iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Pforzheim #OTD 23 Feb 1945. 380 aircraft dropped 1,825 tons of bombs in 22 minutes from 8,000 feet. 83% of the town was destroyed and over 17,000 people killed. 12 aircraft were lost with the loss of 42 airmen. #History @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social @nmtdambusters.bsky.social

Air-to-air view showing the silhouette of two heavy bombers towards the bottom centre, well below going towards the bottom. In the background smoke, bomb explosions and on the right, target indicators.
IBCC Digital Archive item #2405

The reverse '18. R.A.F. Bombers over Pforzheim. Two of R.A.F. Bomber Command’s “heavies” silhouetted against dense clouds of smoke during the air assault on the night of 23/24.2.45 on the important industrial and transport centre of Pforzheim, South-east of Karlscuhe [sic]. This picture is an extract from a film made by the R.A.F. Film Production Unit during the attack. The white “cascade” is caused by glowing target indicators.

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DCS Heritage @dcs-heritage.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

13 Feb 1945 saw the first of four Allied bombing raids on Dresden. The air raids by the RAF & USAAF involved 1,299 bombers dropping over 3,900 tons of ordnance and resulted in firestorms killing up to 25,000 people. Search the @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social: internationalbcc.co.uk/history/digi...

internationalbcc.co.uk

Digital Archives | International Bomber Command Centre

Explore our extensive digital archives here at the international bomber command centre. Get in touch to find out more today.

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IBCC Digital Archive @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

There's bags of social and cultural history in the archive...

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IBCC Digital Archive @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Happy birthday Flt Lt Harry Richardson DFC, who turns an astonishing 108 today! 30 ops on Wellingtons with 149 Squadron and then 32 more on Liberators with 59 Squadron in the Far East. #History #WW2

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Get your tickets folks Supper and a Lecture at the IBCC, and @lydiajane13.bsky.social's book is so important to the historiography of Bomber Command. #WW2 #History #histbookchat

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Arthur Ernest Biscoe trained in Canada and flew operations as a pilot with 605 Squadron. One of his photo albums covers his training and instructing in North America beginning #OTD 19 Jan 1942. #History The @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social contains his log books, letters, photographs, and two albums.

Album page with colour photo of Arthur in uniform standing in a wood and the caption:
Hi-ya everybody!!! –
– and now that I’ve introduced myself, can I tell you about my stay in Canada? – I can? – oh good – now let me see, I landed at Halifax on January 19th. 1942 after a painful trip across. We duly arrived at Moncton N.B. where we stayed for a few days and from then on I got busy with my camera –
IBCC Digital Archive item #23411

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IBCC Digital Archive @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

A happy donor, on seeing their collection published in the archive. "Thank you so much for this. I have circulated it to family and friends, and all are impressed – not just by the content but also the work you have done."

media.tenor.com

a little girl wearing sunglasses and a blue dress is dancing in a hallway .

Alt: A little girl wearing sunglasses and a blue dress is dancing in a hallway.

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IBCC Digital Archive @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Delighted to report that we now have over 5,000 unique places recorded in the Archive, from Africa--Orange River to Zimbabwe--Zvishavane. This means that the Archive has an enormous resolving power, i.e. the ability to focus the search on a specific location.

ibccdigitalarchive.omeka.net

Places · IBCC Digital Archive

The IBCC Digital Archive is an extensive repository of the personal stories of those who served and suffered during WWII: it includes interviews with eyewitnesses, personal papers and memorabilia that...

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Halifax MZ465 MH-Y hit Halifax LL590 L8-L over France #OTD 13 Jan 1945, losing a nine foot section of the nose and killing the navigator Thomas S H Whitehouse and air bomber David Hauber. Three were killed on board LL590. MZ465 landed at RAF Ford in Sussex. #History @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social

A head on view of a Halifax showing damage sustained in a collision. Captioned, 'Halifax III - No MZ456 in collision - 13/14.1.1945'. Reverse stamped 'AM Crown Copyright reserved, 28th Jan 1945 RAF Station Snaith' and annotated, 'V Douglas Knox 20 Town Moor Ave, Doncaster, DN2 6BN'.
IBCC Digital Archive item #54816

An oblique view of the aircraft's nose. It has broken off from just infront of the cockpit canopy.

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IBCC Digital Archive @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Additions to the Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre's collection in our archive are now available online. Three new albums contain photographs of 106 Squadron air and ground crew, target and reconnaissance photographs, and a handful of documents. ibccdigitalarchive.omeka.net/collections/...

Seven aircrew in a variety of flying clothes at the rear of a Lancaster. Submitted with caption 'Seven aircrew at rear of 106 Sqn Lancaster ND331 wearing a mixture of flying suits and equipment. Annotation at right of photograph reads: "L to Right back row Bill Haig W/OP, Vic Cole Pilot, Bill Woods F/E, Johnny Johnson B/A, M.D Parkinson R A G, T Ross M/UG, A T Bristow Nav. The annotation below the photograph reads: "Vic Cole and crew immediately after completing their tour - the target Magdeburg, last off - first back. Took off with only 13 volts in the batteries - as I gave them the OK no one was happier than me when they returned"'.
IBCC Digital Archive item #58510

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IBCC Digital Archive @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

There was a bit of snow on the way to the Archive at 06:30 this morning.

The Arts bridge at the University of Lincoln. Snow on the path and the two side walls narrowing due to perspective against the black sky.

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Happy Christmas folks! Jim Taylor was a wireless operator /air gunner with 44 and 207 Squadrons on Hampdens and Manchesters and became a prisoner of war in March 1941. He sent this card home his first Christmas in the bag.

Christmas postcard to June Brodie from Jim Taylor a POW in Stalag VIIIB. A drawn image of a cottage and a horse drawn carriage.
Greetings A little picture to express my wishes for your happiness a little message from my pen, to haste the day we'll meet again; God grant you every Christmas cheer, and joy throughout the coming year.
from Jim Stalag VIII B Germany Christmas 1941. IBCC Digital Archive item 57800

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

We filmed this brief intro to the @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social a while ago... All open source folks!

youtube.com

Dan Ellin, Archivist, IBCC Digital Archive

YouTube video by Dan Ellin

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

The @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social at the University of Lincoln will close this evening and reopen Monday 5th January. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year folks!

A deciduous tree with bare branches, with a snowy village. text Merry Christmas from the archive team Robin, Dan and Alex.
from IBCC Digital Archive item #774

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

We've cobbled some discarded hardware together to create a video digitisation setup for the @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social. This is the ‘new-frontier’ of the Archive, looking for testimonies on obsolete formats and making them available online.

Old AV equipment on a desk including a Sony CRT monitor.

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

We had an issue with our scanner last week. However, after a very speedy response from the folks who supply and maintain it, especially a chap called Andrew from Cheshire, we're back up and running. It was the scanner equivalent of 'mag drop' and I've just signed the form 700...

A port side view of a Halifax on dispersal under maintenance. On the reverse 'Marston Moor 1942/3 Property of Ivan Ure, [redacted]. Question: How many working on the aircraft "E" for Edward? No prize'.
IBCC Digital Archive item #44654

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Starring James Bolam, 'A Memory Owed' tells two stories: a replacement W/OP joining an experienced bomber crew, and an emotional journey of remembrance. Some photos in the end credits are from the @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social, I’m credited as a historical advisor, and appear briefly as an extra.

youtube.com

A Memory Owed || Short Film (2025)

YouTube video by A Memory Owed (2025)

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IBCC Digital Archive @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Student volunteers working in the archive today!

Four students and one staff member (Robin) working on PCs in the archive volunteers' office.

