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Cenotaph record

Ernest Stanley Wilkinson

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Portrait, Weekly News - This image may be subject to copyright

Portrait, Weekly News - This image may be subject to copyright

Identity

About

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  • Title
  • Forenames
    Ernest Stanley AWMM
  • Surname
    Wilkinson AWMM
  • Ingoa
  • Also known as
  • Service number
    • NZ417138 AWMM
    • WWII 417138 AWMM
  • Gender
    Male AWMM
  • Iwi
  • Hapū
  • Waka
  • Rohe
  • Religion

Civilian life

About birth

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  • Birth
    21 September 1917 RNZAF Biographies (R17845617) Nelson, Tasman RNZAF Biographies (R17845617)
  • Date of birth
  • Place of birth
  • Birth notes
  • Address before enlistment
  • Post war occupation
  • Next of kin on embarkation
    • Stanley Milton and Merle Jane Wilkinson (parents), Nelson, New Zealand AWMM
    • WW2 Parents: Mr & Mrs S. M. Wilkinson, Brightwater, Nelson AWMM
  • Relationship status
    Single/WWII AWMM

Service

Wars and conflicts

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Military decorations

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Training and Enlistment

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  • Military training
  • Branch Trade Proficiency
    Pilot/Military RNZAF Biographies (R17845617)
  • Enlistment
  • Occupation before enlistment
  • Age on enlistment

Embarkations

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Prisoner of war

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  • Capture details
  • Days interned
  • Liberation date
  • Liberation Repatriation
  • POW liberation details
  • POW serial number

Medical history

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  • Medical notes
    Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM

Biographical information

Biographical information

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    • Son of Stanley Milton Wilkinson and Merle Jane Wilkinson, of Brightwater, Nelson, New Zealand.

      Attended Wakefield School and Nelson Boys' College (Source: RNZAF Biographies (R17845617)) AWMM
    • 75 Squadron Stirling III EE893
      Operation : Mannheim, Germany
      Date : 5-6 September 1943
      Unit : 75 Squadron
      Aircraft type : Stirling III
      Serial # : EE893
      base : RAF Mepal, Cambridgeshire, England
      Crash location : Schwanheim, Germany

      Crew (included 3 New Zealanders)

      1. Flying Officer 'Tom' (Ernest) S. Wilkinson NZ417138 RNZAF - from Nelson, NZ - aged 25 years - killed.
      2. Flt Engineer/Sergeant Timothy Whatley RAFVR 1314153 - aged 22 years - killed
      3. Navigator/Flt Sgt Gordon Noel Simes NZ/415376 RNZAF - from Nelson, NZ - Survived - taken as POW of Germans. Returned to New Zealand after the war.
      4. Air Bombadier/Flt Sgt Neil G.R. Treacher RNZAF - from Nelson, NZ - Survived - taken as POW of the Germans. Returned to New Zealand after the war.
      5. Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Sergeant Jeffery James Waterman RAFVR 1312274 - aged 21 years - killed
      6. Air Gunner/Sgt E.S Robson RAFVR - Survived - taken POW of the Germans. Believed died as a POW.
      7. Air Gunner/Flt Sgt George Stanley Wilkinson RAF 642538 - aged 27 years - killed. Public - Jenifer - Researcher - 25 January 2022 - Reference : aircrewremembered.com (England).
    • On a bombing mission to Mannheim, Germany - on 5-6 September 1943 - 75 Squadron Stirling III EE893 - with 7 air crew on board (including 3 New Zealanders - all from Nelson) were on the home-run of the mission when their bomber was hit, and brought down, by German anti aircraft flak - fired by German Officer Major Heinrich Wohlers - over the small German town of Schwanheim (correction to image gallery notes which say the bomber was brought down by a German fighter).
      Schwanheim was a quiet little German town nestled near hills and forests.
      The German villagers watched as the mortally stricken bomber flew silently at low level above them - with both Port (left) engines blown off - and a German fighter close on its tail.
      Aboard the stricken bomber Flight Sergeant Treacher (NZ) fought heroically - with an axe - to save the life of one of the air gunners trapped inside the gunner's turret - which had been damaged by the flak fire. Sadly he was unable to free his crew mate.
      The Pilot of the stricken Stirling - New Zealander F/O 'Tom' (Ernest) Wilkinson - ordered the crew to bale out by parachutes.
      Treacher baled out - landing on a building in the town - and was soon surrounded by an angry mob of villagers. He was rescued by a Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot (Alfons Rohner) who carried him to a first aid station. He was then taken as a prisoner of war. He returned to New Zealand after the war.
      Flight Sergeant Simes (NZ) also baled out - but was found still attached to the aircraft after it had crashed. He was taken as a prisoner of war. He returned to New Zealand after the war.
      The Pilot - F/O 'Tom' Wilkinson - still at the aircraft controls in the cockpit - steered the stricken bomber away from the village below and crashed into a field nearby. He did not survive the crash landing and 3 other crew (Whatley, Waterman and George Wilkinson (no relation to pilot) were all killed. It is believed Whatley parachuted free from the air craft - but may have been too low. His body was found 6 months later in a forest. Public - Jenifer - Researcher - 25 January 2022 - Reference : aircrewremembered.com (England)
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Death

About death

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  • Death
    6 September 1943 AWMM
    Age 25 AWMM
    Schwanheim, Germany AWMM
  • Date of death
  • Age at death
  • Place of death
  • Cause of death
    Killed in Action AWMM
  • Death notes
  • Cemetery
    Rheinberg War Cemetery, Kamp Lintfort, Nordrhein-Westfal, Germany AWMM Coll. grave 18. B. 13-15. AWMM
  • Cemetery name
  • Grave reference
  • Obituary
  • Memorial name
  • Memorial reference

Memorials

Memorial

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  • Memorial name

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Sources

Sources

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  • External links
  • References
    • Martyn, E. (1998-2008). For Your Tomorrow (Vols. 1-3). Christchurch, N.Z.: Volplane Press. AWMM
    • 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. AWMM
    • RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Ue - Z. Archives New Zealand (R17845617) - Former archives reference: AIR118 AWMM
    • List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. [Missing - But Presumed Dead on Lapse of Time - Officers, Airmen]. Archives New Zealand (R17845743) AWMM
    • Please note that the 12 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. AWMM

Contributors

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DateFirst namesLocationRelationshipContact
05 November 2022AntonioHastings DistrictResearcher
25 January 2022JeniferWairarapaResearcher

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