AUGIER – Fitzroy Richard (Roy)

605739 – Fitzroy Richard (Roy) Augier – Windward (St. Lucia) – attested 1.12.43 – Sgt. UK 26.10.44l

[Source: NA AIR 2/6876]

 

“I was born 17 Dec 1924. I enlisted at seventeen and a half, after first being sent to the (ant-sub?) airfield in Trinidad for a medical, and returned to St. Lucia.  After the med results were received in St. Lucia, to my surprise (and even more to my mother), I was again sent to Trinidad, where, in a short time, I and a few other young West Indians from the E.C. and T.T. were put on a ship carrying Italian prisoners of war from the African campaign to internment in the USA. The ship docked at New York.

We were going to Canada (we found out) to Moncton, Nova Scotia. There, and in Rhodesha, the RAF had a base, where it sorted out the enlisted men into pilots, navigator-bomb- aimers and  air-gunners. The African base was for african whites, Ausies, and New Zies. When I went to University in Scotland after the war, I met students who had trained in Africa.

Of course we did not know that at the time the RAF was losing severe numbers of crew, Moncton was not meant to produce pilots. which was what all of us wanted to be. We all went on the dummy training plane to show we had the aptitude, One or two were selected, the remainder were told they could be either N-B or A-G. I was one of two who believed the rumor that the A-G training was, so was the tour of  duty, after which you were trained as a pilot. A more accurate rumor would have been, you died an A-G.

After being sorted, we went to Vancouver to train in  our slots on US  B bombers. Training over, our West Indian group was split in two, half to Ceylon for the war in Burma, I was in the other half sent on leave, and told to report to Halifax  at the end of the leave for passage to UK. There we sent to train on Lancaster  (English ) bombers. I flew a Lancaster as an airgunner in the rear turret in the ‘thousand bomber raids.’ That’s late and accounts for my being alive to enter universitty.

I lost my passbook and some notes made of life  when I was in the RAf, when changing houses (from bigger to smaller) on the Mona campus of UWI. My fault.”

[Source: Sir Roy Augier]

See an interview with Sir Roy Augier for the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive here.

 

DuBOULAY – Denis Claude Desmond

Pilot Officer – Air gunner – RCAF – KIA at 20 in 1943 – buried at Commonwealth War Cemetary in Berlin, Germany

[Source: St. Lucia website]

Denis Claude Desmond DuBoulay (known as Desmond)  Service no. J/26607  Royal Canadian Air Force  426 Sqn.

Desmond Duboulay Royal Canadian Airforce

desmond_duboulay_2_headstone-1

DULIEU – Henry Eugene Middleton

Flight Sergeant – RAF – Navigator – died at 34 in 1943 – Buried at Commonwealth War Cemetery in Berin, Germany

[Source: St. Lucia website]

SHINGLETON-SMITH – David

RAF – died at 19 in 1943 – buried Cheltenham Cemetery, UK

[Source: St. Lucia website]

ETIENNE – Hugh Terrence

1392533 – H.T. Etienne – Leeward & Windward Islands – attested 19.6.41 – P/O – Pilot
129058 – F/O – commissioned 1.9.42 – Missing believed killed – D.P. 5.3.43

[Source: NA AIR 2/6876 – Nominal Roll of Coloured Candidates, October 1944]

129058 – Flying Officer
Service No: 129058  Service: RAFVR
Trade/Branch:   Pilot    DOB:
Squadron(s): 214 (F.M.S.) Sqn
Station/Unit/Ship: Chedburgh
Group: 3     Command:   Bomber
Nationality: St Lucia
Disposal:   KIA   Age  21  yrs   Date Died:    5 Mar 1943
Aircraft 1: Stirling Mk3 BK662 BU-K

According to Chorley the aircraft took off at 19.35 hrs from their base at Chedburgh, Suffolk on a raid to Essen. They were shot down by flak and crashed into the sea west of Ijmuiden, Holland at 22.10 on 5 March 1943. All the crew were killed. Only the body of William Hedley Trotter was found. Chorley also notes that this aircraft was 214 Sqn’s first Mk III Stirling loss. (Previously they’d been using / losing Stirling I’s). The crew comprised of : Sgt Harry William Baldock (Pilot), Sgt Peter Roy Kimber, F/O Hugh Terence Etienne, Sgt William Taylor, Sgt William Hedley Trotter (Air Gunner), Sgt Ernest Albert Wright, F/S Alphe Baptiste Amirault (RCAF); (Source : Richard Trotter nephew of William Hedley Trotter, Ian Hunt and Nightjar Newsletter)

Buried At: RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL
Grave/Memorial : Panel 124.
Next of Kin: Son of Auguste and Rosetta Etienne, of Castries, St. Lucia, West Indies.

He was a Civil Servant in St Lucia but left home in 1940 to join the RAF

[Source(s): Trinidad Guardian 20 Mar 1943; CWGC; 214 (FMS) Sqn Association]

Rembembered on St. Lucia website

Possibly the crew of BF478. Sgt Ronald V. Street is shown on front right. This is from the collection of the sister of Ronald. Are you able to recognise and place names to any of the other crew? Mr. Ben Eustice feels that the West Indian chap, right, back row is F/O. Hugh Terence Etienne 129058 RAFVR – he was later ‘missing’ on an operation 5th March 1943. Flying with 214 Squadron Stirling BK662 BU-K on a raid to Essen when they were hit by flak, crashing into the North Sea. (courtesy Nicky Davenort) – See more at: http://aircrewremembered.com/evans-john.html

BARNARD – D.B.

Flight Lieutenant –  DFC

Son of Mr & Mrs George Barnard of Choiseul, St Lucia. Report states: “Is back on active service after reported missing last September” (1942). Brought down over Lille, eluded capture and escaped through France – Spain – Gibraltar

[Source: The Trinidad Guardian 17 Mar 1943, courtesy Jerome Lee, CMHA]