102 (Ceylon) Squadron
Tentate et perficite (Attempt and Achieve)
Sergeant Robert (Bob) Leyland
Robert Leyland was born 29/8/1923 in Preston, Lancashire, the first son of Lillian and Dick Leyland.
His younger brother by two years was Richard.
The photo on the left is Dick and Bob Leyland circa 1929.
They lived in a caravan whilst a new estate was being built in the Ribbleton area – Greenlands. Once complete they were one of the first families to move onto the new estate.
Bob was bright and athletic as a boy and was once the leader of the local scout pack. He had many friends and female admirers.
He hadn’t had a good start in life but made the most of it and achieved a scholarship to attend the Engineering course at Prestons Harris College.
He went on to work at the English Electric Company fabricating aircraft parts at the beginning of the war but on 29/10/1941 – two months after his 18th birthday, he signed up for the RAF Volunteer Reserve He was called up just before Christmas 1941. His RAF record describes him as 5’5’’- ¾’’tall, 33 ½’’ chest, brown hair, blue eyes and a clear complexion.
On the right is Bob Leyland and his buddy Tom Instone at Madley Radio School
The photo left is Bob Leyland and training pals Chas Cormack andD avy Campbell.
Bob Leyland was sent to eleven different locations whilst training to be a Wireless operator/Air Gunner, and he arrived at Pocklington on 16/5/1944. The units he trained at are as follows:
No3 Reception Centre Padgate, Warrington . . . . . . . . . . . 29/10/’41
10 (signals) Air Crew, Blackpool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/1/’42
2 S.S. - No2 Signals School, Yatesbury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30/4/’42
S.P.T.U. – Staff Pilot Training Unit, RAF Cark . . . . . . . . . 20/8/’42
A.C.R.C. – Air Crew Reception Centre (London?) . . . . . . . 15/3/’43
18 I.T.W. – Initial Training Wing, Bridgnorth . . . . . . . . . . 10/4/’43
4 R.S. - No 4 Radio School, Madley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16/4/’43
2(O)A.F.U. – Observers Advanced Flying Unit, Millom . . . 14/9/’43
15 O.T.U. – Operational Training Unit, Harwell . . . . . . . . 14/12/’43
Escape & Survival Course – Driffield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14/3/’44
1658 H.C.U. – Heavy Conversion Unit, Riccall . . . . . . . . . 21/3/’44
102(Ceylon) Squadron, RAF Pocklington. . . . . . . . . . . . 16/5/1944
Research has been done by Bobs nephew Bill as to what Bob might have experienced at each location.
What is known, from Bobs log book, is that Robert Leyland met his crew at Harwell, Oxford.
From the 14/12/’43 his pilot was Aubrey James Page.
The fresh crew trained aboard twin engined Wellingtons at Harwell and flew a total of 27 flights in the three months they were there. Circuits and landings, cross country and bombing in daylight, and then the same kind of exercises at night followed. The maximum duration was of 7 hrs night time.
As Britain was in ‘black out’ at night in 1944, it would have been pretty challenging for the navigator, as no visual clues on the ground could be seen should he loose his way, and many young crews met their end on high ground after losing their bearings during this stage. On a few training flights they were Piloted by instructors – Pilots who had already completed a 30 op ‘tour’- or more. P/O Southworth, F/O M’Cabe and F/S Sayer were these instructors. (We wondered whether Tom Sayer of 102 was the instructor, but it was not to be, unfortunately).
They were gunnery and fighter affiliation exercises in daylight. Another task performed at O.T.U. was ‘Nickeling’. This was the dropping of leaflets over occupied territory, and although Bobs brother Richard remembers Bob complaining about ‘bombing the buggers with paper’, there is no record of his crew performing this in his log book.
After OTU they were a fully trained crew and ready for ops. All they had to do next was complete a toughening up exercise at RAF Driffield, under the instruction of the Army, focussing on escape and evasion in the event of being downed. But at this time in early 1944, the RAF were developing 4 engined bombers, and they had to be trained up to get accustomed these new aircraft. They were now to be sent to a H.C.U. - Heavy Conversion Unit. I would imagine it was pretty frustrating at first to be sent for retraining, after competently mastering the Wellington and ready for ops, to be sent on yet another course to train again. At H.C.U. they were introduced to two new crewmen – a Flight Engineer - needed to monitor the engine performance and fuel distribution, and an extra Air Gunner - the mid upper.
The full crew are now:
F/S James (Jimmy) Aubrey Page - Pilot - Aged 32 - (C.W.G.C)
Sgt Ronald Marshall Simpson - Navigator - (C.W.G.C)
Sgt Frederick John Court - Bomb Aimer - Aged 26 - (C.W.G.C)
Sgt Robert Leyland - Wireless Operator - Aged 20 - (C.W.G.C)
Sgt John Watkinson - Flight Engineer - Aged 23 - (C.W.G.C)
Sgt Edward Ord - Mid Upper Air Gunner - Aged 21 - (C.W.G.C)
Sgt Robert Henry Brewer - Rear Gunner
On the 21/4/’44 Bob Leyland arrived at Riccall, Yorkshire – three miles north of Selby. According to Bobs log book his Squadron Leader was named Williamson. There were 4 ‘flights’ – A,B,C, and D – each had 8 aircraft, totalling 32, but there were many accidents so the strength of each flight was often less. His crew had 22 flights here, and Bobs log records 30:35 hrs by day and 12 hrs by night. He was here for a month flying ex operational Halifax II’s – and was not impressed! A quote from one of his letters home to a female friend goes; “Once more I am touring the skies, this time in a Halifax - and it’s not all that it should be!”
The Halifax II had problems with stalling and couldn’t attain the height of the Lancaster. Because of this, it was taken out of operations – but given to H.C.U’s to train the rookie crews in the handling of 4 engined ‘Heavies’.
In 1944, 27 Halifax II’s were lost in training accidents at 1658 HCU Riccall alone. The total for all H.C.U,’s in ’44 was 158. The total losses in training for the period 1942 – 1944 was 262. If you times this figure by 7 (the number of crew) it is 1,834. It’s a stunning amount of young men killed or wounded whilst training. And when you think they were already capable of contributing to the war effort in their beloved Wellington bombers, it makes their loss even harder to bear.
All of this portrays how lucky or skilful Bob Leylands crew were.
Tom Sayer said he never had a problem with the Halifax II, but many did. There were many crashes and ‘near do’s’ during this period of training.
A total of 452 various aircraft were lost in the years 1942- 1944 – and only 6 lost on operations. And some of you would have thought the dangerous stuff only happened whilst over Germany! Roughly 10% of all RAF casualties were in training.
Spare a thought for these guys if you see a memorial on a local hillside. They were all clever guys, willing to risk their lives to stop Nazi oppression, but many were caught out by bad weather or sub standard equipment before they actually got a chance to ‘do their bit’. Heroes one and all – but no medals for these lads.
I digress, on the 16th of May 1944 Robert Leyland and his crew were assigned to 102 (Ceylon) Squadron, RAF Pocklington, Yorkshire. They flew a few acclimatisation flights in various Halifaxes then on 2nd June 1944, four days before D-Day, they flew their first operation for real in NA 504 DY – ‘Y’. It was to attack a coastal gun battery in the Calais area in France.
The full list of ops is as follows;
Operational Targets of Halifax III NA 504 DY-'Y'.
Haringzelles .................... 2 - 6 - `44.
Boulogne ........................ 4 - 6 - `44.
Maisy ............................. 6 - 6 - `44.
St Lo .......................... 6/7 - 6 - `44.
Alencon ......................... 8 - 6 - `44.
Massy-Palaiseau ........... 11 - 6 - `44.
Sterkrade (Ruhr) ........... 16 - 6 - `44.
Domleger ..................... 19 - 6 - `44.
Laon ............................ 22 - 6 - `44.
Noyelle en Chaussee …. 24 - 6 - `44.
Montorgueil ................. 25 - 6 - `44.
Montcandon ................. 27 - 6 - `44.
Blainville ...................... 28 - 6 - `44.
Bois-de-la-Haie ............. 17 - 7 - `44.
Vaires ........................... 18 - 7 - `44.
Ardouval ....................... 20 - 7 - `44.
Stuttgart ................... 24/25 - 7 - `44. - LL 552 'X'.
.............................
Haringzelles. 2 - 6 -`44. (4 days before D-Day) (Friday)
They took off at 11:30pm on their first mission on a Friday night to attack a coastal gun battery in the Calais region classed as a 'defended locality'.
It was targeted to give the Germans the impression that this area was the location for the second front invasion. 102 Squadron flew 16 Halifaxes on this operation - 12 dropped their bombs successfully, but four returned to Pocklington with their bombs still up as they could see neither target, nor target indicators. There was 9/10ths cloud cover over the target, and it was raining. The cloud base was located at 2000 - 2500ft but the visibility had been good 10 - 15 miles out from the target. Light flak was experienced.
The lads returned to base at 3:00am, being up for 3:30hrs.
Boulogne. 4-6-`44.(Sunday.)
Another coastal 'defended locality', situated 19 miles south west of Calais.
