Ivan Ure]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Polskie Siły Powietrzne]]> Royal Navy]]> Wehrmacht]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Isle of Wight]]> Norway]]> Scotland--Argyllshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Westbourne (West Sussex)]]> England--London]]> England--Hayling Island]]> England--Evenley]]> England--Somerset]]> England--Blackpool]]> Germany]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> France]]> France--Abbeville]]> France--Paris]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Poland]]> Poland--Gdańsk]]> Lithuania]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> Lithuania--Klaipėda]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Poland--Białogard]]> Poland--Pyrzyce (Powiat)]]> Germany--Lauenburg]]> Germany--Lüneburg]]> Germany--Rheine]]> England--London]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Ireland]]> Ireland--Dublin]]> Ireland--Cork]]> Austria]]> Austria--Vienna]]> Libya]]> Libya--Tripoli]]> Libya--Banghāzī]]> Egypt]]> Egypt--Cairo]]> Egypt--Jīzah]]> Egypt--Port Said]]> Kuwait]]> Bahrain]]> Iran]]> Iran--Tehran]]> Scotland--Oban]]> John Walter Gifford Saunders]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Artwork]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Sylvia White]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> MWestonF126909-161113-060005]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Runcorn]]> England--Widnes]]> Wales--Penrhos]]> England--Cambridge]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Netherlands--Arnhem]]> Wales--Bangor]]> England--Winchester]]> England--Helmsley]]> England--Hambleton (North Yorkshire)]]> England--Pickering]]> Germany]]> Netherlands]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Hampshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association. Batchelder, HE]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Bonn]]> Netherlands]]> Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany]]> 1942-06-16]]> 1942-06-17]]> 207 Squadron association]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Germany]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-06-21]]> 1944-06-22]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Map]]> Text. Personal research]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Spa]]> 1944-11-02]]> Susan Carter]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> France]]> France--Caen]]> L E Patison]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Australia]]> New South Wales--Wollongong]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Overloon]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> New South Wales]]> 1945-01-01]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Steve Baldwin]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Peterborough]]> 1945]]> 1944-11-02]]> At the end there is a biography of the officer in charge of Arnhem, Lt-Gen Sir Frederick Browning and his wife Daphne du Maurier.]]> Roger Millington]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> British Army]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Free French Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Letchworth]]> Wales--Bridgend]]> Wales--Penrhos]]> Egypt--Heliopolis (Extinct city)]]> Singapore]]> France--Cherbourg]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> France--Brest]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> France--Dunkerque]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> France--Brest]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Italy--Turin]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> France--L'Isle-Adam]]> France--Quiberon]]> France--Boulogne-Billancourt]]> Germany--Essen]]> France--Le Creusot]]> Germany--Leverkusen]]> France--Caen]]> Netherlands--Arnhem]]> Norway]]> Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Rochester (Kent)]]> Northern Ireland--Belfast]]> England--Longbridge]]> France--Arras]]> England--Darlington]]> Italy--Genoa]]> England--Longbridge]]> Yemen (Republic)--Aden]]> Europe--Frisian Islands]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Italy--Sicily]]> France--Normandy]]> Netherlands--Arnhem]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> Netherlands--Nijmegen]]> Wales--Pwllheli]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Leicester]]> England--Sunderland (Tyne and Wear)]]> Scotland--Edinburgh]]> England--Rochford]]> England--London]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> Scotland--Ayr]]> England--Friston (East Sussex)]]> England--Gravesend (Kent)]]> England--West Malling]]> England--Hailsham]]> England--Yelverton (Devon)]]> England--Bentwaters NATO Air Base]]> England--Great Dunmow]]> England--Heacham]]> England--Weybridge]]> Wales--Hawarden]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Old Sarum (Extinct city)]]> England--Kent]]> England--Folkestone]]> England--Hambleton (North Yorkshire)]]> England--York]]> Scotland--Scottish Borders]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Thurleigh]]> England--Darlington]]> England--Hitchin]]> England--Lancashire]]> Italy]]> France]]> Egypt]]> Germany]]> Belgium]]> Netherlands]]> Great Britain]]> Yemen (Republic)]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Devon]]> England--Durham (County)]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Essex]]> England--Herefordshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Swindon (Wiltshire)]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Leitch]]> Cara Walmsley]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> Canada]]> Czech Republic]]> Denmark]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Atlantic Ocean--Great Belt (Baltic Sea)]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> Ontario]]> Scotland--Moray]]> Belgium--Ostend]]> Czech Republic--Plzeň]]> France--Brest]]> France--Lyon]]> France--Paris]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Emden (Lower Saxony)]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1941-12-16]]> 1941-12-28]]> 1942-01-07]]> 1942-01-09]]> 1942-01-11]]> 1942-01-20]]> 1942-02-12]]> 1942-04-10]]> 1942-04-11]]> 1942-04-12]]> 1942-04-13]]> 1942-04-14]]> 1942-04-15]]> 1942-04-17]]> 1942-04-25]]> 1942-04-26]]> 1942-05-02]]> 1942-05-03]]> 1942-05-04]]> 1942-05-05]]> 1942-05-17]]> 1942-05-19]]> 1942-05-20]]> 1942-05-29]]> 1942-05-30]]> 1942-05-31]]> 1942-06-01]]> 1942-06-03]]> 1942-06-04]]> 1942-06-06]]> 1942-06-07]]> He describes their capture, mistreatment and interrogations at various locations. After interrogations at Dulag Luft they were sent to a transit camp in Frankfurt then on by train to Heydekrug, Stalag Luft VI. Although their camp section was new it was cramped and basic. He describes camp life in detail. As the Russians got closer they were sent by train to an Army camp at Thorn. He read a copy of NCO education in the camp. These courses were extremely popular and supported by text books sent from the UK. Exams were sat and papers sent to the UK for marking. At Thorn they marched to Stammlager 357 but not for long. They then marched back to the railway and were sent to Fallingbostel. He describes the rail journey in detail, then in greater detail he describes camp life.
