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Vickers, John Henry

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) John Henry
Surname Vickers
Gender M
Age 24
Decorations MM
Date of Death 05-10-1939
Next of Kin Son of Henry Guy and Gertrude Vickers. Husband of Peggy Vickers, of Withernsea, Yorkshire.
VICKERS JH

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Fairey Battle I
Serial Number K9271
Markings PM-

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Choloy War Cemetery
Grave Reference 1A. B. 14.
Epitaph THERE'S SOME CORNER OF A FOREIGN FIELD THAT IS FOR EVER ENGLAND" RUPERT BROOKE

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 257

Enlistment Information

Service Number 516606
Service Royal Air Force
Group AASF
Squadron 103
Squadron Motto Noli me tangere (Touch me not)
Trade Observer
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Anglian Water Treatment Works, Elsham Wolds, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Pillar & Plaques
Memorial Text Pillar : RAF Elsham Wolds, 1941-1945, For those who made the great sacrifice. Plaque :This tree is dedicated to all those who served with 103 Squadron Royal Air Force. Plaque : RAF Elsham Wolds, Opened in Summer 1941 as a bomber station in No1 group, it w
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Miscellaneous Information

Sgt Vickers was critically injured and died from his injuries on 05/10/1939
Fairey Battle K9271 claimed the first-ever RAF "kill" in combat on 27 September 1939. The victim was a Messerschmitt Bf109D-1 from JGr. 152. It was shot down by return fire during an attack on three No. 103 Squadron Battles by four Bf109D-1s from JGr.152 West of Hornbach and crashed near Bockweiler, at 12:30 hours. Gefreiter or Obergefreiter (sources differ on his rank) Josef Scherm was killed, the aircraft was a write off.  Bf 109s had attacked just as the Battles had completed their mission to take oblique photographs along the Siegfried Line and turned for home. L/AC Summers had held his fire until the Bf 109 attacking his Battle had closed right in before giving it a burst from his Vickers GO gun, whereupon the 109 had fallen into a wood. For this feat, L/AC Summers was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. An hour later, however, K9271 was first attacked by French Curtiss H-75s then severely damaged by Bf109s of JGr.152 during photo-reconnaissance over the frontier between Bouzonville and the Rhine. Due to the damage it sustained, it forced-landed on one wheel near Rohrbach at 13:40 hours. Flying Officer A. L. Vipan unhurt. Sergeant J.H. Vickers critically injured - died of wounds 5.10.39. A/C1 J. E. Summers unhurt. Aircraft K9271 "PM-G" of 103 Squadron was a write-off.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/813/2
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/813/3

Last Operation Information

Start Date 27-09-1939
End Date 27-09-1939
Takeoff Station Challerange
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Photo-reconnaissance over the frontier between Bouzonville and the Rhine
Reason for Loss T/O 27/09/1939 Forced landing on one wheel at a airfield near the Maginot line after being shot by a Me 109s

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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.