Des Hawkins]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Karl Williams]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Italy]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1945]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> Belgium--Kortrijk]]> Belgium--Leopoldsburg]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> France--Mimoyecques]]> France--Grandcamp-Maisy]]> France--Creil]]> France--Amiens]]> France--Annecy]]> France--Beauvoir-sur-Mer]]> France--Caen]]> France--Chalindrey]]> France--Châtellerault]]> France--Donges]]> France--Étampes (Essonne)]]> France--Givors]]> France--Joigny]]> France--Nevers]]> France--Paris]]> France--Pommeréval]]> France--Saumur]]> France--Tours]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Wesseling]]> Germany]]> France]]> Belgium]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1944-04-10]]> 1944-04-11]]> 1944-04-18]]> 1944-04-19]]> 1944-04-20]]> 1944-04-21]]> 1944-04-22]]> 1944-04-23]]> 1944-04-24]]> 1944-04-25]]> 1944-04-26]]> 1944-05-09]]> 1944-05-10]]> 1944-05-11]]> 1944-05-12]]> 1944-05-19]]> 1944-05-20]]> 1944-05-21]]> 1944-05-22]]> 1944-05-23]]> 1944-05-24]]> 1944-05-25]]> 1944-05-27]]> 1944-05-28]]> 1944-06-01]]> 1944-06-02]]> 1944-06-04]]> 1944-06-06]]> 1944-06-07]]> 1944-06-08]]> 1944-06-09]]> 1944-06-10]]> 1944-06-12]]> 1944-06-13]]> 1944-06-16]]> 1944-06-17]]> 1944-06-21]]> 1944-06-22]]> 1944-06-24]]> 1944-06-25]]> 1944-06-27]]> 1944-06-28]]> 1944-07-12]]> 1944-07-13]]> 1944-07-15]]> 1944-07-16]]> 1944-07-18]]> 1944-07-19]]> 1944-07-20]]> 1944-07-21]]> 1944-07-24]]> 1944-07-25]]> 1944-07-26]]> 1944-07-27]]> 1944-07-28]]> 1944-07-29]]> 1944-07-30]]> 1944-07-31]]> 1944-08-03]]> 1944-08-05]]> 1944-08-09]]> 1944-08-10]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-04-22]]> 1945-04-25]]> 1945-04-29]]> 1945-04-30]]> 1945-05-02]]> 1945-05-03]]> 1945-05-05]]> 1945-05-11]]> 1945-05-26]]> 1945-09-12]]> 1945-09-29]]> 1945-10-01]]> 1945-10-10]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Geolocated]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Janet McGreevy]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Germany--Cuxhaven]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Netherlands]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> Germany--Kleve (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Dessau (Dessau)]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Flensburg]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Hanau]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Wiesbaden]]> Italy--Pomigliano d'Arco]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> Ontario]]> Netherlands--Hague]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-02-01]]> 1945-02-02]]> 1945-02-03]]> 1945-02-07]]> 1945-02-08]]> 1945-02-13]]> 1945-02-14]]> 1945-02-15]]> 1945-02-20]]> 1945-02-21]]> 1945-03-02]]> 1945-03-05]]> 1945-03-06]]> 1945-03-07]]> 1945-03-08]]> 1945-03-09]]> 1945-03-12]]> 1945-03-15]]> 1945-03-16]]> 1945-03-17]]> 1945-03-19]]> 1945-03-23]]> 1945-03-25]]> 1945-03-27]]> 1945-03-31]]> 1945-04-03]]> 1945-04-04]]> 1945-04-05]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-04-22]]> 1945-04-29]]> 1945-04-30]]> 1945-05-03]]> 1945-06-25]]> 1945-06-28]]> 1945-08-28]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Geolocated]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> 1945-04-18]]> Nicky Barr]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> New Zealand]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> John Fisher]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Rob Gray]]> Lucy Davidson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jackie Simpson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> England--Suffolk]]> Bruce Blanche]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Wales--Bridgend]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany]]> 1945-04-18]]> Great Britain. Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Herefordshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Cuxhaven]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Netherlands--Delft]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> Netherlands--Valkenburg (South Holland)]]> Wales--Gwynedd]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-04-10]]> 1945-04-11]]> 1945-04-14]]> 1945-04-15]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-04-22]]> 1945-04-29]]> 1945-04-30]]> 1945-05-01]]> 1945-05-02]]> 1945-05-03]]> 1945-05-07]]> 1945-05-16]]> 1945-06-05]]> 1945-06-30]]> 1945-07-04]]> 1945-08-15]]> 1945-08-17]]> 1945-08-26]]> 1945-08-28]]> 1945-09-13]]> 1945-09-15]]> 1945-10-01]]> 1945-10-03]]> 1945-11-07]]> 1945-11-09]]> 1945-11-23]]> 1945-11-24]]> 1945-11-26]]> He joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 19 in 1941, but whilst he was waiting to be called up, he was helping to build a bomber station and what is now Teesside Airport, also completing work at the satellite station of Croft.
