Brook, Hubert Charles Gerard Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Hubert Charles Gerard
Surname Brook
Gender M
Age 25
Date of Death 28-07-1941
Next of Kin Son of Oscar Lenard Leopold and Edith Emily Brook, of Coventry.
BROOK HCG

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Boeing Fortress I
Serial Number AN534
Markings WP-

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Stivichall (St. James) Churchyard
Grave Reference Row H. Grave 20.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 136
BROOK HCG

Location

Row -
Panel 136
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 136

Enlistment Information

Service Number 741669
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 3
Squadron 90
Squadron Motto We seek alone
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location St. Botolph's Church, Stoke Albany, Northamptonshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Brass Plaque and Memorial Display
Memorial Text In memory of the crew of Boeing Fortress I AN534, XC Sqn RAF (Polebrook) who died near this place 28th July 1941
Location Roadside location, Tilbury Juxta Clare, Essex
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Memorial
Memorial Text In memory of the Airmen of XC Sqn, No 3 Bomb Group flying operations from here with the Mk 1 Stirling Bomber December 1943 until May 1943
Location St. Mary & All the Saints Church, Little Walsingham, Norfolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Tablet
Memorial Text In loving memory of Henry Philip Lee Warner AFC DFC. Only Son of Philip Henry & Mary King Lee Warner. Actg S/L RAFVR killed in action over Germany Aug 26th 1944 in his 32nd year
Location Village Green, Tuddenham, Suffolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial atopped with Inscribed Silver Sun-Dial
Memorial Text For all those who served their country as part of XC Sqn RAF
Location St. Mary's Church, Tuddenham, Suffolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Framed Sqn Roll of Honour
Memorial Text They grow not old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn. At the going down of the Sun and in the morning, we will remember them

Miscellaneous Information

The Coventry Standard reported his death on 2 August 1941: ‘Coventry Pilot Killed’ with the article stating ‘Sergeant Pilot Hubert Charles Brook, the 25 year old airman who last Autumn had a narrow escape from death when his bomber came down in the sea and he hung on for twelve hours in a damaged dinghy, was killed on active service on Monday night. He had a highly successful career with the RAF which he joined as a volunteer reserve 18 months before the war while engaged as an engineer at a local factory. He was educated at Centaur Road and Broadway Schools and Coventry Technical College and was an enthusiastic rugby footballer and boxer.’ The sub-heading described his narrow escape: ‘It was during his 13th raid on Germany and his first on Berlin that his plane was struck by a shell splinter as it dived through an AA barrage to straddle a blazing gas works. With petrol running out the blazing bomber came down 120 miles from home shore in rough sea. Brook and other members of the crew hung on grimly for 12 hours before being picked up exhausted by a rescue launch.’

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/731/2

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
Bradley R G (F/S) Died
Henderson R (Sgt) Died
Hendricks L W (1st Lt.) Died
Muir R C A (F/S) Died
Pugh P S (Sgt) Died
Smith R (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 28-07-1941
End Date 28-07-1941
Takeoff Station Polebrook
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Air Test
Reason for Aircraft Loss Crashed following severe turbulence at high altitude, leading to structural failure of the starboard wing
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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.