Operation: Training

Date: 30th December 1942 (Wednesday)

Unit No: 131 Operational Training Unit (131 (C) OTU), Coastal Command

Type: Catalina IB

Serial: FP239

Code: J

Base: RAF Killadeas, Lower Lough Erne, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

Location: Reaghan Hill, Omagh

1st Pilot: Sgt. John Samuel Orr 978191 RAFVR Age 21. Killed

2nd Pilot: Sgt. Frederick Herbert Hilling 1222870 RAF Age 22. Killed

Nav B: Fg Off. Robert Mercer Adams J11950 RCAF Age 20. Killed

Flt Eng: Sgt. George Wilson Lowther 6240 RAAF Age 25. Killed (1)

Flight Mech Eng/Air Gnr: Sgt. John Edward Slade 1233795 RAFVR Age 20. Killed

Flight Mech Air/Air Gnr: Sgt. Daniel Ward Yates 1058083 RAFVR Age 21. Killed

WOp Mech/Air Gnr: Sgt. Arthur Horton Perkins 1132720 RAFVR Age 28. Killed

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. William Nichol 1026077 RAFVR Age 21. Killed

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Charles Bernard Ridge 1198310 RAFVR Age 21. Killed

Signals Inst: Fg Off. Matthew James Hall Newman 49003 RAF Age 25. Killed

Sig Eng Inst: LAC Leslie Greenhalgh 1137149 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

The aircraft took-off from RAF Killadeas on a daylight operational flying exercise.

The weather conditions deteriorated earlier and more severely than forecast with a cloud base at ETA was however 600 ft, with a visibility of 5 to 6 miles and a diversion was not ordered.

The aircraft obtained homing bearings from local High Frequency (HF) Direction Finder (DF) Station but continued on course flew into a hillside 25 miles NE of base while in cloud or greatly reduced visibility.

The aircraft crashed some 6 miles north of Omagh, at between 400 to 500 ft in a snowstorm at 17:16 hrs. The aircraft was badly smashed up and burnt with the wreckage spread over an area of 150 by 30 yards.

The initial findings could determine whether there was a technical failure as a contributory factor because of the damaged state of the aircraft.

(1) George Wilson Lowther was quick to join-up when War in Europe was declared in September 1939. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force thinking that his education, work and experience would make the RAAF a good choice. His sister, Betty, my mother, recalled

“On the day War in Europe was declared I was outside on the verandah of our Ashgrove (Brisbane, Australia) home and someone was shouting out what sounded like, ‘the water’s off, the water’s off’, which was not unusual to hear when the water was frequently turned off in the street to allow work to be carried out. But it wasn’t. What they were saying was, ‘the war’s on, the war’s on. Soon after that he came home and told us his plans. He was 22 years old".

George was sent to Richmond in New South Wales and to Point Cook in Victoria to do his initial training. And then, shortly afterwards, shipped off to England to the War in Europe. It would be another two years before Australia would be under direct threat of the War in the Pacific.

He had only very little time to come home and make his farewells. When he did, he brought his service rifle and taught his sister how to shoot a row of targets set up in the back garden of the family home. "My shoulder was sore for a week", she recalled, "from the recoil of the rifle". But she hit the targets!

Like many others, George felt a sense of family duty and adventure in the camaraderie of joining up and going to faraway places. He’d heard a lot about them from his father, a ship’s engineer from Yorkshire, who’d travelled the world, and from his mother from Manchester.

In England he was eventually posted to a Royal Air Force Operational Training Unit (OTU 131), part of Group Coastal Command based at RAF Killadeas on Lough Erne, County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland which was equipped with PBY Catalina aircraft.

The unit flew the Donegal Corridor that linked Lough Erne with the Atlantic Ocean.

George’s letters back home said he was hoping to get a transfer to the new theatre of war that had started in the Pacific.

Burial details:

Sgt. John Samuel Orr. Irvinestown Church of Ireland Churchyard, Plot 1. Grave 17. Grave inscription: "THOSE WHO LOVED HIM WILL NEVER FORGET". Born on the 13th March 1921 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Son of Samuel and Evelyn May (née Copping) Orr of Armagh, Northern Ireland.

