Whitley z6875 damaged by flak, landed at Topcliffe airfield.
At 00.50hrs on 17th October 1941 this 102 Squadron aircraft had taken off from Topcliffe for an operational flight to Duisburg, the aircraft was
hit and slightly damaged by flak during the flight. The 102 Squadron ORB states the crew were able to bring the aircraft safely back to base
and land without further damage at 07.37hrs.
Pilot - P/O Vannio Max Albrecht RAFVR (63437).
Second Pilot - Sgt Harold Emery Batchelder RAFVR (1262838).
Observer - Sgt J V Kirkwood.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner? - Sgt Thomas Beatty Nisbet RAFVR (980458).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Kenneth O'Connelley RAFVR (946944).
Air Gunner - Sgt Ernest Ralph Taxeira DeMattos RAFVR (968101).
Harold Batchelder's story is well documented on the internet. On 16th June 1942 he was flying Halifax W7652 on Ops to Essen when the aircraft was shot down over Wesel, all his then crew survived but spent the rest of the war as PoWs. He had received notification in the London Gazette on the same day that he was awarded a DFM. He died in 2015.
Kenneth O'Connelley was undertaking Halifax conversion training with 102 Squadron on 14th April 1942 in Halifax R9488, the aircraft crashed near Baldersby, Thirsk with the loss of all on board as a result of the serious rudder over-balance problem that blighted early types of Halifaxes. He was cremated in the Newcastle West Road Crematorium and was twenty two years old.
Ernest DeMattos converted to fly the Halifax type with 102 Squadron, he was killed on 26th June 1942 flying in Halifax W7654 on Ops to Bremen.
He was also twenty two years old and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Prior to the war Vannio Albrecht was a civilian pilot and had gained his Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate in 1938. After joining the RAF he received a commission
on 3rd April 1941 to the rank of P/O on probation. P/O Albrecht was lost on 1st November 1941 flying in Whitley Z6749 on Ops to Kiel which crashed off the Dutch coast. He is
commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial and was twenty eight years old.
Thomas Nisbet received a commission on 30th October 1941. As Acting F/Lt Nisbet was awarded the DFC with 51 Squadron in October 1944 but no citation has yet been found.
He survived the War and remained in the RAF Post-War and was granted a permanent RAF Commission as F/Lt in 1947. S/Ldr Nisbet retired from the RAF on 1st October 1959.