Thornton, Arthur Thomas Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Arthur Thomas
Surname Thornton
Gender M
Age 24
Date of Death 10-04-1944
Next of Kin Son of Arthur Henry and Eileen Kathleen Thornton. Husband of Shirley Joyce Thornton, of Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
THORNTON AT

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster lll
Serial Number ND420
Markings PM-G

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Denmark
Burial/Memorial Place Esbjerg (Fourfelt) Cemetery
Grave Reference A. 7. 16.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 107
THORNTON AT

Location

Row -
Panel 107
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 1
Panel Number 107

Enlistment Information

Service Number 410792
Service Royal Australian Air Force
Group 1
Squadron 103
Squadron Motto Noli me tangere (Touch me not)
Trade WOp/AG
Country of Origin Australia

Other Memorials

Location Ørbæklund 1, 7330 Brande, Brande, Midtjylland Provincer
Country Denmark
Memorial Type Inscribed memorial stone and information board
Memorial Text Til minde om besætningen pa Lancaster ND420 No 103 Sqd skudt ned den 10 april 1944
Translation "In memory of the crew of Lancaster ND420 of 103 Sqn RAF, shot down on 10/4/44"
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

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/816/8
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/816/8

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
Bernaldo J (F/S) Died
Bradley T W (P/O) Died
Nimmo J A H (P/O) Died
Roberts J M (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 09-04-1944
End Date 10-04-1944
Takeoff Station Elsham Wolds
Day/Night Raid Night (98% moon)
Operation Mine laying in Baltic waters
Reason for Aircraft Loss Aircraft took off from Elsham Wolds at 2118 hrs tasked to lay mines in Baltic waters. Aircraft was intercepted and shot down by a night fighter on its return flight crashing at 0450 hrs near the hospital at Brande, Denmark. Possibly shot down by night fighter Obit Gunther Rogge of 2./NJG3 40km South of Grove at 0350 hrs
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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.