Stanley Beecroft

Information Provided by Mike Gould, Son-In-Law of Stanley Beecroft

Stanley wanted to be a radio operator but failed the course, probably because being left-handed affected his speed on the key.  He then became an air gunner.  His log book has a page of his results of the Ab/Gunnery Course where he achieved a hit rate of 3.3% which earned him an ‘average’ rating!

His first mission with 625 Sqn was on 22 May 1944 which he lists as ‘Bullseye’ but this was the code name for support of Special Operations in Yugoslavia but the flight time of 3 hours 50 minutes make this unlikely.  I have a full list of his missions which I can supply and which included frequent ‘Operation Crossbow’ attacks on V1 sites and against the V2 launch sites at Wizernes, one in support of 617 Sqn who dropped ‘Tallboy’ bombs which effectively ended operations on this site. There are many attacks in support of the Normandy invasion against railway yards and coastal batteries.  He normally flew with Squadron Leader Rowland but was with Warrant Officer Pattison on the Frankfurt raid where LM512, another frequent listing in his log book was lost. It is possible that he witnessed the collision between LM512 and another Lancaster that claimed the lives of 15 airmen.

I did a model of LM512 for the ATC presentation but it was a bit rushed so I plan to do another. Markings for PB150 are offered on a number of kit decal sheets showing the 100 plus operations. I suspect that the impressive artwork of the tally was added later as 625 and 1 Group rarely used nose art. It also shows ‘Operation Manna’ which was towards the end of the European war. PB150 also had a ‘cat’s arse’ graphic near the crew entry door but that again could have been added later.

By coincidence, Stanley was born in Birmingham like myself and also gained a scholarship to my alma mater, Moseley Grammar School in the city. Sadly, his family could not afford the uniform so he couldn’t take it up. He was understandably interested when I started going out with his daughter but he sadly died days before we were due to meet. We would have had a lot to talk about.

Find A Grave record (If Available)

Stanley Beecroft, Flight Sergeant, tail gunner, RAF with 625 Sqn from May 1944 to September 1944 completed nearly 30 sorties (one aborted).  He frequently flew in LM512 'H' Lancaster M III (lost 12 September 1944 on raid on Frankfurt). Other aircraft flown in included the well-documented PB150 which he records as 'L' in September 1944.  Stanley was born in Birmingham, England in 1924.  After the war, Stanley joined Birmingham Police and subsequently enlisted in the British Army, reaching the rank of Sergeant.  Stanley was troubled by his war experiences and died in 1991 in Fleet, England. 

To be completed