Towe, Eric
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Eric |
Surname | Towe |
Gender | M |
Age | 19 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 26-06-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Joseph Alfred and Clara Ellen Towe, of Didsbury, Manchester. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Short Stirling III |
Serial Number | EH898 |
Markings | HA-G |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Netherlands |
Burial/Memorial Place | Lichtenvoorde General Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Grave 16. |
Epitaph | O FOR THE TOUCH OF A VANISHED HAND AND THE SOUND OF A VOICE THAT IS STILL |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 255 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 553608 |
Service | Royal Air Force |
Group | 3 |
Squadron | 218 (Gold Coast) |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
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 |
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 |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1351/12 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1351/11 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 25-06-1943 |
End Date | 26-06-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Downham Market |
Day/Night Raid | Night (38% moon) |
Operation | Gelsenkirchen. 473 aircraft, 30 losses (6.3%). The first raid in around two years on this Ruhr town. Cloud cover and unserviceable Oboe equipment in 5 of the 12 Mosquitoes meant that the target was not well marked. As a result the local report puts the number of buildings destroyed at just 24. 16 deaths on the ground. Some nearby towns were hit in error, particularly Solingen with more people being killed there than in Gelsenkirchen itself. A good illustration of the dependency on PFF marking for raid success. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down from 13000' by a night-fighter and crashed at Lichtenvoorde, Holland |