Can Anyone Confirm This Is a Crew?

Hi again,

Sorry for the delay in posting, but here’s an image of Pilot Officer Colin Dickson.

[ATTACH]161644[/ATTACH]

He hailed from Kempsey, NSW Australia. Enlisting in 1942, his initial training was conducted at Kingaroy, 8EFTS Narrandera and Uranquinty before shipping out to the UK.

Regards,

Owen

Well said Moggy, Don and James. By the way, impressed by your Mosquito article in “the other” magazine, James.

Furniss and his family would have been very proud of his achievements in both civil life and Service life. They are both part of his story as a man. There let it rest.

Agreed. We can acknowledge his, and his colleagues’ achievements in all fields, and the sacrifices, including the greatest, they made.

The positive side of this discussion, which I’m sure we would all rather dwell on, is the new light thrown again on this a tragic loss, and the memorial to that loss brought to prominence again.

Now I am in possession of the post-bale out stories of both the survivors I can state that Oscar Furniss was last seen slumped at his position in the burning and fast descending aircraft.

Can I suggest this fact might be more important than his qualifications in civil life?

This particular raid was a classic c**k-up, costing more than a heavy bomber for each panzer destroyed.

Moggy

Hi again all,

Hi JDK, I’ll endeavour to get a photo of Colin Dickson posted tonight with a few more details.

Thanks Andy, I’m so glad you enjoyed Ken’s story and it undoubtedly had a special ring to it given your history. It was an honour to get to know Ken and record his very interesting tale. Hopefully, “Down to Earth” goes some way towards capturing the extraordinary gentleman that he was. Now we just need to see his Hurricane in the air once more…I’ll be flying to the UK for that one!

Cheers

Owen

Hi Owen!

Fascinating stuff.

Just wanted to take this opportunity to say how much I enjoyed your book on Ken McGlashan’s Hurricane. After being involved in it all those years ago, and having first contacted Ken about the discovery, I’m glad you finally told the story. Excellent!

Andy

If further information is needed, I have some more details at hand.

Hi Owen, that would be most interesting.

Hi Moggy,

Thanks for this post.

In coming across it I noted the township of Kempsey mentioned. My mother hailed from there so I called her. An ex-WAAAF, she knew Colin Dickson well and his Lanc was known as “Naughty Nan”. Her other great friend R.B. ‘Bob’ Eggins also served with 467 Sqn and was killed 04MAR45.

If further information is needed, I have some more details at hand.

Regards,

Owen

Gentlemen

With all due respect, the “is it University/College or Degree/Diploma?” argument might be best resolved by simply going with how the poor chaps academic achievement is recognised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission which is:

Dip.Ag (Hawkesbury)

As I believe has already been pointed out, we must assume that Chorley turned this into a University when he perhaps more accurately ought to have simply stated that Oscar was awarded a Diploma in Agriculture at Hawkesbury.

Just attempting to pour oil on evidently troubled water, here, and no desire to become involved in the debate. Hope this helps!

Dear Don,
If I wanted to be offensive, you’d be in no doubt about it. I’ve more respect for your capability than to be interested in arguing about it, when we actually agree.

I was simply being clear that the original statement in BCL is wrong. (As to why it was wrong, your view of it being a genuine error, is more likely than my initial surmise of it being an off the cuff remark taken seriously.)

I just added my lack of letters to be clear that I’ve personally no degree to grind; and I’ve always regarded farming, like any vocation, as vital, as it remains today in Australia – otherwise what would we eat?

It’s all beside the main point of the subject, but shows the traps of research very well. BCL is a very worthy work, and hardly to be derogated for a minor error over a foreign academic institution’s status. (Incidentally, as Don and I are well aware, in Australia ‘College’ can also refers to what in the UK or US would be known as a high school, but that really is a tangent.)

Regards,

Thanks Don, all good points.

