{"id":5557,"date":"2025-06-18T14:37:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T14:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/?page_id=5557"},"modified":"2025-09-14T15:13:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T15:13:01","slug":"john-george-shewen","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wwii\/carliol\/john-george-shewen\/","title":{"rendered":"John George Shewen"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-5557\" data-postid=\"5557\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-5557 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n                    <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_cuzr670 tb_first tf_w\">\n                        <div class=\"row_inner col_align_top tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col4-2 tb_izvx670 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_bryl670   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <h2><strong>Key Information<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Name: <\/strong><\/span>JOHN GEORGE Shewen<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>DoB:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Regt: <\/strong><\/span>Sergeant<\/p>\n<p>2211742, 15 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>DoD: <\/strong><\/span>04\/12\/1944 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 19 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Buried: REICHSWALD FOREST WAR CEMETERY Grave No. is Plot 25,\u00a0Row A. Grave 6.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Academic Career<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Other:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Biographical Information<\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col4-2 tb_jhjq670 last\">\n                            <\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_efrs247 tf_w\">\n                        <div class=\"row_inner col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tf_box tf_rel\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col-full tb_d4fy247 first\">\n                    <!-- module accordion -->\n<div  class=\"module module-accordion tb_9ske247 \" data-behavior=\"accordion\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n    \n    <ul class=\"ui module-accordion   gray\">\n            <li class=\"builder-accordion-active\">\n            <div class=\"accordion-title tf_rel\">\n                <a href=\"#acc-9ske247-0\" class=\"tb_title_accordion\" aria-controls=\"acc-9ske247-0-content\" aria-expanded=\"true\">\n                                                            Family Background                <\/a>\n            <\/div><!-- .accordion-title -->\n            <div id=\"acc-9ske247-0-content\" data-id=\"acc-9ske247-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"accordion-content tf_clearfix\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_subrow themify_builder_sub_row tf_w col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tb_8pln247\">\n                <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column sub_column tb_pjv7247 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_xjcn247   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <p><strong>Family Background:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Son of Fred Gordon Shewen and Hilda Shewen, of Currock, Carlisle.<\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div><!-- .accordion-content -->\n        <\/li>\n            <li>\n            <div class=\"accordion-title tf_rel\">\n                <a href=\"#acc-9ske247-1\" class=\"tb_title_accordion\" aria-controls=\"acc-9ske247-1-content\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n                                                            Academic Record                <\/a>\n            <\/div><!-- .accordion-title -->\n            <div id=\"acc-9ske247-1-content\" data-id=\"acc-9ske247-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"accordion-content tf_hide tf_clearfix\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_subrow themify_builder_sub_row tf_w col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tb_qpte247\">\n                <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column sub_column tb_qslb247 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_0ykd247   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <p><strong>Academic Record<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0<\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div><!-- .accordion-content -->\n        <\/li>\n            <li>\n            <div class=\"accordion-title tf_rel\">\n                <a href=\"#acc-9ske247-2\" class=\"tb_title_accordion\" aria-controls=\"acc-9ske247-2-content\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n                                                            War Record                <\/a>\n            <\/div><!-- .accordion-title -->\n            <div id=\"acc-9ske247-2-content\" data-id=\"acc-9ske247-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"accordion-content tf_hide tf_clearfix\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_subrow themify_builder_sub_row tf_w col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tb_b254247\">\n                <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column sub_column tb_g45w247 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_ccj2247   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <p><strong>War Service<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sergeant<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>2211742, 15 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The following information about the circumstances of John\u2019s death comes from Martyn R. Ford-Jones,\u00a0 XV Squadron Historian:<br>\u00a0<br>\u201cI used to know \u2026a number of veterans who flew on this raid, a daylight attack against Oberhausen and they all had their own versions as to what happened. A number who &#8220;saw it&#8221;\u00a0declared it was a\u00a0mid-air collision, because two aircraft went down, whilst others stated\u00a0it\u00a0was a direct hit by flak (German anti-aircraft fire); the official records\u00a0state the latter as the cause. <br>\u00a0<br>Some many years ago an Australian came over to England to find out how his brother, Pilot Officer Robert Skilbeck, the wireless operator on this same crew, died. Unfortunately, back then, we only had the veterans\u2019 stories to go on, none of which (in my mind) proved correct.<br>\u00a0<br>I believe\u00a0these\u00a0versions to be wrong. My belief is based on the wartime diary\u00a0kept by an Australian mid-upper air gunner, who was behind the stricken aircraft in the bomber stream, and recorded it (almost immediately) after\u00a0the event.\u00a0 As a published author, Reg Heffron, the air gunner allowed me to\u00a0turn his diaries into a book, which was published\u00a0in March this year. The book is called &#8220;The Easy Boys&#8221;, published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd, ISBN 978-0-7643-4789-4. The story of the raid, including details of the crash, including John Shewen&#8217;s name are recorded on pages 126, 127 &amp; 128 of the book. Unfortunately, whilst there are photographs to accompany the\u00a0entry, I do not have a picture of John Shewen.<br>\u00a0<br>The bomber aimer on John Shewen&#8217;s crew released a 4,000lb bomb which, as it cleared the bomb bay, was hit by an anti-aircraft shell. The bomb detonated, the blast of which encompassed the aircraft from which it had just been released. The crew would have known very little if anything about it.\u201d<\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div><!-- .accordion-content -->\n        <\/li>\n            <li>\n            <div class=\"accordion-title tf_rel\">\n                <a href=\"#acc-9ske247-3\" class=\"tb_title_accordion\" aria-controls=\"acc-9ske247-3-content\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n                                                            Other                <\/a>\n            <\/div><!-- .accordion-title -->\n            <div id=\"acc-9ske247-3-content\" data-id=\"acc-9ske247-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"accordion-content tf_hide tf_clearfix\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_subrow themify_builder_sub_row tf_w col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tb_hez9247\">\n                <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column sub_column tb_7j5q247 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_ko31247   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <p><strong>Other:<\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div><!-- .accordion-content -->\n        <\/li>\n            <li>\n            <div class=\"accordion-title tf_rel\">\n                <a href=\"#acc-9ske247-4\" class=\"tb_title_accordion\" aria-controls=\"acc-9ske247-4-content\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n                                                            Sources                <\/a>\n            <\/div><!-- .accordion-title -->\n            <div id=\"acc-9ske247-4-content\" data-id=\"acc-9ske247-4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"accordion-content tf_hide tf_clearfix\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_subrow themify_builder_sub_row tf_w col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tb_7ain247\">\n                <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column sub_column tb_yhbi247 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_6um9247   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <p><strong>Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jeff Harris, family member<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Martyn R. Ford-Jones,<br>XV Squadron Historian<\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div><!-- .accordion-content -->\n        <\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n\n<\/div><!-- \/module accordion -->        <\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Information Name: JOHN GEORGE Shewen DoB:\u00a0 Regt: Sergeant 2211742, 15 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve DoD: 04\/12\/1944 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 19 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Buried: REICHSWALD FOREST WAR CEMETERY Grave No. is Plot 25,\u00a0Row A. Grave 6.\u00a0 Academic Career:\u00a0 Other:\u00a0 Biographical Information Family Background Family Background: Son of Fred Gordon Shewen and Hilda Shewen, of Currock, Carlisle. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"parent":5329,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5557","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5557"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5954,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5557\/revisions\/5954"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}