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Those known to have served at RAF Cranfield 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,
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The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
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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. |
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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
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Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
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Want to know more about RAF Cranfield? There are:33 items tagged RAF Cranfield 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. |
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Col. John Ross Austin No. 51 Operations Training Unit John Austin enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in early 1943 and trained as a Wireless/Air Gunner and Navigator in Canada. He arrived in England on the first troopship to arrive from Canada after D-Day. He was selected for training as a Radar Operator and trained in 51 OTU until shortly after VE Day.
He returned to Canada to await the possibility of service in the Pacific Theatre, and the war ended in August 1945. The RCAF offered to send him to the University of Toronto with the possibility of a permanent Commission after graduation. He graduated from Toronto in June of 1949 and re-entered the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Mechanical Engineer to become an Aircraft Maintenance Officer.
In August, the first test of an atomic weapon by the USSR brought a world of change to the RCAF. By late 1950 the RCAF plans included a NATO contribution of twelve squadrons of F-86E Sabres to be stationed in France and Germany. A further nine squadrons of all-weather CF-100 interceptors were to help protect North America. Ross was stationed in Manitoba to assist in the establishment of pilot training programs at RCAF Gimli, MacDonald, and Portage la Prairie.
From 1955-1959, Ross was an instructor at the RCAF Radar and Electronics School, leaving as Chief Instructor, Squadron Leader and transferred to RCAF Station Holberg, a Pinetree Line GCI Radar Station. Promoted to Wing Commander in 1960, he commanded the Station for one year before a transfer to RCAF HQ in Ottawa. In 1966 he was transferred to RCAF Station North Bay where he commanded the SAGE Maintenance and Control Unit within the underground Northern NORAD HQ and served as Director of Communications of the Air Defence Operations Centre.
In 1969, Ross went to Ramstein Air Base in Germany where he was Chief of Telecommunications at the 4th Allied Tactical Air Force until 1973. He retired in 1977 after further postings in Kingston, Ottawa and Cairo, Egypt where he served as the Canadian Forces Military Attache. After leaving the Canadian Forces, he worked for the National Research Council as the site manager at the Algonquin Radio Observatory where he was able to indulge himself observing very clever young technologists working with state-of-the-art radio receivers used to probe the cosmos.
A life at the frontiers of military radar and telecommunications all started with a chance posting to RAF Cranfield sometime late in the war.
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LAC. Pearson Watson Smith No. 56 Operational Training Unit My father, Pearson Smith (born 1920), was from Sunniside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and enlisted in the RAF on 21st of November 1940 at Padgate. He initially mustered as an ACH/W.Op., then became an ACH/GD, and finally a Maint/Asst. He was demobbed on 15th of July 46 at RAF Cardington, Bedfordshire, having reached the rank of LAC.
He went to 10 Signal Recruit Centre, Blackpool, in Feb 41, then moved to No. 3 Signals School (RAF Compton Bassett, Jun 41), 51 OTU (RAF Cranfield, Aug 41), 55 OTU (Oct 41 and Mar 42, RAF Usworth and RAF Great Orton), 16 RC(A) (May 42), hospital at RAF Kirkham (Jul - Aug 43), 56 OTU (RAF Brunton, Jan 45) and No. 95 Maintenance Unit (RAF Lords Bridge, Cambridge, Sep 45) before demobbing at RAF Cardington (102 PDC 'A') on 25/5/46.
He also did several 'Alt Backers Up' courses, though it's not clear from his service record what these were. However, an article on the BBC website WW2 People's War may shed some light on this as the correspondent says ‘The Backers Up’ course consisted mostly of football, arms drill, firing on the rifle range, route marches and physical training.
The only other possibility is that, as the term 'Backers Up' was used by the Pathfinder Force to describe crews whose job was to add coloured markers to target flares to maintain the aiming point during a raid, is that he may have started as a maintenance assistant on radios but later changed to explosive ordnance, hence how he came to be at 95 MU. I think this unlikely as he joined 95 MU after the war ended and prior to that had been at OTUs, none of which had aircraft used by the Pathfinder Force.
I never met my father, as my parents separated when I was a child and he died in 1992. I would be interested in any stories or information about the places he served, especially at the time he was there, and also about the 'Alt Backers Up' courses mentioned on his Service record, as well as information about 16 RC.
Notes:
- RAF Compton Bassett was a training establishment for ground trade radio operators and radio mechanics.
- 51 OTU at RAF Cranfield (Bedfordshire) in 1941 operated the Beaufort, Mosquito, Wellington, and Hurricane.
- 55 OTU at RAF Usworth (Co. Durham) in 1941 operated the Hurricane X.
- 16 RC (A) - no information, but possibly 16 Radio Course, location unknown; the 'A' denotes attachment to 55 OTU as parent unit.
- 55 OTU at RAF Great Orton (Cumberland) in 1942 operated the Hurricane, Typhoon and Master.
- RAF Kirkham (Lancashire) was the main armament training centre for the RAF from Nov 1941 and had a military hospital, probably the closest one to RAF Great Orton where Pearson was based at the time.
- 56 OTU at RAF Brunton (Northumberland) in 1945 operated the Typhoon 1b and Tempest.
- RAF Lords Bridge in 1945 was an Air Ammunition Park and Forward Filling Station for mustard gas munitions.
- RAF Cardington (Bedfordshire) in 1946 was a Personnel Despatch Centre (for demobilisation). The 'A' denotes 'A Class' demobilisation category.
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