card Letter from Doris [/underlined]
[page break]
[inserted] MONCTON S/C TORONTO. [/inserted]
DECEMBER 17
[underlined] THURS 42 [/underlined]
bacon & egg; terrible porr good tea. Got pass & went to Accounts & got $30. Pay & 50c a day ration allowance. Handed kit into stores. Tried to get ration card. Freezing cold. [underlined] Letter & Xmas card to Norah. AG. From Ma & Elsie. [/underlined] Pork, spuds, cabb stewed apple & custard, milk Taxi to stn. 25c. Train 1 hr late. Halibut stake [sic] parsley sauce, spuds; parsnip milk. (75c) Cards, whist 7’s etc.
[page break]
DECEMBER 18
[underlined] FRI 42 [/underlined]
8-0 AM CAMPBELLTON 7-0 AM watches back 1 hr ETA Montreal 9-0 AM, leg lamb, spuds & peas, milk Cards, reading & sleeping. Arr. Montreal 3-50 ONLY 7 hours late Next train 11-0 PM. Went with Gwyn to his relations Snack & shave & good wash. Arr. stn. 10-45. Train eventualy [sic] S/C at 12-00 AM.
[page break]
DECEMBER 19
[underlined] SAT 42. [/underlined]
Arr. 9-30 2 hours late. 25c. sos, spuds, & peas; coffee. $2 for bed. $1.25 [deleted] cushion [/deleted] [inserted] CUSHION [/inserted] cover. $6 for lighter for William. 20c flints. Tommy & rest of girls at office 12-10 & then Doris Steak & kidney pie, soup & blueberry pie; coffee; $1. Shopping ie shop window gazing. 25c. st. car. Dinner at Doris’ $1.20. “One of Our Bombers failed to Return” Damn good! Only one X. Mr. up trimming the Xmas tree.
[page break]
DECEMBER 20
[underlined] SUN 42. [/underlined]
Up at 10-30. 5c. phone to Doris from Central. All at church. 45c brunch. All Bran; sos, beans; blueberry pie & coffee. Rang Doris up again. Met her at Museum 2-45. Dinner at her home. Went to St. Georges church. Carols & school kids helping us to sing some. One X. Good Night [underlined] again. [/underlined] In bed by 1-0 AM
[page break]
DECEMBER 21
[underlined] MON 42. [/underlined]
Up 10-45 AM. Met Doris at CPR Telegraph office. Walked round. Went & saw Tommy at the office. 15c. polishing Duster. brunch. All Bran liver & coffee. 40c. 60c 2 x 127 films. 70c. 2 x 620 films. 15c [indecipherable word] 5c drawing pins. 40c liver, lemon pie & coffee. St car to Jane. 84c Runnymede “Broadway” George Raft. Cheese Sand & Bovril. Doris paid. Mr. still up so!!
[page break]
DECEMBER 22
[underlined] TUES 42 [/underlined]
Up 10-45. Shave. Met Doris usual place. $21.75 watch for Ma. Saw Tommy again. Kissed me Good Bye & Good Luck. Walked Round & Round & Round. 20c blades. 30c batteries 60c. fish, choc pie & coffee. Tried to find Stringer. Posted photos in end to Piper at NO. 1AOS. 25c. milk shakes & sundaes. Saw Mrs Ryall on st car. Went with D for Meat for my lunch. Loews. “7 Sweethearts” & “Eyes in the Dark” Bovril & cheese sandwich. X X X’s & more X X X’s. Took my lunch. bed by 3-0 AM
[page break]
DECEMBER 23
[underlined] WED 42 [/underlined]
Up 7-40. 15c. coffee & Bran Flakes. 5c phone to Doris from Stn. Met her outside. Tommy said she was on her way. Walked back to office with her. one X outside & then left her. Boarded train 9-45. Pulled out 10-45. [underlined] 1hr. late [/underlined] Arr. Mont. 7-0 PM about 1 or 2 hrs late. 48c fish, lemon pie & coffee. 12c Aero choc. Should S/C 8-10. finaly [sic] set off 8-45. F/Sgt. SP with prisoner on way to Halifax. Posted X Cards to Tommy & Doris at Drumondville (11-0 PM.)
[page break]
DECEMBER 24
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
Had spot of brunch. 10 to 110. AM. Cards with self. Tired so had occasional naps CAMPBELLTON 1-0 PM turned to 2-0 PM. 18c. chips & choc bar. Finished lunch at 4-0. PM Arr. at 8-0 PM. Took film in. Got laundry 29c. Splitting Gwyn’s $10 bill after all. Got kit bag out of stores.
[page break]
[underlined] DECEMBER 25
FRI. 42 [/underlined]
Up at 10-30 to 11-0. Turkey & pork, spuds, peas, apple sauce & stuffing; Cream of tom soup; plum pud; mince pie; bottle of beer; fag; apples, pears & oranges; grapes. [underlined] 4 letters from Doris. Letter from Ma with Elsie’s. Letter from Gran. Letter & 15/- P.O. from S.P.T. [/underlined] Reading book. Pork, beef (cold) pickles & spuds; Xmas cake bread & jam, tea. More reading. Making diary up. Letter to Doris.
[page break]
DECEMBER 26
[underlined] SAT 42 [/underlined]
Pork, cab & spuds; rice pud & jelly. Letter to Doris finished. No Mail. Pork, spuds, celery, pickles, cheese jelly, bread & jam, tea. Gwyn returned [underlined] home. [/underlined] 33c stamps [underlined] posted letter to Doris. [/underlined] 15c. hot choc. & 2 donuts.11c salted & choc peanuts. darn cold out. Wrote AG to Cus & Elsie (Foster.) Letter to Gran.
Bed 12-0 AM..
[page break]
DECEMBER 27
[underlined] SON 42. [/underlined]
Church 11-0 AM. then Communion at 11-45. Celery soup; pork, spuds, choc cake & custard, milk. Reading & nothing else. Short sleep. Ham beef & egg, choc cake & cust tea, bread & jam. Finished book. Wrote letter to Doris. Arty returned Watch still U.S. [underlined] AG to Cus & Elsie [/underlined] & [underlined] letter to Gran. [/underlined] 3 x 3c stamp 4 x 30c. films. 25c. choc hot & Bran Flakes.
[page break]
DECEMBER 28
[underlined] MON 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs; bacon & tomato, tea. Parade. Dismissed. Parceled [sic] watch. Went to Pay Accounts too [sic] late. [underlined] Posted watch 31c. registered Air Mail. [/underlined] Soup; stew, spuds, carrots; prunes; Tea. [underlined] 2 letters [inserted] Xmas Card [/inserted] from Doris. [/underlined] Dismissed again. Started letter to Pat Went to P.O. to sort letters [underlined] Parcel from Norah Xmas Cakes [/underlined] Sos & spuds; apple pie, milk; tea; jam. Gave cake out. [underlined] Posted letter to Doris. [/underlined] 2 X 30c. 620 films. 2 x 10c blades. 5c. milk.
[page break]
DECEMBER 29
[underlined] TUES 42. [/underlined]
No bfst. Parade 8-30. Film, show (propaganda) “Ditching” procedure, Morse? [underlined] No Mail. [/underlined] Beef, spuds (baked) cabbage; rice pud; milk. Letter sorting again. Bed. Hamburger meat & macaroni; bread & jam; tea. More Bed. 5c. bus. Gwyn posted his letter (s) Went for my film not done. Went to Y. 20c 2 milks & choc cake. Went back for film 38c. 40c sacarin 39c Ginger Rogers in “The Major & the Minor” a scream! Walked back
[page break]
DECEMBER 30
[underlined] WED 42. [/underlined]
Kellogs & HOT milk; beans & bacon; tea. Bed. Navigation? Signals? [underlined] No MAIL. [/underlined] Bean soup; beef; spuds, cabbage; apple & custard; milk. Parade Post Office [underlined] No Mail. [/underlined] Ran to Mess. Meat pie (Sheppherd) [sic] Macaroni & milk. Bread & jam; tea. [underlined] Letter to Doris. [/underlined] 5c bus. Got Gwyn’s picts, posted letter. Rain turning to hail. 10c hot choc. 75c. chocs. 6c choc. 10c biscuits 10c mints. Walked back. [underlined] Letter to Ma & Tommy [/underlined]
[page break]
DECEMBER 31
[underlined] THURS 42. [/underlined]
No bfst. Parade in drill hall. Bed till 10-15 played cards. Navi. Didn’t go to signals. Stew, (bean) pork, stuffing, spuds, carrots & apple sauce, crackling, prunes & cust; milk. Parade. Pay accounts. Pay parade 2-30. $25 pay. Gave Gwyn his $10 back Now have $16. Post Office. [underlined] Letter from Doris. [/underlined] Bean soup; cheese cake, spuds; cheese; brd & jam; tea. [underlined] Letter to Doris [/underlined] Show, walked into town. 10c milk shake. Walked back. Shower. Washed socks. Bed about 11-45
[page break]
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
Keith Thompson's diary July 1942 to July 1943
Description
An account of the resource
During this period Keith was under training in Canada and then in England from June 1943 on 28 OTU at RAF Wymswold.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Keith Thompson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942
1943
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Large format diary
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text. Diary
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
YThompsonKG1238603v2
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.
Canada
Great Britain
England--Leicestershire
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07
1942-08
1942-09
1942-10
1942-11
1942-12
1943-01
1943-02
1943-03
1943-04
1943-05
1943-06
1943-07
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.
28 OTU
aircrew
entertainment
military living conditions
military service conditions
navigator
Navy, Army and Air Force Institute
Operational Training Unit
RAF Wymeswold
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1271/17886/LBrittRG1739520v1.2.pdf
b99268ee5803cc0846735451cd928fa9
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
Britt, Ron
Ronald Gleeson Britt
R G Britt
Description
An account of the resource
Five items. The collection concerns Ronald Britt (b.1923, 1939520 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book and photographs. He was an air gunner who flew 30 operations with 103 squadron and Binbrook Special Duties flight.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Stuart Pearce, Debbie Pearce, nee Britt, and Gail Elizabeth Britt. It was 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
2017-05-21
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
Britt, 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
Ronald G Britt’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 Ronald G Britt, covering the period from 1 October 1943 to 26 May 1945. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Stormy Down, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Lindholme, RAF Hemswell, RAF Elsham Wolds, RAF Binbrook and RAF Greenock. Aircraft flown in were, Anson, Wellington, Halifax, Lancaster and Sunderland. He flew a total of 30 operations with 103 squadron and 103 special duties flight, 22 Night and 8 daylight operations. Targets were Aachen, Calais, Wimereux, Crisbecq, Vire, Flers, Gelsenkirchen, Le Havre, Sterkrade, Aulnoye, Beaupre, Domleger, Oisemont, Revigny, Fontenay, Douai, Orleans, Dijon, Rieme, Russelsheim, Gdynia, Chapelle Notre Dame, Stettin, Agenville, Eindhoven, Frankfurt, Kattegat and Leeuwarden. His pilots on operations were Flying Officer Colvin, Pilot Officer Green and Group Captain Shean.
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
LBrittRG1739520v1
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.
Belgium
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Poland
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)
Belgium--Flanders
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Beaupréau
France--Calais
France--Dijon
France--Douai
France--Flers-de-l'Orne
France--Jura
France--Le Havre
France--Manche
France--Nord (Department)
France--Oisemont (Canton)
France--Orléans
France--Reims
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Somme
France--Vire (Calvados)
France--Wimereux
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Rüsselsheim
Netherlands--Leeuwarden
Poland--Gdynia
Scotland--Greenock
Wales--Bridgend
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
France
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Domléger-Longvillers
France--Fontenay
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1944-06
1944-07
1944-08
1944-01-28
1944-01-30
1944-05-24
1944-05-28
1944-06-02
1944-06-03
1944-06-04
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-09
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-14
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-06-17
1944-06-18
1944-06-27
1944-06-29
1944-06-30
1944-07-04
1944-07-05
1944-07-06
1944-07-08
1944-07-09
1944-07-12
1944-07-13
1944-07-15
1944-07-16
1944-07-17
1944-07-19
1944-07-20
1944-07-23
1944-08-07
1944-08-08
1944-08-11
1944-08-19
1944-08-20
1944-08-25
1944-08-26
1944-08-27
1944-08-28
1944-08-29
1944-08-30
1944-08-31
1944-09-03
1944-09-05
1944-09-10
1944-09-12
1944-09-13
1944-09-15
1944-09-16
1944-09-17
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
103 Squadron
1656 HCU
28 OTU
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
bombing of the Le Havre E-boat pens (14/15 June 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Binbrook
RAF Elsham Wolds
RAF Greenock
RAF Hemswell
RAF Lindholme
RAF Stormy Down
RAF Wymeswold
Sunderland
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1236/18905/LThompsonKG1238603v1.1.pdf
871bd909c7b25612385eece8ca7fbc06
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
Thompson, Keith G
K G Thompson
Description
An account of the resource
95 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Keith Thompson DFC (1238603 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, photographs and training material as well as his navigation logs. He flew operations as a navigator with 101 and 199 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mark S Thompson and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
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
2015-09-07
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
Thompson, KG
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
Permission granted for commercial projects
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
Keith Thompson's flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Flying log book for Keith Thompson covering his two periods of service as a navigator from 23 August 1942 to 28 March 1946 and post war from 12 September 1950 to 27 April 1960. The entries cover his training in Canada, advanced training on his return to Britain, converting to the Lancaster and a first tour on 101 Squadron, his rest tour and then 12 operations on the Halifax with 199 Squadron undertaking Radio Counter Measure operations. His post war flying was initially as a bombing instructor and then with Coastal Command on the Shackleton. This period included three round trips to Christmas Island for operation 'Grapple'. Units served at include No 1 AOS at RCAF Malton, 15 AFTS at RAF Carlisle, No 4 AOS at RAF West Freugh, 28 OTU at RAF Wymswold, RAF Castle Donington and RAF Bircotes, 1662 HCU at RAF Blyton, 101 Squadron at RAF Ludford Magna, 30 OTU at RAF Hixon, 1659 HCU at RAF Topcliffe, 199 Squadron at RAF North Creake, 192 Squadron at RAF Foulsham, RWE at RAF Watton, RAF Shawbury, CGS at RAF Leconfield, 2 ANS at RAF Thorney Island, 6 ANS at RAF Lichfield, 236 OCU at RAF Kinloss, 206 Squadron at RAF St Eval and St Mawgan and Coastal Command Communication Flight at RAF Bovingdon. Aircraft in which flown, Anson in Canada Mk unknown, Mk 19 & 21, Tiger Moth, Wellington 1c, X and T10, Halifax II and III, Lancaster I and III, B17 Fortress, Valletta, Varsity, Shackleton I and II. His pilots on operations were Pilot Officer Corkill, Wing Commander Alexander and Pilot Officer Sharples. Operations carried out against Berlin, Frankfurt, Stettin, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Schweinfurt, Essen, Nurnburg, Aulnoye, Rouen, Koln, Bois de Maintenon, Lyon, Hasselt, Orleans, Duisburg, Brunswick, Aachen, Trappes on his first tour and was awarded the DFC. He did 12 RCM Operations on his second tour and two Cook's Tours. The log book has the usual comments about weather and unusual sightings and events.
