Guest: Fling Officer John de Hoop (RAF 1810752, 191161) Wireless Operator-Air Gunner

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎19th of November 2013

Released: 29th of May 2026

Duration: 1 hour 6 minutes 13 seconds

John de Hoop was a Londoner who joined the Royal Air Force in 1943, and trained as a Wireless Operator-Air Gunner. The following year he was posted to No. 75 (NZ) Squadron at RAF Mepal, as a Wireless Operator on Avro Lancasters, in the crew captained by New Zealand pilot F/Lt Wylie Wakelin DFC. His final few ops were flown with S/Ldr Bob Rodgers as his captain.

This recording was made at the time using Skype, as John lived in the UK. It was recorded as part of a wider WONZ Show project I was working on at the time that ended up not proceeding to completion. So it seems like it’s about time to share it with listeners.

John passed away on the 7th of August 2016.

Two more photos of John, from Dee Boneham.

Quick Links:

•  John de Hoop obituary on the 75 (NZ) Squadron Blog

•  The Wylie Wakelin Crew on the 75 (NZ) Squadron Blog

•  The Bob Rodgers Crew on the 75 (NZ) Squadron Blog

The music at the end of this episode is Wild Flower by Joachim Karud.