Operation: Hanover, Germany

Date: 25th/26th July 1941 (Friday/Saturday)

Unit No: 10 Squadron

Type: Whitley V

Serial: T4231

Code: ZA:A

Base: RAF Leeming, Yorkshire

Location: Koersel, Belgium

Pilot: Plt Off. William McNaughton Spiers MiD. 87666 RAF Age 24. KiA (1)

2nd Pilot: Sgt. Wilfred Puttick 929723 RAFVR Age 27. KiA (2)

Navigator: Plt Off. Harry Joseph Daniels 68738 RAF Age 24. KiA (3)

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Cyril Webster Fitzmaurice Durham Eisenhuth Lawson 535558 RAF Age 23. KiA (4)

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Douglas Bernard Beverley 1150773 RAFVR Age 19. KiA (5)

Above, thought to be some of the crew from the aircraft, we know that Sgt. Beverley is 2nd from the left, are you able to identify the others? It is suspected that Harry Daniels is 3rd from left with Cyril Lawson on extreme right. (courtesy Simon Beverley)

Page placed in the hope that someone has further photographs of the crew - local villagers honour them every year and would like to place one during their commemorations.

Updates: Relatives of Sgt. Cyril Lawson contacted us in July 2016. Close friend of P/O. Harry Daniels contacted us in September 2016. The son of Sgt. Douglas Beverley contacted us in October 2016.

Relative of second pilot, Sgt Wilfred Puttick contacted us in July 2017 and very kindly sponsored the page in his memory.

REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off at 22:28 Hrs from RAF Leeming in Yorkshire - total force of 30 Hampdens and 25 Whitleys taking part on an operation to bomb Hanover.

Bombing results from this operation were not reported and we have no record of the damage inflicted. The allies lost some 7 aircraft with 22 aircrew killed, 6 taken PoW.

10 Squadron lost two aircraft in this operation:

Whitley V Z6624 ZA:O Flown by 26 year old Sqn Ldr. Peter Wellwood Fortune Landale DFC 70379 RAFVR from Dumfries in Scotland. Shot down over the North Sea by Oblt. Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weisenfeld of 4./NJG1 at 03:23 hrs - all 5 crew MiA.

Oblt. Egmont Prinze zur Lippe-Weissenfeld - went on to claim a total of 49 abschüsse. He was killed on the Sunday,12th March 1944 along with his crew in the Belgium Ardennes during a transit flight in poor weather conditions.

T4231 was claimed by Fw. Reinhard Kollack of 1./NJG1, his 2nd abschuss of the war at 04:22 hrs over Koersel.

Fw. Kollack, survived the war with a total of 49 Abschüsse. On the 6th February 1980 he died at the age of 65

(1) Plt Off. Spiers managed to escape a previous crash upon returning from an operation to Kiel, in Whitley T4202 ZA-N on the 19th March 1941 - his pilot at the time was killed, the remaining 4 crew escaped injury.

Plt Off. Spiers was Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) which was promulgated in the London Gazette on the 24th September 1941.

His brother Plt Off. John Reynolds Spiers 88038 RAF was also killed during service. On the 21st February 1941 whilst serving with 16 Operational Training Unit (OTU) Anson I R3331 made a forced landing at Cotton Hall Farm in Denbighshire, the pilot, Plt Off. Robert James Dufty 86635 RAF lost his life along with the other two crew who were Wireless Operator under training and instructor respectively; Sgt. Robert Williams 922895 RAFVR and Sgt. John Rennie King 944474 RAFVR.

(2) Sgt. Puttick.

Above: as described, on right photo with his family Sgt Puttick is on extreme right (courtesy Myra E. Dover - née Puttick)

(3) Plt Off. Harry Joseph Daniels had been commended for Gallantry but we have no details of this.

