Operation: German Ground Units

Date: 13th April 1941 (Easter Sunday)

Unit No: 211 Squadron

Type: Blenheim I

Serial: L4819

Code: UQ:?

Base: RAF Paramythia, Greece

Location: Trigono, Greece

Pilot: Fg Off. Richard Vivian Herbert 33425 RAF Age 21. KiA

Observer: Wg Cdr. Patric Bernard Coote 26155 RAF Age 31. KiA (1)

WOp/Air Gnr: Flt Sgt. William Neilson Young 755906 RAFVR Age 25. KiA

Above: Fg Off. Richard Vivian Herbert (net)

REASON FOR LOSS:

One of Six Blenheims ordered to attack German troop positions based at Florina, Greece. A disastrous day for the squadron when they were all intercepted by Bf109 fighters of JG27/6 some 30 km from the target - All were shot down.

Blenheim I L1434 Flown by 24 year old Flt Lt. Lindsay Basil Buchanan DFC 40885 RAF of Wellington, New Zealand - killed with all his crew;
Blenheim I L1539 Flown by 22 year old Flt Sgt. Arthur Graham James 522253 RAF of Penarth, Glamorgan, Wales - surviving this attack, but 2 other crew killed;
Blenheim I L8478 Flown by 27 year old Sqn Ldr. Antony Thorburn Irvine MiD. 36090 RAF - killed with all his crew;
Blenheim I L8664 Flown by Fg Off. Charles Edward Vasey Thompson DFC. 77466 RAFVR - killed with all his crew;
Blenheim L8449 Flown by Plt Off. Alan Godfrey DFC. 39820 RAFVR - killed with all his crew.

Blenheim L4819 is understood to have been shot down by Uffz. Fritz Gromotka of 6./JG27 at 16.09 hrs. The aircraft crashed near the village of Trigano, Greece.

Above: Uffz. Fritz Gromotka (courtesy Tom Kracker)

Above: 211 Sqn Blenheim I at RAF Paramythia, Greece

Burial Details:

Above: Phaleron War Cemetery (courtesy Antonelos Athanasios). Full resolution of these photographs are available to relatives/friends - please contact us.

Fg Off. Richard Vivian Herbert. Phaleron War Cemetery. Coll. Grave 4.C.19. Born in 4th Qtr of 1919 in Eton, Buckinghamshire. Son of Air Cdre. Philip Lee William and Gwendoline Hughes (née Hawker) Herbert (deceased in November 1936 January 1937 respectively). Nephew of Col. G.N. and E. Florence Lee Herbert of Theale, Berkshire, England.

His two Brothers also died on active service:

Fg Off. Philip Wynne Herbert 82676 RAF, aged 26, died from injuries at Northallerton on the 26th January 1942 after his Spitfire PR.IV, AA812 of 1 PRU, Coastal Command, hit a snow bank after touching down late and overturned on landing at RAF Topcliffe on the 24th January 1942.

Fg Off. Gerald Bevill Herbert 116456 RAFVR, aged 20, was killed on the 14th February 1943 when his Halifax III DT696 NP:O of 158 Sqn crashed 4 miles NW of Riccall, Yorkshire within 15 minutes of taking off on a raid to Cologne (Kóln).

Wg Cdr. Patric Bernard Coote. Phaleron War Cemetery. Coll. Grave 4.C.19. Born on the 7th January 1910 in Eton, Buckinghamshire. Son of Royal Navy Cmdr. Bernard Trotter Coote, OBE and Grace Harriet (née Robinson) Trotter. Husband to Muriel Elsmie (née Trotter) Coote of Brentford, Middlesex, England.

Wg Cdr. Coote was the RAF Area Commander at the time of death.

Flt Sgt. William Neilson Young. Phaleron War Cemetery. Coll. Grave 4.C.19. Born circa 1916 in Rosyth, Scotland. Son of Ernest C.S. and Catherine J. Young, of Edinburgh, Scotland.

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

Researched by Kelvin Youngs (Webmaster) and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to Antonelos Athanasios for grave photographs. Graham Warner - 'The Bristol Blenheim’. Tom Kracker - 'Kracker Luftwaffe Archives'.

Other sources listed below:

Don Clark's research into 211 Squadron holds a far more comprehensive history of the unit. We encourage you to also visit his website.

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