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Home , Allied Museum, Berlin Infantry Brigade, Freddie Laker, RAF Gatow

NEWSLETTER No.39 Website:- www.bbaa-airlift.org.uk Formed 9th September 1994 December 2013

Chairman, Geoffrey W. Smith Committee: Secretary: Mrs Hannah Angel. Treasurer: Mrs Janet Howard Media & Website: Colin R. Cottle, David Hildred: NMA Laison & Ceremonial

Editor:- Geoff Smith. 12 Tyesdale Court, Bretton, THE CHAIRMANS COLUMN Peterborough PE3 9XZ. Tel:- 01733 262599 Introduction. Email:- [email protected] Website:- www.bbaa-airlift.org.uk Tempelhof Airport: The people of are delighted with their new, yet old-established recreation area. The former Tempelhof airport is now a public park. Not for the first time in its history. Originally the Tempelhofer Feld was a parade ground. At the weekends and on public holidays, as soon as the military cleared from the site, the locals would come along in their thousands to Tempelhof to enjoy their leisure time. Whole families would come with their baskets full of food, deckchairs and sunshades to have picnics there. BBAA Website: The BBAA Website has now had more than 10,650 hits. The numbers of people looking at the site in the last twelve months have increased rapidly. We now receive numerous enquiries and complimentary comments via this route. Several people have said that they find it very informative & most useful when looking for information & details about the Berlin Airlift. Fassberg Berlin Airlift Museum. We have heard from Paul Hicks ,the Curator at the Fassberg Berlin Airlift Museum that they have been closed for the winter period. The museum had more than 8,500 visitors in 2012 and the construction works for the new car park has now been completed and is ready for the start of the 2013 season. The museum has also appointed a new Liaison officer, Malcolm Cross who will also be involved in finding participants for the TREATY exercises to be held at Fassberg The , Berlin: A report from Herr Bernd Von Kostka at the Allied Museum in Berlin says that the Handley-Page Hastings they have on display at the Museum was cleaned and repainted last year. They are looking forward to seeing BBAA members in 2014 for the 65th Anniversary of the end of the . Remembering the 28th June 1948: The 28th June 2013 was the 65th anniversary of the start of the British contribution to the Berlin Airlift when Dakota aircraft flew from RAF Wunstorf in the British Zone to RAF with supplies for Berlin. We were hoping that we could have marked the occasion with a Remembrance Ceremony at the BBAA Memorial located at the National Memorial Arboretum, but with the improvement works now under way there, this Ceremony was notTHE possible. CHAIRMAN’S COLUMN Air Service, Berlin may replace the crashed DC3 Dakota: Air Service - Berlin are hoping to raise the necessary funds to be able to replace the Dakota that crashed on the 19th June 2010 at a construction site at Berlin Schoenefeld. The replacement Dakota would be from Air Atlantique based at Coventry and funds to help buy the aircraft are being supported by the Berlin retailer KA-DE-WE selling 1,000 stuffed Teddy Bears dressed in a Air Service Berlin uniform.

Geoffrey W. Smith. Chairman. ======

THE COMMITTEE WISH ALL MEMBERS OF THE BBAA A MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR Page 122 BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION . WEEKENDSecretary’s REUNION Notes 2014 The Weekend Reunion will be held at the St John’s Hotel, Solihull, near Birmingham from Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st September 2014 If another application form is required please contact Janet Howard at 80 Park Street, Kings Cliffe, Peterborough PE8 6XN. A booking form will also be published on the BBAA Website at www.bbaa-airlift.org.uk. ————————————————————————————–———————————————————— SUBSCRIPTIONS Members are reminded that subscriptions are due on the 1st January Inside This Issue each year. The Annual Rate is now £15.00, wherever situated. Chairman’s Column - Page 1. Cheques should be made payable to the BBAA and sent to:- New BBAA Secretary, Mrs Hannah Angel - Page 2. The BBAA Treasurer, Mrs Janet Howard, Weekend Reunion 2014 - Page 2 80 Park Street, King’s Cliffe, Subscriptions - Page 2. Peterborough PE8 6XN BBAA Email Database - Page 2 However, if you wish to pay by Bankers Order. The details are as A Soldier’s Airlift by G.V. Freeman - Page 3. follows:- Vince Gavin - An appreciation - Page 3. Payable to: Berlin Airlift. On the Fringe - Terry Crowley - Page 4.. British Berlin Airlift Association. Proposed redevelopment of the BBAA Memorial site at the National Memorial Arboretum, - Page 5. Bank:- Lloyds/TSB Bank PLC Maidenhead. May 12th 2014 - 65th Anniversary in Berlin - Page 5 Account No. 1223532 Legasee 65th Anniversary event at Flixton - Page 5 Sort Code: 30-95-36 Centre Spread Photo’s - Pages 6/7. —————————————————————————————— BBAA Shop details - Page 8. EMAIL DATABASE 2012 Annual General Meeting at Horwood House - Page 9 An evening at RAF Brize Norton - Page 9. We have now set up a database of members Email addresses and Derek Roskell - An Appreciation - Page 9 telephone numbers. This will enable us to contact members more Aircraft & Airbases Booklet - Page 10. easily and also help to reduce the cost of mailing letters etc. 10 Years of the BBAA & Briefing Booklets - Page 10 Many members have indicated their willingness to be included in the National Memorial Arboretum Appeal Fund and database. Customer Service volunteers required - Page 10 If you are willing to have your Email address on our database would Royal Air Force Station Gatow, Berlin - A brief history you please contact Colin Cottle the co-ordinator. of the British Airlift Airbase - Pages 11/12 His Email address is: [email protected] ————————————————————————————————————————————————– BRIEFING BOOKLET We have upgraded our popular Briefing Booklet on the Berlin Airlift. It is now 16 pages and includes photos of the BBAA Memorial at Alrewas, together with some of the British Airlift aircraft. It also includes details of Berlin Airlift museums and lists the British and Commonwealth casualties. The cost is £3.00 each, ————————————————————————————————————————————————– NEW BBAA SECRETARY: We welcome our new Secretary, Mrs Hannah Angel who has taken over from John Collier. John was a founder member of the Association and had been the Association Secretary for many years, having taken over the position for a second time during the past few years. Hannah, whose late husband Raymond was a loyal supporter of the British Berlin Airlift Association and both of them have attended many of the BBAA events both un the UK and in . Our thanks to John for his contribution and also his knowledge of Airlift history and we wish him well and a speedy recovery from his recent medical problems.

