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Sources and further reading
Apart from the personal accounts of those involved, the sources referred to in writing the 211 Squadron story are of many sorts, official and private, published and unpublished.
The published books are to be found in major libraries around the world or, by Inter-Library Loan, can be consulted in a Library in your own country. Long out of print treasures like Wings Over Olympus and Epitaph For A Squadron are still to be found at affordable prices in militaria bookshops, by patient and thorough searching either in person or on-line.
Unpublished official records and some private (personal) accounts may also be found quite readily, once the right archive agency is tracked down.
This page lists the principal sources consulted, on 211 Squadron RAF specifically and on the war in the air more generally, along with other useful references for further reading. All are shown under the following headings:
Mistakes
It is worth keeping in mind that a source may be in error of some sort.
Original records of the time are an invaluable source for research, however, mistakes, omissions and loss can and do occur, in every form of official record, published and unpublished, personal or otherwise.
Later books, articles and on-line articles are also liable to mistake and error, whether from memory (however vivid), from uncritical use of source material, from careless transcription, writing or editing, or from careless, unchecked copying of errors in some other apparently authoritative book. Thus we arrive at oft-repeated, even though as often exploded, old chestnuts like the Short Stirling's wingspan (supposedly hobbled to fit "standard RAF Hangars"), and the Beaufighter "Whispering Death" myth (supposedly so named by the Japanese).
211 Squadron
Official records and publications
211 Squadron at El Daba, May 1940
211 Squadron History (TNA AIR 1/696/21/20/211)
Pro forma narrative of 1918 operations. Listed as date range 1918—1937 but covers WWI material only.
211 Squadron Casualty Reports to Personnel and Machines (TNA AIR 1/1930/204/242/12).
211 Squadron Returns of Casualties to All Ranks of No 211 Squadron (TNA AIR 1/930/204/242/13)
Rolls listing casualties in the field 1918, 1919
211 Squadron Badge (TNA AIR 2/3809)
211 Squadron Operations Record Book
A full description of the Squadron’s remaining Monthly and Daily Operations Summaries can be found on the Squadron records page. In summary:
RAF Forms 540 and 541
1937—1942: TNA AIR 27/1302
Monthly summary Form 540 only from 1937 to mid 1940. For March to June 1941, the pages were clearly compiled after the event, as a single written reconstruction on monthly summary (Form 540) sheets. Operating as an OTU from June 1941 until the establishment of 72 OTU in November 1941, the Form 540 entries continue until 18 July 1941, ending with a cryptic pencil annotation. The Form 540 record should have re-commenced from 20 December 1941 but no trace survives, while any pages for the first FE adventure from January 1942 to March 1942 did not survive the Squadron’s dispersal in Java.
August—December 1943: TNA AIR 27/1302
January 1944—March 1946 TNA AIR 27/1303
A more or less complete series if in varying formats (no daily Forms 541 until January 1944), and more summarily prepared from June 1945 onwards.
Appendices
Bombing orders, raid reports, aerial photos, sortie reports
1940—1945: TNA AIR 27/1304 to AIR 27/1313
Flying Log Books
In her RAF World War II Operational and Flying Accident Casualty Files in the National Archives: Exploring the Contents (Air World/Pen & Sword 2020), Mary Hudson has given (at Ch 17) a very good account of RAF practice in holding, returning, and disposing of Flying Log Books.
As formal RAF records, aircrew did not automatically get to keep their Log Books, unless applied for post-war. While some were returned to the families of lost aircrew, many were never claimed. Post-war, there were repeated official efforts advertising the return of Log Books on request but by late 1960 there were still many, perhaps 100,000 or so, in RAF Records storage.
Although most of the remaining unclaimed Log Books were then destroyed, some several hundred in all came to the collections of the Imperial War Museum, the UK National Archives and the RAF Museum. The IBCC has since gathered a digitised collection of several hundred Log Books of Bomber Command aircrew, searchable on their site. The Australian War Memorial Research Centre holds a selection for RAAF aircrew. Others, still, lie all but inaccessible in semi-public Archives, either needing a personal visit even to search for, or beset by stringent conditional agreements for release.
211 Squadron Flying Log Books
Thanks to the generosity of interested individuals (and the able services of DoRIS at the RAF Museum), partial transcripts and partial or complete photocopies of a number of Flying Log Books are now to hand, as well as two complete originals:
Like every other formal Squadron record, Flying Log Books vary in consistency, depth and accuracy of content, over time and from man to man. Differences can and do arise, both in comparison with the Squadron record and with other members of the same crew.
As my late father once remarked, “Getting the paperwork right wasn’t always the first thing that came to mind after getting back from being shot at”. Log Books were not always completed on the day, and in the case of loss, might be recompiled using other’s Logs or recall.
Although sometimes imperfect, as formal personal records, Flying Log Books are a valuable primary source for constructing personal narratives and for certain Squadron details.
72 Operational Training Unit Operations Record Book
1941: TNA AIR 29/686
The ORB begins with a narrative summary of the period September 1941 to December 1941, covering the formation of Middle East OTUs, relating the work of 211 Squadron as an OTU to the formation of 72 OTU on 18 November 1941 and the subsequent extraction of personnel for the re-forming Squadron on 20 December 1941 for the Far East movement.
The Air Force List, Air Ministry (HMSO various dates)
World War I issues
May 1918, August 1919
World War II issues
July 1937, October 1937, January 1938, April 1938, November 1938, December 1938, January 1939, October 1945
Air Ministry Index to Airmen and Airwomen UK National Archives TNA AIR 78
London Gazette
Various issues from 1919 to 1965, recording 211 Squadron officer appointments, promotions or retirements, and decorations awarded.
RAAF Casualty Records
NAA Series A705 files, including Bott, Dunstone, Edwards, Farrington, Fuller, Goddard, Keeping, Lamond, Mackay, Mohr, Oddie, Payne, Ritchie, Skinner, Thomson, and others.
RAAF personnel files
NAA Series A9300, A9301 personnel files, complete from attestation to discharge and beyond, access to Australian Archives records being largely unrestricted for all entries more than 30 years old. As above, plus eg Cameron, Cuttiford, Kendrick and many others.
RAAF Personnel Occurrence Reports
5 Embarkation Depot Fremantle March—April 1942
NAA Series A10605 Item 435 5 ED POR files - various Volumes. Like the corresponding RAF PORs (since destroyed), the weekly POR summarised personnel movements, casualties and allowances, filed and circulated for central records purposes. Fortunately the RAAF files are archived, and duly record the RAF and RAAF men of 211 Squadron etc disembarking from Tung Song in Western Australia in 1942.
And NAA Series A9186/17 Item 457 RAAF Unit History Sheets (Form A50) [Operations Record Book 5 ED ]
RAF Museum World War I Story Vault
Digital archive of World War I records including casualty cards, muster rolls.
RAF Record of Service
The sole remaining official record of RAF service: a daunting double-sided double-foolscap form, recording in RAF acronyms an airman’s (RAF Form 543A) or officer’s (AM Form 1406) personal details, postings, promotions, illnesses, qualifications, misdemeanours, medals, honours and discharge.
Clark, Cole, Dagnall, Davies, Edwards, Farrington, Fryatt, Gilmore, Hansford*, Hoyes, Mockridge, Taylor.
*extract
JG Sharratt RAF Form 2715 Record of Service, Educational and Professional Qualifications
Board of Trade: Merchant Shipping Movement Cards
SS Cap St Jacques 1940—1946 TNA BT 389/6/131
SS Kota Gede 1939—1946 TNA BT 389/38/217
RAFA Tung Song 1940—1942, 1942—1945 TNA BT 389/27/515
SS Yoma 1939—1946 TNA BT 389/32/212
RAN Merchant Ship Movement Records Stirling Castle 1941—1942
RAN Merchant Ship Movement Records Tung Song 1942—1945
Personal accounts of 211 Squadron
Personal websites
See the Sites and Links page heading 211 Squadron sites.
War-time photographs
Personal photography by RAF men nominally required permission. Photographs taken on duty were in fact RAF property and Crown Copyright (KR&ACI para 855). Aircrew and groundcrew alike took photographs as often as duty, materials and opportunity allowed, swapping and sharing the best prints with enthusiasm. As it is usually impossible to tell who the original photographer was, in most cases I have credited images to the collection of the individual or family holding the print or to the organisation giving permission for use.
