RAF Harrowbeer Archives, Education & Heritage Centre

RAF Harrowbeer Archives, Education & Heritage Centre Formerly a Tearoom on a WW2 Airfield, now a museum and educational centre, with light refreshments.

Evening all. It's now just 16 days to go before this years Armed Forces Day ,Saturday 27th of June. Come along and give...
10/06/2026

Evening all. It's now just 16 days to go before this years Armed Forces Day ,Saturday 27th of June. Come along and give them some support. The venue for the day as normal is The Hoe.
We-re planning to be there, look out for us near the vintage Military vehicles. If you can make it, come & say hello.

Good evening all, I've been contacted again this evening by a friend and fellow Group member Chris, from Gull Perch Hist...
09/06/2026

Good evening all, I've been contacted again this evening by a friend and fellow Group member Chris, from Gull Perch Historical Archives. This time Chris has sent me an image of F.O H.A "Herb" Wagner. As mentioned during my earlier post Herb was an American citizen ( with Hollywood Looks.) Who after ditching off Guernsey became a P.O.W for the remaining duration of WW2. So like the previous image of "Robbie" we've kindly been given permission to share it with you, with thanks to Steve Brew historian on 41 Squadron for the photograph of "Herb" Wagner.

Regards, Nev.

P.s, Thanks Chris for your input .
Crew: Please take time to visit Chris's FB page & YouTube Channel.

Good afternoon, as promised yesterday, I'd like to return to tell you more about the loss of Spitfire MK12 MB843 being f...
09/06/2026

Good afternoon, as promised yesterday, I'd like to return to tell you more about the loss of Spitfire MK12 MB843 being flown on the 2nd June 1944 by Flying Officer (F.O) H.A. Wagner, an American pilot flying with No 41 Squadron from RAF Bolt Head on a mission over the Channel Islands. As previously stated his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire (ack ack) which caused enough damage so that he needed to bailout. Once again he was able to get into his dinghy & await help or rescue. Two lifeboat carrying Warwick's attempted to deliver their charges , both lifeboat drops failed, parachutes wouldn't release on the 1st one and failed to open on the 2nd one. Although a Walrus aircraft & HSL launch were on their way, a small fishing boat with a Red/White & Blue flash on the bow , set off & recovered him before they arrived. His recovery resulted in him becoming a P.O.W. I have attached images of 41 & 276 Squadron ORB's relating to the incident, of note one of the names that appears on the page relating to the mission & subsequent aircover was to lose his own life five days later when he was forced to bailout over the same stretch of sea. (F.O K.B Robinson).
As normal I will add extra narrative to the images. This will include red dots on some. All of the ORB pages are from the National Archives. The aircraft images from the net via IWM. Thank You.
Regards, Nev.

P.s, for anyone coming into this story part way through, please refer to the previous three posts.

Good afternoon all, I thought this would be worth sharing with our new crew members. I've sort of misled you when I sugg...
08/06/2026

Good afternoon all, I thought this would be worth sharing with our new crew members. I've sort of misled you when I suggested returning to 2.6.2024 for the story of the other 41 Squadron aircraft lost of Guernsey. Having re-checked my post I see I was more interested then in the dropping of the first two Airborne lifeboats by 276 Squadron and not so much about F.O Wagner, the unfortunate Spitfire pilot who had bailed out. I will remedy that very shortly.
But for now, please acquaint yourself with the background of his rescue per say .
Regards, Nev.

Good evening all, I was contacted earlier this evening by friend and fellow Group member Chris, from Gull Perch Historic...
07/06/2026

Good evening all, I was contacted earlier this evening by friend and fellow Group member Chris, from Gull Perch Historical Archives. Chris kindly sent me an image of our Chap. Flying Officer Kenneth Basil ROBINSON (139816) of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. We have been given permission to share with you. So, with thanks to Karen Neale through Steve Brew historian on 41 Squadron for the photograph of "Robbie" Robinson.

Thank you Chris, regards Nev.

Good morning all, today 82years ago Flying Officer K.B Robinson was airborne at 8.40am as Red2 along with three other pi...
07/06/2026

