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Sources: Armed Forces

The learning activities for the 'Armed Forces' theme are based on the following stories and photographs. You can use the extracts as they appear on this page, or follow the links to read the full stories.

RAF: The Battle of Britain

Service with 56 Hurricane Squadron during the Battle of Britain

We had to ensure that the aircraft were ready from dawn onwards, even when the squadron was not at readiness. There was only one Instrument Repairer per flight, which meant that I was on duty until flight was stood down - usually after dusk. My job was to ensure that all the instruments were serviceable and all the oxygen bottles full on the six aircraft which comprised the flight, plus any spare aircraft. All instruments which required changing had to be done when the squadron was stood down or at night with shielded torches.

Lucky to Have Legs: Saved by a Brave Pilot, RAF Attlebridge, Norfolk

Then, about two minutes from the target, all hell was let loose as we flew into a solid barrage of light and very accurate flak. I heard Ted on the intercom, shouting 'Farmer's had it' and, as we flashed over a wood, I saw the flames and smoke from the crash of our leading aircraft. Just at that moment there was a tremendous bang and our aircraft swung violently to the starboard and upwards. We had been hit by a shell, somewhere in the front of the aircraft as there was no sign of any damage around my station.

Night Flight to Turin

Crews in the briefing room were all agog
The wing commander came in through the smog
He gave the crews a friendly little grin
And said 'The target for tonight - Turin.'
A muffled groan was heard for crews, though bold,
Knew that above the Alps the air was cold
And masks for oxygen they'd have to wear
Another mild discomfort they'd have to bear.

The Army: D-Day, Italy and North Africa

James Hill's D-Day: 3rd Parachute Brigade

On the night of D-Day we landed in four and a half feet of water in a flooded valley. It was an inaccurate landing, but it could have been worse, as the valley is criss-crossed by irrigation ditches, some of them 14 feet deep. With 60 pounds of equipment, falling into a ditch like that would have meant going down. The landing was inaccurate because the pilots who flew us over to Normandy had been bomber pilots until about six weeks before D-Day. They had been used to bombing cities from 10,000 feet, now they had to drop paratroops from 700 feet onto a drop zone about 1,000 metres square. I had suspected that the drops might be inaccurate, and had said to my men some weeks before, 'Gentlemen, in spite of your excellent training and very clear orders, don't be daunted if chaos reigns - because it certainly will.'

Behind Enemy Lines in Normandy

An 'O' group was called, and excitement coupled with the fear of the unknown welled up in the pit of my stomach. I don't believe in that rubbish about being a battle-hardened veteran. An infantry man, and I mean those infantry men unfortunate enough to have been in close contact with the enemy in battle, can never be battle hardened - on the contrary.

21 Years Old on D-Day: With the Royal Engineers in Italy

Dad had served in North Africa with the Eighth Army, was involved in mine and barbed wire clearance at the Battle of El Alamein. Later in his life he was taunted for being a D-Day dodger. He was a Sapper. At the time of his birthday he was a Sergeant in the Royal Engineers and was in charge of a lorry repair shop.

The 'D-Day Dodgers' in Italy

We are the D-Day Dodgers, out in Italy,
Always on the vino, always on a spree,
8th Army skivers and their tanks,
We go to war, in ties and slacks,
We are the D-Day Dodgers, in sunny Italy.

Buried Alive in the North African Desert

The 8th Army were advancing through the North African desert and dad was in a trench that he had been digging, and which was quite deep with shoring. A bomb dropped close by and the trench collapsed, burying him. It was fortunate that a piece or pieces of the shoring supporting the trench walls kept him from being totally buried, as this stopped him being crushed to death. He started to try and dig himself out, which was successful - but it took three days.

The Royal Navy: Convoys and Sinking

X-craft and Operation Source

The three left on board discussed what we should do. The two alternatives were to try to get the submarine back on the surface again, or to escape using the Davis Submarine Escape Equipment, which was an oxygen breathing set. We were apprehensive about trying to get the boat to the surface because it had been damaged and by running compressors and motors we were going to make noise, which we felt would immediately attract depth charges. We decided that it would be wiser to escape using the breathing apparatus. We all put one on and started to flood the boat (the hatch could not be opened until the boat was fully flooded to equalise the pressure inside the boat with that outside). Unfortunately this took longer than we anticipated because some of the valves couldn't be fully opened. As the water crept up it reached the batteries which fused, giving off fumes, and we had to start breathing oxygen before the boat was fully flooded. During that time there was nothing to do except wait. As soon as we went onto oxygen (after the fumes came) we could not talk to each other, the oxygen mouthpiece prevented that. There were no lights, we couldn't see each other and we were left with our own thoughts. I remember throughout that I was very confident I would escape. 'It couldn't happen to me, I was going to survive,' I thought, and that's the way it turned out.

The Sinking of the SS 'Vornix'

The lounge was crowded when the alarm sounded. We ran like hell. We got to the mess and tied on our life belts and stood by the bunks with throbbing hearts and bated breath. We waited for the worst to happen... It was eerie standing in semi-darkness not knowing what was going on. We hadn't heard any unusual noises like gunfire or explosions. The tannoy system (for once) was silent... Someone ventured to ask what the hell was going on. It was a mistake because he was greeted with 'We're sinking mate, that's what's going on.'

HMS 'Penelope', Sunk by Enemy Action 18th February 1944

My action station had just been fallen out and I instinctively made my way into the open portside waist, and no sooner reached the open as the explosion occurred. I immediately dived over the side into the icy, rough, oil-covered sea wearing a roll neck pullover, jacket and sea boots. Other men still in duffel coats sank straight to the bottom. The ship had vanished in one and a half minutes with a large number of men trapped inside, no boats or rafts as they went with the ship. Many men died in the water from lack of strength and oil ingestion. After approx one and three-quarter hours a tank landing craft reached us, but alas had no means of picking us up.

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