With D-Day attracting a lot of attention at present I wondered if anyone could help with information on this topic. One of my Old Boys (Thetford Grammar School has approx same number killed in both wars. Most in WW2 were in RAF), Claud Morley Houghton AFM, was a Pilot Officer (176435) on 630 Sqn. He died on 10/6/44 and is buried in Omerville Communal Cemetery. Can't decide where best to post my Old Boy requests. Should it be here or in the Ancestors section? Best wishes, David
David, Post it in both, to give you an improved chance of making contact. Do you know what happened to P/O Houghton? If you need any help, I would be happy to assist. Regards PAUL JOHNSON :ph34r:
Paul, Good to hear from you. At present I only know when he died and where he is buried. I am assuming that he was on one of the main force raids mentioned by Peter Jacobs in The Lancaster Story as taking place on 9/10 June (Etampes - six Lancasters lost) or 10/11 June (Railways - fifteen Lancasters lost) but perhaps 630 was doing something else then. That's how much in the dark I am! As you are probably aware from the Great War Forum such requests are part of my project to find out as much as possible about our Old Boys in order to bring their stories to the present pupils. Any help gratefully received. Regards, David
David, You need to get a look at Bill Chorley's ' Casualties of the RAf Vol 4 - 1944 ' If you can't get a look I'll get in touch with a friend who has the complete set. Aye MalcolmII
Malcolm, Thanks for the offer. I'd be most grateful if you could get in touch with your friend. Regards, David
David, You are quite right about the Etampes raid. Houghton was the pilot of LancasterIII PB121 LE-F. They took off from East Kirby at 21.48 on the 9th June 1944 to attackk Etampes. The aircraft was attacked by a German night-fighter which, after a second pass, left the Lancaster engulfed in flames. The aircraft crashed at Omerville, 7km WSW of Magny-en-Vexin. The crew were P/O C M Houghton Sgt H Ison Sgt J C Cameron F/O D C Percy Sgt J W Bott Sgt R E Dennis RCAF Sgt W J Barr RCAF Sgt Percy was the only survivor and was held at Stalagluft III in Sagen. Hope this helps. PAUL JOHNSON :ph34r:
Paul, Thank you very much. Where did you get the info? Can I try some of my other RAF Old Boys on you? Best wishes, David
Hi David, Yes. No problem, be happy to sift through my data to see what I can find for you. Please let me have any details you have and I will try to help. Do you have any photographs of your Old Boys. If so, can you scan them and send to me please for my library? Regards PAUL JOHNSON :ph34r: