Wellington W5525 damaged by enemy aircraft, landed at Driffield airfield.

On 21st January 1942 the crew of this aircraft were to undertake an operational flight to bomb Bremen and set out from Driffield at 17.35hrs. They bombed the target area from 17,000ft at 20.15hrs but the aircraft was damaged by flak in the tail. The pilot took evasive action and the aircraft landed safely at Driffield at 23.19hrs. The aircraft and all of the crew listed below were part of the 104 Squadron group of men that formed 158 Squadron in February 1942.

Pilot - Acting S/Ldr Wilfred Morgan Protheroe RAF (44779).

Second Pilot - Sgt Ivor Terrence Chambers RAFVR (1380804).

Observer - Sgt Wallace Hope Betts RAAF (402563).

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Hubert Alan Radcliffe RAFVR (1104950).

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Basil Edwin Whitbread RAFVR (923920).

Air Gunner - Sgt William Leonard Waller RAFVR (1379352).

Wellington W5525 was built to contract B.71441/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd. at Weybridge. It was received by 51 MU on 3rd May 1941 and a short period of MU storage it was initially taken on charge by 405 Squadron at Driffield on 16th July 1942. It was quickly transferred to 104 Squadron at the same airfield two days later. As a result of the damage there on 21st January 1942 Cat.A/FB damage the assessment and was repaired on site but the incident is not recorded on the aircraft's AM Form 78 so must only have been very minor. On 14th February 1942 it was one of the 'C-Flight" aircraft of 104 Squadron that were transferred to the newly reformed 158 Squadron at Driffield where it was coded "NP-V". On 13th April 1942 Cat.Em damage was the assessment when it failed to return from Ops to Essen, it was later found to have crashed near Duisburg. The aircraft was struck off charge on 1st May 1942.
Basil Whitbread was killed on 10th April 1942 flying Ops to France in Wellington W5482. The aircraft crashed off Belgium killing all his then crew. His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. He was twenty two years old.
Hubert Radcliffe was killed on 31st May 1942 flying Ops to Cologne in Wellington Z8577 when the aircraft crashed off the Dutch coast after being shot down by a nigt fighter. He is buried in Flushing Northern Cemetery, Holland and was thirty two years old. He received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 1st May 1942.
William Waller was also killed on 31st May 1942 flying Ops to Cologne in Wellington W5392 when the aircraft crashed in Germany with the loss of the whole crew. They were initially buried locally but are now buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany.
Wallace Betts was born 2nd March 1915 in Molong, New South Wales, Australia and enlisted for RAAF service in Sydney on 16th September 1940. After basic training and further training at 22 OTU he was posted to 104 Squadron in October 1941. He was part of 104 Squadron that formed 158 Squadron in February 1942. He was flying Ops to Kiel on 28th / 29th April 1942 in Wellington Z8521 when the aircraft crash landed in Denmark. He saw out the rest of the war as a POW.
Wilfred Protheroe received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation 8th August 1940 (with seniority of 7th August 1940). He was promoted to F/O (war substantive) on 8th August 1941 (with seniority of 7th August 1941) and to F/Lt on 9th January 1942. He was killed flying with 158 Squadron 13th April 1942 when Wellington W5525 (the aircraft he flew with 104 Squadron in January 1942 above) crashed in Germany on Ops to Essen. He and all his then crew were killed and are are now buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. The award of the DFC for service with 158 Squadron was printed in the London Gazette on 6th October 1942.
Ivor Chambers survived the War having flown sixty eight operational flights. He had done his first tour being the pilot of Wellington and Halifax aircraft with 104 and 158 Squadron and his second tour was with 142 Squadron flying Moquitoes. 142 Squadron was a specialist Light Night Striking Force formed with Pathfinders. His grandson appeared in the Channel 4 television series "Bomber Crew" in the late 2000's. He received a commission on 18th May 1942 and was awarded the DFC for service with 158 Squadron (Gazetted on 6th November 1942) but no citation has been found. He rose to F/O on probation (war subs) on 18th November 1942 and rose to F/Lt (war subs) on 18th May 1944. He was awarded the Bar to the DFC for service with 142 Squadron (Gazetted on 21st September 1945). Having survived the War he remained in the RAF in the Post-War years. On 11th January 1954 he was appointed to a permanent commission, with the rank of F/Lt. He retired from the RAF on 11th January 1964.

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