Ernie trained as a Wireless Operator, where he did well with Morse Code. He did his training in February 1942. He was sent to Evanton in Scotland, where he also trained as an Air Gunner.
He flew Proctors, Whitleys, Dominies, Avro Ansons, Halifaxes, Lancasters, Liberators and had a trip in at Catalina Flying Board. Ernie flew with 635 Squadron, which was part of the Pathfinders Force.
Ernie completed 51 Operations, flying to Stettin, Chemnitz and Hanover. He was part of the Master Bomber Crew to Dorsten, Kiel, Nuremburg, Osnabruck and Heligoland.
After the war, he was in charge of flying control in India, handling the closing of a Flying Boat base and arranging for them to be returned to the UK.
Ernie left the Royal Air Force in 1946 and returned to work as a Joiner, retiring from work at the age of 78.
]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]>
After leaving school at the age of 14, Derek delivered books in and around Doncaster before going down to the Royal Air Force Recruitment Centre in Doncaster and signing up for service after developing a love of aviation after seeing Vimmies and Heyfords.
Derek passed his exams for a pilot, however trained as a wireless operator because of his knowledge of Morse code. When he was crewed up, his team flew in Wellingtons at RAF Finningley, with 18 Operational Training Unit.
Derek then was transferred to a Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Blyton, where he worked on Halifaxes, before being posted to 625 Squadron at RAF Kelstern, flying on Lancasters.
He completed operations to Essen, Dortmund, Cologne and also targeted the oil refineries. Derek also took part in Operation Manna, dropping supplies in Holland.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Essen]]> Netherlands]]> Germany]]>
Ted carried out 15 operations. The first two were daylight ones to Mainz and Cologne. The third was a night operation to Kamen on the Ruhr and they encountered an intruder JU188 aircraft when landing, as part of the German Operation Gisela. Other operations included Helmstedt with anti-aircraft fire; Dortmund; Wuppertal; Witten where they were hit on the starboard engine; Recklinghausen where bombs dropped on a munitions train instead of their target; in Osnabrück they were hit in the bomb bay by shrapnel; Heligoland and Wangerooge saw two Halifaxes collide mid-air. Ted describes the spectacle of lines of fuel on fire in an oil plant.
Ted discusses in detail his role as a flight engineer.
Ted stopped flying in September 1945. He dropped old ammunition and bombs in the North Sea and did a safety course at RAF St Athan. He was sent to a maintenance unit in Faßberg, near Belsen, and was demobilised. He became a government Senior Scientific Officer.]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> England--Somerset]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Soltau]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Helmstedt]]> Germany--Kamen]]> Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Recklinghausen (Münster)]]> Germany--Wangerooge Island]]> Germany--Witten]]> Germany--Wuppertal]]> Germany]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-09]]>
The first of his eleven operations was to the Ruhr valley which was uneventful, unlike the one to Helgoland where the aircraft in front of them exploded and they flew through the debris virtually unscathed. On another op, Ben had a grandstand view of the release of a Tallboy bomb and its devastating effect.
