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.

Stan Overend always dreamed of a life at sea, so he was disappointed when he couldn’t join the Navy due to his age. Instead, he joined the RAF, where his fortunes changed when he found his way into Marine Branch, Air Sea Rescue. After basic training and a stint as a gunner, Stan seized the opportunity to get out on the water. Posted as a Leading Aircraftman with 67 Air Sea Rescue in the stormy Hebrides, his first rescue mission was a chaotic struggle to save the crew of a Walrus Flying Boat in brutal gale-force winds. Later, Stan’s service took him across the world, including a memorable journey aboard The Queen of Bermuda to India. Stationed on the remote Cocos Keeling Islands, 1,500 miles from the nearest British unit, Stan’s experience was both isolated and dangerous. Despite the peaceful setting, the threat of Japanese fighters loomed large, and he vividly recalls a tragic accident involving a Catalina aircraft. Looking back, Stan fondly remembers the "good blokes" he served with, the kind who would share their last penny. He’s proud of the job they did together, overcoming hardships with camaraderie and resilience.

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.