Ted Williamson, Wireless Operator

I received the following letter from Ted Williamson, ex Wireless Operator of 460 Squadron, on 16 September 1999:-

Campbelltown,
SA 5074

12/9/99

Dear Peter,

460 Squadron RAAF

I have recently acquired a computer and have been impressed by your website. I was a member of 460 and did 31 operations as the wireless operator in Vic Grimmett's crew. He and I were the only Australians in his crew.

As a matter of interest, my wife and I live in a Retirement Village in Campbelltown, SA, and Arthur Hubbard's wide Margaret also has a unit here. We see her quite often and I showed her some of the details of your website a few days ago.

I am enclosing some photographs which may interest you and others - the notes on the backs indicate appropriate details. I should like to have them back please when you have finished with them. (Ted - they'll be in the mail tomorrow - many thanks for the loan of them - Peter)

A longstanding friend of mine has for some time been trying to find out the circumstances relating to the death of his cousin, a member of 460 who was killed during an operation on 3 Feb 1945. He was a member of F/Lt. Davies' crew and his name was F/O G.S. Brown. We understand that the pilot Davies and another crew member named Avery became POW's whilst all other crew members perished. The target was Bottrop.

Would you by any chance have any records or information which might throw some light on the circumstances of the loss of this Lanc. and crew? We do not know if Avery was/is an Australian, if he is still living and if so, where he resides.

Finally, I note the reference to the Village Inn at Binbrook named after the then secret electronic gear used by 460. I did not recollect Peter Firkins mentioning this gear in his book on 460 Squadron, perhaps because of restrictions at the time of writing.

I remember this equipment well - It was called "Z" and if you are interested and there is nor restriction applying I could give you a brief rundown on some aspects of it.

Kind Regards

A.E. Williamson (ex F/O WOP/AG 417734)
lancast@iweb.net.au

ted01.jpg (21590 bytes)

Johnnie Leeder and crew
Binbrook, Lincs. 1944
460 Lanc. Sq.

Pilot (in blue uniform) is Fl/Lt. R. Cassie. Jack is on his left.

ted02.jpg (39538 bytes)

Johnnie Leeder and crew
Binbrook, Lincs. 1944
460 Lanc. Sq.

ted03.jpg (27755 bytes)

F/Sgts J. Leeder and Ted Williamson
Binbrook '44

J. Leeder did 31 operations as wireless operator with Cassie's crew.
Ted Williamson likewise in Vic Grimmett's crew.

ted04.jpg (16273 bytes)

F/Sgts J. Leeder and Ted Williamson
Binbrook '44

The following are the burial details for the G.S. Brown that Ted Williamson is interested in. This information is from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission home page:-

Flying Officer
437490
Royal Australian Air Force
who died on
Saturday, 3rd February 1945. Age 25.

Additional Information: Son of Henry Wyndham Brown and Ethel Blanche Brown; husband of Margaret Heather Brown, of Gawler, South Australia. Dip. Agric. (Roseworthy).

Cemetery:
REICHSWALD FOREST WAR CEMETERY, Germany
Grave Reference/Panel Number: 20. G. 5.

Location: The cemetery is 5 kilometres south west of Kleve. From Kleve take the Hoffmannallee from the town centre, which becomes the Materbornerallee. This road enters Reichswald Forest and becomes the Grunewaldstrasse. Follow the directions for Gennep, and on entering Reichswald Forest the cemetery is situated 500 metres on the left.

Subject:    460 Squadron
Date:             Sat, 18 Sep 1999 17:14:45 +0930
From:            "A.E.Williamson" <lancast@iweb.net.au>

By Jove, you were as quick as a flash in adding all the information I gave you onto your website! You must be a computer wizard.

Anyway I'd like to thank you for the details you have provided about F/O Brown -- my friend was most appreciative. Now that the query is on the net it is possible that someone may come up with more info. about this Lanc's demise.

I am sorry but I am unable to help in identifying the individual members of Cassie's crew and as Jackie Leeder passed away some years ago there is no one else in Adelaide from his crew.

It may interest you to know that Grp.Capt. Parsons was CO of 460 Squadron at the time Vic Grimmett and I finished our tour and at the time F/O Brown was lost I was in London getting my officer's uniform arranged . When I returned to Binbrook I was told that 3 aircraft had been lost in 4 days. One of these was being flown by Parsons and was involved in a collision and although the CO survived all other members of the crew were killed including our navigator who still had a few more trips to go before completing his tour. You will see his name {Flattery} in the details on your site under Vic's crew.

