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Post by corsair5517 on Mar 13, 2024 22:20:18 GMT 12
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rodm
Flying Officer
Posts: 67
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Post by rodm on Apr 14, 2024 2:55:02 GMT 12
The aircrew trainees at No. 3 Manning Depot, Edmonton, August 1943 were all LAC Air Observer u/t, most of whom passed out of their respective schools in Canada on 14/1/44 as either Sgts or Pilot Officer, most as Air Bombers, but two as Navigators (J L Gilbert, and L M Noble). They sailed from Auckland (20th June 1943) to San Francisco (arrived 3rd July); Just two of these men were lost on operations; E A Roy on 16/3/45, with 166 Sqdn, and I T Yanovich, on 6/1/45, with 635 Sqdn. David D From this No 3 Manning Depot photograph, Ron Noice, Frank Prebble, and Eric Roy were good friends throughout their time in Canada and (later) the United Kingdom. I have a copy of Eric Roy's diary, which he started upon embarkation onboard the S.S. Matsonia in Auckland. Eric Roy, Alan Rea, Ron Noice, Ian Petrie, Bill Smith, and Frank Prebble were all billeted in cabin 307 on the ship. Roy details his 1.5 month stay at No 3 Manning Depot in Edmonton between July-August 1943 quite extensively in his diary. From the group photo, Alan Rea, Ron Noice, Ian Petrie, Bill Smith, Frank Prebble, John Gilbert, Lloyd Noble, and Frank Gilbert are all mentioned by name. Eric Roy, along with fellow Southlander Merv Davis, died in 166 Squadron Lancaster PB153 on the night of 16-17 March 1945 during a raid on Nürnberg. Also from the No 3 Manning Depot photo: Ivan Yanovich and Frank Prebble served in 635 Squadron at the same time. Ivan Yanovich died on the night of 6-7 January 1945, during a raid in Hanau. Yanovich was one of eight crew onboard 635 Squadron Lancaster PB228, piloted by Jim Rowland RAAF. They were exiting the target area after bombing when - a couple of miles S.E. of Hanau - their Lancaster was hit from the port side by 158 Squadron Halifax NR195, which (I believe) had lost height and turned onto the 2nd homeward leg a fraction early. The collision caused the Halifax to break up. None of the seven-man crew survived. Meanwhile, the collision tore off the port wing and rear fuselage of the Lancaster. As the forward section of the Lancaster spun down, F/L Rowland somehow managed to exit via the cockpit hatch above his head at the last minute. F/L Rowland DFC was the only survivor from both crews. He remained in the RAAF post-war and rose to become Air Marshal Sir James Anthony Rowland, AC, KBE, DFC, AFC, Chief the Air Staff (1975-79), then the 33rd Governor of New South Wales (1981-89). ADDITION: I was just reading through some of the Roy family correspondence. Alan Rea's sister-in-law, Effie, lived in the U.K. (Cheshire) and he and Eric Roy visited her for three days in early March 1945, shortly before Eric Roy's death. Also, in looking at some of the late 1940s correspondence - aerogrammes taking only ten days from posting in rural N.Z. to delivery in the U.K. Boy, have some things regressed in 80 years!!
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