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Archive Report: Allied Forces

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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625 Squadron Crest
16/17.12.1943 625 Squadron Lancaster III LM424 CF:B Plt Off. Donald Baker

Operation: Berlin

Date: 16th/17th December 1943 (Thursday/Friday)

Unit No: 625 Squadron, "A" Flight

Type: Lancaster III

Serial: LM424

Code: CF:B

Base: RAF Kelstern, Lincolnshire

Location: Oppendorf, Germany

Pilot: Plt Off. Donald Baker 169107 RAFVR Age 20. KiA

Flt Eng: Sgt. Clifford Robinson 1677459 RAFVR Age 21. KiA

Nav: Plt Off. George William Frederick Batchelor 169468 RAFVR Age 32. KiA

Bomb Aimer: Sgt. William Henry Pallett 1393564 RAFVR Age? PoW No: 26986 *

WOp/Air Gnr: Plt Off. Gilbert Ernest Adams DFC. 545003 RAF Age 23. KiA

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. Kenneth Watmough 1213427 RAFVR Age 23. KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Flt Lt. William Dennis Crimmins DFC. J16533 RCAF Age 29. KiA

* Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland. (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser, Bavaria)

REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off from RAF Kelstern at 16:21 hrs to bomb Germanys capital. Berlin. 483 Lancasters with15 Mosquitoes taking part in a bombing operation that lasted between 19:55 - 20:34 hrs.

LM424 was claimed by Maj. Helmut Lent, his 79th Abschuss, from Stab NJG3 in the Quakenbrück area at 19:07 hrs (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (23 September - 31 December) 1943 Part 3 - Theo Boiten)

Sgt. Pallett managed to bale out of the aircraft and came down in the Lemförde area - taken as a PoW.

The aircraft caused enormous damage in the surrounding area - with fires spreading throughout the area. Two German villagers, 61 year old, Christoph Kalkhake and 29 year old, Heinrich Waering were killed attempting to rescue farm animals from the buildings - 19 completely destroyed, many other local villagers also injured - mostly suffering from severe burns. Shortly after the crash the main bomb being carried exploded causing further damage and a huge crater.

Another 625 Squadron Lancaster was also lost during this operation:

Lancaster III ED951 CF:A Flown by 2nd Lt. Wooley USAAF injured with 4 other crew, 2 others killed when the aircraft crashed on return at Gayton-Le-Wold in Lincolnshire.

Above: crash area of LM424 the following day

When the war came to Oppendorf (This link is in German) A night of horror: 16 December marks the 75th anniversary of the crash of a bomber on the village centre. An event that has left its mark to this day

WO. Baker and his crew were one of the original crews posted to 625 Squadron RAF Kelstern from 100 Squadron, on October 13, 1943 to form the battle hardened nucleus of the Squadron.

Their first operation with the Squadron was to Dusseldorf on 3.11.43 in W4993, uneventful. Sgt. R.H. Pitman was in the rear turret for this trip;
The same crew flew LM317 to Modane on 10.11.43;
The Battle Order for 18.11.43 took them to Berlin to drop their bomb load in 10/10s cloud. Flt Sgt. R.W. Burke (1) joined the crew for his ‘second dickie’ op.
WO. Baker along with Flt Sgt. G.W.F. Bachelor as ‘second bomb aimer’ (actually as navigator) returned to Berlin on 22.11.43 with Flt Sgt. Burke (1) and five of his crew for a repeat 10/10s cloud reception;
On 26.11.43 WO. Baker and his regular crew would have an uneventful trip to Berlin in DV362;
Unfortunately, their fourth consecutive op to the Big City would be a different story. They departed RAF Kelstern at 16:20 on 16.12.43 with Flt Lt. W.D. Crimmins DFC, Squadron Gunnery Leader, in the rear turret instead of Sgt. R.H. Pitman. The ORB notes: BERLIN. Missing- Nothing heard after take off. Plt Off. R.H. Pitman would perish with the crew of Sqn Ldr. T.M. Nicholls in W5009 on the Nuremberg debacle of March 30/31, 1944. (submission pending)

A letter dated March 2, 1950 to Mrs. Crimmins from Wg Cdr. W.R. Gunn RCAF Casualties Officer provides additional information on the crew’s fate. A Missing Research and Enquiry Services (MRES) report indicated that her son’s aircraft crashed at Oppendorf, fifty-five miles west of Hannover, Germany. Exhumation carried out in the Wetscher Cemetery, eleven miles north of Oppendorf, revealed that her son and members of his crew had been buried by the Germans with the members of two other crews. Of the six members of her son’s crew who lost their lives, four were individually identified. They were her son Plt Off. Batchelor, Plt Off. Baker and Sergeant Robinson. All three crews were moved to Permanent British Military Cemetery 5½ miles west of the centre of the city of Hannover, Germany - known as the Hannover (Limmer) British Military Cemetery. Her son was laid to rest in Plot 8. Row H. Grave No. 4. Two members of her son’s crew who could not be identified separately, Plt Off. Adams and Sgt. Watmough, were buried collectively with the unidentified members of the other two crews in Graves 10 to 16.

