Letter to Mr and Mrs Ellis from Jonny Rae

Letter to Mr and Mrs Ellis from Jonny Rae

Account from crew member of their last flight. After bombing the target they were attacked by a Ju 88 and set on fire. The author gives graphic account and states that he managed to bail out after another crew member and saw his aircraft on fire and possibly crashed. He was captured and informed by the Germans that several aircraft had crashed in the area and bodies had been recovered. Goes on to write about Lewis Ellis and says that he would visit them if they wished him to.

1945-05-13

Three page handwritten letter and envelope

This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.

SEllisEL183959v20012

[inserted] 5/45 [/inserted]

[postage stamp] [post mark]

Mr & Mrs Ellis
54. Wulfric Road
Manor.
Sheffield 2.

[page break]

[blank page]

[page break]

10 Shrewsbury Road
New Southgate
London. N.11.
May 13th 1945.

Dear Mr & Mrs Ellis

I should like to extend to you both and to your family my sincerest sympathy in the anxious times you must be enduring.

After some deliberation I have come to the conclusion that I can serve you best by simply being frank and only give you the true facts of what occurred on that night, as I would not like to raise any false hopes or otherwise by quoting my own opinions.

We had had a most successful trip up to the target and everything in the aircraft was working perfectly and so we went across France in the brilliant sunshine of late afternoon, everyone was very happy and were thoroughly enjoying the confidence we had in each other. We bombed the target on time and as were briefed and as we turned away we saw a couple of other Lancasters on fire and we knew that night fighters were around and everyone was on their toes. The rear gunner spotted a JU88 fighter and opened fire. The next thing I knew was the sound of cannon shells hitting the aircraft. Immediately

[page break]

2/

the port wing, in which the petrol tanks are located, caught fire and according to Jock the engineer it was a very large fire. Also the inside of the fuselage just behind my compartment and around where the wings join the fuselage. was simply an inferno of flames and smoke and it was obvious that the aircraft was useless, so Lewis as captain gave the order to abandon aircraft. I immediately put my parachute on and made my way forward to the front escape hatch passing Lewis who was still at the controls and I followed Jock out through the escape hatch. As I left. the aircraft I could see the flames pouring out from the bomb doors. When I eventually got straightened out on my parachute, there was a large red fire on the ground which may have been our aircraft. I landed and was taken prisoner and I met Jock and since then I have not seen any of the crew. I have made enquiries from other R.A.F chaps and there has been no information whatsoever regarding Lewis or the rest of the crew. The Germans told us that night that several aircraft had crashed in the area and [inserted] in [/inserted] each of them various numbers of bodies were found.

That is all the accurate information I have. I

[page break]

3/

should like to come and see you that is if you would wish me to do so. and I can tell you more fully of what took place.

Lewis was one of the best friends I have ever had and could even wish to have. I think we had an understanding and comradeship in our crew, that from my observations of others, is rarely found. It was due I think to the confidence we had in each other’s abilities to [inserted] do [/inserted] their respective jobs well and under any circumstances.

As a pilot & skipper Lewis was one of the best and he realy [sic] did lead us and I am sure we all got that little extra bit of confidence when we used to hear his voice over the intercom, when we were attacking difficult Targets.

I shall never forget our crew and I think it a great honour that I was privileged to be a member of such a crew compared of chaps of the calibre of Lewis.

I shall only be too happy to come and see you and I can easily make it in a day.

My parents wish me to further extend their sympathies to you all and to which I add mine.

Sincerely yours.

Johnny Rae