The Crew of Lancaster KB751
"O for the touch of a vanished hand,
and the sound of a voice that is still."
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Many of the crew photographs on this page were taken by Sgt. Robert E. Toomey at Middleton St. George in 1944 or were given to him.
Sgt. Toomey was the only survivor of his crew and was taken prisoner by the Germans occupying the Danish island Sejerø.
Above, Robert Toomey's Canadian crew from left to right:
Sgt. Robert Richardson Boyce, Wireless Operator, Vancouver, B.C.
Flt. Sgt. William Alexander Lamb, Mid-Upper Gunner, Hamilton, Ontario
Sgt. Robert George Emmett Toomey, Flight Engineer, Ottawa, Ontario
Unknown spare pilot
F/O Joseph Ralph (Gordon) Srigley, Tail Gunner, Vancouver, B.C.
F/O Harry Slater, Bomb Aimer, Toronto, Ontario
Crew members not present in above photo (shown at right):
F/O Leonard George Brown, Navigator, Toronto, Ontario
F/O William Chard Fairgrieve, Pilot, Vancouver, B.C.,
The image above clearly illustrates the intense bond between the members of an aircrew in Bomber Command.
Written by Robert Toomey on the back of this photograph :
Doing the "Lambeth Walk".
From left: Harry Slater, William A. Lamb, Leonard G. Brown, J. R. G. (Gordon) Srigley, Robert R. Boyce, Robert Toomey, unnamed spare pilot.
The crew's pilot, William Fairgrieve, is not present in above photo.
Fate of the Crew of Lancaster KB751 / NQ
Slater, Lamb, Brown, Srigley, Boyce and the pilot Fairgrieve were killed August 17th, 1944 when their Lancaster Mk. X bomber, serial KB751 / NA:Q, was attacked after a bombing raid on the port of Stettin. It was their fifth operation as a crew out of RAF Middleton St. George in England. They crashed into heavy seas south-west of the Danish island Sejerø.
Sgt. Toomey gained consciousness in the water, kept afloat by his Mae West lifejacket, and managed to swim ashore in the direction of a lighthouse at the northern tip of the island. He was taken prisoner the following day by the German soldiers occupying Sejerø, then sent to Stalag Luft 7 prisoner of war camp.
Pilot William Fairgrieve's body was recovered from the sea near Sejerø August 17th, 1944, where he was laid to rest.
The body of the tail-gunner "Gordie" Srigley washed ashore on the Danish island Sjælland August 30th, 1944.
Harry Slater's body was found ashore near Varberg on the west coast of Sweden on September 2nd, 1944, over 150 kilometres from the crash site.
The bodies of F/O Leonard Brown, Sgt. Robert Boyce and Flt. Sgt. William Lamb were never recovered from the sea.
Sgt. Robert E. Toomey
Sgt. Robert George Emmett Toomey, Flight Engineer (R82585) was commissioned to Flying Officer (C90314) while a prisoner of war. He was known as "Bob" to his family and his many friends.
Age 25 when captured, Robert was born September 3, 1918. He was the son of Elise (Sirois) Toomey and the late George Patrick Toomey, and his home address was 180 1/2 Rideau Street, Ottawa, Ontario.
Robert married his fiancée Adrienne Brousseau of Ottawa shortly after returning home after the war and they settled in Aylmer, Quebec.
Robert Toomey was the only survivor of his bomber crew when attacked by a German fighter near the Danish island Sejerø on August 17th, 1944, later attributed to German nightfighter pilot Fw. Klaus Möller (121./NJG3) .
Photo at right shows Sgt. Toomey being taken prisoner on Sejerø.
Robert Toomey spent 248 days as a prisoner of war and survived "The Long March" across Germany in January, 1945.
On June 18th, 1974 Robert passed away at the age of 55.
See: Robert Toomey: Airmen.dk, Airwar Over Denmark, and Aircrew Remembered websites.
F/O Harry Slater
Harry Slater, Bomb Aimer (J25693). His nickname was "Slats". Age 28, he was born January 22, 1916. Harry was the son of Harry and Ellen Slater, Cowan Ave., Toronto, Ontario. His wife Brenda was also overseas.
