In 1941 Charles was posted to Canada to complete training at RAF De Winton, learning to fly a Chipmunk and then converted to four engine aircraft: 'I got a pair of Air Force wings which is my pride and joy. Best thing I’ve ever done in my life'. Canada was described as being nice, vast, and cold, inhabited by friendly people, with plenty of fine food that wasn’t available in Britain. Very few details are given about wartime service. After the end of war, he went on to serve in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force as an engineer and representative of Meteor jets, which he also flown. Charles also became an Air Training Corps superintendent. Describes his involvement in one of the 550 Squadron reunions at RAF North Killingholme where they discussed Operation Manna. Talks about PA474 Phantom, a 550 Squadron aircraft.]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jean Massie]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cambridge]]> Canada]]> Alberta--Calgary]]> Alberta--De Winton]]> Alberta]]> 1941]]> John Fisher]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Iceland]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> Iceland--Reykjavík]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> Scotland--Greenock]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Saskatchewan]]> 1938]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> Scotland--Greenock]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> He joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 19 in 1941, but whilst he was waiting to be called up, he was helping to build a bomber station and what is now Teesside Airport, also completing work at the satellite station of Croft.
Ernie trained as a Wireless Operator, where he did well with Morse Code. He did his training in February 1942. He was sent to Evanton in Scotland, where he also trained as an Air Gunner.
He flew Proctors, Whitleys, Dominies, Avro Ansons, Halifaxes, Lancasters, Liberators and had a trip in at Catalina Flying Board. Ernie flew with 635 Squadron, which was part of the Pathfinders Force.
Ernie completed 51 Operations, flying to Stettin, Chemnitz and Hanover. He was part of the Master Bomber Crew to Dorsten, Kiel, Nuremburg, Osnabruck and Heligoland.
After the war, he was in charge of flying control in India, handling the closing of a Flying Boat base and arranging for them to be returned to the UK.
Ernie left the Royal Air Force in 1946 and returned to work as a Joiner, retiring from work at the age of 78.
]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]>

After returning to the UK, Douglas went to an Operational Training Unit to get crewed up, initially at RAF Wymeswold and then RAF Castle Donington on Wellingtons. He went to RAF Marston Moor and on to 158 Squadron at RAF Lissett on Halifaxes where he describes an encounter with Group Captain Leonard Cheshire. Douglas relates how a rear gunner refused to fly and was court martialled.

Douglas flew three operations to Berlin and on the third took a direct hit. After most of the crew baled, he managed to land in the Netherlands before being taken prisoner. Stalag Luft VI, on the border of East Prussia and Lithuania, was followed by Stalag Luft IV after the Russians approached. For three months Douglas was part of the Long March before being rescued by the 6th Airborne Division and flown back home.

