Flying Officer R E Linklater

Flight Sergeant W J McCollum

Flight Sergeant William John McCollum's file states that he was both intelligent and well-educated, quiet and a deliberate thinker with a sense of responsibility. He was considered officer material and passed to PNB (Pilot, Navigator, Bomb Aimer) standard. However he was very keen to get into aircrew as quickly as possible, and so he volunteered as an air gunner.

Flight Sergeant McCollum arrived in Britain on the 18th December 1942. He trained at 12 AGS, 30 OTU, 1656 HCU and 1 LFS and was posted to 550 Squadron and flew three operations in May 1944 as rear gunner in the crew of Wing Commander K J Newman MBE DFC RAF. Their last operation together was on the 24/25th May 1944 to Aachen when the crew was involved in an inconclusive combat with a night fighter.

Flight Sergeant McCollum was then posted to 576 Squadron joining the crew of Flying Officer R Linklater.

This crew commenced operations on the 2nd July 1944 with a daylight operation to bomb a V1 launching site at Domleger. They flew four more operations and on the 14th July they were detailed to take part in a raid that night on the railway yards at Revigny in France. Flying Lancaster ND994, Flying Officer Linklater and his crew took off from Elsham Wolds at 21:16.

The crew consisted of:

Flying Officer Raymond Edwin Linklater RCAF; Pilot; Born 6th Nov 1920; Hometown - Burnham (Swift Current), Saskatchewan, Canada.

Flying Officer Donald McKenzie MacIntosh RCAF; Air Bomber; Born 23rd July 1919; Hometown - Hamilton, Ontario,Canada; Married - 24th Dec 1942 to Linda RCAF WD.

Flight Sergeant Stanley John Kozlowski RCAF; Navigator; Born 18th Jan 1917; Hometown - Fort William (Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada.

Flight Sergeant George Robert Sims RCAF; Mid Upper Gunner; Born 28th Nov 1910; Hometown - Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Sergeant William Walker Beattie RAFVR; Wireless Operator; Age 20; Hometown - Hylton, Sunderland, Co Durham, England; Parents - William Storey Beattie and Elizabeth Beattie.

Sergeant John Wellington Pringle RAFVR; Flight Engineer; Age 27; Hometown - Hightown, Lancashire, England; Husband of Barbara Pringle.

Flight Sergeant William John McCollum RCAF; Rear Gunner; Born 24th Sept 1922; Hometown - Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Bad visibilty in the target area made it very difficult for the Pathfinders to identify the target visually and, in view of this the Master Bomber decided to abandon the raid just before the main force of bombers arrived.

The bombers flew on without dropping their bombs and at 02:24 hours three short bursts of cannon fire from a night fighter were heard by Rene Demongeot, a young maquisard, hiding in the woods near Vitry-le-Crois. Roland Jeanovoine, standing outside his farmhouse also heard the cannon fire and saw a huge explosion overhead as the Lancaster of Flying Officer Linklater and crew was blown into two pieces. The tail section fell near a small road to the North of Essoyes and the main part of the Lancaster crashed in a corn field several hundred yards away followed by 2 large explosions.

Flight Sergeant McCollum was found dead in the tail section Lancaster. Surprisingly there were no signs of obvious external injury with the exception of a large bruise on his left cheek. The remains of the other 6 members of the crew were found in or in the vicinity of the main section of the wreckage.

The local French inhabitants buried the crew at Loches-sur-Ource. This was a most moving ceremony attended by all villagers and local dignitaries who clearly wished to express their sorrow and gratitude to this brave crew who had fallen in their parish fighting for the liberation of France and the rest of occupied Europe.

We are grateful to Michael McCollum for the photographs and information used in this item. Other details of this raid to Revigny and other raids on the same target soon after can be found in the book "Massacre over the Marne" by Oliver Clutton-Brock.

Flight Sergeant S J Kozlowski

Flying Officer D M MacIntosh

Flight Sergeant G R Sims

The tail section of Lancaster ND 994. This was Flight Sergeant McCollum's position in the aircraft.

The final resting place of Flight Sergeant W J McCollum.

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