HAMMOND, James Leonard Gordon

This publication includes thirteen pages on GORDON HAMMOND and the crash of KK241

Sergeant 1865865 (Air Bomber)

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 5 O.T.U.

Gordon started his training at Babbacombe in Torquay, Devon in November 1943. He was stationed at a hotel which in one of his first letters home, he described as "overlooking the sea and serves good food". In this and many subsequent letters, Gordon comments on the weather "No greatcoats worn here, its too bloomin' warm." He also requested his parents to send him boot black as well a whitener as he had been issued with a white ceremonial belt.

Gordon wrote home regularly and this precious collection of letters, as well as various other documents has been kept by the family for over 60 years.

At the start of the Second World War, Chamberlain's Government recognised that airpower was vital to an eventual allied victory and that in the coming struggle there would be a need for intensive aircrew training programmes to produce pilots and crews for the Royal Air Force. 

The peaceful skies above the countries that were then seen as part of the British Empire, would offer ideal training conditions and Canada was seen as an especially attractive location. Within weeks of the start of hostilities, the Canadian government generously responded to Chamberlain's appeal for help and quickly became the backbone of what was referred to as the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) by the RAF but was known in Canada as the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). 

At its peak in 1943/44 over 100,000 Canadians were directly employed by the BCATP in 111 units across Canada which was to train 137,910 aircrew, and Gordon Hammond was to become one of these.

 By August 1944 Gordon was in Canada at MPO 304 RCAF Ottawa. He wrote " They don't know there's a war on here. Luxury food, lights at night and cars." His biggest complaint was that this was a "Dry State - no beer".

"Maybe the war won't last much longer and I'll be home" he also wrote.

Just one week later he had experienced the hardest work he had ever done, having been drafted in to fight the large forest fires in the area. It may have been hot on the ground but it was "23 below up in the air."

This photograph is undated however the cedar shingles in the background suggest that Gordon (back row second from left) had started his training at a BCATP facility.

In September 1944 Gordon moved on to No. 7 Bombing and Gunnery school at Paulson, Manitoba. Gordon was a man who did not mince his words, even to his parents. "The camp stinks and the food is putrid" he wrote. By this time he was also thinking about the likelihood of being "slung out to Burma" and this option did not appeal to him at all.

Gordon found that dropping bombs was more complex than he had expected but his thoughts were about a possible Armistice and good old England, and he found he could not concentrate on the theory, nevertheless he scored 78% on his first exam.

On the 9th of October 1944 he was promoted to Flying Officer having scored 85% on his last exam. On his latest bombing trip he had an average error of 35yds, which he wrote was "as good as six direct hits." By mid October he had progressed onto dropping salvos of bombs instead of singles. Gordon complained "I was flying till 2.00am then again at 7.30am, again at 1pm and again at 9.pm. When are we supposed to sleep?"

Away from training, Gordon never forgot England or his parents. Three months to the day from arriving in Canada, he managed to find four pairs of silk stockings for his mother. In his letters he often mentioned buying presents for friends and family when funds allowed.

On the 2nd November Gordon was promoted to Flight Lieutenant having achieved 82% on turret manipulation and range estimation. Always in his mind however was England and the weather. "I wish I could pinch a Mosquito - I'd get the bugger home somehow. Yesterday, it was so hot we were in shirt sleeves. Today we have a gale and snow. Ye Gods! The wind cuts right through everything we can wear."

By late November 1944, Gordon had moved on to Central Navigation School, No 1 CNS Rivers, Manitoba. He reported that despite the six feet of snow which was expected, he was enjoying navigation. Within a week he was capable of "landing right on the 'dome' following a 300 mile round trip", no mean feat with the ground covered in snow.

With Christmas approaching , Gordon wrote "Going to Minnesota for Christmas. We (RAF) are treated like Lords down there. I'd rather be in Banstead though! Only 8 weeks to go now. Will be home before I realize if they don't send us out to OTU." As it turned out, Gordon was unable to get to the States as the station ran out of US currency, so he had Christmas dinner in a café.

During the Christmas period Gordon managed to get to see an ice hockey game. "All the padding makes them look three times the size." he wrote, "Would like to see the Canadians or Yanks turn out for a game of rugby."

Winter in Canada got no better and in January Gordon got frostbite but recovered well. In February 1945 he moved to Moncton, New Brunswick and seemed to enjoy the journey there. He wrote home "On way here met a negro porter who liked England and Englishmen. Moreover, when he was stationed in England, he was at Banstead of all places. He literally waited on me hand and foot."

