Page 104 - Sylvia Malt - Side by Side

BENJAMIN PRATT, Sgt . Air gunner RAF - 467 (R.A.A.F) Squadron.
1909 - 3rd August 1943

The only son of William and Harriet Ann Pratt of Mount Culver Road, Foots Cray, 34-year-
old Benjamin Pratt was an air gunner with 467 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force,
stationed in Bottesford, Lancaster. Before joining-up in 1940, he had been employed by
Catt Bros. of Sidcup Hill.

467 Squadron, Royal Australian Air force was formed at Scampton in the UK on 7th
November 1942. Although intended as an Australian Squadron under Article XV of the
Empire Air Training Scheme, the majority of its personnel were originally British. The
replacement of these men with Australians was a gradual process and it was only towards
the end of the war that the squadron gained a dominant Australian character. The squadron
relocated to Bottesford on 23rd November 1942 and commenced operations on 2nd
January 1943.

Equipped with Avro Lancaster heavy bombers and forming Part of 5 Group, RAF Bomber
Command, the squadron's operational focus for much of the war was the strategic
bombing offensive against Germany. Bombing almost entirely by night, it participated in
all of the major campaigns of the offensive including the battles of the Ruhr, Berlin and
Hamburg. In addition to Germany, the squadron also attacked targets in France, Italy,
Norway and Czechoslovakia.

On 20th June 1943, 467 squadron was the first Bomber Command squadron to participate
in the "shuttle service" where aircraft would leave the UK, bomb a European target, and
then fly on to an airfield in North Africa. There they would refuel and re-arm and them
bomb another target on their return flight to Britain. The German port of Friederickshafen
was the out-bound target, and the Italian port of Spezia the in-bound one.

Sgt Ben Pratt (known by his colleagues as "Mike") was the rear gunner in a Lancaster
based at Bottesford. On the night of 2nd/3rd August 1943, the aircraft, Captained by Pilot
Officer David Symonds, was taking part in the fourth of a series of concentrated raids on
Hamburg. On each of the previous three nights, nearly 800 aircraft had been deployed and
over 2,000 tons of bombs dropped on the target area, but this fourth raid was less
successful owing to poor weather conditions. Thunderstorms and severe icing had
prevented the Pathfinder crew from marking the target area adequately. The crew had
successfully bombed their primary target before turning for home, when their radar
warning device signalled the approach of enemy aircraft.

The attacking plane, a Ju88 night-fighter, was driven off by return fire from the upper gun
turret, but it was during the attack that Sgt Pratt was killed by a single bullet entering his
rear gun turret. The aircraft landed safely at Bottesford, where it was discovered that the
starboard rudder and starboard outer engine had also been damaged in the attack.

In Memoriam: Benjamin Pratt, who had been in the Royal Air Force for three years, was
buried with full military honours near his home base. Pilot Officer Symonds recorded that,
after the funeral at St. Swithun's, he found Mrs. Pratt waiting to speak to him. He wondered
what to expect, but was relieved when she said: "Mike always said: don't worry Mum, Skip
will always bring me home. Thank you for bringing him home to England."

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