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Crew 44, Pilot Allan Morris Lodder – 462 Squadron RAAF

 

Crew 44, 462 Squadron RAAF; Robert McGarvie, Allan Morris Lodder, Ronald Eric Casterton, Edward Windus, Peter Athorn Naylor, Cecil Reginald Henry Foster.
Photo supplied by Greg Weir, and used with the permission of
Allan Lodder's daughter Jenny Murray, who holds the original (May 2014).

Crew information was obtained from the Australian WW2 Nominal Roll; The National Archives of Australia (Service, Casualty, Aircraft Loss files; 462 Squadron Operational Record Book); Australian War Memorial (Roll of Honour); Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 

Crew 44, 462 Squadron RAAF, Pilot Allan Morris Lodder.

Back row from left:-
Robert McGarvie (Jock), Mid-Upper Gunner, KIA;
Allan Morris Lodder (Allan), Pilot;
Ronald Eric Casterton (Cas), Rear Air Gunner.

Front row from left:-
Edward Windus (Ted), Navigator, KIA;
Peter Athorn Naylor (Pete), Bomb Aimer;
Cecil Reginald Henry Foster (Cec), Wireless Operator, KIA.

Not in photo – Joe Hollins, crew's first and usual Flight Engineer, who did not fly with his crew on their last flight; John Edmund Arthur Gray, substitute Flight Engineer, KIA; and Errol Dallas Tisdell, a Wireless Operator, KIA, who was carrying out Special Duties on this crew's last flight on 16/17 April 1945. After 462 Squadron moved from Driffield to 100 Group Foulsham, the SDO was included as an 8th crew member, but was not permanently assigned to any particular crew.

This photo was received undated and without a named location. The Engineer usually joined the crew at a Heavy Conversion Unit, so this photo with only 6 crew members may have been taken at 21 OTU, Moreton-in-Marsh between 6 June 1944 (Lodder posted in) and 13 September 1944 (Lodder & crew posted on to 1664 HCU Dishforth). As also shown in this photo, Lodder was a Flight Sergeant during his posting to 21 OTU. He received his Commission & promotion to Pilot officer on 10 October 1944 at 1664 HCU Dishforth.

 

Pilot

Name: Allan Morris Lodder
Service: Royal Australian Air Force
Service Number: 426118
Date of Birth: 24 May 1923
Place of Birth: Ipswich, Queensland
Date of Enlistment: 23 May 1942
Place of Enlistment: Brisbane, Qld
Marital Status: Single at enlistment, married in UK
Next of Kin: Mrs Eileen Daphne Lodder, Woking, Surrey (wife)
Additional Next of Kin: Reginald William Lodder, Qld (father)
Date of Discharge: 18 April 1946
Rank at Discharge: Flying Officer
Posting at Discharge: 462 Squadron
Prisoner of War: Yes, in German Field Hospital Kloster Holzen, 17 to 27 April 1945, evacuated to UK due to severe burn injuries.
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Bomb Aimer

Name: Peter Athorn Naylor
Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service Number: 1671430
Date of Birth: 10 December 1922
Marital Status: Single
Next of Kin: Mrs Blanche Naylor, Sheffield (mother)
Rank: Flight Sergeant
Prisoner of War: Yes (no other PoW information located)
Returned to the UK.
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Headstone on grave for Edward Windus, 1601854 RAFVR, 462 Squadron.
Photo by John Dann, UK, © Copyright 2013.

August 2015 update - Birth date of 28 September 1920 as recorded on the Crew Arrival Form, corrected to 25 September 1920 by Christine Corn (niece of Edward Windus), based on Windus family records and RAF Service File.

 

Navigator

Name: Edward Windus
Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service Number: 1601854
Date of Birth: 25 September 1920
Marital Status: Single
Next of Kin: Gerald Martin Windus (father)
Date of Death: 17 April 1945
Rank at Death: Flight Sergeant
Posting at Death: 462 Squadron
Age at Death: 24
Grave reference: Joint Grave 5. K. 10-11 (with McGarvie)
Cemetery: Durnbach War Cemetery, Bayern, Germany
Son of Gerald Martin Windus and Gwendoline May Windus,
of Boscombe, Bournemouth, Hampshire.

