1
25
227
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/911/26984/MKilleenKAL184115-170703-020001.2.jpg
6bc5e4c861d3e9cb816b6937f7c24874
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/911/26984/MKilleenKAL184115-170703-020002.2.jpg
c38fcb9982874f70f54a1e039690a5f7
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Killeen, Kenneth
Kenneth Alfred Leonard Killeen
K A L Killeen
Description
An account of the resource
20 items. An oral history interview with Flying Officer Kenneth Killeen (b. 1922, 184115, Royal Air Force), his log books, photographs and documents. He flew operations as a navigator with 115 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Kenneth Killeen and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-07-03
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Killeen, KAL
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined]Witchford Airfield[/underlined]
[underlined]Operations night 18th/19th April 1944[/underlined]
Form B 412 received from Headquarters No. 3 Group. Take off 22.27 to 22.55.
27 aircraft were detailed to attack Rouen, 1 aircraft failed to take off. 26 aircraft took off between 22.27 hrs. and 22.55 hrs. In clear weather with some ground haze, the target was identified by Red and Green target indicators of Pathfinder Force.
Some crews were able to identify the target visually by bend in river and lights from streets in built up areas. Pathfinder Force seemed scattered and also had two distinct concentrations. The Master of Ceremonies advised bombing to South East of target indicators and this advice was picked up by many crews and used. Bombs were dropped from heights varying between 12,500 ft and 14,500 ft. Many fires and bomb bursts were seen and generally the raid was considered successful.
[underlined]Aircraft and Pilots that took off on the Rouen Raid [/underlined]
A.LM 510
C.ND 800
LHK 545
W/O. L.Hemmings
S/L. J.R.Grant
P/O. E.Moon
G.ME 718
F/S.
Burdettem
D.LL 880
H.ND 790
J.HK 548
E.HK 545
B.ED 631
N.LL 716
V.DS 620
Q.DS 787
R.LL 667
S.LL 641
U.LL 666
W.DS 781
Y.DS 734
F/S. S.Francis
F/S. H.Taylor
F/L. C.D. Rash
F/S. W.C.Shadforth
Sgt. R.Lemoine
S/L. C.H.Baigent DFC-BAR
F/L. G.C.Hammond AUS 415249 RAAF
P/O. E.Gibson AUS 410049
P/O. J.Birnie
F/L. R.Milgate AUS 409932
F IS. C. Campbell
P/O. G.H.R.Treasure NZ 414699 RNZAF
F/S. R.Gagienard
Z.LL 726 P/O. B.A.Rowe-Evans
E.ND 760 F/S. R.Stewart
J.LL 867 F/L. C.Eddy NZ 23900 RNZAF
G.ME 692 P/O. S.W.Holder NZ 421054 RNZAF
C.ND 803 P/O. D.Cameron
H.LL 864 F/S. R.Maude
K.ND 753 P/O. R.Chantler
D.ND 754 F/O. C.Clarey AUS 426312 RAAF
A.ND 758 Sgt. C.Quinton
The above aircraft carried 72 x 1,000 lb GP x 1,000 lb MC and 208 lb MC bombs.
On returning to Witchford, Aircraft B.EO 631 Capt.Sgt. R.Lemoine undercarriage collapsed three quarters of the way down runway on landing. Aircraft KO-R Ll667 Capt. PlO. J.Birnie and A4-J LL867 Capt. F/Lt. C.Eddy were shot down over the airfield by an enemy ME410 which had followed the
Lancasters home. Both aircraft crashed beyond the airfield in West Fen.
[underlined]The full crew list for the two Lancasters shot down over base are as follows:[/underlined]
Lancaster KO-R LL667 MKII
P/O.
F/Sgt.
P/O.
Sgt.
Sgt.
Sgt.
Sgt.
J.Birnie
D.Jones
L.Feldman
LKirwin
G.Bailey
W.McMillan
J.Ferguson
Capt.
Nav.
A/B. RCAF.
WOP/AG.
R/G.
M/U RCAF.
F/E
Lancaster A4-JLL867 MKI
F/L.
F/O
F/Sgt.
F/Sgt.
W/O.
Sgt.
Sgt.
C.Eddy Capt RNZAF.
A.Smith Nav.
H.Pugh A.B.
J.Maddox WOP/AG.
H.Bennis R/G. RCAF.
A:Langridge M/U.
W.Murphy F/E.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Witchford Airfield Operations 18th/19th April 1944
Description
An account of the resource
The document covers an operation on Rouen on the night of 18/19 April 1944. It describes the attack and details the aircraft and pilots that took part.
Two aircraft were shot down by a Me 410 as they were landing. The crews are listed.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-04-19
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two typed sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MKilleenKAL184115-170703-020001, MKilleenKAL184115-170703-020002
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Australian Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Great Britain
England--Cambridgeshire
France--Rouen
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
3 Group
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
Distinguished Flying Cross
flight engineer
Lancaster
Master Bomber
Me 410
navigator
Pathfinders
pilot
RAF Witchford
shot down
target indicator
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/622/10649/PPayneR1504.2.jpg
cf0561a8e44a6ef15c3e2945a91e9b15
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/622/10649/PPayneR1705.2.jpg
30556261e753f4021cde28ef5b6daedd
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Payne, Reg
R Payne
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Payne, R
Description
An account of the resource
14 items. Two oral history interviews with Reg Payne (1923 - 2022, 1435510 Royal Air Force), his memoirs and photographs. Reg Payne completed a tour of operations as a wireless operator with 50 Squadron from RAF Skellingthorpe. His pilot on operations was Michael Beetham. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Reg Payne and catalogued by Barry Hunter.<br /><br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Fred Ball. Additional information on Fred Ball is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/100970/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.<a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/ball-fc/"></a></p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-07-03
2017-08-25
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wireless operator training RAF Yatesbury
Description
An account of the resource
A group of six airmen arranged in two rows. Reg Payne is top left.
On the reverse
'W/Op training RAF Yatesbury
Reg Payne
Keith Kenway
Robbie Robertson
Ron Boydon
George Plank
Eric "Tubby" Melhuish'.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PPayneR1504,
PPayneR1705
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Wiltshire
aircrew
RAF Yatesbury
training
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1883/35755/PPickF1728.2.jpg
bdee6369f042bea1c493fd775eaf9dbe
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1883/35755/PPickF1729.2.jpg
59ac5b68b2d7251eed38c06d95584f9f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pick, Erick
Frederick Pick
F Pick
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-26
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Pick, F
Description
An account of the resource
21 items. The collection concerns Frederick Pick (1685075 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 57 and 227 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Gillian M Christian and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Loneragen
Cartwright Jeavons
Pick
Tyror
Firth
Chapman
Crago
Lane
Cronan
Carslake
Crossland
79 Course WOP/AG’s
[page break]
O Loneragen
R Jeavons
R Tyron.
E Kirk
CW Lane.
C Cressland
J Coultham.
G Cartwright
S Chapman.
CG Crago
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Description
An account of the resource
Twelve aircrew posed in two rows, names applied during processing, captioned '79 Course W.OP./AG's'. Signatures on the reverse.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PPickF1728, PPickF1729
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Title
A name given to the resource
Wireless operator / air gunners course photograph
aircrew
training
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/622/10648/PPayneR1503.1.jpg
754f79e5847888a89d4d22a9ab19e1f0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Payne, Reg
R Payne
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Payne, R
Description
An account of the resource
14 items. Two oral history interviews with Reg Payne (1923 - 2022, 1435510 Royal Air Force), his memoirs and photographs. Reg Payne completed a tour of operations as a wireless operator with 50 Squadron from RAF Skellingthorpe. His pilot on operations was Michael Beetham. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Reg Payne and catalogued by Barry Hunter.<br /><br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Fred Ball. Additional information on Fred Ball is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/100970/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.<a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/ball-fc/"></a></p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-07-03
2017-08-25
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wireless operator / air gunner training
Description
An account of the resource
A group of 12 airmen, all in fatigues except one man wearing a shirt and tie. On their left is an air raid shelter. Reg Payne is third from the right, back row.
Additional information about this item has been kindly provided by the donor.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PPayneR1503
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
aircrew
training
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/638/24023/LShawWH189217v1.1.pdf
bc32b8d8ccaa9151d11d5390350503ed
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Shaw, William Horace
W H Shaw
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Shaw, WH
Description
An account of the resource
An oral history interview with William Horace Shaw (1892171 Royal Air Force). He flew operations as a wireless operator / air gunner with 37 Squadron.
The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-27
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
William Shaw’s navigator’s, air bomber’s and air gunner’s flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Navigator’s, air bomber’s and air gunner’s flying log book for W H Shaw, wireless operator, covering the period from 26 November 1943 to 16 February 1947. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and post war flying with 37 Squadron, 168 Maintenance Unit, transit aircraft section and Middle East communications and support. He was stationed at RAF Yatesbury, RAF Evanton, RAF Aqir, RAF Abu Sueir, RAF Tortorella, RAF Shallufa and RAF Heliopolis. Aircraft flown in were Dominie, Proctor, Anson, Wellington, Liberator, Dakota, Argus, Warwick, York and Oxford. He flew two operations with 37 Squadron. Targets were Verona and Freilassing. His pilots on operations were Wing Commander Harris and Sergeant Tulley. The log book also contains a portrait photo of him and two photos of the targets. It also lists his civilian flying details.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LShawWH189217v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Egypt
Germany
Great Britain
Israel
Italy
Egypt--Cairo
England--Wiltshire
Egypt--Ismailia (Province)
Germany--Freilassing
Italy--Foggia (Province)
Italy--Verona
Scotland--Ross and Cromarty
North Africa
Egypt--Suez Canal
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1945-04-23
1945-04-24
1945-04-25
1945-04-26
1945-06-03
37 Squadron
aerial photograph
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
B-24
bombing
C-47
Dominie
Heavy Conversion Unit
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Proctor
RAF Abu Sueir
RAF Aqir
RAF Evanton
RAF Shallufa
RAF Yatesbury
target photograph
training
Wellington
wireless operator
wireless operator / air gunner
York
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1615/24618/PCothliffKB15030038.1.jpg
978f39b72fa846f706528415ca1ed7c9
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1615/24618/PCothliffKB15030039.2.jpg
6388701097401091bc6e071990ccea39
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cothliff, Ken 427 and 429 Squadrons
Description
An account of the resource
151 items. The collection contains photographs of personnel from 427 and 429 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ken Cothliff and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cothliff, K
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[photograph]
Tom Farr Bomb Aimer
Dave Foster Pilot
Ed Carter-Edwards Wireless Airgunner
Martin Donnan Rear Gunner
Mickey Ford Upper Gunner
Gord Waddell Navigator
George Philliskirk Flight Engineer
427 Squadron Halifax III ZL-K
[page break]
[a] POSN [b] RANK [c] NAME [d] NUMBER [e] HOME [f] AGE
[a] CAPT [b] W/O [c] Foster D.F. [d] R136520
[a] NAV [b] F/O [c] Waddell C.M. [d] J24620
[a] AB [b] F/O [c] Farr T.W. [d] J26297
[a] WOP [b] Sgt. [c] Carter-Edwards, E. [d] R186108 [e] P.O.W. 19.1.45
[a] FE [b] Sgt. [c] Philliskirk, G.W. [d] 1874051
[a] MU/AG [b] Sgt. [c] Ford C.W. [d] R223522 [e] P.O.W. 8.6.44
[a] R/AG [b] Sgt. [c] Donnan M. [d] R171503
[photograph]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Warrant Officer DF Foster and Crew
Description
An account of the resource
A copy of a photograph of seven airmen at the tail of their Halifax III, ZL-K. Each airmen and their role is identified on the caption.
A second image is a better quality photograph of the seven airmen in a row,
Two of the men have POW added to their caption.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two b/w photographs
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCothliffKB15030038,
PCothliffKB15030039
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Steve Baldwin
427 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
flight engineer
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
navigator
pilot
prisoner of war
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2047/33328/ABiltonGHA960623-0001.1.pdf
68edbe099b5e26f2922404b2fb056c11
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2047/33328/ABiltonGHA960623.1.mp3
3f3f5cac621761fcd3088cee74a5d0fd
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Title
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Bilton, George Henry Albert
G H A Bilton
Description
An account of the resource
Nineteen items. The collection concerns George Henry Albert Bilton (b. 1923, 175723 Royal Air Force) and contains an oral history interview, his log book, correspondence and photographs. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 428 and 434 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Anthony Bilton and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2018-09-14
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Bilton, GHA
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
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[Music]
I: Were you born in Hull?
GB: Well, outside of Hull at Anlaby.
I: Which year were you born?
GB: 1923. October.
I: And what did your father do for a living?
GB: He was a coach builder for, well it’s now British Railway but first of all Hull and Barnsley. Then it was taken over by the London Northeastern and he built the coaches and the waggons. He was with them all his life.
I: Did you go to school in Anlaby?
GB: Anlaby Church of England School. And then the last two years I was at Hessle School when they closed the Church of England one down. I left school 1938.
I: So you were fourteen.
GB: Fourteen. Yeah.
I: Did you get a job?
GB: Yes. I went and got a job as an apprentice furniture salesman.
I: In Hull.
GB: In Hull. At Harry Jacobs Furniture.
I: Were you doing that when war broke out?
GB: Oh, I was still with them when war broke out. I was with them until I went into the Forces in 1942.
I: What was your reaction when you heard Chamberlain make the declaration that we were at war with Germany?
GB: Well, I think it was a bit too young and didn’t know anything about it but I volunteered for an ARP messenger boy and I was accepted and that kept us busy on a night time. Even with practices.
I: Where did you volunteer for it?
GB: Anlaby House which became the Central Headquarters for the ARP in Haltemprice. It is now the headquarters of Beverley Borough Council. The same house.
I: What kind of work did you have to do as an ARP messenger boy?
GB: Well, if any of the telephone lines were broken in a raid we had to go out and take messages from one post to another.
I: By foot?
GB: No. On our bikes.
I: Did you have a uniform?
GB: No. Just a steel helmet and an extra special gas mask. That’s all.
I: What was extra special about it?
GB: Well, it was more like the Services one. Not like the ordinary civilian gas mask.
I: What was the difference between the two?
GB: Well, it was heavier and, well and you just, you didn’t have the mask at the face. You had a small canister at the side.
I: So you didn’t have the protuberance.
GB: No. That’s right.
I: Did you have an arm band to show who you were?
GB: Yes. ARP messenger, that was all and the steel helmet with M on.
I: What did M mean? For messenger.
GB: For messenger.
I: Did you get paid for it?
GB: No. It was all voluntary. No. Nothing at all. You, you, when the sirens went you reported to Anlaby House and you stayed there until the siren all clear and then you went back home.
I: Whereabouts did you do this work?
GB: In Anlaby. The farthest we ever had to bring a message was from Anlaby to Cottingham when the lines were down.
I: Did you enjoy doing it?
GB: Oh yes. I did.
I: Could you have thrown it up any time you liked?
GB: Any time you wanted you could decide to finish and that was it.
I: Was there competition to get these jobs?
GB: Well, there was about four of us and that’s all they needed. They all went in the Forces and of the four there was one killed.
I: How did that happen?
[pause]
GB: It was a lad called John Harding. He was killed in Italy about a month after the war. He went all through the desert, all through Italy and he was killed about a month after the war moving shells from the artillery.
I: Were there any incidents that happened to you after you had done the messenger work?
GB: Not really.
I: That you can recount.
GB: No, there was, it was very very quiet in the area of Haltemprice. All the damage that was done was done in Hull. I think we had what five bombs dropped in the village of Anlaby and they were unexploded.
I: Whereabouts did they drop?
GB: At the, two or three hundred yards from Anlaby House down Woodlands Drive in a snicket.
I: A snicket being a cut through.
GB: A cut through. Yes. They did no damage. The Army came, found them and exploded them.
I: Was anybody injured?
GB: No. There was no injuries whatsoever.
I: When did the bombs drop on Anlaby? Which year would that have been?
GB: That was in the big raid of 1940. May the 8th 1941.
I: ’41. Any others that you remember that dropped in Anlaby?
GB: None at all. There was only the five.
I: Did you ever see the damage in Hull?
GB: Yes. I used to work in Hull. The place where I was employed in Jameson Street was completely gutted during the 1941 raid.
I: What was the name again?
GB: Harry Jacobs Furniture, Jameson Street.
I: What else did you see of the damage in Hull?
GB: All of Jameson Street were moved. Our offices were down Osbourne Street and that was severely damaged. You could see all of Paragon Square which was Hammonds at the time was gutted. There was a terrific amount of damage done and especially in the Stoneferry District where the oil mills were and the flour mills around it.
I: Did people come out of Hull to Anlaby to get away from the bombing?
GB: Yes, they did. They built a camp down Lowfield Road in Anlaby for displaced personnel from the raids and there was one built on Priory Road just outside Cottingham which was taken up by people who had been bombed out. Those two camps after the war housed the young couples who got married and they had no housing. When I got married in ’51 I finished up in one of those converted accommodations for a year before I got a house.
I: What were they like?
GB: Alright.
I: Just describe them.
GB: Well, they were two little bedroom. You had a small bedroom, small living room and there was a small like kitchen for cooking and doing your washing. In Priory Road where the camp is we spent a year in there didn’t we before we came to Cottingham. There were no housing at all and they were in use for about ten years before they were finally closed down.
I: What was the standard of accommodation like?
GB: Poor. Single bricks. Very damp. Corrugated roof.
I: Wasn’t it later used to house Poles?
GB: That’s correct. Yes.
I: Now, can you tell me how you came to be in the Air Force?
GB: I volunteered for air crew in, when I was eighteen in what we called a Selection Board. And I was accepted as a wireless operator air gunner.
I: When you, which year would this have been?
GB: That was 1941. I was eighteen in October ‘41 and I volunteered then and went down for an interview at Padgate. I went through the examinations. Then my medical and then the Aircrew Selection Board and I was accepted for training as a w/op a g.
I: Why did you volunteer for it?
GB: I was, I should have made a very very poor sailor and my father always said, ‘Don’t go in the Army.’ He’d had enough.
I: So you wanted to exercise a choice before you were directed.
GB: Before I was directed.
I: But you were. Did you become a w/op air gunner?
GB: No. There was, they had a tremendous influx of people wanting to be w/op a g’s and I think I’d been waiting about four months to go in and they were short of flight engineers for training so they asked me if I would like to take a test board and become a flight engineer for training. And I accepted that instead of waiting. So I was called up in August ’42. Went to Blackpool. Did my initial training footslogging and I stayed in Blackpool then for about ten months doing a flight mechanic and a fitter’s course. Passed out AC1 flight mechanic and AC1 fitter and I went down to St Athans for six weeks to do the Halifax course and I waited then in August ’43 and I was posted from St Athans up to Number 6 Group, a Heavy Conversion Unit 1664 which was then at Croft and I crewed up with a Canadian and English mixed crew on August 1943.
I: In that training did you run into any problems?
GB: None at all. The only time I got jankers was for failing to carry a bayonet whilst on duty [laughs] and I got seven days CB for it and I swore never again to do any punishment.
I: What happened to you on the CB?
GB: CB? Well, you reported at 6 o’clock after you’d done all your schoolwork for three hours of square bashing. Fifty five minutes square bashing, five minutes off with full kit. Saturday you scrubbed the NAAFI out at Squire’s Gate and it was a huge one. Sunday you reported after Church Parade on the hour every hour until 10 o’clock at night. That was enough. No more. So I kept my shoes clean after that.
I: Did you resent the punishment?
GB: Not really. It taught you to behave yourself.
I: What did you think of the quality of training that you got?
GB: Very good. The instructors were very good. I had no complaints whatsoever against any of the instructors. They were always fair and they helped you whenever. All the way through the course.
I: Were you taught what you had to know or did they miss any?
GB: Well, I think the original entries for flight engineers were given far too much training on engines. You didn’t have to become a fitter to become a flight engineer as they found out later. They shortened the course to about a twelve week course where it took me nearly a year. You didn’t have to be a qualified flight fitter engine to become a flight engineer.
I: What did a flight engineer have to do in a bomber?
GB: Look after chiefly the control of the engines, the petrol consumption, know the hydraulic systems and all the emergencies. Assist in take-off and landing.
I: If the pilot had been hit would you have been able to pilot it?
GB: It would have been a struggle. As a Halifax flight engineer you didn’t have any pilot training. You were never on the controls whereas in a Lancaster you were. You acted as a second pilot for take-off and landing but on a Halifax bomber the bomb aimer assisted in take-off and landing.
I: Now, you said that you were posted to 6 Group. Can you tell me about what 6 Group was?