It was targeted for the same reasons as Haringzelles, to try to convince the Germans this was possibly were an invasion force was going to land, and Bomber Command were trying to nullify the defences. NA 504 'Y' took off on a Sunday night at 1:00 am along with 17 other Halifaxes from 102 Squadron on this mission, one returned early with engine trouble ( port outer u/s), and one missed the target altogether due to a navigational error in the 10/10ths cloud. The rest bombed successfully using navigation aids- (Oboe, - a blind bombing technique using radar to give them an impression of the coastline), and no PFF marker flares were seen. The cloud base was at a height of 800 - 1500ft, lifting up to 2000 - 3000ft and visibility had been between 4 to 8 miles with a light SS/W wind of 15 - 25 mph. They experienced light opposition and some ack-ack fire, but Pilot Jim Page managed to get back and they touched down at 4:55am after a 3:55 hr operation.
Maisy. 6- 6-`44. (Tuesday.)
D-Day morning, and Bomber Command were flying sorties to hit various German gun emplacements along the Normandy coast to help pave the way for the invasion force that was soon to follow. Maisy is 35 miles S/E of Cherbourg and near the towns of Maisy and Grandchamp-Maisy were positioned heavy gun batteries that looked out over Utah beach were the American 1st Army were to be landing. There were three bunkers on the actual coast to the west of Grandchamp -Maisy numbered WN84, and these contained the German 8/1716 Artillery Regiment equipped with 4 - 155mm guns. There were another three bunkers numbered WN83 that were positioned further inland, about a mile S/W of Maisy and they housed 9/1716 Artillery Regiment with 4 - 100mm guns. It was the latter that was the target for Bob and his crew as the other two beach defences had been neutralized just prior to this mission.
102 Squadron flew 26 aircraft on this operation - a Squadron record - the previous biggest force being 24. There was cloud cover over most of the coastal targets that night, but all managed to attack the target through 3/10ths cloud at 5000ft and although there were no night fighters encountered, they experienced some light flak.
Target indicators ( Path finder flares) were clearly visible, and although it was reported that they all bombed on, and around, these markers, the mission was not the success they had hoped for, and most of the bombs fell 5Kms from the intended target.
The Americans sent B26s from the 386 BG 9th USAAF in daylight, to finish the job in the afternoon of the 6th of June. Grandchamp-Maisy was liberated on June the 7th by the Rangers and the 29th US Infantry Division. ( The latter information was researched for me by Mr John Chatel who actually lives in Grandchamp-Maisy - many thanks to John.)
On the morning of D-Day, Bomber Command flew 1,211 sorties with 1,012 aircraft, with the loss of three aircraft - two Halifaxes from 4 Group and one Lancaster from 6 Group, but all 102 Squadrons Halifaxes returned safely. 551 Lancs, 412 Halis and 49 Mosquitos made up the air force that morning, and of these 1,012 aircraft, 946 completed their missions, but the rest had to abort due to the bad weather. Only two targets were clearly visible, and the rest were bombed by 'Oboe' marking. 5000 tonnes of bombs were dropped that night - the greatest tonnage in one night that had been dropped in the war so far.
Bob and his crew took off at 1:00am, and returned to Pocklington some five and a quarter hours later at 6:15 a.m. Some of the crews were lucky enough to see the invasion armada through the gaps in the cloud cover.
Bob wrote in a letter to Olive Knowles - his childhood friend and neighbour, dated the 6th of June `44;
'' I suppose you will have heard about the bombers that opened up the second front at Cherbourg, well, we were one of the 65 aircraft that led the way in, trust me to be at the front as usual! Anyway it’s nice to know that I had something to do with it.''
So, on only their third operation, Pilot Jim Page and the crew of DY NA 504 'Y' had played their part in history, being in the first wave of bombers to attack the German defences that threatened the oncoming D-Day fleet.
St Lo. 6/7- 6 -`44. (Tuesday/ Wednesday.)
St Lo is situated 40 miles S/E of Cherbourg.
In the days following D-Day, Bomber Command concentrated on disrupting enemy communications behind the Normandy battle area. 4 Group Halifaxes took part in heavy attacks on railways and other lines of communication over the next ten days. St Lo was targeted because of its major road junction, 1,065 bombers flew on operations on this night - 589 Lancasters, 418 Halifaxes and 58 Mosquitoes. 15 aircraft of 102 Squadron took part and Bobs crew took off at 10:25 pm. on the night of the 6th. There was 10/10ths cloud at 4000 feet but it was clear below. They could see the red target indicators going down on their run up to the target, and they bombed the centre of the flares as ordered. It was a highly concentrated attack from 2000 - 3000 feet. Slight flak was experienced but St Lo was destroyed, and the German supply route to the invasion beaches blocked.
They also dropped 'window' on this mission - tin foil strips to confuse the enemy radar, and arrived back at Pocklington at 3:50 am on the 7th after a flight of 5hrs25mins. Out of the 1,065 aircraft that were operational, 10 Lancasters and one Halifax were lost.
Alencon 8 - 6 -`44. (Thursday.)
Situated thirty five miles north of Le mans, Alencon was the target for Jim Pages crew on the 8th of June because of the large railway marshalling yard that was there. It was hit to cut the supply lines and destroy the German re-enforcements that were stored there. 337 aircraft attacked the target on this night, -122 Lancasters, 195 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitoes. Bobs plane took off at 10:40 pm and was one of 15 Halifaxes of 102 (Ceylon) Squadron that bombed the yard. They attacked the target in clear weather, dropping 15 - 500lb M.C.s on yellow target indicators from 8,900 ft after a two second overshoot on the Master bombers instructions. No night fighters were evident but they experienced a small amount of flack. 'Window' was also dropped on this operation.
On their return, they found the weather had deteriorated to 10/10ths cloud at 300 ft and the visibility was down to 800 yards. All aircraft had to be diverted to Catfoss because it was the only airfield with clear weather, but it was unable to cope with such a large number of aircraft. Bobs and three others were allowed to land at Catfoss and the remainder managed to get into Lisset, Carnaby, Driffield and Dunholme Lodge - with the exeption of one crew,- who through lack of fuel, had to bale out North West of Catfoss after pointing the Halifax on a heading out to sea. The plane didn't get that far though, and it crashed at Wass near Catfoss.
Bob and the crew of NA 504'Y' returned to Pocklington the next day, taking just twenty minutes to get back. They had experienced their longest flight of the war on this mission, because of the bad weather and the diversion; they had been up for 6hrs 35mins.
None of 102s aircraft were missing but sadly,17 Lancaster’s and 11 Halifaxes were lost out of the total 337.
Massy - Palaiseau. 11- 6 -`44. (Sunday.)
This turned out to be two towns on the French rail network just south of Paris. Massy was chosen because of its road/rail bridge and this, along with three other targets, was attacked on this night by a total of 329 aircraft,-225 Lancaster’s, 86 Halifaxes and 18 Mosquitoes of 1,3,4, and 8 Groups.
Bobs crew took off at 9:50 pm.102 Squadron sent 12 Halifax IIIs on this one but five brought their bombs back because they could not identify the target in the thick weather- one of the Halifax’s came down to 2,000 feet to try and identify the target. The remaining crews did not regard this as a successful attack, and added to this there was moderate to heavy flack over the target area and one aircraft had to have air to air combat with a single engined night fighter. The mission lasted 4hrs 45mins and they got back to base at 2:35 am. Three Lancaster’s failed to return, and one of 102s was missing in action.
This was the first op that our crew had flown on that a 102 Squadron aircraft had failed to return. The crew that were lost were flying MZ 651 'Z',- the same flight - 'C' flight - that NA 504'Y' flew with. The crew of MZ 651 'Z' had taken off at 10:04 pm and had been brought down at Authouillet in the Department of Eure, 14 kms N/E of Evereux. They were all killed and are buried in Autheuil Communal Cemetery, close to the grave of a British Major who was buried there later in the year on the 13th of September 1944. He was Major H.R. Todd. R.A. of 140 Battery, 86 (5th Battalion the Devonshire Regiment) an anti-tank regiment.
The 102 Squadron crew who died were;
F/S R.P. Singleton. R.A.A.F.
Sgt S.J. Thomas.
F/S M.F.J. McNamara. R.A.A.F.
F/S P.A. Robson. R.A.A.F.
Sgt N. Lishman.
Sgt J.D. Francis.
Sgt H.R. Smith.
............... R.I.P. ...............
Mr Tom Wingham D.F.C. located relatives and held a commemoration for these lads a couple of years ago, and they were well represented by their families from Australia. The town of Autheuil is not far from Piencourt.
There was an unusual five day gap in our crews operations, which I thought was a bit odd, as they had been flying missions almost every day up till now. The answer was found in one of Bobs letters to his good friend Olive Knowles, that had been written to her on the day of his next operation the 16th of June `44, and here is the extract;
'' We had quite a bit of trouble with the aircraft yesterday, and had quite a busy time getting her right again. It seems that one of our motors was hit on the last trip and nobody knew just what damage had been done.
Anyway, she's O.K. now and that’s all that matters.''
He actually ends this letter with the words;
'' I must close now and prepare for the worst.''
He didn't know it at the time, but the mission he was about to prepare for, was to be the most costly and dangerous operation that he and his crew had embarked on since they had become operational.
It truly was the 'worst'.
Sterkrade (Ruhr) 16 -6 -`44. (Friday.)
The synthetic oil plants in the Ruhr valley were very important to the Nazis for obvious reasons, and three of them are mentioned from different sources as the targets for the night of the 16th of June at Sterkrade, near Duisberg. They were the Fischer Tropsch plant, the Rhur Chemie Holten and Rhur Benzinag plants.
