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Sgt. John Lewis
Royal Air Force 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron
from:Lampeter
(d.25th Jun 1944)
Johnny Lewis was a Sergeant Air Gunner, 1445360, with the RAF Volunteer Reserve. He was born in 1921, the son of John & Elizabeth Lewis from Lampeter, Cardiganshire in Wales. He served with 44 Squadron RAF which was equipped with the Avro Lancaster BIII and based at RAF Dunholme Lodge.
The mission took off at 11.35pm in Lancaster ND751 on the 24 June 1944 to destroy a flying bomb site at Pommerval. A total of 739 aircraft had taken part on that night to bomb various flying bomb locations. The mission was carried out on a clear moonlit night and so with help of the effective searchlight units many aircraft were destroyed by night fighters. 22 Lancasters were lost including ND751 and ME628 of 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron.
Johnny was killed when his Lancaster was shot down over France on 25 June 1944. He is buried at Criquetot-Sur-Longueville Churchyard with six other colleagues, Pilot Officer Douglas Earl Aiken RCASF, Sergeant John Hare Sergeant Horace Arnold Lewarne, Flight Sergeant Frank Sidney Rawson, W/O Robert Alexander Riddoch and Pilot Officer Alfred Montague Simmons RCAF. Criquetot-sur-Longueville is a village and commune 17 kilometers south of Dieppe, one kilometer east of the N.27 road from Dieppe-Totes and the crew of ND751 are buried in the north corner of the churchyard. Johnny left behind both his parents and four siblings.
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