Hamilton John Thomas – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 15 Squadron

Sergeant Hamilton John Thomas – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 15 Squadron

Birth and Family Background

Hamilton Murrell Thomas and Mary Ellen Williams
marriage certificate
Holy Trinity Church, Swansea

Hamilton John Thomas was born in 1912 at Swansea. He was the son of Hamilton Murrell Thomas and Mary Ellen Williams, who were married in 1911 at Holy Trinity Church, Swansea.

Early Life

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records the Thomas family residing at 15 Dyvenor Place, Swansea. Hamilton Murrell Thomas, aged 31, was employed as a hairdresser, while his wife Mary Ellen, also aged 31, was employed in house work at Swansea Board School, Terrace Road, Mount Pleasant, Swansea. Their children were Hamilton John, aged 9, and Amy, aged 6, both attending school, and Nellie, aged 2.

1939 Register

By the time of the 1939 Register, the family were living at the Old Post Office, Penmaen, Gower, Swansea. Hamilton Murrell Thomas was employed as a postman; Mary Ellen was recorded as a servant; Hamilton John Thomas was working as a motor driver; and Nellie Thomas was also employed as a servant.

Marriage

In 1940, Hamilton married Winifred Gwendoline Craig.

Royal Air Force Service

Hamilton served with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, attaining the rank of Sergeant. He was posted to No. 15 Squadron RAF, operating from RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk

He served as a Flight Engineer aboard Short Stirling Mk III heavy bombers during the strategic bombing campaign against Germany.

The Raid on Mannheim – Night of 23^rd September 1943

On the night of 23^rd September 1943, RAF Bomber Command carried out a major night bombing raid on Mannheim, an important industrial city in south-west Germany. Mannheim was a key target due to its heavy engineering works, chemical plants, railway marshalling yards, and its position as a vital transport hub on the River Rhine.

The raid formed part of Bomber Command’s sustained offensive against German industry during the latter half of 1943, intended to disrupt war production, damage infrastructure, and draw German fighter resources away from other fronts.

Final Operation and Death

Short Stirling Mk III

During this raid, Sergeant Hamilton John Thomas, serving as a Flight Engineer with No. 15 Squadron RAF, was aboard a Short Stirling Mk III operating from RAF Mildenhall. While returning from the operation, his aircraft was intercepted and collided with a German Bf 109 night fighter near Haßloch, approximately 11 miles south-west of Ludwigshafen, during the course of the operation.

While the navigator survived and was taken prisoner of war, Sergeant Thomas was killed, reflecting the extreme danger faced by Bomber Command crews during night operations over Germany in 1943, where losses frequently occurred not only over the target but also on the hazardous return journey.

Burial and Commemoration

Hamilton John Thomas
Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
credit - findagrave

Sergeant Hamilton John Thomas is buried at the Rheinberg War Cemetery, where many Allied airmen who lost their lives during operations over Germany are laid to rest