Most hearty congratulations Ian. All the very best in your new post. Will have to see if I can navigate myself over that way sometime to have a wee peek at the place.

I’m trying to find out more information on 745437 Sgt Oliver Houghton, he is burried in Allesley Churchyard, Coventry. He was killed in action September 6th 1940 whilst flying Hurricane V6646 over Ashford Kent.

The book ‘Men of the Battle of Britain’ lists his birth place as Failshill, which I think must be Foleshill, Coventry.

Any further information would be greatly appreciated.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has the following details about this airman:
Name: HOUGHTON, OLIVER VINCENT
Initials: O V
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Sergeant (Pilot)
Regiment: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Unit Text: 501 Sqdn.
Age: 19
Date of Death: 06/09/1940
Service No: 745437
Additional information: Son of Sidney Edward and Alice Lilian Houghton, of Coventry.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Centre Plot. Row B. Grave 29.
Cemetery: ALLESLEY (ALL SAINTS) CHURCHYARD EXTENSION

I have a copy of Errols excellent book “For Your Tomorrow”. Details for Wellington III X3282 on 12/13 March 1942 as follows:

Raid on Kiel by 68 a/c – 6 lost. Took off approx 1940-2035 captained by Sgt J F M Parhnam, RAF, and brought down near Schleswig, 40km NW of target. All six crew died, at least five, including two NZ’ers being buried in the Garrison Cemetery at Schleswig, but all six were later reinterred at Kiel.

F/Sgt John Lukies BROWN RNZAF age 22.282 hrs on 9th op
F/Sgt Campbell Ewen Justin AITCHISON RNZAF age 22.291 hrs on 24th op

The other two 75 Sqdn Wellingtons lost on this op are reported as ‘lost without trace’

Of the other 3 a/c reported as lost on the Kiel op, 9 Sqdn Wellington crashed in UK, 301 Sqdn Wellington Z1257 lost without trace and 311 Sqdn Wellington R1802 lost without trace last position given as 5317N 0307E last signal received reported sea landing was imminent.

No Hampdens from Bomber Command lost on 12/13 March, however on 10/11 March 4 Hampdens were lost on Essen op, two in UK and two in Germany (AT174 EA-E from 49 Sqdn, crew buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery and AT192 UB-R from 455 Sqdn, crew buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery).

c/n? If it’s the serial no you’re after it is W1048 TL-S

I have posted this before and make no apology for posting it again as it is a subject close to my heart.

I would like to share with you a different view to the oft shouted ‘restore the Halifax at Hendon’.

My personal view is that Halifax W1048 TL-S which is on display at the RAFM should not be restored and that restoration would effectively destroy what is a treasure of an exhibit and a very fitting tribute and memorial to the men who flew in this aircraft and to those who lost their lives during WW2. I do believe, however, that every effort should be made to preserve the aircraft in order that it can be viewed by many people for many years to come. This is, in fact, what the RAFM are doing with Halifax W1048 TL-S, they are preserving it and not restoring it and for that I applaud them.

For those who are not familiar with the history of this particular Halifax, it is a short history. Built by the English Electric Company in March 1942, she was originally delivered to 102 Squadron at Dalton (a satellite base to Dishforth). During her short time with 102 Squadron the aircraft did not fly on ops. On April 9th 1942 Halifax W1048 DY-S was one of six aircraft flown to Linton-on-Ouse where 35 Squadron were based and was exchanged for six 35 Squadron Halifaxes. Halifax W1048 DY-S then became a 35 Squadron aircraft W1048 TL-S.

The first and last operation that W1048 TL-S flew was on the night of 27/28 April 1942 during an operation to attack the German Battleship Tirpitz who was moored in Fættenfjord near Trondheim in Norway. A force of 43 Halifax & Lancaster bombers took off on this operation. Three turned back early due to technical problems. Of the 40 that continued, 5 failed to return, W1048 TL-S being one of them. Hit by AA fire over the target the Halifax caught fire and was unable to return over the North Sea to the UK. The Pilot, Canadian Don MacIntyre, skilfully crash landed the Halifax on the surface of a frozen lake allowing the crew to escape alive. Initially they set off together to attempt to reach neutral Sweden and later split into two parties. The Flight Engineer, who had injured his ankle during the crash landing, was eventually forced to give himself up while the remainder of the crew successfully evaded capture, made it to Sweden and were later repatriated to the UK. A more comprehensive account of the operation and evasion can be found here http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/archie_bombercommand/1048tls.html

The heat from the burning aircraft eventually melted the ice and it sank to the bottom of the Lake Hoklingen where it remained undisturbed until it was rediscovered by Norwegian divers in 1968. It was recovered in 1973 and is now on display at Hendon as you are all aware. A more comprehensive account of the discovery and recovery can be read here http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/archie_bombercommand/1048tls_continued.html

So, this is not a Halifax with a long operational history, it is a one operation Halifax with a story to tell, and in my view the way it is presented in Hendon goes some way to telling that story. If the Halifax was restored into a gleaming shining example of an aircraft what would it tell us about the history of that particular aircraft?

Furthermore, and in my mind, much more importantly. The unrestored state of the Halifax is a reminder of the realities of war and the consequences of war. It also stands there as a memorial to the men who flew in the Halifax who did not return.

Why does it matter to me?

It matters to me because my grandfather, F/Sgt William Bruce Archibald, was one of those men who flew a Halifax and did not return. Almost exactly four weeks before W1048 TL-S was shot down he flew on a virtually identical operation with 35 Squadron to the same Target, Tirpitz. His Halifax was hit by AA fire in the target area and was on fire. Tragically his Halifax crashed into a fjord, exploded and killed all seven men onboard.

So, I visit the museum at Hendon and I don’t look at W1048 TL-S and wish it was a gleaming shining highly polished aircraft that might look good but doesn’t tell me how it was. I sit, as I did in October this year, and I look at the reality of what the cost of war is and I think about the hundreds of men who climbed onboard these aircraft night after dreadful night to go and fly over hostile territory not knowing if they would live to see another day and I thank them for giving me my freedom.

Yes there is a place in museums for gleaming shining, highly polished exhibits, but Halifax W1048 should not be one of them in my view.

We Will Remember.

Cees and Bruce, the Braemar Wellington that you refer to, would this be R1646 lost in January 1942 by any chance?

Try this link chaps http://www2.kielnet.net/home/spurensuche.sh/ it works for me.

To answer the question by Italian Harvard. Basically the programme has taken 5 people who are the grandchildren of WW2 bomber aircrew and are putting them through a training process to give them an idea of what their grandfathers did during the war. At the end of the training they will have to attempt a simulated operation in a Lancaster. Three of the five were competing to gain the job of pilot. After week two that got whittled down to two with the one who was dropped from the race being given the position of bomb aimer. After week three the final crew positions were settled with one of the two wannabe pilots having to settle for the navigator position and one ‘winning’ the opportunity to pilot the Lancaster. The other two of the five were competing to get the air gunners position with 2nd place in this having to take up the job of wireless op.

Each programme shows the youngs trainee aircrew being put through their paces and shows how they are getting on. There are also veterans giving their account of how things were for them and footage from during the war. Each week a little more is revealed about the grandfathers of the young crew and what they did during the war.

The Channel 4 website will give you more background info if you follow this link http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/B/bombercrew/