GB: 6 Group was the Halifax group financed by the Royal Canadian Government. They provided all the aircraft and the crews were mixed. I had three English and four Canadians in the crew. The pilot was, pilot, navigator and the two gunners Canadians. The wireless operator, the bomb aimer and myself were the English members of the crew.
I: How was the crew formed?
GB: Well, I met the crew. They’d done their Operational Training Unit course and they were posted up to Croft and ten crews and ten flight engineers were told, ‘Sort yourselves out.’ And they picked me and I accepted them and I went with them. You weren’t allocated. You weren’t told, ‘You fly with that man.’ Or, ‘You fly with them.’ You were left to individually sort yourself out which crew you wanted to go with. So if you met a sergeant in the mess, you know you knew him and you had a drink or two before you crewed up you went to him.
I: How did you like serving with Canadians?
GB: Oh, they were very good. Very friendly. They didn’t have the bull. The discipline wasn’t as severe on the Canadian group as it was on the English groups.
I: Can you give an example?
GB: Well, I mean you mixed freely with the, when I was an NCO you mixed freely with the two officers. The Canadian officers. No trouble at all calling you by your Christian names.
I: Now, what was your first operational squadron?
GB: My first operational squadron? Well. I lost my first pilot. We went to 427 squadron and Sergeant Dresser went on his second second dickie trip and never came back.
I: 427 was your first.
GB: First squadron at Leeming. So we were a crew without a captain.
I: When did you join that squadron do you think?
GB: We joined 427 Squadron 4th of September and we left on the 23rd of September. We were posted back to 1659 Conversion Unit Topcliffe where there was another pilot waiting for us.
I: So did you do any operations —
GB: None at all.
I: At that base?
GB: No. None whatsoever there. As I say the pilot never came back from his second, second dickie to Frankfurt.
I: So you were posted to a new squadron.
GB: No. A new Conversion Unit for a new pilot. A new pilot by the name of Watkins, a flying officer who had been instructing in Canada for nearly two years. He’d been, come over and we crewed up with him on the 24th of September with Flying Officer Watkins at 1659 Conversion Unit Topcliffe and we went through our month training with him again until the 7th of October ’43 where we were posted to 428 Squadron, Middleton St George.
I: And it was then you started operations.
GB: Operations. Yes. The first operation we did was the 3rd of November.
I: Can you describe what you remember of it?
GB: Very very little. It was Dusseldorf and everything seemed to be on top of you at the first you know. You didn’t take it all in. All I seem to remember is a little bit of flak and the flares going down for target indicators for bombing. Everything happened so fast on your first two or three trips that you hadn’t adjusted to operational flying. I learned more on my second op. We went to Ludwigshafen on the 18th of November.
I: What happened then?
GB: Well, first of all we got coned over the target. We got the master searchlight on us which was a bluey colour and he followed us and we got out of him after a lot of evasive action and as soon as we got out a fighter opened up on us and we got a good hiding. The rear gunner was severely wounded. The IFF that we had was damaged. Monica, which we had was damaged. All the trimming wires for elevator and rudders were cut. We had petrol tank wires cut from one, two and four tanks. All hydraulic pipes were cut. We couldn’t close the bomb doors. They were fully opened. We were in a mess and we got hit about twenty one thousand feet and by the time the pilot got control we were down to fifteen thousand. We had no navigational aids and the navigator brought us back by straight navigation of the Pole Star. We were off track coming back when we crossed over Ostend at fifteen thousand feet and they hit us with everything.
I: They what?
GB: Hit us with everything. They opened up with everything they had and we couldn’t take any evasive action. We just had to go through it.
I: This was the flak.
GB: Yeah. There was flaming onions coming up in between the tail plane and the main plane. It was rough. And then we crossed the coast and we still didn’t know exactly where we were so the skipper called up. The emergency call sign then was Darkie and Woodbridge accepted the call and we did a full emergency landing there.
I: What was the emergency landing like?
GB: It was very rough. We couldn’t get the undercarriage, it came down but I couldn’t lock it down. We tried everything. Put in to a shallow dive, pulling out to see if we could just pulling into a shallow dive, pulling out to see if we could just jerk it that two or three inches to make it lock and we couldn’t do that. We were all in the emergency positions coming in to land and just as they pulled up to do a belly landing it just threw it that little bit forward, the wheels, and they locked. So we were alright. We came out. The rear gunner we, we’d patched him up. We’d pumped morphine into him and he went to Norwich Hospital. We never saw him again. He was very badly wounded in the head. And we spent the night there and then an aircraft flew us back the next morning to our base at Middleton St George.
I: What was the date of that?
GB: 18th of November.
I: And which Halifax was it? What was it called?
GB: NA O-Oboe. We were just off on a night operation at 16.45 on a trip which lasted seven hours and five minutes.
I: Did that put you off wanting to go on operations after that experience?
GB: Not really. We were in operations again on the 26th of November. We took two spare gunners and we went to Stuttgart and we had a reasonable trip. We had no fighter trouble but when we went to a diversionary raid being done on Frankfurt and the Germans had laid what they called you know the fighter flares, the path the Mosquitoes were taking oh and it looked rough. We bypassed it and Stuttgart was quite you know quite a normal trip. A bit of flak. No fighters. But I think that got the confidence of the crew back.
I: When you went on these trips to Stuttgart and Ludwigshafen could you see other planes being hit?
GB: Not on those two. No. I never saw anything anyone shot down over Ludwigshafen, Stuttgart or the first trip Dusseldorf.
I: How did your next operations go?
GB: Well, the next operation was January the 20th 1944, Berlin and that was a rough one.
I: Can you describe it?
GB: Well, at one part the Germans had laid a flare path for fighter flares and they were among the bomber stream and we were going down. You could see the fire from the German aircraft and a small amount coming from our aircraft. The Allied aircraft and then you’d just see a ball of fire and it would hold steady for a minute or two then it would just go in to a dive. That was quite an experience to see it. When we got to Berlin we were in the first wave and the target indicators were a few seconds late and we got caught in predictive flak because we were the first wave. We had no cover from the metal strips. The tin foil that we threw out. It didn’t affect, it didn’t help you it helped the people behind you and we were a little bit off. [pause]
I: Which was the worse? This Berlin one or the Ludwigshafen?
GB: Ludwigshaven. Ludwigshaven was the worst. I mean we got a lot of shell, a lot of holes, a lot of damage. This Berlin it was just that you were in the predicted flak. We didn’t get hit. We didn’t have any fighter trouble. Berlin, Ludwigshafen I’ll never forget it. Never.
I: Was Berlin a particularly dreaded place to go to?
GB: It was, yes. It was such a long, it was such a long stooge. It took us eight hours fifteen minutes. It was very tiring and it was overpowering on the target area because it was so heavily defended. There were so many searchlights. I think on the first one we lost about forty odd aircraft that night.
I: You said which particular Halifax you had. Did you always have the same one?
GB: No. That was Halifax NA U-Uncle on that Berlin trip.
I: Was there any competition to get the best aircraft?
GB: No. It was just what you were allocated. Our pilot later became a flight commander and he took any aircraft. I mean I think we were nearly always in a B flight when we flew aircraft.
I: What does that mean?
GB: Well, you had A flights and B flights.
I: As part of the squadron. To make up the squadron.
GB: The mark up the squadron. Yes. And the A flights were the first half of the alphabet and so the second B was the second half. We were either V-Victor, Q-Queenie, or O-Oboe later on that we flew in.
I: But was there any, ever any feeling that the more senior people were getting the best aircraft?
GB: No. No.
I: Or the best ground crews?
GB: No. The best ground crews were on operational squadrons. I thought so anyhow.
I: But was there any difference between the different ground crews that you had in your squadron?
GB: No. They were all first class. They all did a first-class job. The aircraft were always in good condition. We never turned back from thirty four trips from any trouble whatsoever.
I: What was the next operations that you had to do?
GB: Well, the next two I did were two mine laying stooges. One was to Kiel which was a quiet trip and the other one was down to la Rochelle which was a very long stooge. Eight hours ten minutes. That was the fourth of February ’44. Then we went to Berlin again on the 15th of February.
I: Was mine laying usually a quiet job?
GB: Yes. Well, it was a very hard job because you were by yourself. There would probably be about twenty aircraft you know to lay mines and you were on your own. You had no cover whatsoever. I mean the tin foil that you threw out didn’t help you. It more or less showed the Germans where you were because you were always ahead of the tin foil you were throwing out. There would be about twenty. Probably twenty two twenty three aircraft would go down to La Rochelle and lay two mines a piece. In between the island of la Rochelle and the mainland.
I: Did you ever call those gardening operations?
GB: They are gardening operations. I did the La Rochelle. I did two La Rochelles in February. One on the 4th and one on the 21st and then on the 25th I did a mine laying stooge to Copenhagen Sound.
I: Well, what was your next Berlin operation like? Was it any different from the first?
GB: It was the same as the first. A lot of flak. A lot of fighter activity but we never had an attack. That day, night we were diverted to Shipdham which was an American base and we were there for three days for bad weather. Our base was closed down and we stayed with the Americans. Had their hospitality.
I: What was the date of your second Berlin raid?
GB: 15th of February. We took off in NA Q-Queenie. We took off at 17.20. We were airborne for six hours fifty minutes.
I: What did you fear most over Berlin? Was it the night fighters or the flak?
GB: The night fighters. The flak no. It was the fighters. We were always looking out for fighters. You didn’t want, you didn’t want to battle with them you wanted to get out of their way because the armaments that we had was four 303s were just like peashooters to their cannons if you could see them and get out of their way. That was the main thing.
I: And then after Berlin? That second Berlin operation.
GB: After Berlin we did as I say two mine laying stooges to la Rochelle and Copenhagen Sound in February. Then March we started with another gardening operation mine laying to the mouth of the Gironde River which was seven hours fifty minutes. Then we started the pre-D-Day marshalling yards in the March of ’44 and it was the marshalling yard at Trappes. Now that one we had an absolute full bomb load, I’ll never forget it of eleven thousand five hundred pounders. We had eleven thousand five hundred and fourteen hundred gallons of petrol and it was made up of seven five hundred pounders and six one thousand pounders. That was the heaviest bomb load we’d ever taken and after the operation the marshalling yard at Trappes was never used again. It was, it was quite an easy trip. There was very very little flak. It was very light. No fighter trouble. We came, we did five hours forty minutes and there was bad weather at the aerodrome and we were diverted to Harwell. And we spent the night at Harwell and we left the next day back to base.
I: Now here you’ve given me a sheet headed “Target Token” relating to this Trappes raid on the 6th of March 1944. Can you tell me what this sheet signifies?
GB: Well, that is the marshalling yards there. Those are early flares, the photograph flares that we dropped to illuminate the target so we could take the photograph. Well, from that they could photograph from the headings that we were on. They could tell you exactly where those bombs straddled the target and the whole load went right across the marshalling yards.
I: So you’ve got the copy of the photograph.
GB: Of the photograph. Every crew member was presented with a copy of the photograph.
I: As a means of congratulating.
GB: Congratulating. More or less that you’d got the whole fifteen bombs right across the marshalling yard.
I: Any other marshalling yard operations that you did?
GB: Well, I know the next one we went to was, the next operation I did was another gardening trip to Kiel. We did the mining to the entrance to Kiel harbour. The next one was on the 25th of March. We went to Aulnoye. That was quite an easy trip. A marshalling yard. No trouble. Then on April our skipper had been promoted to squadron leader and we were posted 434 Squadron where he became B Flight commander.
I: Where was 434 Squadron?
GB: At Croft. It was a satellite aerodrome of Middleton St George. It was one that was built during the wartime use whereas Middleton St George was a peacetime aerodrome. The next marshalling yard we went to was Lisle. That was a quiet trip. That was on the 9th of April. We went on the 26th of April to Villeneuve St Georges. A French target. On the 29th we had a short gardening trip to the Frisian Islands. The mines we were laying were supposed to be for a convoy that was coming through. We laid the mines and the convoy was coming through. There was quite a bit of flak from the flak ships. That was then —
I: Were you hit?
GB: No. It was, we had no trouble. We seemed to be lucky again. There was a lot of flak from the flak ships but we had nothing. No holes whatsoever. Come to May, the 1st of May we went St Ghislian. And then on the 27th we went to Le Crepiet. They were quiet trips. Five hours and four and a half hours we did. On June the 15th we flew in J-Jig on a daylight to Boulogne and you could see the flak there. When we were going in there was one aircraft coming out with the whole of his starboard wing in flames. We never knew what happened to him.
I: Was that the first daylight raid?
GB: That was the first daylight I’d done. Yes.
I: How did you feel about that compared with the night raids?
GB: Well, you’re more confident because you could see what was happening and you knew you had fighter cover. It was just the flak but then flak you got used to. It never really bothered people unless you got hit with it badly.
I: What was the date of that bombing operation?
GB: 15th of June.
I: So this was after D-Day.
GB: After D-Day. I was on leave on D-Day. We were. And the next operation was to Disemont on the 21st of June.
I: What was the target in the Boulogne raid?
GB: On the Boulogne raid we were dropping bombs that exploded as soon as it hit the water to cause waves to go into the fence to destroy their MTB boats and that.
I: Do you think it worked?
GB: By all accounts yes. The reports we received afterwards it had been a successful raid and the docks got a good pasting as well. In July, we started off the 1st of July we went to a place called [Benayes or Beugnies] and when we got there there were no PFF markings so we bombed on Gee. There was quite a bit of flak and we lost all hydraulics and had to, we had to land using emergency undercarriage but I could never close the bomb doors. They were open all the way back and all the way for landing. And we had to use full emergency for getting the undercarriage down and the use of the flaps.
I: When was that?
GB: That was the 1st of June. We went in Q-Queenie that night.
I: 1st of July.
GB: 1st of July, sorry. They sent us back to the same target on the 6th of July. To [Benayes or Beugnies]. We went on G-George that time and it was a quiet trip.
I: Where is [Benayes or Beugnies]?
GB: It’s in France. All I can —
[recording paused]
GB: And after that I went to Caen on a daylight and on a night operation on the 18th of the 7th took off at 3.30 in the morning. That was when they started the big push and their breakthrough at Caen.
I: Was that a particularly big raid? A mass raid.
GB: Yes, it was a mass raid. They practically destroyed Caen that night and the Army moved forwards and they never stopped moving after that.
I: Do you have any memories of that raid?
GB: Yes, all I can remember was it was a dead easy raid. Flak not bothered. No fighters. No nothing. Just like a cross country.
I: Were you aware of all the other planes?
GB: Yes. They were all, they were all so close together. All bombing on one area. You could see them even though it was that time. Just two hours. It would be about 5.30. just dusk coming on.
I: So you didn’t have any opposition.
GB: Nothing at all. Nothing whatsoever. It was just like flying from here to Jersey on your holidays. No opposition whatsoever.
I: Do you think you hit your target?
GB: Well, we must have done because the Army never stopped moving. They took Caen. The next job after that it was a rough one. It was Hamburg. That was the 28th.
I: What happened then?
GB: Well, we were in the second wave and we were a bit late and we were at the scheduled height of bombing at seventeen thousand feet. There was somebody else above us and they dropped their bombs and we had, on our bombing run we just had to dive starboard to get out of the way of his bombs or we should have got the lot because they always had separate heights for bombing and we were late. Two minutes late. We were at seventeen and the next wave was at seventeen five. That was it. There was quite a bit of flak at Hamburg. That was the most terrifying thing. A full bomb load up there. And the skipper just dived starboard and we were on the bombing run. Where our bombs went we don’t know.
I: Was it common for planes to be hit by bombers above them?
GB: I don’t think so. I think it occasionally happened but this was too close.
I: What about collisions between bombers?
GB: I never saw any. Never saw any at all. I think they did happen but they were very few and far between.
I: And then —
GB: And then after that August was a very busy month. Our skipper had been promoted because our original wing commander, Wing Commander Bartlett had been lost. He’d been shot down and killed in action and our skipper was promoted and became wing commander of 434 Squadron. On the 1st of August we took J-Jig to Acquet in France. There was no PFF markings so the full bomb load was brought back. We brought the whole load back. On the 3rd of —
I: How dangerous was it to bring bombs back?
GB: Well, they weren’t fused. I mean they weren’t fused until you were bombing. Didn’t press the selector switches so they would be alright. It was just that we would have a heavy load for landing. After that on the 3rd we took J-Jig again to le Foret de Nieppe which was for fuel dumps. On the 4th of August again in J-Jig again we went to caves that were just outside Paris where the V-2 rockets were assembled and that was heavily defended with a daylight op and we were hit by flak. We got a few holes. We were caught in predictive flak. We were diverted on the 4th to Dalton.
I: Was this a V-2 place or a V-1 place?
GB: No. A V-2 place where they were assembling the, where they assembled where they assembled the rockets.
I: And where was it?
GB: Just outside Paris. Some from what we could understand from the briefing they were more or less mushroom caves and that. And then on the 5th we went to St Leu d’Esserent. On the 8th we went to a fuel dump just outside at Foret de Chantilly and that was hit and there was black smoke when we left up to fifteen thousand feet.
I: What do you think you hit there at Chantilly?
GB: It was a fuel dump. And on the 9th we went to Le Breteque. On the 12th of August we went to Brunswick. To Germany. On that raid according to recent record was a complete failure as everyone bombed on H2S as there were no markers went down so we bombed individually and there was no concentration.
I: Did you feel at the time that it was a failure?
GB: Well, it seemed to be a failure because there was no concentration of fires or anything. Then on the 14th we did the Army coop where the German divisions were trapped at Falaise. Now that was a very easy trip. There was no opposition whatsoever. The only thing wrong was that the Canadian group bombed their own troops. The Canadian Army had advanced past the markers and of course there was a few killed.
I: Was yours one of the bombers that dropped on the Canadians do you think?
GB: Hmmn.
I: Right.
GB: It wasn’t the Air Forces fault. It was the Army had advanced past the markers. And the last trip I did—
I: And that was what? That was the 14th was it?
GB: That was the 14th of August. We took off at 12.40. It was a five hour ten minute job. And the last trip I did was the 25th of August. We went to Brest to soften it up so the Yanks could take it. And that was quite easy. There was no trouble at all. I think they were more or less giving in. And that was on the 25th of August. There was bad weather back at base and we got diverted to Thorney Island. We spent the night at Thorney Island and then came back the next day and we were told that was it. We had finished our tour.
I: Had you done thirty?
GB: We’d done thirty four and one sea sweep. The skipper, the navigator and the bomb aimer were each awarded a DFC and myself, the wireless operator Jackie Bennett from Newcastle and Jimmy Silverman the rear gunner were granted a commission. That was our reward.
I: What happened to you then?
GB: Well, after that I was posted down to Bruntingthorpe which was 29 OTU and I was instructing on engine handling. I did very little flying. And a week at Blackpool on an Air Sea Rescue course which I thoroughly enjoyed. I only flew twice in the six months I was at OTU. I was never keen on Wellingtons.
I: Why not?
GB: Well, the Wellingtons were clapped out [laughs]
[pause]
GB: Then I went, I volunteered to go back on a second tour and I went in April ’45 with a Flight Lieutenant Kennedy. He made a crew up from 29 OTU and we went to 1651 Conversion Unit at Woolfox Lodge.
I: Why did you volunteer for a second tour?
GB: I didn’t like 29 OTU and I didn’t like what bit of flying I did do.
I: Why didn’t you like that OTU?
GB: Well, there was a little bit of too much bull. The group captain in charge was an ex-Cranwell boy and I think he thought it was still 1938 and not 1944.
I: So you preferred to risk your life.
GB: Yes.
I: Than have the bull?
GB: Have the bull. Yes.
I: Did you go back on ops in the end?
GB: Well, we did our conversion unit on to Lancasters and we were picked out unfortunately to go to Warboys for PFF training so by the time we’d finished the PFF training the war had finished. They had special training at Warboys and then we had to go through another course of automatic gun laying turret which was new to the gunners. By the time we’d finished those courses the war had finished. We finished up at 156 Squadron at Upwood and that was quite enjoyable because we did [pause] took ground crew on what was called a Cook’s Tour. We used to fly them over Germany up the Ruhr and show them all the damage that they’d helped to do in maintaining the aircraft. I did two of those Cook’s Tours in in June and we did a little bit of flying. I did an air test for the Royal Aeronautical Establishment. Another Cook’s Tour. We did a postmortem to Denmark where they did an actual like on operation to Denmark to see how the German radar system worked and that was on the 29th of June ’45. That was a five and a half hour.
I: Testing the radar defences.
