Beere, Walter Harold Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Walter Harold
Surname Beere
Gender M
Age 23
Date of Death 15-02-1944
Next of Kin Son of Walter E. Beere and Florence E. Beere, of Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire.
BEERE WH

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax V
Serial Number LK726
Markings KN-O

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery
Grave Reference 9. H. 2.
Epitaph JUST A THOUGHT TRUE AND TENDER, TO SHOW WE STILL REMEMBER. MOTHER

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 129
BEERE WH

Location

Row -
Panel 129
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 129

Enlistment Information

Service Number 619840
Service Royal Air Force
Group 4
Squadron 77
Squadron Motto Esse potius quam videri (To be, rather than to seem)
Trade Air Bomber
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Holy Trinity Church, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window & Roll of Honour
Memorial Text Memorial windows and Roll of Honour for 77 Sqn. R.A.F.
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Marble Column with Metal Sculpture and Plaques
Memorial Text Memorial to 77 Sqn. R.A.F. City of Lancaster's own
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Gardens, Propeller, Inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text In everlasting homage to the courage of those who have found their winged victory through the skies of Yorkshire
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Propeller Unit & Inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text They made the supreme sacrifice so that you & I may go in peace with freedom. 4 Group 1939 - 1945.
Location Heslington Hall, York, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Heslington Hall 1941 - 1945, 4 Gp Headquarters Bomber Command. In remembrance of those Air & Ground personnel who made the supreme sacrifice that we all may walk in peace with freedom

Miscellaneous Information

Walter joined the RAF on 7 September 1938, initially training and serving as a Flight Mechanic on engines. Posted to 62 Squadron at RAF Cranfield in September 1939 and remustered as an Air Gunner, gaining his AG flying wing in December 1940. Served with 62 Squadron in Malays and later Rhodesia. Remustered for Pilot training but washed out and completed the Air Bomber training as an alternative. On return to the UK he was at 30 AFU, 19 OTU at RAF Kinloss, 1663 Conversion Unit at RAF Rufforth. With his Skipper 179988 F/O Wareham John Pasco and crew he went to 78 Squadron in November 1943. The crew didn't fly Operationally and was broken up, with Walter going to 1652 Conversion Unit at RAF Marston Moor. He was then posted to 77 Squadron at RAF Elvington on 29 January 1944 without a regular crew. On the night of the Leipzig raid he was flying his first Op with the Squadron, in the Bodden crew, as a replacement for their regular Air Bomber, 184160 P/O Edwin George Godden DFC, who completed a long tour with 77 Squadron in November 1944 and survived the War before emigrating to Newfoundland.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/657/4
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/657/4

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
Bodden G (F/O) Died
Fairbrother A L (Sgt) Died
Gooding N F W (F/S) Died
Green J L (Sgt) Died
Hall R C (Sgt) Died
Smith J (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 15-02-1944
End Date 16-02-1944
Takeoff Station Elvington
Day/Night Raid Night (63% moon)
Operation Berlin. 891 aircraft- the largest raid on Berlin and in fact the largest 'non-1000' raid of the war. The bomb tonnage dropped was also a record at 2642 tons. 43 aircraft losses (4.8%). The bomber stream was tracked by the German controllers as soon as it left the English coast but a swing to the north over Denmark for the approach was effective as it was out of the range of many fighters. The controller ordered that Berlin be kept free of fighters to allow the flak batteries the full range of altitudes but many ignored the order and attacked bombers over the target. Berlin was cloud covered but the bombing was reasonably concentrated, although some bombs fell on outlying towns and villages. Damage was extensive with over 1000 houses and 526 temporary accommodation barracks destroyed. Some of the most important war industries were hit and 320 people were killed. The relatively low death toll is a reflection of the fact that large-scale evacuations had taken place by now.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Crashed at Buskow, south of Neuruppin, Germany
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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.