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A little real research

I returned to trying to look for some more information on what happened to my Dad's crew on the night of 4th/5th July 1944 for the first time since 1993 as a result of a school project which was tasked to my son James in March 2004.

The growth of the internet in years between my last "look around" in 1993 and 2004, suddenly I had Google and the awesome power of its search engine. Simply typing in "Bomber Command" immediately gave me more information than I could have found in weeks of detailed searching in 1993. 

The first place visited was the official Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary site which gives a wealth of information on the aircraft, men, units and missions flown during the second world war. Here I found the illustrious history of 44 Squadron and it's home in 1944 Dunholme Lodge. The diary section of the site told me the mission of 44 Squadron, part of 5 Group on the night of 4th July 1944.

"231 Lancasters and 15 Mosquitos, mostly from No 5 Group but with some Pathfinder aircraft, continued the attack on the underground flying-bomb store at St Leu d'Esserent with 1,000lb bombs, in order to cut all communications to the site. The bombing was accurate but 13 Lancasters were lost when German fighters engaged the force."

This looked like the mission then, and that one of the 13 Lancasters lost that night was my Dad's aircraft. The key to what happened next was finding the serial numbers of the aircraft lost on that raid and then from this finding which of those were with 44 Squadron.

Back to Google and on the off chance I typed in "Wainwright 44 Squadron". Up popped as top link 44 Squadron Casualties - U/V/W, on a site maintained by Richard Caville. This has a list of losses suffered by 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron throughout the whole of WWII, extracted from "ROYAL AIR FORCE BOMBER COMMAND LOSSES 1939-1945" Volumes 1-6, a list of all Bomber Command losses in WWII published by Midland Counties Publications by author, W.R Chorley.

And there were my Dad's details:

Flight Sergeant JE Wainwright had been brought down on the night of the 4th /5th July 1944 in Lancaster Mark I, serial number NE699 (actually incorrect as I later discovered, it is ME699), squadron designation KM-T. The aircraft took off from Dunholme Lodge to bomb St Leu d'Esserent and 23:00 hours. "Evd" meant that he had evaded capture.

You could seriously had knocked me down with a feather at this point in the process. That easy? Well yes, but I was lucky as someone had done the hard work of extracting the data for 44 Squadron from the book referenced above and put it on-line. I doubt that everyone that tries the same will get that leap so easily. 

Rooting through the rest of the casualty listings for 44 Squadron I got a bit of a surprise in that on board KM-T that night there were eight people, not the usual seven:

FO H Braathen, RCAF (Killed)
Sgt R Houseman (Killed)
Sgt T .L Jackson (Killed)
Sgt W W Rennie, RCAF (Killed)
Sgt W Robinson (Evaded capture)
F Sgt J E Wainwright (Evaded capture)
FO P.E.Wareham (Killed)
PO W.A.Young, RAAF (Killed)

The regular crew of Lancaster ME699, KM-T, in 1944

Digging Deeper

My next step was to head back to basics on my search and see what else was out there in terms of information on Bomber Commands missions. Back to Google again and re-insert "Bomber Command". The top link was Bob Baxter's Bomber Command which proved to be a gold mine of useful information and a gateway to lots more.

Here I confirmed that Lancaster ME699 (not NE699) attached to 44 Squadron had been lost on the raid on St Leu d'Esserent on the night of the 4th/5th July 1944. I dropped Bob a line about the issue of the eight men on board that night, and the next day back came the following:

Hi Mike

Thanks for your enquiry and kind comments.

Below is my record of your fathers aircraft and crew (View Maximised) It was definitely ME699, (NE series Lancs only went up to NE181)

You will note that as yet I have not traced the MI9 report (Intelligence debrief on returning to the UK) on your fathers evasion, any info you have regarding this would be very useful for my records.

There is a very good book entitled 'Sledgehammers for Tintacks' by Steve Darlow which covers all raids on the V1 sites in detail. It is published by Grub Street and is probably available from your local library.

There were 2 Navigators in this aircraft which is unusual except for Pathfinder marker aircraft, but possibly 44 were marking there own target on this occasion.

.......

If I can help further please let me know

Rgds

Bob

Below is what is in Bob Baxter's records for KM-T:

SERIAL   ME699
NAME     None Known 
TYPE       Lancaster BI
MAKER   Lancaster BI by Metropolitan-Vickers 
250 Lancaster M1's ordered from Metropolitan-Vickers in May 1942 and delivered from November 
1943 to January 1944
with Merlin 22 engines initially installed up to ME639 and Merlin 24 engines from ME640 except 
for ME668-9 with Merlin 22 engines.
SQDN     44 (Rhodesia)
OPERATION    FBS - St-Leu-d'Esserent
CODE    KM-T
DATE    04-05/07/44
TOOK_OFF     Dunholme Lodge
TIME     23:00
CREW
Pilot P/O YOUNG William Archibald 417145 RAAF KIA
Buried in Marissel French National Cemetery. Coll Grave 284
Engr Sgt ROBINSON William Evaded
Report not yet traced
Nav1 F/O WAREHAM Frank Edward 134370 KIA
Buried in Marissel French National Cemetery. Coll Grave 284
Nav2 F/O BRAATHEN Harold J/27500 RCAF KIA
Buried in Marissel French National Cemetery. Coll Grave 284
B/Aim F/Sgt WAINWRIGHT John Edgar Evaded
Report not yet traced
W/Op Sgt JACKSON Thomas Leslie 1681086 KIA
Buried in Marissel French National Cemetery. Coll Grave 284
AG Sgt RENNIE William Wilson R/166835 RCAF KIA
Buried in Marissel French National Cemetery. Coll Grave 284
AG Sgt HOUSEMAN Ronald 159176 KIA
Buried in Marissel French National Cemetery. Coll Grave 284
NOTES
Shot down by a night-fighter.
Crashed close to Beauvais
CAUSE    Night Fighter

