Date: 20th January 1944
Unit: No. 102 Squadron
Type: Halifax II
Serial: LW337 (Old Flo)
Coded: DY-F
Location: Köpenick Forest, Hirschgarten Friedrichshagen, Berlin
Time: 19.45 hrs
Pilot: F/O George A. Griffiths (Gag - nickname) DFM POW (Interned camp L3. POW No. 3361)
Co/Pilot: Sgt. Kenneth Frederick Stanbridge 1445546 R.A.F.V.R. Age: 22. Killed
A/G: W/O II Charles Gordon Dupueis R/176437 R.C.A.F. Age: 20. Missing (1)
Fl/Sgt. Reg C. Wilson POW (Interned camp L3. POW No.270098)
Bomber: F/O. Laurie.A. Underwood POW (Interned camp L3. POW No.3396)
A/G(Rear): Sgt. H.L. Bushell POW (Interned camp 4B. POW No.270013)
Wop/AG: P/O Eric Arthur Church 170702 R.A.F.V.R. Age: 24. Killed
Fl/Eng: Sgt. John Bremner 1567605 R.A.F.V.R. Age: 21. Missing (2)
REASON FOR LOSS:
Took off at 16.30 hrs from R.A.F. Pocklington, near York. Hit by flak over the target, which set alight to the starboard wing and bomb bay. Dives steeply and broke up. Of the four who died, two are buried in Berlin 1939-45 war cemetery and two are commemorated on the Runnymede memorial. F/O Griffiths had served previously with 76 Squadron , his DFM being gazetted on 14th May 1943. 27 aircraft were lost this night out of 800 which took part on this Berlin raid.
(2) Sgt John Bremner remains recovered thanks to the fantastic work by F/Sgt. Reg Wilson who, 64 years after the crash led an investigation team to the site of the crash and recovered the remains. (See latest news articles) Now buried with some of the crew in Berlin War Cemetery.
Above left: F/O George A. Griffiths, Right: F/O. Laurie.A. Underwood
Above left: Sgt. Kenneth Frederick Stanbridge, right: Fl/Sgt. Reg C. Wilson
Above left: Sgt. John H.L. Bushell, right: Sgt. John Bremner
P/O Eric Arthur Church (Courtesy Louise Church via Linda Ibrom)
Further information supplied by Linda Ibrom:
Flight Sergeant Eric Arthur Church RAFVR was born on 6th July 1919 and the son of Mr.& Mrs Stanley Herbert Church and husband of Gladys Church of Tottenham, Middlesex He met his wife, Gladys (Hudson) while both were serving in Pocklington in the RAF. They married at Holy Trinity, Tottenham on 24th January 1943.
He had been offered a commission but refused, as he didn’t want to be separated from his wife. When she discovered that she was pregnant, he accepted and was appointed Pilot Officer Church. His son, Michael Eric was born on 20th August 1944 His wife Gladys was to die on the 20th January 2004, sixty years later on the anniversary of his death. His granddaughter Louise was born on the 21st January 1971.
Burial Details:
BERLIN 1939-1945 WAR CEMETERY
Sgt. Kenneth Frederick Stanbridge: Grave; 7. C. 8.
Son of Mr and Mrs Philip Walter Stanbridge, of Salisbury, South Australia
P/O Eric Arthur Church: Grave; 5. D. 7.
Son of Mr and Mrs Stanley Herbert Church, husband of Glady's Elsie Church, of Tottenham, Middlesex.
Sgt. John Bremner: Grave; 7. C. 24.
Son of William McMath Bremner and Ada Bremner, of Fenham, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
Sgt Bremner - body now recovered and laid to rest with his fellow crew members in October 2008 - thanks to Reg Wilson!
RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL
W/O II Charles Gordon Dupueis Panel; 254
Son of Charlie and Margaret Dupueis, of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Above: Me110 of Oblt Leopold Fellerer. Gruppenkommandeur II./NJG 5. Gütersloh. January 1944.
Hauptmann Leopold Fellerer
The above images show the escape axe from LW337 ("Old Flo") recovered in 2008 - the right picture shows what it would have looked like.
Top left, part of the wing structure - the markings identifying it as part of "Old Flo" and on the right part of the parachute also recovered at the site.
Top left image L to R Ruediger Kaddatz, (Aviation expert) Reg Wilson and Michael Pincus (eye witness). The right image shows Reg Wilson at the Yorkshire Air Museum earlier this year.
(1) Dupueis Lakes in Saskatchewan is named after W/O Dupueis
For the full story and pictures of the funeral for Sgt. Bremner please click here. For the story about Reg Wilson's quest to recover Sgt. Bremner's body please click here. With thanks to the following: Bill Chorley - "Bomber Command Losses Vol 3", Theo Boiten - "German Nightfighter War Diaries Vol 2", Martin Middlebrook "Bomber Command War Diaries". The Commonwealth Graves Commission
The Aircrew Remembrance Society acknowledges the use of the photographs on this page to the family of the crew. We also are in contact with Reg Wilson who has provided us with some further photographs for use with this article.
With thanks to Michael Harrison for supplying further information to this loss including the German pilot who claimed this Halifax, Hauptmann Leopold Fellerer.