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
LThompsonKG1238603v1
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Germany
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
England--Norfolk
England--Leicestershire
England--Nottinghamshire
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Essen
France--Rouen
France--Lyon
Belgium--Hasselt
France--Orléans
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Cologne
Poland--Szczecin
Ontario--Malton
Poland
France
Ontario
Belgium
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.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Trevor Hardcastle
Cara Walmsley
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1943-08-11
1943-08-12
1943-12-02
1943-12-03
1943-12-20
1943-12-21
1943-12-24
1943-12-29
1944-01-02
1944-01-03
1944-01-05
1944-01-06
1944-01-20
1944-01-21
1944-01-27
1944-01-28
1944-01-30
1944-01-31
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-18
1944-03-19
1944-03-22
1944-03-23
1944-03-24
1944-03-25
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-30
1944-05-01
1944-05-02
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
1944-05-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-05-24
1944-05-25
1944-05-28
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1945-02-28
1945-03-01
1945-03-07
1945-03-08
1945-03-09
1945-03-14
1945-03-15
1945-03-16
1945-03-17
1945-03-20
1945-03-23
1945-03-24
1945-03-27
1945-04-04
1945-04-22
1945-04-23
1945-04-24
1945-05-15
1945-06-22
1945-09-03
1945-09-06
101 Squadron
1659 HCU
1662 HCU
192 Squadron
199 Squadron
28 OTU
30 OTU
Advanced Flying Unit
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
B-17
bombing
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
Cook’s tour
Distinguished Flying Cross
Flying Training School
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
navigator
Operational Training Unit
RAF Blyton
RAF Castle Donington
RAF Foulsham
RAF Hixon
RAF Kinloss
RAF Leconfield
RAF Lichfield
RAF Ludford Magna
RAF North Creake
RAF Shawbury
RAF St Eval
RAF St Mawgan
RAF Thorney Island
RAF Topcliffe
RAF Watton
RAF Wellesbourne Mountford
RAF West Freugh
RAF Wymeswold
Shackleton
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/826/22951/LFranklinRH178702v1.1.pdf
ed8f5bd3c7bd6417da67d59f66c5abb8
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
Franklin, Richard
R Franklin
Description
An account of the resource
Two items. An oral history interview with Flight Lieutenant Richard Franklin (b. 1923, 1319873, 178702 Royal Air Force) and his log book. He flew a tour of operations as a wireless operator / air gunner and later retrained as a navigator.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard Franklin 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
2018-06-15
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
Franklin, RH
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
Richard Franklin’s navigators, air bombers, air gunners and flight engineers flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Wireless operators flying log book for Richard Franklin covering the period from 17th February 1943 to 19th July 1946. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and instructor duties. He was stationed at RAF Madely (4 Radio School), RAF Wigtown (1(O)AFU), RAF Honeybourne (24 OTU), RAF Topcliffe (1659 HCU), RAF Leeming (427 Squadron), RAF Atherstone, RAF Wellesbourne Mountford (22 OTU), RAF Wymeswold (108 OTU), RAF Membury (525 Squadron), RAF Stoney Cross (46 Squadron). Aircraft flown in were, Dominie, Proctor, Botha, Anson, Whitley, Halifax, Wellington, Dakota. He flew a total 30 operations (all night-time) with 427 squadron. His aircraft was attacked by an Me 109. the aircraft was damaged and crash landed at RAF Lakenheath. Targets were Hanover, Kassel, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Essen, Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, Le Bourget, Lens, Saint-Valery-en-Caux, Ghent, Boulogne, Louvain, Le Clipit, Aachen, Bourg Leopold, Au Fevre, Merville, Conde-Sur-Noireau, Archeres, Arras. His pilot on operations was Flying Officer Weldon DFC. The log book also lists his post war RAF flights.
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 French
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
LFranklin RH178702v1
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
France
Germany
Great Britain
Belgium--Ghent
Belgium--Louvain
England--Berkshire
England--Hampshire
England--Hertfordshire
England--Leicestershire
England--Warwickshire
France--Arras
France--Condé-sur-Noireau
France--Le Bourget
France--Lens
France--Merville (Nord)
France--Paris
France--Saint-Valery-en-Caux
France--Paris
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Essen
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Stuttgart
Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway
Belgium--Leopoldsburg
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hannover
England--Yorkshire
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1946
1943-10-08
1943-10-22
1943-11-03
1943-11-22
1943-11-23
1943-11-25
1943-11-26
1943-12-03
1943-12-20
1943-12-21
1943-12-29
1943-12-30
1944-01-20
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-18
1944-03-19
1944-03-22
1944-03-23
1944-03-25
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-04-09
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-05-07
1944-05-08
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-13
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
1944-05-24
1944-05-25
1944-05-27
1944-05-28
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-08
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1659 HCU
22 OTU
24 OTU
427 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Kassel (22/23 October 1943)
bombing of the Juvisy, Noisy-le-Sec and Le Bourget railways (18/19 April 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Botha
C-47
Dominie
forced landing
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Me 109
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Proctor
RAF Atherstone
RAF Castle Donington
RAF Honeybourne
RAF Lakenheath
RAF Leeming
RAF Madley
RAF Stoney Cross
RAF Topcliffe
RAF Wellesbourne Mountford
RAF Wigtown
RAF Wymeswold
Stirling
training
Wellington
Whitley
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/551/23213/LLancasterJO103509v1.2.pdf
56bf3c9cc310d03cf9f44312ba2ba698
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, Jo
John Oliver Lancaster
J O Lancaster
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Lancaster, JO
Description
An account of the resource
17 items. Two oral history interviews with John Oliver 'Jo' Lancaster DFC (1919 - 2019, 948392, 103509 Royal Air Force), photographs and six of his log books. Jo Lancaster completed 54 operations as a pilot with in Wellingtons with 40 Squadron, and after a period of instructing, in Lancasters with 12 Squadron from RAF Wickenby. He became test pilot after the war and was the first person to use a Martin-Baker ejection seat in an emergency.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Jo Lancaster and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-08-18
2017-03-08
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
Jo Lancaster’s pilots flying log book. One
Description
An account of the resource
Pilots flying log book for J O Lancaster covering the period from 6 July 1937 to 15 September 1943. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and instructor duties. He was stationed at RAF Sywell, RAF Ansty, RAF Desford, RAF Sealand, RAF Ternhill, RAF Lossiemouth, RAF Wyton, RAF Wellesbourne Mountford, RAF Upavon, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Kirmington, RAF Wickenby and RAF Binbrook. Aircraft flown were Tiger Moth, Cadet, Hart, Audax, Master, Wellington, Bombay, Oxford, Stirling, Magister, Lancaster, Whitley, Halifax, Martinet, Skua and Spitfire. He flew a total of 54 operations, 31 with 40 squadron 1 daylight and 30 night, 2 night operations with 22 Operational Training Unit and 21 night operations with 12 Squadron. Targets were Calais, Hamburg, Hannover, Atlantic, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Cherbourg, Brest, Munster, Osnabruck, Mannheim, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Turin, Stettin, Rotterdam, Emden, Nurnberg, Essen, St Nazaire, Terschelling, Haugesund Fijord, Lorient, Wilhelmshaven, Bremen, Munich and Spezia. His pilot for his first 'second dickie' operations was Sergeant Taylor.
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
LLancasterJO103509v1
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
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Northamptonshire
England--Shropshire
England--Warwickshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Worcestershire
France--Brest
France--Calais
France--Cherbourg
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Emden (Lower Saxony)
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Italy--La Spezia
Italy--Turin
Netherlands--Rotterdam
Netherlands--Terschelling
Norway--Haugesund
Poland--Szczecin
Scotland--Moray
Wales--Flintshire
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Poland
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1941-05-09
1941-05-10
1941-05-11
1941-05-12
1941-05-15
1941-05-16
1941-05-27
1941-06-02
1941-06-03
1941-06-11
1941-06-12
1941-06-23
1941-06-24
1941-06-26
1941-06-27
1941-07-02
1941-07-03
1941-07-04
1941-07-05
1941-07-06
1941-07-07
1941-07-09
1941-07-10
1941-07-22
1941-07-23
1941-07-24
1941-07-30
1941-07-31
1941-08-12
1941-08-13
1941-08-16
1941-08-17
1941-08-18
1941-08-19
1941-08-25
1941-08-28
1941-08-29
1941-08-31
1941-09-01
1941-09-02
1941-09-03
1941-09-07
1941-09-08
1941-09-10
1941-09-11
1941-09-12
1941-09-13
1941-09-15
1941-09-16
1941-09-29
1941-09-30
1941-10-03
1941-10-04
1941-10-11
1941-10-12
1941-10-14
1941-10-15
1941-10-16
1941-10-17
1942-06-01
1942-06-02
1942-11-03
1942-11-04
1942-11-07
1942-11-08
1942-11-09
1942-11-10
1943-01-04
1943-01-05
1943-01-08
1943-01-09
1943-01-23
1943-01-24
1943-01-30
1943-01-31
1943-02-02
1943-02-03
1943-02-07
1943-02-08
1943-02-11
1943-02-12
1943-02-13
1943-02-14
1943-02-15
1943-02-16
1943-02-17
1943-02-18
1943-02-19
1943-02-21
1943-02-22
1943-03-03
1943-03-04
1943-03-05
1943-03-06
1943-03-08
1943-03-09
1943-03-10
1943-03-12
1943-03-13
1943-03-22
1943-03-23
1943-03-27
1943-03-28
1943-04-03
1943-04-04
1943-04-05
1943-04-18
1943-04-19
12 Squadron
20 OTU
22 OTU
28 OTU
40 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Cologne (30/31 May 1942)
Flying Training School
Halifax
Lancaster
Magister
Martinet
mine laying
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Ansty
RAF Binbrook
RAF Desford
RAF Kirmington
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Sealand
RAF Sywell
RAF Ternhill
RAF Upavon
RAF Wellesbourne Mountford
RAF Wickenby
RAF Wymeswold
RAF Wyton
Spitfire
Stirling
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1395/28402/MHoneyFWG915946-150421-030010.2.jpg
12b2792ff18232856fc855e831e7163b
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1395/28402/MHoneyFWG915946-150421-030004.2.jpg
d3601503bb3450cdf41df025e4d2d51e
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1395/28402/MHoneyFWG915946-150421-030011.2.jpg
300dec43f467f7c9e6aceaccb242b6d0
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
Honey, Fred
F W G Honey
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
2015-04-27
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
Honey, FWG
Description
An account of the resource
15 items. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Fred Honey (915946 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, documents, decorations and photographs. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 104 and 101 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Christopher Honey 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
Fred Honey's Service Record
Description
An account of the resource
RAF Form 543 issued to Fred and annotated with his service record.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three printed sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MHoneyFWG915946-150421-030004, MHoneyFWG915946-150421-030010, MHoneyFWG915946-150421-030011
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.
Great Britain
England--Oxford
England--Oxfordshire
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
101 Squadron
104 Squadron
Distinguished Flying Cross
Operational Training Unit
RAF Biggin Hill
RAF Wymeswold
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1424/28792/LRobinsonDA1215638v1.2.pdf
e308895d9d16d129b08fcf2fb24b909e
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
Robinson, John
J Robinson
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
2015-06-27
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
Robinson, J
Description
An account of the resource
One item. The log book belonging to Flight Lieutenant D A Robinson (1215638 Royal Air Force). He flew operations as a pilot with 158 Squadron before becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by John Robinson and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
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
D A Robinson’s pilot’s flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Pilot’s flying log book for D A Robinson, covering the period from 23 November 1942 to 21 May 1948. Covering his flying training, operations flown and instructor duties. It states in his log book that his previous one was lost due to enemy action but includes detail of his training establishments. He was stationed at RAF Bulawayo, RAF Mount Hampden, RAF Grantham, RAF Shawbury, RAF Condover, RAF Stradishall, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Castle Donington, RAF Marston Moor, RAF Lissett, RAF Little Rissington, RAF Wing and RAF Moreton-in-Marsh. He was a prisoner of war from 29 January 1944 to 2 May 1945. Aircraft flown in were Tiger Moth, Oxford, Wellington, Halifax, Lancaster and Anson. He flew a total of 17 operations with 158 Squadron, being reported missing on his last operation. Targets were Hamburg, Essen, Mannheim, Milan, Rheydt, Berlin, Kassel, Dusseldorf, Cannes, Ludwigshafen, Frankfurt and Magdeburg. His pilot for his first 'second dickie' operation was Flight Sergeant Williamson.
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
LRobinsonDA1215638v1
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
Zimbabwe
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Gloucestershire
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Shropshire
England--Suffolk
England--Yorkshire
France--Cannes
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Rheydt
Italy--Milan
Zimbabwe--Bulawayo
Zimbabwe--Harare
Italy
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1943-07-24
1943-07-25
1943-07-26
1943-07-27
1943-07-28
1943-07-29
1943-08-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-07
1943-08-08
1943-08-12
1943-08-13
1943-08-30
1943-08-31
1943-09-01
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-22
1943-10-23
1943-11-03
1943-11-04
1943-11-11
1943-11-18
1943-11-19
1943-12-19
1943-12-20
1943-12-21
1944-01-20
1944-01-21
1944-01-22
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
158 Squadron
1652 HCU
21 OTU
26 OTU
28 OTU
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
bombing of Kassel (22/23 October 1943)
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
prisoner of war
RAF Castle Donington
RAF Grantham
RAF Lissett
RAF Little Rissington
RAF Marston Moor
RAF Moreton in the Marsh
RAF Shawbury
RAF Stradishall
RAF Wing
RAF Wymeswold
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/753/31388/BCotterJDPCotterJDPv1.2.pdf
51801623ceddc1937a5f993bda2490ef
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
Cotter, John David Pennington
J D P Cotter
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns Wing Commander John Cotter DFC (b. 1923, Royal Canadian Air Force) and contains an oral history interview, his log book and a memoir. He flew operations as a pilot with 158 and 640 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by John Cotter 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
2018-08-28
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
Cotter, JDP
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
WING COMMANDER JOHN COTTER DFC
EXTRACTS FROM WAR DIARIES AND INFORMATION ON AIRCRAFT CREWS AND LISTS OF BOMBING RAIDS.
ACCOMPANYING ADDITIONS TO ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW 28th August 2018
[page break]
[underlined] A BOMBER CREW [/underlined]
I arrived at 28 Operational Training Unit, Bomber Command on 23rd February 1943.
The OTU was equipped with Wellington 1c aircraft and located at Wymeswold, near the town of Loughborough in Leicestershire. Most of the aircrew on my course were NCO's – sergeants – all the navigators were Canadian (RCAF). They also all wore the 'O' brevet which indicated that they had been trained as observers, i.e. navigators and bomb-aimers combined. But at this time the Air Force was splitting the duties of navigator and bomb-aimer and we had the new trade of bomb-aimer on our course. Initially most bomb-aimers were commissioned, as it was a new trade, and so most, if not all, the bomb aimers on our course were pilot officers.
There was a great deal of networking among the aircrew to sort themselves out into crews but I let matters take their course and eventually I was allocated a crew. So in my diary for 8th March I have put:
“At teatime in the Mess I met my navigator, a Canadian Called Andy Hicks. He seems a decent sort of chap.”