The Lancaster of the BBMF at Southend Airshow, June 2004;

I also contacted Rob Davis who has another gold mine of a site, Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command 1939-1945, who confirmed very much the same information.

"... the second navigator was probably operating additional navigation equipment or was under training.  Known as either Nav/2 or Navigator (Radar)."

Rob suggested that for further information it was necessary to head off to the Public Records Office at Kew. He has provided a great "how to" guide about finding the relevant information at the PRO, Reseaching an Operational History, which I'll be printing out and taking with me when I head to West London.

A link from Rob Davis' site led me to another, The Nachtjagd Claims Database, where I could actually find the claim from the German night fighter that shot down KM-T:

05.07.44   Uffz. Schlomberg  3./NJG 3    4-mot Flzg (4 engine aircraft)  SE-TE (map reference) at 2.500m (height) Beauvais   01.49    2027/II  Anerk 106 (confirmation number)

A Messerschmitt 110 night fighter (RAF Museum, Hendon)

The data at the Nachtjagd Claims Database (now unavailable) was handy as it is searchable by date and individual pilot, however could be misleading as it does not contain claims by pilots who were not in specialist night fighter units and who occasionally flew at night in what were known as "Wilde Sau" operations. The database is extracted from data at Tony Wood's site which contain all claims made by Luftwaffe pilots and I recommend looking at the source data from here as well as the database itself.

Moving on

By the middle of 2004 I had enough information to launch this website which has been received very well by those that have looked at it. I added a post looking for Sgt Robinson at Len Smith's excellent WWII Ex-RAF site (now sadly shut down as Len has no longer time to maintain it) and came back to the subject every so often over the next few months without ever really moving forward much, knowing that my next step ought to be a trip to the Public Records Office.

Looking through the posts at Len's site I found a post looking for word of John Bede Newman, who died on the ill fated raid to Nuremberg on the 31st March 1944. Realising that the crew was one of those in my Mother's pictures. I contacted the email in the post but was told that Bob Moffat had sadly passed away just before. This did solve the mystery of who Don Irving and his crew were and what had become of them. Since then a couple of the other pictures there have elicited some interest and started further interesting dialog.

Henry Horscroft of the 44 Squadron Association got back to me with details of the raids which William Young's crew took part in between March and July 1944. Ironically their first raid was the same as Don Irving's last, the ill fated Nuremberg raid  The detail was duly added to my Father's page which grew steadily longer.

My next step forward was when a young Frenchman, Remco Immerzeel, got in touch in November 2004. His interest was in a particular aircraft from 101 Squadron that had come down in his village on the night of the 5th July 1944 which was part of the diversionary raid on Orleans. Remco had been the driving force behind the erection of a memorial to the crew of the aircraft  (pictures here). Having made contact he became my French interpreter and started a search for the Pelletier family who had looked after my Father in July and August 1944.

Again it went quiet for a while until Graham Taylor, an Englishman living in France for eleven years got in touch in February 2005. His interest was the caves at St Leu d'Esserant and he is campaigning for a museum to the V1 Flying Bombs that were stored and assembled there (website here). Graham put me in touch with Alain Bodel who is part of a volunteer team running an aviation museum near Beauvais, Musee de L'Aviation de Beauvais-Warluis. 

Alain and Graham quickly pinpointed where ME699 had crashed, in a small hamlet called Laversines a couple of kilometres East of Beauvais and armed with this Graham went knocking on doors to find people that remembered the crash and the airmen that survived. The location of the crash then gave Remco what he needed to finally track down the Pelletuer family and what has happened to them since my Father passed away in 1978, information reconfirmed by Alain Bodel days later.

More Breakthroughs

In September 2005 I had an email out of the blue from the daughters of Bob Routledge who had come across the crew picture here and recognised their father in it. Bob had been the regular Rear Gunner with Bill Young's crew but had missed the mission to St. Leu d'Esserant on the 4th/5th July having been taken ill shortly before take off.

Unfortunately Bob passed away in June 2005 but his wife Jennie, who knew the crew, is still alive and could provide names for the crew picture at last. I have met up with the family and we have exchanged pictures and memorabilia from 1944. Jennie has been kind enough to write up Bob's story for me which can be found here. In May 2007 I received the sad news that Jennie had passed away. A lovely lady sadly missed but now reunited with her Bob.

