Wath, All Saints Church - Church Street
Harry Bradley Ashley
Stanley Griffiths Kenneth Sickler John Dunstan Edwards Joseph Pearce |
Kenneth Dudley Barker
Reginald Handley Edgar James Pike Frank George Peploe Jack Picton |
Additional details
Harry Bradley Ashley (P/JX 144693)
Royal Navy - HMS Egret 27 August 1943, aged 23 Lost when vessel sunk in the Bay of Biscay Portsmouth Naval Memorial possibly Stanley Griffiths (4913025) South Staffordshire Regiment - Pioneer Corps attd Aux Mil 17 June 1940, aged 28 Troop train bombed in Rennes, France Dunkirk Memorial Kenneth Sickler (7371189) Royal Army Medical Corps 10 May 1942, aged 25 Lost when hospital ship Ramb IV was sunk in the Mediterranean Alamein Memorial John Dunstan Edwards (2658940) Coldstream Guards - 2nd Bn. 6 October 1944, aged 25 KIA during the Italian Campaign Faenza War Cemetery Joseph Pearce (1520837) Royal Artillery - 2 Bty., 1 Searchlight Regt. between 2526 May 1940, aged 21 Died at Dunkirk Dunkirk Memorial |
Kenneth Dudley Barker (D/JX 270130)
Navy - H.M.S. Itchen 23 September 1943, aged 22 Lost when vessel sunk in the Atlantic Plymouth Naval Memorial Reginald Kerin Hanley (1059834) Royal Air Force - OADU 21 May 1942, aged 20 Wellington aircraft lost on a delivery flight to North Africa Malta Memorial Edgar James Pike (14566154) Gordon Highlanders - 1st Bn. The London Scottish 17 April 1945, aged 20 KIA during the Italian Campaign Ravenna War Cemetery Frank George Peploe (1549732) Royal Air Force - 158 Sqdn. 27 September 1943, aged 21 Halifax aircraft lost on a mission to Germany Runnymede Memorial Jack Picton (658095) Royal Air Force - 90 Sqdn. 23 June 1943, aged 25 Stirling aircraft lost on a mission to Germany Runnymede Memorial |
Harry Bradley Ashley - P/JX
© IWM (FL 22644) HMS EGRET, September 1942.
Harry Bradley Ashley was born in Rotherham in the second quarter of 1920, first child of Frederick B Ashley and Evelina (nee Howson) who had married the year before. Another son was born in 1924 and the family lived at 15 Ash Road, Wath.
Harry enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1935 and served 3 years on the battleship HMS Nelson. He served in a number of naval actions, the most notable being those at Narvik, the battle of and Matapan and the sinking of
theBismarck. He was once wounded in legs by shrapnel and spent 16 weeks in a Cyprus hospital. Harry was a Leading Seaman, service number P/JX 144693, and later served on HMS Egret. The Egret was the lead ship in her class of Sloop, meaning that the class was known as the Egret class, she was commissioned on 11 November 1938. In 1943 HMS Egret was under refit between April and June, and after that was involved in the escort of a Convoy to Gibralter. The ship was then placed with 1st Support Group in the Bay of Biscay on anti-submarine operations to prevent passage of German submarines to and from ports in the Bay of
Biscay using coastal waters. While on deployment with the Canadian destroyer Athabaskan and HMS Grenville the Egret was attacked by a German Dornier 217 aircraft carrying glider bombs. HMS Egret direct hit and sank quickly with only 35 survivors who were rescued by HMCS Athabaskan despite having been damaged by another bomb at the same time. Harry Bradley Ashley was lost in the sinking of the ship, aged 23 and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
Harry enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1935 and served 3 years on the battleship HMS Nelson. He served in a number of naval actions, the most notable being those at Narvik, the battle of and Matapan and the sinking of
theBismarck. He was once wounded in legs by shrapnel and spent 16 weeks in a Cyprus hospital. Harry was a Leading Seaman, service number P/JX 144693, and later served on HMS Egret. The Egret was the lead ship in her class of Sloop, meaning that the class was known as the Egret class, she was commissioned on 11 November 1938. In 1943 HMS Egret was under refit between April and June, and after that was involved in the escort of a Convoy to Gibralter. The ship was then placed with 1st Support Group in the Bay of Biscay on anti-submarine operations to prevent passage of German submarines to and from ports in the Bay of