William Dennis Crimmins was born in Guelph, Ontario on March 10, 1914, the eldest of four children. His attestation form of July 2, 1940 and RCAF files reveal that he had a high school education and completed an automotive correspondence course. It is noted that he was extensively engaged in boxing and was an instructor. He added the comment that he was “unable to continue in school, owing to conditions at home.” His parents separated in November 1928 and his mother retained full custody of the children. The whereabouts of his father remained unknown since then. Bill Crimmins was employed as a weaver when he joined the RCAF.

He volunteered for aircrew as an air gunner. His initial assessment found him to be suitable in all respects for service in the RCAF, fully qualified in personal respects for commissioned rank. Summary: While the applicant is lacking in educational qualifications he has other attributes and leanings which seem to mark him as an excellent type for aircrew duties. Recommended for Air Gunner. He was discharged to Commission on 22.11.42 and promoted to the rank of Flt Lt. on 1.10.43. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 12.4.43 while serving with 12 Squadron. Invested with the award by the King, 9 November, 1943:

"Pilot Officer Crimmins is a most gallant gunner whose cheerful confidence throughout his tour of operational duty has inspired a high standard of morale and courage in his crew. His coolness and determination in action have been outstanding. Overseas he served with Nos. 150 and 12 Squadrons. On 1.10.43 he was posted from 1656 HCU to 625 Squadron RAF Kelstern as the Gunnery Leader. He was reported missing and later presumed dead on 16.12.43 while participating in a bombing attack on Berlin".

Flt Lt. Crimmin’s mother received two letters from Wg Cdr T. Preston, written the same day!

625S/C.6006/11/P.1. No. 625 Squadron,

RAF Kelstern,

Nr. Louth,

Lincolnshire.

20th December, 1943.

"Dr. Mrs. Crimmins,
Before you receive this letter, you will have had a telegram informing you that your Son, Flight Lieutenant William Dennis Crimmins (DFC) has been reported missing as the result of Air Operations.
It is with sincere regret that I write to you conveying as I do to Bill’s family the feelings of my entire Squadron. On the night of 16/17th December, 1943 at approximately 16:21 hours, Bill and his crew took off from this aerodrome to carry out a bombing attack over enemy territory, (the target was, in fact, BERLIN) and were due to return at approximately 23:30 hours that night. Unfortunately the aircraft never returned, and we have heard nothing from it or any member of the crew since time of take off.
We lost one of our happiest crews when this aircraft did not return, and one for which a great future has already been mapped out with the Squadron.
Your Son was extremely popular with this Squadron and was an extremely keen and capable Gunnery Leader. His presence is greatly missed in the Officer’s Mess where he spent many happy hours in the cheerful company of his many friends, and his loss is regretted by all.
There is always the possibility that Bill may be a prisoner of war, in which case you will either hear from him direct or through the Air Ministry, who will receive advice from the International Red Cross Society.

Your Son’s effects have been gathered together and will be forwarded to the Royal Air Force Central Depository, where they will be held until better news is received, or in any event for a period of at least six months before being forwarded to you through the Administrator of Estates, Ottawa.
May I now express the great sympathy which all of us feel with you in your great anxiety, and I should like also to assure you how greatly his many comrades in the Royal Air Force admire the heroic sacrifice your Son has made so far from his own country in the cause of humanity and in the Service of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
Bill’s cheerful spirit will remain long in the memories of his many friends in the Squadron, and I fervently trust that we may hear that he is safe. Yours very sincerely,

T. Preston. Wing Commander, Commanding No. 625 Squadron, RAF.

"Dear Mrs. Crimmins,
I feel that I must add to the official letter of regret which you will receive from me, as your Son’s Commanding Officer.
I knew Bill back in 1941 when we were together in the same Squadron, and he was one of the most reliable and praiseworthy gunners we had. Therefore I was very pleased to find him posted to my Squadron in October as Gunnery Leader, a position which he has held ever since.
I miss him especially as a friend, and also for the fine work which he has been doing here. Keen, and very reliable, he did an excellent job getting his gunners working together and I felt that the work was in good hands.
Now, I can only join with you in hoping for some good news of him. We all miss him and can expect no better chap than him to fill his place.
Will you therefore accept my sincere sympathy at this time, and my good wishes, together with all friends here in the Squadron, for good news in the future.Yours ever",

T. Preston

Burial details:

Memorial to the crew, Christoph Kalkhake and Heinrich Waering

Plt Off. Donald Baker. Hanover War Cemetery. Grave 8.H.8. Grave inscription reads: ‘TREASURED MEMORIES OF A SON WE ALL LOVED. MUM, DAD AND FAMILY’. Son of Frank Walter Thomas Baker and Laura Baker, of Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, England.

