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Archive Report: 1914 - 1918
Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
78
78 Squadron Halifax III MZ311 Fl/Lt. Charles Maurice Howes

Operation: 'Gardening' Cinnamon

Date: 25/26th August 1944 (Friday/Saturday)

Unit: No. 78 Squadron (motto: Nemo non paratus - 'Nobody unprepared')

Type: Halifax III

Serial: MZ311

Code: EY-M

Base: RAF Breighton, Yorkshire

Location: Cleeve, Gloucestershire

Pilot: Fl/Lt. Charles Maurice Howes J/25977 RCAF Age 22. Killed

Fl/Eng Fl/Sgt. John McArdle 1684019 RAFVR Age 23. Killed

Nav: F/O. Elton Eugene Freeman 28223 RCAF Age 29, Killed

Air/Bmr: F/O. George William McCartney J/28883 RCAF Age 32. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Emmanuel Henry Harris 1423759 RAFVR Age 20. Killed

Air/Gnr: F/O. John Alexander Glenn J/36021 RCAF Age 19. Killed

Air/Gnr: P/O. Hugh Brannan Hamilton J/89908 RCAF Age 21. Killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

On their 25th operational sortie, the crew took off at 20:36 hrs with five others on a 'Gardening' operation off La Rochellein the Bay of Biscay area.

The others:

MZ764 Flown by Sq/Ldr. Jack Norton Kentish J/40543 RCAF. Four Mk.IV 'vegetables (each weighing 680 kg with 340 kg charge) dropped from 6,000 ft at 00:01 hrs and returned to base at 03:17 hrs.

MZ320 Flown by F/O. W. Brookes. our Mk.IV 'vegetables dropped from 8,000 ft at 00:05 hrs and returned to base at 02:56 hrs.

MZ774 Flown by F/O. J. Carson. Four Mk.IV 'vegetables dropped from 8,000 ft at 23:59 hrs and returned to base at 02:16 hrs.

MZ841 Flown by Sq/Ldr. Francis Hurley J/22662. RCAF. Four Mk.IV 'vegetables dropped from 8,000 ft at 00:03 hrs and returned to base at 02:56 hrs.

MZ310 Flown byF/O. W. Donley RAFVR. Four Mk.IV 'vegetables dropped from 8,000 ft at 00:02 hrs and returned to base at 03:01 hrs.

All aircraft reported that the weather was clear with good visibility. over the target area.

Above L-R: Fl/Lt. Howes, Fl/Sgt. McArdle, F/O. Freeman, F/O. McCartney, Sgt. Harris, F/O. Glenn and F/O. Hamilton

On the return journey, the Halifax crashed at 02:20 hrs into a grass bank at the edge of a quarry on a hill about 1,000 ft. High. At the time, the top of the hill was covered by low stratus cloud, but it is not thought that this cloud was general. The aircraft approached the hill from the North. From the appearance of the engines (the reduction gear casing on at least three engines had sheared, it would appear that they were running normally. The Navigator's log shows an entry at 02.03 hrs and he seemed to know his position. The aircraft was then flying North North East according to the log. The Wireless Operator's log is completed up to 02;10 hrs. No mention is made in either log of any trouble.

It is considered that the aircraft was flying level at the time of the crash. From the Navigator's logo boo,k they appear to have been heading for RAF Pershore aerodrome and as this place was covered by cloud, they seem to have been doing an erratic descent and to have crashed into high ground.

Remarks by Group Commander (Charles Roderick Carr, AVM)

'The cause of the accident remains obscure. It is noticed that all the petrol tank balance cocks were in the 'On' position. Thus, if all engines were being run off one tank and this ran dry, a cutting of the engines would have resulted'.

Remarks by Station Commander (A/Cdre. Harold Vivian Satterly - shown left)

'Owing to the limited evidence, ay suggestion of the cause of the accident must be surmised. The crew was above average, and it seems most unlikely that they attempted to break the low cloud without some reason. It may have been engine failure, but the absence of distress signals makes this seem unlikely, although the fact that the Flight Engineer's log finishes at 00.58 may have some significance. Similarly, the apparent error in the Navigator's log (not included in the report) is difficult to explain unless one assumes the crew were in difficulty. To sum up, I consider the cause of the accident must inevitably remain obscure'.

Cleeve Common Trust has erected a memorial to the crew members of MZ311. The memorial was unveiled on the 07th December 2022 by Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller KBE, President of the Royal Air Forces Association Cheltenham Branch and High Sheriff of Gloucestershire.

Right: Sir Dusty Miller KBE (Courtesy Richard Goude)

Sir Dusty Miller commented:

“With the end of World War II almost in sight, a fact unknowable at the time, these 7 young men, among countless other crews, bravely took to the air into the teeth of enemy flak and night fighters as they had done so very many times in the preceding months.

Having completed their hazardous mission off the west coast of France they returned towards the safety and comfort of their home base of RAF Breighton in Yorkshire, yet some unknown occurrence caused them to perish in a crash high up on the escarpment of Cleeve Common.

The courage of these men, alongside their contemporaries, to launch repeatedly into the night knowing full well that the odds against their survival were very high, is simply astonishing by any measure, which makes their loss in this way even more tragic.

We owe our freedom today to their unflinching courage and, ultimately, their sacrifice, and a chief role of the Royal Air Forces Association is to ensure that we and others proudly and thankfully remember them, as we do today.”

Colonel Philip Robson, Chairman of Cleeve Common Trust, noted:

“The reason for the crash will remain a mystery, but identification of the crash site from eyewitness accounts and the fragment we found mean that we can now commemorate this tragic event as an important part of Cleeve Common’s history.”