Biscay using coastal waters. While on deployment with the Canadian destroyer Athabaskan and HMS Grenville the Egret was attacked by a German Dornier 217 aircraft carrying glider bombs. HMS Egret direct hit and sank quickly with only 35 survivors who were rescued by HMCS Athabaskan despite having been damaged by another bomb at the same time. Harry Bradley Ashley was lost in the sinking of the ship, aged 23 and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
Notes
HMS Egret was the first ship ever to be sunk by a guided missile. The weapon a Henschel Hs 293 had first damaged a ship two days earlier, on 25 August 1943. The weapon a radio-controlled glide bomb with a rocket engine slung underneath it. It consisted of a modified standard 1,100 lb bomb with a thin metal shell and a high explosive charge inside, equipped with a rocket engine under the bomb, a pair of wings, and an 18-frequency-capability radio receiver. The bomb was in was intended to destroy unarmoured vessels and was controlled by joystick via a radio transmitting set that was carried by the launching aircraft. One drawback of the Hs 293 was that after the missile was launched the bomber had to fly in a straight and level path at a set altitude and speed parallel to the target so as to be able to maintain a slant line of sight. The rocket provided for only a short burst of speed, about 10 seconds at over 500 miles per hour, making range dependent on the height of launch. From a height of 4,600 feet the Hs 293 had a range of about 5½ miles. Later in the war the allies developed effective jamming systems. |
Stanley Griffiths (4913025)
Stanley Griffith was a Private, service number 4013025 in the South Staffordshire Regiment, although he was attached to the Pioneer Corps. Two weeks after the end of the Dunkirk evacuation there were still numbers of units in the west of France. At approximately 10.00am on the 17 June 1940, as the British Expeditionary Force desperately tried to make their escape from France, via any available port a group of around 4 or 5 trains, loaded with troops, stores and ammunition converged on the town of Rennes, approximately 60 miles from St. Nazaire. One of the trains was carrying refugees from the north of France who were trying to escape the German advance. Almost certainly the majority of troops were en route to St. Nazaire and embarkation on one of the waiting troop carriers, the Lancastria being one of them. As they waited in the main railway station three German bombers appeared from the West and flying at low level towards the town. No air raid warning was sounded as they started their attack, in which they initially strafed the main street of the town, before banking slightly right and which led them directly to the main railway station. A French military munitions train had pulled in alongside, belonging to the 212 French artillery Regiment. As the German bomber dropped their bombs they scored a direct hit on the wagons of this Regiment, causing it to explode in a massive blast which demolished nearby buildings and the other trains alongside. A large number of the British troops killed belonged to ordinance or ammunition units and it is quite possible equipment and stores they were carrying with them exacerbated the scale of the incident.
A total of 177 British troops are believed to have been killed, with 78 of them remaining unidentified such was the ferocity of the blast. Rescue efforts were hampered as the remaining munitions continued to explode for the next 24 hours as adjoining wagons caught fire. However the greatest toll was amongst the refugee train and historians now believe around 800 people, including the British troops, were killed in the bombing with thousand more left wounded.
Stanley was killed in a Luftwaffe attack on a troop train in Rennes on 17 June 1940, aged 28 and is commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial.
A total of 177 British troops are believed to have been killed, with 78 of them remaining unidentified such was the ferocity of the blast. Rescue efforts were hampered as the remaining munitions continued to explode for the next 24 hours as adjoining wagons caught fire. However the greatest toll was amongst the refugee train and historians now believe around 800 people, including the British troops, were killed in the bombing with thousand more left wounded.
Stanley was killed in a Luftwaffe attack on a troop train in Rennes on 17 June 1940, aged 28 and is commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial.
