Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Australia]]> Queensland--Brisbane]]> Queensland--Ipswich]]> Queensland--Maryborough]]> New South Wales--Cootamundra]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> New South Wales--Wagga Wagga]]> Canada]]> New South Wales--Blue Mountains]]> American Samoa]]> American Samoa--Pago Pago]]> United States]]> Hawaii--Honolulu]]> California--San Francisco]]> Oregon]]> British Columbia--Vancouver]]> Alberta--Jasper]]> Alberta--Edmonton]]> Germany]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> New York (State)--New York]]> Alberta--Fort Saskatchewan]]> Ontario--Toronto]]> North America--Niagara Falls]]> Quebec--Montreal]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Greenock]]> England--Brighton]]> Nova Scotia]]> 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]]> 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]]> 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]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Burma]]> Great Britain]]> Burma--Meiktila]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Liverpool]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 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]]> Tilly Foster]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> Bruce Blanche]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Belgium]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1941-02]]> 1944]]> 1945-01-18]]> 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]]> C Dyer]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Kent]]> England--Folkestone]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Croydon]]> England--Durham (County)]]> England--Sunderland (Tyne and Wear)]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Melton Mowbray]]> Germany--Ludwigsfelde Region]]> England--Morecambe]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Sussex]]> 1944-01-02]]> 1943-10-15]]> C Pattison]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Ostend]]> France]]> France--Dunkerque]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Bocholt]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Papenburg]]> Germany--Emden (Lower Saxony)]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Wilhelmshaven]]> England--Catterick]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> England--Kent]]> England--Ramsgate]]> England--London]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Nijmegen]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Belgium--Antwerp]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Poland--Łambinowice]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--York]]> Germany--Flensburg]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1942-04]]> 1942-05]]> 1942-06]]> 1942-07]]> 1942-08]]> 1942-09]]> 1942-10]]> 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]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> Janet McGreevy]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Congo (Democratic Republic)]]> Zimbabwe]]> Cyprus]]> Cuba]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1945-05]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1941-05-09]]> Charles Hourriez]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> France]]> France--Chaumont (Haute-Marne)]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Katie Gilbert]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> South Africa]]> Zambia]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cumbria]]> England--Suffolk]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Northern Ireland--Londonderry (County)]]> England--Sussex]]> Great Britain]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jackie Simpson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> 1945-01-04]]> ]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Egypt]]> Great Britain]]> Middle East]]> Egypt--Ismailia (Province)]]> Egypt--Alexandria]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> British Army]]> Great Britain]]> England--Liverpool]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tracy Johnson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Argentina]]> Poland]]> Great Britain]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> 1939-09]]> 1948]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> Canada]]> Gibraltar]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Spain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> Harrogate and refresher training in Perth followed. Tom was posted to No. 3 Lancaster Finishing School at RAF Feltwell where two B-17 crashed. He went to RAF Kidlington and, after finishing at the Advanced Flying Unit, Tom was posted to 26 Operational Training Unit at RAF Wing to fly Wellingtons where he crewed up. In March 1945 he was posted to RAF North Luffenham flying Lancasters. Tom then had to report to 90 Squadron at RAF RAF Tuddenham and joined a different crew. He undertook a few Cooks’ tours for ground crew to the Ruhr, and went to 15 Squadron at RAF Mildenhall where he became flying officer. He brought back some British troops from Italy and did Operation Post Mortem, including a German radar at Kiel. With a few hundred aircraft, there was a significant danger of collision.
Tom finished at an instructors’ flying course at RAF Lulsgate Bottom and was demobilised at the end of 1946.
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Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Devon]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Rutland]]> England--Suffolk]]> Germany]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Italy]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1942-04]]> 1943-05-16]]> 1943-05-17]]>
Ken went to RAF Shawbury, flying Oxfords. He was posted to RAF Lindholme on Wellingtons where he crewed up. He was posted for a very short time on Halifaxes, followed by a Conversion Unit onto Lancasters. He then went to RAF Elsham Wolds and 576 Squadron. From flight sergeant, he quickly became pilot officer.
Ken shares some good advice he received from a fellow pilot and describes some of his operations. Ken was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses. His first operation was to the Bielefeld viaduct and the last was to Berchtesgaden.
Ken flew three different Lancasters for 617 Squadron and they were the only heavy bomber crew to carry out over 100 operations. During his time at RAF Woodhall Spa, he fostered a good relationship with a local farmer.
When the war ended, he went to RAF Waddington and flew back army personnel from Italy.]]>
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--Shropshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Canada]]> Québec]]> Queensland]]> Saskatchewan]]> Québec--Mont-Joli]]> Alberta--Innisfail]]> Saskatchewan--Swift Current]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berchtesgaden]]> Germany--Bielefeld]]> Italy]]> 1945]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> 1944-03-15]]>