Whitley P4953 at Leeming airfield.

On the night of 11th / 12th August 1940 this aircraft and seven other 10 Squadron Whitleys and eight 51 Squadron aircraft undertook an operational flight to bomb an oil refinery at Gelsenkirchen, they were to drop incendiary bombs, known as "razzles". Whitley P4953 took off at 20.59hrs and attacked the target area. This type of incendiary was a made from pills of phospherous covered in gauze and placed between pieces of celluloid, while in the aircraft they were carried in containers topped up with water. When released down the flare chute they had a habit of lodging themselves in the tail plane of the Whitley and in the rudder hinges of the aircraft but did not catch fire immediately as they were wet. The aircraft landed safely at Leeming at 05.25hrs but when the incendiary bombs dried out they ignited, the aircraft sustained damage but it was later repaired. At least four 10 Squadron aircraft on this raid were hit by flak and of the eight aircraft being used, six sustained damage by the incendiaries catching fire on landing. No mention of this damage after landing is made in 10 Squadron's ORB.

Pilot - F/O Michael Thomas Gibson Henry RAF (39876), of Compton Chamberlayne, Wiltshire.

Second Pilot - F/O Peter Wellwood Fortune Landale RAFVR (70379), of Dumfries, Scotland.

Observer - Sgt J Shaw RAF (580888).

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt George Lawrence Donnelly RAF (618288).

Air Gunner - P/O Harry James Heal RAF (41583).

Michael Henry was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire in 1912 and attended Sedbergh School, Yorkshire from 1926 to 1930. He was granted a permanent commission into the RAF as Acting P/O on Probation on 20th July 1937 and gained his RAF Wings in October 1937. He was made F/O on 10th December 1939 and then a F/Lt on 10th December 1940. His DFC was Gazetted on 30th July 1940 but no Citation for this award has been found as yet but was almost certainly for service in completing a Tour with 10 Squadron. F/Lt Henry was sadly killed in the crash of 35 Squadron Halifax L9487 on 13th January 1941 near Baldersby St.James, Yorkshire. He is buried in Roecliffe Churchyard near Boroughbridge. Halifax L9487 was the first fatal Halifax accident and is detailed on this website.
Peter Landale was granted a Commission in the RAF on 16th March 1937 as P/O and rose to F/O on an unknown date. He relinquished his Commission of F/O in the RAF on 16th March 1939 but on the same day was granted a commission in the RAFVR as F/O (with seniority backdated to 16th September 1938). Effectively transferred from the regular RAF to the Reserve. On 13th November 1940 he was the pilot of Whitley T4232 tasked with Ops to Lorient, while outbound the aircraft crashed in South Wales, four of the crew were injured and one sadly died. F/O Landale was seriously injured spending a long period in hospital. He rose to F/Lt (war subs) on 18th May 1941. As Acting S/Ldr he was the pilot of Whitley Z6624 on 25th July 1941 on Ops to Hannover. The aircraft crashed into the North Sea and his body was never found. He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, he was twenty six years old. The formal notification of his DFC came through after his death and appeared in the London Gazette dated 13th March 1942 but the award was backdated. The citation reads.."awarded with effect from July 17th 1941. By his great courage, skill and personal example S/Ldr Landale has set a very high standard of airmanship in the squadron. These high qualities did not diminish after receiving injuries in a crash as a result of which he was in hospital for six months. He was one of the most reliable captains in the squadron."

His name appears in a number of places around his home area, he is listed on the Kirkmahoe War Memorial inside the village church, he is also commemorated by a stained glass window inside the small church at Dalswinton.

Larry Donnelly joined the RAF in 1937 and trained as a wireless operator/air gunner although he wished to be a pilot. During the early months of the War he completed 41 operational flights on Whitleys with 10 Squadron and was later posted to instruct at Kinloss. He was awarded the DFM for service with 10 Squadron and later 76 Squadron, Gazetted on 14th April 1942, the citation reads.."This airman has been employed as wireless operator-air gunner since the beginning of the war and has participated in attacks on targets in Germany, Italy, Norway, France and Belgium."

His service number is given as 618255 in the 10 Squadron ORB but the London Gazette entry for his DFM quotes 618288. He flew a second Tour on Halifaxes and a third in Coastal Command on Sunderlands with 461 Squadron in 1942. His wish to become a pilot was finally completed in 1945 when he was awared his Wings and he survived the War. It is remarkable that he was flying in the RAF in the early weeks of the War and only received his commission on 29th March 1945, to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency)(57075). He remained in the RAF post-war before relinquishing his commission of F/Lt on 18th December 1966. He later wrote the books "The Whitley Boys", "The Other Few" and "A Quest For Wings". He died in January 2005.

Harry Heal received his commission on 14th January 1939 to the rank of Acting P/O on probation. He was graded as P/O on probation on 31st October 1939 and confirmed in his appointment as P/O on the same date but announced afew weeks later and backdated. He was promoted to F/O on 31st October 1940. F/O Heal was awarded the DFC for service with 10 Squadron, Gazetted on 18th July 1941 and was later promoted to F/Lt (war subs) on 31st October 1941. The would later transfer to the RAFO probably under the terms of his commission. As Acting S/Ldr he was awarded the Bar to the DFC for service with 635 PFF Squadron, Gazetted on 23rd March 1945, the citation for this reads..

"This officer has completed numerous sorties and has now finished his second tour of operational duty. He has successfully participated in attacks against many heavily defended targets and he has always shown the utmost courage in the face of danger. Both in the air and on the ground, S/Ldr Heal has continued to maintain a high standard of skill, determination and devotion to duty."

He was promoted to S/Ldr (war subs) on 2nd April 1945. He remained in the RAF post-War and finally retired retaining the rank of W/Co on 22nd September 1964.

Whitley P4953 was built to contract 76147/38 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. at Baginton and was awaiting collection on 16th April 1940. It was delivered to 10 Squadron at Dishforth later in the month and was coded "ZA-F". It then moved with the unit to Leeming on 8th July 1940. Possibly on the night of 5th/6th August 1940 it sustained minor flak damage. It was repaired on site and returned to the unit days later. On 11/12th August 1940 it returned from Ops, as detailed above but caught fire on landing at Leeming. Again it was repaired on site and returned to the unit in a couple of days. It was later transferred to 10 OTU base at Abingdon in early 1941. On 28th March 1942 it suffered engine failure on take off from Abingdon, hit trees near Radley Road and crashed with two of the then crew being injured. Cat.E2/FA damage was recorded and the aircraft written off.

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