He was born 28th April 1904 to Mark and Edith Markham in Streatham, Surrey but by 1911 the family had moved to First Avenue, Westcliff on Sea and included Vivian’s younger sister Phyllis . Mark was employed as a furrier but was sufficiently affluent to employ twenty year old Emily Smith as a general servant.
Vivian married Barbara Sydney Simcol Bishop at Rochford in 1926 and by the time of the 1939 registration the couple were living at Ilgars Manor in Woodham Ferrers. Vivian worked as a wholesale manufacturing furrier and at the time both were listed as being in the ARP (Air Raid Precautions). Barbara later joined the Women’s Land Army for the rest of the war.
The RAFVR was the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve comprising those who were conscripted or volunteered during the war. Vivian joined 35 Squadron and was promoted to pilot officer, air gunner in June 1941. The squadron had become operational flying Handley Page Halifax Mark 1s out of RAF Linton on Ouse situated about nine miles north west of York 10th March 1941 as part of No 4 (Bomber) Group, Bomber Command.
The Halifax, shown here, was a four engined heavy bomber powered by Rolls Royce Merlin Engines and carried a crew of seven. In common with other heavy bombers Halifaxes carried two homing pigeons on raids in case the crew had to ditch in the sea the navigator would then use the birds to send co-ordinates to hopefully effect a rescue.
35 Squadron was the first one to fly Halifax aircraft. One of Vivian’s fellow officers was Leonard Cheshire who went on to become one of the most decorated officers of the war including being awarded a Victoria Cross. He was also one of Britain’s observers on the atom bomb raid on Nagasaki, Japan in 1945.
At 20.53 hours on 24th August 1941 the crew of Halifax Serial number L9572 comprising of Pilot Officer Jack McGregor-Cheers the pilot, supported by second pilot Sgt Thomas P McHale, Sgt James B Anderson wireless operator/air gunner, Royal Canadian Air Force, Sgt Walter N Collins flight engineer, Sgt Jack Fuller wireless operator/ air gunner, Sgt Alistair A S Heggie observer and Pilot Officer, air gunner Vivian M Markham took off from Linton along with four other Halifaxes.
The mission was to bomb the marshalling yards at Dusseldorf in Germany. L9572 was expected to return about 02.35 hours the next morning but failed to do so and they did not respond to radio messages. On the return flight they were engaged by a Messerschmitt BF 110 flown by Oberleutnant Gries and Unteroffizier Schenke of the Luftwaffe which resulted in the Halifax being shot down near Grosage, Chievres, Hainaut, Belgium.
All the crew were originally listed as missing but later reported as presumed dead. After the war their bodies were recovered and buried side by side in Chievres Communal Cemetery. Anderson and Fuller share a grave as do Collins and Heggie.
Barbara, together with Vivian’s mother Edith, took out letters of administration in July 1943 on Vivian’s estate. She subsequently moved to Westcliff on Sea where she died on 26th January 1994.