Ploudaniel

The airplane departed RAF Pocklington at 1130LT on an operation to Brest. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Ploudaniel. The crew bailed out except the gunner. Two became Pow and three evaded.
Crew:
F/O Robert George Murray Whigham, air gunner, †
Sgt Melville Hermes Joseph Dalphond,
W/Cdr Peter Alexander Gilchrist,
P/O William Minto Mackay,
Sgt John Shedden Paton,
Sgt Robert Henry Westbury.

On 17 June 1940, General De Gaulle left France for England but his wife and children were still in Carantec, Brittany. Due to German troops moving through Brittany, De Gaulle obtained help from Winston Churchill who sent a special aircraft to Carantec to pick up De Gaulle's family. After receiving orders from the Government, Captain Norman Hope joined RAF Mount Batten and transmitted to his crew the goal of this high secret mission. On 18 June 1940, the float plane departed RAF Mount Batten, near Portsmouth, at 0300LT. It arrived over Brittany few hours later and while flying 20 km west from Carantec, it was hit by ground fire, either French or German (undetermined). The captain reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing in a field when the aircraft impacted a rocky wall and crashed, bursting into flames. All four crew were killed. Nobody was aware of this mission and De Gaulle's family embarked on a ship few hours later to join England.
Crew (15th GC):
Cpt Norman Hope,
Lt John Bell,
Sgt Charles Harris,
Cpl Bernard Nowell.