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Three: Flying Officer A. Bodill, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who completed a tour of operations as an Air Gunner in No. 550 Squadron and was awarded the citation of the French Croix de Guerre for his part in the the D-Day operations of 5-6 June 1944 - when his Lancaster ‘was the first aircraft in the first wave’ of Bomber Command’s invasion force 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star, clasp, France and Germany; War Medal 1939-45, good very fine (3) £400-500 Footnote Alan Bodill commenced his wartime career at No. 7 A.G.S., where he qualified as an Air Gunner in May 1943 and, having attended an O.T.U. and conversion unit, joined No. 550 Squadron, a Lancaster unit operating out of Waltham, near Grimsby, in which capacity he flew his first sortie, a strike against Berlin, on the night of 29-30 December. The Squadron then having moved to North Killingholme, Bodill returned to the “Big City” on three occasions in January 1944, followed by strikes on Schweinfurt and Augsburg in February, and Nuremburg and Stuttgart (twice) in March. Then in April, having flown sorties to Aachen, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Essen and Karlsruhe, the Squadron commenced a series of operations against French targets in the lead-up to the Normandy landings - thus a strike against Maintenon on the last day of the month and trips to Mailly Le Camp and Rennes in May. On the night of 5-6 June, on the eve of D-Day, Bodill and his crew attacked a target at Crisbecq, an operation that led to him and his crew being awarded the citation of the French Croix de Guerre as late as 1985, or certainly according to an accompanying newspaper cutting which reports on a special service and parade held at North Killingholme in September 1990: ‘Lancaster bomber BQJ was christened B for Bad Penny by her crew for obvious reasons ... and had the honour of being the first aircraft in the bomber wave which carried out a bombing raid shortly before the Allied landings on D-Day. The events were remembered at a special service at St. Denys Church, North Killingholme, when a wall shield and a framed Croix de Guerre citation were affixed to the wall of the church were dedicated. The French honour was awarded to the crew of BQJ for their part in the Allied invasion of Occupied Europe on 6 June 1944. Among the congregation was the Lancaster’s Wireless Operator, former Warrant Officer Alex Cleghorn (65), from Colchester, who believes he is the only surviving member of the crew which took part in the raid.’ The article in question then goes on to report that the award of the citation to Bodill and his crew was originally approved on 2 June 1985, but by the time of the formal service, parade and presentation held at North Killingholme in September 1990, Cleghorn was the only surviving member of crew. The report concludes with the citation in question: ‘On 6 June 1944, the greatest liberating armada ever assembled left the shores of England. For Bomber Command, the invasion of Occupied Europe commenced on the night before. At 23.34 hours, Lancaster LL-811, squadron markings BQJ, was the first aircraft in the first wave to strike ahead of the main spearhead by many hours, so setting momentous events in motion. For services rendered in this great event in history, the following crew members were awarded citations of the Croix de Guerre 1939-45: Flying Officer Bowen Bravery, Pilot Officer G. E. Zhomed, Warrant Officer A. Cleghorn, Warrant Officer J. D. Fyfe, Flight Sergeant A. Bodhill, Sergeant R. R. Thompson and Sergeant S. G. Thompson ’ Bodill and his crew completed several more sorties to France that month, including daylight operations to Marquise on the 22nd and to Oisemont-Neuyilla on the 30th; so, too, a strike on Chateau Berapre on the 27th. And he completed his tour of 30 sorties in the following month, having participated in strikes on Domleger, Revigny, Sanneville and Kiel. Posted to a Gunnery Flight at Ingham, and commissioned, he later served at No. 1656 Conversion Unit at Lindholme