186 Squadron]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> MTurnerCF1042292-160822-010002]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Homberg (Kassel)]]> Germany--Solingen]]> Germany--Bottrop]]> Germany--Duisburg]]> Germany--Siegen]]> Germany--Trier]]> Germany--Rheydt]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Neuss]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Saarbrücken]]> Germany--Osterfeld]]> Germany--Mönchengladbach]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Heinsberg (Heinsberg)]]> 1945]]> 22 Reserve Centre]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bristol]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> 1952-05-01]]> 97 Squadron adjutant]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Grantham]]> 1943-11-16]]> 1943-09-13]]>
Covers joining the RAF at age 19 and training at Blackpool, Yatesbury as radio operator and subsequently at Martlesham and Bridgnorth. Crewing up at RAF Upper Heyford while on OTU flying Wellington. This was followed by four engine training on Stirling then Lancaster before posting to 630 Squadron at RAF East Kirkby. Describes operations mentioning types of target, losses, attack by Ju-88. Continues with account of daylight operation to Caen and later Paris. Describes operation to Stuttgart in July 1944 when they were attacked by night fighter and badly damaged as well as he being injured. After aborting the operation fire forced them to bale out. Continues with account of his injuries, capture, transfer to and experiences at POW hospital near Nancy. Describes liberation by American forces and being flown back to England and then to RAF Hospital. Concludes with account of 15 month hospital treatment, discharge from the RAF, membership of the Guinea Pig Club and trying to trace members of his crew in the mid 1980s. At the end photographs of Arthur Woolf, of him in hospital and of the French family who helped him after he was shot down and injured.]]>
A S Woolf]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Babs Nichols]]> eng]]> Text]]> Photograph]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Suffolk]]> Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Cologne]]> France]]> France--Caen]]> France--Paris]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> France]]> France--Nancy]]> France--Verdun]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Reading]]> France--Meurthe-et-Moselle]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-07-24]]> 1944-07-25]]> 1941]]> 1944-11]]>

Part 2, "No Problem Sport".Covers Alan Gamble's short flying history over France in 1945 before being shot down, and his experiences as a POW in southern Germany and subsequent liberation. The manuscript of Part 2 appears to be complete except for one or more pages missing about two thirds of the way through. This is at the beginning or the end of a fragment bound by metal clips, and could easily have become detached as the outside pages of some fragments' in Part 3 were also lost. It is therefore possible that only one page is missing.

Part 3. "Nil Desperandum".Covers Alan Gamble's post war experiences up to about 1963. This has not been read.

The manuscript of Part 3 is missing pages 24-86, 120 and 170, the latter two being the outside pages of bound fragments. (Page numbering here has assisted in reconstruction).

Additional information about this item was kindly provided by the donor.





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A T Gamble]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Bradbury]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Wehrmacht]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Skegness]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Blackpool]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> Wales--Gwynedd]]> Wales--Porthmadog]]> England--Cumbria]]> England--Barrow-in-Furness]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Krefeld]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Germany--Gelsenkirchen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--North Friesland Region]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Italy]]> Italy--Turin]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> Germany--Berlin]]> France]]> France--Modane]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Düsseldorf]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Jordan]]> Jordan--Amman]]> 1943-06-13]]> 1943-06-17]]> 1943-06-22]]> 1943-07-03]]> 1943-07-24]]> 1943-08-10]]> 1943-08-12]]> 1943-08-17]]> 1943-08-27]]> 1943-08-31]]> 1943-10-03]]> 1943-11-03]]> 1945-01]]> 1945-02-03]]> 1945-02-07]]>
]]> Adam Purcell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Mal Prissick]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> Australia]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> France--Chartres]]> France--Gironde Estuary]]> France--Le Havre]]> United States]]> Germany]]> France]]> Poland]]> California--San Francisco]]> California]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Adam Purcell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Canada]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> British Columbia--Vancouver Island]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> New South Wales]]> Adam Sutch]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Southeast Asia]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> United States]]> Alabama--Montgomery]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Adams]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Stratford-upon-Avon]]> 1947-02-07]]> Adjutant RAF Wigsley]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> 1943-05-16]]> Air Commodore Adams]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Germany]]> 1948-07-09]]> Alan Green]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jan Waller]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> EGreenAWGreenWH-[Mo]420828-0002]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Coventry]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> England--Warwickshire]]> 1942-08-28]]> Andrew Panton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Wiltshire]]> Netherlands]]> Netherlands--Walcheren]]> 1944]]> 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]]> Carron Moss]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Austria]]> Great Britain]]> Austria--Vienna]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Anglesey]]> 1939]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]>
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]]>
Basil Green]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> British Army]]> Great Britain]]> England--Coventry]]> India]]> India--Lucknow]]> England--Warwickshire]]> Bertie Gray]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Andy Hamilton]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1944-07]]> Bertie Gray]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Andy Hamilton]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> France--Le Havre]]> France]]> 1944-08]]> 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]]> 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]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Norway]]> South Africa]]> Arctic Ocean--North Pole]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Scotland--Montrose]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Transport Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Scotland--Wick]]> France]]> France--Ver-Sur-Mer]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-06]]> Bill returned to Scotland and converted to bomb aiming. He crewed up at RAF Castle Donington and went to RAF Sandtoft and RAF Hemswell to the Lancaster Finishing School. Bill was transferred to 166 Squadron at RAF Kirmington, flying Lancasters. They then went to RAF Scampton as 153 Squadron. Bill conducted 29 operations and one which was aborted because of engine problems. Bill then trained as an equipment officer, being sent to RAF Strubby. He then demobilised and returned to his job in local government.
The interview discusses relationships between commissioned and non-commissioned crew, Bill’s thoughts on Dresden, Bomber Command and Arthur Harris, and the awarding of medals. ]]>
Bruce Blanche]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Sally Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Canada]]> Alberta]]> Ontario]]> Ontario--Toronto]]> Prince Edward Island]]> Québec]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> England--Harrogate]]> England--Hastings]]> England--Lancashire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--London]]> England--Manchester]]> England--Northamptonshire]]> England--Redruth]]> England--Sussex]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Scotland--Wigtown]]> Wales--Aberystwyth]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Kleve (North Rhine-Westphalia)]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Germany--Wanne-Eickel]]> New Brunswick]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> United States]]> New York (State)]]> New York (State)--New York]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
Bryant]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Correspondence]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Berkshire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Stratford-upon-Avon]]> 1947-02-11]]>