207 Squadron RAF Association - The Lewis crew

207 Squadron RAF Association
The Lewis crew, lost on Bohlen 20/21 March 1945
Lancaster I PA196 EM-D

Lost without trace. All are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. Their average age was 22.
224 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes of 5 Group attacked the synthetic oil plant. This accurate attack put the plant out of action and it was still inactive when captured by American troops several weeks later. 9 Lancasters lost.

date (all 1945)	crew	a/c	target	5 Gp force	raid comments
2/3 Feb	as above	PB764	Karlsruhe	250/15 lost	Complete cloud cover resulted in poor target marking and operation was a failure
7/8 Feb	as above	PB764	Ladbergen	177/3 lost	Later recce showed canal banks had not been breached bombs having falled in nearby fields
8/9 Feb	as above	PB764	Politz	475/12 lost	Port inner engine became u/s and Captain aborted after jettisoning part load of bombs
13/14 Feb	as above	PB764	Dresden	244/6 lost	Force attacked in two phases, the first being lead by 5 Group. 8 Group followed in second phase and USAAF followed on 14 Feb in daylight
14/15 Feb	as above	PB764	Rositz	244/4 lost	This was a small oil refinery near Leipzig. Once again trouble with port innerengine and Captain aborted
3/4 Mar	as above	PB764	Ladbergen	212/7 lost	Aqueduct breached in two places and put out of action
5/6 Mar	as above	PB764	Bohlen	248/4 lost	Bohlen was a synthetic oil plant. Cloud cover resulted in poor target marking but some damage
6/7 Mar	as above	PB764	Sassnitz	191/1 lost	Sassnitz was a small port on the island of Rugen in the Baltic. Considerable damage. 3 ships sunk in harbour.
12/13 Mar	as above	RF144	Dortmund	n/a	A big raid with only 2 lost out of the total force of 1108. A record effort on a single target. Engineering production stopped and post waar assessment indicates that it would have been many months before industry would have got back to normal.
14 Mar	as above	PD220	Wurzburg	n/a	No details available.
20/21 Mar	as above	PA196 FTR	Bohlen	224/9 lost	Very accurate bombing putting refinery completely out of action.

sources:
RAF Bomber Command Losses of WW2 - 1945 (WR Chorley, Midland Counties Publishing, 1998)
The Bomber Command War Diaries - An operational reference book: 1939-1945 (Middlebrook & Everitt, Penguin, 1990)

Sgt Charles James Dewdney (known as Jim) - Flight Engineer
Betty Dopson is the sister of Jim Dewdney and justifiably remainsvery proud of him. He was the only son of William and Winnefred Anne Dewdney and the family then lived at 44 Maesteg Rd, Tondu. Jim attended Bridgend County Boys School and became an apprentice engineer at Shepherd's Foundry, Bridgend (later known as Hayes Engineering).

Betty always remembered him as her big brother, very responsible and grown up, very good technically and someone she always looked up to, a great role model. As a 12 year old schoolgirl she was approached by the headmaster one day in March 1945. He gave her the fare home and told her to go because her mum needed her. On arriving home she learnt that Jim had been posted missing.

Betty continues – “Jim had a motor bike and would regularly take it up to Spilsby where he would share it with other members of the crew. He also took his pushbike up there from Wales but sadly, this was eventually returned back home to Bridgend”.

She recalls a memorial service at Runnymede which many of the crew’s relatives attended. The families of the two Australian members of the crew (pilot Ray Lewis and wireless operator William Judd) did not attend, presumably due to the long distance from home. Many of the parents of the crew did stay in touch for a while after the war and Betty remembers that the Australian families occasionally sent over parcels of fruit. Mrs Matsumoto was the mother of the bomb aimer Gerald and she attended the service in a wheelchair.

As with Arnold Lawton’s family and connections (Rear Gunner), Betty feels it likely they came down in the sea on the return journey and mentions the Zuider Zee in Holland as a distinct possibility.

