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Royal Air Force (Volunteer Reserve) (RAF(VR)) Officers
1939-1945

 

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Wagland,
James Leslie William
"Waggy"
J.L.W. Wagland
Married (04.1945) Molly Cleevely (died 1999); one son, one daughter.


04.11.1913
West Ham, Essex / Greater London
-
02.04.2005
Bromley district, Kent
P/O (prob)
16.06.1940 [81937]
P/O
16.06.1941
(WS) F/O
16.06.1941
(A) F/Lt.
?
(WS) F/Lt.
16.06.1942
(A) Sq.Ldr.
?
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
22.08.1941
?
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
19.10.1943
*
Mention in Despatches MID
24.09.1941
?
Mention in Despatches MID
01.01.1946
?
Vliegerkruis (Flying Cross) (The Netherlands) VK
09.10.1945
? [date of Dutch Royal Decree: 03.07.1945]
* This officer has undertaken a large number of sorties and his navigational ability throughout has been outstanding. On 2 occasions in September, Squadron Leader Wagland participated in sorties which demanded skill and determination of a high order. In addition to his good work in the air, Squadron Leader Wagland has rendered excellent service in the training of other members of aircraft crew.
summer 1939


volunteered for the RAFVR
16.06.1940


first commission RAFVR - General Duties Branch (Air Observers)
08.1940
- 1942?
78 Squadron RAF (Ditchford, Yorks.)
1942?
-
11.1942
HQ RAF Bomber Command
11.1942
-
1945
navigation staff (soon to be: senior navigator) at RAF Tempsford, the home of the special duties squadrons flying clandestine operations for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) into Occupied Europe
?
-
04.11.1958
Emergency List - RAFVR
Walker,
George William James
G.W.J. Walker
Son of ... Walker, and ... Collins.
08.07.1914
Warwick district, Warwickshire
-
02.1993

Cheltenham district, Gloucestershire
Sgt.
? [852023]
P/O (prob)
01.05.1945 [197282]
P/O
04.11.1945
(WS) F/O
04.11.1945
F/O RAF
29.01.1948, seniority 04.05.1947
F/Lt. RAF
19.06.1952
Sq.Ldr. RAF (Supplementary List)
01.01.1963 (retd 08.07.1969)
Member of the Order of the British Empire (Military Division) MBE
31.12.1960
New Year 61
01.05.1945


first commission RAFVR (General Duties Branch)



served as a pathfinder
1946
-
1948
at RAF Binbrook
29.01.1948


transferred, RAF (Secretarial Branch) [short service commission]
01.1949
-
(09.1950)
sent to Aden
10.06.1952
 
 
permanent commission RAF (Secretarial Branch)
Walllace,
Derek Reeve Lindsay
D.R.L. Wallace
Son of ... Wallace, and ... Reeve.
Married; ... children (one son?).
15.01.1914
Edmonton distriect, Essex / Hertfordshire / Middlesex
-
01.2002
Chichester district, Sussex
Ldg.Acm.
? [1250554]
P/O (prob)
12.07.1941 [101581]
(WS) F/O
12.07.1942
(A) F/Lt.
?
(WS) F/Lt.
12.07.1943 (Emgcy List) (reld 15.01.1959; retaining rank of Sq.Ldr.)
(A) Sq.Ldr.
?
Member of the Order of the British Empire (Military Division) MBE
01.01.1945
New Year 45
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
27.07.1943
?
12.07.1941


first commission RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
(1943)
 
 
614 Squadron RAF
Architect.
Ward,
Joseph William
J.W. Ward
Son of Joseph Ward, and Helena Maude Findlay (?).
(09?).1912 ?
Guisborough, North Riding of Yorkshire ?
-
died between 1961 and 1996
Sgt.
? [1381295]
P/O (prob)
01.04.1942 [120024]
(WS) F/O (prob)
01.10.1942
(A) F/Lt.
(1944)
(WS) F/Lt.
01.04.1944
(A) Sq.Ldr.
(1945)
F/Lt.
16.11.1950
13.08.1951, seniority 31.07.1951 (retd 31.03.1961; retaining rank of Sq.Ldr.)
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
06.06.1944
?
Air Force Cross AFC
07.09.1945
?
Education: Guisborough County Modern School
01.04.1942
-
01.06.1949
commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
(1944)
 
 
102 Squadron RAF
(1945)
 
 
1663 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF
01.06.1949
-
16.11.1950
short service commission, RAF (Education Branch)
16.11.1950
-
13.08.1951
permanent commission, RAF (Education Branch)
13.08.1951
-
31.03.1961
transferred, RAF (Aircraft Control Branch)

Wareing,
Maurice Vincent
"Vince" / "Vic"
M.V. Wareing (Photo courtesy of Mrs Dyan Tucker)

