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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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106 Squadron Crest
03/04.09.1943 No. 106 Squadron Lancaster I ED385 F/O. Leslie W. Roper

Operation: Berlin

Date: 3/4th September 1943 (Friday/Saturday)

Unit: No. 106 Squadron

Type: Lancaster I

Serial: ED385

Code: ZN-?

Base: RAF Syerston, Nottinghamshire

Location: Forest between Burgdorf and Uetze, Germany

Pilot: F/O. Leslie Walter Roper AUS/409597 RAAF Age 26. Killed

Fl/Eng: Sgt. Kenneth Ernest Bright 648514 RAF Age 26. Killed

Nav: Sgt. Andrew Steel Carscadden 1344908 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

Air/Bmr: W/O.2 Kenneth Douglas Wellwood R/12275 RCAF Age 25. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Harry Fisher 1139038 RAFVR Age 20. Killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Ernest Albert Cannon R/182457 RCAF Age 20. Killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Ronald Clifford Woolnough 1213595 RAFVR Age 20. Killed


We would like to appeal for any other relative of this crew as the Graham family have no photograghs of their Uncle, Sgt. Harry Fisher.

Update September 2015 - a further appeal for any photographs of Sgt. Kenneth Ernest Bright from the Clarke family.


REASON FOR LOSS:

Took off at 19:30 hrs. from RAF Syerston to attack Berlin.

A total of 316 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitoes took part with the the Mosquitoes used to drop spoof flares well away from the bombers route to attract Luftwaffe night fighters.

The raid was costly with 22 Lancasters lost - the bombs fell mostly short of the target area. The bombers that did reach the target fell mainly in the residential areas of Charlottenburg and Moabit. Several factories however were hit and suffered serious loss of production.

On the ground 422 people were listed as killed, 225 civilians, 24 servicemen, 18 men and 2 women from the air-raid services, 123 foreign workers made up from 92 women and 31 men. A further 170 civilians were classed as missing. Records show that another soldier and 7 ‘criminal’ assistants were also killed when the delayed action bombs they were working on exploded.

133 Aircrew were killed and many others injured, made PoW, or interred in Sweden.

2 Lancasters were lost from 106 Squadron on this operation. The other, a Lancaster III JA893 ZN-C is covered on another page.

It is thought that Lancaster I ED385 was hit by flak and crashed in a forest between Burgdorf and Uetze, some 20 km. east north east of Hanover.

Burial details:

F/O. Leslie Walter Roper. Hanover War Cemetery. Coll. Grave 3.F. 8-10. Son of Walter Cyril and Nellie Roper, of Bentleigh, Victoria, Australia. Grave inscription reads: "His Duty Fearlessly And Nobly Done. Ever Remembered".

Sgt. Kenneth Ernest Bright. Hanover War Cemetery. Coll. Grave 3.F. 8-10. Son of Albert and Lily Sussanah Bright, of Higham, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England. Grave inscription reads: "To Live In The Hearts Of Those You Love Is Not To Die, Dear Ken".

Sgt. Andrew Steel Carscadden. Hanover War Cemetery. Grave 3.F.12. Son of Andrew Stewart Carscadden and Elizabeth Skillin Carscadden, of Motherwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Grave inscription reads: "We Cherish Still With Love Sincere Fond Memories Of One We Loved So Dear".

W/O.2 Kenneth Douglas Wellwood. Hanover War Cemetery. Grave 3.F.13. Born on the 23rd December 1918. Son of Wilmot Bryant Wellwood and Helen Wellwood, of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. A school teacher prior to service.

Sgt. Harry Fisher. Hanover War Cemetery. Coll. Grave 3.F. 8-10. Son of Mrs. K. Singleton, of Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England. Grave inscription reads: "May His Reward Be As Great As His Sacrifice".

Sgt. Ernest Albert Cannon. Hanover War Cemetery. Grave 3.F.11. Son of Harry Richard and Jennie Cannon, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Grave inscription reads: "I Have Fought A Good Fight, I Have Finished My Course, I Have Kept The Faith".

Sgt. Ronald Clifford Woolnough. Hanover War Cemetery. Grave 3.F.14. Son of Walter Benjamin Robert and Louie Woolnough, of Alcester, Warwickshire, England. Grave inscription reads: "At The Going Down Of The Sun And In The Morning We Will Remember Them".

Researched for Yvonne Graham, niece of Sgt. Harry Fisher and dedicated to all relatives of the crew. For further details our thanks to the following, Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vol's. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vol's. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries (Updated 2014 version), Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Les Allison and Harry Hayward - "They Shall Grow Not Old". Thanks to Eleanore Wellwood the niece of W/O2 Wellwood for the correction to his DoB.

RS 4.12.2018 - Update to W/O2 Wellwood's DoB

Pages of Outstanding Interest
History Airborne Forces •  Soviet Night Witches •  Bomber Command Memories •  Abbreviations •  Gardening Codenames
CWGC: Your Relative's Grave Explained •  USA Flygirls •  Axis Awards Descriptions •  'Lack Of Moral Fibre'
Concept of Colonial Discrimination  •  Unauthorised First Long Range Mustang Attack
RAAF Bomb Aimer Evades with Maquis •  SOE Heroine Nancy Wake •  Fane: Motor Racing PRU Legend
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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