REMEMERING THE GROUND CREWS

Pathfinder Ground Crews were without question an amazing band of brothers & sisters working in all sorts of weather conditions throughout the airfields covering vital duties, working tirelessly together carrying out around the clock shift work without any fuss or bother knowing full well how  important it was to keep the squadrons aircraft in tip top shape for the bomber crews to fly night after night to mark & bomb  countless enemy targets. This section of the Squadron website pays tribute the ground crew personnel who were stationed at RAF Downham Market.

Painting by Artist Robin Smith 

A lovely painting by aviation artist Robin Smith who has captured two Avro Lancaster Mk.III bombers at their dispersal points with ground crew personnel carrying out vital checks and repairs to the bombers before the armourers arrive to skillfully load the mix payload of T.I.s and bombs into the Lancasters massive bomb bay.

A great photograph of a Waaf directing a bomb trolley with 4000lb cookie blast bomb.  Photograph from Squadron Leader Howard Lees. Senior Photographic Officer for Pathfinders HQ.

                                                      

 635 Squadron Ground Crew & Amourers Pose for a photograph on the bomb trolley is a 4000lb Cookie blast bomb. Guy standing far right is R. Cousins other not known. Photograph from Bexwell Church.

 
Another Photograph from the Bexwell Church Collection.
635 Squadron Armourers, In this photo are G. Townsend and Harry Freeman they are belivered to be on the left of the photo.
 

635 Squadron ground crew & Armourers take five to have this great photograph of them sitting on the tail plane of their Lancaster F2 B 'Beer'.  Left to right: A. Cousins, A. Bines, unknown, unknown. Photo from Bexwell Church.

 

  

Classic Ground crew photo while the chaps pose sitting on one of the Lancaster J 'Jean'. In this photo are A. Cousin, Robbie Robbins, A. Bines. Photo from Bexwell Church.

  

Great 635 Squadron Ground Crew photograph with the chaps posing in the cockpit of a 635 Squadron Lancaster. Notice the Bee sitting on a bomb nose art painted by G. Townsend & A. Cousins who are looking out the cockpit window, sadly who ever took this photo missed the chap sitting on top of the cockpit. The chap sitting on the nose of the Lanc is not known. Photo from Bexwell Church. 

 

 

635 Squadron Ground crew team who looked after the Lancasters of 635 Squadron Pilots Squadron Leader Ian W. Bazalgette, Wing Commander Pat Connolly & Flight Lieutentant 'Red' Henson. Photo taken in the summer of 1944 at Oakwoods dispersals, RAF Downham Market. Photo from Mid-Upper Gunner Flight Lieutenant Ken Harder DFM with the Connolly crew.

 

635 Squadron Ground Crew who looked after Lancaster F2 E. 'Egg' which was flown by  Pilot's Squadron Leader Artie Ashworth & Master Bomber Squadron Leader Peter Mellor. Taken at Oakwoods dispersal at RAF Downham Market May 1945.

 
Ground crew check over the massive 10000lb blast bomb, loading this beast of a bomb up into the bomb bay of a Lancaster will take a skilled crew of armourers upto 30 minutes owing to the complex configeration of the payload.
Two Ground crew chaps check the bomb while another two walk the wings of the Lancaster checking fuel tank levels. 
 
 

635 Squadron ground crew who were assigned to looking after Lancaster F2 W 'Willie, which had the nose art of a Merlin Wizzard. Far right is Leading Aircraftman Norman Perkins next to Robbie Robbins, Jim Brown.

   

Photo from & taken by Leading Aircraftman Norman Perkins.

 

 

 

Ground crew armourers slowly tow a 10000lb blast bomb, passing two 500lb bombs. Ahead of them is a stock of Target indicators. The track bends to the right past a fusing hut. Photo from Rear Gunner Pilot Officer Jack Catford. 

 

At the Bomb Dump Ground crew armourers put the tail fins onto two 500lb bombs. In the back ground a convoy of 4000lb Cookie blast bombs await to be towed to one of the many fuse huts before being towed to the main dispersal area 'Oakwoods at RAF Downham Market . 

 

For the ground crew the only form of transport around the airfield was by push bike. Left is Leading aircraftman Harold Beecham who worked on the Lancasters  fitting and fixing the Wireless operators sets. Other person unknown. The hut in the behind them is their living quarters. Photo from the Beecham Family album. 

 

Harrold Beecham  and his 635 Squadron ground crew buddies all pose for a group photograph. Photo from the Beecham family

Operation Manna during May 1945 saw the ground crews loading food parcel instead of bombs to be dropped over locations in Holland to feed the starving Dutch. 

Groundcrews busy getting the Lancaster's ready.

 

 

MORE PHOTOS TO BE ADDED

ANYONE WITH ANY 635 SQUADRON GROUND CREW PHOTOS WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO ADD THEM TO THIS WEBSITE.

PLEASE CONTACT PATHFINDER PUBLISHING ON

01733 324433 OR EMAIL US AT: mail@635squadron.com

THANKYOU