Royde, George Reicher Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) George Reicher
Surname Royde
Gender M
Age 32
Decorations DFC
Date of Death 14-05-1943
Next of Kin Son of Henry and Clara Reicher, of Bayswater, London. Husband of Wendy Royde. Ll.B.
ROYDE GR

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Short Stirling III
Serial Number BF479
Markings OJ-E

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Belgium
Burial/Memorial Place Schoonselhof Cemetery
Grave Reference Coll. grave II. G. 6-9.
Epitaph MOURNED BY HIS WIFE WENDY, MISSED BY HIS DAUGHTER PATRICIA, BORN POSTHUMOUSLY

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 236
ROYDE GR

Location

Row -
Panel 236
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 236

Enlistment Information

Service Number 118604
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 3
Squadron 149 (East India)
Squadron Motto Fortis nocte (Strong by night)
Trade Air Bomber
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Groneweg, Kasterlee, Antwerpen Province
Country Belgium
Memorial Type Memorial stone & inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text Dit gedenkteken werd opgericht ter nagedachtenis aan de acht omgekomen bemanningsleden van de Stirling BF479 - 13/14 Mei 1943
Translation "This Memorial was erected in remembrance of the eight crew members of Stirling BF479 - 13/14 May 1943"
Location St. George's Church, Methwold, Norfolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Roll of Honour & inscribed window
Memorial Text Roll of Honour of 149 Sqn RAF and a window remembering the men and women of all Nations who served at RAF Methwold, 1939-1945

Miscellaneous Information

Citation, London Gazette, 12 February 1943: "Distinguished Flying Cross. Flying Officer George Reicher ROYDE (118604), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No 149 Squadron. Pilot Officer Norman Edward SKINNER (118084), Royal Air Foice Volunteer Reserve, No 149 Squadron. Distinguished Flying Medal. 1366018 Flight Sergeant Leslie Anderson HYDER. No 149 Squadron, 971446 Flight Sergeant Douglas CAMERON, No. 149 Squadron, 1130087 Sergeant Harold Wray GOUGH, No 149 Squadron. On 28th November, 1942, these members of an aircraft crew took part in an attack on a target at Turin. Whilst over the target area, their bomber was repeatedly hit by anti-aircraft fire, and sustained much damage. A shell, which burst, in the cockpit, rendered the captain, the late Flight Sergeant Middleton, V C , unconscious and wounded the second pilot, Flight Sergeant Hyder, in the face and legs, Pilot Officer Skinner, the wireless operator, was also wounded in the leg. Despite his injuries, Flight Sergeant Hyder, took over the controls and succeeded in regaining control of the aircraft which had dived from 2,000 to 800 feet. Later the bomb load was released. Shortly afterwards, the captain recovered consciousness but Flight Sergeant Hyder after receiving first aid, insisted on' remaining beside him in case of emergency. On the return flight, when crossing the Alps, Flight Sergeant Cameron and Sergeant Gough greatly assisted the pilot to maintain height by jettisoning all movable equipment. Skilful navigation by Flying Officer Royde enabled the aircraft to be flown back to this country. Shortly after crossing the coast the aircraft had to be abandoned owing to lack of petrol In the face of almost insuperable odds, these members of the aircraft crew displayed courage, fortitude and determination of a high order".

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1003/10
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1003/10

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
Berry H A J (Sgt) Died
Butt J E (Sgt) Died
Ferguson R C (F/S) Died
Frank N H (Sgt) Died
Fudge H P (F/S) Died
Hazelden-French E (Sgt) Died
Martin L C (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 13-05-1943
End Date 14-05-1943
Takeoff Station Lakenheath
Day/Night Raid Night (65% moon)
Operation Bochum. 442 aircraft, 24 losses (5.4%). Decoy markers drew much of the bombing away from the target. Little information available from local sources about the extent of the damage.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed at Kasterlee, near Antwerp
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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.