CWGC Cemeteries **updated 07/12/2020**

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SuffolkBlue
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Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 20/08/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

I was able to enjoy a month off work before starting a new job recently, which gave me time to visit a number of sites across the country.
I started off with a day visiting locations in Cambridgeshire, Rutland and Northants, with the cemetery in St Neots being the first on the list.

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CWGC St. Neots Cemetery - St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Reginald Charles Wilson joined the Bedfordshire Regiment in March 1916. He completed his training and was drafted to France with the Regiment in October 1916. There he took part in heavy fighting on the Somme, Arras and Messines fronts, and was wounded at Ypres in September 1917. He was invalided home, and later was posted to the Royal Air Force, but again went into hospital on account of his wounds, and died on October 28th 1918, after undergoing an operation. He was buried with full military honors here in his home town of St. Neots.
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CWGC St. Neots Cemetery - St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 25th November 1940, Handley PageHampden P1320 of 106 Sqn crashed after the pilot lost control during a night-flying training sortie. Sgt Bagnall injured, Sgt E.F. Carthew KIA, Sgt M.C. Mair KIA, Sgt Canham injured.
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CWGC St. Neots Cemetery - St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

During the Second World War this cemetery was used for burials from No.6 Polish General Hospital, which was stationed at Diddington, just to the north of the town.
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CWGC St. Neots Cemetery - St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC St. Neots Cemetery - St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC St. Neots Cemetery - St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

It was then a short drive up the A1 to All Saints Churchyard, Wittering. The churchyard mainly contains the graves of casualties who lost their lives either flying from the nearby airfield or the local vicinity. On my visit there were a number of 115 Squadron Grob Tutors buzzing around the area of this famous airfield
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 29th March 1942, the crew of 151 Sqn Boulton Paul DefiantAA384 were on an unauthorised low flying on a training flight when it crashed and caught fire at 12.30hrs after the pilot stalled at low altitude in a steep turn. Pilot P/O HW Hart killed, gunner Sgt AJ Snook were killed.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 29th July 1955, the crew of Vickers Valiant WP222 left RAF Wittering on a cross-country flight for trials of the Avon engines. Soon after getting airborne, the aircraft entered a left hand descending turn and crashed into the ground. One crew member managed to leave the aircraft but he did not survive. The rest of the crew, including Squadron Leader E R Chalk, were killed in the crash.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flight Lt Humphrey William Baggs & Flying Officer Sydney Fleetwood Bell took off from RAF Wittering on the 16th June 1927 in a Sopwith Snipe for a training flight. Not long into the flight, their aircraft spun into the ground at Wothorpe, near Stamford, Lincolnshire, killing both crew members. They are buried here side by side.

The "Portsmouth Evening News", for 17/6/1927, reported that "the aeroplane was flying at a tremendous height when suddenly its engine stopped. It re-started and then the machine fell into a spin, and dropping at a terrific rate, crashed into the ground." Both crew were killed
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Bernard Howe was the son of Frank and Ellen Matilda Howe, born in Melksham, Wiltshire on 10th April 1919. His father was a career soldier with the RAMC, being discharged in 1920 after 26 years of service. Howe went to school at Shirburn, near Watlington, where his mother had, at one time, been lady’s maid for the Countess of Macclesfield. Winning a scholarship to Lord Williams’s Grammar School, he was a pupil there from 1930 to 1937.

In September 1937 he entered RAF College, Cranwell as a Flight Cadet, receiving his commission in July 1939. He then joined 25 Squadron at North Weald in August 1939 and served with the squadron throughout the Battle of Britain flying Blenheim Mark 1f night fighters. Posted in January 1941 to 263 squadron at St Eval, and then Portreath in Cornwall, he flew Westland Whirwind fighters on convoy patrols.

On 6th April 1941, in Whirlwind P7002, he claimed a He111 damaged. On 20th April 1941 on a visit to RAF Wittering, he was killed flying Whirlwind I P6992 which dived into the ground at Burghley House after performing low level inclined rolls. The accident report at the time presumed this was due to a leading edge slat becoming detached.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

David Francis Roberts, of Penylan, was born in Cardiff in January 1909 and joined the RAF in September 1939 as an Airman u/t Air Gunner. He completed his training and was posted to 25 Squadron, flying Blenheims, in late May 1940 and promoted to Sergeant in June.

He was killed on April 3rd 1941, still serving with 25 Squadron. His Beaufighter X7541 crashed, cause unknown, at Burghley Park near Wittering. The pilot, Sgt. HI Maxwell, was also killed.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Jack Richard Friend was born in Norwich on 1st April 1914. He was awarded Aero Certificate 19451 at Norfolk & Norwich Aero Club on 10th August 1939. His occupation was recorded as 'bus conductor'. Friend joined the RAF in October 1939 as an Airman u/t Air Gunner. He went to 25 Squadron at North Weald in early October 1940.

In the evening of 7th December 1940 Friend was one of the crew of Blenheim L1235 which was detailed to check the blackout over Peterborough. During the patrol the weather deteriorated and a bad storm developed. The pilot lost control and the aircraft came down near the village of Elton in Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire). Friend and the pilot, F/Lt. J McC M Hughes were both killed and the Radar Operator, Sgt. FB Blenkharn, was seriously injured.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Bristol Blenheim IF L1459 of No 23 Squadron, RAF Wittering, crashed into the ground from cloud at Fenny Compton, near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, on the 20th March 1939.
Crew:
Pilot Officer Joseph Benjamin RAVEN (pilot, aged 22) RAF - killed
Pilot Officer Anthony Stewart PETER (observer, aged 22) RAF - killed

Both baled out, but died when their parachutes failed to open.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flight Lieutenant Steve Beckley was killed on 6th September 1975 at the Yeovilton Navy Day after his display in the Harrier, when his ejector seat was released.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Officer David William Thompson of 25 Squadron was killed on the 8th July 1941 whilst flying night fighter patrols protecting the Midlands in a Bristol Beaufighter from RAF Wittering.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Four Harriers were attacking a target from different directions near Wardle, Nantwich, Cheshire. Two aircraft (XV754 and XV745) failed to maintain separation and collided as they crossed over. Both pilots were killed. Flight Lieutenant John Keith ROBERTS was the pilot of Harrier XV754. Per a contemporary account of the accident from the local press:

"TWO single-seater GR3 Harriers were involved in a peacetime mid-air collision over Wettenhall, Nantwich, which killed both pilots instantly.

The accident happened at around 12.15 pm, on Monday, January 19, 1976. One pilot was found still strapped in his ejector seat. The other had tried to eject, a parachute being found near the Little Man public house at Wettenhall.

The pilots of planes XV 745 and XV 754 were taking part in a four-aeroplane low-level exercise from their base at RAF Wittering, in Cambridgeshire, and were about to clear the low-level area when the accident occurred.

An eye-witness reported to a Nantwich Chronicle reporter shortly afterwards that he had seen “four aircraft flying very low and fast. They peeled off in twos and as they were coming back into formation, one of them seemed to misjudge his timing and a plane from the other pair hit him underneath. There was a great ball of fire in the air followed by a terrific explosion.”

Other eye-witnesses reported that wreckage “came down like confetti” and aircraft parts were spread over a wide area. Several fell near the Little Man and others in the fields of Elms Farm, Calveley. An 11,000-volt power cable was brought down and some homes were without power for three hours.

The two pilots were identified as 29-year-old Flight Lieutenant James Edward Downey and 30-year-old Flight Lieutenant John Keith Roberts.

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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Avro 504N K1042 & K1050, CFS, RAF Wittering: Written off (destroyed) 6/5/32 due to a mid air collision during formation change, near RAF Wittering, Northamptonshire. Machines changing formation, two locked together and fell at moderate speed to the ground.Both pilot (one in each aircraft) were killed:

Flying Officer Duncan Shimwell McDougall (aged 28) killed
Flying Officer Nicholas Erskine White (aged 24) killed

However, it is not clear which pilot was in which aircraft. According to a contemporary newspaper report:

"R.A.F. CRASH.
Two More Officers Killed.

SIXTEEN THIS YEAR. LONDON, Saturday. - Five Royal Air Force planes which were flying in formation at a height of 3,000 feet over Lincolnshire today, were executing a turn when two of them collided. They became interlocked, and crashed to earth and caught fire.

Flying - Officers Duncan Shimwell McDougall and Nicholas Erskine White were killed. This is the tenth fatal R.A.F. crash this year. Sixteen men have been killed in those accidents."
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Officer Ian Hamilton of Hamilton, New Zealand, took off from RAF Wittering in Hawker Hurricane IIb on the 15th July 1942 for a training exercise and after completing a dummy attack on an army column, his aircraft struck trees and crashed.

He has 572 logged hours and completed 105 operational sorties.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Officer Frank Darycott & Pilot Officer Jacques Horrell were killed along with the rest of their crew when their Douglas Boston AX910 crashed near Molesworth, Northants, on the 13th April 1942.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Sgt William Arthur Fradley died of natural causes whilst at home in West Worthing, West Sussex.

He was a Wireless Operator / Observer serving with No 25 Sqn based at RAF Wittering

Of note, on the 29 Mar 1941, F/Sgt George Smythe DCM, Pilot and Sgt William Arthur Fradley RAD/OP, were operating in 25 Sqn Bristol Beaufighter I when it overshot the runway at RAF Wittering following a forced landing at approx 2200 hrs due to undercarriage retracted, cockpit canopy iced up & double engine failure

Tragically it collided with a private car that was travelling on the Great North Rd (now the A1) seriously injuring the two occupants, who were brothers. They were both admitted to Stamford Infirmary with severe head wounds. Despite best efforts of medical staff they both died in the early hours of the following morning, 30th March 1941

F/Sgt Smythe DCM and Sgt Fradley were reported as being uninjured in this tragic accident, however it is not known if there is/was a link between this and Sgt Fradley's death nine months later
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Leading Aircraftman Roffe lost his life in a collision of two Armstong-Whitworth Whitley aircraft at the Bomber Command training airfield of RAF Llandwrog on the 10th October 1941. During a training exercise Whitley K7252 and Whitley K9041, both from Llandwrog’s 9 Air Gunnery School, were circling the airfield when they collided. K9041, piloted by Flight Lieutenant H.J.B. Martin, was carrying seven passengers: one Sergeant Instructor and six U.T. airmen; K7252, piloted by Squadron Leader H.V. Barker, was carrying eight passengers: one Corporal Instructor, six U.T. airmen and one civilian (from Marshalls Flying School, Limited). All seventeen airmen and one civilian perished in this accident.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

RNZAF Official
George Leslie Davidson was born at Patea on the 12th May, 1915, and received his secondary education at the New Plymouth Boys High School. He was later a member of the Egmont Wanganui Hunt Club. Prior to his enlistment he was employed on his father's farm at Opaku, Patea. He applied for a Short Service Commission on the 1st April, 1937, but his application was unsuccessful. Shortly after the outbreak of war he applied for aircrew training. He was interested in flying and was a member of the Western Federated Flying Club, New Plymouth, and he logged over 100 hours flying time at the time of his enlistment in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Sgt. Davidson was enlisted on the 30th November, 1940, at the Ground Training School, Levin. On the 19th January, 1941, he commenced his flying training at No. 2 Elementary Flying Training School, New Plymouth. On the completion of his elementary flying training in New Zealand he embarked on the 27th March, 1941, on the "Morangi" for Canada to continue his training under the Empire Air Training Scheme. Shortly after arrival in Canada Sgt. Davidson was posted to No. 6 Service Flying Training School, Dunnville, Ontario, where he was awarded his flying badge and promoted to Sergeant on the 3rd July, 1941. He was posted to No. 1 M Depot Debert on the 9th July for embarkation to the United Kingdom.

Sgt. Davidson arrived at No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre Bournemouth, on the 16th August, 1941, and on the 21st of the same month was posted to No. 61 Operational Training Unit, Heston, Middlesex, for operational training in Spitfire, Miles Master aircraft. On the completion of the course early in October, 1941, he proceeded to No. 616 Squadron, Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire. With the Squadron at Kirton-in-Lindsey and Kingscliffe, Northamptonshire, he carried out twenty-six operational flights, including convoy and offensive patrols and channel sweeps as a pilot on Spitfire aircraft.

On the 13th April, 1942, Sgt. Davidson was the pilot of a Spitfire aircraft which crashed near Peterborough, Northamptonshire, shortly after taking off from King's Cliffe, Sgt. Davidson losing his life. Sgt. Davidson was buried in the All Saints Churchyard, Wittering, Northamptonshire, with service honours.

The following extract is from the Squadron O.R.B.:

April 13. Twelve Yorkshire Press Photographers and reporters visited the Squadron... and gave the Squadron a marvellous 'write-up' in the press. Sgt G L DAVIDSON (RNZAF) very foolishly tried to 'show off' by rolling at one hundred feet and crashed to his death in a field adjoining the airfield. It was an awkward situation for the press to be there and all personnel were warned not to mention the accident.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wittering Station Commander Group Captain David Haward left RAF Wittering on the 18th December 1998. His BAe Harrier GR7 ZD434 flew into the ground and exploded near Staindrop, three miles north east of Barnard Castle, County Durham after he lost control during a bomb toss manoeuvre when the aircraft entered cloud. The two other aircraft in the flight circled overhead to identify the site while a 202 Sqn Sea King was scrambled from Leconfield
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flying Officer John Richard Sewell of 233 Operational Conversion Unit left RAF Wittering on the 28th October 1983 on a sortie to the Holbeach Range, Lincolnshire. After possibly being hit by a ricochet of a shell from the Harrier's own cannon, his aircraft came down and he made no attempt to eject and was killed.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 16th August 1954, English Electric Canberra B2 WH873 of 76 Squadron crashed at Barnack near Stamford, Lincolnshire. It hit trees bordering Burghley Park, 500 yards from the approach path on night approach to RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire.

The 3 crew members, including Flight Lieutenant K W Taylor & Flight Lieutenant J K G Marsden, were killed.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Dominic Page was born in Canterbury on the 6th of February 1922.

On leaving school he enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the 17th July 1940 and commenced pilot training as a Leading Aircraftsman in October 1940. He underwent course at both 13 Elementary Flying Training School at Flying Training School Cranwell and 6 Operational Training Unit before qualifying as a Bristol Blenheim pilot in July 1941. He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 13th April 1941 and underwent a lecture on escape and evasion from Squadron Leader Evans at RAF Andover in June 1941. He was posted to 86 Squadron on the 29th of July 1941 where he flew Bristol Beauforts and underwent a further lecture on escape and evasion at RAF North Coates in September 1941.

On the 24th November 1941 he and his crew took off at 4.15pm from RAF North Coates in Beaufort I BX-H AW207 for a mine laying operation over the Frisian coast between Ameland and Schiermonnikoog with one other aircraft from the squadron. On the run in to lay the mine their aircraft was caught in searchlight beams and was hit by flak from the western most Schiermonnikoog anti aircraft batteries and Page altered course for Schiermonnikoog and the polder land on the south side of the island. The aircraft just missed hitting the farm of De Kooi but crash landed in a "perfect wheels up landing" in a meadow just beyond the farm at 6.15pm. Wreckage was spread over 80 metres with one wing ripped off, both engines lost from their mountings and the mine being thrown clear but failing to explode. The crew were uninjured other than Sergeant McCann who suffered a broken collar bone. The crew set fire to the aircraft before they were captured.

The crew was: -

Pilot Officer Dominic Page (Pilot) (POW No.707)
Flying Officer James "Jimmy" McCrae Paxton (Navigator Stalag Luft 3 POW No.708)
Sergeant J.B. Green (Air Gunner Stalag 383 POW No.73)
Sergeant J. McCann (Stalag 383 POW No.79)

The other aircraft from the squadron, Beaufort Mk 1 BX-T AW192, flown by Pilot Officer Denis Richard James Harper was shot down into the sea near Schiermonnikoog with the loss of the entire crew.

He was taken to Dulag Luft, the main Luftwaffe prisoner transit camp at Oberursel, near Frankfurt am Main, on the 30th November 1941 where he was interrogated and was held until the 15th December 1941 when he was transferred to Stalag Luft I at Barth in Pomerania. He remained there until being transferred again, to Stalag Luft III at Sagan in March 1942. He was involved in one escape attempt during his time in captivity but did not get outside the camp perimeter. With the rapid advance of the Red Army in early 1945 the Germans decided to evacuate the camp and to move the 3,000 prisoners further west. The march west began on the 27th January 1945 and finished on the 4th of February at Malag-Milag Nord prisoner of war camp at Tarmstedt near Bremen. He was released when the camp was liberated in April 1945. While in captivity he was promoted to Flying Officer on the 13th April 1942 and to Flight Lieutenant on the 13th April 1943. He was also a keen member of the camp's theatrical troupe.

At the end of the war he returned to the UK where he resumed his flying career after attending a refresher course flying Airspeed Oxfords at 21 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit and completed a Blind Approach Training course at RAF Watchfield from the 9th to the 18th of March 1946 where he was assessed as "Average". In December 1945 he returned to King's to play for the OKS XV against the school, returning again in March 1946 to play hockey for the OKS. He underwent a medical examination on the 22nd May 1946 to assess his suitability to work in photographic reconnaissance. He passed this and was posted to 8 Operational Training Unit to convert to Mosquito aircraft.

On the 19th September 1946 he and his Navigator, Flying Officer Francis Colin Ashworth, were briefed for a cross country photographic reconnaissance sortie to be conducted at 24,000 feet. They were to fly a route from their base at RAF Chalgrove via St Abb's Head - York - Bury St Edmunds and to return to Charlgrove. They were to climb to their operation height and take photographs between Newcastle and St Abb's Head. They were fully briefed on the prevailing weather conditions. He took off from RAF Charlgrove at 2.04pm in de Havilland Mosquito PR34 PF651. At 2.22pm he informed his base that his radio reception was very weak and that he was returning to base. He cancelled this message at 2.38pm as the radio was apparently working satisfactorily again. During this time Francis Ashworth was routinely passing messages to control and at 2.46pm he reported that he was changing frequency to RAF Abington although he did not make contact with them. The aircraft was next heard by witnesses on the ground who heard it when it was above cloud in the area of Wittering and the village of Pilsgate. The engine was heard to be "screaming" and it was thought that the pilot was doing aerobatics. Then an explosion was heard after which the engine noise ceased. The aircraft was then seen just below the top cloud layer at 10,000 feet in a diving attitude and with the starboard wing breaking away. The aircraft then climbed momentarily before immediately entering a slow flat spin to starboard during which both engines broke away from the aircraft while the aircraft was still very high. The aircraft continued to disintegrate until it hit the ground at 2.52pm where it exploded into flames, killing both men instantly. Pieces of wreckage continued to come down for some time after the crash.

A Court of Inquiry was convened into the cause of the accident by the Air Officer Commanding, No. 12 Group on the 23rd of September 1946, at which a number of statements were taken from both experts and from witnesses on the ground.

Statement of Mr. G. Barrett, a former Corporal clerk (D.D) Royal Air Force: -

"On the afternoon of 19th September 1946, I was driving a tractor in Mr. Smalley's farm to the S.E. of Uffington Station. I stopped the tractor and looking up towards the west I saw an aircraft flying at high altitude. I watched it for a moment or so and notice small parts coming from it. I then watched it more intently and noticed that it was deficient of a wing. As it got lower and I was able to get a better view, the aircraft appeared to be climbing, but this was only momentary and the nose dropped. The aircraft then went into a very flat spin and disappeared from my view. The next thing I saw was a cloud of black smoke. I estimate the time from the commencement of the spin to the crash as two minutes. Pieces continued to fall after the aircraft had crashed. I noticed one large piece fall and hit the ground and rushed up to look at it. I found it to be part of a wing. It was covered with ice. I estimate the thickness of the ice to be 1/4"

Three German prisoners of war, who were working nearby, attempted to rescue the two men but were beaten back by the flames. Statement of German POW Ulrich Wolfe: -

"At about 14.55 hrs. (he looked at his watch at that moment) on 19.9.46. I was working in a field about half a mile south east of Pilsgate Grange when my attention was attracted by the roar of an aircraft and a bang to the north west. On looking up I saw it at a height of approximately 3 - 2,000 metres. I noticed a wing was off - I think it was the port one. I could see pieces of the aircraft in its immediate vicinity - they were all small pieces. The aircraft immediately put up its nose and went into a spin - I cannot remember which way. It continued spinning until it went out of view behind some trees. I then saw the smoke from the crash. About half way to the ground the engine on the side with the complete wing came out - I knew it was the engine as I could see the propeller turning. I rushed to the crash and found the fire raging. With the help of two comrades we pulled the occupants out but they were dead. the body of the navigator was wearing an oxygen mask but I did not see any safety straps."

The Court concluded that: -

"The accident was due to loss of control followed by the collapse of the starboard wing. Technical evidence suggests that the wing failed due to overstressing probably caused during the pull-out from the resultant dive. Evidence shows that icing conditions were a contributory cause of the loss of control."

The gallant conduct of the three German prisoners was commended by the coroner and they were recommended for early release. On the 3rd of December 1946, during questions to the Secretary of War in the House of Commons, Mr Anthony Greenwood MP asked the Secretary whether the arrangements for the repatriation of the three men, Ulrich Wolfe, Fritz Oeder and Joseph Schoensteiner, had been made. Mr Bellinger replied, "Yes sir, the conduct of these three prisoners of war has resulted in arrangements being made for their repatriation on the 21st December".
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Sergeant George Joseph Giguere of Thessalon, Ontario, Canada and Sergeant Joseph Marcel Gaston Perron of Rock Forest, Province of Quebec, Canada, took off from RAF Kings Cliffe on the 1st February 1943 on a ferry sortie in Vickers Wellington X3361.

Their aircraft crashed soon after takeoff following loss of power to the starboard engine. It is thought that the engine failure was due to excessive ground running before takeoff

Joseph died of his injuries two days after the crash while in Stamford General Infirmary, Rutland
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 29th July 1955, Vickers Valiant of 138 Squadron crashed, killing all four crew members. The plane could be seen bellowing out smoke as it flew towards Barnack, Cambridgeshire.
Just before the crash a police-constable said he saw the aircraft banking at an angle of 45 degrees and very low. As the plane came towards Mill Farm, Pilsgate the wing tip almost touched the ground. A shopkeeper said he saw the doomed aircraft hit an electric pylon and explode about 200 yards from his house.

The main part of the wreckage ended up in an old disused stone quarry known as the "Hills and Holes" but many other parts were scattered over a wide area. An engine landed in the garden of a music teacher on the edge of the village. Other larger pieces landed in a field about 30 yards from where an 82 year old woman and her daughter-in-law were having a meal.
The four crew members who all died in the crash were, Pilot Squadron Leader E. R. Chalk; second pilot and engineer officer, Flight Lieutenant A. G. Allen; the navigator, Flying Officer T. S. Corkin and the signaller, Flying Officer A. R. Lyons.
Flying Officer Lyons baled out but his parachute failed to deploy.

The four crew members are all buried side by side in Wittering churchyard.
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CWGC Wittering (All Saints) Churchyard - Wittering, Cambridgeshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
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Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 20/08/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

Back on the A1 and still heading north, the next stop was St. John the Baptist Church in North Luffenham. This churchyard contains two first world war burials, 18 air force second world war casualties and 11 post-war RCAF burials.

The station was built as a training airfield, opening in 1940. It was later taken over by 5 Group of RAF Bomber Command as a heavy bomber base, and was expanded by the building of concrete runways later in the war. In 1951, the station was transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force to become the temporary home of 1 Fighter Wing, the first Canadian NATO base in Europe. 1 Wing moved to Marville, France in 1955. In late 1955, No. 228 Operational Conversion Unit, temporarily renamed No. 238 OCU, was detached to North Luffenham from RAF Leeming which was having its runways extended to 7000ft to accommodate Gloster Javelins. The OCU remained for over a year before returning to Leeming.

From 1959 to 1963, North Luffenham was the base for PGM-17 Thor intermediate range ballistic missiles, operated by No. 144 Squadron RAF. In 1997, the airfield was transferred to the British Army and became St George's Barracks.

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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Sergeant Kenneth Hughes Long lost his life on the 5th March 1943 in Vickers Wellington BK390 when, on a day time training mission from RAF North Luffenham, his aircraft crashed into a village street at Coates near Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. The aircraft burst into flames destroying the aircraft and a house, tragically killing four members of the crew and four civilians.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 12th May 1943, Sergeant John Angus Douglas of Thirroul, New South Wales Australia was flying in Vickers Wellington BK123 from RAF North Luffenham on a training flight. After flying local circuits, the aircraft turned north and crashed near Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, killing all on board.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flying Officer Arthur Edgar Rayner took off from RAF North Luffenham on the 18th April 1952 in Canadair Sabre II F-86E 19181 when he collided with another RCAF Sabre. Both aircraft came down in The Wash.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

James Donald Dickson was born on the 29th October 1920 at Hammond River, New Brunswick, Canada. He lived in Rothesay, New Brunswick and enlisted in Moncton on 23rd October 1940. Following training in Canada he arrived in the UK on 16th August 1941, were he trained at 23 OTU before being posted to 57 Squadron on 6th November 1941.

He was commissioned as Pilot Officer with effect from 25th June 1942. Following his service with 57 Squadron he was on strength of 57 OTU and 1659 Conversion Unit. He came near to being court-martialled following an accident on 8th October 1942 when piloting Wellington X3719 which hit a power line near North Luffenham, heavy damage was caused to the aircrafts nose, both propellers and starboard mainplane. He then was posted to 419 Squadron on 14th February until 14th June 1943; Whilst there he ran off runway in Halifax JB859 on returning from operations on 13th May 1943; no blame was attached. He subsequently completed two tours and had flown a total of 53 sorties (323 operational hours). He then was posted to 1659 Heavy Conversion Unit on 14th June 1943 to 29th November 1943.

Following his crash at Thirsk on 14th October 1943, detailed above, he was repatriated to Canada on 3rd December 1943 where upon he went to 5 OTU at Boundary Bay before serving with 164 Squadron. His DFM was effective of 16th June 1942 as per London Gazette dated 22nd September 1942 and was presented at Buckingham Palace on the 30th March 1943. The citation reads.. "Flight Sergeant Dickson has acted as captain of aircraft on numerous occasions. Throughout his tour of duty he has executed his tasks with the utmost vigour and determination. Undeterred by bad weather he makes every effort to locate his target and to bomb it accurately. He has participated in attacks on Brest, Hamburg, Lubeck, Rostock, Essen, Emden, and many equally important targets."

His DFC was effective from 1st September 1943 as per London Gazette dated 14th September 1943, he was presented with the DFC on 2nd November 1946. The citation reads.. "This officer has taken part in a large number of flying operations. He has penetrated the defences of the Ruhr on eighteen occasions, in addition to participating in attacks on Berlin, Hamburg and Rostock. In March 1943, in the Bremen area, his aircraft was attacked by a Messerschmitt 110. The enemy fighter was destroyed by the front gunner. Shortly after, another attack was made by a Junkers 88. During the combat which ensued, Pilot Officer Dickson again displayed outstanding airmanship and again furnished his gunners with opportunities for retaliation. His skill undoubtedly made a safe return possible. Pilot Officer Dickson's sustained gallantry over a very long period has been most meritorious." Post war he served with 435 Squadron and 426 Squadron and was awarded the Air Force Cross for services during the Korean Air Lift. He later served with 412 Squadron before his life was cut short. He died of polio in the UK on 26th July 1953.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

RCAF Canadair Sabre II F-86E 19137 Ran out of fuel in thick fog and crashed near Loughborough, Leicestershire. Flying Officer David Gordon Tracey was found in the cockpit and buried back here near his home base.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flying Officer Pattee Vernon Robinson died on the 14th December 1954 when his RCAF Canadair Sabre II F-86E 19234 while on a test flight from Ringway (Manchester Airport) due to this aircraft being re-conditioned before being transferred to the Greek air force.

The Sabre was seen flying low over the Holme Valley in low cloud. The cause of the crash was attributed to pilot error in not taking the high ground into account.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Navigator Keith Lauchlan Campbell and Air Gunner Richard Hubert Lewis were part of a 4 man crew that took off from RAF North Luffenham in Vickers Wellington BK268 on the 26th February 1943 to attack Cologne. In total, 427 aircraft were involved with 10 losses (2.3%). Most of the bombing fell in the south-west of the city with many industrial, utility and residential buildings badly damaged or destroyed, along with some churches.

Their aircraft crashed near RAF Woolfox Lodge, Rutland on return leg. One engine was on fire at the time and all crew members were killed.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Vickers Wellington N2761 left RAF Westcott on the 6th February 1943 on a night cross country training flight carrying eight flash bombs, a photoflash, camera and IFF.

At 10,000 feet the port motor burst into flames and the Wellington was partially abandoned at 5,000 feet before crashing at 00.50 hrs at Fletcher field near Ashley, Corby, Northamptonshire.

Air Bomber Eric Norman Common and Pilot Tom Lindley were killed in the crash.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wireless Operator Ronald George Walters of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, was killed on the 29th August 1942 when his Vickers Wellington DV834 crashed on a night training flight from North Luffenham. The aircraft stalled and burst into flames as it hit the ground after swinging violently on take off.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Observer Hugh Morrison and Pilot James Roslyn Young were part of a 3 man crew in Bristol Blenheim L9206 that took off from RAF Bicester for day navigation training on the 2nd May 1942.

