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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth P  Parkin, Harold |
[UP] - Page, Frederick - Page, Geoffrey - Palliser, Charles - Parfitt, Bill - Parker, Charles - Parkin, Eric - Parkin, Harold - Parkinson, Colin - Parrott, Peter - Parry, D - Parry, Gwyn - Parry, Hugh - Parsons, Beck - Parsons, Lou - Partridge, Richard - Patterson, Charles - Patterson, Ernie - Pattison, H - Paulk, John - Payne, Aan - Payne, Tom - Pearl, John - Pearson, R - Peel, John - Pegler, Roy - Pemberton, John - Penny, Michael - Perks, Geoffrey - Petrie-Andrews, John - Phillips, D F W - Phillips, J - Phillips, Pip - Pickering, James - Pickering, Tony - Pinfold, Herbert - Pinner, Al - Pinning, Jim - Pitt-Brown, Willam - Plumridge, Ken - Pottinger, Ron - Poore, Arthur - Pears, Harry - Prichard, George - Pugh, Dei - Pujji, Mahinder |
Flg Of Harold Parkin
Harold Parkin Joined the RAF in 1941 and underwent initial pilot training was at Stratford-on-Avon, and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. After the exams he was sent for Northamptonshire to learn to fly in the Tiger Moths. Harold Parkin was posted to Spittlegate near Grantham, a permanent RAF base, where he got his wings in 1942. For a period of time here went to Montrose in Scotland for training as a flying instructor and intructed at Little Rissington, near Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds where he spent the next two years training new pilots. In 1944 he was given a commission and sent to Operational Training Unit at Bruntingthorpe. As part of his flying squad, he had one bomb-aimer and one gunner from Rhodesia, and because of this, the rules required that they came under the (44th.) Rhodesian Squadron. Harold Parkin was involved in the last raid of the war. The mission was to fly to Berchtesgarten, Hitler's retreat in Bavaria. The mission was in broad daylight with 2 fighter escorts, where they proceeded to bomb Hitler's SS barracks in the bottom of the valley. In 1945-6, Harold served in transport operations, being based first in Stradishall, Suffolk and then at Stoneycross in the New Forest. They spent most of that time taking freight to Karachi and ferrying POW from Japanese prisoner of war camps. Harold Parkin left the RAF in 1946 but in 1951 joined the reserve and in 1953 was called up to train Pilots for the Korean war. Harold was at Flying Training Command HQ, near Reading as part of the Examining Board. until his retirement in 1972. Harold piloted the Lancaster Bomber Yorker Mk.111 Lancaster KM-Y 44 (Rhodesia Squadron). Yorker was one of about 35 Lancasters (out of thousands that were produced during the war) which completed over 100 operations.
| Flg Of Harold Parkin - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Bombing Up Yorker by Robin Smith. This print depicts a Lancaster Mk.III powered by four Merlin engines. Assigned to 44 (Rhodesia) squadron on 5th February 1944 to Dunholme Lodge, KM (Yorker) ND 578 was flown by P.O. John Chatterton on its first fifteen operations after which he received the D.F.C. In fact the whole crew received the D.F.C after their tour, this being very unusual during the war, a gesture reflecting the heroism of the equally brave crew. Y-Yorker completed its 100th sortie in February 1945 with F.O. Hayler as skipper, surviving to complete its 123rd operation by 17/18th April with Harold Parkin in the driving seat, by this time stationed at Spilsby. The significance of the spade nose art reflects to the fact that John Chatterton was a farmer, a career that continued after the war, and became his logo. Unfortunately, his commander didn't approve of it, and it only lasted one week before it had to come off! |
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