451 bombers were despatched to target these plants on this night and 23 of those were 102 squadrons from Pocklington. The other squadrons that took part were 77, 158, 466 and 640 squadrons. Of the 451 aircraft involved, 31 were not to return, and 5 of these were from Pocklington.
I discovered two accounts of the mission, one from the Pocklington war diary, and a brief personal account from a 77 Squadron crew man.
Pilot Page took off at 11:02 pm. The route to the target lay over a German night fighter beacon at Bocholt only thirty miles from the target, which was being used as a holding point. This resulted in considerable night fighter activity from the target to the coast. There was also considerable Ack Ack fire. Two 102 aircraft had returned early with engine trouble. The bombing was scattered as markers could only be dimly seen through the thick cloud.
Jim Page reported; “10/10ths cloud at 4,000 feet, a glow seen through cloud at 21,000 feet, bombed on glow of target indicators. Despatched 11 - 500lb M.C. and 4 - 500lb G.P.”
P/O Horace Pearce of 77 Squadron wrote;
'' At the target there was 10/10ths cloud extending up to 16,000 feet. At first it was difficult to find an aiming point, as only glows from the target indicators could be seen, deep in the cloud. However, on the bombing run, green target indicators exploding at a higher level were identified, and in conjunction with the glow in the clouds an attack was made from 20,000 feet. Heavy flak was intense above and below, but at 20,000 feet there was less action.''
Besides the flak there was a fierce battle for survival between the Bombers and the night fighters. The enemy pilots found the conditions ideal as they hunted for Halifaxes and Lancaster’s starkly silhouetted against the search light lit cloud base.
Eleven of the 31 lost were from 4Group,- 6 of 77 Sqd from Full Sutton and the 5 of 102 Squadron.
The unfortunates from 102 were;
A/c MZ 292 'C'
F/S J.G.W. Kelso.
Sgt J.C. Gibson.
Sgt T.E. Hill.
Sgt N. Howarth.
Sgt D.W. Jennings.
Sgt A. Smith.
Sgt R. Batram.
All killed ........ R.I.P.........
They had taken off on their fateful mission at 10:52 pm - exactly 10 minutes before Bob and his crew- and nothing is known about what they encountered, but they crashed into the sea off the Dutch Frisian islands chain. F/S JGW Kelso was found 26 days later on the 12-7-`44 and lies on Vlieland, in the General Cemetery. Sergeant R. Batram was washed ashore on 17-8-`44 and laid to rest in Westerschelling General Cemetery on Terschelling. Sergeant D.W. Jennings was found on 29-8-`44 and now rests in the War Cemetery at Bergen Op Zoom. Unfortunately none of the others were found, and so are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
A/c MZ 301 'M'.
S/L D.R. Fisher. D.F.C., D.F.M. ('B'Flight Commander.)
F/O A.G. Striowski. R.C.A.F.
F/O L.A. Watts. D.F.C.
P/O G.C. Burglass.
F/L R.E. Cook.
Sgt P.J.N. Parker.
Sgt K. Clough.
All Killed..............R.I.P..............
They had taken off at 10:49 pm and were unfortunately lost without trace. No doubt meeting a similar end to the crew of MZ 292 lost in the North sea.
At 21 years of age, Squadron Leader D.R. Fisher was one of the youngest Flight Commanders in Bomber Command. In 1942 while flying Whitleys with 77 Squadron, he showed great determination in attacking Rostock, gaining an immediate D.F.M. Details of this appeared in the London Gazzette on the 15th of May 1942.
He had also completed a tour with 1652 Conversion unit, for which he had been awarded a D.F.C. He was just 19 when he started his first tour, and was two months short of his 22nd birthday at the time of the Sterkrade raid. His death was particularly demoralising for the lads of 102 as he had been living proof that young men could get through these dangerous days.
This sentiment is summed up by F/O Bryan Purser of 102 Squadron, he says ;-
''My crew, captained by Fg Off Bill Graham, was coming to the end of its tour in June 1944. During our time with the squadron, we had seen heavy casualties and few crews were completing their tours. Most of our contemporaries had gone missing and our loss of friends and acquaintances seemed endless. Secretly, I think we all asked ourselves ''How can one hope to survive?''
The arrival of Sqn Ldr Fisher and his crew revitalised the Squadron.
Here was a young, well-decorated crew starting another tour - ''Some do survive!'' was a common comment. When he and his crew failed to return, the effect was devastating and I cannot think of any other missing crew causing such an effect on those still around.
We were not operating the night that he and his crew disappeared
but I have vivid memories of that day. I recall, as if it were yesterday, seeing him queuing for a cup of tea in the ante-room of the Mess prior to leaving for briefing, later on, I stood at the take off end of the runway and recall waving to his rear gunner as he swung his turret sideaways for take off. This was a technique unique to Sqn Ldr Fisher as he felt it helped to counteract the violent swing the Halifax had until the speed increased and the pilot could get his tail up.
His last take off was immaculate as usual.''
A/c MZ 652 'Z'.
F/O A.V. Maxwell. R.C.A.F.
F/O W.J.H. Rushforth. R.C.A.F.
Sgt R.W. Peel.
Sgt P. Stamper.
Sgt N.W. Amstein. R.C.A.F.
Sgt L.W.J. McKenna. R.C.A.F.
Sgt E.O. Walker.
All Killed .............R.I.P............
They had taken off two minutes after Bob at 11:04 pm.
They are all buried in the Riechswald Forest War Cemetery. Sgt L.W.J. McKenna was only 18 years old and as such, was amongst the youngest Canadians killed on Bomber Command operations in 1944.
A/c MZ 642 'U'.
Sgt A.J. Barr.
Sgt J.F. Tweed. P.o.W.
F/S A.M. Duggleby. R.A.A.F.
Sgt H.J. Wakeford.
Sgt Chapman. P.o.W.
Sgt F. Bowman.
Sgt J. Bender.
All but the two PoWs Killed ......R.I.P.......
These lads had taken off at 11:12 pm and were shot down by a night fighter at 2:00 am. They came down at Luur (Gelderland) near Steenderen,which is 9km south of Zutphen. Those that died are buried alongside six airmen from 106 Squadron who died on 26-6-`43. They are buried in Steenderen General Cemetery. Sgt Tweeds service number apparently suggests he joined circa 1937 as a trainee volunteer reserve pilot. F/S A.M. Dugglebys father was the reverend John Taylor Duggleby of North Essenden in Victoria, Australia.
A/c LW 192 'H'.
F/S E.F. Braddock.
Sgt W.A.C. Reid.
Sgt R.L. Putt.
Sgt J.O. Booker.
Sgt E.A. Finch.
Sgt G. Hadfield.
Sgt E.W. Zaccheo.
All Killed ............R.I.P.............
Their take off time was 11:00 pm- two minutes in front of Pilot Page.
They were intercepted by a night fighter whose fire caused an explosion at 2:03 am and scattered debris from the Halifax between Bourmalsen (Gelderland), and nearby Buren, 7km West n/w from Tiel. They are all buried in Buren General Cemetery.
P/O Jim Page and the boys had flown this actual aircraft - LW 192, on a night cross country exercise on the 31st of May `44, being the third flight of three acclimatisation flights on the new Halifax IIIs, - their first flights at Pocklington.
16th June had been the worst night for losses on the squadron since the 20th of January `44, when four planes were lost. Thirty three young men had lost their lives in one night, with only two surviving and becoming prisoners of war. The crews that returned were faced with thirty five empty beds in the barracks that night. Up to now Bob Leyland and the crew had only experienced one loss on the squadron in six missions. I believe this trip would have shaken them up quite a bit. Then again they would have been well aware of the dangers of flying a mission to the Ruhr, or 'Happy valley' as they sarcastically called it.
Domleger. 19- 6-`44. (Monday.)
I'm not sure were Domleger is but I know it was the location of a V1 rocket site somewhere in France. 19 Halifaxes were detailed to attack the depot from Pocklington, and Pilot Jim Page was airborne at 10:00 pm. They were all up and on their way when Bob received the message to abort the mission as the weather had deteriorated over the target. They got back to base at 12:45 am and probably had an early night, once the adrenaline had subsided.
Laon. 22 -6-`44. (Thursday.)
This target was the major railway marshalling yard at Laon, which is about 80 miles north east of Paris. There are six rail lines connected to it, which made it a significant communications target and was very important to the Germans for their supplies.
NA 504'Y' took off at 11:00 pm and along with another 14 Halifaxes from Pocklington, joined the bomber stream of 222 aircraft to attack the yard. The attack force was made up of 111 Lancaster’s, 102 Halifaxes and 9 Mosquitoes. As they approached the target the flak was slight, but the night fighters were active, and four out of the fifteen 102 crews had to have air to air combats. Two were damaged, and the rear gunner of one was wounded but carried on firing. All the 102 boys reported a successful attack and although 16 crews had been lost out of the 222 crews that were up that night, there were no losses from Pocklington, and Bobs plane landed at 3:45 am after a 4hr 45 minute operation.
Noyelle -en -Chaussee. 24 -6 -`44.(Saturday.)
