WW2 Airman's body found on Hatfield Moor in 1987

JCCC replied and they do not have any info on it.The person I sent the request to for help must have googled the details and this thread came up.

So perhap a call to the chap who gave the talk at the village hall

 

Archivist,
If you have not already done so, making contact with the Coroners office may prove to be fruitful.
Regards
Tom

 

Archivist, if you are convinced that the remains are those of a Polish airman you might consider contacting the Polish Airmen's Association. They may be able to assist you with Polish language sources and even have some details of surviving relatives.

 

Thanks for all your efforts but there has been previous friction between us and I don't think this would be fruitful. However, your efforts have reduced my task considerably and I am grateful for that. I am currently pressing on in other directions and will report back here with any results.

 

Unfortunately the local Coroners Office lost all its files prior to December 1995 in a flood so that avenue is closed. However, it is possible that a rogue copy may exist somewhere and I am always looking!

 

Thank you Roberto Unger, that is worth a try. I am currently working with three Polish military historians and I am in contact with Polish Government sources so you never know what will turn up.

 

Hi I live next to the moors and can remember one of the peat works managers telling me about finding the body. I know a few basic details but don't know if the manager is still about, he did live locally in Hatfield

 

Sorry for the delay in replying; I have been having some hospital time and was unable to communicate. At the moment, I have sent a report to the Polish Government and a member of the Ministry of Culture is trying to find the family of the man I believe it to be. I think the missing dogtags and the small portion of the skeleton that was never found were probably caught up in the cutting blades of the machine that uncovered him and are never likely to be found. In fact, had the operator not been alert, much more serious damage would have been done to the body. However I would be very interested in whatever you may know so I can present the best possible evidence in my attempt to get the man a proper head stone.

 

Hello I'm able to tell you that we were contractors to hmp lindholme in 1987. My Father had been a rear gunner with a Polish pilot stationed at Lindholme towards the end of the war. The Police officer investigating the discovery showed part of the uniform to my Father who was immediately able to identify it as belonging to a Polish airman. He was actually a bit upset not to be invited to the funeral.

 

Archivist
Is it known if the relevant authority obtained a sample of DNA before his internment? this could be your way forward I know its a possibility from a case local to where I live when a body was found and had no identifying information.

 

This was the detailed subject of an article in AFTER THE BATTLE magazine, I was never personally convinced he was an Airman

 

The RAF were convinced that he was an airman - they gave him a full military funeral. The Police were a little less careful than they should have been as they lost part of one of his ankle bones apparently to a fox during the night, having failed to secure the remains properly. Analysis of all the Polish dead from the nearby RAF Lindholme airfield gives a clear indication of which aircraft he came from and even which of the six man crew he was most likely to be. The AFTER THE BATTLE article is the best narrative available and was written by the Police Officer investigating the site. Unfortunately, they failed to thoroughly investigate the machine which uncovered the body or they might even have found the missing dog tags. No parachute was found at the scene but, if he was the rear gunner, he might have opted to jump from low altitude into what was actually a flooded peat bog - thinking it was a lake. The rear gunner's parachute was normally stored behind the turret just inside the fuselage. He might not have been able to rotate the turret if the plane had been shot-up. The plane was on a flight path to Land at Lindholmes short runway and his body was found just short of that runway. His injuries were consistent with a fall from a height similar to the approach height of a landing aircraft so it is very obvious that he was not a casual hiker.

 

Is anyone able to indicate which issue of AFTER THE BATTLE contains the article please?.

 

I’m still not convinced he’s even an Airman tbh. It never met the beyond reasonable doubt category . I’ve seen much stronger cases rejected. If a body had been found where no airfield was near, no such automatic connection would have been made.

 

Volume 62 from 1988

 

Aberdeen Press & Journal, Thursday, 13 November 1987


Aberdeen Press & Journal, Wednesday, 2 December 1987


Perhaps the most informative
Daily Mirror, Tuesday, October 13, 1987

 

Thanks to all who directed me to the articles. None of these mention my fathers suggestion that he identified some part of the clothing as belonging to a Polish Airman. I am presently unable to contact the member of prison staff present at the time who was involved in this. I know a team were involved in excavating an aircraft using pressure washers to clear the peat but I don't recall if the aircraft and body were in anyway linked. I did talk to someone at the Raf Ingham Polish museum that told me a number of items had been gifted to the museum by someone connected to Lindholme. Sadly my father passed away in 1989 so I am unable to ask for any further details (if only I had listened more closely when I had the chance).

 

Alan M Please message me with an email address and I will send you a lot of information on this - far too much to put on this site but enough to confirm that he was a Polish airman and your father's assessment was correct.

Neville

 

Hi
It is very interesting story. You Made a lot of work. At the moment I'm looking for details about weather conditions from 4 May 1942 Lindholme Air Base ( 1 am and later). I am from Poland. That night 2 Wellingtons from 305 Squadron didn't returne from Hamburg/ secondary target Emden. First SM-A was lost about 160 miles E from Mablethorpe Beach (crew were rescued /North Sea) and second was missing SM-G. From one source i found few informations about SM-G but it was mistake made by one Polish historian (grave in Danmark surname ok but wrong name crew member from SM-G ) I know personaly family member one from crew SM-G serial number Z8406. Other source backtonormady.org what i found set up Wreck of Wellington II SM-G in south part of Hamburg but it may be other aircraft. That night RAF lost 5 aircrafts minus SM-A north sea so 4 left. Will try to help maybe We will some day find out Who is a Polish Airman from Finningley, South Yorkshire.
No. 305 (Polish) Squadron
not confirmed

 

Online Document Catalogue | PISM
At the moment I am study documents from The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum London. If U have any questions let me know.