415 Squadron  Association

A MISSING CREW – WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO F/O BARTEAUX’S CREW?

 

In late October 2014, Mr. Gary Glassford contacted the 415 Squadron Association.  He sent the following message, “I was just informed that your site existed and I am glad to say I have found it but also sad to say it is missing some info, as my father, F/Sgt G.W. Glassford no. R279168, was a member of that unit from 28/2/45 until he was posted back to Canada on 8/7/45.”  In relatively short order a review of the Halifax Crew Lists was completed, however, F/Sgt Glassford’s name did not appear.

Curious about this discrepancy, and knowing full well that the existing crew lists are at times incomplete or the crew members’ names are misspelled, it was decided to ask Gary for more definitive information.  He was quick to reply providing both log book entries and photos. The log book entries indicated that F/Sgt Glassford was a member of F/O Barteaux’s crew, but unfortunately, this crew was not listed in any 415 Squadron Operations Record Book (ORB).   However, the crew photo he provided clearly displayed #415 in the corner.

                           

            Fig 1. F/Sgt Glassford on enrolment                                     Fig 2. F/O Barteaux Crew.  F/Sgt Glassford second from the right

Gary Glassford had also sent along the log book entries for his father’s flights on 415 Squadron.  Apparently he flew a total of 28 missions as a Gunner, a few with F/O Bateaux; but the majority of the flights were flown with P/O Ensom.  With this new information in mind, P/O Ensom’s crew list was reviewed, but F/Sgt Glassford’s name did not appear on the list.  It was time to conduct a line by line review of the ORBs for March and April 1945.

A second review of F/Sgt Glassford’s log book indicated that his first 415 flight occurred on 3 March 1945.  As a member of F/O Barteaux’s crew, he took part in a Fighter Affiliation mission, which was immediately followed by a Training Flight that included bombing a sea target.  These were the only flights recorded with F/O Barteaux whilst on 415 Squadron.  At that time, it was standard practice for each new crew captain to conduct one operational familiarization flight as a second pilot on an experienced operational crew.  Sure enough, a review of the ORB for March showed that F/O Barteaux had been assigned to F/Lt Mitchell’s crew for a bombing mission against Chemnitz, near Dresden, on 5 March 1945.  Unfortunately, Mitchell’s crew were forced down behind enemy lines.  F/Lt Mitchell evaded capture but the remainder of his crew became prisoners of war, including Barteaux.

At this point of the war, 6 Bomber Group had an excess of crews in the training mill.  It is presumed that it was easier to move a new crew onto the Squadron to replace Barteaux’s crew rather than assign a new Crew Captain, which would require an extended training period.  With a heavy operational tempo, it appears that the Squadron was allowed to re-assign some members of Barteaux’s crew to existing crews, while the remainder were posted to fill holes on other Squadrons. As a result, F/Sgt Glassford joined P/O Ensom’s crew as the Mid-Upper Gunner, flying his first operational mission on 8 March 1945.  The reason F/Sgt Glassford’s name had not shown up on P/O Ensom’s crew list is because the Squadron records had listed the crews according to the members on the first crew mission.  The crew had flown one operational mission before F/Sgt Glassford’s arrival.  It is not clear why F/Sgt Glassford was assigned to this crew; nonetheless, he remained a Gunner on P/O Ensom’s crew until the end of the war.  After the stand-down of 415 Squadron, P/O Ensom’s crew was transferred to 405 Squadron and converted to Lancasters.  During this time F/Sgt Glassford qualified on the Automatic Gun-Laying Turret, which was a British radar-aimed FN121 turret fitted to some Lancasters.  There being no operational requirement for the crew, its members were repatriated in early July 1945. 

      

            Fig 3. F/Sgt Glassford on release                                           Fig 4. F/L Ensom Crew. 

It was now time to determine what happened to the other five members of Barteaux’s crew.  Searching through ORBs and Administrative Instructions from that period, it was determined that: 

F/Sgt L. Edwards, Navigator, was posted to 433 Squadron on 9 March 1945.

F/O G.E. Doxey, Air Bomber, flew one mission with F/O Millbank’s crew on 24 March 1945.

Sgt A.M. Rita, W/Operator, was posted to 431 Squadron on 11 March 1945.

Sgt E.D. Battson, M/U Gunner, disposition is undetermined.

Sgt J.A. Neilson, F/Engineer, was KIA as a member of F/O Hyland’s crew on 31 March 1945.

 

The 415 Squadron Association wishes to extend their thanks to Gary Glassford for bringing forward his query concerning his father.  As a result, another piece of 415 Squadron history has been uncovered.  We now know why F/O Barteaux’s crew never flew an operational mission.  Equally important we have added F/Sgt Glassford and Sgt Neilson’s names to their follow-on crew lists.  Also the photograph of F/L Ensom’s crew has been placed with the file containing a list of all known 415 Halifax Crews.   It would be nice to know the ultimate disposition of F/O Doxey and Sgt Battson.  Perhaps some future research or input from family will help resolve this part of the story. 

 

 

Chris Henneberry

President 415 Squadron Association