Air Force Index
|
|
LinksSuggest a link |
- No. 181 Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War -
Air Force Index
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies.
If you enjoy this siteplease consider making a donation.
Site Home
Add Stories
WW2 Features
Submissions
FAQ's
Advertisements
World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945
Logbooks
Do you have a WW2 Flying Log Book in your possession?If so it would be a huge help if you could add logbook entries to our new database. Thank you.
View Logbook entries
Those known to have served with
No. 181 Squadron Royal Air Force
during the Second World War 1939-1945.
- Haddock Aldridge.
- Hadley Geoffrey Edwin. F/O.
- Jones Anthony. LAC.
- Mann Paul Augustine. Flt.Sgt. (d.24th Feb 1945)
- Parnell Roy Alexander. Flt.Sgt.
The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List
Records of No. 181 Squadron Royal Air Force from other sources.
The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 24 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 22nd April 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 263973 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
- Looking for help with Family History Research? Please read our Family History FAQ's
- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
If you enjoy this siteplease consider making a donation.
Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text.
We are now on Facebook. Like this page to receive our updates.
If you have a general question please post it on our Facebook page.
Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home.If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes.
Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion
Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
Want to know more about No. 181 Squadron Royal Air Force?
There are:2202 items tagged No. 181 Squadron Royal Air Force available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War.
Aldridge "Finn" Haddock No. 181 Squadron
Aldridge Haddock was a pilot with No. 181 Squadron at RAF Duxford. His Typhoon fighter-bomber was shot down over northern France by five Me109s in July 1943, but he was able to parachute to safety. Although initially sheltered by the French Resistance, he was eventually captured and held in Stalag Luft III, the POW camp made famous in the movie The Great Escape.His obituary reads: Doctor Aldridge "Finn" Haddock, wartime fighter pilot, doctor and artist extraordi-naire, has died peacefully at his Grimsby home after a long illness. He was a general practitioner in the town for many years, but was perhaps just as well-known for his night- mare-style paintings which some attribute to his wartime experiences. Born and educated in County Durham, he started his career as a fighter pilot in the RAF, doing much of his initial training in the United. States. He was eventually posted to 181 squadron at RAF Duxford in Cambridgeshire. But in July 1943 while on an airfield destroying mission over Northern France his Typhoon fighter-bomber developed engine trouble and was shot down by a formation of five Me109s. He parachuted to safety with only seconds to spare as his plane crashed in flames just metres away. He was eventually picked up by the French Resistance and hid out in several locations for several months. He once travelled about disguised as a football player. But he was eventually captured by the Germans while hiding out in a large Chateau. Without a uniform or proper identity, he was accused of being a spy and relentlessly interrogated and tortured by the Gestapo to reveal the names of those who hid him and their escape routes. Despite threats of execution and extreme pain he steadfastly refused to give in. Dr Haddock was later sent to Stalag Luft III, the camp of Great Escape fame, from where only a few months earlier 50 of the 72 original escapers were shot.
After the war he pursued his original ambition to become a doctor, training at Durham University. In 1958 he moved south to Grimsby setting up a general practice at Dudley Street where he remained until his retirement in 1992. He was also company doctor for a number of firms including SCM Chemicals and United Biscuits. A long-time friend, Sdn Ldr Tony Smith, said "He enriched the lives of many people and always had a willingness to help others. In particular he will be remembered for his generosity and his irrepressible zest for life". An accomplished artist whose paintings portrayed a distillation of his life, especially his time under torture, Dr Haddock had 32 one-man exhibitions. His works are now held in private collections throughout the world including Paris and New York. He was also a keen sportsman from his earliest days and was well-known in local golfing, squash, tennis and rugby circles. Dr Haddock leaves a wife, Patricia, daughter Jamanda, son Alexander and three grandchildren. The funeral will be held at St Giles' Church, Scartho at a date still to be announced.
Kevin Smyth
Flt.Sgt. Roy Alexander Parnell 101 Squadron
Roy Parnell was my father's 1st cousin. I have found his name among POWs in a Memorial Garden in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The information for Roy contains his POW number, 1026 and that he was held in Stalag Luft 3. He was with 181 Squadron and later flew missions with the RAF in 101 Squadron. Roy died in 2008 at the age of 80.Kerrie Lyon
LAC. Anthony Jones 181 Squadron
My grandfather Tony Jones was a member of 181 Typhoon Squadron based at RAF Snailwell in 1942. I am trying to locate other members of that squadron.Eleine Jones
F/O. Geoffrey Edwin Hadley 181 Sqdn.
Geoffrey Hadley served 1941 to May 1946 mainly flying Typhoons.Robert D Hadley
Recomended Reading.
Available at discounted prices.
Links
Suggest a link
|
The free section of the Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers. We have been helping people find out more about their relatives wartime experiences since 1999 by recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items. The website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions. If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small
to help with the costs of keeping the site running.
Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV - All Rights Reserved We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites. |