Jim Dewdney’s surviving family remain proud of him to this day. As well as sister Betty, through nephew Jeffrey and niece Carol, also with Carol’s husband Simon (presently a sergeant in the RAF) and all the extended family. They can rest assured that most definitely Jim played his part.

Sergeant Henry Oswald Collin RAFVR, Air Gunner
Henry Collin was the Mid Upper Gunner and was aged 23. He is commemorated on the Peterborough War Memorial - Air and on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey. Panel 274.

Sgt Arnold Lawton RAFVR, Air Gunner
Arnold Lawton was an Air Gunner on No.207 Squadron Royal Air Force. Together with the rest of his crew, based at RAF Spilsby in Lincolnshire, he sadly failed to return from an attack on the synthetic oil plant at Bohlen, near Leipzig on the night of 20/21 March 1945.

Arnold was the youngest son of John Thomas and Sarah Lawton of Scholar Green, Cheshire. He was particularly inspired by his elder brother Stan who served at Dunkirk. He too wanted to make his contribution and so volunteered for active service in the RAF and became a valued member of 207 Squadron.

Arnold became a great source of pride not only to his parents and brother Stan but also to his friends, in particular his old school-mate Dick Carman, who retired as as Squadron Leader in the RAF. He continues to be fondly remembered to this day through sister-in-law Irene, nephews Graham and Raymond, Sandra (Ray’s wife) and great nephew John (Ray’s son).

David Nicholls is a family friend of the Lawton family who has taken a keen interest in Arnold and the crew of Lancaster I PA196 EM-D. He writes: "I recently did a simple dedication to Arnold Lawton which was well received by Arnold's nephews Graham and Raymond. As part of the dedication I took information from the 207 Squadron and Commonwealth War Graves Commission websites in an effort to gather what material I could. As a result of this, I have received from Arnold's family further information compiled mainly by Arnold's school mate Squadron Leader Dick Carman. This includes information about the various ops of the lost crew in early 1945 and makes very interesting reading. I believe very passionately that this crew should not be forgotten. As with so many others, they gave their lives to win our freedom and were volunteers, every one a hero. It is generally believed that they were forced to ditch in the sea on the home leg although nobody knows for sure."

Much of this page is based on David's findings with more added from other sources.

Dedication to Arnold Lawton, a lost airman of World War 2
Odd Rode Parish church in Cheshire is surrounded by beautiful unspoilt countryside. It is a very peaceful place and on entering the main gate the pathway splits into two and directly ahead you will find a memorial to the local men and women, who sadly lost their lives fighting for their country during the two world wars.

One such dedication is to Thomas Arnold Lawton, a son of the nearby village of Scholar Green.

David Nicholls was born in Scholar Green and spent his early years there prior to moving away to Leicestershire. He never forgot it and many happy childhood memories remain with him to this day.

His family often told him about Arnold, whose mother Sarah, David's grandmother Florence Southerton, were best friends.

War Memorial at Odde Rode Parish Church

1945 plaque detail

As a small boy David was told that Arnold was a rear gunner in the RAF and that sadly he failed to return from a raid. David remembers thinking how brave he must have been:

Arnold's local area
Odd Rode and Scholar Green are on the A34 Newcastle to Manchester main road and close to both the Macclesfield Canal and the main London-Manchester railway line. Nearby are the attractions of Mow Cop Castle , Little Moreton Hall and Rode Hall

People gaze and think of dashing young men,
Knights of the air on chariots of fire
Guardians of the skies.
Old folks stop and stare
Waiting, Watching, Listening.
Engines throbbed in distant haze
Heralding twentieth century Merlins
Returning home with knights of moonlit skies
With jagged holes in bucking mounts
Ensuring freedom for young and old
So little hands can play again
And build a Camelot in the sand.

from Bomber Dawn by Richard Caville

Sgt Thomas Arnold Lawton

If you can add to the information on this page, particularly about the
other members of the crew, please contact the editor