GB: Yes. Of the, that the Germans had. Then we just did local flying and then for three days we were dumping. The 21st, the 24th and the 27th of July was dumping incendiaries in to the North Sea that were no good. And in the August of ’44 we, the 1st of August we did a passenger trip to Frankfurt and Nuremberg taking crew, ground crew in and bringing ground crew out. And we had a trip which made me want to go back to Italy when I got married but on the 15th of August ’45 we went to Bari in Italy and we had three days. Well, we crammed twenty of the 8th Army boys into a Lancaster fuselage, gave the a sick bag and put their kit in the bomb bays and flew them home. That was thoroughly enjoyable to see Italy.
I: Can I ask you about the difference between Lancasters and the Halifaxes. What did you feel about flying in the two?
GB: Well, on a Lancaster the flight engineer did the work of a second pilot. He did the throttles, looked after the undercarriage controls, flaps and everything. But as regards flying I still like the Halifax. Especially the Halifax Mark 3 with the Hercules Centaurus engines. It was a marvellous aircraft. There was more room in it. It could carry a bombload of twelve thousand pounds but it couldn’t carry the big bombs because they hadn’t the depth of the bomb bays. But I still liked the Halifax. I think it was because I did all my operations in them and I got through a tour with them.
I: Did the Halifax have any disadvantages?
GB: I don’t think so. Not the later ones. The one of the first lots, the first ones had a tendency to stall but they altered that by doing, altering the rudder system.
I: What did you learn in the Pathfinder course?
GB: I took a bomb aimer’s course and learned how to drop bombs [laughs] That’s the only difference.
I: How did you do that?
GB: Well, they give you a concentrated course on dropping practice bombs and that was the only difference.
I: Now, can I ask you some general questions about operations in the war. what was morale like amongst the bomber crews as far as you personally experienced it?
GB: Very good. Very high indeed. I only ever knew one person who went LMF and he was a member of our crew but everyone else that I knew enjoyed the life. It was a good life. I mean admittedly it was very very dangerous but it was a clean life. You came back to a clean bed and you came back to good food and you were treated well. You were given leave every six weeks. You were. You had extra rations when you came home. It was a dangerous job but they looked after you and discipline wasn’t severe on bomber squadrons. That was on the Canadian group anyhow. But aircrew was quite relaxed.
I: Could you see signs of LMF in this chap?
GB: No. No, we couldn’t. It was only the second trip after we got a good hiding and he never said anything on the night when we did the emergency landing at Woodbridge. When we came back the next day I met him in the Sergeant’s Mess in the afternoon and he said what had happened and I never saw him again. He was off the squadron as quick as that.
I: So you couldn’t think of any reason why he should have gone LMF.
GB: No. None at all. He was the mid-upper gunner and that was just it. He just threw the sponge in.
I: What did the rest of the crew think about him going LMF? Did you have sympathy or did you look down on him?
GB: I don’t think they looked down on him. They were just pleased that he’d gone so quick and nobody could dwell on the subject. And when we got two new gunners and as I say we were away within seven days of that operation on Stuttgart 18th to the 26th and we got two spare gunners. And after that we got two permanent gunners.
I: Were the aircrew superstitious? Did they have any lucky charms or anything like that?
GB: Yes, I’ve still got my little St Christopher cross and three us was always emptied our bladder on the starboard wheel before we took off. Myself, the rear gunner and the wireless operator.
I: This was a superstition was it?
GB: Always did it. Always, whether it was a daylight or a night op. Whether the groupie was there or anybody it was always emptied against the starboard wheel.
I: And did other crews do that?
GB: I think other crews always went in in certain order. Pilot first and like that.
I: What were the briefings like? Can you describe the scene when you got the briefings?
GB: Well, when it was the Berlin and you looked up and everyone said, ‘Berlin,’ everyone, ‘Oh.’ That was it. Then you just stepped back in silence and let them all give you the information. The German targets when you saw them when you saw the red lines leading you knew you were in for a warm night. The French targets everyone [clap] was happy.
I: They clapped.
GB: Well, there was that and a cheer when they said Caen or St Leu d’Esserent like that. I mean compared to the German targets they were easy. The only targets that we didn’t really like, the whole crew, was the mine laying duty because they, the majority of them were so long and there were so few of you you felt so exposed. I mean the Germans would probably leave you alone but then the next time they’d probably lose four five aircraft out of twenty odd. They would really come down on you like a tonne of bricks than leave you alone. When they hit you they hit you.
I: What do you feel about the criticism that has been lodged against Bomber Command since the war?
GB: I think its people who have got no idea about a war. They have no idea what the targets were like. Bombing had to be done. It was the only way of offensive against the Germans and I don’t think they take in to fact the amount of damage that we did do. The amount of people that were tied down. There was over a million people tied down in German defence. There was thirty thousand anti-aircraft guns and over, nearly ten thousand of those were eighty eight millimetre. Now if those eighty eight ten thousand millimetres had been used on the beaches of Normandy the Channel would have been blood red. They had, the German defences had all the ammunition they wanted up to within six weeks of the war. They were never short. They rationed the Army but they never rationed the local defence. And after all we did reduce production and if you reduced production by twelve and a half percent of the Tiger tanks it’s a heck of a lot because there was nothing could touch a Tiger. So I think the criticism has been very unfair because the boys went through hell.
I: When you were at these stations how and where did you spend your spare time?
GB: Well, at Middleton St George and Croft we used to go into Darlington and we all had one particular pub. The Fleece. And that’s where we spent our time. At the Fleece. But I was up there about eight or nine years ago and it’s been knocked down. The Old Fleece pub.
I: Did you put any kind of trophies or anything like that up in the bar?
GB: No. No, we just went there to drink and sing and other things.
I: Were there any breaches of security with people telling girlfriends about —
GB: Not to my knowledge.
I: Ops.
GB: No. No. If you were going up there for a night out you didn’t know anything because the station would be closed if there was a full ops on. There would only be probably only a few ground crew but the aircrew wouldn’t go, be allowed out. So most of the telephone lines were shut down. Were closed. You couldn’t make outside calls if there was ops on.
I: Did the German Air Force ever attack these airfields.
GB: No. Not to my knowledge. Not whilst ours.
Now, I think after the war had ended you went out to Burma.
Burma, yes. On 267 Squadron at Mingaladon. The squadron was keeping the airways open taking mail and passengers flying from Mingaladon in Burma up to Dum Dum at Calcutta. And then from, back again and then from Mingaladon to Bangkok. Bangkok, Saigon. Saigon to Kai Tak which is the aerodrome for Hong Kong on the mainland of Kowloon and they used to fly down to Singapore.
I: This is Dakotas.
GB: On Dakotas. Yes. And the flight engineers were all remustered as air quarter masters on those trips looking after the baggage and the passengers and I had about fifteen of the lads under me. We used to take them out on these trips which they thoroughly enjoyed going up to Calcutta. Spending a day in Calcutta and then coming back going down to Hong Kong. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time.
I: What kind of passengers were you moving?
GB: Well, RAF and Burmese and if you were coming from India you used to bring down the Indians who were coming down on business trips or anything like that. Used to bring our own people down to [unclear] and look after the stores. Generally taking mail across to Bangkok, Saigon.
I: So you were a bit like an airline.
GB: A bit like an airline. Yes. A bit rough and ready. I did one or two. I went to Saigon and worked with Saigon. Wanted to look around during the night time but we were informed that all personnel were on curfew and had to be in by 9 o’clock. And the biggest shock I ever had was walking into the hotel where we were billeted to be given a salute by a Jap prisoner of war with a rifle and fixed bayonets.
I: When was this that you were in Saigon?
GB: 12th of February ’46. Then from Saigon we’d go to Kai Tak which was the aerodrome for Hong Kong on the mainland and the people of the mainland which was a British colony I’ve never known people so friendly to see us. We were taken into cafes and restaurants and you could have everything you wanted.
I: In Hong Kong.
GB: In Hong Kong. But what I was surprised about Hong Kong is that they had everything on show and sale and the war had only been over for five months. You could go in and buy a Rolex Oyster watch. You couldn’t see them in Europe but they found them. They could. You could buy anything you wanted.
I: Were these Chinese who were —
GB: Yes. The —
I: You in Hong Kong.
GB: In Hong Kong where they were first class.
I: Coming back to Saigon did the Japanese soldiers do their job well?
GB: Yes, as far as I know they had no complaints. They guarded us well. But the trouble was just beginning to start then. There was just a bit of discontent amongst the Saigon people I think. It was just beginning to start with the Viet Cong. Just beginning to get unruly.
I: What did you see of disorder there?
GB: Nothing at the night time. That’s when it happened. During the day everything was normal. It was on a night time when they used to come and try and interfere on the aerodrome but we were in the town itself so we saw nothing.
I: So they were trying to attack the aerodrome.
GB: Trying to you know disrupt it more or less.
I: Did you see any French military presence there?
GB: Well, last I was there the only French presence was two Corvettes in the harbour. There was no French troops whatsoever. If the French had spent a little more time in French Indo China as it was then instead of parading around Europe they might have been in a bit better position out there.
I: Did you feel in much danger in Saigon?
GB: No. Not really. I wasn’t there long enough and the short time where the trouble was we were in the hotel out of the way.
I: You were telling me about 29 OTU at Bruntingthorpe was it called?
GB: Bruntingthorpe.
I: Where is that?
GB: Just outside Leicester.
I: And you were telling me about the excessive bull there that drove you to apply for a second tour. Can you give any examples of not —
GB: Well —
I: Without mentioning the group captain’s name any examples of the kind of bull that went on there?
GB: Well, we had once a month we had an officer’s dining in night where all the tables were put in the shape of a horseshoe with the group captain in the centre and then going left to right from squadron leader. From wing commander, squadron leader, flight lieutenant, flying officer down to pilot officer which was pre-war bull. Not wartime discipline. And then he would hold a full parade of the whole OTU and every officer and every airman would parade on the main runway and would march past the rostrum as though they were the guards which again goes back to pre-war. It should never have been done in wartime RAF. But the Australians didn’t like it because we had a lot of Australians go through there and they objected strongly. And in the Officer’s Mess we had a very big organ by a very well known organist. The organ, keyboard and the sound box system was flooded with beer. The Mess notice board all the Mess board notices were burned down by the Australians. The group captain had his own hook for his hat and coat with a bolt right through the wall. The peg was pulled out. Also, part of the wall [laughs] In fact they did so much damage the group captain closed the Officer’s Mess bar for a week. All because of bull.
I: Did you approve?
GB: No.
I: Of what the Aussies did?
GB: Yes. I did. But no one was allowed in the Officer’s Mess after 5.30 unless they were in full dress. No battle dress. I came back and I’ll tell you the exact day. We’d, I’d been out a cross country to check the pilot for engine handling on the 19th of February ‘45 and we took off at 12 o’clock and we’d been diverted to Husband Bosworth. And by the time we got back it was 16.35. I was pulled up for entering the Mess in battle dress and not allowed to have a meal, my evening meal until I had changed. And the evening meal finished at 19.00 hours which is 7 o’clock and I didn’t get in as I say until 16 —
I: Twenty five you said.
GB: That’s how bad, that’s how bad the bull was.
I: You also were telling me about another job you had I think in ’46 of having to deal with airmen’s possessions who had been killed.
GB: Yes.
I: In accidents.
GB: That was the, I did that at 29 OTU. The last job I had was on for in the July 1946 was Dakota KN585 was hit by lightning and crashed in to the Irrawaddy Delta at Bassein. The death roll was twenty two. By the time we got the bodies they were four days old and I had to [pause] another flight lieutenant and the local police identified the bodies and arranged burial which was a very distressing thing to do especially as five days later I was on my home.
I: How were the possessions dealt with?
GB: Well, most of the possessions that they had I had to burn because they’d been on the bodies and they had been five days in the swamp and they smelled terribly and there was very very little went home. And of the twenty two they had no identification. They were all just interred with no headstone. No one knew who they were. They were interred at the European Cemetery at that time in Bassein. They would later be moved to the War Graves.
I: But you were telling me about your special problem you had with the possessions of Australians.
GB: When I was at 29 OTU. Yes. With the letters I mean the Aussie boys would have two or three girlfriends and the trouble was sorting out the letters to make sure that the right ones went home and the other ones were destroyed. Of the, we had two crews killed whilst I was there. Eleven men died.
I: Would any of them leave wills?
GB: No. There was no wills. I never found a will in the, any of the airmen who I buried. I went through their personal effects.
[Music]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
War Memoir - George Bilton
Description
An account of the resource
Talks of early life at school and work in Hull. Volunteered as ARP messenger and described duties and air raid damage in Hull. Volunteered as aircrew and initially selected for wireless operator/air gunner but later asked to change to air engineer. Trained in Blackpool and RAF St Athan. Crewed up with mixed Canadian British crew on Halifax HCU before being posted to 6 Group 427 Squadron. His pilot did not return from a second dickie orientation sorties so crew went back to conversion unit to crew up and train with new pilot. Then posted to 428 Squadron. Subsequently transferred to 434 Squadron when pilot promoted. Completed tout of 34 operations on Halifax. Gives detailed description of individual operations, experiences and activities. Describes flying in Halifax and discusses moral, discipline issues, operating with Canadians and other general comments. Did instructional tour after completing operational tour, offered commission, did not enjoy it and volunteered for second tour but curtailed by end of war. Comments on tours after war including one in Burma including dealing with casualties in from a Dakota crash in Egypt.
Creator
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G H A Bilton
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Oral history
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Identifier
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ABiltonGHA960623
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending revision of OH transcription
Pending review
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
England--Lancashire
England--Blackpool
Wales--Vale of Glamorgan
England--Durham (County)
England--Leicestershire
Burma
Germany
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Stuttgart
England--Berkshire
France
France--La Rochelle
France--Lille
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Caen
Germany--Hamburg
France--Paris
France--Creil
France--Falaise
Germany--Braunschweig
France--Brest
England--Sussex
England--Huntingdonshire
Italy
Italy--Bari
Denmark
Denmark--Copenhagen
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Chantilly Forest
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
427 Squadron
428 Squadron
434 Squadron
6 Group
aerial photograph
Air Raid Precautions
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bomb aimer
bombing
C-47
civil defence
Cook’s tour
crewing up
flight engineer
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
lack of moral fibre
Lancaster
military discipline
military ethos
military living conditions
military service conditions
mine laying
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Pathfinders
RAF Bruntingthorpe
RAF Croft
RAF Harwell
RAF Middleton St George
RAF St Athan
RAF Thorney Island
RAF Topcliffe
RAF Warboys
RAF Woodbridge
target indicator
target photograph
training
V-2
V-weapon
Wellington
Window
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/865/20732/PHazeldenePV1711.1.jpg
b4df48b9689ca001edc44d9d37b5587e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hazeldene, Peter
Peter Vere Hazeldene
P V Hazeldene
Description
An account of the resource
19 items. An oral history interview with Rachel and John Gill about their father, Peter Hazeldene DFC (b. 1922, 553414 Royal Air Force) and 16 other items including log book, memoirs, medals and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 106 and 57 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Rachel and John Gill and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-03-07
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hazeldene, PV
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Two Airmen and a Hampden
Description
An account of the resource
Two airmen (Peter Hazeldine left) in flying kit standing at the nose of a Hampden. Above their heads on the nose is a griffon with [undecipherable] underneath and P/O R. Waprinc D [incomplete].
Format
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One b/w photograph
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PHazeldenePV1711
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
aircrew
Hampden
nose art
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2565/43851/PSaundersJWG18020167.1.jpg
ffb4b17ba67a3dacd3840254b2f828ce
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Saunders, John Walter Gifford. Training
Description
An account of the resource
118 photographs and a diary. The folder covers John Walter Gifford Saunders’ travel to South Africa on board the Highland Princess accompanied by 1,700 other Royal Air Force and British Army personnel. In 1942/1943 John visited family in Durban before continuing his journey to Zimbabwe by train. During his time there, he went to the Victoria Falls, relaxed with friends and took part in training exercises including camping in the largely uninhabited wild region far from towns. Subjects includes accommodation, transport, landscape, and local scenes.
The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Clive Saunders and catalogued by Lynn Corrigan, with additional contributions by Ella Keogh and Lucy Liu.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-03-07
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Saunders, JWG
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Two airmen
Description
An account of the resource
An engineer and an air gunner in uniform with brevet badges.. The air gunner also has a wireless operator's badge above his sergeant's stripes. Both are bare headed and the man on the left is holding a pipe in his hand. They are standing outside in front of a wooded area with Nissen huts in the background.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PSaundersJWG18020167
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
air gunner
aircrew
flight engineer
Nissen hut
wireless operator
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1617/24812/PCothliffKB15040025.1.jpg
607a8d2dd902487774c7f4ad5e4d5210
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cothliff, Ken. Folder 1504
Description
An account of the resource
42 items. The collection contains photographs.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ken Cothliff and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cothliff, K
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Two Airmen
Description
An account of the resource
Two airmen inside an aircraft. Information supplied with the collection states 'G H Walters Vict. BC'
Format
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One b/w photograph
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCothliffKB15040025
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
aircrew
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1375/23784/MEdgarAG172180-180704-01.1.pdf
36ae9e28a74e85f4be77156522931818
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Edgar, Alfred George
Edgar, A G
Description
An account of the resource
83 items. The collection concerns Pilot Officer Alfred George 'Allan' Edgar DFC (b. 1922, 172180 Royal Air Force) He flew operations as a pilot with 49 Squadron.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Pip Harrison and Sally Shawcross nee Edgar, and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-07-04
2019-10-01
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Edgar, AG
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
DADS TRANSCIPT MEMORIES OF CREW AND MISSIONS 1944 TO 1945
RECORDED BY MIKE GARBETT AND BRIAN GOULDING IN 1980 AT A REUNION ON THE CREW HELD AT SUDBROOKE LINCOLN, AUTHORS OF SEVERAL BOOKS LANCASTER AT WAR (UNFORUNATELY SOME OF THE TAPE IS MISSING AND BITS MISSED OUT)
PHOTOS OF FATHER FLYING HIS LANCASTER INTO FISKERTON IS SHOWN IN THEIR BOOK LASCASTER AT WAR NO3.
WE CREWED UP AT 17 OUT AT SILVERSTONE AND IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY THE FIRST PERSON THAT I GRAVITATED TO WAS THE NAVIGATOR BOB BROOKS AND AUSTRAILIAN I THINK THE MAIN FACT WAS THAT I WAS LOOKING FOR WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A MATURE RELIABLE GOOD NAVIGATOR AND HE SOMEHOW GAVE ME THAT IMPRESSION, SO WE STARTED TALKING AND I REMEMBER OUT OF THIS THAT HE KNEW ALAN MILLARD THE BOMB AIMER SO WE THEN EVENTUALLY GRAVITATED TO HIM AND HE KNOWING BOB FELT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO JOIN US.
AND AFTERWARDS I DID FIND OUT FROM BOB IT WAS SORT OF FIRST HAND IMPRESSION HE RATHER LIKES THE LOOK OF ME, IT WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS
I AM ALMOST CERTAIN THEN THAT THE NEXT PERSON THAT WE GRABBED, WAS THE WIRELESS OPERATOR AG ALF RIDPATH WHO WITH HIS FAIR SWEPT BACK LOOKED A LITTLE BIT OF A GAY LOTHARIO AND WE FELT IT WAS ANOTHER COMPLETE IDIOT THAT WOULD JOIN AN IDIOT TYPE MOB ANYWAY, AND WE SEEM TO GET ON QUITE WELL. THE NEXT ONE WAS DON HARWOOD THE REAR GUNNER WHO ALTHOUGH HE WAS YOUNG AS US SEEM TO HAVE AN OLD HEAD ON HIS SHOULDERS, A DEEP VOICE AND GAVE AN IMPRESSION OF RELIABILITY, I SOMETIMES WONDER IF THIS WAS EVER TRUE! AND THEN JOHN WATTERS WAS THE MID UPPER GUNNER A LAD FROM BELFAST WHO I AM ALMOST POSITIVE WAS MUCH YOUNGER THAN WHAT HE MAINTAINED HE REALLY WAS, TO THIS DAY I AM CONVINCED THAT HE WAS ONLY ABOUT 16/17 YRS AND HE CLAIMED TO BE MUCH OLDER 18/19 YRS, IT WAS A GREAT PITY REALLY THAT I SUBSEQUENTLY LEARNT AFTER THE WAR THAT HE HAD STEPPED UNDER A TUBE TRAIN ON NEWS YEARS EVE COMMITTING SUICIDE, I LEARNT THIS FROM DON HARWOOD THE REAR GUNNER.
