Sally Coulter has been volunteering with the IBCC Digital Archive since September 2021. She has produced detailed, accurate, and highly readable summaries of items in French and German. A wealth of previously inaccessible information is now discoverable, allowing users to get a good sense of the content without reading pages and pages of text. We asked Sally to reflect on her valuable contribution, which she kindly did.

The IBCC Digital Archive team

My father served as a pilot and navigator in the RAF during the Second World War, hence my interest in the work of the IBCC. I knew very little about his experiences, other than he went to Canada for his training. My mother explained that he rarely talked about his war time experiences; too many people he knew were no longer there.
We were very impressed by the volunteer guides when we visited the IBCC; they were interesting, knowledgeable and had a good sense of humour. The website piqued my interest in volunteering and I was impressed with the number of interesting avenues for volunteering.

After taking early retirement, my volunteering started after I received a delightful email from the IBCC Digital Archive staff. They noticed that I had a French degree and enquired whether I would be interested in summarising French documents into English. Staff provided gentle guidance, a lot of encouragement and positive feedback, which has made the whole experience enjoyable and fulfilling. There has been no pressure to fit the work into any timescales; the pace is entirely up to me and can be done from home.

There has been such a variety of material: newspaper articles, propaganda, newsletters, letters, posters, leaflets, flyers. I have also summarised a number of German documents, some in Gothic script, and have deciphered signatures. I have even looked at some English captions from Italian for a wonderful collection of artworks.

The IBCC website has the strapline of ‘A story of discovery, education, and remembrance’. This has been my experience of volunteering. I have learnt so much about the Second World War, often looking up and learning about the places and protagonists described in the articles. It has taught me about the power of propaganda and shown how conflict today has many resonances with the past. Individuals have gained an identity and it has brought history to life. I have hopefully enabled people to search the website by identifying names, places, significant dates and events. I have found it hugely rewarding and have enjoyed putting my knowledge of languages to good use.

Tribute for Windrush Day 2021: remembering ‘invisible’ RAF veterans

Some of those on the historic journey of MV Empire Windrush in 1948 were returning, rather than seeing the UK for the first time: veterans who had served with the Allies during the Second World War, especially in the RAF. It remains the case that they and other black and brown veterans are largely invisible in mainstream historical studies of the wartime RAF. Their stories are, however, acknowledged in studies such as Mark Johnson’s Caribbean Volunteers at War, Stephen Bourne’s The Motherland Calls, and Marika Sherwood’s Many Struggles.[1] Some wrote memoirs recording their experiences, among them Cy Grant, E. Martin Noble and Ralph Ottey.[2]  There are ongoing projects, too, that seek to recover more personalities and experiences.[3]

Less remembered in the public imagination are the Maori crew who served in the RAF, or the few indigenous Canadians based in the UK with the Royal Canadian Air Force.  Some 45 Maori aircrew have been identified, the majority of them serving in 75 (New Zealand) Squadron, based in Cambridgeshire. Several of these aircrew were decorated and one, Flying Officer Porokoru Patapu Pohe of 51 Squadron was shot down and taken prisoner at Stalag Luft III. His story featured in the movie The Great Escape; he was one of those recaptured and murdered. [4]

There seem to be few traces of indigenous Canadians. The Royal Canadian Air Force, like the RAF, prevented all but those of ‘pure European descent’ from joining until 1940 and very small numbers seem to have volunteered as a result. Among them were James Ray Lightbown DFC, Jack Beaver, Willard John Bolduc DFC and Gib Whittamore.[5] Another is remembered in a poignant note written by veteran Phil James MBE on the back of a wartime crew photograph (above) in his possession: ‘I am on the far right, next to me is our W/AG [wireless operator/air gunner] a Canadian red indian [sic] JOHN YAKIMCHUCK, he shot himself, he could not cope with civilian life…’[6]

Source: BharatRakshak Indian Air Force| The twenty four Indian pilots (bharat-rakshak.com)

Thousands were recruited into the RAF from South Asia. A celebrated group of 24 pilots arrived from India in 1940; most flew with RAF Fighter Command; they are pictured on the left  .[7]

Yet there were many more. Some 200 Indians resident in Britain volunteered for the RAF [8] and according to the Open University’s ‘Making Britain’ database on South Asians in Britain from 1870 to 1950,

