A museum in Normandy has launched an appeal for information to help locate the crash site of a British airman whose aircraft was shot down shortly after the D-Day landings.
The museum became involved after Noel Green’s family visited Normandy. The Musée de la Percée du Bocage, which documents the fighting in the Bocage area during the Battle of Normandy, offered to help research the circumstances of his disappearance.
The family includes Noel Green’s sister, Sheila, who is now 98. She was 16 years old when her 21-year-old brother left for his final mission in 1944.
The museum’s president, Billy Leblond, told The Connexion that the aim of the research is to help the family find a confirmed location where they could pay tribute to him.
Noel's portrait
The final mission
Flight Lieutenant Noel Sturt Green, of No. 129 (Mysore) Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, took off at 9:35 from RAF Coolham in Sussex on June 17, 1944, as part of Operation Ramrod 1012/II.
His mission was to attack German railway infrastructure in the Mézidon area, supporting Allied operations following the Normandy landings.
The squadron's operational report records that aircraft from the mission attacked the railway yard at Mézidon and carried out several strafing attacks on German vehicles.
It said that "intense accurate light flak" was encountered and that Flight Lieutenant Green's aircraft was hit, seen "smoking and in flames." The report stated that the pilot was not seen to leave the aircraft and was reported missing.
The squadron's operational report
Lieutenant Green's remains have never been recovered or identified.
Lieutenant Green is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial in the United Kingdom, which honours Commonwealth airmen with no known grave. His name is also recorded on the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer.
Crash location still uncertain
Some historical sources suggest the Bény-sur-Mer area, while research by the Musée de la Percée du Bocage, points towards the Le Bény-Bocage and Cathéolles sector, now part of Souleuvre-en-Bocage.
The museum has been studying RAF operational reports, wartime maps and archive material in an attempt to narrow down the location.
The report reference T.7044 corresponds to an area near Cathéolles, but further evidence is needed to confirm the precise site.
The Musée de la Percée du Bocage is asking anyone with information about the crash of an Allied aircraft in the Cathéolles, Le Bény-Bocage or surrounding areas in June 1944 to come forward.
Local memories, family documents, photographs or archive material could help identify the crash site and provide new information for Noel Green's family.
Information can be sent to:
Musée de la Percée du Bocage 9 rue du 19 mars 1962 Saint-Martin-des-Besaces 14350 Souleuvre-en-Bocage
