17th September 1940 We Remember

Biggin on the bump

Superb work Geoff
Many thanks
Andy

It is an important part of our museum’s philosophy not to display the artefacts recovered on their own, but to also tell what they can of the pilot who flew the aircraft, on what was all too often the last flight for both pilot and aircraft. In other words, to ensure that the pilot doesn’t merely become a name on a display board. The best way to do this is to make contact with the pilot’s family, and other pilots who served with him. This is something that calls for a certain amount of detective work, and a lot of letter writing. In early 2000, I was asked to see if I could trace the families of a number of aircrew whose aircraft we had excavated, or had been donated relics from.

No one visiting our museum can fail to notice the superb Merlin engine, and other exhibits, from the Hawker Hurricane, P3933 of 607 (County of Durham) Squadron RauxAF. It was whilst flying this aircraft, that Sgt John Lansdell lost his life, on the 17th September 1940. The museum was keen to improve this major display, by replacing the poor photo of John, which was the only one the museum had been able to find, and by adding more information about John himself.

As usual, when trying to contact a family, my first move was to find out where John, or his family, came from. Through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, I was able to discover the names of John’s parents, and the fact that they were from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. It also showed that it was unlikely that John had been married, as there was no mention of a widow.

Armed with this information, I then wrote to a number of local papers that covered Great Yarmouth, and the surrounding area. I explained my reasons for wanting to contact the Lansdell family, and giving the few details that I had of John, and his parents, asked anyone with any information on the family, or their present whereabouts to contact me.

The response to such appeals varies enormously, and in this case, I only received two replies. Although one of these was from a distant relation of the Lansdell family, it offered me no useful leads. The second letter was from a member of the NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK AVIATION MUSEUM (NASAM), and although this too had no new information, it was eventually to lead to the vital break-through.

As it would be difficult for me to visit Great Yarmouth, and search the local archives myself for information on the Lansdells, I decided to see if the NASAM could do some research on my behalf. The museum proved only too keen to help, and apart from other interesting information, were able to discover that John had an elder brother. A letter was sent to his last known address, asking if the present occupier could be of any help. Sadly, this was not the case, but as requested, they passed the NASAM’s letter on to their local paper, who printed an appeal. This brought a response from a cousin to a niece of John. Having first made contact with the niece, the museum duly passed her address on to me.

John’s niece proved only too happy to help, and was able to provide me with no fewer than nine photos of John, and a certain amount of information on John’s life prior to joining the RAF. The RAF photos all came from John’s time at his Reserve course (Desford, August – September 1936), Initial Training School, and ‘D’ Flight, No 3 Flying Training School (South Cerney, June 1940). Sadly, none were from his all too brief time with 607 Squadron. The big disappointment was that the family didn’t have John’s logbook, which would have been a valuable source of information.

At my suggestion, the niece applied to the RAF Personnel Management Agency for copies of John’s surviving RAF personnel records. Although brief, these have provided vital information and dates. Details of John’s time with 607 Squadron, his only operational unit, were obtained from the squadron’s Operations Record Book, held at the Public Record Office, Kew. Jointly, these two sources have enabled John’s time in the RAF to be largely pieced together.

Meanwhile, in East Anglia, things were starting to snowball. The idea came about to hold a service at John’s grave, on the anniversary of his death. It was about this time that John’s grave, which had become slightly overgrown, was restored to pristine condition by members of a local Air Training Corps squadron. Realising that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) would be making a flypast over Norwich on the 17th September, the NASAM approached the RAF to see if the BBMF could divert their flight path to pass over the church as the service took place. This they agreed to do, en-route to the airshow at Biggin Hill, Kent.