Some few official RAF photographs I originally chose, as the HMSO Click-use license suggested, to note as Crown Copyright. Under the more relaxed terms of the new Open Government License, an attribution more meaningful to many may well be something like RAF official, and that I have now chosen to adopt.
War-time diaries
On the other hand, a number of accounts (for example, of officers serving in the Middle East in 1943 and Far East in 1944) note that personal diaries were not permitted to servicemen. The late Doug Winton reported that he only heard about the diary ban when posted to Bangkok from November 1945 to March 1946, for which period he duly stopped keeping his own journal. Wherever and whenever this rule may have been documented, aircrew and groundcrew alike were either unaware of it or simply ignored it and in some number—adding much to the Squadron story in the process. In several cases, issue notebooks were put to use in recording a running journal. In other cases, commercially printed diaries, were used.
JA Burrage RAAF Diary & Letters transcript 1941—1942
RN Dagnall Notebook diaries 1941, 1942—1943
RJ Dudman Diary transcript 1941 (Ch XXV Dunnet Blenheim Over the Balkans)
A Goodinson Diary notebook 1943—45
JB Keeping Diary 1941—42 and CAH Paterson letter
GH Martin Diary notebook 1941 and later
R Livesey Diary facsimile 1941, 1942 (Ch XIX Dunnet Blenheim Over the Balkans)
H Wright ms narrative/diary 1940—1945
Other war-time accounts
RD Campbell RAF PoW escape report 1944
CFR Clark notes and RAF papers for 1939—1945
AL Farrington Calling Australia ABC broadcast transcript 1942
GM Kendrick correspondence with RAAF Casualty Section 1945
IAW Gilmore letters to family and friends 1944
JWB Judge CO February 1939—July 1939: Airfield Creation for the Western Desert Campaign
BB Mearns 1945 letter to family of J Luing
GA Mockridge W/Cdr TA Cox & F/O FC Joerin correspondence to Mockridge family 1942
NH Oddie correspondence 1942: P/O RF Brown; Oddie and Mackay families.
JG Sharratt ms drafts for RAF Form 2715.
Sumatra & Java correspondence 1942: W/Cdr Bateson, P/O RF Brown, Sgt JO Penry
Post-war accounts and letters
LW Abbs letters 2001
EL Cooper ms narrative
A Carter ms One Man in the Forgotten War c2002
CFR Clark ms notes for 1940—41, c1996, c2001
TD Henderson letter c1984 to B Cull
RC Kemp ms Who Could Ask For Anything More 1995—97
GM Kendrick pro forma correspondence with J McCarthy for Last Call to Empire
GY Manderson DFC ms Five years and a Bit! c2000
JH Oblein ms narrative
DA Spencer DFC Looking Backwards Over Burma ms c1996 (now published, below).
Personal correspondence with the author
Baird, Barclay, Clark, Conrad, Hansford, Harris, Hill, Kearns, King, Payne, Seager, Spencer, Spooner, Walters, Watts, Winton, Wythe.
Other
JF Fraser DFC 1945 ms March of the Gladiators: Patricia Molloy most kindly gave me a copy of her late father’s narrative of his 112 Squadron service, which includes an account of Buckshot Barnes.
Published accounts of 211 Squadron
CA Allen Knifing the Famous (Night Publishing 2010)
Daughter of 211 Squadron MO John Watson, Carolyn’s biography of her late father, MO to the Squadron in India and Bengal. Watson was later well-known for his work, with MacIndoe and after, in developing plastic surgery for serious burns victims. Available via Amazon.
LA Bramley Fly I Must—A Story of Adventure and Travel (Priory Books 1990)
Born in Yorkshire in September 1916, AC Lewis “Beezer” Bramley 517660 joined the RAF in about 1934.
Qualified as a fitter’s mate and with the winged bullet badge of the Air Gunner, around 1936 he took a five year posting to the Middle East. There he joined 208 Squadron, who were then equipped with the Hawker Audax and based in Egypt with detachments to Palestine from September 1936. Around June 1939 he was posted to 45 Squadron as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner on Bristol Blenheims, soon to be based at Fuka. By late 1939, Bramley had been posted to 211 Squadron as an LAC WOp/AG.
In the Western Desert war from June 1940, he flew in the rear turret on operations in the crews of P/O Ritchie and Sgt Watkins, with either Sgt Bill Stack or Cpl “Rajah” Brooks as Observer. Bramley was repatriated to the UK in about 1941 aboard the troopship Monarch of Bermuda. In the UK he spent the remainder of the war instructing at various OTUs. He continued to serve in the RAF post-war, to spend some time at RAF Seletar around 1948, by which time he was a Sergeant.
A fascinating personal account of RAF life and service as an Air Gunner, Fly I Must also presents plenty of puzzles to the reader, whether in the order of events or the almost complete absence of dates and Squadron details. Lewis Aubrey Bramley, retired security guard of Staffordshire, died in March 2002.
H Campbell, R Lovell So Long, Singapore: RAFA Tung Song December 1941—March 1942 (Hobart 2000)
Narrative of the first RAF Far East air campaign and the evacuation of the last RAF contingent from Java, including 65 members of 211 Squadron, as recorded at the time and as recalled by those who were there.
Hugh and I were frequent correspondents over a number of years from 1998 and, although we were never to meet, I came to regard him as a good friend. Here in the ACT, I was able to help a little in unearthing some war-time records about Tung Song and her voyage to Western Australia in March 1942.
After six years of effort from 1994, Hugh and Ron Lovell’s long toil bore fruit in 2000 when Hugh self-published their book, essentially by hand from his family home in Tasmania. The then surviving 211s of 1942 operations in the Dutch East Indies greatly appreciated the book, to the extent that they were later able to arrange a perfect-bound second printing, incorporating Hugh’s subsequent revisions.
Copies of either print, never large in number, are now extremely hard to come by. However, copies are held in the Australian War Memorial Research Centre Library and the RAF Museum Library, in the National Libraries of Australia and of Holland, in the State Libraries of Western Australian and Tasmania, and in the US Library of Congress.
In subsequent years, Hugh was to suffer debilitating ill-health, upon which he remarked with characteristic composure. Neil Hugh Campbell, former war-time RANVR officer of HMAS Tamworth, died in Tasmania on 6 August 2009. Ron Lovell (ex 205 Squadron RAF AC1 Armourer 911029 Lovell, Ronald Gilbert Raybould), had died a year earlier in Western Australia, on 22 January 2008 aged 87 years.
CFR Clark, D Clark 211 Squadron RAF, Greece, 1940—1941: An Observer's Notes and Recollections (Canberra 1998).
I had very small numbers printed for circulation, gratis, in March 1998, in November 1998 with Errata and Addendum, and finally in May 2005 along with a PDF set. There are printed copies in the British Library, the Imperial War Museum, the National Library of Australia, and in the RAF Museum Library. No further print issues will be made. Note that it is not now possible to amend any typo errors found in the PDF copy: where necessary these are corrected on relevant pages here. While this website vastly extends and revises the original material, for historical interest I have here archived PDF copies of the 1998 book and the revisions to 2005. The work is copyright © D Clark 1998 and 2005 and may not be copied or reproduced without permission.
N Davies-Williams Gerald's War: The true and tragic tale of one man's life in peace and war (Davies-Williams 2021).
This book is a novel about the life and RAF service of the author's uncle, Gerald Davies (Observer P/O G Davies 44072) of Flintshire, drawn from much original material, with added fictional events vividly described.
Davies, then aged 18, joined the RAF in 1936 as an AC2: Aircraftman 2nd Class, the usual entry level for service as an airman. First trained and qualifying as an armourer, he re-mustered for training as an Air Observer in 1939, qualifying late that year and made Sergeant Observer with 207 Squadron. Commissioned Pilot Officer in July 1940, Davies was soon posted to the Middle East for service as an Observer in Egypt. He badly wanted to be a pilot and that year was twice recommended for pilot training.
Joining 211 Squadron RAF in September 1940, by the Spring of 1941 P/O Davies, flying as Observer to the CO Sqn Ldr JR Gordon-Finlayson DSO DFC with P/O Arthur Geary DFC in the turret, had about 70 Blenheim I ops to his credit over the Western Desert and later in Greece.
