30/vii/44 – Loss of S/Ldr EN Bunting & F/O ECS Spedding

On the night of 29&30/vii/44, eight crews took off on Patrols over France. S/Ldr Edward Bunting and his Nav/Rad, F/O Ted Spedding were chasing a FW190 at low level when they were hit by flak. Bunting managed to pass a message over the radio that they had been hit. This was followed by an explosion being seen on the ground some 15 seconds later.

With no other information available, the crew were posted as “Missing, Believed Killed”.

Sadly, neither man survived, and were interred in a joint grave at St Remy churchyard in the Calvados region of France.

The joint grave of S/Ldr Edward Bunting and Fg.Off Ted Spedding
(St Remy church, Calvados, France)

Their names are duly recorded in the Roll Of Honour

15/vii/44 – Loss of F/Sgt Howard Scott & F/O Colin Duncan

After completing a Patrol in aircraft MM551 (ME-X), F/Sgt Howard Scott and F/O Colin Duncan, both New Zealanders, were killed when their aircraft crashed in woodland near Holmesley South whilst attempting to land at RAF Hurn in low cloud. There is little information available about the detail of this crash, which resulted in the first losses of the Squadron in almost 4 months.

Both men were interred in the New Zealand Section of Brookwood Military Cemetery on 19/vii/44, with Irwin Skudder and Tom MacKay in attendance representing the Squadron.

The graves of F/Sgt Howard Scott & F/O Colin Duncan.
(Brookwood Military Cemetery, New Zealand Section. Plots 8.AA.5 & 8.AA.6)

Their names are duly recorded in the Roll of Honour.

488(NZ) Squadron leaves RAF Bradwell Bay

On 01/v/44, the the following entry was made in the Squadrons Operations Record Book:

“Information received that Squadron would proceed to Zeals in Wiltshire on the 4th instant”

So ended an 8 month tenure at Bradwell Bay, defending London and the South East of England from Luftwaffe raids coming from Continental Europe. In hindsight, of course, it is likely that this move was in anticipation of the planned invasion of Europe, and a tactical deployment of Night Fighters to protect the invasion and subsequent Allied advance.

Broody recorded his flying summary for his time at Bradwell Bay:

SUMMARY for BRADWELL-on-SEA 4/ix/43 to 5/v/44
TOTAL BEAUFIGHTER DAY	7H40M
TOTAL MOSQUITO DAY	73H35M
TOTAL OXFORD DAY	9H25M
TOTAL TIGER MOTH DAY	1H30M
TOTAL DAY FLYING	92H10M
TOTAL MOSQUITO NIGHT	100H20M
TOTAL NIGHT OPERATIONS	96H35M
TOTAL DAY OPERATIONS	00H35M

During their time at Bradwell Bay, the Squadron suffered the loss of 17 airmen. Their stories have already been told on this blog, and their names recorded in the Roll of Honour.

At what remains of the airfield today, there is a memorial to all those who lost their lives operating from the airfield. The names of 488’s 17 are recorded there.

The memorial at the site of RAF Bradwell Bay

The inscription reads: “This memorial has been erected in memory of the 121 members of the Allied Air Forces who in answer to the call of duty left this airfield to fly into the blue forever”

RAF Zeals is at Grid Reference ST 78018 32945, between the villages of Stourton and Mere, just off the A303. Not much remains of the airfield today – it has returned to agricultural use – apart from the old control tower which has been converted into a private residence. On the aerial phot below, you can still see the perimeter fence and some dispersal pans in the wooded area on the North East side.

The site of RAF Zeals as it looks today. (Image from Google Earth)

B Flight left for RAF Zeals on the morning of 4^th, with A Flight (including Broody) remaining at Bradwell bay to maintain defensive flying. The main party moved by road in a convoy of 58 vehicles.

The ORB recorded on the 4^th that: “On arrival at Zeals, it was found that they were not really in a position for us to operate from there, and W/C R.C.Haine visited 10 Group and obtained permission to move to Colerne until Zeals was ready.”

 The Squadron duly relocated to Colerne, some 25 miles to the North, where they remained for 7 days until moving back to Zeals on 11/v/44.

25/iii/44 – Loss of F/O C.M. Wilson & F/O A.W. Wilson

Early in the morning of 25/iii/44, Pilot Chisholm Martyn “Chris” Wilson and his un-related namesake and Navigator, Alan William “Kiwi” Wilson went missing while on a coastal patrol in Mosquito HK222. Information from the GCI Sector Operations confirmed that they were closing in on a fleeing Luftwaffe aircraft, and as Hunt puts it, “… just as the ‘Tallyho’ was expected, the plots ceased and nothing more was heard from our crew.” 

