Eric Howell.

Eric Howell.

Howell, Eric (1921-1998)

Eric Howell and friend sitting on a bomb 21 x 25 cm.
Eric Howell with wife Mega and daughter Carol 20 x 25 cm.
44th Rhodesia Squadron 12.5 x 37 cm.
Glamorgan Street, Brynmawr, South Wales, 1947 8.5 x 13.5 cm.

1940's

jpeg

050-007-099

Warren, Ohio, England and South Wales

Photographs

Carol Ann Howell Mullen

Eric Howell was born on March 31, 1921 in Newport, South Wales, and grew up in nearby Ebbw Vale. He worked in the area steel mills supporting the war effort until he joined the Royal Air Force on August 6, 1941, following the Battle of Britain. He served as a mechanic in the 44th Rhodesia Squadron on air bases in Waddington, Dunholme Lodge and Spilsby, England working on Spitfires and Lancasters. Eric married Megan Isabella Ashman on September 1st, 1941 and their daughter Carol Ann was born on August 5th, 1943. Initially the family resided in villages close to the airbase, but bombing eventually drove his wife and child back to South Wales. While Eric was waiting to be shipped to the Pacific Theater the Americans dropped the atom bomb. Living conditions in South Wales were very poor following the war, and the family decided to relocate. Originally Eric planned to take them to Australia, but he discovered that Megan and Carol would not be able to join him there for two years. The family emigrated to the United States in February of 1948 and stayed with Eric’s uncle In Warren, Ohio until they found an apartment of their own on Mahoning Avenue. Eric quickly got a job with Republic Steel, but eventually moved on to a position as a millwright at Copperweld Steel. He was a member of the AFL-CIO, the 44 Rhodesia Squadron Association and the MG National Car Club, and a founding member of the Bomber Command Museum of Helmsweld, England. He retired in 1983. Eric spent much of his life researching and writing about his experiences, and published The OR’s Story: Bomber Command and Other Ranks that is now part of the collection of the Local History & Genealogy Center. He died on October 3rd, 1998 and is buried in Pineview Memorial Park. Gift of daughter Carol Ann Howell Mullen.

Local History and Genealogy Center, Warren-Trumbull County Public Library