East Africa

Chapter 4 - Part 1: The Abyssinian Campaign (Jan 1941 - Feb 1942)

Although capital of the country, all I remember of Addis at that time was the Emperor's palace which...

Chapter 7 - Staff Job East Africa Command (Aug 1942 - Jan 1943)

The net result of sleepless nights and wet towels was that I finished up with a Divisional EAEME strength...

Chapter 4 - Part 2 - Addis Ababa

Pre war, the Italian Artillery officers stationed in Addis had been keen polo players and there were still...

My Father's Life in the RAF in 1941-6 and 1950-5

At that time the squadron was equipped with Hawker Hurricane MK IID's which was developed for low level...

Two Blenheim Pilots in the Family

Uncle Tommy, Sergeant Alfred William Swinburne 'Tommy' THOMAS 562935 born in Plymouth, joined the...

A Quiet Night Watch in Mombasa!

Snake valley was a 'flying boat' base crammed between the jungle and the sea near Mombasa in...

'Journey of the Globetrotters' by Dennis March

The Officer was Major Lowe, a daredevil type of man and Sergeant King, the most notorious N.C.O. in the...

Part 10 Goodbye to Cape Town

Egypt eventually appeared, at least it was solid land, but now flies added to the discomfort of the daytime...

Wartime Diary (February 1942)

Took taxi into town with ……, Ted and Cliff. Ted, Frank, Cliff, Bernard and I on the Christian...

Reminiscences of a Veteran Sapper - 2

After a short stay at Gilgil I was included in a group of Sappers sent as replacements to the 16th Field...

Chapter 2 - Liverpool to Nairobi via South Africa and Egypt (Aug - Oct 1940)

At Capetown we had disembarked all the Indian Army officers and all the QAs that we had brought from home,...

Chapter 3 - Nairobi to Marsabit - Getting used to East Africa (Oct 1940 - Jan 1941)

Equally early on Saturday Major Stringer, with all my gear in his truck and Muindi on top of everything set...

Memories of a Lovely Lady

This was the first use of the new German radio controlled bomb and with hits on one battleship and one...

A Journey to the Unknown

When night came we could see lights from towns on the South African shore, first at Port Elizabeth and the...

Madagascar

Rakoto told me later that there was a yearly ceremonial by lower-cast tribes who chose a young girl to...

Chapter 5 - Relaxation and a Bit More Responsibility (Mar 1942 - June 1943)

The group of buildings was "the hotel". It consisted of a very spacious bungalow with a veranda all...

Chapter 6 - Madagascar (June - Aug 1942)

Out of Mombassa on the 20th July, the five of us were the only passengers of the good ship...

Memories of the RAF: First Africa and Then Berlin

We flew from England, via the Bay of Biscay to Morocco in North Africa, then across to Cairo in Egypt....

Serving with the ATS in 1942-46 by Joyce Scott (nee Bucklow)

I met my long-time friend Joan on Stockport station in June 1942 and we were posted to Droitwich in...

Travelling to and from East Africa in Wartime

In the second World War I travelled twice by sea as a civilian to and from East Africa where my husband was...

War memories of Somalia

However, we had many nationalities in the camp; we had English; French; South African; and Italian...

Reminiscences of a Veteran Sapper - 1

No doubt there are many others who can tell quite a different story and who experienced very different...

A cold and hot war-Part Two

The aircraft flew convoy protection patrols over the Indian Ocean. Once a lioness gave birth on the...

Mum and WW2

As a child. she was very scared at night, after putting up the "Black curtians" for the purpose of...

Mending Aeroplanes in the Sudan.

I signed on as a navigator, but was given a medical, and found to be colour blind,. I went to the Uxbridge...

African Childhood Memories of World War 2

The personal account of a gentleman, who was in Kenya, Mombasa during the Second World War. He was born on...