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Archive Report: Allied Forces

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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514 Squadron Crest
22/23.04.1944 No. 514 Squadron Lancaster II DS682 JI-N F/O. Maurice L. Morgan-Owen

Operation: Dusseldorf

Date: 22/23rd April 1944 (Saturday/Sunday)

Unit: No. 514 Squadron

Type: Lancaster II

Serial: DS682

Code: JI-N

Base: RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire

Location: North Sea off Netherlands

Pilot: F/O. Maurice Linden Morgan-Owen 151873 RAFVR Age 20. Missing

Fl/Eng: Sgt. ‘Leo’ Henry Sadler 535804 RAF Age 25. Killed

Nav: Fl/Sgt. Alan William Green 1576157 RAFVR Age 23. Missing

Air/Bmr: F/O. George Alexander Jacobson AUS/22102 RAAF Age 27. Missing

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. ‘Sunny’ Ernest Gledhill 1516394 RAFVR Age 22. Missing

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Alfred Douglas Tetley 614774 RAF Age 23. Killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt ‘Bub’ Herbert Stanley Hayward 1151568 RAFVR Age 27. Missing


We are indebted to Tracy Holroyd-Smith for her extensive research into this crew and for granting permission for photographs to be used on this page of remembrance.


REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off from RAF Waterbeach at 22.58 hrs. - part of a 596 force to attack the city of Dusseldorf.

The results of the operation as published by the authorities of Dusseldorf were 56 large industrial premises hit with 7 destroyed with over 2000 domestic dwellings destroyed or badly damaged. Casualties on the ground amounted to 883 killed, 593 injured with many others classed as ‘missing’.

Back row left to right - unknown Airman, F/O. Morgan-Owen, Sgt. Hayward, F/O. Jacobson. Other three Airman are any of the following - Sgt. Tetley, Sgt. Sadler, Fl/Sgt. Green, and Sgt. Barrett. (courtesy Tracy Holroyd-Smith)

The allies lost 29 aircraft - mostly due to Luftwaffe night fighter attacks. Lancaster DS682 has no confirmed claim although many have no details placed against an aircraft on this night. It is possible they were attacked but more likely that they had been hit and damaged by flak. They transmitted an SOS call at 02.56 giving their position as approximately 70 miles off the coast of the Netherlands. (5236N 0351E)

Air sea rescue did attempt to locate the aircraft at first light the following day but no trace could be found. The body of Sgt. Sadler was washed ashore at Nordeney on the 21st June 1944, Sgt. Tetley’s body was washed ashore on the island of Baltrum.

Left to right: F/O. Morgan-Owen, Sgt. Hayward on right, Sgt. Gledhill (courtesy Tracy Holroyd-Smith)

514 Squadron lost 3 aircraft on this operation, the others:
Lancaster II DS669 JI-C Flown by 24 year old P/O. John Douglas Harrison 54541 RAF, from Windsor, Berkshire - killed with all 6 other crew members.
Lancaster 11 DS828 JI-D Flown by 22 year old Fl/Sgt. John Gordon Hudson NZ/41150 RNZAF, from Auckland, New Zealand, killed with all 6 other crew members when they may have collided with DS669 crashing in the target area. All of these crews buried at the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery.
Note: DS682 had previously served with 115 Squadron having entered service in July 1943, the Lancaster was on its first operation with 514 when it was lost. The publication ‘Avro Lancaster - the Definitive Record’, compiled by Harry Holmes, lists this as being damaged on the 5/6th September 1943 after an attack by a Ju88, landing at RAF Ford whilst with 115 squadron. At that time it had recorded 246 hours flying time.

Burial details:

F/O. Maurice Linden Morgan-Owen. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 208. Son of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Morgan-Owen, of Wandsworth Common, London, England. Trained in Canada with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan at No. 5 SFTS - Service Flying Training School.

Sgt. ‘Leo’ Henry Sadler. Sage War Cemetery. Grave 3.D.16. Husband of Joan Sadler, of West Hartlepool, Co. Durham, England. Born on the 21st October 1918 in Brighton, England. One of two brothers and three sisters. Joined the RAF in 1936. Joan was from West Hartlepool, England.

Fl/Sgt. Alan William Green. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 218. Son of William and Minnie Green, husband of Ellen Rose Green, of Quinton, Warwickshire, England.

F/O. George Alexander Jacobson. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 257. Son of Charles and Elizabeth Agnes Jacobson, of Gunalda, Queensland, Australia. Born on 25th March in Gympie, Queensland, Australia, enlisting on the 5th April 1942.

Sgt. ‘Sunny’ Ernest Gledhill. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 230. Son of Arthur V. Gledhill, and of Evelyn Gledhill, of Odsal, Bradford, Yorkshire, England.

Sgt. Alfred Douglas Tetley. Sage War Cemetery. Grave 5.D.6. Son of William Harold and Annie Tetley, of Harrogate, Yorkshire, England. One of three brothers.

Sgt ‘Bub’ Herbert Stanley Hayward. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 231. Son of James Walter and Ethel Hayward, of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England. One of five brothers and four sisters. Had been engaged to a young lady named Mary living in Hunstanton, Norfolk at the time of his loss.

Researched for relatives of Sgt. ‘Bub’ Hayward who the webmaster met at his work in December 2014. For further details our thanks to the following, Tracy Holroyd-Smith - relative of Sgt. Ernest Gledhill, Harry Holmes - ‘Avro Lancaster - the Definitive Record’, Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vol's. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', ‘Bomber Command Database’, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries (Updated 2014 version), 'Paradie Archive'. Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 'Runnymede memorial Database'. Further information from these titles/organisations are available from us, just use the 'help' button on the main page above or 'add info' button also shown on this page.

KTY- 17.05.2017: Updated links for Tracy Holroyd-Smith website

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Acknowledgements
Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and MWO François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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