Plt/Off John Grahame Toplis

Plt/Off John Grahame Toplis, 61483, Pilot, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 12 May 1941, Aged 20

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C R1462 BU-?

Born in Olton, Birmingham

Buried in HAMBURG CEMETERY. Reference : 5A. F. 15.

Son of Harold and Henrietta Toplis, of Olton, Birmingham.

P/O Toplis took over his crew from P/O Jack Wetherly who had completed his tour in March 1941, second-pilot Pilot Officer was Ian Lawson, sergeant navigator Nigel Walker, wireless operator Sergeant Hubert Barr and gunners Sergeant Albert Livsey and Pilot Officer Duncan Pockney. Wellington R1462 missing from operations to Hamburg 12 May 1941. Pockney and Walker were not with
them at this time. Walker was on leave prior to being commissioned.

Source : Christopher Jary - Author and Ian Hunt and CWGC

Date record last updated : 13 February 2008

Sgt John La Bassee Tomkinson

Sgt John La Bassee Tomkinson, 701366, Wireless Operator / Air Gunner, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, KIA 13 March 1941, Aged 22

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C N2746 BU-M

Buried in GRONINGEN (ESSERVELD) GENERAL CEMETERY. Reference : Plot RP. Row Class 2. Coll. grave 25.

Son of John Henry and Gertrude Tomkinson, of Fareham, Hampshire.

Source : Stevin Oudshoorn. See Stevin's website for further information on all aircraft lost over the Netherlands. www.basher82.nl and CWGC

Date record last updated : 9 October 2010

Plt/Off Leonard Treppass

Plt/Off Leonard Treppass, 108005, Observer, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 7 June 1942, Aged 29

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I N3761 BU-E

Buried in VLIELAND GENERAL CEMETERY. Reference : Grave 50.

Son of George and Gertrude Treppass, of Erdington, Birmingham.

Source : Kate Brettell (niece of Flt/Lt Turtle). Kate has retrieved information from the National Archives Canada, The PRO in England and CWGC

Date record last updated : 29 December 2010

Sgt B D Taggart

Sgt B D Taggart (214 FMS) Sqn. temporary duty with 161 Sqn) out of RAF Tempsford. No further details as yet. A family member, Wayne Taggart has been found but no contact established yet.

FS Francis Alexander Tait

FS Francis Alexander Tait, R/70913, Royal Canadian Air Force, Nationality : Canadian, KIA 28 January 1942, Aged 19

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C X9890 BU-F

Named on the following Memorial : Runnymede Memorial Panel 107

Son of Roy and Madelena Tait, of Dilke, Saskatchewan, Canada.

On 18 October 1941 Sgt F A Tait was posted to 214sqn from 230 TU Pershore
KIA on operations over Germany.

See W/O Harry Ward's memoirs for 26 January 1942 for his recollections of F/S Francis Tait.

Source : CWGC and Colin Burningham and ORB for 23OTU Pershore

Date record last updated : 14 September 2008

Fg/Off Tom H Tate

Fg/Off Tom H Tate, Special Wireless Operator, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, Date taken POW 15 March 1945, POW number None

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Flying Fortress Mark II HB779 BU-K

