Just seen this story on the BBC Wartime love letters discovered under Scarborough hotel floorboards - BBC News As I'm Motherwell born it caught my eye, I recognise the street name as I have an RAAF Log Book and his crewmate was from Dellburn Street so I checked cuttings and the house number matches, and with an RAF crest on the letters I assume its him. I went to the Archaeology society page and it looks looks like someone has already raised the same name.
Casualty Details | CWGC Sergeant J McCONNELL (1822623), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve) [Royal Air Force WW2 Casualty ] TD
I've been chatting to someone from the archaeology society passing on some details I know about the crew
I think the story is going to feature on BBC Look North just now and later in the day I may try pop along and see Sgt McConnell's grave and memorials tomorrow if the weather is a bit better
It will be interesting to see how Look North covers this and if it transcends from the Yorkshire transmission area across to its Yorks & Lincs one, given that is where the aircraft flew from and where they collided and crashed. Some associated detail is at: WW2 - The Second World War: WW2 Casuatlies of Fulstow, Lincolnshire There is a fair possibility - especially given that the tragedy occurred on Christmas Eve - that someone locally may actually recall the event. I wonder whether it was his first ‘trip’, given his so recent arrival from Conversion Unit at Faldingworth? Such is fate. An AG (DFM) who lived in our village always said that he survived because he stood-in for a colleague on one operation, which caused him to be stood-down from the next, when his own regular crew were lost.
The Look North lunchtime bulletin is now available BBC iPlayer - Look North (Yorkshire) - Lunchtime News: 11/03/2021 it has a quick feature, it is sad that its done with great hope that a happily ever after story will emerge having been done before they found what happened to him and the presenter even comes on after the article that hopefully there will be a nice follow up - I don't think a collision and falling 12'000 feet onto a Lincolnshire field is the feel good story they were looking for, poor lad(s). With RCAF and RAAF crew records are easily available. Woods crew were on their 3rd trip - Berlin, Frankfurt, Berlin (not exactly a gentle easing into life as a bomber crew), McConnell wasn't normally part of the crew but joined them for Frankfurt and Berlin for some reason