Whittick, Thomas Leonard John

Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Thomas Leonard John
Surname Whittick
Gender M
Age 19
Date of Death 21-05-1944
Next of Kin Son of George and Hester Whittick, of Eastville, Bristol.
WHITTICK TLJ

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number DV309
Markings BQ-S

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Belgium
Burial/Memorial Place Schoonselhof Cemetery
Grave Reference IVa. E. 18.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 115

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1852098
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 1
Squadron 550
Squadron Motto Per ignem vincimus (Through fire we conquer)
Trade Flight engineer
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Schoubroek, Westerlo-Voortkapel, Antwerpen Province
Country Belgium
Memorial Type Inscribed stone pillar & tablet & stencilled information board
Memorial Text In den nacht van 21/22 mei 1944 crashte hier de RAF Lancaster DV309 na een bombardement op Duisberg. Alle bemanningsleden kwamen om
Translation "On the night of 21/22 May 1944 Lancaster DV309 returning from Duisberg crashed here"
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Location Chemin du Stoquois, Rebecq, Walloon Brabant Province
Country Belgium
Memorial Type Metal sculpture & inscribed metal plaques
Memorial Text
Translation "Dedicated to the crew killed in the loss of 550 Sqn Lancaster DV309 BQ-S at Westerlo 22 May 44"
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Location Lancaster Approach, North Killingholme, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone & Info Board
Memorial Text A memorial to 550 Sqn RAF which flew from RAF North Killingholme; Jan 1944 - Oct 1945
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Location Church of St. Deny's, North Killingholme, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window, RoH and inscribed Metal & Wooden Plaques
Memorial Text Several memorials to the men and women who served with 550 Sqn at RAF Killingholme during WW2
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The National Archives

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 21-05-1944
End Date 22-05-1944
Takeoff Station North Killingholme
Day/Night Raid Night (0% moon)
Operation Duisburg
Reason for Loss Victim of a night fighter over Belgium, crashing at Oosterwijk, near Antwerp
 
 
 
 

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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.