Harris, George Lawlor Bernays
Personal Information
Rank | S/L |
Forename(s) | George Lawlor Bernays |
Surname | Harris |
Gender | M |
Age | 28 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 12-02-1942 |
Next of Kin | Son of George Edward and Maribel Georgina Harris, of Wellington City, New Zealand. Husband of Mary Harris, of Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Hampden I |
Serial Number | AT134 |
Markings | PT-K |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Netherlands |
Burial/Memorial Place | Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Plot 85. Row B. Grave 11. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 1 |
Panel Number | 46 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 41406 |
Service | Royal Air Force |
Group | 5 |
Squadron | 420 (Snowy Owl) |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Outside former St. Georges Hotel, Teesside Airport, County Durham |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Slate Tablet on Memorial Stone |
Memorial Text | In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 420 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Village Green, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stone Memorial, inscribed Metal Plaque and Maple Tree |
Memorial Text | A memorial, in English & French, to those Canadians who served at RAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 420 (RCAF) Sqn |
Location | Former Control Tower, Tholthorpe Airfield, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | A memorial to those Canadians who served at RAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 420 Sqn |
Miscellaneous Information
Operation Fuller: In March 1941, 3 German battleships arrived in the port of Brest. With the ships under constant Allied air strikes and Hitler demanding increased protection for occupied Norway, the German Naval War Command decided to bring all three vessels home to Germany by way of a heavily protected daylight dash up the English Channel and through the Dover Straits (Operation Cerberus). Aware this run for home might take place, the Royal Navy set up Operation Fuller to deal with the threat and Coastal Command flew air patrols over Brest and the English Channel both day and night to monitor the situation. They incorrectly assumed the German ships would leave Brest by day and complete the most dangerous part of their journey, the narrow waters of the Dover Straits, by night. The German battle group of 66 ships, with continuous air cover provided by 250 day and night fighter aircraft, left Brest at night on 11 February 1942 and reached the Dover Straits, virtually undetected, at about 11.00am on 12 February. The Fleet's 825 Squadron had been preparing for a night attack on the German ships but when promised fighter cover of five squadrons of Spitfires agreed to lead a daylight attack. But just one squadron, rendezvoused with the squadron, and so with fighter cover of only 10 Spitfires, 825 Squadron attacked the mighty Germany battle group. Against the guns of the big ships and the power of the Luftwaffe, the slow, out-dated Swordfish models stood little chance. All the Swordfish were shot down and only five of the eighteen men who set out survived. Although more than 30 torpedo attacks were launched against the Germans, not a single hit was achieved. As a last resort, in the largest Bomber Command daylight operation of the war so far, 242 British aircraft were sent out against the German battle squadron but all to no avail. The only damage inflicted was by mines but even that was minimal. |
Casualty Pack Number Find Out More
AIR 81/12135 (P366119/42) |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1825/4 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1825/3 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 12-02-1942 |
End Date | 12-02-1942 |
Takeoff Station | Waddington |
Day/Night Raid | Day |
Operation | Operation Fuller |
Reason for Loss | Believed crashed in the sea, three bodies later recovered on Dutch coast |