207 Sqn RAFA - Whyte crew L7547 EM-M St Brisson, France

The Milan Raid of 14/15 February 1943 involved 142 Lancasters of 1, 5 and 8 Groups which carried out concentrated bombing in good visibility. Fires could be seen from 100 miles away on the return flight. No report is available from Milan. Italian defences were usually weak and only 2 Lancasters were lost on this raid. The quantity of bombs carried by Bomber Command so far in the war reached 100,000 tones during this operation. (Bomber Command War Diaries, Middlebrook & Everitt).

207 Squadron, then at RAF Langar, tasked 9 aircraft for this raid of which 3 failed to complete the mission. L7547 EM-M was the only 207 Sqn casualty.

The explanation [provided by Raymond Glynne-Owen] for the three aircraft not completing the operation is that on the previous raid on 13/14th February (to Lorient) five of 207's aircraft are shown in the Langar Raid Book as having landed at Bottesford, including F/Sgt Whyte in L7547/M.

For the raid on the 14/15th February three of 207's 9 aircraft taking part took off from Bottesford, including Whyte in L7547/M. A resident 467 Sqn Lancaster then bogged and blocked the Bottesford runway, preventing two more of 207's aircraft from taking off plus another of 207's Lancs had a defective exhaust valve which scrubbed that aircraft at Bottesford.

In his evasion report (WO208/3318 SPG1768) John Whyte said " We took off from RAF Bottesford at about 1900 hours on 14 Feb 43 in a Lancaster aircraft to bomb Milan. We reached our target. On the way home (probably about 2330 hrs) the port outer engine caught fire. The wing was set on fire immediately after. We dived down and tried, unsuccessfully, to put out the fire. I do not know the cause of the fire.

I came down about midnight in hilly country near St Brisson. After hiding my parachute and flying kit I started walking and about two hours later I met my flight engineer Sgt Eyre. We went into some woods and hid for the remainder of that night.

The next morning we met two Spaniards on the road and asked them for help, but they could not do anything for us. A little later we came across another Spaniard burning charcoal in the woods. He took us to see a Frenchman, who in turn took us to a house on the outskirts of St Brisson. We spent two or three days here and from this point our journey was arranged for us."

In his report (WO208/3318 SPG1783) Stan Eyre says "I was a member of the same crew as F/Sgt Whyte. I came down near St Brisson. After burying my parachute and flying kit I started walking and about two hours later I met F/Sgt Whyte and the remainder of my journey to Switzerland is as related in his report. I heard later that at St Brisson that five airmen had been found dead in an aircraft on the day that we had crashed. They were buried in the village, and I believe them to have been the remaining members of our crew."

The five members of the crew who died when the aircraft crashed are buried in St. Brisson, which according to the CWGC is a village and commune, in the Department of the Cote-d'Or, 75 kilometres north-east of Nevers and 11 kilometres west of Saulieu. The village is south of the main road from Saulieu to Lormes. The cemetery is south-west of the village, on the road to Le Vernay. The graves are to be found south-west of the entrance, in the far corner.

Georges Pillot wrote to the editor on 16 May 2005: "The memorial stone to the Whyte crew has been inaugurated in the presence of the Whyte family - Mary, John and Christopher, on Saturday May 7th 2005. I managed to get flowers with poppies to go with the memorial text you provided.

It was a great ceremony, for our little village of 280 people, there were more than a hundred to commemorate this 207 Squadron crew.

The Representative of the Departement and a Member of Parliament joined us, as well as veterans.
As you can see on the photographs there were flowers, people, officials, and flags, and great emotion.
After the ceremony, in the Council House, people visited an exhibition about L7547 made by our association.

The following day, May 8th 2005, the official ceremony of the end of the war, the Whyte family laid a rose on the grave each of the 5 airmen killed in the crash.

I thank you very much for the help you gave us for this memorial. I am still finding other more information about this crash and the evasion of Stanley Eyre and John Whyte."

