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Interview with Carlo Bertolo
Carlo Bertolo (b. 1939) remembers a bombing of Turin when incendiaries were dropped. He recalls how one of them hit his house, but it was stopped by a trunk full of clothes before it could reach the shelter.
Interview with Charly Pfeifer
Charly Pfeifer recounts his experiences of the bombing of Betzdorf an der Sieg, a small town not far from the Ruhr. He explains the strategic importance of the city, due to the presence of locomotive works. He recalls taking shelter from the bombs in…
Interview with David Brewster
David was born in 1931 in Sutton on Sea and recalls living in a spartan house with no toilet, lit by gas lights and with a water pump in the garden and his father keeping pigs to augment their income. His descendents had sailed to America in the…
Interview with David Rose
David Rose was born in Swanage, Dorset. His father had been in the Medical Corps during the First World War and suffered ill health afterwards. David believed his father had as much reason to be on the War Memorial as his two brothers, who died…
Interview with Dennis Kirk. Two
Dennis Kirk was born in Barkston 1920, and lived on a farm near Plungar. He recalls when the war started, the War Executive Committee told farmers what to produce; he also talks about the Land Army. Being in a reserved occupation, he joined the Home…
Interview with Don Watson
Donald Watson joined the Royal Air Force in 1941, having previously worked in the print industry. After training he served as an armourer with 61 Squadron at RAF Skellingthorpe.
He wishes that the ground crew, without whom the aircrew could not…
He wishes that the ground crew, without whom the aircrew could not…
Interview with Dr Marjorie Birch
This interview was carried out when Dr Birch was 91 years old and she describes her experiences of the German bombing raids and her medical training in London.
Dr Birch was born near London in 1924. Her father had served in the Royal Flying Corps…
Dr Birch was born near London in 1924. Her father had served in the Royal Flying Corps…
Interview with Enrica Mariani
Enrica Mariani recollects her wartime experiences in Milan: her brother dying of bronchitis after spending too much time in the shelter and her father working in an armaments factory; the aggressive fascist militiamen and the long hours she spent in…
Interview with Eric Peel
Eric Peel worked in the Cotton Exchange in Liverpool before he volunteered for the RAF. He trained as an armourer and was, initially, posted to 56 Squadron at RAF Sutton Bridge where he worked on Hurricanes. He was then posted to 103 Squadron at…
Interview with Frank Saunston
Frank Saunston joined the ATC in 1941 and the RAF in 1942. He worked as a transport driver at RAF Peplow and then as a forklift driver at RAF Methwold on the bomb dump. He describes his role and his duties and gives details regarding the bombs used.…
Interview with Günter Lucks
Günter Lucks (b. 1925) describes how he was forced to join the Hitler Youth in 1939, an event that caused a great deal of disturbance in a family with a strong communist background. When his parents moved out, because of his father’s job as…
Interview with Geoff Paine
Geoff Paine attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School and Falmouth Grammar School, joined Air Training Corps and volunteered for the Royal Air Force aged 18. Upon completion of initial training, he was posted to RAF Waltham (100 Squadron) then RAF…
Interview with Geoff Payne
Geoff Payne has his first experience of the Royal Air Force with the Air Training Corps, at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire, where he had one of his first experiences of military humour. He joined in 1943 at the age of 17 and a half hoping to become a…
Interview with Gordon Topham
Gordon Topham was born in Salisbury, but his family settled in Norwich, Norfolk and he joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 17, qualifying as a flight engineer in July 1944. Gordon’s father used to drive steam wagons and was involved with…
Interview with Hans-Walter Bendzko
Hans-Walter Bendzko recalls his wartime experiences as a young boy in Berlin, before being evacuated. He describes his time at Wannsee, being properly looked after while surviving one of the Berlin bombings and mentions incendiaries falling into a…
Interview with Harry Hughes
Harry Hughes volunteered for the Royal Air Force in 1940 and trained in America, where he was washed out as a pilot and then retrained as a navigator in Canada, flying Ansons and Wellingtons. In 1942, he converted to Halifaxes and flew operations…
Interview with Hilary Crozier
Hilary’s uncle, William Frederick Burkitt (known as John), was born in North London. He joined up in October 1943 and after training as a flight engineer, was sent to RAF Bardney. During their first operation they were badly hit and the rear…
Interview with Hubert Draegert
Hubert Draegert remembers his wartime experiences, first in Berlin and then as an evacuee at his uncle’s farm near Wroclaw. He mentions the bombing of the Berlin State Opera and the repeated efforts made to rebuild the gutted building. He remembers…
Interview with James Froud. Two
As part of the Pathfinder Force, Jimmy explains that they did a lot of training using radar, wire runs and bombing ranges, as well as radio range with the wireless operator. Jimmy also describes the fighter affiliation they carried out. They…
Interview with James Mulhall. Two
James Mulhall trained as a flight engineer and was posted to 75 Squadron at RAF Mepal. On one operation the crew were surprised to be presented by the ground crew with a .303 bullet which proved that they had been the recipient of friendly fire. On…
Interview with John James Smith
John Smith grew up near Corby, surrounded by aerodromes, so was used to the sight of aircraft. He observed Lancaster aircraft practising for the Dambusters raid over Eye Brook Reservoir. He also witnessed glider practice and was impressed by the…
Interview with John Taylor
John Taylor grew up in Nottingham and was evacuated before he went into sixth form. He left school and started working as an analytical chemist at Boots the Chemist and, although, this was a reserved occupation he volunteered for aircrew. After his…
Interview with Jutta Petenati
Jutta Petenati recollects her wartime life in Berlin while she was a young girl. She recounts various episodes: the black market; removing incendiary bombs from her house; seeking shelter in an underground train station instead of her house basement,…
Interview with Keith Toule
Keith was five at the start of the war and lived in a farm adjoining the airfield at RAF Skellingthorpe. He describes the airfield and how the trees were cut down in the farm belt. The airfield was closed soon after the war, bought by the City…