Gale, Norman Hathway
Personal Information
Rank | F/O |
Forename(s) | Norman Hathway |
Surname | Gale |
Gender | M |
Age | 30 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 08-09-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Thomas Redstone Gale and Millie Gale, of Bristol. Husband of Elizabeth Ellen Gale, of Bishopston. Bristol. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Short Stirling III |
Serial Number | BK809 |
Markings | AA-T |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Bristol (Canford) Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Sec. J. Grave 278. |
Epitaph | IN MEMORY OF NORMAN AND JOHN (M.E.) "STILL LIVING, STILL LOVING, STILL OURS" |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 167 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 151013 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 3 |
Squadron | 75 (NZ) |
Trade | Air Bomber |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | A142 Mepal, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Brick Piller and Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | Former site of RAF Mepal. Home to No 75 (New Zealand) Sqn, No 3 Gp, Bomber Command, 1943-1945 |
Location | Village Centre, Mepal, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Memorial & Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | A stone memorial, donated by former members of 75 (NZ) Sqn RAF stationed at Mepal between 1943 and 1945 |
Location | St. Andrews Church, Sutton, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Roll of Honour in Wooden Case with brass plaque |
Memorial Text | Roll of Honour. Plaque, Presented by 75(NZ) Sqn Association - UK Branch in memory of Comrades named in the Roll of Honour |
Location | St. Marys Church, Feltwell, Norfolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Brick Piller and Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | A memorial to 75 (NZ) Sqn, RAF. Formed at RAF Feltwell in April 1940 and flew from there until June 1942. The Sqn number was presented to New Zealand becoming 75 Sqn RNZAF in October 1946 until its disbanding in December 2001. |
Location | Newmarket Racecourse, Newmarket, Suffolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | Remembering No 75 (New Zealand) Sqn, No 3 Gp Bomber Command. RAF Newmarket Heath, November 1942 - June 1943 |
Miscellaneous Information
Two civilians were also killed |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/646/42 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/646/41 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 08-09-1943 |
End Date | 09-09-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Mepal |
Day/Night Raid | Night (66% moon) |
Operation | Boulogne- to bomb a long-range gun battery. 257 aircraft. Officially no losses, presumably because BK809 crashed so close to the airfield it did not count amongst the main force. Five B-17s took part in the raid- the first to fly on a night time raid. Oboe equipped Mosquitoes failed to mark the target (they were using a new marking technique) and the gun battery did not appear to have been damaged at all. |
Reason for Loss | Swung violently on takeoff and collided with a petrol tanker before crashing into houses near the airfield |