RAF 10 Squadron Association

15 February 2024 

 Irvin Hanson joined the Association a couple of years ago, in an attempt to learn more about his father Ronald Hanson's activities during WW2.

After training, Ron flew as a wireless operator and air gunner on 10 Squadron’s Whitley bombers, early in WW2, just as those two trades had been officially designated as warranting ‘sergeant aircrew’ rank.  Before joining 10 Sqn he had been forced to bale out from an aircraft over the UK and for a second time again, whilst on 10 Sqn. Following his Whitley being shot down over the North Sea, Ronald then spent the rest of the war as a PoW, mainly in Poland, before undertaking the Long March, in the winter months just before the European war's end.

 Irvin has compiled his father’s WW2 history so that the Hanson family will have a lasting record of his father's war and this has been written and self-published by Irvin to now become available from YorkBookshop.com

A few questions about 'clandestine ops' are as yet still unanswered and maybe provide the possibility of a future sequel. 

Priced at £12.99 and entitled ‘Third Time Lucky’, the book is not available from high street sources but may be easily bought by on-line purchase from  YorkBookshop.com to whom an additional P&P charge would be payable. To obtain more details and your copy, visit this link for all the details:

Third Time Lucky (yorkbookshop.com)

  REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY  - 12 NOVEMBER 2023

A Service of Remembrance was held at the 10 Squadron Memorial on Melrose Farm, Melbourne, Yorkshire on Remembrance Sunday and, as well as a contingent from the active Squadron from RAF Brize Norton, which included the most recently-appointed Officer Commanding, Wing Commander Jim Rycroft, approximately 60 other guests attended and braved the mist, fog and gloomy weather in a chilly temperature of about 6°C.

That said the Service was warmly conducted in style by Chairman Mike Westwood who was standing in for Rev Jim Gould whose health precluded his attendance this year.  As usual after the Service local helpers Mike, Gary and Ian were on hand to distribute welcome cups of hot tea and coffee and biscuits for all to thaw out with.

Special mention must be made to appreciate Iris McClements attending the Service.  Iris is the widow of the late 'Mac' MClements who was a WW2 Halifax Air Gunner, founder Member of the 10 Sqn Association, and also made an Honorary Lifetime Member before his death in January 2022.  Iris herself was in the Royal Observer Corps, stationed in York during WW2, and was the only surviving veteran of the war to be present at Melbourne this year.  On the cold day that it was, she deserves our respect in attending.

Speeches were made by Association Chairman Mike Westwood and a particularly warm welcome was given to French visitors Jean-Francois and Veronique Le Cuziat from the America Gold Beach Museum in Normandy, close to 10 Squadron’s WW2 targets on D-Day in 1944. Even their lovely Schnauser dog ‘Ulotte’ was made welcome.

The current Officer Commanding the present-day Squadron, Wing Commander Jim Rycroft then addressed all present and updated everyone with a synopsis of what the Squadron has been up to in the past year.  Particular mention and our thanks are due to all those below who made up the Squadron contingent.  As ever they were immaculate in their dress, drill, involvement with others attending, and in so doing were an outstanding credit to the Squadron. 

The 10 Sqn personnel who gave up their weekend time to impress us all were:

       Wg Cdr  Jim Rycroft                    OC10 Sqn

Flt Lt Johann Sponneck              Standard Bearer

FS Andy Emberton                     Standard Party WO (FS in lieu of WO: auth - OC10)       

FS Liz Craig                                Standard Party Escort

Chf Tech Nicholas Spring           Standard Party Escort

Cpl Ash Davis                             ProjO & Association Standard Escort

Cpl Duncan Fellows                    Association Standard Escort

Cpl Craig Baxter-Leggett            Drill Instructor/Parade Support

Unfortunately, there was no large-scale meeting planned for Sunday lunch in the pub this year because our long-standing haunt at the Plough Inn at nearby Allerthorpe, had closed recently in September.  It is still uncertain whether that is to be a permanent event or whether it was merely a change of ownership and landlords.

 For further information about the Remembrance Sunday Service and to see the many photos kindly taken by Roger Pescott, click on this:

     REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY link        

The link will open a pdf file containing all the images and a few comments too.

Considering that it was a gloomy dismal day, Roger’s photos are superb.

