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About
97 Squadron:
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What's New Updates are posted here regularly. To respond to any item which interests you, please e-mail the webmaster at kb64uk@sky.com IMPORTANT - when e-mailing the webmaster please ensure the e-mail address in the address box of your message is the sky one shown above and not the old aol address which is now defunct 31 March 2011 97 Squadron Book of Remembrance & Thorpe Camp Dedication Ceremony - Sunday 17th April 2011 We are pleased to announce that a re-dedication ceremony for the Memorial Garden at Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre in Woodhall Spa is taking place on Sunday 17th April 2011. Combined with this ceremony will be a dedication of the 97 Squadron Book of Remembrance, conducted by the Chaplain from RAF Coningsby. The ceremony will take place at 3pm and visitors are welcome. For further details see the Thorpe Camp website www.thorpecamp.org.uk or contact the webmaster at kb64uk@sky.com The memorial garden commemorates the four squadrons that served at Woodhall Spa during the Second World War - 97, 617, 619 and 627 Squadrons. 20 February 2011 We have received a request for help from Dieter Wendler who is planning to erect a memorial at the crash site of Lancaster ND390 at Ahorn in Germany. Dieter is particularly keen to make contact with anyone who has information about any members of the crew, or photographs of them or knows the whereabouts of any of their relatives. The seven men who were killed are:- Flt Lt Desmond Rowlands DFC, Sgt Robert Myall Lane, F/L Arthur Robert Cadman DFM, F/Sgt Albert Stanley McFadden, F/O Edgar James Currie, F/O Fred Colville, F/L Richard Dacre Trevor-Roper DFC DFM If you can help with this appeal, please contact the webmaster on kb64uk@sky.com and we will forward information to Dieter. 12 December 2010 I am pleased to be able to update the website again after a period of non-activity owing to a change of computer and software. Enquiries will be still be answered via the above e-mail address. John Greening MBE - Rest in Peace It is with great sadness that The Association has learned of the passing of John Greening MBE, who as a Flight Lieutenant served as a pilot with 97 Squadron from October 1944 to June 1945. He took part in nearly 30 operations during the war, having volunteered to fly with an operational Squadron. The Association sends its sincere condolences to John's family and we salute his courage. 20th August 2010 It has come to notice that the e-mail links on the site were using the webmaster's old e-mail address. This old address has not been in use for over three years. If you have sent a message to the webmaster and not received a reply please send another message but make sure your message is sent to the e-mail address shown at the top of this page - kb64uk@sky.com Apologies for this oversight, the link will be changed as soon as we have worked out how to do so! 7th August 2010 The Association has been researching and preparing a Book of Remembrance recording the names of all those men who have lost their lives whilst serving with 97 Squadron from the time of its formation in 1918 to when it was disbanded in 1967. It is planned that this book will be displayed next to the 97 Squadron stained glass window in the chapel at RAF Coningsby. It is hoped that a dedication service will be held later this year. We would like to hear from relatives of any 97 Squadron personnel who lost their lives while serving with the Squadron who would wish to attend the service and view the book. Further details of the event will be put on the site when known. Please contact the webmaster at kb64uk@sky.com Today we have begun the process of updating the Honours & Awards section of the site with some of the post-Second World War awards won by 97 Squadron personnel. The list is by no means complete but the award of the Air Force Cross to Flying Officer Laurence Hickey and Master Pilot Bernard Horn have been added, as have an Air Force Medal Award to Sergeant Kenneth Marwood an MBE to Flight Lieutenant John Bean, and the British Empire Medal to Sergeant Royston Shields and Chief Technician Alfred Bryan. If anyone out there has any information or photos of these men please get in touch with the webmaster at kb64uk@sky.com We are also keen to find out more about a Corporal Technician Binek who was awarded the BEM with 97 Squadron in the early 1950s. 22nd July 2010 Warrant Officer Arthur Pritchard - Rest in Peace It is with great sadness that the Association has learned of the death of Warrant Officer Arthur Pritchard. Arthur served with 97 Squadron in 1944 as a 19-year-old Sergeant. He was 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 8 on this site and there is a photo of him in Gallery 3. We send our condolences to Arthur's family and salute his courage and fortitude. His memory will live on and may he rest in peace. 