Anna Hoyles]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Egypt]]> Egypt--Cairo]]> France]]> Germany]]> Germany--Peenemünde]]> Gibraltar]]> Great Britain]]> Ireland]]> Italy]]> Mediterranean Sea]]> Middle East--Palestine]]> North Africa]]> ]]>
This item was provided, in digital form, by a third-party organisation which used technical specifications and operational protocols that may differ from those used by the IBCC Digital Archive.]]>
Geoff Burton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Polskie Siły Powietrzne]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Devon]]> Scotland--Benbecula]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> pol]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Polskie Siły Powietrzne]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> Singapore]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> France--Paris]]> Poland--Warsaw]]> 1939-08-28]]> 1939-09-01]]> 1940]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1945]]> Andrew Panton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Norway]]> Germany--Berchtesgaden]]> Norway--Bergen]]> Norway--Tromsø]]> Russia (Federation)--Arkhangelʹskai︠a︡ oblastʹ]]> Scotland--Lossiemouth]]> Russia (Federation)]]> Russia (Federation)]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 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]]>
In accordance with the conditions stipulated by the donor, this item is available only at the University of Lincoln.]]>
John Horsburgh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]>
Enlisting as a wireless operator/air gunner his Morse code speed was very fast and he was sent to Ireland to monitor German signals. He spotted a German U-boat entering a bay and an alerted Hudson aircraft captured it. After further wireless training he was sent to RAF Stormy Down for gunnery training. He then continued his flight training at RAF Yatesbury where his first flight in a Proctor ended in a crash landing as the Dutch pilot had run out of fuel. He was immediately sent back up so as to not lose his nerve. Colin describes in detail how to take radio bearings
He remembers one momentous operation when the replacement rear gunner ordered the pilot to take evasive action by diving, which was very fortuitous as they nearly collided with an enemy fighter, flying beneath them, which was lining up to attack them. After diving to a lower level, a shell passed through the fuselage without exploding, narrowly missing all the crew. With one engine stopped they struggled home and met a flight of United States Army Air Forces bombers who were lost and who followed the Halifax home to RAF Leconfield and landed there. The problem was attributed to the American system of pre-flight briefing.
Colin flew 38 operations and upon leaving the RAF took up a career in sales.
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Andrew Sadler]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Terry Holmes]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Wales--Bridgend]]> England--London]]> Germany]]> Ireland]]>

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]]>
Stefano Usai]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Stefano Usai]]> ita]]> Sound]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Italy]]> Italy--Alghero]]> France]]> France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)]]> 1943-05-17]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Oxfordshire]]> Scotland--Greenock]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 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]]> Anne Brodie]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Peter Schulze]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> This content is available as embedded video:

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Heather Hughes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Moving image]]> Civilian]]> Wehrmacht. Kriegsmarine]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Kiel]]> England--Flixborough]]> England--Scunthorpe]]> 1948]]> 1974-06-01]]>
Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Tilly Foster]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--Manchester]]> Atlantic Ocean--English Channel]]> Germany]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> England--Lancashire]]> 1939]]> 1944-08]]> 1946]]> 1948]]> Julian Maslin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Norfolk]]> England--Suffolk]]> Wales--Vale of Glamorgan]]> France]]> Germany]]> Poland]]> France--Saint-Nazaire]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Germany--Rüsselsheim]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> 1942]]> 1942-10]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1944-12]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 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)]]> Harry Bartlett]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Graham Emmet]]> Steve Baldwin]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Scotland--Moray]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Canada]]> Ontario]]> Ontario--Trenton]]> New Brunswick]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> United States]]> Florida]]> Florida--Lakeland]]> South Africa]]> Germany]]> Germany--Essen]]> Germany--Cologne]]> Atlantic Ocean--North Sea]]> Pakistan]]> Pakistan--Karachi]]> Germany--Chemnitz]]> Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> South Africa--Vereeniging]]> 1944-10-25]]> 1944-12-02]]> 1945-01-02]]> 1945-05]]> 1945-06]]> Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Netherlands]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Isle of Wight]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Dresden]]> England--Hampshire]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945-02]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hugh Donnelly]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary. Allocated S Coulter]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Indian Ocean]]> Yemen (Republic)]]> Yemen (Republic)--Aden]]> Yemen (Republic)--Socotra]]> Kenya]]> Kenya--Nairobi]]> Africa]]> 1944-05-02]]> Heather Hughes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> South Africa]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> 1939]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1945]]> 1946]]> 1947]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> David Kavanagh]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Staffordshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany]]> Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea]]> Germany--Kiel]]> Netherlands]]> 1945-05-08]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> England--Yorkshire]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Walter Raymond Stevenson volunteered for the RAF as soon as he was eighteen and trained as a wireless operator/air gunner, learning Morse code at RAF Yatesbury. He flew with 'sprog' pilots as they trained and was posted to Number 3 Air Gunnery School at RAF Mona. He was flying in Bothas, which he disliked, before converting to Wellingtons. Despite hating the sunshine, he was posted to a number of locations in the Middle East and Africa. He served with 621 Squadron whose role was to prevent German submarines from attacking shipping. He details the operation where he sighted submarine U852 which the crew bombed with depth chargers, visibly damaging the submarine. The commander of that submarine was later executed for the war crime of firing upon the survivors of the sinking ship, The Peleus. After demobilisation Walter returned to blacksmithing before switching to car repair work. 