ANYWAY AFTER COMPLETING OUT AT SILVERSTONE WE
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FINALLY ARRIVED AT 1661 CONVERSION UNIT AT WINTHORPE JUST OUTSIDE NEWARK AND TO BE HONEST I CAN’T REMEMBER MUCH ABOUT MY INSTRUCTOR AT ALL – ALL I CAN REMEMBER IS THE BLOODY STERLING!! NOW THE MOST INTERESTING THING WAS THAT ALAN MILLARD THE AUSTRALIAN BOMB AIMER WAS A FAILED PILOT WHO HAD GONE ONTO THE BOMB AIMERS COURSE. SO FROM THE VERY BEGINNING AS A CREW I DIRECTED IF ONE CAN ASSUME THE WORDS DIRECTED THAT EVERYBODY WOULD DOUBLE UP ON EVERYBODY ELSE IN CASE OF ANYTHING HAPPENING AND SO ALAN MILLARD WOULD TAKE OVER IF ANYTHING HAPPENED TO ME BECAUSE AS HE GOT AS NEAR TO GETTING HIS WINGS IT WAS QUITE POSSIBLE INFACT HIGHLY PROBABLE THAT HE COULD FLY THE AIRCRAFT BACK AND MAKE SOME REASONABLE ATTEMPT AT LANDING IT.
THE WIRELESS OPERATOR DOUBLED UP AS A GUNNER, THE NAVIGATOR BOB BROOKS DOUBLED UP AS A BOMB AIMER AS DID THE FLIGHT ENGINEER, AND IN MY MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY AS WELL, ALAN MILLARD THE BOMB AIMER ALSO PARTIALLY DOUBLED UP FOR THE WIRELESS OPERATOR. WE LEFT JOHNNIE WATTERS THE MID UPPER GUNNER TWIT ON HIS OWN AS WE FELT IT BETTER LEAVE HIM UPSTAIRS THAN DOUBLING UP FOR ANYBODY.
I CAN ALSO REMEMBER THE FACT THAT BOB BROOKS THE NAVIGATOR WAS A JUDO EXPERT AND INFACT IT WAS COMMON PRACTISE WITH OUR CREW TO EGG YOUNG WATTERS JOHN TO ATTACK BOB BROOKS WOULD THROW HIM AROUND THE CREW HUT UNTIL FINALLY THE YOUNG IDIOT IRISHMAN LEANT TO PACK IT IN FOR THE NIGHT, WHEN WE WOULD RESUME AGAIN THE NEXT NIGHT.
COMING BACK TO THE STIRLING I THINK THE MOST VIVID IMPRESSION FOR ME INITIALLY WAS TAXING. NOW WITHOUT AS DOUBT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST BARBARIC BASTARDISE BLOODY AIRCRAFT I HAVE EVER MET IN MY LIFE FOR TAXING. IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY THERE A HUGE YELLOW BRAKE AND YOU OPERATED THE FOUR THROTTLES AND PULLED THIS MASSIVE GREAT LORRY BRAKE BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS SWINGING THE RUDDERS AROUND WHILE THIS, I CAN ONLY DESCRIBE IT AS A TYRANNOSAURUS REX OF A DINOSAUR PROWLED RATHER THAN ROLLED ALL OVER THE PLACE, IN ADDITION THE FLIGHT ENGINEER SAT ON THE MIDDLE OF THE AIRCRAFT IN WHAT WAS LIKE A SUBMARINE WITH ALL HIS FOURTEEN AND IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY ONCE AGAIN THE FUEL TANKS FOR CROSS FEEDING AND OTHER PURPOSES AND IN ADDITION IT DIDN’T MATTER WHAT ANYBODY DID THIS COW OF AN AIRCRAFT NEVER REACHED ITS CEILING EVER.
LANDING AT WINTHORPE WITH THE RUNWAY THAT RAN PARALLEL WITH THE MAIN NEWARK/LINCOLN ROAD ONCE AGAIN THIS BLOODY HANDBRAKE WAS A DISADVANTAGE RATHER THAN AN ADVANTAGE AS I CAN ONLY SAY FROM THINKING DEEPLY ABOUT IT WHOEVER
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DESIGNED THE BLOODY STERLING SHOULD HAVE BEEN MENTALLY EXAMINED.
ANOTHER THING ABOUT STERLINGS WAS CORRING THIS WAS WHERE, I AM ALMOST SURE ITS AS IF THE OIL TEMPERATURE WENT DOWN THAT YOU DROPPED THE UNDERCARRIAGE OPENED UP FULL THROTTLES WITH PART FLAP AND STAGGERED ALONG WITH WHAT CAN ONLY BE TERMED AS FOUR BLOODY GREAT BIG BULLSEYES FOR THE ENGINES WHICH OF COURSE MEANT FROM AN OPERATIONAL POINT OF VIEW THAT THEY WERE SITTING DUCKS FOR ANYBODY, AND IT WAS 460 OR 490 TOW TURNS ON THE WHEELS TO GET THE UNDERCARRIAGE DOWN IF YOU COULD NOT LOWER IT NORMALLY BECAUSE I REMEMBER THAT HAPPENING TO US ONCE.
IT WAS AT WINTHORPE AS WELL THAT WE HAD TO GET RID OF OUR FIRST ENGINEER BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY IT WAS TAKE OFF WHEELS UP “BREAKFAST UP” AND THERE WAS JUST NO WAY HE WAS GOING TO MAKE IT.
WE THEN TOOK ON ANOTHER ENGINEER CALLED GEORGE BEDFORD ON WHO OF COURSE FLEW WITH ME DURING MY FIRST TOUR AND GEORGE BEDFORD THE 2ND FLIGHT ENGINEER AS A VERY PROSAIC LAD AND INDEED HE BELIEVED IMPLICITLY THAT HIS JOB AS A FLIGHT ENGINEER WAS TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WHATEVER AIRCRAFT WE WERE FLYING WAS ABSOLUTELY IN TIP TOP CONDITION – BECAUSE I CAN REMEMBER COMING BACK FROM A TRIP AND I THOUGHT FOR ONCE I AM GOING TO LIGHT UP A CIGARETTE AND HAVE A SMOKE AS WE WERE FLYING BACK ACROSS THE NORTH SEA AND I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER HIM GOING BANANAS OVER ME SMOKING A CIGARETTE.
AFTER A SHORT PERIOD OF ABOUT 14 HRS OF WHICH 7 HRS DAYLIGHT AND 7HRS NIGHT AT LANC FINISHING SCHOOL AT SYSERTON I THEN ARRIVED AT 49 SQUADRON FISKERTON
WHERE FOR MY SINS I WAS GIVEN “A” APPLE TO FLY I CAN REMEMBER THE FIRST TRIP WHICH WAS A 2ND DICKIE TRIP WHICH WAS WITH RUSS EVANS AND THAT WAS TO DANZIG BAY GIDENER, KONISBERG AREA WHICH WAS A 9HRS 15MIN TRIP, I THINK THAT ALL I CAN REMEMBER ABOUT THIS WAS THE FACT THAT IT SEEMED COMPLETELY IDIOTIC TO ME THAT A PILOT SHOULD GO ON A TRIP RISK GETTING SHOT DOWN WITH ANOTHER PILOT AND CREW, WHEREUPON HIS CREW WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK ALL OVER IT AGAIN WITH ANOTHER PILOT! THE THING WAS TO STAND BEHIND THE PILOT AND FLIGHT ENGINEER AND OBSERVE “WHAT I DO NOT KNOW” I SUPPOSE THE IDEA WAS THAT YOU WENT WITH A RELATIVELY EXPERIENCED CREW AND AS IT WERE SHUCK DOWN WITH THEM AND GOT AN IDEA OR IMPRESSION OF WHAT THE WHOLE CAPER WAS ABOUT.
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BUT ALSO AS I SAY I TEND TO THINK THAT BECAUSE YOU AND YOUR CREW WERE DIFFERENT WHATEVER SHAPE OR FORM THERE WAS GOING TO BE A DIFFERENT REACTION ANYWAY BECAUSE YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE TEACHING YOUR CREW ON YOUR VERY FIRST TRIP WHEN YOU HAVE ONLY DONE ONE YOURSELF! WHICH HAD NOT GIVE YOU MUCH EXPERIENCE ANYWAY. AND INFACT RUSS EVANS IS STILL RUNNING AROUND
HE PROBABLY THINKS OF THIS IDIOT, WHO AFTERWARDS WE GREW VERY FRIENDLY TOGETHER.
MY NEXT TRIP WAS ONE WITH MY OWN CREW TO TORS MARSHALLING YARD AT 7,000 FEET AND I THINK THIS WILL ALWAYS LIVE IN MY MEMORY AS FRANKLY IT STARTED OUT AS A COMPLETE SHAMBLES BUT IT HELPED THE CREW INTO A FIGHTING UNIT.
WE STARTED UP AND TAXIED ROUND TOWARDS TAKEOFF AND I THINK I WAS ABOUT 3RD 4TH OR 5TH INLINE COMING UP THE RUNWAY AND ALAN MILLARD THE BOMB AIMER A TYPICALLY AUSTRALIAN IF I MY [SIC] USE THE WORD WAS IN THE BOMB AIMER COMPARTMENT AND PISSING ABOUT AS USUALLY WHEN SUDDENLY IN A TYPICALLY AUSTRALIAN TWANG OVER THE INTERCOM CAME “ I HAVE PULLED MY BLOODY CHUTE AND IT HAS BELLOWED OUT” I IMMEDIATELY SAID “ WELL THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN TURN OFF HERE AND I CAN’T SEE US TURNING ROUND HERE AND TAXING DOWN THE END TO GET ANOTHER CHUTE FOR YOU SO WE SHALL HAVE TO GO AS IS AND I WOULD SUGGEST TO YOU THAT IF WE HAVE TO BAIL OUT YOU HOLD YOUR CHUTE UP TO YOUR CHEST AND WHEN YOU GET CLEAR OF THE AIRCRAFT RELEASE IT BECAUSE ITS ALREADY OPENED ANYWAY” UPON WHICH IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY HE REPLIED “THAT HE HADN’T COME 12,000 ------ -----!! FOR THIS SORT OF CAPER!! IT JUST SO HAPPENED THAT THE VERY FIRST TRIP I WAS USING A OBSERVE TYPE CHUTE SO IN A FLASH YOU WOULDN’T CALL IT INSPIRATION MORE DESPERATION I SAID ALRIGHT YOU BETTER TAKE MY CHUTE THEN, INCASE ANYTHING HAPPENS, UPON WHICH HE SAID THANKS VERY MUCH SKIP AND PULLED MY CHUTE DOWN INTO THE BOMB AIMERS COMPARTMENT, AND BY THAT TIME I WAS ON THE RUNWAY AND BEGINNING TO TAKE OFF AND IT WAS PROVABLY OR COLLOQUIAL ‘NOT UNTIL AIRBORNE THAT I SHIT A BRICK!! SO OF COURSE THE TRIP COMMENCED WITH ME WITHOUT A CHUTE AND HE THE GREAT ALAN MILLARD WITH TWO, ONE WHICH WAS OPENED WHICH HE HAD STUFFED INTO A CORNER OF THE BOMB AIMERS COMPARTMENT AND AFTERWARDS WHEN WE RETURNED HOME THE REST OF THE CREW SAID SOME HOW OR OTHER THEY ALL FELT THAT THEY MUST NOT LET ME DOWN BECAUSE THERE I WAS FLYING WITHOUT A CHUTE WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE WAS OK AND NO WAY WERE THEY GOING TO LET THE SKIPPER DOWN. SO HAVING SET OFF AS IT WERE AT A SLIGHT DISADVANTAGE AND THINGS OF WAFTING MY WAY GENERALLY DOWN THROUGH THE AIR SHOULD WE BE SHOT UP ON NOTHING.
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WE GET TOWARDS THE TARGET AND STARTED THE RUN IN, DURING OUR TRAINING IT HAD BEEN EMPHASISED WE WERE NOT GOING OVER THE OTHER SIDE TO CHUCK OR THROW BOMBS AROUND AND THAT BASICALLY YOU SHOULD PUT THEM DOWN IN THE RIGHT SPOT SO WHEN WE CAME UP TO THE TARGET AND ALAN WAS SAYING “ STEADY RIGHT, STEADY OH I HAVE MISSED IT GO ROUND AGAIN” I LIKE THE IDIOT I WAS WENT ROUND AGAIN. NOT THINKING GET RID OF THE BLOODY THINGS. SO OF COURSE I WENT ROUND AGAIN AND RAN IN AND THIS TIME WE PUT THEM DOWN AND IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY IT WAS A AIMING POINT. IT WAS NOT TILL WE GOT BACK THAT WE REALISED THAT UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS CREWS DIDN’T NORMALLY DO THIS SORT OF THING. SO REALLY OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A DISASTER TURNED OUT TO BE A EXCELLENT THINKS FROM THE CREWS POINT OF VIEW BECAUSE WE BECAME WEILLED AS A FIGHTING UNIT. IT ALSO BECAME APPARENT ON THIS TRIP BECAUSE WE REALISED EARLIER ON THERE WERE THREE ALANS OR ALS IN THE CREW THAT WAS THE BOMB AIMER, WIRELESS OP AND MYSELF, SO THE REAR GUNNER AND MID UPPER GUNNER WOULD CALL ME SKIP AND THE REST OF THE CREW WOULD CALL ME PILOT, THE IDEA BEING THAT IF SOMEBODY CALLED ME SKIP I STARTED WEAVING STRAIGHT AWAY ON THE GROUNDS THAT A GUNNER WAS COMING UP ON THE INTERCOM.
I THINK THE MAIN THING ABOUT MAILLY LE COMP WAS THE ENORMOUS COCKUP OF THIS OPERATION IN WHICH 1 GROUP CAME WITH US ON THE TRIP BECAUSE OF THE SHAMBLES AT THE TARGET INCLUDING VIRTUALLY ALL THE BLINDED ILLUMINATORS BEING KNOCKED OFF THERE WERE “T.I.S” PUT DOWN IN TWO DIFFERENT PLACES ONE FOR 1 GROUP AND ONE FOR US AWAY FROM THE TARGET UPON WHICH EVERYBODY WAS TO CIRCLE THEIR RESPECTIVE “T.I” BY THIS TIME I HAD LEARNT ENOUGH NOT TO GO NEAR ANY “T.I”. WE WERE A LITTLE AWAY FROM OUR ONE QUIETLY CIRCLING IF YOU CAN POINT THAT OUT, WE KNOW THAT 1 GROUP IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY WERE CIRCLING A YELLOW “T.I” AS IF THEY WERE ON A RACE TRACK WITH A RESULT THAT THE FIGHTER BOYS WERE HAVING A FIELD DAY WITH THAT LOT
COS WHEN THE TIME CAME FOR US TO COME IN I CAN REMEMBER TWO INCIDENTS, ONE WITH OUR RUN IN WITH THE BOMB DOORS OPEN A LANC WENT PAST US LIKE A BAT OUT HELL WITH HIS BOMB DOORS OPEN AND THEN A FOKWOLF 190 WENT OVER THE TOP OF OUR COCKPIT BECAUSE THE REAR GUNNER HAD CALLED UP “FIGHTER” AND OF COURSE I WAS ON THE BOMBING RUN AND HE COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 20 OR 30FT OFF THE TOP IF US WHERE HE WAS GOING FOR THE LANC THAT HAS JUST PASSED US AND HE FIRED HOT THIS LANC AND KNOCKED IT OFF “IT JUST BLEW UP” ITS RATHER IRONIC AS WELL BECAUSE DURING THIS TRIP WE HAD THREE COMBATS AS WELL IT WAS A PRETTY HAIRY DO. THERE WAS SO MANY FIGHTERS AROUND US IT WAS TO BE
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UNBELIEVABLE, THEIR DAY FIGHTERS WERE UP AS WELL AS IT WAS SUCH A BRIGHT MOONLIGHT NIGHT.
IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY THAT THIS TRIP WAS ALSO WHERE WE SPOTTED A WHITEL HINEKELL111 AND MY REAR GUNNER SAID LETS GO DOWN AND KNOCK IT OFF AND I SAID WAIT A MINUTE WHEN SUDDENLY IT TURNED TOWARDS AND WE WERE ATTACKED BY TWO FIGHTERS THAT WERE WITH IT, THEY WERE WORKING I AM ALMOST CERTAIN IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS HINEKELL, SO THAT AS ONE FIGHTER CAME IN AND YOU CORKSCREWED INTO HIM THE OTHER FIGHTER CAME IN AND YOU CORKSCREWED INTO HIM WITH OTHER FIGHTER WOULD THEN BE ON THE OUTSIDE TO NAIL YOU WHICH OF COURSE WOULD FORCE YOU TOWTRDS THE HINEKELL WHICH ALSO WOULD LET FLY AT YOU SO INFACT IN REALITY YOU WERE BEING ATTACKED BY ALL THREE. I DO’NT[SIC] KNOW PERHAPS HE WAS A TRAINEE AIRCRAFT OR WHATEVER IT WAS WE SEEM TO THINK IT WAS A BLOODY GOOD PLOY, BECAUSE WE MENTIONED IT WHEN WE GOT BACK FROM THE TRIP THAT IT SEEMED LIKE A NEW SYSTEM OPERATING BY THEM. ALL WE KNEW THAT WE WERE ATTACKED BY TWO FIGHTERS WHICH APPARENTLY WERE WORKING IN CONJUNCTON WITH IT.
THE ONLY THING I CAN REMEMBER ABOUT THE NEXT TRIP TO SALSBREE ARSENAL WAS THAT ONE WE WERE HIT BY LIGHT FLAK WHICH NECESSITATED US HAVING TO CRASH LAND AT WITTERING THE OTHER THING WAS WE SPOTTED A TRAIN WITH WHITE STEAM COMING UP FROM IT SO WE ATTACKED IT RACED UP AND DOWN IT WITH THE GUNNERS FIRING AT THE TRAIN. IT SEEMS IRONIC TO ME THAT ALL I CAN REMEMBER IS NOT SO MUCH LANDING AT WITTERING ALTHOUGH I DO KNOW NOT HAVING ANY BRAKES OR FLAPS JUST SHOOTING UP THIS TRAIN WHICH WE THOUGHT WAS HILARIOUS EPISODE NOT REALISING OF COURSE THAT WE COULD OF EASILY BEEN BROUGHT DOWN EITHER BY GUNS ON THE TRAIN OR BY A FIGTER FOR UST GOING DOWN AND LARKING ABOUT I MEAN AFTER ALL WHY SHOULD FIGHTERS JUST ATTACK TRAINS WHY CANT LANCASTERS!!
AFTER THE NEXT TRIP IN WHICH WE HAD THREE COMBATS AGAIN WITH NO CLAIMS, CAME THE ONE TO BELGIUM
BOURG LEOPOLD WHICH I WON THE D.F.C.
