The signatories
|
Pat Cardon |
Pat Cardon joined the RAF in 1932, and qualifying
as a pilot served as an instructor at the
Central Flying School at Upavon. In 1942 he was released for
operations, joining
15 Squadron at Mildenhall for his first tour, flying Lancasters.
For his second tour
he volunteered for the Pathfinders, and joined firstly 35 Squadron
at Gravely on
Halifaxes, and then 582 Squadron at Little Staunton, on Lancasters.
He finished the war
with 66 operations.
* |
|
Bob Knights |
Joining the RAF in April 1941, after training
as a pilot Bob Knights flew Wellingtons,
Manchesters, and then Lancasters, joining 619 Squadron at Woodall
Spa in 1943. Here he
completed 26 operations on his first tour. In January 1944 he
was posted to join
Cheshire’s 617 Squadron, again at Woodall Spa, where he
completed 44 operations,
including precision attacks on factories, U-boat and E-boat pens,
rocket sites, and three
attacks on the Tirpitz. After the war he joined BOAC, and retired
in 1975.
* |
|
Tony Iveson |
Tony Iveson fought in the Battle of Britain with
RAF Fighter Command, as a Sergeant
pilot, joining 616 Squadron at Kenley flying Spitfires, on 2
September 1940.
Commissioned in 1942, Tony then undertook his second tour transferring
to RAF Bomber
Command, where he eventually was selected to join the famous
617 Squadron, flying
Lancasters. He took part in most of 617 Squadron’s high
precision and pin-point bombing
operations, including all three sorties against the German battleship
Tirpitz, and went on
to become one of the most respected and prominent pilots in that
famous squadron.
* |
|
Bill North |
Flying Lancasters with 61 Squadron, in 1944 he
was shot down over northern France.
With his aircraft badly hit, he gave the order to bale out, but
as some of the crew had
damaged parachutes, he elected to stay with the aircraft and
crash-land. Despite being
badly wounded, he managed to land his Lancaster at night, and
every crewmember
walked away – two of them evading capture and returned to
England. Bill spent the rest
of the war a POW
* |
|
Dudley Burnside |
Dudley joined the RAF in 1935 and in 1937 went
to India flying on the North-West Frontier,
and Iraq. At the outbreak of war he went to Burma and in 1942
was fortunate to escape when his airfield was overrun by the
Japanese. Escaping back to England he took command of 195 Squadron
RCAF flying Wellingtons. In 1943 he became CO of 427 Squadron
on Halifax’s, later converting to Lancaster’s. In the
Korean War he commanded a Flying Boat Wing operating Sunderlands.
He retired from the RAF in 1962.
* |
|
Lawrence Curtis |
Joining the RAF in 1939, he was posted as a wireless
operator firstly to 149 Squadron, and then 99 Squadron on Wellingtons.
He then joined OTU on Whitleys before moving firstly
to 158 Squadron, and then 617 Squadron on Lancasters, where he
was Unit Signals Leader for 18 months. After bomber operations
he joined Transport Command in 1944.
* |
|
Ernest Rodley |
Posted to Bomber Command in 1941, Ernest Rodley
joined 97 Squadron flying Manchesters,
where in April 1942, he was awarded the DFC following the famous
Augsberg daylight raid.
After a period at Scampton he was posted back to 97 Squadron,
now part of 8 Group Pathfinders. His final command was 128 Squadron
flying Mosquitos. He flew 87 operational sorties.
* |
|
Fred Watts |
Fred Watts joined the RAF in 1940, and qualifying
as a pilot was posted to 630 Squadron in
1943 flying Lancasters out of East Kirby. He joined 617 Squadron
in 1944 and took part in
many of the precision operations that the Squadron was renowned
for, including raids on
V1 sites, V2 rocket bases, and all three attacks on the Tirpitz.
* |