Smith, John Coates Died

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Personal Information

Rank W/O
Forename(s) John Coates
Surname Smith
Gender M
Age 23
Date of Death 04-05-1944
Next of Kin Son of Henry Thompson Smith and Hannah Jane Smith. of Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire.
SMITH JC 575

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster III
Serial Number ND905
Markings PM-B

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Villers-Le-Chateau Churchyard
Grave Reference Mil. Plot. Row 1. Coll. grave 1.
Epitaph IN LOVING MEMORY OF JOHN, OUR YOUNGEST SON. HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR HIS LOVED ONES

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 99
SMITH JC 575

Location

Row -
Panel 99
Column -
Line -

Directions From the Chadwick Centre, take the central path towards The Spire.

Phase 1
Panel Number 99

Enlistment Information

Service Number 645575
Service Royal Air Force
Group 1
Squadron 103
Squadron Motto Noli me tangere (Touch me not)
Trade Wireless Operator
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location St. Mary's Church, Gate Helmsley, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Wooden Board
Memorial Text In grateful memory of John Coates Smith Warrant Officer R.A.F. Killed on operational duties over occupied France on the night of 3rd May 1944 Buried in Champignul Cemetery "As dying and behold we live" Erected by the villagers of Gate Helmsley, Upper Helmsley and Scoreby
Location All Saints Church, Elsham, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Tablet
Memorial Text Dedicated to all who served at RAF Elsham Wolds on 103 7 576 Squadrons 1941-45
Location Anglian Water Treatment Works, Elsham Wolds, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Pillar & Plaques
Memorial Text Pillar : RAF Elsham Wolds, 1941-1945, For those who made the great sacrifice. Plaque :This tree is dedicated to all those who served with 103 Squadron Royal Air Force. Plaque : RAF Elsham Wolds, Opened in Summer 1941 as a bomber station in No1 group, it was the home of No103 Squadron and from Elsham Wolds until 1945 Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster aircraft of No 103 and other squadrons flew on bombing missions against targets in Germany and occupied Europe.
Location In front of the mess esplanade, Mailly-le-Camp, 10 - Aube Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Stone memorial sculpture, inscribed marble tablets and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text En souvenir des heros de la RAF. Qui ont participe au bombardment du camp de Mailly. Unites de la RAF engagees dans le raid sur Mailly-le-Camp, la nuit du 3 au 4 May 1944. N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617- 619-625-626-627-641
Translation "In memory of the RAF heroes who took part in the bombing of Mailly Camp. RAF units engaged in the raid on Mailly-le-Camp, the night of 3-4 May 1944. Squadrons that took part: N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-641"
Location Bawtry Hall, Bawtry, South Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Tablet
Memorial Text In memory of those who did not return 1939 - 1945

Miscellaneous Information

John Coates Smith was named after 17496 Lance Corporal John Coates, a WWI soldier of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars, who would have become Smith's uncle had he survived the war and married Smith's aunt Alice Colley. In fact he was killed in the Middle East on 9 May 1918 aged 23.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/816/10
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/816/10

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.

Name Outcome
Boyd R H (W/O) Died
Casey G F (Sgt) Died
Dane E J (F/O) Died
Hadden D A (Sgt) Died
Rankin J R (Sgt) Died
Swanston H (S/L) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 03-05-1944
End Date 04-05-1944
Takeoff Station Elsham Wolds
Day/Night Raid Night (83% moon)
Operation Mailly-le-Camp
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down outbound by a night fighter, crashing at Villers-le-Chateau
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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.