Garvey, Frederick James
Personal Information
Rank | F/L |
Forename(s) | Frederick James |
Surname | Garvey |
Gender | M |
Age | 30 |
Decorations | DSO, DFC |
Date of Death | 15-02-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of Arthur P. Garvey and Margaret E. Garvey, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Airspeed Oxford I |
Serial Number | LW776 |
Markings |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Bath (Haycombe) Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Plot 39. Sec. H. Row C. Grave 251. |
Epitaph | LOVED, REMEMBERED LONGED FOR ALWAYS. MOTHER. His father had died when Frederick was in his early teens and the epitaph speaks of his mother's anguish at losing another member of the family. |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 168 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 117420 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 8 |
Squadron | 83 |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
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 |
Miscellaneous Information
A screened pilot having completed 60 sorties with PFF- said to have been the first pilot to have achieved this. He was flying with 7 FIS at the time, which was located not far from his home. The accident report stated that the pupil pilot had moved the fuel mixture from fully rich to fully lean shortly after take-off. AT 300 feet the engines cut and the machine stalled. |
Known as 'Rickie' or 'Rik', he was a reporter for a Vancouver newspaper in civilian life and an all-round sportsman. His father, Art, had been a sports reporter. He worked his passage to the UK on a freighter before joining up. |
His DSO citation reads: "Acting Flight Lieutenant Frederick James GARVEY, D.F.C. (117420), Rdyal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 83 Squadron. Flight Lieutenant Garvey has been continuously engaged on operations since Janiiafy, 1943. Since the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross he has continued to perform his duties with outstanding distinction and brilliance. During one of his sorties over Essen, a large bomb was hit by anti-aircraft fire after being released and exploded directly beneath his aircraft. Determined to-complete his task, despite this hazardous experience. Flight Lieutenant Garvey made several runs over this most heavily defended target. Flight Lieutenant Garvey's fearlessness and resolution in the face of the enemy have, at all times been exceptional". What the citation does not mention is that the 8,000lb was in fact two 4,000lb Cookies welded together and was created for a popaganda film. There were two Pathé cameramen aboard to film the action and it is available to view on Youtube (search "Essen Blitzed"). While at 83 Squadron he regularly flew the famous S-Sugar 'ton-up Lanc' which is now on display at RAF Museum, Hendon. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 15-02-1944 |
End Date | 15-02-1944 |
Takeoff Station | |
Day/Night Raid | Day |
Operation | Training (Garvey was an instructor) |
Reason for Loss | Crashed into Headley Park, about a mile west of Whitchurch airfield near Bristol. |