Avro Lancaster

[CDF]

F/O. B. A. Buckham, of Penshurst (N.S.W.) in cockpit

Crew from left are F/Sgt. E. J. Holden, of Melbourne, F/O. R. W. Board, of Rose Bay (N.S.W.), F/O. E. H. Giersch, of Henty (N.S.W.), Sgt. W. Sinclair (R.A.F.), F/O. J. W. Muddle of Glouchester (N.S.W.), F/O R. A. Buckham of Penshurst (N.S.W.) and F/Sgt. L. J. Manning of Nelson's Bay (N.S.W.);

F/Sgt. L. J. Manning in the nose of aeroplane with bomb-sight; crew before taking off on a raid

Sgt. Sinclair and F/O. Giersch checking their oxygen masks in crew room before taking off;

F/O. Giersch in rear turret

F/O. Buckham at controls

Wing Commander W. A. Forbes (Hornsby, N.S.W.) and Pilot Officer Frank Miller (Brisbane, QLD.)

Forbes with Lady Moyniham after receiving the D.F.C.

Group-Captain Hugh Edwards, right, talking to F/Sgt. Widdup, of Balingup (W.A.),

[CDF]

Crew working on aeroplane, from left in foreground, Cpl. H. P. Ross, of Gloucester (N.S.W.), LAC J. Varis, of Perth (W.A.), Fl. Lt. B. L. Wilson, of Brisbane (Qld.), from left in background, Cpl. A. E. Ryan, of Queensland, LAC A. P. Williams, of Brisbane and LAC F. T. Mulholland, of Merriwa.

F/Lt H. R. Purser of Sydney gives the all clear for starting the motors of his Lancaster Der-tag

[CDF]

Crew from left, P/O. T. N. Scholefield, of Eulengo Cryon (N.S.W.), F/O. I. Hamilton, of Coatbridge, Lanark, F/Sgt. R. T. Hillas, of Frankston (Vic.), F/Sgt. F. E. Hughes, of Melbourne, Sgt. R. H. Burgess, of Cheshire,F/Sgt. K. E. Steart, of Sydney and Sgt. J. D. Wells, of Sidcup, Kent.

[CDF]

Australian crew of the first Lancaster Bomber to fly to Australia L-R: P/O Don Welaney, Flt./Lt. Alan Richie DFM, P/O E.M. Copley DFM, Flt./Lt. Peter Isaacson DFC AFM, captain of the plane, Flt. Sgt. A. F. Page, Flt/Lt. Robert Neilsen, Corporal Claude Spencer, Flt. Sgt. Joseph Grose.

G-George

Flt. Lt. Milton (Freddy) Smith, pilot, of Flagstaff Creek (Qld.) and Sgt. Ronald Wilkins, flight engineer, of Cardiff, Wales.

F/Sgt. Harry Tickle, the person responsible for maintenance of the "G for George's" remarkable record

[DH82EH]

Those are some great shots CDF!

Thanks very much for posting them.

Andy Scott

[Big Daddy]

Thanks for those wonderful images!!

Don

[SaxMan]

In the picture two below the one with Lady Moyniham - what is the significance of the two "ice cream cone" markings mixed in with the rest of the "bomb" mission markings?

[Mark V]

Fantastic photos! At the risk of stating the obvious - PO-S (R5868) survives to this day in the RAF Museum at Hendon, England.

[Richard W.]

In the picture two below the one with Lady Moyniham - what is the significance of the two "ice cream cone" markings mixed in with the rest of the "bomb" mission markings?

It was common practice in the RAF to use ice cream cones to represent missions over Italy.

I'd love to know why, but haven't ever come across an explanation.

[tankbarrell]

It was common practice in the RAF to use ice cream cones to represent missions over Italy.

I'd love to know why, but haven't ever come across an explanation.

Probably because many ice cream sellers were and indeed in the UK still are of Italian origin.

[CDF]

Flight Sergeant Harry Tickle of Adelaide, South Australia one of the ground crew of Lancaster bomber "G for George".

F/Sgt. R. M. Stanford, captain, of Adelaide (S.A.), F/Sgt. A. J. Jordon, of Melbourne (Vic.), Sgt. E. Judson (R.A.F.), of Halifax (U.K.), F/Sgt. G. K. Clarke, of Newcastle (N.S.W.) and Sgt. L. O. Griffiths (R.A.F.) of Leicester (U.K.).

Sgt. H. J. Long, of Adelaide, observer in "H for Harry" taking off his heavy flying clothing in the crew room after returning from a raid on Frankfurt

Sgt. D. A. Goldstone, of Ware, Hertfordshire (U.K.), air-gunner, being helped off with his flying suit by Sgt. P. James, of Port Talbot, (South Wales), who are members of the crew "N for Nan"

Section officer of the W.A.A.F. talking to two members of Lancaster crews in the interrogation room after a raid.

[Richard W.]

It was common practice in the RAF to use ice cream cones to represent missions over Italy.

I'd love to know why, but haven't ever come across an explanation.

Probably because many ice cream sellers were and indeed in the UK still are of Italian origin.

Thanks for explaining that. I had wondered if it might have had something to do with flying over the Alps.