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Jim Brown's War Years

It was around this time that Jim Brown was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, in recognition of...

MAPS, LIGHTS, AND SIRENS: Royal Observer Corps in Cambridge

There were Ops Rooms like ours across the country… at Watford, Bury St Edmunds, Bedford, Norwich, in...

"Was It All A Dream" ( Part 1 )

This was known as 'deferred service' and with it came a letter of welcome to the Royal Air Force,...

The Empty Places

Their main separation came when Uncle Sidney was posted to 50th Squadron at Lindholme, 8 miles from...

Sworn to Secrecy

At the time, Navy Development was looking at modifying the Spitfire to enable it to land on an aircraft...

RAF 615 FIGHTER SQUADRON IN MONSOON OVER INDIA WORLD WAR II

CASUALTY LIST 10TH AUGUST 1944 Lost: *Squadron Leader D. McCormack, Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar,...

Schooldays During WW2

Shortly afterwards scores of Lee Enfield rifles,bayonets ,Sten submachine guns and a two wheeled Smith gun...

The Time of my Life - Part 2

The Germans had been bombing railway lines and the Airadromes. Another crew member was an Englishman who...

Safeguarding the secrecy of military operations

No one on the Home Office or Ministry or Home Security knows the time, date or place of future military...

The worst bombing raid on R.A.F. St Eval during W.W.2.

I still have vivid memories of that night, as did Roy Dunston whose book 'My Life With RAF St Eval'...

A Pilot’s story

Father joined RAF in 1938 and did his boot camp training in RAF Cardington in Bedfordshire and then did his...

Tour of Operations -2

After a couple of days we finally left the Clyde and I endured six days of seasickness before arriving in...

SIT BACK AND LISTEN TO THE MUSIC

PEOPLE IN STORY: Henry Thorpe from Wembley LOCATION OF STORY: London, Canada and USA MAIN AREA OF INTEREST:...

Two Merlins

Brian was a conscientious objector and escaped military service by taking a job at the Rolls Royce plant in...

Training for the R.A.F.

I succesfully completed this part of the training and was informed that the next phase would be in the...

Serving in the RAF Medical Service

Those air raids on Belfast came as an unwelcome surprise, because the people of Northern Ireland had been...

From Manston to Biggin Hill, from there to Egypt.

Through the Battle of Britain to the war in the desert it was never easy, but I am now a proud owner...

My Father on Bomber Training

After a period of basic training in the UK he was posted to the Flying School in Benoni, South Africa to be...

Ditched in the sea.

He realised he would have to crash land on the sea and issued the standard order: 'DINGHY, DINGHY,...

Strange Encounters in Burma

In 1944 I joined one of the 17 units being formed to direct aircraft onto targets; each unit consisted of...

St Dennis and Goss Moor - The Construction of RAF St Mawgan

The main contractor for RAF St Mawgan was Richard Costain, a firm experienced in airfield construction......

Trainee in England, Trainer in South Africa

I spent the last 4 years of the war in South Africa 2 years at 42 Air School in Port Elizabeth and...

Early training

From: 1095460 Parker, G.H. Tent 83, Squadron B, Wing 5, RAF Station, Hednesford. To: 1095460 L.A.C. Parker,...

My first contact with death in WW2

The R.A.F. occupied the main gate known as the Blenhum Gate they were equipped with a Short nose Blenheim...

Radio operator becomes desert driver

These are still available, they don't use them in RAF but in the amateur world these are absolutely...

Sacks of flour Manna from heaven for hungry

A recent article on the Echo's Gossiper page about Operation Manna, when Lancaster crew dropped food to...