Pilot Officer Peter Hugh KETTLES-ROY (174614)
158 Squadron Royal Air Force

Date of birth: 13th January 1924
Date of death: 18th April 1944

Killed in action aged 20
Buried at Meharicourt Communal Cemetery British Plot Collective Grave 35
Peter Hugh Kettles-Roy was born at Kensington in London on the 13th of January 1924 the only son of Major Hugh Kettles-Roy, an insurance agent and company director, and Ann Bonella (nee Archibald) Kettles-Roy, of Ngong Road, Nairobi, Kenya and of 107 Queen's Gate in London.

He was educated at the Prince of Wales' School, Nairobi and at Lancing College where he was in Seconds House from September 1937 to October 1939. On leaving school he returned to Nairobi from London on board the SS "Madura" on the 21st of October 1939.

He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Flight Sergeant. He served initially with 10 Squadron but transferred to 158 Squadron on the 25th of February 1944. He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 27th of March 1944.

On the night of the 18th/19th of April 1944 171 aircraft, being 139 Halifaxes, 24 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos, were despatched to raid the railway yards at Tergnier. A previous attack on this target on the night of the 10th/11th of April had not been a success and for this mission Pathfinder Lancasters of No. 4 Group along with Mosquitos of 105 and 109 Squadrons were to be used to visually mark the target area. Despite the clear and moonless conditions the bulk of the marker flares fell in a concentrated group to the west of the marshalling yards. As a result of the marking, although 50 railway lines were blocked, most of the bombs fell on housing to the south west of the target causing an unknown number of French casualties.

Peter Kettles-Roy and his crew took off in Halifax LV954 NP-Q from RAF Lissett at 9.03pm on the 18th of April 1944 for the operation.
They were believed to have been heard on the radio at 11.52pm and their aircraft subsequently crashed near Rosieres-en-Santerre some ten miles to the northwest of Roye in the Somme region. Two crew members bailed out and were taken prisoner.

The crew was:-

Pilot Officer Peter Kettles-Roy (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant George McEwan (Air Bomber)
Flight Sergeant Robert Wallis Wright RAAF (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Michael Madden (Mid Upper Gunner)
Sergeant Alan Francis Kneller (Rear Gunner)
Flying Officer Peter George Taylor (Navigator) POW (interned at Stalag Luft 3)
Sergeant Leslie Sowden (Flight Engineer) POW (interned at Camp 357)

Theirs was one of six Halifaxes which failed to return of which four are known to have fallen prey to night fighters between the target and the coast, one to flak between the target and Dieppe and one to causes unknown.

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