This target was a flying bomb site in the Abbeville area, 70 miles south of Calais. It was an unusual mission in the fact that it was the first day-time operation that Bob and his crew had ever flown on for real. In fact it was the first daylight attack that 102 squadron planes had taken part in since the 3rd of August 1942!,- and that mission to Hamburg was aborted because the skies were too clear.
The daytime bomb runs had become too costly because the fighters had no trouble spotting and attacking the oncoming bomber stream, so Bomber Command made the decision to concentrate on night raids till such time as they thought it safe to renew the day-time attacks. With the increasing strikes by Tempests, Typhoons and Mosquito’s on enemy airfields, the threat of attack was diminished enough for Bomber Command to restart the day-time missions- albeit with our own fighters as an escort.
Pocklington supplied 20 Halifaxes on this mission with NA 504 taking to the sky at 2:34 pm in the afternoon. Pilot Jim Page reported;
'' There was 2/10ths cloud but the target could be seen visually. The target indicators were clearly seen, so from 17,500 feet we bombed on the centre of three reds as ordered by the master bomber. There was a lot of smoke in the target area. The bomb load was 13 - 500lb G.P. and 2 - 500lb G.P.L.D.''
Rear Gunner Sgt D. Cunningham of 102 Squadron remembers;-
'' On the 24th of June 1944, we had a daylight sortie to Noyelles. Our usual aircraft was unserviceable so we took F/O Jim Weaver's Halifax coded DY-X as he and his crew were away on leave.
Shortly after crossing the Wash, we suffered an engine malfunction and we lost speed. By the time we had reached the French coast, the engine had been feathered and we ran up to the target on our own, well after the last wave had dropped their bombs and in spite of being told by the Master Bomber to abort, we decided to press home our attack....''
Flying Officer Pete Bailey picks up the story;-
''Passing near Abbeville, we were caught by heavy flak. Later inspection revealed about 140 holes. One splinter passed between the wireless operator’s feet, through his chart table, through the cockpit floor above his head, between my feet, giving me a glancing blow to the forehead before going through the windscreen. The starboard outer engine was knocked out with a damaged fuel line, and we were escorted back by Spitfires, and landed at Ford airfield in Sussex.''
''DY -'X' was repaired and later returned to the squadron as a spare. The Weaver crew were very proud of this aircraft and had impressed on us to handle it carefully. Having re-established contact with this crew after 50 years, they still bear a grudge about this incident but are now on speaking terms!.''
- The replacement Halifax for this plane came from 77 Squadron the day after this mission. It was re lettered 'X' X- ray and was the actual plane that our crew flew their last operation in.-
I discovered another personal memory of this flight, written by a Wireless operator with 10 Squadron, - George Mulinex - and he recalls;
'' We were not too keen on daylight raids as we were used to flying at night, and I remember on the 24th of June, a bombing attack at Noyelle-en chaussee, looking out of my window at all the other bombers flying around us like a cloud of flies, and looking down I saw a Halifax hit by the full bomb load from another aeroplane.
I did not know from which squadron they came, but I realized it could be anyone of us; that was a very sad moment.''
The aircraft from 102 were reported to have all bombed successfully although one Halifax had a partial hang up (some of its bombs jammed). There was predicted flak over Abbeville which damaged three planes, wounding the Pilot (Pete Bailey) and Flight Engineer (D Cunningham) of one, this was the Halifax that landed at Ford.
The crew of the Halifax with the 'hang up' had to bale out before they got back as it was far too dangerous to attempt to land with unsecured bombs aboard. Jim Page touched down at 6:20 pm in the afternoon, after a mission lasting 3hrs and 50mins. There were no losses of 102 crews, but ten crews were missing in action from the other squadrons.
Montorguiel. 25 -6-`44. (Sunday.)
This was another V1 site, it was situated about twenty miles north- east of Abbeville, northern France. Number 4 Group flew 100 aircraft on this mission- another day-time raid. 102 squadron contributed 18 Halifaxes on this operation, and our crew took off at 7:40 a.m. and had a fighter escort.
Jim Pages report was much the same as yesterdays:
'' It was clear over the target, and both target and target indicators were seen visually. Bombed on target indicators at 17,500 feet, and there was a good concentration of bombs on target. 13 - 500lb G.P. and 2 - 500lb G.P.L.D.''
All 102 planes reported bombing successfully but yet again one experienced a partial hang up over the target. There was lots of heavy flak over the target area, and one aircraft was seen to explode. This Halifax was believed to have been hit by bombs dropped from another aircraft.
George Mulinex of 10 squadron in 'Diary of a Halifax Bomber' wrote;-
'' It was another daylight job the next day, and another flying bomb depot at Montorguiel, and like the previous trip, it only took about four hours to get there and back. On this occasion and still flying 'LV 785' we were hit by flak, which was slight but very accurate.
The 'buzz bomb trips' as we called them, were usually short, and at one time the powers that be did not even consider these to be an operation! They would only count as a third of an op.
The lads that flew them were a bit upset at having to go three times to a little place called 'Middle of France' before completing one operation! and it was some time before this was sorted out.''
I was lucky enough to find another eye witness report on this mission, it was recalled by FLt/Sgt Aurthur Smith a rookie bomb aimer also with number 10 Squadron, he says;-
'It was a fine Sunday morning, the day of our first bombing operation.
We were flying at 16,000 feet in a stream of 100 Halifaxes on the run to the target - Montorguiel flying bomb site in the Pas de Calais.
There had been a little heavy flak just below us when crossing the coast.
At the turning point before the target, more flak at our height was avoided by turning in front of it. Now the sky was clear as we prepared to bomb, when suddenly our skipper exclaimed over the intercom;-
'' Did you see that?'' - as a Halifax in front and slightly above us blew up like a giant firework, disintegrating into fragments of burning wreckage and a big ball of smoke, through which we flew before completing the bombing run. We learned later that this aircraft was hit by one of the bombs dropped from another aircraft above it,'
The unfortunate crew on that day were actually from 102 squadron and were manning Halifax III MZ 753 'M'. It was struck in the starboard wing by a 500lb bomb and immediately rolled over as the damaged wing was torn off. There followed a violent explosion as the shattered fuel tanks ignited.
There were different account's of this tragedy, but the one that I think is more accurate, and clears up any confusion is one that was sent to the Bomb Aimer mentioned before -Arthur Smith, by the Rear Gunner of the Halifax that actually dropped the bomb's. I have a copy of Arthur’s letter of explanation.
I do have the Rear gunner's name, but I'm going to withhold it. He was with 10 Sqdrn from Melbourne, down the road from Pocklington, and he say's quite simply that;- ''he saw their bomb's hit another aircraft which broke up, and it's wing hit the one from Pocklington which then exploded.''
This incident led to a reappraisal of daylight formation flying within 4 Group and as a result, on future daylight attacks the Halifaxes were instructed to fly in loose 'V' formations to avoid the dangers of collisions and being hit by bombs.
Sergeant John Watkins, a Navigator with 102 remembers;-
'On a daylight trip on the 25th of June 1944, I saw a 102 Squadron Halifax disintegrate over the target. I thought it had been hit by another aircrafts bombs but it had in fact collided with a Halifax of 77 Squadron.
The Navigator of the Halifax was on the same navigators course as myself, and he got such high marks that they kept him in Canada for a spell as an instructor. He did his first op around the 23rd June`44.
In the flight planning room, his navigators desk was next to mine, and when I got back from the daylight op on which he went down, I noticed the navigation log from his first op was open on his desk. In it the Navigation Leader had written ''Good show. Keep this up and you'll have no problem in completing a tour''.'
The unfortunate crew of MZ 753 'M' were:-
S/L G.B. Treasure. ('B' Flight Commander.)
Sgt D. Sykes.
F/O S.J. Bailey.
F/O G. Fraser.
Sgt R.W. Collins.
Sgt L.T. Archard.
Sgt E.B. Bland.
All were Killed ............. R.I.P .............
Squadron Leader Treasure was the second S/L and 'B' Flight commander to be killed in nine days. S/L D.R. Fisher being lost in action on the costly Ruhr valley operation to Sterkrade, on the 16th of June `44.
Incidentally the 77 Squadron Halifax- LL549, that was hit by the bombs, was a sister plane to the Halifax that Bob flew his last mission in - LL552. Both were made by Rootes Securities at Speke, Liverpool, and coincidently LL552 was transferred from 77 Squadron to 102 Squadron on the day that this tragedy took place- 25/6/`44.
Montcandon. 27 -6-`44. (Tuesday.)
Another V1 site about 10 miles south east of Dieppe. 17 aircraft from 102 Squadron were sent from Pocklington on the night of the 27th, and made up the 104 total from 4 Group. These were just part of the 721 aircraft that were operational on this night, which comprised of 477 Lancasters, 207 Halifaxes and 37 Mosquitos.
Pilot Pages summary of the attack in the Public Records Office states take off time being 10:34 pm and;-
'' Clear over target and red target indicators seen on approach. At 18,500 feet bombed on Master Bombers instructions, five reds. Good concentration of bombing. 13 - 500lb G.P. and 2 - 500lb G.P.L.D.''
The Pocklington war Diary states;-
''All bombed on well concentrated markers, but later photographs showed that the main area of attack was to the east of the target. Light flak was encountered at the target area and on the return journey, but no fighter planes were experienced.''
