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29th 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.
- Barker Charles Frederick. Gnr. (d.29th Nov 1944)
- Cooke J. C.. F/Sgt. (d.29th Nov 1944)
- Greaves Basil Watson. Pte. (d.29th November 1944)
- McCoubray J. H. C.. F/Sgt. (d.29th Nov 1944)
- McGrath E. W.. Sgt. (d.29th Nov 1944)
- Orr Melvin Osborne. P/O (d.29th November 1944)
- Watson John Lawrence Stuart. Lt. (d.29th November 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 29th of November 1944? There are:27 items tagged 29th 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 29th November 1944
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Gnr. Charles Frederick Barker. British Army, 125th Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Artillery. (d.29th Nov 1944) Charles Barker was my uncle who I never met. He was a POW in Thailand. He was a gunner in the Royal Artillery and died on 29th November 1944 he was 24 years young. This is all I have to go on so any help would be very much appreciated.
Chris Brown
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P/O Melvin Osborne Orr. Royal Canadian Air Force, 103 Sqdn.. (d.29th November 1944) Uncle Melvin Orr, was aboard 103 Squadron Lancaster I LL964 PM-H "La Belle Dame Sans Merci", the night of Oct 31/Nov 1 1944. The plane was hit by flak. The crew was ordered to bail out. Melvin hurt his ankle upon reaching the ground. Pilot F/S Cooke and F/S McCoubray (who had deployed his parachute inside the aircraft) belly landed the aircraft at St-Gerard, Namur, without causing injury to these two men. The entire crew made it back to England within a month. Unfortunately the crew was aboard the Lancaster III PB465 PM-F "Mudpool Maggie II" the night of Nov 29 1944. The aircraft was involved in a midair collision with a 550 Squadron Lancaster. Damage was so severe that control was lost immediately. Crewmembers who perished: F/S M O Orr RCAF, F/S J C Cooke RCAF, Sgt E W McGrath (Irish), F/S J A Goff RCAF, WO2 F I R B Hill RCAF, F/S J H C McCoubrey RCAF. F/O G T Mortimer survived and became a POW. The men who died are buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery Doug Smiley
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F/Sgt. J. C. Cooke. Royal Canadian Air Force, 103 Squadron. (d.29th Nov 1944) On the night of 31st of Oct/1st of Nov 1944, 103 Squadron Lancaster I LL964 PM-H "La Belle Dame Sans Merci", was hit by flak. The crew was ordered to bail out. Pilot F/S Cooke and F/S McCoubray (who had deployed his parachute inside the aircraft) belly landed the aircraft at St-Gerard, Namur, without causing injury to these two men. Melvin Orr hurt his ankle upon reaching the ground.
The entire crew made it back to England within a month. Unfortunately the crew was aboard the Lancaster III PB465 PM-F "Mudpool Maggie II" the night of 29th of November 1944. The aircraft was involved in a midair collision with a 550 Squadron Lancaster. Damage was so severe that control was lost immediately.
Crewmembers who perished: F/S M O Orr RCAF, F/S J C Cooke RCAF, Sgt E W McGrath (Irish), F/S J A Goff RCAF, WO2 F I R B Hill RCAF, F/S J H C McCoubrey RCAF. F/O G T Mortimer survived and became a POW. The men who died are buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Doug Smiley
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F/Sgt. J. H. C. McCoubray. Royal Canadian Air Force, 103 Squadron. (d.29th Nov 1944) On the night of the 31st of October 1944, 103 Squadron Lancaster I LL964 PM-H "La Belle Dame Sans Merci", was hit by flak. The crew was ordered to bail out. Pilot F/S Cooke and F/S McCoubray (who had deployed his parachute inside the aircraft) belly landed the aircraft at St-Gerard, Namur, without causing injury to these two men. Melvin Orr hurt his ankle upon reaching the ground.
