The last flight of Lancaster ED559
  • About ED559
  • The Crew
  • Building ED559
  • RAF Grimsby (Waltham)
  • 100 Squadron
  • The Target
  • The Lost
  • Remembering ED559
  • Research about ED559
    • Caterpillar Club
    • Lancaster loss card
    • Crew memorials
    • F/Lt Richard A Curle RAFVR Record of Service
    • Harry Riding's Flying Log Book - 1942/43
    • Letter from Wing Commander J.G. Swain
    • Night Bomber Report
    • Guy Normandin
    • German defences in the Gironde
    • RAF Gardening Operations during the Second World War
    • Pilot Officer Robert Herbert Chapman
  • About me
  • Links
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Wheel

Remembrance Day 2024

10/11/2024

1 Comment

 
I was in Lincoln in early November and revisited the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC). I left a remembrance cross for the crew of ED559. Sadly, the the site and the ribbon stones had recently been subject to some flooding, and they are to be cleaned soon.

F/Lt Richard A. Curle (Pilot)  —  RAF 121280 (Age 28)                               
Sgt David A. Hart (Flight Engineer)  — RAF 567377 (Age 24)
F/O Harry Riding  (Wireless Operator)  — RAAF 403699 (Age 25)
F/O Errol C. Crapp  (Navigator)  —  RAAF 411113 (Age 24)
P/O Charles S. Challoner  (Bomb Aimer)  —  RAF 131995 (Age 37)
Sgt  Daniel L. Gooch  (Mid-Upper Gunner)  —  RAF 1336491 (Age 19)
Sgt  Garnet W. Durdin  (Rear Gunner)  —  RAAF 416149 (Age 25)

We will remember them.
International Bomber Command Centre Ribbon Stone for ED559
International Bomber Command Centre Ribbon Stone for ED559
International Bomber Command Centre November 2024
International Bomber Command Centre November 2024
International Bomber Command Centre November Lancaster Sculpture
International Bomber Command Centre November Lancaster Sculpture
International Bomber Command Centre November Lancaster Air Crew Silhouettes
International Bomber Command Centre November Lancaster Air Crew Silhouettes
Lincoln Cathedral November 2024
Lincoln Cathedral November 2024
International Bomber Command Centre Spire and Air Crew Silhouettes
International Bomber Command Centre Spire and Air Crew Silhouettes
1 Comment

RAF Grimsby (Waltham) - Staff Photo 1943

8/2/2021

2 Comments

 
A photo of staff at RAF Grimsby (Waltham) in 1943. Submitted by Charlie Stevenson, whose mother, Corporal Kathleen Selby, is third from the left.
Picture
2 Comments

Garnet Walter Durdin - No. 1 Wireless Air Gunners School

17/8/2020

1 Comment

 
I recently came across the website for No. 1 Wireless Air Gunners School that operated at Ballarat between 1940 and 1945. Ballarat is located in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia.

The website contains excellent information about the service personnel that undertook training at the establishment. One of those men was Flight Sergeant Garnet Walter Durdin, Lancaster RD559's rear gunner. 

The memorial page on the 1WAGS site contains a lot of information about Garnet's courses. Some details are not quite right and I have let the website know.

The website also had a much better image of Garnet. The one I had appears to have been a newspaper version of this photo.
Flight Sergeant Garnet Walter Durdin, Lancaster RD559's rear gunner
Flight Sergeant Garnet Walter Durdin, Lancaster RD559's rear gunner
1 Comment

Anzac Day 2020

25/4/2020

0 Comments

 
This year's Anzac Day will be a somewhat quiet affair given the global pandemic. However, across Australia and New Zealand families are paying tribute to those they lost with candles on balconies and window sills. Photo reproduced by kind permission of Duncan Campbell.

In memory of the Aussies lost March 4/5, 1943
​F/O Harry Riding  (Wireless Operator)  — RAAF 403699 (Age 25)
F/O Errol C. Crapp  (Navigator)  —  RAAF 411113 (Age 24)
Sgt  Garnet W. Durdin  (Rear Gunner)  —  RAAF 416149 (Age 25)
Anzac Day 2020
Anzac Day 2020
0 Comments

18.38 Hours - 4 March 1943

4/3/2020

1 Comment

 
77 years ago at 18.38 hours seven men lifted off from the tarmac at RAF Grimsby. Today we remember them and the ultimate sacrifice they made in the name of liberty and freedom. Lest we forget...
Per Ardua Ad Astra
Per Ardua Ad Astra
1 Comment
<<Previous

    Author

    As and when information is found I'll post to this blog.

    Archives

    November 2024
    August 2024
    March 2024
    November 2023
    May 2023
    November 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    August 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015

    Categories

    All
    Crew
    Document
    Film
    Photograph

    RSS Feed

Home
About ED559
The Crew
Building ED559
​RAF Grimsby (Waltham)
​100 Squadron RAF
​The Target
​The Lost Airmen
Remembering ED559
About Me
Research
Blog

© Craig Smith 2025 | Privacy Policy | Site Map
Picture

  • About ED559
  • The Crew
  • Building ED559
  • RAF Grimsby (Waltham)
  • 100 Squadron
  • The Target
  • The Lost
  • Remembering ED559
  • Research about ED559
    • Caterpillar Club
    • Lancaster loss card
    • Crew memorials
    • F/Lt Richard A Curle RAFVR Record of Service
    • Harry Riding's Flying Log Book - 1942/43
    • Letter from Wing Commander J.G. Swain
    • Night Bomber Report
    • Guy Normandin
    • German defences in the Gironde
    • RAF Gardening Operations during the Second World War
    • Pilot Officer Robert Herbert Chapman
  • About me
  • Links
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Wheel