Bomber Command Loss Cards **Now On-Line**

Fred & Pieter

I dont have any other loss cards im afriad, but if someone does have and would like them placed online then i am happy to add them to the site.

Dom

 

Wellington Z1410 QTZ (crashed at Thoresby Bridge 2/6/1942): Sgt W T Stanley is buried in Brighton Cemetery. The billiongraves.com website has a photo. My Father, William's brother, attended the funeral. It is possible that the family did not bother to tell the authorities the details. Hence the CWG website is incorrect.
Keith

 

I'm sure the CWGC would appreciate the grave and cemetery information. Their website is only incorrect because the information hasn't yet been passed to them, which as a relative, I'm sure you will be happy to do.

As regards the rear gunner, C M Harrison, there are none shown as PoW and 2 possibles in CWGC at a later date, one as a pilot, the other as a navigator, so I don't believe they are him, and he possibly never regained flight status.

 

Hello
I would suggest you contact the cemetery and request they view the burial log.
The family might have decided to have a burial as their way of commemorating William even if the body was not present.It is possible.

After you have investigated further report to CWGC


There are many casualties on the Runnymede memorial who have been found buried in different parts of the world.
http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/26429-runnymede-memorial-known-graves/



https://billiongraves.com/grave/William-T-Stanley/18760290

https://billiongraves.com/grave/William-T-Stanley/18760290






STANLEY, WILLIAM THOMAS




Rank:

Sergeant

Service No:

1280974

Date of Death:

02/06/1942

Regiment/Service:

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve



142 Sqdn.

Panel Reference:

Panel 289.

Memorial:

RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL

 

My Father said that they had a coffin with some remains in it to bury. When Patrick (their Father) lifted one end he remarked that it wasn't very heavy. If most of the crew were trapped in the burning plane, then this makes sense.

Patrick was very bitter. Against the odds he had survived WW1 (he landed in France in August 1914 as a recalled reservist, and was wounded for the last time in May 1918). He had seen his eldest son killed. His other son (my Father) was just going off to serve in the Navy. My reading of the situation is that he wasn't going to cooperate with any official body if he could help it. Hence any requests for the burial details would have been ignored.

With my aeronautical engineering hat on, I would say that the reason that he didn't land at North Coates was that he couldn't make the required turn to starboard in time against the torque of the remaining engine. It is difficult to be certain without an exact map reference of the crash site, but it does appear that they were roughly lined up with one of the runways at Grimsby.

 

The squadron's ORB mentions Wellington Z1410 had to return due to engine trouble. The bomb load was jettisoned in sea. It seems Sergeant Harrison did not return to the unit.

 

An interesting account of the loss of Wellington Z1410.

The crash site is recorded as Thoresby Bridge which lies about 2 miles west of North Coates village and is the bridge on the
A 1031 over the Louth Canal.North Coates airfield lies about 3-4 miles to the north east on the coast accessed by a minor road.The airfield possessed two runways, one concrete and one grass with lengths of less than 1500 yards under Coastal Command.I think the airfield may have been grass at the time when the Wellington crashed at Thoresby Bridge.

No 142 Squadron's home base was at RAF Grimsby,known as Waltham but in actual fact was at Holton le Clay on the A 16 which was about 5 miles to the north west from the crash site at Thoresby Bridge.So when the aircraft returned to base,the pilot may have decided to head for its home base rather than a small airfield that he was not acquainted with.

As regards military dead whose death occurred in home territory,the NOK was given the right to determine where the burial location would be.Normally the responsibility for initiating the disposal of human remains would lie with parent unit who would make arrangement for the transport of the casualty to the place of burial. A local unit was usually detailed for Guard of Honour duties at the burial.

The recording of the casualty on a family grave tombstone is not unusual.My uncle who died in German hands as a POW and lies in Germany is recorded on his mother's tombstone.It might well be the case here although it is recorded that a burial took place.As mentioned by Clive,the only solution to clear up the matter is to inspect the Brighton cemetery burial register.

 

As I recall over on RAF Commands forum some moons ago, the higher Runnymede panel nunbers relate to casualties like this where they were buried in family plots duringbthe war but subsequent investigation post war failed to confirm the plot. When your looking at burials of personnel who died in the UK during WW2 at least, the burial registration forms they have scanned indicate I think with letters PM where there is a private memorial. If the cemetery in question had a screen wall they might be listed there instead.

Glasnevin cemetery here in Dublin is an example. It had a screen wall tucked away for years but only in more recent times have individual headstones been raised where none were found. As long as a family memorial is deemed adequate it will remain but CWGC have added one or two graves I reported to them as damaged or worn out to their lusts for future replacement. They may then add a CWGC pattern stone or marker.

I think in this case his parents may have chosen not to correspond as was suggested.

The CWGC I think would update online database with such info if provided.

 

Hi guys,
The Lancaster that came in Nächst Neuendorf, the remains of the crew were laid to rest at the Nächst Neuendorf cementary just outside its walls.as far as I know the remains were later put in the War Cementary