Flying Officer (Air Gunner) Graham George Williams. GM (George Medal)

Graham George Williams

 I received a message from Peter Bailey, who was going through his late father Leslie James Bailey’s effects when he came across a newspaper cutting and a photograph of airman, George Williams. Peter would dearly love to pass these on to anyone who has any connection with George, who lived at Middleton Street, St. Thomas.

What do we know about George? There wasn’t much to go on from the undated, untitled newspaper article, “…SING IN RAID TWO DAYS AFTER WEDDING”, what could be established from the article was that Miss Beryl Evans was the wife-to-be. That was a good start. I searched the records on FreeBMD.org and bingo I got a result. The marriage occurred in the June quarter (April, May, June) of 1943. That gave me the year of the article as 1943. Next stop, the Commonwealth War Grave Commission website www.cwgc.org, and yet again bingo, I found our man, Graham George Williams. Here’s the information obtained from the website:

Flying Officer (Air Gunner) Graham George Williams. GM (George Medal)

Service Number 136044. Aged 22. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 102 Squadron. Killed on 17 April 1943 and buried in the Maubeuge-Centre Cemetery, Nord, France. Son of Alfred and Elizabeth Williams; husband of Beryl Williams.

In June 1941, Graham, along with another airman, Kenneth Bland, were involved in an incident and they were both awarded a George Medal

The London Gazette published an account of the event at Westhampnett Airfield, Sussex

"In June 1941, ammunition in an aircraft exploded by spontaneous combustion. Despite the explosions, Aircraftman Bland climbed onto the main plane and unfastened the gun panels. By this time the ammunition tank was burning fiercely, so he released it from the gun. Leading Aircraftman Williams carried away the burning tank, which started to explode while he was carrying it. The presence of mind and courage shown by these two airmen undoubtedly saved the aircraft and probably the lives of the aircrews and armorers who were emptying the remaining ammunition tanks."

Finally, the events of 16/17th April 1943

Operation 'Trio' (ii) II, was the British bombing of the Skoda armaments factories at Pilsen in German-occupied Czechoslovakia by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris’s RAF Bomber Command (16 April/14 May 1943) 

Replacing 'Duet', 'Trio' (ii) involved two raids. The first, on 16/17 April, used 327 aircraft (197 Avro Lancaster and 130 Handley Page Halifax four-engined heavy bombers), which took from RAF Pocklington, Yorkshire, of 18 Lancaster and 18 Halifax machines were lost, representing 11% of the aircraft despatched. The raid took place under a full moon and was not successful. In a complicated plan, the Main Force was ordered to confirm the position of the Skoda factory visually with the markers of the Pathfinder Force aircraft intended only as a general guide. In the event, a large asylum building 7 miles (11.25 km) away was mistaken for the factory and only six crews brought back bombing photographs that were within 3 miles (4.8 km) of the real target. The Skoda factory was not hit, but one report says that 200 German soldiers were killed when their barracks near the asylum were bombed

Halifax II

Flight Halifax II HR663, which took off from RAF Pocklington,  2049 on the 16th of April 1943. Home bound at 9000 feet attacked by a night fighter which set fire to the bomber's port wing and both engines.

The crew of the plane were men from the 102 Squadron

Graham George Williams
Maubeuge-Centre Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Graham George Williams, who was killed and was buried at Maubeuge-Centre Cemetery

Lawrence Hill, who was captured and was a Prisoner of War

Kenneth James Bolton 

A Marton

Wallace Ivor Lashbrook

W R Laws

A Martin all of who escaped