The Mallon crew – get your copy!

I am pleased to announce that Vic Jay’s, efforts, initially through his blog, about his Father’s time in the Squadron have now borne fruit in the the form of “The Mallon crew” – a 200 page book on the crew and on Vic’s journey through the piecing together of the stories of the boys that flew with his father, Bob Jay.

The book maps out Vic’s early research and as it develops, he begins to re-connect with the relatives of the rest of the boys in the crew.

As Vic says at the beginning of the book:

“The Mallon Crew’ is the extraordinary result of four years research. My decision in 2012 to write a blog about my dad’s war-time experiences as the flight engineer of a Lancaster bomber took me on an incredible voyage of discovery and unearthed some remarkable stories of courage, sacrifice and betrayal.

As a child growing up in the 1950s I never tired of asking my dad what he did in the war. I wanted to know all about his role, what flak was like and even how aircraft were able to fly. By the time I left primary school my interest had started to wane and, when he died in 1974 at the age of just fifty five, I thought I had lost any chance of discovering more about this period of his life. I couldn’t have been more mistaken.

Nearly forty years later, with just a handful of photographs, his log book and the name of his New Zealand pilot, Bill Mallon, my modest research project into ‘Bob Jay’s war’ uncovered more tragedies than I could have imagined possible and connected me with the families of all but one of my dad’s crew. It even gave me the opportunity to talk to a man of ninety four who had flown with my dad and to discover a photograph of his crew’s aircraft flying to its last target.

This book is not about a squadron, nor is it about individual acts of heroism, it is about a small group of unremarkable men thrown together briefly during the last few months of the war and the amazing way in which their stories have unfolded seventy years later. They survived the war but their lives would never be the same again. I defy anyone not to be moved by their experiences or to marvel at the power of the internet to bring people together”.

All credit to Vic for making the time and putting the effort into moving his research from the blog to a book and I wish him every success with it.

You can click here to buy your copy of “The Mallon crew”

Some of Bob’s stories

Many thanks to Vic for passing on information regarding a new post on his Blog regarding his Father, Bob Jay, who was Flight Engineer with Bill Mallon and Eric Butler. The post is entitled ‘Some of Bob’s stories’ and judging by the pictures above, you might get an idea of what these tales relate to!

Read Bob’s tales here.

Bob Jay’s War – an update

Many thanks to Vic for updating me on recent developments with his blog about his Father Bob. Vic and I have been regular correspondents for some time now and I think that Vic actually just beat me to a blog presence before I started 75nzsquadron.com.

Vic’s blog has undergone some structural changes over the its life and represents a fascinating and very detailed research story of his Father and the crew he flew with as a Flight Engineer.

I have a lot of respect for Vic’s focus and dedication to his project – I started off with exactly the same intention, but perhaps have found it difficult to keep the single focus on my Father and his crew – I started to try to find out about an individual, then a crew and now have a whole Squadron to contend with!

Despite all of this, Vic still needs help – despite his best attempts, he has drawn a blank regarding contact with relatives of 3 of the crew:

F/O Kenneth Philip (RNZAF NZ429093), bomb aimer, aged 32 (born 1912 or 1913 in NZ)
Sgt Don Cook (RAFVR), mid-upper gunner, aged 20 (born 1924 or 1925) from London (?)
Sgt John Eynstone (RAFVR), rear gunner, aged 19 (born 1925 or 1926) from Oxford (?)

So, if any of you know of these individuals or relatives of the boys, or, even if you just happen to know someone with the same surname, please just ask if they had a relative that flew during the war – as ridiculous as a long shot it might be, you never know.

Visit Vic’s blog here – and be prepared for a gasp when you see what he got up to this summer……..

Amohanga crew, March 1945

The Amohanga crew pose in front of Lancaster HK593, JN-X.
Left to right rear: Alf Woolcock, A/B; Ken Dalzell, Navigator; Kiwi Amohanga, Pilot; Jack Richardson, M/U/Gnr.
Front: Steven Fletcher, F/E; Sandy Strachan, R/Gnr; Max Spooner, W/Op.
New Zealand Bomber Command Assn. archive / Ken Dalzell.

