Operation: Anti-submarine mission in the Mozambique Channel

Date: 20th August 1944 (Sunday)

Unit No: 265 Squadron, 246 Wing, Air HQ East Africa Command

Type: Catalina IB

Serial: FP104

Code: H

Base: RAF Diego Suarez (Antsiranana), Madagascar

Location: Mozambique Channel, between Madagascar and Mozambique

Crew:

Captain: Flt Lt. William Stewart ‘Jock’ Lough 128494 RAFVR Age 27. MiA (1)

1st Pilot: Flt Lt. Reggie Arthur Willis 124642 RAFVR Age 21. MiA (2)

Nav: Fg Off. George Richard Chaffe 135923 RAFVR Age 21. MiA

Flt Eng: Flt Sgt. Surtees Elliott AFM, 566707 RAF Age 26. MiA (3)

WOp/Air Gnr: Flt Sgt. Maurice Samuel Popple 1213871 RAFVR Age 22. MiA

WOp/Air Gnr: Flt Sgt. Ronald Reuben Baines 1313689 RAFVR Age 23. MiA (4)

WOp/Air Gnr: Flt Sgt. Frederick William Albert Bickmore 1332155 RAFVR Age 23. MiA

WOp/Air Gnr: Flt Sgt. Cuthbert Glynn 1435171 RAFVR Age 22. MiA

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Francis Charles Anderson Dow 1071501 RAFVR Age 23. MiA

Passengers:

Fg Off. John Henry Lawson Watkins 143668 RAFVR Age 26. MiA

Cpl. Paul Raymond Marie Hodoul 791109 RAFVR Age? MiA

LAC. Arthur Halstead 1508931 RAFVR Age 35. MiA

LAC. Joseph Albert Willoughby Stratham 1008387 RAFVR Age 28. MiA

REASON FOR LOSS:

The handwritten crew manifest in the 256 Sqn Operational Record Book (ORB) for FP104 for this operation appears to have been derived from earlier crew manifests for Flt Lt. Lough. However, although Flt Sgt. J. Norton was on Flt Lt. Lough’s crew for previous operations he was not posted Missing in Action (MiA) on this day. Additionally Fg Off. Chaffe, although not listed in the crew manifest he was a navigator on the Sqn and was posted as MiA this day.

Note: Analysis of the ORB has found that Flt Sgt. J. Norton was on operations on the 23rd August 1944.

The four (4) passengers, three (3) of whom were believed to groundcrew, were to have been delivered after the operation as reinforcements to Pamanzi, an island of Mayotte Island group some 272 miles (439 km) due east of RAF Diego Suarez (Antsiranana).

Fg Off. Watkins was listed as either 1st or 2nd Pilot on earlier operations with different crews. In the absence of a definitive manifest of the crew and passengers for FP104 it is possible that he and Fg Off. Chaffe were both actually aboard as crew.

At 17:20 hrs Catalina IB AH548 flown by Fg Off. Clarence Ernest Robin DFC J12571 RCAF, received a code message to undertake a Square Search for FP104 in an area to the NW running south to the west of Comoros Islands

The search was commenced at 18:37 hrs at the datum 11.30S 43.00E, about 19 miles (30 km) west of the Comoros Islands. At position 12.14S 43.15E, about 53 miles (85 km) to the SSE of their starting point, the aircraft came off patrol and after sending an ETA alighted at Pamanzi at 23:15 hrs. No sign of FP104 or survivors was found.

It was later established that FP104 had caught the German Submarine U-862 on the surface in the Mozambique Channel and attacked it. The Catalina was hit by fire from the submarine’s anti-aircraft guns and flew over the submarine and crashed into the sea some 50 yards away and exploded. None of the aircraft’s nine (9) crew and four (4) passengers survived and U-862 escaped unharmed.

The complete story of the circumstance of the loss of FP104 and that of Flt Sgt. Elliot AFC can be found in Ref 1, pp 186-205.

(1) Willliam’s brother, Writer Harry Nelson Lough C/MX69586, from HMS Dragon, Royal Navy (RN) died on the 3rd November 1942 in unknown circumstances. He was buried in this hometown at the Eyemouth Cemetery in Section G East, Grave 34.

Note: The RN rating of Writer was responsible for administrative tasks, including handling pay and personnel records.

(2) Reggie’s brother, Private Horace James Willis S/133969 of the 14th Detail Issue Depot, Royal Army Service Corps (DID RASC) was listed as having died between the 26th April and 27th April 1941. He is remembered on the Athen Memorial, Face 9.

(3) As a Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Flt Sgt. Elliot was awarded the Air Force Medal (AFM) whilst with 8 Squadron which was promulgated in the London Gazette on the 24th September 1941.