Youngest of three sons of Charles Arthur Wareing, and Jane Ellen Hodson.
Married (14.10.1939) Joyce Elizabeth Robertson; one daughter Teresa (deceased).
18.07.1916
Erdington, Aston district, Warwickshire
-
31.01.1944
Blue Stack Mountains, Donnegal, Ireland
(KIA) [age 27]
[buried at Erdington (Ss. Thomas and Edmund of Canterbury) Roman Catholic Cemetery, Warwickshire, row AC, grave 14]
Ldg.Acm. ? [1214671]
P/O (prob) 10.07.1942 [129072]
(WS) F/O (prob) 10.01.1943
Education: St Philips Grammar School.
Garage owner, Erdington.
1941     pilot training, Michigan, USA
10.07.1942     commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
? - 31.01.1944 pilot, 228 Squadron RAF (Coastal Command) (flying Sunderlands) [had done 138 hours on Sunderlands, 282 on all types, 62 hours on Instruments and 420+ hours on Link Trainers]

Wareing is listed as first pilot on DW110 when it crashed though reports say he was not in the cockpit at the time. They were on anti-submarine patrol and could not return to base at Pembroke Dock and were re-directed to Castle Archdale, Ireland; they slammed into the mountain side in poor weather. Memorial website is www.freewebs.com/dw110 Those killed were F/Lt Charles Armstrong DFC S/No 42383, F/Lt Maurice Gillingham 104369, Sgt Cyril Greenwood 1129218, F/Sgt Frederick Green RCAF R/184005, Sgt John Parsons 1315937, Sgt Frederick Copp 614970. Survivors were F/O Joseph Trull 128117 (later to die on 11 December 1944 in another Sunderland which exploded), W/O John Richardson 523921, Sgt C S Hobbs 1644857, Sgt James Gilchrist 1338328, F/Sgt A Gowans 105592. The deeds of the crew are mentioned in John Quinns "Down in the Free State" which gives and account of the incident when Armstrong got his DFC also the history of the crash is recorded in the book "The World War II aeroplane crash in the Blue Stack Mountains" by Liam Briody. The Blue Stack Ramblers take regular guided tours to the site of the crash and the memorial stone, there is still the wreckage of fuselage and engines all over the site.
 

Warming,
Christian Stuart
C.S. Warming
Son of Sophus and Fanny Heath Warming, of Reigate, Surrey.
1912 ?
-
10.06.1944
North Sea
(KIA) [age 32]
[Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, 22.D.9]

Sgt.
? [1582915]
P/O (prob)
25.05.1944 [179198]
25.04.1944


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
?
-
10.06.1944
navigator, 219 Squadron RAF (RAF Bradwell Bay)
[crashed with his plane, a Mosquito NF.XVII [HK358] during a defensive patrol over the Channel]
Warren,
Collyn Warwick
C.W. Warren

Son of John Watkin Warren, a land agent & surveyor, and Irmgard Margherita Walburga Ziegler, of Wood Park, Northwood, Middlesex.
17.08.1922
Cologne, Germany
-
31.07.1944
[age 23]
[Oxford Crematorium, right hand column]

Acm.
22.07.1941 [1322569]
Ldg.Acm.
31.12.1941
P/O (prob)
01.01.1943 [150005]
(WS) F/O (prob)
01.07.1943
Worked for Lloyd's.
22.07.1941
-
31.12.1942 
enlisted service, RAFVR
01.01.1943


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
01.01.1943
-
15.11.1943 
No. 1 British Flying Training School RAF (Terrell, Texas, USA)
16.11.1943
-
24.04.1944
7 Personnel Reception Centre RAF (54 Group RAF) (Harrogate, West Yorkshire)
25.04.1944
-
10.07.1944
20 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF (23 Group RAF) (Weston-on-the-Green, Oxfordshire)
11.07.1944
-
31.07.1944
12 Operational Training Unit RAF (92 Group RAF) (Edgehill)
[taken off at 15.02 hrs from Edgehill for an initial dual training sortie in Wellington III [BK455]; at 15.18 hrs eyewitnesses saw the bomber stall at one hundred feet and upon hitting the ground, it rolled onto its back and began to burn fiercely]
Warren,
Robert Douglas
R.D. Warren

Son of George and Louise Warren, of Slough; husband of Aline Jeannette Warren, of Slough.
(12?).1920
Windsor district, Berkshire / Surrey
-
15.05.1944
[age 23]
[Slough (Stoke Road) Cemetery, Church of England plot, joint grave 2083]

Ldg.Acm.
? [1285527]
P/O (prob)
23.08.1943 [147941]
P/O
23.02.1944
(WS) F/O
23.02.1944
23.08.1943


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
?
-
15.05.1944
pilot, 96 Squadron RAF
Warwick,
James Brown
"Jim"
J.B. Warwick
10.10.1921
Belfast, Northern Ireland
-
19.09.1944
(KIA) [age 22]
[Steenbergen en Kruisland Roman Catholic War Cemetery, the Netherlands]