Four students, another volunteer (Alan), and one staff member (Robin) working on PCs in the archive volunteers' office.

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

25 Mosquitoes from the 2nd Tactical Air Force attacked the Gestapo headquarters at the University of Aarhus, Denmark #OTD 31 October 1944. Around 200 Gestapo members and 30 Danes were killed, and the Gestapo's files on the Danish resistance were destroyed. #History #WW2

Attack on Gestapo Headquarters. Most of area obscured by smoke and dust, two badly damaged buildings in the foreground, attacking Mosquito in distance. On the reverse 'Taken by Sid Moulds over the target 'Aarhus University Gestapo Headquarters raid 31 October 1944.'
IBCC Digital Archive item 25517

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Letter from from Kenneth Gill to his family #OTD 27 Oct 1943. His new aircraft has the same nose art as their previous one, and a friend is missing after an operation to Leipzig. Gill flew 45 ops as a navigator with 9 and 617 Squadrons. He was killed 21 March 1945. #History #WW2

155097. P/O GILL. K.
R.A.F. STATION.
BARDNEY.
OCT. 25TH/43.

[RAF Crest]

Dear Mum & Dad & Nipper,
Thanks for your letter, it came yesterday morning, and thanks to David too for his, he's doing well isn't he.
We didn't have too bad a trip the other night, the weather was awful but we got back alright, and that's the main thing.
The new kite is quite good and behaved very well indeed, the old sign isn't up yet but it will be before long.
Hello again, it's the 27th, now. I hadn't time to finish before.
I've just come back from the
IBCC Digital Archive item 35698

2/ kite and Binder II is up there for all to see. We havn't changed the design any, except to enlarge the disc on her collar and put 39 in it for the trips the old Binder did. We're going to her [sic] her photographed when we've finished.
I've just had an airgraph this morning from Ron, he's quite well but he says he's "Brassed off to the teeth" with the war, but so is everybody else I suppose.
Leslie wrote the other day too so I'll have to have a session tonight and get straightened up a bit.
I've to reply to Margaret too, and pass on some bad news that just reached me this morning.

3/ George is missing from the raid on Liepzig [sic], his 20th. trip I think, that cuts our number down again it certainly makes one think.
The weather here has been awful lately, were having our fourth day of thick fog now, goodness knows when we'll get our last three trips in at this rate.
Glad to hear Arthur & Aunt Muriel are a lot better now, hope they keep on improving.
Well I'll have to close for now, it's time to start work ? again.
Cheerio & Chins up.
Your Loving Son.
Ken. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx & David
Lets here [sic] from you again sometime David.

Kenneth and Vera Gill's Wedding photograph
Full length image of an airman wearing tunic with half brevet and holding peaked cap standing arm in arm with a woman wearing dress and hat and holding a wedding bouquet.
IBCC Digital Archive item 35695

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Kassel was bombed #OTD 22/23 October 1943 by 569 aircraft dropping 1,800 tons of bombs & nearly half a million incendiaries. A firestorm was created, the city centre was destroyed, 10,000 were killed & 100,000 were made homeless. 43 aircraft were lost and 240 aircrew were killed. #WW2 #History

A vertical aerial photograph taken during a bombing operation at Kassel Rail Depot.No ground detail is visible and the image is obscured by flares. It looks quite pretty and abstract.
It is captioned '3485 PCK 22/23:10:43 // NT 8" 16000'--- Kassel RD. Z. 2 x 1000 8 x 4 3 x 30 S/L MIllson Y 102'.
IBCC Digital Archive item 51110

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IBCC Digital Archive @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Part 2 of the 51 Squadron collection from RAF Waddington. Lots of log books, memoirs, letters, albums... loads of photos of Whitley and Halifax crews... Wizard stuff!

Five boxes and a photo album on a table in an archive store with moveable shelving.

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IBCC Digital Archive @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Thanks to the good folks at the University of Lincoln Library we now have a trolley!

