Sergeant (A/G) 1330947 Horace Arthur William Sewell, RAFVR, 214 Squadron, Stradishall, Norfolk... 

...was born 1922, the son of Horace and Mary Sewell.

Horace enlisted into the Royal Air Force and following training as an Air Gunner was posted to 214 Squadron flying Short Stirlings. The squadron’s target for the night of the 27th/28th June 1942 was the heavily defended port of Bremen. Sgt Sewell was the Rear Gunner of Stirling N3751 – aircraft code BU-P, piloted by Sgt FM Griggs.

At 23.40 hours, the crew set out for their target. The aircraft was heavily damaged by flak and night fighters and Sgt Sewell was killed and Sgt W Wildey was injured. On return to base the undercarriage would not lower and so the pilot performed a wheels up crash landing. The six survivors managed to escape and the body of Sgt Sewell was removed. For their fortitude, all six survivors were each awarded the DFM (Distinguished Flying Medal).

Whilst not unique, it was very unusual for a whole crew to be recognised in this way – the whole crew that is except for poor Sgt Sewell...

The crew were:-

Sgt FM Griggs (RAAF)

Sgt TNC Prosser

Sgt AR O’Hara

Sgt W Wildey

Sgt R Watson

F/Sgt JIC Waddicar

Sgt HAW Sewell

Combat report for this crew:

"The aircraft was hit by flak over the target, which knocked out the starboard engine. Near the Dutch coast a night fighter attacked from below, raking the Stirling from nose to tail, killing the rear gunner, Sgt Sewell. Almost immediately after this attack, another Junkers 88 attacked the Stirling from the port beam, wounding wireless operator Sgt Wildey, in the arm and causing further heavy damage to the aircraft. The nightfighter then came in for another attack, but this time Sgt Waddicar, the mid-upper gunner, managed to shoot it down.

Whilst the attacks were taking place, the front gunner, Sgt Watson, had left his turret to give aid to Sgt Wildey; whilst doing so a warning was given that two fighters were making a head-on attack. Sgt Watson rushed back to his turret but found that it was jammed and would not budge, and that he could not enter it. However, with help of the navigator, Sgt O'Hara, holding his legs, he was able to lean forward and fire the guns at one of the attackers; by some strange twist of fate, the enemy flew into the gunfire and was shot down. The other fighter came in for its second attack. The mid-upper, whose two guns had jammed in the previous attack, managed just in time to clear one of these and returned fire with the fighter at 200 yards range. Once more the mid-upper was successful, and had the satisfaction of seeing his second kill of the night, as the fighter exploded and crashed into the sea.

It must have seemed as if the Luftwaffe had orders from Goering himself to shoot the Stirling down. This time an Me109 attacked, but then enemy was beaten off by the gunfire of Sgt Waddicar.

This was not the end of the ordeal however. By now, the badly damaged aircraft had a great deal of height and was almost out of control and it was only through the skill and effort of Sgt Griggs that the Stirling did not crash into the sea - the tail plane actually went into the water!

The major challenge now was to get the aircraft and crew safely back to base. The navigator showed great navigational skill with astro navigation to guide the aircraft home. Sgt Tom Prosser, the Flight Engineer, was faced with the nightmare task of nursing the damaged engines and in looking after the hydraulics and fuel supply, and he did a magnificent job of it too. Both port engines were badly damaged but continued to run until base was reached, and it was here that the final part of the ordeal appeared – the hydraulics were u/s and the undercarriage would not lower, and, to make matters worse, both the two good engines cut whilst still a couple of miles from home.

Unable to perform a circuit to land, Sgt Griggs somehow managed to bring the aircraft in over the boundary for a belly landing. At this stage, only a few miles from home, the two good engines cut. As the aircraft was unable to circle, it was brought in for a belly landing by the pilot, who managed to bring it safely over the airfield's boundary."

The Eastbourne Chronicle for the 4th of July 1942 reports upon his death and life under the column heading “Eastbourne Airman’s Death In Epic Flight”. The paper notes that 'he was the youngest son of Mr and Mrs Horace Sewell of 1 Palermo Flats, Granville Road, Eastbourne.'

After a couple of lines on the action in which Horace was killed, the Chronicle notes that: 'After Horace left Willowfield School, he worked as a clerk for Plummer, Broad and Parsons, chartered accountant, then as a telephone operator at the Town Hall exchange and as a school attendance officer. Before joining the R.A.F, he was a F/Sgt with Eastbourne Air Training Corps and a Corporal in the Eastbourne Home Guard.' 

The funeral at Ocklynge Cemetery on the 3rd of July was preceded by a requiem mass at St Peter’s Church where Sgt Sewell had been a chorister and server.