I REMEMBER ON THIS THAT WE WERE ATTACKED WITHOUT EITHER OF MY GUNNERS SPOTTING THIS BOY HE JUST CAME IN FROM BELOW IN THE DARK AND THE NEXT THINGS THAT WE KNEW THAT HE WAS KNOCKING SIX OUT OF US BECAUSE LET ME RECAP – ONE CANNON SHELL KNOCKED OUT THE WIRELESS SET – WE HAD A FIRE IN THE BOMB BAY FROM THE ATTACK AND WHATS MORE THE FLYING CONTROL SYSTEM WAS HEAVILY DAMAGED BECAUSE SHE REARED LIKE A STRICKEN HORSE AND WENT OVER ONTO HER BACK THEN WE DROPPED ABOUT 12,000 FEET BEFORE I PULLED HER OUT
THE MAIN THING WAS THAT HE HAD GOT VIRTUALLY ALL HIS ATTACK IN BEFORE WE RIPPED UP AND WENT – AS WE HAD NOT DROPPED OUR
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BOMBS WE WERE IN A DIVE AND THE FIRE I OPENED THE BOMB DOORS AND SAID JETTISON THE BOMBS AND SEE IF WE CAN BLOW THE FIRE OUT THE NEXT MINUTE WELL REALLY IT WASN’T THE NEXT MINUITE BECAUSE WE MUST HAVE LOST 10,000-12,000 FEET
IN THE DIVE BY HINT OF PULLING AND MANOEUVRING THE LANC CAME OUT AND SHOT STRAIGHT UP AGAIN WITH A VIOLENT TENDANCY TO GO OVER ONTO ITS BACK – TRYING TO CONTROL HER (IT SEEMS RATHER FUNNY TO CALL A LANC A HER) TRYING TO CONTROL HER I HAD TO CROSS MY RIGHT LEG OVER MY LEFT LEG AND HOLD THE CONTROL COLUMN FORWARD WITH MY RIGHT KNEECAP THEN I HAD TO HOLD FULL LEFT AILERON DOWN AND THIS BROUGHT HER STRAIGHT AND LEVEL AND KEPT HER STRIAGHT AND LEVEL FOR A MOMENT. I CALLED THE BOMB AIMER UP AND THE FLIGHT ENINGEER TO GET INTO THE BOMB AIMERS COMPARTMENT AND I HAD WITH MY LEFT LEG FULL LEFT RUDDER THE IDEA BEING THAT ALAN MILLARD WOULD COME UP AND CONTROL THE THROTTLE TO ASSIST ME BECAUSE WE HAD TO HAVE THE ENGINES OUT OF SYNCHRONISATION IN ORDER TO KEEP HER STRAIGHT AND LEVEL AND GEORGE THE FLIGHT ENGINEER TIED A PIECE OF ROPE ROUND THE LEFT RUDDER AND WAS HOLDING ON TO IT TO HELP – IT WAS DURING THIS PART AS WELL ONE THINKS OF THE HILARIOUS EPISODE OF THE NAVIGATOR SAYING “ I HAVE BEEN HIT AND I WILL GIVE YOU A COURSE FOR HOME” WHICH HE DID OF COURSE THIS TOOK ME AGES TO TURN ONTO THE COURSE WITH THE LANC CRIPPLED AS IT WAS THEN HE FELT INSIDE HIS SHIRT UNDER HIS MAE WEST AND SUBSEQUENTELY SAID “CHRIST ITS SWEAT”
WE AND I SAY WE BECAUSE THERE WAS THREE OF US DOING THE JOB FLEW BACK TO ENGLAND AND WAS DIVERTED TO WOODBRIDGE WHERE I WAS TOLD TO BRING IT IN - SO AS I CAME ACROSS THE AIRFIELD FOR THE FIRST TIME I TOLD ALL MY CREW TO GO FORWARD AND BAIL OUT BECAUSE I DID NOT THINK I COULD BRING IT IN SAFELY THERE WAS THE PROVERBIAL RHUBARDS WE STAYING WITH YOU RATHER THAN BAILING OUT – SO THEY WENT INTO THE CRASH POSITIONS EXCEPT FOR ALAN MILLARD AND MYSELF AND I BROUGHT IT IN AND CRASHED LANDED WHERE AFTERWARDS IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A MASTERLY LANDING ACCORDING TO THE CITATION
ALL I CAN REMEMBER WAS THAT TWO THINGS
ONE WHERE THE CREW SUBSEQUENTLY COUNTED 200 HOLES IN THE AIRCRAFT FROM THE FIGHTERS ATTACK AND THE QUESTION OF THE LITTLE RUM BOTTLES FROM WHICH WE ALL GOT STONED OUT OF MINDS AFTER HAVING SURVIVED
BECAUSE ALSO HALF THE PORT RUDDER WAS MISSING AS WELL. BUT MOST OF THE ATTACK WAS CANNON SHELL BECAUSE APPROXIMATELY 2 WEEKS AFTER THIS EPISODE I FOUND OUT THAT I HAD BEEN AWARDED THE D.F.C.
WELL IF YOU MEAN A CELEBRATION ALL I KNOW IS THAT AT WOODBRIDGE WE GOT STONED OUT OF OUR MINDS WIPING ALL THE
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RUM BOTTLES PRESUMABLY THEY WERE MEANT FOR THE OTHER CREWS WHO CRASH LANDED THERE AS WELL ALTHOUGH WE SAT OUTSIDE THE HUT AND THEY COLLOQUIAL PUT, PISSED OUT OF OUR MINDS - YES THERE WAS A DO IN THE OFFICERS MESS BUT AS THE REST OF MY CREW WERE N.C.OS. WE HAD A LITTLE ONE ON OUR OWN BUT THE OTHER THING WAS THAT OF COURSE MY WIFE SHE WAS NOT THEN SEWED MY D.F.C. ONTO MY TUNIC.
ANOTHER TRIP WAS TO A PLACE CALLED MAISY I STILL CANT PRONOUNCE THE NAME OF IT IN FRENCH AND WE HAD BEEN ATTACKED WE COULD NOT OPEN THE BOMB DOORS AND WE HAD 13,000 LBS BOMBS ABOARD INCIDENTALLY THE WHOLE OF THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM HAD GONE AS WELL – AFTERWARDS ON THE WAY HOME WE WERE DIVERTED TO SILVERSTONE OUR OLD OTU WHERE WE HAD FIRST CREWED UP ON WELLINGTONS COMING INTO LAND I HAD TO USE THE EMERGENCY AIR SYSYTEM TO BRING DOWN THE UNDERCARRIAGE AND FLAPS WHEN ALOAD OF REDS WERE FIRED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE RUNWAY AND I WAS TOLD TO OVERSHOOT THIS MEANT THAT I INSTICITIVELY PUSHED THE THROTTLE OPEN APPARENTLY THERE WAS STILL ANOTHER AIRCRAFT ON THE RUNWAY SOMEWHERE SO WE STARTED TO STAGGER ALONG ON AT ABOUT 200 FEET WITH A FULL BOMB LOAD UNDERCARRIDGE AND FLAPS DOWN WITHOUT ANY CHANCE OF GETTING THE UNDERCARRIDGE AND FLAPS UP AND I WAS DIVERTED TO TURWESTON – I CAN REMEMBER LETTING A FLOOD OF LANGUAGE COME OUT OVER THE RT (RADIO TRANSMITTOR) TO THE CONTROL TOWER AND PUTTING ME IN THIS STUPID POSITION – SO WE STAGGERED TOWARDS TURWESTON IN THIS CONDITION WHERE I BROUGHT IT STRAIGHT IN AFTER USING THE INTERCOM VITROUILIC TO ALL AND SUNDRY WITRH SOME WORKDS I WOULD THINK ARE ANOT MENTIONED IN BOOKS ANYMORE – WE LANDED ONTO THE RUNWAY AND RAN OFF ONTO THE GRASS AND I REMEMBERED A TRUCK COMING OUT TO US AND SAYING THEY THOUGHT WE HAD SOME PRACTISE BOMBS ABOARD AND WHEN THEY WERE TOLD IT WAS A FULL BOMB LOADS THEY ALL LEPT BACK INTO THE TRUCK AND DISPPEARED OVER THE HORIZON AT HIGH SPEED
SO WE LEFT THE LANC WERE IT WAS AND STARTED TO TRUDGE ACROSS THE AIRFIELD AND BY DAYLIGHT I REMEMEBER DISTINCTIVELY SOME TWIT AS A WING COMMANDER GIVING ME A ROASTING OVER MY USE OF FOUL LANGUAGE OVER THE INTERCOM – IT DID NOT APPEAR TO HIM THAT THERE HAS BEEN ANYTHING WRONG WITH OVERSHOOTING ME WITH A FULL BOMB LOAD WITH UNDERCARRIDGE AND FLAPS DOWN AND ONCE AGAIN I AM CERTAIN THAT AT THE SAME TIME A HALIFAX HAD OVERSHOT AND GONE INTO THE CLOTHING STORE AND BLOWN UP
THE THING ABOUT THIS INCIDENT IS THAT I WILL NOT RELATE ANYMORE BECAUSE IT WAS FAR BETTER TO DRAW A CURTAIN ACROSS
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9
WHEN ONE CONSIDERS THAT AT THESE TWO AIRFIELDS WERE EX OPERATIONAL PEOPLE WHO WERE NOW INSTRUCTING WHO APPEARED TO HAVE LOST ALL SEMBLANCE OF REALITY.
I THINK IT WOULD BE OF INTEREST TO RELATE ONE SMALL HUMOROUS INCIDENT AND THAT WAS THAT THERE WAS A LEADER NAVIGATION CHAP “PATCHEET” WHO ALWAYS SWORE BLIND THAT HE WOULD NEVER FLY WITH ME BECAUSE I WAS THE HAIRIEST ARSE PILOT ON THE SQUARDON
COS I WAS NOTORIOUS FOR LOW FLYING AND FOR GETTING BACK FIRST
WELL WE HAD BEEN UP TO THE OPS ROOM TO PREPARE FOR THE NIGHTS TRIP AND BOB BROOKS THE NAVIGATOR HAD A BICYCLE AND ON THE REAR WHEEL ON ONE SIDE WAS FREEWHEEL AND THE OTHER SIDE WAS FIXED – HE ALWAYS USED THE FREEWHEEL SIDE AND RIDING BACK FROM THE OPS ROOM WOULD GO ROUND THIS BEND AND PUT HIS FOOT DOWN AND DIRT TRACK LIKE A SPEEDWAY RIDER WHILE HE WAS IN THE OPS ROOM PREPARING THE NAVIGATION ASPECT WE TURNED THE REAR WHEEL ROUND SO THAT HE WAS ON FIXED AND SO HE RODE ALONG PUT HIS RIGHT FOOT DOWN AND HIS LEFT ONE OUT TO DO A SPEEDWAY RIDERS BROADSIDE AND QUITE NATURALLY CAME OFF HIS BIKE HEADLONG INTO THE HEDGE AND DITCH!!
IMMEDIATELY THE DOC WAS INFORMED AND HE WAS CARRIED TO THE SICK BAY WHERE HE WAS TOLD HE COULD NOT GO THAT NIGHT SO PATCHETT WAS NOMINATED TO COME WITH ME AND MY CREW AND DID NOT LIKE THIS ONE AT ALL!
AND THE FUND THING ABOUT THIS TRIP WAS THAT WE WERE ATTACKED TWICE – WITH PATCHETT SITTING THERE AND ALL OF SUDDEN OVER THE INTERCOM AFTER THE SECOND ATTACK HE SAID “I THINK IN FUTURE ANYTIME YOU WANT ME I WILL COME WITH YOU BECAUSE I DID NOT REALISE THAT YOU AND YOUR CREW WERE SO EFFICIENT OVER THE ENEMY TERRITORY”
I KNOW THAT IT BECAME A BYE WORD THAT I WAS INVARIABLY FIRST BACK THERE WAS VARIOUS NAMES APPLIED TO ME INCLUDING CHAMPION JOCKEY AND IT BECAME ALMOST A MATTER OF PROUD WITH ME
A. TO BE FIRST BACK AND
B. B. FOR ANOTHER CREW ON THE SQUADRON TO BEAR ME BACK WHICH FROM MY MEMORY NEVER DID HAPPEN
THE MAIN ASPECT APPEARED TO BE HOW WAS IT I GOT FIRST BACK AND YET MY FUEL LOGS ALWAYS SHOWED THAT WE DID QUITE WELL REGARDS TO FUEL CONSUMPTION
THE ANSWER WAS SIMPLE AND IT WAS KEPT A CLOSELY REGARDED SECRET WITH MY CREW
THAT WHEN WE WERE TOLD TO START DESCENDING AT CERTAIN POINT I STILL KEPT ALTITUDE AND WOULD COME DOWN IN VERY
[PAGE BREAK]
10
SIMPLE SMALL STEPS STILL WITH THE SAME REVS THE RESULT WAS THAT THE TIME EVERYBODY WAS AT CIRCUIT HEIGHT AND FLYING STRAIGHT AND LEVEL TOWARDS BASE I WAS STILL SOME 1000S FEET ABOVE THEM AND VIRTUALLY AT A SIMILAR POINT RELATIVE TO THE EARTHS SURFACE IN RELATION TO THEM THEN THROTTLING BACK AND PUTTING MY NOSE DOWN I WOULD REACH WHAT ONE MIGHT CALL FANTASTIC SPEEDS FOR THE LANCASTER AND RACE PASS EVERYBODY REACHING BASE FIRST AND NOBODY COULD UNDERSTAND HOW THIS KEPT HAPPENING TIME AND TIME AGAIN
ITS INTERESTING BECAUSE AFTER THE WAR WHEN I WENT BACK TO 83 SQUADRON ON LINCOLN’S I APPLIED THE SAME TECHNIQUE AND WAS INVARIABLE FIRST BACK AGAIN AND NOBODY COULD UNDERSTAND EITHER HOW IT HAPPENED.
ANOTHER THING I WAS NOTORIOUS FOR I SAY NOTORIOUS IN APOSTROPHES AND ITALICS WAS COMING INTO THE AIRFIELD INLINE WITH THE RUNWAY AT NOUGHT FEET CLEAN AS A WHISTLE AND A THIRD OR HALFWAY DOWN THE RUNWAY PULLING UP VERY VERY STEEPLY AND GOING INTO A VERY VERY TIGHT LEFT TURN AND WHEN I WAS IN AN ALMOST UPSIDE DOWN POSITION UNDER CARRIAGE AND FLAPS DOWN AND THROTTLE BACK TEMPORARILY STICK WELL BACK IN MY STOMACH AND A SPLIT ARSE TURN ONTO THE RUNWAY LIKE A SPITFIRE OR HURRICANE. I HAD A FEW ROCKETS OVER THIS BUT NOBODY SEEMED REALLY TO OBJECT TO THIS ONE !!
I THINK INFACT THIS COULD REALLY BE MENTIONED IN THE BOOK IF HE GOT ROUND TO IT
THERE WAS A DRIVER A WAAFF ON 49 SQUADRON AND ALL WE KNEW HER WAS SWISS ROLL SAL AND SHE WAS EXTREMELY KEEN ON MY WIRELESS OP ALF WITH A RESULT WAS WHEN WE LANDED WHOEVER WAS CLOSE BEHIND US SHE WOULD INVARIABLY COME TO OUR DISPERSAL FIRST TO COLLECT US AND GET US BACK TO DE-BRIEFING IT WAS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE WITH HER! AND I REMEMBER WE HAD BEEN TO LINCOLN THE CREW AND I AND WE HAD GOT BACK TO FISKERTON FIVE MILE HOLT AND YOU CROSSED THE RIVER BY A LITTLE FERRY BOAT IN THE DARK AND SWISS ROLL SAL WAS WITH MY WIRELESS OP AG WITH SOME OTHER WAAFS AND A COUPLE OF OTHER CREWS AND THERE WAS A HILARIOUS MIX UP IN THE BOAT WHEN HALF OF THEM WENT ONTO THE WATER! AND I THINK THAT’S ITS JUST THE FACT AS I SAY EVERYBODY KNEW SWISS ROLL SAL
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Transcript of interview with Allan Edgar
Dad's Transcript Memories of Crew and Missions 1944 to 1945
Description
An account of the resource
The memoirs were recorded in 1980 at a reunion at Sudbrooke. He starts by describing crewing up at Silverstone. His opinion of the Stirling was that it was awful on the ground and in the air. His first operation was a second 'dickie' (an observer) to Konisberg. On his third trip his bomb aimer opened his chute on the ground so Alan gave him his. Fortunately the trip was uneventful. They took part on an operation to Mailly le Camp which turned into a disaster because the bombing points were obscured. On the next operation they machine gunned a train without appreciating how dangerous it was. Then an operation to Bour Leopold, Belgium led to their Lancaster being heavily damaged. They crash landed at Woodbridge and Alan was awarded the DFC. After the landing they drank all the rum they found in a hut. On the next trip to France they were attacked and the hydraulics were damaged resulting in not being able to open the bomb doors. They returned to the UK with the bombs and successfully landed at Turweston. He was always first back because he maintained height until close to the airfield then dived at top speed for the airfield. The other crews could not understand how he achieved this.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Alan Edgar
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1980
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
10 typewritten sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MEdgarAG172180-180704-01
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Australian Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Great Britain
Poland
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
France--Tours
France--Mailly-le-Camp
Belgium--Leopoldsburg
Poland--Gdańsk
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Claire Monk
1 Group
49 Squadron
83 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bomb aimer
bombing
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
crash
crewing up
Distinguished Flying Cross
flight engineer
Fw 190
ground personnel
He 111
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hurricane
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Lincoln
mess
navigator
Operational Training Unit
pilot
RAF Fiskerton
RAF Silverstone
RAF Syerston
RAF Turweston
RAF Winthorpe
RAF Wittering
RAF Woodbridge
Spitfire
Stirling
target indicator
training
Wellington
wireless operator / air gunner
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wharmby, Tom
Tom Wharmby
T Wharmby
Description
An account of the resource
13 items including nine photographs, two letters and biographical entries for five 199 Squadron personnel. Photographs and biographies are of Sergeant Tom Wharmby, including his wedding, and four of his crew members; Sergeant Ronald Hughes, Sergeant Leonard Waldorf, Sergeant John Guyer Wilson and Flying Officer Ronald Herman Downes Cook. Letters sent from Air Ministry to Sergeant Tom Wharmby’s widow concern the location of his grave and those of his aircrew at Harderwijk, Holland, their aircraft having crashed on 12/13 May 1943. <br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Carol Wharmby-Gordon and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br />Additional information on Tom Wharmby is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/124941/">IBCC Losses Database</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-10-18
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Wharmby, T
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Ronald Herman Downes Cook
Flying Officer of 199 Sqd
Wireless Operator Air Gunner.
Ronald was born 2st September 1912 in Weybridge Surrey to John William and Eva Annie.
He attended the local Schools in Weybridge, and was an active member of 1st Weybridge Scouts, then becoming appointed Scout Master in 1931, he continued scouting until the war.
Ronald enlisted in the RAF in September 1940 as Volunteer Reserve. He immediately began training as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner. His training continued and he gained a temporary commission in August 1942. He was then assigned to 199 Sqd in November 1942.
He married Grace on the 26th July 1941 at St James Church Weybridge. They had very little time together as a married couple and never built the home they were planning.
Ronald flew a total of 244.70 hours with 199 Sqd.
Inscription on Ronald's headstone is
TO LIVE IN THE HEARTS OF THOSE WE LOVE IS NOT TO DIE.
Sgt Ronald Hughes
Age 20 of 199 Sqd 1450608
Navigator
Ronald was born in the Moss village situated near the town of Wrexham North Wales in 1923. He was the only Son of Elizabeth and Stanley.
Ronald was educated at Grove Park Grammar School in Wrexham where he excelled in numeracy and the sciences.
He completed his education with distinction before becoming employed by the Courtaulds Company in Holywell as a trainee Chemist.
Ronald volunteered to join the RAF as he was obsessed with flying, and felt he had a duty to serve his country.
His early flying training was carried out in Canada, he quickly became adapted to service life.
When Ronald was reported missing, the entire Family were in mourning, and were inconsolable with grief.
Inscription on Ronalds headstone is
HIS DUTY NOBLE DONE, GOOD GRANT HIM ETERNAL REST.
Sgt Leonard Waldorf
Age 20 of 199 Sqd 1383863
Pilot.
Leonard was born in Stoke Newington London, a Jewish family.
He was a wonderful sportsman and whatever sport he took up he won numerous trophies for table tennis, Football, Cricket and Golf.
He joined Imperial Airways in 1939/40 and then volunteered, though under age, for the RAF in early 1941. He then trained at the Polaris Flying Academy in Lancaster California USA in 1942.
When Leonard was reported missing, his Parents were anxious that if he was captured he would be tortured as he was a Jew.
The raid on 12th/13th May 1943 on Duisburg Germany was supposed to be his last mission.
Inscription on Leonards head stone is.
DEEPLY MOURNED AND SO SADLY MISSED BY HIS PARENTS AND BROTHER CHARLES.
Sgt John Guyer Wilson
Of 199 Sqd 1386132
Air Bomber
John was married and lived in Dagenham London. They had one Son David, John was killed 7 days before his Sons 200 Birthday.
David does remember standing next to him in the kitchen, and looked down at his buckles on his boots.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Tom Wharmby's crew biographies
Description
An account of the resource
Four biographies of 199 Squadron servicemen killed in action, with notes regarding the inscriptions on their headstones.
