WWII Glider Pilots

[Yozzer]

Seeking Glider pilots, airborne infantry, artillery, engineers, Army Ground Crews, RAF tug pilots in fact anyone who had the slightest to do with military glider ops.

Tel BHE Media 0121 240 9904

email: [email protected]

Passed on after a visit to the Horsa project / Which BTW is looking pretty good.

YOZZER

PS

I dont think that Sedberghs and Cadet TXIII is quite what they have in mind:rolleyes:

[Bre901]

Here is some stuff about glider training and operations during WWII

http://aerostories.free.fr/dossiers/planeurs/ (in french, sorry)

Title translation "Life expectancy : 3 minutes"

Scary

[astir 8]

Seems from that French article that there were only American glider pilots.

Although they did slip up and include that picture of the Pegasus bridge Horsas

But no other mention of les Anglais perfides :mad:

[Cat.S]

Yosser,
Check your e-mail, I've sent you the main contact phone number for the GPR regimental association. My co-author, Steve Wright, and myself have written one book about the gliders at D-Day and are in the process of writing two more- one on Operation Varsity (Crossing of the Rhine) and another on what it was actually like to fly the gliders, training aircraft and tugs. If you just want to read their stories, try our book 'One Night in June', which is mostly composed of primary sources from tug and glider pilots and the brave souls who were live frieght! If you want interview the pilots themselves, you'll need to hurry as they are a fast-diminishing breed.
Kev Shannon

[WebPilot]

Cat S.

I am currently re-reading 'One Night In June', an excellent book. My congratulations to you and your co-author. please let us know on the board when your Op Varsity book is available!

[jjdlavender]

Wyvern Gliding Club (member of the Army Gliding Association) at Upavon, Wilts took a group of veterans from the Glider Pilot Regiment earlier in the spring for an evenings flying at our club.

Some members of the group had not flown since WWII and found it very nostalgic to be reunited as a group with the opportunity to fly a glider again.

Unfortunatley the weather turned on us and we took the remainder of the group flying again in June. I think that we intend to do the same for them next year.

Check out our website http://www.wyverngliding.org.uk

[notbefore9]

I'm not 100% sure but I believe there are some associated items and artifacts etc in the Army Air Corp Museum @ Middle Wallop.

JJlavender

Did you include Grumbly ;) etc :eek: in your reference to veterans ;)


NBF9

[jjdlavender]

Grumbly will love being labelled a veteran! I was not there anyway.

The weather still looks bad for next week.

[TomPierce]

My username is chosen to remember a very fine friend who was still a member of the Glider Pilot Regiment in 1953 when I first met him. He took part in the Arnhem and Rhine landings. His parent regiment was the Shropshire Light Infantry. From 1953 on he taught me to fly at Kenley while I was on secondment. I like to think that I was a better pilot for his initial instruction.

When the GPR was disbanded to become the Army Air Corps he retired.

He was the original curator of the Wallop Museum and his contribution is recorded there. He was a tremendous character and a very good pilot. Which I imagine included his beloved "Horsa".

After all he went through, he was killed by a drunk driver who collided with him in Stockbridge.