Stirling W7461 near South Anston, South Yorkshire.
On 15th January 1942 the crew of this 149 Squadron aircraft were tasked with Ops to Hamburg and the aircraft suffered engine trouble over the target of Hamburg. On their
return to England they struggled in poor visibility and after getting lost they eventually ran low on fuel so the pilot ordered his crew to bail out. He force
landed the aircraft in the Anston / Todwick Bar area of South Yorkshire, close to the Nottinghamshire border at 02.08hrs on 16th January 1942. All escaped serious injury but the aircraft was written off having been badly damaged.
Stirling W7461 was built to contract B.982939/39 by The Austin Motor Co. Ltd. at Longbridge and was awaiting collection in May 1941. It was initially placed into
long term MU storage until being taken on charge by 149 Squadron on 5th December 1941 at Mildenhall. As a result of the damage sustained on 16th January 1942 Cat.E2/FB damage was recorded and the aircraft was struck off charge on 23rd January 1942.
Pilot - F/O William George Barnes RAFVR (67693).
Second Pilot - Sgt Baker.
Flight Engineer - Sgt Townsend.
Observer - Sgt Cyril William Dellow RAFVR (120328).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Leonard Charles Collins RAAF (404396), of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Passenger / Observer - Sgt Heron.
Air Gunner - Sgt Cook.
Air Gunner - Sgt Richard Thomas Patrick Gallagher RAFVR (1190214).
William Barnes (aged 29), Richard Gallagher (aged 28) and Cyril Dellow (aged 22) were killed on 29th June 1942 on Ops to Bremen in Stirling N6082. The aircraft was hit by flak
over the target and then (as William Chorley states in his losses book) attacked by a night-fighter. The flak-burst killed Sgt Dellow outright and the only member of the crew able
to escape the aircraft was Sgt Collins. Those who died are buried in Wonseradeel Churchyard, Holland.
Leonard Collins was born on 28th November 1919 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and enlisted there on 16th August 1940. On arriving in the UK he trained with 20 OTU from 14th
June 1941 and was posted to 149 Squadron on 1st September 1941. Having bailed out of Stirling N6082 he landed safely and was uninjured, the was then taken in and given a meal by
a Dutch civilian before the police caputured him. Having been made a prisoner of war on 29th June 1942 he saw out the War in captivity, first held in Dulag Luft from 6th July
1942 where the Germans assessed and interrogated the prisoners, then he was moved to Stalag VIIIb (Lamsdorf) on 23rd July 1942 which was later re-named Stalag 344. He left here
on 12th March 1945, just before the Soviet Army reached the site five days later. His service records give copies of interviews he made after he was freed and he makes no mention
of being on any forced march which many Allied PoWs were forced to undertake but he probably was, though his records mention he was packed into railway trucks which could explain
how he only took fove days to get from Lamsdorf to Austria in seven days. On 19th March 1945 until 5th May 1945 he was held at Stalag 398 (Pupping, Austria). After the War he
returned home and was de-mobbed on 24th October 1945.
William Barnes received a commission on 1st June 1941 to the rank of P/O on probation, he was awarded the DFC for
service with 149 Squadron (Gazetted on 14th April 1942) but no citation has yet been found, his rank was Acting F/O at the time.