Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Scotland--Fife]]> Scotland--Crail]]> Germany]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Emmerich]]> Germany--Freiburg im Breisgau]]> Poland]]> Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Antony Bartlett]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> France]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> England--Wiltshire]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> 1943-03-28]]> Army Bureau of Current Affairs]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> British Army]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany]]> 1944-01-22]]> Arthur Harris]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Lesley Wain]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Photograph]]> MNealeETH1395951-150731-0850002,
MNealeETH1395951-150731-0850003]]>
Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]>
Arthur Spencer]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Joy Reynard]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> United States]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Bosnia and Herzegovina]]> Bosnia and Herzegovina--Sarajevo]]> Croatia]]> Croatia--Zagreb]]> Hungary]]> Hungary--Székesfehérvár]]> North Africa]]> South Africa--Mahikeng]]> South Africa]]> B Clark]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> 1943-12-20]]> 1944-01-01]]> 1944-01-02]]> 1944-01-05]]> 1944-01-14]]> 1944-01-20]]> 1944-01-21]]> 1944-01-27]]> B F Hughes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Poland]]> Poland--Łambinowice]]> 1945-04-09]]> B R Harrington]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Hartley Wintney]]> England--Norfolk]]> France]]> France--Cherbourg Region]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Kortrijk]]> 1943-11-26]]> 1944-05-15]]> Bertie Gray]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Andy Hamilton]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> France--Le Havre]]> France]]> 1944-06]]> He describes individual operations in detail. He and his crew were transferred to Faldingworth where the condition of their aircraft was poor. These were quickly replaced with new aircraft. His crew were successful and survived their 30 operations never to meet up again.
He concludes his memoir with seven tailender tales.]]>
Bill Freeman]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Brighton]]> England--Dewsbury]]> Canada]]> England--Stafford]]> Wales--Tredegar]]> England--Northampton]]> England--Grimsby]]> France--Rouen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Denmark--Frederikshavn]]> France--Maintenon]]> France--Mailly-le-Camp]]> France--Rennes]]> France--Dieppe]]> France--Orléans]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Aachen]]> France--Paris]]> England--Lincoln]]> France--Le Havre]]> Poland]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Caen]]> France--Vierzon]]> France]]> Germany]]> Denmark]]> France--Reims]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Sussex]]> 1943-04-05]]> 1944-03]]> 1944-04-10]]>
Covers his training.]]> Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Brighton]]> England--Sidmouth]]> Scotland--Aberdeen]]> England--Salisbury]]> Scotland--Stranraer]]> Scotland--Ailsa Craig]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> Scotland--Paisley]]> Scotland--Glasgow]]> France]]> France--Beauvoir-sur-Mer]]> Australia]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> Queensland--Bundaberg]]> Queensland--Brisbane]]> New South Wales--Cootamundra]]> United States]]> California--San Francisco]]> Canada]]> Alberta--Edmonton]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> Scotland--Gourock]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> Manitoba--Winnipeg]]> Ontario--Trenton]]> Ontario--London]]> France--Châlons-sur-Marne (Arrondissement)]]> France--Caen]]> Germany]]> Germany--Kiel]]> France--Gironde Estuary]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany--Neuss]]> France--Calais]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)]]> Germany--Kleve (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Leverkusen]]> Netherlands--Vlissingen]]> Netherlands--Veere]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Germany--Castrop-Rauxel]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Fulda]]> Germany--Bottrop]]> Germany--Heinsberg (Heinsberg)]]> Nova Scotia]]> Manitoba]]> Poland]]> Covers his operational tour and bombing operations.]]> Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Germany--Heinsberg (Heinsberg)]]> France]]> France--Beauvoir-sur-Mer]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> United States]]> Michigan--Detroit]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> France--Châlons-en-Champagne]]> France--Caen]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Flensburg]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Sylt]]> France--Somme]]> France--Aire-sur-la-Lys]]> France--Amiens]]> France--Gironde Estuary]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> France--Brest]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> France--Falaise Region]]> France--Royan]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Glasgow]]> Russia (Federation)--Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)]]> Sweden]]> Denmark]]> Sweden--Malmö]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> France--Calais]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> Europe--Kattegat Region]]> Norway]]> Norway--Oslo]]> Denmark--Frederikshavn]]> France--Strasbourg]]> Germany--Kleve (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Emmerich]]> Netherlands--Nijmegen]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> Germany--Essen]]> Netherlands--Vlissingen]]> Belgium--Charleroi]]> Germany--Leverkusen]]> Netherlands--Veere]]> Germany--Castrop-Rauxel]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Aachen Region]]> Germany--Düren (Cologne)]]> Germany--Jülich]]> Germany--Fulda]]> Germany--Bottrop]]> Germany--Osterfeld]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Australia]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> Queensland--Brisbane]]> Scotland--Inverness]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Colchester]]> Germany--Merseburg Region]]> 1944]]> Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Aberdeen]]> Scotland--Paisley]]> England--London]]> England--Thetford]]> Norway]]> Norway--Oslo]]> Germany]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Switzerland]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> England--Ely]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> England--Brighton]]> Netherlands]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Liverpool]]> Malta]]> Egypt]]> Egypt--Suez Canal]]> Western Australia--Fremantle]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> Queensland--Ipswich Region]]> Queensland--Maryborough]]> New South Wales--Cootamundra]]> Canada]]> Alberta--Edmonton]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> England--Sidmouth]]> Nova Scotia]]> Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Technical aid]]> Map. Navigation chart and navigation log]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Kiel]]> 1944-07-23]]> Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Technical aid]]> Map. Navigation chart and navigation log]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Neuss]]> 1944-09-23]]> Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Technical aid]]> Map. Navigation chart and navigation log]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Homburg (Saarland)]]> 1944-11-08]]> Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Turkey]]> Turkey--Gallipoli]]> Australia]]> Queensland--Brisbane]]> Queensland--Ipswich]]> Queensland--Maryborough]]> New South Wales--Cootamundra]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> New South Wales--Wagga Wagga]]> New South Wales--Lindfield]]> New South Wales--Blue Mountains]]> New South Wales--Neutral Bay]]> American Samoa]]> American Samoa--Pago Pago]]> United States]]> Hawaii--Honolulu]]> California--San Francisco]]> California--Alcatraz Island]]> California--Oakland]]> Canada]]> British Columbia--Vancouver]]> Oregon]]> Washington (State)--Seattle]]> British Columbia--Vancouver]]> Alberta--Edmonton]]> Alberta--Jasper]]> Alberta--Fort Saskatchewan]]> Germany]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Alberta--Calgary]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Tasmania]]> Italy]]> Italy--Foggia]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Gourock]]> England--Brighton]]> Germany--Hamm (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> France]]> France--Laon]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> Germany--Wesseling]]> France--Montdidier (Picardy)]]> Austria]]> Austria--Vienna]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Queensland--Cairns]]> Saskatchewan--Saskatoon]]> Manitoba--Winnipeg]]> Ontario--Toronto]]> North America--Niagara Falls]]> New York (State)--New York]]> Québec--Montréal]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> Scotland--Greenock]]> Scotland--Aberdeen]]> England--Sidmouth]]> England--Salisbury]]> Scotland--Ailsa Craig]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> Scotland--Gatehouse of Fleet]]> England--Newcastle upon Tyne]]> Wales--Holyhead]]> Scotland--Paisley]]> France]]> France--Beauvoir-sur-Mer]]> Queensland--Bundaberg]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> Ontario--Trenton]]> Ontario--London]]> Saskatchewan]]> Québec]]> Nova Scotia]]> Manitoba]]> Bomber Command - Chief Intelligence Officer]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Frankfurt (Oder)]]> Germany--Aachen]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Leeuwarden]]> Netherlands--Breda]]> Netherlands--Tilburg]]> Netherlands--Twente]]> Netherlands--Venlo]]> Germany]]> 1944-02-14]]> 1944-02-15]]> 1944-02-16]]> Basic training was carried out at Lords Cricket ground in London. One clear memory is helping to carry patients down several flights of stairs from a nearby hospital during an air raid.
Time was spent at RAF Bridlington on Initial Training Wing before attending Air Gunnery School in the Isle of Man. Further training was undertaken at RAF Banbury where he was crewed up on Wellingtons, before moving to the Heavy Conversion Unit at Wratting Common to convert to Stirlings. During his time here he attended an escape course at RAF Feltwell and was instructed in unarmed combat, which he dismissed as pitiful.
