Armstrong Whitworth Whitley VII Z9521 (O) 28/11/1942
58 Sqdn Motto: Alis nocturnis - On the wings of the night
The Loss
Missing ; Whitley VII Z9521 (O), 58 Squadron, based at Stornoway, took off at 08.55 to provide anti submarine cover for Convoy RU 50 ( Reykjavik to Loch Ewe) on 28/11/1942. RU 50 consisted of 22 merchant vessels and 7 anti submarine escort vessels.
The convoy set sail from Reykjavik on 24/11/ 1942 and arrived in Loch Ewe on the 29/11/1942.
The last radio message from Z9521 at 15.30 was ''Early 100''. Nothing further was heard and the aircraft was reported as missing.
In December 1942 the body of Sergeant Hatfield was recovered from Scapa Flow.
The convoy set sail from Reykjavik on 24/11/ 1942 and arrived in Loch Ewe on the 29/11/1942.
The last radio message from Z9521 at 15.30 was ''Early 100''. Nothing further was heard and the aircraft was reported as missing.
In December 1942 the body of Sergeant Hatfield was recovered from Scapa Flow.
Crew
Sergeant Archibald John Hill, (1378315) RAFVR - Sgt/Pilot
Son of Lucy & Henry Hill.
Aged 30
Husband of Dorothy Annie May Hill of Taunton Somerset.
Remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
Son of Lucy & Henry Hill.
Aged 30
Husband of Dorothy Annie May Hill of Taunton Somerset.
Remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
Sergeant Thomas Antingham Lyke, (1380743) RAFVR - Sgt/Pilot
Son of Thomas Parker & Elsie Edith Lyke
Aged 22
From Monkland Herefordshire.
Kington Times - Saturday 05 December 1942
Mr. and Mrs. T.P. Lyke , the Pleck, Monkland, have been notified that their son, Sergt, Pilot T.A. Lyke R.A.F. , is missing from operations on Saturday. Sgt. Pilot Lyke was formally with the sanitary inspector at Leominster and did his training with the R.A.F. in South Africa. He returned to this country in August last.
Remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
Son of Thomas Parker & Elsie Edith Lyke
Aged 22
From Monkland Herefordshire.
Kington Times - Saturday 05 December 1942
Mr. and Mrs. T.P. Lyke , the Pleck, Monkland, have been notified that their son, Sergt, Pilot T.A. Lyke R.A.F. , is missing from operations on Saturday. Sgt. Pilot Lyke was formally with the sanitary inspector at Leominster and did his training with the R.A.F. in South Africa. He returned to this country in August last.
Remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
Sergeant John Henry Cooper, (1080063) RAFVR - Navigator (Bomber)
Son of John William & Ivy Cooper. Aged 31 Husband of Hilda Cooper of Harrogate Harrogate Advertiser and Weekly List of the Visitors - Saturday 05 December 1942 KILLED IN ACTION SERGT.-OBS. J. H. COOPER News has been received by Mrs. Cooper, of 107, Otley Road, Harrogate, that her husband, Sergt.-Observer John Henry Cooper (31), formerly of Clapham, London, has been killed on active service. Sergt.-Observer Cooper was a native of London, and a Civil Servant. He came to Harrogate _ with the Post Office engineering Chief's Department on the outbreak of war. Later, he joined the R.A.F. and trained as an observer in Canada, returning to this country last June. The body of Sergeant Cooper was recovered from the sea near Thurso on the 29th November 1942.
Cause of death was recorded as ''Drowning (Airplane Accident) '' |
Stonefall Cemetery, Harrogate. Peter Lucas (Find a Grave) |
Sergeant Bernard Alfred Hatfield, (1330477) RAFVR - Wireless Op./Air Gunner
Son of William James & Alice May Hatfield. Aged 19 From Battersea, London. 950 Balloon Squadron ORB 40-42 (23/12/1942) (AIR/27/2297) reports that the body of Sergeant B A Hatfield was recovered from the waters of Scapa Flow. He was buried with full military honours at Lyness cemetery on Hoy, Orkney on 26/12/1942. |
Lyness, Orkney Islands, Photo: ADB48 (Find a Grave)
|
Sergeant Eric Phillip Smith, (1382264) RAFVR - Wireless Op./Air Gunner
Son of Mr. & Mrs. A. J. Smith.
Aged 21
From Westminster, London.
Remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
Son of Mr. & Mrs. A. J. Smith.
Aged 21
From Westminster, London.
Remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
Sergeant Leonard Sydney Harrington (1336137) RAFVR - Wireless Op./Air Gunner
Son of Ernest & Ellen Harrington
Aged 21
From Rochester, Kent.
Remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
Son of Ernest & Ellen Harrington
Aged 21
From Rochester, Kent.
Remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
ORBS
AIR 27/544/44 58 Sqdn ORB November 1942
The crew of Whitley VII Z9521 only arrived at 58 Sqdn a few days before the aircraft went missing.
AIR 27/544/43 58 Sqdn ORB November 1942
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