Service Number 988001
Service RAF
Unit 99 Squadron
Regiment Royal Air Force
Killed in Action: 9th April 1941
Commemorated at: Runnymeade Memorial
Biography
Howard Vivian Wansbrough was born in Harehills, Leeds on the 2nd June 1918. His father, Archibald William Wansbrough (1880-1961), had given his occupation in 1911 as a tailor. Archibald married Margaret Ada Fryer (1884-1939) in 1908, and the couple had four children - Charles Derrick Wansbrough (b 1910), Yvonne R Wansbrough (b. 1910), Margaret Embsay Wansbrough (b. 1915) and Howard Vivian was the youngest. At the time of the 1921 census the family were living at 53, Harehills Avenue, Leeds, and the family were making their way up in the world, Archibald is now described as a Director of a Wholesale Clothing company (Montague Burton Ltd), and they have two live-in servants, a cook, Elizabeth Blake, and a nurse/housemaid, Blanche May Kelley. The rising prosperity of the family was matched a few years later by a change of address, moving out of Leeds to Collingham, and in 1938 the family were residing at Shrewton House, Collingham. A year later, on the 29th September 1939, following the declaration of war with Germany, a national register was taken to produce identity cards and, once rationing was introduced in January 1940, to issue ration books. Information in the Register was also used to administer conscription and the direction of labour, and to monitor and control the movement of the population caused by military mobilisation and mass evacuation. On that date, while Howard's parents brother and sisters were in Collingham, Howard was a visitor at The London & North East Railway Hotel on Wellington Street, Leeds, and Howard is described as a Petroleum Research Engineer.
Unfortunately, Howard's mother died on Christmas Eve 1940, but his father continued living in Collingham for many years until at least 1954.
On the 29th April 1940 Howard enlisted for service in the RAF.
Howard Vivian Wansbrough enlisted for service on the 29th April 1940, as an Aircraftman 2nd Class at No. 3 Recruits Centre at RAF Padgate near Warrington. He was immediately placed in the reserve on the 30th, until he reported for duty, back at RAF Padgate, on the 7th June 1940. At this stage of the war, aircrew training took place in four steps - 8 weeks at Initial Training School, 10 weeks at Elementary Flying Training School, 16 weeks at Service Flying Training School after which RAF wings were awarded, and then finally 4-6 weeks at an Operational Training Unit before posting to operations with an operational squadron. Howard started this training programme being posted first, on the 8th July 1940 to 54 (Training) Group RW, before joining No 5 Initial Training Wing (5ITW) on the 15th July 1940. 5 ITW had formed in Hastings on 13th November 1939, but on the 24th June 1940, just before Howard was posted to 5 ITW they had moved to Torquay, with its HQ at Castle Chambers, Higher Union Street. During his time at 5 ITW, on the 16th August 1940, Howard was promoted to Leading Aircraftman (LAC).
On the 7th September 1940 Howard was posted to 50 Group Pool. By this time 50 Group was responsible for Nos 1, 2, 3, 8, 13, 18 and & 22 Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS) Basic training and flying training over, Howard joined No. 11 Operational Training Unit (11OTU) on the 12th October 1940. Here men trained for various roles within air crew duties next had to learn about operating as part of an operational air crew and to form the close-knit crews that would work together on Squadrons. No. 11 OTU was part of No. 6 Group RAF Bomber Command and was based at RAF Bassingbourn to train night bomber aircrew. RAF Bassingbourne was located in Cambridgeshire approximately 3 mi north of Royston, Hertfordshire and 11 mi south west of Cambridge. Here at 11OTU Howard was promoted again to Temporary Sergeant, and on the 19th January 1941 was awarded his wings.
Training complete, on the 14th March 1941, Howard was posted to his first operational squadron, No 99 Squadron, equipped with Wellington Mark 1c aircraft, at RAF Newmarket. However, before he had time to settle into Newmarket, 99 Squadron received orders that at 7am on the 18th March, they would move to RAF Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire.