However, a College isn’t a University, nor (with exceptions) able to award degrees. Try pulling ‘Simply a misunderstanding’ with a ‘degree’ from a genuine University or overstate your ‘college’ as a uni (and no, ‘backdating’ is just as illegitimate) and you’ll be in line to find the legal aspects of the difference explained with financial or liberty penalties by a lawyer / court.

I don’t agree the ‘ranking’ is valid or important, but it wasn’t a degree from a university. (I’m sure Furniss worked hard and thoroughly deserved the qualification be really got.)

I stand by the statement that in the 1930s an Australian University (rather than whatever CSIRO was then, or what is now RMIT) would not have anything to do with farming, as it would degrade their membership of the ivory tower club. There may be exceptions with minor backdoor facilities, but it wouldn’t be a lead of their status.

James K, No Letters from Anywhere.

Fascenating. Thanks everyone…

M…F/S Furniss RAAF had been awarded a Diploma in Agriculture from Hawkesbury University.

Sounds to me like a wind-up or joke… (you know, ‘University of Hard Knocks’.) AFAIK there was no Hawkesbury Uni in the pre-war period, and then, a Uni would certainly not be doing anything as grubby and vocational as farming stuff. There is now a Hawkesbury Campus of the Uni of Western Sydney, but that’s an ex tech college, I think. I’ll see what I can find.

Assuming UTC+2hrs 😉

Not sure what you mean.

Forum time stamps are local for the server. There are no time zone difference, no matter where the poster is located.

Posted : 31st March 2008, 15:08

Resolved and completed : 31st March 2008, 15:54

Assuming UTC+2hrs 😉

Damn! Just answered my own question with a bit of Googling

3/4.5.44 a force of 362 Lancasters attacked the German 21st Panzer Group base at Mailly. 5 group lost 42 Lancasters from this force of 362. It was confirmed that the German night fighter A/C had a device code named “Nazos” which enabled them to home onto our H2S sets when transmitting.

Moggy

Just a small point of correction Moggy, the nightfighter homing device was “Naxos”.
Regards
Max

PS: and a bit more info!

467 SQUADRON RAAF, WORLD WAR 2 FATALITIES
Date of Death: 4 May 1944
Source:
AWM 64 (1/427) (1/432) AWM 237 (63) (64)
NAA : A705, 166/21/147, 166/9/302
Commonwealth War Graves records.
W R Chorley : RAF Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War : Page 209, Volume 1944.
Aircraft Type:
Lancaster
Serial number:
JA 901
Radio call sign:
PO – N
Unit:
467 Sqn RAAF
Summary:
Lancaster JA901 took off from RAF Waddington at 2149 hours on the night of 3/4th May 1944 to bomb military camps at Mailly-le-Camp, France. Bomb load 1 x 4000lb and 16 x 500lb bombs. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it did not return to base. Ten aircraft from the Squadron took part in the raid and one of these JA901 failed to return.
Crew:
RAAF 422038 PO Dickson, C Captain (Pilot)
RAAF 423700 Flt Sgt O S Furniss, (Navigator)
RAAF 426606 Flt Sgt S D Jolly, (Bomb Aimer)
RAAF 426882 Flt Sgt R I Hunter, (Wireless Operator Air)
RAF Sgt P J Weaver, (Flight Engineer)
RAF Sgt H Skellorn, (Air Gunner)
RAAF 424403 Flt Sgt H H Forden (Air Gunner)
Captured German documents recorded that the aircraft was shot down early on the morning of 4 May 1944 at Merz on Seine, 14kms south of Rommilly, France. Both Flt Sgt Jolly and Flt Sgt Hunter survived the crash and evaded capture. The remaining five crew members were killed. PO Dickson and Flt Sgt Furniss are buried in the Droupt-Sainte-Marie Churchyard Cemetery, while Flt Sgt Forden and Sgt Skellhorn are buried in the St Remy-Sous-Barbuise Churchyard. St Remy is a village some 22kms north of Troyes, Aube, France.
Sgt Weaver (RAF) is buried in the Terlingthun British Cemetery on the northern outskirts of Boulogne, locality Pas-de-Calais.
In his statement Flt Sgt Jolly reported “Returning from the target the aircraft was on fire presumably as a result of enemy aircraft. The Captain instructed the crew to abandon. I heard no one acknowledge. The aircraft was under control but on fire when I abandoned
at approx 5000 feet. I saw one chute in the air possibly the Flt Engineer. No contact was made with any of the crew after landing.”
Flt Sgt Hunter reported “The aircraft was on fire when I baled out at approx 5/6000 feet. I had extensive burns. I was in the hands of the Resistance movement and in hospital until liberated by the Americans on 28 August 1944. Do not think the Navigator and two gunners left the aircraft.”

