i'm looking for photos of and or information on the crew of Halifax mkIII LW674 PT-E Easy of 420 Snowy Owl sqn that was lost over France on the night of 10/11 June 1944
the crew names are as follows
P/O L Holoway RCAF
Sgt N Binnie RCAF
F/O J D Lancaster RCAF
Sgt W J Chudzik RCAF
Sgt F G Harrop RCAF
F/S R M Irwin RCAF
F/S B E Brakes RCAF
F/S H Waller RAF
I know that Binnie and Brakes survived and evaded capture
i know almost nothing about the rest of the crew including my uncle H Waller
would love to hear from any family members as i'm planning a trip to visit the graves in June
T/o 2203 Tholthorpe similarly tasked. Crashed at Theuville (Eure-et-Loir) , 15 km SSE of Chartres and just to the W of the main road between Chartres and Orleans. P/O Holowaychuk who served as P/O Holway RCAF and the others who died are buried in Theuville Communal Cemetery. Sgt Chudzik RCAF was flying in the mid-under gun position.
P/O L Holowaychuk RCAF +
Sgt N Binnie RCAF evd
F/O J D Lancaster RCAF +
F/S R M Irwin RCAF +
F/S B E Brakes evd
Sgt W J Chudzik RCAF +
F/S H Waller +
Sgt F G Harrop RCAF +
Regards,
Mike H
-- Edited by MikeH on Tuesday 13th of March 2012 01:52:28 PM
-- Edited by MikeH on Tuesday 13th of March 2012 01:54:44 PM
Holoway, Lucas Pilot Officer (Pilot) J86147 from Chipman, Alberta. KIA June 11/44 KIA age 29.
Lancaster, John Douglas Flying Officer (Navigator) J21526 from Michel, British Columbia.
Chudzik, William Joseph P/O (Air Gunner) J89953/R218706 from Winnepeg, Manitoba. KIA age 21. (Brother of Stanley Frank, Chudzik P/O - Pilot KIA with #218 Gold Coast Sqdrn. KIA aboard Stirling a/c Aug. 16/43 age 23)
Harrop, Frank Grant P/O (AG) C86741/R86023 from Winnipeg, Man. KIA age 21
Irwin, Robert Murray P/O (Bomb Aimer) J87543/R167040 from Shelburne, Ontario. KIA age 25
All were crew aboard Halifax BIII, LW 674 of #420 Snowy Owl Squadron (Pugnamus Finitum) missing during a night attack against Versailles, France. One Canadian, Sgt. Binnie was either an Evader or was taken P.O.W. One of the crew, not Canadian, missing believed killed. All are interred in the Communal Cemetery, Theuville, Eure-et-Loir, France.
I presume the non Canadian was Flt. Sgt. H. Waller (RAF) and that likely he was the crew's Flight Engineer.
Likely more info will surface but this should serve as a start ...
A little more info of the Operation that fateful night:
100 Halifaxes from 420, 424, 425, 427, 429, 431, 432, 433, and 434 squadrons were joined by 10 Lancasters from 419 squadron on an attack of the rail yards at Versailles. The crews were over the target from between 6,000 and 8,000 feet releasing 788,000 lbs of high explosives. The rail yards were well hit.
P/O L. Holoway, RCAF and crew failed to return from this operation.
Sgt. N. Binnie, RCAF--Evd F/O J. Lancaster, RCAF P/O R. Irwin, RCAF F/Sgt. B. Brakes, RAF--Evd P/O W. Chudzik, RCAF F/Sgt. H. Waller, RAF P/O F. Harrop, RCAF
Subsequent to my above anonymous posts have you been in touch with the great-grandson of Norman Binnie? Chris likely has done quite a bit of research into the crew. There are a few threads on the Handley Page Halifax Forum regarding same and possibly there is a means to contact someone who may have a crew picture.
Last e-mail address I had for Chris was @chrisrodusek@hotmail.com@ (delete the unnecessary symbols) - Not certain if this is active but might be worth the shot. Chris is the great-grandson of Norm Binnie. I'm sure he'd be happy to share whatever he can. Best of luck in your quest.
Wonderful information on this site! I am the nephew of John Douglas (Jack) Lancaster. In fact, I was named after him. I have had the honour of visiting the cemetery about 5 years ago and I am very excited to be going back next week with my wife and two daughters. My mother (Jack's sister) visited his grave several times and the first time was very touched to meet Jacqueline Maupu, a resident of Theuville, who took upon the task of maintaining the gravesite. My parents had a visit with Jacqueline after meeting at the gravesite and discovered she had been part of the group of townspeople that recovered the bodies and arranged a proper funeral and burial for the crew.
and crew failed to return from this operation. 
