208360 Flt.Lt. Charles Ellison Hill Royal Air Force 44 Sqn from:Lancashire. (d.23rd Nov 1943) My Grandad's brother, Charles Ellison Hill, was the pilot of Mk 1 Lancaster Serial number DV 329 (Sqn Code KM-W) when on the 23rd of November 1943 on a mission to or from Berlin was downed - still don't know how - in the town of Rasdorf. All the crew, bar the mid upper gunner, were killed and were buried in the town. At the end of the war they were reburied in the Reichswald War Cemetry in Germany. He ended up at Stalag 4b (IVb) in Muhlberg (PoW number 263692)where he stayed until being released by the advancing Soviet Army. My Grandad has now sadly passed away before I managed to find out the above, but it is all still sketchy to say the least. From what I can gather from relatives the survivor was a Rhodesian chap who, despite requests for information from families, refused to talk about the crash. How true this is we may never know, but it would be wonderful to find out what actually happened and gain some insight into the crew. Charles Hill was a Police officer in Liverpool before the war - strange really as I spent 14 years working for the RAF and am now a Police Officer.
The crew were as follows:
- Flt/Lt Charles Ellison Hill (127356) Pilot
- P/O Edric. G. Wright (156351) Flt/Engineer
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P/O James Marsden (156915) Navigator
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F/O Charles. W. Nunn (132381) Bombaimer/Gunner
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F/S Thomas Myerscough (1230232) W/op
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Sgt Ronald Ledsham (1535227) Rear Gunner
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Sgt P.B.Kirwan (?700738?) Mid Upper Gunner
I have been able to locate four combat reports from the crew which I can forward to any persons connected with the crew or sqn. Any info regarding the above would be greatfully recieved.
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