Behind the Scenes: Researching Cpl Bennetta

Author: Lt Col (Retd) Steve Colling, Corps Historian

The museum’s project to gather images of the gravestones of REME soldiers who died in service is making slow progress. Our database has over 4200 records about half of which relate to the Second World War. The circumstances of death can be hard to determine but if you know where to look you can sometimes join the dots.

This is the first in a series researching the service and death of a REME soldier who died 80 years ago on the publication date of this article.

There is just one REME gravestone at Mazargues War Cemetery on the outskirts of Marseille. Corporal (Cpl) Richard Bennetta, service number 3964087, died on 30 August 1945 and is buried there.

Cpl Benneta’s Gravestone, Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseille. © CWGC, reproduced with permission.

Beginning the search

Records of Service of REME soldiers born before 1939 are held by The National Archives at Kew. Those born later remain with the Ministry of Defence. Both are accessible but the process can be lengthy. The REME Archives does not have routine access to these records albeit we are gradually accumulating records by donation. Unfortunately, we do not have Cpl Bennetta’s Record of Service.

Online records can be revealing. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website is a good starting place for those who died during their service. At first sight the CWGC Register adds little detail, stating:

Excerpt from the CWGC Register Entry for Bennetta’s commemoration. © CWGC.

The genealogy website, Ancestry, holds digitised Casualty Lists. Cpl Bennetta is listed as ‘accidently killed’. A location/tracer card held by the museum suggests it was a flying accident.

Location/tracer card from our Archives.

A second search of the CWGC website of deaths commemorated in France, occurring on 30 August 1945, gave the names of 12 people, all of whom were buried at Mazargues War Cemetery. Their details are listed in the Grave Registration Report.

Grave Registration Report (two parts), Mazargues War Cemetery, Plot 11, Row A. © CWGC, reproduced with permission.

A thirteenth, Lieutenant (Lt) Daniels, was exhumed and repatriated by the Dutch in 1956. The list might suggest that the aircraft flown and crewed by the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAF(VR)) from 24 Squadron (Sqn) was carrying servicemen and women and a civilian working for the Admiralty when it crashed.

The aircraft crash

24 Squadron RAF used former commercial aircraft for air trooping flights with destinations including Malta, Gibraltar and India. It also operated Churchill’s personal aircraft.

Excerpt from the War Office Casualty Report. Source: The National Archives/Ancestry.

Ancestry has records for the RAF crew and passengers. Flying Officers Leonard Montague Francom and Harold Oliver Young were crew, with respective roles as wireless officer and navigator. The records state the plane broke up in bad weather on a transit flight from Malta to Hendon.

Francom and Young were both members of 24 Sqn based at RAF Hendon. It would appear that they were crew on the Douglas Dakota which crashed near Vaison-la-Romaine, France during a flight from Malta to Hendon. Flight Lieutenant Gibson was based at Headquarters (HQ) RAF Malta and Pilot Officer Henley DFC Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) was a member or 162 Sqn (Blackbush); both were passengers. The pilot was Antonius Daniels of the Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service (RNNAS). The co-pilot, Piet Willem Ree, was also Dutch. He was the fourteenth casualty.

According to Errol W Martyn, For Your Tomorrow - A record of New Zealanders who have died while serving with the RNZAF and Allied Air Services since 1915, Vol II:

“Flight from Malta to Hendon, England. 24 Squadron, RAF (Hendon, Middlesex - 47 Group) Dakota IV KJ974 - piloted by Lt Cdr A J Daniels, Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service, and thought to have broken up in mid-air while flying through a violent thunderstorm at 600 feet over Southern France at 1240, the wreckage falling near Crestet, a few kilometres SSE of Vaison-la-Romaine. The four crew and ten 10 military passengers, including an RNZAF pilot, are buried at Marseille.”

Another account varies slightly (Colin Cummings, The Price of Peace: A Catalogue Of RAF Aircraft Losses Between VE-Day And End Of 1945):

“… the pilot, who was exceptionally experienced with more than 8000 flying hours, disobeyed his briefing instructions and elected to take off in very bad weather. About 20 minutes after take-off, the aircraft encountered heavy turbulence and broke up in the air, striking the ground at a height of 600 feet, having been on fire in the air following initiation of the break up.”

The aircraft number and location of the crash site led to more clues.

The account from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (BAAA):

“20 minutes after his departure from Marseille, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with severe turbulence. At an altitude of 600 feet, the aircraft went out of control, broke up in the air, dove into the ground and crashed in a field. All 14 occupants were killed.”

Lt Daniels’ body was transferred to the Cimetière d'honneur Néerlandais, Orry-la-Ville, France (north of Paris) in 1956.

The other passengers

The two servicewomen with the Women’s Royal Naval Service (known as Wrens), Petty Officer (PO) Wren Collett and Wren Stallworthy, were serving at HMS St Angelo, a stone frigate (land-based unit) at Fort St Angelo in Malta.

Able Seaman S A Caffull was also based at a stone frigate, HMS Cormorant, in Gibraltar.

68 (North Midland) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment (HAA Regt) reformed from 10 HAA Regt in June 1943 and was based on Malta.

Lance Sergeant John James Kennedy’s tracer card, held by the Royal Artillery (RA) Archives and on Ancestry places him with 68 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment which was in Malta.

Regrettably, there doesn’t appear to be a tracer card with the correct service number for Gunner Arthur Wallace RA.

The 4th Battalion The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), to which Warrant Officer Class II (WO2) Champion belonged, was a 1st Line Territorial Army (TA) unit. The Battalion was transferred to the island of Malta in 1941 and served throughout the siege.

Richard Bennetta

A family tree published on Ancestry gives us an insight into Bennetta’s family history, naming his parents and wife and identifying a number of key sources including the 1921 Census for England & Wales and the 1939 Registration.

Excerpt from the 1939 Registration. Source: Ancestry.

The 1939 Registration places Richard and wife Myra in Bridgend. It gives Richard’s date of birth in 1918 and shows he was a quarry worker. An older brother, also a quarryman joined the Royal Artillery (TA) in 1934, transferring to the Pioneer Corps in 1941. At some point, Richard would have been called-up. Richard and Myra had two children in 1939 and 1942.

Our Archives holds tracer cards for many of our Second World War soldiers. Cpl Bennetta’s tracer card shows he served with 12 Sudan Defence Force Infantry Battalion (SDF Inf Bn) in the Middle East Force (MEF) Persia and Iraq Force (PAIC) from 7 April to 24 July 1945.

We have found no clue as to his employment between September 1939 and April 1945.

The surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945 (VJ Day) marked the official end of World War Two. Meanwhile, based in the Middle East in August 1945, Richard was returning home via Malta and Marseille. Shortly after leaving Marseille, the aircraft he was travelling in encountered bad weather and crashed near Vaison-la-Romaine, Vaucluse, France killing all four crew and 10 passengers.

His wife, Myra, remarried in 1961.

Next steps

The next article in the series will follow our Corps Historian’s visit to The National Archives to look at files including a war diary, accident investigation report, strength report and nominal roll to piece together more of the story of how Cpl Bennetta died.