Jones, George Leeson

Personal Information

Rank F/L
Forename(s) George Leeson
Surname Jones
Gender M
Age 30
Decorations
Date of Death 16-07-1944
Next of Kin Son of William James Jones and Mildred Elizabeth Ann Jones, of Swansea.
JONES GL

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number ME807
Markings EM-S

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Lignieres-De-Touraine Communal Cemetery
Grave Reference Row B. Grave 1.
Epitaph IN PROUD & ETERNAL MEMORY OF A DEARLY LOVED ONLY SON AND BROTHER

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 56

Enlistment Information

Service Number 127237
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 5
Squadron 207
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location St. Mary the Virgin Church, Bottesford, Leicestershire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Slate Tablet and Roll of Honour within wooden case
Memorial Text Roll of Honour and memorial to the members of 207 Sqn RAF who served at RAF Bottesford during WW2
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Location X, Great Steeping, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed group of Memorial Stones with adjacent info board
Memorial Text In memory of 207 Sqn RAF which served at RAF Spilsby and of 10 Sqn Armourers killed in an accident on 10th April 1944
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Location All Saints Church, Great Steeping
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Tablet and Roll of Honour within wooden case
Memorial Text Roll of Honour and memorial to the members of 207 Sqn RAF who served at RAF Spilsby during WW2
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Location Stn Church, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Tablet
Memorial Text In memory of 207 Sqn RAF which served at RAF Waddington between 1 November 1940 and 18th November 1941
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Location Harby Rd, Langar, Nottinghamshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone
Memorial Text A memorial to 207 Sqn RAF which served at RAF Langar during WW2
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Location St. Andrew's Church, Langar, Nottinghamshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Brass Plaque & Roll of Honour within wooden case
Memorial Text Roll of Honour and a memorial to the personnel of 207 Sqn RAF who were killed flying from RAF Langar during WW2
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Miscellaneous Information

George Leeson Jones was born on 24 August 1913. He joined the West Sussex Constabulary on 25 March 1939 where he served in Shoreham. PC Jones then joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. The Supplement to the Gazette on 27 October 1942 shows he was first Commissioned becoming a Pilot Officer on 5th August 1942. He was later promoted, becoming a Flight Lieutenant with service number 127237, with 207 Squadron RAF Spilsby.
He flew at least 21 operational sorties, including on ‘D’ Day. From Sqn diary - 29-30 April 1944 Lancaster I LL902 Clermont Perrand Flew as 2nd Pilot as introduction to Squadron. 01-02 May 1944 Lancaster III DV383 Tours Sortie Completed 03-04 May 1944 Lancaster III DV383 Mailley Sortie Completed 7-8 May 1944 Lancaster III DV383 Tours Sortie Completed 09-10 May 1944 Lancaster I ME667 Annecy Sortie Completed 11-12 May 1944 Lancaster I ME667 Burg-Leopold Sortie Completed 27-28 May 1944 Lancaster ND570 St. Valery En Caux Sortie Completed 3-4 June 1944 Lancaster I ME678 F’ERME D’OURVILLE Sortie Completed 4-5 June 1944 Lancaster III DV383 Maisy Sortie Completed 5-6 June 1944 ‘D’ Day Lancaster III DV383 La Hernelle Sortie Completed 7-8 June 1944 Lancaster I ME807 Balleroi Sortie Completed 12-13 June 1944 Lancaster I ME807 Caen Sortie Completed. Flt/Lt Jones. 14-15 June 1944 Lancaster I ME807 Aunay-Sur-Odon Sortie Completed 16-17 June 1944 Lancaster I ME807 Beauvoir Sortie Completed 21-22 June 1944 Lancaster I ME807 Wesselling Sortie NOT Completed (aircraft unable to maintain altitude) 24-25 June 1944 Lancaster I ME807 Pommereval Sortie Completed 27-28 June 1944 Lancaster I ME807 Marquis Mimoyecques Sortie Completed 4-5 July 1944 Lancaster I ME807 EM-S ‘S’ for Sugar St. Leu D’Esserent Sortie Completed 7-8 July 1944 Lancaster I ME807 EM-S ‘S’ for Sugar St. Leu D’Esserent Sortie Completed 12-13 July 1944 Lancaster I ME807 EM-S ‘S’ for Sugar Culmont- Chalindrey Sortie Completed 15-16 July 1944 Lancaster I ME807 EM-S ‘S’ for Sugar Nevers Aircraft Missing.
The record shows that on Saturday 15 July 1944 F/L Jones flew Lancaster I ME807 EM-S on a raid called Operation NEVERS. This was Bomber Command's Operational plan for simultaneous raids on railway marshalling yards in France. The raiding force, which comprised 222 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitoes, would split once over the French coast, one half headed for Nevers 130 miles to the south of Paris and the other to Chaelons sur Marne 90 miles to the east. Fl/Lt Jones and crew took off from their base at RAF Spilsby at 22:14 hrs. Five minutes later Fl/Lt William Murphy piloting Lancaster ME851 of 467 Sqn, took off from RAF Waddington both destined for Nevers. At 0300 hrs 16 July 44 the two Lancasters collided in mid- air, crashing and exploding in flames at Marnay in the commune of Lignieres. The crews of both Lancasters were all killed and are buried next to each other. Fl/Lt George Jones lies next to his co-pilot F/O Edward Dalgleish. 6 June 2021 was the Official opening of the British Normandy Memorial in France which commemorates the 22,442 servicemen and women who fell on ‘D’ Day and during the battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944. PC / F/L George Leeson Jones is remembered in the memorial in Column ‘182’. He is also remembered in the Chichester Police Station (once the HQ of the West Sussex Constabulary)- see photo.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The National Archives

Fellow Servicemen

Last Operation Information

Start Date 16-07-1944
End Date 17-07-1944
Takeoff Station Spilsby
Day/Night Raid Night (11% moon)
Operation Nevers
Reason for Loss Involved in a mid-air collision with a 467 Squadron Lancaster ME851, crashing at Lignieres-de-Touraine, near Tours
 
 
 
 

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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.