Sam was well travelled and hitch-hiked through Germany in 1938-39, where the atmosphere seemed to change as war neared. After joining the RAF in 1941, he was sent to Canada for training before heading to RAF Leuchars in Scotland where he hunted enemy submarines. Following a relatively uneventful period of wartime flying, Sam used his navigator training to join a charter aircraft company flying around Europe. He was then sent to fly planes rescuing Hindu refugees from persecution during the 1947 partition of India. Sam subsequently captained civilian planes during the Berlin Airlift. Unlike RAF pilots who took commands from operations officers, he was responsible for deciding when weather conditions made flying too treacherous. He recalls near crashes with a Russian plane flying off course and an RAF York whose pilot disobeyed tower landing commands. He worked hard during the airlift and had little time for leisure while flying 3 flights per day and sometimes at night. After returning to Jersey in December 1948, Sam joined a civilian carrier that later became British Airways. His account sheds valuable light on the essential role civilian charter companies played in the Berlin Airlift.

Leo Hatcher shares his memories as a young Royal Air Force (RAF) conscript in 1947 aged eighteen. With an older brother already in the RAF as an engine fitter, Leo was inspired to do the same. He instead became an airframe technician, or ‘rigger’, on the Sunderland flying boats (also known as the Short Sunderland). Stationed at Finkenwerder near Hamburg, Germany, supporting the Allied Forces’ post-war operations in June 1948, he recalls witnessing first-hand the utter devastation wreaked upon German cities from the air.  In contrast to the tensions between the Allied Forces and the Soviet Union in Berlin, he remembers the friendliness of Berliners who would gather on the beach of Lake Wannsee to watch the Sunderlands come and go. Told with warmth and poignancy, Leo’s reflection of his role during the Berlin Airlift offers a vivid account of what it was like to fly in one of these iconic aircraft, in addition to describing the logistics of delivering vital aid to a divided city.

Laurence Kennedy volunteered to join the RAF in 1943 after turning 18 years old. He trained in Newquay and following this was posted to South Africa for a year. Whilst there, he celebrated VE day (Victory in Europe day) in Cape Town, May 1945. Laurence continued his training and joined Transport Command. After a bout of sickness, he was sent to Fassburg, Germany, where he joined up with a squadron and was sent to assist in the Berlin Airlift. Most of the cargo being flown in was coal and flour, with aircrafts being packed full, Laurence remembers. Sometimes, they would have the important task of flying children out of Berlin to reduce the numbers in the city. This is when the importance of the airlift  sank in for Laurence. He talks about how sorry he felt for the children being taken away from their homes and families. During the airlift Laurence flew 168 sorties and was housed in several bases throughout Germany, including: Wunsdorf, Fassburg, and Lubeck. He met his wife at Lubeck, she was stationed there serving with the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Whilst stationed in Fassburg, he remembers there being lots of pubs and inns, and that he enjoyed life there. Laurence recalls bringing coffee from back home and trading it with locals for Deutsche marks. In his downtime, Laurence visited Hamburg and remembers being shocked at the state of the city, describing it as horrific and he couldn’t see how anyone could survive living there during the war. What Laurence and his fellow servicemen and women did during this time is incredible, all of them led us out of a very uncertain time. This interview was filmed by the late Andrew Emslie.

Gordon was evacuated at the start of WW2 but was back home in time to witness German bombing of his town. He joined the ATC as a teenager and was pleased when conscripted into the RAF at Christmas 1946, just after turning eighteen. During training he specialised as an airframe engineer in Transport Command. He focussed on working on the Avro York, a transport derivation of the Lancaster bomber. His first overseas posting was Gibraltar, then back to Britain for a short while before being given two hours’ notice that he was assigned to the RAF base at Wunstorf in Germany at the start of the Berlin airlift. The effort to keep Berlin supplied was unrelenting and during one period Gordon was on duty every day for ten weeks, with some aircraft flying three sorties a day. In his opinion only a young person could maintain a schedule like that. On leave they travelled to nearby towns, although fraternisation with the Germans was discouraged, along with warnings regarding the hazards of venereal infection. A fatal crash at the base of one of ‘his’ aircraft affected him, and he also flew in an aircraft that had engine failure. He feels that the Berlin airlift was a good thing and that his service helped him in later life.

