Skyraider Posted 10 December , 2014 Share Posted 10 December , 2014 I am researching my friends father who joined the RNAS on 12 April 1916 and was stationed at Batersea Experimental Workshops, he was employed on improving the performance of machine guns, He was also stationed at Grain, Eastchurch, and Daedalus, His Navy (RNAS) records show that between 23 Aug 1917 and 31 Jan 1918 he served in President 11 (Dunkirk) but this is very faint writing. At some stage during this period he voluntered for flying duties and was posted to Sqd 7 RAF 1/4/1918 and then 97 sqd 17/7/1918. He was reported missing 23/8/1918 and repatreated 23/12/1918 from Germany. The above info is from his RNAS/RAF records(which are not very clear and full of abreviations). He said he was on a bombing raid and was shot down and crashed into a building, he was injured and taken prisoner, unfortunately his pilot was killed, He was found in a POW camp in Germany by the British Red Cross and arrived at Dover 23/12/1918 and transfered to reserve 18/3/1919. My future searches are to find the name of the pilot who died and the airfield from which they flew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted 10 December , 2014 Share Posted 10 December , 2014 22nd August 1918, H.P.0/400 of 97 squadron forced to land east of the lines at Pechelbronn, Alsace. Captain SG Gilmour, 2/Lt GE Rochester and Sgt JW Chalmers all taken Prisoner of War. The mission was a night bombing raid to bomb the railway and aerodrome at Herzing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyraider Posted 10 December , 2014 Author Share Posted 10 December , 2014 Thankyou MikeW most helpfull, Sgt Chalmers was found unconscious in a field by a local farmer and taken into the farmhouse, when he regained consciousness he was in bed, a local doctor treated him and after some days he was turned over to the police. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils d Posted 12 December , 2014 Share Posted 12 December , 2014 Rochester later became a writer of boys fiction working for WE Johns.Perhaps in one of his stories he" fictionalised" the story of his capture? Johns did that in a Biggles story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyraider Posted 13 December , 2014 Author Share Posted 13 December , 2014 Thankyou nils d I have not found any info with regards to Rochester and Gilmour on RAF files, so a new lead there, I am trying to find the airfield they took off from, but 97sqd don't list anything for this date, Also the target is not clear, I can only find Hering in Germany, there is a railway line nearby. The crash site town is clear enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topgun1918 Posted 13 December , 2014 Share Posted 13 December , 2014 No 97 Squadron was based at Xaffévillers from 9 august to 16 November 1918. Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyraider Posted 15 December , 2014 Author Share Posted 15 December , 2014 Thankyou topgun1918, Xaffevillers and the crash site at Pechelbronn and the target at Herzing or Hering are on a a straight flight path, as I live in France I plan to visit the site area in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now