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Those who Served
Sgt. Tom Taylor . RAAF bomb aimer 460 Sqd. from Australia) (d.30th May 1943) |
William John Taylor . Royal Navy HMS Royal Arthur
This photograph is of Class 78 (Signals) at HMS Royal Arthur Sep-1943 to Mar-1944. My Father, William John Taylor, is front-row first left.
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William Taylor . from ) I met Bill Taylor at the D-Day landing ceremony in France in June 2009. He was telling us about how he nearly got court marshalled for taking a car when he was on night guard duty. He was with his friend Barny Barnwell who wanted to go and see his girlfriend who lived in Caen, Barny married her in the end. Bill would love to hear anything about Barny, is he still around? |
F/O Ronald Teed . RAAF 512 Squadron (d.10th April 1944) I am seeking information from family and friends of members of 512 Squadron RAAF, stationed at Broadwell. My uncle F/O Ronald Teed died on 10 April 1944 when his Dakota crashed at the airfield returning from a training mission.
Any information regarding the squadron would be appreciated.
The site is much appreciated for keeping these memories alive. |
Sargent Edward W Tegge . USAAF 356th Fighter Group 361 Fighter Squadron from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania) My uncle, Sgt Edward W. Tegge, served with the 356th Fighter Group
361st Fighter squadron during World War Two at Martlesham Heath, England. He was a Radio Technician know as a "Static Chaser" from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. He enlisted on August 21st 1942.
Does anyone have any pictures of the ground crews of 361st Fighter Squadron or their radio technicians? |
Sgt. Ernest van Telle . Australian Army 2/11th Btn. AIF |
Able Seaman Ernest Tevenan . Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve HMS Forfar from Hull, Yorkshire) (d.2nd Dec 1940) |
Corporal Percy Thackray . Army RASC My dad, Corporal Percy Thackray, joined the RASC before WW2 and left in 1949; just wondered if any one could remember him, as he never told me about WW2 and what he did, although I think he was a batman driver. |
Steward Sidney Thelwell . Naval Auxiliary Personnel HMS Forfar from Liverpool) (d.2nd Dec 1940) |
Pilot Officer D V Thesiger . RAF VR |
Flying Officer B J Thomas . RAF VR 59 Squadron |
Flight Sergeant David Standing Thomas . RAF (d.4th April 1942) |
Flying Officer David Selwyn Thomas . RAF (d.16th September 1944) |
Flt. Sgt. Edwin Robert Thomas . Royal Air Force pilot 101 Sqd. from Forest Gate, Essex, England.) (d.31st Mar 1944) |
Lt. (j.g.) Harold Chester Thomas . U.S. Navy USS Boise (d.Oct. 1942) I am an associate currently working on the namesakes of the individual vessels of the United States Navy for the web site NavSource.org. I need assistance obtaining a digital image of Lt. (j.g.) Harold C. Thomas. The image is to be posted along with his biography on the page dedicated to the escort destroyer USS Harold C. Thomas (DE-21) named in his honor. He was mortally wounded during the Battle of Cape Esperance. I am looking forward to hearing from former crew members or family members of the USS Boise with any information in the very near future or on any other Namesakes. We need tons of assistance in our project. |
John Samuel Thomas . My Dad John Samuel Thomas was in Stalag 357 during 1944. After the war he went to Australia with his family and lived till he was 68. Does anyone have any info on his time in the camp? |
Mabel Irene Thomas . Land Army On 3 September 1939, war was declared by Great Britain and France on Germany, and so World War 2 started. These were very frightening times. I was 20 years old at the time, and too old to be evacuated from my home in the ship-building town of Barrow-in-Furness in North West England, on the edge of the English Lake District.
My father, being a Royal Naval reservist and a coppersmith by trade, was called up immediately into the Royal Navy, holding the rank of Chief Petty Officer.
Early in 1940, German aircraft dropped their first bombs on Barrow. These were incendiaries which landed very close to our home, but the Fire Brigade quickly dealt with them. We were issued with gas masks, which we had to carry everywhere with us in case of gas warfare.
Every home was provided with an Air Raid Shelter, ours was an Anderson and dug well into the ground in the garden. We spent many nights sitting there, well wrapped up, listening to the German planes flying overhead and wondering if the next high explosive bomb would land on us. After heavy rain our shelter, which we called 'Jerry View', would become flooded which meant that we would have to sit there without light or heat, fully clothed and with Wellingtons on, listening to the planes flying overhead, their target being the local shipyards.
