Comments on: More wings for the Raj: RAAF in India during Second World War http://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2009/02/27/more-wings-for-the-raj-raaf-in-india-during-second-world-war/ Blog Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:01:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 By: Tim Roberts http://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2009/02/27/more-wings-for-the-raj-raaf-in-india-during-second-world-war/comment-page-1/#comment-5133 Tim Roberts Mon, 02 Aug 2010 04:21:46 +0000 http://blog.awm.gov.au/awm/?p=2061#comment-5133 Hi Anne, Thanks for your note on the coincidence about the first blog comment being on your father's birthday. :) It was a real pleasure to have the chance to read your father's very interesting diary records as part of the research process for the blog article, and also to show just a small sample of them. Cheers, Tim Roberts Private Records Hi Anne,

Thanks for your note on the coincidence about the first blog comment being on your father’s birthday. :)

It was a real pleasure to have the chance to read your father’s very interesting diary records as part of the research process for the blog article, and also to show just a small sample of them.

Cheers,

Tim Roberts
Private Records

]]> By: Anne Black http://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2009/02/27/more-wings-for-the-raj-raaf-in-india-during-second-world-war/comment-page-1/#comment-4879 Anne Black Mon, 14 Jun 2010 03:58:32 +0000 http://blog.awm.gov.au/awm/?p=2061#comment-4879 How appropriate the first comment posted above was on 11 March - my faher's (Stuat Black) birthday. How appropriate the first comment posted above was on 11 March – my faher’s (Stuat Black) birthday.

]]> By: Tim Roberts http://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2009/02/27/more-wings-for-the-raj-raaf-in-india-during-second-world-war/comment-page-1/#comment-2435 Tim Roberts Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:27:41 +0000 http://blog.awm.gov.au/awm/?p=2061#comment-2435 Hi Greg, and many thanks for your reply. The RAAF-RAF guys in India and Burma did amazing work in a set of very demanding conditions, some of which were noticeably different from both Europe and the Far East. For me, doing this particular topic was a very unusual way to make use of my long-term general interest in India and combine it with AWM collections. From what you describe, you certainly have an interesting variety of records and souvenirs of your dad's service in India. I encourage you to keep them all together, along with any records of stories he might have shared with family. You might find this page (http://www.awm.gov.au/aboutus/conservation/) useful if you need any information on conservation or specialist archival supplies to help store you collection. It could also be handy to keep a copy of his personnel file with the collected items, to give a bit of official service history as a context for what he did and where he served. If you have a copy already, that's great; if not, you can go online to: http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/explore/defence/service-records/raaf.aspx. Cheers Tim Roberts Private Records Hi Greg, and many thanks for your reply.
The RAAF-RAF guys in India and Burma did amazing work in a set of very demanding conditions, some of which were noticeably different from both Europe and the Far East.

For me, doing this particular topic was a very unusual way to make use of my long-term general interest in India and combine it with AWM collections.

From what you describe, you certainly have an interesting variety of records and souvenirs of your dad’s service in India. I encourage you to keep them all together, along with any records of stories he might have shared with family. You might find this page (http://www.awm.gov.au/aboutus/conservation/) useful if you need any information on conservation or specialist archival supplies to help store you collection.

It could also be handy to keep a copy of his personnel file with the collected items, to give a bit of official service history as a context for what he did and where he served. If you have a copy already, that’s great; if not, you can go online to: http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/explore/defence/service-records/raaf.aspx.

Cheers

Tim Roberts
Private Records

]]> By: Greg Hayes http://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2009/02/27/more-wings-for-the-raj-raaf-in-india-during-second-world-war/comment-page-1/#comment-2405 Greg Hayes Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:35:16 +0000 http://blog.awm.gov.au/awm/?p=2061#comment-2405 Tim Good to see some recognition for RAAF personnel who served in India, particularly those attached to RAF units. They are often forgotten, as is the Burma campaign. My late father John Frederick (Arthur) Hayes served in India during 1944 and 1945, mostly with Ferry Command, and mostly based at Allahabad. He was a navigigator (originally Bomb Aimer/Observer). Dad left Australia in early 1943 and went via Canada, like many under the Empire Air Training Scheme, to the UK where he was posted to Coastal Command Operational Training Units in Northern Ireland and Scotland. He then flew with his Beaufort Crew all the way from the UK to India in early 1944, where he was transferred to Ferry Command. Like Flight Sargeant Black, Dad kept a diary of his time away from Australia, which I have. Ferry work often involved lots of short flights around Indian airfields, picking up and dropping off all sorts of aircraft. I also have his log book, and a number of photos. Dad was a bit of a magpie and kept little things such as theatre tickets, bus tickets, and mess 'chits', all of which tell a story. Tim
Good to see some recognition for RAAF personnel who served in India, particularly those attached to RAF units. They are often forgotten, as is the Burma campaign.
My late father John Frederick (Arthur) Hayes served in India during 1944 and 1945, mostly with Ferry Command, and mostly based at Allahabad. He was a navigigator (originally Bomb Aimer/Observer). Dad left Australia in early 1943 and went via Canada, like many under the Empire Air Training Scheme, to the UK where he was posted to Coastal Command Operational Training Units in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
He then flew with his Beaufort Crew all the way from the UK to India in early 1944, where he was transferred to Ferry Command.
Like Flight Sargeant Black, Dad kept a diary of his time away from Australia, which I have. Ferry work often involved lots of short flights around Indian airfields, picking up and dropping off all sorts of aircraft. I also have his log book, and a number of photos. Dad was a bit of a magpie and kept little things such as theatre tickets, bus tickets, and mess ‘chits’, all of which tell a story.

]]> By: Tim Roberts http://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2009/02/27/more-wings-for-the-raj-raaf-in-india-during-second-world-war/comment-page-1/#comment-2395 Tim Roberts Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:28:19 +0000 http://blog.awm.gov.au/awm/?p=2061#comment-2395 Hi John, and thanks for your very positive feedback. The Liberator pilots in various theatres of war certainly lived through many experiences that have made for great and harrowing stories. Getting through two years of that service makes your neighbour an extremely lucky man. Survival rates: I don't have the exact figures at hand just now, but my own impression is similar to yours. The collection material I looked through for the blog post included some pretty full newspaper lists of names of those not returning from service. As an extension of the story: Stuart Black's own older brother, Gregory, was flying in missions over Europe when he was killed in action during 1943. Stuart, who had followed his brother into the RAAF, didn't find out the official sad news until he and his own unit were already in India. Regards Tim Roberts, Private Records Hi John, and thanks for your very positive feedback.

The Liberator pilots in various theatres of war certainly lived through many experiences that have made for great and harrowing stories. Getting through two years of that service makes your neighbour an extremely lucky man.

Survival rates: I don’t have the exact figures at hand just now, but my own impression is similar to yours. The collection material I looked through for the blog post included some pretty full newspaper lists of names of those not returning from service.

As an extension of the story: Stuart Black’s own older brother, Gregory, was flying in missions over Europe when he was killed in action during 1943. Stuart, who had followed his brother into the RAAF, didn’t find out the official sad news until he and his own unit were already in India.

Regards
Tim Roberts, Private Records

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