A l'équipage du Lancaster L.7547. tombé le 15/02/1943
T.W. STRONG. Flight Sergeant. 27 ans.
A.R. GRAINGER. Flight Sergeant. 27ans
H.G.BONE. Sergeant. 29 ans
K.WHITE. Sergeant. 19 ans.
F.I.TILLEN Sergeant. 27 ans

Saint Brisson reconnaissant.

image - source Pillot

Christopher Whyte, Mary Whyte and John Whyte,
the son of John HF Whyte, pilot of EM-M L7547 (source Pillot)

The following message was sent for the dedication of the Memorial on behalf of Wg Cdr Ken Marwood AFC RAF(Retd), President of the 207 Squadron RAF Association and Sqn Ldr Paul Stockley RAF, Officer Commanding No.207 (Reserve) Squadron RAF Linton on Ouse (Sqn Ldr Stockley, like John Whyte, is a New Zealander):

“We are very grateful to all who have worked to establish the memorial to the crew of Lancaster EM-M L7547. They are among those who failed to return from operations when serving on No.207 Squadron in World War II in the cause of freedom: 955 who were killed, 171 taken prisoner and 39 who though shot down evaded capture.

We would have like to have joined in your ceremonies. This weekend a group from the Association is attending the dedication of a memorial in Belgium and visiting cemeteries there where several of our crews are buried. We are with you in spirit.

We also honour those from the village and the locality who because of their love of liberty and care of Allied airmen in life and death, suffered under the Nazi yoke. And we thank those who over the long years since the end of the War, have kept alive the memory of those who did not return to their homes here or in the Commonwealth.

On May 8 2005 Christopher Whyte, grandson of the pilot,
lays a rose at the grave of one of those killed in the crew (source Pillot)

The stone in front of the headstones reads "Souvenir des FFI à leurs camarades Anglais, morts pour la Liberté"
On May 8 2005, the 60th anniversary of VE Day, a rose was laid by the Whyte family
at each grave of the five who died and who now lie in the Communal Cemetery, Saint Brisson
[Sgt Tillen's grave not in this photo] (source Pillot)

WHYTE, John Henry Francis F/Sgt RNZAF NZ412522 Pilot - Evaded
EYRE, Stanley Herbert Kitchener F/Sgt RAF 650325 Flight Engineer - Evaded
TILLEN, Frank Ivan Sgt RAFVR 1175445 Navigator/B - Killed 15-Feb-43
STRONG, Thomas William Kitchener F/Sgt RAFVR 1114468 Obs/Bomb Aimer 1- Killed 15-Feb-43
GRAINGER, Athol Richard F/Sgt RAAF A/403169 Wireless Op/AG - Killed 15-Feb-43
BONE, Henry George Sgt RAFVR 1381738 Air Gunner (MU) - Killed 15-Feb-43
WHITE, Kenneth Sgt RAFVR 1535795 Air Gunner (R) - Killed 15-Feb-43

The five graves including Sgt Frank Tillen, at a previous ceremony (source Pillot)

24 Oct 2005 - Robin Eyre, Stanley Eyre's son, makes contact seeking information about his father's escape from St Brisson to Switzerland. From documents found in his mother's house after she died in August 2003 he knows that his father stayed in Faverges and Annecy in March 1943 before travelling to Switzerland. In October 1943 his mother received a telegram to say he was safe in Berne. Stanley Eyre retired from the RAF with the rank of Squadron Leader and was awarded the MBE and DFC.

John and Mary Whyte examining a display of wreckage fragments

John Whyte writes 26 Oct 2005: [edited] In 2003 I made my first visit to St Brisson in France but we did not learn a lot as we lacked contacts at that time and could only spend one day there. We visited the cemetery and the five graves and visited the Museum of Resistance.

I was very pleased to hear that contact has been made with Robin Eyre, but wish it could have been in time for the commemoration in France last May.

It was a extremely moving occasion and the French people were extremely good to us. Mary my wife and I stayed five days with Georges Pillot and our son Chris came from London where he lives to join us for three of those days.

Our visit seemed to bring out stories from the local French people and now, with Georges and Philippe [Senac] , we are still learning more. I have many of photos and notes from those five days as memories.

I have an original sketch similar to that described by Bev Wardle showing those same names and dated 8/9 Dec 1942 Turin along with two other sketches that were my father's.

They are the only things from the war that he ever displayed. In fact I remember being in trouble as a boy was when he caught me looking at his DFC, which I found hidden in the back of a cabinet. He did not speak about the war at all.

I also have in my possession his Flying Log and a diary he kept in Switzerland while he was there.

Thank you for being able to lay the wreath on behalf of 207 Squadron. I was very honoured to do so.

18 June 2007 - Christina Smith (née Bone) writes: Thank you to the Association for the information you supply on the Internet. I wanted to try and find out about my uncle [Henry Bone] who was killed in WW2. I cannot tell you how pleased I was to find the information on the Whyte crew, which answered a lot of questions. For quite a time it did not register that in looking at the photo of the five graves I was actually looking at my uncle's grave. Quite a shock but an added bonus.

