The WW2 Diary of Lancaster Pilot Bruce Johnston

DIARY NOTES

Location
12 Operational Training Unit Edgehill, near Banbury, northwest of London

Timmy - Pilot and friend who trained with Johnston, and was later posted to 514 Squadron at Waterbeach

GEE - Radio navigation system that allowed planes to determine their location by timing synchronized pulses sent from three transmitters in the United Kingdom. It did not extend over the horizon, and the Germans could jam it, but it was very effective over England and the North Sea

Homing - Used the GEE box to direct the plane towards a source of transmission

Screen - A person who had completed their tour, and often assisted new crews in their training

Cock “A” - Switch used to control fuel flow between tanks

Giffin - Canadian pilot friend who trained with Johnston, was later posted to 514 Squadron at Waterbeach

Campbell, Red - Canadian pilot friend who trained with Johnston, and was later posted to 514 Squadron at Waterbeach

Mair - Pilot friend who trained with Johnston

MacLaren - Canadian pilot and friend who trained with Johnston, and was later posted to 90 Squadron at Tuddenham

Chippy - Chipping-Warden Aerodrome

Baker - Canadian pilot and friend who trained with Johnston in Canada and in England

Plot of Canadians - Cemetery where Canadians are buried

Kirsch - Canadian pilot and friend, who trained with Johnston, and was later posted to 90 Squadron at Tuddenham

February 2, 1944 (Wednesday)

Was a little late this morning but Timmy marked me present anyway. Did some more GEE – learnt homing. Went up on High Level Bombing in the afternoon. Was up there about an hour and a half trying to find holes in the cloud to bomb through – only got one bomb off and it missed by about 400 yards! What a time.

One motor quit just as we landed – and like clots neither the Screen nor myself thought of Cock “A”. Just left it on the runway to be towed in. No mail as usual lately.

Giffin, Red Campbell, Mair and MacLaren off to Chippy tonight to go on Baker’s and his crew’s funeral tomorrow at a place called Potter near Oxford where they have a plot of Canadians. Kirsch and I couldn’t go because of flying.

Al Baker & Frank Mair

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