M.V. PHILLIPS

Mansel Vernal Phillips
Sergeant 1836048 – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
431 (Iroquois) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Born: June 1924, Troedrhiwfuwch, Wales
Died: 4 December 1943, Aged 19
Buried at Hanover War Cemetery, Germany – Grave 6. A. 18

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Mansel Vernal Phillips was born in June 1924 in the small Welsh village of Troedrhiwfuwch to Edward and Mary Phillips. He grew up at 63 High Street, part of a close-knit coal-mining community, with his father working as a Coal Hewer, Below Surface. Mansel had two brothers, John and Kenneth, and a sister, Gaynor.

On the eve of his departure for war, the family home was so full that he had to sleep elsewhere. Brian Thomas, who lived in the village Post Office, later recalled:

“The night before he left for war, there was no room in his house to sleep. I was a young boy and I remember him sleeping in my house that night.”

Mansel enlisted at Penarth and joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was posted to No. 431 (Iroquois) Squadron, initially formed in Burn, Yorkshire in November 1942. In July 1943, the squadron transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force’s newly formed No. 6 Group, moving to Tholthorpe and later to Croft, County Durham.

The unit began operations flying Wellington bombers, then upgraded to Halifax V aircraft—the type in which Mansel would serve as a Rear Gunner.

On the night of 3 December 1943, Sergeant Phillips and his crew took off at 23:38 aboard Halifax V LK968 from Tholthorpe, on a mission to bomb Leipzig. The aircraft was lost near Hanover. The cause of the crash was never determined. Mansel was just 19 years old.

He is buried with honour in Hanover War Cemetery, Germany.

🕊️ "In the silence above the clouds, their bravery echoes forever."

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“Operation - Leipzig. 527 aircraft. By way of a diversion, the main force took a direct route toward Berlin and then turned off for Leipzig, by which time German fighters were already amongst them and scoring successes. Fortunately, many were called back to Berlin once the Mosquito diversionary raid began. as a result, only three bombers were thought to have been Lost in the target area. Some aircraft flew off course and ended up in the heavily defended Frankfurt area and most of the losses sustained this night were amongst them. PFF marking was accurate and the resultant bombing was effective. The former World Fair exhibition buildings were hit, some of which had been converted into a Junkers aircraft factory.”

www.losses.internationalbcc.co.uk