On 13 April 1941, Davies was posted missing from an unescorted daylight operation by 211 Squadron over Northern Greece. That afternoon, the six Blenheim Is were all shot down by the Luftwaffe. Of the 18 aircrew, there were just two survivors on the day. Sqn Ldr AT Irvine as the new CO, Davies as his Observer, and Geary as WOp/AG were among the dead. Much later, many of the missing were recovered and interred in Phaleron War Cemetery.
The author's years-long effort in gathering so many original personal and other records, all included in the book, is highly creditable. On that framework he has aimed to create a life for Gerry Davies, in fictional form. This the author is careful to explain, from start to finish. His aim was to create, for the general reader, a memorial to the life and RAF service of a cherished relative, and in this the book succeeds.
While historical purists may find plenty to shake their heads over in this novel, in gathering so much historical documentation the author can hardly be faulted, nor can he in the sincerity of his vivid fictional account. Davies is presented for much of the book as a Pilot, although in fact he remained an Observer to the end: readers should not regard the tale of him as pilot leading a Blenheim Delivery Flight out to to the Middle East as fact.
Reading the tale as written, best not to be distracted by the remaining typos, such as the now common but mistaken "Aircraftsman" for the correct Aircraftman. And if it eventually turned out that Alan Godfrey's death in 1946 was other than as long rumoured, that news only later reached the author.
I've known Nigel Davies-Williams since 2001 and I am most grateful to him and his late mother Ruby Williams for making much personal information available to me, from which I was able to compile my own more formal account of Gerald’s RAF service.
Gerald’s War was released in December 2021 on Amazon as Kindle, print-on-demand paperback and hardback, at www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09NH3CPLN, I understand from Nigel that his book, in all forms, has achieved a quite considerable number of sales.
N Delaney Luke Sylvestre Delaney 1919-1941 (privately circulated 2023).
An account of the life and RAF service of LS “Duke” Delaney of 211 Squadron, and of the Delaney family’s long search to ultimately confirm both the crash site of Blenheim I L8536 at Topova in Albania on 6 January 1941 and the burial there of the crew (F/O LS Delaney, Sgt V Pollard, Sgt TA McCord).
With Nick’s kind permission, Luke Delaney’s story is now available on my site. The work is copyright © N Delaney 2024 and may not be copied or reproduced without his permission: it may be read as a PDF file here.
James Dunnet Blenheim Over the Balkans (Pentland Press 2001).
James, an Observer, was a 211 Squadron Survivor. His book recounts the story of the Squadron in Greece, in the boys’ own words, faithfully reconstructing the terrible Easter Sunday raid. Fortunately, despite the crash of Pentland Press UK, Ian Carter was able to rescue the remaining stock of James’ wonderful book. Members can buy copies from the Blenheim Society. There are copies in the British Library, the National Library of Australia, and in the RAF Museum Library.
P Ganderton Far East PoW Memories of Java (c2006)
Memoirs of Philip Ganderton’s RAF service as an Aircraftman, from enlistment in 1940, to 211 Squadron in the Middle East as they left for the first terrible Far East campaign, through his captivity and since. Philip C Ganderton died in March 2011, aged 94, after a short illness. In 2015, his memoirs are still available for download on registration with Scribd.
E Garrad-Cole Single to Rome (Wingate 1955)
The story of a determined PoW escaper. Brief one-and-a-half page account of the 211 Squadron action in which the author and his crew were shot down near Tobruk on 15 July 1940. Copies can be found on-line via www.bookfinder.com.
James Gordon [JR Gordon-Finlayson] Epitaph For A Squadron (Arthur Stockwell 1965).
The Bish's parting gesture: a tribute to 211 Squadron in verse. Gordon-Finlayson waited until he’d retired from the RAF to publish this little book (octavo, 55 pp, 4 plates). Worth searching for, it can be found in national libraries and by patient search in quality militaria bookshops or via www.bookfinder.com.
W Rankin Hodgins The Life of Kenelm CVD Dundas Sep 16 1916—Feb 10 1942 (privately printed, Lethbridge Nov 2000).
The extended Dundas family’s memorial of Ken Dundas’ early life and RAF service. PDF file available on request, with Rankin’s kind permission.
Anthony Montague Browne Long Sunset (Cassell 1995).
The late AMB’s memoirs of his time as Churchill’s last private secretary. Includes a two chapter account of his time with 211 Squadron in Beaufighters. Copies can be found on-line via www.bookfinder.com.
DJ Parker Flying Fast and Low (Redshank Books/Libri Publishing 2021)
The RAF service of the three Muller-Rowland brothers, compiled from Flying Log Books, other official records and family sources. Two brothers did not survive the war, the third, S/Ldr JSR Muller–Rowland 103497 DSO DFC & Bar was 211 Squadron CO from August to October 1944. He died in 1950 while a test pilot, flying a DH108 prototype. The author has done commendable work to pull this story together, although there are some few errors and misunderstandings.
DA Spencer DFC Looking Backwards Over Burma (Woodfield 2009)
Dennis recounts his RAF service and completed tour as a Navigator/W, with his pilot Geoff Vardigans, in 211 Squadron Beaufighters from May to December 1944. My review. Available for purchase from Woodfield. Copies are held in the British Library, the National Library of Australia, and in the RAF Museum Library.
S/Ldr HF Squire MRCS LRCP & D Squire Middle East Scrapbook by “RAFMO” (Pentland Press 1997).
As F/Lt, Harry Squire was 211 Squadron’s Medical Officer in the Desert from April 1940 and again in Greece. His lively account of Squadron life from the RAFMO point of view is immensely interesting. Squire, who served in Serbian casualty hospitals and the infant RAF in World War I, returned to the UK and further service in Europe after the D-Day landings. Copies can be found on-line via www.bookfinder.com.
J Stewart The Uncle We Didn’t Know (Stewart, 3rd edn Jul 2023)
Jim’s moving narrative of the life of his uncle, Sgt WOp/AG John (Jack) Munro, latterly of 211 Squadron in Greece. Jack Munro died, aged 22, on 7 December 1940 with his crewmates P/O GI Jerdein and Sgt JE Barber. While flying in poor Winter weather, their aircraft Blenheim I L1535 crashed North of Athens having lost contact with the Squadron formation that was flying to raid Valona in Albania. With Jim’s kind permission, Jack Munro’s story is now available on my site. The work is copyright © J Stewart 2023 and may not be copied or reproduced without his permission: it may be read here.
T H Wisdom Wings Over Olympus (George Allen and Unwin 1942)
The best (and contemporary) published account of the Western Desert and Greek campaigns by RAF war correspondent Tommy Wisdom, with very considerable emphasis on the adventures of 211 Squadron and, for the time, lavishly illustrated with RAF official photographs taken by Henry “Fog Plate” Hensser (aka Photo Joe) . Long out of print but still available second-hand in quality militaria bookshops at reasonable prices and via www.bookfinder.com. A possible 2004 paperback reprint seems to have never been issued.
PA Wright The Elephant On My Wing: The war-time exploits of a 211 Squadron Blenheim pilot subsequently a POW and successful escapee (Woodfield 2011)
The late Peter Wright’s “as told to me” biography for his late father-in-law F/O RD Campbell, a pilot with 211 Squadron from July 1939 onwards. Bobby Campbell and his crew, Observer Sgt John Beharrel and WOp/AG Sgt Appleyard, were shot down in a January 1941 raid on Valona, to ditch their Blenheim I L1487 (The Maestro). All three survived, to be taken captive by the Italians. Independently, Campbell and Appleyard both made successful escapes, reaching Allied lines in Italy late in 1943. Copies of The Elephant On My Wing are held in the National Library of Australia, the National Library of New Zealand and in the RAF Museum Library. The book can be purchased direct from Woodfield in the UK.
Other books mentioning the Squadron
Ace of Aces: M St J Pattle ECR Baker (Crecy 1992)
Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete 1940—41 CF Shores, B Cull, N Malizia (Grub Street 1987)
A daily account of the air campaign—but warrants close checking on detail.
As Luck Would Have It: With the RAAF in WWII M Scope (privately published 1992)
A pilot’s view from the ground up. Covers 72 OTU briefly.
Bloody Shambles Vol 2 CF Shores, B Cull, Y Izawa (Grub Street 1993)
A daily account of the first Far East air campaign, which again warrants close checking on detail.
Air War For Burma (Bloody Shambles Vol 3) CF Shores (Grub Street 2005)
A daily account of the Burma air campaign, including 211 Squadron’s part. Again, numerous errors in detail, with a number of omissions among the Squadron’s 1944—1945 losses.
