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F/O. John McKinley Carswell . Royal Air Force John Carswell came to RAF Hatfield as a under-training pilot in NO.1 EFTS (Early Flying Training School). Pre-war, he was training to become a chartered accountant and joined the Non Permanent Active Militia in Montreal, Canada, ten days before war was declared. A motorcycle dispatch rider in the NPAM, he was mobilized into the Canadian Army Signals Corps, trained to drive a 5 CWT right-hand drive truck and after 4 months of bootcamp at Barryfield near Kingston, Ontario, he was sent overseas to the UK as part of the (CASF) Canadian Armed Service Force's first contingent scheduled for fighting in Europe. Then Dunkirk happened and 336,000 soldiers returned to Britain and the Canadians found themselves stuck with special duties in the UK for most of the war with one exception when a failed attack in 1942 killed a great many of them.
Having originally applied to the RCAF in Canada, John Carswell found they were not equipped to train the large number of applicants at that point. He would not end up in the air force until he was posted to the UK. It was at No.1 EFTS (Early Flying Training School) at RAF Hatfield that John Carswell met Geoff De Havilland then testing the new Mosquito in secrecy. It was here that John Carswell also met his first German spy trying to find information about this new aircraft.
John had befriended a corporal in the library and once he earned his wings, he asked him if he knew a good photographer in London. The corporal did, offered to get the address and make the appointment for him. It turned out that the photographer was the Photographer to the Royal Family, and later a 3-time Academy Award winner. It seems the Corporal was a member of the extended Royal family doing his war service as the station librarian at RAF Hatfield. Once he was told he had earned his wings, his instructor gave him permission to fly back to the airbase in his favourite position. For the next 5 miles they flew upside down. John McKinley Carswell earned his commission as a pilot officer, went on through the war to the rank of Flight Lieutenant. He became a training pilot, a flight commander, ran a parachute folding operation, became a 2nd Class Navigator (only 7 became first class), a navigations instructor and was assigned to the Navigator selection board in Harrogate Yorkshire. Married at this point to the senior WAAF officer at RAF Wigtown, Pat Leonard, they were separated by the war for many months. Married and Pregnant after almost 3 years of service, at RAF Biggin Hill fighter station and RAF Wigtown, she would leave the WAAF to become a mother and housewife in Harrogate. Just after their marriage on 27th of August 1942, John Carswell flew as co-pilot on a Lancaster Bomber seeing action over Germany and Poland. Returning to Harrogate, he was appointed to the Pilot Training Board where he would remain until he left to return to Canada in June 1944. A member of the RCAF in April, 1944, Flight Lieutenant John McKinley Carswell late of the RAF, was retested and grounded for the duration of the war, which meant he could not return to his family. After training at RCAF Trenton, he was appointed station adjutant of No. 10 EFTS at Pendleton, Ontario. He would serve out the war there as senior officer of the station, his wife and two children from the UK having joined him in March, 1945 after a split of almost nine months. Returning to Montreal after WWII he became a corporate secretary and director of nine companies before his early retirement at age 54 to a lake property north of Kingston, Ontario. His wife, the former plotter, cipher officer and subsequently senior WAAF officer at RAF Wigtown and survivor of the Battle of Britain at RAF Biggin Hill Fighter station, arrived in Canada as a Canadian War Bride with two Canadian War Babies. "Paddy" Leonard Carswell as she was nicknamed, would have two more children in Canada and live to the ripe old age of 85 passing away at Dog Lake, off Burnt Hills Road, RR3 Seeley's Bay, Ontario in 2005. John McKinley Carswell who was virtually blind by then, spent the next two years in a special needs home in Kingston, Ontario where he died in 2007 at the age of 88. His unique war record, like hers, was matched by few and yet they survived well into their mid to late 80's. Their ashes were scattered on Dog Lake, beside their beloved retirement home of thirty years. RIP
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LAC. Carter . Royal Air Force My brother served in the RAF between 1940-1948. His identity was No 921542, L.A.C. Carter and I understand that he serviced Spitfires for reconnaisance from Wick.
I possess a few photographs of him from this period and I would like to learn more of their activities.
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A Carter . British Army A Carter served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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A Carter . British Army Royal Armoured Corps A Carter served with the Royal Armoured Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Dvr. Albert " " Carter . from Burton, Hants (d.27th Mar 1945) Albert Carter was my Dad he was a driver and was killed in action on 27th March 1945, somewhere on the German borders, he is buried in the Reichswald forest. He was transferred from 9th battalion Hants Regiment to RASC on 11/2/42. I would love to hear from any one who knew of him and exactly where and how he died.
