Browse Items (496 total)
Sort by:
Ernest Olaf Lane's Royal Australian Air Force flying log book. One
Royal Australian Air Force flying log book for Ernest 'Cappy' Olaf Lane covering the period 30 April 1940 to 15 October 1944 detailing his training and operations flown. Cappy flew 51 operations, 18 as second pilot to Sergeant Lewis, Sergeant…
Service History of Benny Goodman
Begins with his decision to cease his studies and join the Royal Air Force. Covers recruitment activities and life during initial training including employment as ground gunner while waiting for flying training. Describes basic training on Tiger Moth…
Interview with Eric Reginald Barton
Flying Officer Eric Barton flew operations with Bomber Command. Eric talks about the various aircraft he flew in, and recalls an incident at Banff in Scotland where, following a night exercise, his tyre blew out on landing. He gives an account of an…
Interview with John L Crabb
John Crabb transferred to the RAF from the Army. He began training as a pilot in the USA but then returned to train as an observer in Canada. On his return was posted to 49 Squadron. After 13 operations he and the bomb aimer developed colds and were…
Interview with Joseph Wilson
Before the war, Joe was a trainee pharmacist with a love of mathematics. He signed up for the RAF and flew briefly in Tiger Moths, becoming a bomb aimer. He went to 20 Operational Training Unit at RAF Lossiemouth, followed by 1652 Heavy Conversion…
Interview with Peter Greenwood
Peter Greenwood was born February 2, 1926, in Halifax, and grew up in the Yorkshire countryside, where his father ran a dairy business. He studied at Sowerby Bridge Grammar School with a particular interest in physics and chemistry. He was later…
Interview with Bill Thomas
Bill had been a member of the Air Defence Cadet Corps and Air Training Corps. He volunteered as a pilot in the Royal Air Force and flew Tiger Moths at RAF Sywell but was re-mustered as a navigator. Bill went to Canada as part of the Empire Air…
Interview with Robert Forsyth
Robert was in the Air Training Corps (Sea Cadets). He did pathfinder navigational training at the Operational Training Unit at RAF Warboys and then joined 156 Squadron at RAF Upwood. They did around 13 pathfinding operations, usually over Germany,…
Interview with Wally Lashbrook
Wally was born in February 1913, and joined the Royal Air Force in 1929 as an apprentice at RAF Halton and completed pilot training at RAF Prestwick. He flew many aircraft including Tiger Moths, Hendons and Halifaxes, and served with 51 Squadron and…
Horace Cooke's pilot's flying log book
Pilot's flying log book for Horace Cooke covering the period 11 April 1944 to 1 June 1945 when Horace served in Canada with 31 Personnel Dispatch, 19 Elementary Flying School, 17 Service Flying Training School and 7 Bombing and Gunnery School.
The…
The…
Interview with Cyril Abbotts
Cyril Abbotts volunteered for the Royal Air Force while he was an engineering apprentice with W T Avery at Smethwick. After his reception and basic training at Lord’s Cricket Ground, he trained as a pilot at RAF Bowden and Moose Jaw in Canada. On…
Interview with Mary Ellis
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…
Interview with Sandy Saunders
Sandy Saunders recalls Liverpool being bombed in 1941 and, while on a rescue squad, he sustained splinter injuries from a blast and required hospital treatment. After taking a science degree he served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers…
Interview with Rusty Waughman. Two
Russell (Rusty) Waughman was born in Shotley Bridge, County Durham. Due to serious poor health as a child, his education was interrupted. He describes his training with the Empire Training School in Canada. He was posted to 101 Squadron which was a…
Interview with Andrew Deytrikh
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…
Interview with Jack Hayley
Jack Hayley was born in Caterham and worked for an insurance company before he joined the Royal Air Force and trained to be a pilot. He trained in Canada and, after going through an Operational Training Unit in England, he was posted to 625 Squadron…
Interview with Ken Hicks
Ken sat the RAF aircraft apprentice exam because of his father. He passed and went, aged 16, to RAF Halton. The three-year course was condensed into two because of the war. He describes his training and the aircraft on which he worked. After he…
Interview with William Barfoot
Bill Barfoot was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. On joining the Air Force, he trained as a wireless operator but re-mustered as aircrew. He trained as a navigator in South Africa, and flew operations with 296 Squadron, supplying the French and Norwegian…
Interview with George Dunn
George Dunn DFC joined the Royal Air Force in June 1941 and, initially, trained as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, before training in Canada as a Pilot. He flew aircraft such as Avro Ansons and Airspeed Oxford. He tells of his experiences as…
Interview with Benny Goodman. Two
Benny Goodman grew up in London and hoped to become a pilot. He volunteered for the Air Force and was, originally, posted to RAF Abingdon as a ground gunner before beginning his flying training. After qualifying as a pilot in Canada, he became an…
Interview with Mieczysław Stachiewicz
Mieczysław describes his military training from his Polish secondary school before volunteering for the Polish Air Force. He was evacuated to Warsaw but the railway lines were cut by the Germans. His squadron re-assembled on the Romanian border,…
Interview with Peter Andrew Hopgood
This interview is with Peter Hopgood, who relates the experiences of his father, Sergeant Pilot Phillip Hopgood. Philip Hopgood lived in Liverpool and, after matriculation and having been a member of the Air Training Corps, he registered for the…
Interview with Dick Maywood
Dick was born in Peterborough and volunteered for the Royal Air Force in 1941. He was called up to Lord’s Cricket Ground in 1942. Dick went to No. 6 Initial Training Wing at RAF Aberystwyth. He then went to RAF Desford, flying Tiger Moths and was…
Interview with Thomas Peter Payne. Two
Tom joined the Air Training Corps as a deferred service airman, even though he was under-age. In April 1942 he received his call up papers to report to the Air Crew Reception Centre at St John’s Wood, before being posted to Ludlow. He then went to…