Herbert Cutler's camera

I hope Rod Collins won't mind me mentioning a thread from his fascinating website which is pertinent to these pages. I refer to the story of a camera given to Herbert Cutler – Officers' Mess barman at RAF Waltham as told by his grand-daughter Carol Blaylock. A young pilot handed his camera to Herbert for safe-keeping with the proviso that if he failed to return, the barman held onto the camera.

Sadly the young pilot did not come back and the camera has since been in Herbert's family for the best part of seventy years.

During my research I learnt that a nephew of 100 Squadron pilot P/O John 'Athel' Crabtree recalled that his mother (Athel's sister) had maintained that her brother had left his camera with someone for safe-keeping before flying on his final sortie – Berlin on the evening of 30^th January 1944.

Are these two separate stories? - or one - viewed from two sides?

W/O Crabtree's commission to Pilot Officer had been effective from 27^th January 1944, giving a very small window of opportunity to visit the Officers' Mess to toast his new status. Athel Crabtree had flown ND398 HW-B on the Berlin raids of 27^th/28^th and 28^th/29^th January, returning from the latter around breakfast time on Saturday morning (29th). With a stand-down declared for that evening it is likely that P/O Crabtree visited the mess that day.

If the camera had belonged to a 'regular customer', Herbert would possibly have recalled the pilot's name, however he was remembered just as a young pilot.

Did newly commissioned Athel Crabtree leave his camera with friendly mess steward Herbert Cutler before taking off from RAF Waltham for the last time?

John Athelstan Crabtree