P/O Donald G. Goodfellow crew 30 (19 missions)

The majestic new cenotaph in Brighton Memorial Park contains the name of Donald Grant Goodfellow under the heading “World War II”. Warrant Officer Don Goodfellow was the Bomb Aimer on Halifax “Y” (York) LK971 when it took off from Croft at 17:19 on February 15, 1944. Squadron Leader Frank Carter piloted the heavily loaded bomber out over the North Sea and rendezvoused with more than 800 other aircraft before heading east for a northward crossing of Denmark, destined for a run across the Baltic Sea and a visit to Berlin.

The story of Don Goodfellow is not unusual. In fact, it is very similar to the stories of the thousands of young men who flew with him in that iron armada intent on delivering destruction to Hitler’s Berlin. Don had grown up in Mount Olivet, near Codrington, where his ancestors had settled in the 1850s. He was a handsome young fellow, very genial and quick with a joke. His career choice had been teaching and before enlisting he had taught in two rural public schools, S.S.#16 in Thurlow Township and S.S. #8 in Percy Township.

Don Goodfellow enrolled at Basic Training Centre #32 in Peterborough on July 31, 1941 and was quickly discharged to join the R.C.A.F. His Attestation Paper says that he was posted to St. Hubert and that he would consider the trade of Air Crew Observer. There were long months of training which took Don to Victoriaville, Ancienne Locette and Mont Joli in Quebec and then Rivers, Manitoba. The most harrowing incident during his training in Canada was a crash near Brandon, Manitoba in which none of the crew was seriously injured but Don came away with some sore ribs.

Before going overseas, Don was sent to Halifax where he spent several weeks on medical leave. Then, on October 27, 1942, he embarked on the Queen Elizabeth with several thousand other recruits for the treacherous North Atlantic crossing. On November 4 they disembarked at Bournemouth, Dorset where Donald Goodfellow entered the Personnel Receiving Centre. On November 23, 1942, he would be promoted to Flight Sergeant.

Serious training began when Don joined an Advanced Flying Unit (AFU) on March 1, 1943 and then, on April 20th, moved to Pershore, Worcestershire, which is on the Avon River, just south of Worcester, in an Operational Training Unit (OUT). By July 25, 1943, the next step was transfer from his OTU to No. 1659 Conversion Unit which was where the airmen learned to operate Halifax bombers.

During his training, Don Goodfellow experienced another dangerous plane crash when, on March 15, 1943, during a training flight, he experienced a ditching in the Irish Sea off the coast of Anglessy, an island near the north coast of Wales. Again, he escaped with a good fright but no serious injury, suffering from exposure along with the rest of the crew. The records show that hot drinks with sugar and bed rest were the treatments provided to the airmen.

A letter Don wrote to his cousins, Bill and Dora Goodfellow, on May 6, 1943, says that he had just been “crewed up”. This is when he joined 434 (Bluenose) Squadron, 6 Group, R.C.A.F, which had been assigned Halifax B Mark V aircraft. His pilot was from Vancouver, his navigator from P.E.I and his wireless man was from Cork, Ireland. It was a truly international crew that would learn to work together as an effective team.

The first operational posting for Sgt. D. G. Goodfellow and his crew was Tholthorpe, Yorkshire, where their first operation was to Nuremberg on August 27th. The Battle of Berlin had begun a few days before but the crew of P.O. Frank Carter, with Sgt. Don Goodfellow as the Bomb Aimer, would gain experience on raids to Munich, Manheim, Hanover, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf with a “Gardening” expedition as well. On November 18, F. Lt. F. Carter’s crew in Halifax “V” joined a diversion to Mannheim-Ludwigshaven, then on the 25th they went to Frankfurt again and the very next night, the 26th, visited Stuttgart.

During their operations to this point, Don Goodfellow’s crew had not experienced any major trouble. They coped with unserviceable equipment and had the occasional early return but the various aircraft they flew received only a couple of bits of flak. For the most part, they remained unscathed by the brutal violence they saw about them every day. In late November the crew enjoyed a week of leave in Edinburg where Don posed for a portrait in suitably traditional Scottish garb.

On their return from leave, Don Goodfellow’s crew joined the rest of 434 Squadron when it moved from Tholthorpe to the R.C.A.F. base at Croft, also in Yorkshire. The move was a major disruption for the Squadron but Croft was a newer base with three concrete runways. Of course, these Yorkshire bases were farther away from Germany than all the other bases in England so the crews had to fly more miles to join up with the bomber stream and more again returning from the raid, often low on fuel and with damage to the aircraft.

Soon after the move to Croft, Don Goodfellow and his crew participated in a large raid to Frankfurt and while they returned safely, the weaknesses of the station facilities were highlighted and some serious work was undertaken to prepare for the next raid. Christmas Day at Croft-in-the-Mud, as it was aptly called, saw no operations but a good deal of merriment as Officers serviced Christmas dinner to the staff.