Library trolley with an archive box on in forint of the moveable shelving in the archive.

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

I'm giving a talk "Penguins and Chop Girls: Remembering RAF Bomber Command ground personnel 1939-45" Monday 6th October 2025 at 6.15pm, @uolhumanities.bsky.social Brayford campus (room TBC). #WW2 #History @nmtdambusters.bsky.social cityoflincolnbranchha.wordpress.com/.../branch.../

Historical Association Lincoln Branch
‘Penguins and Chop Girls: Remembering RAF Bomber Command ground personnel 1939 -1945’
For every member of aircrew who flew a bomber aircraft in RAF Bomber Command there were up to ten men and women who served in supporting roles. Their diverse trades included aircraft fitters and mechanics, WAAF clerks, parachute packers and drivers, and the lowly AC2 who emptied the latrines and drove the sanitary truck. ‘Penguins’, as flightless ground personnel were sometimes called, were marginalised in the RAF, and the women of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), were frequently reduced to sexual objects. Women who had dated an airman who failed to return were shunned as bad omens or ‘chop girls.’ However, without the effort of all these personnel, the bombing campaigns would not have got off the ground. Using published and unpublished testimonies including oral histories recorded for the IBCC Digital Archive, Dan examines the lives of ground personnel on operational bomber stations.
Monday 6th October 2025 at 6.15pm, University of Lincoln’s Brayford campus (room TBC). Refreshments before and questions afterwards.
QR code and images of WAAFs

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

I'm giving a talk "Penguins and Chop Girls: Remembering RAF Bomber Command ground personnel 1939-45" Monday 6th October 2025 at 6.15pm, University of Lincoln’s Brayford campus (room TBC). Refreshments before and questions afterwards. Register here: tinyurl.com/583zzx44 #History

Flying advertising the talk.
It includes two photos of WAAFs. Five outside a building and one working belting machine gun ammunition. There are lots of pin up girl posters on the wall - she's obviously in rather a male dominated environment.

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

You don't see this brevet very often... The Radio Observer brevet came in in 1941 but was quickly replaced by the more familiar trade of Navigator. @nmtdambusters.bsky.social

Head and shoulders portrait of an RAF sergeant wearing tunic with Radio Observer brevet. On the reverse 'A W Mogg'.
IBCC Digital Archive item 55136

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

Artist Commission Opportunity Exploring Freedom Past and Present working with the IBCC Digital Archive and the Lincoln Arts Centre: lincolnartscentre.co.uk/major-artist...

lincolnartscentre.co.uk

Artist Commission Opportunity Exploring Freedom Past and Present - Lincoln Arts Centre

Lincoln Arts Centre announces an exciting opportunity for artists to respond to the powerful theme of...

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Drop-tank boat races in Brindisi Italy #OTD 9 July 1944. ibccdigitalarchive.omeka.net/items/show/2... #WW2 #History @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social

servicemen and their boats, on land. Reverse captioned '9/7/44 Brindisi Italy, Darling, after the race! Our boat is [three words unreadable]. Love Jack'.

John 'Jack' Culkin and Jimmy Green afloat, in their paddle powered drop-tank catamaran. Headland in background.

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Today I interviewed Rolf Williams about his father, James Raphael Williams, a Trinidadian who served in the RAF as a wireless and radar mechanic. We'll get it published tomorrow, and transcribed ASAP. There's a post war twist or two to the story too... @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social

Rolf Williams, wearing a blazer and his father's BT tie in front of exhibition panels at the IBCC Digital Archive Offices at the university of Lincoln.

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

My boss and friend, Professor Heather Hughes, Head of the Digital Archive is leaving the university. With all our wonderful volunteers, Alex, Robin, and I will do our best to follow Heather's example and continue to build the IBCC Digital Archive.

