by John Nichol
Pentland, Venerable Ray xx
Pettensiedel, Germany 199
Petz, George 118–19
Pipkin, Derek 260, 261, 262
Poland 29, 51, 92
Portal, Air Marshal Charles 11, 35
POWs (prisoner’s of war) 27, 203–4, 208–9, 216, 224–6, 240–1, 245, 246–8
precision bombing 54
Prince, George 28, 72, 162–3, 245–6
Probert, Geoff 90
Probert, Henry 52
Pronger, Harold 189
radar 15, 17, 20, 73, 102, 103–4, 105, 107, 109, 110, 116, 118, 132, 133, 163, 164
Red Cross 245, 248
Remembrance Ceremony xvi
Reschke, Hauptmann 107–8
Resistance 109, 207, 242, 243–4
Richardson, Ken 195
Richardson, Tom 195
Riefenstahl, Leni 54
Royal Air Force (RAF):
XII Squadron 16, 35
XV Squadron 15, 64–5, 87
44 Squadron 116
50 Squadron 38, 72, 94, 162
61 Squadron 189
76 Squadron 35
78 Squadron 35, 67, 80, 123
101 Squadron 14, 21, 37, 38, 60, 62, 104, 117, 166, 218, 226
103 Squadron 58
106 Squadron 140
115 Squadron 129
427 Squadron 180
429 Squadron 173
433 Squadron 8
466 Squadron 266
550 Squadron 18, 74, 189–90
576 Squadron 37, 43
578 Squadron 2
619 Squadron 189
622 Squadron 24, 135, 186
630 Squadron 9
Bomber Command see Bomber Command
Fighter Command xvii
glamorous image of 27–8, 30
Pathfinder Force 16–17, 20, 21, 25, 42, 54, 55, 56, 77, 89, 95, 99, 117, 134, 136–7, 143, 144, 152, 155, 157, 160, 161, 190, 206–7, 271, 275
Royal Australian Air Force: 466 Squadron 39
Royal Barge, The 86, 128
Royal Flying Corps 12
Royds, Sir Percy 234
Rübenach, Germany 117
Ruhr, Germany 56, 73, 111, 201, 272
Rupp, Feldwebel Bruno 101, 103, 108, 110, 112, 132
Russian Army 51, 241, 246, 247, 249
Saundby, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Sir Robert 55, 68, 275
Scarecrow 119, 120, 185, 215
Schacter, Gord 75, 202–3, 252
Schlossberg, Germany 113
Schmidt, General ‘Beppo’ Josef 111
Schnauffer, Major Heinz-Wolfgang (The ‘Night Ghost of St Trond’) 108, 215
Scholten, Josef 109
Schräge Musik 106–8, 116–17, 118, 132, 133, 137, 165, 273
Schweinfurt, Germany 23, 87, 161, 162, 169, 217, 218
‘second dickie’ 40, 41, 132, 149–50
Seuss, Leutnant Wilhelm 132–3
Siemens 54, 214
Skellingthorpe 38, 72, 94, 97, 246
Skipton-on-Swale, RAF 8, 222, 263, 266
SN-2 radar 107
SOS calls 174, 191, 192
Speer, Albert 17, 18, 54, 199–200
Spence, Magnus 53, 68
SS 216, 247
St Paul’s Cathedral 11
Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Lower Silesia 52, 240–1
Star of London, The 214
Starkey, Dick:
captured 180–2
Lancaster, on flying 14
Nuremberg raid, 1944 13, 79–80, 90–1, 98, 120, 121–3
parachutes into enemy territory 175–6
POW 203–4, 208–9, 216, 217, 225–6, 240–1, 246–8
Stetson, Fred 159
Stirling, Short 13, 14, 32, 47
Stuttgart, Germany 16, 23–4, 25, 56, 70, 87, 133, 172, 173, 178, 207, 242, 243
Swinyard, Frank 38, 90
‘Tallboy’ bomb 13
Tame Boar 104, 112, 145, 158
Taylor, Frederick 131
Thüringen, Germany 144, 155
tracer fire 117, 120, 121, 127, 128, 131, 133, 135, 136, 139, 141, 146, 149, 174, 175
Trenouth, Ray 41, 135, 136
Triumph of the Will (film) 54
Trousdale, Maurice 149, 169, 170, 171, 192, 194, 196, 213
United States:
area bombing, opinion of 53
daylight bombing 53–4
RAF pilot training in 4, 32
Upwood 49, 143, 207
US Eighth Army Air Force 53
USAAF 116
VE Day 245
Verrier, Anthony 54
Victoria Cross xix, 230–1, 232, 234–5
Voysey (née Barton), Joyce 1, 2, 4–5, 7, 99, 211, 213, 222, 224, 231, 234, 256
‘wakey-wakey’ pill 61, 172
Watson, Jack 16, 49–50, 70, 71, 89, 117, 136–7, 146, 170, 250
Waughman, Rusty 11, 60
Bomber Command Memorial, attends unveiling of, 2012 xvi, xvii, xx, xxi
crew and 34, 35, 41, 42, 44
family 61–2
Lancaster, on 14
Leipzig raid, 19 February 1944 21, 22
mid-air collision, experiences 237, 238
Nuremberg raid, 1944 62, 63, 78–9, 84, 92, 97, 98, 102, 106, 111, 117, 140–1, 142, 155, 157, 186, 187–8, 200, 201, 219, 271
101 Squadron, asks to be posted to 38
those unable to cope with RAF life, on 47, 49
Wehrmacht 216
Wellington, Vickers xix, 32, 33, 34
Westby, Norman ‘Babe’ xvi, xxi, 41–2, 44, 78, 84, 157, 200
White, Chalky 57, 60, 72, 73, 74, 119, 152, 153, 229, 254, 255, 256
Whitlock, Sidney 131
Wild Boar 103–4, 145
Wilkerson, Wing Commander 213–14
Wilton, Stella 248–50
Window 15, 47, 103, 104, 178
Winn, Bert 59, 60, 254, 256
Wiseman (Wejcman), Andy 91
Bomber Command Memorial, attends unveiling of, 2012 xix
girlfriend 71–2, 91, 185, 240, 249
Jewish background 39
‘last letter’ 71–2
