4th April, 1941
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley MkV (Z6556 - code MH-Q)
Trébeurden (22)
(contributors : Jimmy Tual, Vincent Sévellec/ABSA 39-45 - Commonwealth War Graves Commission)
A Royal Air Force Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber in flight, circa 1940
© RAF public domain
Crew (51 SQN) :
Trebeurden communal cemetery
- Flight Lieutenant (pilot) James HARRINGTON, 28 years old (K.I.A.),
from Clontarf Castle, County Dublin, Ireland.
Son of James J. and Ellen Harrington.
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (service number 39439)
- Sergeant (pilot) John Kirkwood PURDON, 20 years old (K.I.A.)
from Bridlington, a town on the coast in East Yorkshire, northern England.
Son of Francis Kenneth and Kate Alice Purdon.
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (service number 745547)
- Sergeant (W.Op./Air Gnr.) Daniel Gilfillan FARMER, 23 years old (K.I.A.),
from Glasgow in Écosse.
Son of Joseph Beattie Farmer and Janet Gilfillan Farmer, husband of Emily Farmer(nee Scaife).
Father of Frances Victor Isabel and Dan Farmer.
Royal Air Force (service number 621070)
- Sergeant (W.Op./Air Gnr.) Cecil CALVERT, 19 years old (K.I.A.)
from the city of Sunderland, County Durham, England.
Son of Robert Henry and Hannah Calvert.
Royal Air Force (service number 629173)
- Sergeant (Obs.) Thomas Halford KNIGHTON, 26 years old (K.I.A.),
from the city of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
Son of William and Laura Emma Knighton.
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (service number 745273)
THE STORY
Take off at 6:56 pm on April 3, 1941, from RAF Dishforth, North Yorkshire. Mission on the Bay of Brest between 9:25 pm and 10:55 pm, 90 aircrafts attacked without any real success the ships based in the harbor (Scharnhorst et Gneisenau). 12 Whitley V of 51 Squadron used for the mission, one of them was shot down by mistake on the British territory, a second one, our Z6556, crashed in Trebeurden due to technical problems (probably a little after midnight, i.e. April 4, 1941). Its whole crew is killed. Two other aircrafts crashed around midnight on the way back.
The aircraft assigned to the mission that night :
- 12 Whitley V of No. 51 Sqdn (including 2 freshmen crews)
- 13 Whitley V of No. 77 Sqdn
- 1 Whitley V of No. 78 Sqdn
- 1 Stirling of No. 57 Sqdn
- 11 Blenheim IV of No. 101 Sqdn. Blenheim coded N3552 was missing in action. A second one crashed on the way back in England (code T2439).
- 1 Whitley V of No. 102 Sqdn
- 51 Wellington of Nos. 40, 57, 75, 115, 214, 218 Squadrons. Wellington R1470 was shot down in England by a Junkers Ju 88.
On June 28, 1946, the British army exhumed two of the five airmen's bodies for identification, which displeased the mayor of Trebeurden at that time, who had not been notified (see appendices).
Photos of the wreckage of the Whitley Mk V MH-Q presumably taken by a German soldier shortly after the crash.
The bomber Armstrong Whitworth Whitley MKV Z6556 under the water in Trebeurden
Photos © collection Benoit Paquet - ABSA 39-45
A German soldier observes the wreckage of the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley MKV Z6556 bomber.
Photo © collection Benoit Paquet - ABSA 39-45
The wreckage of the Whitley MKV Z6556 recognizable by its code MH-Q
Photo © collection Benoit Paquet - ABSA 39-45
Four views of the port wing of Whitley MKV Z6556 visible above the water
Photos © collection Benoit Paquet - ABSA 39-45
The aircraft's serial number (Z6556) is clearly visible on the rear of the fuselage.
Photo © collection Benoit Paquet - ABSA 39-45
Various parts of the aircraft's wreckage. A propeller cone can be seen.
Photo © collection Benoit Paquet - ABSA 39-45
The left engine of the aircraft.
Photo © collection Benoit Paquet - ABSA 39-45
IN MEMORIAM
The crew is buried in Trebeurden communal cemetery :
Flight Lieutenant James HARRINGTON - Grave 2
aged 28, native of Clontarf Castle - County of Dublin, Ireland, son of James J. HARRINGTON and Ellen HARRINGTON
Sergeant John Kirkwood PURDON - Grave 1
aged 20, native of Bridlington, coastal city of east Yorkshire, in Northern England, son of Francis Kenneth and Kate Alice PURDON.
Sergeant Daniel Gilfillan FARMER - Grave 5
aged 23, native of Glasgow, Scotland, son of Joseph Beattie FARMER and Janet Gilfillan FARMER, husband of Emily FARMER.
Sergeant Cecil CALVERT - Grave 3
aged 19, native of the city of Sunderland, County of Durham, England, son of Robert Henry and Hannah CALVERT.
Sergeant Thomas Halford KNIGHTON - Grave 4
aged 26, native of the city of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, son of William and Laura Emma KNIGHTON.
The first graves of the crew members of the bomber Armstrong Whitworth Whitley MKV Z6556 at Trebeurden.
The plane was downed on April 4 and the dates of death on the crosses are April 10.
We can assume that the Germans wrote the date of burial or discovery of the bodies.
Note that there are only 4 graves (there were 5 men on board) and only 3 coffins visible in the photos.
Only 3 names are written on the crosses (Knighton, Calvert and Kirwood), the 4th cross mentions an unknown soldier.
Kirwood was in fact Kirkwood, the middle name of John Kirkwood PURDON.
The latter could be Purdon or Harrington, Farmer having been discovered later and buried on May 24, 1941.
Photos © collection Benoit Paquet - ABSA 39-45
APPENDICES
♦ Operational Record Book of Squadron No. 51 for the night of 3rd to 4th April, 1941
Source : The National Archives
The 51 Squadron Operational Record Book for April 1941 shows (1st record at the top of the document) the take-off time.
The aircraft indicated a final fix off the English coast and then no further news.
This page indicates the weather conditions and informs us that two of the 12 aircraft in No. 51 Squadron were freshmen.
The target was Brest Harbor and the cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. There were no alternative targets.
♦ Document of the Departemental Archives of Côtes-d'Armor (côte 2W158)
(with courtesy of Jimmy Tual)
This document informs us of exchanges in 1946 between the mayor of Trebeurden, the Lannion sub-prefecture and the Prefecture of Côtes-du-Nord (today Côtes-d'Armor), regarding the exhumation by the British army of two Whitley airmen's bodies for identification. The mayor, Mr François Le Scornec, has not been informed of these exhumations and expressed his dissatisfaction.
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