Above: The first Vicker Vincent delivered to 8 Sqn (Courtesy of IBCC Digital Archive, accessed July 20, 2026)

The following extract from Ref 1, p 193. described the incident that led to the award of his AFM:

‘On 15 January, 1941, Elliott was detailed to fly as the crewman in Vincent K4716 on a routine flight carrying spares to a detached flight in the Hadhramout region of the Aden Protectorate. Lashed to the starboard wing was a spare wheel being delivered to an Army unit. The air was very turbulent, the lashing on the wheel worked loose and the tyre was forced up by the slipstream against the hot exhaust of the aircraft. The tyre was set alight and molten rubber was blown against the fabric fuselage sides and the wing. Elliott immediately saw the danger and attempted to climb on to the wing. He was hindered by his parachute which he was forced to remove. Once on the wing he pulled the wheel clear of the exhaust and attempted to re-secure it to the wing strut. With a very precarious hold, this difficult operation took him over thirty minutes. The severe turbulence merely compounded the problem. Eventually he managed to lash the wheel down and return to the safety of his cockpit before the pilot made an emergency landing. Some weeks later it was announced that Leading Aircraftman Surtees Elliott had been awarded the Air Force Medal for his gallantry’.

The citation reads:

‘On his own initiative and without hesitation he climbed on to the wing to secure the wheel. He undoubtedly saved the aircraft from catching fire and the crew from serious injury’.

(4) Holmer Green Airman Missing

Above: Clipping courtesy of the Bucks Free Press, dated 1st September 1944

Burial Details:

Crew:

Above: The Alamein Memorial which forms the entrance to the Alamein War Cemetery (Courtesy of the CWGC)

Flt Lt. William Stewart Lough. Alamein Memorial, Column 279. Born circa 1917 in Eyemouth, Berwickshire, Scotland. Son of Harry Nelson (deceased in January 1929) and Margaret (née Stewart) Lough of Eyemouth, Berwickshire, Scotland.

Flt Lt. Reggie Arthur Willis. Alamein Memorial, Column 279. Birth registered in the 4th Qtr of 1922 in Islington, Greater London. Son of William Ewart and Barbara May (née Truelove) Willis of Haverhill, Suffolk, England.

Fg Off. George Richard Chaffe. Alamein Memorial, Column 279. Birth registered in the 1st Qtr of 1923 in Maidenhead, Berkshire. Son of George Eden and Gladys Annie (née Ackerman) Chaffe of Brentford and Chiswick, Middlesex, England.

Flt Sgt. Surtees Elliott, AFC. Alamein Memorial, Column 279. Birth registered in the 1st Qtr of 1918 in Northumberland. Son of Ralph Hann and Lilian (née Swan) Elliott of Castletown, County Durham, England.

Flt Sgt. Maurice Samuel Popple. Alamein Memorial, Column 280. Born on the 22nd January 1922 in Lambeth, London. Son of William Joseph and Dorothy Annie (née Coates) Popple of Wembley, Middlesex, England.

Flt Sgt. Ronald Reuben Baines. Alamein Memorial, Column 279. Born on the 17th April 1921 in Holmer Green, Buckinghamshire. Son of Ernest Edward and Mabel Edith (née Tucker) Baines of Holmer Green, Buckinghamshire, England.

Flt Sgt. Frederick William Albert Bickmore. Alamein Memorial, Column 279. Born on the 17th October 1920 in Walthamstow, Waltham Forest, Greater London. Son of Frederick Ernest and Rose Alice (née Wilton) Bickmore of Walthamstow, Waltham Forest, Greater London, England.

Flt Sgt. Cuthbert Glynn. Alamein Memorial, Column 279. Birth Registered in the 4th Qtr of 1922 in Fylde, Lancashire. Son of Cuthbert and Kathleen ‘Kitty’ (née Richardson) Glynn of Cleveleys, Lancashire, England.

Sgt. Francis Charles Anderson Dow. Alamein Memorial, Column 279. Born circa 1921 in St. Andrew, Edinburgh. Son of Francis James and Elizabeth (née Anderson) Dow of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Passengers:

Fg Off. John Henry Lawson Watkins. Alamein Memorial, Column 279. Birth Registered in the 2nd Qtr of 1918 in Leominster, Shropshire. Son of John Lewis Prothero and Annie Jane (née Morgan) Watkins of Leominster, Herefordshire, England.

Cpl. Paul Raymond Marie Hodoul. Alamein Memorial, Column 281. No on-line information found about this airman.

LAC. Arthur Halstead. Alamein Memorial, Column 282. Born on the 8th January 1909 in Halifax, Yorkshire West Riding. Son of Benjamin and Sarah Eliza (née Duxbury) Halstead. Husband of S. Halstead of Greetland, Yorkshire, England.

LAC. Joseph Albert Willoughby Stratham. Alamein Memorial, Column 282. Son of Joseph and Florence Emily Statham. Husband of Dorothy Statham of Erdington, Birmingham, England.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the crew, passengers and their families (Jul 2026).

Other sources listed below:

References:

1. "Men Behind The Medals" by Air Commadore Graham Pitchfork, Chapter 11 - Gallant Wing Walker - Surtees Elliott: ISBN 1 84415 007 0.

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