Quest for Archive Newsreel
Harry Gillott
Aircraftman 2nd Class
RAF 149 Squadron
Born in 1916 in Sheffield Yorkshire UK, Harry Gillott was in the RAF. His rank was Aircraftman 2nd class 623761 149 squadron rear gunner in a Wellington bomber based at Mildenhall.
In April 1940 his mother and father received the sad news that their son Harry’s Wellington came down over the coast of Norway and that Harry was missing, presumed dead.
Some weeks later, Harry’s younger brother Leslie, who was aged thirteen at the time, was watching a matinee at Heeley Picture Palace in Sheffield. The film was a war film showing original news footage.
Suddenly, Leslie saw – flashed on the silver screen – a shot of his brother coming down the aircraft steps then posing with his comrades in front of the craft.
Leslie ran back home to tell his Ma ” Ma, our Harry i’n't dead-I’ve just see him ont’ pictures”. She immediately rushed to explain the plight to the manager of the cinema. The manager produced a still photograph from the cine film and gave it to the distraught mother.
Here is that still photo. Harry is the second right.
A similar shot from the film appeared in a newspaper, Harry extreme right, (above). The caption reads ‘Here are some of the British pilots who took part in the great Aerial battle of Heligoland. Smiles and thumbs up show that they know they had by far the best of it. The official report of the Heligoland battle stated that ”The laurels go to the Wellington bombers, which resisted the most desperate, and, it may be said also, the most courageous and dashing efforts of the enemy’s crack fighters to break them up,”
Quest for the Archive Newsreel
Harry’s niece, Leslie Gillott’s daughter, Angela Gooch has being trying to trace the film for some years without success… Before Leslie’s death in 2001, he had always maintained that the footage of his brother, Harry, was part of a war film. (remember he was just thirteen years old when he saw it!) Despite viewing several war films over the years, including The Lion Has Wings and One of Our Aircraft is Missing, no trace of Harry’s footage could be found. Then, on , whilst browsing the Internet, a strong contender for the missing film was found. Target for Tonight was made in 1940/1 and directed by Harry Carr. The film was made with the crew of 149 squadron (no actors) performing their daily routines for the benefit of the camera. Harry was in 149 squadron. This film looked like a highly likely candidate. A copy was ordered from a company in Chicago which specialized in war films.
“149 Squadron Wellington 1C P9246. Take off 11.53 Mildenhall to search for enemy shipping off Norway. Last seen flying towards Norwegian coast, its position being 5445N 0515E. All lost. Sgt Wakeling and AC2 Tootle are buried in Falnes Churchyard, Karmoy Island, Norway. the remainder ( Sgt H J Wheller, Sgt W C Parker, LAC R Coalter, AC2 H Gillott) are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. A second 149 Wellington was last seen at 16.10 about 5 miles from the other, being pursued by a Me 110…….”
NB The co-ordinates 5445N 0515E were found on Google Earth, printed and scanned, and the map can be viewed here.
More Information about the crew members may be viewed here.
Ian suggested….
The aircraft in the background is a Wellington.
The obvious reasoning for this is the geodetic fabric and window visible.
27th April 2005 – Angela recalls….”From the clues various people had given, I typed keywords into the searchable database of Pathe News. Most of the results were immediately discounted because the dates didn’t tally. Then I pursued a result that was undated….the description made my heartbeat quicken….
‘Air crews disembark from their planes. Group of pilots and crew giving the thumbs up sign’
…..my thoughts flashed to the newspaper clipping – Wellington -crew disembarks – gathers on tarmac – thumbs up sign….
I played the preview….perhaps I recognise the flight sergeant dressed in white flight gear, with a moustache….the camera panned to the right…. YES! HE’S THERE! IT’S HARRY!
To view the Battle of Heligoland archive newsreel please enter the password ‘sheffield’. The film freezes on Harry at the end.
The full story of the Battle of Heligoland as appeared in The War Illustrated January 5th, 1940, can be viewed here.
A memorial to Harry is at the Commonwealth Graves at Runnymede.
Grateful and heartfelt thanks to British Pathe for their hard work in making archive newsreels available on the Internet.
A remarkable story…we hear a lot of bad things about the use of the internet..but I know myself what how useful it is when tracing your past, the story also highlights that when using the internet to trace people or objects from the past you need a great deal of patience and perserverence. So glad the newsreal was found.