Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated S Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Egypt]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> Nigel Moore]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> Ian Locker]]> 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--Norfolk]]> 1943-03-08]]> 1944-05-27]]> Peter and Sandra Jones]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Janet McGreevy]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Cyprus]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> Yemen (Republic)--Aden]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Rutland]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Yemen (Republic)]]> Germany]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Nigel Moore]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Great Britain]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Corby]]> England--Coventry]]> England--Warwickshire]]> 1940-11]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> Jack was posted to the Second Anti-Aircraft Workshop at Callington and then the 469 Searchlight Battery ‘A’ Troop headquarters at Clovelly. Jack also went to 335 Battery at South Molton. Describes a homing beam system to guide aircraft back to the airfield noting that many pilots came to thank the searchlight crew after the first thousand bomber raid. A searchlight detachment normally comprised 12 men with specific roles, but each could do the other’s job. The searchlights were 90cm or 150cm and the latter were normally mounted and mobile.
Jack was also stationed with the 470 Battery in Norfolk where he believes he was one of the first to see Window’s effect on radar. He was posted to East Walton and one site was on the Sandringham estate.
Jack was then stationed at Hemel Hepmstead, was posted back to Arminghall and subsequently Hucknall. He became part of a new unit, 469 Advanced Base Workshops, and went to India and Singapore. His return home was on the record breaking run on the Andes and was demobilised in 1947.
Jack then worked as a power station chemist in Nottingham. He recalls seeing the first jet propelled engine in 1941 in Hucknall where there was a test centre.]]>
Steve Cooke]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams ]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Burma]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> Singapore]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
Peter Schulze]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> deu]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Poland--Wrocław]]> Germany]]> Poland]]> 1945-02-03]]> 1943]]> Adam Sutch]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> Pakistan]]> Sri Lanka]]> England--London]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> Atlantic Ocean--Rockall Bank]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> 1938]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> Tom Ozel]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated S Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> Italy--Milan]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Adam Sutch]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Southeast Asia]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> United States]]> Alabama--Montgomery]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> Libya]]> Middle East]]> Libya--Tobruk]]> Middle East--Palestine]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> North Africa]]> Egypt]]> Egypt--Suez Canal]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941]]> 1947]]> Tom Ozel]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 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]]> On his return, Geoff was posted to RAF Stormy Down on Whitleys and RAF Brize Norton where he trained army pilots to fly Horsa gliders. He was also posted to fly Wellingtons at the RAF Sutton Bridge experimental unit.
Geoff was eventually posted to Bomber Command and trained on Wellingtons at RAF Finningley. They did dummy raids, and dropped leaflets and Window. Geoff went to 550 Squadron at RAF North Killingholme in May 1944. He completed seven operations within 11 days and was shot down on the seventh. The first four operations were over the Normandy coast, starting on 5 June 1944 around D-Day.
Geoff describes how his plane was shot on its way to Sterkrade in the Ruhr. They baled out just over the Dutch border. Geoff landed in a wheat field whilst the aircraft hit a farm, killing seven people. Geoff found the church and was given clothing and a false identity card. He went down the escape line with his mid-upper gunner to Antwerp. They were betrayed by the Flemish collaborator, René van Muylem, who had set up a false escape line.
Geoff was interrogated and taken to Frankfurt. He was then sent to Stalag Luft I prisoner of war camp in Barth for nine months. There was little food but it was otherwise acceptable. His parents learnt he was a prisoner when his letter to them was read out by Lord Haw-Haw. The Germans left before the Russians arrived. Geoff was returned on a B-17.
Geoff was posted to Ely as Assistant Air Traffic Controller and stayed in the RAF volunteer reserve until his commercial pilot licence was granted.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> Alberta--Medicine Hat]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> Alberta]]> Alberta]]> Canada]]> Nova Scotia]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1944-05]]> 1944-06]]> 1945]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Adams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Dresden]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Deployed to 61 Squadron, he flew as second pilot ("second dickey") on a number of daylight operations before undertaking night time operations. He feared the intense anti-aircraft fire but considers the German fighter with its upward firing cannon as the most dangerous.
