#1 and 2 are of the village sign outside the Skellingthorpe Village Hall.
#3 is a view of the memorial with the wreaths left at the ceremony.
#4 and 5 are the standards and attendees at the unveiling.
#6 and 7 are during the ceremony with an RAF officer and and the Bishop of Lincoln speaking in turn.
#8 is the memorial being unveiled.
#9 is a close up of the 50 squadron crest.
#10 is a close up of the 61 squadron crest.
#11 is a close up of 61 squadron motto and bases.
#12 is a close up of 50 squadron motto and bases.
#13 is taken during the ceremony.
#14 is the text on the memorial obelisk.
#15 is the text on the reverse of the obelisk.

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50 and 61 Squadron Memorial Committee]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lincoln]]> 1989-06-03]]>
Adam Purcell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Poland--Opole (Voivodeship)]]> 1939]]> 1942-05]]> 1943]]> 1944-01]]> Adam Purcell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated S Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Staffordshire]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1945]]> Adam Purcell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Canada]]> Czech Republic]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> New South Wales]]> Alberta--Edmonton]]> Czech Republic--Plzeň]]> England--Brighton]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> California--San Francisco]]> United States]]> California]]> Alberta]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> England--Sussex]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Adam Sutch]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> South Africa]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Scotland--Wigtownshire]]> France--Watten]]> France]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Adam Sutch]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Durham (County)]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1939]]> 1944]]> Adam Sutch]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> Pakistan]]> Sri Lanka]]> England--London]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> Atlantic Ocean--Rockall Bank]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> 1938]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> Alessandro Pesaro]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> ita]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Italy]]> Italy--Po River Valley]]> Italy--Milan]]> 1944]]> 1944-10-20]]> Andrew Sadler]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> 1945-04]]> 1945-05]]>
Label reads “37”; signed by the author; caption reads “29 SETTEMBRE 1941 KIEV BABY YAR, dove i nazisti uccisero piu di 100.000 ebrei. Il poeta russo Jevtuscenco scrisse: su Babi Yar sussurrano le erbe selvagge - gli alberi stanno a guardare severi come giudici - tutto silenziosamente quì grida. Jlia Ehenburg nel 1944 aveva scritto: io sento come da ogni fossa - mi state chiamando - non ci sforziamo ad alzarci – con le ossa bussiamo la - dove odorano di pane e profumi - le citta ancora vive. Nel burrone di Baby Yar avevano mandato soltanto gli ebrei, la popolazione Ucraina e russa li vide passare, incollonnati la sera stessa. Ancora Ehenburg: in questo ghetto non arriva gente - la gente c’era, là nelle fosse in un posto qualsiasi dove addesso scorrono i giorni – noi non aspettiamo risposta, siamo soli. Dalla montagna di cadaveri, qualcuno si salvò, Dina Promiceva [Dina Pronicheva], zingari, perfino una squadra di calcio che nonostante la intimazione del commando Tedesco avevano stravinto un paio di incontri amichevoli. Pioppi e saline, e l’erba alta di Baby Yar custodiscono ancora oggi i resti della strage, un masso di granito li ricorda, sul sasso stà scritto: qui verrà edificato un monumento dei crimini fascisti nel tempo dell‘occupazione tedesca di Kiev - 1941-43 gente sovietica ma ebrei perche portavano la stella di Davide.”

Caption translates as: “29 September 1941 Kiev, Baby Yar, where the Nazis killed more than 100,000 Jews. The Russian poet Yevtushenko wrote: “Wild grasses rustle over Babi Yar - The trees look sternly, as if passing judgement - Here, silently, all screams”. In 1944, Ilya Ehrenburg wrote: “Your screams my ears assault in rushes
From every pit their echoes mount. Our strength we’ll gather, then ascending with rattling bones we’ll start to knock — Where breath, with bread and fragrance blending, The cities where still people flock”.
