Lancaster EE193
Stettin Raid 29/30 August 1944
550 Squadron Lancaster EE193/BQ-C was lost on an operation to Stettin 29/30 August 1944. Airborne at 21:13 on 29 August 1944 from North Killingholme it crashed in the Baltic (Kattegat north west of Sejerø) on the return leg. When lost this aircraft had a total of 310 hours.
The crew on that last flight of this aircraft was:
- W/O W H S Ansell (P)
- F/Sgt G W Battersby (F/Eng)
- F/O C R Cameron (Nav)
- F/O I H R Hood (B/A)
- Sgt A Anderson (W/Op)
- Sgt E W Parker (MU/AG)
- Sgt O Tabuteau (R/AG)
Six, including Sgt Tabuteau who came from Banff in Alberta, are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, while F/Sgt Battersby is buried at Reerso Churchyard, 9 km WSW from Gorlev in Denmark.
The details were obtained from http://www.lostbombers.co.uk/bomber.php?id=3544
The entry on the 550 Squadron Roll of Honour here.
Other information about the flight and the target available here.
Further details about the flight, including the possible location of the crash are available at: http://www.airmen.dk/e777274.htm.
F/Sgt Battersby now lies in a Commonwealth War Graves grave in Reerso Churchyard Denmark: http://www.cwgc.org/search/certificate.aspx?casualty=2271473.
To read more about him see:
http://www.rvremembrance.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69:battersby-geoffrey-wilkinson&catid=37:raf&Itemid=41.
Grimsby Telegraph
The following article, written by 550 Squadron Association member Ole Seberg (Professor of Molecular Systematics at The Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen Universtity) appeared in the Grimsby Telegraph (Special Edition) in June 2008 detailing the last flight of one of the nine Lancasters that came down over Denmark that night. Only the body of F/Sgt Battersby was recovered.
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Grimsby Telegraph, Monday 9th June 2008
Fierce fighting after long flight Colour copy kindly made available by the Grimsby Telegraph |