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Harland, Ian William. PltOff. RAFVR Nav. 149 Sqn. 24/25 Jun 1944.

The son of William Herbert and Gwyneth. The Stirling bomber took off from Methwold airfield in Norfolk at 2329 hours on an operation to Ruisseauville to attack flying bomb sites and crashed into the sea off Boulogne. Five bodies were washed ashore and buried in various French cemeteries. Aged 19, he was one of the youngest casualties of Bomber Command. Bomber Command recorded in a report of the loss of Ian’s Sterling probably over the Channel. He was part of a 500+ bomber force which raided the VI rocket sites in the Pas de Calais region and which was ordered by General Eisenhower. Most of the bombers were Lancaster’s; the Stirling was being phased out of Bomber Command, as its performance did not match that of the Lancaster’s or Halifax. In 1944, Sterling’s were usually used only on lightly defended targets near the coast. As navigator, Ian had to work in the nose of the Sterling. The hatch into this space was very awkward and it is not surprising that Ian’s was one of two bodies not recovered from the sea. It appears that, on this particular raid, one other Sterling was lost as well as 22 other bombers.

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