No.628543, Sergeant (Air Gunner), Harold Ernest SMITH
Aged 27
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Born in Q4-1917 [Edmonton 3a:810], the son of Ernest James and Evelyn May SMITH (née FLOWERS) of High Street, Finchley.
In Q2-1941, in Newmarket, he married Freda Janie BOTT of 20 Granby Street, Newmarket. Harold was known to the family as "Ernie". In the 1939 register, at 680 High Road, Finchley were his father, Ernest James SMITH [28-8-1891] manager of a general stores, his mother Evelyn May [31-3-1892] and sister Dorothy Grace [9-12-1919] a drapery assistant, later to become Mrs SCOTT. The BOTT family were at 70 Granby Street, two closed records, which would be Freda and her brother James. |
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640 Squadron was formed at RAF Leconfield on 7th January 1944 from C flight 158 Squadron and disbanded on May 1st 1945. They had no official crest Halifax Mk III, NA563 , c/s C8-Y of 640 Squadron took off from RAF Leconfield at 20:56 on 10th Aug 1944 for a raid on the railway junction at Dijon. They crashed at Gouloux, 5km NE of Montsauche. The crew were buried locally by Maquis, the CWGC records have it as temporary burial at Coeuson. After the war they were re-interred in Nantes (Pont du Cens) Communal Cemetery. The crew were: P/O P.C.M.Hellegers; Sgt B.P.Wood ; Sgt G.H.Richold Sgt K.J.Stewart; Sgt W.G.Jeffery; Sgt H.E.Smith; Sgt W.Bryce The pilot was a Dutchman, Paul Hellegers, who was eventually re-buried in Nantes with the Harold and the rest of his crew on 21st April 1947. |
(There was no authorised badge for 640 Squadron)
The Anglo Maquis Cemetery at Montsauche les Settons where Harold and his crew were initially buried
© Isabelle Perrot and Guillaume van der Wende via Pierre Vandervelden www.inmemories.com
click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details