Description
Object description
Wordprocessed memoir (7pp plus illustrations) written in 2004 describing how, as an eighteen year old member of the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) awaiting conscription into the Royal Air Force (RAF), he volunteered for service as a seaborne aircraft identifier in the spring of 1944 and, after a brief period of training, served on board the American Liberty ship JOHN S HAY in June - July 1944 during her passages between Plymouth, where she was based, and the Utah and Omaha beachheads in support of the Normandy landings, with references to the heavy casualties on Omaha Beach on D-Day, the high standard of living enjoyed on the JOHN S HAY, and a bit about the 'Dad's Army' nature of ROC. Also included are: a photocopy of a photograph of Aitkenhead and other Seaborne Observers from 38 Group ROC being debriefed; a photocopy of the badges he wore as a member of ROC, as a Seaborne Observer, and having passed the ROC Master test; and a photocopy of Eisenhower's message to the members of the Allied Expeditionary Force.
Content description
Wordprocessed memoir (7pp plus illustrations) written in 2004 describing how, as an eighteen year old member of the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) awaiting conscription into the Royal Air Force (RAF), he volunteered for service as a seaborne aircraft identifier in the spring of 1944 and, after a brief period of training, served on board the American Liberty ship JOHN S HAY in June - July 1944 during her passages between Plymouth, where she was based, and the Utah and Omaha beachheads in support of the Normandy landings, with references to the heavy casualties on Omaha Beach on D-Day, the high standard of living enjoyed on the JOHN S HAY, and a bit about the 'Dad's Army' nature of ROC. Also included are: a photocopy of a photograph of Aitkenhead and other Seaborne Observers from 38 Group ROC being debriefed; a photocopy of the badges he wore as a member of ROC, as a Seaborne Observer, and having passed the ROC Master test; and a photocopy of Eisenhower's message to the members of the Allied Expeditionary Force.
History note
Cataloguer RWAS
History note
Catalogue date 2004-05