Kenneth Sickler - 7371189
Kenneth Sickler’s birth was registered in Rotherham in the second quarter of 1917. He was the second child to William Henry Sickler and Anne Elizabeth (nee Wright). He resided at 27 Burman Road, Wath.
Kenneth joined the Royal Army Medical Corps where he was a Private with service number 7371189. In 1942 he was on board the hospital ship HMS Aquileia in the Mediterranean. On 10 May 1942 Aquileia was was bombed and set afire by German aircraft and sank off Alexandria, Egypt. Kenneth Sickler was killed in the attack, he is
remembered on the Alamein Memorial aged 25.
Kenneth joined the Royal Army Medical Corps where he was a Private with service number 7371189. In 1942 he was on board the hospital ship HMS Aquileia in the Mediterranean. On 10 May 1942 Aquileia was was bombed and set afire by German aircraft and sank off Alexandria, Egypt. Kenneth Sickler was killed in the attack, he is
remembered on the Alamein Memorial aged 25.
Notes
The Ramb IV was originally built as a cargo ship at Monfalcone by the Re-United Yards of the Adriatic (Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, CRDA) as a banana boat for Regia Azienda Monopolio Banane (Govt), Genoa in 1937 for transporting refrigerated bananas from Somaliland and Eritrea in Italian East Africa. Her keel was laid 14 January 1937, the ship was launched 7 June 1937, and completed 27 October 1937. She was 3,676 Gross tons, diesel powered, 116.8 meters in length, 15.2 meters in beam, with twin screws and a cruising speed of 17-18.5 knots. The Ramb IV was converted into a hospital ship for service during WWII by the Italian Royal Navy's Red Sea Flotilla at the Eritrean port of Massawa, and and she was re-named Aquileia. The ship was to be used for transporting Italian wounded from the Port of Massawa back to Italy. However, this proved to be not possible due to British control of the Suez Canal. When the Port of Massawa fell on 10 April 1941, the British captured the ship off of Aden and pressed it into service where she operated in the Red Sea and later in the Mediterranean. On 10 May 1942, while en-route from Tobruk to Alexandria, the Aquileia was attacked and bombed by German JU-88 aircraft and damaged. Fire resulting from the bombing broke out onboard the ship and she had to be abandoned. HMS Kipling was dispatched to assist the ship and placed a fire fighting party on board the ship to assist ship's crew combat the fire. The ship was abandoned and was later sunk by Royal Navy ships at position 31.17N 29.23E in approximately 400 meters of water off the coast of what is now Sidi Krier. The ship was carrying 360 staff and wounded patients when attacked. 155 wounded men and 10 crew members were lost.
The Ramb IV was originally built as a cargo ship at Monfalcone by the Re-United Yards of the Adriatic (Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, CRDA) as a banana boat for Regia Azienda Monopolio Banane (Govt), Genoa in 1937 for transporting refrigerated bananas from Somaliland and Eritrea in Italian East Africa. Her keel was laid 14 January 1937, the ship was launched 7 June 1937, and completed 27 October 1937. She was 3,676 Gross tons, diesel powered, 116.8 meters in length, 15.2 meters in beam, with twin screws and a cruising speed of 17-18.5 knots. The Ramb IV was converted into a hospital ship for service during WWII by the Italian Royal Navy's Red Sea Flotilla at the Eritrean port of Massawa, and and she was re-named Aquileia. The ship was to be used for transporting Italian wounded from the Port of Massawa back to Italy. However, this proved to be not possible due to British control of the Suez Canal. When the Port of Massawa fell on 10 April 1941, the British captured the ship off of Aden and pressed it into service where she operated in the Red Sea and later in the Mediterranean. On 10 May 1942, while en-route from Tobruk to Alexandria, the Aquileia was attacked and bombed by German JU-88 aircraft and damaged. Fire resulting from the bombing broke out onboard the ship and she had to be abandoned. HMS Kipling was dispatched to assist the ship and placed a fire fighting party on board the ship to assist ship's crew combat the fire. The ship was abandoned and was later sunk by Royal Navy ships at position 31.17N 29.23E in approximately 400 meters of water off the coast of what is now Sidi Krier. The ship was carrying 360 staff and wounded patients when attacked. 155 wounded men and 10 crew members were lost.
