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]]> Les Rutherford]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Alan Pinchbeck]]> Dianne Kinsella]]> Sally Des Forges]]> Jon-Paul Jones]]> Jan Morgan]]> Emily Jennings]]> Laura Morgan]]> Ashley Jacobs]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Diary]]> Artwork]]> Map]]> Photograph]]> Text. Poetry]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Poland]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 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]]>
]]> Donald Gould]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> United States]]> Adam Purcell]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Poland--Opole (Voivodeship)]]> 1939]]> 1942-05]]> 1943]]> 1944-01]]> Tom Ozel]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Germany]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Sheila Bibb]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> Egypt]]> Italy]]> South Africa]]> North Africa]]> Egypt--Sidi Barrani]]> 1945]]> Jean Macartney]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Suffolk]]> Clare Bennett]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Christine Kavanagh]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Australia]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> United States]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> ]]> Ron Merrideth]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hugh Donnelly]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> France--Revigny-sur-Ornain]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> 1944-07]]> 1945-02]]> 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]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Karl Williams]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Poland]]> Poland--Opole (Voivodeship)]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Germany]]> Germany--Winterfeld]]> 1945-01-19]]> 1945-02-08]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Karl Williams]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Poland]]> Poland--Opole (Voivodeship)]]> 1945-01-18]]> 1945-01-19]]> Chris Brockbank]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Hugh Donnelly]]> Pending review]]> Pending OH summary]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> Geoffrey North]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Claire Monk]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army]]> Germany]]> Germany--Bocholt]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Germany--Eppstein im Taunus]]> Germany--Neustadt an der Weinstrasse]]> Germany--Moosburg an der Isar]]> Germany--Landshut]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Aylesbury]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Leighton Buzzard]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Telford]]> France--Reims]]> 1945-02-21]]> 1945-02]]> 1945-03]]> 1945-04-04]]> 1945-04]]> 1945-04-29]]> 1945-05]]> 1945-05-10]]> 1945-05-11]]> Geoffrey North]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> David Bloomfield]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Emily Jennings]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Germany]]> Germany--Bocholt]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Germany--Eppstein im Taunus]]> Germany--Neustadt an der Weinstrasse]]> Germany--Moosburg an der Isar]]> Germany--Landshut]]> France]]> Great Britain]]> England--Buckinghamshire]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Cambridgeshire]]> France--Juvincourt-et-Damary]]> 1945-02-21]]> 1945-02]]> 1945-03]]> 1945-04-04]]> 1945-04]]> 1945-05]]> 1945-05-10]]> 1945-05-11]]> 1945-09]]> Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> South Africa]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Essen]]> Wales--Carmarthen]]> Netherlands]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> 1939]]> 1943-02]]> Gary Rushbrooke]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> United States Army Air Force]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> England--London]]> Germany]]> Germany--Lüneburg]]> Germany--Augsburg]]> Germany--Bad Fallingbostel]]> Lithuania]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> Italy]]> Andrew Sadler]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Jackie Simpson]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Germany--Oberursel]]> Wales--Cardiff]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943-10-22]]> 1944]]> 1945-01-19]]> 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]]>
This content is available as embedded video:

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Dan Ellin]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Moving image]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
At the age of 16, Eric had an apprenticeship as an indentured apprentice marine engineer at Liverpool docks, however wanted to serve, however he was classed as being in a reserved occupation, so therefore could only volunteer as aircrew.
Eric flew Avro Ansons, Vickers Wellingtons, before moving on to Short Stirlings with 1654 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Wigsley where he trained as a rear gunner. He then flew Avro Lancasters with 463 RAAF Squadron at Waddington.
He flew missions to France, Nuremburg, Dortmund-Ems canal, Brunswick and targets in the Ruhr. Eric was shot down on 6 November 1944 and was taken prisoner of war, and he tells of his escape from the camp when it was liberated by the Russian forces.
After returning to the United Kingdom, Eric ran the Prisoner of War Camps, before leaving the Royal Air Force and joining the 40th Kings Royal Tank Regiment, and served 6 years as a Troop Commander.
Eric left the Army in 1956 and worked for his father as a salesman in the motor car industry. He started his own business and by the rime he retired, he had built up four businesses which he ran for approximately 30 years.]]>
Brian Wright]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Vivienne Tincombe]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> British Army]]> Great Britain]]> England--Merseyside]]> England--Cheshire]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> England--Shropshire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Northern Ireland--Down (County)]]> England--Liverpool]]> France]]> Germany]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Braunschweig]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]>
Norman went to 101 Squadron and learnt to fly Lancasters, serving as a bomb aimer. He describes his first operation to Mailly-Le-Camp where over 40 Lancasters, out of 350, were lost.
Norman’s aircraft was shot down over Dortmund with the death of five crew members. He was captured, as were the pilot and navigator. After the Frankfurt Interrogation Centre, they went to a camp in Wetzlar. Norman then went to Stalag Luft 7 at Bankau in Silesia, followed by four months in another camp. The Germans evacuated prisoner of war camps in January 1945 following Russian attacks. Norman marched on a “death march” for three weeks in snow to Luckenwalde, a camp with 20-25,000 men.
Norman escaped with the Americans via Hildesheim and Le Havre before returning to Britain. He was posted to RAF Cosford but could only leave when he had regained weight, which took six months. He finished in February 1946 with the rank of warrant officer.]]>
Mick Jeffery]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sally Coulter]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Leicestershire]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Canada]]> Nova Scotia]]> Nova Scotia--Halifax]]> France]]> France--Mailly-le-Camp]]> Germany]]> Germany--Ruhr (Region)]]> Germany--Dortmund]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> 1941]]> 1942]]> 1943]]> 1944]]> 1945]]> 1945-01]]> 1946]]> 1946-02]]>
Gemma Clapton]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Carolyn Emery]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Canada]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> United States]]> Oklahoma--Ponca City]]> England--Nottinghamshire]]> Oklahoma]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Germany--Spremberg]]> 1940]]> 1944]]> 1945]]>
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Annie Moody]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Julie Williams]]> Pending review]]> Pending revision of OH transcription]]> eng]]> Sound]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Poland]]> England--Yorkshire]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> 1944-09]]>