Remembering the Crew of Lancaster ND474
Sgt J G Wise
Sgt John Grenfell Wise - Rear Gunner
John was born on the 21at September 1924 in Acton in the county of Middlesex; he was the only son of Thomas and Margaret May Wise (nee Grenfell).
Before joining the Royal Air Force, John had been a clerk and lived with his parents, originally from Treloyhan, St Ives Cornwall.
As a young man he had been a chorister at St Margaret's, Westminster.
St Margaret's Church stands between Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament and is often called 'The Parish Church of the House of Commons'.
As the Rear Gunner n ND474, it was likely that John would have been the first crew member to see the German Night fighter closing in on the aircraft.
Also known as "Tail End Charlie" the Rear Gunner had one of the most dangerous and certainly the coldest, loneliest and isolated position of any Lancaster crew member.
John's parachute would have been stowed outside the armored doors that shut him in a cold cramped position where his only human contact was that of the disembodied voices of the other crew members over the intercom.
As well as trying to shoot down enemy aircraft, the rear Gunner was a vital lookout, alerting the Pilot to fighters approaching from the rear. The turret was highly exposed and many aircraft returned to base with them sheared off.
On the 15th March 1944, when John Wise climbed into the rear turret of ND 474, he was just nineteen years old.
John Grenfell Wise was represented at the Bolstern Memorial, by his family Sue and Colin Brown.
