207 SQUADRON ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORY

Lancaster ED554 EM-Q
The Healey crew, missing 9/10 April 1943,
from RAF Langar, on the Duisburg raid

The Healey crew is one of three commemorated on the Jisp memorial

The Healey crew and their loss

207 Sqn Lancaster I ED554 EM-Q Op: Duisburg: all killed

Pilot: WO2 Harold Arthur HEALEY RCAF
Flt Engineer: Sgt William Leslie WHITEHOUSE RAF
Navigator: F/S Arthur Rupert LEWIS RAFVR
Air Bomber: Sgt Denis Edward WHITAKER RAF
Wireless Operator: Sgt Roy BISHOP RAFVR
Mid Upper Gunner: Sgt Ronald Eric Arthur DAMPIER RAFVR
Rear Gunner: F/S Cornelius William KLEYNHANS RAFVR

t/o 2026 RAF Langar. Shot down by a night-fighter (Ofw Heinz Vinke, IV./NJGI) and crashed 2242 at Jisp (Noord Holland), 5 km NE of Wormerveer. All rest in Amsterdam's New Eastern Cemetery.


The graves of Ron Dampier, Harold Healey, Tony Lewis and Bill Whitehouse
in Amsterdam's New Eastern Cemetery: source - Co Maarschalkerweerd

for more views of the cemetery please click the 207 Graves link on the left of your screen

About the Healey crew and their aircraft

F/S Kleynhans came from Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia and had married a Lincolnshire girl from Louth.

ED554 arrived on 207 Sqn on 12th February 1943 and was lost on 9th April 1943 having flown 97.1hrs and 12 ops. It was the only loss among the 9 Lancasters of No.207 Squadron participating in the attack on Duisburg that night.

Harold Healey and his crew appear in the 207 Squadron crew listings: they were only on their 3rd operation when they were lost so their time with 207 was very brief, having arrived on Squadron some time in February 1943, did their 1st operation on 2nd March 1943, and then were lost on 9th April.

Jeanne Harvey, the daughter of Sgt REA Dampier, the Mid Upper Gunner killed in this crew is a member of our Association. The family of F/S AR Lewis (the Navigator) is in touch, as is Jan Offert, the nephew of Sgt Denis Whitaker (the Bomb Aimer).

click for wedding photo from which this image has been taken
Ronald Dampier: click image for wedding photo: click full for another
via his daughter
Denis Whitaker, age 15
via his nephew
    
       

Harold Healey came from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Roy Bishop was the son of Henry and Kate Bishop; husband of Doris G. Bishop, of Thorpe Bay, Essex.

Denis Whitaker was the son of Sydney and Madeline Norah Whitaker; husband of Margaret Whitaker, of West Acton, Middlesex.

Cornelius Kleynhans was the son of Mr and Mrs CL Kleynhans, of Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia; husband of Iris Nancy Kleynhans, of Louth, Lincolnshire.

Ronald Eric Arthur Dampier

Jeanne Harvey writes: My father, Ronald Eric Arthur Dampier, was born on 7 September 1919 in Eastney Hampshire to Samuel George and Emily Dampier. He married Aline Hilda Bennett of Exeter on 9th April 1942. He had enlisted in the RAF on 17th June 1940 when he was living at Sea View, Charmouth, Dorset. The date he was killed in action, 9th April 1943, was his first wedding anniversary. His name is on the war memorial in Charmouth.

At present we do not know where William Whitehouse came from.

A propellor unit from ED554 forms the Memorial to this and two other crews - see below.

Ofw Heinz Vinke had 54 victories as a nightfighter pilot. He was kia 26 Feb 1944 (source: R.Toliver-T.Constable).

Denis Edward Whitaker

Jan Offert writes: We were in Amsterdam for Christmas 2006 and visited the New Eastern Cemetery to pay respects to my Uncle - Denis Edward Whitaker. He was my Mothers only Brother and has been a source of much admiration for me and my wife. We have enjoyed reading through your website and have found it emotional and interesting reading.

We were until a few years ago, regularly in touch with Denis Whitaker's widow. She did however re-marry and then moved to New Zealand but spent the latter part of her life in Scotland, after her second husband had died. She died in 1997.

I provide a photo of Denis Whitaker when he was 15. He was a very handsome and smart young man. My Mother has never got over his death, she did visit his grave in Holland some years back. We will visit the memorial at Jisp.

On 21 September 2018 Jan wrote:  I wanted you to know that last week, whilst on a long weekend trip to Amsterdam with my family, we hired a taxi out to the memorial at Jisp on Sunday 16th September. I have already visited Denis's grave on a previous trip but still very much wanted to see the memorial.

The memorial has been very well maintained and there was a new information board as well as flowers around the base of the memorial.  It was very moving to be so close to where my Uncle and so many others lost their lives.



Sources and acknowledgements

crews & Langar: R Glynne-Owen, WR Chorley, J Hamlin: CWGC:
Jeanne Harvey, Jan Offert.
Co Maarschalkerweerd

page last updated 15 May 2007: 30 Dec 13: 18 Nov 17: 31 Dec 18