IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]>
The donor kindly provided this additional information. 'My father recounted a number of anecdotes about his service and one concerns the entry on his service record where you will see it just says Cheddington. As you will be aware RAF Cheddington was at that time a USAAF base. I cannot verify this it is only what my father told me. The reason for the week at Cheddington was due to a dispute between Bomber Command and USAAF around the turn around time of the four engined heavies. The RAF said the Americans were taking too long compared to the RAF for engine servicing or replacements, not sure exactly but it resulted in a group of RAF personnel going to Cheddington to show them how the RAF did it. As I recall father said he was somewhat surprised to find rows of USAAF service personnel sitting on chairs in front of the aircraft while the RAF changed all four engines and brought the aircraft back on line.
He also told me about being on crash duty for the returning aircraft and of one instance when the airfield was attacked and having to run for the shelters.
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IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Egypt]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> 1942-01-14]]> 1943-02-12]]> 1943-10-10]]> 1945-03-21]]> 1945-09-06]]> 1947-01-08]]> 1944-07-01]]> 1945-11-01]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> 1943-06-23]]>
This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1944]]>

This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> SWeirG19660703v110006-0026]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1944]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> North Africa]]> 1942-11-09]]> 1945-01-09]]> 1939-12-19]]> 1946-03-10]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> Peter Baxter]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]> England--Staffordshire]]> Wales--Gwynedd]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Italy--Milan]]> France--La Rochelle]]> Europe--Frisian Islands]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Italy--Turin]]> France--Lorient]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr]]> Germany--Wuppertal]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Wanne-Eickel]]> Germany--Bonn]]> Germany--Paderborn]]> Italy]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> France]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Reg Miles]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Georgie Donaldson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Navy]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Free French Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Margate]]> England--Wendover]]> England--Aylesbury]]> England--High Wycombe]]> England--Dover]]> England--Shrewsbury]]> England--Liverpool]]> England--Penzance]]> England--Devon]]> South Africa--Bloemfontein]]> England--Taunton]]> England--Blackpool]]> Sierra Leone--Freetown]]> South Africa--Durban]]> South Africa--Muizenberg]]> South Africa--Cape Town]]> South Africa--Krugersdorp]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Belgium--Ghent]]> England--Folkestone]]> France--Paris]]> France--Lens]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Germany--Essen]]> Belgium--Liège]]> France--Somain]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Neufchâtel-en-Bray]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> France--Creil Region]]> France--Saint-Vaast-La Hougue]]> France--Montrichard]]> France--Mimoyecques]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany--Castrop-Rauxel]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> Germany--Kiel]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> France--Calais]]> Germany--Bottrop]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Norway--Bergen]]> England--Harrogate]]> Malta]]> Egypt--Cairo]]> Australia]]> Queensland--Mackay]]> Libya--Tripoli]]> Israel--Tel Aviv]]> Middle East--Jerusalem]]> West Bank--Bethlehem]]> Iraq--Baṣrah]]> Pakistan--Karachi]]> India--Kolkata]]> Sri Lanka--Ratmalana]]> Sri Lanka--Negombo]]> Israel--Lod]]> India--New Delhi]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> France]]> Queensland]]> Libya]]> Egypt]]> Germany]]> Belgium]]> India]]> Iraq]]> Israel]]> Norway]]> South Africa]]> Pakistan]]> Sri Lanka]]> Sierra Leone]]> West Bank]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Kent]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Somerset]]> England--Lancashire]]> Egypt--Jīzah]]> France--Chantilly Forest]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tilly Foster]]> Jean Massie]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Egypt]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Libya]]> North Africa]]> Egypt--Suez Canal]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Somerset]]> England--Oxford]]> England--Shropshire]]> Italy--Naples]]> Libya--Tripoli]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Bottom, four men about to hit a tool with a hammer, captioned 'Fitters?']]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Raymond Barrett]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Burma]]> Tunisia]]> France--Corsica]]> Italy]]> France]]> Italy--Sicily]]> Egypt]]> Syria]]> India]]> Burma]]> Syria]]> Syria--Aleppo]]> North Africa]]> Photo 2 is two groundcrew pushing the port main wheel.
Photo 3 is two groundcrew loading a bomb.
