Foster, Harold Arthur Died

Back

Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Harold Arthur
Surname Foster
Gender M
Age 31
Date of Death 08-06-1944
Next of Kin Son of Arthur and Alice Lily Foster. Husband of Joan Rosamund Foster, of Coventry.
FOSTER HA

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number LL864
Markings A4-H

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Giverny Churchyard
Grave Reference Coll. grave.
Epitaph THEY SHALL MOUNT UP WITH WINGS AS EAGLES

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 165
FOSTER HA

Location

Row -
Panel 165
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 165

Enlistment Information

Service Number 177401
Service Royal Air Force
Group 3
Squadron 115
Squadron Motto Despite the elements
Trade Air Bomber
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location In village cemetery, Giveney, 27 - Eure Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Memorial stone, propeller blade & stencilled composite information panel
Memorial Text Dans la nuit du 7 au 8 Juin 1944, un bombardier Lancaster de la Royal Air Force s'est écrasé en flammes au sud du village, sur la plaine des Ajoux. Cette statue, ornée d'une pale d'hélice de l'appareil, rend hommage aux sept membres d'équipage reposant dans notre cimetière. Leur sacrifice a permis de reconquérir notre liberté. Ce monument témoigne de leur courage et symbolise l'admiration et la gratitude des habitants de Giverny
Translation "During the night of the 7th and 8th of June 1944, a RAF Lancaster bomber crashed in flames to the south of the village, in the "Plaine des Ajoux". This statue displays a propeller blade from the aircraft to pay homage to the seven crew lying in our cemetery. Their sacrifice led to our liberty today. This monument stands in testimony to the crew and is a symbol of the admiration and gratitude of the people of Giverny"
Location Lancaster Industrial Estate, Witchford, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Pillar with inscribed Slate Tablets & Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In honour of those who served during the Second World War 1939 - 1945

Miscellaneous Information

115 Squadron lost six Lancasters and the lives of 36 aircrew on this operation
Harold was born on 25 January 1913 at Birmingham. He attended Radford and Bablake Schools, both in Coventry. He later resided at 98, Lake View Road, Coventry, being employed by Armstrong Siddeley Motor Co. Ltd until enlisting in 1939. A plaque in Coventry War Memorial Park reads ‘Pilot officer H.A. (Rupert) Foster Royal Air Force Killed in action 8th June 1944'.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/891/12
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/891/12

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
Anderson A H (Sgt) Died
Fyfe J L (Sgt) Died
Maude R P (P/O) Died
Penton K (Sgt) Died
Sutherland R D J (Sgt) Died
Tovey R W (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 07-06-1944
End Date 08-06-1944
Takeoff Station Witchford
Day/Night Raid Night (98% moon)
Operation Achères- to attack railway yards. Part of a 337 bomber strong force to bomb various lines of communications behind the Normandy beachhead. There was less cloud cover than the previous night with all targets being accurately bombed and fewer civilians killed. Because the targets were further inland than recent raids, the German night-fighters had a greater opportunity to infiltrate the bomber stream and as a result, losses were higher. 28 aircraft were Lost (8.3%).
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed at Giverny, France
Start new losses database search Back
 
 
 
 

Please Wait

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.