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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/623/32342/BPayneTPGunningFVv1.1.pdf
a5c7559446dbdbd1e7d2cbfdab3c125b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Payne, Thomas Peter
T P Payne
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Payne, TP
Description
An account of the resource
Six items. Two oral history interviews with Flying Officer Peter Payne (b. 1925, 1398674, 199071 Royal Air Force)auto biographies and his log book. He flew as a pilot with 90 and 15 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Peter Payne and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-02-04
2016-07-06
Rights
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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.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
MALLEVILLE-LES-GRÉS CHURCHYARD
Index No. Fr. 662
Malleville-les-Grés is a village and commune 41 kilometres west of Dieppe and 10 kilometres south-west of St. Valéry-en-Caux. It lies 2 kilometres south of Veulettes, which is a seaside village 9 kilometres west of St. Valéry-en-Caux on the G.C.71ET road running south from Veulettes.
South-west of the church, near the main entrance to the churchyard, are the graves of 3 airmen of the Royal Air Force.
GUNNING, Sgt. (Obs.) FRANK VIVIAN, 580613. R.A.F. 15 Sqdn. 12th June, 1940. Age 19. Son of Frank Victor and Florence Gunning, of Bridport, Dorsetshire.
PÈULEVE, Sgt. (W. Op./Air Gnr.) DAVID HILARY, 614230. R.A.F. 15 Sqdn. 12th June, 1940. Age 21. Son of Auguste Albertand Alice Florence Peulevé, of Castle Bromwich, Warwickshire.
TAKIDELI, Pilot Offr. (Pilot) ALEXANDER, 42368. R.A.F. 15 Sqdn. 12th June, 1940. Age 20. Son of Gregory John and Grace Maud Takideli.
[black and white full length photograph of Sergeant Gunning in his uniform]
[page break]
THE STORY OF FRANK VIVIAN GUNNING – 580613
OBSERVER – R.A.F. 1939 – 1940
FRANK VIVIAN GUNNING, CALLED VIVIAN BECAUSE HIS FATHER WAS ALSO NAMED FRANK, BORN IN BEAMINSTER JULY 13th 1920. THE ONLY CHILD OF FRANK AND FLORRIE GUNNING. EDUCATED AT BRIDPORT GRAMMAR SCHOOL. ON LEAVING SCHOOL HE WORKED IN THE LOCAL ELECTRICITY COMPANY SHOWROOMS AS AN ASSISTANT. BY THE TIME HE ENLISTED FOR SERVICE INTO THE RAFVR, JANUARY 9th 1939 HE HAD GROWN INTO A 6ft TALL, FAIR HAIRED, YOUNG MAN.
Starting at the lowest rank, A.C.2 it was changed to LAC on January 10th being posted to H.Q. Reserve Command then to RTW No 1 Depot Uxbridge where he was kitted out and undertook basic drill training. Followed on April 17th with a move to No. 3 Air Observer School Aldergrove. After nearly 2 months in Northern Ireland, during which time he was promoted to Acting Sergeant and obtained his Observer brevet, Vivian was posted to No. 104 (Bomber) Squadron, based at Bassingbourne, Cambridgeshire. Within a few weeks, on July 10th he was posted to No. 110 (Bomber) Squadron based at WATTISHAM Suffolk.
Having spent the whole of August preparing for the war, which was so inevitably going to happen, Vivian had no illusions about his future. In a letter written on the 4th of September, the day after war was declared, to his closest school friend John Wilkins, (copy of letter attached to this story) he writes “… we have achieved the seemingly impossible and got messed up in a war, it looks like me for Valhalla!” Explaining his reasons for the comment he continued, “I am not trying to elicit sympathy from you, or exaggerating danger, or anything like that. For once I’m perfectly serious. You see, all we bomber crews are quite aware of the fact and are quite resigned to it …” he continued, “ … it’s only a matter of weeks before we all get pipped”. The young airman’s point was made in the conclusion of his letter, when he wrote of the 10 Blenheims which had been despatched for a raid that day “ … I have just seen 3 return” exactly one year and 2 days after he had enlisted into the RAFVR, on 11th January 1940, he was posted again. Mainly due to heavy losses he went to West Raynham on No. 101 Squadron as did several other survivors. During his period with 101 he was made up to full Sergeant on 3rd March 1940.
[page break]
Another move came on 3rd of April, this time to RAF Watton on No. 21 Squadron, still flying on Blenheim Mk IV’s Finally on May 27th 1940 he was posted to XV Squadron based at Wyton. 17 days after his arrival on XV Squadron, on June 12th 1940, he was posted as “Missing – presumed killed”
The Squadron was ordered to slow the German advancing forces that were trying to reach the coast and capture Allied troops trying to escape from French ports. Every German column was supported by Anti-aircraft guns. Our slow moving aeroplanes didn’t stand a chance.