SEE PRISONERS OF WAR

Tom Tate, the 26-year-old survivor of a remarkable 44 sorties and with his 45th almost completed, could not know that his luck was about to be tested once again.
Tom Tate remembers the order: 'Bale out! Bale out!' He obeyed, hurling himself into the rushing darkness. Above him, the aircraft flew on.
He drifted in the inky blackness unsure whether he was even descending. 'Everything was dead still,' he recalls. 'There was no movement, no sensation, no lights. Suddenly there was this mass of earth rushing up towards me.' He landed safely and, after blundering about for half an hour, bumped into a fellow crew-member Norman Bradley. Together they set course west. It proved a short journey. At the very first village they came to, they were surrounded by local people and hauled off to a nearby interrogation centre.
For all of Thursday and most of Friday, Tate was interrogated by German forces in a perfectly acceptable fashion. As well as Bradley, five other crew members had also been captured and the next day the seven men were transported under armed guard en route for a prison camp. The journey was to take them through a town called Pforzheim, which three weeks earlier had been the target of a devastating raid by Bomber Command.
Tom Tate would never forget his first sight of Pforzheim. The town lay in a valley. When the RAF men looked down on what had once been a thriving community of some 70,000 souls, all they could see was ruins. 'It was no more than a pile of rubble,' Tate remembers in awed tones. According to official records, a huge force of Lancasters and Mosquitoes had dropped 1,825 tons of bombs on Pforzheim in just 22 minutes, causing a firestorm that destroyed more than 80 per cent of the town's built-up area and killed at least 17,000 people. Many died in their cellars, when their lungs burst with the intense heat. Although Tom Tate's crew had not taken part in the raid, his shock at this ghastly evidence of the bombers' capacity for destruction was immense. He was certainly not surprised when some of the surviving townsfolk, catching sight of the prisoners' RAF uniforms, began stoning them furiously with the rubble that lay at their feet. If it wasn't for the armed guards defending them from the onslaught, all seven men might have been killed there and then. As it was, they reached the neighbouring viIlage of Huchenfeld, where they were billeted for the night in a boiler room filled with heaps of coal. They were given buckets of water. Tom Tate was exhausted and after he had removed his boots to wash his feet and socks, he lay back on the coal and was instantly asleep.
The next thing he knew, he was being violently dragged up the iron staircase out of the cellar. A gang of young men hauled him and his fellow prisoners along the street. Their captors were dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, but there was a menacing air about them and they were evidently in a state of high excitement. 'Then someone hit me on the head,' Tate says. 'Blood flowed. God, I thought, this is lynching.' The mob now turned right taking their captives toward the church. Increasingly alarmed, Tate noticed a barn with a huge pair of doors. Inside in one of them was a small door, which was open. An electric light burned inside. And it was then that Tate saw something that froze his heart: a stout beam from which hung several heavy ropes. I saw those ropes and that instant my imagination told me we were going to be hanged, he remembers. Driven by fear of his imminent execution at the hands of a baying mob his instinct for survival kicked in.
Bursting free from his captors, he ran like mad in his bare feet, back up the road. It was a spontaneous action, and it saved Tate's life. One shot was fired alter him, but he ducked down past some houses, raced across a field and plunged into the nearby woods.
Luck was with him. Most of the trees in the area were pines, difficult to hide among, but by chance he had found a copse of oaks, whose leaves lay thickly on the ground. With the Instinct of a wild animal, and without even thinking what he was doing, he burrowed under the leaves until he was hidden from sight.
For a while he lay awake, troubled by a sudden burst of gunfire he had heard coming from the village, wondering what had become of his comrades. Then he fell asleep. Tom Tate awoke in his leaf-mould bed at dawn on Sunday. By lunchtime he had been recaptured. But now, at least, he was in the hands of the German Army, not the dangerous youths of the night before.
He spent the remainder of the war as a PoW - much of it in horrendous conditions. For weeks he was on the road with thousands of other, near-starving men, mostly Russians, as the Germans retreated from the advancing Allied forces. But he survived. Amazingly, so did four other members of the Flying Fortress crew who had been on board that fateful night.
A year later, in June 1946, Tom Tate and Norman Bradley returned to Germany as witnesses in the war crimes trials against 22 men and youths who had taken part in the killings.

The five murdered airmen are remembered at The RAFA Ely Cambs Branch Memorial Rose Garden situated at what used to be the RAF Hospital there. (now the NHS Princess of Wales Hospital).
Tom Tate attended the dedication ceremony which was held in 1999.

Tom Tate's final log book entry showing the ill fated flight
(click on the image for a larger view)

Tom Tate with Frau Beck-Ehninger in the RAFA Memorial Garden of Princess of Wales hospital Ely 29 Sept 2005
(click on the image for a larger view)

Tom Tate with the 214 Squadron book of remembrance at Ely Cathedral

Source : Tom Tate & Carol & John Edwards (family connection to Flt/Lt Sidney C Matthews) and "Footprints on the sands of time" by Oliver Clutton-Brock and various news articles and Reg Kemp (nephew of Harold Frost)

Date record last updated : 10 July 2009

Sgt Albert Edward Taylor

Taken in November 1939 at Sway in Hampshire, when Albert enlisted

Sgt Albert Edward Taylor, 906563, Wireless Operator / Air Gunner, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 23 November 1940, Aged 20

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C R3208 (17 November 1940)
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C R3208 (5 November 1940)
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C R3208 (7 November 1940)
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C T2470 (28 October 1940) BU-K
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C T2471 BU-?
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington (model unknown) T2709 (25 October 1940)

Named on the following Memorial : Runnymede Memorial Panel 20

Born in Tinkleton, Devon

Son of Arthur Jessie and Lillian Maude Taylor, of Sway, Hampshire.

Albert was born in 1920.

He was called up on 11 November 1939 and was selected for aircrew training in the Royal Air Force.
June 1940 - he was at No 11 School of technical Training at RAF Credenhill.
July 1940 - he was at wireless operator training at RAF Yatesbury
He was the promoted to Sgt.
He then went to No 15 OTU at RAF Harwell near Didcot.

Sgt Taylor was posted to 214 Squadron in October 1940.