Their aircraft crashed 8 miles east of Leicester. The aircraft was seen to dive almost vertically, hit the ground and explode. All 3 crew were killed. The third crew member, Pilot George William Boggess is buried in his home town on Merseyside.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 12th April 1942, Handley Page Hampden AT155 stalled and crashed near Oakham, Rutland when on an air test from RAF North Luffenham. Pilot David Lloyd Carnegy Liddell of Balfour, Southland, New Zealand, was killed along with his crew member.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 9th March 1942, Handley Page Hampden AD842 crashed on the flare path at RAF North Luffenham 4 minutes after take off for a mine sweeping operation. 3 of the 4 crew members were killed

Crew
Pilot: Sgt D C Hunter RCAF Injured

Observer: 1166456 Sgt Richard Ball Calow Congregational Chapelyard Derbyshire

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: R/68538 Flt Sgt Fernand Fagan MacKinnon RCAF North Luffenham (St John the Baptist)

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: 751295 Sgt William Douglas Morris North Luffenham (St John the Baptist)
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 9th March 1942, Handley Page Hampden AD842 crashed on the flare path at RAF North Luffenham 4 minutes after take off for a mine sweeping operation. 3 of the 4 crew members were killed

Crew
Pilot: Sgt D C Hunter RCAF Injured

Observer: 1166456 Sgt Richard Ball Calow Congregational Chapelyard Derbyshire

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: R/68538 Flt Sgt Fernand Fagan MacKinnon RCAF North Luffenham (St John the Baptist)

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: 751295 Sgt William Douglas Morris North Luffenham (St John the Baptist)

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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wireless Operator Albert Barclay Wright lost his life on the 25th January 1942 when his Handley Page Hampden AD782 dived into the ground from 1,500 feet shortly after take-off from RAF Luffenham for a raid on Brest.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 9th November 1941, the crew of Handley Page Hampden AE311 took off from RAF North Luffenham to bomb the Blohm and Voss submarine works at Hamburg,

After completing the raid and arriving back to base, their aircraft swung on touch down & collided with airfield control caravan. Aircraftsman Frederick George Malin and Aircraftsman George Roberts who were in the caravan, were killed. The crew escaped largely unhurt.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 7th September 1941, Wireless Operator Eric Horton was part of a 4 man crew in Handley Page Hampden AE304 when it crashed near Stamford, 3 minutes after taking off from RAF North Luffenham to raid Berlin. All 4 crew members were killed.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Observer Harold Douglas Weaver lost his life, along with his 3 crew members, when their Handley Page Hampden X3030 of 144 Squadron crashed after take off from RAF North Luffenham to raid Frankfurt on the 20th September 1941.
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CWGC North Luffenham (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard - North Luffenham, Rutland, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

It was then the short hop across the border into Northamptonshire to visit the Kettering London Road Cemetery. There are a number of CWGC burials across the site, with some forming a small war graves plot.

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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 19th February 1945, Flying Officer Douglas Richard Gould was taking part in a cross-country flying training exercise in Avro Lancaster NE179 when, while in the process of changing fuel tanks at 21,000ft, the aircraft dived out of control, making baling out extremely difficult. Nevertheless most, if not all, were successful, however many did so from less than 500' and were badly injured as a result. Crashed at Kingston, East Lothian.

Douglas and one other crew member did not make it out of the aircraft and is buried here in his home town.
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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Sergeant Peter Morris was the Flight Engineer on Avro Lancaster LM176 when it took off from RAF Kirmington, North Lincolnshire on the night of the 4th December 1944, to raid Karlsruhe. On return the Lancaster spun and crashed into Brocklesby Park, close to the airfield.

He was one of 6 crew members killed in the crash.
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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Officer Raymond Mayhew Lewin GC of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was awarded the George Cross for the courage he showed in rescuing his co-pilot from their burning plane on 3 November 1940 in Malta.

The citation was published in the London Gazette of 7 March 1941

In November, 1940, Sergeant Lewin was the captain of an aircraft on a night bombing mission. Shortly after the take off the aircraft began to sink and crashed into a hillside where it burst into flames. Sergeant Lewin extricated himself and saw three of his crew of four climbing out of the escape hatch. He ordered them to run clear. He then ran round the blazing wing in which full petrol tanks were burning and crawled under it to rescue his injured second pilot. Despite his own injuries - a cracked kneecap and severe contusions on the face and legs - he dragged and carried the pilot some 40 yards from the aircraft to a hole in the ground, where he lay on him just as the bombs exploded. This superbly gallant deed was performed in the dark under most difficult conditions and in the certain knowledge that the bombs and petrol tanks would explode.

On the 21st November 1941 he was killed flying in Vickers Wellington T2552 on a training flight which crashed near Oakington, Cambridgeshire.

He is buried here in is home town of Kettering.
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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

After returning from Koln on the 31st May 1942 and attempting an emergency landing near a flour mill at Soham 13 miles NE of Cambridge, Vickers Wellington Ic overturned and crashed. Sergeant Donald George Green was one of crew members killed in the crash.
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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Sergeant Alexander Richard Minney of Candleriggs, Glasgow, lost his life on the night of the 27th September 1942 when the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley BD376 crashed whilst in landing pattern at RAF Stanton Harcourt on a training flight and burst into flames on impact.
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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wireless Operator Sergeant Arthur Marlow and the rest of his crew took off in Vickers Wellington BK268 from RAF Croft to attack Cologne.

Mission :

427 aircraft, 10 losses (2.3%). Most of the bombing fell in the south-west of the city with many industrial, utility and residential buildings badly damaged or destroyed, along with some churches.

His aircraft, with one engine on fire, crashed near Woolfox Lodge, Rutland, on the return leg.
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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Leading Aircraftman RN Stan Palmer went to Kettering Central School where he was considered to be an above average pupil. He joined the Fleet Air Arm towards the end of the war and was based at HMS Nightjar, a shore based station near Elswick, Lancashire, on the Fylde coast. He was on anti-submarine work and had been recommended for promotion to Petty officer. He was killed in a flying accident over the Isle of Man on the 12th May 1945, flying in a Fairey Barracuda bomber. The crew of three, including Stan, were all killed.
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CWGC Kettering (London Road) Cemetery - Kettering, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

User avatar
SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 03/10/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

After leaving Kettering I visited 2 sites in the county town, Northampton. The first of these was Kingsthorpe Cemetery.

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CWGC Northampton (Kingsthorpe) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wireless Operator Reginald William Bodsworth was part of a crew that took off on the 20th February 1944 in Short Sunderland W6028 to simulate a fight with a Bristol Beaufighter of 235 Squadron. 235 Squadron had been sent to Fermanagh to help cover convoys.

The training exercise involved both planes flying low and fast. The Sunderland approached St Angelo airfield, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland from the north-east following the line of the road. The catastrophic damage was caused in trying to avoid a small hill in Trory near the coast.

Coming down on a road in the area from where the Devenish ferry sails, the Flying Boat was so low that the damaged wing cut telephone lines. It came down in the fields near St Angelo at 1250hrs.

Of the ten-man crew, eight were injured including Sergeant S Ford, Sergeant SB Irving, Flying Officer A Tomlinson, Flying Officer IF Dotwiller, Flight Sergeant BF Jones, Sergeant TH Chappel, Sergeant JS Eadie, and Sergeant GS Fleming. The aircrew was made up of both the Royal Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force.

Sergeant Reginald William Bodsworth died the following day as a result of his injuries. Air-gunner Leslie Arthur Hebenton died at the scene.

A local man, James Lunny, received a bravery medal for his help in assisting survivors. The broken up plane was strewn across the field and caught fire.
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CWGC Northampton (Kingsthorpe) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Northampton (Kingsthorpe) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 2nd February 1941, 255 Squadron Boulton Paul Defiant I N3306 stalled on final approach at RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire, due to pilot error on a training flight.

Sgt Alan R Jacobs is buried here in his home town of Northampton.
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CWGC Northampton (Kingsthorpe) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Northampton (Kingsthorpe) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 9th March 1944, Air Bomber John MacMillan-Clark and crew of Handley Page Halifax V, DJ998, 1667 Heavy Conversion Unit, took off from RAF Sandtoft, North Lincolnshire at 13.30hrs on a training flight for dual circuits and landings. Only 5 minutes into the flight, Halifax spun into the ground from 700ft, bursting into flames as it impacted at Belton, roughly 7 miles west-south-west from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. Four of the seven man crew were buried at Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, while the other's, including John, were buried in their home towns.
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CWGC Northampton (Kingsthorpe) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 12th August 1941, Observer Stanley Charles Mayes and his crew boarded Handley Page Halifax L9562 at RAF Middleton St. George, County Durham for an operation to Berlin. After receiving flak damage over the target, they managed to get the aircraft back to home skies were it burst into flames and crashed. Stanley is buried here in his home town.
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CWGC Northampton (Kingsthorpe) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Blackburn Botha I W5180 took off from R.A.F. Evanton, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland, crashed on the airfield at approximately 17.35 hours on the 21st May 1942. Rear Gunner LAC Aubrey, E. F.F.30756 was extricated from the gun turret, removed to S.S.Q. for emergency treatment and then transferred to Fort George Military Hospital where he subsequently died from shock resulting from third degree burns to right hand and right leg and extensive second degree burns to the rest of his body. The other three occupants of the aircraft, F/Sgt Ian Telfer 1059804, LAC Leslie Hutt 1216327 1216327, Cpl Ernest Alexander Gournac F.F.30764 received severe multiple injuries from which they almost certainly were instantly killed and were subsequently grossly burned. The bodies were eventually removed from the aircraft and transferred to the Station Mortuary.
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CWGC Northampton (Kingsthorpe) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Northampton (Kingsthorpe) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wireless Operator Ernest Maurice Hollowell and his 4 crew members of 420 Sqn took off from RAF Middleton St. George, County Durham for a navigation exercise training flight on the 1st March 1943.

Half an hour after taking off the aircraft was seen flying level and at a height of around 2,000 feet near Danby Wiske. Without warning to witnesses on the ground the port wing was seen to collapse and break off resulting in the aircraft then diving into the ground from around 1,500 feet. There was no time for anyone to escape the aircraft and all on board were sadly killed. An investigation found that a failure in joints in the main spar had resulted in the port main plane collapsing.
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CWGC Northampton (Kingsthorpe) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Then it was the short drive across town to visit Towcester Road Cemetery. Here there is a large war grave plot with the vast majority of the casualties being from first world war.
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CWGC Northampton (Towcester Road) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

William Argyle Campbell was born at Flemington, Victoria, Australia in 1894.

He enlisted in Perth, Western Australia on the 5th January, 1917 with the Australian Imperial Force and was posted to Railways Corps on the 10th January, 1917 for recruit training.

After arriving in England on the 27th April, 1917, he was soon leaving to France via Southampton on the 17th May 1917 and joined the 5th R.O.C. (Railway Operating Group) in
After a period of leave in England from the the 3rd August to the 19th August, 1918, he was sent back to France and soon promoted to 2nd Corporal on 7th September, 1918.

On the 3rd November, 1918, he was admitted to the 7th Canadian General Hospital at Etaples, France, with influenza and then transferred by ambulance train 37 on the 6th November, 1918. He embarked from France for England on Hospital Ship Princess Elizabeth on the 6th November, 1918.
After being admitted to Northamptonshire War Hospital, he died at 8 am on 11th November 1918, Armistice Day.
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CWGC Northampton (Towcester Road) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Northampton (Towcester Road) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wireless Operator Arthur Alfred Chambers was killed whilst flying in Vickers Wellington III, DF743 of No 22 OTU, when it flew into the ground after emerging from cloud at Withington, Gloucestershire, during a cross-country training flight from RAF Gaydon, Warwickshire.
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CWGC Northampton (Towcester Road) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

George Reeve was born in Spratton, Northamptonshire on the 21st February 1886. He was one of four Reeve brothers who served in the First World War – George, Richard (known as Harry), Samuel and Sidney. Harry was the only one to survive.

As a regular soldier, he was sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force in August 1914 as soon as war was declared. He served with great distinction throughout, fighting at Mons in 1914 as well as the battles of the Marne, the Aisne, La Bassee, Ypres, Neuve Chapelle , Festubert, Loos, the Somme, Arras and Cambrai right through to early 1918. He was wounded in action at least four times, commissioned in the field for gallantry and won both the Military Medal and the Military Cross. George was promoted from Sergeant to acting Regimental Sergeant Major on the 19th April 1915 and by November of that year he had been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He was mentioned in Sir John French’s New Year despatches on the 1st January 1916 and promoted to full Lieutenant on the 5th February 1918.

In the early summer of 1915 George was on patrol duty near Hill 60, south of Ypres, when he was wounded in the head by a hand grenade. He was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry and good service at the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915 and also received his commission.

He was wounded again on 18 January 1916 while raiding enemy trenches near Beaumont Hamel in the Somme area. He and another injured officer were dragged to safety by an orderly under constant heavy fire. (The orderly was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.) George was treated in the Red Cross hospital at Rouen and then sent home to England. He was back at the front line again later in the year and took over command of C Company, Royal Irish Fusiliers. He was wounded fighting around Guillemont and Ginchy during the final stages of the battle of the Somme on the 12th October 1916. He was treated in the military hospital at Etaples for a leg wound and shell shock and then transferred to England for further treatment.

On the 3rd May 1917 his Company was held up on the Roeux-Gravrelle Road by heavy machine gun fire from the south and the north and there were many casualties. His men were mixed up with men of other battalions. George, despite being wounded, collected together all the Irish Fusiliers, re-organised them, and dug in on a line from west of the Chateau to the railway embankment where he established himself and remained until recalled by order some hours later. He was successful in withdrawing with few casualties and bringing his wounded with him. His gallantry and devotion to duty were recognised by the award of the Military Cross and he returned to London where he was presented with his medal by King George V at Buckingham Palace.

The citation for the Military Cross, published in the London Gazette on 18 July 1917, reads:

“For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He showed great resource and determination in assuming command of his company when all other officers were casualties, in reorganising men of other companies, in digging in and maintaining his position. He subsequently withdrew and brought all his wounded with him. His skill was most marked.”

Late in 1918, George was sent back to England and attached to the 52nd Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps at Colchester, Essex. He was killed in a road accident on the 14th October 1918. He was walking from the Barracks towards Colchester when he was hit by a taxi. He suffered a fractured skull and died the following morning in hospital.
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CWGC Northampton (Towcester Road) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Walter Charles Ebden Cox was born at Sale, Gippsland, Victoria in 1883. He enlisted at Bairnsdale, Victoria on the 20th March, 1915 with the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.). His service number was 852. His next of kin was listed as his mother.

Walter was posted to Depot Battalion on the 31st March, 1915 for recruit training and transferred to “D” Company of 24th Battalion on the 28th April 1915. He embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on HMAT Euripides (A14) on the 10th May 1915 with the 6th Infantry Brigade, 24th Infantry Battalion, “D” Company and proceeded to join M.E.F. (Mediterranean Expeditionary Force) on Gallipoli Peninsula on the 30th August 1915.

He disembarked at Alexandria from Mudros on the 10th January 1916 to join the B.E.F. (British Expeditionary Force) and landed in Marseilles on the 26th March 1916.

On the 5th August 1916 he was “evacuated wounded” in France and admitted to 4th Field
Ambulance with a gun shot wound to his spine and shell shock. He sailed for England at Boulogne on Hospital Ship Stad Antwerpen on the 14th August 1916. He was admitted to Northampton War Hospital, England on 14th August 1916.

His condition was reported as “no improvement” on the 3rd September 1916 & “somewhat weaker” on the 5th September, 1916.

He died on 22nd September, 1916 at War Hospital, Duston, Northampton.
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CWGC Northampton (Towcester Road) Cemetery - Northampton, Northamptonshire, Monday 12th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

hedgerowops1
Posts: 50
Joined: Thu 05 Jul 2018, 8:12 am

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 04/10/2019**

Post by hedgerowops1 »

Thanks for takeing the time and trouble to publish all of this I have found it all very interesting, I was at the Yeovilton airday when the harrier pilot got killed heard a bang looked across and saw everyone running to where the harrier was parked so sad.
regards Chris

User avatar
SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 04/10/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

Another local day tour coming up...this time around the vicinity of North East Essex.

Colchester Cemetery was opened in 1856. There are 267 Commonwealth burials of the first world war here, most of which are scattered around the site. However, there are a number of "small plots" around the cemetery, including 11 Australian graves.

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

There are also 114 Commonwealth burials of the second world war and post-war here, 1 of which is unidentified. In the early months of the second world war, shortly after the enlargement of the cemetery, land was set aside in the newer part for service war burials. This is now the War Graves Plot.

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Colchester Cemetery - Colchester, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

After leaving Colchester I paid a visit to the first coastal location, Clacton-on-Sea. Here there are 2 small war grave plots in the town's main cemetery.
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CWGC Clacton Cemetery - Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Walter Ernest Herriot was born at Glen Waverley, Victoria, Australia, in 1895.

He enlisted on the 14th July 1915 with the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.). As he was under the age of 21, his mother was required to sign her consent for her son to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force for active service abroad. He embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on HMAT Nestor on the 11th October, 1915 with the 7th Infantry Battalion, 11th Reinforcements.

He was taken on strength of 59th Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt on the 26th February, 1916 before embarking from Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force in June of that year.

The next month he was wounded in action in France on the 19th July and admitted to 32nd Stationary Hospital at Wimereux, France on the 21st July with gunshot wounds to his right groin. From there he arrived in Boulogne and onwards to England on Hospital Ship Cambria.

On the 14th August, he passed away at Middlesex Hospital, Clacton-on-Sea.


War Diary – 59th Battalion
SAILLY – 19th July, 1916:
12 Noon – Heavy bombardment of enemy lines. 60th Battalion relieved half our front from PINNEY AVENUE
inclusive.
7 pm - 59th Battn attacked enemy position in four waves. First wave going over parapet at 6.45 pm other three
waves following at five minute interval. Attack did not penetrate enemy trenches held up by intense rifle and machine
gun fire approximately 100 yds from enemy front line.
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CWGC Clacton Cemetery - Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

HMS Conquest was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy that saw service during World War I. She was part of the Caroline group of the C class. Constructed by Chatham Dockyard, Conquest was laid down on the 3rd March 1914, launched on 20th January 1915, and completed in June 1915.

Conquest was commissioned into service in the Royal Navy in June 1915. She was assigned to the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron in Harwich Force, which operated in the North Sea to guard the eastern approaches to the Strait of Dover and English Channel.

In August 1915, she was among the ships which took part in the pursuit of the Imperial German Navy auxiliary cruiser Meteor in the North Sea which resulted in Meteor scuttling herself on the 9th August 1915. She covered the force that carried out the Royal Naval Air Service seaplane raid on the German Navy airship hangars at Tondern, then in northern Germany, on the 24th March 1916.

On the 28th March 1916, all 39 men were lost in a snowstorm off Harwich on one of the ship's boats, listed as a whaler, when returning from shore leave to the ship.
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CWGC Clacton Cemetery - Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Clacton Cemetery - Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Lance Corporal Albert James Thomson was wounded in action in France on the 8th August, 1916 and admitted to the 4th Field Ambulance the same day with a gunshot wound to his right leg.
He was admitted on the 10th August to the 2nd Australian General Hospital at Wimereux, France with shrapnel wounds to his buttock & fractured femur.

After arriving in England he admitted to the Middlesex Hospital here in Clacton-on-Sea. He died at 2.45 am on 14th August 1916 from wounds received in action in France – Gas, gangrene & shock.
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CWGC Clacton Cemetery - Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Clacton Cemetery - Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 10th August 1943, Wireless Operator Frank Pearce was on board Airspeed Oxford I X6807, when after vibration affected control while on searchlight cooperation mission, his aircraft crashed and he was killed.
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CWGC Clacton Cemetery - Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

SS British Fortune was a 4,696 GRT steam tanker that was sunk on the 31st October 1941 after being bombed by an aircraft 1 mile from Aldeburgh Light Buoy, Suffolk.
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CWGC Clacton Cemetery - Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Clacton Cemetery - Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Next it was to the All Saints Churchyard Extension just up the road in Walton-on-the-Naze. This extension forms a small park on the opposite side of the road to the church, with various memorials to the armed forces. It's up there with some of the quaintest locations I have been to so far.

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CWGC Walton-on-the-Naze (All Saints) Churchyard Extension - Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Walton-on-the-Naze (All Saints) Churchyard Extension - Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Walton-on-the-Naze (All Saints) Churchyard Extension - Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Herbert George Columbine was private in the 9th Squadron, Machine Gun Corps, British Army during the First World War when the action for which he was awarded the VC took place.

On the 22nd March 1918 at Hervilly Wood, France, Private Columbine took over command of a Vickers gun and kept firing it from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in an isolated position with no wire in front. During this time wave after wave of the enemy failed to get up to him, but at last with the help of a low-flying aircraft the enemy managed to gain a strong foothold in the trench. As the position was now untenable, Private Columbine told the two remaining men to get away, and although he was being bombed on either side, he kept his gun firing, inflicting losses, until he was killed by a bomb which blew him up along with his gun.

He is named on the Pozières Memorial, in the Somme, to the missing of the Fifth Army.
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CWGC Walton-on-the-Naze (All Saints) Churchyard Extension - Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

In one corner of the park, buried together, are more victims of HMS Conquest who lost their lives in the March 1916 snowstorm.
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CWGC Walton-on-the-Naze (All Saints) Churchyard Extension - Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Walton-on-the-Naze (All Saints) Churchyard Extension - Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Walton-on-the-Naze (All Saints) Churchyard Extension - Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Walton-on-the-Naze (All Saints) Churchyard Extension - Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Walton-on-the-Naze (All Saints) Churchyard Extension - Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Dovercourt is a small seaside town in the Tendring district of Essex, near Harwich. There are 2 CWGC locations in the town within a short walk away from each other. The first of these I visited was the town's cemetery, where there is a small war grave plot with the rest of the burials scattered around the site.

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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Elpenor was built in 1917 by Hawthorn Leslie & Co. at Newcastle with a tonnage of 7601grt, a length of 455ft 4in, a beam of 56ft 4in and a service speed of 11 knots.

Following completion she commenced her first voyage under the Liner Requisition Scheme from Tyneside to Baltimore via the Mediterranean and in 1918 was used as a troop ship between Liverpool and Dublin.

She was handed over to her new owners, China Mutual Steam Navigation Co., in January 1919.

She was transferred to Glen Line in April 1935 and renamed SS Glenfinlas. On 6th April 1941 she survived an air attack by German bombers off the coast near Harwich, but 11 of her Chinese crew members were killed.
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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The British steamship SS Skagerak left the Tyne to head to Ipswich but struck a mine, broke in two and sank on the 24 August 1941. Seventeen of her crew and the pilot were lost.
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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Armstrong Whitlworth Whitley V, BD228, crashed on its return to RAF Temspford after the Operation LUCKYSHOT 8 / GRANTHAM I to Belgium on the 22nd October 1942.

The pilot, P/O Wreford William George Smith DFC, RAFVR was killed, and F/Sgt Ward - Navigator and Sgt Lamont the 2nd Pilot, were both injured.
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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

SS Copenhagen was a passenger vessel built for the Great Eastern Railway in 1907. The ship was built by John Brown of Clydebank as one of a contract for three new steamers and launched on 22 October 1907. She was placed on the Harwich to Hook of Holland route.

On the 5th March 1917, she was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 8 nautical miles (15 km) east of the Noord Hinder Lightship by SM UC-61 with the loss of six lives. Fireman L J Randall passed away on the 13th March 1917 from injuries sustained in the attack.
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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The Rohilla was ordered in 1905 by the British India Steam Navigation Company (BI) from Harland & Wolff Ltd of Belfast. Although ordered for the London to Calcutta service, increased competition prompted BI to design theship to be suitable also as a troopship.

The steamship was named Rohilla in honour of the Rohillas, Pashtun highlanders who lived in Rohilkhand, east of Delhi, in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Rohilla was called up at the outset of the First World War and converted into a naval hospital ship. HMHS Rohilla had only a short life in that role. On the 30th October 1914, sailing from South Queensferry, Firth of Forth for Dunkerque to evacuate wounded soldiers, the ship ran aground on Saltwick Nab, a reef about a mile east of Whitby, North Riding of Yorkshire, during a gale, as the lighthouses were unlit due to the war. The ship soon broke it's back.

Over the next three days, some of those who attempted to swim to safety in the raging seas were rescued, though many were lost, and lifeboats were able to rescue others. In all, 146 of the 229 on board, including Captain Neilson and all the nurses, as well as Titanic survivor Mary Kezia Roberts, survived.

Captain Nielson believed that the ship had struck a mine before grounding. An inquest jury exonerated Nielson from all blame and recommended that all passenger vessels carry rocket apparatus rather than rely on rockets fired to the ship from shore, and also that a motor lifeboat be stationed at Whitby.

The Gold Medal of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the highest honour the institute could award, was presented to Superintendent Major H. E. Burton and Coxswain Robert Smith of the Tynemouth lifeboat Henry Vernon and to Coxswain Thomas Langlands of the Whitby lifeboat. The Empire Gallantry Medal (subsequently changed to the George Cross) was awarded to Burton and Smith in 1924. In 1917 a monument was erected at Whitby by the British India Steam Navigation Company, commemorating all those who lost their lives in the tragedy.
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CWGC Dovercourt Cemetery - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

After taking the short walk I arrived at All Saints Churchyard. To say the churchyard was overgrown is rather a big understatement and it was a bit tricky locating some of the CWGC plots. However it did highlight the lengths the organisation go to in maintaining their sites, as every plot had been mowed and cared despite the jungle of grass and weeds, in this quiet corner of Essex.

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CWGC Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The L.N.E.R. Ship s.s. Amsterdam was a regular passenger ship sailing from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, with nearly all the crew coming from Harwich and Lowestoft. During the Battle of the Falaise Pocket in Normandy, casualties were evacuated aboard the Hospital Carrier Amsterdam. She made several successful Channel crossings where soldiers were taken to English ports but she struck a mine on the 7th August 1944. The engine room was destroyed along with about half of the craft and it started to list.

The QAs on board were up against the clock to get their patients below decks to the safety of the lifeboats. This quickly became dangerous and those patients who had lost lower limbs were helpless. The Sister in charge was Miss Dorothy Anyta Field of the QAIMNS and she bravely returned to the lower decks with fellow Sister Molly Evershed. Together they rescued 75 men even though the deck was angled to the surface of the water. Without a thought to their own safety they returned once more to rescue the wounded soldiers and sadly the Hospital Carrier Amsterdam sank taking the two QA Sisters with her.

Fifty-five wounded men were lost as were ten medical staff and thirty crew members. Also lost were eleven German prisoners of war.

In total, 106 people lost their lives, including Greaser G H Kettle.
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CWGC Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 18th July 1915, the tanker SS Batoum was damaged in the North Sea, 5 kilometers east of the Southwold Lighthouse, Suffolk by the Imperial German Navysubmarine SM UB-17 with the loss of six of her crew. She was beached but was later refloated, repaired, and returned to service.
ImageCWGC Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Charles Algernon Fryatt was born on the 2nd December 1872 in Southampton before he and his family moved to Harwich.

On leaving school, Fryatt entered the Mercantile Marine, serving on SS County Antrim, SS Ellenbank, SS Marmion and SS Harrogate. In 1892, Fryatt joined the Great Eastern Railway as a seaman on SS Ipswich. Fryatt's father had been the First Officer on SS Cambridge. Fryatt rose through the ranks, serving on various ships. His first command was SS Colchester. In 1913, he was appointed master of SS Newmarket.

On the 3rd March 1915, Fryatt's command, SS Wrexham, a Great Central Railway ship, was attacked by a German U-boat. The ship was chased for 40 nautical miles (74 km). With deckhands assisting the stokers, the vessel made 16 knots (30 km/h) when it would normally have been pushed to make 14 knots (26 km/h). Wrexham arrived at Rotterdam with burnt funnels. The Great Eastern Railway presented Fryatt with a gold watch for this feat. The watch was inscribed Presented to Captain C. A. Fryatt by the chairman and Directors of the G.E Railway Company as a mark of their appreciation of his courage and skilful seamanship on March 2nd, 1915. Later that month he was in charge of Colchester when it was unsuccessfully attacked by a U-boat.


On the 28th March 1915, as captain of the SS Brussels, he was ordered to stop by U-33 when his ship was near the Maas lightvessel. Seeing the U-boat had surfaced to torpedo his ship, Fryatt ordered full steam ahead and proceeded to try to ram U-33, which was forced to crash dive. This action was in compliance with orders issued by Winston Churchill to captains of merchant ships. These orders included treating the crews of U-boats as felons and not as prisoners of war, in consideration of the German Empire's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. White flags were to be ignored. Churchill's order also stated that survivors from U-boats might be shot if this was more convenient than taking them prisoner. If a captain were to surrender his ship he would be prosecuted by the British. The Germans became aware of these orders when they found a copy of them upon capturing the SS Ben Cruachan in October 1915. For this second action, Fryatt was awarded a gold watch by the Admiralty. The watch was inscribed Presented by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to Chas. Algernon Fryatt Master of the S.S. 'Brussels' in recognition of the example set by that vessel when attacked by a German submarine on March 28th, 1915.

