Charles Kirby "Operation Walcheren"

CHARLES FREDERICK KIRBY

Service Number: 185652

Pilot Officer Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

463 Sqdn.

Died 23 October 1944 age 40

Commemorated at Runnymede Memorial Panel 211

Son of Charles Frederick Kirby and Maude Kirby, of  1 Links Drive, Totteridge.

Charles Frederick Kirby served in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Initially holding the rank of Flight Sergeant, Kirby was posthumously promoted to Pilot Officer. He was assigned to 463 Squadron, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bomber squadron operating as part of RAF Bomber Command.

On Monday, October 23, 1944, Pilot Officer Kirby took part in a daylight bombing mission as part of Operation Walcheren. The operation targeted German gun batteries near the port of Vlissingen (Flushing) in the Netherlands. These strategic targets needed to be neutralised to support Allied ground operations.

Kirby served as an Air Gunner aboard Lancaster I bomber PB620, code-designated JO-P, which took off from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire at 14:22 hours. The aircraft carried a substantial payload of fourteen 1,000-pound bombs. This mission was considered particularly dangerous due to bad weather conditions and reinforced German anti-aircraft defences in the area.

During the mission, Lancaster PB620 was struck by light incendiary flak over the target area. The aircraft caught fire and quickly filled with thick brown smoke. The pilot, Flying Officer Dack, ordered the crew to abandon the plane, but the intercom system had already failed, preventing communication among the crew members.

Bomb Aimer McWilliam managed to bail out at approximately 4,000 feet while the aircraft was ablaze. He later reported seeing the aircraft crash into the North Sea between Walcheren Island and the mainland. Three crew members, including Pilot Officer Dack, survived and became prisoners of war, while four others, including Charles Frederick Kirby, were lost.