Frank describes in detail the various exit ports used in an evacuation of the aircraft and the difficulties for some crew members.
He recalls that a tour was 34 operations, which was followed by six months as an instructor then required to carry out a second tour, except for the pathfinders who did 35 operations but were not required to carry out a second tour. Of his own tour, Frank carried out nine area bombings, twelve rail yard bombings, six primary target bombings and seven army support missions and dropped two hundred and ninety tons of bombs. One of the memorable missions was in February 1945, the bombing of Dresden which he bombed at 23.00 hours. On his return flight he could see the flames from 120 miles away. During the German offensive in the Ardennes, he flew missions in support of US troops.
After VE day he was trained for the Tiger Force and assigned to Okinawa but VJ day prevented his deployment. After his return to Australia he kept in touch with his former crew and his last reunion with them was in Lincoln.

This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form: no better quality copies are available.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Terry Holmes]]> Pending OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> Germany--Dresden]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945-02]]> 1945-05]]> 1948-08]]>
Pam Locker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Burma]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Blackpool]]> Burma--Akyab (District)]]> Burma--Meiktila]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1943]]> 1945]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Italy--La Spezia]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> Eric describes his basic training in London and Torbay then recollects his technical training at RAF St. Athan. He then went to 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Marston Moor and joined his Halifax crew. In 1944 they were posted to 102 Squadron at RAF Pocklington where there were told that they wouldn't last three weeks.
Eric and his crew carried out a vast range of strategic bombings including daylight operations on V-1 sites, night operations on The Ruhr and Essen, night and daylight operations to oil targets, minelaying in the Baltic. They also provided tactical support in support of Allied troops near Caen and in the Ardennes, where they were badly damaged by a fighter and the mid-upper gunner received serious injuries. After landing at RAF Woodbridge in fog using FIDO he was hospitalised and did not fly again. The crew also supplied petrol to troops in Belgium, enjoying the low-level flying on these trips
Eric describes the sound of shrapnel hitting the aircraft, recalls a bomber exploding in flight, but dismisses the Scarecrow theory. He describes the use of Schräge Musik against the bombers; how search lights in the Ruhr operated, the use of H2S and how the master bomber controlled the rest of the formation.
At the end of his tour Eric remustered and was posted at RAF Jurby as airfield controller. From there he went to RAF Topcliffe and was demobbed in January 1947. Eric went back to the railways for ten years before working in local government. He retired in 1978, moving to Cornwall. While at RAF Pocklington he dated Cora noting that her parents made feel like a son. But he then ended the relationship because, with his own life in such jeopardy, he thought it was unfair on her. After the war he married Ellen, who he had met when starting his first job with the railways.]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Andy Fitter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Devon]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> Wales]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> France]]> France--Ardennes]]> France--Caen]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Nieppe Forest]]> Germany]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Denmark]]> Denmark--Bornholm]]> 1923]]> 1937]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1944-01]]> 1944-02]]> 1944-07-25]]> 1944-09]]> 1945]]> 1946-05-25]]> 1947-01-02]]> 1957]]> 1974]]> 1975]]> 1976]]> 1977]]> 1978]]> 1981]]>
David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tilly Foster]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Great Britain]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--York]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Scotland--Moray]]> France]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1940-10]]> 1943-04-16]]> 1943-09-28]]> 1944-07]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Dawn Studd]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Saskatchewan--Moose Jaw]]> England--London]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> Wales]]> Saskatchewan]]> Adam Purcell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France--Juvincourt-et-Damary]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Peter Schulze]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> deu]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Germany--Betzdorf]]> Germany]]> Lee Collins]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tilly Foster]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Australia]]> New South Wales]]> New South Wales--Cootamundra]]> United States]]> Hawaii--Honolulu]]> Hawaii--Pearl Harbor]]> Canada]]> Alberta]]> Alberta--Edmonton]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Devon]]> England--Suffolk]]> Scotland--Wigtownshire]]> France]]> Europe--Garonne River]]> France]]> France--Arromanches-les-Bains]]> Sweden]]> Sweden--Malmö]]> Germany]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Hawaii]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1932]]> 1942-05]]> 1943-02-10]]>