New Memorial Listings

New memorial data for individuals, crew, stations, squadrons and groups have been added.

View memorials

Blessing, William Walter

Request an edit Submit a photo

Personal Information

Rank S/L
Forename(s) William Walter
Surname Blessing
Gender M
Age 31
Decorations DSO, DFC
Date of Death 07-07-1944
Next of Kin Son of Walter Clinton Blessing and Elizabeth Mary Blessing, of Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia. Husband of Audrey Pamela Blessing, of Stanmore, Middlesex, England.
BLESSING WW

Aircraft Information

Aircraft de Havilland Mosquito XVI
Serial Number ML964
Markings GB-J

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place la Delivrande War Cemetery
Grave Reference III. D. 3.
Epitaph GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN. HE LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 132

Enlistment Information

Service Number 404648
Service Royal Australian Air Force
Group 8
Squadron 105
Squadron Motto Fortis in proelis (Valiant in battles)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Australia

Other Memorials

Location All Saints Church, Swanton Morley, Norfolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Window
Memorial Text A memorial to all those who served at RAF Swanton Morley during WW2, including 105 Sqn from October 1940 to December 1941
View On Google Maps View On what3words

Miscellaneous Information

DSO Citation, London Gazette, 18 June 1943: "Bar to Distinguished Service Order. Acting Wing Commander Reginald Wilfred REYNOLDS, D.S.O., D.F.C. (40259), Reserve of Air Force Officers, No! 139 Squadron. Distinguished Service Order. Acting Squadron Leader William Walter BLESSING. D.F.C. (Aus.404648), Royal Australian Air Force, No. 105 Squadron. Acting Flight Lieutenant Edward Barnes SISMORE, D.F.C. (130208), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 139 Squadron. Distinguished Flying Cross. Flying Officer Forrest Martin FISHER (121787), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 105 Squadron. Distinguished Flying Medal. 1379594 Flight Sergeant Leslie HOGAN, No. 105 Squadron. On the 27th May, 1943, a force of bombers were detailed to attack targets at Jena, Germany, in daylight. The operation called for a high degree of skill and necessitated a flight over strongly defended areas and difficult terrain. Whilst still a considerable distance from the target, the weather deteriorated and visibility became very poor. Nevertheless, the objective, far away in enemy territory was reached according to plan. In spite of balloon defences, and in the face of fierce anti-aircraft fire, a low level attack was pressed home with great vigour. The success achieved reflects the greatest credit on the efforts of the abovenamed personnel who took part in the operation in various capacities, as members of aircraft crews. Their skill, courage and determination were of a high order".

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Click here to view

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/827/38
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/827/37

Last Operation Information

Start Date 07-07-1944
End Date 07-07-1944
Takeoff Station Bourn
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Caen as primary target marker
Reason for Loss Badly damaged by a night-fighter. The skipper gave the order to bale out and P/O D T Burke complied (and landed in Allied held territory) but the skipper himself was unable to follow suit.

Honour This Person

Since 1945 the brave men and women who gave their lives whilst in the service of Bomber Command, to protect our country have been largely ignored and forgotten by successive governments.

It is now time to make that right.

Honour this person now

Events At IBCC

We have an exciting events programme here at IBCC! From Concerts with stars to our annual Salute to the 40s weekend, from Dinner dances to Family Fun Days..

Something for all the family!

View Upcoming Events
 
 
 
 

Please Wait

Close

Request An Edit

I warrant that the information i’m supplying is accurate to the best of my knowledge and I have the rights to provide this information.

Submit a Photo

I warrant that I own the copyright or have the correct commercial print licences in place for the images and or artwork I’m uploading.

Once submitted, your photo will be submitted for verification and will be shown on the database record shortly.

Disclaimer I acknowledge that I remain the copyright holder of the original document(s). I hereby grant copyright in the digital version to the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) and I consent to IBCC making digital copies freely available online under a Creative Commons non-commercial licence. IBCC may also use, reproduce or incorporate it into other works in any media, or licence its use for purposes of ensuring the sustainability of its Digital Archive and Losses Database. I understand that digital copies will be owned and controlled by IBCC, and I irrevocably agree to IBCC using and publishing digital copies however it sees fit, but always in line with its responsibilities to preserve and protect such ephemera.

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.