Letter to Mrs Meredith from 35 Squadron
Title
Letter to Mrs Meredith from 35 Squadron
Description
Informing her that her husband, Edgar Meredith, is missing following a bale out during an operation. Included are the names and next of kin of his fellow crew members. Also included is a warning not to disclose any details of operation.
Date
1945-04-20
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Four 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.
Contributor
Identifier
ELeGoodHJFMeredithME450420-0001,
ELeGoodHJFMeredithME450420-0002,
ELeGoodHJFMeredithME450420-0003,
ELeGoodHJFMeredithME450420-0004
ELeGoodHJFMeredithME450420-0002,
ELeGoodHJFMeredithME450420-0003,
ELeGoodHJFMeredithME450420-0004
Transcription
No. 35 Squadron,
Royal Air Force,
Graveley,
Hunts.
20th April, 1945.
Ref: 35S/C.68/178/P.1.
Dear Mrs. Meredith,
It is with profound regret that I find it my unhappy task to confirm the telegram you will have received informing you that your Husband is missing as a result of air operations.
As tail gunner of his crew, he took off at twenty minutes to seven on the night of 14th April, 1945, to attack Potsdam. It is now known that all the members of the crew baled out just after leaving the target area. The pilot, Flying Officer Bowen-Morris, who continued to fly the aircraft for some time after the crew had left, has now returned to the Squadron. He states that he saw all the crew leave the aircraft safely but he has, of course, no further information to give as to what happened after that. We assure you that you will be informed immediate any further news is received.
I and the Squadron as a whole and your Husband’s brother aircrew, shar your impatience for the good news that he is safe though a prisoner of war. Meanwhile, we wish you to know that you have our deepest sympathy in this period of anxiety.
Your Husband and his crew had only been with the Squadron a short time but had shown by their keenness they would have developed into one of the most efficient and reliable crews and it will not be easy to replace them.
P.T.O.
[page break]
Attached to this letter is a list of the Next-of-Kin of the members of the crew. Should you wish to write to any of them, please send your letters addressed and sealed and stamped, to me, and I will arrange for them to be forwarded.
Your Husbands kit and private property is now being attended to by the Effects Officer. It is the regulation that this is forwarded to a Standing Committee of Adjustment, R.A.F. Central Depository, Colnbrook, Buckinghamshire, who will communicate with you in due course submitting the inventories of personal property.
If there are any points not covered by this letter, please do not hesitate to ask assistance from myself or my staff.
Yours sincerely,
[signature]
(H.J.F. Le Good)
Wing Commander, Commanding,
No. 35 Squadron.
Mrs. M.E. Meredith,
30, Brynbach Street,
Nantybwch,
Tredegar,
Monmouthshire.
[page break]
[Next-of-Kin]
F/O R.H.H. Dyer (154634)
Navigator
Father. Mr W.C. Dyer
Grandfather. Mr W. Dyer
NZ427233 F/Sgt. Silcox E.G.
Air Bomber
Sister. Mrs L. Limmer
1568675 F/Sgt. Gibbon C.S.
Wireless Operator
Father. Mr Charles Gibbon
743793 F/Sgt. Tovey J.W.
Mid Gunner
Wife. Mrs M.L. Tovey
1653288 F/Sgt. Meredith E.
Tail Gunner
Wife Mrs M.E. Meredith
Father Mr E. Meredith
1649222 Sgt. Reynolds W.G.
Flight Engineer
Father Mr J.G. Reynolds
Friend
Miss F. Jacobs
[page break]
[underlined] CONFIDENTIAL NOTICE [/underlined]
The names of all who lose their lives or are wounded or reported missing while serving with the Royal Air Force will appear in the official casualty lists published from time to time in the Press.
Any publication of the date, place or circumstances of a casualty and particularly any reference to the unit concerned, might give valuable information to the enemy, and for this reason, only the name, rank and service number are included in the official lists.