Another post from Chris, based on his visit to the New Zealand Bomber Command Archive;.

Another photo from the NZBCA archives, and another good story!

10.3.45
Administration:
NZ425492 P/O K Amohanga and crew reported on posting from No. 73 Base.

The Amohanga crew was placed in C Flight:

P/O Kiwi Ernest Amohanga, RNZAF NZ425492 – Pilot.
F/S (later W/O) Walter Kenneth “Ken” Dalzell, RNZAF NZ433854 – Navigator.
F/O Alfred Hugh “Alf” Woolcock, RNZAF NZ2121 – Bomb Aimer.
Sgt B “Steven” Fletcher RAF – Flight Engineer.
F/S (later W/O) Edward Maxwell “Max” Spooner, RNZAF NZ428162 – Wireless Operator.
F/O Jack Cresswell Richardson, RNZAF NZ427323 – Mid-Upper Gunner.
F/Sgt Alexander Freedman “Sandy” Strachan, RNZAF NZ4210193 – Rear Gunner.

And then, before their feet had hardly touched the ground!:

11.3.45 War Ops – Essen
Kiwi Amohanga flew his “second dickie” as 2nd Pilot with Wi Rangiuaia and his crew
Lancaster Mk 1 NN747 JN-O

12.3.45 War Ops – Dortmund
Lancaster Mk 1 HK593 JN-X
Crew as above

14.3.45 War Ops – Henrich Hutte
Lancaster Mk 1 HK593 JN-X
Same crew

17.3.45 War Ops – Auguste Viktoria
Lancaster Mk 1 PB424 JN-O
Same crew

21.3.45 War Ops – Munster Viaduct
Lancaster Mk 1 HK601 JN-D.
Same crew

This was the last complete Amohanga crew op’.

Peter Wheeler tells the story, brief but evocative:
“Kiwi got hit over the head with a beer bottle by a Yank, and had to go to Ely Hospital. Ken and his crew became spare bod’s.”

The war was almost over. Eric Butler took the rest of the crew on one last op’, and then they were dispersed amongst other crews for various Operation Manna and POW repatriation trips.

22.4.45 War Ops – Bremen
PB820 JN-V
F/L Eric Frank Butler, RNZAF NZ425558 – Pilot.
F/S Walter Kenneth “Ken” Dalzell, RNZAF NZ433854 – Navigator.
F/O Alfred Hugh “Alf” Woolcock, RNZAF NZ2121. Bomb Aimer.
Sgt B “Steven” Fletcher RAFVR – Flight Engineer.
F/S Edward Maxwell “Max” Spooner, RNZAF NZ428162 – .Wireless Operator.
F/O Jack Cresswell Richardson, RNZAF NZ427323 – Mid-Upper Gunner.
F/Sgt Alexander Freedman “Sandy” Srachan, RNZAF NZ4210193 – Rear Gunner.

Thanks to Peter Wheeler and the New Zealand Bomber Command Assn. archives.

Bob Jay’s war – Baedeker

Another update from Vic regarding his blog about his Father.

This latest post concerns recollections of one of the crew’s post war flights on what has come to be known as a ‘Baedeker’ Op.

If anybody has a definitive explanation for why these trips out over the bombed cities of Germany were given this name I’d be interested to hear from you, though I suspect there a certain tinge of irony in their naming. After the bombing of Lubeck in March 1942, the German leadership, outraged by the attack decided to mount a series of Vergeltungsangriffe, or “retaliatory attacks” on British cities.

As always, many thanks for wikipedia –
The Baedeker raids were conducted by the German Luftwaffe’s Luftflotte 3 in two periods between April and June 1942. They targeted militarily unimportant but picturesque cities in England. The cities were reputedly selected from the German Baedeker Tourist Guide to Britain, meeting the criterion of having been awarded three stars (for their historical significance), hence the English name for the raids. Baron Gustav Braun von Stumm, a German propagandist is reportedto have said on 24 April 1942 following the first attack, “We shall go out and bomb every building in Britain marked with three stars in the Baedeker Guide.”

