Warwick Training Unit & 293 Sqn etc
Thanks very much for the reply. Good to see that others can find records of F/O Gregg and his Warwick crew including F/O (later F/L) Kenneth Kearse the navigator from New Zealand. I had picked up references to them in the 293 (and other) sqn ORB's from UK National Archives at Kew and coincidentally am going back there next week to view some of the RAF Bircham Newton ORB's which have not been digitised. I'm especially interested in the period from June 1943 when the Warwick Training Unit was set up , through Sept 1943 (when the navigator's log I found was dated) until Oct 1943 when Kearse (and the others) joined 283 Sqn (They moved to 293 in November 1943 I believe).
Also coincidentally I received this week a copy of a book ("All Weather Mac" - the autobiography of Wg Cdr R (Robert) McIntosh) who, amongst other things in a long , distinguished and varied RAF and civil flying career, commanded the Warwick Training Unit until Dec 1943. Since I had bought the book "blind" I was surprised but pleased to find it includes a group photo - 100+Officers and NCO's - with a smattering of darker blue (Australian) uniforms and definitely one American. I'm hoping the original might be in one of the non-digitised Bircham Newton ORB's I have yet to consult.
I'm also hoping that consulting the non-digitised ORB's would also help me work out whether the early Sept mission I have the navigators log for was actually flown, not in a Warwick of the WTU , but either in a Wellington or a Hudson given that only 4 crew numbers are named. I have dismissed the possibility of it being in an Anson as I consulted someone in NZ who owns / flies a Mk 1 Anson over there. His advice was that he could not fly at the combination of speeds and duration shown on the log!