He and his crew were posted to RAF Witchford, Cambridgeshire, where he flew his first operation in February 1944 replacing an ill air gunner. He later discovered this was an inexperienced crew. He remembers the target was around Osnabrück in Germany and it was a melee over the target where they were attacked by two Me 109s, which they successfully shook off. On his return, he remembers being unable to sleep and went for a walk into Ely. There he discovered the Oxford Cambridge boat race was being held and watched it
Target areas of Germany included Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Augsburg. On his 5th operation, the aircraft was attacked, and the aircraft lost its heating and communications. He suffered frostbite and spent several months recovering in Ely hospital.
On regaining fitness, he was transferred to RAF Waterbeach and was allocated to a crew led by Ted Cousins. Waterbeach was a pre-war airfield with comfortable facilities. Time off was spent competing in athletics and football along with drinking at the local public houses.
When time allowed, he went home, but found the experience boring: all his friends were serving away, and there was little to do except drink or go to the cinema. His elder brother was serving as a navigator in the Far East, and he felt it unfair to talk about his experiences with his family.
At RAF Waterbeach there was a greater variety of operations. Targets varied from Germany to Southern France. He also remembers one trip to Poland. This entailed flying over Denmark and they could see the lights from Sweden and anti-aircraft fire.
He has a clear memory of most of his operations but does not wish to dwell on some. On one occasion he spotted a Me 109, he tried to warn the pilot but his intercom had frozen and emergency light was inoperative. He tried to open fire but his guns jammed – the night fighter opened fire and hit the centre of the aircraft. The aircraft began violently manoeuvring and he wasn’t sure if this was deliberate evasive manoeuvres or if they were out of control. He made his way forward and discovered the aircraft door open and the mid upper gunner missing. There were cannon holes all around the centre of the aircraft. He still wasn’t sure if he was the only one on board until he reached the main cabin and found the rest of the crew in position. They made it back home where they realised an incendiary bullet was lodged in the ammunition pannier.
His last operation was one of the thousand-bomber operations in Germany, the air black with anti-aircraft fire. On his return, the air gunners went sent to the bomb dump to assist the armourers in preparing the bombs for the following days attack which was carried out by the United States Army Air Forces.
After completing his tour of operation, he was posted to RAF Brackla, hoping to be retained as physical training instructor, but ended up at RAF Weeton near Blackpool to be trained as a driver.
He served at several locations across Southern England before his final posting which was with a microfilm unit in Frankfurt. Fraternising with locals was not allowed, but he did manage to learn German. He played in a football match against a much better German select team.
After demob, he returned home and was involved in the manufacturing of cars at the Triumph factory. He married, and because of unrest and strikes in the car industry, he moved to Scotland and was employed at the Carron company in Falkirk as a production director manufacturing steel bars, where his ability to speak German became an advantage in his dealings with foreign companies. He met an ex Luftwaffe pilot and experiences were exchanged - there was no animosity whatsoever and it was accepted they both had been carrying out their duty.
Geoff looks back on his time in Bomber Command with great fondness. It was like a big family. He still has contact with surviving crew members, and still attends reunions.
]]>
Brenda Jones]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Ely]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--London]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France]]> Germany]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Denmark]]> Sweden]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> Scotland]]> Scotland--Falkirk]]> Scotland--Nairnshire]]> Scotland--Stirlingshire]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> 1944-02]]>
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]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> England--Lytham St. Anne's]]> England--Blackpool]]> Germany]]> Germany--Wiesbaden]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France]]> France--Caen]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> India]]> India--Kolkata]]> India--New Delhi]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944]]> Bruce Blanche]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Andy Fitter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France]]> Netherlands]]> India]]> France--Aunay-sur-Odon]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944-02-23]]> 1944-03-03]]> 1944-05-04]]> 1944-06-14]]> 1944-06-15]]> Carolyn Pritchard]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France--Paris]]> Great Britain]]> England--Liverpool]]> Wales--Y Felinheli]]> France--Étampes (Essonne)]]> France]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1944-06-09]]> ]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Chris Cann]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> Germany]]> Netherlands]]> 1942]]> 1945]]> 1946]]>