S/L William E M Eddy DSO DFC RAFVR and crew – 103 Squadron – RAF Elsham Wolds – 1944
Failed to Return – 25/26th February 1944 – Avro Lancaster III – ND417 – Op Augsburg.
Bill Eddy ( pictured above ) was born in Penkridge, Staffordshire in 1909. His father, Sir Montague John Eddy CBE, was Chairman of the Buenos Great Southern Railway, Argentina and Bill travelled there with his father several times and grew to love the country. As a young man he left the UK to start a new life in Argentine. At the start of WW2 he volunteered for the RAF to fight the Nazis like hundreds of other brave Argentinian young men. He was at first rejected but in a year accepted and returned to the UK to go through the usual pilot training programme.
He was posted to 103 Squadron at RAF Elsham Wolds from Heavy Conversion Unit in late January/early February 1944. Surprisingly the date of his posting is not shown in the Operational Record Book. The Eddy crew flew the following operations and were lost on their 5th. See below :-
15-Feb-44 – Berlin – Lancaster – ND417 – F/L WEM Eddy
19-Feb-44 – Leipzig – Lancaster – ND417 – F/L WEM Eddy
20-Feb-44 – Stuttgart – Lancaster – ND417 – F/L WEM Eddy
24-Feb-44 – Schweinfurt – Lancaster – ND417 – F/L WEM Eddy
25-Feb-44 – Augsburg – Lancaster – ND417 – F/L WEM Eddy – FTR - Flak victim. Crew baled out. Pilot crash landed at Grapfontaine in Belgium.
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F/L William Edward Montague Eddy RAFVR – Pilot - 103 Sqn - Evaded
F/S John Miller RAFVR – Second pilot - 103 Sqn – POW/Injured – Camp L7 – POW no 400
F/S Jack Woodward RAF – Flight Engineer - 103 Sqn – POW - Camp L7/13D/7A – POW no 68
F/O Reginald M King RAFVR – Navigator - 103 Sqn – POW - Camp L3 – POW no N/K
Sgt RW Smith RAFVR – Air Gunner - 103 Sqn – POW - Camp L6/357 – POW no 2462
Sgt Reginald Gilbert Styles RAFVR – Air Bomber - 103 Sqn – POW – Camp L7/13D/7A – POW no 59
Sgt Ossie J H Fry RAFVR – Wireless operator / Air Gunner - 103 Sqn – POW - Camp L6/357 – POW no 2425
Sgt J D Emerson RCAF – Air Gunner - 103 Sqn – POW – Camp L6/357 – POW no 2424
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The aircraft took off from Elsham Wolds around 1825 hrs on 25 February. John Miller joined the crew as a new pilot on his “ second dickie” trip before starting operations with his own crew. The H2S radar was faulty and they arrived late over the target. However they dropped their load on the already blazing Nazi city at which stage the aircraft was hit by flak at around 20000 ft. With engines on fire and losing fuel the aircraft plunged to 10000 ft. Bill Eddy managed to extinguish the flames while diving but home bound the Lancaster was again hit by flak and he ordered the crew to bale out. His crew were reluctant to leave their pilot alone because he his parachute had been burnt in the fire. Finally the order was confirmed and the crew reluctantly left the aircraft over Belgium.
All the crew were captured and made Prisoner of War. I believe John Miller injured his back and received burns.
Bill Eddy was able to crash land his Lancaster at Grapfontaine which is situated in the Ardennes in southern Belgium. He buried his maps and confidential items in the snow, set the aircraft alight then made a hasty retreat and eventually found a house with Belgian patriots who were able to help him.
He was passed to the Comete Escape Line and they were able to organise his escape from Belgium through France and then into Spain and onto Gibraltar. He was back in the UK two months later.
On his return Bill Eddy was promoted to Squadron Leader and flew Pathfinder Mosquitos with 139 Squadron for the rest of the war. He completed many operations prior to VE Day and was awarded a DSO and DFC. After the war he returned to the Argentine with his wife and young family, farmed and lived happily there till he passed away in 1988.
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25-Feb-44 – Augsburg
103 Squadron detailed 9 aircraft for this attack on the German city of Augsburg. The weather was unusually clear and the crews bombed on the Pathfinder ground markers. Bombing heights were between 22000 ft and 23000 ft. A large explosion was seen by several crews rising to 15000 ft. Flak was moderate decreasing as the attack progressed. Numerous fires were seen. searchlights were seen operating in and around the target area but aimless in their search. Good photographs were obtained and the attack seems to have been highly successful. W/O Frost abandoned his mission due to oxygen failure to the rear turret. F/L Eddy and crew failed to return. All other aircraft returned to base.
For this first large attack on Augsberg Bomber Command detailed a total of 594 aircraft - 461 Lancasters, 123 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitos. The various diversions and the splitting of the main bomber force into 2 waves again reduced casualties still further. 21 aircraft - 16 Lancasters, 5 Halifaxes - lost, 3.6 per cent of the force; at least 4 of these casualties were due to collision.
The bombing at Augsburg was outstandingly successful in clear weather conditions and against this 'virgin' target with only weak flak defences. The Pathfinder ground-marking was accurate and the raid became controversial because of the effects of its outstanding accuracy. The beautiful old centre of Augsburg was completely destroyed by high explosive and fire, with much less than the usual spread of bombing to the more modern outer areas, where some industry was located. There were 246 large or medium fires and 820 small ones; the temperature was so cold (minus 18" Celsius) that the River Lech was frozen over and many of the water hoses also froze. The Germans publicized it as an extreme example of 'terror bombing'.
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Lancaster - ND417
30-Jan-44 – Berlin – Lancaster – ND417 – F/S F Law
15-Feb-44 - Berlin - Lancaster - ND417 – F/L WEM Eddy
19-Feb-44 - Leipzig - Lancaster - ND417 - F/L WEM Eddy
20-Feb-44 - Stuttgart - Lancaster - ND417 – F/L WEM Eddy
24-Feb-44 - Schweinfurt - Lancaster - ND417 – F/L WEM Eddy
25-Feb-44 - Augsburg - Lancaster - ND417 - F/L WEM Eddy – FTR - Flak victim. Crew baled out. Pilot crash landed at Grapfontaine in Belgium
Item compiled by David Fell. Photo courtesy of the Eddy family
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