Sgt.
? [1393272]
P/O (prob)
04.08.1943 [156612]
(WS) F/O
04.02.1944
(A) F/Lt.
05.02.1944
(A) Sq.Ldr.
25.08.1944
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
15.02.1944
?
Education: Boys Model School.
Joined the Civil Service and employed at the Air Ministry, 1938.
08.1941


enlisted RAF, then to Canada followed by Miama (Florida, USA) for navigator traning
04.08.1943


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
29.04.1943
-
13.01.1944
49 Squadron RAF (Fiskerton) (two operational tours on Lancasters)
14.01.1944
-
04.02.1944
1465 Bombing and Gunnery Flight RAF
05.02.1944
-
24.08.1944
1661 Heavy Conversion Unit
25.08.1944
-
?
Station Navigation Officer, 54 Base RAF (Coningsby) (screend off operational duties)
19.09.1944
-
19.09.1944
attached, 627 Squadron RAF
[died in a crash coming back from a raid on Rheydt nr. Mönchengladbach acting as Master bomber flying a Mosquito KB267 [AZ-E] out of Woodhall Spa with W/Cdr. Guy P. Gibson]
Watkins,
Charles
C. Watkins (Photo courtesy of Mr Michael Handley)
Son (youngest of six, with one brother, four sisters) of Charles King Watkins, a vicar, and Margaret Underwood.
Married 1st (divorced); one daughter.
Married 2nd (1959); one daughter.
15.06.1908
Holbeach St John, Lincolnshire
-
08.1997
Carmarthen district, Carmarthenshire
Sgt.
? [1869556]
P/O (prob)
01.05.1944 [175989]
P/O
01.11.1944
(WS) F/O
01.11.1944 (reld 23.12.1945; medical unfitness, retaining rank of F/O)
01.05.1944


first commission RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
?
-
06.07.1944
flight engineer, 149 Squadron RAF (Methwold)
[taken off at 22.43 hrs from Methwold in a Stirling III [LJ477 OJ-M] on Operation Gondolier 16 (in support of SOE), setting course for France; on return, tried to land at Thorney Island airfield in Sussex, but crashed at 04.52 hrs while doing so; one crew member died, all others were injured; Watkins suffered burns of face and hands] 
06.07.1944
-
28.07.1945
St Richards Hospital, Chichester, next day transferred to Queen Victoria Hospital, East
Grinstead
22.05.1945
 
 
transferred, Administrative and Special Duties Branch
Engineer at Raleigh’s near Derby.
Watson,
James
J. Watson
Son of James and Rebecca Watson, of West Linton, Peebleshire.
1921 ?
-
16.04.1945
(KIA) [age 24]
[Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery, Poland, collective grave 5.B.1-5]

F/Sgt.
? [1021021]
P/O (prob)
31.01.1944 [174282]
(WS) F/O
01.1945?
31.01.1944


first commission RAFVR - General Duties Branch [emergency commission]
?

-

16.04.1945

air gunner, 617 Squadron RAF
[his Lancaster I [NG228 KC-V] took off at 1349 hrs from Woodhill Spa for an operation against Swinemünde, armed with 12 x 1,000 lb bombs to attack the pcoket battleship Lützow; it was hit by Flak and the port wing came off before spinning into a wooded region of the target area]
Waugh,
James
J. Waugh
?
-
Ldg.Acm.
? [1558375]
P/O (prob) (emgcy)
11.09.1943 [155041]
F/O
19.05.1947
F/Lt.
01.03.1951, seniority 16.12.1949 (reld 19.05.1952)
11.09.1943


first commission RAFVR - General Duties Branch
Webber,
John Charles
J.C. Webber
?
-
Ldg.Acm.
? [1315750]
P/O (prob)
29.10.1943 [154082]
P/O
28.04.1944
(WS) F/O
28.04.1944
(WS) F/Lt.
29.10.1945
29.10.1943
 
 
commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
(1944)
-
24.09.1944
61 Squadron RAF
[Lancaster LM718 (QR-K) was airborne 1917 hrs 23.09.1944 from Skellingthorpe to breach the Dortmund-Eems Canal at Ladbergen, just to the N of Münster; the aircraft crashed onto farmland near Deurne (Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands), some 9 km ESE of Helmond, after being abandoned by the crew; F/O Webber was captured]
24.09.1944
-
1945
POW in German captivity (Camp Luft 1, PoW No. 5987)
Webster,
Sedgwick Whiteley
S.W. Webster
Of American descent, living in London (self-declared British subject to join the RAFVR). Unmarried (at the time).
28.10.1904
South Africa
-
03.1980
Litchfield, Connecticut, USA
(A) P/O (prob)
09.03.1940 [77955]
P/O (prob)
22.04.1940
P/O
09.03.1941
(WS) F/O
22.04.1941
F/Lt.
22.04.1942 (resigned commission 20.12.1945)
09.03.1940


first commission RAFVR - General Duties Branch [emergency commission]
03.1940
-
11.05.1940
204 Squadron Training Unit
12.05.1940
-
06.06.1940
Air Gunner, 9 Squadron RAF (Honington, UK)
[his aircraft, a Wellington IA (P9232 WS-M), was hit by Flak on an operation to Duisburg after crossing the Dutch coast; the plane crashed near Simonshaven (near Geervliet, province Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands) and he was taken POW on his seventh mission]
06.06.1940
06.07.1940
06.11.1940
07.06.1941
20.04.1942
27.01.1945
29.04.1945
-
-
-
-
-
-

