Albert "Jack" Snow is shown third from right on the superb photograph shown above. I thank his nephew Mr Richard Cooper for kindly contacting me and allowing this photograph to appear on this webpage. "Jack" Snow, as he was known, was born in the West Ham area of Essex in 1916. He received his commission to the rank of Acting Pilot before the outbreak of War, he was confirmed in this appointment and graded as Pilot Officer on 27th June 1939 and rose to F/O on 3rd September 1940 and to F/Lt exactly a year later. Technically his rank at the time of this incident was Acting S/Ldr. Sadly Albert Snow was killed on 3rd May 1942 flying with 78 Squadron and is buried in Sage War Cemetery, Germany. The crew listed above were his crew on the night he died and it seems likely that all were with him during his time at 1652 Conversion Unit. Sgt Edwards has no known grave and he is listed on the Runnymede Memorial, he was aged 30. Sgt Mills was 23 years old and Sgt Hebblethwaite was 27 years old, both are buried in Kiel War Cemetery, Germany. P/O Kennedy and Sgt Davies (aged 30) were buried in Sage War Cemetery, Germany.

James "Willie" Tait was the pilot of 35 Squadron Halifax L9495 which crashed on landing at Linton on Ouse on 17th July 1941 (detailed on this website). The accident detailed above is another incident where very little is known about the accident but far more is known about the pilot, in this case the pilot became probably the most decorated gentleman in the whole of the British Commonwealth during the War. He became G/C Tait DSO and 3 Bars, DFC and Bar, ADC and was MiD.

James Tait was born in December 1916 in Manchester. "Willie" Tait (as he became known) was trained at Cranwell and was commissioned as P/O on 1st August 1936 and was posted to 51 Squadron to fly Whitleys. He rose to F/O on 1st February 1938. He was awarded the DFC with 51 Squadron in late 1939-early 1940 and rose to be 51 Squadron's commanding officer by the end of 1940. On 10th February 1941 he led a paratroop dropping flight to Italy from Malta and was awarded the DSO for his actions on this. He was posted to 35 Squadron in February 1941 and was awarded the Bar to DFC on 30th June 1941 for leading a daylight raid on Kiel, he was later MiD in September 1941. After completing a further Tour he was rested from Ops and posted to an OTU. In mid-1942 he was posted to command 78 Squadron and was MiD again during this period. He was then given a desk job as base operations commander at Waddington in March 1944 but later returned to operational flying as Master Bomber with 5 Group in May 1944 for which he was awarded the Second Bar to the DSO. In July 1944 he took over command of 617 (Dambuster) Squadron and was awarded the Bar to the DFC for a raid on the Kembs Dam later that summer. In September 1944 he led 617 Squadron in a series of attacks to sink the Tirpitz ship. Having completed 101 operational flights he was grounded in December 1944 and was recommended for the Victoria Cross for "sustained gallantry" over his five years of operational flying, the VC was turned down but he was awarded the 3rd Bar to the DSO (Gazetted on 5th January 1945), the citation reads.."this officer has displayed conspicuous bravery and extreme devotion to duty in the face of the enemy, constantly exemplified over a long period of operational flying. He has completed a very large number of sorties, many of them against most dangerous and difficult targets and the successes obtained are a magnificent tribute to his brilliant leadership and unsurpassed skill. On three occasions Wing Commander Tait has led attacks on the German battleship "Tirpitz". The last occasion was on the 12th November 1944. The vessel was lying at Tromso. Visibility was good as Wing Commander Tait led his squadron in to the attack. In spite of continuous fire from 3 ships and from land batteries, the attack was pressed home. The first bomb, dropped by Wing Commander Tait, hit the Tirpitz. Another hit was obtained almost immediately and another 12,000 lb. bomb fell close alongside. The battleship caught fire and smoke poured from her. Finally she capsized. By his outstanding skill and leadership Wing Commander Tait played a prominent part in the success of this operation. This officer has completed 98 sorties and throughout has set an example of a high order." Only one other airman was awarded 3 Bars to the DSO. Tait saw post-War service rising again to G/C in 1953. In 1959 he was appointed ADC to The Queen and he retired from the RAF in 1964. After a career in civilian life he retired in 1981 and died in August 2007. A remarkable individual that these few lines cannot fully detail his service and life.

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