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Flying officer Anthony Carter . Royal Air Force 106 Sqd. from (d.21st Dec 1941) I have been researching a story about the H.P.Hampden AE151 ZN-F of 106 Squadron. The medium bomber crashed the 21st of December 1941 at 16.15 in Schoonebeek in The Netherlands. Three crewmembers were taken pisoner of war and Anthony Carter was killed in action when the aircraft was hit by Flak
above Oldenburg. I have photographs from all the crewmembers except F/O Carter as I could not find any relations who knew him.
To complete my story I need a photograph of him, can anybody help me?
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Sgt. Arthur Lester Carter . US Army I have recently found out that my Grandfather was a gentleman called Artie Lester Carter of the US Army. He was stationed in Lydney Forest of Dean in the UK during WWII. I have no idea how to start finding out any more about him can anyone help?
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L/Sgt Bernard Albert Gamble "Baggy" Carter . British Army 3rd Btn. Coldstream Guards from Grimsby Lincolnshire
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Charles William Carter . Bevin Boy from Charfield, Wotton Under Edge, South Glos My Dad, Bill Carter, was called up from our little village of Charfield, Wotton Under Edge, South Glos and was sent to the mines in Wales.
My brother has all the details and such items as his original call up papers and where he was to report to etc.
My Dad really disliked working in the mines and was always very claustrophobic afterwards. He lodged with a family in Treharris and played football for the local team there. He met my mother after she had been demobbed from the ATS and they had 53 years of marriage.
I would love to be able to apply for the Bevin Boy special honour on behalf of my late father. My Mum received her ATS service badge and was thrilled with it, she wore it with such pride. My father really wanted to join the Air Force, not the mines, and felt that the Bevin Boys should have had some sort of recognition for the time spent in the mines.
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Ldg Seaman. Cyril G. "Nicki" Carter . Royal Navy HMS Acasta Cyril Carter was the only survivor of the lost of the Acasta in 1940. His experiences are told in the book: The Man Who Hit the "Scharnhorst" the Ordeal of Leading Seaman Carter, by John Austin.
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P/O. Daniel Newton Carter . Royal Canadian Air Force 630 Squadron from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (d.17th August 1944)
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Able Sea. Derrick John Carter . Royal Navy HMS Athene from Langdon Hills, Essex Derrick Carter spent most of the war on HMS Athene and HMS Engadine, but also sailed on HMS Fairy and HMS Victory. Toward the end of the war, he transferred to minesweepers and stayed in the service until July 1946.
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Dick Carter . Royal Air Force 69 Sqdn. I flew with this 69 Squadron in 1942/43 on Malta. The Squadron then moved to Monti Corvino in Italy. At that time we flew Martin Baltimores.
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Flt. Sgt. Donavan Yukin Carter . Royal Air Force flight eng. 106 Sqd. (d.12th Mar 1945)
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W/C E. J. Carter DFC.. 97 Squadron
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Pte. Frank William Carter . British Army Wiltshire Regiment from Wiltshire Bill Carter of the Wiltshire Regiment became P.O.W. Number 6019 and was held in Stalag XX-B at Malbrook, Poland in WW2. He was made to work on a farm.
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Dvr. Frank Carter . British Army Royal Army Service Corps Frank Carter served in Europe and with the 8th Army in the North Africa Campaign.
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L/Cpl. George Christopher Carter . British Army Royal Ulster Rifles from Hackney, London, England
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Sgt. George Frederick Carter . Royal Air Force 431 Squadron from Darlington (d.29th January 1944)
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Pte. George William Stephen Carter . British Army 2nd Btn. Seaforth Highlanders from Netley Abbey (d.25th Mar 1945) George Carter was shot and killed by a sniper.
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Sgt. Harold Gordon "Nick" Carter . Royal Air Force 514 Squadron from Cambridge (d.29th July 1944) I am trying to find out as much information as possible about my father, Harold Carter, known as Nick. I was just 2 years old when he was killed in action. My Mother, who is now deceased, told me little about him and his wartime exploits. If any one can help me I would be most grateful.
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Harry Cherry Carter . Royal Air Force 460 Sqd. Harry Carter was a pilot with 460 Squadron
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Flt. Sgt. Henry William T. Carter . RCAF navigator 106 Sqd. (d.30th Aug 1944)
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HL Carter . British Army Royal Artillery HL Carter served with the Royal Artillery British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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J. L. Carter . Royal Canadian Air Force 419 Sqd.
