207 SQUADRON ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

relating to No.207 Sqn RAF or No.7 Sqn RNAS
OP = out of print: # = contact the editor

For other references to these two squadrons please click on References

Always Prepared - The story of 207 Squadron Royal Air Force
John Hamlin (Air Britain, 1999)

Commissioned by 207 Squadron RAF Association (for more details click Always Prepared): illustrated hardback [OP] Amazon

A History of No.207 Squadron - the first 68 years
Flt Lt WM Aitken (editor) (207 Squadron RAF, 1984)

Illustrated history produced on the disbandment of the Squadron in 1984: softback [OP]

207 Squadron Memorial Book
David Dick (207 Sqn RAF Association, 1993)

Ring bound - outline history - casualty list - Roll of Honour - POWs - Evaders [OP]

207 Squadron RAF Langar 1942-43
Barry Goodwin & Raymond Glynne-Owen (Langar Airfield 207 SMC, 1994)

11 stories - Roll of Honour - aircraft losses - operations list - pilots: illustrated softback
contact Raymond Glynne-Owen, 9 Erebus Close, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, PE23 5LJ Amazon

On the Wings of Morning - RAF Bottesford 1941- 45
Vincent Holyoak (Holyoak, 1995)

Wartime history of Bottesford airfield including 207 Sqadron's time there: illustrated softback [OP]# Amazon 

Avro Manchester - The Legend behind the Lancaster
Robert Kirby (Midland Counties, 1995)

Probably the definitive work. As much from the human as from the extensively covered technical and operational viewpoints: illustrated hardback [OP].  A second edition was published in 2015.

A Boy in the Gulag
Jerzy 'Joe' Kmiecik (Quartet Books, 1983)

Joe Kmiecik was a 207 pilot at Northolt. When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Joe then aged 16 and his two brothers left their family home and attempted to reach France. The boys evaded the Germans, but were caught and separated by the Red Army. Jerzy was imprisoned, first in Poland, then in Russia. "A gripping account of survival against the harshest odds."
hardback 248 pages 7¾"x9¾" ISBN 0704323265 [OP] Amazon

An Airman's Diary
Ralph Fairhead DFM (New Horizon, 1982)

How an RAF Groundcrew Regular eventually became aircrew and his battle to overcome his injuries after a wartime crash. Ralph served as a Flight Engineer on 207 Squadron 9/42-5/43: illustrated hardback [OP]

Bomber Boys - Aircrew Experiences of the War over Occupied Europe 1942-45
Mel Rolfe Grub Street Publishing, 2004)

Publication: September 2004 Price: £17.99 Hardback: Size: 216 x 138mm: Pages: 256 with 16 pages of photos on art paper: ISBN: 1 904010 86 5
Twenty stories including those of 207 members John Banfield and John Pearl. Amazon

Darkness Shall Cover Me - Night Bombing over the Western Front 1918
Humphrey Wynn (Airlife, 1989)

Based on a real 207 Sqn pilot, this is a 'factional' account of life on a WWI Heavy Night Bomber squadron: hardback.
Also published The Black Cat Squadron: Night Bombing in World War I (Smithsonian, 1989) Amazon

Diary of a Night Bomber Pilot in World War I
Clive Semple, edited by Wing Commander Alan Mawby (History Press, 2008)

Here is the diary of a very normal young man who is interested in girls and fun. He trained as an RNAS pilot and went to France in 1918, to fly Handley Page O/400s. He served on 207 Squadron. He did some 26 raids and the War ended. He then spent some time with the Occupation Forces in Germany before being demobbed. The story is amplified with pictures, explanations and parts of other pilots’ memoirs. more information about the book.              Amazon

Footprints on the Sands of Time
- RAF Bomber Command POWs in the hands of the Germans
Oliver Clutton-Brock (Grub Street Publishing, 2003)

An important contribution to our knowledge of the war and a unique reference work not only for the serious RAF historian but for the ex-PoWs themselves and their families and anyone with an interest in the RAF in general and captivity in particular. Oliver is an Honorary Member of the Association.    Amazon

