F/S 964247 Hubball 2/10/43

[graeme clarke]

Hi,

Stuck on another, I'm afraid

Flight Sergeant 964247 Arthur Frederick HUBBALL, RAFVR
Killed on 2 October 1943

CWGC do not record his squadron and I cannot find him in Chorley.

On Runnymede Memorial on Panel 137 and the roll of honour for Wolverhampton Municipal Secondary School.

many thanks,

Graeme

[AlanW]

Graeme,
304 FTU, (Ferry Training Unit)

[KevinW4]

51 Squadron and 207 Squadron were identified Squadrons with casualties on the Runnymede Memorial from that night, but Hubball not mentioned as being part of either crew.
There were 3 other RAFVR crew lost, all on Runnymede, courtesy of Geoff:-
001 HOCKEY L 1509809 - 02/10/1943 ROYAL AIR FORCE VOLUNTEER RESERVE
002 HUBBALL AF 964247 - 02/10/1943 ROYAL AIR FORCE VOLUNTEER RESERVE
003 MUSHET RA 1348388 - 02/10/1943 ROYAL AIR FORCE VOLUNTEER RESERVE
004 POWELL T 1474943 - 02/10/1943 ROYAL AIR FORCE VOLUNTEER RESERVE

1 Australian
001 NIXON JE 409578 - 02/10/1943 ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE

and 6 Canadian
001 BELL AF J/23490 - 02/10/1943 ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE
002 CHAMPION DS R/164692 - 02/10/1943 ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE
003 COPEGOG AJ R/184379 - 02/10/1943 ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE
004 FULLER WH C/17965 - 02/10/1943 ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE
005 GUPPY FJS J/23112 - 02/10/1943 ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE
006 PINCHESS LA R/88005 - 02/10/1943 ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE

So 11 "unknown Squadron" casualties..... perhaps these other Names will help identify which aircraft and units such as OTU's, Coastal etc, and maybe link with Hubball.... Best I can offer, but no doubt more expert Pals will be along..

[COL BRUGGY]

Hello.

2-10-1943
No.304 Ferry Training Unit
Beaufighter T.F.X. LZ264

Missing on Navex 55N 1235W. No message received of any technical failure.

964247 F/Sgt Arthur Frederick HUBBALL RAFVR +
1474943 Sgt Thomas POWELL RAFVR +

Both commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

Col

[dennis_burke]

Australian airmen you will find rarely have their squadron's mentioned on the CWGC records. A sad decision or omission, been meaning to ask what the reason was for that.

You can check their details on the AWM Nominall Roll and on the Australian National Archives, showing that Nixon 409578 was with 51 Squadron, but as luck would have it the ANA website is not letting me in just at this moment!!


Hockey doen't appear to be listed on the GRO List of RAF dead but Mushet is listed as being with 30 OTU.

Can't help with the Canadians.

[COL BRUGGY]

Hello All,

1509809 Sgt Leslie HOCKEY RAFVR, lost on 2-10-1943 on No.23 OTU Wellington III X3470 (with most of the Canadians, excluding CHAMPION) See: BCL7/253

Champion's unit listed as 30 OTU, BCL9/267.(no mention of Mushet in this ref)

R/164692 Sgt Dudley Sydney CHAMPION RCAF
Missing believed Killed on Active Service. - Flight. December 30, 1943. p.718. Cas. Comm. No.325

R/164692 Sgt Dudley Sydney CHAMPION RCAF
Previously reported Missing , now Presumed Killed on Active Service - Flight. January 4, 1945 p.26. Cas. Comm. No.457

1348388 Sgt Robert Alexander MUSHET RAFVR
Missing. Flight. December 16, 1943. p.681. Cas. Comm. No.320

1348388 Sgt Robert Alexander MUSHET RAFVR
Previously reported Missing, now Presumed Killed on Active Service - Flight. August 24, 1944. p.218. Cas. Comm. No.417

Could one, or the other, have been involved in the loss of the 304 FTU Beaufighter?

Who can tell us what TSGNO has to say about Champion?


Col.

[graeme clarke]

Hi all,

Many thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

Graeme

[PennfieldParish]

TSGNO says: "#30 Operational Training Unit, Wellington aircraft # MF 471 was engaged in a cross-country training flight and was flying through dense clouds while over the Irish sea near the Welsh coast. The pilot had difficulty manipulating the controls owing to icing conditions and ordered the crew to bail out near Rhyl, Wales. Sgt. Champion and one RAF member of the crew bailed out over the Irish Sea. The pilot regained control before the other crew members abandoned the aircraft and landed safely at base. An extensive five day search on land and sea covering a twenty mile radius of Rhyl was undertaken but no trace whatever was found of the two missing airmen."

Regards,
G Christian Larsen
President Pennfield Parish Military Historical Society