Operation: Somain, France.

Date: 30 April /1st May 1944 (Sunday/Monday)

Unit No: 420 (Snowy Owl) Squadron, RCAF, 6 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Halifax II “Jumpin Jupiter”

Serial: LW476

Code: PT:J

Base: RAF Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire.

Location: English Channel, Nr. Somme Bay, France.

Pilot: Flt Lt. Edward Northern DFC, J14566 RCAF Age 26. MiA (1)

Flt Eng: Sgt. Lloyd Stuart Franklin R156578 RCAF Age 26. MiA (2)

Nav: Fg.Off. Frederick William Morrison J14802 RCAF Age 27. KiA (3)

Nav (B): WO1. Nicholas 'Nick' Venber R122455 RCAF Age 24. MiA (4)

WOp/Air Gnr: Fg Off. Alfred Henry Benbow Hall J16011 RCAF Age 28. KiA (5)

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. William 'Billy' Harold Young R253881 RCAF Age 19. MiA (6)

Air Gnr (Rear): Flt Sgt. Charles Henry Lines 175601 RAFVR Age 22. MiA (7)

Above: Flt Lt. Edward Northern DFC, Fg Off. Frederick William Morrison, Flt Sgt. Charles Henry Lines from their Service Records

REASON FOR LOSS:

Nine No.6 Group RCAF squadrons provided 114 Halifaxes which, together with a Pathfinder force consisting of 20 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos, took off to bomb the rail yards at Somain, south-east of Lille. Inaccurate target marking by the Pathfinders and confusion over the commands from the Master Bomber resulted in a scattered attack with most of the 1,196,000 lbs of bombs missing their target and falling in the surrounding countryside.

Took off at 21:15 hrs from RAF Tholthorpe. The lone aircraft to be lost on the mission was the Snowy Owls Halifax LW476 flown by Flt Lt. Edward Northern which crashed into the sea off the French coast.

There are no German fighter or Flak claims listed for LW476, however, it is possible that they may have been damaged by a Night-fighter engagement or by Flak and the damage was the cause of the loss off the French coast

(1) This was to be Flt Lt. Northern's last sortie to complete his tour and had just been awarded his DFC.

The award of Flt Lt. Northern’s DFC was awarded with effect the 30th April 1944 and promulgated in the London Gazette on the 21st December 1945.

Citation: “This officer has completed as pilot and deputy flight commander many successful operations against the enemy in the course of which he has invariably displayed high skill, fortitude and devotion to duty."

(2) For the family of Sgt. Franklin, from the small fishing village of Port Stanley on the north shore of Lake Erie, it was a double tragedy as their oldest son Harold had been lost on operations two years earlier.

His brother, Flt Sgt. Harold Franklin R68080 RCAF, was posted MiA along with his crew whilst with 10 squadron flying on Halifax II W1044 ZA:D during an operation on the Tirpitz on the night of the 30/31st March 1942. In memory of the brothers Franklin Lake was named after them.

Franklin Lake in Kenora, northern Ontario is named after Sgt. Franklin and his brother.

(3) The body of Fg Off. Morrison was washed ashore on the 1st June 1944 at Cayeux and buried on the 2nd June 1944.

(4) Of Polish/ Russian descent Nick had an older sister Seena. Upon graduating from John Shaw High School he worked as a clerk for MacKenzie, White & Dunsmuir Ltd. Nick was very active in sports playing lacrosse, softball and basketball.

Promotions:

Aircraftman Class 2 (AC2) – 21st August 1941;
Leading Aircraftman (LAC) - 29th December 1941;
Sergeant (Sgt) – 9th May 1942;
Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) – 9th November 1942;
Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2) – 9th May 1943;
Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) – 9th November 1943.

Postings:

No.3 Manning Depot Edmonton, Alberta - 21st August 1941;
No.15 Service Flying Training School, Claresholme, Alberta - 26th September 1941;
No.4 Initial Training School, Edmonton - 27th October 1941;
No.2 Air Observers School, Edmonton - 21st December 1941;
No.8 Bombing and Gunnery School, Lethbridge, Alberta - 29th March 1942;
No.1 Air Navigation School, Rivers, Manitoba - 10th May 1942;
No.1 "Y" Depot, Halifax, Nova Scotia - 22nd June 1942;
Embarked for the UK - 20th July 1942;
Disembarked UK - 30th July 1942;
No.3 Personnel Reception Centre, Bournemouth - 30th July 1942;
No.10 Observers Advanced Flying Unit, RAF Dumfries, Scotland - 7th August 1942;
No.22 Operational Training Unit, RAF Wellesbourne Mountford - 1st September 1942;
No. 420 Squadron RAF Tholthorpe - 24th January 1943;
No.427 Squadron RAF Croft - 17th April 1943;
No.434 Squadron RAF Tholthorpe - 15th June 1943;
No.420 Squadron RAF Tholthorpe - 20th December 1943

(5) Fg Off. Hall’s body was washed ashore near Le Hourdell

He had completed his second tour and volunteered to go on this mission to be with other members of his crew who had yet to complete their tour.

Fg Off. Hall’s brother, 27 year old Clement William Hall R74348 RCAF was KiA along with his crew two years earlier whilst with 12 OTU flying Wellington III BJ730 on an operation over Essen.

