F/L Kenneth F J Winchester DFC RAFVR and crew – 103 Squadron – RAF Elsham Wolds – 1942
Failed to Return – 15/16th October 1942 – Handley Page Halifax II – W7705 – Op Cologne.
Above. Left - Ken Wallis and Right - Ken Winchester
Kenneth Winchester was posted to 103 Squadron at Elsham Wolds on the 12th October 1941 from 15 OTU at Harwell and flew 10 ops as co-pilot with his pal |Ken Wallis. He was Ken Wallis’ best man at his wedding.
He was made captain of his own crew in June 42 and completed 14 ops being lost on his 15th. He was awarded a DFC which was Gazetted 21st Aug 1942.
His tour details as captain of his own crew are shown below.
06-Jun-42 – Emden – Wellington – L7819 – P/O KFJ Winchester
11-Jun-42 - Ameland/Dutch coast – Wellington – L7819 – P/O KFJ Winchester
25-Jun-42 – Bremen – Wellington – L7819 – P/O KFJ Winchester
01-Aug-42 – Dusseldorf – Halifax – BB204 – P/O KFJ Winchester
07-Aug-42 – Duisburg – Halifax – W7705 – P/O KFJ Winchester - Flash bomb functioned prematurely in flare tube. WOP removed and jettisoned through hatch. Went off immediately after jettisoning
17-Aug-42 – Osnabruck – Halifax – W7772 – P/O KFJ Winchester
27-Aug-42 – Kassel – Halifax – W7705 – P/O KFJ Winchester
28-Aug-42 – Nuremberg – Halifax – W7772 – P/O KFJ Winchester
13-Oct-42 – Kiel – Halifax – W7772 – F/L KFJ Winchester
15-Oct-42 – Cologne – Halifax – W7705 – F/L KFJ Winchester – FTR - Crashed near Munchen Gladbach.
His loss must have been keenly felt by the Squadron as he was one of the most experienced pilots they had at this time Obviously destined for bigger things but sadly that was not to be.
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F/L Kenneth Frederick John Winchester DFC RAFVR – Pilot – 25 – 103 Sqn - Son of Percy Talbot Winchester and Leonora Winchesters of Battersea, London; husband of Madge Mary Winchester of Battersea - Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Henry Lewis Pitchforth RAF – Flight Engineer - 22 – 103 Sqn - Son of James Henry and Louisa Mary Pitchforth, of Leeds, Yorkshire - Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt WH Whitwham – 103 Sqn – POW – Camp L6/L4 - POW No 42809
Sgt Ronald Brooker RAFVR – Wireless Operator / Air Gunner – 25 – 103 Sqn - Son of Horace and Lilian Brooker; husband of Frances Betty Brooker (nee Shelton) of Shepherds Bush, London - Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Richard Wilson RAFVR – Air Gunner – 20 – 103 Sqn - Son of Robinson and Ivy Wilson of Burnley, Lancashire - Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Norman Robert Sedgwick RAFVR – Air Gunner – 22 – 103 Sqn – Son of Norman and Teresa Sedgwick, of Newcastle-on-Tyne; husband of Elizabeth Sedgwick of Newcastle-on-Tyne - Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Bernard William Vaughan DFM RAFVR - Air Gunner– 35 – 103 Sqn - Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
See Note 1 at the foot of this page.
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15-Oct-42 – Cologne
103 Squadron detailed 11 aircraft for this attack on the German city of Cologne. Conditions were cloudy but with good visibility and in the target area nil to 8/10ths with big gaps.
Flak was intense but not co-operating with searchlights which did not appear to be able to cone and this is thought to be due to the use of the IFF jamming device by our aircraft.. Balloons were observed at 6000 ft. F/L Winchester and crew and F/L Parker and crew failed to return. All other aircraft returned to base.
For this attack on Cologne Bomber Command detailed a total of 289 aircraft - 109 Wellingtons, 74 Halifaxes, 62 Lancasters, 44 Stirlings. 18 aircraft - 6 Wellingtons, 5 Halifaxes, 5 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings - lost, 6.2 per cent of the force.
This was not a successful raid. Winds were different from those forecast and the Pathfinders had difficulty in establishing their position and marking the target sufficiently to attract the Main Force away from a large decoy fire site which received most of the bombs. Cologne reports 1 'Luftmine' (out of 71 4,000 pounders carried by the bombing force), 3 other high-explosive bombs (out of 231) and 210 incendiary bombs (out of 68,590). 226 houses were damaged but only 2 of these received what was classed as 'serious damage'; 4 people were injured.
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Halifax W7705
This machine was lost on its 12 operation. Apart from Ken Winchester it was regularly flown by Jake Kennard and crew.
01-Aug-42 – Dusseldorf – Halifax – W7705 – F/L JH Kennard – Starboard outer spinner and pitch piston found dented on return
07-Aug-42 – Duisburg – Halifax – W7705 – P/O KFJ Winchester - Flash bomb functioned prematurely in flare tube. Wireless operator removed and jettisoned through hatch. Went off immediately after jettisoning
16-Aug-42 – Dusseldorf – Halifax – W7705 – F/L JH Kennard - Bombed on flak concentrations due to 9/10ths cloud and very dark conditions
17-Aug-42 – Osnabruck – Halifax – W7705 – F/L JH Kennard
27-Aug-42 – Kassel – Halifax – W7705 – F/L JH Kennard
27-Aug-42 – Kassel – Halifax – W7705 – P/O KFJ Winchester
28-Aug-42 – Nuremberg – Halifax – W7705 – F/L JH Kennard
01-Sep-42 – Saarbrucken – Halifax – W7705 – F/L JH Kennard – Did not take off – Aircraft unserviceable
02-Sep-42 – Karlsruhe – Halifax – W7705 – F/L JH Kennard
04-Sep-42 – Bremen – Halifax – W7705 – F/L JH Kennard
07-Sep-42 – Duisburg – Halifax – W7705 – F/L JH Kennard
14-Sep-42 – Bremen – Halifax – W7705 – F/L JH Kennard - Combat. Attacked by NF and badly damaged. Landed at Waterbeach.
02-Oct-42 – Krefeld – Halifax – W7705 – Sgt HB Smith – Did not take off – Aircraft unserviceable.
13-Oct-42 – Kiel – Halifax – W7705 – S/L JH Kennard
15-Oct-42 – Cologne – Halifax – W7705 – F/L KFJ Winchester – FTR - Crashed near Munchen Gladbach.
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Note 1
Sgt Bernard William Vaughan DFM RAFVR
Bernard William Vaughan was 35 years of age at the time of his death and not 43 as shown on the CWGR. However 35 is still old for aircrew duties. Also his parents listed by the CWGR are incorrect.
Bernard was born in 1907 in Kingston-on-Thames and later lived in Margate with his parents and 3 siblings.
Sadly his father died in 1912 and his mother in 1916. As a young man he worked in an office in Birmingham and then went to Australia. He later returned to England and settled in the Birmingham area.
At this time he married his wife Elizabeth in 1932 and they had 2 children - Marjorie Elizabeth and Ian Frederic. Tragically his wife and children were killed in bombing in December 1940. Also his brother Reginald was killed a year later. Reginald was a commissioned air gunner with 144 Squadron and had been awarded a DFC.
It is not clear at what stage Bernard joined the RAF. By October 1942 he was a very experienced air gunner having been on ops since early 1942 and had regularly flown with P/O J F Brookes plus a few others. When he was killed he must have been approaching the end of his tour. Bernard was awarded a DFM which was gazetted on the 6th November 1942.
Item compiled by David Fell with photo from my archive
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