Thirkettle, Ernest Albert Cecil
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Ernest Albert Cecil |
Surname | Thirkettle |
Gender | M |
Date of Death | 04-09-1943 |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Avro Lancaster III |
Serial Number | EE138 |
Markings | AR-E2 E-Easy |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Runnymede Memorial |
Grave Reference | Panel 166. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 1 |
Panel Number | 106 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 1217817 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 1 |
Squadron | 460 (Australian) |
Squadron Motto | Strike and return |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Rural location nr Stadil, Stadil, Midtjylland Provincer |
Country | Denmark |
Memorial Type | Propeller blade, inscribed memorial stone and inscribed metal plaques |
Memorial Text |
Translation "A memorial to the crew of Lancaster EE138 of 460 Sqn RAAF, shot down on 4/9/43" |
Location | Adjacent to Clubhouse, Breighton Airfield, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | A memorial to those who served at Breighton during WW2, including 460 Sqn RAAF |
Location | Junction of Kirmond Rd (B1203) & Orford Rd, Binbrook, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Memorial |
Memorial Text | A memorial to 460 Sqn RAAF which operated from Breighton and Binbrook 1941-1945 |
Location | Church of St. Mary & St. Gabriel, Binbrook, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stained Glass Window, RoH and Sqn Badge |
Memorial Text | Memorial to 460 Sqn RAAF which served at Binbrook between 1941 and 1945 |
Location | Former ATC Signals Square, Brookenby Industrial Estate, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaques |
Memorial Text | Memorials to the aircrew and groundcrew of 460 Sqn RAAF who served at Brookenby, 1942-1943 |
Location | Church of St. Michael & All Angels, Brookenby, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaques |
Memorial Text | Memorials to the aircrew and groundcrew of 460 Sqn RAAF who served at Brookenby, 1942-1943 |
Miscellaneous Information
A memorial was unveiled at the crash site exactly 70 years after the event, on 4th September 2013. It features a recovered propeller blade from EE138. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1908/18 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1908/17 |
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.
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 03-09-1943 |
End Date | 04-09-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Binbrook |
Day/Night Raid | Night (16% moon) |
Operation | Berlin |
Reason for Loss | On the return leg, attacked by a German JU88 night fighter piloted by Leutnant Rechberger of 12./NJG 3. The Lancaster caught fire and at approximately 02:40 it crashed in a marshy field near Stadil, Denmark belonging to Ingeman Halkjær and exploded. Ingeman Halkjær together with a German soldier found some remains immediately following the crash and the Wehrmacht laid them to rest at the edge of the field. After the war the remains were recovered and re-interred in Svinø cemetary as an unknown airman. |