The inscription reads:
1601854 FLIGHT SERGEANT
E. WINDUS
NAVIGATOR
ROYAL AIR FORCE
17TH APRIL 1945, AGE 24

CHERISHED MEMORIES
OF OUR BELOVED EDWARD
FOR EVER IN OUR THOUGHTS

 

Sergeant Edward Windus 1601854 RAFVR after training as a Navigator in South Africa; later posted to 462 Squadron.
Photo from the Windus Family Archives, supplied by
and used with the permission of Christine Corn.

 

 

 

 

At left:- Edward Windus, after completing his Navigator's training in South Africa. His Navigator's brevet is clearly visible, and he would have been promoted to the rank of Sergeant at graduation. Information received from his family is that he was training in South Africa between May 1943 and February 1944, so this photo could probably be dated as sometime in February 1944.

Edward's father Gerald had inscribed the reverse of the photo with the words "South Africa".

 

 

 

F/Sgt Edward Windus 1601854 RAFVR, 462 Squadron, at the wedding of his sister Hilda Windus to John Bradley on 11 April 1945.
Photo from the Windus Family Archives, supplied by
and used with the permission of Christine Corn.

 

 

The Wedding of Hilda WINDUS and John BRADLEY

Date 11 April 1945

From left to right:-
Best Man – F/Sgt Edward Windus, Navigator, RAFVR;
Groom – Officer John Bradley, Navigator, RCAF;
Bride – Hilda Windus, sister of Edward Windus;
Matron of Honour – un-named, but a friend of Hilda;
Father of the Bride – Gerald Martin Windus.

John Bradley of the Royal Canadian Air Force was initially posted to 412 Squadron RCAF in England. He later returned to Canada to re-train as a Navigator. After the April wedding he was posted to to a heavy bomber squadron in Scotland. In this photo, his officer's cap and stripe on his sleeves indicate a possible rank of Flying Officer.

 

F/Sgt Edward Windus 1601854 RAFVR, on leave from 462 Squadron, to attend the wedding of his sister Hilda Windus to John Bradley on 11 April 1945. Enlargement: Navigator F/Sgt Edward Windus 1601854 RAFVR, on leave from 462 Squadron, to attend the wedding of his sister Hilda Windus to John Bradley on 11 April 1945.
Cropped from a Photo from the Windus Family Archives, supplied by
and used with the permission of Christine Corn.

 

 

 

Far left:- Full height view of F/Sgt Edward Windus, cropped from his sister's Wedding photo above.

Near left:- Portrait of F/Sgt Edward Windus, cropped and enlarged from his sister's Wedding photo above.

Wedding date - 11 April 1945

 

Sadly, just a week later on 17 April 1945, Navigator Edward Windus would lose his life on a night Spoof Raid to Augsburg.

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Headstone on grave for Cecil Reginald Henry Foster, 434183 RAAF, 462 Squadron.
Photo by John Dann, UK, © Copyright 2013.

 

Wireless Operator

Name: Cecil Reginald Henry Foster
Service: Royal Australian Air Force
Service Number: 434183
Date of Birth: 10 August 1915
Place of Birth: Toowoomba, Qld
Date of Enlistment: 30 October 1942
Place of Enlistment: Brisbane, Qld
Marital Status: Single
Next of Kin: Wilfred Foster (father)
Date of Death: 17 April 1945
Rank at Death: Flight Sergeant
Posting at Death: 462 Squadron
Roll of Honour: Panel 109, Commemorative Area,
Australian War Memorial, Canberra

Age at Death: 29
Grave reference: Joint Grave 5. K. 7-8 (with Tisdell)
Cemetery: Durnbach War Cemetery, Bayern, Germany
Son of Wilfred and Mabel Rose Foster, of Sandgate,
Queensland, Australia AFIA.

The inscription reads:
434183 FLIGHT SERGEANT
C.R.H. FOSTER
ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE
17TH APRIL 1945, AGE 29

WE WHO LOVED HIM
WILL NEVER FORGET
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Headstone on grave for John Edmund Arthur Gray, 1595698 RAFVR, 462 Squadron.
Photo by John Dann, UK, © Copyright 2013.

