Browse Items (75 total)

  • Tags: ditching

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R Stubbs writes from RAF Scampton to Mr Woolgar informing him that his son has been rescued and is at the Royal Naval Hospital in Portsmouth. He advises that he will be granted leave after he has returned to the squadron.

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Letter from RAF Gosport regarding Sergeant Reg Woolgar being rescued from the sea and requiring new kit. On reverse, address of an office in London.

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Reg Woolgar was born in Hove. He volunteered for the Royal Air Force in December 1939 and trained as a wireless operator/air gunner. He flew Hampdens with 49 Squadron. His aircraft was damaged by anti-aircraft fire on a mine laying operation to Oslo…

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William Bryan reminisces being hit by a German fighter and anti-aircraft fire while mine laying the Kiel Bay. The rest of the tour was a reasonably quiet time, consisting mainly of operations in the run-up of the Normandy campaign. Describes bombing…

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William James Stoneman was posted to RAF Elsham Wolds before Aircrew Reception Centre at RAF Cardington. He chose to become a rear gunner as he did not have to wait. Air gunnery training followed at RAF Bishopscourt in Northern Ireland on Ansons and…

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Ron Tomlin grew up in Birmingham and was an apprentice carpenter before working in a munitions factory. He volunteered for the Air Force at 18, and after training, flew operations as a bomb aimer with 10 Squadron. His aircraft was forced to ditch in…

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Eric Coling’s father died when Eric was a child which left his mother to cope on her own economically. Eric and his sister were sent to live in an orphanage but their mother was able to visit monthly. When Eric left the orphanage he began working…

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Lawrence di Placito served as a second-class coxswain on the RAF Air Sea Rescue launches during the Second World War. Henry gives further details of his experiences in rescues, both successful and those with a tragic ending. He also tells of Ealing…

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Ken Done served as a wireless operator on Air Sea Rescue. Upon leaving Battersea Grammar School aged 14, he was employed at Chelsea Town Hall as a junior clerk. When the war started, he discovered he was in a reserved occupation and unable to enlist.…

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John Goldby was born in Kent but the family moved to London the year after. He was inspired to join the RAF when a schoolfriend joined and became a Spitfire pilot. John believes that it was a mid-air collision with a night fighter that led to his…

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Ronald Huntley enlisted in the Royal Air Force as a flight mechanic before volunteering to join Air Sea Rescue. Born in Edmonton, London, he represented his school in athletics at Crystal Palace and witnessed its destruction by fire in 1936. After…

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James McKenzie Leith was a swimming instructor before he joined the RAF. He trained as a gunner and was posted to 429 Squadron at RAF Leeming. On their first operation their aeroplane was damaged and they attempted an emergency landing but this was…

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Jack went to New Zealand in 1937 and became a steward in a gentleman’s club in Napier, where he stayed two years until the war broke out. He joined the Royal Air Force and went to England where he did train at RAF Uxbridge to become an air gunner.…

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Maurice Stoneman was posted to 57 Squadron at RAF East Kirkby as the flight engineer on Lancasters in 1943. He recalls that on returning from operations they used to fly around the Boston Stump and around Lincoln Cathedral before finally landing. In…

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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…

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Before joining the Royal Air Force on 4 February 1942, Ernie worked as an apprentice joiner. On being called up he went to Blackpool for training, which included Morse code. Following training at different places he then attended the advanced flying…

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A group of aircrew wearing tunic and side or peaked caps standing looking into a swimming pool where a rubber dingy is floating. Reported to be possibly 102 Squadron. On the reverse 13.08.40 No. 4. Additional information about this item was kindly…

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List of aircraft with aircraft letter, what happened to the aircraft, and some with hours or number of operations..

Five Group Newsletter, number 18, January 1944. Includes a foreword by the Air Officer Commanding, and features about training, signals, gunnery, accidents, bombing, decorations, photography, engineering, armament, navigation, flying control,…

Five Group Newsletter, number 20, March 1944. Includes a foreword by the Air Officer Commanding, and features about processes of navigation, signals/radar, photography, gardening, Gee, flying control, H2S, decorations, tactics, flight engineers, war…

Five Group Newsletter, number 22, May 1944. Includes a foreword by the Air Officer Commanding, and features about armament, war savings, flying control, engineering, flight engineers, gardening, prisoner of war fund, air bombing, navigation,…
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