WWII Royal Air Force Veterans' Signing Event – 20th November
As a tribute to the brave men who served with the RAF during WWII, we are delighted to be hosting some amazing aircrew at the UK Gallery to meet enthusiasts and sign items for collectors...
Our special guests include:
Flight Lieutenant RUSSELL ‘RUSTY’ WAUGHMAN DFC AFC Ld’H - volunteering for the RAF in 1941, he qualified as a Pilot and was posted to 101 (Special Duties) Sqn based at RAF Ludford Magna. He completed a full tour of 30 Operations on Lancasters including the Nuremberg raid on 30 March 1944 and survived several major incidents including a mid-air collision and having his Lancaster flipped upside down by an explosion whilst over the target at Mailly-le-Camp in France.
Warrant Officer ROY BRIGGS - as a Wireless Operator on Lancasters with 576 Sqn based at RAF Fiskerton, Roy completed 10 wartime missions including raids to Plauen and Bremen before taking part in Operation Manna. As the war in Europe ended he transferred to 156 Pathfinder Sqn.
Warrant Officer HARRY WINTER - after training as a WOp/AG he joined 427 Sqn on Halifaxes based at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire. On the night of 22nd October 1943 his aircraft was shot down near Hamelin in Germany by an Me110 Night Fighter and he spent the rest of the war as a PoW in Stalag Luft VII.
Corporal NORMAN GRIFFITHS Ld’H - Norman landed on Juno Beach D-Day +4, originally planned for +2. He was an armourer with the Norwegian Fighter Squadrons 331 and 332 operating Mk.IX Spitfires. The squadron operated under difficult conditions from the front line, using constantly changing makeshift airfields, until the Normandy breakout, then through Europe to Germany by the end of the war.
Leading Aircraftman BERT WESTGATE - having joined the RAF in 1943, Bert initially trained as a Lancaster rear gunner, then prior to D-Day was posted to Compton Bassett, a Radar and Radio training facility, to undertake tactical wireless operator training. He was then re-posted to Portland, Weymouth, in early June 1944 and crossed the channel to Omaha beach on D-Day +6 with American forces where he undertook radio van operator duties following the 21st Army Group through Normandy, France and into Belgium.
Watch this space for more names!!
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Entry is completely FREE, all we ask is that you RESERVE YOUR TICKET in advance to help us manage numbers and make it relaxed and comfortable for everyone.
Bookings are now being taken so please contact us to secure your place.
