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Archive Report: Allied Forces

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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19 July 1941 105 Squadron Blenheim IV V6039 Sgt. Taylor

Operation: Anti-Shipping

Date: 19 July 1941 (Saturday)

Unit: No. 105 Squadron (motto: Fortis in Proeliis - 'Valiant in battles') 2 Group

Type: Blenheim IV

Serial: V6039

Code: GB-Q

Base: RAF Swanton Morley, Norfolk

Location: North Sea off The Hague

Pilot: Sgt. Ronald West Taylor NZ/401790 RNZAF Age 25. Killed

Obs: Sgt. Reginald Frederick George Withrington 975504 RAFVR Age 26. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Selwyn Sparkes 992848 RAFVR Age 25. Killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Leaving RAF Swanton Morley at 11:22 hrs on an anti-shipping operation. During the attacks on 14 enemy vessels off Scheveningen they were hit by flak and crashed into the sea 12 kilometres north west of the target area.

None of the crew survived and their bodies washed up along the Dutch coast and buried at various cemeteries.

Burial details:

Sgt. Ronald West Taylor. Noordwijk General Cemetery. Plot 1. Joint grave 2. Born on the 01st August 1915 at Christchurch. Employed as a Clerk with the Lloyds Insurance Company in Wellington. Enlisted as a pilot U/T on the 02nd July 1940. Son of Alfred Sydney and Norah Amelia Taylor (née West) , of Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. 340 flying hours logged.

Sgt. Selwyn Sparkes. Bergen General Cemetery. Plot 1. Row E. Grave 15. Son of William T. and Rachael Sparkes, of South Shields, County Durham, England and husband of Elizabeth Edith Sparkes, of South Shields. England.

Sgt. Reginald Frederick George Withrington. Bergen-Op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery. Grave 7. AA. 12. Son of Robert Edward and Henrietta E. Withrington, of Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England. Grave inscription: 'In Lasting Memory Of Our Dear Son Who Gave His Life For All To See A Better World'.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew 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, Wreck Sites Europe, other sources as quoted below:

KTY 18-01-2021

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Acknowledgements
Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and Captain François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Andrew Mielnik: Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Polish graves: https://niebieskaeskadra.pl/, PoW Museum Żagań, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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