Whitwell, Peter Coulson Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Peter Coulson
Surname Whitwell
Gender M
Age 22
Decorations DFM
Date of Death 07-11-1942
Next of Kin Son of The Revd. Samuel Mapleton Whitwell and Gwendoline Whitwell, of Ashley Green, Buckinghamshire.
WHITWELL PC

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Short Stirling I
Serial Number W7620
Markings MG-L

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 114.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 264
WHITWELL PC

Location

Row -
Panel 264
Column -
Line -

Directions From the Chadwick Centre, take the central path towards The Spire.

Phase 2
Panel Number 264

Enlistment Information

Service Number 40613
Service Royal New Zealand Air Force
Group 8
Squadron 7
Squadron Motto Per diem per noctem (By day and by night)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin New Zealand

Other Memorials

Location Hilton House Hotel, Hilton, Derbyshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Blue Plaque on external wall
Memorial Text Air Commodore Herbert Martin Massey CBE DSO MC 1898-1976 Senior British Officer at Stalag Luft III Sagan who authorised 'The Great Escape' was born here. Hilton and Marston History Group
Location All Saints Church, Longstanton, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window and Roll of Honour Book
Memorial Text Remember here before God those of 7 Squadron who died in action in The Royal Flying Corps 1914-18 and The Royal Air Force 1939-45

Miscellaneous Information

Citation from London Gazette, 19 December 1941. "N.Z.406i3 Sergeant Peter Coulson WHITWELL, Royal New Zealand Air .Force, . No. 7 Squadron. This airman was the rear gunner of an aircraft which carried out a daylight attack on shipping off Borkum. During the operation the aircraft was-attacked-by a force of 8 Messerschmitt 1093. Displaying great coolness and accuracy of fire, Sergeant Whitwell warded off the first 4 attacks and, in the next one, seriously damaged one of the attackers which was observed to dive steeply away with the engine emitting black smoke. Three further attacks were made by the enemy aircraft and, in the last, one, Sergeant Whitwell scored a further success. Following a well-raimed burst by him, one of the enemy aircraft turned over and dived vertically. On another occasion, when his aircraft was attacked by a Messerschmitt 110, Sergeant Whitwell withheld his fire until the attacker had closed to a range of 50 yards and then shot it down in flames. This airman has displayed great ability, tenacity and courage"
Born Hartlepool, UK of UK parents. Served 2 years with the Scots Greys 1936-38 (British Army); then enlisted with the NZ Artillery, serving at 1st Battery, Fort Dorset, Seatoun, Wellington before enlisting with the RNZAF. Flew his first operation 16 June 1941. DFM awarded 19 Decemver 1941. Promoted to P/O 27 January 1942, and F/O on 1 October 1942. During the Battle of Britain he was an Air Gunner on Blenheims with 600 Sqn (circa. 25 operations between 23 September and 15 December 1940). He is listed on the Battle of Britain London Monument - see www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Whitwell.htm

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/99/22
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/99/22

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.

Name Outcome
Bates R E (Sgt) Died
Cherniuk G (F/O) Died
Martin W M (WO2) Died
Salter W J (Sgt) Died
Springham E R (F/S) Died
Tottman D J (P/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 06-11-1942
End Date 07-11-1942
Takeoff Station Oakington
Day/Night Raid Night (4% moon)
Operation Mining in Nectarines area
Reason for Aircraft Loss Believed shot down by a night-fighter and crashed off Vlieland
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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.