Roy Edgar Crockett D.F.C. – An Unassuming Hero

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman statesman and philosopher in the first century AD, and much of his work has survived. Of his many famous quotes and sayings, the following resonates as powerfully today as it did during the halcyon days of the Roman Empire …

“To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?”

The records of golf history at (most) golf clubs are woven into the fabric of clubhouses, with honours boards decorating the walls, immortalising club members’ achievements forever. My home club, Beverley & East Riding Golf Club, is no exception. Club champions, trophy winners, internationals, presidents, and captains have been celebrated since the club’s founding in 1889 to the present day.

This article was sparked by a chance encounter between our club secretary, Andrew Webster, and long-standing member Brian Crockett. Referencing the ‘Captains of the Club’ honours board, Andrew asked Brian whether R.E.Crockett D.F.C., the club captain in 1977, was a relation, to which Brian replied, “Yes, my late father”.

That initial spark ignited a series of email exchanges and conversations, culminating in (this article) …

Roy Edgar Crockett D.F.C. – An Unassuming Hero

Researching and writing about his unbelievable backstory has been an honour and privilege … I hope you enjoy

As much as I can

Born in 1924, Roy Crockett grew up in the Greater London borough of Enfield. In 1935, he gained a place at Enfield Grammar School, an educational establishment founded in 1558 when Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, succeeded to the throne.

The school’s motto is Tant Que Je Puis, an Old French phrase meaning As much as I can. This phrase is typically used when expressing that you are doing something to the best of your ability, and as you will read, Roy Crockett more than lived up to the moral values inherent in the school’s motto.

(Enfield Grammar School has an illustrious list of notable alumni, including academics, musicians, sportsmen, actors, politicians, and military personnel. Arguably, the most famous alumni would be the actor William Henry Pratt, whose stage name was Boris Karloff!)

Venture Adventure

In 1938, Air Commodore Chamier established the Air Defence Cadet Corps (A.D.C.C.), a volunteer organisation that prepared cadets for military aviation. Activities and training included drills, physical education, athletics, shooting, camping, and flying. Roy Crockett was one of the thousands of young men up and down the country who enrolled with the A.D.C.C., joining the 17F (Cadet) Squadron attached to Enfield Grammar School, where it was noted that he always gave the impression of being ‘fighting fit’.

The UK government recognised the A.D.C.C.’s valuable work despite its much-reduced activities due to the war between Great Britain and Germany. Thus, in February 1941, the Air Training Corps (ATC), with the motto Venture Adventure, was established to replace the A.D.C.C. to prepare young men for entry into the Royal Air Force (RAF) … Roy Crockett was one of those young men.

The Long Room

When war was declared on Germany, the UK Parliament immediately introduced the National Service (Armed Forces) Act, imposing conscription on all males aged (between) 18 and 41 who had to register for service.

And so, one day (in 1942), Roy Crockett and two of his friends reported to the Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, for their medical to determine whether they could be declared fit to serve their country.

Lord’s is the cricket equivalent of St Andrews in that it is the Home of Cricket. The medical was conducted in the Long Room, located on the ground floor of the Lord’s Pavilion. In the words of journalist Lawrence Booth, the Long Room is “the most evocative four walls in world cricket”, home to a priceless collection of paintings of famous cricketers and administrators, some of which date back to the 18th century.

Roy Crockett passed his medical and immediately joined the RAF … and he could always brag that he dropped his trousers in the Long Room!

Graduation

And so, in March 1942, Roy Crockett started his training to learn how to fly. Aircraft were much more basic, with pedals and a steering wheel, and the pilots were expected to work out the rest! With an instructor at the controls, he quickly learnt the fundamentals of flying … take-off, climbing, gliding, stalling, and landing … and he was flying solo within a month!

After completing basic training, Roy Crockett travelled to the United States to undergo advanced training. This included more complicated manoeuvres, spinning, steep turns, and aerobatics, all performed in an Airspeed AS.10 Oxford, a twin-engine monoplane used for pilot training during World War II.

