Diary of Flying Officer Clifford Timothy O'Riordan, 1942-1943 - Part 4

August.

myself two sixpenny pies at Lyon's and

took them back to my room.

Why there is no organization to deal

with such matters is surprising.

Wednesday 19. They had a bit of a

party to-night at the Garrick. All

the class & Instructors. Very good

sing song. Had a fish supper

later at Hughies resturant.

Friday 21. Examination in morning.

Did all right 75%. Can get the 4.15

for London. To Regents Palace. Had

dinner at the Bristol and went along

to the 400 later.
Saturday 22. Saw Dickson at the bank.

Tells me that Badham & Triggs are on

survivor leave. Spent five days in a

dinghy & look well on it.

Went to Crackers Club. Saw Count

Doleman there as funny as ever. Tells

me Faulkiner is about. Lassie Morris

has finished his tour & is being posted

home. What luck. Went for a

pub crawl with him in Chelsea with

a naval bloke with a large beard.

August

Sunday 23. Met two of the lads at Church

& went to Regent for a couple of beers.

To the Sussex, (New Zealand house) & 

met Lassie. Went to a chinese place

for lunch where the Count shook us

with the description of his famous

victory over a balloon - confirmed.

Went to afternoon tea with him at

St James Court.

Monday 24. caught the 4. PM for York.

arrived 8 & went to bed early.

Tuesday 25. Arrived Breighton. saw Ian

Richardson & Shadie. My crew are on leave

again. Had two shaky do's while I was

on the course. Came back with wheels

& flaps down from Osnabruck & crashed on

drome. John OHalloran went on his first

op. Mick Dan joined the station during

my absence & also went. Two good cobbers

and fine blokes. Also heard that Foley went

from Bobbington. Some of the chaps just

here from Lichfield, McCullagh^†, Taylor^† &

Dillan^† told me that news of my death

was quite official at Lichfield & that

they had many a drink to me.

They Reckon that I owe them beer.

 

 

August

Wed 26. The atmosphere on this station

is grand. The work is done but there is no

bulls. In fact this station has the best

bombing record in the Group, also the highest

losses in percentage. The ground crew

are efficient & tireless. They take a

personal interest in every plane & its

a matter of pride with them, that our

serviceability is so high. AC's, NCO's &

Officers win readily & without embarrasment.

Today, I saw Bill Borill, (Fl/Lt & D.F.C.)

wrestling with a corporal and a crowd

of Erks looking on. Bill doesnt lose

their respect as he aught on a RAF

station, but gains it. The airmen

are fiercely democratic. A tale is told

of two Erks walking down a street in

York & were pulled up by a brown job

(Major) who ticked them off for not

saluting. One of them tapped the Major

on the shoulder & said "Look here mate

thats the sort of thing that lost Torbruk".

The other one said "Yes. Wouldnt it

up you?" and walked off leaving

the Major speechless.

Ops were cancelled at 5 so a liberty

August

bus ran to York. Went in with the boys

to Bettys bar. Havent seen so many blue

uniforms together since I left Australia.

Allan Richie came in from Snaith. He

is on leave & looks pretty bad. Got shot

up on his last trip & is very depressed

about all the chaps who are going. He

reeled off name after name and couldnt

cheer up. I think hes just about had

flying. Ian insisted

on introducing me to a dame called

"so what". 'So what' is the toughst

toughest piece of work Ive seen in

some time. The bus going 

back was packed with drunks singing.

Thu 27. P.T at 7.30 dont approve of that.

spent day cleaning guns. Got letter from

Syd. The boys went on ops in evening

to Cassel - only a few of us in

the mess. Jack Stanistreet & self

walked to local pub. Learnt that

John Holborangh is OK. Prisoner of war.

An air raid warning came as we were

walking home & we could hear the

sticks of bombs bursting some miles

away. An old yokel said cheerfully "Someones getting

it."

 

August

Friday 28. Two of the planes from our flight

missing from last nights op. Pretty sticky

show the boys say. On again tonight.

My crew back from leave but were not

on the roster. Have Had to take the job

of Gunnery leader & see that everything was

OK on take off. Got one gunner into

his aircraft at the end of the perimeter.

he had forgotten his 'mae west.' Waited

up for them returning, but found that

at 2 AM a diversion was being sent out

so went to bed.

Saturday 29. Dick Glamptons crew missing

from last night. Included P/O's Dillon &

Taylor. Eighteen chaps in two

nights is a lot. Cant seem to

realize that they are gone for keeps.

Expect to see them cycling around or

playing shove halfpenny & then you

remember they arent here.

