466 Squadron Photos
This new page has been created on behalf of John Blakeley and his grandfather, Arthur Blakeley for the displaying of photos he has in his collection which relate to 466 Squadron. Arthur Blakeley served with 466 Squadron as a bomb aimer on "Kelly's Gang Rides Again". The crew he was in flew 36 sorties in the aircraft during 1944-45. The following photos and information are from Arthur's collection. John has provided me with information pertaining to each photo from his grandfather's collection which are included with each thumbnail. At the bottom of this page is John's email address, for those wishing to contact him about 466 experiences or the crew. I hope you enjoy the photos.
This photo was taken before a raid on a Sterkrade (Ruhr) synthetic oil plant (06/10/44). The crew are from left to right:
F/O William (Bill) Pitt RAAF, Wireless Operator; F/O Ross M. Campbell DFC RAAF, Navigator; Sgt William (Bill) H. Taylor RAF, Rear Gunner; F/O Arthur E. Blakeley DFC RAAF, Bomb Aimer; Sgt Dick E. Boast RAF, Flight Engineer; F/L Stan P Kelly DFC RAAF, Pilot; Sgt Tom Rudge RAF, Mid-Upper Gunner.
This photo was taken in September 1944 and is of the crew.
Top Row, L to R: Bill Pitt, Bill Taylor, Tom Rudge, Dick Boast.
Bottom Row, L to R: Arthur Blakeley, Stan Kelly, Ross Campbell.
This photo was taken in March 1945, when the crew were near the end of their operational tour of 37 raids. This is a good example of the Kelly Gang nosework and bomb log as well as containing another 466 Halifax in the background. The five crew members here are, from left to right:
Ross Campbell, Arthur Blakely, Dick Boast, Stan Kelly, Bill Pitt.
Although Arthur Blakeley is not in this
photo of 466 Squadron Bomb Aimers (1944), it still shows some of the men who were serving
in the squadron at this time. John is not sure why it was taken, or why the Russian
flag was included. If you know of anything, please let either myself or John know so
we can put an end to this mystery.
UPDATE -- This mystery has been solved. Thanks to Reg Roff and Paul Corkett we have
discovered the truth behind this photo. According to Reg, who is in the photo, 6th
standing from the right, the Russian flag was put in as a joke and the photo was taken as
this was the first time some the Australian airmen had seen snow. Thanks go out to Reg and
Paul. If you wish to contact them please email me and I will put them in contact with you.
We do not know all the names due to fading hand writing so for a partial listing of names, please email me.
I would like to personally thank John and his grandfather for their contribution to this page and hope it brings back some memories for those who served or are just interested. If you would like to contact John or his grandfather, the email address is:
Thanks to everyone who visited this page and I hope you enjoyed your visit. If you have any contributions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
mailto:troycosgrove@halifaxbomber.com