Posted : 31st March 2008, 15:08

Resolved and completed : 31st March 2008, 15:54

Thats crowd-sourcing research for you.

Sometimes (often actually) this forum just amazes me.

Moggy,

If you PM me your snail mail address I will arrange to send you copies of two Newark Air Museum members newsletters, which recently featured the escape stories of the two survivors.

Alternatively if you send me an email address I will try and get copies as PDF files from the museum.

The crew of JA901 had gone through 1661 HCU at RAF Winthorpe in March 1944 prior to posting onto 467 Squadron.

The wireless operator’s story was only published in November 2007.

Moggy.

Yes, they were a crew. Taken verbatim from BCL for 1944. 3/4 May 1944.

467 Squadron Lancaster III. JA901 PO-N. Op. Mailly-le-Camp.

P/O C Dickson RAAF Killed.
Sgt. P J Weaver Killed.
F/S O S Furniss RAAF Killed.
F/S S D Jolly RAAF Evaded.
F/S R I Hunter RAAF Evaded.
Sgt. H Skellorn Killed.
F/S H H Forden RAAF Killed.

T/o 2149 Waddington with similar instructions. Soon after bombing, crashed between the villages of Droupte-Ste-Marie (Aube), 25 km NNW of Troyes, and St. Remy-sous-Barbuise, some 14km away to the E of Droupte-Ste-Marie. The first three named are buried in Droupte-Ste-Marie Churchyard, while both air gunners lie in the Churchyard at St-Remy-sous-Barbuise. F/S Jolly RAAF owes his initial freedom to Mme Berque, who made it her responsibility to get him on to a train for Paris, where he was assisted by Bernard Monin. F/S Furniss RAAF had been awarded a Diploma in Agriculture from Hawkesbury University.

Seems likely that the Pilot, Flight Engineer and Air Bomber were buried in a single grave as they were unidentifiable as individuals.

Edited to add: Why the discrepancy between the Churchyard and Terlincthun CWGC Cemetery? Perhaps they were exhumed at a later date and re-interred?

Regards,

kev35

Odd how a mistake like “D. Furniss” instead of “O.S. Furniss” would make it to a memorial stone.

5 Membres de l”équipage seront tués
Flight Sergeant Hilton Hardcastle FORDEN, R.A.A.F. inhumé à St-Remy-Sous-Barbuise au coté d’aviateurs des DV 281 et ND860
Sergeant Horace SKELLORN R.A.F.V.R inhumé à St-Remy-Sous-Barbuise au coté d’aviateurs des DV 281 et ND860
Pilot Officer C D Dickson; RAAF inhumé à Terlincthun British Cemetery
Sergeant P J Weaver inhumé à Terlincthun British Cemetery
Flight Sergeant O. S. Furniss RAAF inhumé à Terlincthun British Cemetery
2 survivront
Flight Sergeant R I Hunter RAAF rescapé sort inconnu
Flight Sergeant S D Jolly RAAF rescapé sort inconnu
Sources : Bomber Command, Barry Cuttell? Monsieur Fournier José