Crew Details (if you haven’t already obtained them from the CWGC website):-
Name: BARRIE, RONALD HARRY JOSEPH. Initials: R H J. Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Sergeant. Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Unit Text: 142 Sqdn.
Age: 21. Date of Death: 26/03/1942. Service No: 967059
Additional information: Son of Ronald Stanley Barrie and Lily Florence Barrie, of Chester.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Allied Plot. Row 1. Grave 22. Cemetery: THE HAGUE (WESTDUIN) GENERAL CEMETERY

Name: WHITE, DAVID JOHN. Initials: D J. Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Sergeant (Pilot). Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Unit Text: 142 Sqdn.
Age: 20. Date of Death: 25/03/1942. Service No: 1166180
Additional information: Son of Thomas and Jennie White.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Allied Plot. Row 1. Grave 20. Cemetery: THE HAGUE (WESTDUIN) GENERAL CEMETERY

Name: JELLY, ALFRED. Initials: A. Nationality: United Kingdom. Rank: Sergeant (W.Op./Air Gnr.)
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Unit Text: 142 Sqdn.
Age: 29. Date of Death: 26/03/1942. Service No: 1309716
Additional information: Son of Alfred and Lilian Mary Jelly, of Rochdale, Lancashire.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Allied Plot. Row 1. Grave 21. Cemetery: THE HAGUE (WESTDUIN) GENERAL CEMETERY

Name: GROVES, ERIC CHARLES. Initials: E C. Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Sergeant. Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Unit Text: 142 Sqdn.
Date of Death: 25/03/1942. Service No: 1375174. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 84. Memorial: RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL

Name: LENNOX, ANDREW. Initials: A. Nationality: Canadian. Rank: Flight Sergeant (Air Obs.). Regiment/Service: Royal Canadian Air Force. Unit Text: 142 (R.A.F.) Sqdn
Age: 23. Date of Death: 25/03/1942. Service No: R/77507
Additional information: Son of Andrew and Esther Lennox, of Innisfail, Alberta, Canada.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Allied Plot. Row 1. Grave 18. Cemetery: THE HAGUE (WESTDUIN) GENERAL CEMETERY

Name: PIPHER, WILLIAM MELVILLE. Initials: W M. Nationality: Canadian. Rank: Flight Sergeant (Pilot). Regiment/Service: Royal Canadian Air Force
Unit Text: 142 (R.A.F.) Sqdn. Age: 24. Date of Death: 26/03/1942. Service No: R/78467
Additional information: Son of Earl Melville Pipher and Mary Ester Pipher, of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Allied Plot. Row 1. Grave 19. Cemetery: THE HAGUE (WESTDUIN) GENERAL CEMETERY

Apart from Groves, they all remain in company in death, in adjacent plots.
The normal crew complement of a Wellington was 5; the German recovery team may not have looked for more than 5 sets of remains when recovering the crew. Given his youthful age, it’s possible that Sgt White may have been getting his first taste of operational flying in the spare (“dickey”) seat. 5 crew was what they expected and 5 crew they buried and it may not have been noticed that there were actually parts of 6 crew…… hence no known grave for Sgt Groves.

The other slight anomaly is that 3 have 25th March as their Date of Death; the other 3 are shown as 26th March. Obviously being a night attack, it would span midnight, but unless 3 crew succumbed to dying of injuries AFTER midnight and the other 3 were killed outright when crashing BEFORE midnight, surely only one Date of Death should apply.

Obviously there are many more talented than I who may have access to more accurate details of the loss. Perhaps they’ll step forward.

Hope this is of some help.

Happy New Year

I’m sure there must be full details out there about Sgt N C Jackson’s VC, trying to put out the fuel tank fire by crawling along the wing of a burning bomber under night fighter attack…..
“Phew” just writing that makes me sweat at the thought of doing that!
And then to escape twice and get home!
Whether anyone recorded a successful claim is perhaps not part of the main story.

With David’s suggestion of 15 Squadron, I found this by Googling to Lost Bombers website
15 Squadron Stirling Mk III. Serial Number: BK667. Squadron Codes: LS-H. Operation: St Nazaire. 22nd/23rd March 1943
Delivered to No.15 Sqdn 21st Jan 1943. Airborne 19:28 on 22nd March ’43 from Bourn. Turned back following major problems with the starboard outer and port inner engines. While trying to to land at Lyneham in poor visibility, the Stirling overshot and came down in a field at Clyffe Pypard, 8 miles SW of Swindon, Wiltshire. F/Sgt J.L. Shiells; Sgt G.K. Compson; Sgt B. Taafe; Sgt C.B. Perring; Sgt L.A. James; Sgt J. Gould; Sgt B.J.A. Bessette RCAF and Sgt D.J.A. Hyde survived uninjured.

Looks like this was before Alan’s father joined the crew as no Kirk shown (or it could simply be another Compson, as rank shown as Sergeant!)

Probably of no help whatsoever, but when I were a young lad, many, many years ago, I used to spend a lot of time at Rochford/Southend airport.
On the Eastwoodbury Lane side, near where the church is right by the runway, there was a footpath which crossed by the runway junctions. On that side were hangars for ? Channel Airways and other main operators.
I remember that one hangar was right beside the footpath and between the footpath and the hangar wall was a rusty derelict airframe skeleton. I had heard that that was all that remained of an Avro Avian.
Whether it is still there almost 50 years on, is unknown, nor if that is actually true.
There are some chaps who regularly post about Southend Airport on the forum, so a quick search might provide people who could verify whether it’s true and/or still there….
I also remember what I thought were 5 or 6 Rapide fuselages and wings at the back of one large hangar…
Sorry if this not of interest, but….?

If they were already flying Operations, then the likely reason for the move to 97 Squadron would be experienced crews to replace Pathfinder losses.
As regards “B Bertie”, 15 OF-B’s were lost, 13 Lancs, 1 Manchester and 1 Wellington, but without knowing the serial, it won’t be possible to narrow down further. Frequently the letter was changed if an aircraft were in need of maintenance or repair, so another would be given that code letter. In some instances there were 2 with the same letter, so “B2”, for instance, would distinguish one from the other.

Whoa there, handbags down, guys, it was MY fault for trotting out what is obviously a myth…. sorry, forgot he had to get his parachute on first!! I’ll engage brain (hopefully) before posting next time.

rachy stew His birth date is given as 23rd May 1908 and death registered 3rd Qtr 1982 in Wandsworth. Ah, I see where you have the date of September, and marriage, but check DoB again.