During a Tuesday visit to RAF Cosford museum I met up with Dennis and his charming wife and I have extracted his information from the exhibition board for the veterans which is below. He told a tale of travelling back from Italy sitting on bags of rice which the Lanc. had been filled with
1 which wonder which Lancaster squadron Dennis Thompson served with.The aircraft shown has a squadron code starting with the letter O which would cover many squadrons even filtering out those which are known not to be Bomber Command squadrons. The presence in Naples of a Lancaster in 1945 might be associated with the repatriation of freed Allied POWs although I would have thought that POW camps would have been long overrun in southern Italy,the surrender of German forces taking place in northern Italy. As I see No 107 Squadron was initially a light bomber squadron which at the start of the war was equipped with Blenheims within No 2 Group Bomber Command....following a conversion to Bostons,it swopped its Bostons for the Mosquito V1 to serve on the continent from the autumn of 1944,outside the Bomber Command structure. Dennis looks to be wearing a RAF tropical shirt in the photograph. Like many his service record would be found interesting.
Sorry missed of the written information on the exhibition board and gives details of the attack on Hitlers Bergof (had trouble with file size) Trevor
Interesting Trevor.......I served on No 97 Squadron at Hemswell, postwar and i am well acquainted with its 30 year operational history. As said on the 25 April 1945 the raid on the Berchesgaden Alpine Redoubt SS barracks and the Reich's second seat of government.....the Berghof but Hitler was in Berlin. Hemswell had in residence two Lancaster Squadrons,Nos 150 and 170 from November 1944.I would think the Hemswell squadrons would both have the SS barracks as their primary target on that daylight raid..they would be up early I knew a MU gunner on No 150 Squadron who told me the raid was very successful...... they had a direct hit on the barracks.Incidentally,his skipper who had crewed with him from OTU was only 19. By chance I have picked up the battle order for a raid to the Leuna oil plant by No 170 Squadron on 14 January 1945 in which I see Dennis Thompson participated in.....nav briefing 1345hrs....main briefing 1430hrs.....meals ....ordinary lunch No 170 Squadron put up 17 aircraft for that raid with Sgt Thompson operational in NN 744..... call sign V which would be TC- V. Unusual to note that all Pilots were commissioned and it appears all aircraft returned safely Crew Pilot F/O Quine Flight Engineer Sgt Wells Air Bomber F/O Greene Navigator F/O Seaton W/OP Sgt Brassington MUG Sgt Howell R/G Sgt Thompson NN744 was unfortunately lost on 21 February 1945 on a trip to Duisburg with F/L T C B Smith and his crew who were not on the battle order of 14 January 1945. Still have not identified the Lancaster with its squadron code first letter O. Those who FTR from Hemswell and those who served there are to be remembered at the annual service on Wednesday 20 September 2017 at 1100hrs. It was usual,subject to the weather to have about three passes of the Lancaster in the days of the Hemswell Association at 1130hrs. However since the association has disbanded, for various reasons,the Lancaster flypast has not been possible.
Just been reading a resume of my acquaintance's wartime experiences.He records that No 150 Squadron was at Naples repatriating RAF POWs. He also mentions in the summer of 1945, No 150 Squadron being involved in the dumping of incendiaries in the North Sea. A good account of his RAF and pre service occupation is now within Oral history records of the IWM. Sadly he died last December aged 91 and was involved in the history of RAF Hemswell until ill health forced him to give up his voluntary work..... a very pleasing man to know. Both Hemswell squadrons immediately after the war were involved in Operation Post Mortem which was test flying against the German early warning radar in the Flensburg area. On 1 July 1945 a No 150 Squadron Lancaster returning from Flensburg crashed into a hanger with the loss of two crew and two ground crew...I have an eye witness account of the incident somewhere.
