Letter to Mrs Milling from the director of personal services
Title
Letter to Mrs Milling from the director of personal services
Description
Letter from the Air Ministry to Mrs Milling, the wife of Sergeant Edward Milling. His aircraft was reported missing over enemy territory. The results of enquiries made by the International Red Cross to ascertain the location of Sergeant Milling has proved unsuccessful.
Date
1944-03-18
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
Two page typewritten 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
ECowanLMillingEM440318
Transcription
[Air Ministry crest]
Your ref. P. 409198/3/P.4. (B.4.)
AIR MINISTRY
(Casualty Branch)
73-77, OXFORD STREET, W.1.
18th March 1944
Madam,
I am directed to refer to the letter from this Department dated the 14th March 1944, and to inform you with regret that, although no definite news of your husband, Sergeant E. Milling, Royal Air Force, has come to hand, reports have now been received from the International Red Cross Committee regarding some of the occupants of two aircraft which were reported missing as a result of an attack on Hanover on the night of 27th/28th September 1943, and in one of which your husband was flying.
Unfortunately, the reports have mixed the crews, and state that six members of the crews of these aircraft, namely, Flying Officer Latham, Acting Flight Lieutenant McGhie, Sergeant Ackroyd and three “unknown” airmen lost their lives on the 27th September 1943, and with the exception of Sergeant Ackroyd, were buried on the 29th September 1943 in the Catholic Cemetery at Mahlerten by Hildesheim in the first row, to the left against the wall. The burial place of Sergeant Ackroyd is not stated, nor are any grave numbers quoted. Hildesheim is about eighteen miles south of Hanover.
As there were fifteen airmen in the two crews, two of whom are prisoners of war, it will be appreciated that it is not possible on the above information to identify those described as “unknown”, but as your husband is still unaccounted for, it is considered that you would wish to be notified of these reports.
I/………
Mrs. E. Milling,
57 West Crescent,
Clifton Side,
Beeston,
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
[page break]
2.
I am to add an expression of the Department’s sincere sympathy with you in your anxiety, and to assure you that should any further information be received, it will be transmitted to you immediately.
I am,
Madam,
Your obedient Servant,
E. Cowan
for Director of Personal Services.
Your ref. P. 409198/3/P.4. (B.4.)
AIR MINISTRY
(Casualty Branch)
73-77, OXFORD STREET, W.1.
18th March 1944
Madam,
I am directed to refer to the letter from this Department dated the 14th March 1944, and to inform you with regret that, although no definite news of your husband, Sergeant E. Milling, Royal Air Force, has come to hand, reports have now been received from the International Red Cross Committee regarding some of the occupants of two aircraft which were reported missing as a result of an attack on Hanover on the night of 27th/28th September 1943, and in one of which your husband was flying.
Unfortunately, the reports have mixed the crews, and state that six members of the crews of these aircraft, namely, Flying Officer Latham, Acting Flight Lieutenant McGhie, Sergeant Ackroyd and three “unknown” airmen lost their lives on the 27th September 1943, and with the exception of Sergeant Ackroyd, were buried on the 29th September 1943 in the Catholic Cemetery at Mahlerten by Hildesheim in the first row, to the left against the wall. The burial place of Sergeant Ackroyd is not stated, nor are any grave numbers quoted. Hildesheim is about eighteen miles south of Hanover.
As there were fifteen airmen in the two crews, two of whom are prisoners of war, it will be appreciated that it is not possible on the above information to identify those described as “unknown”, but as your husband is still unaccounted for, it is considered that you would wish to be notified of these reports.
I/………
Mrs. E. Milling,
57 West Crescent,
Clifton Side,
Beeston,
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
[page break]
2.
I am to add an expression of the Department’s sincere sympathy with you in your anxiety, and to assure you that should any further information be received, it will be transmitted to you immediately.
I am,
Madam,
Your obedient Servant,
E. Cowan
for Director of Personal Services.
Collection
Citation
Great Britain. Air Ministry and E Cowan, “Letter to Mrs Milling from the director of personal services,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed May 23, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/1183.
Item Relations
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