The SquadronBulletinBoard

Here's a great new painting, by Keith Woodcock, of 150 crews and aircraft as they prepare for the raid on the Turin ball bearing works. If you are interested in buying a copy of this excellent piece of art, e-mail Steve Bond at S.J.Bond@city.ac.uk 

Click here for full size view

A Pilgrimage of Honour

For those of you who have read the book "Always Ahead" or if you have looked at the part of this site called The Bravery of Sgt. Pemberton, you will know that Nigel McTeer made a promise to his late father that he would place a poppy on the grave of his Dad's skipper, Sgt. G.G. Pemberton, who gave his life so that his crew could survive after being attacked by a night fighter over Lake Balaton, Hungary on April 3/4, 1944.

Nigel has done what he promised to do and has provided the following photo of his act of remembrance.

Archive Additions

Speaking of the archives, here's a photo that I guarantee that you won't see anywhere else. This is a photo of the wreck of Wellington LN 433 which crashed into Mt. Aetna on Sicily during the ferry trip from Oudna to Cerigmola on December 21, 1943. The photo was donated to us by the pilot Sgt J.B. Hayman along with a complete description of the event, complete with rescue by a Mafiosi boss! Bruce is now 80 and is still running his farm in New Zealand. Those who have read the book will know that we did not have this information when it was written and thus the story in our history may not be entirely accurate. Thanks Bruce for this wonderful shot of a terrible event.

The wreck of Wellington X LN 433 on Mt. Aetna in the snow -December 1943

Sgt. Bruce Hayman (RNZAF) - August 5, 1942 

Thanks to Nigel McTeer we have a great number of new photos to add to the website regarding the raid on the Manfred Weiss factory in Budapest on April 3, 1944. (see the Bravery of Sgt. Pemberton). We will be updating this story as soon as possible. Meanwhile here is one of the most incredible pictures in the archives - taken from the ground by an amateur photographer as the marker flares came down from the 205 Group aircraft, including Norm Hill's crew and Ray Sedger's crew who were illuminators that night. All of Ray's crew have passed on but Norm's crew still have a good proportion of the crew members still with us. Navigator Dusty Titheridge, Wireless Operator Bob Milford and Rear Gunner Billy Kilmister.Anti aircraft fire can be seen starting up on the left, which is in line with the combat reports that flak only started as the markers began their work.

On November 11th, 1999 a memorial wreath was laid at the centotaph in Perth, Ontario, Canada, in memory of all who served with 150 Squadron RAF. On November 23 a copy of "Always Ahead" was presented to the research library of The Hall of Rembrance at Branch 244 of the Royal Canadian Legion for the use of the general public and students who are looking for information. It was presented by the author, Paul Long and his Dad F/O John A. "Shorty" Long, RAFVR (retired). It was gratefully received by Mr. Bill Buffam, curator of the museum.

Paul and "Shorty" with book at Legion

In response to my request for photos of souvenir items from the squadron, Norm Grace of South Africa - Cliff Grace's son - sent in the following via his mother in Durban. Cliff was Norm Lord's Rear Gunner, and unfortunately passed away many years ago. Norm, his son, has been most generous in donating his father's wartime material to the 150 Squadron Archives.

Here are two pictures of the boxes that the Italians in Sorrento would make for RAF and allied aircrew who were on leave and then send home to loved ones. This one is particularly ornate, with Vesuvius erupting on the inside cover. It was quite incredible, given wartime conditions that almost all of these boxes did get back to those to whom they were sent. They are now a very valuable collectors item and we thank Norm for sending them in.

Here's another one from Norm - a photo frame made out of a piece of Wimpy airscrew, two .303 rounds and Plexiglas (Perspex) from a scrapped Wimpy. This is a very unique item. Thanks to Norm for these wonderful shots!

(photos: Mrs. C. Grace)

Anyone else out there with this sort of thing - please send them in - they are priceless in illustrating the stories in the book!

We have been so fortunate in locating information about either the current whereabouts or the post-squadron fate of many of the serving crews. There are some however that have disappeared into "thin air". If anyone can give us a lead on the following it would be most appreciated.

We have located Trevor Phipps in Australia, who is the son of Doug Phipps the W/Op on Tommy Thomas' crew. This was a long wait to complete the search started by my Dad. ( May 17, 2004)

F/S A. Bill Neale (R.A.F.) Bill was the Navigator in the Thomas crew. He was a policeman in civvy street.

P/O "Geoff" Wood - Geoff was the original gunner for the Thomas crew. He left the squadron in May 1944 to become Gunnery Leader on 70 Squadron.

We have specific research needs to find these people. Any help from anyone who visits this page would be most appreciated. Information on anyone who flew with 150 Squadron will help build our data base for an eventual history.

Just a clarification of ethics. We will never sell or give our mailing list to anyone for any reason. Should anyone want to contact a squadron member, get in touch with us and we will contact the member. If he agrees we will then give you the appropriate address and/or phone number. The privacy of our sources is of utmost concern to us. Also, we will not use your material on the website or in any publication without consent. If you do not wish material to be used in a public way, please tell us when you send in your stuff. Also we have a very, very good reputation for returning material quickly after we have copied it. However we cannot be responsible for the vagaries of Postal Service in any country, particularly those starting with "C" and ending with "a". We also will never solicit money or gifts from any source - your information is all we need or want.