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Saville, Donald Teale

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Personal Information

Rank W/C
Forename(s) Donald Teale
Surname Saville
Gender M
Decorations DSO, DFC
Date of Death 25-07-1943
Next of Kin Son of John and Isabella Saville
SAVILLE DT

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Short Stirling III
Serial Number BF567
Markings HA-P

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Hamburg Cemetery
Grave Reference Coll. grave 4A. B. 1-5.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 238

Enlistment Information

Service Number 74738
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 3
Squadron 218 (Gold Coast)
Squadron Motto In time
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Australia

Other Memorials

Location St. Mary's Church, Bexwell, Norfolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Tablet
Memorial Text In memory of the squadrons based at R.A.F. Downham Market and those who have their lives during the 1939 - 1945 war
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Location All Saints Church, Chedburgh, Suffolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type RoH and Sqn Crest
Memorial Text Roll of Honour and scroll remembering the members of the Royal and Polish Air Forces who served at RAF Chedburgh 1942 - 1946
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Miscellaneous Information

Born 22 December 1903, Portland, New South Wales, Australia. He was educated at All Saints College, Bathhurst, New South Wales and Friends School, Great Ayton (UK).
He was an Australian serving in the RAF and, before taking command of No. 218, had flown tours with 458 and 104 Squadrons. This was his 58th operation.
DFC Citation (With No.104 Squadron): "Within two weeks of his arrival in Malta this officer completed numerous sorties. By his splendid leadership and untiring efforts,he has contributed materially to the success obtained by the squadron he commands. In November 1942 at night, he took part in three attacks on enemy airfields in Tunis. In spite of heavy opposition and bad weather the objective was bombed from low level. The next night he participated in 3 attacks on Comiso airfield where a large fire was started. His determination and courageous example has inspired his fellow pilots".
DSO Citation, London Gazette, 27 July 1943: "This officer has completed a very large number of sorties and has displayed outstanding determination to achieve success. He is a fearless commander, who invariably chooses to participate in the more difficult sorties which have to be undertaken. Whatever the opposition, Wing Commander Saville endeavours to press home his attacks with accuracy .and resolution. By his personal example and high qualities of leadership, this officer has contributed materially to the operational efficiency of the squadron".

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1351/14
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1351/13

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.

Beavis H W (F/S)
Birbeck J L (F/L)
Brighton W J (P/O)
Fairgrieve T D (P/O)
Howat A B S (F/S)
Stanley T A (F/L)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 24-07-1943
End Date 25-07-1943
Takeoff Station Downham Market
Day/Night Raid Night (42% moon)
Operation Hamburg. 791 aircraft, 12 losses (1.5%). Clear conditions over the target and only a light wind. This was the first raid in which Window was used. A mixture of H2S and visual marking was used and although initial bombing was concentrated, creepback was particularly evident with a corridor of fire some 6 miles long developing. Approximately 1500 civilian deaths- the greatest number in a raid outside the reach of Oboe.
Reason for Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed north of Neümunster after being partially abandoned

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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.