The Pilots
of 41 Squadron RAF, 1939-1946
Surnames Commencing with B
BACK
| Name |
BABBAGE, Cyril Frederick 'Frank' |
| Number |
89298 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Ludlow, Shropshire,
25 June 1917 |
| Arrived |
12 June 1941 |
| Departed |
18 October 1941 |
| Decorations |
DFM (1940) |
| Notes |
Commissioned November
1940; retired as Wing Commander June 1964; died Swindon, 24
November 1976 |
| Name |
BACHE, Leslie Longmore |
| Number |
72018 |
| Rank |
Flight Lieutenant |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Haverigg, near Miltom,
Cumberland, 12 May 1913 |
| Arrived |
25 August 1941 |
| Departed |
13 October 1941 |
| Notes |
KIA, 13 October
1941, aged 28; son of Rev Joseph W. R. Bache & Ada B. Bache;
buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France,
Plot 13, Row C, Grave 12 |
| Name |
BAKER, Aubrey Cyril |
| Number |
810145 / 64892 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot /
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Birmingham, 28 April
1919 |
| Arrived |
30 September 1940 |
| Departed |
24 May 1941 |
| Decorations |
DFC (1942) |
| Notes |
Joined RAF as ground
crew, 1935; accepted for pilot training, 1939; commissioned
Apr 1941; released 1946; died Birkenhead, 21 January 1978 |
| Name |
BAKER, Henry Collingham 'Harry' |
| Number |
41146 |
| Rank |
Flying Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Clowne, Derbyshire,
19 May 1920 |
| Arrived |
ca 14 September
1940 (first mentioned on this date) |
| Departed |
ca 26 October 1940
(last mentioned on this date) |
| Notes |
Released from RAF
as Sqn Ldr, Jan 1946, died Grimsby, 3 July 2013 |
| Name |
BALASSE, Maurice Arthur Leon 'Momo' |
| Number |
135893 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer, Flying
Officer, Flight Lieutenant |
| Nationality |
Belgian |
| Born |
R'jev, Russia,
27 June 1914 |
| Term 1 |
1-10 June 1943 |
| Term 2 |
6 November 1943-23
January 1945 (attached to 611 Squadron, 6-23 Nov 1943) |
| Notes |
KIA during an armed
reconnaissance to Münster, Germany, 23 January 1945; buried
Evere Cemetery, Belgium |
| Name |
BAMBERGER, Cyril Stanley 'Bam' |
| Number |
810024 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot
|
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Hyde, Cheshire,
4 May 1919 |
| Arrived |
17 September 1940 |
| Departed |
19 October 1940 |
| Decorations |
DFC (1943), AE (1944),
Bar to DFC (1944) |
| Notes |
Commissioned October
1942; released 1946; recalled during Korean crisis & retired
again Jan 1959, retaining Sqn Ldr; died Midhurst, Sussex, 3
February 2008 |
| Name |
BANACH, Wladislaw |
| Number |
P.1673 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
Polish |
| Born |
Tarnowa, Poland,
15 June 1919 |
| Arrived |
27 October 1942 |
| Departed |
9 December 1942 |
| Decorations |
Polish KW [Krzyz
Walecznych / Cross of Valour] (1944) |
| Notes |
Commissioned Dec
1941; ended war as Flight Lieutenant |
| Name |
BANGERTER, Patrick Marcel |
| Number |
124911 |
| Rank |
Flight Lieutenant |
|
Nationality |
British |
| Born |
London,
17 March 1923 |
| Arrived |
16 June 1945 |
| Departed |
10 September 1945 |
| Decorations |
Belgian Croix de
Guerre (1947) |
| Notes |
Commissioned May
1942; demobilised Nov 1945; died Purley, Surrey, 8 October 1999 |
|
| Name |
BARTON, Robert Alexander 'Butch' |
| Number |
37664 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer, Flying
Officer |
| Nationality |
Canadian |
| Born |
Kamloops, BC, Canada,
7 June 1916 |
| Arrived |
11 October 1936 |
| Departed |
15 May 1940 |
| Decorations |
DFC (1940), Bar
to DFC (1941), OBE (1945) |
| Notes |
Retired as Wg Cdr,
Feb 1959; died New Westminster, BC, Canada, 2 Sep 2010 |
| Name |
BAXTER, John Edward Vergette
'Johnny' |
| Number |
135714 |
| Rank |
Flight Lieutenant |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire,
24 May 1917 |
| Arrived |
ca 15 August 1945 |
| Departed |
ca 7 February 1946 |
| Decorations |
OBE (1986) |
| Notes |
Commissioned Dec
1942; died 1988 |
|
| Name |
BEARD, Anthony William |
| Number |
1331949 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Wanstead, East London,
