Halifax LW267 damaged on Ops, returned to Elvington airfield.

On the night of 26th / 27th November 1943 the crew of this 77 Squadron aircraft took off from Elvington airfield at 23.36hrs to bomb Stuttgart. While roughly over Koblenz the Halifax was attacked by an enemy aircraft and it sustained severe battle damage. Despite the damage the crew were able to bring the aircraft back to the UK and landed at Elvington at 03.15hrs in thick fog. A repair to the aircraft was later started but after a second assessment it was stopped and written off, presumably the damage was internal such as to the main spar and was not repairable.

Pilot - P/O James Osmond Rivers Webster RAFVR (161587).

Flight Engineer - Sgt D J Taylor.

Bomb Aimer - Sgt George Cecil Garner RAFVR (1456655).

Navigator - Sgt Leonard Raymond Lewis RAFVR (1479413).

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Joseph William Ivan Robinson RAFVR (1082484). Of Hartforth, Richmond, Yorkshire.

Air Gunner - Sgt Eric Richard Prince RAFVR (1609895).

Air Gunner - Sgt Roderick DeBurgh Morrison RAAF (415435).

On the night of 28th / 29th January 1944 all of the above apart from Sgt Taylor were flying in Halifax LK729 on Ops to Berlin when the aircraft failed to return. Sgt Garner baled out and became a PoW while everyone else was killed. Sgt's Prince and Morrison are now buried in Berlin War Cemetery while Webster, Lewis and Robinson have no known grave and are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

James Webster received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 22nd October 1943.

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