35 Squadron, heavy bombers
For Remembrance Day every year we choose one airman or airwoman to stand for all the Pathfinders who lost their lives in the war. This year it is Taffy Jones who was killed when he was a prisoner of war. James Ellis Jones, known to his friends as Taffy because […]
WING COMMANDER JAMES HARDY MARKS, CO of 35 Squadron, Path Finder Force, died on 19 September 1942. He was a Pathfinding legend. This new article by Sean Feast tells of what happened on the night of his death, as related by an eye-witness on his crew, Bill Higgs. Death of […]
Christmas items for the Pathfinders … Firstly, CHRISTMAS 1944 IN A POW CAMP To keep their spirits up, many prisoners created elaborate skit menus of their ideal Xmas meal. Secondly, Christmas 1944 at RAF Graveley, where the menu was of a rather more formal nature. With our very best wishes […]
Lawrence Nicholson was on the COLOGNE OPERATION OF 23 DECEMBER 1944, and we are delighted to be able to publish his hitherto unpublished experiences of that operation. See: LAWRENCE NICHOLSON, 23 DECEMBER 1944 ‘Nick’ was flying with the Lawson crew that night. The crew would go on to complete 57 […]
On 16 December 1944, German Panzers spearheaded a surprise attack in the Ardennes that smashed through thinly held Allied lines, catching the Allied commanders completely off-guard. Men from 1st SS Panzer Division in a Schwimmwagen at Kaiserbaracke crossroads, between St. Vith and Malmedy, 18 December 1944 © IWM EA 47958 […]
We are very pleased to publish the first-hand account by Harry Furner, a mid-upper gunner with the Marsden crew, 35 Squadron, of the attack on his Lancaster by an enemy aircraft in June 1944. It is an amazing story of survival against the odds. A fellow member of 35 Squadron, […]
80 years ago, on the operation against Krefeld of 20/21 June 1943, 35 Squadron had a disastrous night, losing four crews in mainland Europe and one at sea. A sixth crew, that of Sergeant Milne, ditched 30 miles off Cromer on the Norfolk coast, and all were incredibly fortunate to […]
Menu card for the Sergeants’ Mess at RAF Station Graveley, on Christmas Day 1944, when Victory was just beginning to look certain. With our our very best wishes to all our readers and supporters THE RAF PATHFINDERS ARCHIVE team From the family archive of Bill ‘Worcester’ Phillips, Bryant crew, 35 […]