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Archive Report: Allied Forces

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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500 Squadron Crest
07.08.1941 No 500 Squadron Blenheim IV L4899 MK-E P/O. Ward

Operation: Nomad

Date: 07th August 1941 (Thursday)

Unit: No. 500 Squadron (Coastal Command) - Quo fata vocent "Whither the fates may call".

Type: Blenheim IV

Serial: L4899

Code: MK-E

Base: RAF Bircham Newton, Norfolk

Location: North Sea off Frisian Islands

Pilot: P/O. Leslie Ward 45642 RAF Age 29. Missing - believed killed

Obs: Sgt. William Swann Robinson 971021 RAFVR Age 30. Missing - believed killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Flt/Sgt. Ronald Louvain Burton 812221 RAFVR Age 26. Missing - believed killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off at 22:00 hrs on a shipping sweep off the Frisian Islands but crashed into the North Sea. The reason for the loss is unknown due to radio silence.

Burial details:

P/O. Leslie Ward. Runnymede Memorial Panel 35. Son of Frank and Lilian Ward and husband of Ruby May Ward, of Eastbourne, Sussex, England.

Sgt. William Swann Robinson. Runnymede Memorial Panel 51. Son of William Swann Robinson and Edith Emily Robinson, of Leigh, Lancashire, England.

Flt/Sgt. Ronald Louvain Burton. Runnymede Memorial Panel 35. Son of William and Bessie Heaver Burton, of Snodland, Kent, England.

Left and below: As described - courtesy Andrea Ruddick.(available at high resolution to relatives)

Researched for Rachel Hannan - relative of Sgt. William Robinson and dedicated to the relatives of this crew - information courtesy of Ralph Snape, with thanks to sources indicated below.

RS/KTY 04.12.2018

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Acknowledgements
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 Captain 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', Andrew Mielnik: Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Polish graves: https://niebieskaeskadra.pl/, PoW Museum Żagań, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. 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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