The Nazis only sent Jewish people to the ravine of Baby Yar. That same night, Ukrainian and Russian people saw them passing in columns. Ehrenburg again: “no one arrives in this ghetto – people were there, in the ditches – in a place like any other where, now, days go by – we are not waiting for an answer, we are alone”. Someone survived from the heap of corpses; Dina Pronicheva, gypsies, even a football team that, despite the order of the German headquarters, triumphed in a couple of non-competitive matches. Poplars and salt marshes, and the tall grass in Baby Yar still look after the relics of the massacre. A granite rock remembers them, it reads: “here a monument, remembering the fascist crimes during the German occupation of Kiev will be built - 1941-1943. They were Soviet people, but Jews because they wore the Star of David.”
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Angiolino Filiputti]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Francesca Campani]]> Alessandro Pesaro]]> Helen Durham]]> Giulia Banti]]> Maureen Clarke]]> ita]]> Artwork]]> ]]> Ukraine--Kyïv]]> Ukraine]]> 1941-09-29]]>
Anna Hoyles]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated T Holmes]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Horncastle]]> Anna Hoyles]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Louth]]> 1941-02-19]]> Alun talks of flying on the Anson and Whitley, and of being assigned to a Halifax crew. He describes a training flight accident at Garrowby Hill, Yorkshire in which his crewmates were killed. Alun, who was hospitalised at the time, was not on board the aircraft. He recalls his loneliness at being without a crew, and the unexplained animosity towards him from a senior officer. He talks of joining another aircrew and of adaptability being a part of the role of the bomb aimer, before reflecting on his feelings about the unjust dismissal of the crew’s pilot for lack of moral fibre.
Alun recalls his transfer to RAF Transport Command in 1945 and talks of organising the erection of a memorial to his crew at Garrowby Hill. He mentions his pride at the memorial, and his attendance at annual commemorations there for many years. He goes on to reflect on his preference for the Halifax over other aircraft, his enjoyment of flying, and on the great friendship and comradeship among aircrews, describing a closeness which continued after the war. He also mentions his affection for the animals that he kept in his billet during the war.
Alun relates that he first returned to his pre-war job after the war, but later joined the Welsh Council on Alcoholism to help others and in support of his sister, whom he describes affectionately.
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Anne Roberts]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Leah Warriner-Wood]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> Wales]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Wales--Porthcawl]]> Wales--Newport]]> South Africa]]> South Africa--East London]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Japan]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Penarth]]> 1944]]> 1955]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hugh Donnelly]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Eric’s first operation was in October 1941 to Hüls (Krefeld) and Bremen. He did twenty six operations on three different types of aircraft: Hampdens, Manchesters, and Lancasters. He preferred the Lancaster because he had much more space. He was stood down on the “Channel Dash” operation: the wireless operator borrowed his flying boots but never returned.
Eric became a senior signals leader and, after the tour, qualified as staff Pathfinder. He was mentioned in dispatches in 1944 and became a staff lecturer at No. 1 Bomber Command Instructors School at RAF Finningley. Eric was commissioned as a pilot officer and then flying officer.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany]]> 1942-02]]> 1944]]>

]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> 1944-09]]>
Flying training commenced at RAF Booker on Tiger Moths and he was then sent out of England as part of the Empire Training Scheme. Flying training on Stearman aircraft recommenced at Lakeland in Florida followed by multi-engined training at Macon in Georgia and Valdosta for advanced training. In October 1942 he became a pilot under the American Army Air Force System and declined an offer to stay and become an instructor.
Returning to Britain on an unescorted Queen Elizabeth liner, he trained on Oxfords at RAF Little Rissington. Posted to RAF Harwell to fly, in Bluey's terms "clapped out Wellingtons" he describes the system for forming a crew. They were posted to RAF Riccall to fly the Halifax.
The next posting was to an operational squadron at RAF Lissett where he did his first operational flight to Krefeld in June 1943 and trips to Berlin, Cologne and Mannheim. After his trip to Krefeld, his rear gunner refused to fly and was removed. On his second trip to Mannheim, Bluey's aircraft was struck by a bomb from an aircraft flying above. They had to reduce height and so used Window to disguise their location. The final trip was to Berlin in November 1943 and, having completed his tour, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Bluey never flew again. Sent to Tilly Whim, Bluey was trained to operate Oboe and explains the device. Posted to an Oboe station at RAF Winterton to monitor junior operatives, he met his future wife.
