Hello.
I just fell over this forum when looking for a Chaz Bowyer reference. It looks like a friendly and knowledgeable crowd, so I guess here is as good a place as any to ask my question.
We lost my grandma back in January, and while going through some boxes have found my grandad’s old RAF log books. (He passed away back in 2002, so I can’t ask him directly about this.) He was a wireless operator in Lancasters during the latter part of the war. At first, I thought they were consecutive, but upon closer inspection, they seem to be duplicated. However, one seems to be a bit more ‘official’ for want of a better word, while the other seems to be a bit more informal. It still contains the same info, but it has little extra personal notes, and there are even a couple of photos, kind of like a scrapbook. I was wondering if it was normal for air crews to keep two log books in this way, or if this is just one of grandad’s peculiarities.
The link with Chaz Bowyer comes about via his book ‘Tales From The Bombers’. I have had this book on my shelf for a very long time, and it is only in the last year that I finally got around to reading it. On page 234 is a picture of Lancaster ME746 and its crew. My grandad is in that picture, and an original copy of the picture is in his less formal log book, along with a list of names of those present at the time. In another photo in the log book is what I assume to be his graduating class. I don’t know how old the other guys were, but grandad would have been all of 19 at the time. Wow, it just really makes you think.
Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble on. If anyone has any insights into the multiple log books issue, I’d love to hear them.
Stuart.
By: ozjag - 27th June 2012 at 11:40
Hi Tim
I missed this thread when it first started but am intrigued by your log book scans, I can’t read them very well but am interested in the ‘Beginning of the weekend of terror’, what happened there?
Paul
By: stoooo - 27th June 2012 at 11:22
Hello again, everyone.
I received an interesting PM out of the blue the other day from piloterror1. It turns out that the picture of ME746 being presented with its DSO has *his* grandad in it as well. Don’t you just love how the internet works ?
He was asking me if I had any extra details for those present. Tucked away in that page of the log book is a slip of paper listing the aircrew present in the picture. Sadly, there does not appear to be a list of the ground crew, which are the people Rob is most interested in, as his grandad (Cpl Dennis Terry) is holding up one side of the oversized DSO. My grandad (F/SGT Ronald Williamson) is three to the right of the DSO as you look at the picture.
Log Book – ME746 DSO Presentation Photo by stoooo, on Flickr
Log Book – ME746 DSO Presentation List of Aircrew by stoooo, on Flickr
Here is another picture from earlier in the log book. I assume this is a graduation photo. My grandad is third from the right, bottom row.
Log Book – Passing Out Picture by stoooo, on Flickr
As ever with Flickr, just click the image to go to a page with higher resolution versions. Also, if anyone wants me to scan anything specific at a higher resolution, just let me know.
Cheers,
Stuart.
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March 19, 2012 at 6:14 pm