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Boy and bomb-site
Bomb-site with young man sitting in foreground with his head in his hands.
Celebratory letter from King George
Letter from King George to all school-children, celebrating and sharing the victory of the allied nations. It is headed with the Royal Standard, in colour. On the reverse a list of 60 important war dates.
To Janet from Rupert Harwood
![EHarwoodRTWHarwoodJ[Date]-01.jpg](https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/square_thumbnails/1237/16297/EHarwoodRTWHarwoodJ[Date]-01.jpg "EHarwoodRTWHarwoodJ[Date]-01.jpg")
A letter written by Ruper Harwood to his daughter 'Darling Little Janet', telling her not to worry if he is reported missing.
Letter from David Donaldson to Mrs M Carley
Writes enclosing a cheque for £12 contributed by members of the squadron for her children.
To Jessie from Harry Redgrave
A letter from Harry Redgrave to his wife Jessie when he was undergoing RAF aircrew training in Scotland. He writes of his shortage of cash that affects his trips and present buying. The possible evacuation of schoolchildren in Southend is mentioned.…
Interview with Helga Wynne and Gordon Atkinson
Helga (00:00-34:00) was born in Kiel in 1926. Her father was a sailor, who then worked at Krupp shipbuilding yard; her mother was a tram driver during the war. None of her brothers were called up, either because of age or disability. Mentions Hitler…
Interview with Robin Wright
Robin was born in Norwich on 16th June 1937. His father was in the Royal Air Force in Manchester, and then in Thetford Forest where the Merlin engines were stored. He finished his service at RAF Marham. Robin spoke about his school days. He…
Interview with Eric Wright
Eric Wright in lived in Rotherham at the start of the war. As a school child he says that he did not really understand the implications of it. The family moved to Nottingham and he describes life there, with the air raids and sheltering under the…
Interview with Tom and Gabi Wilson
Gabi Wilson grew up in Berlin and was a schoolgirl in 1939. She discusses one brother training as an interpreter and another brother returning from Russian prisoner of war camps. She worked as an apprentice at a publisher firm. She met her husband,…
Interview with Eileen Widdowson
Born in Peterborough, Eileen Widdowson’s father died when she was quite young, which resulted in the family moving to Grantham. With the East Coast main railway line and also a munitions factory, Grantham was a regular target for the Luftwaffe.…
Interview with Elizabeth Wickstead
Elizabeth Wickstead was born in Brighton, in 1928, and moved between villages in the Sussex area. Elizabeth remembers the announcement of the war in September 1939, and remembers the arrival of evacuees from London and the schools being separate from…
Interview with William Albert Warwick
William was five years old when war was declared. He lived on a farm in north Lincolnshire not far from RAF Kirton in Lindsey, RAF Scampton, RAF Hibaldstow, RAF Blyton, RAF Sandtoft and RAF Sturgate. An anti-aircraft unit was also nearby. William…
Interview with Alfred James Walker
Alfred lived near RAF Upwood when he was a young child. Alfred’s father was in the army and worked on the Burmese railway. Alfred remembered aircraft going over his grandmother’s house and landing on the runway nearby. One morning an aircraft…
Interview with Gwendolen Wadmore
Gwendolen Wadmore was born in London in 1922, and lived there throughout the Second World War. Her early memories are marching with the Girl Guides. She left school at 14 and began work in a tailor’s shop; at the start of the war she was employed…
Interview with Coby Van Riel
Coby Van Riel was a child of about six when the Germans invaded Holland. She lived in a fishing port area of The Hague where her father had a number of jobs to make ends meet in the difficult days before the war and her mother ran a chemist shop. She…
Interview with Elizabeth Anne Tyler
Elizabeth Anne Tyler talks about her family’s farmland, its history and when it was purchased by the Air Force for the construction of RAF North Luffenham. Mentions various episodes of wartime life around Edith Weston, as reported by family members…
Interview with Penny Turner
Penny Turner’s father, Flight Sergeant Albin John Turner, pilot of a Wellington bomber was killed in action during the first bombing operation on the 4th September 1939. Years later, when she was five years old, her mother told her that her father…
Interview with Katherine Thompson and Roy Briggs
Katherine Ellen Thompson remembers her time in Rotterdam during the war and particularly during Operation Manna. Mentions various episodes: food shortage, bartering linen and silver for food, members of the Dutch fascist party paraded through the…
Interview with Mary Stopes-Roe
Discusses her father’s designs work and remembers both skipping stones on a river during holidays with her father and catapulting marbles over a washtub in their garden. She goes on to discuss the Eder Möhne and Sorpe operation, the bouncing bomb…
Interview with Bernard Sterry and Cecilia Pearson
Bernard Sterry and Cecilia Pearson, both born in Hull, talk about their lives as evacuees during the war. Bernard, who was 10 years old when war broke out, was evacuated from Hull to North Lincolnshire until September 1944, when he came back home at…
Interview with Sydney Smith
Sydney’s father died when she was a baby. Her mother remarried and had another daughter and son. The son became ground crew in the Royal Air Force.
Sydney lived a few miles from London and attended Byron Court School in Webley. She was five when…
Sydney lived a few miles from London and attended Byron Court School in Webley. She was five when…
Interview with Dinah Smith
Dinah Smith was born in Bamford, Derbyshire in 1937, moving to Darley Dale when her father found a new job as an aqueduct linesman. Dinah outlines her experiences of school, friends, foraging for food, and celebrations during the war. She also…
Interview with Ken Sleaford
Ken Sleaford was born and raised near Coningsby on the family farm. Tells of life on the farm before and during the war, when it was handed over to the Air Force, to be converted into an airfield and incorporated into RAF Coningsby. Mentions various…
Interview with Tim Schneider
Tim Schneider lived at Westcott before, during and after the construction and occupation of RAF Westcott as 11 Operational Training Unit. He tells of feeding the rabbits when he was four years old; leaving school at fourteen to help working on the…
Interview with Roy Saunders
Roy Saunders was a schoolboy in London when the war started. He witnessed the bombing of London and was amazed when he saw the smoke from the docks area when he emerged from a shelter. His school friend and family died in the bombing. Roy was…