How do I investigate this

Dale2010flex

P.M. sent

Hi

As you have his service number and other details you can apply for his service history from the MOD – fortunately you don’t have to pay on-line – you can send a cheque. 🙂

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records

If you are enough of a direct relative you can get the full record.

James

Hi 91regal. I have a question It’s in relation to Charles Watchorn. He Is my grandad. My dad is Constance’s (Charles wife) son. We were trying to work out what relation your wife would be but cannot bring the gap. Can you help please?

Thanks Thorgil, you beat me to saying I’d put the entry from the 2 AGS ORB on a thread on RAF Commands.

Can confirm that F/Sgt Watchorn was killed when Anson LV228 of 2 AGS crashed at Castle Stuart, Inverness. Engine cut on take off from Dalcross and spun into ground at 1342hrs.
Full details of the accident are on the link below, bottom of page one from Alan Clark:
http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?17453-441111-Unaccounted-Airmen-11-11-1944

Alan.

Thanks,everybody, that’s certainly the guy. My wife remembers meeting him briefly when she was a very young girl, and confirms the parents names. She also remembers that he left a son who was 4 years old at the time. I must admit that I’d forgotten about the CWGC website as a first line of enquiry.
Having got the detail of who, where and when I’ll look at the Kew and Hendon websites to see about the viability of visiting to take a look at the recorded details of the accident itself.

EDIT: Having read further down the RAF Commands forum thread it states that the loss was almost certainly due to engine failure, presumably just after take off, so I think I’ll leave it at that. Again, everybody has been most helpful, and I’ve discovered a few useful websites that I did not know about.

His birth certificate reference is Edmonton JFM 1913 3a 1230, mother’s maiden name Chatfield.

Accident Record Card Form 1180 should be at The RAF Museum.

2 AGS ORB should be at Kew.

Those will provide some further details.

http://www.morayvia.org.uk/node/14 info on 2 AGS at RAF Dalcross.

Anson I LV228 of 2 AGS, Dalcross

Crew:

Sgt S Swiderski
F/Sgt Watchorn
AC3 Wapples
AC2 Weir
AC2 Webster

CWGC has:
WATCHORN, CHARLES JOHN, age 32, killed 11/11/1944, rank Flight Sergeant, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve ser no ‘1031796’, buried SOUTHGATE CEMETERY Sec. G. Grave 70. SON OF WILLIAM AND JESSAMINE AMELIA WATCHORN; HUSBAND OF CONSTANCE ELSIE JOYCE WATCHORN, OF BUSH HILL PARK, ENFIELD.

Should be good for a start.

Is this your man?

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2432828/WATCHORN,%20CHARLES%20JOHN

http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?17453-441111-Unaccounted-Airmen-11-11-1944&p=102647#post102647

Thanks for the offers of help, kind people. Information is sketchy – the persons surname is Watchorn, and the only other item of relevance is that the accident occured on or around Rememberence Day (or Armistice Day) during one of the war years 39 – 45. I have no info on squadron, base, aircraft type,etc. Apparently this guy was not scheduled to do the duty, but swapped with someone else as a favour. I’m hoping this is not a ‘family war myth’ (i.e. a tale that’s grown in the telling to assume the status of fact – like the one about my dad missing the Normandy invasion because he caught chicken pox).

As per the other replies, and at risk of repetition, if you provide the details that you have then there are folks that will see it on here who have extensive knowledge, and libraries, that can help. Others are frequent visitors to Kew (and DoRIS at the RAF Museum) and may be able to look anything relevant up there.

A visit to the National Archives at Kew should bring you some answers, but as has been said, if you provide some details, someone on here will probably tell you.

Provide more details and I am sure the knowledge on here will be able to sort it
Regards
Jon