Frederick Cyril Shergold
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Son of John James Shergold and Alice Kate Shergold, of Stanmore, Winchester.
HANOVER WAR CEMETERY 4. E. 10.
Hannover
711 aircraft, 332 Lancasters, 226 Halifaxes, 137 Stirlings and 26 Wellingtons attacked Hannover on 22nd/23rd September 1943. 5 American B 17s also took part- their first night raid on Germany. 26 planes were lost 3.7% of the attacking force.
Lancaster III ED442 took off 18.47 22 Sept 1943 from Langar. No survivors. Fatalities: GL Coxon (P), AW Marsh (FE), H Fulton (N), K Saville (W/Op), AD Archer (AB), FW Dyde (AG), AE Smith (AG). All are buried in Hannover War cemetery. ‘
This was the first in a series of autumn 1943 raids on Hannover. There is some disagreement amongst eminent aviation historians over the raids’ effectiveness.
According to Martin Middlebrook (1932-2024) and Chris Everitt ‘... stronger winds than forecast on September 22nd/23rd caused the marking and bombing to be concentrated between 2 and 5 miles south-south-east of the city centre.... It is unlikely that serious damage was caused.’ Bomber Command War Diaries p.432).
Only the third raid (of 4), they assert, caused extensive damage. Chris Ward (with Raymond Glynne-Owen), however, contends that ‘all returning crews were unanimous that the raid had been highly successful and that... the glow of fires was still visible from the Dutch coast.’ (207 Squadron p. 200)
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