Anne Phillips]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> France]]> France--Normandy]]> 1944-06-30]]> Annie Moody]]> Gary Rushbrooke]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cathie Hewitt]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Egypt]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Italy--Sicily]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1965]]> Bill was transferred to 44 Squadron based at RAF Dunholme Lodge. He tells of his operation to Harburg, which was their intended target, but they ended up over Hamburg in the middle of a bombing operation because wind had not been accounted for. Bills also recounts how his aircraft was one of the first to drop their bombs on Dresden; he contends that the city was a legitimate target and distrusts the judgement of those who did not take part to the operation. After the war, he spent time in Rhodesia and also in Pretoria, where he tells of his encounter with an Afrikaner who threatened him because of his ethnicity. After the war, Bill worked at Ampleforth College controlling stores for the catering side. After writing a war novel which he had published in a local newspaper, he then tried his hand at writing westerns with Hales Publishing. His pen name was Jim Bowden, after the place he was stationed in Canada. He also writes under the pen name of Jessica Blair, and is now on his 26th book.]]> Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> South Africa]]> South Africa--Pretoria]]> Zimbabwe]]> Canada]]> Alberta]]> 1945]]> After leaving school at the age of 14, Derek delivered books in and around Doncaster before going down to the Royal Air Force Recruitment Centre in Doncaster and signing up for service after developing a love of aviation after seeing Vimmies and Heyfords.
Derek passed his exams for a pilot, however trained as a wireless operator because of his knowledge of Morse code. When he was crewed up, his team flew in Wellingtons at RAF Finningley, with 18 Operational Training Unit.
Derek then was transferred to a Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Blyton, where he worked on Halifaxes, before being posted to 625 Squadron at RAF Kelstern, flying on Lancasters.
He completed operations to Essen, Dortmund, Cologne and also targeted the oil refineries. Derek also took part in Operation Manna, dropping supplies in Holland.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Essen]]> Netherlands]]> Germany]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Dawn Studd]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Lithuania]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
After the war, Fred returned to the colliery, eventually becoming mobile plant engineer.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jackie Simpson]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> 1940]]>
Len was then posted to various locations abroad, did a code and cipher course and was demobilised. He went back to his plumbing apprenticeship, got married, settled in Bath but wanted to get back to service life. He started back as an airman and went into the air traffic control branch serving at different stations in Great Britain and Germany until he retired in 1971. Len was into post war meetings and memorial visits.]]> Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Rutland]]> Sri Lanka]]> Singapore]]> 1945]]>
After returning to the UK, Douglas went to an Operational Training Unit to get crewed up, initially at RAF Wymeswold and then RAF Castle Donington on Wellingtons. He went to RAF Marston Moor and on to 158 Squadron at RAF Lissett on Halifaxes where he describes an encounter with Group Captain Leonard Cheshire. Douglas relates how a rear gunner refused to fly and was court martialled.

Douglas flew three operations to Berlin and on the third took a direct hit. After most of the crew baled, he managed to land in the Netherlands before being taken prisoner. Stalag Luft VI, on the border of East Prussia and Lithuania, was followed by Stalag Luft IV after the Russians approached. For three months Douglas was part of the Long March before being rescued by the 6th Airborne Division and flown back home.

Douglas stayed on for three years after the war. He was posted to RAF Wing and went up to Cosford as a flying officer. He attended a Lancaster Conversion Unit and flew Lancasters. He finished at a development squadron at the Central Signals Establishment. He recalls flying a Lancaster at the first Biggin Hill Air Show in front of Winston Churchill.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending review]]> Sound]]> Germany]]> Lithuania]]> Zimbabwe]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> Great Britain]]> Lithuania--Klaipėda]]> Mediterranean Sea]]> 1940-09]]> 1944]]>
Australia. Royal Australian Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Connock]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Log book and record book]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Surrey]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Bayreuth]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Hagen (Arnsberg)]]> Germany--Helgoland]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> Germany--Wuppertal]]> Manitoba--Dauphin]]> Scotland--Banff]]> Scotland--Moray]]> Victoria--Benalla]]> Germany--Wangerooge Island]]> Victoria]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Boizenburg]]> Manitoba]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-03-12]]> 1945-03-13]]> 1945-03-14]]> 1945-03-15]]> 1945-03-16]]> 1945-04-08]]> 1945-04-09]]> 1945-04-11]]> 1945-04-13]]> 1945-04-14]]> 1945-04-18]]> 1945-04-25]]> 1945-07-04]]> 1945-07-09]]> 1945-07-30]]> 1945-08-03]]> B Goodman]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ashley Jacobs]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Peterborough]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Woodley (Wokingham)]]> Canada]]> Ontario--Kingston]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> United States]]> New York (State)--New York]]> Germany]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> France--Brest]]> Germany--Berchtesgaden]]> Russia (Federation)]]> Russia (Federation)--Arkhangelʹskai︠a︡ oblastʹ]]> France]]> New York (State)]]> Ontario]]> Nova Scotia]]> Russia (Federation)]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Barry Green]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> Morocco]]> United States]]> Gibraltar]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Morocco--Tangier]]> North Africa]]> 1942]]> Bill Bailey]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Free French Air Force]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Norway]]> Poland]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)]]> England--Birmingham]]> England--Devon]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France--Domléger-Longvillers]]> France--Ardennes]]> France--Calais]]> France--Cap Gris Nez]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Freiburg im Breisgau]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Manitoba--Carberry]]> Netherlands--Domburg]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> Norway--Oslo]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> Ontario--Hamilton]]> Ontario--Picton]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Netherlands--Hague]]> France]]> Ontario]]> New Brunswick]]> Nova Scotia]]> Netherlands]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Warwickshire]]> Manitoba]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> He describes individual operations in detail. He and his crew were transferred to Faldingworth where the condition of their aircraft was poor. These were quickly replaced with new aircraft. His crew were successful and survived their 30 operations never to meet up again.