5OTU Jacket Crest.

Within a few weeks, Gordon found himself at 5 OTU Boundary Bay, Vancouver, B.C. Canada with the real prospect of going straight from there to Ops.

The role of 5 OTU is fascinating and indicates the scope of the Allied Air Forces remit during the war. 
 
By early 1944 the BCATP in Canada operated on such a large scale that the needs for aircrew in Europe, seen as the priority for the early war years, were at last being met and even exceeded. It was therefore decided to allocate aircrew to Air Command South East Asia (ACSEA or SEAC) for operations against the Japanese.

In order to push back the Japanese from their conquests in Burma, Malaya and Singapore, it was clear that a small but elite bomber force of at least six squadrons of long range heavy bombers would be required to support the 14th Army. The decision was made to use the American B24J Liberator which was available in numbers, whereas the British types were all needed for the European night bomber offensive.

Known in RAF service as the Liberator B MkVI, the aircraft carried a crew of eleven but had a range long enough to operate against the Japanese from bases in India.

The location chosen to train this force was Western Canada, with the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean near at hand. RCAF Boundary Bay on the coast, just south of Vancouver right on the border with the USA was the principle airfield together with its satellite, a few miles east, inland at RCAF Abbotsford. 

No 5 RCAF OTU was formed with 27 B25 Mitchells and 17 Liberators  at Boundary Bay on April 1st 1944.  The twin-engined American B25 Mitchell bombers were used as trainers allowing the pilots to step up to the big four-engined Liberators in stages and these were also supplemented with a flight of P40 Kittyhawk fighters, used for fighter affiliation exercises.

The initial training was completed at Boundary Bay and the assumption at the time was that the RAF Liberator crews would be flying at night, so the training involved a seven man crew, (two Pilots, Navigator, Bomb aimer, Wireless Air Gunner and an Air Gunner.)

A change of plan to daylight operations called for four Air Gunners and a second Wireless Air Gunner to make it an eleven man crew. It was at this point that a second base became necessary. From this point on, all Mitchell training was done at Boundary Bay with the initial six man crews learning the American systems and the Air Gunners learning the .50 calibre weapons. Once this initial training was complete all students were sent to the second station at Abbotsford some ten miles to the east of Boundary Bay. Here they would form the 11 man crews that would eventually ship out overseas. 

Abbotsford,with its geographical proximity to Boundary Bay and to the sea made the location desirable, and the need for a flat area suitable as an aerodrome limited location options, but Abbotsford had one disadvantage. It rested at the base of the foothills of the Coast Range Mountains which rose to form an impressively high barrier to the east.

Strangely, Gordon would have recognised a few familiar names on the map. Back home, Banstead is located in the County of Surrey, and Ferndale Road is one of the original roads in Banstead village.  Furthermore, Mount Welch shown on the map, is in the Cheam mountain range and of course Cheam is a village not far from Banstead.

The training regime was extremely comprehensive, including air navigation exercises of up to ten hours duration, formation flying, formation bombing exercises, air to air firing, air to ground firing, camera reconnaissance flights, and day and night cross country flights.

The BCATP plan ended officially on March 31st 1945, but Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) continued to process the crews being trained within the scheme for another year, particularly as the war against Japan continued.

It was in April 1945 that Gordon started gunnery flight firing over the Pacific. "Tomorrow we start in the Mitchells, flying with our skippers and crew. I've got a nice little compartment in the nose with a lovely view so I shall be quite happy. It's the life for me. " A couple of weeks later he wrote again "They told us the other day that we shouldn't be getting any leave, but I am not worried as I think we shall be home before I go out there. By the time you get this letter I expect the war over there will be over and done with. I only wish I was there on V day. I am wondering if we can wangle to be home for my 21st.  India is no place to spend a 21st." 

One new activity at 5 OTU was the daily one hour PT session which quickly resulted in Gordon losing the weight he had put on during the navigation course.

One other activity that proved quite profitable  was playing cards. Whenever he needed more funds, Gordon often played poker with "some fool with plenty of money." He did lose $55 on one occasion  when a number of wallets were stolen from the billet. Inside his wallet was a photo of his girlfriend Denise who had faithfully written to him two or three times a week. Losing the photo "does not matter now that Deny's given me the bird" wrote Gordon." I shall start writing to Olive again."

One tricky test at 5 OTU involved the decompression chamber. "They took us up to 30,000 feet then two of us had to take our masks off. I did pretty well and lasted for 5 minutes before I collapsed. The medical officer said I was a strong willed bugger and although I was going, I was doing my damnedest to hold on." Gordon lasted out far longer than his colleague.

