|
|
|
RAF West Drayton
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
|
Those known to have served at RAF West Drayton during the Second World War 1939-1945. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please
Add a Name to this List
|
|
|
The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 19th Nov 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than
264989 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
- Looking for help with Family History Research?
Please read our Family History FAQs
- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
If you enjoy this site
please consider making a donation.
Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our
Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. |
|
Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them.
The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion
Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
|
|
Want to know more about RAF West Drayton? There are:-1 items tagged RAF West Drayton available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
|
Claude "Bunty" Bunt The following are extracts from recollections of my father, Claude Bunt of his time at RAF Netheravon, where he met his future wife Eveline Godfrey in 1939.
I had applied to join the Royal Air Force in 1938 and one day in December a letter from the R.A.F. came with instructions and a railway voucher to report to R.A.F. West Drayton, what an experience for a 17 yr; old. The first meal at West Drayton was a meat stew. I knew it was rabbit meat because some of the meat still had the hair on. After being kitted out with all the R.A.F's clothes and further medical checks I was posted to R.A.F. South Cerny Glos; for R.A.F. military training. After six weeks I was posted to R.A.F. Hednesford for training as a flight mechanic. Hednesford was a new unit just opened and I was no; 3 entry.
After six months of training as a flight mechanic, war rumours came about and training was speeded up and I passed out as a fully qualified mechanic and posted to no; 1 R.A.F. Flying training school Netheravon, Salisbury plain, Wiltshire. I was posted to A flight, daily servicing air testing and weather reports. On September 3rd 1939 war was declared. All A B & C flights to be dispersed from the aircraft hangers to the edge of the airfield. Hell of a way to walk to work and very cold working on aircraft outside. After which I had shower in the billet and off to the N.A.F.F.I. for a wad and a cup of tea. Then one evening a smashing girl was serving behind the counter and I said to my pals Johny Lear and Charles Jolly I would like to be introduced to that girl. So Johny who was friendly with Kathleen, another N.A.F.F.I. girl, called this smasher over and said, Claude, this is Eveline, Eveline, this is Claude, and that is how I met my future wife. [bless her ]. We were married on June 30th 1941 at St Clement's Church, Higher Openshaw, Manchester. A few day's honeymoon then back to Netheravon. Eveline stopped in Manchester and then in September 1941 joined the W.A.A.F'S. After training she was posted to R.A.F. Andover as account's clerk, whilst at Andover the station was badly bombed and she was posted to Cranwell to train as a teleprinter operator eventually posted to R.A.F. Madley Hereford.
At times at Netheravon our flight was sent to Shrewton a relief landing ground a few miles away where we trained fleet air arm pilots to land on dummy decks marked out on the airfield at night time. During the day we air tested 12 Harvard aircraft and made them serviceable for the evening and night time. Then one day, after we had tested four aircraft, we were just about to take off for the fifth time when one of the office staff came running out waving his arms and indicated that I was wanted on the phone. So I got out of the aircraft and the pilot said put some ballast weights in for Bunty, the aircraft took off without me. When it was about 2000 ft the tail of the aircraft broke off and it came spinning down and crashed on the main road of Shrewton village, the pilot had no chance. It was Eveline that saved me that day because it was her on the phone to tell me that she was being posted to Cranwell and could I arrange a time and day to see her before she went.
|
LAC George "Paddy" O'Brien I am present writing an account of my Uncle George O'Brien who joined the RAFVR in July 1939 and after six months basic training at West Drayton was sent to Dunkirk. His brother, my uncle Frank, also signed up around the same time and they were both rescued off the beaches of Dunkirk coming back to England on a coal barge together.
Uncle Frank was eventually posted to Malta where he endured intense bombing on the RAF station while Uncle George was sent out to the Western Desert where he was tasked to rescue downed fighters from almost anywhere using a Thorneycroft mounted with a Coles crane.
He eventually arrived in Tunis after The Big Push and later was posted to Sardinia before traveling up the length of Italy before being sent back to the UK to be demobbed in 1946.
I have a good number of photographs of the journey although they are not now in the best of condition but he related to me many stories of his time.
If anyone remembers him or has any information of his time in the RAF or experince of Salvage Operations in the Western Desert I would be very pleased to hear from them.
|
Recomended Reading.Available at discounted prices.
|
|
|
