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World War Two - Casualty List

Sergeant 
(Mid Upper Gunner)

Alfred Walter David Hover

RAFVR
[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve]

 

 

                  

Born:

1922
Baptised  28 June 1922 Hastingleigh

Service No.

1392470

Regiment(s)

9th Squadron Royal Air Force - Lancaster Bombers
RAF Waddington

Military Notes:

Avro Lancaster III [ED477] took off from RAF Waddington on a bombing run to the City of Hamburg. It did not return from the mission.
The crew were initially posted as missing, but their bodies were recovered and buried at the Russian Prisoner of War cemetery at Vechta, Plot 1 Grave 114.
Alfred's body was subsequently removed, and reinterred by the CWGC at Rheinberg War Cemetery on 9 Oct 1947.

A Missing Research & Enquiry team later established that the aircraft was shot down and crashed near the village of Ristedt.
Local eye witnesses stated at 0300 hours on 31/1/1943 a four engine bomber approached the village from the west, height about 1000 feet. The aircraft was burning in the air. Within a few minutes the aircraft crashed on Ristedt Moor, a pasture land belonging to a farmer by the name of Jacob of Ristedt.
No explosion was heard and it was assumed there were no bombs on the aircraft when it crashed

All the crew were killed.
The Lanaster crew:
Royal Australian Air Force
Flt Sgt J F Thomas, Captain (Pilot)
Flt Sgt L A Morgan, (Rear Gunner)
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Sgt W J Veysey, (Wireless Air Gunner)
Royal Air Force
RAF Sgt A W Hover, (Mid Upper Gunner)
RAF Sgt S F McLean, (Flight Engineer)
RAF Sgt J Murtagh (Navigator)
RAF Sgt B M Swallow, (Bomb Aimer) 
All but the pilot are buried at Rheinberg, Flight Sergeant Thomas is buried at Sage War Cemetery, Germany.

[information sourced from Bomber Command Website and other sources]

Family Notes:

Grandson of Shirley Arthur Thomas John Norrington (formerly living at the Old Rectory Hastingleigh and on the village WW1 Roll of Honour) and Minnie Jane nee Birchett of Rose Cottage, Evington Lees.
His maternal great uncle was Harry Percy Birchett -see WW1 Casualty List and is commemorated on the War Memorial
. His first cousin was Albert William Norrington
another WW2 Casualty.

Alfred's parents were
Alfred William Hover (1892-1965) from Waltham,
and Mabel Letitia 'Lettie' Elizabeth Norrington (1900-1982) from Hastingleigh/Elmsted.
m.1921

Alfred's siblings were
Frederick C Norrington-Hover (b. Norrington) (1919-2003)
Elsie Hilda M Hover (1927-1998)
wife of (1)Charles Palmer  (2)Ronald James Lavender;

Lilian J H Hover wife of Geoffrey T Bone
Desmond L J Hover (m. Patricia Fagg)
George Norrington Hover (1935-1935)

1939 register address for his parents: 1 Oast Cottage, Little Court, Nargate Street, Bridge, Kent.

Civilian Occupation:

Married:

un-married

Died:

Killed on the night of 30-31 January 1943 Aged 20

Cemetery/Memorial:

Buried at Rheinberg War Cemetery, Nordrhein-Westfal, Germany.
Plot 17 Row H grave 18

He is NOT commemorated on Hastingleigh Memorial - or any others in the locality as far as can be ascertained. Please contact this website if you know of any UK memorial for Alfred. Thankyou.

.

.

Alfred was a mid upper gunner, which is located in
the bubble along the top of the Lancaster's fuselage.



page last updated 01 May 2017