On the 25th June 1916, Brussels left Hoek van Holland bound for Harwich. Lights were shown from the beach and a flare was fired. A passenger is reported to have remained on deck and signalled to shore. Five German destroyers surrounded Brussels and the passengers were told to prepare to take to the lifeboats and orders were given for official papers to be destroyed, which was done successfully. Brussels was taken by the Germans, and the radio was destroyed. She was escorted into Zeebrugge and then to Bruges.

Fryatt and his crew were sent to the civilian internment camp at Ruhleben, near Berlin. On the 16th July 1916, it was reported in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that Fryatt had been charged with sinking a German submarine. The Germans knew that U-33 had not been sunk and at the time of the trial she was on active service as part of the Constantinople Flotilla. The basis for the charge was the inscriptions on his watches.

Fryatt was tried at a court-martial on the 27th July 1916 at Bruges Town Hall. He was found guilty of being a franc-tireur and sentenced to death. At 19:00, Fryatt was executed by firing squad in Bruges within the harbour grounds. He was buried in a small cemetery just outside Bruges that the Germans used for burying Belgian traitors

An execution notice was published in Dutch, French and German announcing the death of Fryatt. It was signed by Admiral Ludwig von Schröder. A translation of the execution notice reads as follows:

NOTICE. The English captain of a merchant ship, Charles Fryatt, of Southampton, though he did not belong to the armed forces of the enemy, attempted on March 28th, 1915, to destroy a German submarine by running it down. For this he has been condemned to death by judgment this day of the Field Court Martial of the Naval Corps, and has been executed. A ruthless deed has thus been avenged, belatedly but just. Signed VON SCHRÖDER, Admiral Commandant of the Naval Corps, Bruges, July 27th, 1916.

On the 31st July 1916, British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith issued a statement in the House of Commons.

I deeply regret to say that it appears to be true that Captain Fryatt has been murdered by the Germans. His Majesty's Government have heard with the utmost indignation of this atrocious crime against the laws of nations and the usages of war. Coming as it does contemporaneously with the lawless cruelty towards the population of Lille and other occupied districts of France, it shews that the German High Command, under the stress of military defeat, have renewed their policy of terrorism. It is impossible of course to conjecture to what atrocities they may proceed.

His Majesty's Government desire to repeat emphatically their resolve that such crimes shall not, if they can help it, go unpunished. When the time arrives they are determined to bring to justice the criminals whoever they maybe and whatever position they may occupy. In such cases as these the authors of the system under which such crimes are committed may well be the most guilty of all. The question of what immediate action can be taken is engaging the earnest attention of the Government and I hope very soon to announce to the House of Commons what we can do.

Lord Claud Hamilton, MP, Chairman of the Great Eastern Railway, denounced the execution as sheer, brutal murder. The Mayor of Harwich opened a fund to erect a permanent memorial to Fryatt. A similar fund was opened in the Netherlands.

The Great Eastern Railway awarded Fryatt's widow a pension of £250 per annum. The Government granted her an extra £100 per annum pension on top of her entitlement. Fryatt's insurers, the Provident Clerk's Association, paid the £300 that Mrs Fryatt was entitled to immediately, dispensing with the usual formalities. The Royal Merchant Seaman's Orphanage offered to educate two of Fryatt's seven children. The King expressed his indignation and abhorrence at the execution of Fryatt in a letter to Mrs Fryatt. In the letter, he also wrote "The action of Captain Fryatt in defending his ship against the attack of an enemy submarine was a noble instance of the resource and self-reliance so characteristic of his profession."

In 1919, Fryatt's body was exhumed and returned to the United Kingdom for burial. His coffin was landed at Dover, and transported in South Eastern and Chatham Railway PMV No.132 to London. On the 8th July 1919, his funeral was held at St Paul's Cathedral. Hundreds of merchant seamen and widows of merchant seamen and fishermen attended.

Fryatt was then buried here at All Saints' Church, Upper Dovercourt.
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CWGC Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Stoker Arthur Tame passed away at Chatham RN Barracks on on the 10th July 1915 following a short illness.
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CWGC Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard - Dovercourt, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Parkeston is a small village located on the River Stour, just a few miles east of Dovercourt and Harwich. Here there are a few CWGC burials, including a number of Czech graves. I've tried to do some research as to why they are located here, but without much luck so far.
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CWGC Ramsey (Parkeston) Cemetery - Parkeston, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Ramsey (Parkeston) Cemetery - Parkeston, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Ramsey (Parkeston) Cemetery - Parkeston, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Clan Monroe SS was a British Cargo Steamer of 5,925 tons built in 1918 by Ayrshire Dockyard, Irvine for The Clan Line Steamers Ltd (Cayzer, Irvine),Glasgow.

On the 29th July 1940 she struck a mine off Harwich whilst acting as auxiliary transport. She was taken in tow and beached in Hollesley Bay in a depth of 27 feet at low water. Thirteen of her crew were killed.
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CWGC Ramsey (Parkeston) Cemetery - Parkeston, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On Sunday 15th December 1940, the 'SS N.C. Monberg', an ex Danish cargo steamship, was on a passage from the Tyne for London carrying coal when it was sunk by an E-Boat off Aldeburgh, Suffolk, with twelve of her crew were lost.
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CWGC Ramsey (Parkeston) Cemetery - Parkeston, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 11th August 1940 the tanker SS Oiltrader 5550 tons,was attacked and badly damaged by German aircraft 3½ miles from Shipwash Light Vessel.
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CWGC Ramsey (Parkeston) Cemetery - Parkeston, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Ramsey (Parkeston) Cemetery - Parkeston, Essex, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Brantham is a small village located on the northern bank of the River Stour in Suffolk. Like hundreds of other rural churchs in the country, there is a cross of sacrifice here listing the local men and women who lost their lives in the two world wars.

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CWGC Brantham (St. Michael) Churchyard - Brantham, Suffolk, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Brantham (St. Michael) Churchyard - Brantham, Suffolk, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the night of 4th / 5th May 1943 the crew of 10 Squadron Handley Page Halifax JD105 undertook an operational flight to bomb Dortmund and had set out from their base of RAF Melbourne at 22.33hrs.

This raid on Dortmund saw 596 Allied aircraft attack the city but was not a complete success due to decoy fires attracting many of the bombs to be dropped in open country, the Allied Path Finding aircraft had also not accurately marked the target area but despite this severe damage was still reported to the city. This was the largest non-thousand bomber raid of the War to date and the first attack on Dortmund. On board Halifax JD105 for this flight was a trainee pilot who was flying with the 10 Squadron crew for operational experience before he and his own crew joined an operational squadron, he was training with 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit at the time. The crew of JD105 released their bomb load over the red / green target markers from 17,500 feet at 01.05hrs, they reported that the weather over the target area was good and also that heavy and accurate flak was encountered.

The aircraft was not damaged by flak and made for home but after leaving the target area the navigator complained that he was feeling ill so the captain reduced the height at which the aircraft was flying to try and help the navigator. His oxygen system may not have been operating as it should. On their return to England this aircraft received an order to divert to RAF Leeming because of poor weather over Melbourne and those in the area east of York. This aircraft appears to have been the only 10 Squadron aircraft to be diverted away from Melbourne to land possibly because it took them the longest to return to Yorkshire.

It was nearly an hour behind the other aircraft by the time it arrived over Yorkshire and most other 10 Squadron aircraft had landed by 04.00hrs. At 04.43hrs and while flying through fog towards Leeming the aircraft clipped the top of Hood Hill near Kilburn. The aircraft then bellied in, ran along the ground for about 150 yards and broke up. The engines and cockpit area travelled a distance down the hillside, with one engine ending up in a field at the bottom of the hill and with fires breaking out across the crash site. Five of the crew of eight were killed in the crash and three survived, one of these survivors was found laying in bluebells when rescue eventually came.

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner Sgt Herbert Henry Way is buried here in his home village.
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CWGC Brantham (St. Michael) Churchyard - Brantham, Suffolk, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

SteveGorzula
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun 03 Nov 2019, 1:05 pm

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 11/10/2019**

Post by SteveGorzula »

It was quite an emotion to see this post and the photos of the gravestones and to find the account of the Whitley Z9145 at Givendale. Sgt. John Lyon Perrin was my mother’s first husband. They had only been married for about three months when he was killed. My mother died in 1989, but I remember her telling me about that terrible day.

User avatar
SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 11/10/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

I have visited more sites during the later part of the summer which might take me sometime to research, but i'll try to update the thread as much as possible.

When down in Dorset for the Bournemouth Air Festival, i quickly paid a visit to Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery where there is a small war grave plot with numerous other CWGC graves dotted around the site.

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CWGC Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery - Poole, Dorset, Sunday 1st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The coaster HMS Abel Tasman struck a mine at the entrance to Poole Harbour, Dorset on the 13th June 1940. She sank with the loss of all on board.
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CWGC Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery - Poole, Dorset, Sunday 1st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery - Poole, Dorset, Sunday 1st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Consolidated Catalina FP287 crashed at Long Island, in Poole Harbour, Dorset on the 24th August 1943 while on a non-operational training flight. The aircraft overshot the landing path and was attempting to go around again when the aircraft flew into sea fog at the end of the flare path and crashed. Eight on board were killed, including Sergeant A B Allen, and four were injured.
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CWGC Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery - Poole, Dorset, Sunday 1st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery - Poole, Dorset, Sunday 1st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Aberconway John Sefton Pattinson was born on the 18th December 1918 in Chelsea, London, his father having been killed in action seven months previously. Pattinson joined the RAF on a short service commission in December 1937. He was posted to 5 FTS, Sealand on the March 5th 1938 and joined 25 Squadron at Hawkinge on the September 17th, flying Gloster Gladiators.

In early July 1940 Pattinson was with 23 Squadron at Collyweston, flying Bristol Blenheims. On September 5th he went to an OTU to convert to Supermarine Spitfires and was then posted to 92 Squadron at Biggin Hill in early October.

On his first sortie on October 12th he was shot down and killed by Me109’s over Hawkinge.

His Spitfire, X4591, crashed and burned out in Bartholomews Wood, Postling, Kent.
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CWGC Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery - Poole, Dorset, Sunday 1st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Gerald Arthur Townend was born at Ealing in South London on the 3rd of October 1893, the fourth and youngest son of the Reverend Alfred John Townend, Chaplain to the Forces, and Margaret Wiseman,

On leaving school he entered the Royal Military College Sandhurst from 1911 to 1912 and on the 22nd January 1913 he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 9th Battalion Prince of Wales Volunteers (South Lancashire) Regiment. He landed in Salonika on the 6th of November 1915, became Battalion Adjutant, was promoted to Captain on the 11th of November 1915 and saw action on the Western Front, Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey and the Aegean Islands during the Great War. On the 3rd June 1919 he was awarded the Military Cross for his service in the Balkans connected with the British Army of the Black Sea while attached to the 9th Battalion and was also mentioned in despatches.

After the war he served in India, was promoted to Major on the 4th July 1929 and retired from the army on the 4th February 1939 with the rank of Major on retirement pay. He was appointed as an Honorary Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force on the 13th February 1939, a rank he relinquished on the 29th October 1939.

The following year he was recalled to the services, was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was appointed as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion of his Regiment on the 18th June 1940.

On the 4th October 1941 the battalion was moving from Henlow to Parkstone Barracks in Dorset when he was killed in a motor cycle accident.

His brother, Captain Francis Whitchurch Townend 35th Signal Company, Royal Engineers, was killed in action on the 28th March 1915.
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CWGC Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery - Poole, Dorset, Sunday 1st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The Harbour Defence Motor Launch 1060 was sunk by an ammunition explosion in Poole Harbour. Three crew were killed, of which two are buried together here.
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CWGC Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery - Poole, Dorset, Sunday 1st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of 419 (Moose) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force took off from RAF Middleton St. George in Avro Lancaster XIX KB745 on the 4th October 1944 to attack the U-boat pens in Bergen, Norway.

On their way back the crew lost their bearings and the following morning the wreckage of the air craft was found by a shepherd on high ground at Goldscleugh near Rothbury, Scotland.

The 7 crew members were all killed of which 6 were buried at Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery. I have struggled to find out why Thomas Bernard Tierney is buried here in Poole.
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CWGC Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery - Poole, Dorset, Sunday 1st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

HMS Recoil was the former German trawler Blankenburg, captured on the 6th April 1940 off Norway by the British light cruiser HMS Birmingham and the British destroyers HMS Fearless and HMS Hostile. Taken over by the Admiralty in June 1940, she struck a mine off Portland Bill on the 28th September 1940.
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CWGC Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery - Poole, Dorset, Sunday 1st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Poole (Parkstone) Cemetery - Poole, Dorset, Sunday 1st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

User avatar
CJS
Posts: 8866
Joined: Thu 15 Jul 2010, 3:30 pm
Location: Hogwarts

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 06/11/2019**

Post by CJS »

I have to say Chris, this is a fascinating and sobering thread that you must spend an age putting together. Thank you :up:
"There's only one way of life, and that's your own"

User avatar
SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 06/11/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

CJS wrote:I have to say Chris, this is a fascinating and sobering thread that you must spend an age putting together. Thank you :up:


Thank you for your kind comments and i'm not going to lie, researching the stories is a very time consuming task!....but well worth it. I still have around 25+ more sites to research that I visited across Kent and Lincolnshire, so i'll try to post them on here as soon as I can.

The Lincolnshire trip was a 2 day effort back in the summer, with the first day spent visiting sites along the A15 corridor from Cranwell to Scunthorpe and the second along the North East Coast before heading inland to Newark and Grantham.

Cranwell has been a flying training centre since the First World War when the Admiralty requisitioned 2500 acres of the Earl of Bristol's estate in November 1915, to create the Royal Naval Air Service Central Training Depot. Since then the aerodrome has been taken over by the Royal Air Force and the RAF Staff College is at Cranwell. The graves of 25 First World War airmen will be found on the northern side of the church. The churchyard was used between the wars for RAF burials and during the Second World War the RAF plot, in the eastern part of the churchyard, was used for service burials not only from RAF Cranwell but from others also, including Finningley and Binbrook. Cranwell (St Andrew) Churchyard contains 25 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and 58 from the Second. There are also four Polish war graves.

Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2e B3702 of RNAS Cranwell crashed and burnt our south of the airfield, killing Probationary Flight Officer Eric Henry Dyson on the 3rd December 1917.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flt Lt Ernest Edward Beale was killed on the 13th December 1917 when his Sopwith Camel B5678 crashed in fog near RNAS Cranwell.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Albert Walter Gordon Crosby joined the RNAS in Canada and sent initially to the Naval Training Academy at Greenwich in October 1917 and then to the RNAS flight training school at Vendome, France in December 1917.

He was then transferred back to England to the RNAS Cranwell Training Facility in February 1918.

He was involved in a training flight crash on the 28th February 1918 and died of his injuries at the Belton Park Hospital (near Grantham) 10 days after the accident.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flight Officer Howard Eckhardt Grundy of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, lost his life on the 20th March 1918 when his Bristol Scout Type C 3054 crashed in the fields near RNAS Cranwell.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

de Havilland DH9 D2792 stalled during a forced landing in the Cranwell area, killing 2Lt Cyril Montague Bates on the 24th April 1918.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flight Cadet Peter Anthony Meakin died on the 27th April 1928, a day after his Armstrong Whitworth Siskin IIIA J8956, suffered engine failure and dived into the ground near RAF Cranwell.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Avro 504N J8709, of the RAF College collided with J9693 on the approach to RAF Cranwell on the 6th June 1930. Flt Lt Henry Leonard Drake was killed in the subsequent crash.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Avro 504N of the RAF College stalled and crashed into the ground near RAF Cranwell on the 25th April 1930 killing both Sgt William Henry Fearn and AC1 Leslie Edward Charlton.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 11th August 1995, Squadron Leader Paul Lockwood, his wife Jackie and 2 other passengers intended to fly their Beechcraft Baron 58 from Thruxton to Beaune, France.

After loading the baggage, the aircraft was taxied to the airfield refuelling pumps where it was refuelled with 178 litres of fuel and was described by the pump attendant as being "full up". After refuelling the pilot and his passengers got into the aircraft. Once they were all on board the pilot attempted to start the left engine but was unsuccessful twice
so he then started the right engine; this started with no difficulty but it emitted a cloud of exhaust smoke which is not unusual when starting a warm engine. He then recommenced starting the left engine and succeeded on his sixth or seventh attempt. This engine did not produce any visible
exhaust smoke. After the second engine start there was a delay of some three minutes whilst the pilot carried out his after-start checklist.

The takeoff was observed by two pilots in a helicopter that was hovering less than 100 yards from the runway. As G-BAHN passed the mid-point of the runway the forward passenger door,which is on the right side of the aircraft, was seen to open. An attempt was made to close the door
and a hand, presumably that of the male passenger was seen to hold the door as the aircraft rotated and climbed away using almost the entire runway length.

He flew straight ahead before turning to the left onto the crosswind leg and passing over St Nicholas' Church in the village of Fyfield. Shortly after takeoff the pilot radioed to
Thruxton that a door had come open and that he intended to carry out a low-level circuit in order to land and close it. Aircraft departing Thruxton are required to call Boscombe Down Airfield if they intend to climb more than 800 feet above airfield altitude as they will be entering Boscombe
airspace. The aircraft then flew at an altitude of between 200 and 400 feet in a northerly direction over Fyfield. Eyewitnesses report that during this time it steadily lost altitude and that the aircraft's engines were making an unusual noise described as 'spluttering'.

The aircraft flew over Fyfield village until it cleared the last house to the north where it appeared to stall, rolled to the left and crashed into a stubble field about 20 metres from the southern fence. All the occupants were fatally
injured during the impact and before the aircraft caught fire.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

U/T Pilot John Peter Houghton Stratton was killed on the 18th January 1946 whilst flying in North American Harvard II, FX228 of No 19 FTS, which collided with FT173 of the same unit whilst in the circuit at RAF Cranwell.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 30th January 2005, Royal Air Force Lockheed C-130K Hercules C3, serial number XV179, callsign Hilton 22, was shot down in Iraq, probably by Sunni insurgents, killing all 10 personnel on board. At the time, the incident was the largest single loss of life suffered by the British military during Operation Telic.

Patrick joined the Royal Air Force in June 1990 as a pilot, serving 11 operational tours on the Tornado GR. He was awarded a General Service Medal for Air operations in Iraq, an Operational Service Medal for Operation Telic and the NATO Medal for operations in the former Yugoslavia. His last job was as a Staff Officer at Headquarters Strike Command, Royal Air Force High Wycombe, where he was part of a team responsible for coordinating Royal Air Force support operations.

He was a staff officer serving with Headquarters Strike Command, High Wycombe, and was on temporary detachment to Iraq as a liaison officer.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flight Lieutenant Anthony John Marvin was killed whilst flying in North American Harvard T2, KF443 of the RAF College when it crashed near Navenby, Lincolnshire after stalling on recovery from a number of spins on the 5th Febraury 1949.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flight Cadet Alasdair Black died on the 6th January 1960 when his North American Harvard .2B of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, crashed during aerobatics near Coleby Hall, Lincolnshire. The aircraft lost it's wings while recovering from a dive.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 20th April 1942, the crew of Vickers Wellington I, T2834 of No.3 (C) OTU were conducting a night flying exercise and whilst in the circuit of RAF Cranwell, their aircraft crashed close to Rauceby Vicarage killing both crewmen.

P/O. H E. Rath RCAF of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and Sgt. K M. Miegel RAAF
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Officer Nigel Saunders of No. 98 Sqn was the pilot of de Havilland Vampire FB5 WA143 on a mock attack flight.

His aircraft was seen to break away from one practice attack with both the engine and wing roots on fire. His aircraft came down near Asherton Farm, Larkhill, Wiltshire and he received fatal injuries when he was thrown clear of the aircraft.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flt Lt Vincent Lindsay Hobbs trained at No 3FTS, at RAF Henlow during 1970, and on Graduation was awarded the Sword of Honour. He rose through the ranks, and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 3rd June 1976, going on to serve at RAF Waddington flying Avro Vulcans before being posted to RAFC Cranwell to serve as a QFI in 1981.
Sadly, on 24th November 1981, Flt Lt Hobbs was involved in a road traffic accident and died at just 32 years old. He was to be married three days later.

The Hobbs Sword was presented to RAFC Cranwell by Flt Lt Hobbs’ father, in memory of his son, in 1993. It was presented for use by the OC 3FTS or Station Commander, to be worn at all ceremonial occasions other than weddings in accordance with the family’s wishes.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Bristol Bulldog K3928 of the RAF College, Cranwell was involved in a mid air collision with Hawker Hart K3152, also of the RAF College, Cranwell, near RAF Digby, Scopwick Heath, Lincolnshire.

Both crews were killed (two in each aircraft). None of the occupants of either aircraft were wearing parachutes.

Crew:
Pilot/Instructor: Flight Lt Joseph Seymour Tanner RAF (aged 26) killed.
Flight Cadet John Aickin Plugge RAF (New Zealander, aged 19) killed.

According to a contemporary newspaper report (The Sydney Morning Herald Thursday 3 May 1934)

"AIR FORCE 'PLANES.
Collision in Mid-air.
FOUR MEN KILLED.
LONDON, May 1.
A "Bulldog" fighting 'plane piloted by Flight Lieutenant Joseph Seymour Tanner, with Flight Cadet John Aickin Plugge, of Taupiri, New Zealand, as a passenger, collided in mid-air at Cranwell with a Hart Day bombing 'plane piloted by Flying-Officer Dennis John Douthwaite, with Flight Cadet John Askell Rutherfoord as a passenger. All four airmen were killed. The 'planes were engaged in flying training.

Occupants of a lonely farmhouse and a few labourers saw one machine flying south and the other west. They heard a crash like a thunderclap. All the victims were found dead in their 'planes. They had no time to use their parachutes. Labourers had to dodge falling fragments of the 'planes, which made huge holes in the ground. It took four hours to excavate the engines.

This Is the first accident Involving four deaths since February, 1933. It is the sixth fatal accident in the Royal Air Force In 1934, involving in all 11 deaths".
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Hawker Fury I K5682 piloted by Flight Lieutenant Roy James Oliphant Bartlett of the RAF College, Cranwell, collided with Hawker Fury K5681 (also of the RAF College, Cranwell) during camera gun practice on the 7th October 1936 near Navenby, North Kesteven, Lincolnshire.

He abandoned the aircraft but struck by one of the falling aircraft. Pilot: Flt/Lt Roy James Oliphant Bartlett RAF, killed. Aircraft crashed at Navenby, North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, eight miles south of Lincoln.

The other Fury pilot, Flight Cadet Howard Frizelle Burton was injured.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 9th November 1936. Avro Anson I K6199 took off from RAF Bircham Newton, Norfolk, when the aircraft stalled and crashed near the end of the runway. Pilot Officer Peter White was killed while both other occupants were injured.

The takeoff procedure was completed with the control systems locked. Modifications to locking bars were recommended by the Court of inquiry following this accident.

K6199 was Struck off Charge as E (G/I) and reduced to instructional airframe status by the 9th December 1936, the machine remained as a salutary reminder of the need for care in pre-flight checks until struck off charge in August 1937.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flight Cadet Robert Adrian Greey Morgan was killed on the 8th May 1939 when his Hawker Audax I K7377 collided with K7458 while attacking a towed target near Stubton, Lincolnshire.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wing Commander Frederick Korsten Damant was killed on the 16th May 1941 whilst flying in Airspeed Oxford I, P1881, of the RAF College (FTS) when it crashed on take-off from RAF Cranwell on an air test.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Officer John James Campbell DFC flew 27 Handley Page Hampden operations as Captain and 9 in the 2nd Pilot position. He was killed on the 20th April 1941 whilst he was instructing at RAF Cranwell.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flying Officer Frantisek Vocetka and Aircraftman D W Hughes were killed when their Percival Proctor P6234 of 1 Signals School, crashed on the 7th February 1941.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 7th May 1940, Pilot Officer JT Berryman on 22 Sqn lost his life in Bristol Beaufort L4466 when it stalled whilst approaching to land at RAF North Coates and dived into the ground. At the time of the crash he had 3hrs dual and 2hrs solo time on type.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Officer Nevil Fisher lost his life when his Bristol Bulldog IIA K1693 spun in and crashed at High Dyke Farm, Brauncewell, near Cranwell, while on a local sortie.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flying Officer Dennis John Douthwaite and his trainee crew member Flt Cadet John Askell Rutherfoord lost their lives on the 1st May 1934 when their Bristol Buldog K3928 collided with Hawker Hart Trainer K3152 near Digby, Lincolnshrire.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Instructor Flying Officer Anthony Frederick Paul Anning and pupil Flight Cadet Arthur Moreland Acton-Adams Armstrong took of from RAF Cranwell on the 13th February 1931 in Whitworth Atlas TM K1187 for a local training flight. Their aircraft crashed due to a loss of speed on a gliding turn during approach for a practice forced landing. They were both killed.

A report stated :

"The instructor, who was an experienced pilot on this type of aeroplane, must have left the correction of this fault until a moment too late to pull the aeroplane out of the resultant dive."
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Kaspar Antonin lost his life on the 10th July 1941 when his Percival Proctor I, P6275, of No 1 Signals School dived into the ground at Leasingham in Lincolnshire after stalling in bad weather.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 24th April 1941 Pilot Officer Robert Lanchester and Pilot Officer Richard Inge of 2 CFS (Central Flying School), RAF Cranwell, crashed just to the North East of RAF Winthorpe, Nottinghamshire when flying in Avro Tutor K4814. They both were killed. The crash site is close to the Newark Air Museum and a small plaque there is dedicated to both crew members.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flying Officer Edward Morris Cowperthwaite was killed whilst flying in Airspeed Oxford I, R5942 of the RAF College (FTS), when it dived into the ground near Great Gonerby, Lincolnshire, during a snowstorm on the 29th October 1941.
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CWGC Cranwell (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

User avatar
SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 10/11/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

In Grantham, during the First World War, there were machine gun camps and depots at Belton Park and a 620 bed military hospital. Most of the First World War burials are scattered throughout the towns cemetery but a number of Australian and New Zealand machine gunners are buried together in Section 15.

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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr


There is a small group of RAF graves from the Second World War.
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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On 22th December 1941, Handley Page Halifax L9522 crashed when en route from RAF Leconfield to the Handley Page facility at Radlett in bad weather near Knipton, Lincolnshire. 8 of her crew members were killed, of which 3 are buried here :

Corporal James Anthony Hancock, Sergeant James Albert Denning and Pilot Officer Richard Percival William Barker.
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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Sgt Robert Gordon Goodenough Gain lost his life on the 29th October 1941 when his aircraft was destroyed after it flew into the ground in a blizzard, whilst on a flight from Nottingham to Wittering.
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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The main Second World War grave plot is opposite the town's memorial to the civilian war dead, and the remainder are in various other parts of the cemetery.

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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 27th January 1941, air raid sirens sounded over Grantham when a lone aircraft approached the town from the East. At 14.14hrs, the aircraft was 5 miles to the East at about 1000ft with two Hawker Hurricanes ordered to intercept.

The lone raider, a Ju 88 approached from the North East, slipping between the airfields at RAF Spittlegate and RAF Barkston Heath and began it's low level bomb-run on the munitions workshops. They could not find their target and to gain height, released 14 bombs whilst strafing the streets. At 14.20hrs they struck Jubilee Avenue and New Beacon Road.

The defences were stood down as the aircraft disappeared only to re-appear again a few minutes later, diving out of the cloud at a low angle and heading for Springfield Road. The remainder of the 4 x HE bombs hit the factory complex.

The aircraft was seen to fly East, suffering from anti aircraft damage and later crash-landed in a field at Fishtoft, near Boston, and the crew of 4 were taken prisoner.

The civilians killed in the raid are remembered here.
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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 15th March 1942, whilst with 12 FTS (Service Flying Training School) Royal Air Force, Flight Lieutenant Richard John Jouault was killed when the aircraft that he was piloting, Airspeed Oxford AP645 collided shortly after take-off with another Oxford AP641. The pilot and pupil iAP641, Flying Officer Derek Reginald Olver and Sergeant Julius Lee Wyatt respectively, were also killed in the resulting crash.
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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 15th March 1942, whilst with 12 FTS (Service Flying Training School) Royal Air Force, Flying Officer Willem Bastiaan Straver was killed when the aircraft in which he was a pupil in, Airspeed Oxford AP645 collided shortly after take-off with another Oxford AP641. The pilot of Oxford AP645, Flight Lieutenant Richard John Jouault and the pilot and pupil in Oxford AP641, Flying Officer Derek Reginald Olver and Sergeant Julius Lee Wyatt respectively, were also killed in the resulting crash.
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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Avro Manchester R5841, 1660 HCU took off from RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire on the 11th April 1943 for circuit training. During the flight one engine caught fire, possibly due to a fractured hydraulic line. The pilot had no option but to crash-land near the River Brant at 18.50hrs.