Douglas stayed on for three years after the war. He was posted to RAF Wing and went up to Cosford as a flying officer. He attended a Lancaster Conversion Unit and flew Lancasters. He finished at a development squadron at the Central Signals Establishment. He recalls flying a Lancaster at the first Biggin Hill Air Show in front of Winston Churchill.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending review]]> Sound]]> Germany]]> Lithuania]]> Zimbabwe]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> Great Britain]]> Lithuania--Klaipėda]]> Mediterranean Sea]]> 1940-09]]> 1944]]>
Harold Gorton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force. Training Command]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Moray]]> 1944-02]]> Susanne Pescott]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Bahamas]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> Sri Lanka]]> Singapore]]> United States]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> Bahamas--Nassau]]> Bahamas]]> Italy]]> Italy--Mount Etna]]> India--Chennai]]> 1940]]> 1942-02-26]]> 1943-06-24]]> 1944-01-16]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> When Jim was about 18, he was called up to go to RAF Halton for aircraft training, after which he was sent for further training at RAF Abingdon Operational Training Unit on Hampden and Witney aircraft. He was then sent back to RAF Halton to do a fitter course and then posted to 23 Operational Training Unit at RAF Pershore working on Wellingtons. After training Jim became a leading aircraftman. In September 1943 Jim was posted to 206 Squadron on the Wirral for about two weeks. The outfit totalled about 1,000 people from the Air Force, Army and Navy. His unit was then sent to the Liverpool docks to join the troop ship Laconia heading for Bangor and then on to Azores where 8206 Maintenance Unit built an Air Force station and runway. They stayed in tents with eight people for up to a year. Over Christmas Jim was in a Portuguese hospital for about three days with a broken finger. The unit went to Casablanca then to Cornwall just before D-Day. He was put on night shift at RAF St Mawgan with 206 Squadron working on Liberators. Following a trip to Scotland they were posted at Dundee with an air salvaging and servicing unit. Here he was made acting corporal and worked with 31 Dakota Squadron. When the war ended, he was flown to Singapore, got a boat to Southampton and was discharged to complete his apprenticeship as a joiner. Jim re-joined the Air Force and went back to RAF Swinderby for four years working on Wellingtons. There he met his future wife. In 1951 the unit went to Singapore to work on Sunderlands before being posted back home. Jim left in 1966 and worked for AV Roe until joining ICL in a management job. ]]> Martyn Horndern]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Wirral]]> Scotland]]> Scotland--Dundee]]> Azores]]> North Africa]]> Morocco]]> Morocco--Casablanca]]> Singapore]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1943]]> 1943-09]]> 1943-12]]> 1966]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Germany. Wehrmacht Luftwaffe]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> deu]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> 1942]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> Egypt]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> Singapore]]> Egypt--Suez Canal]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cumbria]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Hattingen]]> Germany--Kamen]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Schleswig-Holstein]]> Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Netherlands--Hague]]> North Africa]]> Malaysia]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> 1948]]> 1949]]> 1950]]> 1951]]> 1952]]> 1953]]> 1945-01-07]]> 1945-01-08]]> 1945-02-19]]> 1945-02-20]]> 1945-02-21]]> 1945-02-23]]> 1945-02-26]]> 1945-02-28]]> 1945-03-02]]> 1945-03-11]]> 1945-03-14]]> 1945-05-07]]> 1945-05-09]]> 1945-05-11]]> 1945-05-12]]> 1945-05-16]]> 1945-05-18]]> 1945-05-19]]> 1945-05-20]]> 1945-05-26]]> 1945-07-05]]> Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Second generation]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1943]]> Glen Turner]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]> 1942]]> 1944-07-04]]> 1945]]> Harry Bartlett]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Atlantic Ocean--Irish Sea]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--London]]> Northern Ireland--Fermanagh]]> 1936]]> 1944-02-15]]> 1944-04-17]]> 1944-04-27]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Second generation]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> 1944-04-27]]> Mike Connock]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--London]]> Scotland--John o' Groats]]> Harry Bartlett]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Azores]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Netherlands]]> United States]]> Zimbabwe]]> Arizona--Tucson]]> England--Burton upon Trent]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Essex]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> India--Kolkata]]> Italy--Elba]]> Mediterranean Sea--Bay of Naples]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> Ontario--Ottawa]]> Scotland--Leuchars]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]> Washington (State)--Seattle]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> Arizona]]> Ontario]]> New Brunswick]]> India]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Staffordshire]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Shropshire]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Chris Johnson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Chris Johnson]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Egypt]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> Poland]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1941]]> Victor completed 28 operations, including Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Cologne, Essen and Frankfurt, but he missed out on his 30 operations when he contracted rubella. He tells of his experiences on his operations, and supporting the D-Day operations when he and his crew were sent to attack the gun emplacement at Le Havre. He mentions how he saw all the ships heading for the beaches. Victor also recalls being put in charge of training with Lancasters, Halifaxes, Sunderlands and Stirlings, before heading out to Malaya to work on supporting the Army.
He served during the Suez Crisis helping with issues concerning radar. Back home he served at multiple stations before becoming commanding officer at RAF North Luffenham. He mentions an incident at RAF Marham and joining Task Force Grapple which was involved with nuclear testing.
Victor retired in 1977 and then he became a parish councillor for West Norfolk Council, before becoming mayor of West Norfolk from 1990 to 1991. At the local Royal Air Force Association he takes part in events helping to organise the acts of Remembrance every year.
]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Essex]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Rutland]]> France]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Christmas Island]]> Egypt]]> Malta]]> Singapore]]> Malaysia]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1956]]> 1957]]> 1944-03-30]]> 1944-03-31]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]>
Gary Rushbrooke]]> Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1943]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]> T J McLean]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Roger Dunsford]]> Royalty-free permission to publish]]> Cheshire, Leonard. Correspondence]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Ross-shire]]> 1944-01-31]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Czech Republic]]> China]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Poland]]> United States]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Czech Republic--Pilsen Basin]]> China--Hong Kong]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Herefordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Rutland]]> England--Somerset]]> England--Suffolk]]> Florida--Clewiston]]> France--Gironde Estuary]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Friedrichshafen]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Wuppertal]]> Italy--La Spezia]]> Italy--Milan]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Florida]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1943-03-11]]> 1943-03-12]]> 1943-03-22]]> 1943-03-23]]> 1943-03-27]]> 1943-03-28]]> 1943-03-29]]> 1943-04-02]]> 1943-04-03]]> 1943-04-04]]> 1943-04-05]]> 1943-04-16]]> 1943-04-17]]> 1943-04-20]]> 1943-04-21]]> 1943-04-26]]> 1943-04-27]]> 1943-04-28]]> 1943-04-29]]> 1943-04-30]]> 1943-05-01]]> 1943-05-04]]> 1943-05-05]]> 1943-05-12]]> 1943-05-13]]> 1943-05-14]]> 1943-05-30]]> 1943-05-31]]> 1943-06-11]]> 1943-06-12]]> 1943-06-13]]> 1943-06-20]]> 1943-06-21]]> 1943-06-23]]> 1943-06-24]]> 1943-06-25]]> 1943-06-26]]> 1943-06-29]]> 1943-06-30]]> 1943-07-03]]> 1943-07-04]]> 1943-07-08]]> 1943-07-09]]> 1943-07-24]]> 1943-07-25]]> 1943-07-26]]> 1943-07-29]]> 1943-07-30]]> 1943-08-12]]> 1943-08-13]]> 1943-08-15]]> 1943-08-16]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> 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]]> 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]]>