OBITUARIES Derrick Roskell - Gatow - FMA - Flight Lines - Died 26th February 2013 Ken P. Petrie - Buckeburg, Schleswigland - RASC/RASO - Died 22nd February 2013. Jack Simpson - Schleswigland - Pilot Hastings aircraft - Died June 2013. Ervin John Eddy - Lubeck - Pilot No. 10 Squadron - Died July 2013. Vincent Gavin - Wunstorf/Fassberg/Lubeck - Signaller No. 62 & 27 Squadrons - Died July 2013. Alain Jackman - Wunstorf - F/Eng - Halton aircraft - British American Air Services - Died July 2013 Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss KCB KBE FRAeS - Wunstorf - Navigator - No 59 Sqn - Died 15th September 2013 Page 3 11 BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION A SOLDIER’S BERLIN AIRLIFT By G.V. Freeman - 1st Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers. In 1947 the Battalion was stationed outside Dűsseldorf in Germany. We were stationed at a place called Hübbel­ rath, in a former German Flak Kaserne (Anti Aircraft Barracks). Here we did all things relevant to the daily duties of a Infantry Regiment until one day I was told to report to the Regimental Sergeant Major’s office. He said “Pack your kit, you are off to Heidelberg attached to the U.S. Army Headquarter’s Euro command.” I was to be a Driver to Major J.R.Orr Royal Welch Fusiliers who was the British Army Liaison officer to the U.S. Army. We were not aware at the time that big manoeuvres were taking place, so we had advance warning of what was to come. On our return to our Regiment we were then posted to Berlin and settled down to the routine of army life in the city. The Russian soldiers that we met were a hostile suspicious lot. There was no at this time although the city was divided into four sectors, American, French, British and Russian (Soviet). When the Berlin Blockade began we now realised that we were cut off from the three Western zones, British, French and American. All entry and exit points were closed except which we all knew about. We got used to many aircraft flying overhead, Dakotas, Vikings, Yorks and Skymasters and I believe that there were some rare Tudor aircraft as well. I flew out of and back to Berlin as a Courier on a Skyways Dakota. The weather during the winter of 1948 was simply terrible and I believe that there was a number of aircraft crashes. Russian Yak fighters beat up our barracks to let us know that they knew where we were. When the Airlift finished were were posted overseas and I finished my regular service by being flown home in a Skyways “York” transport aircraft from Kingston in Jamaica with other troops due for “demob” . We flew home via a stopover in Gander, Newfoundland and eventually landed at Bovingdon airfield in the U.K. I was then demobbed at Woking in Surrey with 57 days Demobilisation pay and overseas pay. ————————————————————————————————————————————————— Vince Gavin - Died July 2013 Vince was born 90 years ago, in rural County Armagh, and left school at the age of fourteen. After a succession of farming jobs and factory type stuff, he came to England in 1940, as the Second World War was creating more opportunities for a young man with his back- ground than his native Ulster. He blagged a job as a tipper driver following the bombing of Coventry and a career in transport was born. Vince joined the Royal Air Force on his 19th birthday in December 1941 (retiring exactly 26 years to the date later), as a ground-based trainee signaller. Through hard work, decent exam results and sheer doggedness, he obtained a transfer to aircrew, over the years rising through the ranks to become a Master Signaller and Warrant Officer. Along the way serving in India, Burma, Egypt and Arabia –as well as many parts of the UK and . His proudest work achievement was being actively involved in the Berlin Airlift in the late 40’s, effectively keep- ing Berlin within the West. After retiring in 1967, he spent some time as a Radio Officer in the Merchant Navy – before his wife Mary re- minded him that with six children at home to look after, she could do with a little help. Vince spent the rest of his working life with Lloyds Bank in Hull and Cottingham, finally retiring for good in the mid - eighties. He regarded himself as a very lucky man, for living the life that he had, in many of the places he’d been sent to by the RAF. His wife, children and grandchildren though regard themselves as the fortunate ones, for being able to share much of that long, long life with him. And finally, despite the deeds and the locations, Vince’s proudest achievement in life– and we know he’s looking down right now with that smile (and ever present moustache) on his face–was the whole of his family. As Mary says: “There was only ever one of him ======Page 124 BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION THE BERLIN AIRLIFT - ON THE FRINGE. By Terry Crowley I had been in the Royal Air Force for two years and had qualified as a Aircraft Engine Fitter. It was April 1948 when I was sent to my first operational airfield in Norfolk, East Anglia. When I had settled in I reported to a specific hangar to carry out major engine overhauls on Avro Lancaster aircraft. In the middle of June I was notified that I had to report to RAF Burtonwood situated near to Manchester. No one seemed to know why I had been uprooted again, but I soon discovered that many of the new arrivals at Burtonwood were all Aircraft Technicians. The explanation for this came when we were told to muster on the parade ground. A senior officer addressed us, explaining that we were to travel to Germany and would be posted to various airfields in the British Zone in preparation for a possible