Names to be commemorated in any development – work in progress

Names for the possible St Georges Barracks development

Hampden London Illustrated News 1940
Hampden as drawn in the London Illustrated News for Nov 16 1940 The Illustrated London News Nov 16 1940

RAF North Luffenham and RAF Woolfox Lodge are battlefields. When a development takes place we will need to name significant buildings, roads (roadsigns to have QR codes telling the story) and areas. Further research is required on medals and awards made.

So Names will all be related to the history of the battlefield. This is my rolling suggestion list. The list is far from finished.

Names.

Valentine . RAF Leader. Tragic loss of 2 of the North Luffenham leaders – night of 2nd September 1941 . Gp Capt Barrett DSO+bar, DFC & Wg Cdr Valentine DSO and their crew.

Barrett. RAF Leader. Tragic loss of 2 of the North Luffenham leaders – night of 2nd September 1941 . Gp Capt Barrett DSO+bar, DFC & Wg Cdr Valentine DSO and their crew.

2 x Canadian aviators lost in the North Sea and never found.

Conti. Canadian cold war Sabre flyer – representing the Sabre aircrew lost in the Cold War – he has no known grave. Fg Off Conti was last heard of by radio near Flamborough Head.

Parks. Canadian cold war Sabre flyer. Wg Cdr Walter Franklin Parks DFC & Bar. DC. Chief Operations Officer missing on a training flight over the North Sea. An explosion was heard off Skegness. He had lived with his wife and 2 children in Hambleton.

Royal Canadian Air Force graves in North Luffenham Churchyard 1952, 1953 and 1954

Dickson. Royal Canadian Air Force Leader. Squadron Leader James Donald Dickson RCAF. DFC. AFC. DFM. CD . WW2, Korea – bomber, transport and Sabre pilot

Matthews. Outstanding bravery. a brave and tragic story – pilot officers Matthews and Williams – 9/10 Jan 42

Williams. Outstanding bravery. a brave and tragic story – pilot officers Matthews and Williams – 9/10 Jan 42

Hein-Stevens. The identity stolen by the only German jew (Hein) to fly for the RAF. Example of escaper and the great escape. Squadron Leader Peter Stevens MC – a remarkable story – a German jew flying for the RAF

Wright. An example of an RAF evader. An evader from North Luffenham. It was a long way home for Sgt Albert Wright

Mullet. Irish volunteer. Resting in North Luffenham churchyard

Thompson. Survivor from Op Gisela attack. Operation Gisela. Succesful German night fighter attack Woolfox Lodge – night of 3-4 March 1945

Malin. Airman representing the other ranks of groundcrew and support staff – aged 20 killed by a Hampden landing back at base after ops hitting the airfield control cabin. Resting in North Luffenham churchyard

Simond. Wg Cdr G F Simond.(MID.) OC 144 Squadron killed during Operation Fuller 12 Feb 42 – the Channel Dash. No known grave – lost with 4 others. Empty chairs and empty tables – Operation Fuller – 12 February 1942 ‘the Channel Dash’

Nightingale. Represetning Kenya. Sgt E I Nightingale DFM. killed during Operation Fuller 12 Feb 42 – the Channel Dash. Crashed crippled Hampden bomber at Norwich and died. The rest of the crew survived. Sgt Ivo Nightingale was from Kenya. Empty chairs and empty tables – Operation Fuller – 12 February 1942 ‘the Channel Dash’

Johnson. Representing Rhodesia. Pilot Officer D H Johnson. From Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia. Died night of 10/11 February 1942 on a raid on Essen. Buried in Hannover War Cemetery. Do not know cause of crash.

Shorrocks. Prisoner of war. Representative of the fate of the aircrew. http://www.rafnorthluffenhamheritage.me.uk/?p=817

One airman, Flt Sgt W H Shorrocks RCAF (61 Sqn RAF) who was shot down by flak in an Avro Manchester raiding Brest on 1 Feb 42, was housed in 5 diferent camps. He was in 3 camps in Germany (8B Silberberg, 344 Lamsdorf and 13C Nurnberg) and then was held in L6 Heydekeg in Lithuania and L4 Beninia in Poland.

