ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 229794
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| Date: | Sunday 7 July 1940 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Armstrong Whitworth Whitley B Mk V |
| Owner/operator: | 102 (Ceylon) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | N1523 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Surendorf, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Driffield, North Yorkshire |
| RAF Driffield, North Yorkshire |
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley B.Mk.V N1523 (DY-B) of 102 (Ceylon) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed to Return) from combat operations over Germany. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/1029): "Whitley N1523 force landed north of Kiel, Germany, 7 July 1940. Sergeant L Askham, Sergeant S Fieldhouse, Sergeant J Fisk, Pilot Officer J M Lewis and Pilot Officer D F M MacKarness: prisoners of war. Death of Flight Lieutenant J M Lewis whilst a prisoner of war, 18 August 1943"
Took off from RAF Driffield, Yorkshire at 21:12 on evening of 6 July 1940. Target: Kiel Canal, Brunsbüttel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Shot down by flak/AAA ground fire, and force landed at Surendorf, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, on the Baltic Sea 18 km North North West of Kiel.
All five crew survived, but were captured, and taken as PoWs. Sgt J Fisk and Flying Officer M J Lewis were interned in PoW Camp Stalag XXI-D at Poznan, Poland, where Flt Lt Lewis died in captivity on 18 August 1943. According to reports (see link #3):
"School Magazine ‘The Martlet’ ‘Old Boys News’ December 1943
‘Another Old Boy has lost his life in the war. We record with the deepest regret the death as a prisoner of war in Germany of Flying Officer J.M.Lewis. Beyond the fact that his death was due to an ‘accident’, no details are yet available. To his sorrowing parents and relatives, we express our deepest sympathy for their unexpected bereavement’.
The 'accident' referred to above was later reported to be: "Died from wounds received whilst trying to escape. Maurice Jack Lewis escaped from PoW Camp Stalag XXI-D at Sagan only to be hit by a train and killed".
Service Number 41035; Age 24. Burial: 18 August 1943 – Grave 4, POW Cemetery, Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Silesia, Poland. Burial Date and Place from War Records and Letters. Buried with Full Military Honours. In 1949 his remains were re-interred in the Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery, Poland.
Flight Lieutenant Jack Lewis (as he is known in some records) is commemorated on a family grave at Chichester Cemetery in Sussex, England.
His name also appears on the main war memorial in Chichester as well as that at Chichester High School where he was a pupil.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1977 p 8)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/1029: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502895
3. https://www.oldcicestrians.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/The-Fallen-J-M-Lewis.pdf
4. https://www.backtonormandy.org/component/mtree/air-force-operations/airplanes-allies-and-axis-lost/whitley/23155-N15231940-07-07.html
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2194328/lewis,-jack-maurice/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_XXI-D
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Oct-2019 00:35 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 08-Oct-2019 00:36 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 08-Oct-2019 00:48 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Oct-2019 00:48 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Oct-2019 01:01 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Oct-2019 01:06 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 08-Oct-2019 01:06 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 08-Oct-2019 11:07 | juza7 | Updated [Operator] |
| 10-Sep-2022 15:47 | Richard | Updated [Narrative] |
| 01-Nov-2022 12:40 | Richard | Updated [Narrative] |
| 09-Nov-2022 09:54 | Richard | Updated [Narrative] |
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