Brown, William Gordon Leslie Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) William Gordon Leslie
Surname Brown
Gender M
Age 28
Date of Death 22-06-1943
Next of Kin Son of William Ewart Gladstone Brown and Lilian Brown, of Bradford, Yorkshire.
BROWN WGL

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax II
Serial Number HR799
Markings TL-R

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Netherlands
Burial/Memorial Place Jonkerbos War Cemetery, Nijmegen, Nijmegen
Grave Reference 7. H. 8.
Epitaph TO LIVE IN HEARTS THAT ARE LEFT BEHIND IS NOT TO DIE

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 137
BROWN WGL

Location

Row -
Panel 137
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 137

Enlistment Information

Service Number 155006
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 8
Squadron 35 (Madras Presidency)
Squadron Motto Uno animo agimus (We act with one accord)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Valkenburg/Diepling, Castenray, Limburg Province
Country the Netherlands
Memorial Type Stone sculpture & stencilled composite information panel
Memorial Text Tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog stortte in de nacht van 22 Juni 1943 hier vlakbij een Engelse Halifax bommenwerper neer (HR799 van 35 squadron RAF) . Het vliegtuig was door een Duitse jager in brand geschoten en ontplofte toen het de grond raakte. Zes bemanningsleden konden tijdig per parachute het vliegtuig verlaten. Twee leden van de bemanning zaten nog in het vliegtuig en kwamen om het leven
Translation "During the Second World War, on the night of June 22, 1943, an English Halifax bomber HR799 of 35 Sqn RAF crashed near here. The plane was set on fire by a German nightfighter and exploded when it hit the ground. Six crew members were able to leave the plane in time by parachute. Two members of the crew were still in the plane and lost their lives"
Location Roadside Location, Graveley, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone
Memorial Text Graveley Airfield 1942-1945 8 Group Bomber Command 35 Squadron Pathfinder Force 692 Squadron Light Night Striking Force R.A.F. To commemorate this airfield in honour of those who served the nation aircrew, groundstaff & WAFF of United Kingdom Dominions, Colonies,Allied air forces 35/635. ASSN..1991
Location All Saints Church, Offord Cluny, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window, Sqn Badge & Roll of Honour
Memorial Text Remember before God all those airmen and airwomen 3who served with 35 Squadron R.A.F. Graveley 1939-1945
Location Roadside location (off E6), Fættenfjord, near Åsenfjord, Trøndelag Fylke
Country Norway
Memorial Type Inscribed memorial stone atopped with inert aerial sea mine and Tirpitz anchor chain link
Memorial Text For Frihet Til minne om Allierte Flymannskaper fra RAF drept under angrep pa det tyske slagskipet Tirpitz i Fættenfjord 1942
Translation "For freedom In memory of the Allied Aircrews from the RAF who died in attacks on the German Battleship Tirpitz in the Fættenfjord 1942 "

Miscellaneous Information

The Pathfinders of 35 Squadron Lost six Halifaxes on this operation

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/380/12
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/380/12

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
Krohn H J (F/S) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 21-06-1943
End Date 22-06-1943
Takeoff Station Graveley
Day/Night Raid Night (80% moon)
Operation Krefeld. 705 aircraft, 44 losses (6.2%) with night-fighters counting for most of the losses (the night was moonlit). PFF marking was near-perfect (using Oboe). A large fire in the centre of Krefeld raged unchecked for many hours. Over 5500 houses destroyed, 1056 people killed and 72000 bombed out of their homes.
Reason for Aircraft Loss On the return leg from Krefeld when the aircraft was intercepted at 0130hrs on 22 June 1943 by a Me 110 night-fighter flown by Major Gunter Radusch from the fighter base at Venlo. Six of the eight Halifax crew were able to bale out and became prisoners of war. The Halifax crashed at De Valkenberg in Klein Oirlo, near Castenray. The Local History & Geographic Society of Castenray has erected a memorial at the crash site.
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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.