crisis. He explained that there were clerks sitting at tables in the Airmen’s Mess ready to issue the necessary documents for us to travel to Germany and to a hold- ing unit in the British Zone. I stood in line at the table marked “C” for surnames beginning with that initial. “What is all the fuss about”? I asked the clerk. He shrugged his shoulders and replied. “All I know is that you are to go to Germany and report to RAF Guterslöh. Here are all your documents, pack all your kit and draw a .303 rifle from the Armoury and wait at the Guardroom for transport to the railway station.” Within a few hours I had arrived at Harwich, Essex for transportation by troopship to the Hook-of-Holland. Little did I realise that I would be travelling on the London Underground carrying a .303 Service issue rifle. I boarded a Troopship and found a spare bunk for the night. Fortunately the North Sea remained calm and I arrived at the Hook-of-Holland ready for what was to be a long train journey to RAF Guterslöh. The next morning found me on another train heading for . My final destination I hoped would be RAF Utersen. This was achieved and what a pleasant surprise it was. The barrack blocks were a revelation. Two airmen to a room, double-glazed windows and hospital type beds. A further surprise awaited me when I reported for duty at the hangar. The RAF was and possible still is full of surprises. Inside the hangar was an low-wing monoplane fitted with twin radial air-cooled engines, two Percival Proctor aircraft fitted with single Gypsy Major in-line engines, also some other low- wing monoplanes and an Auster V high-wing aircraft fitted with a flat-four Lycoming air-cooled engine. Making furher enquiries via the team of technicians I was informed that I was now a member of No. 85 Group Communications Flight. Later, when welcomed by our Commanding Officer (Flight Lieutenant) he informed me that I should not be taken in by the small number of aircraft at the Station. He went on to explain that RAF Utersen was to be used as a diversion airfield to meet the possible needs of the looming crisis in Berlin. ——————————————————————————————————————————————– ANNUAL RE-UNION 2014. The 2014 Re-Union is to be held from Thursday 18th September to Sunday 21st September. The Committee has been able to book the St John’s Hotel near Solihull, this hotel is part of the Principal- Hayley Group whom we have used several times recently. Our reason for choice of venue is easy access by road and rail and having visited the hotel we are satisfied with the facilities and location. We are mindful of costs and will try and keep the price of the weekend as near as possible to those charged in 2013. On Friday coaches will be organised to take us to visit Stratford upon Avon and possibly Warwick. On Saturday we propose to visit the National Arboretum Memorial where plans are underway to hold in the Chapel a 65th Anniversary Commemoration Service to recognise the end of the Berlin Blockade in 1949. After the service there will be free time to look around what has now become an excellent visit for many people and for those who find it difficult to walk far, the Arboretum now has a small train which will take you around the site. If you have visited the NMA before you will know that in The Visitor Centre there is a Restaurant where a meal or light snacks can be purchased. On Sunday morning the 21st September the Annual General Meeting will take place. The Committee sincerely hope that you will be able to join them at this Re-union and will send out Booking Forms in the New Year. ======Page 115 BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM Proposed BBAA Site Redevelopment In the BBAA Newsletter No 37 we showed he proposals for the new BBAA Memorial site to be located near to the main entrance to the Arboretum At the time of going to print the existing BBAA site is still virtually untouched. We have now been told that the original redevelopment contract has not been agreed and it will now have to go out to re-tender, but some ground works have begun. What is the overflow car park at the present time will be adapted to create an improved Arboretum car park for all visitors to use throughout the year. The new car parking area will be situated past the existing main entrance further along Croxall Road and will then finally operate as the main parking area in the future. There will be a number of spaces provided for disabled parking and also a “Drop off” point located outside the Arboretum main entrance. Further preparatory work, including the widening of the main entrance to the Arboretum and the relocation of Office Staff will also be necessary The current Visitor Centre will remain operational throughout the building process and the 150 acre site will be open all year round as usual. We have been told that we will now be able to have a 65th Anniversary Service at the Arboretum in 2014 commemorating the end of the Berlin Airlift. See the item on page 4 reference the Annual Reunion. —————————————————————————————————————————– THE LEGASEE CELEBRATORY EVENT Legasee invited BBAA members to their Celebratory event on Friday 13th September 2013 at the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton, Near Bungay in Suffolk. The event was to mark the end of their 12 month British Berlin Airlift project. The project has been supported by their partners the Heritage Lottery Fund, the British Berlin Airlift Association, the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum, Bungay High School and the Scouts Association. The event was their way of thanking all the veterans, partners, volunteers