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No. 608 (North Riding) Squadron Royal Air Force
No 608 (County of York North Riding) Squadron was formed as a day bomber unit of the Auxiliary Air Force on the 17th March 1930 at Thornaby. It was re-designated as a fighter squadron in January 1937, and in March 1939 it became a general reconnaissance squadron, equipped with Ansons (briefly the squadron flew Bothas in 1940). In January 1942 the squadron moved to Scotland for attacks on the Norwegian coast and in October 1942 moved to North Africa to fly anti-submarine patrols over the western Mediterranean. It moved from Algeria to Sicily for September 1943, and on to Italy where the squadron remained until disbanding on 31st July 1944.
No 608 reformed in August 1944 at Downham Market as a Mosquito squadron in No 8 Group, carrying out night attacks on Germany for the rest of the war. It disbanded on 24th August 1945.
Airfields
No. 608 Squadron
flew from:
- RAF Thornaby, Yorkshire from 3rd September 1939 (Anson I, Botha I, Blenheim I, Blenheim IV, Hudson V)
- RAF Wick, Caithness, January 1942
- RAF Sumburgh, Shetland, August 1942
- RAF Gosport, Hampshire, mid-August 1942
- North Front, Gibraltar, from 9th November 1942
- Blida, Algeria from the 18th December 1942 (Hudson IIIa, Hudson VI)
- Protville, August 1943
- Bo Rizzo, September 1943
- Montecorvino, Sicily, October 1943
- Grottaglie, Italy, December 1943
- Montecorvino, February 1944
- disbanded 31dt July 1944
- RAF Downham Market, Norfold from 1st August 1944 (re-formed. Mosquito XX, Mosquito XXV, Mosquito XVI)
- disbanded 28th August 1945
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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Logbooks
Do you have a WW2 Flying Log Book in your possession?
If so it would be a huge help if you could add logbook entries to our new database. Thank you.
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Those known to have served with No. 608 (North Riding) Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Appleby-Brown DFC. William. Sqd/Ldr.
- Armin DFC Norman. Sqd/Ldr.
- Aughty Harold. Sgt.
- Beavis DFM Allan Sutherland.
- Bell DFC. Colin S.. Flt/Lt.
- Broomhead. . Sgt (d.2nd Aug 1941 )
- Cameron MID. Norman Alister. W/O
- Campbell John. F/O.
- Chambers John. WO.
- Christie. . Sgt (d.2nd Aug 1941)
- Duncan B . P/O
- Gordon John. Flt.Sgt. (d.4th June 1943)
- Law. George . Sgt (d.2nd Aug 1941)
- Lilley Vernon S.
- Lumley G E . AC.
- Martel Maurice Joseph. F/O. (d.17th March 1942)
- Martin George. Wing Cmdr.
- Millership DFC. William Richard.
- Morrow Vince. NCO
- Morton OBE, DFC. John.
- Moss Wallace Wolfgang. F/Sgt. (d.11th Nov 1942)
- Moss Wallace Woolf. Sgt (d.11th Nov 1942)
- Phillips John Sherborn Priestley.
- Shepherd O . Sgt
- Thomas. . Sgt (d.2nd Aug 1941 )
- Walker David F. . F/Lt.
- Walpole Leslie B . Sgt (d.21st June 1940)
- Watts Ernest Hector. F/Lt.
- Webb Stuart Douglas. F/Lt. (d.10th Nov 1944)
- Weir Harrison. Flt.Sgt. (d.4th June 1943)
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. 608 (North Riding) Squadron Royal Air Force from other sources.
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Want to know more about No. 608 (North Riding) Squadron Royal Air Force? There are:2002 items tagged No. 608 (North Riding) 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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John Sherborn Priestley Phillips 608 Sqd. I`m trying to trace wartime movements of John Sherborn Priestley Phillips, who joined 608 Sqn. at Thornaby in 1939. Can anybody help?
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F/O. John "Ian" Campbell 608 Squadron Navigator, Flying Officer John Campbell served with 608 Squadron at RAF Downham Market. He entered service at Padgate in November 1941 and was promoted to Pilot Officer on 25th of February 1944 and then to Flying Officer 25th of August 1944. He was critically injured on 10th of November 1944 when Mosquito KB360 flown by Flight Lieutenant S D Webb RCAF crashed at Friday Bridge, Cambridgeshire. He was medically discharged on 13th of November 1945 retaining his rank. He went on to become an eminent dental surgeon lecturing at Glasgow University. Born in 1923, he came from The Clachan, Drymen, Sterlingshire, Scotland. He passed away in June 1981 aged 57.