He concludes his memoir with seven tailender tales.]]>
Bill Freeman]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Brighton]]> England--Dewsbury]]> Canada]]> England--Stafford]]> Wales--Tredegar]]> England--Northampton]]> England--Grimsby]]> France--Rouen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Denmark--Frederikshavn]]> France--Maintenon]]> France--Mailly-le-Camp]]> France--Rennes]]> France--Dieppe]]> France--Orléans]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Aachen]]> France--Paris]]> England--Lincoln]]> France--Le Havre]]> Poland]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> France--Caen]]> France--Vierzon]]> France]]> Germany]]> Denmark]]> France--Reims]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Sussex]]> 1943-04-05]]> 1944-03]]> 1944-04-10]]>
Bill Thomas]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Karl Williams]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland]]> Wales]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Wales--Aberystwyth]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway]]> New Brunswick]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Ontario]]> Ontario--Belleville]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Bob Sharrock]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--London]]> England--Torquay]]> Wales--South Glamorgan]]> England--Merseyside]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Devon]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1943]]> 1944]]>
He got his old job at the gas works back and married Dorothy. They had four boys and he spent a lot of time dinghy sailing.]]>
Bob Sharrock]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Roger Dunsford]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Wigan]]> England--Warrington]]> England--London]]> England--Torquay]]> England--Hoylake]]> England--Hereford]]> England--Liverpool]]> England--Burnley]]> England--Morecambe]]> England--Bolton-le-Sands]]> England--Garstang]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Devon]]> England--Herefordshire]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Preston (Lancashire)]]>
Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Brighton]]> England--Sidmouth]]> England--Desborough]]> Covers his training.]]> Bob Smith]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Brighton]]> England--Sidmouth]]> Scotland--Aberdeen]]> England--Salisbury]]> Scotland--Stranraer]]> Scotland--Ailsa Craig]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> Scotland--Paisley]]> Scotland--Glasgow]]> France]]> France--Beauvoir-sur-Mer]]> Australia]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> Queensland--Bundaberg]]> Queensland--Brisbane]]> New South Wales--Cootamundra]]> United States]]> California--San Francisco]]> Canada]]> Alberta--Edmonton]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> Scotland--Gourock]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> Manitoba--Winnipeg]]> Ontario--Trenton]]> Ontario--London]]> France--Châlons-sur-Marne (Arrondissement)]]> France--Caen]]> Germany]]> Germany--Kiel]]> France--Gironde Estuary]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Eindhoven]]> France--Le Havre]]> Germany--Neuss]]> France--Calais]]> France--Pas-de-Calais]]> Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)]]> Germany--Kleve (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Leverkusen]]> Netherlands--Vlissingen]]> Netherlands--Veere]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Germany--Castrop-Rauxel]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Fulda]]> Germany--Bottrop]]> Germany--Heinsberg (Heinsberg)]]> Nova Scotia]]> Manitoba]]> Poland]]> Brenda Jones]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1945]]> Basic training was carried out at Lords Cricket ground in London. One clear memory is helping to carry patients down several flights of stairs from a nearby hospital during an air raid.
Time was spent at RAF Bridlington on Initial Training Wing before attending Air Gunnery School in the Isle of Man. Further training was undertaken at RAF Banbury where he was crewed up on Wellingtons, before moving to the Heavy Conversion Unit at Wratting Common to convert to Stirlings. During his time here he attended an escape course at RAF Feltwell and was instructed in unarmed combat, which he dismissed as pitiful.
