Died: Vickers Wellington Mk IC, lost over Germany
Address / Local links: 57 Lansdowne Avenue, Bexleyheath
Family / Relatives: Son of Raymond Reginald Charles and Bertha Mary Newman of Bexleyheath
Local links
Gordon Newman was born in Bexleyheath in May 1922, but from what we can gather, there may have been other local links with his short life story…
As the recently discovered picture of him shows, he is pictured with his first cousin Ann Easton (his mother’s maiden name was Easton) so may have been distantly related to two other Eastons listed the East Wickham memorial;
Also, we know that one of his fellow crewmen lost alongside Gordon was Sgt Fernley Thomas Williams – a Plymouth man who had married a Bexley girl in 1941 – Winifred – who lived at 11 Pickford Lane.
Gordon’s father was Raymond Reginald Charles Newman (1892 – 1972) – we can first trace his local links to 1916 from his WW1 Registration card when he was living in Belvedere and listed as a hot water gas fitter.
In October 1919 he married Bertha Mary Easton (1896 – 1961) in Peckham.
By 1939 the Register finds the family at 57 Lansdowne Avenue. Raymond was still working – ` Pipe Fitter-General Engineer Heavy Worker’.
Gordon was listed as a Process Engraver Photographer (BBC) which sounds intriguing…He was also registered as an ARP Messenger. Jobs a far cry from his role a few years later as an RAF rear gunner in a Vickers Wellington bomber. (The Wellington was an early WW2 bomber – the famous engineer Barnes Wallis was the chief designer of the geodetic airframe fuselage structure for the Vickers Wellington, and he had also worked for some time at the Vickers works in Crayford).
214 (FMS) Squadron, Royal Air Force. At the outbreak of the Second World War 214 squadron was designated as a training unit. The squadron immediately re-positioned to Feltwell’s satellite airfield, RAF Methwold, whilst in the process of re-equipping with the Vickers Wellington. In February 1940 they moved from Methwold to RAF Stradishall in Suffolk.
In October 1919 he married Bertha Mary Easton (1896 – 1961) in Peckham.
By 1939 the Register finds the family at 57 Lansdowne Avenue. Raymond was still working – ` Pipe Fitter-General Engineer Heavy Worker’.
Gordon was listed as a Process Engraver Photographer (BBC) which sounds intriguing…He was also registered as an ARP Messenger. Jobs a far cry from his role a few years later as an RAF rear gunner in a Vickers Wellington bomber. (The Wellington was an early WW2 bomber – the famous engineer Barnes Wallis was the chief designer of the geodetic airframe fuselage structure for the Vickers Wellington, and he had also worked for some time at the Vickers works in Crayford).
214 (FMS) Squadron, Royal Air Force.
At the outbreak of the Second World War 214 squadron was designated as a training unit. The squadron immediately re-positioned to Feltwell’s satellite airfield, RAF Methwold, whilst in the process of re-equipping with the Vickers Wellington. In February 1940 they moved from Methwold to RAF Stradishall in Suffolk.
It was from here that Gordon and his crew left for their final flight.
RAF Stradishall in Suffolk, was one of 20 bases ordered constructed by the RAF in 1935 in response to the growing concerns over German actions and military buildup. The station officially opened on February 3, 1938…Later that year in September 1938, the Munich crisis had Stradishall on full alert with Berlin its tentative target in the event of war.
In February 1940 with 214 Squadron, “the Federated Malay States Squadron” and their Wellington bombers the base began to launch attacks over Germany – “214 Squadron became very much the home squadron of Stradishall during the war”
From RAF records we see the following; Wellington Mark I C DV768 – “Notes – Crashed into the sea in the target area during a raid on Kiel, probably shot down by a night fighter.
Take off was from Stradishall. The operation was Kiel. Presumed to have crash landed in the sea close to the target. (This was the last Wellington aircraft reported missing from 214 Squadron who were beginning a Stirling Conversion Programme). Four bodies were washed ashore and buried locally. Since 1945 they have been re-buried at Kiel War Cemetery. The two bodies not found are named on the Runnymede Memorial”…
One of these bodies not found but remembered on the Runnymede Memorial was our own Gordon Newman…
The Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede “commemorates by name over 20,000 men and women of the air forces, who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known graves. They served in Bomber, Fighter, Coastal, Transport, Flying Training and Maintenance Commands, and came from all parts of the Commonwealth. Some were from countries in continental Europe which had been overrun but whose airmen continued to fight in the ranks of the Royal Air Force.
The memorial was designed by Sir Edward Maufe (a one-time resident of Bexley’s Red House) with sculpture by Vernon Hill. The engraved glass and painted ceilings were designed by John Hutton and the poem engraved on the gallery window was written by Paul H Scott. The Memorial was unveiled by The Queen on 17 October 1953”.
Raymond’s parents continued to live in Lansdowne Avenue until the 1960s – they would have seen the VE Day celebrations there in 1945, (pictured) but no doubt would have been remembering their lost son.
Other pictures – as indicated – show one taken on Gordon’s last leave in Chippenham before he was killed. He is pictured with his 1st Cousin Ann Easton.
https://www.214squadron.org.uk/Personnel/Personnel_N.htm#1483
Other pictures show the 214 Squadron’s badge, and a rear gun turret of a Vickers Wellington bomber, where Gordon would have been stationed.
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If anyone is able to add any extra information, provide more family details, or suggest any corrections, please let us know – also, if anyone has any more photos of this individual listed on our memorials, please get in touch. Thank you.
Commemorated
- St. Michael’s East Wickham Church Memorial Tablet
- Runnymede Memorial (Air Forces Memorial), Surrey
This story has been researched by volunteers. We have taken every effort to ensure its accuracy. If you are related to Gordon Kenneth Moyle Newman, or if you have any further information, please do get in touch.