[Alex Smart]

Hello,
Regarding Sgt. Houghton.
I refer to my earlier post No.9. In which I quoted from "Enemy Coast Ahead" pages 84/85.
The details of Sgt Houghton preceded that, being on pages 83/84.
Quote:

But Oscar was there as usual when I went into the Flight Office.
"Hello Gibbo" he said. "We are all going to Lorient tonight, not much of a trip, just to lay a few mines off the U-boat basin; it ought to be pretty cissy because they have only got a couple of guns there."
"Thanks Oscar. Are all my crew back ?"
"Yeah, they are all here, but I'm having Watty - my navigator was hit the other night. You can have the new bloke, Sergeant Houghton."
"Well, thanks very much." I said, feeling damned annoyed as Watty was such a good navigator and I had got used to him. But as it happened Houghton was very good and it was poor Watty who was to be unlucky.
It was a simple trip and although we were laying mines very close to the shore the flak did not bother us much, and the whole squadron did a good job of work. Afterwards we looked around for some E-boats which we we're told were operating in that area. We turned out to sea and stooged around with our navigation lights on so as to lull all and sundry into believing us to be friendly aircraft. Suddenly, in the long silver reflection of the moon in the calm water we saw one going at a rate of knots for a small harbour in the I'll d'Eu; and Houghton pressed the button. However, at times like this when bombing wasn't a highly organized affair, we weren't sure of our height and Houghton certainly wasn't sure of our level, and so the 2 x 250-pound bombs fell within a few yards but did not hit him; whether we damaged him or not we couldn't say, but there was some happy chatter on board as we turned for home.
But even better was to come. As we crossed over Cherbourg on the way home an aircraft passed us going in the opposite direction with his navigation lights on".

End quote.

My post No. 9 detail starts with "As we crossed over Cherbourg on the way home".

So I think that Gibson's fellow crewmen on this night were Mac and Houghton.
No mention of a Middleton.
But he might have been the fourth crewman, I only relate the details from the book.

Alex