CREW MEMBER PROFILE |
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Surname: |
CROSS |
First Name/s: |
George Raymond "'Ray'" |
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Service No/s: |
1581443 & 154606 |
Service: |
RAFVR |
Branch: |
Air Bomber |
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Awards: |
1939-45 Star, France & Germany Star, Defence Medal,1939-45 War Medal, Special Constabulary Long Service Medal |
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SERVICE RECORDS |
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Date |
Event |
Aircraft Flown |
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01 Jan 1943 |
Enlisted in Birmingham as Aircraftsman 2nd Class (AC2) |
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09 Aug 1943 |
No.31 Bombing & Gunnery School, 88 (Air Bombers) Course, Picton, Ontario |
Anson, Bolingbroke |
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29 Oct 1943 |
Qualifiad as Air Bomber (Armament) |
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30 Oct 1943 |
No.33 Air Navigation School, 88 (Air Bomber) Course, Hamilton, Ontario. Precise date tbc. |
Anson |
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09 Dec 1943 |
Discharged on appointment to a Commission. |
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10 Dec 1943 |
Commissioned as Pilot Officer on probation (emergency) on qualifying as an Air Bomber (London Gazette 07 March 1944, p1109) |
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01 Jan 1944 |
No.2 (Observer) Advanced Flying Unit, Millom, Cumberland; for advanced air navigation training. Precise date tbc. |
Anson |
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10 Jun 1944 |
Promoted to Flying Officer (war substantive) (London Gazette 14 July 1944, p3284) |
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19 Sep 1944 |
No.84 Operational Training Unit, Desborough, Northamptonshire. Here he joined the I L Scott crew as their Air Bomber. |
Wellington |
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19 Jan 1945 |
No.71 Base, Lindholme, Yorkshire; administrative headquarters for heavy bomber conversions, controlled by No.7 Group. |
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20 Jan 1945 |
No.1656 Heavy Conversion Unit, Lindholme, Yorkshire. |
Lancaster |
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13 Mar 1945 |
No.576 Squadron, 'B' Flight, Fiskerton, Lancashire |
Lancaster |
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16 Sep 1945 |
No.50 Squadron, Sturgate, Lincolnshire, with the I L Scott crew. |
Lancaster |
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10 Dec 1945 |
Promoted to Flight Lieutenant (war substantive) (London Gazette 18 January 1946, p521) |
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14 Jan 1946 |
No.11 Air Crew Holding Unit, Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire; awaiting further posting. |
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21 Mar 1952 |
Appointed to a Commission as Flying Officer in the RAFVR Training Branch (London Gazette, 03 June 1952. |
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10 Aug 1958 |
Commission relinquished in the RAFVR, retaining the rank of Flight Lieutenant (London Gazette 21 October 1958, P6422) |
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576 Squadron FLYING RECORDS |
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Date |
Aircraft |
Code |
Flight Details |
T/O |
Land |
Flt Time |
Crew |
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23 Mar 1945 |
PB753 |
UL-X2 |
Training |
1610 |
2300 |
6h50 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Day/night cross country exercise and high-level practice bombing. |
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24 Mar 1945 |
NF976 |
UL-Z2 |
Training |
1115 |
1420 |
3h05 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Fighter affiliation and high-level bombing. Accuracy recorded as 84 yards from 20,000ft. |
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26 Mar 1945 |
NG273 |
*UL-I2 |
Training |
1300 |
1705 |
4h05 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
'Y' (H2S) cross-country navigation exercise, with high-level bombing and air-to-sea firing. |
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31 Mar 1945 |
LM227 |
UL-I2 |
HAMBURG |
0630 |
1135 |
5h05 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Target: Blohm & Voss U-Boat building and engineering yards Load: 12x 1,000lb and 3x 500lb bombs. |
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03 Apr 1945 |
NF976 |
UL-Z2 |
NORDHAUSEN |
1320 |
1950 |
6h30 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Target: SS Barracks and troop concentrations. Other 576 Aiming Points this night were bridges and a V-2 rocket factory. Load: 11x 1000lb and 2x 500lb bombs |
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04 Apr 1945 |
PA307 |
UL-W2 |
LUTZKENDORF |
2155 |
0555 |
8h00 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Target: The Wintershall AG synthetic oil refinery. Load: 1x 4000lb 'cookie' and 10x 500lb bombs |
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09 Apr 1945 |
NG273 |
UL-Y |
KIEL |
2000 |
0140 |
5h40 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Target: Shipping, the Deutsche-Werke U-Boat yard and the industrial centre on the East side of Kiel harbour. Load: 1x 4000lb 'cookie' and 10x 500lb bombs. The German heavy cruiser 'Admiral Scheer' was sunk at dockside on this operation. |
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11 Apr 1945 |
NG273 |
UL-Y |
Training and air test |
