Browse Items (291 total)

  • Tags: Spitfire

PFlowersJ1501.jpg
Horace James Flowers was born and grew up in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire. He became an apprentice butcher before being released to volunteer for the Royal Air Force in 1944. He trained as an air gunner at RAF Bridgnorth, RAF Wigsley and RAF Syerston…

PFilliputtiA16010099.jpg
A Spitfire is crashing in a rural landscape. The aircraft is pictured in the act of disintegration and is in flames and trailing black smoke. The pilot has bailed out and his parachute has opened.

Label reads “243”; signed by the author;…

ACommissoM161028.mp3
Mario Commisso remembers his early years when he lived in the Codroipo area, close to the Rivolto air base. Describes his brother being born on 28 February 1941 during a severe bombing raid during which the bombers were attacked by anti-aircraft fire…

BArcherSWArcherSWv10001.jpg
Stanley Archer’s account of his training as one of the first flight engineers for Lancaster operations in 1942. First he attended an air gunnery course then transferred to 97 squadron at RAF Woodhall Spa. He comments on a daylight operation on…

PBanksP15010110.jpg
Top left an aerial vertical photograph of waterway junction with bridge. Canal or river runs from top left down towards bottom right. Splits into two branches towards the bottom. Right branch has road bridge crossing to the land between the two…

PBanksP15010115.jpg
Top left an air-to-air view of a reconnaissance Spitfire flying right to left with cloud background.

Bottom left air-to-air view of the bottom of a reconnaissance spitfire with Invasion stripes. The camera openings can be seen in the rear…

PBanksP15010116.jpg
Top centre a full length wedding group portrait. An officer in uniform tunic carrying a peaked cap. On the right a women in full length white wedding dress carrying a bouquet. Behind bridesmaids partially visible and in the background a church arched…

SRutherfordRL146342v1.pdf
Prisoner of war diary of Les Rutherford, captured the 20 December 1943 and then detained at Stalag Luft 3 (Belaria). It consists mostly of sketches and cartoons but also information on camp life, photographs and German newspaper cuttings. The diary…

SMarshallS1594781v10011.jpg
Four newspaper cuttings from 1944 describing four separate operations. Salzburg captioned 'Oct 17 1944', Essen captioned 'Oct 25th 1944', Dunkirk and Vienna captioned 'Nov 4th 1944' and Gelsenkirchen captioned 'Nov 6th 1944'.

SMarshallS1594781v10019.jpg
Cutting 1 describes a 1300 bomber operation on Munich and Ulm. Flight Lieutenant W Drinkell describes the lack of fighters. Captioned 'Jan 7th 1945'. Cutting 2 describes attacks on Germany and an oil refinery at Brux in Czechoslovakia. Also a…

SMarshallS1594781v10048.jpg
Photograph 1 is of a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast with a Lancaster, Hurricane and Spitfire.
Photograph 2 is an aerial oblique photograph of modern Elsham Wolds.
Photgraph 3 is an aerial oblique photograph of the Humber bridge.…

SMarshallS1594781v10065.jpg
Photograph 1 is a Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane of the Battle of Britain Memorial flight.
Photograph is the underside of a Lancaster in flight.

SMarshallS1594781v10069.jpg
Photograph 1 is Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane at RAF Coningsby.
Photograph 2 is a parachute display. One parachutist is landing beside a smoke flare. He has an RAF ensign attached. There is a large attendance…

SMarshallS1594781v10070.jpg
Newspaper article about a reunion and flypast at RAF Elsham Wolds. Mentioned are Mike Stedman (I squared), pilot Anseleme Vernieuwe who had escaped from Belgium through France and Spain then Lisbon, rear-gunner Tom Quinlan, flight engineer Walter…

ACastletonGJ160719.mp3
Gerald John Castleton was born in Southsea. He worked in demolition until he joined the Royal Air Force. He flew operations as a flight engineer but was shot down and became a prisoner of war.

AColensoF170522.mp3
Frank Colenso grew up in Cornwall and worked for a local newspaper at the outbreak of the war. He recalls the return of injured survivors from Dunkirk into Falmouth Bay. He joined the local defence volunteers following the bombing of Falmouth and…

PEllisMW1701.jpg
Mary Wilkins Ellis was born in Oxfordshire and became interested in aviation at a very early age. She experienced her first flight with Alan Cobham’s Flying Circus. Mary learned to fly while still at school and obtained her licence in 1938. When…

PEppelJW1702.jpg
John Eppel grew up in Australia and joined the Royal Australian Air Force. After training, he completed 30 operations as a navigator with 550 Squadron. He describes initial training in Australia and the journey by sea via the United States, then…

AParkerF171130.mp3
Fred Parker was born in Skegness and worked with boats and built pillboxes before the war. He later joined the Royal Air Force and served as ground personnel, where he worked at an air gunnery training unit at RAF Silloth with target tugs. Fred spent…

PWildR1602.jpg
Ralph Wild grew up in Yorkshire. He originally served as ground personnel with Fighter Command but he later remustered and became a navigator and flew operations with Bomber Command.

PFraserDW1504.jpg
David Fraser enlisted in the Royal Air Force in 1939 and was trained as a mechanic. He remustered as soon as he was able and flew four operations as an air gunner with 115 Squadron before his aircraft was shot down over Hamburg, in May 1941. He spent…

MHicksDK[Ser#-DoB]-151001-06.jpg
Recollection of work Ken Hicks carried out during the Battle of Britain on 222 Squadron at Royal Air Force Hornchurch. He notes that 37 pilots of 222 Squadron fought in the battle and 18 were killed.

ADeytrikhA160426.mp3
Andrew Deytrikh’s family emigrated from Russia in 1919 and he was born in the Isle of Wight. He grew up in London before being employed in a laboratory testing metals. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1940 and after training as a pilot he joined…

AHicksDK151103.mp3
Ken Hicks grew up in Wales and joined the Royal Air Force as an Apprentice Mechanic at RAF Halton. He worked on Spitfires during the Battle of Britain. He was later posted to Rhodesia and survived a crash in the bush. After the war, He took part in…
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