Whitley P4952 damaged by flak, returned to Leeming airfield.

On the night of 5th / 6th August 1940 this 10 Squadron aircraft took off from Leeming at 20.48hrs to undertake an operational flight to attack the Dornier aircraft factory at Wismar. The aircraft was struck by a flak in the front turret and the pilot then took evasive action which saved the aircraft from further damage. The pilot was able to return safely to Leeming and land without further damage at 04.25hrs. None of the crew were injured.

Pilot - F/O Garfield Wallace Prior RAFVR (37611), of Indian Head, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Second Pilot - P/O Anthony Leonard Jones RAF (42843), of Ewell, Surrey.

Observer - Sgt Barcroft Melrose Mathers RAF (580922), of Mosman, New South Wales, Australia.

Wireless Operator - Sgt Stanley Broadhurst RAF (550817).

Air Gunner - Sgt Ernest Cummings RAF (630412).

Whitley P4952 was built to contract 75147/38 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. at Baginton and was awaiting collection on 15th April 1940. It was delivered to 10 Squadron based at Dishforth in the same month during the units conversion from Mk.IV Whitley's. Cat.M/FB damage was recorded following flak damage in May 1940 and the aircraft was repaired on site and returned to the unit. It moved with the unit to Leeming on 8th July 1940 and was again damaged by flak on 21st July 1940 on ops to Dusseldorf and the pilot was again able to make a return to Leeming. It was again repaired on site and returned to the unit only to suffer this minor damage on 6th August 1940. On 21st September 1940 it was slightly damaged by flak on Ops and was soon repaired at base. On 15th October 1940 it sustained Cat.W/FB damage on return from ops to Stettin, short of fuel and lost it was abandoned safely at 05.02hrs over Bellingham, Northumberland.
Garfield Prior received a Commission in the RAF as Acting P/O on probation on 2nd March 1936 and later graded as P/O on 6th January 1937 just after a posting to 97 Squadron in December 1936. He rose to F/O on an unknown date and as F/O he transferred to the Reserve on 6th January 1940 but was called up for service on the same date. He later force landed Whitley K9032 near Grimsby on 6/7th April 1940 on an operational flight. He rose to F/Lt on the same date as this flak incident (detailed above); 6th August 1940. He was then awarded the DFC for service with 10 Squadron, Gazetted on 22nd October 1940, but no citation for this DFC has been found. A press report found on the internet gives his age as twenty six when he was awarded the DFC. He rose to S/Ldr (temp) on 1st September 1941. After a posting from 1657 HCU to 218 Squadron he was killed on 22nd January 1944 flying Stirling EF180 with 218 Squadron and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

A draft citation has been found by Hugh Halliday in his Canadian awards research, it reads.."This officer has completed 24 flights over enemy territory both as second pilot and as captain of aircraft. These include raids on the marshalling yards at Hamm, the aluminum works at Monheim, aircraft factories at Wenzendorf, Bremen and Weismar, the oil plant at Salzbergen, the Fiat works at Turin, the Zeiss works at Zena, and an aerodrome at Hasheim. All of these raids were successful, causing fires and explosions. Flying Officer Prior has maintained a high standard of work and by his conscientiousness, keenness and ability has set a fine example to his squadron."

Barcroft Mathers was born on 31st January 1914 in Sydney, Australia. He left for England in late 1938 to join the RAF in January 1939. He was granted a commission of P/O on probation on 4th September 1940 (44634) with seniority of 21st August 1940. He was promoted to F/O on probation (war subs) on 22nd July 1941 and was confirmed as F/O on 4th September 1941. He was promoted to F/Lt (war subs) on 19th February 1942 and as Acting S/Ldr he was awarded the DFC for service with 156 Squadron, Gazetted on 27th June 1944. On the night of 13th August 1944 he was flying Ops to Russelsheim with 582 Squadron in Lancaster ND969, his aircraft was shot down by a night fighter which badly damaged the aircraft, the aircraft was partly abandoned and he became a PoW. Post War he resigned his commission in the RAF on 9th February 1946 and later rose to become a senior navigator with Quantas Airlines.

His older brother Sgt James Bruce Mathers RAAF (403940) was killed in action on 26th June 1942 on the Thousand Bomber raid on Bremen while flying in 27 OTU Wellington R1162. His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, he was twenty nine years old.

Stanley Broadhurst was later posted to 35 Squadron and sadly died on 10th March 1941 as the result of a so called "friendly-fire" incident. He was flying in Halifax L9489 on Ops to Le Havre when the aircraft was intercepted by an Allied night fighter, the aircraft crashed near Guildford. This raid was the first that used the new Halifax aircraft and it was the first Halifax to be lost on an operational flight. He was twenty years old and is buried in Mansfield Woodhouse Cemetery, Nottinghamshire.
Anthony Jones received a commission on 23rd October 1939 to the rank of Acting P/O on probation and was later graded as P/O on probation on 20th April 1940. He was confirmed in his appointment of P/O on 14th August 1940. On the night of 5th/6th November 1940 P/O Jones was flying Whitley P5001 on Ops to Milan, the aircraft failed to return to base and was last heard transmitting distress signals on their return to England. No trace of the aircraft was ever found and all his then crew are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. P/O Jones was twenty years old.
Sgt Cummings survived a ditching on 14th/15th September 1940 when Whitley P4966 lost an engine outbound on Ops to Antwerpe, the aircraft was ditched off Spurn Head and the crew were rescued by a trawler and landed at Grimsby. He appears to have ended his flying as part of the crew of 10 Squadron's Commanding Officer W/Co Ferguson, on the night of 14th/15th October 1940 he was flying in Whitley P4952 with the CO on Ops to Stettin, on their return the aircraft missed Yorkshire and eventually ran out of fuel. The crew baled out over Bellingham, Northumberland and all survived. On 13th November 1940 W/Co Ferguson failed to return from Ops to Merseburg but Sgt Cummings was not with him on this night, all the members of W/Co Ferguson's then crew were never found and are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. After this date nothing more is known about Sgt Cummings and it is assumed that he left 10 Squadron for other duties.

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