Hather, Geoffrey (Oral history)

British NCO served as navigator with 630 Sqdn, No 5 Group, Bomber Command, RAF in GB, 3/1944; prisoner of war hospitalised in St Elizabeth Hospital, Ibbenbüren, Dulag Luft Interrogation Centre, Oberursel and Reserve-Lazaret IX-C (a) Obermassfeld, Germany, 3/1944-6/1944; prisoner of war in Stalag Luft VII, Bankau and Stalag 383, Hohenfels, Germany, 6/1944-4/1945

REEL 1 Background in Birmingham, GB, 1925-1939: education; employment; story of volunteering for Royal Air Force after bombing of family home, 1941. Aspects of enlistment and training as navigator with Royal Air Force in GB, 1941-1944: reception procedure; selection tests; problem of height; basic training at No 3 Initial Training Wing, RAF, Torquay; training as navigator including use of simulator, dinghy drill, night vision exercises and astral navigation; physical training; training as wireless operator and bomb aimer; posting to No 21 Operational Training Unit, RAF at RAF Moreton-in-Marsh; crewing up; cross-country exercises; importance of crew morale; contingency training for crash landings; escape kit and provisions for conversion of uniform into civilian clothes; story of Portuguese newspapers; attitude to bombing of civilians. REEL 2 Continues: Aspects of operations as navigator with 630 Sqdn No 5 Group, Bomber Command, RAF in GB, 24/3/1944-25/3/1944: navigator's pre-flight checks; briefing; problem with engine; falling out of Avro Lancaster B.Mk III (ND788) LE-U without a parachute during raid to Berlin, Germany, 25/3/1944; landing in field and capture. 25/3/1944. Aspects of period as prisoner of war in St Elisabeth Hospital, Ibbenbüren and Dulag Luft Interrogation Centre, Oberursel, Germany, 3/1944-5/1944: nature of injuries, transfer to St Elisabeth Hospital and medical treatment; accommodation in hut with Soviet prisoners of war; encasing in plaster from head to foot; problem of eating; treatment of Soviet prisoners of war and memories of singing with them; receiving clothing from Soviet prisoner of war; journey to Dulag Luft Interrogation Centre, Oberursel including sight of bomb damage in Cologne; story of German civilian on station; story relating to American air gunner. REEL 3 Continues: description of injuries; opinion of medical treatment; problem of lack of food; removal of plaster by Soviet prisoners of war; problem of fleas and lice; opinion of Soviet prisoners of war; relations between Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war; removal to Dulag Luft Interrogation Centre, Oberursel for interrogation, 5/1944; Aspects of period as prisoner of war in Reserve-Lazaret IX-C (a), Stalag IX-C, Obermassfeld, Germany, 5/1944-6/1944: problem of walking; description of prisoner of war hospital; period in civilian prison; physiotherapy treatment; convalescence; amusing story of patients singing 'Land of Hope and Glory'; description of journey to Stalag Luft VII at Bankau. REEL 4 Continues: amusing story of German guard carrying luggage. Recollections of period as prisoner of war in Stalag Luft VII, Bankau, Germany, - 6/1944-1/1945: temporary accommodation in chicken coups while camp under construction; opinion of camp and facilities; recreational activities including production of 'All Quiet on the Western Front'; amusing story of Welsh prisoner of war dressed as woman; official visits to camp; story of tin legs; opinion of rations; multi-national nature of camp; reason for Germans failing to form a contingent of British Free Corps; educational classes; interest in psychology. REEL 5 Continues: camp currency; bartering; illicit wireless sets; morale during captivity and problem of depression among prisoners of war; description of work. Recollections of period as prisoner of war in Stalag 383, Hohenfels, Germany, 2/1945-4/1945: journey to camp via Colditz Castle and Dachau Concentration Camp, 1/1945-3/1945; arrival at camp; liberation of camp by 65th Infantry Div, United States Army, 24/4/1945; surrender of Germans; prisoners of war killing animals for food. Aspects of journey from Germany to GB via France, 4/1945-5/1945: use of delousing centre in Rheims Cathedral, France; story of Hitler Youth in Nüremberg, Germany; question of desire for retribution among prisoners of war; journey to GB, 5/1945; reception on return home; further hospital treatment; reason for not revealing how he fell out of plane without a parachute; reflections on period of captivity. REEL 6 Continues: Aspects of post-war life: problem of adapting to civilian life; problem of eating large amounts; reaction of family to injuries; attitude to being welcomed home; effects of period of captivity on prisoners of war; nature of work in Royal Air Force rehabilitation centre; attitude to purpose of war; opinion of Germans; visits to Soviet Union/Russia Federation.