Listen "Memories of the WW2 humanitarian "Operation Manna": A Lancaster Gunner's Tale"
Episode Synopsis
Sergeant Jeff Brown served as a mid-upper gunner on Lancasters in World War II under the leadership of a New Zealand skipper. In today's recording, Jeff shares his still-vivid memories of Operation Manna, a humanitarian food drop made in Avro Lancasters to relieve the starving Dutch population in World War II's closing stages. Jeff recalls seeing the civilians, especially the children, rushing to open the boxes that his aircraft had dropped. Jeff flew on these kinds of operations right up to the last day of the war, on VE Day itself. He recalls the gratitude of the Dutch people on the day with thank you messages spelt out in flowers on the ground. And for the very much longer term, and moving to much more recent times, we hear about tea with King Charles. We're very grateful to the Tameside Talking newspaper for the blind and visually impaired for permitting us to use their recording.
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