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Lumb, Theodore Arthur

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Theodore Arthur
Surname Lumb
Gender M
Age 28
Date of Death 29-03-1942
Next of Kin Son of Charles Fletcher Lumb and Margarita Johnson Lumb. Husband of Gwendoline Dolores Lumb (née Fisher), of Esher, Surrey
LUMB TA

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Manchester I
Serial Number R5781
Markings OL-R

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Kiel War Cemetery
Grave Reference 2. A. 7.
Epitaph
Ribbon Stone 0024 (Block 1, Column 7, Row 2)

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 65

Enlistment Information

Service Number 61284
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 5
Squadron 83
Squadron Motto Strike to defend
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location International Bomber Command Centre, Canwick Avenue, Lincoln LN4 2HQ
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed stone tablet
Memorial Text In loving memory F/O Theo Lumb RAFVR 83 Sqn 1942
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Location RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone & Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Commemorating 83 Sqn Lancaster, one of the Pathfinder Sqn's operating from RAF Wyton 1942 - 1945
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Location St. Michaels's Church, Coningsby, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Wooden Plaque & 83 Sqn Badge
Memorial Text This Chapel was furnished by members and friends of 83 Pathfinder Sqn and is dedicated to the memory of those airmen who lost their lives on flying operations from RAF Coningsby in WWII
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Miscellaneous Information

Born 24 December 1913 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey.
Theo’s early childhood was spent in Surbiton. His Father, Charles, an Anglo-American Businessman and entrepreneur met Theo’s Mother, Margarita, on a transatlantic crossing. Margarita was one of 9 children from a prominent Cuban family and was studying languages in Europe. Theo was born on Christmas Eve 1913. He had two younger siblings, Raymond and Berenice who were born in 1915 & 1917 respectively. In 1927 Theo went to Rugby School, where his brother was already a student. He was fluent in Spanish, learned from his Mother, and also learned French & German. He enjoyed acting in school plays and singing in the Choir. He was gregarious with an impish sense of humour and fun. Theo left school in 1931 and joined his Father’s Cement Company. In 1934 he went on holiday to Germany and on his return, convinced that war with Germany was a definite prospect, he started recreational flying lessons at Hendon. Theo married 'Lola' Fisher, who grew up in the Canary Islands and also spoke fluent Spanish, in Kensington in July 1939. In September when War was declared Theo and his siblings volunteered for service, Theo and his brother Ray applied to the RAF. Theo was accepted by the RAFVR to train as a bomber pilot, he first flew Tiger Moths and was then posted to RAF Cranwell where he passed out as a Pilot Officer. With 49 Squadron at RAF Scampton he joined a Handley Page Hampden crew as second pilot and navigator under the command of his friend Flying Officer Len Ratcliff. After completing 11 Ops Theo was posted to 14 OTU where he learned to fly the Avro Manchester Bomber. Following promotion to Flying Officer he was posted back to Scampton to serve in 83 Squadron. On the night of 29th March 1942, his third mission as command pilot with the new squadron his aircraft R5781 OL-R was posted as ‘Missing’ when it failed to return from the Lübeck raid. It was several weeks before his family received confirmation that his aircraft had crashed in the Kiel suburb of Plὃn. There were no survivors. Of the 242 aircraft which flew on the Lübeck raid, 10 were lost, including Theo’s. Biography courtesy of Sue Ash & Christopher Lumb.

Casualty Pack Number Find Out More

AIR 81/13024 (P367291/42)

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/686/54
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/686/53

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.

Burcher J E (Sgt)
Cox W L (Sgt)
Rooney J (Sgt)
Thomas E (Sgt)
Walsh P C (F/S)
Woodbridge S T (Sgt)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 28-03-1942
End Date 29-03-1942
Takeoff Station Scampton
Day/Night Raid Night (86% moon)
Operation Lubeck
Reason for Loss Believed to have been shot down in the Kiel area

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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.