RAF 10 Park Bench | Parkbank
Royal Air Force
RAF 10 Park Bench
Where the cockpit came to rest,
now rests a seat.
Where once stalked death,
now rests life.
Where once did dread and fear lurk,
now sits freedom.
Where once was Angst,
now rests tranquillity and peace.
Ja! Mitgefühl, Barmherzigkeit
und Versöhnung.
Mercy, Compassion, Reconciliation.
Wo das Cockpit zur Ruhe kam,
Jetzt ruht ein Sitz.
Wo einst der Tod stand,
Jetzt ruht das Leben.
Wo einst Angst und Furcht lauerten,
Jetzt Freiheit sitz.
Wo einst Angst war,
Jetzt Ruhe und Frieden ruht.
Yes! Mercy, Compassion, Reconciliation
Ja! Barmherzigkeit, Mitgefühl, Versöhnung
The Banner Image is by gracious permission of the Imperial War Museum Collection under reference ROYAL AIR FORCE 1939-1945: BOMBER COMMAND© IWM (CH 9138)
Original photo link here - www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205218743 and shows Handley-Page Halifax Mk II, W7805 MP-M of No 76 Squadron RAF Linton-on-Ouse being bombed-up at Linton on April 3, 1943.
Whilst RAF 10 relates to Halifax Mk V DK165 MP-E also of 76 Squadron, it enables me to obtain a very practical image of how DK165 would have been ‘bombed up’ thirteen days later on 16 April.
I am also most grateful to Martin via Pinterest for adding the additonal note to the IWM Image, which reads
Records show this aircraft Halifax II W7805 took off 19:26 [hours] and was lost on the day of this photograph FTR Germany with 4 crew dead and 3 pow.
My W R Chorley Bomber RAF Command Losses Volume for 1943 officially records that W7805 MP-M was on an operation to Essen, taking off at 1926 Linton-on-Ouse, and crashing at Hervest, 4 km E-N-E of Dorsten, Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine, Westphalia, Germany).
The Howarth Crew are:
Sgt-Pilot J K Howarth +
Sgt W C Pitt +
Sgt G A Egan pow
Sgt J W S Blakey pow
Plt Off P W Digby MiD +
Sgt F G Williams +
Sgt H N Richards RCAF pow
Chorley Volume 1943 confirms that the four air crew who died rest in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery.
The Chorley RAF Bomber Command Losses Register for 1943 confirms that DK165 MP-E was on an operation to , Plzen, Czechoslovakia, taking off at 2041 Linton-on-Ouse, and crashed between Lachen und Speyerdorf, 5 km SE of Neustadt an der Weinstraße (literally ‘the new town on the wine route’) Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland, Palatinate).
The Webb Crew are:
Sgt-Pilot K E Webb +
Sgt S Braybrook +
Sgt K R G Williams +
Sgt J Kay +
Sgt A R Ross RCAF +
Sgt L B Mitchell pow
Flt Sgt G Brown +
The Chorley Volume 1943 confirms that the six air crew who died rest in Rheinberg War Cemetery.
Both Halifaxes came down on their return flights.
Other, more detailed, RAF Papers relating to DK165 MP-E can be found within on the Aviation Platform on this website.
Our Ground Crews
Finally, as many will know, I am always firm in reminding us all of the crucial role of Ground Crew in every command. Every ground crew knew joy and relief when they saw “their” aircraft being safely returned ~ sadness and grief when there was no return; abject shock when joy turned to horror when their aircraft crashed and blew up before their very eyes.
All too often this happened, whether from battle operations or on training flights on the OCUs and HCUs.
Without our groundcrews, there would be no flying. Period.
If I detach myself just for a moment from thinking about aircrew and aircrew losses, this image enables me to concentrate on our groundcrews … both on April 3 and April 16.
Key
FTR : failed to return
+ : killed in action
pow : Prisoner of War
RCAF : Royal Canadian Air Force
MiD/MID : Mentioned in Dispatches.
OCU : Operational Conversion Units
HCU : Heavy Conversion Units
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, describing their gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy. The Oak Leaf sewn onto the Medal Ribbon denotes MiD, and the Armed Forces member also receives a framed Citation and which is ‘gazetted’, i.e. formally announced in the London Gazette.
Kenneth Thomas Webb
Liverpool and Gloucestershire
16 April 2025
© 2025 Kenneth Thomas Webb
© IG Heimat Forschung
Ken Webb is a writer and proofreader. His website, kennwebb.com, showcases his work as a writer, blogger and podcaster, resting on his successive careers as a police officer, progressing to a junior lawyer in succession and trusts as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, a retired officer with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and latterly, for three years, the owner and editor of two lifestyle magazines in Liverpool.
He also just handed over a successful two year chairmanship in Gloucestershire with Cheltenham Regency Probus.
Pandemic aside, he spends his time equally between his city, Liverpool, and the county of his birth, Gloucestershire.
In this fast-paced present age, proof-reading is essential. And this skill also occasionally leads to copy-editing writers’ manuscripts for submission to publishers and also student and post graduate dissertations.