Source : Frances Joan Taylor (sister of Sgt Albert Taylor) and Richard Williams (joint author of Sway at War 1914-1945) and Ian Hunt and W R Chorley's book 'RAF Bomber Command Losses 1939-1940' and CWGC and Nightjar Newsletter Spring 2006

Date record last updated : 22 August 2010

Flt/Lt W H Taylor

Flt/Lt W H Taylor, F/Lt Taylor's crew as recorded on their first 5 ops entries listed in the ORB seem to give the crew as:-

F/Lt J W Lucas

F/Lt W H Taylor

F/O N W Manners

F/Sgt R Jeffcock

W/O S C Hopkins

Sgt W C Heley (spelt Healey in the first entry but Heley in the next four)

F/Sgt J Parkinson

Sgt C W Pearson

Sgt J Burchell

This crew seems to be listed consistently in this order in the ORB, although it doesn't give their individual crew functions. HOWEVER, the tenth crew member (possibly the jamming equipment Special Operator?) changed a bit over the first 5 ops.

- Firstly it was Sgt J S Reid (1st op);

- then F/O W E Gronau RCAF (2nd op);

- then Sgt C Kerr (next 3 ops).

It may be that this was how the crew settled down to be (ie with Kerr).

SOURCE & RESEARCH: Ian Hunt

Sgt Jack Taylor

Sgt Jack Taylor, 759305, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, KIA 14 July 1941, Aged 25

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C R1614 BU-H

Named on the following Memorial : RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL Panel 53.

Son of Walter Charles and Georgina Sophia Taylor, of Sutton Scotney, Hampshire.

Source : Ian Hunt, extracted from Operations record book, PRO and CWGC

Date record last updated : 29 October 2010

Sgt R H Thom

Sgt R H Thom, RNZAF, Shot down in raid on Berlin 01/03/1943 and taken prisoner.

Crew were:

F/S J.M. Lyall prisoner RCAF

Sgt N.G. Etherden prisoner RAF

F/O B.F.R Hotson killed RNZAF

Sgt D.B Scoble prisoner RNZAF

Sgt R.H Thom prisoner RNZAF

Sgt J.G Jack prisoner RAF

Sgt J.G Powell prisoner RAF

FS Arley Henry Thiessen

FS Arley Henry Thiessen , Air Gunner, R/122988, Royal Canadian Air Force , Nationality : Canadian. KIA 03 February 1943.

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling R9197 BU-V

He is buried at AMERSFOORT (OUD LEUSDEN) GENERAL CEMETERY. Plot 13. Row 5. Grave 84.

Source : CWGC & http://home.hetnet.nl/~olgaenron/214%20squadron.htm

Sgt B L Tillotson

Sgt B L Tillotson, Date taken POW 9 May 1941, POW number 13

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C R1447 BU-?

Imprisoned at POW camp Heydekrug (Silute), Lithuania
Imprisoned at POW camp Thorn (Torun), Poland OR Oerbke (Fallingbostel), Germany - dates unknown
Imprisoned at POW camp Wolfsberb / Spittal am der Drau, Austria

SEE PRISONERS OF WAR

Source : Wim de Meester of The Netherlands and Chorley and 'Footprints on the sands of time' by Oliver Clutton-Brock

Date record last updated : 30 July 2011

FS R A J Trevillian

FS Ronald Anthony John Trevillian, 755032, Rear Gunner, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 1 April 1942, Aged 21

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C X9979 BU-O
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C X9979 (Autumn 1941) BU-O

Buried in DURNBACH WAR CEMETERY. Reference : Coll. grave 2. B. 19-21.

Son of Walter John and Kate Trevillian, of Beckenham, Kent.

Source : Mike McNeil (cousin) and Chorley and CWGC

Date record last updated : 16 June 2010

Sgt Frederick 'Tommy' Trinder

Sgt Frederick 'Tommy' Trinder, Mid Upper Gunner, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark III BK659 (20 April 1943) BU-N
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark III EH699 BU-X

Served with 214 from 28 February 1943 to 29 July 1943. The crew were based at Chedburgh, Suffolk flying Stirlings.

Sgt Frederick Trinder died on 19 December 2002, the same day as one of his crew mates, PO Geoffrey Shattock.

See Stories and Tall Tales ("N" for nuts section) for a story written by Flt/Lt Wallace about one of the crews Ops over Germany when their Stirling was shot up by another Stirling injuring the pilot Geoff Shattock

Source : Dave Wallace, son of Flt/Lt A. Wallace and Sarah Bond (daughter of Plt/Off Geoff Shattock)

Date record last updated : 30 April 2011

Sgt 'Frank' Francis Godfrey 'Lucky' Truscott

Sgt Francis 'Frank' Godfrey 'Lucky' Truscott, 1168521, Wireless Operator / Air Gunner, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : Canadian, KIA 28 January 1942, Aged 23

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C X9890 BU-F

Named on the following Memorial : Runnymede Memorial Panel 95

Born 28 June 1917

Son of Lewis Alexander Truscott and of Kate Evelyn Truscott (nee Foulds), of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Truscott attended Kew Beach and Norway public schools and Riverdale High. He was an active member of Kew Beach United church young men's bible class and was both a ski enthusiast, and had belonged to the Fairmount Cycle club. Prior to the war he had worked for a radiator company. He has two brothers Osmond and Jarvis, and four sisters, Mrs. Clifford Williams, Mrs. Baden Powell, Mrs. William Brown and Mrs. Harry Elmer.

