Operation: Nickel

Date: 04/05th March 1943 (Thursday/Friday)

Unit: No. 28 Operational Training Unit (93 Group)

Type: Wellington IC

Serial: Z1109

Code: QN-T

Base: RAF Wymeswold, Leicestershire

Location: Nieuwesluis, Netherlands

Pilot: Fl/Sgt. Charles Carr Atkin AUS/12316 RAAF Age 27. Killed

Obs: Sgt. Clinton E. Gunning 1315314 RAFVR PoW No: 27642 Camp: Stalag Lamsdorf 344

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Gerald Stanley Loveday 1303116 RAFVR PoW No: 27723 Camp: Stalag Lamsdorf 344

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Robert Holden Roskell 1030795 RAFVR PoW No: 27660 Camp: Stalag Lamsdorf 344

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Joseph Anthony Molloy 1621707 RAFVR Age 19. Missing - believed killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off from RAF Wymeswold in Leicestershire at 23:50 hrs on a Nickel operation (propaganda leaflet dropping).

Hit by marine flak units based at Breskens - 3 of the crew managed to bale out of the aircraft from about 5,000 ft and on landing were arrested by German troops and taken first to Oostburg prior to be sent to the PoW camp at Lamsdforf.

The aircraft crashed onto land owned by a Mr. van Hootegem at Nieuwesluis at 01:26 hrs.

Flushing Northern Cemetery (Vlissingen) - Christmas Eve 2018 (courtesy Gerard W. Leppers)

Burial details:

Fl/Sgt. Charles Carr Atkin. Flushing Northern Cemetery (Vlissingen) Row D. Grave 28. Born on the 05th January 1916 at Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, the son of George and Amy Atkin and husband of Jessie Hamilton Atkin, of East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia.

Grave shown right, courtesy Gerard W. Leppers

Above: Runnymede Memorial with panel insert for Sgt. Joseph Molloy.

Sgt. Joseph Anthony Molloy. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 159. Son of Michael and Josephine Molloy, of Bootle, Lancashire, England.

Thanks to Gerard W. Leppers for the map correction. For further details our thanks to the following sources shown below.