Lee, Frank Died

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Frank
Surname Lee
Gender M
Age 21
Date of Death 12-06-1943
Next of Kin Son of Horace and Ada Lee, of Leeds, Yorkshire.
LEE F

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax II
Serial Number HR719
Markings NP-M

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Netherlands
Burial/Memorial Place Uden War Cemetery
Grave Reference Coll. grave 5. G. 3-4.
Epitaph A LOVELY SMILE A HAPPY FACE A BROKEN LINK WE CAN NEVER REPLACE

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 197
LEE F

Location

Row -
Panel 197
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 197

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1132146
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 4
Squadron 158
Squadron Motto Strength in unity
Trade WOp/AG
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Rijksweg 203, Plasmolen, Gelderland Province
Country the Netherlands
Memorial Type Information board
Memorial Text Halifax Mk II. HR719 Royal Air Force, 158 Squadron. In de nacht van 11 op 12 Juni 1943 voerden 783 bommenwerpers van het Bomber Command een grootscheepse missie uit naar Dusseldorf. Het werd een redelijk succesvol bombardement waarbij 1292 doden
Translation "On the night of 11th to 12th lune 1943 783 bombers of Bomber Command carried out an attack on Dusseldorf. Halifax HR719 of 158 Sqn RAF crashed between Nijmegen and Venlo"
Location St. James of Compostola Church, Lissett, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone & Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Memorial to 158 Sqn, RAF Lissett 28th February 1943 - 17th August 1946
Location St. James of Compostola Church, Lissett, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window & Inscribed Metal Plaques
Memorial Text A stained glass window in memory of 158 Sqn RAF
Location Adjacent to former airfield, Lissett, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Metal Sculpture, Wind Turbines & Info Board
Memorial Text 12 wind turbines named after Halifax Bombers of 158 Sqn and groundcrew who were killed on 2nd July 1943
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Gardens, Propeller, Inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text In everlasting homage to the courage of those who have found their winged victory through the skies of Yorkshire
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Propeller Unit & Inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text They made the supreme sacrifice so that you & I may go in peace with freedom. 4 Group 1939 - 1945.
Location Heslington Hall, York, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Heslington Hall 1941 - 1945, 4 Gp Headquarters Bomber Command. In remembrance of those Air & Ground personnel who made the supreme sacrifice that we all may walk in peace with freedom

Miscellaneous Information

Sgt. Frank Lee arrived at No. 158 Squadron, RAF Lissett, on 19 May 1943 from 1663 Heavy Conversion Unit, having trained as a Wireless Operator. The Battle of the Ruhr was at its height and Frank would fly operations only to targets in the Ruhr. Just four days after arrival he flew his first operation, aboard Mk. II Halifax HR719 NP-M, to Dortmund. The crew reported a “very good show” and were able to bomb on the target indicators laid earlier by the Pathfinders. Two nights later the target for the night was Düsseldorf, which they bombed through breaks in the cloud, again on target indicators. On 27 May they returned to the Ruhr Valley – this time to Essen - home of the mighty Krupps steel foundries and armament works. Almost complete cloud cover necessitated bombing on sky markers rather than ground markers. The Captain, Sgt. Ron Pope, states “Every indication of a good attack. Saw many fires through one gap in clouds”. A fourth trip to the Ruhr Valley took place on 29 May, this time to Wuppertal. They sustained minor damage due to flak but otherwise the Captaine states “Very good effort, well concentrated”. Their fifth sortie to the Ruhr, or “Happy Valley” as crews ironically named it, was to be their last. Target for the night of 11-12 June 1943 was Düsseldorf once again, an attack comprising 783 aircraft. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after takeoff. It was later reported that they had crashed between Nijmegen and Venlo, Holland. Some of the crew bailed out but none survived. They were one of 38 losses that night, an attrition rate of 5%; tragic yet typical. The average age of the seven-man crew was 22. Frank was just 21 and left grieving parents Horace and Ada back home in Leeds. They later chose the following epitaph to feature on his headstone in Uden War Cemetery, Netherlands: A LOVELY SMILE A HAPPY FACE A BROKEN LINK WE CAN NEVER REPLACE. He had flown five operations in just 19 days, all of them aboard HR719.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1048/35
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1048/35

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
Glen A (Sgt) Died
Green G A F (Sgt) Died
Lay-Flurrie F G (Sgt) Died
Pope R G (Sgt) Died
Potter T F (Sgt) Died
Showler R A C (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 11-06-1943
End Date 12-06-1943
Takeoff Station Lissett
Day/Night Raid Night (59% moon)
Operation Düsseldorf. 783 aircraft. 38 losses (4.9%). PFF marking was accurate but one Mosquito inadvertently released some target indicators far from the target, confusing the main force and causing many bombs to fall in open countryside. Nevertheless, much damage was caused to the centre of Düsseldorf with at least 130 acres laid waste 1292 people were killed and 140000 people bombed out. 42 businesses that contributed to the war effort were put completely out of action and a further 35 were put on reduced output. 8 ships were sunk or damaged.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down by a night-fighter flown by Major Werner Streib of Stab I./NJG 1. Crashed between Nijmegen and Venlo, Holland. Some of the crew baled out but none of them survived.
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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.