401231 - Unaccounted airmen - 31-12-1940

[Andy Marden]

WEBBER, Bernard Clare - Sgt - 754818 - RAFVR.
Dirleton Cemetery, East Lothian.
Spitfire IIa - P7750 - 603 Sqdn.

Webber was killed in P7550

[Andy Marden]

BUSHELL, Gordon Downs - Sgt - 745584 - RAFVR - MiD.
Bletchley Cemetery, Buckinghamshire.
Wellington Ic - P9267 - 213 Sqdn.(Hurricane I - P3267?).

AIR81/4766 - C16688864 gives -
Bushell, G,D, Sgt - Hurricane P9267 213 Sqdn 31 December 1940.
AIR81/1969 - C16471235 gives -
Hewitt,J,P,M,P/O - Wellington Ic P9267 149 Sqdn 4 April 1940.

P9267 was a Wellington Ic.
P3267 was a Hurricane I.

There does not seem to be an AIR81 document for P3267 as far as I can find. So can only assume that AIR/4766 has incorrect details in regards to the aircraft serial number.

Alex,
Yes, that is correct. I have updated our database to link to the correct serial for this loss:
http://www.rafcommands.com/database/...php?uniq=P3267
Andy

[Alex Smart]

Thank you Andy,
I thought that 213 Sqdn was a Fighter Sqdn but may well have had a Wellington for transport use .
But as you , I thought it to be the Hurricane.
Alex

PS :
P7750 :( another of my typo errors. Yes it should have been P7550 :)
Alex

[wwrsimon]

Alex

REYNOLDS, Gordon Murray - AIR Mechanic (E)2c - FX.76610 - ADM 104 on ancestry.co.uk records that he died at the R.N. Hospital, Plymouth, due to a cerebral tumour. He was a native of Dunfermline, Fife, and was born on November 18th 1921.

Regards

Simon

[norfolkjohn]

Concerning 908291 AC1 Leslie Robert Davies, the Lynn Advertiser of 10^th Jan 1941 reports that he died of an accidental gunshot wound. An inquest was held on 2^nd January 1941 including the following evidence. “Ac Ernest Melling gave evidence that on 31^st ult. He was in a billet with Davies and another man. Davies went to a sergeant’s bunk, got a revolver and started pulling the trigger and playing about with it for five or 10 minutes. Melling saw a rifle in the corner, got hold of it, and pulled the trigger. He did not know why he did it, but the next thing was that Davies was on the floor. Davies had pointed the revolver at him and he had pointed the rifle at Davies. They had not quarrelled. It was all done in play. Melling said he did not know the rifle was loaded. The revolver was not loaded. The Coroner recorded a verdict that Davies had died from a gunshot wound caused by the rifle being fired accidentally”.