410628 - Unaccounted airmen - 28-6-1941

[Henk Welting]

What were the places of death registration for:

Sgt (Obs) Ronald R. BARNETT - 581311;
Sgt Leslie BINGLEY - 746790 - 106 Sqn (Coningsby, Lincolnshire);
Sgt (Pilot) Walter O. FENTON - 745092;
AC2 Dennis W. HORNE - 1229058;
AC2 Edward MERCER - 1096945;
F/Sgt (Wop/Ag) Stanley L.J. PEACH - 645688;
LAC Albert E. PHELPS - 1157172;
LAC (Pilot u/t) Frederick C. PUDDIFOOT - 1250711;
Sgt (Argunner) William SEATON - 992625;
P/O (Pilot) Norman TAYLOR - 63836;
F/O Henry N. THOMAS - 88902, and
Cpl William H. TITTERTON - 1311242.

Proposed aircraft losses for this day:

Blenheim IV - V5755 - 75 Wing - shot down by own AA at Lydd, Kent (already as a casualty on this aircraft: F/Sgt B.G. GARDNER - 740601).
Master I - T8828 - 5 FTS - flew into ground Loggerheads, Staffordshire.
Oxford II - N4782 - 3 FTS - crashed on landing Bibury.
Tutor I - K3306 - 2 FIS - Air Britain Aeromilitaria: 28-6-1941, no further details; K-File: crashed "7-7"-1941, no further details.

Regards and thanks for your help.
Henk.

[thorne83]

Hi Henk, i'm not on my lap top at the moment, but from memory i think Puddifoot was the solo pilot of T8828.

I will check my files tomorrow.

Cheers, Tom

[Ken MacLean]

Henk,

Times casualty lists:

BARNETT - not yet found
BINGLEY - DOAS
FENTON - KIA
HORNE - not yet found
MERCER - DOAS
PEACH - KIA
PHELPS - DOAS
PUDDIFOOT - Died of Wounds or Injuries Received on Active service
SEATON - Died of Wounds or Injuries Received on Active Service
TAYLOR- Died of Wounds or Injuries Received on Active Service
THOMAS - DOAS
TITTERTON - DOAS

Regards from Sunny Ottawa, Ken

[PeteS]

Barnett Ronald R, age 19, death registered at Folkestone
Fenton Walter O, age 26, death registered at Ashford
Peach Stanley LJ, age 19, death registered at Folkestone
Titterton William H, age 28, death registered at Fylde
Thomas Henry N, age 42, death registered at Aylesbury

[Dick]

Hi Henk
Together with F/Sgt B Gardner, Barnett,19, Fenton,26, and Peach,19, were the crew of Blenheim V5755 of 75 Wing shot down near Lydd in Kent by "friendly AA fire" through failure to display recognition signals. (Warner's Blenheim)
Bingley(Leslie G J ),23, registered at Sleaford ,Lincolnshire
Horne,29, registered at Bedford
Mercer,18, registered at Biggleswade, Bedfordshire
Puddifoot,29,registered at Wenlock, Shropshire
Taylor,29 is also registered at Wenlock,
Henry N Thomas,42, registered at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
There was also a Henry Thomas,19,registered at Leeds
Confirm Titterton at Fylde, Lancashire
Seaton didn't show but is buried in Scotland and may have died there
Phelps didn't Show on the register
Regards
Dick

[alclark]

Puddifoot and Taylor were in T8828 as recorded by the ORB:

June 28th 1941, “Pilot Officer N. Taylor (Instructor) and 1250711 LAC Puddifoot, F.C. (a pupil pilot of No.60 Course) died as the result of a flying accident.”

I don't have anything for the other casualties.

[RockHound]

William SEATON, aged 23, registered at Ayr two days after sustaining multiple fractures to both legs;

Albert PHELPS, aged 21 from natural causes, registered at Forres, Moray (near RAF Kinloss).

Regards,

David

[thorne83]

I see Alan's beaten me to it with the ORB entry for Puddifoot. Well my memory was half right, but i forgot that Taylor was on board aswell! I don't have the accident cards for the accident as it lies in Staffs, but from the death registration, we can see that they would have been taken to Cosford hospital where they must have died/be certified as dead.

Cheers, Tom

[Henk Welting]

Thanks friends for all your combined effort to solve my problems on the unaccounted airmen for the 28th of June 1941.
Regards,
Henk.

