Kaye, John Antony (Oral history)

1558647081
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80010943&media_id=83236" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
786733980
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80010943&media_id=83237" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
2059234507
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80010943&media_id=83238" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
647005086
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80010943&media_id=83239" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
1492315652
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80010943&media_id=83240" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Description

Object description

Polish officer served as pilot with 1st Fighter Sqdn, 4th Air Regiment, Polish Air Force in Poland, 1939; escaped from Poland to France via Romania, 1939-1940; served with 1/145 Polish Fighter Sqdn, French Air Force in France, 1940; served with 302 (Polish) Sqdn, No 12 Group, Fighter Command, RAF during Battle of Britain, 1940; served with 315 (Polish) Sqdn, No 133 Wing, No 84 Group, 2nd Tactical Air Force, RAF in GB, 1944-1945

Content description

REEL 1 Background in New York, United States of Air and Poland, 1908-1939: family; education; national service with Polish Air Force, 1927-1929; employment as judges secretary with Polish Civil Service, 1929-1939. Recollections of operations as pilot with 1st Fighter Sqdn, 4th Air Regiment, Pursuit Brigade, Polish Air Force in Poland, 1939: background to call-up, 8/1939; joining squadron at Toruń, 9/1939; types of aircraft flown; shooting down German Dornier Do 17, 9/9/1939; places squadron operated from, 9/1939; loss of squadron leader; squadron morale; orders to withdraw to Romanian border, 18/9/1939. REEL 2 Continues: crossing Romanian border, 18/9/1939. Recollections of escape from Romania to France, 1939-1940: conditions of internment in Romania; circumstances of escape from internment by bribing officials, 1/1940; period in Constanza and lack of curiosity shown by authorities; voyage aboard SS Dacia from Romania to France. REEL 3 Continues: arrival in France, 1940. Aspects of operations with 1/145 Polish Fighter Sqdn, French Air Force in France, 1940: formation of 1/145 Polish Fighter Sqdn; experiences during aerial combat during Battle of France; attempts to escape from France via Bordeaux; voyage aboard SS Alderpool from La Pallice, France to Plymouth, GB, 22/6/1940; reception on arrival; interrogation and separation of some Poles for internment. Recollections of operations as pilot with 302 (Polish) Sqdn, No 12 Group, Fighter Command, RAF during Battle of Britain, 1940: posting to RAF Leconfield; initial impressions of Hawker Hurricane Mk I formation of squadron. REEL 4 Continues: character of Witold Łokuciewski; question of squadron's operational readiness; language problems; move to RAF Biggin Hill; story of pilot's premonition of his own death; story of taking revenge on German pilot who had shot at pilot descending in parachute after bailing out; his attitude to participation in Battle of Britain; difference in tactics employed by Polish and Royal Air Force pilots; return to RAF Leconfield and aftermath of Battle of Britain. Aspects of operations as pilot with 315 Sqdn, No 133 Wing, No 84 Group, 2nd Tactical Air Force, RAF in GB, 1944-1945: operating from RAF Ford; method of attacking V1 Flying Bombs with North American Mustang; question of tipping German V1 Flying Bombs over using aircraft's wings. REEL 5 Continues: low-level attacks on railway tunnels in North West Europe; attacks on German V1 Flying Bombs; attitude to attacking Germans.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Related period: 1990 to the present day (production), Second World War (content), Second World War (association)
Creator: IWM (Production company)
Wood, Conrad (Recorder)
Kaye, John Antony (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date: 1992-08-11
Dimensions: whole: Duration 135, Number Of Items 5
Catalogue number: 11186

Object associations

Our collections information

We have over 1.7 million object records online, and we are adding to this all the time. Our records are never finished. Sometimes we discover new information that changes what we know about an object, such as who made it or used it. Sometimes we change how an object is interpreted. We sometimes make mistakes in our spelling, transcription or categorisation, or miss information out of our records.

Read more about our collections and the information we hold. Developing our collections information

If you have concerns about the language in this record, or you have information to improve it, please share your feedback.

We receive a lot of comments and can't respond to each one, but we do read them all and will respond where we can.

Kaye, John Antony (Oral history)

Description

Object description

Content description

Object Details

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Associated events

Associated places

Associated subjects

Associated themes

Our collections information

Related content

HMS Belfast at 80