I think Andy must have been the first person crewed with me as it is not until 17th March that an air gunner, Wally Lomax, a wireless operator, Harry Reid and a bomb-aimer Norman Hawkridge, join the crew. We then started flying together – five of us. On 22nd March I was sent solo in the Wellington and the other 4 seemed quite happy with me. By 30th March we were going out in the evenings together as a crew, all except Norman, the bomb-aimer who lived in the Officers Mess. Anyway that evening we four sergeants went into Loughborough together – to the films (we saw a documentary “Desert Victory” and Alan Curtis in “Remember Pearl Harbour”).
The crew was given its first leave on Sunday 11th April and I invited Andy to come and stay at my home in North West London. Although he came from Calgary he had lost his mother in the Spanish flu epidemic of 1920 and the infant child had been brought over to Truro to be looked after by his grandmother: not returning to Canada until he was 8 years old. I think he had been down to Cornwall on a previous leave so he was glad of a break in London. My younger brother was away in the Air Force so Andy borrowed his civilian clothes for our trips into London. The leave was for 7 days and we packed a lot in during that week as the weather was superb. We met two Canadian friends of Andy who were both in the RCAF but were not aircrew. There is a photograph of the four of us at Hampton Court on a lovely sunny day – Andy and I in civilian clothes and Don and Hal in RCAF uniform. I never saw them again after that leave but Andy knew one of them in Alberta for many years after the War. One night we took my mother to dinner in London and then to the theatre to see Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard in “Watch on the Rhine”. We also saw Kay Hammond in 'Blithe Spirit' and a rather weak musical comedy.
2
After that leave Andy made my parents' flat his home and he used to spend half his leaves in Cornwall and half with us. When we got to the Squadron in July we found that crews were sent on leave for 7 days every six weeks. So Andy and I would go to my place for 3 days, then he would go to Paddington Station to catch the “Cornish Riviera” express down to Truro for 3 days. On the 7th day we would meet back in London and travel north together, back to the Squadron. We would always take my mother out to dinner and a show on every leave. At that time there was a very famous comedian called Sid Field and we would take Mother to one of his shows whenever he was appearing in London. Sid Field's female lead was Zoe Gail who used to appear on stage dressed in top hat and tails, complete with cane, singing “I'm Going to Get Lit up when the Lights Go On in London”. There was still a blackout throughout the country. Just after the War Sid Field died and then, some 10 years later, his leading lady, Zoe Gail, was crippled in a car accident. The two of us frequented the best restaurants (such as were still open – there was not much choice). Quite often we would dine at the Ritz Hotel which we could quite afford as no restaurant in wartime was allowed to charge more than 5 shillings for a meal. Hotels, such as the Ritz, would levy a cover charge of around the meal price to stop the riff-raff getting in. The only other crew member we would meet in London on our leaves was Bill Griffiths, our mid-upper gunner. Bill lived in Luton and we used to meet him in London or sometimes go up and stay at his parents' house. His mother was a very nice, attractive lady and she used to look after us very well.
The Canadian Forces had a club in London, just off Trafalgar Square, called the Beaver Club. Andy and I used to go there frequently on our leaves. We would quite often run out of money and we would go down to the RCAF accounts headquarters in Kensington. I would wait outside while Andy went in and drew some of his deferred pay to keep us going. On every leave we would pay at least one visit to a Turkish bath. The establishment we frequented was in Northumberland Avenue, just off Trafalgar Square. There, for a few shillings, we would endure a severe pummelling from the masseurs after going through hot, cold and steam baths. This would be followed by a two or three hour snooze followed by a call with tea and hot-buttered toast. We found it a wonderful tonic for a hangover. When my brother Paul had leave at the same time he would join us on our London escapades. Fortunately he had two suits so he and Andy would share the clothes.
Our flight commander at Wymeswold was Squadron Leader Penman and he was the first proper operational veteran that most of us had met. Penman was one of the survivors of a raid, in August 1942, on Augsburg. This was the last daylight raid by Bomber Command for nearly 2 years and had resulted in very heavy losses as only 5 aircraft, from an attacking force of 12 Lancasters had returned. The raid leader, Sqn. Ldr Nettleton, was awarded the VC and Penman received the DSO.
[page break]
3
At operational training unit crews finished off their course by undertaking a nickel raid. A nickel raid was a simple thing really although sometimes crews did not return. One's plane was loaded with leaflets and you flew across to France, Belgium or Holland and dropped all the leaflets which, I assume, encouraged all the occupied people to keep their chins up. So a nickel was a crew's operational baptism, although a reasonably mild one. My diary for 4th and 5th May 1943 reads:
“Got up about 11. Then went up and had dinner (lunch). After that went across to the link trainer and did an hour and a half which finishes me off (completes my link trainer programme). Then met Andy and found out that we were on a nickel. I nearly fainted! Bags of briefing and panic! Took off at 2130 and reached the (southern) English coast at 2359 where we wasted about an hour flying up and down trying to find Beachy Head (our departure point). Then crossed over to France. We had to drop leaflets on Rouen and we got caught in searchlights and then flak. Was I on pins! We were holed 5 times. Landed at Cranage (an airfield in North West of England) at 0400. Had no sleep at all. Got up at 0800: that is out of the chair that I occupied in the dump that the boys at this station call a Mess. I am still full of last night. Hung around all morning until at 1230 we got permission to take off. We got back to Wymeswold at about 1400 and after depositing our kit we went to the Intelligence Officer for an interrogation. Then to the Mess to proceed to shoot a line to all the boys. I was dog-tired however so Andy and I went and had a shower and then went to bed. Boy! Our first operation over – the 5 of us are walking around like fairies”.
At this stage our mid-upper gunner (Bill Griffiths) and our flight engineer (Mickey Rooney) had yet to join the crew. Bill Griffiths in fact joined us the next day, 6th May, and flew with us for the first time in place of Wally Lomax. On the Wellington we only had one gunner's turret – the rear – whereas we were obviously destined for Lancasters, Halifaxes or Stirlings all of which had positions for two gunners: a mid-upper and a rear gunner. When we arrived at this OTU we were told it normally supplied the Lancaster bomber squadrons.
On the 14th May 1943 we passed out, as a crew, from 28 OTU Wymeswold and we were off on 14 days leave. My diary stops at this time not to be resumed until September and then only for a short time. Anyway Andy came home with me for half the leave and spent the other half in Cornwall. We were posted to 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit at Marston Moor, just outside York. HCU's served to convert crews on to the heavy bombers to be flown on operations and when you passed the HCU course you went straight to your squadron. Marston Moor had been the site of a famous battle. On 2nd July 1644 the Royalist forces of King Charles I had suffered their first major defeat there and, consequently, lost control of York and so the North of England.
4
1652 HCU was one of three HCU's to feed 4 Group so we were not going on Lancasters but Halifaxes. No 4 Group was one of the two bomber groups stationed in Yorkshire – the other was 6 Group, the Canadian group. The Canadian stations were north of York and 4 Group was south and to the east. 6 Group was run by the RCAF but there were Australians, New Zealanders and British serving in the Group. 4 Group was RAF but many Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and one or two Americans were among our crews.
I was delayed getting to Marston Moor as I was sick at the end of my leave in London so Andy took charge of the crew. And accounts refused to pay them. Andy then went to the Station Warrant Officer to say the crew had no money and was owed 3 weeks pay but he got short thrift from this gnarled old pre-war NCO who probably thought these pip-squeak young sergeant aircrew were a damned nuisance. Just as Andy was protesting the Commanding Officer's door opened and out came the CO – Group Captain Leonard Cheshire, later a VC. He asked Andy the trouble, then turned to the SWO “See that these men are paid at once”. “Yes Sir!” said the SWO standing to attention. Cheshire at that time was 27 and a renowned bomber ace. He had been sent on a public relations tour of the United States and had come back to England with an American bride. This was Constance Binney who was 17 years older than Cheshire and a well-know Broadway actress. Some of the crew, I think Harry, Wally and Bill, were hitch-hiking back from York one day and they were picked up by Miss Binney whom they described as a very fragrant lady.
When I arrived at Marston Moor the crew introduced me to Mickey Rooney our flight engineer who was just joining us and now the crew was complete. I only had two instructors converting me to the Halifax: Sqn. Ldr Hadyn RAAF and Flt Lt Fisher, both very good. Shortly after we started flying the Halifax all the pilots were loaded into a 15cwt truck and driven east across Yorkshire. We were all going on a real operation that night, flying as second pilots. There were about six of us and one of us was dropped off each at a separate squadron base. Eventually I was the only one left on the truck and I was driven to the most easterly airfield – Lisset the home of 158 Squadron. The raid was to Cologne and I was put with Sgt ‘Bluey’ Mottershead and his crew. I had nothing to do, of course, but to sit in the right-hand seat and watch. Thank goodness our flight was uneventful: the weather was clear, the city was on fire long before we reached it and we did not come across any fighters. But Bomber Command lost 27 aircraft that night with 156 aircrew killed. When we turned for home after bombing I was so exhausted with the tension that I started to fall asleep. Bluey told me to go back and sleep on the rest bed and the next thing I knew was when the wheels touched the runway back at Lisset. Returning westwards in the 15cwt I was eventually joined by the others: we had all come through!
[page break]
5
Towards the end of July the course finished and my crew was posted to 158 Squadron where I had just been. Lisset is near the East Yorkshire coast and just south of the seaside resort of Bridlington. We travelled across to Lisset on Thursday 22nd July in another 15cwt truck to start our operational career and it was a nice sunny summer day. I recall we stopped and bought strawberries at a wayside stall on the way over. It was fairly late when we arrived at the Squadron base – I think about 2230. In those days the blackout and the absence of all road signs throughout Britain made road journeys rather long and tedious. Norman went off to the officers’ quarters and we six sergeants were allocated a Nissan hut as our very own. I think all six of us then drifted along to the Mess in search of something to eat. It was quite a sight when we reached it as there had just been a dance. Various chaps were occupying all the mess settees, accompanied by Waafs (Womens Auxiliary Airforce) with greatcoats covering their antics. The floor of the anteroom was covered in debris: cigarettes, glasses and beer spillages. At the far end of the long room a combined snooker and crap game seemed to be in progress with about 20 participants dominated by a tall, blonde flight sergeant dressed in the dark blue of the Australian Air Force. Six weeks later, after the Squadron Commander and one of the 3 Flight Commanders had been lost, that Australian had jumped 5 ranks to Squadron Leader and was our Flight Commander; remaining so nearly until the end of our tour.
Friday 23rd July was spent settling in and flying one of the Squadron aircraft for about 4 hours on a handling flight. Then, the next day, we were off on our first trip for the start of what became known as the Battle of Hamburg. This was the first of 4 successive attacks on the City in 9 days. This operation was notable for a new defensive device carried by the bombers called “Window”. Window consisted of small metallic strips of foil that were thrown out of each aircraft as it approached the target area. Harry, the wireless operator, had the job of throwing out the window strips, thousands came from each of the Wellingtons, Stirlings, Halifaxes and Lancasters taking part in this operation. Window confused the German ground and airborne radar and so we only lost about 12 aircraft that night, including one from our squadron.
We took off around 2200 and Andy expertly navigated us to Hamburg, although once we were within 50 miles of the City the fires on the ground indicated the target. I was the only one of the crew to cause a problem that night on our first proper operation. As we were running in over the target Norman found the bomb release did not work. After we had passed over the City with the bombs still on board Mickey, the engineer, came up to the cockpit to see what was wrong. I had pushed the bomb door lever down instead of pulling it up to open the doors. By now we were well to the north east of Hamburg and heading towards Lubeck. Instead of turning straight for home and safety we turned and completed a large circuit round the burning city and some half hour later we were on our second bombing run and this time I operated the lever correctly. When we bombed everyone else had finished and long since cleared the area. We should have been a
6
sitting duck for the night fighters but all those metallic strips floating in the air must have protected us. We took part in all four raids to Hamburg, although we aborted one operation when we turned back with engine trouble.
Lisset was a typical airfield built during the War with accommodation in well-dispersed Nissan huts. We 6 sergeants were in our own hut some half mile from the Sergeants Mess. The hut was heated by a coke-burning stove and was not too comfortable. We were saved by meeting Company Sergeant-Major Albert Hawkins. CSM Hawkins, known to all as 'Q', was in the Tank Corps and he was in charge of an Army sergeants mess located in a very nice house on the seafront in Bridlington. He persuaded his Mess to adopt our crew and from then on we lived and messed with the Army. Q provided us with transport whenever we were needed at the airfield but most of the time we were in Bridlington. By Christmas Day 1943 both Andy and I, as well as Norman, were commissioned but we spent the day with the Army serving Xmas dinners to all the squaddies.
When we arrived on 158 the Squadron was commanded by Wg. Cdr T.R. Hope, DFC. He was a big, bluff, likeable officer : a pre-war civil pilot. But we hardly knew him as some 3 weeks after our arrival he failed to return from a trip to Nuremburg. And, after another 3 weeks Sqn. Ldr Elliott, one of the flight commanders, also failed to return. The new squadron commander was the highly decorated Wg.Cdr. Jock Calder, DSO, DFC.
The station commander was Group Captain John Whitley, DSO. He had been shot down earlier in the War, evaded, and walked across the Pyrenees to Spain and freedom. He used to regale us with the story of the powerful American footballer in his evading party who had collapsed crossing the mountains – [underlined] because he was not fit [/underlined]. To this end he would have us running around the perimeter track on the occasional non-operational day. Fortunately our crew missed most of these exercises as we were probably lurking with the Army in Bridlington.
One crew who had been with us both at Wymeswoold and at Marston Moor had also arrived at 158. This was Sgt Doug Robinson and crew. Our favourite watering hole in Bridlington was the Brunswick and one night our two crews were there together. Doug's navigator was a Canadian, Dave Rosenthal, and he happened to say to me that if he was shot down he would not stand much chance as he was Jewish. It was the first time I began to think about what was happening to the Jews of Europe and then some weeks later Doug and crew failed to come back from Berlin.
By October 1943 our crew had completed 13 operations. I had now been promoted to flight sergeant and very pleased I was: my pay had gone from 12/6 to 16/6d a day. In the middle of that month David Leicester, our flight commander, asked us to travel to an
[page break]
7
airfield in the South of England to ferry back an aircraft that had been repaired. We jumped at the chance as this meant a night in London on the way down. My diary again:
“Up at 0830 (in the Army sergeants mess in Bridlington). The weather rotten but we had to go back to camp. Leicester asked me to take the crew down and collect a kite from Middle Wallop. We had to go by train from Hull. Norman went home to Leeds but the rest of the boys came with me. We had to stand in the train all the way from Doncaster to London. Got to London at 1930 and went along to the Regent Palace hotel and booked two double rooms. Bill and I had one room and we smuggled Wally into it and Andy and Harry got Mickey into their room.”
The point of this is that, in those days, a single room in the Regent Palace was 12/6d and a double was 19/6d, so we saved ourselves a few pennies. We slept three to a bed in the two rooms and in the middle of the night the air raid sirens went off. I don't know about Andy's room but in our room there was panic with all three of us trying to dive under the bed. Although my diary does not say as much, I have no doubt that our nerves were brittle because we had been out on the town that night and we probably all were a little smashed. My diary for the following day, Monday 18th October 1943, reads:
“Caught a bus for Andover at 0900 and we had to stand all the way for the two hour journey. At Andover had to find another bus to get us to Middle Wallop which turned out to be a night fighter base. After a lunch and messing about all afternoon found we could not take off. So we all had tea and went down to Andover to the movies. Saw Lana Turner in 'Slightly Dangerous'. Harry and I missed the last bus back to camp and we had to stay in the White Hart Hotel for the night which cost me 12/6d, all the money I had.”
