Partington, Ralph Died

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Ralph
Surname Partington
Gender M
Age 22
Date of Death 23-04-1944
Next of Kin Son of John Samuel and Elizabeth Partington, of Royton. Husband of Irene Partington, of Royton.
PARTINGTON R

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster III
Serial Number ND533
Markings EA-N

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Royton Cemetery
Grave Reference Square 2. Plot G. Grave 2124.

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 82

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1524275
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 5
Squadron 49
Squadron Motto Cave canem (Beware of the dog)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Off D169 at La Villenaise, Lyons-La-Foret, 27- Eure Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Memorial stone & stencilled composite tablet
Memorial Text A la mémoire de l'equipage du Lancaster III ND533 EA-M du 49ème Sqn tombé en ce lieu le 10 Juin 1944
Translation "In memory of the crew of Lancaster III ND533 EA-M of 49 Sqn who fell at this spot on June 10th 1944"
Location St. Clement of Rome Church, Fiskerton, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Slate Tablet & 49 Sqn Roll of Honour
Memorial Text In memory of all who served at RAF Fiskerton 1943-1945
Location St. Clement of Rome Church, Fiskerton, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Slate Tablet
Memorial Text In memory of all who served at RAF Fiskerton 1943 - 1945 Per Erdua Ad Astra
Location Fiskerton Airfield (Disused) Reepham Rd, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stones with inscribed Metal Plaques
Memorial Text RAF Fiskerton. This stone and tree are sited on the airfield in memory of those who served here during World War II
Location The National Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Memorial
Memorial Text In memory of those who served on 49 Squadron 1916-1965
Location In front of the mess esplanade, Mailly-le-Camp, 10 - Aube Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Stone memorial sculpture, inscribed marble tablets and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text En souvenir des heros de la RAF. Qui ont participe au bombardment du camp de Mailly. Unites de la RAF engagees dans le raid sur Mailly-le-Camp, la nuit du 3 au 4 May 1944. N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617- 619-625-626-627-633
Translation "In memory of the RAF heroes who took part in the bombing of Mailly Camp. RAF units engaged in the raid on Mailly-le-Camp, the night of 3-4 May 1944. Squadrons that took part: N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-633"
Location On village war memorial, Salbris, 41 - Loir-et-Choir Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Inscribed marble tablet
Memorial Text En reconnaissance aux 49 aviateurs des Sqn's 44, 49, 106 en 619 de la RAF morts pour notre liberte le 8 Mai 1945
Translation "Thank you to the 49 airmen of 44, 49, 106 and 619 Sqn's RAF who died for our freedom on May 8 1945"
Location Lincoln County Hospital Chapel, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text In memory of Officers, NCO's & Other Ranks of 5 (Bomber) Group RAF who gave their lives Sept 1939 - May 1945

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/482/8
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/482/8

Fellow Servicemen

Please note that this list gives all the losses aboard the quoted aircraft and occasionally these may have occurred on an earlier date when the aircraft was not itself lost. Please check the dates of death carefully.

Name Outcome
Bell B E (F/O) Died
Clark H D (F/O) Died
Holden J (Sgt) Died
Holmes S C (Sgt) Died
Macfadyen D (F/O) Died
Reed J J (Sgt) Died
Hemmens P D (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 22-04-1944
End Date 23-04-1944
Takeoff Station Fiskerton
Day/Night Raid Night (0% moon)
Operation Braunschweig
Reason for Aircraft Loss At 01.23hrs, still on course for the target, the Rowley crew’s aircraft was suddenly hit by very accurate cannon fire from an unseen German night-fighter. P/O Rowley put ND533 into a violent corkscrew and managed to evade their attacker, but fire had broken out in the centre of the fuselage and the aircraft soon filled with smoke, both gun turrets had been put out of action in the initial attack. With great determination, the flight engineer, Sgt Hatchett, was able to subdue the flames. A quick assessment of the damage soon established that Sgt Partington, the rear gunner, had tragically been killed at his station. With a defenceless and badly crippled aircraft, the pilot had no alternative but to return to base. They landed back at Fiskerton just before 04.00hrs, where on a very sombre dispersal point, the body of the rear gunner was gently removed
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Casualty Pack

IBCC is delighted to introduce a unique facility to link the Losses Database to the relevant RAF Casualty Pack on the National Archives website. This project is the result of on-going collaboration between IBCC, the MOD Records Office and National Archives, Kew. This document describes what Casualty Packs are, when they were created, the process of making them available to the public and then goes on to describe the process by which you can view the contents of the packs. Casualty Packs (CPs) were created by the RAF whenever there was serious injury or loss of life associated with operational activity within the RAF. This includes operational flying losses, enemy action due to air raids, road accidents either on station or even off-station if they involved RAF vehicles. Deaths due to natural causes in service or accidents that did not involve RAF vehicles did not generally give rise to a CP.

CPs were originally given a unique reference number by the RAF. Each begins with the letter ‘P’ and is followed by six digits, then an oblique (forward slash) and the finally the year in which the incident took place- for example P396154/42.

The CPs are in the process of being made available to the general public as they are passed from the MOD Records Office, Portsmouth to National Archives, Kew. This process requires some rework to the files which is very time consuming, so the process of making them all available to National Archives will take several years. They are being made available in increasing date order.

Once CPs arrive at National Archives they are assigned a unique AIR81 number, so each CP has both a P-number and an AIR81 number. Both are searchable on the National Archives website under ‘Search the catalogue’ and both are included on the IBCC website.

The AIR81 reference on the IBCC website is a link to the file on the National Archives website. When you click on it, the relevant page will open in a new tab on your browser.

There is currently no plan to digitise AIR81 files, partly because they are fragile and partly because the information they contain can at times be sensitive, even harrowing, since they may contain exhumation reports and even photographs of corpses. Family members wishing to read the AIR81 files relating to their ancestors are advised to exercise caution and be guided by National Archives warnings where appropriate.

There are two means for accessing AIR81 files- to attend in person or to order a copy by post.

To attend in person, the attendee should first create a Reader’s Ticket. This can be done online by following this link: https://secure.nationalarchives.gov.uk/login/yourdetails. Then click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and click Order in Advance. Enter your Reader’s Ticket number and state the date on which you intend to visit. National Archives will have the file ready for you when you arrive, saving you time. When you visit Kew, you must quote the Reader’s Ticket number and take along two forms of ID- one bearing your signature and one bearing your address. When you view the files, you are permitted to take photographs of each page, should you wish.

Alternatively, if you wish to order a copy by post, please be aware that there is a charge for this service based on the number of pages in the file. Click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and then click Request a Copy. There is an £8.40 charge for National Archives staff to access the file and give you a quotation for the copying service. The process takes around 24 days to complete and can be expensive.

IBCC wishes to thank the staff at the MOD Records Office and National Archives for their engagement and assistance in making this facility available to our website users.