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Operation: Dortmund, Germany
Date: 15th November 1944 (Wednesday)
Unit No: 115 Squadron, 3 Group, Bomber Command
Type: Lancaster I
Serial: HK595
Code: KO:A
Base: RAF Witchford, Cambridgeshire.
Location: Leverkusen, Germany
Pilot: Sqn Ldr. Hugh Wilfred Castle 122360 RAFVR Age 30. MiA
2nd Pilot: Fg Off. Peter Derek Mullett 153056 RAFVR Age 21. MiA
Flt Eng: Sgt. Graham Mortimer Sampson 1608556 RAFVR Age? MiA
Nav: Flt Sgt. Bernard Collinson 1549496 RAFVR Age 18. MiA
Bomb Aimer: Flt Sgt. Arthur Horace Gribble 1397763 RAFVR Age 32. MiA
WOp/Air Gnr: Plt Off. Felix Milton Burrows 427230 RAAF Age 20. MiA
Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Plt Off. Robert John O'Sullivan 415910 RAAF Age 24. KiA
Air Gnr (Mid Under): Plt Off. Gordon Forbes Dawson J89896 RCAF Age 22. KiA
Air Gnr (Rear): Flt Sgt. Ronald Stuart Stickland 430523 RAAF Age 19. KiA
Above: Sqn Ldr. Hugh Wilfred Castle (courtesy of his son, Geoff Castle)
REASON FOR LOSS:
Took off at 12:41 hrs from RAF Witchford near Ely in Cambridgeshire to attack Dortmund. 177 Lancasters took part in this Gee-H attack on the oil plant in Dortmund which had been classed as very accurate even though the raid took place with thick cloud.
Very unusual crew complement on Lancaster HK595 - normally a 7 man crew this Lancaster had a crew of 9 - made up with an extra Pilot and an extra Air Gunner who operated in the mid-under (belly) gunner position.
Captured German documents record that the aircraft crashed at 15:40 hrs on the junction of Baukampstaße and the railway crossing in the town of Derne about 5¾ km (3½ mls) NE of Dortmund.
However, it has been established that HK595 collided with another Lancaster NN706 in a mid air collision, also from the same squadron. These were the only aircraft lost on this raid. Flt Lt. John William ‘Jack’ Davidson and his crew aboard NN706 KO:B were also lost.
Burial details:
Sqn Ldr. Hugh Wilfred Castle. Runnymede Memorial Panel 200. Son of Henry J. and Alice Elizabeth Castle; husband of Vera F. M. Castle, of Beddington, Surrey. B.Sc. England.
Fg Off. Peter Derek Mullett. Runnymede Memorial Panel 208. Son of George H. and Effie Mullett; husband of Doreen Mary Mullett, of St. Peter's, Jersey, Channel Islands.
Sgt. Graham Mortimer Sampson. Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 4.B.11. No further details as yet - can you assist?
Above: Memorial in Charlton, Malmesbury for Sgt. Graham M. Sampson (Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum (Mark Newton (WMR-23940))
Flt Sgt. Bernard Collinson. Runnymede Memorial Panel 216. Born on the 4th August 1926 in Hull, Yorkshire East Riding. Son of Tom Laythorpe and Florence J. (née Bilton) Collinson of Hull, Yorkshire East Riding, England.
Flt Sgt. Arthur Horace Gribble. Runnymede Memorial Panel 218. Born in London in 1912, the son of Albert Gribble, a fitter, and Marion (née Oxenham) Gribble of 45 Parbury Road, Brockley, London SE23, England.
Plt Off. Felix Milton Burrows. Runnymede Memorial Panel 258. Born on the 24th February 1924 in Freemantle, Western Australia. Son of Frederick William and Mary Maud Burrows, of Mount Lawley, Western Australia.
Plt Off. Robert John O'Sullivan. Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 4.B.9. Grave Inscription: "FOREVER REMEMBERED". Born on the 4th September 1920 in Boulder, Western Australia. Son of John Robert and Jessie Shilla O'sullivan, of Subiaco, Western Australia.
Plt Off. Gordon Forbes Dawson. Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 4.B.10. Grave inscription: "TILL MEMORY FADES AND LIFE DEPARTS YOU LIVE FOR EVER IN OUR HEARTS." Born on the 6th June 1922 in Cookstown, Ontario. Son of Thomas James and Isobel Carolyne (née Forbes) Dawson. Husband Gwendoline Doris (née Joiner) Dawson of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Flt Sgt. Ronald Stuart Stickland. Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 4.B.1. Grave inscription: "HIS DUTY FEARLESSLY AND NOBLY DONE. EVER REMEMBERED." Son of Alfred Bernard and Ethel Stickland, of East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Researched for Geoff Castle the son Sqn Ldr. Hugh Castle and for all the crew's relatives. With thanks to John Hamblin for information on Flt Sgt. Gribble - March 2017. Thanks to John Jones for the correction to the loss of the aircraft (Mar 2022). Thanks to Adrian Felt for notifying Aircrew Remembered about the Memorial in Charlton, Malmesbury for Sgt. Graham M. Sampson (Jun 2022). Reviewed and updated by Aircrew Remembered (Sep 2024)
Other sources below:
RS 08.09.2024 - Reviewed and updated
Original upload details unknown
RS 29.03.2022 - Correction to loss information and NoK details updated.
RS 30.06.2022 - Addition of Memorial to Sgt. Sampson
RS 08.09.2024 - Reviewed and updated
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them. - Laurence
Binyon
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Last Modified: 08 September 2024, 10:39