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Davis, Ernest John Walter

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Ernest John Walter
Surname Davis
Gender M
Age 25
Date of Death 18-02-1943
Next of Kin Son of Ernest John and Henrietta Davis (née Reid), of Fulham. Husband of Eileen Rachel Davis (née Siddons), of Hayes, Middlesex, whom he married in Uxbridge in June 1941. Father of Michael Richard Davis, born December 1942 in Uxbridge.
DAVIS EJW

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster III
Serial Number ED492
Markings WS-W

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Sage War Cemetery
Grave Reference 8. B. 3.
Epitaph BELOVED HUSBAND OF EILEEN RACHEL FATHER OF MICHAEL RICHARD REST IN PEACE

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 27

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1254697
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 5
Squadron 9 (IX)
Squadron Motto Per noctem volamus (Through out the night we fly)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Village Green, Bardney, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Memorial, Propeller and Plaque
Memorial Text In memory of the killed or missing of IX Sqd. 1939 - 1945
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Miscellaneous Information

Enlisted in Uxbridge between May and November 1940. In August 1942 he was detached from 10 OTU Abingdon to St. Eval flying anti-Submarine Patrols for Coastal Command. He and his crew survived a ditching off the coast of Spain when their Whitley Z6645 suffered an engine failure on 22 August 1942. The following day a Spanish trawler picked them up from the life raft and two days later they were interned in Corunna. They escaped on 20 September 1942 and were repatriated via Gibraltar.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/127/4
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/127/3

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.

Aird J S (Sgt)
Berwick T A (Sgt)
Darlington R W (Sgt)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 18-02-1943
End Date 19-02-1943
Takeoff Station Waddington
Day/Night Raid Night (99% moon)
Operation Wilhelmshaven
Reason for Loss Shot down by Marine Flak Abt.282 Batterie at Hooksiel and crashed at 20.45hrs at Schreiersort near Wangerland, North of Jever.

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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.