One Night In December

31/08/2024

This year marks the 80 Anniversary of the liberation of Normandy and for us the loss of many aircrew and allied soldiers and civilians. I had the honour to be invited by Dimitri August to The town of BOURGTHEROULDE in France to join them for their celebrations.

I managed to take two wreaths for missing Lancasters LL847 and LM626. With a small ceremony and a minute in remembrance for the crews at the Town Hall plaque with the Mayor and at Le Gross TEIL memorial with Demitri his brother and his son.

These aircraft were lost on 17 December 1944

Here are a few pictures of the event and my time over there.

Many thanks to my friend Wane Lawton from the Royal British Legion for providing two wreaths at short notice

22/01/2024

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060030036

UNBELIEVABLY THIS IS FOOTAGE OF OUR RAID TAKEN FROM A 463 SQN AIRCRAFT. AS WE KNOW F/O BENNET lm 729 AND HIS CREW WERE SHOTDOWN OVER MUNICH AROUND THE SAME TIME AS THE FILM WAS BEING SHOT.

Night attack by Avro Lancaster bombers of the RAAF 463 Squadron against Munich, Germany. Filmed by on board cameras. Camera plane piloted by Flight Lieutenant Skelton.

23/10/2022

Hello everyone, just a quick note to let you know that we have a new blog post. One Night In December ... The Movie.

Thanks for following and supporting this project, and most of all thanks for getting in touch.

Adrian, Pete, and Rob.

Hello everyone, It has been a while since we posted anything on the blog, but that doesn’t mean that we haven’t been busy. I have been thinking about drawing out a timeline of the raid …

15/05/2022

First of all I must apologise for not posting for a while but having more time on my hands this should improve.

Due to the sterling work by Mr Burt last night we have moved all the pods from sound cloud to here.

https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com

We are still working on titles and layout to get it to flow to enable people to use it as a research tool or just to understand operations during this period.

Most pods have a word document which accompanies it. It is best to open this document first then activate the pod.

We would to here your comments and suggestions as we strive to give the reader the best possible experience.

If you have the stamina to listen to all the pods start at the beginning as our conclusions and assumptions evolve and change during our journey

The story of Lancaster LM582 and its crew on the night of the 17/18th of December 1944

27/10/2021

27/09/2020

Our latest podcast is now available on the blog, in it Pete and I ramble on about ... well, all sorts of things - have a listen via the link, and feel free to get in touch. Best wishes, Adrian, Rob and Pete.

https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2020/09/27/podcast-no-21-f-o-campbell-at-last/

13/08/2020

Our latest podcast is available on the blog and soundcloud. It's the last in our mini series on collisions and looks at some of the aircraft and crews who flew to Munich on the 17th/18th of December but didn't make it to the end of their tour. As always, please feel free to get in touch, it's great to hear from you.

https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2020/08/13/46-podcast-no-20-collisions-part-3-see-and-avoid/

08/07/2020

Our latest podcast has been uploaded to the blog. In it Rob and I discuss Lancaster collisions, the perils of fighter affiliation (that's practice air combat), and his inadvertent intercept of Ailsa Craig ... an uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland.

Best wishes, Adrian, Pete and Rob.

https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2020/07/08/45-podcast-no-19-collisions-part-2-fighter-affiliation/

Visit the post for more.

16/06/2020

Just to let you know that our latest podcast is available via the blog and soundcloud page. Best wishes to everyone and do get in touch. Adrian, Pete and Rob.

https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2020/06/16/podcast-no-18-collisions-1/

In our latest podcast Rob and I speak about the memorable evening had by the Evans (above) and Fairburn crews on the 17th of December 1944. As always it is available here on the blog, and also on o…

20/04/2020

Hello everyone, I trust that you are well. Our latest long form post is now up on the blog. It takes a look at a piece of electronic equipment on the Lancaster, and puts some of the Navigator's stresses and challenges in perspective. I hope you find it interesting. Best wishes to you all, and stay safe. Adrian, Pete and Rob.
https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/43-gee-whizz-a-black-box-a-chart-and-the-almost-impenetrable-complexities-of-hyperbolic-nav/

During our last podcast Rob and I mentioned the fixes that Mr Johns took as the Campbell crew flew between East Kirkby and the coast near Worthing. Given that we might have a bit more spare time th…

22/03/2020

As we prepare for an extended lockdown my thoughts returned to an essay I wrote some years ago. This was written when Pete and I were looking for some background to what went on that night. Maybe some parallels can be found with where we are today, I'm not sure. Anyway, as is so often the case, these blog posts ask at least as many questions as they answer, so if you find yourself with a some spare time then please get in touch. Somehow a small community has formed around around the map and what we are trying to do, it's now a collaborative effort, and we very much appreciate your comments and thoughts. In the meantime, stay safe, best wishes and good luck to all of you.

Adrian.

https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/the-anthropology-of-strategic-bombing/

This project is finding its feet and we are getting increasingly technical – standby for a new blog entry on electronic navigation and a podcast on what we have found on the redoubtable Mr Jo…

12/01/2020

Our latest podcast was recorded on One Night In December Day last year. In it we retrace the steps of the crews on the evening of the 17th of December 1944, not metaphorically but literally.. As ever you can listen to it via the blog, or through the Soundcloud page. Thanks for your support everyone, it's much appreciated.

https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2020/01/12/42-one-night-in-december-day-4-raf-east-kirkby/

  Last month, on One Night In December Day four, Rob and I visited RAF East Kirkby. As we walked along the runway, exactly 75 years to the minute since 57 Squadron took off for Munich, we reco…

07/12/2019

Podcast 16 has been uploaded to the blog and the soundcloud page. In it Pete and I discuss the menace of flak and his recent visits to Bourgtheroulde and Berlin. As ever, thanks for your support and please feel free to get in touch.

https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2019/12/04/41-podcast-no-16-flak/

In our latest full length podcast Pete and I discuss 57 Sqn’s most recent trip to France, Berlin air defence and the menace of flak. As always, you can listen to it on here, or via our Soundc…

31/08/2019

14/08/2019

Hi All

I’m pleased to let you know that six Officers of 57 Squadron will attend the ceremony in France on the 25 August. 57 Squadron are currently based at RAF Cranwell and are involved in initial pilot training.