1330 |
1525 |
1h55 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Air test and high-level bombing. |
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15 Apr 1945 |
ME801 |
UL-N |
Training |
1510 |
1740 |
2h30 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Low-level cross-country exercise and simulated bombing. |
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18 Apr 1945 |
NN806 |
UL-M |
HELIGOLAND |
1000 |
1440 |
4h40 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Target: Naval base, submarine repair yards, airfield and built-up area. Load: 12x 1000lb and 4x 500lb bombs. |
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21 Apr 1945 |
NN806 |
UL-M |
Training |
1630 |
1655 |
0h25 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Sack dropping as pracrtice for the upcoming Operation MANNA flights |
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22 Apr 1945 |
NN806 |
UL-M |
BREMEN |
1535 |
2040 |
5h05 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Target: Focke-Wulf aircraft factory and enemy troop concentrations. Load: 1x 4000lb 'cookie,, 6x 1000lb and 8x 500lb bombs. Flown in support of the British XXX Corps attacking the city. The Master Bomber abandoned the attack due to cloud cover over the target and instructed the crews to bring their bombs back; this is what the Scott crew did. |
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25 Apr 1945 |
NN806 |
UL-M |
BERCHTESGADEN |
0525 |
1340 |
8h15 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Target: Hitler's 'Eagle's Nest' complex and SS barracks. Load: 1x 4000lb 'cookie', 4x 1000lb and 1x 500lb bombs. Hit by flak and suffered slight damage to the starboard outer engine. This was 576's final offensive operation of the War. |
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05 May 1945 |
NN806 |
UL-M |
ROTTERDAM |
0655 |
0945 |
2h50 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Operation MANNA; the dropping of vital supplies to the starving Dutch population. Load: 4 'blocks'. The crew reported seeing a yellow dinghy waving a yellow flag at 5145N 00326E and orbited at 1000ft but lost contact in poor visibility. |
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07 May 1945 |
NN806 |
UL-M |
ROTTERDAM |
1205 |
1540 |
3h35 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Operation MANNA; the dropping of vital supplies to the starving Dutch population. Load: 4 'blocks' |
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08 May 1945 |
NN806 |
UL-M |
ROTTERDAM |
DNTO |
nk |
N/A |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Operation MANNA; the dropping of vital supplies to the starving Dutch population. Load: 4 'blocks'. During the take-off roll, the aircraft swung violently to port, tearing up the FIDO piping which was mounted on short steel legs. This caused the undercarriage to collapse, and the aircraft broke its back near the mid-upper turret. Fortunately, there was no fire, and the only injury was suffered by Fg Off Cross who sustained a sprained wrist. This was the last Lancaster operational loss of the Second World War. |
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01 Jul 1945 |
RA587 |
UL-U |
FLENSBURG |
1205 |
1745 |
5h40 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Exercise POSTMORTEM III; a test of the German air defence network. |
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04 Jul 1945 |
LM294 |
UL-P |
FLENSBURG |
1310 |
1850 |
5h40 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Exercise POSTMORTEM V; a test of the German air defence network. |
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23 Jul 1945 |
LM294 |
UL-P |
Bomb Dumping |
1205 |
1330 |
1h25 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Incendiary disposal in the North Sea. |
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23 Jul 1945 |
LM294 |
UL-P |
Bomb Dumping |
1840 |
2005 |
1h25 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Incendiary disposal in the North Sea. |
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25 Jul 1945 |
LM294 |
UL-P |
Bomb Dumping |
1430 |
1550 |
1h20 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Incendiary disposal in the North Sea. |
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13 Aug 1945 |
PD271 |
UL-T |
Bomb Dumping |
1430 |
1625 |
1h55 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Incendiary disposal in Cardigan Bay. |
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16 Aug 1945 |
LM294 |
UL-P |
FISKERTON TO POMIGLIANO |
0700 |
nk |
nk |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Operation DODGE. Transit flight from Fiskerton to Pomigliano, near Naples, Italy to pick up Allied POWs. The normal crew for DODGE flights was 6 as they only carried one Air Gunner to supervise the passengers. |
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20 Aug 1945 |
LM294 |
UL-P |
POMIGLIANO TO GLATTON |
0730 |
nk |
nk |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Operation DODGE. After a short visit to Naples, the crew picked up 20 passengers for the long flight home from Pomigliano. |
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20 Aug 1945 |
LM294 |
UL-P |
GLATTON TO FISKERTON |
1600 |
1620 |
nk |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Operation DODGE. Empty positioning flight back to Fiskerton, having delivered their passengers safely at Glatton. |
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01 Sep 1945 |
PA307 |
UL-W |
FISKERTON TO POMIGLIANO |
0850 |
1525 |
6h35 |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Operation DODGE. Transit flight from Fiskerton to Pomigliano to collect more Allied POWs. |
