Operation: Training

Date: 20th April 1942

Unit: No. 58 Squadron 19 Group (motto: Alis nocturnis - On the wings of the night') Coastal Command

Type: Whitley V

Serial: Z9388

Code: GE-W

Base: RAF St. Eval, Cornwall

Location: Celic Sea,

Pilot: Sgt. Kenmir Loudon Mcadam NZ/41485 RNZAF Age 24. Missing - believed killed

Pilot 2: Fl/Sgt Dudley Newlove R/71577 RCAF Age 27. Killed

Obs: Sgt. Archer Thomas George Gough 1375829 RAFVR Age 28. Missing - believed killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Reginald John Harwood 952271 RAFVR Age 24. Missing - believed killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. James Mcclelland 903057 RAFVR Age 22. Missing - believed killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Patrick Joseph Leahy 903435 RAFVR Age 21. Missing - believed killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Crew taking part in a navigation training exercise. Whilst over the Atlantic a message was received at 18:45 hrs that due to an engine failure they were returning to base. As the signal was corrupted their exact position could not be plotted and a signal on a different frequency was sent seeking clarification.

The wireless operator was then told to stand-by while another aircraft was cleared.

No further contact could be made and despite a search by 10 aircraft the following day no trace of the aircraft or crew could be found. The approximate area of the loss was 120 miles south of the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse.

The body of Fl/Sgt. Dudley Newlove was later recovered off the coast and then taken to Bantry House, where his body was laid in state until his funeral on the 29th May.

Today a plaque is on display at Bantry House, County Cork, Ireland to the crew.

Burial details:

Sgt. Kenmir Loudon Mcadam. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 117. Born on the 06th February 1916 at Dunedin, the son of Charles Loudon McAdam and Mabel Maud McAdam (née Coats), of Mornington, Dunedin, New Zealand. Prior to service worked for Otago Building and Investment Company as an assistant secretary. 267 flying hours logged with 124 on the Whitley. He had completed 9 operational sorties.

Fl/Sgt. Dudley Newlove. Bantry Abbey Cemetery. Prot. Section. Son of William J. and Olive B. Newlove, of Islington, Ontario, Canada. Grave inscription: 'Dudley, Beloved Only Son Of W. & O. Newlove, Islington, Ontario. Until The Day Break'.

Sgt. Archer Thomas George Gough. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 117. Born in Lewisham, Kent, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick A. Gough (née Cooper), of Biggin Hill, Kent, England.

Sgt. Reginald John Harwood. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 85. Son of Edward H. and Amy C. Harwood, of Tyseley, Birmingham, England.

Sgt. James Mcclelland. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 88. Son of Robert and Catherine Shaw Brodie McClelland, of Hendon, Middlesex, England.

Sgt. Patrick Joseph Leahy. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 87. Son of John and Edith Florence Leahy, of Bermondsey and husband of Yvonne Leahy, of Bermondsey, London, England.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to Jenifer Lemaire and the research by Errol Martyn and his publications: “For Your Tomorrow Vols. 1-3”, Auckland Library Heritage Collection, Weekly News of New Zealand, other sources as quoted below:

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