BUSY WITH AUSSIES IN WEST WALES 2023 - Again

 We've been at it again..........Having hosted a former OC10 of the Aussie No 10 Sqn earlier this year, former RAF 10 Sqn Victor pilot John Rattenbury has been at it again by kindly offering to assist an 81 year old Australian lady who wrote to us earlier this year asking for information about her father.  He had been lost serving in an Aussie Sunderland flying boat in September 1943 while based at RAF Mount Batten, Plymouth.  His daughter, Maureen Kutner's story is a heart-warming 'must read' tale and can be found by clicking on the 'Aussie Visit'  link further down this page.

It would therefore appear that we are becoming quite popular with Australian ladies as readers may recall the young Aussie schoolgirl who wrote to us nearly two years ago asking for information about her relative who had been lost on the RAAF 10 Sqn Sunderland based at Mount Batten in WW2.

This time we learnt that Maureen was born just two weeks before her father Sgt Sydney Leech left his home in Melbourne to fly with 10 Sqn RAAF in the UK's Coastal Command. He was a fitter/engineer on the Australian  squadron's  Sunderland flying boats which carried these extra crew members on their long  'Battle of the Atlantic' patrols.  Sgt Leech was lost over the Bay of Biscay on 21 September 1943, presumably shot down by a German Ju88 whose squadrons were based near Bordeaux and Nantes in western France.

Maureen who, having lived in Melbourne all her life, lost her husband last year and then moved to Queensland just south of Brisbane, to be near her son Darrel and his family.

She came to the UK in September on a pilgrimage to see where her unknown father last flew from.  In a whistle-stop tour of the UK, she visited the Runnymede Air Forces Memorial to see the plaque with her father’s name on it and then travelled to Plymouth where she was fortunate to be given a sea-trip boat ride to the former RAF Mount Batten.  She then had the long train journey to Pembroke Dock where she met our member John Rattenbury who acted as her host and guide.

He introduced Maureen to a group of enthusiasts who have formed the Sunderland Heritage Centre: No 10 Sqn RAAF was based there before it moved to Mount Batten in 1942.  The Centre are hoping to restore a Sunderland flying boat which has been brought ashore there after sinking at it’s moorings during WW2 and they have many items of memorabilia on display there. 

Here at the Heritage Centre, where she was given VIP treatment by John Evans, a trustee historian, John Rattenbury then presented her with a small gift from us, in the form of a framed memento which link both the RAF's and RAAF's 10 Squadrons.  Her gift had been prepared in advance by our webmaster Dick King, to whom the initial enquiry from Australia had reached.  It comprises a metal plate on which the two Squadron badges of the Australian and our own RAF 10 Squadrons were mounted side by side in a frame. (the twin badges being personally made to requested sizing on the same aluminium plate, by the kind owner of the Ebay website shop at Pictureshack, Chippenham.)  - Ad: These plates are on sale at very low prices.

After a day’s sightseeing in Pembrokeshire hosted by a lady who is a past Mayorof Pembroke  and a leisurely Sunday Lunch with John and Ruth Rattenbury, Maureen left for Australia just a couple of days later: -  her lifelong mission to see where her father had lost his life from, was now complete.

After an 11 hour transit stop in Singapore on the way home, she must have been shattered on her return to the Queensland sunshine but nevertheless was later glowing in her emailed gratitude to our Association for providing the key to learning about her father’s loss 80 years ago to the day on 21 September 1943 in Sunderland DV 969. Our gratitude goes yet again to John and Ruth Rattenbury for hosting Maureen.

Click on the link here AUSSIE VISIT to open the attached pdf file which includes Maureen's narrative and photos  of her pilgrimage to the UK.

The Sunderland Heritage Centre's Press Release may be seen by clicking on that link to it as well. They were most kind to host Maureen's visit at their HQ.

*****

Immediately after that busy week for John, he was able to greet the Mayor of Pembroke Dock on Friday 20^th October when he attended the official opening of a maritime library close to the Pembroke Heritage Centre.

John has been busy over the past months cataloguing the many volumes that have been acquired by the library and his efforts came to fruition with the official opening of the Joan Hague Maritime Library.

Many congratulations John for your sterling efforts.  You deserve one of King Charles' Volunteer MBE's, recently awarded to all IBCC volunteers, who include our Association member Susanne Pescott.  However, in spite of my last name, I regret that I hold no sway in that matter. - Web Warden.