Cathy Brearley]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jim Sheach]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> South Africa]]> South Africa--East London]]> Germany]]> Germany--Osnabrück]]> India]]> 1945-06]]>
]]>
Charlie Darby]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Poetry]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Bethany Ellin]]> Heather Hughes]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Atlantic Ocean--Irish Sea]]> England--Orford Ness]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Adalberto Di Corato]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Scotland--Perth and Kinross]]> England--London]]> Canada]]> Manitoba]]> Manitoba--Portage la Prairie]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> France]]> France--Mailly-le-Camp]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tracy Johnson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Argentina]]> Poland]]> Great Britain]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> 1939-09]]> 1948]]> He was classed as working in a reserved occupation, but joined the Air Training Corp whilst waiting to sign up for the Royal Air Force.
John was taken on as groundcrew but successfully trained to become a flight engineer at RAF St Athan. He believes he was one of the youngest.
He trained on Stirlings and then went to Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Chedburgh where he crewed up with Ronald ‘Eddie’ Edmondson, with whom he maintained a friendship after the war. John talks about his crew and the training they did.
Although John wanted to fly Short Sunderlands, he was not tall enough to reach the leavers, so he was assigned to Short Stirlings and flew them with 514 Squadron. John compares the Stirling and the Lancaster, and also describes a bullseye exercise to the French coast. From RAF Chedburgh he went to the Lancaster Finishing School at RAF Feltwell.
John completed a full tour of 30 operations, including trips to Kiel, the Falaise Gap, Rüsselsheim and Stettin, Duisburg. John explains the accuracy of the Gee-H navigation system. He goes on to describe some incidents including instances of a scarecrow, a fictional shell simulating an exploding four-engine bomber.
John carried out 30 operations. He then returned for a short period to RAF St Athan, followed by RAF Peterborough and its satellite RAF Sutton Bridge before the Motor Transport section at RAF Kirton Lindsey. He left the RAF in May 1947 and eventually set up his own garage. John eventually retired at the age of 65.]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Suffolk]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> England--London]]> France]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Poland]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1947-05]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Rutland]]> England--Suffolk]]> India--Kolkata]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Donald then trained at Rothesay as a submarine detection (ASDIC) operator before joining HMS Essington. He served on the Arctic convoys and recalls surviving a torpedo attack in the English Channel and being shelled from Guernsey whilst hunting a submarine.
After the war Donald entered the church and became a Royal Air Force Chaplain and he tells amusing stories of his RAF service. His first posting was to RAF Halton, where his wartime medal ribbons earned him respect, despite arriving late on parade with oily hands from a recalcitrant bicycle chain. Then he moved to RAF Innesworth where he arranged a guard of honour for a friend's wedding, which impressed his Air Chief Marshall.
Donald was then posted to Aden, describing accommodation, training, and service anecdotes. From Aden, he was posted to RAF Cranwell where he set up a Sunday School, taught cadets to dive and took them to Cyprus to assist in some marine research. He recalls travelling around the Mediterranean to perform pipeline inspections and to referee boxing matches.
His final post was administering Bomber, Fighter and Coastal Commands, for which he flew around numerous RAF stations.
He also describes flying in a Vulcan and a Victor with his pilot brother and speaks of his emotion on visiting the National Arboretum and reading the names of the dead from HMS Blackwood, which was hit by the torpedo that missed Essington.
In later life he received the Ushakov medal and the Légion d'honneur.]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Navy]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Cyprus]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> Scotland--Rothesay]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Poland--Łambinowice]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-09]]> 1945-02-20]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Second generation]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Jamaica]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sam Harper-Coulson]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Huntingdonshire]]> England--Northumberland]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> 1943]]> 1944-01-17]]> 1956]]> Chris Johnson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sam Harper-Coulson]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> Poland]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Urft Dam]]> Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)]]> 1945-07]]> D D Christie]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Frances Grundy]]> Royalty-free permission to publish]]> Cheshire, Leonard. Correspondence]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1944-06-02]]> Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Dawn Studd]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1944]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Nick Cornwell-Smith]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Boston]]> England--Lincoln]]> Russia (Federation)]]> Russia (Federation)--Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)]]> England--The Wash]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Netherlands]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> 1943]]> 1944-02]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tilly Foster]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-06-12]]> 1944-07-25]]> 1944-07-28]]> 1944-08-04]]> 1944-08-08]]> Posted to 463 Squadron at Waddington, still with the same crew, flying his first operation on the 30th October 1944.
Horace flew 29 missions, including targets such as Dusseldoft, Dortmund Emms, Hamburg, Harburg and Dresden.
He tells of his experiences over Bohlen and the damage that was inflicted on his Lancaster, and the casualities within his own crew.
Horace married in 1947 and had 2 children After coming out of the Royal Air Force at the age of 21, he then went to work in a car factory at Tunbridge Wells, and after several changes of jobs, finally left work after working with a Mobility Services company, working on overhead hosts and exteriors.]]>
David Meanwell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]>
Dawn Hughes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sam Harper-Coulson]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Coventry]]> England--London]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)]]> France]]> France--Lorient]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Wales--Ceredigion]]> England--Warwickshire]]> 1940-05]]> 1940-09]]> Harry volunteered for the Royal Air Force and worked first as an observer, and then as a navigator in 76 Squadron Bomber Command. He talks of aircraft he flew on – the Anson, the Whitley, and the Halifax – of becoming an officer based at Heslington Hall, Yorkshire, and of being awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. He mentions operations over Germany, reflects on the comradeship of aircrews, and describes various operations where aircraft malfunctioned, one where he lost an eye. He describes the pressurised and technical work of the navigator in the air.
Harry ends by recounting his attendance at Wednesbury County Commercial College after the war, and his choice not to marry until after the war due to the risks of his job.]]>
Denise Boneham]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> Germany]]>
Donald Fraser]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France--Modane]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Bochum]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Leverkusen]]> Germany--Mannheim]]> Germany--Mönchengladbach]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> E Hookings]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Germany--Halle an der Saale]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Shropshire]]> Great Britain]]> 1944]]> 1944-11-06]]> 1945]]> F N Lawrence]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Claire Monk]]> Royalty-free permission to publish]]> Cheshire, Leonard. Correspondence]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1944-01-24]]> G H A Bilton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Hull]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Blackpool]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> England--Durham (County)]]> England--Leicestershire]]> Burma]]> Germany]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> England--Berkshire]]> France]]> France--La Rochelle]]> France--Lille]]> France--Boulogne-sur-Mer]]> France--Caen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> France--Paris]]> France--Creil]]> France--Falaise]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> France--Brest]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Huntingdonshire]]> Italy]]> Italy--Bari]]> Denmark]]> Denmark--Copenhagen]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> France--Chantilly Forest]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> Gary Rushbrooke]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cathy Brearley]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Great Britain]]> Gemma Clapton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England]]> France]]> Spain]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Essen]]> Pyrenees]]> Netherlands]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1942]]>