The Wartime Memories Project

- RAF Ford during the Second World War -


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World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945

RAF Ford



12th August 1940 Shipping

21st Dec 1940 Night Ops

6th Aug 1942 Training

9th February 1943 Pilot missing on first operation

24th February 1943 Move to Exercise area

24th February 1943 Fog Lifts

24th February 1943 Preparations for Exercise Spartan

26th February 1943 Move for Exercise

26th February 1943 Preparation for Exercise Spartan

27th February 1943 Preparations for Exercise Spartan

27th February 1943 Move completed

1st March 1943 Trial of vertical photography

1st March 1943 Preparation for Exercise Spartan

2nd March 1943 Exercise Spartan

3rd March 1943 Exercise Spartan

3rd March 1943 Exercise Spartan

4th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

4th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

5th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

6th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

6th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

7th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

7th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

8th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

8th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

9th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

9th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

10th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

10th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

11th March 1943 Exercise Spartan

12th March 1943 Exercise Spartan ends

12th March 1943 Exercise Spartan ends

13th March 1943 Return to base

17th April 1943 Attack planned

19th April 1943 Squadron's first operation over France

13th May 1943 Attack on Abbeville aerodrome

17th May 1943 Attack on aerodrome

3rd September 1943 Back on Ops

October 1943 Dormitory perks unavailable

25th November 1943 Mysterious loss of Typhoon

17th December 1943 8 Special Duty aircraft lost in fog

7th January 1944 Noball attack cancelled

18th February 1944 Mosquitos bomb prison at Amiens

18th February 1944 Wing Commander killed on ops

19th March 1944 Wellington lost without trace

1st March 1944 Relocated and re-equipped

2nd March 1944 Enemy intruders shot down

13th March 1944 Pilot missing on practice flight

15th April 1944 New Wing

18th April 1944 Invasion preparations

27th April 1944 Halifax lands on top of Mosquito

29th April 1944 Two Spitfires lost

1st May 1944 D-Day air cover

14th May 1944 Relocated

19th May 1944 Difficult flight ends well

21st May 1944 Two Spitfires destroyed

27th May 1944 Halifax shoots down fighter

28th May 1944 Missing on V1 launch site raid

1st June 1944 Up to strength

2nd June 1944 Browned off

3rd June 1944 Train attacked

4th June 1944 Dive bombing sortie

5th June 1944 D-Day briefing

6th June 1944 D-Day

6th June 1944 Stirling lost over Normandy

7th June 1944 Long and uneventful day

8th June 1944 Bad weather

8th June 1944 Tanks bombed in Normandy

8th June 1944 Resuppling troops

9th June 1944 Weather stopped flying

10th June 1944 Enemy not seen

11th June 1944 Landing strip on 'Omaha' Beach

12th June 1944 Collision on the ground

13th June 1944 Patrol

14th June 1944 Caen in flames

15th June 1944 Continuing bad weather

16th June 1944 Dawn patrol

17th June 1944 Abortive bombing raid

18th June 1944 Pilot shot down and killed

19th June 1944 Abortive sorties due to weather

20th June 1944 On the move

20th June 1944 No incidents

21st June 1944 Escort to Halifaxes

22nd June 1944 Two patrols in poor weather

23rd June 1944 Injured by flak

24th June 1944 Move to France anticipated

25th June 1944 Two raids and a new base

25th June 1944 Destroyed by V1 bomb

25th June 1944 Move to France

29th June 1944 Two bombing raids on Normandy

30th June 1944 Aircraft Lost

30th June 1944 Railway targets missed

1st July 1944 Bombing and recce sortie

4th July 1944 First 'Diver' sortie

6th July 1944 Road and rail traffic bombed

7th July 1944 Bombing sortie in bad weather

8th July 1944 Relocated to tackle Flying Bombs

31st July 1944 Daylight operations

August 1944 Into France

12th August 1944 Ranger over France to Algieria

15th August 1944 Flight to Algiers

24th September 1944 On the move

23rd December 1944 Fog

11th May 1943 Operation Exodus


If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.



Those known to have served at

RAF Ford

during the Second World War 1939-1945.

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



The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.

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  • 27th 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 264001 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
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Want to know more about RAF Ford?


There are:105 items tagged RAF Ford 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.


Elizabeth Bryant

At school FHCS for girls,I was Betty Bryant of Forest Hill,London. At 15 I was evacuated to Mersham,Kent and then on to Gorseinon,Nr Swansea. Joined Waaf 1942, 3mths driving course at Morecambe. Mostly stationed at Middleton St George,Bomber Command. Many memories, driving aircrew out to planes for night raids.Welcoming Canadian Squadron who brought with them FOOD!! They had their own cook in sick quarters and had my first taste of anything resembling food since I joined up.Sleeping in Nissen huts and being so cold at night and then in the am walking outside to the ablutions and cold water to wash. One night 2 aircraft collided overhead, all the Morris ambulances were out, I was ordered to drive the one survivor in an Albion ambulance, which to me was enormous, the patient was severley burned and completely covered in bandages. I was terrified of jolting him as it was double-declutch all the way and I have always wondered if he survived. I was 19 at the time. At 191/2 I became engaged to my sweetheart from home, he was a Spitfire pilot, and he was the love of my life. Later I was posted to Ford nr Littlehampton. June 9th we were married and I became Betty Drapper. On Aug 9th I was called in to the adjutants office and was told that Roy had been killed. A weeks compassionate leave and that was that. Counselling had not been invented!

Betty Blower



Mary Joan Jamieson RAF Ford

WAAF Joan Jamieson

These are photos of my late aunt Joan Jamieson who was born in London in 1918. She married William Gray 1940 but I suspect she continued to use her maiden name. She served as a wireless operator at RAF Ford. In one photo she with another WAAF who is demonstrating a sewing machine in Harrods department store. I don't know where the party photos were taken unfortunately, but they were among her possessions after she died in 2007.

Alison Botterill



Charles William Austin

Charles Austin served at Ford from 1945 to 1948 as AML (electrical). Aircraft he serviced includes, mainly the Mosqito, Seafire and Seafury.




F/O John Caine DFC No. 418 Squadron (City of Edmonton)

John Caine served with No. 418 Squadron (City of Edmonton)








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    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.

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