The 102 Squadron report at the P.R.O. states;-
''22 Halifaxes of 4 Group attacked the construction site. Clear weather with slight haze over aiming point and target indicators clearly seen.Master Bomber clearly understood and a concentrated attack followed. Lots of smoke in target area. No ground or fighter fire.''
Our crew returned at 2:05 am after a mission of 3hrs 20mins.
Blainville - sur- l'eau. 28- 6-`44. (Wednesday.)
Blainville, situated 15 miles south E/E of Nancy, was the target for the night of the 28th because of the major marshalling yard located there.
NA 504 'Y' took off at 10:05 pm but for some reason they were 'late on concentration' as Bob Leyland’s log book states, and they had to return to base. NA 504 was one of two that returned early that night, the other returned due to engine and compass problems. Which leaves a mystery as to why our crew didn't make the rallying point, and returned to Pocklington at 2:25 am after being in the air for 4hrs20mins- longer than some of their successful missions. I could guess that they might have been on the wrong heading, and by the time they realised it, it was too late to catch up the bomber stream, but the true reason might never be known.
As it turned out, this was to be the hairiest operation that 102 Squadron had experienced since Sterkrade, because five crews were shot down on this night. The lucky ones reported a successful attack, but photographs showed that the bombing was somewhat scattered.
I'm sure Bob and his crew mates would have had mixed feelings about their early return to the airfield. He probably felt a bit guilty that they were not able to add more fire power to help the other crews, but I bet he also felt lucky to be alive on this, their thirteenth operation.
The unlucky crews and their aircraft were;-
LW 143 'O'.
F/S N.D.Campbell. .......+ R.A.A.F.
F/S A.D. Eagle. ..........PoW.
F/S J.Wilson. ...............+ R.C.A.F.
F/S N.A.Pardon. ...........+ R.A.A.F.
Sgt R.L.Leverington....PoW.
Sgt R.W.I.Joyce..........PoW.
Sgt D.E.Leslie.............PoW.
DY- LW143 'O' Took off eight minutes before Bobs Hali at 9:57 pm. It crashed near Beauvais (Oise), where those who died rest in Marissel French National Cemetery.
LW 159'Q'
P/O H. Rogers..............+
F/S L. Williams............PoW.
W/O R.J. Wilson...........+ R.C.A.F.
F/S J.A. Ligerwood.......+
P/O L.C. Potter.............+ R.A.A.F.
Sgt G.E. Frost...............+
P/O R.J. Messer...........+
These lads took off 5 minutes after NA 504 'Y' at 10:10 pm and were shot down by a night fighter. They came down at Coeuvres - et - Valsery (Aisne), 15km WSW of Soissons. Those who perished as the Halifax exploded are buried in Coeuvres - et - Valsery Communal Cemetery.
MZ 644.'V'
P/O B.R. Jardine.........+
Nav. Sgt D. Merrill...... Escaped.
W/op. Sgt B. Craydon.... Escaped.
Sgt W.S. Whyte.....+
R/Ag. Sgt J. Waugh....... Escaped.
Sgt D.F. Dales........+
B/A Sgt J. Reid........... Escaped
They took off at 10:02 pm, three minutes before Bob and his crew, and were later to crash in the Foret - de - Wassy (Haute-Marne) near the village of Wassy, 16km NW of Joinville. The three airmen who died rest in Wassy Communal Cemetery. In a book called 'Massacre over the Marne' which is about a costly raid on rail target's at Revigny I discovered the story of the others evading capture, and I might included it in a later chapter. It is too lengthy to be placed here, but the Rear gunner - Sgt John Waugh - gave his account of the incident that led to them being brought down someway short of the target, and it's as follow's;
'The flak was fairly light, with one or two searchlight's flashing about.
... Suddenly tracers were flying in a thick stream past the rear turret, and they were coming from in front of the kite! I knew that it was very rarely that an attack came from in front, so I thought that it must be some kind of super kite. Just then the skipper and the bomb-aimer began shouting and swearing, to quote: ''Them bastard's in front are firing at us and it's a bloody Hali''.'
The aircraft began losing height and the Pilot, P/O B.R. Jardine, told the crew to bale out. Only John Waugh, Sergeants Bert Crayden (W/Op), James 'Charlie' Reid (B/A), and Danny Merrill (Nav) survived.
MZ 646.'W'.
Sgt K. Robinson..............+
Sgt J.C. Watkins............PoW.
Sgt J.E.G. Woodward.......+
Sgt R.W. Lucas................+
Sgt W.N. Partridge...........+
Sgt F.J. Higman............PoW.*
Sgt J. Fingleton...............+
This crew took off just two minutes before NA 504 at 10:03 pm, and was airborne till 12:30 am when it was shot down by a night fighter, crashing at Fresnoy - la - Riviere (Oise), 5km N/E of Crepy - en - Valois. Four rest in Fresnoy - la - Riviere churchyard,While Sgt Lucas is buried at Clichy New Communal Cemetery, having died within hours of being admitted to Beauvais Hospital. (Could actually be buried at Marissel French National Cemetery).
The Navigator was Sgt John Watkins who we met earlier on the Montorguiel V1 raid ;-
''At about 0030 hours en route to Blainville, we were attacked from below by a night fighter. The aircraft was a flaming mass in a few seconds; the rear gunner reversed his turret and got out safely and I got out through the hatch under my seat. There were no other survivors.'' (I'll include his account of his attempted evasion later.)
* Rear gunner Sgt F.J. Higman is registered as being in the same PoW camp as our crews rear gunner Sgt Bob Brewer,- Stallag luft VII at Bankau, Poland. I'm sure they would have known each other, either before on the base, and most definitely when they were in Bankau.
NA 502 'S' *
P/O J.G.J. Mulvaney.......Escaped. R.A.A.F.
Sgt J.A. Miller.................Escaped.
F/S J.B. Duell........................+ R.A.A.F.
F/S L.K. Whellum.................PoW. R.A.A.F.
F/O G.S. Heath............. Escaped. R.A.A.F.
F/S T.W. Bastick............Escaped. R.A.A.F.
Sgt D.G.B. Smith...................+.
* ( NA 502 was a sister plane to Bobs NA 504 made by Fairey Aviation at Ringway, Stockport.)
Take off time was 10:16 pm and they came down 2km N/E of Ons - en - Bray, (Oise) and 10 km W of Beauvais, where Sgt Smith and F/S Duell R.A.A.F. are buried in Marissell Cemetery.
Out of the thirty five men that failed to return, sadly nineteen were killed. But there was some good luck around on this trip as sixteen survived. Eight of these escaped capture and eventually made it back home.
The aborted Blainville op was to be Bob Leyland’s last operation in June. He had flown a total of 57hrs 40mins in this month alone, 49hrs 35mins by night and 8hrs 5mins by day.
It was nineteen days later on 17 -7-`44 before he was back on operational duty. At first I didn't have a clue why there was such a big gap in his missions, but I suspected they might have earned some home leave. I studied his letters to his friend Olive, and luckily found the answer. Bob had indeed had some home leave, and he and his best mate Don Armitage, had gone to Blackpool for a week, having fun on the Pleasure Beach during the day and drinking, dancing and womanising at night (apparently Bob was quite good at the latter!). They were there from the 4th of July to the 11th. Bob had wrote the letter to Olive on the 12th of July and I thought I would include a few lines. He said;-
'' As you know, I spent seven of my days with Don, and I don’t remember packing in so much fun in seven days as I did last week. Between us we spent about £18.00! I think we must have been carrying a pocket full of squander bugs around with us. Most of our time was spent on the pleasure beach during the day, and the nights,- well, I don’t think I need to tell you! ''
There is some bragging about attracting girls at the Winter Gardens, then he says;-
'' I haven't done any flying since I got back, but I don’t mind that. What I do mind is somebody else flying in our aircraft. Anyway we will be getting her back tomorrow.''
(Somebody had indeed been flying their plane and it had been used for a few missions as I discovered in the squadron record book.)
He also said;-
'' I am taking things easy just now, I have just had a flask of coffee brought me, so between that and eating chocolate, I am getting my writing done.''
It is nice to know he had some pleasures in between his ops, and he obviously had a great time on his holiday,- which sadly was to be his last.
As his letter states, they got NA 504 back on the 13th of July, the day after he wrote, and his flight log shows there was a test flight of 45mins on the 14th to check that everything was as it should be, and that the stand in crew had not 'bent' it.
They were back at 'work' three days later on the 17th of July.
Bois -de -la -Haie. 17 -7 -`44. Monday.
The target on this mission was another V1 flying bomb depot in Fance, but I'm not sure of its location. It was a daylight operation and the crew of DY- NA 504'Y' took off on the evening of the 17th at 7:14 pm with 20 other Halifax III's from 102 (Ceylon) Squadron, and joined 29 aircraft from 4Group for the attack.
Pilot Jim Pages report states;-
'' 4/10ths cloud at target, red and yellow target indicators seen on approach. Bombed on red T I's. Well concentrated attack . Bomb load 13 - 500lb M.C. and 2 - 500lb G.P.L.D.''
Another report states;-
''49 out of 50 Halifaxes of 4 Group hit construction site. Clear weather bombed on red T I's. Well concentrated attack, large explosion around 21:16 hrs (9:16 pm), slight flak.''
Of the 21 Halifaxes of 102 that were sent, one returned early with engine trouble, but the others attacked visually. Photographs of the bombing area confirmed that this was a successful mission. The flak had been slight, and although they had fighter escorts, there was no enemy fighter opposition.
