Operation: Stettin, Germany. (Seaport)

Date: 29/30th August 1944 (Tuesday/Wednesday)

Unit: No. 300 Squadron (Polish)

Type: Lancaster I

Serial: ED327

Coded: BH-R

Location: Baltic Sea

Pilot: P/O. Harry Lupton 179649 RAFVR Age 21. Killed

Fl/Eng: Sgt. John Bryce Hamilton 1825268 RAFVR Age ? Killed

Nav: Fl/Sgt. Kenneth James Jewell 1401468 RAFVR Age 21. Killed

Air/Bmr: Sgt. Donald John Kelsall Baron 1389866 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: W/O. Frederick William White AUS/410758 RAAF Age 28. Killed

Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgt. Ivor Charles Vaughan 1389416 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Stanley Sutton Barnett 1584724 RAFVR Age 20. Killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

ED327 took off at 21:15 hrs from RAF Faldingworth, Lincolnshire.

It is assumed that it crashed in the Baltic - Sgt. Donald Baron is buried at the Falkenberg Forest Cemetery whilst the other crew members have no known grave - they are commemorated at the Runnymede Memorial.

One of three 300 squadron lost on this 403 strong Lancaster force:

Lancaster I LL947 BH-W Flown by F/O. D.I.C. Jones RAFVR - interned in Sweden with all his crew.
Lancaster I PA163 BH-M Flown by Fl/Lt. Wacław Piotr Wasik P-0840 PAF Evaded capture, remaining 6 Polish crew killed. (Fl/Lt. Wasik died on the 31st October 2000 in California, USA)

Earlier, by an hour, 189 Lancasters also attacked - but their target was Königsberg. Very strict radar silence was enforced and aircraft were instructed to fly at a low level of below 2,000 ft for much of the North Sea crossing.

This foiled the German Night Fighters of any early warning and it wasn't until 23:15 hrs when the Königsberg force were already 25 miles over Denmark were the first plots of this force transmitted to the German Night Fighters.

38 Aircraft from these two attacks were lost - 23 from the Stettin raid and 15 from the Königsberg attack. The Lancaster force shot down 5 x Ju88 G-1's and 2 x Bf110 G4's in the combat area.

Russell Faille's parents met Sgt. Harry Lupton and a fellow airmen whist they were undertaking flying training in Montreal, Canada in 1941. Harry and his colleague were invited to the Faille family home in Massachusetts. After their week long stay Harry gave them a photograph of himself and thanked them for their kindness.

(credit: Russell Faille)

Sgt. Lupton was promoted to the rank of acting Pilot Officer on probation (Emergency) on the 14 July 1944.

Burial Details:

P/O. Harry Lupton. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 211. Son of Arthur and Mabel Constance, of Dewsbury, Yorkshire, England.

Sgt. John Bryce Hamilton. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 230. Son of George and Isabella Clelland, of Kirkmuirhill, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Fl/Sgt. Kenneth James Jewell. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 219. Son of Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Jewell, of Lipson, Plymouth, England.

W/O. Frederick William White. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 259. Son of John Thomas and Florence May, husband of Freda, of Pensby, Cheshire, England.

Fl/Sgt. Ivor Charles Vaughan. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 223. Son of Rees Henry and Anne, of Ilford, Essex, England.

Sgt. Stanley Sutton Barnett. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 224. Son of E.W.T. and Emily Mary, of Silverdale, Staffordshire, England.

Sgt. Donald John Kelsall Baron. Falkenberg Forest Cemetery Sec. III. 105. Son of Dr. Alfred Edward and Constance Evelyn, of Hampstead, London, England.

Photo of memorial kindly supplied by Faldingworth memorial website. Thanks to Russell Faille for kindly providing the photograph of Sgt. Lupton.