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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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Bomber Command Crest
02.12.1943 No. 1664 HCU Halifax V DG282 Fl/Sgt. Gray

Operation: Training

Date: 02nd December 1943

Unit: No. 1664 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU)

Type: Halifax V

Serial: DG282

Code: Not known

Base: RAF Croft, Yorkshire

Location: At the airfield, RAF Croft

Pilot: Fl/Sgt. Peter Ritchie Gray R/140935 RCAF Age 25. Killed (1)

Fl/Eng: Sgt. John Harrison Catto R/97729 RCAF Age 20. Killed

Fl/Eng: Sgt. S. Fletcher 1821944 RAFVR Survived - no injuries (2)

Air/Bmr: F/O. James Arthur Foulston J/25075 RCAF Age 23. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. George Alfred Chilvers 1235580 RAFVR Age 21. Killed (3)

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Henry Benedict Bellew R/202312 RCAF Age 18. Died from injuries

Air/Gnr: Sgt. C.H. Hills R/170146 RCAF Survived - injured

REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off from RAF Croft at 17:40 hrs to take part in take off and landing exercises. During the evening the weather deteriorated and they were instructed to land.

The pilot made one approach to the airfield and then continued with another circuit. During the final approach it is thought that steam from a passing train hampered their vision. It would appear that this severely hampered the crew and that site of the field was lost.

At 21:40 hrs the Halifax touched a haystack, slowing the aircraft dramatically, the aircraft then struck the ground siding to a halt and caught fire. Many attempts were made to rescue the crew, all but two of them were killed.

(1) Gray Lake, northeast of Grandmother Lake was named after Fl/Sgt. Peter Ritchie Gray in 1994.

(2) Sgt. S. Fletcher escaped a similar accident suffering injuries. On return from and operation to Berlin whilst serving with 420 Squadron on Halifax III LM396 after attempting 3 approaches when, on the fourth the aircraft crashed at 05:00 hrs near the runway in poor weather conditions. Two of the crew were killed, the remaining 5 escaped with various degrees of injuries, but survived.

Burial details:

Fl/Sgt. Peter Ritchie Gray. Harrogate Cemetery (Stonefall). Sec. C. Row F. Grave 8. Son of Charles C. Gray and Annabella Bell Gray (née Milne), of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.

Sgt. John Harrison Catto. Harrogate Cemetery (Stonefall). Sec. C. Row F. Grave 7. Son of John William and Jeane Harriett Catto (née Ware), of New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.

Above as described - courtesy Michel Beckers

F/O James Arthur Foulston. Harrogate Cemetery (Stonefall). Sec. C. Row F. Grave 10. Son of Arthur Boyd Foulston and Annie Foulston (née Gray), of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada and husband of Esther Edna Foulston (née Deering), of Medicine Hat.

Sgt George Alfred Chilvers. Great Yarmouth R.C. Cemetery, Caister Road, Norfolk. Next of kin details not available - are you able to assist?

(3) Note: Aircrew Remembered visited his grave in May 2017, although the immediate area was clean, the general condition of the cemetery in particular the graves of servicemen lost was found to be in a very poor state of repair and in some cases inaccessible. We have reported this together with supporting photographs to the CWGC.

Note: They responded within days sending a team to clean the area.

Sgt Henry Benedict Bellew. Harrogate Cemetery (Stonefall). Sec. C. Row F. Grave 13. Son of Benedict Cosgrove Bellew and Rachel Watson Bellew (née Allan), of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to Terry Aldcott for information, crew and grave photographs - May 2017. Other sources as shown below.

KTY 03.05.2017

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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 Captain 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', Andrew Mielnik: Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Polish graves: https://niebieskaeskadra.pl/, PoW Museum Żagań, 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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