Letter from the Casualty Branch
Title
Letter from the Casualty Branch
Description
A letter from the Casualty Branch informing that Flight Sergeant George John Hill is believed to have lost his life on the 10/11 May 1944 and will be marked 'missing believed killed'.
Creator
Date
1944-08-02
Language
Format
One double sided letter
Publisher
Rights
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.
Contributor
Identifier
ESmithJAHillH440802-0001; ESmithJAHillH440802-0002
Transcription
GERrard 9234
P. 417038/4/P.4.A.2
[underlined] Casualty Branch [/underlined]
[underlined] 77, OXFORD STREET, [/underlined]
LONDON, W. 1.
[insert] 2 [/insert] August, 1944.
Sir,
I am commanded by the Air Council to inform you that they have with great regret to confirm the telegram in which you were notified that, in view of information now received from the International Red Cross Committee, your son, Flight Sergeant George John Hill, Royal Air Force, is believed to have lost his life as a result of the air operations on the night of 10th/11th May, 1944.
The Committee’s telegram, quoting official German information, states that your son was killed on 10th May. It contains no information regarding the place of his burial.
Although there is little reason to doubt the accuracy of this report, the casualty will be reported as “missing believed killed” until confirmed by further evidence, or until, in the absence of such evidence, it becomes necessary, owing to lapse of time, to presume for official purposes that death has occurred. In the absence of confirmatory evidence would not be presumed until at least
/six
H. Hill, Esq.,
190 Monica Road,
Smallheath, [sic]
Birmingham.
[page break]
six months from the date when your son was reported missing.
The Air Council desire me to express their deep sympathy with you in your grave anxiety.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
[signature]
P. 417038/4/P.4.A.2
[underlined] Casualty Branch [/underlined]
[underlined] 77, OXFORD STREET, [/underlined]
LONDON, W. 1.
[insert] 2 [/insert] August, 1944.
Sir,
I am commanded by the Air Council to inform you that they have with great regret to confirm the telegram in which you were notified that, in view of information now received from the International Red Cross Committee, your son, Flight Sergeant George John Hill, Royal Air Force, is believed to have lost his life as a result of the air operations on the night of 10th/11th May, 1944.
The Committee’s telegram, quoting official German information, states that your son was killed on 10th May. It contains no information regarding the place of his burial.
Although there is little reason to doubt the accuracy of this report, the casualty will be reported as “missing believed killed” until confirmed by further evidence, or until, in the absence of such evidence, it becomes necessary, owing to lapse of time, to presume for official purposes that death has occurred. In the absence of confirmatory evidence would not be presumed until at least
/six
H. Hill, Esq.,
190 Monica Road,
Smallheath, [sic]
Birmingham.
[page break]
six months from the date when your son was reported missing.
The Air Council desire me to express their deep sympathy with you in your grave anxiety.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
[signature]
Collection
Citation
Casualty Branch, “Letter from the Casualty Branch,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed August 18, 2026, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/61850.