419 Squadron RCAF 1941 to 1945 Crew of Wellington X3308

Crew of Wellington X3308

After completion of his stint as 2nd. Pilot Sgt. A. G.J. Cameron and his crew carried out operations over occupied France and into Germany. They also were active in mining operations carried out by the squadron.
With his crew made up of Sgt. E.B. Hutchinson , Sgt. D.A. McTavish, Sgt. Marquad and Sgt. Hubbard they completed seven operations together.
On the night of September 13/14 1942 here was a change to the crew, F/S Harling took the place of Sgt. Marquand and it was also an operation they were to carry out with a 2nd. Pilot on board, Sgt. E.A. Donlin RAF. It would be Donlin's first operation.
Flying in VR-O serial number X3308 and heading into the target of Bremen the flak ahead of them was heavy and concentrated. The flak took it's toll on X3308 as it was now over the target. Twice the flak hit the aircraft, one or both hits were in the fuel system or the fuel tank itself. The Wellington was losing it's fuel supply and trying to make its way back to the safety of Britain. They almost made it, coming down just three miles off the Suffolk coast at Southwold where they had to eventually to ditch into the channel.
The Wellington's dingy was inflated and in the dark the crew managed to climb into it's relative safety from the frigid waters which could overcome a downed airman in a matter of minutes. The crew was unable to locate Sgt. Donlin the second pilot and when after two hours they were finally rescued no trace could be found of Donlin at the time of the rescue.
F/S Hubbard was seriously injured during the impact and was hospitalized for a short period of time.
Two weeks after the ditching the body of Sgt. Donlin washed up on the coast near Dunwich Suffolk, he was buried at Twickenham Cemetery in Middlesex, which may have been his home town.
F/S Cameron along with F/S Hutchinson, Sgt.McTavish and Sgt. Marquand returned to duty on the 2nd of October along with a new tail gunner P/O Pozer.

For Sgt. Russel Harling this was the first of two successful ditchings he was a part of. On February 27th while Rear Gunner with F/S Bill Gray's crew on DT615 he spent 22 hours on the Channel waters before resue arrived.

On October 6th while on another training operation with P/O Weedon as 2nd. Pilot, that Wellington lost use of the Gyro Horizon gauge and it was decided to bring the aircraft back to base. When it arrived in the darkness of the night the aircraft X3344 crashed into the ground resulting in the undercarriage and underside of the aircraft being "smashed" as the report puts it.
The squadron was converting to the Halifax and November was the final operations month for the Wellingtons. Past October I lost track of the Cameron crew.

Crew of Wellington X3308

Sergeant

Edward Allan Donison RAF

2nd. Pilot, 1st Op.
Killed in Action September 14th 1942
From not known
Twickenham Cemetery, Middlesex

Flight Sergeant

A.J.G. Cameron

Pilot
Rescued

Flight Sergeant

E.B. Hutchison

Obsever
Rescued

Sergeant

D.A. McTavish

Wireless Op.
Rescued

Flight Sergeant

Russel Harling

WAG
Rescued -Later commissioned and awarded a DFC for his actions with the squadron.

Flight Sergeant

F. Hubbard

Tail Gunner
Injured - Rescued

Crew of Wellington X3308

Sergeant

Edward Allan Donison RAF

2nd. Pilot, 1st Op.Killed in Action September 14th 1942 From not known Twickenham Cemetery, Middlesex

Flight Sergeant

A.J.G. Cameron

Pilot Rescued

Flight Sergeant

E.B. Hutchison

Obsever Rescued

Sergeant

D.A. McTavish

Wireless Op. Rescued

Flight Sergeant

Russel Harling

WAGRescued -Later commissioned and awarded a DFC for his actions with the squadron.

Flight Sergeant

F. Hubbard

Tail GunnerInjured - Rescued

2nd. Pilot, 1st Op.
Killed in Action September 14th 1942
From not known
Twickenham Cemetery, Middlesex

Pilot
Rescued

Obsever
Rescued

Wireless Op.
Rescued

WAG
Rescued -Later commissioned and awarded a DFC for his actions with the squadron.

Tail Gunner
Injured - Rescued