WO Lindsay Joseph OdgersWO
Lindsay Joseph Odgers, 417595, Royal Australian Air Force, Nationality
: Australian, KIA 4 March 1945, Aged 21
SEE CREWS
AND LOSSES for Flying Fortress Mark III HB815 (4 March 1945) BU-J
Named on the following Memorial : Australian War Memorial panel 128
Buried in CAMBRIDGE
CITY CEMETERY. Reference : Grave 15363.
Son of Edward Thomas Odgers and Mabel Evelyn Ellie Odgers, of Arlgaston, South
Australia.
Please see the following link to the BBC website WORLD WAR 2 - PEOPLE'S WAR,
which tells the story of the death of WO Odgers and his comrades whilst returning
to their airbase at Oulton when they were apparently shot down by a German
fighter whilst preparing to land.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/19/a1073819.shtml
See the chapter named OULTON AIRBASE
Source : Nightjar
Newsletter and CWGC and BBC website WORLD WAR 2 - PEOPLE'S WAR and John Cripps
Date record last updated : 5 August 2009
FS George Orr
Poignant
photo of George's parents at his graveside.
Uden
War Cemetery.
(Look
closely, Few photos generate the intense feelings and thoughts this one does)
FS
George Orr, 1551656, Navigator, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality
: United Kingdom, KIA 22 June 1944, Aged 21
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Flying Fortress Mark II SR382 BU-B
Buried in UDEN
WAR CEMETERY. Reference : 5.B.4.
Son of Donald Campbell and Jean McLeod Ralph Orr of Glasgow, Scotland.
Killed in the crash of Fortress BU.B aged 21, he was originally buried as
"Unknown Airman". It is not known where in his home town his name
is remembered. (No further details are known.)
Source : John
Cripps (nephew of Sgt Sydney Bryant) and CWGC
Date record last updated : 6 June 2008
Sgt Hugh Owen
Sgt Arthur Patrick O'Hara DFM
Sgt
Arthur Patrick O'Hara DFM, 1378114. Navigator
On the night of 27/06/1942 Stirling N3751 coded BU-P set out for operations to Bremen. After bombing the target the crew encountered Luftwaffe nightfigters who often frequented the bomber routes home. Enduring an unforgettable night of horror N3751 and crew, although severely damaged by flak, attacked by five enemy fighters and shot at over the sea managed to bring their aircraft home. At 0500 be it a miracle or skill, N3751 returning to base crashed through the perimeter fence, skidded down the runway wheels up and came to a rest. Although not officially verified yet it is almost certain that Stirling BU-P never flew again. All surviving crew members were awarded the DFM. The citation as follows tells the harrowing story:
3196 SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 21 JULY,1942
Award of the Distinguished Flying Medal to:
953982 F/Sgt James Ian Cunningham Waddicar, Gunner
Aus- 4OO468 Sergeant Frank Morton GRIGGS RAAF, Pilot
1378114 Sergeant Arthur 'O'HARA, Navigator
953982 Flight Sergeant James Ian Cunningham WADDICAR
1014907 Sergeant Ronald WATSON, Gunner
527989 .Sergeant Thomas Noel Castree PROSSER,'
1052356 Sergeant 'William WILDEY 1st Wireless Operator
These airmen (listed above) were members of the crew of an aircraft detailed to attack Bremen" on ' the night' of 27th June, 1942 ( 27/06/1942 ), Sergeant Frank Griggs acting as captain. The objective was successfully bombed., but over the target area the aircraft sustained much damage from anti-aircraft fire. One of the starboard engines was hit and put out of action. Shortly afterwards the bomber was subjected to an attack by an enemy fighter, fire from which caused further damage. Almost immediately a second fighter opened fire and Sergeant Wildey, the 1st wireless operator, was wounded in the arm. The first fighter then returned to the attack but was met with a long and vicious burst from Sergeant Waddicar's guns which sent the enemy aircraft spinning towards the ground, where it exploded on impact.
