Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - Carleton

Pages: [1] 2 3 4 ... 17
1
No. 405 (R.C.A.F.) Squadron was the only R.C.A.F. Pathfinder Squadron of the war and was formed from Group 8.

Geeves was one of five members of a crew of seven who lost his life 02, Jan. 1945 when their Lancaster 111 PB477 was blown out of the sky over Rohrau, Germany, near the small town of Neufringen.  Their mission:  to bomb Nuremberg.  They never made it.  Only two members of the crew survived; they were captured the following morning and interned at Stalag Luft 1 until they were freed by the Russions in May of 1945.

Gerry served his first tour in the North African Campaign where he took part in the battles of Tobruk, El Alamein, Tunis, Egypt, Malta, etc.  Flying in Wellingtons, he survived five crashes and was the lone survivor of one these crashes – none of which were enemy-related.

Posted to No. 405 Squadron (Group 6), 11 June 1944, he flew 25 operations with S/L Donald John (Tex) McQuoid, D.S.O., D.F.C., D.F.C. & Bar. and would have continued with this crew had McQuoid not been injured in a motorcycle accident on 31, Dec. 1944.  McQuoid was admitted to hospital and the crew learned that their captain would not be available for duty until Feb. 1945.  As Gerry had just one more op to complete before returning home for good, he was given a choice by his commanding officer….either wait until McQuoid returned to active duty or fly with another crew.  He chose the latter and lost his life.  He and his crewmates are buried in Durnbach War Cemetery in Bayern Cemetery.  Gerry was my uncle.

3
World War Two / Re: Air Force Lookups - if you need help
« on: Sunday 02 November 14 03:22 GMT (UK)  »
Hi Zuluss,

You have sent this message to me in error.  I am not researching Sgt. V. T. Bradley.  The messages I have posted on this forum have been in regards to the crew of No. 405 (R.C.A.F)  Squadron who were shot down 02 Jan. 1945 near Rohrau, Germany.

Carleton

4
World War Two / Re: Air Force Lookups - if you need help
« on: Thursday 17 October 13 18:44 BST (UK)  »
I apologize for not posting this message the way it should be posted.  I tried!  :-(

I am hoping to find information I am lacking on Sgt. Sidney Rhodes RAF (VR) Serv. No. 1680670.  He enlisted 07 Nov. 1942 (E. Riding, Yorkshire?).  He surfaces for the very first time as Flt. Eng. with No. 405 (R.C.A.F.) Squadron aboard PB477 and was shot down 02 Jan. 1945 on a raid to Nuremberg.  Out of a crew of 7 men, Rhodes and the rear air gunner (Plyley) were the only two survivors.  Rhodes and Plyley both spent time in Stalag Luft 1 before being freed by the Russians in May of 1945.

I have copies of Rhodes' and Plyley's POW debriefing papers.  Two of the questions asked were, "Were you lectured in your unit on how to behave in the event of capture" and "Were you lectured on escape and evasion" (state where, when and by whom)....Rhodes' answer to both these questions was "Only at Dalton Battle School".  There was no mention of a post to another/other squadron(s).  Plyley, on the other hand, mentions in his report that he  learned this when he was part of 419 Sqdn.

I am looking for help in determining if indeed Rhodes served with another squadron before he was posted to No. 405 (R.C.A.F.) Sqdn.  There is very little "war" information out there on this man.  Post-war is a different story.  He was remustered into the regiment upon his release from POW camp and retired from the Air Force in 1958.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Carleton   


I have a fair collection books on the Commonwealth Air Forces for the WW2 period and if anyone would like any assistance, or a look up, please ask. For example (just a sample):

Honour The Air Forces - a complete register of all gallentry awards to RAF and Commonwealth airmen (except MiD) with date, unit and LG reference

Bomber Command and Fighter Command Losses of WW2

A number of squadron histories

Unsung Heroes - a register of all RAF etc POWs in the Far East

Several books on the RAF in the Far East (an area that is particularly difficult to research for airmen casualties)

etc

Just thought I'd mention it  :)

K

5
Armed Forces / Re: SGT. Sidney Rhodes R.A.F.
« on: Friday 03 May 13 15:31 BST (UK)  »
Thanks for the 1881/1891 censuses for Catherine (Kate) McQuade.  I will pursue her further.  It never dawned on me that she was born in Dumfries, Scotland.

Much appreciated, bendywendy
Carleton

6
Armed Forces / Re: SGT. Sidney Rhodes R.A.F.
« on: Thursday 02 May 13 23:00 BST (UK)  »
Hi Wendy,

I thought the transcription was a mistake also.  Yes, I did try the BMD much earlier on - before I had Sidney & Kate's marriage date.

I have written to newspapers with the link you gave me.  I will keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks so much for your help....much appreciated.

Dorothy

Hi Dorothy
Sent you a PM.
But that marriage you was querying Rhodes to Christiana Gardiner is a transcription mistake.

I have checked the image for the registration and Christiana Gardiner married ??? French same time as Sidney married Elizabeth and their entries are correct.

