Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Heather Hughes]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> South Africa]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Scotland--Wigtownshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Clare Bennett]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Emma Bonson]]> Heather Hughes]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Warwickshire]]> Croatia--Rijeka]]> Danube River]]> Egypt]]> Italy--Foggia]]> Poland--Warsaw]]> Italy]]> Poland]]> Romania--Ploiești]]> Croatia]]> Romania]]> Danube River]]> 1944]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Memoro. Die Bank der Erinnerungen]]> Peter Schulze]]> Royalty-free permission to publish]]> deu]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Germany--Grünwald]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1943]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Dawn Studd]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Saskatchewan--Moose Jaw]]> England--London]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> Wales]]> Saskatchewan]]> William Taylor]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Karl Williams]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France--Revigny-sur-Ornain]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> 1944-07]]> 1944-07-18]]> 1945]]> 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]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Lancashire]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Claire Campbell]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> British Army]]> Great Britain]]> Italy]]> Italy--Anzio]]> 1943-01-18]]> 1944]]> 1945-01]]> Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Emma Bonson]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> Italy]]> England--London]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Italy--Pomigliano d'Arco]]> Germany--Berchtesgaden]]> 1944-05-08]]> 1945]]> Jean Macartney]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1943]]> 1945]]> Rob Gray]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> California--San Francisco]]> United States]]> California]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Stephen describes the preparations for missions, the cold and how the pilot would corkscrew as he approached targets. Following two trips to Essen and on his second trip to Berlin, his aircraft crashed. Another three Lancasters went down with no survivors. Upon landing in the snow he was captured by the German home guard and sent to an interrogation camp at Frankfurt. A person, claiming to be from the Red Cross tried to interview him but Stephen had been warned of this ruse and refused to answer any questions.
He and the other crew members were taken to Stalag VIII-B in Lamsdorf, near the Polish border. The conditions were very difficult with very little water and food. They burnt bed boards from their three-tier bunks to make tea and replaced them with string from Red Cross food parcels. The sanitary conditions were poor. Stephen, however, felt they were treated fairly.
He describes in detail the deplorable conditions in the camp. During his stay he escaped three times by exchanging identities with a member of a working party but was recaptured every time and punished by solitary confinement. He knew he had little chance of escaping as he couldn't speak German but wanted to keep the Germans occupied. He discusses some of the amusing incidents which occurred and outlines the entertainment activities in the camp. Stephen’s mother was informed he was missing, and his name read out as a prisoner of war by Lord Haw-Haw [William Joyce].
In 1945, he embarked on a gruelling march to escape from the approaching Russian army, often resorting to eating raw chicken and rabbit. Eventually the guards disappeared and he was picked up and looked after by the Americans and flown back to England for medical treatment. Stephen developed beriberi, weighing only seven stone. He was flown back to RAF Cosford in a C-47. After treatment he was sent to India as there were no flying post available in England. After the war ended, he was sent home to Blackpool for demob and worked in the coal mines, as a coal handler in the mills, a maintenance engineer and finally as a mill manager.
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Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Terry Holmes]]> Sally Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Poland--Łambinowice]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]>
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]]> Peter and Sandra Jones]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Janet McGreevy]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Cyprus]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> Yemen (Republic)--Aden]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Rutland]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Yemen (Republic)]]> Germany]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hugh Donnelly]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Fighter Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Miriam Sharland]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal New Zealand Air Force]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> New Zealand]]> Andorra]]> France--Perpignan]]> 1940]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> Dan Ellin]]> Heather Hughes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Brian May]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Sorpe Dam]]> 1940]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> Jean Macartney]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated S Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> New York (State)--New York]]> New York (State)]]> 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]]> Burma]]> Great Britain]]> India]]> India--Bengal]]> Victoria]]> Victoria--Mount Martha]]> Victoria]]> 1941]]> 1943]]> 1945]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Canada]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Linda Saunders]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 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]]> Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Suffolk]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> 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]]> Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Adams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Dresden]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>