Advice on tracing crew members

[jives11]

Hi, Can anyone provide any useful links for tracing crew men from a specific aircraft. I have posted separately the details of the aircraft. I'm trying to trace the relatives of the mid upper and rear gunners for a commemoration. I have their names and , via the POW list (AIR20/2336) their service numbers.

While the RAF Service Records service do not provide info to non-next of kin, they will forward letters and I have sent them a couple of letters to forward on.

I have also posted in a number of forums including the specific squadron association (75 sq).

Any thing else I can do ?

[Ann Sadler]

Hi,

Can you post the names? Sometimes it is a good idea to go to some of the genealogical sites such as Rootsweb and Rootschat where people have posted family trees and aslo may have posted requests for further information. Another source of information are the birth, marriage and death indices where you may be able to trace details of siblings or other relatives. It really depends whether they have a common surname or not. Another good source of info arethe local papers from where they were from, there may have been an obituary or some sort ofnotice that contains details of the family. I would post the names and see if anyone can help. There is also 192.com where you can look up names in the white pages, or on payment look at the electoral roll, again if you are looking for a surname such as Smith it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Just had a look at the post concerning this, some of the crew were RCAF (Hugh Halliday or Floyd Williston might be able to help)- there might be something in their personnel file, if open, that would help trace relatives of the gunners, also one RNZAF - again there might be something in his personnel file if open (Errol Martyn would be your man for this one).
PoW and or Escape and Evasion reports may help with wartime addresses. These are held at the National Archives at Kew. You could try posting the evaders names and asking whether anyone might have a copy of their report. Some of the reports are available to buy online at the Documents Online site, you could try looking there.

Regards,

Ann

[jives11]

many thanks Ann,

I have the evaders report for SANSOUCY (RCAF) and you're right - there looks a good possibility of finding them via the genealogy route. But I'm also trying to trace

Camp PoW Ra name initials service number
357 403 Sgt/Air Gnr Jones E F 1498348 RAF
357 411 Sgt/Air Gnr Maxwell T 1698372 RAF

The New Zealanders (Rawlinson and Dunnett) I'm already in contact with their families via Daniel Danoit , a French researcher who happens to live close to where the Stirling came down. Kirby I did manage to trace via the surname.

FO Edwards is my wife's Grandfather

[Ann Sadler]

Hi,

With those two surnames I would think your best bet is to get a wartime address from their PoW debriefing reports if these are in the NA.
As for Sancousy, I think I would get in touch with the RCAF and also try the Air Force Association of Canada as it appears that he may well have still been a serving officer as late as 1971 - Hugh Halliday, Floyd Williston or Chris Charland/Dakota would be worth while contacting, they should be able to tell you who to get in touch with. If Sancousy is still alive, he might have stayed in touch with some of the other crew or at least remember where they hailed from.

Best of luck,

Ann

[jives11]

I have also posted this in the thread about the specific aircraft but wanted to also post here

The advice I received from this forum has been 100% pure gold. I obtained the POW reports for the crew captured crew members. This revealed both the full names and last known addresses.

Sgt Elfed Foulkes Jones of Rhyl, Flintshire, Wales

Sgt Thomas Maxwell of Carlise.

I have sadly found both in the Register of Deaths, but am in contact with the nephew of Elfed in Rhyl (there are 3 Foulkes Jones in the phone book and he was no 1)

I applied the same phone book approach to Maxwell , and while the person I spoke to wanted nothing to do with this project, I'm certain that I traced a surviving relation. I'll send them printed material, perhaps the were understandably suspicious of cold callers.

I have also received fantastic support from contacts in Canada so am reasonably confident I'll trace the final crew members family within a few weeks.

Many thanks to you all

[jives11]

last week I received an email from the family of Sgt Joseph Fabien Germain Sansoucy, thanks to the assistance of Canadian researchers who I was put in contact with by Ann Sadler from this forum. This means I have made contact with the families of all 7 of the crew, none of whom , sadly, are still with us.

I'd like to thank everyone for their efforts, especially Ann