William Christopher McCoy

Hi everyone,
I am researching the above airman, for the British Normandy Memorial Trust.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

He was a crew member of Stirling Mk.III LK385, 149 Squadron, Royal Air Force (RAF). They took off from RAF Methwold, Norfolk at 22:58 on 05 June 1944 to carry out a Special Duties mission to drop dummy parachutists as part of Operation Titanic.

This operation aimed to confuse the Germans and make them think that the Allied airborne landings were taking place over a wider area than they really were.

They crashed near Baudre, Manche, cause unknown.

MEMORIAL LOCATION: Column 14

Shown on the CWGC Citation, is his parents and wife, who he married in the June quarter of 1943 (Durham S.E. Vol. 10a Page 284).
I can find lots about his wife Gwenville Caygill, but nothing about William Christopher McCoy.

I know he was born in Donnybrook, Dublin according to: -
McCoy W - International Bomber Command Centre -- Born 26 April 1921 at 1 Beech Hill Donnybrook Dublin. Known as Billy.

That is all I know, so any help to tell his story would be appreciated.

I have found newspaper notices 10 and more years after his death, in Dublin Newspapers, where his parents still mourn thie loss, I know he was Catholic.

I also know that there were 9 crew on that particular aircraft, 2 from the Aircrew School at Methwold.

COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION

Pilot Officer
WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER McCOY
Service Number: 55793
Regiment & Unit/Ship - Royal Air Force - 149 Sqdn.
Date of Death - Died 06 June 1944
Age 23 years old
Buried or commemorated at -BAUDRE CHURCHYARD
Coll. grave.
France
Commonwealth War Graves Commission - Headstone Placeholder
Country of Service - United Kingdom
Additional Info - Son of William and Mary McCoy; husband of Gwenville McCoy, of Norton, Stockton-on-Tees, Co. Durham.

Personal Inscription - HIS MEMORY IS MY GREATEST TREASURE. R.I.P.

Regards,
Mavis Williams

 

Hi Mavis. Have you applied for his service files. Does the family have his logbook? Also, the 149 Operations Records Book for this squadron is available on line with The National Archives and free to download. I can provide the Interception and Tactics report for that night. Given this was the “Eve” of “Overlord”, a lot was going on of course.

Jim

 

Squadron Number: 149 Summary of Events: Y | The National Archives


Squadron Number: 149 Records of Events: Y | The National Archives


Squadron Number: 149 Appendices: Y | The National Archives

 

Thanks Richelieu. But so frustratingly all too often with RAF ORBS, extraordinarily thin on details. I have attached the 100-Group Interception and Tactics Report for the night of 5/6-June-1944 (from AIR 14/3377), but unfortunately, it contains no information on the fate of missing aircraft. Later in the war, these reports were much more complete.

Jim

 

Welcome back Mavis,

The French cemetery lists four burials. See: Baudre Churchyard

From a German site:

Google translate:

From: http://www.fredtrendle.de/images/pdf/Buchauszug-Juni-1944-Nacht.pdf

Curious to me this site id'd the two German AA units involved.

Several Facebook sites refer to him as the Flight Engineer, going backwards I found him listed as that on: https://www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk...-on-Allied-Forces-Special-Duty-Operations.pdf Control F to find the passage.

I have not looked at the FB websites as they all appear to have in memory entries and exact copies.

There is another thread here on a RAAF crew member, not fully read: 6th June 1944 Pilot Officer HARVEY FRANCIS MUNDAY 418864, Royal Australian Air Force

A search with the aircraft number LK385 id'd a small number of other threads and at a glance they added nowt.

 

Hi Everyone,
Many thanks for your input, so much appreciated. I have the Record of Events, the Summary of Events and the Appendices for 149 Squadron, thank you Richelieu. As you say David there are 4 burials, the rest of the crew are remembered on the Runnymede Memorial, meaning of course their bodies were not found. I am just curious about what actually happened, if there were any eyewitnesses to the crash, as so often there was locally. I have gone through all your suggestions, and some were of help David, thank you, they can be added to the research.

Jim, it was William Christopher's previous life I am really interested in but as I have researched so many, I cannot afford to apply for his service Records, as much as I want to. I have researched 3 other crew members of LK385 and can shed light on their lives, and I am working on the rest of the crew for the Memorial. I have tried the Irish Archives and they only have the 1901 and the 1911 censuses on, which were before his time. So unless he came over in time for the 1939 National Register, which was taken on the 29th of September 1939, which seems unlikley and which I have searched repeatedly, to no avail, he is a mystery. He was probably born too late for the 1921 census, unless he was born before the 19th of June 1921, even if he lived in the UK. I have no idea if Ireland had a 1921 census, or 1939 National Register, as they were nuetral in WW2 and would not have needed the information for the Ration Books etc., like the rest of the UK did. Ireland was where his family lived in the 1950's.

As usual WW2talk have come through again for me, thank you all.
Mavis

 

I have just found on the Allied Forces Special Duty Operations and the German pdf, that the name of one of the crew of Mk385 was wrong, a possible clerical error, easily done, and I am only remarking on it in case anyone is searching for Flight Sergeant Hart. His name on both was written as Robert Henry STANDING instead of Robert Henry Standing HART.

Thanks again for all your help. Mavis

 

Mavis,

This post has been created in case others search for Flight Sergeant Robert Henry Standing Hart, 1671946, RAFVR. He has not appeared here before.

 

Thanks David.

 

Hello Mavis,
I live in Normandy near the graves of the crew of Stirling LK385. 7 of the 9 airmen are buried in Baudre Cemetery (3 are unidentified) and 2 airmen were never retreived.
There are articles in the french press where witnesses of the crash have detailed what happened this night. I'll can translate it if you want.
Some years ago I was in contact with 2 members of the family of William McCoy so I contacted them today to know if they could help you. I expect they will reply!

 

Oh Wonderful,
Thank you Bruno, that would be much appreciated by all the familes of the Crew..

Thank you for contacting me.

Kindest regards,
Mavis

 

Hi Mavis, you can contact me at my email address: raf38groupATgmail.com (please, replace AT with @ leaving no spaces) and I'll give you the email address of a member of the family of William McCoy who is OK to be contacted.
Kind regards
Bruno

 

Thank you Bruno, that's wonderful.

I will keep you informed, thanks again.
Mavis

 

Did you get my email Bruno?

 

Sorry but no. I didn't receive your email

 

Sending another from a different email address. So sorry.

 

Have you received the email yet, I cut and pasted the email address and replaced AT with @ as requested.

 

Can you write here your email address with AT?