A blog about a RAF Mosquito squadron
Draft written in September 2016
I did not want to post this because it is very hard to read even for someone used to read other people’s handwriting.
I believe it’s from Hugh Boland’s mother. These were part of the earth shattering artefacts shared by Dean Cahill.
If you are related to Hugh Boland, you can contact me using this contact form.
Hugh kept this letter all his life.
Dean Cahill found it among other earth shattering artifacts. I had a hard time finding who had written Hugh on December 15, 1944.
December 1944 that when Eugene Gagnon joined 23 Squadron. So this is somewhat precious because Eugene Gagnon is the reason I wrote this blog.
I don’t know if Hugh had any children.
In my research yesterday I found Hugh Boland married Miss Tate. I don’t know her first name. What I know though is that a Doreen was much interested in Hugh.
That telegram was sent on April 19, 1943.
Doreen was not the only one interested in Hugh as you can see with this letter from a WAFF.
This looks like a letter from Doreen Oates a WAFF in RAF Colerne.
So Miss Tate who married Hugh can’t be Doreen.
If you want to contact me about this, you can write a comment on use this contact form.
This title is pun intended in a way.
I will show Hugh Boland’s new earth shattering artifacts after this original post about a navigator who flew with 23 Squadron.
Dean Cahill has found some artifacts that belonged to Hugh Boland.
Hugh Boland
We all know a little bit about Hugh.
Peter Smith is now in the process of processing all this information so we can post more stories about this navigator.
As you can imagine Peter has a lot of work before him. When he is done, I will share everything.
Meanwhile you can view these artifacts.
Peter Smith just sent me these new scans with this message.
It is nothing earth shattering I’m afraid, but it is all opened out, put flat, recorded so there is a record-he shall not disappear into history quite yet!!
In my next series of posts I will see if we can’t find anything earth shattering.
You can always contact me using this form like Dean Cahill once did on this blog.
Updated with a correction with the initials from a comment from his son Peter.
See comment section.
J.B. J.D. Harris was sitting next to Hugh Boland all this time on this old picture taken on July 1945.
In 2010 this is all I had about 23 Squadron.
Then I got this from Peter Smith who got it from Tom Cushing.
A much clearer picture.
And a much closer look at Hugh Boland’s pilot.
I wonder what Hugh was looking at?
Updated 29 August 2023 with this…
Flying Officer Rayner was Flight Lieutenant John Derek Harris’ navigator.
We can see how many operations they flew together and where.
Updated 28 August 2023
This is another artifact. A simple envelope.
Every artifact that was saved by Dean Cahill has its own story like Hugh Boland’s report card. Dean Cahill was cleaning up a store room during a weekend and he saved all the artifacts I posted last time. There are more to come because Peter Smith is still scanning all that Dean gave him.
Everything will be posted on this blog, and everything will be analysed.
Someday a relative of Flight Lieutenant J.D. Harris, or Hugh Boland, will find this blog like Dean Cahill did, and he or she will share what they know about Hugh Boland’s pilot.
We have little to go on right now, but we can wait.
Might be related to Hugh’s school days.
Excerpt
Hove’s Old Schools – Hove High School
by Judy Middleton
Published originally in Tales of the Old Hove Schools (1991) revised 2012
There seems to have been a school at 49 Clarendon Villas as soon as the building was erected in the 1880s. It is still there and just as imposing with its yellow brick and red brick dressings rising to four storeys. Above the front entrance there is a curious female torso jutting out like an old ship’s figurehead. In October 2012 the building looked somewhat forlorn as it was swathed in scaffolding and plastic sheeting while yellow leaves scudded about the steps.
Interesting artifact about Hugh’s school days.
Updated 1 September 2023
Comment
You already know much of this story but for any others who are still interested I offer the following:
Just picked up on this old thread. Hugh Boland was my late father’s navigator (W/C S P Russell) and he first appears in Dad’s log book at Little Snoring on 6 December 1944 as a Flight Sergeant.
