Halifax JB782 damaged by flak, returned to Pocklington airfield.
During the early hours of 27th April 1943 the crew of this 102 Squadron aircraft were tasked with bombing Duisburg and left Pocklington at 00.34hrs. They attacked the target area from 18.000ft but the aircraft was hit by flak, damaging the hydraulic system and breaking perspex in the rear turret. The crew were able to make a safe return to base and land at 05.51hrs.
Pilot - F/O Eric Snowden Kelly RNZAF (NZ.391525).
Navigator - Sgt R Simpson.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - F/Sgt John Hugill RAF (536253).
Air Gunner - Sgt T H McCarthy RAFVR (1602963).
Air Gunner - Sgt D E Cosford RAFVR (1294639) (Possibly Douglas Esca Cosford).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Ernest William Jerrum RAF (577247?)
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Richard Fowler RAFVR (1347405)
Acting F/Lt Kelly was awarded the DFC for service with 102 Squadron, but Gazetted after he was taken PoW on 11th February 1944.
Ernest Jerrum was probably born in Greenwich, London in 1924. After he was made a PoW nothing is known about his service until he was appointed to a commission in the RAF of F/O as Master Engineer on 31st October 1963 and was promoted to F/Lt on 31st October 1966 and retired from the RAF at his own request on 1st January 1974 as F/Lt.
On 22nd October 1943 Kelly, McCarthy, Cosford, Jerrum and Fowler were flying in Halifax JN908 on Ops to Kassel,
their aircraft failed to return. Precise details are not known about what happened to the aircraft at the time of creating
this webpage but it crashed in the Niesen area of Germany. F/Sgt Fowler was killed and is now buried in Hanover War Cemetery,
the other member of the crew survived and became PoWs.
John Hugill was granted a commission on 13th July 1945 to the rank of P/O on probation (war subs), and was also
awarded the DFC for service with 102 Squadron, Gazetted on 16th November 1943. He was promoted to F/O (war subs)
on 13th January 1944 and to F/Lt (war subs) on 13th July 1945. Post war he remained in the RAF being granted a commission in the rank of F/Lt on 13th January 1947 and later transferred to the Aircraft Control Branch on 27th April 1953 (with seniority of 13th January 1948). He finally retired from the RAF
on 30th May 1974 and appears to have been a member of the General Duties (Ground) Branch at the time.
Nothing is known about the other members of the crew listed at the top of this page, their service numbers are taken from Ross McNeill's RAF Commands PoW page.
Halifax JB782 was built to contract ACFT/1808/C4 by English Electric Co. Ltd. at Samlesbury and was flown to Handley Page Ltd. at Radlett on 19th February 1943. Why this happened is not clear. The aircraft was then taken on charge by 102 Squadron at Pocklington on 18th March 1943. As a result of flak damage sustained on 27th April 1943 Cat.A/FB damage was the damage assessment which saw it repaired on site. On 28th May 1943 it sustained flak damage on Ops to Essen, Cat.A/FB damage was again the damage assessment and it was repaired on site. 25th June 1943 it sustained flak damage on Ops to Wuppertal, Cat.A/FB damage was again the damage assessment and it was repaired on site. On 10th July 1943 it sustained flak damage on Ops to Gelsenkirchen, Cat.A/FB damage was again the damage assessment and it was repaired on site. On 10th August 1943 the aircraft failed to return from Ops to Mannheim. Cat.E(m) damage was recorded on the paperwork and it was struck off charge on 13th August 1943 having clocked up a total of 201 flying hours from new.