CREW MEMBER PROFILE

Surname:

EDWARDS

First Name/s:

Ernest Charles

Service No/s:

1321526

Service:

RAFVR

Branch:

Air Bomber

Awards:

Air Crew Europe Star, 1939-1945 Star, War Medal
Return

SERVICE RECORDS

Date

Event

Aircraft Flown
21 Dec 1943

Joined No. 576 Squadron, 'B' Flight at Elsham Wolds, Linconshire.

Lancaster
11 Apr 1944

Aulnoye; lost in LL830 UL-R2, aged 23
Shot down by Helmut Bergmann of NJG4 in his Bf110 at 0230 (one of seven claimed that night in just 46 minutes). The aircraft came down in Haussy, 10 miles E of Cambrai
Buried Cambrai (Route de Solesmes) Communal Cemetery, grave 1.A.15
‘O TEACH ME FROM MY HEART TO SAY “THY WILL, MY GOD, BE DONE”’

Lancaster

576 Squadron FLYING RECORDS

Date

Aircraft

Code

Flight Details

T/O

Land

Flt Time

Crew

15 Feb 1944

ND402

UL-R2

BERLIN

1715

0030

7h15

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt E.H. Kenny
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  WO2 A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt C. Clamp
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb 'Cookie', 56x 30lb and 1,122x 4lb incendiaries

15 Feb 1944

ND402

UL-R2

BERLIN

1715

0030

7h15

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt E.H. Kenny
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  WO2 A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt C. Clamp
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb 'Cookie', 56x 30lb and 1,122x 4lb incendiaries

15 Feb 1944

ND402

UL-R2

BERLIN

1715

0030

7h15

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt E.H. Kenny
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  WO2 A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt C. Clamp
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb 'Cookie', 56x 30lb and 1,122x 4lb incendiaries

15 Feb 1944

ND402

UL-R2

BERLIN

1715

0030

7h15

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt E.H. Kenny
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  WO2 A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt C. Clamp
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb 'Cookie', 56x 30lb and 1,122x 4lb incendiaries

19 Feb 1944

LM439

UL-X2

LEIPZIG

2345

0730

7h45

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt E.H. Kenny
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  WO2 A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt C. Clamp
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 56x 30lb and 1,122x 4lb incendiaries

20 Feb 1944

LM439

UL-X2

STUTTGART

2340

0740

8h00

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt E.H. Kenny
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  WO2 A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt C. Clamp
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb ‘Cookie’, 56x 30lb and 1,122x 4lb incendiaries.

24 Feb 1944

ND402

UL-R2

SCHWEINFURT

1820

0225

8h05

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt E.H. Kenny
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  WO2 A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt G.S. Armstrong
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb ‘Cookie’, 56x 30lb and 1,122x 4lb incendiaries

25 Feb 1944

ND402

UL-R2

AUGSBURG

1820

0225

8h05

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt E.H. Kenny
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  WO2 A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt G.S. Armstrong
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Aircraft factories Load: 1x 4,000lb ‘Cookie’, 56x 30lb and 1,122x 4lb incendiaries

22 Mar 1944

LL830

UL-R2

FRANKFURT

1850

0050

6h00

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt E.H. Kenny
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  Plt Off A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt C. Clamp
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb ‘Cookie’, 108x 30lb and 1,062x 4lb incendiaries

24 Mar 1944

LL830

UL-R2

BERLIN

1855

0320

8h25

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt A.W. Knapp
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  Plt Off A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt C. Clamp
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb ‘Cookie’, 108x 30lb and 924x 4lb incendiaries

26 Mar 1944

LL830

UL-R2

ESSEN

1945

0115

5h30

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt A.W. Knapp
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  Plt Off A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt C. Clamp
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb ‘Cookie’, 108x 30lb and 1,170x 4lb incendiaries

30 Mar 1944

LL830

UL-R2

NUREMBERG

2200

0615

8h15

P1   Fg Off F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt L.R.S. Templeton
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  Plt Off A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt C. Clamp
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 108x 30lb and 1,020x 4lb incendiaries Attacked by Bf-109; returned fire, but no damage was sustained to either aircraft

10 Apr 1944

LL830

UL-R2

AULNOYE

nk

FTR

uk

P1   Flt Lt F.S. Barnsdale
P2   
FE   Sgt J. Torode
AB   Sgt E.C. Edwards
NAV  Plt Off A.G. Campbell RCAF
WOp  Sgt K.J. Willett
MUG  Sgt C. Clamp
RG   Sgt G.M. Morris

NOTES:

Target: Marshalling yards Load: 12x 1,000lb and 4x 500lb bombs Likely take off time 2320, but this is not shown in the Squadron records. The aircraft was shot down by Hauptmann Helmut Bergmann of 6/ NJG-4 in his Bf-110 at 0230 to the north of Solesmes (the second of seven bombers he shot down that night in just 46 minutes). The aircraft came down in Haussy, 10 miles E of Cambrai; there were no survivors

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Details

Ernest Charles Edwards was born 25 Jun 23 in Winchester, Hampshire, son of Charles Edwards and Winifred Maggie May Loveland. He had a sister; Barbara Evelyn (1927 - 2018); Barbara married a US soldier (Quentin Sellars) and emigrated to the US.

 

In September 1939 he was living with his parents and younger sister at 5 Highfield Terrace, Winchester, Hampshire, working as an apprentice linotype operator.  He was a member of the Air Training Corps.

 

He was killed 11 Apr 1944 in air operations over enemy-occupied territory.

 

PHOTOS & DOCUMENTS

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