I am searching for any living family member(s) of RAF Sgt. W. Griffiths (sorry...his first name and RAF service number are unknown to me).
Sgt. Griffiths was the usual flight engineer for a Lancaster bomber crew that included Pilot Officer A. E. Fisher (pilot), Sgt. H. Richardson, (navigator), Sgt. R. H. G. Taylor (air bomber), Sgt. J. Westerdale (wireless operator/air gunner), Sgt. D. J. Simmons (air gunner), and Sgt. A. G. Deane (air gunner).
For a bombing operation to Berlin scheduled for March 29-30, 1943, Sgt. Griffiths and his crewmates were assigned to a 57 Squadron Lancaster known as DX-Z (serial ED761). However, Sgt. Griffiths did not go and he was replaced by another flight engineer in the squadron, Sgt. Frank Alexander Bandeen. In the early morning hours of March 30, 1943, ED761 was shot down by a German night fighter. The Lancaster crashed north of Waverveen in The Netherlands and regrettably, all on board were killed. My father helped with the salvage operations which included taking the remains of the crew to the church in Waverveen where they were then buried. Post-war, the crew were re-interred at the Canadian War Cemetery in Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands.
Any help in finding Sgt. Griffiths relatives will be gratefully appreciated.
