Garvey, Frederick James Died

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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.
GARVEY FJ

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

Map
Directions to panel 168
GARVEY FJ

Location

Row -
Panel 168
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 168

Enlistment Information

Service Number 117420
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 8
Squadron 83
Squadron Motto Strike to defend
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
Location In front of the mess esplanade, Mailly-le-Camp, 10 - Aube Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Stone memorial sculpture, inscribed marble tablets and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text En souvenir des heros de la RAF. Qui ont participe au bombardment du camp de Mailly. Unites de la RAF engagees dans le raid sur Mailly-le-Camp, la nuit du 3 au 4 May 1944. N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617- 619-625-626-627-637
Translation "In memory of the RAF heroes who took part in the bombing of Mailly Camp. RAF units engaged in the raid on Mailly-le-Camp, the night of 3-4 May 1944. Squadrons that took part: N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-637"

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 3 FIS based at RAF Lulsgate Bottom, Bristol at the time. 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. 126718 F/O Lancelot Woodram Roy Rogers, 3 FIS, was the instructor.
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 January, 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.
The summary in the ORB for the day he died reads: "Oxford aircraft crashed on taking off from Whitchurch Airport, F/O Rogers (instructor) killed and A/F/Lt Garvey (student) seriously injured and admitted to Bristol Royal Infirmary where he died at 18.20 hours.The death of F/O Rogers was the first fatality of a flying instructor of this unit."

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/688/4
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/688/4

Last Operation Information

Start Date 15-02-1944
End Date 15-02-1944
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Training (Garvey was an instructor)
Reason for Aircraft Loss Crashed into Headley Park, about a mile west of Whitchurch airfield near Bristol.
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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.