What Harry Reid and I were doing to miss the bus I have forgotten but I expect we were up to no good!!
Diary for the 19th October :
“Harry and I caught the 0825 bus to Middle Wallop and heard that we could take off straight away. Got back to Lisset at 1200 to learn we were on ops. So had dinner and went up to the billet (spelt 'billett' throughout my diaries) to get changed. Wally reported sick so we were given a spare gunner. Got briefed and the target was Augsburg. Had ops meal and then went to locker room. Norman had not turned up but luckily the op was scrubbed. Met Norman on the way to Q's (CSM Hawkins our Army friend in Bridlington) So he came down with us. He had only just got back from Leeds.”
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Another diary entry is for Saturday 30th October 1943. This must have been one of the rare nights the crew slept at the RAF base rather than with the Army in Bridlington:
“Got up at 0610, washed, dressed and had breakfast. Went down to the flights at 0900. Once again there were ops on so went out (to the aircraft) to do my D.I. (inspection). After that went up to the billet and got changed into battledress (obviously when we got up that morning we had dressed in our walking-out uniform expecting to Saturday off and a trip into Bridlington). Then had lunch and went down with Andy to navigation briefing. Once again target was Leverkusen. Went to main briefing at 1400 and then had lunch. Take off was 1630 so we went out to the kite and we were all ready when it was scrubbed. So Any, Wally and I stayed in and lit a fire. Later Andy and I went down to The Bull for a drink. It was more like a brothel than a pub”.
It looks, from the above that we had two lunches that day. In fact the second lunch would have been our take-off meal. Our crew, of course, very rarely used the local pubs in Lisset. The Bull, which I do not remember, must have been packed that Saturday night with Waafs and aircrew.
August 1943 was a bad month for the Squadron with 15 aircraft lost, 9 of these on two raids to Berlin (or the 'Big City' as it was known to the crews). It was an intensive month for Bomber Command with the last of the raids to Hamburg at the start, followed by the attack on the rocket installations at Peenemunde and rounding off with the first Berlin offensive to close. On a beautiful summer evening on 2nd August we were briefed for the 4th successive attack on Hamburg to the announcement that only the brothel and residential areas had not been destroyed and they were our target. Most of us gave a cheer at this news.
I think it is fair to say that most of our crew thoroughly enjoyed squadron life. In wartime Britain operational aircrew lived very well and, provided one could cope with the constant danger, it was a life of Riley. Consider:
Before every operation crews were given a super meal consisting of cholesterol building agents – eggs, bacon, chips etc.
On return from an operation we were greeted in the debriefing room by Waafs with mugs of coffee liberally laced with navy rum. And if you smiled sweetly at the Waafs you might get a second mug at the end of the debriefing.
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If successful in getting the second helping of rum you then tottered out of the briefing room to another meal of eggs, bacon, chips and increased cholesterol.
7 days leave came round ever 6 weeks.
At a time when petrol for pleasure motoring was banned aircrew were an exception as we were allowed enough petrol to run our cars and motor bikes.
Lord Nuffield, the motor magnate, sponsored a scheme whereby aircrew could stay at many of the best hotels in the country at a 50% discount.
In October Andy Hicks was commissioned and my own commission came through a few weeks later. Our final operation for 1943 was an attack on Leipzig on 3rd December (my diary stops in October so I now rely on memory.) Christmas was spent with our Army friends in Bridlington and we were only involved in training flying until the end of the year. Part of this training was to convert to a new Halifax, the Mark 3, which had better engines and an improved performance. 158 squadron consisted of 3 flights and our crew in C Flight was commended by the aforementioned Squadron Leader David Leicester, the blonde Australian flight sergeant we had noticed on our arrival at Lisset the previous July.
At the beginning of 1944 C Flight, together with our new Halifaxes, left 158 Squadron to become A Flight of a new Squadron – 640 – based at Leconfield. We left behind the temporary, wartime airfield at Lisset, with its Nissan huts and winter warmth provided by coke stoves and moved to a pre-war permanent station with brick buildings and central heating. Leconfield is about 30 miles from Lisset near the ancient market town of Beverley with its 10th century minster. At the time of the move our crew was on leave, with Andy and I down in London with my mother. I think we had also spent a night or two of that leave with Bill Griffiths and his parents at Luton, 35 miles north west of London. We came back to our new base, with its creature comforts, where Andy, Norman and I took up residence in one of the pre-war married officers quarters. We had, at this stage, completed 20 operations – more than halfway through our assumed tour of 30. We had to say goodbye to our good friends in the Tank Corps at Bridlington and settle into a new social life centred on Beverley and the North Sea fishing port of Hull a little further away.
Possibly our social life was now more focused on the Officers Mess where there was a lot of activity. Whereas 158 had been the only squadron at Lisset our new base was home to two squadrons: 640 with crew members from the RAF, the RCAF, the RAAF and the RNZAF and even one USAAF officer; and 466 an RAAF squadron with mainly Australian aircrew but a few British, Canadians and New Zealanders thrown in. Our
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station commander was Group Captain Waterhouse who had been one of the 3 officers sent over to Canada in August 1939 to help start the Empire Air Training Scheme. He had come back home with a lovely Canadian wife who lived on base. Our squadron commander was Wing Commander 'Ruby' Eayrs who had returned from a posting in Australia. With 2 squadrons on the base there was a great deal of rivalry that used to culminate in Mess games on non-flying nights.
Our time with 640 included the second Berlin offensive in February, that also included an attack on Leipzig, and the notorious Nuremberg raid at the end of March when the Command suffered very heavy losses. In early March I was called in to see Ruby Eayrs and questioned about my tour up until then. Some two weeks later I had finished a comfortable lunch and was fast asleep in one of the deep mess armchairs when I was woken by Alan Smart. I had just been awarded an immediate DFC, the first decoration to be awarded on our new squadron. A little later I was called once more to see the squadron commander, to be told that my crew had been awarded a further three decorations and I had to recommend the recipients. This was an extremely hard task but I eventually put forward Andy Hicks, Mickey Rooney and Bill Griffiths. So Andy received the DFC and Mickey and Bill the DFM. In truth all the crew had earned these decorations.
Our crew completed 13 trips at Leconfield, finishing with an operation to Düsseldorf on 22nd April. As it was the period just before D-day we completed slightly more operations than the normal 30, our extra sorties being attacks on French targets – mainly rail junctions. Norman Hawkridge, our bomb-aimer , had left us the previous month when he had been sent on a bombing leader's course. This is why Norman does not appear in the crew photograph, taken that April outside the house at Leconfield where Andy and I lived.
The sad thing about that last operation was that two crews were on their final sortie that night. Colin Penfold, a New Zealander, and his crew had joined 158 Squadron at the same time as us and had moved with us to 640. They were lost over Düsseldorf with all the crew killed except the second pilot who managed to bail out just in time.
Looking back there is no doubt that we were blessed with good fortune during our squadron life. We had no serious combats with German fighters and although occasionally coned in searchlights we had always broken free. Colleagues, such as lan Smart had fought off night fighter attacks and sustained severe aircraft damage whereas we were very lucky. We would fly towards or away from the target watching others of our bombers being shot down either side of us.
Quite early on in our tour we had adopted our own tactics which may have helped. A Bomber Command operation in 1943 and early 1944 would usually consist of about six
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waves following the pathfinders who would be in the lead. Waves would be allocated a specific time and height over the target, they would be separated by around 10 minutes and would have a bombing window of about 5 minutes.
After take off aircraft would climb to bombing height and set course from an assembly point: Goole for the northern bomber groups if flying east, or Reading if going south east. Bombing height was around 22000 feet for the Halifax 3 and crews were briefed to fly out at that altitude. However, we usually flew much lower, at about 8000 feet, on the premise that the German aircraft would sooner hunt in the main stream above us than try to pick off the odd single aircraft. Some ten minutes before the target we would climb up to the correct height, bomb and descend when well clear of the area.
Just before our final trip we attended a briefing by an intelligence officer from Command who told us that only three large German cities remained free from attack: Chemnitz, Breslau and Dresden and that all would be bombed eventually. And during the War I never heard anyone, service or civilian, object to the policy of saturation bombing. We all admired our Commander in Chief. He was known to the bomber crews as Butch Harris, not Bomber Harris.
Our crew was now dispersed: I was sent to Scotland to a training unit and Andy went to a similar station in the West Country. But we arranged our leaves to coincide so that Andy spent half of each leave in North London with us and the other half in Truro. When news came through that my brother had been killed at Boundary Bay in Canada I was in the North of Scotland but Andy went to my home immediately to help my mother handle the shock.
In September 1944 I had to attend an investiture for the award of my DFC and, as I was serving in Scotland, the ceremony took place at Holyrood House in Edinburgh while the King was in residence there. I was allowed to invite two guests and Andy brought my mother up from London.
Our last meeting, before Andy returned to Canada, was on 2nd July 1945 when he was best man at my wedding. Bill Griffiths was the only other crew member to attend that day. Andy had been due to return home earlier in the year but he delayed for the wedding. On our wedding night Margaret and I were staying at a London hotel after leaving the reception. When we went out to eat later that evening we found that Andy, together with another guest, Lois Hammerbeck, had come to the West End and tracked us down to the restaurant where they joined us.
After the War the crew went their separate ways:
[underlined] John Cotter [/underlined] remained in the RAF until 1962. He then flew with an airline until finally retiring in 1983. He now lives in Brighton.
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[underlined] Andy (Vic) Hicks [/underlined] returned to Canada and worked in accountancy and the hotel industry. He eventually retired to Calgary where he died in 1997.
[underlined]Norman Hawkridge [/underlined] worked in banking and insurance before retiring to Cumbria. Norman died on 20th May 2005.
[underlined]Harry Reid [/underlined] was demobilized in Rhodesia where he was stationed. He worked on the railways but he and his family returned to the UK in 1961. Harry died in 1998.
[underlined]Mickey Rooney [/underlined] stayed in the RAF and was commissioned. He was killed in an aircraft accident c1950.
[underlined]Bill Griffiths [/underlined] emigrated to Australia in 1961. After some years of ill-health Bill died in 2003.
[underlined]Wally Lomax [/underlined] returned to Lancashire and died in 2001.
Other personalities mentioned:
Sqn. Ldr. Penman DSO, DFC remained in the RAF after the War. He died in 2004.
[underlined] David Leicester DFC* [/underlined] completed his tour 3 weeks before I did. He went straight to a Lancaster conversion unit and then to a pathfinder squadron – No. 35. After completing 68 operations, without a break, he returned to Australia in January 1945. On applying to Qantas he was found to be unfit for civil flying and he left aviation. He is now retired and lives in Adelaide.
[underlined] Wg. Cdr. T. Hope DFC [/underlined] was shot down over Belgium on a raid to Nuremburg. Only 3 crew members survived to be taken prisoner: Hope, his flight engineer and mid-upper gunner. After the War Hope resumed his civil flying career as Chief Pilot with Scottish Aviation.
[underlined] Sqn. Ldr. Neil Elliott [/underlined] was shot down on a raid to Berlin on a night when the Squadron losses were 20%. His 2 gunners were lost and the rest of the crew became prisoners. Neil Elliott stayed in the RAF and when I went through Staff College in 1958 he was on the directing staff. He died of a heart attack in the 1960’s.
[underlined] Wg. Cdr. Jock Calder DSO*, DFC [/underlined] completed his second tour as CO of 158. In 1958 he was on the same course as me at Staff College. He died in 1997.
[underlined] Gp. Cpt. John Whitley DSO [/underlined] retired from the RAF in 1962 as an Air Marshal. I met him several times after the War. A very nice man.
[underlined] Gp. Cpt. Leonard Cheshire VC, DSO** DFC [/underlined] became a legend in Bomber Command and received the VC. After the War he founded the Cheshire Homes. He was the Principal Speaker at the first 4 Group Dinner I attended in 1992. He died a few years later.
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[underlined] Douglas Robinson. [/underlined] Just after the War I was a flying instructor at Moreton-in-Marsh and we were refreshing returned ex-pow pilots. Low and behold Doug Robinson appeared on the course and later, when he worked in teaching, he would bring cadets to the RAF for annual camps and we met a couple of times. He published a book in 1997 from which I found that Doug had had a very tough war – in sharp contrast to my own lucky run. On returning from training in South Africa his boat was torpedoed off the West African coast and Doug spent 8 days in an open boat. Midway through his tour his crew was about to go on leave when they were called out for an attack on Berlin. His aircraft was badly damaged by flak and the crew had to bale out over Holland. The flight engineer’s parachute had been destroyed so Doug stayed with the engineer and crash-landed the aircraft in a field. If anyone deserved a gallantry medal he did, but he did not get one. And he did not have a very pleasant time in prison camp.
[underlined] Dave Rosenthal. [/underlined] After prison camp Dave returned to Canada and I met him again at a 158 reunion in the ‘90’s.
[underlined] ‘Bluey’ Mottershead. [/underlined] ‘Bluey’ completed his tour and was awarded the DFC. After the War he formed the 158 Association and ran the squadron reunions for many years.
[underlined] Alan Smart DFC [/underlined] Alan completed his tour and after the War returned to commerce in the Hull area. Alan died on 3rd October 2002.
[underlined] ‘Ruby’ Eayrs DFC. [/underlined] Retired from the RAF as a Group Captain. He merited a long obituary in the Telegraph when he died in 1992.
[underlined] Crew Operations: [/underlined]
1. 28 OTU 4/5/43 Rouen - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Lomax
2. 158 Sqn 28/6/43 Cologne – Cotter (2nd pilot with another crew)
3. 158 Sqn 24/7/43 Hamburg – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/ Reid/Rooney/ Griffiths/Lomax Log book records – Fighters none seen, Flak negligible, Weather good, Large fires, Bomb Load 1 x 2000 lb. 12 Aircraft lost. Landed Eastmoor short of fuel.
4. 158 Sqn 29/7/43 Hamburg – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax Flack negligible, Heavy concentrations of searchlights, Weather clear over target, Large fires south of City. 30 aircraft lost.
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5. 158 Sqn. 2/8/43 Hamburg – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. 10/10 cloud over target, Heavy thunderclouds up to 20000 feet, AA barrage, No fighters seen, Fires scattered over target area, Bombed heaviest concentration, Bomb load – 2x1000 48x30 630x4lb 31 aircraft lost
6. 158 Sqn. 9/8/43 Mannheim - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. More than half cloud over target, Fighter encountered over Boulogne, Landed Barford St John fuel short, 16 aircraft lost
7. 158 Sqn. 17/8/43 Peenemunde - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Weather clear, Smoke screen over target, Bright Moon, Flak negligible, Searchlights nil, No combats seen, Bombed @ 0013 – 1x2000 1x1000 6x500lb, Landed Wymeswold, 41 aircraft lost
8. 158 Sqn. 22/8/43 Leverkusen - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full cloud over target, AA barrage, 2 fighters & 1 combat seen over target. No pathfinder markers seen, 5 aircraft lost.
