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May 5, 1943 Crash of Vickers Wellington Bomber HE 727
On 05 May 1943 a Vickers Wellington Bomber HE 727, one of 600 aircraft involved in an air raid on the city of Dortmund, Germany. The aircraft was intercepted and shot down by a German Messerschmitt ME 110 fighter while on return to its home base in Dalton, Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. Two of the five aircrew, the navigator, Flight Sergeant Gordon Carter and the wireless operator Flight Sergeant Howard Hoddinott, was able to parachute out of the doomed aircraft and were taken prisoner by the Germans.
The remaining three crew members Flight Sergeant Joseph Evariste Adrien Thibaudeau, age 21 (Right in Photo), Flight Sergeant Joseph White, age 22 (Centre in Photo), and Warrant Officer Class I Robert Benjamin Moulton, age 30 (Left in Photo), perished in the crash at Wilnis, Holland.
According to a Dutch eyewitness account at the time, it is believed that WOI Moulton, in a heroic last-ditch effort, managed to avoid crashing the stricken Wellington Bomber into the village of Wilnis thereby saving many lives. The Wellington's crash was claimed by the German pilot Hans Dieter Frank, who shot down 55 Allied aircraft. On September 27, 1943, Frank who was at that time 24 years of age was killed in a mid-air collision with another German plane.
Nearly 60 years after having given their lives for the liberation of The Netherlands, Flight Sergeant J.E.A. Thibaudeau and Flight Sergeant J. White, who were, until now, officially listed as "Missing in Action", finally receive an honourable and proper funeral. The captain and pilot of the aircraft Warrant-Officer Robert Benjamin Moulton of Brockville, Ontario was also killed as a result of the crash. His body was found near the crash site and he was subsequently buried with full military honours by the German occupying forces at the Wilnis cemetery in May of 1943. The remains of the other two airmen were finally recovered in September 2002 with the wreckage of the aircraft, which crashed in a peat bog and disappeared almost immediately. In addition partial remains of WOI Moulton were also recovered, and have been added to his grave so in fact the three brave airmen were finally given the proper burial ceremony.
Warrant Officer Class I Robert Benjamin Moulton
428 Ghost Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force
Warrant Officer Moulton was born in Brockville, Ontario, on 21 November 1912 to Sophrona Moulton, (née McNamara) and Benjamin Moulton. He had one sibling, a younger brother named Thomas Adrian Moulton, who served four months in Holland with the Cameron Highlanders. WO Moulton was a member of St. Peter's Anglican Church in Brockville where he served as an Altar Boy and sang in the Church Choir. He attended the Douglas Haig and Victoria Public School, for grades one to eight, the Brockville Collegiate Institute for grades 9 to 13, and then attended the Brockville Business College. WO Moulton formerly held the rank of Rifleman with "C" Company of the Brockville Rifles.
WOI Moulton was killed on May 5, 1943 when a German fighter shot down his Vickers Wellington Bomber over the Netherlands. He was 30 years old, and is buried in the Wilnis Cemetery. WO Moulton received the following citations: 1939-45 Star, Air Crew Europe Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-45, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, Pilot's Flying Badge awarded 27 July 1942, and Operational Wings posthumously awarded 18 July 1946.
Flight Sergeant Joseph White
428 Ghost Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force
Flight Sergeant Joseph White, son of Antonio and Mary White, was born 28 September 1921 in Thorold, Ontario. Brother of Samuel, Roger and Lucy Ann, F/S White attended Holy Rosary School from 1928 to 1934 and Thorold High School from 1934 to 1940 where he held honour matriculation standings. He enlisted on 30 June 1941 in Hamilton, Ontario, stating that he was single and identifying his civilian occupation as a mill worker. He enjoyed swimming, rugby, tennis, gymnastics, hockey and basketball.
F/S White was killed on May 5, 1943 when his Vickers Wellington Bomber was shot down by a German fighter over The Netherlands. He was 21 years old, and is commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, England. F/S White received the following citations: 1939-45 Star, Air Crew Europe Star, War Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and clasp, Air Observer Badge awarded 21 September 1942, and Operational Wings awarded posthumously on 21 May 1947.
