| Flying
Officer Nowell Hibbert was serving as Bomb Aimer on board
Lancaster Mk.III PB186 coded GT-A for an operation to
Stuttgart on January 28/29 1945. The aircraft departed from Upwood
at 2020hrs but crashed at Vaihingen near Stuttgart killing
all of the crew on board including F/O Nowell Hibbert. The
rest of the crew
consisted of:
|
Name |
Service |
Trade |
Hometown |
Age |
|
F/L James Freeman |
RCAF |
Pilot |
Fleming, Saskatchewan |
26 |
|
Sgt Raymond Breaks |
RAFVR |
Flight Engineer |
Bideford, Devon |
19 |
|
F/O David Watson |
RAFVR |
Navigator |
- |
- |
|
F/O Nowell Hibbert - DFC |
RAFVR |
Bomb Aimer |
The Hermitage, Kenilworth |
21 |
|
F/Sgt Joseph Shaw |
RAFVR |
W/Op/AG |
Barking Essex |
21 |
|
F/Sgt James Wood |
RAFVR |
Air Gunner |
Windsor, Berks. |
20 |
|
F/Sgt Joseph Frank Kaviza |
RCAF |
Air Gunner |
Hamilton, Ontario |
20 |
Flying Officer Nowell Percy Hibbert DFC
RAFVR was the son of Major John Percy Maghull Hibbert MC and Olive Helen Hibbert
of The Hermitage, Kenilworth. He was born on the 25th April 1923 and
having volunteered for the Air Force, read Mathematics at Trinity Hall,
Cambridge, for a year, and then went to Canada for training, becoming a
Pathfinder Marker.
 |
|
Unidentified Class Photo
from Canada |
His Distinguished Flying Cross was gazetted on 27th March 1945. He
had completed and impressive 48 sorties prior to his death.
 |
|
Nowell and Pal |
All of the crew were
originally buried in the local Friedhof, later being re-interred in Durnbach War
Cemetery. Of the eight Lancasters of 156 Squadron taking part in the op to
Stuttgart, theirs was the only one lost.
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