In this gallery we honour the memory of those that paid the ultimate sacrifice in order that we should enjoy our freedom. 106 Squadron lost 169 aircraft on operations in WW2 and 59 of those were lost during their time at RAF Metheringham. 288 aircrew were killed and 50 more were posted missing just on operations from Metheringham. Lest We Forget.
106 Squadron, Warrant Officer Roy Dotrice, 1923 – 2017
Best known for his playing of John Aubrey in the one man show ‘Brief Lives’; it was interesting to learn that Roy Dotrice was a member of 106 Squadron during their Manchester period and served under W/C Guy Gibson DSO DFC at RAF Coningsby. He was born on Guernsey in 1923 and on the outbreak of war he found a boat and rowed for four days across the Channel to England to join the RAF; lying about his age to gain entry. Roy trained as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner before joining 106 in April of 1942. Here he flew in one of the worst operational aircraft the RAF were issued with, the AVRO Manchester.
On 2nd/3rd May 1942 AVRO Manchester R5840 ZN-X took off at 22.25 for a Gardening Operation off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein in Gardens Forget-Me-Not and Wallflower. Their aircraft suffered a mine fouling the bomb doors on release over the island of Pellworm near Sylt, as a result the crew, F/Sgt Hurd, Sgt Fixter, P/O Simpson, F/Sgt Callom, Sgt Morris, Sgt Stephen and Sgt Dotrice had to ditch. Roy recounted to his family taking to their ‘round, one-oared dinghy’ for several days. They had to ‘play dead’ to a passing U-boat which came close to inspect them. Upon landing, buried their dinghy and on arriving at the top of the beach saw a sign, “Achtung Minen!” They watched a little old lady collecting wood for her cottage for several hours, checking it was safe to approach. They were greeted at the door by a German Officer who had been watching them all the time. And so Roy became a guest of the Germans at Stalag Luft VI at Heydelkrug on the Baltic coast.
It was here that he developed his interest in the theatre, at first receiving only female parts as he had not yet started shaving! With the advance of the Red Army, the camp was evacuated in July 1944 on 24 hours’ notice. A nightmare journey in cattle trucks took him and his fellow prisoners to Fallingbostel POW Camp south of Hanover. Liberation came almost three years to the day of his being captured. Following repatriation to the UK, he appeared in a Revue called ‘Back Home’ put on by ex-POWs in aid of the Red Cross. He was discharged from the RAF with the rank of Warrant Officer in 1946. The same year he married the actress Kay Newman. Appropriately, on 24 hours’ notice, he then took the lead in the Manchester Repertory Company’s production of Terrance Rattigan’s ‘Flarepath’.
There then followed a remarkable career which included The Royal Shakespeare Company, working with Sir Peter Hall & Lord Olivier, the West End, TV, film and Broadway. In 2007 he was appointed OBE. Our condolences go out to his three daughters, Evette, Michelle and Karen, all of whom followed their father and mother on to the stage. Pro Libertate
On 2nd/3rd May 1942 AVRO Manchester R5840 ZN-X took off at 22.25 for a Gardening Operation off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein in Gardens Forget-Me-Not and Wallflower. Their aircraft suffered a mine fouling the bomb doors on release over the island of Pellworm near Sylt, as a result the crew, F/Sgt Hurd, Sgt Fixter, P/O Simpson, F/Sgt Callom, Sgt Morris, Sgt Stephen and Sgt Dotrice had to ditch. Roy recounted to his family taking to their ‘round, one-oared dinghy’ for several days. They had to ‘play dead’ to a passing U-boat which came close to inspect them. Upon landing, buried their dinghy and on arriving at the top of the beach saw a sign, “Achtung Minen!” They watched a little old lady collecting wood for her cottage for several hours, checking it was safe to approach. They were greeted at the door by a German Officer who had been watching them all the time. And so Roy became a guest of the Germans at Stalag Luft VI at Heydelkrug on the Baltic coast.
It was here that he developed his interest in the theatre, at first receiving only female parts as he had not yet started shaving! With the advance of the Red Army, the camp was evacuated in July 1944 on 24 hours’ notice. A nightmare journey in cattle trucks took him and his fellow prisoners to Fallingbostel POW Camp south of Hanover. Liberation came almost three years to the day of his being captured. Following repatriation to the UK, he appeared in a Revue called ‘Back Home’ put on by ex-POWs in aid of the Red Cross. He was discharged from the RAF with the rank of Warrant Officer in 1946. The same year he married the actress Kay Newman. Appropriately, on 24 hours’ notice, he then took the lead in the Manchester Repertory Company’s production of Terrance Rattigan’s ‘Flarepath’.
