The unnamed grave at Finningley
In the quiet little village of Finningley,
South Yorkshire, interred in the churchyard of Holy Trinity and St Oswald lies
the remains of an airman lost during World War II. The occupant of this grave has never been
formally identified and his family have never had any form of closure - they
still do not even know that his body has been found.
During the course of WW2 105 Polish airmen
were killed flying out of RAF Lindholme; 50 of them were serving with 304
Squadron and 55 were serving with 305 Squadron.
We only know that this man was a Polish airmen based on the fact that
the Police investigating the incident we are about to describe stated that he
was Polish.
Requests for assistance have been made to the
South Yorkshire Police (under the Freedom of Information Act) but they claim to
have no records of an investigation which only took place in 1987 when the body
was found on the Hatfield Moor. It is
very odd that no records have been kept of an event which kept the body on ice
for 4 months whilst it was being investigated and the investigating officer
went down to London to search through RAF records. We also do not know how the Police came to
conclude that it was a Polish airman.
The South Yorkshire Coroners records were
lost in floods a few years ago so they, unfortunately cannot help with our
quest. However, some of his comments
were recorded in the After The Battle article.
The Coroner actually suggested that there is probably an undiscovered crashed
aeroplane on Hatfield Moor.
Information on the eventual burial of the
body has been forthcoming from the Senior NCO in charge of the funeral, as have
photographs of the occasion. These do
not help with identification but have given a very good picture of events.
We have been given a copy of part of a book
in which the author explains the whole story of Lindholme Willie. This is essentially a ghost story which many
people believe represents the spirit of a Polish airman killed during WW2;
these hauntings allegedly stopped when this body was buried in the churchyard
at Finningley, South Yorkshire. The
author has written a reasoned article and, on the subject of this unidentified
body, he postulates that there is another undiscovered aircraft buried on the
moors. We are not concerned with the
ghost story - we are looking for the truth.
We believe that the body (skeleton) examined
in 1987 most closely resembles the rear gunner on board Vickers Wellington MkII
serial no Z8406 Squadron Code SM-G. Namely
Flight Sergeant Stanislaw Marian Gross.
To avoid future confusion, it should be noted that this aircraft was a
replacement for Wellington bomber W5557 which also crashed on Hatfield Moor at
a nearby location but several months earlier.
Coincidentally, Z8406 was the replacement for W5557 and therefore had
the same Squadron Code, which was normal procedure in RAF squadrons. As an extra coincidence the navigator on both
these aircraft was Flight Lieutenant Stanislaw Barzdo who was injured in the
first crash and killed in the second.
In the following analysis we have reduced the
possibilities to six men and all were in the same crew on Z8406 which
disappeared without trace. So we have to
accept that the body in the grave at Finningley could be any of these six
airmen. We have been informed by the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission that they do not permit DNA testing on
bodies in their care.
We have contacted the Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP
with a request for help and he says that Finningley is in the constituency of
the Rt Hon Caroline Flint MP and has passed on the papers to her. She has passed the buck to my MP whom she
says is the Rt Hon Kevan Jones. I have
contacted him and asked him to pass on the papers to my real MP, the Rt Hon
Laura Pidcock. Neither she, nor her
office, have responded and she went on maternity leave - so we expect nothing
further there.
Analysis
of 105 Polish airmen killed whilst flying out of RAF Lindholme:
304
Squadron - Deaths of Aircrew whilst at RAF Lindholme, listed by aircraft lost
or damaged
Wellington
X9620 25th July 1941 Opperdoes,
Netherlands
F/O Karczewski
F/O Musial
F/O Rzepa
Sgt Salamon
Sgt Witkowski
Sgt Zuwala
Wellington
N2852 NZ-D 20th October 1941 Heligoland, Germany
Sgt Adamik
P/O Borzecki
F/O Gisman
Sgt Klimiuk
Sgt Plis
Sgt Zykow
Wellington
W5720 (NZ-Q) 26th October 1941 North Sea near Cromer,
Norfolk - rest of crew were rescued.