Slater's body was found off the west coast of Sweden near Varberg on September 2nd, 1944.
He was buried with respect by the Swedish people with full military honours at Varberg Church New Cemetery (also known as Sankt Jorgens kyrkogard), Plot KV. C.
See Harry Slater: Airmen.dk, Airwar Over Denmark and Aircrew Remembered websites.
Photo courtesy of Operation Picture Me. Clipping from Toronto Star newspaper, September 1944
F/O Leonard G. Brown
Navigator Leonard George Brown (J35910). His nickname was "Brownie".
Age 22, he was born February 25, 1922. He was the son of Henry G. Brown and Ellen N. Brown, of Follis Avenue, Toronto, Ontario. Before Leonard enlisted he was an employee of the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power Commission.
Grave unknown. Leonard G. Brown is commemorated at Runnymede Memorial, panel 245.
See: Leonard Brown: Airmen.dk, Airwar Over Denmark and Aircrew Remembered websites.
Flt. Sgt. William A. Lamb
Mid-Upper Gunner William Alexander Lamb (R256025). His nickname was "Bill".
He was commissioned to Pilot Officer posthumously (J95165).
Age 19, he was born March 21, 1925, the son of William Alexander Lamb and Catherine Tosh Lamb, of Adeline Avenue, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
At the time of his enlistment in March 1943 he was an employee of Wallace Barnes & Company in Hamilton, Ontario.
Body not recovered. William A. Lamb is commemorated at Runnymede Memorial, panel 251.
Bill Lamb's watch:
Bill Lamb loaned his watch to Robert Toomey before the last flight because Toomey broke his watch earlier that day while helping ground crew working on an aircraft. A watch is an important piece of equipment for a flight engineer.
Lamb's watch was returned to his parents in Hamilton, Ontario by Robert Toomey soon after the war.
Body found:
About two months after the crash a Danish fisherman brought up parts of Bill Lamb's remains and the aircraft in his net. He was able to retrieve Lamb's wallet and a handkerchief with his service number on it. Unfortunately, the body of Bill Lamb was entangled in the aircraft wreckage preventing it from being retrieved and he was reburied at sea.
See: William A. Lamb: Airmen.dk , Airwar Over Denmark and Aircrew Remembered websites.
Sgt. Robert R. Boyce
Sgt. Robert Richardson Boyce, Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, 4850 Granville St., Vancouver, British Columbia (R138379)
Enlisted November 6, 1941. Commissioned to Pilot Officer posthumously (J90467).
Age 29, he was born December 25, 1914. Robert was the son of Percy and Gwen Richardson Boyce.
His wife Helen Elizabeth Boyce gave birth to their first child on September 5th, 1944, just nineteen days after his death.
Grave unknown. Robert Boyce is commemorated at Runnymede Memorial, panel 249.
See: Robert Boyce: Airmen.dk, Airwar Over Denmark and Aircrew Remembered websites.
F/O J. R. G. Srigley
Joseph Ralph (Gordon) Srigley, Tail Gunner (J22846). Nickname was "Gordie".
Age 28, he was the son of Auxilia M. and Ernest W. Srigley. Born September 29, 1915, Vancouver, British Columbia.
His grave is on the Danish island Sjælland.
During the burial the Germans would not allow flowers to be placed on the grave and warned that such demonstrations of sympathy would be taken as a provocation against the German Wehrmacht. Flowers and wreaths were placed on the grave soon after the Germans left and Srigley's gravesite never lacked fresh flowers from Danish citizens the rest of the war.
See Joseph Ralph Gordon Srigley: Airmen.dk, Airwar Over Denmark, Aircrew Remembered, Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
F/O William C. Fairgrieve
Pilot William Chard Fairgrieve, Vancouver, B.C. (J25437). His nickname was "Bud".
Age 24, he was born December 13, 1919. He was the son of William Thomas Fairgrieve and Claire Celia (nee Chard) Fairgrieve. "Bud" was the husband of Marjorie Kathlyn Fairgrieve (nee McPhalen), who was also oversesas with the RCAF. Their daughter Diane was born about seven months after his death.
His grave is on the Danish island Sejerø.