Gordon's last letter home was dated 8 May 1945 and headed VE DAY.

He wrote "VE day celebrations here were what I expected - Bloody awful. Just cars driving up and down blaring their horns and not a drop of beer in the place.

"This is our last week here then we go on to another station, then either home or --------!!!? Let's hope its home. Keep your fingers crossed. In three weeks time it will be a year since I saw you and a year since I had any leave. I'm pretty tired of it all too."

"He had specific messages for both his mother and father:

"You can't drink and fly you know mum. We have to fly so we don't drink...... Regarding that permanent commission dad, the only uniform I ever want to put on again when this war is ended is a civies - sports coat and flannels. I'm only living for the day I can get out of this and do as I please for a change.

"In about a month from now I shall know whether I am coming home first. It would be just my luck not to.

"That's all, I'll write again soon love Gordon xxx" 

The aircraft that Gordon and the rest of the crew were flying at that time was  RCAF Liberator Coded KK241. The RAF crew at No. 5.0.T.U. were nearing the end of their assignment at RCAF Base Abbotsford, and were soon to be dispatched to the RAF "Tiger Force" in the Pacific (history shows that this never took place and most 5 OTU crews were sent to S.E. Asia and Burma RAF squadrons.)

Liberators at Abbotsford, Courtesy of W/C MacKay from the DesMazes collection

At 4.30 on the 31st May Gordon and the rest of the crew were briefed on a navigation excercise which was to take them to Penticon as a first turning point, thence to Revelstoke, and back to base, a total distance of 509 miles. 

It was a very cloudy day with the cloud base at 3000 feet and the tops at 8000 feet. There was more cloud higher up but no difficulty was expected to be found flying in between layers of cloud. As usual, the crew had clear instructions on when and how they should contact the base. 

The one difference to previous flights was that this particular flight would be the crew's first flight with a fully loaded Liberator. They were informed that the mountain heights of their climb to 14,000 feet (their operational height) were: Mount Cheam - 6925 feet - 11 minutes on course, and Silver Tip Mountain, 8550 feet approximately 14 minutes on course.

Liberator KK241 took off at 9.06am on 1st June, under the command of Flying Officer William D.A. Hill. The Second Pilot was Pilot Officer Gilbert, and the Navigator was Sergeant Graham Murray. Several of the crew were wireless air gunners. The aircraft climbed to 4000 feet, and set course as directed and confirmed back to base. Thirty four minutes later, a request was received for a practice fix ie a position. They were instructed by base " Message received. Transmit call sign and dashes."  This last signal was never acknowledged despite also being relayed by another aircraft on the same exercise. Repeated efforts were made to contact KK241 without success.

Other aircraft confirmed encountering cloud from 4,000 to 8,000 feet.  KK241 failed to report in at the first turning point raising further concern and eventually the time came when it would have been impossible for the aircraft to still be flying as it would have run out of fuel.  

Jim Fail, serving with 5 OTU at the time, recalls that when radio contact with the aeroplane was lost and  the aeroplane failed to return, all rescue services were put on alert as the fate of the crew could depend on a timely rescue from either the sea to the west, or from the mountainous territory to the east. By this time the mountain tops were visible but the valleys were shrouded in clouds.

A telegram was sent to Mr Hammond. It was stamped 2 June 1945 at Banstead, notifying Mr and Mrs Hammond that their son James Leonard Gordon Hammond was reported as missing as a result of air operations. The following few weeks can only have been an anxious and dreadful time for the family.

Back in Canada a considerable area was searched by air immediately, but the weather remained unfavourable for the first two weeks of the month. Notwithstanding, a large ground search was quickly organised and this went on day and night from the 1 June to the 16 June. During this period, every available aircraft combed the region, each being allocated areas of ocean or of land. In all, nearly 200 men were used in the search and over 50 planes;  372 sorties were made and over 700,000 miles flown over the mountains. 

The Group Captain commanding 5 OTU was an experienced pilot having completed a tour of operations in Europe. He piloted a single engined Noordyn Norseman communications aircraft and flew in and out of the Chilliwack Mountain valleys, impossible for the lumbering bombers. Late on June 16th the clouds lifted above the peaks of the Cheam range and he found what everyone had been dreading. The wreckage was sighted on the rocky slopes of Mount Welch. The plane was 36 miles off course although only a few minutes flying time east of Abbotsford, and had crashed less than 100 feet below its 7,730 foot summit. 