As an only child, the loss of Vivian Gunning was a devastating blow to his parents, particularly his mother who never recovered from the shock.
The official report stated “580613 Sgt F V Gunning – Observer – RAFVR Age 19 was killed on Wednesday 12th June 1940, whilst flying as Observer on Blenheim Bomber R3747, during an attack against enemy columns at Le Bourget. The aircraft, which was shot down, crashed approximately 3 kms from the coast, near the road, on the eastern side of the D.271 road, south of Malleville-les-Gres. The point of impact being approximately 0.7 kms from the village.
All 3 crew members, Pilot – 42368 P/O A Takideli aged 20
Observer – 580613 Sgt. F V Gunning aged 19
Wireless Operator/Gunner – 614230 Sgt. D. H. Peuleve aged 21
Share a grave, side by side, in the village church yard of Malle-les-Gres. It is maintained by local villagers, overseen by The War Graves Commission. They are the only War Graves in this Cemetery, Index Ref: No: Fr 662. (A photograph of the grave is included in this story)
The headstones are engraved as follows:-
P/O A Takideli
“At the going down of then [sic] sun and in the morning we will remember them”
Sgt. F V Gunning
“Death may hide but cannot divide”
Sgt. D H Peuleve
“Requiem Aeternam Doha Els, Domine: Et Lux Perpetua Luceat eis”
Having visited the crash site and the churchyard on several occasions I was struck by the peacefulness of the area. The village is 10 kms south-west of St. Valery-en-caux, (some 41 kms west of Dieppe).
[page break]
It lies 2 kms south of Veulettes, which is a seaside village, 9 kms west of St. Valery-en-caux on the G.C.71ET road running south from Veulettes on the D.271.
During one visit I was fortunate to meet with a lady, who as a school girl saw the wrecked Blenheim, and showed me the field where it crashed. It was just off the D.271 south of the village and to the east of the road. The field is now used for growing peas, the Blenheim had crashed some 100 meters from the road, and in the 1990’s one could still see the spot due to lack of growth of the plants. The lady also advised that the 3 crew were originally buried near to the aircraft, she and friends placed flowers there regularly, eventually the bodies were re-buried in the Churchyard where they were tended by local parishioners. The Blenheim remained there for several months until removed for scrap.
The Book “1939 – 1945 THE WAR DEAD OF THE COMMONWEALTH” lists Minor Cemeteries in Seine Maritime issued by The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Maidenhead. Extract from Page 24 attached.
This book also has a summary of military action up to Dunkirk and includes the raids on Bruneval, St. Nazaire and Dieppe plus the war in France, all leaving many graves to be cared for, and to be listed in their books for relatives to locate their loved ones.
John Wilkins was a school friend of Vivian, his widow Rosa sent the letter to me in 2001, she told me that John carried the letter with him throughout his wartime service. The original letter is in Bridport Museum Trust files with other information and photographs.
Despite extensive advertising in RAFA and Aircrew Association journals no response about relatives of the Pilot, P/o A Takideli was received. The Ministry advised that in 1940 he had a sister living in London. However the widow of another XV Squadron pilot recalled his name because it was unusual being of Greek origin. A Niece of Sgt. D H Peuleve contacted me, from the Birmingham area, and advised that no other relative was known.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Story of Frank Vivian Gunning
580613 - Observer -RAF 1939-1940
Description
An account of the resource
A biography of Vivian, born in Beaminster in 1920. He trained at Aldergrove and served at Bassingbourne, Wattisham, West Raynham, Watton then Wyton. Losses were high. He was shot down near Le Bourget, his two crew members dying with him. <br /><br />Additional information on Frank Gunning is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/211402/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
TP Payne
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Four printed sheets
Language
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eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BPayneTPGunningFVv1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Beaminster
England--Bridport
France--Le Bourget
France--Dieppe
England--Birmingham
France
England--Dorset
England--Middlesex
England--Warwickshire
England--London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940-06-12
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
101 Squadron
104 Squadron
110 Squadron
15 Squadron
21 Squadron
aircrew
Blenheim
final resting place
killed in action
navigator
observer
pilot
RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Wattisham
RAF Watton
RAF West Raynham
RAF Wyton
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1576/26031/MDentonDH1256316-200114-010001.2.jpg
13b6f96f529c962651061f49dbe27216
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1576/26031/MDentonDH1256316-200114-010002.2.jpg
8c5525551d769bdf3c1734653b2b5adb
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Denton, Dennis Hugh
D H Denton
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020-01-14
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Denton, DH
Description
An account of the resource
59 items. The collection concerns Dennis Hugh Denton (b. 1920, 1256316 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, album and photographs. He flew 62 daylight operations with 21 and 226 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Angela Sadler and Pamela Hickson and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[inserted] DETAILS TYPED BY WILF CLUTTON IN EARLY 1950’s AND SENT TO MY SON RECENTLY.
