This aircraft took off at 17.27hrs on 14th October 1940 for Ops and reached the target of Stettin in Northern Poland
and bombed from 8,000 feet. On their return to England the wireless failed and the crew were unable to pick up a
diversion signal telling them to go to another airfield because of bad weather over north-east England. At 04.30hrs,
after being airborne for just over eleven hours the crew abandoned the aircraft at 4500 feet in 10/10ths cloud when
it ran out of fuel. The Whitley came down in a field between Bagby and Thirsk on farmland near Green Dyke Farm. For
some reason two of the crew did not jump in time and their bodies were found in the wreckage, three others survived
uninjured. One of the crew who did bale out, an air gunner, landed very close to a search light battery site. seventy eight
aircraft took part in the raid to Stettin and other targets on this night.
Pilot - F/Lt Dennis B G Tomlinson RAF (37989). Uninjured.
Observer - P/O Robert J Dickinson RAFVR (79372), aged 31, of Chelsea, London. Buried Leeming Churchyard, Yorkshire.
(His headstone states that he was from Hawkstone, Fernhurst, Sussex).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Leslie P Neville RAFVR (901776), aged 26, of Forest Hill, London. Buried Leeming Churchyard, Yorkshire.
? - Sgt Byrne. Uninjured
? - Sgt Somerville. Uninjured.
Headstones of the two airmen killed. Robert Dickinson received his commission to the rank of P/O on probation
on 19th May 1940.
If Somerville was the second pilot that would leave Sgt Byrne as the rear gunner.
Dennis Tomlinson had been awarded his commission to Acting P/O on probation on
4th August 1936 and layer graded as P/O on 8th June 1937 having gained his Wings in
December 1936 at Grantham. He rose to F/O on an unknown date and then to Acting F/Lt
on 2nd March 1939. He made a forced landing a month prior to the Bagby incident only afew miles north of Thirsk at Nether Silton and had his rear gunner jump
from his aircraft on another flight (the aircraft returned to base). He was promoted to F/Lt on 3rd September 1940 and to Temporary S/Ldr on 1st September 1941. He was awarded the DFC for service with 10 Squadron, Gazetted on 17th January 1941, but no citation has been located. He was posted to 10 OTU to instruct after completing his first Tour but
killed on 2nd June 1942 as the pilot of Whitley Z6581 on Ops to Essen. 10 OTU were asked to put up aircraft to increase the
bomber force on this night. S/Ldr Tomlinson DFC is buried in Gendringen Cemetery, Holland, he was twenty six years old.
It is strongly possible that the Sgt Somerville was one Keith "Slim" Somerville, who later rose to the rank of Group Captain. If it was the same man he gained a DFC for a Tour with 10 Squadron having joined them at Leeming in August 1940.
He later joined the Wireless Development Unit, later renamed 109 Squadron at Boscombe Down and was part of the team
behind the development of the OBOE blind bombing system. He was awarded the AFC for this work. He later commanded 105
Squadron. In March 1945 he was awarded the DSO for "his example of coolness and courage in the face of the
fiercest enemy fire". He died in September 2004. If he is not the same man I will delete this record.
Whitley T4143 was built to contract 38599/39 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd at Baginton and was
awaiting collection on 7th August 1940. It was taken on charge by 10 Squadron at Leeming shortly
after 4th September 1940 as a replacement for Whitley P4967 which was lost on that date. On 21st
Septeber 1940 it sustained flak damage and returned to base where Cat.M/FB damage was recorded (detailed
on this website). It was repaired on site and returned to the unit. Cat.W/FB (Burnt) damage was recorded following
the crash near Bagby. The engines were deemed re-usable in this stage in the War, they were given Cat.R damage
and probably stripped and the parts used for spares.