OPERATIONS
Further raids followed to Revigny, Revigny again the following night, Sanneville, Wizernes, Kiel, Stuttgart, Bois des Jardins, and finally Stuttgart. Joe flew a total of eighteen operations, one more than his crew.

The crew of Lancaster PB147 PM-C (Charlie) on their last raid on the 28th/29th July 1944 comprised:

Flying Officer Joseph Barker Moss Pilot 32 years Manchester, Lancashire, England

Sergeant Ronald Hardy Flight Engineer 22 years Swansea, Wales

Flight Sergeant Stanley Honour Air-Bomber 23 years Corfe Castle, Dorset, England

Flying Officer Michael Oliver RCAF Navigator 26 years North Vancouver, Canada

Sergeant Neville Bradshaw Wireless Operator 21 years Normanton, Derbyshire, England

Sergeant Clement Osborne Air-Gunner 20 years Murrow, Cambridgeshire, England

Sergeant Arthur Crooke Air-Gunner 20 years Belfast, Northern Ireland

REPORT & RESULT OF RAID ON STUTTGART
Returning from Stuttgart, Elsham Wolds crews reported 10 combats with one fighter claimed as destroyed, two probables and three damaged. Four 103 squadron aircraft failed to return and it was by far and away the worst night for the two squadrons based at Elsham Wolds, as 576 squadron also lost four aircraft. However Bomber Command claimed more victories that night over enemy aircraft than on any other occasion claiming 27 enemy aircraft destroyed, 6 probably destroyed and 12 damaged.

Joe’s aircraft C-Charlie was reported by the Gendarmerie in Charmes as being destroyed at 01:15 hours. From Luftwaffe records we know that at 01:09 Hrs Oblt. Drunkler of l./NJG5 claimed a Lancaster, five kilometres north of Mirecourt, being 16 kms from Charmes, flying in a northeasterly direction and 11 kms from Xaronval where Lancaster C-Charlie crashed.

NJG5 were based at St Dizier from May 1944 to August 1944. St Dizier was a major Luftwaffe airfield, its location well known to Bomber Command and only a short distance from Mirecourt and Xaronval where the C-Charlie crashed. At the time NJG5 were equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine three-man crew night fighter.

Monsieur Roger Witznann the present Sheriff of the Xaronval Community who was very young at the time remembers the night well and recently translation from French reports.

28/29th July was a beautiful night. All the village of Xaronval were woken by a big explosion, followed by a rain of fire of huge dimensions. The local men went for an inspection to find what had happened. An aeroplane had exploded in mid flight and subsequently an open parachute was found near a house. With the Mayor and some firemen, they went into the fields searching for the flyers. One man had fallen near the main road and another with his machine guns was found 30 metres away from the wreckage. The men lay near a forest. The local people and two German soldiers guarded the area. After two days coffins were brought and their bodies placed in the coffins. A chaplain said prayers. 150 people from the village and local area attended. Before the coffins were placed on a truck to be taken to the Cemetery, the German Soldiers fired shots into the air as a salute. There were a lot of flowers. The Mayor and his assistant went with the German soldiers to the English section of the cemetery at Charmes.”

It was reported that there were four airmen in the plane. The French Naissances, Mariages and Deces de L’anne 1944 show entries for Arthur Crooke 20 years of age and Hardey, with two inconnu (unknown). Unfortunately the other members of the crew could not be identified. The graves of Hardey and Crooke were marked along with Osbourne. The remainder of the crew were buried together, next to their companions, with their own individual headstones.

494 Lancasters and two Mosquitoes of 1,3,5, & 8 Groups attacked Stuttgart. German fighters intercepted the Bomber stream while over France on the outward flight. There was a bright Moon and 39 Lancasters were shot down (7.9%). 307 aircraft of Bomber Command also attacked Hamburg as well as 119 aircraft attacking Foret de Nieppe.

The operational record book describes this as a good attack on a difficult target. The three raids on Stuttgart during that week claim to have killed 900 citizens and left 100,000 homeless. Moderate flak was encountered and fighters were very active on route to the target.