Their last known position was off the North Foreland (near Ramsgate in Kent). The ORB later reported that there was “…no evidence available to account for the loss of this crew. A sad blow to ‘A’ Flight and to the Squadron”.

The bodies of the Wilsons, both New Zealanders, were never recovered; and so their names are recorded on the RAF Memorial at Runnymede (Panel 263).

Fg Off Chisholm Martyn “Chris” Wilson, RNZAF

Fg Off Alan William “Kiwi” Wilson, RNZAF

Their names are duly recorded in the Roll of Honour

(Both photos are from the “The Weekly News”sourced from http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/)

11/iii/44 – Trip to Middle Wallop & Loss of F/Sgt Anderson

11^th March 11:00
AIRSPEED OXFORD II X7293
Pilot: F/O Scott
Navigator: Self
BASE – MIDDLE WALLOP
Pilot as Navigator & Navigator as Pilot about half the way. Fairly hazy.
1:00

12:05
Pilot: F/O Scott
2^nd Pilot: F/O Robinson
Navigator: Self
Another 10 mins driving amongst the bumps
0:55

14:30
DH Mosquito XII HK227 ME-E (A/I Mk.VIII)
Pilot: F/O Scott
Navigator (R): Self
NFT, CINE-GUN & A/C TEST
The usual 15,000ft climb to test the blowers & feathering tests
0:45

On 07/iii/44, F/Sgt John Anderson, a New Zealand pilot arrived at the Squadron from 51 OTU where he had been trained on Beaufighters. On 11/iii/44 he was on only his second solo flight in a mosquito. On landing, he swung, tried to climb, and then dived into the ground after his undercarriage hit an obstruction. He was killed instantly. The subsequent report was critical of the fact that he had been posted direct to the squadron from an OTU but had no Mosquito experience.

Anderson was buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery on the 15^th March, with Squadron Representatives in attendance. He lies in grave number 2.K.7, a short distance from his fellow Squadron members, Riwai, Clark, Watson & Edwards. His death brings the total number of lives lost since the start of Broody’s tour to 15.

The grave of F/Sgt John Anderson.
Brookwood Military Cemetery (Plot number 2.k.7)

His name is duly recorded in the Roll of Honour

21/ii/44 – Loss of F/O Riwai & F/Sgt Clark

On the morning of 21^st February, after the night time patrols had ended, a pre-dawn attack was identified and crews were scrambled to engage the enemy – several for the second time that night. Amongst those who took off were Tohunga “Ricky” Riwai, the Squadron’s only Maori aircrew, and his navigator, Ian Clark. For reasons unknown, Ricky’s aircraft crashed into the steel anti-invasion defences beyond the airfield perimeter and both men were killed instantly. Leslie Hunt recalls how several individuals ignored the threat of the adjacent minefield and ran to give assistance to both men, albeit in vain.

Riwai and Clark had only been posted to the Squadron 75 days before, but all the background information I have read about the Squadron shows the high regard in which this crew were held, especially Ricky who was an extremely popular member of the Squadron.

Hunt said: “Words cannot express the feelings of the squadron after this tragedy – we had all come to regard Rick as one of the grandest types any of us have ever known, and with his shy but equally popular navigator, made a crew which we were confident would achieve great things” [Leslie Hunt – “Defence Until Dawn”].

Riwai and Clark were in the squadron photograph taken some 3 weeks before their death. I think that Riwai, sitting on the front row in flying boots, with arms and legs crossed exudes a mass of confidence and self-assuredness!

Tohunga “Ricky” Riwai (sitting) and Ian Clark (standing) photographed on 02/ii/44

The graves of F/O Riwai & F/Sgt Clark.
Brookwood Military Cemetery (Plots 2.K.2 & 2.K.1B)

“Ricky” Riwai and Ian Clark were interred in the New Zealand Section of Brookwood Military Cemetery, next to the graves of their mates “Snowy” Watson and Ernest Edwards.

The photo below shows the graves of 4 airmen of 488(NZ) squadron side by side – 4 brave Kiwis who came to England to fight for the freedom of the British Empire, and now lie many thousands of miles from home.