The aircraft had completely disintegrated and there was no possibility of survivors. The incident is regarded as the worst to have occurred during 5 OTU's history, although there were other crashes and numerous fatalities.

The trek to Mt Welch. One of the photographs sent to the family by the Padre.

It was not until Wednesday 20 Jun that Squadron Leader Lee and one other group member reached the crash site having already confirmed, via wreckage strewn down the mountainside, that this was indeed the final resting place of Liberator KK241.

On Monday 25 June the same group returned with Flight Lieutenant Gilbert the Anglican Padre who conducted a simple but impressive service. The cross was beautified with wild mountain flowers which the group had gathered and made into a wreath. A salute to the comrades who had perished on the mountain was fired and several photographs taken to record the event.

On the 27 Jun 1945, in Banstead, the final telegram was delivered to Mr and Mrs Hammond.

The final salute.

The Padre wrote to Mr and Mrs Hammond when he returned from the expedition. " It would be impossible for me to over emphasize the inaccessibility of the location.... ....the steep mountain grades, the tangled underbrush, the avalanche snow and the fording of numerous creeks made it impossible for us to bring out the bodies of the eleven Royal Air Force lads. Even the burial party of six persons all of whom were experienced mountaineers, except myself, required nine days to complete the work entailed in the mountain burial.  As you will see from the enclosed photographs, the grave site is indeed a most beautiful spot; it seems literally on top of the world. All the lads were buried together side by side, comrades in death as they had been in life as members of the crew of the fateful Liberator." The burial service was held at 3.00pm on Sunday 1st of July 1945.

Wing Commander D J Williams , Officer Commanding, RCAF Station, Abbotsford,B.C. wrote to the Hammonds on 12 July 1945 apologizing for the much regretted delay in sending more details. He wrote "Liberator 241 crashed into the side of Mt. Welch, at a height of 7000 feet. The aircraft blew to bits with only part of the tail section remaining at the point of impact. The explosion loosened tons of rock and snow which came down the mountainside with considerable wreckage from the plane. All remains were buried and a rock grave erected in the saddle between Mt.Welch and Mt. Still. A cross was put up and F/L Gilbert, E.W.S., Church of England, conducted the burial service."

The view from the burial site.

One of the photographs sent to the Hammonds by Padre F/L Gilbert. This was the standard RAF cross, white with black lettering.

At that time, Liberators were all given the standard RAF cammo colours on the U.S. assembly lines and in order to distinguish them from operational aircraft, training Liberators had their wing tips painted yellow and a yellow band around the fuselage. It was decided that when a training aircraft came in for its 30 hour maintenance check, the camouflage paint would be removed. This decision appears to have been based on two factors.

1. The lead camouflage paint added an estimated 900 pounds to the weight of a Liberator thus increasing fuel consumption.

2. A number of aircraft on the West Coast had gone missing, often crashing into the woods etc. Camouflage paint on training aircraft was not required and if they were shiny they would stand out easier against the bush should they go down. 

Gordon Hammond's Liberator and the one in which he made his last flight was (B24J US Serial 44-44312) RCAF Serial KK241. There is no known image of Liberator KK241 as it was only at the base for a very short time.

Every US manufactured aircraft that came off the assembly line was given a USAAF ser. number. eg: 44-44312. There were five locations where the Liberators were made and only two of these locations sent Liberators to 5 OTU. The KK241 number was the British/Canadian or RAF/RCAF number. This was the only number used by Canada or the UK. The code letters were a Unit or 5 OTU use only. Officially the RAF and RCAF would have only ever known these aircraft by their KK241 type number.

Some earlier aircraft were re-coded but Hammond's aircraft never had a second code number; it was only at 5 OTU for 14 days before the crash. Official RCAF records show this aircraft in Western Air Command storage from the delivery date from the USA until it was taken on by 5 OTU.

On the left is a small section of one of Gordon's first letters home, so early that he had not even started flying yet. Much of the content of this website which covers his training in Canada comes  from his writings, but also included in his letters were numerous references to family and many friends. Gordon must have been a popular young man back in Banstead. In this particular letter, as usual, he talks about returning home. He also says that he has not forgotten his younger sister Gwen,  and over sixty years after his tragic death, which so sadly stopped him fullfilling his dream of coming home, Gordon is himself not forgotten. Gwen has kindly given us access to Gordon's letters, which she has lovingly kept all these years, in order that his story can be fully told.

