Blenheim T2245 (113 Sqn). Crew Murdered? Sgt GOSS, WHITESIDE, MURRAY

[Jagan]

Matt,

Intriguing story. I looked up the cwgc list and it appears to be these three.

http://www.rafcommands.com/database/...an&qmem=&cur=0

Squadron Leader
Edwin Donald BATH (44901)
1944-10-08
Pakistan
Karachi War Cemetery

Squadron Leader
George Harold HAMMOCK (43730)
1944-10-08
Pakistan
Karachi War Cemetery

Flying Officer
John STEEPER-OWENS (142077)
1944-10-08
Pakistan
Karachi War Cemetery

http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?17223 mentions them belonging to 223 Gp

[Matt Poole]

Fantastic, Jagan, to know their names, and to pin down the date.

[Matt Poole]

This thread has kind of stirred me into maybe, just maybe, making my next book project the memoir of Denis Boissier, whose near-assassination story I posted recently. I reviewed all of my letters and tapes from Denis yesterday and compiled some family details, and then I successfully tracked down his two daughters, via the architect husband of one of them.

So we shall see...It might be another year or two before his memoir materializes in book form -- if I can muster up the energy to edit and expand it. It will take a ton of work. If I do (maybe even if I don't!), I'll probably be asking questions on the forum to learn more names, such as those of the three murder victims you posted.

[bruce dennis]

The story has a lot going for it, and the blind luck of walking alone past the murderer has a 'third light on the match' element. Sounds like a good tale.

HTH
Bruce

[Jagan]

A salvage party belonging to 122/143RSU went to the site a month later . Very little of the aircraft was salvaged. (There is an account of a second Blenheim meeting the same fate).

As per CWGC, the crew of the aircraft who were murdered were

Sgt Stanley Arthur GOSS R77142
Sgt Charles Alexander WHITESIDE 1181362
Sgt Arthur Murray 980175


They are all collectively buried in a communal grave at the Ranchi War Cemetery, Bihar.

I found some new information in old files that puts doubt on this joint grave site at Ranchi.

The AIR81 file mentions the following:

1. It is believed Goss died in the Crash. But Whiteside and Murray survived and murdered later.
2. The RSU team salvaged the Blenheim which was lying upside down in the water.
3. The notes says "Some bones and a Pilot Harness" were recovered. Which seems to imply the bones and harness came from the wreckage.
4. The bones were then interred into a grave at the 221 Gp HQ location in Asansol which used to be at St Vincent School . http://stvincentsschoolasansol.in/
5. Later on the bones were re-interred at Ranchi.

My take is that in the absence of any medical reports (there were none in the AIR81 file), the remains are only of GOSS - and Whiteside and Murray are still missing and should be commemorated on the New Delhi Memorial (or Singapore Memorial)

[Jagan]

Amazing, the stuff that keeps surfacing
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Common...es(Casualties)

25.Mr. Sorensen
asked the Secretary of State for India the dates on which Indian crowds were machine-gunned from the air and the number killed and wounded; when dates and particulars of the murder of air-crews will be available; and whether he could state to date the number of Indians and Englishmen killed and wounded in the disturbances?


Mr. Amery
Mobs were machine-gunned from the air on 15th, 16th, 21st and 22nd August and 6th September. Information regarding casualties is not available, but they are believed to be slight and on two out of the five occasions were probably nil. One Blenheim aircraft crashed in Bihar on 18th August. One member of the crew was killed in the crash; the remaining two were murdered. A second Blenheim with a crew of three on reconnaissance duty over Bihar on 30th August failed to return and so far there has been no trace of the aircraft or crew. Reports so far available show that the total number of persons killed during the disturbances was 846 and the number wounded 2,024. Of these 60 were Government servants (including military and police) killed and 648 wounded. So far as is known no European British subject (apart from the small number of military and Air Force casualties) was killed in the disturbances, though a considerable number mostly officials, received injuries. In Madras one domiciled European, an Assistant Salt Inspector, was murdered.



Mr. Sorensen
Do I take it as correct that the reprehensible murder of the air crews was subsequent to the machine-gunning from the air?



Mr. Amery
I have not that information.



Mr. Shinwell
Is it not possible to deal with mobs without resorting to machine-gunning? Is that not something which is not in conformity with our practice?



Mr. Amery
There are conditions of violence and danger to life when that may be the only method.



Mr. Sorensen
Can we take it that this will not be a precedent for similar action in this country?

The Empire and the RAF did not really cover themselves with glory here . It would be informational to have the actual details of the units, aircraft, location and personnel involved.

This the first time I have heard about air power being used to suppress the 1942 civil riots in "mainland" India and this adds an additional colour to these murders. Though many years ago , I was told by an Indian veteran (now deceased) that he was requested to fire warning shots during this period, but he politely refused and was not challenged on it.. But that was only about warning shots...

Note the RAF bombed Indian villages in Punjab in the early 1920s and that was cause for an outcry as well.