Blanchard, Rex
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Rex |
Surname | Blanchard |
Gender | M |
Age | 19 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 03-10-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Frank William and Catherine Ruth Blanchard, of Ilford, Essex. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Short Stirling III |
Serial Number | BF470 |
Markings | LS-G |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Rheinberg War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 17. A. 24. |
Epitaph | IT'S NOT THE WORDS WE SAY, IT'S THE MEMORY WE KEEP OF HIM |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 132 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 1339896 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 3 |
Squadron | 15 (XV) |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Church of St. John, Beck Row, Suffolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Slate Tablet on rear external wall of Church |
Memorial Text | In remembrance of all who served at RAF Mildenhall and associated aerodromes in the cause of freedom, 1939-1945 |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/203/68 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/203/67 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 03-10-1943 |
End Date | 04-10-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Mildenhall |
Day/Night Raid | Night (21% moon) |
Operation | Kassel. 547 aircraft, 24 losses (4.4%). H2S blind marking aircraft overshot the aiming point badly and the visual markers could not compensate due to thick haze. Decoy fires were probably also used by the Germans. The Henschel and Fieseler aircraft factories were hit and the suburb of Wolfshanger was devastated, in part due to an ammunition dump being hit. 118 deaths on the ground. |
Reason for Loss | Believed to have been shot down by a night-fighter. Crashed at Haste in the northern suburbs of Osnabrück, Germany |