Air78 Help Needed

[Steve Smith]

Hi,

No matter how many times I look I just cannot seem to find the following PoW's on Air78. They appear on the Commands PoW listing, and the s/n are correct.

I am trying to locate the Christian names of the following :

BOWATER A.H 937787 RAFVR
STEWART R.S.C 115161 RAFVR
ADAMS F.C 1377902 RAFVR

Anyhelp, pointers most gratefully recieved.

Steve

[paulmcmillan]

Rugby Advertiser - Friday 14 November 1941

O.L. AIRMAN MISSING SERGT. A. H. BOWATER AN Old Lauicntian and former member the O.L’s. Rugby XV, Sergt. A. H. Bowater (25), has been reported missing following operations over Germany. The only son of Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Bowater, 38, Lancaster Road, Rugby, Sergt. Bowater is navigator in the Bomber Command. volunteered for the R.A.F. in the first week of the war, but was not called to take his training until May last year. He has been on active service about live months, and was hom2 on. leave just over month ago. After leaving Lawrence Sheriff School, Sergt. Bowater became an articled pupil to Messrs. Cropper & Co., auctioneers and valuers, and subsequently was employed by Mr. B. O. Osborne, estate agent, of Coventry. For few seasons played forward in the Old Laurentian “rugger” team. A keen musician, he. plays the violin and viola.


Births Mar 1916

Births Mar 1916 (>99%)
Bowater Alfred H Swift Rugby 6d 1340

[paulmcmillan]

Follow up
Rugby Advertiser - Friday 21 November 1941

Alfred Herbert Bowater

[wwrsimon]

Steve

Air 78/ 1: ADAMS Frederick Charles 1377902

Air 78/151: STEWART Ronald Sydney Charles 1151561

Bowater - the 1939 register has Alfred H. Bowater, born December 14th 1915, Ruby, Warwickshire, living at 38 Lancaster Road with his parents Alfred B. Bowater and Winifred D. Bowater. He is recorded as being an Airman, R.A.F. Pilot in Flight D, 93.... (rest of his service number is missing).

Regards

Simon

[paulmcmillan]

Steve to make it easier what is date of loss of Z8413 ? Thanks

[COL BRUGGY]

Hello,

Z8413 was not "Lost". Adams, Bowater and Stewart were aboard No.218 Sqn Wellington IC Z1069 when it failed to return from Berlin on 7/8 November, 1941. (BCL2/177) The Sgt W Fraser mentioned by Bill Chorley is actually, AUS404342 Sgt William FRASER RAAF (see: http://www.rafinfo.org.uk/bcww2losses/1941.htm - 1941/177 218/Z1069.

Col.

[Steve Smith]

Dear all,

Thank you for saving my sanity, I think I must have had Air78 'blindness' !

Regards

Steve

[wwrsimon]

No problem Steve. Two pairs of eyes are often better than one.

Of course you can never be sure they'd be in Air 78 anyway, with the missing cards and mis-ordered pages.

As a matter of interest, where are the Air 78 cards stored, if they still exist? Or are they just now extant on microfilm?

Regards

Simon

[Resmoroh]

Hello All,
Sometime back I participated in the "crowd-inputting/checking" of some of the WW1 Casualty Records. It was an ideal arrangement. One could "do/check" any number whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, the refuse wagon finishing chucking your bins about, or even the loaf to finish in the bread-maker! What I'm saying is that little bits - or even big bits - could be done as/when one had the time/effort/enthusiasm. In this case it made for some fascinating reading whilst inputting the data.
Now, AIR 78 is a big beast, is in many pieces, and has many faults (as many of us have discovered over time)!
Forgive my ignorance, but has any thought ever been given to transcribing the data from the AIR 78 images on to an Excel spreadsheet (or similar)?
It would seem to be an ideal candidate for another "crowd-inputting/checking" exercise?
Or is the problem too immense and/or set about with too many technical/administrative/legal/political "hoops" which would have to be jumped through?
A spreadsheet, or database, of several million "rows", and quite a lot of "cols", is certainly not beyond the capabilities of many systems - many not in 'official' hands, but in the hands of dedicated enthusiasts.
Or is it just TFD?
HTH/TIA
Peter Davies

[paulmcmillan]

It could be done..

I would suggest though it needs two transcribers per sheet

So you get to find any errors

Now finding volunteers would be an issue

Maybe these people (who are nearly finished ) may help!
https://www.freebmd.org.uk/FAQ.html#1