17 August 1940 – 144 Squadron, RAF Hemswell – Handley Page Hampden I – P4365 – S/L P H Rebbeck – Ops Leuna / Merseberg
Location – Crashed near Lincoln on return
This aircraft crashed on return from a raid on Leuna/Merseburg. This was a very ambitious undertaking at this stage in WW2 with the target deep inside German and relying on dead reckoning navigation. The exact location of the crash is unknown and the only clue is a reference to “near Lincoln”. I can find no record of bad weather or poor visibility that night. The aircraft may have sustained some damage or suffered a mechanical failure or run out of fuel. The crew may just have been lost. No clue for the cause of the loss had been given
S/L Peter Henry Rebbeck RAF – Pilot – 144 Sqn - Son of Walter Edmund and Jane Rebbeck, of Lockeridge; husband of Betty Leonora Rebbeck. - Overton (St. Michael) Churchyard West Overton Wiltshire
Sgt Brian Holmes Foster RAF – Observer – 26 / 27 – 144 Sqn - St. Chad's Churchyard, Harpswell, West Lindsey District, Lincolnshire, England
Sgt Harry Dickinson RAF – 22 – Wirelss Operator / Air Gunner - 144 Sqn - Son of Frederic and Ethel Dickinson, of Leeds - St. Matthew's Old Churchyard - Chapel Allerton, Leeds,
F/O David Hutchins RAFVR – Air Gunner – 32 – 144 Sqn - Willesden New Cemetery, Willesden, Brent, London
Harpswell CWGC plot
Foster Grave
Compiled by David Fell with photos from my archive
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