RAF Waterbeach had been built for No. 3 Group, Bomber Command, between 1940 and 1941, on farmland and orchards of Winfold Farm, a large agricultural concern between Denny Abbey and Waterbeach village. Waterbeach was one of 29 wartime airfields in Cambridgeshire. Three concrete runways were built in 1940, between 1200 and 1460 metres long, with a perimeter taxiway and hardstandings, as well as two J-type Hangars. The runways were extended later to make the longest 1850 metres (2023 yards). RAF Waterbeach officially opened on 1st January 1941 with 440 personnel on site. However on 3 February 1941 a German Dornier Do17Z dropped nine bombs along the face of the western J-type hangar and damaged the runway. In spite of this, 99 Squadron were able to arrive at Waterbeach from Newmarket in March 1941, and started bomber operations over Germany and occupied territory immediately using Wellington I and IIs.
New crews to operational squadrons were often given a few days or non-operational flights to get acclimatised to life on an operational squadron, but such was the war situation in March 1941, that Howard was immediately rostered on to operations, and on the 19th March they took part in their first operational flight. Note that at this stage of the war, the crew positions were often not explicitly listed in the Squadron Operation Record Book, so the exact role of the aircrew named is not certain. Wellington bombers flew with a crew made up of Pilot and 2nd Pilot, an Observer who acted as Navigator, two Wireless Operator/Air gunners, and the last named crew member is usually an air gunner.
So Howard Wansbrough's first operational trip ended in anticlimax - the decreasing visibility meant that the target was not identified and the crew brought their bombs back over the sea before jettisoning them.
Howard Wansbrough's next operational trips were designed to interfere with the German-held ports of Calais and Brest. In particular, Howard's thrid and fourth sorties, against Brest, were designed to sink the German Battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.
These German Battlecruisers, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, formed a powerful force and had operated together for much of the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping and taking part in the invasion of Norway. During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser HMS Renown and sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious as well as her escort destroyers Acasta and Ardent. By early March 1941 they had put into Brest for resupply and repairs, and made an important target for the RAF.
On the 7th April 1941, Howard and crew undertook their fifth operational sortie. This raid attacked Kiel and was targetted against naval and industrial targets, although some housing was also hit. Particular targets included the docks where U-boats were made.
The crew's sixth operational flight was on the 9th April 1941. On this night the major RAF raid was against Berlin, but Howard and crew were scheduled to attack to attack Vegesack, the northern port area of the city of Bremen.
On this night, 9-10 April 1941, 96 bombers, of which 16 did not return home, flew to Berlin, Emden and Vegesack. Howard Wansbrough was second pilot in a Wellington bomber that attacked Vegesack, 3 miles northwest of Bremen, where there were important shipyards on the River Weser in Vegesack. At that time, a total of 74 submarines had been built at the Bremer Vulkan yard for the Kriegsmarine, the naval unit of the German Wehrmacht, and Torpedo boats were also built at Friedrich Lüssen's yard. This made Vegesack a target of several Allied air raids.
The Wellington carrying Howard Wansbrough made the NGZ 'bombs gone' signal on bombing at 23:36 hrs, but afterwards was intercepted and shot down by the Messerschmitt Bf110 with code G9-HM of 4./NJG1 stationed at Fliegerhorst Leeuwarden and piloted by Oberfeldwebel Paul Gildner, a Luftwaffe nighfighter ace. The crippled Wellington then crashed into the IJsselmeer at 01:07 west of Hardewijk.
All of the Wellington's crew were killed in the crash. The remains of 20-year-old Sgt. Brown was brought into Harderwijk 3 months after the crash and buried there on 10 July at Oostgaarde cemetery. The rest of the crew were never found.
Howard Vivian Wansbrough is commemorated on the village War Memorials in St.Oswald's Church and in the Memorial Hall. His widowed father continued living in Collingham for a number of years, until at least 1954, after which he moved to Knaresbrough. He died in 1961.
Biography last updated 05 December 2022 19:05:23.
If you have any photographs or further details about this person we would be pleased to hear from you. Please contact us via: alan.berry@collinghamanddistrictwararchive.info