Jones, Clifford Thomas Died

Back

Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Clifford Thomas
Surname Jones
Gender M
Age 30
Date of Death 17-04-1945
Next of Kin Son of Arthur and Jane Jones. Husband of Betty Jones, of Stoke-On-Trent.
JONES CT

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number LK874
Markings 6Y-C

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Rheinberg War Cemetery
Grave Reference Coll. grave 9. K. 18-25.
Epitaph CHERISHED MEMORIES OF MY BELOVED HUSBAND, A DEARLY LOVED SON AND BROTHER

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 190
JONES CT

Location

Row -
Panel 190
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 190

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1621640
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 100
Squadron 171
Squadron Motto Per dolum defendimus (We defend by confusion)
Trade Navigator
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Adjacent to former Technical Site, North Creake, Norfolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Sculpture, Inscribed Metal Panels & Info Boards
Memorial Text Remembering the crew of Halifax LK874 6Y-C lost on 17 Apr 1945
Location Adjacent to former Technical Site, North Creake, Norfolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Sculpture, Inscribed Metal Panels & Info Boards
Memorial Text Dedicated to all who served with 171 Sqn at RAF North Creake during WWII
Location Haveringland Parish Church, adjacent to former RAF Swannington, Norfolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Framed Scroll and Framed RoH
Memorial Text Remembering the men and women of the Royal Air Force and Allied Forces who served with 100 (BS) Group
Location St. Peter's Church, Haveringland, Norfolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed stone tablet
Memorial Text This church was dedicated as the memorial church to 100 (Bomber Support) Group. Remembering the men and women of the RAF and Allied Forces who served with 100 (Bomber Support) Gp

Miscellaneous Information

Clifford was born in Salford in 1915. His father Arthur Jones served with the first battalion Manchester Regiment and was killed on 9 January 1917. aged 33. He is remembered on the Basra Memorial. In the 1939 register Clifford is shown as a plumber. He married Betty in her home town of Stoke on Trent in 1942 wearing his RAF uniform (see photo).
He was posted to 171 squadron from base 74 on 30 December 1944. Promoted to Flight Sargent on 14 January 1945. He flew on 15 operation between 06 January 1945 and 16 April 1945.
Under the direction of American soldiers, all bodies of both crews involved in this incident were recovered by German civilians and initially buried in a joint grave on the side of the road, 200 yds from Murlenbach. They were later reinterred alonside one another in Rheinberg War cemetery.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1102/24
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1102/24

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
Brown R A (F/O) Died
Draper E G (F/O) Died
Dyson F (F/S) Died
Jennings P S (F/L) Died
Knowler G V (F/S) Died
Sperling R (Sgt) Died
Storey A (F/S) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 16-04-1945
End Date 17-04-1945
Takeoff Station North Creake
Day/Night Raid Night (26% moon)
Operation Bomber Support. Twelve Halifaxes were detailed from this squadron -four for combined Mandrel/Windows/Bombing and eight for combined Mandrel/Bombing. One aircraft returned early and one failed to return nothing having been heard of it since take off. The remainder completed their mission successfully and returned safely to base. Bombs were dropped on Prague and Swandorf.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Collided in the air with a 156 Sqn Lancaster (PB403 GT-E) and crashed in woodland near Mürlenbach-Godesbachtal, Germany
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.