Month: May 2021

On the record: Barnes Wallis memorial service

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William Wallis is a great nephew of Barnes Wallis, and was 16 when he died in 1979. He attended both his funeral in his local church and the later memorial service, which was held in St Paul’s Cathedral. William has kindly sent me photographs of the orders of service for these events and he also has an LP record of the memorial service, the cover of which is shown above.

In an email, he described the St Paul’s event: “I was 16 at the time of the service and my recollections of such an auspicious occasion were tempered by my age. I recall being very annoyed at having to wear my school uniform and that I sat behind Prince Charles, finding his growing bald spot very amusing.”

The front covers for both services are shown below:

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William Wallis is the grandson of Barnes Wallis’s brother, Lt Col Charles Robinson Ashby Wallis, who served in the First World War in the artillery (being gassed at both Passchendaele and Ypres) and later the Royal Air Corps. William’s father, Charles David Ashby Wallis, was the oldest of his children and died in 2018 aged 92.

The two Wallis brothers spent many happy holidays in Dorset with their families, as
this 2008 article in Dorset Life written by their children, first cousins Charles D A Wallis and Mary Stopes Roe recalls. As the article says:
“… both brothers had a love for the Dorset countryside; so after the war, when Barnes and family took their summer holiday in Dorset, the two families would get together. Barnes rented a field between Corfe and Swanage under Nine Barrow Down as a camping site. …
He took pleasure in keeping the camp trim and well-ordered, and in making sure that the younger ones knew how to pitch tents, deal with sanitary matters, see to guy ropes and take weather precautions. The sound of his Wellington boots clumping round the tents on wet and windy nights as he checked the ropes was unforgettably comforting. He took part in the daily chores, joking, singing and inventing games. When he washed up, plates would be tossed to the person drying up, and from him or her to the person stacking away. The larder cabinet was strung up on a tree trunk, and a barrel of cider (‘It’s cheaper by the barrel!’) carefully raised to allow for easy pouring.”

In retirement, Charles R A Wallis dedicated himself to his local community of Gillingham in Dorset and its church which he was instrumental in refurbishing. As a keen historian he started a local museum which is still open today as part of the Gillingham museum. Sadly, in 1962 he drowned while staying in Cornwall, trying to save a swimmer in trouble. He dived in to the sea and although himself a fit man who was a strong swimmer both he and the other swimmer lost their lives. He was posthumously recognised with the highest award for bravery by the Royal Humane Society.

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Charles R A Wallis, as a young army officer, photographed in 1916. [Pic: Wallis family]

Despite this tragedy, Barnes and Molly Wallis stayed close to his brother’s family, and their four great nephews were frequent visitors to their house in Effingham.

Barnes and Molly Wallis, photographed at their house in Effingham in the 1970s with their great nephews. From left, Matthew, William, Robert and Andrew Wallis. [Pic: Wallis family]

New photograph of William “Ginger” Long

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Blog reader Tony Penman has kindly sent me a wartime formal picture of Sgt William Long which I have never seen before. Long was the front gunner in Lew Burpee’s crew in AJ-S on the Dams Raid. He had flown with Burpee since December 1942, clocking up 23 operations with him.

The photograph appears to have a formal signature by the photographer, dated 1942. The reverse has an inscription in different handwriting, obviously composed by someone who knew him personally:

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“William Long
Long Road Bournemouth was named after him for bravery in the M. Dam Raid during last war where he lost his life.
He was a most wonderful wonderful boy”

The claim about the naming of the road needs further investigation. Google Streetview reveals it to be houses that look as though they could have been built in the 1950s, but local historians might be able to verify this. Long himself was born in Eastleigh, but the family certainly moved to Bournemouth before the war. Any further information will be gratefully received.

Len Eaton and Charlie Williams photographed together in training

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44 Course Air Gunnery training at No 14 OTU, 10 April 1942. [Pic: Susan Paxton]

On this day 78 years ago nineteen Lancaster aircraft took off from RAF Scampton on what would become known as the Dams Raid. Two of the wireless operators had, in fact, gone through part of their training together, as this photograph shows. It depicts a group of wireless operator/gunners taken in April 1942 at RAF Cottesmore, while they were in No 14 Operational Training Unit.

The two were Flt Sgt Len Eaton, wireless operator in AJ-T, piloted by Joe McCarthy, and Plt Off Charlie Williams DFC, wireless operator in AJ-E, piloted by Norman Barlow. The photograph was pasted into a scrapbook belonging to Williams, which is amongst his papers held in the John Oxley Library, part of the State Library of Queensland, Australia. 

