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More stuff here. https://nfknowledge.org/contributions/millersford-arde-superintendent-the-lancaster-crash-and-an-unrecognised-hero/#map=10/-1.7/50.96/0/24:0:0.6|39:1:1|40:1:1 My late FIL assured me that he witnessed the crash, caused by the last in line of a group of low flying Lancasters of the Dam Buster Squadron losing control in the turbulent slipstream and turning left into clear air, the pilot then had to steepen the turn to avoid a line of electricity pylons, unfortunately he clipped the ground with his port wingtip and cartwheeled. Crew very lucky to survive.

Hi Another story from my late FIL: Sometime around 1943 he helped to test & evaluate the Bren Gun (Mk2 or mk3 perhaps?) It was duly fixed firmly down on a special mount and a full mag was fired on auto at a target, either 100 or 200 yards, I can't remember which. When the target was examined to see what grouping was achieved they were surprised to see only one bullet hole, the rest appeared to have missed. Someone then commented that there was something strange about the hole, sort of slightly enlarged, it was then realised that all the bullets had gone through the same hole! When it was eventually returned it was recommended that a degree of imbalance be introduced to scatter the shot slightly, otherwise it would be wasted ammo.

Hi Chris thats a really interesting recollection of events. Sten gun magazines could hold 32 rounds but as a rule they were loaded with 28 as this would prevent jamming. There were 5 variants of the Sten gun Mk1 to Mk 5. Mk1s & 4s are hard to find. Mk2s & 3s come on the market from time to time and Mk5s are easily obtainable at this time. See photo of my Mk5 with a 7 cell bandolier that was usually associated with paratroopers and commandos.

I'm not an avid gun enthusiast but I have some info that might be of interest. My late father-in-law (1926-2010) started work in 1942-3 at a secret bomb testing site in the New Forest, England. One day the team he worked with received a Sten Gun with a request to try and find out why it was jamming (soldiers were dying in the war because of it) Part of their bomb testing was to film them exploding with high speed photography (camera was driven by an electric motor geared up via an Austin 7 gearbox!) They bolted down a Sten fitted a full magazine and fired it off. Due to sods law the gun wouldn't jam during the several seconds of film that was available each run, eventually after a few wasted rolls of film it jammed. It was seen that occasionally a spent cartridge case wasn't ejected properly and the next cartridge would hit it. Gun was sent back with a recommendation that the ejector mechanism was modified. This along with other bits of info was told to me by my FIL over many years as we walked around the wartime site. Wish I could ask him more as time passing makes it more interesting.

Here's an 8 page War Emergency information and instruction pull out leaflet from WW2.

Next we have Civil Defence Food in War-Time 4 page leaflet No 4.

Next we have a Civil Defence Evacuation 4 page leaflet No 3 from a set of 5.