Matthias, known as Archie, was born on 9 April 1909 in Leeds, Yorkshire to Russian born parents Marks and Anne née Goldberg and he had five siblings. Their parents married in 1899 in Mile End, London and after the birth of their third child, the family moved to Leeds where Marks worked as a tweed hat and cap maker. In 1939, Archie lived at Charlemont Road, East Ham and worked as an insurance agent before enlisting in 1940. In 1941 he was training at Pensacola, Florida and Norfolk in Virginia and describes his life in letters to his cousin Rose. Archie married Cecilia Wise, a Red Cross nurse, on 31 May 1942 in Hackney followed by a honeymoon in Devon.

We are in contact with Archie’s family who have supplied letters that he wrote to his cousin Rose whilst he was training in Florida.

Archie was the bomb aimer on Halifax W1253 which departed from RAF Rufforth at 17.25 on an operation to bomb Genoa. On the return journey the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed into the River Humber at 04.30. Matthias and Robert Stockton baled out but drowned and the W/Op Mark Carlin was killed in the crash.

Pilot, D. Beveridge, survived
Nav, L. Purchase, survived
B/A, Matthias Goldstein, baled out and drowned
W/Op, Mark Francis Carlin, 1170430, body missing
A/G, Robert White Stockton, RCAF, R/128083, baled out and drowned.
Rear Gunner, D.G. Culver, survived
F/E, A.E.F. Wheeler, survived