Beaufighter Aces of World War II A Thomas (Osprey 2005)
One of the fine works of ex-RAF Sqn Ldr Andy Thomas. Covers Pat (Paddy) Meagher’s exploits with 211 Squadron over Burma.
Beaufighter Boys G Pitchfork (Grub Street 2019)
Aircrew reminiscences of flying Beaufighter ops in all theatres. Another fine contribution to RAF history.
Blenheims Over Greece and Crete 1940—1941 Brian Cull (Fonthill 2014)
Comprehensive account of the Blenheim squadrons and their operations. Published in May 2014 by Fonthill Media.
Bristol Beaufighter: The Full Story JF Hamlin (Air Britain 2022)
A comprehensive account of the Beaufighter as an aircraft, in Squadron service, with individual aircraft fates by serial in the usual Air Britain style, including three Appendixes (Bases, Unit codes, Index of fatalities/POWs), plus a battery of backmatter (Colour profiles art, Sources, Index).
In the case of 211 Squadron at least, this edition is unfortunately marred by avoidable errors:
In the Sqn potted histories, a quite inaccurate count of the Squadron’s Rangoon Gaol deaths in captivity (“at least one” rather than the four known) and inconsistent with the Appendix 3 Index (correct in number but still inconsistent: Luing listed as a PoW death, but his Nav White death omits as PoW) plus
More than a few omissions and elisions in aircraft ids and histories (which for 211 Sqn, for example, the Sortie Reports in AIR 27/1305 to 27/1310 might have helped resolve, apart from personal records).
The author largely discounts web-site published data in these terms: "some websites have been useful...but others were found to contain obvious errors" though which of them were unreliable is left to the reader to find out. To that end, the Sources section is equally unhelpful, comprising only "Books which may be useful..." and "Operational [sic! Operations] Record Book" UK National Archives references but listing no websites at all.
Even the sole website example singled out as "noteworthy" in the Preface, mentioned there by name, is ignored in the Sources: nowhere accorded the usual courtesy of a proper web citation (such as author/owner plus title plus URL). Whether, for example, Mr Hamlin found "obvious errors" in my own Beaufighter work, I am no more able to say than I am able to rebut or correct.
Bristol Blenheim: A Complete History G Warner (Crecy 2005)
Himself a post-war ex-RAF pilot, Warner’s long association with restoring Blenheims to flight began in the late 1970s. Active in the Blenheim Society since it’s 1980s beginnings, he became President in 2004. It is hard to discuss his latest, monumental work in true perspective. With coverage that is utterly comprehensive, the scale of the book and the body of work that it represents is formidable. In the second edition, much of interest has been added and a considerable amount of correction has been carried out, with fair success. Invaluable and highly recommended.
Bristol Blenheim: The Yugoslav Story Aleksandar Ognjevic (Leadensky 2014)
Published in February 2014, this fine account covers far more than the Blenheim in JKRV service, with chapters on the RAF Blenheim squadrons in Greece and on the later use of the Yugoslav aircraft.
Dust Clouds in the Middle East CF Shores (Grub Street, 1994).
Discusses the Syrian campaign of 1941, among others.
The Forgotten Air Force H Probert (Brasseys 1995)
The Far East campaigns, by another ex-RAF author of stature.
Glory in Chaos ER Hall, Sembawang Assn (1989)
Primarily focussed on the RAAF in the war against Japan in 1941 and 1942, but includes a significant account of 211 Squadron operations with a partial nominal roll of RAF and RAAF personnel.
Men Behind the Medals G Pitchfork (Leo Cooper 1998)
Now retired, A/Cdr Graham Pitchfork MBE has made a number of fine contributions to RAF history, among them this long-standing series that began in Flypast under the pen-name “Ralph Graham” a good few years ago. This collection includes a nice vignette of the Squadron in Greece from 1996, in the gripping account of the service of Sgt Observer Len Page DFM & Bar, with Sgt George Kearns and P/O John Hooper.
Airmen Behind The Medals G Pitchfork (Pen and Sword 2018)
The chapter Blenheims Over Greece—”Twinkle” Pearson records, with some fresh photographs and slight revision compared to the Flypast article of 2013, the service of P/O Ronald W Pearson DFC with 211 Squadron from 1937 to 1941 and his fatal accident in 1943.
Out of the Blue L Lucas ed (Hutchinson 1985)
Greek Tragedy:
The events of Easter Sunday 1941 recounted by JGM Hooper DFC.
Special Duties ASG Lee (Sampson Low, no date)
A staff officer’s view of the Balkan theatre. Includes a good 211 Squadron aircrew photo.
Unsung heroes of the Royal Air Force: The Far East Prisoners of War L Stubbs and P Stubbs (Barny Books 2002)
RAF and RAAF prisoners of the Japanese (FEPOWs). Includes a complete nominal roll of over 6,000 personnel, discussion of the various PoW camps and of losses aboard Japanese ships.
Victory of a Sort: The British in Greece, 1941—1946 ED Smith (Robert Hale, 1988)
The 1941 situation is well covered, and reports at some length on the beginnings of J Dunnet’s work on 211 Squadron and the Easter Sunday raid.
Wings Over North Africa AVM AG Dudgeon CBE DFC (Airlife 1987)
Before he was in the thick of it at Habbaniya (The War That Never Was), Dudgeon had command of 55 Squadron in the Western Desert. Here he gives some interesting insights on the work of the Blenheim squadrons there and the methods of the AOC 202 Group, A/Cdr R Collishaw DSO & Bar OBE DSC DFC
Magazine articles
Parade Middle East Weekly
Vol II No 17 Jan 1941 RAF Crew’s Adventure in Greece
Vol III No 33 29 Mar 1941 Return Journey Across the Styx
The Sphere Illustrated Weekly
4 January 1941 British Airmen Return From the Dead.
3 May 1941 The Men Who Fought For Greece.
Aeroplane Monthly Oct 1993
Brief news note on 211 Squadron Blenheim (Buchanan & co) recovery, Lake Mikro Prespa.
Air Enthusiast No 16 Aug—Nov 1981 The RAF in Greece.
The 1940—1941 campaign by the late Eric Bevington-Smith, a 211 survivor who knew his stuff.
Aviation News
12—25 Oct 1990 Lesser Known Squadrons—The Greyhounds—211 Squadron RAF Andrew Thomas.
A worthwhile summary history, if bedevilled by some errors in detail. Andy is also the author of Bristol Blenheim—Warpaint no. 26 which includes 211 Squadron aircraft, and co-author of the definitive work on RAF unit code letters.
Flypast No 28 Nov 1983 The Lost Squadron.
The first publication of James Dunnet’s reconstruction of the Easter Sunday raid, over which he so long laboured with Messrs Marshall and Bryce. This article was subsequently reprinted in the Journal of the Blenheim Society (No 3 December 1988).
Flypast No 174 Jan 1996 Men Behind the Medals: From Greek Tragedy to Night Intruder
“Ralph Graham” (Graham Pitchfork) recounts the RAF service of Len Page DFM & Bar including 211 Squadron and his time flying with JCR Hooper DFC.
Flypast No 381 Apr 2013 Blenheims Over Greece
The latest in Graham Pitchfork’s Men Behind the Medals series: RW “Twinkle” Pearson DFC, 211 Squadron Blenheim pilot. Pearson survived the Middle East and Greece, but was killed in a flight testing accident at RAF Kemble in August 1943.
Flypast Apr & May 2000 Taff’s Air War
George Checketts’ story of his time with 211 and 113 Squadrons.