[malcolm_raf]

Hi Henk

Seaton is listed as being with 13 Group in the GRO list so could he have been injured in Blenheim IV, T2436 which crashed at Ayr on 27 Jun 1941?

Malcolm

[dennis_burke]

Barnett, Fenton, Peach and Gardner are listed as KILLED IS ACTION (WHILE FLYING IN OPERATIONS AGAINST THE ENEMY)—

AC2 D W Horne is DOAS listed.

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Dennis. The four may have been on Blenheim V5755 probably shot down by friendly AA; crashed near Lydd, Kent.
Regards,
Henk.

[dennis_burke]

Fenton Walter Oswald of 60 Marlborough Park North Belfast sergeant pilot R.A.F. died 28 June 1941 at Lydd county Kent Administration Belfast 9 December to Alsager Fitzgerald Fenton student

From Wills Calenders up to 1943 from the Northern Ireland PRONI website.

[Fedex]

Hello Dennis, I had the honor -as a young man- of meeting Dr Alsager Fenton in the late 80s, as my parents had sold a property to a good friend of his. In June 1991, this common friend employed me for a month at his restaurant in Co. Down and during my spell there I met Dr Fenton and his charming wife again. What a lovely couple they were.

I still keep a couple of RAF basic flying manuals Dr Fenton gave me back then, as I wanted to be a pilot at the time. I also keep a couple of pictures of an annual meeting where former BoB pilots used to meet.

Something I'll never forget is that night I was invited to dinner to his place. Mrs Fenton cooked some lovely food and we had a couple of drinks after that. There was a kind of a ceremonial thing floating in the air during the whole night. I couldn't quite explain what it was until Dr Fenton started showing some old pictures from his brother and his own time in the RAF. Among those papers there was an article from a local newspaper dated on 1941 citing the tragic loss of local pilot Walter Fenton.

I was moved when I read it, but I was completely impressed when, already back in the taxi on the way home, I realised it was June 28, 1991. Without me knowing it, we had been honouring the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Fenton last mission. I never met the Fentons again after that, although we spoke over the phone a few times.

I had just remembered him and found your post after googling his name. Just wanted to share this story with you to remember a great airman and a truly gentleman.

Kind regards,

Federico Sarnovich
Majorca, Spain.

[Fedex]

Today is the 75th anniversary of the death of Sgt. Pilot Walter Oswald Fenton. I had the honour of becoming a friend to his brother, Alsager, former RAF pilot as well.
One night like today, in 1991, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of Walter disappearance. Tonight I will remember Alsager memory as well.

Lest we forget.

[wwrsimon]

Hello

AC2 Edward MERCER - 1096945 - the Northern Daily Mail of July 24th 1941 reported the following:

R.A.F. SERGEANT CLEARED
Sergeant-Instructor Richard William Leaonard Pantling (21), was found not guilty at Biggleswade yesterday on a charge of the manslaughter of Aircraftman Edward Mercer (18), at a Bedfordshire R.A.F. Station.
It was stated that when Mercer approached him with a knife, Pantling, guard commander at a picket post, drew his revolver and shot him once.
Mr. E. N. Binns, for Pantling, submitted that every prosecution witness ahd shown he acted in self-defence. The chairman said the magistrate was satisfied no jury could or would convict.

F/O Henry N. THOMAS - 88902 - the Bucks Herald of July 11th 1941 reported the following:

STOKE MANDEVILLE
Death fo Flying Officer H. N. Thomas
Stoke Mandeville has lost a respected resident and the Vicar (the Rev. F. J. Winterton) his Warden, by the death in hospital on June 28th, after a short illness, of Flying Officer Henry Nelson Thomas, of 71, Station Road. He was 42, and leaves a wife and three young daughters.
A native of Acton, where he spent his boyhood, Flying Officer Thomas served during the last war in the Royal Naval Air Service, with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. During the campaign he contracted malaria, which gave rise to a bone infection in his arm, from which he had suffered intermittently since. It ultimately caused his death.

Cpl William H. TITTERTON - 1311242 - the Tamworth Herald of July 5th reported the he died suddenly at an R.A.F. Hospital.

Regards

Simon

[jonheyworth]

UPGRADE to Albert Edward Phelps 1157172, attached to 19 OTU, he died in Leanchoil hospital, Forres from cervical adenitis steptococcal septecemia

[jonheyworth]

Dennis Walter Horne 1229058 , attached to Balloon Command, at RAF Cardington, died there of acute bacterial endocarditis secondary to early lobar pneumonia