Every night we packed a suitcase with our valuable documents and everything else of importance, including a first aid box and flasks filled with hot drinks, and took them into the shelter. My father came home on leave on one occasion, saw the shelter flooded and remarked that we would probably die of pneumonia first than from the effects of the bombing. During daytime raids we would be directed by an Air Raid Warden to the nearest surface shelter, which were usually brick built.
In May 1941, when the bombing was at its height, our home became damaged from the effects of bombs falling on a neighbouring housing estate and became uninhabitable. We were fortunately unhurt, and my mother found rented accommodation in the neighbouring town of Dalton-in-Furness.
During the same year, young women were being drafted into war work, and as a preference to working in a munitions factory, I decided to join the Women's Land Army (WLA) as it seemed to offer the healthy outdoor life which appealed to me. The WLA enabled men folk working on the land to be called up for military service.
I joined on 10 June 1941. Members of the WLA were part of the Ministry of Agriculture and were employed on the basis of a guaranteed weekly wage as laid down by the Agricultural Wages Board, covering a working week of not more than 48 hours in winter and not more than 50 hours in summer. I received a cash weekly wage of 22s.6d. (about £1.12p) after a deduction to cover board and lodging provided by my employer.
I was paid for all public holidays and also for my annual holiday of six days, when I was given a free return rail warrant to my home.
Members of the WLA were employed in horticulture, general farm work, ploughing, hedging, milking, land reclamation, pest extermination, harvesting, threshing and some even became shepherdesses.
On joining I was posted, along with about 30 other Land Girls, to a WLA hostel in Letterston, in Pembrokeshire, a very long way from my home in Barrow.
We had a housekeeper looking after us, and were taken daily by lorry in all kinds of weather, complete with our beetroot sandwiches (which I came to loathe), to work on different arable farms in the area - potato picking, hedge trimming and corn threshing in its season, which was very dirty and horribly uncomfortable work.
Some days, as a change, we had cheese sandwiches, and these also I loathed. Over the days I became very unhappy, leading a life far removed from that depicted on the recruiting posters. Seeing that I was so miserable, Mrs Betty Ladd, the WLA representative in charge, suggested to me that I apply to fill a vacancy for a Land Girl at Pentre Mansion at Boncath, also in Pembrokeshire. This I successfully did, moving at the same time as Mrs Ladd, who was returning there. Initially Mrs Ladd and I had board and lodging in a neighbouring village, cycling to and from our work, but on approaching the tenant of Pentre Home Farm he gave us permission to convert one of the empty farm buildings, and we made ourselves a very comfortable billet. The days of beetroot or cheese sandwiches were now a thing of the past.
I was employed in the horticultural section of the WLA, my work being mainly in the greenhouses, thinning the grapes on the vines, pollinating the peaches and nectarines with a rabbit's foot and making sure that everything was well watered. I also picked the soft fruit, climbed the apple trees in the orchard, packing the surplus fruit ready to take to the shops in Cardigan for sale. The head gardener, together with four other gardeners, was involved in keeping the estate in good order with the digging of the gardens, mowing the lawns, etc, although I did a lot of the planting out.
During the war, Pentre Mansion, owned by the Saunders-Davies family, was commandeered by the Military Authorities to be used as an Auxiliary Hospital and Convalescence Home for sick and wounded servicemen. They occupied one half while the family lived in the other.
The mansion was a beautiful place, with its glittering chandeliers hanging from the ceilings and oil paintings of the family and their ancestors hanging on the walls of each room. The rooms had colourful names - the blue room or pink room, for example - and in them stood suits of armour which had been worn by the family ancestors during previous campaigns. The staff had all been retained - the cook, the maids, Lloyd the chauffeur who would convey the servicemen to and from the local railway station in the family limousine when they were going on or returning from leave. The service personnel were cared for by Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurses under the command of Matron, with an Army Medical Officer attending weekly. Sunday morning service was held in the chapel attached to the mansion, with one of the nurses playing the organ and the local vicar conducting the service.
The service personnel in their dress of vivid blue suit, white shirt, red tie and forage cap or beret were not allowed to walk into the gardens, but were allowed in the grounds in the front of the mansion, their discipline being maintained under an Army Sergeant Major.
