BOWEN Geoffrey Hugh
Flying Officer
Geoffrey Hugh BOWEN
161261, Pilot,
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
Died 13 May 1944, aged 22 on Active Service,
in a flying accident at Melton Mowbray.
Buried in Sec. B. Grave 10
Son of Percival and Mary A. Bowen, of West Cross, Swansea
at OYSTERMOUTH CEMETERY, Swansea.
Grave Inscription:
DEARLY LOVED ELDEST SON
OF PEGGY AND PERCIVAL BOWEN
'THIS SMALL CROW OF OLD'
Archive Report
13.05.1944 No. 1655 MTU Oxford I DF517 F/O. Geoffrey H. Bowen
Operation: Training
Date: 13th May 1944 (Saturday)
Unit: No. 1655 MTU (Mosquito Training Unit - 8 Pathfinder Force) (1)
Type: Oxford I
Serial: DF517
Code: Not known
Base: RAF Warboys, Cambridgeshire
Location: 2.5 miles West of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
Pilot: F/O. Geoffrey Hugh Bowen 161261 RAFVR Age 22. Killed
Pilot: Fl/Lt. Aubrey Edward Henderson Cattle 117960 RAFVR Age 27. Killed
Nav: Fl/Lt. Malcolm McIver DFC. J/11107 RCAF Age 24. Killed (2)
Nav: F/O. Geoffrey George Halestrap DFC. 127308 RAFVR Age 22. Killed
REASON FOR LOSS:
Took off from RAF Worboys for a cross-country sortie, during which the crew encountered turbulence of such severity that the trainer broke up and crashed at 16.15 hrs. with debris falling some 2 to 3 miles W of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.
(1) The purpose of 1655 MTU was to train Mosquito crews in the use of Oboe and they did this throughout 1944 and in early 1945. Oboe training was a six week course for pilots and navigators who were eventually sent on to 105 and 109 Squadrons for Oboe marking duties, most were on their second tour. The Pilots at 1655 MTU had to learn how to fly a Mosquito while the Navigators were being taught Pathfinder navigation and marking techniques.
(2) The parents of Fl/Lt. McIver DFC. lost another son the following year. His younger brother, 19 year old, Fl/Sgt. Jack Samuel Mciver R/277937 was missing - believed killed on the 26th March 1944 whilst serving with 354 Squadron. Liberator VI EW319 during an attack on the Japanese supply ship ‘Rise Maru’ crashing into the Andaman Sea off Thailand. The pilot, 29 year old Fl/Lt. William Gordon McRae J/6834 RCAF was also missing with 9 others - 2 survived after being picked up by HMS Suarez. (see note)
DFC Citation: “This officer has completed a tour of operational duty during which he has displayed outstanding ability and the greatest keenness and enthusiasm for his work. He has taken part in attacks on many of the major targets in the Ruhr Valley as well as the more distant objectives in Germany and Italy. He participated in a successful attack on Friedrichshafen and returning from North Africa materially assisted his pilot in the raid on Spezia. Flying Officer McIver has performed his navigational duties with skill, accuracy and steadiness, setting a fine example to the other navigators in the squadron.”
McIver bay in Ontario, Canada was named after Fl/Lt. Malcolm McIver DFC.
Burial details:
Fl/Lt. Aubrey Edward Henderson Cattle. Leigh Cemetery, Essex. Aubrey was the son of Kenneth Stanley Cattle, who died aged ninety one and Marjorie Louise Cattle who died aged ninety. Number 745418 prior to commission. From Leigh on Sea, Essex, England.
F/O. Geoffrey Hugh Bowen.
Oystermouth Cemetery. Section B Grave 10.
Son of Percival and Mary A Bowen (née Smith) of West Cross, Swansea, Wales.
(1252093 as a NCO prior to commission 27th October 1943).
Grave inscription reads:
“Dearest Loved Eldest Son Of Peggy And Percival Bowen,
They Shall Grow Not Old”.
Fl/Lt. Malcolm McIver DFC. Brookwood Cemetery. Grave 49 B1. Born 04th February 1920, the son of Murdoch and Mary McIver (née Glen) of 151 Mortimer Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mother and father originated from Scotland. Grave inscription reads: “For God Proved Them, And Found Them Worthy For Himself”.
F/O. Geoffrey George Halestrap DFC. Thorpe Road Cemetery, Melton Mowbray. Section W. Grave 4171. Son of Fred Francis and Gladys Mary Elizabeth Halestrap of Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, England. Grave inscription reads: “In Proud And Grateful Memory Of A Much Loved Son And Brother”.
(note) Liberator crew: All remembered on the Singapore Memorial.
Fl/Lt. William Gordon McRae. R/277937 RCAF. Son of Christopher Alexander McRae and Margaret McRae and husband of Dulce Elizabeth McRae, of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
F/O. William Andrew Boyd Payne. J/41431 RCAF. Son of Etherly Eaton Payne and Lona Irene Payne and husband of Betty Ellen Payne, of Lacombe, Alberta, Canada.
Fl/Lt. Cyril John Slater. 156021 RAFVR. Son of Rudolph William and Agnes Margaret Slater, of St. Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, England.
F/O. Irving Lindzno. J/42510 RCAF. No further details - are you able to assist?
F/O. Edward Walter Pollard. J/43686 RCAF. Husband of Eleanor J. Pollard, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
F/O. Harry Parker. J/43687 RCAF. No further details - are you able to assist?
Fl/Sgt. Alexander Peter Campbell. R/163475 RCAF. No further details - are you able to assist?
Sgt. Gordon Parker. 1685728 RAFVR. Son of George and Margaret Parker and husband of Dorothy Parker, of Coppull, Lancashire, England.
The two survivors, Sgt. R. Roberts. 1817836 RAFVR and Sgt. R.G. Radford 578329 RAFVR later admitted to 35th British General Hospital at Colombo with abrasions. No further information but thought to have survived the war.
Researched for Aircrew Remembered by Linda Ibrom - November 2017. Special thanks to Maureen Cheeseborough and Michel Beckers. Further thanks to RAF Commands Forum, RAFA Melton Mowbray Branch. For further details our thanks to the following sources shown below.
LI - 01.11.2017
Acknowledgements: Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and MWO François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.