The mission took 4hrs 5mins and they touched down back at Pocklington at 11:05 pm.
Vaires. 18 -7 -`44. Tuesday.
This was an extensive railway marshalling yard to the east of Paris on the Paris to Meaux railway line. It covered an area one and a half miles long by one mile wide, and like previous rail targets, was important to the Germans for holding and distributing supplies to their troops in the Normandy battle areas. It was a sensitive operation, because General de Gaul did not want any bombs dropped on, or near Paris, but he had been over-ruled - as he had been before, by Bomber Command back in London- because they saw the yard as an important supply link to a large area of German occupied territory.
Mosquito bombers dropped flares well in advance, to warn the civilians, and radio warnings preceded the bombings. 4 Group sent 110 bombers in total, - Bobs NA 504'Y' was one of 12 that were sent from Pocklington, taking off at 3:30 pm. Visibility was good, so the target was easily identifiable and they reported that the bombing was concentrated.
Photographs prove this - I located the actual photograph of the aftermath of this raid in the Imperial War Museum archive. There was moderate to heavy flak over the target area, but no fighter opposition. They had a fighter escort. Their mission was a relatively short mission of 3hrs and 40mins, and they returned back to base at 7:10 pm.
Vaires marshalling yard after the attack
Ardouval. 20 -7 -`44. Thursday.
Ardouval is 20 miles south east of Dieppe, and was the site of a flying bomb depot in 1944. Bob and the crew of NA 504'Y' took off at 10:43 pm, and, along with 8 other Halifaxes of 102 squadron flew over to France. Only two bombed because of dense cloud over the target area, the rest being unable to identify the target.Opposition was slight and one bomber received slight damage, another crew had an inconclusive combat with a night fighter. Those that aborted had to jettison some of their bomb load before their journey back. Pilot F/Lt Jim Page reported jettisoning 2- 500lb G.P.L.D. at 5,000 feet and brought back 13- 500lb M.C.
All the aircraft were diverted to Burn airfield on their return, as Pocklington was shrouded in bad weather, they touched down at 2:35 am. The crew flew NA 504'Y' back to Pocklington later in the day taking off at 2:30 pm. This was to be the last flight that they would take in her.
Stuttgart. 24/25- 7-1944. Monday.
The fateful mission. The crew were not marked up for this trip to Stuttgart according to my father, and indeed, I discovered they flew another crews plane - Halifax III LL552'X', because the crew of this plane had a crewman down sick. Apparently it was not unusual to exchange the whole crew if one was sick, instead of swapping the men around.
I discovered that this actual aircraft had not been on the squadron long, having been originally assigned to 77 squadron on 23 June `44, and transferred two days later to 102 (Ceylon) Squadron. She had flown a mere 38.10 hours. LL552 was made at Speke, Liverpool, by Rootes Securities and was one of 60 that were made for a contract during May - June`44.
The operation to Stuttgart was a heavy raid involving 614 bombers from Bomber Command. This number was made up by 461 Lancaster’s and 153 Halifaxes - thirteen of which were from 102 Squadron. It was the first of three raids to target Stuttgart, and 1,957 tons of bombs were dropped on the industrial, public and cultural buildings that night destroying a large area of the central districts of the City and causing damage to precision engineering works and the research factory of Robert Bosch, amongst others.(The full damage report is included in another chapter). This first raid of the three was the worst that Stuttgart had experienced during the whole war,- and it had been hit seven times since 5 -5-`42.
This was the crews first big German target since Sterkrade, and heralded the squadrons return to the strategic bombing of Germany - phase 4 of Bomber Commands objective.
The 'Pocklington war Diary' states that;-
'Of the thirteen aircraft sent, one returned early with engine trouble, unable to reach operational height.
The conditions over the target area was 10/10ths cloud, so they all had to bomb on flares. There was fairly intensive, heavy flak and the enemy fighters were active, and one Halifax had to have a combat with a Ju 88 on the run in to the aiming point, the outcome being inconclusive. One Halifax claimed to have shot down a Ju 88 but sustained some damage.
The Master bombers bombs jammed temporarily but the rest bombed successfully.'
The squadron report on this raid is as follows;-
'' One aircraft attacked by a Junkers 88 fighter on the bombing run and jettisoned over the target. One jettisoned due to the failure of the electrical bombing circuit. Bombing times 1:13 - 1:30 am between the heights of 16,000 - 18,500 feet. Weather very heavy over the target making ground identification impossible, but the target indicators were seen quite clearly. The first red T.I.'s went down dead on time, and were followed two minutes later by greens. Crews bombing 1:18 - 1:19 am reported that dummy red T.I.'s were spotted to starboard and port 5 miles short of the target. Opposition was considerable with heavy flak over the target and night fighters were reported over the target area, one fighter claimed as a probable hit. Weather cloudy with rain. Cloud base 3,000 - 5,000 feet. Visibility 3 - 6 miles increasing to 10 miles, but falling to 2 miles in rain. Wind East south east 5 - 10 miles per hour.''
I was fortunate to have found three accounts written by aircrew members, who were also on this mission. The first one is Gilbert Grays' and he was a flight engineer on a 106 squadron Lancaster from Metheringham, about eight miles from Lincoln. He remembers;-
'' On the 24th July we were one of nine Lancaster’s who set off on the seven hour fifty minute round trip to Stuttgart, set on the river Neckar on the northern fringe of the Black forest.
There was dense cloud cover at about 7,000 feet, so the target was obscured, but these clouds glowed red from the burning city below.
From above, they reflected the colours of the cascading Wanganui sky markers - an awesome scene. The bombers, flying between 16,000 and 20,000 feet were silhouetted against this backcloth for the night fighters to pick out and pick off. A distant Lancaster coned in searchlights 'hard luck chum' suddenly sparkled and became a red comet as it drifted, then plunged downwards leaving several of its crew descending slowly, swinging on their parachutes, towards the city fire below the clouds.
We 'floated' along in space, weaving and corkscrewing at about 19,000 feet and dropped our load on a collection of red target markers at 1:52 am - one 2,000 pounder and twelve clusters of incendiaries.
The homeward journey - some four hours - was always long and tense, especially over enemy territory, when fighters could infiltrate the bomber stream at will.''
The second account I found, was particularly interesting to me as not only was the writer on the same mission, he was shot down and ended up in the same PoW camp as Bob Leyland's rear-gunner, at Stallagluft VII, Bankau, Poland. It is written by Kieth Campbell an Australian Bomb-Aimer serving with 466 Squadron from Driffield.
This account was a complete memory of before, during and after the raid, and he went on to tell of his experience in Bankau.
I am including the first part of his account at this point, and will include his memory of Bankau later on, to portray what rear-gunner Sgt Bob Brewer experienced after being imprisoned.
Kieth Campbells' memory opens;-
''Ops are on'' - that was Monday morning, 24th July 1944, and everyone was expecting another short trip. When we heard the petrol and bomb load no one could guess what the target was, as we had all tank's and wing overloads, and were carrying H.E. ( Heavy Explosives). Then briefing came along and the G/C soon settled the many guesses and announced our target was Stuttgart.
Thing's went along normally, we went out to the kite - 'P'- Peter as usual - checked everything and went outside for our final smoke. The Padre came around and wished us a good trip. The one unusual thing was we were carrying a 'second dicky'. (Second Pilot).
Soon it was time to set off so we took our place in the line-up for the runway, the ground crew, only a few as it was 22:00 hours, gave us the 'thumbs up' and we were in the air in a few seconds, circling around waiting to set course. Left England at about 15,000 feet and climbed to 20,000 over France. The night was dark, but occasionally one of the boys reported one of the 700 bombers close to us. All the equipment was working perfectly, and 'Peter' was behaving well. All the way in was uneventful. PFF were spot on ( Path Finder Forces flares) and we bombed O.K., hoping as usual that our bombs would land in the middle of some flak battery. The flak defences were very active, there were several bursts very close - we could hear it rattle against the bomb bay. As usual I was leaning on my 'chute, and when moving around to see the target more clearly, left the clip of my harness clipped on to the hook in my 'chute. Don't know why I always used my 'chute to lean on, perhaps it was a feeling of security its nearness seemed to give.
Turned after bombing and getting our photo, then Bob said he was going back to check 'bombs gone' as by then we were passed the main defences. I only saw one fighter that night, an ME210, but he didn't bother us. Bomb-panel drill completed, I was turning round to the H2S again and just about to unclip the 'chute when there was what seemed to be a heavy dull explosion behind me and someone saying ''Bloody hell!'' The next thing I knew I was in mid-air, floating down on one strap of my harness! The explosion,- a stray flak shell which scored a direct hit on 'Peter'- blew me straight out through the nose and just blew the kite to hell. But for the fact that my 'chute was on I would have continued down to earth much faster than is good for ones health - as falling from 20,000 feet without a chute is not a pleasant experience.
I have no recollection of opening the chute - I must have been temporarily out, and the wind opened it. My helmet with it's intercom plug and oxygen tube must have pulled out - damned lucky as they usually get hopelessly tangled and could easily strangle or break ones neck - pleasant thought!.