At the time we thought that the CO had collided with a Lanc flown by a pilot named Maguire also from 460 Squadron but I never heard the correctness of this. Thus the 3 aircraft lost were flown by Parsons, Davies and Maguire.

Subject:    460 Squadron
Date:             Mon, 27 Sep 1999 15:29:30 +0930
From:            "A.E.Williamson" <lancast@iweb.net.au>
To:                <rgoldring@optusnet.com.au>

Re your e-mail to Peter Dunn about Richens & Treloar. My diary says that their aircraft iced up over The Wash, U.K. on the way back from bombing Essen. Vic Grimmet's crew including yours truly were to fly members of 460 Squadron to Cambridge to attend Richen's and his crew's funeral. We were in our battledress whilst those attending the funeral were in their dress blues. However whilst embarking we were notified that ops. were on and all the other members had to disembark and our crew was told to go to Cambridge and represent the Squadron -- in our battledress! After the funeral we were taken to have lunch at Jesus College -- I'm afraid that I don't remember much more.

Subject:    A Big Surprise
Date:             Sat, 15 Apr 2000 17:05:23 +0930
From:            "A.E.Williamson" <lancast@iweb.net.au>

I am forwarding Vic Grimmett's letter because he details the names of Cassie's crew -- remember the photo I sent you a few months ago? Also there may be a couple of other matters of interest to you.

----- Original Message -----
From: Vic Grimmett <grim@senet.com.au>
To: <lancast@iweb.net.au>
Sent: Saturday, April 15, 2000 1:25 PM
Subject: A Big Surprise

> Clocked onto Peter Dunn's page to let him know I will be catching up with him in Brisbane next month when the 460 Squadron reunion takes place. he is an honorary member. Imagine my surprise when I saw your name in 'blue' so clicked on and found your letters.

> I have been on the web for four years and during that time have had numerous emails from people seeing Peter's site and my own, and have been able to answer many question which has been of great help to people. One was from a friend of Jock Fenion's sister wanting a hard copy of the crew photo which I gave to Peter and which is on his site. I could even do better because I had two good close-up of him with Midge in front of the rear turret of both the Halli and the Lanc. The friend told me Jock had kept in the RAF and was killed over Egypt in the early fifties. He said his sister was delighted to get the photos which I had posted over.

> For your information Parsons flying ME326 AR-P, collided with PD286 (626 Squadron) over Abbeville, and as you know was the only one to get out. PB351 flown by Doug Ritchins (a good friend of mine) with Treloar in the crew crashed near Houghton Hall Norfolf on 23/10/44.

> Cassie's crew was made up of J Young (E), E.H.Breakey (B), J.Blakey (N), J.E.Leeder (W), W.J.Kelly (G), and C.E.Green (G)

> Anyway how are the both of you going. Someone a while back told me you were in a retirement village, and fancy being with Arthur's widow.

> One other thing. Do you remember going on a Sunday morning raid on the Urft Dam, which was eventually scrubbed and had to bring our bombs back, and reporting a Lancaster going down in front and counting six chutes?

> The next day there was no report of any aircraft lost on the operation, and in the Bomber Command Diaries there is also a report of no aircraft lost.

> Well my son was in an office one day and saw this book on the counter with Lanc on the cover so enquired. It was written a Clem Hewitt whose uncle was Ross Barnett.

> Ross worked in the same building as I did in the Govt and went to Victor Harbor then Parafield but was eventually scrubbed and became a Navigator

> His career followed mine as far as stations were concerned, and finished up on a pathfinder squadron.

> He flew on many raids which we did including the Urft Dam and in the book it tells how this aircraft which I reported was in the PFF and had been attacked by a ME and the pilot gave the order to abandon aircraft, but before the rear gunner could get out the ME came in again and killed the RG, the reason there were only six chutes. Ross himself was killed when the plane he was in on another raid crash landed in UK, burst into flames, only the rear gunner this time getting out to survive and tell the story.

> It certainly was interesting reading about something which had remained a mystery for all those years.

Subject:     Lancasters
Date:              Thu, 10 Aug 2000 17:01:58 +0930
From:             "A.E.Williamson" <lancast@iweb.net.au>
To:                 "Peter Dunn" <pdunn@st.net.au>,
                    "Dick Goldring" <rgoldring@optusnet.com.au>,
                    "Vic Grimmett" <grim@senet.com.au>

Excuse me forwarding this to you simultaneously but you each may be interested in the website sent to me by my grandson today.

I need your help

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