(6) He enlisted in the RCAF ten days after turning his nineteenth birthday. He was working on the assembly line at Northern Electric at the time after previously working as a delivery boy and a repairman since leaving St. Ann's School in Montreal. Awarded Air Gunners Brevet on the 15th October 1943.

Promotions:

Aircraftman Class 2 (AC2) – 26th May 1943;
Leading Aircraftman (LAC) – 4th September 1943;
Sergeant (Sgt) – 15th October 1943.

Postings:

No.2 Manning Depot Brandon, Manitoba - 26th May 1943;
No.4 Wireless School, Guelph, Ontario – 28th June 1943;
No.1 Air Gunners Ground Training School, Quebec City, Quebec – 23rd July 1943;
No.9 Bombing and Gunnery School, Mt. Joli, Quebec – 4th September 1943;
No.1 "Y" Depot, Halifax, Nova Scotia - 29th October 1943;
Embarked for the UK – 1st November 1943;Disembarked UK - 9th November 1943;
No.3 Personnel Reception Centre, Bournemouth - 10th November 1943;
No.1659 Conversion Unit RAF Topcliffe - 9th December 1943;
No. 420 Squadron RAF Tholthorpe – 9th January 1944.

(7) The following is an extract from a report by Flt Lt. Laronde from 5 Section No1 MREU dated 2nd July 1947 :

No RAF casualty is buried in coastal cemeteries in the Pas de Calais under the name of Plt Off. C.H. Lines and it must be presumed he is buried as unknown.

Our report Ops.8/XF1907/Air dated 20th March 1947 reports the exhumation of two airmen washed ashore and buried the 8th May 1944 in Berck Cemetery. Found in the new extension to the Military Plot in grave 5 from the right was a Sgt WOp. It is possible that owing to the to scattered state of the clothing a hole in the sleeve for a Flt Sgt. Crown could have been missed. It would appear likely that this grave is that of Plt Off. Lines. Found in grave 4 was a Sgt. Air Gunner. A check of physical features may well reveal that this is the grave of R253881 Sgt. W.H. Young.

Our Ops.8/XF1939/Air dated 25th March 1947 refers to an airman wearing an Officer’s shirt washed ashore on 8th June 1944 and was buried in Merlimont Cemetery. A German unknown list state this was a Flt Sgt.

Our Ops.8/XF1858/Air dated 15th March 1947 likewise refers to an airman possibly washed ashore on 5th May 1944 and buried at Le Touquet. The RCAF may wish to check the tooth chart against other missing members of the crew.

Charles was working as an apprentice carriage and wagon fitter in 1939.

Burial Details:

Flt Lt. Edward Northern DFC. Runnymede Memorial, Panel 244. Born on the 7th December 1917 in Sheffield, England. Son of John William and Theresa (née Womack) Northern of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Northern Lake in the Yukon is named after Flt Lt. Northern.

Sgt. Lloyd Stuart Franklin. Runnymede Memorial, Panel 255. Born on the 8th November 1917 in Ashtabula, Ohio, USA. Son of Stuart Foster and Jennie Leella (née Kier) Franklin of Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada.

Fg Off. Frederick William Morrison. Cayeux-sur-Mer Communal Cemetery, Plot 2 Row A Grave 1. Born on the 1st December 1916 in Delia, Alberta. Son of Alexander (deceased) and Maria (née Hepburn) Morrison of Delia, Alberta, Canada.

Plt Off. Nicholas ‘Nick’ Venber. Runnymede Memorial, Panel 253. Born on the 22nd August 1919 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Son of Nicholas and Vera Venber of Nanaimo British Columbia, Canada.

Sgt. Venbar was posthumously appointed to a commission and promoted to J85634 Plt Off. with effect 16th December 1943. (Notification 22nd May 1944)

Fg Off. Alfred Henry Benbow Hall. St. Valery-sur-Somme Communal Cemetery, Grave 895A. Born on the 1st June 1913 in Ottawa, Ontario. Son of Clement Alfred and Effie Dean (née Benbow) Hall of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Husband of Chrissie (née Hay) Hall of Ottawa, Canada.

Plt Off. William 'Billy' Harold Young. Runnymede Memorial, Panel 253. Born on the 12th May 1924 in Montreal, Quebec. Son of William John and Vera (née Simpson) Young of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Sgt. Young was posthumously appointed to a commission and promoted to J87328 Plt Off. Effective 29th April 1944.

Above: Plt Off. William 'Billy' Harold Young (credit: Kathryn Young)

Plt Off. Charles Henry Lines. Runnymede Memorial, Panel 211. Born on the 17th April 1923 in Derby, Nottinghamshire. Son of Richard Henry (deceased in Jan 1937) and Florence Amelia (née Coy) (deceased in Jan 1943) Lines of Derby, England. His bother Raymond Lines aged just 18 lost his mother, father and brother.


Researched by Colin Bamford for Aircrew Remembered - dedicated to the relatives of the crew. With thanks to Ian Raven, Executive Director of The Elgin Military Museum, St. Thomas, Ontario for his assistance in the preparation of this article. Thanks to Kathryn Young, the niece of Plt Off. Young for his obituary notice (Aug 2011). Crew photographs added (Feb 2020). Thanks to John Jones for the MREU report information (July 2020). Reviewed, reorganised and updated with new Next of Kin information by Aircrew Remembered (Apr 2025).

Other sources listed below:

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