East Yorkshire Boer War, WW1 & WW2 military/ genealogy

DISTINGUISHED FLYING MEDAL

Sgt John L. Fletcher has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal and has received many congratulations from his friends at Cranswick.

Sgt Fletcher is the elder son of Mr and Mrs J.F. Fletcher, of Oakworth Road, Keighley. Only last month he was mentioned in despatches.  An old boy of Keighley Grammar School, he has been in the R.A.F. for 10 years.  After matriculating, he spent a short time at Keighley Technical College, where his father is a member of the staff, and then joined the Halton School of Technical Training for the R.A.F.

Less than a year ago Sgt Fletcher married a Shoreham girl, Miss Peggy Channell, who appeared in the George Formby film, “Trouble Brewing.”  He met her while undergoing a navigation course in Sussex.  At Shoreham Sgt Fletcher is well known as a squash player and for his ability as a pianist.

He lives with his wife at Sunnydene, Cranswick, and was visited at Easter by his parents, Mr and Mrs J.F. Fletcher, of Keighley.  Mr Fletcher, senr, served in the Great War.  Sgt Fletcher’s younger brother has just been called up and is now in the RAF.

Mrs Fletcher’s father was killed in the Great War.

Sgt and Mrs Fletcher are sharing a house with Sgt and Mrs Malcolm Lucas.  Sgt Lucas is only 21 and has been four years in the RAF.  He is a sergeant-observer, and is in Sgt Fletcher’s crew. Each time they go off on a night trip – and they’ve been on several – their wives wait up for them, doing anything to take their minds off the dangerous job before their husbands.

And when their husbands come home they know before they reach the door, because Mrs Fletcher recognises the rattle of her husband’s car.

Mrs Lucas, who is about 21, and like Mrs Fletcher, very pretty, was married in September a few days after the war broke out.  She worked in a Scunthorpe cinema.

Mrs Fletcher did not know of her husband’s award of the Distinguished Flying Medal until the postman called.  He said he had heard it announced on the wireless.  It was news, too, to Mr and Mrs Fletcher senior, when they came to stay with their son and daughter-in-law for Easter.

Sgt Fletcher’s plane was No 13 when they took off for the Sylt raid.  Fletcher dived to 1,000 feet to attack a hangar containing planes, dropped his bombs (these were released by Lucas), set fire to the plane and then flew round for an hour and a half to watch the developments.  He then returned to the attack, diving lower this time and again bombed the place.  Then they came home.

SAPPER’S SAD DEATH IN DRIFFIELD

Soldier’s Give Evidence at Inquest

A verdict of “death by misadventure” was returned at a Driffield inquest last Thursday, held at the Police Court on John Sloane, a Sapper in the Royal Engineers, of 3 Sunny Slacks, Broughton Moor, Cumberland, who died in the Alfred Bean Hospital on the previous Sunday as the result of injuries received in the morning.  Mr Thos Holtby, the East Riding Coroner, conducted the inquiry.

The first witness was Dr E.H. Milner, who said he was sent for on the Sunday morning to Skerne Road, and there he found Sloane lying in the outhouse of a house in Skerne Road.  He was not dead, but he was in a terrible state and the doctor made arrangements for his removal to the hospital.  He followed him there and examined him.  He found a cut two and a half inches long on the right side of the back of the head.  There was evidence of the fractured base of the skull.  He was unconscious and never regained consciousness.  Sapper Sloane died a 8.30pm that evening as the result of the injuries.

Evidence of identification was given by Pte Joseph Pemberton.  He said that on the Sunday morning he was in a bus proceeding in the direction of Skerne, the time being about 12.30pm.  Witness said he was sitting in the seat behind the deceased and suddenly he heard the sound of breaking glass and then he noticed that Sapper Sloane was not in his seat.  He looked out of the window and saw him lying in the road.  The bus was stopped and the soldiers got out.

Lance Corporal Fred Corry said he had noticed that Sloane was standing up at the window and looking out. He was leaning on the window. Witness explained to the coroner, the position in which Sloane was standing.

NO MARKS ON BUS BODY

The driver of the bus, Sydney Blackett, of West Stanley, County Durham, said the bus was travelling about 20 miles an hour and after the bus had been stopped he got out and examined the vehicle.  The third and fourth windows had been broken, but there were no marks on the body of the bus.  He thought the lamp post was in a most unusual position for a lamp, but he cleared the base.

2^nd Lieutenant K.M. Baxter, an officer who was present, informed the coroner that the deceased was a concreter, aged 24 and was called to the Colours in May as a militiaman.

PC McKenna, of Driffield, said he had examined the lamp-post and found that the ventilator had been smashed off.  The base of the post was about 12 inches from the kerb.

The coroner returned his verdict and said that Sloane had died from his injuries and it was real downright bad luck. He had probably peeped out to see a district that probably he had never been in before.

Several officers of the East Riding Yeomanry, including Colonel W.O.B. Thompson, of Kelleythorpe, Driffield, the Commanding Officer and his stepson, 2^nd Lieut Harold Hopper, also of Kellythorpe, are posted as missing.

GERMAN AIRMAN BURIED AT DRIFFIELD

The body of a German airman who had been washed ashore on the East Coast was buried with full military honours at Driffield on Wednesday afternoon.  His name was Felwebol (Flying officer) Will Meyer, and he was about 26 years of age.  The coffin, covered by the Nazi flag was conveyed to the cemetery on a R.A.F. tender and was escorted by a firing party and a R.A.F. band and over 100 airmen.  Padre Squadron-Leader Kingston conducted the funeral service and a wreath of arum lilies and white carnations was placed on the grave from the R.A.F.  There was also a posy of red carnations.