Mary Bite has submitted the following:
"Our father met Jack, as he was known, in 603 Squadron and often had Jack as his navigator.
They took off from Gambut in North Africa, with 3 other aircraft to target the Germans occupying Kefalonia on 19th July 1944. Fiscardo harbour was the ultimate target. Dad flew in, but was the fourth aircraft, the Germans with their heavy guns by that time had the range and a shot hit the aircraft where Jack was positioned. Dad called him up several times but the plane was on fire and Dad expected it either to blow up or to crash into the hills surrounding the harbour. Dad managed to ditch the plane offshore and eventually, despite his burns and the plane sinking, was able to release the hood to escape. He couldn’t hear or see Jack and so assumed the worse. After reaching the shoreline the Germans captured him and eventually he was taken to mainland Greece and then through Europe entering various POW camps and after surviving the Long March through Poland and Germany in minus temperatures, he was repatriated at the end of the war back to the UK. Dad died in 2001 and from there on the family interest in his wartime story grew.
We understand that small parts of the plane have been discovered, also that the Greeks did not treat the plane as a war grave, as no one appears to know whether the Germans retrieved Jack's remains. I'm guessing probably not. We do know that Jack Shaw is named on the El Alamein war memorial in North Africa. Any further information is a bonus to us.
We believe Jack was born in 1922/23 as I think Dad said that he was only 21 when he died. We also have an idea he may have been an only child, so relatives could be few and far between."
If there are any surviving relatives of F/Sgt Shaw we would love to know, as we will be publishing our father's the war diary in 2016."
George Brown has provided the following re 603 Squadron:
603 started as City Of Edinburgh Auxiliary Air Force Squadron. It flew through the war up to the date when they moved to Malta, all this time flying Spitfires. Whilst in Malta, they disbanded and were reformed as 229 Squadron Coastal Command, flying Beaufighters. It continued in the Coastal Command in the “fighter bomber” role until 603 was reformed in the UK as a Fighter Squadron in 1945. It continued as a Fighter Squadron flying late-Mark Spitfires and a Vampire until disbandment of the Auxiliary Air Force in 1957.
John George (Jack) Shaw is remembered in Newcastle on NUT145 page 35