The cities attacked were:
First period
Exeter (23rd and 24th April, 3rd May)
Bath (25th and 26th April)
Norwich (27th and 29th April)
York (29th April)

Second period, following the bombing of Cologne:
Canterbury (31st May, 2nd June and 6th June)

So as I mentioned, I am not sure whether the use of ‘Baedeker’ was an official or unofficial description for these Ops – certainly looking at the logbooks from the Squadron during this period, Baedeker is mixed with ‘Viewing the Effects of Bombing’, so it might even have been a personal description of individual airman – thinking back I am pretty sure that Baedeker is not used in the Form 540 or 541 of the Squadron’s Operational Record Books. Perhaps this is all slightly further complicated by the fact that Jim Haworth notes in his letters home that initially these Ops were called ‘Cook’s Tours’ and that after the first one the crew flew on ‘Yesterday, Tuesday, we were lucky enough to get our turn on one of the Cook’s Tours or Baedeker trips as they are now called’………..

Read Vic’s  new post on the Baedeker Op of 4th June 1945 here.

Letters home – Jim Haworth. Mallon/ Butler crew.

About a month ago I posted an update to Vic Jays blog ‘Bob Jay’s War’, regarding Vic’s presentation of letters from his Fathers Navigator Jim Haworth.

Jim wrote numerous letters to his wife, Sally, while he was overseas. They contain lots of fascinating information that fills in some of the gaps in his crews story and gives an insight into life with the air force during and shortly after the war and the importance of humour in difficult times! At 34 Jim was the oldest member of the crew and the only one with children. He had two daughters before the war and had only spent 6 weeks with the younger, Maryann. He was away from home for the next three years and this helps to explain the home sickness that is evident in almost everything he wrote.

As is always the case when these sort of documents come to light, an astonishing secondary level of information can be added to the ‘cold’ details that are present within the official history within Forms 540 and 541 of the Squadron Operational Record Books.

My massive thanks goes to Ruth, Jim’s daughter, via Vic for passing on a significant portion of transcribed copies of Jim’s letters for display on the blog.

The letters can be seen here in the ‘Collections’ section of the blog

Bob Jay’s war – some new updates

Thanks to Vic for letting me know he has added some more posts to his blog about his Father, Bob Jay.

The first adds some more of Jim Haworth’s letters home after the war in Europe has ended and clearly shows the unease and frustration (certainly in Jim’s mind) regarding the departure of some of the Squadrons aircrew of other nationalities and the possible roles the New Zealand crews might be facing in the Far East.

The second post explores Eric Butler’s arrival as skipper with the crew after the departure of their original Pilot, Bill Mallon, on compassionate grounds.

I continue to be impressed by the dogged determination that Vic is showing with his blog – the level of detail is now amazing regarding the story of his Father’s crew and it really seems, despite Vic’s frustration regarding finding information on the other members of the crew, that the pieces of the jigsaw are really beginning to ‘fall into place’. I’d love to think that eventually I might be able to do the same for Dad’s 2 crews and their stays with the Squadron – though I think it might take considerably longer to achieve.

Read Vic’s 2 new posts here.

Letters home – Jim Haworth, Navigator with the Mallon crew

Thanks to Vic for letting me know of an update to his blog, about his Father’s tour with 75(NZ) Squadron. The latest addition is based on letters written by Bob’s Navigator, Jim Haworth to his wife Sally, back in New Zealand. Much like the addition of the notes written by John Bell that I was able to add to a previous post on the Gordon crew, Jim’s letters provide not only a fascinating insight into the day to day events of operational airmen, but also add interesting detail to the historical record of the Squadron.

On meeting Bob and the being so far from home……..
“Did I mention we have a flight engineer now, so have completed our crew. He is a married chap, the only other one in our lot. Think he’s about 25 and comes from Grimsby up on the Humber and seems quite a good chap. I’m quite convinced this war is a single chap’s one. Perhaps the Pommie ones who are married are not so badly off as they do get home leave. If I had known what I know now I would have plonked for NZ training and the Pacific. They do get back now and then.”

