Sergeant S. E. Bradshaw
61 Sqn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
1168179
Killed in action, 23 June 1942, Germany. Aged 20.
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Sydney Bradshaw was the eldest son of Oliver and Lily Bradshaw of ‘Minera’, Westfield in Woking. Oliver was chief accountant at Woking Council.
Sydney left school in 1938 and went to work for the Commercial Union Insurance Co. in London. He volunteered for service in July 1940.
Sydney took part in many missions over occupied Europe with 61 Sqn. which operated as part of No. 5 Group, Bomber Command. The squadron has a proud history. They were the first to bomb Berlin and the first to sink a U-boat, four of its Lancasters made over 100 bombing missions and Flt. Lt. William Reid was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1943.
61 Sqn. received its first Lancasters in the spring of 1942 and in May moved from RAF Woolfox Lodge in Rutland to RAF Syerston near Nottingham.
On the night of 22 June 1942 Sydney and his crew mates boarded Lancaster Mk 1 R5517. Their mission that night was a raid on the port of Emden in north-west Germany.
The crew of Lancaster R5517 were young, even by the standards of the day. The age of six of the crew members is known and ranges from 20 to just 22. R5517 was piloted that night by Sqn. Leader Ian McNaughton, aged 22 from Ontario (the son of General Andrew McNaughton, commander in chief of the Canadian forces). His crew were Sgt. John Dryden, aged 22 from Galashiels in Scotland, Flying Officer William McCulloch, aged 22 from British Columbia, Sgt. Colin Parker, aged 20 from Oldham, Lancs., Pilot Officer James McKeown, aged 22 from Auckland, New Zealand (who was already married), Sgt. James Fallon and Sgt. Sydney Bradshaw, aged just 20.
Lancaster R5517 failed to return from its mission, the cause of its loss is unknown. The bodies of six of the crew including Sydney were recovered and lie in Sage cemetery, near Bremen in northern Germany. Sgt. Dryden’s body was never recovered and he is remembered on the RAF memorial at Runnymede.
Sydney Bradshaw is also remembered on the Woking County Grammar School roll of honour located in Christ Church, Woking and the Woking library World War Two book of remembrance.
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Last updated 4 July 2010
Sources
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Woking News and Mail
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