John Leonard Ramsden
Civilian
Image from Green harbor's website on the writing 69th.
The website fails to identify the camerman on the far right, however Jim Wright recalled in 1981, that Ronnie Noble also attended the combat crew training, and the cameraman depicted resembles identifiable images from Getty and IWM (09:26) of Noble
Object Number - UPL 55259 - British Newsreel cameramen, Ken Gordon, Jim Wright, Jack Ramsden, George Oswald and Ronnie Noble during USAAF combat crew training with the Writing...
Jack Ramsden joined British Movietone news as a cameraman in 1938. He filmed the Blitz in 1940 and the Vaagso Raid against Norway in 1941. In 1943 Jack, completed a five-day USAAF combat crew training course alongside five other British newsreel cameramen and members of the Writing 69th.
In Spring 1943, Ramsden became one of the the first cameramen to capture USAAF daylight bombing over enemy territory, taking part in missions over Rouen and Bremen. Filming from the waist window of a B-17, Ramsden created a heated blanket to prevent his camera from freezing, which was featured in the 1943 film 'Cameraman at War'.
Ramsden went on to accompany Winston Churchill to conferences in Cairo and Tehran, and was assigned to HMS Scorpion on D-Day. He filmed VE Day celebrations outside Buckingham Palace in May 1945.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Other
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: British
- Unit: 323rd Bomb Group 91st Bomb Group 323rd Bomb Squadron The Writing 69th Royal Air Force
- Service Numbers: 100107 (Royal Flying Corps)
- Role/Job: Cameraman
Missions
- Date: 28 March 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
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Died |
Revisions
IWM UKY 522 Cameramen at War, 1943, Biography written by Terrence Gallacher