Relatives are particularly requested, in the national interest, to ensure that any notices published privately do not disclose the date, place or circumstances of the casualty, or the unit.
The press have been asked to co-operate in ensuring that no information of value to the enemy is published.
Any premature reference in the Press to those reported missing, may jeopardise their chances of evading capture if they have survived without falling into enemy hands.
Royal Air Force,
Graveley,
Hunts.
20th April, 1945.
Ref: 35S/C.68/178/P.1.
Dear Mrs. Meredith,
It is with profound regret that I find it my unhappy task to confirm the telegram you will have received informing you that your Husband is missing as a result of air operations.
As tail gunner of his crew, he took off at twenty minutes to seven on the night of 14th April, 1945, to attack Potsdam. It is now known that all the members of the crew baled out just after leaving the target area. The pilot, Flying Officer Bowen-Morris, who continued to fly the aircraft for some time after the crew had left, has now returned to the Squadron. He states that he saw all the crew leave the aircraft safely but he has, of course, no further information to give as to what happened after that. We assure you that you will be informed immediate any further news is received.
I and the Squadron as a whole and your Husband’s brother aircrew, shar your impatience for the good news that he is safe though a prisoner of war. Meanwhile, we wish you to know that you have our deepest sympathy in this period of anxiety.
Your Husband and his crew had only been with the Squadron a short time but had shown by their keenness they would have developed into one of the most efficient and reliable crews and it will not be easy to replace them.
P.T.O.
[page break]
Attached to this letter is a list of the Next-of-Kin of the members of the crew. Should you wish to write to any of them, please send your letters addressed and sealed and stamped, to me, and I will arrange for them to be forwarded.
Your Husbands kit and private property is now being attended to by the Effects Officer. It is the regulation that this is forwarded to a Standing Committee of Adjustment, R.A.F. Central Depository, Colnbrook, Buckinghamshire, who will communicate with you in due course submitting the inventories of personal property.
If there are any points not covered by this letter, please do not hesitate to ask assistance from myself or my staff.
Yours sincerely,
[signature]
(H.J.F. Le Good)
Wing Commander, Commanding,
No. 35 Squadron.
Mrs. M.E. Meredith,
30, Brynbach Street,
Nantybwch,
Tredegar,
Monmouthshire.
[page break]
[Next-of-Kin]
F/O R.H.H. Dyer (154634)
Navigator
Father. Mr W.C. Dyer
Grandfather. Mr W. Dyer
NZ427233 F/Sgt. Silcox E.G.
Air Bomber
Sister. Mrs L. Limmer
1568675 F/Sgt. Gibbon C.S.
Wireless Operator
Father. Mr Charles Gibbon
743793 F/Sgt. Tovey J.W.
Mid Gunner
Wife. Mrs M.L. Tovey
1653288 F/Sgt. Meredith E.
Tail Gunner
Wife Mrs M.E. Meredith
Father Mr E. Meredith
1649222 Sgt. Reynolds W.G.
Flight Engineer
Father Mr J.G. Reynolds
Friend
Miss F. Jacobs
[page break]
[underlined] CONFIDENTIAL NOTICE [/underlined]
The names of all who lose their lives or are wounded or reported missing while serving with the Royal Air Force will appear in the official casualty lists published from time to time in the Press.
Any publication of the date, place or circumstances of a casualty and particularly any reference to the unit concerned, might give valuable information to the enemy, and for this reason, only the name, rank and service number are included in the official lists.
Relatives are particularly requested, in the national interest, to ensure that any notices published privately do not disclose the date, place or circumstances of the casualty, or the unit.
The press have been asked to co-operate in ensuring that no information of value to the enemy is published.
Any premature reference in the Press to those reported missing, may jeopardise their chances of evading capture if they have survived without falling into enemy hands.
Collection
Citation
H J F Le Good, Wing Commander, 35 Squadron, “Letter to Mrs Meredith from 35 Squadron,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 19, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/18641.
Item Relations
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