Of the 6 crew members on board, Flight Lieutenant J.M. Whitwell AFM lost his life and another crew member was killed in the crash, while another later lost his life in hospital.
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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On 18th June 1943, Avro Lancaster I ED439 OL-N crashed at Highgate Farm, Swaton, Lincolnshire.

The Lancaster’s pilot was Australian Flight Sergeant Max Kieran Cummings. They crew were new to 83 Squadron at RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire. Recently posted from 467 Squadron at RAF Bottesford, Leicestershire, they completed a night raid on Cologne, Germany, the previous night.

At 1010hrs on 18th June 1943, Cummings crew took off for “daytime bombing practice”. Research suggests the crew tested new equipment as there were two ground technicians joining the seven-man crew.

Eyewitnesses report the Lancaster dived from low cloud into the farm near Scredington. The plane clipped the roof of an unoccupied farmhouse before crashing into the fields behind. It struck a copse of trees and burst into flames.

Locals arrived to offer help but the flames and debris suggested there was little they could do. Ammunition from the plane began to explode creating further danger for those on the ground.
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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Sigfred Johannes Christophersen was born on the 11th July 1914.

He joined the Danish Royal Guards in November 1935, and accepted for flying training at the Army Flying School on the 1st April 1937.

He is discharged from the school on the 10th September 1938 and is unemployed for the next six months. He then spent some time working in Germany as a gardener when in January 1940, he volunteered to become a pilot in the Finno-Russian Winter War, but it is not clear if he actually was engaged in operational duties before the end of hostilities in March 1940.

He then returned to Denmark and worked at the German occupied Værløse Air Station.

On the 26th December 1940, he left Denmark accompanied by his friend Jørgen Thalbitzer, who later become a fighter pilot with the RAF and was killed in action in 1943. They travelled to Istanbul, Cyprus, Suez, and Cape Town until they arrived in London on the 23rd April 1941.

He and Thalbitzer volunteered for the Royal Air Force at the British Air Attaché in Istanbul but in London, he accepts an offer by British Intelligence to be trained in radio-telegraphy. Without knowing it at the time he has been enrolled in the Special Intelligence Service.

On the 10th September 1941 at 1946 hours he boarded Armstong Whitworth Whitley of No. 138 Squadron and took off from RAF Newmarket bound for Denmark, along with another member of SIS. The aircraft crossed the Danish coast near Esbjerg and they encountered flak. At 2335 hours the two agents are successfully dropped near Holbæk.

Christophersen and the other agent never succeedd together as agents, since they never really got to trust each other. According to different sources he seems to be the one to blame. In the end of February 1942, Christophersen is so compromised that he is ordered to leave the country by the agent.

On the night of the 3rd March 1942, he attempted to cross the ice covered waters between Stevns in Denmark and the peninsular Falsterbo in Sweden. He is accompanied by his brother Thorbjørn Christophersen and another member of the resistance Kaj Oxlund. Due to bad weather they struggled to make the shore and were picked up by a Swedish fishermen.

He is imprisoned in Malmø, Sweden, and interrogated by the local authorities. During the interrogation he reveals many details on his whereabouts and activities in Denmark.

In mid-June 1942 he and the other agents are transferred to England via Bromma and Leuchars in a Lockheed Hudson. They are imprisoned in the Brixton Prison upon their arrival.

After being released, he commences pilot training and was accepted for Royal Air Force in 1941 at the same time as Thalbitzer. No he returns for pilot training.

On the 10th August 1943, he was killed in a training accident when on a nighte exercise in Bristol Blenheim I K7050 from No. 12 (P) Advanced Flying Unit. Loosing sight of the flair path at RAF Bottesford, Leicestershire, the aircraft crashed killing all three crew members.
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CWGC Grantham Cemetery - Grantham, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 10/11/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

Belton Park is located near the village of Londonthorpe, on the outskirts of Grantham. It was used as the site of a military camp during the First World War. A plan, dating to the summer of 1915, shows the layout of the camp including narrow gauge railways and a hospital. The camp was used by the British Army from April 1915 to house the 30th Division whilst it was being formed. The plan of the site is annotated with the names of the battalions that formed the division and shows where the different battalions were quartered. The 30th Division was made up almost entirely of battalions from Manchester and Liverpool and comprised volunteers who had enlisted soon after the start of the war in August 1914. The division moved on to Salisbury Plain in late September 1915 before embarking for France in November that year. Belton Park Camp then became the base depot and headquarters of the war raised Machine Gun Corps from October 1915, closing in 1922.

Belton’s military hospital was run by the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) and purpose built within the parkland. Similar in size and structure to hospitals close to the Western Front, it was built to care for men returning from active service. This hospital was the penultimate stop on a soldier’s journey home after being wounded on the front lines. However, given the size of the Belton Park Camp, the hospital was also kept busy with the medical needs of soldiers in training.

The RAMC doctors, supported by nurses and volunteers, were seeing patients at the very beginning of 1915. With several wards, operating rooms, an X-ray room and dispensary, this modern hospital could hold 670 patients at a time.

Those who lost their lives at Belton Park, either through training accidents or illness, are buried here in the local village church. In total, there are 32 listed casualties buried here.

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CWGC Londonthorpe (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard - Londonthorpe, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Londonthorpe (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard - Londonthorpe, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Londonthorpe (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard - Londonthorpe, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Londonthorpe (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard - Londonthorpe, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Londonthorpe (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard - Londonthorpe, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Londonthorpe (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard - Londonthorpe, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Londonthorpe (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard - Londonthorpe, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Londonthorpe (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard - Londonthorpe, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Londonthorpe (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard - Londonthorpe, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

User avatar
SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 14/11/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

The Lincolnshire village of Manby is located just south-east of Louth, is a Royal Air Force Training Station. During the Second World War, when it was the home of No. 1 Air Armament chool, a section of the village churchyard was set aside for service burials. RAF Manby was operational from 1938 to 1974. Houses were built for RAF personnel with village streets named after aircraft. In the late 1980's, the administration site was sold for commercial use and it is now a business park and the former airfield has been returned to agriculture.

All save 1 of the casualties buried here are airmen, and 24 of the burials are in this small war graves plot. The total number of burials is 29.

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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Handley Page Hampden I L4164 crashed in bad weather on approach to RAF Manby on the 9th October 1941. J Cehrzycki was killed in the crash of which there were no survivors.
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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of No.103 Sqn boarded Handley Page Halifax II W1218 at RAF Elsham Wolds, North Lincolshire on the 28th July 1942 to conduct training including gunnery over the North Sea. Their aircraft stalled and spun into the ground at Ludborough, near Louth, killing all of the 6 man crew, 4 of which are buried together here.
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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Adrian Harold Cooper Gill of Palmerston North, Wellington, New Zealand, was a Wireless Operator / Gunner with 214 (Federated Malay States) Sqn, RNZAF.

On the 17th August 1942, he boarded Short Stirling I BF330 at RAF Stradishall, along with the rest of his crew, to attack Osnabruck, Germany.

Their aircraft was attacked by a German night fighter 30k north of the Dutch island of Terschelling and crashed into the North Sea. 2 of the 7 man crew have no known grave, with the bodies of the rest of the crew washing up on UK beaches.
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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot L M A Green was killed on the 7th September 1942 when his Vickers Wellington I P9235 hit a hill 2 miles south east of Louth after takeoff.
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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Donald Wormleighton & Wireless Operator Eric Frank Rawlings were part of a four man crew in Vickers Wellington IC R1463 that were conducting a night intruder mission on the 21st February 1942.

While descending through cloud in order to establish their position, the bomber crashed at 03:30 into a field at Asterby Top Farm, Goulceby, 7 miles SW of Louth, some 400 feet above sea level. The pilot had been cleared to descend to 900 feet through thick cloud and may have descended further in an attempt to see the ground or may have forgotten to adjust his altimeter pressure setting on return from operations, causing it to read higher than the correct altitude
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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Handley Page Hampden I X2981 exploded and crashed over the Theddlethorpe bombing range on the 20th December 1940, killing both the crew members buried here side by side.
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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Officer G W Winder was killed when Hawker Demon K8196 and Demon K5736 collided in mid air over the Donna Nook Ranges on the 24th February 1940.
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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 28th October 1940, the crew of Handley Page HampdenX3027, No.49 Sqn, left RAF Scampton for Hamburg. On the outbound journey they were shot down by an Intruder (Lt.Volker, 1NJG2) and crashed into the sea off Skegness.

The body of P/O Ballas-Andersen was never found. He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. P/O J.R.Bufton KIA, P/O K.Ballas-Andersen KIA, Sgt R.F.Robertson KIA, Sgt F.J.W.Bichard KIA.
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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

There is also a small post war grave plot in the churchyard.
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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the night of the 27th August 1954 a Gloster Meteor Mk 8 from the RAF Flying College flown by W/Cmdr H A Conaghan crashed about 50 miles from Manby.
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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Gloster Meteor T Mk 7 dived into a hill at Station Farm, East Halton, Lincolnshire, destroying a tractor. The crew did not abandon the aircraft and both were killed.

F/Sgt (1566237) William Henry BLACK AFM (pilot) RAF
W/Cdr (164.406) Francis Michael HEGARTY AFC & Bar (pilot)

The aircraft flew into rising ground but the reasons for this were never determined.The story at the time was that the sortie was one that included a test of the students asymmetric minims which could have gone horribly wrong.
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CWGC Manby (St. Mary) Churchyard - Manby, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 14/11/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

Cleethorpes Cemetery contains 159 casualties from the First and Second World War. Of the 80 Second World War burials in the cemetery, 49 form a war graves plot.

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CWGC Cleethorpes Cemetery - Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wireless Operator Eric Hannath was on board Vickers Wellington IC DV739 from RAF Harwell for a training flight when an engine failed on take-off and the Wellington crashed close to the airfield, killing Eric and one other crew member.

He is buried here in his home town of Cleethorpes.
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CWGC Cleethorpes Cemetery - Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Vickers Wellington X HE350 took off from RAF Skellingthorpe on the 20th September 1943 for air gunnery training. As the aircraft climbed out, both engines cut out. The pilot was unable to turn back and crash-landed 3 miles northwest of the airfield.

Of the crew of 5 (3 of which had the surname Baker), 3 were killed in the crash.

Robert Arthur Baker was posthumously awarded the D.F.C. on 16 November 1943
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CWGC Cleethorpes Cemetery - Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Cleethorpes Cemetery - Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Seaman Arthur Priestley of HMS Altair died on the 13th June 1944 due to a short illness.
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CWGC Cleethorpes Cemetery - Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 29th August 1943 29, the crew of Vickers Wellington III BK431 took off from RAF Bruntingthorpe for an air firing detail with staff captain and screened wireless operator, a gunnery instructor, an Air Training Corps cadet passenger and three trainee air gunners. Tragically, fifteen minutes after take off, the bolts securing the lower port wing spar failed due to metal fatigue and the aircraft hurtled into the ground near Oakham.

John Hawarth Heath of Napier, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand whose parents had originated from Lincolnshire, was taken to his birthplace and laid to rest here in Cleethorpes Cemetery.
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CWGC Cleethorpes Cemetery - Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 3rd September 1940, the engine room on steamer SS Kildale took a direct hit from a Heinkel He111. All 6 of her engine room crew were killed and buried together here. She limped back to port and put back into active service.

On the 3rd November 1940 while sailing in the coastal Convoy WN-29 for the final part of her trip she was attacked by German aircraft off the coast of Aberdeen. After being bombed and raked with machine gun fire, the ship sank killing one of the 37 crew on board.
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CWGC Cleethorpes Cemetery - Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Cleethorpes Cemetery - Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 31st March 1916, 5 Zeppelins set out to attack London and East Anglia, however as it approached England, Zeppelin L22, developed engine problems. Instead of heading for London it changed course for Grimsby docks. Shortly before 1 a.m on Saturday 1st April it crossed the east coast. As the Zeppelin passed over the vicinity, searchlights locked on to it and an anti-aircraft gun opened fire. The Zeppelin released some bombs which landed harmlessly in open countryside near Cleethorpes. It then headed out to sea, before turning round for a second attack.

Three further bombs were dropped. One landed in Sea View Street, shattering shop windows; a second destroyed the local council offices; while the third scored a direct hit on the Baptist Church Hall where men of the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion of the Manchester Regiment were billeted. Of the men in the building, 27 died instantly and 4 were fatally injured, dying soon after from their wounds. The majority of men were wounded but four men were rescued uninjured from a small cellar under the hall where they had been playing a game of cards. Due to reporting restrictions the Times reported it as occurring ‘in a village of no military significance’.
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CWGC Cleethorpes Cemetery - Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Cleethorpes Cemetery - Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Cleethorpes Cemetery - Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

St. Andrew Churchyard in Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, contains 18 First World War burials and 5 from the Second World War.

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CWGC Immingham (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Immingham (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Immingham (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

German 1st SG battlecruisers and 2nd SG light cruisers escorted by destroyers sailed to attack the Yorkshire coast on the 16th December 1914. Battlecruisers Seydlitz, Moltke and armoured cruiser Blücher were to bombard Hartlepool, battlecruisers Derfflinger and Von der Tann to bombard Scarborough then Whitby and light cruiser Kolberg to lay up to 100 mines off Flamborough Head. Both the German and British battlefleets were out in support of their forces.

Coming south in anticipation of this attack the seven 4th DF destroyers screening Adm Beatty's battlecruisers - Lynx, Ambuscade, Unity, Hardy of 1st Div and Shark, Acasta, Spitfire of 2nd Div, met destroyers from the German light cruiser screen in the Dogger Bank area. When challenged, they opened fire damaging Lynx and Ambuscade, the remaining destroyers then sighted cruiser Hamburg close by at 05:53. Hardy and Shark opened fire with Hardy damaged by the cruiser.

Battle report from HMS Hardy : "Wireless shot away, holed on waterline, bridge wrecked, severely damaged by 0600 with steering gear disabled and had to turn out of line, managed to proceed at 0620 and limped into port escorted by Spitfire"

Two crewmen lost their lives and are buried here side by side.
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CWGC Immingham (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Immingham (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

HMS Meteor was a Thornycroft M-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy. Meteor saw extensive service throughout World War I, maintaining continuous operations both as a convoy escort and in harbour protection.

Meteor served with the Harwich Force from 1914–1917.

On the 23rd January 1915, the German battlecruisers under Admiral Franz von Hipper made a sortie to attack British fishing boats on the Dogger Bank. British Naval Intelligence was warned of the raid by radio messages and sent out the Battlecruiser Force from Rosyth, commanded by Admiral Beatty aboard HMS Lion and the Harwich Force, commanded by Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt aboard the light cruiser Arethusa were sent out to intercept the German force. Meteor was one of seven M-class destroyers sailing with the Harwich Force. The British and German Forces met on the morning of the 24th January in the Battle of Dogger Bank. On sighting the British, Hipper ordered his ships to head south-east to escape them, who set off in pursuit. Being the fastest destroyers available to the British, the seven M-class were sent ahead to report the strength of the German forces.

Although briefly forced to turn away by fire from the armoured cruiser Blücher, they managed to successfully report the German's strength and course before being ordered to pull back and take up station ahead of the British line as Beatty's battlecruisers came into gun range of the German ships.

At about 09:20, German destroyers appeared to be preparing a torpedo attack, and the British destroyers were ordered ahead of the line in order to prevent such an attack. Only the M-class destroyers had sufficient speed to respond and slowly draw ahead of the British battlecruisers, but no attack by German destroyers followed. Later, at about 11:00, an emergency turn to avoid a non-existent German submarine and misinterpretation of signals from Lion caused the British battlecruisers to concentrate on Blücher, already badly damaged and trailing well behind the other German ships, and allowing the rest of Hipper's fleet to escape. Meteor led three other destroyers in a torpedo attack against Blücher but was hit by a shell in the forward boiler room which knocked her out of action, killing four and wounding two. Blücher was eventually overwhelmed by British shells and torpedoes, sinking at 12:10, while Meteor was towed back to the Humber by the destroyer Liberty.

Meteor continued to carry out minelaying operations for the rest of the war, laying magnetic mines off Ostend during August 1918. In total, Meteor laid 1082 mines during the First World War.

The destroyer was sold for scrapping in May 1921.
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CWGC Immingham (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 27th November 1915, the boiler of HMS Albatross exploded, killing three of her crew :

BAYS, John W, Stoker, RNR, V 752

ELLIOTT, Alfred E, Leading Stoker, K 4555

HAM, Philip, Chief Stoker, 288247
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CWGC Immingham (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

HMS Chester was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, one of two ships forming the Birkenhead subtype. Along with sister ship, Birkenhead, she was originally ordered for the Greek Navy in 1914 and was to be named Lambros Katsonis. The order was placed with Cammell Laird and production continued for the Greek account after the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. In 1915 the two cruisers were purchased by the British government. She fought at the Battle of Jutland where casualties included John 'Jack' Cornwell who was awarded the highest honour, aged 16.

Charles Blaydon was serving on Chester during the battle and died a month later. I can only assume that he suffered wounds during the battle and passed away back on home soil.
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CWGC Immingham (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Immingham (St. Andrew) Churchyard - Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

There are a number of burials within Scunthorpe Cemetery, some of which make up a small war grave plot.
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CWGC Scunthorpe (Crosby) Cemetery - Scunthrope, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scunthorpe (Crosby) Cemetery - Scunthrope, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scunthorpe (Crosby) Cemetery - Scunthrope, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scunthorpe (Crosby) Cemetery - Scunthrope, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scunthorpe (Crosby) Cemetery - Scunthrope, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

This was the last location I visited on the first day of my trip around Lincolnshire and as I was staying over just down the road from the Humber Bridge, I thought it would be rude not to finish the day by having a stroll by the river.
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Humber Bridge - Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 14/11/2019**

Post by Blackbird »

I recently was on holiday in Assam, India and was taken to a CWGC cemetery in Gauhati. It was unlike any CWGC cemetery that I've visited before, and was mainly memorials rather than graves we were told. Just a few photos from a brief visit:
Image610A5737 by Andrew Shaw, on Flickr

Image610A5738 by Andrew Shaw, on Flickr

Image610A5744 by Andrew Shaw, on Flickr

I hope these are of interest.

Andy

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Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 14/11/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

Thanks for the post Andy, really interesting to see.

I have managed to research a couple more locations from my visit to Lincolnshire back in the summer. I'm sure we all know the history of RAF Binbrook and there are a number of casualties buried at St. Mary Churchyard in the village from wartime operations as well as post war.

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CWGC Binbrook (St. Mary) Churchyard - Binbrook, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 9th December 1952, Squadron Leader Michael John O'Bryen-Nicholls was carrying out a GCA (Ground Controlled Approach) Overshoot in English Electric Canberra B2 WD964, and all appeared normal until after the aircraft had passed the GCA caravan, when the pilot called the control tower, advising them that he had lost all of the aircraft's instruments.

The Canberra continued along the line of the runway at RAF Binbrook and crashed three and a half miles beyond the airfield. The cause of the accident was attributed to the tailplane actuator remained in the fully "nose down" position, after the flaps were raised during the over shoot. All three crew were killed

Crew of Canberra WD964
Squadron Leader Michael John O'Bryen-Nicholls (pilot and Commanding Officer of 617 Squadron from June 1952)
Pilot Officer Roy Frederick Bridle (navigator)
Flying Officer David Izatt (Observer)
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CWGC Binbrook (St. Mary) Churchyard - Binbrook, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On 29th July 1942, Vickers Wellington II W5424 suffered an engine failure on take off from RAF Binbrook for an operational flight to Saarbrucken. The aircraft stalled and crashed and the crew of five were sadly killed and all buried here.
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CWGC Binbrook (St. Mary) Churchyard - Binbrook, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Frederick Raymond Keys of Albury, New South Wales, Australia was the bomb aimer on Handley Page Halifax II DT481 based at RAF Breighton in Yorkshire when the crew was detailed on the 19th September 1942 to carry out an air firing exercise, but to make a call first to the drome at RAF Binbrook.

The aircraft overshot the drome on its first approach, and when it overshot again on the second approach, smoke was pouring from the starboard outer engine which had failed and caught fire. At 10:30 hours while making a gentle turn to the left at 800 feet the aircraft stalled, then spun and crashed. All of the Australian crew on board were killed.
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CWGC Binbrook (St. Mary) Churchyard - Binbrook, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Binbrook (St. Mary) Churchyard - Binbrook, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 2nd April 1954, English Electric Canberra B2 WF891 suffered an engine failure on take-off from RAF Binbrook, banked and the wing hit the ground, then swung into the ground-controlled approach van, killing Squadron Leader J S Millington and 1 other.
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CWGC Binbrook (St. Mary) Churchyard - Binbrook, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

One of the first aircraft to be lost from RAF Binbrook was Fairey Battle L5568 I.

On the 31st July 1940, it was one of six sent on what proved to be an abortive raid on German shipping targets. On its way back, the Battle was attacked by British fighters near Marblethorpe, killing the 3 man crew who are all buried here together.
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CWGC Binbrook (St. Mary) Churchyard - Binbrook, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

English Electric Lightning F.6 XS924 crashed on the 29th April 1968 following loss of control shortly after take off from RAF Binbrook. It was to rendezvous with a Victor for a flypast over Scampton to mark the stand-down of Bomber Command.

Flt Lt Al Davey of No. 5 Squadron was sadly killed.
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CWGC Binbrook (St. Mary) Churchyard - Binbrook, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

No. 12 Squadron Vickers Wellington W5585 took off from RAF Binbrook at 18:15hrs on the 26th January 1942 to raid Hannover. As the aircraft became airborne, part of the bombload fell out and exploded. 4 other aircraft were damaged by this incident. 4 of the 6 man crew were killed, and all are buried here in one grave.
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CWGC Binbrook (St. Mary) Churchyard - Binbrook, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The No. 12 Squadron crew of Vickers Wellington II W5611 took off from RAF Brinbrook at 18:03 on an operational flight to Wilhelmshaven in Germany.

At 23:30 their aircraft crashed near Brumby, Lincolnshire as the result of an engine fire and loss of height.

Four of the 6 man crew died in the crash, 3 of which are buried here back at Binbrook

F/Sgt C.F. O'Connell RNZAF.
Sgt D.A. Laing RAF.
Sgt T.A. Delaney RAF.
F/Sgt E.A. Parsons RCAF.
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CWGC Binbrook (St. Mary) Churchyard - Binbrook, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flight Lieutenant Neil MacLachlan, was an ex RAF Binbrook English Electric Lightning pilot who went on to fly with the Red Arrows. Sadly he was killed at RAF Scampton when practising an inverted low level manoeuvre on the 22nd January 1988.
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CWGC Binbrook (St. Mary) Churchyard - Binbrook, Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr
Last edited by SuffolkBlue on Sat 28 Dec 2019, 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 14/11/2019**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

During the Second World War there were a number of R.A.F. stations within a few miles of Newark, from many of which operated squadrons of the Polish Air Force. A special plot was set aside in Newark Cemetery for R.A.F. burials and this is now the war graves plot, where all but ten of the 90 Commonwealth and all of the 397 Polish burials were made. The cemetery also contains 49 scattered burials of the First World War. A memorial cross to the Polish airmen buried here was erected in the plot and was unveiled in 1941 by President Raczkiewicz, ex-President of the Polish Republic and head of the war time Polish Government in London, supported by General Sikorski, Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Forces and war time Polish Prime Minister.

When both men subsequently died, General Sikorski in 1943 and President Raczkiewicz in 1947, they were buried at the foot of the Polish Memorial. General Sikorski's remains were returned to Poland in 1993, but there is still a memorial to him at Newark.

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Michal Zarebowicz was killed whilst flying in Vickers Wellington IC, DV804 of No 18 OTU, which crashed on landing at RAF Finningley during his first solo night landing on the 29th March 1943.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Vickers Wellington IC HX384 of 304 (Ziemia Slaska) Squadron crashed into the sea after taking off from RAF Dale, Pembroke, on the 11th August 1942. The crew of six Polish nationals perished in the crash.

The wreckage was found on the 21st September 1991 by divers from the Llantrisant Sub Aqua Club.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Vickers Wellington T2576 failed to take off during a training flight and crashed near the perimeter of RAF Hamswelll, Lincolnshire, on the 25th July 1941. Pilot Officer Rebuszynski was killed in the crash.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The 300 ("Ziemi Mazowieckiej") Squadron crew of Vickers Wellington IV Z1265 took off from RAF Hemswell at 17:48 for a raid on Hamburg on the 15th January 1942.

On the homeward leg, the aircraft encountered severe icing. It crashed due to engine failure at Clipstone 5 miles NE of Mansfield,Nottinghamshire. All the crew are buried in the Polish plot here at Newark Cemetery.

Flt Lt J Bak PAF +
Sgt F Chylewski PAF +
Fg Off W Mosiewicz PAF +
Plt Off S Berdys PAF +
Sgt P K Krenzel PAF +
Sgt M W Lagodzinski PAF +
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Handley Page Halifax II JN967 took off from RAF Blyton, Lincolnshire at 17:52 for a night navigation exercise on the 11th November 1944.

At 18:00 the aircraft crashed in flames from 3000ft at East Ferry, Lincolnshire, after one starboard engine caught fire. The aircraft was so thoroughly destroyed that the exact cause of the engine fire could not be determined. Sgt L. Milewski PAF KIA, Sgt S. Manek PAF KIA, Sgt S. Babiacki PAF KIA, P/O M.E. Wisniewski PAF KIA, Sgt F. Piwoda PAF KIA, Sgt M. Kozlowski PAF KIA, Sgt J. Rzestelny PAF KIA.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 29th July 1942, Handley PageHampden AT113 of 408 Sqn crashed at 15:16hrs whilst on an air-test from RAF Balderton, Nottinghamshire, prior to the Saarbrucken raid that night. The aircraft crashed into a field of oats 2 miles south-east of the airfield. There were two air cadets, both 16 years old, on board and had been taken up for an air experience flight.

S/L L.B.B. Price DFC RCAF
Sgt I. Hughes
Cdt G. Hughes ATC
Cdt K.R. Couzin Wood ATC
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 26th May 1944, the 7 man crew of 5 LFS (Lancashire Finishing School) took off from RAF Syerston, Nottinghamshire, on a combined nighttime navigation and bombing exercise.

Their aircraft was reported to enter a dive from 8,000ft at 22:15 and crashed near the village of Gonalston, Nottinghamshire, killing all on board.

Some reports state that the accident was caused by the parachute harness of one of the crew getting tangled with the flying controls shortly after climb out form the airfield.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of No. 61 Squadron Avro Lancaster III JB132 boarded their aircraft at RAF Syerston, Notts, on the 31st August 1943 for a raid to Berlin.

Of the 622 aircraft that took part on the raid, 47 were lost. The high loss rate was due to the first time of fighter flares dropped by German aircraft to mark the bomb route. The raid was hampered by cloud and was not deemed a success, with only 1 industrial building damaged. 66 civilians and 2 German soldiers were killed. 237 aircrew were killed with 102 becoming POW's.

After completing their bomb run, JB132 started to make the journey back to Syerston. When over the airfield, they collided with Lancaster I R5698. Both aircraft came down with all of the crew members losing their lives.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 4th February 1946, the crew of 300 Squadron Avro Lancaster were overflying Wigston, Leicestershire, in very poor weather condition when their aircraft and spiraled into the ground. During the descent, the aircraft disintegrated in the air with wreckagefound across the town and several houses were damaged.

While there were no casualties on the ground, all six crew members were killed.

W/Cdr R. Sulinski, pilot,
F/O W. Jedrzejczyk, navigator,
F/O C. Sulgut, air gunner,
W/O W. Brzezinski, wireless operator,
W/O M. Szwandt, air bomber,
F/Sgt F. Mikula, flight engineer.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Andrzej Wisniewski and Jan Klimczyk were on board Vickers Wellington IC, DV783 of No 18 OTU when it crashed and burst into flames shortly after taking off from RAF Thurleigh on a transit flight, on the 18th May 1942.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Navigator Josef Gasecki of No. 307 (Polish) Squadron boarded de Havilland Mosquito XII HK194 at RAF Church Fenton, Yorkshire, on the 18th September 1944 for a sortie to Holland in support of Operation Market Garden. On returning to England, his aircraft collided with another Mosquito, HK228 at a height of 400 metres.

His aircraft came down at Withcall Station, Lincolnshire and was killed in the crash, along with his pilot Stanislaw Madej.

The crew of the other Mosquito managed to crash land their aircraft and escape before it exploded.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 24th June 1944, Andrzej Madejowski was killed whilst flying in Avro Lancaster III, EE124 BH-M of No 300 Sqn. His aircraft was damaged by flak on the return from a raid against a V-1 site at Les Hayona, and while flying on just 2 engines, the aircraft crashed between Linwood and Lissington near Market Rasen in Lincolnshire.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

de Havilland Mosquito NS901 crash landed at RAF Lasham on the 25th May 1944 after receiving damage from AA guns over Cologne. Both airmen were killed: F/Lt Kolacz and Sgt Kruszynski.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

At approximately 17:15 hours on the evening of the 6th February 1942 a force of nine Vickers Wellingtons from 300 Squadron took off from RAF Hemswell in Lincolnshire. They were part of a main force totalling 57 Wellingtons and three Stirlings.