Other sources
Official publications
Air Force List March 1939, April 1957 (HMSO)
Air Force List 1938 to 1945 Internet Archive copies
Air Force List August 1919, October 1945 CD facsimiles (RAFWeb 2003)
Royal Air Force List April 1918 facsimile (Hayward 1990)
Air Publications:
The Air Almanac 1941 July—September AP 1602 (HMNAO 1941)
Air Navigation Vol 1 AP 1234 (Air Ministry 1944)
Armament Publications AP 2264A (Air Ministry 1942)
Blind Approach Pilot’s Handbook AP 1751 (Air Ministry 1941)
Bomb Carriers Ch 3 250 lb Container for Small Bombs AP 1664 Vol I (Air Ministry 1939)
Bombing Sense AM Pamphlet 139 (Air Ministry 1942)
Bombs AP 1661B Vol I (Air Ministry 1944 MLRS reprint)
British Aircraft Guns of World War Two: RAF Museum Series Vol 9 (AP facsimiles Hippocrene 1979)
British Aviation Colours of World War Two: The Official Camouflage, Colours & Markings of RAF Aircraft 1939—1945: RAF Museum Series Vol 3 (Arms & Armour facsimiles)
British Aviation: Ominous Skies 1935—1939 H Penrose (RAF Museum/HMSO 1980)
Electrical Equipment Manual AP 1095 Vol II (Air Ministry 1943)
Electrical and Radio Notes for Wireless Operators AP 1762 (Air Ministry 1939)
Engineering Manual for the RAF AP 1464 Vol I (Air Ministry 1938)
The Campaign in Greece and Crete Ministry of Information (HMSO 1942)
The King’s Regulations and Air Council Instructions For The RAF AP 958 (Air Ministry 1943)
Manual of Air Force Law AP 804 (Air Ministry 1933)
Manual of Air Pilotage AP 1234 Air Ministry 1930
Mercury VIII, VIIIA and IX Aero-engines AP 1491B Vol I (Air Ministry 1939)
Pilot’s Notes for Beaufighter TFX AP 1721H (Air Ministry 1946/Air Data Publications facsimile)
Pilot’s Notes: Blenheim I AP 1530A (Air Ministry 1939/(Flight Manuals on CD)
Pilot’s Notes: Blenheim IV AP 1530B (Air Ministry 1939/Air Data Publications facsimile)
Pilot’s Notes: Blenheim V AP 1530C (Air Ministry 1942/Air Data Publications facsimile)
Pilot’s Notes: General (AP 2095) 2nd edn (Air Ministry 1943)
Pilot’s Notes for Mosquito FB VI, FB XVIII & FB26 AP 2019E (Air Ministry 1945/Air Data Publications facsimile)
RAF Flying Training Manual Part I Landplanes AP 129 (Air Ministry 1941)
RAF Maintenance AP3397 (MoD 1966)
RAF Pocket Book AP 1081 (Air Ministry 1939)
RAF Publications of the Second World War Vol I Selected for Aircrew (PB153 Publications 2004 CD facsimile)
RAF War Manual Part I Operations AP 1300 (Air Ministry 1940)
RAF War Manual Part II Organisation & Administration (Provisional) AP 1301 (Air Ministry 1940)
Standard Notes for Wireless Mechanics AP 1938 (Air Ministry 1944)
Works AP 3236 (Air Ministry 1956) [The RAF Builds for War HMSO 1997].
The London Gazette
The UK government journal is perhaps the oldest newspaper in the world continuously in print. Since at least Nelson’s day, Gazette publication of a Report or Despatch from a commander in the field constitutes a deliberate and most significant honour. The Gazette is to be found in major reference libraries around the world and as an on-line, searchable archive.
Report on Air Operations in the Middle East Jan 1941—May 1941 ACM Longmore; London Gazette, Supplement, Sep 1946.
Report on Air Operations in Greece 1940—41 AVM J H D'Albiac; London Gazette, Supplement, Jan 1947.
Report on Air Operations During the Campaigns in Malaya and Netherlands East Indies Dec 1941—Mar 1942 AVM Sir P Maltby; London Gazette, Supplement, Feb 1948.
The Reports themselves are founded upon source documents including Operations Record Books of the units involved. The RAF Narrative volumes draw on all of these, including the various Despatches and Reports of commanders, whether published or not.
Together, these documents form the foundation set for researchers. All bear the scars of a difficult period of the war, with errors, omissions, elisions and other puzzles to test even those who were there and with memory aided by Log Books and photographs. And it is upon these sources that the published official RAF Histories are based.
History of the Second World War:
The Mediterranean and Middle East Vol I, II III ISO Playfair (HMSO 1954)
The War Against Japan Vol I Woodburn (HMSO 1968)
Medical History of the Second World War:
Casualties and Medical Statistics F Mellor (HMSO 1972
Royal Air Force 1939—1945
Vol. I The Fight at Odds D Richards (HMSO 1974)
Vol. II The Fight Avails D Richards & H StG Saunders
Vol. III The Fight is Won H StG Saunders
Wings of the Phoenix (Air Ministry HMSO 1949)
Other official records
Despatch on Middle East Air Operations [TNA AIR 23/808]—ACM Longmore’s first despatch, May to December 1940.
HQ British Air Forces Greece Operations Record Book [TNA AIR 24/1666]
Western Wing HQ BAFG Reports on Operations [TNA AIR 23/6382] Weekly Summary of activities March—April 1941.
RAF Armament Volume I: Bombs and Bombing Equipment (Air Ministry 1954)
RAF Armament Volume II: Guns, Gunsights, Turrets, Ammunition and Pyrotechnics (Air Ministry 1954)
The RAF Builds for War [Works AP 3236 1956] HMSO 1997
RAF Intelligence Summary May 1936 (Air Ministry Jun 1936)
RAF Journal No 3 Nov 1941
RAF Maintenance AP3397 (MoD 1966)
RAF Narrative—Middle East Campaigns:
Vol. I—Operations in Libya and the Western Desert Sep 39 to Jun 41 [AWM 220/15]
Vol. II—Operations in Libya and The Western Desert June 41 to Jan 42 [AWM 220/16]
Vol. VI—Operations in Greece [UK NA AIR41/28 Item 48457]
RAF Narrative—The Campaigns in the Far East
Vol. II—Malaya, Netherlands East Indies, Burma [AWM 220/25]
Tee Em Vol I, Vol II (Air Ministry 1941 on—Cwlth of Australia facsimile 1986)
Maps and charts
Africa 1:1,000,000 Port Sudan Sheet NE37 (GSGS 2465) (War Office 2nd edn 1946)
Airfields Used by the RAF in Greece (RAF Narrative—Middle East Campaigns Vol VI: The Campaign in Greece AIR 21/28)
The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 1:3,000,000 (War Office 1934/Edward Stanford mounted edition)
Aviation Map of Great Britain Sheet 7 SW England 1:500,000 (RAF Edition (War) 2nd edn c1940—MLRS facsimile)
Egypt and Cyrenaica 1:250,000 El Daba Sheet 14 (REME Sep 1942)
Greece 1:100,000 Sheet I Attica (War Office 1917)
Greece 1:100,000Sheet PARGA III H (MDR 356/7044 printed by 514 Fd Survey Coy RE 1943)
Greece 1:100,000 Sheet Z III POGONION (MDR 356/7174 reproduced by 512 Fd Survey Coy RE 1943)
Greece 1:250,000 Sheet G4 Kerkira (Drafted by: 512 Field Survey Company, Royal Engineers, Aug 1943)
Philips’ County Council School Atlas (Philip 1938)
Palestine 1:250,000 (Survey of Palestine 1934, July 1938 reprint)
El Dab’a 1:250,000 (German 1942)
Griechenland Nord 1:500,000 1940 bis 1942 Deutsche Heereskarte Europa
Plans on the South Coast of Sumatra Sheet 3611 (British Admiralty 1943)
Straat Banka 1:250,000 Sheet 3471 (British Admiralty 1942)
Bristol Blenheim books
Blenheim Squadrons of World War II Jon Lake (Osprey Publishing 1998)
Bristol Aircraft Since 1910 CH Barnes (Putnam 1970)
Bristol Blenheim T Boiten (Crowood 1998)
Bristol Blenheim C Bowyer (Ian Allen 1984)
Bristol Blenheim I Profile Publication No 93 (Profile Press 1966)