Dick joined the RAF in 1942, aged 19, and flew allied transport aircraft in the Far East, supplying Allied troops in the jungle. After the war he was in Transport Command, operating in Germany and Poland. He was due to go on leave, but the Soviets had just blockaded Berlin, and instead he began flying Dakota transports into Berlin from western Germany. Initially only two transports were involved but this built up rapidly despite the ‘organised chaos’ of the early days. Soon the pilots were working 18-hour days, flying three to four return flights to Berlin daily. During the winter the weather was bad, although not as severe as Dick had experienced during the war. A wide variety of cargoes were carried, from coal to disassembled bulldozers and hay for the Berlin Zoo. On the return flights light export goods and unwell German children were carried. Later he flew the Avro York, a larger aircraft with greater capacity than the Dakota. On at least two occasions there was a mix-up, and a Dakota was loaded with a York’s cargo. They managed to get to Berlin but only with the engines running at maximum power. The Soviet air force harassed the Allied aircraft, sometimes firing their guns over the planes, other times buzzing them as close as twenty feet. On one occasion Dick got tired of this behaviour, turned his plane around and flew directly at the Soviet aircraft, which took evasive action. He thinks that the Airlift prevented another war.

Dan had wanted to fly but was unwilling to sign on for three years and instead was conscripted. He trained in radar and was assigned to Ground Control Approach and was posted to the RAF base in Gatow, Berlin, adjacent to the Soviet zone. His unit was located at the beginning of the airstrip, guiding in British Avro Yorks and Tudors and the US C47 Skymaster. The aircraft were arriving every two to three minutes and the sky was busy with other western Allied aircraft landing at other airfields in Berlin. When on call his unit lived in a caravan beside the runway, where they were able to sleep, despite the aircraft noise The Russians were generally regarded with suspicion by the British and with fear by the Germans. He felt that the Airlift was a good thing and that it was appreciated by the German people, who were being fed by it. In addition to food the planes brought in fuel and household goods. For relaxation he enjoyed the local yacht club, run by friendly Russians, and occasionally to the centre of Berlin which was still badly damaged. Here they would sometimes go to the American Mess hall as the food was better than the British NAAFI. The work was exhausting but he only realised how tiring when he went home on leave and slept for 24 hours! He was on this posting for nine of the eleven months of the Airlift and left Berlin shortly before it ended.

Bill Campbell describes his journey from the forests and farms of northern Scotland, joining up in the Black Watch Regiment and being transferred to Germany. He shares his experiences of post-war Germany from the devastation of the city of Cologne to the relationship with the locals. He also describes how he ended up volunteering for what was to become the Berlin Airlift. With humour Bill recalls the daily logistical challenges of the Berlin Airlift, meeting Montgomery and a riding encounter with Hitler's horse. His interview highlights the important role the British Army played in the Berlin Airlift, the daily risks that were taken to keep the vital air corridor open. Bill's story is a reminder that volunteering for missions can sometimes take you in unexpected directions.

Alec Chambers served as a Flight Engineer during the Berlin Airlift with Flight Refueling Limited, becoming involved through Sir Alan Cobham, who provided tanker services for refueling aircraft over Berlin. Before the airlift, he participated in North Atlantic trials using modified Lancaster bombers for refueling missions. Chambers operated specialized equipment such as sinker weights and line-throwing guns to ensure safe fuel transfer between tankers and receiving aircraft, managing hydraulic systems and securing lines during operations. Originally from Shrivenham, Berkshire, Chambers volunteered for aircrew in World War II but initially served as an Engine Fitter. He was called up in January 1944 and trained as a Flight Engineer. After the war, he continued in-flight refueling with Cobham's organization, which transitioned to Tarrant Rushton to support the Berlin Airlift. While stationed in Wunstorf near Hannover, he described the chaotic post-war environment and his routine of checking aircraft readiness and coordinating refueling operations. Chambers noted the challenges of flying Lancasters with heavy fuel loads, adapting them for airlift despite their bombing design, and shared experiences of turbulence and landing difficulties due to shifting fuel weight. His account highlights the logistical challenges of air refueling during this critical period in history. 

