An Impossible Task?
 

Hello All :),

My 95 Year Old Grandmother has given me an impossible task?
To find out whatever happened to one of her dearest freinds.

I have very little information to go on & have scoured the CWGC & numerous Web-Sites but although have come up with some possible candidates - Have found nothing concrete.

Facts:

Enclosed is a Photo of a Warrant Officer Pilot called "Luke" & was KIA/MIA during 1939-1945 ( I suspect in the latter Years of the War).

Hearsay:

His name may have been Arthur Lucas - He may have been on a Fighter Squadron rather than a Bomber.
I think that he was RAF judging by his Uniform but could he have been Aus/Can/NZ/SA?
He could well have had promotion before he went missing - Possibly P/O F/O or Flt Lt?

I realize that this is most probabaly an impossible & a futile exercise unless I could possibly match his Photo with a Known other or could find out his Name or Squadron but this is my last port of call & I did say I would give it my best shot :(

If you can help in anyway it would be wonderful.

Best Regards - Keith.

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

Keith,

You may have found that on the CWGC there are two entries with Arthur Lucas, if indeed that was his name.

First one was Sgt. Arthur Lucas of 196 Squadron, who died on 30 March 1943.
This squadron flew Stirlings at that time, I gathered.

And also Sgt Arthur Lucas of 428 (RCAF) Squadron, died on 28 Sept 1943.
He was a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner.

Other board members may tell you about the uniform he's wearing.

Regards,

Leendert

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

Was this a friend of your grandmothers from where they grew up, went to school? or did she know him from war time service in the WAAF or other wise?

If he is a childhood friend then do the CWGC say he was from that place?

The Warrent Officer rank is a fairly distinctive piece of information and unless he was demoted, he would not have died as a Sgt, but perhaps as an officer, P/O, F/O, F/Lt etc.

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

Hi Keith,

as indicated, at least at the time the photo was taken, the airman was a W/O pilot in the RAFVR or RAF (there is nothing in the uniform to suggest a Commonwealth Air Force). Could the name "Luke" have been a Christian name rather than a corruption of a Surname?

Cheers

Rod

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

According to ORB of no. 418 Sqn. RCAF they had a pilot with the name P/O Al Lukas (RAF/VR). He was born in the USA.

Jaap

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

Wow! :) - Many Thanks for all of your replies - it has given me a few more avenues to try.

I must admit I have more or less given up on the Arthur christian name as it looks to be a Red Herring & have gone along the lines of checking any Pilot with the Rank of P/O F/O or Flt/Lt with the Surname of Lucas- I did find only one W/O Pilot who served in 22 AACU in India called Bruce R Lucas - Could this be him?
He was killed in a Vultee Vengenace crash in 1944.

But as I explained earlier unless I get really lucky & can cross-reference the picture I have with a known other I am virtually sunk especially as I am going down the route of using the name "Luke" as an adaption of his surname Lucas - If Luke was his Christian name then that is really game over as all of the search engines for CWGC & other Sites depend on a Surname :(.

A Warrant Officer Pilot seems to be a fairly rare rank though & that just might open a door somewhere - Still think that "Luke" has Canadian overtones though? - Will check on 418 Sqn & have also found a Flt/Lt Lukey RCAF of 613 Sqn (Mosquitos) who may fit the Profile?

Who would be a Detective! - Many thanks all - Keith :)

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

Hi
His uniform seems to be RAF and there are no VR insignia on his collar which might suggest someone who was already in the RAF before WW2 started and who might be somewhat older than the average for Aircrew at the time the picture was taken(hence the W/O rank).This may alter your time frame a little and make his demise earlier in the war than you think and may even make him non-operational
With reference to the lack of VR badges I must confess I don't know how close the RAF and RCAF uniforms and Rank insignia were to each other so there may be a clue in the style of the W/O rank badge particularly the crown surmounting it if you can find a more detailed view
Hope this helps
Regards
Dick

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

Not so!!

You can search the CWGC database using this add on search engine from Geoff Sullivan
http://www.hut-six.co.uk/cgi-bin/search39-47.php

And you can search in most of the fields, including for the name Luke

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

Great Search Engine :) - Many Thanks.

Still no Wood for the Trees though - I have found a little more Information which may help?

"Luke" made a Low Pass (Very!) over the centre of Ashford (Middlesex) at some time during the War & put all of the Power out at the local Cinema :)

He was obviously showing off a little as my Grandmother & Aunt lived in a flat (Where the attached picture of Luke was taken) above the Butchers (Near to Woolworths) as my Uncle Reg Austin was the local Master Butcher.

This has been confirmed by an old family freind who said that it was in the Local Papers as it caused a lot of commotion - So now I need to see what Papers were around in the Ashford/Staines area during the war to see if any Information can be found there? - And if so was he ever found out & possibly demoted for his actions or posted to some far outpost? - Did this ever happen during the War & would it be documented anywhere?