29.04.1945
06.11.1940
07.06.1941
20.04.1942
27.01.1945
07.02.1945

POW in German captivity [POW No. 2253]
Dulag Luft 
Stalag 12A, Limberg, Germany
Stalag 2C, Greifswald, Germany
Stalag Luft 3 (South Compound), Sagan, Germany
Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Germany
liberated by General Patton
Worked for Dorland's ad agency after the war (probably in New York) and was very likely with them in London before it.
Welch,
Patrick Palles Lorne Elphinstone
P.P.L.E. Welch P.P.L.E. Welch

Son (with two sisters) of Brig.Gen. Malcolm Hammond Edward Welch, CB, CMG (1872-1946), and Irene Frances Elphinstone.

12.08.1916
Sturminster district, Dorset
-
15.05.1998
Farnham, SW of London
Sgt.
? [741651]
P/O (prob)
23.11.1940, seniority 20.11.1940 [88429]
P/O
23.11.1941, seniority 20.11.1940
(WS) F/O
23.11.1941, seniority 20.11.1941
(WS) F/Lt.
23.11.1942, seniority 20.11.1942
F/O
03.01.1949 (reld 03.01.1954)
Education: Stowe School
23.11.1940


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]


 
shot down on his fourth raid, captured
05.1942
-
04.1945
POW in German captivity (Stalag Luft III [escape attempt 06.1943], then Colditz)
03.01.1949
 
 
commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) (Reconstituted Section)
Returned to Farnborough to work on rocket motors before becoming chief instructor of the Surrey Gliding Club at Redhill, a test pilot for new aircraft for the British Gliding Association and a British team pilot in four world championships.
Wells,
Patrick Hardy Vesey
"Pat" / "Cockeye"
P.H.V. Wells
Son of Eric Francis Vesey Wells (1885-1933), and Marjorie Louise Gregory (died 1958).
Married (late 1940s, Kenya) Jessie Theresa Coster; one son, one daughter.

16.03.1917
Johannesburg, South Africa
-
03.04.2002
Constantia, South Africa
P/O
15.02.1938 [72098]
F/O
11.04.1940
(WS) F/Lt.
02.06.1941
(T) Sq.Ldr.
01.07.1943
Sq.Ldr.
? (reld 06.07.1950; retaining rank of Sq.Ldr.)
Distinguished Service Order DSO
23.05.1944
?
Mention in Despatches MID
08.06.1944
?
Education: Bedford School; studied Mining Enigneering, London Univeristy
15.02.1938


first commission RAFVR - General Duties Branch
late 1939


training, RAF Cranwell
1939
-
1940
No 5 Operational Training Unit (Aston Down)
06.1940


pilot, 249 Squadron RAF (Church Fenton) (wounded 07.09.1940)



pilot, 73 Squadron RAF
(1944)
 
 
pilot, 255 Squadron RAF
Aircraft salesman, Southern Africa.
Wheeler,
John Parkin
J.P. Wheeler (Photo courtesy of Mr Pierre van Dalen)
Son of Thomas J. Wheeler, and Ethel Parkin.
15.06.1924
Warwick district, Warwickshire
-
1997 still alive
Ldg.Acm. ? [1583493]
P/O (prob) 12.11.1943 [154229]
P/O 12.05.1944
(WS) F/O 12.05.1944
(WS) F/Lt. 12.11.1945 (reld 07.12.1953)
F/O RAF 07.12.1953
F/Lt. RAF 27.12.1956 (retd 30.07.1968)
12.11.1943     commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
(1944) - 24.09.1944 61 Squadron RAF
[Lancaster LM718 (QR-K) was airborne 1917 hrs 23.09.1944 from Skellingthorpe to breach the Dortmund-Eems Canal at Ladbergen, just to the N of Münster; the aircraft crashed onto farmland near Deurne (Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands), some 9 km ESE of Helmond, after being abandoned by the crew; F/O Wheeler was captured]
24.09.1944 - 1945 POW in German captivity (Camp Luft 1)
21.06.1949 - 08.10.1952 commissioned, RAFVR (Training Branch)
07.12.1953     short service commission, RAF (Fighter Control Branch)
01.12.1955     permanent commission, RAF (General Duties (Ground) Branch)
01.10.1967     transferred, RAF (Engineer (Photography) Branch (Supplementary List))
Wheeler,
Lionel Herbert
L.H. Wheeler
28.09.1914
-
Ldg.Acm.
? [1261879]
P/O (prob)
29.06.1941 [102114]
P/O
29.06.1942
(WS) F/O
29.06.1942
(WS) F/Lt.
29.06.1943
29.06.1941


