Latest Crew Pages for the web site

[ChrisInBlackpool]

OK I am going to start posting my latest crew pages on here.

The idea is that not every member of the crew is going to have their own page to start with, they may not even end up with one when we have fininsh because we know so little about them.

However, that does not mean they are not important, or that some one might be looking for them, which is where this comes in.
If I post the full crew here, in seperate posts, when some one searches the forum they will get a hit and it will tell them that there is a page on our web site about that person.

Hope this makes sense, and that it helps people... it's going to end up being a very large thread.

[ChrisInBlackpool]

28-29th October 1940 - 102 Squadron - Whitley V P5082 DY-L - Op. Bremen

The aircraft took off from Linton-on-Ouse at 1658 hrs on an operation to Bremen. Signalled a successful attack but subsequently crashed in the North Sea 20 miles east of Aberdeen, Scotland. The crew are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

F/L. Richard Anthony Barnwell Pilot - 36163 - Aged 24
Sgt. Harry Edward. Danks - 748206
Sgt. Frederick Joseph Abrahams - 580418 - Aged 22
Sgt. Thomas Henry Pegram - 632154
Sgt. Maurice Rose - 900030

[ChrisInBlackpool]

On the night of 16th June 1942 Harold batchelder was piloting W7652 out of Topcliffe.

W7652 DY-P was one of three No.102 Sqdn Halifaxes lost on this operation.

Airborne 23.05 16th June 1942 from Topcliffe.
Hit by Flak within seconds of bombing and, subsequently, abandoned in the vicinity of Wesel.

Sgt Batchelor, the last man to bale out, did so from just 800 feet and landed on farmland approximately 2 km N of Hamminkeln, 8 km NNW of Wesel.

Sgt Harold E. Batchelor DFM PoW
Sgt Frederick (Ringer) Bell PoW
Sgt Geoffrey R.D. Hobsbawn PoW
Sgt Frederick L. Ringham PoW
P/O Donald M. McRae RCAF PoW
Sgt R.H. (Swanny) Rivers PoW

[ChrisInBlackpool]

On the night of the 26th July 1941, Whitley Z6576 took off from Topcliffe at around 22.30.

The Crew were:

S/L Eric Alliot Verdon-Roe KIA Aged 26
P/O William Larry Rees KIA Aged 21
Sgt Anthony Russell Holmes KIA
Sgt William Albert McGinley KIA Aged 20
Sgt Leslie Netherclift KIA Aged 25

Shot down by a night-fighter Oblt Egmond Prinz zur Lippe Weissenfeld, around 03.23 hours, and crashed in the North Sea 10 km west of De Kooy Airfield, Holland.

If the Pilot's name seems to ring a bell...
start with A of Alliot
then V of Verdon,
and add the Ro of Roe and you get...

the son of the founder of AVRO, Sir Alliot Verdon Roe.

All are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

[ChrisInBlackpool]

I thought that little was known about this crew, but they are here because they went down on the same night as the webmaster's great uncle, and the page was already made up......

However, the webmaster was reading Chris Goss's amazing book, It's Suicide But It's Fun a few days ago and when he got to the night of his great Uncle's crash something began to add up.

On Page 89,the last paragraph quotes from a Dutch Police report, it begins, "On the night of Wednesday the 13th and Thursday the 14th July 1943, .... "

This report is without doubt about JB894, I just wish I knew more about this brave crew.

The Crew of : JB894 DY-X

Pilot: Sgt Robert Glass Amos KIA Aged 19
Sgt John Richard Godfrey Smith Flight Engineer KIA Aged 22
Sgt Basil Philip Dowthwaite KIA Aged 34
Sgt William Henry James Smith Bomber Aimer KIA Aged 20
Sgt John Richard Fradley Wirewless Operator KIA Aged 20
Sgt D.H. Brown PoW
Sgt John Raw Gunner KIA Aged 20

JB894 was airborne at 00.04 on the 14th Jul 1943 from Pocklington.
Cause of loss not established.
Crashed in the target area.
Burials are reported to have taken place in the St Dtfriedh, Munchengladbach 16th July 1943.

Five are now buried in the Rheinberg War Cemetery, but Sgt Raw is buried in Maastricht General Cemetery, Holland.
Their average age was 22.

Sgt D.H.Brown was interned in Camps L6/357. PoW No.376.

[ChrisInBlackpool]

Flight Sergeant J.W. Gregory

HX149 DY-J took off at around 8.10pm, on the 21/22nd Jan 1944, from Pocklington.

Leaving Magdeburg at 18,500 feet, intercepted by a night-fighter whose fire severely damaged the flying controls and set alight to the starboard wing.

Crash- site not established.

