F/L Albert Charles Blackie DFC RAFVR - 576 Sqn - 1943/44 - Pilot.
For Brian Rolfe’s tribute to Bob Blackie scroll half way down the page
F/L Blackie’s medal group
Albert Charles Blackie was born in Tooting, London, in 1923. He joined the RAFVR in 1941, and underwent initial pilot training at No. 6 EFTS, Sywell, from Apr 42, followed by further training in Georgia, U.S.A from Aug 42 - Feb 43. He was promoted to Sgt and returned to the UK to No. 6 AFU and 28 OTU Castle Donington where he flew a Wellington on his first operational sortie on Sept 3rd 43 to a target in the Forest of Aisnes.
Blackie was posted to 1667 HCU in Oct 43, and flew Halifax’s before converting to Lancasters. He joined the newly formed 576 Sqn (Lancasters), at Elsham Wolds, at the start of Dec 43 in time for the height of the Battle of Berlin. He flew 29 operational sorties with the squadron in just 5 months, including: Berlin (7); Stettin; Magdeburg; Schweinfurt; Augsberg; Stuttgart; Frankfurt (2); Karlsruhe; Friedichshaven; Lyon; Mailly Le Camp; Hasselt; Orleans; Duisburg; Dortmund and the disastrous raid on Nuremberg on 30 Mar 44. During the return from Mailly le Camp they were attacked by fighters. The aircraft was severely damaged and the crew were forced to land at the emergency landing ground at Woodbridge. Fortunately, they had the satisfaction of claiming the destruction of a JU88 during the combat. Whilst at Elsham he met his wife Wyn; they were married for 68 years.
After his 1st tour, Blackie was posted to No 1 LFS, Hemswell, in Jun 44, and awarded the DFC (LG 19 Sept 44). Subsequent postings, as a Fg Off, included 1662 HCU, Blyton and 1336 TSCU Welford where he converted to Dakotas. He joined 76 Transport Sqn as a Flt Lt in Poona, India, in Feb 46 and left the RAF on 12 Jun 46.
Flt Lt Blackie died on the 6th Nov 2016 near Church Stretton, Shropshire, aged 93. He was buried in Shrewsbury on 22 Nov 2016.
London Gazette 19 September 1944:
“‘Since commencing his operational tour in December, 1943, as Captain of a Lancaster Bomber, this Officer has completed 29 sorties over enemy territory, and has attacked many of the most heavily defended targets, including seven attacks on Berlin. He has carried out these attacks with consistent skill and determination, often in the face of fierce opposition. During the attack on Mailly Camp on 3rd May, 1944, P/O Blackie’s aircraft was attacked by a Ju 88 and severely damaged just after leaving the target. In spite of the fact that the damage made the aircraft extremely difficult to fly, P/O Blackie succeeded in bringing it back to this country and made an emergency landing without further damage to the aircraft or crew. This Officer’s outstanding ability and strong sense of duty has set a fine example to Squadron and I strongly recommend him for the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross.” Despite the damage the aircraft landed safely at RAF Woodbridge and the Ju 88 was claimed as destroyed.
Remarks by Station Commander:
“Pilot Officer Blackie displayed a splendid fighting spirit during his tour of bomber operations. Even on the most bitterly defended German targets he faced the hazards with a cheerful demeanour which was an inspiration to his own and to other crews. His skill and courage was of an exceptionally high order; and enabled him to pursue the aim of the Command with the utmost accuracy. I therefore strongly recommend that he be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.”
Bob Blackie’s crew.
Bob Blackie RAFVR - Pilot - London.
George Nicol RAFVR - Flight Engineer - Glasgow.
Jim Cooper RAFVR - Navigator - London.
Charlie Hammond RAFVR - Bomb Aimer - Hull.
Harry Grey RAFVR - Mid Upper Gunner - Sheffield.
Bob Newman RAFVR - Rear Gunner - London
Harry Williams RAFVR - Wireless Operator - Grimsby
The photo below is a section of a 576 Sqn group pic taken in March 1944.