See W/O Harry Ward's memoirs for 26 January 1942 for his recollections of Sgt Francis Truscott.

Sgt Frank Truscott back row, first on left. It is unknown where this picture was taken but it is obviously prior to his Sgt stripes and they are wearing an unusual arm patch. It is my guess it was taken at an OTU somewhere in England near or upon graduation as a Wireless Operator, note none are sporting the Air Gunners badge yet either.

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY SAD AS SON IS LISTED MISSING
Sgt. Frank Truscott went to England on Tanker to Join R.A.F.

ANOTHER IS KILLED
Yesterday was the 41st wedding anniversary of Mr. And Mrs. L.A. Truscott, Woodbine Ave., and they eagerly awaited a cablegrom of congratulations from their son, Sergt. Frank G. Truscott. He was overseas, a wireless air-gunner with the R.A.F in England. They received a cable but instead of congratulations, it advised them their son is reported missing after air operations Jan. 28. Sergt Truscott has been on operations with the bomber command since October, 1940. He went to England in June of that year, working his way across on an oil tanker. His parents were unaware of his intention to join the R.A.F. Until he wrote them saying he had been accepted. As soon as war broke out, he enlisted in the York Rangers, a unit which at that time was not mobilized,. Prompted by a desire for action, he obtained permission of his O.C. To quit to go to England. Typifying his "happy-go-lucky" spirit is the last letter the family received from him. In the middle he interrupted to say: " I'll have to stop now. Got an operation to do." Later he continued the letter adding "Well now I can go on. Just did a trip over Germany."

NOTE: After quitting the Rangers, crossing the Ocean to England of his own arrangements and a year of intensive training, Frank looks justifiably proud sporting his new flight suit. The photo caption reads: Happy Landings, Love Frank. Note how much he has aged since his cadet photo at the top of his profile.

SGT. LUCKY TRUSCOTT IS LISTED AS MISSING
Wireless Air Gunner Mentioned in 117th London Casualty Report
Sergt. Frank Godfrey "Lucky" Truscott, 23-year old wireless air gunner with the R.A. F. Has been listed as missing in the 117th casualty list issued by the air ministry in London. A Toronto boy, his mother, Mrs. L.A. Truscott, Woodbine Ave., said she had received a letter yesterday from her son's squadron leader, saying that his bomber had not returned. Truscott had tried to join the R.A.F. At 17, and in April 1940 went to England aboard a tanker and enlisted with the R.A.F.. He had been bombing Germany since July 1941. He attended Norway public school and Riverdale High and had worked for a radiator company. He was a ski enthusiast, and had belonged to the Fairmount Cycle club. His parents last heard from him one week after (illegible).

Source : Andrea Muzzi of Toronto Ontario Canada. (Neice to Sgt Truscott, grandaughter of Heloise - Franks sister) and Wendy Truscott relative

Date record last updated : 8 June 2009

Flt/Lt Reginald William Arthur Turtle DFC

Flt/Lt Reginald William Arthur Turtle DFC, 40866, Pilot, Royal Air Force, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 7 June 1942, Aged 26

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I N3761 BU-E
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling (model unknown) R9317 (03 June 1942)
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I W7538 (29 May 1942) BU-T
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I W7538 (31 May 1942) BU-T

Buried in SCHIERMONNIKOOG (VREDENHOF) CEMETERY. Reference : Grave 69.

Son of William Reginald Margetts Turtle and Katherine Maud Turtle; husband of Brenda Sigismunda S. Turtle, of Finchley, Middlesex.

Flt/Lt Turtle piloting Stirling N3761 failed to return from an attack on Emden. his body was washed up on a Frisian island called Schiermonnikoog. None of the crew survived.
__________________________________________________________________________

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 27 JULY, 1943
Air Ministry, 27th July, 1943. ( 27/07/1943 ) ROYAL AIR FORCE. The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the following awards: -Distinguished Flying Cross Acting Flight Lieutenant Reginald William Arthur TURTLE (40866), No. 214 Squadron (deceased), awarded with effect from 9th June, 1942.
__________________________________________________________________________

Source : Kate Brettell (niece of Flt/Lt Turtle). Kate has retrieved information from the National Archives Canada, The PRO in England and CWGC

Date record last updated : 29 December 2010

FS Tommy Taylor

FS Tommy Taylor

FS Tommy Taylor, Air Gunner, Royal Air Force, Nationality : United Kingdom

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling (model unknown) ??Scantleton

Is listed as a member of Scantleton's crew on return of operational aircrew dated 31 August 1944

Source : John Scantleton (son of Flt/Lt V L Scantleton) and George Mackie

Date record last updated : 4 August 2009

A P Taylor

A P Taylor

He was an armourer on Wellingtons but did not fly. A P Taylor is on the left of the photograph above. If anybody recognises the other person, please email the site administrators.

