Henry John (Jack) Chatterton

This story is shared by the Trust with kind permission from Mavis Williams, Researcher and Simon Chatterton, Great Nephew of Henry John Chatterton

Henry John Chatterton was born on the 9th of November 1922, the son of Harry and Marie Philippine Chatterton (née Damgen) who had married in the March quarter of 1928 in the Croydon Registration District. Harry had met Marie, who was German, when he was in the Army after the First World War.

Harry Chatterton, had first been married to Mary Sybil Hurst in the September quarter of 1900, in the Lambeth Registration District. They are seen on the 1911 census living with their family at 22 Lower Coombe Sreet, Croydon. Harry Chatterton, 30, was a Brewers Drayman and had been born in Newark-on-Trent. Mary had been born in Truleigh, Sussex. They had been married 11 years and 4 children had been born, but sadly 1 had died.  Their children were Muriel Chatterton, 9, born in West Norwood, Cecil Chatterton, 7, and Harry Chatterton, 1, both born in Croydon, Surrey. A niece, Edith Chatterton, 7, was staying with them and had been born in Redhill. There was also a Boarder, Richard Fox, 70, a widower with No Occupation.

The 1921 census, which was taken on the 19th of June 1921, tells us that Mary Chatterton was living at 17, Pageant Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, England.  She describes herself as a ‘wife’ but I do believe that her and Harry Chatterton (Snr) were probably separated by then. She was living with her daughter, Kathleen Muriel and son, Harry, and they also had a boarder, Leonard Reynolds, aged 24 years, born in St Albans, Hertfordshire and a Photographer on his Own Account.

The 1939 National Register, which was taken on the 29th of September 1939, records that Mary Chatterton was a Paid Housekeeper, but is now incapacitated. She was living at 101 Victor Road, Teddington with her married daughter Kathleen M. Laws, who was doing Unpaid Domestic Duties and her husband, Alan J.J. Laws who was a Post Office Sorting Clerk & Telegraphist. Also, in the household were Sheila A. Laws, born on the 22nd of May 1925 and seeking work, not previously taken, and Derek J.B. Laws, born 28th of July 1930, who was at school. There was also a redacted or ‘Closed’ entry.

We find on the same National Register in 1939 Harry Chatterton, who was living at 23 Salem Place, Croydon and working as a Brewers Dray, Heavy. His wife, Marie P. Chatterton was doing Unpaid Domestic Duties and Henry Chatterton was working as an Armature Winder. They also had Edwin Wood living with them who was widowed and an Old Age Pensioner.

At some point, Henry met Olive Josephine Phoebe Ranson and they married in the September quarter of 1943 in the Croydon Registration District. Olive's father had died in the December quarter of 1929, aged 41 years. He had served in WW1 as a Corporal (A.C.S.M.) in the Army Service Corps, Service number T/20471 and on the 13th of February 1917 was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The citation reads: ‘For conspicuous devotion to duty. He has performed consistent good work throughout and has set a fine example of discipline.’

Henry Chatterton enlisted in the Royal Air Force and in February 1943 he had been sent for training at No 2 Manning Depot, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. It served as an initial entry and basic training unit under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), where new recruits learned military discipline, regulations, drill, and the fundamentals of air force life.

He returned to the UK after his initial training and was to find himself fighting on D-Day and laid down his life for our freedom. He was a crew member of Albemarle Mk.V V1773, 297 Squadron, Royal Air Force (RAF). They took off from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire at 19:00 on 6 June 1944 towing gliders for Operation Mallard (bringing reinforcements for 6th Airborne Division on the evening of D-Day). He was killed when, after releasing the glider near Ranville, Calvados the aircraft was hit by a German anti-aircraft flak ship stationed in the Caen Canal and crashed near Biéville-sur-Orne, Calvados.

The Croydon Times newspaper, dated the 25th of November 1944, tells us a little more about Henry John Chatterton.

He was known as ‘Jack’ and before he joined the R.A.F. in 1941, he was educated at Kingsley School, West Croydon and employed at the Croydon Engineering Co., Ltd., Purley Way where he first met his wife, formerly Miss Olive Ranson of Eland Road, Waddon. The newspaper added that she gave birth to a baby daughter on the Monday as the news was broken that a section of his aircraft had been found near Caen. The baby daughter would be called Barbara J. Chatterton.

The RAF investigation into the location of the grave of Flying Officer Long, the pilot of the aircraft, tells us what happened on the morning of 6th June.

"Around 8p.m. on 6th of June three RAF aircraft were shot down at Bieville-Sur-Orne by AA fire after dropping their gliders. The crew of one parachuted out and were saved: the second crew were killed, the bodies and the plane removed by the RAF and the third crew, which from the facts already given seem to be FO Long's crew, were killed and buried in Bieville-Sur-Orne.

The latter aircraft Mk V V1773 was hit while turning away towards the (...) and attempted to crash-land. Avoiding action was taken by the pilot when it seemed the plane was going to crash in the farm, called Ferme de la Vallee ( ½ mile from the village). The plane came down in an orchard adjoining the farm. skimmed the ground and crashed into a wall around the garden at Freme de la Vallee.

The Frenchmen witnessed the crash from the courtyard at Ferme de la Vallee namely M. Pasdois of Bieville-Sur-Orne and M. de Slovere of la Ferme de la Vallee. These two men commenced to rescue what they could from the wreckage. They were assisted by No. 5110084 (?) Pte Jack Roberts of the "Yorkshire Light Infantry" (probably a Bn of the K.O.Y.L.I in 3rd or 49th Div.) who was operating there against the enemy at the time.

One body was found thrown about 10 yards clear of the wreckage. This could not be identified. A further three bodies were recovered from the remains of the plane. These four bodies were buried in the churchyard at Bierville-Sur-Orne on the 10th of June, when the intense fighting round the village had died down somewhat.

On the 14th June M. Pasdois discovered a fifth body under the tumbled stone of the wall and interred it in a corner of the garden almost beside the plane. This I thought to be the body of the actual pilot at the time, as he was well in the nose of the plane while the other three were in the fuselage.

M. Pasdois described him as a tall, burly man with ginger hair and clean shaven.

The fifth member was buried in the Ferme de la Vallee by M. Pasdois on 15th June.

Flowers were placed on both graves by the people who gave them burial and are still blooming."

The crew were eventually buried together in a collective grave in Biéville-sur-Orne churchyard which was marked with a temporay grave marker. This was then replaced with commemorative stones and a flag pole placed on their communal grave.

John Chatteron is commemorated in the Croydon Roll of Honour and in that we discover that he had been a member of the 57th Croydon Scout Group.