210285 F/Sgt. Alfred Henry Hartshorn Royal Air Force 7 Squadron from:London (d.16th December 1943) Alfred Henry Hartshorn was my Grandfather. Obviously, I never met him as he died in 1943 and my Grandmother remarried and her second husband, to me, was always my Grandfather. There may have been an element of scandal within the family as it was only recently that I could confirm that Alfred Hartshorn was my true Grandfather.
Being a keen historian of World War 2, I was very much intrigued to discover that Alfred was a member of 7 Squadron RAF and was a Flight Sergeant Gunner. He died, on a mission, on 16/12/1943. From the research that I have done I've come to the conclusion that he probably flew in a Lancaster, although he could have also flown in a Stirling. That is pretty much all I know as all my family on my Grandmother's side are now dead (including my Mother) and there was a hint of scandal in the family about this so it wasn't often brought to the family table.
Alfred remains a mystery to me but I am hoping that through this particular recollection I may be able to unearth more about the history of Alfred Henry Hartshorn. Additional Information: | Alfred's Lancaster took off from RAF Oakington at 1620 on 16th December 1943, one of about 500 bound for Berlin, and was shot down by Oberleutnant Dietrich Schmidt west of Cloppenburg, Holland at about 1845. 23 aircraft failed to return that night – which got worse, see below.
My uncle, Arthur William Osborn, my father's brother, was Flight Engineer. The other members of the crew were pilot Flt Lt John Russell Petrie, Sq Ldr Arthur Gibson, F/O Ian Roy MacDonald, F Sgt Clifford Jame Seery, F/O Terence Walker Jackson-Baker.
In 1941 the chief Air Ministry scientist, R V Jones (a personal hero of mine) warned that German fighters could home in on the bombers' IFF radio signals. Unfortunately the crews believed in its benefits and losses mounted. Ultra reports showed that 6 of the 23 losses on 16 December 1943 were due to IFF interception and at last the CinC banned its use over enemy territory. Crews continued to ignore it though.
The losses above were not the end of the story of, as it became known, Black Thursday. The weather in England closed in, some airfields were closed and planes sent to distant alternatives. 43 bombers crashed or collided with each other on their return, some simply running out of fuel in their search for a landing place.
In all 328 aircrew lost their lives that night:-
Black Night for Bomber Command by Richard Knott (Pen & Sword 2007) is the book on the subject. David Clinker
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