Photo 4 is two groundcrew pushing a bomb trolley.]]>
Mieczysław Stachiewicz]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> pol]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Polskie Siły Powietrzne]]> Great Britain]]>
He names the crew and describes their roles, including the ground crews, details the activities before an operation, and lists his operations he was involved in.

This item was provided, in digital form, by a third-party organisation which used technical specifications and operational protocols that may differ from those used by the IBCC Digital Archive.]]>
WH Brooker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Georgie Donaldson]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> New South Wales--Orange]]> Victoria--Geelong]]> New South Wales--Harden]]> Victoria]]> New South Wales--Lismore]]> South Australia--Adelaide]]> Great Britain]]> England--Newcastle upon Tyne]]> England--High Wycombe]]> France--Lorient]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> France--Brest]]> Belgium--Leopoldsburg]]> France--Saumur]]> France--Cherbourg]]> France--Rennes]]> France--Orléans]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Victoria]]> France]]> New South Wales]]> South Australia]]> Germany]]> Belgium]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> 1944]]>
Harry Bartlett]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Singapore]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Vivian was demobbed in January 1946. After the war, he worked for a year on Five Maintenance Unit at RAF Kemble.
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Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Essex]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Kent]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Wirral Peninsula]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Guernsey]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Channel Islands]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> 1938-07]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]>
Recruited as an engine fitter he trained at St. Athans and then volunteered for flying duties as it was a quick promotion. Because of his engineering background his flight engineering training was reduced to two weeks
He was then posted to RAF Swinderby to fly the Manchester and then to 97 squadron, which became a Pathfinder squadron, at RAF Woodhall Spa alongside 617 Squadron. In May 1943 the squadron moved to RAF Bourne and he was promoted to warrant officer. Henry was happy to stay as an NCO and did not welcome more responsibility.
After his first tour he was rested for six months as a senior instructor at 1661 HCU unit at RAF Winthorpe flying the Stirling. He compares flying the Lancaster and Stirling in some detail.
He returned to operational flying and recalls bombing La Spezia and landing in North Africa where his aircraft went u/s but he repaired it himself in order to return home.
Henry remembers that there were no great celebrations on VE day and he was demobbed in February 1946.
After a period in civilian life, Henry re-enlisted in the RAF in September 1948 as a corporal fitter and was posted to Malaya and Singapore. He left the RAF again in 1952 and then worked for Rolls Royce for 26 years, working on Merlin engines.
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Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Terry Holmes]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Italy]]> Italy--La Spezia]]> North Africa]]> Singapore]]> Malaya]]> 1940]]> 1942]]> 1943-05-19]]> 1943-05]]> 1940-04]]> 1946-02]]> 1948-09]]> 1952]]>
Andrew Panton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Wiltshire]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> 1944]]> Ian Locker]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Hull]]> Wales--Glamorgan]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> 1945]]> Victor completed 28 operations, including Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Cologne, Essen and Frankfurt, but he missed out on his 30 operations when he contracted rubella. He tells of his experiences on his operations, and supporting the D-Day operations when he and his crew were sent to attack the gun emplacement at Le Havre. He mentions how he saw all the ships heading for the beaches. Victor also recalls being put in charge of training with Lancasters, Halifaxes, Sunderlands and Stirlings, before heading out to Malaya to work on supporting the Army.
He served during the Suez Crisis helping with issues concerning radar. Back home he served at multiple stations before becoming commanding officer at RAF North Luffenham. He mentions an incident at RAF Marham and joining Task Force Grapple which was involved with nuclear testing.
Victor retired in 1977 and then he became a parish councillor for West Norfolk Council, before becoming mayor of West Norfolk from 1990 to 1991. At the local Royal Air Force Association he takes part in events helping to organise the acts of Remembrance every year.
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Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Essex]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Rutland]]> France]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Christmas Island]]> Egypt]]> Malta]]> Singapore]]> Malaysia]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1956]]> 1957]]> 1944-03-30]]> 1944-03-31]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]>
Ian Wynn]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jan Waller]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Devon]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Torquay]]> England--Newquay]]> England--Caterham and Warlingham]]> Wales--St. Athan]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> France]]> France--La Rochelle]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Wragby (Lincolnshire)]]> 1940-10-03]]> 1942-01-06]]> 1942-10-14]]> 1942-11]]> Mike Connock]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--London]]> Scotland--John o' Groats]]>