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Parker, Meredith Burford

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Meredith Burford
Surname Parker
Gender M
Age 27
Date of Death 22-06-1944
Next of Kin Son of Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Parker, of Coonamble, New South Wales, Australia.
PARKER MB

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number LW116
Markings HD-X

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille
Grave Reference Plot 14. Row E. Coll. grave 1-6.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 222

Enlistment Information

Service Number 422680
Service Royal Australian Air Force
Group 4
Squadron 466 (Australian)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Australia

Other Memorials

Location Memorial Gardens, North End Park, Driffield, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Memorial
Memorial Text A memorial to the men and women of 462 and 466 Sqns RAAF who served in Bomber Command during WW2
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Miscellaneous Information

He was a Jackaroo (a young man working on a sheep or cattle station to gain experience) prior to enlisting.
He had a younger brother, Graham Burford Parker, born 28 October 1918. Graham enrolled in the RAAF on 18 September 1942. As a Sergeant Pilot (400599), he flew Martin Maryland bombers with 69 Squadron, stationed in Malta. On 18 March 1942 he went missing off the coast of the island and his body was never found.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1926/12
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1926/11

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.

Bowman N E (F/O)
Harrison T (W/O)
Jones C A (W/O)
McMullan J F (S/L)
Sedgwick H W (W/O)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 22-06-1944
End Date 22-06-1944
Takeoff Station Driffield
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Siracourt- to attack a flying bomb site. Part of a 234 strong bomber force to raid V-bomb sites at Mimoyecques and Siracourt. Both sites were accurately hit but a tandem raid by 617 Sqn to attack the site at Wizernes failed to find the target due to cloud cover and returned without dropping its bombs. 1 Halifax Lost
Reason for Loss The Squadron Operations Record Book records that the aircraft was hit by flak at 16,000 feet. Port inner caught fire then whole wing and the order to abandon was given . At leat twoof the crew were seen to bale out. The aircraft was seen to hit the ground and explode. After the war it was established that the aircraft crashed at approx 3pm on 22 June 1944 near Houvin-Houvigneul, which is 37 miles south west of Lille, France.

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Since 1945 the brave men and women who gave their lives whilst in the service of Bomber Command, to protect our country have been largely ignored and forgotten by successive governments.

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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.