DFC Citation and Service Record

[Martin4356111]

Good afternoon all,

I stumbled across this excellent site whilst researching DFC citations.

For the last two months I’ve been trying to find out about my wife’s grandfathers service history. He served as a wireless operator/gunner on the Lancaster bomber during WW2.

Name
Polland
First Names
Joseph
Rank
Left as a Flt Lt
Service
RAF
Service Number
56274
Crew Position
Wireless Operator
Posting Details
49 Sqn, 189 Sqn and various OTU's

My main stumbling block at the moment is his DFC. He was awarded this on December 7th, 1945 as confirmed in the London Gazette. My wife and her father would love to find out why he was awarded this and if there was any citation. Having spent many an hour trawling the internet, I am at a loss to find it. I was recently made aware that many crews were awarded the DFC without a citation and this may or not be the case.

I've found the London Gazette very confusing and at times very hard to use (is it just me?). I know from internet searches that he completed at least 9 missions with 49 Sqn before being posted to 189 Sqn. Unfortunately I have found that his surname has been misspelt Pollard on some websites which is making it even harder to search and verify details.

Can anyone tell me where I might be able to find his citation? I have registered on the RAF Commands forum and hope to post on there as soon as my account is verified. His name is not listed on this DFC page:

https://www.rafcommands.com/archive/20459.php

However, there is a FO Joseph Pollard listed and this may be another case of misspelling.

POLLARD. Joseph, FO - DFC - 451207 - 189 Sqn – RAF

Any help you can provide would be gratefully appreciated and would certainly make my wife and her father incredibly happy.

Warmest regards.

Martin

[Peter Goodey]

Citations for the DFC/DSC and Mentions in Despatches are hard to find.

You'll be familiar with the National Archives guide

All I know about the DFC is what the guide says

"Surviving recommendations from 1939 are in series AIR 2. They are arranged by old Air Ministry file reference number, not name. It will be a speculative search to identify a full document reference in AIR 2 without the old file reference. Contact the Ministry of Defence who may be able to supply you with the file reference"

Presumably "from 1939" means 1939 and later. It strikes me as a bit ambiguous.

So I'm no help. Sorry.

[Lesley Robertson]

Have you checked the local newspapers from the time? I've been lucky about half the time (I've been tracing men on local war memorials, so looked at quite a few), including one story with a photo of the guy.

[simmo1]

Hi

The second chap you mentioned above has a different service number, so not the same person. But looking at the page, that person has the same service number as the person above him, which is not possible, so maybe a transcription error, so maybe they mucked up the name as well!
Have you looked at this - https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/r...cord-books.htm
Put the squadrons and dates in and you can see what he did.
Local newspaper may be the only way to find out about the DFC unless someone has the citation.

regards

Robert

[Martin4356111]

Thank you all for your help so far.

Simmo, I did note that he had the same number as the above and was hoping that this was a typo. I've been in touch with the 49 Sqn Association who are trying to help as their records seem to show him as J Pollard and not J Polland? They have several records with a J Polland but again list a different number.

Their historian believes this to be his Warrant number. Did they get different numbers when the were warrant officers and commissioned officers?

Many thanks.

[simmo1]

Hi

Sorry I have no idea on that, RAF is not really my interest.
regards

Robert

[geneius]

You maybe interested in this link, currently the Canadian Lancaster Bomber is in the UK it is due in Scotland as per this link

https://www.scottishairshow.com/