I have found reference to a 2 A/M in the RFC with the Service Number of 489. However, I would need more from you to confirm whether it is the right man as this chappie went to France on 9/9/14 but could not have flown in the R101 or R34 as he was no longer in the RFC. Don’t really want to give his name unless he is the right man as there may be some controversy.

Regards,

kev35

Most definitely please.

Regards,

kev35

It has been rather quiet for a while but one or two things have come up I thought I would share, and of course, ask for more advice.

Firstly, you may remember that the Biaggi family cared for the grave of a Corporal Adams who was with a security unit when he died in a motorcycle accident. I was briefly in touch with a relative who kindly sent me his photograph. If the lady in question sees this thread can she please contact me as I have lost her details due to computer problems.

Here is the photograph of Douglas, known as Dougal, on the occasion of his marriage to Doris.

Next up is a photograph of Dominique’s grave with a temporary wooden cross. I believe this to be his grave at Harrogate’s Stonefall Cemetery and the fact that the inscriptions are in English does seem to point to that.

The next two are of Dominique, the first perhaps in the French uniform worn in N Africa?

The second of these is a bit of a poser. I was originally told by the MoD Medal Office that Dominique was entitled to the 1939-1945 Star, the France & Germany Star and the War Medal. However, it transpires now that they have no record of his service, even though 346 operated as an RAF Squadron under the auspices of Bomber Command. That shouldn’t prove an obstacle as I can provide plenty of evidence regarding his service with 346 Squadron and prior to that. The other problem is that the Medal Office could not confirm one way or the other whether Dominique was entitled to British Campaign Medals. They should have a definitive answer for me by early February. Now, if anyone here has evidence of French personnel serving with the RAF receiving British Campaign Medals, I would be very pleased to hear from you. My final question relating to this last photograph is the Medals pictured there. I velieve the Medal on the left to be the Croix de Guerre with a faded ribbon and the one on the right to be the Medaille Militaire, also with an extremely faded ribbon. Can anyone here confirm my thoughts on this, and, advise on the identity of the third Medal?

Thanks agin to everyone for their indulgence and as always, any further information would be most gratefully received.

Regards,

kev35

If it helps, his Service Number was 90037. The London Gazette has the following….

LG Issue 34304 14/7/36 page 23.
RAF Special Reserve, General Duties Branch.
John Randle Garrett is granted a commission as Pilot Off icer on probation. 12/6/1936.

LG Issue 34428 20/8/37 page 6.
Special Reserve, General Duties Branch.
The undermentioned relinquish their commissions on 1st July 1937 consequent to the conversion of No 502 (Ulster) (Bomber) Squadron from Special Reserve to an Auxiliary Air Force Squadron.
P/O Garrett is one of the undermentioned Officers.

LG Issue 34495 22/3/1938 page 8.
Auxiliary Air Force, General Duties Branch. No. 502 (Ulster) (Bomber) Squadron.
Pilot Officer John Randle Garrett is promoted to the rank of Flying Officer. 1st February 1938.

LG Issue 35158 9/5/41.
Auxiliary Air Force.
Flying Officer John Randle Garrett (90037) is promoted to the war substantive rank of Flight Lieutenant. 3rd September 1940.

I can’t find anything else in the London Gazette but I would have thought there might have been mention of his leaving the service?

There is also a very brief mention of him in Flight Magazine stating that he was wounded. I think the issue was 18th April 1940. There were no further details.

Regards,

kev35

Just to add to the previous post, it appears that the three crew members flying with F/O Garrett were killed in the crash and all have the same date of death, 19th January 1940.

So apart from F/O Garrett, the crew details, as traced through Geoff Sullivan’s search engine and the CWGC, are as follows.

816074 Sgt. Harold Christopher Moorby. He was the Observer and is buried at Knockbreda Cemetery, County Down.

521868 AC1 Robert Beattie. He was a Wireless Operator Air Gunner and he was 29 years of age. Son of Thomas and Minnie Beattie, husband of Jane Agnes Beattie of Drummore. He is buried in Kirkmaiden Cemetery which is located adjacent to the Parish Church of Drummore.

816021 LAC Thomas Christopher McClure. He was an Air Gunner and was 24 years of age. He was the son of Thomas and Jane McClure of Belfast. He is buried in Belfast City Cemetery.

I also found this link which may be of interest. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/sites/askalocal/pages/wwii19.shtml

Regards,

kev35

But might the above post be a little like the football manager who publicly receives the full and wholehearted support of both the Chairman and Board of Directors a week before he gets the sack?

I hope not.

Regards,

kev35

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