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6th November 1944On this day:
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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Remembering those who died this day.
- Cook Michael Arthur. Sgt. (d.6th Nov 1944)
- Cook Michael Arthur. F.Sgt. (d.6th Nov 1944)
- Darby William. Sgt. (d.6th Nov 1944)
- Evans Henry Edward. FO (d.6th Nov 1944)
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
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Want to know more about the 6th of November 1944? There are:34 items tagged 6th of November 1944 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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Stories from 6th November 1944
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F/O J. Clayton Kellond. Royal Canadian Air Force, 408 Squadron.. On the 6th of November, 1944 when the RCAF 6 Group made a daylight attack on Gelsenkirchen as part of a force approximately the same size as that which had gone to Bochum. This town, seven miles north-east of Essen, was noted chiefly for its hydrogenation plants and its coking industry. Two top priority synthetic oil plants and two very important power stations lay within the boundaries of the district. Other industries included the manufacture of iron and steel goods and sulphuric acid.
The attackers, accompanied by a fighter cover of Mustangs and Spitfires, swept along over 10/10ths cloud from the Dutch coast in a very high tail wind. Cloud thinned out as they approached the target area and they found gaps which enabled them to identify the aiming point and check the accuracy of the markers.
Early bombing was concentrated and soon there was a heavy black pall rising above the cloud tops at 10,000 feet. When smoke and dust obscured the target indicators, the Master Bomber instructed crews to attack any targets of opportunity that were visible in the area. The bombing of the town itself caused intense fires north and south of the Central Station marshalling yard and in the vicinity of the Hessler district. South of the Industrie Hafen, the steel casting works of Vereinigte Stahlwerke were damaged by fire.
Defences were formidable on the route through the Ruhr with very accurate heavy flak, but at the target antiaircraft fire was only moderate and this time losses were lighter, only two Canadian aircraft failing to return. One of these carried a veteran Goose Squadron crew, all of whom were taken prisoner: - F/O J. C. Kellond
- K. I. Durk
- W. A. Gillmeister,
- F/S T. G. McLeod
- D. M. Davies and
- Sgt. R. C. Robinson
- Sgt W. A. Woods
When released Kellond reported:
“Perfect trip to the moment we were hit. Flak burst under a/c resulted in controls being hit somewhere at a vital point. No visible damage could be seen by the gunners. The flak came from the front lines which at the time were west of the Rhine River. It was a clear day with about 1/10th cloud. I gave orders for the bombs to be released immediately a/c was found to be out of control. Second flak burst came before bombs were gone but outside of causing a/c to rock no one was hurt. Crew were then told to bail out and they carried this out in perfect order. I managed to keep a/c straight and level until all the boys had made their jump. With throttles completely back a/c would not drop its nose and it finally stalled and went into a spin. From that point on things are not too clear as I had no time to waste in getting out.”
Jennifer Paige
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Sgt. William Arthur Woods. Royal Canadian Air Force, 408 (Goose) Squadron. William Woods is my Grandfather and this is the story I was able to find.
F/O J. Clayton Kellond,
Royal Canadian Air Force, 408 Squadron,
from Hamilton, Ontario.
On the 6th of November, 1944 when the RCAF 6 Group made a daylight attack on Gelsenkirchen as part of a force approximately the same size as that which had gone to Bochum. This town, seven miles north-east of Essen, was noted chiefly for its hydrogenation plants and its coking industry. Two top priority synthetic oil plants and two very important power stations lay within the boundaries of the district. Other industries included the manufacture of iron and steel goods and sulphuric acid.
The attackers, accompanied by a fighter cover of Mustangs and Spitfires, swept along over 10/10ths cloud from the Dutch coast in a very high tail wind. Cloud thinned out as they approached the target area and they found gaps which enabled them to identify the aiming point and check the accuracy of the markers.
Early bombing was concentrated and soon there was a heavy black pall rising above the cloud tops at 10,000 feet. When smoke and dust obscured the target indicators, the Master Bomber instructed crews to attack any targets of opportunity that were visible in the area. The bombing of the town itself caused intense fires north and south of the Central Station marshalling yard and in the vicinity of the Hessler district. South of the Industrie Hafen, the steel casting works of Vereinigte Stahlwerke were damaged by fire.
Defences were formidable on the route through the Ruhr with very accurate heavy flak, but at the target antiaircraft fire was only moderate and this time losses were lighter, only two Canadian aircraft failing to return. One of these carried a veteran Goose Squadron crew, all of whom were taken prisoner:
F/O J. C. Kellond,
K. I. Durk,
W. A. Gillmeister,
F/S T. G. McLeod,
D. M. Davies,
Sgt. R. C. Robinson
and Sgt W. A. Woods.
When released Kellond reported: "Perfect trip to the moment we were hit. Flak burst under a/c resulted in controls being hit somewhere at a vital point. No visible damage could be seen by the gunners. The flak came from the front lines which at the time were west of the Rhine River. It was a clear day with about 1/10th cloud. I gave orders for the bombs to be released immediately a/c was found to be out of control. Second flak burst came before bombs were gone but outside of causing a/c to rock no one was hurt. Crew were then told to bail out and they carried this out in perfect order. I managed to keep a/c straight and level until all the boys had made their jump. With throttles completely back a/c would not drop its nose and it finally stalled and went into a spin. From that point on things are not too clear as I had no time to waste in getting out."