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WO. John Chambers 608 Squadron John Chambers served with 608, 547 and 323 Squadrons, Royal Air Force
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Flt/Lt. Colin S. Bell DFC. 608 Squadron Flt.Lt. Colin S Bell DFC AE FRICS, longstanding member of the The RAF Club was born in 1921, joined the Royal Air Force towards the end of 1940 and his flying training was carried out in the United States of America prior to their entry into the War (before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour) in December 1941. During this interim period, he was nominally a civilian and wore civilian clothes - all provided by the Royal Air Force, of course.
Following Pearl Harbour and having been commissioned into the RAF, Colin Bell was retained by the American Army Air Corps as an advanced single engine flying instructor responsible for training American and British Cadets.
On his return to the UK in 1943, he converted to twin engine Mosquito Bombers and joined 608 Squadron (Pathfinder Group) based at Downham Market in Norfolk. During his tour of operations he carried out 50 bombing raids - all over Germany- 13 of them over Berlin.
Subsequently, he was transferred to ferry duties bringing back newly built Mosquitos from Canada to the UK with stop-offs at Goose Bay, Labrador, Bluey West 1 (on the West coast of Greenland), Reykjavik in Iceland, and finally into Prestwick in Ayrshire, Scotland. He ended his full time RAF service in 1946 flying out of Blackbushe nr Camberley carrying Diplomatic mail to Embassies situated in various parts of Europe and Africa.
Post World War 2, he qualified as a Chartered Surveyor, served for many years as a Government District Valuer, and finally set up his own firm, of which he is now the active Senior Partner, specialising in the valuation of industrial premises. His interests outside his family include walking, touring the UK, supporting the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund through speaking engagements, socialising, and enjoying good food and wine. Until recently he served on the Committee of the Air Crew Association, Biggin Hill Wing. He was made a Freeman of the City of London on 13th January 1987 and of the District of Huntingdonshire on 17th August 2013.
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John Morton OBE, DFC. 608 Squadron John Morton, O.B.E., D.F.C. (RAFVR 65587) flew with F/Sgt Allan Sutherland Beavis (Aus.431122), completing 55 sorties together, by April 1945.
I would like to know the date F/L Morton joined 608 Squadron and how many missions he flew to Berlin?
Any contact with relatives of both F/L Morton, OBE, DFC or F/Sgt Beavis, DFM would be most welcomed. Adriano Silva Baumgartner
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Allan Sutherland Beavis DFM 608 Squadron I interviewed Allan on the 28th of June 2016. He was a navigator on 608 Squadron RAF and flew on 55 sorties on Mosquitos between October 1944 and May 1945. 25 of those targeted Berlin.
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Flt.Sgt. Harrison Weir 608 Squadron (d.4th June 1943) Harrison Weir was killed along with his crew, including wireless operator/rear gunner Flight Sergeant John Gordon, when their plane crashed to the ground shortly after take off from an airfield in Algeria in the early morning of 4th June 1943. They are buried at Bone War Cemetery, Algeria.
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Flt.Sgt. John Gordon 608 Squadron (d.4th June 1943) Wireless Operator and Air Gunner, John Gordon, was killed with his crew in a flying accident in the early morning of June 4th 1943 having taken off from an aerodrome near La Calle (now Al Kalla)in Algeria. His pilot was a New Zealander, Flight Sergeant King.
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Wing Cmdr. George "Boss" Martin 608 Squadron Does anyone have any information about my grandfather, Wing Cmdr George `Boss' Martin who served in 608 Squadron during WWII?
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Vernon S Lilley 608 Sqdn. I served with 608 Squadron, RAF from November 1943 until it was disbanded in late 1944. After a short stint with MEDME Com Sqdn, I was posted with F/O Ken R. Archer (RAFVR) to the British Military Mission to Roumania. Ken was unfortunately killed at Bucharest, after I left there in late 1945. Any news of Ken, or of the history of 608 Sqdn. would be appreciated.
Update: F/O Archer (184570) died on 2nd April 1946, aged 28. He is buried in the Bucharest War Cemetery, 1.D.8.
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