Date: 12/13th May 1943
Unit: No. 51 Squadron
Type: Halifax II
Serial: HR786
Code: MH-J
Base: Snaith, Yorkshire
Location: Kanaaldijk, Jisp, Noord Holland, 16km NNW from the centre of Amsterdam
Pilot: P/O. George William Locksmith 143389 R.A.F.V.R. Age 23. Killed
Fl/Eng: P/O. John Isaac Noble 146104 R.A.F.V.R. Age 23. Killed
Nav: P/O. Reginald Tunstall 146287 R.A.F.V.R. Age 21. Killed
Air/Bmr: P/O. Alfred Jones Hendry 146447 R.A.F.V.R. Age ? Killed
W/Op: Fl/Sgt. Hugh Alan Roberts 1056193 R.A.F.V.R. Age 26. Killed
Air/Gnr: Sgt. Cyril Norman Victor Cogdell 1352803 R.A.F.V.R. Age ? Killed
Air/Gnr: F/O. Gerald Olivier Marcel Massip-de-Turville 121055 R.A.F.V.R. Age 23. Killed
Relatives of 51 Squadron who would like us to put them into contact with the 51 Squadron Society please do not hesitate to contact us.
REASON FOR LOSS:
Took off at 22.49hrs from Snaith, joining 238 Lancasters, 141 other Halifaxes, 112 Wellingtons, 70 Stirlings and 10 Mosquitos. 572 aircraft in all. 34 aircraft were lost - 10 Lancasters, 10 Wellingtons, 9 Halifaxes and 5 Stirlings - 5.9% of the total force.
HR786 was shot down by a night-fighter flown by Ofw. Bruno Elkmeier of 2./NJG1 at 4,700 mts. and crashed at 01.23 on 13th May 1941 on the Kanaaldijk near Jisp, Noord Holland, 16km NNW from the centre of Amsterdam. This was the third kill by Ofw. Elkmeier who later became an ace with a total of 6 kills before being killed later this year on the 3/4th September 1943 at Brummen near Zutphen after instrument failure in clouds. He allowed his radio operator to escape first before it was too late for him to jump.
In August 1993, Dutch historians positively identified this aircraft at its crash site and its discovery was widely reported in the British press.
For details of the raid please see "HERE".
Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery (Courtesy C.W.G.C.)
Burial details:
P/O. Locksmith - Commemorated on Panel 132 of the Runnymede Memorial, Cooper’s Hill, Englefield Green, Surrey.
Son of Cedric and Alberta Morrison Locksmith of Isleworth, Middlesex.
P/O. Noble - Commemorated on Panel 132 of the Runnymede Memorial, Cooper’s Hill, Englefield Green, Surrey.
Son of John and Lilian Noble of Lofthouse, Yorkshire.
P/O. Tunstall - Commemorated on Panel 133 of the Runnymede Memorial, Cooper’s Hill, Englefield Green, Surrey.
Ward and nephew of Mrs. B. Yeomans of Burslem, Staffordshire.
P/O. Hendry - Commemorated on Panel 132 of the Runnymede Memorial, Cooper’s Hill, Englefield Green, Surrey.
Son of John Lindsay Hendry and Fanny Evelyn Hendry of Sandyhills, Glasgow.
Fl/Sgt. Roberts - Commemorated on Panel 138 of the Runnymede Memorial, Cooper’s Hill, Englefield Green, Surrey.
Son of Hugh and Elizabeth Roberts, husband of Lilian Megan Roberts of Llandudno, Caernarvonshire.
Sgt. Cogdell - Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery, Noord Holland, Netherlands - Plot 69, Row C, Collective grave 5.
Son of Harry and Helen Emily Cogdell, husband of Gwendoline Jessie Cogdell of West Brompton, London.
F/O. Massip-de-Turville - Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery, Noord Holland, Netherlands - Plot 69, Row C, Collective grave 5.
Son of Edmond Massip and Jeanne Felicie de Turville of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Researched by our volunteer Jeremy Nicholson for the Aircrew Remembrance Society with assistance from 51 Squadron History Society.
Acknowledgments: With thanks to the following: Bill Chorley - "Bomber Command Losses", Theo Boiten - "German Nightfighter War Diaries", Martin Middlebrook "Bomber Command War Diaries". The superb work of the C.W.G.C