The Royal Air Force needed to make up a shortage in pilots by actively recruiting personnel from across the Commonwealth. It dispensed with the colour bar of the armed forces that stipulated that only ‘British subjects of pure European descent’ could join. After October 1939 people from across the Commonwealth, regardless of nationality or race became eligible to join the RAF. By the end of the Second World War, over 17,500 such men and women had been recruited, serving in a variety of roles. A further 25,000 served in the Royal Indian Air Force. [9]

Motivations for volunteering were many and varied – sometimes there was a strong family tradition of military service, sometimes there was a desire to escape and see the world. For most, fears of a return to enslavement should the Nazis emerge victorious were real.[10]  Caribbean and African volunteers hoped to fly, yet Cy Grant’s observation that ‘things were not to work out exactly as I had expected’ [11]  applied to the vast majority of the over 5, 000, who instead became ground personnel on RAF stations. As Jamaican Ralph Ottey, who trained at RAF Hunmanby Moor in 1944, recalls in his memoir,

My trade test was quite easy really. My tester told me:

1. That there wasn’t much need for Air Gunners
2. That there weren’t many vacancies for wireless operators
3. There was a need for motor transport drivers

So that would be my trade … There was no point in arguing… [12]

Around 500 African and Caribbean personnel were accepted for aircrew training, mostly in RAF Bomber Command where the need was greatest.  The expectation was that all these volunteers would leave at the war’s end; some managed to stay, while many more returned to the UK after brief periods ‘back home’, some on the Windrush. As has been well attested, they generally had a very rough time: ‘Black ex-servicemen confronted racist exclusions in the job market as well as the housing market’ and their war service was doubted.[13]  This affected the way that they came to remember their war: the details of squadrons and stations were of less significance than the fact that they had served with pride and distinction.

One of the remarkable stories of ‘return’ is that of the Carby family, whose history has been traced by Hazel Carby in her award-winning study, Imperial Intimacies. In the late 18^th century, the Carbys were living in the small village of Coleby, not far from the city of Lincoln. Several male members of the family joined the British army in the 1780s, possibly because of poor agricultural prospects.[14] One of them, Lilly Carby (‘Lilly’ was his mother’s maiden name), reached Jamaica with the 10^th Regiment of Foot in 1789, but was soon discharged, possibly because of illness. He worked on various plantations before acquiring his own, which he called ‘Lincoln’. He named the enslaved people who worked for him, as well as his (known) children, after relatives in Lincolnshire,. Two of his children, William and Bridget, were born to a free woman of colour, Mary Ivey Mann; one, Matthew, was born to Bridget, an enslaved woman, in 1807 and though baptised, he was enslaved until abolition in the 1830s.

Four generations down Matthew Carby’s line, Carl Carby was born in Kingston in 1921. Although experiencing extreme poverty into his teens, he believed that education was his only means to social mobility and attended night school while working as the family’s main breadwinner. He was one of the first black Caribbean volunteers to be accepted for aircrew training in the early years of the Second World War. After completing his training in Jamaica and Canada, he was posted to RAF Coastal Command, later transferring to RAF Bomber Command. This transfer led to his being stationed at RAF Waddington, which is 2.4 miles from Coleby. Carl, who died in 2014, never knew how geographically close he had come to his origins; this only emerged during his daughter Hazel’s research.

Prof Hazel Carby being interviewed for the IBCC Digital Archive, March 2021

Listen to an interview with Hazel Carby discussing her family history and her father’s RAF service, at https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/32391.

Heather Hughes and Victoria Araj

[1] Mark Johnson, Caribbean Volunteers at War: The Forgotten Story of the RAF’s ‘Tuskegee Airmen’. Barnsley, Pen and Sword, 2014; Stephen Bourne, The Motherland Calls: Britain’s Black Servicemen and Women, 1939-45. Stroud, The History Press, 2012; Marika Sherwood, Many Struggles: West Indian Workers and Service Personnel in Britain 1939-1945. London, Karia Press, 1985.

