I have a teenage son who, a couple of years ago, visited France with his school to see the D Day beaches and some of the war cemetries. At one, each child was given a poppy to lay on a grave. My son walked amongst the headstones and went to lay his poppy. As he knelt at the headstone infront of him he hesitated and looked at the next grave along. Suddenly he wondered how on earth he was to decide who was worthy of his poppy, he felt so moved by them all. As he belongs to the Air Cadets so he thought he would find the grave of a pilot and lay his poppy there. The first that he found belonged to J H Meyer and I have added the photo that he took. I did search for any reference to this pilot on the site without success and I wasn't sure where to add this, so my apologies if I've got the wrong section. I remembered my son's story as I stood today at our town's Rememberance Day service. The young pilot in question meant something to my son as he stood at his grave 2 years ago, and he may mean something to someone searching on here in the future.
hello Kim thank you for posting. It looks like he was a Rhodesian Citizen MEYER, JOHANNES HERMANUS Rank: Pilot Officer Service No: 172977 Date of Death: 19/07/1944 Age: 23 Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 266 Sqdn. Grave Reference VA. E. 1. Cemetery RANVILLE WAR CEMETERY Additional Information: Son of Cornelius Arnoldus Bothma Meyer, and of Johanna Jacoba Meyer, of Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia; husband of Joan Margaret Meyer. regards Clive
A bit more on P/O Meyer's background as it seems his grandson was looking for information: Richard Hurstfield Meyer -- Great North Road (GNR, Northern Rhodesia, Zambia) I am looking for relatives of Cornelius Arnoldus Bothma Meyer and his wife Johanna Jacoba Meyer. Their son, Johannes Hermanus Meyer was a pilot in the RAF 266 Squadron and was shot down on July 19, 1944. Cornelius was a missionary working in Lusaka. Johannes was born in Lusaka. Johannes wife, Joan Margaret was pregnant at the time with my father, Jonathan Robert Meyer. If you have any information or if you think you might be a family member, then please, please, e-mail me at nar2305ATyahooDOTca (email address edited to avoid spam) Regards, Dave
Hello and welcome to the forum. I've had a look at the loss of P/O. J H. Meyer and have the following details re his loss....... At 2000 hrs of 19 July 1944 eight Typhoons of 266 Squadron commenced an armed reconnaissance over the Lisieux (France) area where they were attacked by 25 Bf109s from I./JG5 and III./JG1. P/O. J H. Meyer (Typhoon IB JR303) F/S. J C. Harrold (Typhoon IB MN133) and F/S. R. McElroy (Typhoon IB MN751) all from Rhodesia were shot down around 2030 hrs and killed.
Thank you all for the information, it's nice to have found out a little about the officer. I will let my son know.
Hi Kim4848 Thanks for your post which I just discovered . i am the son of Johannes Hermanus Meyer . He was killed before I was born in Northern Rhodesia so apart from a few photos I have very little to remember him by . My son did some digging into our family tree when he was in South Africa on a visit a while back . I am deeply touched by your son's generous gesture . Jonathan Hurstfield-Meyer
Jonathan, I've been looking for years the family of Johannes MEYER... Johannes died and was tempory buried at Villers Sur Mer. I've searching the events around Villers Sur Mer, Calvados, Normandy France, for more than 20 years. Johannes name is commerated at Villers Sur Mer. I will post a picture later. Regards, Ludo
Hi all, Here is a picture of the monument dedicated to the Commonwealth Servicemen who lost their lives at Viller sur Mer from 06 june 1944 to 19 july 1944. Ludo
Hi Ludo, Thank you for the photo. I did not have that one. Warrant Officer Pincus was another Australian who died in the RAF. Cheers Geoff
A few details on Warrant Officer Pincus and his loss. GRAVE IN FRANCE The British Air Ministry has reported the discovery in France of the grave of Warrant-Officer John David Pincus, RAF, who has been missing since July 19, 1944. WO Pincus was a pupil at Wesley College (Melbourne) before his departure for England in 1936. His father, Dr Paul Pincus, formerly practised dentistry in Collins st Melbourne, but went to London to engage in research work at the Royal Dental Hospital. Since the outbreak of war Dr Pincus has been serving as a dental officer with the RAMC. Mrs Pincus is an officer in the British Red Cross. Her address is 947 Finchley rd, London, NW11. In Memory of Warrant Officer JOHN DAVID PINCUS 1332709, 602 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died age 22 on 19 July 1944 Son of Capt. Paul Pincus, The Army Dental Corps, and Myrtle Gwendoline Pincus, of Cricklewood, Middlesex. Remembered with honour RANVILLE WAR CEMETERY PINCUS , JOHN DAVID Warrant Officer 1332709 602sq 19/07/1944 22 RAFVR UK IX. C. 10. RANVILLE WAR CEMETERY From 'Fighter Command Losses' Vol.3 - N L R. Franks 19 July 1944 602 Squadron Spitfire IX MJ286 Armed recce, evening. Attack on motorised transport, encountered flak; crashed into the sea off Trouville. Buried in Ranville British Cemetery.
Hi, John PINCUS Sptire ditched off Villers Sur Mer. at low tide the Spitfire was visible. I will post a picture at the end of the week. Any picture of John PINCUS available? Ludo
Hi all, As promised earlier this week, here is a picture of John PINCUS spitfire (MK IX, MJ206) taken after the war. Ludo
