CREW MEMBER PROFILE |
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Surname: |
ALLAIS |
First Name/s: |
Louis Paul Edwin |
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Service No/s: |
1389808 |
Service: |
RAFVR |
Branch: |
Navigator |
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Awards: |
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SERVICE RECORDS |
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Date |
Event |
Aircraft Flown |
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02 May 1941 |
Attended No. 11 Aviation Candidates’ Selection Board, Euston House, 24 Eversholt Street, London NW1, where he was recommended for training as Pilot or Observer. |
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03 May 1941 |
Transferred to the Reserve pending call-up. |
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18 Aug 1941 |
Called up to No. 1 Air Crew Reception Centre (ACRC), Lord’s Cricket Ground, St John’s Wood, London. |
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20 Sep 1941 |
No. 2 Initial Training Wing (2 ITW), Jesus & Downing Colleges, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. |
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31 Oct 1941 |
Promoted to Leading Aircraftman (LAC) and remustered as under training Pilot. |
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24 Dec 1941 |
Embarked UK for Canada (precise date, port & vessel n/k). |
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01 Feb 1942 |
No. 31 (RAF) Personnel Despatch Centre (31 PDC), Moncton, New Brunswick. |
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12 Feb 1942 |
No. 31 Elementary Flying Training School (31 EFTS), 43 Course, De Winton, Alberta. |
DH82C Tiger Moth |
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01 Mar 1942 |
Entry illegible. |
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23 Apr 1942 |
Remustered as under training Navigator. |
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17 Aug 1942 |
Unit not known, Trenton, Ontario. |
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12 Sep 1942 |
No. 5 Air Observers School (5 AOS), probably 108 Air Navigator Course, Winnipeg, Manitoba. |
Anson |
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28 Dec 1942 |
No. 31 (RAF) Personnel Despatch Centre (31 PDC), Moncton, New Brunswick. Date TBC (28/31 Dec 42). |
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30 Dec 1942 |
Awarded Navigator’s brevet, promoted to Sergeant and re-mustered as Navigator. |
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26 Jan 1943 |
Home Embarkation (HE); embarked Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the UK (vessel n/k). |
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04 Feb 1943 |
Disembarked UK (port n/k). |
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05 Feb 1943 |
No. 7 Personnel Reception Centre (7 PRC), Spa Hotel, Harrogate, Yorks (using the Spa, Majestic, Queen, Adelphi, or Cecil Hotels for accommodation). |
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07 Apr 1943 |
Entry illegible. |
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05 May 1943 |
Returned to No. 7 Personnel Reception Centre (7 PRC), Spa Hotel, Harrogate, Yorks . |
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11 May 1943 |
No. 2 (Observer) Advanced Flying Unit (2 (O)AFU), Millom, Cumberland. |
Blenheim / Anson / Oxford tbc |
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22 Jun 1943 |
No. 81 Operational Training Unit (81 OTU), Pershore, Worcestershire; joins F Ball crew, which comprised: |
Wellington |
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10 Sep 1943 |
No. 1667 Heavy Conversion Unit (1667 HCU), Faldingworth, Lincolnshire. |
Halifax / Lancaster TBC |
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23 Sep 1943 |
No. 11 Base, Lindholme, Yorkshire; administrative Base for 1 Group heavy bomber conversions. Date TBC. |
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30 Nov 1943 |
No. 1 Lancaster Finishing School (LFS), Hemswell, Lincolnshire (Lancaster) only if Lancaster not flown at HCU. Date TBC. |
Lancaster |
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07 Dec 1943 |
No. 576 Squadron, ‘B’ Flight, Elsham Wolds, Lincolnshire. |
Lancaster |
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20 Dec 1943 |
Frankfurt; lost in W4123 UL-R2, aged 29 |
Lancaster |
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576 Squadron FLYING RECORDS |
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Date |
Aircraft |
Code |
Flight Details |
T/O |
Land |
Flt Time |
Crew |
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20 Dec 1943 |
W4123 |
UL-R2 |
FRANKFURT |
1700 |
FTR |
nk |
P1 Flt Sgt F. Ball |
NOTES: |
Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb 'Cookie', 56x 30lb and 1,122x 4lb incendiaries Frankfurt; lost in W4123 UL-R2, aged 29 Shot down by Oblt. Werner Baake of 3./NJG-1 and crashed at De Planck, Voeren, Belgium. No survivors Initially buried by the Germans at Brusthem (Sint Tryuden/St Trond) Cemetery, and reinterred on 25 Mar 47 at Heverlee War Cemetery, Louvain, Belgium, grave 5.B.1 “ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS” |
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PERSONAL INFORMATION |
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Details |
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Louis Paul Allais (13 October 1914 – 20 December 1943) was a British wireless engineer and aviator whose short but eventful life spanned the merchant navy, a high-seas rescue, and service in the skies during the Second World War.
Born in Wembley, Middlesex, Louis was the son of Charles Joseph Paul Allais, a French national, and Emily Sophia Sabine. He grew up with his older sister, Marguerite, eventually settling in Barnes, Surrey. His early years were marked by active community involvement as a member of the 10th (Finchley) Group Boy Scouts.
By 1936, while living at 25 Kitson Road in Barnes, Louis pursued a passion for aviation. On 10 June 1936, he was awarded Royal Aero Club Certificate No. 13895 after training on a DH60 Tiger Moth at the Cambridge Aero Club. Despite his skills in the air, the 1939 Register recorded him working as a wireless maintenance engineer and serving his community as a patrol officer for the Barnes Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS).
His wartime service began in the Merchant Navy. After his ship was torpedoed by German forces, Louis was taken prisoner and held aboard the notorious German tanker Altmark. He was among the 299 British prisoners liberated by HMS Cossack during the historic "Altmark Incident" in Jøssingfjord, Norway, on 16 February 1940. Following his rescue, Louis continued to contribute to the war effort by joining the RAF. His journey came to a tragic end on 20 December 1943, when he was killed during air operations over enemy territory.
References Frank Ball and crew 576 Sqn (northlincsweb.net) Accident Avro Lancaster Mk I W4123, (aviation-safety.net) Alloa - Great Britain, Royal Aero Club Aviators’ Certificates, 1910-1950 - Ancestry.com The Canadian plane that crashed at Bois Rouge in 1943 (remersdael.be)
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PHOTOS & DOCUMENTS |
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Details |
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GravestoneCWGC |
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RAC Membership photograph |
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Allais - Royal Aero Club Certificate 10 Jun 1936 |
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L Allais Graduation - 5 AOS ORB Dec 1942RCAF.info |
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