Virtue, Alexander Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Alexander
Surname Virtue
Gender M
Age 31
Date of Death 10-06-1944
Next of Kin Son of Alexander and Jane Virtue; husband of Mildred Virtue, of Newcastle-on-Tyne.
VIRTUE A

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Vickers Wellington Ic
Serial Number R1395
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (St. Nicholas) Cemetery
Grave Reference Sec. T. Grave 73.
Epitaph IN PROUD AND LOVING MEMORY OF MY DARLING HUSBAND ALEC "TILL WE MEET AGAIN"

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase SP
Panel Number 272 (not yet erected on site)

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1378792
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Squadron 103
Squadron Motto Noli me tangere (Touch me not)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location All Saints Church, Elsham, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Tablet
Memorial Text Dedicated to all who served at RAF Elsham Wolds on 103 7 576 Squadrons 1941-45
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 was the home of No103 Squadron and from Elsham Wolds until 1945 Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster aircraft of No 103 and other squadrons flew on bombing missions against targets in Germany and occupied Europe.
Location In front of the mess esplanade, Mailly-le-Camp, 10 - Aube Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Stone memorial sculpture, inscribed marble tablets and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text En souvenir des heros de la RAF. Qui ont participe au bombardment du camp de Mailly. Unites de la RAF engagees dans le raid sur Mailly-le-Camp, la nuit du 3 au 4 May 1944. N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617- 619-625-626-627-641
Translation "In memory of the RAF heroes who took part in the bombing of Mailly Camp. RAF units engaged in the raid on Mailly-le-Camp, the night of 3-4 May 1944. Squadrons that took part: N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-641"

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/816/12
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/816/12

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
Dainton J S (Sgt) Died
Hardesty G P M (F/S) Died
Stockdale A (Sgt) Died
Thomas A B (Sgt) Died
Twelves E (F/S) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date -
End Date -
Takeoff Station Elsham Wolds
Operation Frankfurt
Reason for Aircraft Loss Became lost on the return from this operation, overflying the whole of England and the Irish Sea. When over Eire, they began to run out of fuel and the pilot, J/4876 P/O Ralph "Bob" Keefer RCAF ordered the rest of the crew to bale out while he attempted to get the aircraft back over the sea before doing the same. In fact he had insufficient fuel to do so and baled out himself. Once picked up, all of the crew were taken to Limerick Military barracks where they were interned. This was Alexander Virtue's first operation, having replaced the previous rear gunner who accidentally baled out over Europe during an earlier operation. He was repatriated in March 1943 for medical reasons and died on 10 June 1944, just two days before the rest of the crew were released. Believed to have died of cancer. He left two infant sons.
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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.