Seated extreme left in the second row back is Bob Blackie. Directly behind him is his Flight Engineer George Nicol. To George's right is Jim Cooper, then Charlie Hammond, Harry Grey and Bob Newman. On the back row extreme right is Harry Williams
George Nicol was born in Glasgow on 19 Dec 1912 and pre war worked as a Graphite Miller. He married Catherine on 2 Aug 1940 and enlisted in the RAFVR 3 days later on 5 Aug 1940 in the Flight Engineer Branch (Service Number 1109938). Completing his training at 11 Base Lindholme, 1667 Conversion Unit in Oct 1943, he was posted to 576 Sqn at RAF Elsham Wolds in Dec 1943. On 576 Sqn he completed 28 Operational missions as a Flt Sgt on the crew of Flt Lt Blackie DFC (being screened 2 ops). Tour expired, he left 576 Sqn on 7 Jun 1944 and was posted to 18 OTU as an instructor. Commissioned in Sep 1944, he joined 150 Sqn for a further Operational Tour and reached the rank of Flying Officer. He left the RAF in 1946 and subsequently emigrated to Canada where he died in 1999. He is commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial in Lincoln
F/L Blackie’s Tour with 576 Sqn
01/01/1944 - Berlin - Point of Aim – JA715 – Sgt AC Blackie
02/01/1944 - Berlin - Point of Aim – JA715 - Sgt AC Blackie
05/01/1944 - Stettin - Point of Aim – JB744 - Sgt AC Blackie
20/01/1944 - Berlin - Point of Aim - ME583 - Sgt AC Blackie
21/01/1944 - Magdeburg - Point of Aim - ME583 - Sgt AC Blackie
27/01/1944 - Berlin - Point of Aim - ME583 - Sgt AC Blackie
28/01/1944 - Berlin - Point of Aim - ME583 - Sgt AC Blackie
30/01/1944 - Berlin - Point of Aim - ME583 - Sgt AC Blackie
24/02/1944 - Schweinfurt - Point of Aim - ME583 - F/S AC Blackie
25/02/1944 - Augsburg - Point of Aim - ME583 - F/S AC Blackie
15/03/1944 - Stuttgart - Point of Aim - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
18/03/1944 - Frankfurt - Point of Aim - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
22/03/1944 - Frankfurt - Point of Aim - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
24/03/1944 - Berlin - Point of Aim - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
26/03/1944 - Essen - Point of Aim - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
30/03/1944 - Nuremberg - Point of Aim - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
11/04/1944 - Aachen - Point of Aim - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
18/04/1944 - Rouen - Railway yards - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
20/04/1944 - Cologne - Point of Aim - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
22/04/1944 - Dusseldorf - Point of Aim - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
24/04/1944 - Karlsruhe - Point of Aim - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
26/04/1944 - Essen - Point of Aim – ND859 - P/O AC Blackie
27/04/1944 - Friedrichshafen - Point of Aim - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
01/05/1944 - Lyons - Factory and railway - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie
03/05/1944 - Mailly-le-Camp - Army base - ME583 - P/O AC Blackie - Combat with twin engined night fighter. Starboard engine caught fire and starboard wing badly damaged. Emergency landing at Woodbridge. Night fighter claimed destroyed
11/05/1944 - Hasselt - Railway yards - ND994 - P/O AC Blackie
19/05/1944 - Orleans - Railway yards - ND994 - P/O AC Blackie
21/05/1944 - Duisburg - Point of Aim - ND994 - P/O AC Blackie
22/05/1944 - Dortmund - Point of Aim - ND994 - P/O AC Blackie
A Selection of Bombing Photos from these operations.
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Flight Lieutenant Albert Charles Blackie DFC – “Bob”
24th June 1923 – 6th November 2016
By Brian Rolfe
When I was 25 years old, I joined Tanqueray Gordon & Co - the makers of Gordons Gin, in Goswell Road in London, working for the Operations Manager, Bob Blackie. He was a great manager; always happy to explain, willing to delegate and most important of all, someone who could make you laugh with a joke from the Goon Show!
I was thrilled to discover (after some prompting) that he had been a Lancaster Bomber Pilot. As far as I was concerned, he was a war hero, however he was always very modest about his experiences, always remembering those who didn’t return. Nonetheless, I would ask lots of questions about flying and fondly remember him demonstrating the flight paths of planes with his hands. Bob was a wonderful boss, a great mentor who helped me establish my own career, something for which I am very grateful. Having known Bob for over 35 years I considered him much more than a friend. I have written the following as a tribute to this delightful man.
Early Years
Bob was born in Tooting on 24th June 1923, lived in Morden and considers himself a Londoner. He always said he had had a good life: being married to ‘Win’ for over 60 years, being privileged to fly for the RAF and having a successful post war career with Gordons Gin.
As a child he used to cycle the 5 miles to Croydon Aerodrome and watch the planes taking off and landing. He was always thrilled to see them and dreamed of being a pilot, something that was unlikely due to his working class roots. So, he left school at fourteen and worked at OK Sauce as a case-maker for export and then in the boiler house. He’d enjoyed maths at school and used to spend his spare time reading books on elementary mathematics for pleasure, something that would stand him in good stead later.
