Crebbin, John Percival
Personal Information
Rank | F/L |
Forename(s) | John Percival |
Surname | Crebbin |
Gender | M |
Age | 23 |
Decorations | DFC |
Date of Death | 23-11-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of William H. Crebbin and Eleanor Crebbin. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Avro Lancaster III |
Serial Number | JB284 |
Markings | OL-C |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Coll. grave 1. C. 2-8. |
Epitaph | THERE'S SOME CORNER OF A FOREIGN FIELD THAT IS FOR EVER ENGLAND (excerpt from Rupert Brooke's 1914 poem "The Soldier") |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 150 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 48603 |
Service | Royal Air Force |
Group | 8 |
Squadron | 83 |
Squadron Motto | Strike to defend |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | In memory of the crew of 83 Sqn Lancaster JB284 killed in action 23rd November 1943 |
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 |
Location | RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone & Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | Commemorating 83 Sqn Lancaster, one of the Pathfinder Sqn's operating from RAF Wyton 1942 - 1945 |
Location | St. Michaels's Church, Coningsby, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Wooden Plaque & 83 Sqn Badge |
Memorial Text | This Chapel was furnished by members and friends of 83 Pathfinder Sqn and is dedicated to the memory of those airmen who lost their lives on flying operations from RAF Coningsby in WWII |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/687/22 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/687/21 |
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.
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 23-11-1943 |
End Date | 24-11-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Wyton |
Day/Night Raid | Night (15% moon) |
Operation | Berlin. 764 aircraft- the largest raid on Berlin so far and the last to include Stirlings which had not fared well in recent raids on the city. Bad weather again kept the night-fighters at bay and as a result 26 aircraft were Lost (3.4%). The target was completely cloud-covered but despite the weather, this was the most successful raid on Berlin of the war. An unseasonably dry spell led to several firestorms and there was an immense area of destruction. At least 3000 houses were destroyed along with 23 industrial premises. 175000 people were bombed out and the list of municipal buildings damaged or destroyed is too long to include. The famous Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was hit this night- it is a famous landmark in Berlin to this day because it was deliberately only part-restored. Five Siemens factories and the Alkett tank works were destroyed, the latter having been moved to Berlin from the Ruhr after its destruction earlier in the conflict. |
Reason for Loss | Hit by flak and crashed in the target area |