and students who have helped enormously with the project. It was very well attended with excellent presenta- tions and also a superb luncheon in the Restaurant near the entrance to the Museum. Legasee are also creating a permanent digital film archive of the experiences and observations as seen through the eyes of British Airlift veterans and the archive will be held at the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum. ——————————————————————————————————————————- 65th ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF THE BERLIN BLOCKADE COMMEMORATIONS IN BERLIN To commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the end of the Berlin Blockade on the 12th May 2014 there will the traditional service of Commemoration at the Airlift Memorial in Luftbrucke Platz, Tempelhof, Berlin. A number of BBAA members have indicated that they will be present at the service and a small group of fifteen members and friends will be travelling by a luxury mini-coach from the UK, which will depart from the Union Jack Club in London. If you are intending to go to Berlin for this event, please let Janet Howard know so that she can prepare a list of all those attending for submission to Heinz- Gerd Reese, and to be able to involve as many as may be possible to the planned events. The British group also intend to link up with a group of American airlift veterans. ——————————————————————————————————————————–- My Wonderful Unique Flying Experience - By the late Brian Franklin: The Imperial War Museum, Duxford 4th June 2002. Flying briefing was at 10.00 hrs. Kitted out in a flying suit and parachute I walked across the tarmac to the Control Tower. Sitting there on the grass was “The Perfect Lady,” the Grace MkIV Spitfire ML407, converted by the Irish Air Corps in 1947 to a two seat trainer. It was fully restored by the late Nick Grace in the 1970’s. Strapped in the rear seat, helmet and headset on we taxied across the grass and then after take-off we turned away from the airfield. Flying at about 3,000 ft we headed for the Airship hangars at Cardington. The pilot on the headset stated “You now have control.” I found the controls very light & easy, the aircraft being a delight to fly. The pilot regaining control took the aircraft up to 6,000 ft with a “victory roll” at the top. We then flew over the former RAF Oakington, which during my BAFO & Airlift days was an airfield that I had flown into. Now, only about half the remained. Flying back to Duxford we made a fast low pass and another victory roll before landing and completing a wonderful unique flying experience. ——————————————————————————————————————————————— Page 126 BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION

Autumn Reunion 2013 Autumn Reunion 2013 Saturday morning. The group left Eastwood Hall near The Friday Day-Trip - We started with a visit to the Nottingham to travel to the Spa town of Buxton in the Newark Air Museum, where they have an excellent hills of Derbyshire. It has an Opera House and the display of vintage aircraft including the Handley-Page large Pavilion Gardens, where there was a huge Hastings shown above, which was on the Berlin Airlift “Craft Fair” on the day of our visit. as TG517.

Autumn Reunion 2013 Autumn Reunion 2013 After visiting Buxton we carried on to the Derbyshire After visiting the Newark Air Museum we travelled on village of Castleton, where it was time for a rest and to the City of Lincoln and walked down the hill from Ice Cream refreshments. near to the Cathedral, where after the traditional walk We did not have enough time to go underground and around the local shopping areas we travelled back to visit the famous caverns and look for the well known our hotel at Eastwood. “Blue John” stones Page 7 11 BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION Berlin Airlift 1948/49 - Photographic Memories.

The BBAA Eagle being made by the Essex Woodcarvers Tegel, Berlin 1948– Berlin women working on the new airfield

RAF Gatow, 1949 - Avro Lancastrian fuel tanker. 1948 - RAF Dakotas at Fassberg

Photo above - Hamburg. Avro Lancastrian Fuel Tankers at Fuhlsbuttel Above: Ladies on the Airlift Corporal Alison Fisher, WRAF, Engine Fitter, Photo Left: RAF Gatow 1948. working at RAF Gatow on an RAF Dakota. A horse is grading the grass on Cpl Fisher from Poole, Dorset, England, aged 23 the airfield with a U.S. C54 years was awarded the British Empire Medal after Skymaster and the Air Traffic being cited in the 1949 New Year’s Honours list Control building in the for ‘devotion to duty’ background. Page 128 BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION BBAA Shop. Items for sale A Unique Day in RAF History Friday `11th July 2008 The Royal Air Force marked its 90th anniversary in style with its biggest ever parade for the presentation of new Queen’s Colours to the RAF in the and the RAF Regiment. Months of dedicated preparation and weeks of drill for around 800 personnel fell into place for the presentation made by the Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, during a visit to the Royal International Air Tat- too at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire. Rain which had plagued parade rehearsals for mostCloth of Badgethe week even stayed away for most of the day – although a quick drenching was unfortunately in store(Members for personnel only) and spectators duringAssociation the final Tie five minutes. Large £2.00 UK - £3.00 overseas (Members only) Small £1.50 UK - £2.50 overseas Cravat (Members only) 61 Squadron Standards£11.50 UK were on display on the parade ground and personnel welcomedWith the magnetic Queen clasp in the pres- £12.50 overseas £2.50 UK £3.00 UK - £4.00 overseas ence of 5,000 invited guests which included proud£3.50 families, overseas serving members of the RAF and its various asso- ciations and charities. To place an order, write to BBAA Treasurer Mrs Janet Howard, 80 Park Street, Kings Cliffe, Peterborough PE8 6XN The event was the largest RAF parade since the Queen conducted a ‘Silver Jubilee’ Review of the RAF at RAF Finningley,—————————————————————— Yorkshire in 1977. After the Royal salute four Typhoon aircraft flew past in formation, and the — Queen was invited to review the Parade.