Sgt Stenocki
Wellington
R1064 16th December 1941 Near Ostend, Belgium
S/Ldr Blazejewski
Sgt Golabek
F/O Komlacz
Sgt Rutkowski
Sgt Suwalski
F/O Szczodrowski
Wellington
DV423 10/11 January 1942 Near Borkum, Friesian Is
Sgt Garstka
P/O Maczynski
F/O klewicz
Sgt Pokrzywa
Sgt Strzyzewski
P/O Zajac
Wellington
Z1082 10/11 January 1942 Near Nordeney, Friesian Is
F/O Kurek
Sgt Kwiecien
Sgt Obiorek
Sgt Patek
Sgt Rogowski
Sgt Sankowski
Wellington
X9764 NZ-X 5/6 April 1942 Leuven, Belgium
P/O Assman
Sgt Babraj
Sgt Grajnert
F/O Natkanski
P/O Osadzinski
P/O Ziemianski
Wellington R1230 NZ-E
10/11 April 1942 Kessel,Germany -
rest of crew made POW
Sgt Janik
Wellington
X9687 12/13 April 1942 Essen, Germany - rest of crew made POW
F/Lt Mlynarski
Wellington
X9829 NZ-O 23/24 April 1942 Manslagt, Germany
P/O Dzierzbicki
Sgt Jankowski
F/O Kwak
F/Lt Wojcik
Sgt Wozniak
F/O Zieleniewski
Wellington
Z1088 NZ-D 27/28 April 1942 Villers la Ville, Belgium
Sgt Ferenc
Sgt Garbacz
F/Lt Kowalski
F/Sgt Pieczynski
F/O Szczurowski
These
are all the 304 Squadron aircrew who were killed whilst flying out of RAF
Lindholme and it is patently obvious that none of the bodies could possibly
have found their way to a peat bog exactly one mile from the end of the short
runway at RAF
305
Squadron - Deaths of Aircrew whilst at RAF Lindholme, listed by aircraft lost
or damaged
Wellington
W5593 SM-P 5/6 August 1941 Belgium - 1 made POW, 2 evaded capture and returned home
Sgt Rybak
F/O Saferna
F/O Sukiennick
Wellington
W5463 SM-E 16/17 August 1941 Holland (off coast)
F/Sgt Majewski
F/O Miondlikowski
Sgt Plachta
Sgt Przeclawski
Sgt Stankiewicz
Sgt Wardenski
Wellington
W5557 SM-G 26/27 September 1941 Nr RAF Lindholme In the same peat bog.
Sgt Buszko
Sgt Korczyk
Sgt Leyche
Sgt Wasilenko
3 bodies recovered and 3 still alive. Sgt Korczyk died next day. F/Lt Barzdo and Sgt Pisarek injured but alive
and recovered. All bodies accounted for.
Wellington
W5579 SM-L 16/17 October 1941 In the sea near Dunkirk
F/O Bryk
Sgt Hejnowski
Sgt Hildebrandt
F/O Kosowski
Sgt Lang
F/O Lucki
Wellington W5374 SM-J 23/24 December 1941 Sibbertoft, Leicestershire. Damaged by flak and force landed
Sgt Baracz
F/O Golacki
Sgt Kurowski
F/O Nowak
Sgt Rozpara
P/O Siwiec
Sgt Ceglowski
Sgt Gidaszewski
F/O Golczewski
Sgt Gorzenski
F/O Orzechowski
P/O Zeromski
Wellington
Z8438 SM-B 13/14 March 1942 Flak damaged
and overshot RAF Lindholme and crashed
Sgt Bala
P/O Dranicki
F/O Ostaszewski
F/O Rymkiewicz
Sgt Sasin
4 dead and 2 recovered alive. Sgt Sasin
survived F/O Ostaszewski died in hospital
All bodies accounted for
Wellington
Z8586 SM-W 14/15 April 1942 Ran out of fuel and crashed near Wroot,
Lincolnshire
Sgt Sznidel
Sgt Pasich
2 killed and 4 safe.
Wellington
Z8406 SM-G 3/4 May 1942 Lost without trace returning to RAF Lindholme
after bombing Hamburg/ Emden
F/Lt Barzdo
F/Sgt Gross
F/O Jankowski
Sgt Nowotarski
Sgt Weiraszka
F/Sgt Zagorski
One sighting of a Wellington being attacked
and this was by another Wellington pilot who was also trying to evade night
fighters and flak. No confirmation of ID
of aircraft under attack (there were about 83 bombers) and several planes were
lost that night. No information on Air
Ministry crash card. Radar at RAF
Lindholme switched off because of the presence of German intruder
aircraft. Radar only used intermittently
and very briefly. Crash site could have
been anywhere between the sea off Hamburg and the bogs around RAF
Lindholme. One still unidentified Polish
body found one mile from Lindholme in 1987.
