An Aircrew Europe 'HALIFAX' Bomber Command (76 Squadron) Casualty Trio.
To:
140880. Flying Officer GWYNFOR WATKINS (Navigator) R.A.F.

Who was Killed in Action on 19th July 1944.

SORTIE DETAILS
HALIFAX MkIII (LK 873) MP-S of 74 Squadron RAF took off from its base of RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor, North Yorkshire at 22:08 on 18th July 1944. It was tasked to attack the German V1 'Doodle Bug' flying bomb site at ACQUET in France. Just after midnight on 19th July 1944 the aircraft was attacked and shot down by Luftwaffe Night-Fighter Ace Oblt WERNER HOPF of 2/NJG1 & 8/NJG5. The Halifax crashed at 00:30 at SAILLY-FLIBEAUCOURT. (Werner Hopf scored 21 kills and some sites state that he was killed in action on 7th October 1944 but this seems incorrect as other sources clearly state that he deserted to Switzerland in one of the most modern nightfighters in the Luftwaffe's fleet, a JU88 G-6 'C9+AR' (WNe. 623211) on the night of 30 April 1945 in a flight from Lübeck-Blankensee to Dubendorf. Also on board Hopf's aircraft were two fellow officers, two women and a child. Hopf was a former Staffelkapitän of 8./NJG5 and had been awarded the Deutsche Kreuz in Gold, the medal awarded ahead of the Ritterkreuz..






GWYNFOR WATKINS was 24 years old and the son of William John & Catherine Hannah Watkins of 1 Lime Crescent, Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales.

He and the rest of the crew are buried and commemorated with honour in a joint plot at SAILLY-FLIBEAUCOURT Churchyard, Somme, France. This was an extremely sad loss as these lads were a close knit and highly experienced crew of seven who were just coming to the end of their first operational tour of thirty sorties. They were just one part of the massive total of over 56,000 bomber crewmen who lost their lives on operations during the European air war of 1939-1945.

PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT:
The crew members were:




Navigator: F/O G.WATKINS.
Pilot: Flt/Lt P.E. SINCLAIR. D.F.C. (RAAF) of Moree, New South Wales.
Engineer: Sgt R.NEVILL.(RAF)
Bomb Aimer: F/S A.G. RODGERS (RAAF) of Tomki, New South Wales.
Air Gunner: P/O D.E. BLOCKLEY. D.F.M.
Air Gunner: F/S F. PHILLIPS (RAF)
W/OP(Air) Sgt. W. RAY (RAF)


An historically important group to a valiant Welshman, who with his brave fellow British and Australian crewmen, took the war to the enemy and made the ultimate sacrifice.

SOLD

ALL MEDALS MINT AND AS ISSUED IN ORIGINAL BOX WHICH CARRIES THE NAME OF HIS FATHER

PER ARDUA AD ASTRA.

LEST WE FORGET.