Morale here is grand. There is

never a word spoken of how you miss your

cobbers. The dramatics of the films

are all the more laughable - the brave

young airman is killed. His comrades

gather round, solemn and misty eyed &

August

someone breaks an empty glass & says "a fine

fellow, he died for King & country", at which

everyone gulps & the weak sister breaks

down & is led away by the kind hands.

Im afraid the glass shortage wouldnt allow

this sort of thing, and at the rate the boys go,

there would have to be a permanent squad

of misty eyed comrades on duty each day

from 0900 hours to 2359.

Nevertheless they are remembered, but not sadly.

not for their deeds, but probably their misdeeds

which have a funny story attached. I dont

think they would wish it otherwise.

After which rather fine piece of 'macaulay'

Im going down for a beer.

Sunday 30. Duff weather. cloud & fog down to

the deck so nothing doing.

Monday 31st. Borbbingham sick so we have Pat

Boyle as pilot. Has only done one op as

skipper. Did some circuits & bumps &

practiced evasive action with him. Flies ok.

Tuesday 1st. Briefed for Cassel. Weather u/s &

cancelled at 11. PM.

Wednesday 2nd Ops Cassel. Inter com failure on

x for xray & couldnt get off in time. Crew

browned off.

 

September

Wednesday 2. Thursday 3rd. Stand down. Cycled

to the seven sisters with Stanistreet & Ron

Friend. Coming home in dark pranged

twice. We have a new W/C. decent

sort named Coffman.

Friday 4. Ops Bremen. Quietest trip Ive had.

A 50 mph gale helped us on way out but

pulled us back coming home. Huges fires

left burning. Hell of a lot of flak but none

close to us. The stooge home was

uneventful but long & tiring. Just 

missed the searchlights at Overflakee. Some

poor devil was getting it. Saw him

burst into flames a few minutes later out

at sea. The A.O.C. & Group Captain talked

to me for five minutes at interrogation.

Saturday 5. Stand down. Glad of it. Too tired

to be really efficient on second night. Cycled

with Stanistreet to Swan Inn. Struck Bill

Matchett^† & Robbie^†. Pranged three times

on way home in the dark.

Sunday 6th Got no communion. Briefing

at 11.P.M. Happy valley! Duisberg the target.

They tell me later that an intruder was

circling the drome during take off.

Got to coast in no time. Cloud at

September

5000. Crossed Dutch coast without seeing it.

Went straight to target which was clear, but

nothing happening. Stooged around for ten

minutes & then the pathfinders dropped

their flares & we went in & dropped our

bombs right on our pinpoint. Then the 

activity started. About a hundred searchlights

came on & the flak started to pour up.

We nipped out right smartly. Thirty miles 

from Duisberg I could see the fires &

heavy explosions. Lots of cloud coming

back & didnt have any trouble. Got

into the balloon barrage on the humber

& put my umbrella on ready to jump.

Got out OK & though vis was nil got

to base at 5 AM. Stanistreet was rear

gunner in S for Sugar & got shot up by

a night fighter. They got back to

England & crash f landed down south.

His wounds are in the legs so Im

hoping hes OK. Lindo told

me at interrogation that Jim Crockett

had bailed out of a Hallie at Elsham

& was OK. They cant hurt the great

Jamie Crockett.

 

 

September

Monday 7. Briefing at 4 PM. Gardening trip.

We were taken off at last minute and a crew

fresh from leave took our Kite. Bit sorry.

Theres future in gardening..

Tuesday 8. N.F.Ts in morning. Briefed at 6

for Frankfort. Took off at 8. just near

the French coast I called up on inter com

that there was a flare behind us. They

yelled back that they couldnt hear me.

I disconnected & wiped the plug & tried

again. no joy. Even when I yelled they

could barely hear me. No good carrying

on so turned back. Lots of searchlight

activity. Landed with our bomb load

rather heavily. Skidded off runway & bounced

across the field. The rear tire collapsed

& she bumped even harder before coming

to rest. A bit shaky. Boyle OK.

Wednesday 9. Stand down. Took bus to

York & went to Bettys Cafe.

Thursday 10. Nothing doing to-day. Servicing

trouble. Ron Friend & self are the only

two chaps left in our hut. Since I

reported back here on the 25^th of August

- sixteen days, seven P/Os have gone for

a burton from this hut. Dick Elrington,

September

Tom Parsons, Norm Taylor, Penfold, Jack Stanistreet

Bill Dillon. Certainly no future in this

business. Some of them may be prisoners

or wandering around France. I hope so, but

its but a faint hope. No one could have got

out of any of the aircraft Ive seen hit the

deck. Its a great pity because every

one of these chaps would stand out in a

crowd. Got my laundry back. Have

it done at a local farm & it doesnt look

much cleaner than when I sent it away.

