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Spreckley, Philip George

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Philip George
Surname Spreckley
Gender M
Age
Decorations
Date of Death 12-06-1943
Next of Kin Son of Thomas George Spreckly, D.C.M., and Norah Spreckly, of Peterborough.
SPRECKLEY PG

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax II
Serial Number DT742
Markings MH-Y

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Peterborough (Eastfield) Cemetery
Grave Reference Div. 3. Block 9. R.C. Grave 42.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 246

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1271792
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 4
Squadron 51
Trade WOp/AG
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location RAF Snaith Memorial Gardens, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Monument, Bench & Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In memory of the airmen of R.A.F. 51 Sqn. (687) and 150 Sqn. (205) between 1941 - 1945
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Location Village Hall, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque on external wall
Memorial Text 51 Sqn RAF Snaith Oct 1942 - Apr 1945
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Location St. John the Baptist Church, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Sqn Crest & Roll of Honour
Memorial Text 51 Sqn Roll of Honour
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Location RAF Snaith Memorial Gardens, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Monument, Multiple Inscribed Metal Plaques, Propeller Unit
Memorial Text In memory of the 687 airmen of 51 Sqn, 4 Gp, Bomber Command who lost their lives flying Halifax bombers Mks 2 and 3 at RAF Snaith between October 1942 and April 1945
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Location Stn Church, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Roll of Honour in Wooden Case
Memorial Text Roll of Honour of 51 Sqn
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Location Grounds of Selby Abbey, Selby, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone
Memorial Text 51 Sqn RAF. In proud and undying memory of all ranks killed or missing 1939 - 1945
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Miscellaneous Information

Description of incident, taken from 51 Squadron Operations Record Book June 1943: Aircraft took off with a load of 2 x 1000lb G.P., 48 x 30lb and 630 x 4lb incendiaries, to deliver its attack. Shortly after take-off, the port engine developed, what is believed [to be] an internal glycol leak, overheating as it did so. The port engine was feathered, and then started again but with the same result. After flying along the Norfolk coast, captain decided to abandon the sortie and headed out to sea and jettisoned his load. In the neighbourhood of Sheringham at about 3000 feet and about ten miles out, light and heavy flak suddenly came up towards the aircraft, and crew could see a convoy with escort which they had not previously observed. They had been given no information of the fact that this convoy was in the vicinity. It was decided not to jettison the bomb load in case the convoy should sustain damage from it. Aircraft turned away, and the crew fired the colours of the period. Immediately all other ships opened up. Correct colours were again fired and all lights were put on. By this time the aircraft had been hit by flak in several places and was on fire. The petrol tank in the starboard wing was holed and the petrol caught alight, and blazed in a long trail from the aircraft wing. Aircraft was losing height rapidly, and captain again endeavoured to start the port engine, which however caught fire. By this time, the aircraft was very low and was flying along the ships balloons. Bombs were only then jettisoned, and although aircraft was only 50ft above the water and obviously going to ditch, the ships in the convoy continued to fire at it. A direct hit was sustained in the rest position, which killed the wireless operator instantly. The bomb aimer was seriously wounded in the stomach, but he did not disclose this to his crew. Ditching was successfully carried out, but the dinghy failed to release, and was only extracted with great difficulty by the mid-upper gunner, as a result of great exertion and considerable difficulty. The other members succeeded in getting the body of the wireless operator out of the aircraft, and it was not until they were all in the dinghy that the bomb aimer revealed that he had been badly wounded. A boat from a trawler in the vicinity picked them up about three quarters of an hour after ditching. At that time the Halifax was still on the surface, burning ferociously. The crew were transferred to a destroyer about an hour and a half after ditching, and landed at Harwich. It was later learned that the convoy escort had seen the aircraft in the light of its own fires, and recognised it as friendly but were unable to stop the ships of the convoy from firing. As a result of their courage and devotion to duty in this incident, both the pilot and wounded bomb aimer had been recommended for the immediate award of the DFM.
Incorrectly spelled on the memorial walls- should be Spreckley. CWGC list both Philip and his parents as Spreckly and IBCC have therefore followed this but in fact Philip's father was a decorated WWI veteran and is documented in a number of places as Spreckley. IBCC have been contacted by his family and advised that Spreckley is the correct spelling. The ORB lists him as Spreckley.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/492/30
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/492/29

Last Operation Information

Start Date 11-06-1943
End Date 12-06-1943
Takeoff Station Snaith
Day/Night Raid Night (59% moon)
Operation Düsseldorf. 783 aircraft. 38 losses (4.9%). PFF marking was accurate but one Mosquito inadvertently released some target indicators far from the target, confusing the main force and causing many bombs to fall in open countryside. Nevertheless, much damage was caused to the centre of Düsseldorf with at least 130 acres laid waste 1292 people were killed and 140000 people bombed out. 42 businesses that contributed to the war effort were put completely out of action and a further 35 were put on reduced output. 8 ships were sunk or damaged.
Reason for Loss Hit by flak from a British shipping convoy and ditched NE of Sheringham, Norfolk

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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.