Gallery 3

Sergeant Archie Dexter

(Above) This is 20-year-old Sergeant Archie Dexter who lost his life serving with 97 Squadron on 28th October 1918. This is the first photo that the Association has received of a First World War casualty. Sgt Dexter is buried at Charmes Military Cemetery in France.

Flight Sergeant Bob Fletcher

(Below) Flight Sergeant Bob Fletcher at the controls of his Avro Manchester in 1941

Squadron Leader Elmer Coton DFC & Bar

Above is Squadron Leader Elmer Coton (then a Flight Lieutenant) at the controls of an Avro Manchester. He completed 30 operations with 97 Squadron between October 1941 and December 1942 and had survived being shot down earlier in the war by our own defences over Essex.

Flight Sergeant Gordon "Jammy" Hartley

(Above) Flight Sergeant Hartley, another of the Squadron's early stalwarts. He was later commissioned and awarded the DFC (and finished the war as a Squadron Leader).

Flight Sergeant Ron Irons DFM

Above is Flight Sergeant Ron Irons DFM from Walthamstow in East London. He was the Wireless Operator in Flight Lieutenant Deverill's crew and was awarded the DFM for his bravery on the daylight raid on Augsburg in April 1942.

Pilot Officer Bruce Ballantyne DFC

Pilot Officer Ballantyne from Rutherglen, on the outskirts of Glasgow, was posted to 97 Squadron from the Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Cottesmore in the Spring of 1942. Although qualified as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, he flew with 97 Squadron as a Bomb Aimer.

Above is Pilot Officer Doug "Jonah" Jones DFC from Bristol. By the age of 20 he had completed a Pathfinders double tour of 45 operations. He was with 97 Squadron during 1943 and took part in the first shuttle raid when four 97 Squadron Lancasters carried out the target marking for an attack against a radar factory at Friedrichshafen before flying on to American airfields in North Africa. The bombing force returned a couple of days later, bombing the Italian port of Spezia en route.

Warrant Officer John Hannah DFC

Below is Warrant Officer John Hannah DFC, a Scotsman, who was the wireless operator in the crew of Pilot Officer Jones.

Flight Lieutenant Albert Chambers DFC & Bar

Above (and below) is Flight Lieutenant Albert Chambers DFC & Bar, who was killed on the morning of D-Day. 23-year-old Chambers had a remarkable operational career, and had carried out 58 operational sorties before his death. Born in Derby, he joined the RAFVR in May 1939 as an AC2 and, having volunteered for aircrew duties, he progressed steadily and qualified as a Sergeant Wireless Operator/Air Gunner on 31st December 1940. Chambers was posted to 7 Squadron where he embarked upon his first tour of operations, flying Stirlings. In July 1941, he was forced to bale out of his aircraft over England as it ran out of fuel when returning from Hanover, after being attacked earlier in the trip by a number of German fighters. He remained operational for the rest of his service, receiving a Mention in Despatches in January 1942, as well as being commissioned. Chambers was awarded the DFC at the end of his first tour, before joining 97 Squadron in May 1943 as a Flying Officer; at the time of his death he had been married for just seven months.

Sergeant Arthur Pritchard

This is a photo of 19-year-old Sergeant Arthur Pritchard, a Welshman who flew as the flight engineer in an otherwise all-Australian crew, captained by Pilot Officer Giddings. The crew were shot down on the night of 9th/10th June 1944 but Arthur succeeded in evading capture and made it back to the UK. He finished the war as a Warrant Officer. You can read about his escape and evasion under Flight Ops 7 on this site.

Flight Lieutenant Eric Suswain DFM

Above is Eric Suswain who flew 45 operations with 97 Squadron in 1943 as the Bomb Aimer in Flight Lieutenant Jimmy Munro's crew. This photo was taken around the time he qualified as an Observer and was awarded his Observers brevet and promoted to Sergeant. Eric was awarded the DFM and commissioned during his time with 97 Squadron, and he finished the war as a Flight Lieutenant.

Flight Sergeant Gerry McMahon DFM

This is a photo of Flight Sergeant Gerry McMahon DFM (taken later in the war when he had been commissioned). The tail gunner in Squadron Leader Coton's crew, he was decorated for his actions during an attack on submarine pens at Danzig on 11th/12th July 1942.

Squadron Leader Martin Bryan-Smith DFC & Bar

This is Squadron Leader Martin Bryan-Smith DFC & Bar, who was the Gunnery Leader on 97 Squadron during 1944. He was killed on the morning of D-Day, flying as rear gunner in the crew of the Squadron's CO, Wing Commander Jimmy Carter DFC (see also Albert Chambers, above).