——————————— The Colours were then escorted by- the Queen’s Colour Squadron (63 SquadronBERLIN RAF Regiment), BRANDENBURG augmented by other AIRPORT Royal Air Force - OPENINGRegiment squadrons STILL and 34 DELAYEDSquadron RAF Regiment. They were supported by two further squadrons made up of RAF personnel from around the United Kingdom.With over 25 million passengers per year, Berlin is Germany's third-largest airport location. In order to create the capacities required for the future, the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt is currently being built. AAll drumhead air traffic in blessing Germany's service capital was region held will for be theconcentrated new Queen’s at Schönefeld. Colours The followed new airport by awill short be designated speech from the IATA the Queen.code BER “I am– the very three pleased trademark to be letters presenting of the new my airport.Colour BER to the will RAF secure in this,the air your traffic 90 thinfrastructure anniversary for year. the Berlin- TheBrandenburg RAF can region be truly and proud thus replace of the thelevel existing of service airport it system.provides and the considerable successes it has achieved. ItThe continues first step to towards be an examplethis goal wasto other the closure Air Forces. of Tempelhof Airport on 30 October 2008. The closure of Tegel Airport is ————————————————————————————————————————————due to follow when the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport opens. - PeterA new-generation G. Marriott writes: airport: IThe believe concept I was for theBerlin youngest Brandenburg Civil GroundAirport envisages Engineer a onmodern the Berlin airport Airlift with all serving facilities with within Sir easyAlan reach Cobham’s and a terminal Flight located between two parallel runways. BER represents a new generation of airports: functional, cosmopolitan and featuring Refuelling Ltd, based at Tarrant Rushton, Dorset during 1948/49. contemporary architecture. The capital region will be able to provide business travellers, tourists and companies with a new Inairport May that 1948 offers I was the 17 best years connections, old, but nowinternational at aged flights,seventy direct-seven motorway I still remember access, and it awell! railway station directly beneath the terminal. —————————————————————————————————————————————————TO ALL THOSE WHO TOOK PART IN THE AIRLIFT – WITH FOOD AND OTHERAIRLIFT SUPPLIES WEBSITES THEY HAD TO SHIFT TO SAVE A CITY WAS THE TASK There are numerous Websites ANDwith reference TO HAVE to theA LIFEBerlin WAS Airlift ALL Some THEY of those DID which ASK may be of interest to members are listed below. You may know of others that could be useful - Please let me know. Ed. COMING TOGETHER IN THIS TIME OF NEED You know ours of course - bbaa-airlift.org.uk Alliierten Museum, Berlin -ALL www.alliiertenmuseum.de WHO WERE INVOLVED HAVE SOWN THE Gatow SEED Old Boys - www.gatow.org Find a friend - www.servicepals.comNO ONE STOOD BACK AND SAID ‘NO, Forces NOT Reunited ME’ - www.forcesreunited.org.uk The Berlin Airlift TelevisionBUT documentary ALL WERE 1997-1998 AS ONE - www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/cats/berlinairlift/xb20-01.htm TO HELP THEM STAY FREE Details of Headquarters NoWE 46 Group,ALL DID Wunstorf, OUR BIT,Fassberg, SOME Gatow, FROM Lübeck A LONG and Schleswigland WAY OFF - www.britains-smallwars.com/cold-war/berlin-airlift.htmSENDING OUR LANC’S TO WUNSTORF AND TO TEMPELHOF HQ BAFO & 2nd TAFTHE - Bad FORCES Eilsen Association FROM THE & Reunion EAST THEN- www.badeilsen.org.uk PUT UP A GREAT - Contact WALL Geoff Lipscombe Interpreters Dilemma - www.tonycunnane.co.ukTO PREVENT ANY ESCAPE, BECAUSE IT WAS SO TALL Royal Air Force Regiment ServiceWHEN Club ATTEMPS - www.easynet.co.uk/feeley/history_halwarren.htm WERE MADE, TO FOIL THE PLOT —————————————————————————————————————————————————FEAR MADE THE PEOPLE AFRAID TO BE SHOT BUT, WITHBBAA THANKS - THE FROM FIRST ALL ON TEN A JOB YEARS: WELL DONE We have produced a booklet describingSIXTY YEARSthe first ten ON, years THAT of the MEANS BBAA: EVERYONE!! It contains a potted history from 1994 to 2004 and a number of photographs, which include the May 2004 group visit to Ger- many to commemorate the 55th Anniversary of the end of the Berlin Blockade. The cost is £5.00P.G.M.each and includes postage. Booklets are available from:- Geoff Smith, 12 Tyesdale Court, Bretton, PeterboroughJersey, PE3 C.I. 9XZ .======2008 Page 119 BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION AUTUMN REUNION & ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2013. The Autumn Reunion was held at Eastwood Hall near Nottingham. It is a popular venue with BBAA members and had been once again suggested by members. It was held from Thursday the 19th to Sunday the 22nd of September 2013. The format was similar to our previous reunion with the Annual General Meting being held on Sunday morning of the 22nd September 2013. We remembered the 65th Anniversary of the start of the Berlin Airlift at this Reunion.

