Sgt Frank Ball RAFVR and crew – 576 Squadron – RAF Elsham Wolds – 1943.
Failed to Return - 20/21st December 1943 – Lancaster I – W4123 – Op Frankfurt.
Frank Ball and his crew were posted to 576 Sqn at their inception at the end of Nov 1943. They were a new crew straight from HCU. Sgt Ball flew as co-pilot with F/S A E Bodger and crew on the 16/17th December 1943 to Berlin which they successfully completed.
On the night of the 20/21st December 1943 Sgt Ball captained his own crew on their first and sadly last operation. Luc Cox in Belgium sent me an account of this many years ago with the accompanying photos which are included below.
Pilot – Sgt Frank Ball RAFVR ( pictured above )
F/E - Sgt William Dickie RAFVR
Nav – Sgt Louis P.E. Allais RAFVR – 29y
A/B - Sgt Leonard Balich RAFVR
W/op – Sgt Frank H. Gage RAFVR - 21y
Air Gnr. - Sgt Alan J. Pollitt RAFVR – 21y
Above - Frank Ball and 4 of his crew pictured at OTU
Air Gnr. - Sgt Jack E. Redmond RCAF.( pictured above )
Seven aircraft of the squadron were detailed for this operation, but one was scrubbed due to engine problems. One other of the aircraft returned early because of engine trouble and this crew bombed what they tought to be an airfield. Lancaster W4123 was on the way to Germany when it crashed at 'het Roodbos', about 1 km to the south of the hamlet ‘ De Plank’ at Voeren at 1930 hours. The place is actualy located near Teuven. It is strongly believed that this aircraft was shot down by a night fighter. Although the claim was made near Sint-Pieters-Voeren which is just north of the crash site. The night fighter was Oberleutnant Werner Baake of 3./NJG1 who was operating from Venlo/Holland. The crew was only together for a very short time.
It was the forester who found a body of a crew member of the Lancaster. Having looked at the aimans papers, it turned out to be a Canadian, Jack Redmond. A bit further on was the wreckage of the Lancaster in which another man was found. A neighbour of the forester found a third member of the crew in a field on the other side of the forest near to Veurs. On these three locations a wooden cross was placed as a rememberance. On the place were Jack Redmond was found was the wooden cross replaced by a concrete one. The plaque fixed to the cross read: 'A la Glorieuse Mémoire D'un Aviateur Canadien Tombé ici le 20 Dec 1943' - 'At the Glorious Memory of a Canadian airman crashing here on the 20th of Dec 1943.' Sergeant Redmond was the son of a newspaper editor. His occupation prior to the war was printer and projectionist and had enlisted in January 1941, and was trained in Canada. He arrived at the squadron on 7th December 1943.
The father of Sergeant Allais, Charles Allais, was a French National married to an English girl. Sergeant Louis Allais was formerly a merchant seaman whose ship had been torpedoed and who was made prisoner on the notorious ship Altmark. He was released by the Royal Navy ship HMS Cossack in the Josing Fjord in Norway on 16 February 1940.
The pilot, Frank Ball’s brother remembers: "Frank completed his school education at the age of 14 and was then apprenticed as an engineer’s pattern maker at a local factory. This involved very skilled woodworking and, as a hobby, he made many aircraft models in wood. He was a useful sportsman playing tennis, cricket and football to a high standard. He danced and was found of the popular music of the day. Frank joined the Royal Air Force as soon as he was able and was trained in England and in Florida, USA. He gained his wings on his 21st birthday, November 13, 1942. These were the American Air Force wings made of a white metal. Our mother wore them as a brooch until the day she died. Frank never had the opportunity to learn drive a car."
The crew were buried at St. Truiden Cemetery on 23rd December but were reinterred at Heverlee War Cemetery.
Sgt Frank Ball RAFVR ( pictured above) – Pilot – 22 – 576 Sqn - Son of Phyllis Eliza Ball and the late Frank Ball of Belgrave, Leicester – Heverlee War Cemetery, Belgium
Sgt William Dickie RAFVR – Flight Engineer – 576 Sqn - Heverlee War Cemetery, Belgium
Sgt Louis Paul Edwin Allais RAFVR – Navigator – 29 – 576 Sqn - Son of Charles and Emily S. Allais of Barnes, Surrey - Heverlee War Cemetery, Belgium
Sgt Leonard Balich RAFVR – Air Bomber – 576 Sqn - Heverlee War Cemetery, Belgium
Sgt Frank H. Gage RAFVR – Wireless Operator / Air Gunner – 21 – 576 Sqn - Son of Engr. Comdr. H. F. Gage, R.N., and Dorothy N. Gage of East Cosham, Portsmouth - Heverlee War Cemetery, Belgium.
Sgt Alan James Pollitt RAFVR - Air Gunner – 21 – 576 Sqn - Son of James and Elizabeth Pollitt of South Kensington, London - Heverlee War Cemetery, Belgium.
Sgt Jack Edward Redmond RCAF.( pictured above ) – Air Gunner – 576 Sqn - Heverlee War Cemetery, Belgium.
Note: Frank Ball’s Uncle was also killed in action in France in 1917, and is buried at Foncquevillers.
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20 Dec 43 – Frankfurt – Germany – Night. This target was bombed by 6 of the 7 aircraft detailed from between 20,500 and 23,000 ft. W/O Rollins returned early and bombed what he thought was an aerodrome at position 5100N 0755E. Photo print shows ground detail. Sgt Ball and crew failed to return.
( 650 aircraft. Target was found to be 8/10ths cloud covered which effected the Pathfinder marking. Much of the bombing fell in the vicinity of a nearby decoy site but the creep back fell in parts of Berlin causing significant damage and casualties )
Item compiled by David Fell with thanks to Luc Cox for the detailed background account. The photos courtesy of G B Ball and J Redmond
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