大象传媒

GEORGE CROMBIE, DFM
1918-1943

George Crombie was the eldest son of James Crombie and Agnes Stott Dougal who lived in Eyemouth, Scotland, and married on 23 January 1918. They moved South to England, living in Hartlepool at 15 Malton Street on the Headland, and working in the local herring industry. George was born on 25 November 1918.

Two brothers followed, Robert Dougal (b 6 September 1920) and James (b 20 September 1922).

The three sons were to suffer a traumatic loss when their mother died suddenly from a stroke on 5 February 1941 at the age of 47 years.

George was always interested in wireless and was exceptionally clever. He built a crystal set in his early teens and continued to improve on this. When any new device came out, he was always interested to see how it worked. He built himself a first-class radiogram which broadcast short-wave across the town. He also built the first television set in the North East of England, approximately four years before broadcasting and television were introduced.

George joined the Volunteer Reserve during the 1938 Munich crisis, and was called up on the outbreak of war. On 15 June 1939, at the age of 20, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force and was a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner by trade. He became a Flight-Sergeant and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal in November 1941 for courage and devotion to duty in operations against the enemy. The DFM was presented to him by HM The King at Buckingham Palace on 24 March 1942. His Citation reads:

For continuous gallantry and devotion to duty during raids into enemy territory. Both as a wireless operator and air gunner F/Sgt Crombie has always set himself a high standard of efficiency. He has continued to work his set often under severe electrical and icing weather conditions. And on many occasions he has been responsible for the safe navigation of his aircraft. On the night of 8/9th, May, he was the operator in an aircraft the port engine of which failed over HELIGOLAND. In spite of this failure and the electrical supply of the set not being available, this NCO managed to keep the set working by judicious use of the batteries, thereby enabling the navigator and pilot to successfully bring the aircraft to this country. Date: 29th September 1941

Miraculously, George survived the missions over Germany in the Hamden Bombers.

He married Miss Ethel Kington, formerly of Howard Street, Hartlepool, on 2 September 1942. During their brief honeymoon in Edinburgh, George was recalled after only a few days. They had two more reunions in Hartlepool during two separate leaves for two or three days. During the last leave in Hartlepool, George was suffering from the pain of inoculation and vaccination so they knew he would be soon going abroad. In the December of 1943 he wrote to Ethel asking her to join him at Pembroke Dock in Sth Wales. Her journey took around 36 hours by train, as she had to change at three different stations then wait hours for a connection. George met her and they had four days together before he, as a Warrant Officer, flew out with 230 Squadron assigned to the Middle East and based in Dar-es-Salaam, with various detachments at Aboukir, Bizerta, Jui, Pamanzi and Tulear, all operating Short Sunderland Mark III reconnaissance flying boats. Their main task was to patrol the Indian Ocean searching for Japanese submarines. He never knew when he was going but they used to fly over Sth Ireland testing the machine; three nights he returned and on the fourth he didn't, so Ethel knew he had gone. They wrote to each other every day, mostly by air mail but sometimes by sea.

On 29 December 1943, at the age of 25 years, George was sadly killed during a calibration flight of a Sunderland Mark III. Captain and Navigator were not sure of position and location of high ground whilst flying through cloud and the aircraft flew into Mt Kilimanjaro, in Voi, Kenya, presumably in cloud or rain, and exploded killing all nine crew.

After George was killed, Ethel was still receiving letters from him weeks later. Although he was killed on 29 December, Ethel did not receive the priority telegram until New Year's Day. She never remarried. Ethel was widowed after only 16 months of marriage.

George is now RIP at the War Graves special military plot at the Forest Road Cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya.

Ethel lived and worked in London and returned to Hartlepool in 1979, unbeknown to me, so I sadly missed out on a reunion before we left for Australia in 1980 and during two return visits in 1985 and 1994. She was traced there by a family friend after my return to Australia, and she has written and told me about her memories of her brief time with George. During a stay in hospital in 1995 when she was fighting for her life, her home was burgled and her engagement ring was stolen. Coincidentally, Ethel shared with same birthday as me. Sadly, she died on 4th February 2003, just 11 days before her 81st birthday.

Advertisements placed in "Airmail", the journal of the RAF Association, brought contact from some of George's colleagues, and their stories deserve to be recounted here.

Frederick (Gus) Platts, from Nottingham and now living in California, USA, who should have been on thefateful flight but for a bout of malaria, and shared with me his diary entries from that time.

David Craven (DFM) from Hartlepool, whose son wrote to me from Sheffield before his father passed away. David and George had been good friends who joined the RAFVR together and went to Prestwick, Scotland, after call up. They went their separate ways only to meet again, by chance, when their respective aircraft were diverted to an airfield in Cornwall, following a bombing mission to Germany. The airfield was under attack by German aircraft when they landed and both David and George found their way to the deserted NAAFI canteen where they sat on the floor eating bacon sandwiches whilst the
raid continued. In the morning they left to return to their respective Squadrons and were never to meet again. David passed away in 1997, and thanks to our contact, at least knew the tragic fate of his old mate.

Stan (Chalky) White from Middlesex who told me that George was one of the first aircrew to be made up to Warrant Officer and that he was considering whether to take a commission and train as a signals officer. Stan recounted that George was very fond of sunbathing and always looked very fit. He showed his mother a photograph of the two of them and she had remarked how very well Stan looked (it was George) and how poorly the very thin character in the middle of the group looked (it was Stan). He never told his mother the truth and did not bother to keep the picture!

From that initial letter from Sth Africa in 1984, advising the location of George's grave, a full circle has turned in that an Australian local Minister was visiting Nairobi in 1995 and took photographs of the grave for me.

In 2001, I was invited to return to Hartlepool by the organisers of the Town鈥檚 Rededication Ceremony to place a Wreath on behalf of George and all the Town鈥檚 RAF servicemen lost in action. This Ceremony was held after four new plinths had been built, representing the four Services, with plaques bearing all the names of the Town鈥檚 War Heroes from all conflicts since WWI, finally being added. This was made possible after the mammoth project was undertaken by a group of ex-Servicemen and women from the Town, taking six years to conclude when the balance of funds was donated by Hartlepool Borough Council.

Compiled by Lynn Reed nee Crombie
(George鈥檚 Niece)
Sydney Australia
13 February 1999
Amended 13 September 2005

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