Can we raise a whole WWII Lancaster aircrew from our relatives (alive or not)?

I’ll start,

Flight Sergeant Peter Gee (My Uncle)(Passed away peacefully 2008)
Flight Engineer No. 5 Group 61 & 83 Squadrons (1 mission short of a full tour)

My grandad, Robert Scott, built airfields, does that get you off the floor, so to speak…? 🙂

Flight Officer John (Jack) Hopwood, Navigator, 630 Squadron, shot down and killed over Dresden 2 weeks before end of war. Grandad.

My grandad was a Spitfire pilot (trained in South Africa, qualified too late to see any significant action).

Wifes uncle:

F/Lt Peter Thomas
582 Squadron
Lancaster PB523
Crashed somewhere in Belgium 23/12/44
Died aged 22!!!

In our last house the next door neighbour Flt Lt Ray Smith, navigator, sadly died 3 years ago aged around 83.
Although not a relative, was an extreemly nice chap with plenty of war stories and scrapes he got into.

Dad – Flying Officer Edward Richardson – Hurricane Pilot, but did get to fly a few circuits in a Lanc if that helps.

Still with us and 89 this year (fitter than me the old goat!)

Old boy from the village, Lanc co-pilot, died 3 years ago, always front and center on Remembrance Day.

My grandad was apparently aircrew in the RAF during WW2 He never talked about what he did in the war to anybody and no one in the family even knew he was aircrew until after his death. I can only assume he experienced some pretty awful things.

All we knew was his final posting was as a driver for Monty.

Lanc co-pilot

That’ll be another Flight Engineer then 😉

My uncle was a navigator in Lancasters. Not sure how many missions he did, but thankfully he survived and is still alive. My Dad was in the RAF dealing with wireless and radar but never flew. He, sadly, is no longer with us.

My grandad was a navigator in Lancasters, started his life in bomb disposal. He did a crazy amount of missions, due in part to the fact it was towards the end of the war when it was more of a turkey shoot.
Still with us at over 90, and drives his car everyday..
Legend

Father a flight sergeant, and later arial reconnaissance specialist, an ‘uncle’ WOP/AG in Lancasters, a tail end charlie who survived the highest mortality rate, neither survived to see this memorial, the old man never collected his medals, and neither of them really talked much about it.

What happened to the discussion about bomber command?

my Granddad was a hurricane/ spitfire mechanic.
he must have been good because he kept a Lada on the road for years.

My dad trained as a rear gunner in Wellingtons (the plane, not the footwear). Only did a few missions though, and never saw any fighters or much flak. Not many tail gunners survived …..

My grandpa was in Lancasters. Not sure what role he had though as he died when I was too young to ask these questions and I never heard him talk about it but I think it was either Navigator or Wireless Operator

My grandad was a rear gunner in lancasters right through the war.

Grandad was navigator in a Lanc, Squadron 100 I think.

Survived the war, and had some great stories.

What happened to the discussion about bomber command?

It turned into an argument over the rights and wrongs of a different time…Bad things happen in war, but at least it was a war that was justified…
This threads much betterer.. They gave their all for their country and should be honoured for their sacrifice..

My grandad never flew anything, he was however sent to Coventry one eventful night in November 1940 to try and rescue victims of the first raid of the night, just in time for the main raid. He won the lottery that night coming out completely unscathed and having an exciting story to tell for the next 55 years. Can he join the STW crew as “missed target”. I honestly think he found it more exciting than frightening.

I see someone took a Vorschlaghammer to the previous thread perhap because:

“Sie haben uns ein Denkmal gebaut und jeder Vollidiot weiß dass das die Liebe versaut”

“they’re built us a memorial and every complete idiot knows that that spoils love”

MY DAD ANOTHER REAR GUNNER

I am respectfully chuckling at “rear gunner in Wellingtons” 🙂

Dad was a gunner on a DEMS. Survived the Atlantic physically if not mentally 🙁

Squadron strength so far:

Aircraft A – Able
Pilot:
Flight Engineer: Flight Sergeant Peter Gee (TuckerUKs Uncle)
Navigator: Flight Officer John (Jack) Hopwood (B.A.Nana’s Grandad)
Wireless Operator: (jfletch’s Grandpa?)
Bomb Aimer/Front Gunner:
Mid-upper Gunner:
Rear Gunner: (igrf’s Uncle)

Aircraft B – Baker
Pilot:
Flight Engineer:
Navigator: (souldrummer’s Uncle)
Wireless Operator:
Bomb Aimer/Front Gunner:
Mid-upper Gunner:
Rear Gunner: (Gorehound’s Grandad)

Aircraft C – Charlie
Pilot:
Flight Engineer:
Navigator: (Jerome’s Grandad)
Wireless Operator:
Bomb Aimer/Front Gunner:
Mid-upper Gunner:
Rear Gunner: (fotheringtonthomas’ Dad)

Aircraft D – Dog
Pilot:
Flight Engineer:
Navigator: (Duane’s Grandad)
Wireless Operator:
Bomb Aimer/Front Gunner:
Mid-upper Gunner:
Rear Gunner:

Ralph Nixon
Flight Seargant (air gunner)
7 Sqdn
24th June 1944
Buried in Warhem, near Calais.