Flight Sergeant Joseph Evariste Adrien Thibaudeau
428 Ghost Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force
Flight Sergeant Joseph Evariste Adrien Thibaudeau, son of Dr. Adrien and Mrs. Gabrielle (née Foisy) Thibaudeau, was born 28 July 1921 in St. Eustache, Quebec. Brother of Jean Claude and Claudine Thibaudeau, Adrien, as he was known, enjoyed playing the piano and organ, learning languages, horseback riding, skiing, photography, music and literature. He was also the editor of the University of Montreal newspaper. He spoke French, English and Spanish, wrote Italian, and German, and read Greek and Latin. He held two degrees, a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science. F/S Thibaudeau enlisted on 28 April 1941 in Montreal, Quebec stating he was single and was a first year law student.
F/S Thibaudeau was killed on May 5, 1943 when his Vickers Wellington Bomber was shot down by a German fighter over The Netherlands. He was 21 years old, and is commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, England. F/S Thibaudeau received the following citations: 1939-45 Star, Air Crew Europe Star, War Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and clasp, Air Gunner Badge awarded 21 July 1942.
Wilnis, The Netherlands
Today the 27th November 2002 in the small village of Wilnis which lies just south of Amsterdam three Second World War Canadian Airmen were buried with full military honours. The religious portion of the ceremony for Flight Sergeant Joseph Evariste Adrien Thibaudeau, Flight Sergeant Joseph White, and Warrant Officer Class I Robert Benjamin Moulton was held in the village church conducted by the officiating clergy Padre Major Fernette and Padre Major Shaw. In attendance were family members of all five crew members including a brother from one of the Airmen and the widow of Flight Sergeant Howard Hoddinott, one of two survivors of the aircraft attack (both of whom are now deceased), travelled from Scotland. Many Military dignitaries were present from Canada, Great Britain and the Netherlands along with local Mayors. Representing Canada was Carmen Provenzano, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs who said, "I am honoured to have had the opportunity to participate in such a touching tribute to these three brave Canadian men, they, and so many others, paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of peace. Canadians will always thank them and Canadians will always remember."
The graveside ceremony was as equally touching with a piper playing as the three caskets were placed at their final resting-place. The cemetery lies just behind the church and was filled to capacity with hundreds of the local population attending most notably was the number of young people present. Also present was a full band, a bugler from Canada. The piper, firing party and bearers were Canadian Forces personnel based in Geilenkirchen, Germany. The floral tribute was impressive highlighted when the Dutch children paraded before the caskets and laid flowers on them. The Zone Commander laid a wreath on behalf of The Royal Canadian Legion Branches in Germany and the Deputy Zone Commander paraded the Canadian Flag at the ceremony. We were also happy to be joined at the ceremony by two of our Dutch members Comrades Ben Zonnenberg and Mark Hoedeman. The ceremony ended with the National Anthems and a fly past by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Following the ceremony a reception was held in a nearby village hall.
The Vickers Wellington Bomber, affectionately known as the "Wimpy," was armed with twin .330 machine guns in the nose and tail turrets. It also had 2 manually operated .303 guns in the beam positions and could carry a 4,500-lb bomb load. Slow speed, limited ceiling, and a small bomb load soon made the Wellington obsolete, although one significant design advantage was Barnes-Wallace's geodetic lattice-work fuselage construction. This made the Wimpy extremely tough, and it often survived battle damage, which would have destroyed other Aircraft.
"The Flying Cigar" was an occasional nickname for the Vickers Wellington Bomber, more commonly known as the "Wimpy". The term "Flying Cigar" alludes to the shape of the fuselage as seen from the profile perspective. After having early-on proved the inadequacy of the turret fire-power in fending off attacking fighters during daylight attacks, the Wellington went on to build up a great reputation for reliability and ruggedness in night bombing operations. In April 1941, they were the first to drop the deadly "block-buster" bomb, during a raid on Emden, and they helped to initiate the Pathfinder target-indicating tactics. In service, the Wellington was known as "The Wimpy", after J. Wellington Wimpy, Popeye's friend.
The motto of 428 (Bomber) Squadron, or "Ghost" Squadron as they were known, was USQUE AD FINEM - "To the very end." The Badge of 428 Ghost Squadron is, in a shroud, a death's head. The badge refers to the Squadron "Ghost" designation earned through many hours of night bombing operations and also the death and destruction, which it carried to the enemy.
