Whitley Z6875 hit by enemy fire and returned to Topcliffe.
On the night of 20th/21st of September 1941 the crew of this aircraft were tasked with bombing the Alexanderplatz Railway Station,
Berlin. Having left Topcliffe at 19.09hrs the crew dropped their bombs over the Flensburg area in thick cloud. The captain of the
aircraft was injured over the target area and the second pilot flew the return leg back to Topcliffe where they landed at 04.02hrs without further incident.
Pilot - Sgt S Fackley, injured by enemy action.
2nd Pilot - Sgt George W McDonald RAF (521585), of Newcastle.
Obs - P/O Nathaniel L Shove RAFVR (67050), of Goodmayes, Essex.
WOp/AG - Sgt Philip A Champion RAFVR (913929), of New Malden, Surrey.
AG - Sgt J B T Teasdale-Smith.
Sgt McDonald was killed on 8th November 1941 with 102 Squadron flying in Whitley Z9212 on Ops to Essen. He is buried in Rheinburg War Cemetery and was 25 years old.
Nathanial Shove was born in 1916, he was commisioned on 6th April 1941 as P/O on probation from the rank of LAC.
He rose to F/O on probation exactly a year later and to F/Lt again exactly a year later.
Acting F/Lt Shove was later awarded the DFC (Gazetted on 20th April 1943). The citation reads.. “F/Lt Shove is a capable and
determined squadron navigator who has taken part in attacks on the majority of the enemy's most heavily defended
targets in Germany and Italy. He also participated in the “1000" raids”.
He was posted in to 76 Squadron on 1st April 1944 to be C Flight Commander. S/Ldr Shove was killed on 13th May 1944 when serving with 76 Squadron, he was flying in Halifax MZ575 on Ops to
Hasselt and was shot down, he is buried in Schoonselhof cemetery, Belgium.
He was 29 years old. At the time of his death he was on his 77th operational flight. His rank was probably Acting S/Ldr at the time of his death.
Sgt Champion was lost on 29th May 1942 still with 102 Squadron. He is listed on the Runnymede Memorial. Details regarding his loss are not yet known.
Nothing more is known of Sgt's Fackley and Teasdale-Smith.