420227 - Unaccounted airmen - 27-2-1942

[Henk Welting]

Good one Col, should have clicked on that one!


Henk,

AC2 H Tranter is DOAS in FLight mag 4th June, scanned as II. Tranter but the highlighting appears a few lines below his name.

Dennis,
Strange that - although DOAS - TRANTER has a special memorial Cradley Heath (St.Luke) Churchyard, Rowley Regis, Staffs.
Regards,
Henk.

[dennis_burke]

There are 20 CWGC burials in that cemetery and the vast majority have Special Memorials,

HILL, WILFRED LAWSON, W L Serjeant 5244378 Royal Welch Fusiliers 29/01/1944 51 South part.
MITCHELL, THOMAS ELLIS, T E Captain 95789 Royal Army Medical Corps 15/03/1941 Unknown South wall of church.
SIDAWAY, LAWSON, L Lance Corporal 4924044 South Staffordshire Regiment 23/09/1941 22 Spec. Memorial.
SITCH , G W Gunner 134693 Royal Garrison Artillery 27/05/1916 Unknown Spec. Memorial.
TRANTER, HARRY, H Aircraftman 2nd Class 1541372 Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 27/02/1942 18 Spec. Memorial.
TROMANS, WILLIAM THOMAS, W T Sergeant ( W.Op./Air Gnr. ) 1152528 Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 21/01/1942 29 Spec. Memorial.
WILLETTS, JACK DEREK, J D Gunner 14326194 Royal Artillery 22/08/1943 20 Spec. Memorial.

I would have to guess the burials were in family plots perhaps or were lost between time of burial and the tiem the CWGC got around to organising things.

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Dennis for this info on spec mems Cradley Heath Churchyard, Rowley Regis, Staffs.

Henk.

[Theletterwriter]

George Sivewright appears to be on the Scottish register twice, age 53.

Once on the Service Returns of Minor Records set and also
Rosskeen district of Ross and Cromarthy district.

James Melville Ross does not turn up in Scotland but strangly I'd searched for those two christians names before but can't recall when. "James Melville" was in my history on internet Explorer at work, I searched the forum but the combination does not appear elsewhere.

Henk

In addition to the information supplied by Dennis, Cpl. Sivewright was reported missing on 27 February 1942 and was found the following day. The cause of death was drowning. He may have been based at RAF Invergordon as the Adjutant at the base had signed the death record as a witness.

Douglas.

[John Foreman]

James Melville Ross was a Spit pilot with 222 Sqn. ORB says Returning along R Blackwater at low level, hit water and crashed.

[paulmcmillan]

John thanks do you have serial of the Spitfire ? Thanks Paul

[KeMac]

Hi Henk,

May be off beam but BB900 Havoc from No.23 Sqn crashed into the sea off Margate. The RNLI report lists the Sgt Gunner as missing. Wonder if your P/O was the pilot and died later from injuries.

FEBRUARY 27TH. - MARGATE, KENT.
At 3.40 P.M. an aeroplane crashed in the sea about two miles N.E. of the life-boat station, and life-boatmen standing by at the boat-house saw part of it above water. Seven minutes later the motor life-boat The Lord Southborough (Civil Service No. 1) was launched. A light E. wind was blowing and the sea was smooth. The life-boat found three airmen clinging to two rubber dinghies, rescued them and gave them brandy. She then searched for a missing sergeant gunner, but could not find him, and returned to her station at 4.35 P.M. Two air-sea rescue boats also searched, but the missing man was not found. - Rewards, £7 12s.
(Source: RNLI Records of Service 1939-46)

Regards
Ross

I have come across a photo in Aeroplane magazine 4 July 1941 showing the gunner on BB900 - I wonder if it was the man whose body was never recovered. Very tragic and even more tragic when I have been looking at the RAF Roll of Honour and seeing the long lists of those KIA and missing believed KIA. Just a name rank and number. I would upload the photo but I can't work out how to upload a photo from a link.