大象传媒

Mr. Poole understands that his story will be added to the 大象传媒 WW2 website and has given his permission.

I lived in Wallington in 1941 when I was called up. I didn鈥檛 join up earlier because I was looking after my Mother.

I was always interested in flying. We lived for 16 years near Croydon Aerodrome and us lads were always up there looking at the 鈥榢ites鈥� coming in. Imperial Airways鈥� Handley Page 42 used to fly from Croydon to S. Africa and we used to see them coming in and out. First time I ever flew was in a Prince Henry. It was just a flight around the aerodrome and that was in about 1928. I also remember JU52s flew during the war and they flew before and after the war. There were also the Dutch Fokkers. They were 3-engine. The French had bi-planes and they were painted gold and yellow 鈥� this was in the late 20s.

We saw Amy Johnson there when she came in. You never saw Spanish or Italian kites. They never flew into Croydon. You got Belgian, Dutch, French and German and ours of course.

Before I joined up I was a fitter at S. Croydon for Sleepeezee Bed Company. If anything went wrong, we were called. I liked that because you never knew what you were going to be doing. My hobby at the time was cycling and often we did 100 miles a day. One day I did 166 鈥� boy, I was tired. In the early days of the war the Government did away with all the road signs, so I carried a map always. Little did I know it would help me later with navigation. I went all over the S. of England 鈥� never went to the north.

My brother was a flight mechanic in the Air Force and they agreed to put me in the Air Force. I would have been furious if they had put me anywhere else. My brother was later unfortunately killed in Crete. I did my induction at Cardington, Bedfordshire, where the airships used to be. I went into the hangar which was still there and I was very disappointed to find there was no airship there! My brother took 2 years to do the same course in peace time as I took, but in war it took less time. I did a four month Engine Fitter鈥檚 Course at St. Athen and then I was Leading Aircraftman Engine Fitter, Service No.1460159.

I took some leave back in Wallington and then I heard I was posted to 76 Squadron at Middleton St. George. I arrived there in about Feb. 1942. I got to Darlington by train 鈥� never been so far north before 鈥� and I was taken to Middleton St. George. I was excited! Halifaxes! I had never seen such big kites in my life! I was going to work on Merlin engines on the Halifaxes. I loved it. I was there for 4 months. I was on S for Sugar, B Flight. There were about 30 Halifaxes there - we lost some unfortunately. The pilot of my aircraft was a very good chap. There were 18 bombs painted on the side of his aircraft.

We used to service the engines and then the planes would air test for about 20 minutes. It was amazing how many ground crew wouldn鈥檛 fly. I would, and if my plane didn鈥檛 need to go, I鈥檇 go with someone else. I loved it. Towards the end of my time there, they had the 1000 bomber raids. 31 Halifaxes left Middleton St. George. That included 78 Squadron who were satellite to us. The kites were busy and so were the ground staff. They fed us with some sort of drug to keep us awake and I didn鈥檛 sleep or want to for five days and five nights. I loved all that 鈥� I was working on kites or flying. That must have been late May or June 42. Then it was announced that the Squadron was posted overseas to the Middle East. Being ground staff I wasn鈥檛 required and got a week of leave to Wallington.

Then I got a letter saying I was posted to Farnborough as A/C2 Flight Mechanic. The most famous airfield in the world. They only had the best people there 鈥� why me?

I went there on the Monday. There were 7 of us and the Flight Lt. said we were going to form a new unit to test-fly gliders. I鈥檇 never seen them before. There were 3 engine fitters, 3 riggers from Middleton St. George and an electrician.

There were 3 pilots 鈥� one was from the Army. Another was T. A. Morrison, a famous man. He was a Flight Lieutenant. He said 鈥榠t is impossible to fly from Farnborough it is so busy here鈥�, but he said they were building a special air field for us about 5 miles away. It was not completed yet and it might take a few more days. This was at Yately, near Aldershot. He said if I could service the Whitley this afternoon he would like to fly over Yately and investigate the place. I walked down to dispersal and there was the Armstrong Whitley painted yellow. It was a real old kite. A pigeon flew out of the front gun turret. There was no Perspex in those days. I climbed up to the gun turret and there was a pigeon鈥檚 egg on the gunner鈥檚 seat! We serviced the kite and Morrison said, 鈥淲ho鈥檚 coming with me?鈥� I was there like a shot.

