During 2009 I made contact with Karl Lusink. Along with his brother Hans, they had formed the Aircraft Research Group Achterhoek (ARGA). The group was created to investigate the many crashed aircraft. These crashes included both Allied and German planes in the Achterhoek region of Gelderland.

Karl had an eyewitness account of the crash location. He also had documents from the Red Cross. This was a tantalizing piece of information. I hoped it would lead to Karl doing a dig at the site.

I had no more contact with Karl and family life meant less time for research.

The search for relatives

My original purpose was to search for any living relatives. I wanted to find a picture of the crew killed when JB603 failed to return. I had, through earlier research, found pictures of others that had flown on her. Yet, so far, no pictures existed of these men.

Searching for living relatives is never easy. Online research was very limited back in 2009. The first idea is to put out the question in any online forums: did any of the men have wives? Wartime airmen faced the danger of each night being their last. Many fell in love and married in a short time.

I’m in luck. Two of them had children. Both had daughters. The next problem is whether they are still alive. If so, they are in their sixties and married with a different name.

If you fail to find any connection online, you need to go back to basics. I know home towns from 1945. Check phone books for anyone in the same area with that name. Surprisingly, it can work. Send letters to all the names you find and wait. The next step, if you can’t find a name, is to contact a local paper. They will often run a story with a local interest.

The online site Aircrew remembered had JB603 and a picture of Albert Law. It was submitted by his brothers. I had brief emails with them. Then there was silence, which was really frustrating.

The site also had a group picture believed to be the crew but no names, was it them ?

A letter arrives from Christina Peake. Her brother, Michael Gillen, received my letter in the post and forwarded it to her. Christina is Eamonn Gillen’s daughter. She included a picture of herself with her Father and Mother. This poor quality picture is the only one she has of her parents with her.

This is the big breakthrough, Eamonn Gillen is in the group picture, this must be the crew.

Now the ball is rolling. A reply from an online inquiry arrives with a picture of Alastair Gordon. The photo comes from the son of his wartime girlfriend.

A letter from Bill Aldred, the younger brother of the rear gunner Bernard Aldred, and another picture. I now have five people in the group with a name.

Wireless operator Jack Murray Clyde Wilson was Australian. This sounds odd, but it’s actually very lucky. Australian archives are better and easier to access. They often come with the bonus of a picture taken before leaving for training.

From Jack’s obituary, I knew he had a daughter living in Essenden at the time of his death. It’s not possible to access records of living people in the Australian archives. So, I had no idea if she was still living. In March 2011, I sent an email to the Moonee Valley Leader. It is the local paper for the area they had been living in 1945. A curious reply came from the editor who wanted to know more details. I explained the back story and my search for relatives. Local papers love this type of story. They ran it front page and even sent someone around to the location. Sadly, no answers came. The current owner had no idea, so the search ended…. or so I thought, imagine over a year passing and suddenly an email from an excited editor, “I’ve found Rosemary”.

Out of the blue, Rosemary Bellis nee Wilson entered her Father’s name into a search engine. The article from the Leader, posted online over a year beforehand, appeared unexpectedly. I don’t know who was more surprised—me, the editor, or Rosemary.

By now I had heard from relatives of Joyce Sparrow, Pilot Reginald Barker’s wife. She had remarried. My search for living relatives has now exceeded my best hopes.

Never give up hope

If you read this and you too are looking, never give up hope. The techniques I used now seem redundant in the cyber age. When all else fails, try them. Local papers love a good local story about the war. They will often run them with the hope someone will see them and respond. Phone books can also be useful. Many families stay in the same area. You can often find a last location in the Commonwealth War Grave records. Writing to everyone in the area with the same name is a long shot. But, it worked twice in this story.

The search for the crash site continues…JB603 crash site