1st May 1943
Handley Page Halifax Mk V (DG408 code OO-M)
(No 1663 HCU - Heavy Conversion Unit)
In the sea, off the "Sept Iles" (22)
(contribution : Philippe Dufrasne, M. Piéto, M. Grimault/Association GERFAUT - via Yannig)
Handley Page Halifax Mark V EB151 (OO-R), No. 1663 Heavy Conversion Unit, RAF Rufforth, Yorkshire, Angleterre
© IWM (CH 11529) public domain
Crew :
- Sergeant (pilot) Eric Ford WILLIAMSON (service number 815223), 22 years old, RAF
BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY . XVIII. F. 13
- Sergeant (flight engineer) Clive Richard Leonard THORNTON (service numver 577022), 18 years old, RAF
BARNEVILLE-SUR-MER COMMUNAL CEMETERY
- Sergeant (navigator) Wilfred John PELHAM (service number 1397020), 21 years old, RAF Volunteer Reserve
BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY VIII. C. 5
- Sergeant (navigator) Dennis Charles BUTLIN (service number 547514), RAF
ST HELIER WAR CEMETERY, HOWARD-DAVIS PARK, JERSEY Grave 1
- Sergeant (air bomber) Dennis William SUFFLING (service number 1388152), RAF Volunteer Reserve
BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY VIII. C. 3
- Sergeant (wireless operator - air gunner) Allan John DUNN (service number 1312809), 27 year old, RAF Volunteer Reserve
BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY VIII. C. 10
- Sergeant (air gunner) Henry HINETT (service number 1520789), 22 years old, RAF Volunteer Reserve
BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY VIII. C. 4
- Sergeant (air gunner) John HUNTER (service number 652116), 22 years old, RAF
SIOUVILLE CHURCHYARD (SIOUVILLE-HAGUE)
THE STORY
On May 1st, 1943, the Halifax Mk V (DG408) took off at 3:20 pm from RAF Rufforth for a cross-country exercise (training), mission that went terribly wrong at 7:25 pm, by a crash at sea, probably in the Channel. Seven bodies lie in France in different cemeteries, one in Barneville-sur-Mer (Sergeant Thornton), one in Siouville-Hague (Sergeant Hunter, who was originally from Belfast) and five others in Bayeux. In the month of June 1943 (probably the 2nd), the sergeant Butlin's body was found on the Channel Island of Jersey (near La Pulente) where he now remains in Saint-Helier, in the war cemetery. His funerals were held with all military honors on June 6, 1943.
The body of Sergeant PELHAM was found on May 4th. Fallen off les Sept Iles, he drowned and was buried in Lannion cemetery, on May 8, rank 2, fosse 2.
The body of Sergeant HINETT was also found on May 4th. Fallen off les Sept Iles, he drowned and was buried in Lannion cemetery, also on May 8, rank 2, fosse 3.
The body of Sergeant DUNN was also found on May 4th. Fallen off les Sept Iles, he also drowned and was buried in Lannion cemetery, on May 8, rank 2, fosse 3.
The body of Sergeant. SUFFLING was recovered on May 8th. Fallen off les Sept Iles, he drowned and was buried in Lannion cemetery, on May 12, rank 3, fosse 1.
The body of the pilot, Sergeant WILLIAMSON, was found at sea on May 21st and buried on the 24th, rank 3, fosse 3.
Bodies were exhumed from the Lannion cemetery between the 16th and 19th September, 1944.
IN MEMORIAM : BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY
Grave XVIII. F. 13
Grave VIII. C. 3
Grave VIII. C. 4
Grave VIII. C. 5
Grave VIII. C. 10
More information on : www.aircrewremembered.com
Information source : www.raf38group.org
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