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Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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Operation: Convoy Escort
Date: 05th March 1942 (Thursday)
Unit: No. 254 Squadron (Coastal Command)
Type: Blenheim IV
Serial: R3839
Base: RAF Carew Cheriton
Location: Ridgeway, Pembrokeshire
Pilot: Sgt. Norman Jack Rolfe 1377013 RAFVR Age 29. Killed
Obs: Sgt. James Quar McPherson 1054475 RAFVR Age 24. Killed
W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Harold Banks 980452 RAFVR Age 22. Killed
REASON FOR LOSS:
After a night convoy escort the Blenheim flew into the Ridgeway killing all the crew. (see map)
No further details as to cause. We welcome any further information.
Sgt. Norman Jack Rolfe. Pembroke Dock Cemetery (Llanion). Sec T. Grave 179. Son of William Norman and Amy Rolfe, husband of Marjory Eileen Rolfe, of Ramsgate, Kent, England.
Sgt. James Quar McPherson. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Cemetery (St. Andrew's and Jesmond). Son of James Quar McPherson and Mary Alice McPherson, of Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. His grave inscription reads: “Always a Beautiful memory, often a silent tear. Gone but never forgotten.”
Sgt. Harold Banks. Accrington Cemetery. Sec. E. C of E. Plot O. Grave 62A. Son of Elizabeth Banks, and stepson of Richard Pennington, of Accrington, England. His grave inscription reads: “His sun went down at noon.”
Researched for Mary McPherson (niece of the Observer) and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with information obtained from sources quoted below.
History Airborne Forces • Soviet Night Witches • Bomber Command Memories • Abbreviations • Gardening Codenames
CWGC: Your Relative's Grave Explained • USA Flygirls • Axis Awards Descriptions • 'Lack Of Moral Fibre'
Concept of Colonial Discrimination • Unauthorised First Long Range Mustang Attack
RAAF Bomb Aimer Evades with Maquis • SOE Heroine Nancy Wake • Fane: Motor Racing PRU Legend
Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and MWO François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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