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Terence-Crowley-

A veteran interview with

Terence Crowley

Terry Crowley gives a great account of his time as an RAF Engine Fitter on the Berlin Airlift.

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About Terence Crowley

Terence Crowley was an aircraft engine fitter during the Berlin Airlift. He was stationed at RAF Uetersen near Hamburg.

Upon joining the RAF in 1946, Terence was sent to north Yorkshire and commenced his role working on Vickers Wellington twin engine bombers. After gaining valuable experience, familiarising himself with the aircraft and completing training with high marks, he was posted to several difference locations throughout England.

This range of postings took him to RAF bases from the west midlands to Bedfordshire and ultimately to Norfolk where he began work overhauling Lancaster bombers. Speaking with great humour Terence recalls how, having never flown before, he was unexpectedly required to became part of a crew for a test flight of a Lancaster bomber which he himself had been responsible for fitting the engines in.

Shortly afterwards, he was dispatched to Germany, working on a variety of planes from communication aircraft to any aircraft needing attention during the Berlin Airlift. He recollects many fond memories of his time in Germany, including mixing with fellow workers from Germany and America, ballroom dancing and delivering newspapers to Berlin.

In addition to his role as engine fitter, Terence was given added responsibilities including tanker driver and VIP fitter, looking after both dignitaries and their planes. He talks knowledgably about the daily wider operations of the RAF and reflects on the deep sadness of discovering a colleague had been lost at sea.

Terence felt relief when the air lift was over but commends the efforts of all involved in a project he remarks as being “well worth doing”.

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Reviewed by:
Carolyn Foster

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Home | Veterans | Terence Crowley

A veteran interview with

Terence Crowley

Terence-Crowley-

Terry Crowley gives a great account of his time as an RAF Engine Fitter on the Berlin Airlift.

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Crowley, Terence. A Veteran Interview with Terence Crowley. Interview by Unknown. Legasee, 26 Mar. 2013 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/terry-crowley/. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
APA Style:
Crowley, T. (2013, March 26). A Veteran Interview with Terence Crowley [Interview by Unknown]. Legasee. Retrieved June 13, 2026, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/terry-crowley/
Chicago Style:
Crowley, Terence. 2013. A Veteran Interview with Terence Crowley. Interview by Unknown. Legasee, March 26. Accessed June 13, 2026. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/terry-crowley/
Harvard Style:
Crowley, T. (2013). A Veteran Interview with Terence Crowley. [Interviewed by Unknown]. Legasee, 26 March. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/terry-crowley/ (Accessed: 13 June 2026)
Vancouver Style:
Crowley, T. A Veteran Interview with Terence Crowley [Internet]. Interview by Unknown. Legasee; 2013 Mar 26 [cited 2026 Jun 13]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/terry-crowley/
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Joseph ‘Stamper’ Metcalf

Stamper remembers his missions in Nuremberg and Dresden as part of the Bomber Command in the Royal Air Force

Stamper decided to join the Royal Air Force after experiencing a biplane land close to his school in Settle Yorkshire. He joined up at RAF Cardington, before being posted overseas to Southern Rhodesia. He returned to East London 48 Air School to train as a bomb aimer, before returning to Rhodesia with 101 Squadron, where he unfortunately caught malaria. After losing his crew whilst in hospital he was posted to 100 Squadron at RAF Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Stamper was stationed in Bulawayo South Africa for desk-based training in the IWT (Initial Training Wing) then at Mount Hampden for navigation and flying training school. He returned to England and went to Whitley Bay for more training, then formed a crew with two others. Their first operation was to sink a large German force off the Dutch coast.  He flew in a Lancaster Bomber explaining how safe it felt compared to other bomber aircraft. Stamper describes his experiences in the Nuremberg raid where Bomber Command lost ninety-seven out of a force of two hundred and fifty after passing the main route of enemy night fighters. He recalls the Dresden raid targeting railway martialling yards, which resulted in a firestorm. Stamper later took part in Operation Manna, dropping food parcels to the starving Dutch population, and remembers tying chocolate for the children in his handkerchief. After the war, the crew felt something was missing for them, so they formed the 100 Squadron Association and Stamper became the first treasurer. The Association unveiled a memorial at Holton le Clay near RAF Grimsby with Stamper giving the dedication each reunion.
Photo Gallery icon 17 Photos
Service:
Interviewed by:
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An interview with

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RAF veteran whose service took him from the Battle of Britain to Russia, the Atlantic and India.

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Service:
Interviewed by:
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