Some time later, after crossing Holland, Sergeant O'Hara, the navigator, who had "skilfully guided his captain' thus far, observed 2' enemy fighters closing in. Sergeant Watson, who was tending the injured wireless operator, immediately attempted to man his turret but it was jammed. With the assistance of Sergeant O'Hara, who held his legs, he managed to reach his guns and he then delivered an effective burst at the leading fighter, which caused it to dive towards the sea completely out of-control. Meanwhile, Sergeant Waddicar, with commendable ingenuity, had temporarily repaired one of his guns which had failed and opened fire at the second aircraft from close range.. The attacker dived away and exploded before hitting the water! The bomber was not yet out of danger, being subjected to machine gun fire from the sea. A few minutes later another fighter appeared opening fire with a long burst but Sergeant Waddicar's return fire caused it to break off the engagement.
Sergeant Griggs, displaying fine airmanship, eventually flew his severely damaged aircraft safely back to base where he made a crash landing. Throughout the operation, these airmen displayed unflinching courage, great fortitude and splendid team work in foiling the attacks of 5 enemy fighters, 3 of which were shot down. Their conduct upheld the highest 'traditions of the Royal Air Force.
Source: Citation text is from the on line archives of the London Gazette
See also: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news for in depth story
From The Daily Telegraph Obituaries Section
Flight Lieutenant Pat O'Hara (Arthur Patrick O'Hara) N3751
(Filed: 01/02/2005)
Pat O'Hara died on January 22. His first wife, Emily, whom he married in 1937, died in 1978. In 1982 he married his second wife, Betty, who died in 1997. Two daughters by his first marriage survive him.
Flight Lieutenant Pat O'Hara, who has died aged 91, was a navigator in one of the most remarkable examples of combat between an RAF heavy bomber and German night fighters in the Second World War.
His Stirling bomber of No 214 Squadron attacked Bremen on the night of June 27-28 1942, and was hit by anti-aircraft fire over the target. With one of the engines ablaze, the aircraft set off for home on its three remaining engines. It was approaching the Zuider Zee when a German night fighter attacked from below, killing the rear gunner and damaging another engine.
A second fighter blew a large hole in the bomber's fuselage before one of the surviving gunners shot it down.
The front gunner had left his turret to render aid to the wounded wireless operator when the Australian captain, Sergeant Frank Griggs, warned him that two more fighters were attacking. Rushing back to his turret he found it would not rotate because it was jammed; with O'Hara holding his legs, the gunner was just able to lean forward and fire the guns. One of the fighters flew into the cone of fire and was destroyed.
When the other German aircraft attacked, the mid-upper gunner engaged it, but one of the two guns jammed. With the remaining gun he shot down the fighter. Another fighter was also beaten off.
The bomber had descended during this engagement, and the pilot was struggling to maintain control; the tailplane hit the sea and was partly ripped away before he could climb to a safe height.
O'Hara showed great skill in guiding his aircraft to the airfield at Stradishall, in Suffolk, by map-reading and astro-navigation. Also, the three working engines had sustained damage and the undercarriage could not be lowered. Just before reaching the airfield, two more engines failed, and the pilot made a belly-landing after crashing through the boundary fence of the airfield.
The RAF described their night's work as "a memorable operation", and the six surviving crew members were awarded the DFM.
Arthur Patrick O'Hara was born on November 8 1913 at Bradford in West Yorkshire. After attending St Bede's School in his home town, he worked for a local potato merchant, then volunteered for the RAF at the end of 1940. Considered, at 27, too old to be a pilot, he was accepted for navigator training.
O'Hara joined No 214 Squadron at Stradishall and flew 10 operations, including the first 1,000-bomber raid on Cologne. He attacked other targets in Germany before he and Griggs, his pilot, were commissioned and left to join No 109 Squadron, just as it was converting to the Mosquito and transferring to the Pathfinder Force.
No 109 was pioneering the new, and highly accurate, blind-bombing target-marking technique known as Oboe. Flying down a narrow radio beam directed towards the target by a ground-based emitter, the Mosquito dropped flares and markers over the target for the main bomber force. O'Hara and his pilot were one of the original six crews.
By early 1943 they had flown seven operations against heavily defended targets, and the early difficulties experienced with the unique system, which had been developed by the scientists at the Telecommunications Research Establishment at Malvern, had been resolved.
