Personnel Index - Detail
Completed a tour of 32 operations on the 7th April 1945.
Pilot: 179537 F/O KW LEE
Flight Engineer: 1515645 Sgt 'L' CRABBE
Navigator: 1083799 Sgt TG GATFIELD
Bomb Aimer: 1614932 Sgt J ALDRIDGE
Wireless Operator: 1765077 Sgt DW PYE
Mid-upper Gunner: 2210047 Sgt N POWELL
Rear Gunner: 1454207 Sgt RE WILKINS
This photograph was only discovered in December 2011.
Information received from Tom Crabbe (Lou's grandson):
I became aware as a young boy that people referred to him as 'Lou' and was always curious as to why. Recently I finally got round to asking him why this was and he explained that as a young man he was a big fan of the boxer Joe Louis and so became known as Lou!
From the LHS (at a Squadron reunion held at Peterborough 1998):
Tom Gatfield, Norman Powell, John Aldridge, Lou Crabbe.
Superstition was very strong amongst aircrews and this crew felt it was bad luck to have your photograph taken and, to date, we have discovered no wartime images.
"Posted Out" 2013.