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]



flew new pilots over the Atlantic to pick up American planes in Canada and guide them back to England
White,
Charles Derek Bovet
C.D.B. White
13.11.1913
Hornsey, London
-
01.1996
Lewes district, East Sussex
Sgt.
? [785033]
P/O (prob)
17.10.1942 [135139]
(WS) F/O (prob)
17.04.1943
(WS) F/Lt.
17.04.1944? (reld 02.04.1947; retaining rank of F/Lt.)
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
14.09.1945
?
17.10.1942


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]



487 (RNZAF) Squadron (flying Mosquitos)
After the war he served in Malaya and ended up as Commanding Officer of the Royal Malayan Air Force until 1961 flying Harvards.
White,
Kenneth Douglas
"Ken"
K.D. White
?
-
F/Sgt.
? [1391664]
P/O (prob)
25.02.1944 [173835]
P/O
26.08.1944, seniority 25.02.1944
(WS) F/O
26.08.1944
(WS) F/Lt.
26.02.1946
Distinguished Flying Medal? DFM ?
?
?
25.02.1944


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
Whiting,
Jack Maxwell
"Max"
J.M. Whiting (Photo courtesy of Mr David Whiting) J.M. Whiting (Photo courtesy of Mr David Whiting)
Born as Jack Maxwell W. Leslie as son of Norman Leslie, a motor company's traveller from Adelaide (Southern Australia), and Kathleen Davidson.
Adopted (27.11.1913) by Harry Scott Whiting and Mary Louisa Lewis.
Married (24.08.1935, Pembury, Kent) Muriel Albino (22.03.1908 - 20.11.1993), of Great Bounds, Kent; one son. She remarried (25.09.1951, Caxton Hall) Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, Baron Dowding of Bentley Priory, GCB, GCVO, CMG.

06.12.1912
Eastbourne, Sussex
-
22.05.1944
(KIA) [age 31]
[Esbjerg (Fourfelt) Cemetery, collective grave , A.12.18-24]

Aircraftman 2nd cl.
23.06.1942 [1686793]
Aircraftman 1st cl.
03.12.1942
(T) Sgt.
31.12.1943
P/O (prob)
09.01.1944 [171177]
23.06.1942
-
06.07.1942
3 Reception Centre RAF (23.06.1942 Air Craft Hand/Fligh Mechanic (Engines))
07.07.1942
-
19.08.1942
9 Reception Centre RAF
20.08.1942
-
05.01.1943
4 School of Technical Training RAF (23.12.1942 Flight Mechanic Engines 2nd class)
06.01.1943
-
18.05.1943
1 School of Technical Training RAF (01.05.1943 Fitter 2nd class Engines/Under Training)
19.05.1943
-
15.06.1943
105 (Technical) Operational Training Unit RAF [23.05.1943-04.06.1943 Moreton in Marsh]
16.06.1943
-
30.07.1943
4 School of Technical Training RAF [from 03.07.1943 M/S Avroe] (16.06.1943 Fitter 2nd class Engines/Under Training/Flight Engineer; 26.07.1943 Flight Engineer)
31.07.1943
-
23.09.1943
Flight Engineer, 1161 Conversion Unit RAF
24.09.1943
-
14.11.1943
Flight Engineer, 9 Squadron RAF
09.01.1944


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
15.11.1943
-
22.05.1944
Flight Engineer, 630 Squadron RAF
[Lancaster I LL950 LE-Y had taken off at 22.18 hrs 21.05.1944 from East Kirby for a 'Gardening Forget-Me-Not' operation against Kiel Bay. Shot up  by a German fighter of 10.NJG3 (Uffz. Heinz Koppe), causing the aircraft to explode in mid-air. The plane crashed at 02:00 hours just south of the railroad line west of the small village of Vesterlund.]
Wild,
Brian Denzil
B.D. Wild
?
-
(A) P/O (prob)
30.08.1941 [105635]
P/O (prob)
30.10.1941
(WS) F/O (prob)
01.10.1942 (emgcy) (reld 10.02.1954; retaining rank of F/Lt.)
(T) F/Lt.
?
Mention in Despatches MID
01.01.1943
?
30.08.1941


commissioned, RAFVR (Administrative and Special Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
Wilkinson,
Jeffrey Stephen
J. Waugh
(09?).1918 ?
Christchurch district, Hampshire ?
-
08.2007
Fairfield, Buxton ?
P/O (prob)
01.05.1939 [31299]
P/O
23.01.1940
(T) F/O
01.05.1940
(T) F/Lt.
01.06.1941 (reld 24.10.1942)
P/O
24.10.1942
(WS) F/O
24.04.1943
(WS) F/Lt.
24.10.1944
F/O
20.02.1947
F/Lt.
06.09.1950 (reld 06.09.1957)
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
15.09.1944
?
Education: BSc
01.05.1939


first commission RAFVR (Equipment Branch)
24.10.1942


relinquished rank of F/Lt. at own request and transferred to General Duties Branch in rank of P/O
23.01.1943
-
20.02.1947
transferred, Reserve of Air Force Officers (General Duties Branch) (and clled up for air force service)
(1944)
 