Griggs and O'Hara were the first to drop a new type of target-marker when they spearheaded the attack on Dusseldorf on January 27 1943, flying at 27,000 ft, where they were untroubled by the intense flak directed at the main bombers flying below them. O'Hara had soon flown more than 50 operations, the majority against targets in the Ruhr. For his "outstanding record, efficiency and unfailing determination", he was awarded the DFC.
When his pilot returned to Australia, O'Hara flew a few sorties with another pilot whose navigator was ill. Just 10 minutes before he was due to take off with this pilot for another attack against the Ruhr, the pilot's own navigator said he was fit to fly and took O'Hara's place. The crew was shot down and killed over the target.
After a period as an instructor at the Mosquito Pathfinder Training Unit, O'Hara returned to No 109 as one of the most experienced Oboe-Mosquito navigators.
He flew many daylight attacks against V1 sites, airfields and communications targets in the build up to D-Day. After completing almost 100 sorties over enemy-occupied territory, O'Hara was finally rested. In January 1945 he was awarded a Bar to his DFC for "his continued display of high courage".
O'Hara joined No 147 Squadron flying both passengers and freight in Dakotas between the UK and recently captured airfields on the Continent.
In September 1946 O'Hara was appointed to be a navigator in the King's Flight. When George VI and Queen Elizabeth made a royal tour of South Africa in the spring of 1947, O'Hara formed part of the crew of the No 3 aircraft carrying the Royal Household staff.
At the end of 1947, he left the RAF to become an air traffic controller with the Civil Aviation Authority. After appointments at Speke (Liverpool airport) and Ringway, Manchester, O'Hara became a radar consultant at the headquarters of the CAA in London. He finally retired in 1974.
A keen gardener and long-serving member of the Chester Golf Club, O'Hara maintained close links with his former colleagues in the Pathfinder and Aircrew Associations.
FS
O'Hara, Flight Engineer
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Flying Fortress Mark II ??Ingham BU-
Source
: John Ritchie, son of Sgt J Ritchie
Date record last updated : 8 June 2009
Sgt
Henry George Ott
Sgt Henry George Ott, 1333605, Air Gunner, Royal Air
Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 13 August 1943,
Aged 19
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I EF390 BU-A
Buried in LA
BUSSIERE-SUR-OUCHE COMMUNAL CEMETERY. Reference : Coll. grave 3-4.
Son of Henry George and Florence Ada Ott, of Woolwich, London.
Source : CWGC,
Nightjar Newsletter Summer / Autumn 2003 and J. Michael Townsend, Chairman
of the RAFA French Riviera Branch.
Date record last updated : 18 February 2008
Plt/Off
Harry Edward Orr
Plt/Off
Harry Edward Orr, J/15865, Wireless Operator / Air Gunner, Royal Canadian
Air Force, Nationality : Canadian, KIA 14 September 1942, Aged 19
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I R9166 BU-H
Buried in RHEINBERG
WAR CEMETERY. Reference : Joint grave 17. G. 20-20A.
Son of Fred H. Orr and Myrtle Orr, of Clarkson, Ontario, Canada.
Source : CWGC
and Nightjar Newsletter Winter / Spring 2004
Date record last updated : 21 February 2008
Sgt
Charles Gordon Mackay Ogilvie
Sgt
Charles Gordon Mackay Ogilvie, 621667, Air Gunner, Royal Air Force Volunteer
Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 16 November 1944, Aged 28
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Flying Fortress Mark II HB787 (16 November 1944) BU-J
Buried in CAWSTON
CEMETERY. Reference : Sec. N. Grave 88.
Son of Charles Gordon Mackay Ogilvie and Elizabeth Ogilvie husband of Ira
Ogilvie, of Hampstead, London.
Source : CWGC
and Nightjar Newsletter Spring 2003
Date record last updated : 28 June 2008
Fg/Off
O'Leary
Fg/Off
O'Leary, Navigator
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Flying Fortress (model unknown) SR378 BU-D
Is listed on Battle Orders for 22 August 1944.