One important item at the Annual General Meeting which was discussed was the proposed closure of the Association in 2014. John Collier also stated that he wished to stand down as Association Secretary and as a Committee Member with immediate effect

It was proposed at the AGM held at Tillington Hall, Stafford in 2009 that the Association should carry on for up to a further five years to 2014.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————- Derrick Noel Roskell RAF - Died 26th February 2013 This is a perspective from outside direct involvement: Most of you who are reading this have been involved at the “coal face” with the Berlin Airlift and the organisation that represents and supports you. I would ask that, once in a while you spare a thought for those like me that have come to gain knowledge of the airlift through contact of persons that have served or assisted in the action. My own involvement came through marriage, my darling wife Karen had a great auntie and uncle who had a major influ- ence and involvement with her younger years and as her new boyfriend , she was keen to present me as a nice guy and re- sponsible. I can confess that it didn’t go well, I was so nervous I had a few to “help the nerves” and it showed!! What a start!!! Well Karen and I got married and I was accepted, I came to call my wife’s relatives as “Aunty Marg” and “Uncle Derrick” and I came to love them both. They took an active part in all of my children’s education and the future career’s of all, with the eldest subsequently playing a major role in the Ministry of Defence. Over the years Uncle Derrick and I came to talk extensively and we started to realise that there was so much in common, I had served over 20 years with the and I held and can use the rank of Flight Lieutenant. The Royal Air Force was a common bond between us both. Derrick knew that his father had received the Military Medal which had been lost, however, we succeeded in retrieving his father’s medals from auction less than twelve months before his death, I wit- nessed him kissing their return. So what has this to do with the Berlin Airlift Association? Over the period of thirty years we talked, discussed and con- versed about the earlier life of Uncle Derrick in the Airlift and his first arrival at Berlin Tegel when it was a green field. We talked about his friends in particular a certain Geoff Smith who he had worked with extensively and served with at RAF Gatow in Berlin and we set about finding out about the remaining personnel and the story of those involved with a major part of his life. During the months and years that followed, I took Derrick to various events that were associated with the Berlin Airlift, Newark, RAF Cosford and ultimately RAF Fairford. Derrick and I went to RAF Fairford with the express action of going to our newly discovered organisation, The BBAA and Derrick had in mind who he wanted to meet…. Mr Geoffrey Smith. The meeting was electric and I know that Derrick was ecstatic with the meeting and subsequently joined the Association, wearing his tie and Blazer with pride. This was the first time I was introduced as Derricks “nephew” an honour that was repeated regularly and it is one that to me is higher than any that could be placed on me by any authority and was my introduction till Derrick died. This will never leave me and I will hold this till I die. So what do you ask, has this to do with all of you? I would ask you all to remember that although we in the present and the future, who were not there, we never served, we did not endure and we did not toil as you did, and do not know, we must realise that…………through innovation, through hard work, through knowledge, through communication and through edu- cation, your endeavours overturned adversity and obstruction to ensure that the people of Berlin and the ideology of the free world survived. I thank GOD and all of you, that you prevailed. This was the lesson I was taught and I know that Uncle Derrick was proud of what he accomplished and his involvement with the Royal Air Force and the Berlin Airlift. Thank You All and especially Uncle Derrick Flt Lt Peter Summers CMISH MIIRSM RAFVR (T) Ret’d ======Page 121010 BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION A NEW BBAA BOOKLET We have a new Booklet entitled AIRCRAFT & AIRBASES of THE BERLIN AIRLIFT 1948 - 1949. With personal recollections by Air & Ground Personnel. It is A5 size and has a total of 62 pages and has been com- piled over the past eighteen years by our late Chairman Sqn Ldr Frank Stillwell & current Chairman Geoff Smith from the time the BBAA was first formed in 1995. It includes stories and also photographs supplied by many members of the BBAA, some of whom however, sadly are no longer with us. The booklet is available from - Geoff Smith, 12 Tyesdale Court, Bretton, Peterborough PE3 9XZ. The cost is £7.00 each including postage ——————————————————————————————————————————————————— THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM The Arboretum recently welcomed its millionth visitor and two years ago on the 17th May 2011 celebrated the 10th year since it was first opened by the Duchess of in 2001. Following the opening of the Armed Forces Memorial by HM The Queen in October 2007 the visitor numbers have increased dramatically from around 20,000 to now 300,000 per annum and the NMA is now fully managed by the Royal British Legion. The increase in numbers has caused the Arboretum to plan for the future by submitting a scheme to redevelop the car park and entrance area , enlarge the Res- taurant, and create an “Armed Forces Pavilion & Heroes Square”. An appeal for donations to help fund the new con- cept was launched this year by HRH Prince William, who is now the Duke of Cambridge. The appeal is going very well with donations & pledges being received from trusts, companies and also many of the Royal British Legion branches. If you wish to make a donation it can be made through the Arboretum’s website www.thenma.org.uk A cheque can be sent to the NMA Appeal Office, 1 Fitzgerald Road, London SW14 8HA. Cheques should be made payable to the NMA Appeal. The Armed Forces Memorial now carries the names of over 16,000 Service men & women who have lost their lives since 1948, including some of those who were lost during the Berlin Airlift in 1948-1949. CUSTOMER SERVICE VOLUNTEERS, With the present ongoing conflict in Afghanistan more names are being added all too frequently. The Arboretum are looking for new volunteers to join their present team of volunteers. The new recruits will join an award winning team of over 180 volunteers. They are a vital part of the Arboretum; contributing both time and energy to ensuring