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Circhina supply drop
Vertial aerial photograph of Circhina. Snow-covered terrain, scattered trees and a river are visible on the image. Captioned '2780 40'55 21 Jan '45 F8"//1400° [arrow] 17.17 T.T. Circhina Supply Drop. Sgt Hanson P/O Jones B'A.
Dr Syrach Larsen, Peter Bredsdorff and S/W Carl of Nesko
Photograph 1 is a half length portrait of a man wearing shirt and tie, seated in a chair, captioned ' Dr Syrach Larsen - Lisa's Father'.
Photograph 2 is a street scene with a curved road, lamp posts and trees, captioned 'The road outside Dr Larsen's…
Photograph 2 is a street scene with a curved road, lamp posts and trees, captioned 'The road outside Dr Larsen's…
Roy Maddock-Lyon's Danish Identity Card and a map of Blockade Runners Flight Path
Item 1 is a Danish Identity card issued to Roy Maddock-Lyon under the name Peter Jensen. It includes a head and shoulders photograph.
Item 2 is a sketch map of Scandanavia and Great Britain with four routes described as 'Blockade Runners'. Captioned…
Item 2 is a sketch map of Scandanavia and Great Britain with four routes described as 'Blockade Runners'. Captioned…
Report on crash of aircraft of 10 Squadron in Denmark on the night of 14th/15th February 1945, and subsequent escape of certain members of the crew to Sweden
A detailed report on the flight over Denmark, the explosion on the aircraft and evacuating the damaged aeroplane. The subsequent evasion to Sweden is also described.
Interview with Henry Moss
Henry grew up in Bradford and left school just before the outbreak of war. He had various jobs, including working in the mill, a greengrocer’s shop, the dye works and then garment cutting for the army. Aged 17 and a half he was called up in London…
Air drops in the La Spezia area
Major Gordon Lett reports to Colonnello Mario Fontana about air drops, including additional notes on operational procedures and an overall assessment of the military situation in the area.
Interview with Harrison Stanley Cammish
Harrison Cammish was born in Scarborough in 1923 and, when he was 14, he became an apprentice carpenter and joiner. When war broke out, he joined the Air Training Corps, and the Home Guard, who gave him a rifle and 40 rounds of ammunition. At the…
Interview with Thea Coleman
Thea Coleman was born in Holland in 1933. She experienced the invasion of her country and the increasing restrictions. Once when walking with her father, they were forced to stand and wait while prisoners were brought out of prison and executed which…
Interview with Ron Dawson
Ron Dawson joined the Air Training Corps at the age of 16. He trained on Ansons and Boulton Paul Defiants and remembers flying in the Whitley. He flew over 40 operations with 429 Squadron as air gunner. He crewed up at Leicester airport. Ron tells…
Interview with Frank Dell
Frank Dell’s father was a member of the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War and so it was, perhaps, inevitable that Frank would share the fascination with aviation and a desire to fly. As a teenager Frank witnessed the aerial battles of…
Interview with Johanna Heslam
Johanna Heslam was a young child when Holland was occupied. The family had to move on several occasions because their area was being used for military purposes. Johanna experienced increasing loss as shortages of clothing and then food began. Even…
Interview with Ernest Holmes
Ernest Holmes joined the RAF and served as a pilot, flying operations first with 76 Squadron and then on Pathfinders. Gives a vivid and detailed account of when he was shot down over Holland: how he was given shelter by a farmer’s family and moved…
Interview with William Holmes
William Holmes remembers his time as a pilot in the RAF. He gives a vivid and graphic account of the dramatic crash-landing which left him badly injured and brought him to join the Guinea Pig Club. William remembers various episodes of his…
Interview with James McKenzie Leith
James McKenzie Leith was a swimming instructor before he joined the RAF. He trained as a gunner and was posted to 429 Squadron at RAF Leeming. On their first operation their aeroplane was damaged and they attempted an emergency landing but this was…
Interview with Peter Thompson
Peter Thompson is the nephew of Fred Denzel James Thompson. Fred’s father was Churchill’s bodyguard. In 1936 Fred joined the Metropolitan Police Criminal Investigation Department and, following a meeting with Winston Churchill, volunteered as a…
Interview with Alfie Martin
Alfie Martin was born near Belfast in 1920. He applied for the Air Force but his mother was worried about the dangers and so he withdrew his application. He joined the army and, when the RAF advertised for soldiers to transfer the RAF, he…
Interview with Betty May Pearson
Betty's brother-in-law was William Mollison Walton who, after training to be a pilot in Canada, was based at RAF Swinderby with 97 Squadron. In 1944 his aircraft was attacked and he baled out. He spent two days on a small island where he buried his…
Interview with Carolyn Pritchard
Carolyn's father, Arthur, joined the Royal Air Force on his 18th birthday. Following his training as a flight engineer, was posted to RAF Winthorpe. He was allocated to a crew consisting entirely of Australians. In February 1944 the crew were posted…
H R Woodard's operations with 104 Squadron
Brief account of H R Woodard's operations with 104 Squadron from the first on 13 September 1944 until the last on 4 February 1945. Includes reference to misspelling of his surname and names of his regular aircrew. Final operation with LP 549 was to…
Interview with Katherine Thompson and Roy Briggs
Katherine Ellen Thompson remembers her time in Rotterdam during the war and, particularly, during Operation Manna. She recalls various episodes: food shortage; bartering linen and silver for food; members of the Dutch fascist party being paraded…
Interview with Anthony Tompson
Anthony Tompson worked as an engineer for the Post Office before he volunteered for the Air Force. While training as a pilot in Canada it was discovered he had a difficulty with perception and he trained instead as a navigator. On return to the Great…
Interview with Kenneth William Trueman
Kenneth William Trueman volunteered for the RAF and was called up in 1941. After training in South Africa, he served as a navigator with 640 Squadron and speaks of his preference for the Gee navigation aid rather than H2S. His operations included…
Interview with Coby Van Riel
Coby Van Riel was aged about six when the Germans invaded Holland. She lived in a fishing port area of The Hague, where her father had numerous jobs to make ends meet in the difficult days before the war and her mother ran a chemist shop. She…
Letter from Gordon Lett to Mario Fontana
Letter to Colonnello Mario Fontana from Major Gordon Lett regarding the capture of Black Brigade Fascist militiamen in the La Spezia area. Includes additional notes on the use of gas, and a quarrel over which unit should use supplies recently dropped…
La Spezia area situation assessment
Notes to Major Gordon including a military situation assessment in La Spezia area, with notes on Brugnato, Riomaggiore, Monterosso, Pallerone e San Terenzo. Includes a most urgent request to bomb the Brugnato bridge, and information on improvised…