4 December 1922 |
| Arrived |
26 August 1942 (first
mentioned on this date) |
| Departed |
24 December 1942
(last mentioned on this date) |
| Notes |
Died in Penrith,
Cumbria, Sep 2003 |
| Name |
BEARDSLEY, Robert Arthur 'Bob' |
| Number |
741411 / 100607 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot /
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Old Charlton, London,
9 January 1920 |
| Arrived |
17 September 1940 |
| Departed |
16 October 1941 |
| Decorations |
DFC (1941) |
| Notes |
Commissioned Jun
1941; retired as Sqn Ldr, Aug 1970; died Ipswich, Suffolk, 17
October 2003 |
| Name |
BEAUMONT, Ronald |
| Number |
102127 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire,
12 May 1921 |
| Arrived |
4 December 1941 |
| Departed |
18 December 1941 |
| Notes |
KIA in 73 Sqn Hurricane
IIc, BD774, on lone night-time straffing raid, whilst serving
with, 26 May 1942, aged 21; son of Fred and Bedelia Beaumont
of Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire; buried in Grave 8.D.15. of Benghazi
War Cemetery, Libya |
| Name |
BEDNARZ, Jozef |
| Number |
782356 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot |
| Nationality |
Polish |
| Born |
Rymacze, Wolyń
Province, Poland, 13 June 1920 |
| Arrived |
17 December 1942 |
| Departed |
1 February 1943 |
| Notes |
KIFA in Spitfire
Vb, X4279, on a beach west of Pwllheli, Wales, 1 February 1943;
buried in Grave 620 of Portmadoc Public Cemetery, Caernarvonshire,
Wales |
| Name |
BENHAM, Douglas Ian 'Benny' &
'Douggie' |
| Number |
104443 |
| Rank |
Squadron Leader |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Wimbledon, 30 December
1917 |
| Arrived |
28 August 1944 |
| Departed |
24 March 1945 |
| Decorations |
DFC (1943), AFC
(1944), Bar to DFC (1945), OBE (1957) |
| Notes |
Commissioned, Aug
1941; OC 41 Sqn, 28 August 1944-8 April 1945; retired Dec 1957,
retaining Wg Cdr; died Torbay, Wales, 28 October 2009 |
| Name |
BENJAMIN, Sydney Hyman |
| Number |
1272288 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
London, 10 July
1922 |
| Arrived |
5 August 1942 (first
mentioned on this date) |
| Departed |
27 December 1942 |
| Notes |
KIA whilst with
1435 Squadron (based on Malta) and providing air support for
the invasion of Sicily, 12 July 1943, aged 20; son of Samuel
and Milly Benjamin of Kingsway, Hove, Sussex; buried in Grave
II. A. 4. of Syracuse War Cemetery, Sicily, Italy |
| Name |
BENNIONS, George Herman 'Ben' |
| Number |
563057 / 43354 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot /
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Burslem, Staffordshire,
13 March 1913 |
| Arrived |
16 February 1936 |
| Departed |
1 October 1940 |
| Decorations |
DFC (1940) |
| Notes |
Seriously WIA, 1
October 1940; died Richmond, Yorksshire, 13 January 2004 |
| Name |
BEURLING,
George Frederick 'Buzz' & 'Screwball' |
| Number |
1267053 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot |
| Nationality |
Canadian |
| Born |
Montreal, Quebec,
Canada, 6 December 1921 |
| Arrived |
18 April 1942 |
| Departed |
21 May 1942 |
| Decorations |
DFM (1942), Bar
to DFM (1942), DFC (1942), DSO (1942) |
| Notes |
Commissioned in
RAF July 1942; transferred to RCAF, Sep 1943; Canada's leading
World War II Ace; recruited by Israel after WWII; KIFA in Rome,
20 May 1948 |
| Name |
BIGGS, Stanley John |
| Number |
1263193 |
| Rank |
Flight Sergeant |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Paddington, London,
14 April 1920 |
| Arrived |
12 February 1943 |
| Departed |
7 June 1943 |
| Notes |
Died 7 January 1944,
aged 23; son of Joseph J. and Maud Biggs of Kenton, Harrow,
Middlesex; buried in the Men's Protestant Section, Plot
F, Collective Grave 48 of Malta Capuccini Naval Cemetery |
| Name |
BIRBECK, Clive Robert 'Joe' |
| Number |
108990 |
| Rank |
Flying Officer,
Flight Lieutenant |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Ceylon, 2 September
1922 |
| Arrived |
8 February 1943 |
| Departed |
23 July 1944 |
| Notes |
Hit by Flak in 127
Sqn Spitfire XVI, RK896, baled out & captured, Overflakkee
