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PHOTO SCRAPBOOK II

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Lloyd Snell sitting on a 43 Squadron Hurricane.
The Fighting Cock emblem is below the exhaust.
4-20mm cannon are mounted in the wings.
Maison Blanch airfield near Algiers ~ November 1942

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This is the MK 8 Spit that we had for a short time in Italy. It had a retractable skid instead of a tail wheel.We were at our tent workshop alongside the landing strip, an aircraft was taking off and we heard the motor cut, we went out to see the spit rolling down the strip towards us with our Polish CO standing on the wing holding onto the mirror and flames coming from the cockpit. As it rolled to a stop near us the crash tender arrived, he was the first to grab a hose and direct it into the cockpit but by then the ammunition was blowing with casings flying around, the fire was put out before the fuel tank went. I checked the IFF for salvage but the detonator had blown.

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10 miles east of Algiers, December 1942
Jim Hillis on the right  I'm the tall one
We slept in a winery just behind the one taking the picture.

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This is where Tench or I slept every second night with our spares IFFs.
He took the picture in the morning when he was relieving me.
A bomb had dropped not far behnd the tent the previous evening,
 sending a lot of red-hot shrapnel flying by.
A lone bomber had followed our aircraft in just at dark
then swung around and dropped his load on the road behind the tent. 
An American lost a leg, I found a bone that looked like a kneecap 
when I checked the crater in the morning. 
They had a camp down the road off the airfield.
Bob Hope was there that night with a troop. 
There was a write-up about it in Stars & Stripes.

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Three photos of Vesuvius erupting when we were at Lago, the next move after Napoli. 

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Some 43 personnel exploring the ruins

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I had planned on going on the next truckload but we moved to Anzio.
I never had any leave from the time we left UK in November 42 until I got back there March 1945 
but we were trucked to see things like that.

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Ponto Vechio, the only bridge that the Germans left standing over the Arno.

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 Ponto Vechio can also be seen in the panorama view of Florence.

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My 'chit' for Florence. 

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We were camped about midway between Pisa and Florence but I prefered to go to Florence. 
Someone else took this pic of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

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City honours RAF squadron heroes

BBC News ~ June 4, 2005
A Scottish-based squadron has made history by becoming the first to be given the freedom of a city. Civic leaders in Stirling have honoured personnel from 43 Fighter Squadron, based at RAF Leuchars in Fife. The squadron, known as the Fighting Cocks, was formed at Falleninch Field near Stirling Castle in 1916. 

Air force top brass and Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram were at a ceremony on Saturday which included a parade and a flypast by Tornado jets. 

Organisers, the Fathers of the Royal City of Stirling, also arranged a field gun salute in honour of the squadron, which played a major role in both world wars and in subsequent conflicts in places including the Balkans and Iraq. 

Stirling Provost Colin O'Brien said: "The squadron has a long and proud association with our area, stretching over almost 90 years. This honour speaks volumes of the high regard our community has for the squadron's conduct, professionalism and dedication." 

Thousands of people lined the streets to see the city bestow its top honour for the first time. 

© BBC MMVI