The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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226162 Sgt Charles Alexander "Barney" Barends Royal Air Force 100 Squadron from:Liverpool My dad Charles Barends was a rear gunner stationed at RAF Grimsby (known as Waltham) during WW2. He was in Crew 100 of the 100 squadron. His crew did night bombings over Germany. My dad and the co-pilot were both injured during landing returning from a night bombing raid over Germany. The following night the same crew went on another night bombing mission with a replacement co pilot and rear gunner and their Lancaster never returned. Many years later, the Lancaster bomber was discovered under water off the coast of France. It had been shot down trying to return to Grimsby Air base. How lucky were these two crew members!! My dad was only 17 years old when he went on the first mission (he lied about his age). He told us he thought it was going to be exciting but after the first night bombing mission he realised how terrible it was and told us most of the crew went AWOL !! No one went looking for them as they knew they would come back which they did. He was a quiet man who I believed suffered most of his life from this experience and did not tell us too much, but what he did tell us was horrific. A couple of things he told us was sitting in the rear turret he did not have a parachute as there was no room in the confined space and if he would have had to bail out he would have had to find his parachute... so in other words no chance of survival! Imagine a Lancaster going down and those at the rear trying to claw themselves out at that angle of decent. Also he told us that many Lancs were lost as bombs hit those planes flying underneath them!! Lynn Howles Add to this record.  Related Content: No. 100 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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