5th April 2010 Relatives of 3 aircrew sought - Flt Sgt Edward Joseph HOBBS, Flt Sgt Gordon Anthony O'Neil OLIVER, Sgt Stanley Baldwin MORGAN. These three young airmen lost their lives on the night of 21st/22nd December 1944 when their aircraft crashed in Norway when returning from a raid on the oil refineries at Politz. The men now lie in Norwegian cemeteries. Any surviving relatives of these men are urged to contact the 97 Squadron Association historian at kb64uk@sky.com Photographs have been added to the site of Wing Commander Keith Sinclair OBE DFC, who commanded the Squadron from May to December 1945, and of Sgt Joseph Brown, an air gunner who lost his life in October 1943 whilst serving with the Squadron (see Gallery 3). In Gallery 4 you will find a photo of Canadian Pilot Officer Gordon Nicholl and his crew. 24th January 2010 Appeal for information - Wing Commander Ernest Keith Sinclair CMG OBE DFC Anyone with biographical information and/or photographs of Keith Sinclair, CO of 97 Squadron in 1945, and post-war eminent journalist in Australia, is asked to contact the webmaster on the above e-mail address. Appeal for Information - Dambuster Ronald Batson DFM We are seeking information about Ronald Batson DFM who flew as front gunner in Joe McCarthy's crew on the famous Dams Raid in May 1943. He had previously served with the crew in 97 Squadron during 1942-43. We would particularly like to know what happened to Ronald Batson after the war. Anyone with any information please contact the webmaster using the e-mail address shown at the top of this page. 11th January 2010 Today a photo of Warrant Officer Frederick Strange DFM has been added to the site. He was an air gunner who served with distinction with 97 Squadron during 1943. The photo can be found in Gallery 3 (go to 'Gallery', then 'Gallery 3' and scroll down). Also, in 'Gallery 4', the name of Pilot Officer Ernest Craven DFC has been added to the names listed beneath a photo of Sqn Ldr Canever's crew. Appeal for Information - A Dutchman is planning to erect a memorial to the crew of 97 Squadron Lancaster R5512, which crashed in Amsterdam on 20th December 1942. All seven members of the crew were killed but very little is known about them. If anyone has any information about the following men and/or has any photographs of them, please get in touch with the webmaster on kb64uk@sky.com The seven crew were:- William Norman Eales James Donald Sidney Victor Deed Milton Alexander Harper Arthur Mortimer Roy Henry Bambury George Henderson 2nd November 2009 Photos added today to the Memorial (Memorial 1) section showing a monument and plaque dedicated to the crew of Lancaster ED754 which crashed at Trignac in France on the night of 28/29 March 1943. The graves of three of the crew at Escoublack-la-Baule War Cemetery are also shown. In Gallery (Gallery 3) a photo of the navigator of the above crew, Sgt Edward Ball, as been added together with a photo of his grave. In Gallery 4, the photos of two 97 Squadron crews have been added - those of Flight Lieutenants Basil Sexton and Bob Lasham. In Gallery 6, a picture of the medals of Sqn Ldr Jackie Blair DFC DFM has been added. 17th August 2009 Yesterday was Pathfinder Sunday at RAF Wyton where surviving members of the Pathfinder Association were entertained by today's RAF. Three former members of 97 Squadron were in attendance - Bob Lasham DFC & Bar, Arthur Tindall DFC and Harry Kirby. I have been continuing with my research of 97 Squadron during the post-war period and I would appeal again for anybody who has information and/or photos relating to this time to get in touch with me. I have had a good deal of success in tracing men who served in post-war 97 Squadron but more information and recollections would be very welcome indeed. 97 Squadron's post war activity was divided into three distinct periods, which are:- 1945-1955 Bomber Command at Hemswell, flying Lincolns 1959-1963 Bomber Command at Hemswell, operating the Thor IRBM missile 1963-1967 Signals Command at Watton, flying Canberras, Varsities and a Hastings aircraft If you or your relative served in any of the above times, please get in touch. In particular, to date I have only managed to trace one person who served with 97 Squadron during the time it was operating the Thor missile. Anyone out there who was with the Squadron at that time, or knows someone who was, your help would be very much appreciated. Do keep enquiries coming in, they will be responded to as soon as possible. 9th May 2009 An update has been added today to the Memorial page (Memorial 2), adding details of Flight Sergeant Jack Cowan DFM to his photograph. 