F/L Charles P Ready RAFVR and crew – 103 Squadron – RAF Elsham Wolds – 1943
Failed to Return – 2/3rd December 1943 – Avro Lancaster III – JB400 – Op Berlin
Left - Charles Ready. Right - Arthur Wakefield
Charles Ready ( pictured above with Arthur Wakefield ) and his crew were posted to 103 Squadron at RAF Elsham Wolds on the 6th August 1943 from 1667 Heavy Conversion Unit. They completed 18 operations with another cancelled before being lost on their 19th. See details below :-
12-Aug-43 – Milan – Lancaster – ED942 – F/O CP Ready
22-Aug-43 – Leverkusen – Lancaster – DV180 – F/O CP Ready
23-Aug-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – ED646 – F/O CP Ready
29-Aug-43 – Munchengladbach – Lancaster – ED767 – F/O CP Ready
31-Aug-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB152 – F/O CP Ready
03-Sep-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB152 – P/O CP Ready
05-Sep-43 – Mannheim – Lancaster – JB152 – F/O CP Ready
27-Sep-43 – Hanover – Lancaster – JB279 – F/O CP Ready
29-Sep-43 – Bochum – Lancaster – JB279 – F/O CP Ready
01-Oct-43 – Hagen – Lancaster – JB279 – F/O CP Ready
02-Oct-43 – Munich – Lancaster – JB279 – F/O CP Ready
04-Oct-43 – Ludwigshafen/Diversion – Lancaster – JB279 – F/O CP Ready
08-Oct-43 – Hanover – Lancaster – JB279 – F/O CP Ready
20-Oct-43 – Leipzig – Lancaster – JB276 – F/O CP Ready
22-Oct-43 – Kassel – Lancaster – JB458 – F/O CP Ready
03-Nov-43 – Dusseldorf – Lancaster – JB460 – F/L CP Ready
10-Nov-43 – Modane – Lancaster – JB460 – F/L CP Ready
23-Nov-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB319 – F/L CP Ready – Did not take off - Cancelled due to high winds which caused some aircraft to swing on take off
26-Nov-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB655 – F/L CP Ready - Diverted to Middleton St George because of bad visibility at base
02-Dec-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB400 – F/L CP Ready - FTR - Crashed in the target area.
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F/O Charles Peter Ready RAFVR – Pilot – 33 – 103 Sqn - Son of Lt-Col Basil Tobin Ready and Hilda Helen Ready of Hawkhurst, Kent – Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt William George Neale RAFVR ( pictured above ) - Flight engineer - 20 – 103 Sqn – Son of George Alfred and Ivy R. Neale of Bristol – Runnymede Memorial.
George was born in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales. His mother was Welsh and his father a Bristolian,
F/O Arthur James Wakefield RAFVR ( See picture at top of page ) – Navigator - 42 – 103 Sqn - Son of James and Lily Wakefield; husband of Hilda Julia Wakefield of Sale, Cheshire. Member of Pharmaceutical Society – Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Stanley Williams RAFVR - 20 – 103 Sqn - Son of A. and Annie May Williams; husband of Bridget Mary Williams of North Petherton, Somerset – Runnymede Memorial
Sgt William Ainscow RAFVR - 26 – 103 Sqn - Son of William and Alma Zytilla Ainscow; husband of Pearl Joan Ainscow of Peverell, Plymouth – Runnymede Memorial
Sgt Herbert Fox RAFVR - 22 – 103 Sqn - Son of Charles and Edith Fox of Hull – Runnymede Memorial
Sgt William Edward Cheal RAFVR - 34 – 103 Sqn - Son of Tom and Laura Isabella Cheal of Torquay, Devon – Runnymede Memorial
Arthur Wakefield deserves a very special mention as he was 42 years old and the oldest 103 Squadron aircrew known to have been killed during WW2. 42 is a great age for an aircrew and he was old enough to be the father of several of his comrades.
