Bates, Michael
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Michael |
Surname | Bates |
Gender | M |
Age | |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 13-05-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son and second child of James Harry Bates and Alice Elizabeth Bates (née Woolley), of Wilmslow, Cheshire. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Avro Lancaster I |
Serial Number | W4762 |
Markings | VN- |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Netherlands |
Burial/Memorial Place | Amersfoort (Oud Leusden) General Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Plot 13. Row 7. Grave 136. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 1 |
Panel Number | 7 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 570468 |
Service | Royal Air Force |
Group | 5 |
Squadron | 50 |
Trade | Flight engineer |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Birchwood Way, Birchwood Estate, Lincoln, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Brick Memorial & Inscribed Marble Obolisk |
Memorial Text | To the memory of the Air Crews and Ground Staff who gave their lives whilst serving with No 50 Squadron and No 61 Squadron, 5 group, Bomber Command The Royal Air Force 2nd World War 1939 to 1945. No 50 Squadron "From defence to attack" Operated from Waddi |
Location | Memorial Gardens, Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Brick Memorial with Inscribed Marble Stone |
Memorial Text | Royal Air Force Skellingthorpe. My brief sweet life is over, My eyes no longer see, No Christmas Trees, No summer walks, No pretty girls for me, I've got the chop - I've had it, My nightly ops are done, Yet in another 100 years I'll still be twenty one. R |
Miscellaneous Information
Born in Wilmslow in 1920. His father was chief clerk (raw cotton purchases) for the Fine Cotton Spinners and Doublers Association Ltd., Manchester. In 1921, one-year-old Michael was living at “Holmlea”, Beech Lane, Wilmslow with his parents and seven-year-old sister Joan Marrianne. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/487/34 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/487/33 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 12-05-1943 |
End Date | 13-05-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Skellingthorpe |
Day/Night Raid | Night (56% moon) |
Operation | Duisburg |
Reason for Loss | Attacked over Holland by a night fighter and crashed into the Ijsselmeer, near Nijkerk |