Henry Bone was my late father's eldest brother. Unfortunately my father died some time ago and so never realised his ambition of finding out the details of Henry's death. I hope one day to go and place flowers on Henry's grave on my father's behalf. I have also found out about the memorial in Leicester Cathedral.

Flt Lt Jimmy Wardle DFM and the Whyte crew: Friend member Mrs Bev Wardle has a bombing certificate showing a drawing of a Lancaster [she told the editor that James Wardle DFM 148099, 207 Squadron flew with Sgts Mallet, Whyte, Tillon, Eyre, Mason, and Simister on a flight to Italy.Bev has a drawing of a Lancaster and some bombs dropping with the names of the above on them].

Raymond Glynne-Owen, Air Britain Spcialist on 207 Squadron and Honorary Member wrote to Bev: Your enquiry seems to be on the late 1942/43 period, when [James Wardle] flew as a Sergeant Air Gunner with 207 Squadron and Whyte was his regular pilot. The drawing you refer to sounds like a bombing certificate that was awarded to crews during the midwar period when they had shown that they had successfully bombed their designated target. According to the records Jimmy Wardle left 207 Squadron on 24 February 1943. Jimmy Wardle returned to 207 as Gunnery Leader on 5 June 1944, then a Flight Lieutenant.

Philippe Sénac has written: HISTOIRE DU LANCASTER L7547 Dans la nuit du 14 au 15 février 1943, un bombardier anglais s’écrasait dans la forêt située à quelques kilomètres du village de Saint Brisson (Nièvre). Après de nombreuses recherches, je peux maintenant reconstituer une partie de cet événement.

LES HOMMES L’équipage était composé de sept membres, deux eurent le temps de se parachuter, les cinq autres eurent moins de chance et périrent dans le crash de l’avion. A l’époque, des témoins affirmèrent que certains avaient sauté d’une altitude trop basse ne permettant pas l’ouverture complète de leurs parachutes.

Les deux survivants sont le pilote et le mécanicien :
Flight Sergeant WHYTE John Henry Francis (Royal New Zealand Air Force) / Pilote
Flight Sergeant EYRE Stanley Herbert (Royal Air Force) / Flight Engineer (Mécanicien)

Les deux aviateurs se sont réfugiés à l’Abbaye Sainte Marie de La Pierre qui Vire (Yonne), située à quelques kilomètres des lieux de l’accident. Ils ont été pris en charge par le père Wulfran Jeanne qui conduisit lui–même un des sergents à Paris. Le second fut hébergé par l’Abbé Ferrand, Archiprêtre de St Lazare d’Avallon (Yonne). Le F/Sgt EYRE rejoignit l’Angleterre après un périple de plus d’une année puisqu’il atteindra l‘ Espagne.Il réussit son évasion en passant par le canton de Berne (Suisse) qu’il quitte le 8 janvier 1944 en compagnie de 8 autres évadés (4 aviateurs anglais, 2 américains et 1 canadien) et rejoindra Barcelone le 16 février 1944, en passant par Frangy (Hte Savoie), Lyon, Marseille, Perpignan. Le sort du pilote n’est pas connu mais il serait rentré également en Angleterre en passant par l’Espagne.

Les cinq autres membres de l’équipage ont été enterrés dans le cimetière communal de Saint Brisson (Nièvre):

Tombe n°1 Flight Sergeant STRONG, Thomas William, 27 ans Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, service n° 1114468 Observer (Observateur) Marié à Eléonor Joyce STRONG BLYTH (Northumberland, Angleterre)	Tombe n°4 Sergeant WHITE, Kenneth James, 19 ans Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, service n° 1535795 Air gunner (Mitrailleur) Fils de Percy et Florence Annie WHITE SOUTH SHIELDS (Co. Durham, Angleterre)
Tombe n°2 Flight Sergeant GRAINGER, Athol Richard, 27 ans Royal Australian Air Force, service n° 403169 Wireless Operator (Radio) Fils de Reynold Bede et de Margaret Ann GRAINGER Marié à Margaret Rennie CRUIKSHANKS - GRAINGER LISMORE (New South Wales, Australie)	Tombe n° 5 Sergeant TILLEN, Frank Ivan, 27 ans Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, service n°1175445 Navigator (bomber) (Navigateur – bombardier) Fils de Franck et Mabel Alice TILLEN BASINGSTOKE (Hampshire, Angleterre)
Tombe n° 3 Sergeant BONE, Henry George, 29 ans, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, service n° 1381738 Air gunner (Mitrailleur) Fils d’ Henry George et Harriet BONE BEDFONT (Middlesex, Angleterre)	[* in fact according to Sgt Eyre's and F/S Whyte's debriefing reports F/S Strong was Air Bomber and Sgt Tillen was Navigator: Sgt White was Rear Gunner and Sgt Bone was Mid-Upper Gunner]

