Information on the LJ 893

[Remo]

Hi,

Who has got any information (crew, flightrecords etc) about the LJ 893, crashed on the 23 september 1944, P/O rowel, 299SQN ?

Kind Regards

Remo Frederiks
Slijk-Ewijk
The Netherlands

[K4KittyCrew]

The closest match relating to name and squadron I can find is .............. from the CWGC site. Other members may be more successful.
John
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Casualty Details

Name: ROWELL, LESLIE JACK
Initials: L J
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Flight Lieutenant (Nav.)
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Unit Text: 298 Sqdn.
Age: 26
Date of Death: 26/08/1944
Service No: 115852
Awards: Mentioned in Despatches
Additional information: Son of John Stephen and Rebecca Rowell; husband of Mary McKenzie Rowell, of Skinburness, Cumberland.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Plot 38. 1939-45 Row B. Grave 19.
Cemetery: LE MANS WEST CEMETERY

[Remo]

Hi John,

Thanks for the info but the dates are different, this plane LJ 893 crashed on the back of our field on their way back to England (surplies dropping Arnhem) on the 23 September.

Regards
Remo

[K4KittyCrew]

No worries Remo, I will keep looking ..............
John

[K4KittyCrew]

Remo,
OK, records in the M. Bowyer book, The Stirling Story, page377, mention ........ ( this certainly throws a spanner in the works )

LJ893 6 MU, 19.01.1944, 5G-Y, X9-J 299 Sqn 09.05.1944, battle damage 22.09.1944, Repaired in Workshop Sebro 27.09.1944, 299 Sqn 04.10.1944, 1665 CU 25.05.1945, 23 MU 02.07.1945, Struck off Charge 05.06.1947

I have searched thru all of the Chorley volumes, including Roll of Honour and have found no listing of aircraft loss date, nor P/O Rowel. This is quite unusual, from this, until someone else can come up with any further details, I can only assume that the P/O Rowel and maybe the crew, were able to parachute from the aircraft before it crashed. My reasoning for this is there is no listing and if he was sent to a PoW camp and survived the war, this would be relevant being that there are no records.

It is indeed a fact that researchers can find more details on crew members who KIA than those who survived. What is unusual is that I can find no record of the aircraft loss / crash site.

Do you have any documentation / photos / details ........ anything we can follow thru on?
Cheers,
John

[Remo]

Hi John,

I have some information from people who were on the spot. One was a farmer who was on the field when he saw planes coming, one plane was burning made a round turning and 2 para's came out of the plane. the plane crashed.
One crew member had lost half of his leg and was taken away by the Germans, also the other one was captured.
An other farmer told me that he looked in the plane and saw the pilot still sitting in his seat. He believed there were 3 crewman killed.

I have seen on a dutch site the information that the plane who crashed in Slijk Ewijk on the Oosterhoutse straat proberly should be this plane?

I'll try to get more info on this site.

Thanks for your help.

Regards
Remo

[Remo]

Hi John,

http://www.defensie.nl/media/verliesreg ... 154755.pdf

This is the site with the lost plane information.

Remo

[Bruno]

Hi Remo,

Here are the first details I've found.
The joined document comes from the excellent book of Ari-Jan Van Hees "Green on!"
To complete:
LJ893 took off from RAF Keevil on 23 September 1944 at 13H37 and was over the DZ between 16H38 and 16H44.
P/O Rowell and his crew had already flown Operation Market on 17, 19 and 20 September 1944.
Kind regards.

Bruno

[Remo]

Hi Bruno,

Thanks for the info. Having spoken to someone who saw a few (he thinks 5 )planes comming towards our small village. suddenley one plane got out of the others and was on fire. The plane made a circle and 3 para's jumped out, then the plane crashed into the field. He went to one of the guys and saw that he has lost his legg before an other soldier who made the jump came to help. From someone else who went to the plane I got the info that inside the plane there were 5 people all dead because of the fire. From the 3 people who survived they say that one has died (proberly the one who lost his legg) the next day and that the others were captured by the Germans who had a post near by. Now I have got the names of the crew I'll have a search around where the are burried. On the graveyard in Nijmegen still are 99 unknown soldiers from that period.

Kind regards
Remo

[Remo]

Hi,

I have found the following information:

The stories above are from a B-17 who crashed on the 22e of juni 1943 on the back of our field .
I do have the complete story about this plane and their crew now.

The Stirling from wich I thought these stories where from made a crash landing on the field on the 23e september 1944.
Crew survived the crash and where joint to the allied wich were in the area.
I got a pedal (brake?) from a farmer who said his dad got that from the plane. There is a number on the pedal A704, maybe someone know what it is?

Kind Regards
Remo Frederiks
The Netherlands