Whitley P5018 damaged by flak, returned to Leeming airfield.
On the night of 11th / 12th August 1940 the crew in this aircraft were undertaking Ops to Gelsenkirchen, they took off from Leeming at 21.03hrs. The aircraft
was struck by flak several times in the fuselage over the target but the pilot was able to make the return to land at Leeming at 04.40hrs. No injuries were
reported. On this night 10 Squadron were dropping incendiary bombs, known as "razzles". 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 but when the incendiary bombs dried out they ignited. In the case of this Whitley any damage is believed to
have just been down to flak, however at 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. The identities of some of these aircraft are not yet known and it could be that Whitley was one of these
unidentified aircraft. 51 Squadron was also operating on this raid and they are believed to have suffered similar burned tail-planes of their Whitleys but
no aircraft has been positively identified.
Pilot - Sgt Thomas Stanley Walker Towell RAF (590802).
Second Pilot - P/O Allan Bridson RAFVR (36267), of Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand.
Observer - Sgt W O Mallett RAF (581446).
Wireless Operator - Sgt James Graney RAF (550962).
Air Gunner - P/O Richard John Roach RAFVR (78690).
Sgt Towell was the pilot of Whitley T4234 when it was slightly damaged at Dishforth in early January 1941, he was awarded the DFM for service with 10 Squadron
in January 1941, almost certainly after completing a Tour with 10 Squadron. He received his commission to P/O on probation on 12th April 1941 (with seniority from
26th March 1941), rising to F/O exactly a year later and to F/Lt (war subs) on 12th April 1943 (with seniority backdated to 26th March 1943). He was Mentioned in
Despatches with a huge number of other airforce personnel on 2nd June 1943 and on 18th June 1943 the notification that he was to be awarded the DFC appeared in
the London Gazette; it was awarded for service with 159 Squadron flying in the Middle East, North Africa and India, the citation reads.. F/Lt Towell is now on
his second tour of operational duty. He has flown on a very large number of operational sorties. Several times F/Lt Towell has flown his badly damaged aircraft
safely back to base." He rose to S/Ldr (war subs) on 1st January 1945. He remained in the RAF Postwar and rose to W/Co on 1st July 1952 before retiring on 12th
December 1964. The photograph shows him (on the left) in the cockpit of a 159 Squadron Liberator and was found on a great website at "www.rafb24.com".
Allan Bridson was born in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand on 19th October 1918, he was working as a motor
mechanic when he enlisted in April 1940. He received his Short Service commission in the RAF to
the rank of P/O on 13th April 1940. On 20th December 1940 he was involved in potentially more
serious incident, he was the pilot of Whitley P4961 on Ops to Berlin. The aircraft was hit by
flak and seriously damaged. One of the engines later failed and he was struggling to maintain height
on the return flight. The crew abandoned the aircraft over Suffolk. He was later awarded the DFC
for service with 10 Squadron, Gazetted on 7th March 1941. Although no citation for his DFC
has been located it would seem it would have been recommended and granted for completing a Tour
with 10 Squadron as he was flying with 10 OTU in mid-March 1941. On 14th March 1941 he was almost
certainly flying as an instructor in Whitley P5027 on a training flight, the aircraft failed to
return to base and it was assumed to have crashed into the Irish Sea with the loss of the six crew.
P/O Allan Bridson was twenty two years old and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
James Graney received his commission in March 1941 to the rank of P/O on probation (45950). He was later posted to 10 OTU and was sadly killed on 7th
July 1941 in Whitley Z6476 when it crashed near Stratford upon Avon, he was twenty one years old and is buried in Sacriston RC Cemetery, Co.Durham.
Richard Roach received his commission to the rank of Acting P/O on probation on 29th March 1940 and was graded as P/O on probation on 15th May 1940. He
was confirmed in the rank of P/O on 29th March 1941 and was promoted to F/O (war subs) on 15th May 1941. On 30th December 1941 he was still serving with 10
Squadron and flying Ops to Brest in Halifax R9374 when the aircraft was hit by flak and then attacked by an Me109. During the attack by the enemy aircraft
(Acting) F/Lt Roach was killed and the aircraft badly damaged which forced it to be ditched some eighty miles off Cornwall. The other members of his crew
survived and were picked up but the body of F/Lt Roach was either not recovered from the aircraft or was buried at sea. He was thirty six years old and is
commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. He was married to Stella Roach of Moseley, Birmingham.