No bodies officially accounted for on this aircraft. The body buried in the nameless grave at
Finningley most closely resembles F/Sgt Gross who was the rear gunner.
Wellington
Z8583 SM-Z 1/2 June 1942 Crashed on landing at RAF Bawdeswell, Norfolk
S/Ldr Hirszbandt
Sgt Sedzimir
F/O Szela
Sgt Ulicki
F/O Wieliczko
Sgt Zawistowski
Wellington
Z8339 SM-N 19/20 June 1942 Shot down over Schonhabten, Raalte, Holland
Sgt Ardelli
F/Sgt Gusowski
F/O Jankiewicz
Sgt Swiderski
F/Lt Madejczyk survived and was made a
Prisoner of War
Wellington
Z8528 SM-R 25/26 June 1942 Ditched off Great Yarmouth F/Lt Nowak, F/Lt
Rudowski, Sgt Schmidt, P/O Szybka were all rescued
G/Cpt Skarzynski
The Air Ministry crash card for Wellington
Z8406 shows no information other than the date, aircraft no and the names of
the airmen.. All sources except one show
the plane as having been lost without trace and some state that it was presumed
shot down over the sea.
The one exception is the Aviation Safety
Network - a non-official site which allows its readers to alter the information
provided but warns that: " This information is added by users of ASN. Neither
ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or
correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or
incorrect, you can submit corrected information."
The information they supply is: " There is
a possibility that this aircraft was the second Wellington claimed by Oblt
Albert Schultz 5./NJG2 on this night."
This
statement is patently wrong and the official Luftwaffe record of claims (The
Kracker Archive) shows that Oblt Schultz made no claims of shooting down any
Wellington bomber within weeks either side of the night in question.
The story
was written up by the investigating Police Officer in 1988 shortly after the
event occurred. For copyright reasons,
we cannot copy the article here but we strongly recommend that you read it if
you get the chance. Copies are still
available from the publishers.
On 23rd July 1987 a body was found on
Hatfield Moor near the site of the former RAF Lindholme. It was not reburied
until 11th November 1987 when it was interred in the churchyard at Finningley, Yorkshire.
Not previously mentioned in any reports, the
body was found at a place named Packard's Moor in a direct line with the shorter
runway at RAF Lindholme at a distance of about one mile. The body was uncovered
by a peat cutting machine working at a depth of about 7-9 feet below the
original surface level. The driver of
this machine noticed human remains and stopped digging immediately. This may
well be the reason why no dog tags were found if they were caught up in the
cutting blades of the machine. It will also explain the absence of
approximately 2% of the skeletal remains.
According to South Yorkshire Police there are no documents relating to
this investigation but the article in a 1988 After The Battle magazine raises
the question "Why not when there is a body that is still unidentified?" The article was written by Det Con Andrew
Greenslade who was the investigating officer and he wrote: "As far as the
Police are concerned, the discovery of human remains obviously starts warning
bells ringing, and senior officers, detectives and the uniformed branch, attend
in order to establish whether there is any apparent suspicious nature to the
death." No documents kept? This
seems ridiculous in view of the fact that a special licence had to be obtained
(under the Protection of Military Remains Act, 1986) to excavate what was
immediately recognised as a war grave.
On 10th August 1987 Dr John Finbow,
consultant pathologist at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, performed a post mortem on
the remains and found that the victim was approximately 18 years of age, 5ft 6
to 5ft 8 tall. of slight build with short dark brown hair and slightly female
features. 18 was the minimum age for active service so
he would actually be between about 8 months to two years older than that to
account for his training time - according to his trade within the aircraft as
pilots and navigators had more extensive training than air gunners and wireless
operators.
On 12th October 1987, HM Coroner, Mr Kenneth
Porter, recorded an open verdict and stated that the victim was probably thrown
from an, as yet, undetected crashing aircraft which like several others was
buried in the bog. He noted that the missing uniform and its insignia may have
sunk as deep as 30 feet or more into the bog.
It is unclear why there was a further delay of one month before the body was re-interred in Finningley churchyard with full military honours on Armistice Day 1987. The coffin was borne by a pilot, a navigator and four NCO aircrew which was fairly typical of a wartime Wellington Bomber crew. A nice gesture by the RAF.