The nature of wartime service in the RAF makes it quite likely that there were a number of other previous encounters of this kind between the men who were brought together in March and April 1943 to take part in this historic operation, but this is one of the few which have documentary proof. 

Eaton returned safely from the Dams Raid, and went on to fly with McCarthy on another 34 operations until he was taken off operations in July 1944. He received the DFM for his service. Williams, however, was not so lucky. He and all the other members of Barlow’s crew were killed when they collided with a power line near Haldern in Germany. They died shortly before midnight on 16 May 1943. 

The names of all the 26 men in the photograph are listed below, along with what is known about them at present. The research has been done by Susan Paxton and Alan Wells, who would welcome any further information. 

Top Row:
Weir: Sgt Allen Weir RAAF, Cloncurry, Qld, Australia. KIA 2 June 1942.
Pugh: Possibly Canadian.
Livingstone: Nothing known.
Moir: Sgt Colin Moir RAAF, Marrickville NSW. Survived the war. Almost certainly the last survivor of this photograph: he died just last month on 20 April 2021, at the age of 100.
O’Keefe: Sgt Ralph O’Keefe, born in Canada, but serving in the RAF. KIA June 1942.
McLeod: Possibly Australian.
Lawlor: Nothing known.
Quance: Sgt Peter Quance RAAF, born in Birmingham, England, but his family emigrated and he enlisted in Sydney, Australia. KIA June 1943.

Middle row:
Radermeyer: Sgt Ignatius Rademeyer, Rhodesia. Later PoW and survived the war.
Degen: Sgt Lawrence Degen. Survived the war, and died in 2008.
Gallagher: Sgt Francis Gallagher RAAF, born 1914, Guyra, NSW, Australia. KIA January 1943.
Eaton: Sgt Leonard Eaton, born 16 March 1906, Manchester. Survived the war, and died in 1974.
Black: Possibly Australian.
Taylor: Possibly Canadian.
Robson: Sgt Wallace Robson RAAF. Australian. KIA June 1942.
Barrett: Nothing known.
Hunt: Sgt Edmund Hunt RAAF, Rockdale, NSW, Australia. KIA 30 June 1942.
Royal: Nothing known.

Bottom row:
Little: Plt Off Harvey Little, from Wetheral, Cumberland. KIA 31 May 1942.
Powell: Nothing known
Wood: Possibly Australian.
Grey: Plt Off Charles Gray. Survived war.
Gillenland: Plt Off Harold Gilleland, from London. KIA December 1942.
Williams: Plt Off Charles Williams, born 19 March 1909, Townsville, Qld, Australia. KIA 16 May 1943.
Newround:  Plt Off Alec Newbound RAAF. Born in 1917 in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire. Emigrated to Australia and enlisted in Melbourne. Survived war.
Agley: Possibly Flt Sgt Leonard Agley, from Bradford. Survived war.

Bernard “Bunny” Clayton: 617 Squadron pilot with 82 operations from three tours

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Left to right: Plt Off Bernard “Bunny” Clayton, Sqn Ldr David Maltby, Flt Lt Harold “Mick” Martin. Photographed at RAF Scampton, July 1943. [Pic: IWM Collections, CH11048]

The loss of eight crews on the Dams Raid meant that 617 Squadron needed a swift injection of new personnel in order to function properly. One of those who arrived in July 1943 was Plt Off Bernard Clayton, known from his schooldays as “Bunny”. He was only 23, but had completed two tours of operations and been decorated with both the CGM and DFC.

Clayton was born on a farm in North Yorkshire on 7 December 1919, the oldest of seven children. He went to the King James Grammar School in Knaresborough, where he met a boy called Ian Robinson who became a close friend. Both got jobs after leaving school but then at the outbreak of war both volunteered for the RAF. Called up at different times, from then on their paths rarely crossed. Robinson became an observer, serving first in the Far East before returning to the UK. Clayton qualified as a pilot, and went on to fly a full tour in both 9 and 51 Squadrons, with a spell of training in between. 

It was after starting a second spell as a training instructor that Clayton was posted on his own to 617 Squadron. He then travelled over to his previous operational outfit, 51 Squadron, and persuaded all six of the crew who had flown with him on his previous tour to accompany him. They went on to play a pivotal role in rebuilding the squadron after the September 1943 attack on the Dortmund Ems canal when one crew was lost on an aborted attack, and five more the following day when it finally went ahead. Clayton and his crew flew a total of 31 more operations before being taken off operations for a third and final time in July 1944. Clayton received the DSO for this final tour. 

