John Peter Gilbert
Civilian
Taken by Jenny of the AAM team at the 8th Air Force Historical Society reunion in Nashville, Tennessee in October 2014.
Object Number - UPL 5493 - Photograph of John Gilbert, a British civilian with wartime memories of Wendling and the 392nd Bomb Group.
Born in Norwich and then moved to Wendling when his house got bombed in one of the Baedecker Raids. His father, also John known as 'Jack, was working on the base for Taylor Woodrow. He was helping build the runway and the buildings on the site.
John remembers becoming aware of the base when he was about 7-8 years old and ended up making lots of friends among the American servicemen. He is now the British representative of the 392nd Bomb Group Association.
He worked for the cannery (Corbatch Canners, then Foster Clark's, latterly Robertson's) as Production Foreman.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Norwich, Norfolk, UK | 27 November 1937 | Norwich |
|
Other Moved to Wendling |
Wendling, Dereham, Norfolk NR19, UK | Was blitzed out during one of the Baedecker raids and moved to a small cottage in Wendling. | |
|
Other Moved to Cawston |
Cawston, Norwich, Norfolk, UK | Went to work at the cannery |
Revisions
Information supplied by John Gilbert at the 8th Air Force Historical Society reunion in Nashville, Tennessee in October 2014
