The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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207515 Sgt. John Ralph Marwood Perry Royal Air Force 431 Squadron from:East Boldon In 1944 I was stationed at Croft assigned to 431 Squadron. We came from the Heavy Conversion Unit at Topcliff. I was an RAF engineer placed with the Canadian crew led by Flying Officer George Edward Kircher. Our crew consisted of: Pilot Flying Officer George Edward Kircher, 26 years old Navigator Flight Lieutenant Burch, 28 years old Bomb Aimer Flight Sergeant Kenneth West, 26 years old Wireless Operator Warrant Officer Jack Dempsey, 30 years old Mid Upper Gunner Sergeant Wilfred Sheane, 23 years old Tail Gunner Sergeant Thomas Murison, 26 years old Flight Engineer (Crew Chief) Sergeant John Ralph Marwood Perry, 21 years old Memorable Operations. On a daylight raid to Norway to a submarine pen, we left Croft in a Halifax about noon and headed north over Scotland. Near the north of Scotland we crossed the path of a Fokker Wolf 200, 4-engine German bomber. I waved to the tail gunner who ignored me. We led the attack into the Fiord and bombed a flack ship in the harbour with a direct hit down the funnel. The tail gunner confirmed this and our pilot was awarded the Air Force Cross. During the attack we had a direct hit to the fuselage of our Halifax. We flew back at wave top level to conserve fuel. The return height was miscalculated and 17 planes were lost over Scotland as they crashed into the mountains. George Kircher was an experienced bush pilot and saved us with some clever manoeuvers when he saw the mountains. We left Croft in a Lancaster for Chemnitz, Germany on a night bombing raid. Our track took us over Berlin at about 26,000 feet and we experienced severe icing on the aircraft. There were fighters even at that height so I manned the front gun turret. We released our bombs over the city and headed home. Over the English Channel we crossed the path of a squadron of Flying Fortresses headed for France. We dived to avoid them and I heard a noise from the bomb bay. I discovered a bomb that had been frozen in place and released itself once the ice had melted. I quickly opened the bomb bay and dropped it into the English Channel. We landed at Croft after the longest trip we ever made in a Lancaster of more than 9 hours. We journeyed to the Kiel Canal on a daylight raid to bomb submarines and submarine factories in the city of Kiel. When we took off the undercarriage and wheels would not retract until we manipulated the manual lever. The fuel situation became dire on our return and we were forced to land at Scarborough on the coast. We had 4 red fuel lights signifying the total lack of fuel on board and landed with no time to spare. I would like to thank the farmer and his wife who lived on the farm at the airfield who kindly gave George Kircher and myself breakfast one morning. John Ralph Marwood Perry Add to this record.  Related Content: No. 431 (Iroquoise) Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force RAF Croft RAF Topcliffe 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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