As a young boy he was a member of the choir at St. Marys in the Strand until his voice broke and he was asked to leave. His father encouraged all of his sons to take up boxing. Bob always claims he wasn’t any good, despite winning most of his fights. He just says he wanted to avoid being hurt, so stayed out of harm’s way. He won 8/8 amateur fights. He tells the story of being attacked one night by a couple of bigger lads who had him pinned to the floor – suddenly one said “look out, it’s Blackie” and they panicked and ran away, scared of getting a ‘pasting’. He laughed a lot at this. Both of his brothers reached the finals of national championships. He was later to box for the RAF.
His father Albert was a small but dapper man. He worked as a leather inspector for Connolley Leathers , where his Grandfather also worked. As soon as World War II broke out he volunteered for the army. Knowing that his wife wouldn’t approve, he simply went out of the house, signed up and didn’t return home for six weeks until he’d completed his basic training. He saw active service in Sicily and North Africa and also spent time guarding airfields. He was so proud of his son being an RAF Pilot. He had initially applied to the RAF as aircrew but wasn’t admitted as he had a perforated eardrum. He even tried to get posted to RAF Elsham Wolds to be near his son. After the war he told Bob that his biggest regret was never getting the opportunity to salute his son. He loved the Army, but always avoided promotion as he liked the discipline but didn’t want any responsibility.
Bob was close to his two brothers, Alf and Charlie. Alf – the middle brother who was heavier built than his brothers and used to say he’d put weight on just walking past a cake shop. Charlie, the youngest was slim and a lightweight boxer.
Bobs mother, Agnes was a nervous woman, always anxious as both her husband and son were directly involved in the war in front line roles.
Royal Air Force Career
Bob was eager to join up and volunteered at 17 ¼ to be aircrew. He joined up at 18 years old in 1941. His interest in maths stood him in good stead and he was put forward for pilot training. He went across the Atlantic on a troop ship to spend 10 months doing his Elementary, Basic and Advanced Training in the USA (Georgia and Alabama) and in Canada. He flew Tiger Moths, ET17s (early trainer), BT17s (basic trainer), AT18 (Advanced Trainer). He was struck by the warmth and friendliness of the local people, being offered opportunities to join local families for meals on leave days.
Bob was always a slim man (he was 5 stone 4 lbs at 16). When he arrived in USA the medics assumed he was suffering with malnutrition due to the war in Europe. As a consequence, he was put on a special diet of steaks and pints of milk three times a day. He absolutely loved it! However, at the end of three weeks there was no difference in his weight, so much to his disappointment they stopped the special diet – they realised he was naturally thin.
He loved flying so much. He was the first of his intake to fly solo. He recalled spending the flight singing at the top of his voice – an Al Jolson song.
Diploma from the US Army, Georgia on completion of pilot training
He also went on to box for the RAF, where he was known as the “Overcoat Boxer” as he never trained but spent his time in the gym, with his overcoat over his shoulders studying for his flying exams. His boxing career was stopped as he was a pilot and the RAF, quite reasonably, didn’t want to risk his eyes being damaged.
He remembers being paid 3/6 per day
Active Service
Among his aircraft, Bob flew Lancaster, Wellington and, Halifax bombers as well as Dakotas.
At his OTU – the Operational Training Unit they were needed for one of the early 1000 bomber raids on Germany, so the entire airbase turned out (hundreds of them) to wave them off, lining the perimeter, taxi way and road. They were thrilled – it was the first time the squadron had taken the action to the Germans. The bomb aimer sat in the front giving everyone the Royal wave.
On one of his first missions, while in a Lancaster bomber dropping leaflets, he was chased all over the sky by a Messerschmitt 109. Only becoming aware he had been jumped by seeing the enemy bullets going up through the wings, narrowly missing the fuel tanks. He instinctively began his evasion and managed to avoid being shot down. The forward gun was “faired in” with canvas to improve airspeed and this was cut to allow the gun to move. However, this caused the canvas skin of the aircraft to be badly frayed, exposing much of the airframe. On landing back at the airfield he remembers being cheered by the aircrew and ground crew. He used to laugh, saying he hadn’t been brave; he was just trying to survive.
He joined 576 Squadron, No 1 Group at at RAF Elsham Wolds, where he flew Lancasters - “a beautiful plane to fly”. His call sign was Fox Twice (F2). A tour was 30 missions which lasted about six to seven months. He began his tour in December, when flying conditions were difficult due to the weather. Bob was initially a Flight Sergeant, before being commissioned as Pilot Officer and later Flight Lieutenant Blackie. At first Bob didn’t want to apply for a commission but was told he had to – something he is grateful for, as he feels it opened doors for him after the war.