He and his crew were posted to RAF Witchford, Cambridgeshire, where he flew his first operation in February 1944 replacing an ill air gunner. He later discovered this was an inexperienced crew. He remembers the target was around Osnabrück in Germany and it was a melee over the target where they were attacked by two Me 109s, which they successfully shook off. On his return, he remembers being unable to sleep and went for a walk into Ely. There he discovered the Oxford Cambridge boat race was being held and watched it
Target areas of Germany included Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Augsburg. On his 5th operation, the aircraft was attacked, and the aircraft lost its heating and communications. He suffered frostbite and spent several months recovering in Ely hospital.
On regaining fitness, he was transferred to RAF Waterbeach and was allocated to a crew led by Ted Cousins. Waterbeach was a pre-war airfield with comfortable facilities. Time off was spent competing in athletics and football along with drinking at the local public houses.
When time allowed, he went home, but found the experience boring: all his friends were serving away, and there was little to do except drink or go to the cinema. His elder brother was serving as a navigator in the Far East, and he felt it unfair to talk about his experiences with his family.
At RAF Waterbeach there was a greater variety of operations. Targets varied from Germany to Southern France. He also remembers one trip to Poland. This entailed flying over Denmark and they could see the lights from Sweden and anti-aircraft fire.
He has a clear memory of most of his operations but does not wish to dwell on some. On one occasion he spotted a Me 109, he tried to warn the pilot but his intercom had frozen and emergency light was inoperative. He tried to open fire but his guns jammed – the night fighter opened fire and hit the centre of the aircraft. The aircraft began violently manoeuvring and he wasn’t sure if this was deliberate evasive manoeuvres or if they were out of control. He made his way forward and discovered the aircraft door open and the mid upper gunner missing. There were cannon holes all around the centre of the aircraft. He still wasn’t sure if he was the only one on board until he reached the main cabin and found the rest of the crew in position. They made it back home where they realised an incendiary bullet was lodged in the ammunition pannier.
His last operation was one of the thousand-bomber operations in Germany, the air black with anti-aircraft fire. On his return, the air gunners went sent to the bomb dump to assist the armourers in preparing the bombs for the following days attack which was carried out by the United States Army Air Forces.
After completing his tour of operation, he was posted to RAF Brackla, hoping to be retained as physical training instructor, but ended up at RAF Weeton near Blackpool to be trained as a driver.
He served at several locations across Southern England before his final posting which was with a microfilm unit in Frankfurt. Fraternising with locals was not allowed, but he did manage to learn German. He played in a football match against a much better German select team.
After demob, he returned home and was involved in the manufacturing of cars at the Triumph factory. He married, and because of unrest and strikes in the car industry, he moved to Scotland and was employed at the Carron company in Falkirk as a production director manufacturing steel bars, where his ability to speak German became an advantage in his dealings with foreign companies. He met an ex Luftwaffe pilot and experiences were exchanged - there was no animosity whatsoever and it was accepted they both had been carrying out their duty.
Geoff looks back on his time in Bomber Command with great fondness. It was like a big family. He still has contact with surviving crew members, and still attends reunions.
]]>
Brenda Jones]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Ian Whapplington]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Ely]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--London]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France]]> Germany]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Denmark]]> Sweden]]> Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man]]> Scotland]]> Scotland--Falkirk]]> Scotland--Nairnshire]]> Scotland--Stirlingshire]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> 1944-02]]>
Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated S Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Janet and Peter McGreevy]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--London]]> England--Worcestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Kiel Canal]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]> At the age of 16, Eric had an apprenticeship as an indentured apprentice marine engineer at Liverpool docks, however wanted to serve, however he was classed as being in a reserved occupation, so therefore could only volunteer as aircrew.
Eric flew Avro Ansons, Vickers Wellingtons, before moving on to Short Stirlings with 1654 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Wigsley where he trained as a rear gunner. He then flew Avro Lancasters with 463 RAAF Squadron at Waddington.
He flew missions to France, Nuremburg, Dortmund-Ems canal, Brunswick and targets in the Ruhr. Eric was shot down on 6 November 1944 and was taken prisoner of war, and he tells of his escape from the camp when it was liberated by the Russian forces.
After returning to the United Kingdom, Eric ran the Prisoner of War Camps, before leaving the Royal Air Force and joining the 40th Kings Royal Tank Regiment, and served 6 years as a Troop Commander.
Eric left the Army in 1956 and worked for his father as a salesman in the motor car industry. He started his own business and by the rime he retired, he had built up four businesses which he ran for approximately 30 years.]]>
Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> British Army]]> Great Britain]]> England--Merseyside]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Northern Ireland--Down (County)]]> England--Liverpool]]> France]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]>
Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> England--Lytham St. Anne's]]> England--Blackpool]]> Germany]]> Germany--Wiesbaden]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France]]> France--Caen]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> India]]> India--Kolkata]]> India--New Delhi]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944]]>