Kesten, George
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | George |
Surname | Kesten |
Gender | M |
Age | 19 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 04-11-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of Mendel and Rifka Kesten, of Berlin, Germany |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Avro Lancaster I |
Serial Number | ME865 |
Markings | SR-K |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Rheinberg War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Coll. grave 17. D. 1-8. |
Epitaph | REST IN PEACE |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 1 |
Panel Number | 59 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 1897268 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 1 |
Squadron | 101 |
Trade | Special Duties Operator |
Country of Origin | Germany |
Other Memorials
Location | St. Mary & St. Peter's Church, Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Sqn Standard & Roll of Honour in wooden bookcase |
Memorial Text | In memory of 101 Squadron 1943-45 based at RAF Ludford Magna |
Location | Village Centre, Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Pillar & Brass plaque on adjacent bench |
Memorial Text | In memory of 101 Squadron 1943-45 based at RAF Ludford Magna |
Location | The White Hart PH, Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal on external wall of PH |
Memorial Text | In memory of the men and women of 101 Squadron 1943-45 |
Location | The National Aboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Monument |
Memorial Text | This memorial is dedicated to all those who served on 101 Squadron, and honours those who made the ultimate sacrifice. We will remember you. |
Miscellaneous Information
Served as George but actually Georg |
Born 2nd March 1925 in Berlin to Polish born parents Mendel and Rifka and he had an older sister Bertel. He had been attending a boarding school in Switzerland after the introduction of laws limiting the availability of educational places for Jews. Although George returned home occasionally, he was in Switzerland on the night 28 October 1938 when his father, who had a Polish passport, was picked up and deported to Poland. His mother was temporarily allowed to remain in Berlin and she arranged for George who was now thirteen to travel from Switzerland to England on the Kindertransport before she was also deported. Both of George’s parents were murdered in the Kraków Ghetto in 1942. At the age of eighteen George enlisted in London on 30 August 1943. After thirteen months of training he was posted to 101 Squadron at Ludford Magna. Whilst on leave on 17 July 1944, he was photographed by the Evening Standard newspaper helping a young boy in the Blitz. On 4 November 1944, Lancaster ME865 departed from Ludford Magna at 17.38 on ABC duties. The cause of the aircraft’s crash is unknown and the crew are buried at Rheinberg War Cemetery. He was photographed for the Evening Standard carrying a boy out of his house after a bombing raid. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/803/22 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/803/21 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 04-11-1944 |
End Date | 05-11-1944 |
Takeoff Station | Ludford Magna |
Day/Night Raid | Night (77% moon) |
Operation | Bochum |
Reason for Loss | On ABC duties. Cause of loss not established- crashed onto German soil. |