The eleventh raid of The Battle of Britain took place on December 29, 1943 with 434 Squadron fully participating. F/L F. Carter piloted Halifax “Y” (York) LK971 with his regular crew including W/O. D. G. Goodfellow as Bomb Aimer. Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command, Sir Arthur Harris, had kept the Halifaxes away from the more demanding raids on Berlin but on this night he asked for maximum impact so most Halifax Squadrons were called in. The 434 Squadron log book says there was “A maximum operational effort for tonight”. The raid was very effective and 434 Squadron suffered no losses so the crew felt it was a big success.

F/Lt Frank Carter would fly to Berlin again on January 28th as part of another major effort, following one of the most effective raids on the 27th. Harris wanted to hit them hard and keep hitting them without letup. However, for 434 Squadron, this night would be called “Black Thursday”. There were 4 aircraft lost and 30 aircrew, a huge loss for the squadron. There was major damage in Berlin so strategically the raid was seen as a success but for 434 Squadron, it was a serious blow.

After the January 28 raid to Berlin, there were several weeks of very bad weather during which little flying was done. Aircraft and men were moved in and promotions came quickly as many senior fliers had been lost. For Don Goodfellow’s crew, the disaster of late January resulted in their pilot, Flight Lt. Frank Carter, being promoted to Squadron Leader, which would have been a great honour for the men. Donald and the rest of the crew had been interviewed for commissions and word was that they would be coming through soon.

Left; Don at Edinburgh Castle 1943

Operations were planned for two successive nights and then cancelled due to bad weather but February 15 would prove to be the first good night for flying in a long time so a major push to Berlin was in order. The largest contingent of Halifaxes and Lancasters to date were assembled for this raid. A new and different tactic would be employed in order to frustrate German Fighter Command. The plan was to assemble the bombers much father north over the North Sea and head east across Denmark,then turn south and fly south east to the Baltic Sea, approaching Berlin from the north east. Signifcant diversions were expected to occupy many of the German fighters while the main bomber stream approached Berlin.

The tactic was largely successful but was aided a good deal by a consistent cloud cover which made it difficult for the German fighters to locate and engage with the bombers. The result was one of the largest bomb loads delivered during the Battle of Berlin and, at least for 6 Group, the smallest losses of any of the major raids. Strategically, the raid of February 15, 1944 was a significant success.

The Gunnery Leader of the RCAF Bluenose Squadron interrogates three crew members following their return from a heavy attack on the strongly defended city of Mannheim. Sgt. Jack Wheeler (left), 754 Bannatyne Ave. Winnipeg, Air gunner; F/L Garton (sitting), a member of the RAF; Sgt. Jerry Blanchard (right), Tignish, N.S. Flight Engineer; and Sgt. Don Goodfellow (far right), Codrington, Ont. bomb-aimer. They reported seeing explosions which threw flames nearly a mile high over the target and all agreed it was the “best prang” they’d witnessed in five operational trips. Their squadron flies as part of the RCAF Bomber Group. (27 Sept. 1943 Courtesy CFJIC - PL 19974 / UK 5473)

Not so for Donald Goodfellow and his crew. After Squadron Leader Frank Carter piloted the familiar “Y” to the rendezvous over the North Sea – the Halifax bomber disappeared. No trace has ever been found. The 434 Squadron Log states:

“Our A/C all reported in from diversion bases by an early hour this morning with the exception of “Y” in charge of S/L F. Carter, J13993, pilot, P/O W. McPherson J22449, 2nd pilot, P/O S. Jenkins J18996, Nov., W/O D. Goodfellow R123319, P/O E. Forde 170975, WOP/AG, P/O J. Rood J19511, P/O J. Wheeler J19486, P/O J. Blanchard C13462, F/E, and they have been regretfully reported as missing on operations against Berlin.”

We also see in “The RCAF Overseas”, page 67, “Our losses on this raid were much below average, though two experienced crews skippered by S/L A. V. Reilander of the Tigers and S/L F. Carter of the Bluenoses were among those who did not return.”

Also, tragically, a few days later, the 434 Squadron Log also records that “A commission was receive today for WO2 D. G. Goodfellow, R123319, A/B, as P/O No. J19853, effective 23.1.44 but unfortunately he has been missing on operations since the 15.2.44 raid on Berlin.”

The exact fate of Halifax “Y” on that night will likely never be known. After all these years, not a trace of the aircraft or its crew has been found. The information that is available shows that, across all operations, a total of 52 bombers were lost on the February 15th raid to Berlin and only four of them are unaccounted for – one being Halifax LK971 from Croft. This would suggest that the bomber experienced a catastrophic event, meaning it likely exploded in the air.

Air crews had reported events like this in the past. They would suddenly see a huge flash in the sky where an aircraft had been flying – and then nothing. This might happen when a fully laden bomber took a direct hit to the bomb bay from the 20 mm canon of a German fighter. The list of lost bombers accounted for on February 15 includes several that are known to have been shot down by JU 88 night fighters around Berlin, in Holland and around the Baltic sea and east side of Denmark. The JU88’s had 20 mm cannon pointed upwards to shoot at the belly of a loaded bomber. It could be that LK971 was destroyed in this way but it could also be that it was shot down and crashed in the Baltic, sinking into deep water where it has not been found. It’s all speculation at this point.

What is not speculation is that the families of 8 young men received tragic news of their loved one “Missing in Action” and later, “Lost and Presumed Dead.”

Lord crew 21