visitors have a memora- ble experience, and helping the site to flourish and grow for the benefit of future generations. Reflecting the broad cross-section of the UK population it serves, the Arboretum will be particularly welcom- ing of applications from people in currently under-represented groups, including those with a disability or from diverse cultural backgrounds. Customer service volunteers get involved in all aspects of meeting and greeting visitors, leading guided tours of the Arboretum and providing information to visitors. Successful applicants will receive training and advice from both senior volunteers and external bodies and the chance to work alongside an experienced volunteer mentor. Volunteering opportunities are also available in other areas of the Arboretum, including the educa- tion, retail, catering and grounds departments. There are also limited weekend places for Duke of Edinburgh students who are working towards their silver or gold award. People decide to get involved in volunteering at the Arboretum for a variety of reasons but all find it a reward- ing and inspiring experience. Sharon Mee, daughter of a Jamaican immigrant, has been volunteering there for three years: “Talking to my father about the hardships he endured when he first came to the UK caused me to reflect on my life here and how my parents worked so hard to ensure that my brothers and I integrated and adopted the freedom and lifestyle it offered us, she said. “Having visited the National Memorial Arboretum a few times, I felt I wanted to give something back in gratitude for the lifestyle I am able to enjoy. I now volunteer every other Sunday and the Arboretum has given me so much passion and energy - I am proud to be a part of what it stands for - and that, for me, is freedom”. Managing director of the National Memorial Arboretum, Sarah Montgomery, said: “We are very proud of our dedicated team of volunteers whose contribution to Arboretum is of paramount importance. We look forward to welcoming new volunteers to the team in 2014 in order to strengthen our visitor offering even more.” For further information or an application form, email Kim Riley, Volunteers & Training Co-ordinator: [email protected] or call 01283 792333 ======Page 11 BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION RAF GATOW: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BRITISH AIRLIFT AIRBASE. use, 1934-1945. The airfield was originally constructed in 1934 and 1935 by the Luftwaffe as a staff and technical college, Luftkriegsschule Berlin-Gatow, in imitation of the Royal Air Force College at RAF Cranwell. The initial personnel came partially from the naval officer college in Mürwick. Opened on 1 April 1936, the air force college was renamed Luftkriegsschule 2 on 15 January 1940. Its satellite airfields were Güterfelde and Reinsdorf. Airborne flying training ended in October 1944, due to fuel short- ages. From 5 March 1945, aircrew officer cadets were retrained for ground operations and had very high casualties. Clues to the airfield's original use survive in the barrack block accommodation and each block was named after a famous German airman of the First World War, with the airman's bust above the entrance door. The architect was , an architect who worked full-time for the Luftwaffe and also designed . Other surviving features during the entire period of the airfield's use as RAF Gatow (1945 - 1994) included the light bulbs in the main hangars, many of which dated from the 1930s. UK Royal Air Force and Army Air Corps use 1945-1948. Late April 1945, towards the end of World War II in Europe, the airfield was occupied by the advancing . Following the division of Berlin into four sectors, Soviet forces relinquished part of the airfield and access roads, the so -called Seeburger Zipfel to the British after the in exchange for West- on 30 August 1945. On 25 June 1945, 284 Field Squadron, RAF Regiment, arrived at Gatow by land via . Their reception by Soviet troops was extremely hostile, the Soviets attempting to confine 284 Field Squadron behind barbed wire fences, as the Squadron was said to have arrived "too early". This set the pattern for future relations, with Soviet checkpoints being set up beside the airfield manned by fully armed and unfriendly troops. RAF Regiment officers occasionally surveyed Soviet positions by air from Avro Ansons, and the tour of duty of RAF Regiment detachments at Gatow was limited to six months, because of the constant activity occa- sioned by the Soviet presence and the Berlin Airlift. U.S. Army Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lucius D. Clay were at RAF Gatow during the Potsdam Conference in 1945 The first landing by a Royal Air Force aircraft was by Avro Anson serial number PW698 on 2 July 1945 at 11.55 hours. Initially, Gatow was called Intermediate Landing Place No. 19, but on 19 August 1945 was renamed Royal Air Force Station Gatow, or RAF Gatow for short. The Station was given the motto “Pons Heri Pons Hodie”, which may be translated as “A bridge yesterday, a bridge today”. RAF Gatow was also used as a civilian airport for a limited time. In 1946, (BEA) inaugurated an RAF Northolt – Hamburg – Gatow scheduled service at a frequency of six flights a week, using Douglas DC-3 ("Pionair" in BEA terminology) and Vickers Viking piston-engined aircraft. Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949 During the Berlin Airlift, the Station was modernised with a 2,000 yards (1,800 m) long concrete runway, built using 794 German workers, in March 1947. This was alongside the temporary PSP shorter runway, which was badly damaged during the Airlift when a U.S. Air Force Strato-freighter aircraft burst it’s tyres making an emergency landing causing the runway to be replaced by a 2nd 2,000 yards long concrete runway. Along with the American airfield of Tempelhof and the French airfield of Tegel, built in 1948, RAF Gatow played a key role in the Berlin airlift of 1948. Initially, about 150 Douglas Dakotas and 40 Avro Yorks were used to fly supplies into Gatow. By 18 July 1948, the RAF was flying 995 tons of supplies per day into the airfield. Alongside the Royal Air Force and various British civil aviation companies and the Air Force, aircrews were supplied by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and the flying supplies into RAF Gatow during the Airlift using Royal Air Force aircraft. On 20 June 1980, the Royal Australian Air Force presented a Douglas Dakota to RAF Gatow in commemoration of its role in the Airlift. Its aircrew included Air Marshal David Evans, an Australian airlift veteran. As only British, French and American aircraft were allowed under international law to fly