Barton, Cyril Joe

Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Cyril Joe
Surname Barton
Gender M
Age 22
Decorations VC
Date of Death 31-03-1944
Next of Kin Son of Frederick J. Barton and Ethel Barton, of New Malden.
BARTON CJ

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number LK797
Markings LK-E

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Kingston-Upon-Thames Cemetery
Grave Reference Class C. (Cons.) Grave 6700.
Epitaph AND WE KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THEM THAT LOVE GOD
Ribbon Stone 0421 (Block 5, Column 23, Row 2)

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 127

Enlistment Information

Service Number 168669
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 4
Squadron 578
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location High Street, Maldon, Greater London
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Tablet
Memorial Text On the night of 30th March 1944, Pilot Officer Barton was captain and pilot of a Halifax aircraft of 578 Squadron detailed to attack Nuremburg. When some 70 miles short of the target, the aircraft was attacked by a Junkers 88. The first burst of fire fro
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Location Barton Green, New Maldon, Greater London
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Blue Plaque & Road Name
Memorial Text In memory of F/O C.J. Barton of 578 Sqn. R.A.F. 31 March 1944
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Location Selby Abbey, Selby, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque & Ceramic Sqn Badge
Memorial Text Volunteering for aircrew in 1941 and having trained in America, he began operational duties as a Halifax bomber pilot with 78 Squadron before joining 578 Squadron, based at Burn. On the night of 30 March 1944 he participated in an attack on Nuremberg. Sho
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Location The Village Green, Ryhope, Tyne & Wear
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text To the memory of P/O Cyril Joe Barton VC (168669) RAFVR No 578 Sqn who died on 31st March 1944 after crash-landing his crippled Halifax Bomber southwest of Hollycarrside thus avoiding Ryhope. He displayed unsurpassed courage and devotion to duty, then sac
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Location Brick Row, Ryehope, Tyne & Wear
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text This development is named as a lasting tribute to Pilot Office Cyril Joe Barton (168669) VC, RAFVR No 578 Sqn RAF
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Location Adjacent to A19, Burn, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone
Memorial Text For all who served in 578 Squadron Royal Air Force Burn 1944 - 1945
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Location Methodist Church, Burn, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text
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Location Selby Abbey, Selby, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type RoH in Glass topped wooden cabinet
Memorial Text In memory of all 578 Sqn Aircrew who failed to return from Ops at RAF Burn
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Miscellaneous Information

Posthumously awarded the VC for his efforts in saving the other crew members. He was the only Halifax pilot to be awarded this honour. This was his 19th operational sortie, four of which were over Berlin
VC Citation (London Gazette 27th June 1944): "On the night of 30th March, 1944, Pilot Officer Barton was captain and pilot of a Halifax aircraft detailed to attack Nurenberg. When some 70 miles short of the target, the aircraft was attacked by a Junkers 88. The burst of fire from the enemy made the intercommunication system useless. One engine was damaged when a Messerschmitt 210 joined in the fight. The bomber's machine guns were out of action and the gunners were unable to return the fire. Fighters continued to attack the aircraft as it approached the target area and, in the confusion caused by the failure of the communications system at the height of the battle, a signal was misinterpreted and the navigator, air bomber and wireless operator left the aircraft by parachute. Pilot Officer Barton faced a situation of dire peril. His aircraft was damaged, his navigational team had gone and he could not communicate with the remainder of the crew. If he continued his mission, he would be at the mercy of hostile fighters when silhouetted against the fires in the target area, and if he survived he would have to make a 4 1/2 hours journey home on three engines across heavily-defended territory. Determined to press home his attack at all costs, he flew on and, reaching the target, released the bombs himself. As Pilot Officer Barton turned for home the propeller of the damaged engine, which was vibrating badly, flew off. It was also discovered that two of the petrol tanks had suffered damage and were leaking. Pilot Officer Barton held to his course and, without navigational aids and in spite of strong head winds, successfully avoided the most dangerous defence areas on his route. Eventually he crossed the English coast only 90 miles north of his base. By this time the petrol supply was nearly exhausted. Before a suitable landing place could be found, the port engine stopped. The aircraft was now too low to be abandoned successfully. Pilot Officer Barton therefore ordered the three remaining members of his crew to take up their crash stations. Then, with only one engine working, he made a gallant attempt to land clear of the houses over which he was flying. The aircraft finally crashed and Pilot Officer Barton lost his life, but his three comrades survived. Pilot Officer Barton had previously taken part in four attacks on Berlin and 14 other operational missions. On one of these two members of his crew were wounded during a determined effort to locate the target despite the appalling weather conditions.In gallantly completing his last mission in the face of almost impossible odds, this officer displayed unsurpassed courage and devotion to duty."
The miner's name was George Heads. He had been cycling to work at the pit in Ryhope when the air raid sirens sounded. Knowing that his wife was a hard of hearing he decided to double back and make sure she was safe and in doing so he was struck by the tailplane of the aircraft and killed. He was greatly missed in the community as he was a kind and gentle man.

IBCC Digital Archive

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The National Archives

Last Operation Information

Start Date 30-03-1944
End Date 31-03-1944
Takeoff Station Burn
Day/Night Raid Night (45% moon)
Operation Nuremberg. 795 aircraft, 95 losses (11.9%)- the highest of any raid. High-cloud was expected to offer protection to the bomber stream but the target would be clear for the bombing run. A Mosquito meteorological flight had predicted that in fact that would not be the case, but the raid went ahead anyway. The German controller ignored the diversionary raids and had his fighters circling close to the route of the main force, using Tame Boar tactics. Consequently, the fighters engaged the bombers before they reached the Belgian border. The clear conditions allowed the fighters to pick off bombers at will with 82 of the 95 bombers being Lost on the outbound leg. Strong winds meant that some of the bombers went off the intended route and as a consequence many bombed Schweinfurt in error, some 50 miles from Nuremberg. The problem as exacerbated by two PFF aircraft dropping markers in Schweinfurt. Overall, the raid was a failure and little damage was caused.
Reason for Loss Very badly attacked by a night-fighter. Three crew baled out in the ensuing confusion but even without a navigator and bomb aimer, Cyril Barton decided to press on to the target at all costs and upon arrival at the aiming point, released the bombs himself. Despite the level of damage to his machine he was able to regain the English coast but ran out of fuel and before he was able to find an emergency landing ground and knowing that they were too low for the three remaining crew to bale out, he ordered them to take up their crash positions and made a gallant attempt to land the aircraft. He crash-landed the aircraft near Ryhope Colliery, Country Durham, killing himself and a young miner on his way to work. The other three crew members survived, thanks to the Cy Barton's bravery.
 
 
 
 

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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.

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