IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> Angela Gaffney]]> eng]]> Text]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1944-02-19]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Norway]]> South Africa]]> Arctic Ocean--North Pole]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Scotland--Montrose]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> Gary Rushbrooke]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> Canada]]> Gibraltar]]> Great Britain]]> Spain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France--Paris]]> France]]> 1940]]> 1942-10-04]]> 1942-11-01]]> 1945]]> He volunteered as aircrew, in 1941 but failed the assessment test on his first attempt. He passed on his second try and went to Bridgenorth for his Initial Wing Training. After progressing through Yatesbury, Sheerness, and Bridlington he was posted to No. 7 Air Gunnery School and was successful at becoming an air gunner.
After ‘crewing up’, and further training which took them to various bases in the UK, they took part in operations to bomb Holland, were diverted to an American Airbase in extremely bad weather, bombed the Ruhr valley, and on 11 September 1944 they were hit by flak.
Fred goes on to describe having to bale out of his aircraft. He was picked up by the Germans and made to board a coach together with his flight engineer and bomb aimer. Fred was taken to a prisoner of war camp in Poland and describes life there together with the value of Red Cross food and clothing parcels. A hidden radio kept the prisoners current with the progress of the war.
The Germans moved the POWs out of the camp before the Russians could advance too close and they were marched through heavy snow and sometimes at night. Fred’s small group of friends tried to escape but were caught and made to continue the march.]]>
David Meanwell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Claire Campbell]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> South Africa]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Poland]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944-09-11]]> 1944-09-12]]> 1945-01-19]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Mal Prissick]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> Yemen (Republic)--Aden]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Spain]]> Spain--Bilbao]]> Yemen (Republic)]]> 1940]]> 1942-06-12]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Mal Prissick]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Yemen (Republic)--Aden]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Spain]]> Spain--Bilbao]]> Yemen (Republic)]]> 1940-08-15]]> 1942-06-12]]> 1943]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> South African Air Force]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> South Africa]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Kiel]]> 1944-05-03]]> 1944-05-04]]> Adam Purcell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hugh Donnelly]]> Mal Prissick]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> England--Brighton]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Manitoba]]> United States]]> England--Sussex]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> Donald Briggs]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> France--Tours]]> Germany]]> France]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944]]> 1944-06]]> 1944-07]]> 1944-07-18]]> 1944-07-30]]> 1944-08]]> 1944-08-07]]> 1944-08-08]]> 1944-08-15]]> 1945]]> Antony Bartlett]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> France]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> England--Wiltshire]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> 1943-03-28]]>