Source : Eric Gillies grandson of A P Taylor

Plt/Off Richard William Towell

Plt/Off Richard William Towell, Non Com 977635 Com 195111, Air Bomber, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 24 February 1945, Aged 30

Born in Dublin, Ireland

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Flying Fortress Mark III HB805 BU-C

Buried in RHEINBERG WAR CEMETERY. Reference : 6.E.24

Son of William John and Maud Kathleen Towell; husband of Margaret Ruth Towell, of Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

Richard was an accountant with the Alliance Gas Company in Dublin when he joined up, and at some time he played rugby for Leinster and was awarded 2 caps.

15 EFTS Carlisle England in Jan / Feb 1942
35 EFTS Neepawa Canada in April 1942 after which he discontinued his pilot training and went to
31 B & G Picton Canada to train as Air Bomber

Richard Towell was involved in a crash on takeoff, he was flying with WO Gallop both at Chedburgh and Tempsford during 1943 - he broke his shoulder and arm and was admitted to Hospital for the first time on 11 December 1943. He was non effective for most of 1944 as he was in and out of hospital and in plaster. It was in January 1945 that he first joined Fg/Off Shorttle's crew.

On 25 February 1945 Mrs Towell received a telegram from the Squadron advising that her husband was missing. She also received a letter from Squadron Leader B D Davies advising her that her husband was missing from air operations

On 1 March 1945 Mrs Towell received a letter from the Pardre, Sidney H Price, offering his sympathy and support as her husband was missing.

On 10 March 1945 Mrs Towell received a letter from the Air Ministry confirming that her husband was missing from air operations

On 30 March 1945 Mrs Towell received a letter from the Air Ministry advising that her husband was to be re-commissioned from Warrant Officer to Pilot Officer (on probation) with effect from 5 February 1945.

On 8 August 1945 Mr Ward (father-in-law of Plt/Off Towell) received a letter from the Air Ministry stating that all of the crew, except for WO Jennings and Flt/Lt Fowler had perished in a crash. Flt/Lt Fowler was believed to have died in hospital later. The body of the pilot, Fg/Off Shortle, had been found and was buried on 7 May 1945 at No 1 cemetery Ittenbach Germany.

On 20 August 1946 Mrs Towell received a letter from the Air Ministry explaining exactly what had happened to the crew.
"The aircraft crashed at about 9pm on 24 February 1945 in a field on the Viersen-Anrath Road near the Niers Canal. Your husband's body was found on the Viersen side of the canal with two others, and they were all laid to rest in the cemetery at Viersen, which is approximately 4 miles north, north west of Munchen Gladbach. Your husband lies in grave no 18, block 19. The bodies of the remaining unaccounted for members of
the crew were found on the other side of the canal and were buried in the cemetery at Neersen."

On 15 September 1947 Mrs Towell received a letter from the Air Ministry explaining that her husband's body had been re-interred at Rheinberg Military Cemetery, 23 miles north, north east of Dusseldorf.

Source : CWGC and Ian Hunt and Beryl Hutchinson (daughter)

Date record last updated : 13 September 2009

Sgt K S Thompson

Sgt K S Thompson. POW 28 September 1940.

See CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mk1c L7843

SEE PRISONERS OF WAR

Source : Nightjar Newsletter Winter / Spring 2006.

Sgt William Hedley Trotter

July 1938

May 1942

The translation is as follows :

Sergeant William Hedley Trotter
12855 AIR GNR (VR), 214 Squadron
Aged 31
Son of William and Dorothy Ann Trotter from South Shields, Co. Durham, England.
Buried in Den Burg on 3-5-1943. Row 2, Grave 40

William Trotter was a gunner on the Short Stirling BK662 BU-K, which went missing in the early hours of 6 March 1943. That night the "Battle of the Ruhr" began, which was to last until July 1943. The first place to be attacked, by 442 aircraft, was Essen. The Stirling BK662 BU-K took off from Chedburgh airfield at 19.35 hrs and was shot down by anti-air artillery, probably from IJmuiden. The plane crashed into the North Sea near IJmuiden at 22.10 hrs. The body of William Trotter was recovered from the sea on 2 May 1943 near Oudeschild and buried the next day. Before the war "Billy" Trotter, as he was known to his friends, worked for the health department of South Shields council. He was a talented musician and played both violin and organ. He had even built his own organ and he and some friends had set up a band, giving concerts for charity. Billy was due to be posted abroad and had already had the necessary vaccinations, but he never returned from his last sortie.

Sgt William Hedley Trotter, Air Gunner, 1128255, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom. KIA 5 March 1943 aged 31.

He was posted to 214 Squadron on 31 December 1942.

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark III BK662 BU-K

Son of William and Dorothy Ann Trotter, of South Shields, Co. Durham.

Buried at TEXEL (DEN BURG) CEMETERY. Reference : Plot K. Row 2. Grave 40

Son of William and Dorothy Ann Trotter, of South Shields, Co. Durham.