Six weeks later on the 16th September the 79th Infantry division of the US Army liberated and stayed over night at Xaronval on its sweep through Europe.

BRITISH MILITARY CEMETERY CHARMES VOSGES FRANCE
The British Military Cemetery is at Essegney five minute drive east from Charmes, on the road to Rambervillers or as the Commonwealth Graves Commission would direct you to Damas-aux-Bois. The cemetery is well kept and contains the graves of mainly WW1 soldiers with many Indian and Chinese soldiers from the sub-continent and the Far East along with the crew of 77 squadron Whitely Bomber which crashed in the area in November 1939 being also buried here.

The Whitley N1364 KN- had taken off on 10th November 1939 from Villeneuve-les-Vertus on Operation Nickel with Frankfurt as the target. The sortie was completed but whilst trying to re- locate Villeneuve the Bomber crashed at Bouxurelles (Vosges) 6 kms SW of Charmes. The crew comprised (Chorley Vol. 1 page 22): -

Squadron Leader J.A.B. Begg

Sergeant R. Walsh

Sergeant C. Thomas

Sergeant H. Taylor

Sergeant H. Laybourne

JOE’S FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES
From letters, we know one of Joe’s mates was F/O Kevin Humphris* RAAF from Melbourne. Kevin was pilot of Lancaster NE 144 of 460 Squadron AR ­F2 flying from Binbrook and shot down in the Baltic on a raid to Stettin. He was able to bail out and spent the rest of the war a prisoner at Stalag Luft Barth Vogelsang. Other survivors were Sgt S. Wild, Sgt G.D. Walsh, and F/O J.B. MacNeill RCAF.

However F/O R.K. Straford DFM is buried at Anhot Cemetery Denmark his body having been washed ashore and Sgt D. Fallon and Sgt P.B. Aviet both air gunners are buried at Falkenburg Forest Cemetery Sweden.

F/O K. Humphris and his crew had flown 17 missions, 10 of which were Special Duties Flights, which were shared with 460 Squadron providing the target markings for 1 Group.

Another of Joe’s & Kevin’s mates was Flight Sergeant Ron L. Jack R.C.A.F., crewmember of Lancaster PB 131 of 115 Squadron based at Witchford. KO-W was shot down on the same raid to Stettin. The crew was: -

F/O N.G. Berkeley Pilot R.C.A.F. Montreal Canada.

Sgt J.K. Sim

Sgt J.F.M. Webber

F/S R.K. Jack R.C.A.F. Canada

Sgt D.C.E. Aspinall

Sgt R.R. Wood

Sgt H.A.N. Yule

W.R. Chorley reports in “Bomber Command Losses” the average age of this crew was 20 years and Sgt D.C.E. Aspinall Air Gunner was 17 years of age and based on his service number joined at the ripe old age 15! These brave boys carried out 10 sorties. All are buried at Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery Poland.

Acknowledgements
I thank and acknowledge particularly the assistance of Mr David Fell, Bradford, England, Bomber Command Historian and the following who have afforded wonderful assistance.

Monsieur Claude Brignatz, Charmes, Vosges, France

Mr Henry Madgwick, the present Mayor of Terrell, Texas and previously No 1 BFTS

Mr W.R. Chorley Bomber Command Losses

Mr Chris Vanhee Luftwaffe researcher Belgium

Mr Wim Goeverts Bomber Command Historian Belgium

The story of No 1 BFTS by Alan Bramson U.K. Chairman No1 BFTS Association

Whilst WR Chorley refers to M.R.F. Harvey as the Navigator, in fact the same person is correctly named as M.R.F. Oliver of Vancouver. Also K. Humphris is referred to as Humpries. The correct spelling of Kevin’s surname is as noted in the text.

Many thanks to Michael Batty for writing this piece about his late uncle and the Batty family for providing the photographs and their co-operation.

Back to part one or back to the crews.