Sgt. Clifford Robinson. Hanover War Cemetery. Grave 8.H.2. Believed to have been born on the 22nd November 1912 and was living in Manchester in 1939. No further details found.

Plt Off. George William Frederick Batchelor. Hanover War Cemetery. Grave 8.H.3. Born on the 30th April 1911 in Hamstead, London. Son of Frederick William and Ellen Sarah (née Cooke) Batchelor. Husband of Violet Elizabeth Miriam (née Collins) Batchelor of Kingston, Surrey, England.

Plt Off. Gilbert Ernest Adams. DFC. Hanover War Cemetery. Coll. Grave 8.H.10-16. Son of Ernest George and Annie Florence Adams of Wimbledon, Surrey, England.

Sgt. Kenneth Watmough. Hanover War Cemetery. Coll. Grave 8.H.10-16. Grave inscription reads: ‘IN THE GARDEN OF MEMORIES WE MEET EVERY DAY’. Son of Arthur and Sarah Watmough, of Bingley, Yorkshire, England.

Flt Lt. William Dennis Crimmins. DFC. Hanover War Cemetery. Grave 8.H.3. Grave inscription reads: ‘IN OUR HEARTS FOR EVER HE WILL LIVE. MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE’. Son of Daniel Crimmins and of Elizabeth Crimmins (née Roth), of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.


(1) Pilot Officer Robert William Burke DFC, 420438 RAAF Age 22, was posted with his crew to 460 Squadron 20.11.43. Lancaster III JB600 AR:O. He and at least two of his original crew, bomb aimer 20 year old, Flt Sgt. James Lennox Brooks 426045 RAAF and navigator 23 year old, Flt Sgt. Andrew Henry 420385 RAAF were killed in action on April 10, 1944 on a Gardening operation to the Baltic.

Plt Off. Robert William Burke DFC. Esbjerg (Fourfelt) Cemetery, Denmark. Grave A.7.5. Grave inscription reads: ‘HIS DUTY FEARLESSLY AND NOBLY DONE. FOR EVER REMEMBERED’. Son of Alfred and Florence May Burke of Sans Souci, New South Wales, Australia.

Crimmins Island in Frobisher Bay, Nunavut is named after Flt Lt. Crimmins

Decoration Suggestions (by the author of these additions):

169107 Plt Off. D. Baker: Posthumous Commission - DFC. 1677459 Sgt. C. Robinson - DFM. 169468 Plt Off. G.W.F. Bachelor: Posthumous Commission - DFC. 54003 Plt Off. G.E. Adams DFC: Posthumous Commission - Bar to DFC. 1213427 Sgt. K. Watmough: - DFM. J16533 Flt Lt. W.D Crimmins DFC - Bar to DFC.

Sources:

625 Squadron ORB.
Library and Archives Canada/ancestry.ca: Canada, WW II Service Files of War Dead,
1939-1947/ William Dennis Crimmins J16533, Images 182-186.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.
Nachtjagd War Diaries Volume One and Theo Boiten.
Dean C. Black, Executive Director/Chief Staff Officer RCAF Association.
Photographs: Sgt. C. Robinson - courtesy of Allan Mawson, great nephew.
Flt Lt. W.D. Crimmins DFC - courtesy of Library and Archives Canada/ancestry. ca 625 Squadron Aircrew and Gravesite Photos and Documents,
Flt Lt. William Dennis Crimmins DFC, J16533, Page 154 on Ancestry RG24 25134.

Submission by Jack Albrecht and Nic Lewis. Co-authors: John Naylor and Maureen Hicks. Reg Price, surviving 625 Squadron Vet, forced to abandon this mission due to overheating starboard inner engine.


Researched by Kelvin Youngs (Webmaster) for a relative of Sgt. Clifford Robinson, Allan Mawson. (Jul 2015). Bob B at Find A Grave for Hanover Cemetery photo (Jan 2019). Update to NoK details by Aircrew Remembered (Feb 2023). Thanks to Gerald Walmsley for the memorial link (Feb 2023).

Other sources shown below.

RS 08.02.2023 – NoK Details updated and memorial link added

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Acknowledgements
Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and MWO François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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