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Bill Booth

 

WWII RAF Rescue Axe

My father Norman Booth tried to join the RAF in 1939, but since he worked for A.V. Roe, as an aircraft engineer, he was told he had to continue this vital work.

In 1941 he started building Lancaster bombers at the Manchester AVRO factory in Chadderton, where it was made from 1941. He became an ARP Warden, rescuing people from bombed buildings. He was issued with this Rescue Axe, a very important piece of his kit.

One morning he arrived at work to find his hanger had been bombed, killing many workers on the night shift. Lucky for me, I was born in 1943!

VE Booth