North Cotes St Nicholas Churchyard – Lincolnshire.
This is rather outside my area but it is an interesting cemetery and location which I have visited a time or two over the years. The grade II listed church is quite near the North Coates airfield and the churchyard is the site of a Commonwealth War Graves plot with 34 WW2 interments plus one WW1
These include 3 Fleet Air Arm, 3 German, 2 Bomber Command and the rest Coastal Command
North Cotes St Nicholas church
Two views of the CWGC plot
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30 July 1940 - Lt Denman Groome FAA – Age 27 – Pilot - HMS Peregrine
30 July 1940 - S/Lt John Galliard FAA – Age 25 – Pilot - HMS Peregrine
30 July 1940 - S/Lt Roy Murray Andrews FAA – Age 24 – Observer - HMS Peregrine
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2 October 1940 – Fw Helmuth Kress – Age U/K – Pilot – Unit U/K. - See Note 1 below
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18 December 1940 – Sgt Denis George How RAFVR – Age 23 – 22 Squadron
Sgt Ralph Gerald Hart RAF – Age 22 – 22 Squadron.
Sgt Leonard James Peachey RAFVR – Age 32 – 22 Squadron
Sgt Paul Victor Renai RAF – Age 22 – 22 Squadron
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21 June 1941 – F/S Donald Bell RAFVR – Age 21 – Observer - 86 Squadron - See Note 2 below
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30 July 1941 - Sgt George Cuthbert Bingley RCAF – Age 20 – 407 Squadron
P/O Rollie Ernest Buckolz RCAF – Age 23 – 407 Squadron
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19 August 1941 - Sgt Percy Noel Cowan RAAF – Age 25
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22 January 1942 - P/O Roland Edison Dann RCAF – Age 25 – 407 Squadron
Sgt John Clifton Gaudet RCAF - Age 29 – 407 Squadron
LAC Stanley Walter Friend RAFVR – Age 21
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2 February 1942 – OFw Gustav Borkowski – Age 28 – 6./KG40. - See Note 3 below
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17 February 1942 - F/S Arthur William Goulding RCAF - Age 26 – 407 Squadron
FS John Clarke Harris RCAF - Age 29 – 407 Squadron
Sgt William John Thomas Flagg RCAF – 407 Squadron
Sgt Raymond George Whale RCAF – 407 Squadron
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21 April 1942 - P/O Joseph Alexander St Ours RCAF – Age 31 – 59 Squadron - See Note 4 below.
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28 April 1942 Sgt John Richard Hoskins RAAF - Age 22 – 59 Squadron
Sgt Henry Francis Neary RAFVR – Age 19 – 59 Squadron
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17 May 1942 - Sgt Thomas Snowdon Heron RAFVR - Age 32 – 59 Squadron.
P/O Graeme McLean RAFVR – Age 24 - 59 Squadron
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31 July 1942 – W/O Bud Douglas Roy McComb RCAF – 415 Squadron
F/S John Henry Labelle RCAF – 415 Squadron.
F/S Roy Milton Ennis RCAF – Age 22 – 415 Squadron
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7 August 1942 – F/S Isaac Rutherford RAFVR – 103 Squadron
W/O Jean Beaupre – 103 Squadron.
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21 September 1942 - W/O Joseph Adrian Armand Lionel Bourasse RCAF – Age 22 – 236 Squadron
F/O John Frederick Herbert RAAF – Age 22 – 236 Squadron
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9 April 1943 – LAC Clifford Harold James Payne RAFVR – Age 20 - See Notes 5 below
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17 August 1943 – Ferdinand Rechberger - See Notes 6 below.
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Note 1 - Fw Helmuth Kress - Thought to have been a POW at a local camp and was killed during an air raid.
Note 2 - F/S Donald Bell RAFVR - Son of Henry and Nancie Bell, of Falkirk, Stirlingshire.. This deceased does not seem to correspond with any known aircraft loss at that time but I understand his death is logged due to enemy action. It is possible therefore that he was a ground casualty in one of the sporadic bombing attacks on Hull and the east coast in May/June 1941. If anyone can add anything to that I shall be interested to hear from them.
Note 3 - OFw Gustav Borkowski. 6 Staffel Kampfgeschwader 40. His aircraft, a Do217, was shot down by P/O Jack Henderson of 19 Sqn RAF and crashed into the sea off the coast. He was rescued but subsequently died of exposure.
Note 4 - P/O Joseph Alexander St Ours RCAF - P/O M G Boggon - Sgt N White RAAF, Sgt J Howell, S/L J Thomson: missing. Hudson AM782, 59 Sqn, combat North Sea, 21 April 1942. 29/04/1942. The body of P/O Boggon washed ashore further down the east coast.
Note 5 - LAC Clifford Harold James Payne RAFVR - Son of Arthur Joseph and Margaret Payne, of Stoborough, Dorsetshire. Killed when a jeep in which he was traveling to Donna Nook was in collision with a lorry.
Note 6 - Lt Ferdinand Rechberger - Leutnant and pilot of 5./Staffel Kampfgeschwader 2 was killed when his aircraft, Do 217E-4; :4239, U5+KN, was attacked by an aircraft from RAF North Coates and crashed into the sea off the coast of Lincolnshire. His body was washed ashore on 23 August 1943 but those of the rest of the crew: - Unteroffizier Helmut Müller, Obergefreiter Martin Raeschke and Obergefreiter Jakob Musseleck were never recovered.
Compiled by David Fell with photos from my archive.
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