John Dunstan Edwards - 2658940
John Dunstan Edwards was born in Rotherham in the second quarter of 1919 to coal miner Robert Dunstan and his wife of 13 years Edith (nee Pyatt). John was the
fourth of seven children born to the couple, who in 1911 lived at 18 Littlemoor Road, Wath. Later John was living at 31 Burman Road, Wath, and in the third quarter of 1943 married in Fulham, London.
He enlisted in the Army and became a Lance Corporal, service number 2658940, with the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards. By late 1944 the Guards were in northern Italy back in the line against the German defences of the Gothic Line while the push was on towards Imola.
John Dunstan Edwards died in 6 October 1943, aged 25 and now lies in Faenza War Cemetery.
Summary from 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards War Diary for the start of October 1944
On Oct 1st the brigade was ordered to switch its axis of advance once more and to come under command of the 88 U.S. Div on the FIRENZUOLA – IMOLA road. We were required so we were told, to hold a position for 48 hours, after which time we would be relieved. 48 hours subsequently stretched to 24 days. The position consisted of six different hillocks, each held by a company, with a command HQ called PYRAMID, commanded by the different commanding Officers in turn controlling the complete position. The foremost and most important hill, BATTAGLIA (EAST), 715 meters high, had on the summit a small castle, by now in ruins, but inside which sat 9 men and an artillery OP overlooking all the surrounding country except that immediately ahead, which was blind to them unless they ventured outside their ‘cell’. The slopes leading up to the tower were so steep and of loose stone that nobody could hope to attack it with success.
There was a company on the right and left flank of this position, another two company’s 400 yards behind, and the remaining company defending Tac HQ. On the night of Oct 2nd 2 and 4 coys took over the two forward positions: BATTAGLIA EAST and WEST from the Americans, who had in fact won these positions unopposed on account of the speed of their advance. They had been continually counter attacked, but had held this ground in spite of heavy casualties. From this day until 24th Oct at least one company from the Battalion was occupying a forward position of PYRAMID force. For the first week the mortaring and shelling onto our positions was intense and very accurate, making movement by day from slit trenches impossible. Our only possible supply rout had been registered and our positions pin pointed, and to add to the fury of battle, a 210mm gun made the tower its chief target. The Misery of this rather normal existence for a battle, was increased 200% by the fact that throughout our stay a torrent of rain poured down, making all paths 1-2 foot deep in a slough of clinging mud, and slit trenches deep in water. It was a feat of endurance to live for some 20 days in such circumstances without weakening.
The problem of supply was one of the greatest. Mule head was at Monduzzo, a farmhouse 1 mile from VALMAGGIORE, and 4 miles from BATTAGLIA. The tracks were
small, complex, and almost impassable, and the Indian Muleteers impossible. They very soon announced that at this rate the mules would be dead in 6 days, and added to this they were only too often dumped the load and rode the mule, and even on some occasions the mule overturned down a precipitous hill. Major Harris, in charge of supplies at VALMAGGIROE, dealt with this thankless problem in a masterly way.
fourth of seven children born to the couple, who in 1911 lived at 18 Littlemoor Road, Wath. Later John was living at 31 Burman Road, Wath, and in the third quarter of 1943 married in Fulham, London.
He enlisted in the Army and became a Lance Corporal, service number 2658940, with the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards. By late 1944 the Guards were in northern Italy back in the line against the German defences of the Gothic Line while the push was on towards Imola.
John Dunstan Edwards died in 6 October 1943, aged 25 and now lies in Faenza War Cemetery.
