The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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204509 Sergeant George Houghton from:Torquay (d.16 Jun 1941) Sergeant George Houghton was one of a six-man crew aboard a Wellington N2849 on June 16, 1941, when it crash-landed in the city of Hamont-Achel. All six men died and their bodies were laid to rest in the local cemetery. At that time, only five crew member was positively identified by the German authorities. The local Belgian people paid tribute to the airmen's sacrifices, flowers were laid on their graves and crosses erected. After the war all six of the bodies were identified, and they are now at the Commonwealth War Cemetery of Heverlee, Belgium. On June 20, 2009, the Oorlogsherdenkingen RAF Memorial group will unveil a memorial plaque in Hamont-Achel. René Winters, committee member of the group, is keen to hear from relatives of Sergeant George Houghton. He said: "We hope to trace any family members because we would like to invite them to attend our dedication service on June 20. "The service marks our work with this long overdue, but never forgotten, historical project." Sergeant George Houghton was the second radio-operator and air-gunner aboard the Wellington from 103 Squadron. He and his crew took off on the night of June 16/17, 1941, from RAF base Newton, Nottinghamshire, to bomb harbour installations at the Rhine in Duisburg. René added: "In the target area the visibility varied from good to moderate. A thin ground fog hampered the accurate aiming for the bombing load. Because bomb-aiming was not yet accurate in 1941, not one Wellington could drop its bombs right on the target. As a result of this, civilian targets in the city of Duisburg were also hit and there were civilian casualties. The Wellingtons were caught in search lights and they encountered heavy flak. Beside that, they were attacked by several German night fighters. The Wellington went out of control and crashed at 2.25am. It is highly probable that the plane broke apart." Anyone with information about Sergeant George Houghton please email René at info@grevenbroekmuseum.be Grevenbroekmuseum Noel Van Elsen Add to this record.  Related Content: RAF Newton No. 103 Squadron Royal Air Force Can you help us to add to our records? Add a record to our website. The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area? If so please let us know. Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice. Contact us. Celebrate your own Family History Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc. Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.

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