All there was, was a runway from East to West running by the Southampton to London road. We flew over the runway and on the right hand side was an enormous construction about 40 鈥� 50 ft. high. That was for making concrete. At the beginning of the runway there was the prettiest little thatched cottage about 200 years old. That was to be our HQ for the next 2 years.

Next day we serviced the Halifax. Morrison said 鈥楻ight Pooley (as he always called me), we鈥檒l fly over Yately this afternoon and familiarise ourselves with the area.鈥� On the Monday, Morrison had a phone call saying Yately was completed. We got the Whitley finished and flew over that afternoon and landed.

We taxied down to the eastern end of the runway and parked at dispersal by this thatched cottage. A local bobby [policeman] asked if we were going to park the aircraft here all night. We said that was correct and he said, with his country accent, that he鈥檇 get someone down to guard it for us. We said we needed somewhere to stay for the night. About 100 yards from the airfield was a pub. The local population were pleased to have two airmen. 鈥楾am鈥� Morrison phoned for some of our people to guard the Whitley. Next day, we went back to get the Halifax from Farnborough. When we landed, half the village turned out to see the Halifax.

We were testing how gliders could be towed and how many, but I wouldn鈥檛 have wanted to go in one. I鈥檇 never flown in a glider. I鈥檝e towed hundreds but never been in one.

One day we were flying in the Whitley and when we came round to land, the hydraulics would not work and the undercart wouldn鈥檛 come down. Old Tam swore in 7 different languages. It looked as if we were in trouble, so I said 鈥極K I鈥檒l try to put it down by hand. I found some instructions and I pumped for about 5 minutes and then Tam yelled from the cockpit 鈥榊ou鈥檝e done it Pooley, it鈥檚 down鈥� and thereafter, he wouldn鈥檛 fly without me.

In the Squadron, everyone had a memento or good luck charm. One Sq. Leader in M for Mother patted a stone dog before taking off and on landing. All aircrews were superstitious. Tam wasn鈥檛 superstitious until he met me and then he thought of me as his good luck. He was one of the finest flyers in the air force. He鈥檇 been flying all his life. We got on so well together. He was about 40 at the time, twice my age. We always flew as a team and if I couldn鈥檛 fly for any reason, someone was for it. No one argued with him. He had quite a temper, but one person could argue with him 鈥� Me.

At Farnborough, right down the other end was a small hangar with armed guards outside. About once a week a small aircraft came out and there were despatch riders each side as it taxied. The noise it made! It hadn鈥檛 got a propeller. When it took off, boy, it travelled, but no one at Farnborough knew what it was. It was really a Gloster E 28-39 鈥� an early jet plane. That was in July 1942. It was 2 or 3 months later before we heard the term 鈥榡et engine鈥�. One day I was at Farnborough and this jet aircraft came in to land. It came over Farnborough and over the main road and came over the hangar and suddenly the whole tail unit fell off. The aircraft turned over and the pilot fell out and fell right through the hangar. I rushed in and the hangar was full of uniforms stacked up. I climbed up the uniforms and found him, Sq. Ldr. Davey. He was lying there on top of the uniforms without a mark on him but he was dead. A fortnight later, they made Tam up to Sq. Ldr. to take his place. Now Davey also used to do quite a bit of office work for them. Tam wasn鈥檛 pleased to be made up as he wasn鈥檛 going to do the office work that Davey did. He was going to fly every day, and he did!

Later on they had the twin engine Meteor there. Whatever aircraft came along, it went to Farnborough first to get a certificate of airworthiness. That is why it was such a famous place.

Tam and I flew to Netheravon in Wiltshire to collect a glider. That was a big airfield with a lot of aircraft. We picked up a Horsa glider which carried about 15 people. We towed that next day with the Halifax back to Yately. We had civilian boffins there and I had to check the rate of climb and engine revs. etc. They put all sorts of things in the glider and I checked the performance of the Halifax. Charlie Cranmer the glider pilot, and the civilian boffin had to check how the glider performed. As you take off the glider always rises above the tow aircraft, especially with a Halifax鈥檚 4 engines making turbulence.

We took a Hotspur glider which would take about 5 people. We took three one day. Well, a Halifax weighs about 26 ton. We did all sorts. We checked the performance of all types of aircraft in different weather conditions. We used a Dakota as a 鈥榯axi鈥� going to different Squadrons and carried a boffin to explain to the chaps. We went all over the S. of England.

Continued on "I lived to Fly, Part 2"

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