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Cpl. Jack Carter . British Army 1st Btn. South Lancashire Regiment from Gawcott Fields, Buckingham, Bucks My father in law Jack Carter was in the Assault Troops in the first wave and landed on Queen White near Caen, at 07.30 approx. on D-Day 6th June 1944.
He was in charge of a mortar squad, he survived any injury up until the time a German mortar bomb landed near them and he sustained severe shrapnel damage to his back. He can remember watching the the RAF 'blanket-bombing' Caen, so it must have been after this.
After recovering from his injuries he was sent to Malta. This was with the 2nd Battalion South Lancs, as that was the unit he was with when 'demobbed' in 1946
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Sgt. Jeffrey John Hamilton Carter . Royal Australian Air Force from Yass, New South Wales, Australia (d.12th April 1943) Sergeant Carter was the Son of Geoffrey James Flight and Maisie Angela Carter, of Yass, New South Wales, Australia. Dip. of Agric. (Hawkesbury).
He was 21 and is buried in the Georgetown Cemetery, St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
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L/Cpl. John Carter . British Army 2/6th Battalion East Surrey Regiment from Kingston-Upon-Thames My father, Jack Carter was a very private man regarding his war experiences and only once when I was about 14 did he, one night, decide to tell me about some of his memories both as a serving solider and then later when he became a POW for 5 years. I have been moved to write this short account of my father’s war years having watched the Channel 4 programme (July 2018) about the 51st Division and its defence of St Valery-en-Caux in June 1940.
His story, like so many others, is of a young man born 1916 whose best years of his life were spent under arms and in his case as a prisoner. He had come to Britain in 1937 to escape the repressive regime of Catholic Ireland where, as a Protestant, you did not have the work opportunities that should have been open to all.
He joined up in November 1939 at Isleworth Barracks Surrey and became a member of the East Surrey Regiment TA. Originally, he was in 1/6th but due to breaking his thumb in a regimental boxing match was assigned to 2/6th battalion.
He was sent to France and as a crack shot with good eyes was often used as a spotter regarding enemy aircraft. He was trained on a Bren gun carrier as a driver and told stories of learning to drive on a Sunday morning going around the Victoria Monument outside Buckingham Palace. He described his personal retreat to St. Valery with his Bren gun carrier group, carrying injured personnel and hoping for evacuation.
Evacuation never came and he was not forthcoming about the immediate days before capture. He was captured and then marched through France and finally to Holland where he was put on a barge down the Rhine, he escaped twice but was recaptured on each occasion. He ended up in Silesia where he was put to work down iron mines which he hated.
The German command insisted that you had 4 fingers and a thumb on each hand to work down the mines. His distaste for the claustrophobia of the mine was such that he got a fellow prisoner using a pick to take his left hand small finger off. The result was freedom to the surface. The war moved on and he was moved around a range of camps and took part in some of the infamous death marches, on one occasion the column were ordered to dig out a snowbound train which resulted in the loss of two toes through frost bite.
He was finally liberated by an American GI in Germany, somewhere, he never knew, but he always kept the GI’s jacket which he had been given.
My father resumed his pre-war job as a hardware salesman and lived a full life and I look back with immense pride at what he had done during those 5 years and hope that endeavour of this understated nature is recognised but equally that the world will never experience anything of this form ever again.
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Cpl. Keith Clark Carter . US Army Coy. F 407th Regiment from Cleveland, Texas I was appointed First Scout in Co. F of our battalion, 407th Regiment, 102nd Division. My ship left for Europe from Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. We disembarked in September at Cherbourg and trained (mostly long marches for endurance) near the town of St. Pere d'Eglise. I was captured by the Germans on 2nd December 1944 while taking 3 prisoners I helped capture during a pre-dawn attack against Flossdorf, a town on the Roer River. I was interrogated by a German officer, anything I questioned, such as persecution of the Jews, was "European politics, which you don't understand". His non-English speaking companion asked the interrogator about the session, and he told him I was "sehr intelligent". I was awarded a Bronze Star. Keith Carter
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Able Sea. Kenneth Victor Carter . Royal Navy HMS Excellent from Nottingham My father, Kenneth Carter joined the Navy in 1942 and was released in 1946. He served on various ships, Victory, Orlando, Philoctetes, Excellent.
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