 

Flight Engineer

Name: John Edmund Arthur Gray
Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service Number: 1595698
Date of Birth: 8 June 1924
Marital Status: Single
Next of Kin: Frank Balmforth Gray (father)
Date of Death: 17 April 1945
Rank at Death: Sergeant
Posting at Death: 462 Squadron
Age at Death: 20
Grave reference: Joint Grave 5. K. 9
Cemetery: Durnbach War Cemetery, Bayern, Germany
Son of Frank Balmforth Gray and Annie Gray,
of Christchurch, Cambridgeshire

The inscription reads:
1595698 SERGEANT
J.E.A. GRAY
FLIGHT ENGINEER
ROYAL AIR FORCE
17TH APRIL 1945, AGE 20

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Headstone on grave for Robert McGarvie, 1572467 RAFVR, 462 Squadron.
Photo by John Dann, UK, © Copyright 2013.

 

Mid-Upper Gunner

Name: Robert McGarvie
Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service Number: 1572467
Date of Birth: 2 October 1923
Marital Status: Married on leave just prior to last flight
Next of Kin: Mrs Hilda Mary McGarvie, Ayr, Scotland (wife)
Additional Next of Kin: Davis McGarvie, Ayr, Scotland (father)
Date of Death: 17 April 1945
Rank at Death: Sergeant
Posting at Death: 462 Squadron
Age at Death: 21
Grave reference: Joint Grave 5. K. 10-11 (with Windus)
Cemetery: Durnbach War Cemetery, Bayern, Germany
Son of David W. McGarvie and Annie T. McGarvie,
of Ayr, Scotland; Husband of R. M. McGarvie.

The inscription reads:
1572467 SERGEANT
R. MC GARVIE
AIR GUNNER
ROYAL AIR FORCE
17TH APRIL 1945, AGE 21

AS IN LIFE
WE FONDLY LOVED YOU
WE FORGET YOU NOT
IN DEATH

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Flight Engineer

Name: Joe Hollins
Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service Number: 1595479
Rank: Sergeant
More information required – if you assist, please make contact.

Joe (Joseph?) was the usual Flight Engineer for crew 44, but did not fly with them on their last flight on the night of 16/17 April 1945. He went on to fly with Pilot Frazer's crew on 22 April 1945.
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Rear Gunner

Name: Ronald Eric Casterton
Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service Number: 1684825
Date of Birth: 20 October 1922
Marital Status: Married, 24 February 1945
Next of Kin: Mrs Bette Casterton, Manchester (wife)
Additional Next of Kin: J. E. E. Casterton, Manchester (father)
Rank: Sergeant
Prisoner of War: Yes, Stalag 7A, no PoW number allocated (as advised by family)
Returned to the UK.
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Headstone on grave for Errol Dallas Tisdell, 432388 RAAF, 462 Squadron.
Photo by John Dann, UK, © Copyright 2013.

Errol Dallas Tisdell 432388 RAAF, in October 1942, later 462 Squadron. (NAA)Errol Dallas Tisdell 432388 RAAF, in March 1943, later 462 Squadron. (NAA)
Photos from the National Archives of Australia: A9301, 432388.

Above left: Errol Dallas Tisdell 432388 RAAF, on 9 December 1942.
Above right: Errol Dallas Tisdell 432388 RAAF, on 15 March 1943.

 

Special Duties

Name: Errol Dallas Tisdell
Service: Royal Australian Air Force
Service Number: 432388
Date of Birth: 28 October 1924
Place of Birth: Taree, New South Wales
Date of Enlistment: 9 December 1942
Place of Enlistment: Sydney, NSW
Marital Status: Single
Next of Kin: Ethel May Tisdell, Taree (mother)
Date of Death: 17 April 1945
Rank at Death: Flight Sergeant
Posting at Death: 462 Squadron
Prisoner of War: No
Roll of Honour: Taree, NSW
Roll of Honour: Panel 109, Commemorative Area,
Australian War Memorial, Canberra

Age at Death: 20
Grave reference: Joint Grave 5. K. 7-8 (with Foster)
Cemetery: Durnbach War Cemetery, Bayern, Germany
Son of Adolphus and Ethel May Tisdell, of Taree, NSW, Australia.