They were involved with ASH training and operated GEE and UHF equipment as far as I can see. Hugh flew some 44 sorties with Dad, intruding, including bombing and dropping flares, and various training flights. I remember him telling me that Hugh was apparently quite fearless and when they were approaching enemy airspace and the ack ack would start up Hugh would grab his flute and start playing music to the beautiful light show the Germans were putting up! This really ticked Dad off as he thought Hugh should have been as frightened as every one else was! Perhaps it was his way of controlling his nerves.
The last references in the log book were on 24 August 1945 was with Hugh still as a navigator but now a Pilot Officer in a Mosquito and again on 28 August the last entry in Dad’s log book when they flew locally together in a Magister.
Post war Hugh worked for my father in S Russell & Sons Iron Foundry in Leicester for a while before opening a news agency in Leicester. I met him when he appeared at my sister’s 21st birthday and was the life and soul of the party. He enjoyed blowing things up and general pyromania!
I hope the person(s) who were seeking further information are still around.
I have produced a short booklet about my father’s flying experience entitled ‘One man’s love of flying’ in which the above stories of Hugh Boland appear. I still have one or two copies if they are interest to any of your blog readers
Kind regards and thank you again for the wonderful work you do.
Mike Russell
Adelaide, Australia
Just for now, I am posting these artifacts in bulk.
Updated 28 August 2023
Dean Cahill has found some artifacts that belonged to Hugh Boland.
Hugh Boland
We all know a little bit about Hugh.
Peter Smith is now in the process of processing all this information so we can post more stories about this navigator.
As you can imagine Peter has a lot of work before him. When he is done, I will be sharing everything. Meanwhile you can view these artifacts.
Updated 1 September 2023
Comment
You already know much of this story but for any others who are still interested I offer the following:
Just picked up on this old thread. Hugh Boland was my late father’s navigator (W/C S P Russell) and he first appears in Dad’s log book at Little Snoring on 6 December 1944 as a Flight Sergeant.
They were involved with ASH training and operated GEE and UHF equipment as far as I can see. Hugh flew some 44 sorties with Dad, intruding, including bombing and dropping flares, and various training flights. I remember him telling me that Hugh was apparently quite fearless and when they were approaching enemy airspace and the ack ack would start up Hugh would grab his flute and start playing music to the beautiful light show the Germans were putting up! This really ticked Dad off as he thought Hugh should have been as frightened as every one else was! Perhaps it was his way of controlling his nerves.
The last references in the log book were on 24 August 1945 was with Hugh still as a navigator but now a Pilot Officer in a Mosquito and again on 28 August the last entry in Dad’s log book when they flew locally together in a Magister.
Post war Hugh worked for my father in S Russell & Sons Iron Foundry in Leicester for a while before opening a news agency in Leicester. I met him when he appeared at my sister’s 21st birthday and was the life and soul of the party. He enjoyed blowing things up and general pyromania!
I hope the person(s) who were seeking further information are still around.
I have produced a short booklet about my father’s flying experience entitled ‘One man’s love of flying’ in which the above stories of Hugh Boland appear. I still have one or two copies if they are interest to any of your blog readers
Kind regards and thank you again for the wonderful work you do.
Mike Russell
Adelaide, Australia
Updated August 28, 2023
This blog is all about paying homage to 23 Squadron pilots, navigators, and ground crew if ever someone would share with us memories of erks.
Erks was the nickname affectionately given to ground crew. Hugh Boland was just a name on Johnny Rivaz’s picture. I have never given second thoughts about this name.
Collection Johnny Rivaz
This is also how I found Eugene Gagnon in 2010. A picture Peter Smith sent me. Peter was a complete stranger. He has become a dearest friend.
He helped me in my search for Eugene Gagnon and I started writing a blog about a French-Canadian Mosquito pilot and 23 Squadron. The story is all here and more.
I wrote more than 250 articles on 23 Squadron because people cared and shared. I always answer when you write something. I always answer back except once two weeks ago when Dean wrote me the first time.
I just could not understand what he wanted and I forgot to reply.
Now I know what Dean wanted.
He wants to pay homage to Hugh Boland, the quiet and shy navigator…
Am I glad Dean wrote a second time…
RAF 23 Squadron 