In researching the defence of Brockworth Aerodrome and the Gloster Aircraft Company a number of audio interviews within the Imperial War Museum Archive have been found which might be relevant. This interview with Peter Holyhead was recorded on 6 June 2000 by Lindsay Baker. There is a link at the bottom of the page to the first reel of the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter Holyhead was born on 10 July 1925 at 21 Hare Lane, Gloucester. There was a wood yard next door and a railway bridge went over. Kingsholm was a poor neighbourhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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His father was a General worker taking any work that came along. He was often in work one week and unemployed the next. They were a family of 13 and mother stayed at home looking after the family or to use Peter\u2019s words \u2018mother was mother\u2019. Kingsholm was a\u00a0\u00a0run down area inner city area. Wood yard next door with railway bridge went over.Peter was an ill as a child and was a patient at Longford Children\u2019s hospital, for a time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He started education at Kingsholm infants school and progressed to St Marks. Primary and moved on to Barnwood School playing both cricket and football. At 11 he went to Hatherley School in the top stream all way through always in the top 3. He finished his school career a year early. Was the school compositor in his last year and tried to get into printing but got a job as an apprentice typewriter mechanic in July 1939. Had previously worked before left school on a milk round for farmer called Stinger Long, earning more than he got as an apprentice. Apprenticeships cancelled at start of work but carried on supervised by Arthur West, who sometimes paid him extra from his own pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joined home guard in a fast response unit made up of youngsters and reached dizzy heights of Lance Corporal <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In November 1943 he was called up into the Army and went to start his basic training at Warwick. He saw service with 1st (Machine Gun) Bn Manchester Regt, 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Div in North West Europe during 1944 and 1945 and then served with Royal Army Service Corps in Belgium, Germany and UK from 1945-1947.
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