The graves of F/O Riwai, F/Sgt Clark, F/Sgt Edwards & F/Sgt Watson.
4 Aircrew of 488(NZ) Squadron who were killed in February 1944.

As part of my research for this blog, I visited Brookwood and gave my thanks to these men for their sacrifices so that I could bring up my children in a free world. With each loss I record, the more and more of the reality of war is revealed to me. I feel a sense of huge sadness each time an anniversary is reached, and cannot even begin to imagine how these losses impacted on the members of the squadron who survived each clash with the enemy as they saw their friends die.

The loss of Riwai and Clark takes to 14 the total number of aircrew who have given their lives since the start of Broody’s tour in September 1943. Their names are duly recorded in the Roll of Honour.

3/ii/44 – Loss of F/Sgt Watson & F/Sgt Edwards

At 01:45 on the morning of 3^rd February, Keith “Snowy” Watson (Pilot) and his Navigator Ernest Edwards, flying Mosquito HK363, were killed in a tragic accident whilst taking part in a searchlight exercise. It was recorded in the ORB that Watson most was most likely blinded temporarily by the searchlight and lost control. The ORB goes on to say:

“This was a most promising crew and a great loss to “B” Flight and the Squadron”

Just hours after these 2 young men were photographed side by side, they took to the air and died together. They were buried side by side in the New Zealand Section of Brookwood Military Cemetery.

F/Sgt Ernest Edwards and F/Sgt Keith “Snowy” Watson
2^nd February 1944, just hours before they were killed during a searchlight exercise

The graves of F/Sgt Edwards and F/Sgt Watson at Brookwood Military Cemetery
(Plots 2.K.1 and 2.K.1A)

Their names are duly recorded in the Roll of Honour

30/xii/43 – Last Patrol of 1943 & Loss of F/Sgt Behrent and F/Sgt Breward

30^th December 15:30
DH Mosquito XII HK227 ME-E (A/I Mk.VIII)
Pilot: P/O Scott
Navigator (R): Self
NFT & CINÉ-GUN
A/I still not good, but workable
0:45

17:40
BULLSEYE & PATROL – Searchlights
3 murders – 1 Mosquito & 2 Stirlings. Then orbiting, waiting for Huns which failed to appear
2:35

Only 3 days after returning from a Patrol with an engine fire, followed by a brake failure on landing, HK227 is back on Operational duties. This shows the effectiveness of the ground crews who must have worked every hour of the day to keep the Squadron’s aircraft flying!

Sadly today also saw the loss of F/Sgt Ernie Behrent and his Navigator F/Sgt Noel Breward. The New Zealand crew were killed after their aircraft crashed into the sea during a GCI exercise. The ORB records the loss as follows:

“A fatal crash took place today. F/Sgt Behrent E.H (New Zealand, pilot) and his operator, F/Sgt Breward N. (New Zealand) took off at about 22:00 hours and about 10 minutes later the plane crashed into the sea. Other pilots flying at the same time state that they saw a glow in the sky and later a glow on the water in the vicinity of the crash. The bodies were not recovered, The aircraft was Mosquito Mk XIII HK375.”

Their names are duly recorded in the Roll Of Honour.

And so Broody’s war comes to an end for 1943. There is still much more to come!

25/xi/43 – Loss of S/Ldr Hobbis & P/O Hills

On 25/xi/43, S/Ldr Dudley Hobbis, the Commander of “A” Flight and his Navigator P/O Oliver Hills were killed when after their Port engine caught fire during a Patrol. Hobbis ordered Hills to bail out, and tried to nurse the damaged aircraft back to base. Unfortunately the Starboard engine also failed. The last radio message to control was from Hobbis who said he was also bailing out. Despite an Air Sea Rescue search, neither man was found, and were therefore presumed killed.

The body of P/O Hills was found some eight months later, and he was laid to rest in Epsom Cemetery. The body of S/Ldr Hobbis was never recovered, and his name is recorded on the Runnymede Memorial.

Their names are duly recorded in the Roll of Honour

16/x/43 – Loss of P/O Green & F/Sgt Creek

On 16/x/43, P/O Green and F/Sgt Creek were killed when their aircraft crashed into the River Blackwater near Bradwell Bay.

P/O Green was buried in his hometown of Boston, Lincs on 22/x/43 with members of the Squadron in attendance. The body of F/Sgt Creek was never recovered, and his name is recorded on the Runnymede Memorial.

Their names are duly recorded in the Roll of Honour