Smithson, John Clayton Died

Back

Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) John Clayton
Surname Smithson
Gender M
Age 26
Date of Death 31-01-1943
Next of Kin Son of Thomas Wright Smithson and Hanna Smithson (née Keohane), of Iliffe Street, St. George, Bexley, New South Wales, Australia.
SMITHSON JC

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster l
Serial Number W4189
Markings DX-

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Hamburg Cemetery
Grave Reference 10A. M. 6.
Epitaph DARLING JACK, YOUR MEMORY WILL LIVE IN OUR HEARTS ALWAYS

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 99
SMITHSON JC

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 6878
Service Royal Australian Air Force
Group 5
Squadron 57
Squadron Motto Corpus non animum muto (I change my body, not my spirit)
Trade Flight Engineer
Country of Origin Australia

Other Memorials

Location Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Sculptures, Inscribed Memeorial Stone & Inscribed Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In memory of those who gave their lives with 57 and 630 Squadrons 1939 - 1945
Location Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stenciled 57 Sqn RoH in site Chapel
Memorial Text In proud memory of the men of No. 57 Squadron who lost their lives operating from Royal Air Force East Kirkby 1943 to 1945
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- 619-625-626-627-635
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)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-635"
Location Lincoln County Hospital Chapel, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text In memory of Officers, NCO's & Other Ranks of 5 (Bomber) Group RAF who gave their lives Sept 1939 - May 1945

Miscellaneous Information

Born 27 January 1917, White Cliffs, NSW, Australia. His father had been a postal clerk and John was a mechanic. He had enlisted as an aircraft mechanic on 8 January 1940, he passed out as Fitter 2E and before he remustered to Flight Engineer on 4 August 1942. He had been servicing Spitfires with 92 Sqdn at Biggin Hill and 457 Sqdn RAAF in the Isle of Man. He was serving with 460 Sqdn RAAF when he remustered. He went to 4 S of TT at St Athan on course 11A, 11 August 1942-14 September 1942, posted to 57 Sqdn on 21 September 1942, he joined the crew on its 10th operation. His wife Hannah went on to have a long life, she died on 26 May 1998, aged 104yrs old.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/538/24
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/538/24

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
Clarke J C A (P/O) Died
Long D G (S/L) Died
Marwick G E (Sgt) Died
Moore E L B (Sgt) Died
Reed F C (F/O) Died
Rosam E W G (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 30-01-1943
End Date 31-01-1943
Takeoff Station Scampton
Day/Night Raid Night (32% moon)
Operation Hamburg
Reason for Aircraft Loss Aircraft took off from Scampton at 0012 hrs detailed to attack targets in Hamburg. Hit by flak from 2./Schw.Flak.Abt.602 at 03.15hrs and crashed near Moorwerder/Spadenland close to Luneburg. The crew were initially buried at Luneburg Central Cemetery on 3 February 1943 and reinterred on 17 April1947.
Start new losses database search Back
 
 
 
 

Please Wait

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.