Robert Francis Smale 1922 - 1944
Family history
Bob Smale was born on 6 February 1922 at East Kentwyns House, near Henfield, Sussex.
East Kentwyns, later Henfield Lodge, was owned by Hiram W Warner, a founder of the Comrades of the Great War,
or Henfield Club, which was set up for ex-servicemen from the First World War.
Bob’s father Thomas was Warner’s
chauffeur and served as a motor driver in the Royal Army Service Corps (102nd Auxiliary Petrol Company).
He married Bob’s mother, Beatrice Horwood, in 1918. The couple do not seem to have had any other children.
Bob married Phyllis Fuller on 18 September 1842 in Chanctonbury.
She married Victor McDougall on 18 November 1848. Victor's aunt, Rose McDougall, was the wife of Herbert Bateson.
Sgt Bob Smale
There is no record of Bob Smale in the 1939 Register, which is sometimes an
indication that a person was already in the armed forces, so was not required to register.
His RAF Service Number was 646926. His records may be in the National Archives:
if so, they have not been accessed by this writer.
On 1 January 1943, he was one of a number of Leading Aircraftmen to be awarded a Mention in Despatches in the New Year Honours.
The reason for the Mention was not given – it could have been for anything from exceptional bravery to carrying out his duties
in exemplary fashion. A Mention in Despatches for a soldier was usually accompanied by an oak leaf appended
to their campaign ribbon.
Bob Smale’s medals have not been seen, but were once (on 24 April 1992) auctioned at Christie’s:
Lot 110 at Auction 4742 read: Two 1939-45 Star, Air Crew Europe Star, Defence and War Medal Groups, both Royal Air Force
(Sgt. R. F. Smale, with M.I.D. Oakleaf, named condolence enclosure, entitlement slip and details from 630 Squadron record book;
The Lot Essay read:
Sergeant Robert Francis Smale, Flight Engineer, No. 630 Squadron (Lancasters) failed to return from bombing operations
against Berlin, 1/2 January 1944 when German fighters were particularly active en route; he was buried in Berlin War Cemetery
The winning bidder paid £198 for the medals. Bob may have flown from RAF Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, before being posted to
the newly formed 630 Squadron at RAF East Kirkby in November 1943. On 1 January 1944, his
nearly-new Mk III
Lancaster, JB532 LE-X, with a crew of eight, took off at 23:55 hrs, one of 471 Lancasters taking part in that
night’s attack on Berlin. Having dropped its bombs on the southern part of the city, the aircraft was
homeward bound when it was hit by flak. The flak shot one engine from its mount and the crippled aircraft
dived steeply, crashing about 300 yds NW of the village of Großbeuthen, 18 miles SW of Berlin. According to eye-witnesses on the ground, no one bailed out and the entire crew perished in the crash.
Their remains, along with their identification tags, were recovered on 4th January.
They were buried, without a religious service, by the local police in a communal grave
at a cemetery 1 km SE of Großbeuthen. The grave was said to have been marked with a cross and kept in good order,
with flowers placed from time to time.
The temporary marker shown in the grave photograph (see below) may date from this time. One source noted that the burials were in the parish cemetery of Gross Beuthen:
this may refer to a burial ground designated for local farmers, which is marked on modern maps near Thyrower
Damm on the K7232 Gross Beuthen to Trebbin road.
The graves were later traced by the RAF’s Missing Research and Enquiry Service (MRES) and the remains exhumed
then reinterred in the British Cemetery in west Berlin on 17 April 1947 (Plot 8.J.22). Bob Smale is listed on a Roll of Honour at Woodmancote, Sussex, his birthplace.
The other members of the crew were:
Images
Sources * 630squadron.wordpress.com/2019/03/11/01-1944-january-1944/ * RF Smale medals at www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-2945303 * The Commonwealth War Graves Commission at cwgc.org * The London Gazette, 29 December 1942, Issue 35841, P 51
Pilot: Flt Lt. Douglas Allister MacDonald DFC J14691 RCAF Age 20.
2nd Pilot: Wg Cdr. Kenneth Frederick Vare AFC 40273 RAF Age 30.
Nav: Fg Off. Niels Erik Westergaard DFC 133578 RAFVR Age 21.
Bomb Aimer: Flt Sgt. John Mowbray Turnbull 1044419 RAFVR Age 22.
WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. William Richard Tyrie DFM 1385473 RAFVR Age 21
Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Flt Sgt. William Jenkins 978344 RAFVR
Air Gnr (Rear): Flt Sgt. William Joseph Roche 426161 RAAF Age 29.
