Letter from 97 Squadron
Title
Letter from 97 Squadron
Description
Letter from the 97 Squadron confirming that Sergeant George John Hill failed to return from operations on the 10 May 1944 from an operation in Lille, France as a mid upper gunner. Tells of how reliable the crew was and hopes they are safe.
Creator
Date
1944-05-11
Language
Format
One 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
EOC97SqnRAFHillH440511
Transcription
[RAF crest]
97 (Straits Settlements) Squadron.
Royal Air Force,
CONINGSBY. Lincolnshire.
11th May, 1944.
Dear Mr Hill,
It is with the deepest regret that I must confirm that your son, Flight Sergeant George John Hill, failed to return from night operations on the 10th May, 1944, and I wish to express the sympathy of the whole Squadron with you in your anxiety.
Flight Sergeant Hill took part in a raid on Lille as Mid Upper Gunner, no news having since been received. We can but hope that the aircraft was forced to land and that the crew are safe even as prisoners of war.
Your son was a most experienced Air Gunner, and a member of one of our most reliable crews. He had completed twenty-five successful sorties against the enemy, since joining the Squadron in the early part of January this year. We shall greatly miss him and his loss will be keenly felt by the Squadron.
It is desired to explain that the request in the telegram notifying you of the casualty to your son was included with the object of avoiding the chance of his escape being prejudiced by undue publicity in case he is still at large. This is not to say that any information about him is available, but is a precaution adopted in the case of all personnel reported missing.
His kit and personal effects are being checked and will be sent to R.A.F. Central Depository, from whom you will hear in due course.
If any news is received I will communicate with you immediately, and in the meantime I join with you in hoping we shall soon hear that your son and his crew are safe.
Yours sincerely,
[signature]
Wing Commander, Commanding
No 97 (Straits Settlements)
[underlined] Squadron. R.A.F. CONINGSBY [/underlined]
(J. Simpson.)
Mr H. Hill,
190 Monica Road,
[underlined] Small Heath, Birmingham 10 [/underlined]
97 (Straits Settlements) Squadron.
Royal Air Force,
CONINGSBY. Lincolnshire.
11th May, 1944.
Dear Mr Hill,
It is with the deepest regret that I must confirm that your son, Flight Sergeant George John Hill, failed to return from night operations on the 10th May, 1944, and I wish to express the sympathy of the whole Squadron with you in your anxiety.
Flight Sergeant Hill took part in a raid on Lille as Mid Upper Gunner, no news having since been received. We can but hope that the aircraft was forced to land and that the crew are safe even as prisoners of war.
Your son was a most experienced Air Gunner, and a member of one of our most reliable crews. He had completed twenty-five successful sorties against the enemy, since joining the Squadron in the early part of January this year. We shall greatly miss him and his loss will be keenly felt by the Squadron.
It is desired to explain that the request in the telegram notifying you of the casualty to your son was included with the object of avoiding the chance of his escape being prejudiced by undue publicity in case he is still at large. This is not to say that any information about him is available, but is a precaution adopted in the case of all personnel reported missing.
His kit and personal effects are being checked and will be sent to R.A.F. Central Depository, from whom you will hear in due course.
If any news is received I will communicate with you immediately, and in the meantime I join with you in hoping we shall soon hear that your son and his crew are safe.
Yours sincerely,
[signature]
Wing Commander, Commanding
No 97 (Straits Settlements)
[underlined] Squadron. R.A.F. CONINGSBY [/underlined]
(J. Simpson.)
Mr H. Hill,
190 Monica Road,
[underlined] Small Heath, Birmingham 10 [/underlined]
Collection
Citation
J. Simpson, “Letter from 97 Squadron,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed August 18, 2026, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/61890.