Green Balls
Paul Bewsher, originally published by William Blackwood and Sons in 1919.  Re-published in 1986 by Greenhill Books

The book tells of the author's experiences as an observer on the Handley-Page O/100, initially with the Handley-Page Squadron at Manston in August 1916, thence to France with No 3 Wing at Luxeuil and Ochey, subsequently being absorbed into 7 Squadron RNAS at Coudekerque in April 1917.  He was awarded the DSC in November 1917 for his contribution to a raid on Ostend on 15/16 August 1917 and ten previous raids.  Together with Acting Flight Commander Brackley, he also received Their Lordships Appreciation for his efforts in the well-known raid on the railway bridge at Namur on 29 September 1917; this entailed a flight of some 250 miles taking four and a half hours, mainly over enemy territory, which was no mean feat in those days.   Amazon

Gunning for the Enemy - Wallace McIntosh DFC* DFM
Mel Rolfe (Grub Street Publishing, 2003)

Wallace McIntosh DFC* DFM was a remarkable and unforgettable character who overcame all the appalling odds against him, creating hope from nothing and success in life beyond his wildest dreams. Although Bomber Command did not record details of ‘kills’ by air gunners, Wallace, who shot down eight enemy aircraft with one probable, is widely believed to be its top sharpshooter and at one time he was also its most decorated. He did two tours on 207 and was a staunch supporter of the Association. more information book launch      Amazon

In Pursuit of Freedom
Arthur Barton (Barton, 1993)

Arthur was shot down on in 207 Sqn Lancaster EM-M LL973 the Wesseling raid of 21/22 June 1994 - the Squadron's worst night for casualties. This is a moving account of his evasion and passage along part of the Comète line to an MI 9 holding camp in the Ardennes: hardback [OP]

No Caviar for a Kingfisher
Maurice Askew (Selwyn Bridge Press, 2005)

Maurice was a Flight Engineer on 207 Sqn 11/43-2/44, and was taken POW when the Jarvis crew was lost on Leipzig, 20 Feb 44, EE126, EM-A. He says his book covers life in the Midlands town of Redditch in the twenties, through the Depression years to the early sixties; his time in the wartime RAF; post war at Birmingham College of Art, followed by seven years working at Granada Television, Manchester from its opening days. Liberally illustrated. more information

Piece of Cake
Geoff Taylor (Peter Davies, 1956)

Shot down on 18th October 1943 in 207 Squadron Lancaster EM-Z LM326, this is an account of Geoff's POW activities: hardback [OP] - see also Return Ticket   Amazon

Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses in the Second World War
WR Chorley, Midland Publishing, an imprint of Ian Allan Publishing

Bill Chorley is an Honorary Member of the Association and has been of immense help over the years with his knowledge of losses. In late 2007 the final volume - Volume 9: Roll of Honour 1939-47 - of his monumental series on Bomber Command's losses was published: the earlier volumes are Vol 1 1939-1940, Vol 2 1941, Vol 3 1942, Vol 4 1943, Vol 5 1944, Vol 6 1945, Vol 7 Operational Training Units 1940-1947, Vol 8 Heavy Conversion Units and Miscellaneous Units, 1939-1947. An outstanding and invaluable record of the massive sacrifice that was Bomber Command in WWII.             Amazon - view whole page

RAF EVADERS – the comprehensive story of thousands of Escapers and their Escape Lines, Western Europe 1940-45
Oliver Clutton-Brock: Grub Street (2009)

Comprehensive! Oliver is an Honorary Member of the Association.
"Respected historian Oliver Clutton-Brock has researched in depth this secret world of evasion, uncovering some treachery and many hitherto unpublished details, operations and photos. It is a tremendous reference work, written in his own colourful style with numerous anecdotes, which fills a gap of knowledge formerly unavailable to historians - professional or amateur."

