WEBB Sidney George

Born in Long Compton, Warwickshire, Sidney ‘Smiler’ Webb moved, with his parents, to Blackmore Park before the war. He was educated at Hanley Castle Grammar School. After leaving school he qualified as a pharmacist and worked for Anderson and Virgo in Worcester. Joining the RAF at the outbreak of war, Sidney Webb was initially employed in his civilian occupation. In 1942 he volunteered for aircrew duties and trained as a navigator/air gunner. He was first posted to a Blenheim Squadron but later transferred to Lancasters. He flew a total of 97 hours on operations, including raids on Hamburg, Essen, St Nazaire, Duisberg and Berlin. He was killed on his second raid to Berlin, when his Lancaster was shot down over Holland with the loss of the whole crew of seven men.

Shortly before he was killed, his Lancaster landed at a nearby airfield while on a training flight and he borrowed a motorcycle in order to visit his parents. When the aircraft took off, it flew low over the house at Blackmore and dipped a wing in salute. This was the last his parents saw of him.

The official records indicate that Sgt Webb was the rear gunner on Lancaster I WB327, UV-S that took off from RAF Breighton in South Yorkshire, at 21.57 hours on 29th March 1943, for an attack on Berlin. The aircraft was piloted by Flight Lieutenant Grenfell RAAF. The Lancaster was shot down by a Luftwaffe night fighter of III/NJG1 flown by Unteroffizier Christian Koltringer. This aircraft was reported to have crashed, out of control, killing its crew, after being hit by return fire from the gunners on the Lancaster. The night fighter crashed at 04.12 hours at Kloosterhaar, near Overijssel, about 10 km SSE of Hardenburg.

Sources: ‘RAF Bomber Command Losses of the Second World war – 1943’ by W R Chorley, ‘Action Stations 4 – Military Airfields of Yorkshire’ by Bruce Barrymore Halpenny, Colonel John Lowles and Joe Webb.