Operation: Kiel

Date: 15th/16th September 1944 (Friday/Saturday)

Unit No: 78 Squadron

Type: Halifax III



Serial: LV869 



Code: EY:G



Base: RAF Breighton, Yorkshire



Location: Lost without trace

Pilot: Flt Lt. Nelson Maxwell Harding 39519 RAF Age 24. MiA

Flt Eng: Fg Off. Martin Malcolm Maguire 148856 RAFVR Age 22. MiA

Nav: Fg Off. Kenneth John Nethercott 153298 RAFVR Age 21. MiA

Bomb Aimer: Sgt. Guglielmo Pesticcio 1654156 RAFVR Age 21. MiA

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Charles Sidney Quelch 1600345 RAFVR Age 22 MiA

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. Albert Joseph Coburn 1797997 RAFVR Age 19. MiA

Air Gnr (Rear). Sgt. George Alexander Milne Simpson 1824321 RAFVR Age 19. MiA

Above Flt Lt. Nelson Maxwell Harding

Above: Sgt. George Alexander Milne Simpson (Courtesy of Alan Proctor)

The relative of Sgt. Charles Quelch would very much like to trace his daughter - if anyone can assist please contact us in the first instance and we will forward details.

REASON FOR LOSS:

LV869 took off at 22.25hrs from RAF Breighton to attack Kiel and joined a force made up of 490 aircraft; 310 Lancasters, 173 Halifaxes, and 7 Mosquitos of 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups.

The evidence of returning crews and of photographs caused Bomber Command to record this as 'a highly concentrated raid' with 'the old town and modern shopping centre devastated'.

Above: Strike photo taken over Kiel (courtesy RCAF 6 group)

Just six Kiel raiders were lost. A Pathfinder went down to Flak to the south of Esbjerg, and one or two bombers were shot down by Flak at Sylt. 31 Kiel raiders returned with Flak damage. Only one Flak claim can be traced in the German records. There were no German night-fighter victories this night, although returning bomber crews reported a combat between a bomber and a single engine fighter over the 'Little Belt', in which both aircraft were apparently destroyed. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (24 July 1944 - 15 October 1944) Part 4 - Theo Boiten)

Above: Halifax LV869 EY:G.

Above: Former 78 Squadron pilot Flt Lt. Len Broadhurst DFC shown at the rear of the cockpit of LV869 EY:G, Breighton July 1944.

The nose section including the 'crest' which represents four local pubs, the Bowman, the Swan, the New Inn and the Seven Sisters. The 37 beer glasses signify night operations, the six glasses of milk daylight sorties and the bottle of whisky the 21st operation. After 53 operations LV869 was lost over Kiel on the 15th September 1944. (from the publication ‘Nobody Unprepared’ The history of No.78 Squadron, by Vernon Holland).

Burial Details:

Flt Lt. Nelson Maxwell Harding. Runnymede Memorial Panel 202. Son of Walter James Victor and Florence Victoria (née Faulkner) Harding. Husband of Barbara Grace (née Miles)Harding, of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Fg Off. Malcolm Martin Maguire. Runnymede Runnymede Memorial Panel 207. Son of James Malcolm and Jeannie Maguire, of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.

Fg Off. Kenneth John Nethercott. Runnymede Memorial Panel 208. Son of Walter John and Edith Ada Nethercott, of East Molesey, Surrey, England.

Sgt. Pesticcio Guglielmo. Runnymede Memorial Panel 236. Born in Cardiff, 1923. Son of Italian parents, Raphael and Maria (née D’Amato) Pesticcio of Cardiff, Wales.

Sgt. Charles Sidney Quelch. Runnymede Runnymede Memorial Panel 221. Son of Albert William and Ethel May (née Jenvey) Quelch of Ryde, Isle Of Wight, England.

Charles was married, but we have no details of this. They also had a baby girl at the time of his loss. It seems that his wife later married a Canadian and emigrated at a later date. His father was a S/Sgt, serving in WW1. His mother predeceased him in December 1932 and in 1939 his father married his Aunt Nellie Dorothy Quelch. Nellie was the wife of his father’s brother who was KiA in WW1.

Sgt. Albert Joseph Coburn. Runnymede Runnymede Memorial Panel 227. Son of Christopher and J. Coburn, of Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

Sgt. George Alexander Milne Simpson. Runnymede Memorial Panel 237. Born on the 17th November 1924 in Kintore, Aberdeenshire. Son of George and Jeannie Ann Smith (née Bell) Simpson, of Brechin, Scotland.

Also remembered on the Roll of Honour at the Scottish National War Memorial

Researched by Mike Harrison, for David Peter Quelch (nephew of Sgt. Quelch) and for relatives of the crew. Updated with new loss information by Aircrew Remembered (Mar 2023). Thanks to Alan Proctor for the photograph of his uncle Sgt. Simpson (Mar 2023)

Other sources listed below:

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon
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