Stan joined the RAF in July 1940 and was assigned to a reconnaissance unit and returning from a mission his aircraft had engine failure, and he baled out over occupied Belgium. After walking for two days he was able to board a train to Brussels where his ability to speak French helped him. Here he met the Resistance who used the Comète Line to smuggle him to a village near the Spanish border. Here his group was discovered by German troops. Despite being in civilian clothes with false papers he, and his comrades, avoided being shot. They were interrogated quite roughly and he spent four months in solitary confinement. Eventually he was taken to a Gestapo prison and later to a POW camp where he faced further interrogation. Near the end of the war he and his comrades were moved to several different camps before eventually being freed in May 1945.

Jean Cleminson shares her experiences as a wireless operator part of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) during World War 2. She details her experience in the Y Service, an essential part of British intelligence operations, from working in Dunstable to Bletchley Park. Jean recounts her time training in wireless operations in 1941 at the Post Office in Cardiff. After studying in Compton Bassett, Bedfordshire and Staffordshire, she was assigned a post at an ostensible meteorological station in Dunstable. At Dunstable, Jean carried out clandestine Y section work and intercepted reports from Germany. She was informed to never speak about the work undertaken to anyone, including her family. She reflects on the late-night watch hours and quiet atmosphere in the station, as well as maintaining a best friendship for life. Years later, Jean revisited the Dunstable station. Whilst difficult to find, she slowly came to the realisation it had turned into a cracker factory! Jean’s account serves as a testimony to the dedication and resilience of those in secret and often underrepresented war roles. The story highlights Jean’s incredible contribution to the war and the significance women played in the war effort.

Called up to service in 1946, Gordon joined an RAF maintenance unit as an electrician before supporting the Berlin Airlift in Wunstorf, Hanover. He recalls a sweet scent in the air there, which he later speculated may have been the smell of death. Though servicemen experienced some hostility from German residents, Gordon empathised with their situation having seen Liverpool flattened during the Blitz. Interactions with locals were usually cordial, however, and Gordon even befriended and ate with a German family. With aircraft supplies sparse throughout the airlift, maintenance units had to think on their feet and be resourceful. Gordon’s responsibilities included inspecting aircraft, adjusting planes’ carbon par regulators mid-flight, and mending faulty engine magnetos. He describes two plane crashes during his time at Wunstorf, one of which proved fatal. In his time off, Gordon practised photography, relaxed in RAF Malcolm Clubs, and ate in lakeside cafés. As a non-smoker, he rarely spent his own money since cigarettes became currency in postwar Germany. He remembers skiing and tobogganing in the Harz Mountains during R&R breaks. Gordon found his time in the RAF enjoyable and interesting. His story sheds light on Germany’s postwar recovery and the vast operation behind the Berlin Airlift.