Squadron History
During the war years No. 428 Ghost Squadron was a Heavy-Bomber Squadron. It was formed at Dalton, Yorkshire, on 7th November 1942, as a bomber unit of No. 4 Group. On 1st January 1943, it transferred to No. 6 (RCAF) Group, with which it operated against enemy targets until 25th April 1945 - about a fortnight before VE Day. Early in June 1943, the squadron moved to Middleton St. George, its base for the remainder of its period in the United Kingdom. During The Cold War it was re-formed as a night-fighter squadron at Uplands, Ontario on 21 June 1954 and flew the CF-100. No. 428 AW (F) Squadron was disbanded on 31 May 1961.
Operational History
First Operational Mission in WWII: 26th 27th January 1943 - 5 Wellingtons bombed Lorient.
Last Operational Mission in WWII: 25th April 1945 - 15 Lancasters bombed gun batteries on Island of Wangerooge.
Battle Honours
English Channel and North Sea 1943-44, Baltic 1944, Fortress Europe 1943-1944, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1943-44, Ruhr 1943-45, Berlin 1943-1944, Normandy 1944, German Ports 1943-45, Biscay 1943-44 Rhine.
In 1995, a private foundation "Salvage Vickers Wellington 1943 Foundation", initiated the salvage of Vickers Wellington Bomber HE 727 which crashed in the early hours of May 5, 1943 near the village of Wilnis, The Netherlands. In co-operation with the Foundation, the salvage was carried out by the Royal Netherlands Air Force Salvage Team.
The salvage site is located in a low-lying area, the surface of which lies some six meters below sea level. To keep the site dry, a special drainage system was installed, allowing the recovery team to drain off more than 300 cubic meters of water per hour. A special caterpillar machine scraped away the soil in layers of 5 centimetres at a time. Three members of the military salvage team would then go through the material manually to ensure that they retrieved even the smallest particles.
The salvage area and pace of digging activities were decreased to enable the team to carry out the process with the utmost precision, recovering human remains and unexploded ordnance. After being recovered, the human remains were transported respectfully to the Royal Netherlands Army Identification Unit.
The remains of the two missing men were identified following 10 days of dedicated and careful work by the Royal Netherlands Air Force Salvage team and the Royal Netherlands Army Identification Unit. Remains of WOI Moulton were also identified. They had been buried in the wreckage of the plane for more than 59 years. The well preserved state of the remains along with corroborating medical data of the crew members provided by Canadian authorities played a decisive and conclusive role in this process.
Officials with the Royal Netherlands Air Force have declared the crash site to be clean. It is estimated that close to 100% of the wreckage of the aircraft has been salvaged and secured, including over 5,000 rounds of .303 inch ammunition and several unexploded 12 kilogram incendiary bombs. No heavy explosives were found.
Each day after working hours the public was given the opportunity to visit the excavation site under the observation of the Royal Netherlands Salvage Team, the Royal Netherlands Air Force Press and Information Service, and officials of the municipality of De Ronde Venen. Specialised military personnel provided the public with expert accounts of activities that took place each day. Over the course of the salvage operation, more than 800 people of all ages visited to show their respect for the missing Canadian airmen.
Objects recovered | a partly charged container of nitrogen - used to inflate rubber floatation bags mounted in bomb cells |
| phosphor bombs - A Vickers Wellington at the time (1943) would usually carry a box of small bombs meant to ignite fires and dropped at the same time as the main bomb load. |
| hundreds of rounds of ammunition to be used by the machineguns |
| six Browning machine guns - These Brownings were belt-fed and could fire 1,000 rounds per gun for the front guns and 2,000 rounds per gun for the rear. |
| a medical aid kit with one intact ampul of morphine |
| a wooden propeller blade |
| a large part of a rear turret plate - the armoured plating to protect the turret gunner from infiltrating fire or FLAK splinters from below or on the sides |
| some engine cylinders |
| a bomb rack - these racks were positioned in the bomb bay'. The image of an arrow and the text Bombs to lie in this direction' can be seen as if it is brand new. |
| a large part of a wireless transmitter |
| a main wheel |
| one of the aircraft's two sleeve-valved engines |
| two cockpit handles to be used to activate the aircraft's engines fire extinguishers |
| part of a crewmember's flight cap with headset |
| a fire extinguisher |
| a dinghy |
| two well preserved silk parachutes - The supporting ropes, parts of the canvas bags and the parachute D'- shaped ring look as if they were manufactured recently. |
| a brass parachute ‘quick release' buckle |
| a so-called Azimuth book, full of tables or indexes showing declinations with respect to the magnetic north on the compass |
| a roller map, several meters long and some fifteen centimetres wide, showing the route to be flown as well as the precise position of the target |
| an electrical circuit |
| part of a rubber oxygen mask |
| an aerial or radio antenna with lead balls at the end - These balls prevented the slipstream and rush of air from whipping the aerial and causing it to resonate and whirl around. |
| A partly recognisable linen-mounted flight map showing the area of S.W. England, with text reading: Areas dangerous to flying are not indicated on this sheet'. |
| a tube of toothpaste on which can be read For teeth and gums' |
During the Second World War more than 116,000 men and women of the Air Forces of the British Commonwealth gave their lives in service. More than 17,000 of these were members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, or Canadians serving with the Royal Air Force. Approximately one-third of all who died have no known grave. Of these, 20,450 are commemorated by name on the Runnymede Memorial, which is situated at Englefield Green, near Egham, 32 kilometres by road west of London.
