Operation: Gardening, Gironde Estuary

Date: 17th/18th February 1943 (Wednesday/Thursday)

Unit No: 214 (FMS) Squadron, 3 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Stirling I

Serial: R9163

Code: BU:C

Base: RAF Chedbugh, Suffolk

Location: Near Alton, Hampshire

Pilot: Plt Off. John Reginald Rundle 414346 RNZAF Age 24. KiA (1)

Flt Eng: Sgt. Harold George Claridge RAFVR Age 21. Safe

Nav: Sgt. James Chute Chalmers 413772 RNZAF Age 20. Safe (2)

Bomb Aimer: Sgt. L.G. Wright RAFVR Safe

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. T.J. Wilson RAFVR Safe

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. John Ernest Flack 1322023 RAFVR Age 21. Safe (3)

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. H.A. Wilson RAFVR Safe

Above: Sgt. James Chute Chalmers

REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off on a Gardening operation to the Gironde Estuary in south western France. The crew located the target and were then engaged by a night fighter after they had dropped other air mines. Although the Stirling was damaged the New Zealand pilot managed to return to England.

Above: 214 (FMS) Squadron Stirling I BF382

Over Portsmouth they were mistaken for a Luftwaffe aircraft and then fired on by Allied anti-aircraft unit, suffering further damage.

By now they were running very low on fuel and decided to head to Odiham field. But some 10 miles short of the airfield the engines cut out and the pilot ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft.

All the crew abandoned safely but tragically the pilot struck one of the propellers during the bale out, killing him. His body discovered in the woods near Four Marks village.

(1) John Reginald Rundle worked as a carpenter for NZR Workshops in Adlington prior to enlisting in the RNZAF on the 27th July 1941.

He had flown a total of 413 flying hours logged with 56 on the Stirling. This was his 3rd operation.

(2) Sgt. Chalmers was the navigator aboard Stirling III R9358 BU:A which on the 9th/10th March 1943 at 20:39 hrs was taking-off on an operation to München when the Port undercarriage failed to retract and the aircraft clipped a tree and then a house. Sgt Chalmers escaped but was injured.

The pilot, Flt Sgt. Delbert Cecil Moore R75862 RCAF and Sgt. Hamish Wilson 412914 RNZAF were awarded the George Medal (GM) for rescuing Sgt. Flack from the wreckage (London Gazette 13th July 1943).

Citation reads:

‘One evening in March, 1943, Flight Sergeant Moore and Sergeant Wilson were captain and rear gunner, respectively, of an aircraft "which crashed into a house soon after taking off, burst into flames and was completely wrecked. Most of the crew, although badly burned or injured, managed to escape through holes torn in the fuselage. Flight Sergeant Moore emerged from the pilot's escape hatch, went to the rear of the aircraft, and re-entered the wreckage, which was now a raging inferno with bullets exploding; high explosive bombs were also carried.' He found the mid-upper gunner trapped and unconscious against the main-spar, with his feet resting on the roof and his head on the floor. Calling for help, Flight Sergeant Moore was immediately joined by Sergeant Wilson, who was badly cut about the head, and together they entered the blazing bomber and succeeded in extricating their unconscious comrade, Sergeant Wilson sustaining burns about his face and body in the process. Although almost completely exhausted, the two airmen carried the mid-upper gunner across a wire fence and over a deep ditch to a small enclosure sufficiently far from the aircraft to be comparatively safe. Sergeant Wilson then set out across the ploughed fields in search of help while Flight Sergeant Moore, who was suffering intensely from burns, remained to encourage and sustain his injured crew’.

Plt Off. Chalmers was posted MiA on the 6th June 1944 when his 88 Sqn Boston IIIA BZ243 RH:N laying a smoke screen for the invading allied armies when their aircraft was hit by Flak.

The pilot 21 year old, Plt Off. Alan John Boyle 179549 RAFVR also listed as missing whilst the body of the WOp/Air Gnr 21 year old, Plt Off. Alan Toulson Gardner 179601 RAFVR was recovered and buried.

(3) Warrant Officer (WO) Flack was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) whilst with 214 (FMS) Sqn which was promulgated in the London Gazette on the 12th December 1944.

Burial details:

Plt Off. John Reginald Rundle. Brookwood Military Cemetery, Grave 2.E.1A. Born on the 5th September 1918 in Christchurch. Son of William and Eileen Josephine (née Stack) Rundle of Reefton, Nelson. Husband of Nelly Rundle of St. Andrews, Canterbury, New Zealand.

Researched by Kelvin Youngs (Webmaster) and dedicated to the relatives of this pilot with thanks to Jenifer Lemaire and to the extensive research by Errol Martyn and his publications: “For Your Tomorrow Vols. 1-3”, Auckland Library Heritage Collection, Weekly News of New Zealand (Jan 2020). Reviewed and updated by Aircrew Remembered (Aug 2026).

Other sources listed below:

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