FOX CL
Fox, Charles Lawrence
Personal Information
| Rank | F/O |
| Forename(s) | Charles Lawrence |
| Surname | Fox |
| Gender | M |
| Age | 22 |
| Date of Death | 17-09-1944 |
| Next of Kin | Son of Julius and Marie Fox, of Wembley, Middlesex. Captain of Latymer Upper School, 1940. Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. |
Aircraft Information
| Aircraft | Avro Lancaster III |
| Serial Number | PB416 |
| Markings | KC-V |
Memorial Information
| Burial/Memorial Country | Norway |
| Burial/Memorial Place | Nesbyen Churchyard |
| Grave Reference | XII. H. 2. |
| Epitaph | "O VALIANT HEART" IN ALL THE GLORY OF HIS YOUTH HE DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE |
IBCC Memorial Information
| Phase | 1 |
| Panel Number | 37 |
Enlistment Information
| Service Number | 138131 |
| Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
| Group | 5 |
| Squadron | 617 |
| Squadron Motto | Apres moi, le deluge (After me the flood) |
| Trade | Navigator |
| Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
| Location | Very remote location, Nesbyen, Viken Fylke |
| Country | Norway |
| Memorial Type | Wooden cross, memorial stone and inscribed metal plaque |
| Memorial Text |
Storre kjaerlighet har ingen enn at han gir sitt liv for sine venner
Translation "Greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends" |
| Location | St. John the Baptist Church, Bamford, Derbyshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Framed painting and Framed inscribed Scroll |
| Memorial Text | A painting given to Bamford Church by 617 Sqn RAF |
| Location | South Tower, Ladybower Dam, Derbyshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Memorial & Inscribed Metal Plaque |
| Memorial Text | Commemorating the raid on the Rhur Dams by 617 Sqn RAF in May 1943 |
| Location | Adjacent to South Tower, Ladybower Dam, Derbyshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Information Board |
| Memorial Text | An information board detailing the raid on the Rhur Dams by 617 Sqn RAF in May 1943 |
| Location | St. Vincents Hall, Grantham, Lincolnshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Memorial & Metal Plaque |
| Memorial Text | Commemorating the HQ of 5Gp Bomber Command 1937-1945 where the Rhur Dams raid by 617 Sqn RAF was controlled from |
| Location | Thorpe Camp Museum, Tattershall Thorpe, Lincolnshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Stone Memorial and inscribed Sqn Badges |
| Memorial Text | In memory of all who served at RAF Woodhall Spa 1941 - 1945 |
| Location | Jubilee Gardens, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Stone Memorial and inscribed slate tablets |
| Memorial Text | A memorial to the members of 617 Sqn RAF who gave their lives during WW2 |
| Location | Jubilee Gardens, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Memorial |
| Memorial Text | A memorial to the members of 617 Sqn RAF who have given their lives since 1945 |
| Location | Eyebrook Reservoir, Caldecott, Rutland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
| Memorial Text | Commemorating 617 Sqn RAF which practiced here before the Rhur Dams raid in May 1943 |
Miscellaneous Information
| His alma mater was the highly regarded Latymer Upper School, Hammersmith, London which lost an incredible 26 of their alumni to Bomber Command in WW2. |
| Excerpt from "The Fallen Latymerians of The Second World War": Charles Laurence Fox, the son of Mr Julius Fox, a School Master of 130 London Rd, Wem-bley, born on March 26th 1922, had been a pupil at Wembley Hill Elementary School before entering Latymer in Class 1B on September 13th 1932. No further details appear in his admissions register entry. He had been School Captain in 1940 and one of the greatest sprinters the school had produced. He gained a Scholarship to Cambridge and spent the time waiting to join his unit of the R.A.F. teaching languages at the School during its time in Slough.‘The Latymerian’ traces his service in the R.A.F. In December 1941 he was reported to be in training as observer in Canada and training as Pilot Officer. A year later he was serving In India now with the rank of Flight Lieutenant. In 1943 he was stationed in Yorkshire and training as an Instructor. He was training as a Pathfinder and on operations over Europe in Summer 1944 when he was lost in action over enemy territory. His was the loss that caused the Headmaster Frederick Wilkinson so much grief that he broke down while announcing it in Assembly and wanted to leave the stage but was forced to continue by Mr Waddams the Second Master. This tribute appeared in the Spring 1945 edition of ‘The Latyemerian’. It was written by his friend, Officer Cadet P.G.Mellett who was serving in India. ‘Charles Lawrence Fox, Captain of the School in 1940, Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge, and one of the finest short-distance runners the School ever had, was killed in September 1944. He was navigator in the famous squadron of Wing Commander Tait and while flying home in bad weather after an attack on the Battleship ”Tirpitz”, his plane was forced down and crashed in Norway with the loss of the entire crew. ‘It means a big gap in their lives to those who knew Fox well. His friendship was a valuable possession and to have his company was to see oneself enlarged, for, under a cloak of abundant self-confidence, he was shy and intellectually modest. He analysed the passing world with reserve, and his view was always reasonable, for, while in all things he sought the distinction of perfection, he never sought that of originality for its own sake. His influence was therefore steadying, yet full of vitality; and his personality exceptionally fine. Fox will be well remembered and his relatives, whose loss is the greatest, are offered the deep sympathy of many Old Latymerians who knew him.’ |
| Southern Counties Junior Athletic Record For 440 Yards, 1940. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
| Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2128/28 |
| Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2128/27 |
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.
Last Operation Information
| Start Date | 16-09-1944 |
| End Date | 17-09-1944 |
| Takeoff Station | Yagodnik |
| Day/Night Raid | Night (0% moon) |
| Operation | Transit from Yagodnik, Russia to base via Lossiemouth. |
| Reason for Loss | Returning from a northern Russian airfield (Yagodnik), from where Lancasters from 9 and 617 Squadron had badly damaged the battleship Tirpitz on 15 September 1944, the Lancaster crashed into high ground in Norway after being blown off course by strong winds. The crew were initially buried near to the crash site in the mountains, but moved into Nesbyen Churchyard after the war. Naylor and Shea were Flight Engineer and WOp respectively from the crew of Lancaster ME559, which had crash landed on arrival at Yagodnik and had been unable to take part in the attack. There is some doubt as to the exact number of airmen aboard this aircraft. There are 10 graves in Nesbyen Churchyard, one of them being marked as an unknown airman. However, it is stated in some sources that there were 11 airmen aboard. No 617 Squadron ORBs do not mention any losses other than the nine listed here. Unsubstantiated local stories state that the body of the eleventh airman was transported to Oslo after the war by the British authorities. On 17th May each year (Norway's national day), a ceremony takes place in the churchyuard involving flags, speeches and the singing of the British national anthem. |