Colin Cottle describes what it was like to grow up during WWII, when the Blitz meant camping out in the basement, plane spotting and finding shrapnel on the way to school. When the war ended, many young people struggled to find work so Colin signed himself up to the army, aged 16, and was swiftly sent to the front line of the Berlin Airlift as a mechanic, helping to get often overloaded allied planes to Soviet-controlled areas of the city. Colin shares details of the devastating impact war had had on the German landscape, and how life inside the military bases changed with the arrival of the Americans and their all-you-can-eat breakfasts and nightly trips into town. He also shares fascinating insights into the black market, where cigarettes and coffee were a strong currency for the impoverished locals, and explains how these clandestine trades took place and what he would do with the cash. Many years after his service, Colin chanced upon others who served in Fassberg at a book talk on the Berlin Airlift. A deeply emotional trip back to the base with them served as a reminder that, although he was just 18 years old, he played an important role in the history of the Cold War.

Growing up near Coventry, Flying Officer Tom Holland witnessed the devastation caused by air raids. This, alongside his desire to fly, motivated him to join the RAF. Starting his flight training during WW2, he graduated from RAF College Cranwell, first in order of merit. Although he’d hoped - and was specially recommended- to fly Spitfires for reconnaissance photography, Tom was sent for additional training to operate flying boats. By the end of his training, Tom had had experience on a variety of aircraft, including Tiger Moths, Harvards, Oxfords and Lancasters, before being placed with 230 Squadron at the end of July 1948 to fly Sunderlands. The week he joined, the Squadron was deployed to Hamburg for the Berlin Airlift. Tom recalls what life was like flying, and working, on Sunderland aircraft during the Airlift. The interior stripped of as much unnecessary weight as possible, he recalls the precise logistics required to carry various loads into Berlin. Navigating the challenges of landing on water, to adverse weather conditions and pressure from Russian aircraft, Tom’s interview highlights the knife edge between peace and war during this period and he retains pride for what was achieved and the vital part he played. 

Originally a farmer’s son from Staffordshire Flight Sergeant Edgar (Ed) Meddings became interested in planes after his brother took him to a flying display. From them on he knew he wanted to become a pilot. Ed joined the air force in 1939 where he started as an armourer. After operational training in Bramcote, and transformative flight training in South Africa, he became a leading aircraftman and acting sergeant. Further opportunities led Ed to flying for a Wellington squadron, operating in Greece and Italy. Ed talks fondly about the camaraderie on the crew of his bomber, and remembers being shot at “pretty well every flight”, but also recalls never being hit. After the war Ed became a link instructor and transporter planes pilot; a role which he continued until 1968 when he left the RAF and became a civil pilot. Ed talks about his experiences dealing with the effects of war, including the death of a good friend and the distress at losing people close to him. However he remembers his war with stoicism, feeling lucky to have survived. His poignant reflection of the war was that “we did what we had to do”.

Joyce experienced bombing in WW2 and her mother had a narrow escape. At nineteen, in 1947, she joined the WAAF and trained in air traffic control and radar. The Airlift started the day that Joyce was posted to Germany, and she was initially ambivalent and apprehensive about helping the Germans, due to wartime events. She had never been abroad before and found the experience quite daunting. When she arrived in Germany she became aware of the deprivation that the population were experiencing and how they too were bombed. At the RAF HQ in Ahnsen she worked as a ‘Hoe Girl’ using a table-top hoe to plot the movement of aircraft during the Airlift and this task demanded a high level of accuracy. As well as this duty she worked in communications, relaying messages from aircraft to officers. There were three air ‘corridors’ to Berlin differentiated by height, with an aircraft landing every three to four minutes. The work was hard and constant, with leave once a month, when she and her colleagues were sent to a hotel and during this period she met her husband to be, who was also working on the base. During her time overseas she met Germans of her age and spoke to them about Nazism and the Hitler Youth. They said it was like the British Scouts and tried to explain their enthusiasm for Hitler. These young Germans professed to have no knowledge of the Holocaust, partly because they lived in the countryside.