One such aircraft was Z1282 BH-F (F-Freddie) with a crew of 6, including Wireless Operators / Air Gunners Czeslaw Bialy & Stefan Niczewski.

The target were the German capital ships Scharnhorst & Gneisenau, which were sheltering at the time in Brest harbour, France. The crew released their bombs over the target area and made their journey back to base. They were unaware that during the release of the bombs, a photoflash flare had failed to drop during the release and remained hooked up in the bomb rack. This was almost certainly due to the mechanism icing up during the aircraft's passage through the frontal system over the target.

When the aircraft started to fly through warmer air, the selection gear started to thaw and became active. When the pilot made a tight turn to get a bearing over the South coast of England, the flare dropped on the closed bomb bay doors. The following explosion tore off the astrodome and fabric as far back as the tail. With air now flowing through the geometric fuselage of the aircraft, the pilot opted to make an emergency landing at RAF Exeter.

After one missed approach, the aircraft stalled and crashed, killing 3 of the crew.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the night of 12th / 13th July 1944 the crew of 18 Operational Training Unit Vickers Wellington Z1696 took off from RAF Finningley at 22.45hrs to undertake a night time cross country training exercise.

With the route of the training flight complete the crew joined the landing circuit of Finningley and were awaiting instruction to land at 02.30hrs when the aircraft crashed around a mile south of the airfield near the Mount Pleasant Hotel, North Road, Rossington. Sadly all 6 Polish crew members on board were killed in the crash.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Zbigniew Kazimierz Staerz was killed whilst flying in North American Harvard IIB, FT395 of No 16 (P) SFTS, when it collided with Airspeed Oxford, EB797 over Newton during a training flight on the 18th February 1945. Rodomir Walczak was flying in the Oxford at the time of the collision.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 1st October 1942, the 6 man crew of Avro Lancaster I R5703 took off from RAF Syverston for a raid to Wismar.

As the Lancaster cleared the runway, the immersion switch on the dinghy activated, causing it to break free and foul the tail plane. A shallow dive commenced and the bomber hit the ground 1 mile NE of Gunthorpe, Nottingham, killing all on board.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 12th September 1942, Sgt G M Frame RCAF & F/S W G Keogh RCAF took off from RAF Balderton for circuit practice training but their aircraft stalled and crashed at 21:23hrs, bursting into flames, just over 2 miles NE of the airfield.

Both airmen are buried here in Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery.

This was the last Hampden written off by an operational Bomber Command squadron.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Just before midnight on Tuesday 24th June 1941, two Vickers Wellingtons from 305 (Polish) Squadron left RAF Syerston, near Newark in Lincolnshire, for an attack on the docks at Boulogne.

One of the Wellington's, W5723, coded 'F', had an inexperienced crew and Squadron Leader Kielich was flying with them as an additional but experienced pilot.

Over the target there was no cloud, but it was misty and very dark. Squadron Leader Kielich's aircraft made its attack and then turned for home. About 15 miles west of Calais the Wellington was hit by anti-aircraft gunfire from an unidentified ship. The port engine stopped shortly afterwards and the
starboard engine soon showed signs of overheating, so the pilot altered course to make for RAF Stradishall in Suffolk.

As the Wellington reached the coast near Clacton, Squadron Leader Kielich ordered the crew to parachute stations.

The rear gunner, Sergeant Frankowski, baled out and came down safely at Great Holland, but the aircraft turned out to sea (the squadron's records speculate that it was perhaps to avoid the damage that a bomber crashing on land would cause) and the remaining crew apparently baled out over the water; the squadron's records add that the Wellington was seen to dive steeply into the water.

At 2:25 a.m. on 25th June, the Coastguards reported that the bomber was believed to be down in the sea several miles to the east of Clacton and the Clacton lifeboat was launched at 3:15 a.m.

A light south-east wind was blowing and the sea was smooth. Two miles south-east of Holland Haven the lifeboat found the aircraft's navigator, Pilot Officer Idzikowski, swimming in the water and afterwards picked up the bomber's empty dinghy.

As the navigator was unhurt, the lifeboat continued the search for the other airmen, but without success. After two hours the lifeboat returned to Clacton to land Pilot Officer Idzikowski, then put to sea again and continued the search until 8:30 a.m.

Later in the day Squadron Leader Kielich's body was found in the sea off Walton-on-the-Naze. A week later, on 2 July, the body of Sergeant Lewoniec (Wireless Operator) was recovered from the sea off Holland-on-Sea attached to an opened parachute; the military authorities pronouncing the cause of death as apparently head injuries and drowning.

The body of Sergeant Januszkiewicz (2nd Pilot) was also subsequently found, but Sergeant Witczac (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner) remained missing.

The squadron's records state that the wreckage of Wellington W5723 was salvaged.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Navigator Cezary Wieczorek was on board Vickers Wellington I R1392 when his aircraft was hit in the port engine by flak whilst on its way home from a bombing mission over Boulogne, France. One crewman baled out either over the target or over the sea and his body was never found. The pilot managed to regain control and another two crewman baled out over England and survived, one landing in a tree where he was left suspended by his parachute. At first, the other survivor was mistaken for a German flier then he was assisted and taken to hospital. The plane crashed at Darwell Hole near Brightling in Sussex.

The aircraft struck a tree and the remaining crew were very badly burned in the ensuing fireball. The bodies were taken to RAF Hawkinge and returned to Newark for burial. The tree they hit is still standing today.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 4th July 1943, Consolidated Liberator AL523 from RAF Transport Command took off from Gibraltar for England. On board was General Władysław Sikorski, Prime Minister of Poland's London-based government in exile and Commander-in-Chief of its armed forces, returning from visiting Polish troops in the Middle East.

The aircraft climbed normally from the runway, levelled off to gather speed but then suddenly lost height and crashed into the harbour. The 62-year-old general died, along with 15 others. The sole survivor was the Czech-born pilot, Eduard Prchal, who was rescued by an RAF launch. The bodies of five passengers and crew, including Sikorski's daughter, were never found.

Sikorski was subsequently buried in a brick-lined grave here at the Polish War Cemetery in Newark-on-Trent on the 16 July 1943. Winston Churchill delivered a eulogy at his funeral. On the 14th September 1993, his remains were exhumed and transferred via Polish Air Force TU-154M, and escorted by RAF 56 Sqn Tornado F3 jets, to the royal crypts at Wawel Castle in Kraków, Poland.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz was a Polish politician, lawyer, diplomat and the first president of the Polish government-in-exile from 1939 until his death in 1947. Until 1945 he was the internationally recognized Polish head of state, and the Polish Government in Exile was recognized as the continuum to the Polish government of 1939.

When Poland was invaded by the Wehrmacht in 1939, he escaped to Angers where the Polish government-in-exile was established. He lived in the nearby Château de Pignerolle from the 2nd December 1939 until moving on the 10th June 1940 to London, where he joined General Władysław Sikorski and Stanisław Mikołajczyk in the relocated Polish government in exile. He was an opponent of the Sikorski–Mayski agreement.

The government under Raczkiewicz and Sikorski promoted a liberal-democratic agenda with equal rights for the Polish-Jewish minority - a view not shared by the majority of Polish society at the time, and a departure from pre-war antisemitic administrations.

In February 1945, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt held the Yalta Conference. The future of Poland was one of the main topics that was deliberated upon. Stalin claimed that only a strong, pro-Soviet government in Poland would be able to guarantee the security of the Soviet Union. As a result of the conference, the Allies agreed to withdraw their recognition of the Polish Government in Exile, after the formation of a new government on Polish territory.

Raczkiewicz died in exile in 1947, in the Welsh town of Ruthin. He is buried here in the cemetery at Newark-on-Trent.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Located outside the war grave plot are a number or post war & wartime civilians burials

On the 20th September 1958, at 13.55, Avro Vulcan VX770 crashed at RAF Syerston while taking part in their Battle of Britain display.

VX770 was the first prototype Vulcan, and on this flight it was flown by a Rolls Royce crew, which included one RAF member, the navigator. The flight was a test flight for Conway engines, but with a request to do a fly past at Syerston if their timing would permit.

The crew for the flight was:
Mr. K. R. Sturt (Captain)
Mr. R. W. Ford (2nd Pilot)
Flt. Lt. R. M. Parrott (Navigator)
Mr. W. E. Howkins (Flight Engineer)

The pilot came in too fast and the wing imploded, with the aircraft crashing into the ground, killing the crew and three ground crew: Sgt. E. D. Simpson, Sgt. C. Hanson and S.A.C. Tonks. The ground crew were associated with a ground caravan near the crash point.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 14th October 1955, Sqn Ldr George Herbert Tasney was killed whilst flying in Percival Provost T1, WV502 of No 1 Flying Training School, which stalled and crashed into a wood near Winkburn in Nottinghamshire at a steep angle during a final handling test. The Royal Navy student was also killed.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr


On the morning of the 17th March 1948, a number of airmen of No.1 Air Navigation School were undertaking training exercises in two separate aircraft. Both were Vickers Wellington T10s .

At 09.47am, one Wellington (RP565) had just taken off and was climbing away to join the circuit in a left hand turn. Another Wellington (RP499) was descending to join the circuit and was probably making a banked left turn. The two aircraft collided just north of the airfield and both aircraft broke up in the air.

A large part of one landed on the Sgt's Mess inside the Camp and a large part of the other crashed into a field a few hundred yards away. The Mess sustained serious damage to it but there were no casualties on the ground. Sadly all eight airmen (four on each aircraft) were killed in the incident. Their names however have not been traced to actually who was on which aircraft as the station record of this was not completed. Which aircraft hit the mess is also not 100% confirmed.

The accident was put down to neither aircraft's pilot being able to see the other. Here after it was recommended that the seat next to the pilot should be occupied so that there could be a lookout on the blind (right) side. This was a known Wellington quirk but was not looked at during Wartime flying.

Pilot (of RP499) - F/Lt Franciszek Kula MM RAF (P/2204), aged 34, originally from W.Bukowiec, Poland. Buried Newark Cemetery, Nottinghamshire.
Pilot (of RP565) - Pilot II Colin Bass RAF (1603236), aged 25, of High Wycombe, Bucks. Buried West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

The other six airmen were....

Signaller II Walter Ernest Leslie Howell RAF (1023588), aged 27, of Bargoed, Glamorgan. Buried Bedwellty Churchyard, Bargoed, Monmouthshire.
Signaller II Arthur Edward Highman RAF (1333571), aged 25, of Peckham, London. Buried Norwood Cemetery, West Norwood, London.
F/Lt William James Jones RAF (153310), aged 25, of Lambeth, London. Buried Topcliffe Cemetery, Yorkshire.
F/Lt Robert Sneddon Laird RAF (149193), aged 31, of Falkirk, Stirlingshire. Buried Bo'ness Cemetery, West Lothian.
F/Lt Harry Corelius New RAF (165262), aged 26, of Smethwick, Staffordshire. Buried Uplands Cemetery, Smethwick, Staffordshire.
F/Lt John Edge Kerslake RAF (182652), aged 24, of Rainworth, Nottinghamshire. Buried Topcliffe Cemetery, Yorkshire.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Ransome & Marles Bearing Company Limited was founded in Newark in 1916 making ball and roller bearing during the First World War to make bearings for aircraft and other engines.

On the Friday afternoon of the 7th March 1941, 41 people died and 165 more were injured when Luftwaffe bombers targeted the factory.

The raid began when many workers were returning from lunch at about 1.40pm. A low-flying Heinkel approached the factory from the south along the railway line. Two bombs landed in the factory, another on the street and a fourth on an air raid shelter next to nearby Stanley Street. The plane then passed over again and dropped a further bomb, which did not explode.

There was another attack at 2.25pm, when five bombs were dropped. One exploded and wounded many of the rescue workers.

As a result of the raid 29 men and 12 women were killed. One young woman was never found and presumed dead. Amongst those killed, were a young woman who had planned to get married the following weekend and a man who had recently been discharged from the army. Sixty-five people were admitted to Newark Hospital and 100 more were treated at the works own underground hospital.
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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Newark-upon-Trent Cemetery - Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
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Re: CWGC Cemeteries

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Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery contains 291 scattered burials of the First World War, many of them seamen who served with the Auxiliary Patrol which operated out of Grimsby.

During the Second World War, boats of the Grimsby fishing fleet were attacked at sea, and the town and port were bombed many times, incurring casualties among servicemen as well as civilians. The cemetery contains 261 Second World War burials, almost 200 of them forming this war graves plot.

There are also 17 war burials of other nationalities, many of them German prisoners of war from the camp at nearby Weelsby.

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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The Stone of Remembrance was designed by the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens for the Imperial War Graves Commission. It was designed to commemorate the dead of World War I, to be used in IWGC war cemeteries containing 1000 or more graves, or at memorial sites commemorating more than 1000 war dead.

The phrase inscribed on the stone, one of several suggested during the design phase, was proposed by the British author, poet and Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling, whose only son had died in the war. Kipling's role was to advise the IWGC on inscriptions and other literary matters, and the phrase used on the Stones of Remembrance is a quote from the Wisdom of Sirach.

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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Giuseppe Tedesco died while a Prisoner of War at Weelsby POW Camp, north of Grimsby, on the 21st December 1944.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

HMS Silicia was an MS Trawler for the Royal Navy completed on the 14th January 1913. She was mined and sunk off the Humber on the 8th May 1941.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

John William Vincent was an English seaman and member of Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. He was one of the five men who accompanied Shackleton on his epic crossing from Elephant Island to South Georgia and was one of only four of the crew of Endurance not to receive the Polar Medal.

He became a sailor at the age of 13, and later became a trawlerman working in the North Sea fleet out of Hull. At the time, trawling was one of the most dangerous of trades.

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was organised by Ernest Shackleton as an attempt to be the first expedition to cross the Antarctic continent. Vincent was originally taken on as the bosun, but after a row with Thomas Orde-Lees and complaints of bullying from members of the fo'c'sle crew, he was called to Shackleton's cabin and demoted to Able Seaman. He did not cause any further trouble, but Shackleton kept a watchful eye on him: after the Endurance was crushed by the ice and the men were forced to use the three small lifeboats to reach Elephant Island, Shackleton made sure that Vincent was among the men in his boat. He also chose him as part of the six-man crew of the James Caird who were to sail to South Georgia to fetch help. Though some sources say Shackleton didn't want to leave him on the island where he could spread dissent, this contradicts Shackleton's own feelings about needing a strong crew to navigate to South Georgia, and Vincent was noted as the fittest man on arriving at Elephant Island. Vincent and Harry McNish were pitched into the water as the boat was launched, and Vincent's refusal to exchange his jersey led to unkind comments among the beach party that he had some of their possessions concealed about his person, though this also has conflicting reports. Although Vincent was the strongest man in the crew, he fared badly during the voyage to South Georgia: he was almost washed overboard, when chipping ice that had accumulated on the Caird, only just grabbing the main mast in time. Shackleton recorded that two of the crew, Vincent and McNish, were very close to death, and although McNish showed "grit and spirit", Vincent ceased to be an active member of the crew, because he had become so ill.

When the crew of the James Caird arrived at South Georgia, they landed on the wrong side of the island. While the rest of the crew busied themselves with preparations for the trip over the mountains which they had to make to reach the whaling station at Husvik, Vincent showed no signs of improvement. McNish recorded in his diary:

While the skipper does the Nimrod & bring home the food Vincent lays down by the fire & smokes some times coming out for more wood while the Boss & Crean looks after the cooking & McCarthy is my assistant.

It was clear that neither McNish nor Vincent could continue, so Shackleton left them in the care of Timothy McCarthy and set out on the trip over the mountains with Frank Worsley and Tom Crean. After the three men arrived at the whaling station, Shackleton sent Worsley back on board one of the whaling ships to pick up Vincent, McNish and McCarthy and then arranged passage back to England for them while he, Worsley, and Crean set about organising a rescue of the men on Elephant Island.

Shackleton was later to deny Vincent the Polar Medal, awarded to everybody in the crew except McNish, who had rebelled on the ice, and the three trawlermen: William Stephenson, Ernest Holness and Vincent. Alexander Macklin, one of the ship's surgeons, thought the withholding of the medal a bit hard: "They were perhaps not very endearing characters but they never let the expedition down".

In 1918 Vincent joined the crew of a vessel chartered by the Foreign Office which was torpedoed while on service in the Mediterranean. He survived, and after World War I again took up work as a trawlerman. He worked for a time in Finland, but although he was offered a permanent position as a fishing instructor with the Finnish government, his wife did not wish to move. Instead he settled in Grimsby where he and his wife raised a family of five sons and four daughters.

During World War II he served in the Royal Naval Reserve and was given command of the armed trawler HM Trawler Alfredian which worked off the North and East coasts. While on board the Alfredian he developed pneumonia and was transferred to the Naval Hospital in Grimsby. He died on the 19th January 1941.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Heinkel He 111H-3 of 2. Staffel I/KG 26 Schleswig was shot down by Sgt Frank Reginald "Chotau" Carey and Sgt Peter Guy "Oleou" Ottewill in Hurricanes L1726 and L1849 on the 3rd February 1940. The Heinkel remained afloat in the North Sea long enough for the crew to escape, but not long enough to inflate their dingy

The survivors were rescued by the trawler Harlech Castle.

Two of the five crew of the He111H-3 were killed:

Ofw Fritz Wiemer pilot, PoW
Fw Franz Schnee observer, PoW
Uffz Alfred Dietrich wireless operator, PoW
Uffz Willi Wolff mechanic, killed
Uffz Karl-Ernst Thiede gunner, killed

Uffz Karl Ernst Thiede, gunner, disappeared beneath the waves before he could be rescued. His body was recovered and buried here at Scartho Road Cemetery.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The trawler HMT Adon was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea, off Lowestoft, Suffolk, on the 1th April 1943 by an Kriegsmarine E-boat, with the loss of 21 of her 32 crew.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

2nd Pilot Rovert Leith Cox was on board Vickers Wellington IV Z1410 when it took off from RAF Grimsby o the 2nd June 1942 for an operational sortie. The aircraft soon turned back with failing engines and crashed in forced landing, at Thoresby Bridge, Lincolnshire. Only the rear gunner survived.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Thomas Sleeth was the Skipper on HMT Sea King and lost his life on the 9th October 1940 when his vessel struck a mine and sunk in the Humber Estuary.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Trawler HMS Relonzo participated in the Dunkirk evacuation but was mined the following year and sunk off Liverpool on the 20th January 1941.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The D/S Lysland was in service transporting coal between the east coast of the UK and London when, on the 14th October 1942, she was hit by a torpedo from the German E-boat S-75 in the Hearty Knoll channel off Cromer.

She was in an east coast convoy at the time. Two ships were hit, one being Lysland, which stayed afloat. The resulting fire on board was extinguished and she was taken in tow to Immingham the same day. Lysland's 1st mate, John Eid and 2nd engineer had been killed in the attack, and were buried here in Grimsby.

After repairs she continued in the same service until the spring of 1944.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 27th February 1941 – a day later called “Bloody Thursday” in the local area – a single Dornier bomber came in low over the docks area, machine-gunned the Cleethorpe Road area (bullet holes can still be seen in the wall of Strand Street School) and dropped a stick of bombs that killed 11 people and badly injured many more. A few buildings along Cleethorpe Road were completely destroyed in the attack.

Special Constable Frank Edgar Fisher was on active duty when he was killed in the air raid.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

MM Princess Victoria was the first British stern-loading cross-channel car ferry. After two months it was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to a Minelayer.

The ship was built as a purpose built car and passenger ferry by William Denny & Bros of Dumbarton, Scotland for the London Midland and Scottish Railway. She is understood to have been the first stern loading cross-channel car ferry. The ship and special berthing facilities at Larne and Stranraer cost nearly £200,000.

The ship way allocated to the Stranraer - Larne route and entered service on 8 July 1939.

In September 1939, after just two months service, Princess Victoria was requisitioned and converted to an auxiliary minelayer. She was commissioned as HMS Princess Victoria and given the pennant number M03. She had a capacity of 244 mines. During her short service she laid 2756 mines.

After laying a minefield off the Dutch coast she struck a mine on the voyage home at the entrance to the Humber Estuary on the 18th May 1940 and sank with 36 crew lost and 85 rescued.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 19th March 1943 SS Glendalough foundered after detonating a German laid mine off Blakeney Point, Norfolk. She was carrying a cargo of ballast and 5 of the crew of 16 were lost, including Chief Engineer J Nichol, MBE.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Sergeant Ronald Frih was the Wireless Operator / Air Gunner on Consolidated Catalina GRIIA VA728 when on the 4th November 1943, it overran the runway at RAF Oban, killing all 6 crew members on board.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 22nd March 1941, the crew of 5/KG4 took off from Eindhoven, Netherlands in Heinkel 111/P-4 2938, 5J+KN for a raid on RAF Leeming, Yorkshire.

They became lost on the journey and strayed over the Humber defences. Their aircraft was hit by AA fire and then flew into a balloon cable. They jettisoned their bomb load at low level across the railway sidings at Immingham and crashed just beyond on what is now Hawthorne Avenu, Grimsby at 19.45.

Fw W. Kösling attempted to bale out but was killed when his parachute caught on the tail. Oblt F. Danzenberg was killed in crash. Fw E. Stephan and Fw H. Heisig were taken prisoner. A

Oblt F Danzenberg and Fw W Kosling now rest here at the Grimsby Scartho Cemetery.
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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Grimsby (Scartho Road) Cemetery - Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
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Re: CWGC Cemeteries

Post by SuffolkBlue »

RAF North Coates was a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, six miles south-east of Cleethorpes. It was an active air station duringthe First World War and during the Second World War, was the home of a Coastal Command Strike Wing. From 1958 the base was home to Bloodhound surface-to-air missiles, until it closed in 1990.

In February 1940 the station was transferred to No. 16 Group, Coastal Command, and was first occupied by No.'s 235, 236 and 248 Squadrons, flying the Blenheim in both bomber and long-range fighter variants, until April 1940. North Coates was then occupied by a number of Coastal Command squadrons over the next two years, mostly RAF, but including Fleet Air Arm and Royal Canadian Air Force units, flying a variety of aircraft, mainly Beaufort and Hudson light bombers, but also Hampden and Swordfish torpedo bombers, Avro Anson reconnaissance aircraft and Maryland light bombers. By the end of the war, 120 aircraft were lost and 241 aircrew.

Buried in the villiage St Nicholas Churchyard are 31 airmen of the Commonwealth air forces and Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. The burials form a small plot which also includes the graves of three German airmen.

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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Lieutenant Ferdinand Rechberger was born in Vienna, Austria on the 6th February 1922.

On the 23rd August 1943, his Heinkel was shot down by a Bristol Beaufort operating from RAF North Coates and his body was later found on the sea shore.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The 103 Squadron crew of Handley Page Halifax III W1225 took off from RAF Elsham Wolds, North Lincolnshire on the 6th August 1942 on a raid to Duisburg. The six man crew, including Wireless Operator Issac Rutherford, were killed.

The aircraft came down near the coastline and when recovered, the navigator was found strapped into the pilot’s seat. This would likely indicate that the pilot must have been wounded or killed and the aircraft sustained damage. The navigator had some pilot’s experience having started his RAF career training to be a pilot but the retrained as an Observer.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The 2 man crew of 236 Squadron Bristol Beaufighter VI, EL322 were returning to RAF North Cotes from a patrol on the 21st September 1942 when a fire broke out on the approach.

The pilot, Joseph Adrien Armand Lionel Bourassa, attempted a forced landing on the edge of the airfield when the engine failed and aircraft crashed, killing both crew.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of No. 415 Squadron Handley Page Hampden, AD762, were on Convoy Protection on the 31st July 1942 when they encountered engine problems.

When attepmpted to land back at RAF North Cotes, the aircraft overshot the runway and crashed, killing the 4 man crew of which 3 are buried here,

Crew:

Pilot, F/Sgt B.D.R. McComb, RCAF, R/60452, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Observer, F/Sgt M. Bloomfield, RCAF, R/61005, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
WO/AG, Sgt R.M. Ennis, RCAF, R/68044, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
WO/AG, Sgt J.H. Labelle, RCAF, R/74876, North Vancouver, B.C., Canada
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Graeme Mclean of 59 Squadron was killed on the 17th May 1942 when his Lockheed Hudson V AM632 crashed into the North Sea off Donna Nook.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Gustav Borkowski of Bargensken, Germany, was killed while flying a Dornier 217 that crashed into the North Sea near North Cotes on the 2nd February 1942.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Lockheed Hudson V AM602 returned early from an air operation on the 22nd January 1942 and was attempting to land at the North Coates satellite airfield at Donna Nook.

The aircraft overshot the first approach and was climbing away for a second attempt when it crashed, hitting the Watch Office. The Hudson caught fire, causing its bomb load to explode.

All four crew members were killed as well as thirteen personnel on the ground.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Lockheed Hudson V AM719 took off from RAF North Coates pon the 30th July 1941 for a training flight. The aircraft was soon then seen entering a dive and crashed into the ground 1/2 mile from airfield.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 18th December 1940, Brstol Beaufort I L4516 suffered engine failure and stalled shortly after take-off for night mine-laying sortie to Wilhelmshaven and crashed at Marshchapel, south of Cleethorpes. The mine is was carrying mine exploded on impact.

The 4 man crew were all killed, including Sergeant Paul Victor Renai & Sergeant Ralph Gerald Hart.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

LAC Frank Innes was killed on the 13th July 1936 whilst flying Hawker Audax, K5227 of No 3 FTS, during an attack on targets on the Theddlethorpe ranges, Lincolnshire.

His aircraft stalled and crashed into the sand dunes.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Fairey Swordfish L2759 & P4161 collided whilst simulating a dive bomb attack on 'enemy troops' half a mile south of the RAF North Coates on the 30th July 1940.

Both 2 man crews, of No.812 Sqn FA, were killed.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Helmuth Kressfrom Stuttgart, Germany, died aged 22 on the 2nd October 1940.

His Heinkel He111 was caught in anti-aircraft fire near North Somercotes, Lincolnshire and he passed away at North Coates Fittes Camp.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

In 1915, twenty-one-year-old Ernest Handley was living in Brisbane and was a member of the Queensland Volunteer Flying Civilians, an organisation formed by Thomas Macleod, a Brisbane barrister. Ernest, along with several other volunteers, helped Thomas Macleod build the first flying machine in Queensland, a Caudron bi-plane reconstructed to incorporate a full-length fuselage.

On the 28th December 1915, Thomas McLeod journeyed to England with Ernest and six other pilots, with the intention of enlisting in the Royal Flying Corps.

Upon his arrival in England on the 26th February 1916, Ernest enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps, entering his skills as “Aviator for Miscellaneous”. Two months later, he gained his Royal Aero Club Aviators’ Certificate and after a further two months of training was shipped overseas as a pilot and posted to 6 Squadron, based at Abeele in Belgium, flying the BE2d on artillery observation missions.

On the 2nd August 1916, he took part in a long-range bombing raid involving aircraft from five squadrons. The target for the mission was the Zeppelin storage facility in Brussels, at the extreme range of the BE2d, especially as each aircraft was required to carry two 112lb bombs. Unable to take an observer because of severe weight limitations, each pilot had to fly alone with no-one to help with the navigation or defend the aircraft. Despite several mishaps, the mission was a success, with him dropping both bombs from 3,000 feet on to the shed at Etterbeek, causing significant damage. After re-grouping to the west of Brussels at Strythem, the BE2s flew home under the protection of two separate sets of escort fighters and landed safely at their respective aerodromes with almost empty fuel tanks.

In February 1917, he was posted back to England as an instructor with the Wireless and Observation School at Brooklands Aerodrome. According to an interview he had at the time with a London-based journalist from the Townsville Daily Bulletin, Ernest had every intention of returning to the Front. However, on the 20th August 1917, whilst piloting an RE8 on a training flight with his student 2nd Lt H S Jordan, the wings of his aircraft collapsed and the aircraft crashed, killing both men instantly. The following month, Ernest Handley was posthumously transferred to the Australian Imperial Force, but due to bureaucratic delays between the governments of England and Australia, it wasn’t until January 1919 that his personal effects were returned to his mother in Australia.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

William John Thomas Flagg of No 407 Sqn was killed whilst flying in Lockheed Hudson V, AM567 'when it crashed in an attempted forced landing shortly after taking off from RAF North Coates.

The cause of the crash was a broken aerial resulting in a jammed rudder.
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CWGC North Cotes (St. Nicolas) Churchyard - North Cotes, East Lincolnshire, Friday 16th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 06/01/2020**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

The Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial is a World War II American military war grave cemetery, located between the villages of Coton and Madingley, north-west of Cambridge. The cemetery, dedicated in 1956, contains 3,811 American war dead and is one of 26 overseas military cemeteries administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

The University of Cambridge donated the land on the north slope of Madingley Hill to the American military forces for use as a temporary cemetery in 1943. Following WWII, the American Battle Monuments Commission selected Cambridge as the site for America's permanent WWII cemetery and war memorial in the United Kingdom. America's war dead from three temporary cemeteries in the British Isles were consolidated into the Cambridge cemetery during an extensive cemetery construction project, and simultaneously the US Government repatriated approximately 58% of the existing war dead at the request of the surviving family members.

