243138 Sgt. Alvra Ball Royal Air Force 9 Squadron from:17 Archer St, Castleford. Yorks My father Alvra Ball joined the RAF circa 1939 as an aircraftman. By Dec 1943 he had volunteered for aircrew with 9 Squadron Barney in Lincolnshire flying Lancasters. As a 22 year old Sergent Flight Engineer, Al completed 32 missions with 9 Squadron from Dec 43 until Jul 44 including 9 missions to Berlin and the 1000 bomber Nuremberg raid in Mar 44 in which 99 aircraft were lost. His crew Captain throughout this time was F/O. Mathers excepting one mission to Frankfurt on 16th Mar 44 when he flew with the crew captained by P/O. Jubb. Jubb and his crew we shot down and killed 6 days later on another attack on Frankfurt on the 22nd of March. From August 1944 he continued to fly as Flight Engineer with 463 Squadron RAAF from Waddington where he completed a further 7 missions including two very long range attacks on Konigsberg in late Aug 44. My father was demobbed in March 1946 with the rank of Flying Officer. He continued as a RAFVR officer until the late 60's and as C/O re-established 2388 Castleford ATC Squadron in 1962.
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