Summary from 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards War Diary for the start of October 1944
On Oct 1st the brigade was ordered to switch its axis of advance once more and to come under command of the 88 U.S. Div on the FIRENZUOLA – IMOLA road. We were required so we were told, to hold a position for 48 hours, after which time we would be relieved. 48 hours subsequently stretched to 24 days. The position consisted of six different hillocks, each held by a company, with a command HQ called PYRAMID, commanded by the different commanding Officers in turn controlling the complete position. The foremost and most important hill, BATTAGLIA (EAST), 715 meters high, had on the summit a small castle, by now in ruins, but inside which sat 9 men and an artillery OP overlooking all the surrounding country except that immediately ahead, which was blind to them unless they ventured outside their ‘cell’. The slopes leading up to the tower were so steep and of loose stone that nobody could hope to attack it with success.
There was a company on the right and left flank of this position, another two company’s 400 yards behind, and the remaining company defending Tac HQ. On the night of Oct 2nd 2 and 4 coys took over the two forward positions: BATTAGLIA EAST and WEST from the Americans, who had in fact won these positions unopposed on account of the speed of their advance. They had been continually counter attacked, but had held this ground in spite of heavy casualties. From this day until 24th Oct at least one company from the Battalion was occupying a forward position of PYRAMID force. For the first week the mortaring and shelling onto our positions was intense and very accurate, making movement by day from slit trenches impossible. Our only possible supply rout had been registered and our positions pin pointed, and to add to the fury of battle, a 210mm gun made the tower its chief target. The Misery of this rather normal existence for a battle, was increased 200% by the fact that throughout our stay a torrent of rain poured down, making all paths 1-2 foot deep in a slough of clinging mud, and slit trenches deep in water. It was a feat of endurance to live for some 20 days in such circumstances without weakening.
The problem of supply was one of the greatest. Mule head was at Monduzzo, a farmhouse 1 mile from VALMAGGIORE, and 4 miles from BATTAGLIA. The tracks were
small, complex, and almost impassable, and the Indian Muleteers impossible. They very soon announced that at this rate the mules would be dead in 6 days, and added to this they were only too often dumped the load and rode the mule, and even on some occasions the mule overturned down a precipitous hill. Major Harris, in charge of supplies at VALMAGGIROE, dealt with this thankless problem in a masterly way.
Joseph Pearce - 1520837
Joseph Pearce was born in Barnsley in the second quarter of 1919, the son of William Pearce and Mary (nee Hall). His parents were originally from Staffordshire, were they had married in late 1909. They moved to Yorkshire soon afterwards and lived at 17 Cottage Villa, Hunningley Lane, Stairfoot, Barnsley. William Pearce was a coal miner and worked at Darfield Main.
Joseph Pearce enlisted in the Army, service number 1520837, and became a Lance Bombardier in 2 Battery, 1 Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery. The unit was part of the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium trying to stop the advance of the Germans through the low countries. Airey Neave, later well known for escaping from Colditz, was a troop commander with the unit retired from Arras and took up position 2 kms south of Calais on 19 May 1940 and held up the advance of 1 Panzer Division south of Calais; the searchlight gunners gave a good account of themselves before destroying their equipment and joining the Green Jackets as infantrymen. The gunners of the searchlight and anti-aircraft regiments fought bravely in this and many other isolated actions; their contribution is little known.
Joseph Pearce died between 25 and 26 May 1940, aged 21 and is commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial.
Joseph Pearce enlisted in the Army, service number 1520837, and became a Lance Bombardier in 2 Battery, 1 Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery. The unit was part of the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium trying to stop the advance of the Germans through the low countries. Airey Neave, later well known for escaping from Colditz, was a troop commander with the unit retired from Arras and took up position 2 kms south of Calais on 19 May 1940 and held up the advance of 1 Panzer Division south of Calais; the searchlight gunners gave a good account of themselves before destroying their equipment and joining the Green Jackets as infantrymen. The gunners of the searchlight and anti-aircraft regiments fought bravely in this and many other isolated actions; their contribution is little known.
Joseph Pearce died between 25 and 26 May 1940, aged 21 and is commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial.