Above - Photos of the 5 Missing Ready crew member’s graves. These are listed as An Airman Known Unto God but Fred Neale researched his brother’s crash for many years and established beyond any reasonable doubt that these 5 graves in the Berlin 1939 - 1945 War Cemetery are those of the 5 missing crew members.
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02-Dec-43 – Berlin
103 Squadron detailed 14 aircraft for this attack on the German city of Berlin. A thin layer of very low cloud covered the target area but the pathfinder marking appeared to be accurate and ground markers were clearly seen. Fighter flares were in great evidence, but heavy flak only moderate. There was much light flak and many “ scarecrows “The bombing heights were between 20000 ft and 22000 ft. F/L Ready, F/L Hopps and W/O Bellamy and crews failed to return. F/S Rathbone returned early as his rear gunners hands were frost bitten. All others returned to base except P/O Young who landed at Wittering and F/O Eddy at Kirmington
For this attack on Berlin Bomber Command detailed a total of 458 aircraft - 425 Lancasters, 18 Mosquitos, 15 Halifaxes. There were no major diversions and the bombers took an absolutely direct route across the North Sea and Holland and then on to Berlin. The Germans identified Berlin as the target 19 minutes before Zero Hour and many fighters were waiting there. Incorrectly forecast winds scattered the bomber stream, particularly on the return flight, and German fighters scored further victories here. A total of 40 bombers - 37 Lancasters, 2 Halifaxes, 1 Mosquito - were lost, 8.7 per cent of the force. 460 (Australian) Squadron lost 5 of its 25 Lancasters on this raid, including the aircraft in which two newspaper reporters were flying. These were Captain Grieg of the Daily Mail and Norman Stockton of the Sydney Sun. The inaccurate wind forecast caused great difficulties for the Pathfinders, who were not able to establish their positions correctly. The bombing photographs of the Main Force suggested that the attack was scattered over a wide area of southern Berlin and the countryside south of the city. The Berlin report confirms this but adds that some useful damage was caused in industrial areas of the eastern and western districts, with two more of the Nazi Siemens factories, a ball-bearing factory and several railway installations being badly hit. Damage elsewhere was light, only 136 buildings being destroyed.
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Lancaster – JB400
This machine completed 7 ops with another one cancelled and was lost on its 8th trip
08-Oct-43 – Hanover – Lancaster – JB400 – W/O TJ Basset
18-Oct-43 – Hanover – Lancaster – JB400 – F/S T Gallacher
22-Oct-43 – Kassel – Lancaster – JB400 – W/O T Gallacher
03-Nov-43 – Dusseldorf – Lancaster – JB400 W/O T Gallacher
18-Nov-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB400 – S/L JA Whittet – Did not take off
22-Nov-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB400 – S/L JA Whittet - Hit by flak. PO engine caught fire and feathered.
26-Nov-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB400 – S/L JA Whittet - Diverted to Croft because of bad visibility at base
02-Dec-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB400 – F/L CP Ready – FTR - Crashed in the target area.
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Sgt William G Neale
Fred Neale worked tirelessly over many years to identify the last resting place of his brother, Sgt William G Neale RAFVR of Bristol, who was the Flight Engineer in the crew of F/L C P Ready RAFVR. They had completed 18 operations, not including one which was cancelled, with 103 Sq before being lost on the night of the 2/3rd Dec 43, Berlin. This crew was shot down north of the German capital. Five members are recorded as missing and are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Fred was able to establish that the remains of 6 of the crew were taken to a German military hospital at Elsgrund Doberitz where they were examined and then buried. From surviving records Fred has confirmed that his brother was identified at this time. He has been to the area, visited the site of the hospital and interviewed a retired doctor and others who proved most helpful.
Subsequently, when the graves were exhumed after the war, only 2 could be identified, Ready and Wakefield, and these were re-interred in the Berlin 1939/45 War Cemetery.
Fred believed that his brother was also exhumed at this time and buried at the Berlin 1939/45 War Cemetery as an Unknown.
Item compiled by David Fell with photo from my archive.
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