Good morning all, today 82years ago Flying Officer K.B Robinson was airborne at 8.40am as Red2 along with three other pilots of Red & Black section from No41 Squadron from RAF Bolt Head to provide Fighter cover for Bombphoon (Typhoon bomber) from 263 Squadron attacking the Quay on St Peters Port Guernsey . The flight was met with light /medium flack, and his Spitfire was hit in the radiator which caused him to broadcast that he would have to bail out. Red 1 F/Lt Collis climbed to 10,000 ft in order to send a Mayday message. F/O Robinson bailed out , but sadly lost his Dinghy pack from his parachute harness. So had to rely on his Mae-west. It was 1/2hr later that F/L Collis was able to drop his own dinghy to him (no easy task considering the pack is trapped between his backside & parachute pack). Warwick aircraft from 276 Squadron flying from RAF Portreath arrived on the scene to drop an Airborne Lifeboat MK1a . This would be the third drop carried out by 276Sqd, the 1st two on the 2nd of June. Sadly, due to an incident with the parachute release the boat was carried away, A series of sad events now occurred, another boat was dropped to him with similar results. , He was thrown from his dinghy into the rough seas . A Walrus scrambled from Bolt head , made a successful landing in the area, but couldn't recover him (17 attempts). eventually he was rescued by an High Speed Launch (HSL). Sadly he died of Hypothermia. His body was returned to RAF Harrowbeer, he lies in St Andrews Church ,Buckland Monachorum . I have attached images of his head stone + pages from both 41 & 276 Squadron ORB'S (Operation Record Books) . Interestingly, Sue & I visited our Friends at Brixham Battery Heritage Group & Museum, a couple of weeks ago, they have on display a four bladed propeller hub from a Spitfire Mk12 recovered from the seabed off the Channel Islands , two aircraft of this type where lost off there One on the 2nd & the other on the 7th of June, both aircraft from No 41Squadron.
Regards, Nev.

Apologies, its another biggy, extra information as normal with the images.

06/06/2026

Evening, if anyone is home , switch to 5 select on T.V D.Day landings at the moment talking about Pegasus ,bridge.

Afternoon everyone , apologies for returning again to my last post on the capture of the Bridges on the Caen Canal & Orn...
06/06/2026

Afternoon everyone , apologies for returning again to my last post on the capture of the Bridges on the Caen Canal & Orne river. Sadly last night I couldn't find two of the images I wanted to include. (isn't that always the way). So, please view them now. The first is of Lieutenant Herbert Denham (Den) Brotheridge, the first British soldier to be killed on D,.Day, the second is a Red Beret with the Ox & Bucks Cap Badge............. I thought you might also like to know (if you didn't already) about the training that was carried out on In Exeter. I have attached an image of the interpretation board sited by the local council . The Exeter Canal bridges were used for military training prior to D-Day in 1944, specifically for the Second Battalion, Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. These training exercises were conducted to prepare troops for the glider-borne assault on the Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge in Normandy. The bridges were chosen for their layout, which mirrored the real bridges in Normandy, allowing soldiers to practice various scenarios in case of a D-Day plan going awry. The training involved both day and night rehearsals, and the operation was successful, ensuring that the Allies controlled key crossings over the Caen Canal and River Orne, which was crucial for the invasion.

Regards, Nev.

Can you believe it was two years ago at this time that I and two friends made the crossing to France for a four day trip...
05/06/2026

Can you believe it was two years ago at this time that I and two friends made the crossing to France for a four day trip to celebrate the then 80th Anniversary of the D.Day landings. I decided before we were on the ferry that I would try and share with you my experience of those Momentous Days. We sailed from Portsmouth on the 4th, arriving in Quistreham at 6.30am on the 5th. Before traveling on into Caen our base for the four days. If you weren't with the group back then. I have attached my dialogue from just before midnight, but this time added three images as well. .......................... Just before 11.00pm (23.00hrs) this evening the 5th of June 1944. Major John Howard with troops from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light infantry (Ox's & Buck's). Took off from RAF Tarrant Rushton in Dorset being towed in their Horsa Gliders. Their objective was to seize/secure the bridges over the Caen/Orne canel at Benouville. Just over an hour later they glided down the first landing 50yards from there objective, it's two companions landing close by. Major Howards watch stopped at 00.16 hrs.There mission was accomplished after the brief fight. The first British soldier to die on D.Day was Lt. Den Brotheridge, killed whilst crossing the bridge. His wife was expecting their 1st child. The cafe near the bridge, owned by the Gondree family where the 1st to be Liberated. The bridge as been forever known as Pegasus Bridge. D.Day had begun, and the long road to Liberation had started Regards Nev 🥀

Afternoon all, following on from my last post about the failed lifeboat drop in Plymouth Sound. I had a call from a frie...
26/05/2026

Afternoon all, following on from my last post about the failed lifeboat drop in Plymouth Sound. I had a call from a friend, he thought easier to get a verbal answer to his question. It being, how are the parachutes deployed? So, to return to it (I did tell him over the phone). I will explain in images from the relevant Air publication or A.P. How the parachutes are deployed . One of these images is from the A.P for the MK1a boat, the others for the MK2a Lancaster arrangement. (I love manuals, apparently there the only thing I read). Also I've added an explanation to the the first as to whats going on.

Regards, Nev.

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