Date:	Friday 14 June 1940
Time:	09:30 LT
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	150 Sqn RAF
Registration:	L5524
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Merey, 20 km ESE of Evreux, Eure 27 -   France
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Houssay, Loire-et-Cher, France
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Fairey Battle Mk.I L5524 (JN-V) 150 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) from Combat operations over Northern France. Of the three crew, one was killed, and two were captured to become PoWs. Accoarding to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/892): "Battle L5437 [*sic] failed to return from an operational flight, 14 June 1940. Sergeant H Berry and Leading Aircraftman D L Phillips: prisoners of war. Pilot Officer A R Gulley: report of death"

One of six Fairey Battles Airborne from Houssay, Loire-et-Cher, France, to attack roads around Vernon/Poix-de-Picardie. After the attack. the six Battles were on their way home, when the crew saw what they thought were friendlies (Hurricanes) but turned out to be hostile (five Bf-109s). Shot down by Lt. Stange, in a Bf 109 of 3/JG3, during attack on enemy column between Vernon and Evreux, near Merey. Crash-landed and burned out near Aigleville at 9.30 a.m.

The two survivors were captured, but LAC Phillips evaded capture, and eventually reached England, via Gibraltar. He was decorated with the Military Medal. He became the first member of RAF Aircrew to win the Military Medal for escape and evasion. His full story of the escape appears in a book "Free to fight again". Sgt Berry was captured, but escaped from captivity and escaped via Spain. He was MiD (Mentioned In Dispatches) for this feat

Crew of Battle L5224:
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Alfred R. Gulley, RAF 33385, age 21, killed in action 14/06/1940, buried at Aigleville Churchyard, Eure, France
Sgt H Berry (Observer); survived, bailed out, but parachuted down into enemy held territory. Captured and taken as a PoW, but eventually escaped as per the above
LAC D.L.Phillips (Wireless Op./Air Gunner); survived, bailed out, but parachuted down into enemy held territory. Evaded capture and reached England as per the above

Note that 150 Squadron lost two Fairey Battles at almost the same time on 14 June 1940 - L5437 and L5524. Over the years, sources have varied as to which crew was in which aircraft. However, the AIR 81 files place Sergeant H Berry, Leading Aircraftman D L Phillips and Pilot Officer A R Gulley in Battle L5524.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 35)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/892: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502594
3. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air britain, 1997 p 153)
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2320600/gulley,-alfred-richard/
5. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=1151
6. https://www.aerosteles.net/stelefr-merey-battle
7. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/150_squadron.html#1306
8. http://www.oldhaltonians.co.uk/pages/rememb/ROH/22.htm
9. http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=48315
10. http://39-45.auzeau.fr/france/27-eure/27-merey/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Aug-2008 22:35	Anon.	Added
31-Jan-2012 01:19	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport]
25-Sep-2019 23:02	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Registration, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
25-Sep-2019 23:09	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Narrative]
25-Sep-2019 23:12	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
25-Sep-2019 23:13	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
26-Sep-2019 11:33	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]
26-Sep-2019 19:12	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Country, Narrative]
16-Oct-2019 15:05	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Registration, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]