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A veteran interview with

Patrick Hollins

Patrick Hollins flew in Mosquitos in WW2. He provides a detailed account of his service.

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About Patrick Hollins

Cautioned against the dangers of the trenches, 19-year-old Patrick ‘Pat’ Hollins joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1939, where he would go on to experience luck in all kinds of ways. 

With very few responsibilities prior to enlistment, Patrick considered the war to be great fun, particularly the role he played in Coastal Command. After travelling the country undertaking Morse Code and gunnery training, he took to the skies on board his first Whitley Bomber – known at the time as the ‘flying coffin’. 

True to its nickname, journeys on board Whitley aircrafts were always precarious, often causing problems for its crew and sometimes even casualties. On his third flight, Patrick’s plane was forced to ditch in the Atlantic Ocean where, as one of five survivors, he found himself stranded on a rock thirty yards from the shore during the middle of the night. Patrick was extremely fortunate to survive, though it wasn’t the only time he and his squadron would have to make an emergency landing. 

After leaving 280 Squadron, Patrick was sent to Squires Gate in Blackpool, where he became an instructor for pilots and navigators. Although it was a nice posting, within a year he was already eager to return to the skies, so consequently took up the position of a Navigator in 235 Squadron, where he would spend the brief remainder of the war. 

With luck on his side, Patrick returned safely home at the end of the war, able to reflect on his experiences in the air and on land. This film was of created for a VE Day celebratory series called ‘Home’, with special thanks to the Royal British Legion for helping to make it happen.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
Toby Boddy

Copyright:
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Home | Veterans | Patrick Hollins

A veteran interview with

Patrick Hollins

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Patrick Hollins flew in Mosquitos in WW2. He provides a detailed account of his service.

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Hollins, Patrick. A Veteran Interview with Patrick Hollins. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/patrick-hollins/. Accessed 17 May. 2025.
APA Style:
Hollins, P. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Patrick Hollins [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved May 17, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/patrick-hollins/
Chicago Style:
Hollins, Patrick. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Patrick Hollins. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/patrick-hollins/
Harvard Style:
Hollins, P. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Patrick Hollins. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/patrick-hollins/ (Accessed: 17 May 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Hollins, P. A Veteran Interview with Patrick Hollins [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2025 May 17]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/patrick-hollins/
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