I can find no Sody listed at all. Perhaps it is a typing error.

Found this while working on a hunch….I think that is the whole crew accounted for.

Name: SOADY, ALBERT FRANCIS
Initials: A F
Nationality: Australian
Rank: Sergeant
Regiment: Royal Australian Air Force
Age: 30
Date of Death: 25/06/1943
Service No: 14635
Additional information: Son of John Francis and Matilda Agnes Soady, of Balmain, New South Wales, Australia.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Block F. Grave 382.
Cemetery: DURBAN (STELLAWOOD) CEMETERY

I asked Ross McNeill (who runs RAF Commands) this very question back in Sept 2003.. He replied as

The K Files are a series of documents that were created 1943-45 (most in
1945).

They are Reports of Loss of Aircraft on Operations.

In essence they are the debrief reports of either evaders or PoWs on what
happened to their aircraft. Some times the info was fed back to the squadron
for inclusion in the ORB.

They can be considered similar in detail to the USAAF MACRs.

Only a small number have survived and, up until Derek looked at them, they
had no real catalogue.

Well worth a read if you are at the National Archives.
Regards
Ross”

Thank you one and all! Sounds like a valuable resource there.

Dan sounds to me like you’ve cracked it mate – far too many coincidences.

1. Ben Lee – name is the same
2. Burned
3. Catalina – makes sense with the Costal Command/Atlantic Star connection, plus the event took place in African waters would tie in with the Africa star.

I would say the odds are very much in favour – thank you sir!

Wonder why I didn’t find the site myself under Google – how exactly did you search it Dan?

The Planet Satellite never got off the ground!

So, more “Sat-a-lot” than “satellite”? 😀

The Spit is shown below but the serial is not complete. It looks like N82** but I can’t find any Spits with that prefix. If it’s a N32**, it would make it a Mk1 which is not likely at all as I think it’s a MkIX anyway and none of the records I have show a Mk1 2-seat conversion. i’m sure someone will know which exact a/c it is.

Here’s the enlargement but there seems to be absolutely nothing on the cowling at all. :confused:

Your wish is my command, my lady…… 😀

I can tell you’re just dying to know who all the people are so here goes…..

(Left to Right)

Rear : Halliday; Morgan; Desemonie; Crouch; Brown; Watson; Lawrence; Beddone; Drew; Summers

3rd Row : Alldritt; Buchanan; Gardner; Woodley; Cope; Ellis; DeVigne; Chandler; Hutchinson; Adshead; Press man

2nd Row : Wilson; Stuart-Smith; Boyce; Genders; Whittome; Muller-Rowland; Brooks; Mancus; Adams; Marriott; Lewington; Grove; Parker; Foster.

Front : Lamb; Gil Harris; Giddings; Dennis; Dickie Martin; Johnny Kent ; Silyn-Roberts; Miss Grinstead; “Winkle” Brown; Hunt; Spencer; Bushell; Adderley.

If anyone has any info or corrections on the above, other than for Johnny Kent & Winkle Brown, I’d be interested to hear from you, particularly info on Gp. Capt. (later AVM) Silyn-Roberts AFC.

Hope this was of some mild interest.

Possible Progress….

Phoned the Caterpillar Club Archivist today. A wonderfully helpful lady called Judy Adams gave what help she could based on the scant information given. The only pilot surnamed Lee with a “B” initial is a Sgt. B H Lee who was awarded his badge for being “downed over hostile territory” in Europe, 1944. Judy also told me his award claim was part of a “crew claim” so she’d have to find who the other crew members were in order to find the incident record. This is useful as it narrows the field a bit to multi-crew types.

Sgt. B H Lee apparantly became a POW although I have searched my POW book of lists and he isn’t listed there. That said, it is quite possible that given the severity of his injuries that he was repatriated fairly quickly? A good friend of mine who’s a Guniea Pig Club member does appear on the POW lists but was repatriated later on so this wasn’t too unusual – I seem to recall the lists are correct for late 1944/early 1945 so if Ben Lee’s incident was early 1944 he may not have been a POW for long enough to be on the lists.

Could someone have a check in Bomber Command Losss 1944 as I don’t have that year to hand, and see if B H Lee shows up there. I’ll also check the Costal Command Losses too.

We’re getting there…..!