The entire crew made it back to England within a month. Unfortunately the crew was aboard the Lancaster III PB465 PM-F "Mudpool Maggie II" the night of 29th of November 1944. The aircraft was involved in a midair collision with a 550 Squadron Lancaster. Damage was so severe that control was lost immediately.
Crewmembers who perished: F/S M O Orr RCAF, F/S J C Cooke RCAF, Sgt E W McGrath (Irish), F/S J A Goff RCAF, WO2 F I R B Hill RCAF, F/S J H C McCoubrey RCAF. F/O G T Mortimer survived and became a POW. F/S M O Orr RCAF is buried in Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany. F/S J C Cooke, Sgt E W McGrath, F/S J A Goff, WO2 Hill and F/S McCoubrey are buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery.
Doug Smiley
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Sgt. E. W. McGrath. Royal Air Force, 103 Squadron. (d.29th Nov 1944) On the night of the 31st of October 1944, 103 Squadron Lancaster I LL964 PM-H "La Belle Dame Sans Merci", was hit by flak. The crew was ordered to bail out. My uncle, Melvin Orr hurt his ankle upon reaching the ground. Pilot F/S Cooke and F/S McCoubray (who had deployed his parachute inside the aircraft) belly landed the aircraft at St-Gerard, Namur, without causing injury to these two men.
The entire crew made it back to England within a month. Unfortunately, the crew was aboard the Lancaster III PB465 PM-F "Mudpool Maggie II" the night of 29th of November 1944. The aircraft was involved in a midair collision with a 550 Squadron Lancaster. Damage was so severe that control was lost immediately.
Crewmembers who perished: - F/S M O Orr RCAF,
- F/S J C Cooke RCAF,
- Sgt E W McGrath (Irish),
- F/S J A Goff RCAF,
- WO2 F I R B Hill RCAF,
- F/S J H C McCoubrey RCAF
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F/O G T Mortimer survived and became a POW. The men who died are buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Doug Smiley
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Pte. Basil Watson Greaves. British Army, 1/5th Btn. Welch Regiment. (d.29th November 1944) Basil Greaves was the son of Alfred and Ethel Sutton Greaves of Ilkley, Yorkshire. He was 19 when he died and is buried in the Haelen (Buggenum) Roman Catholic Churchyard, Limburg, Netherlands.S Flynn
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Lt. John Lawrence Stuart Watson. British Army, 7th/9th Btn. Royal Scots (attached 5th Highland Light Infantry). (d.29th November 1944) Lawrie Watson served with the Territorial 7th/9th Battalion, Royal Scots mobilised in Scotland in September 1939, the 7th/9th was briefly deployed to France with the 155th Infantry Brigade, alongside the 4th and 5th King's Own Scottish Borderers of the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division before the collapse of the French government, but was quickly withdrawn.
He was then attached to the 5th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry which landed in France as part of the 157th Brigade in the 52nd (Lowland) Division in June 1940. After evacuation from Cherbourg later in the month, they landed in Belgium in October 1944 and took part in Operation Infatuate in November 1944.
The 5th Battalion remained at Bergen-op-Zoom till 25th November, performing much necessary maintenance to equipment and person and generally resting after its labours on Beveland and Walcheren.
On 25th November it moved to Waalwijk on the south bank of the River Maas, taking over from the Algonquin Regiment, 1st Canadian Army.
Waalwijk was an extraordinary sector in many ways. It was the front line, the enemy held the north bank of the river, yet the town was full of civilians and, by day, everything was very normal and peaceful. Between them and the river stretched a flooded polder about three quarters of a mile across. This was perfectly flat, and the village was under direct enemy observation, but the houses themselves, which were continuous, screened any movement by troops. Oddly enough the enemy never shelled them.
At night the situation was rather different. Every night at least one patrol was sent out to recce the bank of the Maas. On the night of 29th November my grandfather was killed on patrol, probably by a fixed-line machine gun and although subsequent patrols attempted to locate and recover his body this was not accomplished till the night of 2nd December.
Ed Hutchings
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