SHORT STIRLING AIRCRAFT & CREW PHOTOGRAPH'S
- K4KittyCrew
- Air Chief Marshal (RAAF)
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Re: SHORT STIRLING AIRCRAFT & CREW PHOTOGRAPH'S
here are a few more. please forgive me if I've repeated a photo ........ hard to keep track at times.
John
John
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
- K4KittyCrew
- Air Chief Marshal (RAAF)
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Re: SHORT STIRLING AIRCRAFT & CREW PHOTOGRAPH'S
And a few more.
John
John
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
- K4KittyCrew
- Air Chief Marshal (RAAF)
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Re: SHORT STIRLING AIRCRAFT & CREW PHOTOGRAPH'S
And another crew photo.
John
John
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
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- Flight Lieutenant
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Re: SHORT STIRLING AIRCRAFT & CREW PHOTOGRAPH'S
......i wondered where the Stirling general section had vanished to! ....thanks for the heads up "Kitty"
Is it my eyes? ....or does the chap kneeling on the left in the picture have a sailors uniform on?
Tom
Is it my eyes? ....or does the chap kneeling on the left in the picture have a sailors uniform on?
Tom
"Rule Britannia two tanners make a bob,three make eighten pence and four two bob"!
Re: SHORT STIRLING AIRCRAFT & CREW PHOTOGRAPH'S
Hello,
It isn't your eyes!
The sailor on the photo is one of the three ground crews (kneeling from left to right) of Flight Lieutenant Brierly's crew of 570 Squadron, 38 Group. I don't know if it was the case in other RAF Groups but it wasn't rare in 38 Group to have sailors in Ground crews.
You can also see them in front of the Short Stirling LK199 V8-'L' that Flight Lieutenant Brierly and his crew flew most of the time. By example, they flew 3 missions on board LK199 during Operation Market Garden.
Regards.
Bruno
It isn't your eyes!
The sailor on the photo is one of the three ground crews (kneeling from left to right) of Flight Lieutenant Brierly's crew of 570 Squadron, 38 Group. I don't know if it was the case in other RAF Groups but it wasn't rare in 38 Group to have sailors in Ground crews.
You can also see them in front of the Short Stirling LK199 V8-'L' that Flight Lieutenant Brierly and his crew flew most of the time. By example, they flew 3 missions on board LK199 during Operation Market Garden.
Regards.
Bruno
Bruno LECAPLAIN, Webmaster.
www.raf38group.org
www.raf38group.org
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- Group Captain
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Re: SHORT STIRLING AIRCRAFT & CREW PHOTOGRAPH'S
A recent edition of Flypast magazine gave a first hand account from a sailor who was attached to a Stirling sqn
- K4KittyCrew
- Air Chief Marshal (RAAF)
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- Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:55 am
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Re: SHORT STIRLING AIRCRAFT & CREW PHOTOGRAPH'S
here are a couple more to add. All credits, listed.
John
John
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
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- Leading Aircraftman
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Re: SHORT STIRLING AIRCRAFT & CREW PHOTOGRAPH'S
Have just joined trying to find out more about my great uncle, CCJ Bowyer or Clifford or Cliff Bowyer to his friends. Clifford was in the RAF Volunteer Reserve and was in XV Squadron when he died on the 14th of May 1943 - wondering if any info or photos of him and his crew.
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- Squadron Leader
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Re: SHORT STIRLING AIRCRAFT & CREW PHOTOGRAPH'S
Hi Colin
Welcome to the forum. Here's a bit about your Uncle:
Squadron Leader CLIFFORD CHARLES JOHN BOWYER (Pilot).
Service No: 118812.
13-14 May 1943
15 Squadron.
Stirling III BK704 LS-Z.
Op. Bochum.
Crew.
S/L. C C J. Bowyer +
P/O. D C. Smith. pow.
Sgt. H C. Cooper. pow.
F/O. W G M. Olivier. RCAF. pow.
Sgt. J B. Craggs. pow.
Sgt. T P. Hanrahn. pow.
Sgt. E E. Warner. RCAF. pow.
Sgt. C E. Keik. pow.
