410901 - Unaccounted airmen - 1-9-1941

[Henk Welting]

What were the places of death registration for:

F/Sgt Cyril COLEMAN - 534212;
AC2 Ernest G. GASSON - 1230818;
Sgt James JORDAN - 516919;
LAC Ernest L. MESS - 633558;
P/O George B. RUSHTON - 62204;
AC2 Douglas SMOOTHY - 1441078;
F/O Alexander A.F.T. STEAVENSON - 85756 (age 56), and
Sgt (Pilot) David L. WILLACY - 1014571.

Proposed aircraft losses for this day:

Blenheim IV - Z6049 - 74 Wing Cal Flt - crashed on take-off Duxford.
Hurricane I - V7467 - 59 OTU - flew into ground 1 mile N of Glen Capel, Dumfries.
Master I - N8064 - 9 FTS - spun into ground Lacock, Wiltshire (already as a casualty on this a/c: Soldier 2.Cl/Pilot u/t V.D.J. JANSEN - 1149978 (from The Netherlands).
Master I - T8884 - 9 FTS - crashed on take-off Castle Combe.

Regards and thanks for your help.
Henk.

[dennis_burke]

F/Sgt Cyril COLEMAN - DOAS (Flight record is Flt Sgt C. COLMAN). Buried in Jurby, Isle of Mann so is that a different death register? See below, from IoM and died there.

AC2 Ernest G. GASSON - DIED OF WOUNDS OR INJURIES RECEIVED ON ACTIVE SERVICE (Found by Ken McClean in The Times, below), Age 25, Howden district;

Sgt James JORDAN - Can't see him in flight: ;Age 26, Henley district;

LAC Ernest L. MESS -DOAS found by Ken Mclean below in The Times, Age 20, New Forest District.

P/O George B. RUSHTON - DOAS, Age 32 Wellington District;

AC2 Douglas SMOOTHY - Died of Wounds or Injuries rec'd on active service; Age 19, Howden District; named as Douglas A Smoothy, His birth is registered with middle initial A also.

F/O Alexander A.F.T. STEAVENSON - DOAS, Died in Isle of Mann, born in India.

Sgt (Pilot) David L. WILLACY - KOAS, Registered in Scotland and in Caerlaverock district of Dumfries, needs confirming however.

Jordan

Thats for now at least

Dennis

[thorne83]

Rushton was serving at RAF High Ercall and was killed in a car crash in Wellington.

Cheers, Tom

[Dick]

Steavenson is on CWGC age 56 and buried in Scotland so may have died there. I believe the Isle of Man registers are separate from England and Wales.
Warner has no casualties or injury on Z6049, where the an u/c leg collapsed on take-off. DBF. W/O G Smith and crew escaped
Regards
Dick

[dennis_burke]

A Manx Man!

http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/famhist/genealgy/ww2.htm

STEAVENSON. A. F. T. (56), F/O. R.A.F., Seafield, Ramsey. - Died in Noble's Hospital, August 31st, 1941.

COLEMAN, Flight-Sergeant Cyril, Albert Terrace, Ramsey. - Killed in road accident, September, 1941. , '

Now if that is not the most useful site I've found in a while.....

Cheers
Dennis

[Dick]

Thanks Dennis
Steavenson is buried at Kirk Maughold which,I have now found,is just SW of Ramsey on the Isle of Man. I took the Kirk to indicate Scotland!! Shows you how much UK geography I know!!
Regards
Dick

[Ken MacLean]

Henk,

Times casualty lists: AC2 E.G. Gasson Died of Wounds or Injuries Received on Active Service, LAC E.L. Mess DOAS. Sgt. Jordan, AC2 Smoothy not found.

Cheers, Ken

[dennis_burke]

Thanks Ken, below is the text as scanned from Flight after a bit of tootling around, one would never find them unless you were thinking well outside and away from the box!

DIED OF WOUNDS OR INJURIES RECEIVED ON ACTIVE SERVICE.—A/CS E. G. Gaeson;
DIED ON ACTIVE SEnvirE. —L.A.C. E. L. Miw;

The scans are a little blurred perhaps and the OCR software read them as above.

I did find Smoothy and fed the details back into my first posting above. Jordan still outstanding.

Dennis

[Henk Welting]

Thanks friends for all your support; much appreciated. Best regards from a sunny corner (Zelhem) somewhere in the east of The Netherlands.
Henk.

[wwrsimon]

Hello

Sgt (Pilot) David L. WILLACY - 1014571 - the Dumfries and Galloway Standard of September 6th 1941 reported the following:

ANNAN AIRMAN KILLED
News has been received in Annan this week of the death of Flight-Sergeant David L. Willacy, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Willacy, Moat Road, Annan, who was killed in a aircraft accident in this country on Monday.

The Graves Registration Form confirms him as being with 59 O.T.U., so that would imply he was piloting V7467.

Regards

Simon

[Nick Cooper]

AC2 Ernest G. GASSON - 1230818;
AC2 Douglas SMOOTHY - 1441078;

I note that Gasson and Smoothy both have death registrations in Howden.

The Key Point Information Branch bulletin for 31/08-01/09/1941 (National Archives HO 201/11) states:


2 A.P.B's
2300
31.8.41


R.A.F. Aerodrome, Holme, Yorkshire


Damage to hutments

No casualties are noted, but that they weren't always included in these bulletins, anyway.

There was also a large raid on Hull on the same night.

Other deaths are Holme on Spalding Moor were also registered in Howden, so this suggests a likely fate for Gasson and Smoothy.

[jonheyworth]

Alexander Arthur Fenwich Towry Steavenson 85756 , attached to RAF Ronaldsay , died in Douglas military hospital of pneumonia

[jonheyworth]

George Berkley Rushton 62204 , was fatally injured when a car he was travelling in returning to High Ercall with 4 other airmen, hit a stationary lorry, injuring 3 of them. Conveyed to the Wellinton Cottage hospital, Rushton died the same day of his injuries

[jonheyworth]

Ernest George Gasson 1230818 , and

Douglas Smoothy 1441078 , where both killed at RAF Holme on Spalding Moor when an ME110 dropped several AP Bombs on the main station site at 23:04 Hours. 10 other airmen and a NAAFI girl were also injured

[jonheyworth]

Ernest Leslie Mess 633588 , attached to RAF Calshot, was killed at 06:00 Hours in a motorcycle accident near the station

[jonheyworth]

James Jordan 516919 | attached to Number 7 EFTS | died in the Berkshire Joint sanatorium at Rothenfield, Peppard Common, of pulmonary tuberculosis