Island, Netherlands, 17 Jan 1945 |
| Name |
BLATCHFORD, Howard Peter 'Cowboy' |
| Number |
37715 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer, Flying
Officer |
| Nationality |
Canadian |
| Born |
Edmonton, Alta,
Canada, 25 February 1912 |
| Arrived |
10 January 1937 |
| Departed |
20 April 1940 |
| Decorations |
DFC (1940) |
| Notes |
KIA 3 May 1943,
aged 31; son of Kenneth A. and Grace L. Blatchford, of Edmonton,
Alta, Canada; remembered on Panel 118 of the Runnymede Memorial |
| Name |
BODKIN, William Fred |
| Number |
R.71531 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot |
| Nationality |
Canadian |
| Born |
Watford, Ont, Canada,
1 March 1918 |
| Arrived |
11 July 1941 |
| Departed |
28 August 1941 |
| Notes |
KIA 28 August 1941,
aged 23; son of Claude & Wilsena Bodkin, & husband of
Mary A. Bodkin of Welland, Ont.; remembered on Panel 60 of the
Runnymede Memorial |
| Name |
BØDTKER, Carl Sejersted |
| Number |
1619 |
| Rank |
2nd Lieutenant /
Lieutenant |
| Nationality |
Norwegian |
| Born |
Vestre Aker, Norway,
11 June 1923 |
| Arrived |
7 March 1945 |
| Departed |
9 May 1945 |
| Notes |
Died Norway, 28
May 1987 |
| Name |
BORET, Robert John |
| Number |
42554 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
London, 8 November
1919 |
| Arrived |
2 March 1940 |
| Departed |
19 October 1940 |
| Notes |
Died 16 November
1940, aged 20, when aircraft ran out of fuel at sea between
HMS Argus and Malta; son of Air Cdre John A. Boret CBE MC AFC
who commanded 41 Squadron from May 1933-March 1937; remembered
on Panel 7 of the Runnymede Memorial (see also James R. Walker,
who died in the same incident) |
| Name |
BOURBONNAIS, Joseph Joffre Gaetan |
| Number |
R/56166 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot |
| Nationality |
Canadian |
| Born |
Smiths Falls, Lanark,
Ontario, Canada, 11 February 1916 |
| Arrived |
5 May 1941 (detached
to No. 4 Delivery Flight, Grangemouth, June 1941) |
| Departed |
29 July 1941 (last
mentioned on this date, possibly did not return from detachment) |
| Notes |
Repatriated to Canada,
Oct 1941, released Jul 1942; died Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
24 April 1986 |
| Name |
BOYD, Robert James 'Bobby' |
| Number |
126765 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer, Flying
Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Walsall, Staffordshire,
29 September 1918 |
| Arrived |
ca. 2 November 1942 |
| Departed |
6 September 1943 |
| Notes |
Hit by Flak &
KIA 6 September 1943, aged 24; son of Walter & Dora Boyd
of Wolverhampton; buried in Grandcourt War Cemetery, Seine-Maritime,
France, Grave A, 2 |
| Name |
BOYLE, John Greer 'Beryl' |
| Number |
40204 |
| Rank |
Flying Officer |
| Nationality |
Canadian |
| Born |
Casselman, Ontario,
Canada, 27 March 1914 |
| Arrived |
5 May 1940 |
| Departed |
28 September 1940 |
| Notes |
KIA 28 September
1940, aged 26; son of Dr. Joseph P. Boyle & Catherine Greer
Boyle, of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; buried in Saints Peter &
Paul New Churchyard, Lynsted, Kent, Row F, Grave 1 |
| Name |
BRADSHAW, John Tyron 'Jack' |
| Number |
605510 |
| Rank |
Flight Sergeant |
| Nationality |
American (in RAF) |
| Born |
Morristown, New Jersey,
USA, 5 November 1921 |
| Arrived |
18 August 1943 |
| Departed |
31 October 1944 |
| Notes |
Transferred to USAAC,
1 Nov 1944; flew for Pan American Grace Airways (PANAGRA) after
war; retired 1982; died |
| Name |
BRETT, Stanley Leonard Theodore |
| Number |
1385571 |
| Rank |
Warrant Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Unknown
location, 14 August 1921 |
| Arrived |
14 January 1946 |
| Departed |
31 March 1946 |
| Notes |
Previously with
182 Sqn; died Barnet, London, January 1997; little further known about this pilot; details sought |
|
| Name |
BREW, William Aubrey 'Bill' |
| Number |
402220 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot |
| Nationality |
Australian |
| Born |
Newcastle NSW, Australia,
25 July 1916 |
| Arrived |
16 June 1941 |
| Departed |
27 August 1941 |
| Notes |
Shot down over St.
