Philip Edward's Story.
Early LifePhilip was born in 1919 to parents Elsie and Edward Bamford of Crewe. He attended Crewe Secondary School in Ruskin Road.
Training
Philip volunteered for RAF Aircrew duties and was selected for pilot training. He did his basic pilot training at 3 Elementary Flight Training School at Watchfield starting in September 1941 After his basic training he was appointed as Warrant Officer pilot and was sent to No 12 Operational Training Unit ( OTU) at Chipping Warden on 12th December 1943 where he underwent bomber training on twin engined Wellington bombers. He was on Course No 65 at 12 OTU along with four of his future crew members. Following this he was sent to 1651 Heavy Conversion Unit ( HCU) where he was instructed on Stirling 4 engined bombers. Finally he went to 3 Lancaster Finishing School ( 3 LFS) at Feltwell for instruction on Lancaster Bombers.
Photo taken during training ( Credit George Price)
65 Course class photo ( credit Mark Evans of MARG)
Stirlings of 1651 HCU over Cambridge
Operations
On 10th June 1944 Philip joined 622 Squadron RAF based at RAF Mildenhall where he was assigned to fly Lancaster bombers.
17th June 1944 attack on Marshalling Yards at Mondidier
Philip's first Operational mission. He flew as second pilot with Squadron Leader Tilson. When they reached the target they were ordered by the Master Bomber not to bomb as the target was completely obscured by cloud so they carried the bombs back to base.
Operation record for the 17th June mission
23rd June mission to attack V1 sites at L'Hey
This mission was successful as documented in the Operation Record.
Operation record for 23rd June 1944
24/25th June attack on V1 sites in Northern France
On 24th June 1944 a force of 535 Lancasters (including 15 from 622 Squadron) bombed V1 targets in Northern France at night. 622 Squadron were assigned to bombe the site at Rimeux.
Philip's operation report for the attack on Rimeux.
2nd July 1944 the attack on Beauvoir.
On 2nd July 1944 Philip was tasked with a daylight attack on V1 sites at Beauvoir in Northern France.
622 Squadron operation report for the attack on Beauvoir.
Beauvoir mission flight path
Bomber Command mission report and damage assessment for Beauvoir
Mission to Attack V1 sites at Linzeux on 9th July 1944
On 9th July 1944 622 Squadron was assigned to attack the V1 site at Linzeux in daylight. Philip's aircraft went missing on this raid and was assumed lost with all crew.
Linzeux mission route
Bomber Command report on the Linzeux mission
622 Squadron Report on the Linzeux mission mentions that nothing was heard from Philip's aircraft after takeoff
622 Summary of the Linzeux mission.
Interception and Tactics report for the Linzeux mission mentions that Philip's plane was not seen to go down by any other crew
No trace of Philip's aircraft was ever found. It was reported that AA fire over the target was light and no enemy fighters were observed so it seems likely that he crashed into the sea possibly due to aircaft malfunction. At that time of the war the survival rate for bomber crews was on average only 5 missions and sadly Philip matched those appalling odds being lost on his fifth mission He was 25 years old when he died and is commemorated on the Crewe war memorial, Ruskin Road School memorial and the RAF memorial at Runnymede.
Philip's memorial at Runnymede
Philip's medals ( Credit David Bamford)
The letter from Air Ministry notifying Philip's family that he was missing ( Credit George Price)
The last entry in Philip's log book ( Credit George Price)