Operation: Gardening - Kiel Bay
Date: 16th/17th August 1944 (Wednesday/Thursday)
Unit: 433 (Porcupine) Squadron, RCAF
Type: Halifax III
Serial: MZ808
Code: BM:P
Base: RAF Skipton-on-Swale
Location: Langøre island of Fyn
Pilot: Flt Lt. John Archibald Wynn Morgan J25000 RCAF Age 22. Killed. (1)
Flt Eng: Sgt. Robert Faulkner Young 753314 RAFVR Age 32. Killed
Nav: Fg Off. George Henry Gill J26553 RCAF Age? PoW No: 5284 *
Bomb Aimer: Fg Off. Jacques Oliver Clerc J28197 RCAF Age 27. Killed (2)
WOp/Air Gnr: Flt Sgt. Courtney Raymond Stewart R90507 RCAF Age 25. Killed
Air Gnr (Mid App): Flt Sgt. John Winning Moffat R206348 RCAF Age 21. Killed
Air Gnr (Rear): Fg Off. Philippe Edward Marchildon J28723 RCAF Age? PoW No: 7741 **
* Stalag Luft 1 Barth-Vogelsang, today situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
** Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland. (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser, Bavaria)
Above left to right: Flt Lt. Morgan, Fg Off. Clerc, Flt Sgt. Moffat (from their Service Files)
REASON FOR LOSS
Took off at 21:27 hrs from RAF Skipton-on-Swale to lay mines in Kiel Bay (Quinces/Radishes Region).
When outbound flying at 4400 metres height, the Halifax was attacked by a night fighter piloted by Oblt. Herbert Koch and his Bordfunker, Ofw. Seufert aboard Ju88 G-1 D5+EH from 1./NJG3, his 8th Abschuss and the first of two this night. The crew managed to bail out of the stricken Halifax before it caught fire and exploded in the air and crashing at Langøre between the island of Fyn and Helnæs at 23:52 hrs.
Oblt. Herbert Koch survived the war as an ace with 17 confirmed victories. Lived in Waldbröl joining the post-war Luftwaffe in the 1950’s flying transport aircraft.
Crew of MZ808 (courtesy of RCAF 6 Group) Back row in no certain order: Sgt R. Young, Flt Sgt. Stewart , Flt Sgt. Moffat and 4th from left Fg Off. Marchildon. Front Row L to R: Fg Off. Clerc, Flt Lt. Morgan, Fg Off. Gill . Right: Monument at crash site (courtesy of Airwar over Denmark, Søren Flensted)
Around 01:00 hrs people living in the area of Sønderby Klint heard shouts for help from the sea and a motorboat was launched to try to rescue the crew. It found Fg Off. George H. Gill and Fg Off. Philippe R. Marchildon, 1 km off the farm “Strandlyst” and took them to the hospital in Assens.In the morning two bodies was found washed ashore near Saltofte and two were found on the beach a little south of “Strandlyst” farm. They were all found to be wearing an inflated Mae West and three of them had managed to release their parachute after landing in the sea. The four bodies were during the afternoon taken to Sønderby cemetery and buried in a common grave without coffins by the Wehrmacht.
(2) Cleric Lake in Ontario was renamed after Fg Off. Jacques Oliver Clerc
Burial Details:
Above: Sønderby (Assens) Churchyard (credit: Commonwealth Car Graves Commission)
Above: Memorial Plaque
Above: Dedication ceremony - date unknown
Flt Lt. John Archibald Wynn Morgan. Sønderby (Assens) Churchyard. Coll. grave 174. Born on the 7th June 1921 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Son of Archibald John Daniel and Florence (née Gardner) Morgan of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Promoted to acting Flt Lt. with effect 10th August 1944.
Sgt. Robert Faulkner Young. Sønderby (Assens) Churchyard. Coll. grave 174. Son of John Faulkner Young, and of Edith Mary Young, of Colchester, Essex, England.
F/O. Jacques Oliver Clerc. Sønderby (Assens) Churchyard. Coll. grave 174. Born on the 15th February 1917 in Geneva, Switzerland. Son of Charles and Andree (née Berthoud) Clerc from Zurich, Switzerland. Both his parents predeceased him..
Professor at University of Saskatchewan.
Plt Off. Courtney Raymond Stewart. Sønderby (Assens) Churchyard. Coll. grave 174. Born on the 20th August 1917 in North Bay, Ontario. Son of Samual George and Alice Maria (née James) Stewart. Husband of Cpl. Enda Stewart 61 RCAF Base, Topcliffe, York, England.
Commissioned and promoted to Plt Off. (J88141) with effect 21st July 1944
Flt Sgt. John Winning Moffat. Sønderby (Assens) Churchyard. Coll. grave 174. Born on the 24th March 1918 in Hamilton, Scotland. Son of John Winning and Elizabeth Kergan (née Stewart) Moffat of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His father predeceased him in Scotland in October 1919.
Researched by Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the family of the crew. Thanks to John Jones for the Service Nos. for Fg Off. Gill and Fg Off. Marchildon (Aug 2021). Extensive update by Aircrew Remembered (Aug 2021). With thanks to sources already quoted and to those shown below.
RS 26.08.2021 - Extensive update
Original upload details unknown
KTY 01.08.2015 Page updated
RS 26.08.2021 - Extensive update
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them. - Laurence
Binyon
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