NOTE FROM WEBMASTER - We do not have a photograph of the Airplane Creek memorial. If you happen to be in the area and are able to take one or two for us we would be most grateful. A copy will of course be forwarded to Gordon's sister, Gwen. Thank You. LNW

This photograph was taken at the 5 OTU reunion at Abbotsford and shows members of Branch #15 of the Royal Canadian Legion and their Colour Guard at the Abbotsford Cenotaph calling out the names of all the RCAF and RAF of 5 OTU that were killed at, or flying from Abbotsford.

Gordon Hammond lost his life just 10 weeks before the war finally ended. He never had to bomb the Japanese and his mortal remains lie high in the mountains of British Colombia to this day. Mount Welch is located between Wahleach Lake and the Chilliwack River, Yale Division, Yale Land District. According to the article by Chris Weicht(1993)1, the Cadets of 861 Abbotsford Squadron make a trek to the location each year in remembrance of the loss of the 11 RAF airmen. They are not forgotten.  Over sixty years after the crash, the Canadians still remember all the men who died whilst on training with 5 OTU. Michael DesMazes, a local military historian  will be doing a display in Abbotsford this November (2009) for all the fallen airmen of 5 OTU  Abbotsford. The location is the newly opened Reach Gallery Museum near Abbotsford's City Hall and newly moved Cenotaph.

Gordon is one of the Suttonians listed on the school's Roll of Honour for WWII and this still hangs in the school hall today.

Remarkably Gordon's story does not end there, as he has one more achievment. Of all of the men on the Banstead War Memorial, Gordon was buried not just the furthest away, but also at the highest altitude. He is also remembered on more memorials than any other man, but there is one more very special memorial yet to mention.

On April 4, 1941, the Chilliwack Branch of the Women's Auxiliary to the Air Services [CAAS] mostlty mothers and wives of Chilliwack District air force personnel, decided to create an honour roll of local enlistments. One idea that the branch conceived was the creation of a living memorial to Chilliwack district airmen killed during the Second World War. This living memorial remains in place today.

The Blue Hydrangeas photographed at the Rededication ceremony at Chilliwack Middle School on 6 May 2009.

The group sent blue hydrangeas to two airmen's homes,  however two plants, required temporary homes and were planted at the local school. The school site was at first considered to be only a temporary location until a permanent plot could be found.

At the time of the first planting, the High School Band provided music for the assembly of 100 persons that included members of the school's cadet corps. Reverend H.P. Barton gave an address, followed by a short silence after which CAAS President Edna Grace Coulter led the assembly in the "Airman's Prayer".

By 1946, some 49 hydrangeas had been planted, only one hydrangea was planted, not in memory of a local enlistment, but in memory of an entire Royal Air Force crew that lost their lives when their aircraft crashed on Mt. Welch, June 1, 1945 - Gordon Hammond's plane. Mrs. Ed Halsall, an English war bride and Cyril Weber, an English child evacuee sent to Canada in 1942 planted the shrub.

Not all of the original hydrangeas remain today but the living memorial, still at Chilliwack Middle School, was again rededicated on May 6, 2009. At this ceremony it was stated that 879 (Earl MacLeod) RCAF Wing Chilliwack intended to include the memorial in its annual program of remembrance.

Reg Daws, Regional Vice President of Pacific Group, and a member of the local wing of the Air Force Association of Canada, said that, "to our knowledge living memorials are very rare and, to me, it's important that our community continue to respect and remember this memorial just as other monuments are respected and remembered."

Gordon Hammond and the rest of the crew of Liberator KK241 will not be forgotten and a page dedicated to the whole crew is under construction here .


CWGC Memorial Reference: Panel 4. Column 2.

OTTAWA MEMORIAL Ontario, Canada.

HART Ronald James.

Able Seaman C/JX 236917 Royal Navy

Died on 02/10/1942 on HMS Curacoa, aged about thirty.

Son of Ernest and Jessie Maud Hart nee Simmonds who married in Q 3 1912 in Willesden

Ronald was born a year later in Q 3 1913

He married Beatrice Alice Hart, of Margate, Kent in Q3 1937 and in 1939 they were recorded as living at 52 Winkworth Road, Banstead.

They moved to 69 Egmont Rd Sutton the same year, where Ronald is shown as a bank messenger.

At that time his parents lived at Windy Ridge, Crabtree Lane in Great Bookham and Ernest was also recorded as a bank messenger.

HMS Curacoa  (pictured in 1941) was a C-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy and had seen service during WWI.

