Ellis Ware – Pathfinder and PoW
Attending No 9 Elementary Flying Training School at RAF Ansty, LAC Ware flew his first flight in a Tiger Moth on 31 August 1941, with his regular instructor, Sgt Christakis Charalambous. Sent on his first solo by Flt Lt Underhill on 10 Sep, Ware first flew R5172 on 17 Sep for 55 min of instrument flying, steep turns, spinning, sideslipping and low flying with Charalambous. The following day, 3 of Ware’s 4 flights and 2 of his 3 solos were flown in R5172.
Ware Flies R5172, 9 EFTS, RAF Ansty 1941
From January 1942, Ware trained to fly the Airspeed Oxford at No 34 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) at Medicine Hat in Canada; he was awarded ‘Wings’ on 10 Apr 1942. Returning to the UK, he continued to fly Oxfords with No 15 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit at Kirmington and while undergoing Beam Approach Training at Dishforth.
Ware then flew the Whitley V at No 24 Operational Training Unit, whose ‘Conversion Flight’ was detached at Long Marston, with the remainder of the OTU and the ‘Operational Flight’ at Honeybourne in Worcestershire. During this course, Ware earned a ‘green endorsement’ in his logbook, relating to his forced landing Whitley V BD365 at Squires Gate on 10 Sep 42: “P/O Ware by his cool and efficient action saved a valuable aircraft and lives on the night of 9/10 September 1942”.
Ware's crew forms at 24 OTU, RAF Honeybourne
Ware graduated from the OTU, assessed on posting as ‘Above Average’ as a Heavy Bomber pilot. The core members of his crew, who would join their operational squadron together were:
Plt Off Ware – Pilot
Sgt Jones – Observer
Plt Off Roberts – Bomb Aimer
Sgt Spence – Wireless Operator
Sgt Dickenson – Rear Gunner
Posted to 102 Sqn at Pocklington to fly the merlin-engined Halifax II, the Ware crew was completed by the addition of Sgt Grimes (Flight Engineer) and Sgt Curtis (mid upper gunner). Ware joined Bomber Command just as Oboe, H2S radar and Target Indicator bombs were being introduced, these were the first days of their operational use in the hands of the newly-formed Pathfinder Force.
Halifax Crew, 102 Sqn RAF Pocklington
Between October 1942 and January 1943, Ware and his crew completed 9 missions with 102 Sqn; Genoa, minelaying (twice), Hamburg, Turin (twice), Mannheim, Duisburg, and Lorient. More details on these missions here.
Halifax II (aircrewremembered.com)
On 28 Jan 43, Ware and his crew were posted to 35 Sqn at RAF Graveley as a result of the Squadron’s expansion to three flights. 35 Sqn was a Halifax squadron within the Pathfinder Force; its role was to ‘Back Up’ markers placed by Oboe-equipped Mosquitoes with its own Target Indicators.
35 Sqn Ops, February 1943
Ware’s first operation with 35 Sqn was to Hamburg on 3 Feb 43. Subsequent operations were as follows:
4 Feb 43. Turin.
14 Feb 43. Cologne. Attacked by a Ju88 during the return journey.
16 Feb 43. Lorient. One engine became unserviceable during the outward journey and a second overheated as the target was approached. Ware was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions during this operation.
19 Feb 43. Wilhelmshaven.
21 Feb 43. Bremen. Ac damaged by heavy flak.
26 Feb 43. Nuremburg. Photo flash exploded in the aeroplane, injuring 4 crew and damaging the aeroplane.
22 Mar 43. St Nazaire. One bomb hung up.
28 Mar 43. St Nazaire. One bomb hung up.
4 Apr 43. Kiel.
10 Apr 43. Frankfurt.
The details of these operations are here. A number of themes emerge, including the increasing size of the attacking force provided by Bomber Command and the increasing use of Pathfinder technology to achieve concentration of force. That said, accurate target marking was by no means universal at this stage and a number of raids involving very large numbers of aeroplanes were still achieving very little on the ground. The main key to accurate marking for the longer-distance targets would become H2S. Ware’s logbook shows much ‘H2S Training’ between 29 Apr and 3 May, after which operations resumed:
12 May 43. Duisburg.
13 May 43. Pilsen (Skoda armaments factory)
23 May 43. Dortmund.
25May 43. Dusseldorf.
29 May 43. Wuppertal (Barmen).
21 Jun 43. Krefeld. 5 of the 19 ac sent by 35 Sqn did not return.
15 Jul 43. Montbeliard (Peugeot Motor Factory).
2 Aug 43. Hamburg. Ware’s crew returned early due to icing.
9 Aug 43. Mannheim.
10 Aug 43. Nuremburg. HR861 ‘T’. Blind Marker. A 653 ac attack, Ware’s was one of 16 ac which did not return. En route to the target, the aircraft was attacked by a night fighter flown by Major Frederich Karl Muller. The aircraft caught fire and Ware gave the order to bale out. 3 bodies were found in the wreckage.
Crew – Flt Lt Ellis Ware (Pilot) PoW
Fg Off Gordon Hogg (Bomb Aimer) PoW
Fg Off Charles Russell (Navigator) PoW
Fg Off Glenburne Galvin (Wireless Operator) PoW
Sgt Reginald Hamblin (Gunner) KIA
Sgt William Jackett (Gunner) KIA
Sgt Jack Fiddler (Flight Engineer) KIA
Ware remained in the RAF after the War, promoted to Sqn Ldr in 1953. He flew a Valiant in an attack on Egyptian airfields during the Suez campaign of 1956, evading an Egyptian Air Force Meteor interceptor by climbing to altitude.
Retiring from the RAF in 1962 at his own request, we believe that Ellis Ware had a second career in civil aviation; any information on this would be welcome. He died in 1993 in Bradford, aged 70.