He was posted to 214 Squadron on 31 December 1942.

The letter and a photo that his parents received from the Air Ministry showing the temporary cross marking his grave

Source : Richard Trotter (nephew) and CWGC and translation kindly produced by Melanie Niessink and Bennie Eenink

Date record last updated : 30 October 2010

Sgt William Taylor

Sgt William Taylor, 1458100, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 5 March 1943

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark III BK662 BU-K

Named on the following Memorial : RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL Panel 166.

Source : Nightjar Newsletter and CWGC

Date record last updated : 9 October 2010

Sgt James Cheyne Todd

Sgt James Cheyne Todd, 657154, Air Bomber, Nationality : United Kingdom, Date taken POW 22 September 1943, POW number 526

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I EF393 BU-R

Imprisoned at POW camp Heydekrug (Silute), Lithuania
Imprisoned at POW camp Thorn (Torun), Poland OR Oerbke (Fallingbostel), Germany - dates unknown

SEE PRISONERS OF WAR

Source : Nightjar Newsletter and Alan Todd (son of James Cheyne Todd) and CWGC and "Footprints on the sands of time" by Oliver Clutton-Brock and John Fowler

Date record last updated : 5 August 2009

Sgt J R Turner

Sgt J R Turner, Front Gunner

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington (model unknown) ??Leyshon
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C T2841 (29 January 1941) BU-K

Source : Aled Leyshon (grandson of Mervyn Leyshon)

Date record last updated : 4 October 2009

Sgt Turner

Sgt Turner.

See CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington MK1C T2841 BU-K

Source : Nightjar Newsletter.

WO Phil N R Troutbeck

WO Phil N R Troutbeck , Bomb Aimer, Royal Australian Air Force , Nationality : Australian.

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Flying Fortress Mark III HB803 (06 October 1944) BU-L
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Flying Fortress (model unknown) HB819 (14 February 1945) BU-U

Although he was a Bomb Aimer, the Fortress did not carry bombs so his role was changed to help out with Navigation / Observation / Jamming equipment.

Source : Ian Hunt and Angus Cameron

Date record last updated : 18 June 2008

Sgt John Peter Taylor

Sgt John Peter Taylor, 1434892, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 3 August 1943, Aged 21

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark III EF409 BU-V

Named on the following Memorial : Runnymede Memorial Panel 166.

Son of George John Williams Taylor and Kathleen Ann Taylor, of Brighton, Sussex.

Source : CWGC

Date record last updated : 11 February 2008

Sgt George Ingate Taylor

Sgt George Ingate Taylor, 643077, Royal Air Force, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 12 February 1942, Aged 22

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C Z1081 BU-B

Named on the following Memorial : Runnymede Memorial Panel 94

Son of George William and Gertrude Alice Taylor, of Starston, Norfolk.

Source : CWGC and Nightjar Newsletter Winter / Spring 2005

Date record last updated : 21 February 2008

Plt/Off J A Temperley

Plt/Off J A Temperley

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C L7849
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington (model unknown) N2800 (9 January 1941)

Was rescued from L7849 when it came down in the North Sea off the Norfolk coast.

Source : Nightjar Newsletter Winter / Spring 2006

Date record last updated : 10 July 2011

Fg/Off 'Tommy' Thomas

Fg/Off 'Tommy' Thomas, Bomb Aimer

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Flying Fortress Mark II SR386 BU-N

Source : Gerhard Heilig

Date record last updated : 8 March 2008

Sgt Bruce Taggart

Sgt Bruce Taggart, Mid Upper Gunner, Royal Canadian Air Force, Nationality : Canadian

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling (model unknown) ??Mackett

Deceased Nova Scotia 2003?

Source : Robert Mackett

Date record last updated : 8 March 2008

WO Taylor

WO Taylor, Waist Gunner

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 Elwin Lancy 'Tommy' Thomas

Flt/Lt Elwin Lancy 'Tommy' Thomas, 3518774, Air Electronics Officer

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA936

Source : Tom Robson

Date record last updated : 23 January 2010

Sgt Frederick Arthur William Thorne

Sgt Frederick Arthur William Thorne, 550874, Royal Air Force, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 24 July 1942, Aged 22

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I W7567 BU-S

Buried in WERKENDAM PROTESTANT CEMETERY. Reference : Row 8. Grave 4.

Son of Frederick Arthur and Kathleen Jeanette Thorne; husband of Elsie Thorne.

