Andrew has contacted me regarding his Uncle, Sgt. Gordon Colyer. After his daughter was given an assignment to complete on the RAF during World War II, Andrew has discovered that Gordon actually flew with 75(NZ) Squadron RAF – so its nice that the blog has already been able to give him some extra information on Gordon.
Of course in these cases of a request for information, as well as presenting what we know, we also hope the presentation will lead to some now information about an individual or a crew, so if anybody knows anything about Gordon or Bill Perrot’s crew, I am sure Andrew would love to hear from you and it might also help a school project………
Gordon and the boys arrived at Newmarket on 1st of May 1943 from 1651 Conversion Unit at Waterbeach.
As was customary at the time, Bill Perrot then undertook 2 Ops with Ray Bennett and his crew, to allow him as the Skipper to familiarise himself with procedures and the experience of flying on Ops. These 2 ‘2nd Dickie’ Ops were:
12/05/43 – Duisburg
13/05/43 Bochum
The new crew then undertook their maiden operational flight with the Squadron. This first Op was usually a ‘Gardening’ Op. Gardening was the code word used to describe the laying of sea mines in ports and inlets etc. It was apparently considered an ‘easy’ first Op for a new crew, though records show that a number of new crews were lost on these initial flights and in fact on occasions when more experienced crews were required to ‘Garden’ losses were still high…….
16/05/1943 – Mining off the Frisian Islands
Four aircraft were detailed to carry out the above operation. All aircraft successfully dropped their mines in the allotted area and the parachutes were seen to open. No A.A. Fire or searchlights were encountered. A few aircraft were seen, but no combats took place. The weather was clear and visibility was good in the mining area. Navigation was excellent.
Stirling Mk.I BK778 JN-U (6)
P/O William Rosser Perrott, RNZAF NZ416155 – Pilot.
Sgt. Gordon Douglas Thompson, RNZAF NZ42317 – Navigator.
Sgt. Clifford James Whitelaw, RNZAF NZ416188 – Air Bomber.
Sgt. Charles Cyril Mould, RAFVR 1314162 – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. William Webster Hilditch, RAFVR 611325 – Flight Engineer.
Sgt. Harry Squire, RAFVR 1302829 – Mid Upper Gunner.
Sgt. Gordon William Colyer, RAFVR 1809432 – Rear Gunner.
Take Off 01:09 – Landed 05:18
Flight Time 04:09
21/05/1943 – Mining in the Gironde Estuary
Five aircraft were detailed to carry out the above operation with mines of 1,500 lbs. all of the aircraft successfully dropped their mines in the allotted area. Some light A.A. Fire and one searchlight was encountered, but was ineffective. No enemy aircraft were seen. The weather was good and visibility was variable. Navigation was excellent.
Stirling Mk.I EF398 AA-A (1)
F/O William Rosser Perrott, RNZAF NZ416155 – Pilot.
Sgt. Gordon Douglas Thompson, RNZAF NZ42317 – Navigator.
Sgt. Clifford James Whitelaw, RNZAF NZ416188 – Air Bomber.
Sgt. Charles Cyril Mould, RAFVR 1314162 – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. William Webster Hilditch, RAFVR 611325 – Flight Engineer.
Sgt. Harry Squire, RAFVR 1302829 – Mid Upper Gunner.
Sgt. Gordon William Colyer, RAFVR 1809432 – Rear Gunner.
Take Off 22:13 – Landed 04:52
Flight Time 06:39
23/05/1943 – Attacks Against Targets at Dortmund
Fifteen aircraft were detailed to carry out the above attacks with bombs of 1,000lb. and incendiaries of 30lb. and 4lb. One aircraft returned early owing to engine trouble and the remaining aircraft successfully dropped their bombs in the target area. Some very large fires were seen and bombs were seen to explode amongst large buildings. Medium and Heavy A.A. Fire co-operating with searchlights were encountered. One aircraft was hit whilst over the target and the port outer propeller was shot off, but the aircraft successfully returned to base. Some enemy aircraft were seen and two short combats took place, but no damage was sustained to our aircraft. The weather was good in the target area, but identification was difficult owing to smoke from fires. Navigation was very good. Stirling Mk.III captained by Sergeant S.M. Tietjens failed to return.
Stirling Mk.I EF398 AA-A (2)
P/O William Rosser Perrott, RNZAF NZ416155 – Pilot.
