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Bailey, Robert James

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Robert James
Surname Bailey
Gender M
Age 19
Date of Death 01-01-1940
Next of Kin Son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert James Bailey, of Whitburn Colliery.
BAILEY RJ

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Hampden I
Serial Number P1260
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Boldon (Whitburn) Cemetery
Grave Reference Sec. U. Uncons. Grave 40.
Epitaph O GOD, OUR HELP IN AGES PAST, OUR HOPE FOR YEARS TO COME

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 125

Enlistment Information

Service Number 581258
Service Royal Air Force
Group 3
Squadron 7
Squadron Motto Per diem per noctem (By day and by night)
Trade Observer
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location All Saints Church, Longstanton, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window and Roll of Honour Book
Memorial Text Remember here before God those of 7 Squadron who died in action in The Royal Flying Corps 1914-18 and The Royal Air Force 1939-45
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Miscellaneous Information

Some 55 years later, the only survivor of this crash, Ted Brightmore, together with Mrs. Cottier, the lady who lived in the farmhouse, and Harry Jacobson, a member of the rescue party who contracted pneumonia during the search, laid a wreath at the crash site. Remnants of the aircraft were still visible.

Casualty Pack Number Find Out More

AIR 81/1764 (P350853/40)

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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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.

Dennis T O (Sgt)
Macgregor H M (P/O)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 01-01-1940
End Date 01-01-1940
Takeoff Station Upper Heyford
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Daytime navigation exercise
Reason for Loss Struck Snaefell, Isle of Man in bad weather and burst into flames. Miraculously, before it exploded, Cpl Ted Brightmore was thrown clear of the aircraft as it bounced down the mountainside. He nevertheless received serious burns as a result of being doused in burning petrol which was extinguished in lying snow, saving his life. He was able to struggle through the snow to a farmhouse some two miles away. He treated for his burns by the renowed Dr. McIndoe.

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Events At IBCC

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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.