On January 1st, 1943, Roy Crockett received a graduation certificate from Riddle-McKay Aero College in the United States stating that he had …

Completed with honours and a high promise of credit in the service of his King and his Country the Primary, Basic and Advanced phases of the Royal Air Force Flying Training

Combat Operations

Returning to England, Roy Crockett continued his extensive RAF training. He no longer flew solo in monoplanes but now piloted bomber aircraft, such as the Wellington long-range medium bomber. His training involved working (for the first time) with an aircrew, learning to fly in formation, mine laying and solo bombing. He then undertook a series of daytime and nighttime exercises with his aircrew.

Stationed with the 466 Squadron at RAF Leconfield, near Beverley, Yorkshire, England, Roy Crockett was ready to undertake combat operations over Europe. Three of his first four operations for the 466 Squadron involved bombing the German cities of Mannheim, Berlin and Magdeburg, whilst the other operation focused on dropping mines off the coast of Europe into mineable waters that were inaccessible or too exposed for the Royal Navy.

640 Squadron

Throughout World War II, RAF Leconfield was the base for various RAF Squadrons, including the 640 Squadron. Formed on 7 January 1944, this new RAF squadron was equipped with Handley Page Halifax Mk.III heavy bombers. It was an amalgamation of the 158 Squadron, previously based at RAF Lissett (near Bridlington, Yorkshire, England), and some of the crews from the 466 Squadron, including Roy Crockett and his aircrew.

Meet the Aircrew

During the 640 Squadron operations, Roy Crockett and his aircrew worked collaboratively, each crew member knowing their specific role. The unified purpose was to reach the enemy target, drop bombs on it, and, God willing, return safely to RAF Leconfield.

As the pilot, Roy Crockett was responsible for the crew’s lives throughout an operation that could last as long as seven hours and coordinated their actions and tasks. He would have also been the last crew member to leave the Halifax Mk.III aircraft if an evacuation was required.

The navigator, Roger ‘Sammy’ Sampson, was responsible for ensuring the aircraft stayed on course throughout the operation, a role that required acute concentration.

George ‘Benny’ Lynch was the bomb-aimer. During a bombing run, George lay flat in the nose of the Halifax Mk.III until all the bombs had been successfully dropped and a photograph of the target location had been taken. He was also the reserve pilot if anything untoward happened to Roy Crockett.

Mervyn Harris was the wireless operator whose primary role was transmitting messages from the aircraft to RAF Leconfield. He also acted as the reserve gunner.

Flight Engineer Jock Duff was responsible for the systems (electrical, fuel, mechanical and hydraulic) of the aircraft and assisting Roy Crockett during take-off and landing. He was also the reserve bomb-aimer.

Mid-upper gunner Robert ‘Bobby’ Webb and rear gunner Ronald ‘Ron’ Pope defended the Halifax Mk.III whenever it came under fire from enemy fighters … and they never left their respective turrets from take-off to landing!

Memorable and Dangerous

During their first month with 640 Squadron, Roy Crockett and his aircrew completed seven operational bombing missions, five targeting cities in Germany and two targeting Northern France at Le Mans and Trappes. With the benefit of hindsight, the operations over France were part of the preparations for the Normandy Landings in June 1944.

On 22nd March 1944, the 640 Squadron’s next target was the German city of Frankfurt. In a letter, wireless operator Mervyn Harris recalled the events of that mission, which he described as …

“This was the most memorable and dangerous operation of our tour.”

(To illustrate how dangerous these tours of operations were, the 640 Squadron lost 50 aircraft, and 329 of its aircrew were casualties of war before being disbanded in May 1945) 

Unexplained Failure

Roy Crockett was scheduled to fly the Halifax Mk.III bomber with the code name ‘J’ for Jig for the Frankfurt operational mission, but due to a last-minute engine fault, he was transferred to a spare aircraft with the code name ‘S’ for Sugar. This caused a twenty-minute delay to the take-off.

And then, just as they crossed the coastline, the power for the aircraft wireless failed. Mervyn Harris appraised Roy Crockett of the failure, and despite checking the fuses and plugs and, as a last resort, ‘kicking’ the wireless, he could not restore the power. Roy gave Mervyn (a further) 10 minutes to resolve the problem, or else he would have had no alternative but to abort the mission and return to RAF Leconfield. Mervyn re-checked all the wireless equipment but to no avail … and then, for some unexplained reason, the power returned.