Plt Off. Daniels was engaged at the time to the mother of Marcus Watson who supplied these details:

"My mother was engaged to Harry at the time of his death. In fact, she was staying in the area of RAF Leeming at that time. Both Harry and my mother were from Coventry. I believe Harry's younger brother Gordon may still live in the same family home on Leamington Road, south of Coventry. My mother and Harry were both keen swimmers. Harry was a strong swimmer and rugby player. When Harry didn't return my mother fled back to Coventry. She had already been through the Coventry blitz so must have been deeply affected by events. My mother never knew what happened to Harry, until I found his grave in the War Memorial Grave web site. She believed he had been lost over the sea. Unfortunately, she died in 2011, so I will not be able to show her the pictures of Harry's funeral and how well his grave and the other crew members graves are respected by the local community."

Marcus contacted us again in January 2017 and sent these details:

“My mother (Esme Mildred Veronica Hutchinson) was engaged to Harry at the time of his death. In fact, she was staying in the area of RAF Leeming at that time. Both Harry and my mother were from Coventry. I believe Harry's younger brother Gordon may still live in the same family home on Leamington Road, south of Coventry. My mother and Harry were both keen swimmers. Harry was a strong swimmer and rugby player. When Harry didn't return my mother fled back to Coventry. She had already been through the Coventry blitz so must have been deeply affected by events. My mother never knew what happened to Harry, until I found his grave in the War Memorial Grave web site. She believed he had been lost over the sea. Unfortunately, she died in 2011, so I will not be able to show her the pictures of Harry's funeral and how well his grave and the other crew members graves are respected by the local community.”

“Esme Mildred Veronica Hutchinson: Born April 1921 and died April 2011. She was the only child of Howard (Dick) and Rose Hutchinson. They ran a grocers business on the corner of Walsgrave and Marlborough Rd. They also owned several properties in the area and I believe Gordon Daniels rented one of them for his Opticians business. I did manage to talk with Gordon a couple of times over the phone after my mother had died. We were planning on meeting. I was going to bring one of my sisters along with me as Gordon remembered them from their visits to Walsgrave Rd. (My grandparents remained there until about 1960 when they retired to Norfolk). Unfortunately, the moment passed and we never did."
"When I spoke with Gordon, it was he who mentioned that my Mother was staying near RAF Leeming, where Harry was stationed. My mother was a very keen swimmer and diver which I assume is how she got to know Harry. She kept several photographs of Harry (2 formal in uniform) as well as some newspaper clippings of Harry’s sporting prowess, including an autograph book containing a few things written by Harry. The most personal item she kept was a ring (I believe the intended wedding ring). She wore it as well as her own wedding ring.”

Mr. Neal Snell also wrote to us in October 2016:

"I visited his grave just last week. Academically Harry was a very talented individual graduating at Birmingham University and he also excelled at swimming and rugby represented Birmingham University and his county with it appears even more potential to come. According to his brother Douglas Percy (now deceased) he had a premonition that 'he wasn't going to come back' which sadly proved to be accurate and all on their very 1st raid although I have no way of confirming this."

(4) Cyril Webster Fitzmaurice Durham Eisenhuth Lawson enlisted with the RAF in 1936 and spent three years as a cadet at Cranwell, the school for RAF officers. He re-mustered as an aircraftman in 1939 to get into active service, and since then has made many flights over enemy territory. At the outbreak of war he was stationed with the Coastal Command and was later transferred to the Bomber Command at his own request that he might see more action.

Born in Toronto and educated at Brantford and Toronto schools. Attended both Oakwood and Harbord Collegiates. Survived by his widow, Joyce Netherton of Cornwall, England, his mother, two brothers, William B, and Malcolm of Toronto and four sisters, Mrs. D. Leslie Black, Prince Arthur, Mrs. James Stewart Innes, Toronto, Miss Eva C., Brantford, and Mrs. Everett H. Pettit, Montreal, Canada. His father H. J. E. Lawson, is dead.

(5) Sgt. Douglas Bernard Beverley

The following images depict the funeral service given to the crew of Whitley V Z6624 ZA:O

We were contacted by Rudy Volders who sent us a link to an article published on Monday, 29th July 2024 describing the inaugurated a plaque in the town of Beringen commemorating Whitley V, T4231.

