Tag: RAF Pathfinders

Following the Echoes: The Fickle Finger of Fate

Posted on by Claudia Fox Reppen in English Posts, Following the Echoes
Photo of F/L Bertram Leonard Smith while serving with Squadron 428. Smith was born in Barking, Essex, England on June 11, 1918. He served in Bomber Command from 1940–1944. Photo: Courtesy of Michael Smith.

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In the description for Following the Echoes, I wrote that the book “reflects on the ripple effect that the pulling of literal and metaphorical triggers can have on our lives.”

This past summer, Lance and I were reminded of the extent of that ripple effect from the pulling of triggers—and I don’t mean of the metaphorical kind.

On July 30, Lance happened to notice a memorial post in an RAF Bomber Command Facebook group by a woman named Karen Quaile, who was remembering her grandfather, F/L Bertram Leonard Smith, aka “Smiddy,” a wireless operator/air gunner who disappeared on Lancaster KB759 of RCAF 428 Ghost Squadron on the night of July 28/29, 1944, on a bombing raid to Hamburg—the same night and the same raid from which Wendell “Del” Drew failed to return on Lancaster JB707.

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The Job to Be Done: A Review with a Special Connection

Posted on by Claudia Fox Reppen in English Posts, Following the Echoes
Author Clint L. Coffey. Photo courtesy of Clint Coffey.

Recently, my brother and co-author, Lance Fox, did an internet search related to our book, Following the Echoes, to see whether any new relevant documents had come to light.

In his search, Lance was excited to discover a blog post by Clint L. Coffey, who, as it turns out, is a fellow Canadian and a fellow FriesenPress author of the same year (2023). Also, his book, The Job to Be Done: A Son’s Journey Into the Story of a WW2 Bomber Command Aircrew, is about a Bomber Command crew of personal significance (the pilot, Flying Officer Jesse Coffey, was Clint’s father).

But this was not all that connected us to Clint. It was while searching for any new mentions of names or topics related to Following the Echoes—specifically Lancaster JB707, in which Wendell “Del” Drew and his crew, piloted by Flying Officer Elwood Townsend, perished in 1944—that Lance found Clint’s post.

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Following the Echoes: The Others

Posted on by Claudia Fox Reppen in English Posts, Following the Echoes

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On behalf of my brother Lance Fox and myself, I begin this post with a big thanks to everyone so far who has purchased a copy of our book, Following the Echoes: The Quest to Uncover a True Wartime Story of Love, Loss, and Legacy. We have received a number of messages from readers who were touched by the story, and who appreciated our research and attention to detail. Your messages of praise and gratitude mean a lot to us. Thank you!

I would also like to thank The RAF Pathfinders Archive for publishing an article about Flying Officer Wendell Pierce Drew and our book as a follow-up to their earlier articles about Sgt. Derek Carrott and Wing Commander Charles Gray. All three men were part of the Townsend crew aboard Lancaster JB707, which went down over the North Sea on the night of July 28/29, 1944. Our book is the first to give an in-depth analysis of the final movements and moments of this crew, the only crew from Group 8 to not return on a night of heavy casualties for Group 6 of RAF Bomber Command.

With the publishing of Following the Echoes, and with Remembrance Day/Armistice Day just around the corner, we would like to issue a call for help in searching as we hope to continue “following the echoes.”

Continue reading “Following the Echoes: The Others” →