9. 158 Sqn. 16/9/43 Modane Italy - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Ran into heavy cloud 30 minutes from target. Forced to turn back owing to severe icing over Alps. 5 aircraft lost.
10. 158 Sqn. 22/9/43 Hannover - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Large concentrations of searchlights ringed round target. Flak heavy in cones, 5 British aircraft seen going down over target, weather good, large fires. 31 aircraft missing.
11. 158 Sqn. 23/9/43 Mannheim - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Searchlights heavy, flak cooperating with them, many fighters over target, heavy fires seen, weather good, 2 engines cut on landing approach, fuel short. 37 aircraft missing.
12. 158 Sqn. 27/9/43 Hannover - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Good weather, searchlights and fighters cooperating effectively over target, 38 aircraft missing, landed at Downham Market.
13. 158 Sqn. 29/9/43 Bochum – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax/plus Sgt Cipriani as 2nd pilot. Good visibility over target, heavy concentrations of searchlights, little flak, no fighters seen, heavy fires in target area, 8 aircraft missing.
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14. 158 Sqn. 3/10/43 Kassel - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Weather clear, defences weak over target, attack well concentrated, 24 aircraft missing.
15. 158 Sqn. 4/10/43 Frankfurt - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Cloudy over continent, target clear, large numbers of searchlights surrounding target, successful prang, 12 aircraft missing.
16. 158 Sqn. 23/10/43 Kassel - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Flt Sgt Vicary as 2nd pilot. Flying in cloud most of way but target clear, defences moderate, no combats seen, landed Catfoss, 44 aircraft missing.
17. 158 Sqn. 3/11/43 Dusseldorf - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Flt Sgt Edwards as 2nd pilot. Full cloud en route but target clear, no flak, searchlights weak owing to ground mist, many combats sighted, fires well concentrated, 19 aircraft missing.
18. 158 Sqn. 22/11/43 Berlin - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Sqn. Ldr. McCormack as 2nd pilot. Full cloud below us over whole of Germany, heavy flak at defended areas along the route, especially Hannover, bombed on Wanganui flares, 26 aircraft missing.
19. 158 Sqn. 25/11/43 Frankfurt - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full cloud over target, flak nil, no fighters seen, fires rather scattered, 13 aircraft missing.
20. 158 Sqn. 26/11/43 Stuttgart - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus F/O Thompson supernumerary. Heavy searchlight defences over Frankfurt, many combats sighted, also combats over Frankfurt, heavy flak over target, flak damage sustained over Saarbruken, landed Tangmere, 32 aircraft missing. (Flying Officer Thompson was a schoolmaster and officer in the Air Training Corps and he had a gammy leg due to a World War I wound. The crew thought he was pretty brave to come on an operation like this as a volunteer).
21. 158 Sqn. 3/12/43 Leipzig - Cotter/Hicks/Portsmouth/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Sgt Wisbey as 2nd pilot. Many combats sighted en route out, full cloud over target, accurate flak over Dessau, 24 aircraft missing.
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22. 640 Sqn 30/1/44 Berlin – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Wong/Salvoni/Lomax. Full cloud over target and all Europe, many rockets seen over target but no combats, number 5 and 6 tanks froze up, (water in fuel) landed Little Snoring, have lost 247 gallons, 33 aircraft missing.
23. 640 Sqn 15/2/44 Berlin – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus F/O Cameron as 2nd pilot. Full cloud over target, bombed on Wanganui flares, no combats, flak ineffective, very quiet for Berlin, bomb load all incendiaries, 43 aircraft missing.
24. 640 Sqn 19/2/44 Leipzig - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Flt Sgt Burke as 2nd pilot. Full cloud over target, ran into heavy searchlight at Emden, missed markers and hit Berlin, many combats seen, 79 aircraft missing.
25. 640 Sqn 20/2/44 Stuttgart – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Stilliard. Moderate cloud over target, fires well concentrated, flak moderate, quiet trip, 10 aircraft missing.
26. 640 Sqn 24/2/44 Schweinfurt - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus Lt Kornegay USAAF as 2nd pilot. Clear over target, fires well concentrated, flak heavy, searchlights weak, combats seen en route, 35 aircraft missing.
27. 640 Sqn 6/3/44 Trappes – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. No opposition at all, Bombed railway lines with 12,000lbs HE, aiming point photograph.
28. 640 Sqn 7/3/44 Le Mans – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. A little heavy flak over target, bombed railways through heavy cloud cover, bomb load 11,500lbs.
29. 640 Sqn 15/3/44 Stuttgart – Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Austen plus Flt Lt Cassells as 2nd pilot. Much cloud en route, heavy opposition from fighters, landed at Westcot, 40 aircraft missing.
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30. 640 Sqn Nuremberg – Cotter/Gray/Sproulle/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Half cloud cover en route, fighter opposition heavy in extremes, opposition fierce over target, coned at Calais on home route, 96 aircraft missing. *See note.
31. 640 Sqn Paris – Cotter/Hicks/Sproulle/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full moon, attacked marshalling yard at Villeneuve, souther suburbs, flak moderate, 11 aircraft missing.
32. 640 Sqn Tergnier – Cotter/Hicks/Broadbent/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Full moon, clear over target, no fighters seen, rocket flak bursting at 12,000ft on route out. 22Aircraft missing.
33. 640 Sqn Tergnier - Cotter/Hicks/Broadbent/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax. Marshalling yards bombed, aiming point on photo, rockets seen in bomber stream, 14 aircraft missing.
34. 640 Sqn Dusseldorf - Cotter/Hicks/Sproulle/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax plus P/O Maxwell as 2 nd pilot. Searchlights numerous but no flak, no combats, weather good, 42 aircraft lost.
[underlined] Aborted Operations [/underlined]
1. 27/7/43 Hamburg - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax
Turned back before enemy coast with one engine surging badly.
2. 24/8/43 Berlin - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax
Turned back before enemy coast with rear gunner's oxygen supply unserviceable.
3. 8/10/43 Hannover - Cotter/Hicks/Hawkridge/Reid/Rooney/Griffiths/Lomax
An engine failed just after take-off
The second pilots shown above were new arrivals on the Squadron and the procedure was they were sent out on one trip with an experienced crew before operating on their own. Also, a number of other crew members flew with me during the tour and all non-regular crew members are shown below:
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Sgt Cipriani RAF - Later killed in action 22/10/43
F/Sgt Vicary RAAF – Later bailed out over UK 16/2/44 and left the Squadron
F/Sgt Bush RAAF – Shot down, POW 31/3/44
P/O Portsmouth RAF – Completed tour
F/Sgt Edwards RAAF – Later killed in action 20/12/43
S/Ldr McCormack RAAF – Shot Down, POW, 29/1/44
F/O Thompson ATC – Schoolmaster
Sgt Wisbey RAF – Killed in action 28/6/44
Sgt Wong RAF – Completed tour
F/O Salvoni RAF – Killed in action
F/O Cameron RCAF Killed in action 17/6/44
F/Sgt Burke RCAF – Killed in action 31/3/44
Sgt Stilliard RAF – Killed in action 31/3/44
Lt Kornegay USAAF - Completed tour
F/Lt Cassels RAF – Completed tour
F/O Austen RAF – Shot down, POW, 31/3/44
W/O Gray RCAF – Completed tour
F/Lt Sproulle RAF – Completed tour
F/Sgt Broadbent RAF - Completed tour
P/O Maxwell – Not known
[underlined] Note. Nuremburg. [/underlined] Once again we had a trip without running into any opposition. Norman had gone off on his bombing leaders' course so Tommy Sproulle, the Squadron Bombing Leader, came with us. Andy was also away and was replaced by a Canadian navigator on his first trip. It was a moonlight night and all the way out and back we saw combats to the east of us with our aircraft invariable going down in flames. Because I had the Bombing Leader on board I flew at the briefed operating height, mixed in with the stream. Shortly before we reached the final turning point for Nuremburg the navigator was unsure of his position. Then I saw target indicators going down ahead and told the crew that I had Nuremburg in sight, even though we were some 15 minutes ahead of ETA. Tommy bombed on the markers and we set course for home for a personally uneventful return. Then as we flew north over Lincolnshire all the airfield lights were out and at Leconfield the Drem flarepath had to be turned on for us. We were 30 minutes ahead of ETA because we had bombed Schweinfurt instead of Nuremburg. Our squadron lost 3 aircraft with 18 killed. All the Captains were RCAF including Jim Laidlaw, married the month before, and F/Sgt Burke who had flown with me only a few weeks earlier. In total the Command had 545 men killed.
JDC/Revision 2/Jun 05
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
Extracts from war diaries and information on aircraft crews and lists of bombing operations
Description
An account of the resource
Describes training and crewing up at operational training unit on Wellingtons. Mentions staying in London on leave with RCAF colleague, using the Canadian forces club London and dining at the Ritz. Includes diary entry describing operational baptism. Continues with coverage of training at heavy conversion unit and eventual posting to 158 Squadron. Describes first operations to Hamburg n detail as well as life at RAF Lissett. Relates story of being detailed to ferry an aircraft back from an airfield in the south of England and spending a day in London. Continues recounting other events from diary and mention that squadron lost 15 aircraft in August 1943. Mentions last operation in 1943 and getting his commission, converting to new Halifax and transfer to 640 Squadron at RAF Leconfield. Writes of life on new station and in officers mess. Comments of some of the operations flown and awards of decorations to him and his crew. Mention his last operation to Düsseldorf. Writes about his crew's tactics and dispersal of crew after finishing his tour of operations and their subsequent history. Covers history of other individuals named in the memoir. List crew operations with comments on losses. Follows a list of non-regular crew members he flew with during his tour. Concludes with account of his operation to Nuremburg including mention of aircraft lost.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Cotter
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-08-28
Format
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Nineteen page printed document
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
BCotterJDPCotterJDPv1
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 Australian Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
United States Army Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--London
England--Truro
England--Leicestershire
France
France--Rouen
England--Yorkshire
Germany
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Leverkusen
Italy
France--Modane
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Schweinfurt
France--Soligny-la-Trappe
France--Le Mans
France--Paris
France--Tergnier (Canton)
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Cornwall (County)
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
2018-08-28
1942-08
1943-02-23
1943-03
1943-05-05
1943-05-14
1943-08
1943-12-03
1943-06-27
1943-07-24
1943-07-29
1943-08-02
1943-08-09
1943-08-17
1943-08-22
1943-09-16
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-27
1943-08-29
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-23
1943-11-03
1943-11-22
1943-11-26
1943-12-03
1944-01-30
1944-02-15
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-24
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-15
1944-03-30
1944-04-09
1944-04-10
1944-04-17
1944-04-22
1943-07-27
1943-08-24
1943-10-08
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
Jan Waller
158 Squadron
1652 HCU
28 OTU
4 Group
466 Squadron
640 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
crewing up
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
Distinguished Service Order
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
mess
military living conditions
navigator
observer
Operational Training Unit
RAF Leconfield
RAF Lissett
RAF Marston Moor
RAF Wymeswold
searchlight
training
Wellington
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/753/31389/LCotterJDP168678v1.1.pdf
2e158e31a5b92398f6315ebfee77f5de
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
Cotter, John David Pennington
J D P Cotter
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns Wing Commander John Cotter DFC (b. 1923, Royal Canadian Air Force) and contains an oral history interview, his log book and a memoir. He flew operations as a pilot with 158 and 640 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by John Cotter 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
2018-08-28
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
Cotter, JDP
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
J D Cotter’s Royal Canadian Air Force pilots flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Royal Canadian Air Force pilots flying log book for J D Cotter, covering the period from 11 January 1942 to 22 April 1944. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RCAF Caron, RCAF North Battleford, RAF Swanton Morley, RAF South Cerney, RAF Lulsgate Bottom, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Marston Moor, RAF Lissett and RAF Leconfield. Aircraft flown were, Tiger Moth, Oxford, Wellington and Halifax. He flew a total of 34 operations. One operation with 28 operational training unit, one with 1652 conversion unit 19 with 158 Squadron and 13 with 640 squadron. Targets were, Rouen, Cologne, Hamburg, Mannheim, Peenemunde, Leverkusen, Berlin, Modane, Hannover, Bochum, Kassel, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Schweinfurt, Trappes, Le Mans, Nuremberg, Paris and Tergnier. His first or second pilots on operations were Sergeant Mottershead and Pilot Officer Maxwell.
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
LCotterJDP168678v1
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 Canadian Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Gloucestershire
England--Leicestershire
England--Norfolk
England--Somerset
England--Yorkshire
France--Le Mans
France--Modane
France--Paris
France--Rouen
France--Tergnier (Canton)
France--Yvelines
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
Saskatchewan--North Battleford
Saskatchewan--Regina
Saskatchewan
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1943-05-04
1943-05-05
1943-06-28
1943-06-29
1943-07-24
1943-07-25
1943-07-27
1943-07-28
1943-07-29
1943-07-30
1943-08-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-09
1943-08-10
1943-08-17
1943-08-18
1943-08-22
1943-08-23
1943-08-24
1943-08-25
1943-09-16
1943-09-17
1943-09-22
1943-09-23
1943-09-24
1943-09-27
1943-09-28
1943-09-29
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-05
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-10-23
1943-10-24
1943-11-03
1943-11-04
1943-11-22
1943-11-23
1943-11-25
1943-11-26
1943-11-27
1943-12-02
1943-12-03
1944-01-30
1944-01-31
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-03-06
1944-03-07
1944-03-08
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-09
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-17
1944-04-18
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
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.
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
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
158 Squadron
1652 HCU
20 OTU
28 OTU
640 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
bombing of Kassel (22/23 October 1943)
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
Bombing of Peenemünde (17/18 August 1943)
Flying Training School
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Leconfield
RAF Lissett
RAF Marston Moor
RAF South Cerney
RAF Swanton Morley
RAF Wymeswold
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1801/32059/PStewartEC17170100.1.jpg
8d1361eb589080f9544af8c31dac20f7
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1801/32059/PStewartEC17170101.1.jpg
b8c4f8f15152ae1ab9dbafc336ebb67c
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
Stewart, Edward Colston
E C Stewart
Description
An account of the resource
272 items. The collection concerns Edward Colston Stewart DFC (b. 1916, 87436 Royal Air Force) and his wife, <span>Flight Officer </span>Ann Marie Stewart (nee Imming, b. 1922, 5215 Royal Air Force). It contains his log books, documents, bank notes and photographs. He flew 50 operations as a pilot with 1446 Ferry Flight and 104 Squadron. After the war they served in the Far East. <br /><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2013">Ann Marie Stewart collection</a><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2012">Bank notes</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Paula Cooper 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
2017-02-24
2022-06-21
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
Stewart, EC
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
Flying Officer Thompson
Description
An account of the resource
A head and shoulders portrait of a pilot. On the reverse is handwritten 'Flying Officer Thompson - RAF killed flying accident RAF Wymeswold 1944' and stamped 'AM Crown Copyright Reserved'.
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
PStewartEC17170100, PStewartEC17170101
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.
aircrew
killed in action
pilot
RAF Wymeswold
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1858/33473/BDavyHDavyHv1.1.pdf
c0d8b39f8730f4a4159c30d53ea11917
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
Davy, H
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
2017-06-01
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.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Davy, H
Description
An account of the resource
18 items. The collection concerns H Davy (1852721 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, memoir and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 626 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Nancy Davy and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
General memories
I volunteered for Aircrew aged 18 and after examinations and Medical reported for duty in March 1943.