Including the 3,812 American burials, 5,127 names are recorded on the Tablets of the Missing.

Most of the casualties here died in the Battle of the Atlantic or in the strategic air bombardment of northwest Europe. Cambridge American Cemetery contains 18 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, almost all of them American citizens who died while serving with the RAF Ferry command or Air Transport Auxiliary.

Besides personnel of the United States armed forces there are also buried 18 members of the British Commonwealth armed services, who were American citizens serving chiefly in the Royal Air Force and Air Transport Auxiliary, besides an officer of the Royal Canadian Air Force and another of the British Royal Armoured Corps, whose graves are registered and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 1st February 1945, Consolidated B-24L Liberator 44-49476 crashed into the English Channel on a training flight to Lyon, killing all on board.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 14th August 14 1941, Consolidated YB-24 Liberator AM260 veered off the runway at RAF Prestwick during take-off, striking a small building and then plunged over the embankment to the railway line, where it burst into flames. It was an RAF aircraft flown by a BOAC crew. All 22 occupants were killed.

Liberators numbered in the range AM258 to AM263 are understood to have been early models converted for use as unarmed long-range cargo carriers. These aircraft flew between Britain and Egypt, detouring around Spain via the Atlantic, and were used in the evacuation of Java. The RAF took delivery of Liberator IIs in early 1941, numbered 40-696 to 40-702, with all but 702 being cargo carriers. The aircraft were also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation for transatlantic service and various other long-range transport duties. Only four days before, there was a similar air accident, also involving a Liberator and also resulting in the loss of 22 lives; 5 crew and 17 passengers from RAF Ferry Command, the Air Transport Auxiliary, and BOAC.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Lee L Garlow was killed on the 26th December 1941 when his Lockheed Hudson AE489 crashed near Blacklaw Farm, Lowtown, Stewwarton, Ayrshire. His unit was the 8 Ferry Pilots Pool, Air Transport Auxiliary.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Glen Edwin Lewis, RCAF, was the Air Bomber on board Vickers Wellington X HE630 when he and his crew boarded their aircraft at RAF Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire for a raid to Koln on the 4th July 1943.

They took off at 22:44hrs along with 652 other Bomber Command aircraft across the country.

Having hit the target, the crew returned to England in bad weather and were diverted to RAF West Malling, Kent. With heavy fog and low fuel, they crashed into a house in the Henhurst area of Gravesend. All of the crew were killed.

Glen Edwin Lewis was initially buried at Brookwood with the other crew members but later exhumed and buried here in Cambridge.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

An engine caught fire on Consolidated Liberator AL562 while on a ferry flight from Prestwick to Hawarden on the 23rd November 1941 and crashed in sea off Burrow Head, Wigtownshire.

Flying Officer E E Uhlich (Air Transport Auxiliary) and Captain R J Bush (Air Transport Auxiliary) were killed in the crash.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Warren Whitewright Duncan Pearl was born in the Brighton area in 1921 the youngest child of Frederick Warren Pearl and his wife Amy Lea Duncan.

In 1915, his father, Surgeon-Major Frederick Warren Pearl had been appointed to the American Embassy in London. With his wife, three daughters and a son and two nursemaids, they had boarded the RMS Lusitania in New York. On May 7th, 1915 she was torpedoed by a German submarine and went down eleven miles off Kinsale.

His father had been in his stateroom when he heard the explosion and his mother had seen the torpedo hit from the deck. They sent the nursemaids and children up to the deck and followed them. Due to the crowds on deck, they lost contact with their children. After three hours in the water, his father was picked up by a lifeboat, and was rescued by a trawler. In Cobh, he was reunited with his wife who had been rescued by a tramp steamer. His youngest daughter aged three months, and her brother were rescued as their nursemaid managed to get them onto a lifeboat. The other daughters and their nursemaid lost their lives.

His sister, Audrey, married Hugh Lawson-Johnston and was the last survivor of the Lusitania. She died in January 2011.

Flying Officer Warren Whitewright Duncan Pearl was killed whilst flying in Master II, DL472 of No 2 GTS, which spun into the ground near Weston on the Green on the 26th March 1943.

He is commemorated as Commonwealth War Dead by the CWGC on the Maidenhead Register as at March 2011 because it had been believed that his remains were repatriated to the U.S.A.

The Maidenhead Register is a temporary register where the names of Commonwealth service personnel of foreign nationality are recorded where the body was repatriated but no subsequent grave is known. The register is maintained at CWGC Head Office, Maidenhead.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

John H Cordner was born on the 4th January 1893 in Bethany, Nebraska.

Through his flying career Cordner was a military pilot, airmail pilot, transport pilot and test pilot. In his 50s he served during WWII as a ferry pilot for the Air Transport Auxiliary.

He died of natural causes at Prestwick on the 2nd March 1944.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 2nd April 1942, Supermarine Spitfire Vb BM358 was being flown by Air Transport Auxiliary pilot First Officer William Silver Edgar of No.4 Ferry Pilot Pool when it crashed at Boghead, about 4 miles southwest of Inverurie and about 9 miles northwest of RAF Dyce.

The pilot is thought to have lost control of his brand-new aircraft whilst low flying from RAF Prestwick to RAF Kinloss.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Short Stirling I W7523 took off from RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire, on the 19th May 1942 for an air test, with 9 crew members on board.

Shortly after, the aircraft crashed north east of Graveley, Cambridgeshire, apparently due to engine failure. The aircraft collided with trees bordering a road and then rolled onto it's back. 7 of the crew were killed in the crash and two were dragged clear from the aircraft, including civilian electrician Charles Evans Woodhouse, but he died the next day in RAF Hospital Wyton. Born and raised in Oklahoma, his family originated from Wombourne, Staffordshire.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Arthur J. Clarke an employee of Lockheed Overseas Corporation at RAF Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland. He was killed on the 26th November 1943 as the result of being struck by a Government vehicle while returning to his post on a bicycle. He was employed as Civilian Accessory Mechanic by Lockheed Corporation under War Department Contract, attached to 349th Bomber Squadron, 100th Bomber Group, Heavy.

He was buried on the 2nd December 1943 at Brookwood American Military Cemetery, Brookwood, Surrey, before he was permanently interred here at Cambridge on the 20th May 1948.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr



During the morning of the 10th May 1944, Flt Off Hugh Jones took off from Goxhill near Grimsby in Lockheed P-38J Lightning 42-67207 to take part in a cine gun / single engine flying exercise however, once airborne he could not locate his flight due to cloud and as such requested permission to join a pair of aircraft whose exercise was a cross country navigation training flight. Permission for this change of exercise was granted and he joined up with the flight.

They headed due west for roughly 20 minutes until reaching a cloud bank which they attempted to fly beneath but could see the cloud ahead extended down to ground level. At this point 2nd Lt Gene H. Cole ordered the two other pilots to turn back. On turning back the flight leader found that Flt Off Jones was missing from the No.2 position, it would appear that while in cloud Flt Off Jones had become disorientated and rolled his aircraft over , when he attempted to climb he was actually descending until the aircraft struck the ground.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 22nd July 1944, Richard F Murray of the 496 FTG was piloting North American P-51B Mustang, 43-12416, on a training flight when his aircraft went into a spin from which he recovered but then hit the ground and exploded.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Vincent P Lerg of the 94th Bomb Group was killed when his Boeing B-17 Flying Fortess was attacked by fighters and flak on a mission to Emden from RAF Bury St Edmunds on the 21st May 1943.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Sgt. George Tullidge graduated in 1941 from the Staunton Military Academy, Virginia.

He and many paratroopers jumped into France under darkness on the night of June 5 while serving in the 507th Parachute Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division

He fought at La Fiere Bridge, a key position on the road to St Mere Eglise. He continued to fight until all his men were safe even with a wound in his hip. He was awarded, posthumously, a Purple Heart for being wounded and a Bronze Star for bravery. Today, the wound would not be life threatening but this was before wide use and availability of antibiotics.

He was evacuated and sent to England for medical treatment, but he died on the 8th June 1944.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Donald R Peacock was the waist gunner on Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 43-38819 when it crashed shortly after taking off from RAF Glatton on Christmas Eve 1944, for a raid on Merzhausen. He was the only casualty in the accident.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

William M Annan was the Navigator on board Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 43-38137 of the 486 Bomb Group when it took off from RAF Sudbury to raid Cologne on the 15th October 1944.

The aircraft failed to gain height and crashed, killing William and all but 1 of his crew members (the pilot).

It came down slicing the roof off Woodhall Farm House, setting the first floor alight. Fifteen year old Raymond Smith lost his life in the farm house.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Robert H Horr was a glider pilot who took part in the Normandy invasion on the 6th June 1944. His flight log from that day reads "INVASION STARTED. Over 80 holes in my glider. The Germans were shooting many tows. Best pal “Buck” Jackson was killed just after releasing over enemy territory. Knocked down 3 times in landing. Made it OK. Could feel heat from those bullets. Mighty lucky to come out alive. Gave my pal a morphine shot to ease the pain. Stayed by him in the open field for an hour. Made him as comfortable as possible untill I could get medical aid"

A little over a month later, Horr himself died in a tragic accident. On on the 7th July 1944, he was en route back to RAF Aldermaston, Berkshire. Horr’s WACO CG-4A glider was in tow when its tail section collapsed and the glider crashed.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Theodore E Janoski was a navigator with the 730th Bomb Squadron, 452nd Bomb Group based at RAF Deopham Green, Norfolk. On Christmas Eve 1944, his Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress"Ain't Miss Behavin III, 42-31368 crash landed at RAF Deopham Green after returning
from a mission to Darmstadt.

The heavy landing collapsed the undercarriage and the aircraft crashed. 3 crew members survived but 7, including Theodore, lost their lives.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

John J. McGuire of the 701st Bomber Squadron, 445th Bomber Group was the Waist Gunner on Consolidated B-24 Liberator 42- 50453 when it went missing over the North Sea on the 11th December 1944.

He is listed here on the Tablets of the Missing but his body was subsequently recovered and he now lays to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr was the brother of former president John F. Kennedy and in September 1943, he was sent to Britain and became a member of Bomber Squadron 110, Special Air Unit ONE, in 1944.

Operation Aphrodite made use of unmanned, explosive-laden Army Air Corps Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Navy Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator bombers that were deliberately crashed into their targets under radio control. These aircraft could not take off safely on their own, so a crew of two would take off and fly to 2,000 feet before activating the remote control system, arming the detonators, and parachuting from the aircraft. The Navy also participated in Operation Aphrodite, with its portion referred to as Operation Anvil.

Kennedy was appointed a Lieutenant on the 1st July 1944 After the U.S. Army Air Corps operation missions were drawn up in July 1944, Lieutenants Wilford John Willy and Kennedy were designated as the Navy's first Anvil flight crew. Willy, who was the executive officer of Special Air Unit 1, had also volunteered for the mission and "pulled rank" over Ensign James Simpson, who was Kennedy's regular co-pilot. Kennedy and Willy (co-pilot) flew a BQ-8 "robot" aircraft (converted B-24 Liberator) for the U.S. Navy's first Aphrodite mission. Two Lockheed Ventura mother planes and a Boeing B-17 navigation plane took off from RAF Fersfield at 1800 on the 12th August 1944. Then the BQ-8 aircraft, loaded with 21,170 lb (9,600 kg) of Torpex, took off. It was to be used against the U-boat pens at Heligoland in the North Sea.

Following them in a USAAF F-8 Mosquito to film the mission were pilot Lt. Robert A. Tunnel and combat camera man Lt. David J. McCarthy, who filmed the event from the perspex nose of the aircraft. As planned, Kennedy and Willy remained aboard as the BQ-8 completed its first remote-controlled turn at 2,000 ft near the North Sea coast. Kennedy and Willy removed the safety pin, arming the explosive package, and Kennedy radioed the agreed code Spade Flush, his last known words. Two minutes later (and well before the planned crew bailout, near RAF Manston), the Torpex explosive detonated prematurely and destroyed the Liberator, killing Kennedy and Willy instantly. Wreckage landed near the village of Blythburgh in Suffolk, England, causing widespread damage and small fires, but there were no injuries on the ground. According to one report, a total of 59 buildings were damaged in a nearby coastal town.

The names of both men are listed on the Tablets of the Missing here at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 22nd February 1944, Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress ‘Mi Amigo’ crashed in Sheffield with the loss of all 10 crew men on board.

The B-17 had been on a raid on the German airfield at Ålborg in occupied Denmark. After being attacked by enemy fighters, it was was unable to release the bombs due to cloud cover obscuring the target.

Pilot First Lt Krieghauser’s aircraft was badly damaged by the attacking fighters. The bombs were released harmlessly over the North Sea as the B-17 limped back towards its base in Northamptonshire.

It is probable the navigation and communication equipment was out of service, and that some of the crew were dead or wounded from the attack. For whatever reasons, ‘Mi Amigo’ ended up 80 miles off course and circling low over the city of Sheffield.

In Endcliffe Park, kids playing football watched as an engine finally cut, a wing dipped and the aircraft spiralled down into a wooded knoll next to the playing field. It is possible First Lieutenant Krieghauser was considering a crash landing on the playing field. This might also account for why some of the crew at least didn’t bail out.

Crew;
First Lieutenant John Glennon Krieghauser, pilot.
Second Lieutenant Lyle J Curtis, co-pilot
Second Lieutenant John W Humphrey, navigator
Second Lieutenant Melchor Hernandez, bombardier
Staff Sergeant Robert E Mayfield, radio operator
Staff Sergeant Harry W Estabrooks, engineer / top turret gunner
Sergeant Charles H Tuttle, ball-turret gunner
Sergeant Maurice O Robbins, tail gunner
Sergeant Vito R Ambrosio, right waist gunner
Muster Sergeant George U Williams, left waist gunner

The crew came to the public's attention in 2019 on the 75th anniversary of the accident when Dan Walker bumped into Tony Foulds who has maintained the memorial in the park. His wish for a flypast over the memorial was achieved live across the nation on BBC News.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress 42-38053 "Cap'n Crow" of the 100th Bomb Group, RAF Thorpe Abbotts , was forming up over the airfield on the 7th May 1944 in preparation for a raid to Berlin.

The plane had flares stored in the top turret and for some reason they exploded and the pilot ordered the crew to bail out The pilot and co-pilot Jack W Raper and Ralph W Wright were possibly overcome by fumes and passed out. The rest of the crew bailed out.
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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge American Cemetery - Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Thursday 22nd August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 07/02/2020**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

I've had time to research a few more from the sites I visited in Lincolnshire, with some much appreciated help from Jimbo 27. Most of these are from sites across the A15 corridor between Lincoln and Scunthorpe. It really made me appreciate just home many airfields there are / were across Lincolnshire.

Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery has 23 war graves, 20 of which are airmen. Most of the men who lie here were based at either the nearby airfield of the same name, or its satellite at RAF Hibaldstow. Both airfields hosted fighter units, initially front-line squadrons and then later, 53 Operational Training Unit.

Although only 20 airmen lie here the mix of nationalities is fascinating. There are men from the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian Air Forces, buried among their comrades from the Royal Air Force. There are also several US airmen who flew with either 71, 121 or 133 Squadrons. All three of the US ‘Eagle’ Squadrons were based at RAF Kirton-in-Lindsay.

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CWGC Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery - Kirton-in-Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Canadian sergeant, Henry Hicks, is one of several men buried at Kirton who were Hawker Hurricane pilots. His aircraft, Z3239, of 253 Squadron span into the ground on the 11th December 1941.
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CWGC Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery - Kirton-in-Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 3rd April 1942, Samuel Whedon of 133 Squadron collided with another Supermarine Spitfire during a practice formation flight.
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CWGC Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery - Kirton-in-Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wilbert Christine, a native of San Francisco, California was on the strength of 253 Squadron when his Hawker Hurricane IIC crashed 5 miles south of Louth during dummy attack on troops on the 19th April 1942.
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CWGC Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery - Kirton-in-Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Bomb Aimer Norman Devereux-Mack was on board a Vickers Wellington which flew into the ground during a night cross-country exercise on the 27th January 1943. The other three members of the crew from 21 OTU based at RAF Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucester were buried in their home towns.
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CWGC Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery - Kirton-in-Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Lloyd Mccarthy of 253 Squadron was flying a Hawker Hurricane IIC when his aircraft span into the ground during interception practice on the 17th August 1942. Although most of the casualties here are from operational units it is noticeable how many died in non-operational incidents.
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CWGC Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery - Kirton-in-Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Andrew Costello, an Australian from Queensland was serving with an Australian Squadron, 452 in July of 1941. His Supermarine Spitfire IIa was shot down by the pilot of a Junkers Ju 88 near North Somercotes when attempting to land at night on the 5th July 1941.
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CWGC Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery - Kirton-in-Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Loran Laughlin, a US pilot from Texas died on the 21st June 1941 when his 121 Squadron Hawker Hurricane dived into the ground near Ingham, Lincolnshire, during a training flight.
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CWGC Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery - Kirton-in-Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery - Kirton-in-Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

AC2 William Slevin, from Forest Gate in Essex died in a road traffic accident on the 21st April 1941.
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CWGC Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery - Kirton-in-Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Laurie Rasmussen was the gunner in a Boulton Paul Defiant of 264 Squadron. On the 4th Septmber 1940, the New Zealander and his English pilot, FO Derek O’Malley both died when their aircraft crashed at Northorpe shortly after take-off on a night patrol.
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CWGC Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery - Kirton-in-Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

RAF Hemswell is a former Royal Air Force station located 8 miles east of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Located close to the village of Hemswell the disestablished airfield is now in full use as a civilian industrial and retail trading estate, forming part of the newly created parish of Hemswell Cliff along with the station's married quarters and RAF built primary school that are now in non-military ownership.

The airfield was used by RAF Bomber Command for 20 years between 1937 and 1957 and saw most of its operational life during the Second World War. Later used again by RAF Bomber Command as a nuclear ballistic missile base during the Cold War it closed to military use in 1967. On the 19th March 1940, RAF Hemswell-based Handley Page Hampdens of No. 61 Squadron RAF were the first Bomber Command aircraft to drop bombs on German soil during the Second World War. The target was the Hörnum seaplane base on the northern Germany coast.

The airfield was used as a substitute for RAF Scampton in all the ground-based filming of the 1954 war film The Dambusters.

In the nearby village of Harpswell is the small CWGC from those who served here and from local airfields.

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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 10th May 1938, Bristol Blenheim I K7080 of No.144 Sqn suffered an engine failure on take off from RAF Hemswell and crashed 1 mile to the west of the airfield killing both crew members, who are buried here side by side.
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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 20th April 1939, 144 Squadron Handley Page Hampden L4136 took off from RAF Hemswell with the pilot detailed to fly a solo practice flight. Approaching from the direction of the mouth of the Humber, the pilot was attempting to force land the aircraft in fields at Sunk Island but stalled, the aircraft spun and then dived into a dyke near South Farm. The pilot, Charles Edward Jones, was sadly killed.

While a witness believed the aircraft's engines to have been working normally it was thought that one had failed.
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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Hugh Salisbury James lost his life on the 2nd June 1939 when his Handley Page Hampden I L4128 crashed on approach to RAF Hemswell at Caenby Corner. His two crew members were also killed.
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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot R.H. Bullard-Davies and his two crew members were killed on the 20th March 1940 when their Handley Page HampdenL4137 of No.144 Sqn crashed near Scotter, Lincolnshire after control was lost of their aircraft and it dived into the ground whilst on a night training sortie.
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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The 4 man crew of Handley Page Hampden I P4345 took off from RAF Hemswell on the evening of the 12th June 1940 for a night time communication flight.

At 02.35hrs, their aircraft collided with a barrage balloon on the outskirts of Ipswich and crashed onto the Marriages Flour Mill in Felixstowe, Suffolk. One employee at the mill was killed as well as the 4 man crew, who were buried back here together near their home base.
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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 17th April 1940, Handley PageHampden L4163 of No.144 Squadron got airborne from RAF Hemswell on a mine-laying sortie but was unable to make any height. Soon after the aircraft collided with a cottage on the airfield perimeter and crashed, killing the entire crew. Sgt J.Windsor KIA, Sgt R.F.Carter KIA, AC1 D.Burnside KIA, Sgt W.Cuthbert KIA.
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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Handley Page Hampden X3006 of No. 61 Squadron started it's take off run at 00.27hrs on the 14th November 1940 a RAF Helmswell for a raid to Hamburg, but left the runway and crashed into a Nissen hut in one of the dispersals. The 4 man crew, including Pilot A Moncrieff, were killed.
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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 1st July 1945, Avro Lancaster I NX583 got airborne at 12.05hrs from RAF Hemswell en-route to Flensburg to test captured German radar systems. One engine failed en-route for Germany so the crew decided to return back to Hemswell. The aircraft overran the runway on return and crashed into a Hangar. The 2 man crew as well as 1 person on the ground were killed.
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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 1st February 1941, Handley Page Hampden AD725 of No. 61 Squadron overshot the runway at RAF Hemswell after returning from a training sortie in snowstorm and crashed onto a dispersal at 20.00hrs. Sgt N.M. Lloyd was injured but Sgt R. Guest died in the accident.
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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of No. 144 Squadron took off from RAF Helmswell for a raid on Germany on the 10th March 1941
Their aircraft crashed almost immediately after take-off killing the 4 man crew.

Sgt T.D.Leitch, Sgt T.W.Little, Sgt D.Laing & Sgt F.Asbrey
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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Oberver Thomas Emlyn Davies was killed whilst flying in Douglas Boston III, W8334 MQ-R of No 226 Sqn when it crashed near Hemswell, Lincolnshire after stalling during a demonstration flight on the 12th April 1942.
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CWGC Harpswell (St. Chad) Churchyard - Harpswell, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

In Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard, Lincolnshire, there are two burials from the First World War and 31 war graves of the Second World War, all of whom served with the air forces of the Commonwealth. All the airmen are buried in the war graves plot set aside for casualties from RAF Waddington during the Second World War. There are also a number of post war casualties buried here.

The only significant attack on RAF Waddington in the Second World War was made during major Luftwaffe attacks on Hull, Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby on the 9th May 1941. A direct hit by an aerial mine destroyed the church here and seven houses and damaged several others, killing a civilian. Two hours later, a string of five bombs fell across RAF Waddington, seriously damaged the NAAFI club and an air-raid shelter on on the station received a direct hit, killing 7 NAAFI girls and 3 airmen. One of the casualties was the manageress of the club, Mrs Constance Raven.

The Airmen’s Club at RAF Waddington, which also houses the Heritage Centre, was quickly rebuilt and is still called the “Raven’s Club” in her memory
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

23 year old 2Lt Craig Royston Marks was killed on the 3rd May 1917 on his first solo flight when his Maurice Farman Shorthorn A7094 nose dived on approach to Waddington.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Vickers Wellington IC R1661 departed RAF Steeple Morden, Cambridgeshire, on a night cross country training flight to RAF Waddington on the 25th April 1942.

Their aircraft overshot the runway on landing and crashed into Waddington sewage works.

3 of the 5 man crew were killed, including Wireless Operator CA Parke.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Roy Davidson was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and served with No. 420 (Snowy Owl) Squadron RCAF.

On the 18th June 1942, he was the wireless operator on board Handley Page Hampden I AE401 that had departed RAF Waddington for a raid to Emden (but bombed Osnabruck as opportunistic target).

On the return journey to Waddington, his aircraft was hit by a ship's flak gun while at 4000ft, badly injuring Davidson and causing considerable damage to the undercarriage and flaps. All the crew were injured in the crash-landing back at Waddington and sadly Roy Davidson died the following day in stationssick quarters, after having his leg amputated.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Departing RAF Waddington at 00.30hrs on the 20th April 1942, the crew of Handley Page Hampden I AD869 were taking part in a night cross-country sortie when the aircraft crashed shortly after leaving Waddington, 3 miles from Horncastle. The aircraft burst into flames upon impact, killing all on board, including JC Pritchard and HH Davies buried together here.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the night of the 14th April 1942, Handley Page Hampden I AT219 took off from RAF Waddington for Dortmund. At 21.45 hrs the aircraft crashed at North Hykeham on the outskirts of Lincoln. It is believed that the Hampden suffered a double engine failure and the pilot was trying to return back the airfield.

P/O W.J.Murray RCAF, P/O WF McCarthy RCAF, Sgt KA Johnson & Sgt K.A.Birch were all killed in the crash.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 7th September 1941, the crew of Handley Page Hampden I X2921 boarded their aircraft at RAF Waddington in preparation for a mine laying operation to Kiel Bay.

Soon after taking off their aircraft failed to climb and crashed at Branston Hall Farm where the mine exploded, killing all 4 crew members, including Pilot A A Watt and his Gunner E S Cox.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Frank Burdett Prest was a member of the groundcrew at RAF Waddington. On the 31st August 1941, he was on board Handley Page Hampden I AD939 on a training flight when it collided with Supermarine Spitfire P8586 of 412 Squadron, RAF Digby. Both aircraft came down with the Spitfire pilot and Hampden crew all killed.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Handley Page Hampden I AD966 took off from RAF Waddington on the 1st August 1941 for an air test. For unknown reasons, the aircraft crashed at South Park, Lincoln at 17:10hrs with the loss of all on board.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Shortly after takeoff from RAF Waddington on the 15th July 1949 and in the initial climb, Avro Lincoln B2 RF471 went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in a field at Monson Farm, Skellingthorpe. located 4 miles northwest of the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and all seven crew members of 61 Squadron were killed.

The Crew of the Avro Lincoln were:-

Pilot Officer Robert George Ratcliffe
Flight Lieutenant Raymond Henry Knight
Signaller James Whitecross Adamson
Gunner II Clarence Stanley Brett
Gunner I Frederick George Searle
Engineer I Gerald McCarthy
Navigator II Morris Guy Waterfall

A farm worker who was leading a herd of cows in for milking from a nearby field saw the Avro Lincoln circle the field three times and then fly off and suddenly it appeared out of a cloud nose down on fire and crashed into the next field exploding behind the hedge.

The inquest on the crash was held at RAF Waddington a few days later the cause of the crash was unknown, the Lincoln Coroner recorded the verdict on the crew as death by misadventure. Flight Lieutenant Raymond Henry Knight, Signaller James Whitecross Adamson and Navigator II Morris Guy Waterfall were laid to rest in St. Michaels church yard Waddington the rest of the crew were taken and buried in their hometowns.

Cause: The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. However, the assumption that the pilot in command suffered a loss of situational awareness or suffered an optical illusion was not ruled out.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

During "Operation Bulldog", Avro Lincoln RF407 of 61 Squadron, and Lincoln RF374 of 57 Squadron collided over Staythorpe, Nottinghamshire. killing 14 in total (both crews of seven on each aircraft). Both aircraft had just completed a mock attack on Staythorpe Power Station, and the accident took place approximately half-a-mile north of the target

The cause of the accident was not determined but could have been due to minor errors in timing, a convergence of tracks on approach to the target or inadequate lookout by the gunners.

However, the family one of those killed said it was caused by ground control who brought one in to land and sent another up at the same time (during heavy fog). The wings of the two Lincolns clipped, and both aircraft dived into the ground.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Air Observer William Robert Bain Relyea was on board Handley Page Hampden I AD983 of No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron on a mission to lay mines off the Frisians on the 22nd July 1941.

On returning back to RAF Waddington, his aircraft crashed at 04:00hrs into the staff residence for Lindum Hall School for Girls, Greestone Steps, Lincoln. Miss Edith Catherine Fowle, a 49 years old French teacher, was also killed in the crash, her body being found by fire fighters trapped in a window casement. She had been overcome by smoke while trying to make her escape.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Observer Phillip Charles Livesey Wicks was killed on the 3rd April 1941 when the wings of his Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V P4947 iced up while making a circuit to land at RAF Waddington after a raid on Brest and the aircraft crashed.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 13th March 1941, the crew of No. 207 Squadron, Avro Manchester I L7313 boarded their aircraft at RAF Waddington in preparation for a raid on Hamburg.

As the Manchester accelerated down the runway it was a attacked by a Ju 88 Intruder (Fw Hans Hahn 3./NJG2, operating from Gilze Rijen in Holland). Somehow, the pilot F/O Matthews got the bomber into the air but moments later crashed and exploded at Whisby, Lincolnshire. Sgt Cox was thrown clear and survived, despite losing one of his legs. This was the first Manchester loss, and in his report Fw Hahn timed his combat at 22:00, claiming it to be a 'Hudson'.

Three of the crew are buried together here.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 30th October 1940, the three man crew of Bristol Blenheim IV T2246 of No. 101 Squadron took off from RAF West Raynham, Norfolk at
17:10 hrs on an operational patrol to a target in North Western Germany. It seems that they had bombed their target but during their return trip in poor visibility they crashed at around 23:00 hrs in a wood near Coleb, Lincolnshire. All three crew members were killed.

Pilot Officer Jack Milton Cave of Whakatane, Auckland, New Zealand, logged 273 flying hours and completed 15 operational sorties.