Flight Sergeant Pendrill DFM

Flight Sergeant George Pendrill in the cockpit of an Avro Manchester at Coningsby in 1941. He was one of the Squadron's prominent pilots in the months after it was reformed in February 1941. He was recommended for the award of the Distingushed Flying Medal after completing 15 operations. The recommendation for his award reads, "On the night of 14th November 1941, Acting Flight Sergeant Pendrill was detailed as Captain of a Manchester aircraft to lay a stick of mines in the middle of the heavily defended entrance to Kiel Bay. Through sheer determination and devotion to duty (in the face of adverse weather condtions) the flight of over 500 miles at 600 feet was made and, in the face of intense ant-aircraft fire, these mines were successfully laid. Two days later, Flight Sergeant Pendrill was detailed to attack a target in the Rhineland, which was successfully attacked and, on his return journey, he was attacked by an enemy fighter. This fighter was observed by three of the crew to be gradually closing in on our aircraft. Flight Sergeant Pendrill ordered the crew to hold their fire until pointblank range when the rear gunner stated that the enemy aircraft was approximately 500 yards away. The Captain of the aircraft then ordered the rear gunner to open fire. The fighter was then shot down and seen to crash in flames on the ground. This NCO has shown the greatest devotion to duty and courage in attacking his targets and has carried out nearly 100 hours of operational flying."

Notification of the award of the DFM to Flight Sergeant Pendrill appeared in the London Gazette on 2nd December 1941. Sadly, aged 21, he was killed 16 days later when his aircraft crashed at Coningsby when returning from a raid against enemy shipping at Brest.

Flight Lieutenant Ken Ames DFC & Bar

Flight Sergeant David Chalmers DFM

Warrant Officer Albert Channon DFM

Sergeant Bill Whiting

Sergeant William Chapman

Above is Sgt William Chapman prior to his training to become a Wireless Operator. When qualified he joined the crew of F/Sgt W.D.Coates who, in a space of a few days, was commissioned as a Pilot Officer and awarded the DFM.

Sergeant Chapman was killed (aged 22) on 25th March 1944.

Sergeant Ernest Rosenberg

This is a photo of Sergeant Ernest Rosenberg who flew six operations with 97 Squadron as flight engineer in Pilot Officer Leader's crew, during February and March 1944. The crew were posted to 635 Squadron at Downham Market on 20th March 1944. Sadly, they were all killed on operations with their new squadron just three weeks later. Sgt Rosenberg was aged 21.

Sergeant John Dinning RAAF

(Above) This is Sergeant John Dinning, who failed to return from an attack on Nuremburg on the night of 28th/29th August 1942. Dinning was studying veterinary science at the University of Queensland when war broke out, but he interrupted his studies and volunteered for service in the Royal Australian Air Force. Before going overseas he married his sweetheart, Pamela, but he never returned home and was aged just 23 when he was killed.

Flying Officer Cyril Woolnough DFC RAAF

(Above) Australian Flying Officer Cyril Woolnough DFC, who completed 45 operations with 61 Squadron and 97 Squadron in 1944.

Sgt Eric Smith and Sgt Peter Gould

Here are Sgts Eric Smith (left) and Peter Gould (right) who flew as Rear Gunner and Flight Engineer respectively in Cyril Woolnough's crew.

Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Middleton DFC DFM

(Above) This is Malcolm Middleton DFC DFM who flew 27 operations as a Bomb Aimer NCO with 97 Squadron between November 1941 and December 1942, winning the DFM. Later in the war he was commissioned and completed a second tour of operations with 622 Squadron, for which he was awarded the DFC.

Sergeant Arthur Stafford DFM

(Above) Wireless Operator Arthur Stafford DFM who flew on operations with 97 Squadron from October 1941 to November 1943, completing a total of 35 sorties. A Yorkshireman from Northallerton, he was killed in September 1943, aged 25, whilst flying with 101 Squadron.

Lancaster R5575 OF-L

Below are photographs of three members of the crew of 97 Squadron Lancaster R5575, captained by Sgt G.H.Rowson, which crashed in the Waddenzee on the night of 17th/18th January 1943 whilst participating in a raid on Berlin. All seven members of the crew were killed.

(Above) Wireless Operator Sergeant John Brittain, aged 22, from Buxton in Derbyshire

(Above) Mid Upper Gunner Sergeant George Axup, aged 19, from Howden in Yorkshire

(Above, right) Rear Gunner Flight Sergeant Harry Beebe, aged 30, from New Carlisle, Quebec in Canada. He is pictured here with his brother, Tom, who served as a meteorologist in the RCAF for 25 years.

Flight Sergeant Ronald Bell

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(Above) Flight Sergeant Ronald Bell, a rear gunner with 97 Squadron, who was killed in action on  8th August 1941, aged 23. He joined the RAF in the mid 1930s as a Halton apprentice. By 1940 he was at RAF Hemswell with 61 Squadron and the next year was based at Coningsby with  97 Squadron.

On 6th August 1941 he married Joan Radley of Morton near Gainsborough at her local church. The day before this he had been on a mission attacking the docks of Dunkerque and 24 hours later was recalled to duty. His young bride never saw him again.

Just after midnight on the morning of 8th August 1941 he and his crew flew in Hampden AE303, with 4 other bombers from the Squadron, in an attack on the Krupps factory at Essen, Germany. They failed to return and four months later the Air Ministry confirmed that the enemy had recovered his body from the North Sea and buried him at Terschelling (West-Terschelling) General Cemetery on the island off the north coast of Holland.

Squadron Leader Charles Owen DSO DFC (Later Group Captain DSO DFC AFC)

Sqn Ldr Charles Owen, pictured here aged 21, was one of 97 Squadron's most distinguished pilots of the Second World War. He completed 45 operations operations with the Squadron during the winter of 1943-44 when Bomber Command was engaged in its very costly offensive against Berlin. He went on to fly as a Master Bomber at 5 Group.