Have you tried this site for BMD:

http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

be warned the spelling of names are not Soundex, also not all forenames are listed in full, some are 1 forename followed by initials, it will only search for what you input and how you spell it, so have a go with it and see how you manage, shout if you need help.

bendywendy

7
Armed Forces / SGT. Sidney Rhodes R.A.F.
« on: Thursday 02 May 13 04:18 BST (UK)  »
Hello,

I am researching Sgt. Sidney Rhodes who was a member of No. 405 (R.C.A.F.) Squadron in WW II.  His aircraft (PB-477) took off from Driffield Airfield at 15:54 the evening of 02 Nov. 1945 on a raid to Nuremberg.  Rhodes was the Flight Engineer on this flight and was only one of two survivors of the 7-man crew.  I am researching this crew and the only one who continues to give me trouble is Sgt. Rhodes.  I have the following information on him:

- born 14 March 1912 in Kingston-upon-Hull, Humberside - son of John Thomas Rhodes and Kate McQuaid
- married 08 Sept. 1934 to Elizabeth Hastings West Gardiner
- enlisted in R.A.F. 07 Nov. 1942
- taken as POW 03 Jan. 1945 - as was one of his crewmates, D.G. Plyley, Canadian, when their Lancaster PB-477 aircraft was shot down; both were interned in Stalag I, North Compound, Room 3, Barth, Germany
- I have a hand-written document that gives the names/addresses of each of the inmates in Room 3 of this camp and Rhodes gave his address as 112 Tanfield Grove, Bilton Grange, Hull
- I have a War Office document #344-267-1 (POW questionnaire) which shows his enlistment date and information that he trained at Dalton Battle School.  It does not show if he served with any squadron other than No. 405 (R.C.A.F.).  Information on this questionnaire was scarce, to say the least
- date of death according to his death certificate was 22 July 1985 in East Riding General Hospital
- his address was given as 38 Watson (or Matson) Court, Bridlington N. Humberside
- informant was name of living person removed, son - from  Hull

I have tried to trace his son, name of living person removed, but to no avail.  Furthermore, I don't know if there were other children and if so, I don't know where (name of living person removed) ranks in the family.  Given that he was born after 1934, he could still be alive and able to fill me in on his father's war experiences prior to his dad's flight with No. 405 Squadron.

If anyone is able to help, I would be so grateful.  Yes, I could order his war records, but it would be costly for me.  I have tried to trace him through your country's archives but this is a site that I find extremely intimidating.

Carleton
Ottawa, ON
Canada

 

8
To Bee & KGarrad,

Yes, the Yorkshire BMD site does have a different entry.  I had seen this earlier and was concerned that I didn't have the correct information regarding Sidney's marriage.  So, I wrote the E. Yorkshire register offiice some time ago and just yesterday received an answer from them.  The marriage indeed took place in Sept. 1934 between Sidney Rhodes and Elizabeth H W  Gardiner.  The complete entry corroborates the father of Sidney Rhodes' as John Thomas Rhodes.  Sidney's birth entry also states his parents as John Thomas Rhodes and Kate McQuade.  I feel very confident I have the correct information.

To Treetotal:  Yes, I have been in contact with the Genes Reunited researcher.  Thank you!

Again, I thank all of you for your time and effort....much appreciated.

Carleton

9
Hello,

Many thanks for your replies.

KGarrad, I believe that the two marriages (names and dates) you sent are the correct ones.  I appreciate your help.

Jay, I doubt that the births of the five children you included in your reply belong to Sidney and Elizabeth Gardiner.  Sidney would have been only 13 yrs. old in 1925. I believe the same applies for the years 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930.  Sidney would have been only 18 in 1930 so it's possible that the parents of these children belong to another Sidney Rhodes and yet another 'Gardiner'.

As for the birth of a son, Anthony D. Rhodes, this one is a possibility given the date of his marriage in 1934, but again, we don't know for sure.

I am not related to this Sidney Rhodes.  My interest is WW II related.  He was actually Sgt. Sidney Rhodes, Flight Eng. R.A.F.V.R.  He was one of two survivors of the first R.C.A.F. Pathfinder Squadron formed out of 156 Squadron, Group 8.  There were 7 men aboard this Lancaster III bomber PB477 when it was shot down over Rohrau, Germany the night of 02 January 1945 on a raid to Nuremberg.  Five of the crew died, including my uncle.  Sgt. Rhodes and one of the Canadians, W/O/1 D. G. Plyley were the only two survivors.  Both men were sucked out of the plane which exploded in mid-air and managed to parachute to safety.  Both spent approximately 5 1/2 months in Stalag Luft 1 as POWs until freed by the Russians around May 14, 1945.

I have been working on a report of PB477 for a number of months and have been successful in tracking down information on the crew members not only from a personal aspect but also to learn of previous squadrons these men served with.  Sidney Rhodes has been my only hang-up and difficult to research.  Had it not been for a document that I received from a relative of Plyley, I wouldn't even know at this point where Rhodes was from.  This hand-written document  is a list of all the POWs in Block 304, North Compound, Room 3, and gives Sgt. Rhodes' address as 112 Tanfield Grove, Bilton Grange, Hull, E. Yorkshire.

Between this address and his death in Bridlington in July of 1985, I would dearly love to make contact with a descendant of Sidney's.  There has to be somebody out there somewhere.

I have thought of sending for his records from the Archives in the U.K. which will cost me $95.00 CDN converted from 60£   I have been told that these records consist of only 4 pages....a lot of money for 4 pages.

Carleton

       

Pages: [1] 2 3 4 ... 17