Anyway sorry to be a pain but I suspect that I have almost exhausted most if not all avenues due to the very limited amount of Info I have to go on so will leave you all alone soon :) - Many Thanks for all of your help & Posts - Very much appriciated!

Best Regards - Keith.

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

Try Ashford Library for newspaper archives or for a local history group that may be able to search further. Or you could email a letter for the local Ashford paper to print, asking for information.
With respect, your grandmother would have been in her mid twenties at the start of the War, so I suspect she would have mixed with "boys" close to her age group, indicating that the mystery W/O was in the RAF pre war. Does your g/m remember anything else that could help? Accent, where he was from, any idea of Squadron, aircraft he flew or when she last heard of him?
I had a somewhat similar experience with a friend who had a great pal during training, but heard he was shot down and killed. Recently he asked if I could find his grave etc, and was wonderfully surprised to find he'd been a PoW. Sadly, couldn't find any sign of him still being alive, he died in 2002, but there is always hope!!
This might be worth floating past her, did he have an American accent?
Name: LUKHMANOFF, GEORGE BORIS
Initials: G B
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Pilot Officer (W.Op./Obs.)
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Unit Text: 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit.
Age: 24
Date of Death: 12/07/1942
Service No: 127470
Awards: D F M
Additional information: Son of Boris and Valentina Lukhmanoff, of San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: 3. D. 11.
Cemetery: CALAIS CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY, LEUBRINGHEN
Of course, if he was given a rocket for beating up Ashford, then he could have been posted far away.....
Name: LUCAS, BRUCE ROY
Initials: B R
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Warrant Officer (Pilot)
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force
Age: 23
Date of Death: 19/07/1944
Service No: 591156
Additional information: Son of R. Lucas and Hilda Dewson P. Lucas, of Northampton; husband of Lillian Irene Lucas.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: 1. B. 3.
Cemetery: KIRKEE WAR CEMETERY
Again, trying to be delicate, he may have survived, is there any reason why you think he died? Were they that close that he would have returned for her?

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

Keith,

RAF P/O Al Lukas (American in RAF posted to RCAF no. 418 Squadron) was my father-in-law and he did go by "Luke" but that's not him in the photo.

Too bad...buzzing a cinema is something he would have done to impress a woman. He once got into trouble later in the war buzzing co-ed college dorms in Florida to see if any were sunbathing topless.

Dr. Terry

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

Anything to suggest he was a local lad known to Gran/Auntie, if he was and was KIA/MIA would his name be on a Ashford Middx. war memorial

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

Happy New Year to All! :)

Wow - Many thanks for all of the Posts regarding the elusive Warrant Officer "Luke" - Unfortunately I ran out of time as my Grandmother recently passed away but I made a promise & will still persist in my Quest.

I must say the last couple of posts made me smile especially the one about Al Lukas - You can just picture the Event - Priceless!

Will follow up the local Lad theory As have not thought of that one as yet Something for some reason still tells me that he may well have been stationed in the Essex/London Area - On Single-Engined fighters? - Perhaps Mustang III,s/Spitfires but they must have had Red Noses - This has been told to me by someone who was only 5 or 6 Years old at the time who actually saw the event happen but memories fade & it was a long time ago?

This is a great Web-Site & never ceases to amaze me on how much knowledge is out there on Aviation History - Absolutely Brilliant!

Best Regards - Keith.

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

If you need to research national or local newspapers then you should visit the British Library Newspapers, Colindale NW London just up the road from the RAF Museum.

See their web site

http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/quickinfo/l...ale/index.html

A phone call to them might establish which papers covered Ashford / Staines in WW2.

I have been there on many occasions and it is amazing the amount of papers and magazines they keep.

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

You mention the possibility that the aircraft was a Mustang. Well 234 Sqn had Mustang III aircraft with red spinners and were at RAF North Weald from 28th August 1944 to 17th December 1944 when the unit moved to RAF Bentwaters and stayed to 1st May 1945.

234 Sqn lost a W/O James Morgan Harris (RAAF) on 7th Feb 1945 in Mustang III FB115 but nothing indicates the use of Luke. Perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree here unless he called himself 'Juke'

But as to the type of aircraft most people knew a Spitfire when they saw one even later Marks so unless Spitfire with a red nose was mentioned I'd research other fighter types

Re: An Impossible Task?
 

I assume your Aunt would have been born around 1915 which would have made her 30 around 1945, and the Luke photo appears to be of someone in their late twenties( could have joined the RAF around 1933). I wonder whether he went to junior school with Aunt or Gran, or whether his parents lived in one of the other flats above the shops. As you say an impossible task unless a photo with name or dates appear in any family albums. The British Newspaper Library is a good place to look for the Cinema story, which may just report the incident without naming the guilty pilot. Good luck with your search.