[2] Cy Grant, A Member of the RAF of Indeterminate Race: World War Two Experiences of a West Indian Officer in the RAF. Bognor Regis, Woodfield Publishing, 2006; E. Martin Noble, Jamaica Airman: A Black Airman in Britain 1943 and After.  London, New Beacon Books, 1984; Ralph Ottey, ‘Stranger Bwoy’ in the Royal Air Force in Lincolnshire 1944-1948. Boston, 2004.

[3] See for example https://www.africansinyorkshireproject.com/ and https://www.caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com/ [accessed 20 June 2021];

[4] Compiled from https://75nzsquadron.wordpress.com/maori-aircrew-who-served-with-75nz-squadron-39-45/ and http://rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/17780?page=2

[5] Compiled from BC/Yukon Command Military Service Recognition Book Vol X, obtainable from https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sfuwolxzqyfanq4/AAB-eDD5P7Kbs7-ayCrBnw_ka?dl=0 [accessed 21 June 2021]; Jack Farley’s story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/82/a2244782.shtml; and Native Soldiers, Foreign Battlefields. Veteran Affairs Canada, 2005.

[6] Letter from Phil James MBE to Sue Taylor, no date, IBCC project.

[7] See the contemporary footage at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtLwn5sSmsI

[8] https://www.duhoctrungquoc.vn/wiki/en/India_in_World_War_II [accessed 21 June 2021]

[9] https://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/second-world-war-1939-1945

[10], Native Soldiers, Foreign Battlefields, p.22.

[11] Cy Grant, A Member of the RAF of Indeterminate Race, p.

[12] Ralph Ottey, ‘Stranger Bwoy’, p.3.

[13] Hazel Carby, Imperial Intimacies : A Tale of Two Islands. London, Verso, 2019, p. 240-41.

[14] Rex Russell, ‘Parliamentary enclosure, common rights, and social change: evidence from the parts of Lindsey in Lincolnshire’. Journal of Peasant Studies 27 (4), 2000, pp. 54-111.

International Archives Day is on the 9 June and this year, the IBCC Digital Archive team are marking the occasion by recognising and thanking the volunteers who participate in the Digital Archive’s workflow, as items move from scanning, photographing or recording, through to publication on the website. Our archive contents are so highly discoverable because of the work that they do.

Our digital technician, Robin Evans, is responsible for accessioning all new archival items.  His tasks include giving each new scan (or photo) a unique filename, ensuring all the paperwork is in order (permissions etc),  ensuring the digital master copes are safely stored,  and creating smaller files (such as PDFs and mp3s) from them, for purposes of publication.

A full set of cataloguing details, or metadata, must then be added to each item.  These include a description of the item, who created it, and date and place information. Once again, this information helps to connect users to items when they perform a search.  Our very skilled metadata creators are Nigel Huckins, Barry Hunter, Trevor Hardcastle and Peter Adams. Digital Archivist Alessandro Pesaro has trained them all and works with them on a daily basis. Many of the collections they created were then reviewed and proofread by Beryl George.

Written and printed documents are transcribed, so that text-based items are searchable. We have amazing teams of transcribers, led by David Bloomfield and Steve Baldwin. Our transcribers include Tricia Marshall, Steve Christian, Jan Waller, Peter Bradbury, Sue Smith, Robin Christian, Alan Pinchbeck, Frances Grundy, Claire Monk, Anne-Marie Watson, Georgie Donaldson, Roger Dunsford, Bradley Froggatt and Angela Gaffney. Transcription is a slow and painstaking task, yet they turn in impressive volumes of completed transcriptions every month.

We do not fully transcribe log books; however, we have developed a new standard for describing their contents, so that (like other documents) they can be searched.  Our experts in this area are Mike Connock, Mike French, David Leitch and Terry Hancock.  Callum Davies, a Bishop Grosseteste University student, is also helping out as part of his studies.  This example shows how the date of every operation is now captured, linking each log book with other events that took place the same day: https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/items/show/2205

Oral testimonies are processed slightly differently. As far as possible, these are transcribed – but with over 1200 now in the archive, we have not been able to do them all. At the very least, therefore, we ensure each one has a summary that is searchable. Both the full transcriptions and the summaries must be carefully checked for accuracy – another task that is painstaking and requires very careful attention to detail. Our archivist Dan Ellin does a lot of reviewing himself, but also has a fantastic team of reviewers: Jean Massey, Graham King, Steph Jackson, Chris Johnson, Yvonne and Nick Walker, Emily Bird, Caroline and Graham Smith, Eunice Watson, Michael Cheesbrough and Brent Lintin.

