Bernard
Farndale
18 November 1912
to 30 August 1944
FAR00783
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RAF Sergeant who was killed in action
over Denmark, 30 Aug 1944
Headlines of Bernard Farndale’s life are in brown.
Dates are in red.
Hyperlinks to other pages are in dark blue.
References and citations are in turquoise.
Context and local history are in purple.
Geographical
context is in green.
Bernard’s story is now told in his
webpage in the Farndale Story. This page provides a chronological record,
with research notes.
Liverton
1912
Bernard
Farndale, son of Arthur Edwin and Mary
Ann (nee Burns) Farndale (FAR00532), was born at Liverton on 18 November 1912 (1939 Register, BR,
Letter) His birth was registered in Middlesborough District in 1912 (GRO Vol 9D Page 1069).
Middlesbrough
1921
Arthur Edwin
Farndale, 46, railway clerk with the North Eastern Railway Company at
Middlesbrough
Mary Annie
Farndale, 50
George William
Farndale, 24, single, a shipping clerk with George Alder Limited at
Middlesbrough
Arthur Edwin
Burns Farndale, 19, single, a shipping clerk with George Alder Limited at
Middlesbrough
Alfred Farndale,
an engine cleaner with the North Eastern Railway Company at Middlesbrough
Dorothy Farndale, 11
Bernard Farndale, 9
Albert Farndale, 6
Bernard and his
family (kindly sent to me by his granddaughter, Nicola)
If this was taken
in about 1917, this might be George William Farndale, Dorothy Farndale and
Arthur Edwin Farndale in the back row and Alfred Farndale, Albert Farndale and
Bernard Farndale in the front row.
1933
Bernard Farndale
married Glenys Muriel Picton Swales (Chemist’s
assistant, 1913 to 2002) in 1932 at Merthyr Tydfil.
Merthyr Tydfil
1934
Brian Picton Farndale (FAR00931)
was born on 28 March 1934.
Young Brian, with
his parents, Bernard and Glenys
Bernard in the middle, taken at the family
house at Ingels Dean, Robin Hood’s Bay
Bristol
1939
1939
Register – 19 Charis Avenue, Bristol
Bernard Farndale,
born 18 November 1912, spot assembler aircraft
Muriel GP
Farndale (later remarried Jenkins), born 10 July 1913.
1944
Over Denmark
1824896 Sergeant Bernard Farndale, 115th Squadron RAF, went missing
believed killed in action over Denmark, on 30 August 1944.
On the night
before 30 August 1944 nearly 600 RAF bombers flew over Denmark on bombing raids
to Königsberg and Stettin. Particularly the planes for Stettin were attacked by
German night fighters, when they were passing the northern part of Jutland and
the Kattegat. LAN ME718 was hit and flew for a moment through the air before it
crashed like a burning torch at Oue (about 400 m west of Rinddalsvej in
Denmark). All of the bomb load exploded on impact. All of the crew were killed.
ME718 was
attacked by a German night fighter and caught fire. At approx. 00:10 hours it
crashed near Ove northeast of Hobro killing all onboard. The bomb load exploded
when the Lancaster hit the ground spreading wreckage and human remains over a
wide area. The Germans did not want to collect the human parts and left them in
the field.
The locals were
appalled by this behaviour and collected the remains in wickerwork baskets. The
Wehrmacht ordered the Danes to hand the baskets over, and these were thrown in
the crater at the crash site and covered. When the Germans had left the area, the
locals together with members of the Civil Air Defence opened the crater and
placed the remains in a coffin which was driven to Ove church.
On 4/9 1944 the
flyers were laid to rest in Ove cemetery unknown to the Wehrmacht, Vicar A.
Bundgård officiating at the graveside ceremony.
The crew was:
Pilot F/Lt Edward Chatterton RCAF, Flt. Engr. Sgt Bernard Farndale, Air
bomber Anthony Michael Kovacich RCAF, Navigator P/O William George Sankey, W/Op
Sgt Leslie Taylor, Air Gnr. P/O John Couzens Reeb, Air Gnr. Sgt Donald Bullock.
The German
Wehrmacht took no steps to bury the mortal remains of the 7 airmen in a decent
manner. This caused heart felt disagreements between the Danish bomb expert,
other Danes and the Germans. Later a coffin was procured. It was secretly
brought to the chapel of rest by the civil defence. On 4 November, 1944 the
vicar A. Bundgård carried out the funeral. The coffin was decorated with
flowers, but there were only a few mourners. Apparently the German Wehrmacht
knew nothing of this funeral. (Source: FAF)
As the German did
not want to pick up the many parts of bodies of the airmen, Danes picked them
up into baskets. The Wehrmacht ordered the Danes to hand over the baskets which
then were buried at the crash site. Danes later disinterred the bodies when the
Germans had left the area, procured a coffin and took it to the chapel of rest
at Oue Churchyard. (Source: Hjemmeværnets Historiske Samling i Himmerland about
this plane and its crew.)
One of those
killed was Sergeant (Flight Engineer) Bernard Farndale, 25, was the son of
Arthur Edwin and Mary Annie Farndale, of Robin Hood's Bay, Yorkshire, United
Kingdom. (Source: CWGC)
"I know that
my redeemer liveth"
He is remembered
on The Walls of Names at the International Bomber Command Centre, Ph 2, P 162.