Omer, France, and captured, 27 Aug 1941; died Sydney NSW,
Australia, 6 December 2004;
see also From
Pilot to POW in One Short Sweep |
| Name |
BRIGGS, Michael Featherstone |
| Number |
86346 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Hendon, Middlesex,
date unknown October 1920 |
| Arrived |
4 November 1940 |
| Departed |
2 April 1941 |
| Notes |
KIFA 2 April 1941,
aged 20; son of Gp Capt (Ret) E. F. Briggs & Mrs Briggs
of Cookham, Berks; buried in Cookham Cemetery, Berks., Section
F., Row, F., Grave 6 |
| Name |
BROWN, Maurice Peter |
| Number |
40796 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
London, 17 June
1919 |
| Arrived |
29 September 1940 |
| Departed |
28 June 1941 |
| Decorations |
AFC (1946) |
| Notes |
Subsequently flying
instructor at OTU, FTS and AFU; released, Nov 1945,
retaining Sqn Ldr; author of 'Honour Restored' (Spellmount,
2004); died 21 January 2011 |
| Name |
BROWN, Norman McHardy |
| Number |
84958 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Edinburgh, Scotland,
1919 |
| Arrived |
12 October 1940 |
| Departed |
6 April 1941 |
| Notes |
Commission terminated
on completion of service, 12 April 1941; died 17 December 2013 |
| Name |
BROWN, Walter Wilson |
| Number |
1345121 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Tranent, Scotland,
28 September 1921 |
| Arrived |
28 December 1942 |
| Departed |
ca. 6 January 1943
(last mentioned on this date) |
| Notes |
Commissioned May
1944; died Maidstone, Kent, 11 November 2008 |
| Name |
BUCHANAN, George Andrew Forsyth |
| Number |
60080 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
Rhodesian |
| Born |
Dundee, Natal, South
Africa, 28 November 1912 |
| Arrived |
27 August 1941 |
| Departed |
9 February 1942 |
| Decorations |
DFC (1942) |
| Notes |
Relinquished commission,
May 1946; died Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South
Africa, 1973 |
| Name |
BUCKLEY, John Bowyer |
| Number |
J.6013 |
| Rank |
Pilot Officer |
| Nationality |
Canadian |
| Born |
Harlow, Essex, 19
May 1922 |
| Arrived |
19 November 1941 |
| Departed |
18 December 1941 |
| Notes |
Shot down &
killed in Hudson FK386 whilst in transit from Pontreath to Gibraltar,
3 June 1943, aged 21; son of Sidney E. and Joan I. Buckley of
Woodcroft, Northamptonshire; remembered on Panel 172 of the
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey |
| Name |
BULL, Alan Lindsay |
| Number |
400219 |
| Rank |
Sergeant Pilot |
| Nationality |
Australian |
| Born |
Bairnsdale, Victoria,
Australia, 25 February 1918 |
| Arrived |
16 June 1941 |
| Departed |
12 August 1941 |
| Notes |
Shot down over Hazebrouck,
France, and captured, 12 August 1941; escaped Apr 1945;
died Victoria, Australia, 1997 |
| Name |
BURNE, Thomas Roper |
| Number |
33457 |
| Rank |
Flight Lieutenant |
| Nationality |
British |
| Born |
Singapore, 19 February
1920 |
| Arrived |
16 December 1943 |
| Departed |
24 February 1945 |
| Decorations |
AFC (1942), MiD
(1942), DSO (1945) |
| Notes |
Lost right leg below
knee in Sumatra as a result of Japanese bombing, 1942; hit by
flak & severely WIA (right arm, right leg & chest) during
attack on flak train, 24 Feb 1945; appointed ADC to HM the Queen,
18 Sep 1968; retired Jan 1970, died Chiltern & Beaconsfield,
Bucks, 27 November 1981 |
| Name |
BUSH, Charles Roy |
| Number |
42691 |
| Rank |
Flying Officer |
| Nationality |
New Zealander |
| Born |
Wellington, New
Zealand, 7 February 1918 |
| Arrived |
15 August 1941 |
| Departed |
23 October 1941 |
| Decorations |
DFC (1941) |
| Notes |
KIFA in Ruahines,
during photographic reconnaissance in Gisborne area of NZ, 30
November 1948 |
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