There are still many bodies that have never
been found and were assumed to have been shot down over the sea. But that is not necessarily the case - take,
for example, a plane that allegedly crashed in the North Sea - on board at the
time was Ciapek (a dog) the squadron mascot which was found, many weeks later,
half starved but running around Norfolk.
Did that plane actually come down in the wetlands of Norfolk? We may never know but this story highlights
the dangers of assumption.
In the case of Z8406 we have two possible
ways to identify the body in the grave at Finningley. The first is a DNA test but the Commonwealth
War Graves Commission policy will not allow that to happen. The second is a facial reconstruction, or at
least an opinion by an expert based on the skull shape. Dr Catherine Wilkinson has offered to do this
for us either by comparing the skull to a photo of the man we believe it to be
or through the use of a good quality photograph of the skull.
The first is not possible because of the
restrictions by the CWGC and the second is not possible because the South Yorkshire
Police claim that they have not kept the files relating to the case - which is
astonishing in itself since they never identified him and it is only just over
30 years since the body was found. This
is frustrating for us but it denies the families any sort of closure on the
fate of their loved ones and there is no apparent way around it - unless the
Police "find" the file which should still be live in the case of an
unidentified body.
The present grave is marked only by a
headstone with the wording. An airman of
the 1939-1945 He was wearing a flying jacket issued between 1938 - 1942 so
anyone serving at RAF Lindholme after that time can be excluded. No1656 Heavy Conversion unit were at RAF
Lindhome after the Poles left and is unlikely to have been the home unit for
this man. 50 Squadron, who were there
before the Poles recorded no likely losses in the area. So his diminutive size (the Poles were generally shorter than the
British), the manning of RAF Lindholme and the fact that all Poles would be
issued with these flying jackets as they arrived 1940-1942 with no equipment at
all, indicates that the body was probably Polish.
RAF Funeral with full military Honours
He is buried with a gravestone marked Known
Unto God but we want to give him a proper gravestone bearing his name and
personal details. He gave his life for Britain; we want to see that he is
properly remembered. We believe that we know who he is and if we can prove
that, it will give some closure to his and five other families even though the
other bodies have yet to be found. We
also are well aware that these five men are probably still lying undiscovered
in that peat bog - and that is truly sad.
What follows is a summary of the crew of the
missing aircraft Z8406 SM-G, an experienced and highly decorated crew who
deserve a memorial and proper graves.
P-0079 F/Lt Stanislaw Barzdo Observer/Navigator
Born 6th January 1916 in Podbrodzie near Vilnius, son of Bronisław and Zofia. In 1935 he graduated from the Zygmunt August Middle School in Vilnius. In 1936 he joined the Infantry Primary School in
Komorów near Ostrów Mazowiecka. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on
1st October 1938. From October 1938 to June 1939 he served in the 83rd Rifle
Regiment in Kobryn. In July 1939 he moved to aviation and in August completed
the Observers course at CWL-1 Deblin.
Then he was assigned to the 6th Air Regiment and in September 1939 he
was part of the defence of the airport in Lwow.
Then, via Romania, he made his way to France,
where he arrived in November 1939 and In 1940 he arrived in Great Britain. After finishing the observers training in No
6 Air Observers Navigation School and fighting training in 12 OTU, in December
1940 he was assigned to 305 Squadron.
On 26th/27th September 1941, he was on board
the Vickers Wellington W5557 aircraft which, in difficult weather conditions,
crashed on a farm in Hatfield Moor (Sgt Buszko, Sgt Leyche, Sgt Korczyk and Sgt
Wasilenko were killed.) He was decorated with Virtuti Militari no 9353 and
twice the Cross of Valour.
He was killed on the night of 3rd/4th May
1942 on a mission to bomb Hamburg. His Wellington bomber Z8406 SM - G vanished
without trace.
793004
Sgt. Stanislaw Marian Gross Rear gunner
Born in Lwow, Poland (now Ukraine) 0n 29th August 1919. He graduated from the NCO school, the SPLdM, as a radio operator in 1939 and was evacuated to Romania in September 1939 in order to continue fighting.
