After losing his job at a timber yard Clifford joined the RAF just before the conscription age of eighteen. When he had completed his training, he was posted to Gatow in Germany, the main British airfield, at the start of the Airlift in June 1948. He was a clerical worker, ensuring the safe and rapid turnaround of hundreds of flights, as well as performing guard duty and manual work. During the Airlift disassembled vehicles and food were delivered and on the return journey they brought back sick children and post, which was forwarded. There were large numbers of Germans working on the base, alongside the RAF personnel and during the Airlift the western Allies began to be seen as defenders, rather than occupiers. He remembers the appreciation of German children and parents when he and his comrades gave the children a Christmas party on the base. The British troops paid for this and gave gifts of chocolate bars and oranges to the youngsters. In Berlin he acquired an appreciation of opera, made good friends and had a German girlfriend. Marrying German women however was frowned on by the British authorities. One episode he recalls vividly is getting very drunk on his 21^st birthday and being disciplined by his superior officer. Clifford felt that he matured from a boy to a man during his time in Berlin and was sad to leave. Some of his companions thought that the Germans deserved all they got but that was not his opinion.

Fred was a teenager when his home was destroyed in a bombing raid. At the age of eighteen he volunteered for the RAF, trained in gunnery and became the tail gunner in a Lancaster bomber. He took part in the nighttime bombing of Germany and, against the odds, survived 45 missions. There were some close moments and during this period he lost most of his friends in combat. After the war he had a recurring nightmare where, among a landscape of crashed aircraft, there was a space reserved for his bomber. At the start of the Berlin Airlift he was posted to Gatow as an intelligence officer, where his unit at first worked in a tent. Despite misgivings regarding its feasibility the Airlift went ahead anyway, initially using Dakotas and building up to larger aircraft. His billet was at the end of the runway, and at first he had trouble sleeping as the noise was constant, 24 hours a day. The Soviets were close by and made things awkward but never directly interfered although the local population were terrified that the Allies would leave them for the Russians. The devastation caused by bombing in Berlin was awful and the civilians were in poverty, although the airlift ration was about the same as those in Britain. While on duty a plane carrying coal crashed on take-off, killing all the crew. He served in Berlin for the entire duration of the Airlift and felt that it was better than bombing the city.

Geoffrey Abbott recounts his illustrious career, from the factory to the frontlines. Having left school at sixteen, Geoffrey took up work making engines in a factory, but soon swapped this for servicing spitfires for the RAF.   After training as an engine fitter, Geoffrey quickly found himself posted across the globe, supporting wartime efforts in the Middle East and Africa. Geoffrey recalls his journeys across the sea, his aircraft expertise, and the hardships he faced away from home.  His interview illuminates the non-combatant wartime experience, highlighting the role of machinery mastery as indispensable. An often forgotten perspective, Geoffrey provides insight on the uncertainty of the supporting cast and the contentious condition of having to work amidst conflict. Geoffrey’s story is one of resolve and bravery, underpinned by his desire to help and a genuine passion for planes.  .