See: William Fairgrieve: Airmen.dk, Airwar Over Denmark, and Aircrew Remembered websites.
Above left: Pilot William Fairgrieve and Navigator Leonard Brown, July, 1944 at RAF Middleton St. George Airfield. Photo via Toomey.
Above right: The body of pilot William Fairgrieve being carried from the shore of Sejerø, August 17, 1944. Right: The gravesite of William Fairgrieve, August, 1944. Photos via Jørgen Helme, copies in Toomey's collection.
The body of the pilot F/O William Fairgrieve was retrieved on August 17th, 1944 from the sea south west of Sejerø lighthouse by Johannes Pedersen of the ship “Helgoland”, with help from Harry Hansen, aged 17 and Ejler Nielsen.
He was transported one kilometre from the harbour to the church on a lorry driven by Robert Sørensen. Other citizens of Sejerø arrived to accompany the lorry, which was driven slowly so people could walk alongside. This annoyed the Germans greatly and they continued to shout "schneller" (faster) angrily at the driver who claimed that he had problems with the gears.
The Germans would not allow any flowers to be placed on the gravesite or any religious ceremony to be performed during the burial. The pastor performed a ceremony later and throughout the war the gravesite was never without fresh flowers.
Source: Airwar Over Denmark
The Crew of Lancaster KB751 / NQ
These six men, all Canadian volunteers, perished August 17, 1944 when their aircraft was shot down at approximately 2:16 AM into the sea off the coast of Denmark. Sgt. Robert E. Toomey (Flight Engineer) was the sole survivor.
Below, from left to right:
Harry Slater (Bomb Aimer), Robert R. Boyce (Wireless Operator), William A. Lamb (Mid-upper Gunner), Leonard G. Brown (Navigator), William C. Fairgrieve (Pilot), Joseph Ralph Gordon Srigley (Tail Gunner).
Only Sgt. Robert Toomey (Flight Engineer) from the crew of seven survived the attack over Denmark on August 17th, 1944. He was taken prisoner around 10:30 that morning on the Danish island Sejerø, and was denied medical attention at the local hospital for suspected broken or fractured ribs. This was the sixth operation for the pilot William Fairgrieve and only the fifth operation for each of the other crew members, beginning just nine days earlier on August 8, 1944.
The body of the pilot F/O William Fairgrieve was retrieved on August 17th, 1944 from the sea south west of Sejerø lighthouse by Johannes Pedersen of the ship “Helgoland”. He is buried at the small cemetery next to Sejerø Kirke, the Catholic church.
On August 30th, 1944 tail gunner F/O J. R. G. Srigley was found on Veddinge Strand beach on the Danish island of Sjælland, where he is buried in Faarevejle Cemetery, Grave E. 866.
On September 2nd, 1944 the body of bomb aimer F/O Harry Slater was recovered from the sea west of Varberg, Sweden, over 150 kilometres from the crash site. He was laid to rest in Varberg Church’s New Cemetery with full military honours.
Mid upper gunner Flt. Sgt. William A. Lamb, wireless operator Sgt. Robert R. Boyce and navigator F/O Leonard G. Brown have no known graves. They are commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede in England (photo above.)
Of 125,000 men who volunteered for service in Bomber Command 55,573 would not survive the war, including almost 10,000 Canadians. This 44.6 percent mortality rate was the highest casualty rate of any allied military unit in the Second World War.
The official summaries of Robert Toomey's Five Missions is in the Addendum on this website.
Missing Aircraft Report (MACR) for Lancaster KB751-NQ.
LETTER FROM R.C.A.F. CASUALTY OFFICER
Addressed to the mother of the F/O Leonard G. Brown, the navigator, regarding the fate of the crew.
Unveiling Ceremony for F/O William Fairgrieve on Sejero Island - September 2, 1945
Letters regarding the ceremony to honour William Fairgrieve and RAF airman Thomas R. Dunlop, both buried at Sejero Cemetery, Denmark.
Click to enlarge images.
Ceremony - Sept. 2 1945 - Page 1
Ceremony - Sept. 2 1945 - Page 2
F/O Fairgrieve's WW2 Postings
