Lawrence Furby Croft

I whānau mai i te 1 Jan 1921 - I mate atu i te 29 Oct 1944

Nama Hōia: WWII NZ422079 AWMM
WWII 422079 AWMM
Ingoa kārangaranga: —
Te Ope o Tū / te peka: Air Force AWMM
Te tūnga whakamutunga: Flying Officer/Military AWMM Royal Air Force, No. 582 Squadron AWMM
Pakanga: World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM

Mātātuhi

Lay a poppy

Lawrence Furby Croft — Portrait, Weekly News - This image may be subject to copyright

Whakaatu mai ngā āpure e wātea ana Hunaia ngā mātāwai kōrero

Te matenga

Matenga: 29 Oct 1944 AWMM
Age 23 AWMM
Rā i mate ai: —
Pakeke i te matenga: —
Wāhi Mate: Westkapelle, Walcheren Island, Scheldt estuary
Public - Fraser - Researcher - 10 October 2023 - Ray Parke completed 40 operational missions with Bomber Command 10/44-03/45. Ray Parke is alive and aged 98.5, living in Norwich.
Te momo matenga: Killed on Active Service AWMM
Tuhipoka mō te matenga: Former RAF flight engineer, W/O Ray Parke 3005095, part of the RAF 218 Squadron Klenner crew from Methwold, in Lancaster HA-A PD277 was on the same daylight mission as F/O Croft of 582 Squadron, who was a pathfinder marking German gun positions over the Walcheren Island, as a prelude to Operation Infatuate.
Ray recalls his Lancaster HA-A was following the stream of 358 aircraft over Westkapelle (a coastal town on the far west end of the Walcheren peninsula), that he saw, recorded and reported this pathfinder Lancaster as being hit by a heavy anti-aircraft gun, probably an 88mm, just prior to delivering it’s load and the aircraft exploding just above Westkapelle. The debris fell in very small parts into the town below, with no parachutes seen.
It is clear in Ray’s record as it was the only Lancaster reported as lost on that raid.
Other details from Ray’s logbook are ‘Sunday morning , taking off at 10.01 and it only taking 2 hours 10 minutes before landing. Part of the RAF 3 Group mission, which took place shortly before British amphibious landings PD277 dropped a bombload of 11 x 1000lbs and 4 x 500lb bombs on Nazi fortifications. 1 Lancaster was lost from pathfinder 582 Squadron. Visibility good and targets were marked by a Pathfinder Master Bomber and the outcome reported as ‘concentrated’.
Ray completed 40 operational missions with Bomber Command 10/44-03/45.
Ray Parke is alive and aged 98.5, living in Norwich.
Public - Fraser - Researcher - 10 October 2023 - Ray Parke was there and completed 40 operational missions with Bomber Command 10/44-03/45.
Ray Parke is alive and aged 98.5, living in Norwich.
Former RAF flight engineer, W/O Ray Parke 3005095, part of the RAF 218 Squadron Klenner crew from Methwold, in Lancaster HA-A PD277 was on the same daylight mission as F/O Croft of 582 Squadron, who was a pathfinder marking German gun positions over the Walcheren Island, as a prelude to Operation Infatuate.
Ray recalls his Lancaster HA-A was following the stream of 358 aircraft over Westkapelle (a coastal town on the far west end of the Walcheren peninsula), that he saw, recorded and reported this pathfinder Lancaster as being hit by a heavy anti-aircraft gun, probably an 88mm, just prior to delivering it’s load and the aircraft exploding just above Westkapelle. The debris fell in very small parts into the town below, with no parachutes seen.
It is clear in Ray’s record as it was the only Lancaster reported as lost on that raid.
Other details from Ray’s logbook are ‘Sunday morning , taking off at 10.01 and it only taking 2 hours 10 minutes before landing. Part of the RAF 3 Group mission, which took place shortly before British amphibious landings PD277 dropped a bombload of 11 x 1000lbs and 4 x 500lb bombs on Nazi fortifications. 1 Lancaster was lost from pathfinder 582 Squadron. Visibility good and targets were marked by a Pathfinder Master Bomber and the outcome reported as ‘concentrated’.
Ray completed 40 operational missions with Bomber Command 10/44-03/45.
Ray Parke is alive and aged 98.5, living in Norwich.
Public - Fraser - Researcher - 10 October 2023 - Ray completed 40 operational missions with Bomber Command 10/44-03/45. Ray Parke is alive and aged 98.5, living in Norwich.
Urupā: —
Ingoa o te urupā: —
Tohutoro kōhatu urupā: —
Pānui Matenga: —
Ingoa maumaharatanga: —
Tohutoro maumaharatanga: —

Ngā mātāwai

Hononga ki waho: Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/231512
Sources Used
RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Co - Dy. Archives New Zealand (R17845609)
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R17845609
Sources Used
List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. Archives New Zealand (R17845745)
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R17845745
Sources Used
List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. Archives New Zealand (R17845747)
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R17845747
Sources Used
Ngā tuhinga: Martyn, E. (1998-2008). For Your Tomorrow (Vols. 1-3). Christchurch, N.Z.: Volplane Press.
This record is a work in progress and was partially compiled from the “Database of New Zealand Airmen who took part in Advanced Air Training in Canada during WW2”. Researched by Ivan and Lorna Lindsey of Tauranga. N.Z. 2003 – 2012. Reproduced with permission.
Information kindly provided by family
RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Co - Dy. Archives New Zealand (R17845609) - Former archives reference: AIR118
Please note that the 11 volumes of the "RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939-1945" held at Archives NZ (formerly known as AIR118) should be used in conjunction with Errol Martyn's "For Your Tomorrow". FYT reflects detailed examination of all of the AIR118 bios which contain many inaccuracies and omissions.
List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. [List of Missing - United Kingdom, Airmen]. Archives New Zealand (R17845745)
List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. [List of Missing]. Archives New Zealand (R17845747)

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Lawrence Furby Croft

Lawrence Furby Croft

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