Kenneth Dudley Barker - D/JX 270130
Kenneth Dudley Barker was born in Leeds in the second quarter of 1921, the first child son of Alec Barker and Amy (nee Tokins), who had married in Newmarket. Further children, all sons, were born in Hemsworth in 1923 and 1925 and Rotherham in 1934. He was a member of the Scouts belonging to the 68th Doncaster (Wath Grammar School) Group.
Kenneth enlisted in the Royal Navy, service number D/JX 270130, and was a Telegraphist. In 1943 he was serving on HMS Itchen a River class frigate that was a convoy defence vessel commissioned in 1942. On the 19 September 1943 HMS Itchen was part of Support Group 9 which was tasked with escorting convoys ONS-18 and ON-202 on their west-bound route across the North Atlantic. The convoy encountered a number of German U-boats en-route, after an absence of a number of months the u-boats were back with new Gnat acoustic torpedoes. On the night of 22/23 September HMS Itchen’s night screen position was ahead of the convoy. The first sighted
submarine was attacked, and then at 22.38, HMS Itchen obtained another contact and at 23.37, Itchen and another escort were both in contact with several submarines coming in from the starboard bow. At 23.55, the escort Gatineau obtained a radar contact and sighted a submarine coming in towards the centre of the convoy from ahead. Suddenly there was a tremendous explosion, which was thought by many ships, including Gatineau, to be the submarine blowing up. Shortly afterwards the escort Morden reported that it was an escort that had blown up astern of her. When operational signals allowed I called all escorts on R/T and established the fact that only HMS Itchen was not answering. It is believed that HMS Itchen was torpedoed in her foremost magazine just after she had sighted and engaged, and just before she rammed the U-boat. The latter was probably considerably shaken by the explosion and dived: its attack was frustrated and no ships of the convoy were torpedoed. The submarine carrying out the attack on HMS Itchen was U-666.
There were only three survivors from Itchen, two from the ship and one other was a survivor out of 81 that Itchen had picked up from another ship that had been torpedoed. Kenneth Dudley Barker was 22 years old and is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.
Note
U-666 was listed as missing in the North Atlantic on 10 Feb, 1944. There is no explanation for its loss. 51 dead (all hands lost).
Kenneth enlisted in the Royal Navy, service number D/JX 270130, and was a Telegraphist. In 1943 he was serving on HMS Itchen a River class frigate that was a convoy defence vessel commissioned in 1942. On the 19 September 1943 HMS Itchen was part of Support Group 9 which was tasked with escorting convoys ONS-18 and ON-202 on their west-bound route across the North Atlantic. The convoy encountered a number of German U-boats en-route, after an absence of a number of months the u-boats were back with new Gnat acoustic torpedoes. On the night of 22/23 September HMS Itchen’s night screen position was ahead of the convoy. The first sighted
submarine was attacked, and then at 22.38, HMS Itchen obtained another contact and at 23.37, Itchen and another escort were both in contact with several submarines coming in from the starboard bow. At 23.55, the escort Gatineau obtained a radar contact and sighted a submarine coming in towards the centre of the convoy from ahead. Suddenly there was a tremendous explosion, which was thought by many ships, including Gatineau, to be the submarine blowing up. Shortly afterwards the escort Morden reported that it was an escort that had blown up astern of her. When operational signals allowed I called all escorts on R/T and established the fact that only HMS Itchen was not answering. It is believed that HMS Itchen was torpedoed in her foremost magazine just after she had sighted and engaged, and just before she rammed the U-boat. The latter was probably considerably shaken by the explosion and dived: its attack was frustrated and no ships of the convoy were torpedoed. The submarine carrying out the attack on HMS Itchen was U-666.
There were only three survivors from Itchen, two from the ship and one other was a survivor out of 81 that Itchen had picked up from another ship that had been torpedoed. Kenneth Dudley Barker was 22 years old and is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.
Note
U-666 was listed as missing in the North Atlantic on 10 Feb, 1944. There is no explanation for its loss. 51 dead (all hands lost).