Halfway through this final tour, in February 1944, Flg Off George Chalmers joined Clayton’s crew as the wireless operator. He had been in Bill Townsend’s crew on the Dams Raid, and had won the DFM for his role in attacking the Ennepe Dam. He was also withdrawn from operations in July 1944, having notched up a total of 66 operations. 

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George Chalmers DFC DFM [Pic: Anthony Eaton]

Clayton stayed on in the RAF after the war, transferring to Transport Command. In 1948, the Soviet Union blockaded the divided city of Berlin in East Germany, and so what became called the Berlin airlift was organised – transport aircraft flying in a narrow corridor to provide supplies. Clayton became one of the many pilots undertaking this difficult exercise, undertaking a total of 94 trips. He then transferred to RAF Manby for more training duties. Sadly, on 19 March 1951, he lost his life in the crash of a Handley Page Hastings at RAF Strubby. Another officer was piloting the aircraft that day. 

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You can read much more about the life and career of Bunny Clayton and his school friend Ian Robinson in an interesting book about the pair, Two Friends: Two Different Hells by A.E Eaton. It is available at £10 including p&p on special offer from the writer, who you can contact by email at tony.ae778@gmail.com

Sidney Knott DFC turns 100: veteran who turned down Dams Raid chance

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Positioned in the centre of the middle row, Sidney Knott, photographed in summer 1942. Taken at 42 Air Gunners Course, No. 1 Air Armaments School, RAF Manby.

Guest post by Susan Paxton

On a mid-March day in 1943 Wing Commander Cosme Gomm, DSO, DFC, looked up as the good-looking young Lancaster Captain entered the room. Gomm had established 467 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, four months previously. The Squadron Commander motioned Frank Heavery to a seat.
Measured by the grim realities of life and death in Bomber Command during early 1943, Heavery and his crew were experienced. They had survived 12 operations, including two trips each to Essen and Nuremberg. Heavery respected Gomm. He was a man worth listening to, having completed a first tour on Whitley bombers before flying Beaufighters in the night interception role. Gomm formed 467 at Scampton on November 7 1942 and had taken it to another bomber station, Bottesford, later that month.
Gomm came straight to the point. Air Vice-Marshal Cochrane, 5 Group’s Commander, was charged with forming a “Special Duties” squadron. Cochrane wanted talented crews for this new unit. Gomm looked hard at Heavery: “I don’t want to lose you, but I have made my choice and I have picked you. How do you feel about it?”

Tony Redding, Life and Death in Bomber Command, 2013 revised edition

Sergeant Frank Heavery was uncertain enough to take a vote amongst his crew, and when it came out 3-3, he cast the tiebreaker. No, they would stay at 467 (RAAF) Squadron and finish their tour there: in fact, they would be the first 467 Sqn crew to survive their ops tour. The next crew Gomm asked was less experienced, that of Sergeant Vernon Byers, RCAF. They had three operations behind them, and were posted to the “special duties” squadron, which by that time had its number 617, on 24 March, one of the earliest crews to arrive at Scampton. They would be the first crew to die on Operation Chastise, shot down at 2257 on 16 May 1943 off Texel island on the Dutch coast.

Thanks perhaps to that deciding vote, the young man who was Frank Heavery’s rear gunner is celebrating his 100th birthday today, on VE Day. He is Sidney Knott DFC, perhaps the last surviving “almost Dambuster”, and he voted, incidentally, to go to the “special duties” squadron. After finishing his tour with 467 Squadron, he spent his 6 months rest at 17 OTU, crewed up there with Flt Lt Clive Walker and went with him to 582 Squadron (Pathfinders), finishing his second tour in mid-August 1944 with a total of 64 operations, a promotion to warrant officer, and the award of a DFC which arrived in the mail in 1948, which must have been quite the anticlimax.

There are many interesting people and stories with ties to Operation Chastise, and the “almost” crews are among the most fascinating. Sidney Knott is especially fortunate in having lived to tell his story to author Tony Redding, who wrote it up very ably in Life and Death in Bomber Command, published originally in 2005 and then in a revised edition in 2013. Anyone who wants to understand Bomber Command at the time 617 Squadron was being formed would do well to find a copy.

Happy birthday, Sidney. And thank you.