Len

LEN left school at the age of fourteen and began his working life as an apprentice electrician. But in 1937, when he was, sixteen years of age, he decided to join the RAF and was accepted as a boy photographer. He had eighteen months training at the RAF School of Photography in Farnborough, Hampshire. Here he was taught Ground and Aerial Photography, map making and associated subjects. His pay in those days was 9d per day - 5s-3d per week.  You can see Len in the photograph below.  He was still growing!  (The photograph also depicts one of the biplanes used in the first over flight of Mount Everest)

Len finished his training in 1939 and was posted to the Air Armament School in Lincolnshire where he was employed in training air gunners.

In 1940 Len was posted to the veteran No. 2 Group of the old Royal Flying Corps formed during World War I. He was stationed at Wattisham in Norfolk with No. 18 (Close Support) Squadron of that Group. His duties were to fit cameras which recorded 'bomb strikes' on targets, and then to process the films. The Squadron's planes were Blenheim bombers that were being used in daylight operations over occupied Europe. Targets were mainly shipping, airfields and bridges. In 1941 Len was obviously doing a good job and was given his two Corporal stripes, and in the following year was made up to Sergeant with three stripes.

When the 1,000 bomber raids began in 1942 No 18 Squadron was transferred to night bombing of Luftwaffe airfields. In. the Sergeant Mess, at this time, was a notice which read:-

" Only birds and fools fly, and birds don't fly at night"

Squadron losses were high, and during the whole of the war the average missions per plane, before being lost, were only ten. Later in August 1942 the Squadron ceased operations and began to re-equip with new Blenheim V's. They began preparations for going overseas, and during the break Len took the opportunity to marry his fiance, Janet, in her village church in rural Norfolk on August Bank Holiday Monday. Len was no fool, his future "in laws" kept the village pub thus ensuring the reception was not 'dry'.      The happy pair had a honeymoon in North Wales

But in October the Squadron boarded the S. S. Arundel Castle which, because it also carried American troops, did not carry alcohol, which was banned from their Messes. After evading submarines in the Atlantic and Mediterranean they docked in Algiers on 11th November.   The invasion of N. Africa had begun and on 13th November the Squadron took over the French Air Force airfield at Blida. On the Squadron's first raid, attacking Bizerta in Tunisia at low level on 17th November, four out of the eight planes involved, failed to return.

Tragedy struck the Squadron during December, and Len describes it himself:-

" We had moved to a forward landing field at Souk-El-Arba and on 4th. December a message from the forward army battle zone requested an air operation against German troop concentrations. My C.O., Gordon Malcolm, thought it was his duty to support the hard pressed infantry. So, twelve planes took off without fighter escort. Over the target they met massive German fighter opposition of, at least, 60 ME 109's. They shot down all our planes in only 5 minutes. My C.O. was awarded, posthumously, the Victoria Cross for his part in the raid"

The Squadron, with no planes, was stood down to be re--equipped and Len was loaned to the Second American Tactical Air Force, doing the same sort of job, i.e. fitting cameras, checking bomb strikes.

Life with the Americans had a. different meaning, with cot beds, 5 star cooking, a jeep to run about in and officers called by first names. Len even got a bottle of Scotch a month which the Americans were not allowed. He stayed with the Americans for six months before returning to his old Squadron just before the invasion of Sicily on 9th July 1943. They went by tank landing craft to Catania from where they operated, with new American Boston aircraft, giving close support to the troops in battle. After giving support to the 1st Army in Tunisia they now, for the first time, were supporting the 8th Army. If you want to appreciate the pity of war, look at one of the photographs he has kept tucked in an envelope for the last 62 years. 

 After Sicily the Squadron moved into Italy. Len was in Bari when the port was bombed.  Supply ships carrying poison gas were hit and blew up (the gas munitions were in readiness to retaliate if necessary against German usage).  In the terrible aftermath there were 617 recorded mustard-gas casualties among the military and merchant-marine personnel; 84 died.  The civillian casualties are simply unknown.  Full details of this terrible incident were hushed up at the time and only became officially recognized years later.

When Mount Vesuvius erupted Len was one of the people helping to evacuate villagers from the twenty feet high wall of lava running down the main street. Shortly before the explosion he had hiked to the top, where the photograph was taken (Len is pictured on the right).  Don't look behind you Len but it really is time to go turn round and go back down!

As the Allies advanced up Italy the Squadron continued in its support to the troops in such places as Cassino, Anzio, Frascati and Rome. In October 1944 Len was loaned to the Australian Air Force, staying with them through Northern Italy, and still supporting forward troops in places such as Corsica, Venice, Udine and Yugoslavia. In 1945 with the war now over Len spent three months running a rest home for tired air crew in the Italian alps.

Len, finally returned to England almost three years to the day, and was invalided out of the RAF on 15th August 1946. (The background to this is another story).

 One of the stories that Len can tell is the time at Foggia in Italy when he was testing the cameras on a plane before take off. He operated the selector switch and, to this horror, all the bombs on board were released. They broke through the bomb release doors on to the ground. Fortunately they could not explode by dropping that distance. The cause of the trouble was that an electrician had 'bridged' the selector switch.

Back in "civvy street" Len joined Metro-Vickers in Trafford Park as a photographer and later became Chief Photographer. Much of his work was spent on taking specialised photographs during the construction of large power stations, including the Dinorwig Power Station in Wales..

Len retired through ill-health in 1985. Len and Janet have two children, a son and a daughter, and two grand-daughters and, wait for it - two great grand-daughters and two great grandsons. Next year he will celebrate 64 years of marriage.

Len worked an allotment in Fallowfield until 1999.  Len also took cooking and winemaking classes at the local Adult College of Education. He is still an active wine maker (and occasional drinker). Both in war and in peace Len has had the satisfaction of having done a worthwhile job.