Personnel Index - Detail

Name
BROOKES
First Names
Reginald
Rank
Sgt
Service
RAF
Service Number
1415865
Crew Position
Flight Engineer
PoW Camp(s)
-
Age
22
Date of Death
28/02/1943
Cemetery

 

Photographed by Malcolm Brooke
 

Image courtesy of Geoff Brookes (son of  Sgt Brookes)

28 February/ 1 March, 1943; ST NAZAIRE:

The weather all the way through February had been unpredictable, and the last day of the month was no exception. The morning started fine, but high gusting winds soon developed bringing with it rain squalls.
Weather-beaten crews gathered at briefing to learn that the evening’s target was St Nazaire; the second U-boat base to be selected for demolition. A large force consisting of 437 aircraft was dispatched. Fiskerton's contribution (8 aircraft) was a mixture of experienced crews and novices.

Bomber Command lost 5 aircraft; 2 Wellingtons, 1 Stirling and 2 Lancasters. Sadly, one of the Lancasters came from Fiskerton. The aircraft, flown by 26 year old Canadian pilot W/O Fred Duncan and crew, came down in the target area; sadly all onboard perished. Some rest in a joint grave at Loire-Atlantique in France, with crew members of an 83 Squadron Lancaster brought down on the same night.

Lancaster ED467 (EA-E)
Sgt F.C. Duncan RCAF Pilot (Killed)
Sgt R. Brookes F/E (Killed)
F/O R.G. McCracken NAV (Killed)
Sgt H. Kay W/AG (Killed)
Sgt D.W. Belsham A/G (Killed)
F/S A.M. Dickie RCAF A/B (Killed)
Sgt J.A. Kelly A/G (Killed)

Crew on their 9th operation
 

Picture courtesy of Geoff Brookes

The future Sgt Brookes FE is kneeling front left. The smiling man in the white top would appear to be a PTI.
 

Image courtesy of Geoff Brookes (son of  Sgt Brookes)

It would appear that the crew were killed on their next raid. Sgt G J Green continued his tour with a different crew serving until September 1943 when he was KIA.