7 Squadron Association Secretary Ron Mole, Hillborough House, Exhall, Nr. Alcester, Warwickshire B49 6EA: Tel 01789 772590 e-mail: pathfinders AT 7squadronassociation.org (replace the AT with @)

site http://www.7squadronassociation.org

You might like to check with the webmaster of the 7 Sqdn Assoc website if the contact details for the secretary above are current as I don’t know how recent that information is.

Maybe you will find some info from the above contacts.

Good luck

The jacket was recovered on the shore of a fjord the morning after my grandfathers Halifax crashed in the water with the loss of all onboard in 1942.

The Canadian Casualty List published in the newspapers at the time state “wife overseas”, so it’s possible that he is buried in the cemetery nearest to where she lived. Possibly they were married in the church where he is buried?

Geoffs suggestion to try the local papers is a good one as if they married locally there may be mention of that somewhere too.

Sharkie,

Some additional bits and pieces of info to add to your growing collection.

This operation was a raid on the railway yards at La Chapelle by 247 Lancasters and 22 Mosquitoes. A total of 7 a/c were lost.

Pilot Officer French was the Captain.

The a/c crashed near Feuquieres, 17 km SW of Poix-de-la-Somme.

The six airmen who died were buried in a collective grave on the 21st.

The sole survivor, Sgt Hortie RCAF, was the mid-upper gunner. He evaded capture.

The above info from the excellent “For Your Tomorrow” – A record of New Zealanders who have died while serving with the RNZAF and Allied Air Services by Errol Martyn

The PRO at Kew should have an evasion report for Sgt Hortie. It could hold some interesting details for you.

If you run the names of the crew through the CWGC search engine you used to find your relatives details you may be able to glean further details about them such as where they were from etc.

Good luck and be careful………….it’s addictive 🙂

I’m aware that there are some people who don’t count it as a Halifax, but I really don’t see what all the fuss is about. IMHO it is worth going to see. I was rather fortunate and managed a little look around the inside (not normally permitted unless you are former Halifax aircrew). To be able to sit in the pilots position and get an impression of what it must of been like for my grandfather etc was rather special. There was a former Halifax W/Op with me and he was delighted to be able to clamber back into a Halifax again – had a job to get him back out again actually, he would have stayed there chatting all day!

Moggy, would love to see a piccy of the Hendon Halifax if you can manage that during your visit.

Cheers
Linzee

During the three attacks against Tirpitz in the spring of 1942 thirteen aircraft from Bomber Command were lost with the loss of 60 lives. One Coastal Command Beaufighter was lost with the loss of two men and three PRU Spitfires with the loss of two Pilots. A total of 64 RAF and Commonwealth airmen lost their lives between January and April 1942 attempting to sink Tirpitz, an objective which was not ultimately achieved until some two years later in November 1944.

Some years ago when I visited the museum I noticed there was a board beside the Halifax which listed all the operations that the RAF had flown agaist Tirpitz. There was one missing – March 30/31 1942 – and when I asked one of the museum staff about this I was told it was because that operation had been cancelled or aborted. I knew that this was not the case but they didn’t believe me so I decided to do a bit of research and produce some evidence for them.

Six of the thirty-four aircraft that took off on the March 30/31 op failed to return with the loss of all onboard – 42 airmen. My grandfather was the Pilot on one of the Halifaxes that failed to return from the op which is why I was a bit miffed when I was told by the museum that it had been aborted.

Well, I did my research, including a trip to Norway where I visited the crash sites of all the a/c lost during the Spring 1942 ops and I sent the info to the museum.

Can anyone who has visited the Halifax display recently tell me if the board listing the ops is still there, and if so, is the March 1942 op listed yet? I doubt it, but would be nice if it was.

Cheers