In 1933, Curacoa became a training ship and in July 1939, two months before the start of the WWII, she was converted into an Anti-aircraft cruiser. She returned to service in January 1940 and, while providing escort in the Norwegian Campaign that April, was damaged by German aircraft. After repairs were completed that year, she escorted convoys in and around the British Isles for two years.

In late 1942, during escort duty, she was accidentally sliced in half and sunk by the Ocean liner RMS Queen Mary, with the loss of 337 men.

On the morning of 2 October 1942, Curacoa rendezvoused north of Ireland with the ocean liner Queen Mary, which was carrying approximately 10,000 American troops. The liner was steaming an evasive Zig-Zag Pattern to evade submarine attacks. The elderly cruiser remained on a straight course.

Each captain had different interpretations of The Rule of the Road believing his ship had the right of way. Captain John Wilfred Boutwood of Curacoa kept to the liner's mean course to maximize his ability to defend the liner from enemy aircraft, while Commodore Sir Cyril Gordon Illingworth of Queen Mary continued their zig-zag pattern expecting the escort cruiser to give way. It was quite normal for the ships and cruisers to zig-zag to confuse the U-boats.

At 13:32, during the zig-zag, it became apparent that Queen Mary would come too close to the cruiser and the liner's Officer of the watch interrupted the turn to avoid Curacoa. Upon hearing this command, Illingworth told his officer to: "Carry on with the zig-zag. These chaps are used to escorting; they will keep out of your way and won't interfere with you."

At 14:04, Queen Mary started the starboard turn from a position slightly behind the cruiser and at a distance of about 400 yards . Boutwood perceived the danger, but the distance was too close for either of the hard turns ordered for each ship to make any difference at the speeds that they were travelling. Queen Mary struck Curacoa amidships at full speed, cutting the cruiser in half. The aft end sank almost immediately, but the rest of the ship stayed on the surface a few minutes longer.

Acting under orders not to stop due to the risk of U-boat attacks, Queen Mary steamed onwards with a damaged bow. She reported the collision on the radio and hours later, the convoy's lead escort, and one other ship, returned to rescue approximately 101 survivors, including Captain Boutwood. Lost with Curacoa were 337 officers and men of her crew including Ronald James Hart who like most of men is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.

 Under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, Curacoa's wrecksite is designated a "protected place".

Those who witnessed the collision were sworn to secrecy due to national security concerns. The loss was not publicly reported until after the war ended but a court case was to follow. The trial was adjourned to December 1946. Mr. Justice Pilcher exonerated Queen Mary's crew and her owners from blame on 21 January 1947 and laid all fault on Curacoa's officers. The Admiralty appealed his ruling and the Court of Appeal modified the ruling, assigning two-thirds of the blame to the Admiralty and one third to Cunard White Star. The latter appealed to the House of Lords, but the decision was upheld.

After Ronald was killed, his wife Beatrice moved back to 52 Winkworth Road where she is recorded as living with Margaret and Winifred Wood in 1945.

Grave/Memorial Reference: 54, 2.
Memorial: CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL

The following message comes from the Mallaig Heritage Centre Forum:

My father, Able Seaman Ernest Ward, served on HMS Curacoa and was one of the survivors. After 2 hours in the water he was picked up by a local fishing boat and taken to Derry. My sympathies go to all of you who lost relatives and loved ones.

I am a professional singer and have recently recorded a song about this incident called \"Sail On By\" for a new CD album. It is dedicated to all the memory of HMS Curacoa and all those who served on her. My way of trying to help ensure that the tragedy is not forgotten. If anyone connected with this incident would like a CD then please contact me and I will send one free of charge. My website is www.pamelaward.co.uk and e-mail [email protected]

==============================================================================

Source :

Research by B arbara Rough

Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Wikipedia for the account of the sinking

FreeBMD

1939 Register

Electoral rolls

Last updated 28 Jan 2021 after confirmation that Ronald James is the correct man. there are four R J Hart on the CWGC site

.................................................................................................................................................................................................. Back to WWll panels

HAYWARD, Leslie Alec

Flying Officer 124123

Awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal.

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 58 Sqrn.

The plane lost height rapidly and in an effort to lighten the load, Hayward gave instructions to jettison as much material as possible to increase their chances of  reaching Gibraltar.  The plane just about made it to the coastline where F/Sgt Hayward brought her down safely in the water with no injuries to the crew reported. This was a dangerous manouvre as if a wing tip had hit the water on one side, the plane could have spun and broken up.