His brother, Fl/Lt. Verner Grenville Cave NZ/415059 RNZAF was also killed later in the war, on the 31st March 1945 flying Consolidated Liberator IV PK225 with 37 Squadron on a bombing operation on the railway yards at Graz in Austria. Shot down by a Ju88 nightfighter over Yugoslavia - 4 crew members baled out and evaded capture, the pilot with 4 other crew were killed and buried at Belgrade War Cemetery.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Officer Kenneth Andre Cockerell was stationed at RAF Waddington with No. 50 Squadron.

On the 19th June 1940, he was killed in a road traffic accident. Two cars collided head-on in black-out conditions on the A15 near the Temple Bruer junction. All three occupants were killed; P/O Alan Blanchard Lawton and WAAF Barbara Sarah Watkins Williams being the other fatalities. P/O Cockerell last flew Handley Page Hampden L4097 on a successful raid to Hamburg on the 17/ 18th June.
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Handley Page Hampden I L4046 of 44 Squadron crashed on the 18th July 1939 when the crew became lost in cloud, ran out of fuel and came down near Corby Glen, 9 miles South East of Grantham, Lincolnshire. All four of the crew were killed:

Flying Officer David Ivan Jobson (New Zealander, aged 26)

Sgt Pilot John Archibald Hawes (aged 26)

Acting Sgt Ernest Walter Jones (aged 21)

AC1 Ronald James Andrews (aged 20)
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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Waddington (St. Micheal) Churchyard - Waddington, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 24/02/2020**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

Although not a CWGC, i paid my visit to the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) while in the county.

It is an interpretation centre and memorial relating the historical impact of and on Bomber Command during the Second World War. Located on Canwick Hill, overlooking the city of Lincoln, the centre opened to the public at the end of January 2018. The official ceremonial opening of the centre was held on the 12th April 2018, as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of the RAF. The aim of the IBCC is to tell the personal stories of service men and women of RAF Bomber Command, ground crews and civilians impacted by the bombing campaigns on both sides of the conflict during the Second World War. The centre provides a comprehensive record of the role of Bomber Command's squadrons and digitally displays historical documents and photographs relating to the activity of Bomber Command.

Within the grounds is the Spire Memorial, which was erected on the 10th May 2015. It is based on the dimensions of the wingspan of a Lancaster bomber, being 102 ft high and 16 ft wide at the base. The spire was officially unveiled in October 2015 to an audience of 3,600 guests, including 312 RAF veterans.

The spire is encircled by walls carrying the names of all 57,871 men and women who gave their lives whilst serving in or supporting Bomber Command. This is the only place in the world where all these losses are memorialised.

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 4th August 1944, Ian Willoughby Bazalgette was a Canadian-British pilot piloting Avro Lancaster III, ND811 in a pathfinder role to Trossy St. Maximin, France to mark a V-1 flying bomb storage cave. His Lancaster was severely damaged by flak prior to arrival at the target and quickly set on fire.

Despite the condition of his aircraft, Bazalgette continued to the target and accurately dropped his markers. After completing their task Bazalgette ordered his crew to bail out, however, two members of the crew were wounded and unable to jump. Rather than saving himself and leaving the two men to die, Bazalgette attempted to land the burning plane to save his two crew members. Bazalgette landed the plane, but it exploded almost immediately upon alighting, killing all three airmen.

For his actions, on 14 August 1945 he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

His grave is at Senantes Churchyard, 13 miles northwest of Beauvais, France. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon.
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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Cyril Barton was born in Elveden, Suffolk on the 5th June 1921. He volunteered for the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the 16th April 1941, when he was 19 years of age.

On the night of the 30thMarch 1944, while flying in an attack on the city of Nuremberg, Germany, during the Battle of Berlin air offensive, his Handley Page Halifax LK797 was badly shot-up in attacks by two Luftwaffe night-fighters, a Junkers Ju 88 and a Messerschmitt 210 whilst 70 miles from the target.

This attack resulted in two of its fuel tanks being punctured, both its radio and rear turret gun port being disabled, the starboard inner engine being critically damaged and the internal intercom lines being cut. Despite the attacks he succeeded throwing off the enemy aircraft. However, a misunderstanding in on-board communications in the aircraft at the height of the crisis resulted in three of the 7-man crew bailing out, leaving Barton with no navigator, bombardier or wireless operator.

Rather than turn back for England, he decided to press on with the mission, against the odds of further attacks in a semi-wrecked aircraft that was leaking fuel and handicapped by lack of a full crew. Arriving over the target, he released the bomb payload himself and then, as Barton turned the aircraft for home, its ailing starboard engine blew-up. Subsequently he nursed the damaged airframe over a four-and-a-half hour flight with no navigational assistance back across the hostile defences of Germany and occupied Europe, and across the North Sea.

As LK797 crossed the English coast at dawn 90 miles to the north of its base its fuel ran out due to the battle damage leakage and, with only one engine still running on vapours, Barton crash-landed the bomber at the village of Ryhope,

He was pulled from the wrecked aircraft alive but died of injuries sustained in the landing before he reached the hospital. The three remaining on-board members of the crew survived the forced landing. One local man, a miner, also died when he was struck by a piece of the aeroplane's wreckage during the impact of the crash.

After Barton's death his mother received a posthumous letter addressed to her from him containing the following passage: "I hope that you will never receive this letter, but I quite expect that you will. I know what "Ops." over Germany means, and I have no illusions about it. By my own calculations the average lifespan of an aircrew is twenty ops(operations). and we have 30 to do in our first tour. I'm Writing this for two reasons. One to tell you how I would like my money to be spent that I have left behind me; two to tell you how I feel about meeting my Maker. 1. I intended as you know, taking a university course with my savings. Well, I would like it to be spent over the education of my brothers and sisters. 2. All I can say about this is that I am quite prepared to die It holds no terror for me. At times I've wondered whether I've been right in believing what I do, and just recently I've doubted the veracity of the Bible, but in the little time I've had to sort out intellectual problems I've been left with a bias in favour of the Bible. Apart from this, though, I have the inner conviction as I write, of a force outside myself, and my brain tells me that I have not trusted in vain. All I am anxious about is that you and the rest of the family will also come to know Him. Ken, I know already does. I commend my Saviour to you. I am writing to Doreen separately. I expect you will have guessed by now that we are quite in love with each other. Well, that's covered everything now I guess, so love to Dad and all, Your loving son Cyril." The attack on Nuremberg was Barton's nineteenth sortie.

In a last letter to his younger brother shortly before his death, Barton wrote: "I am quite prepared to die, death hold no terrors for me. I have done nothing to merit glory."

For his actions in the attack on Nuremberg Barton was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously in June 1944
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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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International Bomber Command Centre - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 24/02/2020**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard, a couple of miles west of Waddington, has two war grave plots from aircrew lost from various Lincolnshire airfields but predominately former RAF Swinderby, located right next to the A46, half way between Lincoln and Newark-on-Trent. There are 30 Second World War burials here, all of airmen. There are also 26 post war service graves.

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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 8th May 1942, the crew of Vickers Wellington IC Z1161 departed RAF Moreton in Marsh for a nightmare cross-country exercise.

Following a fire in the port engine during the flight, the aircraft crashed into a tree near Beckingham, Lincolnshire. Three of the crew of six abandoned the aircraft before the crash and survived, albeit with two of them being injured.

Navigator Hermann Heinrich Julius Rohrlach & Air Bomber Willoughby Lloyd Williams were two of the casualties from the crash.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Taking off at 22:40 hours on the 25th July 1941, the 4 man crew of Handley Page Hampden I left RAF Swinderby for a raid to Hamburg. Their aircraft crashed 400 yards north-north-west of the village of Stapleford, near Swinderby, Lincolnshire, due to engine failure shortly after take off, killing all of the crew.

Sgt Charles George Montgomery
Sgt Robert Hooker Rampton
Sgt Wilfred Ellsley
654720 Sgt Albert Edward Medden

All four crew members are buried here in Thurlby St. Germain Churchyard.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wireless Operator Francis Reginald Laws & Observer Hector Francis Thompson were on board Handley Page Hampden I AE394 when it departed RAF Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire, on the 21st February 1942 to raid Koblenz.

Thier aircraft ran out of fuel on the return and the pilot ordered the crew to bale out after flying on one engine for some time. The rear escape hatch jammed, trapping Laws & Thompson. A third crew member, Ballard, bailed out but his parachute failed to deploy and he fell to his death amongst trees on Hanby Road, York. The pilot, having seen that one crew member had left the aircraft assumed that the entire crew had done so, and as a result made good his own exit, landing unharmed.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot V Duxbury DFC & J W Moore were lost along with seven other crew members of Handley Page Halifax V DG275 of 1660 HCU on the 1st October 1943. The aircraft had taken off from RAF Swinderby for general flying practice. It broke up having failed to recover from a violent spin, the bulk of the debris falling near Bardney airfield, Lincolnshire.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 21st June 1943, Handley Page Halifax II HR 785 took off from RAF Lissett at 23:11hrs on an operation to Krefeld, Germany. 705 aircraft took part - 262 lancasters, 209 Halifaxes, 117 Stirlings, 105 Wellingtons and 12 Mosquitoes.

The night of the operation was clear with moderate to good visibility with a three quarters moon. The night fighters attacked all the way both inbound and on the homeward trip. It is ‘possible’ that this Halifax was returning with combat damage as it crashed onto Brant Road, Lincoln on return to base, killing all on board.

Krefeld was hit very badly with the loss of 1,056 people on the ground killed, 4,550 injured, 72,000 people lost their homes. 47% of the city was burnt out following the dropping of 2,306 bombs.

Not without huge losses to the RAF though with 44 aircraft lost, mostly due to German night fighters. 214 crew members were killed and a further 65 being made PoW.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Avro Lancaster I R5689 took off from RAF Swinderby on the 18th September 1942 to lay mines off the Frisian Islands.

On returning to Lincolnshire, the aircraft crash landed at RAF Thurlby, Lincolnshire, after both port engines failed. Observer George William Marshall Harrison and 4 other crew members were killed.

The crash site is close to the location of the planned Bomber County Gateway full scale Lancaster replica and R5689 has been chosen as the basis of this landmark to serve as a permanent reminder of Lincolnshire’s link to war-time aviation.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Peter James Widdell & William Stanley Stevens were on board Avro Manchester I L7519 that took off from RAF Skellingthorpe for a training mission on the 13th May 1942.

Their aircraft was reported to have nosed into a dive at around 800 feet, failed to recover and crashed at North Farm, near Thurlby, Lincolnshire. All 5 crew members were killed.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Short Stirling III EF498 took off from RAF Swinderby on the 22nd April 1944 for a night training exercise. At 03:58hrs, they were in the circuit back to land at Swinderby when they collided with Stirling EH926. In total, 15 crew members lost their lives including Flight Engineer Thomas Mitchell, who was on board EF498.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 5th November 1944, Short Stirling III EH977 departed RAF Swinderby on a training exercise when at 02.40hrs, an engine failed and the aircraft crashed into Bassingham Fen, Lincolnshire.

All 7 crew members were killed.

The post crash report noted that the faulty engined had not been feathered and that the wrong engine had been shut down and feathered instead.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Vickers WellingtonX NC474, 210 AFS (Advanced Flying School) crashed at Witham on the Hill, Lincolnshire on the 5th June 1947. All three crew killed.

The crew was performing a training sortie out of RAF Cottesmore to RAF Swinderby when the aircraft went out of control, nosed down, lost several pieces and partially disintegrated in the air before crashing in a field.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 9th December 1943, Air Bomber Kenneth Robert Schiller was on board Avro Lancaster III ED811 during a navigation exercise from RAF Swinderby when the crew diverted to RAF Spilsby because of bad weather. He lost his life when the aircraft crashed in poor visibility at Blankney Fen, near Spilsby.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Handley Page Halifax V DG275 broke up after failing to recover from a violent spin and crashed near Bardney airfield Lincolnshire on the 1st October 1943.

The 9 man crew had been on a training mission from RAF Swinderby and all on board were killed.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Vickers Varsity T1 WF332 were taking part in night time training flights from RAF Swinderby on the 13th February 1953. In the first session both pilots had carried out four circuits. After the next takeoff the aircraft turned downwind and probably because of other traffic in the circuit, the pilot attempted to take avoiding action. He lost control and the aircraft crashed. The 2 crew members on board were killed and buried together here.
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Vickers Wellington X NB118 were performing a local training sortie at RAF Swinderby on the 26th February 1951 when, on final approach, the pilot in command decided to abandon the landing and attempted a go around. The aircraft climbed to a height of 250 feet when it stalled and crashed in a huge explosion near the runway end. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire. All three crew members were killed.

It is believed that the climb speed was too low, causing the aircraft to stall while completing a go around procedure
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 15th October 1950, the crews of Vickers Wellington X RP388 & LP846 were returning to RAF Swinderby after participating in the night exercice 'Emperor'. On final approach, both aircraft were too close from each other when a red flare was deployed from the control box to declare that the runway was closed (radio silence due to live exercise). The first aircraft gained height and hit the second Wellington. Both aircraft stalled and crashed onto the runway, bursting into flames. Two crew members on LP846 were seriously injured while all eight other occupants were killed (three on LP846 and all five on RP388).
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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Thurlby (St. Germain) Churchyard - Thurlby, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

User avatar
SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 24/02/2020**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

RAF Digby is located near Scopwick, 12 mils south east of Lincoln.. The station is currently home to the tri-service Joint Service Signals Organisation, part of Joint Forces Intelligence Group of Joint Forces Command. Other units include the RAF Aerial Erector School, No. 54 Signals Unit and No. 591 Signals Unit.

Formerly an RAF training and fighter airfield it is the site of one of the country's older Royal Air Force stations, predated only by RAF Northolt which is the oldest and predates the Royal Air Force by three years having opened in 1915. Flying at Digby ceased in 1953.

Part of the Scopwick Church Burial Ground was set aside for wartime casualties from the airfield, with 50 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War and five German war graves.

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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Squadron Leader Charles Robert Davidson, MC, was killed on the 21st May 1936 when he crashed at RAF Digby in Mignet HM.14 "Flying Flea" G-AEBS that he had built himself in the air station workshops the airfield. The "Flying Flea" was designed as a cheap and simple self-built aircraft for flying enthusiasts, but had a fatal flaw in its design that could cause the aircraft to go into an uncontrollable dive if the pilot pushed the nose down to prevent a stall. Davidson was the third British pilot to die in a "Flying Flea" crash within a month, and the aircraft was eventually banned in the UK.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The 3 man crew of No. 23 Sqn Bristol Blenheim I L1452, 23 Squadron took off from RAF Digby on the 29th November 1939 for an anti-aircraft searchlight co-operation sortie.

The pilot, Flt Lt Percy Don Walker radioed back to base that the flashing beacon at Navenby was not working but showing a steady light. That was the last that was heard from the plane. A little later it crashed at Owlet Plantation near Gainsborough, its crew blinded by the beacon. One crew member managed to bale out before the aircraft crashed.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 19 June 1940, Bristol Blenheim I L6636 crashed into North Sea off the coast of Suffolk after intercepting enemy aircraft. Officially listed as "Failed to return to Martlesham Heath. Shot down while attacking an He.111 off the coast. Pilot Officer J S. Barnwell (Pilot) and Sgt. K. Long killed. Pilot Officer Barnwell's parachute was found in the sea next day".

On the outbreak of World War Two No. 29 Squadron used Bristol Blenheim Mk.1F's for patrols over shipping and early trials with airborne radar. When German night bombers began operating in strength in June 1940, No 29 became fully involved in night fighting.

On the night of the 18-19th June, No. 29 Squadron intercepted enemy aircraft for the first time when two bombers were shot down over the East Anglian coast by the Martlesham Heath detachment, one by F/O J Barnwell, the other by P/O J.D. Humphreys. While continuing his patrol, however, Barnwell then went missing over the North Sea, apparently shot down by another enemy aircraft. Neither Blenheim involved in these attacks carried AI (Airborne Interception) sets.

The body of P/O J.D. Humphreys was never recovered.

His brothers, Pilot Officer David Usher Barnwell DFC & Flight Lieutenant Richard Antony Barnwell were also killed during the Second World War, all 3 losing their lives within the first 2 years of the war.

John Barnwell was the son of Frank Barnwell, was the Chief Designer at the Bristol Aeroplane Co, and thus the actual designer of the Bristol Blenheim. With his elder brother Harold, he built the first successful powered aircraft made in Scotland

He was killed in 1938 when piloting a small aircraft he had designed and had constructed privately, the Barnwell B.S.W. He was thrown into the air when he struck a bump when taking off from Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport and then stalled, crashing onto a nearby road.

3 brothers and a father lost in just a few years....
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot C R Henderson lost his life on the 25th March 1941 when he attempted to force land his Hawker Hurricane I P3767 1 mile north of RAF Digby.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Hugh Morgan-Gray joined the RAF on a short service commission in December 1937. He was posted to 7 FTS Peterborough on the 5th March 1938 and joined 29 Squadron at Debden. In early July 1940 Morgan-Gray was with 46 Squadron at Digby.

On the 3rd September 1940 his aircraft was set alight by return fire from a Do17 over Rochford and he baled out, wounded. His Hurricane, P3063, crashed at Apton Hall Farm, Canewdon.

Still with 46 squadron, he was killed on the 22nd February 1941 when his Hawker Hurricane I R4190 flew into the ground near Asterby in Lincolnshire.

Also lost was Sgt. CE Hudson in Hurricane V7074 who was flying alongside him. It can only be assumed that there was nil visibility.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 18th February 1941, Hawker Hurricane V7026 piloted by F/Lt Joseph Benedict Reynolds RCAF took off at 11.39hrs with one other aircraft from the same No.1 Squadron RCAF from RAF Driffield so that they could fly to investigate a possible incoming enemy aircraft picked up by radar.

They were ordered to climb to around 20,000 feet and patrol the area around Bridlington. Thick low cloud was present at a height above 500 feet on this morning with possible icing conditions present for aircraft in the cloud. After taking off both the aircraft climbed to around 2,700 feet and headed towards Bridlington with both aircraft in radio contact with one another. At around 11.45hrs his aircraft dived into the ground on Bridlington Golf Course and he was killed. The reason why the crash occurred was never really understood because the aircraft was totally destroyed but the commanding officer of the squadron believed that the aircraft's engine may have cut out prior to the aircraft crashing, based on witness accounts. It was thought that the engine may simply have just failed, or another possible theory that the airspeed indicator had failed making the pilot believe that the airspeed was loosing speed, so in trying to gain speed again he would have pushed the control column forward so that the aircraft would gain speed but it then went into a dive. In this situation it was known that fuel would then be taken away from the carburetor fitted to the engines at this time, with no fuel in the carburetor the engine would cut out. Flying in thick cloud the pilot focused on the airspeed indicator rather than the other instruments that gave the aircraft's position in the sky and when the aircraft broke through the thick cloud there was no height left to try and recover from the dive. The airspeed indicator may have failed because the pitot head heater was not switched on and had iced up.

Another suggestion that the pilot may have passed out through lack of oxygen has been suggested.

At the time of this accident No.1 Squadron RCAF were in the process of moving from Driffield to Castletown and although this was not due to take place until the 18th February 1941, they had begun their move eight days earlier. The pilot's body was not buried locally to Driffield airfield as might be expected but was probably retained by 1 RCAF Squadron as they knew they were to be posted out to Digby by the end of February 1941 and he was buried here in Lincolnshire
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

George Gordon Hyde was born on the 11th February 1914 in Montreal, Canada. He joined the RCAF on the 1st September 1938 and was with No.1 (RCAF) Squadron when it arrived in the UK on the 20th June 1940.

He was shot down during the Battle of Britain in combat with Me109's on the 31st August and baled out with burns. His Hurricane, P2971, crashed near Staplehurst.

He was killed in a flying accident on the 17th May 1941 as a Flight Lieutenant with 402 (RCAF) Squadron at RAF Digby. His Hurricane came down while performing aerobatics over Metheringham as part of the village's War Weapons Week celebration.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

John William Dickson was the Observer and part of the 3 man crew of Bristol Beaufighter IIF T3142 of
409 (Nighthawk) Sqn RCAF when on the 27th March 1942 his aircraft entered a flat spin and crashed at Lexeton, Lincolnshire during a demonstration flight.

All 3 crew members were killed.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

George Harrod was one of 10 children from Scopwick and was a member of Blankney Home Guard, 2nd Kesteven Bn.

On the 24th June 1942, he was on a horse and cart when an RAF lorry spooked his horse. He was thrown off his horse and died.

He was never recognized as a war casualty by the CWGC. As he died during the course of his civilian employment not whilst on duty in The Home Guard, he is not deemed a war casualty and the MOD would not commemorate him.

He did not receive a service funeral and his grave is a private grave, the headstone was erected by his family.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Jean Henri Marie Offenberg was born at Laeken, Belgium on the 3rd July 1916. When the Germans invaded Belgium he was a pilot in 2 Group, 4th Squadron, 2nd Regiment d'Aeronautique. He destroyed a Do17 on 10th May 1940.

After the country was overrun he flew with other pilots and their Fiat CR42s to France. At the request of the French the Belgians were put on aerodrome defence at Chartres.

Offenberg and his fellow Belgian, AR Jottard, took two Caudron Simouns on the 20th June and flew to Corsica, then to Phillipeville, Algeria, then to Oujda, where the Belgians had set up a training school. Finding morale there to be low the two took a train to Casablanca. Here they met some other Belgians, who were trainee pilots, and some Poles.

The Poles had permission to sail that evening in a cargo boat for Gibraltar. The Belgians and some French airmen slipped aboard with them and they transferred to a British ship at Gibraltar and disembarked at Liverpool on the 16th July 1940.

Offenberg went to 6 OTU Sutton Bridge on the 30th July and on the 17th August he joined 145 Squadron at RAF Westhampnett. He claimed a Do17 destroyed on the 8th September 1940, probably destroyed a Me109 on the 27th October, destroyed a Me109 on the 1st November, shared a Me109 on the 6th, damaged a Ju88 on the 9th and shared a He111 on the 11th December.

On the 5th May 1941, Offenberg claimed a Me109 destroyed plus a He60 with another damaged. He was appointed 'B' Flight Commander on the 21st May 1941 and awarded the DFC in June, the first Belgian to receive this award.

On the 17th June 1941, Offenberg was posted to 609 Squadron at Biggin Hill. He destroyed a Me109 on the 22nd June and another on the 7th July. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre (Belgian) on the 21st and became 'B' Flight Commander on the 27th.

Whilst training a new pilot on the 22nd January 1942, Offenberg was subjected to a mock attack by a pilot of 92 Squadron. This resulted in a collision and the tail unit of Offenberg's aircraft was cut off. He was only at 1000 feet, went into a vertical dive and was killed in the crash.

He was buried with full military honours on 26th January 1941 here at Scopwick Church Burial Ground. As well as his five confirmed victories Offenberg was credited with five enemy aircraft probably destroyed and seven others damaged.

After the war his remains were reinterred at the Pelouse d’Honneur Cemetry in Brussels at Evere.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

John Gillespie Magee was born in Shanghai, China, to an American father and a British mother. He began his education at the American School in Nanking in 1929. In 1931 he moved with his mother to England and spent the following four years at St Clare, a preparatory school for boys, in Walmer, in the county of Kent.

He visited the United States in 1939 and earned a scholarship to Yale University in July 1940, but did not enroll, choosing instead to volunteer for war service with the Royal Canadian Air Force,

Magee joined the R.C.A.F. in October 1940 and received flight training in Ontario at No.9 Elementary Flying Training School, located at RCAF Station St. Catharines (St. Catharines), and at No. 2 Service Flying Training School at RCAF Station Uplands (Ottawa). He passed his Wings Test in June 1941.

Shortly after his promotion to the rank of Pilot Officer, after having been awarded his wings, Magee was sent to the British Isles, where on arrival he was posted to No. 53 Operational Training Unit at RAF Llandow, in Wales. His first flight in a Spitfire occurred on the 7th August 1941. On the 18th August, while still stationed at Llandow, he flew a Spitfire to 33,000 feet, by far his highest flight to that date. This is the flight usually accepted as having inspired his famous poem.

After completing his training with No. 53 Operational Training Unit he was assigned to No. 412 (Fighter) Squadron, R.C.A.F.,[1] a Canadian unit formed at RAF Digby on the 30th June 1941. No. 412 Squadron was part of the "Digby Wing", commanded by the legendary "Cowboy" Blatchford. One of the other pilots serving at Digby that September was Flight Lieutenant "Hart" Massey, the son of Vincent Massey, the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.

Magee arrived at Digby on the 23rd September 1941, where he continued to train on the Spitfire. When Magee joined No.412 Squadron it was flying the Supermarine Spitfire Mk II; the squadron switched to the more powerful Mk Vb shortly after his arrival. He first took a Mk Vb aloft on the 8th October 1941. On the 20th October 1941, he took part in a convoy patrol, and on that same day the Squadron moved from the Digby Aerodrome to the nearby RAF Wellingore, a satellite station of Digby.

On the 8th November 1941, he took part in a sortie to Occupied France escorting bombers attacking railway workshops at Lille. Twelve aeroplanes from No.412 Squadron flew from Wellingore to RAF West Malling to refuel, and then headed out over the English Channel near RAF Manston. They crossed the hostile coast east of Dunkirk, encountering flak, after which they were attacked by Luftwaffe fighter aircraft.Of Magee's four-ship section that entered the engagement, only he survived; all the others (including No.412's acting-Squadron Leader) were shot down and killed in action by the leading Luftwaffe ace Joachim Müncheberg. In the course of the engagement Magee fired 160 rounds of .303 ammunition, but made no claim for the infliction of damage to the enemy on returning to base in England.

In late November- early December 1941 Magee took part in three more convoy patrols.

On the 11th December 1941, in his tenth week of active service, Magee was killed while flying Spitfire AD291 (the same aircraft he had flown in the engagement with the Luftwaffe over France four weeks earlier).

He had taken off in the late morning with other members of No.412 Squadron from RAF Wellingore to practice air fighting tactics, during the performance of which Magee's aircraft was involved in a mid-air collision with an Airspeed Oxford T1052) flying out of RAF Cranwell, piloted by 19 year old Leading Aircraftman/Pilot Under-Training Ernest Aubrey Griffin.

The two aircraft collided just below the cloud base at about 1,400 feet AGL, at 11:30, over the hamlet of Roxholme, which lies between RAF Cranwell and RAF Digby. Magee was descending at high speed through a break in the clouds in concert with three other Spitfires when his struck the Airspeed Oxford.

At the inquiry afterwards a local farmer who witnessed the accident testified that he saw Magee after the collision struggling to push back the canopy of his Spitfire as it descended apparently out of control.

Magee succeeded in reversing the canopy and bailing out of the out of control aeroplane, but was at too low an altitude for his parachute to have time to open, and he fell to earth and was killed instantly on impact with the ground in farmland near the village of Ruskington. He was 19 years of age.

Leading Aircraftman/Pilot Under-Training Griffin, the other pilot involved in the mid-air collision, was also killed in the incident.

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
– Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Sergeant HV Payne lost his life on the 9th January 1942 when his Supermarine Spitfire BL298 crashed into a wood near RAF Digby on returning from a sortie. The wreckage was discovered 2 days later.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the night of the 10th October 1941 a Boulton Paul Defiant of the 409 (RCAF) Sqn had taken off from RAF Coleby Hrange in Lincolnshire on an operational patrol. The aircraft flown by Flt/Lt Watson went out of control whilst flying in cloud over the north Norfolk coast. His gunner Flt/Sgt McKinnon baled out safely, landing at Flitcham. Unfortunately Flt/Lt Watson perished.

Frederick Stanley Watson was born in Winnipeg, Canada on the 10th February 1915 and joined the RCAF on the 6th November 1939. He arrived in England in early September 1940 at the height of the Battle of Britain.

He was in a batch of Canadian pilots sent to 6 OTU Sutton Bridge to convert to Hurricanes on the 21st September. He was then posted to 3 Squadron at Turnhouse on the 5th October. He then moved to 1 (RCAF) Sqadron, operating Defiants, as one of their commanders.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 2nd September 1941, Bristol Beaufighter R2469 stalled during a low altitude left hand turn whilst on approach to land at RAF Coleby Grange.

This caused the aircraft to nose dive into the ground on the Bloxholme road. Pilot W/Cmdr N.B. Petersen and his navigator died on impact.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Supermarine Spitfire II P8586 piloted by WR Hughes collided with Handley Page Hampden AD939 on the 31st August 1941 near RAF Waddington. He and the crew of the Hampden all lost their lives.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Bruce Alexander Hanbury was born in Vancouver, Canada on the 11th April 1911 and he joined the RCAF on the 16th August 1939.

He arrived in England in July/August 1940 and joined 112 (RCAF) Squadron, an army co-operation unit with Lysanders.

He volunteered for Fighter Command, arrived at 6 OTU, Sutton Bridge on the 16th September 1940 and after converting to Hurricanes he was posted to No 1 Squadron at Wittering on the 3rd October 1940, moving to No 1 (RCAF) Squadron at Prestwick on the 21st.