Reginald Kerin Hanley - 1059834
Reginald Kerin Hanley was born in Rotherham in the first quarter of 1922, son of Kathleen Mary hanley. He lived at 3 William Street, Wath and was educated at Wath Grammar School.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and became a sergeant with service number 1059834. On 21 May 1942 he was front gunner on Wellington serial number Z8589 of OADU – Overseas Aircraft Delivery (or Despatch) Unit which was in transit from Gibraltar to Malta. The aircraft was lured off course by Italian 'Beam Benders'. It was then attacked by two night fighters and had to ditch. Sergeant Hanley was killed, but the rest of the crew escaped, although injured. The five survivors were adrift for six days and nights, eventually reaching Filicudi Island, a small island north of Sicily, they were then taken into captivity. Reginald Kerin Hanley was 20 years old when he died and is commemorated on the Malta Memorial. |
Edgar James Pike - 14566154
Edgar James Pike was born in the first quarter of 1925 in Rotherham, second child of William James Henry Pike and Alice (nee Jones) who had married in Mansfield in late 1919.
He enlisted in the Army and was a Private in the 1st Battalion, The London Scottish (The Gordon Highlanders), service number 14566154. The battalion was part of 56th Infantry Division’s 167th (London) Infantry Brigade and was heavily involved in the Italian Campaign. It was given some respite in the early part of 1944 before returning in July and taking part in the battles along the Gothic Line. In April 1945 the battalion was involved in the Battle of the Argenta Gap, and Edgar James Pike died on 17 April 1945. He was 20 years old and is buried in Ravenna War Cemetery.
He enlisted in the Army and was a Private in the 1st Battalion, The London Scottish (The Gordon Highlanders), service number 14566154. The battalion was part of 56th Infantry Division’s 167th (London) Infantry Brigade and was heavily involved in the Italian Campaign. It was given some respite in the early part of 1944 before returning in July and taking part in the battles along the Gothic Line. In April 1945 the battalion was involved in the Battle of the Argenta Gap, and Edgar James Pike died on 17 April 1945. He was 20 years old and is buried in Ravenna War Cemetery.
Frank George Peploe - 1549732
Halifax
Frank George Peploe was born on 18 December 1921 in Wath-on-Dearne, first child of Frank George Peploe and Ethel May (nee Staveley) who had married the year before.
Frank joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, service number 1549732, and was a Sergeant with 158 Squadron. The squadron had been equipped with the Handley Page Haliax since mid-1942 and had been based at Lissett, just south of Bridlington from February 1943. On the 27 September 1943 Bomber Command sent 678 aircraft (312 Lancasters, 231 Halifaxes, 111 Stirlings, 24 Wellingtonsand 5 B-17s) to Hannover. Sgt Peploe was part of the seven man crew of Halifax JN905 with squadron markings of NP-L, which was airborne at 19:34. The aircraft was lost without trace and Frank George Peploe, aged 21, and the rest of the crew are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Note
The other crew members were:
Sgt Peter Henry Payne – 1231503, aged 21
Sgt William Joseph Patterson -644823
F/O William Jerome Erly RCAF – J/9574
F/O Milton Horkheimer – 132659
Sgt James Reid Murray - 979186
Sgt Leslie John Dawkins – 1811130, aged 19
Frank joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, service number 1549732, and was a Sergeant with 158 Squadron. The squadron had been equipped with the Handley Page Haliax since mid-1942 and had been based at Lissett, just south of Bridlington from February 1943. On the 27 September 1943 Bomber Command sent 678 aircraft (312 Lancasters, 231 Halifaxes, 111 Stirlings, 24 Wellingtonsand 5 B-17s) to Hannover. Sgt Peploe was part of the seven man crew of Halifax JN905 with squadron markings of NP-L, which was airborne at 19:34. The aircraft was lost without trace and Frank George Peploe, aged 21, and the rest of the crew are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Note
The other crew members were:
Sgt Peter Henry Payne – 1231503, aged 21
Sgt William Joseph Patterson -644823
F/O William Jerome Erly RCAF – J/9574
F/O Milton Horkheimer – 132659
Sgt James Reid Murray - 979186
Sgt Leslie John Dawkins – 1811130, aged 19
Jack Picton - 658095
Halifax mk III
Jack Picton was born in Rotherham in the fourth quarter of 1917 to miner Horace Picton and Lucy (nee Tasker). The couple who married in 1904 lived at 8 West Street, Wath On Dearne, Yorkshire. He was married in late 1940 in the Rother Valley registration district and lived at 95 Oak Road, Wath.