Sgt. Gordon Douglas Thompson, RNZAF NZ42317 – Navigator.
Sgt. Clifford James Whitelaw, RNZAF NZ416188 – Air Bomber.
Sgt. Charles Cyril Mould, RAFVR 1314162 – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. William Webster Hilditch, RAFVR 611325 – Flight Engineer.
Sgt. Harry Squire, RAFVR 1302829 – Mid Upper Gunner.
Sgt. Gordon William Colyer, RAFVR 1809432 – Rear Gunner.
Take Off 23:25 – Landed 04:01
Flight Time 04:36
25/05/1943 – Attacks Against Targets at Dusseldorf
Sixteen aircraft were detailed to carry out the above attack with bombs of 1000lb, and incendiaries of both 30lb and 4lb. Four aircraft returned early owing to engine trouble and one failed to return. The remaining eleven aircraft successfully dropped their bombs in the target area. Large fires were seen, which enveloped the whole of the town area and some large explosions were also seen. Both heavy and light A.A. Fire was encountered, co-operating with search lights, which were ineffective. Some enemy aircraft were seen and two short combats took place; but no damage was sustained by our aircraft. Ten tenths cloud was prevalent in the target area, but visibility was fairly good. The missing aircraft was Stirling Mk.I BK.602, captained by T.W. Darton.
Stirling Mk.I EF398 AA-A (3)
F/O William Rosser Perrott, RNZAF NZ416155 – Pilot.
Sgt. Gordon Douglas Thompson, RNZAF NZ42317 – Navigator.
Sgt. Clifford James Whitelaw, RNZAF NZ416188 – Air Bomber.
Sgt. Charles Cyril Mould, RAFVR 1314162 – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. William Webster Hilditch, RAFVR 611325 – Flight Engineer.
Sgt. Harry Squire, RAFVR 1302829 – Mid Upper Gunner.
Sgt. Gordon William Colyer, RAFVR 1809432 – Rear Gunner.
Take Off 00:05 – Landed 04:21
Flight Time 04:16
11/06/1943 – Attacks Against Targets at Dusseldorf
Sixteen aircraft were detailed to attack the above targets with bombs of 2,000lb.,1,000lb. and incendiaries of 30lb. and 4lb. One aircraft failed to return and two returned early owing to engine trouble. The remainder of the aircraft successfully dropped their bombs in the target area. Many large fires and huge explosions were seen. Moderate and heavy A.A.fire co-operating with search lights were encountered. One aircraft was coned by searchlights, but violent evasive action eventually avoided them with difficulty. Some enemy aircraft were seen and two short combats took place, but no damage was sustained by our aircraft. The weather was clear and the visibility was good except for haze caused by the fires. Navigation was very good. The missing aircraft was Stirling Mk.III BK817 captained by Squadron Leader R.H. Laud, (“A” Flight Commander).
Stirling Mk.III BK768 AA-L (1)
F/O William Rosser Perrott, RNZAF NZ416155 – Pilot.
Sgt. Gordon Douglas Thompson, RNZAF NZ42317 – Navigator.
Sgt. Clifford James Whitelaw, RNZAF NZ416188 – Air Bomber.
Sgt. Charles Cyril Mould, RAFVR 1314162 – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. William Webster Hilditch, RAFVR 611325 – Flight Engineer.
Sgt. Gordon William Colyer, RAFVR 1809432 – Mid Upper Gunner.
Sgt. Harry Squire , RAFVR 1302829 – Rear Gunner.
Take Off 23:33 – Landed 04:03
Flight Time 04:30
19/06/1943 – Attacks Against Targets at Krefeld
Fourteen aircraft were detailed to attack the above targets with bombs of 2,000lb., 1,000lb., and incendiaries of 30lb. and 4lb. One aircraft returned early as it was hit by A.A. fire in the fuselage, mainplane and mid upper turret. The Flight Engineer made a really good effort to overcome the damage by hacking his way through the fuselage into the port wing to get at the petrol tank controls, which he then operated by hand. The BREUIL STEEL WORKs was very badly damaged and appeared to have the roof missing. Large fires and huge explosions were seen in the target area. An aircraft captained by P/O Sedunary, lost the outer propeller , just before bombing. He carried out his bombing successfully and returned to base. At the beginning of the attack little light and heavy A.A fire and one searchlight were encountered, but as the attack progressed the defences were thoroughly disorganised. There was no cloud in the target area and visibility was excellent, except for smoke from out flares. Navigation was very good.
Stirling Mk.III BK768 AA-L (2)
F/O William Rosser Perrott, RNZAF NZ416155 – Pilot.
F/S Gordon Douglas Thompson, RNZAF NZ42317 – Navigator.
F/S Clifford James Whitelaw, RNZAF NZ416188 – Air Bomber.
Sgt. Charles Cyril Mould, RAFVR 1314162 – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. William Webster Hilditch, RAFVR 611325 – Flight Engineer.
Sgt. Gordon William Colyer, RAFVR 1809432 – Mid Upper Gunner.
Sgt. Harry Squire , RAFVR 1302829 – Rear Gunner.
Take Off 22:06 – Landed 04:30
Flight Time 06:24
21/06/1943 – Attacks Against Targets at Krefeld
Fifteen aircraft were detailed to attack the above target with incendiaries of 30lb. and 4lb. bombs in the target area. The operation was very successful, the whole of the town was seething in flames and the smoke from the fires was rising to a height of 8,000ft. On the return the fires could be seen from the Dutch Coast. Heavy, moderate and light A.A. fire. Some enemy aircraft were seen and one short combat took place, but no damage was sustained to our aircraft. The weather was good with clear visibility except in the target area, where there was haze caused by fires. Navigation was excellent.
Stirling Mk.III BK768 AA-L (3)
F/O William Rosser Perrott, RNZAF NZ416155 – Pilot.
Sgt. Gordon Douglas Thompson, RNZAF NZ42317 – Navigator.
F/S Clifford James Whitelaw, RNZAF NZ416188 – Air Bomber.
Sgt. Charles Cyril Mould, RAFVR 1314162 – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. William Webster Hilditch, RAFVR 611325 – Flight Engineer.
Sgt. Gordon William Colyer, RAFVR 1809432 – Mid Upper Gunner.
Sgt. Harry Squire , RAFVR 1302829 – Rear Gunner.
Take Off 23:58 – Landed 03:39
Flight Time 03:41
22/06/1943 – Attacks Against Targets at Mannheim (actually Mülheim)
Fifteen aircraft were detailed to attack the above targets with incendiary bombs of 30lbs and 4lbs. Four aircraft failed to return and the remainder successfully dropped their bombs in the target area. Large concentrated fires and some explosions were seen the whole RUHR area was smoke palled. A very heavy A.A. barrage co-operating with searchlights was encountered and five aircraft were slightly hit by A.A.fire, some enemy aircraft were seen and three short combats took place, but no damage was sustained by our aircraft. There was 3/10ths cloud on the target area but visibility was fairly good, except for smoke haze. Navigation was very good. The missing aircraft were Stirling Mk.I EF399 captained by F/S Burbidge, Mk.III EF408 captained by Sgt. Wood, MK.III BK810 captained by W/O McKenzie and Mk.III EH889 captained by F/O McCrorie.
Stirling Mk.III BK768 AA-L (4)
F/O William Rosser Perrott, RNZAF NZ416155 – Pilot.
F/S Gordon Douglas Thompson, RNZAF NZ42317 – Navigator.
F/S Clifford James Whitelaw, RNZAF NZ416188 – Air Bomber.
Sgt. Charles Cyril Mould, RAFVR 1314162 – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. William Webster Hilditch, RAFVR 611325 – Flight Engineer.
Sgt. Gordon William Colyer, RAFVR 1809432 – Mid Upper Gunner.
Sgt. Harry Squire , RAFVR 1302829 – Rear Gunner.
Take Off 23:55 – Landed 03:58
Flight Time 04:03
24/06/1943 – Attacks Against Targets at Wuppertal
Thirteen aircraft were detailed to carry out the above attack with incendiary bombs of 30lns and 4lbs. One aircraft returned early owing to the rear turret being unserviceable and one failed to return. The remaining aircraft successfully dropped their bombs in the target area. This was a very good attack, very large concentrated fires being seen, the glow of which was visible 30 miles away from the Dutch Coast. The defenses were considerably stronger than the previous attacks, both moderate and heavy A.A.fire was encountered and two aircraft were slightly hit. Some enemy aircraft were seen and one short combat took place but no damage was sustained by our aircraft. The weather was good, although the smoke from the fires obscured ground detail. Navigation was very good. The missing aircraft was Stirling Mk.III EH902 captained by F/S Bluck.
