Irvine, James Melville Dundas
Personal Information
Rank | P/O |
Forename(s) | James Melville Dundas |
Surname | Irvine |
Gender | M |
Age | 21 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 24-05-1940 |
Next of Kin | Son of Leonard Cockburn Dundas Irvine and Margarita Irvine, of Hove Sussex. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Hampden I |
Serial Number | P1336 |
Markings | ZN- |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Coventry (London Road) Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Square 348. Grave 42. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 1 |
Panel Number | 53 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 39988 |
Service | Royal Air Force |
Group | 5 |
Squadron | 106 |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Holy Trinity Church, Martin, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Tablet & Roll of Honour in Wooden Case |
Memorial Text | To the memory of the Airmen of 106 Sqn who gave their lives in the 1939-45 War |
Location | Former Airfield Site, Martin Moor, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Brick moument with inscribed Slate Tablets & Plaques |
Memorial Text | Dedicated to the airmen and airwomen who served on 106 Sqn in WW2. 995 gave their lives |
Miscellaneous Information
The Coventry Evening Telegraph reported on 27 May 1940 under the headline ‘A Bad Show’: 'There was a serious incident in a Midland Town of Friday night, when a British bomber struck a barrage balloon and crashed onto an open space taking to their deaths the three members of the crew. No-one will ever know what happened in the few seconds prior to the crash but there seems to be the slightest doubt that the pilot deliberately sacrificed his chances of escape by deliberately dumping his machine into a cricket ground rather then risk a collision with houses in that thickly populated area. By ‘holding off’ he might have been able to reduce the speed of the machine; thus increasing his own chances of escape; he made no attempt to do this. The gallant gesture was ill repaid. Reports received from the area in question show that the events that followed the crash were the antithesis of gallantry on part of the general public. People in motor cars swarmed to the spot, impending the progress of essential vehicles; people on foot hurried to the scene, adding greatly to the anxieties of the police; curtains were drawn from lighted windows and almost every lesson that had been taught by the nation’s ARP expert was forgotten in a moment of excited curiosity. It was a thoroughly ‘bad show’ and one that should be the subject of a earnest review by everyone who realises the danger of the times. |
Casualty Pack Number Find Out More
AIR 81/2160 (P352370/40) |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/831/18 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/831/17 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 24-05-1940 |
End Date | 24-05-1940 |
Takeoff Station | Finningley |
Day/Night Raid | Day |
Operation | Training- night flying practice |
Reason for Loss | Flew into a barrage balloon |