Tag Archives: raf

1999.113.29

Black and white photograph of the funeral held at Soroby on 20/8/1944.

The funeral at Soroby graveyard of the airmen who died in a mid-air collision on 16th August 1944. The funeral was held on the 20th August. One of the dead was Flt. Lt. Leonard Revilliod whose grandfather, Tomas Masaryk, was the first President of Czechoslovakia. Attending the funeral were Leonard`s mother, Olga Masaryk (daughter of Tomas Masaryk) and Jan Masaryk (Olga`s brother), who was the Czech Ambassador to the UK. Olga Masaryk married Dr Henri Revilliod.

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1999.228.3

WAAFs on the steamer ‘Lochearn’ in 1945

Photograph of WAAFs on the steamer ‘Lochearn’ in 1945.

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Courtesy of Mrs Jean Inglis

The Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) was created in 1939. Although WAAFs did not serve as aircrew, they played a vital role in transport, communications, meteorology, aircraft control and intelligence.

The group of WAAFs in this photo were leaving Tiree on the steamer ‘Lochearn’. Jean Inglis née Davies from Edinburgh (back row, extreme right) spent two years underground at 18 Group HQ, Coastal Command at Rosyth before being posted to Tiree in May 1945.

Jean was a wireless operator and, with her team, made contact with aircraft in the area, on one occasion helping to guide a damaged plane to a safe landing on the island.

Black and white photograph of WAAFs on `Lochearn` during WWII.

WAAFs on the `Lochearn` during WWII. L-R: (back) Joy Pearce, London; Nan Hogarth, Whitby; unknown; Jean Inglis nee Davies, Edinburgh; (front) Flora Semple, Aberdeen; Marjorie Pollard, Burnley; Jean Hind, England. Jean Inglis spent two years underground at 18 Group HQ, Coastal Command at Rosyth before being posted to Tiree on 27/5/1945. LACW (leading aircraft woman) Jean Hind was a Wireless Operator who met Wing Commander Bryn Lewis while both serving on Tiree on 8 July 1944). They married on 9 July 1950. Nan Hogarth was also a LACW Wireless Operator.

1998.29.2.1

Photocopied article about the loss of the Fokker XXII aircraft `Sylvia Scarlet`, with an accompanying letter.

(1) Article from `Fly Past` Magazine, 1982, about the loss of the Fokker plane `Sylvia Scarlet` shortly after departing from Tiree on 3/7/1943. (2) Letter from Peter Moran, editor of `Aviation Archaeologist` Magazine, dated 27/11/1981 to donor, giving information about the crew of the `Sylvia Scarlet`.