Stirling Mk.III BK768 AA-L (5)
F/O William Rosser Perrott, RNZAF NZ416155 – Pilot.
Sgt. James Arthur Couper, RNZAF NZ417027 – Second Pilot.*
F/S Gordon Douglas Thompson, RNZAF NZ42317 – Navigator.
F/S Clifford James Whitelaw, RNZAF NZ416188 – Air Bomber.
Sgt. Charles Cyril Mould, RAFVR 1314162 – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. William Webster Hilditch, RAFVR 611325 – Flight Engineer.
Sgt. Gordon William Colyer, RAFVR 1809432 – Mid Upper Gunner.
Sgt. Harry Squire , RAFVR 1302829 – Rear Gunner.
Take Off 23:30 – Landed 03:59
Flight Time 04:29
*Sgt. James Arthur Couper*, Died Tuesday 3rd August 1943, age 31, when his aircraft collided with a Dornier 217 over the target at Hamburg, Buried Hamburg War Cemetery, Germany.
25/06/1943 – Attacks Against Targets at Gelsenkirchen
Eleven aircraft were detailed to attack the above targets, with incendiary bombs of 30lb. and 4lbs. One aircraft failed to return and the remainder successfully dropped their bombs in the target area. Owing to 10/10ths cloud it was difficult to estimate the effectiveness of the attack, although the glow of fires below the cloud, could be seen over a large area. Both moderate and heavy A.A.fire co-operating with searchlights was encountered, but were ineffective. Sergt. Burley’s aircraft sighted an unidentified aircraft from astern, the Stirling corkscrewed and the mid-upper-gunner and rear gunners opened fire. The unidentified aircraft was seen to dive to the ground and a fire and flash were seen. The aircraft was claimed to be destroyed. Some enemy aircraft were seen and three short combats took place but no damage was sustained by our aircraft. It was very cloudy in the target area and visibility was poor. Navigation was good. The missing aircraft was Stirling Mk.III BK768 captained by F/O Perrott.
Stirling Mk.III BK768 AA-L (6)
F/O William Rosser Perrott, RNZAF NZ416155 – Pilot.
Died Saturday 26th June 1943, age 21, during a raid on Gelsenkirchen. Buried Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery Netherlands.
F/S Gordon Douglas Thompson, RNZAF NZ42317 – Navigator.
Died Friday 25th June 1943, age 22, during a raid on Gelsenkirchen. Buried Hardenwijk General Cemetery Netherlands.
F/S Clifford James Whitelaw, RNZAF NZ416188 – Air Bomber.
Died Saturday 26th June 1943, age 22, during a raid on Gelsenkirchen. No known grave. Commemorated on Panel 199 Runnymede Memorial.
Sgt. Charles Cyril Mould, RAFVR 1314162 – Wireless Operator.
Died Friday 25th June 1943, age 29, during a raid on Gelsenkirchen. No known grave. Commemorated on Panel 160 Runnymede Memorial.
Sgt. William Webster Hilditch, RAFVR 611325 – Flight Engineer.
Died Friday 25th June 1943, age 23, during a raid on Gelsenkirchen. No known grave. Commemorated on Panel 153 Runnymede Memorial.
Sgt. Gordon William Colyer, RAFVR 1809432 – Mid Upper Gunner.
Died Saurday 26th June 1943, age 19, during a raid on Gelsenkirchen. Buried Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery, Netherlands.
Sgt. Harry Squire, RAFVR 1302829 – Rear Gunner.
Died Saturday 26th June 1943, age 31, durimg a raid on Gelsenkirchen. Buried Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery Netherlands.
Take Off 23:35 – Landed –
Flight Time Missing
BK768 fell victim to the fearsome German night-fighter defensive system, operating as a radar-controlled ‘box’ along the Netherland/Belgium coast. Following a night-fighter attack, the Stirling crashed into the Ijsselmeer. The bodies of both Air Gunners and the Captain were recovered and buried in Amsterdam. The navigator’s body was washed ashore on 4 July near Harderwijk, where he was buried. The Flight Engineer, Air Bomber and Wireless-operator are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
See the gravestone of F/S Gordon Douglas Thompson, who rests in Harderwijk General Cemetery, Netherlands, here.
75(nz)squadron 