Flying Officer, Raymond J.G. Manning, RAF,VR.

I've sent Tony a scan of a number of documents about the crash that survive on Cooper's RNZAF service record.

If anyone else would like to be copied in on them please email me direct.

Errol

Tony
Diana was part of a group of FANYs in southern Italy -Bari ,Brindisi & Taranto supporting Polish airmen ,mainly parachutists who were dropped into Poland 1944 as agents .The Fanys were involved in housekeeping duties such as preparing meals .cleaning ,driving & some with SOE duties, receiving radio messages from agents "in the field " .There is a photo of Diana's CWGC grave in the book & the chapter is entitled "The Polish FANYS" p104 .No particular role is mentioned for her ,apart from above .

Many of the FANY women seemed to come from academic & priviledged backgrounds & were praised by the Polish officers with whom they worked in Italy
Probably the reason for Sue Ryder's involvement with Poland after the war .

Can you tell me your interest in Diana Manning ? If you email me I can give more details about M Pawley who was an SOE Fany . I was in contact with her in 2003

The book is a very interesting read & was published by Pen & Sword [Leo Cooper] in 1999ISBN 0 85052 633 7.

Anne

FAO ERROLL
My thanks for the info received, gives me a clearer picture of the incident. For some unknown reason, possibly because he was described as a Pilot, I wrongly assumed that he was co-Pilot of the aircraft but Anne's post clearly indicates that he was in fact a passenger returning from his Honeymoon with his wife, a tragic nine day marriage.

FAO ANNE
email on the way later regarding my interest in Diana.

My thanks for the general interest and this Forum, not being ex-RAF I am slowly learning the jargon. Although I did spend four days in the RAF at the RAF Combined Recruiting Centre, Euston, London in February 1945, I did make it to the final interview with eight senior RAF Officers until the last question "What is your handicap?" to which I replied that I was not aware that I had a handicap - "Your Golf Handicap" was the response. So there you go, I was paid off and donned khaki.

Tony

Tony,
Yr last para.
Totally, and utterley, brilliant!! I had the same sort of thing at OASC Biggin Hill a decade, or more, later!!!! Except I elected not to join RAF Air Tragic Control.
Yrs Aye
Peter Davies

Please let us know if you find out more about what this lady was up to. Wonder how they met and why she was chosen to do that work in the first place...
Dee

Dee

I have been struggling to find out exactly what Diana's function was with no success so far. I have been unable to find any reference to HQ Force 139, C.M.F. quoted on her CWGC Certificate.

I am going to contact F.A.N.Y. Archives to see if they can advise but I am unsure of how generous they are with information. However, when I do get a full story I will post it here.

Tony

Tony & Dee
M Pawley's book has Guy Manning as a Flt /Lt .
Diana's CWGC certificate has him as a F/O .I don't suppose it matters .He was probably too young to be a Flt/Lt so a mistake in the book ?

I presume Guy Manning was in a squadron based at Bari or Brindisi ,where Diana was based

Various branches of HQ special operations were set up in Italy [Central Mediterranean Forces] in 1944.The headquarters of Force 139 of the Czech & Polish sections was at Monopoli

Anne

Do a google books search for "Force 139" include the word polish

Some returns are:

"HM Threlfall, Commander of Force 139, an SOE subgroup responsible for aid to Polish and Czech underground forces"

"This is a report by the commander of a special combat unit (Force 139) in Ban, Italy, which provided air support for Polish and Czechoslovak resistance movements in 1943-1945 - This top-secret report was drawn up in May 1945"

In obedience to instructions: FANY with the SOE in the Mediterranean
Margaret Pawley - 1999 - 178 pages - Snippet view
Force 139, code name PUNCH, was the administrative unit which organized SOE work in Central Europe, in Poland

Originally Posted by Tonym

FAO ERROLL
For some unknown reason, possibly because he was described as a Pilot, I wrongly assumed that he was co-Pilot of the aircraft but Anne's post clearly indicates that he was in fact a passenger returning from his Honeymoon with his wife, a tragic nine day marriage.
Tony

Tony,

I'd not read too much into the Pawley comment. Hudson's were normally crewed with two pilots. You can bet your last dollar that Manning, 'passenger' or not, was sitting in the right hand seat for the flight. It is also significant that the word 'pilot' appears against his name on the casualty message. Other casualty messages I've seen that list aircrew travelling as passengers usually list their unit but never their 'trade'.

Errol

Thanks Errol

So my initial asumption was correct.

Tony