Culley, Arthur Leslie

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Arthur Leslie
Surname Culley
Gender M
Age 26
Date of Death 02-09-1943
Next of Kin Son of Arthur and Rosina Culley. Husband of Thelma Kate Culley, of Kingsclere, Hampshire.
CULLEY AL

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V
Serial Number AD679
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Beckenham Crematorium and Cemetery
Grave Reference Sec. Q.10. Grave 19184.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 25

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1320560
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 93
Squadron 81 OTU
Trade Navigator
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Miscellaneous Information

The accident investigation noted that the aircraft crashed in an almost vertical attitude and penetrated the soft ground to a depth of about 20 ft. The outer parts of both wings were found about a quarter of a mile away to the south-east. Various other minor parts of the skin and fabric of the aircraft were found up to a mile-and-a-quarter away from the main crash site. The investigation concluded that the accident was caused by loss of control during evasive action when engaged by searchlights. It is thought the pilot became so dazzled by the searchlights that, in trying to evade them, he exceeded the safe limits of the aeroplane. The excessive loads imposed on the airframe in the dive resulted in the failure of the aircraft structure which broke off both outer wings in mid flight and caused damage to other parts of the aircraft.

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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.

Hall W (Sgt)
Harrison W (Sgt)
Pead I F W (Sgt)
Strolin A C (Sgt)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 02-09-1943
End Date 02-09-1943
Takeoff Station Sleap
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Training- Bullseye exercise with searchlight co-operation in the company of 8 other aircraft
Reason for Loss Almost two hours into the sortie the aircraft was at 12,000' and was engaged by searchlights in the Watford area. It was seen to change direction but the searchlights still held it in their beams. The Whitley then took evasive action by diving out of the beam and was heard to be diving down at high speed. At 10:15 pm it crashed into the ground and burst into flames near the allotments in Finch Lane, Bushey, Hertfordshire damaging a tall oak tree and a pear tree. No parachutes were observed. The accident investigation noted that the aircraft crashed in an almost vertical attitude and penetrated the soft ground to a depth of about 20 ft. The outer parts of both wings were found about a quarter of a mile away to the south-east. Various other minor parts of the skin and fabric of the aircraft were found up to a mile-and-a-quarter away from the main crash site. The investigation concluded that the accident was caused by loss of control during evasive action when engaged by searchlights. It is thought the pilot became so dazzled by the searchlights that, in trying to evade them, he exceeded the safe limits of the aeroplane. The excessive loads imposed on the airframe in the dive resulted in the failure of the aircraft structure which broke off both outer wings in mid flight and caused damage to other parts of the aircraft.

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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.