M/V is a Merchant Vessel, surely?

They are referring to tons, so this could be more correct.

Possibly the days following D-Day were far from being the safest days to end up in the Channel. With so much going on the “minor detail” of an enemy aircraft being shot down might not have been logged at all. And whoever shot him down, whether German flak-gunner or
US or British sailor, believed he was the enemy. Also, is it possible that the Spitfire may have flown on for some distance before crashing?

I know it’s possibly a bit soon but have you had any reply to the letter you sent to Earls Court?

No reply yet. I don’t really expect one to be honest. I wrote a detailed letter, added photos as well. It seems to me that the house are split into flats – which means it can end up at either of the flats or none at all.
I wrote “to the owner of the residence” or something along those lines.

He was indeed shot down by American flak from one or several of the ships off Utah beach. The entire fleet fired it was reported. It clearly should be written down in some report, or? Other sources say he crashed near Isigny – as in “on land”.
With everything going on, a Spitfire coming down with or without a man inside should cause some stirr – or perhaps not with everything going on.

In this case I asked because this certain pilot used kilometers per hour when he wrote about a wheels up landing in the sea. He says the Mossie took the water at 220 kilometers per hour, which I found quite quick.
These speed conversations is not my strong side and I started to wonder if the publisher got it all wrong. 105 miles pr hour would put it in the range of 160 kilometers per hour, which is quite slower than what he wrote in the book.

I would expect the flaps being all up for this landing too.

Don’t you think you might be giving up a little too soon? You have not located the lady or her relatives. You don’t know if there were children. If he was shot down by the RN, there was a good chance it was over water, so the wreckage may still be undisturbed in situ, and remains may still be evident. Who knows, perhaps all of his wartime diaries and personal effects ended up with Miss Lee.

In my experience, a lot of people would sooner make decisions from the comfort of their study, than journey out and actually see for themselves. Going the extra distance is usually rewarding if you persist.

It is said in a letter to his father in 1945 that his personal belongings would be sent him. I do not know who gets personal belongings in these situations – the fianceé or the father. A photo was indeed sent to his father. He was shot down over the channel, last seen going into a cloud, smoking heavily and weaving like mad.

I have sent a letter to the address to be on the safe side. I am simply uncertain where one can search for people as far back as the 1960’s with no birth date to go by or anything else but an address and a name. And the name is quite common. I have narrowed the Sheilas down to around 7. Two Sheila Lees born in Kensington at the right time (1915-1925) but both had middle names. There were Sheila Lees born in Liverpool, Sunderland and a few other places as well. If you know of any website or any way of searching/narrowing it down – I will appreciate it. His family have wondered for many years too.

Mothminor; yes indeed I know it quite well 😀