| Born 26 August 1920 in Brighton, Sussex and always known as Bill. The family lived in Grantham Road. He had a sister, Kathleen, and a brother, Ronald. Bill and Ron were inseparable whilst growing up. Their father, Patrick had served in WWI and survived long periods in the trenches. The wounds that he suffered meant that he was unable to resume work as a labourer. Consequently, money was extremely short whilst the children were growing up. Bill left school (Downs School, Brighton) at the earliest possible opportunity. His first job was as a grocery delivery boy. Both before and after leaving school, Bill was a member of the 14th Brighton Company of the Boys Brigade based at Florence Road Baptist Church. He is commemorated on a plaque in Brighton church. He subsequently worked for a grocery wholesaler before enlisting at Uxbridge on 19 July 1940. He trained at Blackpool, Newmarket, Wiltshire, Bridgend and Pershore. |
| Following training as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, he was posted to 142 Squadron on 19 December 1941. In the first three months that he was on the squadron, operations were mounted on 23 occasions but Bill flew in none of them. His first mission over enemy territory was a Nickel raid (leaflet drop) on 25 March 1942 over Lille. They dropped 60 bundles of leaflets. The following night his crew attacked Le Havre with bombs. The third mission, to Essen, carrying incendiaries, was thwarted by engine trouble. The fourth mission, also to Essen, was hit by intercommunication problems. The next mission, to Dortmund, experienced a fault with the bomb release. Different aircraft were involved on each occasion. May 30 1942 saw the 1000 plane raid on Koln. 142 Squadron sent 22 aircraft as part of a maximum effort by Bomber Command. Whilst in the target area, Bill’s aircraft was caught in searchlights at 16,000 ft. As it took evasive manoeuvres, the port engine cut out. They escaped from the lights at 8,000 ft. They were hit by flak many times. At this stage, the vast majority of the attacking force would have been above them, dropping their loads. They managed to restart the engine, but it sounded rough on the return trip. In total they were airborne for 3 hours and 52 minutes. |
| Only two days later, 142 Squadron despatched 21 aircraft for a raid on Essen as part of the second Thousand Bomber raid. Bill and his crew mates took off in the same aircraft (Z1410) from RAF Grimsby at 23:44. It has to be assumed that the troublesome port engine had been ground tested. It clearly developed take off power because it cleared the runway. Shortly afterwards, the port engine failed completely. The bombs were jettisoned in the sea. They then attempted to return to basebut crashed at Thoresby Bridge, Lincolnshire less than 5 miles from base, just 38 minutes after take-off. They were about two minutes from safety. Only the rear gunner survived the crash and ensuing fire. The accident report shows that the port airscrew had been feathered. The subsequent court of inquiry revealed the presence of metallic fragments in the oil filter of the engine. It concluded that a bearing had failed and possibly a connecting rod. The report questions why the pilot had not attempted to land at the nearer airfield of North Coates. However, an aircraft with only the starboard engine working would find it very difficult to turn to starboard without losing height. As the crippled plane crossed the coast, North Coates may have been close by, but it was effectively out of reach. The crash site indicates that they were lined up with a runway back at RAF Grimsby. He is commomorated on the Runnymede memorial despite being buried in a cemetery in Hartington Road Brighton because his distraught father neglected to return the paperwork to confirm his place of burial. |
