550 Squadron
P/O E C Purney and Crew
The usual P/O E C Purney crew (i.e. the men that all transferred into 550 Squadron as a crew) was:
- P/O E C Purney RCAF (P)
- Sgt J L Sheahan RAFVR (F/Eng)
- Sgt T E Flanagan RCAF (Nav)
- Sgt E J Molnar RCAF (A/B): evaded capture following JA712 crash
- Sgt Cruikshank (W/Op): did not fly on JA712 (stand-in was Sgt King (below))
- Sgt D Yardley (MU/AG): injured in JA712 crash, PoW
- Sgt K H F de Lengerke (R/AG)
However other air-crew flew with this crew on some ops, including:
- Sgt D S Lowe (MU/AG)
- Sgt J G Hill (W/Op)
- Sgt P C M King (W/Op)
JA712 Crew Information
The P/O Purney crew (with Sgt King as the W/OP on this occasion) were flying 550 Squadron Lancaster JA712/BQ-H when it was shot down by a German night-fighter during the night of 27/28 May 1944 when it was coming back from a bombing mission over Aachen. The aircraft crashed at Rebecq-Rognon (Brabant), 25 km SW of Brussels. In May 2011 a memorial to the crew, and the people of Rebecq, was unveiled: see Rebecq Memorial Project for details about this event.
More information about the lost crew is available at http://www.rebecq-memorial.eu/crew.php. The site has a wealth of information not only about crew but also about the villagers who suffered as a result of going to the aid of the stricken Lancaster.
 |
Photos and notes about crew member Sgt. Peter King (wireless operator)
Source: Wilfred Burie and Jermey Parsons |