participated in a mission to the German city
of Munster on 7 July 1941.
115 Squadron was equipped with Wellington
bombers at the time.
The crew took off in Wellington KO-D R1063
from Marham at 23.26. Almost two and a half
hours later, Sgt Albert Webster, the
wireless operator, called in "Am landing in
the sea". It turned out they had been
intercepted by a German night fighter,
piloted by Onlt Helmut Woltersdorf of IV./NJG1.
In the engagment that took place, apparently
both planes went down. The German night
fighter cash landed on a sandbank near
Schiermonnikoog. All three crew were
survived and were rescued by a German Air
Sea Rescue unit.
Sgt Strachan's crew was less lucky. Their
Wellington crashed into the Waddensea off
Schiermonnikoog.
Sgt Strachan's body washed ashore on 7
August 1941 at the coast of Schiermonnikoog.
His pilot, Sgt Matthews, had washed ashore
two days earlier. Both were buried at
Schiermonnikoog Vredenhof Cemetery. Sgt
Webster's body washed ashore on the German
coast and is buried at Kiel War Cemetery.
Article
appeared in the Globe and Mail, 16 December,
1941
Article
appeared in the Hamilton Spectator, 11
October, 1945
Sgt William Strachan
is buried at Schiermonnikoog Vredenhof
Cemetery, grave 58.
(picture by
Wim Bastiaanse)