Trafford

Flying with 582 Sqn. he took off from RAF Little Staughton at 00.24 hours
in a Lancaster Mk3 - No. NE172 60-T to bomb railway facilities at Douai,
France. It is believed that the aircraft was shot down by night fighters,
crashing 4 kilometres south-west of Adinkerke in the Belgian province of
West-Vlaanderen.   The entire crew of eight men were killed and are all
buried at Coxyde Cemetery. There were four holders of the DFC and three
holders of the DCM on board.

From "Aircrew Remembered" website - http://aircrewremembered.com   NE 172
was the Master Bomber a/c for this raid on attacking the railway
installations at Douai.  It was the only Lancaster lost in this raid, being
shot down by Obit. Werner Hopf of 8./NJG5.  The a/c was engaged 10-20 Km
north-east of St. Omer and crashed 4 Km south-west of Adinkerke.  Other a/c
attacked Cambrai and St. Pol.  All the targets were cloud covered and the
bombing was neither concentrated nor accurate.

From http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/06598.php   The AMC (Air Movement
Card) for NE172 records that it joined 582 Sqn on the 29th May 1944 and was
damaged on the 8th June 1944 - Category AC (Repairable on-Site).

Walter is commemorated on the headstone in Philips Park Cemetery of William
Edward & Ellen Barker and Ellen Horne.  It is not known what the connection
is.