The letter was sent by my uncle, Sgt Richard (Dick) Stuart, of 61 Squadron, Bomber Command, to his mother and father and sister Jean. Dick was stationed at RAF Skellingthorpe and his family at Astbury, Cheshire. This would be the last letter he wrote.
It makes poignant reading. The crew were meant to have Christmas off, but this was delayed until New Year, due to “ops”. He’d been looking forward to going home, especially for his Mum’s home cooking. But he planned to go to his sweetheart’s family in Nottingham for Christmas. Dick tells the family of activities in the Squadron, and how, with 21 missions, he was not planning to go back to “ops” once he’d reached the required number.
The crew, captained by Flt Lt George Harvey, from Australia, left Skellingthorpe at 16.22 on 29th December, target Berlin. Dick was rear gunner. They left ahead of the main squadron to make wind observations. Their Lancaster, DV399, R for Roger, was hit by flak near Madgeburg, Berlin. George ordered the crew to bail out. One crew member survived: P/O Don Thomas (Tommy) from Canada.
My grandparents kept Dick’s letters, and other treasures, but he was rarely discussed. It was all too upsetting. When they died, the letters passed to my mother, Jean. They were stored in a bedside chest which came to us from our grandparents’ home.
In 2013, nieces and nephews decided to research Uncle Dick’s life, ahead of the 70 year commemoration of his death. His letters tell of hopes and aspirations, the camaraderie of the crew, and his growing fondness for his girlfriend, and of course missing his family. We had an article published in the local paper, the Congleton Chronicle to coincide with 29th December. 70 years on.
Our appetite increased, and we were able to find relatives of the Australian pilot, George. And we tracked down Don’s (Tommy) family in Canada. Don wrote of the ill-fated flight, losing his colleagues, incarceration at Stalag 3 and the Long March.
According to the Squadron records, they had an engine failure on the way out, jettisoned the large “cookie” bomb to maintain height, and carried on to Berlin.