Jack enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and became a Sergeant, service number 658095. After training as an air bomber he joined 90 Squadron, which was based at West Wickham (later in 1943 to be known as Wratting Common), Cambridgeshire. The squadron part of 3 Group operated the Short Stirling heavy bomber on night raids. On 22 June 1943 Sgt Picton was part of the crew of a mk III Stirling serial number BK804 with squadron marking of WP-J which was tasked to Mulheim in Germany. That night 557 aircraft - 242 Lancasters, 155 Halifaxes, 93 Stirlings, 55 Wellingtons, 12 Mosquitos were dispatched to the city. Picton’s aircraft was airborne at 23:26 and crashed at near the railway station at Duisburg-Beek with four of the crew still in it, although the cause of the loss was not established. It was one of two aircraft from 90 Squadron that were lost that night out of a total of 35 aircraft – 12 Halifaxes, 11 Stirlings, 8 Lancasters, 4 Wellintons – that did not return. Jack Picton was one of the four crew members that did not get out of the aircraft and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, aged 25.
Note
F/S James Allan Robson, 1044114 – Pilot – KIA, aged 23
Sgt Newell Graham, 1289237 - Flight Engineer – Murdered, aged 33
Sgt Guy Kipling, 657159 – Navigator– KIA, aged 24
Sgt Daniel Sanders, 1196410 - Wireless Operator) Murdered, aged 23
Sgt Clifford Richard Fenwick, 522339 - Mid Upper Gunner - KIA
Sgt Reginald Hammond, 1335044 - Air Gunner - Murdered
Sergeants Graham, Hammond and Sanders parachuted to what they must have thought was safety but were captured and then shot by Ortsgruppenleiter Willi Lugger assisted by Willi Henk and a man called Bollert.
Jack enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and became a Sergeant, service number 658095. After training as an air bomber he joined 90 Squadron, which was based at West Wickham (later in 1943 to be known as Wratting Common), Cambridgeshire. The squadron part of 3 Group operated the Short Stirling heavy bomber on night raids. On 22 June 1943 Sgt Picton was part of the crew of a mk III Stirling serial number BK804 with squadron marking of WP-J which was tasked to Mulheim in Germany. That night 557 aircraft - 242 Lancasters, 155 Halifaxes, 93 Stirlings, 55 Wellingtons, 12 Mosquitos were dispatched to the city. Picton’s aircraft was airborne at 23:26 and crashed at near the railway station at Duisburg-Beek with four of the crew still in it, although the cause of the loss was not established. It was one of two aircraft from 90 Squadron that were lost that night out of a total of 35 aircraft – 12 Halifaxes, 11 Stirlings, 8 Lancasters, 4 Wellintons – that did not return. Jack Picton was one of the four crew members that did not get out of the aircraft and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, aged 25.
Note
F/S James Allan Robson, 1044114 – Pilot – KIA, aged 23
Sgt Newell Graham, 1289237 - Flight Engineer – Murdered, aged 33
Sgt Guy Kipling, 657159 – Navigator– KIA, aged 24
Sgt Daniel Sanders, 1196410 - Wireless Operator) Murdered, aged 23
Sgt Clifford Richard Fenwick, 522339 - Mid Upper Gunner - KIA
Sgt Reginald Hammond, 1335044 - Air Gunner - Murdered
Sergeants Graham, Hammond and Sanders parachuted to what they must have thought was safety but were captured and then shot by Ortsgruppenleiter Willi Lugger assisted by Willi Henk and a man called Bollert.