The design of the Runnymede Memorial is original and striking. On the crest of Cooper's Hill, overlooking the Thames, a square tower dominates a cloister, in the centre of which rests the Stone of Remembrance. The cloistered walks terminate in two lookouts, one facing towards Windsor, and the other towards London Airport at Heathrow. The names of the dead are inscribed on the stone reveals of the narrow windows in the cloisters and the lookouts. They include those of 3,050 Canadian airmen.
Above the three-arched entrance to the cloister is a great stone eagle with the Royal Air Force motto, "Per Ardua ad Astra". On each side is the inscription:
IN THIS CLOISTER ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF TWENTY THOUSAND AIRMEN WHO HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE. THEY DIED FOR FREEDOM IN RAID AND SORTIE OVER THE BRITISH ISLES AND THE LANDS AND SEAS OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE
In the tower a vaulted shrine, which provides a quiet place for contemplation, contains illuminated verses by Paul H. Scott, from whom the following extract has been taken:
"Here, at the heart of England, half-way between Royal Windsor and lordly London: looking down, Here, where the trees troop down to Runnymede, Meadow of Magna Carta, field of freedom, Never saw you so fitting a memorial, Proof that the principles established here Are still dear to the hearts of men."
Royal Charter established the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the 21st of May 1917. The provisions of which were amended and extended by a Supplemental Charter on the 8th of June 1964.
Its duties are to mark and maintain the graves of the forces of the Commonwealth who died in the two world wars, to build and maintain memorials to the dead whose graves are unknown, and to keep records and registers. The partner governments, those of Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and United Kingdom share the cost in proportions based on the numbers of their graves.
The Commission's mandate thus entails the commemoration of some 1.7 million war dead of the Commonwealth in 150 countries. Of this number, roughly 925,000 have known graves and are buried in one of the Commission's 2,300 war cemeteries or plots or within some 20,000 other burial grounds world wide. The remaining 760,000 were denied a known grave and are therefore listed on one of the many Memorials to the Missing which are placed in locations appropriate to the relevant theatres of war in which the deaths occurred.
The Canadian Agency of the Commission is responsible for fulfilling the Charter within North America. This entails the care of some 18,400 war dead in 2,800 burial grounds and on three memorials within Canada and a further 1,000 burials in 450 cemeteries in the United States.
In addition to the headstones and memorials, the Commission maintains 25 Crosses of Sacrifice placed in cemeteries where large concentrations of war burials occurred, and one Stone of Remembrance placed in roughly the geographic centre of Canada within the Winnipeg Brookside Cemetery. These two structures are common features of Commission cemeteries and plots around the world. Finally, the Commission is responsible for two Cathedral tablets in Vancouver and Hamilton, as well as additional plaques within the Cremation Shelter in Ottawa Beechwood Cemetery.
Officers of the Canadian Agency conduct routine cyclical inspections of all war graves, memorials and structures in its care. A cyclical, and follow up maintenance program, is also in effect. The Commission headstone was established after much discussion after the First World War. Its shape and design were chosen to reflect the guiding principles of the Commission; ie, that each of the war dead should be commemorated individually over the grave if the grave was known and that there should be no distinction based on military or civil rank, race or creed. The design of the Commission headstone is non-denominational in nature. The war dead's designated next of kin selected any religious symbol or personal inscription engraved on a headstone.
"We Will Remember Them"
