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Memories of Earnest Charles Careless

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posted on 2024-06-05, 19:54 authored by Their Finest Hour Project Team

My grandfather (Earnest Charles Careless) was in the RAF at Lissett in Yorkshire near Bridlington.

He was a leading aircrafts man and an armourer: loading the bombs onto the plane.

As we were putting together our family history this story emerged.

Did his initial training in Hertfordshire, then posted to 158 squadron in Lissett.

His wife, Grace, stayed on in Harlow as she was about to give birth to Ronald Tandridge Careless on 24.03.1942.

She moved due to a lone German fighter who came over their home in Harlow and machine gunned down the road.

Some bullets ended up in the garden.

She was no longer confident to stay in the area and joined her husband on the base.

He did not mention his war experiences for a long time, other than to say, 'to watch a Lancaster bomber 'pancake' (landing with the wheels still retracted) was an awesome experience'.

History

Item list and details

1. Photograph of Earnest Charles Careless as an army man and my uncle Ron as a child. 2. Photographs of squadrons on the plane - taken one final picture before they were disbanded.

Person the story/items relate to

Earnest Charles Careless

Person who shared the story/items

Sophie Carless-Shore

Relationship between the subject of the story and its contributor

The story is about the contributor's grandfather

Type of submission

Shared at Lancing Prep Worthing, West Sussex on 16 September 2023.

Record ID

97144 | LAN014