When I go to visit my grandparents grave in Herne Bay, I often pass his grave stone and I have always wondered who he was. He is not in my records as having been a fighter pilot. Was he in bomber command perhaps? Has anyone a little info on him, so I know who he was as I pause by him next time. 740975 Sergeant J.W. Carter Pilot 6th September 1940 Age 30 Pic attached Thanks Steve
The Other Few Hampden P4378 144 Squadron RAF. Target: Hamburg, overshot landing at Hemswell. Sergeant J W Carter; W J MacKay; F J Drake-Carnell killed; Sqdn Ldr G F Lerwell injured.
CARTER, JONATHAN WALLACE Rank: Sergeant Trade: Pilot Service No: 740975 Date of Death: 06/09/1940 Age: 30 Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 144 Sqdn. Grave Reference: Sec. NNR. Grave 47. Cemetery: HERNE BAY CEMETERY Additional Information: Son of Ernest Norman and Ada Gwendoline Carter, of Maidstone; husband of Mollie Carter. MACKAY, WILLIAM IAN Rank: Sergeant Trade: Wireless Operator Service No: 550348 Date of Death: 06/09/1940 Age: 21 Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force 144 Sqdn. Awards: D F M Grave Reference: Sec. B. Grave 87 B. Cemetery: LINCOLN (CANWICK ROAD) CEMETERY Sergeant ( W. Op. ) William Ian Mackay ( - 1940) - Find A Grave Memorial DRAKE-CARNELL, FRANCIS JOHN Rank: Pilot Officer Trade: Air Gunner Service No: 76599 Date of Death: 06/09/1940 Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force 144 Sqdn. Grave Reference: Cemetery: EAST RAYNHAM (ST. MARY) CHURCHYARD
6 September 1940 144 Squadron Hampden I P4378 Op. Hamburg Took off from Hemswell. Overshot on return to base and while trying to make a second circuitthe bomber stalled and crashed. Crew. S/L. G F. Lerwill. Injured Sgt. J W. Carter + Sgt. W I. Mackay DFM + P/O. F J. Drake-Carnell + Source - RAF Bomber Command Losses Vol.1 - W R. Chorley During the course of 1940 RAF Bomber Command visited Hamburg on 69 occasions, 619 aircraft attacked the target (Naval, Industry, Transport, Oil) 500 tons of HE along with 50 tons of incendiaries were dropped.
37108 George Frank Lerwill, DFC (retired as a G/C in 1965) http://www.lerwill-life.org.uk/genealogy/main3c2.html George: The following is mentioned in the history of 49 squadron, RAF: On 1st September [1939], as German forces swept into Poland, the Scampton Hampden squadrons were ordered to bomb up a flight of aircraft each, and at midnight general mobilisation orders were issued throughout the RAF in Britain. By dawn of 3rd September the war-loaded Hampdens were still at standby and, at 6.15 pm, six Hampdens from 83 Squadron and three from 49 Squadron left Scampton on an 'armed reconnaissance' over the North Sea, seeking German naval ships to bomb. The trio of 49's bombers, [was] led by Flight Lieutenant George Lerwill. In the event the sortie flew as far as the Horns Reef lightship, found no targets to bomb, and returned to Scampton without incident. George became a Group Captain in the R.A.F. through promotion during the War and in years following the War.
P/O. F J. Drake-Carnell. Now on Find a Grave. Francis John Drake-Carnell ( - 1940) - Find A Grave Memorial
Interestingly Guy Gibson recalls George Lerwill in the early days at Scampton. According to Guy Gibson,then on 83 Squadron at Scampton the target detailed by the Station Commander,Group Captain Emmett was the German pocket battleships moored in the Schilling Roads which lie on the north bank of the Elbe at the west entrance of the Kiel Canal.It was expected that the Von Scheer would be berthed there and the method of attack was given to the pilots This raid was at a time when the government's bombing policy was that mainland Germany was not to be bombed and the only target allowed was shipping offshore Emmett declared in the briefing........"If by any chance there are no warships there,you may bomb the ammunition depot at Marienhof but no account and I must warn you that serious repercussions will follow must you bomb civilian establishments,either houses or dockyards"His last instruction to the crews was repeated as Gibson relates, "that on no account were we to bomb Germany" Gibson gives the original take off time as 1530 but progressively put back by the half hour until 1700hrs. The 49 trio were first away, led by George Lerwill who according to Gibson had the doubtful boast of being the first aircraft from No 5 Group to bomb Germany. Apparently no Hampden pilot had taken off with a 2000lb bomb load and advised was given how to achieve it. (Scampton was a grass airfield until after the Dambuster Raid) All in all,the raid was not a success from Scampton and it appears that the aircraft were lost.As Gibson states when they decided to abort,they thought gun flashes were from Heligoland or the East Frisian Islands.Gibson records that the Blenheims from No 2 Group which had left their airfield 2 hours before No 5 Group had some success and hit the Von Scheer superstructure. Aircraft getting lost locating a target or on the homebound trip due to poor navigation,bad weather and the lack of aids was a feature of early Bomber Command operations.Gibson records that after being well off course locating the target, he was lost homeward bound for 2 hours after crossing the coast at Boston and only found Scampton via Lincoln by following the Witham from Boston.Many Hampdens were lost when prolonged flying time to locate their home airfield led to running out of fuel. George Lerwill must have been well off course to the north to find himself at Horns Reef which is off Esbjerg on the west coast of the then neutral Denmark.