Night Fighters

About fifty miles north of Frankfurt, bomb-aimer George Lynch had just about completed his tasks in readiness to drop the bombs on Frankfurt when ‘S’ for Sugar was intercepted by a German night fighter and hit from underneath. Shells from the night fighter blew one of the bomb bay doors off and severely buckled the other. Other shells hit the starboard inner propeller, spinning white-hot fragments into the cockpit and knocking Roy Crockett unconscious. George Lynch, Roger Sampson, Jock Duff and Mervyn Harris all sustained minor injuries.

A Miracle

The badly damaged aircraft was turned upside down and spiralled out of control, plunging earthwards, and the aircrew were trapped in their respective positions due to the gravitational force.

Benny Lynch started to shout repeatedly …

“Roy, Pull It Out … Roy, Pull It Out … You Can Do It”

The aircraft lost about a mile and a half of altitude when, miraculously, Roy Crockett regained consciousness. Using only one arm, as his right shoulder had been hit with shrapnel, he somehow managed to pull the aircraft ‘straight and level’. Back in control, the bombs from one of the bays were disposed of on a suitable alternative target.

No sooner had Roy Crockett prevented certain death for the aircrew and himself when a fire broke out, flames visible from the floor to the roof, just behind the cockpit. … and smoke poured into the cockpit, meaning Roy was unable to see the instrument panel. Bale out or (try to) extinguish the fire? Mervyn Harris, with support from George Lynch, very quickly doused the fire, and thus, baling out was averted.

Worst Enemy

Almost without exception, RAF aircrew would say that flak, explosive shells from an antiaircraft weapon, was their worst enemy … an enemy they faced on every flight. Returning home to RAF Leconfield, the gunners Robert Webb and Ronald Pope advised that flak was exploding above the aircraft. What followed is extracted from the same (memorable and dangerous) letter that Mervyn Harris wrote…

“Roy was magnificent. Roy opened the throttles and climbed towards it (the flak). Flak below us, down we went. Flak above us, up we went. It was Roy’s brilliant logic we had to thank that the Germans never hit us.”

Perfect Landing

The undercarriage was down as ‘S’ for Sugar prepared to land at RAF Leconfield, but the (undercarriage) light stayed red rather than green, indicating the wheels were not locked. Roy Crockett had no choice but to inform the control tower that they would be undertaking an emergency landing … but the light turned out to be faulty as the wheels were locked, and Roy executed a perfect landing.

He was then taken to the nearby hospital to have his shrapnel wounds tended to. The following day, he was advised that the fuselage of ‘S’ for Sugar resembled a pepper pot and that the aircraft was beyond repair.

Distinguished Flying Cross

Roy Crockett was only 20 years and 1 month old when piloting ‘S’ for Sugar on the operational mission to Frankfurt. For his valour, courage, and devotion to duty on this mission, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (D.F.C.).

But Roy was such a humble, genuine gentleman that he never celebrated his D.F.C.; to him, the Frankfurt mission from take-off to landing was an unbelievable team effort.

Citation

The London Gazette is not your normal newspaper; it does not cover general news, sports, etc. Published on behalf of HMSO (His Majesty’s Stationery Office), it posts selected statutory notices, including the awarding of military medals. When awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the following citation appeared in the Gazette …

“Pilot Officer Roy Edgar Crockett, 640 Sqn. This officer has participated in many sorties against targets important to the enemy’s war effort. He has invariably pressed home his attacks with great determination, setting a fine example. On one occasion, when attacking Frankfurt, his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and temporarily went out of control. A fire broke out near the main spar, and the cockpit filled with smoke. With the greatest difficulty, Pilot Officer Crockett succeeded in regaining control and turned for home whilst other crew members fought the fire, which they soon extinguished. Although suffering acutely from the pain of his wounds, Pilot Officer Crockett displayed great fortitude and flew the damaged aircraft to the base. His example of courage and tenacity was worthy of great praise.” 

Operation Neptune

Within a couple of months, Roy Crockett had recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained, returning to duty towards the end of May 1944 with a bombing mission over the city of Aachen. In conjunction with the same aircrew, Roy Crockett was involved with 36 (Bomber Command) operations, with the final mission on 18th August 1944 targeting the town of Sterkrade, part of the city of Oberhausen in the Ruhr area of Germany.