Sgt. Frederick Herbert Hilling. Coltishall Churchyard (St. John the Baptist), Grave inscription: "HE IS LIVING YET IN THE HEARTS OF THOSE THAT NEVER FORGET". Born on the 30th October 1920 in Coltishall, Norfolk . Son of Herbert Harry and Florence Ellen (née Herwin) Hilling of Coltishall, Norfolk, England.

Fg Off. Robert Mercer Adams. Irvinestown Church of Ireland Churchyard, Plot 1. Grave 19. Grave inscription: "A LOVING SON AND BROTHER. "UNTIL THE DAY BREAK AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY". Born on the 2nd April 1922 in Ontario. Son of Robert Medd and Seaborn Christine (née Robertson) Adams of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Sgt. George Wilson Lowther. Irvinestown Church of Ireland Churchyard, Plot 1. Grave 18. Grave inscription: "HE WAS ONE OF NATURE'S GENTLEMEN". Born on the 27th September 1917 in Townsville, Queensland. Son of George and Elizabeth Lowther of Ashgrove, Queensland, Australia.

Sgt. John Edward Slade. Streatham Park Cemetery, Square 27A. Grave 43350. Grave inscription: "OUR DEAR BROTHER ALWAYS IN OUR THOUGHTS FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS". Born on the 21st February 1922 in Bermondsey, Surrey. Son of George William and Bessie (née Stone) Slade of Walsall, Staffordshire, England.

Sgt. Daniel Ward Yates. York Cemetery. Section D. Grave 26.9292. Grave inscription: "TOO DEARLY LOVED TO BE FORGOTTEN. DAD AND MAM, SISTERS AND BROTHER". Born in the 4th Qtr 1921 in York, Yorkshire. Son of Daniel Oscar and Minnie (née Hobson) Yates of York, England

Sgt. Arthur Horton Perkins. Liverpool Cemetery (West Derby). Sec. B. C. of E. Grave 20. Grave inscription: "THEY WALK THE GOLDEN SHORES IN PEACE SUPREME". Born on the 21st February 1914 in Liverpool, Lancashire. Son of Arthur and Margaret Tyrice-Tullis (née Wattling) Perkins of West Derby. Husband of Phyllis (née Baker) Perkins of West Derby, Liverpool, England.

Sgt. William Nichol. Longbenton Cemetery (Benton), Sec. D. Row 11. Grave 34. Grave inscription: "IN PROUD AND LOVING MEMORY OF BILLY. "GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN". Son of Henry and Isabella (née Jameson) Nichol of Forest Hall, Tyneside, England.

Sgt. Charles Bernard Ridge. Solihull, Cemetery, Sec. B.2. North. Grave 381. Born on the 2nd July 1921 in Birmingham, West Midlands. Son of William Henry and Emily May (née Hughes) Ridge of Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

Fg Off. Matthew James Hall Newman. Irvinestown Church Of Ireland Churchyard, Plot 1. Grave 20. Grave inscription: "EVER REMEMBERED BY HIS MOTHER, BROTHERS AND SISTERS". Born in the 4th Qtr 1917 in Uxbridge, Middlesex. Son of Albert Hall and of Margaret (née Waddell) Newman of Wokingham, Berkshire, England.

LAC. Leslie Greenhalgh. Leigh Cemetery. Sec 27. Grave F.11. Born on the 29th October 1920 in Leigh, Lancashire. Son of George and Janet (née Bibby) Greenhalgh of Leigh, Lancashire, England.

Researched by Allan Lowther Porter, relative of flight engineer, Sgt. George Wilson Lowther who contacted us in December 2017. Page dedicated to the relatives of this crew. Thanks also to David Newman who contacted us with photograph of his Uncle, Fg Off. Matthew Newman (Apr 2018). Reviewed and updated by Aircrew Remembered (Nov 2025)

Other sources listed below:

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon
All site material (except as noted elsewhere) is owned or managed by Aircrew Remembered and should not be used without prior permission.
© Aircrew Remembered 2012 - 2026 Last Modified: 05 November 2025, 16:49