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No. 207 Squadron Royal Air Force
No 207 Squadron was formed from No 7 Squadron RNAS in East Africa in 1918. It served with the Army of Occupation, re-forming in 1920 and serving in Turkey in 1922. It was one of the few squadrons to remain in place in the interwar years, returning to Britain and joining Bomber Command. It became an OTU in 1940, re-forming again in November 1940 as part of Bomber Command's No 5 Group. No 207 was disbanded in 1984.
Airfields
No. 207 Squadron
flew from:
- RAF Cranfield, Berkshire from the 3rd September 1939 (Battle I, Anson I)
- became No 12 OTU the 8th April 1940
- RAF Benson, Oxfordshire from the 8th April 1940
- RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire from the 1st November 1940 (re-formed. Manchester I, Hampden I)
- RAF Bottesford, Leicestershire from the 17th November 1941 (Lancaster I, Lancaster III)
- RAF Langar, Nottinghamshire from the 20th September 1942
- RAF Spilsby, Lincolnshire from the 12th October 1943
13th Mar 1941 207 Squadron Manchester lost
28th Mar 1941 207 Squadron Manchester lost
8th Apr 1941 Aircraft Lost
9th Apr 1941 207 Squadron Manchester lost
2nd May 1941 Aircraft Lost
18th May 1941 Aircraft Lost
21st Jun 1941 Aircraft Lost
12th Aug 1941 Aircraft Lost
13th Aug 1941 207 Squadron Manchester lost
31st Aug 1941 Aircraft Lost
7th September 1941 Aircraft Lost
15th Sep 1941 Aircraft Lost
12th Oct 1941 Aircraft Lost
13th Oct 1941 Aircraft Lost
14th Oct 1941 207 Squadron Manchester lost
20th October 1941 Aircraft Lost
26th Oct 1941 207 Squadron Manchester lost
26th Oct 1941 Aircraft Lost
8th Jan 1942 Aircraft Lost
14th Jan 1942 Aircraft Lost
8th Apr 1942 207 Squadron Lancaster lost
21st Jun 1942 207 Squadron Lancaster lost
6th Aug 1942 207 Squadron Manchester lost
11th Aug 1942 207 Squadron Lancaster lost
17th Aug 1942 207 Squadron Lancaster lost
17th October 1942 Operation Robinson
29th Apr 1943 207 Squadron Lancaster lost
16th Jul 1943 9 Squadron Lancaster lost
19th Oct 1943 207 Squadron Lancaster lost
22nd Dec 1943 207 Squadron Lancaster lost
30th Mar 1944 Aircraft Lost
1st Jun 1944 Operations
2nd Jun 1944 Training
3rd Jun 1944 Attack Made
4th Jun 1944 Operations
5th Jun 1944 Operations
6th Jun 1944 Operations
6th Jun 1944 Ops
7th Jun 1944 Operations
8th Jun 1944 Stand Down
9th Jun 1944 Aircraft Missing
10th Jun 1944 Wet Weather
11th Jun 1944 Operations
12th Jun 1944 Operations
13th Jun 1944 Quiet
14th Jun 1944 Attack Made
15th Jun 1944 Visit
16th Jun 1944 Attack Made
17th Jun 1944 Aircraft detailed
18th Jun 1944 Visit
19th Jun 1944 Orders
20th Jun 1944 Ops Cancelled
21st Jun 1944 Aircraft Lost
22nd Jun 1944 Fine Weather
23rd Jun 1944 Training
24th Jun 1944 Operations
25th Jun 1944 Briefing
26th Jun 1944 Stand Down
27th Jun 1944 Operations
28th Jun 1944 Thunder Storm
29th Jun 1944 Standing by
30th Jun 1944 Evasion
5th Jul 1944 207 Squadron Lancaster lost
8th July 1944 207 Squadron Lancaster lost.
6th Jan 1945 207 Squadron Lancaster lost
2nd Mar 1945 207 Squadron Lancaster lost
15th August 1945 Tiger Force
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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Logbooks
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Those known to have served with No. 207 Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Bissett George Alexander. F/O (d.2nd March 1943)
- Brown Frederick. Sgt.
- Brown Richard. Sgt. (d.2nd March 1943)
- Cartwright Eric. Sgt. (d.24th July 1942)
- Crawley Frederick Ernest. WO.
- Cumming James Duncan. Sgt. (d.15th Oct 1944)
- Currie DFM. John Richard. Sgt.
- Edmonds Stanley Allen. F/O (d.10th April 1944)
- Exiled Henry Tennyson. Sgt.
- Findlay James. Flt.Sgt. (d.15th Oct 1944)
- Gladders Thomas Henry. Flt.Sgt.
- Hall Albert Frederick. Sgt. (d.15th Oct 1944)
- Hawkins Frank Bryce. F/O (d.2nd March 1943)
- Isaacs Ralph. Sgt. (d.2nd March 1943)
- Jarvis Walter Dowse. F/Lt.
- Kennedy Thomas Albert. LAC (d.27th Dec 1940)
- MacPherson John. F/O. (d.10th Oct 1944)
- Marriott James Roy. Sgt. (d.15th Oct 1944)
- McIntyre Lynden Arnold. F/O. (d.15th Oct 1944)
- Montgomery George Henry. F/Lt. (d.15th Oct 1944)
- Nettleton VC. John Dering. Sqd.Ldr. (d.13th July 1943)
- Peters Kenneth George. F/Sgt. (d.2nd March 1943)
- Read Jack. Sgt.