Flying Officer Ronald Herman Downes Cook, wireless operator/ air gunner;
Sergeant Ronald Hughes, navigator;
Sergeant John Guyer Wilson, bomb aimer;
Sergeant Leonard Waldorf, pilot. The latter was born to a Jewish family and was killed in action on 12/13 May 1943 on Duisburg.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Four typewritten sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Personal research
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MWharmbyT1236751-171018-010001, MWharmbyT1236751-171018-010002,
MWharmbyT1236751-171018-010003,
MWharmbyT1236751-171018-010004
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--London
United States
California
California--Lancaster
Germany
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-05-12
1943-05-13
199 Squadron
2 BFTS
aircrew
bomb aimer
British Flying Training School Program
faith
grief
killed in action
memorial
navigator
pilot
training
Wellington
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1883/35790/PPickF1716.2.jpg
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pick, Erick
Frederick Pick
F Pick
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-26
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Pick, F
Description
An account of the resource
21 items. The collection concerns Frederick Pick (1685075 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 57 and 227 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Gillian M Christian and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Description
An account of the resource
Head and shoulders, all with aircrew trainee flash and telegraphist sleeve badge, all three have inscriptions to Eric and one is dated Oct '43.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-10
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PPickF1716
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Title
A name given to the resource
Three trainee wireless operators
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-10
aircrew
training
wireless operator / air gunner
-
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15da8550efecf0807de09d817784803a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Jenkinson, Peter and Leslie. Peter Jenkinson
Description
An account of the resource
Fifty-three items concerning Peter Jenkinson who served as a flight engineer on 166 and 153 Squadron Lancaster and was killed with his crew on 28 January 1945. Collection contains official and family correspondence, photographs, biographies, newspaper articles, official documents, roll of honour and records of operations.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-08-24
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Jenkinson, LP-PR
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Three gravestones
Description
An account of the resource
Three colour photographs of gravestones. Top left - for Flight Sergeant H Ferguson air gunner. Top right - for Flight Sergeant J W Milburn wireless operator. Bottom - for Flight Sergeant J F Dormer navigator.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three colour photographs mounted on an album page
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SJenkinsonPR1826262v10043-0007
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-01-28
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
air gunner
aircrew
final resting place
killed in action
navigator
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2573/44638/BUreILUreILv2.2.pdf
a87581cb66c4d8dae556d3359dde9c1b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ure, Ivan Lochlyn
I L Ure
Description
An account of the resource
27 items. The collection concerns Ivan Lochlyn Ure (b. 1922, 1323004 Royal Air Force) and contains his memoirs, prisoner of war log, correspondence, documents, and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 10 Squadron before he became a prisoner of war.
The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Tim and Heather Wright and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-08-15
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ure, IL
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Years up to the Outbreak of the Second World War and How it Affected Me
Description
An account of the resource
A part autobiography of Ivan's pre-war life.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Ivan Ure
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
Wales--Colwyn Bay
England--London
England--Lancing
England--Blackpool
Scotland--Edzell
Scotland--Arbroath
England--Whitley Bay
Germany
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Nuremberg
France
France--Le Tréport
France--Abbeville
France--Paris
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Lithuania--Klaipėda
Poland--Świnoujście
Poland--Białogard
Europe--Elbe River
Germany--Lüneburg
Germany--Rheine
Germany--Dresden
Lithuania--Klaipėda
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
Royal Air Force
Polskie Siły Powietrzne
United States Army Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
23 printed sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BUreILUreILv2
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
10 Squadron
4 Group
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
B-24
Blenheim
bomb aimer
bombing
Botha
Chamberlain, Neville (1869-1940)
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
crewing up
ditching
Dominie
Dulag Luft
flight engineer
George VI, King of Great Britain (1895-1952)
Halifax
Halifax Mk 1
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
Ju 88
lack of moral fibre
Lancaster
Lysander
Me 109
Me 110
Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy
navigator
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
prisoner of war
Proctor
RAF Barrow in Furness
RAF Hendon
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Madley
RAF Marston Moor
RAF Melbourne
RAF Padgate
RAF Wittering
RAF Yatesbury
Red Cross
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (1882-1945)
Spitfire
Stalag Luft 1
Stalag Luft 4
Stalag Luft 6
Stalin, Joseph (1878-1953)
Stirling
the long march
training
Typhoon
Wallis, Barnes Neville (1887-1979)
Wellington
Whitley
wireless operator / air gunner
-
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ab7008ff91bf11d2f30f6cc52eeebba6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cole, Ivor
Frederick Ivor Geoffrey Cole
F I G Cole
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-07-09
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Cole, FIG
Description
An account of the resource
42 items.
The collection concerns Sergeant Frederick Ivor Geoffrey "Ivor" Cole (1817994 Royal Air Force) his log book, documents and photographs, and a photograph album of his post war service in Singapore. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 103 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Frederick Cole and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
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[underlined] The W.OP/A.G. [/underlined]
From far and near you often hear of a pilots skill and dare – But little is known of the W.OP/AG or why he's really there,
To be exact as a matter of fact he's the backbone of the crew – when you take into account the large amount of work he has to do.
He knows his job without a doubt and you really cant deny – when smashing at Huns with Browning Guns he's quite a handy guy.
He's needed too – returning home through nights as black as ink, His D/F readings guide the plane to safety oe'r [?] the drink.
And should a packet hit the plane and baling out begins – he knows he does'nt stand a chance so he just sits back and grins. And in his eyes before he dies is a glint of devil may care
Then he meets his fate in a burning crate – somehow – someplace – somewhere!
So when again you see a plane go sailing over the blue – Remember theres a W/OP aboard – and THANK GOD it is’nt you!
So heres to the men of the RAF and heres to the men that fly – And heres to the ruddy WOP/AG – Three cheers for the next one to die!
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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The W.OP/AG
The wireless operator/ air gunner
Description
An account of the resource
A poem about the work done by a Wireless operator air gunner.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Poetry
Format
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One handwritten sheet
Identifier
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MColeFIG1817994-180214-06
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
aircrew
arts and crafts
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/623/32342/BPayneTPGunningFVv1.1.pdf
a5c7559446dbdbd1e7d2cbfdab3c125b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Payne, Thomas Peter
T P Payne
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
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Payne, TP
Description
An account of the resource
Six items. Two oral history interviews with Flying Officer Peter Payne (b. 1925, 1398674, 199071 Royal Air Force)auto biographies and his log book. He flew as a pilot with 90 and 15 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Peter Payne and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
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2016-02-04
2016-07-06
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Transcribed document
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Transcription
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MALLEVILLE-LES-GRÉS CHURCHYARD
Index No. Fr. 662
Malleville-les-Grés is a village and commune 41 kilometres west of Dieppe and 10 kilometres south-west of St. Valéry-en-Caux. It lies 2 kilometres south of Veulettes, which is a seaside village 9 kilometres west of St. Valéry-en-Caux on the G.C.71ET road running south from Veulettes.
South-west of the church, near the main entrance to the churchyard, are the graves of 3 airmen of the Royal Air Force.
GUNNING, Sgt. (Obs.) FRANK VIVIAN, 580613. R.A.F. 15 Sqdn. 12th June, 1940. Age 19. Son of Frank Victor and Florence Gunning, of Bridport, Dorsetshire.
PÈULEVE, Sgt. (W. Op./Air Gnr.) DAVID HILARY, 614230. R.A.F. 15 Sqdn. 12th June, 1940. Age 21. Son of Auguste Albertand Alice Florence Peulevé, of Castle Bromwich, Warwickshire.
TAKIDELI, Pilot Offr. (Pilot) ALEXANDER, 42368. R.A.F. 15 Sqdn. 12th June, 1940. Age 20. Son of Gregory John and Grace Maud Takideli.
[black and white full length photograph of Sergeant Gunning in his uniform]
[page break]
THE STORY OF FRANK VIVIAN GUNNING – 580613
OBSERVER – R.A.F. 1939 – 1940
FRANK VIVIAN GUNNING, CALLED VIVIAN BECAUSE HIS FATHER WAS ALSO NAMED FRANK, BORN IN BEAMINSTER JULY 13th 1920. THE ONLY CHILD OF FRANK AND FLORRIE GUNNING. EDUCATED AT BRIDPORT GRAMMAR SCHOOL. ON LEAVING SCHOOL HE WORKED IN THE LOCAL ELECTRICITY COMPANY SHOWROOMS AS AN ASSISTANT. BY THE TIME HE ENLISTED FOR SERVICE INTO THE RAFVR, JANUARY 9th 1939 HE HAD GROWN INTO A 6ft TALL, FAIR HAIRED, YOUNG MAN.
Starting at the lowest rank, A.C.2 it was changed to LAC on January 10th being posted to H.Q. Reserve Command then to RTW No 1 Depot Uxbridge where he was kitted out and undertook basic drill training. Followed on April 17th with a move to No. 3 Air Observer School Aldergrove. After nearly 2 months in Northern Ireland, during which time he was promoted to Acting Sergeant and obtained his Observer brevet, Vivian was posted to No. 104 (Bomber) Squadron, based at Bassingbourne, Cambridgeshire. Within a few weeks, on July 10th he was posted to No. 110 (Bomber) Squadron based at WATTISHAM Suffolk.
Having spent the whole of August preparing for the war, which was so inevitably going to happen, Vivian had no illusions about his future. In a letter written on the 4th of September, the day after war was declared, to his closest school friend John Wilkins, (copy of letter attached to this story) he writes “… we have achieved the seemingly impossible and got messed up in a war, it looks like me for Valhalla!” Explaining his reasons for the comment he continued, “I am not trying to elicit sympathy from you, or exaggerating danger, or anything like that. For once I’m perfectly serious. You see, all we bomber crews are quite aware of the fact and are quite resigned to it …” he continued, “ … it’s only a matter of weeks before we all get pipped”. The young airman’s point was made in the conclusion of his letter, when he wrote of the 10 Blenheims which had been despatched for a raid that day “ … I have just seen 3 return” exactly one year and 2 days after he had enlisted into the RAFVR, on 11th January 1940, he was posted again. Mainly due to heavy losses he went to West Raynham on No. 101 Squadron as did several other survivors. During his period with 101 he was made up to full Sergeant on 3rd March 1940.
[page break]
Another move came on 3rd of April, this time to RAF Watton on No. 21 Squadron, still flying on Blenheim Mk IV’s Finally on May 27th 1940 he was posted to XV Squadron based at Wyton. 17 days after his arrival on XV Squadron, on June 12th 1940, he was posted as “Missing – presumed killed”
The Squadron was ordered to slow the German advancing forces that were trying to reach the coast and capture Allied troops trying to escape from French ports. Every German column was supported by Anti-aircraft guns. Our slow moving aeroplanes didn’t stand a chance.
As an only child, the loss of Vivian Gunning was a devastating blow to his parents, particularly his mother who never recovered from the shock.
The official report stated “580613 Sgt F V Gunning – Observer – RAFVR Age 19 was killed on Wednesday 12th June 1940, whilst flying as Observer on Blenheim Bomber R3747, during an attack against enemy columns at Le Bourget. The aircraft, which was shot down, crashed approximately 3 kms from the coast, near the road, on the eastern side of the D.271 road, south of Malleville-les-Gres. The point of impact being approximately 0.7 kms from the village.
All 3 crew members, Pilot – 42368 P/O A Takideli aged 20
Observer – 580613 Sgt. F V Gunning aged 19
Wireless Operator/Gunner – 614230 Sgt. D. H. Peuleve aged 21
Share a grave, side by side, in the village church yard of Malle-les-Gres. It is maintained by local villagers, overseen by The War Graves Commission. They are the only War Graves in this Cemetery, Index Ref: No: Fr 662. (A photograph of the grave is included in this story)
The headstones are engraved as follows:-
P/O A Takideli
“At the going down of then [sic] sun and in the morning we will remember them”
Sgt. F V Gunning
“Death may hide but cannot divide”
Sgt. D H Peuleve
“Requiem Aeternam Doha Els, Domine: Et Lux Perpetua Luceat eis”
Having visited the crash site and the churchyard on several occasions I was struck by the peacefulness of the area. The village is 10 kms south-west of St. Valery-en-caux, (some 41 kms west of Dieppe).
[page break]
It lies 2 kms south of Veulettes, which is a seaside village, 9 kms west of St. Valery-en-caux on the G.C.71ET road running south from Veulettes on the D.271.
During one visit I was fortunate to meet with a lady, who as a school girl saw the wrecked Blenheim, and showed me the field where it crashed. It was just off the D.271 south of the village and to the east of the road. The field is now used for growing peas, the Blenheim had crashed some 100 meters from the road, and in the 1990’s one could still see the spot due to lack of growth of the plants. The lady also advised that the 3 crew were originally buried near to the aircraft, she and friends placed flowers there regularly, eventually the bodies were re-buried in the Churchyard where they were tended by local parishioners. The Blenheim remained there for several months until removed for scrap.
The Book “1939 – 1945 THE WAR DEAD OF THE COMMONWEALTH” lists Minor Cemeteries in Seine Maritime issued by The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Maidenhead. Extract from Page 24 attached.
This book also has a summary of military action up to Dunkirk and includes the raids on Bruneval, St. Nazaire and Dieppe plus the war in France, all leaving many graves to be cared for, and to be listed in their books for relatives to locate their loved ones.
John Wilkins was a school friend of Vivian, his widow Rosa sent the letter to me in 2001, she told me that John carried the letter with him throughout his wartime service. The original letter is in Bridport Museum Trust files with other information and photographs.
Despite extensive advertising in RAFA and Aircrew Association journals no response about relatives of the Pilot, P/o A Takideli was received. The Ministry advised that in 1940 he had a sister living in London. However the widow of another XV Squadron pilot recalled his name because it was unusual being of Greek origin. A Niece of Sgt. D H Peuleve contacted me, from the Birmingham area, and advised that no other relative was known.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
The Story of Frank Vivian Gunning
580613 - Observer -RAF 1939-1940
Description
An account of the resource
A biography of Vivian, born in Beaminster in 1920. He trained at Aldergrove and served at Bassingbourne, Wattisham, West Raynham, Watton then Wyton. Losses were high. He was shot down near Le Bourget, his two crew members dying with him. <br /><br />Additional information on Frank Gunning is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/211402/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Creator
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TP Payne
Format
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Four printed sheets
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
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BPayneTPGunningFVv1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Beaminster
England--Bridport
France--Le Bourget
France--Dieppe
England--Birmingham
France
England--Dorset
England--Middlesex
England--Warwickshire
England--London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940-06-12
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
101 Squadron
104 Squadron
110 Squadron
15 Squadron
21 Squadron
aircrew
Blenheim
final resting place
killed in action
navigator
observer
pilot
RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Wattisham
RAF Watton
RAF West Raynham
RAF Wyton
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1389/31212/BWhitwellHJWhitwellHJv2.1.pdf
c67ff1aae9154ab574a553817bbd3b80
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1389/31212/BWhitwellHJWhitwellHJv1.1.pdf
7406c01065baf0a488c437d96644bf46
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Connock, Mike
Michael Connock
M Connock
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2015-02-24
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Connock, M
Description
An account of the resource
Eight items. The collection concerns (Royal Air Force) and contains people who served with 50 and 61 Squadrons at RAF Skellingthorpe.
They include:
W Dixon
GR Williamson
BV Robinson
GA Walker
L Barber
HJ Whitwell
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Mike Connock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
*An account by H J Whitwell, a Wireless Operator with 50 Sqn. He describes his crew and being shot down on 8 October 1943. Having parachuted to safety, he recounts his capture and experiences as he travels from one POW camp to another, finally arriving at Stamlager IVB.
I think probably the best thing to do before relating my experiences after we left England on that fateful “op” on Friday the eigth [sic] of October is to give the names ect [sic] of my crew, so here goes.
John Charles Peter Taylor nicknamed “JCP” after his initials was a P/O the pilot and captain of our aircraft a Lancaster “N” for Nan [?] and along with “Stubby” our bomberdier [sic] was the only officers in the crew, he was London born.
Stewart Stubbs nicknamed as above was of course the bomb aimer and an F/O, he hailed from Hertfordshire.
James Gray the mid-upper gunner was a South African, though he [page break]
[Second page is a re-write of the page above and does not therefore follow on from it]
Probably the best thing to do before relating my experiences after leaving dear old England on that fateful “op” on Friday the eigth [sic] of October 1943, will be to give my crew names ect, [sic] so here goes:-
John Charles Philip Taylor, the skipper of our aircraft “N” for Nan was a Pilot Officer. He was only recently commissioned. We nicknamed him JCP and he was a Londoner. Nan was a Lancaster.
Stewart Stubbs the bombardier was a Flying Officer and along with JCP was the only officer members of the crew. “Stubby” was his “monica” and he hailed from Hertfordshire.
James Gray our mid-upper gunner was a South African, though he lived in [page break]
[follows on from first page, not quite from second] lived in Rhodesia, Jimmy was a W/O.
William Beckthold the rear-gunner came from Canada he also was a W/O, we called him “Canada”.
Our own Navigator Fred Burton whose home town was Winchester and he held the rank of F/S.
Joseph Handley the Flight-Engineer was also a F/S and like myself belonged to the county of “Broad Acres”, Otley being his home-town.
Yours truly the Wireless Operator/Air Gunner was an humble Seargent [sic] of 9 months standing my home being at York.
We had been very busy for the past eleven days operating on Hanover [page break] twice, Hagen, Borchum [sic], Munich and Frankfurt and we were all looking forward to the “Stand down”.
On the morning of Friday the eigth [sic] of October I felt pretty rough, having a bad cold and throat; Joe advised me to report sick but I held on thinking today would be the beggining [sic] of the Stand down as the moon was well up.
Freddy the navigator was grounded lucky for him, his ears were giving trouble.
We were soon to learn [inserted] that [inserted] we were on that night and did an air test. Our navigator for the night was to be a young fellow who had just [page break] returned from leave his own skipper was unfit. I can’t remember his name.
Our usual “kite” “Z” for Zebra was unserviceable with engine trouble, this old stager although being the oldest one on the squadron, was always lucky for us, we had flown in her the last 5 trips, she was a grand climber and although being rather untidy inside we were very attached to her.
We were given “N” for Nan in her place a brand new model, this was to be her first operation.
Briefing time soon came around and [page break] and “Jay” [?] gave us the “gen”, Hanover was to be visited once again, this meant a six hour trip at least.
Soon, we got the main briefing and was checked and told to run through it ourselves, we were given more “gen” from the Wing Commander and Group Captain. The Group Captain wished us best luck and away we all went to get our specialist tackle and back to an [sic] hurried “ops tea” This being over, we boarded the transport to the locker rooms to collect our chutes, harnesses, may [sic] - [page break] wests and other flying clothing. I have a warm position in the aircraft there-fore [sic] the only flying clothing I took along was my “flying boots”.
“Andy” our transport friend had the bus waiting. Little did we think we were not to see him again, and we were soon whisked away with our ungainly load of “gen” ect [sic] to “N” Nan. Very shortly we clambered aboard her and got all our stuff carefully positioned & visually checked the equipment and “J” and Joe warmed up the [page break] engines. Then we got our may[sic] -west’s [sic] harnesses and chutes fixed on and got out to stretch our legs and chat to the ground crews who were putting the final touches to her. As the time drew near to take off we clambered aboard once again and soon the engines were ‘revving’ up and we were taxing [sic] along to the runway. We were about one minute late in take-off but had plenty of time to spare to gain hieght [sic] over base. When 10,000 feet was reached and everything rechecked in the air and [page break] found to be satisfactory our oxygen was turned on by Joe and we fitted on the now fimilar [sic] mask. Course was set on schedule and we set ourselves as comfortably as possible for the trip ahead.
The navigator did his job alright as did everyone else in the crew, the engines were behaving well and we soon reached 20,000 feet and kept joking away to each other every so often, and in fact all went without incident.
Up came the tracking flares and on [page break] approaching the target Jimmy drew our attention to the P.F.F. flares. We went in and “Stubby” began the commentary for the bombing-run. The time then would be approximately 0045, when I noticed the radio had gone off. The first thing was to check my fuses, this meant opening up the panel on the starboard side of the A/C and in doing this duty I pulled my intercomm [sic] plug out of its socket. I am used to being off the i/c being a W/OP so did not worry as [page break] I knew it wouldn’t be a long job. While engaged thus I felt a violent lurch and the plane took a terrific dive, I was thrown upwards towards the roof and for some time was powerless to do anything. I knew by the feel of this we had been hit. The A/C pulled out to a certain extent, and I observed the escape door in the nose was open and bodies were leaving hurriedly. Then I saw the captain leave, all this time the navigator had not warned me of the “abandon [page break] aircraft” call, but looked dumbfounded-ed [sic] and powerless to move. The smell of burning and fumes was very strong and although the engines appeared to be functioning OK they were revved down and I was able to go forward and shout to tell him to grab his chute and jump for it, his chute was behind the chair propped on the starboard side, I observed no fires aboard.
I then moved to the W/OPs seat and grabbed my chute, I then remembered the IFF so hurriedly put down my chute and pressed the button to explode the [page break] IFF and Navigation Aid. Of course I was not sure the navigators [sic] and pilots [sic] positions were to “live”.
The next thing was to get my chute and clip it on, this proved a tricky job as the “Gee” was pretty bad now, being unable to hold the chute and clip it on this way, I moved to the navigators [sic] position, placed my parachute on his table and manoeuvred myself so clipping the chute on.
