Sherlock's Squadron

by Steve Holmes

  Goult Maurice Arthur 19 Sergeant 9th Nov 1944

  Myers Charles Alfred 34 Flight Sergeant 9th Nov 1944

  Norton John Anthony 22 Flying Officer 9th Nov 1944

  Ruston Harry 27 Flight Sergeant 9th Nov 1944

  Thompson John Vaas 21 Sergeant 9th Nov 1944

  Baker (MID) Maurice William L’Isle La Valett Wing Commander 21st Feb 1945

  Gordon John Robert 21 Flight Sergeant 21st Feb 1945

  Hunter Calvert Hamilton 31 Warrant Officer 21st Feb 1945

  McGovern John Bruce 22 Warrant Officer 21st Feb 1945

  Tickner Russell George 24 Flying Officer 25th Feb 1945

  Humphrey George Alfred 38 Flight Sergeant 26th Feb 1945

  Stevenson Joseph Daglish 25 Warrant Officer 26th Feb 1945

  Allman George Gregory 22 Warrant Officer 31st Mar 1945

  Brenner Fredrick Charles 31 Flight Sergeant 31st Mar 1945

  Brunton Thomas Louttit 22 Flight Sergeant 31st Mar 1945

  Campbell Clarence 25 Pilot Officer 31st Mar 1945

  Catterall Derek Vivian 21 Flight Sergeant 31st Mar 1945

  Cross John Richard 20 Flight Sergeant 31st Mar 1945

  Harding-Klimanek Paul Reginald Sergius 21 Flight Sergeant 31st Mar 1945

  Linney Kenneth William 22 Flight Sergeant 31st Mar 1945

  Lloyd Edward Sidney 20 Flight Sergeant 31st Mar 1945

  Matthews Francis William 31 Flight Sergeant 31st Mar 1945

  Myers Paul Montefiore 20 Sergeant 31st Mar 1945

  Reed George Sidney 30 Flight Sergeant 31st Mar 1945

  Carroll Neville 23 Flying Officer 3rd Apr 1945

  Grain Jack 24 Warrant Officer 3rd Apr 1945

  Marshall Reginald Earnest 39 Flight Sergeant 3rd Apr 1945

  Hughes Gilbert 33 Warrant Officer 3rd Apr 1945

  Philo Stanley James Verse 22 Warrant Officer 3rd Apr 1945

  Atkinson Kenneth 23 Warrant Officer 11th Apr 1945

  Barnes Robert 23 Sergeant 11th Apr 1945

  Jones Trevor Robert 19 Sergeant 11th Apr 1945

  Tomlinson Phillip Roy 22 Sergeant 11th Apr 1945

  Vernon Frederick 26 Flight Sergeant 11th Apr 1945

  Whitehead James William 22 Flying Officer 11th Apr 1945

  Bell Harold Alfred 32 Flight Sergeant 10th May 1945

  Breed John Leonard 24 Flying Officer 10th May 1945

  Gilyead Lionel James Douglas 21 Flight Sergeant 10th May 1945

  Impett Raymond Charles 32 Warrant Officer 10th May 1945

  Kilday Hugh Joseph 31 Warrant Officer 10th May 1945

  Welch David 34 Flight Sergeant 10th May 1945’s S

  Bennet Arthur 20 Flight Sergeant 2nd Jun 1945

  An official RAF photograph of ‘Sherlock’s Crew’ circa 1944. (Top row, left to right) Chalk, Crosby, Holmes, Jones. (Bottom row, left to right) Tammas, Vanrenen, Handley.

  John Holmes 1945. Patch is looking out of the window.

  Sherlock and friends relaxing outside their billet. (From left to right) Holmes, Chalk, Jones. (Seated) Handley with Patch and Tammas.

  Chalk, Holmes and Tammas at Shepherds Grove only a few hours before their doomed final flight.

  Henry Poleman Vanrenen

  Henry Poleman Vanrenen, much has been written about the pilot who flew ‘Sherlock’s Crew.’ A fiercely proud man, at times outspoken and aloof, occasionally downright rude, But his crew would not have swapped him with any other pilot in the world and owed their lives to his skill and judgement on that final doomed flight when their Stirling bomber crashed near Overloon in Holland.

  Len Jones

  Reg Tammas

  Len Jones

  Len Jones with his beloved convertible and an unknown member of the ground crew.

  ‘Jack’ Chalk with Patch

  Doug Handley

  Mark Azouz

  George Tickner

  Keith Prowd

  Lofty Matthews

  Original crash photographs taken by the villagers of Overloon 1945.

  Chuck Hoystead and crew. 1944. (Left to right) Ray Owen, Taffy Stimson, Chuck Hoystead, Jack Hooker, John Barker. Kneeling; Bill Garretts.

  (Back row left to right) John Caldwell, Rolf Mann, George Humphrey, Eric Quirk. (front row left to right) George Tickner, Joseph Stevenson.

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  ePub ISBN 978 1 78219 659 4

  Mobi ISBN 978 1 78219 660 0

  PDF ISBN 978 1 78219 661 7

  First published in paperback in 2013

  ISBN: 978 1 78219 421 7

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent publisher.

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  © Text copyright Steve Holmes and Ken Scott 2013

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