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Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> Walter was ‘called up’ to RAF Squires Gate, Blackpool for ‘square bashing’. Despite being informed that blacksmiths and joiners were desperately needed, but Walter was equally fixed on becoming aircrew. Here he learnt Morse code. Next was RAF Yatesbury to learn wireless telegraphy, before qualifying as a radio operator. He was then posted to 608 Squadron RAF Thornaby, Yorkshire, a Costal Command station. After a year there, Walter went to No 3 Air Gunnery School RAF Mona, Anglesey. Walter trained using the Botha which he thinks is a ‘horrible one’ and became a qualified air gunner. Then came RAF Hooton Part, Wirral Peninsula and OTU RAF Silloth, Cumbria. At Silloth Walter was a W/op AG flying in Wellingtons. Here he met ‘the bravest and daftest pilot in the RAF’, called Bond, James Bond. Walter was now sent to 303 FTU RAF Talbenny, Pembrokeshire.
Walter was sent to RAF Hurn, Bournemouth. From Hurn he flew to Gibraltar and then to RAF Rabat, Cairo, Middle East Command, Egypt. He whole crew then flew via Juba to Mogadishu. Before he could arrive, they were diverted to RAF Eastleigh, Mombasa, Kenya. Walter was to fly from Scusciuban, Somaliland on detachment from the squadron. He feels that this location was ‘diabolical’. There were three W/op AGs in the crew, and they rotated the wireless operator’s role with two hours on the set. The set was technically known as the IT but amongst the crew as ITV.
The navigator knew the U-852 was surfacing and its possible location. The plane was unable to fly high due to low cloud cover, so Walter was able to visually sight the U-Boat from the second dicky seat. He moved to the front air gunner’s position, and after firing on all those in or moving to the U-Boat’s conning tower, it submerged. The plane circled the area thinking that the U-Boat was ‘Whacko’ and saw it re-surface, so depth charges were dropped in a ‘stick’. The gunner aboard opened fire with 37mm. Walter feels that they were poor gunners as the plane was never hit and they were the only aircraft in the sky. After the attack to U-Boat was guided to the shore and breached. The captain was executed with two other officers from the crew as war criminals for their behaviour earlier in the war.
Walter was sent on with his squadron to assist 8 Squadron in Ade, where they received ‘red hot’ gen about the shipping. He was posted to Khormaksar then Transjordan. He was there for about six weeks for the RAF Aircraft instructor’s course, before returning to England.
Walter was never confronted with a case of LMF but is both annoyed by it and understands that it was something never discussed. He describes the differing treatment to NCOs and Officers with LMF as NCOs were punished for it, but Officers were not.
Walter was posted as a warrant officer to RAF Scampton to be the Sports Officer. He was demobbed at either RAF Conningsby or RAF Scampton in August 1946. He returned to blacksmithing, married Lilian at the Town Hall in Wycombe in 1947. Walter is in the Royal British Legion and the RAFA. He no longer attends meetings as he is without a car.

Claire Campbell]]>
eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Coastal Command]]> Egypt]]> Great Britain]]> Kenya]]> Somalia]]> Middle East]]> Indian Ocean]]> Egypt--Cairo]]> Kenya--Mombasa]]> Somalia--Mogadishu]]> North Africa]]> Africa]]> South Sudan]]> South Sudan--Juba]]> Sudan]]> 1940-10]]> 1941]]> 1942-05-02]]> 1943-02-24]]>
Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Rutland]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Atlantic Ocean]]> France]]> Gibraltar]]> Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay]]> Germany]]> Atlantic Ocean--Kiel Bay]]> 1944]]>