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Interview with Dick Maywood
Dick was born in Peterborough and volunteered for the Royal Air Force in 1941. He was called up to Lord’s Cricket Ground in 1942. Dick went to No. 6 Initial Training Wing at RAF Aberystwyth. He then went to RAF Desford, flying Tiger Moths and was…
Interview with Doug Petty
Doug Petty was born in Shildon, County Durham and was a car maintenance apprentice before joining the Royal Air Force in 1942, as a flight engineer. He completed technical training at RAF St Athan, where he met Betty, his future wife. From there Doug…
Interview with Dr James Hendrie Burt. Two
During his time as medical officer at RAF Waddington, James Burt was responsible for inspecting sanitation and food hygiene, as well as general medicine. On one occasion he also had to travel to RAF Tangmere to investigate the death of a member of…
Interview with Edward Allan McDonald
Allan McDonald was born in Hull and worked as an apprentice electrician before joining the Air Force. He passed the exams to become aircrew and trained as an air gunner. During training, his aircraft crash landed and he was soaked in petrol. He flew…
Interview with Eric Reginald Barton
Flying Officer Eric Barton flew operations with Bomber Command. Eric talks about the various aircraft he flew in, and recalls an incident at Banff in Scotland where, following a night exercise, his tyre blew out on landing. He gives an account of an…
Interview with Ernest James White
James White worked as a wages clerk for the Co-op before volunteering for the Air Force. He had intended to join the navy but, when he saw some recruits being shouted at, he turned around and crossed the corridor to join the RAF. He had always had an…
Interview with Ernie Tillbrook
Ernest Hector Angelo Pedrazzini was the son of an Italian father and an English mother. After the war he changed his name to Tillbrook. Ernie’s father escaped from a prison camp during the First World War and found his way to Russia and…
Interview with Frank Tolley
Frank Tolley was born in 1921 in Tipton and left school at 14, to work as a grocery errand boy. He joined the Royal Air Force at 19 as a ground gunner, and was in at the inception of the Royal Air Force Regiment. After 18 months he volunteered to…
Interview with Frank Wilcox
Frank Wilcox was born in Wales and worked in aircraft manufacturing. He was later called up and served in the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. He was taken prisoner at Anzio and became a prisoner of war. When he was released and returned to the UK,…
Interview with Geoff Packham
Geoff’s father had been in the Royal Flying Corps and Geoff joined the Royal Air Force at RAF Cardington. He was posted to various stations before going to Halifax in Canada to train as a pilot on Tiger Moths and then Oxfords. On his return, Geoff…
Interview with Geoff Rushton
Geoff Rushton worked as a bank clerk before volunteering for the Air Force. He trained as a navigator in Canada and, after crewing up, flew 20 operations with 15 Squadron from RAF Mildenhall. He and his crew were then posted to 186 Squadron at RAF…
Interview with George Anderson
George Anderson was born in County Durham and worked in a grocery shop before he joined the Royal Air Force in 1943. At the end of the war, he flew operations from RAF Ludford Magna, as a wireless operator with 101 Squadron. In 1959 George and his…
Interview with George Eric Cromarty
George Cromarty joined the Royal Air Force as an AC2 and served as ground personnel before training as an air gunner. He flew operations as the rear gunner with 630 Squadron from RAF East Kirby. He discusses what operations and life on a station were…
Interview with George Haig
George Haigh was already a keen footballer when he volunteered for the Royal Air Force and became a physical training instructor. He was posted to RAF Morecambe, where he provided basic training to new recruits. He discusses the mixed level of…
Interview with Harry Foster
Harold Gordon Foster (known as Harry) tells of his childhood, passing the 11 plus exam and his enjoyment of learning, and the need for him to earn money for his family rather than going to grammar school. He first worked for CL Equipments, assembling…
Interview with Harry Parkins. One
Before the war, Harry Parkins had a variety of positions; he worked in furniture restoration in Hackney, sold bomb-damaged goods in Bethnal Green; worked for an engineering firm in Islington until it was bombed; and, finally, as an invoice and…
Interview with Henry Wolfe Wagner. Two
Henry’s aircraft was shot down in Holland when the fuel tank exploded on the starboard wing. Henry was the only member of the crew to bale out. Their target had been the armament works in Duisburg. Henry drifted across the River Maas behind German…
Interview with Herbert Adams
Herbert Adams grew up in New South Wales, Australia and joined the Air Training Corps as soon as it was established. He later joined the Royal Australian Air Force and, after training, he completed a tour of operations as a navigator with 467…
Interview with Hilary Robinson
Hilary Robinson grew up in Yorkshire and volunteered for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. She trained as a driver and served at RAF Elsham Wolds and at 1 Group Headquarters at RAF Bawtry Hall. She married and lived on a farm after the war.
Interview with James Burdin
James Burdin went at Hutton Grammar School and worked in radio sales and repair. He volunteered for the Royal Air Force but had to wait and joined the Local Defence Volunteers instead. He did some rifle practice, general infantry training and…
Interview with Jane Carrington
Jane Carrington joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force in 1942 at the age of 18 because it sounded more exciting than the Army or Navy and she like the colour of the uniform. She served as a cook, and volunteered to join the band as a drummer. She…
Interview with Janet Hughes, One
Janet Hughes’ father, Reginald Charles Wilson, volunteered for the RAF in August 1941. In January 1942, he was posted to America under the Arnold training scheme and was later re-mustered to train as a navigator in Canada. After forming a crew at…
Interview with Jim Auton
Jim Auton grew up on Royal Air Force stations and joined the Royal Air Force at 17. He trained as a pilot navigator and bomber at RAF Ansty near Coventry, then in South Africa under the Empire Air Training Scheme. He trained on B-24s at Lidder and,…
Interview with Jim Weston. One
Jim Weston joined the Royal Air Force because he wanted to become a radio mechanic. While training at RAF Blackpool as air gunner wireless operator, he re-mustered as a pilot. He remembers being posted to 23 Squadron at RAF Little Snoring, where he…
Interview with Joan Ray
Joan Ray was born in Doncaster on the 11th March 1925. She suffered problems with her eyes in her early life and tells of the impact it had, including problems with reading and writing. She spent time in domestic service working at Hesley Hall in…