10th April 2009 Continuing research into the history of 97 Squadron is ongoing. Please get in touch if you have any information or photographs about the Squadron or people who served with it. 13thMarch 2009 I am pleased to report that various glitches have now been resolved and that the site can now be updated again. Various updates will follow over the next week or so.10th August 2008 Today I have added a photo of one of 97 Squadron's First World War casualties, 20-year-old Sergeant Archie Dexter, who lost his life in a crash on 28th October 1918. I am very grateful to his great nephew for sending the photo. 5th June 2008 Some photos have been added to the The Augsburg Raid page (go the Gallery, then Gallery 1). These are the Penman Memorial Trophy and the brevet and medal ribbons of the late Wing Commander David Penman DSO OBE DFC who flew on the famous raid with 97 Squadron. The photos have been sent in by Flt Lt White from 1804 Sqn ATC, to whom we extend our thanks 5th May 2008 Today I have added a photo of Flight Lieutenant "Billy" Kirkwood Hackett DFC (see Gallery 8). He was the Gunnery Leader during 1942-43 when the Squadron was at Woodhall Spa. Also, I have added the names of the 97 Squadron aircrew who are shown in two photos (see Gallery 9) when the Squadron was operating in Signals Command at Watton in the 1960s. I have also added a photo of "Dambuster" David Maltby's 97 Squadron crew, which was taken at Coningsby in 1941. I was fortunate enough to attend the launch of Charles Foster's book entitled "Breaking the Dams - the story of Dambuster David Maltby and his crew". This book is superb and is required reading for anybody with an interest in the Dambusters and in Bomber Command during the war. It is meticulously researched and brilliantly written. I have been continuing with my research of 97 Squadron during the post-war period and I would appeal again for anybody who has information and/or photos relating to this time to get in touch with me. I have had a good deal of success in tracing men who served in post-war 97 Squadron but more information and recollections would be very welcome indeed. 97 Squadron's post war activity was divided into three distinct periods, which are:- 1945-1955 Bomber Command at Hemswell, flying Lincolns 1959-1963 Bomber Command at Hemswell, operating the Thor IRBM missile 1963-1967 Signals Command at Watton, flying Canberras, Varsities and a Hastings aircraft If you or your relative served in any of the above times, please get in touch. In particular, to date I have only managed to trace one person who served with 97 Squadron during the time it was operating the Thor missile. Anyone out there who was with the Squadron at that time, or knows someone who was, your help would be very much appreciated. Do keep enquiries coming in, they will be responded to as soon as possible. 16th April 2008 I am sad to report the death of Squadron Leader Eric Fell AFC & Bar who passed away on 22nd March 2008. Eric served with 97 Squadron at Watton during 1966. May he rest in peace. 25th March 2008 Today, two more photos have been added to the site. They are of two men who both lost their lives whilst serving as aircrew with 97 Squadron. The first is Pilot Officer Aubrey Burnell, a wireless operator, who was killed in July 1944, having completed 54 operations during his four years RAF service. The second is Warrant Officer William Allison, a flight engineer, who died in September 1947 when his Lincoln bomber crashed in Norfolk after being struck by lightning. Both photos can be found in Gallery 8 - click on Gallery, then Gallery 8, and then scroll down to the bottom of the page. Also today I have added the names of two officers to the 97 Squadron Roll of Honour. Flight Lieutenants Robert "Jacko" Jackson and Russ Jenkins lost their lives when their 97 Squadron Canberra aircraft crashed at RAF Watton on 3rd May 1966 (see entry and photo on 12th March below). Their sad loss during a period of peace only goes to illustrate that flying is essentially a dangerous business. The Roll of Honour, which lists the names of all those who died while serving with 97 Squadron, can be found by clicking on "Losses" on the left. 24th March 2008 A photo of the medals of the late Flight Lieutenant Robert Manvell DFC DFM have been added to the site. They can be seen in Gallery 6 - Click on Gallery, then Gallery 6, and then scroll down. Rober Manvell flew 30 opertions as a Flight Engineer with 97 Squadron between June 1942 and January 1943 and was awarded the DFM. Later in the year he was commissioned and returned to operational flying with 156 Squadron. He was awarded the DFC after completing a further 21 operations. Sadly, he was killed in action in June 1944.
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