The inscription reads:
432388 FLIGHT SERGEANT
E.D. TISDELL
ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE
17TH APRIL 1945, AGE 20

LOVED SON OF
MRS E.M. & THE LATE A. TISDELL
OF TAREE, N.S.W., AUSTRALIA

See also Special Duties - WINDOW
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Crew information

28 July 1943 – Lodder received Flying Badge; promoted to Sergeant.
Between May 1943 and February 1944 – Windus trained as Navigator in South Africa; received Navigator's badge; promoted to Sergeant.
29 January 1944 – Lodder promoted to Flight Sergeant.

6 June 1944 – Flight Sergeant Lodder posted to 21 Operational Training Unit, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, UK, where it is assumed the crew of 6 was formed (see crew photo in previous section).

13 September 1944 – Lodder posted to 1664 Heavy Conversion Unit, Dishforth, with crew. Here the Flight Engineer would have joined to form crew of seven.
10 October 1944 – Lodder receives Commission; promoted to Pilot Officer.

6 November 1944 – Lodder posted to 462 Squadron, Driffield, from 1664 HCU Dishforth.
7 November 1944 – Casterton, Foster, McGarvie, Windus posted to 462 Squadron, Driffield, from 1664 HCU Dishforth. Arrival date of Naylor at 462 Squadron left blank on Squadron Aircrew Arrival Form, but assumed to be 6 or 7 November 1944 from 1664 HCU Dishforth. Arrival date of the crew's usual Flight Engineer Hollins not known but also assumed to be 6/7 November with crew from 1664 HCU Dishforth. Arrival date of Tisdell (Wireless Operator in role of Special Duties) at 462 Squadron also left blank on Squadron Aircrew Arrival Form, but from Squadron ORBs was sometime during January 1945.
14 December 1944 – F/Eng Gray posted to 462 Squadron, Driffield, from 1663 HCU, Rufforth. From the Squadron ORBs, he was the usual Flight Engineer for Crew 55, Pilot A.G. Swann.

29 December 1944 – 462 Squadron relocated from Driffield, Yorkshire (4 Group) to Foulsham, Norfolk (100 Group).
In the Air Party, Halifax MZ467 Z5-C was flown by Lodder with crew of Naylor, Windus, Foster, Casterton, McGarvie and Flight Engineer Sgt T. Hollins 1595479 RAF. F/Eng Gray was in the Rear Party with Fl/Lt A.G. Swann.

11 April 1945 – Windus was on leave to attend the wedding of his sister Hilda to John Bradley (photos in previous section). Most likely, all of the Lodder crew were on leave at the same time.
(On the previous night, 10 April 1945, Pilot/Captain Ball and his crew 59 failed to return from a night Op to Leipzig in Halifax NA240 Z5-V. The two crews would have been known to each other, at least in the relevant Mess, although the Lodder crew had been in 462 Squadron for 3½ months longer than the Ball crew.)

16/17 April 1945 – Lodder and Crew with 8th man, SDO Tisdell, in Halifax MZ467 Z5-C "Charlie", one of four 462 Squadron aircraft on Spoof Raid to Augsburg; take off from Foulsham at 2358 on 16 April 1945, with load of 2 x 750lb incendiary clusters and 5 flares; Shot down by enemy Fighter Pilot; five died and three became Prisoners of War; Lodder severely burned, and hospitalised in Germany and later in the UK. This was the last aircraft lost by 462 Squadron, and the same one this crew relocated from Driffield to Foulsham in December 1944.

462 Squadron supplied seven crews, each with SDOs, on the night of 16/17 April 1945, departure time from Foulsham around midnight (listed by pilot and Halifax serial):-

Four Halifax aircraft on Spoof Raid to Augsburg; WINDOW released; 2 x 750 lb incendiary clusters & 5 x 75lb. flares dropped (Paltridge, PN445; Lodder, MZ467, failed to return; Gallop, MZ398; Hines, NA148).
Two Halifax aircraft on Protective Patrol with Main Force to Schwandorf, each with loads of 2 x 500lb M.C. bombs
(Grant, PN426; Cairns, MZ308).
One Halifax aircraft on Protective Patrol to Pilsen, with load of 2 x 500lb M.C. bombs
(Boyd, PN430).

This crew is the subject of another Tribute Website by Greg Weir ( http://www.flyinghistory.com.au/mz467.htm ). Please visit there for further information and photos.
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