RAF Number 1852721 (only the last three numbers were used)
Ops as detailed but not counted as part of tour 3
Number of ops 31
Therefore apart from training total number of ops was 34
I trained for 12 to 15 months in different places. As civilians we reported to Air Crew Reception Centre, at Lord's Cricket Ground in "The Long Room" London for three weeks. (6.98.A) We ate in the Zoo restaurant. Then to Initial Training Wing (ITW) Bridlington, Morpeth for Gunnery school where I was the course leader. Final exams had 98% Loved what I was doing. A Martinet towed a drogue for the rest of us to practise our gunnery skills above the North Sea. Wymeswold for "crewing-up", then Castle Donington to start training as a crew (Operational Training Unit); Lindholme Heavy conversion unit (HCU) to train on 4 engine bombers (Halifaxes); Hemswell Lancaster finishing school where we converted to Lancasters before going on to the Squadron in May 1944.
At ACRC I remember John Newbegin from Alnwick. I was in the bunk above him. He asked my name, I replied "Spike" and thereafter he called me Spike.
At the medical line up I was called in early. The MO said "Mr. Davy meet Mrs Davy". She was Thelma the wife of my cousin from Calstock. We had never met but she recognised my name on the list.
A lot of men were killed during training.
At Bridlington I got Scarlet Fever & confined to isolation hospital for six weeks. Plus two weeks recuperation leave which put me eight weeks behind those I joined up with.
When I went to Uxbridge for final Demob two others from that original intake said to me "We thought you were dead" They had accounted for only nine out of the sixty still alive. So perhaps scarlet fever saved my life.
To Wymeswold for 3 weeks Operation Training Unit (OTU).
At Wymeswold 200 or 300 crew were put into a hut and told to make up crews. Before this we were marching from place to place (perhaps to a lecture) and I was next to Sam Collens and we talked about our training experiences. I had passed out as 2nd out of 60 as a gunner. Sam said to me Harry Merry will join me as Flight Engineer, will you join us and I said yes can I be Rear Gunner and he replied yes you are my first crew member. After that the whole 626 aircrew intake was taken to a hut and instructed to form crews. All the men mingled and talked and somehow Sam collected his crew together. Tommy Birch BA, Joe Slack MUG, Ron Rainbird WO. Harry Merry would not join us until we had completed our initial training on twin-engined Wellingtons, the reason being that only 4 engine bombers carries a Flight Engineer. Harry joined us at Lindholme, a heavy conversion unit for 4 engine Halifaxes. Sam had met a Navigator Ted Davies, a pharmacist from Northhampton [sic]. A Welshman, short stature, handlebar moustache, super chap. I gelled with him from the beginning & were great pals. His wife was running the business during his absence.
[page break]
After Wymeswold half the contingent stayed there & half including us went to Castle Donnington for OTU.
We used ex-operational, clapped out Wellingtons for 6 weeks training. Very happy there. The Sword of Damacles hung over us as the culmination of this course was a series of decoy flights across the North Sea to draw German fighters away from the main Bomber stream. Also to carry out leaflet raids over Europe, in our case Paris. (called ops as detailed but not counted as operational). Bear in mind the Wellington had two engines & if one failed the plane could not get back on one engine. This meant they either crashed or ditched in the sea. Some crashed on take-off, one into the woods at the end of the run-way & all crew lost.
From Castle Donnington to Lindholme near Doncaster for Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) & onto 4 engine heavy Halifaxes. Here Harry Merry joined us. A few weeks doing practice flights.
From there to Lancaster finishing school at Hemswell nr Gainsborough, Lincolnshire for final training in Lancs. End of training. Then posted to Operational Squadron, One Group Bomber Command, 626 Squadron at Wickenby near Lincoln.
Throughout the time of training as a crew we were warned on numerous occasions that if we withdrew from training no action would be taken, but if we withdrew after completion of training we would be reduced to ranks, loose [sic] our wings, & all documents would have Lack of Moral Fibre written across them. (Cowardice in the face of the enemy). We would then be sent to a correction establishment at Sheffield before being posted into the Army.
At OTU the final chance was given. On this occasion the Navigator Ted Davies left the crew as his wife was bordering on a nervous breakdown due to his flying career. He wanted to go on but withdrew.
Immediately navigator Jack Leuty joined us. He was an "odd bod" waiting to join a crew. He had spent time training navigators in Canada and his experiences meant he had flown cross country from brightly lit city to city whereas in Britain we had had blackouts for four years.
Most of our operations were at night in the dark.
When we were on the Squadron Joe Slack left us and was replaced by an Irishman Paddy Fulton.
At the end of our own tour of 30 ops (31 actually) we went on 6 months rest from operational duty. Paddy had not completed 30 ops so was posted to another crew. He begged to stay with us, even cried, but was not allowed to. He was killed on his next op with the new crew.
At Wickenby
Pilot – Pilot Officer B.A. (Sam) Collens
Flight Engineer – Sergeant Harry Merry
Navigator – Flight Lieutenant Jack Leuty
Mid Upper Gunner – Sergeant John (Paddy) Fulton
Bomb Aimer – Sergeant Tommy Birch
Wireless Operator – Sergeant Ron (Ronald Thomas) Rainbird
Rear Gunner – Sergeant Herbert Davy (then k/a Bert now k/a Herb or Herbie)
Crews became closer than brothers. Age 19 I was the youngest of our crew. We spent leisure time together, drank together, spent leave together (Sam & Tommy came to Saltash). Relied on each other in the aircraft. We knew we might die together.
[page break]
Accommodation was it [sic] huts. Officers had separate accommodation so Sam slept apart from us. We would wake some mornings and find 6 (or 7) empty beds in our hut. It was a fact of life that promotion was rapid because of the high rate of casualties and turnover of Aircrew.
Take off --- us from Wickenby
Up to 1 hour to climb to 10,000ft
500 planes all circling
Congregate over Mablethorpe, Lincs
9p.m. all navigation lights out
All to go in one direction across North Sea
Sometimes collisions in the dark
Could get caught up in the slipstream of the aircraft ahead and crash
Over the targets bombs dropping all around from other planes, from above.
Look up and see gaping open bomb doors in plane above
One fell between our wing and tail
Interrogation after each operation. (Now called de-briefing)
Model -- Lanc III manufactured in Canada
Didn't use the same plane each time because we had 7 days leave every 6 weeks and they were used by other crews. The one we used last may have been shot down.
I remember three in particular:
Sugar 2 S2
Victor 2 V2
Roger 2 R2 Also known as Bennets Beavers
Each Squadron had letters 12 was PH 626 was UM
Each plane in each squadron had a letter – 12 just the letter, 626 the letter plus 2
Station code name/call sign was GRATEFUL
e.g. our plane would be UM O R2
Also V2 H2 Y2 U2 T2 Z2 L2
When R2 (known as Bennetts Beavers after a previous pilot) became available Sam asked to use it because he knew it was a faster aircraft than others.
We now know PA990 R2 Bennetts Beavers was a "ton-up" Lanc. One of few that went out on and survived 100 operations or more. (105; some didn't even come back from one).
Roger 2 was the plane we used when we flew down across Kit Hill and Liskeard (where I could see our milkman delivering), the Lizard, 300 miles out into the Atlantic by daylight & under 1000ft to keep below the German RADAR & into Pauillac (near Bordeaux) to bomb
[page break]
the oil tank farm. (I now know I flew across Coombe Park, a farm where Luke held Nancy (age 5) in his arms to see the planes passing overhead, August 4th 1944).
We used R2 for Westkapelle.
Westkapelle was our last op. In 2005 I read that our Navigator was F/O L. Andrews. I have no recollection whatsoever of this substitute or why Jack Leuty wasn't with us. I remember the day well and it is recorded for the Polderhuis Museum at Westkapelle.
Again in 2005 I was asked if the crew ever swapped places. Some records showed that crews did, or flew with substitutes, but then records may not be correct. They were sometimes based on the planes that crews usually flew, not the ones they actually did fly.
The only time we did swap was when we returned from one op with a bomb still on board. We could not land (for fear of blowing up on the runway) so had to dispose of the bomb in the North Sea as was usual practice. Sam asked Tommy if he would like to pilot the plane, (he certainly would and did) and I went to bomb aimer's position and directed the bomb down to a wave I had my eye on. I cannot remember who covered my position.
Corkscrewing to avoid German air attack. The responsibility of the Rear Gunner was the protection of the plane and crew. He was required to give 100% concentration on continually scanning the sky – especially the dark side – to give adequate warning and instruction to the Pilot on what evasive action to take. Highly trained in aircraft recognition.
Majority of enemy fighter attacks were from dark side of the sky so that we were silhouetted against the light. The RG had to concentrate his search on the dark side when the tendency would be to look to the light. (Instructions said never look at lights) e.g. if the attack came from port side the RG would instruct Pilot to corkscrew port – first a 1000ft dive to port followed by 1000ft climb to starboard, then 1000ft dive to starboard followed by 1000ft climb to port which would bring the plane back to it's normal flight path. This procedure was repeated until the fighter abandoned his chase or either of us was shot down. (We now know that some German pilots gave up when they saw that we were alert and ready, and went in search of an easier target.) During a corkscrew anything loose and moveable inside the plane would speedily fly round and cause damage. Especially stomach contents!!
We used T2 for Frankfurt when we were badly shot up. We went via Mannheim in error (Don't know the reason why – navigational, wind, what? I do not know why we should be separated from the others by 50 miles or so.) Approaching what we thought was the target Frankfurt, B/A Tommy offered to help Navigator Jack by describing the ground scene. It was clear moonlight and he described the railway lines and river. "We're following the rail line now the river now the river divides" It obviously differed from the map because Jack said "Did you say the river divides? Christ we're over Mannheim!" That's when the blue searchlight came up. We were coned in searchlights, Sam called up "what shall I do Bert?" I replied "dive to port at top speed & get the hell out of here". I remember seeing the wings flapping. Speed was registered 400mph. by Harry Merry. (normal operating speed was between 180 – 210mph) dropped 18,000ft to 14,000ft. We were badly attacked by anti-aircraft guns, anything they could throw at us. After recovery, Sam said "navigator give me a course for Frankfurt". I can remember my thoughts-they are unprintable. I thought we'd had it. We were way after the main attack so we were a lone aircraft, vulnerable again but apparently not noticed/recognised by ground defences. Perhaps because we approached from the South instead of North. The target marker was still visible so dropped the bombs &
[page break]
returned for home. Sam said "course for Woodbridge" The port side engine had to be feathered because the fuel tank had been punctured. I saw what I thought was smoke and reported one engine on fire, but it was fuel. Wireless operator went back through plane & felt what he thought was blood on mid-upper gunner. "He's had it" Minutes later crackle on line & MUG said "what's the matter with you lot. I can't get any reply". He was covered in hydraulic fluid. Tommy reported bomb bay doors would not close. At some stage I know I opened my door to get back into the plane and to my parachute if were possible.
We had to land at Woodbridge an emergency airfield in Suffolk with a 5000yd runway, on three engines & bomb doors open. No radio & not knowing if undercarriage was down. The next day when we inspected the plane and talked this is what we found:
Each member of the crew had evidence of his position being damaged by missiles. I had a hold 2 inches in diameter where the doors joined (centre of backrest) behind my seat and in the gunmounting in front of me. The pilot and flight engineer sat side by side on the flight deck. There were holes in the Perspex either side of the flight deck where their heads would normally be. Tommy lying on his stomach in the bombing position had shrapnel in his harness over his heart. There were holes at all crew positions. Did we all lean sideways to look at something at the same time? There was a hole in the bomb door and a dent in the top of the bomb bay obviously caused before the bomb was dropped. Why didn't the 4000lb bomb explode inside the plane?
The thoughts that went through my mind when we were over Mannheim:
If I get out of the plane where would I land? On buildings, trees, water, forest?
On our second trip to Stettin
Did all the crew fall asleep returning over the North Sea? It was a crime. Crossed North Sea, crossed Denmark, across Sweden over Malmo, across the Baltic then to Stettin. Returned the same route. After crossing Danish coast into the North Sea I heard Bomb Aimer say to Navigator "We are just crossing the Danish coast" The Navigator replied "our ETA on English coast one hour" The next thing I can remember is hearing the Bomb Aimer's voice "hello Navigator, just crossing the English coast". Two or three nights later we were in the Adam & Eve (pub) Wragby. It was my turn to buy the drinks. Harry Merry helped me. He said "You were asleep in your turret, I saw you when I went to the Elsan". He passed the Wireless operator who was asleep at his table, no reaction from Mid Upper Gunner, climbed over Elsan slid down to rear turret looked through window & saw me slouched over guns. Retraced his steps shone torch down into Bomb Aimer & saw Tommy asleep. Thought to himself I will keep watch. Pilot asleep in his seat & next thing Harry knew was when Tommy said "just cross English coast". Meaning that at one point the whole crew had been asleep. Reasoning --- on this long trip we were issued with two wakey-wakey pills to be taken at regular intervals (4 hourly periods). Perhaps we took them too early & when the effect wore off they left you feeling very drowsy.
The lights of Malmo – memorable after the darkness of Britain.
Premonitions
One day the rear turret was leaking oil. I told Pilot we could not or should not fly. He agreed. Terrible losses that night. The next day the leak had cleared up. Afterwards other crew asked did I have a premonition. Yes. They all did too. Harry Merry said "Why didn't you want to fly in that raid?" I replied "Because if we had we would not be here now". He said he agreed & that other crew had felt the same without mentioning names.
[page break]
Over Stettin, over target, a voice from the cockpit said "crumbs, there's a bloody fighter coming straight for us!" They envisaged a head-on collision. I saw it as it passed over and above us. I was sure it was an Me262 the first true jet fighter.
Over 50 years later I met Dave Wellard, another Rear Gunner from 626 Squadron who lived in Saltash and he told me the same story. (We had never met before.) His plane was on the same mission. Were we side by side? Was there only the one fighter or two? He also recognised it as an Me262.
After we finished flying Sam was posted to RAF Whitchurch, Bristol. Harry Merry came down from Weeton, Lancs where he was stationed. I came from Avonmouth where I was stationed & met at pub at Whitchurch. When I walked in the door Harry shook my hand and said "Here's old Cat's Eyes. If it hadn't been for you, you bugger, we wouldn't be here now". He always called me Cat's Eyes.
Jack Leuty always asking for a fag, but when someone asked him for one he said "I'll sell you ten" I can remember being absolutely disgusted with his attitude. He was the only crew member who kept aloof from any of the others.
Mrs Lane a customer said to me when she heard I was joining the RAF "you might meet my son Pat" We didn't know each other. One day in the dispersal someone was using my cleaning rods without asking permission. I said to him "Next time ask". He had a Cornish accent. Told me he was from Saltash so I said to him "I suppose you are Pat Lane" He nearly fell over in surprise. "how the hell do you know that?"
