430410 - Unaccounted airmen - 10-4-1943

[Henk Welting]

What were the places of death registration for:

A - Killed on active service:
Sgt (Airgunner) Charles R. ARCHER - 1113141;
Sgt (Pilot) Robert J. BENNETT - 1429519 (in Flight: Missing believed KOAS);
F/Sgt (Airgunner) Eric COOKE - 742967;
F/Sgt (Airgunner) Clifford HARRISON - 1000251 - 455 Sqn (Leuchars, Fifeshire)
LAC (WOp u/t) Harold MAYCOCK - 1425987 (in Flight: Missing believed KOAS);
F/O (Nav/Ba) Alan A. PERROTT - 131792;
Sgt (Pilot) Robert D. RICHARDSON - 1147407, and
Sgt (Pilot) John E. TAYLOR - 1341390.

B - Not found in Flight Global:
AC1 Francis STEEN - 949441.

C - Died on active service:
AC1 George E. COLEMAN - 1038201 - age 37 (in Flight: no mid 'E');
AC2 Thomas S. CUMMING - 1522854 (in Flight: T."R". Cumming), and
W/O William J.H. HOXLEY - 16803 - age 54 (in Flight: no initials "J.H.").

D - Looking for GRO-listing of:
Cpl Alfred BLACKBURN - 635355 - age 22 - KOAS, and
LAC Alexander CRAWFORD - 635408 - age 22 - KOAS,
both buried Sfax War Cem., Tunisia.

E - Proposed aircraft losses:
Magister I - V1076 - 21 EFTS - crashed on take-off at night Booker.
Oxford II - V3633 - 6 (P)AFU - crashed on take-off at night 1 mile SW of Windrush.
Proctor I - P6302 - 2 RS - crashed on take-off Wroughton.
Spitfire IIA - P7677 - CGS - collided with Wellington IA N2865 of same unit; crashed 2 miles W of Huntingdon (pilot safe).
Wellington IA - N2865 - CGS - see Spitfire P7677 - already as casualties on the Wellington: F/Lt [Pilot] T.C. STANBURY - 42271, F/O R.R. HELY [no trade] - RAAF 403811, and F/O [Airgunner] J.A. TOWN - RCAF J/16172).
Proctor III - HM393 - 2 RS - spun into ground Huish, Oare, near Pewsey, Wiltshire.
Auster I - LB287 - 43 OTU - flew into ground Portfield Road, Stratford Tony, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Wellington XI - MP585 - 303 FTU - undershot landing Talbenny, Pembrokeshire.

Regards and thanks for your help.
Henk.

[COL BRUGGY]

Henk,

10-4-1943
Central Gunnery School
Wellington IA N2865

Collided in mid-air with Spitfire IIa P7677 (also of CGS), and crashed 2 miles west of Wyton.

42271 F/Lt (Pilot) Terence Cathcart STANBURY RAF +
AUS403811 F/O (Air Gnr.) Reginald Ross HELY RAAF + (On detachment from No 467 Sqn attending Gunnery Leaders' Course at Sutton Bridge).
CAN J/16172 F/O (Air Gnr.) John Alfred TOWN RCAF +
1113141 Sgt (Air Gnr.) Charles Ronald Archer RAFVR +
742967 F/Sgt (Air Gnr.) Eric COOKE RAFVR +
1000251 F/Sgt (Air Gnr.) Clifford HARRISON RAFVR + (Attached to Sutton Bridge from No.455 Sqn for CGS Course).

Have no firm details on Spitfire P7677

Col.

[dennis_burke]

A - Killed on active service:
Sgt (Airgunner) Charles R. ARCHER - 1113141; HUNTINGDON DISTRICT
Sgt (Pilot) Robert J. BENNETT - 1429519 DEVIZES DISTRICT, WILTSHIRE
F/Sgt (Airgunner) Eric COOKE - 742967; HUNTINGDON DISTRICT.
F/Sgt (Airgunner) Clifford HARRISON - 1000251 - HUNTINGDON DISTRICT
LAC (WOp u/t) Harold MAYCOCK - 1425987 DEVIZES DISTRICT, WILTSHIRE
F/O (Nav/Ba) Alan A. PERROTT - 131792; Haverfordwest District, Pembrokeshire
Sgt (Pilot) Robert D. RICHARDSON - 1147407, Wycombe District Buckinghamshire
Sgt (Pilot) John E. TAYLOR - 1341390. Cirencester Gloucestershire age 20

B - Not found in Flight Global:
AC1 Francis STEEN - 949441. North East Cheshire district, Cheshire

C - Died on active service:
AC1 George E. COLEMAN - 1038201 - age 37 Sheppey district Kent
AC2 Thomas S. CUMMING - 1522854 Thomas R Cumming, South Shields district, Durham
W/O William J.H. HOXLEY - 16803 - age 54 Ilford district, Essex

[davew]

Henk

Taylor on the Oxford V3633 (Wings over Glos)

Bennett and Maycock on the Proctor HM393 (Wings over Wiltshire)

regards

DaveW

[Henk Welting]

Thanks friends for your prompt reply; could PERROTT have been involved in the accident of Wellington MP585 of 303 FTU ?
Regards,
Henk.

[COL BRUGGY]

Henk,

The pilot of Spitfire IIa P7677, which collided in mid-air with Wellington IA N2865 (both of CGS), was, AUS403334 P/O Ernest Hamilton GRIFFITH RAAF.

From the No.456 Sqn RAAF ORB:

F.540 13.3.43.

A signal and Postagram were received from RAF SUTTON BRIDGE, to say that P/O E.H. GRIFFITH (AUS), who was attached there for the Pilot Gunnery Instructors Course, had been involved in a Flying Accident and could not complete the course.

Apparently it happened on Sunday, from what can be gathered over the telephone, when P/O GRIFFITH flying a Spitfire collided with a Wellington. He is in Hospital with a broken nose and suffering from shock, but should be about again soon. It would be very bad luck if this prevents him from passing out on the course.

Griffith (along with AUS26160 Cpl William Henry BLAKELEY RAAF), was later killed in an accident on 29-9-1943, in Mosquito II DZ690.

Col.

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Col making this clear; much appreciated.

Henk.

[Penny Finn]

I have only relatively recently discovered the circumstances of the death of my father, Sergeant Charles Ronald Archer. I put his name into a website search and this forum came up with, to my amazement, his name!
I would be very grateful if you could tell me why the details of the mid air collision in which he was killed are being sought?
You will understand that having had no information previously I am extremely interested in anything which relates to him. I know he is buried at Houton and Whyton cemetery, another fact I only recently learned and I have visited his grave.
Many thanks for your assistance
Penny Finn (nee Archer)

[paulmcmillan]

Penny

the reason Henk asked about your father is that he has (as a private project) been trying to establish the exact cause of death of all Allied (except US) and Commonwealth casualities killed in world war 2 over the last 10 years at least. As there is only basic information on the cwgc web site and registers. It is just that he has a list of servicemen killed on that date which he has down as 'unaccounted cause'. Thanks to the info provided on this site he had full details now for some

Kind regards

Paul

[Penny Finn]

Hi Paul
Thank you so much for the reply. Do you think Henk might have any further details of my father's death? When I learned that his aircraft had not, as I had believed, gone down in the sea, but over Cambridgeshire, I contacted the War Department and paid for searches to be done in order that I could find out a little more about him. (I was only 7 months old when he died)
The information was minimal, to say the least! I did learn that he was buried in a war grave but I would be so pleased to know anything further.
Is it possible to contact Henk by e mail to ask him?
Many thanks again
Penny