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Interviewee: Mr Alan Hartley
Interviewer: Claire Hayhurst

1. Introduction

2. Born 17 Aug 1924 at Barrow In Furness in Lancashire. Spent early years there - father was a shipwright, building ships. Went round HMS Ajax when being built there. Work was very tight in the industry so father came down to Coventry. Moved into one of the first houses in Greyswood Avenue in about 1936. Passed for the grammar school in Barrow and had two months in one school before going to Henry VIII grammar school until Sep 1939 when war was declared. Things got chaotic and had to spend a lot of time at home rather than school. Became so fractured that decided to leave school and got a job at Alfred Herberts as a possible apprentice draftsman and was paid 12 shillings and 6 pence a week (about 65p). Graduated and worked at Whitley on the bombers and then at Standard motor company at the shadow factory. Only brother was killed in North Africa (at Tobruk) - felt very sad and wanted to do his bit so volunteered for the air force at 17 years old, but because of a perforated eardrum was turned down for all the services.

3. After turned down for aircrew, got calling up papers for a compulsory medical. Went down to Sidebury Hall in Coventry and to great luck, the examining doctor was his own personal doctor who knew he was keen to go into the air force. He ignored the 'E' for exempt on his certificate and put his watch to his ear and said, 'Can you hear that?' and though he couldn't hear a thing he said, 'Yes sir' and he said he was ok and passed him. Got calling up papers and went to Padgate in Warrington in 1943. A lot of friends were leaving - they were all being called up - so one by one the group were going and, better than staying at home, wanted to get in on it. Pleased and excited to be going. At 18 years old, not appreciative of the dangers of war. The day he got to Padgate, Mussolini packed up - convinced to this day it's because he heard that he'd joined up! Spent three months at Padgate learning to drill, camouflage etc marching through the countryside all singing and whistling. A great spirit of comradeship! Describes relationship with brother - even though living together didn't really spend much time together, but in the forces, 24 hours a day with same people. Get to know people and make wonderful friends. There were people you'd die for …

4. The pride of being with a unit. After Padgate went to Thorny Island on the south coast, painting flying fortresses white for coastal command. At that time, called 'flight mechanics under training'. It was there he met his first WAF - some of the girls painting the fortresses were WAFs. Describes time with them and incidents. After a couple of months there, went to Lockey, near Weston Supermare, to do a training course. They were there from Oct 1943 through the winter, to Feb 1944. At Lockey, they were given an examination and picked about 30 out of the intake of 250 to do a special course, including him, to be known as the 'Typhoon Flight'. At the end of Feb, had a test. (Recalls incident when a plane crashed into a bus killing a number of trainees)

5. Got their first posting to Typhoon Squadron. Posted at Doncaster - very relaxed base. Next morning asked where were the Typhoons, and they were told they had none, only Dakotas! Very shocked because trained so hard on one type of engine. Only found out later that Churchill wanted a parachute regiment and all priority given to that - anybody coming out of training school all fell in that net. After four days, went to Down Hampney, near Cirencester - Feb 1944. Had four months to train for D Day - to practice lots of new skills (parachute dropping, glider towing, dropping supplies, air ambulance). All knew it was building towards the invasion.

6. For four months worked really hard. Had five squadrons of thirty Dakotas on three airfields - noise when they were in the air was horrendous. When they first moved to Down Hampney, the village population was 280 and over three thousand service people moved in. Had a massive impact on the village - everything was in short supply. Bakery shop opened at eight and was empty by ten past eight. Eventually they put things aside for the locals, but anything spare was snapped up. One accident - planes flying in close formation and sergeant was on his bike. They stopped and asked if he wanted to come, so he put his bike on and went with them. But while flying one plane clipped another and they all plummeted to the ground and were all killed, including some ATC boys - very dangerous. Used to go to a place called Netherhaven to practice parachute dropping. Incidents - Parachutist got caught between two trees which wasn't normally a problem and they sent for fire brigade. Extended ladder to him and fire man climbed up, but instead of cutting rope and letting him swing to the tree, he pressed his harness and the ladder buckled so they both crashed to the ground.

7. The paratrooper was killed. When you go back after seeing something like that, you felt that this was happening in practices so what was it going to be like in real life when people were firing at them? Another incident - parachute was meant to be automatically released but one man got caught in wheels and they couldn't release him. Eventually had to fly to Poole and cut him into the sea, but he was already dead - another mother's son gone. Came up to end of May - notice posted that camp was sealed. No one was allowed on or off and all post was checked. All telephone booths strapped up. About 36 hours before D Day, told to paint black and white stripes on all the aeroplanes because using all types of air craft and navy were quire trigger happy - shoot first, apologise later.

8. Everybody on the camp had to paint the stripes on all 60 aeroplanes and 100 gliders in 36 hours. On the night of 5th and 6th June, the first operation was to the gun battery to cover the beaches and the second was to take Pegasus bridge - essential to be captured. Germans knew the bridges were vital so were ready to blow them up - needed to be a surprise operation. At midnight, 6 gliders were released five miles from the bridges and needed to be put down as close to the bridges as possible. Landed within 30 yards of the bridge and took it, losing only one man.

