400718 - Unaccounted airmen - 18-7-1940

[Henk Welting]

What caused the death of:

Cpl Stanley E. FLOYD - 362380 - killed on active service (Flight Global), buried Montrose (Sleephillock) Cem., Angusshire (UK8193), and

F/Sgt Roy NELSON - 560353 - killed in active service (Flight Global), buried Darlington West Cem., Durham County (UK303).

Proposed aircraft losses for this day:

Battle Trainer - P6726 - 1 FTS - bellylanded Netheravon.
Blenheim IV - N3566 - 2 SAC - crashed on take-off Andover.
Hurricane I - N2478 - 7 OFU - crashed in forced landing Broughton, Cheshire.

Regards and thanks for your help.
Henk.

[Dick]

Hi Henk
From Warner's "Blenheim" N3566 is reported as hitting the boundary at Andover-P/O Fitzpatrick and crew uninjured.
Regards
Dick

[davew]

Henk, I have copy death certs for these two airmen, registered consecutively at Montrose.
Place of death given as 8 FTS, Montrose.

Cause of death of Nelson - fractured skull etc.

For Floyd - large perforated shrapnel wound into posterior aspect of right pleural cavity.

However I do not have a record of whatever caused this incident. Can anyone throw any light?

regards

DaveW

[paulmcmillan]

Killed in Bombing RAID

Battle of Britain Campaign Diary
Date: 18 July 1940

Scotland

At 0942 hours a Heinkel 111 bombed Montrose Aerodrome, diving as low as 500 feet. Some aircraft received slight splinter damage and five casualties, two fatal, were suffered by RAF personnel. Montrose was bombed at 1030 hours.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/Bob1940/july18.html

[Henk Welting]

Thanks DaveW and Dick. Let's hope somebody has more on the Montrose accident. (Air raid ?).
Regards,
Henk.

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Paul. You beat me with my last entry. DaveW and Dick also will be happy to be informed.
Regards,
Henk.

[Steve Brew]

Hi all and Dave W in particular

I am interested to find out if this Flt. Sgt. Roy Nelson is the same "Flt. Sgt. R. Nelson", who served with 41 Squadron between 1935 and 1938. Does anyone have any information on Nelson's previous service which might prove or disprove this?

Thanks
Steve

[Steve Brew]

Gents,

Further to my above query, I have just received additional information from an unexpected source. John Shipman, who has recently published a book about his late father and BoB pilot, Wg. Cdr. Edward A. 'Shippy' Shipman AFC, found the following amongst his father's original memoirs:

"25th Sept. 1940 - No 8 SERVICE FLYING TRAINING SCHOOL - MONTROSE
On arriving at Montrose I learned that an old friend, Flt. Sergt. Roy Nelson who left the Squadron just before the war to become an instructor, had been killed by a German raider whilst taxying out with his pupil. There were several other casualties as well as damage to hangars."

Nelson was with 41 Squadron from 1935-1938, and went to Aden with the unit in 1935-1936. He was promoted to Flt. Sgt. in August 1937.

Trust this is of interest to Henk.

Regards
Steve

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Steve.
Dave: Aircraft probably could be repaired. No 'candidate' for this date in Aeromilitaria 'Crashes in UK' (or it must have been Harvard N7159 where AB mentions "10" FTS only with "Crashed - NFD".
Regards,
Henk.

[dave bristol]

Henk, Dave W
,
Air Britain L – N register has two entries which may be relevant:

N7557 Destroyed in air raid Montrose 18.7.42 (is this a typo or just a coincidence?)

N7562 Destroyed in air raid Montrose 18.7.40

Interesting that this seems to give a slightly different impression to that given on the BoB website. Was somebody being economic with the truth?

It is probably correct that some aircraft did receive slight splinter damage but this may not be the whole truth.

HTH

Dave Molyneux

[jonheyworth]

Norman William Darby 1350820 , attached to RAF Acklington, was accidently shot and killed

[Alex Smart]

Hello,

400718 - Unaccounted Airmen - 18-07-1940

From Henk's list -

UK
DARBY, Norman William - AC2c - 1350820 - RAFVR.
Reading (Henley Road ) Cemetery, Oxfordshire.
Cause of death ?

GARNER, Ronald - Lac - 751876 - RAFVR.
Arnold Cemetery, Nottinghamshire.
Cause of death ?

FLOYD, Stanley Edward - Cpl - 362380 - RAF.
Montrose ( Sleepyhillock ) Cemetery, Angus.
NELSON, Roy - F/Sqt - 560353 - RAF.
Darlington West Cemetery, Durham.
These two airmen were crew of Master I - N7562 - 8 FTS.