Miss Barbara Saunders-Davies, the daughter of the family and about ten years older than me, bred beautiful Palomino horses. These were a lovely golden colour with cream mane and tail, and after work I spent many pleasant hours being taught horse riding by her.
Having been at Pentre since early 1942 I had met very many of the patients, socially and through my work, but none had really gained my affections until June 1945, when Royal Marine Stanley Ogilvie came to Pentre as a patient to recuperate from war wounds and attacks of malaria. I realised when I saw him that this was to be my future. Good looking, six feet tall, dark and handsome and resplendent in his dress uniform, and when we became better acquainted, I appreciated his sincerity and intelligence and we got on well together. We became engaged after a while, Stan leaving Pentre in August 1945 returning to his base at Plymouth, before being medically discharged.
World War 2 was now at an end. It had been at a tremendous cost, with enormous loss of life and a great deal of suffering to many more.
I was granted a willing release from the Land Army in January 1947, and it was with mixed feelings that I left Pentre, returning to my home in Barrow, which by then had been repaired and had become habitable once again. Stan came to live in Barrow and was successful in obtaining employment in the General Offices of the Barrow Haematite Steel Co Ltd.
We married on 16 August 1947, spending our honeymoon at Douglas in the Isle of Man, and then setting up home on Walney Island near Barrow. In 1950 our identical twin daughters, Dilys and Glenys were born. In 1965 Stan was offered a post in the Civil Service in Swansea. We moved there and it is where we still live. I am now an 85-year-old great-grandmother, and looking back over my life, I believe that it is the taking part during the growing up of the family which has given me most satisfaction, with us both helping our daughters to get on in life and to become good citizens, just the same as we were taught by our parents. The tendency to reminisce about the past is not just looking back, it's more like living one's youth and life all over again.
My tale has been about Past Times
The Present is with us
The Future is yet to come
Let us endeavour to make the most of it,
To the benefit of those we love and cherish
To the benefit of our fellow human beings as well as
To the benefit of ourselves.
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Meirion "Tommy" Thomas . RAF 166 Squadron from Wales) My Grandfather, Meirion Thomas, served at Kirmington during the war with 166 Squadron and flew in Lancasters. he was also in Number 1 Squadron at Tangmere at the start of the war. This is a long shot but if there is any one with information on him or knew of him or has any photos, please get in touch. |
Flight Lieutenant Peter Alfred Thomas DFC. RAF 582 Squadron (d.23rd December 1944) I am desperately searching for any information about Pilot Officer Frederick William Campbell, known as Teddy, of 582 Sqd RCAF, age 29, of Pembrooke, Nova Scotia who died in action December 23, 1944. He is my half brother's father and we know nothing at all about him. My 70 year-old brother was adopted and never met or knew his Dad. Very sad circumstances. I am determined to search until I have answers. He died while serving his country and deserves to be recognized by his son for his bravery.
Update:
P/O Campbell was with 582 Squadron at the time of his death; the squadron lost 5 aircraft on 23/12/44 whilst on operations to Cologne.
Lancaster PB523, took off from Little Stoughton at 10.29hrs. Crew were
F/Lt Peter Alfred Thomas, DFC, RAF 172593, killed, age 22.
F/Sgt Vivian George Hobbs, RAF 1816098, killed age 20
F/O W.E.Vaughan, RCAF, POW
F/Lt A.R.Whittaker, POW
W/O H.Fuller, POW
Sgt G.Fallon, POW
W/O2 Frederick William Campbell, RCAF J/94493, killed, age 29
The Lancaster is believed to have crashed at Oppiter (Limburg), 4km SE of Bree in Belgium, though it is likely some of the crew baled out over Germany.
F/O Hobbs lies in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, his death being attributed to a collapsed parachute canopy. F/L Thomas was originally buried at Oppiter but his grave is now at Heverlee War Cemetery, while WO2 Campbell RCAF, who was laid to rest alongside his skipper, has been taken to Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, Holland.
—From Bomber Command War Diaries - Martin Middlebrook & Chris Everitt
Lancaster PB523 was one of 27 Lancasters and 3 Mosquitoes of 8 Group to attack the Gremberg railway yards.
