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Interview with Dirk Bosch
Dirk Bosch was eight years old when the German army occupied his home town of Amsterdam. In this interview he describes what life was like for him during this time. He refers to seeing Dutch Jews rounded up and deported. He describes the hunger of…
Interview with Maria Domanovszky
Maria Domanovszky (b. 1937) recounts how she threw herself into a swampy ditch when under fire and how she lay down praying and hoping to get back home safely. Describes German soldiers with torn and dirty uniforms escaping from a burning forest.…
Interview with Irmgard Schulz
Irmgard Schulz (b. 1935) describes how the harbour of Hamburg was a recurring target during the war. Mentions the use of target indicators and radar countermeasures. Explains how she was been told not to pick up anything, for fear it could be…
Group portrait at Eastbourne Navigation School
William Barfoot is featured among a group portrait of 55 trainees at Eastbourne Navigation School, some standing, some sitting; five men in the centre of the seated row wear observer brevets and two of these are officers, one a warrant officer and…
Interview with Efrem Colombi
Efrem Colombi recalls his care-free childhood, initially in the Bergamo countryside and then in Milan. Emphasises his life-long radical anti-Clericalism and recounts how he ran away several times from Catholic boarding schools because of his…
Interview with Adriana Ventriglia
Adriana Ventriglia remembers the bombings of Milan. She provides details about her evacuee life in the Lodi countryside and describes how her father was injured in a train strafing. Mentions her early life in a mixed family, the impact on…
Interview with Maurizio Ghiretti
Maurizio Ghiretti describes his early life at Monticelli Terme, a small town near Parma. He remembers various episodes of wartime hardships: food shortages, a tree taken down at night for firewood, men hiding in concealed rooms to avoid roundups, and…
Interview with Sara Ventriglia
Sara Ventriglia, the daughter of a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, recalls her early life in wartime Milan. She describes the alarm being sounded, she and her family getting quickly dressed to reach a nearby shelter. She recollects moments…
Interview with Guido Di Blas and Ilario Bolletti
Guido Di Blas and Ilario Bolletti recount wartime memories associated with the town of Monfalcone and the surrounding area. Describes a severe night of bombing stressing the ominous sight of target indicators and loud explosions; recalls the massive…
Interview with Wilhelm Simonsohn
Wilhelm Simonsohn remembers his wartime service as a Luftwaffe night fighter pilot. He tells of his adoption by a Jewish family, and the discovery of his father’s background after being lampooned as ‘Jewish scum’ at school. He emphasises family…
Interview with Cyril Abbotts
Cyril Abbotts volunteered for the Royal Air Force while he was an engineering apprentice with W T Avery at Smethwick. After his reception at Lord’s Cricket Ground and initial training,he trained as a pilot at RAF Bowden and Moose Jaw in Canada. On…
Interview with Jack Bell
Jack Bell joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a wireless operator/air gunner and joined 216 Squadron, at Heliopolis, near Cairo. He flew in Valentia and Bombay aircraft in a transport role. On an operation over Libya, his aircraft was shot down…
Interview with a survivor of the bombing of Berlin
She tells of her life in Berlin before, during and after the war. She lived with her mother in a block of flats close to the home of her grandparents. Her father died when she was nine years old. During the war she collected shrapnel as souvenirs…
Interview with Sir Fitzroy Augier.
Fitzroy ‘Roy’ Augier was born in Saint Lucia. When Roy was ten, his father owned a shop in the main town of Castries. Roy had a good education and after school went to work at the Post Office. However, his ambition was to go to university to…
Interview with Harvey Hayward Bawden
Harvey Bawden, from Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, volunteered for the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 at the age of eighteen. After initial training school and assessment as an air gunner, he was shipped to England via the United States. After…
Interview with John Cox
John Cox grew up in Lincolnshire and worked in banking before he joined the Royal Air Force. After training as a pilot in the United States, he served as an instructor for almost three years. He flew 20 operations as a pilot with 626 Squadron,from…
Interview with Emmanuel Alexis Elden
Emmanuel Alexis Elden grew up in Jamaica. He joined the Royal Air Force and trained at RAF Hunmanby Moor. He served as an air traffic controller and when he was not on duty he used to enjoy travelling to dances in London. He stayed in the RAF until…
Interview with Bernie Harris. Two
Bernie Harris joined the Air Training Corps and volunteered for the Royal Air Force, joining in April 1943 and training to become an air gunner. Mentions his father serving in the Royal Flying Corps. Witnessed the London Blitz as a young boy.…
Interview with Neville Shenbanjo
Neville Shenbanjo was born in 1945, the son of Akin Shenbanjo. Flying Officer Akin Shenbanjo DFC was born in Nigeria and served as a wireless operator / air gunner with 76 Squadron. His crew named their Halifax 'Achtung! The Black Prince' after…
Interview with Jan Black. One
Jan Black flew operations as an air gunner with 300 Squadron. He was badly burned when his aircraft crashed on a training flight and he became a member of the Guinea Pig Club. He underwent ten operations at East Grinstead Hospital.
He describes…
He describes…
Airmen inspected by Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air
Photograph 1 is of a group of French airmen being inspected, captioned 'Rt Hon Sir Archibald, Secretary of State for Air.'
Photograph 2 is of a group of French airmen standing at attention.
Photograph 3 is of a group of French airmen being…
Photograph 2 is of a group of French airmen standing at attention.
Photograph 3 is of a group of French airmen being…
Why die for Stalin? Why die for the Jews?
Propaganda leaflet by British fascist John Amery aimed at the British population and arguing that the sacrifices of the Allies have served only the interests of 'Stalin and the Jews'.
Des Horgan and crew on a Stirling
Warrant Officer Des Horgan Royal New Zealand Air Force, far right, and crew sitting on an aircraft engine. Third from left is rear gunner, Flight Sergeant Iwikau Te Aika Royal New Zealand Air Force. Behind is a Stirling 'AA-Q' and airfield…
We meet again
Billy Strachan, Lancaster pilot, is standing by the nose of a Lancaster 'F'. Caption mentions his interest in ethnic minorities who flew in Bomber Command.
Flight Lieutenant Strachan's crew
Seven airmen standing in front of a Lancaster. They are wearing lifejackets and parachutes. One man is holding a toy leopard. Leonard Dorricott is second left. On the reverse of the one photograph 'April 1945 Taffy Morgan Bomb Aimer LWD Nav Bill…