Operation to attack V1 flying-bomb site @ Montorgueil farm (+-2k SE of Fontaine l’Étalon in the Pas de Calais); target code Z3053.
First daylight raid by 102 Sqn since the beginning of the war; H Hour was 09H30.
101 Halifaxes of No. 4 Group took part: 21 from 10 Sqn, 19 from 76 Sqn, 12 from 77 Sqn, 23 from 78 Sqn, 18 from 102 Sqn and 3 from 346 (“Guyenne” Free French) Sqn
Fighter escort and cover over target was provided by 11 Group Spitfires including No. 485 (New Zealand) Sqn.
Derrick’s aircraft MZ 753 “M” (made by English Electric in Preston and delivered to 102 Sqn on 10 June) took off from Pocklington at 07h49.
S/LTreasure was B Flight leader that day; he would be the second S/L and 102 Sqn B Flight commander to die in 9 days.
Some flak was experienced over the coast and at the target
The target was to be marked by 5 Mosquitos of 8 Group and 2 Lancasters (for Master Bomber & his replacement).
2 Mosquitos had problems with their Oboe equipment & by the time the other 3 and the Lancs arrived on target (at 9.31), the Halifaxes had begun their bomb run (at 9.29).
Official version recorded at debrief: MZ753 collided mid-air with Halifax LL549 (77 Sqn ex RAF Full Sutton)
In reality: while on the bombing run, a 10 Sqn Halifax (LM717 “W” ex RAF Melbourne) released its bombs on a Halifax flying below it (LL549 “N” ex 77 Sqn RAF Full Sutton); this a/c lost a wing which hit another a/c (MZ753); both a/c broke apart and one (or bot according to some witnesses) exploded*.
Some witnesses in other aircraft reported seeing parachutes, but none was found.
Both aircraft fell at Fontaine l’Etalon (+-50k W of Arras, 8k S of Hesdin) – LL549 in open land known as “Le Sept” between Fontaine l’Etalon wood and Montorgueil farm; MZ753 on the edge of the woods known as “Le Pommier”. The woods were extended in later years and the crash site is now inside the woods. The depression in the earth caused by the fallen aircraft, can still be seen in the dappled shade of tall trees.
Bodies were collected and buried by villagers; local German Kommandant @ Le Quesnoy gave them 24 hours to find and bury the bodies; most of the large pieces of wreckage were removed by the Germans; one body (Richardson from LL549) was only found some days after the accident.
Both crews are buried in the Fontaine l’Etalon churchyard against southern wall; 11 between the church’s main buttresses, 2 beyond the buttress closest to the church entrance and the last (Richardson) beyond the other buttress.
Although the Germans insisted that all personal effects be handed over, villagers managed to hide (and bury along with the bodies) several items known to have been carried by the crew – Derrick’s “wedding” ring, for instance, and a commando knife carried by F/Sgt Stevens; F/O Bailey’s silver cigarette case even found its way back to his wife after the war.
* NOTE: Although no one is absolutely certain which aircraft was hit by the bombs and which by the debris (witness accounts disagree), it is generally accepted (from eye-witness reports in the air and on the ground) that this is the correct version
Crew LL549 “N” (77 Sqn – RAF Full Sutton):
F/Sgt Donald McConigill Stevens (28) (Pilot)
Sgt Michael Joseph Louis Priest (19) (Flight Engineer)
F/Sgt Leonard Charles Carter (22) (Navigator)
F/Sgt Harold Joseph Middleditch (21) (Air Bomber)
F/Sgt Dick Richardson (22) (W Operator)
Sgt Dennis Brooks (20) (Air Gunner)
Sgt Frank Dawson (20) (Air Gunner)
Crew LM717 “W” (10 Sqn – RAF Melbourne):
F/O Raymond Arnold Rosen (Pilot)
Sgt Daniel Daley (Flight Engineer)
F/S Henry Charles Williamson-Rattray (Navigator)
F/O Jack Cyril Lelliott (Air Bomber)
Sgt Gordon Seymour Lind (W/Op AG
Sgt Arthur Stanley Fordham (Air Gunner)
Sgt A W D McKinnon (Air Gunner)
This crew was hit by flak a week later on 01/07/44 in a raid on St Martin l'Hortier; Rear Gunner Sgt AWD McKinnon survived and evaded capture; those who died are in Poix-de-Picardie (previously Poix-de-la-Somme) cemetery.
NOTES
Derrick was not supposed to fly on ops that day: he had obtained leave from Sunday morning 25 June in order to return home (Dewsbury, Yorks) for his wedding to fiancée Kathleen Boyer, scheduled for Tues 27 June; as he could not get transport off the base till the afternoon, he elected to join his crew on this “milk run”.
reconnaissance photos taken during a 21 June raid on the Montorgueil launch site by USAAF 9th Air Force showed that this target had effectively been rendered inoperative; sadly this information only reached the squadrons on Sunday 25 June when the aircraft were already in the air.
Derrick’s family waited in vain for further news after the “missing” telegram was received; some days later, his sister Daphne went to Pocklington and was told about the “collision”; it was her idea to go to the pub frequented by the airmen that led her to discover the truth of what had happened.
It was well known that accidents of this kind happened often on night ops; as this one occurred in daylight, there were several eye-witnesses to the accident and in later years their accounts have been written up in several publications:
Sledgehammers for Tintacks: Bomber Command combats the V1 menace 1943-44 by Steven Darlow
Raider: the Halifax and its flyers by Geoffrey Jones
Halifax Crew: the story of a wartime bomber crew by Arthur C Smith
Diary of a Halifax Bomber (10 Sqn history) by Michael John Yalden
Bomber Crew (the companion book to Channel 4’s 2005 TV production) also makes reference to the accident.
It’s Suicide But It’s Fun! (102 (Ceylon) Squadron history) by Chris Goss
As far as is known, it is also the only such accident in which the Bomb Aimer concerned was aware of his tragic mistake.
Some members of the 10 Sqn crew had not realised that they were responsible for the accident until they returned to base; Jock McKinnon (the only crewmember to survive the war) reports that he was unaware until, in the truck from dispersal to debriefing, he heard the A/B apologise to the Pilot; they reported what had happened to G/Capt Thomson who put it down to the “one of those things that happens in war”.
As a result of this incident, daylight flying formations within 4 Group were re-appraised: in future operations, Halifaxes were instructed to fly in loose V formations which would reduce the risk of collisions and of being hit by bombs.
Several very small pieces of wreckage with the EEP (English Electric Preston) discovered at the “woods” crash site have confirmed this was where MZ753 came down.
One of the Fontaine l’Etalons villagers (then a teenager) involved in the recovery of the crew’s bodies has also kept a larger piece of wreckage (leading edge of wing) since 1944 and has sliced off pieces to give to numerous crew families who have visited over the years. The villagers also continue to keep the crew graves in immaculate condition and have held regular commemorations.
Research by Melanie Herman
From information supplied by (amongst others)
Tom Wingham DFC
Sandy Sykes
Nigel Sykes
Wendy Robins
Pat Dick
Keith Bailey
Ron & Marion Archard
Mike Bland
Cas & Bob Collins
Judy Treasure
Jos Leclercq
Félix Lecocq
Anne Storm
Ron Everson
Bill Leyland
John Watkins
Arthur C Smith
Steven Darlow
Geoff Negus
Patricia O’Neill
PRO Kew
RAF PMA
RAF AHB
RAF MUSEUM Hendon
Various kind respondents on Internet sites and per mail
