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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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428 Squadron Crest
22/23.09.1943 No. 428 Squadron Halifax LK635 NA-H F/O. H.E. McRae

Operation: Hanover

Date: 22/23rd September 1943 (Wednesday/Thursday)

Unit: No. 428 Squadron

Type: Halifax V

Serial: LK635

Code: NA-H

Base: RAF Middleton St. George, County Durham

Location: Not known

Pilot: F/O. Hector Earl McRae J/20195 RCAF Age 23. Missing - believed killed

Fl/Eng: Sgt. Donald Ernest Jeffery 1862968 RAFVR Age 19. Missing - believed killed

Nav: Sgt. Leonard Cotton 1516171 RAFVR Age 22. Missing - believed killed

Air/Bmr: Fl/Sgt. Walter Edward Dickson R/156913 RCAF Age 22. Missing - believed killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Arthur Reginald Bohn 1415741 RAFVR Age 22. Missing - believed killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. James Wright 1590868 RAFVR Age 30. Missing - believed killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Edward George Miller R/183626 RCAF Age 19. Missing - believed killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Took off at 18.28 hrs. RAF Middleton St. George, County Durham to attack the German city of Hanover. The first major air raid on Hanover for 2 years. 322 Lancasters, 226 Halifaxes, 137 Stirlings and 26 Wellingtons took part.

26 aircraft would not return. 155 crew members lost their lives and a further 48 made prisoners of war. (5 USAAF B-17's also joined which was their first night raid on Germany)

Visibility in the target area was good but stronger winds than forecast caused the marking and the bombing to be concentrated between 2 and 5 miles south south-west of the city centre. It is unlikely that serious damage was caused.

No details how this aircraft was lost and no night fighter claims have been made. The Squadron lost another crew during this operation, the other:

Halifax V LK914 NA-K Flown by F/O. Kenneth William Jones 120550 RAFVR from Kingswood, Gloucestershire, England killed with 5 other crew, 1 crew member survived, Sgt. E.G. Bartram 1258355 RAFVR taken PoW.

Burial details:

No known burials, but some reports state that they are buried as unknown in Hanover War Cemetery.

F/O. Hector Earl McRae. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 174. Son of Gordon and Gertrude Sarah May (née Marshall) McRae, of Huxley, Alberta, Canada.

Sgt. Donald Ernest Jeffery. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 155. The son of Ernest Charles Grace Jeffery and Hilda Olive (née Stevens) of 267 Clockhouse Road, Beckenham, Kent, England.

Sgt. Leonard Cotton. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 146. Son of Leonard and Nellie Cotton (née Sanders), of 63 Canada Street, Sheffield, England.

Fl/Sgt. Walter Edward Dickson. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 181. Born on the 21st June 1921, the son of Harold Edward and Mabel Lillian Dickson from 379 Woodbine Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Sgt. Arthur Reginald Bohn. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 143. The son of Frederick William Bohn and Matilda (née Webb) of 14 Oval Mansions, Kennington, London, England.

Sgt. James Wright. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 170. Son of James and Florence (née Bassett) Wright and husband of Rhoda (née Hutchinson) Wright, of Hull, England.

Sgt. Edward George Miller. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 186. Son of Ferdinand Jacob and Charlotte Ann Miller (née Coxhead), of Mitchell, Ontario, Canada.

Researched for Gerald Dickson nephew of the Air Bomber, Fl/Sgt. Walter Dickson. Gerald's daughter Heather Dixon informed us that her father passed away in 2019. With thanks also to David Champion for crew photographs - dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to sources as shown below.

KTY 11.02.2017 - Photos added 21.02.2017

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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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