 
53 Squadron RAF
20.02.1947
-
06.09.1950
commissioned, Reconstituted RAFVR (General Duties Branch)
06.09.1950


commissioned, RAF (Education Branch) [short service commission]
06.09.1953
-
06.09.1957
transferred, Reserve of Air Force Officers (and called up for air force service till 06.03.1954)
Williams,
Douglas Knight
D.K. Williams
Son of Thomas Latimer Williams and Margaret Rose Williams, of Crynant, Glamorgan.
1922 ?
-
05.07.1944
(KIA) [age 22]
[Runnymede Memorial, panel 210]
Sgt.
? [1315946]
P/O (prob)
14.08.1943 [155999]
P/O
14.02.1944
(WS) F/O 
14.02.1944
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
10.12.1943
?
14.08.1943


first commission RAFVR - General Duties Branch [emergency commission]
(1943)


navigator, 76 Squadron RAF
?
-
05.07.1944
navigator, 105 Squadron RAF
[his Mosquito IX ML913 GB-E had taken off 23.39 hrs (5 July) for an operation against Scholven-Buer; his aircraft, flown by F/Lt. G.K. Whiffen, was lost without a trace]
Published: (ed. Mary M. Hill) The making of a Pathfinder : World War II letters from a Navigator F/O Douglas Knight Williams, DFC (1992)
Wilson,
Sir Arnold Talbot
A.T. Wilson
Son of the late Rev. Canon James Maurice Wilson, DD, MA, and Georgina Mary Wilson.
Married (1922) Rose, widow of Lieut Robin C. Carver, RAF, and daughter
of late C.H. Ashton of Ellesmere; one son, one daughter.
Residence: Saffron Walden, Essex.
18.07.1884
Barton Regis district, Gloucestershire
-
31.05.1940
(KIA) [age 56]
[Eringhem Churchyard, France, row 1, grave 2]
Army:

Cadet
?
2nd Lt.
19.08.1903
Lt.
19.11.1905
Capt.
19.08.1912
Maj.
03.06.1918 (retd 19.08.1921)
Bt. Lt.Col.
03.06.1918
RAF(VR):

(A) P/O (prob)
04.11.1939 [75684]
P/O (prob)
11.12.1939
Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire KCIE
30.12.1919

valuable services rendered in Mesopotamia in connection with the War

Companion of the Star of India CSI
03.06.1919
HM's birthday 19
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George CMG
14.06.1912
?
Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire CIE
25.08.1917
?
Distinguished Service Order DSO
17.04.1916
?
Education: Clifton College; Royal Military College, Sandhurst (King's medal and Sword of Honour)
19.08.1903


commissioned, Unattached List
18.12.1904


transferred to the Indian Army
1904


32nd Sikh Pioneers
1909
-
1913
seconded to the Indian Political Department, on duty in Persia (British Consul at Mohammerah, 1909-1911 (MacGregor Memorial Medal, 1912); special duty, Luristan and Fars, 1911-1912; 2nd Assistant, Bushire, 1912-1913; special duty Luristan, 1913)
20.11.1913
-
1914
Deputy British Commissioner, Turco­Persian Frontier Commission (British Commissioner, July 1914)
1915


Deputy Chief Political Officer, Indian Expeditionary Force "D"
1916


Deputy Civil Commissioner
03.1918
-
10.1920
Acting Civil Commissioner and Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Baghdad)
1921
-
1939
civil occupations (with Anglo­Persian Oil Co. Ltd, 1921-1932; Chairman Industrial Health Research Board, 1926-1933; Chairman International Exhibition of Persian Art, 1930; Chairman B. of T. Advisory Committee on Cinema Films, 1934-1938; Chairman, Home Office Committee on Structural Precautions against Air Attack, 1936-1938; Member Departmental Committee on Cinema Films Act, 1937; Richard Burton Memorial Medallist, 1937. Editor XIX Century and After, 1934-1938)
1933
-
1940
MP (Nat. C.) Hitchin (Herts) Division
04.11.1939


