Photograph courtesy of Bob Thompson of the Aviation Preservation Society
of Scotland. (APSS).
25. Along with Robert, the main characters at the Laboratories during the war—
at least in terms of the number of times they were referenced in the Diary—
were; Dr. D. R. P. Dudding, Dr. D. C. Espley, I. C. Gamage, M. R. Gavin,
B. S. Gossling, O. W. Humphreys, G. C. Marris, Dr. E. C. S. Megaw, Dr.
A. H. Railing, J. W. Ryde, J. M. Waldram, Dr. T. Walmsley, W.
E. Willshaw and G. T. Winch. Robert therefore belonged to an elite group.
26. 15 January 1940, Clayton and Algar, op. cit. (note 1), p. 22.
27. AI Mk II turned out to be an operational failure however.
28. By 1942 with Wembley’s help, EKCO entered full production of air interceptor radar AI Mark VIII—probably at Malmesbury—and it stayed in
production there for the rest of the war (Source Grace’s Guide, https://
www.gracesguide.co.uk/).
29. From the article, Ian White, ‘A Short History of Air Intercept Radar and the
British Night Fighter. 1936–1945. Part One, (https://www.yumpu.com).
30. http://www.bombsight.org/explore/greater-london/harrow/.
31. ‘A Child’s Memories of World War 2 in Harrow’, WW2 People’s War, BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/87/a2051687.shtml
32. Recorded in the immigration records; Detroit Border Crossings and
Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905–1957. Courtesy of Ancestry.co.uk.
33. Gilbert S. Guinn, The Arnold Scheme, The History Press, (2007), ISBN
978-1-59629-042, to which I am completely indebted for my understanding
and which I fully acknowledge here. The copyright remains with the author.
As we write, one of the original members of SE-42-E (Sept 1941),
92-year-old Dennis Payne, returned to Americus, his visit reported in the
Times Recorder of 02 June 2011 (http://www.americustimesrecorder.com).
34. The RAFVR was the principal recruitment body for the RAF during the war.
It held a ‘pool’ of men who could be called upon to serve ‘as and when’.
35. John Augustin enlisted in the RAFVR as an aircraftsman (A.C.2, the lowest
RAF rank, a ‘private’) at the Uxbridge recruitment centre on 14 September
1940. He was ‘called up’ on 25 January 1941 and transferred to an Initial
Training Wing becoming leading aircraftman (LAC) on 05 April 1941.
Subsequently assigned to the Arnold Scheme, he moved to a Personnel Transit
Centre on 30 May 1941 and from there travelled to the USA. Courtesy of RAF
Disclosures, RAF Cranwell, SLEAFORD. (11 November 2013).
But at twenty-nine when he joined the scheme, his age suggests that he had
already been a member of the RAFVR for some time. Indeed, the RAFVR
Officers website records him at the time as Sgt. Le Rossignol, 1288222. See
also footnote, London Gazette, 19 May 1942. For the RAFVR visit, http://
www.unithistories.com/officers/RAFVR_officers_L01.html/.
17 The GEC Laboratories 1939–1949
449
of Scotland. (APSS).
25. Along with Robert, the main characters at the Laboratories during the war—
at least in terms of the number of times they were referenced in the Diary—
were; Dr. D. R. P. Dudding, Dr. D. C. Espley, I. C. Gamage, M. R. Gavin,
B. S. Gossling, O. W. Humphreys, G. C. Marris, Dr. E. C. S. Megaw, Dr.
A. H. Railing, J. W. Ryde, J. M. Waldram, Dr. T. Walmsley, W.
E. Willshaw and G. T. Winch. Robert therefore belonged to an elite group.
26. 15 January 1940, Clayton and Algar, op. cit. (note 1), p. 22.
27. AI Mk II turned out to be an operational failure however.
28. By 1942 with Wembley’s help, EKCO entered full production of air interceptor radar AI Mark VIII—probably at Malmesbury—and it stayed in
production there for the rest of the war (Source Grace’s Guide, https://
www.gracesguide.co.uk/).
29. From the article, Ian White, ‘A Short History of Air Intercept Radar and the
British Night Fighter. 1936–1945. Part One, (https://www.yumpu.com).
30. http://www.bombsight.org/explore/greater-london/harrow/.
31. ‘A Child’s Memories of World War 2 in Harrow’, WW2 People’s War, BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/87/a2051687.shtml
32. Recorded in the immigration records; Detroit Border Crossings and
Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905–1957. Courtesy of Ancestry.co.uk.
33. Gilbert S. Guinn, The Arnold Scheme, The History Press, (2007), ISBN
978-1-59629-042, to which I am completely indebted for my understanding
and which I fully acknowledge here. The copyright remains with the author.
As we write, one of the original members of SE-42-E (Sept 1941),
92-year-old Dennis Payne, returned to Americus, his visit reported in the
Times Recorder of 02 June 2011 (http://www.americustimesrecorder.com).
34. The RAFVR was the principal recruitment body for the RAF during the war.
It held a ‘pool’ of men who could be called upon to serve ‘as and when’.
35. John Augustin enlisted in the RAFVR as an aircraftsman (A.C.2, the lowest
RAF rank, a ‘private’) at the Uxbridge recruitment centre on 14 September
1940. He was ‘called up’ on 25 January 1941 and transferred to an Initial
Training Wing becoming leading aircraftman (LAC) on 05 April 1941.
Subsequently assigned to the Arnold Scheme, he moved to a Personnel Transit
Centre on 30 May 1941 and from there travelled to the USA. Courtesy of RAF
Disclosures, RAF Cranwell, SLEAFORD. (11 November 2013).
But at twenty-nine when he joined the scheme, his age suggests that he had
already been a member of the RAFVR for some time. Indeed, the RAFVR
Officers website records him at the time as Sgt. Le Rossignol, 1288222. See
also footnote, London Gazette, 19 May 1942. For the RAFVR visit, http://
www.unithistories.com/officers/RAFVR_officers_L01.html/.
17 The GEC Laboratories 1939–1949
449