He was my grandads brother. I wish I could speak French, as the beautiful town of Warhem has only a few war graves, and I’m sure some of the older people we saw there may remember a Lancaster coming down nearby.

Crew Positions

Image © Geoff Brown

Discussing allied bombing with Europeans can result in very mixed reactions. A guy I worked with in Royan had been bombed despite the Resistance correctly informing the British the Germans were in the sand dunes north of the town not in the town itself, he was very bitter. On the Möhnesee dam I was explaining to my son how the bomb aimers lined up the towers when a German made a quip about the RAF, I laughed and we had a brief but very amicable conversation. Talking to old people the RAF bombed may not be the best idea, Paul, but you never know.

Lady 4 doors away was at Bletchley Park. She’s 90, but still keeps the code of silence.

Good work Tucker.
My grandad is super happy talking about his wartime adventures.
The poignant stuff is when he talks about how good his pilot was, who was a young new Zealander ,prob early 20 twenties. They used to drop their bombs and then do a full on dive and roll thing to get out of the action.
How many of our parents were war babies, my mum was born during the war..
The bomb disposal stuff sounds more exciting.

My wiifes grandfather,flight engineer and navigator in his time.
He had a proper handle bar moustache all his life and was a proper gentlemen,lovely man.
He also worked with Barnes Wallis on the Bouncing Bomb which earned him an MBE.

My mum was born in 1945, just after my Grandad was discharged. He had a desk job though.

Uncle, Bert Hunter, Flight Sergeant.
Another Rear Gunner, in a Lancaster,lasted for quite a while as he enlisted before the war.
Shot down/killed at Remagen near the end of the war.
My Gran hated the germans till the day she died for that, pity she never got to see the memorial, long overdue.

[/url] Bert[/url] by Shak4720[/url][/img]

Some good photos here
http://lancaster-archive.com/aircrew-photos.htm

Where we are on this topic, reminds me of a comedian from a few years back. He started his story talking with how his home town was heavily bummed during the war, still makes me laugh..

My Grandad was a rear gunner in Halifaxs(10 Squadron), flying out of RAF Melbourne in Yorkshire. Again, he never really talked about it, but I have got his Flying Log Book, dog tags and medals.

Recently went to the national archives, and had a look through the official RAF logs of his sorties, comparing to what he wrote in his log book, only once in his log book does he mentions engaging enemy aircraft, shooting 2 down, but reading the official log it appears says one of them was a jet fighter, what I presume must have been a
Messerschmitt Me 262.

My Pop, F/Sgt Ernest Perry in his flying gear:

My grandad was a flight engineer but was in fairly early so flew Wellingtons and Stirlings.

I see the position is allocated…

My great uncle ‘Sergeant’ Alistair Stuart McLaren (whom I was named after) flew Lancaster’s and was a tail gunner. He was killed on 23rd May 1944 on a pathfinder mission over Belgium. He was 36.

Somebody (an uncle maybe?) was in the Glider Pilot Regiment that included doing a stint during Operation Market Garden (Arnhem to most people). I’ll always remember my mum saying how haunted he was by seeing all those boys (parachute regiment) “taken out” as they neared the ground.

Another had a role I can’t remember aboard a Lanc.

And another uncle was in the air-sea rescue service (in the Channel I believe). Hopefully he won’t have to fish you out.

Loads of family members served across the military in particular throughout the 19th century. Have lots of photos, some of which give me the tingles – mainly those in Africa.

EDIT: I visited Arnhem years ago. Very humbling. I want to go back to ‘appreciate/respect’ what happened more.

Edukator – Member
Discussing allied bombing with Europeans can result in very mixed reactions.

That’s also true with our guys (who are also Europeans these days) My dad became fully reconciled with it all, travelled to Germany even tried to learn the language this was in the sixties so still fairly avante garde for one of his generation, Uncle Ray on the other hand was of the ‘only good kraut is a dead one ilk’ and hated them to his dying day along with Japs, I guess surviving being a tail gunner allows him that.

Personally I’ve studied WW2 extensively since childhood, played in the bomb sites as a kid and have travelled and worked extensively in Germany and generally still avoid discussing anything to do with the War. The type of folk a lot of the Germans are, I still believe rightly or wrongly they would do it all again if lead in that direction, there’s just something about their compliance with authority. I’m not saying it will and half the reason for the whole European deal which is being tested at the moment is to keep the lid on it all.

Now you definitely wouldn’t get sufficient numbers from our current generation to fight a war like that again, not to mention getting a Lancaster Bomber past health and safety…

Great thread, very poignant. No direct family Lancaster connections: mum’s dad was just too young, but my dad’s dad who died a few years ago was in the navy on carriers in the far east. And when as a kid I tried to get war stories out of him, the very mention of it brought fear into his eyes. I guess he had pretty compelling reasons to change the subject…

+1 Great thread.

Lest we forget.