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties (Air Gunner))
?
-
31.05.1940
37 Squadron RAF (Feltwell, UK)
[his aircraft, a Wellington IC (L7791 LF-), crashed on an operation against Nieuwpoort]
Knight of Grace, Order of St John of Jerusalem, 02.12.1919; Justice of the Peace (JP); late Indian Political Department.
Published: The Persian Gulf, 1928; A Bibliography of Persia, 1930; Loyalties: Mesopotamia, 1914-1917, 1930; Mesopotamia, 1917-1920; A Clash of Loyalties, 1931; Persia (Modern World Series), 1932; The Suez Canal, 1933, 2nd ed. 1939; Walks and Talks, 1934; Walks and Talks Abroad, 1935, 3rd ed. 1939; Industrial Assurance, 1937; Burial Reform and Funeral Costs, 1938; Thoughts and Talks, 1938; Workmen's Compensation, 1938; More Thoughts and Talks, 1939; Gallantry: its recognition in Military and Civil Life, 1939; South­West Persia, a Political Officer's Diary, 1907-1914, 1940
Wilson,
Charles Thomas
C.T. Wilson (Photo courtesy of Mrs Sue Pearce)
Son of Charles Thomas Wilson and Alice Maude Wilson, of Kingsbury, Middlesex.
Husband of Kathleen Wilson (died 1939), of Osgodby, Lincolnshire; one daughter.
(06?).1911
Kingsbury, Middlesex
-
29.01.1944

[age 33]
[Runnymede Memorial, panel 204]
Ldg.Acm.
? [1331591]
P/O (prob)
25.09.1942 [130614]
(WS) F/O (prob)
25.03.1943
(A) F/Lt.
?
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
11.02.1944
? [posthumously]
25.09.1942
 
 
commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
?
-
29.01.1944
pilot, 97 Squadron RAF
[flew at "Black Thursday" (16/17.12.1943) in Lancaster JB312]
[flew 29.01.1944 an operation against Berlin, taking off from RAF Bourn at 0035 hrs in Lancaster III JB353 OF-L; the aircraft was lost without trace]

Wilson,
Frederick John
F.J. Wilson
Son of Frederick John and Florence Emily Wilson; husband of Eileen Elsie Wilson, of Sevenoaks, Kent.
(09?).1902
Milton, Kent
-
01.02.1942

[age 40]
[Saint Andrew Churchyard
Cranwell, Lincolnshire, 3.B.4]
T/Warrant Offr.
? [247538]
P/O (prob)
06.01.1942 [47867]
Air Force Medal AFM
?
?



pilot
Wiltshire,
John Evan
J.E. Wiltshire
?
-
 
Ldg.Acm. ? [1544817]
P/O (prob) 10.07.1943 [146892]
P/O 10.01.1944
(WS) F/O 10.01.1944
(WS) F/Lt. 10.07.1945
F/O 05.02.1947 (reld 03.02.1949)
10.07.1943     commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
(1944)     pilot, 80 Squadron RAF
[25.09.1944 was hit by flak in his Tempest V [EJ650] and abandoned his aircraft over Steenbergen, crashing at Battenoord; Wiltshire was captured]
05.02.1947 - 03.02.1949 commissioned, reconstituted RAFVR
Wisher,
Reginald Ralph
R.R. Wisher
Married ((09?).1922, Kingston district, Surrey) Edna Marie A. Baynham.
(12?).1898
Kingston district, Surrey
-
Lt.
19.01.1921, seniority 27.09.1919 (reld 19.07.1921) (reinstated ?) (reld 18.11.1922)
(A) P/O (prob)
17.05.1938 [72228]
F/O
17.11.1939
(T) F/Lt.
01.12.1940
(T) Sq.Ldr.
01.12.1941
(WS) Sq.Ldr.
17.12.1943 (reld 07.10.1947; retaining rank of W/Cdr.)
(T) W/Cdr.
01.07.1944
AEA
?
?
?
-
13.11.1919
commissioned, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment [temporary commission]
19.01.1921
-
18.11.1922
6th (DF) Battalion The Warwickshire Regiment - Territorial Force
17.05.1938


commissioned, RAFVR (Equipment Branch)
?
-
?
?
Wodehouse,
Frank George
F.G. Wodehouse
Son of Harry Joseph Wodehouse, and Ethel May Hudson, of Norwich, Norfolk.
(12?).1922
Norwich district, Norfolk
-
08.08.1943
(KIA) [age 20]
[Vandenesse-en-Auxois Churchyard, France]
[commemorated at Thorpe Green War Memorial]
Ldg.Acm.
? [1332753]
P/O (prob)
28.08.1942 [129565]
(WS) F/O (prob)
28.02.1943
28.02.1943


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
?
-
08.08.1943
pilot, 106 Squadron RAF
[Lancaster DV196 ZN-K was airborne 21:04 hrs 07.08.1943 from Syerston for an operation against Milano. Homebound, shot down by a night-fighter crashing at Vandenesse-en-Auxois (Côte d'Or), 34 km SW of Dijon, France. Two of the crew of seven were killed.]
Wood,
Dudley William Oliver
E.E. Wood
Son of ... Wood, and ... Baker.
Husband of Eileen Florence Wood, of Newbury Park, Essex.
(06?).1921
Edmonton district, Essex / Hertfordshire / Middlesex
-
04.09.1944
(KIA) [age 23]
[Runnymede Memorial, panel 210]
Sgt.
? [1332674]
P/O (prob)
24.02.1943 [143222]
(WS) F/O (prob)
24.08.1943
24.02.1943