More work required to find representatives –……………………………………..

Royal Australian Air Force. Representing the RAAF – to be found.

Royal New Zealand Air Force. Representing the RNZAF – to be found

South Africa Air Force. Representing the volunteers from South Africa to be found.

Other Commonwealth/Dominion/Allied names. To be found.

Czech

Polish

Aircraft names.

Hampden, Manchester, Wellington, Lancaster, Horsa, Stirling, Tiger Moth, Hamilcar, Whitley, Albermarle, Halifax, Dakota, Valetta, Devon, Anson, Meteor, Harvard, Sabre, Balliol, Brigand, Hunter, Thor, Bloodhound, Rapier, Sabre, Thor

British Army.

Recent casualties – there are 2 Army dog handlers killed on service in Afghanistan. Others? Details to be added

Current Street names to be respected and relocated as required.

Woolfox Lodge specific names. TBD

Valentine . RAF Leader. Tragic loss of 2 of the North Luffenham leaders – night of 2nd September 1941 . Gp Capt Barrett DSO+bar, DFC & Wg Cdr Valentine DSO and their crew.

Thompson. Survivor from Op Gisela attack. Operation Gisela. Succesful German night fighter attack Woolfox Lodge – night of 3-4 March 1945

3 thoughts on “Names to be commemorated in any development – work in progress”

  1. Dear Sir. Enjoyed reading this article. My late mother Elizabeth Boyle (1929-2018) was stationed at North Luffenham. I don’t know the exact dates she was there. Mum told me the WRAF girls were billeted in a property called Edith Weston House. She joined the RAF shortly after her 20th birthday August 1940.

    1. Thank you for commenting. Like the components of a watch the product relies upon all parts working in unison, including the tiniest spring (not my quote but Lord Slim). I am hoping to get to the national archive and find out the number of airmen and airwomen based at N Luff through the war. I think the ground staff had a hard time of it as well depending where they were, particularly on a newly built station of mud, through the winter of 1941/1942. The base was bombed twice as well, as well of course many accidents occurred. I don’t think many people understand the continued diligence, discipline and plain old fashioned very hard work required on the ground. Thank you for your mothers service.

  2. The contact form seems to have disappeared.
    Woolfox Lodge was recorded as a pow camp for German pows June 1946 to June 1947. There are many similar sites with ex-RAF accommodation in use to hold pows. The site was administered by Allington Camp 51. There are just a few entries from the main camp file (National Archives – FO 939/133 51 Working Camp, Allington Camp, Grantham, Lincolnshire. Dated 1945-1948 ):

    Woolfox Lodge – Satellite Camp. 20 miles from main camp. Hutted.
    Most likely ex-RAF accommodation huts at the Woolfox Lodge airfield

    24 August 1946 – English Inspector’s Report by J E Jackson for this camp – recorded as a ‘hostel’. Strength 467.
    Commandant; C.S.M. Currie Lagersprecher; Eulich, H
    It was unusual for separate reports to be made on satellite camps / hostels – no reasons were given for this one. There were three English classes. A shortage of newspapers and no radio was noted. There was a cinema.

    April 1947 – Camp leader Fw Meier (A). No ground available for sports. “…re-education was hindered by day and night shifts stemming the floods, for which the Ps/W showed a good spirit.”

    June 1947 – Commandant Capt Gould. Camp leader; Ofw. Kruesel Oskar (B-)
    The new leader was 32-years-old, he had been in the army since 1934. “Little personality and organising powers,” the commandant was not sure of his ability, but the visitor thought there was no suitable replacement.

    July 1947 – A new camp leader was proposed – Fahnenj.Ofw Eduard Brammer (B), aged 47 – “tall, self-assured, ‘a doctor of law and graduated economist’ but politically untutored.” He had previously been camp leader at one of the many RAF hostels attached to King’s Cliffe Camp 702. He became camp leader in October. The deputy leader at this camp was not thought to be suitable as leader being described as, “an ordinary type of person.”
    Numbers of pow:
    6/46 9/46 1/47 4/47 5/47 6/47
    Not given 540 823 615 865 805

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