Source : CWGC and Nightjar Newsletter Autumn 2004

Date record last updated : 16 May 2009

FS A J Tyrrell

FS A J Tyrrell, Rear Gunner, Royal Air Force, Nationality : United Kingdom, Date taken POW 12 March 1943, POW number 27746

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark III BF469 BU-M

Imprisoned at POW camp Lamsdorf (Lambinowice), Germany - from 1943, was previously Stalag 8B
Imprisoned at POW camp Lamsdorf (Lambinowice), Germany - until 1943 when it became Stalag 344

SEE PRISONERS OF WAR

Source : Nightjar Newsletter Spring 2004 and "Footprints on the sands of time" by Oliver Clutton-Brock

Date record last updated : 9 August 2009

LACW Winifred Elizabeth Tomlinson

LACW Winifred Elizabeth Tomlinson, 2080896, Women's Royal Air Force, Nationality : British

Born 3 January 1924

Born in Stone, Staffordshire

Balloon Operator, then MT Driver - RAF Sculthorpe, RAF Oulton, amongst other roles.

Source : Anne Cheung (daughter)

Date record last updated : 13 July 2009

Sgt Laurence Charles Tillin

Sgt Laurence Charles Tillin, 1186959, Wireless Operator / Air Gunner, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 17 September 1942, Aged 28

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I R9350 BU-T

Buried in HEVERLEE WAR CEMETERY. Reference : 2. J. 5.

Son of Ambrose James Tillin and Elizabeth Carolina Tillin, of Woolston, Southampton; husband of Ruth Marion Tillin, of Verwood, Dorset.

Source : CWGC and Nightjar Newsletter Spring 2004 and Chorley

Date record last updated : 30 April 2011

Sgt William Charles Thomas

Sgt William Charles Thomas, 1331876, Wireless Operator / Air Gunner, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 22 September 1943, Aged 22

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I EF393 BU-R

Buried in HANOVER WAR CEMETERY. Reference : 12. B. 10.

Son of Robert George and Florence Mary Thomas, of West Ham, Essex.

Source : CWGC and John Fowler

Date record last updated : 5 August 2009

Sgt Gilbert Ernest Turner

Sgt Gilbert Ernest Turner, 745245, Pilot, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 5 November 1940, Aged 23

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C T2470 (28 October 1940) BU-K
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C T2470 (5 November 1940) BU-K
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington (model unknown) T2709 (25 October 1940)

Buried in CLEETHORPES CEMETERY. Reference : Sec. B.B. Grave K.22.

Son of Samuel and Amy Beatrice Turner, of Cleethorpes.

Source : CWGC and Chorley and Richard Williams (joint author of Sway at War 1914-1945)

Date record last updated : 22 August 2010

Sgt Kennedy Tait

Sgt Kennedy Tait, 974125, Wireless Operator / Air Gunner, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 9 May 1941, Aged 20

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington (model unknown) ??Eddison
SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C R1226 BU-L

Buried in BERGEN-OP-ZOOM WAR CEMETERY. Reference : 32. C. 2.

Son of John James Tait, and of Blanche Tait, of Dunshelt, Fife. His brother Joseph also died on service.

Source : CWGC and Aled Leyshon (grandson of Mervyn Leyshon)

Date record last updated : 4 October 2009

Sgt Sidney Richard Tinkler

Sgt Sidney Richard Tinkler, 1320307, Air Gunner, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 14 May 1943, Aged 21

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I R9242 BU-O

Named on the following Memorial : Runnymede Memorial Panel 167

Son of Albert and Fanny Tinkler, of Woodston, Northamptonshire.

Source : Chorley and CWGC

Date record last updated : 10 October 2009

Chf/Tech Peter Graham Thomas Burma Star

Taken in September 1960. Can anyone identify the aircraft?

Chf/Tech Peter Graham Thomas Burma Star, Crew Chief, Royal Air Force, Nationality : United Kingdom

Born 8 June 1924

Born in London

Son of William Grahame Thomas and Dora Corona Thomas (nee Goode). Husband of Betty Thomas

Peter joined as a RAF Cadet at Halton aged about 14. He trained as an engineer fitter.

Neil Barton writes:

I am writing to you with regard to my uncle, Peter Thomas, who was stationed at Marham with 214 in the days of the Valiant tankers. Uncle Peter passed away a few years ago, but I have many memories, as a 10 year boy in the early 1960s, of Uncle Peter and some of his accounts of life with 214.

My memories have been triggered by reading Eric Morgan's excellent book on the Valiant and, in particular, the photo on page 50, which is also featured on your website in the section on "The Valiant Years".

It is a shot of the hose drum unit in the bomb bay. The senior NCO in the picture has the right number of stripes, the place and aircraft are right, but unfortunately it is a back view. Still it does look just like Uncle Peter. Does anyone know of the details of this photo and who is in it?

"Shaun Broaders, the writer of the "The Valiant Years" confirms that the airman in the centre of the picture is Peter Thomas."

Uncle Peter joined the RAF as a cadet in the late 30's and served in Burma in WW2. He was awarded the Burma Star. My father remembers Peter talking about crossing the Irrawaddy and also being based at a 'diversion' airfield in the Andaman Islands.