Is also listed on returning operational aircrew on 31 August 1944
Source : George
Mackie
Date record last updated : 28 July 2008
Flt/Lt
Joseph Maxwell 'Max' O'Neil MiD
taken
16 February 2006 on his 90th birthday
Flt/Lt
Joseph Maxwell 'Max' O'Neil MiD, 407605, Wireless Operator / Air Gunner,
Royal Australian Air Force, Nationality : Australian
Born 16 February 1916
Born in Adelaide, South Australia
Son of Daniel Joseph and Ella May O’Neil
Max O'Neil RAAF was in the crew of Clarrie Woods RAAF, and completed 30
ops on Wellington Mk1C and Stirling Mk 111 BU-G, the latter with 214 Sqn
from Stradishall in 1942. He returned to Australia in 1943 and flew more
ops in RAAF Beauforts over the Pacific islands until the end of the war.
Max has been an Association member for a number of years, but at the age
of 91, he had advanced dementia and was well cared for in a veteran’s
home in Adelaide. His daughter, Mrs. Pam Anderson lives in Tasmania, and
now deals with her father's 214 Sqn matters. Max wrote a book entitled "
The Inevitable War - A Personal Memoir", the contents being written
before his health deteriorated. The book was published in 2007 by his son
Danny Maxwell O'Neil and his grandson Danny. Only fifty books were produced
and none are now available. However it is available in CD format. If you
would like a copy please contact Pam Anderson via the website.
Died 2 September 2008 aged 92.
Source : Pam
Anderson (Daughter) and Danny O'Neil (Son) and Nightjar Newsletter Summer
2008 Personal Memoirs’ by Max O’Neil and Flying Log Book
Date record last updated : 28 October 2008
Sgt
W A Owens
Sgt
W A Owens
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling (model unknown) BF318 (20 December 1942)
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling (model unknown) R9186 (15 December 1942)
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling (model unknown) R9186 (8 December 1942)
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling (model unknown) W7631
Source : Squadron
ORB
Date record last updated : 29 December 2008
Fg/Off
O'Connor
Fg/Off
O'Connor, Pilot
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington (model unknown) N2778 (29 November 1940)
BU-R
Source : Ian
Hunt
Date record last updated : 11 April 2009
Sgt
Percy Pugh Oakes
Sgt
Percy Pugh Oakes, 1201575, Air Bomber, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve,
Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 12 March 1943
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark III BF469 BU-M
Buried in CHALONS-EN-CHAMPAGNE
EAST COMMUNAL CEMETERY. Reference : Sec. T. Grave 1591.
Source : CWGC and Nightjar Newsletter Spring 2004
Date record last updated : 27 June 2009
FS Frederick Rossini Olds
FS Frederick Rossini Olds, 427313, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Nationality
: New Zealand, KIA 9 February 1945, Aged 31
SEE
CREWS AND LOSSES for Flying Fortress Mark III HB796 (09 February 1945) BU-T
Named on the following Memorial : RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL Panel 285
Son of Martin Gilbert and Eva Lucretia Eveline Olds, of New Brighton, Canterbury,
New Zealand; husband of Olive Kathleen Olds.
Linda Harbord, FS Old's great neice writes:
"Uncle
Fred was my maternal grandmother's youngest brother. The above photo was
taken in 1942 or or 1943. My mother and her sisters remember Uncle Fred
and Aunty Olive as rather a happy-go-lucky couple prior to the war.
Fred's middle name, "Rossini" came not from any Italian blood,
but from the fact that my great-grandfather was an opera buff.
Aunty Olive died a few months before Uncle Fred in a motor cycle accident.
They had no children.
My mother tells me after Aunty Olive's death Uncle Fred's crewmates clubbed
together and bought him a wireless, so that he would "not be so lonely".
Fred was nicknamed "granddad" or "grandpa" because he
was one of the older men in the crew.
The family story is that Uncle Fred had been shot down before, and the French
Resistance helped him get back to England.
After the loss of Uncle Fred's plane ("Flying Fortress Mark III HB796
BU-T") which was presumed lost in the North Sea on 9 February 1945,
my great-grandmother kept in touch for some time with the mother of another
crew member, James Peter Robertson, whose body was recovered, unlike Uncle
Fred's."
Source
: Linda Harbord (great-niece) and CWGC and Geoff Swallow (Australian researcher)
and Chorley
Date record last updated : 13 July 2010
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