The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.     Site Home     WW2 Home     Add Stories     WW2 Search     Library     Help & FAQs  WW2 Features     Airfields     Allied Army     Allied Air Forces     Allied Navy     Axis Forces     Home Front     Battles     Prisoners of War     Allied Ships     Women at War     Those Who Served     Day-by-Day     Library     The Great War  Submissions     Add Stories     Time Capsule     TWMP on Facebook     Childrens Bookshop  FAQ's     Help & FAQs     Glossary     Volunteering     Contact us     News     Bookshop     About Advertisements World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945

225352 Peter Jackson Royal Air Force RAF Regiment My name is Peter Jackson. I am a 1924 model. I served in the RAF Regiment from 1942 until 1944 when I transferred to an infantry battalion (Scots Guards). I volunteered to transfer because of the C.O. For some months I was stationed at Bardney with an A.A. flight. The guns we had were twin Brownings which we never had occasion to fire. We were used many times to assist the armourers in the 'bombing up' of the aircraft. This meant that after breakfast we would to to the bomb dump and, under supervision of the armourers, unpack incendiaries from the factory crates and pack them in the containers to be put on the aircraft. After an early lunch we went to the dispersal points where the loaded bomb trolleys would be waiting. Two of us would be allotted to each aircraft, each of us with a hand operated winch. The noses of the winches would lock into any of the several shaped outlets in the floor of the fuselage, above the bomb bay. The cable within the winch would be pulled down by an armourer and attached to either an incendiary container or an HE (high explosive) which would then be raised up into the bomb bay. Most of us 'regiment types' found this a welcome change from the boring hours on a gun post. Little or no thought was given to the aircrew, and the danger they would face in delivering this cargo, or to those on the receiving end. I clearly remember how us 'regiment types' used to think what an untidy lot the aircrew were - their tunics unbuttoned, hands in pockets, sometimes wearing scarves and smoking. Whereas we had to be 'properly' dressed at all times. It was not until many years later that I came to realise just what it would have meant to have the courage to be one of them. I saw action as an infantryman in Europe. Believe me, I would serve as such any time rather than be aircrew. Theirs was an outstanding form of courage. Aircrew have my greatest respect. Peter Jackson Add to this record.  Related Content: Scots Guards RAF Bardney Can you help us to add to our records? Add a record to our website. The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area? If so please let us know. Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice. Contact us. Celebrate your own Family History Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc. Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.

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. Hosted by: The Wartime Memories Project Website is archived for preservation by the British Library 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.