LMF camp, witnesses 48
lucky doll 91, 185, 240
mother finds 248–50
name change 39
Nuremberg raid, 1944 92, 139, 185, 219
posted to squadron 39
POW 240, 241, 248–9
Wollnik, Gerhard 107
Women Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) 39, 44, 52, 84, 85, 90, 200, 238, 242, 243, 249, 274
Wood, Harry ‘Timber’ 146, 170, 171, 172, 191, 192, 194, 196, 213
Wrattling Common, Cambridgeshire 95
Yorkshire Post, The 214
Zanchi, Paul 38
Ziegler, Friedrich 112–13, 156–7, 166
Acknowledgements
There are many people who gave me their valuable time and considerable expertise whilst I researched and wrote this book. It is simply impossible to mention every person individually, but I am truly grateful to them all. My sincere thanks also go to:
Doug Radcliffe and Vivien Hammer from the Bomber Command Association for their advice and support during this project, which ensured unrivalled access to so many veterans. And to Sergeant Ollie Smith who dispatched my thousands of letters and carried out valuable research.
Dan Waddell for his expertise and dedication, and Christian Kuhrt for his diligent research and translation of the German interviewees.
Sarah Standeven of OfficeOffice for her continuing skill and speed in transcribing my many interviews.
Peter Elliot from the RAF Museum Hendon, Anne Wickes from The Second World War Experience in Leeds and Simon Williams, editor of RAF News.
Fred, Harold and Andrew Panton from The Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre for allowing me to spend so much time in their Lancaster bomber, Just Jane.
My editor Iain MacGregor and the excellent team at Collins for their patience and expertise.
My agent and friend Mark Lucas, who has been a constant s
ource of advice, skill and encouragement.
I am indebted to the countless Bomber Command historians, researchers and enthusiasts whose work I have referenced or who assisted me in locating veterans. It is impossible to name them all, but the following provided important leads, accounts and background information: Ken Ballantyne, Theo Boiten, Corporal Dee Boneham, Hugh Cawdron, Sean Feast, Martin Ford-Jones, Pete Jacobs, Christine Kininmonth, Bill Lowther, Kevin Malandain, Martin Middlebrook, Alan Mitcheson, Alan Parr, Rita Prince, Howard Sandall, Peter Scoley, David Swallow, David Williams.
To my wife Suzannah and daughter Sophie for their ever-present love and continuing support.
Finally, to the countless veterans and their relatives who sent me many hundreds of letters and personal accounts, I am truly grateful – I could only use a fraction of the stories I received, but I hope I have done you all justice.
Notes
Where an individual’s reference for a source is given as an interview, book, document, etc. that source holds good for the remainder of the book.
1 The Barton family story. Barton family archive and interview with JN, February 2012.
2 Fred and Harold Panton. Interview with JN, July 2012.
3 Alan Payne. Interview with JN, February 2012.
4 Henry Probert, Bomber Harris, Greenhill, 2001.
5 Quoted from Sir Arthur Harris’s personal papers in Leo McKinstry, Lancaster: The Second World War’s Greatest Bomber, John Murray, 2010.
6 Dick Starkey. Interview with JN, March 2012, and his book, A Lancaster Pilot’s Impression on Germany.
7 Rusty Waughman. Information from personal archive, interview with JN, March 2012, and the excellent book by Sean Feast, Carried on the Wind, Woodfield Publishing, 2003.
8 Chick Chandler. Personal archive and interview with JN, March 2012.
9 Jack Watson. Interview with JN, May 2003.
10 Sir Arthur Harris, Bomber Offensive, Greenhill, 1990.
11 John Nichol and Tony Rennell, Tail-End Charlies, Penguin, 2005.
12 Harry Evans. Private memoir and interview with JN, February 2012.
13 The National Archives. AIR 14/3513.
14 Thomas Maxwell. Personal archive and correspondence with JN.
15 W.R. Chorley, RAF Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War, 1944, Midland Counties Publication, 1998.
16 Ron and Sheila Auckland. Interview with JN, February 2012.
17 George and Jocelyn Prince. Interview with JN, February 2012.
18 Andy Wiseman. Interview with JN, February 2012.
19 ‘Sam’ Harris was born Harry Harris, but was known to his crew-mates as Sam. To avoid confusion we have stuck with his wartime nickname.
