IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Geolocated]]> Photograph]]> United States]]> Illinois]]> Illinois--Belleville]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Geolocated]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--St. Mawgan]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Geolocated]]> Photograph]]> United States]]> Illinois]]> Illinois--Belleville]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Mike Stilgoe]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> United States]]> California]]> California--Long Beach]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Geolocated]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> United States]]> Texas]]> Texas--San Antonio]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Royalty-free permission to publish]]> Cheshire, Leonard. Aircrew, people, decorations and bomb damage]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Laura Morgan]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> MAllenJH179996-160512-050002]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Denise Boneham]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Cyprus]]> Egypt]]> Great Britain]]> Libya]]> North Africa]]> Cyprus--Nicosia]]> Egypt--Cairo]]> Egypt--Port Said]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Essex]]> England--Hertfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Surrey]]> Libya--Banghāzī]]> 1945]]> 1947]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sam Harper-Coulson ]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> British Army]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Skegness]]> England--London]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Arnhem]]> 1941-03]]> 1943]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> 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]]> Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Belgium]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Mittelland Canal]]> France--Juvincourt-et-Damary]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lincoln]]> Rod Pickles]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Navy]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1943]]> Harold Gorton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tricia Marshall]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cumbria]]> 1943-08]]> After RAF Padgate, Peter was selected as pilot/gunner/engineer at RAF Hornchurch. He was posted to Number 4 Initial Training School at RAF Cranwell and then went to RAF Feltwell. He trained on Prentices and Harvards and became a pilot. RAF Driffield followed and Meteors. Afterwards at RAF Chivenor, Peter flew Vampires, which he did not particularly like.
Peter re-trained and received his navigator brevet at RAF Hullavington. He took a holding post at RAF St Mawgan, the Maritime Reconnaissance School. He trained at RAF Lindholme, Bomber Command Bombing School, on Canberras before joining 61 Squadron at RAF Wittering. He was at RAF Wittering for a year before they went to RAF Upwood.
Peter describes his overseas detachments, and outlines and contrasts visual bombing and Gee-H bombing.
For the last 18 months, he was posted to 58 Squadron at RAF Wyton as adjutant. He flew the PR.7 variant of the Canberra for photographic reconnaissance.
Peter then learnt Russian and passed the Foreign Office interpreters’ exam. He went back to fly Victors at RAF Marham as a navigator. Peter talks of Operation Forthright, flying between the UK and Cyprus bringing back Lightnings. In the UK, they practised refuelling.
Peter subsequently went to the British Commanders-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Berlin. He took photographs in East Germany, particularly of airfields. He then went to the Ministry of Defence South American desk and worked for the Security Services before retirement.]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Second generation]]> Great Britain]]> England--Devon]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Germany]]> Russia (Federation)]]> Cyprus]]>
He volunteered as aircrew, in 1941 but failed the assessment test on his first attempt. He passed on his second try and went to Bridgenorth for his Initial Wing Training. After progressing through Yatesbury, Sheerness, and Bridlington he was posted to No. 7 Air Gunnery School and was successful at becoming an air gunner.
After ‘crewing up’, and further training which took them to various bases in the UK, they took part in operations to bomb Holland, were diverted to an American Airbase in extremely bad weather, bombed the Ruhr valley, and on 11 September 1944 they were hit by flak.
Fred goes on to describe having to bale out of his aircraft. He was picked up by the Germans and made to board a coach together with his flight engineer and bomb aimer. Fred was taken to a prisoner of war camp in Poland and describes life there together with the value of Red Cross food and clothing parcels. A hidden radio kept the prisoners current with the progress of the war.
The Germans moved the POWs out of the camp before the Russians could advance too close and they were marched through heavy snow and sometimes at night. Fred’s small group of friends tried to escape but were caught and made to continue the march.]]>
David Meanwell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Claire Campbell]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> South Africa]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Poland]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944-09-11]]> 1944-09-12]]> 1945-01-19]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--London]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> 1945]]> 1947]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> 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]]> Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> British Army]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France--Dunkerque]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943-12-20]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>