Took off 0014 hrs Mildenhall. Coned (caught in serachlights) at 11,000 feet and hit by flak. Exploded and crashed 0130 hrs at Barlo 6 km NNE of Bocholt, where S/L. Bower was buried on 17 May. his grave is now in the Reichwald Forest Cemetery. At 21 he was one of the youngest Squadron Leader pilots killed on bomber operations in 1943.
Info from Bomber Command Losses. Vol.4 W R. Chorley.
Hope this helps
Dave
Welcome to the forum. Here's a bit about your Uncle:
Squadron Leader CLIFFORD CHARLES JOHN BOWYER (Pilot).
Service No: 118812.
13-14 May 1943
15 Squadron.
Stirling III BK704 LS-Z.
Op. Bochum.
Crew.
S/L. C C J. Bowyer +
P/O. D C. Smith. pow.
Sgt. H C. Cooper. pow.
F/O. W G M. Olivier. RCAF. pow.
Sgt. J B. Craggs. pow.
Sgt. T P. Hanrahn. pow.
Sgt. E E. Warner. RCAF. pow.
Sgt. C E. Keik. pow.
Took off 0014 hrs Mildenhall. Coned (caught in serachlights) at 11,000 feet and hit by flak. Exploded and crashed 0130 hrs at Barlo 6 km NNE of Bocholt, where S/L. Bower was buried on 17 May. his grave is now in the Reichwald Forest Cemetery. At 21 he was one of the youngest Squadron Leader pilots killed on bomber operations in 1943.
Info from Bomber Command Losses. Vol.4 W R. Chorley.
Hope this helps
Dave
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- Squadron Leader
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Re: SHORT STIRLING AIRCRAFT & CREW PHOTOGRAPH'S
Hi Colin
Here's a bit more. In 2011 there was a thread on another forum (WW2 Talk) regarding airmen from County Wicklow. One of the respondents posted the Chorley info as above and then later on this was posted:
"My father Sgt. Charles Edward Keik was the rear gunner in this Stirling. LS-Z, serial BK704. He was the last one to get out of the plane - S/L Cliff Bowyer told all the crew to bale out and sadly went down with the plane. All surviving crew members were POW's. My father retired from the RAF in 1973 and retired to New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. A Dutch family (Peter & Wim Rhebergen) from towns on the German border (Winterswjk & Aalten) have researched and catalogued information on many WW2 aircraft that came down nearby and published a book with a Chapter covering each incident. The amount of detail in each chapter varies for each crashed aircraft, after contacting as many surviving crew as possible. They had traced and contacted my father in NZ who gave them some additional details. In May 1984 when he came back to UK on a family visit we visited the Dutch family who took us to the crash site, the farm (1Km away) where my father was captured and the war grave of Cliff Bowyer. They told me that they had contacted several of the crew and Cliff Bowyer's two sisters in Ireland, during research for their book. I was born in September 1943, 4 months after the plane was shot down. But for the heroism of Cliff Bowyer in staying with the aircraft until all the crew had safely baled out, I may never have known my father ! Peter Keik"
Dave
Here's a bit more. In 2011 there was a thread on another forum (WW2 Talk) regarding airmen from County Wicklow. One of the respondents posted the Chorley info as above and then later on this was posted:
"My father Sgt. Charles Edward Keik was the rear gunner in this Stirling. LS-Z, serial BK704. He was the last one to get out of the plane - S/L Cliff Bowyer told all the crew to bale out and sadly went down with the plane. All surviving crew members were POW's. My father retired from the RAF in 1973 and retired to New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. A Dutch family (Peter & Wim Rhebergen) from towns on the German border (Winterswjk & Aalten) have researched and catalogued information on many WW2 aircraft that came down nearby and published a book with a Chapter covering each incident. The amount of detail in each chapter varies for each crashed aircraft, after contacting as many surviving crew as possible. They had traced and contacted my father in NZ who gave them some additional details. In May 1984 when he came back to UK on a family visit we visited the Dutch family who took us to the crash site, the farm (1Km away) where my father was captured and the war grave of Cliff Bowyer. They told me that they had contacted several of the crew and Cliff Bowyer's two sisters in Ireland, during research for their book. I was born in September 1943, 4 months after the plane was shot down. But for the heroism of Cliff Bowyer in staying with the aircraft until all the crew had safely baled out, I may never have known my father ! Peter Keik"
Dave