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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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9 squadron badge
13/14.06.1940 No. 9 Squadron Wellington IA L7787 WS-J Sgt. Hewitt

Operation: Pont-de-L'Arche

Date: 13/14th June 1940 (Thursday/Friday)

Unit: No. 9 Squadron

Type: Wellington IA

Serial: L7787

Code: WS-J

Base: RAF Honington, Suffolk

Location: Drosay, Seine Maritime, France.

Pilot: Sgt. Robert Hewitt 521236 RAF Age 24. Killed

Pilot 2: Sgt. Frank Richard Edwards 741487 RAFVR Age 21. Killed

Obs: Sgt. Leonard Wingate Routledge 580737 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Frederick Donald Hardy 624501 RAF Age 19. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Selwyn Frederick Youngson 632041 RAF Age 22. Killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Cecil Bertram Kircher 513103 RAF Age 27. Killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Detailed to join 163 aircraft made up with 65 Wellingtons, 64 Hampdens, 34 Whitleys to bomb various communication targets in Northern France.

No details on why the Wellington crashed but it was the only loss from the bomber force.

                     

                       

Above and left crew graves at Drosay Churchyard as photographed by our Kate Tame during her visit in 2012. We would be delighted to provide relatives with higher resoltion images of the graves.

Burial details:

Sgt. Robert Hewitt. Drosay Churchyard. Coll. Grave 5-6. Son of Robert Hewitt and of Jane Parker Hewitt (nee Harvey), of Glasgow; husband of Helen Annie Hewitt, of Glasgow, Scotland.

Sgt. Frank Richard Edwards. Drosay Churchyard. Coll. Grave 5-6. Son of Edward Richard and Ada Gertrude Edwards, of Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England.

Sgt. Leonard Wingate Routledge. Drosay Churchyard. Coll. Grave 5-6. Son of Herbert Bird Routledge and Gladys Elisabeth Routledge, of Wembley, Middlesex, England.

Sgt. Frederick Donald Hardy. Drosay Churchyard. Coll. Grave 5-6. Son of Thomas Patrick and Florence Jeannette Hardy, of Nazeing, Essex, England.

Sgt. Selwyn Frederick Youngson. Drosay Churchyard. Coll. Grave 5-6. Son of Fred and Helen Youngson, of Inverness, Scotland.

Sgt. Cecil Bertram Kircher. Drosay Churchyard. Coll. Grave 5-6. Son of Bertram and Maud Kircher, husband of Stella Helene Kircher, of Didcot, Berkshire, England.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses' Vol. 1, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vol's. 1 and  2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Tom Kracker - 'Kracker Luftwaffe Archives'. 

Pages of Outstanding Interest
History Airborne Forces •  Soviet Night Witches •  Bomber Command Memories •  Abbreviations •  Gardening Codenames
CWGC: Your Relative's Grave Explained •  USA Flygirls •  Axis Awards Descriptions •  'Lack Of Moral Fibre'
Concept of Colonial Discrimination  •  Unauthorised First Long Range Mustang Attack
RAAF Bomb Aimer Evades with Maquis •  SOE Heroine Nancy Wake •  Fane: Motor Racing PRU Legend
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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