Flight Sergeant Henry Craighton "Harry Craig"  Beebe R/96932 Rear Gunner

 

97 Squadron RCAF

 

Born 9 Apr 1912 in New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada

 

Son of George Milne Beebe and Adelaide Jane (Caldwell) Beebe

Brother of Charles Parnell Be

ebe, James Caldwell Beebe, Lois Grace (Beebe) Gilker, Harvey Craighton Beebe, Thomas Raymond Beebe and Margaret Matheson Beebe

 

Died 18 Jan 1943 in Waddenzee or Wadden Sea, just off the Dutch Coast

 

  

Flight Sgt Henry Beebe served in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II

Service started: Jun 1940

Unit(s): 97 Squadron

Service ended: 18 Jan 1943

Flight Sgt Henry Beebe was Killed in Action in a bombing raid on Berlin during World War II.

 

Henry was born in 1912. He was the son of George Beebe and Adelaide Caldwell. He passed away Monday January 18, 1943

 

Fl/Sgt. Beebe had seen previous Military Service as a member of ‘D’ Company. Les Fusiliers du St. Laurent and had achieved the rank of Sergeant.

 

This was a Territorial or Militia Unit with which he served from 1928 to 1935. In June of 1940 Harry Beebe enlisted as a Gunner in the 94th Anti Tank Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery. 

 

. It was this haste, and the fact that he wished to hide a severe stomach complaint, which compelled Harry to transfer to the RCAF in October of 1941.

Henry/Harry trained at 8 Bombing and Gunnery School at Lethbridge, Ontario, before coming to England in March 1942. A further course at 7 Air Gunnery School at Stormy Down in Wales was successfully completed with Harry achieving a mark of 84.74%

 

June 1942 saw Harry at 29 OTU at North Luffenham where he joined Sgt.’s Rowson, West, Bell and Brittain. There, Fl/Sgt Beebe and the others learned to fly as a crew in Wellington aircraft. Their move, in September, to a Conversion Flight of 97 Squadron heralded the arrival of the two extra crew members required to fly Avro Lancasters. This was Sgt. Lane and Sgt. Axup. On the 8th of November 1942, the crew joined 97 Squadron and commenced their tour of operations.

 

 Operation: Berlin

Their Lancaster I bomber, Serial: R5575, Coded: OF-L, took off 1703 from RAF station Woodhall Spa, Tattershall Thorpe, Lincolnshire, on January 17, 1943 after which nothing further was heard. After looking at the pattern of losses for the night it can be concluded that the aircraft must have crashed into the Waddenzee or Wadden Sea, just off the Dutch Coast, probably as a result of being attacked by a night-fighter. Whether this occurred on the way to or from the target will remain a mystery.

 

Sgt. Brittain’s body was recovered from the estuary of the River Rietdiep at Zoutcamp, 22km NW of Groningen. on the 9th of April. He was interred at Ulrum General Cemetery on the 10th of April.

The remaining 6 crew members have no known graves and are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. This Operation was the ninth undertaken by this crew. 

Of Flight Sergeant Henry Beebe and the rest of there was no further trace so far.

 

When checking the different archive records, I found the following in Bloemendaal archives:

 

Monday 9.10.1944 funeral off:

 

1 British Airman, washed up at 4.10.1944 at beachpole 59/60 , name unknown, R6963.

 

The number got my attention, as Henry number is R96932 could it be that instead of R9693 the Germans wrote down R6963? I have checked numbers of missing RCAF members but did not came across anyone with R6963.

 

It is ofcourse 22 months after the plane went down  so one should think that the remains would be far gone, I was not able to find out more about this.

 

On the 5th October 1945, the remains were re-buried at Bergen op Zoom Canadian War Cemetery, grave 8.F.7 where he still rest.

 

So was the number just coincidence that it looked a lot like that of Flight Sergeant Beebe, or is it indeed the unknown who is buried at Bergen op Zoom Canadian War Cemetery.