F/L Gordon Webster Thorougood RAF – 103 Squadron / 511 Squadron – WW2 – Pilot - 40649.
Killed in flying accident – 21 November 1942 – Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle I - P1451
Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle I at RAF Lyneham
Gordon Thorougood born in 1917 and came from Formby the Lancashire and apparently was a keen rugby union player. He was a pre war RAF regular who appears to have joined 103 Squadron as a replacement pilot just after they withdrew from Betheniville to Rheges/St Lucien Ferme followed 2 weeks later by a further withdrawal to Ouzouer le Doyen
The only written record I can find of him in France is that on the 8 June 1940 6 Battles attacked enemy columns in the Poix area in daylight and during this operation P/O Thorougood flying P2315 observed 50 plus Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers attacking a village. He dived his aircraft right through the enemy formation and opened fire with his front gun claiming one Ju 87 destroyed. His gunner, P/O Webber on his first operation, claimed to have shot down a Bf 109 that came to the aid of the dive bombers. P/O Thorougood was forced to crash-land his damaged aircraft south of Paris. P/O Webber, who was seriously wounded three times in the attack, was immediately evacuated to England.
P2315 was a 218 Squadron machine and Thorougood may have been formerly with 218 Squadron as by then they had evacuated to the UK and bequeathed all their surviving aircraft to 103 Squadron at Rheges.
However there is some suggestion he was able to return to 103 Squadron at Ouzouer le Doyen and may have flown several more sorties before evacuating to the UK with the rest of the Squadron.
He was still attached the 103 Squadron when they arrived at their new base at Newton in the UK and flew 2 more operations shown below:-
17-Sep-40 – Boulogne - Invasion barges – Battle – N2157 – P/O Thorougood
22-Sep-40 – Boulogne - Invasion barges – Battle – N2157 – P/O Thorougood
When 103 Squadron converted to Vickers Wellingtons he never flew with them again but appears to have been posted to Transport Command and 511 Squadron.
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This Squadron did sterling work during WW2 in this unglamorous yet vital task.
Formed on 14 October 1942 511 Squadron from 1425 Flight at RAF Lyneham. The squadron continued the work of the Flight operating regular transport schedules to Gibraltar using the Consolidated Liberators. To extend the route from Gibraltar to Malta the Squadron also operated the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle. As WW2 progressed 511 Squadron extended its long range transport role and was the first squadron to operate the Avro York transport. The Liberators and Yorks were operated as separate Flights, but the Liberator Flight became 246 Squadron in 1944. The squadron continued to fly trooping flights, particularly between the United Kingdom and India until the squadron was disbanded on 7 October 1946.
Thoroughgood was killed on the 21 November 1942 when Albemarle P1451 of 511 Squadron crashed into the Gibraltar Sea soon after take off. Probably due to an engine failure.
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F/L Gordon Webster Thorougood RAF – Pilot – 25 – 511 Sqn - Son of Frank and Elizabeth Thorougood nee Webster and brother of James, Norris and Amy - Gibraltar Memorial, Gibraltar.
I would appreciate any more information about this airman.
Compiled by David Fell with photo from my archive
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