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Stuart, Richard Died

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Richard
Surname Stuart
Gender M
Age 21
Date of Death 29-12-1943
Next of Kin Son of Richard and May Stuart, of Gorse Farm, Astbury, Cheshire.
STUART R

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number DV399
Markings QR-R R-Roger

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery
Grave Reference 9. B. 4.
Epitaph IN HEAVENLY LOVE ABIDING (from hymn - In Heavenly Love Abiding - by Anna Letitia Waring, 1850)

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 103
STUART R

Location

Row -
Panel 103
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 1
Panel Number 103

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1681268
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 5
Squadron 61
Squadron Motto Per puram tonantes (Thundering through the clear air)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Birchwood Way, Birchwood Estate, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Brick Memorial & Inscribed Marble Obolisk
Memorial Text To the memory of the Air Crews and Ground Staff who gave their lives whilst serving with No 50 Squadron and No 61 Squadron, 5 group, Bomber Command The Royal Air Force 2nd World War 1939 to 1945. No 50 Squadron "From defence to attack" Operated from Waddington, Lindholme, Swinderby and Skellingthorpe. This stone was dedicated on 10th June 2018 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the formations of No 50 squadron in May 1916, No 61 squadron in July 1917. The Royal Air Force in April 1918. Stranger pause a while and pray for your tomorrow we gave our today
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Location Memorial Gardens, Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Brick Memorial with Inscribed Marble Stone
Memorial Text Royal Air Force Skellingthorpe. My brief sweet life is over, My eyes no longer see, No Christmas Trees, No summer walks, No pretty girls for me, I've got the chop - I've had it, My nightly ops are done, Yet in another 100 years I'll still be twenty one. R.W. Gilbert. This memorial was erected by the people of this parish in grateful remembrance of the airmen and women of the Royal Air Force and other allied forces who served at R.A.F. Skellingthorpe within the parish 1941-1945
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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- 619-625-626-627-636
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)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-636"
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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
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Miscellaneous Information

Congleton Chronicle 15th January 2015: "Donald Thomas escaped the burning aircraft thanks to assistance of Sgt Stuart and spent the remainder of the war in a prisoner of war camp in the Third Reich. According to an account by Donald Thomas, the crew had been hand picked to perform a special mission on the 29th of December 1943, the details of which remain unknown. However, Mr. Thomas said that the crew would have received medals and “great distinction” had the operation succeeded. In his account, which appeared in the Chronicle on 28th December 1945, Mr. Thomas spoke of how the plane was “coned” by searchlights without earning and subjected to intense flak, causing the aircraft to burst into flames. Mr. Thomas was thrown across the turret, the wires from his oxygen helmet twisting round his throat and strangling him. His clothes and parachute were on fire. Tearing off his helmet, he struggled through the smoke and flames. The order to bale out had been given by the captain, Flt. Lt. Harvey, but Mr. Thomas was only half conscious. He then saw Sgt. Stuart waving to him and pointing to the escape hatch, and the sight cause him to take fresh heart and crawl to the hatch to bale out. Sgt Stuart was quite fit and unharmed and could have followed him out but, according to Mr. Thomas, he must have stayed to help the other members. The aircraft exploded shortly afterwards. Mr. Thomas’s parachute was badly burned causing him to descend at such a speed that on landing his body was driven a foot into the earth. His spine was damaged and his ankle was broken, with his face burnt. When he regained consciousness he blew his whistle to get help but civilians who came along kicked him savagely. He was later tortured in an attempt to make him divulge the object of the raid. Eventually his prison camp was liberated and he was repatriated. Following the tragedy, Mr. Thomas’s mother wrote to all the grieving families of the crew of R for Roger after her son returned home in 1945."
The special operation referred to in the Congleton Chronicle article was in fact a 'Windfinder' or 'Broadcast Wind' operation whereby experienced crews with good navigational skills would fly ahead of the main stream and report wind strength and direction back to England every half hour. The controller would then average the various readings and relay these to the remaining bombers. This was sometimes known as the Zephyr System. Flying ahead of the main force, these crews were exposed and needed to break radio silence to report their readings, making themselves vulnerable.
Played football for Congleton Town F. C.

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/578/24
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/578/24

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
Carver R W (F/S) Died
Harvey G H (F/L) Died
Kennedy J S (Sgt) Died
Meehan N S J (Sgt) Died
Prouten K (F/S) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 29-12-1943
End Date 30-12-1943
Takeoff Station Skellingthorpe
Day/Night Raid Night (11% moon)
Operation Berlin
Reason for Aircraft Loss Hit by flak which started a fire in the bomb bay. The mid-upper gunner tried to extinguish the flames but was driven back and baled out before the aircraft exploded

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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.