Air Force Lookups - if you need help

[RobinRedBreast]

Hi Tony,

From RAF Coastal Command Losses, Vol 1, R McNeill, Midland Counties Publications.

27/12/1940
22 Sqn
Beaufort I
N1118
OA-X

S/L D V W Francis
Sgt R J Farthing
Sgt J W Unett
F/O E Pennington

Op: Rover Patrol, RAF North Coates, Took off 15:45 hrs

Took off in the company of other squadron aircraft and set course for Holland. The flight made landfall on Texel at 16:55 hrs. Shortly afterwards S/L Francis, three times MiD, was seen to bank sharply while low on the water and had been shot down by the Sperrbrecher, SS Templar. THe Beaufort had already dropped its torpedo which continued to run true to hit and damage the 6,727 ton vessel.

As No.22 Sqn historian I can add the following information on the aircraft and crew:

S/L Francis had been posted into the squadron as a F/L on the 30th Aug 1940. Sgt Farthing had far more experience on squadron ops, having been with the squadron since the outbreak of war in Sept 1939. F/O Pennington was the squadron Gunnery Leader and had joined the unit as a P/O on 14th June 1940.

Sgt Unett was one of those early airmen who undertook air operations as an AG for extra pay in addition to his normal ground task. He is first noted as an AC on 16th April 1940.

N1118 had been taken on charge by the squadron on the 10th Sept 1940 (height of the BoB) and three months operational use lasted about the average length of time for a No.22 Squadron aircraft in 1940.

Regards
Ross

Thank you very much for this.
Flight Officer, Edward "Teddy" Pennington, born 9th of September 1908, in Stockport, was one of my 2x Great Uncles. He became a builder. By the time he was 25, he had built two semis. He also built a bungalow in Woodley, Stockport for his mother in law.
Before he joined the RAF, he brought a Robinson Redwing Aeroplane, on the 8th of August, 1939. This plane once belonged to the film actor and comedian Will Hay. Edward was actually friends with Will Hay.
My Grandma and her two siblings lived in Lincoln. They remembered one of their Uncles (Teddy), coming to Lincoln in his aeroplane one time, and bringing Will Hay with him. He landed at Waddington, near Lincoln. This must obviously have been before he joined the RAF.
I did not previously know the name of the actual vessel that shot the crew down either.

One Question please:
When mentioning S/L Francis what does: "three times MiD" mean?

Thank you very much.

[rafcommands]

Mentioned in Despatches

eg
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34795/supplement/1056/data.pdf

and

http://en.ww2awards.com/upload/person/65527/LG%2035107-1574.pdf

Ross

[RobinRedBreast]

Mentioned in Despatches

eg
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34795/supplement/1056/data.pdf

and

http://en.ww2awards.com/upload/person/65527/LG%2035107-1574.pdf

Ross

Thank you. 

[RobinRedBreast]

Mentioned in Despatches

eg
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34795/supplement/1056/data.pdf

and

http://en.ww2awards.com/upload/person/65527/LG%2035107-1574.pdf

Ross

http://ww2today.com/27th-december-1940-coastal-command-in-action-against-german-shipping
This appears to show the very same ship that shot the crew down. It sates that: "A later attack by Squadron Leader Francis seriously damaged this ship but his Beaufort was shot down and all the crew lost."
From what I have seen, the same ship carried on in service until the end of the war.

[Steve Poole]

Hi Jath,

Are you still on here? I have the full story on your Grandfather and would love to share with you and your family.

Steve

[stitchwitch]

Hi

Would you be able to look for anything on my late father? He was Ronald Heywood, born 8/2/1924 Tarvin Cheshire. He was wop/ag in Wellington bombers, so a sergeant. He did his basic training at RAF Yatesbury (Lincolnshire?), then by troopship to North Africa (Cairo), then to Italy (Bay of Naples area) where he finished up in a largely SA squadron.

Due to a family SNAFU I don't have his service number. Someone once told me that when his medals arrived he sent them back. This may or may not be true, but I never saw them. Anything you could dig up would be gratefully received.

Many thanks

[Wilf1234]

Deleted

[nanny jan]

Hi,

Welcome to Rootschat.

The person who started this thread has not been active for some time but if you are looking for a service record then details of how to apply are in the link below:


http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=651361.0

They are held by the MOD and are not available on line.

[BushInn1746]

Hi

I've been trying to trace details of my Dad's cousin, but after hours of searching i'm getting nowhere fast!

Unfortunately we have scant information other than he was In the Raf and flew 'bombers'. My father thinks that he was most likely a F/Sgt as he struggled with authority and therefore unlikely to have been officer material. He survived the war but was from what we could see very badly affected by his experiences.


His details are:
Robert George Milward Davison born ... 1921 Brentford, Middlesex

Hello

My Grandfather was Aircrew on 1940 RAF Bombers and (although we already knew his names and RAF number) I found his:- Initials, his H Surname and Service Number amongst AIR 78/79/1 from Holroyd A. to Hopkin (an 1137 pages pdf, with 6 to 8 Index Cards per page).

My H surname (part) was a 250 Mb PDF Free download which I seem to recall took half an hour to download on our Broadband.


A few names in AIR 78, are missing, but never discovered one missing yet.


Looks like Davison will be one of the pdfs around AIR 78/44
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_ep=AIR%2078%2F44&_dss=range&_ro=any&_st=adv


WW 2 RAF Service Record Still with MoD
We were very disappointed with my Grandfather's RAF Service Record (a Form 543) from MoD, because his "Form 1996." sent out from the RAF three months after his War death has identical information, as the Form 543.

Usually the Unit and Squadron Numbers only (with dates), qualifications and awards if any and next of kin, can be obtained from the Service Record or Form 1996 anyway.

But if you don't know the Unit/s and Squadron/s or Stations (places) where your RAF relative served, you will probably need to check their RAF Record.


A surviving member of his direct family, may already have some limited information (not everyone threw this stuff away), that they might be prepared to share with you? I've had a request for my Grandfather's from my Father's Cousin, I've never met and we have been swapping much family info by email scans. A great way, of learning about your family history too.

With a Surname and Service Number you might find him in The Gazette online, although I can't see anything with only a very quick name search.

Mark