At the end of the war Ben retrained as a marine fitter and spent a year in Singapore before being demobbed. After a year as a photographer, he spent time in the camera workshop repairing commercial cameras and became a qualified photographer. Moving to a commercial photographic firm and then Saunders Roe, he specialised in air to air photography, including the SR53 experimental aircraft and Concorde and still retains his interest by visiting air displays.
Ben has had exchange visits with his Canadian former crew and feels, like most bomber command veterans, that they were treated shabbily.
]]>
Chris Johnson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Chris Johnson]]> Terry Holmes]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> Germany]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Singapore]]> 1944]]>
Frank's first operation was to Kiel where, he tells us, he successfully bombed the Admiral Sheer. He relates several experiences during operations to Germany, including a near miss with falling bombs from another aircraft. Towards the war's end he took part in Operations Manna and Dodge and recalls the VE day celebrations. After the war he remustered as a driving instructor.
In 2012 he went to the unveiling of the Green Park memorial, recalling that the taxi driver would not accept any payment, saying that 'you boys have done enough'.
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Rod Pickles]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Andy Fitter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> South Africa]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Great Britain]]> South Africa]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-04-09]]> 1945-05-08]]> 2012]]>
Geoff describes a couple of incidents relating to Bonn and Duisburg, part of his 24 operations. The last operation was to Heligoland. He carried out three food drops as part of Operation Manna and then had repatriated prisoners of war. He was posted to RAF Valley where they were preparing Canadian-built Lancasters for the Far East. They were scrapped after the atomic bomb. He was demobbed in March 1947. Geoff gives his views on Bomber Command.
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Tina James]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Chris Cann]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany]]> Germany--Bonn]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Netherlands]]> 1943-04]]>
He discusses his time in flight engineer training at RAF St Athan and subsequent duties as a flight engineer on Halifax and Lancaster aircraft with 1662 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Blyton. He recalls the operational duties with 550 Squadron, North Killingholme where he took part in four bombing operations - 2 of them at night raids (close to 9 hour round trips), and operations over Heligoland and Bremen.
He reflects on the differences he encountered as a flight engineer between the Halifax and Lancaster, how the Halifax was spacious and comfortable; the Lancaster cramped and only a small tip-up seat for his flight engineer position.
He talks about the main memory of his time in the RAF, Operational Mana, and his later conversations with a lady from Holland who was 8 years old at the time. He retrained as an MT driver when his Squadron was disbanded and was demobilised in October 1947.
Maurice later reaffirmed his affiliation with the RAF. In later years, he moved to Rutland and retired from his last job as a mechanical foreman at RAF Cottesmore in the 1980s.]]>
David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Chris Cann]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]>

Additional information about this item was kindly provided by the donor.
]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Geolocated]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> 1945]]>
Australia. Royal Australian Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Bayreuth]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Hagen (Arnsberg)]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> Germany--Wuppertal]]> Manitoba--Dauphin]]> Scotland--Banff]]> Scotland--Moray]]> Victoria--Benalla]]> Germany--Wangerooge Island]]> Victoria]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Boizenburg]]> Manitoba]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-03-12]]> 1945-03-13]]> 1945-03-14]]> 1945-03-15]]> 1945-03-16]]> 1945-04-08]]> 1945-04-09]]> 1945-04-11]]> 1945-04-13]]> 1945-04-14]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-04-25]]> 1945-07-04]]> 1945-07-09]]> 1945-07-30]]> 1945-08-03]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Geolocated]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> 1945-04-18]]>
Additional information about these items was kindly provided by the donor.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Geolocated]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> 1945-04-18]]>
John Taylor Brittain]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Joy Reynard]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Bremen]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-04-22]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Merseburg]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Kamen]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Rotterdam]]> Netherlands--Hague]]> France]]> France--Reims]]> Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1945-02-03]]> 1945-02-20]]> 1945-02-22]]> 1945-02-25]]> 1945-02-27]]> 1945-02-28]]> 1945-03-05]]> 1945-03-07]]> 1945-03-14]]> 1945-04-04]]> 1945-04-09]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-04-22]]> 1945-04-29]]> 1945-04-30]]> 1945-05-02]]> 1945-05-17]]> 1945-05-19]]> 1945-05-23]]>