420706 - Unaccounted airwoman and airmen - 6-7-1942

**Henk Welting** · 2nd September 2009, 16:23

What were the places of death registration for:

A - Died on active service:
F/Sgt (Pilot) Robert BERRINGTON - 742993;
LACW Margaret CALLAGHAN - 892229;
F/Sgt Ernest M. FLETCHER - 352613;
LAC Joseph W. OATS - 1156361, and
Cpl John A. SIGSTON - 521106 - 211 Sqn (sqn.numbering doubtful as 211 Sqn was disbanded after the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands East Indies).

B - Killed on active service:
AC2 (WOp) Ronald A. COUPLAND - 1434983;
Sgt (Pilot) Arthur C. FISK - 1377616;
Sgt (Obs) Alan JORDAN - 1114232;
W/O (Pilot) Kenneth R.W. SIMS - 521127, and
Sgt (Pilot) Jack WHITEHEAD - 1234338.

C - In Flight archives however scanned page unreadable:
LAC Vivian P. PEARSON - 1325455.

D - Proposed aircraft losses:
Blenheim IV - R3834 - 42 OTU - crashed on take-off Thruxton.
Master III - W8589 - 57 OTU - crashed in forced landing The Meadows, Lower Kinnerton, Cheshire.
Whitley III - K9013 - PTS (Parachute Training School) - dived into ground Monclare, near Wilmslow, Cheshire.
Havoc I - AX914 - 51 OTU - crashed on approach Cranfield village, Bedfordshire.
Hudson III - FH449 - AF Lyneham - crashed on take off Lyneham.

Regards and thanks for your help.
Henk.

**Dick** · 2nd September 2009, 18:24

Hi Henk
Berrington.26, registered at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Margaret Callaghan,22, registered at Deptford E London
Fletcher,39,(no M on the register) registered at Biggleswade, Bedfordshire
Sigston,29, registered at Wirral, Cheshire. He could be a candidate for W8589 but there is no obvious location in the Wirral list and I believe that an incident at Lower Kinnerton would be reported at Chester
Coupland,20, Fisk,31, and Sims,27, all registered at Bucklow, Cheshire could make them candidates for the Whitley K9013
Jordan,19, and Whitehead,20, both registered at Ampthill, Bedfordshire which would be right for AX914 near Cranfield
Oats didn't come up.
Warner's Blenheim records no injuries to P/O R Marston and crew on R3834 which suffered an u/c collapse on landing
Regards
Dick

**dennis_burke** · 2nd September 2009, 19:37

Henk, I'm not certain that V. P. Pearson is in Flight magazine, the man I think you are referring to finding above is this officer, I can't get a match for V. P. or /c. v. or just pearson etc. I don't see him the first half of 1943 either.

P /O P.Pearson <--- this is the text as scanned and copied.
while it's one of the badly scanned pages there is no visible V or L.A/C. before the name.

There does not appear to be a Joseph Oats or Oates in Scotland for 1942, perhaps Northern Ireland.

**alclark** · 2nd September 2009, 21:28

Sims, Fisk & Coupland were the three crew on K9013

July 6th 1942, “Whitley a/c crashed on test flight. Crew of three killed instantly.
W/O K.R.N. Sims
Sgt A.C. Fisk
AC2 R. Coupland
This is the first a/c accident resulting in loss of life to occur at PTS.”

The AIB report records Sims as 1st Pilot and Fisk as 2nd Pilot.

**Henk Welting** · 3rd September 2009, 13:37

Thanks Al, Dennis & Dick for again answering my questions. Again some names deleted from the long list.
Regards,
Henk.

**Martyn A Critchlow** · 3rd September 2009, 23:34

Henk,

LAC Vivian Paul PEARSON - CWGC show as aged 22, there is a Paul V PEARSON aged 22 regd in Wharfedale, Yorkshire (West Riding) in Q3 1942.
Despite the birth also being regd as Vivian P PEARSON this is probably your man. There is some confusion on a memorial in the Isle Of Wight.

Regards
Martyn

**Ross_McNeill** · 29th January 2012, 09:34

Hi Henk

F1180 confirms
Jordan,19, and Whitehead,20, both registered at Ampthill, Bedfordshire which would be right for AX914 near Cranfield

As AX914. Whitehead pilot 2 killed 1 injured.

Regards
Ross

**phill jones** · 29th January 2012, 12:30

Master W 8589 57 OTU , crew were , Ball DGE F/O J/3753 Ins , Griffin KW ,Sgt 1212908 pupil , Engine failure at 400 ft both unhurt
phill jones

**wwrsimon** · 7th January 2018, 14:02

Hello

LACW Margaret CALLAGHAN - 892229 - the Daily Record of July 9th 1942 reported the following:

GIRL'S BODY ON LINE
Remarkimg that there was nothing to show why the girl should have gone on the line, Major W. H. Whitehouse, the Coroner, at a Lewisham inquest yesterday, recorded an open verdict on Aircraftwoman Margaret Callaghan, age 22, of the W.A.A.F., attached to a balloon depot in the London area, whose body was found on the railway at New Cross Station.
The girl's home was at Moir Street, Glasgow.
Evidence was given that the girl was on 24 hours' leave, which she started on Sunday night. She died from electrocution and later was run over by a train.

Regards

Simon