I was looking at this old thread as I hope to call in on The Runnymede Memorial soon. One chap I want to look for is Eric Calvert. CWGC :: Casualty Details I knew his Mum and Dad. Horace was in the Grenadier Guards in the 14-18 war. I went to visit them in 1985. Their only child Eric was shot down off Holland in a Stirling.They showed me THE telegram to tell them he was lost.Eric was in the Royal Artillery TA and voluntered for aircrew. His parents tried to talk him out of it but his reply was, "Dad YOU voluntered in the last war, how can you say NO to me!" To think Horace, who was wounded on the Somme in '16 and later in '18, survived one war to lose his only child in the next. I've got Eric's photo in my collection. Peter could you look him up in Bomber Command losses please. I'd like to see who the rest of the crew were. I know the German who shot Eric's Stirling down was later killed himself. The Dutch supplied the information to Eric's parents. I wondered Erich if you could ID the German Pilot as it's over 20 years ago since I saw all the documents relating to this incident.
Here is some extra info from a letter from Mr Calvert from a letter to me dated 20/8/85. I lost my only son in 1942, he 20 yeras of of age. He was a bomber Pilot on a Stirling & 'Captain' with seven more in his crew. The target was Emden , N/Germany , they , the bomber crew had dropped bombs & were on their return to base when a night fighter attacked & damaged them, so , on reaching the Dutch coast the anti-aircraft guns again hit the 'Stirling' , which had lost height owing to damage, it then dropped into the sea, only 3 crew got out of the 'Stirling' & their bodies washed up on the Dutch coast about 3 weeks later. My son & the others must have gone down into the sea as they were never found so no known grave. Most of this information came from the Dutch Underground people who also supplied me with a photograph of the German night fighter Pilot who had attacked the 'Stirling', some time later , in the year 1943 , this German was killed near Kassel when looking for 'allied bombers', his own anti-aircraft guns shot him down? fate.
20-21 June 1942 7 Squadron. Stirling I W7472 MG-C. Op: Emden. Crew. P/O. E D. Calvert + F/L. A W. Bevan + Sgt. J H. Williams + P/O. B A. Trapp RCAF + Sgt. G B. Granshaw + Sgt. R N. Parham RCAF + Sgt. A. Cadden + P/O. J R. Heslop RCAF + The aircraft took of at 2325 hrs from Oakington. Shot down by a night-fighter (Oblt Rudolf Sigmund. II./NJG2) and crashed 0205 hrs in the sea west of Bergen-aan-Zee. Four are buried in Dutch cemeteries and four are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. F/L. Bevan's father was the vicar of Bishop's Lyeard in Somerset. Bomber Command Losses Volume 3. W R. Chorley.
Thanks very much Peter. Thank's great, even a name for the German Pilot. Wish I had a copy of that photo of him.
Is this the same chap? Aces of the Luftwaffe - Rudolf Sigmund Looks like it, Calvert's Stirling was his second kill.
Anyone know what plane Sigmund would have flown on that attack in June 42? Seems to have been a Messerschmitt Bf110. Oblt Rudolf Sigmund and Uffz Hugo Bauer crewed a Bf.110, likely E-version R4+DC. The Werknummer may have been 2422, 2423 or 2475. Details from Hans Nauta -12 O'Clock High.
20-21 June 1942. Emden. 185 aircraft of 5 types. Only part of the bomber force identified the target. Emden reports about 100 houses damaged and 1 person injured.
Thank You Peter for all this extra information. Questions answered I wish were asked years ago. Isn't it always that way?
Thanks Paul. I was contacted by a relative of the Calvert's from the earlier thread , unfortunately I've lost their details. Here are the other crewmen listed at Runnymede. P/O. B A. Trapp RCAF + Sgt. G B. Granshaw + Sgt. R N. Parham RCAF +
