Archive reveals life of tragic airman
21-YEAR-OLD FLIGHT ENGINEER DIED WHEN LANCASTER BOMBER WAS LOST ON JUST HIS SEVENTH MISSION
GOING under the hammer is an extraordinary archive of Second World War photographs, letters and a flying logbook of a Lancaster bomber crew member. The collection of artefacts, which is going to auction in Driffield on Friday, tells the story of one young man from Immingham who lost his life serving his country.
Stanley Goodwin was a sergeant and the flight engineer on a Lancaster bomber. The 21-year-old was on just his seventh mission, an attack on Duisberg in the Ruhr, when his aircraft disappeared.
Andrew Spicer, of auctioneers Dee Atkinson & Harrison, said: “It is a sad fact that many Second World War artefacts arrive without anything to help students and collectors unravel their stories. Second World War medals are routinely sent for auction without any identification attached to them.
“Fortunately, the Goodwin collection that a lady brought along to a recent antiques discovery event in Humberston not only included his medals, but also a wonderful archive of material, such as photographs, letters, official communications and flying logbook, that takes us back into that extraordinary period.”
The logbook opens at the beginning of March 1943, at which point 207 Squadron is based at Langar in Nottinghamshire and is converting to the Lancaster bomber.
Goodwin and his fellow crewmen (pilot, navigator, bomb aimer, wireless operator, mid-upper gunner and rear gunner) went operational on the night of April 2-3, as one of the 55 aircraft involved in a raid on the French port of St Nazaire.
A couple of nights later, they were involved in the biggest raid of the war to date, a 577-aircraft attack on Kiel.
As April progresses, they were part of raids on Frankfurt, La Spezia in Italy and Duisberg, as well as a mine-laying operation off the coast of Western France.
On the night of May 12-13, 572 aircraft were sent back to Duisberg, a major industrial and armaments centre.
Unlike the RAF’S last visit, the city was not on this occasion sheltered by low cloud. The bombing was much more accurate and considerably more damaging, but the clear night also aided the defensive flak batteries and the German night-fighters.
Thirty-eight British aircraft were lost, including the 207 Squadron Lancaster, on which Goodwin was the flight engineer.
The letter sent by the adjutant of 207 Squadron informing Stanley Goodwin’s parents that their son was missing after a raid over Germany was typewritten and formulaic. By May 1943, so many air crewmen were being lost that anything more personal was simply impractical.
It would be the end of the war before his parents finally heard that just two bodies were recovered from the wreckage and buried. The remains of Goodwin and four other crewmen were never found.
The Goodwin collection is to go under the hammer in a Collectors, Militaria and Toys Auction at the Exchange Saleroom in Driffield on Friday.
Also included in the collection is Goodwin’s medal set (Air Crew Europe Star, 1939-1945 Star, 1939-1945 War Medal and Defence Medal).
It has a pre-sale estimate of £300 to £400.
The Collectors, Militaria and Toys Auction takes place at 10am on Friday, March 29, at the Exchange Saleroom, Exchange Street, Driffield. Viewing sessions are on Wednesday, from 10am to 7pm, and Thursday, from 10am to 4pm. The full catalogue is available at www.dee-atkinsonharrison.co.uk