After the war had finished he became an instructor on the Link Trainer and sent to various RAF stations and finally to RAF Marham from where he was demobilised and returned to civilian life. In civilian life, employment in the farm feed industry was followed by time in the lubricant industry until retirement. Bluey compiled a register of all crews that flew with 158 Squadron and formed a Squadron association in 1947, of which he became president, and organised a memorial to the squadron at former RAF Lissett.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Canada]]> United States]]> Florida]]> Florida--Lakeland]]> Georgia]]> Georgia--Macon]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> 1943-06]]> 1943-11]]>
On his return, Geoff was posted to RAF Stormy Down on Whitleys and RAF Brize Norton where he trained army pilots to fly Horsa gliders. He was also posted to fly Wellingtons at the RAF Sutton Bridge experimental unit.
Geoff was eventually posted to Bomber Command and trained on Wellingtons at RAF Finningley. They did dummy raids, and dropped leaflets and Window. Geoff went to 550 Squadron at RAF North Killingholme in May 1944. He completed seven operations within 11 days and was shot down on the seventh. The first four operations were over the Normandy coast, starting on 5 June 1944 around D-Day.
Geoff describes how his plane was shot on its way to Sterkrade in the Ruhr. They baled out just over the Dutch border. Geoff landed in a wheat field whilst the aircraft hit a farm, killing seven people. Geoff found the church and was given clothing and a false identity card. He went down the escape line with his mid-upper gunner to Antwerp. They were betrayed by the Flemish collaborator, René van Muylem, who had set up a false escape line.
Geoff was interrogated and taken to Frankfurt. He was then sent to Stalag Luft I prisoner of war camp in Barth for nine months. There was little food but it was otherwise acceptable. His parents learnt he was a prisoner when his letter to them was read out by Lord Haw-Haw. The Germans left before the Russians arrived. Geoff was returned on a B-17.
Geoff was posted to Ely as Assistant Air Traffic Controller and stayed in the RAF volunteer reserve until his commercial pilot licence was granted.]]>
Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> Alberta--Medicine Hat]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> Alberta]]> Alberta]]> Canada]]> Nova Scotia]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1944-05]]> 1944-06]]> 1945]]>
Arthur Spencer]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Joy Reynard]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> United States]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Bosnia and Herzegovina]]> Bosnia and Herzegovina--Sarajevo]]> Croatia]]> Croatia--Zagreb]]> Hungary]]> Hungary--Székesfehérvár]]> North Africa]]> South Africa--Mahikeng]]> South Africa]]> Barry Jackson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tracy Johnson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> Norway]]> Atlantic Ocean--Skagerrak]]> Scotland--Moray]]> On one of his operations he arrived over France to drop supplies to the French resistance but, in the absence of a reception committee, returned home and successfully repeated the trip the next night.
After converting to Lancasters, his first trip was to Duisburg but he forgot to operate the bombing master switch which meant they had to go around again and work their way back into the main bomber stream. James considers himself very fortunate to have survived that episode.
He speaks warmly of his crew but admitted that on the morality of mass bombing he had a dispute with his engineer and actually came to blows.
In December 1944, he completed his 30th operation to the Oberhausen oil refinery but became ill with tonsillitis and hospitalised. On recovery he spent time at RAF Feltnell training new crews on the ‎Gee-H navigation system.
James was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and after demob spent time as a clerk before joining Quantas Airways as an air navigation officer. Unfortunately the training was too complex for him and he left to pursue a career as a salesman for 25 years.
James speaks at length of his strong feelings on the importance of the role that Bomber Command carried out, which was not recognised by the leaders, and considers that the enemy were not the German people but the Nazis.
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Barry Jackson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hugh Donnelly]]> Terry Holmes]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Suffolk]]> France]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> 1944]]>
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]]> 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]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1940]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Isle of Wight]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Dresden]]> England--Hampshire]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945-02]]>