The day itself saw local people, ex servicemen, and members of the ATC, assemble in the tiny churchyard belonging to St Margaret’s Church, Hempnall, to pay tribute to one of ‘The Few’, who was also one of their own. The Lansdell family themselves being represented by a second cousin to John. After a short graveside service, wreaths were laid, and the Last Post sounded by a lone bugler, as standards were lowered in salute. Soon the air echoed with the sound of Merlins, as the Lancaster, Spitfire, and most appropriately, a Hurricane, swept low over the church where John had been christened just twenty three years before. Not surprisingly, the occasion attracted the attention of the local media. Both the BBC and ITV regional television news programmes carried reports on the service, and flypast, as did several of the area’s newspapers.

Amongst the photos that we were able to obtain from John’s niece was a photo of ‘D’ Flight’, No 3 Flying Training School (FTS), South Cerney, Gloucs, dating from June 1940. The photo is interesting, in that of the fourteen pilots shown, no less than ten flew in the Battle of Britain. The names of the pilots, as written by John on the back of the photo are: (Back row) Gordon Hewett, Johnny Gilders, Paddy Stevenson, John Sulman, Mike Berkin, Ernest Males, and Felix Gregory. (Front row) Rich Glover, Brian Noble, Bill Rolls, Freddie Poulter, Johnny White, Self [JL], and Sticky Glew.

Of those who fought in the Battle of Britain, five went to No 607 squadron. During the fighting in France, the squadron had lost five pilots killed, three as prisoners of war, and four wounded. Apart from the five pilots from No 3 FTS, a further seven pilots joined from other squadrons, or units.

Gordon Hewett, Rich Glover, and John Lansdell all joined No 607 squadron on the same day, 19th June 1940. Rich Glover is something of a mystery. He’s recorded in the squadron ORB as joining the squadron at the same time as Hewett and Lansdell, but he doesn’t appear to have flown in the Battle of Britain, certainly not with No 607 squadron. He must have left the squadron prior to the 10th July 1940, when the Battle of Britain officially began, though no record of his departure can be seen in the squadron’s Operations Record Book (ORB), an official record of a squadron’s activities. Possibly he left between the 1st and 10th July, as the page for that month is virtually unreadable.

Patrick Stephenson (note correct spelling of surname) and John Sulman joined No 607 squadron the day before Hewett, Glover, and Lansdell. Sulman failed to return from a sweep on the 23rd November 1941, whilst serving with No 238 Sqdn in the Western Desert.

Of the remaining pilots, four were posted to No 72 squadron. John Gilders joined the squadron on the 15th June, and lost his life on the 21st February 1941, with No 41 Squadron, when his Spitfire dived into soft ground at Chilham, Kent, presumably a victim of anoxia, due to failure of the oxygen system. John’s name is familiar to anyone interested in aviation archaeology, following the recovery of his remains from the crash site in April 1994.

On the 19th June, Ernest Males and Norman ‘Sticky’ Glew followed Gilders to No 72 squadron. Following an engagement with Bf 110s on the 4th September, Ernest was forced to bale out. His Spitfire, R6971, crashed at Culvers Farm, Hartfield, E.Sussex, a spot which was excavated by the museum on the 15th July 2000. He lost his life on the27th September 1940, when his Spitfire was shot down over Sevenoaks, Kent, eventually crashing in the River Thames, near Shadwell Dock, London. ‘Sticky’ Glew died on the 17th May 1944, whilst serving as an Acting Squadron Leader, with No 1435 squadron. The last of the four to join the squadron was William Rolls, who arrived on an unknown date, possibly in June 1940.

Brian Noble went to No 79 squadron in June 1940, whilst Felix Gregory joined No 65 squadron on the 6th July. Felix died on the 13th August 1940, when he baled out too low during a night flying practise flight, his Spitfire crashing at Eastry, Kent.

There are three John Whites who served during the Battle of Britain. John White (741363) is the most likely candidate for the one in the photo, but this needs to be confirmed. As for Mike Birkin, and Freddie Poulter, no one with these names served in the battle. Presumably they were posted to squadrons that didn’t take part in the Battle of Britain, perhaps overseas?

Geoff

Photos below – John during his time at Loughborough University, The group photo from 3 FTS (John is second from the right, front row), and the Merlin from John’s Hurricane on display at our museum.

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