Collins, George Barrowby
Personal Information
Rank | F/O |
Forename(s) | George Barrowby |
Surname | Collins |
Gender | M |
Age | 19 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 11-12-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of Daniel George Collins and Lucy Gwendoline Collins, of Mahogany Creek, Western Australia. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | de Havilland Mosquito XVI |
Serial Number | MM190 |
Markings | M5-O |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Becklingen War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 11. B. 16. |
Epitaph | IN DEATH AS IN LIFE- STEADFAST |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 146 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 436900 |
Service | Royal Australian Air Force |
Group | 8 |
Squadron | 128 |
Trade | Navigator |
Country of Origin | Australia |
Other Memorials
Location | RAF Wyton Memorial Garden, Wyton, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone & Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | Commemorating the Pathfinder Sqns operating from RAF Wyton, 1942-1945 |
Miscellaneous Information
F/O George Barrowby Collins RAAF was born 28 February 1925 in Stockton on Tees. He enlisted in the airforce in Perth, Western Australia on 22 May 1943 and was a junior clerk on enlistment. His mother Lucy was born in 1898 in Stockton on Tees and was a Solicitor’s clerk. She married Daniel G. Collins (1898 to 20 Nov 1944) in Stockton on Tees during 1924. George arrived in Freemantle aged 15 aboard HMT Batory on 9 October 1940 to join his uncle George “Ted” Edmund Fenny (born 1903 Stockton on Tees and died 1979 Albany Western Australia). |
He was promoted to Flying Officer 3 August 1944. He joined 128 Squadron at RAF Wyton 8October 1944. |
Missing Investigation Report 2/9/1948: “I proceeded to Bakel to investigate the crash, as German records state that the two airmen were killed at Bakel, one named Onley and the other unknown. I interviewed Mr Schoeder, Burgermeister and Frau Stehr. They state that the aircraft crashed on 11 of Dec 1944 at about midnight. It came in from the direction of Bremen, circled and crashed in a field just outside the village. Army and Luftwaffe personnel were on the spot right away and prevented civilians getting close. Two bodies were handed to the Burgermeister for burial. One as unknown, one as R Onley. A soldier said the latter was a pilot. The wreckage was removed the next day. Frau Stehr heard rumours that several airmen had been taken prisoner. It was impossible to obtain any further information about the crash. The 2 bodies were exhumed and reburied in Soltau British Cemetery 4/12/46.” |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/932/35 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/932/34 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 11-12-1944 |
End Date | 12-12-1944 |
Takeoff Station | Wyton |
Day/Night Raid | Night (13% moon) |
Operation | Hamburg. One of 28 Mosquitoes |
Reason for Loss | Hit by heavy flak and crashed in a field just outside Bakel, near Bremerhaven, Germany, at about midnight. |