Middle and bottom, congratulations to Bob on his award.
Right page; top, title of the Vauxhall Mirror.
Middle, report of Bob's operational career and being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Sergeant A J Spires being awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal.
Bottom, a group of 32 men, 30 wearing half caps and two in officer's hats, with a dog in front of a Whitley aircraft, annotated 'Bob 2nd left' and '51 Sqn April 1941'.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Czech Republic]]> Italy]]> Italy--Naples]]> Italy--Taranto]]> France]]> FrAnce--Dunkerque]]> Middle East]]> 1941-04]]> 1941-06-07]]> 1941-07]]>
Dave Harrigan]]> This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Navy]]> Great Britain]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--London]]> England--Sizewell]]> Dawn Oakley]]> This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated C Campbell]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> Wales]]> Civil Defence]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> 1939]]>
Geoff was born and lived in the same area of Grimsby all his life, at the date of his interview he was 93. The first part of the interview concentrated on his experience of finding a German butterfly bomb close to his home, Geoff described how after an air raid the local children would explore the local area looking for shrapnel. On this particular day when he was about 13, he and a friend found this device which looked different, he asked a soldier what it might be but he didn’t know. His friends father did not want it in their house and Geoff’s father said the same thing although they did not know what it was. Geoff was standing outside their house when a bomb disposal team came by probably looking for the bomblets. They told Geoff to drop it they then surrounded it with sandbags and detonated it with a small explosive charge which blew out some of the house windows. Geoff considered himself to be lucky as although they had mistreated the device it had not exploded, he also made the point that no one knew what they were as the authorities decided not to issue any information about the bomblets. He could not remember any anti aircraft guns locally but did remembers a large gun nearby.
Geoff described how his father a fisherman had build an Anderson air-raid shelter in their back garden and when the sirens alerted them to a raid the whole family gathered there. He described how one night a German aircraft caught in the searchlight beam dived down and dropped their bomb quite close to the house. He made the point that air raids on Grimsby were not that frequent unlike Hull just across the river, although Grimsby at that time was a major fishing port where literally you could cross the harbour stepping from one trawler to the next. Geoff remembered that early in the war the aircraft they saw were German but later on the large formations of Lancasters were evident.
Having left school at 14 he went to work at the local Rolls Royce dealership as an apprentice but disliked the work. Just post the European war conscription was still in place but Geoff volunteered to join the army for five years as you could choose your job and were paid more. He was trained as a signaller, his initial posting was the army headquarters in Paris which as it was just post war Eisenhour and Montgomery were there. Geoff was then posted to Egypt which was very different to Paris, living in tents awful food. Another lucky escape happened there, with a group of soldiers they were digging trenches by hand to be used as latrines, a fellow corporal told Geoff take your troops and go for a break then come back and relieve me, but the trench collapsed and killed them as Geoff and his group were on break.
Having completed his time in the army Geoff became a lorry driver during the week and a taxi driver at the weekend and he remembered the filming of Memphis Belle at RAF Binbrook.
Almost as a postscript Geoff remembered another lucky escape, early in the war in many towns and cities the school children were evacuated to safer areas to escape the German bombers. He remembers being gathered at school expecting to be told that they were being evacuated to Canada but a ship carrying evacuees had been sunk near the Canadian coast so the plan was abandoned. ]]>
Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Trevor Hardcastle]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Grimsby]]> France]]> France--Paris]]> North Africa]]> Egypt]]> 1943-06]]>
West Bromwich Education Committee]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--West Bromwich]]> West Bromwich Education Committee]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--West Bromwich]]> 1939-09-04]]> L.G. Rose]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Arowen Armstrong]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--West Bromwich]]> George Shephard Johns]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cara Walmsley]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Tamworth]]> 1939-10-14]]> Florence R Field]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cara Walmsley]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Tamworth]]> 1939-09-06]]> The Grammar School. West Bromwich]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cara Walmsley]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--West Bromwich]]> 1939-09-01]]> Great Britain. Ministry of Health]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> 1939-10-28]]> Great Britain. HM Government]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--West Bromwich]]> Municipal Offices. Tamworth]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cara Walmsley]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Tamworth]]> England--West Bromwich]]> 1939-10-24]]> George Shephard Johns]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cara Walmsley]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Tamworth]]> England--West Bromwich]]> 1939-09-15]]> George Shephard Johns]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cara Walmsley]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Tamworth]]> England--West Bromwich]]> 1939-12-01]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cara Walmsley]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Tamworth]]> England--West Bromwich]]> 1940-11-01]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> William Cragg]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Liverpool]]> 1939]]> 1939-09-03]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Middle East--Palestine]]> 1947-02]]>
This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available. ]]>
Margaret Dixon]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Derbyshire]]> England--Devon]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> 1926-09-26]]> 1945]]> 1946-09-26]]>
Frank talks of his evacuation to the countryside near Croxton Kerrial when he was nearly five. He was accompanied by his two brothers and initially his mother. His sister was sent to Somerset. He enjoyed his time in the countryside and shares memories about the people who looked after him, his school, mealtimes and leisure time pursuits.
Frank reluctantly returned to Chingford in Essex two years after the end of the war. He missed the countryside and was bullied at school. At the aged of 15, he ran away to Croxton Kerrial, to which his parents subsequently agreed. He never saw his parents again.
He started work on a farm and met his wife. After four years in the Coldstream Guards, he married and worked on another farm in Croxton. Frank then moved to Londonthorpe to set up the shoot. The shoot rented the land from the Belton Estate. When the estate was bought by the National Trust, no shooting was permitted. He was taken on as keeper by Sir Montague Cholmeley. After retirement, the latter let him live rent free.
Frank has written a book, “London Evacuee to Countryman” and appeared in Sporting Shooter and Lincolnshire Life magazines.
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David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Melton Mowbray]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
Their farm was close to RAF Kirton in Lindsey which was used as a rest home for men from the Battle of Britain. They worked on the harvest to help them recuperate. Jan was aware of the Lancasters at RAF Scampton. They had two evacuees from Sheffield for a short time. Towards the end of the war, Jan also recalls having two German Prisoners of War from the camp in Pingley, near Brigg, to help on the farm.
When the war ended, Jan enjoyed being a member of the Young Farmers Club and met her husband. There were dances and tennis parties before her husband went to agricultural college and became a farmer. After marrying in 1952, they lived in the rectory at Hackthorn where they incubated chicks in the dining room. They moved to a farm in Binbrook. Jan helped with the Pony Club and was a marriage guidance counsellor for 40 years.
Jan talks about the changes in farming and how change accelerated after the war.
At the age of 80, she put on a three-day handiwork exhibition in the church.]]>
Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Binbrook]]> England--Hackthorn]]> 1940]]> 1952]]>

