“OPERATION BREMEN” – 13-14 September 1942 (Joe Turnbull’s Crew)
In 1942, the man in charge of Bomber Command was Arthur Harris. He was
nicknamed “Bomber Harris” by the newspapers of the day, because he decided to
attack ordinary German people living in the larger German cities. Deaths would be
very high and it was hoped that the German people would surrender. He wanted
a force of 1, 000 Bombers and these were called the “Thousand Bomber Raids.”.
However, there were not enough aircraft, unless those from the training units like
the one at R.A.F. Lichfield were used. These would be crews who had not finished
their training and had only had a little time learning how to fly. It was very
dangerous and many lost their lives, including those from R.A.F. Lichfield.
On the night of the 13th
– 14th of September 1942, the crew were all killed shortly
after take-off.
SGT. W. J. P. FLETCHER (R.A.A.F.) SGT. J. A. TURNBULL (R.A.A.F.)
SGT. F. W. LEWIS (R.A.F.) SGT. J. G. MILNE (R.A.A.F.)
SGT. F. THOMPSON (R.A.F.)
DETAILS OF ACCIDENT.
They took off from Lichfield at 23.53, carrying 4 x 500lb general purpose bombs.
Within minutes of lifting off, the port engine didn’t seem to be working properly,
so the crew decided to turn back to base immediately. Tragically, the Wellington
spun out of control and when it crashed into the ground, it burst into flames. All
of the crew were killed, they had only been in the air for about 9 minutes.
However, the story doesn’t end there. A guard of four ground crew, were told to
guard the wreckage of the plane. At 3.20, there was another large explosion and
the men guarding the aircraft were killed as well.
The R.A.A.F. men were buried in St. Stephens Churchyard together with one of the
ground crew, K. Ward. At just 17 years old, he is the youngest one in the war
graves. The R.A.F. men were sent home for burial.