Oxlade, Arthur Geoffrey

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Personal Information

Rank S/L
Forename(s) Arthur Geoffrey
Surname Oxlade
Gender M
Age 24
Date of Death 06-06-1944
Next of Kin Son of Arthur Harold and Olive May Oxlade, of Croydon, Victoria. Australia.
OXLADE AG

Aircraft Information

Aircraft de Havilland Mosquito VI
Serial Number NS897
Markings SB-A

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Gueures Communal Cemetery
Grave Reference
Epitaph "EVER IN OUR HEARTS"

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 3
Panel Number Not yet erected on site

Enlistment Information

Service Number 400733
Service Royal Australian Air Force
Group 2 Group, 140 Wing
Squadron 464 (Norwich's own)
Squadron Motto Aequo animo (Equanimity)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Australia

Miscellaneous Information

The navigator, 400839 F/L Donald McKenzie Shanks evaded capture and returned to the UK. His report reads as follows: “We took off at 23:00 hrs to do a recce of roads south of the invasion area. We were coned at 2000 feet to the south of Montfoe and the aircraft caught fire from flak hits. We carried on and the fire went out. On the return journey over Yvetot one engine cut out and the pilot was forced to feather it. No sooner was that done when the other engine caught fire. The bale out was ordered and I did so when under 2000 feet. I don’t think the pilot had time to bale out. I landed north of Gueures. The aircraft hit the ground and blew up. Later the bombs blew up. The chute was tangled in a tall tree. I was forced to leave it there and climb down. I went south and shortly knocked on the door of a farmhouse. A Frenchman and woman told me to get away quickly as the farm was a German Hqrs. I walked past a German guard on the gate and walked east for 2kms. I hid for 2 days in a hedge living on escape tablets. At dusk on 7/6 I walked cross country, reached Ablement and entered a farmhouse. The farmer sheltered me until 13/6 when I moved to Mont Candon in order to see a flying bomb site close by and wanted to study the thing at close quarters. Flying bombs commenced on 16/6. On 25/6 was moved by the Resistance organization to Montreuil en Caux. On 1/9 made contact with Canadian troops.” He returned to his unit on 7 September 1944.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1924/36
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1924/35

Last Operation Information

Start Date -
End Date -
Takeoff Station Gravesend
Operation Night intruder operation on road and rail junctions in support of Operation Overlord
Reason for Loss Hit by flak and caught fire, which was eventually extinguished, allowing the crew to proceed to the target and bomb. On the return one engine failed and was feathered but immediately afterwards the second caught fire and the order to abandon was given. The pilot made good his escape too late for his parachute to be effective.

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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.