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Chandler, William Thomas

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) William Thomas
Surname Chandler
Gender M
Age 31
Date of Death 11-12-1942
Next of Kin Son of Arthur James Chandler and Alice Grace Chandler, of Pembridge.
CHANDLER WT

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Vickers Wellington III
Serial Number X3961
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Pembridge (St. Mary) Churchyard
Grave Reference Plot A. Row 4. Grave 26.
Epitaph IN MEMORY'S GARDEN OFT WE MEET

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 19

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1186607
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 93
Squadron 27 OTU
Trade Air Bomber
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Adjacent to Village Hall, Fradley, Staffordshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Brick Memorial & Stencilled Composite Panels
Memorial Text This memorial is a tribute to all those both military and civil who came from many countries to serve at RAF Lichfield
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Miscellaneous Information

The Primary cause of the accident was attributed to the aircraft taking off with the cover still fitted to the pressure head. The accident occurred at night near the drome with MK1 Drem lighting in force supplemented by double cross Goose Necks, Gum Lamps and Floodllghts. Soon after take off the Captain called up on TR9 to say that the Air Speed Indicator was U/S. As it was a duel controlled aircraft with the Pupil Pilot in the pilot’s seat, the 293 Screened Captain took control, and made a right hand circuit, and overshot badly. He took overshot procedure, but stalled at 400 feet and crashed. The failure of the Air Speed Indicator was attributed to the fact that the aircraft took off with the pressure head cover on. The cover was found tied to the pressure head after the crash. Neither the Captain nor the Pupil Pilot could have carried out their “before flight” drill properly because the removal of the cover on the Pitot Head is the first sequence of the drill. It was not understood why a screened pilot should have done a right hand circuit as he was an experienced instructor who had passed the CFS. Orders have now been given to all Pilots that they are not to take off until the Pressure Head cover has been handed to them. The Group Captain Lichfied Station : “I concur. I have given orders that the Pressure Head cover is to be handed to the Pilot prior to the aircraft taxying out for take off.” The Air Cdre AOC No 93 Group stated: “I concur that the Rigger is primarily to blame for failing to ensure that the Pitot Head cover was off and to make his report to the Pilot. The Pilot was also to blame for failing to check either. Disciplinary action is to be taken against the Rigger.”

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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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.

Bryant F T J (F/S)
Cook G R (F/S)
Harrison G W (P/O)
Smith D E H (F/S)
Wishart H P (Sgt)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 11-12-1942
End Date 11-12-1942
Takeoff Station Lichfield
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Training- night exercise
Reason for Loss Aircraft took off at 1942hrs, on night exercise. 14 mins after take off, aircraft crashed at Stychbrook Farm, near to the airfield. Crash attributed to the failure to remove the pitot tube cover thereby rendering the airspeed indicator inoperative.

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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.