Whimpey, Geoffrey Roy Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Geoffrey Roy
Surname Whimpey
Gender M
Age 23
Decorations BEM
Date of Death 05-07-1944
Next of Kin Son of Albert Roy and Phyllis Whimpey, of Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia.
WHIMPEY GR

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number HK536
Markings JO-H

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Ellecourt Communal Cemetery
Epitaph GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS...

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 114
WHIMPEY GR

Location

Row -
Panel 114
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 1
Panel Number 114

Enlistment Information

Service Number 434299
Service Royal Australian Air Force
Group 5
Squadron 463 (Australian)
Squadron Motto Press on regardless
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Australia

Other Memorials

Location SHQ, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type External Clock, Internal Inscribed Brass Plaque
Memorial Text A commemorative clock in memory of the members of 463 and 467 Sqns RAAF who served at RAF Waddington during WW2
Location Memorial Gardens, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Propeller & Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text A memorial to the members of 463 and 467 Sqns RAAF who served at RAF Waddington during WW2
Location Bar Lane, Waddington, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Clock & inscribed Wooden Plaque
Memorial Text A memorial clock to the members of 463 and 467 Sqns RAAF who served with Bomber Command during WW2
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- 619-625-626-627-649
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)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-649"
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

His BEM was promulgated in the London Gazette on 22 August 1944 with the following citation: "One night in May, 1944, Flight Sergeant Whimpey was the rear gunner of a Stirling aircraft which crashed and caught fire after stalling at an altitude of 300 feet. Five of the crew were killed but this airman was in his turret which was torn from'the aircraft and flung some distance away from it. Flight Sergeant Whimpey was thrown out of'the turret and, although he was uninjured, he suffered badly from shock. Despite this experience he was one of the first to enter the blazing wreckage and rendered most valuable service in extricating other members of the crew. Throughoutthe rescue work there was considerable danger from exploding ammunition and the fuel tanks blew up with an explosion which shook buildings 2 miles distant. Flight Sergeant Whimpey continued to render assistance courageously until the medical officer ordered him to go to the ambulance".
The aircraft in question was 1654 CU Stirling LJ524.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1921/18
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1921/18

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
Brown A C (Sgt) Died
Carter A K (F/O) Died
Dowling G E (F/S) Died
Maher T F (F/S) Died
Norman R H (F/S) Died
Watts B J (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 04-07-1944
End Date 05-07-1944
Takeoff Station Waddington
Day/Night Raid Night (98% moon)
Operation St. Leu
Reason for Aircraft Loss Aircraft shot down by Uffz. Gratz of 3/JG301. Crashed at Ellecourt (Seine-Maritime)
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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.