S/Sgt.

Charles Vernon Renshaw

Mechanic - Airplane Electrical Specialist

545th Bomb Squadron

384th Bombardment Group (Heavy)

Serial Nr. 37368142

Transferred to 359th Fighter Group 12/08/1945

Died 27/02/2009

Charles was born on 19th June 1913. He was to grow up on a farm near Carmi, Southern Illinois. In 1942 he was drafted for service at the age of 29, and was trained to be a Mechanic in the Air Force, specialising in the maintenance of radio and radar equipment in Boeing B-17 bombers.

On 28th December 1942 he was assigned to the 545th Bomb Squadron, part of the newly formed 384th Bombardment Group. Training would continue in America until the group was finally mobilised for England, around the end of May 1943. Charles was one of the original draft of personnel of the 384th Bomb Group - it is recorded he sailed to Liverpool, England aboard the Queen Elizabeth liner from New York which would assumably date this as being at the end of May, 1943 - the date the first members of the 384th were to arrive in England.

In October 1943 Charles was promoted to Staff Sergeant.

S/Sgt. Renshaw attended church services away from the base. Through his religious beliefs, he befriended English families in both Geddington and Islip, both villages nearby to the airfield of Grafton Underwood.

At Geddington, he was a regular visitor to the Scripture Union Meetings at Geddington Chapel, and also a regular visitor after service to a local family, the Brown's, including 9 year old Peter Brown. At the end of the war, before the 384th was relocated to Istres in France, the village of Geddington held a farewell party for the 384th personnel whom they had forged close ties with over the past couple of years. Peter was to attend, taking with him an autograph book of which S/Sgt. Renshaw was to sign.

S/Sgt. Renshaw is also recorded as attending fortnightly Christian meetings in Islip arranged by local Islip resident Claude Clarke. He was a regular visitor to the Clarke family where he would often spend his evenings, on days off, having cycled there from Grafton Underwood. 

On 21st November 1944 it would appear S/Sgt. Renshaw was either the person responsible for submitting the Accident Report relating to B-17G #42-102566 Nina, or had indeed been onboard the aircraft at the time of the incident, which had suffered an undercarriage collapse on base which ultimately resulted in the aircraft being salvaged.

In August 1945 S/Sgt. Renshaw was transferred across to the 359th Fighter Group, thus ending his time with the 384th.

His story would have ended there, if it was not for the '9 year old' Peter Brown wondering what had happened to their family friend from the war years. Peter was now 70 and a copy of a note he had written asking for information on Charles had found its way onto the 384th Bomb Group website, where it was spotted by Charles' niece. In turn, she was to contact Peter's son Dave, who had posted his fathers note on the website. Contact was made again between Charles and the Brown family, with further images being sent over, which are attached to this story. Charles was now 93, and living in Florida.

This story was inspired by a request to the Museum by Hazel Freeman (Brown) to follow the story up, with help and documents provided by Hazel and her brother, Dave. The Museum hopes this story does Charles justice, and is a fantastic example of how the English and American cultures were able to find common ground.

Please read the full story of how the links were reforged after many years by clicking the link below.

Old note brings former airman and Englishman together again | War Tales

Research courtesy of Keith Andrews on behalf of 384th Bombardment Group Museum.

Our thanks to Dave Brown and Hazel Freeman for their assistance with completing this story.

With kind thanks to the 384th Bomb Group website (384thbombgroup.com) for permission in using material from their records in the making of this story. It holds a wealth of information, documents and photographs of their activities during World War 2.