Page 5 - Horace Drew

The RAF’s method of selecting crews was to put them together in a hangar and let themselves
sort themselves out into crews. This worked well and over the coming years this type of selection
process was adopted by all training units. The crew here converted to the Vickers Wellington twin
engine medium bomber. It was here he had his promotion to Temporary Sergeant confirmed on
st
the 31 December 1941.
Fully trained, Horace and his crew left the UK by troopship and arrived in Egypt in December 1941
th
as part of the Middle East Desert Air force, the crew being posted to 37 Squadron on the 24
December 1941 to fly the Vickers Wellington.
Here, his rank of Temporary Flight Sergeant Service was confirmed on the 31 December 1941.
st
Horace and his crew flew 35 operations with 37 Squadron. They were screened from further flying
duties having completed their tour of operations, the crew completing its last operation against
enemy motor transport in the Western desert on the 6 /7 July 1942.
th
th
Horace returned to the UK on 25 July 1942 arriving at No. 2 Personnel Dispatch Centre at
th
Morecombe in Lancashire.

As an experienced tour expired pilot he was chosen to serve as a flying instructor with
24 Operational Training Unit at RAF Honeybourne near Evesham in Worcestershire arriving there
after a period of home leave on the 10 August 1942.
th
Here he trained novice pilots in everything they would need to know flying the Vickers Wellington,
but it was a dangerous job as many novice pilots made errors resulting in the death of both crew
and instructor. In addition the war weary airframes they were expected to fly were death traps with
many instances of engines and wings falling off due to the stresses the airframe had received
during its operational life with a Main Force squadron.
th
On the 12 January 1943 he was posted to RAF South Cerney near Cirencester in Gloustershire
and undertook additional training with No.3 Flying Instructors Course (Advanced), the course
number was 48.

Returning to 24 O.T.U. on 10th February 1943 he continued instructing both here and at RAF
th
Lulsgate Bottom (now Bristol Airport) until 29 February 1944 when Horace was posted to
19 O.T.U. at RAF Kinloss, Scotland, again as a Pilot Instructor.

Horace was promoted Warrant Officer on the 31 December 1943.
st
th
On the 29 August 1944 Horace once again was on the move, this time to RAF Abingdon,
Oxfordshire to continue training novice pilots with 10 O.T.U.

At this point Horace must have decided it was probably safer flying operations with Main Force
than continue being an instructor with the O.T.U., he therefore volunteered for a second tour of
operations and was posted to 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Lindholme in South Yorkshire.

Lindholme (71 Base) was the main Station controlling two other Stations involved in converting
crew’s to the four engine Heavy bomber, the Handley page Halifax and the Avro Lancaster. These
Stations were at Sandtoft (1667 H.C.U.) just east of Doncaster and Blyton (1662 H.C.U.)
north of Gainsbourgh.

These three Stations formed No. 1 Groups Heavy Conversion units with the Group’s Lancaster
Finishing School (1L.F.S.) stationed at RAF Hemswell.

th
Arriving at Lindholme on the 24 November 1944 he undertook this conversion course with his
new crew and was passed ready for Main Force operations on the 19 February 1945. The crew
th
were posted to 576 Squadron at RAF Fiskerton to begin air operations.