George H. E. Welford Battle of Britain Collection

The George H. E. Welford Battle of Britain Collection is comprised of textual and visual material, including log books, a photograph, scrapbooks, and photocopied documents, relating to Welford's service as a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot during World War II and in the Battle of Britain. Materials are dated 1938-1945, 1990-1996 with the bulk of the materials being 1938-1945.

The collection contains two pilot's log books used by Welford, 1938-1945. Entries typically include information such as date, type of aircraft flown, and note, such as "night flying" or "weather test." Some notes are extensive, detailing aerial combat and encounters. There is also a single modern reprint of a 1940 black-and-white group portrait of RAF military personnel. The photograph is 3x5" and has several names on the front, which are difficult to read. On the reverse is a handwritten inscription, "[T.H. James?], Hornchurch RAF, 1940."

One of the two scrapbooks also includes additional photographs, primarily in the form of squadron group portraits. There are also casual and posed shots of Welford. Additional materials in this scrapbook include photocopies of pages from an Operations Record book, which details military activity for the 607 Squadron; original and photocopies of art created by Welford; typed summaries of Welford and his squadron; and a printed announcement regarding Welford's death in 1996. Within one of the plastic sleeves were also several letters, 1990-1992, which were removed and placed into their own folder for preservation and access. Original order has been maintained. The letters are from Welford to "Chris" and seem to discuss Chris' interest in Welford's memorabilia from World War II.

The second scrapbook is titled "The Battle of Britain - The Few - 10th July - 31st October 1940." It includes a photocopy of Welford's self-portrait, snapshots of a roll book titled "The Few," and printed information about the military personnel, squadrons, and aircraft that participated in the Battle of Britain.

At the end of the collection is a packet of several photocopied documents, which appears to be a mix of a biography of Welford's service, service log, and pages from one of the photograph albums. The packet has missing pages, according to the page numbering. The packet was sent by Welford to Chris D. John, per the envelope they were housed within originally.

Digitized Materials: A selection of the visual and textual materials has been digitized from this collection, including photographs, the log books, and the typed summaries. Additionally, several objects related to Welford's military career have also been digitized, such as flight gear, uniform accessories, and medals.  

Please note that materials on TMOF: Digital Collections are presented as historical objects and are unaltered and uncensored. See our Disclaimers and Policies page for more information.