Clothes:
Aircrew: I think only the gunners were issued with mustard-yellow coloured buoyancy suits but they proved to be far too bulky especially for Rear gunners because although it was possible to squeeze into the turret with them on it was virtually impossible to escape quickly. I never saw anyone wear one on operations!!! Consider temperature in the rear turret could be as low as -40° C. The main fuselage of the Lanc had hot air ducted from the engines hence the rest of the crew did not need to dress like rear gunners. Also rear gunners removed the Perspex window to get better vision. See photo of HD standing beside turret.
Order of dressing:
1. Long johns – made of wool plated with silk. 2 pieces long sleeved vest and full length pants.
2. RAF issue socks
3. Shirt and tie
4. RAF uniform trousers
5. "SUB" socks. Socks from toe to crotch Naval issue, thick knit (Submarine)
6. "SUB" sweater as above. Full length sleeves and hip length.
7. Thin cotton type electrically heated suit
8. Battle dress top
9. Electrically heated slippers
10. Fur lined leather boots (Escape variety, cut the tops off with the knife in an inside little pocket and they looked like shoes)
11. Silk gloves
12. Woollen mittens and small woollen scarf
13. Padded heated gauntlets
[page break]
14. Leather gauntlets with zips and elasticated top
15. MAE West floatation waistcoat filled with kapok
16. Parachute harness
17. Leather helmet with oxygen mask, microphone and earphones
We would take half an hour to dress, especially in summer. It was important not to get sweaty because it would freeze when we were airborne in cold temperatures.
It was impossible to use bodily functions in the rear turret. Sometimes for up to 10 or 11 hours. I drank little during the day before an op. The other crew could use the Elsan toilet situated in the aircraft behind the rear turret. I was only once airsick. I used one of my gauntlets and then threw it out the window. The gauntlet was replaced.
My parachute had to be stored in the aircraft behind the rear turret. If I needed it in a hurry it would have been impossible to get at it.
Personal Survival kit: (for all Bomber Crews) called Escape Kit.
Waterproof flat pouch approx 6x5 inches containing maps of European countries printed on silk each about 7 inches square, together with currency of European countries for use as necessary if shot down, could be used either to "pay" helpers or bribe people.
Celluloid flat box approx 5x4 inches containing 1 razor, 1 blade, 1 tube condensed milk, Horlicks tablets, aspirins, adhesive plasters, amongst other things now forgotten.
Compasses: small compasses were hidden on the uniform. E.g. a uniform button which unscrewed with a left-hand thread (to fox the Germans). A navigator's pencil which when broken in half revealed a bar compass on a piece of thread. Another small compass was sewn behind the brevet (flying wing badge).
Two metal trouser fly buttons when balanced one on top of the other had a white spot which indicated North
We were told that some crews who miraculously escaped their plane complained that the tube of shaving soap was useless. Of course it was an unlabelled tube of condensed milk.
Flying Rations for each operation consisited [sic] of 1 x two ounce bar of Fry's chocolate cream, 1 x two ounce bar of milk chocolate, one packet of chewing gum, and 1 x 4 fluid ounce can of orange juice. One Benzadrine (wakey-wakey pill) which once taken kept you awake for four hours.
To open my small tin of orange juice in the turret I pierced it with a bullet held sharp end down which I hit with my other hand.
Pair of fleece lined shoes attached to gaiters. One gaiter had a small knife concealed inside. On crash landing gaiters were to be cut off so that shoes would look like normal ones.
The Rear Gunner in his turret was not inside the plane but on a "platform" at the rear. To clamber into the turret was a time consuming and awkward business. The Elsam toilet at the rear of the fuselage had a hinged lid secured by an elastic rope. This was the RG's step onto a plywood shute. Partway down the shute was a hinged door secured by another elastic rope which closed automatically after passing through. Once through that door you placed your parachute pack in stowage on the port side of the aircraft, on hooks and again secured by elastic rope. Then still sliding, through two small sliding doors which were closed behind you after entry, forming a backrest. The gunner sat on a small lightly upholstered shelf-like seat for the duration of the operation with no room to move around. One door had a small porthole window. Plug in intercom & oxygen mask and check guns, sights etc. Equipped with 4x
[page break]
.303 Browning machine guns. The windows were Perspex which after cleaning became scratched, difficult to see through and susceptible to glare from searchlights & suchlike. Most RG's cut a panel 3ft high x 1ft wide out of the main window between the guns. The temperature could be up to -40°C. If the engines failed there was no power to the rear turret so I could do nothing.
If I needed to escape from my turret, or had the opportunity to bale out, I had to open the small doors behind me (my backrest), & manoeuvre back up the shute to pick up my parachute, then through the first door back into the fuselage proper. In theory in an emergency it should have been possible to turn the turret around and fall backwards out of the "backrest" doors. If the engines failed, no power so I could do nothing other than laboriously hand-crank the turret using two handles, one in each hand and each turning opposite to the other.
I was facing backwards in my turret so had to remember when giving observations and instructions to the other crew that "port was starboard".
I used to regularly mentally practice how I would get out if I had the opportunity. I never wore my cumbersome buoyancy suit. I removed my Perspex window for better vision and I decided I would rather die of cold than being shot down in flames. On the trip which took us to Mannheim in error I can remember I opened my "backrest" doors ready for evacuation if that were to be possible.
Rear Gunners were usually the first target for German fighter planes, and they were often the worst casualties of other attacks or crash landings. A Lanc could land at home base minus the R.G. There were stories of turrets being hosed out.
I am sometimes asked if I was afraid. Of course most of us were scared before take-off, but once airborne training took over and we all did our jobs. Anyone who professed to no fear often took stupid chances and made mistakes. Over the targets and when under attack we just had to get on with it, took evasive action when possible and hoped to survive. Once the bombs had gone there was a sense of relief but also easy to drop your guard. After leaving the target many planes were shot down by the following German fighters. I always said a prayer before take-off and heaved a sigh of relief and thanks each time my turret touched down at Wickenby. I know that our crew was among the lucky ones.
Many Aircrew carried a lucky charm or item on every op. and most carried out small rituals before take-off. When I was training my sister Peggy gave me a Cornish Piskie (Joan the Wad) bronze lapel brooch which I wore on my battle dress jacket all the time.
Sam carried a whole cashew nut. The others did not say if they carried such things.
Before briefing we usually had a shrewd idea of the sort of destination. The ground crew could tell from the fuel load and bomb load whether it was to be a long trip or short one thus guessing it would be Germany or Occupied Territories.
Briefing.
Pubs:
When at Bridlington the "Dun'cow" near Newcastle.
When at Castle Donnington the "Turk's Head". (with Sam & crew)
When at Lindholme the pub at Hatfield Woodhouse. (with Sam & crew)
When at Wickenby the "Adam & Eve" at Wragby (with Sam & crew) because the pub at
[page break]
Wickenby was a long way from our billets and a long way to walk. Mainly No. 12 Squadron used it.
Once or twice when in London on leave Sam, Harry & I, went to the "Queens" in Leicester Square til closing time 2p.m. Then to the Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant Shaftsbury Avenue. Then back to the "Queens" at 6p.m. Nearly all Aircrew there.
If we weren't on the battle order for that night we would all go down to the pub. The exception was Jack Leuty Navigator who seemed to keep himself to himself off duty. We made the most of each day because none of us knew if we would return from our operations. We did not go to the pub when we were on battle order.
I can remember one incident. Montgomery was held up at Caen the most heavily defended city in Normandy. He asked Bomber Command to destroy the German front lines so that 2nd Army could advance towards Germany. We had to bomb in daylight because the Allied Force was only 1200yds from the bombing area. Unfortunately the weather was bad so we were told to stand by in camp until it cleared. After three days there was no let up in the weather so most crews went down to the "Adam & Eve" for a few beers. At around 9p.m. the Wing Commander walked in. He very quietly said "I think you chaps should be back in bed, not down here". We knew what that meant so we all duly returned to billets.
We were woken at about 2a.m. to prepare for ops. (breakfast, dress, briefing etc) The briefing was to bomb the target short of the Allied lines. We were told the Americans had bombed the previous day and hit the Allied lines. En route I wanted to vomit probably because of the beer the previous night – the only time I ever felt sick. That's when I was sick in my gauntlet & tossed it out through the clear vision panel. As we approached the target area we saw "box barrage" of flak put up by the Germans. We were flying at approx. 12000ft, and the barrage was approx 1000ft above and below us. Like a curtain or a lethal Commando boarding net hanging in the sky. We had to fly straight through it. I personally witnessed seven Lancs go down. I have since met members of the Expediency Force who were on the ground who told me in words to the effect "your bombing was wonderful-not like those Americans yesterday. Not one of your bombs landed on our lines".
Coming home after one operation with landing lights on we were attacked by USA planes.
Sam to W/O "send up colour of the day"
Did they mistake us for Doodlebugs which had a red tail?
After the tour of operations all Aircrew were given a six months rest job before going back to another tour of flying operations. I was posted to report to an Aircrew Allocation Centre on a small disused airfield called Bracla near Nairn in North of Scotland. (Moray Firth). October. It seemed the coldest place on earth. The others were sent to different places. Don't know why and don't know why I was sent to Bracla. We were interviewed for three weeks for a choice of "Rest Jobs". Harry Merry was at Weeton, Lancashire. Can't remember where Sam and the others went. Tommy did Instructing.
Given three choices:
1. Embarkation Assistant, Movement Control, Ships in Ports in ports anywhere in the UK being responsible for meeting personnel and families on leave from abroad and checking RAF cargoes mostly from America and Canada (supplies for Armed Forces).
2. Transport.
3. To be an Instructor of Aircrews.
At the end of the three weeks we were allowed to choose. I was allowed my first choice
[page break]
Embarkation Control because I was interested in ships. Also someone had told me it was a nice job. Posted to a Service Camp at Kirkham near Preston, Lancashire for three weeks training for my new job. Discovered that Harry Merry was only twelve miles away but unable to meet because of the vagaries of transport in those days.
Then to Port of Bristol Authority – Avonmouth Docks where I was billeted with a civilian family the Bentleys. (Their son later played soccer for England team). Many happy weeks in that area. Among my duties there I was involved with unloading a ship carrying 128 wives and families returning from the West Indies on a banana boat which brought the first consignment of Fyffes bananas to England since 1939. Wonderful to taste this delicacy after so many years (1945). Had a good time in the docks boarding ships and receiving hospitality. Whilst I was there V.E. Day was celebrated with street parties. During my time there met up with Sam & Harry in a pub.
After that I was posted to Newhaven, Sussex, checking RAF personnel coming ashore on the cross-channel ferries from France. Again billeted with a civilian family Mrs. Bishop.
Another happy time.
At Newhaven I was expecting to be recalled to flying duties to Burma when V.J. Day was announced. Shortly afterwards my father without my knowledge managed to obtain a compassionate discharge for me to return to the family butchery business in Saltash. I was furious. Later I understood that all ranks except officers were demoted and sent to other jobs. Many of course continued flying.
Afterwards.
At the completion of flying operations crews would part with a handshake and promise to keep in touch. Of course many did, some went on to illustrious careers and many have kept up contact with various Squadron and Aircrew Associations but strange as it may seem now a large number lost contact. Some were traumatised, some just wanted to forget. Some wanted nothing more to do with Service life. We all got on with our lives and some like me suffered no post-war trauma but never forgot those years. It was my impression that Jack Leuty and Ron Rainbird did not want to continue the bond we had made.
Sam, Harry & I met up a couple of times. Sam married Brenda and came to Cornwall for their honeymoon.at [sic] Looe. They & Harry returned to the West Indies.
I married Nancy in 1959 and she will tell you that it doesn't take much to trigger a story or on meeting a stranger soon find I was stationed in their part of the country.
In 1959 Sam, Brenda and their four young boys came to Plymouth on a liner, stayed in a bed and breakfast in Saltash for a couple of nights and spent time with us. Then we lost touch again. One day (date not known) Tommy and Jenny came to Saltash from Leigh-on-Sea and looked me up in the shop. I was another of our depots, and left instructions not to forward telephone calls. However, Nancy phoned and said "a call for you". Tommy's voice came over the line "Bomb Aimer to Rear Gunner". The start of a renewed and lifelong friendship.
Nancy remarked how eerie it was to hear the same stories and memories from a complete stranger.
I knew a Merchant Navy Captain who was going to Trinidad and asked him to find Harry Merry for me. He came back with an address.
As a surprise for our 25th Wedding Anniversary Nancy wrote to Harry and asked him to telephone on a certain day, certain time, and if he knew where Sam was to ask him to phone too. Sam & Brenda by now living in Canada.
Tommy & Jenny stayed with us for the anniversary (a party for family and friends) and lo and behold at the designated hour the phone rang & it was Harry, then Sam. What a reunion
[page break]
down the line. Sam & Brenda came to stay with us on a visit to England and we had a most wonderful time. Harry died before Nancy could meet him. After Sam's untimely death Brenda came again and we to Missasauga. Tommy died having a heart attack whilst driving, but we keep up with Jenny.
On leave Sam came to Saltash once or twice with me.
Tommy came twice. On one occasion we put my motor bike on the train at Wickenby to London, somehow got across London then by train to Bristol. We had come straight from an op with no sleep so were very tired. I said I know a place in Weston Super Mare that might be able to put us up so we rode there. It was a sort of hotel/retirement home (so-called in those days for retired gentle folk) where my father used to stay on his Ministerial visits. Mr. Cottle the owner recognised me and said of course he could find us beds. After a good breakfast the next morning he would not let us pay anything. The dear old ladies there were very excited to see us. We then took the train to Plymouth. Got fed up with the slow start/stop journey so got off at a place called Bittaford near Plymouth and rode the bike the rest of the way and across the river to Saltash on the vehicle ferry. Because there were railings and a swing gate at Bittaford we had to manoeuvre the bike over them to the road. I had not told my parents that I had started flying on ops, and on one visit Tommy said "Isn't it time you told them?" We were at the "Notter Bridge" pub at the time. Father was very proud and after that when I was on leave in the shop he would say "This is my son who is . . . . . . . . . . ."
Now. A note from Nancy 2005
Herb is now 81 years old, (going on 65) still energetic with a vivid and accurate memory and I have been recording it all on the computer. Still adding to it. What started off as little memory joggers has grown into a full story. These are not the ramblings of an old man!!!!! All his life he has remembered his experiences of those RAF days as vividly as though they were yesterday. His interest in planes and ships and that training has stayed with him and his observations are as acute as ever. Over the years he has often been asked to give talks and his Rear Gunner reminiscences are always popular. Especially one entitled "When Port Was Starboard". He has only recently told me he still repeats his little mental flying rituals whenever he takes to the air --- on holiday or any flight. Amongst his photographs and memorabilia is his lucky Piskie charm.
[page break]
In 2009 during an interview he was asked what he thought about when on operations --- mother & sister perhaps? He replied once airborne all his thoughts were directed to being alert and scanning the sky and doing his job. But afterwards he told me that yes, he and Tommy had thought of their mothers and how devasted they would have been if anything had happened to them.
Heard that crews were very happy when they saw Lincoln Cathedral in sight on approaching base. How did I feel? "Well I never saw it because I was in the rear facing backwards."
Very relieved when the rear wheel touched down.
Between 1st day or [sic] war September 1939 and May 1945
Of every 100 Aircrew
Killed 51 51%
Crashes in England 9 )
Seriously injured 3 )
Prisoners of war 12 ) 25%
Evaded capture 1 )
Survived unharmed 24 24%
Of that 24% none were actually unscathed. All have stories of near-misses, lucky escapes etc. etc.
