207541 P/O. Stuart James Harvey Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 106 Sqn. (d.17th May 1941) Stuart James Harvey, known as Jimmy was killed, we think as a result of a crash, when his wife, Meryl, was 5 months pregnant with their only child (my father). His grave is at Wittering All Saints Church. Throughout the years, we were led to believe that Stuart had been shot down over Germany, but the revelation that there is a grave (we only found this out in the last couple of years) has led us to think that the more likely scenario was a crash. Rumour has it that the only survivor was the tail gunner, but I am unaware of any further graves at Wittering with the same date as my grandfather's.
Having been with 106 Squadron, I'm sure Jimmy would have flown out of Conningsby, but we have precious few leads. We do know that, before the war broke out, he had been on HMS Repulse, he apparently 'jumped ship' so that he could fly. There is an entry in The Valetta Times proclaiming his bowling prowess, having taken six wickets in a match in 1938. Given what happened to Repulse and his own fate, he jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.
My Dad grew up never having known his father. When I was born my parents named me Stuart James, but I've always been known as Jim and I've always felt a draw towards him and would deeply love to find out more about him. I would be eternally grateful to anyone who has any information about my grandfather. Perhaps he appears in a group photo that's tucked away in someone's WWII artefacts?
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