Bristol Blenheim IV Profile Publication No 218 (Profile Publications)
Bristol Blenheim Warpaint no. 26 A Thomas (Hall Park Books)
Bristol Blenheim in Action Mackay et al (Squadron/Signal Publications 1988)
Bristol Blenheim Bomber (Bristol Aeroplane Co c1937)
Bristol Blenheim: A Complete History G Warner (Crecy 2002)
Camouflage and Markings No 7: Bristol Blenheim RAF Northern Europe 1936—1945 J Goulding (Ducimus Books)
RAAF books
Australia in the War of 1939—1945: Series 3 Air
Vol I RAAF 1939—1942 D Gillison (AWM 1962)
Vol II Air War Against Japan 1943—1945 G Odgers (AWM 1957)
Vol III Air War Against Germany and Italy 1939—1943 J Herington (AWM 1954)
Vol IV Air Power Over Europe 1944—1945 J Herington (AWM 1963)
Pictorial History of Australia At War 1939-1945 N Bartlett (AWM 1958)
These Eagles: Story of the RAAF at War (RAAF 1942)
RAAF Log: The RAAF at War (RAAF 1943)
RAAF Saga: The RAAF at War (RAAF 1944)
Victory Roll: The RAAF at War (RAAF 1945)
The RAAF: An Illustrated History G Odgers (1965)
RAAF in the SWPA 1942—1945 (RAAF Air Power Studies Centre—RAAF History Conference 1992)
RAAF in Europe and North Africa (RAAF HC 1994)
10 Course WAGS RAAF World War II FS Owen 1986
Aircraft of the RAAF 1921—1978 G Pentland
A Last Call to Empire: Australian Aircrew, Britain and the Empire Air Training Scheme J McCarthy (AWM 1988)
As Luck Would Have It—With the RAAF in WWII M Scope (privately published 1992)
Catalina Dreaming A McMillan (Duffy & Snellgrove 2002)
Clive Caldwell, Air Ace K Alexander (Allen and Unwin 2005)
The Darkest Days of the RAAF: 8 December 1941 to 8 March 1942 A Morris (Mermaid Beach Rotary Club 1997)
The Distinguished Flying Cross to Australians M Maton (Maton 2000)
First Impact: Australians in the Air War of WWII Vol I 1939—1940 D Newton (Banner 1997)
Flypast N Parnell, T Boughton (CAA 1988)
The Fourth Ally: Dutch Forces in Australia in WWII D Hurst (Canberra 2001)
The Gestapo Hunters: 464 Squadron RAF 1942—1945 M Lax & L Kane-Maguire (Banner 1999)
Mosquito Monograph D Vincent (Vincent 1982)
Nor the Years Contemn: Air War on the Australian Front 1941—1942 JD Rorrison (Palomar 1992)
Pilot, Prisoner, Survivor H Besley (Darling Downs Institute Press 1986)
The Home Front: Mainland Australia and the Southwest Pacific Area 1939—1945 (RAAF HC 1995)
RAAF Flying Boats at War: The Way it Was J Leach (Aus Military History Publications 1999)
Rats of Rangoon L Hudson (Leo Cooper 1987)
Slipstream: The RAAF in Service During WW2 (Slipstream Archives Assn 1999)
The Third Brother: RAAF 1921—1939 CD Coulthard-Clark (George Allen & Unwin 1991)
Units of the RAAF: A concise history Volumes 1 to 10 (AGPS 1995)
War Without Glory JD Balfe Macmillan (Macmillan 1984)
RAF and air war books
The ABC of the RAF J Hammerton ed (Amalgamated Press 1943)
Abrupt Sierras AJM Smyth (Wilton 2001)
Action Stations Overseas T Fairbairn (Patrick Stephens 1991)
Action Stations Revisited MJF Bowyer (Crecy 2000)
Adventurous Empires: The Story of the Short Empire Flying Boats PE Sims (Airlife 2000)
The Aerodrome of Democracy Canada and the BCATP 1939—1945 FJ Hatch (Defence Canada 1983)
Air Annual of the British Empire 1938 (Pitman & sons, 1938)
Airborne Over Burma D Sutcliffe 1998
Airco: The Aircraft Manufacturing Co M Davis (Crowood 2001)
Aircraft Armament Past and Present: Part 1 Machine-Guns and Mountings (Real Photographs 1942)
Aircraft Armament Past and Present: Part 2 Gun Turrets, Machine-Gun Sights & Cannon (Real Photographs 1942)
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force since 1918 O Thetford (Putnam 1976)
Aircrew Unlimited J Golley (Patrick Stephen 1993)
The Air Defence of Britain (Penguin 1938)
The Airman’s War 1914—1918 PH Liddle (Blandford 1987)
Air Men Behind The Medals G Pitchfork (Pen and Sword 2018)
Air Force Records For Family Historians W Spencer (PRO 2000)
An Erksome War L Wheatley (Merlin Books 1991)
Armament of British Aircraft 1909—1939 HF King Putnam 1971
At His Majesty’s Expense E Bumford (Author, 1990)
Badges and Uniforms of the RAF MC Hobart (Leo Cooper 2000)
Battle of Greece 1940—1941 A Papagos (1949)
Battle for Palembang T Kelly (Hale 1985)
Beaufighter Aces of World War II A Thomas (Osprey 2005)
Beaufighter Boys G Pitchfork (Grub Street 2019)
Beaufighters Over Burma: No 27 Squadron RAF, 1942—1945 DJ Innes (Blandford 1985)
Beaufighter at War C Bowyer (Ian Allan 1976)
Best of Luck: In the RAF 1935-1946 D Conroy (Trafford 2003)
Bomber Command Handbook J Falconer (Sutton Publishing 2003)
Bomber County: A History of the RAF in Lincolnshire T Hancock (Midland 2004)
Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and Their Aircraft P J R Moyes (McDonald and Jane's 1976)
Bombing Colours: British bomber camouflage and markings 1914—1937 B Robertson (Kookaburra)
Bombing Colours: RAF bombers, their markings and operations 1937—1973 MJF Bowyer (PSL)
Bombs Gone: The Development and Use of British Air-dropped Weapons From 1912 to the Present Day JA McBean & AS Hogben (Patrick Stephens 1990)
Bristol Beaufighter JF Hamlin (Air Britain 2022)
Bristol Beaufighter J Scutts (Crowood 2004)
Britain’s Air Defences 1939—1945 (Elite No 104) A Price (Osprey 2004)
Britain’s Wonderful Air Force P Fellowes (Odhams 1942)
British Aircraft of World War II D Mondey (Hamlyn/Aerospace 1982)
British Aircraft Armament
Vol I: RAF Gun Turrets from 1914 to the Present Day RW Clarke (Patrick Stephens 1993)
Vol 2: RAF Guns and Gunsights from 1914 to the Present Day RW Clarke (Patrick Stephens 1994)
British Gallantry Awards Abbott and Tamplin (Guiness/Seaby 1971)
The British Bomber Since 1914 P Lewis (Putnam 1974)
Buffaloes Over Singapore B Cull M Haselden & P Sortenhaug (Grub Street 2003)
But Not in Anger: The RAF in the Transport Role C Cole & R Grant (Ian Allan 1979)
Camera at War H Hensser (Jarrolds c1943)
Chasing After Danger: A Combat Pilot’s War Over Europe and the Far East Terence O’Brien (Collins 1990)
Combat Codes V Flintham & A Thomas (Airlife 2003)
The de Havilland DH9 Profile Publications No 23 JM Bruce (Profile Press 1965)
de Havilland DH9 in action P Cooksley (Squadron/Signal no 164 1996)
de Havilland Mosquito E Shacklady (Cerberus 2003)
de Havilland Aircraft of World War I Vol I, Vol II C Owers (Flying Machines 2001)
The Desert Air Force R Owen (Hutchinson 1948)
The Desert Air War 1939—1945 RT Bickers (Leo Cooper 1991)
Desert Wings: A Hurricane Pilot in the Western Desert P Holloway (Melverley 2001)
The DH4/DH9 File R Sturtivant & G Page (Air Britain 1999)
Diary of A Disaster: British Aid to Greece 1940—41 R D S Higham (Kentucky UP 1986)
The Distinguished Flying Cross: How It Was Won 1918-1995 N&C Carter (Savannah Publications 1998)
The Distinguished Flying Medal Register: Second World War (With Official Recommendation Details). IT Tavender (Savannah Publications 2000)
The Distinguished Flying Medal: A Record of Courage IT Tavender (Hayward 1990)
The Elephant on My Wing Peter A Wright (Woodfield 2011)
Echoes Over the Pacific E Simmonds and N Smith (Simmonds 1995)
