Battle of Belgium
On 10 May 1940, the Germans invaded Belgium and the squadron flew its first bombing sortie the same day. Amifontaine was bombed the next day, preventing any operations being carried out for the day. The next day, 12 May, No. 12 Squadron was tasked with bombing two bridges over the Albert Canal in Belgium, those at Vroenhoven and at Veldwezelt. Six Battles, flying in two sections, one for each bridge, were dispatched at 9:00 am. They were to be escorted by several Hawker Hurricane fighters of No. 1 Squadron.
Gray flew as the navigator to Flying Officer Donald Garland, leading the section allocated to attack the bridge at Veldwezelt, with LAC Lawrence Reynolds as the gunner. Garland intended to make a low level approach to his target. On nearing Veldwezelt, the Hurricane escorts were drawn off by Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. As Garland's section approached Veldwezelt, it was met with extensive anti-aircraft fire. Garland released his bombs, which damaged the western end of the bridge. However, his Battle was shot down and its crew were killed. The other two Battles were destroyed without completing their bombing run. Garland and Gray's efforts during the 12 May bombing attack was recognised with a posthumous award of a Victoria Cross. However Reynolds's gallantry was not recognised. The joint citation, published in the London Gazette on 11 June 1940, read:
Flying Officer Garland was the pilot and Sergeant Gray was the observer of the leading aircraft of a formation of five aircraft that attacked a bridge over the Albert Canal which had not been destroyed and was allowing the enemy to advance into Belgium. All the aircrews of the squadron concerned volunteered for the operation, and, after five crews had been selected by drawing lots, the attack was delivered at low altitude against this vital target. Orders were issued that this bridge was to be destroyed at all costs. As had been expected, exceptionally intense machine-gun and anti-aircraft fire were encountered. Moreover, the bridge area was heavily protected by enemy fighters. In spite of this, the formation successfully delivered a dive-bombing attack from the lowest practicable altitude. British fighters in the vicinity reported that the target was obscured by the bombs bursting on it and near it. Only one of the five aircraft concerned returned from this mission. The pilot of this aircraft reports that besides being subjected to extremely heavy anti-aircraft fire, through which they dived to attack the objective, our aircraft were also attacked by a large number of enemy fighters after they had released their bombs on the target. Much of the success of this vital operation must be attributed to the formation leader, Flying Officer Garland, and to the coolness and resource of Sergeant Gray, who in most difficult conditions navigated Flying Officer Garland's aircraft in such a manner that the whole formation was able successfully to attack the target in spite of subsequent heavy losses. Flying Officer Garland and Sergeant Gray did not return.
The efforts of No. 12 Squadron's aircrew went to waste, since faulty intelligence meant the wrong bridges were attacked. The German advance was in a different direction, towards Meuse. The bodies of Gray, Garland and Reynolds were recovered by Belgian civilians and buried without the knowledge of the Germans. Once the area was back under Allied control in 1944–45, their remains were moved to the cemetery at Lanaken. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission then relocated the bodies of the aircrew to Heverlee War Cemetery near Leuven.