[page break]
55,000 Bomber Command aircrew lost their lives out of a total of 110,000. Rate of loss never before borne by a Military Force of comparable size in the history of the world.
Entitled to Defence Medal (ARP Messenger 1940-1941), & Part-time National Fire Service. 1942-1943 (No. Had to be in for 3 years)
39/45 Star
France and Germany Medal
Victory Medal (War Medal)
Apparently not eligible for Aircrew Europe Medal because I did not fly on operations prior to D-Day (6th June 1944), but I was on Squadron 5th June 1944 and detailed to act as Rear gunner because of illness of another crew member. Unfortunately he heard there was something momentous going to happen that night and pronounced himself fit so I did not fly. But in Feb & March our crew had flown 3 "operations as detailed" over Europe which didn't count. (See logbook)
Harris asked Churchill for a Bomber Command Campaign Medal, but Churchill refused. Montgomery & Tedder etc were all given Earldoms. They only made Harris a Knight. A lot of Bomber Command Aircrew took it as a personal insult but apparently it was his wish that he be given no higher award unless his Bomber crews were given recognition.
I was not alone by any means in refusing to apply for my campaign medals. They knew where we were when they needed us, but if we wanted our medals we had to apply for them.
We supported Harris.
After the War Churchill omitted to include and thank Bomber Command for their involvement.
[page break]
July 18th 2012 We went to London to see the new Bomber Command Memorial.
2013 Bomber Command "veterans" were awarded a "clasp". He was not going to apply for it.
During and after the War new regulations. Medals were presented to serving crew but if they had already left the service they had to apply for them. Was that in 1948 or before? We now know they had to ask for a buff postcard at the Post Office in order to apply.
July 2013 Applied for all medals
Applied for Membership of Bomber Command
August 2013 Nancy trying to find proof he was in the Fire Service
Memories of being in the National Fire Service, Saltash 1942 (previously Auxiliary Fire Service)
Must have had a number. Cannot remember having a photo taken.
Had to give up uniform (overalls) but kept the axe. Is it in this house somewhere?
David Coles, George Rees, Douglas Vosper, Colin Squires father.
The London Fire Brigade were given a rest from the London Blitz by being sent to the country i.e. Saltash. One called himself Flicker because his name was really Fricker.
One was an architect from Maida Vale.
From David Coles -- Two were husband & wife, there is a photo at Heritage. Sidney and Hilda Basset.
There appear to be no records or photos of NFS 1942, presumably because none were taken or had been destroyed during destruction.
2nd Sept 2013
Andrew found the axe in the roof along with some flying "souvenirs".
Axe No. 553 758 (or it could be 555 758).
[page break]
Leggings part of rear runner flying boots with inner little pocket (no knife).
Floating tablet for dying the water yellow/orange to be trailed from a dinghy in the event of being shot down over the sea.
Floating torch from the Mae-West.
Compound and cloth from service respirator to clear and coat lenses of goggles and respirators.
December 2013. Great niece Stephanie Pender asked for details as she is determined to get the Medals. She is in the British Army.
Medals received Feb 2014
War Medal 1939-1945
1939-1945 Star with Bomber Command Clasp
France and Germany Star
2014 French awarded Legion d'Honneur to all surviving veterans who helped liberate France
1944/45. 2015 Nancy applied.
September 2016
Legion d'Honneur arrived
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
General Memories
Description
An account of the resource
Herbert's service life in an autobiography.
He describes training in London, Bridlington, Morpeth and Wymeswold. Later training as a crew was at Castle Donington, Lindholme and Hemswell. He describes in detail his crew, aircraft and operations. After the war he returned to his job in Cornwall and made contact with some of his old crew. His wife concludes his story, writing in 2005.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Herbert Davy
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2005
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
15 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
BDavyHDavyHv1
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.
Great Britain
England--London
England--Alnwick
England--Sheffield
England--Mablethorpe
England--Liskeard
England--The Lizard
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
Netherlands--Walcheren
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Mannheim
Poland--Szczecin
Sweden--Malmö
England--Wragby (Lincolnshire)
England--Saltash
France--Caen
England--Lincoln
England--Newhaven
England--Leigh-on-Sea
England--Bristol
Canada
Ontario
Poland
Trinidad and Tobago--Trinidad
France
Germany
Netherlands
Sweden
Trinidad and Tobago
England--Essex
England--Gloucestershire
England--Lancashire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Northumberland
England--Yorkshire
France--Pauillac (Gironde)
England--Preston (Lancashire)
England--Bristol
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.
1944
1945
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
12 Squadron
626 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bomb aimer
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
crewing up
escaping
flight engineer
Halifax
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Initial Training Wing
lack of moral fibre
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Martinet
Me 262
military ethos
navigator
Operational Training Unit
pilot
RAF Brackla
RAF Bridlington
RAF Castle Donington
RAF Hemswell
RAF Kirkham
RAF Lindholme
RAF Morpeth
RAF Tilstock
RAF Wickenby
RAF Woodbridge
RAF Wymeswold
searchlight
superstition
target indicator
training
V-1
V-weapon
Wellington
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1858/33534/LDavyH1852721v1.1.pdf
1c95fe5405a0f5b8538a8dc7ab6bd37a
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
Davy, H
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
2017-06-01
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.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Davy, H
Description
An account of the resource
18 items. The collection concerns H Davy (1852721 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, memoir and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 626 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Nancy Davy 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
Herbert Davy's log book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDavyH1852721v1
Description
An account of the resource
Extract from the flying log book for Herbert Davy, air gunner covering the period from 14 September 1943 to 3 October 1944. It details his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Morpeth, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Lindholme, RAF Hemswell and RAF Wickenby. Aircraft flown in were Anson, Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster. He flew a total of 34 operations; two whilst at OTU and 32 with 626 Squadron, 15 daylight and 19 night. Targets were Flers, Evreux, Gelsenkirchen, Paris, Dijon, Le Havre, Boulogne, Siracourt, Crecy, Caen, Tours, Courtrai, Kiel, Stuttgart, Brunswick, Paulliac, Ferme du Forestal, Volkel, Ertvelde Rieme, Stettin, Frankfurt, Neuss, Eindhoven, Calais, Cap Griz Nez and Westkappelle. His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Collens.
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
Terry Hancock
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-06
1944-07
1944-08
1944-06-14
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-07-07
1944-07-18
1944-08-07
1944-08-08
1944-08-15
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Poland
Belgium--Kortrijk
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Tyne and Wear
England--Yorkshire
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Caen
France--Calais
France--Dijon
France--Evreux
France--Le Havre
France--Paris
France--Siracourt
France--Tours
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Stuttgart
Netherlands--Eindhoven
Netherlands--Uden
Netherlands--Westkapelle
Poland--Szczecin (Voivodeship)
France--Pauillac (Gironde)
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text. Log book and record book
Text
626 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Luftwaffe night-fighter airfields (15 August 1944)
bombing of the Boulogne E-boats (15/16 June 1944)
bombing of the Le Havre E-boat pens (14/15 June 1944)
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Hemswell
RAF Lindholme
RAF Morpeth
RAF Wickenby
RAF Wymeswold
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1825/33689/LBrennanJ1210913v1.2.pdf
d9ceb76ab3940a4bb6a504400f303a68
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
Brennan, Jack
John Brennan
J Brennan
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
2017-04-05
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
Brennan, J
Description
An account of the resource
Twenty-four items.
The collection concerns Sergeant John Brennan DFM (1210913 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book as well as documents including a Goldfish Club certificate, notes from station and squadron operational record book with details of activities and operations, memoirs, newspaper cuttings and correspondence. In addition, contains operation order and other details for 617 Squadron's attack of German dams on 16/17 May 1943.
He flew operations as a wireless operator with 102 and 35 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by T Noble and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
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
J Brennan's observer's and air gunner's 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
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LBrennanJ1210913v1
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.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943-05-23
1943-05-24
1943-05-25
1943-05-26
1943-05-27
1943-05-28
1943-06-12
1943-06-13
1943-06-19
1943-06-20
1943-06-21
1943-06-22
1943-07-29
1943-07-30
1943-08-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-10
1943-08-11
1943-08-12
1943-08-13
1943-08-16
1943-08-17
1943-08-23
1943-08-24
1943-08-27
1943-08-28
1943-08-30
1943-08-31
1943-09-01
1944-05-08
1944-05-09
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-28
1944-05-29
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1945
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Belgium--Haine-Saint-Pierre
Belgium--Hasselt
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Leicestershire
England--Worcestershire
England--Yorkshire
France--Dunkerque
France--Le Creusot
France--Paris Region
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Mönchengladbach
Germany--Nuremberg
Italy--Turin
Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Description
An account of the resource
Observer's and Air Gunner's Flying log book for J Brennan, wireless operator / air gunner covering the period from 13 November 1942 to 16 November 1945. Detailing his flying training, operations flown, instructing and transport duties. He was stationed at RAF Honeybourne, RAF Rufforth, RAF Graveley, RAF Castle Donington and RAF Wymeswold. Aircraft flown in were Anson, Whitley, Halifax, Wellington and Dakota. He flew a total of 20 night time operations with 102 Squadron (surviving a ditching) and 35 Squadron. Targets were Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Essen, Bochum, Le Creusot, Kreffeld, Hamburg, Nuremberg, Turin, Berlin, Mönchengladbach, Haine St Pierre, Lens, Hasselt, Mardyck and Trappes. His pilots on operations were Flight Lieutenant Honey and Wing Commander Cribb.
102 Squadron
1663 HCU
24 OTU
28 OTU
35 Squadron
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
C-47
ditching
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Operational Training Unit
RAF Castle Donington
RAF Graveley
RAF Honeybourne
RAF Rufforth
RAF Wymeswold
training
Wellington
Whitley
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2093/34640/SWeirG19660703v090005.1.pdf
74ac85235abe6fb895ef94b26b3c25ea
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
J B McManus - pilot's 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
Royal Australian Air Force
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
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SWeirG19660703v090005
Description
An account of the resource
Flying Log Book for J B McManus, pilot. Covers the period from 22 December 1942 to 29 April 1948 and his training, operations and post-war flying in Australia and Japan. He was based at RAF Clyffe Pypard, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Weston on the Green, RAF Moreton in Marsh, RAF Rufforth, RAF Driffield, RAF Edzell and RAF Hawarden. Aircraft flown were Tiger Moth, Wirraway, Oxford, Wellington, Halifax, Albemarle, Anson, Beaufort, Proctor, Mosquito, Martinet, Master, Lancaster, Lincoln, Avenger, Dominie, Warwick and P-51 Mustang. With 466 Squadron he flew on 33 operations (including one recall); 17 daylight and 16 daylight. Targets were Hamburg, La Pourchinte, Soesterberg, Le Havre, Gelsenkirchen, Kiel, Neuss, Calais, Bottrop, Wilhemshaven, Hannover, Essen, Walcheren, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Bochum, Julich, Munster, Sterkrade, Bingen, Mulheim, St Vith, Opladen, and Koblenz. His pilots on his first ‘second dickie’ operations were Flying Officer Herman and Flight Lieutenant Hutchison.<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.
1944-08-27
1944-09-01
1944-09-03
1944-09-09
1944-09-11
1944-09-12
1944-09-15
1944-09-16
1944-09-22
1944-09-23
1944-09-25
1944-09-27
1944-09-30
1944-10-15
1944-10-16
1944-10-22
1944-10-25
1944-10-29
1944-10-30
1944-10-31
1944-11-02
1944-11-03
1944-11-04
1944-11-05
1944-11-06
1944-11-16
1944-11-18
1944-11-21
1944-11-22
1944-11-29
1944-11-30
1944-12-12
1944-12-13
1944-12-18
1944-12-19
1944-12-22
1944-12-23
1944-12-24
1944-12-26
1944-12-27
1944-12-28
1944-12-29
1945-01-05
1945-01-06
1945-01-07
1945-01-12
1945-01-13
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.
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
1663 HCU
21 OTU
466 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Albemarle
Anson
Dominie
Flying Training School
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Halifax Mk 5
Harvard
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lincoln
Martinet
Mosquito
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
P-51
pilot
Proctor
RAF Clyffe Pypard
RAF Driffield
RAF Hawarden
RAF Moreton in the Marsh
RAF Rufforth
RAF Wymeswold
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1894/34888/LColeFIG1817994v1.1.pdf
20353317a38cc90a7d012806922c7795
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
Cole, Ivor
Frederick Ivor Geoffrey Cole
F I G Cole
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
2017-07-09
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
Cole, FIG
Description
An account of the resource
42 items.
The collection concerns Sergeant Frederick Ivor Geoffrey "Ivor" Cole (1817994 Royal Air Force) his log book, documents and photographs, and a photograph album of his post war service in Singapore. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 103 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Frederick Cole 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
Ivor Cole's log book
Description
An account of the resource
Navigator's, Air Bomber's and Air Gunner's Flying Log Book for Ivor Cole, wireless operator. Covers the period from 3 September 1943 to 7 February 1946. Details his training, operations and flight to the Far East. Aircraft flown were Dominie, Proctor, Anson, Wellington, Halifax, Lancaster, B-24 and C-47. With 103 Squadron he flew 36 operations, 27 at night and 9 daylight. Targets were Duisburg, Stuttgart, Essen, Cologne, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Wanne-Eickel, Dortmund, Aschaffenburg, Freiburg, Urft Dam, Karlsruhe, Merseburg, Ludwigshaven, Ulh, Koblenz, Hannover, Munich, minelaying, Weisbaden, Kleve, Pforzheim and Mannheim. He also flew two Cook's Tour flights. His pilots on operations were Flight Lieutenant Morgan and Pilot Officer Weight.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
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
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
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
LColeFIG1817994v1
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943
1944
1945
1946
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-10-14
1944-10-15
1944-10-19
1944-10-20
1944-10-23
1944-10-24
1944-10-25
1944-10-28
1944-10-30
1944-10-31
1944-11-04
1944-11-05
1944-11-06
1944-11-09
1944-11-11
1944-11-12
1944-11-22
1944-11-23
1944-11-27
1944-11-28
1944-11-29
1944-12-03
1944-12-04
1944-12-05
1944-12-06
1944-12-07
1944-12-15
1944-12-16
1944-12-17
1944-12-18
1944-12-22
1944-12-23
1945-01-05
1945-01-06
1945-01-07
1945-01-08
1945-01-14
1945-01-15
1945-01-16
1945-01-17
1945-01-28
1945-01-29
1945-02-01
1945-02-02
1945-02-03
1945-02-04
1945-02-05
1945-02-07
1945-02-08
1945-02-15
1945-02-16
1945-02-18
1945-02-19
1945-02-20
1945-02-21
1945-02-22
1945-02-23
1945-02-24
1945-02-25
1945-02-28
1945-03-01
1945-03-02
1945-06-19
1945-09-07
103 Squadron
1656 HCU
1667 HCU
28 OTU
Advanced Flying Unit
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
B-24
C-47
Cook’s tour
Dominie
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
mine laying
Operational Training Unit
Proctor
RAF Castle Kennedy
RAF Elsham Wolds
RAF Hemswell
RAF Lindholme
RAF Sandtoft
RAF Wymeswold
training
Wellington
wireless operator