Later he was moved to an officer's camp at Eichstadt. This turned out to be an Army camp which refused them and they were sent to Sagan. He stayed there for a short time then was moved to Stalag Luft 3, then 111A. As the Russians neared they moved again. After a couple of days waiting in trucks they returned to their camp. The railway system was breaking down as the end of the war neared.
After the Russians reached them they were allowed out of the camp but still remained billeted there. He writes about his impressions of the Russians.
His journey home was delayed by rain that did not allow aircraft to fly.
His story ends with his retelling of the night his aircraft was shot down, his night in Brussels and his return to England.]]>
Alan McInnes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lichfield]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Stendal]]> Switzerland]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> Poland]]> Italy]]> Canada]]> United States]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Poland--Toruń]]> Greece]]> Greece--Crete]]> Poland--Vistula River]]> England--Staverton (Northamptonshire)]]> Germany--Bad Fallingbostel]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland--Bydgoszcz]]> Poland--Poznań]]> Germany--Pasewalk]]> Germany--Neubrandenburg]]> Germany--Stavenhagen]]> Germany--Malchin (Landkreis)]]> Germany--Güstrow]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> Germany--Eichstätt]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Eisenach]]> Germany--Fürth (Bavaria)]]> Germany--Treuchtlingen]]> Germany--Ingolstadt]]> Germany--Regensburg]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Poland--Wrocław]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> New South Wales]]> India--Jammu and Kashmir]]> China]]> England--London]]> Germany--Elbe]]> Germany--Potsdam]]> Germany--Jüterbog]]> Ukraine--Odesa]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Halle an der Saale]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Brighton]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Ukraine]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland--Poznań]]> Germany]]> Germany--Hof (Hof)]]> 1944-01-21]]>

Chapter 1. Under Training.
Having been assessed in Birmingham Geoff sets off to London in August 1942 for training, at Lords. Initial training was at Bridlington then gunnery school at Andreas on the Isle of Man. After a short leave he was posted to an operational training unit at Chipping Warden followed by intensive training at Edge Hill. Finally he went to Feltwell for Escape and Evasion training before joining a Heavy Conversion Unit at Wratting Common then Waterbeach.

Chapter 2. Operations RAF Witchford. After seven days leave he commenced operational flying in a Lancaster. Their first target was Augsburg and he reports being waved off by WAAFs and airmen. On the next operation the navigator had a breakdown and refused to help. He continues with details of several operations.
Chapter 3. Return to Ops RAF Waterbeach. Initially this proved to be a very relaxing posting but after his recovery he was back on operations. After 30 operations he was posted to RAF Brackla, Nairn.

Chapter 4. Grounded. He was unhappy at Brackla which was remote and cold. Next was a transfer south to RAF Weeton where he learned about motor transport and learned to drive. He was then posted to RAF Halfpenny Green, followed by RAF Croughton and South Cerney. He then went to Hornchurch before being sent to Germany where he joined a micro film unit at Frankfurt. On completion of photographing relevant factory installations his unit headed south to Triberg in Bavaria.