The interviewee is Paola Rinaldi, born in Pistoia on 2 June 1937, social worker. The interview was conducted by Claudio Rosati 04 August 1983, in his house in Pistoia. Paola Rinaldi was evacuated multiple times, along with her brother and mother. Her father was a non-commissioned officer: after the armistice he was arrested and taken to Campo di Marte.
While evacuated at Ponte alle Tavole, Paola saw aggressive German soldier (identified as SS) who broke their horses’ knees to avoid them being sent to the frontline. Then she moved to Piteccio, as her mother considered it to be a secure location. Following its bombing, they moved to Florence where her uncles lived; she remembers scant food and poor sanitation. One of the uncles worked as doorman at the Railwaymen’s Recreation Club where 200 evacuees were temporarily housed. In the post-war period, the main issues were lack of money and food. Paola’s mother took in a US soldier as lodger and sent the children begging for food from American and British troops. When they returned to Piteccio her father, initially, struggled to find work.

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Claudio Rosati]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> ita]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Italy]]> Italy--Pistoia]]> Italy--Florence]]> Italy--Piteccio]]>

The interviewee is Raffaella Sorsini, born at Vicchio (Florence province) on 25 May 1919, retired clerical worker. Present Marianna Galardini, born on 18 May 1897. The interviewer is Claudio Rosati, the interview took place in Pistoia on 12 July 1983, in his house.
During the first bombing of Pistoia, Raffaella Sorsini went with her mother to the Piazza della Resistenza [Piazza d’Armi] shelter. Marianna Galardini claims that the death toll of the first bombing was 120 people and that many detached homes in Via Pratese were destroyed. Following the move of her office to Villa Giacomelli, Raffaella Sorsini was evacuated to the countryside at Case Nuove, near San Rocco. Many times she fled to the Sant’Agostino area, at the time still rural. She says that she never feared being sexually harassed by Germans, but conversely, she was scared by US Marines at Villa di Celle: while she had to walk past, she was accompanied by her fiancée.

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Claudio Rosati]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> ita]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Italy]]> Italy--Pistoia]]> 1943-10-24]]>

The interviewee is Gerardo Bianchi, born in Pistoia the 14 December 1905, Professor of economics and Member of Parliament (lower house) with the ‘Democrazia Cristiana’ party. The interview was conducted by Claudio Rosati in his house in Pistoia, on 19 August 1983.

When Pistoia was bombed for the first time, Gerardo Bianchi was evacuated to Campiglio di Tizzana and remembers the many aircraft flying over the place. The following morning, he went back to Pistoia to get a sense of damage: Via dei Gelli was severely hit, among the ten children of the Zanzotto family, five died; people were killed in the San Vitale area, including Professor Giuseppe Camposampiero.

Until early 1944, the air-raid siren spurred people to run into the countryside at Sant’Agostino, near the cemetery, huddling in ditches. Gerardo mentions seeing Commander Albert Kesselring at Villa agli Imbarcati and at Grotta Giusti; he tells how some offices of the Officine San Giorgio (his employer) were relocated to Viale Pacinotti.

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Claudio Rosati]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> ita]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Italy]]> Italy--Pistoia]]> 1943-10-24]]>