Hardback 448 pages plus 16pp b/w photos ISBN-10: 190650217X, ISBN-13: 978-1906502171  Amazon

Royal Air Force Germany Since 1945
Group Captain Bill Taylor OBE IEng FRAeS RAF(Retd) (Midland Publishing, 2003)

Bill Taylor is a Friend Member. "To sum up, Bill Taylor has done the RAF in Germany proud. If you were involved with the Typhoons and Tempests of 1945 or the Tornados of 2001, or at any time in between, I am sure that you will appreciate this book. Highly recommended." Jeff Jefford in the RAF Historical Society Journal: illustrated hardback, 240 pages     Amazon

Return Ticket
Geoff Taylor (Peter Davies, 1972)

Geoff's attempt to retrace his wartime steps: hardback [OP] - see also Piece of Cake           Amazon

Sortie Not Completed
Andrew & Ruth Armstrong (P3 Publications, 2003)

The story behind the friendship beween the Hall family of Boston for one of the young airmen billeted on them, lost with 207 Squadron in July 1944 - and the detective work involved in piecing it together. details     Amazon

Survivor - a true story of one man's war
Roy Hill (Roy Hill, November 2000)

The story of Roy Hill's crew, their shooting down in 207 Squadron Lancaster EM-B PB765 , his time in Stalag Luft I, and the work of the Holtzwihr researchers, in establishing what really happened. See also our crew memorials pages for the website on this.
Softback: 114 pages including many b&w and colour illustrations   Amazon

The Washington Era - Marham June 1951 to March 1954
John A Laing (editor, 1998) (Air Gunner 207 Squadron RAF, 1951/53)

Not a history but rather the honest memory, at times no doubt faulty, of some who were there, which tries to catch an echo of the times, and the people who flew and serviced the Washington. Illustrated softback. A few left.
Price £14 including post and packaging from JA Laing,10 Graybank Road, Perth, Scotland PH2 0GZ
Please make cheques payable to 'JA Laing Washington era a/c'
contact:  laing_middlechurchAThotmail.com (replace AT with @ before sending) Tel: 01738 62 3888

Underground out of Holland
SE (Stan) Hanson (Ian Allan, 1977)

Stan was shot down in 207 Squadron Lancaster EM-X NN724 on 8th February 1945. This is the story of this Air Gunner's evasion and of the brave and ingenious Dutch patriots who hid him: hardback [OP]   Amazon

We Wanted Wings
John Pearl (Lancfile Publishing, December 2007)

John was shot down on 11th April 1945, on Leipzig in 207 Squadron Lancaster EM-O ME472. His pilot Peter Anderson was the only crew member not to survive and was 207 Squadron's last casualty in WWII: softback.   details           Amazon

Wavetops at my Wingtips
Flt Lt Leslie Baveystock DSO DFC* DFM edited by 207 Squadron RAF Association member Alan 'Ben' Lyon (Airlife, October 2001) (Airlife have been taken over by The Crowood Press - see more information)

Casebound, 234 x 156mm, ISBN 1 84037 310 5, b/w photographs £19.99 or possibly cheaper from Amazon

'Bav' was Leslie Manser VC's co-pilot when their 50 Sqn Manchester was shot down. He and four other crew members evaded and he was awarded the DFM. Bav went on to be a Sunderland captain on 201 Sqn gaining a DSO, DFC and bar, his crew sinking two U boats. Sqn Ldr 'Babe' Ruth, ex-207, was his Flight Commander: Babe took over Bav's crew whilst Bav was on compassionate leave following the death of his father. They did not return from an attack on a U boat. More information

Deeps and Shallows, Verse captions to a minor life

Author: Kevin Grant, Friend Member of 207 Squadron Association. Illustrator: Jake Grant. Published by Words Ink on 16th October 2007
Hardback, 112 pages, £9.99, plus £1.50 packaging and post (Ireland/Europe £3.00, Rest of World £4.00). ISBN 978-0-9529352-1-6
More information

Please email the editor if you come across any material relating to No.207 Squadron RAF or to No.7 Sqn RNAS.

Out of print books [OP] can sometimes be found via the Internet. The editor has found www.abebooks.com and Amazon.com generally useful.

last updated 5 Jan 19