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Alma Leedham's memoir
Tells of early life in London, joining the Woman's Auxiliary Air Force in 1941 and training as a driver. Relates experiences at RAF Scampton and then with 57 Squadron as a tractor driver pulling bomb trolleys. Subsequently went to East Kirkby.…
Interview with George Holmes
George was born in Mansfield and was bought up by his grandparents until he was seven when he moved back to his parents in Leicester, where his father ran a coffee shop. He was a semi-professional musician playing violin, trumpet and mandolin. He…
Interview with Gordon Topham
Gordon Topham was born in Salisbury, but his family settled in Norwich, Norfolk and he joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 17, qualifying as a flight engineer in July 1944. Gordon’s father used to drive steam wagons and was involved with…
Interview with Stanley Clegg
Stanley Clegg was born in 1923 in Shaw, a small town near Oldham and, at the age of 14, started working at the Fern Cotton Spinning Company as an apprentice in the office. He signed up for the Royal Air Force in December 1941 at the age of 18 and was…
Interview with John Wakeford Quine
John volunteered for the Royal Air Force as a pilot. He went to Lord’s cricket ground, followed by the Initial Training Wing at Scarborough. He spent 10 hours on Tiger Moths in Carlisle. After a short time at RAF Heaton Park in Manchester, John…
Interview with Ron Saunders
Ron Saunders joined the RAF as a wireless operator rear gunner and served on 114 Squadron during the war. As a boy, he remembers seeing the airship R 101 and the Hindenburg flying in the distance. He describes his training in England and in Egypt at…
Interview with Rinaldo Sarani
Rinaldo Sarani tells of the bombings of Pavia describing widespread damage at Borgo Ticino and people being extricated from rubble. He stresses the importance of bridges: Ponte della Ferrovia, Ponte Vecchio, Ponte dell’Impero, Ponte della Becca,…
Interview with Dick Heath
Dick Heath was an apprentice boat builder and joined the Royal Air Force in 1943. He began training as an air gunner but was posted to RAF Fiskerton working in the bomb dump. He was on his way to Canada by ship when the war in Europe ended. After he…
Interview with Alma Leedham
Alma Leedham grew up in London and worked for Hawker aircraft on the Hurricane at the start of the war. She later trained as a driver in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, and served at RAF Scampton driving tractors taking bombs to the aircraft. Alma…
Interview with Vera Willis
Vera Willis nee Tomlinson volunteered for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force because she wanted to be a driver. Her driving career in the RAF involved driving long distances as well as driving aircrew to dispersal. Some crew gave her letters for…
Interview with Sheila Wilmet
Sheila Wilmet grew up in Liverpool and was 15 when war was declared. She describes the devastation of bombing in 1941, spending nights in an Anderson shelter, and navigating unexploded bombs during her commute. She volunteered after viewing a…
Interview with John and Vera Casey
Before the war, John Casey worked for Vickers Armstrong. He joined the Royal Air Force and completed his training as a warrant officer at RAF Padgate. He learned how to fly Stirling aircraft at RAF Wigsley, Wellington aircraft at RAF Bruntingthorpe…
Norm George Smith video interview
![VSmithNG[Date].mp4](/omeka/application/views/scripts/images/fallback-video.png "VSmithNG[Date].mp4")
Norman George Smith completed his Australian training as a pilot before being posted to the UK. He was posted to 463 Squadron where he completed ten trips before the war ended. Although he was an officer Norman would borrow his navigator’s jacket…
Interview with Frank Colenso
Frank Colenso grew up in Cornwall and, at the outbreak of the war, was working for a local newspaper. He recalls the return of injured survivors from Dunkirk into Falmouth Bay. He joined the local defence volunteers following the bombing of Falmouth…
RAF Elsham Wolds
A diagram of the airfield with the A15 trunk road, built in the 1970s, overlaid.
Interview with Malcolm Francis Morris
Malcolm Francis Morris was a child when war broke out and remembers joining the RAF as a boy entrant. He then served as an armament technician during the Cold War. He describes his training at St Athans and being then posted to Aden, where he was in…
The war memoirs of 1096366 Cpl T Waller
Memoir covers early life, joining and training as a Royal Air Force Armourer and his subsequent wartime career. States that he served on 138 Squadron at Royal Air Force Stradishall and describes its Special Operation Executive operations. Goes on to…
Harold Beech at Snelland railway station
Harold Beech in railway worker’s uniform, with peaked cap, standing in front of a level crossing gate at Snelland railway station. On the left is a signal box and behind him, alongside the two rail tracks, is a semaphore railway signal. Harold…
RAF Station Feltwell
An aerial vertical photograph of a grass airfield. Airfield is in the centre. A curved line of four hangars are at the bottom of the grass on the right. There is another hangar underneath the left hand of the line and station building are in the…
RAF Feltwell
Aerial vertical photograph of a grass airfield. Pentagonal shaped grass airfield in the centre. Hangars and station buildings in the bottom right corner of airfield. Dispersal at top left and track to off airfield bomb dump on the right of airfield.…
Middleton St George
Photograph 1 is of Reginald George Cavalier amongst several loaded bomb trolleys. In the background are trucks and aircraft.
Photographs 2 and 3 are of a group of airmen watching a 4000 lb bomb being lifted on slings. Captioned '1000 lb…
Photographs 2 and 3 are of a group of airmen watching a 4000 lb bomb being lifted on slings. Captioned '1000 lb…
RAF Binbrook chapel and bomb dump
Photograph 1 is of a stack of medium capacity bombs.
Photograph 2 is of the interior of a chapel. Captioned 'Binbrook chapel of rest'.
Photographs 3, 5 and 6 are of two airmen standing next to large stockpiles of medium capacity bombs.
Photograph…
Photograph 2 is of the interior of a chapel. Captioned 'Binbrook chapel of rest'.
Photographs 3, 5 and 6 are of two airmen standing next to large stockpiles of medium capacity bombs.
Photograph…
Bombs in bomb dump
A corporal wearing tunic and side cap on the right with another airman behind on a tractor. They are looking at a 12,000 lb and a 1000 lb bomb on trolleys in the centre of the image. There are other parts of bombs on the left and an earth bank behind…
Bombs in bomb dump
In the front a 1000 lb bomb on a trolley. Behind a 12000 lb bomb on a trolley. In the background left trees. Taken in 1944. Additional information about this item was kindly provided by the donor.
Bombs in bomb dump
In the front a number of 1000 lb bombs without tails piled three deep. Behind a 12,000 lb bomb on a trolley with an airman sitting on the right end. In the background trees and open fields. On the reverse '51:68'. Additional information about this…