Professor Heather Hughes, Head of the Digital Archive is leaving the university. She has sent this message to the archive volunteers. “It's goodbye from me. I shall be leaving the University at the end of July but have quite a bit of leave to take, so in practice this is my last working week. The Digital Archive will continue to thrive in the very capable hands of Dan, Alex and Robin; it has been a real privilege to work with them over the past decade, and of course with all of you, to build something quite remarkable. It is the only resource of its kind and we should all be very proud. Thank you for all you have done towards our collective achievement...”
Photo of Heather making a speech about the IBCC Digital Archive standing in front of a screen that is displaying a photo of her and me.

The IBCC Digital Archive. The Archive of the Bombing War 1939‐1945
The IBCC Digital Archive is hosted at and managed by the University of Lincoln. Our work would not be possible without our team of volunteers who have donated thousands of hours to the various tasks of preservation and publication.
The legacy of the bombing war in Europe during the Second World War is still controversial - the ethos of the Archive is to promote recognition, remembrance and reconciliation. In keeping with these values, the IBCC Digital Archive focuses on people’s stories of RAF Bomber Command and the bombing war in Europe (1939-1945), from multiple perspectives: on the ground and in the air, military and civilian, and on both sides of the conflict.
The Archive is shaped by a commitment to presenting history from below, a historical narrative which attempts to account for wartime events from the perspective of common people rather than leaders, key figures, and highly decorated personnel.
Sources are published ‘as is’, rather than having been interpreted. This is an archive, not an encyclopaedia. Owners of original items lend these to us for digitising and they are then returned to them. Once digitised we have no access to the originals. If you have material that you are willing to share with us so that we can share it with others, please contact us.
More than 40,000 documents have been published so far. They include interviews with eyewitnesses, personal papers, and memorabilia belonging to more than 2,000 private collections worldwide. These shed light on the human dimension of people who were caught up in bombing war in Europe, in doing so revealing the unprecedented scale of loss and destruction. For the most part, they consist of previously unknown documents and materials never examined by historians.

A crowd of mainly airwomen at the end of runway, waving off aircraft.
IBCC Digital Archive item 48010

Royal Air Force Journal Volume 4, number 5, May 1946, the final edition.
On the cover Joe Soap the Erk is making a curtain call on a stage and waving a bowler hat.
The Journal contains information from the Air Ministry, stories from around the world and humour.
IBCC Digital Archive item 22465

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IBCC Digital Archive @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

We're completing the process of moving the archive to new servers and we're currently getting some redirect issues. For now, please use the web address rather than links to the archive from other pages. ibccdigitalarchive.omeka.net

ibccdigitalarchive.omeka.net

IBCC Digital Archive

The IBCC Digital Archive consists of more than 40,000 documents about those who were caught up in bombing war in Europe 1939-1945. Our ethos is to promote recognition, remembrance, and reconciliation....

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Dan Ellin @danellin.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Shit. Photo from the Knox collection soon to be added to the IBCC Digital Archive at the University of Lincoln. @nmtdambusters.bsky.social #WW2

A Halifax aircraft in two pieces above the clouds falling towards the ground. It has broken around the mid -upper turret position. The tail section is top left, entre right is the main fuselage and wings.

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History Rage Podcast @historyrage.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

🗓️ 💥 #OnThisDay in 1943, the Dambusters Raid was launched, breaching German dams. But as @jamesjhistory.bsky.social rages, there's more to Bomber Command than just Dambusters and Dresden. Other squadrons are available too! ✈️ 🌊 Listen now: pod.fo/e/228102 #onthisday #otd #WWII

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IBCC Digital Archive @ibccdigitalarchive.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

This article does a pretty good job of explaining what the IBCC is all about. The archive aims to tell the story of those caught up in the bombing war, in the air, on the ground and on both sides of the conflict.

spectator.co.uk

Don’t forget Bomber Command

Official indifference to those who served in Bomber Command is not new. Churchill said little about the bomber offensive in his war memoir.

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