See monument to
the 7 airmen from LAN ME718 in Oue Churchyard. See parts of the plane found
2008:
The biggest parts
of the plane were taken away very soon, but John Sørensen and Torben Juhl, Oue
in 2008 found these and other parts at the crash site.
Lancaster
I ME718 - Oue at Hadsund
Airman Surname Init Rank Service Sqdn P_link Plane Operation Crash_site Crash_d
Buried_d C_link At_Next
a072001.htm Bullock D Sgt RAF 115 p368.htm LAN ME718 Bomb
G Oue at Hadsund d300844 b040944 c072.htm Ove
or Oue
a072002.htm Chatterton E F/Lt RCAF 115 p368.htm LAN ME718 Bomb
G Oue at Hadsund d300844 b040944 c072.htm Ove
or Oue
a072003.htm Farndale B Sgt RAF 115 p368.htm LAN ME718 Bomb
G Oue at Hadsund d300844 b040944 c072.htm Ove
or Oue
a072004.htm Kovacich A
M F/O RCAF 115 p368.htm LAN ME718 Bomb
G Oue at Hadsund d300844 b040944 c072.htm Ove
or Oue
a072005.htm Reeb J
C P/O RCAF 115 p368.htm LAN ME718 Bomb G Oue at Hadsund d300844 b040944 c072.htm Ove
or Oue
a072006.htm Sankey W
G P/O RAF 115 p368.htm LAN ME718 Bomb
G Oue at Hadsund d300844 b040944 c072.htm Ove
or Oue
a072007.htm Taylor L Sgt RAF 115 p368.htm LAN ME718 Bomb
G Oue at Hadsund d300844 b040944 c072.htm Ove
or Oue
The Lancaster
took off from RAF Witchford at 2114 hrs on 29 August 1944.
DC/Letter - https://wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/view.php?uid=236240
Sgt Bernard Farndale. Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve 115 Squadron. From: Robin Hood’s Bay, Yorkshire. Died 30 August
1944. Sergeant (Flight Engineer) Bernard Farndale was the son of Arthur Edwin
and Mary Annie Farndale of Robin Hood’s Bay, Yorkshire. He was aged 25 when he
died and is buried at Ove Churchyard in Denmark.
No.
115 Squadron RAF is a Royal Air Force squadron
operating the Grob Tutor, training QFIs for the RAF's Elementary Flying
Training (EFT) squadrons and the University Air Squadrons, as well as
undertaking evaluation and standardisation duties.
115
Squadron was formed during World War I.
It was then equipped with Handley Page O/400 heavy
bombers. During World War II the squadron served as a
bomber squadron and after the war it flew in a similar role till 1958, when it
was engaged as a radio calibration unit. The squadron disbanded for the last
time as an operational unit in 1993, but reformed in 2008 at RAF Cranwell as
115(R) Squadron, part of 22 Group, operating the Grob Tutor before
moving to their present base
In
the Second World War the squadron took part in scores of raids and also played
an active part in Gardening (minelaying) for victory. In April 1940, while
flying Wellingtons (and while on temporary loan to RAF Coastal Command) it gained the distinction
of making the RAF's first bombing raid of the war on a mainland target-the
enemy-held Norwegian airfield of Stavanger Airport, Sola. Sixteen months
later, in August 1941, it undertook the initial Service trials of Gee, the
first of the great radar navigational and bombing aids. As a result of its
subsequent report on these trials Gee was put into large-scale production
for RAF Bomber Command.
The
memoirs of Sydney Percival Smith, a Royal Canadian Air Force Wellington
pilot, contain detailed personal descriptions of 115 Squadron missions in late
1942 from its base in RAF East Wretham. These were directed at targets in
Germany (including Bremen, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Munich) and Italy (Turin),
as well as mine laying in French ports (LeHavre, Brest, St. Nazaire, and
Lorient) and the Bay of Biscay.[7]
Hercules engined Lancaster IIs replaced
the Wellingtons in March 1943 and these were replaced by Merlin engined Lancaster Is and IIIs in
March 1944. Around this time the squadron relocated from RAF Little Snoring to RAF Witchford.
The squadron was retained as part of the post-war RAF and received Lincolns in
September 1949. The squadron was linked to No. 218 Squadron RAF from 1 February 1949
until 1 March 1950, when the squadron was disbanded at RAF Mildenhall.
By the end of the war, it had the distinction of being the squadron with the
most operational service, most losses by any one single unit and the most
tonnage of explosives dropped.
Aircraft
operated in August 1944 - Avro Lancaster
Operation 30 August 1944 From
The Strategic Air Offensive against Germany from Harly Munkholm:
586
LAN to Stettin/K-bg. 38 lost: 12 planes in www.airmen.dk, 8 in Sweden, 4 in
target areas, 10 at sea, 4 without trace. Google Map 30 AUG 1944.
From
the 12 planes with 85 airmen 54 were buried in Denmark, 6 in Sweden, 13 have no
known grave, 9 became POWs and 3 evaded to Sweden.
The
3 airmen were Wasik from LAN PA163 crashed into the Lovns Bredning and Wilson
and Loneon from LAN PB436 crashed near Trend.
He was buried at Oue Cemetery,
Oue, Denmark 1824896 Sgt B Farndale:
Oue, 7 airmen
from LAN ME718 who rest in Oue Churchyard - monument unveiled 27 July, 1947.
Called here in the hour of destiny, here rest
in foreign ground (7 names) Erected by friends.
