The Beach Boys: Flying with 514 Squadron RAF

Serving in the RAF’s No. 3 Group, Bomber Command, between September 1943 and August 1945, 514 Squadron played a crucial role in the relentless battle against the most evil regime Western Europe has ever known. After initially operating from RAF Foulsham, the squadron eventually settled into its permanent base at RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire in December 1943. Some aircraft even took a detour via a raid on Berlin from the old base to the new.

At the core of the squadron were the brave individuals who risked their lives in Lancaster bombers, supported by dedicated ground crew. The Operational Record Book contains detailed information on 224 different crews, each identified by the name of its pilot along with photographs of the crew members meticulously researched and compiled by Roger Guernon. The tales of these crews on operational sorties, often ending with the haunting phrase 'Aircraft Missing', are recorded in official accounts edited by Stephen Kingham in the two companion volumes of the 514 Squadron trilogy, ‘Striking Through Clouds’ and ‘Nothing Can Stop Us’.

The sacrifices made by 514 Squadron were immense, with 88 Lancasters lost on operations and three during training flights. However, the true cost of the war was the 437 lives of brave aircrew members who served with the squadron, forever remembered as the boys from the 'Beach.

product information: