Personnel Index - Detail
Name
HOLMES
First Names
Joseph Sydney
Rank
Flying Officer
Service
RAF
Service Number
120602
Crew Position
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
Posting In
10/41
Posting Out
1/43
Cemetery
Awarded the DFC.
Flew 20 operations (Hampden & Lancaster) in a variety of crew positions.
Groundcrew with P/O Rawstone (Pilot), P/O Mansbridge (Navigator), P/O Holmes (W/Ag) and P/O Moody (W/Ag). Pilot and Navigator flew their tour together with a large number of different W/Ags. Both these W/Ags were killed later in the war.
These four airmen flew together as a crew on the 28th March and 12th April 1942 so the photograph is likely to be one of those dates.
The aircraft is Hampden AT217 'S' Sugar.
F/O Holmes was killed on 19th February 1943 whilst flying with 83Sqn and is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
Extract is from Bill Chorley's Bomber Command Losses