It took a long while to come down and it was a fantastic experience - I could see the last of the raid, all the flak and searchlights at the target, the fires in the city, PFF flares burning out and strings of bombs bursting, it looked like a fairyland somehow, everything seemed so unreal. Saw several fighters fly past, going up to intercept the rest of the chaps, and an occasional burst of tracer, like a miniature meteorite, streaking across the sky. There was complete silence except for the creaking of the harness and it was hard to realise what had actually happened. Luckily the wind was blowing away from Stuttgart and I seemed to be slowly floating down, suspended in space by a strap with a layer of thin clouds lazily coming up towards me.
At first I mistook the cloud for the ground and made several perfect 'book' landings only to find I went straight through the 'ground'. Finally came to earth, and when it was about thirty feet away it seemed to rush up at an alarming speed and before I had time to do a 'book' landing, I was sprawled out in a wheat field, which luckily was nice and soft, and I gradually realised that I was alive, and this was not a fantastic dream.
The third account of this mission is recounted by an actual 102 Squadron crewman, who, - I am proud to say - I am in contact with. Canadian Pilot F/L Jim Weaver;-
'' The Squadron Commander suggested we follow the plan in the briefing, heading towards Mannhiem so that their fighters congregated there, and then at the last minute turning for Stuttgart, and, as he said,-'You might be awarded a medal but your Mother would be the one who gets it'. It was a tough target and we were under no delusions, so off we went on what proved to be our most memorable evening.
En route, there was enemy activity on our port beam, where the diversionary attack was taking place over Mannhiem, and when we got over Stuttgart, it was obvious that we were not very welcome. Fighters, flak, searchlights, flares - all the elements to make one reflect on the comforts of home or being back in the Mess.
It was a nice run up to the target with instructions from the Master Bomber, then ''Bomb doors open!'',''Left, left'',''Right, right'', ''Steady''.....''Bombs gone''. The Halifax jumped up, relieved of its burden and now there was the long 25 seconds while the photo was taken and then ''Bomb doors closed''. This whole procedure was not long in time, but seemed to be the most intense part of the trip, especially over the more heavily defended targets.
Leaving Stuttgart, it gradually became quieter but exceptionally dark, when suddenly all hell broke loose. Tracers and cannon shells were tearing into the tail assembly and port wing. Almost simultaneously, I reacted with a dive to starboard, away from the tracers, as obviously, the fighter was astern. I shouted to the rear gunner ''Paul get that guy!'' - it was a Junkers 88 astern, below and to starboard. The defensive action we took brought him up in full view of the rear gunner who shot him down, seeing it break up with a fire and explosion around one of its engines.
The Halifax was responding well but as we levelled off, we saw that the port engine was on fire. It was extinguished by a few dives which took our altitude from 19,000 feet to 7,000 feet. We were badly off course, heading for Switzerland with the port engine not functioning very well and with a damaged port fin, rudder, elevators and aileron, we could not climb but we were maintaining height. There was flak ahead and the bomb aimer went into the nose to more or less guide us around it. However, shortly after he had moved from the nose to help the navigator with his ''Gee'' fixes, we were attacked again, but this time from ahead and below. Where the bomb aimer had been lying, there was a row of bullet holes!
The fighter disappeared and eight and a half hours after leaving Pocklington, we arrived back. The landing was difficult and power had to be used to counteract the severe side-slip to port, but after a ground loop caused by a shot out tyre, we were back on terra firma. We were very late, and it was assumed that we had got the ''chop'' so we had a great reunion with our ground crew and other Squadron friends who were waiting for us''.
And this crew were one of the 'lucky ' ones.
I'm sure you will appreciate these accounts as I did, they were quite a find, as they put us up in the air with our crew on their last mission, now we know what it was like for them. A Hellish experience for all involved, and it was to be the last mission for a total of 21 crews of Bomber Command.
F/Lt Jim Page had completed the bombing run, F/Sgt Fred Court had jettisoned the bombs, Sgts Eddie Ord and Bob Brewer must have had eye strain trying to spot the enemy fighters in the gloom - ready at their guns. They had done their duty and now they were relying on Navigator P/O Ron Simpson, W/Op Bob Leyland and Lady luck to get them out of Hell, and back home.
DY- LL552 'X' had made it back into deepest France past Dijon, on to Orleans and then north-west up towards the Caen region and the Normandy beaches. They were within sight of the coast some thirty miles in front of them when they were shot down by a night fighter.
The following piece of information is the most significant official document that I have ever traced. I went to the Public Records Office in London looking for the Squadron reports and came across files of reports made by the survivors of crashes and bale outs during WWII. I scanned the reports for July `44 hoping to find Sgt Brewers report, but drew a blank. Disappointed, I wondered whether PoWs reports even existed, or might they be held somewhere else?, so I wrote to the M.O.D. at Scotland Yard and asked the Air Historical Branch if they knew the whereabouts of such a report - giving them all the known details about the crew, the plane, and the date it was lost.
I eventually received a reply, and they informed me that although they themselves, held the report, they could not send the complete document, so they transcribed it into the second person. But other than that, it is Sergeant Bob Brewers actual account of what happened in the last moments of our crews lives, and as such is very important, especially as Bob Brewer has not been traced, so I cannot ask him about the tragic circumstances that befell them on the morning of the 25th of July 1944.
I know that some of these circumstances are known to the families of the crew, but for those that do not know, here is the account that the M.O.D. released to me, as supplied by Miss Diane Coffey ;-
''Our records confirm that Halifax LL 552 took off from RAF Pocklington at 21:30 hrs on 24 July 1944, to carry out operations over Stuttgart, from which it failed to return to base. Details provided by Sergeant Brewer stated that the aircraft had been hit, causing the starboard wing to burst into flames and subsequently the aircraft went into a spin. The Bomb Aimer shouted that he'd been hit, and when Sgt Brewer called to the Pilot he received no reply. Sgt Brewer turned his turret to uncover and baled out and as he did so, the starboard wing fell away. Apparently the aircraft then crashed straight into the ground and Sgt Brewer landed about 70 yards away from the aircraft which was burning furiously. Sgt Brewer waited until it had burnt out, and with the aid of the French locals, the bodies were removed from the wreckage.
The locals promised faithfully that their bodies would be given a fitting burial, but Sgt Brewer had no knowledge of the burial location as he had to hide before the enemy arrived. All that was known was that Sgt Brewer had baled out three and a half miles south south east of Lisieux, France.
During the course of investigations carried out in the vicinity of the crash by the R.A.F. Missing Research and Enquiry Service, it was learned through the Gendarme Chief, that an aircraft had crashed on 25/7/`44 at approximately 04:00 hrs. Further information through local sources confirmed those details supplied by Sgt Brewer and indicated that the bodies had been taken from the aircraft wreckage and buried in the Cemetery of Piencourt.
The scene of the crash was also visited by the M.R.E.S. where the serial number was taken from a wing tip found among some aircraft debris. This serial number proved to belong to Halifax III LL 552.''
Although this report is the official account given by Bob Brewer, I'm afraid there is some conflict of opinion as to what part he actually played in the retrieving of the bodies. Alain Goujon, the Commemoration organiser, made some enquiries with the locals - some of which remember the crash and the aftermath - and it seems that Sgt Brewer had not in fact made his way to the stricken plane. I'll let you read some of the information that he sent me. I've had to amend some of it as his command of English is not brilliant.
'' Concerning the fall (crash), some villagers remember that tragical night. They saw the bomber burning furiously in the sky and flying over the village. When it crashed in the pasturage some people saw a parachutist come down about a hundred metres from the wreckage. The man stayed some minutes against a hedge, and after that he went away. Immediately the Germans came and roughly pushed all the people away.
The next morning, some young men came to retrieve the bodies of the unfortunate aviators to give them a decent burial place.
The Germans salvaged some pieces of the aircraft such as the machine guns and cartridges. In 1946 the engines and big pieces such as landing gear were still in the pasture. During the following years a scrap metal merchant cleared the area, and the site of a crashed P38, 1km away.”
“Now the spot is always visible, the grass grows with difficulty because of the oil and fuel burned there.'' - 17th November 1997.
I don’t realistically think, that Sgt Bob Brewer would have had the time to wait till the fire had gone out to retrieve his friend’s bodies, as much as he might have wanted to. I have a feeling that he knew there would not be any survivors,- after all the poor man must have witnessed the immense impact into the field, and he could see there were no other parachutes in the sky as he floated down, and it was on fire.
I wonder how many times he relived that memory in his nightmares.
He must have felt very alone after all the comradeship they had shared, and now here he was friendless, and on the run in a foreign country crawling with Germans. It is understood that he evaded capture till he got close to Caen. He no doubt headed towards Caen because he knew that was were the allies were breaking through the German line from the Normandy landing area. It seems he was unfortunate and was picked up before he reached the allies.
Another letter from Alain, dated 14th December `98 said;-
“ I have information that will interest you. In the town hall we have found a little report. The bomber fell at 4:00 a.m. French time, and the aviators were buried on the 26th July `44 in the cemetery at Piencourt. Some persons said the bomber was hit by the anti-aircraft position at Barville. (A German airfield). It is possible, but curious, because that spot is about 6km east of Piencourt, and the bomber crashed whilst on a heading east south east coming down 1,200kms south east of Piencourt.''
Put simply, the villagers say they saw the plane falling down almost heading towards Barville, and in the opposite direction to the coast.
