Whilst messing about on the internet one night i tried to find out a bit about my Dad's Uncle, Ralph Waller who was killed in the Second World War. I already knew he was a wireless operator/Mid Upper Gunner and flew stirlings. I knew his name and that he was in the RAF in a squadron equipped with Stirling bombers so the first place I went was the CWGC web site and entered his name. From there I got this:
CWGC :: Casualty Details
Now I knew more details such as his squadron and date of death I searched through the internet and found Stirling EF187 of 149 squadron had been lost on the right date so presumed this was his. I found another site by a man who had over the last 40 years catalogued every Bomber Command loss during the entire period of the Second World War. Although this info had not been loaded onto the web he would do a search on demand and send any and all details he had. I sent him what I had and he came back with a lot more details surrounding the crash.
Unfortunately and unbelievably I lost the Email he sent me! I do remember that the aircraft had been lost during a supply dropping mission to the local resistance. It had been shot down by a Bf110 piloted by Haupt. Schaffer. Up until recently, on the anniversary of the crash the remaining members of the resistance in the area would march from the crash site to the grave and then tidy it. They are getting a bit old now so no longer do. There is a picture of the grave on the CWGC web site:
He also mentioned that one other person had requested a search on the aircraft from him and with the persons permission he would pass on the address. The person turned out to be the brother of the pilot of that night. My Father wrote to him and he sent us pictures of the grave site, crash site and the area around. He also sent us the word document with a bit more detail of the night. I have never visited the site but would love to.
I have just found the website below which gives the code letters OJ - C
Lost Bombers - World War II Lost Bombers
I have also put a couple of links to 149 squadron history pages below:
149 Squadron RAF
149 Squadron History
As a postscript I grew up in a village in Berkshire called Goring that was famous for nothing other than it was where Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris lived. I used to deliver newspapers to his modest house that had the biggest stretched black Jaguar I had ever seen parked outside. On the day of his funeral I was waiting for the school bus when a Lancaster flew very low and slow over the village, quite moving really.