Walker, Frank William (Flight Sergeant)

Prisoner of War 1944-September-13

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Birth Date: unkown date

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Enlistment Date: unkown date

Service

RCAF

Unit

166 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Tenacity

Base

Rank

Flight Sergeant

Position

Rear Gunner

Service Numbers

R/214688
PoW: 1009

Target
Google MapFrankfurt Germany

Took off from Kirmington at 18:00 in Lancaster Mk I (Sqn code: AS-R Bomber Command) on a mission to Frankfurt.

The aircraft was shot down by either flak or a night fighter and only one man succeeded in abandoning the plane: Sergeant Frank William Walker RCAF R/214688 POW camp not in record.

The bodies of the other five crew were not found and are remembered on the Runnymede Memorial: Flight Sergeant David Murray Barr RAF KIA 1522161 Runnymede Memorial Panel 215. Flight Sergeant Harvey George Carson RCAF KIA R/164485 Runnymede Memorial Panel 254. Sergeant Andrew Priest Maitland RAF KIA 1801805 Runnymede Memorial Panel 234. Sergeant Isadore Maurice Morganstein RAF KIA 1895616 Runnymede Memorial Panel 234. Flying Officer Antony Guy Samuel Watkins RAF KIA 174085 Runnymede Memorial

Unit Desciption

166 (B) Sqn Tenacity (Huddersfield's Own)

No 166 Squadron RAF was originally formed at Bircham Newton, Norfolk on June 13, 1918, designed as a heavy bomber unit, to fly the Handley Page V/1500 aircraft. The squadron was never fully mobilized because the Armistice intervened. The squadron was re-formed in November 1936 as a heavy bomber unit, flying Handley Page Heyfords, later equipping with Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys. It was based at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire from November 1936 to January 1937, when it moved to Leconfield, Yorkshire. The squadron became part of an air observer's school on June 7, 1938, and then became a 1 Group pool squadron in May 1939. From September 1939 it was based at Abingdon, Berkshire until April 1940. In that month the squadron merged with no. 97 Squadron to form No. 10 OTU.

In January 1943 the squadron was re-formed at Kirmington, Yorkshire (53.578,-0.344, now Humberside Airport), from flights of Nos. 150 and 170 squadrons, when parts of these squadrons were posted to the Middle East. It was again bomber squadron, flying Vickers Wellingtons in No. 1 Group of Bomber Command. It remained at Kirmington until the end of WWII, later re-equipping with Avro Lancasters. In the period 27/28 January 1943 and 25 April 1945, it dropped 27,287 tons of bombs and laid 333 tons of mines. The squadron won "at least" 2 DSOs, 2 CGMs, 117 DFCs and 108 DFMs in the course of WWII. The squadron was disbanded on November 18, 1945.