Saunders, Arthur Foreman Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Arthur Foreman
Surname Saunders
Gender M
Date of Death 29-06-1943
SAUNDERS AF 206

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Short Stirling III
Serial Number EH888
Markings LS-Z

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Netherlands
Burial/Memorial Place Amersfoort (Oud Leusden) General Cemetery
Grave Reference Plot 13. Row 8. Grave 161.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 237
SAUNDERS AF 206

Location

Row -
Panel 237
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 237

Enlistment Information

Service Number 149206
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 3
Squadron 15 (XV)
Squadron Motto Aim Sure
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Mastwijkerdijk 134, Montfoort, Utrecht Province
Country the Netherlands
Memorial Type Inscribed metal sculpture
Memorial Text Onze strijd voor jullte vrijheid eindigde heir. – Op 28 Juni 1943 om 23:45 uur steeg panal het vliegveld Mildenhall in Engeland de Short Stirling Bommenwerper EH888 op vour een missie naar Keulen. It tastel waard delsketten troch in Dútske nachtjager
Translation "Our fight for your freedom ended here - On June 28, 1943 at 11:45 p.m., Short Stirling Bomber EH888 took off from Mildenhall airport in England on a mission to Cologne. The aircraft was shot down by a German nightfighter"
Location Church of St. John, Beck Row, Suffolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Slate Tablet on rear external wall of Church
Memorial Text In remembrance of all who served at RAF Mildenhall and associated aerodromes in the cause of freedom, 1939-1945

Miscellaneous Information

958658 Sgt. Harold Mallen, the navigator, was the only survivor. Born 18 June 1919 in Brierley Hill, Wolverhampton, he was known as Harold. He worked as a maintenance engineer in a local leather goods manufacturer before enlisting and was a talented football goalkeeper. After parachuting out of the stricken aircraft, he became a PoW and was incarcerated in Stalg Luft VI and later at Stalag Luft 357. He was promoted to Warrant Officer while in captivity. After liberation he was in a poor state of health and recuperated in a nursing home in Hern Bay, Kent. Harold was nursed back to health by an Irish nursing Nun, Bridget Russell. Bridget renounced her vows and married Harold on the 27th November 1946 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Pokesdown, Bournemouth. Harold continued in the RAF for a while, working as a Mechanical Engineer. After the war there was a shortage of teachers and in 1947 Harold left the RAF and retrained as a School Teacher at Eastbourne Training College, East Sussex. He became a schoolmaster and taught at Eastbourne Boys Grammar School and played football for Bournemouth FC (now known as AFC Bournemouth). Harold Mallen passed away on 16 June 1977, two days short of his 58th birthday. His wife Bridget survived him by 25 years.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/203/60
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/203/60

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
Davis F W (Sgt) Died
Devereux S J (Sgt) Died
Garfit J L (Sgt) Died
Kennedy F S (Sgt) Died
Matthews G E (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 28-06-1943
End Date 29-06-1943
Takeoff Station Mildenhall
Day/Night Raid Night (12% moon)
Operation Cologne. 608 aircraft, 25 losses (4.1%). PFF went with a 'dual plan' because it was not certain whether there might be a break in the cloud. In fact it was cloud covered so sky-marking had to be used. Only 7 of the 12 Oboe equipped Mosquitoes reached the target and only 6 of these actually dropped markers. Despite this, the main force delivered Cologne's worst attack of the war with 43 industrial, 6 military and 6368 other buildings completely destroyed. The cathedral was also seriously damaged. 4377 deaths and some 230000 bombed out of their homes.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed in the IJssel near Heeswijk, Holland
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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.