Hi Please would someone be able to help me with a purchase I made recently, it is a navigators service dress type tunic but unfortunately the name of the airman appears to of been lost in time. The only lead that I have are 2 pieces of paperwork one being a copy of a page from the pilot of the logbook S.Evans with the said be navigator on duty on this page. Also I have the photo copy of the airman himself. Unfortunately on this page there are no aircraft serial numbers but appears to be either a Beaufighter or Beaufort. Also under the remarks on the 11/4/44 there was a patrol on "Aertex" has anyone come across this patrol? Any help or lead would as always be very much appreciated.
The 21/4/44 ASR Search for F/Sgt Quinn might well suggest 153 Squadron. F/Sgt. Francis J.W. Quinn is listed on the Malta Memorial as lost 20/4/1944 Casualty Details 153 Squadron were flying Beaufighters and the fact that the subject was known to the log-writer suggests that they were from the same squadron.
Hi Rich Payne Thank you for your quick reply sounds an interesting and a real possibility. I will try this avenue and let you know of any findings.
It seems very difficult to find anything on-line relating to 153 Squadron's time on night fighters. Everything is overshadowed by a later war stint with Bomber Command. The odd thing is that I can't find any second crew member on CWGC around this date - Does it mean that one had been picked up ?
Just anobservation but the two medal ribbons suggest whoever wore it survived the war, The Italy and 39-45 stars were not issued until 1945 I believe? Kyle
The Squadron ORB shows Beaufighter ND207, F/Sgt S Evans, F/Sgt N B Rees as airborne at 19:55 hrs on the 11th April 1944. You have his tag in the photos you attached You can build up the rest of F/Sgt Rees operational flights from the ORB. NFT is Night Flying Test and not individually recorded in the ORBs. F/Sgt Quinn was in ND298 with W/O S R Simm when shot down by return fire from a He177 they attacked. Quinn was credited with the enemy a/c but only W/O Simm was picked up after bale out over the sea. Ross
Hi Kyle Thank you for your input as i hadnt known whether he had survived the war or not, but that now clears that up. Hi Ross What can i say but thanks to you and the replies above we now can put a name to the tunic that sadly had been lost, i thought it may of been a stab in the dark with what little information i had, but with this forums excellent knowledge we can now put a name to the service dress tunic. In regard to the ORB where would i find this information as i would like to now research as much info as i can and put this with F/Sgt Rees tunic. Also with reference to the tag would this be some kind of military tag as this was found deep inside one of the tunic pockets. Again i cant thank you all enough.
The paper tag from Lloyds Bank in Gravesend is more likely to be a receipt for his mess bill than an official military tag. ORBs or Operations Record Books can be found at The National Archives, Kew. You can download these for £3.50 each but as they only cover typically 1 month and you need both Summary (Form 540) and Record (Form 541) for the full picture, so it quickly gets expensive. However if you visit the TNA (even on a Saturday) you can down load all you need for free while you look at the records only on paper for all your other gear. To get started this is the Form 541 for April 1944 Squadron Number: 153 Records of Events: Y | The National Archives Invest £3.50 for a taster of what can be found. Ross
Would strongly endorse the advice of RAFCommands and others regarding ORBs - they're often a great (if a little dry) source of information. Good luck, Pat.
I will definitely go down that avenue as this is the very least i can do to help piece together the information and to bring alive the story of Flt/Sgt M.B. Rees. Thank you again for your advise.
39-45 star ribbon issued late 1943 as well as the Africa star. All other ribbons issued 1946 so it's missing a war medal ribbon at least.
Thanks James for clarification, the Africa Star ribbon was worn by many during the Normandy landings but no one appears to have been issued with both. The criteria was different in 1943 and of course we didnt actually have a 1939-45 Star I think it was originally the 39-43 Star. Kyle
Yes the 39-43 star and Africa star originally could not be worn together and a silver rosette was to be worn on the 1st ribbon if both were awarded This is why BoB rosette is gilt as to distinguish but in 1946 the whole criteria of medals were changed 39-43 star became 39-45 star and you could wear both stars so the silver rosette became obsolete until the bomber command clasp was issued in2015
