Operation: Juvisy-sur-Orge, France

Date: 7th/8th June 1944 (Wednesday/Thursday)

Unit No: 78 Squadron, 4 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Halifax III

Serial: MZ568

Code: EY:E

Base: RAF Breighton, Yorkshire

Location: Between Corbeil-Essonnes and Courances, France

Pilot: Fg Off. John Arthur Cole J25897 RCAF Age 23. KiA

Flt Eng: Sgt. Dennis Balmforth 1591013 RAFVR Age? KiA

Nav: Fg Off. Leonard Gold J26287 RCAF Age 27. KiA

Bomb Aimer: Sgt. George Norman Cribbin 1474210 RAFVR Age 24. KiA

WOp/Air Gnr: Flt Lt. Thomas Neish Watters Bisset 121430 RAFVR Age 24. KiA (1)

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. Harry Tattler 2210154 RAFVR Age 20. KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Terence Newman 2202209 RAFVR Age 19. KiA

Above: Fg Off. John Arthur Cole and Fg Off. Leonard Gold from their Service Records

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the 7th June 1944 16 aircraft from the squadron joined a force of 337 aircraft tasked with attacking the rail communications network at Achères, Juvisy sur Orge, Massey-Palaiseau and Versailles in France.

Of the 11 Halifaxes that were lost 4 were from 78 Sqn:

Halifax III LV868 KY:?, Attacked and badly shot up by a German night fighter. Crashed-landed at RAF West Malling in Kent, (6 KiA, 1 Inj);

Halifax III MZ577 KY:O, Flt Sgt. Maurice McLear R155066 RCAF and four of his crew were KiA, 2 PoWs;

Halifax III MZ636 KY:T, Plt Off. Robert Neil Mills 417883 RAAF and his crew were KiA.

MZ568 was claimed by 1./Flak Abt. 911 and probably exploded in mid-air at 02:00hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (12 May 1944 - 23 July 1944) Part 3 - Theo Boiten).

A photograph of a 78 Sqn Halifax with the Sqn/Aircraft Code of EY:E has been incorrectly associated with 78 Sqn MZ568 EY:E.

The photograph was in fact of Halifax II Series 1A LW263 which had Merlin XX engines, whereas MZ568 was a Halifax III fitted with Bristol Hercules engines.

LW263 EY:E took off at 18:04 hrs on the night of the 29th/30th September 1943 from RAF Breighton on a mission to Bochum. Homebound on regaining the east coast the crew were unable to pin-point their position and after searching for some while crashed into a wooded area on the Foxhill Road near Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire (2 KiA, 1 Inj, 4 Safe).

The wreckage fell between Corbeil-Essonnes, where Fg Off. Gold is buried in the town’s communal cemetery, and Courances a village some 10 km (6¼ mls) away, where the rest lie in the communal cemetery.

(1) Flt Lt. Bissett was the squadron's Signals Leader.

Burial details:

Above: Courances Communal Cemetery. From left to right: Flt Lt. Bisset, Fg Off. Cole, Sgt. Cribbin, Sgt. Tattler, Sgt. Newman, Sgt. Balmforth.

Fg Off. John Arthur Cole. Courances Communal Cemetery, Grave 2. Born on the 16th January 1921 in Edmonton, Alberta. Son of Marcus Franklin and Isabella Rhind Edwards (née French) Cole of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Sgt. Dennis Balmforth. Courances Communal Cemetery, Grave 6. Not further information found.

Fg Off. Leonard Gold. Corbeil Communal Cemetery, Plot 4. Row 10. Grave 1. Born on the 26th May 1917 in Edmonton, Alberta. Son of William and Pauline (née Morgan) Gold. Husband of Margaret Ellinor (née MacLeod) Gold, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Sgt. George Norman Cribbin. Courances Communal Cemetery, Grave 3. Grave Inscription: ‘ETERNAL REST GIVE UNTO HIM, O LORD; AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON HIM’. Born in the 1st Qtr of 1920 in Bucklow, Cheshire. Son of George and Daisy B. (née Chapman) Cribbin. Husband of Elizabeth Girvan (née Leary) Cribbin of Ashton, Preston, Lancashire, England.

Flt Lt. Thomas Neish Watters Bisset. Courances Communal Cemetery, Grave 1. Grave Inscription: ‘SHELTERED BY THE ROCK OF AGES, ANCHORED ON GOD'S HEAVENLY SHORE’. Son of Shepherd and Williamina Bisset, of Cellardyke, Fife, Scotland

Sgt. Harry Tattler. Courances Communal Cemetery, Grave 4. Grave Inscription: ‘HE DID NOT SHUN HIS COUNTRY'S CALL HE GLADLY GAVE HIS LIFE, HIS ALL’. Son of David and Libby Tattler of Bolton, Lancashire, England.

Sgt. Terence Newman. Courances Communal Cemetery, Grave 5. Grave Inscription: ‘A BEAUTIFUL MEMORY A SMILING FACE A BROKEN LINK I CAN NEVER REPLACE. MOTHER’. Son of Charles George and Ivy May (née Peers) Newman of Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, England.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew (Aug 2024).

Other sources listed below:

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