The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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231226 LAC George "Ginge" Clegg Royal Air Force Attached to PRU wing, Benson from:Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire I had become hooked on flying as a cadet in the Manchester University Air Squadron in 1942. I enlisted in the RAFVR while aged 17 and was on deferred service until I attained 18. One of my early moves was to RAF Benson, the Photo Recce Unit (PRU) HQ, commanded by Air Commodore John N Boothman, who had won the Schneider trophy for Britain before the war. I was always trying to commence flying, but this was an operational unit with Spitfires and Mosquitos, so the opportunities were few. After just missing a test flight in a Mosquito during which the pilot and observer were killed, my next opportunity was a trip in a Lockheed Hudson with the C.O., AC Boothman. I guess my eagerness persuaded him to take me. It turned out to be a recce off the Dutch coast to locate shore batteries. These were mapped by the 2nd pilot and located by drawing fire. We were perhaps a mile off shore. The CO would do a steep turn (about 50 feet above the waves) to throw of the predicted next shot from the batteries. It was all very exciting. After about 30 minutes and having covered 100 miles of coast, without being hit, we returned to base. My next near meeting with John Boothman, now an AVM, was at Manston, Kent the wartime FIDO station. While landing a Spitfire across the runway, the Fido pipe caused the nose to go down enough for the prop to hit the ground. The props on Spits were wooden, covered by a black coating, and shattered easily so that no damage to the engine occurred. After flying finished that evening I walked out to the site of my inadvertent accident. To my surprise I found the remains of two shattered props. I learned that AVM Boothman was the the pilot of the other Spitfire, having landed later than I. George Clegg Add to this record.  Related Content: RAF Benson Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 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.

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