Birth Date: 1920 (age 20)
Grover Ithamar and Etta Myrtle (nee Beattie) Willis
Home: Aylmer, Ontario
Enlistment: London, UK
Enlistment Date: 1938-11-25
| Marshal | |
| Air Chief Marshal | A/C/M |
| Air Marshal | A/M |
| Air Vice Marshal | A/V/M |
| Air Commodore | A/C |
| Group Captain | G/C |
| Wing Commander | W/C |
| Squadron Leader | S/L |
| Flight Lieutenant | F/L |
| Flying Officer | F/O |
| Pilot Officer | P/O |
| Warrant Officer 1st Class | WO1 |
| Warrant Officer 2nd Class | WO2 |
| Flight Sergeant | FS |
| Sergeant | SGT |
| Corporal | CPL |
| Senior Aircraftman | SAC |
| Leading Aircraftman | LAC |
| Aircraftman 1st Class | AC1 |
| Aircraftman 2nd Class | AC2 |
On the evening of July 6, 1940 eight aircraft from 99 Squadron departed Newmarket at 21:45 including Wellington IC R3170 piloted by Bob Willis destined for Cologne Germany. In very poor weather conditions they were forced to abandoned their primary target and, on their return, attempted to bomb Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. Their left engine was hit with flak and the aircraft burst into flames. Bob managed to belly-land the aircraft in a field in Haarlem coming to rest partially in a row of farmers cottage on a roadside. The rear gunner Sergeant Sexton died in the crash and subsequent fire, but the remainder of the crew, P/Os Willis and Perkins and Sergeants McArthur and Scanlon survived. Pilot Officer Perkins's foot was injured in the crash so they split up with Bob staying with John Perkins and McArthur and Scanlon able to travel more quickly to the east.
source: The Bob Willis Story, Bill Dawson
Bob Willis story as told by Bill Dawson
March to the End of the War Bob Willis account of his final days as POW
Aylmer, Ontario
Cologne Germany
Wellington Mk. IA |
99 B Sqn RAF |
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Took off from Newmarket at 17.13 on 23rd/24th February, 1940 in Wellington Mark Ic N 3004. Pilot Officer R A G Willis, Flying Officer O L Williams, Pilot Officer J S Trotter, Acting Sergeant A R Mattick, Aircraftman 2nd Class W Cockburn and Aircraftman 2nd Class C G Ashman: interned; Wellington N3004 force landed in Belgium, 24 February 1940. See extract from ORB. 
ORB 99 Sqn, Nickells
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The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of the aircraft is its geodetic airframe fuselage structure, which was principally designed by Barnes Wallis. Development had been started in response to Air Ministry Specification B.9/32, issued in the middle of 1932, for a bomber for the Royal Air Force. This specification called for a twin-engined day bomber capable of delivering higher performance than any previous design.
The Wellington was used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, performing as one of the principal bombers used by Bomber Command. During 1943, it started to be superseded as a bomber by the larger four-engined "heavies" such as the Avro Lancaster. The Wellington continued to serve throughout the war in other duties, particularly as an anti-submarine aircraft.
It holds the distinction of having been the only British bomber that was produced for the duration of the war, and of having been produced in a greater quantity than any other British-built bomber. The Wellington remained as first-line equipment when the war ended, although it had been increasingly relegated to secondary roles. The Wellington was one of two bombers named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the other being the Vickers Wellesley.
In August 1936, an initial order for 180 Wellington Mk I aircraft, powered by a pair of 1,050 hp (780 kW) Bristol Pegasus radial engines, was received by Vickers; it had been placed so rapidly that the order occurred prior to the first meeting intended to decide the details of the production aircraft. In October 1937, another order for a further 100 Wellington Mk Is, produced by the Gloster Aircraft Company, was issued; it was followed by an order for 100 Wellington Mk II aircraft with Rolls-Royce Merlin X V12 engines. Yet another order was placed for 64 Wellingtons produced by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. With this flurry of order and production having been assured by the end of 1937, Vickers set about simplifying the manufacturing process of the aircraft and announced a target of building one Wellington per day.
A total of 180 Wellington Mk I aircraft were built; 150 for the RAF and 30 for the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) (which were transferred to the RAF on the outbreak of war and used by 75 Squadron). In October 1938, the Mk I entered service with 9 Squadron. The Wellington was initially outnumbered by the Handley Page Hampden (also ordered by the Ministry to B.9/32) and the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley (to B.34/3 for a 'night' bomber) but outlasted both rival aircraft in service. The Wellington went on to be built in 16 separate variants, in addition to two training conversions after the war. The number of Wellingtons built totalled 11,462 of all versions, a greater quantity produced than any other British bomber. On 13 October 1945, the last Wellington to be produced rolled out. Wikipedia
YouTube Vickers Wellington documentary
or …
Wikipedia Vickers Wellington