Chapter 5. As Time Goes By. He reflects on his letter from the Secretary of State from Air, Bomber Command losses and life after the war. he discusses Labour minister John Strachey, a pre-war fascist then Communist Party , who belittled the work of Bomber Harris. and the refusal to allow a thanksgiving service to honour the ex-Prisoner of War Association at Coventry Cathedral.]]>
Geoff Payne]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Training Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--London]]> England--York]]> England--Halifax]]> England--Loughborough]]> England--Flamborough Head]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Fleetwood]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Douglas (Isle of Man)]]> England--Banbury (Oxfordshire)]]> England--London]]> England--Bognor Regis]]> France--Lille]]> England--Cambridge]]> England--Coventry]]> England--Ely]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France--Rouen]]> France--Vaires-sur-Marne]]> France--Normandy]]> France--Creil]]> France--Nucourt]]> France--Caen]]> France--L'Isle-Adam]]> France--Gironde Estuary]]> England--Falmouth]]> France--Somme]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Sweden--Stockholm]]> Germany--Bremen]]> France--Le Havre]]> France--Calais]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> Germany--Emmerich]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Scotland--Nairn]]> England--Peterborough]]> England--Walsall]]> England--Hull]]> England--Wolverhampton]]> England--Dudley]]> England--Brackley]]> England--Cirencester]]> Germany--Cuxhaven]]> Germany--Bückeburg]]> Germany--Bremerhaven]]> Germany--Black Forest]]> Germany--Triberg]]> Germany--Rheinberg]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> France--Châlons-en-Champagne]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> Poland]]> France]]> Germany]]> Belgium]]> Netherlands]]> Sweden]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Newmarket (Suffolk)]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> France]]> France--Charleville-Mézières]]> 1945-02-02]]> 1945-02-03]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> France--Chartres]]> Czech Republic]]> 1943-08-15]]> 1945-04-21]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> CC BY-NC 4.0 International license]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Denmark]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Denmark--Region Sjælland]]> England--Cumbria]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Bingen (Rhineland-Palatinate)]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Hagen (Arnsberg)]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Saxony]]> Scotland--Lossiemouth]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Germany--Münster in Westfalen]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1944-10-28]]> 1944-10-30]]> 1944-10-31]]> 1944-11-01]]> 1944-11-06]]> 1944-11-18]]> 1944-11-21]]> 1944-11-22]]> 1944-11-28]]> 1944-11-29]]> 1944-11-30]]> 1944-12-01]]> 1944-12-02]]> 1944-12-03]]> 1944-12-08]]> 1944-12-09]]> 1944-12-22]]> 1944-12-23]]> 1944-12-30]]> 1944-12-31]]> 1945-01-05]]> 1945-01-06]]> 1945-01-12]]> 1945-01-13]]> 1945-01-14]]> 1945-01-15]]> 1945-02-13]]> 1945-02-14]]> 1945-02-15]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Wehrmacht]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Denmark]]> Denmark--Hedensted]]> Arthur Hope]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> 1943-12-20]]> By June 1943 Reg is at RAF Cottesmore, 14 Operational Training Unit.
He details his daily tasks before operations.
Next he is moved to RAF Wigsley Heavy Conversion Unit for conversion to Halifaxes then Lancasters then ended up at RAF Skellingthorpe.
The social life at Skellingthorpe is popular and he met his first wife.
November 1943 his brother is missing over Dusseldorf.
Each operation he was involved in is described in detail.
Later in his memoir he details where and when he trained.
There is a list of prisoners of war from his squadron and a colour photograph of Reg and two colleagues at the tail of Lancaster 'Just Jane'.
There is a list of Reg's paintings.
He details his post war service via Libya, Cairo, Iran, India and Karachi, ending up at 56 Forward Repair Unit in Rangoon.
In June 1946 he returned to the UK by ship.]]>
Reg Payne]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> British Army]]> Belgium]]> Burma]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Burma--Rangoon]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> France--Paris]]> France--Toulouse]]> Germany--Aachen]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> France--Marseille]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> Germany--Wolfenbüttel]]> Poland]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1944-03-30]]> 1944-03-31]]> 1944-04-05]]> 1944-04-06]]> 1944-04-18]]> 1944-04-19]]> 1945]]> 1946]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> France]]> France--Charleville-Mézières]]> 1945-02-02]]> 1945-02-03]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> a prisoner of war and the Long March.]]> Stuart Green]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> deu]]> nld]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Coventry]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> Germany--Emden (Lower Saxony)]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Bremen]]> France--Paris]]> France--Brest]]> France--Laon]]> Belgium--Ostend]]> Denmark--Langeland]]> Czech Republic]]> France]]> Germany]]> Denmark]]> Belgium]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Warwickshire]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Bill Brooks]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Artwork]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> 1944-05-24]]> 1944-05-25]]> 1945]]> J Usher]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cara Walmsley]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Arnstein (Main-Spessart)]]> Poland]]> Poland--Opole (Voivodeship)]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1944-04-25]]> 1945-01-19]]> 1945-02-05]]>