Durie, George Christopher Died

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) George Christopher
Surname Durie
Gender M
Age 25
Date of Death 24-04-1940
Next of Kin Son of Christopher and Mary Ann Durie, of 33 Bonnygate, Cupar, Fife.
DURIE GC

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Bristol Blenheim IV
Serial Number L8750
Markings OM-K

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 13.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 158
DURIE GC

Location

Row -
Panel 158
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 158

Enlistment Information

Service Number 580510
Service Royal Air Force
Group 2
Squadron 107
Squadron Motto Nous y serons (We shall be there)
Trade Observer
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Church of St. Andrew, Little Massingham, Norfolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Roll of Honour in Wooden Case
Memorial Text Roll of Honour to those who served at RAF Little Massingham during WW2, including 107 Sqn
Location Adjacent to Northern Perimeter of Airfield, Wattisham, Suffolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Memorial with inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text A memorial to those who served at RAF Wattisham during WW2, including 107 Sqn, who along with 110 Sqn delivered the first air raids of the War

Miscellaneous Information

On detachment from Wattisham
George was born 28 December 1914. He worked as an insurance agent until 7 November 1938 when he joined the RAF. When war broke out George was on 90 Squadron and then transferred to 101 Squadron on 5th October. He had been involved in daytime bombing raids against German shipping from the first weeks of the war. On 18th October he was transferred again, this time to 107 Squadron. He was transferred to 107 Squadron which was led by Wing Commander Basil Embry who turned out to be one of the most outstanding commanders of the war. George referred to him with admiration and respect as “The Wingco”. George was not the Wingco’s regular Observer but he flew with him on several occasions. On 9th April 1940 the Germans invaded Denmark and Norway. Britain and France sent forces to Norway to try to stem the German advance. The Blenheims and other light bombers were tasked with supporting the naval and land forces They did not have the range to reach their targets in Norway from their bases in Norfolk and Suffolk so two Blenheim squadrons, including George’s, were transferred to Lossiemouth. As they flew north they crossed over Cupar. George was navigating for the Wingco and said, “That’s my home town down there!” Over the next three weeks the two Blenheim squadrons made several bombing raids over Norway, mostly by night to give them some protection from German fighters which were now based at Stavanger and other Norwegian airfields. Nevertheless they suffered losses due to fighter attacks, anti-aircraft fire from the ground and mechanical failures. In the early hours of 24th April 1940 George’s luck ran out. His aircraft failed to return from a bombing raid against Stavanger’s Sola airfield, held by the Germans. In the letter from Basil Embry to George’s parents he says they had successfully attacked the airfield but then encountered enemy fighters and were shot down. George was Cupar’s first war fatality. It had a terrible effect on the whole family but none more so than George’s father, Chris. A few days later Chris received a letter of condolence from his Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Basil Embry – “The Wingco”, in which he wrote that George was “one of his best Observers” and ”… a very likeable chap”. The letter was sensitively worded and came across as very sincere. However Chris was inconsolable. He never fully recovered from the shock and died in 1947 at the age of 66 of a stroke. George’s death is recorded at the Runnymede Memorial and on Cupar War Memorial.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/841/16
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/841/16

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
Murphy J D (F/O) Died
Weeks E L (LAC) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 24-04-1940
End Date 24-04-1940
Takeoff Station Lossiemouth
Day/Night Raid Night (95% moon)
Operation Stavanger airfield
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down over the sea south west of Stavanger at 0830hrs by Fw. Werner Petermann of 5./JG 77. The aircraft that survived carried out a successful attack according to the Summary of Events (contrary to what is stated in The Bomber Command War Diaries).
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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.