Trafford

Crashed in Walton Park, Sale on the 3rd August 1943 - see the  "Walton Park
Wimpy".

"Ed" or "Eddie" Newell was born at Castlemaine, Victoria, on 1st December
1921, the son of Lt. Colonel Francis Sargent Newell and Alice Newell.  The
family moved to South Yarra, Victoria on the 31st December 1926.  He was
the youngest of six children - four lads and two girls.  His father Francis
was a barrister and Alice, a water colour artist.  He was educated at
Melbourne C. of E. Grammar School.  In 1939 joined the staff of Goldsbrough
Mort & Co., who were wool brokers and stock & station agents and began
training with them as a wool classer.  He remained with that Company until
he enlisted into the R.A.A.F. in 1941.

Edward enlisted at Melbourne, Victoria and gave his father - Francis Newell
as his next of kin.    

According to his sister - Mary Newell, Edward travelled to the U.K. in
1942, travelling via the U.S.A. and Canada where he had this (left hand)
photograph of himself taken.    The rather poor quality photographs of' him
(centre and right) were his R.A.A.F. file photographs.    Edward Newell's
Australian Military Records are the only ones of the crew that are
available to view on the Australian Memorial Web-site.

Ed enrolled on 27 O.T.U. Training Course No. 42 on the 8th June 1943,
coming from 2 (O) A.F.U. (Advanced Flying Unit for Observers), which was
stationed at Millom, 2 miles South West of the town of Millom, just across
the estuary North of Barrow in Furness. 

His older brother Jim Newell informs me that Ed spent most of his leave
periods in Rossendale, Lancashire (which is situated just to the North of
Manchester) staying with Jim and his wife Evelyn Kearton Parker, a native
of that town.  They spent many a day tramping the moors together.   I
wonder if Jim meant - Ramsbottom and not Rossendale, as one of his military
file records shown below gives an address at Ramsbottom ???

Again I am guessing that Ed was the other member of the crew to be thrown
out of the aircraft, on impact with the ground.  According to the
contemporary newspaper reports he apparently "burnt his hands and had
abrasions".   But according to his brother Jim who visited him in hospital
at R.A.F. Cosford, his injuries were far worse.  He was then enclosed in a
gauze tent and Jim & Evelyn were only able to speak to him, they could not
touch him.  His RAF records from Gloucester tend to confirm that.

His leave address of "Edenfield", Ramsbottom, Lancashire - Edenfield is
actually a small village to the north of Ramsbottom, not an exact address.

Once recovered, he did see active service again, but I have not been able
to ascertain when he was posted to an active squadron.  The first reference
to him that I have been able to find, is that he was the navigator aboard
466 Squadron R.A.A.F. Halifax III bomber No LV 791 that took part in a raid
on Leipzig on the night of 19th/20th February 1944.  He took off from
Leconfield airfield, South Yorkshire, which is 10 miles North of Kingston
upon Hull, at 23.59 hours on the 19th, bombing Leipzig at 04.18 hours,
landing back at Leconfield at 07.15 hours on the 20th.
Their bomb load was 4 x 8 x 30 S.B.C's (Small bomb containers).  This
combination comprised - 4 containers, each with 8 bombs of 30lb capacity in
each container.    Their bomb load also contained 8 x 90 x 4 S.B.C's
comprising 8 containers, each with 90 bombs of 4lb capacity in each of the
container.  Their total bomb load was 3,840lb made up of 4lb magnesium and
30lb phosphorous bombs.

They completed their bomb run at 23,500 feet.  The target was covered in
complete cloud at 6,000 feet with flak bursting over the target area but
well below their height.  They had also sighted "enemy aircraft" on three
occasions although none engaged with them in a fight.   A total of 823
aircraft involved - 561 Lancasters, 225 Halifaxes and 7 Mosquitos. 44
Lancasters and 34 Halifaxes were lost on this raid.

466 Squadron had no authorised badge or motto.
 
That was the only record I could find of his involvement in sorties, other
than when he was "presumed killed", on the 18th March 1944, whilst flying
as a Navigator, on board 466 Squadron R.A.A.F. Halifax bomber No LV 837,
that was raiding Frankfurt.   He was indeed killed on that raid and was
initially buried at Wembach, subsequently buried in the Durnbach British
Military Cemetery near Bad Tolz, Southern Germany (situated about halfway
between Munich and Innsbruck) Plot 7. Row H. Grave No. 8.

They had taken off from RAF Leconfield at 19.18 hrs to join a force of 846
aircraft from RAF Bomber Command including more than 600 Avro Lancasters,
over 200 Halifaxes and more than a dozen de-Havilland Mosquitos. 
Altogether, 10 Lancasters and 22 Halifaxes were lost on this mission.

For the mission on the 18th March 1944 they carried 8 x 90 x 4 SBC's and 6
x 8 x 30 SBC's totalling 4,320lbs in bombs.  They also carried 7,000 rounds
of .303 ammunition for the 9 machine guns (1 in the nose, 4 in the mid
upper turret and 4 in the rear turret), most of the ammunition would have
been for the rear-turret as the chances of a head-on attack at night was
unlikely, and 1,808 gallons of fuel which should have allowed for between 6
and 7 hours of flying time.
 
It is understood that LV827 was hit by flak around Darmstadt, south of
Frankfurt, Germany and came down near the village of Wembach at around
22.00 hrs.    466 Squadron themselves lost three aircraft on this raid with
four crew members becoming prisoners of war and seventeen being killed in
action.