Black, Thomas Wilson Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/L
Forename(s) Thomas Wilson
Surname Black
Gender M
Age 22
Decorations DFC
Date of Death 23-09-1944
Next of Kin Son of William Alexander Black and Mary Black, of Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, Yorkshire.
BLACK TW

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster lll
Serial Number PB409
Markings OF-F

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Grave Reference Joint grave 24. E. 10-11.
Epitaph A CORNER OF A FOREIGN FIELD THAT IS FOR EVER ENGLAND (From the poem The Soldier by Rupert Brook)

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 10
BLACK TW

Location

Row -
Panel 10
Column -
Line -

Directions From the Chadwick Centre, take the central path towards The Spire.

Phase 1
Panel Number 10

Enlistment Information

Service Number 168636
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 5
Squadron 97 (Straits Settlements)
Squadron Motto Achieve your aim
Trade Air Bomber
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Church of the Holy Spirit, RAF Coningsby, Coningsby, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window
Memorial Text A stained glass window remembering 97 Sqn in the Church of the Holy Spirit, RAF Coningsby
Location Roadside location (off E6), Fættenfjord, near Åsenfjord, Trøndelag Fylke
Country Norway
Memorial Type Inscribed memorial stone atopped with inert aerial sea mine and Tirpitz anchor chain link
Memorial Text For Frihet Til minne om Allierte Flymannskaper fra RAF drept under angrep pa det tyske slagskipet Tirpitz i Fættenfjord 1942
Translation "For freedom In memory of the Allied Aircrews from the RAF who died in attacks on the German Battleship Tirpitz in the Fættenfjord 1942 "
Location In front of the mess esplanade, Mailly-le-Camp, 10 - Aube Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Stone memorial sculpture, inscribed marble tablets and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text En souvenir des heros de la RAF. Qui ont participe au bombardment du camp de Mailly. Unites de la RAF engagees dans le raid sur Mailly-le-Camp, la nuit du 3 au 4 May 1944. N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617- 619-625-626-627-638
Translation "In memory of the RAF heroes who took part in the bombing of Mailly Camp. RAF units engaged in the raid on Mailly-le-Camp, the night of 3-4 May 1944. Squadrons that took part: N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-638"
Location Lincoln County Hospital Chapel, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text In memory of Officers, NCO's & Other Ranks of 5 (Bomber) Group RAF who gave their lives Sept 1939 - May 1945

Miscellaneous Information

An unusually highly decorated crew- all except one of whom had been decorated
Temporary award of Pathfinder badge on 2nd August 1944, made permanent on 26th September 1944 (after his death). At the time of his DFC award, he had flown 24 operational sorties. His first tour was with 44 Squadron
On board SS Laconia while returning from Observer training at 41 Air Sqn in South Africa when it was sunk on 12th September 1942. He was rescued and arrived in America on 20th September 1942. Although trained as an Observer, he was flying as Air Bomber on his last operation.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/768/18
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/768/18

Fellow Servicemen

Please note that this list gives all the losses aboard the quoted aircraft and occasionally these may have occurred on an earlier date when the aircraft was not itself lost. Please check the dates of death carefully.

Name Outcome
Chalmers D (F/S) Died
Cowan J E (F/S) Died
Gibson T H (P/O) Died
Higgs R M (S/L) Died
Williams V G (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 23-09-1944
End Date 24-09-1944
Takeoff Station Coningsby
Day/Night Raid Night (35% moon)
Operation Ladbergen to breach the banks of the Dortmund-Ems Canal at the point where it forms two parallel branches.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Take off 1920 to breach the Dortmund-Ems Kanal, north of Mϋnster. Shot down on return to base, and crashed at 2340 about 4 km west of Burgsteinfurt. Australian air gunner, W/O H S Tiller DFM became a PoW, number 1046, and was incarcerated in PoW camp Stalag Luft VII (Bankau).
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Casualty Pack

IBCC is delighted to introduce a unique facility to link the Losses Database to the relevant RAF Casualty Pack on the National Archives website. This project is the result of on-going collaboration between IBCC, the MOD Records Office and National Archives, Kew. This document describes what Casualty Packs are, when they were created, the process of making them available to the public and then goes on to describe the process by which you can view the contents of the packs. Casualty Packs (CPs) were created by the RAF whenever there was serious injury or loss of life associated with operational activity within the RAF. This includes operational flying losses, enemy action due to air raids, road accidents either on station or even off-station if they involved RAF vehicles. Deaths due to natural causes in service or accidents that did not involve RAF vehicles did not generally give rise to a CP.

CPs were originally given a unique reference number by the RAF. Each begins with the letter ‘P’ and is followed by six digits, then an oblique (forward slash) and the finally the year in which the incident took place- for example P396154/42.

The CPs are in the process of being made available to the general public as they are passed from the MOD Records Office, Portsmouth to National Archives, Kew. This process requires some rework to the files which is very time consuming, so the process of making them all available to National Archives will take several years. They are being made available in increasing date order.

Once CPs arrive at National Archives they are assigned a unique AIR81 number, so each CP has both a P-number and an AIR81 number. Both are searchable on the National Archives website under ‘Search the catalogue’ and both are included on the IBCC website.

The AIR81 reference on the IBCC website is a link to the file on the National Archives website. When you click on it, the relevant page will open in a new tab on your browser.

There is currently no plan to digitise AIR81 files, partly because they are fragile and partly because the information they contain can at times be sensitive, even harrowing, since they may contain exhumation reports and even photographs of corpses. Family members wishing to read the AIR81 files relating to their ancestors are advised to exercise caution and be guided by National Archives warnings where appropriate.

There are two means for accessing AIR81 files- to attend in person or to order a copy by post.

To attend in person, the attendee should first create a Reader’s Ticket. This can be done online by following this link: https://secure.nationalarchives.gov.uk/login/yourdetails. Then click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and click Order in Advance. Enter your Reader’s Ticket number and state the date on which you intend to visit. National Archives will have the file ready for you when you arrive, saving you time. When you visit Kew, you must quote the Reader’s Ticket number and take along two forms of ID- one bearing your signature and one bearing your address. When you view the files, you are permitted to take photographs of each page, should you wish.

Alternatively, if you wish to order a copy by post, please be aware that there is a charge for this service based on the number of pages in the file. Click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and then click Request a Copy. There is an £8.40 charge for National Archives staff to access the file and give you a quotation for the copying service. The process takes around 24 days to complete and can be expensive.

IBCC wishes to thank the staff at the MOD Records Office and National Archives for their engagement and assistance in making this facility available to our website users.