Wisbey, James Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/L
Forename(s) James
Surname Wisbey
Gender M
Age 23
Decorations DFC
Date of Death 28-06-1944
Next of Kin Son of James and Catherine Edith Wisbey, of Chingford, Husband of Brenda Walker Wisbey, of Chingford.
WISBEY J

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number MZ733
Markings C8-H

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Chingford Mount Cemetery
Grave Reference Sec. D.7. Grave 43345.
Epitaph HORSES HE LOVED, LAUGHTER AND THE SUN; A DOG, WIDE SPACES AND THE OPEN AIR

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 268
WISBEY J

Location

Row -
Panel 268
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 268

Enlistment Information

Service Number 172872
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 4
Squadron 640
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Normandy Barracks, Leconfield, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Metal Sculpture Brick Pillars and Inscribed Sqn Badges
Memorial Text A memorial to those who flew from RAF Leconfield, including 640 Sqn
Location Memorial Gardens, Beverley, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone, Inscribed Marble Tablet
Memorial Text A memorial to those of 640 Sqn who were killed during WW2
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Gardens, Propeller, Inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text In everlasting homage to the courage of those who have found their winged victory through the skies of Yorkshire
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Propeller Unit & Inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text They made the supreme sacrifice so that you & I may go in peace with freedom. 4 Group 1939 - 1945.
Location Heslington Hall, York, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Heslington Hall 1941 - 1945, 4 Gp Headquarters Bomber Command. In remembrance of those Air & Ground personnel who made the supreme sacrifice that we all may walk in peace with freedom

Miscellaneous Information

His DFC citation reads: “This officer has completed very many sorties, including 4 attacks on Berlin and 3 on Frankfurt. He has set a fine example of devotion to duty and has invariably pressed home his attacks with great determination. One night in March, 1944, he piloted an aircraft detailed to attack Stuttgart. Soon after leaving base, it was discovered that the overload tank was not functioning. Nevertheless, Pilot Officer Wisbey flew on to his far distant target and made his attack. He afterwards flew safely back to this country and landed at an airfield with only sufficient petrol left for a few minutes flying. His determination was typical of that he has always shown to complete his allotted task successfully.”
Known as Pip
Enlisted at Euston and trained in Penhold, Alberta. His training commenced in August 1942 and was completed in December 1942, class 61. He was then posted to 1658 HCU followed by 158 Squadron at Lissett, then 640 Squadron at Leconfield. He was lost on his 26th operation.
He was a keen motorcyclist and rode a Triumph Tiger 90 (see photographs).

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2157/12
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2157/12

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
Butcher S C (Sgt) Died
Carey G H M (F/S) Died
Kenrick J M (Sgt) Died
Kerruish G A (P/O) Died
Spink E J P (Sgt) Died
Todd E N (F/S) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 28-06-1944
End Date 28-06-1944
Takeoff Station Leconfield
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Wizernes- to attack a V1 flying bomb site. Takeoff 05.27 hrs. 103 Halifaxes, 5 Mosquitoes and 2 Lancasters. No report is available on the raid
Reason for Aircraft Loss Crashed at Hawkinge airfield, Kent on return at 08.33 hrs due to flak damage to the fuselage and wings and burst into flames.
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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.