Kim Miller
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Sgt. Michael Arthur Cook. Royal Canadian Air Force, 50 Squadron. (d.6th Nov 1944) Michael Cook joined the RCAF in Canada in Hamilton Ontario. He trained at Mount Pleasant, Prince Edward Island, Air gunner Unit 10 B & G . He completed his training in January 1944, as air gunner, and went overseas. He was posted to Upper Heyford, Burford and St. John England. He flew in Wellingtons,learning to fly in formation, cross country and in familiarization runs both night and day.
Later that year, he started flying Stirlings on bombing raids and in October, Lancaster bombers. He was a Sgt by this point with 50 Squadron at Skellingthorpe. Lancaster 111's were his machine now, and he was rear gunner exclusively on these flights. On Oct 19 they flew to the Neuremburg Marshalling yards in Germany on a night run of 8 hours. Two days later they flew to Flushing and then on Oct 29 to Bergen to bomb submarine pens, another 7 hour flight at night. He was now up to 150 hours of flying time. November saw him flying at night to Hamburg, Emms and Dortmund. 6th November is the last flight entered in his log book. He had flown 100.25 hr during the day and 90.35 at night.
His last flight with 7 crew men left in a Lancaster and failed to return after an operational attack on Gravenhurst Germany. It left base at 16.19 hours on 6th November after which no further news was received.
An extract from the German Tottenliste #264 forwarded by the International Red Cross states that 7 were killed on Nov 6 1944.
Crew members, who are all buried in the Heerde general cemetery, Holland, 9 miles from SW Zwolle. were: -
- Flt/Sgt Ralph Andrew Dowling (R/270087),Toronto, coll. grave 667
- P/O George Amos Dunkelman (J/95289),Midland,Ontario, coll. grave 667
- F/O Frederick Arthur Horning (J/36835), Toronto, coll. grave 667
- F/O Robert Edward Rennie (J25818), Prince Edward Island, coll. grave 667
- F/O George Thompson Gilbert Terris (J/36306), B.C. grave 666
- Sgt William Darby (1737140), coll. grave 667
- Flt/Sgt Michael Arthur Cook (R/263352), grave 665
Sharon Murphy
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F.Sgt. Michael Arthur Cook. Royal Canadian Air Force, 50 Sqd.. (d.6th Nov 1944) Michael Cook joined the airforce in Hamilton, Ontario on July 22 1943. He was 68 inches tall weighed 132 lbs. He trained in air gunner unit 10 B & G Mount Pleasant PEI . In six months he weighed 143 lb. He completed his training Jan 14 1944 as an air gunner and went overseas. His personal record states he was "fair Material" Motivation fair, very anxious to be part of any aircrew. Athletic build, will probably do well. Later it was written "This chap has tried hard for a long time to get into aircrew, in my opinion he deserves a chance, he has a pleasant manner, he realizes conditions of selection at manning and will do his best to succeed at whatever selected for. Should be good material"
He was posted to Upper Heyford, Burford and St. John, England. He flew in Wellingtons, learning to fly in formation, cross country and in familiarization runs day and night.
In Sept 1944 he started flying in Sterlings on bombing raids and in OCT Lancaster bombers. He was a sergeant by this time with 50 Squadron at Skellingthorpe. Lancaster III were his machines now. He was rear gunner. He flew cross country and on Oct 19th flew to Neuremburg Marshalling yards in Germany on a night run of 8 hours. Two days later he flew to Flushing and on Oct 28th went to Bergen to bomb submarine pens, another 7 hr night flight. He was now up to 150 hours of flying. November 1944 saw him flying exclusively at night to Hamburg. On Nov 6, this the last flight mentioned in his log book, he had flown a total of 100.25 hrs daylight and 90.35 hrs night. The crew of seven left in a Lancaster aircraft and failed to return from an operational attack on Gravenhurst, Germany. It left base at 16.19 hours on Nov 6th 1944; after no further news was received he was declared MIA in Nov 1944. Later it was learned he was shot down over Holland. Dutch people buried the aircrew in Heerde, Holland. An extract from German Tottenliste @264 and forwarded by the International Red Cross states that 7 were killed on Nov 6th 1944. His fellow crew men were Sgt Ralph Dowling,Toronto, Sgt George Dunkleman, Midland, Fred Horning,Toronto, Bob Rennie PEI, George Ferris BC.
They are buried in Heerde Cemetery, 9 miles SW Zwolle, Hollland. There is also a cenotaph in his hometown that bears his name. His brother John visited the grave after the war and John's daughter and husband visited in 2005.
Sharon Murphy
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Sgt. William Darby. Royal Canadian Air Force, 50 Sqdn.. (d.6th Nov 1944) William Darby was a member of the seven-man crew of a Lancaster bomber that took off from RAF Skellingthorpe at 16.19 hours on 6th November 1944 and did not return. The aircraft crashed over Holland.
Crew members, who are all buried in the Heerde general cemetery, Holland, were: - Flt/Sgt Ralph Andrew Dowling (R/270087), Toronto
- P/O George Amos Dunkelman (J/95289), Midland, Ontario
- F/O Frederick Arthur Horning (J/36835), Toronto,
- F/O Robert Edward Rennie (J25818), Prince Edward Island
- F/O George Thompson Gilbert Terris (J/36306)
- Sgt William Darby (1737140)
- and Flt/Sgt Michael Arthur Cook (R/263352)
The graveyard is 9 miles from SW Zwolle, Holland. Mel Ogden
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FO Henry Edward Evans. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 190 Sqd.. (d.6th Nov 1944) Flying Officer (Air Gunner) Evans was the Son of Henry Francis and Mary Ann Evans, of Saltney, Flintshire, husband of L. Evans. of Saltney.
S Flynn
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