Date: 20/21st April 1944 (Thursday/Friday)
Unit: No.218 Squadron R.A.F.
Type: Short Stirling III
Serial No. LJ448
Code: HA-D
Location: Asniers-Sur-Oise, France.
Pilot: F/O. Greogory McGowan Doolan 421008 R.A.A.F. Age 23. Killed
Nav: F/O. Anthony Edward Vidler R.A.A.F. Evaded
Fl/Eng: Sgt. Cecil Thomas Bishop 1608815 R.A.F.V.R. Age 19. Killed
Air/Bmr: F/O. Arthur John Levy R.A.A.F. Evaded
W/Op/Air/Gnr: P/O. Francis Herbert O'Neil R.A.A.F. Evaded
Air/Gnr: Sgt. Dennis Rupert Pepall R.A.F.V.R. Evaded
Air/Gnr: Sgt. Clive Robinson PoW No: 3595 Camp: Stalag Kopernikus
Reason For Loss:
Article submitted by relatives:
My mother and father Thomas and Ethel Bishop ran a grocery shop in Charlton Kings. I was three when my older brother Cecil died. He was 19, serving as a flight engineer in the RAF and was hoping to become a pilot. He was with No. 218 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
I remember two young men, Cecil and a friend, coming home with their uniforms on and their kitbags which I would never let out of my sight in case their might be something in there for me. They also teased me a lot. I remember my mother had a fur wrap with a fox's head on and they used to put it across the path in the garden then call me out and I thought it was a horrible monster and they would kill themselves laughing.
Cecil was taking planes over France and by 1944 he was very shocked with all the killing. My mother was very concerned about him, not just his physical safety but his mental state because he was so young and such a fun-loving boy. He had quite a few girlfriends, I still hear from some of them.
He used to come home on leave late at night and I remember, really vividly remember, my mother one night calling out "Is that you, Cec" she had heard footsteps on the stairs and thought he had gone up to his room which was the usual occurrence, we weren't told when he would be coming home..
But he wasn't there in the morning and a few days later the telegram came saying he was missing. We always say his spirit came home. My parents never spoke much about losing him, they bottled it all up, which of course now we know was wrong, so we never talked about him much but I'll never forget my big handsome brother.
In 1999 my surviving brother wrote to the Ministry of Defence for more information about Cecil's death and received this reply from the Air Historical Branch:
Thank you for your letter seeking information concerning your brother 1608815 Sergeant Cecil Thomas Bishop, who sadly lost his life while serving with No. 218 Squadron RAF during World War 2. Our records show that Sgt C T Bishop was the flight engineer on Stirling Bomber No. LJ448 which took off from Woolfox Lodge, Leicestershire at 21.30 hrs on the 20th April 1944 for a raid on a target in Chambly, France. This aircraft was part of a force of 14 bombers detailed to attack the railway depot at Chambly.
The circumstances of how this aircraft met its fate are not known. I can only presume that Stirling LJ448 was damaged by enemy fire and crashed at Asniers-Sur-Oise, 38 kms north east of Versailles, with the loss of two of the seven-man crew.
Sgt Bishop and F/O. Doolan are buried at the Asniers-Sur-Oise Communal Cemetery, France.
A memorial letter from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission includes a photograph of two wreaths on the Asniers-Sur-Oise Communal Cemetery, Val díOise, France, in the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which reads "Their Name Liveth For Evermore."
Left: Sgt Cecil Bishop Right: Sgt. Dennis Rupert Pepall
Statement of account from P/O. Francis Herbert O'Neil R.A.A.F.
Burial details:
F/O. Gregory McGowan Doolan. Asniers-Sur-Oise Communal Cemetery, France.
Son of Ambrose Vincent and Kathleen Violet Doolan, of Binnaway, New South Wales, Australia.
Sgt. Cecil Thomas Bishop. Asniers-Sur-Oise Communal Cemetery, France.
Son of Thomas J. Bishop and Ethel L. Bishop, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Researched by Melvin Brownless (A.R. Society) for relatives of the crew (May 2008). With thanks to Mike Harrison for further information.
