I have been advised to place a post here. I am researching the crew of 640Sqn MZ494 'B'. I currently have a personal item belonging to one of the crew and I would like to fill in the blanks of the history of its owner.
Halifax MZ494 'C8-B' of 640 Sqn RAF Leconfield was lost over Witten (Ruhr Valley) on the night of 19 March 1945. It was the last combat loss of 640 Sqn, and particularly harsh in light of the fact that the crew were fast approaching the end of a tour - 27th op. The crew were as follows:
Flt Lt Alan Huckle DFC (Pilot)
Ft Lt B. Walton (Navigator)
F/O J. Willoughby (Bomb aimer)
P/O W.E.C. Ralph (Air Engineer)
F/Sgt S. McKaig (W/Op)
F/Sgt M. Barratt (A/G)
F/Sgt B. Allingham (AG)
All were lost to flack with the exception of Jim Willoughby who managed to bail out and was subsequently captured.
'Info taken from Bill Norman's 640 Sqn book'
Back in 2001 I found an old tatty copy of an air raid spotters guide, estimated 1944, in an antiques shop in Sandwich, Kent. I bought it for the high price of £5, took it home and had a flick through the pages. In the back was the following transcript: (spelling mistakes included)
"This book was handed to Eric Ralph by his brother Bill when he left the ATC to join the RAFVR. Bill became a pilot officer Flight Engineer fl...... Stirlings then Halifax bombers of ..... Sqn Bomber command. Bill had many operations over Germany, but much to the great sorrow of his Family and friends he failed to return from one op being shot down over Germany. All the crew of the Halifax was killed with the exception of one man Pilot Officer Willoby from Canada, who managed to parachute to safety. He is now a school teacher in Canada. All the rest of the crew are buried in the Reichwald Forest in Germany. Bill's mother subsequently visited there boys graves after the war.
Eric Ralph volunteered for air crew duties with the RAF and was accepted as a W/op air Gunner, but the war was very at a close and was directed into the Army where his W/op knowledge came in very useful for he ............ as a driver W/operator and had the rank of Sgt W/S Bombardier. he went to the middle east on active service in Egypt, Palestine and Cyprus.
This book has now been handed to Eric's eldest son, Kenneth who has just joined the ATC."
Having read that note, I thought nothing more of it, except, I wonder where he was based; so I traced Jim Willougby's squadron. 640 Sqn Leconfield. Never heard of it. And that was that.
At the time I was an airframe engineer in the RAF....Three weeks later I was posted to RAF Leconfield, near Beverley, East Yorkshire.........
I have since found that Bill Ralph is buried between McKaig and Huckle in plot 28F of the Reichswald war cemetery.
If anyone has any information regarding the crew, in particular Bill Ralph, then I would like to hear from you. The ultimate aim is to have the full history of the crew from initial training through to the 19th March 1945.
Thanks in advance.
note - Karl, You have said that you have Jim Willoughby's diary etc. Would it be possible to send a couple of pictures, or even a copy of what you have regarding the crew via e-mail?