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03 Sep 1945 |
PA307 |
UL-W |
POMIGLIANO TO GLATTON |
0840 |
nk |
nk |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
NOTES: |
Operation DODGE. Return flight to the UK with 20 ex-POWs. |
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03 Sep 1945 |
UL-W |
GLATTON TO FISKERTON |
nk |
1610 |
nk |
P1 Plt Off I.L. Scott |
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NOTES: |
Empty positioning flight back to Fiskerton. |
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PERSONAL INFORMATION |
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Details |
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George Raymond Cross, commonly known as 'Ray', was born on 10 August 1913 in Bebington, Wirral, Cheshire, only child of George Henry Cross and Mabel Mary Teare. His father was headmaster of the local school and Ray was brought up largely by a relation of his mother, always known as the 'Old Auntie'. He attended Birkenhead Boy's School at Oxted, on the Wirral, but moved to Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, as a young man. It is not known which school, if any, he attended there. He then took on an engineering apprenticeship with Wolsey Motors at Washwood Heath in Birmingham, which was a 'reserved occupation'. He stayed at Wolsey until he enlisted in the RAFVR. Following the war, he was asked to stay on but opted to leave, and, it appears, transferred to the RAFVR Training Branch (tbc). On 26 October 1945 he married his sweetheart, Marjorie Frances (whom he called 'Mick' after her red hair), at St Michael's Church, Boldmere, Sutton Coldfield. Mick was a nurse at the Sutton Coldfield Cottage hospital. Their daughter and only child, Jenny, was born on 04 January 1947. On 21 Mar 1952, Ray was commissioned as a Flying Officer in the RAFVR Training Branch, in charge of the Coleshill Air Training Corps in Warwickshire. At some later date he would have been promoted to Flight Lieutenant. On 10 August 1958 he finally relinquished his commission in the RAFVR, retaining his rank of Flight Lieutenant - this was published in the London Gazette on 21 October of that year. Free of the Armed Forces, Ray established his own business, G R Cross Productions, a light engineering company in Kenilworth, Warwickshire. It seems that he also served as a Special Constable, probably with the Warwickshire Constabulary as he was awarded the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal. For this he must have served for at least nine years, and willingly and competently discharged his duty as a Special Constable. It is not certain when this service was carried out, but the medal bears King George VI's head, so must have been before 1953 and the Accession of Queen Elizabeth II. On 13 December 1988, Ray passed away at St Editha's Hospital in Tamworth, Birmingham. He was 75 years old. Ray's daughter Jenny and her husband Alan still live in the house in Sutton Coldfield where Ray had moved to from Cheshire. Jenny and Alan Cross |
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PHOTOS & DOCUMENTS |
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Details |
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Ray Cross under trainingCross Family |
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A Joint Forces Christmas Party in 1943, just after commissioning, probably in Hamilton, Ontario. |
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The Cross crew sporting their 'Mae Wests'. Left to Right: Marshall, Batchelor, McDougall, Scott, Cross and dog, Hoskin, Rayner. The dog's name remains unknown.Cross Family |
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The Cross crew sporting their 'Mae Wests'. Left to Right: Marshall, Batchelor, McDougall, dog, Scott, Cross, Hoskin, Rayner. The dog's name remains unknown.Cross Family |
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Ray Cross' booklet, 'The Responsibilities of a Prisoner of War'.Cross Family |
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The wreckage of Lancaster NN806, UL-M, after the crew's accident on take-off for Rotterdam on 08 May 1945. This was the RAF's last operational loss of World Ward Two.David Briggs |
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Ray's wife 'Mick' working as a nurse.Cross Family |
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Ray and 'Mick's' wedding day, 26 October 1945. Ian Scott is on the left.Cross Family |
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Logbook - 576 Squadron 23-31 March 1945Cross Family |
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Logbook - 576 Squadron 03-25 April 1945Cross Family |
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Logbook - 576 Squadron 05-07 May 1945Bailey Family |
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Logbook - 576 Squadron 01-25 July 1945Cross Family |
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Logbook - 576 Squadron 13-20 August 1945Cross Family |
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Logbook - 576 Squadron 01-03 September 1945Cross Family |
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Ray Cross' uniform as a Flight Lieutenant in the RAFVR Training BranchCross Family |
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Ray's medals L-R: 1939-1945 Star, France and Germany Star, 1939-1945 War Medal, Special Constabulary Long Service Medal. The Defence Medal is missing.Cross Family |
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