Geoff, It is reassuring to know that Kellow and other members of an obviously appreciative crew have visited Les Knight's grave on multiple occasions. Knight is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of pilots who forfeited their young lives in order to save crew members and/or civilians. That could be a lengthy thread on it's own.
Frederick E. Sutherland of number 9 crew died 21/01/2019. My apologies for not having that up to date until now. Cheers Geoff
WW2 FERRYHILL DAMBUSTER The story of a Ferryhill hero Sgt R Batson Front gunner Lancaster serial number: ED825/G Call sign: AJ-T Second wave. First aircraft to attack Sorpe Dam. Mine dropped successfully but failed to breach dam. Returned to base. Ronald Batson was born on 5 December 1920 and lived at 23 Lanark tce. Ferryhill, Co Durham, the older son of Joseph and Elizabeth Batson. He was a grocer’s assistant before enlisting in the RAF in March 1941. After qualifying as an air gunner, he was posted to 106 Squadron Conversion Flight in early September 1942. He quickly teamed up with Joe McCarthy whose logbook confirms that Batson and Bill Radcliffe first flew with him on the same day, 11 September 1942, in a Manchester on a training flight. Their first operation was on 5 October. Batson was the only one of McCarthy’s crew to fly on every single operation in 97 Squadron with his skipper. By late March 1943, they had amassed 31 trips. On the Dams Raid, Batson was in the front turret of AJ-T. On the way back from the Sorpe, he spotted a goods train and asked McCarthy’s permission to attack it. The crew hadn’t realised, however, that this wasn’t an ordinary goods train but an armoured flak train, whose gunners responded with vigour. It was probably a shell from this which punctured a front tyre, and caused a problem a few hours later when landing at Scampton. Batson went on to fly with McCarthy throughout the rest of his tour, and was recommended for a DFM in February 1944. The award was approved in June, with the citation reading: BATSON, Ronald. 1045069 Flight Sergeant, No 617 Sqn. Sorties 37. Flying Hours 264.30. Air Gunner. “Flight Sergeant Batson has completed 37 operational sorties as Mid-upper gunner and has been operating continuously since October 1942. He has flown against many of the most heavily defended targets in Germany including Berlin, the Ruhr, Hamburg and Cologne and took part in the low-level attack on the Sorpe Dam. His enthusiasm and fighting spirit have invariably been of the highest order and he has proved his ability to face the heaviest opposition with complete calm and resolution. It is considered that the exemplary manner in which this NCO has executed his duties with the result that his captain has been able to place complete confidence in him merits the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal.” 12 February 1944 Remarks by Station Commander – “This air gunner has been engaged in operational flying for well over a year. His enthusiasm for operations has never flagged and he has set a fine example to all other air gunners. Strongly recommended.” By the time the McCarthy crew came off operations in July 1944, Batson had reached the rank of Warrant Officer and had completed more than 60 sorties. He was posted to a training unit for the remainder of the war. Ronald Batson had one brother, Douglas, who also volunteered for the RAF. He was killed in a freak accident on 23 August 1944, when a USAAF B24 Liberator bomber crashed into a cafe in Freckleton, Lancashire. He is buried in Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill, Co Durham. How ironic that one brother flew on more than 60 operations over occupied territory and survived, while the other died while eating in a Lancashire snack bar. After the war Ronald Batson returned to Durham, and he died there on 25 November 2006. SURNAME Batson o FORENAME Ronald o UNIT 617 Squadron,R.A.F.V.R. o RANK Flight Sergeant o NUMBER 1045069 o AWARD Distinguished Flying Medal o PLACE London Gazette 23.5.1944 o ADDITIONAL INFORMATION from Ferryhill RAF 1941 3 RC 29.3.1941 9 RC November 1941 North Weald 6.1.1942 16 RC 21.1.1942 ACRC 22.1.1942 14 ITW 4 AGS 47 CF 7.9.1942 106 CF 11.9.1942 97 Squadron 22.9.1942 617 Squadron March 1943 Sergeant T/Flight Sgt 1.7.1943 award DFM (23.5.1944) (37 ops) 5 PDC 5.4.1945 100 PDC 20.1.1946 Sergeant Ronald Batson (1045069) Front Gunner: From the Ferryhill SERVICE, PROMOTIONS, AWARDS No. 3 RC 29 Mar 1941 No. 9 RC Nov 1941 North Weald 6 Jan 1942 No. 16 RC 21 Jan 1942 ACRC 22 Jan 1942 No. 14 ITW No. 4 AGS No. 47 CF 7 Sep 1942 No. 106 CF 11 Sep 1942 97 Sqdn 22 Sep 1942 617 Sqdn Mar 1943 T/F/Sgt 1 July 1943 DFM Gaz No. 5 PDC 5 Apl 1945 23 May 1944 (37 ops) No. 100 PDC 20 Jan 1946 https://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/.../p_joemccarthynosea... After the war Ronald Batson returned to Durham for a while, and worked for the Banda duplicating machine business. He later moved to Fleetwood in Lancashire. He was married twice, and moved back to Leeholme, Co Durham, with his second wife Muriel in the 1990s. He died there on 25 November 2006.
Hi dl178ra All of the info you need about missing dates of birth and deaths are in my book, The Complete Dambusters, published by History Press in 2018. It is also in the entries on each individual man on my blog: Dambusters Blog Look in the "Categories" on the right hand side of the page for the individual names. Hope this is helpful Charles