The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.     Site Home     WW2 Home     Add Stories     WW2 Search     Library     Help & FAQs  WW2 Features     Airfields     Allied Army     Allied Air Forces     Allied Navy     Axis Forces     Home Front     Battles     Prisoners of War     Allied Ships     Women at War     Those Who Served     Day-by-Day     Library     The Great War  Submissions     Add Stories     Time Capsule     TWMP on Facebook     Childrens Bookshop  FAQ's     Help & FAQs     Glossary     Volunteering     Contact us     News     Bookshop     About Advertisements World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945

222859 Sgt. Thomas Leonard John Whittick Royal Air Force 550 Squadron (d.22nd May 1944) My husband’s great uncle, on his mum’s side, Sgt Thomas L.J. Whittick, was the flight engineer on the DV309 aircraft, that crashed in Westerlo, Belgium. He took over from the pilot as it came crashing down in a field by a small village, saving the inhabitants of the village (As far as we are aware?)... The Loss of DV309 DV309 was shot down on the outskirts of Westerlo, Belguin, one of three 550 Sqdn Lancasters lost on the Duisburg operation on 21/22 May 1944. The crew, all killed on this operation, were: P/O G W Hinde (P) Sgt T L J Whittick (F/Eng) Sgt D Hughes (Nav) F/Sgt C C Sharland (B/A) Sgt D R M Davies (W/Op) Sgt E C Beacham (MU/AG) Sgt W A J Young (R/AG) On the night of the 21st/22nd of May 1944 Bomber Command sent 510 Lancasters to Duisburg and lost 29. 550 Squdron dispatched 18 aircraft and lost 3, 550 Sqd's worst night. One of the three not to return was D/Sgt G W Hinde and crew flying DV309 BQ-S. They crashed at 01.51 on the outskirts of Westerlo and all crew members were killed. German records show they were shot down my night fight ace Heinz Wolfgang Schnauffer who fished the war with 121 kills, all bombers. The bodies of the navigator and wireless operator were never found - an indication that something catastrophic had occurred. At more or less the same time another Lancaster from 626 Squadron also crashed very close to Westerlo. The Germans quickly cordoned off both sites and removed the wreckage and bodies. It was not firmly established which crash site belonged to which aircraft until 1977 when a piece was found bearing the number of the 626 aircraft. This established that the 500 Sqd Lancaster crashed at Schobbroek and the 626 Squadron aircraft at Herselt. A memorial stone was placed at the location of the crash on 21st of May 1998 My husband is a keen model maker, especially aircraft from the World War 2, he has already made the BBMF model and is trying to locate the serial number of the exact plane he co-piloted in order to find a scaled airfix type model kit as a memoir and tribute to him. I am hoping someone can help with this information or any other information you have regarding SGT T.L.J Whittick. Update: The Lancaster serial number was DV309, squadron code BQ-S. Michelle Ward Add to this record.  Related Content: No. 550 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.

The free section of the Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers. We have been helping people find out more about their relatives wartime experiences since 1999 by recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items. The website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions. If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running. Hosted by: The Wartime Memories Project Website is archived for preservation by the British Library Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV - All Rights Reserved We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.