In Great Britain, he completed the course of
radio telegraphers. In April 1941 he was
sent to 18 OTU for combat training and then posted with his crew to 305 bomber
squadron. He was killed on the night of
3rd/4th May 1942 when his Wellington Bomber Z8406 SM - G disappeared without
trace on a mission to bomb Hamburg. He was the rear gunner and was a very
experienced man who had already been awarded Poland's highest medal for galantry
- the Virtuti Militari and the Krzyz Walecznych (Cross of Valour) and two bars.
As the rear gunner, he only had to rotate his
turret and fall out backwards. Because
of this ease of egress, and being of diminutive stature, he
is the most likely to be the unidentified body in Finningley cemetery.
He [the unidentified body] is known to have leapt out of the plane
without a parachute and was not killed instantly. He almost certainly drowned in the then
flooded bog but his injuries were so severe that he was probably, and mercifully,
unconscious at the time.
He was born in Tuzca, Poland (now Belarus) on 1st March 1908. He was an Officer with 5th Air Regiment in the Vilnius / Lida area. He was mobilized ready for war in August 1939 and he took part in the home campaign of 1939 as a pilot of the 56th EO aviation group attached to the Carpathian Army.
In Great Britain, he underwent a piloting
refresher course on British aircraft and then completed his practice in pilot training with 5 Bombing and
Gunnery School. In May 1941 he was enrolled with 18 OTU for combat training. In
July 1941 he was assigned to 305 Squadron. He was decorated with the Virtuti Militari and the Cross of
Valour and three bars.
He was killed on the night of 3rd/4th May 1942
when his Wellington Bomber Z8406 SM - G disappeared without trace on a mission
to bomb Hamburg.
Born in Rymonow, Krosno, Poland on 31st May
1920. He was an SPLdM Graduate.
Allocated to 6 Air Regiment in the Home Campaign in 1939 as an Air gunner.
After the 1939 campaign, he escaped to France where he was assigned as an air
gunner to L'Armee de l'Air in Lyon-Bron. After the fall of France, he was
evacuated to Great Britain.
In April 1941 he was directed to 18 OTU but
in May 1941 he was transferred to No 4 Bombing and Gunnery School to train as
an air gunner. In July 1941, he was sent back to 18 OTU for combat
training. In September 1941he was
assigned to 301 Squadron but, in the same month, he transferred to 305
Squadron. He was decorated with the Krzyz Walecznych (Cross of Valour) and bar.
He was killed on the night of 3rd/4th May
1942 when his Wellington Bomber Z8406 SM - G disappeared without trace on a
mission to bomb Hamburg.
He was born in Borek, Kozienice, Poland on
25th May 1918 or 1919 (records vary). He graduated from SPLdM in 1939 as a
pilot an was posted to the 1st Air Regiment He took part in the 1939 campaign
as a 112 Squadron pilot of the Brigade of Posciowa at which time he was
credited with 1 definite and 3 possible kills. After the 1939
campaign, he went to France where he was attached to Czeslaw Salkiewicz's fighter group (after his
death Lieutenant Stanislaw Szmejl), who were stationed at Toulouse-Francazal
aerodrome.
After the fall of France, in July 1940 he
arrived in Wiltshire, posted to 5 OTU. In November 1940, he was assigned to 302
DM, in December 1940 transferred to 303 DM. In February 1941, he left the
fighter group. In May 1941, he was assigned to 9 Air Gunnery School as a
full-time pilot. In August 1941, he was posted to 18 OTU. In November 1941 he
was assigned to 305 Squadron.
He was decorated with the Krzyz Walecznych
(Cross of Valour) and two bars.
He was killed on the night of 3rd/4th May
1942 when his Wellington Bomber Z8406 SM - G disappeared without trace on a
mission to bomb Hamburg.
Born in Lwow (now Ukraine) on 7th October 1919. He graduated from SPLdM in 1939. He was evacuated from Poland via France and came to Great Britain. After completing his training course in 2 SS, in April 1941, he was directed to 18 OTU for operational training and was then transferred to 305 Squadron.
He was awarded the Krzyz Walecznych (Cross of
Valour) and two bars and a posthumous Virtuti Militari after being killed on
the night of 3rd/4th May 1942 when his Wellington Bomber Z8406 SM - G
disappeared without trace on a mission to bomb Hamburg.
So finally, if you have any information on
this crash or any old newspaper reports please contact us on
nevillebougourd@gmail.com
Aircrew photos courtesy of Krzystek's List
Neville Bougourd & Emma Barnes