On his Pilot’s notification of the loss of his second brother and a chance to go home………
“Bill Mallon …… was asked today if he wanted a compassionate posting back to NZ. owing to the death of his second brother. After talking it over, he has cabled to his people and is leaving the decision to them. Looks to me we may lose him, worse luck, as he is a good steady type. Still, my own opinion was that he should accept for his people’s sake. Got any doctor’s certificate for me, eh?”

On the Hallendorf Op………..
“On Thursday we were in a show which was the deepest penetration in daylight the RAF heavies have made so far, to a place near Brunswick. There was a whistle when the target went up but during the whole trip we did not have very much trouble with flak and none with fighters. Over the target was pretty dicey, in thin cloud & quite a bit of flak but nothing hit us. Full cloud over the target, thank goodness. These days with the ‘special instruments’ as the papers call them, everyone hopes it won’t be clear over the target on daylights. Coming back we had some more stuff chucked up at us near the Ruhr but they should be out of business nearly by now.”

This is only a very small example of the extracts from Jim’s letters – read the rest on Vic’s blog here

Bob Jay’s War – some updates.

Just got a mail from Vic, letting me know he has just put up some more information about his fathers crew on his blog.

He has added some information about the Milsom crew regarding the movement of Lance Waugh to Bob’s crew (re my last post) and also added information about the closing stages of the war from the perspective of the Squadron.

Vic also tells me that he and his wife visited Scartho Road cemetery in Grimsby recently, on the 39th anniversary of Bob’s passing and payed their respects to Alex and David, 2 New Zealanders from the Squadron who now rest there, so many miles away from home.

Read Vic’s blog here

Read an earlier post of mine about David Nola and Alec Coutts here.

 

Bill Mallon Interview

Vic has added  extracts from a fascinating interview with Bill Mallon, to his website about his father, Robert Jay, who flew with Bill in 1945. The original interview with Bill was one of a number that were collected  for the Military Oral History Project by Martin Halliday.

Additionally, Vic has also been contacted by the the daughter of Jim Haworth, the crews Navigator. Apparently Jim wrote many letters to his wife from Canada and England and within these letters there are lots of references to the boys in the crew and life in Bomber Command – so look forward to the Robert Jay story growing even further!

view the new information here.

An interesting little find…….

Many thaks to Martyn for reminding me of the Mepal Archive and letting me know they have some new 75(NZ) related images. I came across the archive a while back when I was first starting my research into Bob and his crews. At the time, there were a number of group photographs up on the archive and I donated my copy of the March 1945 ‘B’ Flight photograph.

Martyn’s email yesterday morning alerted me to fascinating crew and group photographs, which relative to my last visit to the archive are ‘new’

This photograph taken at Mepal Airfield in September 1943 shows a complete New Zealand crew with the exception of myself (English).
© Mepal Archive & original donating owner
http://mepal.ccan.co.uk/content/catalogue_item/75-squadron-20-mepal-airfield

The names tagged to this image on the Archive site are as follows : Bomb Aimer; unknown, Grubb; John; captain, Hazlet; Ken; N.Z wireless operator, Rear Gunner; unknown, Stichbury; Les; navigator, Wright; Len; flight engineer

F/L John David Grubb, DFC RNZAF NZ415068 – Pilot.
F/Sgt Kenneth Graham Hazlett, RNZAF NZ421970 – Wireless Operator.
F/O Leslie Blair Stitchbury, RNZAF NZ42311 – Navigator.
P/O Albert George Chatfield,  RNZAF NZ425546 – Rear Gunner.
F/O  James Allworthy Lee Martin, RNZAF NZ422197 – Air Bomber.
Sgt Len Wright,  RAFVR 1811800 – Flight Engineer.
Not mentioned/ shown in photograph;
P/O Robert Gilliland, RCAF R.138682, J.85466 – Mid Upper Gunner.

So we must assume that the photograph was supplied by Len Wright.

On the 60th Anniversary VE Day Ray Statford came back to pay his respects. He told us about all the people in this picture. The skipper of the crew was Eric Butler from Wellington, New Zealand.
© Mepal Archive & original donating owner
http://mepal.ccan.co.uk/content/catalogue_item/wellington-new-zealand-air-crew-based-at-mepal

Again, the names tagged to this image are: Charlie Engineer, Fraser; Dan Wireless Operator From Bromley, Heaton; Jack Mid upper gunner from Liverpool, Holliday; Ron; Navigator from Australia, Messer; Jack Rear Gunner, Statford; Ray Bomb Aimer From New Zealand .

F/Lt. Eric Frank Butler, RNZAF NZ425558 – Pilot.
P/O Jack Heaton, RAFVR 982650/ 196880 – Mid Upper Gunner.
F/Sgt Herbert Ronald Holliday, RAAF AUS.434602 – Navigator.
F/Sgt Hilray ‘Ray’ Hubert Stratford, RNZAF NZ4213296 – Air Bomber.
F/Sgt Jack Messer, RAFVR – Rear Gunner.
F/Sgt Daniel ‘Dan’ Brazier, RAFVR – Wireless Operator.

Eric Butler has been mentioned a number of time on this blog already, being the replacement Pilot to the Bill Mallon crew in 1945, who Vic’s father, Bob Jay flew with as Flight Engineer. Perhaps because of my ‘one step removed’ knowledge of this crew, it came as a surprise to realise that Eric Butler had in fact been at 75(NZ) in 1941 on his first tour with the Squadron.

Frustratingly, the FE for this crew is not mentioned and I do not yet have a complete set of 1941 ORB’s for the Squadron to be able identify who he was, though he is obviously in the photograph.

This is a picture from the Ely Standard, August 1982. It shows former members of the 75th Squadron at the control tower on the former Mepal Airfield. In addition to Charlie Freeston the group includes Les Wood, Les Stickbury, Stan Galloway, Jim Dermody and Alf Proctor.
This and other material was kindly lent to the Mepal Archive Group by Barry Aldridge, honorary curator of the Witchford Airfield Museum.
© Barry Aldridge, Witchford Airfield Museum/ Ely Standard.
http://mepal.ccan.co.uk/content/catalogue_item/75-squadron-reunion-1982-mepal

Based on the names in the caption, I believe the individuals are;
W/O James Frederick Freestone, RNZAF NZ4213370) – Air Bomber, Egglestone crew.
F/O Leslie Blair Stitchbury, RNZAF – NZ42311 – Navigator, Grubb crew.
AC1 Les Wood, RAF 1429737 – ELECT 2, 1942.
F/L Stanley William Galloway, DFC RAFVR (148919 – Wireless Operator, Gibb crew.
F/O  James Michael Dermody, RNZAF (NZ40933 – Navigator, Gibb crew.
F/O Alfred Proctor, DFC, RAFVR 845266/ 159096 – Rear Gunner, Gibb crew.

The Mepal Archive/ Cambridgeshire Community Archive Network can be visited here.

 

One Family’s Story…..

The Mallon brothers.
From Left to Right: William Mallon, Pilot with 75(NZ) Squadron. John Charles Mallon, killed 8th October 1940. Thomas Alexander Mallon, killed 10th March 1945.

Following on from my last post, presenting the logbook of Robert Jay, Flight Engineer with Bill Mallon’s crew, Vic has been good enough to also contribute further information on why exactly Bill Mallon left the crew as pilot to be replaced by Eric Butler.

From Vic – ‘One Family’s Story’

Initially, I had no idea why Bill Mallon (NZ427521) left his crew at the end of April 1945 and returned to New Zealand. My sister had a vague recollection that it may have had something to do with the death of his brother and with the help of Chris Newey and ‘The Wings Over New Zealand Aviation Forum’ I have now discovered the tragic reason for his premature departure. If ever there was a story that illustrates the sacrifices made by the people of New Zealand then this is it.

Alexander and Dora Mallon must have been the proudest parents in Taranaki, New Zealand. They had three sons, Thomas, John and William (Bill), born between 1915 and 1920 and a daughter, May, Bill’s twin sister. By 1940 John was an RAF pilot with No. 53 Squadron. The squadron had been based in France flying Bristol Blenheims but had returned to the UK in May 1940 as the German army advanced. Its Bristol Blenheims supported the Dunkirk evacuation and continued to fly reconnaissance missions over France. In July 1940 the squadron was transferred to Coastal Command and moved to RAF Detling in Kent. Its Blenheims were replaced by American-built Lockheed Hudsons and it continued with anti-submarine and anti-shipping operations as well as bombing sorties targeting harbours and coastal defences.