Also members of the local government and members of the French parliament will attend.

I’m sure you will agree this is a massive honour, and makes all the hard work by all of us worth while.

Thank you.

Pete, Adrian and Rob

05/08/2019

We published the final part of Rob's remarkable raid analysis last night. It looks at the homeward leg, the return to base and the losses on this raid and those up until the end of the war. It can be found on the written blog here: https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2019/08/04/40-robs-raid-analysis-part-6-homeward-bound/

As ever, thanks for your help and support. Adrian, Rob and Pete.

This is the last in our series of articles on the raid itself. As we mentioned in podcast 15, rather than being the endpoint of our research it really only constitutes a pause, a taking of stock an…

21/07/2019

Just a reminder that we are posting an article on the raid each Sunday over on the written blog. The night experienced by FO Evans and crew will live long in the memory ! https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2019/07/21/38-robs-raid-analysis-part-4-friends-that-go-bump-in-the-night/

In this week’s essay we again look at events which took place over or near to the target. We have gained rather a lot of information on this raid from the German perspective (thank you Debora…

30/06/2019

As promised, the first of our articles on the raid itself has been posted on the blog. Please have a read and let us know what you think. Thanks as ever, Adrian, Pete and Rob. https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2019/06/30/35-robs-raid-analysis-part-1-sutto/

  In Podcast 15 we mentioned that we would post Rob’s analysis of the raid as a series of articles over the next six Sundays. As you’ll see, coupled with the work he did on Mr John’s cha…

21/06/2019

Rob and I have uploaded a new podcast on the blog. It introduces our next series of written articles, which over the weeks leading up to the visit to France will detail all that we have uncovered about the raid itself. You can listen via the blog or on our Soundcloud page, and as always, please feel free to get in touch. https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2019/06/21/34-podcast-no-15-a-good-prang/

09/06/2019

There is a new blog post on the Donkin crew. As ever it can be found on the One Night in December website. https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2019/06/09/33-alf-don-tony-jacko-henry-brian-and-ted/

FO Alfred Victor Donkin 182009 RAFVR and crew. LM626 DX-M. 57 Sqn RAF. d.17.12.44. Buried at CWG St Sever, Le Grand Quevilly, Rouen, France. Before we go on to post a series of essays by Rob about …

23/03/2019

Our latest podcast is available on the blog and via the Soundcloud page. In it Pete and I discuss the latest news on the loss of FO Donkin and crew, the raid of Giessen which took place the week before, and the development of flight safety. Thanks for your support everyone, it's much appreciated. https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com

The story of Lancaster LM582 and its crew on the night of the 17/18th of December 1944

22/12/2018

You may remember that last year the RNZAF archive sent me a copy of Noel Culpan's handwritten diary. This had a profound effect on me, he was an intensely likeable chap trying to do his best under impossible circumstances, and in a bizarre way I still miss him. Today, after many months of emailing and searching I found a notice of his engagement to Betty in an Auckland newspaper and, finally, a picture of him. He died in the Donkin/Bennett collision. It was his first trip.

20/12/2018

We're back ! Our latest podcast was recorded on One Night in December Day in Worthing. In it Pete and I drink a beer or two and discuss the loss of Essenhigh and his crew on on the beach, get the latest news from France regarding the Donkin and Bennett collision, and look at some rather fortuitous German policy mistakes. As always it can be found via the blog here:
https://onenightindecember.wordpress.com/2018/12/18/30-podcast-no-13-one-night-in-december-day-3/

” … Denn wir fahren gegen Engeland !” Pete and I spent our third One Night In December Day in Worthing. Whilst there we looked at the Essenhigh crash site on the beach, found an o…

18/12/2018

Over the last two days Burtie and I have spent time in Worthing paying our respects to the crew of Lancaster PB355 and discovering more about the loss of our first Lancaster on the night of 17 December 1944. We will publish what we discovered in the podcast over the next few days.

Pete

25/10/2018

PODCAST No 12 A LONG WAY FROM HOME.

Welcome one and all. I am pleased to let you know that we have released another podcast on Sound Cloud. In this podcast Adrian and Rob Fullerton examine the map in detail. Rob is an experienced Royal Air Force Navigator who taught at the Central Flying School and flew on the F4 Phantom and the Ni**od aircraft. Rob has taken the time to revisit the map and examined it clinically, dissecting each leg and bringing years of experience into play.

In the pod Adrian and Rob spend 3 hours talking through the map In detail. It gives a great insight into navigation in 1944 and present day with amazing conclusions and new questions left to be examined. In my opinion this is a unique piece of work that has never been done before.

Enjoy

Pete

https://soundcloud.com/one-night-in-december/podcast-no-12-a-long-way-from

These podcasts accompany our written blog onenightindecember.wordpress.com. Podcast No2 is our least favourite as we were still finding our feet, but nevertheless it will give you a flavour of what th