- Shelley William Oliver. Sgt. (d.2nd March 1943)
- Solly Charles John. (d.22nd June 1944)
- Stenner DSO, DFC. Charles Darwen. Wing Cdr.
- Sutherland Norman James. Flt.Sgt. (d.17th Aug 1942)
- Symons John George. Fl.Lt. (d.23rd May 1944)
- Tompkins Edward Stanley. Sgt (d. 13 May 1943)
- Toohill Noel Messines. Sgt. (d.9th January 1942)
- Wardle DFM. James. Flt.Lt
- Webster John Walter. Sgt. (d.2nd March 1943)
- Whitehead William Anderson. F/O. (d.15th Oct 1944)
- William Bell. Sgt. (d.24th October 1942)
The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please Add a Name to this List
Records of No. 207 Squadron Royal Air Force from other sources.
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Want to know more about No. 207 Squadron Royal Air Force? There are:2070 items tagged No. 207 Squadron Royal Air Force available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Wing Cdr. Charles Darwen "Lofty" Stenner DSO, DFC. No. 50 Squadron Charles Stenner flew 61 missions, 1 in a Lancaster 5844 (as part of the first 1,000 bomber raid on Cologne); 4 in Manchesters; and 56 in Hampdens. He flew 33 different types of aircraft whilst in the RAF, and was an instructor for many years at Advanced Flying Units.
After his RAF service, he flew for Airwork, Ghana, Caledonian and Donaldsons. During this time, he flew 23,500 hours, 9,000 of them on Britannias. He retired in 1972.
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WO. Frederick Ernest Crawley No. 207 Squadron Frederick Crawley served as an Air Gunner with No. 12 Operational Training Unit and 207 Squadron.
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Charles John "Mike" Solly 207 Squadron (d.22nd June 1944) Charles Solly was a pilot with 207 Squadron.
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Sgt. Eric Cartwright 207 Squadron (d.24th July 1942) During research into the death of my wife's relative Eric Cartwright I have found this original picture which I'm told is of four crews of Wellingtons, perhaps converting to Manchesters, taken at RAF Pershore. The relative, Sgt Eric Cartwright is in the centre of the back row on the left side. I have no information regarding the other crews.
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Sgt. Noel Messines "Fonghi" Toohill 207 Squadron (d.9th January 1942) I believe Noel Toohill was friends with Arthur William Buck (1305690) Air gunner on Lancaster Bombers. He was killed 23rd of September 1943. From what I can gather they must have met at RAF Waddington close to where my grandparents lived.
He was an Australian and I have a photograph of him. My mother must have known them both as there is a nickname for him 'Fonghi'. The photograph says 'missingm raid on Breste 7th January 1942 but records state killed 9th January 1942. So glad to be able to put information and full names to these brave young men.
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Flt.Sgt. Norman James Sutherland 207 Squadron (d.17th Aug 1942) Norman Sutherland trained as a Motor Mechanic and at the time of joining up was part owner of a motor garage in Matamata New Zealand.On joining the RNZAF he was taught to fly in a Tiger Moth and then Hawker Hind bombers at Ohakea NZ. Attached to the RAF and embarked to Britain on 22nd of July 1941, on arrival was sent to 3PRC at Bournemouth, then to 10 OTU at RAF Abingdon to train on Whitley Bombers. On the 22nd of November 1941 he was sent to 207 Squadron, flying Manchester Bombers, they converted to Lancasters in March 1942. As a pilot of Manchester and Lancaster aircraft he took part in eleven operational flights, including attacks on Paris, Mannheim, Essen(2), Saarbrucken, Dusseldorf and 3 sorties minelaying in enemy waters. 16th August 1942 he departed from Bottesford airfield at 2131 hours for a mission minelaying in the South Baltic. Lancaster R5509 ( EM-G ) carrying 4 x 1500lb mines. Research indicates that he was shot down while returning from his mission by Major Gunther Radusch at around 0242 in the morning of the 17th off Sonderborg, Denmark.
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Sgt. Henry Tennyson "Bob" Exiled 207 Squadron My father, Bob Exley, flew in Lancaster ME631 and was shot down in April 1944 and spent the next year in various camps including Stalag Luft VI. He rarely talked about it, but one evening late in his life, I got him to tell me abut being shot down and parachuting into trees in the Black Forest. He talked about the silence once he had landed after all the noise, and then the sound of the Squadron returning home, a lonely feeling.
In 2011, my daughter and I went to the site of the crash, to meet with other relatives of the crew members, and also to a German chap who had collected pieces of the plane as a boy, fascinated by the stories of planes coming down near his village. It was an incredibly moving and somewhat healing experience.
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F/O Stanley Allen Edmonds 207 Sqdn. (d.10th April 1944) Flying Officer Edmonds was the Son of John Allan Edmonds and Edith Edmonds, of Boorowa, New South Wales, Australia.
He was 25 when he died and is buried in the Nysoga Churchyard in Denmark.
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F/O. John MacPherson 207 Squadron (d.10th Oct 1944) Flying Officer (Navigator) John MacPherson was the Son of Alexander and Martha Macpherson of Edinburgh, husband of Edith Howarth Macpherson, of Edinburgh. He is buried in the Norre Lyngvig Churchyard in Denmark.
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F/O. William Anderson Whitehead 207 Squadron (d.15th Oct 1944) Flying Officer (Air Bomber) William Whitehead is buried in a Collective Grave in the Laastrup Churchyard in Denmark.
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