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Vic-Urch

A veteran interview with

Vic Urch

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About Vic Urch

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker

Copyright:
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Home | Veterans | Vic Urch

A veteran interview with

Vic Urch

Vic-Urch

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Urch, Vic. A Veteran Interview with Vic Urch. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, 26 Oct. 2016 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/vic-urch/. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
APA Style:
Urch, V. (2016, October 26). A Veteran Interview with Vic Urch [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved May 25, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/vic-urch/
Chicago Style:
Urch, Vic. 2016. A Veteran Interview with Vic Urch. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, October 26. Accessed May 25, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/vic-urch/
Harvard Style:
Urch, V. (2016). A Veteran Interview with Vic Urch. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee, 26 October. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/vic-urch/ (Accessed: 25 May 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Urch, V. A Veteran Interview with Vic Urch [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; 2016 Oct 26 [cited 2025 May 25]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/vic-urch/
An interview with

Dr Joyce Hargrave-Wright

She joined the WAAF after experiencing bombing as a child in WW2 and was an air traffic controller at the height of the Berlin Airlift

Joyce experienced bombing in WW2 and her mother had a narrow escape. At nineteen, in 1947, she joined the WAAF and trained in air traffic control and radar. The Airlift started the day that Joyce was posted to Germany, and she was initially ambivalent and apprehensive about helping the Germans, due to wartime events. She had never been abroad before and found the experience quite daunting. When she arrived in Germany she became aware of the deprivation that the population were experiencing and how they too were bombed. At the RAF HQ in Ahnsen she worked as a ‘Hoe Girl’ using a table-top hoe to plot the movement of aircraft during the Airlift and this task demanded a high level of accuracy. As well as this duty she worked in communications, relaying messages from aircraft to officers. There were three air ‘corridors’ to Berlin differentiated by height, with an aircraft landing every three to four minutes. The work was hard and constant, with leave once a month, when she and her colleagues were sent to a hotel and during this period she met her husband to be, who was also working on the base. During her time overseas she met Germans of her age and spoke to them about Nazism and the Hitler Youth. They said it was like the British Scouts and tried to explain their enthusiasm for Hitler. These young Germans professed to have no knowledge of the Holocaust, partly because they lived in the countryside.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Gerald White

The remarkable service of Gerald White who worked at RAF Gatow as a Technical Adjutant for many allied planes during the Berlin Airlift.

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.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Stan Overend

WW2 Service from the Hebrides to Remote Pacific Islands: Stan Overend's Journey with RAF Marine Rescue

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.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker