Philip Gray Collection
Item set
Title
Philip Gray Collection
Description
Flight Lieutenant Philip Gray joined the RAF in 1942 and underwent training at No. 4 British Flying Training School (BFTS) Falcon Field, Arizona, USA. Posted to 186 Heavy Bomber Squadron at Stradishall, Suffolk, UK, where he piloted Avro Lancaster I & II bombers. Philip flew 16 operations with 186 squadron, later transferred to 622 Squadron, Mildenhall. With 622 squadron he participated in the food-drops to the people of The Netherlands as part of Operation Manna, transporting former Prisoners of War (POWs) from France to Britain under Operation Exodus, Operation Baedeker, the low-flying observation of the bomb damage of Germany, and Operation Post Mortem in June 1945 testing the effectiveness of German air-defence radar.
After the war, Philip flew with Fighter Command on the Island of Sylt, West Germany as a staff pilot, flying Hawker Tempests, deHavilland Mosquitos and Gloster Meteors on air-to-air firing ranges.
In 1971 Philip Gray and his wife immigrated to New Zealand where he scripted a book titled 'Ghosts of Targets Past' (Grub Street, 1995) which he finished after immigrating to Canada in 1990.
Philip Gray became a member of the Canadian Air and Space Museum in 2000, and made ten annual visits to the Duxford Air Museum, UK.
After the war, Philip flew with Fighter Command on the Island of Sylt, West Germany as a staff pilot, flying Hawker Tempests, deHavilland Mosquitos and Gloster Meteors on air-to-air firing ranges.
In 1971 Philip Gray and his wife immigrated to New Zealand where he scripted a book titled 'Ghosts of Targets Past' (Grub Street, 1995) which he finished after immigrating to Canada in 1990.
Philip Gray became a member of the Canadian Air and Space Museum in 2000, and made ten annual visits to the Duxford Air Museum, UK.
Type
Highlights