Craven, David

Title

Craven, David

Description

21 items. The collection concerns David Craven DFM (b. 1911, 755391 Royal Air Force) and contains his memoir and photographs in an album.

He flew operations as a wireless operator / air gunner with 50 and 15 Squadrons.

The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Bryan Craven and catalogued by Jan Johnstone.

Date

2018-08-07

Publisher

IBCC Digital Archive

Rights

This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.

Identifier

Craven, D

Collection Items

Hampdens, Wimpeys and Barbed Wire
Bomber Command wartime memoirs 1939-45 by Ted Allison. He completed 35 bomber operations as wireless operator/air gunner 1941-43, which he described as being looked down upon. The introduction describes his role as a Wop/Ag and how they're replaced…

Flight Sergeant David Craven DFM (755391)
A biographical summary of David Craven's RAF service as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner and later as a Wireless Instructor. He completed two tours of operations, took part in the opening of the Ruhr Campaign in March 1943 and was awarded the…

Naval photographs
Four photographs mounted on an album page.
The photograph at the top of the page shows a naval ship at sea. The ship has a mast, three funnels and a gun turret on the front. Caption reads 'HMS Burzah [ORP Burza] corvette circa 1943 Ship of Able…

Greetings cards and naval photographs
Three greetings cards and two photographs mounted on an album page.

Top row left is a card embroidered with coloured flowers and the words 'To my Sweetheart'.
Top row right is a coloured printed card depicting Christ in the manger surrounded…

Air Gunner's Database
An application for David Craven's details to be included on the database of the Air Gunners' Association, signed by his son. The form includes details of David Craven's squadrons, stations, training and operations.

Airmen with Avro Anson
Six men in flying gear standing next to an Avro Anson. The ground beneath the aircraft is wet and muddy. The image has the caption 'The best of the week ahead'.

Town pays respects to wartime air hero
A newspaper article paying tribute to David Craven's wartime service with 50 and 15 squadrons. The article was published on the day of his funeral, which was attended by members of the Air Gunners' Association.

Airmen in Prestwick
Twenty six airmen in uniform standing and crouching outside. The photograph is annotated with crosses above the heads of two men on the back row. Caption reads: 'RAFVR 1939/40 Prestwick LAC D Craven 3rd left top row'.

David Craven's Certificate of Service and Discharge (Form 1996)
David Craven's certificate of service from 27 June 1939 to 22 June 1945 with details of his civilian occupation, description, marriage and next of kin.

Airmen in front of Hampden
A group of airmen in uniform standing in front of and on the wings of a Hampden. There is a dog sitting on the right hand side of the group and a second aircraft is visible in the background.

Propaganda leaflet
Leaflet printed in German

15 Squadron Stirling Crew
Five photographs of airmen in uniform mounted on an album page. The page has the title '15 Sqd Stirling crew 1943. Bourn/Mildenhall/Waterbeach'. Each photograph has a caption identifying the men and their roles.

The photograph top left shows…

Stirling Mark I BF436 LS E
Stirling BF436 LS E on the ground.

Caption reads: 'Stirling I BF436 Bourn LS E Feb 1943 15 Squadron'.

15 Squadron
Squadron photograph of airmen in five rows in front of a Stirling. All are in uniform. The image is annotated with crosses in front of three men sitting cross legged on the front row and one man standing on the second row from the back.

Caption…

Stirling Mark I BF439 LS D
A Stirling with the letters D LS painted on the fuselage parked with nine ground crew standing around the aircraft. There is a scaffold tower positioned beneath one of the port engines and part of the engine cowling has been removed.

Caption…

Number 10 Air Gunnery School
Eleven airmen in uniform standing and sitting outside. Annotated with a cross above the head of the man standing fourth from the left on the back row. Aircraft and hangars are visible in the background.

Caption reads: 'No 10 Air Gunnery School…

RAF Lindholme operations room
Four airmen sitting and one standing around a table in the operations room. Three men have cups and saucers and one is holding a pen over a map. There are blackboards and notices on the wall behind the men.

Caption reads: 'Press photo taken RAF…

David Craven's statement of service and certificate of discharge
Brief statement of service and certificate of discharge (RAF Form 1394) for David Craven. The form states that David Craven trained and qualified as a wireless operator/air gunner and he completed 318 hours operational flying.

David Craven DFM
Two newspaper cuttings reporting that David Craven has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal mounted on an album page.

The medal ribbon and a head and shoulders photograph of David Craven in civilian clothes are mounted on the same page. …

Officers and NCOs 50 Squadron, RAF Lindholme
A group of airmen in uniform, together with a dog, standing in front of and on the wings of a Hampden aircraft. Caption 'Officers and NCOs 50 Squadron RAF Lindholme circa 1941 F/S Craven 3rd from right'. A second aircraft is visible in the…
View all 20 items

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