I believe the answer is that they were virtually on a north west heading, flying towards Le Havre, when they flew over Barville, and that is indeed when they were hit. As Sgt Brewers account says, the plane was hit in the starboard wing making the plane lose control, and start to spiral, and what the villagers witnessed was the last loop of the spiral as it hit the ground, appearing to have been travelling in the opposite direction to the coast - the normal direction for a homebound bomber from England. I think if you add to this the fact that they lost a wing, which might have been flung towards the town on the descent, it would look to the townspeople that appeared shortly after the crash, that the plane had flown over Piencourt lost a wing and then crashed 1 mile to the east of Piencourt.
I personally thought the fact that Sgt Brewer landed so close to the plane a bit odd at first, as you would expect that after baling out, the plane would have flown on and away from him, but if you accept my guess that it spiralled round and back towards the parachuting rear gunner, it sort of makes sense. There would not be any thermal air currents to carry him at that time in the morning so his descent would have been pretty much straight down, and normally to land so close to a plane that you have just jumped out of would suggest that he baled out at a dangerously low altitude. But apparently he was not injured when he landed.
I wish I knew what the true explanation is, because I'm sure you can appreciate its not easy to make sense of what happened when all you have to go on, are the accounts of people who might have changed their story, and others who claimed to have seen the crews' bomber come down, when really they might have arrived at the scene shortly after being woken by the noise to find the wreckage of the wing close to the village, and the fuselage crashed in a field to the east, and presumed that the plane actually flew over their village before crashing. I am curious as to what time the farming community of Piencourt get up, and whether there would have been anybody about at 4:00 in the morning, but being farmers, I suppose there might have been some of them up at day break.
Maybe I shouldn't be so critical, as their plane might have been travelling in the wrong direction, - it happens, especially if they had encountered a fighter and had had to take evasive action, Sgt Brewers report doesn't mention one though.
Mrs Sylvia Page received a letter on the 10th of April 1948 from the Association France-Grande-Bretagne, informing her of the whereabouts of her husband’s grave. It also explained why the search to find the crews grave had taken so long.
Sgt Bob Brewers estimation as to where he and the crew came down, was literally miles out, and placed the searchers in the wrong area.
If you remember, in Sgt Brewers report to the M.O.D., he had said that he baled out 3 -1/2 miles south south-east of Lisieux, when Piencourt is actually about 9 miles to the east. The letter goes on;-
“This is why we could not trace the graves, for, as I think I told you in my letter of July `46, acting upon the indications given to Mrs Ord by the survivor, Sgt Brewer, we scoured all the villages south and south-west of Lisieux, all in vain of course.
I am very sorry it was so long until you learnt at last where your dear husband is resting. But I hope it will be of some comfort to you to know that his grave, and that of the members of his crew, is lying in a quiet country place, where it has been lovingly tended ever since those gallant boys were buried by the village people, on the very afternoon of the day when they were brought down by the German Air Defence, 25 -7 -`44.
The plane crashed in a field, about 3 a.m. and was deeply sunk into the ground, about 5 ft. Unfortunately the bodies could not possibly be identified and they were buried in the same grave, in the churchyard, exactly at the spot marked with a cross on the enclosed postcard. The burial took place at 2:30 p.m. in the presence of all the inhabitants of the village, who erected a single cross bearing the inscription in French '' Ici reposent les corps des aviateurs Anglais tombes le 25-7-`44''( Here lie the bodies of the English airmen fallen on the 25 July 1944.) And since that time, the grave has been constantly flowered by the village people, the Mayor, the priest and the War veterans taking particular care of it, and paying homage to it on all anniversary dates.''
'' What was left of the plane has now been removed, except for the engines that remain buried deep in the ground.''
The important point that can be gleaned from these pieces of information, is the fact that their deaths were quick, there is no doubt in my mind that any of them could have survived such a massive impact, and the preceding fire would not have been a factor in their deaths.
I hope this point is some comfort to those relatives who imagined that the crew might have been trapped and that the fire caused the crews death.
I myself believed this to be the case, and I was relieved to find out otherwise.
Sgt Eddie Ords' sister- Isobel, visited Piencourt in 1949 with his Mum and Dad, and whilst there, they had a meal with a Madame De la Rue, who's estate part of the plane came down on. (The wing section I believe), After the meal Madame De la Rue took them to the orchard were the part remains of LL 552 'X' lay. She had fenced it off, and she said it would be –“Forever England.” Very touching I thought. What was also very touching was that Isobels Mother collected and brought home, six small flowers from below the wreckage, one for each of the crew that perished, and Isobel sent me three of them to keep. They are very special to me, as the crewmen were special that they represent.
Ed Ord's father is 3rd from the right, his mother 4th.
Bless 'em all, remember them always, we will meet them one day.
The full crew who were lost;
Pilot …….. F/Lt Jim Page.
Navigator ……… P/Offr Ron Simpson.
Bomb Aimer ………. F/Sgt Fred Court.
Wireless Operator ……… F/Sgt Bob Leyland.
Mid-Upper Air Gunner ……… Sgt Eddie Ord.
Engineer ……. Sgt John Watkinson.
................... R.I.P…...............
Left:
Wireless operator/AG
Sgt Bob Leyland during training.
On the right:
Mid – upper Air Gunner
Sgt Eddie Ord.
And spare a thought for rear-gunner Sgt Bob Brewer, who, as it appears, has had to distance himself from this tragedy and his PoW internment to be able to cope with life after the war.
I feel qualified to say this, having tried to trace him, only to find that he hasn't been involved with any of the ex-service associations, and through contacting some of the chaps that experienced similar losses of close crewmates. They all seem to tell the same tale. They put it behind them when they return, and try to pick up their lives were they left off, but many years later they all reminisce. Some of the survivors of the war who's crews made it through safely, attempt to trace their old mates, and those that lost close friends think about visiting their graves.
Sgt Bob Brewer never knew at the time where they were buried, and I often wonder whether he knows now, but I bet he has thought about them on many occasions. He may have gone through a guilt complex for not being able to lead the searchers to the crash site. He would have experienced much pain for having to mislead the lads' families as to the true condition of their loved ones after such a crash, the aftermath of which he didn't actually approach, but one he would not have needed to approach to be aware of their condition. Bob Brewer didn't deliberately lie about helping to retrieve the lads' bodies to gain any honour for his actions, he was simply trying to assure the relatives that they had got a proper burial. The French guy's that he apparently met soon after he went on the run no doubt assured him of this, so once having been assured, he made off and pretended to the concerned relatives when he eventually returned that he took part in their retrieval. It was a forgivable white lie, but I bet it has played on his mind over the years, and he would have gone through a lot of squirming when he contacted the relatives to explain about their demise.
Isobel Ord, the sister of his air-gunner crewmate Eddie, visited him after he came back home, and I can imagine him being bothered about having to be evasive about the extent of the injuries sustained to her brother Eddie, his experience would have told him what the situation was, but had to lie nevertheless as he didn't actually enter the wreckage to see. It's no wonder he has distanced himself and disappeared since, wouldn't you feel the same?
It saddens me to think that we have had a window of opportunity to sympathise with Bob Brewer and forgive him,( although forgive is the not the right word), at the commemoration in France. I know he would have got a lot of inner peace out of experiencing what we did, if he had gone back to Piencourt with us. It would have tied up some loose ends, and helped to alleviate his conscience about the whole sad affair.
I know this all sounds a bit deep and presumptuous on my part, but I am saying it because I have gained a little insight into these elderly chaps minds.
One ex Wireless Operator of about 80 that I met recently at Duxford Flying Legends Airshow told me that he had been parted from his crew through sickness while serving in Indonesia. His crew picked up another WOp and carried on with their tour while he was sick, and were classed as missing in action soon after. He couldn't get any information at the time about what had happened to them or where they might be buried, and eventually came home and thought it best to forget about his old mates and accept that they were gone. He had had a full life but it began to play on his mind after he retired as to what had happened to his old crew. So he decided to find out where they were buried, and through many enquiries found out, through scant details, that their remains were buried - unnamed - in a graveyard abroad amongst other crews that had fallen in that area, the details about whom were either not known, or not recorded properly. He is disappointed that the locals just bundled their remains into a designated graveyard area without any proper identification, although he accepts that it was probably impossible to identify some of these crews - he also knew through experience - as to what a crash from a great height can do to the occupants of a plane.
The point I am making is that the majority of these old guys still feel the need to make things right with their old buddies by returning to the spot to where they lie, to let them know they are not forgotten.
Some of the younger people that might be reading this will not understand this sentiment. ‘They are long gone, so what do you hope to gain from it’, they may say, but whether you believe in the afterlife or not, the fact remains that we all leave messages and flowers on a grave or monument when someone dies, and it can only be in the hope that their spirit reads these messages - if not, why do we always leave them.
So although it might not make sense to some, the fact remains that we still have an inherent feeling that these lads' spirits live on, and we feel that we have to make things right with them before we ourselves pass-over, and we shouldn't just accept that they were expendable war tools and can be disregarded. If you are shallow you could say it is a guilt thing, for living on after they have died, but if you are deep, the notion takes on a much more important meaning altogether. It’s one of the many things that dawns on you when you get older, and something that came to me way before my time.
It's got nothing to do with religion - it's a spiritual need - there's a big difference.
These are artefacts found at LL552’s crash site at Piencourt, France.
The shiny item top middle is a wrist watch totally compacted.