Operation: Wangerooge

Date: 25th April 1945 (Wednesday(

Unit: No. 426 Squadron (motto 'On Wings of Fire'). 6 Group

Type: Halifax VII

Serial: NP820

Code: OW-W

Base: RAF Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire

Location: North Sea

Pilot: P/O. James Chester Tuplin J/95526 RCAF Age 22. Missing - believed killed

Fl/Eng: Fl/Sgt. Ronald Roberts 1698482 RAFVR Age 24. Missing - believed killed

Nav: F/O. John Douglas Carlisle Ross J/41679 RCAF Age 21. Missing - believed killed

Air/Bmr: W/O. Reginald Gordon Evans 1339158 RAFVR Age 22. RAFVR Missing - believed killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: P/O. Dennis Rupert Humphrey Curzon J/95236 RCAF Age 20. Missing - believed killed

Air/Gnr: P/O. Earl William Hicks J/95285 RCAF Age 21. Missing - believed killed

Air/Gnr: P/O. Stanley James Teskey J/95517 RCAF Age 19. Missing - believed killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Took off at 15:04 hrs from RAF Linton-on-Ouse to bomb various gun position on Wangerooge, East Frisian Islands.

The operation consisting of some 482 aircraft was intended to destroy the coastal batteries which controlled the approaches to Bremen and Wihelmshavaen. The weather for the attack was clear and the bombing was accurate until the target area became covered in smoke and dust.The guns were hardly damaged and were in operation within a few hours of the bombing.

Some 306 people died on the ground, including 59 civilians, 20 prisoners of war from Morocco and France

Above: Rear L-R: W/O. Reginald Evans, P/O. Dennis Curzon, F/O. John Ross and Fl/Sgt. Ronald Roberts. Front: P/O. Earl Hicks, P/O. James Tuplin and P/O. Stanley James Teskey

Of the 7 aircraft that were lost on this operation no less than 6 were due to collisions!

Halifax NP820 OW-W collided with Halifax NP796 EQ-M from 408 squadron. (crew details here) All 14 crew from both aircraft lost their lives.

Burial details:

P/O. James Chester Tuplin. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 281. Born on the 19th September 1923 at Prince Edward Island, Canada. Son of James Profitt Tuplin and Catherine Tuplin (nee Lowther) and husband of Mary Sheila Tuplin, of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Fl/Sgt. Ronald Roberts. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 276. Son of Arthur and Mabel Roberts and husband of Nora Roberts, of Foulby, Yorkshire, England.

F/O. John Douglas Carlisle Ross. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 279. Born on the 01st September 1923 in Ontario, Canada. Son of John James Ross and Martha Anne Ross (nee Maxwell) of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.

W/O. Reginald Gordon Evans. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 269. Son of Reginald B. and Nance Evans, of Plymouth, England.

P/O. Dennis Rupert Humphrey Curzon. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 280. Born on the 28th August 1924 in Guelph, Ontario. Son of William Rupert and Vera Florence Curzon, of Guelph, Ontario. Husband of Mary Joan Curzon of Guelph, Ontario.

P/O. Earl William Hicks. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 280. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Hicks of Chisholm Avenue,Toronto, Ontario

P/O. Stanley James Teskey. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 281. Born on the 15th December 1925 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Son of Charles Joseph and Mary Elizabeth Teskey (nee Peers), of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew. Sources as quoted below:

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