Bird, Stanley George
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Stanley George |
Surname | Bird |
Gender | M |
Age | 23 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 22-11-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of John Henry and Ethel Edith Bird. Husband of Sylvia Marie Bird, of Aigburth, Liverpool. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax II |
Serial Number | LW319 |
Markings | EY-U |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Cromer No. 2 Burial Ground |
Grave Reference | Sec. X. Grave 133. |
Epitaph | DEEP IN OUR HEARTS HIS MEMORY IS KEPT WE LOVED HIM TOO DEARLY TO EVER FORGET |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 131 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 547208 |
Service | Royal Air Force |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 78 |
Trade | Flight Engineer |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Adjacent to Clubhouse, Breighton Airfield, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | Dedicated to all who served at this airfield and gave their lives during World War II |
Location | External, All Saints Church, Bubwith, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stone Memorial, inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | 78 Sqn 4 Group Bomber Command Yorkshire 1939 - 1945 To All Who Served |
Location | Internal, All Saints Church, Bubwith, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Wooden Board, Memorial Chapel featuring Cross made from Halifax wreckage |
Memorial Text | The 78 Sqn Memorial in the Churchyard was dedicated by the Bishop of Selby on 7th September 1986. RAF Breighton, two miles from this church was the Sqn's home from June 1943 to May 1945 |
Location | Outside "B" Hangar, RAF Benson, Oxfordshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone & Inscribed Slate Plaque |
Memorial Text | In proud memory of all who have lost their lives serving with 78 Sqn Royal Air Force "Nemo Non Paratus - Nobody Unprepared" |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/660/82 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/660/81 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 22-11-1943 |
End Date | 23-11-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Breighton |
Day/Night Raid | Night (22% moon) |
Operation | Berlin. 764 aircraft- the largest raid on Berlin so far and the last to include Stirlings which had not fared well in recent raids on the city. Bad weather again kept the night-fighters at bay and as a result 26 aircraft were Lost (3.4%). The target was completely cloud-covered but despite the weather, this was the most successful raid on Berlin of the war. An unseasonably dry spell led to several firestorms and there was an immense area of destruction. At least 3000 houses were destroyed along with 23 industrial premises. 175000 people were bombed out and the list of municipal buildings damaged or destroyed is too long to include. The famous Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was hit this night- it is a famous landmark in Berlin to this day because it was deliberately only part-restored. Five Siemens factories and the Alkett tank works were destroyed, the latter having been moved to Berlin from the Ruhr after its destruction earlier in the conflict. |
Reason for Loss | Badly damaged by flak over the target and attempted to land at Coltisall, Norfolk on regaining the English coast Lost control and crashed NNE of Norwich |