Episode Details

Guest: William Albert “Bill” Hilder, a.k.a. ‘Sandy’,  150046, Acting Sergeant, Royal Air Force
(27 January 1923 to 14th of September 2011)

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 3rd of December 2009

Released: 20th of October 2017

Duration: 33 minutes 59 seconds

Bill Hilder joined the Royal Air Force in 1940 and trained as an Armourer. Following his training he was posted to a Bristol Blenheim squadron at Hook in Hampshire.  Then he was posted to Iceland to join No. 120 Squadron RAF, arming the Coastal Command Lockheed Hudsons and Consolidated Liberators that were patrolling the North Atlantic.

In 1943 Bill was posted to No. 617 Squadron working with the Tallboy 12,000lb bombs. He was involved in the attacks on the Tirpitz.

Then he was posted onto the special duties list and taken to Teignmouth in Devon to work on a top secret project with Barnes Wallis.

Bill also gives a small insight into life as an armourer on a bomber squadron in WWII.