The Escape From Singapore R Gough (Mandarin 1994)
Familiar Voices F Harbord (Able 1999)
Fighters over the Desert C Shores and H Ring (Neville Spearman 1969)
Fighting in the Air: Official Combat Technique Instructions for British Fighter Pilots 1916—1945 RAF Museum Series Vol 7 (Arms & Armour 1978)
Flat Out: The Story of 30 Squadron RAF JF Hamlin (Air Britain 2002)
Fly I Must LA Bramley (Priory Books)
The Flying Camels: The History of No 45 Squadron RAF CG Jefford (Jefford 1995)
The Flying Elephants: History of No 27 Squadron RFC RAF 1915—1969 C Bowyer (Macdonald 1972)
Flying Empires: Short C Class Empire Flying Boats B Cassidy (Queens Parade 2004)
Flying Units of the RAF A Lake (Airlife 1999)
For Your Tomorrow Vol I, II E Martyn (Volplane Press 1998)
Fortress Malta J Holland (Miramax 2003)
From the Ground Up: A history of RAF Ground Crew FJ Atkin (Airlife 1983)
Global Warrior: The Story of Grp Cpt JR Jeudwine DSO OBE DFC A Charpentier, L Lacey-Johnson & G Jeudwin (Lacey-Johnson 1999)
Gloster Gladiator FK Mason (Macdonald 1964)
Gloster Gladiator Aces A Thomas (Osprey 2002)
Greatness of Heart P Rorke SJ (Family Publications 1988)
The Growth of Fighter Command 1936—1940 TCG James (Cass 2002)
Guns in the Sky C Bowyer (Dent 1979)
The Guns of the Royal Air Force 1939—1945 GF Wallace (W Kimber 1972)
The Hart Family: Hawker Hart & Derivatives Aeroguide Classics No 3 R Rimell (Linewrights 1989)
Hawker Aircraft Since 1920 F Mason (Putnam 1961)
Hawker Hart Family A Crawford MMP (2008)
Hawker Hurricane F Mason (Macdonald 1962)
Heavenly Days Grp Cpt J Pelly-Fry DSO (Crecy 1994)
A History of 208 Squadron DSB Marr (1996)
Hunt Like a Tiger 230 Squadron at War 1939—1945 T Docherty (Woodfield 2001)
Hurricane in Sumatra T Kelly (Hale 1985)
Hurricanes Over Burma MC Cotton (Crawford House 1995)
Hurricane Over the Jungle T Kelly (Kimber 1977)
Hurricanes Over Singapore B Cull & P Sortehaug (Grub Street 2004)
I Hold My Aim CH Keith (George Allen & Unwin 1946)
An Illustrated History of the RAF RC Nesbit (Salamander 2002)
Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 1938 (Sampson Low)
Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War I (Studio 1990)
Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II (Bracken 1989)
The K File: The Royal Air Force of the 1930s J Halley (Air Britain 1995)
The King’s Air Force 1937, 1938 C Winchester ed. (Amalgamated Press 1937, 1938)
A King’s Heritage: The Memoirs of King Peter II of Yugoslavia HM Peter II (Cassell 1955)
Last Flight From Singapore AG Donahue (Macmillan 1944)
Long Sunset Anthony Montague Browne (Cassell 1995)
Looking Backwards Over Burma D Spencer DFC (Woodfield 2009)
Man is Not Lost FC Richardson (Airlife 1997)
Men Behind the Medals G Pitchfork (Leo Cooper 2003)
Men Behind the Medals—A New Selection G Pitchfork (History Press 2009)
Middle East 1940—1942 A study in air power P Guedalla (Hodder and Stoughton 1944)
Missing Presumed Dead SA Hawken (Hill of Content 1989)
Missing Believed Killed: The RAF and the Search for Missing Aircrew 1939—1952 S Hadaway (Pen & Sword 2008)
Mission to Burma: The Story of 177 Squadron FH Burton 1991
Mosquito CM Sharp & MJF Bowyer (Faber 1967)
Mosquito Bomber/Fighter-Bomber Units 1942—1945 M Bowman (Osprey 1997)
Mosquito: The Original Multi-Role Aircraft GH Simons (Arms & Armour 1990)
Mosquito Squadrons of the RAF C Bowyer (Ian Allan 1984)
Naval Aviation in the First World War RD Layman (Caxton 2002)
New Zealanders in the RAF Thompson (Historical Publications Branch 1953)
No 230 Squadron RAF Warner (Colourpoint 2004)
Nor the Years Contemn: Air War on the Australian Front 1941—1942 JD Rorrison (Palomar 1992)
Observers and Navigators CG Jefford (Airlife 2001)
On Silver Wings: RAF Biplane Fighters Between the Wars Lumsden & Thetford (Osprey 1993)
Operation Mercury: 11 Squadron RAF MG Comeau (Patrick Stephens 1991)
Out of the Blue L Lucas Hutchinson 1985)
Per Ardua Ad Astra P Congdon (Airlife 1987)
Per Ardua: The Rise of British Air Power 1911—1939 H St G Saunders (Oxford 1944)
Pictorial History of the Mediterranean War Vol 1 to 3 C F Shores (Ian Allan 1972)
The Price of Peace: A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses Between VE Day and End of 1945 C Cummings (Nimbus)
The Right of the Line John Terraine (Hodder & Stoughton 1985)
Robert Loraine: Actor Soldier Airman W Loraine (Collins 1938)
The RAF 1939—1945: Men at Arms 225 A McCormack (Osprey 1990)
RAF in Action 1939—1945 RC Nesbit (PRO 2000)
RAF Aircraft J1—J9999 and WWI Survivors D Thompson and R Sturtivant (Air Britain 1987)
RAF Aircraft L1000—N9999 J Halley (Air Britain 1993)
RAF Aircraft P1000—R9999 J Halley (Air Britain 1996)
RAF Aircraft T1000—V9999 J Halley (Air Britain 1997)
RAF Aircraft V1000—V9999 W1000—W9999 J Halley (Air Britain 1983)
RAF Aircraft X1000—X9999 Z1000—Z9999 J Halley (Air Britain 1984)
RAF Aircraft BA100—BZ999 J Halley (Air Britain 1986)
RAF Aircraft EA100—EZ999 J Halley (Air Britain 1988)
RAF Aircraft HA100—HZ999 J Halley (Air Britain 1989)
RAF Aircraft KA100—KZ999 J Halley (Air Britain 1990)
RAF Aircraft LA100—LZ999 J Halley (Air Britain 1991)
RAF Aircraft NA100—NZ999 J Halley (Air Britain 1992)
RAF Aircraft PA100—RZ999 J Halley (Air Britain 1992)
RAF Bomber Command and its Aircraft 1936—1940 Goulding and Moyes (Ian Allan 1975)
RAF Bomber Losses in the Middle East and Mediterranean Vol 1 1939—1942 D Gunby and P Temple (Midland 2006)
RAF Bomber Losses in the Middle East and Mediterranean Vol 2 1943—1945 D Gunby and P Temple (Air Britain 2018)
The RAF in Camera 1903—1939 RC Nesbit (Sutton 1997)
The RAF in the Far East War 1941—1945 (RAF Historical Society 1995)
RAF Operations 1918—1938 C Bowyer (William Kimber 1988)
RAF Squadrons C G Jefford (Airlife 2001)
Royal Air Force 1918 C Cole ed (W Kimber 1968)
The Royal Air Force and Aircraft Design 1923—1939 C Sinnott (Frank Cass 2001)
Royal Air Force Flying Training and Support Units Since 1912 Sturtivant & Hamlin (Air Britain 2007)
Royal Air Force Handbook 1939—1945 C Bowyer (Ian Allen 1984)
The Royal Air Force and Two World Wars M Dean (1979)
Royal Air Force Communiques 1918 C Cole ed (Donovan 1990)
Royal Flying Corps Communiques 1917—1918 C Bowyer ed (Grub Street 1998)
Scorpions Sting: The Story of No 84 Squadron RAF D Neate (Air Britain 1994)
The Second World War: Guide to Documents in the Public Record Office JD Cantwell (PRO 1998)
Shark Squadron: The History of 112 Squadron 1917—1975 R Brown (Crecy 1994)
Shark Squadron Pilot B Hordern (Independent 2002)
The Ship Hunters R Gillman (John Murray 1976)
Short Sunderland in WWII A Hendrie (Airlife Publishing 1994)
Silently Into the Midst of Things A Sutherland Brown (Trafford 2001)
Singapore Harriers: Pictorial Record of the RNZAF No 1 Aerodrome Construction Squadron, Malaya 1941—1942 F McCarthy (1989)
Sixty Squadron RAF 1916—1919 AJL Scott (Greenhill 1990)
Sixty Squadron 1916 RFC—RAF 1966 Young and Warne (EP 1966)
The Source Book of the RAF K Delve (Airlife 1984)
Special Duties ASG Lee (Sampson Low ca1945)
Strike True—The Story of No 80 Squadron RAF C Shores (Air Britain 1986)
Sun On My Wings D Bednall (Paterchurch 1989)
The Swordfish Story R Sturtivant (Arms & Armour/Cassell 2000)
The Squadrons of the RAF and Commonwealth 1918—1988 J Halley (Air Britain 1988)
Their Last Tenko: 242 Squadron RAF in the Far East James Home (Quoin 1989)
They Shall Grow Not Old Allison and Hayward (CATP Museum)
They Flew Through Sand GW Houghton (Schindler 1942)
Though Without Anger: Losses of Transport & Special Duties Aircraft & Assault Gilders 1940—1945 C Cummings (Nimbus 2008)
Three Times Lucky J Woodward (Boolarong Publications 1991)
War in Burma 1942—1945 J Thompson (Imperial War Museum 2002)
War in a Stringbag C Lamb (Cassell 1977)
The War That Never Was AG Dudgeon (Airlife 1991)
Wellington Wings: An RAF Intelligence Officer in the Western Desert FR Chappell (Kimber 1980)
Wheels of the RAF: Vehicles of the Flying Services Through Two World Wars B Robertson (Patrick Stephens 1983)
Winged Bomb: History of 39 Squadron RAF Ken Delve (Midland Counties 1985)
Winged Promises, 14 Squadron RAF 1915—1945 Orange et al (RAF Benevolent Fund 1996)
Wings For Victory S Dunmore (M&S 1994)
Wings Over Burma K Hemingway (Quality Press 1945)
Wise Without Eyes 37 Squadron RAF 1939—1945 K Mears (Hooded Falcon 2005)
Woody: A Fighter Pilot’s Album H Halliday (Canav 1987)
Naval and Maritime
Across the Sea to War: Australian and New Zealand Troop Convoys from 1865 Through Two World Wars P Plowman (Rosenberg 2003)
The Allied Convoy System 1939—1945 A Hague (Vanwall 2000)
Brassey’s Naval Annual 1936 (Clowes & Sons)
British and Commonwealth Merchant Ship Losses AJ Tennent (Sutton 2001)
Crete 1941: The Battle at Sea DA Thomas (Cassell 1972, 2003)
East of Malta, West of Suez (HMSO 1943)
Eastern Archipelago Pilot Vol IV (British Admiralty Second Edn 1939)
The Escape From Singapore R Gough (Mandarin 1994)
Fleet Air Arm (SO 2001)
The Fleet the Gods Forgot WG Winslow (Naval Institute Press 1982)
Imperial War Museum Book of the War at Sea J Thompson (Sidgwick & Jackson 1997)
Jane’s Fighting Ships of World War II (Studio 1989)
Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping 1929, 1939 (Lloyd’s of London)
Lloyd’s War Losses: The Second World War, 3 September 1939—14 August 1945 (Lloyd’s of London 1989)
Main Fleet to Singapore R Grenfell (Oxford 1987)
Merchant Shipping Review (MSR annuals 1928 to 1930)
Notable Service to the Empire: Australian Corvettes and the British Pacific Fleet 1944—1945 H Campbell (Naval Historical Soc Aus 1995)
Pacific Microphone WJ Dunn Texas (A&M UP 1988)
The Story of Dr Wassell J Hilton (Macmillan 1944)
Survivors: British Merchant Seamen in the Second World War G&R Bennett (Hambledon 1999)
The U-Boat Peril R Whinney DSC & 2 bars (Arrow 1986)
Other
Australia in the War of 1939—1945: Series I Army
Vol II Greece, Crete and Syria G Long (Australian War Memorial and Collins 1986)
An Atlas of Current Affairs JF Horrabin (Victor Gollancz 1938)
Australia in the War of 1939—1945: Series 4 Civil
Vol I The Government and the People 1939—1941 P Hasluck (AWM 1952)
Vol III War Economy 1939—1942 SJ Butlin (AWM 1961)
Vol IV War Economy 1942—1945 Butlin & Schedvin (AWM 1977)
Australia in the War of 1939—1945: Series V Medical
Vol I Clinical Probems of War AS Walker (AWM 1952)
Vol II Middle East and Far East AS Walker (AWM 1953)
The Battle for Singapore P Thompson (Portrait 2005)
British Labour Statistics Historical Abstract 1886—1968 (HMSO 1971)
Casualties and Medical Statistics WF Mellor (HMSO 1972)
Crete: The Battle and the Resistance A Beevor (John Murray 1991)
Dilemmas of the Desert War: The Libyan Campaign 1940—1942 M Carver (Spellmount 2002)
Dornier Do 17: The Yugoslav Story B Ciglic & D Savic (Jeroplan Books 2007)
Fighting With Figures—A Statistical Digest of the Second World War Howlett (CSO 1995)
Greece 1940—1941 C Cruickshank (Dennis-Poynter 1976)
Greece against the Axis S Casson (Hamish Hamilton 1941)
Greece and Crete 1941 C Buckley (Efstathiadis 1977)
Greece, Crete and Syria J Laffin (Time Life 1989)
Greece in World War II JG Bitzes (SUP 1989)
Greece the Struggle for Freedom S Zotos (Crowell 1967)
Historical Encyclopedia of World War II (Macmillan 1981)
Imperial Military Geography DH Cole (Sifton Praed 1937, 1953)
Imperial War Museum Book of the Desert War 1940—1942 A Gilbert ed (BCA 1992)
Mussolini Unleashed 1939—1941 M KNox (Cambridge 1982)
North Africa 1940—1942 P Badman (Time Life 1988)
Our War: How the British Commonwealth Fought the Second World War C Somerville (Cassell 1998)
Oxford Companion to World War II (OUP 2001)
Pacific Microphone WJ Dunne (Texas A&M University Press 1988)
Pictorial History of Australia at War N Bartlett ed (AWM 1957)
Prisoners in Java Java FEPoW 1942 Club (Hamwic 2008)
The War in the Desert R Parkinson (1976)
The War in Pictures: First, Second, Third Year (Odhams 1939, 1940, 1941)
This is Australia O Ziegler (Gotham 1946)
War-time Britain 1939—1945 J Gardiner (Review 2004)
Wavell in the Middle East 1939—1941 HE Raugh (Brassey’s 1993)
Why Singapore Fell H Gordon Bennett (Angus and Robertson 1944)
Wind of Freedom: The History of the Invasion of Greece by the Axis Powers 1940—1941 C Mackenzie (Chatto & Windus 1943)
Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia No 42 1956 (CBCS 1956)
Magazine articles
Aeroplane Vol LVII Jul—Dec 1939
Aeroplane Monthly
Nov 1984 Probe probare—Blenheim I
Jan 1987 Probe probare—Blenheim IV
Air Enthusiast 28 Jul—Oct 1985 [Bristol Blenheim Family]
Blenheim Society Journal various issues
Flight Vol XXIX Jan—Jun 1941, Vol XLI Jan—Jun 1942
Flight 6 & 13 April 1956: The de Havilland DH9 JM Bruce
Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Aircraft
Nos 30—33 Blitzkrieg in the South [Middle East campaigns]
No 67 Bristol Blenheim [Article and The Aeroplane’s fine cutaway drawing]
No 200 211 Squadron.
Illustrated London News Jan—Mar 1941, Apr—Jun 1941
Naval Historical Review Oct 1977 The Rescue Yacht [article by Lt F Taylor RNZNVR]
Parade Middle East Weekly 1940, 1941
Slipstream 1999 Collection Slipstream Archives 1999: [84 Squadron escape from Java per HMRAFS Scorpion]
Reference Guides
Air Force Records for Family Historians, Spencer (PRO 2000)
British Campaign Medals 1914—2005 Duckers (Shire 2006)
British Gallantry Awards Abbott & Tamplin (Guiness 1971)
Medals—The Researcher’s Guide Spencer (TNA 2008)
RAF World War II Operational and Flying Accident Casualty Files in the National Archives: Exploring the Contents Mary Hudson (Air World/Pen & Sword 2020)
The Second World War: A Guide to Documents in the PRO, Cantwell, (PRO 1998)
Tracing Your Family History: Royal Air Force (IWM 2007)
Tracing Your Air Force Ancestors Tomaselli (Pen and Sword 2007)
A Guide to Military History on the Internet Fowler (Pen and Sword 2007).
www.211squadron.org © D Clark & others 1998—2024
Site created 15 Apr 2001, last updated 30 Sep 2024. Page created 15 Apr 2001, last updated 30 Sep 2024
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