There then followed a remarkable career which included The Royal Shakespeare Company, working with Sir Peter Hall & Lord Olivier, the West End, TV, film and Broadway. In 2007 he was appointed OBE. Our condolences go out to his three daughters, Evette, Michelle and Karen, all of whom followed their father and mother on to the stage. Pro Libertate
Roy Dotrice
Sgt E B Smith and Crew - October 1941
This set of photographs depicts the funeral in Coningsby’s cemetery of Sgt Edward Smith. Sgt Smith was killed with his crew when their aircraft, Hampden I AD785, reportedly exploded in mid-air near Whitby early in the morning of 27 October 1941, returning from a raid on Hamburg.
The men lost in this incident were: Sgt E B Smith – Captain, P/O D R Bowden - Navigator, Sgt O Halward – Wop/AG, Flt Sgt D B Stables DFM – Wop/AG
NB. The grave reference partially obscured in Image 48-19-01 reads: “Row 65; Grave 1280.
This set of photographs depicts the funeral in Coningsby’s cemetery of Sgt Edward Smith. Sgt Smith was killed with his crew when their aircraft, Hampden I AD785, reportedly exploded in mid-air near Whitby early in the morning of 27 October 1941, returning from a raid on Hamburg.
The men lost in this incident were: Sgt E B Smith – Captain, P/O D R Bowden - Navigator, Sgt O Halward – Wop/AG, Flt Sgt D B Stables DFM – Wop/AG
NB. The grave reference partially obscured in Image 48-19-01 reads: “Row 65; Grave 1280.
A mutual respect - The funeral of P/O Harry Stoffer
These photos depict the military funeral accorded P/O Harry Stoffer by the German forces occupying Denmark.
P/O Stoffer was captaining Avro Manchester L7463, ZN-S, on a bombing raid to the Baltic port of Rostock on the night of the 23/34 April 1942, one of six Manchesters contributed by 106 Squadron. L7463 developed an overheating engine - a common fault with the Rolls Royce Vulture engines, which eventually caught fire over Denmark. P/O Stoffer ordered his crew to bale out, which they did safely, but he perished when the aircraft crashed at Visgårde at 3.20 am.
Stoffer was buried by the Wehrmacht with other aircrew from nearby crashes in a ceremony at Aabenbraa cemetery by a Marine priest from Flensburg on 2 May. Also present were the Mayor and Chief of Police as Danish representatives.
The photos are also interesting from an historical point of view as illustrations of the German attitude to their occupation of Denmark at that time. The Germans considered the Danes as fellow Nordic Aryans and in exchange for Danish cooperation their occupation was officially regarded as a protectorate. Although not unique, this funeral with the Wehrmacht in dress uniform and a guard of honour firing a salute is a reflection of the official attitude that prevailed at the time. This uneasy state of affairs continued until August 1943 when the country was placed under a full miltary occupation.
As a sad footnote to the Harry Stoffer story, Guy Gibson - at the time the commanding officer of 106, mentions in his book "Enemy Coast Ahead" how Harry's wife Mary was working as a WAAF in the operations room on the night her husband failed to return to Coningsby.
P/O Harry Murdoch Stoffer, RAFVR, is buried in Collective Grave 11, Row 1 at Aabenbraa Cemetery, Denmark.
These photos depict the military funeral accorded P/O Harry Stoffer by the German forces occupying Denmark.
P/O Stoffer was captaining Avro Manchester L7463, ZN-S, on a bombing raid to the Baltic port of Rostock on the night of the 23/34 April 1942, one of six Manchesters contributed by 106 Squadron. L7463 developed an overheating engine - a common fault with the Rolls Royce Vulture engines, which eventually caught fire over Denmark. P/O Stoffer ordered his crew to bale out, which they did safely, but he perished when the aircraft crashed at Visgårde at 3.20 am.
Stoffer was buried by the Wehrmacht with other aircrew from nearby crashes in a ceremony at Aabenbraa cemetery by a Marine priest from Flensburg on 2 May. Also present were the Mayor and Chief of Police as Danish representatives.
The photos are also interesting from an historical point of view as illustrations of the German attitude to their occupation of Denmark at that time. The Germans considered the Danes as fellow Nordic Aryans and in exchange for Danish cooperation their occupation was officially regarded as a protectorate. Although not unique, this funeral with the Wehrmacht in dress uniform and a guard of honour firing a salute is a reflection of the official attitude that prevailed at the time. This uneasy state of affairs continued until August 1943 when the country was placed under a full miltary occupation.
As a sad footnote to the Harry Stoffer story, Guy Gibson - at the time the commanding officer of 106, mentions in his book "Enemy Coast Ahead" how Harry's wife Mary was working as a WAAF in the operations room on the night her husband failed to return to Coningsby.
P/O Harry Murdoch Stoffer, RAFVR, is buried in Collective Grave 11, Row 1 at Aabenbraa Cemetery, Denmark.
