My thanks to the RCAF site for that idea. All squadrons went through a lot of air personnel during the war. Apart from losses in combat there were accidents to contend with, and transfer of pilots between squadrons ensured a constant turnover.
The information contained in the pilot list has been obtained from the books referred to in the "Further Reading" section and sources such as the "Wings over Wanaka" web site. I have been researching this since September 1998, so although there is still a long way to go the list of pilots was up to 65 at the last count - make that 109 as of 9 August 2000!
Remember that the nature of my sources skews the details shown. Although Norman Franks book on Fighter Command casualties has been a great help, it does mean that many of the names only appear here because they were killed, captured, or wounded. When time permits a fresh look at the primary sources I hope to give a more balanced record.
If anyone has further information it would be gratefully received. Contact me.
The first 616 squadron reunion I became aware of was at RAF Leaming on the 9th April 1999. It is nice to see that the guys are still on the go, and although I know most have come from post-war days, several are war veterans. The Association has 130 members, many living overseas. Previous reunions have been on June 23rd 2000 in Doncaster, June 29th 2001, and once again in June in 2002.
The following details have been revised and put into alphabetical order by surname, as the list was getting too long to just add details at the end. I have also split the list across several pages, as 83kb was too large to download quickly.
Those who were killed during the war are indicated with a poppy My thanks to the RCAF site for that idea.
Click on the links to see pictures or for further details.
Many on the list were with the squadron during the Battle of Britain; those marked 1were taken from a list specifically naming pilots from that period. Details were very limited, only showing if the pilot was killed during the Battle or later in the war. Unless it states otherwise these pilots are all British. The Battle of Britain list was compiled by F/Lt J.H.Holloway MBE. Additional details such as the plane serial number have been added from Norman Franks very informative books "Fighter Command Losses". Those marked with a2 were taken from the Warbirds over Wanaka site. Other details have been taken from a variety of sources including the RNZAF Personnel Archives, with confirmation of information from secondary sources plus new data coming from the Squadron Operational Logs at the Public Records Office, Kew (docs AIR27/2126 and 2127). The latter are marked with a 3. Those marked with a 4 are "oral history" - conversations with Max Williams, a 616 Fitter from 1938 to 1942. Those with a 5 are from discussions with Robert Morton, a pilot from November 1940 to July 1941. References with a 6 are from the book Jet Jockeys by Peter Caygill.
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