On the 8th October 1940 John was reported ‘missing in action’ over France. It was subsequently confirmed that he had been killed, together with two other members of the crew of T2036, Arthur Shackleford and Wilfred Whetton.

Despite their loss Thomas and Bill also became pilots, Thomas flying de Havilland Mosquitoes with No. 488 (NZ) Squadron and Bill, the youngest, completing his training in 1945 to fly Avro Lancasters. On the 15th November 1944 488 (NZ) Squadron was moved from the U.K. to Amiens in France and then on to the Netherlands as support for the Allied advance towards Germany. Ten days later flight engineer Bob Jay joined Bill and the rest of his crew at RAF Langar to complete their training for the 4-engine Avro Lancaster.

Bill and his crew completed their training and on the 6th March 1945 they were posted to No. 75 (NZ) Squadron at Mepal. Four days later, just before 4.30 a.m. on the 10th March 1945, Thomas and his navigator, P/O George Brock, took off in their Mosquito Mark XXX (MT484) from Gilze-Rijen airfield for a night patrol. Minutes later they crashed into a barn 2.5 km from the runway – both were killed. Thomas had become the second Mallon brother to be killed in action.

Bill continued active service throughout March and April, receiving a commission and becoming the third Pilot Officer in the Mallon family. He took part in the squadron’s last operational sortie over Bad Oldesloe on the 24th April and then said goodbye to his crew and took on ground duties before returning to his devastated parents in New Zealand. Whilst only one family of countless thousands that suffered the terrible loss of a child during the war, to lose 2 and then know a third son and brother was still so far away on operational service must have been unbearable for Alexander, Dora and May to live with on a daily basis.

John is buried alongside his crew members in the Guines Communal Cemetery, 10 km from Calais in France, and Thomas and his navigator are in the Bergen-Op-Zoom Cemetery in the Netherlands. More than1800 New Zealand aircrew were killed in action during World War 2 and Bill made a point of attending his local Dawn Parade and Service in their memory every year.

Bill had been married to Lorna for 60 years when he died aged 90 in 2010 but his brothers’ names have lived on in their two sons, Barrie John and Kevin Thomas – the only boy among their five grandchildren is called Thomas William.

Robert Jay RAFVR 1596172 logbook

Many thanks to Vic for passing on his father’s logbook. Bob Jay flew with 75(NZ) between 6th March and 4th July 1945 as Flight Engineer with the Mallon crew. The crew saw a number of changes in the rosta, including the departure of the Pilot, Bill Mallon after their last War Op, to be replaced by Eric Butler.

The (initial) Mallon crew were as follows – refer to notation to clarify arrival and departure of individuals.
P/O William Mallon RNZAF (NZ427521) – Pilot.
Left the squadron at the end of April 1945, shortly after receiving a commission that took effect from 25th March. Replaced by Eric Butler.

F/L Eric Frank Butler RNZAF (NZ425558) –  Pilot.

F/Sgt James Randel Haworth RNZAF (NZ4216510) –  Navigator

F/O Kenneth Ralph Philip RNZAF. (NZ429093) – Air Bomber.
Left crew after 1st May op.

W/O Frank Symes RNZAF. (NZ428164) – Wireless Operator

Sgt Robert Alfred Jay RAFVR (1596172) –  Flight Engineer

Sgt D Cook RAFVR – Mid Upper Gunner

Sgt D Eynstone RAFVR – Rear Gunner

Fg Off Lancelot Osgood Waugh RNZAF. (NZ429021)  – Air Bomber.
Crewed initially with R S Milsom. Joined Mallon crew as replacement for Ken Philip.

F/O Charles Frederick Green DFC RAFVR (178730) Air Gunner.
Flew first 3 ops with Mallon crew as Mid-Under Gunner (8^th member of crew)

Vic’s research into his fathers’s time in the RAF is ongoing and you can read more about Bob and the boys here;
http://robertalfredjay.blogspot.co.uk/

Read Robert’s logbook here.