The crew made several fruitless attempts to destroy the plane  until they were prevented from further efforts by the Fiscal Guards.  They later saw the plane practically submerged and heard that the Portugese intended to salvage it.

The crew were questioned, and their arms confiscated, but Hayward reported that the guards were  "friendly". The crew were taken to Lisbon by the international police and later repatriated to the U.K.

F/Sgt Hayward  was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for saving the crew of the stricken plane and he also became a member of The Goldfish Club. Gold represents the value of the life, and fish represents  the sea. It is an exclusive club for airmen who owed their lives to their life jacket, dinghy, etc.

Flying Officer Leslie Alec Hayward is believed to have been lost on operations with 58 Squadron (RAF Coastal Command) flying Handley Page Halifaxes from RAF St Davids in Wales in 1944. His plane was possibly known as Archangel.

No 58 Squadron re-formed in England in 1924 as a heavy bomber unit and in the years which followed was mainly engaged in routine training. In 1925 Squadron Leader A. T. Harris (who became A.O.C.-in-C. Bomber Command 1942 - 1945 and then Marshal of the Royal Air Force) took command of the squadron, one of his flight commanders during his tour as C.O. being Flight Lieutenant R. H. M. S. Saundby, who became Air Marshal Sir Robert Saundby and was Deputy C.-in-C. Bomber Command from 1943 - 1945.

No. 58 was flying Whitleys from Yorkshire at the outbreak of the Second World War, and first went into action on the night of 3rd/4th September, 1939, when - in conjunction with No. 51 Squadron - it made a leaflet raid over Germany. This was the first occasion on which R.A.F aircraft penetrated into German airspace during the Second World War. A few weeks after this operation No. 58 was ordered to an airfield in South-West England for duty with Coastal Command and until late January, 1940, it was employed on escorting convoys and flying anti-submarine patrols. The squadron returned to Yorkshire in February and from April 1940 to March 1942, played a prominent part in the night-bombing offensive. Its targets were of the widest variety, from airfields, road and railway communications, marshalling yards and industrial centres, to the Channel Ports, oil and petrol installations and shipping at sea.

A Halifax of No. 58 Squadron.

HOBSON, Colin Anthony

( Shown as B A Hobson on the Banstead War Memorial).

Pilot Officer 42566

Royal Air Force

Tony Hobson, as he was always known, was educated at Eastbourne College, 1932-1935, and on leaving school worked in a City accountant's office and subsequently as a clerk in a City stockbrokers' office until 1939. He always enjoyed sports activities especially rugby, rowing and squash.

The family had lived at Laleham, Furze Hill, Kingswood, since 1925. However, the parents moved to Monxton near Andover, Hants, early in the war years. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Memorial record for Tony, shows Monxton as the family address. 

The Hobsons had been Cutlers for several generations but neither Tony nor his brother entered the family business.

Whilst still at work, Tony joined the Territorial Army, enlisting as a Gunner in the Royal Horse Artillery, but was discharged in 1939 when he joined the RAF. On the 10th May 1939 an RAF Medical Board classified Tony as fit to become a pilot and he was posted to the Civilian Flying School at Redhill in June 1939 for his initial training.

In September that year he moved to No.14 Flying Training School at Kinloss, Scotland for training on more advanced aircraft, including the twin-engined Airspeed Oxford. By the 3rd November he had gained his 'wings'. His course, which he passed with a score of 72%, ended in January 1940 and his final report rated his flying ability 'average'. He had no outstanding faults and "he will make a good Officer with experience"

Tony was then posted to No. 12 Group Pool, at Aston Down, Glos to complete an Operational Training Course. This is where he would have undertaken conversion to the Bristol Blenheim - the aircraft he was to fly once qualified.

Following that course, he joined No. 600 "City of London" Squadron on May 3rd at Manston. A succession of movements followed before the Squadron arrived at Redhill on September 12th. By then it had become a night fighter unit and various very senior RAF officers visited, to stress the vitally important role that night fighters were expected to play in defending the country.

No.600 City of London Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force was one of the first to be equipped with an early version of Airborne radar which was not terribly efficient at that time.

In the early hours of 3rd October 1940, P/O Hobson and his two crew, Sergeant D A Hughes and AC2 C F Cooper, took off from Redhill on an operational patrol. He reported to base that one of his engines was running badly but that he intended to continue his patrol. At 0345hrs he reported that his engine was unserviceable and he was returning to base.