LA MISSION: Au début de l’année 1943, le commandement anglais a planifié des raids contre les villes de l’Italie du nord. Dans la nuit du 14 au 15 février, 142 Lancasters appartenant aux 1st, 5th et 8th Group conduisent le premier raid massif contre Milan. Cette ville avait été attaquée une première fois le 24 octobre 1942, elle le sera de nouveau et de façon plus intense en août 1943.

Le 207 sqn fournira pour ce raid 9 appareils, 3 devaient faire demi-tour et un seul ne revint pas (le L7547). Cette mission devait durer environ 10h (3000 km à une vitesse de croisière de 330 km/h). Au retour d’Italie, le moteur extérieur gauche prit feu suite à une surchauffe. Un deuxième Lancaster fut aussi porté manquant au cours de cette sortie.

L’AVION: AVRO type 683 LANCASTER BI Serial L7457 construit en novembre 1941 par AV Roe Co. Ltd. à Newton Heath (Manchester,UK)
Affecté au A Flight du 207 squadron "SEMPER PARATUS" (“ALWAYS PREPARED” - "TOUJOURS PRÊT") (5ème Groupe)
Code EM-M
Basé à LANGAR ( Nottinghamshire ) Pundit code : LA
Heure du décollage : 19h14 GMT le 14 février 1943
Heure approximative du crash : le 15février 1943 vers 2h GMT (1500km entre Langar et Milan + 650km entre Milan et St Brisson) soit 2100 à 2200km à 330km/h de vitesse de croisière (environ 6h30 de vol)
Total heures de vol : 208 h (au dernier décollage)

HISTOIRE DU LANCASTER L7547: Cet avion a été fabriqué à partir des cellules d’une série de 200 AVRO Manchester IA, dont la construction venait d’être abandonnée. Le Lancaster reprenait une grande quantité de pièces à son prédécesseur en particuliers le fuselage auquel une nouvelle aile équipée de 4 moteurs Rolls- Royce Merlin type XX de 1280 ch. Il appartient au premier lot dont le serial va de L7527 à L7549.

Vers la fin de l’année 1941 ou au début 1942, il est affecté au 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, A Flight, basé à Waddington (Lincolnshire, Pundit code: WA) où il est codé KM-D (for Dog). Après une période d’entraînement de 3 mois, le L7547/D participa à la première mission de guerre d’un Lancaster. Il s’agissait d’une opération de minage dans le secteur des îles Heligoland au Nord-Ouest du port de Bremerhaven (Allemagne) ( Opération « Gardening », secteurs YAMS et ROSEMARY ). Il était accompagné de 3 autres Lancasters (L7546/J ,L7549/Q et L7563/W) et était piloté par le W/O LAMB N.P.J.. Ce pilote participera aux attaques contre le cuirassé allemand « TIRPITZ » en avril 1942 et devait disparaître le 8 mai 1942 au cours d’un raid sur Warnemünde (Allemagne).

En septembre 1942, il rejoignait le A Flight du 207 sqn et devint le EM-M (for Mother) Il était le 21ème d’une série de 7037 Lancasters construits de différents modèles. Ils effectuèrent 156192 sorties (le 207 sqn : 4100 environ) et larguèrent 608612 tonnes de bombes, 3836 furent perdus, En moyenne chaque Lancaster a effectué : 27.2 sorties et larguer 154t de bombes.

STATISTIQUES DU 207 SQUADRON Pendant la période du 24 avril 1942 au 25 avril 1945, 277 Lancasters B I ou B III ont été pris en compte au 207 sqn, 177 avions furent perdus (75 au A Flight, 72 au B Flight) et 851 membres d’équipage perdirent la vie. L’ordre de bataille du 207 sqn était de 16 à 18 appareils au début 1943 et fut porté à 20/21 en 1944.

Au cours de la seconde guerre mondiale, le RAF Bomber Command perdit 47268 aviateurs :
51% tués en action dont 88% portés disparus
9% tués à l’entraînement
12% des survivants furent fait prisonniers de guerre
3% seront blessés et mis hors de combat
1% des survivants évitèrent la capture
25% terminèrent leur tour d’opération (30 missions)