400814 - Unaccounted airmen - 14-8-1940

[Henk Welting]

Most - if not all - undermentioned airmen may have been killed during an air raid. Many aerodromes were attacked like Hullavington, Colerne, Manston, Dover, Folkestone, Deal, Middle Wallop, Kenley, Maidstone and Sealand in Flintshire.
Fatal casualties reported from:
Hullavington - 7 dead and 6 seriously injured (trapped in a hangar)
Colerne - 1 dead
Sealand - 1 dead
Middle Wallop - 3 dead (whose names are listed at the end of this thread).

Place of death registration possibly may tell us on which aerodrome they were killed.

A - Not listed in Flight archives:
AC1 Richard AINSCOW - 857329 - age 49 - 925 (Balloon) Sqn - (already served in WW1)

B - Died of wounds or injuries received on active service:
F/O Bernard J.R. BRADY - 90403 - 615 Sqn (Kenley, Surrey)
AC2 Edward CROSSLEY - 973446 - 266 Sqn (Hornchurch, Essex)
AC2 Fred SHARROCKS - 1003476

C - Killed on active service:
AC1 Alfred W. CLARKE - 770819
AC2 Ivor H. KING - 645505
AC2 Glyndwr J. PRIOR - 642074

D - Killed on active service (while engaged on non-operational flying duties or on the ground through enemy action):
W/O Edward F. EDWARDS - 336102
AC1 Bertram F.M. HOLT - 645105
LAC Morley G. HUNKIN - 533140
LAC Bernard WALTON - 522713

E - Already on file as being killed in air raid on aerodrome Middle Wallop:
Cpl Robert M. SMITH - 809010 - 609 Sqn
LAC Harry THORLEY - 809035 - 609 Sqn
LAC Kenneth WILSON - 809140 - 609 Sqn

Regards and thanks for your appreciated help.
Henk.

[Dick]

Hi Henk
Flying Training and Support Units since 1912- Ray Sturtivant and John Hamlin puts 925 Balloon Sqn in the Manchester area and Ainscow's death is registered at Salford which is a suburb.
Sharrocks
King
Prior
Holt
Hunkin
Walton are all registered at Chippenham which is in range of Hullavington, also Lyneham(but I would expect deaths there to be registered at Swindon or Devizes)
Brady is registered at Exeter, Clarke at Andover(from your previous post -raided the day before) and Edwards is registered at Hawarden , where there was an airfield and a factory making Wellington Bombers.
Regards
Dick

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Dick for this info.
Enjoy the weekend,
Henk.

[Dick]

Hi Henk
I missed one !!- Crossley.I could only find a death registration for an E.Crossley at Sheppey which is close to Eastchurch. Jeffords RAF Sqns has 266 at Eastchurch on 12/8/40 at Hornchurch on 14/8/40 and at Wittering on 21/8/40 so Crossley could have still been at Eastchurch. All the other registrations confirm Full first names and initials as per your list, his just says E. (MALE) Crossley and nothing else.
Regards
Dick

[Doug Cuthbertson]

Henk,
I have six men from 15 OTU killed on this date. Do you already have their details?
Doug.

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Dick for info on Crossley.
Yes Doug, I've 6 casualties for 15 OTU (Wellington L4308).

Regards,
Henk.

[John Larder]

" a maintenance party under Cpl. Bob Smith was ordered to close the huge steel-plated doors of one of the hangars. They were desperatyely winding on the big hand cranks when the bomb entered through the roof. The blast blew the doors off the upper guide rails" quoted from Collier's "Eagle Day" in "Under the White Rose" by Frank Ziegler.

[Henk Welting]

Thanks John. Yes I read about it (on page 125) of Frank Ziegler's book (is on the bookshelve).
Regards,
Henk.

[dave bristol]

Henk,

The new book "Though without Anger" provides the information that F/O Bernard John Richard BRADY was injured on 11.5.1940 when Bombay L5813 crashed on landing at Bethenville. He was then repatriated to the UK where he died from his injuries on 14.8.1940.

HTH

David Molyneux

[Henk Welting]

Thanks David. Yes I knew about F/O BRADY; his death registered at Exeter, Devon. Nevertheless thanks for your kindness to inform me.
Best regards,
Henk.