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
?
-
04.09.1944
515 Squadron RAF (Little Snoring)
[taken off at 13.20 hrs for a Ranger patrol (bomber support), his Mosquito VI MM420 (3P-) crashed at 16.00 hrs some 200 metres SW of Lindenberg and 16 km S of Demmin]
Wood,
Erroll Eveleigh
E.E. Wood
18.01.1920
Doncaster, Yorkshire
-
Ldg.Acm.
? [814235]
P/O (prob)
11.06.1943 [152481]
(WS) F/O (prob)
11.12.1943
(WS) F/Lt.
11.06.1945 (reld 16.04.1948; retaining rank of F/Lt.)
F/O
16.04.1948 (reld 19.11.1951)
11.06.1943


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
16.04.1948
 
 
appointed to Reconstituted RAFVR
19.11.1951
 
 
appointed to Royal Australian Air Force General Reserve
Woodcock,
Wallace George
W.G. Woodcock
Son of Harry Woodcock, and Maud A. Ainge.
Married (02.06.1945, St Giles Parish Church, Sheldon) Phyllis M.F. Eades (born 1918); one son, two daughters.
13.03.1917
Small Heath, Birmingham, Aston district, Warwickshire
-
22.05.1994
University Hospital, Tampa, Florida, USA
F/Sgt.
? [1181290]
P/O (prob)
01.04.1943 [147362]
(WS) F/O (prob)
12.10.1943
(WS) F/Lt.
12.04.1945 (reld 11.05.1949)
01.04.1943


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
 
 
 
served 235 Squadron RAF (Coastal Command) (mainly flying reconnaissance De Havilland Mosquito Mk IVs)
(12.1944)
 
 
pilot, 248 Squadron RAF (flying Mosquitoes)
Emigrated to the Philadelphia area (USA), in 1950. He was a linotype printer, retiring from the Philadelphia Inquirer. 
Woodley,
Alfred Cuthbert
"James" / "Jim"
A.C. Woodley
(12?).1909
West Ham district, London
-
Sgt. ? [746896]
P/O (prob) 01.01.1941, seniority 11.12.1940 [60318]
(WS) F/O 01.01.1942, seniority 11.12.1941
(A) F/Lt. ?
(WS) F/Lt. 01.01.1943, seniority 11.12.1942 (reld 21.10.1945)
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC 18.09.1942 148 Squadron RAF *
* Before joining this squadron this officer completed 27 operations, including attacks on such highly defended targets as Berlin, Mannheim, Hamburg and other important places in Germany and German-occupied territory, and on the Channel ports. In the Middle East he has acted as rear gunner on many occasions against targets in Cyrenaica and Crete, and from Malta against Comisq. No duty has ever been too arduous. For the past few months he has been employed as squadron leader. By his zeal, skill and personality he has established a high standard of air gunnery in the squadron. He still insists on flying with new crews as rear gunner on their first operational mission.
01.01.1942     commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
(1942)     148 Squadron RAF (DFC)
Woods,
Eric Norman
E.N. Woods E.N. Woods
Son of William H. Woods, and of Kate Dora Woods, of Harborne, Birmingham.

08.05.1910
Buenos Aires, Argentina
-
16.12.1943
(MIA) [age 33]
[Malta Memorial, panel 6, column 1]
Ldg.Acm.
? [925682]
P/O (prob)
18.01.1941, seniority 14.01.1941 [60119]
P/O
18.01.1942
(WS) F/O 
18.01.1942, seniority 14.01.1942
(WS) F/Lt.
25.11.1942
(A) Sq.Ldr.
?
(A) W/Cdr.
?
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
14.07.1942
?
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
03.11.1942
?

for details see "biography" buttons on the left

Wylie,
Neil Alvah
N.A. Wylie
Son (with three brothers and two sisters) of Sir Francis James Wylie, MA, LL.D. (1865-1952), and Lady Wylie (Kathleen Kelly) (1882?-1969), of Boar's Hill, Oxford.
Married (1952?) Frances Anne Willson, daughter of M.F.C. Willson (1884-1944), and Frances Kate Willson (1898?-1958), of Victoria, B.C.; three sons, one daughter.
(09?).1910
Oxford, Oxfordshire
-
20?.08.2010
Prince George, B.C., Canada
Ldg.Acm. ? [1335230]
P/O (prob) 16.01.1942 [120630]
(WS) F/O (prob) 01.10.1942
(WS) F/Lt. 16.01.1944 (reld 15.11.1949; retaining rank of F/Lt.)
F/O 15.11.1949 (reld 15.11.1952)
Education: Oriel College, Oxford (masters degree in forestry).
      training, Commonwealth Training Station, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada
16.01.1942     commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
09.1942     225 Squadron RAF (North Africa)
      served in Italy & Yugoslavia
15.11.1949     commissioned, RAFVR (Reconstituted Section) (General Duties Branch)
Emigrated to Canada, 1950, settling in Prince George, B.C. in 1952, where he worked in a variety of forestry and lumber related jobs until retirement.
       

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