The raid went very badly. The force was split into 3 formations, each led by an Oboe-equipped Lancaster with an Oboe Mosquito as reserve leader. During the outward flight, 2 Lancasters of 35 Squadron collided over the French coast and their crews were all killed. On approaching the target, it was found that the cloud which had been forecast had cleared and it was decided to allow the bombers to break formation and bomb visually; this move was made because the formations would have been very vulnerable to Cologne's flak defences during the long, straight Oboe approach. Unfortunately the order to abandon the Oboe run did not reach the leading Lancaster, a 582 Squadron aircraft piloted by Squadron Leader R A M Palmer DFC (on loan from 109 Squadron), who continued on with his designated role, even though his aircraft was already damaged by flak. German fighters, who were being directed to intercept an American bomber force, also appeared and attacked. The bombs from Squadron Leader Palmer's aircraft were eventually released and hit the target but his plane went down out of control and only the tail gunner escaped, by parachute. Squadron Leader Palmer, on his 110th operation, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, the only Oboe VC of the war; his body is buried in the Rheinberg War Cemetery with the other men who died in the Lancaster.
The formation suffered further losses when another Lancaster and a Mosquito were shot down by Flak ANF fighters and a further Lancaster was abandoned by its crew over Belgium. The losses were thus 6 aircraft out of the 30 dispatched.
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Flight Lieutenant Peter Alfred Thomas DFC. RAF 582 Squadron (d.23rd December 1944) 582 Squadron lost 5 aircraft on 23/12/44 whilst on operations to Cologne.
Lancaster PB523, took off from Little Stoughton at 10.29hrs. Crew were
F/Lt Peter Alfred Thomas, DFC, RAF 172593, killed, age 22.
F/Sgt Vivian George Hobbs, RAF 1816098, killed age 20
F/O W.E.Vaughan, RCAF, POW
F/Lt A.R.Whittaker, POW
W/O H.Fuller, POW
Sgt G.Fallon, POW
W/O2 Frederick William Campbell, RCAF J/94493, killed, age 29
The Lancaster is believed to have crashed at Oppiter (Limburg), 4km SE of Bree in Belgium, though it is likely some of the crew baled out over Germany.
F/O Hobbs lies in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, his death being attributed to a collapsed parachute canopy. F/L Thomas was originally buried at Oppiter but his grave is now at Heverlee War Cemetery, while WO2 Campbell RCAF, who was laid to rest alongside his skipper, has been taken to Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, Holland.
—From Bomber Command War Diaries - Martin Middlebrook & Chris Everitt
Lancaster PB523 was one of 27 Lancasters and 3 Mosquitoes of 8 Group to attack the Gremberg railway yards.
The raid went very badly. The force was split into 3 formations, each led by an Oboe-equipped Lancaster with an Oboe Mosquito as reserve leader. During the outward flight, 2 Lancasters of 35 Squadron collided over the French coast and their crews were all killed. On approaching the target, it was found that the cloud which had been forecast had cleared and it was decided to allow the bombers to break formation and bomb visually; this move was made because the formations would have been very vulnerable to Cologne's flak defences during the long, straight Oboe approach. Unfortunately the order to abandon the Oboe run did not reach the leading Lancaster, a 582 Squadron aircraft piloted by Squadron Leader R A M Palmer DFC (on loan from 109 Squadron), who continued on with his designated role, even though his aircraft was already damaged by flak. German fighters, who were being directed to intercept an American bomber force, also appeared and attacked. The bombs from Squadron Leader Palmer's aircraft were eventually released and hit the target but his plane went down out of control and only the tail gunner escaped, by parachute. Squadron Leader Palmer, on his 110th operation, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, the only Oboe VC of the war; his body is buried in the Rheinberg War Cemetery with the other men who died in the Lancaster.
The formation suffered further losses when another Lancaster and a Mosquito were shot down by Flak ANF fighters and a further Lancaster was abandoned by its crew over Belgium. The losses were thus 6 aircraft out of the 30 dispatched.
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Flight Lieutenant T Thomas DFC. RAF 59 Squadron |
Flight Sergeant Theophilus John Thomas . RAF VR 106 Squadron (d.2nd January 1944) Lancaster JB642 bomber with the 106 Squadron on operation to Berlin, lost on the 2nd of January 1944. JB642 was one of two No.106 Sqdn Lancasters lost on this operation. Airborne 0020 2nd January 1944 from Metheringham. Outbound, crashed at Hoya, a town straddling the Weser, 14 km SSW of Verden. Those killed are buried in Hannover War Cemetery.
