Tracing Wartime Aircrew

Farlam and Kev – many thanks, I will start digging and let you know how I get on. And, Kev, yes they both survived.

Sky High.

Did these gentleman survive the war? Sadly it is sometimes easier to trace those that died than those who lived.

London Gazette is a good place to start in either case, particularly if they were Officers. The Flight Global Archive may also be worth a look.

Lost Bombers as stated above is useful but the primary place to search if they died is the CWGC site.

Chorley’s Bomber Command Losses are useful too as they give full details of losses and PoW information where known.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

kev35

On the excellent Lost Bombers website – you can choose Lancaster – type in the surname and check from Jan 43 to Dec 43.

See if any aircraft coded E appear – then check the Christian name

Sky High.

You could post the details here (or PM me if you prefer) and I can have a go and see if anything comes up?

Regards,

kev35

Possibly, but presumably it also shows the squadron letters on the aircraft, if you know the squadron then you get other options.

Unfortunately not, Jimbo, that would have made life much easier. The Lanc is head-on with the entire squadron personnel in front of it and behind it and on the wings! But thanks for the thought. And as Kev said it is sadly easier to find people if they did not survive the war, so I have not made much progress so far.

Is it possible via any online records to trace purely by name? I only know the christian and surnames of two distant relatives and the type of aircraft they crewed. I also have a squadron photo taken in front of a Lanc, E-Easy, in 1943 but no other information at all. Clearly there were dozens of E-Easies so I doubt that there is a lead there.

Possibly, but presumably it also shows the squadron letters on the aircraft, if you know the squadron then you get other options.

No decorations at all? POW? Picture in 1943 and surviving the war implies they either completed a tour or maybe pow. Also the possibility that they are mentioned in a book index somewhere?

In response to Kev and Jimbo this is the photograph. I hope this works as it is my first attempt at attaching a file. On the reverse of the photo is simply written “Lancaster E-Easy 1943”
[ATTACH]180707[/ATTACH]

is that gas reacting paint on both sides of the nose or some kind of nose art?

if it was an N that was probably the a/c letter.

How observant of you. There are two distinct circles, but it is difficult to see what they are but I have also noticed the letter “N” above the circles.

The two circles on the nose glass. Is that “Z” gear, does that make it later than 1943?

skyhigh: Why do you say the Lanc is coded “E” when it appears to be “N”? Is there something written on the back or elsewhere that shows “E”?
There is a Lancaster forum and I’m sure they will have this or similar Sqaudron poses and someone could recognise which one…. Was there a Guinness Book of Records for how many you could get on a Lanc without the u/c giving way? Looks as if there’s a heavier load than a Grand Slam on her!!

As far as I’m aware, the gas patch on the nose was applied exclusively to aircraft in No 1 Group, if that helps. They were only applied for a certain short period, which might help to date the picture roughly. Unfortunately I don’t know exactly what those dates were, but perhaps someone else does.

skyhigh: Why do you say the Lanc is coded “E” when it appears to be “N”? Is there something written on the back or elsewhere that shows “E”?
There is a Lancaster forum and I’m sure they will have this or similar Sqaudron poses and someone could recognise which one…. Was there a Guinness Book of Records for how many you could get on a Lanc without the u/c giving way? Looks as if there’s a heavier load than a Grand Slam on her!!

Thanks Icare9 but as I mentioned earlier the text on the back of the photo refers to the aircraft being E-Easy, but I don’t know who wrote it or how accurate it might be. But I’ll certainly try the Lancaster forum.

theres a photo in a book of a supposedly 100sqn lanc with the same markings on its port side nose (a large circle and an N) but without paddle blade props.