After the war he had a number of postings, including RAF Stafford de-commissioning aircraft, but his final posting with 214 at RAFMarham on Valiant Tankers was his favourite, as his wife was from Norfolk. After the RAF he worked for a small engineering company in Cornwall, before moving back to Norfolk, again to work in an engineering environment, in this case making spectacle lenses. Uncle Peter and Aunty Betty had a happy retirement in Downham Market, although the local fish might not agree, as he was a keen fisherman all his life.

As is often the case with highly capable engineers, he demanded quality in what he did and what others did. The Valiant didn't always come up to his high standards and I think he was quite glad that he left the RAF before their final demise. Still, the Valiant ranked a lot higher in his estimation than the Javelin, which they often re-fuelled. "You wouldn't get me up in one of those" was his terse comment."

Peter died in August 2001 aged 77.

Source : Neil Barton (nephew of Peter Thomas) and Shaun Broaders

Date record last updated : 28 February 2010

Sgt Geoffrey Malcolm Charles Turner

Sgt Geoffrey Malcolm Charles Turner, 1251531, Wireless Operator / Air Gunner, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 16 April 1942, Aged 21

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington (model unknown) Z8951 BU-X

Buried in EINDHOVEN (WOENSEL) GENERAL CEMETERY. Reference : Plot JJ. Grave 53.

Son of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Turner, of Wallington, Surrey; husband of Beryl Barbara Turner, of Riddlesden, Yorkshire.

Source : Adrian van Zantvoort and Chorley and CWGC

Date record last updated : 1 January 2010

Cpt Howard Grantley Tingle MC

Cpt Howard Grantley Tingle MC, 88507, Royal Artillery, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 1 April 1942, Aged 39

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C X9979 BU-O

Named on the following Memorial : Galleywood, Essex

Born in Wolverhampton England

Buried in DURNBACH WAR CEMETERY. Reference : 2. B. 18.

Son of Eustace Martin Tingle and Ada Sarah Tingle (Dent); husband of Margot Tingle.

Howard was born in 1902, the youngest of 5 children. In 1911 his father was a lay reader in the Church of England.
Howard came to Galleywood to work at GEC. His wife Margot was born in Germany; they had no children.
His parents are buried in St Michael’s churchyard in Galleywood Essex.
Howard volunteered for a joint mission with the RAF to study "flak".
His elder brother John Charles Tingle had served in WW1 with the ASC and was awarded the Meritorious Service medal in 1916; he survived the war.

Howard was awarded the MC posthumously, on 9 July 1942.

Source : Chorley and CWGC and Wendy Cummin

Date record last updated : 7 August 2010

WO Reginald Ernest Twomey

WO Reginald Ernest Twomey, 1603221, Pilot, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 22 November 1945, Aged 22

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Liberator (model unknown) KL587

Buried in SUDA BAY WAR CEMETERY. Reference : 16. C. 14.

Son of William Patrick and Florence Mary Twomey, of Bromley, Kent.

Source : CWGC and Jock Whitehouse

Date record last updated : 5 September 2010

Sgt Thompson

Sgt Thompson

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Stirling Mark I R9319 BU-S

Date record last updated : 3 October 2010

Victor George Treasure

Victor George Treasure

Obituary
TREASURE, Victor George - Passed away at Northumberland Hills Hospital, Palliative Care Unit on Saturday, June 26, 2010, in his 87th year. Vic loving husband of Margaret Hills for 55 years. Dearest father of Jane, Gord (Robin) and Carolyn Treasure. Adored grandpa of Kerri (Geoff) and Mandy (Jeff). Great-grandfather of Hayden. Predeceased by his parents and brother Don and niece Linda all
of Somerset, England. Vic served in the RAF during WW II. He was an avid sports enthusiast and a member of Dalewood Golf Club until his stroke in 2002. Also a member of Br. 30 R.C.L. and St. John's Anglican Church. Friends will be received at the ALLISON FUNERAL HOME, 103 Mill Street North, Port Hope Tuesday 9:30 am until Memorial Service at 11 am. If desired, memorial contributions may be made by cheque to charity of choice.

Enlisted with the RAF in 1941.

Introduction to Canada-empire air training scheme 1942-1943
De Winton, Alberta
Carberry, Manitoba
Charlottetown, PEI

Earned his wings flying Tiger moths, Avro Ansons,
-79 OTU, Nicosia, Cyprus, 1944

Training on twin engine aircraft, Bristol Belenheim V, Bristol beaufighter

Source : Caroline Treasure (daughter)

Date record last updated : 3 October 2010

Sgt Kenneth Horace Tibbatts

Sgt Kenneth Horace Tibbatts, 1256777, Navigator, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, KIA 2 April 1942, Aged 19

SEE CREWS AND LOSSES for Wellington Mark I C R1789 BU-?

Buried in DURNBACH WAR CEMETERY. Reference : 2. F. 4.

Son of Horace Albert and Ellen May Tibbatts, of Woodford Green, Essex.

Source : CWGC

Date record last updated : 29 October 2010

TOP OF PAGE