Tom Wharmby
Title
Tom Wharmby
Age 21 of 199 sqd 1236751
Tailgunner
Tailgunner
Description
Tom Wharmby was born at Walkden, North Manchester. Mentions hobbies, schooling at St Johns School, Bolton Commercial and Worsley Technical School, his wedding and an accounting job at Cooper and Cooper. Details his military career with the Home Guard in Manchester during the Blitz and as an air gunner, training in Scotland before being posted in Lincolnshire. Mentions operations on St Nazaire, Essen and Dusseldorf. On 13 May 1943 he and his crew were reported missing and their graves eventually located at Harderwijk General Cemetery, The Netherlands.
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
Two typewritten sheets
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.
Identifier
BWharbyGordonCWharmbyTv10001, WharbyGordonCWharmbyTv10002
Transcription
Sgt Tom Wharmby
Age 21 of 199 sqd 1236751
Tailgunner
Tom was born on the 6th November 1921 in Walkden Nr Manchester the youngest Son of Herbert and Grace.
Tom attended St Johns School and passed his scholarship at 11 yrs old, he then went onto Bolton commercial (lords) and won the honours gold medal of school in 1936. later when attending evening classes at Worsley Technical School and gained first place in the 2nd year clerical examinations in the union of Lancashire, to which he was employed by Cooper and Cooper as a chartered accountant.
He was known locally as a keen table tennis player and in 1935 played for the Bolton YMCA junior team, and later in the RAF played for the stations team.
At the outbreak of war Tom joined the Home Guards gaining his Signals Pass, He was sent to guard buildings during the heavy blitz in Manchester.
Tom signed up in the R.A.F.V.R on the 20th March 1941, he initially wanted to be a fighter pilot but was not accepted, so he went onto train as air gunner and passed operation training in Scotland, he was then posted onto Lincolnshire and took part in raids over U boat bases such as St Nazaire, raids over the Ruhr such as Essen, Dusseldorf etc..
Tom married his childhood sweetheart Edith on the 19th December 1942 at St Pauls Church Walkden, his bomber crew attended the wedding. His last home leave was at the end of April 1943, by 13th May 1943 he and his crew where reported missing. A telegram was sent to his Wife and in November 1943 he was presumed killed in action, for pension purposes ect and his personal effects were returned to his Wife. His Wife had anxious months and when the war ended in 1945 teams from the War Graves Commission went into Europe and in December 1947, his Wife received the news that his grave had been found in the Netherlands at Harderwijk General Cemetery along with his crew members. Eventually headstones were erected and his Wife was allowed to choose an inscription of 60 letters which she chose
INTO THE DARK THEY FLEW AND ON TO THE GLORIOUS MORN.
After years of waiting for news of his whereabouts his Wife never gave up hope, in hoping the crew had been taken prisoners and they would be home soon after the war ended, but that was not to be, like so many of Bomber Command.
Age 21 of 199 sqd 1236751
Tailgunner
Tom was born on the 6th November 1921 in Walkden Nr Manchester the youngest Son of Herbert and Grace.
Tom attended St Johns School and passed his scholarship at 11 yrs old, he then went onto Bolton commercial (lords) and won the honours gold medal of school in 1936. later when attending evening classes at Worsley Technical School and gained first place in the 2nd year clerical examinations in the union of Lancashire, to which he was employed by Cooper and Cooper as a chartered accountant.
He was known locally as a keen table tennis player and in 1935 played for the Bolton YMCA junior team, and later in the RAF played for the stations team.
At the outbreak of war Tom joined the Home Guards gaining his Signals Pass, He was sent to guard buildings during the heavy blitz in Manchester.
Tom signed up in the R.A.F.V.R on the 20th March 1941, he initially wanted to be a fighter pilot but was not accepted, so he went onto train as air gunner and passed operation training in Scotland, he was then posted onto Lincolnshire and took part in raids over U boat bases such as St Nazaire, raids over the Ruhr such as Essen, Dusseldorf etc..
Tom married his childhood sweetheart Edith on the 19th December 1942 at St Pauls Church Walkden, his bomber crew attended the wedding. His last home leave was at the end of April 1943, by 13th May 1943 he and his crew where reported missing. A telegram was sent to his Wife and in November 1943 he was presumed killed in action, for pension purposes ect and his personal effects were returned to his Wife. His Wife had anxious months and when the war ended in 1945 teams from the War Graves Commission went into Europe and in December 1947, his Wife received the news that his grave had been found in the Netherlands at Harderwijk General Cemetery along with his crew members. Eventually headstones were erected and his Wife was allowed to choose an inscription of 60 letters which she chose
INTO THE DARK THEY FLEW AND ON TO THE GLORIOUS MORN.
After years of waiting for news of his whereabouts his Wife never gave up hope, in hoping the crew had been taken prisoners and they would be home soon after the war ended, but that was not to be, like so many of Bomber Command.
Collection
Citation
“Tom Wharmby,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 27, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/17119.
Item Relations
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