One of the 640 Squadron missions post-Frankfurt was aligned to Operation Neptune, the codename for the D-Day Normandy Landings. In the early hours of 6th June 1944, the 640 Squadron, including Roy Crockett, flew their Halifax Bombers over the French village of Grandcamp-Maisy in Normandy, where there were several German artillery batteries. But rather than drop bombs, they dropped metallic radar-jamming silver foil known as ‘window’. The foil strips were configured (in length) to be half the wavelength of the radar used by the Germans and, when dropped in large quantities, severely disrupted the German radar defences.

Head Over Heels

While stationed at RAF Leconfield, Roy and his friends sometimes attended a local dance in Beverley when they had some ‘operational downtime’.

At one such event, Roy accidentally stumbled down some stairs and landed at the feet of an attractive young lady called Betty Brusby … most definitely ‘Head Over Heels’, as Roy and Betty started courting and married in 1945, and (the bomb aimer) George ‘Benny’ Lynch was Roy’s best man.

Demobbed

Although no longer flying operational missions with 640 Squadron, Roy Crockett was not demobbed from the RAF until January 1946. In the final fifteen months of serving his country, he flew numerous non-operational flights in various aircraft, such as Wellingtons and Hurricanes.

One of his more unusual tasks was to fly Dakotas, a military transport aircraft, to RAF Elvington (near York, England) to be scrapped! He would then have to return to base … on foot, by bus, and by train!

After leaving the RAF, Roy Crockett lived and worked in Suffolk for several years before receiving a call from (his brother-in-law) William Brusby to join him at WM Brusby & Co., Estate Agents and Mortgage Insurance Brokers. This he did, eventually becoming the Managing Director of a successful company that was well-known throughout Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Golf

Roy enjoyed sport but more as a spectator than an active participant. But in 1970, he joined Beverley & East Riding Golf Club … he was friends with Jim Ward (captain of the Club in 1975) and other members, so they probably talked him into playing golf at Beverley!

Although he was right-handed, Roy played golf left-handed. He was given an initial playing handicap of 24, which gradually improved over the years, lowering his handicap to 18 by 1978, a handicap he maintained for several seasons.

His playing achievements at Beverley included …

• 1973 – Runner Up in the Robinson Cup 2nd Round (86-24-62) … lost on countback
• 1974 – Third in the Muir Cup (85-23-62)
• 1978 – Winner of the Ford Amateur Tournament Qualifier (81-18-63)

Captain

In 1976, Roy Crockett was nominated as Vice-Captain of Beverley & East Riding Golf Club. The following year, he proudly accepted the role of Captain at this historic golf club. Although he was entitled to use the post-nominal letters D.F.C., he had to be encouraged by his wife Betty to have D.F.C. etched onto the Captains Honours Board after R.E. Crockett.

(Ironically, in the year of his captaincy, RAF Leconfield closed and was renamed Normandy Barracks when the Army School of Mechanical Transport took over the site).

During his tenure as Captain, Beverley & East Riding Golf Club won the (coveted) Hull and District Golfing Association Ted Biggs Salver, primarily through excellent scores by Mike North (65) and Nigel Bunday (66), Assistant Professional and Head Professional, respectively.

In his role as Captain, Roy and Betty were invited to no less than 19 Christmas meals at various golf clubs … though there is no evidence to substantiate the rumour that Roy wore the same Dinner Suit and that Betty wore a different dress at each of these meals!

Roy served on the Beverley & East Riding Golf Club committee for several more years.

Unassuming Hero

In the early 1980s, the surviving members of the 640 Squadron met for a reunion on Beverley Westwood, an expanse of common land rich in beauty and history. One of the highlights was the flying of a remote-controlled Halifax Bomber Mk.III model aircraft.

Also in attendance was a reporter from BBC Radio Humberside, who interviewed Roy Crockett to learn what life was like at RAF Leconfield during World War II and to discuss the mission to Frankfurt.

Roy focused on the comradeship at RAF Leconfield, starting with the Station Commander, Group Captain Waterhouse, who always met the aircrews at whatever time of day or night they returned from operations. He then praised the ground crew, who looked after the aircraft, saying there was absolutely nothing they would not do and that they would invariably stay up waiting for the aircraft to return to base.

When talking about the mission to Frankfurt, he was very matter-of-fact about his role and full of praise for his aircrew’s individual and collective efforts.

During the (5-minute) interview, he never mentioned being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross … Roy Edgar Crockett was, without question, an unassuming hero.