The article is in Dutch and the following is a translation of the narrative:

Memorial plaque for British bomber downed in 1941

Published on Mon Jul 29, 2024 at 07:21

Today, Heemkunde Koersel Door De Jaren and town of Beringen inaugurated the plaque commemorating Whitley V T4231. The plaque stands about a hundred meters from the location in Upper Koersel where this medium bomber crashed during World War II on July 26, 1941. No crew member survived the crash. During the inauguration, the bomber's five fallen British airmen were also commemorated.

During World War II, a formation of bombers including 25 Whitley Vs and 30 Hampdens departed from Leeming military airfield in the English county of North Yorkshire at 10:28 p.m. British time on July 25, 1941. After bombing an industrial zone near Hanover in Germany, the planes returned to their English point of departure. On the way back, however, they were besieged by German night fighters. The Whitley V T4231 was hit by Feldwebel Reinhard Kollak's Messerschmitt Bf 110. The bomber still tried to make an emergency landing, but crashed in the early morning of July 26, 1941 at 4:20 am in Boven-Koersel. The crew consisted of 5 airmen: Harry William Spiers, Joseph Daniels, Wilfred Puttick, Douglas Beverley and Cyril Lawson.

Alderman for Heritage An Moons stated:

“The fallen British airmen were buried with German military honors in the cemetery in Koersel on July 28, 1941. You can still find their soldier's grave there today in an honorific maintained by the British authorities. Some wreckage and ammunition from the Whitley V T4231 were unearthed 82 years after the crash on Aug. 2, 2023, using metal detectors. In memory of this important piece of war history and as a tribute to the British aviators, partly at the request of some family members, we took the initiative, together with Koersel Door De Jaren, to erect a plaque near that site of discovery.”

The tribute and plaque are an initiative of Heemkunde Koersel Door De Jaren with support from city of Beringen.

An Moons

Alderman of Heritage

Burial details:

Plt Off. William McNaughton Spiers MiD. Koersel Communal Cemetery. Grave 3. Grave Inscription: ‘"BILLY" ALWAYS IN OUR THOUGHTS’. Son of William McNaughton Spiers, and Agnes Spiers, of Leicester, England.

Sgt. Wilfred Puttick. Koersel Communal Cemetery. Grave 5. Grave Inscription: ‘UNTIL THE DAY BREAK AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY’. Son of John and Mabel Puttick, of Ewell, Epsom, Surrey, England.

Plt Off. Harry Joseph Daniels. Koersel Communal Cemetery. Grave 2. Grave Inscription: ‘WITHOUT FAREWELL YOU FELL ASLEEP LEAVING ONLY MEMORIES TO KEEP’. Son of Joseph and Caroline Annie Daniels, of Coventry, England. Prior to service worked as a solicitor.

Sgt. Cyril Webster Fitzmaurice Durham Eisenhuth Lawson. Koersel Communal Cemetery. Grave 4. Grave Inscription: ‘BUT DAY SHALL CLASP HIM WITH STRONG HANDS AND NIGHT SHALL FOLD HIM IN SOFT WINGS’. Son of Herbert Julius Elsenhuth and Aileen Lillian Durham (née Leigh) Lawson and husband of Joyce Netherton of Cornwall, England.

Sgt. Douglas Bernard Beverley. Koersel Communal Cemetery. Grave 1. Grave Inscription: ‘IN PROUD MEMORY OF DOUGLAS, ALWAYS IN OUR THOUGHTS. MOTHER, KENNETH AND HAROLD’. Son of Bernard J.A. Beverley and Mary Beverley, of Ilford, Essex, England.

Researched by Kelvin Youngs (Webmaster) for Put Felix of Koersel, Belgium, who also supplied many of the photographs placed on the page (Jul 2016). Also many thanks to Donald Lawson for details on Sgt. Cyril Lawson. Marcus Watson for details on Plt Off. Harry Daniel. Neil Snell who contacted us in October 2016 - he is in contact with The niece of Plt Off. Harry Joseph Daniels. Simon Beverley, son of Sgt. Douglas Bernard Beverley who has also sent some of the great images as shown. Myra E. Dover (née Puttick) for photographs of Sgt. Puttick. Reviewed and updated by Aircrew Remembered (Jul 2024). Thanks also to Rudy Volders for the link to the inauguration of the Plaque in memory of the crew (Jul 2024).

Other sources listed below:

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