Those killed are buried in the Berlin 1939-45 War Cemetery.

F/S J.W. Gregory PoW
Sgt I. Davies KIA
F/O D.C.E. Bradshaw RCAF PoW
Sgt R.J. Irvine RCAF PoW
Sgt J.T.A. Mitchell KIA
Sgt W.S. Crisfield KIA
Sgt D.L.F. Bellamy PoW

Sgt D.F. Bellamy was interned in Camps 4B/344. Pow No.270007.
F/O Bradshaw RCAF was interned in Camp L3. Pow No.3442.
F/S J.W. Gregory in Camp L1, PoW No.2545.

[ChrisInBlackpool]

Joseph Morrison Smith

LW274 DY-R took off at around 7.47pm on the 21/22nd Jan 1944, from Pocklington.

Sgt Joseph Morrison Smith - Aged 20 - KIA (C.W.G.C.)
Sgt Reginald Claude Betts - Aged 23 - KIA (C.W.G.C.)
F/O Alan Leslie Clogg RCAF - KIA (C.W.G.C.)
F/O Lawrence William O'Neill RCAF - Aged 24 - KIA (C.W.G.C.)
Sgt Dougas George Forster - Aged 20 - KIA (C.W.G.C.)
Sgt Ronald William Chadwick - Aged 19 - KIA (C.W.G.C.)
Sgt Norman Taylor - Aged 20 - KIA (C.W.G.C.)

It crashed in the North Sea off Flamborough Head,

The bodies of both Air Gunners were recovered and taken for burial to their home towns.

Their five comrades are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

[ChrisInBlackpool]

JN952 DY-L took off around 7.45pm on the 21/22nd Jan 1944, from Pocklington.

WO2 Michael Francis Headly RCAF - KIA
Sgt John Boland - Aged 22 - KIA
WO2 E.T. Watt RCAF - Aged 20 - PoW
F/O Orvin Kenneth Nelson RCAF - Aged 31 - KIA
Sgt J.A. White - Aged 20 - PoW
F/S Jack Frederick Blair RCAF - Aged 28 - KIA
Sgt Ross Harvey Stanley RCAF - Aged 19 - KIA

The cause of loss and crash site has not been established.

Those killed are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

WO2 E.T.Watt was interned in Camps L6/357, PoW No.1087.
Sgt J.A.White in Camp 4B, PoW No.270097.

[ChrisInBlackpool]

Sergeant Don Sills DFM

Don was good friends with Ed Cooke and Eric Borsberry amongst others, and Ed has sent us photo's of Don.

Don Sills was KIA on the 30th June 1941 on board Whitley T4233 the crew were:

F/O Arthur Leslie Pullen - KIA (C.W.G.C Page)
Sgt James Bruckshaw - KIA - Aged 20 - (C.W.G.C Page)
Sgt Frank Gerald Coulby - KIA (C.W.G.C Page)
Sgt Donald Sills - KIA - Aged 22 - (C.W.G.C Page)
Sgt John C. Newlands - KIA - Aged 28 - (C.W.G.C Page)

The plane got airborne just before 11pm, from Topcliffe.

It was shot down by a night-fighter (Hptm Werner Streib, 1./NJG1) and crashed at 1.20am near Diergaarde (Limburf), 12 km SSW of Roermond, Holland.

All five airmen are buried in Jonkerbos War Cemetery.

More to come about some of Don's other flights when we get time.

[ChrisInBlackpool]

Sergeant Stanley G. Adams
Shot down on the 21/22nd Jan 1944

The Crew of HX150 - DY-M

F/S Harold T.Ellis - Pilot - KIA - Aged 27 - (C.W.G.C. Page)
Sgt Reginald Symcox - Flight Eng - KIA - Aged 20 - (C.W.G.C. Page)
F/O F. Joseph Payne - Nav - PoW
F/S William Millar - B/A - PoW
Sgt Stanley G. Adams - PoW
Sgt James Sydney Fraser - Mid Upper Gunner - KIA - Aged 19 - (C.W.G.C. Page)
Sgt Leonard J. Wilson - Rear Gunner - KIA - (C.W.G.C. Page)

HX150 took off at around fifteen minutes past eight at night, from Pocklington.

Outbound at 18,000 feet, intercepted and shot down by a night-fighter 40 miles SE of Flensburg, exploding on the ground with great force.

The Halifax fell near Becklingen (Bergen), 14 km SSE of Soltau, where Sgt Leonard Wilson is buried in Becklingen War cemetery.

The others killed have no known graves.

Sgt Stan Adams was interned in Camps L4/L3/L6, PoW no.1018.
F/S William Millar in Camp 4B, PoW No.270066.