Operation: Bochum (ABC Duties), Germany

Date: 4th/5th November 1944 (Saturday/Sunday)

Unit No: 101 Squadron, 1 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Lancaster I

Serial: ME865

Code: SR:K

Base: RAF Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire

Location: Speck, which is about 2 km (1¼ mls) north of Neukirchen, Germany

Pilot: Fg Off. Gordon Thomas Weiss J35610 RCAF Age 22. KiA

Flt Eng: Sgt. Douglas Frederick Gordon Day 1896250 RAFVR Age 20. KiA

Nav: Fg Off. Walter Franklin Moran J38717 RCAF Age 29. KiA

Bomb Aimer: Fg Off. John Harvey Quirt J21394 RCAF Age 26. KiA

Wireless Op/Air Gnr: Sgt. Albert Norman Gould R163068 RCAF Age 21. KiA

Specialist Op: Sgt. George Kesten 1897268 RAFVR Age 22. KiA (1)

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. Walter Joseph Commins R201756 RCAF Age 19. KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Joseph Lloyd Gallant R256840 RCAF Age 19. KiA

Above left to right: Fg Off. Walter F. Moran, Sgt. Albert N. Gould from their Service Records

Above left to right: Sgt. Walter J. Commins, Sgt. Joseph L. Gallant from their Service Records

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the night of the 4th/5th November 1944 101 Sqn joined a force of 749 aircraft detailed to attack Bochum. Severe damage was caused to the centre of Bochum and to the industrial area. This was the last major raid by Bomber Command on Bochum. Of the five Lancasters that failed to return two came from 101 Sqn:

Lancaster I NF936 SR:F. Fg Off. Thomas John Edwards 179057 RAFVR and his crew of seven were KiA. The reason for the loss has not been determined.

ME865 was claimed by Hptm. Heinz Rökker from 2./NJG2, his 40th Abschuss, north of Dortmund at 5.000m at 19:36 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (16 October 1944 - 31 December 1944) Part 5 - Theo Boiten).

Hptm. Rökker survived the war and he was credited with 37 Abschüsse with 27 awaiting confirmation. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies - Theo Boiten.)

The aircraft crashed near Speck, which is about 2 km (1¼ mls) north of Neukirchen, 7 km (4¼ mls) due south of Neuss and about 1½ km (1 ml) east of Hoisten.

The aircraft still had its bomb load aboard which exploded totally destroying the aircraft.

(1) George Kesten was born on the 2nd March 1925 in Berlin, Germany to Polish born parents Mendel and Rifka and he had an older sister Bertel. In 1936, the laws in Germany meant as Jews Bertel and George could not attend the higher education schools that their parents wanted them to attend so they were sent to a boarding school in Switzerland. Although George returned home occasionally, he was in Switzerland on the night of 28th October 1938 when his father, who had a Polish passport, was picked up and deported to Poland. His mother was temporarily allowed to remain in Berlin and she arranged for George who was now thirteen to travel from Switzerland to England on the Kindertransport before she was also deported. Both of George’s parents were murdered in the Kraków Ghetto in 1942.

At the age of eighteen George enlisted in the RAFVR in London on the 30th August 1943. After thirteen months of training, he was posted to 101 Squadron at RAF Ludford Magna. Whilst on leave on the 17th July 1944, he was photographed by the Evening Standard newspaper helping a young boy in the Blitz. (Courtesy of gobek – Ancestry.co.uk).

Burial details:

The crew were initially buried in Hoisten Cemetery, Row 11, Communal Grave 3. They were recovered and finally laid to rest in the Rheinberg War Cemetery, on the 29th July 1947.

Above Rheinberg War Cemetery (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC))

Above the initial grave markers at the Rheinberg War Cemetery

Fg Off. Gordon Thomas Weiss. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Plot 17, Row D, Collective Grave 1-8. Born on the 30th September 1922, Silver Lake, Ontario, Canada. Son of Gustav Robert and Irene (née Laronde (deceased)) Weiss of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Sgt. Douglas Frederick Gordon Day. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Plot 17, Row D, Collective Grave 1-8. Born on the 1st Qtr 1924 in Portsmouth, Hampshire. Son of Frederick Edward Gordon and Zoe Edwitha (née Gissing) Day of Woolwich, London, England.

Fg Off. Walter Franklin Moran. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Plot 17, Row D, Collective Grave 1-8. Grave inscription: ‘"BUT THESE WERE MERCIFUL MEN, WHOSE RIGHTEOUSNESS HATH NOT BEEN FORGOTTEN"’. Born on the 24th December 1914 in Trenton, Ontario, Canada. Son of Franklin Benjamin (deceased) and Frankie (née Little) Moran of Trenton, Ontario, Canada.

Fg Off. John Harvey Quirt. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Plot 17, Row D, Collective Grave 1-8. Born on the 15th December 1917, South River, Ontario, Canada. Son of John Harvey and Elizabeth (née Paget) Quirt of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

Sgt. Albert Norman Gould. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Plot 17, Row D, Collective Grave 1-8. Grave inscription: ‘BORN JULY 19TH 1923 TORONTO, CANADA. "JESUS NEVER FAILS"’. Born on the 19th July 1923 in Toronto, Ontario. Son of Albert Norman John and Dorothy Phyllis Grace (née Lowe) Gould of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Posthumously appointed to commission and promoted to J95288 Plt Off. with effect 3rd November 1944.

Sgt. George Kesten. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Plot 17, Row D, Collective Grave 1-8. Grave Inscription: ‘REST IN PEACE’. Born on the 2nd March 1925 in Berlin, Germany. Son of Mendel and Rifka Kesten from Poland.

Sgt. Walter Joseph Commins. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Plot 17, Row D, Collective Grave 1-8. Born on the 2nd December 1924 in St. Stephen, New Brunswick. Son of Walter J. (deceased) and Helen (née Coughlin) Commins of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada.

Posthumously appointed to commission and promoted to J95215 Plt Off. with effect 3rd November 1944.

Sgt. Joseph Lloyd Gallant. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Plot 17, Row D, Collective Grave 1-8. Born on the 18th July 1926 in Summerside, Price Edward Island, Canada. Son of Levi and Rose Gallant of Summerside, Price Edward Island, Canada.

Posthumously appointed to commission and promoted to J95287 Plt Off. with effect 3rd November 1944.

Researched by Ralph Snape and dedicated to the crew and their families (Aug 2024).

Other sources listed below:

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