Remco informed me that Unteroffizer Schlomberg's christian name was Gunther which was new to me (Source: Foreman, Matthews and Parry: Luftwaffe Nightfighter Combat Claims (2004) ISBN: 0 9538061 4 6). Many thanks again Remco.

My contacts in France are still trying to get me more information on what happened to Sergeant Bill Robinson, the other survivor of ME699 and I am now in touch with, and have met members of the Pelletier family in France.

I have also discovered that the crews skipper, Bill Young, was the best mate through training of Aussie cricket legend Keith Miller, indeed that "Nugget" named his first son Bill after him. The story on this one and how I traced the story is now contained in a page about Bill Young which can be found here.

I am also in touch with Bill Rennie's brother Dick in Canada. Dick has a number of photographs and Bill's logbook which I hope to have sight of soon and with permission will publish these here.

It takes time, but step by step we are getting there... and I still need to take that trip to the PRO!

INFORMATION I NEED HELP WITH

I am now in touch with the families of most of the crew of ME699 but have yet to find any information of Thomas Leslie Jackson, Frank Edward Wareham, or William (Bill) Robinson. If anyone can help with this I would be very grateful.

Thomas Leslie Jackson (left) was Wireless Operator and was I believe from Hull. I understand that he was an only child so may not have any close relatives left alive.

Frank Edward Wareham (right) was the crew's regular Navigator and was I believe from Luton, Bedfordshire. Frank was an ex-pupil of Archbishop Tenison's School next to the Oval Cricket Ground where he is remembered on the School Roll of Honour. Frank was married and may have surviving close relatives.

William (Bill) Robinson (left) was the Flight Engineer and was the second man, with my Father, to survive the aircraft being shot down. He also evaded capture. I have been told that he was a Scot, and also that he was another Yorkshire man. So far I have had no trace of what happened to Bill after his return to the UK in 1944.  

Any further information you can find on the Night Fighter pilot who shot the crew down would also be much appreciated. All the information I have so far indicates that this was Unteroffizer Gunther Schlomberg of 3./NJG3, a night-fighter unit based in Vechta in northern Germany. German records show  that Unteroffizer Gunter Schlomberg was killed and Unteroffizer Otto Wagner was wounded when their aircraft crashed near Cruxhaven. near Hamburg, on 11th August 1944. The cause of the crash is not known. Their aircraft when they crashed was Bf110 G-4, D5 + LL, works number 140339.

Some Useful Links

The following are the various site I used in my search for information on my Father's time in the RAF and about Bomber Command in general. The subject is a huge one and is extremely compelling once you get hooked so beware! 

Good luck to anyone out there that wants to look for information on their own ancestors time with the forgotten heroes of Bomber Command.

Google - Some people allege there are other search engines out there. Do not believe them!
Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary - The RAF's own tribute to Bomber Command with some great background information on the history, bases, squadrons and big actions of WWII.
RAF Spilsby and its squadrons - Where I got lucky as Richard Caville had put up details from RAF Bomber Command Losses 1939-1945 for 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron at his site. Don't expect to be so lucky for all squadrons.
Bob Baxter's Bomber Command - Bob Baxter maintains all sorts of information on losses etc. for Bomber Command. His onward links also open a world of information. Bob himself is happy to help with detail and recommended further reading on the mission where KM-T was shot down which has proven highly interesting.
Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command 1939-1945 - Rob Davis' site which contains excellent information on how Bomber Command worked in WWII and loads of interesting statistics. The page Researching an Operational History gives useful guidelines on how and where to hunt down more information and Rob is also happy to help you with any information he already holds in his extensive database.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission - The place to look for information on the men that fell during the two world wars with an excellent search facility.
Australian War Memorial - Remembering Australians who lost their lives fighting in the two world wars including many in the RAAF.
The WWII Nominal Roll - The archive of the Australians who served with Commonwealth forces during WWII.
Air of Authority - A history of RAF organisation, a goldmine of useful information on the various units, commands and ranks of the RAF since the days of the RFC to modern times by Malcolm Barrass.
The Nachtjagd Claims Database (now sadly unavailable) - This was a searchable list of the aircraft claims made by the German Night Fighter pilots throughout WWII. The lists are still downloadable as Word or PDF files from Tony Wood's site. The locations in the records can be interpreted using the Jaegergradnetzkarte (Fighter Grid Map) at the JG26 site.
The Lancaster Archive - Larry Wright's site giving lots of useful Lancaster related information.
RAF Commands - A forum style discussion list on all things RAF between 1939 and 1945 moderated by Ross McNeill. Someone there will have the answer to just about any question.
The Public Records Office - The website of the PRO, giving opening times and listing what records they hold and information about how to go about gaining access at Kew.
The London Gazette - The award of Gallantry Medals is recorded in the London Gazette (hence the term "Gazetted"). The Gazette has a searchable archive at the link above. For instance, my Uncle's Military Cross award can be found on the site in Gazette Issue 37235 published on the 21 August 1945.

"I salute your father and others of the crew, whose props may have stopped turning, but who are not forgotten." Rob Davis

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