W CLUTTON – AIR GUNNER – RECOLLECTIONS. [/inserted]
[underlined] 21 SQUADRON
PERSONAL [/underlined]
Date of joining Squadron June 1942.
Date of leaving October 1943.
[underlined] Crew [/underlined] Pilot Sgt. I. Bellis
Navigator Sgt. E. Pennell
W/OP Under Gunner Sgt. W.J. Clutton
Turret Gunner Sgt. D. Denton
[underlined] Squadron Principals [/underlined]
June 1942 W/CR Pritchard
June 1942 S/LDR P. Shand
July 1942 S/LDR R. King
Sept 1942 F/LT D. Dennis
Jan 1943 S/LDR Blome-Jones
July 1943 S/LDR D. Dennis
July 1943 W/CDR R. King (shot down at Abbeville)
[underlined] Bases [/underlined]
June 1942 Bodney, Norfolk.
November 1942 Methwold, Norfolk.
1st April 1943 Oulton, Norfolk.
19th August 1943 Hartford Bridge, Surrey. (now Black Bushe)
October 1943 Conversion to Mosquitoes. Pilots and Navigators to Sculthorpe? W/OPS and Gunners to West Raynham
[underlined] Aircraft. [/underlined]
June 1942 to July 1942 Blenheims (No ops. during this period except for 2 or 3 A.S. Rescues)
July 1942 to October 1943 Venturas (Day bombing only)
October 1943 to ? Mosquitoes.
In June 1943, it was rumoured we were to convert to Mitchells. Two Mitchells arrived. All crews made at least one flight. All members of a Canadian Crew, except for Rear Gunner, were killed on take off in one of these aircraft – Pilot forgot to unlock one of the controls and hit a Ventura in dispersal.
[page break]
[underlined] GENERAL [/underlined]
The fore-going has been just a brief resume of activities from June 1942 to October 1943. It was without a doubt, my happiest period during six years service. Co-operation and comradeship between Air and Ground crews could not have been better. We suffered quite a number of losses. Of the original crews at Bodney only three or four crews remained when the squadron converted to Mosquitoes. Upon reflection I can only remember S/Ldr. Dennis and crew and ourselves at that time. One incident worth recording concerns a raid on Zeebrugge [underlined] No Flak No Fighters. [/underlined] We were no. three to P/O Pratt when upon diving away from the target his aircraft side slipped into ours. His wing caught ours and immediately crumpled. His tail fins then hit us underneath. We received only minor damage but the last we saw of Pratt’s aircraft was hitting the sea off Zeebrugge – an unforgettable memory. But perhaps the most hectic trip, and an example of super leadership by S/Ldr. Dennis, was an attack on Abbeville. Twelve aircraft took part (2 boxes of 6) – we were no. 3 on the S/Ldr. in the first box of 6. Upon reaching the French Coast our Box was attacked by a Squadron of German Fighters (FW 190’s I believe). They were immediately engaged by our Spitfire escort and a ding-dong air fight began. We weaved all over the sky but kept on course. Before we reached the target, another attack on our Box was made and our no. 6 was shot down. Our bombing run commenced at the same time as another attack. Naturally it was “steady, steady” all the way until “bombs away”. No. 4 was hit by cannon shells and her nose burst into flame. It was a nerve racking period made more so by the fact that no. 4 did not go down immediately but remained in formation – a flying torch and still bombed up. However, down she went as we let the bombs go. It was a direct hit. We made for home being attacked all the way to the coast. In the last attack our no. 2 was shot down leaving 3 out of 6. At interrogation it appeared abvious [sic] that all the attacks were directed at the leading 6. The 2nd box got away scot-free. There was no doubt that but for the leadership of S/Ldr. Dennis, it might have been a lot worse and we did get through to the target and hit it. Shortly afterwards S/Ldr. Dennis received the D.S.O.
I am unable to give any information about 21 as a Mosquito Squadron except that my pilot Bellis received the D.F.C. and that Navigator Pennell was hit by a cannon shell whist [sic] on a low level and had to have his leg amputated. Denton and I were together for a second tour with 226 Squadron.
To conclude Bellis, Denton and I eventually aspired to the rank of Flight Lieutenant. Pennell, of course, was discharged from the Service. To the best of my knowledge, all are alive and kicking.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Notes on 21 Squadron and Dennis Denton's crew
Description
An account of the resource
Notes written by Wilf Clutton in early 1950's
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Wilf Clutton
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two typewritten pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MDentonDH1256316-200114-010001, MDentonDH1256316-200114-010002
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Norfolk
England--Surrey
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943
21 Squadron
aircrew
B-25
Blenheim
crash
Fw 190
Mosquito
RAF Bodney
RAF Hartford Bridge
RAF Methwold
RAF Oulton
shot down
Ventura