Airmen from 50 Squadron 1941

Fascinating Kev, well done and many thanks.

I have added your thoughts to a thread that covers this here.

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,306538.0.html

David.

Nice to see some progress, however small.

As I understand it, it seems all four men survived their tours with 50 Squadron with the first three named going on to start a second tour. Therefore it is likely that ‘Stew’ Hobson would also have gone on to a second tour.

A quick check of the CWGC website gives just two S Hobsons, but interestingly one of them is a Stuart Melbourne Hobson with a service Number of 49285. He was a Flying Officer (Air Gunner) serving with 9 Squadron at the time of his death on the 5th of April 1943.

Chorley’s Bomber Command losses offers the following:

The aircraft was a Lancaster III, ED696 coded WS-T. The aircraft took off from Waddington sometime on the 4th of April 1943 to bomb Kiel. The Lancaster was shot down by a night fighter and crashed at 23.50 at Grossenaspe, 10 km south of Neumunster where the crew were buried on the 8th of April. They were later exhumed and reinterred in Hamburg War Cemetery. The crew are as follows:

F/S J H C Walsh.
Sgt. H L Jones.
P/O R E Raven.
F/O K E Fraser.
Sgt. T W Telfer RCAF.
F/O S M Hobson.
Sgt. E S Wood.

Additional information from the Lost Bombers website shows this particular aircraft to have been delivered new to the Squadron on the 2nd of March and had flown for 47 hours either at the time of it’s loss or prior to taking off for the last time.

It seems that for administrative purposes the RAF declared the date of death for those lost on operations which spanned two dates (such as 4th/5th April) as the date on which the aircraft was expected to return.

It would appear that this Stuart Hobson was a mid upper gunner. As a Flight Sergeant in the photographs you have posted. I would suggest it is not inconceivable that he would have been commissioned and risen to the rank of Flying Officer by the time he was engaged on a second tour. No way of proving it but I strongly suspect that this is your man.

In addition, I have just found him on the London Gazette website. He appears on page 3710 of the London Gazette dated 25th August 1942. This mentions his promotion from Flight Sergeant to Pilot officer as of the 6th of June 1942. Page 1857 of the issue dated 23rd April 1943 shows his promotion to Flying Officer as of the 6th December 1942. By an amazing coincidence, this second entry appears on the same page as George Arthur Martin Gallop who has featured in another thread here.

In conclusion, I think the supporting evidence now is enough to show that there is an extremely strong possibility of ‘Stew’ Hobson being Flying Officer Stuart Melbourne Hobson.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

kev35

I have discovered that the unknown airman in the three photographs is Stew Hobson. Other than his name I know nothing else about him.

Kev thanks for your response.

I know nothing of Tytherleigh prior to his time at 50 Squadron, I know he and my father were good friends when they were with 50 Squadron.

Attached is another picture taken at the pub in Lincoln. I think your assumption that Tyetherleigh was an Officer at the time the picture was taken is a correct one.

Pictured from left to right are. The Landlady’s daughter, unknown airman, Welford, Tytherleigh, the Landlady and on the extreme right my mother A.J. Maunders. This picture taken before my parents marriage.

David.

Am I understanding this correctly? In the first photo Tytherleigh is standing at the back with the pipe?

If so, I would suggest he has no Sergeant’s stripes as he is commissioned? Died as a Flying Officer in 1943. Pilot Officer being the first commissioned rank, I believe I can just make out a thin stripe on his cuff. Also, the uniform tunic appears, at least to my untrained eye, to be of a better quality material and fit, possibly indicative of it being tailored?

So if, and it is a big if, I am right, was he commissioned at the start or completion of Gunnery School? Had he already completed a tour and this was the start of his second? An experienced gunner would be a huge draw to a new Captain at the crewing up process at OTU. Was he commissioned after washing out of pilot training? Or did he transfer from a ground trade in which he had been commissioned?

None of this, of course, tells you about the lapel badge and asks more questions than it answers.

Isn’t research fun?

Regards,

kev35

Thanks for your reply.

My reasoning behind settling on June ’41 as a date is a letter from my Father to my Mother in July ’41 mentioning a holiday together which had to be the get together in Lincoln.

Thanks for the clarification on wings. I can then presume that my father was awarded his at the completion of Bomber and Gunnery School.

Not too sure about the lapel badge, My father was also R.A.F.V.R. and does not display one.

Thanks for the suggestion for the R.A.F. Commands site. The R.A.F. Commands site does not permit attachments and I am not too adept at placing them elsewhere to be accessed. I must learn how!

Sorry you’ve not had a response. I suspect you might get a better response if you change the thread title to the question ‘Unknown Airman?’ or similar rather than the anodyne ‘Summer of ’42’. Go to your first post, click the ‘Edit’ button and re-write the title. Or ask a Mod for help.

This is not my area, but…

I have reason to believe this picture was taken in June 1941 and not as when stated. At this time these men were beginning their tour with 50 Squadron at Lindhurst.

What makes you think that? Sharing your process will help others advise. Acting like it’s a poker game and showing one card at a time, unless it’s a quiz, won’t help.

My questions for now are, when did airman receive their wings? Presumably after completion of O.T.U.?

Pilots received their wings (pair) after their solo and signoff at their training unit. AFAIK, the OTU was to train qualified airmen in the use of current equipment and aircraft, after they’d been awarded their wings. In the case of aircrew specialists, it followed a similar path, with airmen having their wing put up before getting to an OTU.

Tytherleigh does not appear to have Sergeant stripes but has something in his lapel, what does this signify?

Might be a VR badge? Or similar? Items like the Medico’s badge went there, IIRC.

Also attached is another picture taken the same day. From left to right, Unknown, Unknown, Welford. Anyone any suggestions as to who the unknowns might be?

The middle man is wearing British army battle dress, without any badges or rank visible.

If you still don’t get a response here, try RAF Commands website.

http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/index.php

HTH.

Bumping this thread up again.

I have reason to believe this picture was taken in June 1941 and not as when stated. At this time these men were beginning their tour with 50 Squadron at Lindhurst.

My questions for now are, when did airman receive their wings? Presumably after completion of O.T.U.?

Tytherleigh does not appear to have Sergeant stripes but has something in his lapel, what does this signify?

Also attached is another picture taken the same day. From left to right, Unknown, Unknown, Welford. Anyone any suggestions as to who the unknowns might be?

… so what’s the question?

Who is the mystery airman and what were the two men’s fates?

That’s it exactly. Sorry I did not make myself clear.

… so what’s the question?

Who is the mystery airman and what were the two men’s fates?

Bringing this old thread back in the hope someone can help.