At 18, Sgt Withington was amongst the youngest to die on air operations in Bomber Command. P/O F.H.Garnett KIA Sgt D.McLean KIA F/S T.J.Thomas KIA Sgt E.M.J.Pease KIA Sgt E.Edge KIA Sgt J.A.Withington KIA Sgt A.A.E.Elsworthy PoW was interned in Camps 4B/L3, PoW No.269841. |
Sergeant Theophilus Thomas . RAF VR 106 Squadron (d.2nd January 1944) Lancaster JB642 bomber with the 106 Squadron on operation to Berlin, lost on the 2nd of January 1944. JB642 was one of two No.106 Sqdn Lancasters lost on this operation. Airborne 0020 2nd January 1944 from Metheringham. Outbound, crashed at Hoya, a town straddling the Weser, 14 km SSW of Verden. Those killed are buried in Hannover War Cemetery.
At 18, Sgt Withington was amongst the youngest to die on air operations in Bomber Command. P/O F.H.Garnett KIA Sgt D.McLean KIA F/S T.J.Thomas KIA Sgt E.M.J.Pease KIA Sgt E.Edge KIA Sgt J.A.Withington KIA Sgt A.A.E.Elsworthy PoW was interned in Camps 4B/L3, PoW No.269841. |
Sergeant Theophilus Thomas . RAF VR 106 Squadron (d.2nd January 1944) Lancaster JB642 bomber with the 106 Squadron on operation to Berlin, lost on the 2nd of January 1944. JB642 was one of two No.106 Sqdn Lancasters lost on this operation. Airborne 0020 2nd January 1944 from Metheringham. Outbound, crashed at Hoya, a town straddling the Weser, 14 km SSW of Verden. Those killed are buried in Hannover War Cemetery.
At 18, Sgt Withington was amongst the youngest to die on air operations in Bomber Command. P/O F.H.Garnett KIA Sgt D.McLean KIA F/S T.J.Thomas KIA Sgt E.M.J.Pease KIA Sgt E.Edge KIA Sgt J.A.Withington KIA Sgt A.A.E.Elsworthy PoW was interned in Camps 4B/L3, PoW No.269841. |
Flight Sergeant Theophilus John Thomas . RAF VR 106 Squadron (d.2nd January 1944) Lancaster JB642 bomber with the 106 Squadron on operation to Berlin, lost on the 2nd of January 1944. JB642 was one of two No.106 Sqdn Lancasters lost on this operation. Airborne 0020 2nd January 1944 from Metheringham. Outbound, crashed at Hoya, a town straddling the Weser, 14 km SSW of Verden. Those killed are buried in Hannover War Cemetery.
At 18, Sgt Withington was amongst the youngest to die on air operations in Bomber Command. P/O F.H.Garnett KIA Sgt D.McLean KIA F/S T.J.Thomas KIA Sgt E.M.J.Pease KIA Sgt E.Edge KIA Sgt J.A.Withington KIA Sgt A.A.E.Elsworthy PoW was interned in Camps 4B/L3, PoW No.269841. |
Pilot Officer W J Thomas . 59 Squadron |
Wilfred Thomas . British Army Black Watch I am looking for any one who can help tell me anything about Stalag Va,
my father, Wilfred Thomas was a prisoner there,he was in the blackwatch. I have photos of him there
and letters. I would also like to know if there are any trips to this camp. |
Warrant Officer Albert Thomason . RAF 57 Squadron I am looking for information about my uncle, Niels Christian Evensen, shot down near Dieppe, France on 17/12/1944. Is there anyone who remembers him?
The crew were:
Capt N.C.Evensen RNAF
F/S W.G.Gulliksen RNAF
F/O John Roger Garling RAF, 154595 (name on Runnymede Memorial)
Sgt H.G.Bjoroy RNAF
W/O Albert Thomason RAF VR 1117171 (buried Longuenesse (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery)
Sgt A.R.Powell RCAF
Sgt D.S.Scott RAF |
L/Cpl. Douglas Thompson . Army The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders |
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 Sep-1943 to Mar-1944.jpg)