Weather was extremely bad and in heavy rain, his Blenheim 1F(BQ-M) L4905 crashed into trees on high ground (700ft) at Broadstone Warren, Forest Row at 3.55am. P/O C A Hobson and his crew were all killed, and their Blenheim aircraft was a write off. After the accident, the Commanding Officer issued an order that aircraft must not fly below 2000ft until in sight of the airfield.

This picture shows L8679 BQ-O of 600 Sqn at Redhill in 1940, a sister aircraft of L4905 BQ-M, the Blenheim that Tony Hobson was lost in.

Since Tony would have known the Banstead area well, for most of his short life, it seems entirely fitting that he should have been laid to rest in All Saints churchyard.

Grave/Memorial Reference: West of Church.

BANSTEAD (ALL SAINTS) CHURCHYARD

HOSLIN, LOUIS CHARLES

Flying Officer 120020

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

The young Louis Hoslin entered a seminary to become a Catholic priest but left before being ordained, and subsequently joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserves.  By April 1943 he was at an RAF base in Scotland.

The Royal Air Force began to use airfields in Dumfries & Galloway for flying training in the late 1930's. During the war several major airfields were home to squadrons tasked with the interception of German aircraft attacking Glasgow. Many anti-submarine and air-sea-rescue aircraft were based near the port of Stranraer and further north at the seaplane base in Loch Ryan.

Louis on the left with his sister and two brothers

Galloway, and especially Wigtownshire, was a hive of military activity. Airfields sprang up all over the region along with the usual support units such as Air-Sea Rescue, Gunnery and Bombing Ranges. The main areas of activity were the sea plane units on Loch Ryan and the Air Observer School at Baldoon, known officially as RAF Wigtown, which is where Louis Hoslin was based. Wigtown's role soon became that of a bombing and gunnery school when the war started. However the grass airfield was not fully utilised until 1941, when 1 Air Observation School took up residence.

During the war the number of flying training crashes involving Air-Crew was staggering and the activities at RAF Wigtown were to prove no different. At one stage, so many crews and aircraft were lost during one month that the authorities even considered closing down the station at Wigtown. On analysis it was discovered that the majority of crashes were caused by inexperienced Czechs & Poles. The solution was to insist on greater discipline and within a short period of time the number of crashes fell to an acceptable level.

Westland Lysander in tug towing livery. This particular plane was restored in Canada

Louis Hoslin was a staff pilot attached to  No.1 (Observers) Advanced Flying Unit.

One of his roles was to pilot a target tug, probably one of the least glamorous flying jobs in the RAF, but an invaluable job nonetheless. The tug aircraft towed a drogue which was  basically a long sleeve of bright canvas rather like a huge windsock. It was  tethered behind the tug  by approx 150 feet of cable, or longer if being shot at by fighter aircraft. The 'moving' target was then shot at by trainee gunners who could practise deflection shooting on the moving and aerial target.

The drogue was released by the operator and recovered by assessors, and it was quite usual for a first time gunner to shoot 200 bullets at the drouge and fail to hit it at all.  Needless to say, it was not uncommon for stray bullets to sometimes hit the tug, and it was frustrating and dreary work  to fly around the sky towing a long canvas drogue.

By their very nature the tug arircraft were second line types relegated from operational duties. The target towing colours were standardised during the war as large black and yellow diagonal stripes on the under surfaces and later for the whole aircraft.  On the 29 April 1943 Pilot Officer Hoslin was on a target towing exercise flying Westland Lysander III P9118.  The aircraft in its tug towing livery would have been similar to the restored plane in the photograph.

  At 4.30 pm Louis Hoslin descended to release the target drogue near Innerwell, seven miles south of the airfield. On opening the throttle to climb away the engine failed, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in an unsuitable field.

© The Editors of the Gazetteer for Scotland, 2009 Used with permission from the Gazetteer for Scotland, www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/

Although he was a relatively experienced Lysander pilot (148 hours), it was thought that a weak mixture had been set, and that on opening the throttle suddenly, the engine choked and died. The Air Officer Commanding the Group felt that this conclusion was not fully supported by the evidence but aeronautical historian, Peter Connon, considers the original investigation conclusion entirely creditable. He reports that it was very cold that day, and the mixture lever was still set in the 'lean' position. He had experienced a similar situation himself but was lucky to get away with a forced landing.

Louis' wife Kay  was in the early stages of pregnancy when Louis died and the stress caused her to miscarry. She later married again and became Kay Coaten and later still, moved to Jersey.

Grave Reference: Sec. H. Grave 560.

EPSOM CEMETERY, Surrey, England

Family Headstone