He was killed in a flying accident on the 27th March 1942 as a Squadron Leader with 409 (RCAF) Squadron. He was flying in Bristol Beaufighter IIF T3142 which entered a flat spin and crashed at Lexeton, Lincolnshire during a demonstration flight.
Also killed were crew members F/Sgt. John William Dickson RCAF and P/O Philip Marcus Sweet RCAF.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 10th December 1942, Hawker Hurricane W9224 piloted by HGW Smith crashed near Scunthorpe whilst engaged in a low level co-operation mission. After attempting a force landing with his engine on fire, he lost his life in the crash.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Supermarine Spitfire I R6897 piloted by G F Brown collided with Spitfire Vb AB847 during a practice dogfight on the 28th January 1943. He went down with his aircraft and crashed near Orby, Lincolnshire.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On New Year's Eve 1942, Bristol Beaufighers X8192 & EL184 left RAF Coleby Grange, Lincolnshire for a training flight. Over the town of Gainsborough, they collided and both aircraft came down. One crashed onto Noel Street resulting in 3 destroyed houses and a toddler losing her life. All 4 airmen of both aircraft were killed, including Air Observer W B Morsley.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Airspeed Oxford V3744 of 410 Squadron was on a navigational flight when it dived into the ground at Wroxhall, Warwickshire on the 30thJuly 1943, killing the pilot Elbert Alonzo Murray and his Observer.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Norman A Watts was killed on the 1st July 1943 when his Supermarine Spitfire BL655 spun-in near RAF Digby when after he became disorientated in cloud.

Crash sited was excavated 1989 and the remains of his Spitfire are now on display at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito NF II of 410 (Cougar) Sqn RCAF crashed 1 mile from it's home base at RAF Coleby Grange, Lincolnshire, killing Benjamin Merwin Haight and Oswald Sidwell Milburn. It was presumed that the pilot dazzled by a searchlight.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot William Balduff was killed on the 29th July 1943 whilst flying in de Havilland Tiger Moth II, EM805 of No 416 Sqn, which crashed in the circuit at RAF Polebrook, Northants.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

In the clear moonlight of the 15th / 16th January 1943, the Luftwaffe attacked Lincoln with about twelve bombers. Four Mosquitoes were launched from RAF Wittering but the only confirmed kill fell to Canadian Sgt Earl ‘Tex’ Knight and his RO Sgt Bill Roberts, who were on their first operational sortie.

Airborne at 20.25, twenty minutes later they came under Patrington GCI controller Sqn Ldr Donaldson who put them onto a bandit coming in over the Lincolnshire coast at 10,000 feet. Roberts lost his first contact on the AI Mk V set but the controller helped him to pick out another one at maximum range, and he brought Knight into visual range of a Dornier Do217 at 1,000 yards. Closing to 150 yards Sgt Knight fired a two-second cannon burst into the port engine just as the Dornier dived hard down to 4,000 feet, jinking right and left and even making complete circles in the process. As machine-gun fire from the Dornier’s dorsal turret zipped over the Mosquito’s wing tip, Knight’s second burst hit the starboard engine and a third burst from a hundred yards range riddled the bomber’s fuselage. Shedding debris and with both engines on fire it dived into the ground, exploding near Boothby Graffoe, ten miles north of Sleaford. The Dornier Do217E was wk nr 4308, U5+KR of II/KG2 and its crew, Lt Wolff, Ogefr Krusewitz and Uffzs Knorr and Semlitschka, were all killed and buried here together.
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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scopwick Church Burial Ground - Scopwick, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

User avatar
SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 24/02/2020**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery is the largest CWGC site in the city, with 139 First World War burials, almost 90 of them forming a war graves plot. During the Second World War, this plot was extended and most of the 120 burials from this period were made here. The rest of the graves from both wars are scattered throughout the cemetery.

During the First World War, the 4th Northern General Hospital was at the Grammar School, near the cemetery. The hospital had 1,400 beds and during the course of the war, admissions numbered 45,000.

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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Joseph Hiserodt Sharpe was the son of Lewis K. and Margaret H. "Maggie" Sharpe and was born in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi in October 1896.

During World War I, Joseph became a Cadet with the American Army, Aviation Section, Signal Corps. He was killed while flying in DH-6 A9761 on the 7th January 1918 as part of No 48 Training Squdron, Royal Flying Corp at Waddington. Apparently the accident occurred on the last day of training.

Joseph was interred here at the Newport Cemetery, Lincoln. His grave is cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as a Foreign National War Grave. It is one of the very few American war graves in the UK outside of Brookwood and Cambridge American Cemeteries.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On 13th February, 1917, No. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps suffered its first casualty, when Second Class Air Mechanic G. E. Hansel died in Lincoln Hospital from cerebro-spinal meningitis.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Avro Lancaster III ED486 boarded their aircraft at RAF Skellingthorpe on the 27th January 1943 for a raid to Dusseldorf. After taking off, their aircraft was observed to climb normally and enter cloud. Shortly afterwards, the Lancaster was seen in a steep dive, from which it failed to recover and crashed near RAF Waddington. The bomb-load exploded on impact killing all of the crew.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Stanley Percival Charles Saunders and Wireless Operator Robert Greenway were on board Handley Page Hampden I AE129 when they returned early to RAF Waddington after a mine laying operation off the Friesian Islands on the 14th June 1941.

For unknown reasons, their aircraft crashed on final approach at 00:50hrs at Southrey, near Horncastle, Lincolnshire. The other 2 crew members were sadly also killed in the crash.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

In keeping with its revised role as a low-level bomber, Avro Vulcan XH477 was on exercise over the Scottish Highlands on the 12th June 1963. The aircraft had departed earlier from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire and was carrying out a night low-level exercise.

However, during the exercise, the Vulcan failed to clear a hill in Glen Tanar, and crashed near to Hill of St Colm, Aberdeenshire.

All of the crew were killed on impact.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Avro Lancaster I, W4932 of No 50 Squadron, RAF Skellingthorpe, crashed near RAF Dunholme Lodge, Lincolnshire on a night bombing practice on the 19th June 1943.

All of the crew died in the crash and 4 are buried side by side here.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 8th July 1943, John Lewis DFC was the pilot in Miles Master W8453 that was taking part in a dive bombing practice at Hillmartin Bombing Range when his aircraft was involved with a mid air collision with Airspeed Oxford II V3830 from the USAAF. The pilot of the Oxford Captain Fred Niffenegger Jnr. 0-427618 and his passenger, Army medical Captain James J. Quinn 0-473301 were killed as well as the Lewis and his passenger.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 23rd June 1942, the crew of Handley Page Hampden I AD786 took off from RAF Waddington for a mine laying operation.

Soon after, the starboard engine failed and the aircraft could not maintain height, went into a yaw and crashed at Boothby Pagnall, near Grantham. 3 of the 4 man crew lost their lives in the accident.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 16th August 1942, Avro Lancaster I R5489 crashed at Branston, near RAF Waddington, when returning from a training flight. Two crew members, including Air Gunner David Pullinger of Gisborne, Auckland, New Zealand, were killed.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 13th February 1945, hundreds of Bomber Command aircraft took off from RAF airfields on what is now an infamous raid to Dresden.

Two Avro Lancasters, NF932 & PA185, were on route to the German city when they collided over Wragby, Lincolnshire.

All of the crew of both aircraft were killed and only 5 of the combined 14 crew members could be identified.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 7th June 1944, the crew of Short Stirling III LK594 took off from RAF Wigsley, Lincolnshire at 03:00hrs for a night time training exercise. 3 hours later, their aircraft came down near RAF Saltby after a descent through thick cloud.

All 7 crew members were killed.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Even by the standards of that bloodiest of wars, Amy Beechey's suffering was extreme: five of her eight sons would not live to see the end of World War One. A century on, stone crosses have been erected across the world in a symbolic effort to reunite the five brothers.

Even for the time, the Beechey family was a big one. Amy, the wife of a country vicar, had eight sons and six daughters.

All eight boys would serve in World War One.

Amy lost five of those eight sons - and one of the survivors she never saw again. It was a loss she was not prepared to take quietly. When she was presented to King George V and Queen Mary in April 1918, the Queen thanked her for her sacrifice. She replied: "It was no sacrifice, Ma'am - I did not given them willingly."

By the time war broke out, the family had moved from the Lincolnshire hamlet of Friesthorpe to a terraced house at 14 Avondale Street in Lincoln, where the city's cathedral was a constant presence. Each time the postman called, Amy hoped for good news. But more than anything she feared the message that began: "It is my painful duty to inform you…"

The many letters and telegrams sent to Avondale Street that survive trace the devastating impact of the war on the family.
In recognition of their sacrifice, crosses for the fallen five sons have been crafted from Lincoln Cathedral limestone and placed at locations around the world, from Europe to east Africa and Australia.

The nickname for a Lincolnshire native is a yellowbelly - but L/Cpl Harold Beechey was no coward. Amy's seventh son emigrated to Australia with his brother Chris to make a life as a farmer but after his harvest failed because of a drought, he ended up training as an Anzac in Egypt and fighting in Gallipoli in 1915. Harold overcame illness and mortal danger, battling Turkish forces in hand-to-hand combat at the same time as fighting dysentery. He was sent back to Egypt in 1916 and then to France that summer. His family must have thought he was a survivor when he wrote home from the Western Front in August: "Very lucky - nice round shrapnel through arm and chest but did not penetrate ribs. Arm not out of action hardly at all." After just a few months' recovery, Harold was back in France for a freezing winter, which he described in a letter as "pretty gruelling". His luck finally ran out in April 1917 when he was hit by a so-called "whizz-bang" shell in the trenches, aged 26. The cross for Harold Beechey has been placed in his adopted home of Western Australia, in Perth's Anglican Cathedral.

Charles Beechey, known to everyone in the family as Char, was Amy's second son. He had a successful career as a schoolteacher, but by 1916 was in the trenches in France and by Christmas that year he was in hospital with kidney disease. He heard of the deaths of two of his brothers while recovering and wrote a letter of bitter disappointment to his mother back in Lincoln. "I do not think many families have done more for the country than we have," he wrote. A few weeks later Charles, a private, was on board a ship heading for eastern Africa - in what is now Tanzania - where a fierce battle raged with Germany. Charles, a keen naturalist, was excited by the wildlife in his exotic new home. He wrote in September 1917: "The butterflies here are most beautiful and varied - I hope I shall be able to bring a few of the best home to show you." But only a month later Amy received a letter containing the devastating news that he had been hit in the chest and there was "little hope". Charles Beechey died aged 39 a few days later. He is buried in a war cemetery in Dar es Salaam, where his cross has been placed.

Frank Beechey, who loved motorcycles and was a keen sportsman, playing cricket for Lincolnshire. A teacher, he joined up in 1914 and was sent to the front in May 1916 as a signaller. Frank's work was repairing the telephone cables that provided communication between trenches. In November 1916 a telegram arrived in Lincoln from the War Office. Frank, a 2nd lieutenant, had crawled out into no-man's land on a foggy night when his officers lost contact with their troops. He was hit in both legs. His commanding officer wrote to Amy: "Your son volunteered to take out a telephone wire and telephone.
"He had not gone far in this gallant attempt before he was hit. He must have been suffering a great deal but he would not show it." Frank Beechey died of his wounds the next day, aged 30, and was buried in a French war cemetery, where his cross has been placed.

A gifted mathematician, Barnard Beechey was another brother who worked as a teacher before the war. Sgt Beechey, who spent the war in France, was one of the keenest letter-writers of the eight brothers. Barnard's descriptions of life in the trenches are also some of the most detailed. He wrote to his mother in September 1915: "I have just come out of the trenches, we were in three days and it rained most of the time. "The experience is interesting and, in normal times when nothing much is going on, quite harmless." Such a matter-of-fact letter may have been some comfort to his family at home - but it was not long before news of Barnard's death arrived. He was killed in action on the 25th September at the Battle of Loos. For the first time, Amy would read the devastating words: "It is my painful duty to inform you" - a message with which she would become very familiar. There is no marked grave for Barnard Beechey, Amy's eldest son. His cross has been laid on the grave of a Lincolnshire soldier "known only unto God" in a French war cemetery.

Leonard Beechey was described as studious by his family. He was the boy who "never got into scrapes". He was working as one of some 2,000 clerks in an office at London's Euston station when the war began. When he signed up in 1916 he was 35 - some of his comrades in the London Irish Rifles were almost half his age. By Christmas that year Leonard was in France and for the next year was in and out of the trenches. During 1917 his letters were full of questions about his brothers. After learning of the death of Charles, he wrote to his mother: "It is very difficult for me to realise he is gone - each one seems a harder blow than the previous one. I wish I could see you." Leonard never managed that. Shortly after, he was gassed close to the French city of Rouen. The effects of what happened can be seen in a scrawled letter written as he lay dying. He succumbed to effects of poison gas on the 29th December 1917, aged 36.
Rifleman Leonard Beechey's cross has been placed in the nearby cemetery where he was buried.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Avro Lancaster I W4265 collided with another 9 Squadron Lancaster R5916 in the circuit at RAF Waddington after both aircraft had raided Genoa on the 8th November 1942.

4 of the 7 man crew lost in W4265 are buried here together.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Avro Manchester I L7314 of 207 Squadron, RAF Waddington, 22nd June 1941, it was shot down in a friendly fire incident by a 25 Squadron Bristol Beaufighter and crashed at 01:55hrs at Wollaston, near Northampton.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Michael Vincent Browne was the Wireless Operator on board Avro Manchester I L7314 of 207 Squadron, RAF Waddington, when on the 22nd June 1941, it was shot down in a friendly fire incident by a 25 Squadron Bristol Beaufighter and crashed at 01:55hrs at Wollaston, near Northampton.

6 of his crew members were also lost in the accident.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Avro Lancaster I W4259 collided with Lancaster W4182 soon after taking off from RAF Waddington for a mission to Duisburg on the 20th December 1942, with the loss of both aircraft and crew.

W4259 fell out of control into Canwick Road, Bracebridge Heath, a few miles from the airfield,

3 of her crew are buried here together.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

There are also a number of post war graves outside the war grave plot.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 19th March 1953, the 2 man crew of English Electric Canberra B2 WH663 of 139 (Jamaica) Squadron were conducting BABS (Blind Approach Beam System) approaches at RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire.

They then entered a visual missed approach. The Canberra climbed away normally, and turned crosswind at approximately 800 feet. The aircraft was then seen to spiral down, making unusual noises, and to strike the ground near Corringham, Lincolnshire

The most probable cause of the accident was a flat spin brought about by a double engine failure, whilst the aircraft was in the circuit. Both of the crew were killed, including Master Pilot Wilfred Clement Tomlinson DFC.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Charles Sharpe was a farmers boy from Pickworth near Bourne, Lincolnshire, who ran away from home to join the army at the age of sixteen. He had served with the 2nd battalion in the Bermuda Garrison before the war, arriving on the Western Front with that battalion on the 6th November 1914.

He was an Acting Corporal in the 2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment and 26 years old when the following deed took place during the Battle of Aubers Ridge in the First World War for which he was awarded the VC.

On the 9th May 1915 at Rouges Bancs, France, Corporal Sharpe was in charge of a blocking party sent forward to take a portion of the German trench. He was the first to reach the enemy's position and using bombs with great effect he himself cleared them out of a trench 50 yards (46 m) long. By this time all his party had fallen and he was then joined by four other men with whom he attacked the enemy with bombs and captured a further trench 250 yards long.

He survived the war and died in 1963
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

While walking back to the car, i stumbled across the grave of Jack Kelway, a member of the Royal Observer Corps (ROC), was driving along the Welton to Hackthorn Road in Lincoln in the early hours of the morning on the 4th March 1945 when a German Junkers JU88 swooped in.

The aircraft was attempting to attack targets on the ground but came in too low and hit telegraph wires before colliding with Mr Kelway's car, killing him instantly.

Unbeknown to me, his story was to continue at the next location after here, Scampton.
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CWGC Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery - Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

User avatar
SuffolkBlue
Posts: 1316
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:31 pm
Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Re: CWGC Cemeteries **updated 24/02/2020**

Post by SuffolkBlue »

RAF Scampton is arguably the most famous RAF base, home to the Dambusters and currently, the Red Arrows. It stands on the site of a First World War Royal Flying Corps landing field, which had been called Brattleby. The station was closed and returned to agriculture following the First World War, and reactivated in the 1930s. It has provided an airfield for fighters in the First World War, bombers during the Second World War and V-force Avro Vulcans during the Cold War.

In the village and just a short walk from The Dambusters Inn is the Scampton (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard. In the early months of the war a plot lying to the right of the entrance was set aside for the burial of servicemen. In 1941 it became necessary to reserve further ground for this purpose and a plot in an extension of the churchyard north of the church was used. The war graves in this burial ground are therefore in two sections and these are linked by a footpath. Scampton (St John the Baptist) Churchyard contains 64 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War and eight German war graves.

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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Junkers Ju 88G-6 620397 took off Lubeck / Blankensee on the 3rd March 1945 on an intruder mission over British bomber airfields.

They attacked a motor car driven by an Observer Corps official J. P. Kelway near the village of Welton, apparantly under the impression that its headlamps indicated activity on Scampton airfield. While diving to attack, the aircraft struck telegraph wires and crashed on top of the car. Both car and aircraft were completely wrecked, parts of the burning aircraft being scattered over a wide area. All the members of the crew were killed together with Mr Kelway. The sole documentary identification of the unit to which this aircraft belonged was a camp cinema ticket which was stamped III./NJG5.


Pilot: Feldwebel. Heinrich Conze. 439 Lw.Baukomp.13/VI.

Radar/Op: Unteroffizier. Rudolf Scherer. 5154./Fl.A.Rgt.26.

Radio/Op: Obergefreiter. Werner Nollau. 1586.Ln.Ers.R.303.

Gunner : Unteroffizier. Alfred Altenkirch. 153./U.S.4d.Lw.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the night of the 11th / 12th May 1941, the four man crew of Junkers Ju88G-6 weer prowling the skies over Lincolnshire waiting for Bomber Command bombers to return to their home bases.

However, their aircraft was shot down by anti aircraft fire at RAF Scampton while on a low level attack. The aircraft crashed at Brattleby Lane and the whole crew were killed. They were buried here on the 14th May 1941.

One of the graves contains two bodies. Local legend had it that E. H. Reidel was Wimmeder's girlfriend who had been illegally taken along on the raid. In the 1960's a Scampton farmer found a German identity tag while he was ploughing his field near the site of crash. It was thought at first that the tag must have belonged to one of the aircrew who had perished, but a different name was on it. German archives helped to solve the puzzle. The tag belonged to Gefreiter Reidel of the ground crew at the aircraft's base. E. H. Reidel, who had been reported as "absent without leave" was possibly on board the Ju88 unofficially. It therefore appears that the story about a "stowaway" aboard the aircraft is partially true, and the rank "Gefreiter" indicates that E. H. Reidel was not a woman.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Avro Lincoln RA692 crashed on approach to RAF Scampton, on the 14th July 1951.

The crash occurred at Grange Farm near Scampton as the aircraft was coming in to land at about 12.00hrs It is believed to have bounced on landing and swerved towards hangers, then burst into flames on impact, all 7 crew killed

4 crew are buried herr at Scampton, and the 3 other crew members are buried elsewhere.

Eyewitness report:

"This crash occurred at the end of a 6 hour high level cross country exercise by all the units aircraft. Those with functioning landing aids had landed but 3 had still to make a visual landing in the poor weather conditions . RA692 was the first to try but flew into the ground on the downwind leg and burst into flames. the other 2 were diverted to RAF Dishforth."
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Avro Lancaster I W4262 crashed into high ground at Burgh-on-Bain, Lincolnshire, on return from a mine laying operation at Gironde Estuary to RAF Scampton in poor visibility on the 11th November 1942.

Navigator James Harold Barry and 5 other crew members lost their lives.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Vickers Wellington Mk III X3448 departed RAF Snaith, Yorkshire, for a mission to Cologne on the 30th May 1942.

The exact circumstances of what happened over the next few hours are not exactly known and it is not certain that the aircraft reached the intended target. The aircraft crashed at 02:15hrs at Mottrams farm, Faldingworth, 4 miles south west of Market Rasen, Lincolnshire. The Wellington burst into flames on impact. All crew members were killed. The normal estimated flight time for a bomber on a mission to Cologne would be about five or six hours - This aircraft crashed three hours after take off.

All 6 crew members were killed.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Avro Lancaster I R5569 ran into bad weather and crashed at Brattleby, Lincolnshire while trying to land at nearby RAF Scampton on the 13th November 1942. They had taken off from RAF Woodhall Spa on a training mission.

Air Gunner Albert Edward Trott and his 6 crew members were killed in the crash.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flight Engineer John Burns Mallett was on board Avro Lancaster I R5894 when it crashed coming back to RAF Scampton from Berlin at 02:00hrs on the 2nd March 1943 after flying into high tension cables near Riseholme, 3 miles from Scampton.

All on board were killed.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 3rd July 1958, the nose wheel on Avro Vulcan XH497 fell off on take off from RAF Scampton.

The rear crew subsequently bailed out during which the Navigator Dennis Blackwell was killed when his parachute failed to open over Waddington. The aircraft eventually landed back at RAF Scampton and only suffered minor damage.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 4th November 1942, Pilot Charles Henry Butt took off from RAF Scampton in Airspeed Oxford I AT663 for a weather test using a beam as an aid. His aircraft hit trees and crashed at Grange Farm, Brattleby, near the airfield. He and 1 other crew member was killed.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the night of the 31st January 1945, Avro Lancaster lll ED428 took off from RAF Fiskerton, Lincolnshire for an operation to Hamburg at 02:26hrs

It suffered severe damage by flak on the return journey home and crashed at 07:15 hrs after colliding with trees at Reepham Crossing 2 miles from Lincoln.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flight Lieutenant C M Edwards of 617 Squadron was on board Avro Vulcan B2 XL390 during a rehearsal for an air display at NAS Glenview, Illinois, on the 11th August 1978.

The aircraft was seen to pitch up sharply and stall at around 400ft, and crashed outside the airfield perimeter. All 4 crew members were killed.

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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 25th May 1986, de Havilland Vampire T11 XH304 & Gloster Meteor T7, know as The Vintage Pair, were performing at the Mildenhall Air Fete. During a formation barrel roll, the Vampire was unable to match the role rate of the Meteor. It passed under the Meteor and its starboard fin and rudder struck the Meteor’s port nacelle. The Vampire pitched up violently and the two crew (Sgt. A. Ball and Sqn. Ldr. D. Marchant) ejected. Sadly the Meteor crashed claiming the lives of F/Lt Potter and Cpl Turner.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

In the late afternoon of the 18th March 1991, three l man crew English Electric Canberra T4 WJ877 were authorised to conduct a training sortie from RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire, including a Simulated Engine Failure After Take Off (SEFATO, a routine practice emergency that Canberra crews were required to complete under supervision periodically). The captain was a highly experienced QFI, accompanied by an equally experienced staff navigator and 2nd pilot. There were no known operating hazards at Wyton and, although it was raining, the weather was fair with a southerly wind at 20kts.

The handling pilot transmitted a request for take off and SEFATO and acknowledged the clearance for both. No further radio transmissions were made to or from the aircraft. Because the Canberra was not fitted with a flight data recorder and the crew were all killed, the precise sequence of events that followed could not be established beyond doubt. But it is assumed that the take-off went as briefed with the 2nd pilot in control, and the QFI simulated an engine failure shortly after lift off by closing one of the throttles.

A number of eye witnessed reported that the take-off appeared to be normal until a point abeam the Air Traffic Control tower when, shortly after the undercarriage had retracted, the aircraft banked to the left, returned to approximately wings level, and then banked slightly to the right. After pausing in this attitude, the right bank began to increase and the aircraft began to turn increasingly sharply and descend until it crashed into the ground.

The Board of Inquiry was able to eliminate a number of possible causes, but were unable to determine with certainty the precise cause of the accident. They concluded that the most likely cause was loss of control following the SEFATO,

The crew that died were later named as RAF Wyton Station Commander Group Captain Reg McKendrick, Staff Navigator Flt Lt David Adam and QFI Flt Lt Stephen 'Eddie' Wilkinson.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Flight Lieutenant Peter Stacey took off from RAF Scampton on the 30th May 1988 in Gloster Meteor T7 WF791 to display at the Warwickshire Air Pageant, Coventry Airport.

During the display, when the airbrakes were extended, control was lost and the aircraft dived into ground.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Handley Page Hampden I L4066 got airborne from RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire on the evening of the 7th July 1940. On that evening, a force of 18 Hampdens, 12 Whitleys and 12 Wellingtons were tasked with raids over Germany. The targets were Frankfurt, Soest, Duisberg and Dortmund-Ems.

L4066 was assigned to bomb Frankfurt, with Dortmund (and/or the Dortmund-Ems Canal) as the secondary target.

On the outbound leg the aircraft crashed between Great Holland and Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, some three miles North East of Clacton-on-Sea.

No survivors among the four crew; Sgt Leonard Howard survived the initial crash, but died of his wounds later the same day. The bodies of all four crew were recovered with Pilot Officer Oliver Harry Launder buried here.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Sergeant Harry Bower, serving at RAF Scampton, died on the 2nd August 1940 when he fell while scaling the wall of the City Hotel, Lincoln.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

At 23.59hrs on the night of Wednesday 18th September, Pilot Officer Clifford Lochhead was killed in a motor cycle accident and is buried here in St. John's Churchyard.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 29th September 1940, 49 Squadron Handley Page Hampden I P2134 flew into the ground at 23.30hrs near Haigh, south-west of Wakefield, while the crew were returning to RAF Scampton following a cross country training flight.

While the aircraft was being flown at around 1,000 feet a turn was made, it lost height and struck rising ground and it's crew of three were killed, including Wireless Operator Bertram Victor Hastie.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Handley Page Hampden I L4034 were practising landings at RAF Waddington using ZZ system on the 23rd November 1939.

Their altitude was misjudged in poor visibility and they crashed into a hangar. There was eight fatalities, including all four crew members plus four personnel working in the hangar when by one of the engines crashed through the roof. Three of those ground crew members, Corporal Keating, Corporal Taylor and LAC Kelly, are buried here.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Pilot Dudley Delacourtte Snooke and his crew boarded Handley Page Hampden I P4392 at RAF Scampton on the 27th September 1940 for a raid to Lorient.

After hitting the target and returning to England, the aircraft was abandoned over Lincolnshire after the crew were unable to locate Scampton and were running low on fuel. The Hampden crashed on to the St.Matthias Church in Lincoln and exploded.

Three of the crew baled out successfully but it is reported that Snooke became entangled around the tail of the Hampden as it fell.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Private Tom Horberry of the Kings Only Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment was on guard duty at RAF Scampton on the 28th September 1940 when a damaged aircraft returning from a raid crashed into his sentry hut. His is the only soldier grave amongst the war graves here.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

During an air test from RAF Scampton on the 3rd November 1940, Handley Page Hampden BI X2978 crashed near Laneham, on the Nottinghamshire / Lincolnshire border.

Three crew members were killed including Pilot Basil Edward Redgrove and Wireless Operator John Henry Green, who are buried here side by side.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Handley Page Hampden I were on a transit flight to RAF Dunholme Lodge on the 21st May 1941 when it crashed on landing there at 17:45hrs. The three crew members were killed.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Handley Page Hampden I AE223 took off from RAF Scampton at 20:30hrs on the 24th August 1941 for a raid to Wesel.

They landed back at base at 02:25hrs but after taxiing into the dispersal there was an explosion and the Hampden burst into flames. In addition to the four man crew, four members of the ground staff died in the explosion, caused, it is believed, by a loose bomb falling from the aircraft when the bomb doors were opened for inspection of the bay.

Pilot Victor Charles Ormond Royd Maybury.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wireless Operator Ronald Norris was part of a 4 man crew on board Handley Page Hampden I L4093 that took off from RAF Scampton on the night of the 3rd / 4th November 1940 to attack Kiel.

They were hit by flak over the target and subsequently crashed off Spurn Point, Humberside, on the journey home. All 4 crew members were killed.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wireless Operator Garton Vincent Davenport-Jones boarded Handley Page Hampden I X3028 at RAF Scampton on the 6th December 1940 for a mission to attack enemy airfields in Northern France.

After taking off, his aircraft crashed 00:10hrs at Welton, 5 miles from Lincoln when the pilot lost control. One crew member survived but three were killed, including Davenport-Jones.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The crew of Vickers Welington II W5532 took off from RAF Driffield, Yorkshire, on the 17th August 1941 at 23:27hrs for a raid to Cologne. Just over an hour into the journey they were attacked by Ju88 of 3./Njg2 flown by Lt. Hans Hahn. The Wellington came down at South Leverton, near Retford, with all 6 crew members killed, including the pilot William Thomas Ross Stephenson. Pieces of the Wellington struck the Ju88, which made it home on one engine.

Lt. Hans Hahn lost his life 2 months later when his Ju88 collided with an Airspeed Oxford near Grantham.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

On the 25th August 1941, Handley Page Hampden I X3121 was returning to RAF Scampton from a raid on Dusseldorf when it collided at 02:50hrs with a 49 Squadron Hampden, AD967, both aircraft falling near Whale Jaw Farm, Hackthorn. Lincolnshire.

Pilot A J G Mills was the piloting X3121 and he, along with both crews, were killed.
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CWGC Scampton (St. John The Baptist)) Churchyard - Scampton, Lincolnshire, Thursday 15th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr