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The Week War Broke Out

Extract from Cliff Gascoigne's RAF memoirs, 'The Life of an Erk. I had joined the RAF Boys’...

An Embarrassing Inspection

Just as the F/Sgt, Medical Corporal and Officer came into our hut for inspection who should appear at the...

ONE DAY IN LATE SUMMER

Open Kigass pump on lower left of instrument panel.Pump five strokes of petrol into engine.Poke hand out of...

Quick Release

It was presumed that this was to divert German aircraft away from the surrounding airfields. I remember in...

A length of string

Standing behind my ancient Lewis machine gun I kept a sharp watch out for possible enemy fighter planes as...

I started as the RAF volunteer

I joined the RAF volunteers in 1941, I had a badge with letters P-N-B. I am a treasurer of Manchester's...

I missed promotion!

I remember walking home down a country lane when a bombing raid was on, but I was lucky. I was a Flying...

North African Encounter

My brother, Austin Burke, always known as Terry was serving in the Palestine Police before the war. He was...

Listening out for the bombers return

SO in order to bring this unidentified plane into their airfield, Peggie working in the control tower......

Briefs encounter

In the war he flew with 514 Squadron out of Waterbeach near Cambridge — they have reunions at the...

Last Days of the War

Unknown to me, next door was the Hiroshima Bomb preparation station... The Squadron's mission was...

Reminisences of my Medals and The War

Our duties were to drop supplies to the Resitance in France, Holland and Belgium; this was food, medical...

My V.E. Day Experience

I was an apprentice Motor Engineer when I went into the service, I was trained as F.II.E. I served about 5...

The planes are not completely gone...

For each of the last few years there has been a ‘fly in’ at the airfield and it stirs my...

Douglas Wardle

Douglas volunteered for ground duties with the RAF in 1941 and served initially as a Wireless Operator in...

Like a Car coming in through your Front Door

I didn't know the crew because I was on maintenance rather than ground crew with the aircraft....

DFC for Hull Pilot

____________________________________________ "The Distinguished Flying Cross has been awarded to Pilot...

My Grandma

During the World War, secure radio communication by voice was not possible. so she had to send messages...

Dropping and cleaning up of bombs

1942 I left Liverpool by ship and arrived in Durban South Africa 6 weeks later.We changed ship to the...

A pilot's tribute to aircraft fitters

"Survival in a dinghy"

We were on what was known as a 'slug patrol' in the Bay of Biscay, which involved laying land mines...

Crash over Treleigh, Cornwall.

UK813, from Squadron 235 based at RAF Portreath, crashed at Treleigh, nr. The Navigator -F/O Gordon...

4) What a marvellous coincidence

I built up a friendship which was to last until the war was over with one evacuee named Charlie Gowan. We...

german Bomber trying to Surrender

One day my father, William Murray Keir, was walking down Milll Lane on his way home when a German Bomber...

Air trips over the Dutch Coast

They would visit the flying control and, on some occasions, go for rides in the B17 Flying Fortress'....

'Y' for Yoke

Pilot: Pilot Officer Don Street, DFC; Navigator: Warrant Officer Dave Grant, RCAF; Flight Engineer:...