WONZ 286 – Wings Over Britain: The International Bomber Command Centre

Guests: Dr. Dan Ellin and Peter Jones Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: 5th of July 2023 Published: 6th of October 2023 Duration: 50 minutes, 5 seconds In this episode Dave Homewood visited the International Bomber Command Centre, where he met Dr. Dan Ellin, of the University of Lincoln, who is the archivist for the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive. Dan is responsible for the digitisation of letters, diaries, and photographs that come into the centre from veterans or families, and he also records oral histories with veterans. As curator of the exhibition for the IBCC visitor centre, Dan was also responsible for the content of three galleries that tell the stories of the bomber crews, the stories of those on the ground and how Bomber Command has been remembered since WWII. Dave also met Peter Jones, who also works in the archive, digitising content. Peter’s father served with RAF Bomber Command during WWII. Since 2015 the archive has recorded over 1,000 oral history interviews and over 100,000 digital files. The ICCC was very busy on the day of my visit, including with lots of school groups, which made the place a little noisy in the background. Quick Links: • The International Bomber Command Centre website • The International Bomber Command Centre Facebook Page • The Bomber Command Digital Archive Above: Dr. Dan Ellin Above: Peter Jones. The display that Dan described of where the heavy bomber raids took place during WWII. The music in this episode is I Vow To Thee, My Country by Gustav Holst.