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White, Geoffrey

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Geoffrey
Surname White
Gender M
Age 21
Date of Death 29-06-1943
Next of Kin Son of John William and Kate White, of Thornton-Le-Dale, Yorkshire.
WHITE G 157

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster II
Serial Number DS669
Markings -B

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 169.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 263

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1308157
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 3
Squadron 115
Squadron Motto Despite the elements
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Lancaster Industrial Estate, Witchford, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Pillar with inscribed Slate Tablets & Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In honour of those who served during the Second World War 1939 - 1945
View On Google Maps View On what3words

Miscellaneous Information

1308178 Sergeant Edwin Thomas George Hall (mid-upper gunner) received a CGM and both 1346616 Sergeant William Porter Jolly (pilot) and 1078262 Sergeant Ray Kingsley Crowther (wireless operator) received DFMs for their bravery in this operation.
Citation, from London Gazette: “Sergeants Hall and Crowther were mid-upper gunner and wireless operator respectively of an aircraft, captained by Sergeant Jolly, which attacked Cologne one night in June, 1943. On the homeward flight the bomber was intercepted by 2 enemy fighters and a running, combat ensued. Sergeant Jolly took violent evasive action but, eventually a burst of gunfire from i of the attackers, at close range, hit the rear turret, setting the fuselage on fire between the bulkhead doors. Sergeant Hall, the mid-upper gunner, kept firing his guns however, and the enemy aircraft was seen diving steeply and on fire. By this time, the rear turret 'was well alight and the fuselage became filled with smoke. The situation became critical but Sergeants Hall and Crowther, without waiting to connect the portable oxygen supply, attempted to quell the flames. Both airmen became thoroughly exhausted but gamely battled on and, after a prolonged struggle, succeeded in extinguishing the flames. It was then discovered that the rear turret had fallen off. Eventually, Sergeant Jolly flew the damaged bomber to an airfield in this country, landing it safely. In the face of a critical situation, these members of aircraft crew displayed courage, fortitude and determination of the highest order”.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/890/12
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/890/11

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.

Buttling A G (Sgt)
Harrison J D (P/O)
Kirkpatrick R N (P/O)
Nash F D (Sgt)
Norris R W (Sgt)
Wilde E (F/S)
Wilson W (Sgt)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 28-06-1943
End Date 29-06-1943
Day/Night Raid Night (12% moon)
Operation Koln
Reason for Loss Intercepted by two enemy fighters and a running battle ensued. A burst of cannon fire set the rear of the fuselage alight and it subsequently transpired that the rear turret had become detached and fallen from the aircraft, killing the rear gunner, Sgt White. The pilot (Sgt W P Jolly) was able to return the aircraft safely to England.

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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.