Off to England
Off to England
March 5, 1944
Over Seas
I’m not sure how Gibb traveled across the ocean. It could have been by the
Queen Mary taking about 3 days to cross or it could have been on a ship that
traveled in a convoy, very slow, and detouring a lot because of U-boats. The trip probably took about two weeks and maybe porting in Glasgow in northern Scotland. Small boats would take them into shore at night. The whole of England was blacked out. On the way over, he most likely was required to stand watch -four hours on and four off. Off watch they slept a lot and learned to play bridge.
From Glasgow they were entrained for
Bournemouth on the south coast. The
English were very concerned about the
risk of air attack and it made the trip more exciting. There was not one light showing from any city as they traveled by train. Even the train was in minimum lighting.
Bournemouth was a holding unit for aircrew to wait in until someone decided
where to send them next. They were billeted in hotels with no heat. They had bed sheets but the humidity was so high they could wring water out of them, and were cold all the time.
It was here at Thornaby that pilots, navigators, wireless operators and air
gunners sorted themselves out as to who would be in what crew. The general
consensus was that the pilots would pick their crew members. It didn't always
work out that way. But it could be at this time that Gibb was picked by Patzer.
March 14, 1944
Dissemble U.K
March 15, 1944
186 3RCAF PRC