The memorial is located not far from the trig point and topography at the summit of the escarpment, about 75 yards off the Cotswold Way long-distance footpath.

Burial details:

The Canadian crew were buried at 11:00 hrs on the 30th August . The two English crew members were claimed by their families.

Fl/Lt. Charles Maurice Howes. Brookwood Military Cemetery. Grave 43.G.1. Born on the 10th September 1921 in Folkestone, England. Enlisted on the 17th March 1942. Living since he was 4 years old with Grandmother Mary Lee at 50 Leonard Street, Stanford, Connecticut, USA.
Son of Charles Thomas (died February 1946, age 48) and Bertha Winifred Howes, (née Lee - died 11th January 1964, age 68) of 156 Rishford Lane, Cheriton, Folkestone, husband of Rosemary Howes (née McNally married on the 15th September 1942 in the USA), formally of Cross Keys Hotel, Bubworth, Yorkshire, England, later of 568 Fairfield Avenue, Stamford, Connecticut, USA. Father of Maureen Frances Howes. Brother of Gordon Howell serving in the British Army in Palestine. Epitaph: 'We Loved Him Yes, No Tongue Can Tell How Deep, How Dearly And How Well. At Rest'.

Fl/Sgt. John McArdle. Liverpool Cemetery (Allerton) Sec.8.Gen. Grave 709. Son of John (died 1983, age 86), and Adelaide McArdle (née Winterbottom - died 1983, age 86), of Liverpool. Husband of Jean Ella McArdle (née Winterbottom), of Aigburth, Liverpool, England.

F/O. Elton Eugene Freeman. Brookwood Military Cemetery. Grave 43.E.6. Born on the 03rd April 1915 in Battrum, Saskatchewan, Canada. Enlisted on the 04th June 1942. Son of Eugene Ellis Freeman (died 13th December 1967, age 78) and Bada Christine Freeman (née Anderson - died 30th March 1981, age 86), of Fosterton, Saskatchewan, Canada.Brother of Donald Allan, Dorothy Onitam, Geraldine May, Irene Winnie. Freeman Bay, Saskatchewan. Epitaph: 'To Live In The Hearts Of Those We Leave Behind Is Not To Die. We Sadly Miss You'.

F/O. George William McCartney. Brookwood Military Cemetery. Grave 43.E.2. Born on the 11th April l912 in Galloway, Scotland. Enlisted on the 02nd April 1940. Son of William Murdoch (died 1982, age 96) and Janet McCartney (née Gibson - died March 1924, age 50) of Clairville, Kent, New Brunswick, Canada Brother of Marion Taylor Little (died 08th December 2002, age 90), George William, Jean (died in 1915 age 18 months).

Sgt. Emmanuel Henry Harris. Blaenavon Cemetery. Sec. B. Grave 794. Born in Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales. Son of Samuel and Beatrice Harris of Blaenavon and husband of Mary Selina Harris also of Blaenavon. Epitaph: 'Hearts That Loved You Never Forget. Loving Wife'.

F/O. John Alexander Glenn. Brookwood Military Cemetery. Grave 43.E.9. Born on the 12th March 1925 in Gloucestershire, England. Son of Alexander and Nora Glenn, (née Runtler) of 80 Gladstone Street, Ferris, Ontario, Canada. Brother of Kenneth, Douglas, David, Billie and Elfie. Margaret. Epitaph: 'He Died For Us'.

P/O. Hugh Brannan Hamilton . Brookwood Military Cemetery. Grave 43.E.8. Born on the 11th December 1922 in Hayward, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Enlisted on the 23rd October 1942 in Saskatoon. Son of James and Janet Hamilton (née Brennan), of North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada, brother of James.

Hamilton Bay, Saskatchewan renamed after P/O. Hamilton.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to Simon at the RAF Commands Forum, Canadian WW2 service files, Paradie RCAF Archives, National Archives Kew, AIR-27-551-5/16.

KTY 24-06-2024

Acknowledgements: Sources used by us in compiling WW1 material include: Dunnigan, James F. (2003). How to Make War: A Comprehensive Guide to Modern Warfare in the Twenty-first Century. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-060090-12-8.Durkota, Allen; Darcey, Thomas; Kulikov, Victor (1995). The Imperial Russian Air Service: Famous Pilots and Aircraft of World War I. Mountain View: Flying Machines Press. ISBN 978-0-060090-12-8.Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell (1993). Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918. Oxford: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-73-1.Franks, Norman (2005). Sopwith Pup Aces of World War I. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-841768-86-1.Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell; Alegi, Gregory (1997). Above the War Fronts: The British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914–1918. Oxford: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-898697-56-5.Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank W. (1992). Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918. Oxford: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-54-0.Guttman, Jon (2009). Pusher Aces of World War 1. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-846034-17-6.Guttman, Jon (2001). Spad VII Aces of World War I: Volume 39 of Aircraft of the Aces. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-841762-22-7.Kulikov, Victor (2013). Russian Aces of World War 1: Aircraft of the Aces. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-780960-61-6.Newton, Dennis (1996). Australian Air Aces: Australian Fighter Pilots in Combat. Motorbooks International. ISBN 978-1-875671-25-0.Pieters, Walter M. (1998). Above Flanders Fields: A Complete Record of the Belgian Fighter Pilots and Their Units During the Great War. Oxford: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-898697-83-1.Shores, Christopher (2001). British and Empire Aces of World War I. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-377-4.Shores, Christopher; Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell (1990). Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. Oxford: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-19-9.Shores, Christopher; Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell (1996). Above the Trenches Supplement: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces. Oxford: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-898697-39-8., Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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