9. Remembers reunion of paratroopers in Austria. Talks about D-Day and what the words actually meant - froze the starting time and point. On D+4, (i.e. the fourth day) the first Dakotas flew, with three air ambulance nurses. They risked the lives to bring casualties back. They took personnel and supplies over and the bring casualties back. The girls had to look after them on their own, and they brought back 100,000 casualties and many of those would have died.

10. On the morning of D Day in the morning, and someone said, 'Look at this lot!' and marching around were all the paratroopers all with shaved heads and a vee tuft of hair, with black and white paint on their faces. They had meat cleavers in their belts and were most fearsome looking men. They helped get them onto the planes with all their equipment - thought the meat cleavers were show but one of the first casualties brought back was a German POW without any boots and he'd pretended to be dead because people had been going round chopping heads off, so they knew they'd been used. They'd heard about all the atrocities of the Germans and with all the propaganda were conditioned to hate.

11. It really came home when you heard over the tannoy that a casualty aircraft was approaching - all dashed to the airfield to help get the casualties from the planes to the hospital. They would wash and shave them and make them comfortable before being moved on. To be part of that, the human side, when a lot of the RAF were bombing civilians and schools, they were doing a lot of the humane side. Patten advancing rapidly towards Paris with Montgomery going up the left hand side - discusses supplies.

12. Talks about the plans for the 'left hook'. Had to drop the men at Arnhem - discusses plans and how it worked.

13. Talks about how they were to drop in the paratroopers and other supplies, but were 'clobbered' by the Germans. On Sunday when the squadron had completed the first drop (before it all went wrong) he asked his skipper, the senior pilot, what it had been like, and he said, fantastic. The next day, again, the senior pilot said how brilliant it was and suggested that he came over after he'd finished his last job. However a plane developed a fault so the senior pilot had to fly that one but he had checked with the pilot of his usual plane and he was still ok to take him. As he didn't like the bloke he made an excuse not to go.

14. They both got shot down. The aircrew of his plane are buried over in a cemetery - describes the heroics of the pilot, as described by an eyewitness. He would have been with them, without a parachute and should have died that day. Every year he goes back and stays with the Dutch and near where he stays is the tree that survived. There is now a preservation order on the tree, and it's called Alan's tree though he thinks it should be called Len's tree after the pilot who died. Every year he goes back and stands by the tree and can hear the engines and guns and the crash. Describes more heroics by other members of the squadron.

15. This resulted in a VC, the only one of transport command. People talk about giving their lives in the war. Lost people in the Coventry Blitz - they didn't give their lives, they were taken from them. In war, the biggest percentage of people have their lives taken away - very few give them. They continued to fly the mission for four days, knowing they were probably flying to their deaths, seeing their comrades shot, and they still flew. They were concerned back on the base - had to get the damaged planes back in the air. Saw incidents back on the base as well.

16. After Arnhem, continued taking supplies and personnel around Europe and bringing back casualties and POW's. One of their nurses was the first into Belsen and she has never spoken to a German since - so horrified. It got to the end of March and were taken to airfield in East Sussex - very run down. Next morning the Dakotas arrived and the gliders and they were checked. They did the last big operation crossing the Rhine - as they took off, never seen so many aircraft in your life all going east. The whole ground shook with the power. Having gone through 1940 when they only had broomstick handles to train with, it was amazing to see all the might of the air force. Returned to camp

17. Was there for three or four months before posted to Bari in Italy - had to bring all the people back from across the world, so a chain of staging posts was set up from Japan and India to England. Appalled when he saw some of the lads coming off the aircraft with dysentery and beri beri - all very thin. Thought how could anyone treat a fellow human being like that. Took a long time to forgive the Japanese for how they treated the prisoners. Very lucky because took over station sports - describes duties for 11 months.

18. In 1947 returned to England to Lichfield - very cold winter. Describes punishments he had over career in RAF. Returned to work at Standard. 1970 - there was a programme on radio called 'Open House' and they had guest Jimmy Edwards, a famous comedian who was also part of squadron. He wrote in and asked about possibility of a reunion - he mentioned going back to Down Ampney and they met him.

19. After this, decided it would be nice to put a window in the church to commemorate the squadron there, so mentioned it to the Parish Council who agreed but left it to him to organise - he hadn't a clue! Got advice and went ahead for designs etc. Got lots of publicity and lots of responses from all over the country.

20. Over 3 years it developed - had lots of ideas over a number of years. A few weeks from dedication day, RAF asked to help organise. They took responsibility for the programme, catering etc. for the day.

21. Describes the day - never been so proud. Thought once the window went in that would be it, but all wanted to keep in touch. Organised 2 reunions a year for the last thirty years! Taken them three times to Arnhem as well - describes problems on 50th anniversary. Membership of about 450 people and sends out newsletters and receives letters.

22. Wonderful experience - like a fairy story. Even though a 'nobody', knows lots of people all through experiences at Down Ampney. A really uplifting experience. Sad of course - lost only brother in the war, went through Coventry Blitz (describes experience). Drama etches memory deep - things happened that never ever forget. Occasionally emotions will hit you and take you by surprise - every year at Arnhem.

23. Wants a memorial at Arnhem as well for the men - talks about how to get one and what it should be.

World War II Oral History Project, date of birth: