New Remembrance Page constructed.

Researched and compiled by former member M Brownless and Bob Kessels in memory of the loss of this crew. Thanks also to WASt, Germany 2021. All images regarding Matthias Berg belong to Bob Kessels (NL).

Our thoughts are with the family of the pilot of spitfire MK356 who tragically lost his life 25/05/24. The Spitfire is part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight , crashed near its home station at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. Blue skies.

Homes were evacuated in two parts of Devon as bomb disposal teams dealt with the separate discoveries of unexploded devices.

Plymouth City Council said a small number of residents on Millbay Road were "strongly advised to leave their homes for their own safety" after bomb disposal experts confirmed a 50kg German WWII bomb was found at a building site. A 400m (1,312ft) cordon was in place.

In a separate incident in Exmouth, a 400m cordon was set up at Exmouth Marina after a "suspected unexploded ordnance" was dredged from the water, with properties also evacuated. 

The Royal Navy's Devonport-based bomb disposal team was assisting in Plymouth and a unit from the Midlands was in Exmouth.

2026 Happy New Year! To all our Members, Supporters, Readers, Contributors & Followers.

We Will Remember Them!

Over the Christmas period we have been updating our layouts and search facilities, which has included the update on of many of our pages. Many new entries across all our section also such as Aircraft Losses, The Peoples War History Project in all sections, Aviation Archaeology and more. 

We have been working hard on perfecting a simple to use navigation across our site, we have also been adding further labels to our pages to assist our search engines. Many additional coming soon over the next few months, including our shop, further remembrance pages, and more

2025 has been a highly productive year for the Society, with major website upgrades, new sections, and ongoing improvements. Many new pages of remembrance being added throughout the last year and many more to come In the year ahead, we look forward to bringing you even more across all areas of our work. Merry Christmas to our readers, followers, members, and volunteers.

Ruth Bourne, left, and fellow veteran, Jean Valentine, stand in front of a replica Turing Bombe machine. Pic: AP

Phil Brown contacted us after following our remembrance work online and has made us aware of his new book recently published.

A few words from the author - The book has been a passion project of mine and i have been truly amazed at the work the ATA did. The book is Historical fiction but based on two real characters Marion Powell Orr and Violet Milstead. These two women were from Canada and traces their adventures starting in the wheat fields of Ontario  and following them over the the war torn skies of Britain.

Its a wonderful story and is also a screenplay  which i’m in the middle of pitching to production companies in Canada and the Uk.               Read More…

This Sunday at 12:30pm, a poppy drop over Duxford airfield was performed by a de Havilland Dragon Rapide At 12.30pm.

11 Photographs, credit (Fans of Duxford)

We Will Remember Them.

We are working through our heritage collection preparing many more items to add to our online collection. Recent additions include -

Artefacts preserved from the Martin “Buzz” O’Brien Collection - Junkers Ju88 WNr 550581.
Supermarine Seafire F.15 SR611, various war time equipment held by the society and more.

We have been adding more items to our heritage collection this week including many new Wellington Bomber relics, this small collection from B17 gunner along with further items preserved by us from the John Ownsworth Collection.

On 30 October 1942, after a ten-hour mission, a Royal Air Force Liberator from RAF Beaulieu crashed at Fullamoor Farm on the southwestern edge of Plaster Down, resulting in the loss of six of the seven crew members.

Poppy wreath laid by Robert Jones (author of Dartmoor Air Crashes) and Dartmoor Chris on 30th October 2025, on the 83rd anniversary of the air crash. A lovely gesture – we will remember them

Consolidated Liberator FK242, ‘K-KING’ of 224 Squadron Memorial 30th October 2025

On 30 October 1942, after a ten-hour mission, a Royal Air Force Liberator from RAF Beaulieu crashed at Fullamoor Farm on the southwestern edge of Plaster Down, resulting in the loss of six of the seven crew members.

A new group has been set for discussions from any of our supporters or members who would like to be more hands on with the society, moderating pages & groups, building remembrance pages, managing their own sections and more.

Upgrades including Banner, multiple behind the scenes adjustments and more.

We will continue to add to the FAQ section to assist our supporters as much as we can.

Edits made to ease navigation across the Hub.

Further updates to our Supporters F.A.Q. Area

The Supporters Community Hub Goes Live Today.

 Many updates for this section are being worked on behind the scenes, keep an eye on the news for further updates regarding these.

On the 24th of May the Society was contacted by Marcus Gibson regarding his new book.

Marcus is a former Financial Times writer and columnist, and wanted to alert our readers to the launch of a new book which, he humbly believes, completely overturns the accepted, conventional view about RAF Bomber Command – that it was ‘ineffective and too costly’. It's titled: 'The Greatest Force'.

 It is available both in e-book format, to make it affordable to enthusiasts and relatives of RAF crew, and in print version via Amazon, links below. www.rafbook.co.uk

 Amazon Books – click on ‘Paperback’: bit.ly/MGibson_TGF

Contact from Mike regarding his research into Stuka pilots and his search for photos.

There is a CWGC tour at Buckingham Cemetery on Friday 8 November at 10.30am, two days before Remembrance Sunday. The cemetery off Brackley Road is the final resting place of 10 casualties from the First and Second World War.   The tour lasts one hour.  Tickets are free but must be booked in advance as numbers are limited (at the time of writing just 3 are left). To book your place via the CWGC Eventbrite page, go to: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cwgc-tours-2024-buckingham-cemetery-tickets-1007368344837

This year has seen a real focus on a lot of work behind the scenes and much needed improvements on our systems. We have had the opportunity to add better Contact forms and improvements to many other sections old and new, all will be released much later this year.

Reconstructed Remembrance Page added to the website - De Havilland Mosquito NFXVII Serial: HK304 Date: 24th February 1945 Unit: No. 51 O.T.U.De Havilland Mosquito NFXVII, Serial: HK304.

Thanks to our supporter Richard Flagg, UK Airfields, for providing these memorial photos for use in our remembrance page.

A bit of bad news today 27th June. The project is going to be homeless again. We need to move out of our building by 2023. Is amyone aware of a low to no rent building in the huntingdon/cambridge area that may be available ? Or any ideas? Are there ex RAF airfields nearby due for long term development where there are disused buildings we could bring back into use?
Miserable news indeed!

Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and in light of the risks posed, the annual Remembrance Sunday March Past the Cenotaph did not take place this year. Many of us were not able visit our normal places and memorials for our own acts of Remembrance, therefore this annual Remembrance Sunday visit to Botley Cemetery did also not take place that year. Botley has been our Annual pilgrimage to remember fallen aircrew for over 50 years, of the 580 servicemen buried there, 457 of them are airmen killed in aircraft crashes in Buckinghamshire and surrounding counties. Standing there on the day with detailed knowledge of the fate of hundreds of individuals, with hundreds of faces from our archives etched in your memory, makes it a most poignant and moving accession that will be sadly missed. Today at the 11th hour many of us will be alone with our thoughts, perhaps making them even stronger!
At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We remembered them.

Over the month of July a number of new remembrance pages were constructed and made available in our Luftwaffe section.

New U.S.A.A.F. Loss added today along with several new R.A.F. & Luftwaffe pages including many updates to several of our current loss pages. 16/05/2020

During the winter months a lot of work including research and construction of remembrance pages (in the warm) was to take place. Through December many pages were constructed including updates to our Memorial tower Project. Remembrance pages for The R.A.F., U.S.A.A.F. and the Luftwaffe were created and published.

26th October 2019 (New Facebook Group Created)

Buckinghamshire At War 1939 - 1945 Facebook group was created in support of the Finmere memorial tower project relating to Buckinghamshire Aviation and other world war II activity in the county.

Continued research for the site along with new remembrance pages has been and still continues to be a regular activity, highlighted here other work on the 22nd June including a moving film recording daughters visit to the crash site of his aircraft B-25 Mitchell FL193. This shows the unveiling of the Societies memorial to the crew by Trish Masters in memory of her father Sgt Eric Bailey R.A.A.F. viewable HERE on our YouTube Channel. Further behind the scenes work by David and Alexander king towards our Finmere Tower Project
corrosponding with Lone Star Land, a further email was sent to their head office for its attention.

On the 4th May 2019 many new additions to the website were being uploaded to the site including our Chairmans (David King) Stowe School Boys Aircrew Losses Project research.

This comprehensive list of the 86 school boy airmen killed during WWII, was compiled by our chairman, with many associated loss pages being added to our Aircraft Losses Section.

A wonderful, impressive day in the middle of a foggy flower field directly at the crash site a wreath-laying ceremony took place For the crew of Lancaster EE126 that Crashed on the night of (19./20.02.1944).

They were caught in searchlights and attacked by a Night Fighter near Meppen. Sadly three of the crew were killed, while the remainder became POWs.

The new Lancaster crew memorial at Staatsforsten. 6th October 2016

Report from one of our researchers in Germany, Henning Hiesterman. (Translation from local Cloppenburg News report.)

The Memorial, as written by Rob Jones 1st October 2016.

There’s some excellent news to report - Dartmoor National Park Authority have agreed to the placement of the memorial on Plaster Down near to where the Liberator came down. They had already given tacit approval with provisos about maintenance, insurance and ownership. I have been able to give assurances about maintenance and continued ownership and now the Authority has agreed to include the memorial on its insurance providing it is set in place by their Conservation Team. That cleared the way for a site meeting and a few days ago Nigel Rendle and I met with Jon Stones, Assistant Head Ranger (Works), to agree the location. There is more good news concerning the provision of the memorial post. A neighbour of mine, Pat Patterson, recently uncovered a granite post in his garden. Pat is an ex Royal Marine who used to fly in Sea King helicopters over Dartmoor and when I explained why I was casting covetous eyes on his find, he readily agreed to donate it for such a worthy cause. Jon Stones and Andy, the Park’s stonemason, picked up the granite post four days ago – they needed a small crane, and it now resides in the workshop at Bovey Tracy awaiting the plaque. I’m currently in discussion with a company that specialises in the manufacture of bronze memorial plaques.

Left) A 224 Squadron Liberator. (Right) Proposed new designed memorial (Rob Jones)

Read more here on this memorial in our Memorial & Remembrance Archive

The Memorial, as written by Rob Jones 1st October 2016.

(Left) A 224 Squadron Liberator. (Right) Proposed new designed memorial (Rob Jones)

Under Sea Wreck Of Savoia Marcheti SM.79 Located. Search for Surviving Crew Members/relatives: The Society has recently been contacted by Vasilis Mentogiannis a member of the UFR diving team, who have recently discovered the almost intact remains on an SM.79. The aircraft was forced to ditch returning from an operation against enemy shipping on the 4th/5th August 1944.

Pictures courtesy of Zbigniew Legierski and Grzegorz Kasztura. Major Erich Leie flew the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke-Wolf, FW190 . He claimed his first victory on the 14th May 1940 in the Battle of France. By the end of 1940 he had 11 victories to his credit. In 1940-41 during the Battle Of Britain, Erich Leie shot down a total of 21 planes and was awarded the Ritterkreuz. On the 19th of August 1942 he was shot down and wounded in the air battle over Dieppe, he baled out of is Fw 190-A3 and survived to fly again. Read More….

New section added on the 12th November - early stages yet - POST WAR LOSSES will be added to each loss section - first has been added to R.A.F. today.