inside the Allied Air Corridors, the Dakota received the RAF serial number ZD215. The Dakota is still at Gatow, inside the Luftbrucken Air Museum.. After the Berlin Blockade, RAF Gatow served as an airfield for the British Army's , and it was always ready to revert to its role as a supply base, if another Berlin Airlift to ever became necessary. BEA moved to Tempelhof Airport in 1951, where most of West Berlin's commercial air transport operations were now concentrated from then on. Gatow's non-military use after 1950 included several official visits by Queen Elizabeth and members of the British Royal Family, which frequently took place over the years. The airport also handled trooping flights operated by British independent airlines such as British United Airways, Britannia Airways and Autair/ under contract to the MoD. The RAF Gatow Station Flight used two De Havilland Chipmunk T10s, one of which is now in the Alliiertenmuseum, to maintain and exercise the British legal right under the to use the airspace over both West and , as well as the air corridors to and from to the city. Following the reunification of Germany, the British ceded control of Gatow Airport on 18 June 1994, and it was handed back to the German Air Force on the 7th September 1994. Continued on Page 12. ======Page 12 BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION RAF Gatow - Continued from page 11. The closest military neighbour to RAF Gatow was a tank unit of the National People's Army (NVA) of . This was located immediately opposite the airfield, behind the section of the Berlin Wall which ran along the western side of the airfield, and was clearly visible from RAF Gatow's control tower. The Berlin Wall section opposite Gatow was not in fact a wall, but a wire fence. East Germany claimed that this was a "military courtesy", but nobody at RAF Gatow believed this, thinking that it was instead intended to make a military invasion easier. On 15 July 1987, a young East German, Thomas Krüger, defected from East Berlin by flying a Zlin Z-42M light aircraft of the Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik (GST – an East German paramilitary training organisation) to RAF Gatow from Schönhagen near Trebbin, in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. His first words to the RAF Police were a request for political asylum. He was handed over to the civil authorities and received West German . RAF Gatow was from 1970 also used by the UKs Army Air Corps, 7 Aviation Flight AAC, later renamed 7 Flight AAC being based at the station initially flying four Westland Sioux (UK-built ) and later three Aérospatiale Gazelle AH 1 helicopters. A Signals Unit (26SU) was also based at RAF Gatow and on the in the . 26SU was a specialist Signals Intelligence unit operated by the RAF on behalf of GCHQ at Cheltenham tasked with monitoring military communications. RAF Handley Page Hastings: In November 1948, the latest RAF transport aircraft, the Handley Page Hastings, was added to the squadrons flying into RAF Gatow and some aircrews and aircraft were redeployed to train replacement aircrews. Many of these were based at RAF Schleswigland, near Jagel, which is currently used by the German Air Force and the . A Hastings aircraft, which served on the airlift and was later RAF Gatow's 'gate guardian' until the station's closure and is now preserved in the Alliierten Museum. By mid-December, the RAF had landed 100,000 tons of supplies. In April 1949, commercial airline companies involved in the airlift were formed into a Civil Airlift Division (co-ordinated by British European Airways) to operate under RAF control. Apart from BEA itself, these included a number of Britain's fledgling independent airlines as well, such as the late Sir 's Air Charter, Harold Bamberg's Eagle Aviation and Skyways. By mid-April, the combined airlift of all nations operations managed to make 1,398 flights in 24 hours, carrying 12,940 tons (13,160 t) of goods, coal and machinery, beating their record of 8,246 (8,385 t) set only days earlier. RAF Gatow has the unique and unlikely distinction of being the base for the only known operational use of flying boats in , during the Berlin Blockade, on the nearby Großer Wannsee in the river. On 6 July 1948, the RAF began using 10 and 2 Short Hythe flying boats, flying from Finkenwerder on the near Hamburg to Berlin. These were supplemented by the operations of Aquila Airways, an early post-war British independent airline that became an operating division of British Aviation Services. The flying boats specialty was transporting bulk salt, which would have been very corrosive to other aircraft, but was not as corrosive to the flying boats because of their anodised skins. The novel Air Bridge by Hammond Innes is partially set in RAF Gatow at the time of the Berlin Airlift, and is notable for its accurate descriptions of the Station, including corridors and rooms within it. Some of the descriptions were still accurate some 40 years after the book's publication. To commemorate Australian participation in the Airlift, the Royal Australian Air Force presented RAF Gatow with a retired Douglas Dakota in the 1980s, to use as a gate guardian. The aircraft was flown into Berlin with RAF markings to comply with the four power agreement and took part in the upcoming air day. The aircraft was then handed over to RAF personnel who then inhibited (mothballed) the still serviceable engines. The Luftwaffenmuseum der now preserves this aircraft on the airfield. ————————————————————————————————————————————————– Members are reminded once again that subscriptions are due on the 1st January each year. The Annual Rate is £15.00, wherever situated. Cheques should be made payable to the BBAA and sent to:- The BBAA Treasurer, Mrs Janet Howard, 80 Park Street, King’s Cliffe, Peterborough PE8 6XN However, if you wish to pay by Bankers Order, the details are as shown on page 2 of this newsletter:- Payable to: British Berlin Airlift Association. Bank:- Lloyds/TSB PLC, Maidenhead. Account No. 1223532 Sort Code: 30-95-36 Note! Would you please remember to amend your existing standing order if it is still paying the earlier subscription amount of ten pounds. A small number of members are still having to send a separate amount of five pounds to the Treasurer —————————————————————————————————————————————————————– Photographs We would like to thank the following for supplying photographs for this issue of the newsletter: Colin Cottle - Geoff Smith ————————————————————————————————————————————————– Note! The views and opinions expressed by contributors within this newsletter are not necessarily those of either the Editor or the British Berlin Airlift Association. ======