Geoffrey Hilton "Beery" Bowman

liverpool annie · Mar 24, 2009

Can anybody tell me please anything about this flyer and what he did in WW2 ?

Name: Geoffrey Hilton "Beery" Bowman
Country: England
Rank: Major
Service: Royal Flying Corps Royal Air Force
Units: 29, 41, 56
Victories: 32
Date Of Birth: 2 May 1891
Date Of Death: 25 March 1970

Bowman served with No 29 Squadron before being rested in December 1916. He joined No 56 Squadron in May 1917 and served until early February 1918 when he was posted to command No 41 Squadron. I have him commanding that unit until 11 January 1919 (the SE5 File says 7 February when the unit was reduced to cadre at Tangmere).

According to the biographical notes in Above The Trenches, he served in Russia during 1919, became a Wing Commander in 1929, and joined Headquarters, No 23 Group, in 1934 but retired later that year. He was recalled to duty in 1939 and served until December 1941. He died 25 March 1970
Click to expand...

Kyt · Mar 25, 2009

It appears that at the start of WW2 he was placed in Class CC (civilians employed by the RAF who would be commissioned on mobilisation). He was employed in experimental aviation work before the war so it sounds like could have been in the Technical Branch.

According to rafcommands, he may have been with 5 Group, Bomber Command:

Geoffrey Hilton Bowman - RafCommands Forums

liverpool annie · Mar 25, 2009

Would he have been a pilot in this elite group then K ?

No. 5 Group was a Royal Air Force bomber group of the Second World War, led during the latter part (February 1943–1945) by Sir Ralph Cochrane. Cochrane was an advocate of precision low-level marking, and lobbied heavily to be allowed to prove himself, and that 5 Group could attempt targets and techniques that 8 Group would not.
Cochrane's No. 617 Squadron proved his point when they broke the Ruhr dams from a height of 60 feet using an ad hoc hand held bomb sight made of strips of wood and two nails. In a later raid, using the new Stabilizing Automatic Bomb Sight, they achieved an incredible accuracy of only 94 yards at the V Weapon launch site at Abbeville. 5 Group invented various techniques, such as the '5 Group corkscrew' to evade enemy fighters, and the '5 Group quick landing system'.
The Group was formed on 1 September 1937, with headquarters at RAF Mildenhall. In October 1937, the Group HQ was moved to St Vincents in Grantham. Air Commodore Arthur Harris was in charge here from September 11, 1939 until November 22, 1940. In February 1942, he became Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command. The Group had some of the finest squadrons of Bomber Command, resulting in the Dambusters squadron being formed from airmen of the Group in March 1943. Group HQ was moved to Morton Hall at RAF Swinderby in Lincolnshire in November 1943. Most of the Group's main airfields were around Lincoln, including RAF Scampton. By the end of the war the group had grown to 15 squadrons.
The Group was noted for its high accuracy bombing, such as the sinking of the Tirpitz in November 1944 and the shattering of the strategic Bielefeld railway viaduct in March 1945. The Group had substantial cooperation with Barnes Wallis and his bouncing and earthquake bombs.
The Group was disbanded on 15 December 1945.
Click to expand...

Kyt · Mar 26, 2009

I very much doubt it Annie - not at his age. And his knowledge and experience would probably have been better utilised on technical/admin duties

Log in or Sign up

Geoffrey Hilton "Beery" Bowman

liverpool annie New Member

Kyt Άρης

liverpool annie New Member

Kyt Άρης

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Geoffrey Hilton "Beery" Bowman

Thread Tools

liverpool annie New Member

Kyt Άρης

liverpool annie New Member

Kyt Άρης

Share This Page

Useful Searches