From CWGC -

BELGIUM
EXTON, George Edward - Sgt - 640689 - RAF.
Adegem Canadian War Cemetery, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium.
Blenheim IV - R3661 - 53 Sqn.

EGYPT
GRAY-WORCESTER, Anthony (Cyprus) - F/O - 33338 - RAF - MiD.
Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt.
Gladiator I - K6130 - 112 Sqn.

FRANCE

SINGAPORE
DAVIES, Walter - Sgt - 541173 - RAF.
WOODWORTH, Desmond Henry ( Republic of Ireland) - Sgt - 741304 - RAFVR.
These two airmen rest at Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore.
They were crew of Vildebeest - K6381 - 100 Sqn.

UK
BEALE, Jack Allen - Sgt - 804328 - RAF(AAF).
Finchley (Holy Trinity) Churchyard, Middlesex.
Harvard I - N7159 - 10 FTS.

CRUSH, Philip Anthony - P/O - 43097 - RAF. (Formerly 2nd Lt, of 2 Bn, Warwickshire Regiment).
Oswestry General Cemetery, Shropshire.
SWEET, Eustace Errol - F/O - 44268 - RAF.
Cheswardine ( St. Swithin ) Churchyard, Shropshire.
These two airmen were crew of Harvard I - N7158 - 10 FTS.

KIRKLAND, Bernard Clive - Sgt - 754436 - RAFVR.
Hawarden (St. Deiniol ) Churchyard, Flintshire.
Oxford I - L4654 - 5 FTS.

PATERSON, Robert Lawson - P/O - 77529 - RAFVR.
REECE, Lawrence Hugh Murrell - Sgt - 747825 - RAFVR
TUCKER, Ronald Yeaman - Sgt - 552711 - RAF.
These three airmen were crew of Blenheim IV - N3541 - 235 Sqn.

KEETLEY, Denys Arthur - Sgt - 747771 - RAFVR.
MAHONY, John Edward - F/O - 39237 - RAF.
These two airmen were crew of Blenheim IV - R3661 - 53 Sqn.

ELSDON, Harry Donald Buchanan - Sgt - 743044 - RAFVR.
Blenheim I - L6779 - 236 Sqn.

LITCHFIELD, Peter - P/O - 76461 - RAF.
Spitfire I - P9452 - 610 Sqn.

The seven airmen named above are all commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey.

DEAN, Peter Nelson- Lt(A) - HMS Illustrious / HMS Raven - RN.
JONES, Kenneth Llewellyn - NA - D/JX.152768 - HMS Illustrious - RN.
These two Naval Airmen are Commemorated on the Lee-on-Solent Memorial, Hampshire.
They were crew of Skua - L2914 - 806 Sqn FAA,RN.

Alex

[wwrsimon]

Alex

GARNER, Ronald - Lac - 751876 - his death was announced in the Nottingham Evening Post of July 20th 1940:

GARNER - Ron, R.A.F., July 18th, after short illness. Ron had a smile for everyone. Funeral Redhill, Monday, 11.30.

Regards

Simon

[jonheyworth]

Alex

GARNER, Ronald - Lac - 751876 - his death was announced in the Nottingham Evening Post of July 20th 1940:

GARNER - Ron, R.A.F., July 18th, after short illness. Ron had a smile for everyone. Funeral Redhill, Monday, 11.30.

Regards

Simon

I'm sure I've got Garner. I'll check and add

[Andy Marden]

EGYPT
GRAY-WORCESTER, Anthony (Cyprus) - F/O - 33338 - RAF - MiD.
Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt.
Hector - K8130 - 112 Sqn.



Alex,
TNA at: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16471759
has the serial wrong. It was indeed a Gladiator, but it was K6130.
Andy

[Alex Smart]

Thank you Andy,
I just looked up thr "KFile".
Hector K8130
Went to the Irish Air Force as "88" in 1942

Gladiator K6130
Flew into hill in cloud, Qaret el Naga, 18.7.40; pilot killed.
So K6130 it is

Have edited my first post above.
Thanks
Alex

[Alex Smart]

Thanks Simon

[jonheyworth]

Alex

GARNER, Ronald - Lac - 751876 - his death was announced in the Nottingham Evening Post of July 20th 1940:

GARNER - Ron, R.A.F., July 18th, after short illness. Ron had a smile for everyone. Funeral Redhill, Monday, 11.30.

Regards

Simon

Ronald Garner 751876, died in the Wooley sanatorium, Slaley, Hexham, of tuberculosis meningitis and acute milary tuberculosis

[jonheyworth]

Ronald Garner 751876 , attached to RAF Acklington , died in the Wooley sanatorium , Slaley, Hexham, of pulmonary tuberculosis and acute miliary tuberculosis