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Porteous, William Ford Watson

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Personal Information

Rank F/L
Forename(s) William Ford Watson
Surname Porteous
Gender M
Age 23
Decorations DSO, DFM*
Date of Death 20-05-1944
Next of Kin Son of James Sargent Porteous and Mildred Porteous, of Portree, Isle of Skye.
PORTEOUS WFW

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster III
Serial Number JB653
Markings MG-R

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Le Mans (West) Cemetery
Grave Reference Plot 38. 1939-45 Row C. Grave 23.
Epitaph WEARING THEIR WOUNDS LIKE STARS, THEY SHALL ARISE

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 227

Enlistment Information

Service Number 171282
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 8
Squadron 7
Squadron Motto Per diem per noctem (By day and by night)
Trade Air Bomber
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Hilton House Hotel, Hilton, Derbyshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Blue Plaque on external wall
Memorial Text Air Commodore Herbert Martin Massey CBE DSO MC 1898-1976 Senior British Officer at Stalag Luft III Sagan who authorised 'The Great Escape' was born here. Hilton and Marston History Group
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Location All Saints Church, Longstanton, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window and Roll of Honour Book
Memorial Text Remember here before God those of 7 Squadron who died in action in The Royal Flying Corps 1914-18 and The Royal Air Force 1939-45
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Miscellaneous Information

DSO Citation, London Gazette, 2 June 1944: "This officer has completed a very large number of sorties, many of them demanding a high degree of skill and resolution. On 3 occasions recently, Flight Lieutenant Porteous has participated in attacks on railway junctions and the success achieved is a fine tribute to the accuracy of his bombing. He is a devoted member of aircraft crew and his achievements have won the greatest praise".
A very experienced crew, the loss of which, together with W/C Barron's crew the same night, was a severe blow to PFF
DSO Citation, London Gazette 30 May 1944: This officer has completed a very large number of sorties, many of them demanding a high degree of skill and resolution. On 3 occasions recently, Flight Lieutenant Porteous has participated in attacks on railway junctions and the success achieved is a fine tribute to the accuracy of his bombing. He is a devoted member of aircraft crew and his achievements have won the greatest praise.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/101/10
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/101/9

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.

Dennis J M (S/L)
Hewett R J (F/L)
Hunt R T (W/O)
Kofoed P J J (Sgt)
Lawrence A G (F/S)
Timmins L (Sgt)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 19-05-1944
End Date 20-05-1944
Takeoff Station Oakington
Day/Night Raid Night (7% moon)
Operation Le Mans. 116 aircraft, 3 lost (2.6%). A successful attack with much damage being caused to the yards. The engine sheds were completely destroyed and there was a direct hit on an ammunition train. Downed overhead lines blocked many tracks. Local casualties were mercifully light. The raid was, however, marred by the loss of some of PFF's finest: the crews of W/C Barron and S/L Dennis crashed with all members of both crews killed. Opinion is divided as to whether these aircraft collided or were brought down by flak.
Reason for Loss Opinion is divided as to whether the aircraft was hit by flak or collided with the Master Bomber's Lancaster (ND845 MG-C). Crashed in the target area

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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.