This could be a picture of Lyn Madden on this Webpage.
With the information Dean Black just provided, it has to be him on that group picture, third from the left.
I have Wally Conrad’s diary from that era (mid-1943. Wally served on 403 at the time.
Why is this important?
Because in his diary he complains about getting too many F/Lts former instructors from 416 with no combat experience and Madden seems to fit that description.
Saturday, 15 May, 1943
The weather was sunny and warm with cloud in the morning that cleared off by noon.
Circus 297: S/L Magwood led the Wing as high Cover to 12 Bostons bombing Poix.
Rendezvous was made at Bexhill on the deck and the French coast was crossed at Le Touquet.
Good Bombing results were seen with bursts coming up from dispersed buildings and alongside the runway.
All of the bombers were seen in and out safely.
Enemy reaction was first seen around Senaipoint after the bombing, with between six and eight e/as coming in fairly close.
Between 30 and 40 e/a were seen, mostly 109s, and all some distance below at around 17,000 feet.
F/L MacDonald, leading blue Section, climbed to cover Red Section which had turned port to attack two 190s. At this time, he saw two 109s below his starboard wing and he dived onto the rear one giving a short burst of cannon from 200 yards or less.
Strikes were seen on the engine, cockpit and fuselage before the e/a was seen falling to pieces with both wings crumpling. F/L MacDonald claims this e/a as destroyed. F/L MacDonald then attacked a 109 from 300 to 400 yards, seeing strikes on the port wing tip.
F/O MacKay saw further damage before the e/a rolled off to port and down.
F/L MacDonald claims this e/a as damaged.
At this point, F/L L.B. Madden, Blue 2, who was on his first sortie, dove down, apparently after the damaged 109.
He was called back by his Flight Commander, F/L MacDonald, but made no reply.
The rest of the Section orbited the spot briefly but were forced to take evasive action from further attacks.
No more was seen or heard from F/L L.B. Madden.
P/O Aitken and P/O Lane, Yellow 3 and 4, were split up from the rest of their Section on attacking two pairs of 109s which were alone.
Shortly after this, 12 109s, flying in our Spitfire formation, attacked P/O Lane and P/O Aitken. They evaded them by turning and climbing rapidly. Then one 109 and four 190s, flying in star formation, suddenly attacked from port and behind. P/O Aitken broke to port and into them while P/O Lane evidently broke to starboard.
This was the last time P/O W.T. Lane was seen or heard of.
One e/a destroyed and one damaged for the loss of two pilots. Up at 1615 hours and down at 1755 hours.
The Sections were as follows:
Blue Section Red Section Yellow Section
F/L MacDonald S/L Magwood F/L Godefroy
F/L Madden F/O Brannagan F/S Shouldice
F/O MacKay F/L McNair F/O Aitken
P/O McWilliams F/O Conrad P/O Lane
Thanks Dean
Comment from a reader…
Hello ,
I would like very much a picture of F/L Lyn Madden , kia 15 May 1943 , as well as one of Spitfire BS246. This is a request for someone writing a history book of Conteville , Normandy , where Madden’s Spitfire crashed.
Thank you,
Laurent
There are no pictures yet to be found.
Lyn Bertram Madden, birth 1920 in Lachute, Québec (Quebec)?
Click here for his memorial on CVWM.
