| Admitted to: RAF Thorney Island SSQ. St. Richards Hospital, Chichester (06/07/44). |
Date of Injury: 06/07/1944 |
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| D.O.B/Age when admitted: 29/12/1921 (22) |
Cause of Incident: Enemy Action. Crashed landed in a Stirling on return from op after losing engines to enemy flak over France. |
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| Transferred to QVH: 07/07/1944 |
Injuries: Burns to face, hands and legs. |
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| No. of Operations at East Grinstead: |
IDENTITY CARD
This is to certify that the patient mentioned below and whose description is stated hereon is the authorised holder of this Identity card.
| Forename: William |
Surname: Holmes |
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| Service No: 176554 |
Nationality: British |
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| Awards/Honours: DFC |
Patient Unit: 149 Sqn |
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| Profession: Pilot |
Patient Rank: Plt Off |
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| Death: 14/04/2017 |
Age at Death: 96 |
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| Dr Rank: |
Dr Unit: |
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Holmes, along with fellow Guinea Pigs Harry Stannus and Thomas C. F. Smith, was flying a Special Op. to drop supplies near the French/Swiss border on the night of 5 July 1944. There was no reception committee and as they climbed to fly back, they crossed an airfield and were shot at - it took out the port engines, damaged the petrol tanks and set fire to the port wing root, though Smith was able to extinguish that. They managed to make it back to Britain and had to crash land on Thorney Island, Kent. Holmes made a landing on the planes belly, before sparks caused a fire. Smith pushed Holmes out of the pilot's escape hatch, resulting in severe burns due to the delay in getting himself out.
Glossary:SSQ - Station Sick Quarters
We've been looking through our collections, and discovered this 1972 photograph from the East Grinstead Observer, o…