20 Sam Harris. Personal memoir and interview with JN, February 2012.
21 Mark Connelly, Reaching for the Stars: A New History of Bomber Command in World War II, Tauris, 2001.
22 Roger Coverley. Personal archive and interview with JN, February 2012.
23 Reg Payne. Personal memoir, research by Kenneth Ballantyne and interview with JN, February 2012.
24 Ray Francis. Personal memoir, crew memoir by Don Harvey and interview with JN, March 2012.
25 Gordon Thorburn, Bombers First and Last, Robson, 2006.
26 Campbell Muirhead, Diary of a Bomb Aimer, Ditto Publishing, 2002.
27 The story of this escape would form the basis for the film The Great Escape.
28 The background to the planning of the raid is outlined in Martin Middlebrook’s exhaustive book, The Nuremberg Raid, Cassell, 2000, which was of great help to the author.
29 Joan Dally. Interview with JN, 2012, and personal memoir.
30 Anthony Verrier, The Bomber Offensive, Batsford, 1968.
31 James Campbell, The Bombing of Nuremberg, Futura, 1974.
32 The National Archives. AIR 24/269.
33 Campbell, op. cit.
34 Len Lambert’s written account is quoted in W.W. Lowther, Cyril Joe Barton VC, Wear Books, 1994, and Hugh Cawdron, Based at Burn, 578 Burn Association, 1995. Quotes from the account of Harry ‘Timber’ Wood also appear in both publications.
35 Quoted in Lowther, op. cit.
36 As above.
37 Ron Butcher. Personal memoir and interview with JN, April 2012.
38 Scouse Nugent’s account appeared in RAF News, special Bomber Command issue, 10 May 2002.
39 The story of Jimmy Batten-Smith is taken from the 101 Squadron History and Martin Middlebrook, The Nuremberg Raid, Cassell, 2000.
40 Various authors, The Means of Victory, Charterhouse Publications Ltd, 1992.
41 Eric Howell, The OR’s Story, B J & M Promotions, 1998.
42 Freddie Brice’s account is taken from a letter sent to the Barton family. The Barton family archive.
43 Bruno Rupp. Interview with Christian Kuhrt, 2012.
44 Martin Middlebrook, The Nuremberg Raid, Cassell, 2000.
45 Theo Boiten, Night Airwar, Crowood Press, 1999.
46 Martin Bowman and Theo Boiten, Raiders of the Reich, Airlife, 1996.
47 Colin D. Heaton and Anne-Marie Lewis, Night Fighters, Naval Institute Press, 2008.
48 Friedrich Ziegler. Interview with Christian Kuhrt, 2012.
49 Fritz Fink. Interview with Christian Kuhrt, 2012.
50 Bowman and Boiten, op. cit.
51 Campbell, op. cit.
52 Middlebrook, op. cit.
53 Sidney Whitlock. Personal account courtesy of his daughter, Sylvia Oakley.
54 Peter Hinchliffe, The Other Battle, Airlife, 1996.
55 Campbell, op. cit.
56 As above.
57 Middlebrook, op. cit.
58 Peter Jacobs, Bomb Aimer Over Berlin, Pen & Sword, 2007.
59 Middlebrook, op. cit.
60 Tony Hiscock. Interview with JN, 2012.
61 Quote by John Chadderton, from Bowman and Boiten, op. cit.
62 Geoff Taylor, The Nuremberg Massacre, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1980.
63 BBC interview. ‘Brothers retrace pilot’s final flight over Germany’: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/york/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8773000/8773448.stm
64 Alan Mitcheson. Personal archive, correspondence and interview with JN, April 2012
65 Taylor, op. cit.
66 Middlebrook, op. cit.
67 As above.
68 Campbell, op. cit.
69 As above.
70 Middlebrook, op. cit.
71 Howell, op. cit.
72 Martin Bowman and Theo Boiten, op. cit.
73 Campbell, op. cit.
74 The accounts of Les Lawther, Arthur Milburn and Tom and Ken Richardson appear in Lowther, op. cit.
75 Quoted in Middlebrook, op. cit.
76 The story of Don Brinkhurst’s evasions features in the 101 Squadron History and Middlebrook, op. cit.
77 Barton family archive.
78 As above.
79 As above.
80 Panton archive.
81 Barton family archive.
82 Figure of bomber losses taken from Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt, The Bomber Command War Diaries, Midland Publishing, 1985. Figure of airmen lost or missing taken from Middlebrook, op. cit.
83 The National Archives, AIR 22/139.
84 The National Archives, AIR 14/4151.
85 Campbell, op. cit.
86 As above.
First published in 2013 by WilliamCollins
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Text © John Nichol 2013
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Map by John Gilkes
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