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| Date: | Monday 21 December 1942 |
| Time: | 23:30 LT |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 57 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | W4234 |
| MSN: | DX-? |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Kakebeke, Lierde, East Flanders -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire |
Takeoff at 17:37 hrs for a bombing operation against München in Germany.
Homeward-bound, the aircraft was intercepted by Hauptmann Wilhelm Herget of the Stab I./NJG 4 and by Leutnant Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer of the Stab II./NJG 1. In the end, the victory was credited to Hptm. Herget because the two pilots tossed a coin to end the dispute.
The toss was carried out while the victims of so much ambition were taken to the Geraardsbergen cemetery. They were the pilot, F/O Ronald Alfred Bowles, from Ealing (Middlesex) - the navigator, F/O Alexander Eric Mulholland, 28 years old, from Aberdeen, married to Muriel Mulholland - the bomb aimer, Sgt Maurice Charles Pearman, 20 years old, from Anderley (Kent) - the radio operator/gunner Sgt Arthur Leslie Abraham, 22, from Coventry - the gunner, Sgt John Arhur Drain, 20, from Bonnington (Kent) and the Australian Sgt Cecil Raymond Stubbs, 28, from Newcastle, on the coast of New South Wales. Drain, Mulholland, Pearman and Stubbs rest in a 'collective grave', indicating that not much of their bodies have been recovered.
Crew:-
Pilot : Flying Officer Ronald Alfred Bowles RAFVR 110640 (NCO:1377735 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 13 January, 1942) [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Cecil Raymond Stubbs RAAF Aus/21315 [Killed]
Navigator : Flying Officer Alexander Eric Mulholland RAFVR 119205 : Commission Gazetted Friday 10 July, 1942) [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Sergeant Maurice Charles Pearman RAFVR 1067033 [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Arthur Leslie Abraham RAFVR 1177690 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant John Arthur Drain RAFVR 1394720 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant Roden Barnsdale Pickford RNZAF NZ/41164 [PoW]
All six casualties lie at the Geraardsbergen Communal Cemetery, Belgium (50.775245 / 3.862345)
Sources:
Nachtjagd Combat Archive The Early Years part three
https://luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be/content/lancaster-w4234-te-lierde
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=W4234
Google Maps
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database http://robdavistelford.co.uk/webspace/raf_bc
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Nov-2020 20:57 | TigerTimon | Added |
| 26-Jun-2022 21:28 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location, ] |
| 02-May-2025 06:34 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
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