Personnel Index - Detail
Image courtesy of Vivienne Mengham - Phil Taverner's daughter
22/23 October, 1943; KASSEL:
Eight Pathfinder 'visual markers' found the centre of Kassel after the H2S 'blind' marker overshot the target. The consequences proved to be horrendous for this German city. The bombing, by nearly 570 was so concentrated that a firestorm was created, but not on the scale of the Hamburg storm in July.
Bomber Command paid heavily for their success with 24 Halifaxes and 18 Lancasters failing to return. Sadly two of the missing Lancasters were from 49 Squadron
One of the missing aircraft was JB413; it crashed near Wunsdorf, with five members of the crew surviving. Sadly their pilot, P/O Philip Taverner and the 20 year old Australian rear gunner, F/Sgt Edwin Parker, were both killed; they too have their graves in Hannover War Cemetery.
Claimed by Uffz.Wilhelm Bröckerhoff (2nd kill) of 3./NJG3. Interception near Minden, 55 km west of Hannover at 6.000 mts at 21.25hrs.
Note: Uffz Bröckerhoff attained 5 night victories. However, on the 23-24 of December 1943 he was killed in a crash at Haustenbeck, east Augustdorf near Detmold, cause unknown.
Lancaster JB413
P/O P.A. Taverner Pilot (Killed)
Sgt W. Kemp F/E (P.o.W.)
Sgt I. Spence NAV (P.o.W.)
Sgt R.H. Norman W/AG (P.o.W.)
Sgt N.C. Dunbabin A/G (P.o.W.)
Sgt R.K. Drinnan RCAF B/A (P.o.W.)
F/S E.E. Parker RAAF A/G (Killed)
Crew on their 3rd operation
F/S Parker is remembered on a memorial in William Farr School, Welton, Nr Lincoln.
Present at the 2010 Reunion were Aaron & Dean Verinder. Their father Michael (also at the reunion) is Phil Taverner's son.
In July 2014, Ed Norman (son of the W/Op) visited the Hannover War Cemetery to visit Phil's grave.