Bob was a very modest man. He talked about being in the London Underground and people would see his uniform and come up and tap him on the shoulder or want to shake his hand and say “Give ‘em one for me, boy”. He was very moved by these comments.
He had a good relationship with his crew. On the ground things were very relaxed but in the air Bob was Skipper.
At the airbase there was a girl called June, who handed out the parachutes to the crews. She became very attached to Bob’s crew as they used to laugh and joke with her. One night they were badly shot up and had to “land away” at another airfield until their plane could be made airworthy. Apparently she stayed up all night waiting for news of them – Bob was very touched by this.
Crews only lasted an average of six missions before being shot down - Bob and his crew flew thirty missions on their first operational tour of duty. The casualty rate for Bomber Command was well over fifty percent so most crews didn’t make it. It’s difficult to imagine the mental strength it must take to get into the Lancaster, knowing that you are flying to heavily defended areas and then to get home to find friends and fellow crews have just disappeared. Bob would talk about how close his own crew were; however he would say they tried not to become too close to other crews as the casualty rate was so high.
I had known Bob for some years before I discovered he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Ever modest, he would say he was just lucky and to always remember those who didn’t make it.
Newspaper clipping awarding Distinguished Flying Cross
The crew were seemingly selected by a surprisingly informal process. Once all aircrew had passed their training they were all put together in a large room, with drinks and snacks. The skippers would walk around building up their crew. “Are you a bomb aimer? I’m looking for a bomb aimer”.
The Navigator – was Jim Cooper, an older man at 35. He’d been a coalman before the war. Jim’s father had a pub – “The Comus” at Moorfields, 102 Bemerton St, London. (Sadly, it no longer exists – it would have been nice to have had a pint there). The crew would all meet there at the end of six day leaves before heading back to base. As a young man, around 20 years old, Bob recalled being taken aside by Jim’s father (who must have been 60) and being asked, “You will look after him, won’t you”. He did.
The Bomb aimer – was Charlie Hammond described by Bob as “a lovely boy, a natural”. Charlie had been on Bob’s pilot training group but had failed, so was transferred to Bomb Aiming. He bumped into Bob at the informal session and Bob was delighted to see him again so offered him a place in his crew immediately. Apparently he had a great ability to recognise the terrain from tiny gaps in the cloud or fog, a great asset.
The Rear Gunner – was Bob Newman. He was unfortunately killed in a flying accident post war.
The Engineer – was a Scotsman – George Nicol
The Wireless Operator – Taffy Williams
The crew of “Fox Twice, 576 Squadron”
On completion of his 30 missions, Bob would become a flying instructor at the Fighter Affiliation Unit, teaching evasive action. He loved flying so much that he used to volunteer for extra flights. His final months in the RAF were spent in India and the Far East, flying Dakotas, bringing troops and supplies back from their scattered locations.
Win and Bob Wedding photo
When Bob first saw Win, he knew she was the one for him. He was introduced to her by a mutual friend. During their courtship, Bob wrote to her every day; these letters were treasured by Win. Love blossomed and ten months later while on leave from RAF operations Bob married Win on a very foggy day in 1944. It was so foggy they couldn’t have any wedding photos. So they went home and knocked on the door of a local photographer, whose shop was closed. When they told them they just wanted a photo of their wedding day, he opened up and took their one photo.
Meeting post war with surviving members of his crew
Post War
Two years after the war ended, Bob and Win set up home together. First buying a house in Morden and later moving to Tring in Hertfordshire. Bob joined a small expanding business called Tanqueray Gordon & Co, the makers of Gordons Gin. He had a successful 40 year career with the company, retiring in the position of Operations Manager
Holidays were spent exploring the countryside, accompanied by their much loved pet dogs, miniature poodles and they often went with Bobs brother, Charlie and his wife, also Win.
After Bob retired they began looking for a bungalow and from a two line advert in the Daily Telegraph, discovered a new estate on bungalows being built in Craven Arms, Shropshire. It was here they had many years of happiness together, enjoying their garden and the close relationship they developed with their neighbours. Sadly, Win passed away in January 2013.
Win, Bob and Brian
2015 - My friend, Bob
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With grateful thanks to Kip Smith. Also to Flt Lt Colin Nicol for the additional material. Also Mr B Rolfe for his most detailed contribution and photos.
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