Hiles, Waldo Harry Bentley

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Personal Information

Rank S/L
Forename(s) Waldo Harry Bentley
Surname Hiles
Gender M
Age 29
Decorations DSO, DFC
Date of Death 24-08-1943
Next of Kin Son of Thomas Henry Hiles and Rosamund Sarah Hiles (née Jones). They married on 10 December 1910 in Gowerton, Swansea. Brother of Rosamund Yontha Hiles and William Jenkin Hiles. Husband of Elizabeth Hiles (nee Shanley). They married in Witney, Oxfordshire, the marriage being registered in Q4 1940. Father of Jenkin Waldo Hiles (born 15 October 1938 in Islington).
HILES WHB

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Short Stirling III
Serial Number EH925
Markings IC-C

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 118.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 182

Enlistment Information

Service Number 121330
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 3
Squadron 623
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Miscellaneous Information

Born 1 September 1913, Swansea, he was educated at Llandovery College where he developed a keen interest in hockey. Known as Wally. He bagn his flying career with No. 49 Squadron at RAF Fiskerton, where he flew a total of 29 operations, following which he was 'screened from operations' at No. 14 OTU and No. 19 OTU, amongst other training units, during which time he married. He was then posted to No. 218 Squadron for his second tour, where he flew 20 further operations. On 24 March 1943 he was posted to No. 3 Group HQ at Exning House, Suffolk as staff officer. On 12 August he was visiting Downham Market for reasons unknown, but almost certainly not to fly an operation. The reason for him doing so is equally unknown, but can probably be put down to his well known reputation as a have-a-go leader of men. He flew with a scratch crew including his own former rear gunner.
His DSO was promulgated without citation in the London Gazette on 11 June 1943, however the citation read "Squadron Leader Hiles has been flying on operations since May, 1941, and has completed numerous sorties since being awarded the D.F.C. He always presses home his attacks in the most determined manner, flying at low altitude regardless of enemy opposition.”
On 20 February 1945, Waldo’s wife collected his Distinguished Service Order from the King at Buckingham Palace. It must have been a mixed day of emotions for Elizabeth.
His DFC citation reads "In November 1942 this officer captained a heavy bomber detailed to attack Stuttgart. At one point on the outward flight, Flight Lieutenant Hiles brought his aircraft down to 200ft while his gunners attacked a goods train and put it out of action. He then flew on to his objective and bombed it. During the return journey, attacks were made on targets on the ground, including four separate attacks on goods trains and in each instance, locomotives were set on fire, F/Lt Hiles also attacked an enemy aircraft on an airfield. This officer who has completed a large amount of sorties has invariably displayed outstanding skill and daring.”

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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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.

Basten J (F/O)
Curran J (F/S)
De Silva D M (WO2)
Kershaw J B (Sgt)
Thompson G (Sgt)
Ure J N (F/O)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 23-08-1943
End Date 24-08-1943
Takeoff Station Downham Market
Day/Night Raid Night (37% moon)
Operation Berlin. 727 aircraft, 56 losses (7.9%)- the greatest loss in a single raid so far in the war. Sequential marking was used to keep the main force on course. A Master Bomber approach was also used (W/C J E [Johnny] Fauquier). PFF were unable to locate the centre of Berlin using H2S and instead marked the southern suburbs. The main force arrived late and many cut a corner, making their arrival point incorrect. As might be expected for Berlin, the flak and fighter defences were formidable. Nevertheless, this was the most serious raid on Berlin so far in the war. Much of the government district was badly damaged and 20 ships were also sunk. 854 people were killed, many of whom had failed to take refuge in air raid shelters.
Reason for Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed south of Zossen

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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.