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A veteran interview with

Gerald White

Gerald White was a Technical Adjutant at RAF Gatow on the Berlin Airlift.

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About Gerald White

Gerald White provides a captivating account of his time in Germany, working as a Technical Adjutant in the RAF during the Berlin Airlift.

As a boy, Gerald witnessed the remains of a V-1 flying bomb which exploded onto the grounds of his school during the Blitz. It would not be the last time he would bear witness to such a display.

After the war ended, he began training as a young aeronautical engineer. His skillset would lead him to RAF station Gatow in Berlin where he contributed to the repairs of various planes for the Berlin Airlift, including the Dakota and Avro York aircrafts.

He experienced a steady workflow at the bustling station but he was no stranger to incidents. He recalls two converted Lancaster planes, one a skyways tanker which blew up on the airfield and an Avro Tudor (belonging to Air Vice Marshall Donald Bennett) which his team managed to recover after it crashed into a sand bank. Unfortunately, a year later, the same Tudor would be involved in the Llandow air disaster, resulting in the tragic deaths of eighty-three people.

He describes a strenuous situation involving the removal of a Stratofreighter which was on a course to a welcome reception in Tempelhof before being forced down to the airfield where it got stuck in the tarmac of a runway.

Gerald reflects on his time at Gatow fondly, describing it as an astonishing experience. His work in Germany offers insight into the impact of RAF engineers who served on the Berlin Airlift and the significance of the aircrafts they aided.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
Matt Pitt

Transcripts:
Please note that transcripts and closed captions in the video player are automatically generated by Vimeo.

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Home | Veterans | Gerald White

A veteran interview with

Gerald White

Gerald-White-DVD.01_43_51_01.Still001

Gerald White was a Technical Adjutant at RAF Gatow on the Berlin Airlift.

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
White, Gerald. A Veteran Interview with Gerald White. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, 15 Apr. 2013 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/gerald-white/. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
APA Style:
White, G. (2013, April 15). A Veteran Interview with Gerald White [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved June 14, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/gerald-white/
Chicago Style:
White, Gerald. 2013. A Veteran Interview with Gerald White. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, April 15. Accessed June 14, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/gerald-white/
Harvard Style:
White, G. (2013). A Veteran Interview with Gerald White. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee, 15 April. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/gerald-white/ (Accessed: 14 June 2025)
Vancouver Style:
White, G. A Veteran Interview with Gerald White [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; 2013 Apr 15 [cited 2025 Jun 14]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/gerald-white/
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An exceptional RAF veteran who flew over 150 sorties as a Navigator during the Berlin Airlift and a founding member of the British Berlin Airlift Association

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.
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