F/L Harold F Ewer DFC RCAF and crew – 103 Squadron – RAF Elsham Wolds – 1943
Failed to Return – 25/26th July 1943 – Avro Lancaster III – ED884 – Op Essen
Harold Ewer ( pictured above ) and his crew were posted to 103 Squadron at RAF Elsham Wolds on the 9th March 1943 from 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit. They were lost on the penultimate operation of their tour, the 29th. Ths was a hard tour through the Battle of the Ruhr mostly attacking Nazi cities all over the German Reich.
27-Mar-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – ED724 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
29-Mar-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – ED724 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
10-Apr-43 – Frankfurt – Lancaster – W4827 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF – Early return - Engine unserviceable.
13-Apr-43 - La Spezia – Lancaster – ED396 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF - Landed at Tangmere
16-Apr-43 – Pilsen – Lancaster – ED396 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF - Combat with twin engined enemy aircraft whilst coned at 4,000 ft over Darmstadt. Starboard inner radiator and prop damaged and also starboard mainplane flaps and undercarriage. Gunners replied with 300 rounds. Enemy aircraft seen to be hit and broke away.
18-Apr-43 - La Spezia – Lancaster – ED725 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
20-Apr-43 – Stettin – Lancaster – ED725 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
26-Apr-43 – Duisburg – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer - RCAF
28-Apr-43 - Gulf of Danzig – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
30-Apr-43 – Essen – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
04-May-43 – Dortmund – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
12-May-43 – Duisburg – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
13-May-43 – Bochum – Lancaster – W4323 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
25-May-43 – Dusseldorf – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
27-May-43 – Essen – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF – Early return - Cookie prematurely released and was resting on the bomb doors.
29-May-43 – Wuppertal – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
11-Jun-43 – Dusseldorf – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
12-Jun-43 – Bochum – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
14-Jun-43 – Oberhausen – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
21-Jun-43 – Krefeld – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
22-Jun-43 – Mulheim – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
25-Jun-43 – Gelsenkirchen – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
28-Jun-43 – Cologne – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
08-Jul-43 – Cologne – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
09-Jul-43 – Gelsenkirchen – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF – Did not take off
12-Jul-43 – Turin – Lancaster – ED884 – F/L HF Ewer RCAF - Landed at Exeter
24-Jul-43 – Hamburg – Lancaster – ED884 – F/L HF Ewer RCAF
25-Jul-43 – Essen – Lancaster – ED884 – F/L HF Ewer RCAF – FTR - Crashed at Borbeck, Germany.
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F/L Harold Frederick Ewer DFC RCAF – Pilot - 25 – 103 Sqn - Son of Harold Banff Ewer and Effie Davis Ewer, of Westbank, British Columbia, Canada - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Jack William George Wilson RAF – Flight Engineer - 18 - 103 Sqn - Son of John and Nellie M. Wilson; ward of Mr. C. K. Godwin, of Keynsham, Somerset- Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
P/O Derek Williams DFM RAFVR – Navigator - 103 Sqn - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Stanley Robson DFM RAFVR – Air Bomber - 23 – 103 Sqn - Son of Henry and Annie Robson of Newcastle-on-Tyne - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Stanley Henry Welch RAFVR ( pictured below ) – Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - 21 - 103 Sqn - Son of Bertie and Dorothy Welch of Stevenage, Hertfordshire - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt James Richard Fitch RCAF ( pictured below ) – Air Gunner - 103 Sqn - Son of Richard Walter Fitch, and of Della Marie Fitch of Markdale, Ontario, Canada - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
F/S Francis Ernest Juggins RAFVR – Air Gunner - 31 – 103 Sqn - Son of Ernest John and Lilian Rosena Juggins; husband of Lilian Juggins - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany.
Sgt Stanley Henry Welch RAFVR
Sgt James Richard Fitch RCAF
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Of particular note in this crew is young Jack Wilson, the Flight Engineer, who had almost completed a full tour and still was not 19 years old.
The DFMs awarded to Sgts Williams and Robson was gazetted on the 28th July 1944.
This crew were originally buried at the Dusseldorf Nordfriedhof. Post war the were exhumed and reinterred at Reichswald Forest.
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25-Jul-43 – Essen
103 Squadron detailed 21 aircraft for this attack on the German industrial city of Essen. This was a very successful raid and our anti RDF measure was again employed successfully. The weather en route was good with only thin layers of cloud over the target. The raid was a great success the target being enveloped in flames. A very large explosion was noted by most crews. The bombing heights were between 20000 ft and 22000 ft. P/O Ratcliff was forced to return early but succeeded in bombing the airfield at Alkmoor. F/S Loop also returned early due to an intercom problem. S/L Carpenter and F/L Ewer and crews failed to return. All others landed at base.
For this attack on Essen Bomber Command detailed a total of 705 aircraft - 294 Lancasters, 221 Halifaxes, 104 Stirlings, 67 Wellingtons, 19 Mosquitos. The commander of the American VIII Bomber Command, Brigadier-General Fred Anderson, observed this raid as a passenger in an 83 Squadron Lancaster. This was an attempt to achieve a good raid on this major target while the effects of 'Window' were still fresh. The raid was successful, with particular damage being recorded in Essen's industrial areas in the eastern half of the city. The huge Nazi Krupps industrial complex suffered what was probably its most damaging raid of the war. The next morning, Doktor Gustav Krupp had a stroke which saved him from being charged with a multitude of war crimes after the war. 26 aircraft - 10 Halifaxes, 7 Stirlings, 5 Lancasters, 4 Wellingtons - lost, 3.7 per cent of the force.
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Lancaster – ED884
This machine was lost on its 25th operation and was mostly flown by F/L H F Ewer and crew. See below
26-Apr-43 – Duisburg – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
28-Apr-43 - Gulf of Danzig – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCA
30-Apr-43 – Essen – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
04-May-43 – Dortmund – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
12-May-43 – Duisburg – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
18-May-43 - Biarritz/Biscay coast – Lancaster – ED884 – Sgt EJ Presland
23-May-43 – Dortmund – Lancaster – ED884 – Sgt SF Gage
25-May-43 – Dusseldorf – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
27-May-43 – Essen – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF – Early return - Cookie prematurely released and was resting on the bomb doors.
29-May-43 – Wuppertal – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
11-Jun-43 – Dusseldorf – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
12-Jun-43 – Bochum – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
14-Jun-43 – Oberhausen – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
16-Jun-43 – Cologne – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O FJ Hopps
21-Jun-43 – Krefeld – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
22-Jun-43 – Mulheim – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
24-Jun-43 – Wuppertal – Lancaster – ED884 – Sgt EJ Presland
25-Jun-43 – Gelsenkirchen – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
28-Jun-43 – Cologne – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
03-Jul-43 – Cologne – Lancaster – ED884 – W/O EJ Presland
08-Jul-43 – Cologne – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF
09-Jul-43 – Gelsenkirchen – Lancaster – ED884 – P/O HF Ewer RCAF – Did not take off
12-Jul-43 – Turin – Lancaster – ED884 – F/L HF Ewer RCAF - Landed at Exeter
24-Jul-43 – Hamburg – Lancaster – ED884 – F/L HF Ewer RCAF
25-Jul-43 – Essen – Lancaster – ED884 – F/L HF Ewer RCAF – FTR - Crashed at Borbeck, Germany.
Item compiled by David Fell. Photo courtesy of the Welch family. Fitch photo courtesy of the Canadian Virtual War Museum
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