There are further ways we can assist users to find what they are looking for.  One is to add tags – these are words or phrases (for example, ‘childhood in wartime’ or ‘forced landing’ or ’166 Squadron’) that can be added to items, so that all items sharing a particular characteristic will show up in a search. Nigel Moore has quite literally checked every one of the over 24,000 items in our archive to ensure the tags are as accurate as possible: https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/tags

We also have an online map feature in the archive. Thanks to Graham Emmet’s skills over the past few months, we now have 2,000 places plotted on this map, each providing direct access to a host of documents; see https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/neatline/show/aerial-photographs-1.

Photographic images are among the most popular items in the archive. However, we have a large number of ‘mystery’ photos – individuals not identified, or places not identified – see https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/mystery-items. Andy Shaw has proven to be exceptionally talented at identifying places.  We did not think one aerial image of an industrial area could ever be identified but Andy managed it.

It is Dortmund, near the railway station, and he solved the mystery with the help of a more recent image of what is now a derelict area. “I am secretly very chuffed with this one! The wartime photo is of such a small area that I didn’t fancy my chances. However, I have got a perfect fit”, Andy commented.  So far, 438 aerial photos have been accurately positioned on a map and are accessible online.

Thank you, one and all! We could not have achieved so much without you.

Heather Hughes, Dan Ellin and Alex Pesaro

Editors’ note

Tilly Foster has started volunteering with the IBCC Digital Archive in 2019. She has gone from strength to strength, learning new skills and gaining industry-specific insights in the process. She’s currently managing a team of dedicated volunteers producing summaries of oral history interviews available. As a consequence, usability has significantly improved, and life stories are now fully discoverable. We welcome her first contribution as guest blogger with an insightful piece on reflective practice; needless to say, we wish Tilly every success in her career.

The editorial team

I first visited the International Bomber Command Centre in 2019 and as a public history student, I was most intrigued by the thoughtful approach to the divisive nature of Bomber Command through recognition, remembrance, and reconciliation. After completing my MA in September 2020, therefore, the IBCC was my top choice to approach with the hope of gaining practical experience in the heritage sector through volunteering.

Tilly Foster

Luckily, as the archive is completely digital, I was able to begin immediately after expressing my interest. My first task was to listen to a variety of oral history interviews and produce concise, user-friendly abstracts to accompany these on the archive.

This allowed me to transfer my existing academic writing skills while also complying with the in-house rules and maintaining an objective tone. After completing a few abstracts, I was trusted to upload these directly to the archive myself.

Jack Harris. The summary of his interview was one of the first pieces of work produced. https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/16650

In January 2020, I was offered the chance to take on additional responsibility as a volunteer coordinator, leading a small group of other volunteers producing oral history abstracts. This involves assessing the audio quality of interviews and allocating them appropriately to volunteers based on their skill, proofreading and uploading written submissions, and communicating helpful feedback.

The most challenging aspect of this role has been editing and providing appropriate feedback to the volunteers. My academic background has trained me to edit written work thoroughly. So, when my supervisor provided a practice abstract to edit and give feedback, I channelled my academic training and edited it to my usual standard, explaining the reasons behind each change. My supervisor warned me that despite my good intentions, this approach may come across as somewhat harsh to volunteers. Instead, they explained that it was important to be more encouraging to keep the experience enjoyable for volunteers, thereby safeguarding the important work they’re contributing to the archive. I immediately recognised how my initial feedback could be taken in the wrong way and altered my approach. I have since transitioned to using a ratio when feeding back to my team, incorporating three things done well and one suggestion of how to improve next time.

In this role, I have been able to work on practical leadership and management skills that aren’t taught at university. Most importantly, I’ve learnt to consider who I’m providing feedback to and then alter the content accordingly. There is a difference between proofreading a friend’s university essay under the instruction to be as honest as possible and providing constructive feedback to a volunteer who has opted to offer their valuable time to the archive. Volunteers are the backbone of heritage institutions, so it is incredibly important to keep them on board. As I hope to pursue a career within the heritage sector, I’m grateful to the IBCC for giving me the chance to learn this lesson early on.

Tilly Foster