All this time my thoughts had been on the speed the plane was moving earthwards I knew we must be very near the “deck” now, I shouted once again to my navigator telling him to [page break] get his own chute on and I then moved forward towards the escape hatch.
The navigator then rushed at me without his chute and grabbed the lower part of my body shouting “I want to go down with you!”
I had no time to argue but jumped with him clinging to me. After a few seconds I pulled the rip-cord and the chute opened, halting my downward descent considerably, but at the same time the jolt had flung the navigator off, almost certainly to his death, as the height I estimated to be 200 to 250 feet. If he had act-[page break]ed calmly he would have had ample time to escape OK as he must have been warned well in advance by the Cpt. I felt a sharp pain in my right little finger, also my left ear seemed to have gone deaf on me.
My feelings at this juncture were very scattered, it seemed as though I was in a bad dream I pulled myself together and realised I was not dreaming but slowly approaching German territory, fields roads, hedges ect [sic] were rapidly racing towards me. Soon a pond seemed my destination but I pulled my harness on one side, and managed to steer myself to land [page break] or should I say splash in the shallow part. I was glad to get down, as there was still a fair amount of heavy & light “flak” also searchlights about and I did not want peppering.
I found out later from members of my crew that as we were levelling up to take our photograph, we were attacked and hit in the port petrol tanks by JU 88s. I had not of course heard a word from my skipper up there on account of the I/C plug being out.
We had [inserted] however [/inserted] dropped our bombs which was a good thing. I had dropped away from the main blaze and although [page break] the sky was a red glow only a few cottages were burning around me, it appeared to be out in the countryside where I had dropped. I found I was in a big garden or park surrounded by barbed wire. I could hear the sound of voices and the barking of dogs in the distance, though I was tensed up and listened as best I could with the good ear for fear they had seen my descent but the voices didn’t seem to be coming my way. I clambered out of the pond and then silently gathered in the chute, took off the harness and may-west [sic]. I had been fortunate in [page break] one respect as I still retained my flying boots. I kept listening every few seconds and heard voices, and also saw bicycle lamps approaching on a road which passed by. I kept very quite [sic] until they had passed. By this time the drone of our bombers were fading away, the gunfire was subsiding, and the searchlights were going out one by one, I judged the time to be approx. 0110. I ripped a big chunk off my parachute with the aid of my knife also took the torch out of my may-west [sic]. My right hand little finger was bleeding profusely so I tore off a strip of silk [page break] and roughly bandaged it, it was pretty painful also my ear was still effected. [sic] I felt very envious of those more fortunate crews homeward bound to a warm meal and then to bed.
My next job was to scoop out an [sic] hole in the soft earth, and so bury my tackle. I got my stuff over carefully to a spot that was hidden from the road and would afford good cover from passers by on the road, by the way a good thick edge skirted the road which was all to the good. I soon, silently scooped out an [sic] hole and gathered in my chute as tightly as possible and along with the harness may west [sic] and [page break] cap I buried. The next thing was to carefully find a good spot to get out of the place. I got over the barbed wire entanglement with some difficulty. This done, I found I was in a big field of sugar-beet with a wood in the distance. There was a road at right-angles to the other road. The noise of people chattering and barking dogs also lights flickering, presumably bicycles. The lights of blazing Hanover made the landscape comparatively clear, the gunfire and searchlights had now packed up. I swung out to the right as far as possible to keep clear of the road, there were 3 or 4 barns ablaze quite nearby so I then and there [page break] decided the best thing to do would be to go into the wood and get a few hours sleep if possible, and carry on about 0400 o’clock, also to get my thoughts collected and organise my next move. I was about to enter this wood when I thought searchers were about, as a light kept flicking in and out intermittently this certainly “shook me”, I immediately threw myself down and waited a few minutes but the light seemed to be in one position so I ventured forward and discovered it to be [inserted] an [/inserted] almost burnt out incendiary bomb. Into the wood, I went and soon found an [sic] hollowed out piece of ground, not before a lot of stumbling [page break] around so I decided to bunk down here for a spell.
Although I was wet and miserable, I did manage to get to sleep. I slept longer than I had intended; cold and my feet still wet. It was getting light and must have been about 0500 Saturday morning. The weather conditions were cold but dry. I then got up and decided to survey the wood, it was quite small I got near to the edge and before I realized what was happening, 3 men appeared. They were uniformed, and armed, though I didn't know to which organisation they belonged. They gathered round me and one said in broken English that I was to follow them. I was led over to the road and [page break]
Page 22 missing [page break]
smeared with ersatge [sic] honey also a cup of ersatge [sic] coffee which I thought tasted pretty terrible, a few sips of the coffee and half slice of bread was enough for me. They were amazed that I didn't have it all. Very shortly I was told to put on my boots as I was to go to Hanover. Two guards appeared, and then I began a walk of about 5 miles to the town. Two guards each armed with rifles. It was then that I observed the enormous damage that we had done on this and previous raids, it seemed as though nothing had escaped and every other building was down or badly damaged by either explosives or incendaries [sic]. We passed through a village on the way and the local firefighters were busy. I felt pretty uncomfortable [page break] as the Germans kept glaring at me and uttering words of abuse, though I was not molested at all. When Hanover hove into sight, the damage was even more extensive, chaps were busy working away on the gutted and smoldering [sic] buildings. My thoughts at this time were, the sooner I get away inside some building the better for me. I was finally handed over to some Luftwaffe men at a building, they enquired the cause of our plane being shot down, wether [sic] “Ack Ack” or fighters.
This is of course I did not know and told them so. Two more guards were summoned and away we went again, through the main streets parks ect [sic] for at least 3 miles. Lorries cars and powered [page break] vehicals [sic] constituted a very small part of the traffic and even on these, large tanks fitted in the rear showed them to be run by gas, but there were many bicycles on the roads. As earlier, I came in for much abuse & I got used to it and payed [sic] no attention. I was also impressed by the sad unhappy looks of the people. The civilians clothes were poor and old fashioned compared to our standards. Uniforms of many types and colour were very evident and the “swastika” armbands kept popping up here and there. The german [sic] uniform seemed to my idea very “threatrical” [sic] looking. At this point my feet were beginning to trouble me and I wondered how much farther I had [page break] to go to get to my final destination.
We eventually arrived at a big building which I took to be a kind of Information Bearau [sic], shephared [sic] inside, and told to wait. Many uniformed men both Officer and NCO type were constantly coming in, and going out, also lots of “civvies”. This too had suffered, many Lufftweffe [sic] men were clearing debris away. During this time many spoke to me enquiring my nationality ect [sic]. After about one hour’s wait along came a Lufftwaffe [sic] Officer, he spoke good English, he said “the war was over for me, and I was lucky to be alive,” he also said, “what a beautiful place Hanover had been before the damage". I was taken into [sic] a nice car with him, an NCO was driving it. We seemed to go round the [deleted] busy [/deleted] main parts again [page break]. The damage [inserted] was [/inserted] everywhere, some of the roads were littered with debris about a foot deep, it was impossible to drive the car through. Eventually we arrived at a big building, and he got out and went inside, after about five minutes or so, he came out again and away we drove to land up at an Aerodrome.
He handed me over to the Officer in charge, and then I was conducted to a solitary cell with a wooden bed, a small table and stool, a very small barred window was the means of ventilation, the door had a peep hole in the centre, the time I estimated to be 0430. I was also given 2 blankets and although there were only hard boards to lie on I settled down and was soon fast asleep. I was shortly awakened and taken to a waiting van where along with two german guards was seated a Canadian Pilot Officer [page break] pilot, I noticed both his eyes were swollen and discoloured; on attempting to speak to each other we were “hushed” by the guards. I thought maybe the “Canuck” had been manhandled, but later learnt he had sustained these injuries before leaving his aircraft.
We started off, worming our way through side streets and the town was very soon left behind and after about seven or eight minutes we arrived at another big place this may have been the buildings of an aerodrome. Out we climbed to move into a big modern building, all our personal things and identity discs were taken from us after a thorough search.
Each article and my six shillings in English money were checked and listed and we were each made to sign our names and service numbers on this list. We were next taken to another guardroom, with [page break] similar cells to the last place, except there was heating laid on. I was ushered into one of these cells and given 2 slices of german [sic] bread and margarine with ersatz coffee for drink.
Being very hungry I soon consumed this, they also gave me a couple of blankets, the guards were pretty decent and spoke to me in broken English. I asked to have my injured finger dressed, and shortly along came an orderly and dressed it, though it looked to me a trifle septic. I was allowed to visit the latrine and after this got down on the rough wooden bed and was soon asleep. The next morning it being Sunday, I was awakened by the guard and given the usual couple of slices of bread with honey this time, and also the coffee. [page break]
The time the guard showed me was 0800. After my sparse meal, I thought I heard the voice of that of my captain, it seemed as though he was at the toilet, so I let out a yell and he gleefully acknowledged me. Soon after I was allowed to go to the toilet and there had a quick wash with ersatz soap. While so engaged I heard Joe’s voice also that of “Jimmy” but was restrained from calling them. While so engaged I heard both Joe & Jimmy’s voices but was restrained from calling them, it certainly was a relief to know that 4 of us at least was [sic] O.K. I returned to the cell and heard someone tapping morse on the wall, but was unable to read this. The time passed slowly as there was nothing to occupy ones time. At about 12 o’clock the guard came in again and [page break] beaming all over his face said “Comrade, goot German essen”. He was carring [sic] a plate containing a yellow looking concoction very salty which contained potatoes fat scraps and some vegetables, it looked has [sic] though it had all been cooked up together. I did not eat much although I was hungry but asked for a glass of water, or “Vasser” as it is called by the Germans, he brought some in. I passed the rest of the day until about 1800 hours by walking about the small cell. Occasionally the guards would appear and chat away in broken English, they appeared pretty decent fellows. At approxianetely [sic] 1800 hours I was given my couple of slices of bread and margarine also ersatz coffee. I visited the toilet, and then got down on the crude bed and was soon asleep. I awoke about eight o’clock, this of course being Monday, and then the guard brought in my breakfast and said, all the Englanders [page break] and myself were going to Frankfurt that afternoon. I was very glad to hear this, and hoped it would be the end of our confinement. I next was allowed to have a rough wash and awaited [sic] impatiently for afternoon. Around about midday the guard brought in the same type of dinner as the previous day, and on enquiry he said at about 1500 hours we would be moving and that I was to take along the bread rations for the whole journey. We were to arrive at our destination about 10.30 Tuesday. An hour or so later I was told to come along, and taken to a room and there was J.C.P., Jim and Joe, also the Canadian P/O and a New Zealand W/OP A.G. I then realized how scruffy I must look when I saw them, long tousled hair and quite a growth of the old face fungus. They all seemed unhurt except for minor cuts. JCP had lost his flying [page break] boots, Joe was minus one boot, but Jimmy had all intact. About six guards and a Seargent [sic] were in charge of us, they carried a kind of submachine gun each; also some large leather bags which I guessed contained our personal things: We were shepherded into an awaiting bus, with the guards at stratigic [sic] points and sat down, we were allowed to smoke. The bus started off and soon we were outside Hanover suberbs [sic] to finally stop at a small railway-station; probably the reason why we didn’t go to the Hanover main station was on account of damage to the same. We all got off and through to a platform, I felt sorry for J.C.P. walking around in his stocking feet, Joe too was inconvienenced [sic]. The station was quite busy, trains coming, and going, also many troops of all types were around and civilians. We were of course the object of attention [page break] although no demonstrations were made. The seargent [sic] or “under-officer” as he is known, in charge of the party got us a drink of the fimilair [sic] coffee. After waiting for about thirty or forty minutes, our train pulled in and we clambered aboard, the carriages by the way appear to be second and third class in Germany. Jimmy, the New Zealander and myself with guards were in one compartment while J.C.P., Joe and the Canadian were in another with their guards. I must say the guards were very good en-route, chatting and giving us food and apples, we stopped at quite a number of stations and were handed large cardboard mugs containing ersatz coffee, this seems a common practice in Germany, the people appeared to be very appreciative to the armed forces. We arrived at Frankfurt Main about 2355 and marched to a big building, [page break] on the station like an Enquiry Office. Upstairs, we found a very big room with rough beds on which were laid hundreds of American Army Air Corp. We were amazed to find such a lot of “Yankees”, many were wounded, there seemed a sprinkling of R.A.F here too, about half a dozen I should think. A few guards were posted about us; having no alternative we got down on the ground and though cold and uncomfortable I was soon in the land of nod. It was near 0630 and Tuesday morning when we were awakened and taken to a waiting [inserted] train [/inserted] which we boarded, though previous to this the under officer got us a drink each. Very soon, the train started and within fifteen minutes we arrived at a small station. The Americans were aboard too and we all got out, helping the wounded on to lorries. We all got on the lorries eventually and away we went again [page break] to arrive after about twenty minutes at a small group of wooden buildings heavily wired around with barbed wire. We went inside a small abulution [sic], I took the opportunity to get a wash of a sort minus soap. The next thing was that a guard took our names ranks and numbers After this were called for singly, and thoroughly stripped and searched in another room by an equivalent of our W/O. Of course escape aids, were what he was after. He seemed satisfied with me and away I went. Regarding the Americans, it appeared that a number had been P.O.W in Italy and the majority had been shot down on day raids over Germany very recently. I was struck by the very large number who had baled out of the “Forts” injured or otherwise I would say 90% compared to only ?% [missed from scanning] of our crews. Of course “baling out” in the daylight is a much simpler matter than the same operation at night-time, which I think partly accounts for this. I was taken to another room, [page break] and the door was locked. The size of this was about 10 feet by 8 feet and contained the usual rough bed and table. On the bed was sat an R.A.F Seargent [sic] A/G. He had been here two days and was getting “cheesed off” on his own, and was only to [sic] glad to have someone to speak to. Apparently it had been his first operation on Hanover and [inserted] he [/inserted] was the only member of his crew alive I felt sorry for him for we at least could say we had hit the enemy good and hard. Soon after this, another RAF Seargent [sic] A/G came in he was cut about the face and also had shrapnel splinters in his left leg, he was only too glad to get laid down on the bed. Four Americans were the next visitors and by now the small room was becoming rather crowded although it was much better than soltary [sic]. We spent the time chatting away and grumbling about our bad fortune until approximately 12 o’clock when a guard brought us dinner, which consisted of 5 unskinned potatoes each [deletion] unskinned [/deletion] there were also a glass of herbs tea [page break] a terrible tasting concoction. We spent the rest of the afternoon quitely [sic]. About 1700 hours a guard entered and called the injured RAF fellow and myself over and said, we were moving. We then went out into the passage and I saw J.C.P. and Joe among a bunch of Americans with some of our boys too. Jimmy was not there and I wondered what had happened to him, we soon was [sic] formed up and began a march of about half a mile to come eventually to a large collection of newer wooden buildings. The injured were helped along by the fit men as best they could, someone said this was the place we were to be interogated [sic]. After a short wait in one of the rooms our names were called singly and I landed up in another small confined room. The same furniture as previously I found inside. By this time, it must have been turned 1800 hours and growing dark [page break] I was given a couple of blankets and decided to try and to get some sleep. I was just getting “drousy [sic]” when the guard came in and grabbed my flying boots and slammed the door again. The usual fare as before was given me the next day which was Wednesday. The time certainly dragged as there was absolutely nothing to occupy ones [sic] mind, but on the Thursday afternoon I was visited by a German Officer who produced a form and wanted to know my home town my trade ect [sic] also the names of members of my crew although I did not tell him the first queries he told me the names of JCP Joe and Jimmy and I wrote them down on this form. About thirty minutes after he went away another chap came along with a list for the clothing ect [sic] I had. I guessed the time to be 1600 hours when I was asked to follow a guard and soon found myself in a big room with maps routes ect [sic] on [page break] The walls, a good fire was burning, seated at a desk was a “big shot” Luftwaffe Intelligence Officer I knew now this was an Interogation [sic] Centre. He was a cultured looking fellow and asked me to be seated, also offered me a cigarette. He soon got down to “brass tacks” and said that I was to give him answers to questions, he already knew so that he could satisfy himself I was not a sabetour [sic] or spy. I, of course referred him to my identity discs uniform ect [sic] and said that I wouldn’t been [sic] in the present unhappy state if I was a spy. Anyway he went on to ask me questions regarding training leading up to the Squadron Commanders ect [sic] I answered a few wrongly and he got wild and said, that he would keep me confined quite a time and then bring me back again for questioning. He told me quite a lot of things about the squadron that was correct, he had a big book with lots of “gen” on my squadron. the Wing [page break] Commander Flight Commanders names, he also mentioned the name of a surviving member of a crew lost earlier. I was led back to the cell very depressed, I certainly was not looking forward to another spell in my little room. I got back but along came another fellow, he wanted a list of my clothing also my description, hieght [sic] wieght [sic], colouring ect [sic] all of which he tabulated. He then said to my great relief, you are leaving, collect your blankets and give them to me. I did this very soon and away to a room where I found among lots of Americans and a fair number of R.A.F chaps J.C.P. Joe and later on jimmy [sic] came. Here we recieved [sic] our personal property, I was minus my keys and keyring also my six shillings English money but did not worry about this. We were given our bread rations and formed up and marched away to an awaiting bus minus [page break] Jimmy once again. The bus did not have seats so we all squatted down on the floor. Guards armed with submachine guns watched over us. We were soon on the move; by this time the moon was up and lighted up everything, we soon reached Frankfurt town and we were surprised to feel the bus pulling up in it seemed to us the centre of Frankfurt. We got out and a fair sized encampment ringed with barbed wire confronted us, quite a few buildings were under construction. We were counted & then moved into the place, then we were given a small towel and a packet of 20 French cigarettes by the RAF Staff. After this we went into one of the large Hutments, each contained about 20 small rooms with a fireplace, table, cupboards and five two–decker beds in each room. These we discovered would house 10 men each, there was also ablutions and latrines in each Hutment. Well, I must say this place had a very heartening effect [page break] on us. We bunked down for the night looking forward to the morrow when we were to recieve [sic] new Red-Cross underclothes also a box of toilet articles, then we would get to work and have a shower and remove the face fungas [sic].
About 0800 next morning Friday we went down to the cookhouse mess and had a big cup of tea with lots of milk and sugar also two slices of german [sic] bread and j [?] butter with jam. We were told that all the Red Cross parcels were “pooled” and put into three good meals and cooked by a permenant [sic] staff of British N.COs [sic]. The chocolate and cigarettes, fifty by the way, were given to the men on Saturdays. We thought it a grand idea; this meant all except bread, potatoes, with a small amount of sugar and margarine was provided by the Red Cross.
There was a small library on the camp, which in daylight turned out to be very small camp and “transit” only but we really thought it was like heaven compared to the other places. The toilet articles were, Soap and Soap container, toothbrush and container, haircomb, toothpaste, shaving cream, Gillete [sic] razor with three blades and housewife [page break] we also recieved [sic] one pair of underpants vest, shirt and socks, later we recieved [sic] 1 great coat and one pair of boots, all these were provided by the American-Red Cross. A small sick-bay or “Revier” [sic] was installed on the camp and so I went along every other day and had my injured finger dressed. There was [sic] parades at 0900 hours also 1700 hours, otherwise we had no duties, in fact [deleted] one [undeleted] we had too much time on our hands. Americans kept arriving and going almost every day; to regular camps of course.
The R.A.F. personel [sic] came along very slowly, consequently we had a fortnights stay at the place before we were sufficently [sic] strong to move along. Jimmy had arrived later on Thursday night and “Stubby” turned up on the Sunday worse for wear, but uninjured; he had been caught in his bid to escape. He was of course overjoyed to see us. We chatted with different fellows and learnt that some had been months on the loose before been [sic] finally picked up. We volunteered to go to the railway station at Frankfurt on two occasions to collect Red Cross Parcels, it passed [page break] the time, the exercise was good also one had the opportunity [self-corrected] to see the town and folks. Frankfurt was a pretty big town but the streets were deserted of people compared to towns of a like size in England. The folks looked under norished [sic] and depressed. We had been at Frankfurt about 8 days when [inserted] at night [/inserted] the sirens sounded, all lights were extinguished and very soon the sound of heavy bombers were heard. It was our boys and the [underlined] ACK-ACK [/underlined] opened up in no uncertain manner, the searchlights too were very numerous. Soon the fimiliar [sic] P.F.F flares were dropped, greens and reds and instead of seeing them from above we now saw how effective the [sic] were from the ground. Of course we expected to hear and feel the “cookies” dropping any time now but as it turned out nothing happened good for as it was a “spoof” and certainly had it’s effect. One four-engined A/C away to the west, was coned and held by the searchlights right across the sky but although they pumped up everything they had he seemed to escape alright. We kept ourselves occupied at Dulag Luft as it was called by walking also reading and using [page breaks] the tops of our flying boots to make mittens caps ect [sic]. Jimmy & Joe used an Irvin jacket to line the insides of there [sic] battle dress. We had been at Dulag [sic] about 8 days when we lost J.CP [sic] and Stubby they left with the officers to a place near Berlin. We had been there a fortnight when our names were put on the next posting list of British N.C.Os to Muhlburg situated between Liepzig [sic] and Dresden. Berlin was about forty miles away to the north. By this time over ninety of us had accumulated.
It was Wednesday afternoon when we left Dulag-Luft,[sic] first we were searched and all war –booty was siezed [sic]. I gave my mittens to an American so they would not fall into German hands. Some of the party managed to secret [sic] articles away cunningly and get by the close scutiny [sic] of the guards. The officer in charge also gave a short speech in which we were warned on the consequence of escape he also said we were not to converse with any of the civilian populace. These warnings proved unecessary [sic] as can be soon seen.
We moved off and together with an armed guard boarded a tram; after a short while we climbed off and marched to a goods yard it will be approxamately [sic] 1800 and getting dusk and we waited until 3 cattle trucks [page break] were shunted in. We noticed these trucks were large enough to hold eighteen horses, straw was placed in them and we had a terrible shock when we were informed that forty three had to go in one of the trucks and forth two in the other, also two guards. our [sic] boots were taken from us and along with the guards were housed in the third truck [sic] We each received one Red Cross English parcel. Jimmy was in charge of the rationing of German food ect [sic]. An unthankful job I must say. The guards boarded up all openings, not that there was any likelihood of us escaping minus our boots [sic] We were two nights confined to this and arrived at Muhlburg about mid-day Friday. It really was an awful experience as at night-time we had to lay as best we could propped against each other, it being practically impossible to relieve stiff cramped limbs. The guards two changed over every hour and this caused more trouble not to mention them letting in the cold night air. The lighting consisted of a broken lamp with a night light placed inside. The toilet arrangements were bad too [sic] The reasons given by the Germans why we travelled this way was that they were so badly off for railway carraiges [sic]. on [sic] reaching Muhlburg which proved to be a [page break] small village we clambered out and were given back our boots. Next we were counted and marched in fives to the camp which was two to three miles from the station. The wounded were put on a cart and dragged by some British “tommies” who eagerly enquired from us the latest “gen” from Blightly. They also gave us some idea of the camp which wasn’t very encouraging.
Up to this point I have refrained from giving any idea of the weather conditions in Germany since landing. Well, every day without break had been fine sunny and practically rainless. We arrived at the camp after about forty minutes, hugging our belongings, sweating and thirsty. Dust seemed to be everywhere [sic] The camp was a big one surrounded by walls of barbed wire and high sentry boxes placed every three hundred yards or so with a searchlight in each. Electric lamps were spaced about seventy yards apart too. We arrived at the entrance to find this was STAMLAGER IV B. We were recounted [page break] and handed over to our new keepers and away went the old guard. I had left untouched my Red Cross Parcel, not knowing when the next issue would be. Then away we went to land up in a big compound and told to wait further orders. We were certainly glad to get a rest as it had been a hot and dusty walk. The next thing was to scrounge some water as we were all longing for [delete] for[/deleted] a drink. Eventually we noticed a building near at hand and managed a cup of water each from some Frenchman. There appeared to be every nationality under the sun here though each had a compound.
Next, we had to suffer the indignaty [sic] of having our hair sheared off, a fellow came out with a strange contraption which proved to be an [sic] hair shearer. One fellow turned an [sic] handle while another chap started shearing off our lovely locks. This was the closest thing to being baldheaded I have ever seen. We had a good laugh at each others [sic] transformation and when my turn came I took a peek in a window at my reflection & I wasn’t so happy. Still we were all alike & who was to see us except our companions. Afterwards [page break] we stripped and everything we possessed was place [sic] in big “debugging” ovens. The best part was to come for after this we moved into a big shower room and took a really hot shower bath, it [delete] was [/undeleted] certainly was enjoyable. We then moved along to drying rooms with big electric fans and soon dried off. Passing through another door we was [sic] suddenly caught unawares and found we had been disinfected. The next thing was inoculation [sic] and vaccination and from here we went outside to collect our clothes ect. [sic] Both Italian and Russian P.OWs were also going through the same processes and one could not help noticing the poor physical condition of a lot of them. Our photographs and other details were taken at another place and here we recieved [sic] our POW number. It was getting dark when we arrived at the British compound and we all felt hungry. On enquiry from the German Sentry we learned no rations were forthcoming at this time of day. We waited around for about an hour and about this time it was dark and we were cold and “browned” off. We were eventually shown into one of the barrack rooms the first impression one got was bad, there must have [page break] been well over two hundred men in one half of this [sic] barrack rooms, three tier bunks were crammed together down one side of the room while in the centre was [sic] draught pipes and two fires with hot plates on each for cooking and “brewing” purposes. Down the other side we found long tables and forms. An [sic] Hut Commander was in charge of each room and he certainly had a full time job. At one end of these rooms was a primitive latrine for night use only and at the other end we found a sink and cold water tap for washing up purposes while another brick place housed the abulutions, [sic] no baths or showers were provided. We were given “Billy” cans each and paliases [sic] stuffed with paper waste also a couple of blankets each and told as no beds were spare, we must bunk down on the brick floor. We were unable to get our beds down until the rest of the chaps cleared off to bed and altogether it was a terribly congested state of affairs. We lived under these conditions for over a week and in that time we each recieved [sic] an [sic] half share in a Canadian parcel [page break] by the way. I had shared my British parcel with two other fellows. We managed to eke out a fairly balanced diet with a little planning and the German sugar, margine, [sic] bread, potatoes and tinned meat supplemented our Red Cross foods. Quiet [sic] a deal of time was spent in preparing and cooking the meals. The way the Hut functioned was as follows, the Hut Commander was in control he supervised Rations, Water, Special Issues in fact everything in general that concerned the welfare of the fellows in his hut. Then there was [sic] Group Leaders who controlled the food and special issue of a group consisting of about thirty five men. Lastly we had Section Leaders who had the job of sharing out the rations of about five or six men under there [sic] section. Also there were Hut fatigues which consisted of “Chow-Carriers” whose job was to collect the soups and potatoes at dinner time. Dry Rations which consisted of either bread, margarine, sugar, cheese, raw and tinned meats were collected by other chaps. [page break] Hot water issues a day were made and fellows were detailed to collect these, another duty was known as Duty Hut fatigue and on this, practically everyone could be called on to do some duty as Wood Gathering Paper Gathering ectect [sic]. Well after about one weeks stay at Hut 36A as it was numbered we moved into another vacant Hut and was [sic] we pleased. This meant we got a bed each and I took the opportunity to bunk near my crew. [sic] Joe and Jimmy we also palled up with a paratrooper called Tom Berwick and Jimmy’s friend Sam Keok [sic]. The five of us decided to pool our parcels. [page break]
This account refers to the Hanover Operation on 8 October, 1943 by Lancaster I (DV324 VN-N) of 50 Sqn. Having taken off from Skellingthorpe at 2304, it was hit by flak at 21,000 feet while leaving the target area and crashed at Wilkenburg, 7 km SSE from the centre of Hanover. Sgt Dock and Sgt Beckthold RCAF are buried in the local War Cemetery. F/S Handley had a narrow escape in that his parachute pack very nearly became detached before he could pull the ripcord. W/O J.S.Gray was interned in Camps 4B/L3, PoW No.259874 with Sgt H.J.Whitwell, PoW No.259922. F/S J.Handley in Camp 4B, PoW No.259877. F/O S.D.Stubbs in Camp L3, PoW No.3013 with P/O J.C.P.Taylor, PoW No.3014.
(Chorley Bomber Command Losses 1943 and Lostaircraft.com)
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
The memoir of Sergeant Harry J Whitwell wireless operator / air gunner 50 Squadron RAF
Mrs Whitwell
Description
An account of the resource
A detailed account of an operation on Friday, 8th October 1943. The crew of Lancaster 'N for Nan' were Pilot PPilot Officer John Charles Peter Taylor from London, Flying Officer Stewart Stubby bomb aimer from Herefordshire, Warrant Officer James Gary mid-upper gunner from South Africa, Warrant Officer William Beckthold rear gunner from Canada, Navigator Flight Sergeant Fred Burton from Winchester, Flight Engineer Flight Sergeant Joseph Handley from Otley and Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Harry Whitwell from York.
Their usual aircraft was unserviceable and they flew N for Nan for the operation. During the operation the aircraft was hit and all the crew bailed out. He jumped out with the navigator holding on to him. When Harry's chute opened the navigator fell to his death. He landed safely in a pond then assessed his misfortune. After a sleep he was caught by three men who fed him and gave him an ersatz coffee. They took him to Hanover which was very badly damaged. He met up with three of his crew in jail. They were transferred to Frankfurt by train and the guards were relatively friendly. Later they were transferred to an interrogation centre. They were then taken to a camp in Frankfurt centre and supplied with clothes, food and cigarettes provided by the Red Cross.
Next they were transferred in cattle trucks from the Dalag Luft to their permanent camp, Stamlager IV. Harry describes in detail the conditions and food in the new camp.
The account includes two photographs of Harry, one half length portrait and one full length of Harry in flying kit.
A printed version with identical text is included.
Creator
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Harry Whitwell
Format
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59 page handwritten sheets including two b/w photographs
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BWhitwellHJWhitwellHJv1, BWhitwellHJWhitwellHJv2
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-10-08
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--London
England--Herefordshire
South Africa
England--Winchester
Otley (West Yorkshire, England : Parish)
England--York
Canada
Germany--Hagen (Arnsberg)
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Munich
Germany--Mühlberg (Bad Liebenwerda)
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hannover
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Hampshire
England--Yorkshire
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
50 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bale out
bomb aimer
bombing
briefing
Dulag Luft
final resting place
flight engineer
Ju 88
killed in action
Lancaster
navigator
Pathfinders
pilot
prisoner of war
RAF Skellingthorpe
Red Cross
shot down
target indicator
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/501/22544/MCurnockRM1815605-171114-012.2.pdf
9b4c8e2553331a037c7dc2406bba8fd6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Curnock, Richard
Richard Murdock Curnock
R M Curnock
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Curnock, RM
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-04-18
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
92 items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Richard Curnock (1924, 1915605 Royal Air Force), his log book, letters, photographs and prisoner of war magazines. He flew operations with 425 Squadron before being shot down and becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Richard Curnock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Kriegie November 2011
Description
An account of the resource
News-sheet of the RAF ex-POW Association. This edition covers a charity motorcycle rode commemorating Roger Bushell, Charles Hancock's Long March told by his daughter, Book reviews, Alfie Fripp's revisit to Stalag Luft 3, Goings-on at Zagan, a dinner at RAF Henlow and a three part TV series about the Long March.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
The RAF ex-POW Association
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011-11
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
18 printed sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MCurnockRM1815605-171114-012
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Air Force. Coastal Command
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Dover
Netherlands--Eindhoven
Netherlands--Arnhem
Germany--Celle
Germany--Barth
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Colditz
Germany--Berchtesgaden
Germany--Füssen
Italy--Stelvio Pass
England--Capel (Kent)
Austria--Kaunertal
Liechtenstein
Austria--Feldkirch
Germany--Baden-Baden
Germany--Trier
Netherlands--Dokkum
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Poland
Germany--Spremberg
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Bremen
England--Bristol
France--Lille
Italy--Turin
Denmark--Esbjerg
Netherlands--Amsterdam
Poland--Żagań
Germany--Düsseldorf
France--Dunkerque
Belgium--Ieper
Germany--Bad Fallingbostel
Italy
France
Germany
Denmark
Austria
Belgium
Netherlands
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Gloucestershire
England--Kent
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
103 Squadron
104 Squadron
166 Squadron
207 Squadron
214 Squadron
218 Squadron
220 Squadron
35 Squadron
460 Squadron
50 Squadron
619 Squadron
77 Squadron
88 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bale out
Blenheim
Boston
crewing up
Distinguished Flying Cross
entertainment
escaping
Fw 190
Hudson
Lancaster
memorial
mess
navigator
P-51
prisoner of war
RAF Abingdon
RAF Attlebridge
RAF Biggin Hill
RAF Elsham Wolds
RAF Hendon
RAF Henlow
RAF Leeming
RAF Waddington
shot down
Spitfire
sport
Stalag Luft 3
Stalag Luft 6
the long march
Wellington
Whitley
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/501/22490/MCurnockRM1815605-171114-001.1.pdf
8eff2c723259c9391a752f40cbb27826
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Curnock, Richard
Richard Murdock Curnock
R M Curnock
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Curnock, RM
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-04-18
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
92 items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Richard Curnock (1924, 1915605 Royal Air Force), his log book, letters, photographs and prisoner of war magazines. He flew operations with 425 Squadron before being shot down and becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Richard Curnock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Kriegie June 1988
Description
An account of the resource
News sheet with details of the Southampton reunion in 1987, Recco Report -stories about ex-POWs, Obituaries, members reports, KLB Club for prisoners from Buchenwald and a flight in a Blenheim.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
14 printed sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MCurnockRM1815605-171114-001
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Southampton
England--Hampshire
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
The RAF ex-POW Association
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bale out
Beaufighter
Blenheim
bombing
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Service Order
entertainment
ground personnel
Hurricane
Lancaster
Manchester
prisoner of war
RAF Abingdon
RAF Biggin Hill
RAF Binbrook
RAF Kinloss
Red Cross
Spitfire
Stalag Luft 1
Stalag Luft 3
the long march
wireless operator / air gunner
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/501/22514/MCurnockRM1815605-171114-006.2.pdf
b093d3095f57641bbba0152dd44d736c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Curnock, Richard
Richard Murdock Curnock
R M Curnock
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Curnock, RM
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-04-18
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
92 items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Richard Curnock (1924, 1915605 Royal Air Force), his log book, letters, photographs and prisoner of war magazines. He flew operations with 425 Squadron before being shot down and becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Richard Curnock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Kriegie July 1999
Description
An account of the resource
The News-Sheet of the RAF ex-POW Association. This edition has news on the Annual General Meeting, visits to RAF Henlow and Stafford, Remembrance Sunday, Recco Report -stories about former POWs, a cartoon on Precision bombing, 1939, requests for donations to Albrighton's church bells, The Great Escape documentary, Obituaries, reunions of the East Anglian and North West and North Wales branches, the Caterpillar club, the Associations new web pages, RCAF Memorial at Trenton, Book reviews, the Ottawa reunion, new members and widow's lists and the Association's accounts.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
The RAF ex-POW Association
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1999-07
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
16 printed sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MCurnockRM1815605-171114-006
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Stafford
England--Leeds
Australia
Victoria--Melbourne
New South Wales--Sydney
Belgium
Queensland--Gold Coast
England--Leicester
United States
Georgia--Andersonville
England--Northampton
England--Snettisham
England--Letchworth
Ontario--Trenton
Germany--Berlin
Ontario--Ottawa
North Africa
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
Québec--Montréal
Libya--Banghāzī
Victoria
France
Georgia
New South Wales
Queensland
Libya
Ontario
Québec
Canada
Germany
England--Norfolk
England--Northamptonshire
England--Yorkshire
England--Herefordshire
England--Leicestershire
England--Staffordshire
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
149 Squadron
207 Squadron
460 Squadron
49 Squadron
58 Squadron
aircrew
bale out
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Caterpillar Club
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
Dulag Luft
escaping
flight engineer
George Cross
Halifax
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Hurricane
Ju 88
Lancaster
Me 109
memorial
mine laying
navigator
prisoner of war
RAF Bridgnorth
RAF Cosford
RAF Halton
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Pocklington
RAF Spilsby
RAF St Eval
RAF West Freugh
Spitfire
Stalag Luft 1
Stalag Luft 3
Stalin, Joseph (1878-1953)
Stirling
Whitley
wireless operator
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1846/39170/PThornhillEB1705.2.jpg
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1846/39170/PThornhillEB1706.2.jpg
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1846/39170/PThornhillEB1707.2.jpg
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1846/39170/PThornhillEB1708.2.jpg
7c25c8d5130ae817dc0b47abadbb9eff
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1846/39170/PThornhillEB1709.2.jpg
9d9b6b16e9f928a618d91eda8b49dcc6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Thornhill, Ted
E B Thornhill
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-05-15
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Thornhill, EB
Description
An account of the resource
38 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Ted Thornhill (b. 1921, 1426742 Royal Air Force) and Corporal Constance Thornhill (2049455 Royal Air Force). It contains documents, items, correspondence and photographs. Ted Thornhill flew operations as a wireless operator / air gunner but was shot down and became a prisoner of war. Connie Thornhill served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Pauline Foster and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ted Thornhill
Description
An account of the resource
Three head and shoulders portraits of Ted.
#1 Ted as a trainee
#2 Ted as a trainee. On the reverse 'Ted Thornhill'.
#3 Ted smoking a pipe. On the reverse 'WOP-AG POW Germany 1943 to 1945' and on a post-it 'EB Thornhill with Dunhill pipe. Pipe brock [sic] when bailed out'.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three b/w photographs
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PThornhillEB1705, PThornhillEB1706, PThornhillEB1707, PThornhillEB1708, PThornhillEB1709
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
aircrew
bale out
prisoner of war
training
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1409/44337/STaplinJA1268696v10025.2.jpg
cdd9a5857bfb070bbab4007a8129ccad
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Taplin, J A
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-01-05
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Taplin, JA
Description
An account of the resource
128 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant John Albert Taplin (b.1919, 1268696 Royal Air Force) and contains correspondence, documents photographs and two audio interviews. He flew operations as an air gunner with 408 Squadron before he was shot down and became a prisoner of war.
The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Kevan Taplin and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Stevenage Airmen Missing
Description
An account of the resource
An article reporting that John Taplin and W Clarke are missing.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Stevenage
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One newspaper cutting
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
STaplinJA1268696v10025
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
aircrew
missing in action
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/248/31318/LDownesS430647v1.1.pdf
13376b7f40fe56c04dde2cb396596ad6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Downes, Steven
Steven Downes
S Downes
Description
An account of the resource
One oral history interview with Steven Downes (430647 Royal Australian Air Force).
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Steven Downes and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-08-06
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Downes, S
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Steven Downes’s flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Flying log book for Steven Downes, wireless operator, covering the period from 9 December 1943 to 19 June 1945. Detailing his flying training. He was stationed at RAAF Parkes, RAAF Sale, RAF Halfpenny Green, RAF Lichfield, RAF Church Broughton and RAF Bottesford. Aircraft flown in were, Wackett, Anson, Wellington and Lancaster.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One printed book with handwritten annotations
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDownesS430647v1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Australian Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Australia
Great Britain
England--Derbyshire
England--Leicestershire
England--Staffordshire
England--West Midlands
New South Wales--Parkes
Victoria--Sale
Victoria
New South Wales
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1668 HCU
27 OTU
Advanced Flying Unit
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Operational Training Unit
RAF Bottesford
RAF Church Broughton
RAF Halfpenny Green
RAF Lichfield
training
Wellington
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1615/24616/PCothliffKB15030036.1.jpg
56639785bcabfe984d897b78bfa6aa01
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cothliff, Ken 427 and 429 Squadrons
Description
An account of the resource
151 items. The collection contains photographs of personnel from 427 and 429 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Ken Cothliff and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cothliff, K
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
SQDN. 427 DATE OF ARRIVAL 20-4-45
[a] Posn. [b] Rank [c] Name [d] Number [e] Home [f] Age
[a] Pilot [b] S/L [c] Epp. R.F. [d] J11552
[a] NAV [b] F/O [c] Lafferty, W.G [d] J23941
[a] B/A [b] F/L [c] Skuce, K [d] J14824
[a] WAG [b] F/L [c] Wyatt, A.M. [d] J19084
[a] F/E [b] P/O [c] Jarvis, C.J. [d] 179042
[a] M/U [b] P/O [c] Budd, AC D [d] J88181
[a] AG [b] WO [c] Davidson, R.D. [d] R144478
[photograph]
276 LMG S/L EPPS
427 Sqd.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Squadron Leader RF Epps and Crew
Description
An account of the resource
Seven airmen arranged in a row. Their names are listed in a caption above. On the image is annotated '276. LMG. S/L Epps. 427-Sqd'
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PCothliffKB15030036
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
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Steve Baldwin
427 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
flight engineer
navigator
pilot
wireless operator / air gunner