Friday 11. Briefed at 3.P.M for Dusseldorf. Took

off at 6.30. Going over the Channel, when we

got to oxygen height, my intercom started to

play up again. It was tested to-day and

found perfect. Robbie came down to the

tail & changed helmets with me. It

didnt fit me, & the mask cut my nose, but

it worked properly. We couldnt hear a

word from Robbie for the rest of the trip.

Went through the usual searchlights

& flares on the way to the target. Pat

kept her weaving like a seagull & no

flak came near us. Dusseldorf itself

was frightfully bright. I didnt count

them, but there must have been at

 

September

least seven hundred searchlights. We

stooged around outside for awhile &

located our pin point. The pathfinder's

flares were very distinct & we dived

in & through the muck, dropping

our bombs at the right spot. Took

us about ten minutes to shake the

searchlights, though we never got

coned. Saw a FW190 cross our

beam but he was after someone else

& we dived away. Partial cloud

cover to the coast where it thickened.

Didnt see the coast & just wh went

straight on for what seemed like an

age. Came down under the cloud

& saw land. Werent quite sure whether

it was Germany or England till we saw 

a beacon.

Saturday 12. Briefed at 6PM for Wilhelmshaven

Norm Simpson^† our front gunner went

to Hospital to-day & Bill Matchett our

observer has been grounded for awhile.

He hasnt been looking too well for

a while. Dont blame him. This job

gets a mans nerves more than anything

I know. Its not so much the

September

flak when its coming at you, or even hitting

you. Then you feel strangely calm if

not cheerful. Its waiting for it to

happen, for hour on end. When an

aircraft is reported, & you cannot recognize

it, you assume it's an enemy coming

in to attack. If it proves friendly,

you are relieved, but you are waiting &

straining for the next one which might

come, in five seconds, five minutes,

an hour, or not at all. Robbie

the WOP is also a bit done in.

We got Ron Friend to come as navigator

& I got a mid-upper gunner at 5.45. one

Johnson, as front gunner. It was

trip no 1 for both of them. We

set off in the truck in our gear for

the planes, & then a vēry light

showed red. Group had cancelled the

operation. Got on my bike

with Friend & went to the local for

a couple of beers. We go on leave

to-morrow.

Sunday 13. Got to communion. Caught

the 12.30 for London, getting in at 6.30.

Met Trav Falkiner at the Regents

 

September

Palace. He bought me a drink, as

he thought Id gone. That bloody

ro rumour seems pretty widespread.

Monday 14. Met the gang, Trav Falkiner

Llyle Skipper & his pilot (he's on beans)

Rod Maund, Ron Friend, and Peter Jackson,

(who was Stanistreets pilot & looks like

getting a gong.) We went to

the Codgers, an Aussie hangout, & met

Lockie McDonald an Australian journalist,

& Alf King, another one. Went to the

Poole Golf School & tried to swing golf

clubs at balls into a net. After trying

very seriously to show my style, & missing

the ball altogether, someone said "ORiordan

that was just a drunken lurch." I went

onto my dignity, so it must have been.

Had dinner at a Chop Suey joint

& finished at the 400 Club.

Wed Tuesday 15. Trav, Skipper Maund & self

visited Miranda's club in the afternoon,

& went to see Holiday Inn at night.

Wednesday.16. Put Jack on the train

a couple of days late, but it was

a grand re-union. Saw Ron, & he

tells me that Peter got his D.F.M. good

September

show.

Thursday 17. Did a quiet wander around

Petticoat Lane. Most extraordinary place.

The city is chock full of Yanks, who seem

particularly well behaved. Im afraid

that airmen are the noisiest crowd in

London, & Im afraid our own bunch top

the score. I have yet to see an objectionable 

one. yet Whatever they do in

drunken exhuberance, usually has a touch

of imagination in it e.g. Taking a

plucked bird with a very long neck in

a paper parcel into the Regent Palace

Lounge, unwrapping it, and unconcernedly

& without a trace of self consciousness,

quietly order a couple of beers. Where

did they get the coupons? or didnt they

need them. Went along

to the Bristol Grill in the evening &

ran smack into Bill Orondoff. He

told me he had just arrived back

from the Continent per hoof. I must

have looked skeptical, because he

produce a bunch of Dutch French

& Gibraltar money & gave me a

ticket of the Metro underground in Paris

 

September

He told me that the crew got shot

up at Saarbrucken & one engine caught

on fire, so the crew bailed out. He

made his way right through France &

Spain & got to Gib. Some lad!

We had quite a few spots together.

Saturday 19. Feel pretty crook. maybe getting

a cold or perhaps its the weeks dissipation

finally catching up on me. Said

good-bye to Dickson at the Bank, a hell

of a good chap, & went to lunch at

the Café Royal. Not so good. Caught

4 train to York & bus to Bubwith.

Arrived during an air raid alarm. Dumped

my bag & the pub & walked to Breighton.

Found a letter from Jack awaiting

me. Bags of news about the family.

It was grand, but Im sorry to

hear about Uncle Paddy a grand old

fellow if ever there was one.

Sunday 20. Raining all day. Find that

our crew are going to Breighton Holme

to convert to Halifaxes. More circuits

and burials. Hell! Met

Shade, Richardson & Matchett & walked

to the local. Got the sad news

September

that my old cobber Jim Crockett has bought

it. Drank his health heartily & during

it said a few prayers for him. Wrote to

his Dad when I got back.

Monday 21. Across to Holme. Comfortable

quarters and nice mess. Much more

orderly, luxurious & not half as happy

as Breighton. Went across to flights

& told the flight sergeant instructor Id

give him a hand with the lads. There

was a diagram on a blackboard which

rather intrigued me. it was like this -

[Diagram - see original document]

I asked him what it was & he said. -

"Its a diagram of an air gunners brain,

by a lecturer after lecturing them an hour.

Heard young Ron Gooding got knocked

down by a bus & is in hospital. Fracture Skull.

 

September

Wednesday 23. Circuits & bumps. Bribbingham

& instructor. I saw a fire near

Tadcastle in a field & thought it was

a hayrick. Turns out that J.Falkiner^†

hit the deck. I was only talking to

him at breakfast this morning & telling

him all about Trav Falkiner in London.

He was a decent bloke & had just

got his Flight Lieut & couple of days ago.

Only four in the plane fortunately.

Went to Sergeants mess for a party.

Sitting at a table for ten with Johnson

sitting behind on the floor. Noisy party,

& when a chap came on to sing comic

songs they had to be quietened. Jack

Panos (the galloping Greek) was telling me.

a most amusing account of his last leave,

but the funniest part of the evening was

Johnson standing up to see what was

going on. He was dignified & not quite

steady on his feet. After listening

to the singer for a minute, he quietly

turned around & began most seriously

to read D.R.O's. It was an

unconscious, but most supreme criticism

of the show, as they say: that Johnson

September

has never read Daily routine orders before

in his life.

Thursday 24. Waiting around in flights

all day but no kites serviceable. Got

into a crap game & won three quid.

Know I'll have to lend it out again.

Heard that Jake, my old pilot had got

an immediate D.F.C for a good show the other

night. Maybe I should have stuck with

him & collected a gong too. I dont

worry about gongs. The only one I want

is the returned soldiers medal.

Friday 25. A really lovely day. Lay in the

sun outside flights all morning. In

afternoon, on circuits & burials with Jackson

& Grant. Jackson landed her OK once &

then Grant took over. We landed at

Breighton if you can call it that.

I could feel the plane swinging as

we came in. She hit, bounced, &

swerved. The next thing we were off

the runway at almost right angles

& careering across the fields. He

gave her the gun, but she wouldnt 

lift. Next thing we hit a gun

pit & PRANG! The undercart collapsed

 

September

& she did a ground loop. The

props broke off when they dug in

the ground & she came to rest with

the engines shovelling soil. I got

out of my turret right smartly &

tried to open the bulkhead door but

it was jammed. I yelled to Peter & he

told me to get out myself & that

the others were O.K. I hopped out

& the others got out the escape hatch.

No one hurt except the engineer who

was knocked out & quickly recovered.

The ambulance took him away.

They generally burn when they hit 

like that, & I reckon were lucky.

Not lucky so much. The three 'hail 

marys' I say every time I take off,

I am perfectly sure saved us.

There were hundreds around in no

time, including a little mechanic who

said "Coo Sir! werent you in the one

that pranged the other night with 

bomb load on? You must have a

Gremlin on your shoulder". I said

"thats right. But there are two gremlins.

The one on the left shoulder gets me

September

into these scrapes, but the one on my

right shoulder pulls me out of them."

Walked across to the mess to have

afternoon tea. In the ante room two

chaps were playing shove ha'penny and one

of them was looking for a rag or

anything to wipe the chalk off the

previous score. He finally spied

Wallace. Wallace is a new addition

to the mess, a lovely little brown & white

kitten about six weeks old. He is the

pet of the mess & has his own little

saucer near the fire place, & always

sits in the most comfortable chair.

Wallace was used as a duster &

looked as if he had dandruff.

Caught the bus back to Holme &

came to bed early, but have spent an

hour writing a fortnight of this diary

which is getting rather voluminous. I

jot down in my own shorthand, events of

the days in a pocket diary, & then write

them up later when I can read them.

Saturday 26. Going back to Breighton in the

morning. Con flights dance. Not a bad show.

An AC from the orderly room sang a couple